There weren't many women in the Jedi order. It wasn't that they weren't allowed to join, the religion was open to everyone. Even with a low midi-clorian count there was a place within the temple walls if one shared the same views and were loyal to the Republic. Even if they were raised in the temple padawan females would often seek a life outside the order soon after puberty - when they were given the choice to leave or stay. There were many dropouts in both sexes when it came time for them to face their trials. They'd emerge from their deprivation horrified and ready to renounce their former commitment in favor of living a life with more stability and less hallucinations - a life that wouldn't result in a gristly death while out on a mission for the Republic. There were still only a handful of female knights and only one master that sat on the council. When it came time for new padawans to be assigned to masters she seemed like the perfect choice for the one girl in the fresh crop of hopefuls. But when given the option she refused the girl presented to her as did most of the other masters.

As Obi-Wan stood there with the rest of the viable padawans he felt bad for her - halfway through the eligible masters and all of them had refused her for one reason or another. Apparently she already had a master but he died under 'mysterious circumstances'. There were rumors that she killed him in a fit of anger or that he committed suicide when he saw darkness in her. There was even talk that he had tainted their bond by molesting her and one of the other masters found out and had him exiled. But those were just stupid rumors spread behind her back when the other boys saw her walking alone. Something had to have happened the way they tried to pass her off to a female master this time.

"Unfortunate it is that no one volunteers." Yoda remarked. "Great potential this padawan has. The dark side she may fall to if not properly trained." Obi-Wan heard one of the other boys snicker and whisper that 'she'd be kind of hot as a Sith'. She just cast her eyes to the floor. Anyone could see she was eager to get on with her training but she was stunted by the black mark of a dead master.

"I volunteer." Master Windu spoke up before he rose from his seat. A roll of murmurs went around the room. He hadn't had a padawan for nearly two decades. He seemed to like his duties of being on the council rather than teaching a teenager life lessons. She stared at him with wide eyes as he approached her. Obi-Wan noticed their similar skin colors and wondered if that was a deciding factor for him. She was clearly wary of him which made the other boys jeer. "Do you accept?"

"… I do." She responded. He then stood beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. The other masters nodded their approval and he took her aside to stand with the others that had been sorted out. After this they'd head to the temple where they'd make their oath and be bonded as Jedi and Apprentice. Obi-Wan was surprised when he and most of the other boys were not picked by a master that day. But as he saw the girl walking away with Master Windu he felt oddly better. She was beaming happiness now and it radiated through the force and into everyone within her immediate reach. She had waited so long and been rejected so many times - if she got a master anyone could and it made Obi-Wan feel optimistic. Even though he wouldn't gain his teacher for a while yet.

Only a few months went by before Obi-Wan saw her again but he barely recognized her as the same girl from the sorting ceremony. He had been away from the temple for sometime on missionary work detail until Qui-Gon took him under his wing. It came as a surprise to everyone considering Qui-Gon was still reluctant after 'losing' his last apprentice. But they saw potential in each other and were slowly bonding. As was the dark-skin girl and Master Windu. His seemingly permanent glare was slightly eased as he talked to her in the corridor. Her padawan braid was very thick by comparison but he remembered her hair being a mass of wild, brown curls before Windu cut it into the standard apprentice style.

"Do you know that girl?" Qui-Gon's voice broke Obi-Wan's train of thought and he nearly bumped into his master when he stopped to look at her too.

"No."

"You want to." It wasn't really a question or a statement but Obi-Wan still denied it. He shook his head rabidly when Qui-Gon glanced at him. "I'm going to talk to Mace - you can follow me if you want." Without getting an answer he headed over to them and Obi-Wan ran to catch up. He thought of bailing out at the last minute which is why he appeared to do what looked like a dance step to correct his trajectory. Right before they were within an ear shot Mace whispered something to his padawan - she looked at Obi-Wan and chuckled. Barely covering her lips so he wouldn't catch their speculation.

