Pinching the bridge of her nose, again, Reetha sighed. After the whole krayt dragon debacle, she tried to explain to the troops about her morphing, or as they put it, her shapeshifting. So far, she managed to tell them about how long she can hold her wolf form and what she can do in that form. In which according to her, was basically anything considered wolf habits.

"For-for the third time. I'm not a changeling. I don't do shapeshifting." 

"I beg to differ. You shifted from a human to a wolf, in like what, a blink of an eye?" Boil right now was the centre of the ongoing discussion. He was pretty sold to the idea that her ability was more shapeshift than morphing. "Shapeshifting is kind of wizard when you give it a good thought..." Waxer, who sat beside Reetha gave her a pitied look but somewhat agreed with Boil. 

The padawan shrugged "Whatever pleases you guys. I'm just saying, morphing is more 'scientific'. " 

Boil's and Reetha's conversation, which was a pure source of entertainment to the 212th who were getting to know her, was cut short by Cody. "Sorry to interrupt, but you have two troopers who'd like to see you." He said, offering her a smile. Excitedly, she hopped off her perch and waved goodbye to her newfound friends. 

Cody led her down the hallways to the medbay, then he excused himself to finish his reports before promising the padawan that they'd meet each other at dinner. The medbay doors slid open. White light poured into Reetha's eyes, making her squint to readjust to the brightness. In the room, were four troopers, two of which were the ones rescued from the krayt. 

"Commander, good to see you!" A cheerful Tupac waved at her. Reetha waved back to Tupac and the rest. 

"My ears are burning. I hope you're not talking about me." 

Marty laughed from his seat. "Actually, we were more like fangirling over you, but yeah, we did talk about you." Then he gestured to the two clones in the med beds. "May I present you Jex and Scowl." Just like all clones, Jex and Scowl had their own unique signature in the force. Aside from that Reetha noticed something else that separated them from the others. Jex had a birthmark that was covering his left eye and Scowl had a birthmark on his right eye. 

"Pleased to finally meet you." She offered her hand kindly to which the two gladly accepted. 

"The honour is hours, commander. Without you, we would not be here." Jex held her handshake a little longer as he thanked her. 

"Aww jeez. Don't worry. It was really Obi-wan, Cody and your brothers. And lose the title when we're not working eh. That means as long we're not in battle mode, my names as good as anything. Or, you know what, we can skip the title even during battle, and... Uhm, I'm rambling aren't I.." A pink hue came unto her tan skin. 

Scowl replied with a small, comforting laugh. "No worries, Reetha." 

Before she could continue her conversation, Reetha's comm beeped and she answered. "Reetha, I need you in the bridge." It was Obi-wan. He sounded rather serious. Not wanting to keep her new master waiting she stood up and jogged to the med bay's entrance "Sorry guys. Got a catch-up later." She waved awkwardly and accidentally bumped into the doors. "Uhm.. doors, and stuff.." 

Her earned amused looks from the clones, but not judgemental ones. She finally got a grip on herself and managed to open the doors and skipped out, only to pop her head a little past the door to wish Jex and Scowl a fast recovery. 

---

A small smile graced the Jedi's face when the jumpy padawan made her way into the bridge. It didn't go unnoticed how welcoming the clones were, greeting and smiling at the padawan as she jogged to Obi-wan's side. Day two and they already welcome her with open arms. 

"Ah, I was wondering how long it would take you to get here." Obi-wan's sassiness only confused the padawan. 

"I'm sorry for my lateness, master." 

"Oh, no. You were right on time." He said, giving her a dismissive wave. "I just thought you already picked up on Anakin's term of, on time." 

Reetha pressed her lips in a thin line and shook her head lightly. "Well...soon. I guess." She playfully stated, making Obi-wan sigh and saying that it would be too soon if it happened. 

"Coming back to the task at hand. I have a mission for you if you are up to the challenge." 

"Beats staying on the ship. I think I've explained my wolf-ness to the boys at least a dozen times." Reetha said while stretching her arms and popping her fingers. "What's the mission?" 

Obi-wan turned to the holo table and pressed a button, displaying a surface of a planet. Thanks to her time spent in the library, Reetha registered the planet as Ryloth. Ryloth's great canyons and passed and light jungles were unmistakable. 

"With the liberation of Ryloth, the Republic have been constantly monitoring and keeping an eye on the people and the bases we have there. We have constant shifts to visit the bases and make sure everything is in order." 

