Home.
For many, "home" is where one runs to, or runs from, in times of great need.
For (Y/N), home was the latter on a good day.
And on a bad day, it was a mixture of both.
In CoCo Town (better known as the Collective Commerce District) of Coruscant, one of the most densely populated areas of the galaxy, the term "home" was relative for most inhabitants.
It was a dilapidated industrial area, home to mostly hard-working labourers on a surface area of the city. The area, however, was as run down as many other heavy industrial surface districts and contained marginally well-maintained streets, speeder lanes, and a shuttle bus route.
On one of the main streets built on top of the urban blocks was an eatery called Dex's Diner. Here, patrons were offered freshly brewed Jawa Juice and home-style cooked meals including the Shawda Club Sandwich for 6.7 credits, served on toasted or therm-zapped bread, the Sic-Six-Layer Cake, which was one of the most popular desserts at the diner, served by the slice at 2.5 credits and the Photon Fizzle at 1.7 credits. All credit chips were accepted at Dex's Diner.
For (Y/N), this place was home. Looking back, as she so fondly did, she remembered the old Besalisk's restaurant far better than any other place from her early childhood.
Dex worked as the cook and employed two waitresses, Hermione Bagwa and her WA-7 droid partner, FLO.
FLO, also known as WA-7 or Wanda, was the nickname that (Y/N) had given the likeable droid when she was just 4 years old, after failing to pronounce "Wanda" for the tenth time, to the chagrin of many customers. The girl spent most of her time shadowing the droid during opening hours, under the watchful eye of her waitress mother.
Hermione "Harmony" Bagwa of Coruscant's underworld, had raised her daughter in the safety of the diner since her birth. 3 months after her 21st birthday and 3 years after finding employment under Dex, the human female had fallen pregnant. Distressed and most definitely alone, the woman had taken to bringing her daughter to work most weekends, any homework or schoolwork was grabbed on the way out of the door.
(Y/N) had been raised to be independent, finding herself shaped by her surroundings. As a result of Dex's welcoming nature and belief that he shouldn't intrude into the private affairs of his customers, Dex's Diner was a frequent meeting spot for criminals. Knowing whether to trust someone or not meant life or death in some districts of Coruscant. Given this information, (Y/N) had adapted to her surrounding, just as her mother had taught her.
The two had a close relationship, as they only had each other. A father figure had never been present in (Y/N)'s life, and the girl never felt the need to ask too much about her biological father. Anytime she hinted, for even a small piece of information, her mother's face would fall into despair and she would whisper a name (Y/N)'s young mind would never remember. The girl knew when she had gone too far. Nevertheless, she had lived well without him for this long and would continue to do just that, in her little bubble at the edge of the universe.
Her tranquil plans played out accordingly, until her 11th birthday, when the Kel Dor arrived.
"Ma!" A short cry rang out, and little footsteps could be heard entering through the industrial kitchen doors, "There's a customer here! He's wearing a funny mask."
Hermione smiled softly at her daughter's antics and shook her head. If a patron had entered, she would've heard it. Anyone entering the eatery would step onto a creaky floor tile just passed the door, which Dex promised he would fix years ago, but never did. The woman still played along, presuming her daughter was talking about the imaginary friend she had. At first, Hermione had been concerned that (Y/N) was going through a phase most people experienced at a much younger age. But Dex had been there to reassure the mother, and they both chalked it up to the combination of the girl's playful, light-hearted nature and her lack of friends her age outside of the diner.
But as slow, calculated footsteps were heard weaving their way around tables and chairs, Hermione realised that this stranger was far from imaginary.
Plo Koon sighed as he entered the diner. It was empty, which the Kel Dor was thankful for, as the appearance of a Jedi Master often attracted a lot of attention. The inhabitants of Coruscant were mindful of the Jedi living among them. They had had many centuries to adapt after the Temple had been built in the Federal District of Galactic City. Yet they were still cautious, well aware of how capable the Force users were with a weapon.
The Dorin native was among the wisest members of the Jedi Order, but at that moment he felt rather stupid. The Council had identified a Force-Sensitive in the vicinity of the city the previous night, and Koon had volunteered to investigate, without know the location of the candidate. Occurrences like these weren't uncommon, but he despised having to venture into this district. Why a sacred Jedi Temple had been built on this planet, Koon would never understand. Coruscant has really let itself go.
Using the Force he had mastered long ago to settle his discontent, Plo Koon searched the eatery for the reason of his visit.
The botched file that had been handed to him by his friend, Ki-Adi-Mundi after the Council meeting was lacklustre at best. The information inside was sparse and unintentionally vague, piled together quickly. Jedi were patient beings, but could be surprisingly unorganised.
