"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢."

We met in a briefing room in the Jedi Temple. Master Plo explained how the captured Master Piell had coordinates for the Nexus Route. Our mission was to rescue Piell from the Citadel, a facility no one had ever escaped. After the generals put together a plan, I received word to report to the hangar. Graffiti decorated the walls and clones sat around looking bored. They cleaned blasters, set their armor, and counted grenades as they waited for further orders. My eyes landed on some familiar clones, the ones I met earlier at the briefing.

"Commander Cody, isn't it?" I approached the clone with the orange armor. He was Kenobi's second in command as I understood.

"That's me," he replied. "It's good to have you on board, Sil."

I smiled warmly at him and turned to the other two Cody was with, Fives and Echo. They watched me curiously, a look I was starting to get used to.

"So, what exactly is a Ranger?" Echo asked.

"Helpers of the Jedi, I guess?" I offered an answer. "To be quite honest, I'm not exactly sure. I just wanted a way into this war."

They told me about how the war had been going so far and their experiences. Our conversation cut short as Obi-Wan and Anakin arrived in the hangar. We headed towards the carbon-freezer. I winced at the sight of the machine.

"General Skywalker's plans have a tendency to be... creative," Echo noticed my expression. "You might as well get used to it," he offered a smile and I shared it.

"This is your idea?" Obi-Wan directed his question at Anakin. "Carbon-freezing?"

"Hey, you wanted to shield us from life form scanners," Anakin countered with a smirk.

I smiled unimpressed. I had my reservations about carbon-freezing.

"Are, uh, we sure this thing is safe?" Fives asked, echoing my thoughts. "I don't want to end up a wall decoration."

"Or get a kidney stolen," I added softly.

He turned to look at me in surprise.

"That... tends to happen to people where I'm from," I explained. "People get kidnapped, frozen, and then someone takes out their organs to sell on the black market," I remembered the stories I heard on Tatooine. "You'd be surprised how much a kidney costs."

Anakin looked at me curiously while the others had slightly horrified expressions.

"Where exactly are you from?" Echo asked apprehensively.

I winced thinking about my home world. "A magical place where it never rains."

Echo chuckled lightly and Anakin raised an eyebrow. I wondered if the Jedi could see into my mind.

We took our positions on the platforms and the freezing alarm blared. I braced myself as the platform lowered into the tank. Then I met darkness.

***

I fell to my knees as the world warmed up. I coughed before struggling to my feet. I rolled my neck and stretched out my limbs, bringing movement back into my joints. As I regained my senses, I noticed the clones were still trying to get their bearings. The Jedi recovered quickly. Two of them were already arguing. I looked to my left to see Cody putting on his helmet.

Obi-Wan walked over to us to make sure we were alright. As he spoke, I noticed a heated conversation growing between Anakin and a Togruta girl I didn't recognize. Obi-Wan went over to diffuse the hostility.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That's Commander Tano," Rex answered. "General Skywalker's padawan."

I nodded at the new information and continued to observe the pair. The girl gave off a defiant and headstrong attitude.

"Why are they arguing?"

"Well, she was ordered not to come on this particular mission," Rex explained. "The General seems pretty upset that she's here."

I smiled in the direction of the fuming master and padawan.

"I like her," I decided.

Once everyone was reoriented, we walked the narrow paths in the canyon. Yellow smoke rose from the lava lake below and billowed around us, melting into the purple sky.

I decided to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the padawan before we reached the prison. I jogged up to her side. "You're Commander Tano, right?" I asked. "It's nice to meet you," I smiled at her.

"You can call me Ahsoka," she returned the smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Sil. And I'm glad to meet you. I was worried I'd be surrounded by men for the entire war," I chuckled.

"It seems like you won't have to," Ahsoka smiled.

The winds picked up as the prison came into view. The generals came to the conclusion that we'd have to free climb the wall up to the entry point. Electricity crackled and leapt across the electro-mines on the walls, ready to explode should anyone get too close. The wind rocked my body and I held on tight. The ground was very far away. Wisps of hair tickled my face which I did not appreciate. The braid in my hair survived the carbon freezing, but not the wind.

One of the alarms were triggered so we entered the prison with light steps, approaching the cell Master Piell was being held in. I blasted the lock and the door opened. Troops fanned around me, blasting the interrogation droid to hell. Obi-Wan and Anakin filed into the room, getting a hold of Master Piell. I stood by the entrance keeping an eye on the hallway and a tense finger on the trigger.

"Let's go," Obi-Wan said. "We need to hurry and get to Piell's captain."

A chorus of yes sir's was the response. Cody held the front as we stalked quietly down the halls. Our presence hadn't gone unnoticed. Commando droids rolled out in front and behind us wielding heavy blasters. I was pretty sure I was about to die until Obi-Wan leaped in front, holding a stance that shielded us from the rapid fire. His action stunned me. A general leaping in front of his men struck me as strange and suspiciously selfless. The clones around me hardly reacted and continued to fire on the droids. Blinking myself out of my thoughts, I did the same.

