The feeling of a ship dropping out of hyperspeed was unmistakable. Even for Aus Tal in a ship as unfamiliar as this warship. The Knight had been the commander of it for almost half a standard year. Yet it never got any more familiar or his task any easier. Through the force the Knight could feel the clones begin to ready final preparations. Somewhere else on the Cruiser would be Aus Tal's padawan. He didn't reach out but through the bond they shared this he knew.

A small smile flickered into life on the Knight's face at the thought. If his old initiate self knew that he would actually taken on Padawan the poor kid would die of a heart attack. Aus Tal knew his former Master would have been somewhere between proud and highly amused. Juna would have laughed at him picking someone just like her. A stickler for rules. She often teased him that she should have traded him out with Qui-Gon and the two of them would have happily spend their days wandering the galaxy with their heads in the force.

Force prevent. Aus Tal slowly pulled his thoughts away from his former Master. The Devaronian had passed away in the early part of the war. She had fallen ill to a wasting sickness that the healers could do nothing for. When she finally passed into the Force it was more a blessing than a curse. The true curse of the galaxy was this war.

Aus Tal sighed and stretched his neck. His morning meditation was the highlight of his days. A time where he could center himself and relax into the Force. It promised to be the last soothing time he would have for a while. The Knight slowly stood and reached out one hand for his dun color robes. With careless ease he dressed and readied himself for the arduous task ahead of him and his Padawan.

Nearly a standard week ago he had been summoned before Master Plo Koon. The Council member was not usually in the temple but rather out in the field so it had come as something of a surprise. Even more surprising was that the Master wanted Aus Tal to work with him and his plans for securing the Hydian Way. According to reports there was a droid plant somewhere in the Belsmuth sector just off the hyperspace lane. Having Separatist troops with easy access to the core couldn't be ignored.

Aus Tal clipped his lightsaber onto his belt. The clone activity was still steady so they must be nearing the sector in question. As commander the Jedi Knight needed to be on the bridge. The responsibility of all the lives, both on his ship and off it, for a moment threatened to crush him. Instead he took a deep breath and let go. All he could do was trust in the Force. And trust his Padawan would also be up and hopefully retrieved breakfast. The Knight had mediated far longer then he had planned and his stomach would not thank him later.

Aus Tal toggled the door and stepped out into the hallway. No matter how many times he stood in the hallways the grays and blacks were always depressing. Pity the council did not like his idea of painting the corridors. Flowers would really liven the place up. At least they were wide with high ceilings. If they hadn't been Aus Tal might have unleased some of the younger children with paint and instructions to 'go wild'. With his ash black skin he didn't need to fade into the walls. Alas.

"General." One of the clones in the hallway greeted Aus Tal.

"Owl." The Knight tipped his head in response. The Sergeant paused just long enough to make sure his Jedi didn't need anything before moving off.

Multiple other clones were in the hallway moving about. A few of them looked over at Aus Tal but since he didn't stop Owl they correctly inferred that there was nothing he needed from them. They would thin out once he left the living quarters and made his way to the starboard bridge. It was a quick trip, only taking a few minutes.

The bridge was far more active then the corridors. Though the volume level was far quieter. The general murmurer of clone voices blended together into soft background noise.

"Captain Copper." Aus Tal greeted the clone painted with light green lines. "All in order?"

"Yessir." Copper, or CT-484, was an amiable man. Quick to follow orders, slow to second guess them. The Knight occasionally wished for someone a little less by the book, but as his life showed he was doomed to be trapped with sticklers forever. "We will reach the Belsmuth sector in little less then half a hour."

"Good." The Jedi nodded his head and looked down at the Nav charts. According to his prior knowledge and research this particular sector only had one native sentient species. Though there were more planets, moons, plantoids, etcetera that were populated with sentient life. However this did nothing to narrow down where the plant might be because you didn't need an inhabited anything to build droids.

The doors behind the Knight opened and Aus Tal knew it was his Padawan. Right on time; as always.

