Start off with a bang
End with a whimper
(folk saying)
***
Following her teacher toward the hangars, Ahsoka was desperately tormented by curiosity.
I can't believe he knows Master Shaak Ti and talks to her so easily! Ahsoka herself had only seen her once, and even then only briefly. To be honest, the young Togruta secretly dreamed of becoming as great a Jedi as the Master, but in reality, everything constantly got in the way. No one even wanted to take her on as a Padawan! It was pure injustice! And now, following the tall, armored Teacher—yes, yes, yes, her Teacher!—the girl couldn't help herself and asked:
"Um, Teacher, can I ask you a question?"
"Yes," he nodded, without slowing down.
"Ah, how was it? Well… on Geonosis?" There were various rumors among the younglings, and here was a witness to the events. How could she pass up such an opportunity?
"Hot. Dusty. Too many droids, in my opinion," the man replied dryly, with a somewhat philosophical tone.
"But they're just… tin cans. And you're Jedi. How did you almost lose?" At the last moment, the Padawan realized what she had said, but it was too late. No, she was almost certain that the rumors about that battle were true, but… almost. Rumors spread quickly among the younglings and sometimes—well, to be honest, often—they were slightly exaggerated. And when you thought about it, Ahsoka could have gotten herself into big trouble with her "almost lost" comment.
"Underestimating your enemy leads to defeat," the knight remarked softly, glancing at her and once again making the Togruta feel certain that he could read her mind.
"But—"
"Even if you were a triple Master, there's not much you could do in an open field against several hundred combat droids. Especially if you've never learned to fight alone against an army before. And no one is immune to mistakes, and even one mistake is more than enough for some lousy droid to shoot you." The man paused for a second and reflexively scratched his chest armor. Then he looked seriously into the girl's eyes. "Try to remember that, and don't take unnecessary risks."
Ahsoka nodded quickly, showing that she was listening attentively to the lesson and was, in general, a very responsible Padawan who would never let her teacher down. To Tano's credit, she sincerely believed this—which, however, did not prevent her from trying to change the subject, which had turned out to be a little more disturbing than expected:
"Why do you wear armor? Jedi are not warriors, but guardians of peace."
"Ho, but it's the peacemakers who get shot at the most…" The knight smiled and continued down the corridor. "After I was first shot by a droid in the arena, and then his comrades tried to hit me with ray, sonic, and missile weapons for several hours in a row—not to mention all kinds of shrapnel and burning debris falling from the sky… You know, I suddenly came to the conclusion that it would not be shameful for a noble Jedi to use the experience of his ancestors. After all, they knew what they were doing. Do you think I rushed into it?" The Jedi turned again, looking at the girl with a sly smile.
"No…" The Togruta struggled to suppress her excitement at such cool (!!!) details about the battle and her Teacher's past. "Very… motivating circumstances." An uninvited silly smile appeared on her face, and her blue eyes, burning with admiration, simply devoured her mentor's figure.
"Besides," the Jedi became more serious, "if we're talking about the essence of the matter, the Order's title of Guardians of the Peace is self-appointed, and it joined the Republic on very specific terms. Where do you think the Jedi got so many privileges? Simply, when the Republic was just emerging from several states in the Core Worlds, its leadership negotiated with the Order's leadership, and in exchange for state support, the Jedi pledged to defend the Republic. And first and foremost, in military conflicts, as those were very turbulent times with no shortage of wars. Although the Jedi ignored their previous commitments a couple of times, everything eventually returned to normal. Talk of a peaceful religious Order began much later. It's a complicated story, but I'll tell you about it sometime."
The man fell silent, and Tano could only open her mouth in surprise, blinking her eyelashes. They had never been told anything about this part of history of the Order—she would have remembered!
"Ah… When was that?"
"About twenty-five thousand years ago. Look at the official date of the signing of the Galactic Constitution—everything happened almost simultaneously, maybe with a gap of a couple of decades."
After a pause, the Jedi continued:
"You should get some armor too, when you get the chance. Although you're small, they might not hit you." He chuckled at the end.
"I'm not small, I'm already big! And I'm growing fast!" The Togruta instantly puffed up, dismissing thoughts of history. After all, she didn't like it very much and could easily be unaware of something—especially something so ancient. And here… she was no longer a child!
"Yes, yes, yes…"
***
Master Shaak Ti waited for Knight Vikt near one of the gunboats.
Only a few days had passed since the start of the war, and reports of attacks by Separatist forces were already coming in from many areas of the galaxy. No one expected them to have such a large force at their disposal—millions and millions of droids, thousands of warships. Despite the pace of deployment, the Republic army was simply outnumbered. The Council had already decided to send her to Kamino to oversee the preparation of new batches of clones. The shipyards of Kuat and the factories of Rothana and Rendili had received huge orders for ships and military equipment.
The conflict was spreading, and the war promised to be very difficult. Grief and sorrow awaited many inhabitants of the galaxy. The war, one way or another, would affect even those who were not directly involved.
