The Wolf Pack

Chapter 42

Kiari's good mood did not last long, not that the prospect of a full on battle put her off, but she would rather face the entire geonosian army on her lonesome than face her upcoming interaction with Master Mundi. Not even the prospect of seeing Ahsoka again cheered her up, she just hated the old pine cone head man with every fiber of her being.

As un-jedi like as the feeling was. She knew she had to be professional and respectful, but Kriari was long past caring what her superiors thought of her, and unless they kicked her out of the order, she doubted her attitude would let her go further than Padawan status.

Not that she cared much, she wanted to end the damn war, not just for the galaxy's sake, but for the clones' too. If she managed to get even one clone to survive the war she would consider herself successful. These men had been through enough for yet another entitled kid with a light stick not to care about them.

And here came the worst entitled child of them all. Kriari was not alone in her dislike for Master Mundi, even within the temple, but here, out in the galaxy, aboard a star cruiser, she realized just how many people felt like her. Word traveled fast in an army full of men with the same faces, and that meant there were few things that escaped the clone gossip channel. After General Krell, Master Mundi was the least liked among the clone ranks, and there was good reason for that.

Too bad the man in question was force sensitive, otherwise, the entire crew wouldn't have had to hide just how uncomfortable they were around a man who saw his soldiers as expendable, replaceable pieces that could be bought. Kriari hated the entire thing, and so did the clones.

Master Kenobi remained professional and unmoved by the situation, he kept his opinion on the matter very close to his chest and had so far, never taken sides on that particular situation. As his padawan, Kriari understood, but she also became incredibly frustrated on the occasion that Mundi said something dismissive or offensive and her master said nothing.

Kriari knew Obi Wan was aiming for a seat at the council, but she didn't understand the concept of sacrificing one's beliefs for such a trivial goal. She guessed she still had much to learn.

Still, Kriari had been walking on thin ice since her stunt with the Council, so she remained silent during the entire briefing, and barely reacted when Ahsoka and her master finally arrived. She could feel at least three people were a little put off by this, but no one confronted her about it, at least not during the briefing. Cody was told to explain the battle plan once again for the benefit of all present, and Kriari made a mental note to study the holomaps of the terrain before takeoff.

She was a little surprised by the fact that the Chancellor himself attended the briefing, she would have guessed such a man would be worried with other matters and leave the warmongering to the Jedi Generals. She had her hands full trying to ease the burden of the war that had been pushed on the clones, so she wondered how the man managed to run a galaxy, deal with the politics and be a present war leader.

Kriari had zoned out somewhere in the middle of Anakin and Obi Wan's bickering, and she only came back to the present when she heard Master Unduli chiding the two grown men.

"If you gentlemen are quite done, we have an invasion to start."

Kriari couldn't help the smile that escaped her. Master Unduli was the definition of strength and balance, even if Kriari did find her a little too conservative at times.

Master Kenobi ordered Cody to get the gunships prepped and ready, and motioned Kriari to follow. It had been an arrangement of theirs. Obi Wan felt that Kriari had much to gain from learning under Cody. As a Martial Commander, Cody was the second ranked person in the cruiser, right after the General.

They both felt Kriari was shaping up to be a great leader and agreed that she would benefit from being involved even further in the planning, organizing and directing of operations, as well as relaying orders and making sure the chain of command was running smoothly. In this particular case, as it was a planetary invasion they were carrying out, Kriari would be tasked with shadowing Cody, and serving as his second in command.

Obi Wan had initially been faced with more objections than anticipated. Cody didn't feel like having a padawan under his command was appropriate, as all clones were taught that Jedi, apprentices or otherwise, were always their superiors and to be obeyed at every turn. Even if he had worked with Kriari before and considered her a part of his battalion -and a valuable one at that- it didn't sit well with him.

It took all of Obi Wan's expertise as a negotiator and a few well placed words to make the man agree.

Now as he walked down the corridor and towards the elevator with a Jedi escorting him, he felt both safer than ever and more uncertain than during his first battle simulation. The looks his brothers were giving him were not helping, and the closed circuit comm chatter was going berserk with the new development.

Cody couldn't have been annoyed by Kriari even if he had wanted to. He barely registered her presence behind him as he did his rounds and supervised the activity in the hangar. She stood silently behind him, watching him interact with other clones and nodding in greeting whenever she was acknowledged. She observed everything closely, took in every word, and waited until the interaction was over to pose any questions she might have had.

It did feel extremely strange to the Clone Commander to have his superior follow him around as he usually did General Kenobi, but he now understood what the general meant when he said having him at his back put him at ease. And by the end of his long list of duties, he had become used to having Kriari at his back.

The time to take off was nearing, and the hangar became more and more hectic as the minutes passed. General Kenobi finally arrived and boarded his own gunship, not without wishing both his padawan and his Commander good luck. He trusted both Cody and Kriari enough to manage themselves without him in such a delicate situation.

"Well, ready to go, Kid?" Asked Cody as they both boarded a different gun ship.

"You are the first-timer here, Commander. Are you ready?" She teased back.

"Guess we'll find out, vod'ika".