Rules? What Rules?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story itself. Although I suppose Disney could lay claim to this as well if they wanted to. I wouldn't know, seeing as I'm not fluent in legalese.

Summary: Yoda and Obi-Wan have decided that Luke must remain untrained until he's old enough to defend himself. Qui-Gon has decided that's a load of Bantha poodoo.

Chapter Two: There's nobody there

Luke glanced around, taking in the sight of Mos Eisley. He'd never really had reason to come to the spaceport city before. Convincing his aunt and uncle to let him go there for droid parts was especially difficult, and he'd eventually had to use a bit of force persuade to convince them that they were really rare parts that he couldn't get anywhere else and that he would be fine.

He felt a little dirty using the force on his aunt and uncle, but it wasn't anything harmful to them, and according to his master, it was necessary that he go to Coruscant. So he'd done it anyways, and now he was on his way to Mos Eisley Cantina.

He ignored the curious stares he was getting; he probably looked too innocent, especially for Mos Eisley, where some rather dangerous characters tended to gather. It was somewhat close to Jabba the Hutt's palace, and so it was a popular stop for bounty hunters.

Luke stepped into the dimly lit cantina, sweeping his gaze around, taking in the variety of non-humans and the fact that everyone seemed to be armed. It was a little unsettling, but no less than he'd heard and expected.

The cantina was conspicuously absent of droids, and Luke wondered what the reaction would have been if he'd brought any. There was a group of Bith musicians playing on one side of the cantina. He wandered over to the bartender, intent on questioning him about any pilots heading to Coruscant.

He was stopped when he got to the counter, by an obviously drunk creature with multiple eyes. "Negola dewaghi wooldugger?"

"I'm sorry," Luke said to the creature. "I don't understand you."

"He's saying he doesn't like you, kid." Another man had come up behind the creature. Clad in a v-neck t-shirt under a black vest, the man practically radiated annoyance. His next words made it clear where the man's frustration was aimed.

"He does this every day, like clockwork. Gets drunk, finds someone to get into a fight with- just be glad his buddies aren't here today. They're antagonistic, the lot of them. They've killed a number of patrons just for existing."

"Oh," Luke said. He'd heard stories from Qui-Gon about some terrible people, but it still made him a little bit cold inside to know that there were people out there entirely devoid of morals, willing to kill simply because they were bored or because someone else suggested it. "Thanks for the warning, ah . . ."

"Han Solo," the man introduced himself, gesturing behind him to a gigantic hairy creature- a wookie, if Luke was remembering correctly. "And this is Chewbacca, my co-pilot."

"Nice to meet you," Luke said, relieved that at least these two didn't seem to want to attack him. "I'm Luke- Luke Skywalker."

"Skywalker?" Han repeated, tilting his head slightly. "Like that hero in the clone wars? What's his name . . . Anston?"

"Anakin. He was my father," Luke said somberly. He might be taking a risk to introduce himself by his actual name to this man, and to confirm his father's identity, but from what he'd seen from the man's surface emotions, he wasn't planning on turning him over to the imps. And Luke had never believed in lying when he could tell the truth.

"Yeah, that was his name," Han said, snapping his fingers. "So- what brings a kid like you to a place like this?"

Luke wanted to protest being called a kid, but he was only seventeen, so he let it go. "I'm looking for a pilot. You said, uh, Chewbacca, right?" At the man's nod, he continued. "Yeah, so you said Chewbacca was your co-pilot, right? That means you have a ship?" He trailed off questioningly.

"That I do," Han began, before he was interrupted by a growl from the wookie. "Fine, we do, you big furball. What's it to you, kid?"

"I'm looking to hire a pilot to take me to Coruscant," Luke said.

Han suddenly became more interested, sizing Luke up. "And why can't you just take a commercial flight?"

Luke laughed out loud. "Well, maybe there's the fact that it only comes around Tatooine once a year, if that. Also the fact that even if there was one ready to leave right now, it would still take days to reach Coruscant, and I'd be stuck there. I need to get there in less than a day, and I might need a quick escape."

