Chapter 13Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Assign her to a command position, we cannot," came Yoda's voice, and Botan lay awake in her bed.
One week.
One week until she turned fourteen, and she couldn't just turn her ears off. Really, couldn't they speak more quietly?
"I don't understand why it's not possible," Master Windu said, and there was silence from both Yoda and Quartz. So, they had never told anyone. They had kept it secret for nearly a decade and told no one. Botan could almost admire the commitment. It was a lot.
"Botan has a… peculiar ability," Quartz said carefully, and Botan rolled over and pulled a pillow over her head. "That may be better suited to something a bit more… quiet. Calm."
"Clandestine, yes," Yoda said, and Quartz made a muffled noise of discontent.
"I was thinking we could assign her to Jocasta."
"Hm. No, assign her to Jocasta, we will not. Assign her to a Shadow, we should."
"I don't think---"
"Not want her in this war, you do, Quartz. In this war, she must be. Show preference, we cannot," Yoda said, and Botan squeezed her eyes shut tight.
"Perhaps we should assign her to someone like Plo," Quartz said, a little desperately. "He's restructuring his legion to be search and rescue. She would be ideal in that capacity."
"I'm sorry, what about Botan's abilities make her ideal for search and rescue?" Master Windu asked, and there was a dramatic pause where Botan just knew they were all staring at each other.
"A peculiar ability, Botan has. The ability to hear from very, very far away, yes. Sharp ears, she has."
"How far away are we talking here?"
"... She knows all of the Senators with slave holdings in the Outer Rim," Quartz said quietly, and there was disbelieving silence.
"She needs to be assigned to a Shadow," Master Windu said, flat, and Quartz inhaled sharply.
"I promised that girl I would never exploit her abilities."
"A Shadow can best teach her how to control that sort of thing and what information to withhold and what to bring to the table," Master Windu said sharply. "Plo cannot teach her how to judge that sort of thing objectively."
"But the kinds of things Shadows deal in…!"
"Do you honestly think she hasn't heard worse? On Coruscant? " Master Windu asked in disbelief, and Botan ground her teeth together. "A Shadow can at least teach her how to cope with it."
"She is a child--- "
"She is a Jedi, Quartz. A Jedi," Master Windu interrupted. "And she is fourteen. There will be some missions she may not be permitted on, but she can be left in the care of another master, if that is the case, but she will be assigned to a Shadow."
"Mace, please. "
"I can't believe you two hid this from me. I have been Master of the Order for years. "
"On a closed circuit, it was. Only knows, does Obi-Wan, Quartz, and myself, yes," Yoda said, and Master Windu inhaled sharply.
"Obi-Wan knows?"
"He was there when we found out about her being able to mute things, which you knew about."
"Yes, the whole temple knows about it; that does not make me feel better about this."
"A secret it was, for the sake of Botan, yes. A child, we have allowed her to be."
"And I would have agreed with you," Master Windu said calmly. "I still deserved to know. I was the one that found her."
"Reflect on our mistakes, at a later date, we can. Need to decide a master for Botan, we must."
It took a little bit of a press of effort, but Botan managed to create a bubble of mute around her bed. The world fell into blissful silence, and she reveled in it for a few minutes.
She didn't want to know who her master was. That might make this a little too real, and she didn't want it to be real. That would mean this war was real, and she wasn't ready for a second one. A second one was too close to home, because this temple was her home. It might come to this temple's very doorsteps, and she wasn't ready for it. She wasn't ready.
Ahsoka was already gone. Off fighting in a war, far away from Botan's grasp, and she felt like she had already lost her to this terrible thing. Friends and family were disappearing from the creche, dropping like flies, and she opened her eyes and stuck her head out from under her pillow to look at all the empty beds. Once Hominy was gone, there would be new children in here for Quartz to raise with all the love she had in her heart. There were only three left, and Botan would be gone next week.
It was a bit much to deal with. Ahsoka had already been in a whole host of battles and was growing up before Botan's eyes, and Botan was next. She had already grown up once, and she knew firsthand how painful it was to do. There were good moments, of course, but the bad ones vastly outweighed them. That was part of growing. Pain. Loss. Realizing your parents were never going to love you the way they loved your siblings. Falling in love. Watching people die. Struggling to cook for your brother because he was dead tired from work and so tired of being the provider. Wishing you had magic you could make to make it all easier. Acne. Being mocked for things you can't change. Learning how to hit people harder than they hit you. Taking hits and learning how to get up through the pain.
She still remembered beating kids in the schoolyard for teasing Kitaro and Kichi, the youngest of the bunch, the twins. She had always been full of grit, too determined for her own good, too protective for her own good. She was a mean older sister, but she loved, oh gods, she loved.
And now all of that was gone, and soon, this would be gone, too.
She didn't want it to end.
All things had to come to an end, and Hominy was watching her pack with wide, wide eyes.
"Where are you gonna go?" she asked, and Botan glanced up.
"C-h-r-i-s-t-o-p-h-s-i-s."
"How long?"
"I don't know."
"Who's your new master?"
"They haven't told me yet."
"Oh."
Botan jammed the hairbrush in the bag and paused over the old, worn, stuffed tooka. She had no connection to it as a child, but as she grew older, she grew fond of it. She didn't know what people had left it with her, and she would probably never know, but…
Botan hesitated.
It wouldn't fit in the bag, she thought, and it pulled at something in her chest. She had been assigned a standard backpack from the GAR, and it could carry a lot, but the stuffed tooka was just a tad too big. It was already housing her spare robes, actual robe, bare minimum hygiene things, hairbrush, and spare lightsaber parts. She probably needed to let go of it, but she didn't really want to. It was an old thing, patched over and over, and she turned to Hominy.
"Hey, you leave last," she said and tossed her the tooka. "Give this to the first kid that comes in, will you? And if they don't, give it to Quartz."
"Why would they want that old thing?" Hominy asked as her nose crinkled in distaste, and Botan rolled her eyes and nudged the tooka closer.
"Well, I'm not going to throw it away. That's wasteful."
"Ew," Hominy muttered and picked up the tooka with one hand, by the ear, with her forefinger and thumb, and tossed it onto her bed like it was something diseased. Botan almost worried for half a second that she was going to throw it away, but she knew Hominy wouldn't. "You shouldn't get rid of it."
"Why not?" Botan asked, and Hominy stared at her.
