Chapter 24
Emergence
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The First Empire Day!
It has been one year since our glorious Emperor Palpatine restored order by reforming our stagnant, corrupt Republic into the grand vision it has become. To mark this historic first anniversary of the Galactic Empire, as well as the anniversary marking our triumphant victory against both the barbaric Separatists and the tyrannical Jedi Order, the Imperial Senate has agreed, in a landslide vote, to rename the day of its inception "Empire Day".
An official holiday in honor of these events has been announced, with celebrations taking place in every central world of the Empire from the Core Worlds all the way to the Outer-Rim. The celebration was highlighted on Coruscant with flyovers by the Imperial Fleet, as well as parade marches by the Imperial Army, with the Emperor himself in attendance to oversee the festivities.
The festival was officially commenced when the Emperor himself stepped forward to speak to the people, expressing in a humble moment of gratitude that if it wasn't for them, the Empire's citizens, and their steadfast belief in him, that there would be no Empire, and no stability or safety in the galaxy. He spoke of how, without the people, the Separatists and the Jedi would still be pulling the strings behind the scenes, not for the greater good of the galaxy, but for their own greedy ends.
"If it wasn't for you, and your belief that there was a better way, then none of this would have been possible. I thank you, all of you, for your support and belief in me through both our victories, and our trials. The Separatists, though they remain, are a spent force, and the Jedi are now so few in number and so spread out that they no longer pose a threat to us. For all of this, I thank you."
Celebrations of the first Empire Day are scheduled to continue for one full week across the length and breadth of the galaxy, and early statistics show that the amount of loyal citizens taking part will be well within the trillions, from the major celebrations in the Core, all the way to the worlds of the Outer-Rim and beyond. It was our beloved Emperor who said it best amid thunderous applause.
"With the support of the people, and the guidance of this government, the Galactic Empire will flourish, strong and steadfast, against any and all threats for a thousand years. We must show our worth, our strength, our unity and our determination. If we do this, then this vision will become a reality!"
Screams echoed down the length and breadth of the hallway, resonating with such pain and anguish that it would bring a chill to the blood of anyone who heard them. Alongside the screams, acting as an undertone symphony, came other, more bone chilling sounds: the static of electricity, coupled with the hissing of machinery made for the singular purpose of bringing agonizing pain upon a sentient being.
The torture chamber was a small, spherical room, with masses of blades and machines laid out like war trophies along the walls. Fresh blood covered the gunmetal coloured walls, and a stairwell led up to a closed transparisteel door. Glowing white lights, mounted onto the ceiling of exposed piping and wiring, harshly illuminated the chamber…and the mass of torture devices which lay within.
In the centre of the chamber, being held up by nothing more than his restraints, was a single Jedi Padawan, in his late teens to early adult years, human. The young man's name was Dama Montalvo, and for the last hour he had been subjected to the brutal mechanisms of Darth Vader. His face could barely even be recognised as human, covered in blood and grime, nose broken, face swollen to the point where he could barely even see, his skin was a pot mark of black and purple bruises and broken teeth.
Vader grabbed the young man's neck, patience all but spent. He had subjected this man to days of excruciating pain and torture so that he would answer one question, a single question which had been gnawing at him with as much force as the aches which gnawed at the intersection between flesh and cybernetics. His master's attention may be on this blond haired figure, but his was on another target entirely.
He asked the question again, for the last time, "Where is Obi-Wan Kenobi?"
The young man spat out a glob of blood. The Jedi Padawan managed a smile. "If I knew... I would never tell."
Vader roared in anger, and with the slightest exertion snapped the Padawan's neck with a thunderous crack, ending his life. The Dark Lord turned away, looking down at his cybernetic arm, taken from him on the barren, magma ridden landscape of Mustafar by a man who was his former brother, and former teacher.
A voice, grandfatherly and full of disappointment, resounded through the torture chamber, "Less than well done, Lord Vader. Dead, the boy can tell us nothing."
