001. HAUNTED BY A MONSTER

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SHE DIDN'T RECALL THE DEBRIEFING DETAILS EXACTLY, BUT ARIMIYA WAS ALMOST CERTAIN THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR A JUNGLE TO BE SO DENSE. Her boots were covered in muck, and she struggled with each step to make progress forward. The Twi'lek a few feet ahead turned and looked over her shoulder with a chuckle and a small grin.

"How much farther, Master?"

"Well, the halfway point is only a few clicks from here," the Twi'lek explained gently.

"Why did we land the ship so far away?" Arimiya complained as she yanked her leg free from the mud to take another step.

"To keep the element of surprise," the Twi'lek replied patiently, still smiling, "Master Halsey said that he should be able to hold off the separatist forces until morning when we're scheduled to arrive. They won't know what's hit them until it's too late."

Noticing how much the small girl was struggling to keep up, the clone trooper following from behind quickly scooped her up and placed her on his shoulders, still managing to carry his Z-6 comfortably. The girl's smile immediately returned, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"This is hardly protocol, Burst," the clone who had spoken looked up at the padawan commander.

"You're just jealous, Cash," Arimiya said and playfully stuck out her tongue. She knew that beneath his helmet, Cash was rolling his eyes. However, she almost lost her balance and fell as Burst hopped over a fallen log blocking the path.

The skies slowly grew darker, and it was difficult to determine whether it was the fault of the rising moon or the incoming rain. A bit of both, she supposed. Her master had been right when saying that the predetermined campsite was only a few clicks away. It didn't take long to set up, but as it started to pour, each did their best to find cover.

Arimiya stood with the hood of her robe pulled over her eyes while her hands remained tucked inside her oversized sleeves. The girl looked absolutely miserable out in the weather which only made her master laugh. The Twi'lek approached the girl and pulled back the hood so that she could see her face.

"How are you doing?" Arimiya looked up at her master unamused. R'avida couldn't help but laugh again before ruffling her padawan's hair. "We've been through worse."

"I hate the rain," Arimiya grumbled under her breath and made an attempt to pull the hood back up over her eyes.

Ace laughed as he'd overheard what the girl had said. "I wouldn't suggest visiting Kamino then."

Arimiya tilted her head as she seemed to notice something different about the clone now that his helmet wasn't covering his face. A smug grin flashed across her face. "Are you going grey?"

Ace frowned as his eyes immediately looked up as if he'd be able to see the top of his own head. Now self-conscious, he ran a hand through his hair. R'avida smiled and leaned back against the nearby tree. "I think it's a good look. Very distinguished for the Captain."

Arimiya raised an eyebrow as she noticed his face grew a light shade of pink. She didn't ask though, nor did she tease. Instead, she quickly walked over to the fire that the rest of the squad had finally been able to light. She stretched out her hands to try and get some feeling back into her fingertips. Burst took a seat beside her. The big, goofy grin on his face never ceased to make her smile.

"How's Ace doing with the promotion?" Arimiya asked as she looked over.

Burst cast a concerned glance over his shoulder back toward the Captain. "He's honored, but the loss of Captain Cruz hit the squad hard."

Arimiya nodded her head and looked around at the other soldiers scattered about the campsite. Of the 107th, the clones of the Shadow Squadron were the ones that she knew the best. They were the squad that she went on most missions with. Her squad consisted of Commander Dryx, Captain Ace, Burst, Cash, Alarm, Bugs, and Ghost. They'd recently just lost Captain Cruz less than a week ago and Dryx had insisted that Ace be promoted. Arimiya knew that R'avida would have no issues with the request either. However, as she looked around, she realized that there were way too many faces that she couldn't put a name to. She'd have to work harder to learn their names once they returned to Coruscant. Sure, it was a little crowded with the entire 107th present, but Master Halsey had insisted on a large number of reinforcements. Hopefully, they could hold their ground until they arrived.

Catching sight of the rest of Shadow Squad nearby, Arimiya rubbed her hands together and finally dragged herself away from the fire. Ghost stood silently against a tree while Bugs sat on a stump cleaning the visor of his helmet. Cash and Alarm, however, were in the middle of a conversation with a pair of clones she hadn't ever seen before.

"What trouble are you stirring now?" Arimiya playfully asked Cash and crossed her arms.

"Oh, nothing," Cash shook his head with a false innocence, "Just talking to a shiny and a rookie."

"Shiny?" Arimiya raised an eyebrow.

