Solan went out to the rougher part of the spaceport, or he supposed it was the rougher part. It was where everyone was coming in from the hangars. There were several bars around there. He went into one and went up to the bar. He certainly did not want anymore of those drinks, but he wanted to see what went on in that bar before he decided to mingle. The bartender, which was a servant droid came over to him. "What'll it be?" it asked.

"Nothing," Solan answered. "What kind of card games do they play here?"

"The usual: Sabacc."

"What's Sabacc?"

The droid went through a long explanation about the game Sabacc, which was what sounded like a complicated card game, but Solan figured it was kinda like Poker if one knew what kind of hand they needed. "Any of those games going on here now?" he asked.

"Of course."

With that, the droid moved away. Solan turned toward the room and moved out among the tables and finally came to one that had a card game going on. He did not want to ask if this was a sabacc game so he just sat and waited to see what happened. Finally, after what seemed like a long time, someone won the game with what was called an "Idiot's Array". Apparently, the stakes in a Sabacc game could be very high.

When that game was over, Solan sat down at the table as the winner got up to claim his winnings. He would not let them know he was new to this game, but he would just take his chances…with what? He had nothing except the clothes he had with him. Maybe he could make that burned up shuttle sound appealing.

Spock was sleeping when Solan came back into the hospital room at about 3 am, but Bones was not sleeping. "Where have you been?" he asked.

"Out," Solan answered. "I didn't know I had to report to you. Besides, you could have contacted me." He held up his communicator.

"What have you been out doing?"

"Playing cards."

"Cards? You best not have gambled away any of our money."

"No. I didn't. I just gambled with the old burned out shuttle. I didn't lose." He opened a bag and poured out a pile of gold coins. "I just got us some more money."

"You actually won in a card game?"

"Yeah. It was called Sabacc. Trust me, it's a difficult game. I think I was just lucky."

"You're lucky you didn't lose your shirt."

"I didn't bet my shirt. So, how's the captain?"

"Still asleep. That droid comes in and checks on him." Bones shook his head. "I just don't like the idea of some droid seeing after him and not being overseen himself."

"This is a different galaxy, Doctor McCoy."

"Yeah. Where would I be here?"

"You would be obsolete, I guess."

Solan lay down on the bed that Bones had vacated. "Night."

"You're getting up in the morning," Bones declared. "Early!"

"Whatever," Solan mumbled.

Bones looked out the window, but he could not see much out there except darkness and sand. He would be relieved when Amidala came to get them…

After two days in the bacta tank, Jim was taken out, cleaned up and put into the bed in the room. "How long before he wakes up?" Bones asked. "And is he okay now?"

The medical droid hovered over Jim a moment as he scanned him. "He is healing well," it said. "All he needs now is rest so the bacta can finish its job."

"Will he be able to travel tomorrow?"

"Perhaps."

The droid gave Jim an injection, and after only a few moments, he began to wake up. He was a little startled when he saw the droid, but then he saw Bones. "How you feeling?" Bones asked.

"Sleepy," Jim replied. "Where am I?"

"In a medical center on Tatooine. You've been in a bacta tank for two days."

"A bacta tank?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it later. The doctor here says you have to rest."

"Right."

Jim felt exhausted just thinking about all that. He thought maybe after he slept some more he would be less confused. The next time he woke up, he felt more alert. Spock was standing beside his bed.

"Captain, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"I don't know," Jim said. "What are we doing?"

"That may take a while." Spock sat down on the side of the bed and explained everything that had happened, including that Senator Amidala would be coming to pick them up. "We have also found out that Palpatine is no longer in office, but has disappeared in the galaxy. There are also those beings on this planet who search for Anakin Skywalker and his mother."

"They don't know we have anything to do with it, do they?"

"I do not believe so."

"So, we're just waiting for Amidala to come and get us, and my leg is…better?"

"Yes."

Jim wrinkled his nose. "I have a terrible taste in my mouth," he said. "Is it from that treatment?"

"I do not know," Spock answered. "I am not very familiar with bacta tanks."

