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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟑
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒

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After most of their weapons were destroyed in Slick's attack, the Jedi and their highest-ranking clones were determined to develop new battle strategies. As they reviewed their latest plans, the world around them began shaking. Aurora exchanged a concerned yet confused look with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Even though she knew they would never admit it out loud, they all knew they weren't ready for another battle. They still needed to figure out what to do now that their supplies dwindled. But the Jinn woman also knew that their enemy wouldn't wait for them to be prepared.

A long sigh passed over Aurora's lips before sending Grizz a small nod. That was all it took for the clone to grab his supply bag and secure it on his back. After sharing one last look with Obi-Wan and Anakin, the three Jedi and the clone leaders walked out of the room to prepare for battle.

Aurora ran beside Obi-Wan, Cody, and Grizz and behind Anakin and Rex through the destroyed streets of Christophsis. Blaster fire was all that could be heard as they sprinted toward the front lines. When they finally reached their destination, the Jinn woman could hardly believe her eyes. The biggest droid army she had ever seen stomped toward them. And behind the standard droid army marched half a dozen gigantic octuptarra magna tri-droids.

"I told you this victory was too easy," the Kenobi man announced without taking his eyes off their approaching enemy, "we never should have sent the ship back for supplies."

"It wasn't my idea to send the ship back," Anakin retaliated while looking over at his former Master with annoyance in his eyes.

"Do you really think this is a good time to have this discussion with droids marching toward us?" Aurora said without bothering to hide her irritation toward the pair.

While the Skywalker boy let out a long sigh, Obi-Wan nodded in agreement and turned his attention toward the clones behind them. "Alright, men. Second wave incoming."

"Rex, you and your men follow me," Anakin ordered before sprinting down the destroyed Christophsis street with his battalion in tow.

"Cody, battle positions!" the Kenobi man exclaimed, earning a nod from his commander before they sprinted toward the frontlines.

The Jinn woman just watched as the Jedi and their clone battalions ran into battle. Her mind was plagued with memories of Blu as she watched a few clones fall. All she could think about was wanting to save them all, but she knew that was impossible. The droids advanced faster than they anticipated as more and more of them came out from the shadows. It wasn't until Aurora felt a presence next to her that she snapped out of her daze. When she looked up at the person standing beside her, she found Grizz with his helmet off and concern in his eyes.

"Are you alright, Aurora?" the clone questioned without taking his eyes off his commander.

The Jedi hesitated for a moment before shaking off her emotions and grabbing her lightsaber from her belt. "Just stay close to me, Grizz."

The lieutenant simply nodded in response before the two of them raced after their allies. While Grizz took cover beside Cody and the rest of the 212th, Aurora went to stand beside Obi-Wan. She made sure to place herself somewhat in front of her lieutenant while she and the Kenobi man blocked as many of the droid's attacks as possible. It wasn't long before the redheaded man gave his troops a signal, causing clones to start firing the cannons. But despite their best efforts, the droids continued to advance.

What felt like an eternity passed before Aurora a wave of realization washed over her. It wasn't long after that when she called out to Obi-Wan while continuing to block blaster fire. "Where's Anakin? He should've joined us by now."

"Don't worry. He knows the plan," the Kenobi man responded without taking his eyes off their enemy.

"Care to tell me the plan?" the Jinn woman questioned, trying not to be bothered by Obi-Wan and Anakin making plans without her.

"You'll see," the Jedi Master responded, earning an eye roll from Aurora that he didn't see.

Not even a second after that passed when they spotted the Skywalker boy jumping from one of the rooftops. He gracefully landed on one of the gigantic octuptarra magna tri-droid, drawing some of the droids' attention to him. It wasn't long after that when the 501st followed their general, leading on the ground just beneath the gigantic octuptarra magna tri-droid. That was all it took to draw most of their enemies' attention away from the 212th and their Jedi leaders.

It wasn't long after that when Obi-Wan signaled for his men to charge. Aurora waited for Grizz to reach her side before they followed the general and his battalion. The Jinn woman blocked as much as she could while the lieutenant fired at the droids over her shoulder. They stayed as close as they could to the Kenobi man and Cody, wanting to be at the front of the battle but not leading the battalion. Aurora swung her lightsaber at the droids closest to her, slicing them in two. She did her best to keep her attention glued to their enemy and not on the clones falling around them.

