Inside the Millennium Falcon, Han waved everyone on board impatiently. "Right this way, princesses and ambassadors and Jedi and whatnot," he droned, "Welcome aboard the the fastest ship in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon. She may not look like much now, but she's got it where it counts."

"Just be sure to fasten your seatbelts," Leia remarked drily behind his back.

Anakin continued to glance around the ship in disdain. "Can't believe we agreed to ride in this piece of trash. By the looks of this thing, we'll all be floating home soon enough, just you wait."

"We should be grateful that we have a ship to use at all," Obi-Wan frowned. He pulled his hand away from touching the wall, grimacing as a layer of grime crumbled onto his fingers. Brushing it from his hands hurriedly, he delicately ignored his apprentice's pointed smirk.

Finn, Rey, and Poe, in contrast, were running their fingertips along the corridors in a kind of awe.

"I can't believe how much cleaner it was back then," Rey remarked, drawing a smiley face in the layer of dust that had settled on a computer console near the lounge area. "Or, I guess, now."

"That I have to disagree with," Poe tapped his chin, eyeing the dirty grey color of the walls as he bent to scrawl 'Poe D. was here' beside Rey's scribble. "Do he and his copilot take care of this thing… at all? At least an annual maintenance sweep? The least Chewbacca could do is scoot his butt across this console." He clapped his hands together briskly and a cloud of dust exploded around them, making them all cough.

"If you think it looks like junk now, you should have seen it when Rey and I found it," Finn remarked, waving away the airborne debris. "You know, in the future."

"What are you three jabbering about?" Han was in a bad temper because Anakin and Obi-Wan had just found the cargo bay, and were examining crates and containers best left alone. "Hey, don't touch that, it's explosive!" he yelled over his shoulder at the two Jedi, but Anakin just lifted the glass tube he was holding up to eyelevel with a grin.

"What's in it?"

"None of your business, that's what!" Han muttered some rude obscenities under his breath as he turned to stalk off to the cockpit.

The moment he turned the corner, Rey leaned over to whisper in Finn's ear, "I just can't get used to him being so young. I mean, just look at him! His hair's so dark!" She blushed, mumbling. "He's handsome, too."

Poe burst out laughing. "No wonder General Organa fell for him. And the General too, she's not such a bad looker either." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Is it weird that I now have a crush on someone 30 years older than I am?"

"Yes," Rey snapped, resentful of his amused reaction to her embarrassment. "She's married, you pervert! Or she will be, anyway!"

"Relax, I was only joking." Poe drew a stuck-out tongue and crossed eyes on her dust smiley face, glancing up with a smirk.

Finn carefully angled himself between the two, disliking the way Poe's eyes danced when he met Rey's disdainful gaze. "This is kind of mind-blowing," He rubbed the back of his neck with a crooked smile. "We're going on a mission with a whole bunch of famous legends!"

"I know," Rey frowned down at the dusty console before her, at the ridiculous face that grinned goofily back at her. "I still can't really understand it. I mean, no offence, but none of us are really the hero type."

"I'm highly offended," Poe leaned back with a feigned huff of indignity. "Why, I'm one of the Resistance's top pilots!"

"And one of their biggest egos," Rey punched him in the arm irritably. "But really... I'm just a scavenger from Jakku, and Finn— why, Finn's a defective stormtrooper, of all people!"

"Hehe, yeah," Finn laughed nervously, rubbing his upper arm as though it had been him Rey had punched, not Poe.

"Pfft. You're overthinking this way too much." Poe waved a flippant hand. "Think of this as an honor. It's an honor to be considered important enough to history to be called to work alongside immortal legends like Luke Skywalker."

"Yeah, but…" Rey struggled for words to describe just exactly what she was feeling. It wasn't doubt, necessarily, but rather… trepidation. "It's such a big responsibility. There're a lot of… high-stake expectation. Aren't they risking a lot by sending all of us out together without so much as a… I don't know… list of instructions? I mean, they literally just want us to 'stop the Sith apprentice'. Well, how are we supposed to do that?"

