[SpringsSong]

Noriala. Cathar form.

When the first shot hit her ship, the Cathar Jedi had nearly cursed as she ran for the ship's guns, calling out over her shoulder, "Take the wheel, T7!"

When the second shot hit, she was knocked flat on her face, just shy of the ladder leading up to the guns that she preferred not to have to man.  Her ears pulled back against her skull as she did curse this time, pulling herself up as she rubbed her head.

"T7, what was that?" she shouted up, and she listened for the beeping of the droid.  After a few seconds, the droid responded.

Ship = under attack // Attackers = Republic clone troopers + not responding to request to communicate // T7 + Jedi = in trouble?

"Why in the blazes would clone troopers attack us?" Noriala asked, rising to her feet only to have a third shot rock the ship.

Ship = engines damaged // T7 = trying to guide ship to nearby planet // Jedi = find safe place to hold on, the droid twittered, and Noriala made her way back up to the cockpit in enough time to see the clone fighter ships returning to their main ship.

"Something's not right," Noriala said.

[SpringsSong]

Pulling out her personal commlink from the pockets of her robe, Noriala sighed as she looked out of the viewscreen to see where they were falling to.  She could not immediately place the planet, which only added to her panic as she opened a general communication channel.

"Emergency Code 9-13," she said.  "My astromech and I are in free fall.  Engines are failing."

"M̤̘̅̽ͪͫ̚ã̛̝̱͎͍͍̃s̷̳̳̯̽ͩ̀t̛͔͓̠̏̃̄ͫ̆̊͢͡ȩ̸̻̟͍̋ͭ͛ͣ̿͑̊͆͑͞r̨̞̪̱̬͙͚͖̯͕̀ͧ͗ͮ̀ ̶͚͍͒̆͛̅̕N̢̼̯͍̳ͫͭ͆ͬ̑̓ͅọ̵͇͖͎̘͖͒͋͂̌ͯ̀͊̀r̈́̕҉̣̜̬͚͉̲͝i͊͏̸͇̠͔a̯̻̺͍͈͚ͧ̈͝l̠̓̏ͮ́͢a̶̘̖̰ͪͮͯ͘͟?ͬ͑̽̆͛̄ͤ́͏̥͓̮̕" came a garbled reply.

"Please repeat," Noriala said as calmly as she could.  "Transmission was gar--"

"Master Noriala!" the reply rang through clear as day now, and Noriala felt a wave of relief wash over her.

[SpringsSong]

"Kira," she said with a sigh of relief.  "You're all right."

"Yeah, but something's not right," Kira said.  "I've felt waves rippling through the Force--not good ones, either."

"Well, I was just attacked without warning by the Clone troops I was escorting to--" Noriala began, and she heard Kira groan.

"This is bad," she said.  "I'm on the planet that you're in free fall towards.  I'll track your beacon signal to find you."

"No Clone troops with you?" Noriala asked.

"None.  I was left here on an undercover assignment, remember?" Kira said, and Noriala could hear the other Jedi's smirk in her voice.

[SpringsSong]

"Of course I remember," Noriala said.  "I'm one of the ones that recommended you for that assignment, after all.  You've got a pretty unique skill set for a Jedi--Padawan or not."

"Yeah, cut that until I can find you," Kira said.  "I want all of this on a holorecording for Master Kiwiiks."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll--"

At that instant, Noriala heard her commlink cut out, and she heard T7 whistle in warning.

Ship = fast approaching atmosphere // Hull = not likely to withstand heat // T7 + Jedi = head to escape pod + find Kira on the surface?

"Good idea, T7.  Let's get to the escape pod," Noriala said.

[SpringsSong]

Kira.  Human form.
"Doc".  Human form.

"Who was that, Kira?" a man's voice asked after the static cut out.  The redheaded woman turned around, regarding the speaker with some measure of caution.

"Friend of mine from before," she said simply.  "Y'know--one of the ones that I've gotten calls from over the last few weeks from the Jedi Council.  Seems that something's gone wrong with the war and all--she said that the Clone troops she was escorting fired on her before she cut out there."