"I'm starving. When do I get to eat?"

"I am sure Doctor McCoy will see that you get something. He and Solan have gone out into the spaceport. The doctor has developed a taste for this galaxy's potato chips."

Jim chuckled at that. "Where did he find anything like that?"

"In the mall."

"Wow. I've missed a lot being unconscious. When can I get up from here?"

"Not yet. According to the medical droid, you must rest so that the bacta can finish fusing with your own tissue to make the repairs permanent."

"Oh. Right. Bacta? What is that?"

"I am not certain."

"So you guys just let them dunk me into something that you have no idea what it is?"

"We did not have much choice."

Just then, the medical droid came in to do his routine check on Jim. He scanned him. "You are healing well," he said.

Jim had never seen a droid like this one. It did not look like anything special but it appeared to know what it was doing. "When do I get to eat?" he asked.

"Very soon. Is there anything in particular that you would like?"

"Oh, just anything, I guess."

The droid left the room. Jim looked at Spock. "Can't I have some clothes on?" he asked.

"Captain, I believe this droid doctor does not have any thoughts about modesty. It only thinks of treating your wounds."

Jim pulled the covers over him. "I'm cold. Can you believe that? I'm on a planet with two suns, and I'm cold."

"It is the environment of this facility."

"Right. I wouldn't have thought any place on this planet could be cold."

"Are you feeling well other than your hunger?" Spock asked.

"Yeah. I don't feel so weak now." Jim lay back on the pillow. "We were lucky that we walked away from that crash at all."

"I agree, Captain. However, we were fortunate to have you and Solan at the helm."

"I don't know. I couldn't get that thing to level out anymore than it was. Something must have happened to the navigation system and the engines when we came through the rift. It's all like a blur."

"I agree. I do not remember anything about the rift."

"I don't even remember feeling dizzy after we got through this time."

"We did not have much time to think because the ship was afire, and we could only get what we could carry, including you."

"Maybe it's burned up so bad, no one can get technology from it."

"I believe that is correct. It was ingulfed on our last sight of it. Nothing would have survived well enough to be of any use."

"Good."

Doctor McCoy and Solan were in the mall again. "Next time, don't pick out clothes for me," Solan said. "Maybe I didn't want red. I wear red all the time."

"Exactly," McCoy replied. "And I wear blue all the time. We even got Jim his usual colors. He's probably not going to be happy about that. But, hey, we can always get some extras."

"We'll probably need them. How long are we going to be here?"

Bones frowned. He certainly could not answer that question. They did not even have the Enterprise this time. "Maybe Jim will figure out something."

When they returned to the medical facility, Jim was eating. "Well, it's about time you were sitting up," Bones said. "How you feeling?"

"Hungry. Where you guys been?"

"Wandering around, doing nothing. Oh, but we did get you another outfit to wear."

"You bought clothes for me?"

"See?" Solan interrupted. "Nobody wants someone else picking out clothes for them."

"Will you shut up?" Bones asked.

"Guys, can we just not argue?" Jim asked.

"So, what do you think we'll do when we get to Coruscant?"

"We'll probably go to the Jedi Temple. I don't know what else to do."

"Won't they be surprised to see us?"

"You think this droid is going to let me out of here before the day is over?"

"I don't know. This is one treatment cycle I know nothing about, but I have learned some."

"Maybe it's something new to try."

"No. It takes too long, but it does work."

That evening, the medical droid allowed Jim to get out of bed, but he could not walk around too much. He got into some of his new clothes. As he stood and looked in the mirror, he thought it looked like some sort of royal attire. The shirt was gold, and the sleeveless tunic was brownish. The pants were brown as well, and the boots. He walked back out into the room. "Did you have to get yellow?" he asked. "Or gold?"

"I told him you wouldn't like it," Solan said. "Looks like you're a royal guard or something."

"It does not," Bones argued.

"I'd like to see a little of the spaceport before we leave," Jim said.

"How does your leg feel?"

"I'm not sure. It doesn't hurt unless I stand off-balance or something."