"Then you've come to the right pilots," Han said proudly, gesturing to himself and Chewbacca. "I've got a ship with a 0.5 class warp drive. We can get you to Coruscant in mere hours."

"Wow," Luke said excitedly. "A 0.5? How heavily modified is it?"

"Pretty heavily, kid. It's a smuggling ship. It's not meant for a slow crawl."

"Well, it definitely sounds fast enough," Luke said. "Ok. I'll give you half of what I get for selling this-" he pulled out one of the pearls "if you take me to Coruscant and back. I'll be spending a day there so the round trip should take significantly less than three days, if you're not lying about your ship." There was no reason to tell the smuggler about the other one when even half of the price of one was probably massively overpaying. But Luke didn't really have a lot to spend money on, and one hundred and fifty thousand credits would buy anything he needed with a lot to spare.

"Is that a Krayt dragon pearl?" Han asked, somewhat incredulously. "I mean, I won't say no to the money, but you do know what you're offering, right?"

"I don't need it," Luke said, shrugging.

"Ok, if you're sure," Han said slowly.

"I am," Luke confirmed, nodding.

"Alright then," Han said. "What's a kid like you have to do in the imperial city anyways?"

"Stop calling me a kid," Luke grumbled. "And it's none of your business. You can keep a secret, right?"

"Of course, I can!" Han said indignantly. "What do you take me for? I may be curious, but I know how to keep my mouth shut."

"Good," Luke said. "I don't completely trust you yet, but I may just tell you at some point when I'm sure you won't go blabbing."

"I already said I don't go around blabbing my clients' secrets," Han said, frowning at Luke.

"Yes, I heard you," Luke said slowly. "And I believe you're telling the truth. It's just a big secret and I don't know you yet. If you're a smuggler, you should know there are things people don't want others to know."

"So what you're doing," Han said, lowering his voice. "It's not exactly up top?"

"It may or may not be," Luke said noncommittally, ignoring Han's groan. "Stop fishing . . . how soon can you be ready to go?"

"You want to leave as soon as possible?" Han asked him.

"Yes. So how soon?" he asked again.

"Give me an hour. The ship's at docking bay ninety four." Luke nodded, and watched Han as he turned around and left, Chewbacca following behind him.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Luke said as soon as he saw the ship. "That thing's a piece of garbage! Can it even get off the ground?"

Han scowled at Luke. "She may not look like much, but she's the fastest ship you'll ever find. She'll get you off the ground, to Coruscant and back, no matter how much you hate the sight of her."

"Huh," Luke said. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew Han was right. He really shouldn't have judged the ship on its appearance. He personally thought TIE fighters looked terrible compared to older ships from the days of the Republic. But they served their purpose. Han's ship- one the smuggler appeared to have a very strong attachment to- may look rather clunky, but that didn't mean much, in comparison to the hyperdrive. Imperial shuttles looked blocky, and weren't very streamlined at all, but they could go just as fast as many other ships in hyperspace.

"What's 'her' name?" Luke asked. It would be rather awkward to keep referring to it as Han's ship in his head, especially if he was going to be spending a day long round trip in it.

"She's the Millenium Falcon, kid." Han gazed at his ship proudly, as if the name was something remarkable.

"The Millenium Falcon?" Luke sputtered. "What kinda stupid name is that?"

"Hey, don't-" Han began, but Luke wasn't finished.

"And what's a 'falcon', anyways?"

"A bat falcon, kid," Han said. "Have you really never heard of them?"

"Nope," Luke said. "And do you really want to go around advertising that your ship will take a thousand years to reach its destination?"

"That's not what it means," Han grumbled. "It means she'll last for a thousand years."

"In a scrap heap, sure," Luke said, smirking.

"Will you stop making fun of my ship and get in already!" Han growled. "I thought you were the one who wanted to leave immediately."

"You're right," Luke said, a little chagrined. While another five minutes arguing probably wouldn't make much of a difference, things could change suddenly. The Emperor might return to Coruscant while he was still there, and he'd feel really stupid if he got caught because of a five minute delay. He didn't share Qui-Gon's confidence that everything would be alright during his trip to the number one worst place in the galaxy for Jedi.

