Luke felt a tugging on the breath mask over his face and used his left leg to kick himself to the top of the bacta tank.  His right knee was mostly healed but he didn't want to overly strain it before it was needed.  As he let the doctor's assistants gently press the release on the side of the breath mask and remove it from his face, he felt the two Jedi enter the building.

            Climbing out of the bacta tank and pulling the robe around him as he stood on a grate to dry off, he shook his head slightly.  An eighteen-year-old Ben?  As strange as all this sounded, the resemblance was too strong to deny.  Plus, he had not felt any tinges of deceit from the Jedi.  How in the name of Alderaan had he traveled through time?  And what kind of harm was he causing by being here?  Could he find his way back to where he belonged?  Would he meet his father?

            Enough, he sternly rebuked himself as he was assisted down the rather steep ramp that led to the main floor.  Patience.  You are here; the Force has allowed you to be here.  Go from there.

            "Glad to see you awake again!" The little robust doctor exclaimed as he entered from a side door. 

            Luke felt the corner of his mouth twitch into a smile at the pure unselfishness that he felt from the doctor.  Rarely had he ever crossed a being that was not a Jedi that was so pure.  "Glad to be awake again, Doctor Monta," he murmured, distracted as the Jedi crossed over to him.

            The bigger, taller Jedi—Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Luke reminded himself of the name—handed him a black bundle.  "We had clothes replicated like the ones you were wearing when we found you and Obi-Wan's letting you use his spare cloak since you two are of a similar size.  Depending on the length of your stay here…" the Jedi paused and Luke could almost hear the words 'in this time' in the empty space before Jinn continued "…with us, we can get you something more permanent."

            Luke gave a short bow, not entirely sure how to act around a real Jedi Master.  "Thank you," he said politely, taking the garments from him.  As he entered the recovery room and shut the door, he saw mixed emotions flicker across Obi-Wan's young face.

            A few minutes later, dressed in a black jumpsuit with a cloak so brown it seemed black, and his lightsaber returned to him by a silent Obi-Wan, Luke breathed in the night air of a younger Tangoria.  "It's nice to see some things never change," he remarked as the three of them began walking toward a side street.

            Master Jinn, his strides and presence in the Force strong and confident, smiled.  "This must be extremely strange for you, Master Skywalker."

            Luke felt himself blushing.  "You can just call me Luke, Master Jinn.  I'm a Jedi Master by default since I was the last Jedi.  Only after I began to discover that others who were in hiding or who didn't know what their abilities meant did I see that some Jedi had survived.  Yet they still called me a Jedi Master."

            Qui-Gon frowned.  "The 'last Jedi'?"

            Luke caught himself.  It was exciting to actually meet other, experienced Jedi and to see a younger version of Ben, but they are part of the past.  He would have to watch the names that he used to try not to influence or change future events too much.

            "Yes," he answered slowly, choosing his words carefully now.  "A Dark Jedi hunted them all down and killed them; or so he thought.  Evidently some of the Jedi's offspring were hidden and were able to grow up not knowing about their abilities.  I myself grew up not knowing about my connection to the Force—just knowing that I was different but not understanding why I could do things no one else seemed to be able to do—until…" Again he caught himself and glanced quickly at the young Obi-Wan.  "Until someone came along and gave me a little push."

            Obi-Wan met and caught his gaze as they halted under a streetlamp in front of an ornate house.  "Until I came along, right?  Older, of course."

            "Padawan…" Qui-Gon cautioned.  From the older Jedi's tightening emotions, Luke could tell that he had not been the only one to realize that this merging of the past and future might turn out to be more harmful than good.

            Obi-Wan exchanged a look with the Jedi Master and Luke could sense some sort of communication via the Force between the two before Obi-Wan's blue eyes hardened into a look that Luke knew well from his older face.  It didn't surprise Luke then, when Obi-Wan turned to Luke and clarified, "I feel my future merging with yours every time I'm near you so I know we have some kind of future together.  I sensed your hesitancy to say my name so I knew it had to be me."

            Luke couldn't help but smile at this younger, stronger, more confident version of the Ben that he had known.  Even though he smiled, he felt a vague uneasiness inside of him.  No one had been able to slide through his mental blocks to feel his emotions since before he and Mara Jade had gotten engaged.

            Mara…

            The thought of his spunky fiancé caused all traces of his smile to vanish away.  She had been on the ship with Leia, right before the fight and the explosion.  Surely both his sister and Mara believed the worst by now when no traces of his ship or himself were found.  Could they feel him in the Force while he was trapped on a younger Tangoria?  Or, sensing nothing, fear him to be dead?

            "What is it?"

            "Are you alright?"

            Suddenly, he was aware that both of the Jedi were beside him, holding onto his arms as if they thought he were too weak to stand.  And to his great astonishment, he found that he had fallen into a half-crouch.

            "Sorry," he gasped, struggling to stand with Qui-Gon's mighty aid.  "I just…got tangled in my times.  Everyone will think I'm dead…but I'm not, am I?  It's just all so confusing."

            Qui-Gon, his kindly eyes shining in the night, frowned.  "Perhaps we should postpone the dinner…"

            "No," Luke hastened to reassure him.  "No, I'll be alright.  I need to get away from that building for a while.  Please, lead me."

            Clearly doubting but unable to argue against the stubbornness he could feel in the younger Jedi, Qui-Gon nodded.  "We're here anyway.  Shall we go in and be bored together?"

            Obi-Wan, for a moment like his old self, snorted back a laugh.  "By the Force, I hope so."

            Obviously not understanding the private joke between Jedi Master and apprentice, Luke just shrugged and followed them into the house.