Embarrassed that I had taken advantage of his conveniently-located shoulder, I straightened up and dropped the hood off my head. Obi-Wan had oriented himself with the controls again and now reported, "A ship's picked up our signal. They want to know if we need help."

"Tell them we're in need of transport," Qui-Gon ordered. "Who are they?"

"A Corellian freighter," the young man replied, "bound for Coruscant."

The Master smiled down at me. "You see? One always comes around. Contact them, Obi-Wan, see if they'll take us on board."

Obi-Wan plucked a microphone-like instrument from the panel and used it to call the ship, which was somewhere near us I guessed. In moments, a disembodied voice sputtered out of a speaker. "Republic pod, what is your status? Any casualties?"

"None on board," Obi-Wan replied. "But there are only three of us."

"Damn," the voice muttered. "All right, hold position. We'll be passing by shortly, we'll pick you up. Insider out."

The Padawan eased away from the control panel, as his job was done. Qui-Gon nodded appreciatively at him before turning to me. "Did you sleep well?"

"I guess so," I answered. "How long was I out?"

"A few hours. We all were. Are you feeling better?"

I didn't answer right away, pausing to make an assessment of my physical condition. "Not really," I finally said. "I'm still dizzy. And now I've got a cramp in my back from this stupid bench."

Qui-Gon shifted to face me and placed one large hand on my forehead, studying my reaction with those mysterious eyes. His hand was warm and gentle, making me feel cold in contrast. He removed it, and then waved it back and forth in front of me, asking me to follow it with my eyes. I had no idea what he was doing until he announced, "You might have a concussion. Were you knocked unconscious in that corridor?"

"Uh..." Then it occurred to me. I hadn't been asleep when I found myself in that strange location, I had been out cold! "Could've been," I said. "I don't remember."

"Hmm." The Jedi nodded to himself. "It's a good possibility, then, you might have a slight concussion. When we get to Coruscant, we'll have the healers in the Jedi Temple take a look at you."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You're taking me with you to the Jedi Temple?"

"Well, we can't leave you wandering about Coruscant if you're injured, now can we?" He smiled vaguely, and patted my shoulder comfortingly. "When we're on board the freighter, I'll ask the captain for quarters where you can lie down. I don't want you moving about much."

"All right." I leaned against the wall, trying not to let a pleased smile make its way onto my face. They weren't going to leave me behind after all. I got to go with them to the Jedi Temple. The Temple! My mind was finally coherent enough to realize how cool that was.

Obi-Wan, though, looked doubtful. "The Council may object to bringing a stranger into the Temple, Master, if her injuries aren't life-threatening."

Qui-Gon gave his apprentice a wise look. "They won't once they see who she is."

Obi-Wan stared at him, but I didn't understand the expression on his face. "If you say so, Master," he said concedingly. Something passed between them which I couldn't fathom.

The Corellian freighter Insider was not long in reaching our position, and after enduring another series of disconcerting movements as the pod was drawn into a docking bay with a tractor beam, I found myself finally free of the close quarters. The freighter's captain, a Mon Calamari, met us there in the bay, and he (or she? You can't really tell) looked surprised to see that the victims from the escape pod were Jedi Knights. "I had a bad feeling when I saw that your signal bore a Republic frequency," the captain told us. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," Qui-Gon said simply. "We need to get back to Coruscant to tell it to the Chancellor, as soon as possible."

The freighter captain agreed, and showed us where we could stay through the rest of the journey, which apparently would not be long. I had given Qui-Gon back his robe before we disembarked, which turned out to be wise, as the freighter's hallways were much warmer than even the Republic ship. We had a small crew cubicle to ourselves, and the Master ordered me to lie down and stay there while he went out to consult with the captain. Obi-Wan remained, presumably to protect me, though I felt perfectly safe on this ship no matter how strange the beings were that passed us in the corridors. The bunk along the wall was not much more comfortable than the bench in the escape pod, but it felt great to be able to lay down and close my eyes. I heard Obi-Wan get up and the swish of the door closing, and then a stillness broken only by the slap of his robes along the floor as he moved back to the tiny chair next to the tiny table on the other side of the room. Curious, I opened my eyes and looked toward him, seeing him seated with his hands resting in his lap as he stared blankly at the far wall. "Obi-Wan? I wondered.