"Well, I may not have any equipment, but I can scan you." Bones scanned Jim with the tricorder. "It's looking pretty well. I agree with that droid though. I don't think you should walk around too much yet."

Jim frowned. "Fine." He got back onto the bed. "At least I have clothes on now. Maybe we'll have some time in the morning before Amidala gets here."

When morning came, the droid advised Jim to get more rest on his journey and not to overdo anything. "Let's go," he said.

They gathered up all their stuff and left the medical facility. Jim looked out across the sandy street…if one would call that a street. "So, where do you go around here?" he asked.

"I guess that's according to what you want to do," Bones said. "Our friend, Solan, here has increased our bounty of money by playing a Sabacc game."

"What…" Jim remembered something about that card game from before. "Hey, I remember that Han Solo saying something about a Sabacc game."

"Too bad we're before his time."

"I've never been any good at cards in my own galaxy. I sure don't think I would do any good here."

They walked through the spaceport while Bones and the others told Jim about some of the places they had been. "They actually have outside shops here," he said.

Suddenly, they noticed everyone started gathering up everything and hurrying inside. "I think something's happening," Bones said.

A strong gust of wind hit them next. "I think I know what it is too," Jim replied. "Let's get back in there."

They went back inside the spaceport and went to the corridor which had a lot of windows. They could definitely see that a sandstorm was coming. "That's why everyone's running," Jim said.

"I wonder how long that will last," Bones replied.

"It's a sandstorm, isn't it?" Solan asked.

"Yes," Spock answered. "They are quite violent and last for hours, and could last for more than a day."

"So, what does everyone do when a sandstorm comes? Just stay inside till it passes over?"

"Precisely."

"At least we're in the spaceport," Jim said. "Let's go to that mall. I want to see some more stuff they sell around here. We should get us a room to leave all this in too. Why don't we do that first?"

"We found the motel down here," Bones said. "I don't know if you would really call it that, but it has rooms with beds in them."

"That's what we need."

They went down to the hotel/motel which was just like everything else which looked like it was hewn out of stone. Jim supposed that was the only thing that could stand up to the constant wearing away with sand on this planet. "We'd like some rooms," he said to the person at the desk. "You have any rooms with four beds?"

"Are you kidding?" the woman asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess I am. You have any with two?"

"Sure."

"Great. We need two of those then."

The woman signed them in, and they had to pay up front, and they had actual keys to the rooms. "Well, I've never had a key like that," Jim said as they were going down the stone hallway.

"You think our things will be safe in that room?" Solan asked. "I'm used to having a ship to stay on and not having to worry about that."

"So are we, but we don't have much choice right now."

Even in that stone hallway, they could hear the wind howling outside. "I can see why they built the spaceport this way," Jim remarked.

"So they can get everything they need without going outside," Bones said. "I'm bunking with you, by the way."

"Just like old times?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you get to bunk with the captain?" Solan asked.

"Because he's my best friend," Bones said. "And I really don't want to room with Spock there…no offense."

"None taken," Spock replied. "I do not believe I would personally relish sharing a room with you either."

"And just why not?"

"Listening to your bleak outlook on every situation is not the way I want to spend the evenings."

"Guys, let's just try to get along," Jim said.

"We're getting along," Bones declared. "Can't you hear we're insulting each other like usual?"

"Yes," Spock agreed. "If the doctor were not arguing with someone, we may think he was ill."

Jim had a hard time not laughing out loud at them at times. They met a tall Wookiee coming down the hallway and stepped out of his way. "You know, if I lived in this galaxy all the time, I think I'd have to live somewhere that there are no Wookiees," Bone said.

"You never know, Bones, maybe they're not all that bad," Jim replied.

"Well, they look scary to me."

"I think this is underground."

They finally found their rooms, and Jim gave Spock and Solan the key to their room. Jim and Bones walked into the room, and it was definitely plain. There were two beds in it, and a bathroom, and that was all, except for a table. Jim set his packages on the bed he chose. "This is kinda eerie with no windows," he said.