'Great first impression, Kenobi. Now you're going to be known as the one who dances.' He thought to himself. Qui-Gon greeted Mace and they exchanged pleasantries as the two teenagers stood there awkwardly avoiding looking at each other. That is until Qui-Gon mentioned her.

"Ah yes, my padawan - this is Three." Mace introduced her. Silence fell between them as they waited for her last name.

"Three?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Well it used to be 'Three-of-Fifteen' but when the others dropped out I was just 'Three'."

"Three of Fifteen what?" Qui-Gon asked - intrigued by the odd designation.

"Three of fifteen orphans. Apparently I arrived in a group of fifteen other baby girls that were never given names." She explained. "My guess is the nursery droid wasn't given the instruction to name us and it stuck."

"I think I remember that." Qui-Gon said as he scratched his chin. "There was a transport crash nearby and the only survivors were fifteen infants from various star systems. It was suspected that they were being illegally sold into the slave trade. They were only supposed to be here temporarily but their relatives were never found."

"My friend Twelve is training to be the new nursery administrator. The others…" Three trailed off and shrugged.

"You didn't name her?" Qui-Gon asked Mace.

"I don't want one." She answered just as he was opening his mouth to answer. Instead Mace gave Qui-Gon a knowing look - saying without words how much he had to deal with when it came to her. Giving her a name she didn't want would only complicate things.

"This is my apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi." Qui-Gon finally introduced him.

"Ah yes, so graceful on his feet." Three said and the two masters chuckled at her dry wit. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. He let her poke fun at him - she was just a girl after all. She gave him a look as if she heard his misogynistic thoughts. Maybe she saw it in his body language. Either way she looked him up and down before she went about ignoring him. This gave him plenty of time to get a good look at her as their masters exchanged news and gossip. Her skin was brown and smooth - it made him mildly envious. There were currently two horrible red pimples on his right cheek, a rather large one on his chin and he seemed to be developing a mole of some sort on his forehead. Her lips and eyes seemed kind of large to him. Her nose was almost flat against her face and her nostrils were a little wide set. Her cheeks were round and her chin was narrow. He briefly wondered what star system people like her and Master Windu came from. They were rare it must've been really far away.

Obi-Wan's attention was suddenly on her mouth. Three licked over her bottom lip before drawing it between her teeth. Maybe it was a nervous gesture because of his close speculation but her tongue was so pink and her teeth were really white against her complexion. His eyes traveled down her thin neck to where her robes covered her. He suddenly felt like someone was looking at him.

"Lost in thought, Kenobi?" Mace asked. When he glanced up at the man he lifted his eyebrows - asking what he had been looking at so intently. He started to sweat when he realized Mace had caught him staring at Three's chest. His face flushed - how would he explain it had been a fluke? He had been staring at her lips and his eyes just traveled downward for a second.

"Time to enroll him in THAT class already, eh?" Qui-Gon said as he nudged Mace. They both chuckled. "Maybe you'll see Three there." He offered Obi-Wan a glimmer of hope that he would see her again.

"Maybe." Mace said before he said his goodbyes and steered Three down the hall. Obi-Wan noticed the way Mace put his hand on the back of her neck to guide her. She already had downy black curls growing along her hair line. He was shaken from his revelry when Qui-Gon cleared his throat.

"You feeling alright?" He asked. He was really inquiring whether or not Obi-Wan liked her. It wasn't against the rules to be fond of anyone in particular but if it went unchecked it could lead to deeper feelings. Desire, greed, possessiveness, jealousy, unrequited longing - he didn't want his padawan straying into emotions that could lead to the dark side before he got a chance to explain them and teach him how to overcome them.

Mace over estimated his ability to train a young female. It wasn't that he knew nothing about them - it wasn't so long ago he was looking after Depa but she had been older. She had already become familiar with her body. When ever he asked Three what was bothering her she would give him this forlorn look like she knew he didn't want to know. Ever since the incident when her cycle began he had started outsourcing her woman troubles to someone else. Oddly enough he didn't seek help from Depa or the few females in the order. Nothing good would come of them telling her to suppress everything and keep it inside. Instead he sought help from an old friend.

