"They probably won't even make it this far, Rain. And don't pretend you weren't thinking it, because you were," Master Ti chided, giving Rain a sidelong glance before returning her attention to the holomap, "Honestly, can you not get through a single day without thinking about cutting something up? Your sister was never so—"

"Do I look like Mira to you?" Rain interrupted coldly.

"Don't talk back, young lady," Shaak Ti said, almost sounding weary more than upset.

There was a tense silence between them that lasted only a few seconds before Rain broke it, "Assuming you are wrong though, and they do make it this far, you'll be needing me."

Shaak Ti uttered a long sigh, "We will see when Master Kenobi returns from his little errand."

Rain folded her hands behind her back, making an effort to mask her anticipation. When she had learned that the Separatists planned on attacking Kamino, she had half expected they would pack her up and send her off just to make sure she wouldn't be part of the action. But Shaak Ti had assured her that she wouldn't be going anywhere. Rain had struggled to hide her resulting swell of emotion—her worry over how the Separatists had reached so far as to threaten the very source of the Republic’s army, and her restless expectation as she awaited the fast approaching time when she could finally put her skills to the test again. Shaak Ti had sensed her mood and now seemed angrier at her than ever, but Rain couldn't care less. Even better, Mira had accompanied Generals Skywalker and Kenobi along with a fleet of Republic warships to the planet to prepare for the Separatist's arrival. At the sight of her little sister, Rain couldn't restrain herself from smothering Mira in hugs and pelting her with questions of what she'd been up to in the time they'd been separated, while the elder Jedi knights watched with somewhat amused expressions. Mira had seemed a little reproachful toward her older sister, leading Rain to believe she was still upset over how they'd left things the night before her departure. But Mira didn't bring it up, so neither did Rain.

Mira wasn't able to stay long before she headed off with a unit under General Skywalker to back up the Republic blockade around Kamino. After that, Rain only stuck outdoors long enough to enjoy the unusually calm weather. It was one of the few days on which they'd experienced no storms, and it seemed to only add to the momentous occasion.

Things seemed to take a disappointing turn when Rain had been holed away with Master Ti and Master Kenobi in the command centre. Stopping only to aim sharp looks at Rain whenever she tried to approach, they had mused and muttered over the holomap until Kenobi disappeared on some errand. As of yet, he hadn't returned.

The sound of an alarm ripped through the silence and Rain immediately met Shaak Ti's eye. The deep purple of the Togruta's eye shone icily, and her lips pressed themselves into a firm line. But she said nothing.

Do you intend to hide up here in the command centre for the whole battle? Rain frowned, watching silently as Shaak Ti continued her endless staring at the holomap. Strategy is only a part of the fight, Master Ti. Besides, I'm sure the Separatists have no intention of hiding. And neither do I.

As the minutes ticked by, Rain cautiously joined the Togruta in her careful observation of the map. This time she was not denied, and a quick assessment revealed Trident-class assault ships drilling through the walls of the hangars and pouring battle droids into the city. Someone must have recalled the Republic strike force, because Rain could see the fighters returning to the surface.

So now Mira's fighting and I'm not, Rain thought, her hands balling into fists.

She could feel herself tensing as the battle raged on, the clones becoming overwhelmed and the droids flooding throughout the city. There seemed to be an endless stream of assault ships, slowly tearing the city to pieces.

Rain was startled as the door to the command centre flew open, revealing five super droids. Everyone aside from Master Ti and Rain ran for cover as the droids unleashed a wave of fire on them. To Rain's surprise, the Togruta was the first to react, whipping out her lightsaber and charging straight toward the enemy. She easily sliced one in half before disarming another and slamming its laser cannon directly into its sensor with a wave of her hand. She used the force to dispatch the remaining three super droids before raising her wrist-com to her mouth.

"The droids are spread thin. We must press our offensive now!" she declared.

Seizing the brief moment of distraction as her opportunity, Rain broke into a run, whipping past Master Ti and rounding the corner before she could be stopped. She could hear the Togruta's voice shouting at her to wait but she ignored it.

Sorry, Master, but you'll have to catch up with me. I'm not waiting around for you to get your act together.

Rain turned down another hall, pulling her lightsaber out of her cloak and igniting it. Although she was well aware that Master Ti was not following her, she lengthened her stride instead of slowing down. She was finally back on the battlefield where she belonged! A burst of extra adrenaline ran through her, giving her a surge of energy. It felt like she was soaring.

She turned yet another corner and was greeted by a handful of super droids.

Master Ti was right. The Separatists have spread their forces too thin. What exactly were they hoping to accomplish?

