Chapter Text
Obi-Wan Kenobi made his way down the bright hallway, his boots clicking with every step he took. Trailing behind him was a young girl; his new padawan that was introduced to him during the battle of Christophsis.
The girl stood as tall as Obi-Wan’s chin, and had a strong build. Her hair was pulled in a ponytail, with her braid resting on her right shoulder, tied with one black band and a yellow one. She wore simple beige and brown robes, nothing too fancy. Her Jedi cloak was around her shoulders, billowing in the air as she followed her Master dutifully.
“Er, Master? Where exactly are we going?” She asked, nervously fiddling with her padawan braid. She didn’t know the halls of the Negotiator that well, so naturally, she was wondering where they were going.
Obi-Wan spared her a backwards glance and gave her a small smile, “Patience, Inara. We’ll be there shortly.”
Inara frowned at her master’s vague words, but decided to just follow him around. He knew this place better than she did, after all.
After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived in front of two big doors. ‘Master Obi-Wan could have just said we were going to the bridge.’ She mentally gripes. The doors slide open to reveal a large, spacious room outfitted the the highest tech. This was the Negotiator’s Bridge.
The pair enter the room and make their way to the center where the holo-map is. Standing beside it is the Marshal Commander of the 212th. Inara hadn’t really interacted with the man—with Cody. All she really knew was some basic information explained to her by her Master.
“General Kenobi, Commander Auróus.” He said, saluting them sharply. Inara winced at the title placed in front of her name. She knew that the Padawans were to be second in command to their Masters, but she didn’t like taking the title away from Cody. He had earned the highest rank a clone could get. She felt it was unfair that she had just waltzed in and was given hers.
“Commander Cody,” She greeted, and offered him a small smile, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise, Commander.” He said back cordially. His visor tilted down, almost like he was looking at her, “It might get confusing if both of us were called that.”
“You were here first, so technically you deserve that title. You do outrank me, after all.” She said with an apologetic look, rubbing at her neck nervously.
Obi-Wan interjected their small exchange, “There’s no harm in the both of you being a commander.” He reasons, “We’ll just take extra care in who we’re addressing at the moment.”
“I suppose.” Inara hummed, “Maybe you can just call me by my name? That would make it easier.”
“We’ll workshop your title later, young one. For now, we must prepare for our next mission.” Obi-Wan expertly steers the conversation to the task at hand. Inara nods and moves in front of the holo-map as the Commander pulls up a picture of the planet they’re flying to.
“We’ll be helping out the inhabitants of the planet Kreel. They have been under attack from the Separatists for quite some time now.” Obi-Wan explains, “It’s up to us to break them free from their grasp and hopefully recruit them to the Republic’s side.”
“Where will the attack be the heaviest? Will we be heading there or will we be easing into an assault?” Inara asks, studying a map of the terrain.
“As far as we know, most of the droids have moved to the capitol. There, they can control everything. As soon as we reach Kreel, we’ll be landing a little ways away from the capitol.” Obi-Wan answers, feeling a little proud for his Padawan asking questions.
“The droids have commandeered the guard towers around the city. We’ll be dropping a few klicks away and we’ll be taking the towers out.” Cody distributed. He pulled up a 3D model of their landing spot. “We’ll have some squadrons enter the city to clear out as many clankers as they can, then we’ll take the capitol.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Inara says with a grin.
“Indeed. Nicely done, Commander.” Obi-Wan says, looking towards the clone trooper with a smile. “It looks like we still have a few hours before we reach Kreel.” He turns to his Padawan and instructs her, “You should get some rest and prepare yourself for your first mission.”
“Yes, master.” She says obediently, and excuses herself from the room. She let’s out a deep sigh and starts the trek back to her quarters. Inara has to pull up a map about a minute in because she cannot navigate this place for the life of her.
She paused in front of her door, shoulder blades tingling, and she craned her arm behind her to scratch at her back. God, her back was killing her.
She punched in her code and the door slid open. She made her way to her bed, and hung her cloak on a chair. She placed her lightsabers on the table and moved to stand in front of her mirror. She liked the way she looked, liked the way her eyes caught the light and she liked her smile. She liked the way her body was too, liked all her moles and even the way her skin pinked a little too much at her cheeks. Inara gave herself a smile, and tasked herself with removing her robes. She just needed to check on something.
She slipped off her robes and turned around, looking at her back through the mirror. On each shoulder blade was a marking that was made up of weird lines. She’d had them ever since she was little, she recalled. She had tried to look them up, to see what they were, but every search she made on the holo-net disappointed her.
