Note: This story was written in collaboration with co-writer The Core of Justice. Uni is this writer's character.

Chapter 1

Rain falls lightly out of the dark cloudy night sky in Coruscant, pitter patting off the rooftops. A steady breeze licks between buildings like a chilled tongue picking at the gaps between teeth. Pedestrians on the streets who look like specks of dust below the flickering and flashing billboard holos, and innumerable trails of airspeeders, are chilled to the bone.

Ahsoka hates the rain. It soaks into her montrals and the added weight makes her neck ache. Today, however, she welcomes the rain. It matches her mood. Two days after leaving the Jedi Order and she is depressed. So much of her life has been an ascent to one pinnacle achievement – becoming a Jedi.

Now that life is gone and she does not know what to do with herself. Now what is to be her purpose? Where will she find meaning? It has left a hole her.

She knew it was the correct decision. Leaving the Order was the correct decision. Ahsoka felt it in her bones. It felt like it was the will of the Force. Not only did it feel like the Jedi lost their way, but it felt like the Force was saving her for something, or even from something in the future.

Yet, how could she not feel regret? Part of her, a big part of her, wanted to crawl up the steps of the Jedi Temple and grovel at the feet of the Council, telling them she had made a mistake. Tell them she wanted back. Beg forgiveness for this mistake.

But it had not been a mistake.

She knew that much.

Now, as the rain slowly soaks her, it feels as if some of those doubts were washing away. It felt good. She needed it. Ahsoka was on her way back to the Jedi Temple, not to be a for her to return, but she felt like she needed to say goodbye to some at the Jedi Temple. She wanted to say goodbye before she left Coruscant for good, never weeing them again.

This is the reason she had not left in the first place. That, and she had no idea where she would go from here. She knows, she will eventually return to her homeward of Shili. It was the most logical thing to do. Return to her family and figure out where she will go from there.

For some reason she was hesitant to. It was as if she was waiting to figure out the Will of the Force. As if she needed its permission. She didn't. Not any longer at least. Nevertheless, it is an old habit that is hard to break. Seeing the will of the Force has been a part of her life for so long that she wonders what will happen to her. Will the Force abandon her like a commander abandons a droid he or she no longer finds use for? Will her powers diminish and she becomes as ordinary as the next person?

These are some of the things running through her mind as she walks the streets of the Federal District on her way to the Jedi Temple, keeping her mind in a fog. Mainly, what she is thinking about is how much she is going to miss the people. Her fellow padawans, Jedi knights, and masters she fought and bled with. Most of all, she is going to miss Anakin Skywalker. He was not old enough to be a father figure to her, rather he was like an older brother, and he was her best friend.

"Ahsoka," a familiar voice says from the shadows. She turns to find the face of the person who called her as the fog over her mind begins to evaporate as she snaps back to reality. "It is you!"

A dark figure steps out from under an awning that shields the young man from the rain. Shadow masks his face until he steps out onto the damp sidewalk close to where Ahsoka stands, and the city light brightly unmasks the young man.

"Uni? Is that you," Ahsoka says. The surprise of seeing him brightens her face with a smile.

"You bet your you know what I am," Uni says. Uni is a young man barely fourteen years of age. Yet, he was tall for his age. Nearly a foot taller than Ahsoka. The young man is of dark complexion human with short dark hair. A Korun. He was Plo Koon's student until recently when Uni had failed the trials. Most padawans who failed the trials were often allowed to retake the trials at a later date. Uni was not. Rumor has it that the young man was too vocal on his views on a Jedi's ability to use both the light and dark sides of the Force.

Uni had also become cynical about the Jedi Order. He felt they were no longer better than the Sith. He felt the Order had become corrupted by the war.

"What are you still doing here," Ahsoka asks. The question comes out more callously than she intends it to. Uni had been expelled over a month ago, but he had remained on Coruscant. Usually, rejected padawans return to their home worlds – just like Ahsoka intends to eventually do.

"Well, I have no way of getting home, so I've been stuck," Uni says a little sheepishly. Ahsoka notices that he is still wearing the same Padawan tunic he wore when he was in the Order. The beige tunic was now stained with dark brown and black splotches. It looked as if he had been rolling in the mud. Uni's brown cloak was also stained and had holes in it. His hair is unkept and his face was dirty as well.

"You didn't go home," Ahsoka asks.

"No! The Jedi Council did not give me money to go home," Uni says. This comes as a shock to Ahsoka. She had always thought failed padawans were returned by the Jedi Council to their home worlds. That's why he's filthy! He's homeless!

"Where do you live," Ahsoka says, concerned he has been living in a gutter somewhere.

"I've been staying in an abandoned house on Humboldt Street. It's old, but it keeps me warm at night," Uni says a little ashamed.

"You poor thing! How have you been able to eat?"

"I am able to pick up odd jobs here and there. "I'll eat out of a dumpster if I have to."

This breaks Ahsoka's heart. Uni was a great student in the Jedi Temple. He excelled in everything he did. For the Jedi Order to treat him this way is unacceptable. She felt justified for leaving the Order for the first time since she left.

"Oh, Uni that's terrible!"

"I'm okay. I'm trying to save enough money to get back home, but it is taking a long time."

"I have to stop by the Jedi Temple to grab a few things and say my goodbyes, but do you mind if I stop by the house you are staying at to bring you somethings?"

"That would be amazing," Uni says. He smiles and a light seems to flicker in his eyes. "If you stop by there is something I'd like to show you. Some kind of artifact. Maybe it is something you can help me figure out what it is."

"Sure," Ahsoka says. Helping Uni out has made her feel better than she has in weeks. They say their goodbyes and she heads to the temple.