As they walked, Ahsoka began to talk about the sky, trying to be as specific as possible. She tried to remember that they knew next to nothing about atmospheres, or stars, or planets, or anything really. It was her turn to be the expert and their turn to learn from her.

"Our planet revolves around a star called the sun of our solar system. Every time it rises makes the beginning of a new day, although technically it starts in the middle of the night. That's what defines our time system, even underground where we can't see a difference."

"Well, that makes sense," Jake laughed. "The light never changes underground. We need lamps everywhere just to see where we're going."

Ahsoka nodded back at him. "Exactly. That's not the case up here, though. You'll see."

Rya looked confused. "I thought you said those things up there were stars. Is the sun also a star?"

"Yes, but it is much, much closer. So close that when we can see it, the sun actually warms our planet."

Luce's eyes went wide. "So we're going to burn up here?"

Shock crossed a few other faces, but Ahsoka shook her head. "If that were the case, no one would live here."

"Quick question," Tyme raised a hand. "Whenever I see pictures of the surface, the sky is blue. Why is it black right now?"

Ahsoka racked her brain for the easiest way to explain. "Well, the air creates something called the atmosphere. When the light from the sun, or our star, hits it, it distorts it, and the sky looks blue. It's just that right now, the sun is too far that way," she pointed towards the east. "The planet has to rotate so we face the sun before the sky turns blue. Also, we can't see the stars during the day, because the sun is so bright, so get a good look before that happens."

"And how do you know all of this?" Jackson asked, but Wheeler scoffed.

"Anyone who grew up on the surface knows these things," she explained, a bit bored. "Even if they don't know the sciencey part of it. It's just common sense."

Journey glared back at her. "Sorry, we don't normally know things about places we've never been to."

"Easy, guys," Ahsoka told them. "Besides, we're here."

They all stopped by a ladder leading up to the roof of a building. They were over a kilometer from the edge of downtown, so it was fairly quiet over here. It was also as far east as Ahsoka was willing to take them before they started getting close to dangerous areas.

"Three at a time on the ladder," she instructed them. "I'll stay at the bottom to catch anyone that might fall. The first people to the top, help the person behind you."

Wheeler scaled the ladder first. Granger went up behind her, waiting until she was up about three meters to start. The building was five stories high, and although it was nothing to her, Ahsoka could see the doubt in a few people's faces.

Nox leaned over to her. "Is there a...an elevator or-or something?"

She rested a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't want to climb, I can use the Force to lift you up, along with anyone else who doesn't want to risk falling."

Leslie and Jake stood over by her when they heard that, while the others continued to climb. When Luce, the last one up, disappeared over the edge of the roof, Ahsoka followed him up, leaving the other three on the ground. At the top, the other eight were already spreading out blankets and prepping food, but Ahsoka stood on the ledge overlooking the street.

"Ready?" she called, and she could just barely see their heads nodding.

"Hang on," Jackson told her, walking over. "I want to see this."

So did the others, apparently. Everyone crowded around the edge, although none dared to stand on the ledge as Ahsoka did. It's not their fault, she thought. If I fall, I can slow my landing, but none of the others can do that.

She reached out a hand, and Leslie, Jake, and Nox all began to rise. Ahsoka decided it was best to bring them up quickly, so the strange experience was shorter for them. When they got to the top, she set them lightly on their feet, slowly releasing them so they could control their own movements gradually.

Jake was literally shaking by the time his feet hit the roof. "I am never doing that again."

"It was better than climbing the ladder," Leslie argued, leaning on Rya for a little support. "I mean, it wasn't my favorite, but still."

"Hey Tano," Jackson called out. "If I jump off the roof, can you catch me?"

No one else liked that idea. "Don't you dare!" They all shouted at him, but Ahsoka laughed.

Shrugging, she answered, "Yes, but it doesn't sound like your friends approve."

That didn't stop him. He ran and jumped over the ledge, falling down, down, down to the street. Thyla and Leslie screeched, yelling for Ahsoka to save him. She just grinned and caught him two meters above the ground, and lifted him back up with the others.