"Friend?" Three asked as he led her to the boutique the woman operated. She opened it after years of saving credits working in a popular brothel not to far from the Jedi temple on Coruscant. He gave her look for intruding on his thoughts and she just stared at him inquisitively.

"Friend sounds better than 'random woman I met while out drinking and breaking rules that you are never to break'. Sana is my friend. She's your friend too… or would you rather be put in THAT class with the other padawan boys… and their collective leering whenever a female body part is mentioned."

"Mace you're so sweet." Sana said from where she stood behind the counter. "You're so charming when you're threatening teenage girls."

"Sana." He greeted her. He moved to take his usual seat behind the counter. He only stopped for a moment and leaned down so she could plant a kiss on his cheek. She then led Three to the back so they could talk. The room where they talked was small but private. The floor was covered in plush pillows and the ceiling and walls were holo-screens that simulated the sky - whether it be clear blue skies or dark space littered with stars. It was normally where Sana meditated. They both took off their shoes before entering.

"What's on your mind today, Three?" She asked as they sat down.

"Just what master Windu said - it's the boys at the temple. They seem to be going back and forth between hating me and liking me. Some of them do both at the same time. It's infuriating and asinine. Why can't they just tell me how they feel? If they're angry with me that's against the rules - so is hating me. They'll turn to the dark side if they keep it up."

"Because men are stupid." Sana said like it was obvious. "All of them - dumb as rocks. They convince themselves that they are so much better but they're not. They're lame, smelly tauntauns - wagging their dick size around."

"Even Master Windu?" They both looked at the door when they heard Mace cough loudly out front.

"We both know the answer to that." Sana said as she twiddled one of her long sandy blond dreadlocks. "Just ignore them. They are not worth your time. As far as you're concerned you are what's important, what's relevant. Everything about you is exactly the way it should be."

"Really? Because other girls my age have breasts." Three said flatly. Sana chuckled when Three looked down at her chest and pouted.

"Breasts aren't important." She said. Three gave her a skeptical gaze before she glanced down at Sana's ample bosom. "I know - with a 65 inch chest I really don't have a leg to stand on with that argument. My breasts were literally how I used to make money."

"Master Windu likes them." Three snorted. Sana burst into laughter and it made Three chuckled as well. When ever she laughed loud like that it meant whatever Three had said was totally true. Most of the time it was a slightly inappropriate statement about her master's relationship with the former call girl. But Sana never chastised her. She was rather proud of her auld occupation and that she knew such a powerful Jedi. She was slowly teaching Three not to be ashamed of herself just for being a woman.

"That's true but even if you never grow a pair it doesn't make you any less amazing." Sana said. "Your skin is beautiful, your eyes are lovely and your smile is perfect. But outer beauty is only one aspect. You can really stick it to those boys by being smarter than them."

"I am." Three said proudly. "Except for maybe one, the other padawans are of average intelligence."

"Oh? Tell me about this 'one'."

"He's Qui-Gon Jinn's newest apprentice. His name is Qbi-Wan Kenobi."

"Is he cute?" Sana asked. Three made a face. "No?"

"He's so pale I can sometimes see the color of his veins beneath his skin." She said. "His eye lashes are red. His lips are thin. He's weird!" Three said quickly. Sana thought it was funny that Obi-Wan's appearance was considered weird in a world full of so many different humanoid species. Not to mention some of the more bizarre droid designs she has been seeing lately.

"Why?"

"He stares at me." Three answered.

"Let me guess - he barely speaks to you, gets oddly clumsy in your presence, turns kind of red when you look at him."

"Well his hair is red so he's already red." Three pointed out. "But yeah he does all those things."

"He likes you." Sana deduced.

