---Commander Wolffe---

Commander Khan, as of yet has been a tad out of sorts. It seemed to only get worse as days passed. Something has been plaguing her mind and she's done a good job hiding it, up till now. 

Just the other day, Reeth walked into the mess hall and sat all alone in a corner. Which was odd, since most of the time she would usually join the men. Comet, Boost, Sinker and Warthog would notice it and join her at her table. Almost immediately you could see the uneasiness on her face. 

Another time, I was at the bridge with the General preparing for a mission briefing. Reetha walked in a moment later, the men saluted her as per usual but she didn't acknowledge them back. Not even looking them in the eye, not even me. 

"General is there something bothering the commander? She seems a little, out of it." I whispered Plo Koon, not wanting to draw Reetha's attention. 

Plo sighed and looked a little disturbed. "She hasn't told you anything has she?" 

I shook my head, confused. Is there something I missed? Has Reetha tried to reach out to any of the guys? Did we do something wrong?

"It's not your fault or your brother's Wolffe." Plo's deeps but comforting voice pulled me from my thoughts. He sensed my worry. "She has been dealing with some troubling dream, visions. She came to talk to me and I advised her the best I could." The general turned to look at the young commander who was overlooking the battle strategy. Then he turned to me, a glum look visible in the slouch of his eyebrows.  "She has... certain things that she needs to clear up in her own time."

I thought for a moment. Whatever this thing was, it seemed to be eating her thoughts alive. "Is there anything the men and I can do? It's sad to see her like this. Comet missed her chipper mood." 

"Maybe you could talk to her. Encourage her to speak her mind." Plo suggested. Humming, I nodded my head and excused myself. 

---

Walking into the barracks, I met up with Comet, Boost, Sinker and Warthog. Warthog got to know Reetha within three weeks and they got along well. Her sudden shift in mood made him worry, a lot. 

"So, you talked to Plo?" Boost jumped from his bunk and approached me. The rest of the boys huddled in, taking interest in what I was about to say. 

"Well, we did guess right. Something has been bothering Reetha." 

Comet leaned on his thigh, "We already know that genius. The question is what is she bothered about!" 

Warthog slapped the back of Comet's head lightly. "What we want to know is, was it something we've done to upset her?" Sinker nodded in agreement. 

Huffing, I sat myself down on my bed. "Plo says that Reetha is bothered about some vision she had. it must be quite bad since it's making her act this way." 

"Does Plo know?" Sinker asked. 

"Mhmm. Reetha talked to him. According to Plo, she's supposed to tell me, us, something." 

"Sounds serious. She hasn't said anything to any of us." Sinker continued. 

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to figure out what Reetha needs to tell us. I want to help her so desperately. "Plo said she needs her own time to figure things out. In the meantime, he encouraged us to speak to her, to encourage her to speak her mind." 

I started peeling off my armour for bed. "Whatever it is, we need to rest and so does she. We'll talk to her tomorrow." 

---

As I figured, talking to Reetha was harder than expected. The little one somehow managed to avoid us even more. Call it impossible, but I can sense that she's scared of the outcome of the talk. I call it brother senses. I filled in Plo about the situation but he could do no more. We didn't want to force the poor girl to admit her troubles. So, I turned to the youngest from my batch, Rex. Captain Rex. 

"What's up vod," my younger brother answered the holo-call tiredly, deep eye bags prominent. 

'Great, he's tired as well.' I thought to myself. He did already command a full legion of bumbling idiots. "Hey... you look good." 

Rex laughed sarcastically. "Don't butter me up ori-vod. You're usually nice to me when you need something. What is it?"

I chuckled, Rex was a funny man when he's tired. "I'd try to play on this conversation if I was not in such a dire situation." I could see Rex's face turn to a questioning look. "It's about Reetha." 

Immediately, Rex's face changed from questioning to worry. "What about Reetha? Did something happen to her? Is she injured-" 

Before Rex could worry even more I cut him short and assured him that the commander is alright, physically. I began to tell Rex about her behaviour change, how she began to grow cold and distant from the men. Known as Commander Wolffe, I was always portrayed as a tough and stoic person, hardly smiling or joking around. That's true when I'm at work and when I command the pack. When it comes to ner alit, family, my brother's and now, Reetha, I would gladly betray that image and be vulnerable for them, to help them. 

"I don't know what to say Wolffe. Reetha always had trouble fitting in. It does take some time for her to get out of these things." I grumbled under my breath and rolled my eyes. As if that wasn't any more clear. 

"As to what Reetha needs to tell you, I have to agree with General Plo. She needs to come out about it on her own when she sees fit."

I continued to seek Rex's advise and then caught up with him a little, for example asking him if he slept recently, then proceeding to lecture him about how important sleep is for him and commanded my vod to sleep. 

