Moments earlier…



Sitting cross-legged on the verandah , Natalya sighed as she closed her eyes. Breathing in deeply she visualised the stones placed around her on the floor, letting the Force course through her, as she had been shown by Leia. Each one was roughly about the size of her fist, and heavy for their size.

The exercise was meant to be a test of discipline and control, and as Nat settled into it, she began to let go of the frustration that had begun to gnaw at her. The young apprentice had been hoping to extend her lightsaber skills more, but as yet, the chance to do so had not really materialised.

Previous encounters with the Sith had made her realise it was an area she was lacking in, and in knowing this, she was impatient to learn more.

The thought crossed Nat's mind that perhaps, that had been exactly why she had been given the exercise in the first place.

At the moment, however, Leia and Karah were away, and Nat did not know when they would be back. That was the trouble with Jedi Masters, they could be somewhat …mysterious, both in their movements and in their teaching methods.
The Padawan knew Leia had her reasons, which probably involved some excruciating test of discipline of some description for Karah. There were times she couldn't help but think that the Jedi were in fact masters of inventing ingenious new forms of torture.

Nat smiled faintly at that thought, a little relieved that today wasn't her turn to have to go through it, but at the same time, she felt a little guilty that apparently Karah did. Her heart went out to her fellow apprentice, hopefully she wouldn't be too exhausted when they finally got back.

Dismissing all these thoughts as unhelpful, the Jedi apprentice cleared her mind of everything except for the task set before her, and concentrated on drawing upon the Force.

It was morning, and despite the dreary weather the birds were still chatting and singing their morning chorus, and the young Jedi could feel them all around her, along with the stones, such was the strength of her connection to the Force.

Slowly, the stones one by one started to tremble and rise…

Stopping only when they reached her shoulders, roughly all the same in height, as she had willed it.

Dipping her head slightly, as if issuing an order, each of the stones began to individually spin consistently and steadily.

Soon all of the stones were spinning as they levitated above the ground, and Nat began to smile inwardly, her focus was getting better.

She decided to push it further, and slowly but surely, all the spinning stones surrounding her began to move in the same direction in a perfect circle around the Jedi, as if locked in her orbit , gradually picking up speed.

Natalya watched , despite having her eyes closed; using the Force instead to guide her, and was pleased with her progress.

From somewhere in the distance, the sound of distant thunder reached her ears, Nat opened her eyes in response and found it had started raining heavily, she had been so engrossed in her exercise she had not noticed.

Before she had much time to process this, a disturbance , a ripple in the Force began to wash over her, and a frown began to form upon the young woman's face. Natalya was now getting better at controlling these visions, and had kept her composure, and despite the interruption the stones around her continued their spinning orbit unabated.

Keeping her exercise in control, the Padawan opened herself to the Force completely, allowing it to use her as a conduit.
In return , to Natalya's amazement the Force began to give her sight beyond her normal range, for while she had experienced visions before, she had never had one so …vivid.

The view before her of the garden had now changed, replaced by something else entirely, flashes of two people fighting, one of whom she did not recognise, but the other…

Nat tensed as recognition hit home.

Amalia!…

But before she could think anything else, the vision showed another, someone else she did not recognise, she watched in fascination as the stranger reached for something…

A lightsaber!

The vision was cut almost as suddenly as it had come, and as Natalya jumped up from her sitting position, the stones fell to the ground, scattering noisily around her as she ran through them.

Natalya was starting by now to appreciate her talents of foresight, and to know when the Force was compelling her to act, and rather than resisting the visions when they came as she had done in the past, the young apprentice now embraced them.

Nat had also recognised the location of the town square in her vision, and with her own lightsaber attached to her belt, had started to make her way to its location.

She activated her comms as she made her way through the streets, trying to raise either Leia or Karah. Whatever it was they were both doing, they either weren't hearing or simply not answering.
The young apprentice cursed under her breath as she ran, and after leaving a message, raised the alarm with the local authorities instead, knowing if she couldn't get hold of them, they probably could.
Everyone had been pretty jumpy since the last visit from the Sith, and this experience was still very fresh in the young Jedi's mind as she turned the corner of a side street…

Running to yet another incident, Nat couldn't help but feel a sneaking sense of deja-vous.