Reetha nodded as she took the information in. "So, we are going to check on it then. When do we leave, master?" 

"In two days time. But it won't be we, more like you and a squad of your own." Obi-wan replied and sported his signature smile. Reetha's brows furrowed in question. "Why aren't you coming along?" 

"Unfortunately, I have some council business to attend to." He let out a sigh. 

"Huh, the council seems to have a back for bad timing." 

"That's quite brave of you to say, my dear padawan." The amusement from Obi-wan's voice was not easily missed. It seems that Reetha had accidentally spoken her thoughts out loud rather confidently.

"Uhm, I didn't mean that, master. Sorry." The tips of her ears turned red from embarrassment.

"Not to worry, Reetha. I have to agree with you on that one. The council does have a problem with timing." He laughed and patted her shoulder. "In the meantime, I think you still have some unsatisfied fans to address. Take your time to get to know them. As for your training, we'll start as soon as you get back." 

Reetha bowed and thanked Obi-wan. "Two days. I guess I can get more familiar with the ship." She then grumbled and slapped her forehead. "But then I'd have a whole lot of questions coming my way.." 

"Thinking out loud, kid?" A bridge officer asked her with a cheeky grin. 

'And I gotta work on that as well' Reetha mentally faced palmed herself. 

---

According to plan, Jex and Scowl we dismissed from medical care thanks to the intensive bacta care. After her breffing with Obi-wan, Reetha went to recruit her boys. Jex and Scowl volunteered, seeing as their condition was improving fast; plus they we're already bored having their buts stuck under medical care. 

Jex and Scowl along with several other troopers that made up her official squad within the 212th. Upon arrival on Ryloth, they were greeted by a young male twi'lek. "Greetings." The man said as he dismounted his blurg. "Though, I must say I thought I'd be meeting with General Kenobi. Are you his padawan?" 

Reetha nodded and bowed respectfully. "Yes. I'm Padawan Reetha Khan. My men and I are at your service." 

The twi'lek nodded to himself before smiling. "Well, General Kenobi is a trusted ally. An a padawan of his would be just as trusted. I am Cham Syndulla, welcome to Ryloth." 

Settling in with the twi'leks went smoothly. Reetha understood within  a few minutes that these sentient beings were very social. Reetha and her men rode on blurggs as they were lead into the home of the twi'lek community. 

The path ahead narrowed down, forcing the blurggs to enter in a single file. Reetha looked back to make sure all her men were with her. For a moment, everyone was enshourded in darkness, until a sliver of light seemed to cut through up ahead. Time seemed to slow down when the bluggs finally stepped into the light. 

"Welcome to my home." Cham said with a smile, slowing down his blugg mount when he noticed Reetha's slow down. Not only that but it seemed that the whole squad of clones slowed down and joined their commander. 

Mouth gaping and totally in awe, Reetha froze in place and took in the vibrant hidden city before them. Tall lush trees reached for the sky from all around. Up in their canopies were walks ways that connected to huts that then descended to the ground.  Two streams of water came from deep within the jungle and trailed out to the middle of the city, then converting into a larger river that flowed out of the city and lead out to the tunnel. Over it, a intricately designed brigde that connect to halves of the separated land.

"Gasp!" Jex stopped his blurgg beside Reetha's. "I can get used to this view." His voice cackled, passing through his helmets modulator. The padawan, still with her literal mouth opened, only nodded, completely entranced by the beauty of the twi'leks home. 

"I like the aesthetic, but I'm not a fan of bugs." Scowl then appeared to her left side, eliciting a small giggle from Reetha. "Would you rather it be Geonosis?" She chuckled and leaned towards Scowl. The clone cringed at the mention of the sentient creeps. 

Cham let the girl and her companions take in the view before leading them to their rooms. His community were generous to accommodate her and her squad. Reetha was bunking with her two new friends, Jex and Scowl. 

---

The centre of the small city glimmered majestically under the filtered sunlight. The twi'leks went about helping the troopers to unload the medical and food supplies. "My thanks for the supplies. The Republic are keeping their word, and for this my people and I are grateful." 

"Of course. We're glad your people are doing well." Reetha said while she took in the sights. An awkwardness of sort began to settle between the twi'lek leader and the padawan. Hunching her back inwards, she nervously fiddled with her fingers. Cham seemed to have caught on with her behaviour, but choose not to address it. 