"Like you said, it's underground," Bones replied. "I guess it keeps the sand out."

"Well, the door locks, so maybe no one can get in at least. We won't have to carry all this around all day."

"We don't have all day, remember?"

"We don't know how long we have. She can't take off in this sandstorm."

"You got a point there."

Jim took out his communicator. "Spock."

"Yes, Captain," Spock answered promptly.

"We're going out in the spaceport. Are either of you going?"

"I believe we will both be going."

"Good. We'll be out in a moment."

Jim shoved the key in his pocket and they left the room. "I wonder how long this has been here," he said.

"Who knows?" Bones asked as he was making sure his tunic was covering up the phaser he was carrying.

Jim did the same thing. "I think they use different weapons here although they shoot lasers too."

"I wouldn't want to go out into this place without a weapon anyway. Everyone's stuck in here now until that sandstorm is over."

Spock and Solan joined them as they headed out of the hotel. "So, what do we want to get into first?" Jim asked. "You think they have anything like pool in this place?"

"You're gonna drag us into another one of those games with the braniac?" Bones asked. "Don't you remember the last time we played something like that?"

"Sure. It was hilarious. I think I feel like doing something fun."

Jim wanted to get his mind off the fact that they were stuck in this galaxy without the Enterprise. He could not get back to the other galaxy like they did the other two times. He did not like thinking about that. He had gotten reacquainted with Carol Marcus, and now, he was so far from her, he did not even know how far it was.

"Hey, are you zoning out?" Bones asked.

Jim looked at him. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. You sure your head's alright?"

"I'm fine."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Bones, I do not have to tell you everything I think about."

"Trust me, I don't want to know everything you think about, but if something's bothering you, I'd like to know."

They came out of the hotel and went around the large corridor which seemed to surround the entire spaceport, and opened into hangars, and other businesses around the spaceport. There were even neon lights in there at some of the bars, and the businesses had advertisements in the windows. "This looks like one big space station," Jim said as he remembered Caleb IV.

"Well, it is a spaceport," Bones replied. "Probably the busiest place on this side of the galaxy."

"According to our readings and on what we have been told, this planet is in the outer regions of the galaxy," Spock said. "It is far from the central government."

"Yeah, and there's not much law," Jim replied.

"I think they make their own laws here," Bones said.

"Probably."

They soon came to a bar that had weird music playing so they went on in. It was a rather large area in the bar…or cantina. "This place looks familiar," Jim said.

"I'll say," Bones replied. "Good thing we're not in that time."

"How do you know what time we're in?"

"Well, Amidala is around, and we know that she was around at the time of…"

"Okay, never mind."

As they walked on into the cantina, they drew quite a lot of attention from some in the bar…especially one who sat in a dark corner who wore Mandalorian armor. He had not expected to see these three beings again. He had never met them in person, but they had been the ones who upset Palpatine's applecart, and had even killed Count Dooku. It had been rumored that they came from another galaxy. James T. Kirk. He had not forgotten that name. His name had come up in some very interesting conversations and news reports. He had been instrumental in helping the planet, Naboo against the Trade Federation. The word was that they had advanced technology that did not even exist in this galaxy. He remembered hearing about something called a "transporter". Something like that would certainly help him in his business, and he was certain that Sidious would be very interested in knowing that this group had returned once again. He figured he could probably make a lot of money with that information. He watched the four as they walked on through the cantina toward the gaming room. He wondered how they got back to this galaxy and how they returned to their own.

Jim and the others did not notice the one staring at them since there were others staring as well. He was used to people staring at him anyway, although here, no one knew he was the captain of a star ship. "Well, this place certainly isn't run by droids," Jim remarked.

"Doesn't look like it's run by anyone," Bones replied.

"On the contrary, Doctor, it most likely even has bouncers," Spock said.

"Yeah, let's just try to avoid them," Jim said.

There was actually a table that was the equivalent of a pool table, and they were surprised that it was called "billiards". "I guess maybe they couldn't think of anything else to call it," Jim remarked.

