The Varactyl Squadron Commander (A Star Wars: The Clone Wars Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Thirty-Three

The walk to their sister's suite took a little longer than the triplets were planning, considering the heavy, silver plates of food they held in their arms were somewhat of a weight they couldn't handle. To get up the flights of stairs, the girls resorted to using their magic abilities to aid in carrying the load, then opted back to count on their own small muscles; Asemdi didn't like the thought of her younger daughters becoming overly-dependent on something their big sister could do fine without.

After noticing the slightly alarmed expression on Aveline's face when she saw the food of their home planet again, Asemdi didn't hesitate to send a different meal entirely to Aveline's chambers. One that consisted more of fruits and vegetables than that of meat. Whatever their enemies had done to make the eldest sister cringe at her favorite evening appetizer must've had a lasting effect, though they all hoped it went away soon; they'd had enough meals without their best friend present.

Despite the long amount of time it took to prepare the new meat-less dishes, the triplets believed that Aveline would still be awake at this point. Ever since they were babies, they could remember how terribly hungry Aveline would get in the later hours of the evening. Which only added to their shock when the woman decided to retire to bed before filling her stomach.

"I hope she's feeling alright," Nata strained to say she carried three basket's worth of buttered rolls, seasoned scones, loaves of jumba bread, and frosted pastries as the trio continued on their journey, their bare feet soundless on the mossy ground beneath them. "I can't even imagine what she could've been put through as a prisoner."

"A Republic prisoner, nonetheless," Jordae stressed by Nata's left side. She paused, propped her plate of multi-colored berries and fruits from all across the planet on her knee and adjusted her grip before finishing her thought. "I heard Auntie's guards talking after Aveline left, the things they said about being under Republic arrest were just awful."

"How?" Cyndea questioned to Nata's right and grit her teeth as she held her portion of the meal, consisting of a blood-moon pumpkin nearly the size of an astromech droid hollowed out and filled with chopped jumba roots, crimson onions, kanto and hettan beans, along with crushed yogan nuts harvested from their royal garden. "If we're not including her lack of appetite, she seemed fine. She remembered who we were and was happy to see us again."

"Appearance isn't everything, Cyn," Jordae grumbled. "Mental and emotional damage are just as dangerous as physical. I'd much rather be cut with a knife or shot with a blaster than suffer the kind of torture methods Auntie's men whispered about."

"And what kind of torture was that?" Nata asked, though her attention had drifted from the conversation. As Jordae began to explain all the horrible things that could've happened behind enemy lines, Nata had noticed a shift in the growing vines that surrounded them, a shiver of unease in the floor and walls that her two other siblings hadn't picked up on. Although she had good faith that Aveline was safe now that she was home, something in her gut told her otherwise.

With every step they took nearer to their destination, the restless nagging at the back of her mind only grew. It was telling her, practically screaming at her, that her big sister was scared of something Aveline had no control over. An emotional pain began to flood through her chest and spread through her soul like an overflowing cup; one look over at Jordae and Cydea and she knew that they could feel it too. It was a pain that none of them had ever felt before, or thought they'd ever feel in general.

It was the agony of loss.

"Come on, we have to hurry."

Nata's sisters didn't need to be told twice as they set the food down. With a single wave of their hands over the plates, the mini platforms of food began to steam, then slowly rose into the air. It was after that that the trio began to sprint down the hall with the floating meals in tow. Their mother always pestered them about using their gifts only in emergencies.

This qualified.

***

The doors burst open with an unnatural force that knocked both Rex and Axel off their feet and sent their weapons flying in opposite directions. The two clones let out shouts of shock as their backs crashed against the carpeted floor, waking up the rest of the soldiers in the process. In a split second, both Rex and Molindi's squadrons were wide awake with their weapons ready and aimed at the intruders.

All it took was a glance at the three girls to know that pointing a loaded gun in their direction was a terrible mistake.

"Get back!"

The chandelier above them shuttered as the triplets raised their arms. The strange fire-like orbs glowing from the intricate curving wood bolted downwards towards the little witches and into their palms before swirling and twirling in their grasps, branching out like the chandelier above them. A flaming barrier grew around the children and they brought their fists out toward in a strong thrust of energy. 

It was as if the soldiers were on a beach and the green fire-looking essence was a tsunami. The vines along the walls writhed and squirmed by the sudden thrust of power; it sent the rest of the room sailing in reverse, backs thumping against the tree-like interior of the suite and bodies landing haphazardly on the floor. Though the blast hadn't had any heat or true flame, the raw power behind it was enough to leave the men stunned.

It was in that moment that the clones realized just how far they were out of their league, out of the entire planet's league, if each female alive possessed as much power as the children who'd knocked them on their asses. The realization dawned on them all that maybe, just maybe, the undercover group might've bitten off more than they could chew. If the cannibalism alone wasn't enough, the sight of three children, not even in their teen years, packing as much of a punch as a full-grown Jedi force-push was the final straw.

Molindi had been smart enough to duck for cover; she'd anticipated the attack the instant her men raised arms in defense. The woman recovered much faster than the others could and stood defensively between the witches and her men, eyes cold with a frozen glare reminiscent of a fury she'd felt only hours ago; that anger was pitiful in comparison to the protective mama-bear aura she'd adopted in less than a second. The witches paused their assault, round eyes wide with shock, and lowered their hands.

"Stand. Down."

The green light flickered and died in their fingers before the room was cast once again in an emerald glow from the chandelier above. 

"Explain yourselves. Now."

She knew she was being harsh, maybe a little too harsh in regards to the role she was playing in this mission. There was no way of telling if this was the kind of anger the real Aveline would have felt, but even if she was being out of character, these children had attacked her troops after bursting in without announcement. And that was not okay. That was nowhere near okay.

"We..uh..." The girl in the middle began, stammering and stuttering as she glanced at her sisters at her sides. "We thought you were in trouble, Aveline. We, we could feel your pain, horrible pain." The two others nodded in agreement with her words and stated their confirmations at the notion. Lindi's eyes widened a moment and she knew the clones were exchanging glances of their own, wondering what the hell these kids were talking about when the woman had been sound asleep only seconds prior. "We were bringing you your dinner when-"

The conversation was cut off by three enormous plates floating into the foyer, filled to the brim with bread, fruits, and what looked like a pumpkin filled with vegetables. Molindi glanced at the men around her, at how big their gaze got at the sight of the non-cannibal food being presented and her anger diminished almost completely. Her guys hadn't eaten a thing since they arrived. Granted, they were trained to last long amounts of time without food, but this was a luxury they hadn't seen since their training days on Kamino- a full meal, not just rations. 

"Thank you," Molindi told the girls sincerely, then gestured for the three to join the soldiers' circle they'd formed out of their blankets and pillows. "Please, sit with us for a while. We can talk about this further over something to eat."