"He means the newbie," Alarm explained, "A clone that hasn't been in battle yet. Their armor is still fresh and shiny."

Arimiya nodded her head and looked between the two. "What are your names?"

"Bits, Commander," the clone introduced himself and saluted once he realized that he was speaking with the padawan, "Twilight Squadron. And this is our medic, Skid."

It wouldn't have taken her long to guess as the white cross stood out brilliantly against the clone's black armor. She couldn't help but giggle at the gesture though. "At ease. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

It was almost too soon when her eyes blinked open at the Sun's light. Most of the troops had already risen and were gathering up the final supplies so they could resume their march toward the Temple of Eedit. R'avida had explained the importance of the outpost, but Arimiya still struggled to understand how a temple meant so much when compared to the other battlegrounds.

The sun had dried up most of the rain as well, so their walk was much quicker than the evening before as there wasn't much mud to slow them down. R'avida lifted a hand to signal the troops as they approached the end of their trek. It was quiet... too quiet. R'avida crept forward and pulled aside the shrubbery that blocked her view. Arimiya immediately closed her eyes as she saw the scene before her.

Bodies littered the ground left and right. They hadn't made it in time. R'avida crept forward and Arimiya remained on her heels. However, she froze once they reached the top of the temple steps. Master Halsey and his padawan laid a few feet apart, but dead all the same.

R'avida kneeled and respectfully closed the Jedi Master's eyes. Following her example, Arimiya did the same for his padawan, Knox, even though every fiber of her being told her not to touch the dead body. R'avida's head tails twitched at the sound of something disturbing the greenery from behind. She quickly stood and ushered Arimiya to her side.

The blaster fire came first and then the countless swarms of droids. Their attacks were well coordinated and hard to defend themselves against. Things happened so quickly that Arimiya didn't even remember being cornered within the temple, yet that's where she was.

"Focus, Ari!" R'avida firmly instructed as her padawan struggled to deflect the last laser bolt fired.

"Sorry, Master," Arimiya quickly apologized and cleared her mind.

They were outnumbered, but it wasn't the first time that the odds hadn't been in their favor. It was just a bunch of stupid droids; they could take them. However, her mind couldn't help but drift back to the stab wound seen in the chest of the discarded padawan body.

A giant hole was formed in the wall behind her as R'avida threw a fallen support column through it. Arimiya quickly understood her master's intention and jumped through the hole without hesitation. Commander Dryx followed. She hadn't realized that he was beside her until that moment. They needed to regroup and form a new strategy. R'avida signaled with two fingers to retreat. No one dared disobey.

However, Arimiya froze as a cloaked figure blocked her path. The individual looked up and Arimiya could've sworn that their red eyes had burned a hole into her chest. She heard someone yell from behind her, but her mind didn't process what had been said as the red laser shot out from the silver hilt that the cloaked figure held. Her eyes widened, but she couldn't move. Her breathing quickened and she waited for the searing pain to form in her chest as she anticipated being stabbed. However, it never came.

Arimiya opened her eyes, and to her horror, Dryx crumbled to the ground. The sith grinned and the blade was brought toward her head only to be intercepted by another. Orange sparks momentarily burned her face as yellow and red confronted one another. The Sith was thrown back a few feet, and R'avida charged.

"Get her out of here!"

Arimiya's eyes refused to leave the fallen body of her fellow Commander. Her knees buckled, but before she could collapse, Burst scooped her up in his large arms and ran. Arimiya's head jostled as she slowly went limp in his arms. However, her ears perked up at the anguished scream that came next. She lifted her eyes from the ground and watched as Ace fell to his knees. She followed his line of sight, and her blood ran cold.

The Sith pulled down her hood so that all could see the devilish grin that formed on her face as she twisted the blade through R'avida's heart. The Twi'lek collapsed and Ace scrambled toward the general. The Sith raised her saber to cut down the approaching Captain, who had thrown his helmet to the ground. Arimiya knew she had to warn him, but no words would leave her lips. She slammed her fist down on Burst's shoulderplate to get his attention. He turned in confusion but froze as he finally saw what had happened.

"Ace! No!"

The Sith swung her blade, but before she could connect with her next victim, she was forced back by the barrage of blaster fire that was shot her way. Arimiya turned her head and watched as the Shiny that she'd been introduced to earlier sprinted toward the Sith as if he didn't know what the word 'fear' meant.

