<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> No, it doesn't make me sad. I block it precisely to keep me from getting sad.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

Leia shrugged, and rose from the chair, stretching. A more natural smile came to her lips.

"Well Captain, I think it time that we uncluttered your bridge now."

The two met eye contact and traded warm smiles and an unreadable look, their usual farewell, and then Leia left the bridge. Amalia fell into step beside her.

Leia was on her way to her quarters, which was a short walk. Corellian Corvettes still were not very large vessels in the overall view.

"Tell me, when was the last time you weilded your lightsaber, Jedi Master Amalia?" Leia asked suddenly and inexplicably as they walked, though her tone was idle.

She cleared her throat suddenly, a little beside herself, her own thoughts not revealing how she felt about Leia's own thoughts.

Well then...

She gave a quick glance at Leia, trying to sense her feelings, and she found nothing. She simply nodded once, and then looked forward again, her own expression somber, something she could not hide, even if she wished to.

What do you feel then?

Amalia walked with her hands clasped behind her back, her stride regular for once.

She waited a long moment before answering Leia's question, her mind seemed to be thinking of thoughts elsewhere, her eyes darted back and forth as she looked and walked forward.

She ended up not answering Leia's question. She decided to be stubborn, and not answer the Jedi Master's question, keeping silent instead. She found that Leia often wanted to
change the subject when Leia herself was up for discussion, perhaps stubborn in her own right.

She moved suddenly, almost stealthily, unexpected. She unclipped her lightsaber from her belt, tossing it to Leia in a smooth, fast motion, startling Leia, yet Leia caught the saber with precise timing.

"When was the last time you stopped being stubborn, Leia Organa?"

"Touche" was all Leia said in initial response to Amalia's question.

She looked down at the saber she now held. It's polished surface gleamed under the ship's lighting.

Leia then took in a long breath, almost as if in preparation for something.

"Not anytime that I can easily recall."

She shrugged with some difficulty.

"It's just... hard not to, Amalia. It's been a long, hard time. And... it'll take time for me to deal with me first. There's no such thing as immediate results here"

They had reached Leia's quarters, and she busied herself with entering the code to unlock the door. But then she paused, and stood there with a blank expression on her face, lost in her own thoughts.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> What <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> do<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> I feel?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

Her mind searched for an answer to that question, and as she probed her mind, she found it quiet, calm.

Why? Because she had all of her thoughts sealed off, both to herself and to everyone else.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Too protective, perhaps...

But controlled, refined, is my nature.

Pffft. Politics.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

Leia grinned inexplicably, except there was a sudden difference.

She was allowing her humor to be sensed through the Force.

Leia realized Amalia was waiting on her. She quickly keyed in the code, and the door slid open quietly.

"You may come in, if you wish"

Leia turned away from Amalia and entered the room, the lights automatically coming on as Leia voiced a command.

She shook her head a little, a more cooler, relaxed expression hitting her face now.

Time...

"Do you forget how long I've known you? Quite a few years. I am, and by no means, not a stranger to you, Leia. I know you remember how long it took for me to open up to you, but I eventually did, and it was difficult, but I did it."

She went quiet, seeing the expression on Leia's face, she seemed to be thinking.

Her voice entered Leia's mind.

I guess...I just expected for both of us to be past this by now. Though maybe I expect too much, too soon...

She was not asking for much really, just for Leia to talk to her, but maybe it was too much for Leia.

A Jedi was said to have a great amount of patience, but even a Jedi ran out of patience. Amalia's patience was still there and it would always be there, but no one said it was easy to hold on to.

Leia smiled and plopped down onto a rather simplistic looking couch.

"Well, it's not like I have much to talk about these days..."

She paused.

"I haven't talked to you since I left for Endor."

She put her foot up on the low table in front of the couch, remembering the tense conversation she had shared with Amalia before she left.

"Well, let me tell you, that was one boring trip...."

Now that was a tall tale if she'd ever heard one. Leia broke out in a fit of laughter, fell off of the couch, and in the process hit her head on one of the legs of the table.

"ow"

She sat up.

"Ok, I lied. If you call mysterious men following me, crash landings, Ewok tribe feasts, odd visions, and a lot of sight seeing boring, then I'd really like to hear about your life, it must be exciting."

