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      BEING COOPED UP in a battleship with Mace Windu, stuck at Obi-wan's hip and awaiting the all clear to jump to hyperspace was not Araminta's ideal way to spend an afternoon. But that was how she was spending her time, lying in her onboard quarters with her feet in the air and staring at the ceiling.

Anakin and Ahsoka were in charge of breaking the blockade over the atmosphere of Ryloth, a planet under brutal occupation by Separatist droids, the native Twi'lek's terrorised and being denied food, medicine and other resources. Once the blockade was gone, it was Obi-wan and Windu's job to mount a ground assault, which by default included Araminta.

There had already been delays, which Araminta unfortunately suspected was due to Ahsoka's first time acting as Commander to her own squadron, but she had stayed quiet during the transmission. They had one more planetary rotation left before the invasion was postponed. Araminta knew the Twi'lek people couldn't wait that long, but had to simply believe Anakin would figure something out like he always managed to.

The door to her quarters opened and Araminta jumped to attention as Obi-wan entered, standing half in the doorway. "We're leaving," he announced. "We're needed on the bridge."

Araminta followed him swiftly and silently, as the giant ship began to rumble and lift off, troopers sprinting past them as they locked in for takeoff. "They figured it out?" Araminta asked Obi-wan as they moved, the clones making way for the Jedi as they walked through the corridors.

"Anakin said to go ahead with the invasion. That the Twi'lek people couldn't wait any longer," Obi-wan replied, hands held behind his back. Araminta frowned at the news. "Their forces are halved. Whatever he does will be mad," Obi-wan added with a sigh.

"Do we not expect that these days?" Araminta asked lightly. Obi-wan scoffed a bit as they entered the bridge.

"General on deck," one of the clones announced.

Windu turned to the pair as they approached, the glow of hyperspace surrounding them. "Solarii," he greeted with a dip of his head.

"Windu," she echoed.

The Jedi said nothing at her lack of using a title, as her eyes drifted away from him. Over the year and half she had been present in their ranks, her distaste for him that had formed that fateful day with the Council had long faded. She had far bigger problems than a single Jedi not liking her for, at the time, valid reasons.

There was always a certain shift in the air, however, when she was around someone who knew the mass of scar tissue that moved under her sleeve. Anakin and Obi-wan didn't count, but Araminta so rarely saw Jedi from the Council she could almost forget that there were others that harboured her secret.

A secret she, of course, had not made. It was the Order's choice to keep the true nature of her training under wraps for fear of distrust and questioning. It was still working out for them, but she suspected more people had been included in the loop since, including the Supreme Chancellor, who looked at Araminta in a way that unnerved her whenever she would face him. She wouldn't blame him for his distrust– he was a prime target for someone to hire an Octavian to assassinate.

Araminta tuned back in as they emerged out of hyperspace, the battleship they were on being one of three, the other two arriving behind them. The assassin blinked at the carnage in front of her, a floating escape pod off to the side, one of the battleships smashed into the blockade, which had been torn apart by only a small fleet of fighters. The remaining battleship was turned on its side, having taken the brunt of the fire.

"Predictable," Windu stated.

"Ahsoka, this is Obi-wan," he said, connecting to the transmission link. "May we begin our landing?"

"Yes, Master. You're cleared for ground assault," she responded. Araminta couldn't help her lip twitching a bit at the padawan being successful for her first commanding assignment.

Obi-wan seemed to feel the same, wearing a proud look as he said, "I won't even ask where the rest of Anakin's fleet is or why he's in an escape pod."

"That's probably for the best," Ahsoka replied, sounding a bit sheepish.

Obi-wan pulled away from the edge of the bridge, Araminta following after him. She heard Windu trail them, as they continued down towards the hangar where the gunships were being prepared. Araminta tuned into the planning between the two Jedi, but was interrupted by her commlink under her gauntlet buzzing to life.

Araminta slowed a bit, lifting it to her mouth. "Solarii here," she said, unsurely. She rarely got contacted directly since she wasn't a rank of authority or order.

"It's Skywalker," he replied. Araminta pressed her lips together, Obi-wan tilting his head slightly as he heard the name. "Good luck," Anakin told her.

Araminta stared hard at the floor. "Appreciate it," she replied.

Obi-wan only wore an oddly-knowing look, which Araminta ignored and dismissed as she ended the comm and they continued towards the gunships. Her charge turned away from her as Windu continued to talk invasion plans last-minute.

"First trick will be getting our troops on the ground," Obi-wan concluded, stepping into a gunship with Araminta in tow.

"If you take the city of Nabat first, we'll have our landing zone," Windu told him. "That's our safest option."

Obi-wan nodded as the gunship doors shut.

It was filled to the brim with troopers, Araminta pressed between armour as she gripped at the handle above her to keep them steady, the battleship descending into Ryloth's airspace. A signal beeped above them, and a few moments later the gunships were released from the hangar, the pilots speeding out and across the landscape.

"We need to remember why we're here," Obi-wan spoke up. "We came to aid the Twi'leks, not destroy their home." He turned to the clone commander over his shoulder. "Cody?" Obi-wan prompted.

"That means we'll be taking it back the hard way," Cody continued. "Minimal destruction with blasters and droid poppers only. No rockets or detonators– check your aim. Keep an eye out for the locals. Am I understood?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the troopers chanted back.

