thanks to you guys that have reviewed & stuck with it so far! well here's the next chapter (said i'd have it up by the end of the week, so here it is). i haven't read any of the books prequeling the movies, so i don't know about any of the friends that Obi-Wan had in the Temple, so I made some up... enjoy!

same warnings & disclaimers apply

Chapter 4: More?

Gitan thought Katarin was handling the situation well…all things considered. But still he couldn't help but sense her strength would wane and that she would fall. But foresight was not one of Gitan's greatest of strengths, so he could not say for certain. Her bedroom door slid open and Gitan glanced over, seemingly uninterested until he caught sight of her appearance.

"Where are you going?" He quickly asked stopping her in her tracks.

"I am going to the gym. I feel the need to release unnecessary emotions through physical activity after hours of meditation."

"Not without your Jedi robe." Gitan softly corrected.

"Shit…." She muttered under her breath as she ducked back to her room, grabbing the thick hooded cloak.

"It would be wise to guard your tongue—Jedi do not find such curses appealing."

"I will take that under advisement—"

"And your brittleness this morning—you had best let it go before setting foot out the door." She sighed, knowing that Gitan was absolutely right. She knew she couldn't appear flustered or frustrated. 'Must act as everyone else…everyone else…'

"But therein lies your problem," Gitan suddenly said, cutting off her thoughts, "you can't stand to act as everyone else here…it's the reason you train under Setti and not a Jedi master. But that is the true test of strength and devotion—to overcome and prove yourself stronger."

"Yes master." She said coolly, brushing all frustration and jumbled thoughts aside. Her mind had to be completely clear in order to face whatever the Jedi would throw her way. She breathed deep, clearing her mind, focusing on her surroundings. The door slid open and she glided out into the hallway, the cloak flaring out behind her. She kept every thought virtually silent, only consciously forming thoughts when passing by other Jedi.

Uneventfully she reached the gym and wound her way up the stairwell to where the treadmills were. Glancing around, she noticed how all the Padawans had shed their robes so quickly she shimmied out of hers, hating it with a passion. She found she could have cared less what others around might think of her appearance or glasses as she squared her shoulders, grabbing a towel. 'Maybe it'll scare everyone away….'

"Hi—are you a new Padawan?" Katarin spun around, plastering an excited smile on her face.

"Not a new Padawan, but I've been away from the Temple for sometime." Katarin doubted even Setti would have been able to tell she was lying.

"Ok—I'm Mariya, by the way." She said warmly.

"Katarin. I'm Master Gitan's apprentice."

"That's you—ok—we've known Gitan had a Padawan but we didn't know who he or she was."

"I just got here yesterday."

"Just got in and already you're back in training? Wow…I didn't think Gitan was that strict."

"He wants to be assured I am always at the top of my game."

"As any good master should," Mariya agreed, "have you run yet?"

"No—I'm about to," Katarin said, "have you?" She added quickly, hoping she sounded genuinely interested.

"I'm about to—come on, we'll run together." Mariya headed towards the treadmills with Katarin in tow.

'Only difficulty levels 1-20? What about 22-25?' Katarin looked at the treadmill in almost disbelief—she couldn't believe they didn't go as high as the ones back home. 'Home… 'home is where the heart it'—what heart? Only strength and the desire to acquire power reside in my 'home'.'

"Level 20?' Mariya asked curiously as Katarin keyed it in. She looked up at Mariya, shrugging indifferently with a smile on her face.

"Shouldn't be too bad," she hoped she sounded humble enough, "Setti has me on a very regimented workout."

"Setti?" 'Setti—shit, shit, double shit!' "I thought Gitan was your master." Mariya tentatively questioned.

"Gitan is my master…Setti…is what I call him," Katarin prayed she sounded sincere, "it's a nickname he despises."

"Oh…if that's all then what was all the screaming about?" Mariya asked between breaths.

"Screaming?" Katarin asked, letting her eyes scan over the first floor of the gym, not fully listening to Mariya.

"Yeah the…shit, shit..." Mariya mumbled quickly, under her breath.

"Oh…Gitan has forbidden me from using his nickname in public—he's afraid others will call him by it."

"Oh I wouldn't dare—the only one I could be disrespectful towards would be my own master, but not even then sometimes." A laugh sounded on Mariya's voice, and Katarin could not help but laugh at the truth on Mariya's words. Katarin continued her surveying—there were a lot of students here, very few of them being lorded over by a master.

"All these students come here of their own volition?" Katarin suddenly asked.

"Of course…all of us trying to improve, to please our masters." Clearly the exercise was taking its effects on Mariya as her words came in bunches between deep breaths. Katarin felt her own heart pounding, but worked to keep her own breathing somewhat even. Setti once explained that the ability—to keep the body under control in times of physical stress and work—would only make her that more powerful and superior. Absolute music to Katarin's ears.

Her roaming eyes fell on three guys by the weights—one lifting, one spotting, the third also lifting. 'Not a bad looking bunch,' a feminine voice deep in her mind whispered. Between the three of them—one with raven-black hair, emerald smirking eyes; the second with light-brown hair, gray-blue smiling eyes; and the third with dark-brown hair—she could not pull her eyes away just yet. The dark-brown haired on was on his back weight lifting, so much to her disappointment she could not see his eyes.

"You seem preoccupied suddenly." Mariya said, noticing Katarin's fixed gaze. "You've got good taste," Mariya said, turning her eyes to the three Katarin was watching, "in looks at least."

"In looks? Are they all just hot-headed jerks or something?" Katarin heard herself ask over a voice in her head screaming at her to disengage from this mindless chatter.

