22 BBY, Month 8

Rylann

For once, the rain had stopped on Kamino. The launchpad of Tipoca City was quiet, bright, and full of people. That was the opposite of what Rylann wanted. She wished it would rain so that no one could see the pain on her face, or assume the tears were just rain.

In front of her was Shaak Ti, looking more tired than usual. Rylann had forgotten to think of how her master felt. She must be hating this as much as Rylann was. Shaak Ti stepped forward, pulling her into a tight hug. Rylann could feel the pain and love rolling off of her master in waves, much like the ones below. Tears pricked at Rylann's eyes as her throat tensed. She didn't want to leave Kamino.

Rylann laughed internally at how only a few months ago she had wished the opposite. At that time, she felt Shaak Ti didn't understand her, she hadn't yet met the Batch, and hadn't had Crosshair in her life. Her days on Kamino for the past four months were good. She hated that they were drawing to a close at this very moment. Yeah, there was a chance she'd return to command the Bad Batch, but that could be done from anywhere, and her lifestyle would change drastically. There would be unrest in the constant battles and missions they would surely face and Rylann was scared of that.

"I will come and visit you in the tenth month before your graduation," Shaak Ti mustered out, her voice heavy with sadness.

"You'd better call whenever you can, too," Rylann said, gulping back the pain. "I'll miss you."

"I will, too," Shaak Ti said, giving a side eye to Kenobi who stood a few yards back, talking to Cody who had also come with him to escort Rylann. "Listen closely, my padawan," Shaak Ti whispered, under her breath. "You must maintain the image of the perfect student, giving no room for error. I don't want to give Windu anything to point at. Make it seem impossible for you to be rebellious."

Rylann nodded, already making sure to stay true to the plan. She didn't want anyone to think she was rebellious, even if she was harboring feelings for one of the clones.

"Now, I believe your friends want to say goodbye," Shaak Ti stated, removing Rylann from her arms.

Rylann neared the Batch, her heart twisting in her chest. Hunter and Tech were pursing their lips as they nodded to her. Wrecker, who had woken up the night before, was tearing up, and Crosshair wouldn't look her way. Her heart heaved in her chest. Why wouldn't he look?

"Are you all going to just stand there or are we not going to hug?" Rylann asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Wrecker ran over, engulfing Rylann into a hug, swinging her around. Dizziness hit Rylann like a shuttle crash as she was dropped out of Wrecker's arms. Gulping back bile, Rylann punched Wrecker's arm, sending him a smile. "I'm glad you are feeling better, Wrecker."

From beneath the head-wrapping, she spotted Wrecker's smile. His uncovered eye glistened. "I'll feel even better when you're back and the gang is back together."

Warmth soared through Rylann's gut. She had a family here and was glad to have the Batch as her crew. They felt like home. Probably because they were.

Tech stepped forward, awkwardly patting her on the back. "Don't worry about your testing. According to my calculations, you will be well prepared for the examination."

Rylann only smiled, pulling him in for a hug as he sputtered in shock. "I'm gonna miss you and your rambling."

"I, er, will miss you, too," Tech managed to get out before wiggling out of her grip, straightening his clothes.

Hunter was next. He offered her a lopsided grin, before embracing her. "You stay safe out there, Ry," Hunter stated, holding her at an arm's length. "Make sure you don't hang with the regs too much." He shot a look in the direction of Commander Cody, before his smile widened. "They might grow on you."

"They could never replace you lot," Rylann replied, throat clenching as tears brimmed her eyes. She approached Crosshair who still stood, arms crossed, not looking her in the eyes. "Bye, Snipes."

Cross's eyes darted up to hers and she could practically see the many questions dance across his eyes. "Good luck, Ryle," he finally said, arms wide for a hug. She embraced him, inhaling his scent so she could memorize it. The scent of shaving cream and vague cologne. Letting out a sigh, Rylann was about to go, but Crosshair wouldn't let go of her arm. Rylann's eyes flitted up to Crosshair who was staring deeply into her gaze. "Stay safe, mesh'la."

It was said barely above a whisper, but she was sure the Batch heard it, not anyone else. Rylann didn't know what mesh'la meant but taking note of the Batch's quick inhales, it meant something. Rylann wasn't sure just what.

【 ⌖ 】

Ahsoka

Ahsoka's heart rose to her chest in excitement. She was finally going to see Rylann after four—almost five—months. Time seemed to fly by, but Ahsoka would at least have a lot of stories. She hoped she hadn't missed too much of her friend's life since their time on Coruscant. She wanted things to be the same as they left off, but that was hard to tell until they were back together.

Ahsoka held her arms behind her back as she waited in the Resolute's hangar, tapping her foot impatiently. She hoped that Kenobi's shuttle would arrive soon, because she wanted to give Rylann the full tour of the ship. And maybe introduce her to the whole of the 501st.

"Patience, Ahsoka," Anakin stated beside her, snapping her from her reverie. "Fretting won't make time go faster."

"Of all people to tell me to have patience, you should be the last on the list," Ahsoka retorted, eyes remaining forward to the galaxy in front of her. She spotted a light approaching in the distance. It had to be Kenobi's ship.

"Hey, I can be patient when I need to," Anakin said, crossing his arms as he faced his padawan.

Ahsoka turned to him, raising a brow. "What about any time we are headed for Coruscant?"

Anakin glared at her. "Not fair. You know I have a lot of friends there."

"And you know that I have a friend coming," Ahsoka stated, crossing her arms to mimic her master. "See? The same thing."

Master Skywalker said nothing, instead he returned his gaze to the approaching ship. "It'll be nice to see her again, even though she is a little brat."

Ahsoka laughed. "That's coming from a big brat."

Anakin grinned, shaking his head. "Just you wait until you get your own padawan. You won't get to win—ever."

A small smile graced Ahsoka's lips at the thought. She would love to train a youngling to become a better version of themselves—much like Anakin had done with her and Kenobi with him. The legacy of her master's masters passed on to her own student—that was something so intriguing to her.

The flare of an engine snapped Ahsoka from her thoughts. Kenobi had arrived and that meant so had Rylann. Ahsoka knew that Rylann coming to Coruscant would amount to great things. She could just feel it. But something else tugged in her stomach. A different feeling—less hopeful—stirred within her. Pushing the feeling away, Ahsoka focused on the positive. She was greeting an old friend and would hopefully see her become knighted and become one of the greatest Jedi of all time. Ahsoka hoped.