The Jedi Temple's hanger was bustling with preparations. Besides the usual functioning of the hanger, there was an extra buzz for the new mission that was set to be underway.

Clones and maintenance workers loaded two carrier ships with supplies. Emergency medical kits full of bacta gel was rolled up the landing ramp, as well as crates of blasters and launchers were secured on-board.

The mission wasn't expected to be an ambush or a battle, but the crates of weaponry and rations were loaded as such. The clones of the 501st army did as they were told and didn't question the nature of their supplies. But onlookers, such as Ahsoka Tano, couldn't help but voice her concerns.

'Don't you think this a bit overkill, Master?'

'When you're dealing with the Great Houses, it's better to be overkill than stranded with nothing.'

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at her Master beside her. Just a Padawan learner, the Togruta didn't see the need for all the cargo. 

The mission was a peace-keeping one, just like the Jedi used to specialise in. It should require only one team of clones and their Jedi general, but Grand Master Yoda allocated not one general, but two with the 501st clone legion.

Anakin Skywalker stood in his armour with a stiff expression. Recently made general of his own army, Anakin was assigned to this mission alongside his ex-Master, Obi-wan Kenobi. The two men were opposites in their leadership and methods of de-escalation, but it's what made them right for the job.

Anakin was tall with broad shoulders and sandy hair. The tips were beginning to curl around his ears and his blue eyes were light, but full of emotion. It wasn't in the Jedi code to act on emotion, or to form attachment, but Anakin wasn't one for following rules. And even though Master Mace Windu, a vital member of the Jedi Council, never favoured the Skywalker's trait, he couldn't deny that Anakin almost never failed in his missions.

'So, we're going to Arrakis, where the Harkonnens have just massacred the Atreides, to settle the conflict with the Fremen and the... Harkonnens?' Ahsoka said, drawing out her sentence with a tone of confusion. 'Am I missing something here? Haven't the Harkonnens just committed a war-crime?'

Anakin didn't know how to answer. When he was called to the meeting room, the mission's debrief sounded ridiculous and backwards.

'Gather information, you must. Defuse the situation, and report to us, you will,' Grand Master Yoda had informed.

In his small, domed chair, Master Yoda peered at the assigned generals. Coruscant had heard about the tragedy on the Outer-Rim and was looking to the Senate for the consequences to be laid. But it seemed that the conflict had been handed to the Jedi Council, and not with the intent to punish the Harkonnens for their crime.

The looks the green man received were ones of confusion, as they had heard about the massacre of the Atreides on Arrakis. Yet, they were being sent to the desert planet to make peace between the new colonisers and the Indigenous Fremen.

Anakin Skywalker didn't know what to think. He had become a Knight in the previous year and spent most of his time fighting battle droids. Negotiations weren't his speciality, nor was the act of letting criminals get away with their crimes.

It also didn't thrill Anakin to hear that Arrakis was covered in a sand. His home planet of Tatooine was also a desert, but the memories that it held were painful and difficult to reminisce.

When Anakin was assigned the mission, all he could think about was the sour events of his past, and the death of his mother. Aside from the Council's strange decision to send a party to Harkonnen-operated Arrakis, Anakin was dreading the planet for his own reasons. But as a Jedi, Anakin couldn't voice these concerns, as emotion and attachments were forbidden according to the Jedi code.

So, Anakin was silent as he watched the clones load up the ships that would be departing later that day.

'Master?'

The Skywalker's distant eyes shifted from their stare at the 501st's captain. Captain Rex was checking that everything was in order and held his blue-marked helmet underneath his arm. His face that mimicked every other clone in the Order was stern as he ordered his team. 

Anakin lost sight of his captain as he turned to Ahsoka. With her raised eyebrows, Anakin's jaw tensed at his Padawan's stare was unwavering in their beg for answers.

'Ask Obi-wan.'

