Chancellor Palpatine calmly stood in the short hallway just a meter and half from where Star stood. An IG-100 MagnaGuard, each armed with a deactivated electrostaff, flanked him on either side.

Star jumped back in surprise, her hand instinctively pulling her lightsaber from her bag before she had a chance to decide if doing so was actually a good idea. Beside her, Marco ignited Kit's lightsaber as she fired hers. They took defensive ready stances and prepared for whatever Palpatine might do next, the twin blades of their weapons filling the dim office with an emerald glow.

Marco squinted as he locked eyes on the Chancellor. "Dude...what happened to your face?"

"Well, well...what do we have here?" The wrinkled skin of Sheev Palpatine's face curled into an evil grin. "Two young Jedi, perhaps come to pay their respects to their treacherous old Masters?"

"They aren't the traitors!" Star spat, "You are!"

"My dear children, perhaps no one has informed you," Palpatine said calmly, his tone dripping with malice, "The entirety of the Jedi Order have been declared enemies of the State." He shook his head with feigned disappointment. "I'm afraid I have no choice but to execute you right here."

The two MagnaGaurds switched on their electrostaffs, the ends crackling to life with violet electricity. The droids advanced forward, one towards Star, and the other towards Marco. The Padawans engaged their respective opponents simultaneously, each utilizing the talents they had developed best.

The MagnaGaurd on the left raised its electrostaff and swung a parry at Marco, who easily blocked the droid's attack. The droid spun the electrostaff around and attacked from a different angle, which Marco blocked as he spun around backwards. He tucked his blade in low as his spin brought him back to face the MagnaGaurd again, swinging his lightsaber straight up and catching the droid right between the legs. The blade's momentum carried it all the way up through the droid's torso and clear through the top of its head. The two vertical halves of the MagnaGaurd fell aside, the electrostaff fizzling out as it clattered to the floor.

As Marco was easily dispatching the MagnaGaurd facing him, Star destroyed hers by throwing it against the wall and pinning it there with the Force. Then she merely stepped forward and made two sweeping slices with her lightsaber, hacking the droid into three pieces.

"Very impressive," the Chancellor said simply. He held his hands up. "But not good enough."

The bolts of lightning that exploded from the tips of the Chancellor's fingers caught the two Padawans so completely by surprise that, even if they had known that they could use their lightsabers to deflect it, they did not have enough time to bring their blades up to defend themselves. The lightning struck them with such tremendous force that Star and Marco were thrown backwards across the office into the large transparisteel window that overlooked the Coruscanti skyline, tumbling to the floor behind the massive desk.

"Ugghhhhhh..." Star groaned as she rolled over onto her back. She could see smoke rising from her skin and clothing as she staggered to her feet, picking up her lightsaber from the floor where it had landed. Marco was already doing the same beside her. They gave each other a brief nervous glance before igniting their lightsabers once more.

Palpatine cackled. "Such foolish children. Still loyal to your Jedi ways even as you are about to die...valiantly fighting until the end."

"We don't really have much of a choice, Dude," Marco said.

Star continued, "Yeah, you're standing between us and the exit."

Palpatine laughed again. "So it would seem." He raised his hands a second time. Star and Marco braced themselves, but the shock of electricity never came. Instead, they heard a pained yell and found that Kit Fisto had sprung up from the floor, jumping in front of Palpatine and acting as living shield. The lightning coursed across his wounded body, eliciting screams of pain from the Jedi Master.

"Kids! Run!" he cried.

Behind him, Palpatine laughed maniacally.

Instinct kicked in and Marco leapt across the desk toward Kit and Palpatine, Star hot on his heels, lightsabers poised to strike.

Struggling to move against the electrical current, Kit held up a hand and both Padawans suddenly found themselves levitating off the floor, suspended by the Force.

"I said-" Kit raised his other hand. Summoning every bit of strength and concentration he could muster, the Jedi Master focused on the transparisteel window. The massive window pane shattered, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the building.

"-RUN!"

Kit changed his focus to the two Padawans, and Star and Marco sailed backwards out the window, each giving a short shriek more out of surprise than fear.

As soon as they had vanished from sight, Kit collapsed, physically unable to remain upright any longer. Darth Sidious paused his lightning attack.

"Still fighting to protect others even up to your dying breath, eh, Master Fisto?" Sidious sneered.

Kit said nothing. His breathing was labored and heavy, his vision becoming blurred. "I will...become one...with the Force...peacefully...knowing those kids...are safe..."

Sidious leaned closer. "They won't be for long."

Despite his immense pain, Kit's mouth curled into a smile. "You will...never get...those two...They're...too clever...for an arrogant...and shriveled up...old Sith Lord..."