-----

-Planet, Morak-

Three LAAT's landed on the wet jungle floor. Troops of the 104th began to file out, 21 men in total. Reetha Khan looked upwards to Commander Wolffe through her hood "We best be getting to the cave, commander. We can wait out the rain there and prepare for the mission ahead. Then we can begin our mission." 

Wolffe shouted loudly through the heavy rain. "The cave is just a click away from here. I recommend moving now before the ground's any soggier." The commander rounded his men and then led the way to the cave. 

About an hour later, Reetha and the rest of the team sat around the fire they had previously lit in the cave, to keep out the Nexu's of course, they hated fire. Reetha quietly sipped on her tea, letting the warmth from her cup seep into her cold fingers. 

"I think you might want to have some dinner. It's getting late. Rain's not letting up either." 

The young Jedi looked up to find the one and only Wolffe, stern as ever as he spoke but laced with a very tiny hint of kindness. Gratefully, Reetha extended a free hand and excepted the bowl of warm stew, thanking Wolffe softly. She lifted the lip of the bowl to hers, blowing on the top before taking a small sip. "It's good." 

Wolffe smiled, happy that the young girl he has come to care for is finally talking to him, although the situation didn't give her much of a choice not to. A properly executed mission depends on the fluent internal communication all members of a group, whether they hated each other or not. Wolffe stood by Reetha's side quietly. Now that they were in a mission, there was no reason what so ever for her disappear. In the silence, he debated if he should ask Reetha about this huge secret that she had to reveal and more importantly if she was doing fine. 

"So, uhm... Want another blanket?" This caught Reetha off-guard. 

"I think I'm warm enough, thank you, commander." Reetha chuckled into her bowl, Wolffe rubbed his neck shyly and laughed as well. 

"You plan to stand all night beside me or something?" She asked glancing up at Wolffe with her smile still etched onto her face. Patting the ground beside her, she asked Wolffe to join her. 

"It is good to see you smile. Been a while since you looked this, happy." 

Reetha moved to lean on her knees. "Yeah. I suppose. I've been thinking, a lot." Wolffe noticed a frown reach her lips. 

"That's good?" He asked cautiously. 

"I always think, more than usual. A lot is still fine." She hummed. 

Seeing Reetha finally smile, even just a little calmed Wolffe tremendously. He almost wanted not to speak to her about her 'thing', but better now than never. He just hoped he wasn't crossing the line. 

"Can I, ask you a question? " He began.

"You just did." 

"Reetha... " Wolffe ran his hand through his hand, frustrated slightly. 

"Yeah, yeah." 

Gathering his hoped that the young Jedi would remain calm he asked the question that had begged to be answered. "First of all, I want to say that you don't have to answer this if you feel uncomfortable or forced. Tell me to stop right away if I cross the line, and please don't feel angry or frustrated or-"

"Your rambling Wolffe. This is new." The Jedi padawan mused. 

"Right. So, I heard from the general, that you had something to come out with. Not that I want to pry, but the guys and I have been worried about you." He paused for a while, waiting for a reply to come from the girl beside him. When she didn't reply he took the chance to continue. 

"You haven't been yourself. You used to smile and laugh with the men, hang out with them. Now you seem to have, close yourself in. What I and the guys want to know is, are you alright? Your not hurt are you? Was it something we did or, something the Jedi council told you or...?" the clone commander trailed off. He was at unease when Reetha didn't seem to move. Her calm face seemed to sadden. "What I-we want to ask, is if you're alright? We're worried about you Reetha." 

Wolffe shuffled at his place, wanting to comfort his sister in any way. Her body seemed to curl into itself as she brought her knees closer to her body. Careful, trembling hands slowly placed her cup and bowl on the cave floor. 

"You asked Master Plo?" She asked in a shaky breath. 

"We were worried, vod'ika. We wanted to ask help you, but we were not sure how." One of Wolffe's hands hovered in the space between them, wanting to comfort her or of the sort. "We didn't mean to go poking around-" 

"It's fine." Reetha cut Wolffe off softly. Wolffe's mouth opened and closed, wanting to say something, but found nothing to say. "I-Thank you. For worrying about me. Really, it's very caring of you and the boys." 

She smiled a teary-eyed smile at Wolffe, which honestly broke his heart to a million pieces. He weakly smiled back at her, but let her have the quietness to speak her mind. 

"I, uh, yeah. I've been just thinking about stuff. I talked to Master Plo about it, and Rex." 

Wolffe nodded in the silence. "They said you had something to talk to us about," He asked softly. 

"Yeah... I suppose." 

Reetha turned with glassy eyes to face the commander. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. Trust me, I want to but I-I don't know how, or when. I'm just not ready." 