Darth Vader looked up in time to see his master descend the steps towards the floor, dressed in his black robes, hood down to reveal just how much damage the burns of deflected force lightning had done to his visage. Where once the features held the look of an understanding and grandfatherly Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, now they were burned away, leaving pallid white skin marred by wrinkles and healing burns.
"I apologise, my master."
"You continue to chase after your former master, my son," the old Sith shook his head, gesturing for his apprentice to follow as he ascended the steps, stepping out into the long corridor of the still under construction Imperial palace. Vader hesitated for but a moment before he followed, shadowing his masters movements, "but it is a fool's errand."
Vader remained silent as his master paused, then continued.
"Forget your grievance with Kenobi my young apprentice, and stop this continuing hunt of the Jedi. They are now so few in number that they are no longer a threat to our regime. They are now an endangered species, and will continue to be hunted down until their final extinction. It is inevitable, for I have foreseen it."
"Yes, my master," Vader replied, following his master out of the corridor and onto a balcony, looking down upon the near-endless stream of life on Coruscant: endless streams of hover-cars as well as masses of people going about their daily business far below, uncaring for the change in government or for who know ruled them. They trusted in his master's words of a thousand years of peace and prosperity…the fools. All of them were fools.
"There are other, more important matters to consider, my apprentice," Palpatine added, looking over at Vader with sickly golden eyes, "I gave you another, more pressing task than to hunt Jedi. Your new primary mission is to find this second survivor, this man with blond hair who defeated you so utterly those many months ago, and bring him to Coruscant. With the capture of both of these Shinobi,our victory over all of our enemies past, present and future will be assured."
He had gotten more and more obsessed with the potential of these two over the last few months, so much so that he had forgotten just how dangerous the Jedi can be, "Master, there are only two of them. They are the last of their order. The Jedi, while weakened, still pose the greatest threat."
"How naive, my young apprentice," Sidious replied with a voice of pure, unbreakable steel, "Tell me, what do you think of his people, his culture? Do you believe them to simply be a young band that discovered their powers by chance and destroyed themselves because they did not have the proper... finesse?"
Vader did not reply. He simply waited for his master to make his feelings known.
"I have seen into this boy's mind, Lord Vader," the elder Sith Lord continued after a moment, "and I can tell you that he and his fellows are not to be underestimated. The power, the knowledge and the abilities they carry are beyond almost anything we have ever seen before. Every time I dive into his mind the more I am convinced that his order was the first."
"The first, my master?" Vader asked.
"Yes, Lord Vader, the first," Sidious replied, "I have studied his mind, and with each moment I continue to search, the more sure I become. His order's code, their practises, their sayings, their very philosophy is like a melding of every well-known warrior culture in the galaxy. I see sayings of ancient Mandalorian, practises used by the first Guardians of Kiffu, techniques used by the Guilds of Anzati assassins. This is far more than mere coincidence, my friend. We may have stumbled upon a survivor of an order who may have inspired every humanoid warrior culture from the Galactic Core to the Outer Rim."
That got Vader's attention; an order who may have had influence on every major war bound culture in the galaxy was definitely not one to underestimate, "You are sure of this, my master?"
Sidious turned to give his apprentice a withering glare, "I am sure, my young apprentice. Now, you will stop this fruitless quest of vengeance, and complete the mission I have given you: find this second man, capture him, and bring him to me. The Jedi are a dead order on life support, and I consider them to be little more than a hindrance compared to the potential danger of these Shinobi."
Vader bowed his head, "Yes, my master."
Sidious spun on his heel, and stalked from the balcony, black robes flailing behind him. Vader watched him for a moment, before turning to bring his attention to the world around him which was the centre of the known galaxy.
A clone with Commander-rank trimmings on his armour entered the balcony several minutes after his master had left, carrying a datapad in his hand. Vader idly considered tossing him from the balcony to the planet's surface some five hundred meters below, but thought better of it.
"Report, Commander," ordered the hulking Sith Lord.
The clone saluted, "Yes sir. We've been able to gain information of a possible conclave of Jedi Masters on Kessel. I believe one of the names may interest you."
