"Tell me again how you found this place?" Wedge asked.

"Oh, Hobbie and I have wanted to come here to Karrashda for years," Wes said, as the five of them walked off the shuttle, bags in hand. "We were always looking for places to explore when we had leave from Rogue Squadron. This place was on our list but we never made it."

Tycho closed up the shuttle ramp and keyed in the lock. "I read up a bit on it. Apparently the settlement that became the capital city has been here for over two thousand years."

They paid an initial fee at the port payment dock and exited onto a tram loading platform that would take them into the tourist district. It was busy, but not too crowded. "Yeah, there's a lot of history here," Wes said. "There's some museums and art houses and monuments around. The main event though is a mountain temple that used to be the primary site for a religious group that was founded here, the Karrash'da. I figure we can check out some of the smaller stuff for a couple of days, then do the temple last."

They boarded the tram with several other people who looked like tourists. Luke looked out the window as the tram lurched forward. It passed through a sunny, but wooded, area on its way into the city. Luke could see residential areas lined with trees and walkways. One area looked like a business district. There was speeder parking and pedestrians, and more public transportation. There were people out in parks with their pets and their kids. It all looked very mundane, in a quiet, peaceful, and relaxing sort of way. Wes kept talking.

"According to the local legends, the people who started the religion used the mountain temple to pray to their gods for the ability to manipulate other people in the settlement and rule over them. The religion faded away, but no one really knows what happened to them."

"Think they could have been Force users?" Tycho asked as they got off at one of the tourist stops.

"It's possible," Luke said. "A group that small and local probably would have escaped the notice of whatever passed for Jedi or Sith back then. It would have been well before the Jedi Sith War."

"We're on vacation," Wes said, poking Tycho in the shoulder. "He's not supposed to be working."

"It's not working, it was just a question."

"Va. Ca. Tion."

Luke exchanged a small smile with Hobbie and caught Wedge rolling his eyes. It had come up in conversation that Luke had never been on a proper vacation (per Wes' definition). Wes, offended on Luke's behalf, decided he couldn't let that stand any longer than necessary, so with Winter out on an assignment for Leia and Iella off Coruscant for some work project she couldn't talk about, Wes decided to organize a 'proper' vacation for the five of them.

They made their way out of the tram station and caught a public shuttle to their lodging. Luke noticed several people giving him second and even third looks as they passed by. He realized his lightsaber was visible from his open robe, though it was also possible people simply recognized him. Wes had tried to convince him to leave his lightsaber home, but Luke felt naked and a bit vulnerable without it, so Wes lost that particular argument. Luke wrapped his robes a little tighter.

They checked into their lodging. It was one of the smaller inns, only a few floors, slightly off the main tourist track, but still within easy walking distance or a short ride to anything they might want to do. Luke had figured fewer people would notice him; on the other hand, he was probably the most interesting thing for people to look at here. He caught two more people staring as they made their way to their second floor rooms.

The suite was one of the larger ones at the inn, mostly because it had four rooms. Wes and Hobbie squeezed into one while Luke, Wedge, and Tycho each took their own. Luke set his bag on the one double bed and took a look around. It was a pretty unassuming room, not luxurious by any means, but not Dagobah either. The window looked out onto the street below. A few people were out, but not too many. It seemed like a quiet space. All in all, well chosen. As long as people would stop looking at him.

Luke stepped back into the common area. There was one refresher for the whole suite and one coffee pot behind some seating. People were clearly meant to go out for meals.

"Doing all right?" Wedge asked.

"Yeah, fine," Luke said. Wedge squinted just a tiny bit. He didn't look that uncomfortable, did he? "Really, fine."

"Now I'm even less convinced."

"People keep staring at me," Luke said, hoping that was a satisfactory answer.

"You're supposed to be ignoring that stuff," Wes said.

"It's not like I can just turn it off."

"I didn't say turn it off, I said ignore it."

"Nobody is hostile, are they?" Tycho asked.

"No, just…curious, I think," Luke said.

"Listen, don't worry about it," Wes said as he wrapped his arm around Luke's shoulders. "As soon as we get started doing stuff and checking things out, you won't even notice. Remember, you're here to relax."