A few minutes later, Luke was sitting at the holo table in the Falcon, waiting for Han to finish readying the ship for takeoff. He was a little annoyed by the delay, but admitted that it would probably be better if Han took a couple minutes to do a system check. He didn't want the ship breaking down on him when he needed it the most.

"Buckle up, kid," Han said. "We're taking off, and we'll be going to hyperspace in about half a minute."

It turned out that Han hadn't been lying when he said his ship was the fastest Luke would find. They made the trip to Coruscant in under an hour, when it would normally take hours or days for most ships. He vowed to get a look at the hyperdrive before he and Han parted ways.

Stepping out of the ship and into Coruscant was an experience. Or Imperial Center, as it had been rechristened. Luke liked to think of it by the name it had once had and would have again in the future if he had anything to say about it. He'd been told stories about it by Qui-Gon, but nothing could have truly prepared him for the sight that greeted his eyes. Skyscrapers towered over smaller, but still huge buildings. The bright daylight gleamed off the top of tall towers, and Luke had to admit that it truly was a beautiful city.

For some reason he'd gotten it into his head that it would be dark and gloomy, after hearing that the beautiful city Qui-Gon had described had been turned into the Empire's capitol. It wasn't dark or gloomy in the least, although that could just be because the Emperor and his father-Vader weren't there. He really needed to break his habit of referring to Vader as his dad. He wanted to bring him back to the light, but he also knew that he would have to fight him, maybe multiple times, before he succeeded, if he succeeded- no, he couldn't think like that. He couldn't allow himself to not fight his best due to family ties.

"I'll comm you when I've finished selling the pearl," Han had said. Luke had waved him off; he honestly didn't want to waste the extra time selling the pearl, and he'd sensed that Han wouldn't swindle him. Besides, since Han was getting half of the price, he'd be motivated to negotiate harder. Beautiful or not, being in Coruscant was making him jumpy.

It was when he was meandering down the street, attempting to head towards the palace while trying to make it look like he wasn't heading towards the palace, that his master appeared.

"The palace should be-" Qui-Gon began, before he was interrupted by a yell from Luke.

"Master!" Luke's voice dropped to a whisper; it probably wouldn't help him maintain a low profile if people thought he was crazy. "Every time! Why can't you just slowly fade in and let me see you before speaking? Seriously, I'm going to have a heart attack before I reach my eighteenth birthday!"

Of course, Qui-Gon ignored him. "Ahem- as I was saying, the palace should be practically empty. You'll have to avoid servants, but the courtiers and nobles only go to the Palace when the Emperor is there."

"That's all well and good, Master," Luke said. "But it won't help me if I die from a heart attack before I even reach the palace."

"Oh, stop moaning about that already, Padawan." Qui-Gon rolled his eyes. "A good scare every once in a while will do you some good. You're far too relaxed."

"Master," Luke groaned. "There's a pretty big difference between noticing someone sneaking up on me and sensing a ghost that I can't sense until it appears to me."

"Is that how you refer to your Master?" Qui-Gon sniffed. "I am not an it."

"Master, I was-" Luke sighed and rubbed his forehead. His Master had been excellent at training Luke, but sometimes he wished that Qui-Gon was a little bit less whimsical. "Master, I meant any ghost. I know you're the only one right now, but when I'm talking about a random ghost, I'm going to call them an it, because I don't know their gender."

"And how many ghosts have you seen before?" Qui-Gon asked pointedly.

"Master, let it go already," Luke said, sighing again. "So- the palace. Can you guide me through? You said it used to be the Jedi temple before and that it hasn't changed much."

"I can," Qui-Gon said. "You'll simply need to take a left two corridors down from the doors. Then you'll need to go straight forward for three more corridors, before taking another left and continuing on until you've passed the ballroom. Finally, you should reach the stairs, which you'll take to the lower-"

"Not now," Luke hissed. "I'm not going to remember all that. Tell me when we're at the palace."

They walked the rest of the way to the palace in silence. Well, Luke walked. Qui-Gon did his float walk, where he mimed the act of walking because he was used to it, even though he wasn't actually touching the ground.

