Chapter 10 - First mission

As Echo began to heal, Ash started to take some Jedi Healing technique classes from Jedi Master Adi Gallia. She was really nice and patient with Ash. Healing wasn’t one of her best qualities, but she was getting the hang of it.
As she progressed in her training, she liked to battle Jedi Knights in battles. Mostly, it was her friend’s masters. Juno’s master (she got taken as a padawan when she was 12), Aayla Secura, was a good friends of hers and she enjoyed battling her. She never actually won a battle against a Knight, but she was able to hold her own in a battle.. She sustained many small wounds from the battles, but that gave her an excuse to work on her healing techniques.
All of her other friends went on many missions with there masters, but Ash and Cin never really went on any missions. Ash was getting tired of seeing the Temple every day. She had lived there for 11 years and she wanted to see more of the galaxy. She was getting jealous of all her friends.
Master Cin liked to stay in the Temple, but occasionally he would let Ash go on missions with other Masters, it was nothing normally exciting though. Just the regular routine thing. She never had a real chance to test her skills in the real world, until one day when she was 12 years old. She and her master where both called up to the Jedi Council Chamber. It was said to be urgent.
She hurried there with her master, and when they reached there, they saw Echo and her master standing outside waiting for them.
“What did you do this time?” Echo asked her. Ash hadn’t seen Echo in a good 9 months or so. She had really grown up in the past couple of years. She was very muscular and tall. As for Ash, she was a little bit on the shorter side and wasn’t as muscular. But she knew she would hit a growing streak soon. Echo must have just gotten back from another one of her exciting missions.
“Oh you know me, just the normal stuff,” Ash said walking up to give Echo a pat on the shoulder. “But don’t worry, you’ll be as good as me someday,” Ash said.
“As if!” Echo said. There masters quieted them and guided them into the Council Chamber.
They all walked in and stood in the middle of the room.
“Greetings,” Master Yoda said. “A mission we have for you.”
“It requires a Master/Padawan duo team,” Mace Windu said. “We’re tracking a bounty hunter that has been leaving a trail of dead bodies all around the galaxy. Most of her victims have been Jedi. We’ve dispatched another Jedi group to find her a year or so ago, but all attempts have failed so far. We must take this person down before anymore lives are taken.”
“Understood,” Rahm Kota said. “Where are we to start looking for her?”
“Her last known location was Kashyyyk. She’s been on the run for a while now, so you may just be on a wild bantha chase,” Ki-Adi-Mundi said.
“We’ll leave immediately,” Master Drallig said.
“May the Force be with you,” Mace Windu said.
“And with you too,” Rahm and Cin both said.
They all turned and left the Council Chambers. When they were outside, Ash said jumped for joy.
"Finally some action!" she practically screamed.
"Padawan," Cin said, "don't get to over-excited. We may not even find this bounty hunter. Like Master Mundi said, it may just turn into a wild Bantha chase."
"Don't say that Master Drallig," Echo said. "After all, this is Ash's first real mission."
"Hey, I've been on missions before," Ash shot back, and then mumbled, "Just not cool ones."
Cin and Rahm told them to go back to there rooms and pack some extra supplies and meat them in the hangar bay. Ash ran back to her room as fast as she could, ignoring the people telling her to slow down.
In her room she packed a small bag with all her lightsabers, 7 total now, including the one her and Echo had built together a couple years ago. She packed a couple changes of clothes, a few medical supplies, and that was it. She didn't want to bring much, and then she hurried to the hangar-bay. Her master and Rahm Kota where already there.
"Ready to go guys?" she asked them.
"Yes, where just waiting on Echo," Rahm said.
As her said that, echo came running in with her bag.
"Echo Chi reporting for duty!" she announced.
"Good. Let's get going then," Cin said, and they all hurried on to the ship. Cin pulled Echo aside and gave her something. It was a small comlink.
"I need you to keep this with you at all times Ash," he said. "It has a small tracking device in it, so if we ever get separated, we can find you."
"Got cha master,” she said and clipped the comlink onto her belt. Then they all went in the cockpit and left the Temple. Before she knew it, they made the hyperspace jump to Kashyyyk. Cin had told her to get some rest, and to be prepared for anything, so she went into the back of the ship and started tinkering with her lightsaber, making sure all the components where tight and functioning properly. When she was done checking them out, she practiced with them by herself, doing flips in the air and back-flips off the walls. In the middle of her practicing, Echo came in. Ash stopped in her tracks, dropped her lightsaber, and stood in the middle of the room. Echo chuckled.
