22 BBY, Month 7
Rylann
The conference room door slid open as Rylann made her way in a good twenty minutes early. She nodded to Shaak Ti who sat at one of the seats at the round table, meditating. When Rylann's eyes met good old Tallehna's, a frown fought its way onto her face. Rylann was even twenty minutes early and Tally still got there earlier. Tally, who had probably been flying for a few hours, with her golden hair plaited perfectly atop her head. With her cream-white robes perfectly starched and ironed, posture as perfect as everything else. Rylann couldn't stand her. Tally was everything Rylann could only dream to be.
Beside her a Mirialan boy sat, tapping his finger impatiently on the table. His green skin was bright with only four diamonds tattooed on his face—two on each cheek. His dark hair fell over his brows, padawan braid falling down his shoulder. Rylann self-consciously touched her own braid which should come off by the end of the year. She'd worn it for over six years and was tired of it getting in the way. Besides, she felt she grew out of it long ago.
Rylann nodded to Tally and the padawan, sitting beside Shaak Ti, on the further side from Tally. She didn't want to be any closer than she had to be. "What exactly are we doing again?" Rylann whispered to her master, crossing her arms as a chill breeze hit her shoulder. The air conditioning was way too high for this rainy planet.
Shaak Ti didn't look up, but instead slid a tablet over for Rylann to glance over. "We will be showing four battalions and legions what new clone groups we have to offer and they will choose whom they want to join their ranks."
"Interesting," Rylann said, skimming through the document regarding the rules and regulations to choose a clone. Rylann suddenly felt sick to her stomach. She felt like this was just some nerf auction to race and get the premium breeds. Rylann didn't like this at all.
As she looked over the document more, Rylann furrowed her brows. Under the section, Project Proto was the name Omega beside OC-24. Rylann turned once more to Shaak Ti. "What's Project Proto?"
"It's the clones who were directly grafted from Jango Fett's DNA," Shaak Ti stated nonchalantly. "Most clones now are grafted from DNA of the Proto-class instead of Jango. They are modified with specific enhancements, some to be used for research and others for cloning."
Rylann frowned. "I don't think I'll ever understand Kaminoans. Creating life to be killed and researched."
Shaak Ti gave her a look. "And I'm sure they'll never understand us."
The door slid open revealing Plo Koon and an entourage of two clones. One was a commanding officer and the other a captain. Rylann bit back a grin at the wolf painted on the chest of the armor.
Rylann continued reading only to be interrupted again when Kenobi entered, sitting across from her with his commander and captain. Kenobi sent her a smile as he adjusted his tablet in front of him. The clones stood behind him, stiff and collected, their yellow-accented armor looking sickly in the bright Kaminoan light. Rylann put aside the tablet, noting it was nearly time for the conference call.
With a beep right on time, the Chancellor appeared. Rylann had never been a part of a meeting with Palpatine before. She had seen his propaganda and some of his dissertations, but never had seen him live as such.
"Hello, Generals, Commanders, and Captains," Chancellor Palpatine started, clasping his hands together. "Thank you for joining me for this call. I sadly can't make it out to Kamino since I'm stuck on Coruscant with—"
He never got to finish because the door slid open, revealing Anakin, Ahsoka, and their clone captain in blue. "Sorry we're late!" Anakin blurted out, his charming smile making its way onto his face. "Ahsoka had to stop by the caf and see if the soup really was gelatinous."
Ahsoka rolled her eyes as Rylann flushed. Ry had told Ahsoka about the nasty soup after she had it the couple of months prior, not having a clue that Ahsoka would tell Anakin. And she had not guessed that Anakin would bring it up in front of so many important people. How was Ahsoka not upset?
"Thank you for joining us," Plo Koon said, a hint of a smile in his voice. "How was your trip?"
"Good," Ahsoka and Anakin said at the same time. Rylann hid a laugh as she buried her head into the tablet again.
Ahsoka slid into a chair next to Rylann, Anakin sitting beside her. Their clone captain stood behind them, arms crossed behind his back, tapping his foot nervously. Rylann could immediately feel secondhand embarrassment rolling off of him.
The Chancellor cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the whole room. "Now we must cover the order of events—" the Chancellor started, but suddenly, Rylann got woozy. A headache pounded heavily in the back of her head and all she saw was black.
"The time... Execute Order..." The cries. All the voices. All the pain.
Rylann felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Shaak Ti. The Chancellor was still talking about the plan of the day, but Shaak Ti was the only one who seemed to notice Rylann's "moment."
Shaak Ti didn't need to use words to ask how Rylann was, her eyes said it all. Rylann shook her head, giving her master a thumb's up as she blinked away the residue of the pain. Whatever happened, it was mostly gone except the sickly feeling in her stomach. The Chancellor finished his sentence, eyes landing on her. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck and for a moment, a powerful wave of darkness rolled into the room. It was suffocating. But it was gone as fast as it appeared and the Chancellor made his rounds talking to different Generals at the table.