"Yeah, I know."

"It'll be great, I promise," Wes said. "I already know where we're going for dinner. There's a place a few minutes walk from here that apparently has great pasta. So let's go. I'm hungry."

Luke smiled. "All mapped out?"

"There's a reason the three of us always made Wes the unofficial social officer for Rogue Squadron," Tycho said.

Luke's smile got bigger. "I haven't forgotten."

The walk to the restaurant was pleasant. There was a late summer breeze and the early evening sun came speckled through the trees. Luke caught a few people looking his way, but he dutifully did his best to ignore it. They were seated in the outdoor patio section of the restaurant. A droid server took their drink orders while they reviewed the menus. The place wasn't full, but busy enough for there to be a light murmur of many quiet conversations. Wes and Tycho bantered over the menu options. The droid came back and took their orders. Wes talked about all the things he had lined up to do over the next few days. Their meals arrived. Luke had ordered a dish with a creamy red sauce, vegetables, and herbs for garnish. It smelled sweet and tangy and had just a bit of spice to complement it.

Luke ate slowly as he tried to take it all in. While he couldn't just turn off his Force sensitivity, he could make an effort to experience things simply through his normal senses. It wasn't something he had ever really done in the last forty years. He'd spent so long trying to build his ability to sense things in the Force that he had never given much thought to trying not to do that. But Wes was such a good ambassador for living life to fullest that it seemed worth trying. The sweet tang of the pasta sauce lingered before the spice kicked in. The murmur of the crowd ebbed and flowed as the customers came and went. The breeze filtered in, just light enough to move the leaves. The sunlight shifted downward and a street light flickered on.

They paid for their meal and made the short walk back to the inn as dusk settled in. Luke noted the trees and the buildings and even the cracks in the sidewalk. They were almost to the entrance.

Luke stopped. Something had tugged on the periphery of his Force sense.

He looked over his shoulder at a spot across the street. Nothing was there. A couple of kids zoomed by on hoverboards. But otherwise, nothing was there. Maybe he had imagined it. He resisted the urge to scan it more deeply.

"Hey. Luke."

He turned back around. "Huh?"

"Everything okay?" Tycho asked.

"Yeah, sure, fine."

"Are you sure?" Wedge asked.

"Yeah, see?" Luke nodded back at the spot across the street. "There's nothing there."

"I don't see anything," Wes said.

"Hm." As usual, Wedge did not look convinced, but he let it go.

Later, just before going to bed, Luke looked out his window again. He could see that spot from his room. It was still empty. He reached out, just a tiny bit, with the Force. Still nothing. Just a normal empty spot on a normal tourist street. He shook his head. Relax. Stop being paranoid. He shut the blinds and went to bed.

Luke awoke early the next morning, as usual. No one else was up yet. It was just about sunrise. Luke made himself a cup of coffee using the little pot at the back of the suite. He took a sip and scrunched up his face at the grit. He knew he'd gotten a bit spoiled by the coffee shop in the senate apartments lobby, and whatever gourmet stuff Han and Leia kept in their own apartment. But this was clearly meant to make people go out.

Luke looked around and realized he had nothing to do. He was always up early, but he would just sit on Leia's balcony for a while, or watch the sun come up from the couch at the end of the hall while he waited for Iella to be on her way to work and Wedge to get up. But these were rooms meant to sleep in, and not much else. He walked back into his bedroom, set the coffee cup on the nightstand and looked out the window. It was still just dark enough for the street lights to be on. He looked at the spot from the night before. It was still empty.

Luke took a deep breath and reached out with the Force. There were no threats, no hostility. Just people beginning to wake up and go about their day. A few people started to walk by. No one seemed to notice Luke watching from his window.

There was some rustling in the common area. The sun was fully up now. He hadn't realized he been been looking out the window so long. He picked up the coffee cup. It was cold grit now. He walked into the common area to see Hobbie investigating the coffee pot.

"Is this any good?"

"It is not." Luke set his full cup down on the counter.

"Oh. Guess we'll have to go out then."

"I think that's the point."

"Ah. Very clever."