Sidious slowly drew himself to his full height, visibly angered by Fisto's comment. "We shall see about that."

Kit chuckled to himself and looked out the window. From where he lay on the floor, he had a perfect view of the star-speckled sky. "Good luck, you two," he whispered to himself.

Sidious sent another shock of Force lightning into the Nautolan's body. He did not cease until the Jedi Master's screams faded into moans, and the moans faded into silence. When Kit Fisto's tortured body stopped convulsing, Sidious called the lightsaber of Saesee Tiin, which lay on the floor beside its fallen owner, to his hand with the Force and lopped off Fisto's head, just out of spite. Then Sidious strolled to the window and looked out over the long, sloping roof of the Senate building.

There was no sign of Star or Marco.

A crowd of people stood on a skybridge watching the deluge of Republic military personnel that seemed to be taking over the Senate building some five hundred meters away, wondering both to themselves and out loud what could possibly going on. No one paid any mind to the two casually dressed teenagers leaning against the railing at the far end. They each had an arm around the other's shoulders, leaning against each other for both physical and emotional support, breathing heavily and slowly.

For several minutes, they remained silent, until Star finally said, "Well...that was quite the harrowing adventure, getting over here from the roof of the Senate building."

"Yeah," Marco replied, trying and gloriously failing to sound upbeat. "Thank goodness no one saw us, but if anyone had, it would have been quite a spectacle."

"Yeah, it, uh...sure was exciting." She leaned her head against Marco's, and she could feel him start to choke up. Now that they had a moment to rest, he was losing the battle to keep his emotions in check, and he was fighting to keep his sorrow silent. "I'm sorry, Marco," Star whispered as Marco wiped his eyes with his free hand. A few tears slipped down her own cheeks, as well.

For a few minutes, they stood on the skybridge, leaning against each other in silence, Star unsure what to say, Marco far too emotional to speak at all.

Finally, Star dried her moist cheeks. "You know..." she began slowly. She slid her arm from around Marco's neck and took his hand in hers. "Mast- Kit...sacrificed himself to save us." Marco met his best friend's gaze and felt slightly comforted. "Let's not let his death be in vain," Star finished, squeezing his hand.

Marco sniffled and dried his eyes on his new red hooded-cloak thing. He took one last deep breath. "Yeah...you're right. We owe it to him to at least do what he said and get off of Coruscant." He squeezed Star's hand back. "So let's make sure we do just that."

Star looked hard into Marco's brown eyes. "We stick together."

Marco managed a slight but very determined smile. "We have each other's backs."

Star pulled Marco in and wrapped him in a full hug. "And we do whatever it takes to survive."

Being nestled in Star's arms made Marco feel very secure and gave him a feeling of encouragement. He hugged her back tightly as if his life depended on it. "As long as we're together, I know we'll be okay."

The two Padawans made their way toward the other end of the skybridge where it met up with a walkway that led deeper into the city. "There's no way we can get to Aunt Eclipsa now," Star said. "And even if we could, I wouldn't want anyone to be reminded that her niece is a Jedi. I wouldn't want to put her in danger like that."

"So what's plan B?" Marco asked as they stepped around a group of people excitedly talking about whatever going on at the Senate building. "And, I gotta ask again, where exactly do we go once we get off Coruscant?"

Star shook her head. "I have no idea. I mean, I guess we could go to my home on Mewni...but I wouldn't want to put my parents and my people in any danger, either."

"Good point." Marco thought for a moment. "We could go to Jakku."

"That junkyard?"

Marco shrugged. "No one ever actually wants to go to Jakku. They'd never even look for us there."

"...Yeahhhhh...How about we keep that as a backup plan? Like a plan 'S' or even plan 'T'."

"Okay. How about Tatooine?"

"How about no?"

They reached the end of the skybridge where the walkway passed through the center of a building. Star stopped. "Okay, I may have an idea how we can get off-world, but...I don't know how much you're gonna like it."

"Hey, I got nothing," Marco said, "so I am open to suggestions." Though he had managed to stop crying, his voice still quivered a bit.

Star leaned against the wall, keeping her voice down as she spoke so that the increasing numbers of passersby would not hear their discussion. "Well...we could ask Tom and Janna for a ride."

Marco blinked. "I was with you at 'Tom', but you lost me at 'Janna.'"

"Oh, come on, Marco, you know Janna likes you."

"I know, and that's the problem."

Star groaned. "Look, if what Kit and the Chancellor said is all true, and if the Clone activity at the Senate was any indication, I guarantee every ship leaving the planet will be stopped and inspected looking for Jedi. Even if we could have gotten to Aunt Eclipsa and borrowed money for tickets on a transport, they'd probably know it's us even if we don't look like Jedi."