The rain had really started to come down heavily now, and dark storm clouds hung low over the streets which Natalya raced along, her foot-steps crashed through the puddles that had collected upon the ground.
She was soaked already, as in her haste, she had forgotten to take a coat, but she certainly wasn't going back for one now.

The apprentice turned another corner and slowed down, up ahead there was someone else, a woman, her attention seemingly focused on something happening down a different street.

As she got closer Nat realised it was the same girl from her vision earlier, and in reaction reached for her own Lightsaber, but stopped short of activating it.

Soon enough Nat approached the intersection, and looked to see what had captured the woman's attention so fully, following the woman's gaze until her eyes settled on the source of her attention, the familiar figure of Amalia in full action against another female assailant.

The battle was a sight to behold, and for a brief moment Nat stood there open-mouthed, struck dumb at the sheer power on display by two clearly accomplished Force-users.

The apprentice quickly turned her attention back to the woman adjacent, and found her looking straight back at her, and as their eyes met, something passed between them.

Natalya knew at that moment the stranger before her was not here to cause her any harm, quite the opposite in fact.

The stranger nodded towards her as if acknowledging this, and Nat returned in kind, realising the woman was indicating her readiness to jump into the fray.

Natalya turned her attention back to the action, while she was anxious to help Amalia in anyway she could, she also knew that blindly rushing in and distracting the Jedi Master in the middle of combat could do more harm then good, instead, Nat reached out with the Force to Amalia indicating that she was here, and here to help.

As the young Jedi waited for a response, she steadied her nerves and gripped the handle of her lightsaber tightly, steeling herself for what was to come.

She didn't know why this attacker had come to Capricia , and in part, Nat did not care, because like the last Sith before her, this woman had made a serious mistake in doing so.

Incensed by her attacks on Amalia, Nat was looking forward to showing her just how big a mistake it truly was.

Once the woman across from her nodded in return, Ember knew numbers were on their side. She took in a deep breath and took one last glance around the corner. Lexus was pushed back enough that Ember had a surprise in store for her. With her leg aching, she realized she was still bleeding and her pant leg around the area had darkened from being soaked in blood. When she moved her knee, Ember could feel she had something lodged in it and it was going to slow her down. She was already limping and being soaking wet and practically covered in mud was not going to help.

With Lexus now pressed back into place, Ember sprung into action. She rushed around the corner and hit the muddy ground, sliding in the direction Lexus and Amalia were locked in combat. By the time Lexus had noticed her, she had slid right below her, swiping her legs out from under her and sending Lexus right onto her back. Ember immediately ignited her light saber and swung with full force down at her, yelling as her blade swished towards Lexus. Lexus, however she managed, blocked the blow as her red blade crossed her body before she let out an angry scream.

Lexus created a ripple in the force which pulsated from her body. Ember was thrown back and rolled as she hit the ground and landed in a large puddle. When Ember looked up, she saw how enraged Lexus had become as fire began swirling around her. Their eyes met and Ember felt a chill travel up her spine while Lexus reached down and picked up a handful of sand from a small rock garden that was next to her.

Ember heard a small murmur and quickly looked behind herself to see a small child curled up into a ball and quite frightened. When she looked back, Lexus’ glare was still fixed upon her as she raised her hand and seemed to blow a kiss. Fire and sand lifted from her hand where the sand melted into molten glass that was now heading in Ember’s direction.

With barely a moment to spare, Ember jumped back and covered the child with her own body, holding her tightly in her arms. When the hot glass hit her back, Ember let out a painful scream as her skin began to singe along with the fabric of her shirt. It was like being struck by several small hot pellets all at once that were scattered all over her back.

Struggling to control the pain, Ember let the small child go and did her best to speak firmly as her body shook. “Go inside… NOW!” The child nervously nodded and, with teary eyes, she ran through a doorway and into the nearest building.

Ember was about to slowly get to her feet when she felt the air grow warm and she quickly began running as a massive ball of fire was sent at her. She jumped and barely evaded it as another followed. Ember continued running along the line of buildings as Lexus sent several more at her. Ember finally threw herself right into a glass window and crashed onto the floor of a small store after rolling over a small table. A blast of fire traveled over her head, missing her by inches as she rolled to a stop.

As Ember slowly got up, she let out a low moan as she felt a sharp pain in her right arm. A large piece of glass had sliced through her forearm and was now lodged in place. She was bleeding heavily and she crawled slowly towards the nearest corner where she pulled the shard out with a brief scream. Shaking, she tore some fabric from her shirt and quickly wrapped her arm to help stop the bleeding. Shortly after, she realized she had several more small pieces of glass lodged along her other arm and on her leg.

