Guardian | Obi-wan's new padawan

Chapter 9: Down Time

The way back to Coruscant took quite some time. With Tatooine being in the outer rim, we were about as far from the middle worlds as you could get. I didn't really mind though. With Obi-wan being busy handling negotiations with Jabba, I had all the time in the world to explore the ship and to get to know my way around. The clones were happy to help out, pointing me in the right direction whenever I got lost. It meant that after only a day or two, the ship was bustling with energy like it was its own little planet. And though the surface under my feet wasn't alive, it didn't mean the ship wasn't brimming with it.

It was on the third day that Waxer and Boil were finally able to hunt me down, according to their own words. With me having lived a nocturnal life for so long, I tended to get hungry at night. And while I usually kept some snacks in my room in the temple, I hadn't gotten to do that on the ship yet. So I found myself in the mess hall late at night, looking for some food.

The hall was relatively empty, most of the clones either asleep or still doing their rounds. The few that were there, were all tired from a long day of work and just wanted to munch on their food in peace. They didn't pay me much mind as I filled my tray and sat down at one of the empty tables.

I was happily eating my food, without a care in the world, when Waxer, Boil, Odd Ball, and another clone walked in, all of them still in uniform, their helmets under their arms. They must have just finished their shifts.

Waxer spotted me almost immediately, and he gave me a little wave, his brothers giving him a confused look, before also looking my way. I gave I little wave back, taking another bite of my sandwich. The food here was surprisingly good actually. The food at the temple was always so bland, and at least they used some salt here.

"Good evening commander." Boil said as all of them, except for Waxer, who took a seat next to me, sat across from me.

"Good evening." I said a bit tiredly. I'd only just woken up after all.

I eyed the new clone's face curiously, trying to find some defining feature. His eyebrows were slightly sharper than the others, giving his face a sharp look. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Maxine."

"Good to meet you, commander, I'm CT-4376." The clone said and I paused for a second. That was certainly new, all the other clones usually just told me their name right away. Did I have to call him by those numbers?

Boil elbowed the clone in the side. "But we just call him Longshot."

"Oh good." I said, relieved. "I'm not a big fan of the numbers, it makes everything feel so impersonal."

We all ate in silence for a bit, all of the clones tired from a long day of work. But still, there was this lingering curiosity rolling off all of them, and I quirked up my eyebrow at them. "What's gotten all of you so curious?"

They all stiffened in surprise, making me smile. "Come on guys, you're all covered in it." I cocked my head to the side, my tail swishing in amusement and brushing past Waxer's cold armour.

"Uh- well-" Odd Ball stammered. "It's just that Waxer and Boil told some very interesting stories about you."

"Oh really?" I smirked at Waxer besides me. "What about? My life at the temple really wasn't all that interesting."

They were all staring at me, Boil giving me a weird look. "Wait." I started. "Is this still about the Palulukan?"

"So you did fight one?" Odd Ball asked skeptically.

"Well, I wouldn't really call it fighting. More like me trying not to die." I said, laughing slightly. "It's probably not as exciting as you think."

Longshot just looked confused. "How the hell did you even find one of those things?"