Naira accepted another cup of spicebrew from Grobba the Hutt as she listened to her battalion talk about what they'd been up to while she and Domino were away on Kamino. Her attention was divided between their regaling and thinking about the upcoming mission. It had only been a few minutes since she sent Casino to help Kenla with the encrypted disc the Mikkian had found, and now Naira couldn't stop thinking about how much more suspicious the whole thing had become. All she wanted to do was enjoy the last week of leave that had been rightfully owed to her and her men, but instead, she was playing police droid for the Jedi Council. She decided to stop thinking about it for now and enjoy her one night of freedom.

"That's not what happened," Wild Card was contradicting something Naira had missed, "It was a simple misunderstanding."

"That 'misunderstanding' nearly separated your head from your shoulders," Quads, the battalion's chief medical officer, pointed out snidely, "You're lucky the Wookiee's lady-friend was able to regain her senses before you became a half meter shorter."

"The lady was choking, for Kamino's sake! I was trying to save her life—which I did, by the way—so why the hell did the furball feel the need to attack me?"

"I don't think it's about what you did, Wild Card," Naira said, suppressing a laugh, "but about what the Wookiee thought you were doing."

Wild Card raised a questioning brow at her, clearly not grasping her meaning, and it was all Naira could do to not think about how uncomfortably younger he looked than the rest of the clones. The fact that he wore his brown hair longer and in a low tail didn't help matters, nor did the knowledge that he was "born" two years after his brothers. Despite being fully-grown men, most of the soldiers of Clone Battalion Seventy-Seven—if not the entire Grand Army of the Republic—were only eleven-standard-years-old…Wild Card was eight. Babies straight out of the pram, Naira thought dismally, ruminating on a conversation she had with Domino just last week, it's so unfair.

"You should brush up on your Shyriiwook, Wild Card," Black Jack said, breaking Naira from her reverie, "He was accusing you of trying to mate with the Twi'lek woman."

"That is hardly my problem," Wild Card sneered, rolling his eyes, "If he'd been present at her side rather than allow drink and gambling to entice him away, maybe he could have helped her instead."

He took a long pull from his spicebrew as his brothers chuckled at his misfortune. Naira smiled warmly and pushed her empty mug away, signaling for a refill. It was time for a change of topic.

"Well," she said, taking the full cup back, "hopefully this week will have a few less misunderstandings for you. Any plans for the remainder of leave?"

Everyone went uneasily quiet at that, exchanging uncertain glances with one another. Naira gave them a confused look, her beverage hovering inches from her lips.

"You haven't heard?" Domino asked cautiously.

"Heard what?"

There was a sudden edge in the Togruta's voice that would have made a normal man flinch. They collectively turned to look at Domino who seemed as annoyed as Naira sounded.

"Why am I even surprised by this?" the clone commander sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I received the order around the same time as your summons to the Temple, I assumed they would have told you. We are to report to General Skywalker at oh-nine hundred tomorrow morning."

"Anakin?" Naira blurted incredulously, "What the hell kind of mission is he going on that he needs another six hundred men in addition to the 501st?"

"We, uh…don't know, sir. For security reasons, they aren't telling us anything until we reach our destination."

"And," Monte added, his naturally soft voice just loud enough to be heard, "it's not just us and the 501st. General Kenobi and the 212th will be on this assignment as well as Admiral Yularen's fleet."

"I don't like it one bit," 8-Ball griped.

"What else is new?" Roulette chuckled then added sheepishly: "Not that I disagree this time…"

"This is different from my…typical complaints. The 501st and 212th are being deployed with their own generals while we are being separated from ours. It makes no sense no matter what angle you look from. There's something suspicious going on, and this 'mission' is just a smokescreen to keep us from asking too many questions about it."

Naira frowned as she considered 8-Ball's theory. His unapologetically cynical view of the world around him was the primary reason Naira wanted him on her command squad. Every man in the Flush brought a unique perspective to the tactical approach the 77th took on the battlefield, but 8-Ball had a special knack for pointing out every way a plan could potentially go wrong. That had the interesting side effect of making him suspicious of almost every order given outside the usual chain of command, and he was validated about ninety percent of the time. Naira was certain this instance would be no different. Even so, what could any of them do about it? Defying the Council was a good way to get the 77th removed from Naira's command. Feels like they've already done that, she worried, Why didn't the Council inform me of this in session? There has to be a good reason…right?

"You don't think they're considering reassigning us, do you?" Wild Card asked suddenly, "Putting us under new command?"

