So Chapter Five begins! Once again merry Christmas to my devoted readers, and I apologize for not getting this uploaded yesterday. My internet went toes up again. For those of you who are still in the dark as to the identity of the Padawan who has been mentioned in all the previous chapters, THE WAIT IS OVER! He finally appears in this chapter! Also appearing in this chapter is a Jedi favorite of mine, Barriss Offee. SHE KICKS MAJOR BUTT! Well, I say appear, she's actually just…a…hologram…(insert expression of being ashamed at the underwhelming-ness of the situation) Anyway, I AM SO JAZZED ABOUT THE NEW SEASON OF CLONE WARS! I CAN'T WAIT! But anyway, enjoy the story.

"And then when the clones attacked us, I was freaking out!"

"Yes, as was I Ahsoka, I think that it was the most terrifying day of my life."

"No, the most terrifying day in your life so far!"

Barriss chuckled and wiped a tear from her pale green cheek. "So, what dilemma are you in now Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka raised her eye ridges in a look of insult. "Can't a girl just call in and reminisce bonding through trauma with a friend?"

"When the Banking Clan goes bankrupt."

Ahsoka winced. Even when she was on Correllia, millions of light-years away, the Mirialan could still sense her troubles. "Well, actually I do have something I want to talk with you about…"

Barriss looked about as surprised as a statue.

"Just so you know, I'm not in trouble!"

"Well, that'll be first. But I thought you were in trouble, which was why the Council sent you to the Pit-hole*1 called Koru Neimoidia."

Ahsoka bristled. "Just because I'm not a goody-two-boots like you doesn't mean you can throw rocks!"

"Oh, but that wouldn't be fun, and life would get boring. You wouldn't want my life to get boring now would you?"

"I would rather swallow live Ando-spines. *2"

"Now that's the spirit! I remember when you and I were in the droid factory on Geonosis when…hey, I know what you're doing!"

"What am I doing?" The Togruta tried her best to look innocent, but failed miserably.

"You're trying to get me off topic! But it won't work!"

"Dang," Ahsoka muttered. "I was so close…"

"But no Felucian fungus-role.*3 What is it that you want?"

Ahsoka shuffled her feet. "Well, recently I've been having doubts…"

Barriss' humorous countenance melted away. "Doubts about what? The Council?"

"No, not them, but about myself."

"What about yourself?"

"It's just that, as this war draws on, I find myself starting to…drift."

"How do you mean 'drift'?"

"Well, it all started with Lux Bonteri. I met him on Raxus…"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT! You were on Raxus? That's the seat of the Confederacy's Senate!"

"I know, please don't tell anyone Barriss, I was trying to end the war! We met with Mina Bonteri to try and get her to make a motion for peace negotiations to end the war!"

"Who's we?"

"That's unimportant. While I was there, I met Mina's son, Lux. We talked about the war, peace, Jedi, Dooku, our mentors and our plans for the future. While we were talking, I felt something."

"Distrust?"

"NO! No, it felt…warm. Creamy, and soft, like a fresh cup of hot cocoa. Like, a soft ribbon of satin." She blushed a tad bit. "It was like holding my lightsaber for the first time."

Barriss had adopted a third-interested, a-third-happy-for-her-best-friend, and a third-horrified look. She wanted to say "Intriguing," "How wonderful," and "How could you," all at the same time, and she tried to, but the only thing that came out was a sound reminiscent of a nerf being strangled. Her eyes were bugging out of her head and her arms shuddered like she was trying, unsuccessfully, to move them.

Ahsoka seemed not to notice. "Then we left, and I thought that the two of us could meet again under different circumstances. But then…"

"But then Mina was murdered. I heard about that. I guess Dooku has thrown off the charade and is controlling the Confederacy's Senate by fear."

"And there was no news on Lux. I don't know what's happened to him, and no one else cares. As far as the other Senators are concerned, he was the son of a conniving woman who tried to cripple the Republic by offering a faux peace treaty. And since my master found out, I can't go back to Raxus and find out."