Poe wagged a hand over his mouth in an exaggerated yawn, and Rey resisted the urge to punch him yet again. "Oh man, is that a Dejarik board?" He exclaimed suddenly, catching sight of the black and white pedestaled board in the middle of the lounge area. The Resistance pilot immediately trotted over to examine the game. "Bet you never had one of these babies as a stormtrooper, eh Finn? Come on then ole' buddy, I've gotta teach you how to play the best game in the history of mankind!"

"Um… okay…" With a last, uncertain glance at Rey, Finn turned to trail after him hesitantly.

Rey remained where she was, still staring down at the scrawled dust. On a sudden impulse she drew her hand across the console, swiping it clean.

Padmé circled the corridors, taking in every nook and cranny. The living spaces were a bit more primitive than what she was used to as the former Queen and now Senator of Naboo, but she wasn't concerned. Anakin sometimes referred to her as a 'desert flower', for she was delicate and sensitive, yet hardy and adaptable. One had to be, when they were the wife of Anakin Skywalker, who was never able to sit still for a moment, always thirsty for the next adventure.

A loud squawk by her foot startled her out of her reveries, and she looked down to see a small Porg, one of the native fauna of the island of Ahch-To. The Force ghosts had dryly warned the group about a possible infestation of the creatures, but Padmé didn't see how an infestation of these adorable little things could be bad.

She bent down to pick it up and it squawked again, regarding her with enormous round eyes. "Well hello!" she addressed the creature good-naturedly. "What are you doing here?" As Anakin came up behind her, she held the little animal out to her husband. "Look, Ani. Isn't it cute?"

"Uh uh," Anakin agreed absently. To be honest, he thought the creatures were awfully annoying, but he didn't like to disagree with Padmé.

Padmé set the creature down again, where it waddled off happily to aggravate Han and Chewie in the cockpit. "You seem a bit distracted," she remarked casually.

Anakin blinked, and turned to her. "Do I?"

"What are you thinking about?" Padmé asked him.

Anakin slumped against the side of the corridor, shrugging. "Nothing really," he waved a hand dismissively. Then, after a moment, he continued. "Only about this time-traveling planet. I was just thinking about all the things you could do with one."

"It's terrible, isn't it?" Padmé leaned against the wall beside him. "What if this Sith apprentice goes somewhere he shouldn't, or does something he shouldn't, and his actions affect a lot of important things?" She toyed with the end of her sleeve. "A lot of people could just… not exist anymore. And then many others would die, because no one was there to save them."

"But you could change the bad stuff too," Anakin murmured. "The stuff that never should have happened."

Padmé glanced over at him sharply, and studied his face. Suddenly, she knew exactly what was going through his mind at that moment. She caught her breath.

"Oh, Ani. I know you think about her a lot," she began, and Anakin cut across her.

"Every day." His hands were curled into fists at his sides, and his jaw twitched with tension.

Padmé paused uncomfortably, before placing a soft hand on his shoulder. "There was nothing you could have done about it," she whispered. "I'm so sorry, Anakin."

"My mother shouldn't have died, Padmé," he insisted stubbornly. "She just shouldn't have."

"Ani, you can't blame yourself for something you had no control over," Padmé said gently.

Anakin just stared at the opposite wall, as though attempting to bore holes through the ship with his stare. Finally, he lifted his chin and turned to face her.

"But what if I did?" he began slowly. "What if I did have the power to control what happened that night?"

Padmé looked at him strangely, her eyes darting around his face, only to find that he was completely serious.

"Ani, no." she whispered. She pulled away from the wall in dismay at the message she read in his troubled eyes. "You can't mess with time, Anakin, it's too dangerous. No one is omniscient; you will never be able to see the full picture of things and how your actions could drastically affect someone else."

"But why shouldn't I?" Anakin demanded, his voice raising ever so slightly. "Why shouldn't I try to fix what was obviously a mistake?"

Padmé stepped forward to grab his hands impulsively. "Anakin, listen to me." She pleaded, gripping them tightly. "Please don't waste your life wishing you could change the past. It doesn't do anything but take away from the future. Don't be so caught up in your pain that you forget to live."

When Anakin refused to answer, she added, more softly, "I know it hurts a lot; I can see it in your eyes. And I… I hate that." She lifted a hand to his cheek, eyes glittering with unshed tears. "But Anakin... we have to focus on this mission. The galaxy needs us."