"So, she's a Jedi then, right?" the man asked, and Kira nodded.

"Yeah--but obviously, like with me, that's just between us--apparently even more so after today," Kira said.  "The code she used is strictly used in emergencies--and being fired on and losing her ship's engines would certainly count as a pretty big emergency."

"Yeah, being a Jedi around clone troops--or anyone, for that matter," he said.  Kira tilted her head slightly.

"What do you mean, Doc?" she asked,

[SpringsSong]

"You haven't heard?" Doc asked.  "Apparently the clone troops were given some special order--something like 'kill all Jedi' or the equivalent," he said.

"Well, that's going to be easier for me to manage pretending not to be a Jedi.  Still have that secret storage room at your place?  She was equipped for a recon mission, which means she'll have her lightsabers and her usual Jedi attire," Kira said, turning to duck into the dwelling that she was sitting outside of.  "Luckily I have an extra set of clothes that'll fit her..."

"So, this other Jedi," Doc asked as Kira ducked inside.  "What can you tell me about her?  Gonna need to help her blend in here, after all."

[SpringsSong]

"Well, she's already at a disadvantage on that front," Kira said.  "She's a Cathar--born in the Republic, so she was brought into the Jedi at a young age.  It's all she's ever known, so..."

"In other words, she might not take very well to my usual charms," Doc said, and Kira laughed as she nodded, motioning for Doc to follow her.

"Gonna need medical supplies," Kira said.  "The only reason her transmission would've cut off like that would be because she hadn't entered the atmosphere yet, so she's gonna be in a bad way.  Also, if we cover her up, we can hide that she's a Jedi easier."

"Good thinking," Doc said as he grabbed a portable gurney.  "Guessing you've been in situations like this before."

"It's one reason why they usually send me undercover, when the Jedi need someone on the inside of something that they don't want ties to," Kira said.  "When you weren't born in the Republic, it makes it a little easier."

[SpringsSong]

"Either way, we need to move fast," Doc said.  "If what you say is true, then we've got a limited time and each second we take, she's in more danger.  You got any idea where she might be?" he asked.

"I've got a fix on her commlink.  When a Jedi calls in a 9-13, it activates a homing beacon that is then tied to the responding Jedi's commlink.  Her signal stopped moving a few seconds ago, and if the map is any indication, she's... not that far away," Kira said, wrapping her cloak around her shoulders.  "She'll have an astromech with her, but there's no telling what condition he'll be in--but if I know that scrappy T7 unit, he'll need less maintenance than she will medical attention."

Kira = coming to help? // Jedi = in bad condition + needs medic // T7 = tried to remove Jedi from escape pod, came the familiar beeping of T7 over the commlink.

[SpringsSong]

"Yeah, I'm on my way with a medic, T7," Kira said.  "Keep Noriala where she is; don't move her anymore than you already have.  We'll be there as fast as we can.  What kind of a state is she in?" she asked, waiting for a droid's response.

T7 + Jedi = on an outcropping // Kira + medic = hurry, the droid beeped, and Kira nodded as she put the commlink in her cloak.

"That droid certainly sounds like he's better off than your friend might be," Doc commented, and Kira chuckled as she nodded.

"He was built to last, or so he says," she said.  "Hasn't had a memory wipe in forever, so he remembers all of his partners that he's ever had.  He's worked almost exclusively with the Order since he was manufactured.  He's actually saved Noriala more than once, so I'm not surprised he's contacted us--and there's the pod over there," Kira said, pointing to a smoldering wreckage not that far away.

[SpringsSong]

"Well, it looks like it's held up pretty good, all things considered," Doc said, observing the wreckage.  "But, let's get her out of there before there's any sort of chance for things to happen.  Smoke inhalation can't be good for a nonhuman like your friend."

"She's pretty resilient, or so I've heard.  They sent her to look for the separatists on Mustafar a few months ago, but she said that there was nothing there aside from the droids that worked there," Kira said.  "But, you're right.  Come on, let's get down there and get the gurney ready."

From there,  Kira and Doc worked fast.  While Doc prepared the gurney, Kira carefully extracted Noriala from the escape pod while T7 watched on nervously.  More than once, he beeped towards Kira, Jedi = okay? // Kira + medic = save Jedi?