Soon everyone else was up too. Wes had already picked out a breakfast diner so they made their way outside. It was warm and a bit windy. The diner was on a different street than the pasta restaurant, but all the streets in this section looked largely similar. Luke pulled his robes tight again, against the wind. As he looked up and brushed some hair from his face, he inadvertently made eye contact with a young woman in a small group walking toward them. She whispered to one of her companions and the whole group crossed to the other side of the street. Luke tried not to watch them. He didn't want to be rude. He didn't want to assume that it had anything to do with him. He took a few quick glances at his own group. No one else had seemed to notice. Luke decided not to say anything.

The diner was relatively small, but still only about a quarter full. Most of the other patrons were seated in a section near some windows. Wes led them over to a larger table near the outer edge of the other patrons when a server droid interrupted them.

"Good morning gentlepersons. Please allow me to seat you."

"Oh," Wes said. "Yeah, sure."

The droid led them to the opposite side of the diner. The table was as far as possible from the counter, the kitchen, and other diners. No one else was in that section.

"May I take your drink orders?"

"Um, just coffee for everyone, I guess," Wes said, as they all slid into one side or the other of the booth.

"Very good gentlepersons. I shall return momentarily for your orders." The droid rolled away.

"Can't say I've ever seen seating like that before," Tycho said.

"Maybe we're just a big group," Wes said.

"There's at least one group of four over there and a group of six," Wedge said. "We're five, if you didn't know."

"Yeah, I can count."

Luke glanced at the menu while they argued. It was a pretty simple menu, which was just fine with him. He wondered if their pancakes were as good as Brianna's.

The droid returned with their coffee. "Please, may I take your orders, gentlepersons?"

"Um, can we get another few minutes to look at the -"

"Please, may I take your orders, gentlepersons?"

Tycho threw another glance at Wes, who sighed. "I'll have pancakes, please," Luke said.

"Excellent choice, gentleperson. Please, may I take the remaining orders?"

Everyone else ordered and the droid rolled away once more. "Well, look," Wes said, clearly feeling a need to defend himself, "we're never doing the same thing twice while we're here, so we won't be back here again."

"Maybe they know they have a big group coming in soon?" Luke suggested.

"See, that's perfectly reasonable," Wes said.

Tycho shrugged. The issue was dropped. Luke felt bad. Wes really wanted this to be fun for everyone. He took a sip of his coffee. It was better than the room's coffee, but… Well, it was better than the room's coffee. Their meals arrived. The pancakes were decent, though Brianna's were definitely better. He'd have to ask her some time what her recipe was. Not that he cooked much. Predictably, the bill came quickly, and they were soon back outside.

"So what's next?" Wedge asked.

"Natural history museum," Wes said. It's got all the ancient flora and fauna and a whole bunch of archeology stuff."

"Oh, that sounds neat," Tycho said.

Luke smiled. Tycho had always been the history lover of the group.

Hobbie pulled a small holodisk out of his pocket with a tourist map of the city. "Looks like we need to go north a few sections and then east for five sections."

Hobbie led the way and the walk to the museum was uneventful. Luke made it a point not to pay attention to anyone walking around them.

Inside the museum, the irritations of breakfast were quickly forgotten. Wes, Hobbie, and Tycho were definitely having fun, and even Wedge was clearly enjoying himself. Of course, who wouldn't have fun with massive fossil displays of fearsome creatures, bejeweled artifacts from ancient civilizations, and dioramas of eons-old landscapes, long gone to the passage of time? Luke was reminded of stories he'd heard as a kid that Tatooine used to have oceans, of all things. It was hard to imagine the Dune Sea as a water sea. He wondered what a Tatooine natural history museum would be like. He'd probably go, if there was one.

Almost as good as the exhibits themselves was the fact that no one seemed to be avoiding them as they wound their way through the museum. Every so often, Luke checked. While the rest were busy examining some twelve-thousand-year-old stone tools, Luke cast his Force sense around the room. Nothing hostile. Nothing out of the ordinary. No one was paying the least bit of attention to them, as far as he could tell. But, Luke also noted, the lights were dimmed in all the display areas, so no one could see them anyway.