He glanced at me. "Yes?"

"Nothing." I lost the courage to ask most of my questions, now that his penetrating gaze was on me. I settled for small talk instead. "How far are we from Coruscant?"

"Oh," he sighed, "a few hours. Four or five at the most. We've already gone back into hyperspace." He gazed at me a moment longer, looking like he wanted to ask me something, so I waited. Sure enough, he added, "what do you know about Coruscant?"

"I know it's the capital of the Republic, and it's one giant city," I said, recalling in my mind the visual spectacle provided by movie screens in my true home. "The Jedi Temple is there, and the Senate. But apart from that, nothing, really."

Obi-Wan nodded in acceptance and looked away. He may have been intent on ignoring me, but I wanted to know something else. "What happened on that ship? I don't know anything - why were there destroyer droids, and why did we have to abandon ship?"

The young man sighed again, though not with impatience, but what seemed to me like extreme weariness, as if thinking about it made him tired all over again. "We were on our way to rendezvous with a Rodian envoy," he began, closing his eyes, "who had requested of the Senate a Jedi delegation to help sort out some undisclosed problem. Master Qui-Gon and I were dispatched on a Republic transport to meet them, at a set of coordinates which were well outside any well-traveled shipping lanes. When we got there, we received a transmission requesting that the Jedi alone board the Rodian ship, but no one met us nor escorted us. Master Qui-Gon thought it extremely odd, and we both sensed some sort of tension aboard the ship, but we continued on regardless, looking for someone to tell us what was going on. By the time we had gotten well into the ship, we were attacked without warning by battle droids. They stood between us and the airlock, so we had to cut through them in order to get back to our ship." His eyes opened again, and his face hardened into a grim frown. "It took an eternity to make it back, but by then it was too late. The attack on us had drawn our attention away, so they could send forces onto the Republic ship and take it. Every crew member we came across was dead , and there were droids everywhere. There was no sense trying to get to the bridge, a whole battalion held it. That was when Master Qui-Gon and I felt the surge in the Force," he added, turning to me once again. "He left me to take out the last of the droids blocking our way while he went to find out if anyone else was alive. That was when we found you." A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes looked more favorably on me. "And the rest, you know."

"Yeah." I let my eyes wander back to the ceiling - well, really, the underside of the bunk above me - and tried to make sense of it. It sounded like the Jedi had been duped, or used. But for a Republic transport? It made no sense. But, it wasn't my place to try and figure it out, fortunately. I sighed and closed my eyes. "Maybe I should get some rest."

"It's what the Master recommended." Obi-Wan's voice sounded far away, a sign I was drifting rapidly toward sleep again. "Sleep well."

*****

I slept until the ship reached Coruscant, because no one thought to wake me at any other point during the journey. Both Jedi were in the room, holding conference in hushed voices, their arms resting on the table and faces close to one another in order to communicate quietly. They must have heard me stir, because just as I opened my eyes, Qui-Gon looked at me. "We'll be landing soon," he said, and the louder tone of his voice coupled with the direction of his eyes made Obi-Wan turn around to regard me. "The ship is scheduled to dock on the night side of the planet, so we'll take a low-level transport around to the Jedi Temple."

"More ships," I grumbled. I was never very cordial upon waking.

"How do you feel?" the Master continued.

I thought about it. "Tired," I replied. "Still a little dizzy."

"Don't worry," he smiled. "We'll soon be there."

He was right. Within minutes of our conversation, the freighter had docked on a floating platform above the sparkling night side of Coruscant, the city-planet. We had to cross the platform to where the small transport waited to carry us to the day side, and I had to admit to myself, nothing in my twenty-four years prepared me for the sensory overload I experienced on that very brief journey. We were several miles above the ground - if there was any ground under all that metal and pavement - at a height where the wind blew almost constantly between the gigantic skyscrapers towering around us like a steel forest. The dark of night was cut through with a million sparkling lights, up and down the length of the buildings, far below on the streets, and on every ship and speeder that whizzed by. The air was extremely cold, and made me wrap my arms around myself as I followed the Jedi across the platform. The wind tore at us, making their robes ripple and stream away from their bodies and my hair whip frantically about my face. I could hardly look at the dazzling structures around us because I was concentrating so hard on not being blown off the platform, but I could see enough of it that I was paralyzed with awe. I'm not a city person, I prefer the open country, but Coruscant was amazing.

