Months Later

"Presumably, the girl should be producing vast amount of energy within the force, but there is no trace of her anywhere," Obi-wan stated.

"Her home planet, you searched there?"

"Yes, Master. I could not physically be there, but I registered a disturbance the night she disappeared from her planet and there is still nothing. My feelings lead me to believe there was a fight and she was captured or killed; mostly the latter due to the fact that we have not seen her particular force signature for months now."

Nodding, Qui-Gon shuffled through some files on the data-pad. "How long has it been since she has been missing?"

"Almost elven months now, Master."

The Jedi Master deliberated for a few seconds, leaving the tiny quarters in silence while Obi waited for his judgment. "You felt her force signature for yourself, did you not?"

"Yes, Master"

"So you know what it feels like to be around her?"

"Yes, Master"

"Then tell me Obi-wan… Is she really dead?"

Obi-wan shifted uncomfortably, "I don't understand Master. How could I know if she is alive?"

"You know exactly what I speak of Obi-wan. Do not deny that she has a particular pull to her power. Do you still feel the pull?"

Qui-Gon placed the data pad on the table as he waited for his padawan's answer. "Yes, Master."

"Then we leave at daybreak. We shall tell the council of your need to study the outer planets more before you can pass any tests, and leave to search space for the girl. I need you to be sharp tomorrow. Get some rest Obi-wan."

The long braid bounced on Obi-wan's head as he left the room. Qui-Gon watched the boy leave before he went to the bedroom. Pulling off his outer clothing, he pondered the strange girl before he laid to rest. It seemed impossible for one girl to completely disappear from all knowledge without somebody hearing something. He wondered if she truly were still alive. He hoped she was.

Qui-Gon deeply hoped she was the chosen one. There was a cloud covering most of thoughts of late and he knew not what caused it. Evasively working his way around it, he tried to discover what it was, but every time he became close to the source it would slip from his knowledge. It was like trying to hold smoke in your hands. Yet it was a distant feeling, nothing close. Lying down on the soft fabric, Qui-Gon prepared his mind and body for the journey ahead. Whether they were successful or not, there was definitely going to be some changes around the Jedi Temple soon.

Obi-wan, in another room, in the same position as Qui-Gon, thought of the same girl. His knowledge led him to believe her to be dead, but every fiber in his being pushed him towards another answer. If she was captured, who would know of her existence? Who would have use for her? There were some looming answers to those questions so Obi-wan did not dwell on them. Sleep claimed his mind quickly and he awoke the next morning refreshed and ready to begin. Minutes later he found himself aboard the ship, ready to leave.

"I have prepared the ship already Obi-wan. Once you are ready we are cleared to leave," Qui-Gon said from the con of the ship.

"I am ready to leave Master," Obi-wan replied.

Far, Far Away

Stepping out of her chambers, Jamie walked down the narrow hallway till she reached her destination: the mess hall. Several people claimed chairs around the small room, but one in particular stood out. Darth Maul, red as ever, sat in a corner, ignoring his meal and reading a data pad on his latest Intel on the Jedi. Eyes trailed her cautiously as she made her way to the tiny table. Sitting across from Maul, Jamie nearly laughed as she felt the air of the room change. People weren't really afraid of her… but Maul and she had had some heated arguments in the mess hall before and seeing the raw power, the cowards fled.

She could blame them though. She had her fair share of fear in the past eleven months. It wasn't a stairway to heaven being here, but neither was any other path she could travel down. Plucking up a piece of his food as she prepared her speech, Jamie watched his reaction. He was her mentor and he had done a surprisingly good job of teaching her when she refused to allow him to talk to her for the first few weeks.

"Better," he mutter. Dissatisfied with her results, Jamie harrumphed and waited for him to say more. It was obvious he was upset about the latest piece of news he just received so this was not going to be an easy conversation. "Much better, actually," he said.

"Well, that's a gold mine of compliments, coming from you."

"Don't mention it. What do you need?"

Eating more of his food, Jamie tried to lighten the conversation, "I don't have to have a reason to talk to you, do I? I mean, we are technically friends, right?"

"Jamie, stop. You hate me. You go out of your way to avoid me unless absolutely necessary. You want something, I can feel it. Spit it out." He placed his data pad on the table and allowed her his full attention. She was obviously asking for it.

"You're my mentor, and I feel we have a very… relaxed form of teaching. Now that I've been here for quite some time, I feel it is time for me to move on-"

He interjected, "You want a new mentor?"

"No," Jamie replied quickly. Although she wouldn't mind that, "I just was wondering about my level of education. I was hoping that perhaps we could… progress further?"

Smiling cruelly, Maul leaned back in his chair and started laughing. He was laughing loud enough for the whole room to notice before Jamie quieted him. Still having waves of laughs, Maul straightened and looked Jamie in the face before continuing. "Are you telling me that you want to be here now?"

Sighing in frustration, Jamie frowned at the foreseen conversation. "Not particularly, no. I hate you, Maul. Despise you even, and yet I am forced to see you every day. I hate it, but there's one thing that I can find solace in. That's learning. Even if I find some of the things we learn to be repulsive beyond all thought, I still crave the knowledge because it's the only damn thing in the place to keep me occupied enough to keep from going crazy from madness."

