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  THE TENSION IN THE air was so thick, you could cut it with a lightsaber. With their bags packed and ready, the group remained motionless, no one took charge. Sage glared harshly at Myria while Cal wouldn't even look at her. Varian cleared his throat awkwardly. "Shouldn't we be going now?"

Cal nodded curtly. "Yes. Uh, Sage...lead the way,"

Rolling her eyes, Sage scoffed. "Whatever. Follow me,"

Myria ignored the anger that bubbled within her. Sure, Sage was mad at her, but why force the others to endure her wrath? She and Varian stuck to the middle while Cal took the position towards the back. The cave that had once shimmered to Myria was now dull, sad and lifeless as Sage's anger radiated outwards. "Hey, so uh...what happened between you two? Sage is not happy," Varian whispered.

"Oh, really?" Myria scoffed. "I hadn't noticed! Sage asked me to use my curse to help the rebels cause," She shook her head, tucking the hands that killed over ten men under her vest. "I told her no,"

Varian nodded. "That's very much like Sage. You know she means well it's just-"

"It's just nothing, Varian!" Myria huffed. "She knows how I feel about these powers and completely ignores that. I understand where she's coming from — I used to be just like her, but she does not get to be angry because I don't want to end innocent lives again!"

Varian was silent for a moment, taking in her words, slightly in shock. "She'll...she'll come around. She always does," As Myria stared at the back of Sage's head, she somehow felt like it wouldn't be like that this time.

Trailing off and away from Varian, she could feel Cal's eyes on her from behind. She knew he was dying to talk about the morning, what happened after training, and if Myria was being honest with herself, so was she. Her dream felt so real, like one of her visions, but unlike those horrid flashes of death and destruction, this memory was filled with joy and happiness.

She couldn't get the image of those three strangers out of her head, how she laughed with the Togruta, the adoration she felt for the man she had called Master and the one who called the Togruta Snips. Who were they? And why did Myria feel such pain when she thought of them?

She found herself slowing down and soon she could clearly hear the chirps and beeps coming from BD-1. "Cal," She stared at the ground, watching their feet walk in sync. "Can...can we talk?" She dared a peek at his face, which was flushed a deep red.

"Y-Yes!" He coughed. "Of course. What do you uh...wanna talk about?"

Myria couldn't help her laugh. She looked up and raised a brow. "You're kidding, right?" If even possible, Cal's blush deepened. "About this morning. And about the vision."

"What vision?" Cal tilted his head. It didn't seem to be clicking.

Myria sighed. "Our shared vision of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant."

"Wha-"

Blaster fire came at them from every direction. Cal acted quickly, grabbing Myria by the waist and diving out of range, behind a rock. "How did they find us?!" She called over the noise. She tried to catch a glimpse of Sage and Varian, but the shots were too rapid. One of Cal's hands was still on her waist, but she didn't care, the feeling bringing some comfort in the panic.

"Something must have been tracking us!" Cal called back. From his belt he removed his lightsaber and Myria pulled out her blaster.

"How many?" She asked, just barely looking past the rock.

Cal shut his eyes for a moment, eyebrows knitted together. When he opened them again, he shook his head. "I can't be sure, but I'm sensing eleven. There could be more,"

Myria gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw. "What do we do?" She stared a Cal and a strange looked came over his face. He pointed to her hands. Myria's eyes widened. "No, Cal. No."

"It's the only way," He pleaded. "I can't do it by myself. We need to flush them out of the trees!"

The Force. Pull them from the trees. It was a simple task, one that would ensure their victory, throwing the Troopers off guard. It should be simple, but it just wasn't for Myria. "What if I tear their limbs off? O-Or split them in two or-"

"Myria," Cal's hand squeezed her waist. "When we pull them out into the open, we're going to open fire. We are going to kill them. By Force or by blaster, their breath stops." He stared deeply into her eyes.

His words shocked Myria because he was entirely right. She was so worried about killing the Stormtroopers with the Force like she had done to the Rebel fighters, but unlike the Rebels, the Troopers were not on their side. Either way, they would end up dead. The realization hit her like a Speeder-bike. "Let's do it,"

A wide, toothy grin spread onto Cal's face. "Alright! I want you to close your eyes," He instructed, and Myria followed. Shutting her eyes seemed to intensify the blaster fire around her. She tensed. "Calm yourself," Cal's voice was soft. "Listen not to the blasters but to the Troopers. Hear their footsteps, their heartbeat, their breath. Focus on that."