"What do you think you doing?" she asked.
"Nothing. Nothing at all," Ash said back. She used the Force to summon her lightsaber to her hand and attached it to her belt.
"What are you doing is a better question!?" Ash said.
Echo chuckled. "Oh, I'm just checking out the ship," she replied.
Ash laughed. "You and your electronics."
Echo just shrugged.
"Well, we're about to come out of hyperspace so get ready. Master Cin wanted me to tell you that."
"Ok, thanks!" she said and Echo walked out of the room. Ash hadn't realized she'd been in this room for that long.
She gathered up her stuff, straightened out her hair, and went towards the cockpit. On her way there, she felt a jolt. She guessed that they had just come out of hyperspace. When she reached the cockpit, Cin and Rahm were both at the controls. Echo was sitting in the passenger's seat behind them. Outside, she saw the planet Kashyyyk, a planet covered in trees from a head to toe. It was a great place for optical courses.
"I can't wait to get down there!" Ash said sarcastically.
Echo chuckled.
Ash thought it was good to finally be on a mission with her sister. They would have more time to bond, but also work on not attaching themselves to each other emotionally.
They landed on the outskirts of the city. The hid the ship inside a cave, and then left for the city.
Kashyyyk was a beautiful planet. The air was damp, and there was almost a chill in the air. Ash was glad she wore her cloak. They landed on one of the tree0top landing platforms and powered down the engines. Outside, there were a huge Wookiees waiting for them.
“I hope somebody here knows how to speak wookiee,” Ash said.
“Don’t you worry about that. I have a contact here. He’s a smuggler that speaks basic. He’ll be meeting us outside,” Rahm Kota said.
Cin lowered the exit ramp and they all went outside. Ash stood beside her master while Echo stood beside hers. The huge wookiee walked right up to them. His hair was ruffled and long, and he wore and shoulder-pad armor.
“[Long time, no see Rrrahm Kota,]” the wookiee said.
“Greetings Baccachin,” Kota said. “It’s nice to see you too. Is there some place were we can talk in private?”
“[Ofcourrrse,]” Baccachin said. “Follow me.”
They followed the wookiee through the tree-top city to a small tree house not far away from their ship. They walked inside the house and sat down at a wooden table.
“[Now, time to talk business,]” the wookiee said.
“Good. First of all, I need to know if we can get any information on a bounty hunter, Aurra Sing,” Kota said. Ash looked over to Kota. He had a very strict look on his face.
“[Depends. How many crrreds you got?]” Baccachin asked.
Typical smuggler, Ash thought. Always wanting more money.
Kota reached into one of his pockets and took out some credits. Ash didn’t see how much, but she guessed it was a lot because the wookiee smiled.
“[Okay, I guess that’s a lot,]” the wookiee said.
“So?” Kota asked.
“[She’s been herrre on Kashyyyk for a few days now, hiding out in the trrree’s 2 levels below herrre. She comes up top at night, but nobody knows why,]” the wookiee said.
“Thanks, old buddy,” Kota said and passed the credits over to the wookiee.
“[Good doin business with you,]” the wookiee said.
Kota got up from the table and walked away. Echo, Ash, and Cin followed.
“Looks like your contact paid off,” Cin said. “Now we just need to find her.”
“Our best bet is going to be to split up at night and keep a watch out for her,” Kota said.
“Good,” Cin replied. “For now, we should go back to the ship and get prepared to meet this Jedi-killer.”
Ash and Echo followed behind their masters on their way back to the ship. She was silent while her master and Echo’s master came up with a plan.
Suddenly, Ash felt a tingle go up her spine. She stopped dead in her tracks and put a hand on Echo’s shoulder.
“Do you feel that?” she whispered to Echo.
“No. What is it?” Echo asked.
“I don’t know. But whatever it is, it isn’t good,” Ash replied.
She took 2 steps in front of Echo and the floor under her feet fell apart beneath her. She screamed, and heard Echo scream her name. Echo took one more step forward, and the floor fell out beneath her too. She fell, and Ash heard their masters scream for them.
Ash kept falling, looking for something to grab a hold of, but before she could grab it, she went smashing through it. She tried to stay calm, but then she finally hit a huge tree limb. Her back smacked so hard she heard it crack, and then her head flew back and hit the tree too. Major headache. She heard Echo screaming, and then stopped abruptly.
Then…blackness.

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