"You won't be able to sleep without it," she said, and Botan was silent. That was…
She did hug that damned thing, every night. She did do that. But, she probably needed to grow up. For a second time. Never mind that she still cuddled with stuffed animals well into her twenties before, and…
Fuck it, Botan thought and marched over to the bed, picked up the tooka, and jammed it into the bag. The top didn't close properly, but she didn't care. She couldn't leave the damned thing. It was her childhood, and she hadn't kept any of the stuffed toys from her first one, and she regretted that. Her parents threw them all out before she could collect them when they first kicked her out. She only managed to save one, the one she slept with, Mr. Fuzzles, and she kept that through everything.
She could have this. Screw it.
"When are you coming back?" Hominy asked, and Botan stared at her. Of course Hominy would immediately think Botan was going to survive. It probably hadn't even occurred to the empty headed girl that she could die.
"I don't know," Botan said and then swung her bag onto her back, checking to make sure the straps were secure before she stretched. "Why are you all over me?"
"Because I'm gonna miss you," Hominy replied, and Botan stared at her for a long, long moment.
Of course.
Of course Hominy would be the one brave enough to say what others wouldn't. She was too stupid otherwise.
"I'll miss you, too," Botan said, because there had been something comforting about the incessant questions after Ahsoka left. There had been something very comforting indeed. It kept her brain busy with trying to answer them.
She wondered who got Mr. Fuzzles after she died. Questions she would never have answered.
It then occurred to her that she never actually heard Yoda or Quartz apologize to Master Windu, and she wondered if he ever got to wrangle one out of them.
Oh, well. Time to go get her master assigned to her.
"Hey," Hominy said, and Botan tilted her head in question. "Be careful."
Something weird wriggled its way into Botan's heart, and she stared at the other girl in silence for a grand three seconds before she thought of something to say.
"I will be."
Notes:
and now it's time for me to try and fail to go to bed!! got a lot of chapters pumped out tonight, so i'm hoping i'll stop if i announce to you all that i'm going to bed.
will probably fail that task (successfully)
Chapter 14Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Quinlan could not figure out why there was a kid here. The gunship with supplies had landed, and it had dropped off this tiny redheaded near-Human he vaguely remembered as being named Botan. The one that liked to ask difficult questions, from the museum. She sure had grown up, he thought dimly as she looked around and then approached him with steady, confident steps.
"Hello," she signed, and he blinked down at her.
"Are you on special assignment?" he asked, and she stared up at him. There were still clean up efforts going on with Christophsis, and he was here tracking down a lead about a Separatist weapon in development, but he wasn't getting very far. The research had been here at some point, but it was no longer here.
"Yes. Assigned to you," she replied, and he stared at her for a long, long time.
"I'm sorry, what?" What the hell did she mean, assigned to him? Was she here with a mission for him? He couldn't drop everything and just leave, and he was especially not babysitting someone else's padawan for them---
"I'm your padawan," she signed, and he stared at her. And stared at her. And stared at her.
What?
"I don't care. Assign her to someone else," he said into the comlink, and there was a pause from the other end from Mace.
"We assigned her to you," Mace said, and Quinlan paced back and forth as he glanced back at the girl contentedly sitting on some crates, kicking her feet.
"I am not dragging a kid into this war," he hissed, angry and spitting, with nowhere to put it. "No. I'm not doing it."
"She can hear everything you're saying, by the way."
"No, she can't---"
"Yes, she can," Mace said, with meaning, and that gave Quinlan pause. "We decided you would be the best to be assigned to her because you have similar issues."
"I'm not following," he said flatly as he thought about all of the missions he wouldn't be able to go on because of this. He would have no choice but to send her off to Obi-Wan to babysit, and gods only knew the man had enough on his plate.
"Botan has a specific ability. Her hearing is highly attuned and highly sensitive. She regularly heard state secrets from the relative safety of the temple. You are the fifth person to hear this, and we would like to keep it a secret," Mace said, and Quinlan gave pause. How was her hearing that good? She should be having a mental breakdown on the regular, and he had heard nothing of a youngling in the temple with mental instability. "We thought you might teach her of discretion. Of when to speak up, and when to stay silent. She seems to have a good handle on hearing things, and doesn't show any emotional distress, but it may just be under the surface, waiting to boil over. You're the only one that can help her."
That was… a lot. That was a hell of a lot. Quinlan didn't know what to do with that, but he was going to stick to his guns.
"That may be so, but I have my duty in this war, and I can not take her on some of the missions I go on."
"We'll work something out with Obi-Wan. He's aware of her condition," Mace said immediately, and Quinlan inhaled through his teeth.
"Of course Obi-Wan knows. Why don't you assign her to him? "
"Obi-Wan is a Council member and Council members are discouraged from taking padawans, on account of the scope of their duties and inability to devote the amount of time a padawan needs. And Botan will need extra time," Mace replied, and Quinlan knew that was true, but he didn't have to like it.
"I didn't even ask for a padawan---"
"No masters are asking for padawans right now," Mace said, and Quinlan knew that was true, but he didn't have to like it.
"Well, I'm sending her back."
"Just try her out for a few months," Mace said, and Quinlan gave pause, because he knew this was a trap. "If it really doesn't work out, we can reassign her to Obi-Wan, but I want her to learn from you for at least a little while. She's ideal for Shadow work."
"It doesn't matter if she's ideal or not, she's a kid, and this is a war. I'm going to be doing terrible things she shouldn't learn. She's going to get confused about right and wrong."
"No, she isn't," Mace said simply. "She's got a good head on her shoulders, and if she does, have faith in your abilities as a master to walk her through it. She won't be alone."
Quinlan didn't like this. Aayla was grown, and she was one thing, but he knew he was going to have to do awful things in the name of the Republic. Aayla had turned out okay, but there was a difference in a Shadow training a child in a time of peace versus a Shadow training a child in a time of war. And he was already recognizable as a Kiffar, especially with his Clan Vos markings. Botan stuck out like a sore thumb with her red hair and red eyes. Near Humans were always recognizable. She was going to make him memorable. But, of course, no one had thought of that.
Besides that, he had always known Aayla was going to be his padawan. This girl was a wild card, not something he had decided for himself. The Council had made the decision for him.
"Fine," he spat out, pissed he was being pressured into agreeing. "I'll try her out for six months, but after that, she's going to Obi-Wan."
"Of course," Mace said. "All I ask is that you prioritize teaching her what to say, and what not to say."
Quinlan knew a lot of secrets, a lot of things he shouldn't know. You couldn't turn off psychometry. You could only shield yourself. He knew that. He knew that very well. But, how was he going to teach someone with hearing like that? He knew… Now that he was thinking about it, he knew Botan had some kind of special ability beyond the hearing. What was it?