He smirked at the girls admonishing him for his recklessness. "I've always wanted to do that," he confessed.

"Are all Jedi this reckless?" Granger asked Ahsoka, watching the scene play out with a smile on his face. "I mean, I know you're not a Jedi, but..."

She smirked, an old memory coming to mind. "Just the good ones," she replied and set her bag on the ground. "Anyone hungry?" she asked, and they all took out the food they had brought with them.

As they shared and ate breakfast, Ahsoka brought out the hologram projector of the galaxy she had gotten for her birthday. It was zoomed in on Coruscant, just as she had left it. "This is the planet we're on now," she explained, then expanded the view so the sun was in view too. "And this is the sun you will see soon. It's actually not that big, compared to other stars in the galaxy."

"Is that it?" Tyme asked, pointing north.

Ahsoka looked in the direction and did see something. It had been obscured by the buildings while they were on the street, but it was clearly visible from here.

"No, that's one of the four moons. They're like planets, but they're not big enough. Some of them are inhabited, though. Not the moons in the Corusca system, but some." She expanded the hologram further. "It should be this one, judging by its position."

"Wait, so you're saying that everyone, all one trillion-plus people on Coruscant, live on this one planet?" Thyla asked. "I mean, I know Coruscant has a lot of levels, but still! And it looks so small on here."

"It's an ecumenopolis," Ahsoka explained, "and one of the most densely populated planets in the known galaxy. Bespin is nearly ten times as bigger, but since so little of it is inhabitable, their population isn't nearly as large."

Granger stared at her. "What the hell is an ecuma-whatchamacallit?"

A round of laughter went around the group. "It's a planet that is entirely a city. There are a couple of other planets like that, but not many. They're very difficult to sustain," she explained, looking up at the sky, "and not very good for the environment."

"Why not?" Rya asked, following her gaze.

"There is no natural landscape here," Ahsoka said, gesturing to the millions of buildings surrounding them. "The only living things here are people. Not only that, but the amount of exhaust produces by all of the equipment here would be lethal, under different circumstances. Do you know how many air recyclers are on this planet?"

No one really knew although Tyme ventured a guess. "A lot?"

"Too many," she corrected. "When one of them breaks, the entire area surrounding it is evacuated. That's how bad it is." She turned to Rya. "You said earlier that the air feels freer up here, but that's only because you have lived in the Lower Levels for so long. If you went to...oh, I don't know, Ryloth, Naboo, Alderaan, then you would be able to tell how bad it is here."

Jackson's jaw was hanging open. "You really have been everywhere, haven't you?"

"Some days it seems like it," she mused, glancing east to check on the sunrise. The sky had begun to brighten. "It's starting," she told the others, and they all looked in the same direction.

"That's so crazy," Luce murmured. "Don't even explain this, just let me be stupid and watch."

Ahsoka laughed and leaned back on her hands. In all honesty, she only came up here during nights for runs, and although she had been up at this hour as a Jedi she was training, not relaxing. She was just as eager to watch as the others. It felt like ages since she had seen natural light.

Granger, who had been sitting next to her, smirked. "You're almost making me regret leaving," he teased, looking over at her. "I hope the sunrise on Alderaan is as good as this."

"I've heard the sunsets, in particular, are gorgeous," Ahsoka commented. "The terrain is so much more natural, too. If you wanted to live in a developed area, but still be surrounded by mountains, forests, wildlife, and such, Alderaan is perfect."

"Why not watch the sunset?" He asked. "I'm not complaining, believe me, but this is pretty early for some people." He coughed, and under his breath, muttered "Jake."

Ahsoka laughed. "I guess I prefer mornings. Besides, sunrises are the symbol of a new day, a new beginning." She paused, then added. "And I have bad memories with sunsets. One in particular."

The glare of the sun setting as she walked down the steps to the Temple flashed before her eyes. She had walked, trying to follow the light, but was surrounded by darkness before long. Literally, since Tyrannus had picked her up not half an hour after she left.