Ember grabbed her light saber and, though it was hopeless, she readied for Lexus to crash through the front of the building and attack. If she did, ember would not stand a chance in her condition. Hopefully Amalia and the other woman she had seen could manage to keep Lexus at bay. Since nearly a minute had passed without Lexus already coming in for the kill, Ember could only assume something had distracted the insane Nighsister from doing so.

Grunting with each move she made, Ember slowly crawled her way towards the window she had crashed through moments earlier to see what was going on outside.

Even while she was her own Jedi, supposedly meant to be preoccupied with doing her own sense of damage control, Amalia was concentrating upon spreading it. The damage. Her fuse had come to set itself on fire, and there was no turning back on it. It was not as if she was trying to be stubborn with what Leia had told to her, more that this was one of the first in years since she had bothered to duke it out with anyone. She was more than just a touch rusty. Ill impressions for her possibly future student, but she was at least going to save lives today instead of end them. Destruction would just so happen to have to show itself before she could possibly make any peace. Drawing upon the force constantly behind the scenes, the Jedi Master fiercely manipulated the air molecules around Lexus while fast approaching her. With a very vivid imagination and the presence of mind that absence truly did make the heart grow fonder, Amalia’s old skills of the use of the force easily came flooding back to her in no time. It was a good thing too, because time was something she could not afford to waste. She somehow thought her inner visual, fitting. It was exactly what she believed Lexus to be. A Hurricane. Luckily, though, this one would only be isolated so that it surrounded Lexus, rendering her incapable of doing little else while Amalia trapped her to the storm’s center. The area that had the most sinking section of air at its heaviest. Not to mention the other efforts that covered the center, dense with overcast. The eyewall would definitely make its impact upon her, challenging the woman that seemed to live fire, where precipitation and wind would be at its heaviest. It would, and was to last only a matter of seconds, but powerful enough that it was all Amalia would happen to need to knock Lexus out and buy them all some time while they managed to make their escape.

The Jedi Master was no coward, but even a first encounter was by no means an easy match. She was sure this would not be the last she would see of Lexus. Next time, she would fully be more prepared, as would Ember, Natalya too, whom Amalia had thought she had seen somewhere in the fray. Amalia would see to it and make sure of it.

As expected, the hurricane blast lasted for what felt like only a fraction of seconds, possibly really only minutes, but it all kept Amalia on the move. Even in the miracles of silence when Lexus was finely knocked out unconscious and signs of calm restored, Amalia kept moving, passed the debris and toward where she remembered seeing the girls last. She shouted for them via the force while being consciously aware of what still loomed just nearby. They would need to move quickly.

“We need to get out of here now, we don’t have much time to waste,” she called out via the force to both females, her words rushed, hoping the two would stretch their auras out to her for much easier access in locating them among the rubble.

...Ember sprung into action. She rushed around the corner and hit the muddy ground, sliding in the direction Lexus and Amalia were locked in combat. By the time Lexus had noticed her, she had slid right below her, swiping her legs out from under her and sending Lexus right onto her back. Ember immediately ignited her light saber and swung with full force down at her, yelling as her blade swished towards Lexus...

…So much for being cautious!

Despite the mutual acknowledgement, Ember's sudden and somewhat rash charge towards the female pyromaniac caught Nat by surprise.

On one hand she found herself annoyed by the stranger's apparent disregard for her own safety and of course its impact on those around her, but on the other she couldn't help but feel a certain begrudging respect for the woman's bravery.

For the young apprentice had caught sight of the woman's noticeable injuries, and to launch herself so readily towards such a dangerous foe in spite of them, Natalya had to acknowledge, took courage, and a great deal of grit.

That said, Nat did not like to be on the back-foot, and that was now exactly where she found herself. Faced with a very simple decision; either follow or get left behind, suffice to say, Nat made her decision quickly , and after cursing hastily under her breath, sprinted after the injured stranger.

By the time she caught up, Ember was already entangled with the powerful assailant, and before Nat could react further, she was sent hurtling backwards by a powerful ripple from the Force.

Landing on her back, the young apprentice blinked as the pain registered, but shrugged it off and steadily got to her feet, both mentally checking for any injuries, and assessing for a split second what had just happened.

