Good evening all,

I hope you all are enjoying the story so far. I know there is not much of a following but I am determined to keep moving forward for the love of these characters I bring to life – I hope you all find some peace in this writing as well.

It is always good to hear from you all.

Happy Writing,

Eliana

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"Ahsoka, you know that they're starting to follow us right?"

"I know."

"…how does this not creep you out? Buncha weirdo silent guys poking out from the trees like possessed demon kin…"

That bitter rambling actually made her laugh aloud as she led her friend through the maze of trees, their boots rustling the grass and fallen leaves in the path beneath their feet. Eddy wasn't lying, their unexpected guests were indeed following them and growing more numerous by the minute – but even though Ahsoka didn't recognize these particular men, she could recognize a clone and an ally from a good distance away. They had done a good job of staying out of sight for a while but then made their presence known when she and Eddy broke the treeline, not bothering to even attempt to conceal their presence as they walked behind and beside them. They weren't there to harm them; they were protecting them.

"They're friends," she told the doctor calmly, adjusting the strap of the bag that pulled on her shoulder.

"How are you so sure of that?" the man whispered back to her, his eyes casting a weary look around to the clones who were half hidden in shadow who, oddly enough, weren't looking back at them. They were only focused on the land in front of and behind them.

"We're being escorted," Ahsoka explained to him, gesturing with her hand to the top of the ridge that they approached.

It took Eddy a long moment, but then he realized the sheer number of weapons that pointed out to the distance with their clone handlers eying the terrain around them. Force, they were completely surrounded, and he hadn't noticed. Their armor was so different from the clones he had met before, reminding him of the armor he had seen in the old history texts from his school years. White, red, and purple were their colors… and he had to wonder what significance that held. They were the perfect blend of colors to become part of the Shilian landscape.

"If they meant us harm, we would never have known they were here. There's been plenty of opportunity."

"But they aren't your guys?"

"Nope." She said it with such a joyful tone that he couldn't help but shoot her an exasperated look.

"Then how do you know that they don't have orders to harm us?!"

"We're still alive."

Well….okay, he didn't have a comeback to that, so he settled into trudging alongside his young friend. They finally climbed to the top of the mossy, shaded, gorgeously green ridge and stepped back out into the fading light of the sun, both appreciating the small breeze that came to greet them. Eddy picked up on the changed body language of his companion the moment she saw the trio white-armored clones that approached, their helmets clutched loosely by their sides.

These looked more like the clones he had seen before.

"Good to see you, Commander," the middle clone spoke to her with a salute.

"Hey there Rex," she returned happily, gesturing to her fellow Togruta, "Rex, this is Eddy, he's the representative that the senator requested. Eddy, this is Captain Rex," she gestured to the captain who nodded his hellos, "Trooper Hardcase," the clone on the right gave a curt nod, "and Trooper Medic Kix."

"Good to meet you, sir," Kix stated as he gave a half-step forward, "As Commander Tano stated my name is Kix, I'm a medic with the GAR's 501st. I have been looking after your youngling since she was brought to us and I'm happy to inform she is in good hands. When the generals give the all-clear I will be happy to reintroduce you."

"You have my thanks, medic Kix," the Togruta told him with a bow of his head, turning to Ahsoka as she spoke again.

"I take it that this means General Skywalker is nearby?"

"On the top of the adjoining ridge, Commander. Please follow us."

The two newcomers were happy to follow, their old escort staying well behind and melding into the treeline. So, Eddy coached himself, the white-armored clones were Ahsoka's. The ones with the white, red, and purple light armor that looked so different weren't. But if they weren't with her, what were they doing out here? Shili was his home, but it was far from a popular tourist destination, especially if the tourists were armed. And armored. And clones. …. Yeah, it struck him as odd.

This entire situation was odd, really, and his head gave a slight pounding in protest as he pondered over it. Not three rotations ago he had been planning to take his first vacation in a couple years and now here he was, trudging through some spirit-forsaken forest up a mountain with a young woman he hadn't seen in three years while having blasters pointed at his face. Ahsoka seemed less than bothered by it but oddly that didn't help him. She had changed so much that his heart panged in painful affection, but it also ached to see one so young so unbothered by weapons and armies.

