Chapter Text
“What do you mean you don’t think it’s a good idea?!”
“It’s not a good idea.”
Chocolate brown eyes flashed with anger as the girl huffed and slung her pack over her shoulder. She glared up at the older man standing across from her. His brown hair was threaded with gray, his expression worn with years of regret.
“You can’t just say it’s not a good idea and leave it at that,” she snapped, “You were my age when you left Mandalore and started bounty hunting! Now you’re THE Kal Skirata: famous bounty hunter,” She adjusted the pack’s shoulder strap, jaw set. Kal sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. She wasn’t a child anymore, legally, at least. But that didn’t make this any easier for him.
“Arina,” he said quietly, “It’s not that simple. I was a different person then. You saw how being a bounty hunter affected my life! I mean, look where we are now! I had to fake my own death so I could have some kind of peace and to give you a better life!” The years of stress showed on his face. I know it’s not an easy life, but I can’t stay on Kamino any longer, or I’m going to lose it! Arina slowly released the breath she had been holding. She dropped the pack from her shoulder and sat on the plain white sofa in their barracks.
“Buir, do you remember when we first came to Kamino?” Arina asked, patting the empty space on the sofa next to her.
“ Of course I do. We had been moving from place to place after I adopted you when my sister, Serina, died. Jango offered me the position to train the commandos here, and I took it. It provided you with a secure place to grow up, and I was able to train you alongside the cadets,” Kal stated, taking the offered seat.
“Yes, but I was only 10 years old. I haven’t left this planet in 8 years, Buir! If I stay any longer, I’m going to go crazy! I need to explore the universe and discover things on my own. I want to make a difference, but for now, I need to make money to survive out there. The only way I can do that is by bounty hunting.”
Kal remained silent, staring at the pristine white floor of the Kamino facility, as he clasped his hands together and leaned forward in his seat. Arina sighed and took Kal’s actions as a sign to take her leave. The conversation was over. She slung the pack onto her back and walked towards the sliding door.
“Ar’ika…”
She turned to see Kal slowly walking towards her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Just be safe. I know I’ve trained you well, so you'd better bring your shebs back in one piece.”
Arina smiled as wide as her mouth would let her and hugged her adoptive father, formerly her uncle. Kal hugged her back with a small smile and chuckled.
“I swear, the older you get, the more and more you remind me of my sister.”
“Well, that’s a compliment if I ever heard one.”
Arina left her home of 8 years. She found the guild of bounty hunters and was welcomed with open arms once they heard her last name. Just like her father, Arina became a well-known bounty hunter in just 2 years. However, she wasn’t satisfied. She wanted her job to be something that she could be proud of. She wanted to help people and not just the people who were paying her. She wanted to do something that truly mattered, just like she had told her father years before.
With the ongoing war between the Republic and the Separatists, Arina decided it was time to make a change. She contacted her father and made plans to meet with him at the Republic military base on Coruscant.
The base was huge, but Arina figured her way around fairly quickly. She hunted down the mess hall, as it was where they had agreed to meet. The doors to the hall slid open, revealing a very crowded but very organized cafeteria. Arina walked in and headed straight towards the back, seeing the brown haired Mandalorian stand out like a sore thumb amongst the crowd of identical faces and armor.
“Buir!”
Arina squeezed Kal in a tight hug after not seeing him for so long.
“Ar’ika! Back in all one piece, I hope.”
Kal chuckled, letting her go. He looked her over for changes. She had the same dark brown hair, but it was longer now and braided around her head in a crown. Her eyes were a chocolate brown and had dark circles under them from lack of sleep and stress. Her armor had changed the most. The last time he saw her, she had freshly painted navy blue Mandalorian armor. Now she still had that navy blue color, but it had faded and had scratches and blaster markings on it.
“Yes, Buir. I’m all here,” Arina said, rolling her eyes playfully.
“Well, now that we are all here, I want to introduce you to a few of my colleagues.”
Kal and Arina took their seats at one of the mess hall tables. They sat with a few of the clone troopers. Arina took note of the coloring on their armor and their difference in appearance. One had orange paint on his armor. His hair was the usual black, cropped cut, but what really stood out was the scar that ran from his temple around his right eye and down his cheek. She quickly glanced down at his armor again. Ah, there it is. A commander then. She thought as she looked him over. She then moved her attention to the other clone sitting at their table. This one had buzzed blonde hair, different from most of the clones. While it isn’t against regulations for clones to dye and cut their hair, it is less common. Looking over his armor was all she needed to realize his level of command. He had blue paint on his armor, but what gave away his title was the Kama around his hips and the pauldron around his neck. And this one's a captain with ARC training. Interesting.
“Gentlemen, I would like you to meet my daughter, Arina.”
Arina held out her hand to the commander first.
“Hello, Commander-”
She did the same to his comrade.
“- and Captain.”
The two clones looked shocked for a quick second. The one with the orange paint spoke first.
“I was about to ask how you knew our ranks since you aren’t in the military, but it makes sense, you being Skirata’s daughter and all. I’m Cody, and this is Rex.” Cody said, gesturing to Rex at the end.
“We’ve heard a lot about you, and we may have a proposition for you,” Rex said, glancing at Cody and then at Kal. “Would you like to join the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) and become a medic for my battalion? You would be under General Skywalker.”
She smirked, “Where do I sign up?”