Author's Note: The second chapter is out. I'm hoping you're all familiar with e Galactic Standard Calender, because it's going to be used a lot in this story. If you're not familiar with it, I recommend looking it up on the Wookiepedia.

Tatooine, 19 BBY

Ahsoka and Luke sat across from each other at a clay table. Both had remained silent for a while after Ahsoka had told him her story. R7-A7, who had also been rescued by Luke, beeped quietly from a corner of the hut.

Luke smiled warmly. "Would you like some tea?"

Ahsoka considered for a second before nodding. "Sure."

Ahsoka nearly fell backwards at what she saw next. She saw Luke lift his hand as a boiling teapot and several teacups drifted towards them. Ahsoka stared dumbfounded at Luke. "You can use the Force?"

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Apparently."

"Do you have a lightsaber?" Ahsoka inquired, starting to shift around in her chair.

Luke reached down beneath his robe and pulled out a hilt. He ignited it, revealing a beautiful white-green blade.

"But I thought the location of Ilum was a Jedi secret." Ahsoka whispered.

Hearing her, Luke responded. "I've never been there. I synthesized the crystal for my lightsaber from various materials."

Ahsoka's mind reeled. Here, in front of her, was a Jedi that had been previously unknown to the Jedi Order. How had they not sensed him at birth? Who had been his master? All these questions multiplied in Ahsoka's head, threatening to explode in a flurry of words.

But Luke spoke first, cutting her off from asking questions. "So, Miss Tano, you appear to have a bit of a dilemma. You need to return to the Jedi Order on Coruscant, but have no way of doing so." Luke sighed. "I guess I'll have to take you there myself."

Ahsoka was taken aback. "Really? You'll help me get back to my master?"

Luke nodded. "Of course I have to help you. Why else would the Force bring you to my humble abode?"

Ahsoka gave Luke an odd look. "You're awfully trusting of me, you know that?"

"And who wouldn't trust a Jedi?" Luke gave Ahsoka an inquisitive look.

Ahsoka shook her head. "Whatever. Let's just get going. Where's the nearest spaceport?"

"Over in Mos Eisley. It's out past Anchorage. If we take my speeder, we can reach there by tomorrow morning."

Ahsoka nodded. "Alright. We better get going." Ahsoka turned to leave.

Luke hesitated. "I'll be out in a second. This place... its full of many memories."

Luke gathered a few of his things, and soon the duo, and R7, were on their way.

They reached Mos Eisley early the next morning. Tatooine's second sun had barely poked it's head above the horizon, while the first sun cast deep but barely visible shadows over the earthen buildings.

"Wow." Ahsoka began. "This place is a bantha pit."

Luke nodded. "Spend most of your life here, like I did, and it becomes a lot worse."

"Did you ever know someone named Anakin Skywalker?" Ahsoka asked.

Luke stiffened. "That name does seem to ring bells. Maybe I met him in a shop or on the street."

'There's definitely something strange about Luke.' Ahsoka concluded. 'He's thrown off balance whenever I mention Master Skywalker.'

They continued into the town. Luke's eyes seemed to scan the town. He pointed to a shady cantina. "We'll probably be able to find a starship captain willing to take us into the Core Worlds there."

Ahsoka gave Luke a skeptical look. "If we don't end up dead and lying in the gutter. You really need review your definition of reputable business."

"On the contrary. Captains here will be less likely to ask questions. Thus, we have less of a chance to be turned over to the Separatists. And then there's the fact that some of the best pilots can be found here." The door to the cantina slid open. "Even so, watch yourself."

Nobody paid any attention to a sixty-something man as they entered, but a few were surprised to see a sixteen year-old Togruta girl. 'I'm obviously not the target demographic of this place.' Ahsoka sat herself down on a stool at the bar.

"Stay here, I'm going to find a pilot." Luke disappeared into the mob of various beings.

Ahsoka shifted uncomfortably under the gazes of males of various species. 'When I finally get back home, I have to change my attire to be something a little more...modest.'

When Luke finally returned, she didn't even try to hide her relief. "So? Did you find someone?"