Ahsoka's shoulders sagged as Anakin stepped to put distance between them. She watched him head towards Captain Rex. The captain stood to attention at the sight of his general, but was put at ease after a short word from the Skywalker.

Ahsoka had many questions. She was barely more than a youngling, and even though she was knowledgable about Arrakis, she knew little about the Great Houses. She understood enough to question the fact that the Jedi Order appeared to be ignoring the fact that the Harkonnens had committed genocide, and were planning to do it again. This made her wonder what was going through the Council's mind, and why they would entertain the idea of enforcing peace with Arrakis' people.

The Padawan's attention was pulled away from her Master as she sensed familiar Force signatures. She uncrossed her armoured arms and took long strides across the hanger. If she wanted answers, it appeared that Ahsoka would have to corner someone for them.

'-and the Fremen have heightened senses from the Melange. It's why their eyes are a brilliant shade of blue-'

'Master Kenobi, Sidra, I have questions.'

Master Obi-wan Kenobi and Sidra Chihari paused in their entrance to the hanger. With wide eyes, the Master and Padawan duo stared at the determined Togruta. Her montrals were humming from it forced concentration, and with her small frame in their path, the man and young teenager had no choice but to ask her to elaborate.

'Please, Ahsoka, do tell us more,' Obi-wan attempted to pry. He side-eyed his Padawan, whose smile was growing by the minute.

'Why, in all that is the Maker's universe, are we loading up for battle-' Ahsoka motioned to the armed ships behind her '-when we're set to be defusing a situation? A war-crime situation, at that?'

'Ah, well...' Obi-wan's hand rose to rub the back of his fair-coloured hair. 'That's... a question for Grand Master Yoda.'

'How do I talk to him?

'He's on his way to Kashyyk, actually. I'm afraid you missed him.'

Sidra wanted to burst into laughter at Ahsoka's face. The annoyance, disappointment and frustration churned into a curled, brown upper lip and narrowed blue eyes. Sidra knew that her Master's answer was sincere, as he too was confused at their mission's true objective. 

But just like they had always done, the Jedi followed their Council's orders.

'Sidra, could you please...' Obi-wan turned to his Padawan with a pleading look. 'Explain the... Great Houses and... their conflicts to Ahsoka?'

Before the girl could answer, the Jedi Master rushed away in the same way Anakin had. The two learners watched the bearded man join Captain Rex and Anakin, with one still clueless, and the other restricting her smile as best she could.

Sidra and Ahsoka were left to watch their Masters avoid their stares. They knew that Master Kenobi and Jedi Knight Skywalker were powerless against the Council's decisions. Missions were given to them and they were carried out as such. With half the Order fighting across the galaxy in the clone wars, the Arrakis mission was prioritised.

When Sidra Chihari dressed in her light silver armour that morning, she didn't know that she would be dealing with the Arrakis conflict. She was told by Master Obi-wan that they were summoned, alongside Ahsoka and her Master, to the meeting room. There, the Council said,

'With your negotiating skills, Master Kenobi, and your knowledge of the Fremen people, Padawan learner Chihari, we can work on settling this chaos,' Master Windu had said, eyeing the duo. However, his expression changed when he addressed Anakin, showing his dislike for the Skywalker's methods.

'And Skywalker, I trust you will take this mission seriously. This is delicate, and the Harkonnen have proved that they're ruthless and unpredictable. We will not have you jeopardising this with your ego-'

'Thank you for your advice, Master Windu. Your concern will be taken into consideration.'

Everyone in the meeting room could see the stoney glaze in Anakin's eyes, and the steam that blew out of Master Windu's ears.

Sidra saw the shift of Ahsoka's gaze through the corner of her eye. She tried to casually draw her dark brown eyes across the hanger to meet her friend's, but it didn't help. The inquisitive stare of the Tano made Sidra nearly shy away, but the black-haired Jedi suppressed the urge into a sigh.