He pulled away from her coldly, turning his back. Padmé called out to him in a strong, unwavering voice as he began to walk away.

"I love you, Anakin."

Anakin paused, shoulders hunched. Then he turned back to glance at her. "I love you too, Padmé."

He stepped forward, arms outstretched, and she met him halfway, resting her head against his chest. The faint scent of smoke, perspiration, and a hint of singed clothing emanated from his Jedi uniform. She whispered into the coarse material, feeling the rhythmic throb of his heart beneath her cheek. "I'm here for you, Ani. I wish I could do something to ease your pain. To take it away."

He was silent for a moment, then pulled away just enough so that he could see her face. Her soft brown eyes searched his face anxiously, attempting to read— to understand— his thoughts, and he quickly concealed his feelings behind a wry smile. He hated worrying her.

Impulsively he leaned forward, catching her soft face in both of his worn, calloused hands. Padmé slid her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her level, and his skin tingling as a shiver shot down his spine. He could make out every detail of her quivering lashes. She could feel his warm breath by his ear, and her eyes fluttered shut as her body visibly relaxed, melting into his.

"Oh. Pardon my interruption."

Leia raised one eyebrow pointedly as the two jumped apart in alarm at the sudden intrusion. The Rebel princess continued on past them briskly until she reached the end of the corridor where she paused, one hand on the corner.

"Hope I'm not intruding on anything." She inclined her head to one side, lifting her chin slightly as she regarded the pair with an expression as cool and calculated as that of a metal statue's. "Do carry on." With a final curt nod, she turned the corner.

Anakin growled something under his breath after her, but Padmé caught his arm. "We'll have to be more careful," she whispered, then gave a nervous laugh. "Sometimes… I forget that we're not on Naboo anymore."

"Yeah." Anakin slid his hands into his robes bad-temperedly.

Padmé paused, and turned back to the young Jedi. "Oh, and Ani?"

"Yeah?" Anakin returned his gaze to hers hopefully.

"When was the last time you washed your uniform?"

"And stay out!" Han barked, shoving the last of the Porgs out of the cockpit. He yelled over his shoulder at his copilot, throwing his hands into the air in disgust. "Just look at this mess! Chewie, you're sure they didn't chew up anything essential, right?"

Chewie roared unhappily.

"Your Dejarik board doesn't count as essential!" Han called back crossly. He shoved the mass of trash crowding the dashboard away and settled down in the pilot's chair to flip switches bad-temperedly.

Luke came up behind him. "Aren't we still critically low on fuel?" he queried, eyeing his friend. "I mean, even getting a really important and wacky mission doesn't change the reason we landed here in the first place."

Han seemed to realize this at the same time, and cursed loudly. Yet when he glanced over at the fuel gauge, he stopped in surprise. "What? Now it's saying we're full." He gave it a brisk flick for good measure, but the gauge did not change.

Luke peered over the smuggler's shoulder doubtfully. "I dunno… those Porg thingies chewed through an awful lot of wires… could be a malfunction."

"I don't think it's a malfunction," Han said suddenly, and Luke glanced up to follow his gaze. The Force ghosts were still watching them from the rocky overhang.

Han slammed his hands down onto the dashboard in front of him. "...But it was the first time! Ha! I knew I'd fuelled up before we left!" He began priming the ship for takeoff with a feverish sort of excitement, tapping in the hyperspace coordinates the Force ghosts had provided for their destination. "You two tried to blame it on me," he exclaimed almost giddily, "With all that talk of procrastination and sop. Haha! I told you it wasn't my fault!"

Luke rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "If I remember correctly, you tried to blame it on me as well."

Han didn't answer, too pleased that his beloved ship was not grounded after all. Chewbacca entered the cockpit, still lamenting his ruined Dejarik board, and took his place as copilot beside Han.

The Millennium Falcon started up with a roar… before giving a violent coughing fit and dying. Simultaneously Han and Chewie smacked their respective sides of the ship, and it jumped to life once again. The Falcon lifted off and hovered for a moment, before Han and Chewie's guiding hands maneuvered it around to shoot out of the atmosphere. The Force ghosts continued to watch until it was out of sight; then one by one, the three flickered away.

"Good luck," Qui-Gon whispered softly, just before passing into the world beyond.