No one answered. They were all obviously thinking the same thing but didn't want to voice it. Some troopers outside the command squad overheard the inquiry and began exchanging concerned whispers. Despite sharing some of their worries, Naira knew she needed to take control of the situation before any unfounded rumors were born and spread. Before she could say anything, however, Domino banged his fist on the bar for attention.

"Alright, boys, listen up!" he commanded, "I know we're all on edge in regard to our most recent deployment orders, but we don'' need to put extra undue stress upon ourselves or General Raadii with baseless assumptions. Our combat record under Raadii's leadership is still one of the best in the entire Grand Army; that alone should be enough to quell any fears about being reassigned. Besides, I doubt they would have requested Casino be on Raadii's team if that were the case. With that said, anyone caught spreading misinformation about this is going to find himself on a charge, end of discussion. Are we clear?"

Various unenthusiastic acknowledgments cascaded around the room before melting back into casual conversations. Satisfied, Domino sat beside Naira to enjoy another spicebrew. The pub's proprietor, Grobellara Verzeuzz Treneu—or just "Grobba the Hutt"—joined them and raised a glass to Domino.

"Wedd spokiin, Dohmeeno," she praised, "House wod doo orra porud[1]."

Domino shrugged modestly. "You give me too much credit," he chuckled, "I'm not nearly as charismatic as he was."

"Nonsense!" Naira chastised him playfully, "He had always been impressed by how you handled discourse in the ranks. This would have been no different."

"You think so?"

"I know so," she winked as she took a sip of her drink, "I also know it's unwise to dismiss a Hutt's compliment out of pocket like that."

Domino winced as he glanced at Grobba, her chubby arms crossed over her chest and her face devoid of expression. She was a good-natured Hutt most days, but she was still a Hutt with strong connections to organizations many considered "illicit."

"Uh, sorry about that, Grobba," Domino apologized, "I meant no offense."

Grobba held her impassive gaze and rubbed her chin. For a moment, it seemed she was going to voice her displeasure but instead, she laughed a deep bellow that made her slug-like body jiggle all over. "Nobata appen tohkiin, me bukie!" she chuckled, "besh…uba keekah soh…balnoba dal la howana ugeama[2]."

"Er, yes, ma'am—I mean, no, ma'am…won't happen again."

Naira held back a laugh with all the discipline she could muster as Grobba teasingly humbled the clone. Once the ribbing subsided, Grobba turned to the Jedi.

"Ateem, amee shans uta-sha meesho oetailoh et mor eteeza az bu bakis?" she asked conspiratorially, "Jee doo shah shulu ateem dourd eeraano 'meeleetahee sacrataan' si add mah bonto bee-bee![3]"

"Only if your idea of 'exciting' is 'unbridled frustration," Naira said, rolling her eyes, "if so, I can share until you're as annoyed as I am, seeing as the Council didn't explicitly say that the directive was classified."

Grobba chuckled as though she had been handed a challenge. She refilled naira and Domino's cups then poured some Ardees for herself as she settled in for the "briefing." Naira let out a weary sigh and gave the basic facts of the mission. She assumed the Hutt would get bored quickly, but to her surprise, Grobba's interest only seemed to grow.

"Ah metten soocha, uba saee?" she mused curiously, "Und nrom bu Jeedai Arsheevo, nobata litt. Necafesafuu. Bel uba howana ban doo bu kordaetteh bah beet luts wrudlah[4]?"

Naira raised a brow at her with incredulity. She wasn't exactly surprised by Grobba's inquest as it was in her nature to gather as much information and knowledge as she could to pass on to Family Treneu's Conclave. However, Grobba was also an outlier among her people. She had served her Conclave so well in her youth that she was proudly allowed to leave the Treneu family business to pursue her own ventures without being cut off from the family. She was no longer obligated to report to them, but she often did as a sincere "thank you" for her retirement. In turn, the Family passed Grobba valuable information that aided the Republic. She only ever shared that knowledge with Naira and Domino though, as she had unofficially—and unilaterally—declared the 77th Clone Battalion and their Jedi General to be part of her family.

The look on Naira's face informed Grobba of the Jedi's disapproval, but she simply laughed it off. She waved a hand dismissively at her young friend and poured herself another Ardees. "Nobata rith iru oqoleyeko, Naheerah," she bellowed, "Ahbaah ahhd, uta-sha Kownseel wod doo sha foonda Kahmeeno vor ah preenva Lorda Keenohbee nah yuan keekahsoleg chubasid ba Jeedai Odahroo.[5]"

"Perhaps," Naira agreed with a shrug, "but Master Kenobi tends to seek Council approval before he so much as sneezes. Still…with all the information being withheld by the Council, any help will be useful. Usual price, I assume?"

