Chapter 1 - The Future

DISCLAIMER: We do not own Star Wars, even if we wish we did. xD

Author's Note: Chapter 2 will be released either next Monday or the one after. It depends when I finish the next chapter in The Rogue Jedi. :P

~ Amina Gila

I'm floating somewhere, lost in the currents of the Force. I struggle to open my eyes, to find some sort of conscious reality, but the Force keeps me still. Suddenly, I feel like I'm falling. A quiet groan slips out of me, as I try to pull myself back to the real world. My head is still spinning. Did I faint?

I open my eyes and see a tree overhead. Uh… what?! I bolt up and look around. I'm in a forest. Trees surround me on all sides. I cautiously reach out to the Force. Everything feels so different, so empty. A distinct sadness and darkness seem to be permeating the galaxy. I hear a rustle somewhere nearby. Maybe I'm not on an uninhabited planet after all. At least there's life here, even if it's not sentient.

"Who's there?" I call out, my voice slightly shaky. I last remember being in front of the Jedi Council, ready to refuse to rejoin the Order. So, how did I get here? Is this a vision? Or something else?

A small, green being suddenly seems to materialize in front of me. Yoda. Master Yoda. What's going on? He must have jumped down in front of me. He regards me, curiosity and surprise evident in his gaze.

"What's happening?" I blurt out and begin rambling all the questions in my mind, "Where am I? Why are you here? Where is here? Why am I not in front of the Council? Where did everyone go? Where's my master? What –"

"Patience you must have," Yoda interrupts, "Answer everything at once, I cannot."

Embarrassment floods me. Did I hit my head? I can't remember ever talking like that to Yoda in the past. I sit there silently, waiting for him to explain.

He sighs quietly, "The last thing you remember, you must tell me."

I pause, slightly surprised by his statement, but I answer him anyways. "I was in front of the Jedi Council, and my master was asking me to rejoin the Order. I was about to refuse when… I don't know what happened actually."

Yoda nods, almost as though he expected it. "In the future you are."

"What?" I gasp, stunned, "How is that possible, Master Yoda?"

"With the Force, possible anything is," replies the Jedi Master, unperturbed.

"So, where am I?" I query, wondering why the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order is out here on what appears to be a mostly uninhabited planet.

"On Dagobah, we are," responds Yoda, "In exile I am." Exile?!

"Why?" I frown, completely confused. What could the future possibly bring that would make Yoda go into exile? What happened? What changed? Did the Separatists manage to win the Clone Wars?

"Not long after left the Order, you did, formed a Sith Empire was," he explains.

"What?!" Shock and confusion swirl through me. How is that even possible? The Republic may have been a disaster, but how could it have turned into a Sith Empire?! And what happened to the rest of the Jedi? Even if the Separatists did win the war, and I don't know they could have, the Jedi would never have let them do it. They would have stayed to continue the fight, not surrender. "What happened to the rest of the Jedi?" I demand, "And my Master?"

Before Yoda has a chance to respond, a shimmering figure materializes beside him. Is that a ghost? But ghosts aren't real, are they? It takes a moment before his Force signature – and image – register. No. It can't be. Obi-Wan? He's dead? Shock, denial, and horror flood me. He's always been like a second master to me, though we were never as close as Anakin and I. That doesn't stop the wave of pain at seeing him, and this time, I know he's really dead. He looks so much older than I remember. How long has it been?

"What year is it?" I ask desperately. There's no way it's been long enough for him to have died of old age; I mean, he looks old, but not that old. He must have been killed like so many others. How many Jedi are left anyways? Worriedly, I reach into the Force, trying to feel the other Jedi I knew. I can't feel anyone. They're all gone. Everyone I knew from my time, even Master Plo. No. This isn't possible. How can they all be dead? How could the Force, the Republic, anyone, have let it happen?

"It's been twenty-two years since the formation of the Empire," Obi-Wan explains, "It was formed not long after you left the Order." Oh. I guess that explains why I can't feel the Jedi anymore. They're gone, probably because they chose to fight against the Empire. Obviously, no one in the Order would have accepted Sith rule.

"But… what happened to everyone?" I query. Surely some Jedi must have been able to survive for this long if Yoda did.

"The clones turned on us," Obi-Wan continues, "Very few Jedi survived the initial attacks, and the remainder were hunted down and killed. Only Yoda is alive." I stare at him in a mute silence. It's too much to take in all at once. All the Jedi. Dead. Gone. Murdered. How am I supposed to feel about that? When Obi-Wan realizes that I'm not going to say anything, he continues, "The Emperor is Darth Sidious, formerly known as Chancellor Palpatine."

"Palpatine?!" I yelp. Shock doesn't even begin to encompass my emotions. "How was the entire Jedi Order fooled like that?" He met with the Jedi Council on a regular basis. How could he hide his darkness so well? How could not even one of them have suspected him of something? Maybe they were suspicious but had no evidence. How could everyone have been blind enough to let it happen? And most importantly, why did the clones turn on the Jedi?

"Clouded by the Dark Side everything was," replies Yoda, the first thing he's said in a while.

"Is that all?" I ask hesitantly. I don't think there's anything else which could have gone wrong, but judging from the litany I already heard, I expect the answer is in the negative. I push back emotion, deciding to deal with it later and unwilling to ask about Anakin. Carefully, I reach into the Force for my master, only to feel a void. Unlike the others, I don't feel nothing. He doesn't exactly feel dead, but somehow, it's almost like he's not here either. It's hard to know for sure because, if he is still alive, our bond has become very weak compared to what it is in my time. Perhaps it's because I'm from the past.

