General in Training [ Star Wars ]

lxii

"Take the laser swords apart!" Hondo nearly shouted, absolutely frustrated with the Jedi standing across from him. They'd been at it for hours, doing everything they could to get Riona to release the crystals to them. To no avail, of course.

"Look, buddy, there's nothing you can do to me that will convince me to hand over my kyber. Do you know how hard it was to change the color of those things? How hard it was to get master Huyang to give me all that copper?" She raised an eyebrow, hands still bound behind her. She figured Cobalt would've electrocuted his way through the compound by now, but she'd been there for nearly a rotation and a half at this point. Where is he?

"I don't care. At this point, you're costing me profit. It's not worth is anymore."

"So you'll let me go?"

"No. I'm going to contact your stupid Jedi order and get you out of my hair."

"So why not just let me go?"

"Because then, I won't get any profit out of this situation." He stated in a duh tone, the woman rolling her eyes. They'd been going in circles like this for what felt like forever, and she quickly growing tired of it. While staring down Hondo, she'd felt someone touch her hair, immediately jerking away. That was one thing she absolutely could not stand. "Don't touch me."

"Awe, why not, pretty girl? I just wanna have some fun. Can I, boss?" He let out a dark chuckle, his leader crossing his arms. "I just might give the Jedi her swords back if you try."

"Please try, really. I'd love the chance to cut you all down." She'd sneered, and if looks could kill, everyone in the room would've dropped dead. The goggle wearing weequay tutted, shaking his head as he stood. Making his over, he smiled. "I'm sure you would, but that's not what Jedi do, now is it?"

"I'm a pamarthen, bud. That always comes first. You're just lucky I haven't gotten out of these binders, yet."

"Pfft, I'd love to see that happen." A larger member of the species snorted, causing the others around him to laugh. Sighing softly, it was Riona's turn to tut her tongue. "I mean I was just being nice, but, if you wanna see it I can make it happen."

"Being nice? You're a pri-" Hondo was cut off, the sight of the woman jumping nearly seven feet up from a stand-still absolutely shocking him. Leaning into a backflip, she'd landed on the large man from before, wrapping her legs around his neck and squeezing. As the pirates had lifted their weapons, she'd quickly summoned her saber hilts with the force. Once ignited, she used them to cut the binders off, the man she was sitting on doing his best to get her off.

"She's like a damn monkey lizard!" One yelled, blaster fire soon filling the room. After a moment her ride had fallen unconscious, the woman now standing beside his limp body as she fought off the pirates. She'd gotten nearly half of them down when she heard an oh so familiar scream. Looking to the door, she grinned as a copper and blue R2 unit flew in, running into Hondo's legs and effectively knocking him over. Her grin simply grew as a mikkian Jedi entered the room, joining her in the fight.

"I see we're here to save your hide, again." The yellow-skinned woman teased, the flow of weequay entering the room seemingly endless.

"It's nice to see you, too, Tiplar." She'd let out a small laugh, though the slight distraction had cost her, a blaster bolt grazing her arm. Letting out what could pass as a growl, she'd reached a hand out to the man who shot her, though before she could act on it Cobalt had bumped into her legs. He was letting out flustered chirps, signaling the woman that it was time to go. Huffing, she'd gently pushed the other Jedi in the direction she'd came, the three rushing out as quickly as they could. Once in the main room of the compound, they met up with Tiplee and a few of their troops.

"Let's go, boys! Extraction complete." She'd called out, the group soon in the gunship they had waiting outside. Riona had to sit down, panting softly as she rubbed her legs, holding back a pained expression. This is the worst they have hurt since Pamarthe, the woman having an idea of what happened and she wasn't happy about it. She was sure she was finally on the mend, done with the effects already. Stupid weequay bantha fodder pirates.

The twin Jedi had shared a look, their commander the first one to break the silence as he kneeled down beside her. Using one arm to brace himself against the wall of the ever-shaking ship, he used the other to remove his helmet. An expression of concern was etched into his features as he looked her over. "Are you alright, General? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No, they didn't. It's just an old injury rearing his ugly head." She mumbled, glancing up and offering a small smile. "Thank you though, Doom."

——»»»»☆««««——

Riona sat in the medbay on the mikkian twin's flagship, sighing softly as the droid examined her. Cobalt was next to her bedside, having been glued to her side since they'd left the planet of Florrum. She sat with her head in her hands, already knowing what she was going to be told. Despite that, she wasn't ready to hear it. She didn't want it to be true.

"Ms Orion, it appears that your lower spine has become inflamed. Your muscles have also pulled apart from the tendons. I suggest that you take some time for bed rest to let them firm back up." The med droid pulled away from her, tone bored and flat. Any other time she would have offered a snide remark, but now, she simply didn't have the energy. Giving a small, tired hum in response, she'd turned to her astromech. Her chest had begun to ache as hot tears burned her eyes, the woman sitting quietly as the droid left the room. Taking in a shallow, shaky breath, she pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek. The membrane had a rough texture as far back as her teeth went, scarred from nearly two decades worth of being chewed on and held between her jaws. Even the inside of her bottom lip was scarred, right in the corners where her canine teeth would catch and pull at the meat. It was always a subconscious act, usually induced by some form of anxiety or deep concentration. When she became aware of it, though, like now, she always felt incredibly guilty.

Cobalt had let out a small, quiet string of whirrs and beeps, pulling her out of her thoughts. Reaching over, she rested a gentle hand on his dome. "Thank you, for finding the girls. You did well, bud."

He'd repeated the series, not having gotten the answer he wanted. Stopping herself from chewing at her lower lip, she'd closed her eyes for a moment. The tears she'd been holding back had been pushed out, Riona attempting to wipe them away before they had run down her face. "No, we don't need to tell anyone. Especially not father. If he found out, I'd get relieved of duty for sure."

Maker, she was devastated. Defeated. Despite how hard she tried, she couldn't keep herself from crying, so she simply hid her force signature from Tiplar and Tiplee. Her hands had become ever-so-slightly shaky, the woman curling in on herself somewhat as she hugged her knees to her chest. What was she supposed to do now? She's the general in charge of training the troopers, the men who make up the Grand Army of the Republic. She was a large part of the factor that determined if they'd win the war or not. How long would it be until she was fully healed? Would she ever be fully healed? Riona's mind was racing, going over all of the possibilities her future held. The monotonous, rhythmic beeping of the machines around her a dull echo in the background of her thoughts.

She'd eventually let out a low chuckle, earning a small, questioning sound from her companion. Wiping her tear stained cheeks with the heel of her hand, she sniffled. "Colt was right. I'm reckless, and I need to think things through before I act."

She could hear him, see his face in the back of her mind. The man shaking his head with a smug smile, with nothing but pure love shining in his eyes as he looked at her.

I told you so.