SWOOSHH!

I cut through the electric tentacle-like containment chamber with my lightsaber, releasing three captive Mon Calamari. "Go, go!"

The freed Mon Calamari make for the battleground, grabbing their spear blasters and impaling the nearest Separatist droids they could reach.

PYU! PYU! PYU!

The sound of shots fired echo throughout the underwater surface. Master, Haris and Master Alva Zelzash are leading the Mon Calamari and the Quarren against the Separatists, the glow of their blades slicing through the waters.

Trust me to get assigned to prisoner liberation instead of the actual battlefield. Especially one as exciting as the Quarren switching allegiances.

"It would be easier for you to slip through the battle and release the captives," Master had explained. Master Alva Zelzash nodded amiably, and now here I am, lightsaber raised to slash tentacle bars instead of Separatists.

I begin to swim towards the final containment chamber, the breathing helmet set firmly on my head, when I sense the shift in the currents behind me.

PYU! PYU! PYU! PYU!

Four red blaster bolts shoot through the water, heading straight for me.

Catch the stars.

I hold my lightsaber at arm's length, swishing it through the water. Each bolt hits the laser and ricochets back towards the Separatist who fired it.

"Duck you!" I yell in Galactic Basic, although I am not quite sure whether the Separatist in question can actually hear me through my helmet.

I approach the containment chamber, slashing the tentacles with methodical violence until they give way. The Mon Calamari inside immediately spring into action, taking up the places of their fallen allies.

Time to kick some Separatist butt, as per Immorri's request.

I charge forward, deftly deflecting blaster bolts. The Separatist droid army is pushed back, and I can hear the engines of their ships revving up. The two Jedi Masters and Haris dart to my side with the rest of the Mon Calamari-Quarren army following suit.

"Attack!" The angered voice of the young Prince Lee-Char thunders. He picks up a second spear blaster in his free hand and fires more shots. "Chase them off Mon Cala!"

The army, now increasingly spirited, begins firing bolts and swarming droids with more vigour. I zip forward, deflecting as many bolts as I can to prevent the creatures of Mon Cala from being shot. Haris joins me, our backs against one another as energy bolts ricochet off our glowing blades.

The Separatist ships are setting up for a retreat, but the droids do not falter. They attack as they are programmed to, only to be struck to bits by spear blasters.

"Alva!" Master's voice echoes through the water, and I turn to see Prince Lee Char getting punched in the squid face by Riff Tamson, the shark-like Separatist general who had been in charge of invading the planet. Master takes off to save him and Master Alva Zelzash swoops in to cover for her.

I rein in my focus on deflecting bolts, destroying more droids as the Separatist ship prepares to take off.

KA-BOOM!

An explosion erupts near the entrance of the main Separatist ship, where Tamson had been punching the Prince. Bits of blown-up flesh sink to the ground around a stunned but very much alive Prince Lee-Char.

Bits of shark. Riff Tamson is dead.

The Separatist ship retreats from Mon Cala, the droids and its general having fallen. Haris and I retract our lightsabers.

The citizens of Mon Cala surround the young Prince, grabbing his squid-like arms and raising them. "Long live the Prince! Long live the Prince!"

☆☆☆

"And as your King, I pledge my loyalty to the people of Mon Cala," Prince Lee-Char declares, the upturned seashell crowning his head as he turns to face Mon Calamari and Quarren alike.

Out of gratitude for our assistance, the Jedi Masters, Haris, and I received verbal invitations to the Prince's coronation ceremony.

Beside me, Haris leans in to speak. "When are we, leaving?" His tone takes on a sense of urgency, as though he is uncomfortable.

I furrow my eyebrows at him, the sound of the Quarren representative's pledge fading into the background. "Why? Is the coronation unsettling for you?"

Haris shook his head. "No," his voice drops to a whisper, "it's the water."

Oh, right.

"You are wearing the underwater suit," I hiss at him as I observe Prince Lee-Char receiving pledges. "You're completely dry, Mat Kucing."

Haris shudders. "The water's everywhere."

"Long live the King! Long live King Lee-Char!" The citizens of Mon Cala cheer as they form a crowd around their new ruler.

King Lee-Char whirls to face us, and Haris straightens immediately. "I cannot thank you enough. Mon Calamari is now a free and the tyrant who murdered my father is dead. Come, I will escort you to your ship."

He swims away, flanked by two guards on each side. Master and Master Alva Zelzash follow him. Haris exhales a sigh of relief and dashes after them. I trail behind in silence.

☆☆☆

The second our ship takes off, Haris strips off his underwater gear, leaving him in his clean tunic. He throws himself onto the seat, fingers grasping the sides the way a cat would.

"Dry, dry land. Never leaving it again," he mutters. "Meow."

I settle into the seat next to his right after our Masters enter the pilot's cockpit to arrange the coordinates. The pilot's cockpit consists of two clones, who are in charge of piloting the starship. Haris stands up, swaying on his feet.

"Jo, cover me."

Huh?

I open my mouth to ask for clarification, but Haris's body has begun to contort, and he cries out. The sound of bones cracking and shrinking fills my ears.

He's shifting.

I run and grab Haris's discarded roughspun cloak on the countertop. Rushing back, I drape the brown material to cover his form, just in case Master suddenly exits the cockpit.

I glare at the black cat now peeking out at me from beneath the cloak. "You're being careless, you know that? Nobody is supposed to know about this," I reprimand in a whisper.

"Meow," the cat replies, in an almost guilty manner. His bright eyes blink earnestly, as if saying: "I could not help myself."

I shake my head, moving to cover his furry head with the cloak. "How long do you have to stay like this?"

The cat moves in a shrug.

I sit down in his seat, and Haris the cat jumps onto the countertop. I pick up the cloak and drape it over him again.