Vader turned, taking the datapad from the Commander and skimming through the names. There were about eight or nine names on the list, a few of whom were well known and respected Jedi Masters within the now shattered order, but of all of those names only one stood out, third from the bottom and seemingly written with bold letters compared to the others.
Obi-wan Kenobi
She loved this. The high air may be thinner, but it was also crisper and brought with it a cold sting in her throat which she once hated, but now welcomed. She loved being up this high, seeing the grand landscape stretch out below her, from her perch atop a tall pine tree to the edge of the forest far below, to the valley of rolling hills and grass. The once-marring sight of a Star Destroyer crashed in the centre of the valley was now nearly overtaken by vines and grass as nature set its sights on reclaiming it for their own.
Ahsoka Tano took a deep breath before releasing it, watching as the mist of air rose from her mouth towards the atmosphere high above. She was dressed in a similar garb to her new teacher, finding it both more practical and more appealing than her old clothes. Her new clothes made up of a pair of black fatigues, with a charcoal-coloured armoured, sleeveless flak jacket worn over and a pair of black boots. Compared to her old choice, it was more conservative, but it got cold on this planet and the young Togruta admitted that these, what her new teacher called, Shinobi garments, were still awesome.
"Ahsoka!" The young girl looked down, smile gracing her lips when she saw the sight of one of her best friends calling and waving at her from the base of the tree she was perched upon, "It's time!"
Six months had passed already? Ahsoka almost couldn't believe it, but the more she thought about it the more she realised that six months had gone by.
The training Naruto had put the three of them through was harsh, and it did just as he promised, pushing their resolve, as well as their physical and mental limits being breached time and time again. Ahsoka had thought that by now she knew what harsh training was, but being put through this style of training had shattered that belief. He didn't even pull his punches with Aayla, and that said something about how serious he was about this.
Ahsoka had to admit that the training had changed them all, and for the better. There were times when she cursed Naruto's name, and there were times when she just wanted to give up. But she persevered and reaped the rewards from it. With time, she began to enjoy the training, getting a high every time she succeeded and laughed and ate and drank at night when it seemed like an eternal party.
Party by night, train by day.
At the beginning, she thought it was one of the worst moments of her life, but looking back now she realised that it was the best time of her life. It was exactly what she needed, and now it was coming to an end. Naruto would continue to train them from time to time, but now it was time to re-enter the galaxy and in the words of her own teacher... Go Wild.
Celeste's call awoke her from her thoughts, "Ahsoka, you alive up there!"
"I'm coming," she replied, and hopped off her perch on the tree, hopping from branch to branch with fluent motions before launching herself through the air to the next tree, landing on it perfectly before spinning on her heel to turn and call to her friend, "Race you to the bottom!"
Celeste was dressed in a similar garb to her own, the sign that the two of them had ascended in the ranks of Shinobi training from simple apprentices to full-blown, battle-ready warriors; in her case it was a pair of faded green fatigues, a leaf-green sleeveless flak jacket, and on her feet was a pair of knee-high black boots. Like her, an assortment of kunai, shuriken, steel-wire and other weapons were sheathed in her vest, as well as on her utility belt alongside a blaster pistol and a lightsaber. All three of them had the same setup in weaponry.
The older woman grinned at her, and rushed down the steep slope, three to four steps before she leaped through the air and landed on the adjacent branch on the tree across from Ahsoka's own, "You're on!"
The two of them raced, jumping from branch to branch, hitting the ground and sprinting across the rocky outcrops before making leaping jumps back up to the canopy to continue their race. The two of them had been doing this for the better part of three months, and at the moment the tally sheet was in her friend's favour, thirty-three victories to thirty-two defeats. Ahsoka wanted more than anything to beat her here and even out the score.
The two of them were now neck in neck, jumping down from the tree tops to race across the rocky outcroppings surrounding a racing river of mashing waves and foam. There was a cliff face ahead, and a large waterfall that crashed down nearly a hundred meters to a basin below. The two didn't even hesitate. They rushed to the edge and jumped with cries of jubilation and adrenaline as they dived the hundred meters, bodies levelled out to minimise impact as they dived into the choppy water, swam like they belonged there and exploded in augmented leaping jumps to the shore.
