Twisted Morals✧︎ A Clone Wars Story

4: Sei's Briefing

"Sei, I've been looking for you all over this ship! I really wish I could've given you a comlink before I had to run to the briefing room, that would've made this much easier." Said Mora Kyja, entering the mess hall.

Sei stood up from the table and ran off to greet Mora without even waving goodbye to Brass, who was the one who had led her to the mess hall in the first place. Mora handed her a comlink and Sei attached it to her wrist. 

Mora and Sei walked down a corridor for a while, Mora leading the way and Sei respectfully trailing slightly behind. Mora began to speed up as she walked; Sei observed the way she held her arms tensed up behind her. 

"Is there something wrong?" Asked Sei eventually, after she figured they had walked in complete silence for too long. 

"Well," said Master Kyja, "Now that you've asked, there is something. I really don't want to worry you Sei, or excite you, for that matter, because things are usually pretty slow around here. Anyways, we have a mission, sort of." 

"Really?!" Sei was exhilarated and felt like a new excitement and lust for life had been breathed into her. Her small golden eyes lit up and she walked with such a bounce in her step that her white, medium-length hair bounced with her.

"We're being sent to Dantooine," Mora began to explain, "in order to defend a Republic base from an incoming Separatist attack."

It's better than nothing, thought Sei, not exactly what I had in mind, though.

⁎⁎⁎

Admiral Kasst was a tall human man with broad shoulders, a stately beard, and imposing mannerisms. When Master Kyja introduced Sei to him, he held out a large hand and shook hands with Sei firmly.

The handshake seemed to go on longer than necessary and when Kasst gave a small smile, Sei was reminded of Krell for a moment and immediately pulled away and cradled her right hand with her left. Krell used to smile like that, except it was always more cold and foreboding as it was usually the last face his enemies saw. 

Kasst recognized how hastily Sei had pulled her hand away but he simply ignored it. Children were odd, and he wasn't going to question her actions further so as not to strike her the wrong way. 

Soon more talk began about Dantooine and their goals there, but Sei was tuned out for a brief time. She could almost feel Krell's spirit beside her the whole time, as to give her a warning, or as to simply say that she would never truly escape his ideals. 

But she brought herself back to reality and reassured herself on these three things: she was on the bridge of the Serpent; she was accompanied by two highly capable personnel, and Et; and there was no way Krell could ever reach her here because he was dead. 

However, Krell had already poisoned her mind with his ideas and tactics, and that was enough for her to be corrupted as well. 

This whole discussion of tactics and more was leading mainly by Admiral Kasst and Master Kyja, with occasional interjections from Commander Et, who would share his spontaneous thoughts and ideas. The rest of the time he fell silent, fervently scribbling down notes in his holotablet. Sei leaned over and looked at his notes occasionally and found that she simply could not read his awful, messy writing, but saw that he also included little illustrations and graphs with his notes. 

Sei felt it was a rather silly thing to do, but also half-admired him for his thoroughness and how understandable his drawings were. 

Sei thought it very interesting, and simultaneously, peculiar, that Mora listened closely every time someone presented an opinion, tactic, strategy, or idea. She didn't shoot them down. She didn't tell them their ideas were stupid and ridiculous. No...she just listened. And encouraged it. And smiled nicely and considered their ideas. All that Sei concluded from observing this is that her new master seemed too nice to be an effective leader. 

She listened to Kasst and Mora (and Et) talk more and began to feel very bored and tired. Normally listening in on the adults like this would be riveting for her but it was not that way today.

"Is everything alright, Sei?" Asked Mora when she realized Sei had been staring at her own feet for five minutes. 

"Yeah," she said with a very vacant look in her eyes.

Mora said, "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave you two for now. Sei and I have something to attend to. If you wish to keep talking strategy, Et can fill me in later." 

She smiled at Kasst and Et, Et looking rather nervous to be left alone with the admiral. Mora put her hand on Sei's shoulder and prompted her to follow her out of the bridge of the ship. 

"What is it we have to do?" Asked Sei when they were alone in a corridor. 

"Nothing, really," laughed Mora, "but I do have something to show you that may cheer you up." 

"But I'm not sad. I feel fine." Sei said with a straight face and annoyance in her eyes.

"Oh Sei, I was a kid once too you know. I understand facades. It's okay to be under the weather. Now follow me! I have something for you that I think will make you feel a little bit more comfortable around here."