Cal soon left the room they shared and found Rex standing in the hall. Rex glanced at him

"Sir, you should get some rest before we land,"

Cal chuckled softly and shook his head, 

"I wish I could, but I have someone to look after who needs me more than ever before,"

Rex glanced over at the closed door, 

"Sir, will Sora be alright? She looked scared when we talked about Coruscant,"

Cal sighed and shook his head, 

"Captain. Sora has only known our small planet of a home. She has never been to space, and I never allowed her to talk to travelers that we ran into. She is rightfully scared for our future."

Rex frowned, 

"I know a kid that went through that. She's from far away, but she got the hang of it after a bit,"

"How long?"

Rex sighed as he thought of his old student, 

"A few months,"

Cal sighed, knowing exactly who he was talking about, 

"If I could, I would have made sure she never saw the things we did. She's been through a lot for someone her age,"

Rex frowned, 

"What has happened to her?"

Cal winced and glanced at her hands, 

"Captain, you have been in this war a long time. I'm sure you can get some ideas as to what my friend in there has been through enough for me to never be able to touch her lightsabers without gloves."

Rex frowned, 

"I have never heard of a Jedi with those powers,"

Cal shrugged, 

"I barely know any Jedi at all, so that makes us even,"

Rex slowly nodded, 

"And the answer to my question, sir?"

Cal frowned as he thought about it for a moment, 

"I would say it could have been worse. She has not tried attacking any of you, so I would say she will be alright,"

Rex glanced at him, 

"Why would she attack us?"

Cal smirked and patted his shoulder gently, 

"She threw me out of the room when she woke up from her nightmare. You, Captain, can count yourself lucky that you never have to wake her up from one,"

"Does she usually have them?"

Cal winced and nodded,

"Although, we usually wake each other up from ours."

Rex looked at the older man next to him, 

"You have them too?"

Cal chuckled sadly, 

"Of course I do. I just am more conscious of who I attack when I wake up."

Cal slowly lifted his poncho and shirt up just enough for Rex to see the bruises on his torso, 

"Most of them are from the nice wake-ups I get, but BD usually helps me fix them up. Just don't tell Sora, she doesn't know and I don't plan on her threatening me to tell her if she ever unintentionally hurt me,"

Rex's eyes widened, 

"Sir, these look old,"

Cal shrugged, 

"Like I said, Sora and I...we are all we have now. I protect her, and she protects me. We are never apart, and I plan on keeping it that way,"

"But what about your injuries?"

Cal chuckled, 

"Oh, please, some bruising has never stopped me before; you should be more worried about Sora; she always ignores her injuries. If it wasn't for our force bond, I would never know when she was injured,"

Rex winced and nodded, 

"I know what you are talking about. I mentioned someone by the name of Victory earlier, remember?"

Cal only nodded, and Rex smiled,

"Her name is Nikki Mils; she's an honorary sister of the clones. Commander Cody from the 212th and I trained her for a month before she started showing promise in the force. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi became her Master. We all see her still, especially whenever we are on a break on Coruscant. She's currently serving with Master Plo-Koon and his battalion. Her best friend is Luiz. Cody and I trained him and her two younger siblings. Her siblings are on guard Duty with Commander Fox for the senators."

Cal nodded, 

"What is she like?"

Rex sighed, 

"That kid is the most reckless person ever, gives General Skywalker and Commander Tano a run for their money-"

"Who is Commander Tano?"

Rex sighed and leaned against the wall, 

"Ahsoka Tano. She was the Padawan of General Skywalker. Then, a few months ago, she was expelled from the Order. But it was all a mistake, and Nikki, along with the General, figured out what actually happened. Ahsoka was asked to go back to the Order, but she refused. Instead, Nikki convinced her to stay as a consultant for the GAR. She would be asked to join someone for missions if they needed extra firepower, but it's usually Nikki who asks her. A few times, General Skywalker has asked."

"Does she still have her lightsaber?"

Rex nodded, 

"She does, but she does not use them as much anymore; she only uses them to defend us. Nikki taught her how to use a lightsaber and blaster at the same time. Similar to how you did with Sora back there,"

Cal blushed and shrugged, 

"Hey, it's easy to learn if you are trying to survive,"

Rex nodded, 

"Yes, it is. That's how Nikki got Ahsoka to start using a blaster, too. It helped her hide,"

"Nikki helped Ahsoka hide?"

Rex sighed and nodded, 

"They are best friends. They shared a room together when Nikki came to the Order. When Ahsoka was on the run, Nikki helped her hide to keep her safe and gave her the droid she owned. R5 is his name. The 501st boys and I knew that Nikki probably knew where Ahsoka was, and I am almost positive that General Skywalker knew too, but we agreed not to push her. Nikki is a good person, and I am positive that you will get along with her when you meet her,"

Cal smiled and nodded, 

"I believe so, she sounds like Sora,"

Rex chuckled, 

"As long as the two don't prank me, I will look forward to them meeting,"

Cal chuckled and nodded, 

"Sora needs some friends,"

Rex smirked, 

"She will get some,"

Then, there was a small shake, and alarms went off. Rex sighed and lifted up his comm, 

"General, what is going on?"

