The Wolf Pack

Chapter 12

The 104th battalion ended up being assigned to Master Plo after the heavy losses they suffered under Master Ki-Adi. The battalion had taken the name "The Wolf Pack" and given their commander the title of Wolffe. Which I found very cute. I told them so once we all arrived back at Coruscant, but they all started either mumbling, stuttering, blushing or aggressively dismissing my comment. It was very entertaining to watch grown men -who happened to be soldiers- blush like schoolgirls.

Master Plo and I returned to the Temple because he had to meet with the council and start organizing the war effort. Several different battalions had been deployed already, but that only made the need for a solid leadership more pressing. I took the two weeks at the temple as an excuse to recover. Even if the medic had done an incredible job of patching me up, I still had to re-train my arm slowly and get it back into shape. Ahsoka was in the final stages of her training so I didn't see her much with how busy she was. That's why, when Master Plo came looking for me, he found me outside in the gardens catching up with my Huttese.

"Kriari, child. We need to talk." He said as he sat next to me on the bench. "I have come to realize that with the war effort as it is, and my duties in the Council, I will not be able to complete your training."

I put my tablet down and turned towards him.

"Master, please, don't say what I think you are going to say." I pleaded.

He sighed.

"I am not letting you go, not entirely, my child. You will still be my Padawan, but you will be having another Master." He must have seen the confusion in my eyes, so he took a deep breath in and sighed.

"I cannot pull you back from the war effort, we have a pressing need for Jedi in the battlefront. But I also cannot be the one to get you there every time. For that reason, you will be assigned a second master." He explained. "Whenever I am deployed, you will come with me, and whenever I am held down by my duties in the council, you will be learning under another master."

I nodded along as he spoke. It did make sense, Jedi were lacking and the war would only escalate with time. Pulling even one Padawan back from the frontlines would compromise the entire war effort. It still didn't make it all any less painful. I liked Master Plo, he was my friend, and an incredible master. But as all things in life, everything comes to an end. Only in this case it wasn't permanent. Or so I hoped.

"I understand, Master. I will miss you and the 104th." I said honestly.

"You will still see us from time to time, Kriari. And the Master we are assigning you is an incredible Jedi, and a good person. You will learn much from him." He said patting my head softly in an attempt to comfort me.

"So, when will I meet my new Master?"

...

I could feel ahsoka vibrating in her seat next to me. She was giddy with excitement and couldn't get her knee to stop bouncing. She had never been outside Coruscant since she had arrived at the temple, and now, she was headed straight to the frontlines. To her new master.

"'Soka, pleas, you'll make a hole in the ship at this rate." I teased.

"Sorry I'm so excited I can't stay still." she smiled sheepishly.

"Just try not to kill your master with all that excitement, yeah? We are low on Jedi as it is" I jabbed, and laughed when she punched my arm.

"We are here, girls." Said the admiral, who had personally delivered us to the surface.

"Thank you, Admiral. Take care on the way up, the battle looks nasty."I said as the ramp started to open.

"Will do, Padawan Foreas. Good luck to you two."

That was all we heard, because once we excited the shuttle, it took off once again and returned to the command ship.

"Oh, great, we ask for reinforcements and they send two younglings?" Said a man approaching us.

"We are Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Kriari Foreas. We brought you a message from the council, It's urgent." I said, trying not to get annoyed at the guy's attitude.

"Let's hear it then, young one." Said the other.

"You two need to go on a rescue mission. Jabba the Hutt's son has been kidnapped. The council hopes that by rescuing him we can secure passage for the fleet through Jabba's territory." I informed.

The clever one chuckled dryly.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but we are in the middle of a battle and have absolutely no reinforcements except the two of you. We can't leave on a wild goose chase for a huttling halfway across the galaxy."

"The council had not heard from you and sent us with the message, if you have any complaints, sir, you can take them up to the council. Have the cruiser redirect a signal and make contact with Master Yoda." I answered cuttingly, getting pretty tired of his tone.

Had he never heard NOT to kill the messenger?

"We will, young one." said the older one. "What I don't understand is why the council sent two of you."

Ahsoka, a little tired of being left out of the conversation, decided to chime in.

"Kriari is your new Padawan, Master Kenobi. I am Anakin Skywalker's." She said excitedly.

Master Kenobi was my new master? I had wondered why Master Plo had decided to keep me in the dark about it, but I never thought it would be for dramatic effect. Master Kenobi was well known in the temple for being a little unconventional, maybe it was so I didn't object to the idea.

"I see, we will have to get acquainted later then, we need to solve this mess we are in first."

The council told both masters what we had, only that they promised to send reinforcements as soon as possible so that we could all get underway. Master Skywalker decided to be a little touchy about Ahsoka's lightheartedness and sent her with Captain Rex to get acquainted with the camp. He was not happy to have a Padawan to say the least, and complained to Master Kenobi about it. At length. I decided to stay quiet, it was not my business, Ahsoka would have to deal with her Master on her own. I couldn't always be there to protect her.

"So, you are my new Padawan? Kriari, was it?" Said Master Kenobi beside me.

"Yes, Master. I was initially assigned to Master Plo, but he is a little busy with council matters at the moment. You'll have to share me."

It was funny how this conversation seemed more about divorce and custody of children than actual Jedi matters.

"I have no quarrel with that. I hope we can get along, given the circumstances." He said. "You were present in the first assault on Geonosis, were you not?"

I watched the clones set up the defensive line and patrol the perimeter.

"I was."

"So you are not completely inexperienced. Good. Is there any suggestions you'd like to make before the battle begins?" He asked.

I looked at him confused. It wasn't often that masters asked for their Padawan's opinions, they usually gave orders and expected them to be followed.

"If I may," I said cautiously.

"Go ahead."

"I would choose a location behind the line of fire and establish a medical triage, so that if we get any casualties, they can be taken off the field and onto a safe area for treatment." I suggested.

Both there and on Geonosis, I'd noticed the lack of organisation when it came to caring for injured clones. Often they were left where they had fallen until the battle ended and taken to a medic if they were still alive by then.

"A sensible proposal, young one." He said stroking his beard. "I'll have it arranged right a-"

"Master, we have a problem!" Interrupted Skywalker.

"What is it, Anakin?" Asked Master Kenobi.

"The enemy, Master. They have a shield generator."