A bit of wetness appeared on the Togruta's blue eyes.

Barriss' face bore a countenance of a concerned friend. "I'm sure he's fine, Ahsoka, but you should not get attached to people. As a Jedi, you are not allowed to form attachments that will interfere with keeping the peace."

"I know that, but after I left Raxus, I've been feeling, different. I feel like, maybe the Jedi Order isn't the best path for me. Perhaps this feeling is the Force's way of telling me that I'm walking down the wrong path, perhaps it's a message for me to go in a different direction with my life, perhaps—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up!" Barriss quickly terminated Ahsoka's ramblings with a firm glare and an equally firm voice. "I'm hearing a lot of 'perhaps's in those sentences, and not a lot of sense, Ahsoka Tano. What you speak of is utter madness! Listen, I know what happened to you back on Raxus, I felt the same way a few years ago when I was stationed with Master Luminara on Ansion, and I—"

"Wait, you know this feeling?" Ahsoka practically pounced on the hologram like a rabid rancor.

"Well…sort of. I mean, it's like how you get attached to a…a good book, or…or perhaps the beach, or…a good book, you know."

Ahsoka stared at Barriss like she had suddenly sprouted a second head. "THAT'S NOTHING LIKE I WAS TALKING ABOUT!"

"Well, I did stumble upon a rather lovely library during my time on Ansion, and I was very distraught when I had to leave it, I had become rather attached to that place…"

"You. Were. Attached. To. A…" Ahsoka looked ready to pop a vessel. Her eye twitched. "…Library?"

"Yes," Barriss said very seriously as though commenting on the weather. "Now, don't go telling anyone, I'm rather ashamed of it, actually."

Ahsoka merely stared at Barriss so long with her mouth open that her tongue might have gathered dust.

Barriss finally seemed to notice her friend's disbelief. She looked up. "What?"

"Never mind, never mind," Ahsoka quickly brushed off the discussion before the Mirilan could begin rambling about her love affair with a public establishment. "Where is this going?"

Barriss assumed a wise expression she must have picked up from Master Yoda. "Well, it's like this. Sometimes you feel like you need something, and when you leave, it's incomplete. All you need to do is go out and find that something that will help you complete that, or completely forget it and find something new, and complete that. For a brief while, after my stay on Ansion, I considered becoming Jocasta Nu's protégé and taking over the Jedi library after she'd retired, but I realized about two hours into my tenure that it wasn't for me. So, quite by accident, I happened to run into Nadhar Vebb. He introduced me to the healing art. I've been there ever since, and I feel complete."

Quoth Ahsoka, "Are you trying to recruit me to the Jedi healing corps?"

"NO!" Barriss fumed. "Don't be so shallow, Ahsoka! Try and read between the lines."

"Well, what am I supposed to read there?"

"The feeling of 'drifitng' that you have is because you left something unfinished. I'm sure that after the war is over, you will find Lux and make sure that he's alright, and your friendship will begin anew. And it will be nothing more than a friendship, am I correct?" she quickly added with a sharp, mother-like gaze.

"Of course."

"But more likely than that, you will find something here that will take your mind off of Lux. As Master Yoda says, 'Works in mysterious ways, the Force does.'"

"Well, what can I find here aside from battle droids and pollution?"

"I don't have all the answers, Ahsoka," Barriss' eyes grew melancholy. "That's something you're going to have to find for yourself."

Her head suddenly flicked to one side. Ahsoka heard a small, tinny voice that sounded like Luminara's, but she couldn't make out the words.

"Ooh, gotta go," Barriss muttered quickly. "The droids are on the move."

"May the Force be with you, Barriss."

"Farewell, Ahsoka. May the Force be with you." The hologram fizzed into nothingness.