"What was that thing she could do?" he asked, and Mace gave pause.
"She can mute any sound. We think her hearing is linked to that," he replied, and Quinlan blinked.
Well.
That was useful.
He could use that.
"Alright. I'm going to just… go talk to her now," he said and switched off the transmission without even a 'May the Force be with you', because he was too pissed for that right now.
Time to go talk to his padawan.
With a sigh, he turned around and made his way back to her, where she was tying on that device on her bare arm to talk to two clones. They were laughing, and great, she was personable.
"Sir," the two of them said and snapped to attention at his approach, and Botan stared up at him. Those red eyes were kind of creepy, he thought dimly. They seemed to shift with the light, going from red to pink, to something a bit deeper than that, and he didn't like looking at them. And that hair. It wasn't a normal red like Obi-Wan's. It was bright and rich, like a primary color, and he knew it was going to be a problem.
"Are you done throwing a fit about me?" she asked directly, and he frowned at her.
"Yeah, kid. I'm done throwing a fit," he replied and turned aside. "We're basically stranded here until they can get a ship for you, and I hope you scored well on your simulators."
"I did," her bracelet read out, the mechanical voice weird and grating, and he was going to have to get used to that.
"Great, because we're going to be piloting Delta-7s," he said, and there was no way in hell he was fitting her in his cockpit. They were going to be living rough for a while. There was a little storage space in the Delta-7s, enough to fit a backpack behind the seat, but hers looked a little over-stuffed. He could see a stuffie toy poking out a paw, and that felt weird in his chest, because she apparently still slept with dolls. Right. She was just a kid.
It would probably take a week to deliver the new ship, and he would have to put in a requisition, and---
"What color do you want?" he asked, and there was a pause behind him.
"Red," she said, and he nodded a few times, because of course she would pick red. Of course.
"Alright," he said and made his way off. "Come on, keep up; we're in the middle of an investigation here."
He would have to go to the bar. Locals would know more about where the scientists went. Locals knew everything.
Botan skipped to catch up with him, backpack still on her shoulders, and he made a mental note to swing by the barracks to stash that. At least her Jedi robes were sleeveless, and didn't look too much like Jedi robes. It was probably so she could access her bracelet more easily, and now that he was looking at her, she was well muscled and clearly took her saber training classes seriously. He knew nothing about her, but he could glean information from her just by looking at her.
There was a sharpness to her eyes, like she was taking in everything, constantly, and a way to her walk that reminded him of hardened criminals, willing to do anything at the spur of the moment to get their way. Which was hilarious, because she had been raised in a relatively sheltered life at the temple. She didn't have any experience to go off of there, but he could already tell she was going to be a problem. From what he remembered at the museum, she had been a precocious child, too. Willing to think of and ask difficult questions no one would have the ability to answer without sounding terrible and maligning the dead.
What had she said again?
"Why did she spare him when she didn't spare all of his men?"
It was something like that; he couldn't remember it verbatim. Jedi kindness was a nebulous concept at best, and they had a dark history. There was a reason they now raised their children from childhood. Taking in adults was too… too… too allowing for wild cards. Not that Quinlan had been exactly raised from childhood. He didn't go to the temple until he was much older, thanks to Tholme. It was a miracle he'd been allowed in the Order at all.
Botan was different, though. She had been raised from at least a very young age in the temple, and he wasn't entirely certain of the specifics as to how she had been taken in. He would have to look into that. It was good to have all the evidence before you proceeded.
"Let me see your lightsaber," he said, and she obediently passed it over for him to look at it. A wood handle and gold inlays. He touched it, and memories rushed in of her in the salles late at night, swinging the saber back and forth, running through katas for tràkata relentlessly as she practiced activating and reactivating it over and over again, getting the timing down right as she sparred against imaginary opponents. He saw how quick footed and sure she was, an expert for her age in the art of Ataru, and that was going to be a problem. Aggressive, and relentless. She trained all hours of the night on her own, and then---
"Go to bed," Crechemaster Quartz said from the doorway, and Botan paused, panting lightly as she held her pose. "What are you afraid of?"
Botan didn't say anything, but deactivated her saber and clipped it to her hip.
"I'm worried about Ahsoka," she signed, and it was a bit weird to know what she was saying without looking at her hands.
"I know you are, but it's two in the morning, Bo," Quartz said.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not. Go to bed."
Quinlan dropped the lightsaber back into her hands. Who was Ahsoka? The name sounded familiar…
Ah, yes. The padawan that was assigned to Anakin. Obi-Wan was still a bit put out about it, but happy to be seeing his padawan raise one of his own. He had just wanted a padawan himself.
Well, in six months, Botan was going to be seeing a lot of Ahsoka, so there was that.
He didn't intend to keep her. He would train her to know what to do, what to say and what not to say, and that would be the end of it. Obi-Wan would be a better master for her, anyway.
Notes:
well, let's see how long this lasts. the quinlan party won out, but there's still a chance the obi-wan stans can win the war
Chapter 15Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The bar was packed, and Master Vos had already made a beeline for the sabacc table. Botan was sat right next to him. She had never played sabacc, and had no idea how the rules worked, but Master Vos seemed to be an expert at it, easily sweeping the table for his first win, and then playing more quietly for his second round. There was talk being swapped around, and she had a feeling it was her job to sit and listen, but she was picking up conversation from the other side of the room that was too good for her to miss.
"They just up and left, " a Weequay man said in sheer disbelief, and there was a harrumph from the other.
"They still owe us money," the other one said as he sipped at his drink. "After all those shipments we slipped under customs for them."
"Careful; there's Jedi in here."
"They can't hear us from here, it's fine," the second said as he propped his dirty boots up on the table. "I heard they took off to Ordon. We might be able to send some of the boys to collect."
"Are you sure it's Ordon, though? That's deep in Sep space, I dunno."
"Well, it's not like we're with the Republic. Those damned scientists skipped on their last payment. I'm getting what's due, one way or another."
Scientists. Master Vos had mentioned something about tracking down scientists. Were these the same ones? And would they be able to make it there? Ordon was deep in Separatist space. She didn't know much of the planet, though. Maybe Master Vos would know more. She could ask him later. In the meantime, she thought she had a lead. When did she say something?
"Well, gather up the boys, then, and we can go collect payment," the Weequay said as he stretched out. "I want to get off this planet, anyway. They're going way too hard on the inspections. It's getting dangerous to sneak shit in."
