The following day, Jedi Archives, 1026 hours
In the vast expanse of the Jedi Archives, Chiru sat immersed in her research. Surrounded by stacks of data tapes and holobooks, she sought information about the elusive Bloodclaw Cartel. To her surprise, and disappointment, her search yielded sparse results. Scant fragments revealed that the Bloodclaw Cartel had emerged as a splinter group following the collapse of the Nihil during the High Republic era. The following years of relative peace allowed the Cartel to grow in the shadows as it evaded the attention of the Judicial Forces and the Jedi Order alike, both of whom had grown complacent in the years before the Clone Wars. Yet, despite her persistent efforts, Chiru discovered no substantial records detailing their organizational structure, location of their headquarters or alliances with other criminal organizations. Adding to the mystery, the only mention she found of Vol Yumpag was in a report by the Republic Correctional Authority of a mass escape from the Coruscant Industrial Zone Detention Center, although that report was almost two centuries old. The mystery of the Bloodclaw Cartel only deepened, urging Chiru to spend the night scouring the Jedi Archives unraveling the mystery of the Bloodclaw.
"Well, I'm not sure what else could be expected of her," Master Fisto said with a smirk as he saw the young Pantoran, her head resting on her crossed arms.
Exhaustion had taken its toll on her and she had fallen asleep in her seat and on top of the table's computer terminal, while the stacks of data tapes and holobooks covered her from view of anyone who might have interrupted her.
"When searching for knowledge, one must remember to rest from time to time," Master Nu noted, her expression a mix of amusement and sternness as she watched the sleeping Pantoran drool on the sleeve of her tunic and bite on strands of her disheveled purple hair.
"I will make sure to remind her. Thank you, Madame Jocasta." The two Jedi Masters bowed at each other. The Chief Librarian walked away as the Nautolan approached Aturo, then rested his hand on her shoulder and shook her lightly.
"Rise and shine, young one," he whispered to the Jedi Knight, who stirred in her sleep.
Chiru's eyes fluttered open, her gaze still groggy and unfocused. She blinked a few times, trying to make sense of her surroundings. As the presence of Master Fisto registered, a mixture of embarrassment and surprise washed over her face. She quickly straightened herself, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
"M-Master Fisto, I... I'm sorry," Chiru stammered, her voice laced with both weariness and sheepishness.
"It happens to the best of us. However, I do wonder what's the reason behind this?" the Nautolan asked with a smile as he sat in the chair opposite Chiru's and nodded to the stacks of holobooks.
A yawn escaped her as she stretched in her seat, her right arm sore from both the previous day's exercise and her uncomfortable sleeping position.
"The Master Chief and I just raided an arms dealer on Kafrene who warned us about a turf war between two rival syndicates. I was supposed to find out more about them, but I guess I lost track of time." She appeared hesitant to ask her next question, but her curiosity and lack of proper sleep got the best of her. "Master, if I may, how did you meet the Master Chief?"
The Nautolan relaxed in his seat and smiled, assuring the Pantoran that her curiosity was not out of place.
"In the aftermath of Geonosis, Akiva had been invaded and a droid factory was built in the catacombs beneath the capital city. My forces were ill-prepared to attack the city, but the Master Chief and his father aided us in scouting the capital's defenses."
"So you met Colonel Jansek?" Aturo asked, and sleep left her as she heard once more about the revered Mandalorian.
"I did," said Master Fisto, remembering the chaos of that day. "It was thanks to his knowledge and expertise that our victory was swift. A high price was paid for Akiva's freedom, but without them it would have been higher. Much higher."
Aturo was now fully immersed in the story and she leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table. She felt like a youngling as she heard the Jedi Master's praise for the Mandalorians.
"Tell me more about the Colonel."
The Nautolan stopped, his inviting demeanor replaced by an uncharacteristically somber attitude. Chiru could sense his conflicting emotions, but she restrained herself from using her Force powers to search his mind out of respect for Master Fisto. After a moment of silence he reached for a nearby datapad and inserted his personal code, then opened a file inaccessible for Aturo despite her security clearance as a Jedi General.
"This is all I can share with you. The rest of the story is not mine to tell."
The Pantoran hesitantly took the datapad in her hands and began reading the award citation for the man she had been told so much about. With each word, the legend of the Colonel grew. He was a hero in a time of need, and to those he inspired with his bravery he was nothing short of a god among men.
