At the sound of another TIE fighter, Odette moved a little closer to Ben, looking on a little worriedly as it landed into the swampy areas nearby. Whoever these people were, she had a strong feeling they were up to no good and that meant, should she and Ben have a run in with them, they would likely have to fight them. It was a nervous thing to think about. Fighting animals like those Nexus had been one thing. But if these were people like she and Ben, then they would be harder to fight. After all, people could think, comprehend, predict, and use strategy in a way no animal could. It would make this all the more difficult.

At Ben's suggestion that they go ahead inside, Odette looked to him and nodded before going to quickly making her way toward the entrance of the temple with him. Once inside, the thoughts of the TIE fighters and who might be on it were left in the dust as she looked at all the history this temple had to offer. It was clearly older and more marked with age than the temple they had visited on Coruscant. With age held more knowledge and more secrets, right? Who knew what the two of them might discover in this place?

She smiled over to Ben, ready to get exploring this place as soon as possible, "Well, what are we waiting for, Ben? The sooner we start looking around, the more stuff we'll find and learn about." Of course she remembered that their mission was to simply find the second peice of the map, but that didn't mean the two of them couldn't learn and explore while they looked for it. Besides, how could a Jedi Padawan not want to look around a place so filled with Jedi History?

Taking a few steps forward, looking around, she spoke to him, "Where should we look first?"

Caution annoyed him at the edge of his mind. He was a Jedi just like Odd but for some reason, he felt more inclined to watch his steps than she did... He didn't wanna slip and fall into the darkness, fall into his destiny. She stepped in front of him and almost carelessly begun to look around; Ben smirked at this before doing the same.

The temple was made of a dull, soiled white; nearly grey from the dust coated its insides. Thick vines the size of his forearm snaked around the walls and onto the floor, its thorns the size of his thumb had dead insects pierced on its barbs. Ben frowned at this but kept walking, knowing that his mind had traveled to his lightsaber had only clarified how danger he considered the place to be... how uneasy it had made him.

"Odd, stick close," he commanded, sounding like father looking after his daughter. A tender affection rested in the bass of his voice.

He paused tentatively, his foot grazing the floor as the Force pulled his attention back towards the Temple's clearing. The presence and sounds of a militant force crept into him. And he didn't even know that kind of danger could have such a tense feeling, such a heavy bearing of weight on his shoulders. On top of that, the overzealous drone-like mind of its charges were evident. They'd do whatever they were ordered.

Without a warning, Ben snatched Odd's wrist and his hand and started towards a shadowy spot behind a downed column. He peeked his head over the crumbling stone to see. A minute or so later, a raucous melody of footfalls ascended up the stairs, revealing seven white armored soldiers and one that appeared similar, with a single shoulder-guard.

"4th Squadron reporting, Commander... Something is very off here. I don't know how to explain it but there's a mystery in the air."

The voice on the other side was inaudible but after a long couple of seconds the commander responded. "Right sir, we'll disperse and find the piece." A twirl of his hand gestured for them to continue deeper into the Temple.

Ben's hand tightened on Odd. "They're after the Map," he said, feeling the hint in the Force.

When told to stick close, Odette did just that, sticking close beside Ben as they made their way through the temple, frowning slightly as she looked about the abandoned place. Something about all of this made her feel uneasy. And she could feel in the Force that Ben felt much the same. She glanced around a bit more, warily taking in any possible dangers, when the sound of marching boots made it to her ears and she was suddenly pulled behind a downed column, the two padawans hiding in the shadows. Odette stayed close to Ben, listening nervously as the footsteps drew closer and Ben peaked around the column to get a look at who it could possibly be.

She could hear someone speaking, possibly over a communicated since she herself couldn't hear the response, saying they were looking for some sort of a 'piece' and knew right away that they were talking about the piece of the map. The same one they were looking for. They would have to be very careful now that they knew these people would likely try to attack them to keep them from getting it, but they also had to be quick about finding it. They needed to find that piece of the map first before any of these troopers did.

Looking up to Ben as he spoke, she nodded in agreement, "That has to be what they're after." She looked, watching as the troopers began to venture deeper into the temple, "But we have to find it first Ben. We can't let something as important as a piece few the map to the first Temple fall into the hands of...well, whoever they are. It's not hard to feel the Dark Side on all of them."

Holding his hand tightly in hers she watched as the troopers disappeared from view and kept the hilt of her saber in her hand as she slowly walked out of their hiding spot with him, "Where should we look first?"