"Right about that one. They're not lazy like the Seppies, you can say that about the GAR," the other said as he got up. "I'll pay the tab. Wait for me outside."
Well, that was done, and---
"What is this?" someone asked, and Botan blinked several times as a Trandoshan at the table grabbed her arm and lifted it to inspect her bracelet. For a long moment, Botan stared at him, processing the fact that he had just grabbed her, and then she tilted her head.
Actually?
She was having a very stressful day.
She punched him in the face.
Really, it could all be blamed on the fact Botan was sick of people grabbing at her. The bracelet was always a source of fascination, but other Jedi generally kept their hands to themselves. There was occasional curiosity from young ones, but mostly, she didn't have to deal with anyone being grabby. It was the sheer audacity for her. You didn't just grab people, especially children who were not yours. It was rude, and occasionally, you had to learn the hard way not to be rude.
But, it was predictably chaos the second she landed the hit. Everyone was springing to their feet, and the Trandoshan swung at her, but this wasn't her first bar fight with someone twice her size. She caught the hit and swung him over her hip, slamming him into the ground with a crash, and Master Vos rocketed to his feet and grabbed her around the waist to bodily haul her back. Botan thrashed, and his eyes went a little wide.
"Okay, sorry, sorry, she's just a kid!" he said and practically tossed Botan behind him. "She doesn't like being touched."
"Your kid is feral! " the Trandoshan howled.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have grabbed her," Master Vos said and held up his hands. "Sorry, she shouldn't have done that. That bracelet is how she talks. She's protective over it."
"Well, she could have just said that!"
"Well, she couldn't have, because you were grabbing it," Master Vos said, and wasn't he making the situation worse? "Sorry about that, just don't put your hands on my padawan, and we're fine."
The drunk Trandoshan stumbled to his feet and growled lowly.
"I don't like your attitude. She punched me in the face! "
"And I'll talk to her about it---"
The Trandoshan swung on Master Vos, and he took the hit right in the face, stumbling back, and Botan… Wasn't having that. He hadn't done anything wrong, so she took the next feasible option. She picked up Master Vos's empty chair and smashed it in the Trandoshan's face. It shattered across his hard, scaled skin, and then the fight was on.
The Trandoshan roared and reached for her, and she flipped back, sliding across the floor, before she charged forward and wrapped her hands around his neck, slamming her knee into his groin once, two times, just for good measure. He made a choked off sound, and oh, that answered some questions about Trandoshan anatomy, and slid down to the floor, bent over his groin and wheezing. Botan glared down at him before she grabbed a bottle and smashed it on the table. Master Vos bodily picked her up a second time as he plucked the makeshift shiv out of her hand and tossed it aside, throwing her over his shoulder and tossing down a few credit chips on the bar for the chair.
"Sorry about that," he said to the bartender. "We're just going to go."
"I'm not done yet," Botan tapped out on her bracelet, because seriously, who just grabbed people like that? Being drunk was no excuse.
"Yes, you are," Master Vos said as he marched towards the door. "You are very much done, padawan."
"No, I'm not," Botan said as she squirmed, and the Trandoshan staggered to his feet.
"She's not done! Let the girl fight, if she wants to pick fights!" he roared, and Botan glared at him as Master Vos reached the doors.
"Nah, we're just going to leave," Master Vos said, and keyed open the door.
"Hey!" the Trandoshan shouted, and the Toydarian at the table started laughing.
"You're really going to pick a fight with a little kid who you grabbed and started yanking around?" he asked loudly, and the Trandoshan paused, uncertain. "You should have been punched in the face! I would have hit you, too!"
"She hit me in the jewels!"
"Yeah, and? It's fine! It's funny!"
Master Vos walked out the door, Botan still bouncing on his back like a sack of potatoes.
"So sorry for interrupting your game, gentlemen!" Master Vos called, and the doors slid shut. "Botan, what the hell?!"
"What?" she demanded.
"A shiv? Seriously? You have a lightsaber. "
"It wasn't a lightsaber situation. It was a shiv situation."
"You kneed him twice. You could have cut it off with the second."
"I wasn't sure if I was going to be doing damage."
Master Vos gave pause at that, and then started walking off down the street, still with Botan over his shoulder.
"I guess that's fair," he muttered and patted her on the back. "Good job, kid. Don't let anybody touch you."
Well, that was… surprising. She was honestly expecting to get yelled at, and maybe he should be yelling at her, but he was right. She had done absolutely nothing wrong. No one was going to be touching her without her permission, thank you kindly.
"Well, at least I don't have to worry about giving you the talk about consent," he muttered under his breath as he continued his walk. They passed two clone troopers, whose alarm escalated in the Force as their heads swiveled around, and Botan waved at them. "Just don't solve everything with punching someone in the face, please and thank you."
"I think punching people in the face is fine."
"No, it's really not. You could have just yanked your hand away."
"And risk his claws damaging my touch screen??"
"Do you have an answer for everything? "
"Yes. Also, I have a lead."
"What?" Master Vos stopped in the middle of the street, and Botan wiggled to be let down. He let her slide down, and she gathered her thoughts before she started signing at him.
"Some Weequay smugglers were in the bar talking about how some scientists skipped out on payment. They went to Ordon," she reported, and Master Vos's brows went up.
"You were listening in?"
"They were talking very loudly. We were looking for scientists, weren't we?"
"Yes, we were," he confirmed, and she preened, proud of herself.
"Well, the smugglers traced them to Ordon."
"Shit. We need to reach them before the smugglers," he said with a frown. "And you don't have a ship yet."
Botan stared down at the ground with a frown on her lips.
"We could sabotage their ship or commandeer it?" she suggested, and Master Vos stared at her.
"Do you just think like this all the time?" he asked, and she grinned at him.
"Yes," she replied, and he huffed as he rubbed a hand over his mouth.
"I'm sure we can have the clones 'find' something in the inspection," he said and turned for the base at the edge of the city. "Alright. Let me arrange some things, and we should have the ship by morning."
Botan wasn't going to question the morality of this. She was not. It was probably incredibly immoral, and not playing fair, but she had an edge, and she was going to use it. The smugglers were still smugglers, and going to get caught sooner or later, anyway. She was just expediting the process.
And she seemed to be getting along with Master Vos, which was a good sign, and she had a verified backup in case something went wrong with him. Everything was good. She was going to adjust however much time she had with him.
Notes:
i had to immediately have Botan get into a bar fight. i had to, sorry.