Araminta glanced between the clones at the exchange, before shifting back to her charge. Obi-wan was looking satisfied with the orders as their gunship dipped slightly and they swayed in the turbulence. Araminta could only wonder how useful her arsenal would be on the first line.

She had done it occasionally over the year the war had been raging, when particularly desperate measures were taken, but generally the clone troopers took care of the front lines and the Jedi, and in conjunction Araminta slipped behind the scenes and took out the head of the hydra. She was trained for the circumstances, but it was not her preference.

"Do you speak Twi'leki?" Obi-wan asked from where he was next to her head.

"Bits and pieces," she replied, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. Obi-wan furrowed his brows at the response. "I knew someone," Araminta replied with a tight shrug. In deflection, she added, "Do you think we'll find anyone alive down there?"

Obi-wan's face fell slightly. "I believe the Separatists may use the Twi'leks as a shield, but can't be sure what we'll find down there," he responded.

Araminta nodded. "Right."

"Taking fire!" the pilot suddenly shouted from the front as their gunship swerved steeply. Araminta hung onto the handle connected to the ceiling, her feet lifting slightly from her size before they straightened out. "Sir, there's a transmission from General Windu!" the pilot called.

The holographic figure of Windu appeared in the centre of the gunship, his brow knitted tightly as he stayed on one of the battleships. "We can't risk landing the larger transports until you take out those guns," he said, firmly.

"Pull back," Obi-wan replied sharply. "We'll take care of it."

Windu nodded once and ended the transmission, as the enemy fire became more concentrated on the fleet of gunships.

Araminta unwillingly winced at an impact they took. "That sounded bad," she remarked over the ring.

Behind them, she heard a large explosion, ears unconsciously flicking in that direction. "That sounded worse," Cody said from nearby. She sent him a weak glare at the humour attempt.

"Who's up for a challenge?" Obi-wan shouted over the roaring of the engine and the blasterfire. "We're not getting any reinforcements until those guns are out of commision."

One of the troopers that Araminta knew as Waxer rolled his eyes behind his helmet, dramatic head movement and all. "Here we go again," he drawled.

Araminta winced again as she heard a second explosion from their left, another of their four gunships going down. She glanced at Obi-wan, who looked deep in concentration but not as concerned as she expected with their forces already halved only minutes into the assault.

The gunship doors opened, slamming them with wind as they rushed through the air. Obi-wan leaned out slightly to get a better look down below at the coniferous woodland below them. The pilots of the remaining pair of ships pulled down, lowering them between the trunks and out of range of the guns angled at the sky.

The Jedi didn't need to say anything as they piled out of the gunships, Obi-wan leading the charge with the troopers in tow, blasters gripped firmly in each of their hands. Araminta followed her charge closely, assuming her usual spot, darting in and out of the trees alongside him as they headed for the village on foot.

They encountered resistance quickly, a bunker built into the rock ahead of them, manned by battle droids who quickly began to fire at them from turrets and platforms. Araminta ducked and dodged, thankful for her small frame that made her a far harder target than the slow-armoured men surrounding her.

"Come on men, go, go!" she heard Cody shout over the noise, as some of the troopers stopped and took cover behind the tree trunks. Araminta raised her own blaster, smaller than the assault ones the clones used, firing as accurately as she could while she moved.

Realistically, she should have taken a moment to collect herself, duck behind a tree and reload, but Obi-wan did not stop so neither could she. Her charge powered towards the front line, blue plasma deflecting shots and helping to cover Araminta, too, as she fired over his shoulder.

They had made good ground when droid reinforcements arrived, enacting another cannon while others appeared and stood on the higher ground, firing at them with blasters in numbers that rivalled their ground forces. Obi-wan finally relented and took cover, Araminta slotting in beside him, lithe enough to do so.

The rest of the clones followed the lead, but already there were bodies strewn on the ground, cogs in a machine that Araminta could only tear her gaze from as she waited carefully for Obi-wan to give an order.

"That bunker's gonna be a problem, General," Cody called across to them from his own cover.

"Leave the bunker to us!" Obi-wan instructed, Araminta not even questioning the inclusion. "Bring in your troopers on my signal." The Jedi focused his gaze on Waxer and Boil, a rather confounding pair of troopers in Ghost Company that Araminta briefly knew from her missions. "You two wanted action, come on," Obi-wan said, snidely.

The pair slumped their shoulders at the order, hesitating as Obi-wan quickly moved off, Araminta sprinting after him. "You heard him!" Cody pressed.

Waxer and Boil were covering fire as they charged after Obi-wan and Araminta, who were cutting across the field towards the edge of the treeline. Cody continued to lay on blaster fire and draw the droids' attention away from their movements, as the group of four broke out of the trees and behind the blockade of rocks around the bunker.

Araminta's ears flinched at the shots flying over them, singing the stone that stood between them and the droids' guns. Obi-wan deactivated his lightsaber, his bodyguard exchanging a glance with him.

"Let's take them out. Now!" Obi-wan instructed the pair of clones.

From their right, Boil attempted to throw a droid popper – an EMP grenade – over the wall, but with their limited movement and placement, the grenade barely cleared the barricade and rolled harmlessly at the foot of the bunker wall.