“Let’s… split up, Odd.”

When Ben said that, Odette looked at him wide eyed, an unsure look on her face. She didn't like the sound of that idea. With all those Troopers out there, should one of them get caught by a lot of them, it would be hard to defend themselves if they were alone against so many of them. Plus, last time they had been split up in a Jedi Temple they had pretty scary visions. She didn't want that to happen to the two of them again. She already saw what horrible things Ben would see his visions and she didn't want him to go through that on his own should they take place.

But, despite her not wanting to leave him for multiple reasons, she also knew they were plenty good reasons to split up as well. It was easier to hide from the troopers when it was just one of them. They would be able to cover more space in the temple when looking for the piece of the map. She knew that he was right and had the better reasons for the splitting up than she did for them staying together. And so, when Ben hugged her,s he hugged him back tightly, giving a small nod, "I promise. Not a single line of hair will get cut. But you have to promise me the same Ben."

Once they had each other's promise to be safe, soon the two of them went on their separate ways. As she got further into the temple, she attempted to reach out into the Force to locate the map. She couldn't feel it from where she was, and that told her it must have been pretty far away from where she currently was if she couldn't. Letting out a sigh, she continued walking, attempting to reach out into the Force whenever she could to seek it out and help lead her in the right direction, while at the same time, staying out of sight and hiding any time the Storm Troopers passed, which was quite often.

Huffing she hid behind one of the pillars once again as more Troopers passed by, making her shake her head, "I hope Ben's having better luck than I am right now..."

It was hard to remain unseen with so many of those Storm Troopers marching around. And so far she had no luck finding the piece of the map they were looking for. Being on her own in this new place full of the enemy made her just want to seek out Ben and find her way to him again. But, she didn't. As a Jedi, she should be able to stand on her own. And so, she forced herself to continue on, searching though the building, until she came to a place that seemed very promising. It looked to be an old meting room, possibly where the Jedi Masters would come to converse and plan. She quietly closed the door behind her and began scouring through some of the chests and other places where the chip might be hidden, hoping to find something that would help them in their search in some way.

Finally, after what seemed like forever of searching, she grinned as she found what looked a lot like the first chip they had found that had the first piece of the map. Now, all that was left to do was to go back to where they had stashed BB-8 and BB-11 to check and see for sure if this was what they were looking for. She was looking at the chip closely, turning in over in her hands as she inspected it, when she felt something metal press against her back and a deep voice speak, "Hand over the map and surrender, Jedi Scum."

She felt so stupid. She had been so focused on looking at the chip and inspecting it to see signs that it was the right one, that she hadn't even felt the presence of anyone come into the room. But, no matter what, she was not handing over this map to this man. Over her dead body. And so, in a quick movement, she had grabbed the hilt of her light saber, bringing it to life as she turned and swung it at the man. The man was quick to step back from the attack, holding his own weapon at the ready.

This man was no storm trooper. He was garbed in all black, with a metal sort of knife in hand that seemed to have a blaster on side and the blade on the other side of it so it could not only be used as a blade to cut, but could be used to shoot at someone as well. Which he did. He began shooting toward her, to which, after she placed the chip safely in her pocket, she used her light saber to deflect the shots. Yet, this man, from her guess, was high in the ranks of whoever had sent those troopers out, because not only did he have such a unique weapon, he also had some sort of a personal deflector shield that stopped the shots being sent back his way from hitting him.

Soon, he had come at her again and the two were locked in a battle, fighting and trying to gain the upper hand. And soon, this man gained it because, as she turned to swing her saber at him once more, he had grabbed her long braid, jerking her back, causing her drop her saber as the man held her hostage, a hand around her neck and the other holding onto her braid, "Give me the map. Now."

Odette wasn't about to give this man the map. She would die before something of that sort happened. Yet, that didn't mean she was going to give up so easily either. In order to hold her in place as such, this man had made the mistake of dropping his own weapon. A mistake that would be deadly for him. And in an instant, her hand reached out, drawing the strange blade to her grasp using the Force. And one it was, in the flash of an eye, she had cut her braid, giving her the leverage to slip out of his grasp and swiftly turn, shooting the blaster at the man, not giving him any time to react.

The man fell dead to the floor and she huffed, catching her breath as she dropped his weapon and knelt to pick up her own, her now short blonde hair hanging slightly in her face as she did so. She hated that she had to cut her hair, as she had always like it longer. But then again, perhaps it was better this way, so that no one could use it as leverage against her again like the man that attacked her had.