All he knew was that the Force-Sensitive was a human girl, a Coruscanti born to an equally as Coruscanti mother who worked as a waitress at the aforementioned diner, but an unknown father. She was attending a local school, with above average grades and an insightful mind. Yoda had been the first to sense her, identifying her strength, balance and potential with the Force. But she was eleven, quite old for a would-be Padawan learner.
Master Koon was well versed with the ways of the Jedi. Whilst many rules were very old and unsavoury, the Code was the Code. Few exceptions were made in regards to the maximum age of a Padawan learner, so he only hoped that this girl truly had the potential.
He could hear talking coming from what looked like the kitchen, and began to walk towards the door.
With a shove, it opened before he could reach it. Koon backed away slightly out of respect, to maintain a comfortable distance between himself and the flustered woman before him.
Hermione Bagwa paused after exiting the kitchen, her blonde hair was tousled, parts of it were falling out of its loose braid, and her blue eyes were sharp. She was startled by the sight of a Kel Dor, usually customers would sit at a table and wait to be served. The fact that this man was approaching the 'Staff Only' area, after slipping passed her tuned ears like he owned the place, was a rare sight.
She was distracted by shuffling behind her, aware that her daughter had followed to get a better look at the 'man in the funny mask'. Once said man realised that the young girl was there, it seemed he couldn't look away.
"Can I help you, Jedi?" Hermione didn't mean to sound so brash, but the words tumbled out, confusion at the situation taking over.
"Miss. Bagwa?" Koon asked politely, although he already knew the answer.
Once she had nodded warily, he continued, "Is this your daughter?"
After the Jedi had mentioned (Y/N), the human woman's stance changed completely. Her eyebrows knitted together as she frowned and stood closer to her daughter. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
"I'll ask you again, what do you want?"
Not long after, (Y/N) had been sent out sternly by her mother to sit in one of the booths in the far corner, before the Jedi had moved into the kitchen to talk.
The young girl yearned to hear what they were talking about. She had only heard rumours of the reclusive ways of the Jedi. But as she caught sight of her mother's distressed facial expressions through the circular window of the kitchen door, she was half glad that she had no idea what was going on. The Jedi proceeded to ask questions, and for the most part, her mother seemed to answer them well, as the Force-user nodded occasionally in thought. After all, Plo Koon was respected for his level-headed analysis of events and unflappable calm. His mask guarded his emotions easily, so the girl didn't have much to go by.
Whilst nearing the end of the conversation, one question had sent Hermione off-kilter. (Y/N) noticed her mother struggle to form a suitable answer, as did the Jedi. She plastered on a familiar face, and suddenly (Y/N) didn't need to spy through a circular window to know what they were discussing.
Master Koon knew the moment he had seen Hermione Bagwa that she was not carrying the Force-Sensitive gene that had been passed onto young (Y/N). Which was what had brought him to his current predicament.
The waitress had answered his questions honestly, but not without justified suspicion. How long has (Y/N) been living on Coruscant? All her life. Has she shown any signs of unusual behaviour regarding the Force? Sometimes. Is she a fast learner? Exceptionally.
Who is her father?
Has she ever met him?
Does he know he has a daughter?
Those ones had provoked a much less collected response. Hermione had sighed deeply through her nose and stuttered through her answers, confirming Koon's suspicions.
"Come, child." Koon had said after exiting the kitchen and approaching the booth (Y/N) was sitting in patiently, "Take a walk with me."
Plo Koon made his way to the door without waiting for a response, and (Y/N) looked to her mother in confirmation. The blonde just nodded reverently and watched with uncertain eyes.
"My friend has one of those." The Master Jedi looked back to the girl as she said her first words to him. They had left the eatery and walked ten yards before she spoke.
Koon glanced down to see what (Y/N) was talking about, only to see a petite hand pointing at the sheathed lightsaber hanging from the Kel Dor's belt hooks.
Before Koon could ask what she was talking about, the Force-Sensitive continued, "He's nice. His name is Tyvokka."
The Kel Dor froze at this. It was said that the Wookie could 'sense the future.' His instinctive knowledge of the Force centered him in the present but allowed him to intuit where all possibilities led. He had been a Jedi Master before he died, Plo Koon's Master.
And a great one, at that.
How could this child know about him? Could she see him? Speak to him?
Perhaps Yoda had been right; this girl was strong with the Force. And suddenly, Koon was glad he had been sent on this mission.
The pair walked further from the diner. Initially, the Jedi had intended to ask the girl some questions, but now all he could do was stay silent.
For Plo Koon, and many other in the future, the question, "Who is the father?" would become very important.
Indeed.