"Just this way, sirs," Rex spoke again as he led them past a wall of the differently-armored clones who didn't so much as twitch at them as they stared out along the wildlands and trees.

"I hardly think I deserve to be addressed as 'sir', I'm not in the army," Eddy weighed aloud, surprised when Ahsoka gave him a wry smile.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it. It's kind of a default, honestly – and you'll be struggling up hill to change it," she called to one of the clones with a grin, "right, Kix?"

"That is correct, sir."

Eddy hid his laughter behind his hand at Ahsoka's lighthearted: "See?", his attention turning into interest when the clones leading them came to a halt and moved to the side. A man he hadn't seen in some time was standing just on the other side, reaching to shake Eddy's hand with the strongest grip he had felt in a while.

"Good to see you again, Ed," Anakin greeted him warmly, "Thanks for going along with this… unplanned rollercoaster ride."

"Most interesting time I've had in ages, Master Skywalker. It's been a worthwhile trade to see this little chaos-bringer again," was the amused response, his gesture to Ahsoka making her puff out her cheeks and cross her arms at him.

"Try dealing with her all the time, she gets to be headache-inducing," Anakin held a hand out to cut off the spicy protest that began to bubble its way out of his apprentice, "I'm going to have Kix and Hardcase escort you over to where Kachina is – she's been with these guys since she got here, she knocked out a bit ago. Kix has got her in a good place. She's comfortable. I would invite you to the briefing, but I think she needs you more. Kix, Hardcase?"

"Of course, General. Follow us please, representative."

The Togruta man was quick to follow the two clones over to another grouping of both sets of clones, leaving Ahsoka with Anakin and Rex. Almost immediately the air around them changed to a sudden serious heaviness, the padawan glancing between the both of them as she prompted silently for answers. When they presented none, she decided to push.

"Master, what is happening? Who are these clones? Who was that messenger – better yet, who was in that hologram with you? Why are you here? Why did we have to walk –"

"Slow down, Snips," Anakin appeased her with his hands raised in a gesture of calm, his own reassurance leeching through their bond as he convinced her to momentarily stop her line of questioning.

He gestured to the unfamiliar clones.

"These clones are from a separate legion. When we reach our destination, I can explain more… this isn't really the place. Same goes for our allies; the messenger and the Jedi you are about to meet need to hold their anonymity for a little while. It's for all of our safety, and we're going to leave it at that for now – all you really need to know is that the mission is the same for every single one of us here. As for what's going on…"

He cast a glance at the foreign clones behind him who formed a wall, then back to her with a jerk of his head in an indication to follow. She did with Rex not far behind. She had lost count at twenty-five of these foreign clones… yet had only counted three of her own, plus maybe another four near Kachina. It was strange to feel so bewildered, and after a long moment of grappling with the feeling she released it into the Force. The sun had finally set, her eyes adjusting to the sole source of light that was emanating from the mobile holovid console they approached.

Past the guarding wall of clones stood that mysterious Jedi she had seen on the video disc, that snowy white hair that she had spied before peaking from beneath the hood and tickling the black face mask underneath. That was a new feature that wasn't there before, the lined stitching of the cover forming the head of a rabbit would have stuck out to her immediately had it been there prior. She shook her stupor when Anakin stopped three paces from the cloaked Jedi, and she felt herself fall into a respectful bow.

"Greetings, Master."

"Greetings, padawan," the man spoke to her, his voice a bell-chime of a tenor. That voice sounded so very distantly familiar, so hauntingly right that it shook her to her core. Where had she heard that voice before?

"Let's get started," her master's voice drew her attention and she found herself hovering over to stand between Rex and the mystery Jedi.

The vid popped to life with a terrain map of Shili, a triangle planting itself where they currently stood and an orange circle highlighting a space about two standard miles away.

"We're currently here," Anakin spoke, gesturing to the triangle, "We're going to travel tonight by clone escort to here," he pointed out the highlighting circle, "We'll call this space Point Purpose. We're moving by foot only, we need to keep a low profile along the shadow of the mountain."

He looked to his padawan.

"There are six of our gunships waiting there with some of the 501st, along with some of our ally's men. We're going to hold this position until we can get the all-clear to leave."