Marco sighed. "I hate to say it, but you're right. Likely the only way we're getting out of this system alive is if we're smuggled out...so calling two smugglers probably isn't a bad idea."

"Exactly."

"There's only one flaw in this plan. We don't have any way of contacting them."

"Well, there's actually two flaws," Star said.

"What's the other?"

Star shrugged. "I don't know if Tom and Janna are even here on Coruscant."

Marco let himself fall back against the wall. "Greaaaat."

Star leaned against the wall beside him. "Yeah, I know it's not exactly ideal. But if we're going to survive, we have to start somewhere. Plan A got sidetracked...and then completely derailed...so now we're up to Plan B: Call Tom and Janna for help."

"What's Plan C?"

Star gave him a playful shove, trying to make a little bit of light out of their dire and very sad situation. "I'll let you know when Plan B fails. Now, Plan B - Part 1 is find a way to contact Tom and Janna if they're even here." She clapped her hands together. "So...hit me with an idea, idea man."

"Why am I the idea man?"

"Because I got nothin'! So c'mon!" She poked Marco's arm. "Think!"

Marco knew what Star was doing. She was trying to be her usual somewhat-silly self to distract him from being sad about Kit's death.

And he had to admit, it was working. Coming up with a plan for getting in touch with Tom and Janna would help keep his mind off of it, too, so he decided to do so. He glanced all around the pathway, hoping for some inspiration.

"Well...I see two options here."

"Oh, goody! I love choices!"

"We can try to buy a commlink with the credits I have left, but that runs a higher risk of being seen by security cameras and such that feed into the Coruscant Police Force. Plus, it's the middle of the night, where are we gonna find a place that sells commlinks at this hour?"

"We did find a place that sells clothing," Star reminded him.

Marco looked down at this clothes. His new red hooded cloak - he decided that he would call it a "hoodie" for short - had singe marks from Palpatine's Force lightning. Star's blue dress had a couple, too. "Oh, yeah. Right. Well, still too risky."

"What's your other idea?"

Marco gave a small, nervous chuckle. "We, uh, steal one."

"Okay. Easy-peasy."

"Wait, you're actually okay with doing that?"

Star gave her long blonde hair a flip with her hand. "Hey, the Republic wants us dead, that basically makes us outlaws," she said excitedly. "Much as I didn't want to get involved with the Clone War, being an outlaw kinda sounds like fun." Then she turned serious. "Besides, you heard what Master Fisto said. We have to do whatever it takes just to stay alive. I wouldn't do anything that's going to completely ruin someone's life, but snatching one little commlink ain't gonna hurt nobody."

Marco rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." Star rubbed her hands together. "Now, lets find a willing commlink donor." She started to walk off and Marco moved to follow her, but she put a hand to his chest and stopped him. "Stay here. I got this."

She strolled out from where the walkway passed through the building and back onto the skybridge. More and more people were arriving to see what the commotion at the Senate was about, and the facing railing was lined nearly end to end with beings of all sorts. She could tell by the way nearly all of them were dressed that they were residents of Coruscant's upper levels, and that made her feel significantly less guilty about stealing a commlink from one of them. Moseying along, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, Star scanned the beings who faced away from her, leaning on the railing.

She stopped behind an orange-skinned Twi'lek male. In the back pocket of his trousers, she could see the distinct outline of a hand-held commlink.

Bingo.

She turned her back and stood as close to the Twi'lek as she dared, holding her hands clasped behind her back. She focused her mind on the commlink, and, as slowly as she could, pulled the commlink from the man's pocket and drew it into her waiting hands with the Force. Then she casually strolled back to where Marco stood waiting.

"Well?" he asked as she returned.

"As promised," she dropped the small cylindrical device into his hand, "one commlink."

Marco examined it closely. "Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing, I just did not expect it to go that smoothly." He slid it into the pocket of his hoodie. "Let's find somewhere quiet and out of sight to try to contact Tom."

"And Janna."

"...And Janna."

They headed further along the walkway and began searching for a place they wouldn't be seen making an emergency call. Soon, they found a narrow alleyway between two buildings where very little lighting penetrated, perfect for concealing them.

Marco handed the commlink back to Star. "You remember the frequency?"

"I think so. I really hope they're here, because if they aren't, we're back to square one again."

Star input the frequency and took a deep breath. "Moment of truth."

And she hailed their friends.

This chapter is a little short, but it was a logical place for a chapter break before the next scene.

Get excited for the next chapter. It was a lot of fun to write.