What was happening to her? Rylann felt like she was in some fever dream but it was somehow all real. What was the voice she heard? Why did she feel like a thousand deaths in a single moment? Why the darkness?
Rylann didn't know. All she knew was that she had more questions than she did answers.
【 ⌖ 】
The meeting was adjourned and the holo clicked off. To be honest, Rylann didn't pay much attention to it because she was still trying to wrap her mind around what happened.
Ahsoka nudged Rylann with her elbow, gaining her attention. "Hey, Ry, long time no see!"
Rylann turned to her friend, smiling broadly at her, glad to forget the previous events in the moment. "I know right? So much has happened," Rylann paused, not knowing how to explain the Bad Batch to her or if she was supposed to since they were a specialized and somewhat secret clone force. "So, what adventures have you and Skywrecker been on?" Rylann asked, deciding to divert. "Did your master crash any shuttles yet?"
"Does he ever not?" Ahsoka asked, standing up as Anakin made his way over to Kenobi to conversate with. She looked over her shoulder at their blue-donning clone captain, before excitedly turning to Rylann. "Oh, this is Rexter, the best captain of the 501st legion."
The clone tilted his helmeted head at the young togruta, before saluting to Rylann. "Commander."
Rexter, Rylann thought, the name sounding familiar. Then it hit her. Her eyes lit up. "You're the famous Rex, king of all clones." The clone paused, not sure what to do. Rylann just laughed. "The clones here talk about you a lot."
Rylann could feel his sudden bashfulness and uncomfortability. Before she could say another word, Shaak Ti was calling her away. "We need to catch up more, Ahsoka, before you leave," Rylann paused, turning to Rex. "And it was a pleasure to meet you, sir!"
As Rylann made her way to Shaak Ti, dread filled her gut. Old Tally and her padawan were waiting there for her to join them. Pursing her lips, Rylann nodded to them as she stopped beside her master. "General Kittro, it's a pleasure having you on Kamino."
Tally nodded, a philosophical look on her face. "It's been awhile, Padawan Tetra," she said, her slightly smooth and slightly scratchy voice meeting Rylann's ears like skin to concrete. "Thank you for having us. I've been anticipating this trip for some time now."
Rylann held back her glare, instead forcing a smile as she sent Shaak Ti a look who just ignored her, smiling at her previous padawan. Shaak Ti knew Tally was coming and didn't tell her until the know-it-all was already here? Rylann pushed down her frustration, turning to the Mirialan boy beside Tally. "I'm Rylann Tetra, padawan of Shaak Ti," she said, offering her hand to the boy. "What is your name?"
"Ronn Rianno," the broad-shouldered boy said, towering over even Shaak Ti who graced a six foot one. "Padawan of Tallehna Kittro."
Rylann fought the urge to apologize for him. Maybe Tally had stopped being, well, Tally in the four years since she had seen her.
"I'm looking forward to touring the facility," Tallehna stated, examining the architecture in the room. Oh, no. Tally was still definitely Tally. "I wonder what influences sparked the arches and what period they built this city."
She paused, reaching out to touch the wall, but then afterwards said nothing, clasping her hands beneath her cloak sleeves reminiscent of her old master. Rylann held back a groan. This was going to be a long day.
"How close are you to graduating?" Ronn asked, stepping aside to have a separate conversation with Rylann. "You look like you're at least a few years older than me."
"You look a few feet taller than me," Rylann chuckled, but Ronn just furrowed his brows.
"It can't be more than one foot," he said, not catching the Genetian exaggeration.
"I was just kidding," Rylann muttered, clasping her hands in front of her. "And to answer your question, I should finish by the end of the year."
"That's exciting," Ronn nodded, a grin breaking out on his face. "I just turned sixteen and am a slow learner, so it might be a while for me."
"Slow and steady is way better than skipping ahead," Rylann said, thinking of how Tally was picked up as a padawan at the mere age of twelve, graduating at seventeen. The Council thought she was the Chosen One until Anakin came along.
"I have a lot to live up to, though," Ronn said, lowering his head a bit dejectedly.
Rylann clapped the tall boy on the back, smiling broadly at him. "You know how you learn and you know your limitations," Rylann said, an ornery glint entering her eyes. "Or you can totally prove them wrong and be competitive. Either way, man."
Ronn grinned, returning the pat on the back. "I don't care what Tally said. You're pretty cool."
Rylann smiled before pausing. "What did Tally say?"
Ronn flushed, glancing worriedly at his master who was in deep discussion with Shaak Ti. "Oh, er, that you have no value of responsibility, you lack in regiment, and need to brush your hair more."
Tally, Tally, Tally. Rylann scoffed. She had based everything she said off of who she was four years ago. Yeah, Rylann still struggled with responsibilities, yeah, she wasn't the best at keeping a schedule, but she did take very good care of her hair. Nowadays, at least. She brushed it every day.
.........................................................................
This is Tallehno Kittro, aka Tally.
Below is her padawan, Ronn Rianno. Not my best work, but maybe I'll fix later. I don't like how I erased the green under his eyelids.