"Wait…Master, if we have gunships on the ground, why are we moving by foot? Wouldn't it be more efficient to fly?"

"Trackers, Commander," Rex supplied, pressing a button on the portable holovid to alter the image to several strangers that Ahsoka didn't recognize, "These bogies were all terminated in the last hour by our fellow clones – for obvious reasons we have to assume that there's more, so keeping low sight is best."

She gave a nod of understanding, watching the images in front of her shift again into some unknown valley between two mountains. She could only assume that there was a good reason that they were going there and not off world as quickly as they could.

"We've designated this valley Point Purpose – it's going to be our forward camp for a few rotations as we gather as much information as we can. There's been some kind of signal jamming that isn't from our end going on and it's slowing down our ability to make strategic moves. Our best option is to deal with these trackers, meet at Point Purpose, and hold out until the Council finds a way to reach us or our ally's troops manager to get useful intelligence."

She could feel the eyes of the cloaked Jedi, who she had decided to nickname 'Rabbit' because of his mask (it seemed so much better than calling him 'the cloak guy'), on her and she turned slightly to spy at his head that remained slightly bowed in front of the video.

"Ask your question, padawan," his voice met her montrals kindly.

After a slight hesitation, she did.

"I was just…thinking, Master. The last time we were in these lands no one could use the Force until my friend and I healed from our…injuries, and even then it was just us. But everyone seems fine now…" she trailed off in her rambling, and then looked to Rabbit again who waited patiently, "And…if it's so urgent for us to get off planet, I know the trackers are a problem until we reach the gunships… we could just get to them then get off the planet, right?"

Rabbit was hiding his Force signature, that much was sure – if she wasn't looking straight at the Jedi she wouldn't have known that he was a Jedi at all. She couldn't read him but somehow, she could feel his smile underneath the mask and cloak that he wore.

"Very perceptive, Padawan Tano. You speak of the Bloodlands. Only those strong in the living Force, or children of the Chosen, can access the Force that your world offers. Your Master," Rabbit gestured to Anakin, "And I are strong enough to be able to connect enough with the Living Force here to at least utilize the basics. That is enough. As for your other question…"

One gauntlet-protected hand reached down to turn off the holovid, shrouding them all in the light of the five moons.

"As much as we would all enjoy simply leaving the planet until we know more, there is…one," he held up a single index finger to illustrate, "little problem."

His finger rotated to point above them all as his head tilted back, driving his point.

"You see that?"

She did now, Ahsoka had to admit. In the darkness of night even a blind man could have seen the array of flashing blue and red that blanketed the sky, the tiny specks of Jedi Cruisers and unknown ships clashing with vibrant ferocity. How had things escalated so quickly?

"It's becoming a free-for-all, Snips," Anakin told her as he took in the scene as well, "I'll explain more when we get to Point Purpose but… whoever your renegade friends were brought their buddies with them. And they just keep coming. We got some of the 501st down but we can't leave until that mess is sorted or get any other men through."

"We need to move quickly, sir."

"Right you are, Rex," Skywalker agreed, looking across the table to Rabbit, "Still feel up to a run, old friend?"

Ahsoka almost swore she could hear the chuckle though the man didn't move.

"As I am always, Master Skywalker."

Rabbit raised his right hand to snap his index and forefinger, a sharp call in a dialect Ahsoka didn't know – and the reaction was immediate. The protective wall of clones gathered themselves to four rows, those guarding the treeline coming at the echoed call from their brothers to join the ranks as quickly as they could. Thirty-one was the final count, the padawan told herself – thirty-one of these other clones with their strange armor and weapons were assembled in front of her, and she could still spy Kix and Hardcase and her handful of troops just off to the side with her friend. If this was a full-scale actual invasion, they were horribly outnumbered.

"Praetorian," Rabbit ordered, and one foreign clone stepped forward to stand at attention near them all.

He gestured from the clone to herself, Anakin, and Rex.

"This is one of my Praetorians: Campion. He will run these ranks in my absence – his orders are to guide you all and his men to our forward camp. Please consider him, and these men, at your call."

The hooded head turned to the clone.

"Ready to get this moving?"