"I don't think that's true. None of the boys like me. They only speak to me to insult me. And the only reason I get invited to any of their little parties is because of the other two girls in our level. Obi-Wan likes one of them, they're pale like him and he never gets nervous in their presence."

"… Is there some reason you think no one likes you?" Sana asked. Three looked away from her for the first time since they entered the room. Sana wasn't Force sensitive but she suddenly felt very apprehensive - like she asked something that made Three very sad. Sana remembered Three told her that Mace was her second master and wondered if the reason everyone picked on her was because of what happened to her first master.

"No. They just don't like me. Be it the way I look or what ever. Do they really need a reason? They're all stupid right?" She asked - skirting the question.

"Yes." Sana forced a smile and quickly changed the subject to something she knew would make Three happy. They talked about where Mace took her, how they trained and Sana was glad to hear they'd sojourn to Ilum soon for a very important padawan right of passage. When they went back out to the front Mace stood up and stretched. He noticed a slight improvement in his bond with Three and gave her some creds to go buy some namana twists. He stayed behind to talk to Sana in private. "She's fine. Normal teenage insecurities. Nothing 'dark side' worthy." He gave her a look when she passed off the seriousness of the dark side. She smiled and straightened his tunic just to have an excuse to touch him. "You're doing a good job so far, Mace. As long as you're proud of her accomplishments—"

"I am."

"Then you've got nothing to worry about."

"Nothing?" Mace asked skeptically.

"Keep an eye out for that pale, redheaded kid… Oh-pee."

"Obi-Wan?"

"Yeah. Is there something up with him?" Sana asked out of curiosity.

"They're on the same level. I know his master. Never sensed anything malicious from Kenobi. But he does have a long gaze when it comes to Three."

"He likes her." Sana said. Mace mimicked the same expression Three did when she first said it. "Trust me on this." She leaned in and kissed him before she showed him out.

"Don't be nervous." Mace said as he guided Three through the crystal temple on Ilum. The inside of the temple was surprisingly warm considering the chilly temperature and steady winds outside. There were several other masters and padawans there - some of which gave the two odd looks as they made their way into the cavernous rooms.

"Y'know that's a paradox. You tell me not to be nervous and all I can think about is things I should be nervous about and it makes me nervous." Three said.

"Like what?" He asked as they found a place to meditate. Three sat down and crossed her legs.

"Like how if I don't get this right then I won't have a lightsaber and that my only future in the order will be that of a failure. Instead of working to keep the peace in the galaxy I'll be pushing pencils at the inquiry desk or looking after the incoming younglings like some sad house wife. Forever known as that stupid den mother that thought she was 'Jedi material'." She rambled off. Her self doubt made Mace's heart fall for only a moment. He just sent a reassuring pulse through their bond.

"Clear your mind. That is not your future."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. No one knows your future and that means it can be anything. And I believe the force is strong within you. And if it's not, you'll learn how to strengthen it - prove everyone who doubts you wrong. Become a great inspiration for other girls by bypassing the other men - becoming a powerful Jedi."

"More powerful than you?" She asked as she peaked out of one eye. He glanced at her.

"Maybe. But you'll never get there unless you believe you can. Now… clear your mind." He repeated.

Three closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel her master watching over her. Their bond allowing her delve deeper into the force. The crystals surrounding them started letting off a mild warmth that pulsed with her heart beat. Some were faster and some were slowly. She could see some of the light that shined off of them from behind her lids. She turned her hands palm up and opened her fingers. She was expecting to hear voices like so many other padawans described when they communed with the force. But it was all tactile for her, no sound just reverberating energy all around her. There was a ripple in her palm and she closed her fingers around the feeling and held on as the intense heat of the object flared. The beat speeding up until it eventually came into tune with her heart beat. When it calmed down she opened her eyes and looked in her hand. There in her fist was a white crystal. Three frowned before she looked around at the blue and green crystals in the walls.

"What happened?" She asked as she showed Mace. "Did I do it wrong?" He just smiled.