Ahsoka sat in the quietness of her chamber. The minutes ticked by. Hours. Days. It seemed like an eternity that the young Padawan meditated. One by one she flicked through the mentors in her head, thinking about what they would say in her situation. She couldn't tell Anakin, so she just skipped over him. Adi probably wouldn't understand; she was a tad bit too militaristic to grasp the finer concepts of life outside the Jedi Order. She couldn't ask Siri; she didn't know her well enough to answer her questions, and Siri would never be coming back to answer them. Plo Koon wasn't really in the question; he was too withdrawn. He probably hadn't felt any emotion since before she was born. Council members were completely out of the question. Shaak Ti would probably get that disdainful look and say, 'Child, what in the name of Heaven are you talking about?' Yoda would probably say something similar, only backwards, and she didn't even want to think about what Mace Windu would say. He might have a coronary and drop on the spot. Oppo would just banish her. Kit Fisto would probably think she was making a joke. Even Piell probably wouldn't even listen to her. Younglings weren't his thing.

Perhaps outside the council. Other Jedi Knights…?

Aayla would just dismiss her claims as 'chemical misfiring in teenage brains that result in mistakes, nine-month packages, and men who don't give a hoot,' whatever that meant. Sometimes Aayla's 'grown-up girl talk' made no sense whatsoever. Jeisel. What would she think? She'd probably walk away, and K'Kruhk would just throw himself off a cliff rather than answer and come back a few days later none the worse for wear. That left Luminara. The best choice so far. Luminara usually acted maternally to all Jedi, and other people. Maybe she would understand.

But then, Luminara was with Barriss, and, from the way the latter had ended her transmission, it sounded as if the Jedi was about to become hip-deep in a battle.

That left no one.

So she meditated longer still on what Barriss had told her.

Once again, a small eternity passed, with the seconds blurring into hours.

In her montrals, she felt him before she saw or heard him.

The pneumatic hiss of the chamber door opening was the only sound that Appo made as he came into the room.

"General, we will be arriving on Koru Neimoidia in twenty standard minutes."

"Very good Commander. I will be there."

"We'll be expecting you."

Appo's departure was punctuated by the hiss of the door closing.

Ahsoka had not even opened her eyes.

Something about Appo frightened her. Every time she got near him, she felt tremors in the Force. And a vision.

Black. Something black, shiny, a flowing robe. And breathing, heavy, labored and rasping.

The image haunted her meditations, and her nightmares.

Standing, Ahsoka picked up the robe that she wore over her usual clothes. It was reddish-brown. Red was an unorthodox color. Brown was the typical color. Obi-Wan's was brown. Adi's was brown. Black was frowned upon, but not forbidden. She knew only three Jedi who had used black robes at one time. Ki-Adi-Mundi wore a black tunic. Shaak Ti had, for a time, worn black and gray robes, but had changed to brown. Then there was her master. While the aforementioned Jedi had had at least some redeeming pigments in their uniform, Anakin Skywalker was garbed completely in black and dark red.

Sometimes she worried for her master.

Nevertheless, she was his Padawan.

Donning the robe, she swept out of the room.

Whoo, this is gonna be a really long chappie! It was originally going to be much shorter, but it got so good! I had to continue, and you readers have waited long enough for the mysterious Padawan to be introduced for me to make a new chapter. Just two seconds here, the asterisks you saw before will be explained. Barriss' "Pit-hole," is synonymous with the English "Hell-hole." For the Mirialans, they believe in The Pit, where bad souls go for eternal punishment. Ando-spines are mollusks that live on the water world of Ando. They are covered in venomous spines that can lead to paralysis and eventually death if not treated promptly. Felucian fungus roles are a spores of a ragic rolled in a bit of paper, which is then lit and the smoke is inhaled, causing a release of endorphins, hence "no cigar." Clever, no? Anyway, this note serves a double purpose, to indicate the passage of time, and to explain a few things before you forget about the asterisks. Counting this sentence, you have read 2,227 words, including the number! Mind boggling ain't it? I really must thank my sister; she was so helpful in writing this chapter. If I do go full time with writing, then I will definitely ask her to proof-read my stories, if she's not writing in conjunction with me! If you read all of this, you need to stop reading now, go to your kitchen, give yourself a cookie, come back, and keep on reading. I mean it. Get going. No, seriously, go have a cookie break, you're going to need it. Still there? SCRAM! Eh, whatever, but don't say I didn't warn you. Stubborn readers…

"It would rain wouldn't it Master?"