The transport was small and mostly made of window-space, so any passenger could admire the skyline as the ship sped from one end of the planet to the other. Qui-Gon curtly ordered the pilot to take us to the Jedi Temple before taking a seat in one of the padded chairs behind the console, content to watch the planet streak by beneath us. Obi-Wan indicated that I should take a seat, though he moved to stand behind his Master instead. "What do you intend to do, Master?"

"I will speak with the Council when we arrive," Qui-Gon answered heavily, and I could hear the weariness in his voice. I may have gotten sleep, but he hadn't. "I want you to take her up to the healers. Just to make sure."

"Have you contacted them, to let them know we are on our way back?"

Qui-Gon hesitated. "Perhaps I ought to do that," he said, getting up again. At the back of the transport's module was another instrument panel, but unconnected to the main controls, and the elder Jedi seated himself in front of it. It was a communications device, I saw, as he quickly got a hold of someone on the other side of Coruscant. As I watched, he was put through to another of the Jedi Masters, a member of the Council whose name I had heard in passing before. "Ki-Adi Mundi."

"Master Qui-Gon," the Jedi on the other end addressed him, his voice lilting as though surprised. "I had not thought to hear from you for some time."

"The mission was a failure," Qui-Gon said bluntly. I glanced back at him, curious at his demeanor. "I will explain everything when I get to you. We are on a transport heading for the Temple as I speak."

"I see," Ki-Adi Mundi's voice murmured, still lilting. Perhaps he always sounded like that, like he was perpetually asking a question. "We will expect you shortly, then."

"Ki-Adi," Qui-Gon continued, "I wonder if you or any of the others felt an unusual movement in the Force while we were away? In the last day?"

There was a tense pause from the communicator. Then, Ki-Adi said, "I have not, but you may wish to ask Master Yoda when you return."

Qui-Gon accepted his reply with a moment of silence. "Thank you, Ki-Adi. We will be with you soon." He signed off and leaned his elbows on the console, kneading his forehead with his fingertips. I wished I could say something to him, but he didn't need me intruding on his thoughts. Instead, I watched the spectacular view beyond the windows as the transport sped around the curve of the planet faster than any Earth plane could hope to fly. Dawn was coming up fast, and the edges of the city twinkled in the rising light. Daybreak at full speed was peculiar to watch, but awesome, and stunned me to silence.

At last, in the full light of midmorning, we reached the Jedi Temple. Its spires lanced magnificently skyward, standing out among a plain of much smaller buildings. The transport skimmed down out of the traffic patterns and settled in among the complex of buildings, cutting its speed in order to hover close to the ground and maneuver into the docking areas of the Temple. Qui-Gon led the way into the halls of the Temple, nodding for me to follow him and for Obi-Wan to bring up the rear. It was a lovely building, as far as buildings go, with modest dimensions and few decorations, daubed in subtle maroon, brown and sand colors rather than anything splashy. Rooms and hallways jutted off the main corridor we traveled, some occupied, some silent and contemplative. Children were everywhere, their clothing and hair styled like Obi-Wan's, only in miniature - miniature Jedi running around the hallowed Temple. If not for the solemn, meditative atmosphere of the place, I would have giggled at that thought. Soon, we reached the point where we had to part, Qui-Gon to the corner spire and the High Council, myself and Obi-Wan to the healers. "I will join you when I am through," the Master informed us. "It should not take long."

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan placed a hand on my arm, guiding me the way we had to go. I glanced back once at Qui-Gon's proud frame striding away down the other corridor, holding his composure despite being exhausted and uncertain of what he would encounter ahead of him. My heart went with him, while I stepped into a lift and found myself carried away to another part of the Temple.

*****

(Qui-Gon later told me what had happened while he was away...)

Qui-Gon Jinn stepped into an anteroom, the soft reddish color of the décor soothing to his weary eyes. A youngster, not yet an apprentice, knew him on sight and beckoned him in. "Master Yoda wishes to see you," she said politely, bowing slightly. "He asked me to send you in the moment you arrived, Master."