When all the droids were taken out, one of the clones in orange armor groaned on the floor. I held out a hand which he took. I dragged him to his feet and watched as he steadied himself.

"Thanks," he gasped.

"No problem," I replied. I wanted to ask his name, but Obi-Wan's voice cut the air.

"We need to keep moving."

With raised blasters, we continued down the halls until a high-pitched buzzing noise brought my hands to my ears. Blasters and lightsabers flew out of our hands and hit the magnetic roof. Droids surrounded us once again and I assessed how I could take them without my blaster. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka attempted to use the Force on the droids, but no luck.

"They're magnetized," Obi-Wan strained with effort.

With the droids momentarily distracted, the clones and I attacked the droids. I lunged for the waist and brought my arms around the droid, trying to take it to the floor. The commando droid struck its metal hand against my head, throwing me onto my back. A sharp and throbbing pain attacked my head. I laid on the floor, dazed and senseless. I turned my head and made out the bodies of the clones laying next to me looking just as disoriented. Fortunately for them, they had helmets.

I was pushed up by my shoulders and steadied onto my feet.

"I got you," someone said. I rubbed my aching head and found blood on my fingers. I turned to see the clone I helped earlier was helping me up.

"Thanks," I said still staring at my hand.

"Are you alright?" Anakin asked coming to my side. He looked at my bloodied hand with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied as I regained my balance. I found my blasters on the floor and collected them, keeping my grip tight.

After we broke into another cell and rescued Piell's captain and his officers, Obi-Wan suggested we split up. Anakin and his men would lead the captain out of the prison. Of course, the Kenobi team would be the diversion.

"Oh, great," I said with mock excitement. "We get to be the distraction."

Cody released a sigh. "Yeah, I don't like this plan much either."

Obi-Wan, Piell, the orange armored clones, and I made our way to the upper levels. Cody handed me some explosives which we dropped strategically along the halls. The lovely sound of an explosion rang in my ears as Obi-Wan hit the detonator. I snickered at the thought of all those droids getting destroyed. My sentiment was shared by the clones.

We crawled through a small, hidden passageway to sneak out of the prison and I found myself next to the clone who had helped me up earlier.

"So what do they call you?" I asked.

"Trip," he answered. "And you're Sil?"

"Yeah," I said. "Thanks for helping me back there."

"Well, you helped me first," Trip remarked. "Besides, I couldn't leave behind the newest member of the team."

I smiled and we continued on in silence. We reached the end of the passage and I breathed in the air as I watched the fiery fumes rise from the yellow lake. It took a long time for us to reach the platform where our shuttle was. The battle droids started firing on us from turrets, blaster fire raining down onto the landing pad.

Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and we were forced to hide behind a crate for cover. We were extremely outnumbered.

A new group dashed out, taking out droids and destroyers. Anakin and Ahsoka ran onto the landing pad with the rest on their heels.

I smiled at the sight and watched as Fives and Echo joined us at the crate. I reached for a pack of detonators and took turns with Cody, tossing them under droids while he blasted them. On the other side of the crate I saw Fives and Echo doing the same. They worked fluidly. It brought a smile to my face to see the two of them together.

A droid took over a turret and aimed at our shuttle. Echo noticed and grabbed a shield. He ran towards the shuttle's ramp and fired at the droid. Fives was in hysterics. The shuttle exploded and flung Echo's body across the platform. The shock waves reached us and I was thrown onto my back.

Fives was the first one up. "Echo!"

I dragged myself to my feet and stared hopelessly into the smoke where Echo disappeared.

"We have to go now," Obi-Wan said in a grave voice.

Everyone turned and followed the Jedi off the platform. Fives stood hesitating. I lightly grabbed his arm, indicating it was time to go. He turned towards me and I could see the loss behind his helmet. He nodded and we hurried off with the rest.

We found a large passageway in the cliffs where we hid from the droids. Anakin and Obi-Wan contacted the Temple for a rescue. Fives watched the entrance to make sure we weren't being followed, but I had a feeling he was looking for someone else too. I didn't want to crowd him, but I made sure to stay nearby.

We soon got moving to arrive at the rendezvous point where we'd be picked up. We hit a cliff and the droids attacked. Obi-Wan and Anakin helped the men down the cliff after attaching cables to the rock. Everyone made it down and we lost the droids, for now. I learned that Piell's captain was Tarkin, and he wouldn't stop complaining about our rescue methods.

"If Tarkin wasn't carrying the information the Republic needed, I would've shot him already," I muttered to Cody.

"Yeah, I don't appreciate his lack of gratefulness," Cody agreed. "A lot of troops died for this rescue mission."

"Clone casualties don't count," Trip muttered with dark sarcasm.

I thought hard about what they said and what the war was like for clones. I stole a glance at Fives who lingered towards the back. His blaster held limp in his hands.