"This little cloudburst? If you think that this is bad, Snips, then you should go to Kamino, or better, Jabiim. Now that is some real rain."

Appo looked outside the gunship. The rain pattering on the ailerons combined with the pulsing hum of the engines for an almost sedative effect. "I really hate rain. It reminds me of death."

Rex shook his head. "What doesn't remind you of death?"

Appo actually paused to consider the question before realizing that his captain was asking a rhetorical question. The other members of the 501st and the two Jedi snickered.

It was a good thing he was wearing a helmet, because he was blushing so hard that he looked like a Zeltron.

Ever on to business, and probably trying to save his general from shame, Fox spoke up. "So, what are our objectives in this mission?"

"Well, it's all very simple boys," Anakin stated. "We rendezvous with Master B'dard Tone at the southern end of the rift valley, and our forces will join his. From there, we march to Naantray and lure the droids into charging us. When they do, the middle will collapse and retreat while the left and right will flank the enemy and catch them in a cross-fire. That will eliminate most of the enemy's forces, and the way to Naantray will be clear."

"What exactly are our plans to capture Naantray?" Appo inquired.

"Our spies have yet to find any good intelligence on how best to infiltrate the city," Ahsoka answered. "I'm sure we'll have a plan by the time we get there, won't we, Master?"

"We always do Snips."

A tinny voice crackled over the speakers. "Alright, men, we are coming up on the rendezvous. Hang on, we are facing fast headwinds, so our descent will be…" the voice paused before saying with perhaps a bit too much sadistic glee, "a little thrilling."

That's when the ship dropped about thirty meters straight down.

The clones in the cabin groaned. Beneath his helmet, Fox was about as green as a Rodian.

With a bit more rocking, the gunship leveled out and began a more controlled descent.

The troopers in the LAAT looked just short of puking by the time the craft hit the ground, and Ahsoka, admittedly, felt no better. The only one who seemed unaffected by the bumpy ride, was Anakin.

"Alright, men, let's MOVE!"

Ever obedient, the troopers swallowed their lunches for the second time that day and exited the craft, followed by Ahsoka.

The torrential rain had diminished to a light mist, but the ground was laced with puddles and was muddy. Ahsoka wrinkled her lip in disgust as she extracted a boot from the mud with a horrible slurping sound.

Anakin smirked as he extricated the arm of a battle droid from the muck. "I'll bet that this rain and mud is really slowing down both sides."

"And it does no good for morale either," Rex commented.

"I hope that we route the Seppies soon, 'cause I don't want to have to trek through his stuff anymore than I have to," Fox grumbled as flecks of mud stained the blue pigmentation of his uniform.

"Speaking of trek, master, where is the rendezvous point?" Ahsoka inquired as she pulled her other leg from the muck as well, completing one step.

"About a mile's walk from here."

And with those six words, the 501st's morale plummeted like a rock thrown into a lake.

After a mile-long trek up what must have been the steepest hill on the planet, the beleaguered Jedi and the 501st reached the top of the hill. From the vantage point, they could see a square trench dug out of the mud, inside of which was a wall, also made of mud. Inside the entire wall/trench establishment, was a colony of white tents. They had arrived at the rendezvous point.

With a whoop, Ahsoka Force-jumped off the hill with an elegant flip, and began a graceful descent to the base of the hill, robe fluttering behind her like wings.

Anakin looked at Rex. Both had at least some mud on every part of their anatomy. "The next time we invade a planet, lets park closer to the rendezvous."

"Yes sir," Rex responded. It was definitely the best advice that he had heard all day.

Anakin and the clones began their trip down the cliff, which consisted more of sliding trough the muck than actually walking.