"Yes, padawan?" He questioned in a friendly way, not wanting to scre or preassure the young girl. 

Reetha gave him a shy grin. "Uhm, so... I'm kind of new to...this.." she awkwardly fiddled with her fingers and continued, avoiding the twi'lek's growing grin. 

"T-this is my first time conducting a, what would you call this, a check? No, a monitoring-No, no I wouldn't, that's not the word. I uhm-" 

Snickers from the troopers behind her told her that her situation was amusing to them, but she sensed that it was not in a bad way. She continued to blabber, stumbling over her words until a wholesome laughter stopped her rambling. 

"Your quite a padawan. Awkward, but brave." 

Reetha winced, feeling embarrased at Cham's direct words, though he hadn't meant to hurt her. She understood this.

Noticing her little dilemma, Cham decided to take it easy on the poor kid. "What I see, is a padawan who is brave to face something new. Nothing less I would expect of a padawan of a great general. Why not we take it easy today, child? You and your troops have travelled longs ways to my home, and it's nearly night fall. We can supervise the base tomorrow."

"But, is it not protocol to, like- work now?" Reetha asked innocently. She really needed to brush up on her formal speech. Cham's smile soften. "You're new to this padawan. I would not expect you to know everything at once. Everything is a learning process. That is what I tell my daughter. You will join us for dinner tonight. We are going to celebrate our harvest. Take some time to enjoy the sights." 

The twi'lek left Reetha with a clap on her shoulder before turning to a attend to a little green twi'lek that ran towards him. 

"That could've gone worse." 

Reetha rolled her eyes. "Worse? That's was terrible. I'm useless." Scowl scowled "Hey kid, your learning alright. Mistakes go along the way but it only makes us more prepared for more similar missions like this. Ain't that right Jex?" 

The trooper nodded. "We learn from mistakes. Don't feel bad." The comforting aura from both her friends made her want to cry, but she kept herself composed, still being extremely thankfull for the both of them. 

"So, what shall we do now?" A trooper from her squad asked. 

"Hmm, I guess we could see the sights?" She shrugged. "Take you time and rest up too. After all, Mr. Syndulla did invite us for dinner." 

It didn't take long for her team of ten to disperse. Jex and Scowl on the other hands decided to stay with their sister. 

"The river looks cool." Jex said as he lifted his helmet over his head. 

"What, you want to bathe in it?" Scowl bickered back causing Jex to roll his eyes and Reetha snickered. Suddenly, a small 'wow' broke the three's banter. They turned around to find a innocent, doe eyed twi'lek child. 

The young girl, not older than the age of seven greeted them with a toothy smile. "Hello." She bounced on her heels. 

"Hey kid." Scowl waved back. 

The girl bit her lip and squeeled. "You're funny. Is this your brother? Does he also look like you?" 

The two troopers exchanged glances, before dropping to their knees.Scowl removed his helmet. "Yeah. He's my brother and he does look like me. We're the same, see." Scowl removed his helmet to show his face. The girl gawked and squished her cheeks. 

"Like them too?" Jex looked at the other troopers that she pointed to then nodded "Just like them. We're clones."

"No you aren't. You're twins." She laughed and giggled more, but stopped abruptly when she finally laid eyes on Reetha. Reetha's eyes widened when the girl scanned her intently, offering her a shy wave. 

"Wow. Your pretty. Are you a clone to?" The little twi jumped on her feet. When Reetha froze, Jex gently pulled on Reetha's hand so she could crouch down beside them. 

"Uhm, hi. I'm not a clone. But thank you. You're pretty too." 

"If you are not a clone, then are you the Jedi?" The little one pieced it together really quickly. 

"Yes. I'm Reetha. This is Jex, and that is Scowl." 

Excited giggles fell from the child's mouth. She clapped her little green hands together, content with the new friend's she met. "Can I show you around? Please?" 

She puppy dog eye's were to strong even for the most strong willed Jedi to ignore. Sighing, the two clones and the Jedi agreed. 

"Hey kid, we didn't catch you name." Jex called out.

"Oh, my name is Hera Syndulla." 

------

Hello guys, how are ya'll doing? I hope your enjoying this book so far. Do let me know what you think about it. The story is going to mellow down a little for a few chapters. Some light hearted stuff and no wars or meeting with Ventress and stuff. More sweet bro-sis moments on the way though.

 Also, Happy Chinese New Year to everyone.