They stopped at the museum café to eat before they headed out. Wes was happily chatting away about one of the exhibits while they chose a table that was not close to anyone else, but near the door. They weren't the only ones who thought the museum café was a good choice. Within minutes, more people started filing in. Luke caught a few of them looking at him as they came through. Without exception, every group coming through the café headed to the far end of the dining area. Even Wes stopped talking enough to notice.

One group dragged a table that was closer to them toward the far end. "Wow, really?" Tycho said.

"I think it's time we head to the next thing," Wedge said.

"Arboretum and botanical gardens," Wes said. "Cultivated local stuff."

They packed up and headed out. They chose an empty tram car at the end of the train and rode out to a northeast corner of the city. The day was warm and the arboretum at the front of the gardens wasn't crowded so it was easy to take a leisurely stroll among the trees without encountering too many people.

Luke closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Several species of the trees were flowering. It was like walking into a mild perfume shop. But with the sun and fresh air and light breeze, it felt more like a light mist of scent than a heavy blanket. It was actually quite nice. He missed the greenery on Yavin; though, even literal jungle could also be too much green at times. This was a nice compromise.

As their stroll took them closer to the entrance of the botanical gardens, they passed more groups of people. A couple of smaller groups edged to the far side of the walkway to pass them. At least one group backtracked a couple of paces to take a different fork in the path. One person ducked onto the grass and went around an entire group of trees to avoid them.

"Wow, it can't be that bad," Tycho said.

In every instance, Luke saw at least one person look directly at him before changing course. There really was no point denying it any more.

"I don't get it," Wes said. "We're not different from any other tourists."

"You aren't," Luke said.

Wes pointed at him. "This isn't about you."

"Wes," Luke said, trying to sound reasonable, "what else would it be about?"

"But that isn't fair!" Wes said. "You didn't do anything."

"Maybe it's not really about Luke," Tycho said. "Maybe that old religious group really was Force users so there's just a cultural history of not trusting other Force users."

"That's entirely possible," Luke said.

"Let's test it a bit," Tycho suggested. "Luke and Wes can take the path that way, and Wedge, Hobbie, and I will go this way, and we'll meet at the entrance to the gardens."

"Sure, we can do that," Luke said. He tapped Wes on the shoulder. "Come on."

"See you in a minute," Tycho said.

Luke and Wes took the western route up the path. They passed another couple, who moved off to the side for them, then another. Luke could feel Wes getting tense in the Force. They came up on another small group that noticed them, then immediately ducked off the path to take a closer look at a tree while they passed. Luke lightly touched Wes' arm and his tension dissipated. A bit.

"It's not fair," Wes muttered as they kept walking.

"Getting upset and yelling at people isn't going to solve anything," Luke pointed out.

"Ignoring it doesn't solve anything either," Wes countered.

Luke gave Wes a light pat on the back and they continued up the path. A few more groups avoided them, but Luke didn't have to intervene again. They reached the gates of the botanical gardens a few moments after the others did. "How did it go?" Luke asked.

"Passed a few people," Tycho said. "No one even gave us a second look, and most not even a first. You?"

Wes muttered something obscene under his breath. "You can probably guess," Luke said. He felt bad. He knew it wasn't anyone's fault, but he still felt responsible. "Why don't we do this," he said. Luke stopped as he glanced over Tycho's shoulder. In the grass, far off the path, there was a person standing next to a tree. He was alone. He wasn't doing anything. Just…standing. And looking at them. Luke tried to get a sense of him in the Force, then a hand flashed in front of his face.

"Hey, Luke, you still here?" Tycho said.

"Huh? Yeah, I just…thought I saw something." The patch of grass was empty now.

Everyone turned to look where Luke was looking. "The tree?" Wedge asked.

"No, it - nevermind, forget it," Luke said, shaking his head. "Why don't we do this? Tomorrow morning, we'll check out early, bring everything back to the shuttle, then catch the tram back in to see the temple. We'll bring some food with us so we don't have to stop on the way back out. That's pretty much what we were going to do the day after tomorrow anyway, so we're just cutting things a day short." He looked at Wes. "What do you think?"