The two of them had trained to the point where they were unsure if they were using the force or their chakra when they were on these adrenaline-rushing races. Both were now second nature to them. They didn't break their strides as they continued on, running across the ground for a few moments before jumping back up to the branches above to continue their race. Sweat glistened from their brows, but neither slowed their pace.
They were having too much fun for that.
They reached a large body of water, the result of one of many smaller streams which forked out from the main river. Ahsoka could remember many a time when she and Rex would fish in this exact alcove, gained many a good catch too. It was also a favourite meditating place for the third member of their gang.
"Aayla!"
Speak of the devil.
Their sister was meditating in the centre of the pool, using both the force and her own chakra in unison to keep her a foot above the calm water. She sat there with her eyes closed, body relaxed and legs crossed in a basic meditation stance. Each of the three of them excelled in their own fields, but Aayla was taking her control a step higher than the rest of them, using the last month to experiment in ways to merge both the force and chakra, to use them together in correlation and harmony.
Her style of dress was almost the same as Celeste, with her faded green fatigues and healthy leaf-green Chūnin vest, but instead of wearing boots like her two fellow Jedi she wore a pair of black Shinobi sandals, almost exactly like the ones Naruto had taken to wearing. It was also obvious by the way that her clothes clung to her, that her choice of garb was a size too small for her at least, but it seemed to look right on her all the same.
Her eyes fluttered open, and with a turn of her head, she looked over at them with a serene smile. It was a strange thing. It seemed as their training progressed both Aayla and Celeste seemed to get more beautiful, they were positively glowing now at the end of the training period, but Ahsoka doubted she looked the same. She would eventually realise that she had the same healthy glow as her two sisters, and that she was also growing in more ways than one.
"I know," Aayla called from her sitting position, "Our time here is almost over!"
"Care for a race?" Ahsoka called with a cheeky smile.
Aayla shook her head with a bemused smile, "I'll travel down the mountain like any normal person, besides if I joined now then I would probably win!"
"Good point," Celeste breathed. The two of them looked like they had stopped more to catch their breath than to talk to her, "We'll see you at the bottom then."
Aayla raised her hand in a wave, "Have fun, and let me know who wins."
"You got it!" Ahsoka called back, and the two of them were off again, racing each other through the tree tops as they rushed down the tree-covered mountain base towards the valley beyond. The wrecked remains of the Intervention were their final destination, and the Will of Firewhich was hidden under its impressive tattered hull.
Aayla shook her head at the antics of the duo before looking down at the calm water between her crossed legs for a long moment, "You heard them, I take it?"
A head escaped from the water's cold embrace, golden locks and expressive yet slightly mischievous blue eyes caught her chocolate brown as his head surfaced between her crossed legs. Aayla frowned at him, embarrassment made known by the slight curl of her lekku and the darkening of her cheeks.
"I heard them," Naruto replied with a smile before he added with a cheeky grin, "I like looking up at you from this angle."
Aayla pouted down at him before putting her hand on top of his head and with a sudden thrust sent him back into the water. She jumped to her feet, pumping just the right amount of chakra into her soles to keep her on the water's surface before jumping back. Not a moment too soon either as Naruto exploded from the water, body rising three meters into the air before gravity brought him back down. Her mate and teacher landed in a crouch, skidding across the water's surface for a scant moment, making crevices in the once still surface which rippled across the pool, before coming to a stop and looking back at her with a mock-hurt expression.
"That wasn't very nice."
Aayla stuck her tongue out cheekily at him before breaking out in a laugh. Six months after she had decided to break the rules and be with him and she was still finding what she was doing so strange and uncharted, "Race you to the bottom!"
"You're on, my lady!"
The two of them rushed through the forest in their own race, but the race was different from the one Celeste and Ahsoka went on. This was considered simpler in regard, or not, it depended on ones point of view. Aayla would run, and Naruto would try to catch her before she reached the ripped apart remains of the Intervention.At the moment, it was standing with Naruto at the lead with eleven, and Aayla trailing behind at eight.
