3rd Person

Obi-wan Kenobi was famous for saying "This weapon is your life" when referring to a lightsaber. The weapon of a Jedi was instantly recognizable throughout the galaxy. However, the inner machinations of these "weapons" were lesser known. The essence of a lightsaber, kyber, was enigmatic even to the Jedi themselves. 

There was no other substance with the properties of kyber in the galaxy. These miniscule crystals had the ability to sense and concentrate the living energy within the force. One might even say they were alive, for a kyber crystal refused to take on a color until it recognized its wielder. To that end, instead of saying "This weapon is your life," one might say "This weapon is a life."

Adi POV

"Then, you will be taking the 91st?" Master Windu queried.

"Yes. I assume you'll be notifying Commander Ponds?" I replied, making my way toward the exit of the council chamber.

"Indeed. And, Master Gallia?" the Jedi champion trailed off.

"What is it?" I asked, stopping in my tracks."

"Are you certain your padawan is prepared for such a... potentially risky assignment?" he pried.

"He'll have to be." I stated bluntly, earning a cautious nod from the Jedi Master. 

"It is no secret that I, Master Mundi, and others on the council were reluctant to give you this mission given his circumstances." he advised, rubbing his chin. 

"I appreciate your concern master, but I've made my decision." I replied, steadfast in my judgement.

"Very well." he finished. 

Giving Master Windu a small bow, I set my course for the living quarters to retrieve my apprentice. 

(y/n) POV

I was rudely awoken by a deafening series of knocks on my door. Groggily opening my eyes, I struggled to even lift myself out of my bed. 

'Damn it, slept through my alarm.'  I reprimanded myself before crashing to the floor. Today was the most important day of my life, thus far. Not a great start. It took every ounce of my willpower to even reach the door. I opened it to see exactly who I'd been expecting; Jedi Master Adi Gallia, looking stern as ever. 

"Good morning master!" I coughed out.

"A bit... disheveled today, aren't we?" she analyzed, distracted by my untidy appearance. 

"Master, I'm all good. There's nothing to worry about." I assured her, though coughing afterward certainly didn't help my case.

"Go drink some water. And Mortis Gods, take a moment to clean yourself up!" Master Gallia grumbled, shutting the door. 

After but a moment, I joined my master in our preparation for departure. Walking through the temple corridors, I heard the voices murmur as they always did. 

"Did you hear? He's a padawan now."

"How long do you think he'll last?"

"Poor guy. Master Gallia is gonna kill him."

"(y/n), where do you think I'm taking you now?" my master quizzed, keeping her head forward.

"Hm..." I pondered. "If I had to guess, the temple hangar? Or, your flagship?!" I speculated enthusiastically.

"Close, we'll board my flagship shortly. Before that, you'll need to meet the legion." my master revealed to my delight. 

Clones... they'd always fascinated me. In fact, I could vividly remember an all-nighter in the library with Master Sinube where I read all about Kamino and the cloning process. Finally, after all these years of soul-crushing effort I would join the war. I was about to see the war's namesake for the first time! I could barely contain my excitement, though I'd have to considering my master's distaste of emotion. 

After our exit from the temple, it wasn't long before we reached the barracks. My master and I shuffled past many other Jedi, each absorbed in a war-related task of their own. Suddenly, something caught my eye. A clone trooper, in the flesh. I stared for a few seconds before catching myself and continuing on my way. My master made haste, she knew nothing of dilly dallying. Eventually, she reached her destination. We filed through a small door before I was instantly surrounded by a squad of clones. Each trooper was suited up, sporting white armor with occasional red markings.

"These men are part of the 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps, my padawan. I've led them into battle many times, though they also serve under Master Windu." Master Gallia monologued. Upon their introduction, every trooper saluted in unison. 

"Pleasure meeting you all." I said, trying to sound as cool as possible. The clones nodded, though I felt there was a hint of uneasiness hanging over the battalion.

"Troopers, this is (y/n) (l/n), my padawan learner. As of now, I'm appointing him a commander of this battalion. Any objections?" my master continued. 

"No, General." the clones echoed. 

"Good. With that settled, we'll be on our way." Master Gallia commanded, exiting the lodgings with an imposing stride. The clones followed her without dissent, brushing past me as I stood frozen. 

Damn... I was really hoping for a more... friendly introduction? I didn't even get any of their names, wait... did they have names? Yeah... they definitely did, Ahsoka mentioned Captain "Rex" more than a few times. I guess I shouldn't have expected a full on meet and greet from Master Gallia. Putting my thoughts to rest, I caught up with the rest of the group and retook my place beside my master. 