Luke motioned to a young human man beside him. "This is Alf Duron. He's agreed to go out of his way to take us to Coruscant."

Alf scoffed "As long as I get my money, I'll take you anywhere in the Galaxy."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at Luke. "He seems pretty loyal too."

Luke smiled apologetically. "It's only until we reach Coruscant. Then, you'll be back at the Temple." Luke turned to Duron. "We would like to leave immediately."

Alf shrugged. "Fine by me." He motioned to the door. "Follow me, I'll show you the ship."

Alf led them to the heart of Mos Eisley. Ahsoka grew more and more discomforted with every step she took. All around her, scarred being partook in activities that would be illegal in any Republic system. 'This is definitely not my kind of neighborhood.'

The Mos Eisley Spaceport didn't deserve such a name. It was just a crummy mud brick building that just happened to house spacecrafts. And Alf's ship? Well...

"What a piece of junk!" Ahsoka spat. The ship was an old Firefly-class heavy freighter. Emphasis on old. 'How's that junk-heap still in one piece?'

Alf cringed at Ahsoka's statement. " She's no piece of junk, kid. The Arcadia could outrun any Republic shuttle with ease."

"Like hell it can! I bet that thing couldn't outrun a..." Luke raised his hand, cutting off Ahsoka's retort.

Luke turned back to Alf. "Finish preparations, and let's go."

A short while later, the Arcadia left the surface of the planet. The space-junk from the previous day's battle was still clustered together, and had yet to disperse. Ahsoka's faith that Anakin had survived was strengthened as her eyes swept across the scene of the battle from the window of her quarters. The Destroyer under Anakin's command was not among the wreckages.

'Please, Master. Be safe.'

The corpses of ships disappeared as starlines streaked across Ahsoka's field of vision. Ahsoka collapsed into her cot, exhausted. All the traveling on Tatooine had worn her out. The only thing she wished for at the moment was for sleep to claim her.

It started as a quiet, but incessant, beeping accompanied by a blinking red light. At first, Alf dismissed this as nothing, telling his copilot, Drefa Honew, to figure out whatever was wrong.

The human shook his head. "Never seen anything like this before. It's like something in the ship is messing with the hyperspace field."

Alf frowned. "Are we in any immediate danger?"

Drefa continued to fidget with the controls on the board. "Surprisingly, no. Whatever it is, it's not intentional. Probably just a malfunction in the hyperdrive. We should be arriving in about twenty minutes. I'll have a mechanic on Coruscant check it out once we land."

Alf nodded and returned to his own control board, attempting to reimmerse himself in the strangely relaxing cycle of managing the ship. Even so, Alf couldn't get the strange hyperspace readings out of his head.

As the minutes ticked by, it was soon time for their arrival at Coruscant. Alf noticed that his two Jedi passengers and their astromech had arrived at the bridge. Nodding to them, he turned back to the controls.

"Exiting hyperspace...now."

The wormhole of hyperspace disappeared, replaced with starlines that soon melted back into flecks of far away stars.

Alf was still looking at the controls when he heard a surprised gasp escape Drefa's lips.

Alf lifted his head to see what had gotten Drefa so excited. Alf's eyes widened. "Dag!" he swore loudly, starting to feel the urge to throw up. Luke and Ahsoka looked no better, both visibly growing pale.

Smoke shrouded Coruscant's atmosphere. A red glow pulsed beneath the planet's atmosphere, hinting to a massive fire raging on the surface. Coruscant was very much dead.

The console on the Arcadia's bridge beeped loudly. "Something is approaching the Arcadia." Drefa's voice cracked. Alf suddenly remembered that his late teenage copilot had family on Coruscant.

A massive, grotesque... something came into view on the front window. It looked like someone had tried to combine a rancor and a starship into one.

"It's transmitting us a recorded message. Playing it on the speakers."

A horribly guttural voice resounded across the bridge in heavily accented Basic.

"Surrender willingly to the Yuuzhan Vong Empire and we will grant you infidels swift deaths."