Rain charged at the enemy, felling one droid with a downward stroke before whipping her blade upward and slicing clean through the plating of another. Laser bolt after laser bolt flew past her, the air sizzling around them as they cut through the air and struck the surrounding interior. A horizontal slash from Rain's lightsaber tore through the armor of a super droid, leaving only two remaining. Rain planted her feet, letting the enemy fire rebound off her lightsaber and strike the droids. They toppled over and Rain stepped over them, continuing on her path. The sound of distant blaster fire caught her attention and she headed in the direction of the noise. It went quiet for a few moments, then Rain picked up the unmistakeable clanking of a nearby droid battalion. She passed what looked like the aftermath of a very recent battle. Clones and droids alike were lying on the floor, marked by blaster fire. The clanking noise was still echoing through the halls. Rain broke into a sprint again, rounding a corner and spotting the source of the noise. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the tall, imposing figure at the heart of the B1 droid unit. Even with his back to her, there was no mistaking who it was. Rain had never seen General Grievous face to face before, but she had seen holo-projections of him in records. Rain had nearly completely forgotten about the intercepted transmission between the General and assassin Asajj Ventress that Kenobi had mentioned. It was those two heading this attack.

Probably should have remembered something important like that, Rain silently chided herself, But then again, everyone one kept telling me that the Separatists would never make it as far as the surface.

Rain slowly started backing up, careful not to make a sound. She hadn't been spotted as of yet, and she realized she wasn't exactly cut out to face off against someone like Grievous. She wasn't one to run away from a fight, but she wasn't dumb enough to run to a fruitless death. Maybe she could just keep an eye on him and hope someone showed up to assist her.

Yeah, like that'll happen.

She shook the thought away, tiptoeing closer and closer to cover. Just a few more steps and she'd be fine. Then one of the B1 droids turned its head and spotted her.

"General!" he shouted, rounding on the Jedi and firing his blaster at her.

Oh no.

The General turned to face her along with his whole unit.

His metallic voice hissed, "Jedi!"

The battalion opened fire. Rain deflected every shot, downing several B1s.

"Cease fire!" Grievous ordered, and the hall fell silent, "I'll deal with this Jedi."

He stepped clear of the unit, drawing two lightsabers simultaneously. Rain backed away, feeling a spark of fear and doubt. She didn't know what to do. Was it better to run, or to stand and fight?

She chose the former. She turned and booked it down the hall she'd come through. She instantly heard the heavy footfalls of the General striking the floor as he pursued her. She didn't stop to look back; she ran for all she was worth. Rain reached her next turn and flung herself around the corner, hitting the wall and tripping over her own feet. There was a tremendous crash as Grievous followed suit, slamming into the interior with all four limbs extended for impact. The wall cracked and dented under the force of the collision. Rain hardly had time to clamber to her feet and get a proper grip on her weapon before the General had recovered and was in full attack. Their lightsabers locked, and Rain could feel the muscles in her body screaming in protest as she tried to hold off Grievous. His height and strength gave him a considerable advantage, and if Rain wanted to survive this fight, she would have to rely solely on her speed and agility. She tilted the hilt of her weapon up, shifting the balance of Grievous' attack and allowing herself to slide between his legs. The General spun immediately, swinging both lightsabers. Rain ducked and the blades cut into the interior, leaving a long black streak across the wall. Rain retreated several paces before facing Grievous head on. He came at her and their weapons locked again briefly. Grievous pulled back before striking downward with a fierce snarl. The force of the blow brought Rain to her knees. Another shift in the balance freed her from the sticky situation, but she could feel her body aching with weariness. If she took one more hit like that, she'd be down for the count. For the first time in a long time, Rain was afraid that she wouldn't be walking out of a fight okay. She wasn't strong enough to match Grievous blow for blow, and he was too fast for her to outmaneuver.

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Guess he's a famed Jedi killer for a reason.

Perspiration coated Rain's forehead as she tried to think. Grievous swung at her, left to right, right to left. Rain parried and dodged, but she was steadily losing ground. The General's attacks seemed to be coming in faster and more erratic than ever. He didn't seem to use any of the traditional Jedi lightsaber forms, but rather one of his own design.

Grievous' arms seemed to be moving of their own accord now. With one blade, he knocked Rain's weapon to the side and went for the killing blow. Rain couldn't dodge quite fast enough and the weapon grazed her side, sending a blinding pain spilling through her nerves. Rain shrieked but the cry was cut off as one of the General's talons closed around her throat and slammed her against the floor. The edges of her vision went black and everything seemed to swim before her eyes for a moment. The General brought his face mere inches from hers, his tortured breathing loud in her ears.