The next thing anyone knew, a loud explosion cut through the air. Aurora had just enough time to look up to see Anakin jumping from a falling gigantic octuptarra magna tri-droid to a standing one. It wasn't long after that when a second giant droid fell thanks to the clones, followed by the last remaining one. But despite their best efforts, more and more droids were coming their way. They had no other choice than to take cover behind one of the fallen gigantic octuptarra magna tri-droids.

"We're gonna need reinforcements," Anakin declared while glancing over at Obi-Wan and Aurora.

"We haven't been able to get through to the Admiral," the Kenobi man responded with exhaustion in his voice, something that only Aurora seemed to pick up on.

"Well, we can't just sit here," the Jinn woman said after checking over Grizz to make sure he was uninjured, "there's gotta be something else we can do."

Not even a second after that passed when the brunette woman's blood ran cold. Not only were more droids marching toward them, but enemy tanks as well. She knew that if they were to reach them, they stood no chance of defeating the Separatists. But what brought Aurora a hint of hope was the clones firing the canons behind them. That seemed to be all they needed to slow the tanks down, bringing them to a stop. Everyone watched the tanks as they waited for the Separatists to make their next move. To everyone's surprise, they began to retreat. The Jedi and their clone allies all let out relieved sighs, grateful to be finished with the battle.

It wasn't long after that when an ally gunner ship flew passed them and in the direction of their base. The sight alone was enough to make a smile appear on Obi-Wan's face before he looked over at Aurora and Anakin. "Looks like help has arrived."

"Our cruiser must be back," Aurora said after she, Obi-Wan, and Anakin finally arrived at their base. They had to walk past an uncountable number of fallen clones, which she had to force herself not to look at.

"Which means we'll be able to get our reinforcements," Anakin added with a hint of relief in his voice.

"Then it looks like our problems are solved," Obi-Wan declared before letting out a long sigh, "fresh troops, new supplies, and perhaps they brought my new Padawan with them."

"You really think it's a good idea to bring a Padawan learner into all this?" the Skywalker boy questioned with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"I hate to admit it, but I agree with Anakin on this one," the Jinn woman said, earning a playful eye roll from the boy next to her. After returning his gesture with a large grin, Aurora returned her attention to Obi-Wan. "This isn't the place for a child."

"I spoke with Master Yoda about it," the Kenobi man told them before turning to fully look at his allies, "both of you should put in a request for one. You'd make good teachers."

Aurora simply rolled her eyes at the redheaded man while Anakin laughed at his words. Both actions brought a hint of annoyance into Obi-Wan's eyes. They proceeded to walk in silence for another moment before the Kenobi man continued speaking. "Teaching is a privilege. And it's part of a Jedi's responsibility to help train the next generation."

The Jinn woman looked over at Grizz, who was walking closely behind them. "I don't think my way of going about things would help any Padawan."

"And a Padawan would just slow me down," Anakin added with a smug smirk on his face.

Their conversation was soon cut short when the gunner ship's door began to lower. Shock coursed through all of their veins when they saw who was on the ship. None of them expected to find two young girls walking down the ramp, but there they were. The sight alone was enough to make the three Jedi speechless, which was a first. Aurora, Obi-Wan, and Anakin just watched them for another moment before the latter broke the silence surrounding them.

"And who are you supposed to be?" the Skywalker boy asked as he continued to study the two girls standing in front of them.

"I'm Ahsoka, and this is Laken. Master Yoda sent us," the young Togruta responded while gesturing to the girl standing next to her, "we were told to tell all three of you that you must get back to the Jedi Temple immediately. There's an emergency."

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in a bit of an emergency right here," Anakin retaliated with annoyance in his voice.

"Yes, our communications have been a bit unreliable, but we've been calling for help," Obi-Wan added in a much calmer tone.

"Master Yoda hadn't heard from you so he sent us to deliver the message," the Tano girl responded while Laken continued to study the three Jedi, similar to what Aurora was doing to the two girls.

The Skywalker boy couldn't help but scoff as he turned and took a few steps away from them. "Oh, great. They don't even know we're in trouble."