After getting her saber, and with what she hoped was the map safely in her pocket, she began to make her way through the halls once more. It seemed like at least another hour had passed since she found the chip that she finally tracked down Ben, giving him a slight mental tug using the Force to get his attention to where she was hiding behind one of the pillars once again, waiting as even more troopers past. And once they had, she moved to meet him half way and hide behind a corner out of sight with him, pulling the chip out of her pocket to show him, "I think this might be it. I found it in one of the meeting chambers. We'll have to put it in of the BBs to make sure, but I'm very hopeful this is it." Pausing and looking to him, she knew he would have noticed in the sudden change in her hair, seeing as as long as she could remember it was always fairly long, "I had a run in with one of those people. A leader of some sort. He attacked me and almost won. I managed to get his weapon and escape, but...well, in doing so I had to cut it." She frowned slightly, disappointed in her own weakness, touching a piece of the short strands, "I guess I wasn't strong enough on my own to keep my promise of 'not leting even a single line of hair get cut'."

It wasn't hard to miss the tension in the Force when she had found Ben. It was almost a panicked feeling. And it was even more so clear in the way Ben hastily thrust out in her direction when she had tugged him with the Force, as though he were about to lash out at her for doing so. But, very soon he seemed to snap out of whatever mindset he was in thankfully. Temples seemed to not have a good affect on either of them, Ben mostly though. Maybe it was a bad idea for them to have split up. Then perhaps Ben wouldn't have been so affected by the temple and she wouldn't have had so much trouble fighting that man before. But she was glad that his panic seemed to wash away quickly as she made her way over to him.

She listened to his words, and leaned her cheek slightly into his hand as he touched her cheek and ran his hands through hair. He might have been embarrassed by saying such things, but it was nice for her to hear his reassurances that, as long as she was alive and unharmed, that everything was okay. And when he hugged her tightly, she hugged him back just as tightly, not willing to be separated from him like that again. They were stronger together. She felt like when she was separated from him, a piece of herself was missing, leaving her weaker than she should be.

Soon, he was speaking to her about the Storm Troopers and suggested they get out of here. She agreed. She didn't want to have another run in or fight on her hands. And so, soon she was following close behind him as they made their way through the halls of the Jedi Temple, hiding behind walls and pillars any time the sight of those Storm Troopers came to them. After what felt like forever of sneaking around, they finally made their way outside and through the swamp until they came to the small clearing that they had left BB-8 and BB-11 in, having decided against bring them to the temple when they had caught sight of the TIE fighters.

Walking over to the little droids, she crouched down and placed the chip into BB-11, who then projected the contents for them, Odette looking at it and nodding, "I was right. It's the other piece of the map." She looked to Ben with a small smile, "Well, that's two down. Two more to go before we have the complete map. We should probably get back to the ship and prepare for the flight back to Master Luke and the others." Walking up to him, she smiled gently, taking his hands in hers, "We completed our first solo mission, Ben. Maybe not as flawlessly as we would have liked, but we survived. I say this is the first step to the two of us becoming great Jedi."

Though Odette was thrilled that they now had two of the four pieces of the map, something inside of her felt...uneasy. She wasn't sure why. She felt perfectly fine, so why was she feeling such an unease as she hopped from branch to branch on the way back to their ship? Yet, soon Ben had paused, causing her to stop as well, looking at him questionably. She hadn't said anything. In realization of this, Ben seemed a bit frustrated. Ah, so that's why she was feeling so much unease in the Force. It wasn't her that was uneasy. It was Ben. But, because of how close she was to him, how connected the two of them were through the Force, she had felt his unease as though it were her own. Strange, how they could affect each other like that. Never before, as far as she known, had there been two strong Force Users in a relationship together, so their connection to the Force and how it affected each other was still so new to the both of them.

As Ben stood up and stomped off, she watched him in concern before continuing their way to the ship. Once inside, she silently went to work, prepping the ship for take off with BB-11 at her side helping her. She moved about the cabin, pressing buttons and preparing for take off, before she finally put the ship into the gear, taking them up and out of the planet's atmosphere. Once the ship was leveled out, she placed it on autopilot, allowing it to take the course back home on its own as she stood up and walked to where Ben was.