"That's it?" he demanded, "That's all you've got? All too easy."

Rain clawed at her throat, trying desperately to breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and all she could see was the golden reptilian eyes staring into her own. The talon closed tighter around her neck and the darkness crept further over her line of sight, turning the world black. As her consciousness ebbed away, she heard a new voice, a familiar one.

"Define easy."

Rain's eyes snapped open and she looked around in alarm. Grievous was gone, and instead Kenobi was leaning over her, a look of concern in his eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Rain blinked, "I don't know."

She tried to sit up and her hand shot to her side as the pain returned.

"You're wounded," Master Kenobi said.

Rain gritted her teeth, "No, just grazed. I can still fight. Where's my lightsaber?"

Kenobi put her weapon in her hand and she held it tightly, feeling comfort in the fact that it had not been lost. Rain took a couple deep breaths before getting to her feet.

"Okay," she said, "Now where's Grievous?"

"I think it'd be best if you left Grievous to me," Kenobi insisted, "Speaking of which, I'd better get going if I want to catch him."

"By all means," Rain urged.

"Don't get into trouble," Kenobi said sternly before breaking into a sprint.

He rounded a corner and disappeared from view. Rain waited a few moments, listening to the sound of retreating footsteps, then she followed. This was a fight she wasn't going to be left out of, because now she had a score to settle.

Besides, she thought, Master Kenobi could probably use the help. If the two of us can subdue Grievous, that’ll be a significant win for the Republic.

And possible cause for a long overdue promotion.

Rain pursued Kenobi from a safe distance until they had exited the building and were in the open. It seemed strangely quiet outdoors considering all the mayhem Rain had witnessed on the holomap. She had to hang back even further to avoid being noticed, and as she had to strain more and more to hear Kenobi's footsteps, she became increasingly alarmed that she would lose track of him. Finally, after listening to several minutes of utter silence, she broke into a jog. The path she was following circled the building, making it impossible to see very far ahead. Rain paused to take a few calming breaths before continuing at a brisk walk. Then she slowly started becoming aware of a distant sound. As it got closer, Rain recognized it as the sound of two lightsabers clashing. She raced toward the noise, and soon a bridge came into view. She could see Grievous and Kenobi locked in battle and she lengthened her stride. She'd only just stepped onto the bridge when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. An assault ship had climbed up from underneath the platform and was intertwining itself with the bridge. Before Rain could even react, the ground under her feet was snapped like a twig and fell away. She tumbled forward, desperately clawing at the smooth surface of the bridge in an attempt to stop her fall. She collided with the base of the platform, clinging to it for dear life as it swayed and rocked beneath her. Suddenly it lurched backward, crashing into the main building and throwing Rain off. She plummeted downward, a long helpless wail escaping her lips. Looking down, she could see the long metallic limb of the assault ship stretched across her path. She made a frantic grab for it as it passed, her fingers catching the edge of it and stopping her fall. She hung there, feeling her fingers slipping on the smooth metal. She looked around quickly for anything else to grab onto, but the only other thing was the platform base, and that was a good stone's throw away. Trying to quell her panic, Rain shifted her grip, working her way left. Unfortunately, she ran out of handholds before she could get close enough to her destination. The hard metal edge she was gripping turned to a round surface. Rain stared helplessly at the platform base mere feet away from her. There was nothing for it. She had to jump. Bracing her feet against the metal surface she was clinging to, she pushed off.

She missed by inches.

"No!" Rain screamed as she plunged back into the endless fall.

The ocean below raced up at her, the wind whipping past her.

Wait. The air currents! I can partially control my fall!

Spreading her arms wide, Rain tilted right. The platform base seemed to inch a little closer and Rain made a grab for it but missed again, throwing her balance out of whack. Still trying to keep as calm as she could, she tried again, bringing the base gradually nearer and nearer.

Come on. Just a little more!

The water below was very close now, and Rain's nerves were starting to break. In a final attempt, she reached out toward the base. Her fingers caught and she held tight, uttering a sigh of relief.

Now I just have to climb all the way back up again.

She leaned her head back, staring with dismay at the long, wide pillar she hung from.

Nothing for it.