The sky was fading from a blue to a faint yellow, and the clouds farthest east began to flare pink and purple. People started pointing out the colors they saw and were already beginning to shield their eyes. They've never seen this much light before, Ahsoka realized.

It was a sad thought, really. Ahsoka couldn't imagine living her whole life in physical darkness, or on the Dark side, for that matter. It was helpful, especially for sneaking around, and when used as a last resort, but there was so much unknown, so much chance. Anything could hide in the shadows.

Too much light, and too much Light, could also blind people, though. When a good thing overwhelmed a person, it handicapped them to the point where they could not do anything to move forward. They became stuck in their perfect utopia, and before they knew it the world moved on without them.

Ahsoka, speaking in terms of the Force, was trying to live in the twilight, just like right now. Light and Dark, both on the brink of succeeding one another but never doing so. She had the mysteriousness of the night and the clarity of the day, each in balance with one another.

But that didn't mean she couldn't love the physical sunrise. The sky was really lighting up now, even though the star Coruscant Prime had not broken over the horizon.

"Hey Tano," Journey asked, "how long does sunrise last? It's slower than I imagined."

"Actually, it hasn't technically happened yet."

"What?" Leslie turned to look at her. "But the sky is so bright, and it has all of these pretty colors, what do you mean it hasn't happened?"

Wheeler grinned. "Oh, girl, you haven't seen anything yet. Just you wait, then you'll really see the sun."

Ahsoka stood up and walked to the edge of the building. "I'll be back," she told them, and then jumped to the next building over. She ran to a nearby radio tower and jumped to the top, hanging off of the posts so it wouldn't accidentally shock her. It gave her a good extra ten meters above the rooftops, and when she looked east, the sun was seconds away from rising.

She knew better than to look directly at the sun, but she could manage for a few seconds. As the shadows slowly began to shorten, Ahsoka saw the tip of the sun breach over the buildings. She felt the warmth on her face and smiled. I really need to get out more, she thought, but it felt so good that she forgot about it for the time being. She closed her eyes and relaxed, thinking back to missions that she had been able to spend outside. After being trapped on Dromund Kaas for so long, with its swamps and jungles that seemed to drain the light from its sun, even the light of Coruscant was welcome.

When the shadows retreated past her toes, she jumped down and rejoined her coworkers. "It's almost time. When the shadows pass us, you'll be able to see the sun."

Everyone except Granger, Wheeler, and Nox stood up. "You can't look directly into it, you know," Wheeler groaned. "At least, not for long, unless you want to-"

Granger elbowed her, interrupting her warning. "Let them figure it out," he told her, and he stood up with them.

There wasn't much to do, other than stand around anxiously and wait for the planet to rotate. Luce started humming a song that Ahsoka didn't recognize, but the others must have because they giggled. "It's the Jeopardy theme song," Journey explained. "It's a joke, you hum it when you're waiting for something."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. Jackson, the tallest out of them all, reached up a hand to try and reach the sunlight. When his arm stretched beyond the shadows, his eyes widened. "Guys, it's warm! Oh my God, that's so cool!"

There's that 'God' person again, Ahsoka thought. Who is this guy?

Thyla jumped on Journey's back and reached an arm up as he staggered underneath her weight. "No way," she murmured, "that's crazy. Look how yellow my arm looks! Ohhh, and it feels so nice!"

Some of them started reaching up to feel the warmth of the sun as well and waited anxiously for the shadows to fall beneath their eyes. Thyla, still on her boyfriend's back, and Jackson, standing on his toes, saw Coruscant Prime first, and shielded their eyes from the sun.

"What the hell is that?" Jackson asked, cowering down from the light, while Thyla jumped down off of Journey.

Wheeler groaned, but Ahsoka could see her fighting off a smile. "It's the sun, dummy."

Jackson tried looking again, peering through his fingers. "That was not what I was expecting."

"Welcome to the surface," Ahsoka told him, smiling as the sun slipped over the horizon.