"I think that's a great compromise," Wedge said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Wes said.

"Do we still want to look at the gardens?" Hobbie asked.

Everyone turned to Luke, as if it was his choice. He could tell Wes still wanted to go in. He didn't want to make more people uncomfortable, but… "Yeah, sure, let's take a look." He gave Wes another pat on the back and let Wes lead them inside.

The next morning, Tycho and Hobbie went out to get coffee and breakfast for everyone. They packed up, checked out, and took the tram out to the port. Several people avoided them in the tram car. Luke couldn't really detect any fear from anyone. It was a bit unusual. Wes' annoyance, though, was clear as day. Wedge, Tycho, and Hobbie seemed…sad? Disappointed? Dispirited perhaps? Emotions were so hard to nail down into words.

They packed the shuttle and updated the departure schedule to leave that afternoon. They got back on the tram and headed to the northwest corner of the city. The entrance to the temple grounds was lined with trees and there were a few shops near the entrance selling souvenirs. It didn't look very busy. There were only a few groups milling around. The long staircase built into the mountain was clearly ancient. More recent was the elevator built into the base.

"Stairs or elevator?" Wedge asked.

They all looked at Luke again. I thought the point of retirement was that I didn't have to make decisions or be in charge of anything anymore, Luke thought. "Let's take the stairs.

Ten minutes in, Luke was regretting his decision. The stairs themselves were narrow and steep. They were already well above the tops of the base-level trees, and not even close to halfway. The view was sure to be spectacular at the top.

Wedge, who often liked to poke fun at Luke's seeming ability to read minds with the Force, sometimes displayed the ability himself. "I vote we take the elevator back down."

"Second," Hobbie said.

"That's what you get for asking me what I want to do," Luke said.

Everyone laughed. It was practically the first sound Wes had made all morning. Luke could sense Wes was feeling guilty, in between being irritated. None of this was his fault. None of it was anyone's fault. He had just really wanted everyone to have fun. Luke would have to make it up to him. Maybe Brianna would have some ideas.

After several brief pauses and a few more comments about the elevator, they finally got to the top platform. Tycho whistled. "Would you look at that view?"

The view was indeed spectacular. They could see the entire city spread out in the valley to the southwest. The whole mountainside was thick with trees and the forests stretched out from the base for kilometers.

They made their way into the main temple. A sign at the door said the cavernous space had likely been carved out by the Karrash'da religious order, and now it served as a museum for their relics and beliefs. Inside, the walls were lined with display cases. The paths were lined with fine rugs and lit with fiery lamps, venting out through holes in the wall. In the very back was a stepped shrine that looked like it should have held more relics. But it was empty.

"I think the display cases are empty," Wedge said.

"There's a sign over here that says they've been removed temporarily for restoration," Hobbie said.

"You'd think there'd be a sign like that at the bottom of the mountain," Wes said.

"You'd think somebody might've said something," Tycho said.

"Like who?" Wedge said. "There was hardly anyone else on the stairs."

"There were a few people coming down, weren't there?" Tycho said.

"I didn't see any," Hobbie said.

"There was that one red-headed woman walking up," Wes said.

"What red-headed woman?" Tycho asked.

"I'm not making her up."

"I'm not saying you're making her up, I'm saying I didn't see her."

"I think the important point," Luke said, "is that we're the only ones up here now. And no one else seems to be coming up." Everyone looked around the space. The emptiness was starting to feel creepy.

"I don't like this," Wedge said.

"Are you sensing anything weird?" Tycho asked.

"Well, no, but…" That was the problem, wasn't it? Every time he thought he sensed something, there was nothing there, and everytime things seemed off, he didn't sense anything. "I think we should go."

"Elevator," Wedge said, walking straight for the door to the left of the main entrance. Halfway there, the whole mountain rumbled. A few stones fell from the ceiling, and they could see several rocks falling past the main entrance. "Does this place have tectonic activity?!" Wedge said.

"How should I know?" Wes said.

"Isn't that how you get a mountain?" Hobbie pointed out.

"If that was tectonic activity, then the elevator probably isn't safe," Tycho said.

