[color=crimson][h1][center]A  L  I  A[/center][/h1][/color]

She couldn't believe it.

How could this happen? The Republic and the Jedi just... gone? Just like that, in an instant, as if somebody had flipped a switch? A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, tugging her emotions this way and that. After a while, she became numb, and started listening to Master Kenobi's message again and again. In the tight space of the communications centre, the message just reverberated and pounded into her psyche, trying to pick through it and understand exactly how Kenobi could have hope in this situation.

[i]Breathe, okay? Breathe.[/i] She flicked a switch and cut the message off. There was silence again - a deep silence for Alia to sink into and be alone with her thoughts. She knew her parents would be okay. She didn't know much about this new Empire, but she'd read her history. The Empires of the galaxy never lasted. Perhaps the Chancellor - sorry, the Emperor, had doomed them all to a new dark age. How Palpatine had enough power to throw aside the virtues of freedom and democracy, which he had championed for years, and replace it with a totalitarian state was beyond her. And what did the Jedi have to do with it? Was it his plan? Was [i]this[/i] what he really wanted all along?

She couldn't stop these torturous questions from driving themselves into the forefront of her attention. She just needed to [i]know[/i], to just [i]understand why[/i].

She needed to know why she was now an outlaw.

They'd be hunted, now. All of them, the Jedi and anyone who aided them, betrayed by anyone they came across, sold out and slaughtered by the the forces of the Emperor. There was nowhere to go. This was her new life - perpetually on the run. Even the Outer Rim wouldn't be safe for long. If it was true, and the war was over, there was nothing to stop the Empire from expanding their reach into every corner of the galaxy for the sake of cornering their enemies. Where would they go? She guessed that the decision might be Master Azure's, and it was her and Javi's responsibility to get them there. But, she thought, her contract was with the Jedi. Did the Jedi really exist anymore? Was this motley group all that was left? Did they count as an organization to which she was liable to uphold her duty?

She didn't know. Perhaps Azure's wisdom would come through, and deliver them to a place where they could be safe. But for how long? What would her life be like? She was a criminal. They all were. No matter what contract she'd signed, she deserved a say in what to do. 

Master Azure's voice suddenly crackled to life over the intercom, bidding them all come to the main room. She sighed, wanting to just lie down and try to sleep, but she knew that wouldn't be of any use. After a minute or two, she saw Javi stride down the hallway, out of the bridge, just adjacent to where she was. Getting up, she decided it was time to put her voice into the mix, however much she didn't want to at the moment, and walked out after the other co-pilot. It wasn't long til they got to the common area, where most of the ship's residents were already assembled.

Without a word, she picked a lonely corner of the room, and sat herself down, arms hugged tight to her chest, and eyes looking downward at the floor.