The beach had its perks, not least the sun blasting down at them. Luke was a child of the desert, and even though he had been happy to leave it felt wrong to look down and see pale skin without even the hint of a tan. Mara had disagreed. He looked back from the waterline to see his- his compatriot- huddled in a pool of shadow beneath an almost comically brilliant awning before splashing at his feet distracted him.

Mara hadn't remembered when she learned to swim, and so neither of them had any real reason to doubt her younger doppelganger when she said she could. Her first encounter with the water had shown that for a lie, but with characteristic stubbornness the little girl hadn't let that stop her.

Watching her run through the tidal pools with the other children he couldn't see any difference, they all shared the same excitement through the force and same happiness. The others probably wouldn't try to brag about their training as a weapon, but past that she was just another three year old.

"That's what I was hoping for." He'd sensed Mara's approach, but not the faint touch of her mind. He didn't think about what it could mean, but instead smirked. Her sudden embarrassment at what she'd done was safer. "Maybe you should work on your shields, farm boy."

"This is what we're working for-" he was cut off by a comparatively light shoulder check and had to draw on the force to keep from stumbling into the water. He glanced at her and had to look away before he burst out laughing.

"We're on a beach, our first real downtime in months." Her words were emerging from somewhere beneath an enormous pastel sunhat. "Give the speeches a rest, I know what we're doing." She bumped his shoulder again, this time more gently. "How's the water?"

Luke stepped into it, and immediately regretted his choice. His feet were burning with the cold, something that wasn't troubling the shrieking children sprinting through the waves. Mara more sensibly just dipped a single toe in, and daintily withdrew it.

"I see."

After a few seconds it wasn't as bad, which probably indicated his nerves had been destroyed by the icy water. Just because nothing worse could happen, and not because it would irritate Mara to be shown up, he stayed as the waves washed up to his shins. "The desert did get cold at night-"

"If you wanted to sell that you probably shouldn't be using half of the life support budget to keep your room hot." He turned to stare down at her hat. "And yes, I know you once spent an entire night on Hoth inside of a-"

He cut her off the only way he could, yanking her back into the water before she could react. Her stunned expression was worth the heart-stopping chill as they both crashed to the sand. She shot up sputtering, her hat gone, and looking at her was worth the glare.

He was only human though, and as he stood up, wincing at the grit in his hand, he drew upon the force for warmth. It was steadying, his gasps turned into even breaths, but with it he felt something in the water, something that hungered.

Mara was already moving as he turned, heedless of the cold she sprinted through the shallows. Their girl had stopped, some instinctual grasp of her powers had alerted her to the danger, but Luke could sense that she wasn't threatened even as a panicked spy raced towards her.

No, the problem was elsewhere. Lurking beneath the surface he could feel a simple mind, a beast from the depths. He didn't know what it was, he only got the impression of sinuous curves and snapping teeth, but its will couldn't equal his. It struggled, he could sense the creature's victories in battles past, but in the end, it was just an animal. He was a Jedi.

His partner had returned as he concentrated, her massive hat now on the girl she was carrying. "It's gone?"

"Yeah, back to wherever ugly fish things go." He took a second to look at them, and the surge of contentedness surprised him. They'd been flung into a galaxy absent their friends with their enemies returned to their greatest strengths, but in that moment he felt he was doing exactly what he was meant to be doing. Mara raised a skeptical eyebrow, but he threw an arm over her shoulders as they walked back up the beach. "Is anyone else hungry? I'm feeling seafood, preferably fried."

Something was coming, Ahsoka could sense it. It wasn't the sharpness of imminent danger nor the grinding unease of an Inquisitor plotting evil, but something grander. Every time the holonet chirped she expected some grand revelation, some sign that the battles that had consumed her youth were about to reignite. There wasn't one though, just the constant anticipation. Part of her believed it was building to a climax, but years hidden had taught her the dangers of optimism. What would be, would be, and until then she had a job to do.

Right now the job felt like violence.