Ahsoka had a head start on all of them, and touched down at the base of the hill before any of the others were half-way down. She turned and cupped a hand to her mouth. "C'mon, Skyguy, we're getting old down here!"

"All in good time Snips!" her master called back. "I'm staying with my troops, and not showing off!"

"I'm not showing off!" she retorted. "I'm just showing that I'm faster than you."

"So you're showing off?"

"Touché."

Anakin's boots touched the base of the hill with a soft splat. He shot Ahsoka a smug look and continued on, with a fuming Padawan close behind.

The 501st and the Jedi entered the settlement from a small path, raised above the trench and through a low part in the wall. The camp was a mix of sensations. There were blaster shots from the clones keeping their aim sharp, the smell of roasting meat from the mess tent. The groans of the wounded and the dying. The tinny voices of troopers reporting from scout positions. All the cacophony seemed to mute itself out to Ahsoka, and she could hear only what she wanted. The spatial awareness afforded by her montrals and enhanced by the Force allowed her to sense even the smallest insect hovering over a clone's mess tray, so she could have walked through the camp with her eyes closed. That said, she rarely had time to hone her natural skills to the level that Shaak Ti had. Though Master Ti had assured her that increased awareness came with age, Ahsoka hadn't noticed any change in her own abilities. It worried her. She decided to seek out Master Ti at the first opportunity afforded.

The 501st and its leaders had now reached the approximate center of the camp. There was a large holo-table, with two figures around it. One was a clone trooper whose armor was marked with amber glyphs and symbols. The other was a male Coway garbed in brown with yellow markings. Ahsoka's eyes were drawn to the heavy looking prosthetic arm that he bore.

Anakin strode up to the table ahead of his Padawan and troops. "Master, I am Anakin Skywalker. I believe you are expecting us."

"Yes, I am." The response was raspy and quiet. "I am B'dard Tone. I trust you came prepared for tough times."

The Coway turned, and Ahsoka stifled a gasp at what she saw. The entire left side of his face was covered in a metal plate, which stretched from the far end of his jaw, over what used to be his eye, to the back of his skull

He seemed to notice. He looked beyond her master and at her, not unkindly. "Don't worry youngling, most people do that when they see me."

The ice broken, Anakin inquired. "What happened?"

The Coway's eyes darkened. "I was on Nadiem with Master Luminara and her Padawan. Grievous was in charge of the battle, and when Offee's strategy turned the tide of the battle, he did what he does best. Flee. My Padawan and I caught up with him, but I was sorely outmatched." His hand floated up to touch the metal on his face. "I was lucky to have escaped with my head. With me incapacitated, that monster fled to his starfighter and began to take off. Zephata'ru'tor was a Duinuogwin, so naturally he tried to fly after the coward, but Grievous activated the hyperdrive while Zeph was in front and…"

A dead silence fell as B'dard finished his tale. He hung his head.

Anakin reached out and placed a hand on the Coway's shoulder. "I am so sorry for your loss, Master."

Slowly, Anakin drew off his glove and revealed the durasteel that was now his hand. "Dooku, on Geonosis."

B'dard looked Anakin in the eyes. "It never feels the same does it?"

"No, not really."

Replacing the glove, Anakin gestured for Ahsoka to come forward. "This is my Padawan."

Taking a hint from Barriss, Ahsoka bent into a partial kneel, inclined her head, and spread her arms out to the sides. "Padawan Ahsoka Tano at your service, Master."

The Coway smiled and placed his hands on his hips. "I think that we will get along very well Padawan Tano."

"I certainly hope so Master."

From farther away, a new voice was heard. "Master!"

B'dard's head snapped in the direction of the voice. "You are about to meet my Padawan. I certainly hope he behaves more civilly to you than he does to me."

Anakin and Ahsoka followed his gaze. A group of beings rounded the corner created by a line of tents. Most were clones, but the one at the head of the group caught Ahsoka's eye like a fish on a hook.

It was a male Togruta.

A very cute male Togruta.

