No Time To Die - Clone Wars

Chapter 2 - Waiting

Linora sits on the edge of her bed in her private room aboard a Star Destroyer. Her old green lightsaber left aside on the bed as she hunched her back forward, looking at her new saber that was gifted to her during her Knighthood. The saber that once belonged to her old master.

"Master Thraezsh," she called out quietly, thought to no one in particular.

She studied the blade, her eyes scanning every nook and cranny. It was freshly polished and repaired recently. There were no scratch marks or signs of intense use. Her finger tips trailed the leather handle and found no signs of a grip, no hand print indicating that it belonged to Jena. It was as if she had never used it. But was it for better or for worse for my sake, she wondered.

Linora activated the blade, staring into its purple light. She concentrated on it, its sound, the heat it projected. Slowly she started hearing other things. Explosions, blaster fire, shouts, screams, a voice calling to her.

"Linora!"

Linora moved her gaze away from the saber to find herself in the middle of a warzone. Red and blue blaster fire collided with one another. One droid army, one clone army in a violent clash. Debris everything as the factory around them was slowly collapsing. Tears and cracks covered the walls.

"Linora!"

The voice called out to her again. She could feel her eyes beginning to water as her eyes scrambled the floor. There she saw a woman on the ground, a blaster wound in her stomach and shoulder.

"Master Thraezsh!" Linora screamed as she ran towards her body.

Nearby droids heard her cry as they focused their attention on her, firing in her direction. Summoning her green lightsaber, Linora leaped into action as she sliced the closest droid before deflecting incoming fire. Her eyes burned. She wouldn't let them come anywhere near her master. She flexed her free hand out, harnessing the force to push the remaining droids away.

Once they were dealt with, Linora returned to Jena's body, sliding to her knees as she sat by her side, her body hovering over her as a shield. "Master!"

"I'm sorry, child, I fear I may have overstepped--" she spoke with uneasiness as a violent cough erupted from her throat.

The Padawan reached for her hand, grasping it tightly. "I'm here, I'll get help, I can save you,"

Linora reached for her com-link as she pressed the button on her wrist, "This is Linora Kraken, Master Thraezsh is--"

"There's no time--" Jena reached for her hand, interrupting the transmission as her breathing wheezed. "I'm out of time,"

Linora's mouth gaped, unable to form words as she watched her Master hand her a detonator device. "The charges have been set. There's still a chance to stop the Separatists. You can do this,"

The walls ached and the ceiling creaked as Linora looked up to see new cracks taking form, small pieces of debris fluttering down as a nearby explosion rocked the room. Linora whimpered as she shielded Jena's body for a moment before meeting her gaze.

"But the others, I-- I have to warn them to evacuate!" Linora stuttered, her lips quivering as she looked out to the battlefield through the giant cargo door archway to see Masters Kenobi, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Skywalker, leading their Clone Trooper battalions against the Droids.

"There's no time," Jena pleaded. "I am. . . out of time,"

"Master. . ." Linora watched as Jena gently forced the device into her hands.