A few bruises, and a soaked back was nothing to worry about, and after flicking her bedraggled hair from out of her face , Natalya glanced around, only to see an unknown child run into a house in one direction , and Ember break into a run in the other, followed by a series of fiery explosions in quick succession trailing behind her.

As Natalya saw Ember crash through a glass window in order to avoid Lexus's powerful attacks her brow furrowed out of concern for the brave but somewhat foolhardy stranger, and yet anger at this crazed attacker, who seemed intent in causing as much destruction as possible…

This woman's a headcase!...

And then as Lexus started to walk towards the building where Ember had dived into, Natalya instinctively sprung into action herself...

Drawing heavily upon the Force, as best as she knew how, the young apprentice propelled herself towards the attacker, adding the Force to gather speed to her attack.
Either Lexus was too focused upon Ember, or perhaps distracted by Amalia, either way by the time she sensed the young Jedi bearing down upon her, it was too late, and Natalya's attack, connected, with a mighty dull thud, as Natalya shoulder-barged Lexus, sending her reeling away from the damaged building where Ember lay.

Gathering herself, Natalya looked down upon Lexus who after landing in a sprawl had began to rise to her feet already. The smell of ozone and the tell-tale signs of flickering sparks indicated what was coming next for the apprentice. Clearly, her attack, while catching Lexus off guard, had not done anything to douse the stranger's temper.
Nat reacted by activating her lightsaber and speaking to the Nightsister…
"You know what happens to those who play with fire!…" Raising her voice above the sound of the rain and the noise of destruction around them, Nat's eyes fixed themselves upon her opponent's.

Natalya knew this was a one on one confrontation she could not hope to win, but she also knew she didn't have to, for the apprentice had already seen Amalia gain ground behind the woman, distraction was now the key.

Lexus's eyes glowered with hate, as the young Jedi came at her shouting above the rain…

"…They get BURNED!" And with that Nat raced forward and brought her lightsaber down with both hands upon Lexus , who bought hers up to block the attack, and as the two weapons met they crackled fiercely.
The rain hissed as it came down upon the two blades of light, evaporating into steam instantly, transpiring to create a ghostly aura around the two women, and for a split-second they remained that way, as the new adversaries came face to face with each other.

In an instant Lexus pushed back hard, sending Nat running a few metres in a hasty retreat. Sensing her inexperience the pyromaniacal assailant closed in on her.
In one hand the Nightsister's Lightsaber hissed like a coiled snake waiting to strike, and in the other a fiery ball of arcane energy began to manifest…

Nat turned to stand her ground , gripped her Lightsaber tightly and prepared herself for the inevitable attack…



The attack never came however, as abruptly and with very little warning, Nat found herself being thrown back yet again, by something even more powerful. A blast which sent her sprawling metres away, only to collapse in a heap, in a cloud of smoke, dust, and debris…

Somehow, Nat had managed to keep hold of her Lightsaber, how she had not injured herself in the process was not something she was prone to dwell upon.

The apprentice did not know how long she had laid there for, and in truth it took a moment for her to fully comprehend what had just occurred, but as the various aches and pains began to make themselves felt, she grimaced and groaned loudly.

Whatever had hit , had hit hard.

Coughing and spluttering, a dazed Natalya gradually began to shift herself upright, and found, much to her relief, to be relatively intact, cuts and bruises aside.

“We need to get out of here now, we don’t have much time to waste,” she called out via the force to both females, her words rushed, hoping the two would stretch their auras out to her for much easier access in locating them among the rubble.

Amalia's message bought Natalya's predicament into sharp focus, and added impetus to her effort to compose herself, and after spitting a mouthful of grit out from her mouth, Nat groggily rose to her feet, and surveyed the scene before her…

While Natalya was not yet trained in being able to deliver messages through the Force, she could still sense both Amalia's and Ember's Force signatures.

Seeing no visible signs of either of the two strange women who had started all of this in the first place, Nat clambered over the remains of the ruined buildings, and emerged from the dust caked in mud, soaked to the skin, covered in scratches and still clutching her deactivated lightsaber. Various shouts and cries alerted Natalya to the fact that people had gathered in the area, but she could not see anything from all the smoke.

Nat slowly but surely made her way to where she thought she could sense Amalia, using the Force to guide her direction.

