The shattered streets of Christophsis lay quiet at last. Smoke drifted lazily into the sky, punctuated only by the distant crackle of flames and the whirring of repair droids patching what they could. The clones moved through the ruins with disciplined purpose, carrying wounded brothers to medics and clearing droid wreckage into neat piles for disposal. The air was heavy, but it was the silence that weighed most. Silence after battle was always the loudest.
Anakin Skywalker leaned against a broken pillar, wiping sweat from his brow. His saber hung loosely at his side, still buzzing faintly from the heat of combat. Beside him, Ahsoka crouched on a half-collapsed wall, inspecting her scorched montrals with a grimace. She looked more annoyed at the dirt than shaken by the fight.
Across the plaza, Obi-Wan stood with Kaelen Shan, surveying the devastation with his usual calm. Kaelen's armor was smeared with dust and scorch marks, but he held himself tall, shoulders squared, his purple blade already clipped back to his belt. For all his outward composure, his eyes burned with restless energy.
"It seems we've won the day," Obi-Wan said softly, hands clasped behind his back.
Kaelen exhaled sharply, kicking a piece of droid shrapnel with the tip of his boot. "For today. But they'll be back. They always come back."
Obi-Wan glanced at him. "Optimism isn't exactly flowing from you, Padawan."
"I'm not being pessimistic," Kaelen said quickly, almost defensively. "Just… realistic. We push them here, they regroup somewhere else. If we'd pressed harder at the flank earlier—"
Obi-Wan raised a hand, cutting him off. "If we'd pressed harder, we might have lost half the battalion. Sometimes restraint saves more lives than valor."
Kaelen's jaw tightened. He wanted to argue. His instincts screamed at him that aggression could have ended the battle faster, spared his brothers-in-arms. But Obi-Wan's calm gaze pinned him in place. Kaelen exhaled and looked away, muttering, "Yes, Master."
A trace of a smile ghosted across Obi-Wan's face. The boy reminded him of someone—reckless, brash, impatient with caution. Anakin at that age, perhaps.
As if summoned by the thought, Anakin strode over, Ahsoka at his heels. "Well, that was fun," Anakin said with a smirk. "But I'm guessing Command didn't send two new Padawans just to bail us out of one skirmish."
As if on cue, a hologram flickered to life above Rex's wrist comm. Master Yoda's diminutive form appeared, glowing faintly in blue. His ears drooped slightly, his voice grave.
"Victorious, you are. But more difficult task, ahead lies. Kidnapped, Jabba the Hutt's son has been. Blame, the Separatists place upon the Jedi. Dangerous, this deception is. Secure Jabba's trust, we must."
Anakin folded his arms, scowling. "Jabba's son? We're fighting a war across the galaxy, and the Council wants us chasing a Huttlet?"
"Important, this is," Yoda countered firmly. "Without Hutt space routes, the war we cannot win." His gaze shifted, settling on Ahsoka and Kaelen. "And now, new roles for your Padawans. With you, they will go. Learn, they must, in the fire of battle."
Ahsoka straightened, pride shining in her eyes. Kaelen, too, lifted his chin, though his expression was more conflicted—part pride, part restless impatience.
Obi-Wan inclined his head. "Understood, Master Yoda. We'll depart at once."
The hologram vanished.
The gunship rattled as it rose into Christophsis's scarred skies, engines whining against the wind. Inside, clones secured crates of supplies, while the four Jedi clustered near the center. Ahsoka sat forward, her legs swinging, energy practically vibrating off her. Kaelen sat across from her, posture stiff, eyes fixed on the floor as if lost in thought.
"So," Ahsoka said, breaking the silence. "Looks like we're a team now. Master Skywalker, me. Master Kenobi, him." She nodded toward Kaelen.
Kaelen's gaze flicked up, his gray-blue eyes sharp. "Kaelen Shan," he said simply.
"Ahsoka Tano," she replied with a grin. "You fight well for someone who bows so much."
His brow furrowed. "And you fight recklessly for someone who talks so much."
Her grin faltered, replaced by a scowl. "Excuse me?"
Anakin chuckled. "Careful, Snips. Sounds like Kenobi's Padawan already figured you out."
"Snips?" she echoed, glaring.
"Nickname," Anakin said casually, smirk widening.
Obi-Wan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be a long campaign."
Kaelen's lips twitched faintly, as though he wanted to smile but wouldn't give Ahsoka the satisfaction. Still, beneath his quiet exterior, something churned. He hated being underestimated, hated that the Council had dropped him into this war as if he were a piece on a board. He would prove himself—not just to Obi-Wan, but to everyone.
He clenched his fist on his knee, whispering silently in Mando'a: Ni cuy'gar. Ni ganar jate. (I am here. I will succeed.)
Their mission soon took them from Christophsis's dust to the wider war. In the days that followed, the Padawans were tested at every turn. They sparred together on the ship, Ahsoka darting in with quick, unpredictable strikes while Kaelen countered with calm precision. She grew frustrated when he anticipated her moves, his precognition guiding his blade into place before hers landed.
"You're not even trying," she snapped after one bout, sweat dripping down her brow.
"I don't need to," Kaelen replied, deactivating his saber with a snap.
"Arrogant much?"
"Focused," he corrected evenly. "There's a difference."
Their rivalry sharpened, though Obi-Wan and Anakin rarely intervened. The Masters seemed almost amused, though Obi-Wan's amusement often carried a faint sigh.
One evening, as the ship drifted in hyperspace, Obi-Wan found Kaelen staring out a viewport, the beskad shard in his hand.
"You're holding yourself back," Obi-Wan observed.
Kaelen glanced at him. "I don't want to lose control."
"Control isn't about silence," Obi-Wan said. "It's about choice. You're strong in the Force, Kaelen. Stronger than you know. But strength without wisdom is just… noise."
Kaelen looked down at the shard, his reflection warped in its surface. "My father used to say the same thing. But he still died."
Obi-Wan's expression softened. "So did mine. But we honor them by being better. Not by surrendering to what took them from us."
Kaelen swallowed hard, the fire in his chest dimming for the moment. He nodded. "I'll try, Master."
"Do more than try," Obi-Wan said quietly, echoing Yoda's timeless words. "Choose."
By the time their ship approached Teth—the jungle world where Rotta was held—Kaelen's restless energy had sharpened into resolve. He stood at Obi-Wan's side as the gunship descended through storm clouds, lightning flashing across the canopy below. Across from him, Ahsoka grinned, bouncing with excitement.
"Ready to rescue a Huttlet?" she asked.
Kaelen met her gaze steadily, purple saber in hand. "Ready to end this war. One mission at a time."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "You sound just like Master Kenobi."
"Better than sounding like Skywalker," Kaelen shot back before he could stop himself.
Anakin raised a brow. "Careful, kid. That sounded like a challenge."
Kaelen hesitated, then allowed himself a grin—sharp, confident, just a little reckless. "Maybe it is."
Obi-Wan sighed again, but this time there was the faintest trace of pride beneath it.
The ramp lowered. Jungle air rushed in, heavy with rain and the scent of earth. The clones readied their weapons. The Jedi ignited their blades.
And Kaelen Shan, Padawan of Obi-Wan Kenobi, stepped into his first true mission of the Clone Wars.