The Negotiator and the Fire Fang

The Interlude: Storms Ahead

Tipoca City was beautiful. It was clean and streamlined, like a state-of-the-art cruiser. It was white, bright, and shiny. The sleek hallways were filled with clones and Kaminoans alike. There were young cadets, troopers in training, and the toughest clone commanders Shan had ever met overseeing training.

Despite its beauty however, the cloning facility still held the scars of the failed Separatist invasion a while back.

There were holes in the in the ceilings. Some were patched up quickly to keep the rain out. Others had been fully repaired, the damage unnoticeable. The hallways were pockmarked with charred blaster holes. Some only had one or two. Others were half white, half black from the damage. There were still some charred floors and twisted plasteel from grenades. These were all superficial reminders.

The deepest scar ran in the morale of the inhabitants. There was a heaviness here, mourning and grief. There was also fear and anger, like a cornered animal. That was what happened when someone attacked your home. She still carried those very same traits in her heart.

She was shown the cloning chambers and training wings, the dorms and mess halls. She met more Kaminoans than she could count. She met X. X was cloning mistake turned advantage.

The clone was the sixth to be born as a female. The other five come to term before the war had begun. X, however, was young enough to be trained. So she became a Republic spy that most of the Jedi generals didn't even know about. Shan had only met her in passing, because she had a mission to complete, but she was kind. The other clone women were somewhere throughout the city.

The outside of the facility was eternally dark and stormy, a never ending torrent of wall-like rain, crashing waves, and swirling clouds. There was a constant roar in the background. The waves below them were constantly in motion, giving the planet a restless edge that kept Shan on her toes.

All this being said, it got very boring, very quickly.

Shan figured if she had been here permanently, it would be more interesting. There would be clone training to oversee, squadrons to pass or fail, combat regiments to create. She would be given duties, things to do on the daily. But, since she was simply the interim overseer, her job was basically to make sure no one blew up the facility until Shaak Ti returned. Fun.

"I win!" Ice shouted, smacking a hand excitedly on the holochess table. She didn't know why he was so happy about winning; he had won five of their eight matches, which also meant this was his third win in a row. She had always been terrible at Dejarik.

Ice brushed a hand over the top of his mop of white hair, grinning like a madman, as Shan leaned her head against the back of the chair. Her feet were propped up on an abandoned seat.

The trooper had healed completely since his encounter with Tal Rhona. He also ended up with a wicked scar over his upper rib cage that he loved to show off. Rhona missed his heart by an inch.

Shan picked up one of her crackers and tossed it at him. He slid down in his seat and caught it easily in his mouth. He gave a chuckle as he chewed. This is what they and the rest of their squad had done since they landed.

Gheo, ever curious, was studying up on a few new worlds. Shan had suggested he read up on Arazadel. It was a very unique planet. Lots of interesting flora and fauna as well as history.

Varo was napping on the couch on the opposite side of the room. Serak was cleaning his blaster for the seventh time. They all had been fighting in battle after battle for so long now, they even longer than her. It was hard to adjust to the quiet. Her wrist beeped.

"Consult Shan, we have received a transmission from General Windu." the Kaminoan named Taun We said on the opposite end of her comm. Shan stretched before responding. "Thanks, I'll come up now."