Chapter 16Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Well, they had the ship. Botan sat in the cockpit, turning on the systems and running a diagnostic while Quinlan checked everything. It was a small freighter, but it was fast, with quite a few illegal modifications on it that should have gotten it impounded to begin with.
"Everything good in here?" Quinlan asked from the door, and Botan threw a thumbs up over her head as she powered up the ship. "Uh, sorry, did you think you were piloting?"
Botan casted a glance over her shoulder, derisive, and Quinlan lifted her out of the pilot's seat with the Force and deposited her neatly into the co-pilot chair. The girl slumped down, arms crossed and glowering at him as he took his seat, and he shrugged.
"Sorry, but I don't know enough of your piloting to let you handle all these mods," he said as he triggered the landing gear and lifted off. The freighter let out a concerning groan, and Quinlan ignored it as he navigated them through the clouds.
"General Vos, transmitting clearance codes," he said into the mic, and there was a pause on the other end.
"Copy, General," came the clone's voice, and Quinlan sent off the clearance codes. There was silence as the clone on the other end verified them, and then--- "You're all clear, General."
"Thanks," he said, and powered on through the atmosphere and into orbit. "Now, where were we going?"
"Ordon," Botan said, and he nodded a few times. "Shouldn't you remember that?"
"Just quizzing you," he replied as he plugged in the hyperspace coordinates. "We're probably going to have to swing by the 212th on the way back. Obi-Wan needs us for an infiltration mission."
"We're doing infiltration right off the bat?" Botan asked, and he hummed as he let the computer run the hyperspace equations.
"Yes, we are," he confirmed, and stretched lazily. "You'll be fine. I think I know where we're going, and it's fairly low stakes. Pity I can't pass you off as my daughter, though. You'll have to be my servant."
"Servant?!" she signed, alarmed, and he scoffed.
"What, you don't like being told what to do?"
"No."
"Well, you're going to have to get used to being told what to do, because I have it on good authority that I'm bossy. In the meantime…"
He signed something unfamiliar at her, and she blinked at the movement of his hands.
"That's Tusken for hello," he said, and she stared at him. "You gotta know more than basic galactic sign, kiddo. There's a whole lot of nonverbal species out there, or species that communicate with hand signs, and learning them will give you an edge."
Quickly, Botan mirrored his hand movements, and he nodded, pleased.
"You're not going to find an education module on Tusken hand signs, or at least you'll have to do a lot of digging, so I'm going to teach you as much as I know. Their language is pretty simple. It's the easiest one to learn, in my opinion. Grammar is straightforward, and most words are easy, because they're a combination of the base words and adjectives."
The computer beeped, and he pushed forward the lever to send them into hyperspace. Botan was pulled back in her chair at the sudden inertia, and then it fell back into normal as the twist of hyperspace spiraled all around them. Quinlan got up and made his way down the ladder leading into the cockpit, and then popped his head back over.
"Come on, we gotta work on it," he called, and she got out of her seat and followed along after him with a final check back at the console to make sure there were no alarms going off. There weren't, thankfully, and she descended down the ladder to meet her master in the hall. He turned down the corridor, and she followed along, mystified, and he signed something else at her.
"That's good to meet you," he said. "It's very important to be polite to Tuskens. They go through enough shit; there's no point in making it worse by being rude."
Botan followed the sign and he nodded, pleased.
"Now repeat it," he coached, and she repeated it, without the heart to tell him when she was recovering in the hospital, she had picked up several more sign languages for the hell of it, and she was good at learning them. He'd probably balk at the idea of a country with several thousand sign languages.
"You learn quick," he said, and of course she did. She still remembered all of the other useless languages now. Maybe she could teach one to him so they could speak in code. Actually, that wasn't a bad idea, but if they were only going to be here for six months…
Well, there was no sense in acting like it was bound to happen. She was sure she could win him over. She didn't particularly want to be assigned to an attack legion, no matter how much she wanted to see Ahsoka more. This was fine as it was. She didn't need to base her entire war experience around Ahsoka, and she knew she could do more good as a Shadow with Quinlan. Her hearing would come in handy, and it would probably get damaged, otherwise. She didn't want to lose it, now that she had it. She knew she would survive, of course, but she wanted to keep it.
No, it was best to stay with Quinlan. Though, she didn't entirely know why she wanted to keep her hearing. It was a problem at best. But, she could finally make some use of it.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" Quinlan asked, and Botan shrugged.
"I don't want to go with Obi-Wan and risk hearing damage," she replied, and he paused.
"I hadn't considered that," he admitted as they sat down together in the rec room. "Though, while we're on the topic of your hearing…"
Botan tilted her head at him silently, and he grimaced.
"Tell me everything," he said, and she paused. "I'm serious. Tell me everything you've heard in the past six months."
"The Trade Federation is still working with the Separatists," she reported promptly, and he rolled his eyes.
"Tell me something I don't know. War profiteers, the lot of them."
"So is the Banking Clan," she reported, and he paused at that.
"You sure?" he asked, and she nodded. He rubbed at his chin. "They'd never clear an investigation on that. The Republic owes the Banking Clan too much money. What about the Kaminoans?"
"They're clean, surprisingly, but…" She trailed off, unsure if she should say this next bit. "They get weird transmissions at night. Something about 'him'."
"Him?" Quinlan asked, and she nodded.
"Him. I don't know who 'he' is, but he's giving them orders. To continue the war."
"Probably a client who bought too much into them," Quinlan said ruefully, and she nodded, but she was still concerned. "There's probably a lot of people making a lot of money, and I'm sure the Kaminoans have secrets they don't want exposed to the general public."
"The general public already knows they kill babies. I can't think of any worse 'secrets' than that," Botan said ruefully, and Quinlan paused at that.
"Well, you do have a point there," he said after a moment. "I'll look into it."
"Thanks."
"Anything else?"
"Do you really want me to name all of the systems thinking of leaving to the Separatists?"
"No," he said with an eye roll. "That would take all day. We have other things to do. If they leave, they leave."
So, he was aware of the situation, too. That made Botan feel a little bit better, and she sat there quietly as she tried to think of anything else that was absolutely glaring as an issue. There were a lot of conversations she couldn't quite catch, but…
"Knight S-k-y-w-a-l-k-e-r married Senator A-m-i-d-a-l-a," she said, and Quinlan froze.
"He married her?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?" he asked, and she nodded as he frowned deeply. "That's a problem. He shouldn't have done that."