"Hey, you can take your time. We just don't want you to be so glum." 

"I know." Reetha hurriedly calmed Wolffe. "You know I trust you guys though, right. I'm not keeping away because I don't trust you. I'm just not prepared to reveal it." Tears slowly filled the rim of her eyes. Looking away at the fire, she hoped Wolffe would not notice. 

"What I want you to know is big. Wolffe, it's so big, it's so different. It worries me that I may lose myself in it. I don't want to hurt you guys, ever. I dreamed about it Wolffe. Bad dream, painful and bitter and scary." Gasping on her words, she tilted her head to the clone. "I don't know what will happen if I show you who I really am. What would you think of me then," 

'What!' Wolffe was shocked. "Why would you think that way? We won't judge you. I won't let anyone judge you." why would she ever think that way.

"Wolffe, you don't understand! You don't know me. The real me! I don't know the real me." Reetha whisper yelled. She feared the reaction of her men if she showed her true self. 

Wolffe looked at her with pitiful eyes. He wanted to reassure her that burden was for her to bear alone. He of all people would understand about self-image, he too often feared the way people would look at him. Especially the Kaminoans, but his general taught him and his brothers otherwise. 

"I know you're trying to help. I know you worry, and you have worried enough. All of you." Reetha glanced at the rest of the men. "Don't worry about me. Just, focus on the mission, and everything will be fine. I'll tell you when I need to tell you." 

Wolffe sighed, surrendering to her. "Fine. Just talk to them, alright. The guys miss you." 

She allowed a small sad smile to show on her face. "I will. Goodnight commander." Patting Wolffe's shoulder, she dismissed herself to a corner to curl in her blanket and sleep.

Wolffe watched her drift off. It's going to be a long, very long mission.

----

Reetha let her men through the thick bushes of the jungle. They were far away from any settlements, so civilians would not be a problem. Now they quietly spied on a droid base. 

"There seems to be three squads at least guarding the landing bay. I scan more inside." the Wolfpack sargent, Sinker whispered to Reetha. 

"What about Ventress. News is she's on this base. Let's confirm that." 

Grumbling in a low voice, Wolffe confirmed: "Oh, she's here alright." Reetha didn't fail to notice the sudden tension in his posture and voice. 

"Hmm. Be extra careful around her. The base has two entrances, south and north. Sinker, take your squad and infiltrate the south end, we'll provide a distraction long enough to cover your infiltration." 

"Yes, ma'am." Sinker gathered his men and waited for Reetha to create a distraction. 

Tracking through the foliage, the Jedi brought her team closer to the base. "Remember, Ventress is inside that base. When you see her, don't engage her. Just focus on the task at hand and capture this base as fast as we can." Reetha spoke over the coms. 

Sinker answered the other end. "Roger that sir. How are we going to deal with the she-beast?" 

"I'll draw her out. I met her once, I think she'd be more than happy to meet me again." 

"Alright. We're ready. Be careful kid." The call ended. 

Using two fingers, Reetha directed four of her snipers to take their places on the trees. The distraction began. Slowly yet swiftly, the snipers began to pick off the droid one by one. The droids began looking for the snipers, all on high alert. The rest of the crew began to creep in the shadows, the snipers providing a cover. Before the droids could spot her men, Reetha initiated the attack. 

"It's the Republic!" "Get them!" The droids began to bark orders, Reetha noticed some commando droids get on the turrets. 

"Wolffe!" Reetha shouted and pointed to the turrets, after successfully slicing her lightsaber through three droids. 

Taking a few droid poppers, Wolffe and his men raced as close as they could get to the turrets and threw the poppers into the turret seat, taking down the commandos. 

"Sargent, you can get to South end." a scratchy voice called through Sinker's com, signalling him to infiltrate the base.

"With pleasure." 

---

"Hold up." Sinker raised a hand and held back his men. Several droids were running through the corridor, no doubt to the chaos unfolding at the other end of the base. Looking along the corridor, he noticed the cameras. "Think you can scramble em'? " He turned to Comet, who nodded immediately. 

Once they were clear, the men made their way through the base. Stealthily they entered each room, blasting down any metal walkie-talkies in their sights. "The bases power station is just upfront." 

Leaning against the open door, Comet signalled to his men about the droid in the room. "Let's pop them." 

After the droid poppers worked their magic, two of the clones began to shut down the communication lines between the Separatist fleet and the base and turning the cameras online.

"Sir, you might want to take a look at this." One of the clones pointed to the camera feedback screen. 

"Ventress." Sinker hissed. She was heading to the north end of the base.

Another distressed call from one of the troopers alerted Sinker. "We have clankers, incoming." 

