our broken promises ~ a.skywalker

Chapter 21: The Nebula

KORA, PLO KOON, AND ANAKIN SPENT A LONG-TIME DEBRIEFING THE COUNCIL on their mission. As expected, she had gotten reprimanded for leaving her post on Selonia and heading off to find Master Plo Koon without telling anyone. Although she had communicated with Obi-Wan Kenobi right before, she wasn't going to drag him into the conversation. She didn't want him to get in trouble as well -- despite believing no one could truly ever get mad at Kenobi.

For the first time, Cal and Ahsoka were able to attend a debriefing meeting. Apparently, it had become a whole ordeal between Tano and Skywalker; Tano complained that she was mature enough for it, and Skywalker disagreed. Cal and Kora never had this problem, however, they never talked about it. 

The air between Kora and Anakin was so obviously awkward, but no one mentioned it. They all believed there were more pressing matters at hand and Kora wanted their relationship to be strictly professional. She wasn't going to whine over tension with Skywalker while the Separatists were building a weapon that could turn the tide of the war.

Kora noticed all the small details, though. She saw the way Anakin avoided her gaze, how he shifted uncomfortably around her, made sure to stay at least five feet away at all times, etc. It was driving her insane. Why couldn't things do back to normal?

She drew herself out of her thoughts and folded her arms on her chest. It was at these moments that she missed wearing her usual Jedi robes instead of the new stiff war armor. The armor never managed to give her the same feeling of comfort and warmth that the tunics did. 

The group was in a small section of the Venator, planning their upcoming attack tactics. Admiral Yularen and Anakin Skywalker stood in the front, both being more naturally gifted at battle tactic talks. Kora, not so much. 

Behind, two rows of clones sat orderly, watching a holographic image go into further detail about the plan.

Kora stood by the gunship, leaning all her weight on it as she listened to the explanation. Cal sat on the floor, his legs crisscrossed and his elbow resting on his knee. He had expressed being tired earlier and Kora allowed him to take a break before hopping into starships. She knew the familiar feeling of burnout and exhaustion and Kora did not want him to experience it. 

She waved faintly at Plo Koon as he approached Skywalker with Ahsoka. He gave a brief nod in return while Ahoksa smiled brightly.

"This strike force had been commissioned by the Senate to hunt down the enemy's new battleship. As the bulk of our fleets is engaged on the front lines, we'll be on our own," Admiral Yularen clarified. He cleared his throat after the pause, "General Skywalker has prepared our attack strategy."

He side-stepped, allowing Anakin more space to talk and move around. 

That was another thing Kora noticed about him; he always paced while explaining an attack strategy or debriefing someone. It was like he could never sit still. 

"Thank you, Admiral," Skywalker began. He walked toward the holographic image that R2 was producing and pointed toward it. "While our capital ships are vulnerable to the enemy's attack, I believe a squadron of bombers can out-maneuver their ion weapon. Our target is the bridge, and General Grievous."

Anakin spared a quick glance at Kora when saying the cyborg's name. 

She noticed that, too.

The clones murmured amongst themselves, not feeling convinced about the plan yet. Some were calling him crazy for going after Grevious, others said overly ambitious. It seemed that after only a few months into the war, everyone already feared the Separatist General.