"Rex, we are under attack. I'm going to take some fighters, it's only a few ships,"

Cal opened his mouth but the door opened and out came Nikki with a long sleeve dark blue shirt on with her vest over it, 

"Let's get going, we got some droids to kill,"

Cal shook his head in amusement and Rex sighed, 

"General, I'm bringing the shinies,"

"The two new Jedi?"

"Yes, sir,"

"Alright, have Sora do the flying I have a feeling she's better,"

Cal gasped, 

"What the kriff?"

Sora laughed and patted his shoulder, 

"It's true. And here I found some materials in my bag,"

She quickly handed him the leather gloves and Cal nodded in relief, 

"Thanks,"

"Don't want you fainting from a vision now, do we?"

Rex's eyes widened as he put on his helmet, 

"You failed to mention that part, sir,"

Cal sighed, 

"One time. That happened one time!"

Nikki smirked back and slowed down their jog so Rex could lead them. They had to pretend they didn't know where they were going, which did hurt Nikki as she grew up a lot on the very same ship they were on. Rex led them to the fighters, and Nikki immediately hopped in one with BD-1 on her shoulder while Cal jumped into one behind her. Anakin glanced at the two before nodding, 

"Alright, let's give them hell, boys! And girl,"

Nikki rolled her eyes, 

"Shove off, Skywalker,"

Anakin laughed, and they quickly left the hangar. As they exited the hangar in their Clone Z-95 Starfighters, they were immediately met by a wave of Vulture droids and Hyena bombers. Anakin's voice was heard over her comm,

"Sora, stay on my wing. Axel, cover our six."

Axel responded,

"Got it, Skywalker."

Nikki toggled her comm,

"Roger that."

Anakin, Nikki, and Cal broke formation, diving into the swarm of enemy fighters. Anakin expertly maneuvered her Z-95, weaving through the chaos and targeting the lead Vulture droids. his lasers tore through the droids, sending debris floating in space.

Nikki and Cal stayed close, using the Force to anticipate the movements of the droid fighters. Nikki spun her Z-95 in a tight barrel roll, avoiding enemy fire and returning with a burst of her own, taking out several droids in quick succession.

Rex and his squadron provided cover, picking off any droids attempting to flank the Jedi. Anakin's voice came over the comm,

"Alright team, focus on those Hyena bombers. We can't let them get close to the capital ship."

Nikki acknowledged,

"On it, Skywalker."

She locked onto a Hyena bomber and accelerated, closing the distance rapidly. The bomber's rear cannons fired, but Nikki deftly dodged the shots, unleashing a barrage of her own that turned the bomber into a fiery explosion. Cal was engaged in a dogfight with a pair of Vulture droids. He pulled into a sharp climb, then cut his engines, allowing the droids to overshoot him. With a quick flick of his controls, Cal brought his ship's nose around and Anakin joined him and the two Jedi destroyed four droids with precise laser bursts that were trying to destroy Cal's ship. Rex's voice came through the comm,

"More bombers incoming, ten o'clock high!"

Nikki looked up to see another wave of Hyena bombers descending on their position.

"Axel, on me! Let's take them out."

Cal formed up on her wing, and together, they climbed to intercept the bombers. Nikki fired her concussion missiles, and two bombers exploded in a brilliant flash. Cal followed up with a salvo of his own, reducing the number of bombers even further. Anakin's voice came over the comms,

"Good work, guys. Let's finish this."

With the remaining Vulture droids and bombers in disarray, the combined firepower of the Jedi and the clones quickly decimated the enemy forces. Nikki toggled her comm again,

"All clear. Heading back to the ship."

As they returned to the hangar, Cal immediately jumped out and ran over to Nikki's ship and sighed in relief when she got out with BD-1,

"Sora, can I have my droid back,"

Nikki gasped in offense and patted BD-1's head, 

"Hey! He's my droid, too. He loves me just as much as you,"

Cal sighed and held out his arm, 

"Come on,"

BD-1 immediately jumped onto his arm and climbed onto his shoulder while Cal smirked at Nikki proudly. Nikki rolled her eyes and turned to see Anakin approaching them with Rex behind him,

"Hey, nice flying, you two. How did you learn to fly like that?"

Nikki shrugged, 

"I flew some land speeders that we borrowed from bounty hunters,"

Cal sighed, 

"And I had to use one to chase after her and the bounty hunters that went after her,"

Anakin chuckled, 

"You two are something else. We are almost to Coruscant. Usually, I would try to get you introduced to some more of my men, but Master Yoda just called me before the Separatists came, and he asked to meet with you both,"

Nikki shared a brief glance with Cal and looked at Anakin, 

"Who is Master Yoda,"

Anakin smiled, 

"The grandmaster of the Jedi, basically the main boss of the Order, what he says goes for the most part,"

Nikki nodded, and Cal patted her shoulder, 

"Sounds fun,"

Anakin smirked, 

"Don't worry, you two will have more fun than my first time,"

Nikki tilted her head, 

"What happened your first time?"

Anakin shrugged peacefully, 

"I was brought to the temple older than most, and they tested me. I passed the tests, and they argued about whether I should get trained or not. But that was a long time ago,"

The two nodded. Anakin smiled at them, 

"Now, I can run you two by some traditions of ours if you would like,"

"Yes, please,"