Grobba nodded as Naira produced a thousand-credit datary and slid it across the bar. Simultaneously, the Hutt passed her datapad over to the Jedi. Naira discretely inputted the planetary coordinates into the device, nodding a confirmation when she was done. Grobba returned the gesture and left her guests to their drinks.

"Probably should have forbade her from letting the Conclave claim trading rights with this new planet until after your mission," Domino joked as he downed the last of his drink, "Would be rather awkward if you showed up to find Treneu representatives already moving in."

"I like to think," Naira countered, "that Grobba has more tact than that. If not, we're fairly certain that should the planet be inhabited, it would be by hostiles, and I'm betting the Treneu's mercenaries wouldn't last long against the natives."

They shared a knowing laugh before Domino excused himself to round up the boys and end the night. Naira nodded in acknowledgement and pulled out her datapad to study her own mission. To her annoyance, there wasn't much to study that hadn't been discussed at the meeting. This file simply restated that a planet had gone missing from the Archives, and no one knew who removed it, how, or why. Naira had to restrain the urge to roll her eyes as she thought about the odd fact that the Council wouldn't have even known about this had Chancellor Palpatine not lost an entire investigation team and escort causing him to run to the Jedi for help. That made Naira's mind suddenly light up like a supernova. She had been so distracted by the Council's omissions that it never occurred to her that this seemingly insignificant exchange could be, at least partially, the key to solving this mystery. She looked around to find that Monte and 8-Ball had not yet departed, so she waved them down to join her, hoping their unique perspectives could shine a brighter light on this conundrum.

Monte and 8-Ball were the textbook definition of "polar opposites." Where 8-Ball was a vocal cynic with a general distrust of any authority that avoided front-line combat, Monte was more of a silent observer who mentally collected data by listening to everything around him. While 8-Ball kept his head clean-shaven to show off his namesake billiard ball tattoo, Monte sported the familiar flattop of Jang Fett, the clone template, as well as a soul patch on his chin. 8-Ball tended to speak slightly louder than necessary while Monte's voice was rarely, if ever, louder than a Dejarik commentator. Both men had been selected for Naira's command squad out of the battalion's Bluffcheck Company, which was made up of soldiers who specialized in night ops and guerilla tactics. If anyone could poke holes in this mystery, it would be them.

"So…" 8-Ball mused as he finished reading and passed the datapad to Monte, "no one else found any of that strange? I mean, not only did the Office of the Chancellor suddenly 'find' this planet, but he doesn't confide in anyone until after it was determined that the team he sent a month before had gone missing only three days after arrival…I assume I'm reading this correctly."

Naira shrugged and confirmed: "That's pretty much it."

"We don't have any units patrolling that far into the Outer Rim," Monte half-whispered, "Why would anyone in the Chancellor's circle even think about checking? It's much too close to the Unknown Regions and has not strategic advantages that could outweigh the potential dangers."

"And why wait so long to report it?" 8-Ball reiterated, "What are they trying to hide, and from whom are they trying to hide it?"

Naira smiled to herself. She knew she could rely on Monte and 8-Ball to ask the right questions and provide an insight Naira wouldn't have otherwise considered. What are they trying to hide, she mentally repeated, and from whom are they trying to hide it? She contemplated those words carefully and decided Dejarik was not the game being played here. Instead, this was a more obscure game that favored pure chance over strategy, which meant Naira's usual tactics wouldn't be of much use. Luckily, she was an old hand at this game, albeit only slightly less skilled than her game of choice.

"I haven't played Pazaak since I was a youngling," she snickered, mostly to herself.

"Sir?" Monte inquired in confusion.

"This mission—" Naira explained, "my mission—is playing out like Pazaak. There isn't any sort of strategy, just the luck of the draw and a lot of hidden cards. So far, every hand I've had has gone bust."

"Hardly your fault," 8-Ball shrugged, "It's difficult to win a game you didn't even know you were playing."

"Precisely. But now, I do know thanks to you two. I'm still a long way from solving the mystery, but at least now I'm pointing in the right direction."

"Always happy to assist, General," Monte smirked, "Anything else we can do to make that path a little clearer?"

Naira thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. "Nothing you boys would have time for," she said, "Head back to the barracks and get some rest for your own mission. I'll come by and see you all off in the morning."

The two clones nodded and joined their brothers as they exited the bar. About the same time, Casino was walking in, having completed his assignment for Jedi Knight Kenla. He glanced back in confusion at the departing soldiers as he made his way to the bar.

"What did I miss?" he asked, sitting on the stool beside Naira, "And what's with the mass exodus?"