The Sith lifted her wrist up to her mouth and said something inaudible before retreating. However, she cast one last look over her shoulder. Although there was a great distance between them, Arimiya could clearly see the Sith mouth 'I'll be back'. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Burst ran back down the hill where the general and her captain were. He gently set Arimiya down, but the girl couldn't bring herself to move closer. It would only make it real. The medic, Skid, slid to his knees beside Ace and set his medpack on the ground beside him. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything that could be done. Ace pulled the Twi'lek close to his chest, lifted his head toward the sky, and screamed in agony. A long, bitter silence followed.

Skid cleared his throat. "We need to get back to the ship before the Separatists return with reinforcements. Your orders, Commander?"

Arimiya didn't even acknowledge that he had said anything. Burst looked between the padawan and the Captain and stepped up. "Look for any survivors."

"There aren't any," Bits bitterly looked down at the ground, "They slaughtered every last one of them..."

Burst lifted his head and looked around the surrounding area of the temple in shock to see that they in fact were the only survivors. Had the Sith not called off the droids, they certainly would have been dead. She didn't know why they weren't. Clearly, the same thought had crossed the mind of the others. Burst placed a hand on Ace's shoulder and leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Whatever he said worked because Ace snapped out of his glazed-over daze and cleared his throat. He stood, but lifted R'avida as he did. Skid shook his head.

"I'm taking her." It wasn't up for debate.

"Someone will return for her," Skid calmly explained, "But we're fatigued and injured. You won't make it to the ship with the extra weight."

"I'm not leaving her," Ace said, now between grit teeth.

He didn't wait for the medic to protest. Ace readjusted his grip and walked back toward the jungle with the fallen Twi'lek held tenderly in his arms. As Arimiya's feet refused to walk, Burst picked her up once more and carried her back toward the ship. She rested her head on his shoulder, but buried her face in his neck as the tears started to stream down her face.

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ARIMIYA'S EYES FLASHED OPEN. They darted around the dark room in panic before she recollected that she was in her quarters within the Coruscant temple. She took several deep breaths to try and control her breathing. When that didn't work, she buried her head into her knees and pulled at her hair.

It had been a week since the Devaron Massacre, as it had been called, took place. She still couldn't stop those demonic red eyes from invading her mediation. Every time she closed her eyes, it was the only color she saw.

She slowly dressed and stumbled out of the door to her quarters toward the commissary. She wasn't hungry, but she knew if she didn't at least show her face then she'd have to deal with someone else constantly looking over her shoulder. She didn't want that, she just wanted to be alone.

She took a deep breath and placed her head face-down on the table. The cool surface relieved the headache from her lack of sleep. She frowned as she noticed several figures from the corner of her eye sit down around her.

"Say something."

"No, you say something."

She twitched at the whispered argument, rolled her eyes, and sighed now that she knew the company was there to stay. "I can hear you."

She lifted her head to look at the worried glances cast toward her from around the table. The Rodian sitting across from her gently broke the tension. "We're worried about you, Ari."

"I'm fine, Zera," Arimiya insisted and plastered a fake smile to her face. Her eyes remained dead. "See."

The boy with dark hair and silver eyes raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced, but remained silent. However, the boy sitting beside him did not show the same restraint. "You've been locked up in your room for a week now."

"Meditating, Dume," Arimiya protested and then accusingly pointed, "Perhaps you should practice more yourself."

"The ceremony will be this afternoon," the boy with dark hair informed her. She offered him an appreciative glance that he didn't take the same approach as the others. He nodded subtly, "The council is just waiting for Masters Kenobi, Cors, and Skywalker to return with Master Piell from the Citadel."

She perked up a bit, now interested. The smug expression now on the boy's face seemed to imply that he knew she was going to be intrigued as well. "I thought the Citadel was inescapable, Plutarch?"

Jacen Plutarch shrugged his shoulders. "That is what's been said. I suppose there's a first time for everything though. You could ask Pellian when he returns-"

"Pellian is at the Citadel?!" Arimiya asked incredulous.

Caleb Dume crossed his arms, almost as if he were bitter, and nodded his head. "He and Tano snuck onto the mission."

"Oh, my force!" Zeraphina Quincur shrieked as she just realized something. "Master Cors is totally going to kill him."

"That I'd like to see." Arimiya chuckled quietly under her breath but froze as everyone's attention was now on her. "What?"

"You laughed," Jacen smugly pointed out, "And now you're smiling."