"Back when he was a padawan," she explained. "Honestly, I don't expect it to last long. She's too independent, he's too possessive. They won't survive to the end of the war, so I don't think it's that serious."
"He broke his oaths. You can only get married with permission of the Council, for specific tasks," Quinlan said darkly. "The fact that he went behind everyone's back is…"
"I think there's more going on with him," Botan said honestly. "Every time he's with the Chancellor, the man just… goads him on. I'd be more concerned about his relationship with him than Senator A-m-i-d-a-l-a."
"You think so?"
Botan nodded, and Quinlan hummed as he stretched out his legs and crossed one over the other.
"I'll think about what to do with this information," he promised, and she shrugged.
"Why are you more concerned about Knight S-k-y-w-a-l-k-e-r than all of the rest of that?"
"Because he's in charge of thousands of men and an active combatant, and he is lying to the entire Jedi Order, and things generally just don't start with one lie. What else is he lying about?" Quinlan replied, and Botan was quiet. "Politicians I expect to lie. Not another Jedi. You should have told someone about that."
"So, state secrets are a no go, but a lying Jedi in a secret marriage is?" she asked, amused, and he sighed and ruffled her bangs.
"You'll learn with time," he replied, like she didn't already know exactly why she should have said something, she was just being difficult.
"Okay, so, I'm going to need a spreadsheet to explain the rest to you," she said, and he blinked at her.
"You're joking, right?"
Botan stared at him, and he stared back, and she watched the dawning realization on his face set in as he came to terms with the fact that she was, in fact, not joking.
Notes:
Quinlan is on to Anakin's ass, he just needs proof. The problem is once he confirms how he knows, the secret of Botan's hearing will be out, which means he has to conduct an investigation first to get concrete evidence, and I wonder how that will go down.
Chapter 17Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It took several days to read Ordon. In that time, Botan learned her new master was quick witted, intelligent, funny, and full of too much energy for her. She recognized that she was a lazy tooka of a person, but…
But he was a bit too much.
They always had to be doing something or another. They could never sit quietly. His hands were constantly moving, in motion as he gestured or talked, and old habits died hard. She was always watching his hands to see if he was saying, but they were only there to fill the silence. Maybe he was excited to have a padawan and would calm down eventually, but she doubted it. He hadn't been very excited to have her, so this all had to be just how he was, and she wasn't sure she would last long without laying down some boundaries. She had already learned twenty words in Tusken and some of the grammatical structure, and he was really doing too much.
They had spent a long time talking about what she had heard and what should be done about it. Half of it was going to be left alone, like the Banking Clan, and the other half was going to be approached slowly, like the Trade Federation. Quinlan didn't want her to be exposed as having heightened hearing, so they needed evidence. Which meant investigations.
They had gotten their spreadsheet, at least, so she was secure in that.
She liked spreadsheets.
They reminded her of planning patrols.
Force, all of this talk of investigations and evidence and sneaking around was reminding her of her past life, and she was missing it more and more. She didn't often get to go undercover, due to her need to be able to communicate with people, but she did run auxiliary on a lot of missions. A lot of missions. This was different. The galaxy was wider, and she got to do a lot more, which was exciting. It was very exciting.
Even so, she wished Quinlan would just chill, because he was landing the ship.
"Okay, so what's the Tusken hand sign for bed?" he asked, and she stared at him before she started typing.
"Shouldn't you be focused on landing, not what my hands are doing?" she asked, and he laughed.
"Nah, I got it," he replied, and she begrudgingly signed 'bed'. "Good job. You're good with languages. I might teach you more spoken languages. What do you know?"
"I know Shyriiwook," she replied and he nodded.
"That's good!" he said encouragingly. "Shyriiwook is always a good one to have. I think I'm going to start you on Hutteese and Twi'leki."
Two languages at once? She was going to get so confused. But, those were two languages in her language interface, so she supposed it would be useful.
"Why do I need to know so many languages?" she asked, and he shrugged.
"It's a big galaxy, kiddo," he replied. "As a Shadow, you'll need to be able to communicate with a lot of people. The Outer Rim's got a lot of people in it, but you'll definitely find some words in common with them if you learn those two. It's a good start."
"How many languages do you speak?" she asked, suspicious, and he grinned.
"Three fluently, nine semi-fluently."
That was… a lot. That was a hell of a lot, and she didn't know where to start with that one. Was he going to expect her to be a polyglot like that?
"With Aayla, I didn't teach her a lot of languages, and I always regretted that," he added, off hand, and she stilled.
Right. She wasn't his first padawan.
So, he was going to be making up for all of his mistakes with the last one, and she was more than a little overwhelmed at the prospect. How many mistakes had he made? Oh, no. She was going to be the middle child yet again, if she wasn't the youngest, and she had never been the youngest before. Then again, he had already proven to be ten times more attentive than her last parents, and he wasn't a parent. He was a master, so there were differences there. Jedi dynamics were similar, but there were enough differences that she was more comfortable.
Even so, it was… uncomfortable to be a child again. It was incredibly uncomfortable. She had grown into it, but now that she had a master, all of the differences were rising up again, stark and clear. It was expected that the master learn from the apprentice just as much as the other way around, and that settled her nerves a little, but she was… anxious, she supposed. She was anxious.
The ship landed on the landing pad, and Quinlan tossed her an old and worn yellow poncho.
"Cover your Jedi robes with that," he ordered, and she obediently pulled it on as he followed suit with a brown one. "We're just going to get information for today. Come on."
Quinlan got up, and she followed him, curious as to what that would entail, and he made his way to the ramp.
"Make sure you keep a sharp ear out," he said and she nodded, and then they were off.
Ordon was a very green planet. Tall trees and lush forests, it boasted a lot of lakes and an abundance of the much-coveted water. Almost every species needed water to survive, and Ordon made a tidy profit from the export, as well as fresh water fish. It was only sparsely populated, though, due to strict immigration policies, but it had a lot of resorts and a booming tourist industry. It was a popular getaway for newlyweds who could afford it, and Botan had no idea how they were going to afford staying here. There were probably some funds allocated to it, but she had no idea.
The two of them moved silently through the spaceport, Botan hurrying to keep up with Quinlan's longer strides, and she wondered where they were going. The cantina, probably. If she wanted information, she always went to an izakaya or a nightclub. There was always a wealth of information to be found there, but it was pretty early in the day, so maybe not.