With the chain of command destroyed and Republic forces in disarray, Lieutenant Colonel Jansek took command of the remaining forces and managed to maintain order and discipline among his troops through his calm and efficient leadership. Against all odds and with allied reinforcements unaware of the Separatist blockade in Gyndine's orbit, he then led a desperate strike team in a daring plan to infiltrate the Separatist blockade and destroy the enemy fleet from the inside using an improvised explosive device. Although almost the entire strike team had been killed in action by this point and the device's timer had been damaged beyond repair, Lieutenant Colonel Jansek volunteered without hesitation to stay behind and manually activate the explosive charge, despite the full knowledge that doing so would result in certain death for himself. His sacrifice resulted in the complete destruction of the enemy blockade and ensured the recapture of the planet by Republic forces shortly thereafter, turning what could have been a crushing defeat into a decisive victory.
For his aforementioned actions during the battle of Gyndine, the High Command of the Grand Army of the Republic presents the Star of Coruscant combat medal to Lieutenant Colonel Hamar Jansek for bravery of the highest order in the presence of the enemy. Throughout the whole course of the battle, Lieutenant Colonel Jansek showed superb gallantry and fearless personal leadership, thereby maintaining morale high despite the circumstances. It is for these reasons that a posthumous promotion to the rank of Colonel has also been awarded in accordance with chapter IX, section II, article VI of the Regulation Manual on Promotion & Rank Advancement. His actions and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of certain death are the utmost example for the entirety of the Grand Army and are in keeping with the values of the Republic we give our lives to defend.
"An entire fleet?" Aturo asked in astonishment, her gaze lifting from the datapad to look at Master Fisto.
The Nautolan nodded solemnly, and Chiru now began to see the Mandalorians in a different light. She was a Knight of the Jedi Order, blessed by the Force with abilities only imaginable to most. But despite not receiving such a favor themselves, the Mandalorians had proven to be the greatest warriors the galaxy had ever seen. They had the determination to achieve their goals and the strength to defeat anyone who might oppose them. And when those two qualities were combined, they became an unstoppable force unlike anything else in the galaxy.
Her left vambrace chimed off, bringing her out of her thoughts as she read the time in the datapad screen.
"Kriff," she muttered to herself as she got up and rushed out of the Archives as she was running late to meet with Karel in the battalion's headquarters.
"Watch your language," the Jedi Master playfully scolded her, thinking she might be learning the wrong aspects of being a soldier.
"Sorry, Master," she shouted back as she rushed out of the Temple Library. Her gaze returned to the hallway ahead of her and she just barely managed to dodge a group of younglings led by Master Velti. She quickly apologized to them, then ran off to meet the Master Chief.
A few moments later, Fang Company barracks
Chiru's heart raced as she hurried through the corridors of the battalion headquarters, her footsteps echoing in the hallways. The commandos of Blixus Squad greeted her as she walked past them, but she ignored them as she focused on untangling her hair.
With a sigh, Chiru ducked into a nearby refresher. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror, her purple hair sticking out in all directions and the sleeve of her tunic stained by her drool. Frantically, she tried to smooth it down with her hands, but it seemed to resist every attempt.
"I can't let him see me like this," she muttered to herself, frustration etched on her face. She stopped untangling her hair momentarily, silently wondering why she suddenly cared about her appearance when she was with Karel. After a moment she shook her head and pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. Whatever her half-awake brain was doing it was clearly not thinking straight. She splashed her face with water from the sink, then dried it with her clean sleeve. Hastily, she moved a few unruly strands of hair out of her face, doing her best to create a semblance of order.
Feeling slightly more presentable, Chiru resumed her brisk pace. As she walked past an open door, she could hear the sounds of laughter and boisterous cheers echoing through the air. Intrigued, Chiru took a few steps backwards and spied on a rather unexpected sight. The barracks courtyard was host to an improvised, but spirited game of some kind. Strips of plastoid tape marked the limits of the rectangular field and all around it were clone commandos gathered to watch their comrades compete against each other.
"What's all this?" she asked as she approached a group of clones gathered next to one of the scoring zones at the end of the pitch.
The clones turned to look back at the Pantoran standing behind them. One of them seemed surprised to see someone like her in a military base, and judging by how clean and undamaged his armor was Chiru guessed he was a rookie. The inexperienced commando leaned towards one of his brothers with black and light blue markings. The veteran clone explained who she was, and the rookie immediately sprang to his feet and saluted at her.
"General Aturo, sir!"
