Xena's tale: The Clone Wars

Chapter 2 Meeting the Commander and Battalion

As we approached the massive ship, I could see white, plastoid armor on men, indicating that they are the clone soldiers. I looked at the men who had their helmets off and from physical appearance they all looked the same, but seeing their force signature, they all are different.

Master Plo walked in front, while I stayed towards the back of him as he approached the men and Commander. The Commander had his helmet still on, but I could feel a scowl under his visor. He looked at Master Plo, and then shouted, "Formation men, the General is here!"

I felt bad for the men's ears, but they quickly put their helmets on and stood straight up, with the Commander walking down the lane, observing if anyone was not straight. The Commander then said, "General, a pleasure to serve under you. Commander CT-3636." I tilted my head in confusion at the clone commander to see if he would elaborate, but he didn't.

The Commander looked at me and tilted his head before turning back to Master Plo. "General, you are aware that this area is off limits to visitors." Master Plo chuckled a little bit and I stepped forward, beside Master Plo and said, "We know, but padawans are an exception, let alone commanders as well."

I saw the commander almost jump back at my response and I giggled a little bit and said, "Padawan Xena, at your service." I nodded my head at the commander. The clone then looked at Master Plo and said, "With all due respect sir, you are sure a child should lead." I kept a neutral face, but I didn't like how the Commander was second guessing my ability, and I wasn't even a child.

"I mean... she doesn't look like much." I didn't even flinch at his words; he was right though. Master Plo put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Commander, while I will like your council, I do not like you misjudging my padawans ability. Yes, she is young, but she is one of the best strategists of the Jedi Order." He stepped forward, being right in front of Commander, "Do you understand?"

The Commander looked straight ahead and said, "Understood General!" Master Plo nodded and said, "Good, now that's settled, why don't you show my padawan around the ship, she has been eager to meet you all." The Commander nodded and turned to the other men, shouting, "Alright men, load up and get the ships ready!"

They all responded with a loud shout saying, 'Yes Sir!' and started to pack and gather the rest of their stuff and I started to walk into the ship with the Commander, while Master Plo helped the men as well. I kept looking around the ship, marveling at every room, and the Commander kept glaring at me.

*Time Skip*

We had been in hyperspace for a few hours and wouldn't reach our destination for quite a while. The Commander kept showing me around and I was getting familiar with the Star Cruiser quite quickly, which I was happy about.

Once we reached the barracks, where Master Plo and I would sleep, I turned to the Commander. "I am sorry for the way Master Plo talked to you; I should've stepped in to stop him." The Commander tilted his head at me, almost surprised at my response. He then took his helmet off for the first time and I was shocked with what I saw.

He looked just like Jango Fett, but had a little bit of gray hair, and his aura through the Force was shaking with fear. He then scowled at me and said, "Listen, the General may trust you, but I don't. Do anything to harm my men and I will make sure that you never see the General again, freak."

And there it is, someone admitting to who I really am, a freak. I looked away for a second and back at him with no emotion in my response. "You know, you don't have to say things I already know. Yeah, I know I'm a no one, that I'm a freak, and that I will never be like you guys. So, I ask, not an order, that you stop telling me things I already know."

I then turned around, not wanting to see his scowl, or his sympathy, I know that he is right about what I am. I then said, "Thank you for the tour and for reminding me of my place, you may go and check on your men." I then walked away to meet up at the front of the ship, where Master Plo would most likely be.

As I walked to the front, I passed the hanger and heard a loud crash from inside. I opened the hanger and was immediately slammed into a wall by one of the clones, collapsing to the floor. I shook my head and when my vision cleared and the ringing of my ears stopped, I saw six clones, all without helmets, gathered, probably to see if one of their own was okay.

The clone that was on me slowly got up and when he turned around, his face turned so pale. "Commander, are you alright? I sincerely apologize, I- I did not see you- well I mean I did, but-" I held my hand up and got up from the floor and dusted myself off. I smiled and said, "It is quite alright, thankfully that isn't the first time I was slammed into a wall before."

All the men looked at me like I was crazy, and they weren't wrong. I looked at the man who slammed into me and said, "Soldier, what threw you out of the room?" Another soldier stepped forward saying, "It was my fault, I was trying to finish a ship's upgrade, but it ended up sending the Sergeant flying." I immediately stood up at the fear of an explosion, "Are all of you alright?!?! Is anyone injured?!?!"

All the men didn't say anything, but one responded. "Yeah, we're all fine, Commander..." I waited for him to continue, but he looked like he was in shock of me asking if they were all alright.

"Has... no one ever worried about... your health or if you were okay if an explosion happened?" I asked slowly and all the men averted their eyes from me, immediately I felt how uncomfortable all the men felt and immediately changed the subject.

"You said that you were fixing a ship, right? Well, let me have a look at it, I am a pretty good engineer." I moved into the hanger and looked behind, but none of the men were moving. "Are you all alright?" I asked, wondering if I did something wrong.

The Sergeant, the one who smashed into me, came forward to speak. "We... are just... not used to someone... wanting to help... us?" He stated it as a question and flinched, like I was about to hurt him. I walked up to the six men, smiling.

"Well, hopefully you will get used to it, because I plan to help you, all of you, whenever you need help with something." I smiled and clapped my hands together. "Now, why don't you all show me the ship you are working on and let me see if I can help." All the men nodded and walked back into the hanger to see the ship, which caused so much trouble.