Ashley Jade Skywalker

The X-wing left behind her under the watch of the astromech droid, Ashley made her way across Naboo's terrain, looking for... something. It was hard to say what. Something almost seemed to be leading her toward a specific destination, though she wouldn't know exactly what that destination was until she got there. As she came to the top of a rise, she paused for a moment, looking out over the landscape... and her breath caught in her throat as she beheld the sight in front of her. She recognized Andon immediately. The figure he seemed to be fighting, however- the one who seemed to have some sort of a blindfold covering his eyes- she didn't recognize him. But she knew enough to know that this was Andon's fight, and he didn't require any assistance with it. Off to one side, she caught sight of another familiar figure, walking away from the fight. ...Orrick. With a last glance down at the continuing duel, Ashley set off after him.

An old X-wing burst from hyperspace above Naboo, entering the atmosphere and heading for the surface. Ashley glanced down at the read-out panel, scanning the terrain for a flat place to land. Finally, an area presented itself, and she flipped a few switches, starting the landing process, and guided the snubfighter to the ground.

Ashley had just come in from the rain when the announcement that they were leaving was made. She exhaled rather loudly, mentally going over her choices before heading for the hangar and boarding one of the transports.

Ashley watched in silence as Andon walked inside, her hand drifting to her cheek as a smile traced her lips. Her gaze wandered back to the darkened sky, watching as the lightning flashed and faded again before repeating the process once more, this time silhouetting the V-19 Torrent that Andon was piloting. She lifted a hand in a silent farewell as he blazed by and turned the fighter towards the sky, powering up through the atmosphere and into space. She stood there, staring after him with a smile on her face, long after he had disappeared from sight, a few murmured words leaving her mouth. "I'll be here..."

As she stepped down off the boarding ramp with Andon, and out into the pouring rain, Ashley's mind was bombarded with the memories of the last time she'd been on Manaan. Stang, things change so fast... She swallowed against the lump she found forming in her throat, unconsciouly tightening her grip on Andon's hand. She tilted her face up to the rain, letting it mingle with the tears that were brimming in her eyes. Glancing over at Andon, a single thought brought a smile to her face. This is where I belong... Feeling her sense of humor slowly returning, she offered a grin at Andon's comment. "Well... we're already soaked anyway, so there's no point in going inside to wait, is there?"

A frown creased Ashley's forehead as Jaina dragged her outside, wondering what in the galaxy her sister was doing”¦ And realization dawning on her as Jaina gave her a choice and turned back towards the tower. Ashley stood there for a moment, biting down on her lip as war raged within her. The choice to return to the Jedi, or stay with the Sith, and with that, her sister. Her teeth bit down harder into her lip as she struggled to come to a decision. And with a heavy sigh, she realized what she had to do. She turned toward where the ship the Jedi were boarding was, and threw one last glance over her shoulder at her sister, blinking back the tears that had found their way to her eyes. ”œBye, Jay”¦”

Maintaining the silence that had surrounded her through most of the ordeal, Ashley stared at the monitor as she had been directed. Suddenly, a blip appeared on the edge, moving steadily inward. Ashley glanced over her shoulder at Raynuk and Jaina, a smirk crossing her face before she called out to them. "Save the romance. We've got a ship surface-bound. A big one. And I'm guessing it's Jedi."

"Yes, ma'am," Ashley muttered to herself, a small smile tracing her lips for the first time in a while. She turned her eyes to the screen her sister had indicated, but looked back at few moments later to find Jaina staring at the monitor, shock etched across her face. Gently, she laid a hand on her sister's shoulder. "He'll be all right, Jay," she murmured.

(Uh... if you're referring to Jaina and me... I am NOT sitting on his lap. ) Ashley squeezed Jaina's shoulders gently. "That's probably to be expected," she mumbled, still feeling rather distant about the whole ordeal. "Wonder what comes next," she added, her eyes still focused on those in front of her. And then her mouth dropped open as the thermal detonator one of the Sith held went off.

Ashley glanced at the jawbone her sister held in her hand rather detachedly, almost in disinterest. After a moment, her eyes returned to the Jedi captives, people she recognized from her time on Manaan. Something inside her whispered that she should do something to try to stop what was happening, however futile it would most likely be, but it was as if she were unable to move. Or maybe didn't want to... She folded her arms, rubbing them to ward off the slight chill that had come over her, and maintained her silence, seeing as there wasn't really anything she could say.

As Raynuk stalked off down the hallway, Ashley looked over to Jaina, offering a shrug. "Might as well," she muttered, and followed.

Ashley appeared through the doorway a few minutes after Raynuk voiced his question. "I'm up," she said, tying off the braid she had pulled her hair back into.

Ashley yawned as her sister's voice woke her up. "Yeah... I'm up, I'm up," she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Shaking her head slightly to wake herself up, she stood. "What's on the agenda?"

Ashley remained silent as they walked down the hallway, her eyes roaming the walls and ceiling. Her silence remained as she took the hand Jaina reached out, suppressing a shudder as they walked.

Ashley shrugged, casting a glance down the corridor. "Might as well. Lead the way."

"Korriban?" Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Fun stuff..." she muttered, a trace of sarcasm evident in her voice.

"Nice..." Ashley followed Jaina off the ship, squinting as the glare from the sun hit her eyes. "So... where are we?"

"Yeah, actually." Ashley grinned, a note of amazement evident in her voice. "Thanks."

Ashley shook her head as Jaina took hold of her arm. "I wasn't asleep, I was just sorta laying there waiting for my head to stop hurting... luckily the headache's mostly gone."

"Yeah, I'm coming, Jay..." Snapping her head to one side to crack her neck, Ashley swung her feet to to floor and stood, taking a moment to regain her balance before following her sister out.

Ashley shrugged as she slowly pushed herself to a sitting position, using the wall as support. She closed her eyes briefly, willing the pain in her head to go away. "Not really, no..."

Ashley chuckled dryly. "Yeah.... guess that wasn't the smartest decision I've ever made." She reached for the mug again, glad to note that at least she could keep her eyes open now.

With a slight groan, Ashley pushed herself up onto one elbow, reaching for the mug Raynuk had set down beside her. She drank part of it, then carefully lay back down again, rubbing a hand across her eyes before opening them again and squinting at Raynuk. "Did you hit me with your fist?"

Unconsciousness can be termed a merciful state, if only for the sole reason of lack of feeling. Coming out of that unconsciousness, however, is a different story. As she began to drift to consciousness, Ashley's eyes squeezed more tightly shut, only to snap open as memories flooded her mind and she shot to a sitting position. "Jaina!" No sooner had that happened, however, than she fell back again as pain rocketed through her head, and she squeezed her eyes shut against the light. "Force... what did he hit me with?" Slowly, she opened her eyes, squinting, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Knowing that her head would only hurt worse if she tried to sit up again, she stayed down, turning her head slightly to look around. And then she finally made sense of her surroundings. A ship. "Great... "

"Shavit," Ashley growled as the panel in front of her went dead. She pulled the headset off as Jaina spoke and ran for the cargo hold, following her sister, and wondering how in the galaxy they were going to get out of this.