A week has passed since I arrived on Coruscant and met my biological parents. Lola and her friends left yesterday and took the Otis back to Malibu, though Lola promised she would visit sometime.

I have removed my padawan braid since the Empire is hunting all Jedi, and my braid would act as a dead giveaway for any clones of the Coruscant Guard patrolling the streets. It was tough, but my survival called for letting go of the past.

Currently, I am wandering through the Uscru Entertainment District in Coruscant's underworld. I needed a break from Trina's awful off-key singing, which she never stops. Before the rise of the Empire, I would frequently sneak out and take a speeder down here whenever I needed a break from life at the Temple. I notice two hooded figures approaching me. I want to run back to my speeder, but I look behind me, and three more are present. I instinctively reach for my lightsaber, but I stop at the last second, realizing that a member of the Coruscant underworld police is nearby, and would likely inform the Coruscant Guard if they saw my blade.

"Why aren't they helping me," I think, but I remember that Coruscant's underworld is full of lawlessness, and the police down here are known to take bribes from criminals. Normally, I would feel safe down here, but since Jedi are now viewed as an enemy by most of the galaxy, I cannot use my lightsaber or any force abilities to defend myself.

I sense that one is about to fire a stun blast, so I jump up to dodge it and get out of the way. The others then start firing, and I am quickly overwhelmed. However, before I fall unconscious, I spot an amethyst blade sticking through the chest of one of the attackers.

I wake up in unfamiliar surroundings with a severe headache. However, I am pleased to see the familiar face of Master Windu. "Victoria Vega, I see you have survived," he says. "I see you have also survived, Master Windu. I must say that I am pleased to see that I am not the only survivor, and call me Tori now," I reply.

Mace tells me that since I was a young girl wandering the streets alone, those criminals thought I would be an easy target for them to have their way with, and tells me that he killed every last one of them. He also adds that the police officer tried to intervene when he saw his blade but was also killed. I ask him, "How long was I out?" He tells me that it's been an hour.

He asks how I survived and ended up here on Coruscant. I inform him about how Master Ablingada sacrificed himself to let me escape. I struggle to hold back my tears, but I know I have to, as Master Windu was always one of the most by-the-book Jedi in the order. I also inform him how I discovered my cousin, and that she and her friends were kind enough to help me reach my biological family here on Coruscant. I notice the mechanical hand on his right arm and ask what happened.

He begins to explain everything. "We were played from the very beginning," he begins. He explains, "Chancellor Palpatine was playing both sides of the war, and he is the Sith lord known as Darth Sidious." My eyes widen in shock at what I heard. "I can't believe that a Sith could hide under the council's noses for so long," I think.

Mace's POV

I debate whether or not I should tell the padawan about Skywalker's role in the fall of the order. However, I decide against it, as I can sense how telling her about Palpatine made her mental state extremely fragile, and I don't want her emotions to take control of her as Anakin's did to him.

*Flashback to the night of Order 66*

After an exhausting duel that cost the lives of three Jedi masters, I have Darth Sidious on the ground near the window. He is now horribly disfigured the force lightning that I reflected back at him. Anakin looks on in horror, and he has obviously been tricked by some lies by the chancellor claiming that he can save the one he loves.

I am extremely irritated with him, as he disobeyed a direct order from me to stay in the council chambers. However, I know I must hide it if there is any hope to keep him in the light. As I lower my blade towards Sidious to deliver a killing blow, Anakin gets up. I initially think he is coming to his senses and wants to fulfill the prophecy, but I feel a lightsaber passing through my right arm, cutting my hand off and knocking my saber out the window. I scream in pain as Sidious shoots Force Lightning into my body, as he says, "power, unlimited power!" Eventually, the lightning sends me out the window.

As I fall, I hear him scream out, "What have I done?" Meanwhile, I think, "we should never have agreed to train that boy." I continue my fall, and use the force to slow myself down, while also calling my lightsaber back to me. I land safely on the ground outside the Senate Building.

Once I land, civilians who saw my fall rush to my aid. I tell them I need a doctor, and a green twi'lek helps me to her speeder. She notices my missing hand and asks what happened. I decide to not tell her the full truth about Palpatine, or Sidious, and just say that it got crushed in a blast door and that I had to amputate it.

The speeder stops, and she tells me we're at the hospital, so I get out. Suddenly, I sense a shift in the force, and I start feeling the pain of thousands of sentient beings dying all at once. I hurry inside and tell the receptionist that I need a prosthetic hand, and I hand over the necessary credits. I am quickly rushed to the operating room, and I am put under.

I wake up feeling groggy, and my first instinct is to look down at where my hand used to be. I see my new prosthetic firmly attached. The great wave of pain I felt earlier is still present, and I feel a need to rush out and see what is wrong, but the nurse tells me I cannot be discharged until I learn to use my new hand.

*1 week later*

After a week of learning, I am finally ready to leave the hospital. During my stay, I felt the dark side grow stronger, while the light all but faded out of existence. I check my comlink and find a message from Master Kenobi telling me that the Republic was replaced by an Empire and that the Jedi Order had fallen. I looked toward the temple, and smoke was billowing from it.

Suddenly, I sense danger approaching. I turn around and see the unmistakable red and white armor of the Coruscant Guard. The clones recognize me and immediately raise their blasters. Sensing what is about to happen, I ignite my lightsaber, and the clones start to fire. I reflect their shots, and eventually, every trooper in the group that found me is on the ground dead.

Now, I see how blind the council was when we agreed to fight for the Republic. We joined the war because we thought we could bring peace back to the galaxy. Instead, the war caused more chaos, and we fell right into Sidious's trap, allowing the Sith to use the clones we trusted to bring on the downfall of the Jedi Order.

*The Present*

Tori's POV

Master Windu finishes telling me how he survived, and I give him a nod of understanding. I decided to reveal to him where my family lived, and he agreed to go there with me. On the way back to my speeder, he warns me to be more careful the next time I am down here, and he tells me, "If I hadn't shown up when I did, those lowlifes would have raped you." I am surprised at how directly he told me that, but I agreed to be more careful the next time I go to the underworld.

We arrive at my new home, and my parents answer the door, asking who my new friend is. I introduce him as Master Mace Windu, and they introduce themselves as David and Holly Vega. They call Trina down, and she appears. She sees Master Windu and develops a confused look on her face. I introduce them to each other. Trina is skeptical and asks Windu to prove that he's a Jedi, so he lifts her into the air, which sends her into a panic. Master Windu gently lets Trina down, and my parents ask him, "Are you going to continue Tori's training?" We never discussed this on the ride back home, but I send a glance his way telling him that I want to keep training in the ways of the force, and he says he will continue to train me.