Aayla ran down the mountainside, fluently and gracefully passing by tree trunk after tree trunk, smiling as she felt through the force her mate easily keeping up with her. She wasn't surprised. The only times she won was when she put her whole being into it, using the terrain, using the trees, the water, the rocks and her newfound powers to keep her hidden as she moved.
This time she wasn't doing any of that. This time she wanted him to catch her.
He caught her just as she was nearing the end of the tree line, diving through the air and putting his arms around her in an embrace. Aayla laughed as the two of them tumbled across the rolling slope, putting her full faith in her beloved to keep her safe from any protruding outcrop of rock or any trunk of a tree. The two of them rolled for a moment before coming to a stop at the base of the hill, at the end of the last line of trees, but just far enough within the foliage to keep them hidden. He had come out better from their little tussle, lying on top of her, face buried into the crook of her neck.
"I love this smell," Naruto murmured into her ear. It made Aayla's lekku curl to hear his musky voice.
"What smell?" she asked, knowing full well what he was talking about.
"Your smell," he replied as he traced kisses from her jaw down her neck. Aayla hummed at the contact, enjoying every moment, "It doesn't matter how much you sweat or how much dirt gets in the way…to me you'll always smell like desert flowers."
"I wish we could stay here longer," Aayla murmured as she kissed his nose.
"Me too," Naruto replied as he hugged her close, resting his head against the crook of her neck and kissing it ever so gently. "But our time's almost up. We'll know when the meeting takes place, and Quinlan has said that he wants both you and Celeste there."
"But we're both Knights, I doubt we'll have much say in our next move."
"You're both Knights," Naruto agreed. "But according to both Vos and Tholme you are a Master in all but name."
"Really?" she asked in surprise.
"Quinlan told me that before he left the Order he was going to recommend you to begin the trials of the Master…" Naruto replied, looking into her eyes, "…and you would make a fine Master. In Shinobi terms, you're already a Jōnin."
"Really?" Aayla asked.
"Absolutely," Naruto replied without a moment of hesitation, "You're as strong now as my first teacher, Kakashi Hatake was when he began the trials. You are ready to be considered a Jōnin-level Shinobi."
"Thank you," she replied, pulling him down into an embrace.
Eriadu was one of many city-worlds in the Outer Rim. It's surface covered by a mass of urban factories, cities and sprawls. It was considered by many to be one of the closest systems to inherit the title of the 'Coruscant of the Outer Rim' because of its leaders will to make it so and its position at the centre of several important trading routes.
The only problem with this idea was that the planet's government placed this potential gain above everything else, including their world's own environment, and the investment in important technology to keep the planet from becoming a centre of pollution and waste: technology like atmosphere scrubbers, aquifer purifiers and water disposal systems. Living standards within this system were at an all-time low if you did not have the money to life in the wealthier quarters, and the death toll in the slums and poorer sectors were almost unbelievable.
Tsui Choi had been too many such systems, but of them all, Eriadu was considered perhaps one of the absolute worst. He had been stationed here with his small army of clone troopers and officers, a protective shield against the many worlds surrounded by systems such as Sullust, Mayagil and Sluis Van, which had switched allegiances to the Separatists during the Clone Wars. Together, he and those under his command had repelled several invasion attempts on this one of a handful of bastions that had continued to support the Republic.
Now he was considered an enemy of the system, and he was on the run from the very soldiers he had once commanded. Ever since Order 66 had been issued he had survived and hid himself in the underground of this vast, dirty, corrupt city-world, using every trick in his many years of life to outmanoeuvre and outsmart his assailants.
It wasn't so easy this time though. This time he was being hunted by the very clone out of his former army who knew him best, who knew exactly where he would go to ground and was willing to make the tough and inhumane choices to smoke him out. How many people had died who were under nothing more than the most minor of suspicions of helping him? It truly broke his heart to think of the number of innocent people who had died in this system.