She turned serious again.

"But I do remember our talk before I left. Remember what I said about why I was going?

Well, I probably should have told you before now that what I went in search of there, I found.

Guess it hasn't been apparent to you ever since, I have barely seen you at all."

A more gentle smile crossed her face now.

"But... I suppose you shall see in due time."

She sighed in sudden frustration.

"I wish I knew why I had to come on this stupid trip!"

She noticed Amalia looking questionably at her.

"Well, yeah, I know the fat beaurocrats just want my presence...

But they never do things without double motives..."

She looked up at the still standing Amalia with raised eyebrows, but said nothing more.

Amalia had not taken it upon herself to sit down yet, she was too busy giving Leia questionable looks. She tilted her head to one side for a moment, and then to the other side.

After a moment she gestured to a seat across from the couch. Leia nodded, still keeping silent. She sat down, folding her hands in her lap.

"I don't remember our talk before you left for Endor, not much was said, and it was late, and you didn't stay long..."

She bit down on her lip a little, thinking, her eyes avoding Leia for a small moment. She slowly shook her head up and down and then looked back on Leia, pursing her lips for a split second.

"..Wait, I do remember. You said you weren't really sure where you were going to go, but that you needed to rediscover yourself, if I remember correctly, or something like that, I may be wrong."

Amalia looked down at her folded hands.

"No, those beaurocrats don't, do they?"

She looked back up at Leia, a small smile crossed her lips, but it quickly faded.

"I'm sure it's nothing so small either."

She placed her elbow on the arm of the chair, placing her hand on the side of her face, as if to hold her head up. She went quiet for a moment, not knowing what else to say. Finally, she smiled softly.

"Well, I'm glad you found what you were looking for."

Leia nodded silently.

"Me too."

The ship shuddered as it docked with a smaller shuttle that would ferry them down to the surface. Leia rose from her seat on the floor.

"Well, that was a short chat."

She shrugged at Amalia with a helpless air, then walked over to her bed and shouldered the single pack laying on it. She gestured to the door.

"Shall we?"


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> An hour later, main Corellian docking bay...<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


Leia walked slowly down the shuttle's landing ramp, Amalia accompanying her once again after a short separation. Leia was being cautious... she stepped off of the ramp, and simply stopped, looking around.

"Yeah, I thought so" She muttered to Amalia, who turned to look in the same direction. Apparently true to Leia's assumptions, here came Leia's set of Republic bodyguards and a man dressed crisply in a high ranking uniform of the Republic security force. Leia found her aide suddenly hovering at her left elbow; Amalia was still at her right, quiet yet strong, she noted.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> I guess you’ll have to bear with me for a while... sorry.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

Leia’s apologies to Amalia were deep and strong through the Force, but outwards nothing showed except Leia’s now carefully postured form and well practiced expression of patient kindness as the small party reached them.

“You must come with me at once” the man said tersely without any preamble. This caused a wave of curiosity to flow off of Leia as she appraised the man, and started walking again. Now he too fell in step beside her on the left.

“Might I ask why?” She replied after some while.

“Not openly, no.” The man said hesitantly. Leia responded with a noncommittal ‘hmm’ and reached out to Amalia questionably through the Force. Amalia seemed resolute, she would follow. Leia offered her feelings of gratitude, and allowed herself to be directed towards an armored speeder. She hopped in first, followed by Amalia, and lastly by the Officer. Her aide and the rest of the entourage that had been following them entered a second car behind the first.

As the door was closed and the car started on it’s way, Leia nodded to the man.

“All clear?”

The man nodded.

“Then please do inform us of what situation warrants this reception... and this trip.”

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> And it had better be a good one, to warrant all of these arrangements....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> was the unvoiced comment directed towards Amalia.

"Short indeed, but it's alright, I'll take what I can get, and it is so much better than having nothing at all."

She smiled softly, following after Leia without another word

An hour later...

"Yeah.." Amalia said softly, a little disappontment in her voice as she watched the group approach Leia. She kept quiet though, and just simply went along with it all, for Leia.

I really don't have much choice, but you know I will gladly do so. Just because...