"Prepare to fight boys. I want this room secure and under ower control." Pointing back at the two clones managing the power, "Those walls are electrified?" 

"No Sir, but we can manage to send surges of electricity along the corridor." One of them replied. "Yeah, it would stun them Sir." the other agreed.

"Good. Shock em'. " 

----

Realsing a breath, Reetha quickly opened her eyes which were onced closed in concentreation to slice through three droids. The distraction worked perfectly, Sinker and his men were safely inside the base. 

"Commander, Ventress is coming your way." Her comm beeped. 

"I know. I called her here. All good there?" 

"Yes Sir! Just some clankers to take care of. We'll be fine, you take care kid." 

One of the turrets exploded, bringing Reetha's attention and she ran towards it. "Hey you alright?" She asked a wounded clone. He nodded. Calling to the medic to look him over, she then searched for Wolffe.

Ducking from blaster shots, she ran across the base. Wolffe was no where to be seen. She feared for the worse, what if Wolffe was terribly injured. Skidding to a stop she extended her focus in the Force to search for Wolffe's signature. 'Funny' she thought. It felt as if the commander was so close yet so far. Something was covering his signature. 

"We meet again Jedi." a sick and sly voice slithered in the air. 

"Ventress."

---

"Hold fire!" the Dathomarian commanded her driods and they obeyed. 

The clones stopped hesitantly as the droids ceased fire. Some troops expectantly looking at Reetha. 

"Do as she says." 

The troopers nodded and begrudingly fell back. 

Starring into the cold eyes of the Sith assasin, Reetha sensed another life form. 

"I think you have someone I want. Give him back. " 

The Dathomarian pouted. "We just meet again and you accuse me of  stealing someone. It's uncouth to take business during a peacefull talk." 

Ventress was testing Reetha's patience. "I'll be peacefull when you turn him over." She continued to stare dead into Ventress' eyes. 

"Hmm, fine. But before that, I still want to offer you your place by my master's side." 

"I think I made my decision clear back on Coruscant. I guess you have to tell your master you failed him." 

Ventress growled, frustrated that things weren't going her way. "Very well." Reetha watched as Ventress waved her hand to one of the droids. The door of the base opened and four droids stepped out. Two Magna Guards, and two of the same dragging someone. 

When they came into clear view, Reetha felt fear course through her veins. The sound of blasters clicking to aim only mirrorred the troopers to be just as fearful as her in this particular situation. 

"Wolffe!" Instinctively Reetha's feet carried her towards the him but the Magna guard aimed their electrostaff's at Wolffe's throat, making Reetha stop and raise her hand in slight surrender. 

"Don't hurt him. Please don't" the young Jedi pleaded, eyes full of worry. 

Smiling eveily, Ventress walked to Wolffe and brought his head to meet hers. "What do you think, child? Very strong. Very, very strong. Handsome too." 

Wolffe tensed as Ventress ran her fingers along the scar of his face. "I remember the day I gifted him this. I'm almost tempted to give him another." 

"Don't Ventress. Leave him alone." 

"He put up quite a fight when we caught him. Such a soul." Reetha reached for her lightsaber, slowly while Ventress was distracted.

"Don't do that, child." Ventress ordered the Magna's to aim their electro staff's at Wolffe's neck. "He has been shocked multiple times today at the highest setting, don't be the reason he dies. Surrender your weapon and yourself or, I will kill him." Red blades were held at Wolffe's throat. 

Reetha begged Ventress to stop, agreering to surrender. "Ma'am don't" one of the troops called to her. 

"Sir, we need to finish take this base. We can't save Wolffe. We're expandable." 

Sighing, Reetha turned to face her troopers. They were afraid for Wolffe's life. "Not to me." Calmly, she signalled them to stand down. "I'll be fine." She turned to Ventress. 

"I surrender, but you have to agree to my term. Don't hurt any off my men, and release Wolffe." Her eyes met Wolffe's, she felt his pain. Wolffe struggled to speak through his bruised mouth, the result of being punched by the Magnas. "I'll be fine Wolffe. Ventress, I surrender, I'll come with you, just, let Wolffe and everyone else go." 

Ventress hesitated. Dropping her saber to the ground, Reetha raised her hands. "I beg you, please." 

Retracting her red blades, Ventress pulled Wolffe forcefully to stand and pushed him infront. Reetha walked towards Ventress, despite the pleas from the troopsas. Ventress and Wolffe stopped just a few feet in front of Reetha, Ventress hummed. Ventress' sly hand carefully reached for her lightsaber, Reetha watched intently but stayed silent. 

"I'm glad you agree, but I'm afraid I have to alter the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further!" Red blades ignited and aimed for Wolffe's throat. 

"NO!" 

-----