Hey y'all, I got an anonymous review that was simply one word, and I quote: "UPDATE." I am all too happy to oblige. This story is terribly difficult to write. I have to keep readjusting my story to match the new "The Clone Wars" episodes. Those b******* are changing established canon! :O Anyhoo, enjoy the ride.
The air was humid and still. Dark clouds loomed on the horizon, and the low rumble of thunder was palpable.
B'dard Tone looked out over the Rift Valley. The trees were so thick that he could not see the plateau that his Padawan was on.
Oddly enough, he felt relieved to be rid of his headstrong student.
Codi was the complete antithesis of Zeph. Zeph had been quiet, subdued, always respectful, and had carried an air of mystery always. Codi was ever impudent; his techniques were loud and lacked all measures of subtlety.
He had not asked for his new Padawan. The Council had not bothered to ask him if he was ready to take a new apprentice. However private it might have been, he was still grieving Zeph at the time Codi had been given to him. He remembered the conversation well.
He had entered the Council chambers and inclined his head to greet these prestigious Masters.
"I sense you feel loss over your Padawan," the Iktochi Saesee Tiin had said.
"That is true Masters," he had replied. "Zephata'ru'tor was unique."
"Unfortunate, his death was, but more and more Jedi die from this war."
"The Seperatists continue to find more and more Jedi hunters," Master Kenobi agreed. "Not long ago, Master Hundras was slain by Durge."
"And Lissarkh by Ventress," Master Koon added.
"But the Council finds itself with many Master-less Padawans," Mace finished.
B'dard had shifted. He did not like where this conversation was going.
"So the Council has seen fit to give you a new Padawan," Mace said.
"With all due respect," Bdard had said. "Padawans are not things that can be given out like second hand clothes. And I do not feel ready to take a new Padawan."
"We are sorry that you feel this way," Master Mundi apologized. "But we have no other choice. Your new apprentice is waiting for you in The Room of One-Thousand Fountains."
B'dard had opened his mouth to object, but a stern look from Master Windu had served to replace his rebuttal with a word of thanks, and he had left the chambers.
So here he was, standing on the low rise of the Rift Valley, overlooking the plateau that concealed his Padawan while the AT-TEs and UT-ATs thundered and crawled behind him.
He sensed Skywalker before the Knight spoke. "Padawan problems?"
B'dard nodded. "I'm at a loss for what to do with him." He turned his head to look at Anakin. "He never listens, and never treats me with respect."
"Arrogant?"
"No, not arrogant, just angry."
"What do you call him?"
"Huh?"
"I mean it. What do you call him?"
B'dard had never given that much thought. "Usually Codi. His first name."
Anakin nodded. "So you don't respect him."
"I most certainly do!" B'dard said, a little louder than he normally talked.
Anakin shook his head. "When I was a Padawan, I was called such by Master Kenobi and I always called him Master. He never called me Anakin until much later."
"Your point, Skywalker?"
"First names come with familiarity, and titles like Padawan or Master come with respect. If you immediately go to a first name, it implies familiarity that he does not reciprocate, and he can take it as disrespect."
"But my master only used Padawan in reprimand."
Anakin crossed his arms. "But your master chose you. He wanted to train you, to be a mentor. I don't think that was how you and Codi came together, am I right?"
B'dard's silence was the answer Anakin needed. "Try to call him Padawan a few times. You'll see."
Anakin departed without another word.
B'dard stood, confronted by this wisdom, for several moments.
Then he turned and followed the convoy through the jungle.
XXX
Ahsoka sliced through a plant with her shoto. It hissed first, sap bubbling, then the crown of leafs tumbled to the ground with a soft thump.
She looked out over the clearing. There were no signs of droids, no gears, no grease, no recharger stations. The clearing was not natural, but not droid-made to be sure.
An electric wind swept through the area. Thunder rumbled in the distance. In her montrals she felt a wall of rain approaching. She turned to face her clones. "We make camp here."
There was a general consensus of relieved groans as the clones filed past her and into the clearing. Ahsoka chose a particularly interesting leaf to look at a Codi passed. He stared intensely forward.
The clones immediately went about unpacking the supplies from the AT-RT. Said supplies were meager, but would suffice. Rex came to her side. "General, should we not find a more suitable place?"
Ahsoka looked back with a smile. "What could be more ideal? The droids can't operate in the rain, or at least not well, and there's a monsoon coming."
The clone looked up at the darkening sky. "I'll admit, it does look ominous…"
"Precisely. So while you set up camp, I'll take on first watch."
Ahsoka could read his mind. Clones were particularly easy to read. I'm taking orders from a sixteen year old horn-head. This was not in my training. But he didn't mean it. She could tell by the peaceful blue that surrounded him in the Force.
Blue. Like Codi's-
STOP THAT! Barriss had hacked her neurons again. Thank the Force for that.
As several clones set up a tent, Codi crossed to them and said something. Ahsoka strained with the Force to hear what was said, but the conversation was over. Codi was walking away.
Heck, he was walking to the edge of the clearing.