"Of course, sir."

"Master," Ahsoka drew his attention, "You said: 'in your absence'. You're not coming with us?"

"He'll be running interference, Ahsoka. Those trackers will be on us quick, and our best option is to just move faster than they can," Anakin explained, having folded up the tiny portable holo-vid and was currently strapping it to Rex's pack as the clone gestured down to his two clones, prompting them to gather the two Togruta they guarded and join him, "Low profile is best. We just have to keep the group off the radar and the attention elsewhere until we can reach backup."

"Our enemies believe there to be two Jedi," Rabbit spoke evenly, his robe fluttering as he calmly strode past Ahsoka to where his men stood waiting. He half turned so he could fix her with an odd gaze from below his hood, "So we will present them with two Jedi."

"Two?"

His answer was a move of his mask when he faced away from her, two fingers raising to his lips to sound a trilling whistle that rumbled her montrals. She felt along them in response to the odd sensation, aiming to soothe the oddity – when that call from before sounded again. The call she had felt in the hospital came again, a soft vocal tone accompanied by a low-pitch rumble that drew her attention straight through the valley that the lined clones all turned to create… she and Eddy both had felt it and now they focused sharply on the stranger that came trotting elegantly toward them.

The Rabbit's clones all faced to salute the approaching cloaked Jedi, forming a straight-walled valley that led them straight to where they all waited. Numbly, she pondered where exactly they had been hiding this whole time and why it was that they chose to not engage in the briefing.

It was almost like watching a movie in slow motion, seeing those robes sway as they moved, a loose clinking of durasteel, armor, and weaponry marking every precisely placed step that propelled them forward. She couldn't see this Jedi's face either nor could she get a read on them, all she could tell as they came to a halt between the attentive clones was that they were Togruta. Very few species held the body shape that they did, their montrals and lekku moving their hood further up their head than any human would. Their face was well hidden behind a mask just like Rabbit had – but to call out the difference, the tribal fox marking stuck out to her. She could pick up their scent on the tickling breeze, a mix of sandalwood and koiya flowers that seemed so significant… but so distant.

She decided she would call this one Fox, a fitting name for one who had so craftily made their way through their prior 'prison' and made it out here with hardly a wrinkle in their robe.

"We will run some interference for you. I'm sure that the potential of capturing two Jedi will be far too tempting for them to resist – should they decide to engage, we will lead them off and handle the situation as necessary."

"We will be ready to provide cover whenever needed, sir," Rex supplied as he pulled his helmet on, visored eyes focused on the two cloaked Jedi. He held his blaster ready, almost eager to offer to run interference with them.

"I thank you, Captain Rex, but there will be no need. We merely aim to provide some well-needed confusion and you all have your directives… and besides, they will have to catch us first."

Rabbit turned to his troops.

"Jackals, ears on."

They all spoke an affirmative, hands reaching up to activate controls mounted on their helmets. Rabbit reached down to activate his own from his wrist control.

"Praetorian, marker."

Campion gave a curt "yes, sir" and switched on a control on his wrist gauntlet, releasing a soft pulsing that Ahsoka could feel rumbling up her arms and through her montrals like a vibrating tickle.

Satisfied, Rabbit and Fox both turned to their fellow Jedi and their guests, folding their arms with curt bows. Rabbit spoke again.

"May the Force be with you all. We will see you to Point Purpose – stick to the shadows," then, to his shorter companion, "What do you say we cause a little chaos?"

Their answer was slight toss of the covered head, what felt like an excited trill, and the shifting of stance. At Anakin and Ahsoka's returned goodbye they were off like hunting shadows, off the ridge and melding into the distant treeline before the padawan could attempt to decipher more. As the group began to move, the two remaining Jedi and their troopers guiding their guests through the rocky terrain while surrounded by the attentive column of fellow clones, Ahsoka and Eddy shared a long look. They both seemed to share the same thought – they were under watch of something they swore they knew.

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That does it for installment 4 of the Makings of Grey, folks. I am having a lot of fun with this, so hopefully it continues to grow that way. There isn't much in the way of following on here but I am choosing to pursue this story for the love of the characters I have made – I hope you all love them just as much!

Happy Writing,

Eliana