"We're working on it, T7," Kira said, finally managing to free Noriala's body from the escape pod.  She and Doc moved it gingerly to the gurney, covering it with a blanket.

[SpringsSong]

Some time later...

Noriala shifted slightly in her sleep as she began to come to.  She didn't remember much of what happened leading up to where she was now--which she wasn't even sure where she was--and the throbbing pain in her left arm wasn't helping things, either.

"Hey, you're finally waking up, gorgeous," Doc said, and Noriala's eyes shot open as she sat up, looking around in a panicked state.

"Whoa, whoa--slow down there," Doc said as he stood up, noticing Noriala waver slightly as she shifted slightly.  "You've been out of it for a few days.  You shouldn't sit up that fast."

"Who are you and where am I?" Noriala demanded, rubbing her right arm as she winced.

[SpringsSong]

"Noriala, calm down," Kira said, ducking into the dwelling after hearing the commotion from outside.  "This is Doc.  He's the contact I was put in touch with when I started my assignment here--you can trust him," she said, and the Cathar Jedi cast Doc a suspicious glance as she wavered again.

"You sure?" she asked, and Doc moved to put a couple of pillows behind her to steady her.

"Gorgeous, I've helped your friend here be less of a sore thumb for someone born in a Sep system that ran away to the Republic," he said.  "I'm also a medic, and part of the whole reason why you're alive right now--that and that astromech of yours.  He's a tough little thing."

Noriala leaned against the pillows slowly as she closed her eyes, trying to regain her center.  After a few minutes, she sighed as she opened her eyes again.

[SpringsSong]

"Is there anything I can eat in here?  I haven't had anything in... a while," Noriala finally said.  Kira offered a chuckle as she nodded, moving to step out of the dwelling.

"I have some stew on the fire.  For now, you just lay back and let Doc check you out; make sure you're all right.  He is a medic, after all; and a large part of the reason why you're alive right now," Kira said, and Noriala made a begrudging sound as Kira left, leaving her alone with Doc.

"All right, gorgeous, let's take a look at that arm first," Doc said, and Noriala gave him a slight glare.

"What's with the 'gorgeous'?" she asked, her ears pulling back slightly.

"Just how I am," Doc said, looking at her right arm with a practiced eye.  "I know Jedi have the whole no-attachments thing, but it's best if you act like you were never a Jedi for a while--especially after what happened when you were shot down," he said.

"You mean the Clones I was escorting shooting me down without provocation?" Noriala asked.

[SpringsSong]

"Yep, that's exactly why," Doc said.  "From what was coming in over the HoloNet, the Chancellor--or, well, the Emperor, now--said that there was a plot by the Jedi Council to assassinate him and that the remaining Jedi would be 'hunted down and defeated'," he explained, and Noriala sighed as she shook her head slightly.

"That sounds like something that would be fabricated by the Chancellor," Noriala said, rubbing her forehead with her left hand.  "I personally haven't liked him since he took the office, and I was less of a fan of his when his term was extended indefinitely by the emergency powers for the war..."

"Oh, it's not just that, Nori," Kira said as she ducked back inside with a bowl of stew in hand.  "Remember how Masters Kiwiiks and Orgus had bad feelings about what was happening in the Republic?  The Chancellor was the source of that.  He's Sith," she said, and Noriala felt her stomach sink as she accepted the bowl of stew.

[SpringsSong]

"A Sith, at the heart of the Republic?  No wonder Masters Yoda and Windu were almost always on edge when he would interfere in Jedi affairs, aside from the sheer fact that it was a politician interfering with things," Noriala said, frowning as she shook her head.

"Well, there's no Republic anymore, if you want to get technical about it," Doc interjected.  "It's now the Galactic Empire, and I do believe he was entirely serious about getting rid of any remaining Jedi.  We've been hearing about Jedi being executed by their clone troops--much like how you were almost shot down by your own clone troops," he said, and Kira sat down.

"So... Master Kiwiiks and Master Orgus are probably dead," she said softly, and Noriala sighed as she looked away.