"Codi!"
As she crossed the clearing, he turned to face her, however grudging it looked.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Out for supplies."
He turned to leave again, but she snatched a hold on his arm. "We have all of the supplies we need."
The implied message was: "Get back into the convoy!"
Codi, though, seemed deaf to the concept. Beneath her hand, she felt his arm tense, like he was trying not to smack her. Granted, she felt like she was being an ass, but he deserved it. "If you want to set up a small colony of tents which provide no visibility from the inside and let the Seperatists sneak up on and slaughter us with a single mortar shot, then yes, we do have the supplies. I, however, have something slightly different in mind."
As much as she hated to admit it, Codi was right. But she was now more curious than angry. "What do you mean?"
"Let me go, and I will show you."
Oh, well. You win this one. She released his arm, maybe a bit grudgingly, and watched him disappear into the forest.
Black.
That was when she noticed that his robes were a dark, dark brown, almost ebony. Unorthodoxy was becoming more prevalent it seemed.
Somewhere in the jungle, she heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber, and saw its blue glow reflect in the trees. There was a loud crackle, and the sound of falling timber. A few more crackling sounds followed, and then the glow ceased. Behind her, she saw the clones hard at work digging small, but deep, holes. What was the plan?
Codi emerged from the woods, telekinetically carrying nine trunks of a segmented plant. . (Author's note: Think bamboo!)His brows were furiously knotted in concentration, and a few beads of sweat dripped onto his red skin. It was surprising that he was able to do it at all. To control nine free-floating objects was no easy feat. Sure, seeing Master Yoda lift an AT-TE at the Temple during training was impressive, but that was just one object. Controlling multiple objects in levitation at once was a gift limited to the most gifted of Jedi Consulars. She just hoped a strong breeze would not come and make the task impossible.
Or even worse. Out of the blue, a neeloflight descended from the trees and landed on one of the larger segments. The branches began to shake as Codi tried to hold them up and keep the branch with the neekoflight balanced. The Force trembled as he doubled his efforts to no avail. The branches began to shake and tremble. Some began to splinter at the edges.
Calling on the Force, Ahsoka seized four of the braches, and used a fifth to club the offending neekoflight. It squawked angrily and flew away, leaving a few feathers behind.
Codi looked at her, seeming slightly stunned. Then a small smile of thanks fluttered across his features. Well, smile is too strong a word. More like, the muscles at the ends of his lips twitched, and his brow unknotted slightly.
But it was enough to make her stomach flutter.
That momentary distraction left the branches trembling in mid-air, but the sharp clacking sound that two made when they collided brought her back to reality. She steadied her grip on the poles and followed Codi back into camp. He began to plant the poles into the holes that the clones had been digging. He put the largest pole in the center. She moved around the perimeter placing the poles.
Bastion gave a few cryptic gestures to the clones and they scurried off to the mounds of tent canvas. Hooking the ends onto the tops of the poles.
The comprehension dawned on Ahsoka like a bucket of ice-water. "Oh," she exclaimed. "It's just a very BIG tent! The sides will be open for ventilation and easy sentry duty!"
Codi rolled his eyes. "Took long enough for you to riddle it out."
Scowling, she decided that Codi had been born with the gift to sour any conversation with one sentence. It must come in real handy when a Senator tries to talk to you. Besides, who understands Senators anyway?
After sinking the post rather viciously, she used the Force to aid a few clones to raise the last of the canvas not a moment too soon. The rain arrived like a celestial dam had exploded, and in a few moments, the area outside the covered ground was soaked.
A cold wind swept through the area like an intangible glacier. A roll of thunder echoed through the jungle.
Bastion strode to Ahsoka's side. "How long do you think it'll last?"
Codi grimaced. "From the feel of things, I'd guess sometime tomorrow morning. I can feel the rain going for miles."
"Rex," Ahsoka barked. "Get a fire going. If need be, get more wood out of the jungle before it gets too wet."
"Yessir!" Rex trotted off towards the other clones.
Bastion stepped forward. "I'll take the next watch sir."
Ahsoka nodded and moved into the middle of the shelter where the pile of wood was being constructed.
Codi had been right. This type of shelter was much better than the colony of tents that she had planned. The communal fire provided warmth. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Codi still standing near the edge of the shelter. His dark cloak split down the middle by a darkly striped lekku. It was beautiful. The initial flickers of the fire threw the folds of his robe into sharp relief. She looked at the back of his head, and a sudden, unexpected emotion hit her: envy. His montrals were larger than hers, even though they were about the same age. Maybe it was a male thing. It made him look powerful, perhaps demonic, but fierce and wild.
She noticed herself staring and quickly averted her gaze with a realization.
Sooner or later, she realized, she would have to confront her feelings for him.
But just how soon or late would it be?
I must apologize for taking so long to update. I can guarantee that I will finish this story, and furthermore, I might even illustrate it. Thanks for waiting patiently and not cramming the reviews page with hate mail, which I would do myself if I were following this story. Please review, I enjoy feedback!