"Keep searching," his former second-in-command ordered to his unit of elite troopers, "while Order 66 is still in effect we will continue to do our duty!"
The five-man squad rounded a corner, obviously tailing their quarry thanks to the probe droid he had destroyed just a moment ago. He was able to destroy it before it got far enough to give reconnaissance on the end of the alley. The Clone commander and his loyal foot soldiers had no idea that the alley led to a dead end, and into his trap.
"Back away," the commander ordered when they came to a dead end, "The Jedi cannot have gone far!"
He had no idea that the Jedi was right above him, descending fast, and landing right behind his small column of troopers. The diminutive figure, barely reaching the height of one of the clone's thighs, was as fast as lightning as he struck with precise swings from his azure-bladed weapon, "Maybe we're not so easy to take down when we know who our enemies are!"
His movements were flawless and without equal, a near match to the spinning, almost-floating battle dance of Master Yoda himself. As he moved with surprising speed and agility among the surprised clones he also made sure that they did not know what hit them. He killed each one with quick, precise and deadly movements with the aid of his lightsaber. The last clone to die was his own former second-in-command, ending his life with a perfect decapitating slice from his weapon.
The five clones eliminated, Jedi Master Tsui Choi looked around for a moment before closing down his weapon and clipping it to his utility belt. He looked around, searching for any potential material to scavenge and seeing none which caught his wizened old eyes.
"You certainly haven't lost your finesse, Master Choi."
The old Aleena Jedi Master spun around, un-activated blade of his lightsaber held ready in his clawed hands, only for the weapon to lower at the sight of the woman before him. She was a human, native to Kuat with shoulder length raven black hair, tanned skin, slanted lids and dark eyes. Choi looked at the image of Bultar Swan and smiled for the first time in a long time. The woman before him was perhaps one of the strongest-willed Jedi he had ever met, not to mention one of the most honourable. She kept to her ideals through thick and thin, and so had earned his respect many years ago.
"Bultar Swan," he greeted, truly happy to see another Jedi alive. The first Jedi he had met since Order 66 was given, "I am truly relieved to see you in one piece," he finished as he moved to the woman to embrace her.
Swan returned his embrace, a smile gracing her lips as she pulled away, "And I you, Master Choi."
Tsui Choi lowered his head and shook it, "I have heard the reports…the temple…all of the younglings…I have heard them for some time. I began to think that none of us were left alive."
He said this to her because out of all of the Jedi she was one of the ones he considered a true friend. The two of them had fought together through numerous battles, and had worked together on missions well before the outbreak of war. They had even been friendly to each other outside of mission briefs, shared meals and spoken frankly to each other. She was one Jedi whom he would trust without hesitation.
"There are those of us left alive, Master Choi," Swan replied with a smile, "The Jedi are not dead yet. Our will has not been dissolved. An invitation was sent to me about a conclave of Masters on Kessel. I was about to go, but I do not wish to go alone. You're presence there would undoubtedly be a positive influence."
Choi thought about it for a moment, before nodding his head, "Very well, I will travel with you to Kessel, and see what can be done."
"So…who won?" Naruto asked as the two of them reached the edge of the ruin which was once a Republic warship. Celeste was sitting on a piece of durasteel debris, looking up at them with a tired but triumphant grin.
"Me, that's who," she replied as she lay back against the stone wall, "the kid put some fight into it, but I beat her by three seconds."
"So you're two ahead?" Aayla asked with a small smile, "She will challenge you the next chance she gets."
"Bring it on, I say," Celeste replied, looking to Ahsoka with a grin of her own.
Naruto laughed at her behaviour before making his way towards the Will of Fire,passing through a small ensemble of crosses and memorials, remembering not the dead of the original species of the planet but those of the Republic who died fighting the Separatists for this small rock.
At the front row was a line of crosses remembering the Jedi who died on this field, seven in all. One of them stood out, as it was slightly larger than the rest. The name of Adi Gallia was imprinted on the front of the largest gravestone, former Master serving on the Jedi High Council, considered by all who knew her, including Aayla and Ahsoka, the latter only knowing of her by reputation, to be a righteous and merciful hand. It must have been a silent relief to the two of them that the gravestones on this planet for fallen Jedi had not been desecrated like so many others.