"We're not paying that." The smuggler across the table from her grinned, showing off the existence of a complex subculture of tooth engravers Ahsoka would have been happy to remain ignorant of. Based on the smell of his breath he also had a complex fungal culture on his teeth, but she didn't think that was intentional.

"You're paying one way or another." He meant it as a threat, and with three of his men in the crowd behind her in the busy cantina it would normally be an effective one. The betrayal wasn't a surprise., Getting black market weapons was a chancy business and by necessity she wasn't able to point to a larger organization that would avenge her. All she could do was seem as dangerous as possible, something that was getting easier as she kept growing.

Anakin would have been better at it, when he'd wanted he'd exuded menace. Humans weren't the most powerful species, they were weak, fragile, and nearly blind but her master could stare down anything and make them know that they only lived through his sufferance. He was dead though.

"You don't want to do this." For a moment she could feel his resolve shift, but something, probably one of his gang behind her gave him courage. He didn't banter further. His hand went for the blaster at his side in a motion so smooth and efficient that she could almost see the endless hours of practice.

It wasn't enough. Her kick knocked the table up, sending the heavy wood into his chest as she pushed her chair back to the floor and rolled. Blaster bolts spat over her, burning through the space she'd just been sitting in. She bounced off the sticky floor, her weapon leapt from its holster as her closed fist smashed one of the smugglers, a heartbeat later her blaster was in her hand. Three gentle pulls of the trigger ended the fight, leaving her the last one standing in a rapidly emptying bar.

She followed the surge, wrapping herself in the force to seem less memorable. It was harder that it once was, her increased size balanced her skill, and people usually tended to remember the person who opened fire in a crowded place. She'd been taught well though, changing her posture and moving quickly got her into the densest part, and as soon as she broke sightlines the misdirection prevented her from being recognized again.

Less than a minute later she was out on the street in the cool night air, and the only warning the force was giving her was the constant buzz. She wasn't worried about the authorities, she was operating under a fake name and the men she'd killed hadn't been pillars of the community. They weren't even locals, just more travelers setting down on another hunk of rock and dirt.

It was strange to think that most in the galaxy lived on a planet. Ahsoka had walked on hundreds, but she'd only lived on three. Past that it had been an endless stream of spaceports, bars, and battlefields. They all blended together, the only differences were cosmetic. A few extra moons, a distinct odor, some odd weather, in the end as long as ships could land, shots could be served, and separatists fought they were the same.

Living with the Fardis and Kaedan had been when she'd seen more, and it had made her wonder what it would have been like to stay on Shili. Ahsoka couldn't see herself being happy in the grasslands of her homeworld, but she'd have been different. Maybe the stars wouldn't call to her with the promise of adventure.

Her thoughts while walking had taken her back to her ship, a small freighter. Bail had suggested a larger vessel, something Corellian, but while she was operating on her own she wanted something designed for a single passenger. Anakin would have taken a larger ship, the allure of power and space would have made up for the increased work, but in some things she was still sure she knew better.

She locked the hatch behind her as she climbed in, her bed suddenly calling her, but a flashing light from the main console stopped her. Any other channel she would have ignored, but this one was a priority. Every Jedi she knew was gone, and the force had been silent when she searched for them. If she'd been a better Jedi that might have been enough to make her stop looking. Ahsoka couldn't match the might of the Empire nor the resources of the Inquisitors, but she'd known the Jedi. There was a thriving industry for finding people, and it was easy to get inside of it. Putting in searches for the aliases she knew had been a longshot and now after a year something had finally triggered it.

Ahsoka walked slowly, forcing herself to stay calm as she approached the comm station. She knew it wasn't Anakin, that had been clear immediately, but perhaps Obi-Wan or Master Sinube had somehow slipped through. She sat, running her hands up her montrals in one last effort to keep her composure. The alert kept blinking, and at last she couldn't think of a reason to wait. One flick of a switch and an almost laughably gravely voice filled the cockpit.

"We've got a hit on Adoy." The buzz went silent.