Naira nearly jumped out of her skin. She had been so engrossed in her research that she hadn't sensed Casino's approach. At least, that's what she tried to convince herself had happened. Deep down, she knew she wasn't actually startled…she was nervous. She had spent nearly five months trying to control feelings she had developed for the sergeant fairly early in the war, and for the most part, she had been handling it well. She buried herself in her role as the commanding officer of her battalion, focusing all her energy on her duty to her men, the Republic, and the Jedi Order that she was too busy to dwell on anything else. She didn't have that luxury at the moment. Sure, she had this upcoming mission to think about, but since she wasn't officially on duty, she had allowed her personal barriers to fall…or maybe she had one too many spicebrews.

Naira quickly composed herself and discreetly pushed her half-empty mug away from her. "Oh, they went back to the barracks," she managed calmly if a bit shaky, "They are deploying with Generals Kenobi and Skywalker tomorrow morning."

"What?" Casino asked, "When did that happen?"

"Apparently the moment Dom and I got back from Kamino, but the brass decided to wait until we were busy with the Council to deliver the orders. It's incredibly suspicious, and yet I am more upset that I had not been informed of this decision before Dom. Not that I can do anything about it now, but it's almost as though the chain of command has gone to hell. Anyway, were you able to help Kenla?"

Casino smirked. "As if there were any doubt," he bragged, "but if I'm being honest, the method of encryption was a bit strange, and—"

Naira held her hand up to stop him. "Sorry," she said wearily, "but I've had my fill of suspicious activity for the week. What matters is that you were successful. You can tell me more about it tomorrow if you want, but right now, I just want to pretend like there's no war going on and enjoy my last few hours of peace."

"As you wish, General," Casino acquiesced as he waved Grobba down for a drink, "I'll just stick to basic intel until then. Is there anything I need to know about Lolani Idariel before I meet her tomorrow?"

Naira shrugged as she packed her datapad up. "Nothing of note," she said, "Master Idariel is one of only a handful of Jedi who declined participation in the war as a general, citing that the Council of First Knowledge was of more use to the Republic in non-combat roles. Frankly, I agree with her. She's an educator, not a soldier, and before that, she was an explorer. She'd been on dozens of missions that would discover a significant number of new planets that eventually and inevitably joined the Republic."

A look of concentrated curiosity overtook Casino's features. "Ah, yes," he pondered, "the Pau'an called her the 'Caretaker of First Knowledge. What does that mean, exactly?"

"Well, the entire Council of First Knowledge is comprised of the most revered scholars, explorers, scientists, and doctors within the Order. The Caretaker is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Jedi Archives by ensuring all files are up-to-date, factual, and orderly. This task is typically delegated to the Chief Librarian, but only after the Caretaker has verified the facts are with minimal or no errors. That's about the extent of my knowledge."

"So…they would have unlimited access to the Archives?"

The way Casino asked this question gave Naira pause. It was innocent curiosity on the surface, but she had long since learned to read between the lines with her troops. The sergeant had used the term "they" as though he were asking about every individual who had ever held the Caretaker title, but it was obvious—at least to Naira—that he meant Master Idariel specifically. There wasn't anyone else, and there hadn't been for nearly a century. Naira didn't like the implication, but the more she thought about it, the more she found she couldn't dismiss it. There was no way Master Idariel was even suspected in this crime, but she did not yet have the luxury to make that claim.

"All masters have unlimited access," she explained, "The have free run of the Library and can enter sections that are otherwise restricted to the rest of us. I had once assumed that the Council of First Knowledge were the only ones who could modify, add, or remove entries until it was discovered that High Councilman Master Sifo-Dyas was responsible for deleting Kamino's planetary data. Needless to say, it's difficult to believe in the Order's presumed checks and balances with that knowledge."

"No kidding! How can you trust anyone in a system like that?"

Naira shrugged helplessly but didn't say anything. She had always been the inquisitorial type, questioning anything and everything she didn't fully understand, but up until this war started, she'd never felt the need to scrutinize the heads of the Order. She couldn't be certain that things would be different if she had, but at least she'd have a slightly better understanding of the Council's motives. That was a moot point now, and it did her and her team little good to dwell on it.

"Our best bet is to rely on our own intellect and talents to solve this," she said, officially deciding not to take her drink back up tonight, "We've solved problems with way less support from the leadership before."

"Sure," Casino chuckled, "but we usually solved those problems with blasters and heavy ordnance."

"Then we'll only need to be slightly more clever than usual this time."

She gave him a warm smile as she rose from the bar. In turn, Casino raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Leaving already?" he asked.

"We have an early flight to catch," Naira answered, "Might as well get as much sleep as possible tonight. We want to be well-prepared for whatever may be waiting for us on the Outer Rim. I'll see you at oh-eight hundred."