"We've gotta get closer to the wall!" Boil exclaimed.

"Both of you, try again. We'll help," Obi-wan told them.

The clones didn't question the orders as both repeated the movement, but this time Obi-wan and Araminta latched onto the spheres with the Force, arcing them upwards just that little bit further into the droids. The third batch was rendered powerless, without any destruction to the ground, as the main wave of shooting stopped.

Cody and the rest of Ghost Company charged forward, taking out any remaining battle droids as they. Araminta vaulted over the rocks with Obi-wan, before leaping up and over the wall. A droid shot at them frantically, Araminta sharply redirecting a bolt of plasma from going straight through them as Obi-wan cut it down a second later.

"Secure the wall!" Cody shouted.

Araminta jumped down from the top of the wall, placing them in the outer sector of the city which was built and carved largely out of the brown stone surrounding them. Droids came at them, but their forces were thinner than before, allowing Obi-wan in particular to cut a path through them, Araminta shadowing him as he did so.

They were fighting in the outer section of the city of Nabat, which was scattered buildings and empty walkways, a ghost of a town Araminta could only imagine had once been thriving. The droids blocking their way were lightwork, Araminta scarcely needing to exhaust herself before the shooting quietened down, as they fell the final outer defences and left them in the dust, Ghost Company advancing forward.

Cody took a further party as they scanned their surroundings, blasters fixed upwards, while Obi-wan appeared to relax, deactivating his sabre and instead glancing around them. Araminta didn't follow suit, blaster still gripped with her finger resting above the trigger and her legs bent in case she needed to move. She rarely relaxed as it was, but now was certainly not the time.

"Was that the last of them?" Araminta huffed, awaiting any potential commands from the Jedi.

"Seems so," Obi-wan said as he headed towards a disembowelled building. Araminta scoffed and holstered her blaster, knowing by default she should follow him.

"I don't understand why the General keeps her around." The words made her ears twitch as Araminta pretended not to hear Boil. He would have no idea her ears could pick up on quieter conversation than most– she wasn't supposed to hear his characteristically biting statements. "She isn't a Jedi and we outrank her," he continued.

"I've heard rumours the General bought her freedom," Waxer tacked on.

Araminta tore herself away from the conversation, keeping in step with Obi-wan, despite the knot in her stomach that made her want to plant her feet and listen in.

Freedom from what? She could imagine would be Boil's next words. And then the conversation would repeat, because she was an anomaly in their ranks that should not have been there.

But she was, and she had a mission she had to stick to, regardless of how it looked to the rest of the Republic. Araminta was not a failure and she would not pay the price for failure, she told herself.

Commander Cody returned soon, approaching Obi-wan and his shadow. "The wall is secure, sir," Cody told him, Araminta merely waiting in the wings. "Are we moving onto the guns?"

Obi-wan looked at him assertively. "We need to know what the droids have in store for us. Send your best men to scout ahead," he instructed.

"Will do, sir." Cody saluted. "Boil, Waxer, come with me."

The Commander and his selected group headed off, Obi-wan stepping forward. "The rest of you, set up a perimeter."

"Yes, sir!" multiple voices replied, as if echoing each other.

"What do you make of this?" Obi-wan asked Araminta as they headed inside a shell of a building, light filtering through the hole blasted in the ceiling.

The assassin looked at him warily. Ever since Geonosis, he had unwaveringly asked her the question whenever something concerned him. Araminta wasn't sure if it was a sign of respect or a genuine take-on of her thoughts, but each time the gesture made her feel warm but also very small– like a reminder of where she really stood.

"Can't really be sure until the scouts come back," she responded, coolly.

Obi-wan accepted the answer with a nod.

Cody and Wooley, the fourth trooper he had collected for his scouting assignment, returned within half an hour. They had set up a perimeter in that time, clones surrounding the building that Obi-wan had stationed himself up in, as he contacted Windu and updated him on their progress.

Araminta stood at attention in the background, hands held in front of her as politely as she could manage without putting herself at risk. Her attention drifted to the approaching Clone Commander, Obi-wan pausing to see what she was looking at.

"Generals!" Cody addressed formally. "We found the guns." Obi-wan and Windu exchanged glances, as the clone projected a holographic bird's eye view map of the city, which was a rough scale of squares and rectangles. Araminta could see where they currently stood in the outer section.

"They're in the courtyard, here and here." He gestured on the map as he spoke. "But there's a complication," Cody added. Obi-wan crossed his arms over his chest. "They've taken the locals hostage and they're using them as shields."

"Just like you said," Araminta remarked, looking at her charge.

"I hate being right." Obi-wan sighed, looking thoughtful. "The Twi'lek prisoners will make this difficult but not impossible. I still have an idea for taking out those guns."

"Getting the villagers out of harm's way is our first priority," Mace told him. "I have faith in you, General Kenobi." Obi-wan nodded once, and the transmission ended.

"Cody, we'll go in with everything we have," Obi-wan told his Commander. "Clear those hostages."

Something moved, like the whir of a camera shutter, and Araminta whipped around abruptly, reaching out with the Force to seize a recon droid, lifting it in the air. It beeped incessantly, before Araminta imploded it, the discarded machine falling uselessly to the centre of the room with a clang.

