【ｍｉｓｓ ｔｈｅ ｍａｒｋ】| Crosshair x OC (BOOK 1 of the CHANGING WAVES series)

52 | Freeing

"My mission, her assassination attempt," Crosshair explained, leaning forward as he made eye contact with Shaak Ti.

"Assassination attempt?" she asked, heart fluttering anxiously. What has Rylann gotten herself into?

"What mission, soldier?" Kenobi asked, stepping closer as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Crosshair scratched the back of his head. "Sil—uh, Epsilon of the Proto-Clones had a mission here and she had us help her." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It was supposed to just be a quick excursion to find out who was buying bombs from some smugglers, but it happened to be the same group of crazies we dealt with on Mandalore."

"Death Watch," Kenobi muttered, once again stroking his beard.

Shaak Ti crossed her arms. "But what did they want with Rylann?"

"Some sort of file she was trying to access." Crosshair shrugged. "But, I don't know the full story. I saw that they were after her and disbanded from my group to stop the Watcher. He had drugged her and I barely had time to shoot him before she passed out in my arms."

"Thank you for being so quick to jump to help," Shaak Ti said, truly thanking the Maker that providence brought Crosshair in the nick of time. "You and your brothers are good soldiers."

Crosshair nodded, eyes drifting back to Rylann. "She was supposed to be safe here."

"I agree," Shaak Ti muttered.

"Me, too," said Obi-Wan. He placed his hands on his hips, very reminiscent of Qui-Gon. "I think this calls for a meeting with the council."

Shaak Ti blinked. "You do?"

Kenobi nodded, his eyes meeting hers as sympathy shot across them. "Your padawan must have stumbled upon something important. She must be protected."

Shaak Ti nodded slowly, mulling over his words. What sort of files did Rylann access?

"Shaak Ti?" came a small, withered voice from the bed.

"Rylann! Are you alright?" Shaak Ti exclaimed, rushing to her padawan's side, kneeling on the ground. Crosshair shot up to get a better look at her.

"I—I think so," Rylann replied, holding her head, eyes squinting. "Ugh, I feel like I was hit by a shuttle bus."

Crosshair shrugged. "You were hit with a drug."

"Why?"

"We were hoping you would tell us that," Kenobi cut in, making his way over.

"Hi, Master Kenobi," Rylann said through a grimace. "And I might need a refresher."

Crosshair lifted a datapad, waving it around. "This was on you when you fell unconscious."

"The files!" Rylann exclaimed, snatching it from his hands.

"What are these?" Kenobi asked, eyes narrowing at the device in Rylann's hands.

"I went to the Archives to look for some data on clone aging and found some other things," Rylann said, shooting a wide-eyed look at Shaak Ti. She knew what it meant. I'll tell you later.

"Kenobi, don't we have a meeting to attend?" Shaak Ti asked, standing upright to be face-to-face with the general, a smile plastered onto her face.

He backed away, clearing his throat. "I guess so," he replied, stepping aside for her. "After you."

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