As the room came into view, things were blurry as Ember glanced around. Noises were muffled and the only thing she was certain she could feel was the beating of her heart. Ember slowly sat up while still in a daze and uncertain of her surroundings. After a few more moments, Ember quickly realized where she had been.

“We need to get out of here now. We don’t have much time to waste.”
The voice within her head was as clear as if it had been spoken right in front of her. Ember recognized the voice as being that of Amalia’s whom she had spent time with earlier.

Holding her head while wincing, the muffled sounds around her began to clear as Ember made it back up onto her feet. She quickly grabbed her arm after noticing the cut she received earlier was still bleeding and tried to shake her head to clear her vision. Ember then limped her way to the entryway of the now decrepit building she had taken shelter in and noticed the extent of damage it had sustained.

After stepping outside, Ember glanced around and saw where Amalia was waiting along with the woman she had seen earlier. She offered them a nod and slowly began to make her way over to them as she scanned the area for Lexus. It only took another second for Ember to spot where she was laying and quickly paused as Lexus’ body vanished in a sudden flame.

Ember’s hand fell to her light saber which she held tightly. She had seen this before and knew what was coming next. With a flick of her finger, the blue blade of her weapon ignited and began to hum as she cautiously backed up to Amalia and Natalia. “That hasn’t stopped her…” Ember glanced over her shoulder at Natalia with a very serious expression. “She’s still here,” she whispered softly before her eyes began to look for where Lexus would appear.

Lexus’ eerie laughter seemed to be traveling on the cool wind that blew as the rain seemed to let up and was now falling much more softly. Ember’s hair was soaked and she was feeling more anxious to just have the crazy darksider just attack them already. The waiting was always the hardest part.
No longer than the thought had run through her mind did Lexus finally appear right in the middle of them. Showing her tightly clenched teeth, Lexus swung her blade right at Amalia’s back to strike a fatal blow. Ember caught sight the Nightsister from out of the corner of her eye and spun around, nearly taking off Natalia’s head in the process. She drove the tip of her blade straight through Lexus’s back and it emerged in the middle of her chest. Lexus froze and then let out a shrill scream of both pain and furious anger. Ember was thrown back and tumbled to the ground just before Lexus vanished.

Ember struggled to sit up and then nodded. “Now she’s gone. At least for now…”

Ember began to stand up and then quickly fell back to her knees while grasping her arm and her ankle. This confrontation had left her physically drained and her injuries were pretty severe. “I… I can’t walk…” Ember again tried to get up and, like before, lost her balance when she tried to put any weight on her bad leg. Wincing, Ember grabbed her knee as the pain seemed to grow after this latest fall. “Great…”

Natalya stood there for a moment, her heart in her mouth, still poised with her lightsaber active. Both angry and somewhat unnerved at almost losing her head, and still very much unsure of whether their pyromaniacal attacker had indeed left them all alone.

Narrowing her eyes in reaction to the rain, she scanned the immediate area, and after failing to see any sign of their mysterious foe, cautiously deactivated her lightsaber, and turned her attention to Amalia…

"Has she gone?" Nat asked warily, her voice hoarse from the dust and smoke.

Amalia said nothing, but simply nodded back in return as she knelt down beside the equally mysterious woman who had fought alongside them, and started to attend to her wounds.

"She's passed out, we need to get her home" The Jedi Master said, her tone heavy with concern.

Nat clipped her lightsaber to her belt, and despite not being overly enthusiastic at helping someone who had just moments before very nearly decapitated her, did as she was told.


The emergency services had already started to arrive, both the local police force and the medical teams had started treating the injured, and after flagging down an emergency shuttle, the trio made their way back home.

Not without having to answer some particularly awkward questions first...

Nat sat back, and rested her head against the wall of the shuttle, feeling drained, letting her eyes settle upon the woman they had taken back with them, with the shuttles engines both filling the interior and her ears...

As a medical droid fussed over the unconscious woman, the young apprentice replayed the events that had just occurred in her head…


The day had started out fairly normal…

The mysterious woman, could certainly fight, and rather reluctantly, Nat had to acknowledge her bravery, but she had been almost as reckless as the woman who had attacked them.

Nat felt through the Force the stranger's aura emanate from her, and frowned, unsettled at the lack of knowledge of what had caused this incident to begin with.

Who was she?

What was she doing here?

