2

Another female, drenched in burgundy robes, stood metres away from the robe pile; her frame illuminating blue from the blade at her side. With a neat bun of blonde hear and an assortment of beads and jewellery, the female captured the blue plasma and returned it to its den, before clipping the hilt somewhere within her robe.

The woman looked elderly; wrinkles and skin sagging were only some of the obvious signs. But she wasn't too old, with the hair still being coloured and styled in a 'young-ish' way. If someone was to take a stab in the dark at her age, they'd guess around 60-65.

She stood with complete composure, and appeared to be calm; ignorant of the massacre surrounding her. Her cyanic eyes stayed focused on the pile of robes, she knew Lorna was inside, but didn't say anything. She was waiting for the female to make her appearance; to give a sign of confidence.

The pile started to move, but before Lorna could reveal herself, the blonde croaked out a whisper.
"Wait." The sound of saber ignition played again; as the woman heard the Clones outside in the corridor make an approach after hearing gun fire.

The blonde did not position herself in a flanking spot, but stayed sturdy in a stiff position, facing the closed door, waiting for the right time to attack. She tuned her hearing to the footsteps as they approached, and estimated the distance between the clones and her. She needed to time this perfectly so there would be no more gun fire. Discretion was key here.

Still listening, the blue blade ascended above her head gently, in a typical Soresu style. Her nerves were non-existent, and her stance was strong. Her estimation was complete, and it was spot on.

The blonde shot out into the corridor, taking the clones in a surprised manner. Before any bolts could be released, the tip of their blasters was sliced instantly, causing the clones to be practically defenceless. The blonde, after disarming the clones, twisted her wrist alongside her body; one of the Clone's armour shrieked in a blue scar. Then, with a quick raise of the arm, the blade was brought fiercely down behind her; the arm of the other Clone suddenly vanishing from his torso.

Both clones were still standing, despite their injuries. But after a couple of seconds, they both dropped instantly like bricks. But that wasn't it. The blonde instantly pinged onto a third Clone's position as he exited the room opposite her. But before any action could have been taken, the saber was snapped into his chest after a propelling throw from the old-timer.

At the collapse of his body, the blonde turned back to the room with the padawan residing in, only to find the hider stood in the doorframe. She wore a simple brown tunic, etched in yellow patterns along the brink of the lower hip wear. Her hair was jet black and draped over her shoulders in a scruffy yet slick fashion. Black leggings descended down from where the tunic ended, and found themselves in a pair of small petite leather boots. The padawan's bead was not present in her attire.

The blonde sheathed her weapon, the hilt yet again vanishing into her draping robes. After a second of silence, she approached Lorna steadily, pondering on what to say. But before she could get any words out at all, she was beaten to the finish line.

"Master Calipo?" Squeaked the small girl. A calm grin peeled back on the elder's face.
"Verona Calipo, correct." Calipo shortened the distance between the two. "And you happen to be?"
Lorna took a while to reply, but after seeing Verona save her, she eventually presented herself.
"Lorna Fseudo. I was errrrm... Master Creedi's padawan." Her voice was soft and shaky, showing obvious signs of nerves.
"Creedi eh?" Verona said. "Dead." The bluntness was thick and harsh. Verona wasn't trying to upset the padawan, but she was being honest and with such a distressing event occurring, there was no time to be tip-toeing around the present.

"Right." Lorna mumbled. "Thanks for letting me know." Lorna held back any emotions, allowing her to appear more calm and relaxed in front of the Master. The padawan caught Calipo glancing at the saber clipped to her belt.
"You're armed. Stick with me." Calipo had already begun departing the corridor before her sentence had ended; her robe forming a tinted cloud behind her.

Lorna scurried along behind the Jedi Master, but kept an understandable distance. Lorna knew that this woman was aware with an escape plan. You could feel it with her confident striding and tone of speech. Lorna realised that Calipo wanted her to stick with her, so they both could escape. There was still hope for the Jedi.

The two didn't encounter any hostiles while venturing down a variety of hallways. But as they made their way through the temple, they passed multiple corpses of fallen Jedi and Clones alike. The numbers were staggering. Some were Masters, some were Padawans and some were even Younglings. Calipo paid no attention to the fallen, but Lorna battled the tears as she followed.

Calipo seemed stagnant in her way of thinking, and always seemed focused on the current objective. Lorna was adamant that she was going to survive, and that was due to Calipo's appearance. Aside from obviously making her feel safer, it made her considerably hopeful in her chances of surviving. Lorna 'expected' that she would live to see another day. And that was a blessing.

The padawan gingerly traipsed behind the Master, not mentioning a word at all to where they were going or what her plan was. But from keeping track of where they were heading, it seemed like the top tiers of the temple were the way Calipo was leading. With the majority of the Jedi in amongst the main floor of the temple, it would make sense for them to head up to the higher depths of the building.

Lorna's thinking was immediately snapped out of play when she was pushed against a wall that led around a corner. Calipo had a grip on Fseudo's tunic, her face centimetres away from the padawan's.

"You need to be aware." The Master hissed, hinting at a bundle of Clones patrolling around the corner. Calipo's eyes tracked down to the padawan's saber again. "How are you in a confrontation?" She asked, knowing that the answer could mean life or death for the girl.
"I can hold my own." Lorna replied, tugging at the wrinkly hand. When Calipo finally let go of Lorna, a sharp stinging sensation lingered in her shoulder. Lorna was thinking a variety of insults to conjure up in her head to toss towards the Master, but she knew that was not the wisest of options.

Instead, the Padawan peered around the corner and took note of the enemy forces. Seven Clones. They needed to work together on this one. Lorna did not doubt one bit the Master's combat skills, but she wanted to show her own skills as well; just so Calipo knew who she had by her side.

"What's the plan?" Lorna questioned, altering her tone in an attempt to hide her 'rookiness'. She assumed Calipo had a plan after all, and that assumption was correct.
"Distraction." The elder squawked. And that was all it took for Lorna to realise her role along the Master.