Araminta's eyes twitched backwards expressively as she cautiously moved forward and looked up, as if she would see another one. She turned back to the section of the village they had secured, eyes quickly scanning for the subtle gleam of anything else lurking.

"Good catch," Obi-wan acknowledged, stepping up to her.

Araminta didn't turn to him, shifting her stance. "They'll know we're coming," she responded, ignoring the praise.

Obi-wan looked undeterred as he assured her, "We'll be ready." He exchanged a glance with Cody, who descended the stairs and moved off to prepare the men for a charge.

Araminta watched warily. "We have to assume they'll send someone at us. Or meet us with something," she added, giving Obi-wan a pointed look.

He only tilted his head to her. "Keep those ears sharp, then."

Araminta rolled her eyes at the response. "Yeah, no pressure or anything."

She followed him down the stairs to where Cody was standing, the troopers moving around them and barking orders. "The men set Cody?" Obi-wan asked. But the Clone Commander, his helmet removed, looked concerned and didn't respond immediately. "What is it?" the Jedi pressed.

Cody lowered his wrist comm. "Waxer and Boil aren't responding," he replied. "They never returned from scouting."

"That isn't like them," Obi-wan frowned. "They may have ran into trouble."

"Sergeant!" Cody shouted. "Use the high-powered transmitter to see if you can reach Waxer and Boil."

"Yes, sir!" the sergeant responded, standing at attention.

"Let's get the rest of the men moving," Obi-wan relented. "The others will catch up. We can't leave time for the droids to corner us."

Cody nodded, putting his helmet back on from where it was held under his arm. He brandished his blaster and headed off as they left. Obi-wan led the way, but the clones surrounded him in a V formation, constantly at the ready for anything they encountered, Araminta included in the defensive positions.

The outer sector remained quiet, with no updates on Waxer or Boil as they moved further into the outskirts of the city, which landed them in a ghost town. Araminta hated the feeling that the empty buildings gave her, even knowing the people who inhabited them were mostly alive and held captive, the wind gushing through empty space and the only sound being their footsteps in what should have been an inhabited area set her on edge.

The canyons around them had grown taller, too, casting them in shadow and causing everything to echo even further, rumbling in Araminta's skull as she tried to stay alert for danger through the sounds of their footsteps and the clones' armour buckling as they moved.

But when something eventually rattled in her ears, it was far too obvious to mistake as an echo.

Araminta halted, reaching out a hand to tug Obi-wan's sleeve at the incessant, approaching noise. "Something's coming," she hissed. "A lot. And fast."

The unusual urgency in her voice seemed to remove any doubt from Obi-wan, as he drew his lightsaber. "Stand ready!" he shouted.

"No, we should hide," Araminta protested at the sheer weight of what was heading towards them.

Obi-wan sent her a look, small but noticeable, and she clamped her mouth shut, just as the thundering she could hear got louder and the others around her caught wind of it. The clones had barely stepped to attention when a pack of gutkurr, native Ryloth carnivores with insect-like bodies but a size far larger than their distant relative, rushed from around the bend ahead of them.

Araminta helplessly drew her blaster, the size of the creatures alone was enough to deter her from mounting an attack as the clones tried desperately to slow the attack as the pack charged towards them.

"They're not stopping! Aim for the eyes!" someone shouted, as their first line of defence was shattered with ease.

"Look out! Look out! Fall back!" another clone cried.

A body dropped, the first of a few, Araminta jumped to the side with Obi-wan as the creatures barreled through the troop and straight towards them. Obi-wan grunted at where her elbow had gone into him and slammed them both into the dust, as they scrambled to their feet with weapons raised.

It was carnage, the clones being pushed back as the creatures approached them with hungry growls and the movements of predators. Araminta narrowed her eyes at the tactic– like starving dogs the creatures targeted them. It wasn't a technique she would have anticipated in retaliation to their ground assault.

Obi-wan gave her the slightest of signals, head tilting towards a clone being pinned down. Araminta tore away from him, as Obi-wan flipped over a gutkurr that went for him. Araminta's eyes locked onto a destroyed building as she ran for the clone, as she swung with the Force, throwing a chunk of rock into the monster.

It went down with a screech as Araminta stepped over the clone, who was still alive but groaning. She looked across the field at Obi-wan, whose eyes were thoughtfully on the rock she had thrown before he deactivated his lightsaber and actually dropped it.

On instinct Araminta moved towards him as he left himself open, slowing as he held out both hands and the attacking gutkurrs paused. Araminta watched in quiet awe as the man she was supposed to protect brought all the creatures under his control, slowly leading them into one of the branches over the canyon, underneath a stone bridge she realised.

The clones stayed where they were, as if they would startle the minded-animals, but Araminta slunk forward, making eye contact with Obi-wan as he backed into the corner.

"Don't follow me." It was soft-spoken, at a level he knew only she would hear, and she hardened her gaze. Araminta firmly obeyed her order as Obi-wan got further from them, the assassin retrieving the hilt of his lightsaber at least.

"Incredible," one of the clones murmured.

"Quiet, rookie," Cody jeered.

"Shoot the bridge!" Obi-wan called when he had gotten the gutkurrs past the threshold.

Cody made a single arm motion and the troopers and Araminta had fired at the stone formation, which collapsed in the way intended, blocking the creatures from getting back to them.