"No, I'm not," Arimiya crossed her arms while contradicting him, "I think you're growing delusional, Plutarch."

"Look, there it is again!" Caleb pointed and grinned.

Arimiya rolled her eyes and stood from the table. "I'll see you all at the ceremony. Don't you dare approach Pellian without me!"

The three padawans each raised a hand as if to swear they wouldn't. Arimiya shook her head and chuckled quietly to herself before walking down the hall to exit the temple. The barracks were usually restricted to padawans; however, given the circumstances, the council had permitted her to enter a few times a week to check on her men.

"Ari!" Burst exclaimed and immediately pulled the girl into a hug. She smiled gently and wrapped her arms around the clone's neck as he lifted her up.

"Where are the others?" Arimiya asked as she looked around the barracks.

"Bits and Skid are at the range doing some rehab, and Ace... well, you know how he is." Burst's tone grew somber.

Arimiya nodded her head and she slowly walked to the back of the quarters. She opened the storage closet and the Captain blinked his eyes at the sudden light that entered the small room. Noticing the Commander, he rose to his feet and saluted her. She shook her head and he immediately slumped. They were all worse than they had initially pretended to be. The full weight of what they had been through on Devaron had time to simmer over the week.

Bits had originally hidden that he'd been shot, and his wound had grown infected. It was a miracle that his arm didn't have to be amputated. However, after three straight days in a bacta tank, he was back down in the range working with Skid on some range of motion exercises to get back in prime condition. Skid had kept busy in the medbay. Although she hadn't seen him that day, Arimiya knew the medic had been working instead of sleeping. While Bits and Skid kept busy with work to block out the massacre, Burst had taken the time to speak with some higher-ranking clones about dealing with his emotional turmoil. Although not his first time dealing with loss, it was never easy. However, Ace had done nothing of the sort. Similar to Arimiya's own actions.

The girl had fallen behind in her mediation practices and lightsaber technique exercises. She'd finally been given a new form to learn before Devaron. Although it had only been a week, several more strands of grey had found their way into the Captain's otherwise black hair. The bags under his eyes matched her own. Despite the few attempts at returning to normality, they all struggled to sleep. How could they after what they'd seen?

Arimiya wrapped her arms around Ace's waist and hugged him. "The ceremony is this afternoon. The four of you have been invited to join us."

Ace slowly nodded his head. "Thank you... Commander."

She managed to smile slightly while her voice cracked as she brought up the argument that they'd had at least a thousand times, "How many times do I have to tell you to just call me 'Ari'."

"At least once more, Commander." The corner of his mouth upturned ever so slightly.

She hesitantly separated from the hug and made her way back toward the doorway. She turned to glance over her shoulder at the last minute. "You'll all be there, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, kid," Burst replied with a soft smile and then silently encouraged her to keep her head up. Her chest ached as she left the barracks.

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THERE WERE TWO BODIES THAT EVENING INSTEAD OF ONE. Tano and Pellian stood beside one another, expressions solemn as Master Cors was given the honor of lighting Master Piell's body on fire. It only seemed right that the Jedi Knight be permitted a final word with her mentor.

When the torch was extended to her, Arimiya wasn't sure she could bring herself to accept it. She took a deep breath and walked toward the body of her master. Her hand trembled as she lowered the torch down to the cloth that had been wrapped around R'avida. She took a step back and joined the remaining members of the Shadow Squadron.

Master Yoda stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Gathered here today to honor the memory of Master Piell and Master T'arcona, we are. For those that gave their lives in service of protecting the galaxy, a moment of silence."

Arimiya's eyes watered as the flames in front of her flickered. She didn't remember most of the ceremony, nor when it ended. However, she was snapped out of her private thoughts as a large, clubbed hand was placed on her shoulder. Her head quickly turned to face the Besalisk Jedi Master.

"Master Krell—" Arimiya quickly wiped her eyes.

"I'll see you in training tomorrow morning," Krell interrupted. It was impossible to read his expression.

"I'm sorry?" she asked in confusion.

"We begin training tomorrow morning," Krell restated. He lifted his hand from her shoulder and began to walk back toward the temple; however, he paused at the last minute and gestured back toward where R'avida had once been. "My padawan spoke exceedingly well of you, I have high expectations, young one."

She nodded her head as his implication finally clicked in her mind. It had only been a week and she'd already been assigned a new master. Krell left without another word. She walked back over to where her master had once been and looked up toward the stars that had begun to appear in the evening sky.

"May the force be with you, Master."