Quinlan seemed to know where he was going, though, and she watched as his hand brushed along the wall. Idly, she wondered what he was seeing. A lot, probably. He paused, turning his head this way and that, and then set out with purpose. Botan rushed to follow along behind him, and he took a turn down the corner, around another corner, into a tight alleyway, and then they were out, down another main street, and he was walking determinedly towards a storefront.
The bell tinkled as the door opened, and she glanced back at the backwards letters on the window.
Mal's Diner.
So, this was a diner, and the rows of booths were familiar, at least. There was a group in the corner, eating a massive breakfast, and her eyes caught on a bandaged arm.
"---programming isn't going well," one of them said as a waitress approached them.
"Just two?" she asked, and Quinlan nodded as Botan focused on the conversation.
"Just me and the girl," he replied, and Botan tilted her head as she listened in.
"They're too feral. We're never going to get them obedient enough. I told Grievous this was a bad idea," another said, and a smile twitched at Botan's lips.
Got em.
"Right this way, please," the waitress said and turned, her long lekku swaying as she made her way to a booth and laid down two laminated flimsi menus. "What can I get you started on to drink?"
"Caf, for both of us," Quinlan said, and Botan looked up and shot the woman a smile.
"Two cafs, coming right up," she said and made her way off as she made a note on her flimsipad, and Botan slid into the booth.
"Got anything?" Quinlan asked quietly, and Botan nodded.
"Booth in the back. Mentioned G-r-i-e-v-o-u-s," she reported, and he grinned.
"Told you to keep an ear out."
"I'm just saying, we need to switch the variables. Lower the aggression and advance the obedience," one of the men said, and Botan tilted her head as she started signing along, translating the words as she grew so used to doing as a child the first time around.
"But, Grievous wanted them aggressive. We can't compromise. They need to be able to overwhelm a Jedi," the other said, and she frowned. What?
"What we need is an experiment. Ask him if he can capture a Jedi for us."
"We're not at the testing phase yet," the first said, and she frowned even more as Quinlan rubbed a hand over his mouth.
"Well, he's pressing us for results, and we at least know they can probably tear apart a Jedi right now. There's no way a Jedi can keep up with that speed."
"Yes, but we don't have any control. It's pretty pointless if we can't contain them. They could very well turn on the droids."
"So? It's just a few droids," the other replied.
"Yes, but what if they get loose on a Separatist planet and start killing the locals? We have to think about these things."
"Then, we only use them on Republic planets. Simple."
"It's not that simple, and you know it. Working on this project has made you too blase about these things."
"You act like we're not in the middle of a war."
"Yes, but there are acceptable risks. "
"No, there aren't. We were called because we're supposed to be unscrupulous, or do you forget why we got kicked out of Corellia University?"
"No, I remember very well, but I also remember learning from that."
"I didn't."
"Yes, you did!"
"No, because what exactly should I have learned from? Hm?"
Botan stopped translating, not interested in their tragic backstory, and tilted her head at Quinlan questioningly as he rubbed at his chin.
"Jedi killers," he muttered under his breath, and the waitress came back with two steaming mugs of caf.
"Are you ready to order?" she asked, bright and perky, and Quinlan looked up.
"Oh, yes, please," he said. "Can we get two orders of number seven?"
Mildly annoyed he wasn't letting her order, Botan sat back with a huff of annoyance, and he grinned at her.
"You'll like it, promise," he said, and the waitress wrote down the order and smiled at them brightly.
"It'll be right out," she said, and then she was off. For a long moment, Quinlan sat there, tapping his fingers on the table as he looked out the window, and Botan tilted her head at him in question.
"We're going to have to follow them," he muttered, and Botan nodded. She could follow them. She was very good at following people.
"I can do it," she said, and he shook his head no.
"No, we both go," he decided as he glanced up. "They should be done with their meal soon, but I get the feeling they're the type to overstay their welcome. We should have time to finish up without causing suspicion."
Botan huffed again, because it had been ages since she ran a tail, and Quilan rolled his eyes and leaned forward to ruffle her bangs.
"Cheer up," he said and sat back. "You're a bit too new to be running a tail without me. I'll teach you."
She didn't need to be taught, but she was not about to explain that. Here's to learning everything a second time.
She missed her old mentor, Allergen. Quinlan kind of reminded her of him, and it was a bit of an ache in the chest as she realized Allergen had died at thirty-five.
The life of an underground pro was an unkind one, and the life of a Jedi was one of nothing but sacrifice. Maybe in her third life she would get a bit of a break.
Notes:
things are going to be a slow boil for now, but we'll see where they lead.
Chapter 18Chapter Text
They managed to follow them back to their base. It was set into a cliff, with blast doors, and Botan had to wonder how long it took to set up. It was clearly made with them in mind. Unless they were taking over another research facility, which she supposed made sense, or sharing space.
"Okay, we're going to be in and out," Quinlan said as he strapped on the backpack with the charges. "We find the generator and blow it. Be quiet. "
Botan looked at him incredulously, and he scoffed.
"Don't give me that. You can be loud when you want to," he said, and she acknowledged that was fair. "Only use sign in here."
The two of them slipped down the ridge towards the open blast doors, and Quinlan crouched at the top of the doors. Botan followed him, and there was silence for a few moments before Quinlan picked up a rock and threw it. It clattered down the canyon walls, loud and grating, and there was a pause inside.
"What was that?" came a robotic voice. "Check it out."
Two B2 units came out, clutching their blasters to their chests, and Quinlan flipped down. Botan followed suit, landing silently on the smooth metal floor, and the two droids looked over the edge of the cliff, trying to find the source of the disturbance.
"You think it was an animal?" one of them asked as Botan muted hers and Quinlan's steps and rustles of clothing as they made their way inside.
"There's not many animals out here," the other replied, and Botan expanded the 'mute' to the door that slid open at a press of a key from Quinlan. The two slipped inside, and Quinlan let out a breath.
"That's useful," he signed, and she shrugged the backpack with the charges on higher.
"I know," she replied, and they were off.
The hallways were silent, quiet, and she didn't like that. It was nerve wracking. There should have been droid patrols everywhere. But, it was still. The two padded down the first hallway as Quinlan brushed his hand along the wall, silent in his tracking. He took them to the right, and she followed along, glazing left and right with trepidation.
"These research facilities don't generally have a lot of guards," Quinlan signed, and her face cleared.
"Oh."
"You were looking real nervous," he teased lightly as they came around a corner and made their way down. Quinlan stopped, brushing his hand down the wall, and Botan glanced back. There was clanking coming down the hall, and Quinlan looked over his shoulder. There was a pause, and then he pulled out a vent cover and gestured for her to climb in. Botan heeded him, wriggling inside with him just behind her, and the vent was pulled shut.