Her thoughts trailed off, her face gave no evidence of what she felt, expressionless, with a small smile every now and then.

After they all had got themselves settled into the speeder, Amalia, well, she tried to anyhow, avoid contact with those who were with her, even Leia. She felt very out of place, but she knew that something like this might happen anyhow, so it really wasn't unexpected.

She eventually removed her gaze from staring at one place, and then onto Leia for a moment. Leia caught her gaze, and Amalia smiled shyly, and then looked down at her lap. Her thoughts made very evident to Leia.

She kept her face expressionless as she let Leia read her thoughts of the past day or so. Though if it were just her and Leia, her facial expressions would have been much more different.

...When I get there they don't have anything for me to do...I do know that only my presence is wanted, they don't have any work for me to do. I may have to do a few things while I am there, but for the most part I know my time will be free...

Amalia scratched at her nose for a split second, as if to say it meant something but not really. Amalia's gaze was calm, cool, and collected as she continued to look forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Leia looking at her, and a cool smile fell onto her lips then, she scratched her nose again. Keeping the cool smile on her lips, she lowered her hand back onto her lap, she cleared her throat quickly, yet softly, just purposefully for Leia mostly, and for her to only hear really. Her thoughts were given to Leia once again.

Four words come to mind right about now, my dear friend. The first word starts with I and the last word starts with S. I don't need to say it though, there's no need.

I'll go along, came to spend some time with you, and well, I'm going to get that time, even if I have to earn it. This too I shall take in stride. Friends are just like that though, you know? They're there for you through thick and thin...

Unfortunately Leia had to attune most of her attention on the speaking man, and missed some of Amalia's last message.

Something was wrong, she felt it strongly, and it was enough to distract her from Amalia. Her eyes narrowed as she waited for the man to start doing some explaining.

He cleared his throat, and began.

"As you know, there have been multiple attacks by terrorists of unknown allegiences on various diplomatic proceedings held on Corellia. When you had left, things had been relatively quiet for a while."

Leia nodded. "Yes, it was why I was given leave."

The man also nodded. "Well, exactly one week ago today, a large political function attended by a considerable number of representatives from different planets was attacked. It was a close call, nobody was killed, but many were injured. We can't allow this to go on.

Intelligence reports have narrowed down the list of suspects to a rogue group acting on it's own. The same people have been spotted at each event, and they use the same methods and tactics.

Despite the redundancies, our security forces cannot seem to pinpoint the terrorists before the attack and get away. That is where you come in, Ma'am..."

The man swallowed hard.

"Though I personally am against such a risk, the security director wants to insert you in a political party tomorrow night. With you being a Jedi and all, he thinks you may be able to sense the terrorists and point them out so we can pick them off before they act."

He looked at Amalia, as if seeing her for the first time.

"You're a Jedi too? We're in good luck then, you'd be of great help if you were to 'mingle' in the crowd... we can't do that with the Head of State"

Leia spoke up.

"How do we know they'll attack this dinner?"

"Because... it's sort of widely known that you're going to be attending..." the man said a little sheepishly.

Minor irritation flashed in Leia's eyes, but she shunted it aside. Better not to kill the messenger.

"Intel also reports that they have recieved word of the attack. They say it'll be the routine deal for these guys, and stand strongly behind their accuracy... for once. hmph"

Leia glanced sideways at Amalia and smiled, though it seemed, and was forced.

"So how are you for a nice big, boring diplomatic dinner?"

Amalia listened attentively as the man finished speaking, she knew Leia would be here for more than just a visit, and for more than just nothing to do, the man’s words had said it all.

She turned her attention away from the man and onto Leia, meeting her gaze. She smiled, her own smile was just like Leia’s, fake, but her eyes, there was no mistake of not finding the truth within Amalia’s eyes. Her eyes said that she knew, but the I told you so never came through, just that she knew it would be this way. She was ok with it though, and it did not bother her so much as it normally would.

“How can I refuse?” She said, the smile was still there.

How could she refuse? She did not wish to refuse. The man had asked her to go, and she didn’t want Leia to go alone either. If she could be of some help, then she would, even if
it meant that she would have to perform her Jedi duties.