General in Training [ Star Wars ]

xxviii

"Being stuck on cruisers stresses me out." Riona huffed, voice strained as she stretched. Her fingers were laced together, arms stretched above her head, the woman's lip curling up as she arched her back. They had been on the return journey to Coruscant for three rotations, that long enough for the woman to grow anxious.

"Why is that?" Obi-wan hummed, cringing somewhat as he heard her spine pop in multiple places. He hated that sound, the man refusing to be in the on-board training facility while the troopers stretched.

"I don't know, I think it's a sense of feeling trapped. I'm sure it stems from the incident when I was a young padawan." She mumbled, the situation having become easier to talk about as she'd gotten older.

"Incident? What incident?" He'd frowned, brows furrowed somewhat, the two having long since finished their reports as they stood around the holo-table in the command deck.

"Master Plo and the council never told you?" "Not that I can recollect, no." She'd taken a deep breath in through her nose, letting it out through parted lips as she gently placed her hands on the edge of the table, careful not to hit any buttons or sensors.

"My master and I had been sent on an assignment to escort a senator from Bespin, and a few resources, home from Coruscant. It's a bit of a longer journey, so we expected a few complications, you know? But we weren't prepared for what happened, not prepared at all." As she gently gripped at the metal ledge of the table, her eyes closed, and Obi-wan could feel the anxiety rise in her.

——»»»»☆««««——

While most of the passengers on the cruiser were sleeping, Riona and her master were wide awake, the thirteen year old practicing her lightsaber form. She'd moved to jump on top of a crate in order to come down on her opponent from above, though her footing was misplaced and she'd fallen to the floor. "Ugh! Ataru is difficult."

"If you plan on being successful in form four, you need to use the force to assist you. If you don't, then you will surely meet an early end, my little star." Plo Koon hummed, stepping behind her and gently lifting the teen back onto her feet. "I know you feel that using the force in battle is unfair to your opponent, but, you never know what they have planned. They may be using it, as well."

"How am I supposed to focus on landing a hit, planning my movements, and using the force all at once?"

"You don't. You can never truly plan out a battle, you can only go with the flow of events. You do need to be able to think on your toes, and focus on the moment." He took a step back, about to command her to go again, but there was a large crash and the ship lurched forward, sending both Jedi stumbling.

"Master?" "Go check on the senator, I'll see what that was." "What if-" "We will be alright, I promise." He'd rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, then the two separated to opposite ends of the cruiser. Just as she'd reached the senator's quarters, she could hear blaster fire, her hopes of the crash having simply been an asteroid crumbling. After making sure that the senator was still safe in their room, she'd stood guard outside the door, lightsabers drawn. As the sound of blasters grew closer, her only thought was of her master, wishing that the Kel Dor was successful.

"May the force be with you, Master Plo." She mumbled quietly, it not taking long before pirates had began to swarm the corridor she was standing in. Jumping into a defense position and blocking their blaster bolts, she'd eyed their clothing, realization and panic washing over her. They were members of the Black Sun. She was incredibly outnumbered by men much larger than she was, but nonetheless, she'd fought with everything she had. Taking her master's earlier advice, she'd managed to disarm and knock out a few men, though they'd soon began to come in from the other end of the hall. She truly had no where to go without compromising the safety of the Bespinite senator.

"Stand down, little Jedi. We're not here for you, or the Kel Dor." What she could only assume to be the leader of the group stepped forward, the large man looking down his nose at her.

"I don't care what you're here for, you will be the ones to stand down." Riona made herself stand taller, solidifying her stance as she glared at the man. She was terrified, but refused to let them see it. She knew full well that she could die in this moment, but she would not go down a coward. "I command you off of this cruiser, you have no place here."

"And you have no place in uncharted territory, little girl." He'd growled, raising his weapon. "Kill her."

"I will not go down easy!" She'd stood between the two groups of pirates, using both of her sabers to deflect the bolts on either side of her. Under the barrage of fire her fear only began to grow, the girl wishing that her master was by her side as she redirected the ammunition back towards the men surrounding her. After a few lucky hits, some of them had fallen, though it wasn't enough. They'd soon overwhelmed her, the padawan flat on her back with the leader standing over her, blaster barrel in her face. "I thought you said you wouldn't go down easy, hm?"

"If you kill me, you'll have more than just my blood on your hands." She'd glared up at him, thinking of any weak spots he could possibly have.

"I'll take my chances, girl." As he pulled the trigger, her life had flashed before her eyes and her body stiffened, the last thing she could hear was someone calling her name before everything went black. When she'd woken up there was a medical droid staring down at her, the girl letting out a scream as she attempted to scramble away. As she did so, she'd ripped an IV drip out of her arm, which only caused her to cry out more.

"Riona, I'm here!" Plo Koon had come in the moment he heard her, scooping her up and holding her to his chest. Though in her panicked state, her mind was clouded and she couldn't sense that it was her master, the feeling of being grabbed simply causing her to thrash more. Plo had adjusted his hold on her, pinning her to his chest as he pushed a sense of calmness over her, his voice soft as he spoke. "It's okay, my little star. It's just me, you're safe now. I'm here."

"I-I was so scared." Her voice was broken and small, Riona taking his robe in her hands and gripping it tightly. "There were so many, master. I tried my best to fight, but I was scared. I didn't know where you were, I-I thought I was gonna die."

"That's okay, it's alright to be afraid sometimes. I was afraid, too. I was worried about you the entire time." He murmured, sitting down on the edge of the bed with his padawan in his lap. As he gently ran his long fingers through her hair, she'd began to cry against his chest. "The senator is safe, and the ship is okay enough that we can continue our journey. You did very well, sweetheart. I'm so proud of you for standing your ground for as long as you did."

"Th-Thank you, master." She mumbled, laying against the Kel Dor, the two holding each other close as they sat.

——»»»»☆««««——

"Riona, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you two had gone through that." Obi-wan frowned. After hearing her story, all those years of her avoiding cruisers and keeping her fighter close finally made sense to him. It gave her a sense of security that she could escape if things got crazy.

"It's in the past now. No need to dwell." She'd let out a heavy breath, offering a small smile to the man. "It was actually right around the time Anakin and I had gotten into that fight."

"I still don't understand how you managed to break his arm. You two were on padded mats, using training sticks."

"It just kinda happened." She'd shrugged, causing the man to roll his eyes. "But hey, at least it's not causing him anymore issues. Now he's got a cybernetic arm."

"And he says he gets phantom aches from the injury."

"Of course he does."