Inara touched the silver markings reverently, feeling the energy pulsing underneath her skin. She didn’t know what was hidden there, but she knew that they were the reason why her species was always left blank on her ID card. Since she didn’t know what to do with them, they were stuck on her back for the time being, uncomfortable and incredibly itchy.
She slid her robes back on, fastening her belt and making sure she looked okay. After her checkup, Inara thought she would at least work on her meditation while they were making their way to Kreel. She crossed her legs and centered her hands to her abdomen, breathing in a deep sigh. She cleared her head and let her mind meld with the Force.
⋆⁺₊⋆★
After her meditation, Inara followed her master’s force signature down to the hanger where most of the troopers would be preparing for deployment.
Despite being able to feel where to go, she had to pull up a small map on her holo-pad so as to not get lost. Honestly, the long hallways were getting repetitive. She should ask her master if she could start putting some signs up.
Inara arrived at the door with no other problems and entered the spacious area, her mouth falling open in awe at the sheer size of the place. She was able to find her master quickly, and beside him stood the commander and a group of new clones. Shinies, she recalled.
“Inara! Glad you could join us. I was beginning to think I would have to use the comms again.” Obi-Wan remarked teasingly.
Inara shuddered at the thought. The last time Obi-Wan called her through her comm device was…loud, to say the least. “Master, my ears were ringing for fifteen minutes after that.”
“My voice carries.” He says with a shrug, and then clears his throat when he remembers that there are other people next to him. “Erm, right. Inara, these are the newest troops to the 212th. This will be their first time out on the field. Meet the Omnivore Squad.”
The shinies all look bright eyed and bushy tailed, roaring for some action. She studies their faces, each the same but different entirely.
“They’ll be assigned to you for the time being, my young apprentice. You’ll show them the ropes until they get the hang of things themselves.” Obi-Wan supplies. “Cody and I thought it best for them to shadow you.”
Inara makes a strangled noise and she shakes her head, “Master, I can’t lead a squad yet! I barely joined a few weeks ago!”
“You’ll be fine, Inara. We’ll be here helping you.” Obi-Wan consoles and places a comforting hand to her back. “Don’t worry, dear one.”
Inara still looked put out, but nodded ultimately. “Yes, master.”
“Go ahead and get acquainted with them. Cody and I will oversee the preparations for the mission.” Obi-Wan nudged her forward and she sent a glare his way. He just laughs and walks away with Cody.
Inara sighs and makes her way to the squad. Their shiny new armor glints underneath the lights as she moves closer.
“Commander Auróus,” The one in front says, “It’s an honor to work with you.”
“The honor is all mine.” She says with a smile. “It’s nice to meet all of you. Since we’ll be working together, I believe introductions are in order?”
The trooper at the front stepped forward and saluted her tightly. She suspected he might be the eldest one in the squad. “My name is March, sir. My ID is CT-5589.”
Inara committed his face to memory, taking in his longer, curlier hair, something that set him apart from his millions of identical brothers. She memorized his Force Signature, how it swirled and surged protectively around his batchmates.
“That’s Kan,” He says, motioning to his brother to the left of him. Kan has hair like March and a small tattoo of a flower on his right temple. Inara realizes they’re twins, with March being the older of the pair. It’s not hard finding twins. Their signatures compliment each other like nothing else.
March pats the shoulder of a clone to the right of him. He has a scar along his forehead that was covered by his bangs, and March introduces him and the clone next to him, “This is Davis, and the one on the right is Polish.”
Davis had long hair that wasn’t so curly. It was straight and it was pulled into a little ponytail. His hair was pinned behind his ears by clips and most of it covered the sizable scar on his forehead. Polish had hair that was slicked back, and some strands fell across his forehead, giving him a sort of roguish look. They both shared the same facial hair, which Inara thought was a little cute.
Just like what happened with March and Kan, Davis and Polish had similar signatures. They intertwined and pulsed in unison with each other. A little batch of brothers.
Inara smiled at the group, “You’ll do great out there. I know it.”
March looked like he wanted to say something, but he was cut off by a loud alarm. The speakers crackled loudly as a voice boomed through the ship.
‘Attention all personnel, we have entered the atmosphere of Kreel. Please report to your stations while we prepare for deployment.’
The Shinies salute their commander and rush along with their brothers to prepare for the landing. Inara gives them a short glance, before running off to find her master and the Commander.