Nodding, Qui-Gon breezed past her and through the doors, which parted an instant before he reached them and closed right behind him. Inside, the private chamber held not one but three of the revered Council members, two standing, one resting comfortably in a small, scooped chair. One of those standing turned to regard his entrance . "Good morning, Master Qui-Gon," Ki-Adi Mundi greeted him. "I trust this day finds you well."

"Well, but tired," Qui-Gon acknowledged him. He did not find it odd that Ki-Adi should be there, but the third Jedi, a human, made him ill-at-ease. He bowed respectfully nonetheless. "Master Windu."

The dark-skinned Mace Windu narrowed his eyes curiously. "Qui-Gon, I was not aware you were on your way to Coruscant until Ki-Adi contacted me. You were on a mission from the Senate."

"A mission which failed," Qui-Gon said. He was in no mood to play games with them, but held his frustration in check in order to deliver the story to them. He told them plainly how he and his apprentice had arrived at the rendezvous to find that no one from the Rodian ship wanted to meet them, but summoned them to their ship regardless, and how they were attacked in the twisting passageways by battle droids. He related the unfortunate fate of the Republic crew, the apparent organization of the force designed to subdue them as quickly as possible, and the need to escape the ship before he and Obi-Wan were also killed. For the time being, he left out the part about finding a survivor. The three Jedi nodded as they listened, piecing together details of his story as fast as he related them. "I have come to the conclusion that the Rodian envoy was a ruse," Qui-Gon said at last. "I can't say for certain whether the Rodians were even involved. Whoever was in command of that ship, it was their intention to take control of the transport and kill the Jedi sent to complete the mission."

"Why would anyone wish to do that?" Ki-Adi wondered.

"I can't say," Qui-Gon answered. "The motive is unknown. Once I report the action to the Chancellor, I hope to be able to return to the field and track down that transport, find out why this happened."

"Yes, do that you shall," Master Yoda said, speaking for the first time. Qui-Gon nodded at him to acknowledge him. "But more there is, yes?"

"One thing. While battling the droids, both Obi-Wan and myself experienced a strong movement in the Force, a surge of some kind. It caused both of us to falter."

Yoda hummed deeply down in his throat. "A surge, you say," he said quietly. Though they knew nothing about what he meant, the other two Council members remained silent until he had completed his thought. "Felt it I have. In the last day, a movement of the Force, an instant when it seemed...pushed aside. A great distance from here, it was. Perhaps nearer to you."

Qui-Gon could hardly hold back his elation that he and his Padawan were not alone in this experience. "I may have found the source of the surge, Master."

Yoda's green eyes widened, bugging out from his wizened face. "Oh?"

"We brought with us the only survivor of the attack, a young woman," the Jedi said evenly. "I have never seen her before, I don't know how she got on board the transport, but there is something peculiar about her. I can't feel her presence in the Force. Her mind is closed off, as if behind a wall. It is the strangest feeling I have ever encountered."

Mace Windu looked skeptical. "You're sure about this?"

"Meet her, try to look into her mind if you want," Qui-Gon dared. "You'll find I'm speaking the truth."

"In doubt the truth is not," Yoda reminded them both. "How could this be, think you, Master Qui-Gon?"

Qui-Gon gave him a level gaze as he said, "She's not from our galaxy."

Now all three of them looked ready to scold him. "Not from our galaxy?" Ki-Adi repeated.

"It's what she said. I have no reason to think she's lying, only because I can't sense her one way or the other. I have tried not to form an opinion, I wanted to wait until you met her and have seen what I have seen."

"Where is she now?" Windu asked.

"I sent Obi-Wan to escort her to the healers. She may have suffered a concussion in the attack."

Yoda hopped off his chair and was already heading for the door. "Then meet her, we shall. Discover, what this mystery may be."

*****

It occurred to me as I sat enduring the barrage of tests and treatments, the Jedi take as well-rounded an approach to healing as they do everything else. Though the sickbay (for lack of a better word) was staffed mostly with droids, its design and function was quite holistic in nature, the lighting subdued to a soothing level, the contours manipulated to hide anything mechanical and emphasize natural shapes. It seemed I did have a slight concussion after all, though I could not imagine how I got it, and was dehydrated as well. No course of treatment was recommended except rest and water, and that I could handle. While I underwent testing, Obi-Wan stood watching, his hands tucked into the ends of his robe's sleeves. His young face showed no reaction to anything the medical droids reported, but he listened to everything and stayed at my side the whole time. When their work was finished and the mechanical nurses waddled or wheeled away to help some other injured Jedi, Obi-Wan gave me a little smile. "Well, that sounds like good news to me."