A very long time ago, five-year old Ahsoka had accidentally jammed an oil-fried thimiar nugget into an electrical outlet in the Temple mess-hall. Extremely mortified, she refused to ask an older master for help, and, when her attempts to remove the nugget with her limited Force abilities failed miserably, she resorted to prodding the food with a metal fork in an effort to extract it. What happened next was always a blur to Ahsoka, but Barriss often told the story (through several bouts of maniacal cackling) of the young Togruta Padawan shooting across the room, lit up like an ion cannon, trailing gray smoke in her wake. Never since had Ahsoka felt quite such an electrical shock as that day.

But now, standing here, watching what had to be the most beautiful creature she had ever seen striding slowly towards her as though from one of those ridiculous holo-vids she had once caught Senator Amidala watching, she could have sworn she had stuffed her finger in another electric socket.

His eyes were blue, fierce like a Coruscant thunderstorm, and the way he walked made Ahsoka's knees feel as though they had turned to water. He moved with a certain air of power and prestige, yet, at the same time, a hint of deadliness that most Togruta seemed to possess in their intimidating forms. His robes, though caked with mud and filth, could never disguise the proud sash swung around his waist, part of every Togruta's culture. Neither could they, Ahsoka thought with a light blush, disguise the muscles undoubtedly beneath. From the tips of his montrals to the end of his dark boots, the male stood out brilliantly against the white armor of the troops, and no amount of fatigue, anxiety, or frustration could conceal the instant and surprising spark of emotion that stirred in Ahsoka's young heart. It was as though someone had punched her in the chest.

"Codi, where have you been?" Master Tone demanded, not unkind but not gentle either.

"I've been doing a little bit of reconnaissance, Master," the Togruta male answered stiffly, arriving at the Coway's side. "The droids have an outpost about twenty-five clicks northeast of our position. If we want to get past them, we have to send a strike team."

The male paused and cast Ahsoka and Anakin a glance as though just realizing they were there. Ahsoka ducked her gaze when his blue eyes swept over her form. She felt as though he could see through her, and another blush colored her cheeks. She thanked the Force for her red coloration.

"My apologies, Master Tone, I did not realize we had company."

Ahsoka blinked. Master Tone? Did that mean this Codi person was Tone's Padawan?

"This is Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano," B'dard introduced with a wave of his cybernetic hand. Anakin gave a nod, and Ahsoka pretended to be intrigued by a speck of dirt on the table. "They have brought with them the 501st legion to reinforce us."

The Padawan cast them a polite, acknowledging glance, but his eyes were stormy clouds of anger. He hissed venomously, "Of course, we would not need reinforcements if we had simply struck that energy collector when we had first arrived."

"Do not open up this line of argument with me, Padawan!" Tone snapped quickly, his metal hand squeaking as it formed an anxious fist. "As long as you are my student, you will respect me and heed my wisdom."

"Certainly…Master," the male lowered his head as if assuming humility, but Ahsoka was fairly certain she was not the only one who could detect the fury and anger swirling in the Padawan's Force signature. "I apologize."

B'dard didn't look that convicned, but he pressed on. "I assume that you two have come up with a strategy to help us take Naantray?"

"We have, Master," Anakin responded, making it a point to say the word as he shot B'dard's Padawan a venomous glare. "As you can see from this hologram, the shortest route between us and Naantray is through the rift valley. The droids are there en masse, so our strategy is to lure them into a charge where our central forces will buckle and pull the droids into a crossfire between the left and right flanks. From there, the route to Naantray should be clear."

B'dard's metal hand flashed in the dim sunlight as it rested on his chin. "Interesting. That should work. Why haven't I worked with you before?" He cast Anakin an approving smile.

"But, Master," the male Togruta interrupted with a dark frown, "I just told you that we found a droid outpost not too far from where Master Skywalker is planning to stage his attack. If we are to have any hope of winning the battle, we must destroy the outpost first."

B'dard closed his eyes in what looked like pensive thought. "Perhaps a strike team of about twenty troopers can go to the outpost and neutralize it for us."