Rex was waiting for them at the base of the freighter's landing ramp, dressed in a simple cream-coloured tunic, brown pants and black boots all smudged with grease and grim. While Naruto trained the three Jedi over the last six months, the former Captain had declined training under Naruto for the time being, opting instead to use his time to familiarise himself with the ship and serving as the team's gopher: making supply runs to the nearest civilised system that was not under close Imperial scrutiny for any additional supplies they needed. He, of course, kept his fitness up with his own training regime, and he did always make himself available for any sparring that the others performed, though after a while, he found himself simply outmatched by the Jedi/Shinobi, including Ahsoka. He would later curse himself for not taking Naruto up on his offer of training them. Though he supposed he could start training with the next "class" that Naruto (and the other three) would train.
"Is it time?" he asked as Naruto approached.
The blond grinned in response, slapping him on the shoulder as he passed by, "You bet it's time."
"Finally," Rex replied with a sigh before turning on his heel and following the unofficial Captain up the ramp, "I was starting to get restless."
"Well now you have the chance to put that armour of yours back on and try out some of your new toys," Naruto replied as he walked down the corridor to the common room, sidestepping just in time to stop a collision as Aayla and Celeste rushed past to man their respective posts on the bridge. He looked at the few tables, covered in smudged white cloth, full of spare parts, "By the Sage, it's messier in here than usual."
"Just finished fine-tuning the ventral and dorsal ball turrets," Rex replied, watching as Naruto created a handful of clones to move the machine parts back into storage. "They're ready, by the way. Reload time will be quicker, range has been doubled, and turns will be more acute."
"Rex, you are a god," Naruto laughed, "Does this basically mean that our ship now has the firepower of a corvette?"
"Indeed it does, chief," Rex replied with a smirk, "and the speed of a fighter while we're at it."
"Fantastic!" Naruto grinned at the thought before bringing his attention back to the present by the sound of his beloved's melodic voice.
"I'm guessing you two are talking about those new toys in the storage hold?" Aayla asked as she entered the room, wandering up to Naruto and greeting him with a kiss on the tip of his nose.
Naruto countered with a quick kiss onto her forehead before laughing, "Ahh, you know us too well, my love."
Aayla, while smiling at Naruto's affectionate address of her, shook her head in bemusement before sending a pleading look Rex's way, "Please don't get him started."
The Captain smirked a little in response, "No promises, Lady Secura."
Naruto smirked at her. Both Aayla and Rex had managed to get over the small barricades they had erected over each other at the beginning of the training. Ever since they had taken the chance to get to know each other, and Aayla had found after time training, eating and living with Rex that maybe she could learn to trust a Clone again to watch her back. There were still a few blocks, mainly Rex's insistence on calling her by honorific's like Lady or Ma'am, though thankfully he had stopped calling her General soon after they landed.
"Did we get that message we were waiting for?" Aayla asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Rex replied with a nod, "It was just an hour ago as I was setting her down. The meeting point will be held on Kashyyyk, in a week's time."
"Kashyyyk isn't far from here; in fact, it's in the neighbouring region," Aayla murmured, "If we leave from here, we could make it there with at least four days to spare."
"I'm afraid we may have to make a detour," Rex spoke up, watching as both Captain and Vice-Captain, still unofficial, of course, turned their attention back to him, "I was able to make contact with the underground as you requested, Lady Secura."
"That's good. So, what's the latest?"
"Well, there is a smaller conclave of Jedi taking place on Kessel, two days from now…" Rex replied, sighing as he scratched the back of his head, "…and the Empire is on to them. There are unconfirmed reports that Darth Vader, himself, is being sent to eliminate them, and that his time of arrival would be just before the meeting is scheduled to take place."
"Well, that isn't good," Naruto murmured as he folded his arms.
"Indeed, it isn't."