"I just don't like not knowing how it happened," I muttered, feeling my head as if I might find a bump or bruise there. "I don't remember anything before waking up in that corridor."

"At least it's nothing serious," the Padawan continued. "A day lounging about here, and you'll be good as new." He looked up as the main door hummed open to admit another visitor, one I knew immediately. I didn't know, though, that he hadn't come alone. "Master..."

"Well?" Qui-Gon wondered.

"You were right," Obi-Wan said. "Mild concussion, nothing that a little rest won't cure."

"Good." He looked down toward the floor, and I followed his gaze to find someone else standing there, much too short for me to see on first glance, and froze. Yoda. Talk about the shock of a lifetime - to see a creature I inherently knew to be nothing more than a puppet with a funny voice actually living and breathing (and staring intently at me) caused every thought process in my head to come to an abrupt halt. The fictional character always made me giggle. The real thing, well...I could say or do nothing. I hoped they weren't waiting for me to speak, because I could not. Fortunately, Qui-Gon saved the day. "Master," he said to the little Jedi beside him, "this is Stacey. We found her on the transport."

Yoda's green eyes traveled up and down, as if he was studying every inch of my seated figure. For a long time he said nothing, apart from an occasional "hmm." When at last he spoke, he addressed Qui-Gon. "See your point, I do," he murmured in that throaty grumble that could be considered, in any other situation, quaint. "The Force is not in her." He clasped his three-clawed hands together on the end of his stick and peered over them at me. "From where come you?

It was hard to find my voice, but at last I stammered, "From a...another galaxy, Master Yoda."

"Oho?" His reaction was either pleased or disturbed, or a combination of both. "Sure you are of this?"

"Trust me," I blurted out sarcastically, "I do not come from here."

Yoda seemed taken aback. "Hasty," he observed correctly. I looked away. "No need have you for fear here. Strange it may be, but stranger things have happened."

He turned and ambled away from where I sat, tapping with his stick, until he found a droid and banged it impatiently with the stick. I missed the order he gave the droid, though, because at that moment Qui-Gon quietly said, "Master Yoda did inform me that he also felt the surge, as a movement in the Force."

Obi-Wan tensed. "He did? Then, he should understand..."

"I don't know what he understands," the Master interrupted, "nor will I know, unless he chooses to say. This situation is far from over, it's only beginning."

The droid came up behind me and clamped a metallic hand on my arm, extending it in the manner used to draw blood samples. "What are you doing?" I asked it.

"Checking your blood for infections, miss," the computerized voice said with effected politeness. "Please hold still."

Where had I heard that explanation before? "You're not doing a midi-chlorian count, are you?"

Qui-Gon's head snapped toward me, and his arms fell to his sides. Yoda, on his way back toward us, stopped abruptly. "What do you know of midi-chlorians?" Qui-Gon demanded.

I began to feel like I had said too much. "Uh...well...as I said, where I come from, you're legends. We know your story. We know...some of what they are. Jedi are supposed to have high counts." I winced as the needle pricked the skin of my arm, but kept from looking at it.

"Hmm. Interesting, this is." Yoda resumed pacing, stepping just in front of Qui-Gon's boots and pausing to look up at me again. "Unexpected. Know us, you say. Wonder what you know."

I had to smile at a thought that crossed my mind. "Not as much as other people do, that's for sure. More than others. You have no idea what people on my world think of you..."

"Maybe that's for the best." Qui-Gon glanced to where Obi-Wan had followed the medical droid out of curiosity to find out the results before anyone else. The young man was standing gazing over the droid's shoulder at a screen, the display of which we could not see from this side of the room. "Has it come up yet, Obi-Wan?"

"Here it is now." His face suddenly registered profound shock, his blue eyes widening and his mouth dropping slightly open. "Run it again," he demanded of the droid, but again, when the screen flashed light onto his face with the results, he stared in amazement. "That can't be right," he breathed.

"What?" Qui-Gon stepped over beside him to see what he was gaping at, and I saw his face harden into a grim frown. He turned to the droid. "This isn't malfunctioning, is it?"