"Oh no—they're all great, nice guys mostly. Good friends—but beyond that….Well Temos—the one on the bench—is as arrogant at times as he is polite," Mariya paused as Katarin let herself laugh and turn her eyes back to the three. The one spotting was looking up—straight at her. She held his crystalline gray-blue eyes for what seemed like an eternity. 'Help you?' 'Damn you.' His eyes widened and she smirked as she turned back to Mariya.

"And the one spotting?"

"That's Obi-Wan Kenobi—he's one of my good friends. A bit cocky at times, but very smart, very skilled—and next to him, the one with the weights above his head—that's Jemarin. I don't know why Obi-Wan and Temos hang with him," Mariya said almost disgustedly, "he's as annoying as a gungan." Katarin laughed almost silently, before her mind inadvertently turned to Obi-Wan.

How could this possibly be the same guy? She guessed it could be—she didn't know him and she hadn't seen him yesterday. Without fully realizing it, she let her eyes fall back to the weights—but a new group had moved over. Katarin huffed silently as Mariya's words echoed in her head—''he's a bit cocky at times,' you can say that again, 'but very smart, very skilled.'' She couldn't help but wonder what Mariya had meant by skilled….Jedi skills most likely…but then again, a jealous voice in the back of her head was sure it meant something more. 'Wait…a jealous voice; a jealous voice? Oh force, am I in trouble.'

"Temos!" Katarin snapped from her thoughts at Mariya's sudden greeting. She rolled her eyes and kept on running.

"Hey Mariya—having fun?" Temos asked sarcastically.

"Don't you know it—why aren't you running?" Mariya asked between breaths as Katarin glanced over.

"We already did," Temos quickly nodded to Obi-Wan, "who's your new friend Mariya?"

"I'm Katarin," she quickly answered before Mariya could, meeting Temos' and Obi-Wan's eyes.

"That's who I thought you were," Obi-Wan's voice was just as soft as she remembered it being, "you're the only person who has cursed twice since yesterday."

"Observant of you Obi-Wan." Katarin shot back, meeting his eyes almost playfully, her voice indifferent.

"You two've already met?" Mariya asked curiously, looking between them.

"We ran into each other in the gardens yesterday." Obi-Wan quickly said.

"Small temple," Temos said nodding his head, turning towards Mariya, asking her some question Katarin didn't listen to.

"You made it sound like people curse all the time, Obi-Wan." Katarin suddenly said, watching him laugh almost silently.

"I should have clarified then—you're the only person in the temple to have cursed in a long time."

"Now you're making yourself seem like a golden boy—"

"Hey Mariya—you didn't tell her Obi-Wan's nickname did you?" Temos suddenly, loudly asked.

"Nickname? Golden boy?" Katarin started softly laughing, turning towards Obi-Wan whose cheeks were starting to slightly flush, with a small, annoyed smile on his face.

"Yeah—Katarin guessed it right off," Mariya said smiling playfully, "because I didn't have time yet to tell her."

"Golden boy, hunh?" Katarin said again.

"Annoying name such as it is, but yes," he admitted begrudgingly, "what of you?"

"What of me what?" She asked dismissively, slowing the speed of the treadmill.

'Don't think a question will deter me so easily—I'll pursue you if I wish.' She turned and stared at him almost wide-eyed.

'Arrogant aren't we?'

'Pot calling the kettle black.'

'Wow…that's an old saying.'

'True in our case.'

'Absolutely.'

"I didn't think Jedi dealt in absolutes." He suddenly, softly asked, a serious tone coloring his voice. She licked her lips, smiling seriously.

"What if some of us secretly do?" She heard herself say, watching her words register in his eyes.

"Then you would be human, I'd say," he finally said, a weary warning going off in the back of his mind. She laughed and stepped off the treadmill.

"You mean to say you're not human?" She asked, raising her brows curiously, a playful question on her face.

"Won't you just have to find out for yourself…." He trailed off, smiling mischievously at her, meeting her eyes, as she noticed the light and life in their crystalline depths. Force he was dizzying and intriguing.

"I can tell you're smart," she suddenly said, "maybe too smart." He narrowed his gaze at her.

"And I can tell you're confident, maybe too confident." His voice emanated with a wisdom that seemed far beyond his years. Her smile somewhat fell, and for a second she was sure he knew of her true allegiances. But she quickly shook her head, forcing such thoughts far from her mind.

"Aren't we all…," she finally said, "it's why we're still students—we haven't the knowledge and control to be Masters," he nodded laughingly as she stepped around him. "Mariya, Temos," the other two looked over, "I'll see you guys later. Obi-Wan," she turned back to him, "…nice to finally see you."

"And you—without doubt we will meet again."

"You can count on it." She said almost disinterestedly before walking away.

"And a word to the wise, Katarin," she turned on her heels, masking the surprise on her face, "be careful you who reveal your choice words to—common curses are ill-favored."

"Well I should hope so," she said, listening to him laugh, "then I will just have to use them around you." He laughed again, shaking his head dismissively. She turned and grabbed her robe, quickly leaving the group of padawans behind.

So far so good. Contact had been established, and she felt none of them doubting her, or trying to search her out. Honestly Katarin had not been expecting any of them to. And of them all, the only one she thought to be even remotely close to equaling her would be Obi-Wan. The rest were far below her—that Katarin could say with confidence.

But already, at least twice, she had almost given up her cover, saying more than she should have. 'Easily remedied though—just focus more in the moment, less in my thoughts, and I will say nothing I regret.' A confident, almost excited smile spread across her face as she walked down the corridor, feeling quite a power boost at being so beyond her peers. But still, there was some part of her mind lingering on Obi-Wan, for reasons that sparked annoying uncertainty in her heart.


well there ya go. review if'n ya want. next chapter should be up early week hopefully.