Araminta listened with bated breath as the gutkurrs regained their freewill, hearing Obi-wan jumping and panting, the creatures snapping at him, before he appeared at the top of the blockade.

Obi-wan sent her a smug look before he jumped down. The clones moved on, regaining their composure and recovering the injured, as Araminta stepped up to her charge. "You dropped this," she said, dryly, holding out the hilt of his sacred weapon.

"Ah, yes," he said, matter-of-factly, accepting it. "Forgot I dropped that."

Araminta opened her mouth to sneer at him, but stopped at the sound of metal scraping. The rest of the company jumped to attention as well, Obi-wan activating his lightsaber as the clones stood on edge. Araminta placed herself in front of Obi-wan naturally, but after a second her charge held out a hand.

The grate in the street shifted, lifting up as two of their own popped up from underground, clambering out and into the dust. Araminta's ears flicked forward as the lack of a threat as Cody stepped forward indignantly.

"Waxer, Boil, where have you two slackers been?" he demanded.

Both clones jumped to attention, saluting their commander. "Sir, there is an explanation."

"We got sidetracked."

The entire company's attention was diverted to the small, teal Twi'lek girl clinging to the clones' side, peeking out from between their legs.

"Ah, I see," Obi-wan said, lightly. He moved forward slowly, crouching down. "Hello, little one," he greeted. The girl moved back, sheltering away from the Jedi.

"She brought us here through the tunnels. She knows her way around them pretty good, sir," Boil explained.

Obi-wan looked thoughtful, glancing over his shoulder at Araminta, who only shrugged a shoulder. "We're here to help," Obi-wan said in Twi'leki. The girl's eyes lit up at the language as she stepped out of the clones' shadow.

"Numa," she said, pointing to herself.

"I'm Obi-wan," he introduced. "Behind me is my bodyguard, Araminta." The assassin raised a hand in a small wave. Numa's eyes looked between them, the clones around them looking bewildered by the conversation.

"Can you get to the courtyard through the tunnels?" Araminta asked directly, stepping forward slightly. Her height already limited her from being intimidating to the child.

"The... courtyard?" Numa asked, cautiously. "Where everyone is?"

"Yes." Araminta nodded. Numa frowned, looking scared.

"We can help free your people," Obi-wan chimed in.

"I know how to get there," Numa sighed.

Obi-wan nodded in acknowledgement, before addressing Ghost Company. "She can lead us through the tunnels to the prisoners," he announced. He got back to his feet. "Cody, we're going to need a diversion."

"Yes, sir," the Commander responded.

Obi-wan rounded on the two formerly-missing clones. "Waxer, Boil, you're with us," he instructed. Araminta only blinked at the inclusion, knowing she was bound to follow him straight into danger no matter what.

They split up, Cody leading the rest of the men straight towards the courtyard head-on, while Numa clung to Obi-wan's shoulder and quietly murmured directions as they dropped back into the tunnels. They were larger than Araminta expected, tail twitching at the light that the clones' head torches provided.

As usual Araminta kept her ears sharp, but they moved without interference, Numa giving direction at each turn until light began to edge the end of the hallway. Araminta held out a hand, Obi-wan pausing and glancing at her.

"I hear droids speaking," she whispered.

"We move carefully, then," Obi-wan concluded.

They moved forward slowly, Araminta pressed herself against the side of the wall as they crawled out through a small exit gap in the wall. Obi-wan went first, much to Araminta's dismay, before she squeezed through with ease. She winced at the noise Boil and Waxer made while clambering through, armour clunky.

There were two droids up ahead in the damp cave, which had higher walls compared to the tunnels. Numa inhaled sharply, but Obi-wan only twitched a finger and Araminta had dashed forward. She slammed her forearm into the closest one, with the second only turning around for the briefest moment before she had spun and driven her reinforced boot into it, too.

She waved over her shoulder for the others to follow, Obi-wan leading the trio. "This must be where they kept the gutkurrs," he murmured, observing the cages built into the rock of the cave. "Starving them like hunting dogs."

Araminta ignored the remark as her ears twitched, Obi-wan picking up the movement. He turned and handed Numa over to Boil, who looked unsure of the action. The young Twi'lek looked at Obi-wan wearily at the exchange.

"We'll take care of this," Obi-wan told them. "You keep her here."

Araminta and Obi-wan moved forward, low to the ground, crouching at the top of the stairs leading to the cages. The assassin blinked at the courtyard, heavily armed with battle droids and numerous tanks and cannons, the Twi'lek people gathered in the very middle of it all.

"This won't be easy," Araminta murmured as they pulled away and out of sight.

"Our priority is getting them to safety," Obi-wan told her firmly. Araminta narrowed her eyes at tone, knowing it was more than a priority. It was an order.

Obi-wan signalled for Boil and Waxer to move forward as they left Numa behind. The clones and Araminta followed the Jedi straight into the courtyard, ducking behind cover as quickly as possible. The assassin's skin was crawling at being so exposed, as her hand ghosted over her knife. She was quickly growing tired of how much she was forced to use a blaster in combat.

A moment after they covered themselves, Cody intervened with his distraction. Their thin, remaining forces attacked head-on, appearing from the other side of the courtyard guns blazing. The tanks and battle droids moved in the direction of the expected assault, leaving the prisoners less guarded.

