The evening of their first day off found Amber in her room reading. Miraculously, she had been able to sleep in that morning, but only after what was quickly becoming a customary wake up call in the middle of the night. The nightmares continued, always the same and always terrifying. The only possible good news was that, thanks to much unwanted practice, she was no longer screaming during her dream. The youngling still woke up sweating, choking and tangled in sheets, but Amber had come to the conclusion that even a small victory was worth celebrating at this point.
She had considered heeding Obi-Wan's advice and tell Master Yoda, but the thought had quickly left her mind that morning. The five younglings had been heading to breakfast and somehow ended up taking the long way around. A route that happened to lead them through the only two corridors, located near the formal entrance, that were not closed off. All completely by accident, of course.
What they saw was shocking. There had been a remarkable increase in the number people standing outside the Temple. In addition, HoloNet holocams were all over the place, covering every angle of the protest. But all of this paled in comparison to the gathering of Masters standing in the atrium. The entire Jedi Council was awaiting the arrival of a group of beings the initiates could see coming up the Temple steps.
Garen, who led the way, had slowed their pace down so much that they must have appeared extraordinarily suspicious, but they were completely ignored. The visitors had received every Councilor's undivided attention. The party turned out to be a contingent of Senators. This was not surprising due to the current situation, but Amber remembered being stunned upon seeing who was in front of the small group. She recognized the Senator, but he was a mere shadow of the man whose face was plastered all over the HoloNet.
Senator Aran Berilen looked horrible. Despite the few, short days since the murders, he had already lost a lot of weight, appearing emaciated. His reddish-blonde hair had been slightly disheveled, a far cry from his normally immaculate appearance. Grief and anger rolled off the man. Both were understandable emotions, but one thing had been out of place. Berilen was afraid. The Senator had spent too much time with the Council to be fearful of the Jedi who stood before him. It had to be something else. Something Amber was unable to pin down.
They had decided it would be prudent to make a hasty retreat after that. The Council had somberly received the Senators, directing them further into the Temple. The five initiates had preceded to one of the refrectories and spent the morning meal talking about what they had seen. Reeft was so engrossed in the conversation, he had forgotten to ask his friends for extra food.
They enjoyed the rest of the day in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Each had brought their work from their morning classes and, between spurts of play, they finished everything up. All five shared the evening meal together, then parted. Obi-Wan and Amber had returned to the Fountain Room to work on their Form V katas. Both were able to memorize the katas rather quickly and decided to leave any fine-tuning for the following day.
After their training, the two initiates had spread out in the warm grass and watched the azure Coruscanti sky change from light to dark, conversing and laughing into the early evening hours. They left only after they were sent away by a master. Normally, a curfew was not strictly enforced; the older initiates considered mature enough to take care of their own sleep patterns. Apparently, due the mob outside, a lenient curfew now meant an initiate was to be in their room as soon as the sun went down.
And so, Amber had bid Obi-Wan farewell and retreated to her quarters, once again starting the never-ending amount of reading for Master Ordona's history class. She was sitting on her bed, turning to the next page when the lightest of knocks sounded from her door. Amber only had time to look at the entrance quizzically before it slid open. Obi-Wan had always known what her passcode was, but he had never used it before.
"Thanks for knocking," she said dryly.
"I left my lightsaber in the Fountain Room."
Amber closed her book and stared at him, "You did what?"
"I had unhooked it from my belt when we were laying in the grass and I...well, I forgot to pick it up when we left," Obi-Wan told his feet.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Well...you have to go and get it."
"I know."
There was a pause and then Amber groaned, "Why do I have a bad feeling you're getting ready to ask me a question?"
Obi-Wan glanced up, "Will you come with me?"
As an answer, Amber hopped down from her bed and walked towards the door. He was not the first initiate to misplace his lightsaber, nor would he be the last. She had once lost her training saber down the laundry chute, having forgot to remove it from one of her belts. It had been an entertaining recon mission into the bowels of the Temple to retrieve the device, ultimately ending in her getting caught. The punishment had been unpleasant. If she could help spare Obi-Wan from that kind of trouble, it was well worth it. Assuming the penalty for being out of their rooms was less severe than failing to keep track of one's lightsaber.
"Come on," she whispered. Stepping out into the deserted hall, Amber and Obi-Wan proceeded silently. It was gloomy to say the least. The only illumination was provided by dim lamps scattered throughout the corridors and an ambient glow from Coruscant's many lights shining through the large windows.
The two younglings took the most direct route towards the Room of a Thousand Fountains, arriving at their destination in minutes. They stayed off the winding pathways, using the many planets and trees as cover, preferring to keep chance encounters with other Jedi to a minimum.
"There!" Obi-Wan murmured, pointing at a tiny glint of metal resting in the thick grass.
Amber stood watch among the long line of trees and bushes as he ran out onto the small hill that hugged one of the main paths through the Fountain Room. Obi-Wan's fingers had just closed around the hilt of his weapon, when she noticed some movement further up the path.
/Obi-Wan, run!/
He bolted back towards her, sprinting soundlessly across the lawn. Obi-Wan almost bowled her over as he broke through the vegetation. They crouched down, using the shrubbery as camouflage. There was no way they could make it to any of the exits without being seen. The initiates watched the newcomers make their way up the path. As they came closer, Amber saw it was Master Yoda and Master Windu.
She held her breath as they passed by, hoping they would go back quickly. The two Masters sat down on a bench located only a scant meters from where they hid. Amber could not imagine how there could be any hope of going undiscovered now. Grasping at straws, both initiates stamped down any and all emotions, trying to disappear in the Force.
"The attacker was certainly trained in the Jedi Arts. From the recording he sent to Berilen, we can be sure of that. No outsider would know such things," Master Windu said, his gaze falling on one of the many fountains.
"Dangerous certainty can be. But, feel I do that right you are. Trained by the Jedi this one was."
"What I do not understand is this individual's methods. He killed the entire family except the Senator's youngest daughter. Why take her?"
Obi-Wan and Amber shared a glance. The reports had all stated that every member of the Berilen clan had been murdered, the Senator's wife and four children. Two sons and two daughters.
Yoda's long ears drooped, "To discredit the Order, is this being's aim. And working it is. Growing is the anger towards us. Call for an end to the Jedi some do. A pawn the girl is. Serve her purpose she will if found alive she is not."
"We have no where to start, Master," the bigger Jedi said, shaking his head ruefully, "The Shadows are investigating as we speak, but we are running out of time. If we do not find her in within the next few days-"
"Trust in the Force we must, Master Windu. Present a solution it will," Yoda interrupted as he stood, "Now, meditate on this I must. Work you have also. Kept you too long have I."
Master Windu followed suit and the two elders fell silent as they departed from the Fountain Room. Amber's mind was racing. Could it be possible that the child was still alive? If Master Yoda and Mace Windu were convinced, it had to be true. What troubled her most was the girl's well-being and current circumstances. More than likely, her mother and siblings had been killed right before the youngest Berilen's eyes. Now she was being held captive, Force knows where. The girl had to be terrified and it left every part of Amber feeling cold.