3.

                                    

                                          
The persistent drizzle that had hung over Ord Mantell shifted to steady rain by nightfall, which quickly gave way to a downpour. In the streets, those who had been lingering for nefarious acts were sent running for shelter, until all too soon, the streets had grown empty and quiet. 
It had taken several hours for Saedii to find shelter of her own. The empty, covered spaces between buildings had already been claimed by other drifters like herself, which left few options for her to choose from. Eventually, she settled on an empty crate metal crate, carving a door into the side with her lightsaber when she was sure no one was looking. 
Inside, it smelled of rust and old fish guts. In the little bits of neon light filtering in through her homemade door, Saedii could make out old fish bones scattered along the floor, along with the occasional dried entrails and scales. The smell turned her nose, but she had no other option if she wanted to stay dry. 
The temperature outside had dropped with the rain and crept into her makeshift shelter. Creeping fingers of cold nipped at her wet hair and damp cloak, and made her shiver. Puffs of her breath turned silver in the darkness, and soon enough, her fingers began to grow numb. 
She huddled herself together, trying to preserve her body heat. Caging her fingers, she puffed warm air into them in a rather pitiful attempt to warm her hands. 
Beside her, the stale remnants of the Merrit Mix taunted her empty stomach. She had tried another few handfuls earlier, but after her third, the sugar had proved too much for her weak stomach, and she had vomited everything up. Even now, hours later, the too-sweet taste of bile clung to the back of her throat, threatening to upset her already empty stomach. 
Hungry, cold, and miserable, Saedii let her head fall back against the side of the crate with a clank. Mere feet from where she sat, rain hissed down in torrents against the sidewalk.
It was times like these when her mind tended to wander. 
She thought fondly of the cold winter mornings spent huddling around the library fire with the other Jedi Younglings, listening to Madame Jocasta tell stories of the Old Republic. 
She thought of nights spent aboard Master Plo's star destroyer, huddled beneath the blanket Plo had knitted her, listening to the scary stories of the Clone Troopers, who all laughed and hooted at her expressions of horror. 
She thought of long days spent training and in strategy meetings. Of falling asleep against Wolffe's shoulder while the stern voices of Master Plo and the other Troopers made her drift into a light sleep when she could no longer keep her eyes open. 
She thought of warm summer afternoons spent in the forests of Corusant, where Commander Wolffe and several others taught her how to blend into the shade of the trees. To be silent as a shadow. To track prints in the dirt and find her way with nothing more than the moss on trees.
But mostly, she thought of Master Plo. Of the way he would look at her fondly during training. The way he had clapped her on the shoulder when she had successfully made her second saber at thirteen. The way had given her the nickname Little Saedii. 
Hot tears pricked at Saedii's eyes. All her life, all she had wanted was to be a Jedi. As she'd trained as a youngling, she'd imagined being promoted to the title Jedi Master, and commanding her own squad of troopers. She never could have imagined that her time as a Jedi would have been cut so short. 
Exactly a year before the end of the war, Saedii had been named as Plo Koon's padawan. 
She'd only had one year to live her dream. 
One year.
The very best year of her life. 
Some mornings, stuck in the chasm between consciousness and slumber, she imagined that she would wake up to discover she was on board Master Plo's star destroyer, and that all of this had been nothing but a terrible dream. For a few blissful moments, she'd wonder what the troopers were cooking for breakfast. Sometimes, she was even sure she could smell it – the scents of bacon and porridge and coffee.