Obi-wan looked over at the three following him, nodding once as they leapt from their hiding place, lightsaber glowing. Boil and Waxer provided covering fire and Obi-wan and Araminta made quick work of cutting down the few battle droids left behind.

"We are here to help!" Obi-wan whisper-shouted as they approached the prisoners, who all looked up at him and his bodyguard with wide eyes and trembling lips.

One of them held out his bound wrists, which Obi-wan cut through with ease. And then another. Araminta unsheathed her knife, helping to cut free as many of the prisoners as possible, eyes constantly darting around in case the droids realised and turned back.

In doing so, something caught Araminta's eye, and she couldn't stop the way her face shifted for just a second, the way her breath caught in her throat and her heart had to pump harder after a skipped beat.

Obi-wan paused at the reaction, trying to track her line of sight at the reaction. "What is it?" he asked cautiously when he saw nothing that warranted her shift.

Araminta blinked rapidly and turned her gaze away from the red Twi'lek who was helping to tear apart restraints. "She just looked– nothing," she said quickly. She pulled her knife through another set of restraints and moved on.

"Lethan Twi'leks are quite rare," Obi-wan pointed out.

Araminta turned away, biting her tongue, pushing the thought to the back of her mind where it belonged with her other closed wounds. "I know."

Obi-wan either didn't notice the tone or chose to pass it by as they cut through the final restraints, the prisoners collectively rising to their feet. "Hurry, hurry!" Obi-wan yelled in Twi'leki, gesturing with his hands for them to follow.

They headed back towards the tunnel entrance, the slew of Twi'leks following them as a crowd, just as the Force screeched in Araminta's ear. She whipped around, gauntlet deflecting a blaster shot as it seemed the droids had finally noticed their escape.

"Keep going!" Araminta shouted as Boil and Waxer began covering fire, Obi-wan spinning his lightsaber to deflect the fire as the Twi'leks made it underground and out of range.

"Araminta, stay and protect the prisoners! Make sure they get to safety," Obi-wan instructed. She paled, ducking from a cannon blast, shielding her eyes with her arms. "Boil, Waxer, come with me!"

"We're with you, sir!"

Aramitna watched uselessly as her charge disappeared into the field, covered by two clones as she stuck to her orders, retreating further back into the cave, peering out over the top. The firing target shifted from them and back onto Obi-wan as he overtook the controls of the proton cannon in the middle, Boil and Waxer helping him load it.

The assassin grit her teeth, before glancing over her shoulder at the anxiously-waiting Twi'lek people. "Get to safety," she said, firmly, addressing the crowd but keeping her eyes away from the figure of scarlet.

"And what about you?" a Twi'lek man asked. Numa was clinging to his hand– they must have been family. Araminta could hear explosions in the background as Obi-wan used the droids' own cannon against them.

She set her mouth in a line. "I will come with you and make sure you are safe," she told him.

"Nerra!" Numa shouted at the same time the Force spiked and Araminta whipped around, running back to the top of the steps, skidding to a halt at the conflict in front of her.

Her eyes widened and her heart dropped, feet rooting to the ground. Suddenly she was back on Aayla's ship, Anakin's unresponsive face and limp form glaring up at her, her body not listening to her as something screamed against her ribcage. Failure.

Obi-wan was strewn on the ground, unmoving. Boil and Waxer lay as well, blasters knocked from their hands, as the proton cannon they had been manning was crumbling feet away from them. A tank was approaching, droid commander behind it.

A hand creeping along her right shoulder, Obi-wan's stillness.

Failure.

Whatever froze her snapped away, as Araminta darted forward. She was all-out sprinting, as the barrel of the cannon turned and pointed towards Obi-wan, who was trying to push himself upright. Araminta felt someone next to her, a tiny set of feet, Numa running to the two clones and tugging at them to get up.

But her mind was far from helping the child, eyes deadset on the mission in front of her, not caring for her disobeyed orders. Orders from a dead man meant nothing.

The droid commander laughed. "You lose, General Kenobi."

Araminta threw her knife, the quickest thing to her hand, her accuracy with the blade ten times better than while moving with a blaster, and if she wanted to make it she had to keep moving.

The metal whistled through the air, streaking across the droid commander's head, tearing his attention away for a precious second as Araminta ducked and rolled in the dust, making it to Obi-wan's side.

"Get the fuck up," she hissed, hooking an arm under his shoulder and hauling him upwards.

"The cannon–"

Araminta only blinked, as his words were cut off by the yelling of the Twi'leks, who had flooded the courtyard in lieu of Numa sprinting forward, as they climbed the cannon from the base, pounding and screaming. The droid commander faltered, rapidly swivelling, unable to process or choose a target.

"Does not compute. Does not compute," it repeated, over and over, as the Twi'leks tore it from the seat and to the ground, pounding, stomping.

Araminta only watched the unity, Obi-wan straightening himself with a wince. The assassin glanced away in shame at disobeying her direct orders to the mission, even having justified it in the moment. She expected consequences.

A shadow fell over the city slowly, and Araminta looked up to see Windu's battleships had arrived. Beside her, Obi-wan let out a sigh of relief, and the assassin moved to retrieve her knife from where it had landed in the dust, keeping her head low.