"We're here," Luke pointed out. 'Here' was the imperial palace, a hulking temple made of white marble. It was pretty impressive, and Luke could see why the Emperor hadn't changed much. Of course, it was also most likely because the Emperor got some sadistic pleasure out of using the former Jedi temple as his palace.

"I do have eyes," Qui-Gon said.

"Do you?" Luke challenged. "You don't have a physical pair of eyes."

"I can feel them," Qui-Gon said, placing one hand over his eye.

"Nu-uh," Luke said, shaking his head. "You're just feeling your ghostly synth-skin."

"I'm not entertaining your fantasy any longer, Luke," Qui-Gon said. "We need to get moving."

"Fine, fine," Luke said, stepping forwards.

"Wait," Qui-Gon said before Luke could enter the palace. "You need to cloak yourself, Padawan."

"Oh, right," Luke said. "Yeah, going in there fully exposed would probably have been a terrible idea, even with only servants in the palace."

"You're nowhere close to being a master at this," Qui-Gon said.

"Wow, way to just randomly insult me," Luke shot back.

"I'm simply reminding you that you need to concentrate," Qui-Gon sighed. "Must you be so antagonistic, Padawan?"

"I'm antagonistic, Master, when I get randomly insulted out of the blue." Luke grunted as he put up his force cloak and faded out of sight. Even Qui-Gon couldn't see him, as instead of a mind trick, it manipulated light and sound waves. As a bonus, this meant that the technique made him invisible to the cameras and droids inside of the palace, along with any people he needed to bypass.

"Only speak to me telepathically," Qui-Gon said out loud as they passed the doors.

"Yes, Master," Luke said. "Wait, why can you talk out loud then?" Luke let out a breath he'd been holding when they passed two guards stationed near the open doors.

"I can be very selective about who sees me," Qui-Gon explained. "No one who I haven't specifically chosen to see me will."

"Oh yeah," Luke said. "Ghost powers. Right. And Master?"

"Yes, Padawan?"

"Why are the doors open?" Luke asked.

"The Palace doors?" Qui-Gon said. "Oh, make a left here. The palace is meant to be seen as accessible, which gives the impression that the Emperor is accessible to his people."

"The Sith Lord entertains normal, everyday people?" Luke asked incredulously.

"No, Padawan," Qui-Gon said. "He wishes it to appear as if he does. In reality, those guards stationed behind the doors will turn out anyone who isn't a noble or high ranking official."

"Yeah, that sounds more like what I expected," Luke admitted.

"Left again," Qui-Gon said. The two walked in silence for the minute it took to reach the ballroom. They had almost passed it when something went wrong. Luke's comm crackled, which startled him enough that he dropped the Force Cloak.

"Skywalker!" Luke winced at Han's loud greeting.

"Not now!" he hissed before shutting off his comm and reapplying the force cloak. He released a breath he'd been holding when a glance all around him and a quick use of his force sense revealed no one nearby.

"That could have ruined the entire mission," Qui-Gon said disapprovingly. "You forgot to shut down your comm, Padawan?"

"It was an accident," Luke said. "And besides, no one saw or heard. I checked and I couldn't sense or see anyone in range."

"The force is with you, Padawan," Qui-Gon said. "Go down these stairs."

"Or I got lucky," Luke said.

"There is no luck," Qui-Gon said as he frowned at approximately Luke's location. "There is only the force."

"I know, I know." And he did. Qui-Gon had only said it about a million times. It was just like his master's stance on death.

"Wow, these are long stairs," Luke said, glancing at Qui-Gon.

"Many simply take the elevator," Qui-Gon said. "But you're not supposed to be here, and people would notice an elevator in use, whether someone appeared to be on it or not.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, Master. Finally, the bottom!"

"It wasn't that difficult of a descent, Padawan," Qui-Gon said, shaking his head.

"Maybe not for you," Luke retorted. "You weren't actually walking."

"I walked this path many times when I was living, Padawan. I know how arduous it is, or isn't, and if I could do it near the end of my life, you can do it at age seventeen."