"Kessel would be two days from here if we maxed out the hyperdrive," Aayla whispered thoughtfully, "Do we know who will be there?"
"The information on who will be there is sketchy, but it'll be between five and ten Jedi, most likely Masters. The few they were able to confirm as possible attendees include Masters Bultar Swan, Roblio Darte, Tsui Choi and Koffi Arana."
"Important people, I take it?" Naruto asked with a thoughtful frown.
Aayla looked over at him with a small smile, "Haven't you read up on the Order's Masters yet?"
"Me?" Naruto looked a little surprised by her response, "I'm still reading up on the Great Galactic War!"
"How have you only gotten as far as the Great Galactic War? That was three thousand years ago," Rex asked with a bemused smile.
"Revan was awesome," Naruto retorted with a stubborn show of pride. "He was so awesome that I had to reread his life account just so I could make sure he was as awesome as I thought he was."
Rex sighed before turning to the female of the trio, "I thought you were keeping him on track."
"Not my fault," Aayla replied simply, folding her arms under her bust and shaking her head in a mixture of amusement and bemusement, "Every single time he comes across an account of a Jedi who turned Sith then turned back to become a Jedi, he gets hooked. First it was Ulic Qel-Droma, then it was Bastilla Shan, then it was Revan and don't even get me started on the chronicles of Zayne Carrick!"
"I read that one three times," Naruto grinned, "It was an awesome account, full of suspense and loss and tragedy, but with hope and redemption and love. I had to reread it three times to understand everything, and he not only redeemed himself and placed the blame on those who deserved it, but he decided to leave the Order anyway and fell in love with the heroine."
"He talks about it as if it's fiction," Aayla murmured in disbelief, "And then Celeste got in on it and it went completely out of control."
"How so?"
"She was there; she actually knew Carrick and company on a personal level," the Twi'lek replied flatly, "She got really into it after she was imprisoned in that Sith Sarcophagus. I swear, more than once, I heard her shouting things like, 'Kiss her, you bastard!' and, 'I don't remember him being this indecisive!'."
"So…she basically got into it as much as Naruto?"
"I swear there were times when I thought she got into it more than Naruto," Aayla found herself massaging her temple as she spoke, "the moment Carrick kissed that Arkanian Offshoot…Jeseel, I think her name was?…there was a round of applause coming from the cabin. A. Round. Of. Applause!"
"Can someone please explain to me how important these Masters are?" Naruto asked in a deadpan voice.
"They're masters; that should say it all," Rex replied flatly.
"So would we still be going if we found out that they were younglings?"
"Of course, we would!" Aayla replied, sounding a little insulted by the way he said it.
"Then let's go. We can talk about Celeste's and my reading preferences on the way," Naruto threw his hands into the air in silent frustration, spinning on his heel and calling out with all of his might for the other two members of his crew to hear him, "Ahsoka, Celeste, we're taking a detour!"
Author Note 1: The first upload was the unbeta'd version, which I mixed up with the uncorrected original and setup. This is the completed version, so sorry about that. Thanks to my reader for pointed it out.
Author Note 2: To any die-hard Star Wars fans out there I know I'm setting up the Conclave of Kessel a year later than in canon but I feel that these characters will have a positive impact on the story, plus I thought they were cool, and if that doesn't impress you well...
Author Note 3:Right, hoped you all enjoyed the update and now unto more unhappy news. This story will be taking a little sojourn of a couple of weeks. I have been having a few changes in my life lately, mainly my new job and the fact that the Christmas holiday is coming up... I'm working on Christmas day... can you BELIEVE THAT! Okay it'll be triple time but still it's CHRISTMAS!
Sorry, had to rant there... anyway there's other reason why I'm putting the story on a few weeks holiday, another reason is that I'm in the middle of creating a one-shot dealing with the middle of the six months training session. The story won't be of the training session itself but of something I think you'll all enjoy, one of Naruto confessing to Aayla what he has buried inside him, the fight against his dark half and so on. This will be a one-shot, but it will also have an important impact on the future of the story. I'll let you guess what it is...