Ben had been having many troubles. She had felt it for a while. And still felt it. Just that vision they had shared no more than a few days ago was proof that he was dealing with something and trying to hide it from everyone around him. Including her. But....to hide such a burden was a dangerous thing. Besides, she wanted to be there for him. To help him through his struggles. She loved him too much to allow him to continue like this on his own. It he was struggling, then they would walk through it together, as a team. They were stronger together in everything they did. Surely this would be no different.

Making it over to him, Odette stood beside him silently for a moment, staring out of the ship's window into the vast reaches of space where stars and planets lined the darkness in their brightness and colors. Without saying a word at first, she reached over, taking his hand in hers, staying there silently for a long moment before she finally spoke, slowly turning her gaze from the window to him, "Ben...please talk to me. I know you've been....going through something. I want to help you. But...but I can't do that if you won't let me know how."

Two years had passed since Luke had given them the task of finding and collecting the pieces of the map to the First Jedi Temple. It was rather easy to find the first two pieces were the easiest to find, one being found the first time on their visit to Coruscant with Master Luke and the Padawans. The second piece was found soon after by she and Ben in a Temple located on Dagobah. After returning with the second piece, she and Ben continued their training for some time, Master Luke stating they needed to grow stronger in the force before traveling to collect the third piece of the map. So they continued to train along side the younger padawans, helping Master Luke care for them and build up their home and the old Jedi Temple that they had taken refuge in after their number of padawans grew too large to stay on their old home planet. It was just a year later, when Odette turned 18 and Ben turned 20 that the two of them were granted an exciting title. The title of Jedi Knight.

With this title and all the skills they had learned from their master, they set off on a journey to the old Jedi Temple located on the moon of Jedha. This temple, known as the Temple of Kyber. It was certainly harder to get into this temple, as the moon of Jedha was populated and had people guarding the temple. It was definitely clear as to why Master Luke had wanted them trained before traveling here to get the last piece of the map. But, she and Ben managed, getting in and out of the temple without much trouble, able to search out and find the last piece of the map by working together in a similar fashion as they did when they found the piece of the map on Coruscant. Working together, the two reached out into the force and located it.

Throughout the two years, she and Ben had been on many missions together, which left them with a lot of time together as well. Odette used this time to bond with Ben and get to know him more as her lover than as just a fellow Jedi. They still hadn't told Luke about the two of them, both seeming hesitant to do so. Yet, with how connected Luke was to the Force, Odette secretly wondered if the man already knew about she and Ben and just wasn't saying anything. But, even if he did, he wasn't keeping them separated, and that's what mattered to Odette. She
didn't know what she might do if she and Ben were ever separated from each other.

Yet, over time, she had noticed something concerning about Ben. How his light....seemed to be slowly vanishing. In the past, she would dwell in the light that came off of him in the Force, enjoying the presence. But now...that light was less than it ever had been. Still though, she told herself, perhaps it was just a temporary thing. That he was just feeling down and needed someone to help pick him up. Which is why she was always with him. Walking and talking with him. Even now. They had just finished debriefing with Master Luke about their mission and obtaining the third piece of the map and were currently walking away from Master Luke's hut. She walked along with him, a bright smile on her face as they trailed away and out of sight from the others, lightly letting her arm link with his as they walked, "Hey, Ben. How about we go hike up to the lake? Just like we used to when we were kids." The two of them as kids would wander up there, telling Luke they were going to meditate. Which, sometimes they were did, but in reality, most of the time the two would end up just playing int he water and trying to wrestle and outdo each other the whole time. They would be all smiles and laughs coming back, even if they got a lecture from Luke when he saw their soaked cloaks and knew they had been goofing off.

She didn't really give him much of a say in whether they would go to the lake or not, as she was already ragging him happily up the trail with her hand in his, smiling and laughing as she looked back at him, "Come on, Ben. Or have you grown to old to have a little fun?"

Odette smiled softly as Ben took her hand and laughed softly, giving a nod as she walked along beside him, slowing down so that the two walked beside one another, rather than her dragging him along the path toward the lake, "I suppose you're right. We've been away from home for so long on these missions that we haven't had a chance to take it slow in a long while. Though I doubt anything will change soon." She grinned to him and moved so that she walked closer beside him, leaning up to press her lips against his cheek, "I can't see it being any different. With you, me, Master Luke, the padawans. Everything is so perfect that I can't see anything changing"

She smiled as she looked forward again, "Most of all though, I can't see anything changing with me and you. It's nice, to be able to just spend time with you without all the worry of keeping on our toes or wondering whether or not we might be attacked. Just me and you, able to be just us."