"Fine, fine," Luke said. "But this doesn't mean I don't think you're simply forgetting how annoying those stairs are. It just means I think you're senile and delusional enough that nothing I say will get through to you, Master."

"You say Master as if that small respect negates all of your previous insults, Padawan," Qui-Gon said drily.

"Doesn't it?" Luke asked, smirking and tilting his head before remembering that Qui-Gon couldn't see him.

"No, no it doesn't," Qui-Gon said, rolling his eyes. "Make a right here."

"I think it- whoa." Luke had completely forgotten what he was going to say the moment he'd entered the room. The many multicolored crystals sparkled, even in the dim lighting of the unoccupied room. There were mostly green and blue crystals, but Luke could make out the occasional magenta or silver, along with a few other rarer colors.

"Yes, quite a sight, isn't it?" Qui-Gon chuckled as Luke jerked around to face him.

"I forgot you were there, Master," Luke said sheepishly.

"The many crystals are breathtaking," Qui-Gon agreed. "Can you feel one calling to you?"

"I think- maybe. I can feel something, but I don't know exactly where it's coming from, Master." Luke slowly turned around, trying to spot the source of the pull.

"Close your eyes Luke," Qui-Gon told him. "And just feel."

"Just feel, got it," Luke said. He closed his eyes and tried to block out all thought, giving in to the force as he had many times before. The pull became more insistent and he found himself walking purposefully to one corner of the room. He didn't concern himself with which corner it was, instead only concentrating on the source of the call.

Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed one, feeling a sense of rightness as he held it in his hand. But he knew that wasn't all he had come here for; the force was telling him that he had one more to collect. He could sense his master's confusion as he strode to the other side of the room, but he ignored it.

He reached out with his right hand, as his left was already holding the first crystal. He almost recoiled as he felt the second crystal. It felt slimy, and crawling with the dark side. Luke wanted to drop it back in the pile, to run as far away as he could, but the force wanted him to take it, or at least that's how he chose to interpret the whispers of take it, take it that he could hear urging him on.

Luke stepped back and opened his eyes. In his left hand was a green crystal, which was gratifying, as it had been his preference in color. In his right, as he'd suspected, was evidently a sith crystal. "Master?" he asked hesitantly.

Qui-Gon didn't answer for a moment, evidently just as confused about the sith crystal as Luke was. "I-" he began before pausing and tilting his head to the side. Luke stared at him, waiting for his master to continue. Suddenly, Qui-Gon straightened up again. "I have an idea. Keep both crystals, including the red crystal. Try not to touch it unless it's unavoidable."

"Yes Master," Luke said, before placing both crystals in separate pockets.

"Cloak again, Padawan," Qui-Gon reminded him.

"Got it," Luke said telepathically. "Let's get out of here."

"I concur," Qui-Gon said.

Both master and apprentice stayed silent as they returned along the same path. Luke and Qui-Gon were both deep in thought about the red crystal. It had been so strange; why would the force want Luke to have a red crystal? He was a Jedi. Was it a warning of some sort?

Was he at risk of becoming dark? Luke thought in dismay. He'd hardly ever touched the dark. His master had made sure that he was extremely careful in that regard. He'd never been allowed to train angry and while he'd occasionally slipped, it was nothing more than a moment, and he'd never actually used the dark side.

Luke waited until he was two blocks away from the palace before he turned on his comm again to contact Han. "Han," he said. "Luke here. What did you need me for earlier?"

"Kid," Han said, sounding relieved. "I thought maybe you'd gotten into trouble when you cut me off." Well, Han wasn't completely wrong when he'd said that. Dropping his force cloak in the middle of the imperial palace could probably be considered getting into trouble.

"No, I'm fine," Luke assured him. "So what was it that you commed about in the first place, anyways?"

"Oh, that," Han said. "Sold the pearl. Got a hundred twenty thousand credits for it. Turns out rich people really don't know how to barter here in Imperial Center."

"Oh, wow," Luke breathed. "A hundred and twenty thousand credits? That's sixty thousand each. Wow. That's awesome!"

"Believe me kid," Han said. "I was shocked too. Thought I wouldn't get more than eighty thousand credits for that thing. But you know how nobles are about jewelry."