Prior to our withdrawal from the barracks, I noticed a familiar togruta walking through the sea of bodies ahead of me. Her lekku stood out like a sore thumb. 

"Ahsoka!" I yelled, raising my voice with the hope she might hear me. 

"(y/n)?!" Ahsoka hollered, turning around. I pushed through the crowd to meet her. "(y/n), what are you doing here?" Ahsoka asked, baffled. I suddenly realized that I hadn't told Ahsoka about my first assignment. Furthermore, we hadn't yet had the talk, though things seemed mostly back to normal between us.

"It's my first day on the job. You're looking at commander (l/n)." I stated proudly.

"Oh..? Am I supposed to be impressed?" Ahsoka snickered, though there was an edge of worry in her voice. "Does that mean..." she started before being interrupted by a certain Jedi Knight.

"Snips, what did I tell you about getting lost?" Anakin groaned, then his gaze rested on me. "Should've known." he remarked, slapping his palm against his forehead.

"What's all the fuss about? Oh, hello there." greeted Obi-wan Kenobi as he promptly recognized my face. "(y/n) (l/n), congratulations in regards to your apprenticeship with Master Gallia! I must admit, I considered taking you on myself." the Jedi Master revealed to my shock.

"Really?" I doubted. The flamboyant Master Kenobi murmured his response into my ear.

"Yes, well... between you and me... I've already got my hands full with these two." he whispered. I burst out laughing, blindsided by the tidbit of humor. 

"Hey, what did he say?!" Anakin demanded, getting in my face.  

The dynamic between the trio was hilarious, they were like a bickering family. Contemplating Master Kenobi's admission, I couldn't help but wonder if an apprenticeship with him would have been more... pleasant? I would have seen Ahsoka more often, and they just seemed more fun. As if on cue, Jedi Master Adi Gallia appeared beside me. 

"With all due respect Master Kenobi, I don't think you could train this boy." she claimed as if it was obvious.

"Oh? Am I that bad of a teacher, Anakin?" Obi-wan questioned, deferring to his former student to vouch for him. 

"I think Master Gallia has a point." Anakin nodded smugly, much to his former master's dismay.

"Anakin...!" Master Kenobi protested. I then felt a tug on my sleeve.

"(y/n), there's no time for this. We must be going." my master urged. I looked behind her to see the troopers patiently waiting with blank expressions. 

"Yes master." I obliged, bowing to the trio before trailing Master Gallia. Suddenly, I heard Ahsoka's faint cry. Evidently, there'd been more on her mind that she hadn't had the chance to divulge. 

"(y/n)!" she cried out. I met her eyes before she uttered a well-known, powerful phrase. "May the force be with you!" she yelled, wearing a pained smile. 

Adi POV

Padawan, check. 91st legion, check. Commlink, check. Intel package, check. Venator-class Star Destroyer Absolute, check.  Starfighter, check. Among the vast array of other items on my checklist, I missed not a single one. Phew... this was always so exhausting, but someone needed to do it. Wiping a phew beads of sweat from my forehead, I made my way to the bridge of my flagship as we prepared for takeoff.

It was as if my apprentice was in a trance, for his face was plastered to a bridge window. Curious, though it was his first time aboard a Star Destroyer. The Absolute's thrusters then roared to life, earning a gleaming expression from the young boy. Our Venator steadily gained altitude until it broke through the atmosphere of Coruscant. Then, it was only a moment before we entered the void that is hyperspace. 

With the Absolute rapidly flying through the void, I advanced the operation to its next step. I turned on the starship's intercom and spoke loudly so that all aboard the cruiser could hear.

"This is General Gallia speaking. All members of the reconnaissance team, report to the bridge. (y/n), that includes you." 

While I waited for the group to assemble, I synced the intel package with a large holographic display nested in the center of the bridge. It neatly displayed each location and individual relevant to our mission. 

"I'm here, master." my apprentice voiced, making his arrival known. The four troopers I'd assigned to reconnaissance trickled in not long after. 

"Commander Neyo, reporting for duty General."

"Sergeant Burst, reporting for duty General."

"Trooper Slipstream, reporting for duty General."

"Lieutenant Link, reporting for duty General." 

"Good, you're all here, as for why? Each of you have a particular set of skills valuable to this mission. With that, let's begin the briefing." I explained, pointing to the ethereal blue display. I quickly sifted through the data before pulling up a schematic. It was of a large stone building, complete with a network of tunnels running underneath. I gave the five some time to observe it before elaborating.

"This is the Temple of the Kyber. Long ago it housed many Jedi, but that time has passed. As of now, it's not longer in use by the order. The important thing is that the tunnels below..." I pointed to the catacombs. "...contain veins of Kyber where many crystals grow." I finished.