"Not at all, Master Jedi," the droid replied. If it were possible for a machine to be offended, I think this one was. "All medical scanners are examined daily for malfunctions and recalibrated. The scan is correct."

"What is the problem, Qui-Gon?" Yoda asked.

The Jedi Master gave him - and me - a stunned look. "She has no midi-chlorians. The count is zero."

Yoda's green eyes bugged out of his wrinkled face in utter amazement. He shuffled across the room to see it for himself, climbing onto a chair to do so. After staring at the screen for a long, silent time, he got down and scowled at the floor. "Important, this is," he sighed, his gravelly voice almost a whisper. "The Council must gather immediately. Overlooked this cannot be."

Yoda made his way across the sickbay and left without further word, leaving me to fidget uncomfortably in the presence of two very disturbed Jedi. Qui-Gon brushed the droid out of the way and started running more scans on the sample taken from me. "I don't understand this," Obi-Wan said in alarm. "Every living creature has midi-chlorians in their cells - plants, beasts, everything. We would die without them. How can anyone live without having a single midi-chlorian in their body?" He looked at me, and his expression softened some. "This is unheard of. It shakes us to the very foundation of our beliefs."

"Now, now, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon cautioned. "There may be an explanation yet."

"But..." The apprentice shook his head swiftly, making the short ponytail at the back of his head sway furiously. "How can this be?"

"Master Qui-Gon," I said, feeling the need to address him formally. He looked up from the viewscreen. "Could you please tell me, why you're so upset about this? I don't understand what's going on."

The Master heaved a long sigh. "As Obi-Wan said," he began slowly, pondering each word before speaking it, "every living thing has midi-chlorians in their cells - symbiotic organisms. They make life possible, but also make it possible for us to feel the Force and hear its will. Without them, we die."

I nodded. "I know that much."

"What bothers us is that you have none - and yet, you're alive. From what we know, such a thing ought to be impossible. It may have something to do with being born outside this galaxy," he offered, "and may also reveal why we cannot sense you in the Force."

"I heard you say that before," I noted. "What do you mean?"

Qui-Gon glanced at the screen, and then got up and stepped back toward me. "Jedi are able to feel the Force in every living being. Every one exerts a pull on the Force, some stronger than others. The Force flows from life, and we draw our strength from the Force. But you..." He sighed again, and I could see how much this bothered him. "Trying to sense you is like trying to push your hand through a wall. You don't exist in the Force, nothing comes from you. Never mind trying to sense your emotions or thoughts - we simply cannot sense your existence."

I thought about that for a while, finding it making some sense. At least, I could understand why the Jedi were so disconcerted by finding out this information. "So," I speculated, "you wouldn't be able to know what I'm thinking, or influence my mind or anything."

An odd smirk twisted his lips. "I haven't tried, but I doubt it. We're not mind readers. We simply sense what direction your thoughts take as they follow your emotions. But if you have no midi-chlorians, you have a natural block to the Force."

"The Force isn't in me," I concluded with some disappointment.

"In simple terms." Qui-Gon perched himself on the end of the cot where I sat and reached for my arm, brushing a speck of blood away from the tiny puncture wound where the sample had been drawn. For once, I wished he could know what I was thinking. "I suspect Master Yoda will want the whole Council to know about this, as it has powerful bearing on the thinking that has sustained the Jedi order for millennia. They may even call you to come before them and explain what you know of how you got here."

"But I don't know how I got here," I insisted impatiently. "I couldn't even begin to form a theory on how this happened. I only know that I'm here - and here is a long way from home." I peered into his wise blue-gray eyes. "Do you think Yoda believed me?"

"If he didn't before, the midi-chlorian test changed his mind," Qui-Gon said casually, closing his large hand around mine in a gesture of comfort. "He tried to sense you and couldn't. He knows there's something unusual about you. You're an anomaly, something the Council won't be able to ignore. But that's nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid." And I wasn't - just disturbed, and not looking forward to appearing before a likely skeptical Jedi Council. Not to mention, I was still tired and disoriented, and beginning to be ravenously hungry. "What do I do now?"

"I think you should come with us, back to our quarters," the Master decided, getting to his feet. "You should eat and rest, as should we. The Council will be in conference a long time before they call you, and if they do summon you sooner, I will just tell them that you have a concussion and should be allowed time to heal."