Three B2 units passed by, clanking loudly along the ground, and Botan watched them go as a cleaning service droid rushed along behind them, chattering loudly in binary. She caught the tail end of, "cleaning up all your mud, and you still track in more", and then the four of them were gone.
Quinlan eased out the vent cover, and Botan slipped out. The master put it back in place, and off they were again, sneaking along the halls with the charges heavy on their backs.
"We're getting close," Quinlan said, and Botan nodded as she gripped the sleeves of the backpack. This was more than a little terrifying. She was about to blow up a research facility. She had never done anything like that before.
A song she barely remembered was playing in the back of her head as she trotted down the hall, and Quinlan paused in the middle of the hall.
"Something is wron---" he started to say out loud, and---
Ray shields activated, and Botan jumped. Quinlan was trapped, and she stared at him with wide, wide eyes.
"Welp," he said, and she reached to her hip and snapped out her lightsaber. She wasn't trapped, and blast doors down the hall opened, droidekas rolling out and snapping into place with their shields activated. Botan crouched down in front of him, and Quinlan just sighed as one of the scientists from the diner came out.
"Did you think we wouldn't recognize Jedi?" he asked pleasantly from behind the droidekas, and Botan glared at him. "Marin saw your padawan's lightsaber."
More blast doors opened, and there was loud clanking as more droids came out, and Quinlan sighed again.
"Botan, put your lightsaber away," he said. "There's no need to make a mess. We're trapped."
"I'm not," she signed one handed, and Quinlan rolled his eyes.
"You're surrounded, and it's, like, a week into your apprenticeship. Just put the saber up."
Botan hesitated, because she could take them, but…
She deactivated the lightsaber and put it away at her hip.
"Luckily for you two, we have a special assignment, and you'll be perfect for it," the scientist said, and Botan stared at him in silence. "You'll at least be able to go out in a blaze of glory. Isn't that what anyone wants?"
Oh.
They were screwed.
They didn't take their lightsabers, though they did take the charges, and that was leaving Botan very nervous as they took a lift down into the earth. The scientist that found them had them surrounded on all sides by droidekas with their shields on, and Quinlan seemed remarkably calm, all things considered as they rode the suspiciously large lift down.
"This is going to be a fun bonding experience," he said, and Botan glanced at him in disbelief, because they were captured.
"You're insane," she signed, and he laughed.
"I know," he replied as he stretched. "But I am pretty curious as to what they've got going on here, and it would have been a shame to blow the place without figuring it out."
"That isn't our job," Botan pointed out, and Quinlan rolled his eyes.
"Sometimes, you gotta go a little beyond your prerogative," he said, and Botan was quiet as the lift came to a stop. The doors slid open, and Quinlan stepped out jauntily to a wide arena, blazing lights overhead and a dirt floor stained with what looked like blood and broken droid parts. There were four doors at the end of it, big, and Quinlan walked out into the middle of the arena as he stretched out his arms. "Looks like we're for the beasts, Botan."
"I don't think---" Botan started to say, but the lift doors slammed shut behind her. The two of them were left alone in the arena, and she looked up to take in the sight of an observation deck with thick, thick transparisteel that had been splattered with blood at one point.
There was death and pain, frankly reeking in the Force, and she didn't know what to do with it. She could taste the fear lingering in the air, the terror, and she could smell piss. Someone had wet themselves here before they were killed, and she slowly circled around as she nervously spun the lightsaber in her hand.
"We will now commence with the test," came a voice over a loudspeaker, and Botan looked around.
"Stay close to me and don't take unnecessary risks," Quinlan said, and Botan nodded once. She wasn't planning on it. She had taken all of her unnecessary risks the last time she'd been a teenager.
The doors at the end of the arena slid up, and Botan looked up as a low growl echoed around the room. She could see glowing yellow eyes in the darkness, and the click of mechanical parts. And, then---
It was a blur of orange and yellow, and she barely had time to take to the air and twist as she activated her lightsaber before a reaching head snapped down where she had just been standing. Quinlan was already lunging to the right, and Botan landed hard on the ground, backing up several steps as she took in the sight of her opponent.
It was a lizard of a species she had never seen before. Red and orange and yellow, with glowing yellow eyes and feathers poking out of its neck and head and shoulder blades. Small and sinuous, low to the ground, with rows of sharp teeth and eyes that tracked her every movement. There was something connected to its neck and back of its head, a processing unit, and its legs were augmented with hydraulics. Big claws and a tail that---
The tail cracked in the air, and Botan barely dropped to her belly in time to avoid the hit. She rolled as the tail whipped back to its owner, the metallic spikes on the end dragging, and she came to her feet and rotated her lightsaber in her grip before she charged.
Offense was the best defense, and the lizard careened around, snapping and hissing at her as it avoided her first strike. Quinlan had three of them on him, and she wished she could whistle to get their attention. He was holding his own, but he was barely dodging, unable to go on the offensive with all of the tails cracking at him, scoring deep grooves in the ground. A lizard snapped at him, and he spun out of the way, right into the crack of a tail. Quinlan let out a cry of pain, but Botan couldn't focus on that, because the lizard was lunging at her, hissing and snapping, and she backed up rapidly, nearly tripping over herself to get away. It cracked its tail and she leapt over it, spinning in the air and landing hard, and it slid around her to come up on her from behind. Botan raised her hand to block, and the teeth sunk into her arm, and pain erupted at the bite. With her good hand, she punched it in the head, once, twice, and it released her with a hiss of pain, dropping down to the ground and spinning around to sweep at her legs with its tail. The muscular tail slammed into her and she went down, dropping her lightsaber, and then it was on her, claws digging into her shoulder as it tried to bite down on her face.
Botan caught it with both hands, peeling its mouth open, and she wished she could call for help, but Quinlan was already injured and unlikely to be able to help her with her current predicament. The claws were digging into her flesh, tearing open her shoulder, and she concentrated. There was a way to blast with the Force with her whole body, and she had practiced it a few times, though it was considered a bit Dark Sided.
Boom!
The lizard went flying, and she scrabbled for her lightsaber. It activated, and she spun just in time for it to fling itself at her, and---
The head went flying with one neat strike, a mess of circuits and burnt flesh, and she spun to take in the sight of Quinlan going down with a strike to his kneecaps. A lizard lunged at him, and Botan flung herself forward---
Smack.