"Uh," Luke began. "No, no I don't."

"What? Oh, I forgot. You're an outer rim hick."

"Aren't you?" Luke asked.

"Nah," Han said. "Corellia's in the core worlds, and even if it wasn't, I've traveled around more than enough to know that nobles just can't resist jewelry of any kind."

"I'll take your word for it," Luke said.

There was silence for a few seconds until Han changed the subject. "So . . . Skywalker. When are you planning on leaving? I mean, I'm fine just staying on the ship with Chewie or leaving right now. But it's getting kind of late and you said the trip was going to take a few days."

"Oh, yeah," Luke said. "Uh, I think- give me a second." He covered the comm and turned to face Qui-Gon. "What is it, Master?" His master immediately stopped waving his ghostly hand over Luke's face- it was really rather strange looking through a force ghost.

"You should stay the night in Coruscant," Qui-Gon said.

"What?" Luke asked incredulously. "Master, I know we talked about your senility earlier . . ."

"And we decided that I wasn't senile," Qui-Gon finished.

"That's not what I was going to say," Luke said. "I never agreed that you weren't senile, Master."

"There we go again with the random insults, followed by the allegedly respectful title of Master," Qui-Gon said drily.

"You don't think calling you 'Master' is respectful?" Luke asked innocently. "Maybe I should start calling you senile old man."

"For the last time, Padawan, I am not senile." Qui-Gon sniffed, turning away in feigned hurt.

"I've yet to see proof of that," Luke said. "Why the kriff should I stay in Coruscant? We should head out now so we can get home sooner!"

"What reason do you have to rush?" Qui-Gon asked him innocently. "You're not going to be in Coruscant every day. Take some time to go sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?" Luke asked incredulously. "Master, it's a risk even coming here. The longer I stay, the more danger there is."

"The Emperor won't be back for another seven days, at the very least," Qui-Gon said, sighing when Luke still didn't look convinced. "Fine. The real reason I'm trying to get you to stay the night is because the force wills it."

"The force wants me to see the sights," Luke said, scoffing. "Sure, Master. I totally believe that."

"If you would only reach out to it, Padawan, you would feel that I'm right."

"I'll try," Luke said, "but don't expect me to actually- oh wait, I do feel it. Never mind."

"So you see why you should stay in Coruscant," Qui-Gon said smugly.

"I see that the force says I should," Luke said. "But just an hour ago, it told me to pick up a Sith kyber crystal. I'm not so sure about the force's sanity either."

"The force is not insane, Padawan. It is also not a conscious being. It is an energy field."

"So how does it know what we should do?" Luke challenged, crossing his arms.

"Padawan, now is not the time for philosophical questions," Qui-Gon said with a long suffering sigh. "Has the force ever led you astray?"

"No," Luke said, rolling his eyes. "It hasn't. Fine. But I want you to explain the force to me in more detail when we get back home. I'm not some four year old anymore. I want to know how the world works."

"The world or the force?" Qui-Gon asked. "And by the world, do you mean the galaxy, or Tatooine in particular?"

"Just- never mind," Luke said. "I'll stay."

He chose that moment to finally notice the muffled noises coming from his comm, and uncovered it. "-Walker, I just need a simple answer. Answer your damn comm!"

"I'm here," Luke said into the comm.

"Oh, good," Han said. "I thought you'd completely forgotten about little ol' me. I'd like to think I'm not very forgettable, and if not me, then you should have at least remembered Chewie. He's a wookie- pretty noticeable, by my reckoning."

"I didn't forget," Luke said. "I was just figuring out what you asked- when I'm planning to leave."

"And have you?" Han asked. Luke couldn't see it, but he got the feeling that Han was raising an eyebrow on the other end of the comm.

"Yes, I have," Luke answered. "I'll be staying the night in the city, but we'll be leaving early in the morning."

"How early?" Han asked. "I'll be sleeping on the Falcon either way, but it'll be nice to know so I can get her up and running."

"I'd say . . . oh-seven hundred-ish," Luke said.

"Sounds like a plan, kid," Han said, before hanging up.

