𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘

𝟎𝟎𝟏. 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

001. HAUNTED BY A MONSTER

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SHE DIDN'T RECALL THE DEBRIEFING DETAILS EXACTLY, BUT ARIMIYA WAS ALMOST CERTAIN THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR A JUNGLE TO BE SO DENSE. Her boots were covered in muck, and she struggled with each step to make progress forward. The Twi'lek a few feet ahead turned and looked over her shoulder with a chuckle and a small grin.

"How much farther, Master?"

"Well, the halfway point is only a few clicks from here," the Twi'lek explained gently.

"Why did we land the ship so far away?" Arimiya complained as she yanked her leg free from the mud to take another step.

"To keep the element of surprise," the Twi'lek replied patiently, still smiling, "Master Halsey said that he should be able to hold off the separatist forces until morning when we're scheduled to arrive. They won't know what's hit them until it's too late."

Noticing how much the small girl was struggling to keep up, the clone trooper following from behind quickly scooped her up and placed her on his shoulders, still managing to carry his Z-6 comfortably. The girl's smile immediately returned, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"This is hardly protocol, Burst," the clone who had spoken looked up at the padawan commander.

"You're just jealous, Cash," Arimiya said and playfully stuck out her tongue. She knew that beneath his helmet, Cash was rolling his eyes. However, she almost lost her balance and fell as Burst hopped over a fallen log blocking the path.

The skies slowly grew darker, and it was difficult to determine whether it was the fault of the rising moon or the incoming rain. A bit of both, she supposed. Her master had been right when saying that the predetermined campsite was only a few clicks away. It didn't take long to set up, but as it started to pour, each did their best to find cover.

Arimiya stood with the hood of her robe pulled over her eyes while her hands remained tucked inside her oversized sleeves. The girl looked absolutely miserable out in the weather which only made her master laugh. The Twi'lek approached the girl and pulled back the hood so that she could see her face.

"How are you doing?" Arimiya looked up at her master unamused. R'avida couldn't help but laugh again before ruffling her padawan's hair. "We've been through worse."

"I hate the rain," Arimiya grumbled under her breath and made an attempt to pull the hood back up over her eyes.

Ace laughed as he'd overheard what the girl had said. "I wouldn't suggest visiting Kamino then."

Arimiya tilted her head as she seemed to notice something different about the clone now that his helmet wasn't covering his face. A smug grin flashed across her face. "Are you going grey?"