She walked along beside him, taking in the clean mountain air and the sights all about them, until finally they made it to the lake. As always, it was a beautiful sight, the water glistening as the sun reflected off of its surface. She let go of Ben's hand to walk over to the water, slipping off her shoes and stepping into the water until she was knee deep in it, taking in a deep breath of the fresh breeze that drifted off of the water, "I love it here."

She turned to look over her shoulder at him from where he stood at the water's edge, her lips breaking out into a wide grin before she suddenly hit her hand through the water to splash some of the water onto Ben, getting his robes and his face and hair wet. And of course, seeing his expression when she did this only had her break into giggles that she attempted to hold back as she spoke, "You're looking a little wet Ben. Master Luke's not going to be happy when he sees you were playing in the water." She joked, trying very hard to hold back her laughs, but ultimately failing.

When Odette was suddenly splashed with the water by Ben's use of the Force, she could do nothing but laugh, a bright smile on her face. Just being alone with Ben made her so upbeat and giddy that nothing could honestly bring her down. She walked out of the water and over to him, smiling as she wrapped her arms around him despite it getting him wet too, "Oh come now, Ben. The sun will dry us both before we leave the lake. Besides," She smiled, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his lips, staying close to him as she did, allowing her light to wrap around him just as her arms did, attempting to wash away any ill feelings, "You know you love goofing off here. It makes us feel...normal." Not a Jedi, or a Force User, just...them. Just Ben and Odette.

She stayed close to him, letting out a soft sigh of contentment as she rested her forehead against the front of his shoulder, breathing in his presence, "Have I ever told you how much I love you Ben? Because if I have, then I could never tell you enough." She joked softly, looking up to him, their faces inches apart and her voice soft as she spoke all of this, a grin on her lips, "You know, you should be ashamed. Jedi aren't supposed to steal, and yet here you are, stealing my heart and sweeping me off of my feet every moment that we're alone."

As she said this, her lips brushed softly against his with every word. She just couldn't seem to imagine her life any differently than this. Than being with him, so close. When they were like this, it was almost as if they were one being in the Force, rather than two separate. Her light encircling him, while his presence dwelled in hers.Their presence melded together and it left her feeling at peace. As though when they were separated she were truly whole. Yet, with him, it was as though a missing piece had rejoined her to finally make her one being.

"Tell me you love me." Odette requested softly, her lips brushing ever so gently against his, smiling softly up at him as she did. She loved hearing him say those words, though she didn't ask of such a thing often, knowing how difficult it was for him to speak about his feelings. Yet, she wanted to hear it now. While they were alone and it was just the two of them. With the last part of their mission in finding the last piece of the map, there was no telling when the next time they could say such a thing to each other might be. And though she wouldn't force him if he didn't feel like saying it, she still would hope that he might say it, as the beautiful bass of his voice saying those words always left her feeling aglow and more joyful than ever. Words just for her ears, straight from his heart to hers. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Odette felt so content as she sat there in his grasp, feeling his face against her shoulder and his words sent her heart soaring. She loved hearing those words from him. To her, there was nothing better in the world than this. Yet, of course his embarrassment and other emotions took over and soon she was pulled from his grasp, though this was something she expected and laughed softly at, as this happened quite often when he had to share his emotions in such a way, "Well, Ben. It wouldn't be the first time you've done something like that. Though, perhaps it was a good thing you didn't do so this time, as normally when you do we're by ourselves on a ship for our missions, rather than here where someone might catch us." Still though, she leaned over to press another kiss to his lips before she turned and started making her way back up the path toward their home, "Come on now. Best not be late for our training with Master Luke."

She walked along side him, return back to their small little Jedi village, where young padawans ran about, playing games and such being that they had some free time. Odette happily greeted those that they passed with kind words and the occasional hug. Many of the padawans chatted excitedly with her about accomplishments in their own training, as well as discoveries they made in their own explorations in the Force. Finally though, they made it to where Master Luke awaited for their solo session.

Odette smiled brightly, as they approached. For the most part, their robes had dried. Perhaps a little damp, but not nearly as noticeable as it normally where when they were out cutting up at the lake, so she hoped it wouldn't be nearly as noticeable to Master Luke as well, "Hello, Master Luke." She gave a small bow of her head in respect to the older man and looked back to him, "What would you have us do for today's session?"