24.

                                    

                                          
i'm almost at 10,000 reads across all platforms!!! 🥹 🥹 🤯 if i hit 10k before monday, i'll post an early chapter to celebrate!! thanks everyone for reading, commenting, and leaving likes!! getting to see your kind feedback makes my week every week! ☺️ keep your eyes open for another update this weekend (hopefully)! 👀 
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Hunter sat in one of the pilot seats and fought against heavy eyelids. In his lap, Omega slept peacefully, head against his shoulder and a blanket draped over her. Tech had wrapped her ankle and she'd washed off the rancid water. If not the for small scrapes along her cheek, she'd look like her whole ordeal had never happened. 
Saedii, too, felt nearly as good as new. She'd been able to take a shower in the small (and very dirty) on-board bathroom to rinse off the blood and wash through her hair. Now in a new, clean pair of robes (a nice flowy set, perfect for sleeping), she curled up in one of the seats across from Hunter and Omega, watching as the younger girl slept.
Tech and Echo sat in front of them at the controls. They were speaking quietly, not paying attention to the ship as it flew along in hyperspace. 
Their low voices washed over her, lulling her closer to sleep. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, she was feeling her two sleepless nights. It was a struggle to stay awake, but she fought against it.
When she'd returned from washing off, Saedii had discovered that her little sleeping mat and blanket in the corner was gone. She didn't know who had moved it, or why, but for now, she was left without a place to sleep. A strong suspicion told her that Crosshair had done it to make her feel unwelcome, but the sharpshooter was already asleep in the back, so there was no use confronting him. 
The pilot seat was comfy enough for sleeping, she supposed. If there was nowhere else for her, she could do it. She was certainly tired enough. But what she really wanted was a place to lie down – to stretch out and curl up with a blanket. Even though the pilot seat was comfy, it wasn't what she needed. 
Saedii rested her head against the headrest. There was another reason keeping her up, as well. One less pressing, but enough to make her uneasy.
Over and over, she kept replaying the confrontation with Bane in her mind. She felt no guilt over taking his life – not anymore. Not now that she and Omega were both safe. But she couldn't stop thinking about what he had implied. About the Jedi. About what the Empire would do to her if they caught her. 
These Inquisitors only have one goal: to torture and kill as many Jedi as they can get their hands on. 
Inquisitor.
Something about that word made her uneasy. It was the way Bane had said it – so foreboding and ominous, like even he was afraid – that had made Saedii turn it over and over in her head for hours. 
Had the Empire really found warriors capable of hunting them down? Strong enough to defeat a Jedi?
Her thoughts went to her friends in the Order – to some of younglings, still back in the temple on Coruscant, to Ahsoka Tano and others she had only known by name. 
But most importantly, she thought of Kalth – her best friend from the time they were little. He'd been serving as Mace Windu's Padawan when Order 66 had been given. The last transmission he'd sent her was weeks before Order 66, from Coruscant. She didn't even know if he was still alive.
Saedii hadn't thought of Kalth in a while. Hadn't let herself. But now that Bane's warning was out there, she couldn't help but think of her friend. So carefree and charismatic. Always with a smile. She wasn't sure what would be the kinder fate: to have died in Order 66 or be hunted.