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The Valour waited patiently, gazing towards the Mid Rim world of Aphelion. Ilara Alden stood on the bridge, hands clasped behind her back, eyes trained on the planet before her. Despite the information from the mission briefing, she felt her knowledge of the planet was still sorely lacking.
Even from so far above the atmosphere, the planet’s surface bore many colours: icy tundras to the north, fading into seas and vast areas of green. Two moons orbit the world: one grey, the other lavender. Aphelion was little out of the ordinary, if only a smaller than average of a planet of its calibre. What set it apart and made it particularly unique was the rings wrapping around it, made of ice and rock.
“Apparently the rocks within the rings are frozen dragon eggs.”
The Jedi Knight turned her head to see the clone who had appeared by her side. It was her clone captain, Nova. Along with the 108th battalion, they had been assigned to Ilara at the start of the war. Over the months, Ilara and Nova had formed a close friendship — fiercely loyal and always had each other’s backs. Nova was less of a stickler for the rules than other clones Ilara knew, which she found entertaining.
“Did Seeker tell you that?”
The captain nodded. Seeker was one of their newer Shinies, who had already formed a sweet reputation by knowing random, usually helpful, facts about the planets they were sent on missions to. Ilara believed that if he was let loose in the Jedi Archives, she may never find him again — there was too much knowledge to gather. He always had his head in a datapad, but they could rely on him to listen, and he paid more attention than others in briefings and battles.
Nova removed their helmet. Like their siblings, Nova had customised their appearance to appear more unique. They had a small, golden sun tattoo over their right temple, and their hair had grown much longer than the others — most troopers kept their hair short, but Nova’s nearly reached their shoulders. “How do you think the negotiations are going?” they asked, noticing how Ilara’s gaze had drifted back to the viewport.
Since the start of the war, the relationship between Aphelion and the Senate had grown tenuous. The trouble had risen slowly over the course of a decade. As a Jedi, Ilara did not entangle herself with the politics of the galaxy (she had her opinions, but she kept them to herself), therefore she did not know where the tension began — especially as the Crisis of Aphelion had been resolved amicably all those years ago. Aphelion was a vital ally in trading around the Mid Rim, and the Republic Senate did not want to lose this to the Separatists. The planet was still formally a part of the Republic, but the Queen — Ianthe Valarys, Third of her Name — had no intention of being involved in a war she had no reason to be. However, rumours had begun to grow that the Queen did not want to become neutral to avoid war, but to profit from it on both sides. The rumours had sparked amongst a radical splinter group, who were in contact with Count Dooku — leader of the Separatist Alliance and former Jedi. So, three Jedi (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano) had been sent on behalf of the Republic to convince the Queen to fight for the Republic and determine whether the rumours were true. Ilara and the 108th waited above the planet for news of the negotiations, or of a Separatist attack; either way, they were ready to lend support.