Myria took a long and deep breath. She did exactly as Cal said, expecting it to be hard to drown out the sound of blaster, so when she easily heard the shuffling of armour and soft breaths, she nearly lost her focus from shock. It had come so easily to her like she had done it before. I have. She corrected herself. I have done this before, in another life. "I hear them..." She whispered.

"Good," Cal's hand slowly slipped from her. "Now, push out your hands, feel their energy. It's tangible, you can see, hear, and touch their essence."

Extending her hands outward, she reached forward and as if she had opened her eyes, the images became clear. Clear as day, she could see the soft blue outline of fifteen StormTroopers all around them. "I can see them. There's fifteen, not eleven." Even in her extreme focus, she had time to tease.

She heard Cal's softly chuckle from beside her. "You're doing so good. Now, I want you to grab hold of their essence and pull with all your might. You only intended to pull them into the opening, nothing more, nothing less," Silently, Myria nodded, shifting her hands ever so slightly and she felt as she grasped their blue outlines. "Do you have them?"

"Yes," She nodded. "I have...nine of them."

"Wow..." Cal gasped. "I-I guess I'll get the rest. On the count of four, we pull, okay?"

"Got it," Myria nodded, determined.

"One, two, three...four!" Cal counted and on the last number, they pulled with all their might.

Myria's eyes shot open at the sound of deep screams and shouts as the blaster fire ceased. "Cal..." She slowly stood up, tapping his shoulder. "We did it!"

From across the clearing, she saw Sage and Varian rise from behind another rock. Cal shot up. "Great job!" He cheered and in his excitement, couldn't help it as he wrapped his arms around Myria, squeezing her in a large hug.

She couldn't help herself, either. She was excited. They hugged for a moment before there was a shout. "Hey! What do we do with them?" It was Sage.

Letting go, both their faces were flushed. "Uhh..." Myria was at a loss for words.

Varian's booming laugh echoed. "We blast them, of course!" He pulled out his blaster.

"I like the sound of that!" Sage laughed, following suit in taking out her blaster, and together the two of them finished off the disarmed Stormtroopers.

The four of them reconvened in the middle. From Cal's shoulder, BD-1 chirped happily, as if cheering for them. "Thanks, BD," Cal patted his head softly. "And great job all of you." He looked back out at Sage, Varian, and Myria.

"Was that you who pulled them out, Cal?" Varian asked in awe.

"No, no," Cal shook his head. "It wasn't all me. Myria helped. She was amazing," He looked at her with such adoration.

Myria shook her head and rolled her eyes, trying to hide her darkening blush. "C-Come on, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you,"

"That's rich," Sage scoffed darkly. All eyes turned to her. "I thought you had sworn off using your curse? Why the change of heart? Is it because of him?" She jabbed an accusing finger at Cal.

"Sage..." Varian tried to intervene but she brushed him off.

"No, Varian," She grumbled. She looked up at Myria as tears bubbled in her eyes. "I've been with you since day one, Myria. What's different about him?" Her voice wavered and cracked as the tears threatened to spill.

Myria had a million things to say yet nothing came out. She was angry, hurt, distressed that her best friend believed that she was choosing someone over her, that she had lied to her. "Sage, I..." That was all she could get out. "I-"

"Save it. I'm done," Sage growled. "I only agreed to help him find Chief Tarfful because you asked, Myria. But clearly, I'm not wanted here."

"What?" Varian turned to her, shocked. "Sage, you can't just abandon us like that!"

"Us?" Sage looked up at him, a single tear falling down her cheek. "You're staying with them?"

"I-I...yes?" Varian responded, confused.

"Of course," Sage scoffed, moving away to wipe her tears. "Everyone always leaves Sage behind. Good luck finding Tarfful without me. I'm sure with two Jedi, you'll find it in no time." She took off back towards the cave, a small sliver of hope in her heart that Myria of Varian would chase after her, but they didn't. They stood completely shocked, watching her disappear into the thick forest.

AUTHORS NOTE
hi!! I'm so happy with how this turned out ahhh! I hope y'all are enjoying the book so far! I'm hoping to stick to writing this for a few days and hopefully finish it. It will be a short story after all, so there's only gonna be this one plot line.

But if any of you want more Myria, she will be making an appearance in Fall From Grace eventually, as all my Star Wars books connect!