The Republic landed their battleships within the air, marching out a wave of reinforcements and cavalry, Araminta standing to the side with Obi-wan as they waited for the other General to arrive. He hadn't said anything of the mission to her so far, but she kept quiet unless prompted not to and stood at attention, hands in front of her, ready for anything.

Windu spotted them as he disembarked, approaching. "Great job getting rid of those cannons," he said in greeting, as was typical and direct of him. "Now we have a more difficult objective. We must take the capital and free this world."

"Just another day saving the galaxy," Obi-wan said.

Araminta scoffed at her feet, Windu having a similar expression on his face as they exchanged missions and Obi-wan accepted the reinforcements for their venture further into Ryloth. The Twi'leks they had freed were given medical attention, food and water, Numa hanging around Waxer and Boiler's legs regardless.

As Windu departed with his platoon, Obi-wan turned to Araminta, a sharp look in his eye that left her dreading the potential conversation. "May I ask why you refuse a lightsaber?" Obi-wan asked quietly instead.

Araminta scrunched her face up at the unexpected question, but Obi-wan just kept looking at her. She sighed and tilted her head. "How can you be so sure I'd even be allowed one? The Council isn't my biggest fan," she deflected.

"Because you are as sharpened as any Jedi but at a disadvantage without one," Obi-wan said in a tone that made the answer sound obvious. "It would be an asset."

Araminta felt small the words, too appreciated for her true role in the Republic, rolling her right shoulder with a crack. "Because I'm not a Jedi," Araminta finally answered.

Obi-wan regarded the answer he had been trying to get out of her for almost a year. "So you're being stubborn?" he asked, somewhere halfway between teasing and judgement.

Araminta shrugged. "Sticking to my values, I prefer."

"Of course," Obi-wan relented as they moved back towards Ghost Company.

"They'd really allow me one though?" she asked curiously as she jogged after him.

"Well I suspect a regular lightsabre would be much too big for you," Obi-wan pointed out snidely.

"That's funny," she jeered, but she felt lighter that out of any conversation he had pressed, it had been that one. For now.

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      IT TOOK another forty-eight hours to secure Ryloth and remove the Separatist occupation. Araminta never once left her charge's side, as the 212th made their way across the desert and laid waste to the Separatist forces still bunkered down, clearing through it with ease from their reinforcements and Obi-wan's commands.

Araminta did not take another step out of line, following Obi-wan's orders to a T, though thankfully no others required her to be separated from him in immediate danger. Windu took the capital with the help of a radical freedom fighter group, and Ryloth was freed, the Separatist commander of the operation arrested and Twi'lek people supplied with everything had been starved of.

They regrouped, Anakin and Ahsoka landing their fleet after helping to claim the capital, Obi-wan meeting them with a debrief. Anakin had come up to Araminta and said something garbled about her efforts, which she had dismissed and turned away from, despite the fact he had followed her around for at least twenty minutes.

The gesture would normally have made her feel warm, but after two days fighting on the first lines in the desert, Araminta wanted to be anywhere but amongst the sand and the sun and had eventually managed to fluster him away and collect herself in a medical tent, the droid buzzing around as it treated her minor injuries.

But she could not simply turn away from Obi-wan. Her mission was to stay by his side and listen to him, so when he approached her with a serious look she wanted to crawl into the ground, knowing this would not simply be about borrowing a Jedi's weapon.

"What was said on Naboo," Obi-wan began, the medical droid being dismissed from the tent. Araminta sighed, knowing the topic was coming, hanging her head. "If Octavian ever were to come after you, the Republic wouldn't let him."

Araminta scoffed automatically. "I find that hard to believe."

Obi-wan sent her a soft glare, one which a parent might give a self-deprecating child. "You have served countless battles and assignments. You have experience and cunning, and are more driven than most," he explained to her. "That makes you a warrior worth keeping."

The assassin's ears flicked back at the obscene praise. "I disobeyed orders," she said, simply.

"You protested something I said and rushed to help. I'd hardly call that disobeying," the Jedi said, as if the notion was ridiculous. Araminta's mute expression must have meant something to him, as Obi-wan's eyes softened. "That is something he would have punished you for, correct?"

"Yes," she answered, not surprised he had deduced it.

Obi-wan inclined his head. "Araminta, the cover story the Republic uses for your place with us may be fiction, but the intention is not," he said, earnestly. "You are free here, and this is a second chance."

"I know," she responded firmly. It was the only response she could muster. Obi-wan didn't know her inner workings like others did, and while his reassurance did land in her chest and spread warmth from where it struck, everything else felt heavier.

Obi-wan looked at her warily, as if he knew she wasn't as assured as he acted, before pulling away. "I'm glad," he told her. "We did good work here. Once the medical droid has cleared you, we'll start to leave." Araminta only nodded as he made to leave, but stopped in the doorway. "Will you bite Anakin's head off if I tell him where you are?" Obi-wan asked pointedly.

Araminta scoffed. "I'll try not to. Why?"

Obi-wan shrugged. "Hasn't stopped asking since you avoided him."

The assassin ignored the spreading warmth in her chest. "Typical."

Obi-wan smirked at the response. "I'll send him in," he said over his shoulder.