But as if that were not enough, the Council of the Order also had other concerns—it turned out that there was no unity among the Jedi on the issue of participation in the war. Only a few days had passed, and already there were voices calling for non-intervention in this political conflict. Some even seriously declared their willingness to leave the Order if the Masters did not change their decision. So far, there were not many of them, but in such a short time even a dozen voices was a serious trend. Shaak Ti did not understand them… That is, she fully understood the unwillingness to fight and shed blood, to turn from negotiators and diplomats into soldiers bringing death and destruction on the battlefield, but… how could one abandon the Order and comrades, especially now after Geonosis, when every Jedi counted?
However, Master Yoda, thoroughly exhausted by recent events, had only said heavily, "We cannot impose our will on everyone—this path leads to the Dark Side."
The Togruta shook her head in agreement with her thoughts. The Teacher of Teachers was undoubtedly right, but that did not dull the woman's feelings. It was hard to accept the news that friends and brothers were ready to abandon you in a difficult moment, even if you could understand their motives.
But finally, the elevator doors at the far end of the hangar slid open, and Knight Vikt appeared, thereby pulling Togruta out of her now inappropriate worries. Hmm, he didn't waste any time… the Master noted mentally, looking at the approaching Jedi clad in blue and green armor. She had seen this armor somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where. However, her attention was immediately captured by a second figure approaching from the elevator.
Following the man, trying to keep up with his long strides and excitedly looking around, was a girl of the same race as the Master. Judging by her height and the still very small montrals on her head, she was very young—thirteen or fourteen at most.
What, did he manage to take on a Padawan? Or did he already have one?
"Master," nodded the approaching Jedi.
"Master," came an embarrassed squeak from his student.
"Glad to see you well, Mikore Vikt," Shaak Ti bowed her head politely in turn.
"As we say: don't count on it," a smile played on the young Jedi's face.
"An interesting expression," said the Togruta, also stretching her lips into an involuntary smile as soon as she understood the hidden meaning of the reply. "But let's get down to business—we don't have much time."
"Of course."
"Then let's start with the most important thing. As a member of the Council, I must inform you that they have decided to appoint you as a general of the Grand Army of the Republic. The main reason is that you were on Geonosis, which means you have unique experience that is currently very necessary for the Republic. Do you agree with this appointment?" Looking at her interlocutor's armor, Shaak Ti had no doubt about the answer, but it was necessary to observe all the formalities; there had already been unpleasant precedents.
"Of course," nodded the knight, ignoring the excited and enthusiastic gaze of the Padawan, who was looking back and forth between him and the Master, radiating a mixture of excitement, shock, distrust, and timidity in the Force.
"Good." The woman also did not show that she had noticed the girl's emotions, although she wasn't sure if such an attitude was appropriate. "Commander Cage, report to the general on his assignment."
The clone standing nearby nodded and, coming closer, took out a small projector. A few seconds later, a hologram of a section of the galaxy map unfolded before the Jedi.
"First, some general information. The High Command has divided the galaxy into twenty operational sectors, each of which will have at least 150,000 clones in the near future. So, twenty sector armies have been formed. You will be part of the Twelfth Sector Army, located around the main section of the Perlemian Trade Route. Your task is to ensure the security of this route. Currently, the main forces of the Republic are leaving Kamino and moving according to the command's plan. The units remaining on Coruscant are now the closest to this region, and your journey will take about a day. The situation cannot wait."
The clone flicked a switch, zooming in.
"You are heading to the planet Donovia in the Donovia system. It is located near the Perlemian Trade Route. According to our data, the Separatists are attacking planets along the entire trade route in an effort to cut off the supply of goods we need. There is already a small Trade Federation outpost on the planet Donovia, and on the gas giant located in the same system, there is an automated enrichment plant for producing fuel for ships. The Separatists can use this outpost to attack a fairly large section of the trade route. Capturing it will allow us to establish a stronghold there for further advancement along the planets of the trade route.
"You will not be able to count on large forces—the Separatists are conducting an offensive across the galaxy, and there is currently a severe shortage of combat-ready units.
"Your squadron will consist of one Acclamator-class ship and two Consular-class light cruiser. In addition, your squadron will be reinforced with forty-seven V-19 fighters. However, this will be at the expense of reducing the number of gunboats—there will only be forty left. But you cannot do without fighter cover—the Trade Federation's warships are transporting about one and a half thousand Vulture-class fighter droids. Here is the complete data on the forces assigned to you, sir." The clone removed the info-crystal from the slot in the holoprojector and handed it to the Jedi.
Shaak Ti nodded and waved her hand.
"Thank you, Commander Cage," she said, and as soon as the clone walked away, she continued: "You will depart as soon as the troops have finished loading and the ships have received the necessary equipment to establish a base on the planet. This gunboat will take you to your ship." The woman pointed to one of the transports already standing in the hangar, ready for departure.
"All right. I understand." The knight nodded. "One question: are there local inhabitants on the planet, and how loyal are they?"
"We don't know about that," replied the Master. "According to the latest data, there are no large settlements there, but if there are inhabitants, they are few and cannot influence the situation."
"Thank you." And turning to the little Togruta, Mikore Vect said: "Let's go, Ahsoka, we're going to the ship."
"Yes, Teacher."
A minute later, Shaak Ti watched the gunboat fly away.
"May the Force be with you…"