I glanced briefly at Obi-Wan, but the young man had nothing to say, either in support of or against the suggestion. "All right."

Though neither of them offered an explanation as we walked through the dormitory-like sections of the Temple, I figured they had temporary quarters somewhere in the complex provided for the times when they had need to be on Coruscant. It was becoming apparent that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were a Master/Padawan pair who traveled throughout the galaxy on whatever errand they were ordered, rather than be stationed on any one planet or system. They had no home, but the closest thing they had were quarters in the Jedi Temple for rare times like this. Like the rest of the building, the quarters were subdued and functional rather than excessive, lacking much ornamentation and consisting solely of two bedrooms, a washroom, and a main sitting-room about the size of my tiny apartment back home. One window let daylight into the sitting room, spilling warmth onto a cloth-covered couch along the wall. Once inside the privacy of the apartment, both Jedi shed their robes and made to relax. Qui-Gon collapsed into a chair and covered his face with his hands for a moment. "Please, make yourself at home," Obi-Wan gently offered, holding out a hand toward the chairs gathered around the table just inside the door. "I'll get you something to drink, we should tend the dehydration before it gets worse."

At that, Qui-Gon removed his hands and looked at me. "Dehydrated, as well? My apologies...we should have taken better care of you."

"You've done just fine," I assured. "It's not your fault. I've never traveled in space before, you know."

"Really." Qui-Gon smiled weakly. "Well, that explains some things. But I promise you better care, from now on."

I sipped from the glass Obi-Wan had provided. It was only water, but it was cool and felt delicious to my raw throat. Travel in ships was not as easy on a person's body as it looked in the movies. "Master Qui-Gon..." I started to say.

"You don't have to call me 'Master,'" he admonished kindly. "The only Padawan I have is Obi-Wan."

"It's respectful, though," I tried to argue. "I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. For not leaving me on the ship, and bringing me here. Thank you for not abandoning me."

A warm smile filled Qui-Gon's face entirely, easing some of the weariness. "I would never abandon anyone," he said modestly. "For as long as you have need of our help, I will gladly help you. And now," he added, pushing himself to his feet, "if you will excuse me, I am sorely in need of sleep. You should lie down, give your injury a chance to heal." He nodded at Obi-Wan, who stood behind me, and passed us both on his way to the farthest bedroom. The door closed and left me alone with his apprentice.

Obi-Wan's hand suddenly fell on my shoulder. "The Master's right," he said softly. "You should rest. We don't have much, but the couch is comfortable. I've napped there before."

"Thanks." I finished most of the glass of water before taking him up on his suggestion, kicking off my shoes and lining them neatly up under the edge of the couch before lying down. To do anything less, in my opinion, would dishonor the fine men who had taken me in. Obi-Wan had disappeared into his bedroom, but now he returned, having shed belt, tabard, and boots. He looked more at ease, his tunic loose and flowing around him, his feet bare. The lines of his well-defined chest could just be seen through the thin undershirt beneath his tunic. "You're going to get some sleep, too?" I observed.

"I only had a nap on board the escape pod," he said, "which is more than even Master Qui-Gon got. Hopefully, the Council won't need to speak to us this afternoon," he added with a mischievous grin, "because they won't be able to wake any of us, I'm sure." He picked his robe up from where he had draped it over a chair, and brought it over to the couch where I was already reclining. "I looked for extra blankets, anything, but when they're not expecting us back, there's nothing left in here. I'm sorry. All I have is this."

"That's just fine," I exclaimed, immediately coveting the robe. They were so soft and warm... "I don't mind at all."

Before I could even reach out for it, Obi-Wan draped it delicately over me. It covered me better than any blanket could. "Sleep well," he whispered, and padded away to his room. I clutched the edge of the robe in excited fists, drawing it up around my face and curling up to sleep under its protection. Bunking out in austere Jedi quarters, stuck with the couch and no blanket - only a robe - was much more desirable to me than my own bed at home, or the finest hotel on Earth. So far, I had not thought of "home" except in fleeting moments, and not once had I cause to wish to be there instead of here. I missed nothing, wanted for nothing. Not even now, as I tried to quiet my mind in order to get to sleep, did I hope I would be able to get back to the place and time where I belonged. I wanted to stay here forever.

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