She started climbing. She didn't get very far however, when the base shifted ever so slightly. Rain held her breath, waiting for it to steady. It came to rest after a few short seconds, and Rain let out her breath. Then a soft sound from above caught her ear and she looked up. A shower of debris was descending on her, loosened by the shift. Rain cursed as some debris struck the base, causing it to rock yet again. A cluster of broken metal glanced off the base and plummeted toward Rain. She did the only thing she could do. She let go. She wasn't quite fast enough however, and a sheet of metal hit her, spinning her around. She was now well out of reach of the pillar. Another shard of metal collided with her and she yelped. In the next split second the ocean engulfed her, its cold touch spreading over her body. Rain frantically tried to swim for the surface but her clothes were weighing her down. She clawed at her heavy boots, trying to take them off. Some debris passed very close to her, and she could feel it sucking her downward as it sank. She kicked her legs fiercely, struggling to stay alive. Her limbs felt tired and heavy, and the dull overhead light seemed to be getting further and further away. A realization suddenly struck Rain.

I've done this before. I've felt it before. My dream showed me this moment.

Her lungs started to burn for need of air, but Rain had already given up struggling.

Am I going to die? Is this all I get? But I wanted more!

Her train of thought stopped in its tracks. What exactly had she wanted?

Free. I wanted to feel free, like I was in control of my life. I wanted to be recognized and respected as who I truly am. I wanted to stop feeling like a child in a timeout. I...wanted to be free of my title. I wanted to be free of the Jedi.

But would she ever have had the strength to do it, the strength to walk away from everything she'd known, to walk away even from Mira? She didn't know. But was that really all there was to it?

No. If I walked away, I'd be freeing myself to chart my own course. But that was never the only reason. I would finally be free of the constant reminder of why I was forced to become a Jedi.

Rain's weary eyelids slid shut, turning the world black. At the back of her mind, she was dimly aware of something brushing against her, but she couldn't care less. She was a goner anyway. It was probably just some debris.

Then she felt two arms circling around her and the unmistakeable feeling of rushing upward. She broke the surface and her eyes snapped open, her lungs dragging in breath after breath of air. She found herself sitting astride an aiwha, a winged water creature, and when she turned her head to see her rescuer, she came face to face with Mira.

Her little sister flashed her a smile, "Glad I made it in time. I saw you go down with the bridge but I was so far away that it took me a while to get to you. My friend here was all too eager to help," she added, patting the aiwha, "You never were very good at connecting with creatures. I warned you it might come in handy someday, but oh no, you couldn't invest the time and effort in becoming proficient at it." She rolled her eyes playfully before addressing the aiwha, "Can you take us up, friend?"

The creature complied, darting upward and flying in close to a bridge so the sisters could hop off. Mira thanked the aiwha for its help before it promptly returned to its ocean home. Mira turned to Rain, still beaming as if nothing at all was wrong.

"You missed all the fun," she said, "The Separatists are in full retreat, and—"

"She left us, Mira."

Mira frowned, "Who did?"

Rain didn't respond right away. Her thoughts were hazy and jumbled, but one thing was clear. She was angry, and although one couldn't see it in her oddly passive face, it was threatening to boil over. Her wet clothes clung to her frame, the dripping noises they produced being the only thing to break the silence. She could almost still feel the terrifying sensation of being underwater, being unable to breath, to cry for help, to do anything. Rain's hands slowly curled into fists.

"You know who."

Mira looked concerned, "Rain, I don't know what you're talking about. Are you all right?"

"There is nothing wrong with me!" Rain screamed.

Mira flinched, but her twin hardly noticed.

"You know who I'm talking about!" Rain insisted, "Our mother! She abandoned us!"

Mira sighed, "Not this again, Rain..."

"She thought it was better to drown then raise her own daughters!"

Mira glared defiantly, "You know that's not true!"

"It is true! She jumped, Mira! She made the choice! She left us!" Rain lowered her voice, sounding almost stern as she added, "She left you." Her voice fell lower still till it was little more than a whisper, and the anger melted away from her face, replaced by a deep sadness. "Now I have to leave you too."

"What? What are you talking about?" Mira demanded, a hint of alarm in her voice.

Her wrist-com beeped suddenly and she hesitated. Rain shifted her gaze to the comlink.

"You should answer that," she muttered.

Mira glared before answering the beep, "Yes, Master Shaak?"

"Mira, is your sister with you?"

"Yes."

"Good. The two of you report to the command centre immediately."

"Yes, Master."

Mira lifted her head from the com with a ready retort for her sister, but Rain was already walking away.

Mother left us. That's why I had to become a Jedi. It was for Mira. It was all for Mira. When the Order found us, we were orphans being passed from family to family. They offered us a home and a life, and I had to take it. It was our best option. But I hardly understood what I was getting us into at the time. What child would? I don't belong here. I screw up everything. Mira doesn't need that in her life. She'll probably be happier when I'm gone, because after all, she's a true Jedi.