"Report, Jade," her master commanded as soon as she turned on the holocomm. For a second, she wondered about the fact that her master wasn't doing anything at eighteen hundred hours, but reasoned that he wouldn't be particularly busy without the royal court to tend to. And even so, she was his hand. She took priority over all the sniveling nobles. She was unique and her master needed her information. Especially in this instance.

"Master. I was practicing my dancing in the ballroom, as I routinely do at fifteen hundred hours, when I was interrupted by a loud voice from right outside. It sounded as if it came from a comm."

"Get to the point, Jade," her master commanded her.

"The voice said 'Skywalker.'" She could see her master immediately stiffen in the hologram before relaxing once again.

"Skywalker?" her master repeated. "Are you certain, my hand?"

"Yes, Master." So the information was important after all. Perhaps she would be rewarded by her master? "I could find no trace of anyone being there when I reached out with my force sense mere seconds later, but I recognized the name Skywalker from the history of the Clone Wars. I thought perhaps the Jedi Skywalker had somehow survived the purge." Her master looked as if he was about to say something, before thinking better of it. She waited a moment to make sure she wasn't interrupting him before she continued.

"I went down to check the Kyber crystals, as it's the only Jedi paraphernalia that you have left relatively unguarded in the palace."

"And did you notice any missing?" her master questioned her.

"Yes, Master," she said. "I noticed one of the red crystals missing, and I cannot be certain, but I believe the Jedi took one of the blue or green crystals as well."

"Is that all?" her master asked.

"No, Master," she said. "Once I noticed the crystals missing, I hurried outside. I trailed a blonde youth, as he was the only nearby person I could see, and because I could not sense anything from him when I reached out with the force."

"And did he sense you?" her master prodded.

"No, Master," she said. "I was careful, and I do not think that he noticed me. I trailed him further until he took out his comm. I was close enough to listen in on his conversation. The person on the other end called him Skywalker again, multiple times. There was one point during the conversation where his voice dropped to a whisper, and I could not make it out, even when I enhanced my hearing." She paused, waiting for the reprimand.

"Continue," he commanded.

She did; her master must have been very interested in the information to not scold her at the very least. "He is planning to leave early tomorrow morning, at oh-seven hundred hours. The man he was contacting is apparently a Corellian, and is traveling with a Wookie that he called Chewie. The conversation seemed mainly to confirm that Skywalker's contact sold some kind of pearl. They got one hundred and twenty thousand credits for it."

"Very interesting," her master mused. "Is that all, Jade?"

"I also trailed Skywalker to Tierney Inn, a ways away from the palace. That's all, Master."

"Very well," her master said. "This is what you shall do . . ."

A/N: That's a wrap, folks. So I had someone asking me where Mara would come in. There she is. Slight spoiler: she's going to show up for a good portion of the next chapter, and then she won't be back for a while. I've already said that LukexMara will not be the main focus of the story, so this shouldn't be very shocking.

Yes, I made up the inn. Luke couldn't have gotten into any hotels without reservations, and none of the Coruscant inns in canon fit my needs.

I tried to keep Han in character, and I hope I did it well. Any comments on that would be appreciated. Was I right on the money? Close? Didn't seem like Han at all? Tell me what you think.

I didn't describe Coruscant that much because it wasn't really a focus. I'm not going to wax lyrical about it because Luke is more focused on getting in and out of the palace than admiring the sights for more than a few seconds.

Chewie didn't get too many lines. But he doesn't really in canon either. Eventually, Luke will become more familiar with him and start to understand Shyriiwook and Chewbacca will have more of a presence.

While some people decide in their stories that it's likely that Vader has erased all records of his past, it just works better for the story if Mara is able to identify the name Skywalker. Then she has more of a reason to check on the kyber crystals.

If you enjoyed the chapter, follow and/or favorite. Or even leave a review, telling me what you liked so I can continue to do it. If you don't like it, tell me in a review, and maybe follow me on the off chance that I get better.

I try to update regularly, but with five stories vying for my attention right now, I rarely ever maintain weekly updates. Keep faith though, that I'll get another chapter out eventually. I haven't forgotten about any of my stories.