'It's a long story. We should prepare to leave before I start,' she tried to shift the responsibility momentarily.

But Ahsoka was Anakin's student, and Sidra was reminded of that when she peaked through her eyelashes. Even her thick hair that fell from her right shoulder couldn't protect her from Ahsoka's unmoving stance and expression. Sidra always clipped the front strands of her hair to the crown of her head, but its absence in framing her face did little to hide her today.

Sidra let out another sigh, this time with a rise and fall of her armoured shoulders. 

'Come on, then. Let's board and I'll tell you about the Spice conflict.'

---

The 501st legion operated the ships out of the hanger and into the city's blue sky After soaring through the bustling planet's atmosphere, the Jedi and clone party left Coruscant.

The stars appeared among the depths of space and the flight plan to the Canopus system was set. There, they would find the desert ball that appeared to be centre of the Galactic Senate's priorities.

Captain Rex was at the controls with the Jedi generals in the cockpit. Whether they were discussing the bizarreness of the mission or not, the Padawans were taking it upon themselves to discuss it in private.

'Is it possible that it was the Emperor himself that handed the Order this mission?' Ahsoka questioned.

'I believe so. I can't see any other reason as to why this isn't a repossession mission. Emperor Palpatine has to be involved, otherwise the Council wouldn't have made this such a priority.'

Sidra sat in the booth of the ship's living space. With a small table in-between them, Ahsoka and herself spoke in hushed voices about Arrakis. 

With her knowledge of the planet's history, Sidra explained the Atreides' operation of the Spice trade to Ahsoka. She also explained the rivalry between the Great Houses, who held a great deal of power throughout the universe.

'The Fremen know how to live in the desert. They live in tribes in rock formations across the planet, and have caused a lot of headache to the Great Houses in the past. They target Spice harvesters and even call for the sandworms with these thumper devices. They can replicate footsteps on the Spice's surface and can use the worms against the harvesters. The Fremen see the worms as their gods. They call them the Shai-Hulud.'

'What does that mean?'

'Immortal extensions of their god. The Fremen live with the worms in the belief that they are close to their Maker.'

As Ahsoka contemplated the information, Sidra sat back in the pale green booth. The hum of the ship and the pressurisation of the interior was singled by soft, rhythmic beeps. It made for a comfortable, soothing journey, but the anticipation for the mission made the air tense.

For most missions, Sidra was the informant. While Ahsoka specialised in lightsaber combat, like their Masters, Sidra specialised in planets' history, species' cultures, and all that is archived in the Jedi library.

She was trained like all other younglings, and was assigned as a Padawan to Obi-wan Kenobi in the same ceremony as those before her. Sidra's lightsaber was always clipped at her utility belt and its blade was a canary yellow, showing her strength in the Force and her power in knowledge.

The Jedi Archives were Sidra's favourite place in the temple. She always excelled in tests of the universe's histories, because she read about them in her spare time. She enjoyed the silence of the library and grew close with the keepers of the texts. 

No youngling or Padawan were lost when it came to finding the dark-haired teenager, because she was always in the library for pleasure, for study, or in preparation for missions.

But although her sabership was not her specialty, Sidra was still Master Kenobi's Padawan. She was learning more about her weapon and how to use it in battle while under his teachings. The clone wars made sure that the Chihari was aware of every threat and possibility, and that there was always the chance that she would have to use her lightsaber in almost every situation.

'How is Master Skywalker?,' Sidra decided to shift the subject after talking so much. 'I know he came from a planet like Arrakis. I sense that he's not excited for this mission.'

'He's tense, that's for sure,' Ahsoka answered, leaning her cheek against her elbow-supported fist. 'I'm glad that you and Master Kenobi are here, because if I had to deal with Skyguy on my own in this, I'd lose my mind.'

'Don't let Anakin hear that. You know what he's like,' Obi-wan Kenobi's voice made the teenagers whip their heads towards the hallway.