Mace awoke with a start. His hip was throbbing painfully from being kicked. "Get up," someone snarled. A tunic and a pair of trousers were thrown at him. "Wear them." Mace sat up and looked around. One of the guards was in the room, standing by the door. "Hurry up. We don't have all day," he growled.

Mace complied. The material was coarse, rough against his dark skin. "Move," he was commanded. "Get up." He was jabbed in his side with the guard's blaster. Mace stood and moved to the cell's door. He felt the blaster being pressed into his back between his shoulder blades. "Hurry up, damn it!" the guard screamed behind him. He continued out the door. Closing his eyes, Mace breathed deeply. He needed to act, and act quickly.

The guard never saw it coming. Mace turned and had knocked the blaster out of the guard's hand. Calling the blaster to him, he knocked his opponent out with the blunt of the blaster.

Mace dragged the unconscious man into his cell, locking it behind him. He peered down the corridor.

"Master Yoda, what am I supposed to do?" Johannes asked. There was one thing he was glad of, and that was that the child was no longer in his care.

"You are to stay here."

"But—" Johannes began before realising he shouldn't question the diminutive Jedi Master. "Yes, Master." Yoda began to move away. "Have you heard any more from Master Qui-Gon?"

"No. No word from Master Windu, either."

Johannes bowed his head. His master was still captive. And there was nothing the Jedi Masters could do to save him. Master Windu is smart. He'll find a way out of his captivity.

"Something wrong, Padawan?"

"I was thinking of Master Windu, Master. He's like a father to me. I don't want to lose him."

"A fighter, Master Windu is."

Her eyes darted around. It was strangely quiet. Too quiet. What's happening? She got up and walked to the door. The door was locked and she couldn't get it to move. She was getting bored. The small cell was confining. A shadow moved in front of the door. Keys turned in the lock. It creaked as it was pushed open.

Cowering back into a corner, the woman knew they had come to take her some place else. The rough hands pulled her to her feet. She was pushed out the door violently. Gripping her upper right arm, the rough slaver shoved her down the corridor to another part of the ship.

Being roughly treated, she wondered where she was being taken. The last place she expected was to step out into sunlight—but as she was roughly pushed outside, she knew something different was happening. She got up from where she rolled in the sand, and looked up at her companion. It was Mace. Her jaw dropped several inches and then she ran back up the ramp and threw her arms around his neck.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"With the Force." He looked back over his shoulder to look at the ship. "We need to get out of here."

"Where are we going?" she questioned as they moved down the ramp.

"Away." Mace turned back to the ship as Caption came down the ramp. "Run!!" he yelled at the woman. His dark eyes widen as he noted a lightsaber hanging from the belt of Caption.

She gasped and looked at Mace. "Run!" he yelled at her again. Turning, she ran across the scorching desert. Mace looked at his opposer. "I'll take that, thank you," he said as he reached out with the Force to retrieve his lightsaber from Caption's belt.

"No!!" Caption shouted, trying to stop the lightsaber jump from his belt. The purple blade thumbed on. He drew his blaster and fired at Mace. Mace deflected each blow, running back toward Caption. Sweeping the head off Caption, Mace didn't wait to see if any more slavers would come out of the ship. He turned and ran after the woman.

They finally slowed as they entered the first settlement. "Where are we?"

"On Tatooine, I think," Mace replied. "Yes, it's Tatooine." He looked down at her, and smiled.

"How are we going to get out of here? They'll be hunting for us."

"I know they are. I don't know how we're getting out. We have to keep running. They'll never stop hunting you."

"I'm tired."

"Me too."

He looked around the rough homes. A Toydarian fluttered up to him. "Stranger, need a ship?" Mace turned to regard him. He nodded. The Toydarian pointed to a club. "Check in there. Usually there'll be someone who will take you to wherever you want to go."

"Thanks," Mace said and made his way into the club. He was followed by his shadow.

Mace looked over to the sleeping woman. He leaned back against the wall. They had found passage to the Alderaan system. There was something about her that attracted him to her.

He sighed. Being a Jedi required commitment. And he couldn't think of anything else but her. He didn't even know her name. He knew nothing about her, except that she was Force sensitive and had a child.

He needed to concentrate. What was he to do? His commitment was to the Jedi. Attachment was forbidden for Jedi. Captain Déagol came out of the cockpit.

"We'll be approaching Alderaan in a couple of hours."

"Thanks."

"What was so important that you needed to get off Tatooine straight away?"

Mace looked at him. "Have you ever heard not to question a Jedi?"

"You're no Jedi!"

"Do you know who I am?"

"Should I?"

"Mace Windu, Jedi Master. I am a senior member of the Jedi Order, as I am on the Council."

Mace knew Déagol didn't believe him. "Yeah, right," Déagol scoffed. "Mace Windu is not black."

Mace laughed. "You obviously know nothing about the Jedi Council. Or the Jedi for that matter. Tell me, have you ever seen Mace Windu?"

Déagol seemed to try and think. "I don't think so. No, I haven't. I've only heard about him."

"There you go. I can tell you that I haven't seen you."

They landed safely on Alderaan. Mace escorted his charge off the smuggler's ship. "Thank you," he told the captain.

"No. Thank you," Déagol said.

Mace turned and with the woman, moved off. The Organas met them. Mace smiled at the small boy.

"You're safe, Master Windu."

"Thanks to the Force."

"Who is this lovely woman?"

"I'm Skywalker. Most people call me that."

Mace froze. He knew that name. "Master Windu?"

"Jonas Skywalker was your father's name, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. He died when I was four. Ani reminds me of him with his blue eyes and wisps of sandy-blond hair."

Mace closed his eyes. "Jonas was a good friend. We hardly spoke after he ran off with that woman."

"My mother," young Skywalker said. "Her name was Janelle. My name's Shmi, by the way."