NOW

"State your name, please." the female voice says to my foggy brain.

I'm not sure whether I should take the risk of opening my eyes or not. What if whoever is in front of me is a part of the First Order?

Holding my breath, I "reach" into the Force. The room feels clean and too inorganic. There is only one other occupant in here. The Force is radiating off of her, as if the Midichlorians are screaming at me in unison inside of her very being. This time, I am positive I'm not just imaging another Force-Sensitive.

I crack my eyes open and the first thing I see is blank white.

I open my mouth to gulp in air that scratches my throat. Putting a hand to my throat, I cough. I thrust my head up as someone's hand pushes my forehead against a soft puff.

"Sir, you've got to rest." her voice is authoritative like

my mother's, but carries a gentleness reminds me of someone else I am still unsure of. I know this person is not my mother. Turn my head over to the direction of the voice.

My eyes rest on a young woman, barely older than a girl, with shoulder-length brown hair, sitting on a wooden chair. She is dressed in a simple dark gray tunic and black pants though she manages to look elegant in simplicity.

Swallowing the lack of saliva I have left in my mouth, I ask, "Are you with the First Order? Where's–where are–"

"No." she says. "You were caught with an item. I believe it is not yours?"

I remember. "That lightsaber," I want to shout, but my hoarse voice is holding me back. "It belonged to a family member."

"It was in the archives of the old Imperial Palace. That building is off limits. I don't know how you could've made all the way out to Coruscant's Undercity without getting caught."

"My mother says I am 'gifted' like her Father. She doesn't use the Force like he did." I add a side comment.

"I am also gifted, my father told me that. He trained me as a Jedi, but I'm also a Healer." she tells me. "I can certainly tell you're gifted, I should've figured it out that's how you made it far. You're not a trained Force-User. If you were, I would've known. Your power is raw, uncontrolled."

"I know. So is my mother's. She would not let me be trained by the Grand Master." I suddenly feel a twinge of jealousy for this young woman whom I barely know, but at the same time it feels as if I've known her, or should've known her.

THEN

"He knows." I nearly yelled from across the coffee table.

"What–who–"

"You need to get off-planet, Padmé."

"Knows what? Who?"

It suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't even introduced the subject of our hurried conversation. "S–someone, he's called Vader, I think. He suspects you to be a Rebel Spy, a–and he knows you and I are both friends."

"Do you know who Vader is?"

"He's the Emperor's secret apprentice who'll succeed him or some crime lord, I think. He didn't tell me his real name." Realizing this, I inwardly scolded myself. "I mean, I know that isn't his real name."

"Obi-Wan, you know I can't leave Imperial Center."

"Yes, I know. You have duties in the Imperial Senate." Honestly, I thought to myself it's like her job is her child she can't leave.

"If the Emperor sees that I didn't attend the sessions, he'll be even more suspicious." she added.

"Yes, you're right but since he's already suspicious, he'll most likely send for you to be killed." I tried to explain. "Go to Mandalore. I know Satine will let you stay there."

"She doesn't support the Rebellion or the Empire."

"Yes I know, but that's why it's the perfect place to hide."

"And Mandalore is full of Mandalorians who serve the Empire. It's a wonder why they don't execute her,"

NOW

My eyes drink in the absence of light. The young woman, or girl, is nowhere to be seen. I assume she is off-duty, for I know it is nighttime.

The moonlight touches my face when I turn my head. Taking a deep breath, I force the reluctance out of my muscles as I sit up and peel the stiff blanket off. I'm still dressed in the last outfit I remember wearing, a black tunic and matching pants. I make my way to the closed window in bare feet.

I'm still on Coruscant, I can tell. This is a good opportunity to practice. I focus my energy onto the bottom part of my brain, I think that's how I can try to sense what is below me.