"Fine. Stairs." Wedge changed direction. Everyone started to follow.

The mountain shook again, followed by a low, continuous buzz of tremors, and more rocks tumbled onto the outside platform and down the stairs. Luke could feel his anxiety spiking. "It's okay, keep going. I got it." He could block falling rocks. Everyone just had to stay together and not trip on the stairs.

Another violent shake, and several lamps fell, catching the oily rugs at the entrance on fire and forcing everyone to a halt.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone was doing this on purpose," Wes yelled.

"There's an emergency exit in the back," Hobbie said.

"I see it, come on!" Tycho led the way out.

Luke let everyone get ahead of him. He turned back to see where the fire was headed. More lamps fell with another violent shake. Luke blocked a flare-up with the Force as more rugs caught on fire and the mountain cavity filled with smoke.

"Luke!"

"Go, I'm right behind you!" Luke could hear them running as he blocked another burst of flame, and the next shake of the mountain knocked him off his feet.

Tycho ran out of the emergency exit and immediately skidded to a halt at the edge of an incline. He was halfway through a breath of relief when three more bodies slammed into him and they went tumbling down to the next level of a switchback trail. He disentangled himself from Wes and Hobbie. "Everybody okay?"

Wedge sat up. "Where's Luke?"

Tycho looked around. "He said he was right behind us."

They all looked back up toward the emergency exit. A shot of fire lasted out of the door, collapsing the entrance. They all plastered themselves against the wall of the incline, taking cover from the falling debris. Wes started scrambling back up the path with Wedge close behind. The mountain shook again, and Tycho grabbed Hobbie before he fell another level down onto the trail. Every immediate thought in Tycho's brain wanted to rip all the rocks out of the entrance himself. But all the rational parts of his brain realized they'd never be able to move them all, even if the mountain wasn't still raining more down on them. It wasn't safe. And Luke always did everything he could to keep them safe.

He caught up to Wes. "We have to get off the mountain."

"What?! We can't just leave!"

"Wes, we can't move all that. We'll get pummeled if we stay here -" they dodged another falling rock "- it isn't safe, we have to go."

"But -"

"We can get somewhere safe and make a plan. We have to get off the mountain."

Wes glared, but he knew Tycho was right. Wes turned and skidded back down the trail, tapping Hobbie along the way to follow him.

Tycho tugged on Wedge's jacket. He was still staring at the collapsed entrance. It had been a few minutes. It still looked the same. "We gotta go." Wedge didn't move. Tycho ducked from another rock. Wedge still didn't move. Tycho tugged again. "Wedge. Come on." The mountain rumbled, and Wedge took a step back to keep his balance. He almost stepped down the incline. Tycho caught him. "Wedge, we have to go." Tycho put his hand on Wedge's shoulder. Wedge shrugged it off. "Wedge -"

Wedge turned away from him and started down the switchback trail without a word. Tycho took one last look at the collapsed emergency exit, and followed.

Luke crawled his way along the wall of the shrine, trying to stay low, under the smoke and fumes and away from the flames. He didn't know if he was going toward the emergency exit or away from it. As he moved his hand along the wall, he felt a small draft of cool air. He stopped and felt around. He couldn't see. But something felt like a small hatch. A maintenance hatch for the elevator maybe? He felt a little bit further and found a latch. He yanked on it - it seemed like it hadn't been opened in a long time. It snapped open with a screech. He stuck his hand out and felt around. He could feel hard ground and gravel. It seemed safe enough. He squeezed his way through the hatch.

It was tighter than he expected. But once out, he leaned against the outside wall of the shrine to stand, coughing and shaking his head free of the smoke and debris. His senses felt like they were going haywire - his Force scenes, regular senses - they suddenly felt like they didn't know what was real and what wasn't. He couldn't tell if he was injured or not. And there was an undercurrent of pain and panic and grief and anger. He couldn't tell if that was his or not. He tried to open his eyes to see where he actually was, but they were still burning from the smoke. He squinted.

He tried to take a couple of steps - then immediately felt a shooting pain up his left leg - that was real. He fell as his left foot rolled over and he went sliding down an embankment.