Talia sat crossed legged in her quarters aboard the massive warship. She had only been assigned to Aus Tal for a couple of weeks, before that she had only been in the temple. Lessons with various Jedi Masters, long hours in the archives. Now she finally had a chance to go out and see the Galaxy at Large! Not only that but she had been entrusted to a wise and powerful master, and was now technically a commander for the 612th division of the Grand Army of the Republic. Once the Separatists were defeated her place in history would be remembered forever, she would make sure of that.

Closing her eyes she focused on her surroundings, she could feel the life all around her. The power of the ship charging its way through hyperspace and elsewhere on the ship the bright beacon of light in the Force that was her master. She shifted her focus inwards. Allowing the Force to flow through her. Pushing herself from the ground. Her control over it wasn't complete, and she could feel herself wobble slightly as a moment of self-doubt crept into her. This would be the biggest mission so far with her master, and she wanted to prove to him that she was capable and ready for it and yet. In some ways she found herself further behind her peers back at the temple, she was a fair fighter with her lightsaber and could easily sense others and form connections with living things. Yet her telekinetic abilities seemed to be lacking behind those of her peers. She sensed someone just outside the door, and before the door chimed she had flipped herself up from the ground and hit the button to open the door. Sergeant Greer was stood in the doorway, no doubt frowning as she stood there in the doorway smiling. "You were going to knock?"

No doubt he was trying to decide if he wanted to laugh or scold her. In the end, he went with a scold. "You know, eventually the General is going to catch on that the only reason you're ever on time is-"

"Is because I have an amazing Squad Leader who keeps me right, and you know I appreciate you for all you do." She smiled as she half skipped out of the room and started to head down the corridors.

_{"Told me I was being put under a new Commander. Nobody said it was going to be a child"}

Talia stopped as she heard him muttering under his breath. "You realize that we're actually around the same age right? Not all of us are given Growth Enhancement." Before he could come back with a retort she turned a corridor and broke out into a run. At times she missed the long winding corridors of the Jedi Temple, the open areas below the Coruscanti Sky. That said a Jedi Cruiser had plenty of room to run around in, as she deftly jumped out of the way of Clones, weaving in and out of them. Some chuckled, some groaned with frustration. Stopping outside the door of the bridge she paused for a second to control her breathing, bringing it back to a normal level. Cheeks still flushed she walked through the large double doors a smile on her face.

"Good Afternoon Master-" She bowed her head, her headtails falling to the side of her head. Rolling her eyes and groaning out of frustration she pushed them back behind her shoulders as she stood up. "-I'm ready for the briefing."

"Padawan." Aus Tal smiled at his apprentice. They were still trying to settle into their new relationship. It wasn't the easiest but nothing worth doing ever was. The Vahla was mildly disappointed that she didn't manage to read his mind and bring him food. Maybe he could send one of the troopers on a cafeteria run before the briefing was over. He indulged the thought a moment longer before he pushed one of the many buttons on the holotable.

The blue lights flickered into life. The Belsmuth sector floated suspended. It was a large sector with multiple systems. Searching it would take days. The Knight had never been to this sector in the Outer Rim. Good thing he was never too young to learn new things. If Talia and himself had been more of a traditional pair maybe he would have felt confident sending the young Twi'lek of with her own squad. However she was young, and this was new and he was not going to let her out of his sight until he was sure she wasn't doing to do anything to get herself killed.

"Belsmuth." The Jedi began. The Captains eyes already were scanning the holomap. The clone hesitated on the Botajef system before moving on. "Tell me Padawan, what native sentient species lives here?" Of course the sector wasn't home to just one sentient species. Not with the large shipward production going on at Botajef. Many workers throughout the galaxy had moved to the system. The Jefi were the only native species and they were fiercely loyal to the republic. Their system would have to be explored. The risk of putting a droid factory in the system would be astronomical, but no proverbial stone could be left unturned.

Talia looked at the map of the system and then frowned at the question asked by her master. Native species? Well, there would be humans. There was almost always humans so long as the atmosphere was viable for most organics, they were all over the galaxy. Even on Ryloth, they were everywhere. She tried to recall all the lessons in the temple, but there had been so many different lessons about so many different worlds. She lowered her head in shame.

"I'm sorry master, I'm not quite sure."