The sound of animals snarling came from the distance.

"Those creatures are gaining," Fives warned.

Obi-Wan and Piell whipped around to face us. "If they've caught our scent, they'll lead the droids right to us. We need a distraction."

"Oh I got this," I smiled and cracked my knuckles.

"Leave that to me," Anakin said at the same time I spoke.

We gave each other a strange look. Anakin looked like he was about to challenge me. Obi-Wan cleared his throat.

"And Obi-Wan, of course," Anakin added. "The three of us will draw off the creatures."

Piell and Ahsoka led the others into the cave while Obi-Wan, Anakin, and I continued on the path.

"It seems like our Ranger has been craving some action," Obi-Wan said.

"I didn't go through all that training for nothing," I replied spinning my blasters out of their holsters.

"Let's see if it was any good," Anakin smirked and I sent him a playful glare.

The creatures' howls filled the air. The Jedi had their lightsabers on the ready. I could feel the vibrations of the running creatures in the ground. The wolf-like animals came into view and I blasted at them. Obi-Wan and Anakin alternated between using the Force to make the creatures stumble over each other and sliced through them.

Droids on flying bikes fired from overhead. I aimed upwards to take them out of the sky, increasing my rate of fire.

I turned to see Anakin on the floor with a creature snarling on top of him. His lightsaber was on the ground a few meters away from him. I tilted my head and aimed at the creature, firing through its skull. Anakin pushed it off his body and stood up as I walked closer to him.

"Looks like my training paid off," I smiled and put a hand on my hip.

Anakin held his hand out to the side and his lightsaber flew to his hand in a split second, making my hair rustle.

"I had it all under control," he gripped his weapon and leaned closer. His crooked smile made my stomach flip. The closeness did not help.

A shot fired in the gap between us and we staggered away from each other. I looked up to see a droid on a bike.

"Gotta fly," I casually saluted him as I ran towards a ledge.

I gauged the scene before me and waited for an opportunity. A droid flew in and I launched myself onto it. I shot the droid and kicked it into the yellow lava below. I steered the bike around and went in pursuit of the droids attacking the others.

My triumph didn't last long. A droid on the ground fired at my bike and it smoked across the sky. I tried bringing it around, but it was no use. It cluttered slowly towards the lava and I bit my lip in worry.

"Sil!" Anakin yelled.

"What?!" I screamed back.

"You have to jump!" he said. "I'll catch you!"

"Are you INSANE?!" I cried back. I was over the lava now, there was no way I was going to jump. There was a tiny platform up ahead. I'd rather take my chances there.

"Sil, you have to trust me!" Anakin pleaded.

Enzo's words played back in my head. There were no real friends in the galaxy. How could I trust him? I'd seen so many clones die today and hardly a sense of remorse from anyone, even the Jedi. How important did that make me?

My bike hurtled faster towards the lava and I did something I never thought I'd do.

I jumped off.

To my surprise, I didn't melt in a fiery inferno. I was suspended in the air. I looked to see Anakin with his face scrunched in concentration. I floated across the lava towards the ground he was on. I squirmed at the strange feeling of being in the air. I finally made it back to the ground, but a little too fast. I crashed into Anakin and he fell to the ground.

I groaned from the impact and held my head which continued to hurt. I hit my head way too many times on this mission.

I rolled off Anakin and helped him off the ground. I smiled at him in thanks and he simply nodded. I don't think he understood how grateful I was, and how much it meant to me that he didn't betray my trust.

We made our way back to the group, but something was wrong. Anakin and I ran over after seeing Ahsoka with the body of Master Piell. A somber mood hung in the air. Piell's body was covered and burned in the lava below.

There was a moment of silence to honor the Jedi's passing, but I couldn't help feeling a shred of resentment. No honor was given to the clones who had died today. Not even a passing thought. I crossed my arms in frustration which didn't go unnoticed by the clones. After we paid our respects, we continued on our way to the extraction point. We were attacked. Again.

A gunship arrived revealing Master Plo and his boys. The droids fired as we boarded the gunship. Before long, we were up and out.

I gripped the handhold and felt the adrenaline leave me. A wave of dizziness crashed over me, making me stumble with the movement of the ship. A pair of hands balanced me on my back and and my torso.

"Are you alright?" Anakin asked with worry.

I brought a hand to my head where the pain was. Blood covered my fingers again.

"Oh I'm fine," I replied. "I only hit my head a million times."

"That's why we wear helmets," one of Plo's men tapped his helmet with wolf designs on it.

"That's nice," I smiled stupidly.

"We're gonna get you some medical attention when we get to the cruiser," Anakin said.

"Sounds great."

"How was our Ranger's first mission?" Obi-Wan approached us.

"Not bad," I said with a smile.

"I think Sil and I will be getting a long just fine," Obi-Wan mused.

Anakin beamed. "So will we."