"Why leave it behind?" the trooper known as "Link" asked curiously. 

"In peace times, the order assigned at least fifty Jedi at a time to guard the temple. I think you can guess why we can't afford that now." I cleared up. "In that line of thought, in our absence the Jedi enlisted the help of some religious groups to keep the temple safe..." I now sifted through the hologram some more before finding the profile of an individual. 

"This is Zena Killian, the leader of a group that calls themselves the 'Guardians of the Whills.'" The face pictured was of an elderly woman, perhaps in her seventies. Wasting no time, I flipped to the face of another. This time, it was of an aging man. "This is Leene Donnall, the head priest of the 'Church of the Force.'"

"General, how do they factor into the mission?" queried Neyo, softly yet keenly.

"Each of their respective organizations were tasked with the protection of the temple. Yet, in recent years, tensions have risen between the two groups. As of late, there have been frequent thievings of the temple's kyber crystals. That will be what we investigate." My elucidation was met with nods from both the clones and my apprentice. 

"Any further questions can be answered later." I finished, wrapping things up. 

(y/n) POV

Before I knew it, I was on an Eta-class shuttle headed for the surface of Jedha. My master was piloting, therefore I found myself sitting next to the four clones that accompanied us. They were conversing among themselves as if I didn't even exist. In fact, this silent treatment had lasted since the barracks. It bothered me, and I couldn't quite put a finger on why they treated me so... differently. 

"Well boys, any bets on whether we'll see any clankers?" I heard the one called "Burst" remark hesitantly.

"Burst, you should've named yourself 'Gambit.' I'm not interested in joining you in your addiction." Slipstream sarcastically jeered. Burst attempted to swing at him, but Slipstream dodged effectively. 

"What's a clanker?" I addressed Burst, attempting to get in on the conversation. The four looked between themselves before Burst answered my question.

"Uh, it's what we call droids commander." he laughed, rubbing the back of his head. After a moment of awkward silence the clones turned back towards each other like nothing had happened.

'Weird.' I thought to myself.

Giving up my attempts at interaction, I ventured into the cockpit where my master was beginning the landing sequence. The flight controls were colorful and vibrant; so enticing. 

"Master, when do I get to fly?" I inquired hopefully.

"I've seen your flight simulator scores. So, never." Master Gallia pronounced with a the hint of a snicker. Then the landing thrusters rumbled to life, drowning out my attempts to defend my piloting skills. All six members of the recon team marched down the boarding ramp in sequence, officially setting foot on the cold desert planet of Jedha. 

Master Gallia took the lead, naturally. There was a black dot in the distance that could have only been the site of our mission. We marched with purpose, each footfall creating an imprint in the pure white sand. The frigid air made me wish I'd thought to bring a coat.

"Here, kid." Sergeant Burst spoke up, throwing me a parka from his pack. 

"Oh... thanks!" I exclaimed in surprise. The gesture was much appreciated, though I was now further perplexed by the clones' demeanor. They didn't seem to dislike me, so what was it then? Just then I overheard some conversation coming from Link and Slipstream. 

"Yeah, so ever since that one bad squat my knee's been killing me!" Link complained. 

"Good. Maybe that'll put your ego in check." Slipstream cackled, Link took a swing at the heckler. After the accidental eavesdropping, I couldn't help but perk up a bit. Squats? Gym? Workout? This was my area of expertise.

"Are you keeping your knees behind your toes?" I chimed in. Now I had the clones' attention. 

"Yeah, of course." Link confirmed, looking a bit impressed. 

"Maybe have your feet be wider then, that'll keep your knees more stable." I considered, trying to offer a solution.

"Damn! The commander knows his stuff!" Burst chortled, while Link and Slipstream just nodded with approval. 

"I'll give it a whirl. Gotta admit, I didn't expect a Jedi to know much about working out." Link stated graciously. 

"He may be full of shit, Link. Wait till you try it." Slipstream remarked, looking at me with a sly grin. The ice had been broken. Over the next twenty minutes of hiking to the Holy City, I talked with the clones nonstop about everything from how they hated cardio to how they organized their physical training. Well, Neyo was a bit quiet, but I think that's just how he was. Whether Master Gallia heard us or not, she was laser focused on the work at hand. 

"We've arrived." she declared loudly as we reached the gates of the Holy City. 

My master wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs. She was strict, distant, sometimes uncaring. Maybe being Master Kenobi's padawan would have been more uplifting. Still, I wouldn't have it any other way. That fateful night in the underworld, when she'd reached out to me, she saved me. At a time when nobody else believed in me, not even myself, Adi Gallia did. For that alone, I was grateful.