"Stand down, rookie," said the more experienced commando as he noticed the shiny had attracted the attention of the other clones around them. For his part the rookie was visibly confused by his brother's relaxed and carefree attitude in front of a Jedi General, though he said nothing as he turned to face Aturo. "Sorry, General. He just arrived from Kamino and hasn't learnt how we do things around here."
Chiru smiled at the two clones, feeling the sense of brotherhood growing between them as it does among all clone troopers.
"Sergeant Hesh, is it?" she asked the veteran commando, to which he replied affirmatively. "What game is that? I don't believe I have seen it before."
"Just a match of get'shuk to blow off some steam, General. It's been a while since most of us had some R&R so we try to make good use of it."
Two lines of three commandos each stood in front of one another close to the scoring zone on the other side of the pitch. The men on each line bound together so there was no gap between them and then crouched in front of one another. Another two men stood next to the group and one of them threw a ball similar in shape to the head of a B1 battle droid into the gap formed between the two lines. As soon as he did the men on each side of the scrum thrust forward, pushing against each other with all their might as they tried to push the ball to their respective sides using their feet as their brothers cheered for them from the sidelines.
"Did you come up with this game yourselves?" she asked, glancing at the clone at her side.
"No, the Chief introduced it to us on Kamino; it's our favorite game."
The scrum eventually broke and the ball emerged on the far side. A commando swiftly took it in his hands and passed it backwards to his teammate. The crowd cheered as the play continued, the ball passing from one player to another. In the fast-paced exchange the occasional tackle brought players crashing to the ground, but they always released the ball just in time and the play continued. The ball carrier was now cornered by two opponents, but they played into his hands and he tossed the ball just as they closed in on him. From the right side, a figure materialized with astonishing speed, seamlessly snatching the ball mid-air and sprinting toward the distant goal. Dodging and weaving through the opposing team, he evaded their attempts to catch him as he hugged the left sideline.
Chiru's gaze fixated on Karel. His every move was a masterful display of precision, agility and grace, and his kama flowed freely. The spectators erupted with conflicting emotions, some urging him to reach the scoring zone, while others desperately cried for someone to halt his progress. Among the pursuing pack was Charger, known for his unmatched speed.
Charger soared through the air, his fingertips grazing the Mandalorian's kama, a fleeting touch that only deepened his frustration. But in the blink of an eye, Karel effortlessly slipped away, leaving Charger sprawled on the ground, defeated. With his path cleared, Karel reached the goal and touched the ball to the ground, scoring for his team.
Both the clones watching and his teammates erupted in celebration, but he paid them no attention as he noticed Chiru standing on the right side of the scoring zone. Their eyes met and time seemed to grind to a halt as she raised her hand to greet him. He stood, staring at her as she stood under the morning sun of Coruscant. Its light illuminated her hair as it flew freely and Karel couldn't help but find it captivating. An awkward smile crossed Chiru's face, and Karel couldn't help but smile back under his helmet. It came slowly, but it was genuine.
As he stood there lost in thought, without warning, a pair of strong arms seized him around the waist and he found himself tackled to the ground. Hard. That broke the trance. Karel's helmet rolled off his head and he scowled, the air in his lungs being forced out as he was partially crushed under duraplast armor.
"What the hell, Charger?!" he shouted as soon as he recovered from the hit. He got on his feet, glancing at the clone who had tackled him. "The play was over!"
"Expect the unexpected, Chief," Charger replied, satisfied with his revenge.
"You piece of rakeweed..."
Furious at the commando's remark, Karel rushed him and the two men began wrestling in the courtyard. The commando soon regretted his decision as Karel managed to put him in a chokehold thanks to his superior training and despite the clone's larger size.
"Karel?"
Chiru's gentle voice calling for him distracted Karel and Charger managed to release himself from his grasp. Turning at her, the two locked eyes once more and Karel stood up to his full height.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, concerned for his safety.
"I'm okay," he said as he brushed off the scraped paint from his shoulder plate.
Not having learnt his lesson, Charger whistled at the pair. The Master Chief turned towards the clone once more and glared daggers at him. He took a resolute step towards the commando, determined to actually kill him this time, but a small blue hand holding his shoulder was enough to stop him as Chiru stepped in front of him.
"Why don't we go meet your contact? We still have a case to work," she said, trying to appear calm and collected as she averted his gaze and tried to hide the soft indigo blush painting her cheeks.
Karel relaxed visibly under her touch, but not before shooting a last glare at Charger. His helmet lay discarded to the side and Chiru pulled it into her hands using the Force, then offered it back to the Mandalorian. He nodded tightly as he turned away and put his helmet on, then began walking away with Chiru next to him.