"The face of the Empire is Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader," says Obi-Wan before I can figure out why my bond with Anakin feels so strange. I hardly even notice the slight change in his voice when he says the name. "There are rebels banded together under the Rebel Alliance who are fighting to restore the Republic."

This has become far too depressing for my liking. I need time to digest the information, so I change the topic instead. "If you're dead, how are you here?" I query. I've been wondering since he appeared, but the other questions were more important.

"Qui-Gon learned the technique to retain oneself separate from the Force after death," he explains, "We can appear as ghostly apparitions like this." Before I have a chance to respond, his Force ghost suddenly disappears.

A sudden noise from somewhere in the trees catches my attention. I turn to see a figure approaching. His blonde hair and striking blue eyes look so much like Anakin's. Except for height, they would be nearly identical. He looks around twenty-two, the same age Anakin was when I saw him a few minutes – or is it hours? – ago. Just who is he? Why does he look so much like my master? Where did he come from? What is he doing here? I hold back the questions buzzing around my mind, waiting for the explanation I know will be coming.

I'm just about to ask something, when the boy starts talking, clearly as confused about my presence and appearance as I am about his. "Who are you?"

"You look just like Skyguy!" I blurt out and immediately want to facepalm. Way to go, Ahsoka. I look at Yoda in silent question. What else am I missing? And did I just use my nickname for Anakin in front of Yoda? I must have hit my head somewhere along the way here.

"Skyguy?" he repeats, an odd expression on his face, "Who's that?"

"My name is Ahsoka Tano," I tell him, ignoring his question and the embarrassment that floods through me as he repeats the nickname in front of Yoda. The fewer details I give the boy, the better. No one would believe I'm from the past.

"I'm Luke Skywalker."

"Skywalker?" I gasp, gaping at him. He has Anakin's last name! I look at Yoda, desperate for some sort of explanation.

"The son of Anakin Skywalker he is," Yoda informs me.

Son. Anakin had a son. I'd been shocked so many times today, I didn't think anything could surprise me anymore. I guess I was wrong. I know Anakin has a hard time following rules, but never in my life would I have dreamed he would actually have a child. What was he even thinking? I'm certain I know who the mother is. Padme. Everyone knows that they have feelings for each other, but I didn't think either of them would go so far as having a child.

I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the information I've received over the past few minutes. I really need some time to sit down and sort it all out.

"How did you get here?" Luke asks me.

"The Force brought me here," I reply, "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to be trained as a Jedi," he answers.

Before I have a chance to comment, a sudden beeping from an overly excited droid draws my attention elsewhere. Since I clearly haven't had enough shocks for the day, I get another. Artoo is quickly rolling towards me.

"Artoo?!" I exclaim, "What are you doing here?"

Artoo responds with a series of beeps and whistles I still don't completely understand. The most I gather is, "How are you here? You deactivated!"

"I don't know how I came to this time, either," I reply, stepping over to the droid and patting its dome. Artoo starts beeping happily again.

"Wait, you know him?" demands Luke, interrupting the conversation.

"Yes," I reply firmly, "He belonged to my master."

"So, you're a Jedi?" he deduces.

"Yes," I confirm again. At least I was, but considering I was about to leave the Order, I'm not sure that's the most accurate answer. That's not happening right now for obvious reasons, and considering I'll have the indefinite future here to sort this out on my own, which is what I wanted, I might change my mind. Maybe.

I have way too much to think about right now, not only from my time, but also everything Obi-Wan and Yoda just finished telling me. And now Luke. This is too overwhelming. I need to –

"I think I'm going to go… mediate," I hastily excuse myself and run into the forest. It's best to put some distance between myself and them while I try to sort this out. I'm not up to answering any more questions right now.

When I'm finally out of the sight, I sink onto the ground, emotions threatening to overwhelm me. I take a few deep breaths, struggling to accept the reality of the situation. Everyone I know is dead. They're all gone. The only Jedi left alive are Yoda and Luke. And now, myself.

I know it, but I can't accept it. Every single person I used to know is gone. Everyone I knew at the Temple. Master Plo, who brought me to the Temple, to my family, is dead. He helped me fit in during those early days when I first came. My first friend there, the first person I even remember. In many ways, he felt a lot like a father to me. And now he's just… gone. I don't even think he has a Force ghost like Obi-Wan, or I'm sure he would have appeared.

And Obi-Wan's gone too. At least he can still be around, but it's not the same. I can't help but remember all the times we fought together. He was almost like a second master to me. And Anakin. I didn't even get a clear answer as to what happened to him. They both dodged the question, as though they didn't want to talk about it. What could have happened? Did they just not want to say that he's dead too? I can't accept this future. I just can't. It's too painful, full of too much pain and heartbreak.

I know deep inside me that Anakin must be dead, and that's the one thing I have the hardest time accepting. Anakin, my master, my brother is gone. We've fought together, side by side, for almost three years. We pulled each other out of countless situations which should have been impossible.

Three years. Has it really been so short a time? It feels like he's been there my entire life until right now. And now, he's gone. It's just not right. I can't believe it. I can't, I can't, I can't. I'm completely and utterly alone in this new world. I curl up on the forest floor, letting my tears flow freely, crying for all the Jedi who are dead, crying for Luke who probably barely knew his father, crying for Anakin who is gone, crying for myself for being here without anyone. If this is the future, I need to change it.