What do I say if the Masters come out and ask where Haris is?

"Scaredy-cat," I mutter at him. "Can't even stand a little water. You'd better change back before the Masters come out of the cockpit, because I am not going to lie a second time to protect your precious secret."

Haris lowers his head, purring solemnly, as though he were pouting.

Because I'd need to be able to transform into Lee-Ara to pull off a lie like that.

We sit there in silence, and I feel my trademark discomfort creeping over.

Say something.

"What's next after becoming a Jedi Knight, Mat Kucing?" I poke at the feline form. "Are you planning to join the Council? Or to become a Sentinel?"

Haris only meows at every question I pepper him with, and feline mannerisms were not included in my Jedi training, so I give up on trying to start a conversation after a few more futile attempts. I allow the discomfort to smother us, even as Haris shivers, his feline senses making him more Force-sensitive.

At last, Haris leaps off the countertop and seeks refuge under it. He pulls the cloak onto himself and initiates his transformation. I look away, spinning the seat to hide him.

"I figured, I will go step-by-step," Haris croaks from behind. I attempt to spin my seat to face him, but he holds it. "I'm not wearing anything," he warns, and I instantly oblige.

He continues talking as he slips on his clothes. "After I become a Jedi Knight, perhaps I may, stay on in the Jedi Temple. It would be good, to train new younglings in the ways of the Force."

Train new younglings? I never thought of that.

Haris jabs my side with a finger. "You?"

To find my family.

"I don't know," I mumble. Haris jabs me in the side again. "You do know. You don't want to tell. Were you serious on joining the Sith?" Haris lowers his voice at the last sentence.

"Of course not," I splutter, appalled. "I would never defect. The Order has been nothing but family to me."

The seat is spun around, and I come face-to-face with a decently dressed Haris. He pushes himself onto the countertop, sitting cross-legged. His stare eggs me on to speak.

He has been open with me, even telling me his family secret... why not?

"I want to find my family," I blurt out, carefully observing his face. Haris stays expressionless, undisturbed by my statement.

"Why, Wildcat? What happened to them? I thought the Su family was doing well," he asks. "One of the noble Coruscant families."

"Lesser nobles compared to yours, of course," I simper, and Haris rolls his eyes at me.

I continue. "I did not get a proper farewell from my family. A couple of clones came for me, saying I passed the standard test for Force-sensitive individuals, and my family gave me up."

Haris is shocked. "Just like that?"

I nod. "My mother was in labour at the time, and my father had just received urgent summons from the Senate regarding the case on Naboo."

"The Trade Federation had just taken the planet by force, didn't it? And Queen Padmé Amidala called for help." Haris recounted the issue, which had been big news at the time.

"My mother gave birth to a baby boy, and I had just enough time to hear his first cries before I was ripped out of my home. Grand Master Yoda promised me that if I completed my training as a full Jedi, I would be able to return to look for them."

Haris frowns in confusion. "Look for them? You don't remember where your home is?"

I fold my arms and pull my legs up to imitate his position. "That is the problem. After Queen Padmé Amidala's term ended and she stepped down to became a Senator, there was word that my father had stepped down as well. Some said he had foreseen the Clone Wars and moved the family."

"Out of Coruscant?"

I shrug, absent-mindedly folding Haris's cloak in my lap. "I do not know."

Haris places both hands flatly on his knees, looking decidedly determined. "Then I will help you. After we complete our training, and have passed the Trials, we will begin our search for Senator Su."

I pull back and shake my head. "No, it is my goal alone. You should do what you wish to do, and train younglings in the Order."

Haris is not having any of it. "I can do that after I have helped you find your family. You never know, perhaps your brother could be a Force-sensitive youngling in the Temple too."

I blink at him, and he bursts into chuckles again. "I will, take that as a yes," he responds, his gaze becoming more intense.

I smile back, handing him his cloak. My fingertips graze his, and neither of us pull back. Images of us sparring in the courtyard conjure themselves in my mind, locking me in the seat as the distance between us closes.

Haris tugs at the cloak, and I jerk upwards. My hands let go of the cloak to grip his welcoming wrists, my nails clawing in. Our gazes do not break as Haris lowers his face to mine-

PYU!

A blaster shot rings out from the cockpit, followed by Master's screams. More shooting sounds ensue, coupled with the thrumming of a lightsaber deflecting them.

We pull apart, drawing our lightsabers. Haris and I dart to the sealed entry of the cockpit.

"Master!" I shout, slamming on the seal. "What is going on?"

The shots cease, and I can hear Master's ragged panting. Next to me, Haris is stunned, as if he has taken a bolt to the chest.

There is something wrong with the Force...

A Jedi has returned to it.

My eyes widen at the revelation. From inside the cockpit, one of the clones speak, but unlike the manly tone it was previously using, it spoke in a robotic voice instead.

"Execute Order 66."

The sealed entry of the pilot's cockpit slides open.

A/N: Phew, this part took a lot of research and time-fitting to fit all the pieces together. Now for the explanations and visuals:

Prince Lee-Char: Now King of the planet of Mon Cala, he is of the Mon Calamari species. The weapon in his hand is the spear blaster, native to Mon Calamari.

Quarren: These are the Mon Calamari's neighbours. They live on Mon Cala as well. They allied with the Separatists at first but eventually sided with the Mon Calamari for the good of the planet.

Riff Tamson: The Separatist General who murdered Prince Lee-Char's father, King Yos Kolina.

Returned to the Force: Died.

Order 66: You could Google it to find out, or you could wait for the next part because you are too much of a lazybutt.

Also, that almost-kiss scene was ew. I originally started writing the TCX Presents series to practice writing lovey-dovey stuff, but that was really weird. Let me know what you think!

Signing out (to sleep):

Scarlet.