Leia walked along the city streets, pausing to look up at the busy speeder traffic overhead. It was the party's third day in Coruscant, and so far things had gone quite smoothly; Anakin's Jedi council meeting was going on currently, and Padme had finished her business with the Senate. Luke and Han were busy looking at some of the speeders and other ships for sale. There was no one to stay behind and monitor the quarters they had been staying in but Leia, and she had been happy for an excuse to avoid her brother's warnings.

Not to mention the extremely awkward and unwanted attention of Han Solo. She was truly sick and tired of his insults and sarcasm, even if they were witty and remotely funny. The trip through hyperspace had really upset her, and even now she still remembered the way he'd been watching her.

Leia continued to ramble through Coruscant in this distracted manner until she saw a familiar sight: a young man who was in his twenties, wearing a long dark brown coat. It was obvious that he had been made a Jedi knight recently. A singed bit of hair stuck out at an odd angle from his short red haircut.

"Excuse me," Leia said with an air of professional calm, "but I think we have something in common. I'm Leia, and I'm Master Itho's Padawan. You were just admitted into the order?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, in fact it was yesterday. I'm Ekel," he added, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you. Funny how with such a small number of Jedi knights you always tend to find new ones whom you've never met. What brings you to Coruscant?"

"I'm an escort for Senator Padme Amidala," she improvised.

"Ah, yes," he sighed as they continued to roam the streets. "She's a good woman, always concerned for the people. I remember when she made peace with the Gungens, a race that for so long held a grudge against the Naboo. It was amazing, really, and she was only fourteen! Never in my life have I known such an extraordinary person!" he said with gusto. Inside, Leia was full of pride.

"Yeah, I get to spend a lot of time with her, and she's all that and more. Well, I'd better be going. It was nice to meet you, Ekel, and congratulations," she said before she left for the apartments.

Leia walked into the lift; the metal doors sliding shut behind her as she pushed the button that would take her to the apartments. She stepped out of the lift, then walked to the end of the corridor where their room was. "That's odd," she murmured as she reached for the doorknob. "The alarm must've been off."

But as she opened the door, she sharply drew breath. The alarm had been ripped off of the wall, strewn on the floor with dirt. There were scorch marks everywhere; 'Blaster fire,' she thought. She set down a bag that she'd been carrying with her before carefully moving into the living room, which had been stripped of all of its most valuable contents. Leia swore as she stepped over fallen debris and belongings that hadn't been worth the trouble to steal. As she made her way to the safe where they had kept her money, she heard the door open behind her.

"Ack!" Han yelled as Leia's lightsaber swooshed in front of his face, the cool blue reflecting on his horrified face.

"Sorry!" Leia gasped as a small chunk of his hair fluttered to the ground. "I thought you were a robber. You see, I just got back, and everything's been gone through…" Luke entered the room behind him, letting out a low whistle as he surveyed the damage. Padme looked strained, nervously clutching Anakin's arm. The Jedi master had his (human) hand balled into a fist.

The family stood together, waiting in silence for someone to speak; after a while Padme opened her mouth and said, "I…I don't know what to say…" No one made any move to clear away the fallen objects in their path. Luke stared at the torn Jedi robes, the smashed vase that his mother had filled with flowers only that morning. But Leia was already on the move.

"Honey, be careful!" Padme cautioned. "There's broken glass everywhere, and I don't think it'll help you to train with a puncture wound. Why don't you just stay with us? There's really nothing you can do."

Leia didn't respond, even when her mother followed her. She was too busy thinking about what else might have been stolen. She had to get to that safe. The safe was where they had all their money for food and necessary supplies, not to mention where Anakin had stored the thirteen thousand credits that he was going to use to pay Han when they left Coruscant.

But it was just as she feared; the safe door swung on one hinge, the other broken clean off, making a scraping noise that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. All that was left of the credits were a few low valued coins lying scattered on the floor. Padme put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault," she offered, noticing the expression on her daughter's face. It was a mix of confusion and guilt, of disappointment and hurt. After a lot of Padme's gentle coaxing, Leia was finally willing to go back to the others.

"Well, Han," Anakin was saying, "I'm sorry. They took all the credits when they left with our stuff, and tracing them might reveal our family situation. Say, would it be all right with you if you brought us back to Tatooine and then we paid you? I have all of the money back at the house."

"Works for me," Han said gruffly, "so long as I get paid. Let's get a move on, then. We better get back soon, or I might tack on a couple extra thousand." Luke trudged out the door, casting one last glance at the wreckage. Padme and Anakin followed. Leia was going to let Han go ahead, but he held the door for her. "Ladies first, or whatever it is they say. I'm not good with manners."

"That I can see," Leia said, not being able to resist. After all, the line seemed meant for the situation.

"You know something?" Han asked her as they followed her brother and parents down the hallway. "You're real brave. I know it sounds cheesy to say that, but you are. I've never met someone who can go through stuff like that and not be all shook up and nervous afterwards."

"Thanks, that's…nice," Leia muttered awkwardly. Padme called her and she came right away, glad to put some distance between herself and Han. So she wasn't there to notice him staring at her admiringly, then shaking his head as if to rid himself of the feelings he didn't know he was capable of.