With that, she set another datary on the counter to cover everyone's drinks then made her way out of Grobba's Dive. Casino sighed forlornly and returned to his drink, only mildly grateful that there were no other clones around to tell him what a fool he was. Unfortunately, that did not stop him from silently haranguing himself, nor did it prevent him from noticing the bartender's approach.

"Don't look at me like that," he said without looking up from his drink.

"Lakkun haku[6]?" Grobba asked with obviously feigned innocence.

"Like you pity me."

"Piitee? Nobata. Jee bal noh piitee uba, Caaseenoh. Jee bal gushu uba or akkin bu beesga. Uba cou sheeshu bee bejah oom-al trubahl uba keekah soh.[7]"

"Hah! You're the only one who sees sense."

"Bal jee? Huwayoo? Meehaoo jee va noh feddin uba haku uba octioddee huuja luor[8]?"

Casino looked at her with uncertainty. He realized he didn't actually know what he wanted to hear. Did he really want to be assured that he had the right to pursue what he wanted, regulations be damned? He wasn't sure. Even if he did want that, he knew better than to expect that kind of sentiment from Grobba. She was far too pragmatic for that.

Casino's silence prompted Grobba to lean in close so that only she and the clone could hear. "Chep-hah ot jeesh, mah bukie," she spoke firmly yet sympathetically, "an chep-hah gooah, meehaoo haku jee ma ooout ot saee widd shulu uneq ot urne. Uta-sha boorothaha domuun huuja uba ot shuku hobbie. Droobo'c nobatin deevun dpao bettap, besh droi nerag aopuhpayu ooout haku bettap hobbioojah wod wamma.[9]"

"What's to think about?" Casino asked with a wry chuckle, "the consequences for fraternizing are laid out very clearly in the regs. Whether or not they thought about it is academic since they obviously think it's worth any risk."

"Ah, besh bal uba[10]?"

The clone took a long pull from his drink, stalling for time as he thought about his response. After a moment, he sighed and answered: "If it were just my own arse on the line, absolutely, but it's not. We'd both be jeopardizing everything we've worked for."

"Besh wob uba sheeshu shulu hobbie?[11]"

"I…don't know. I'd like to think so, but—"

"Guurah bu alestioh si'noh wathar ro noh lo'z wui bu reeost. Bu alestioh si haku wod uba ohno moor: beetin beejah trubahl rof bokutin ah dopa bevosah, ro oolayoon lo safa an sha keekah sahen haku cod doo suulun?[12]"

That gave Casino considerable pause. How did he answer that? It wasn't something he had considered before, and now he realized that question would be incubating in the back of his mind for the entirety of the mission. It wouldn't distract him from his duties, of course, but damn, any off time would be inundated with all the "what if's" and "if not's." Worse yet, he wouldn't have anyone to offload to for however long this assignment would last.

His thoughts were interrupted by Grobba topping off his spicebrew. "Beet bo'z nop bu hoozah," she said gently, "Lo wa-hu bee uba uta-sha answah, besh ta lesset lo widd tak bu eejah ooffoh[13]."

And she was right. No brew had ever made him feel quite as relaxed, and none ever would again.

1 Huttese - "Well spoken, Domino. House would've been proud."

2 Huttese – "No offense taken, my boy! But…you know…don't let it happen again."

3 Huttese – "So, any chance your mission details are more exciting than the boys'? I've never been so bored hearing 'military secrets' in all my life!"

4 Huttese – "A missing planet, you say? And from the Jedi Archives, no less. Fascinating. Do you happen to have the coordinates to this lost world?"

5 Huttese – "No need for suspicion, Naira. After all, your Council would have never found Kamino had a certain Master Kenobi not sought knowledge outside the Jedi Order."

6 Huttese - "Like what?"

7 Huttese - "Pity? No. I do not pity you, Casino. I do feel you are acting the fool. You could both get into real trouble, you know."

8 Huttese - "Do I? Why? Because I'm not telling you what you actually want to hear?"

9 Huttese - "Listen to me, my boy, and listen good, because what I am about to say will be hard to hear. Your brothers just want you to be happy. There's nothing wrong with that, but they aren't thinking about what that happiness would cost."

10 Huttese - "Ah, but do you?"

11 Huttese - "But would you both be happy?"

12 Huttese - "Then the question isn't whether or not it's worth the risk. The question is what would you regret more: getting in trouble for breaking a couple of rules or playing it safe and never knowing what could have been?"

13 Huttese - "This one's on the house. It won't get you your answers, but at least it will take the edge off."