Who in the hell was this Lexus nutcase?


Whoever this woman was, Nat decided she had a lot of questions to answer, and until then, the young Jedi was going to be very wary of their new guest.

The faint, bitter smell of singed hair served as a reminder to Nat to keep a safe distance from this stranger, as she self-consciously felt the top of her head , checking everything was still intact…


…about arm's length should do it… Natalya thought to herself sardonically.

Rays of bright sunlight pierced the windows of the room where Ember was sleeping which made her finally stir and attempt to open her eyes. She immediately winced as the first hints of pain from the injuries riddling her body began to burn but she still sat up and immediately scanned the room she was in. Reaching up, Ember could feel the cut across her head was tended to and bandaged as were the rest of the cuts scattered over her skin.

As Ember moved her legs and sat on the edge of the bed, she continued to look around cautiously and attempted to listen for anyone else around. Whoever placed her here took great care in making sure she was comfortable and had placed her in a bed more comfortable than any Ember had slept in for years. They had also placed her things on a nearby dresser where she immediately made her way over to.

Ember got dressed and checked her lightsaber and blaster for tampering. Both checked out which surprised her after fearing they had been deactivated. She wrapped her utility belt around her waist and fastened the buckles before she crept over to the door and placed her ear against it before slowly opening it so she could look outside.

Ember was silently walking down a short hallway and headed towards an exit door when she suddenly came face to face with Amalia who seemingly realized just where she would be. “Um, hello again. I, um…” Turning around, she then saw the other woman who she had somehow become allies with during their scuffle with the Lexus. “Um…”

Ember was stumbling over her own words and, for a girl who always seemed to have a quick response, had nothing. Fortunately she glanced into another adjacent room and spotted a table where food had been prepared. “Oh, great. Time to eat then,” she said as she slid out from between the other two women and took a seat at the table where she began to fill her plate nervously.

Hospitality. It was not something Ember seen much of in the galaxy. More often it was each for themselves where nobody else really mattered. Still, it was nice to have a warm meal.

“Listen,” Ember said as she finally paused. “Thanks for helping me. I’m really not used to anyone being kind to me so…” Ember paused and really did not know what to say. “Yeah,” she muttered under breath as her head lowered and she began to pick at her plate. A few minutes later, Ember again broke her silence. “I do not want to be a burden on anyone. I’ve gotten used to being on my own so I’ll be on my way. Besides…” Ember looked away for a moment. “People around me always seem to get hurt or worse so it’s best I go before something else bad happens.”

Ember ruffled her hair and then glanced at Amalia whose stare could easily be felt without any use of the force. She then looked at the other woman who she had yet to be properly introduced to. “It’s Ember,” she said thinking her name was the question on her mind. Right or wrong, it was just like Ember to jump to a conclusion. Her eyes fell back upon Amalia who had earlier already been unusually nice to her. “What?”

There was a lot that could be learned about someone during a complete session of silence, and Amalia was learning a great deal about Ember and Natalya, as well as of herself lately. The Jedi Master was going to have her hands full for quite some time, between both women, but it was a welcoming distraction. It was undoubtedly clear that both females had a strong but fascinating tug toward a sense of adventure, which made them somewhat fearless. In Amalia’s eyes, she did not consider that a good thing. It made both females reckless to a degree, and under Amalia’s watchful eye, such characteristics would not fly, no matter how talented they both were.

“Sweet that you think I’m being kind, but I promise you that I have ulterior motives,” Amalia shared, arms crossed, offering reflective glances to both young females, as the words applied to both of them. The brunette was simply preparing them for what lay ahead for them in the very near future.

“For now, you both should take the time to relax, maybe get to know one another better. You’re both going to be spending plenty of time with each other, and me.”

Of course, both Jedi had a right to decide otherwise, but it would be a major unwise decision, considering they had a great deal to learn; Amalia too, who was confidently willing and able to teach them both. Yet she wasn’t quite sure just who needed the opportunity more, her or them. The force had spoken to Amalia at long last, and it was telling her that this was the opportunity she had been longing for.

“You both are the welcoming distraction that I’d been looking for,” she shared with completely open honesty. She only hoped that she would not regret the decision she had made.

