Beginners Luck

Chapter 8

POV: Obi-Wan Kenobi

I was headed to meet up with Rex and inform him of the battle that was to come. Anakin was with me. The separatists had apparently laid siege upon the planet Christophsis. It was possible Ventress, or even Dooku are there. I can practically hear Anakin saying; Blah blah blah, details details. Master, it's real simple, we go in, we destroy clankers, maybe capture some Sith, then leave. Simple!

Simple. Like Ventress, who's as slippery as a fish and Dooku, who used to be one of the most powerful dualists in the Order could be beaten easily. Anakin would call me a pessimist. I say a realist. You would think that after all we've been through, he would be a little less impulsive. "Master! Is something wrong?" Anakin's words brought me out of my thoughts in a snap. He smirked. "Stop worrying! I can hear the storm clouds from over here."

I let out an exasperated sigh. "You would think that after training you for who knows how long, you would be a bit less impulsive. Need I remind you that Dooku might be there? The same Dooku who disarmed you last time?" Anakin rolled his eyes. "We'll I was a PADAWAN then. Now I'm a knight and your with me too! The Negotiator and legendary Sith killer."

"Force forbid that you get an even bigger head." I muttered making some nearby clones chuckle quietly. Anakin gave a fake injured expression, but before he could retort I said. "You're a Jedi KNIGHT now. You need to start acting a bit more responsibly." Anakin rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. I get it." As we approached the looming Venator I sensed a strange presence aboard. It felt dark and full of pain. I nudged Anakin. "Do you sense that?" I asked,  he turned to me, looking a little worried. "Yeah. Do you think-"

"No." I said firmly. "It doesn't feel like a Sith, or even a dark acolyte."Anakin spoke. "What do you think it is then?" I stroked my beard in classic
Obi-Wan style while I thought. "I'm not sure." I replied finally. "We can ask Rex if there are any visitors on board right now, or some sort of disturbance." Anakin nodded, seeming to accept my response. I turned away from them to the window, watching as the ship got closer and closer.
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When we spoke with Rex, he said that apart from some new troops, there weren't any new people aboard. We informed him of the mission and he called Jesse, who was there at the time, to bring some clones to listen in. "Who though?" Asked Jesse. Rex rubbed his forehead while he thought for a second. "Bring Coric, Echo, Fives, Cutup, Appo, and..." He made a gesture with his hands and Jesse grimaced. "Are you sure you want to bring him? You'll probably have to have Sprite here too. It's impossible to separate the two." Rex let out a long sigh. "I'm sure. He's one of the best shots we've got. He'll probably be made ARC soon." Jesse nodded before turning to presumably, fetch the clones.

I exchanged a glance with Anakin. I wondered who this mysterious person was. We would soon get our answer, I knew. We just had to be patient. Anakin broke the silence first. "Sooooo. Who's Echo, Cutup, and Fives?" Rex made a face that was half grimace, and half smile-smirk. "They're some... very restless new recruits. The survivors of Rishi. They are quite the pranksters." Anakin sent a smirk my way. "I think I'd like to meet this trio."

Soon Jesse returned with the named clones following behind. All had their helmets down but two. They were standing next to three other troopers that were standing next to each other. One of the clones who still had his helmet on removed it, revealing a nervous looking clone with a scar peeking out of the collar. The other had some rather disturbing looking paint on his armor. There was red that seemed to drench the helmet, without obscuring the visor of course. It was rather realistic, and I could tell that it was no simple job. There were a couple blue lines that crisscrossed the helmet, and a teardrop beneath the right eye, that at first looked simple, but as I looked closer, I could see all sorts of shades of blue, dark green, even indigo mixed in. I realized with a start that the darkness seemed to be coming from HIM.

Rex gave the clone an amused look and said. "That teardrop is new. Is that why you vanished for practically an hour yesterday?" The trooper started signing in GSL (Galactic Sign Language) and what looked to be some ARC signs. I even knew well enough to translate. Well it took forever to get all the shades, besides, you should know that you can't rush these things. It's meant for my brothers you know. He signed. Rex rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah." He turned and began to brief them.

I eyed the clone out of the corner of my eye and even tried to subtly pry at his mind. Immediately, I slammed into unusually strong mental shields. All people, I knew, had some form of protection against probing, but this was something else entirely. They seemed impenetrable. While I tried again to push against his defenses, I saw his head shoot up and turn to stare at me. I could feel the hostility emanating from it and retreated from his mind. Thoughts whirled through my mind as I tried to think of a possible reason. Could he be trained to block force users? But from who? It's implausible for one to have such strong shields.

The clone continued to stare at me, it seemed calculating, searching, probing. I felt uneasy under his gaze. Eventually he averted his gaze and turned to listen to the briefing again.

After the briefing the clone approached me. Do you know sign language? He signed. I nodded. "Some. I'm not entirely fluent." He paused for a second, his hands twitching before he signed again. Do you mind if I draw you? I blinked. "What?" He sighed. Sometimes I draw people. Helps me. With no other explanation, he revealed a journal and flipped through, showing several drawings depicting several 501st troops and some unfamiliar ones I only glimpsed briefly. Some had color, others didn't. I was shocked by how realistic and detailed they were. I shrugged. "Why not."

He lead me over to a chair and gestured for me to sit down. I did. He studied me through his black visor for several uncomfortable moments before beginning to sketch, occasionally glancing up to study my face. Soon he lifted the journal and seemed to compare the picture to me. He nodded in satisfaction before turning it show me. My eyebrows rose in amazement. It showed me from the shoulders up staring thoughtfully into the distance, stroking my beard.

Just then, a clone approached the artist and tapped him on the shoulder. "One of the shinies don't know what to put on their armor. Think you can help them out?" In response, he stood and followed his brother, waving at me over his shoulder. As I watched them leave a voice interjected. "That's strange." I whirled to see Rex, Anakin standing next to him. I cleared my throat, trying not to show how surprised I was that they had snuck up on me. "What's strange?" I asked. Rex shrugged. "That one's usually not to keen on new people. The fact that he even drew you right after meeting you intrigues me." Anakin crossed his arms. "That's what that was about?" I nodded in confirmation.

"He was the presence we felt earlier." I told Anakin. His eyebrows shot up before his eyes narrowed and he gazed suspiciously at where the clone had departed. Rex furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?" I explained what we'd felt earlier. "It felt painful." I finished. "Oh." Was all Rex said, eyes showing understanding. "That one has a rough past. Not evil though." He added quickly after. "What happened?" Asked Anakin, this time sounding more curious then suspicious. Rex seemed to wince. "It's not a story he shares lightly. Truly, I think only me, and a couple others actually know some of the story." He glanced around, checking for eavesdroppers. "I can't tell you much without violating his privacy, but I can tell you it's not a pleasant story."