The Diem girl just stared at them for another moment before speaking for the first time since she arrived. "Maybe you can relay a signal through the cruiser that just dropped us off."

Her words caused smiles to appear on the Jedi's faces, which made Laken take an unconscious step behind Ahsoka. The only one who seemed to notice was Grizz, but he didn't comment on it. It wasn't long after that when the five of them made their way over to their holotable. No one said a word as Obi-Wan pressed a few buttons, sending a signal to the cruiser in the space above them. What felt like an eternity passed when one of the clones in the control room answered their call.

After listening to their request, Disk let out a long sigh and responded. "We're under attack by Separatist warships, but I'll try to make contact with the Jedi Temple for you. Stand by."

Not even a second after that passed when the clone disappeared from the holotable, leaving a faint beeping behind. No one said a word as they waited for someone from the Jedi Temple to appear in front of them, which was taking longer than they expected. What felt like an eternity passed before a member of the Jedi Council appeared in front of them. Lucky for them, it was exactly who they wanted to speak to.

"Master Kenobi, glad Ahsoka and Laken found you, I am," Master Yoda said while keeping his eyes glued to the redheaded man.

"Master Yoda, we are trapped here, and vastly outnumbered," Obi-Wan explained before letting out a long sigh, "we are in no position to go anywhere or do anything. Our support ships have all been destroyed."

"Send reinforcements to you, we will," the Jedi Grandmaster responded before the transmission began to fade. 

They tried to reconnect the signal on their end but failed every time. It wasn't long after that when Disk reappeared in front of them. "We've lost the transmission, sir. But we have to leave orbit immediately. More enemy ships have just arrived. We'll get back to you as soon as we can."

Before anyone had a chance to respond, their communication with the cruiser ended. Anakin let out a long sigh before looking over at Aurora and Obi-Wan. "Well, I guess we'll have to hold out a little longer."

"My apologies, young ones. It's time for proper introductions," the Kenobi man said to the Padawans after sending Anakin a slightly irritated look.

"I'm the new Padawan learner. I'm Ahsoka Tano."

"And I'm Laken Diem," the brunette girl next to her said with a lot less enthusiasm.

"I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi. I apologize, but I was not informed who's new Master I will be."

A confused look instantly appeared on Ahsoka's face. "I'm at your service, Mater Kenobi, but I'm afraid I've actually been assigned to Master Skywalker."

"What? No, no, no," Anakin responded while moving to stand between Obi-Wan and Aurora as if he were hiding from the Padawan, "there must be some mistake. He's the one who wanted the Padawan."

"No, Master Yoda was very specific," the Tano girl responded while Laken stood beside her in silence, looking as though she wanted to be anywhere else but there, "I'm assigned to Anakin Skywalker. He is to supervise my Jedi training."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Anakin scoffed while keeping his eyes glued to Ahsoka.

"We'll have to sort this out later," the Kenobi man told them before letting out another long sigh, "it won't be long before those droids figure out a way around our cannons."

"I'll check on Rex in the lookout post," the Skywalker boy said as he turned and began walking away from them, only to stop in his tracks when Obi-Wan called out to him.

"You'd better take Ahsoka with you." After watching Anakin walk off with his new Padawan in tow, the Kenobi man turned his attention toward Laken. "So that means you must be my new Padawan learner."

The brunette girl hesitated for a moment as her eyes bounced between the two Jedi standing in front of her. After letting out a shaky breath, Laken began speaking. "I'm sorry, Master Kenobi. I would be honored to be your Padawan, but I was assigned to Aurora Jinn."

"What?" Aurora said with disbelief in her voice as her eyes landed on the Diem girl. The Jinn woman just stared at the skittish-looking girl for a moment before continuing to speak. "I'm sorry, but I didn't sign up to be anyone's Master."

"That was mine and Master Yoda's doing, Aurora," Obi-Wan admitted, drawing her shocked gaze to him, "we both felt you were ready to teach a Padawan. I just didn't know he would assign you one without speaking with you first."

Aurora's mouth slightly fell after taking in the Kenobi man's information. After sending him an annoyed look that only he and Grizz were able to read, the Jinn woman turned her attention back to the young girl in front of her. "Well, then it's nice to meet you, Laken. I'm Aurora Jinn, and this is Grizz. We look forward to working with you."

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