Watching his apprentice carefully, he judged her reaction. She had already come farther than any other had in eleven months. She was a protégée. There was such emotion in her voice as she spoke, but that's how it always was with her. That was her weakness, she wore her heart on her sleeve and allowed the world look in and find any and every weakness. She was passionate about learning, he could see that, but the hatred for him had diminished from before. There was a time when she couldn't even let him speak before she tried to attack. Every time he would subdue her, and he didn't like it. There was no need to bring out her inner hatred as Sidious had planned, but there he was, torturing her for the tiniest wrongdoing. She obeyed though because she was smart and knew what to pick up on. Now though, now she craved his company because it meant one thing: knowledge. There might be tension between the two, but she would always come to him. That's what he relied on.

"We have touched on fighting, and that needs immediate attention," Maul began. She blushed, "Then there's history which I believe you have had more than enough of. You seem to understand our world now. Knowledge of the force, you excel at understanding and usage, but lack in focus and immense strength. There is a lot more for you to learn as well. I don't see why we can't start to progress faster and further. I shall bring up the news to Lord Sidious."

Smiling broadly, Jamie gripped Maul's hand, "Thank you so much! You won't regret this! I'll be the best Sith you ever saw!"

In that moment, Maul looked down at her hand clamped around his and felt the heat radiating off of her. She was an excellent student, far better than he ever was. He could even call himself proud of her. Maybe even protective of her if the situation arose due to the lack of information she still had. He did not have feelings for the girl, but she was a large and valuable investment of his life. Pulling out of his stare, the girl rose and left the room excitedly to meditate in her chambers. It was not normal to see her like this and when he did, which was about three times now, he took advantage to admire her excitement.

Bursting into her chambers, Jamie plopped down onto her bed and prepared to go into meditation. There were some things she needed to figure out before anything else happened. Excitement to learn more was on the forefront of her mind. Not to learn how to be a sith though. She planned on learning to become a better fighter than Maul, and soon, one day, she would leave. When nobody expected it, she planned on stealing a ship and piloting it to Naboo, a planet she had only dreamed of. She knew how to fly, it was part of her training, but the only part she needed to work on was getting past Maul and Sidious.

A plan had somewhat formed inside of her head, but she felt as if she needed at least another year before she was anywhere near ready to leave. There was no way she could spend that amount of time here though. She could not stand looking in the killers eyes every day and telling herself to hold her tongue. Each time she could not hold it back, she suffered and her bed sheets were stained a deeper shade of red. Suddenly feeling conscious of the very thing she was sitting on, Jamie tried to drift off into meditation with little success. She wanted to know Sidious' answer.

Soon, she was meditating and pondering ways to excel her previous training. Then she heard it. There was a faint calling somewhere from within the force. It was even a word, but a whisper of a word. She could not hear what they were saying so she focused even more. Lines of concentration formed on her face as she searched the force for an answer. The voice did not speak again so she sent out her own calls to find this person.

Hello?

Her question echoed out in the force, and she knew it was not wise to communicate with other force sensitives besides Sidious and Maul, but she was curious and wanted to know what was happening. Jamie hoped that Maul and Sidious did not hear it and she was betting that they did not by the empty response which space provided. Turning her thoughts away from the voice, she returned to her meditating.

Meanwhile, Sidious was speaking with Maul in his chambers about the young girl. He knew it would only be a matter of time before she was drawn to the dark side completely. There was only room for success the minute he placed her parents' killer as her mentor. Laughing deeply, he anticipated her next move. It was obvious she was going to retaliate, but he did not know her plans or her thoughts. There was one person who did though.

"I have a new mission for you Maul," Sidious hissed.

"Yes, Master."

Lacing his hands together, he gauged his apprentice's reaction, "I need you to become closer to Jamie."

"I am already her teacher, Master, what do you mean?"

"Maul, you need to become in tune with her every emotion. I cannot foresee her next action and that is precisely what we do not want. You need to be able to predict her every move and you can only do that one way."

Maul paused, "Master… have I not hurt her enough already?"

"You question my judgment?" Sidious seethed.

"No Master… I will do as you wish."

"Good, I should hope you stay focused in this task Maul or it will be the death of you."

Snapping his head up at the last statement, Maul was just in time to see his dismissal. Stepping out of his master's chambers, he headed towards Jamie's room. His death seemed a crazy notion, and the thought of Jamie being a part of it was even weirder. Turning his thoughts to the new… mission, Maul frowned. He did not want to do this, but he would follow orders and trust that everything would turn out right in the end.

Maul reached Jamie's doors and knocked swiftly before entering without her permission. She was still meditating on her bed. Opening one eye to peer at the intruder, Jamie got up to greet her mentor. He seemed to be in an overall good mood so she hoped that the hours that had passed were good ones. The red and black man sat in her chair while she stood in front of him.

"So…?"

Meeting her eyes, Maul said, "Your curriculum will advance as desired."

Jamie was ecstatic. Praying a silent prayer of retribution to her parents, Jamie jumped around the room excitedly. A few second of joyful splendor passed before she noticed that Maul was watching her with sad eyes and not saying anything to wreck her mood which he was known for. "Is this not what you want?" The words spilled out harsh and rude before she could stop them. Then again, why should she care about what Maul thought of her?

Standing from the chair slowly, Maul stood in front of her and stared her in the eyes. He placed his hands on the sides of her face and kissed her forehead. "I am proud of you Jamie," he said. Then he was gone.

Jamie's anger rose. How dare he touch her like that? How dare he do something her mother did when she was younger? How dare he even touch her! Making sure the door was shut; Jamie made a painful noise and slammed down onto the bed where she proceeded to cry for hours before sleep took her. Tomorrow was going to be hell already, she could feel it. Fighting was never her strong suit, but she was doing much better than she had anticipated. That still meant that Maul could kick her butt though. Maul, the word rolled around in her head. There were multiple feelings surrounding the name but two stood out from the rest: anger and pity.