Araminta mulled over his words as he left, her face shifting once he was gone, frowning down at her hands which were weighed down in her lap by years of blood and violence.

Vestor Octavian was a man of stature, taller in most her memories because of her age, but always towering over and casting a shadow that she faltered under. He had had pale hair and skin, like the rest of his home planet, somewhere far away Araminta suspected. Sometimes he had looked ghostly, silver against the dark of her memories and the facilities.

He would look down his pointed features at her, dark eyes fixed on her, scanning her over like a lamb for slaughter. Other times he looked at her how an owner may look at a possession, a craftsman looking at the weapon he had moulded. He had told her that once– called her a "work of art" before catching her off and slamming her to the ground with his thumb pressed against her windpipe.

"Never let your guard down," he had hissed over the sounds of her choked struggles. It was the last time he had to remind her, waiting until the moment just before she blacked out to release his hold and allow her to refill her lungs, heaving like a starved animal.

She had seen him as kind, a long time before that.

Araminta still remembered sitting in the snow with her sister, knees pulled to her chin, eyes fixed on the blood on the pale ground from where the murderer had left. Leia, her twin, had been talking, murmuring ramblings of reassurance and kindness, but Araminta had been numb to it. Everything had been quiet to her, the loudness of the silence deafening her, the cold of the farm soaking her.

They had not lived in the city, being limited to Resherra country, the snowy highlands. It isolated them and masked the screams that would have come from such a violent attack, Araminta knew that, even in her very young mind, as her imagination ran wild with what their final moments were like, the images of each new body fresh in her mind. And even then she knew she would never forget.

Between her hands was the string that connected to her mother's pendant. She had taken it from the cold body, the least afflicted of any of their family members, the easiest to get close to and take a memoir from. Araminta didn't know how long ago that had been, how long they had been still in the snow, trying to process their new reality and what would happen next.

Araminta knew they needed to tell somebody, run and get help. By the moons, they needed to get help. But something in her wouldn't move, something wanted to stay as close to her family as possible before she knew they'd be taken away to a new home, the people she had grown up with and expected a full life with to be put in the ground.

Ice had crunched under foot, and Leia had left her side, moving to face the newcomer. Vestor Octavian had feigned relief at them, face breaking into a smile as his dark eyes had landed on them. Leia had stood with her foot in front of her sister, who had lifted her head and paused at the man looking at them.

"Get up," Leia had said softly in their native language.

Araminta pushed herself to her feet, wringing her hands in front of her as she fixed her wide, golden eyes on the man.

"I am terribly sorry for your loss," Octavian had said. "Is there anything I can do?"

Stupidly, Leia and her sister had trusted him. Stupidly they had taken on the kindness and the offer. Araminta would blame herself for years to come, thinking over the moment over and over, imagining what would have been different if she had left sooner, if she had stopped being so emotional and pulled herself away. They would have gotten proper help, far away from the violence that would mar her life forever.

If she had been stronger, she thought. Stronger in the way Octavian would teach her, then she would be better off. She was better off strong, that was what he told her, and it was what she believed in his twisted way.

But another part of her, something only newly-uncovered, simmered with anger. It burned for the type of man who would spill so much blood to get his way, to take advantage of those so innocent for his own gain, give them a false sense of kindness and security and made them feel indebted to him for something so horrible. It burned for the man who had taken her, so unmarked by the world, and made her into someone who had needed to be strong.

Araminta remembered the first time Octavian had hit her. Iron had burst in her mouth and she had felt her eyes water involuntarily as her body careened towards the ground. She had been shaking, ears ringing, eyes fixed on the floor to avoid staring up at the man she had believed had saved her life.

She didn't remember much of herself as a child. She had been eight when everything had been swept from under her, and she felt as if she would never see the version of herself that could have been. She had no idea what she had been destined for, what the moons would have led her towards had she stayed home. She couldn't know if she was going to be kind, or funny, or spiritual. She couldn't know because so much of her had been shaped by Ocatavian.

Araminta burned for him, something she often kept in check, the anger under the surface scraping at her, dying to be let out.

"If Octavian ever were to come after you, the Republic wouldn't let him."

If he were to come, she would kill him. Not simply because he would try first, because she knew he would. But because he deserved it. He deserved death for what he had done. A small step towards justice for what he had done.

It was the first time she had wanted someone dead for any reason other than an order.

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i'm so sorry for the wait, i'm fighting writer's block rn and lord. this is so unedited i'm sorry like i literally didn't proofread it at all i just went "yep" and here we are

excuse the obiminta exclusive, but this episode was worth it to see araminta's character in more combat situations protecting obi-wan. ryloth is liberated in the next episode but obi-wan's side of things is barely mentioned so the conclusion is summarised at the end :)

also that octavian tangent at the end went longer than i intended but i got into a groove and yeah?? i think it's also technically the first appearance of octavian so go figure. araminta getting angry and wanting to cut ties with her abuser even when she still considers him to be apart of her is a fat struggle though

i promise the anakinta content is coming, like more than usual, there's a lot coming. the next three-episode arc introduces cad bane and WHEW i'm excited, lemme tell you so much shit happens and it has some scenes i've been planning since i first watched the series for planning purposes (that's how i feel about a lot of early clone wars episodes that make up act 2 tbh)

and please don't be a ghostreader, vote and comment <33