"Excellent idea, Master," the Togruta smiled sarcastically, "Especially since I suggested it."

"You will be respectful when you address your master!" Anakin lashed out in a fierce voice. He could take it no longer. Master Tone might put up with this infinite speck's recalcitrant behavior, but he would not. He felt like smacking the youngling dead in the face.

"Of course, I apologize…Master."

Anakin had had enough of this twerp. The comment, if anything, did not pacify Master Skywalker. It infuriated him beyond belief, and he opened his mouth to say so, but B'dard gave him a quick glance, and he ruefully swallowed his anger.

"Perhaps you in your great wisdom could lead the strike force," Tone sharply said to the Togruta.

Rather than being mortified, the Padawan's face twisted into a delighted grin. Ahsoka was appalled. She would never dream of behaving in such a way towards a Jedi Master. Ever!

"It would be an honor…Master," he replied, tilting his head. He turned on his heel and began to leave.

"But," Tone quickly halted the insolent Togruta in his red-footed steps, "You will take Ahsoka with you. By your leave, of course, Master Skywalker."

Ahsoka felt like she'd swallowed a live toad. What?

"Certainly, Master Tone!" Anakin said brightly, placing a hand on Ahsoka's back and escorting her forward to the Togruta male's side. "She is more than qualified for a strike force. Aren't you, Snips?"

Ahoska dug her heels into the mud as Anakin pushed her, trying desperately to think up an excuse not to go anywhere with the rude, insolent, beautiful male Padawan. But nothing came to mind. Or mouth, for that matter. Only a few, small noises like a mouse droid being kicked down a stairwell. "Well, I…I…I…that is to say, um…w-well…"

"Then it's decided!" Anakin proclaimed, clasping his hands and beaming with approval.

The male Togruta seemed rooted to the spot and bore an expression akin to smelling something ferociously horrendous.

Master Tone eyed him. "Codi?"

"Certainly, Master. As you will." The words seemed to be physically painful for him to speak. His lips were in a thin line like he had sucked on a sour fruit. Ahsoka frowned. What, was she that horrible?

"Very well. You are to leave immediately. Master Skywalker, if you will come with me. We have much to discuss." B'dard gestured Anakin towards a large tent off to one side of the table.

The Togruta male had started to walk before Ahsoka noticed. She had to quickly jog to catch up.

Coming into an open area where a fair number of clones were sitting and articulating various miscellanea, the Togruta male gestured towards several clones with an outstretched arm. "You, you, you, and the lot of you, gear up and follow me."

"Follow us you mean," Ahsoka glared at her companion.

"Oh, yes, I forgot about you," he said, barely looking over his shoulder.

Ahsoka bristled. "Look here you…."

She paused. It occurred to her that she had yet to learn the Togruta's name.

"I'm Codi Ty, not that it's any of your concern, Padawan."

"HEY!" Ahsoka reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to turn him around. She ignored the rush of heat that she got from feeling the muscle ripple beneath her palm. "You can't talk to me like that, you're a Padawan too! And I've fought in more battles than you'll ever know!"

"And yet you're still alive." With a wench, Codi pulled away from her hand.

"I've survived Master Skywalker. I can survive anything, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder!"

That got his attention. He spun, the storms in his eyes had turned to cyclonic wind disturbances. "Who's scruffy-looking?"

Ahsoka crossed her arms and looked him square in the face.

With a growl, Codi turned on heel and walked away. "Just try to stay out of my way, Tano."

That was the moment when Ahsoka officially decided to hate this insolent, angry and beautiful person with all her being.

Whoo! Finished! So what'd you think? I thought it went rather well. If the scenes of Ahsoka describing Codi sounded pretty legit, it's because I asked my sister to write what strikes her about the character of a boy when she meets him. Anyway, for you skeptical peeps out there who say "HEY! NO O.C.s!" They are not O.C.s! :-P Look 'em up on Wookieepedia! Anyway, I really liked this chapter. PLZ rate and review! Feedback is much appreciated!