Almond shaped brown eyes twinkled with intrigued delight as they fell quietly onto Ember, the edges of Amalia’s lips protruding into a very subtle smile. “Yes, Ember, I’m well aware of just who I think you are, but let’s see if my suspicions are correct or not…”

Quickly, Amalia’s gaze drew to Natalya, whom she nodded toward. “I think it’d be good to start with your introductions first, that is, if you’re willing?” Jedi Master and Jedi Apprentice had already made introductions while Ember had been resting, but going into full detail now could not hurt any of them. Provided that they were all going to decide to be honest, that is.

Natalya was stood by the hallway, leant against the wall, nursing a cup of hot Caf after already eating earlier, listening to Ember speak. She had remained more or less silent throughout the exchange with her gaze fixed upon Ember, sizing the woman up.
The young Jedi was still not thrilled at what had occurred the day before, and did not trust this new stray they had picked up.

Not one bit.

However, truth is, there was something in what Ember said which struck a chord with Nat, in spite of herself.

“I do not want to be a burden on anyone. I’ve gotten used to being on my own so I’ll be on my way. Besides…People around me always seem to get hurt or worse so it’s best I go before something else bad happens.”

This was definitely something Natalya could relate to, in light of her own past, but she wasn't ready to let this stranger know, besides, it mattered little, soon the girl would be fully healed and she would be on her way, and everyone could forget the whole sorry episode and move on.

The sooner the better (as far as Nat was concerned) This had all been a huge unwelcome distraction from her own training, something she was impatient to get back to, as quickly as possible.

Just then, something Amalia said caught Nat completely by surprise…

“Sweet that you think I’m being kind, but I promise you that I have ulterior motives,”

“For now, you both should take the time to relax, maybe get to know one another better. You’re both going to be spending plenty of time with each other, and me.”

Natalya stared at Amalia, dumbfounded, and found herself momentarily speechless…and as the Jedi Master urged Nat to introduce herself, she let slip an incredulous laugh…

"You have got to be joking!" She said abruptly, "You're training her?" Said with perhaps just a touch more derision than she had originally intended…

"After what happened yesterday?" Nat's eyes widened in disbelief…

"Am I the only one here who thinks this is a very bad idea?"

Nat looked around as if suddenly realising , that , actually she was in fact.

"What happens when one of her friends decide to pop back for another reunion?" Nat blurted out sardonically, referring to the mysterious and somewhat insane Lexus woman who had attacked them all the day before…

Natalya was indeed looking forward to training with Amalia, but Ember too? This had thrown her, somewhat.

unbelievable!...

“Sweet that you think I’m being kind, but I promise you that I have ulterior motives”

There always were Ember thought to herself as she peered up at Amalia.

“For now, you both should take the time to relax, maybe get to know one another better. You’re both going to be spending plenty of time with each other, and me.”

“Umm, hold on a sec,” Ember began to say until she was interrupted when Natalya finally spoke up loudly.

"You have got to be joking! You're training her? After what happened yesterday? Am I the only one here who thinks this is a very bad idea? What happens when one of her friends decide to pop back for another reunion?"

“Oh wow… so the rich daddy’s girl has an attitude as big as her wallet, huh?!” There it was. That classic temper Ember was known for and her mouth opening far quicker than it should when jumping to conclusions of her own. There was not a single part of Ember that was going to tolerate any of this girl’s ranting as she began to stand up with tightened fists and glare her dark emerald green eyes straight at Natalya. “I do not know that you realize this, but girls who have mouths like yours usually get knocked on their asses before they know what happened!”

Not even giving Natalya a chance to reply, Ember just slugged her right in the mouth and then lunged at her. Ember had gotten into plenty of fights before and she really did not like this Nat girl one bit and had every intention of letting her know it. Grabbing Natalya’s hair tightly, Ember yanked her head as if she were trying to take it clean off until she felt as if she were being knocked off balance where she and Natalya crashed through a table which shattered beneath them.

As she continued to struggle with Natalya, Ember had not realized her lightsaber had detached and fallen on the table in front of Amalia. To many it was no different than any other lightsaber a Jedi might construct only this one was rather familiar to the keen eye. Mara Jade Skywalker had carried the weapon for several years after it was given to her by her husband, Luke. For those who knew them or knew of them, they might recognize the weapon as once belonging to them.

After struggling on the floor for quite a while, Ember managed to return to her feet where she backed up and wiped some blood from her lip with her fist as she breathed heavily. "Ready for round two," she said with a sarcastic smirk upon her face.