The War

The Lie

Jaelyn walked tiredly down the halls, the door to the brig closing behind her. She'd been at war for so long already. Her work at Christophsis had been months ago. Most recently, she'd been helping bring an end to the Malevolence situation. And now, finally, she would be able to finally return to the Jedi Temple and rest for a while. Luckily for her, she'd grown used to having constant work, but she'd reached a point where she desperately needed a break. She felt mentally exhausted.

The 607th Legion had been amazing since she'd started working with them. She trusted Commander Delk with her life and she was constantly being reminded of Admiral Seguin's genius strategy. She admired every clone that fought by her side in every battle they'd been in so far, she could only imagine what they could accomplish in a matter of years.

And yet, everyone needs a break sometimes.

She just gave the order to return to Coruscant and was now returning to her small room when she received the transmission. She hit a button on her arm brace and watched as a hologram of Iira appeared just above her wrist.

"Iira! Hey! How are you?" She asked with a jerk, "The last time I heard anything from you was back at the Battle of Christophsis, what's happened?"

Iira seemed alarmed by the amount of questions, but steadied herself, "A lot, actually. Where are you? We need to talk. In person,"

She was taken aback by her response, "I'm heading back to Coruscant. If it's that important, I'll meet you at your ship. Tell me when you get there,"

"Will do,"

And then she broke the transmission.

Jaelyn stood deep in thought in the middle of the hallway for several minutes until one of her clones walked past her and snapped her back to the present. She hurried to her room.

There was something different about Iira. She could tell simply through the hologram that something fundamental had changed, but she couldn't tell what it was, only that she was stronger, and that something darker was there, something she hadn't known before.

She sat on her bed, crossed her legs, and meditated, clearing her mind, letting the force flood through her, seeking answers.

Iira somehow made it to Coruscant before she did. As soon as she finished up business with her fleet and with the Jedi Council, she hurried away to meet her. She'd landed the ship in the higher levels. When Jaelyn arrived, she was standing just outside with a small droid sitting on her shoulder.

She couldn't help but smile at the sight of her sister, "Hey," she said.

"Hi,"

They winded up standing there in silence for a few minutes as they realized how long it had been.

Then, she broke the silence, "When did you get the droid?" she asked,

"Oh," she looked over as if realizing the droid was with her, "This is BD-9, he's not mine, he's my partner's,"

Jaelyn raised an eyebrow, "You got a partner?"

She broke out with a grin, "Yeah, her name's Alsha, she's sitting inside. Speaking of, you're welcome to come in,"

"Sounds like a lot has happened," she said, taking up the invitation, Iira followed her in, Jaelyn noticed immediately that she had a serious limp.

"Yeah, you could say that," Iira said, "So what about you? What epic battles have you won?"

"I'm sure you really don't want me to drone on about the war," she said, "Although, I will say, Ryloth has been taken by the Separatists,"

The news came as a shock to Iira, "Really?" she asked, her voice much quieter now.