BATTLE SCARS [✓]

× Chapter Three: SOS ×

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"Hey, who's the youngling?" Maleshei heard as she looked to see the two troopers from earlier looking at me. "I'm Master Plo Koon's Padawan. The name's Maleshei Trek."

"Cool name. I'm Sinker, this one here is Boost. Glad to have you with us, kid." Sinker said with a crooked yet sweet smile before he went back to fixing the pod's controls.

"Maleshei. I need you to contact any other escape pods still in tact or try and find a frequency that we can contact help from." Master Plo said as Maleshei nodded and she made her way over to the communication panel.

She turned the dial a few times, hoping to find a signal somewhere. Her heart began to pound in fear. They had no food, no supplies, nothing. They were basically running on fumes, and they had no power. Maleshei did everything she could not to think about it, but the fact that she was in a pod was what scared her.

"I can sense your distress, Maleshei." Maleshei quickly turned to her left to find Plo Koon knelt beside her. "Sorry, Master. It's just..I'm worried. Worried that we won't make it."

"We all must have faith, Maleshei. That's what keeps us alive. This weapon may have taken out our forces, but it has not taken us out." Plo Koon said as Maleshei nodded her head, quickly going back to the communication panel to listen in for any other signals.

She tried for a while, Maleshei nearly giving up on trying. She didn't want to believe that nobody else made it out alive, but nobody was responding or at least giving off a signal.

She shook her head of the thoughts out of her head. 'Master Plo is right. I need to have faith. It's the only thing keeping us alive.' She thought before she went back to looking for signals.

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"R2, scan for any mystery weapons in this area."

"No, R2. Scan for any life forms still in the area."

"Why would we need to scan for life forms if we're looking for a weapon that's filled with...battle..droids? It's the Abregado System. Oh! So it's okay for you to go against the Council!"

"Doing what the Jedi Council says is one thing. How we go about them is another."

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"The air's getting a bit stale in here." Wolffe said as Maleshei shook her head, a smirk making it's way onto her face, though nobody could notice it because of her mask.

"Don't look at me. It's Boost, sir. He only takes bathes when he's on leave." Sinker said with a smirk before Boost smacked the back of his head lightly.

"Save it. Focus on working on the pod, not your jokes." Boost retorted, however everyone took their attention to Maleshei who was quietly giggling at the two troopers who were fussing not too long.

"Well, at least they can actually make people laugh." Wolffe said with a shake of his head before he turned to Plo Koon. "Do you think we have a chance?"

"I don't believe in chance, Commander. If we stay together, we can make it out of this alive and someone will come look for us." Plo Koon said with determination as Maleshei took her attention away from the communication panel.

"My Master is right. The more we doubt anyone will come, that will give us less hope of help ever coming. We'd be losing faith in ourselves. And that's not what we're meant to do."

"Well, with all due respect, sirs, but strategically, it doesn't make sense for someone to come look for us. If I was in command, I'd be out hunting down the weapon." Sinker stated.

"I value your life more than finding that weapon." Plo Koon said with empathy and seriousness. This was coming from the bottom of his heart. He knew the clones had a thought in their head that screamed that the Jedi are more concerned about the war than the lives of all clones.

Plo Koon had a different mindset. He believed that all of these clones, despite them being clones, are men. They all may look alike and sound alike, but they all have different personalities. Different uniques gifts, features, everything.

And Maleshei knew this for a fact. She knew her Master's feelings on the clones. It was just demonstrated to her just now how much he cared. And this was one of the reasons she was glad to have Plo Koon as her mentor, her teacher.

He shows a great compassion for others. Clone or otherwise.

"Sir, maybe you should take a break." She heard Wolffe say as she took her attention away from her Master and looked at him. She nodded before she stood from her spot in front of the panel, her feet dragging across the floor as she knelt down against a nearby wall.

She began to meditate, her mind slowly clearing of any thoughts. She wanted to calm herself down so that her thoughts won't cloud her judgement. She closed her eyes, thinking only of the Force.

Plo Koon had sensed Maleshei's subtle mind and his eyes wondered to her. He was proud of her. She was using meditation as a way of clearing her mind. He didn't expect this at all. He thought he would have to teach her a lot of the Jedi way.

But, seeing this, he knew she had some knowledge of it. But there was still some room for more.