I Choose You ( discontinued )

Chapter 14: Blood in the Rain

"Barriss and I heard what happened with your Master and we're really sorry. We'll see you sooner than we had both expected actually. We move out for Bienia in a few days, so we'll be in touch. I just hope nothing bad happens to you while we're gone. We miss you Al, stay safe."

Al ended the message for the fifteenth time that afternoon. Her wound had improved health-wise, but the memory still remained burned in her mind, no matter how much disinfectant medicine she took. Bienia was a new Republic base in the middle of the most rugged, dense forest Al had ever seen, and she had grown up in the tropical parts of Ryloth. Separatist forces had been trying to re-claim their territory for almost a week and the 747th had suffered so many casualties, it made Al sick. Her master made her sick. She felt like vomiting every time she removed the bandage on her arm and saw the burn and smelled the skin decaying. Noxx was doing his best to heal it as fast as he could and also tend to the wounded, but things eventually became to hectic and Al was left to take care of herself. 

Krell could honestly care less about her whereabouts, and she honestly couldn't be more grateful. The less attention he payed to her, the more time she had to focus on her studies and train through the Force. Stories of ancient wielders and old travelers tales of mystical beings in far off worlds became one of her favorite pass-times. Krell didn't allow her to aid in the war effort, so she spent most of her time alone in her tent reading stories of spirits and trying to find some sort of earthly connection to the Force. It was calming and eventually, she began to feel the trees and the life around her and the Force flowing through every living thing. The water, the trees, the animals, the clones, herself. It brought a sense of calm that the current war had tried to strangle out. She was in the process of rubbing medicine on her wound and listening to the pounding of rain outside her tent when two dark figures burst in and collapsed on the floor. Al didn't flinch; she was used to their barging in. 

"We...have been fighting...for thirteen...rotations...," Blue Jay said through puffs of breath. "When is the general going to give us a break?"

"I guess when the droids go away," Red Hawk said. He was slightly less out of breath than his companion, or at least not over-dramatizing it. "We've sent them running, and I expect they must've given up by now."

"It's the f*cking droid army," Blue Jay said, sitting up. "There is no chance they are running."

Al finished with her cut and began to wrap the bandage around it. "I'm sure you at least did some damage to their numbers."

"We did, and so did they. 1,023 casualties out of the 2,000 men in our battalion," Red Hawk said shaking his head. "It's the worst casualty amount among all the regiments."

"It's not your fault," Al said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's Krell's and you know it."

"We can't call him out on any of it though," Red Hawk said, putting his hand over hers and smiling. 

"Of course we can't!" Blue Jay practically shouted. "The guy has four arms! Four!"

Red Hawk glared at him before turning back to Al. "What I'm trying to say is thank you. For being the only decent Jedi in our lives."

"I promise we're not all like that," she said, smiling back. "It's just him."

Blue Jay sighed excessively. "I'm gonna go try to grab some food."

"Bring me some?" Red Hawk asked.

"Me too?"

Another sigh. "Sure, whatever."

"How's your arm?" Red Hawk asked as Blue Jay left. 

Al held it up in the dim light. "It stopped smelling after a while, which is a relief."