"You wish," Bones replied. "So, who's going first?" He selected a pool cue. "I think I'll let someone else go first."

"Why? Are you afraid Spock forgot and might have his memory refreshed with your expertise?"

"Don't be a wise guy."

"I assure you, I have not forgotten how to play this game," Spock said.

Solan stood and propped on his cue. "Well, they have some interesting music in here," he said.

Jim almost laughed. "Alien music, I guess," he replied.

"Sounds like nothing I've ever heard, but it's not worse than Klingon music."

"I didn't know the Klingons had music."

"Yeah, they have it."

When their game was over, they went back in to the bar. "What do they have to eat in here?" Jim asked.

"Maybe they have a menu," Bones replied. "Surely we can get something to drink that won't kill us or burn through our esophagus."

"As I said before, there is always water," Spock reminded him.

"I don't like everyone staring at us," Solan said. "Why don't we get a table?"

"No one here knows us," Jim said quietly.

"Exactly. That's why they're suspicious."

"Okay. If it'll make you feel better."

They got a table and a waitress came to the table soon after and even brought menus. "At least the menu doesn't look like it's older than this planet," Bones remarked.

Jim was looking around the room, but he did not see anyone who looked familiar. He thought Solan was making him paranoid. How could anyone there know them?

Solan was looking around the room as well but he realized that no one was looking at them with any particular interest. He supposed he had been in the smuggling and delivery business for too long. He knew what kind of people frequented these places even in their own galaxy.

Before they ordered, a service droid came into the bar and came straight to them. "Mister Spock," it said. "You have a message. You may hear it here, or in private."

Spock and the others could not help but wonder how this droid knew he was there. "I will hear it in private," Spock said.

He followed the droid to the communication terminal where they had been before. When the message was activated, it was from Amidala, and she was explaining that she was in orbit but could not land because of the sandstorm, but that she would wait until it was over. Spock returned an affirmative response that he had received the message, and then returned to the bar where Jim and the others were.

"The message was from Amidala," Spock said. "She was informing us that she is in orbit, but cannot land because of the sandstorm."

"I wonder how long this will last," Jim said.

"The last time we were here, it lasted for the better part of a day."

"So we could be here until tonight."

"It is possible."

Jim almost shivered. "I can't believe it feels cold in here," he said. He leaned on the table. "Do you get some kind of eerie feeling?"

Spock considered that. "I have had an eerie feeling," he admitted. "I have also had the sense that someone was following me and watching as I received my message from Amidala."

Jim frowned. "You thought someone was watching you?" he asked.

"I am not certain, but as you know, the Force in this galaxy gives one heightened senses that can detect danger."

"Danger?"

"What do you mean, danger?" Bones asked.

"Alright, let's not get paranoid," Jim said. "It's like last time we were here. It's like something's going on that you can't quite put your finger on."

"Precisely," Spock agreed.

"You mean you think we're going to run into some more dark lords of the Sith who want to slice us and dice us and get rid of our bodies so no one in the universe can ever find them?" Bones asked.

Jim shook his head. "Do you have to be so gruesome?"

"Gruesome? If it hadn't been for Obi-Wan and the others the last time, you would have been in the hands of that Sith lord. And I don't think he wanted to invite you to dinner."

"How would they know we're here?"

"Who knows? Maybe they feel it in the Force."

Their food came and they began eating. "Why would they feel us in the Force?" Jim asked.

"In the Sith logic, unexpected events tend to shift the possibilities of their plans," Spock explained. "Therefore, when something happens, like our ship entering this galaxy, it is logical to believe that they would feel some sort of shift in the Force that changes their outcomes."

Bones just sat there a moment absorbing that. "Is that supposed to make sense?" he asked.

"It is."

"I guess Obi-Wan and all them would know exactly what you're thinking about."

"Most likely."

Bones took a bite of his food. "I just want to get back to our own galaxy," he said.

"We all do," Jim replied. "But we can't do that right now, so we might as well visit our friends and find out what's happening. Maybe we can help."

"Let's hope."