It was five hours before a red sun started to rise in the sky. Peter had managed to make it through the night safely by scraping together a lean-to out of what he assumed was reeds and a fallen log. Or at least, it looked like a log. Space was weird.

If Peter hadn't been stranded on an alien planet, he probably would have been over the moon about the whole situation. Few scientists ever even had the chance to see an alien world, and here he was on one. He could have collected so many samples, studied the flora and fauna, tested some physics hypotheses he had…

But he was stuck here.

The thought really put a damper on the whole situation. So instead he settled for just surviving till tomorrow.

Try as he might though, he hadn't gotten much sleep. Most of the night was spent in and out of the throes of panic attacks. He was utterly alone out here, but at the same time he knew that he had to work out a way to get himself out of this mess. It was incredibly unlikely Mr. Stark or those pirate dudes knew where he was or if he was even alive.

Maybe that wizard dude might be able to find him…

But it was pointless to wonder. He couldn't just wait around for someone to rescue him. He had to figure out something. And as the first signs of dawn started glowing on the horizon, that was what he did.

First things first: find civilization.

With the discovery of that Quill guy and the others, it was clear that there were multiple races living in at least somewhat harmony, meaning if he introduced himself to a bunch of aliens the likelihood of them killing him on sight was lower. Or probing him. Or dissecting him.

He really had to stop thinking about these things.

Right, so. First step: find civilization. Step two, ask for help. Whether it be just getting water, a communication device (they had to have those, he figured), or a way off this planet.

That was assuming of course that any civilization could A, understand/speak English and B, be willing to help him. It wasn't like he carried his wallet with him when in the suit.

Come to think of it, USD was probably worthless in space.

Actually, did space even run on capitalism? Did they even use money? He couldn't remember Quill ever mentioning it. But then again they were also dealing with bigger problems than space economics.

Actually, space economics was kinda what led to this mess. Thank you Thanos.

As the day dragged on, Peter started rethinking his priorities. He remembered learning that the human body couldn't go three days without water. He hadn't seen any as of yet, and the red sun's blazing heat was baring heavily on his shoulders as the day wore on.

He had taken both suits off after determining it was a breathable atmosphere and was starting to regret it. He'd done so to save battery, but was starting to miss the cooling unit as sweat started accumulating on his back. Hence the reason for his shift in priorities .

Firstly: Water.

He was losing it fast and had no immediate way of replenishing.

He really needed to find civilization. And FAST.

Anakin had never seen such a full holo call before.

After the strange disturbance, practically every Jedi was calling back to the temple to see if they knew what had happened. Theories ranged from Sith meddling, to a new prophecy. There were other, wilder ideas thrown about, but Anakin didn't bother giving them the time of day. He might be young and relatively inexperienced, but even 'time traveling Sith Lords' seemed a bit of a stretch.

He'd seen beings made from the very fabric of the Force, and seen people come back from the dead. But this was just insane.

The only thing about the statement that resonated with him, though, was the idea that something that didn't belong had suddenly appeared. He knew that was what happened. He had felt it, just as easily as he could feel the metal of his lightsaber. But whether or not the others had felt it as well was up for discussion. Speaking of...

"It does us no good to sit here and speculate endlessly," Plo Koon's holograph spoke up. From the looks of it he was still stationed on Malastare with the Wolf Pack. "Hypotheticals will not get us anywhere. We need more concrete information."

"I agree with master Koon," Shaak Ti said. "We don't know if this occurrence is benign in origin or not. Nor do we know if it is a deliberate result or a consequence of a separate action."

"Or if it was just a freak accident," Anakin added. Shaak Ti nodded in agreement.

"Send someone to investigate, we must," Yoda mused from his projection. "But spread thin, we are. How fare you, Kenobi?"

Across the holo table, Obi-Wan's holo shook his head in defeat. "Not well I'm afraid. My men are locked in battle on Ryloth. I couldn't possibly afford to leave now."

"I'm in much the same boat," Kit Fisto offered from across the call. "We're dealing with Seporatist blockades in the Illenium system. If we let up the separatists will gain control of an essential hyperspace route."

As the call went on, it appeared that practically all the other generals were dealing with situations much like those. Their hands were tied in this scenario. The Jedi were just spread too thin.

"Skywalker, how are your troops?" Windu asked, finally addressing him.

Anakin stepped forward. "We took a heavy hit recently, but we should be back up to fighting strength in a couple months or so. Tops." If all went well at the Clone medical facilities that was.

"Alright, then I want you to lead the search for this disturbance," the jedi master ordered. "We can't spare any other jedi at the moment, and it would be too dangerous to send the 501st out in its current state. Use this time to regroup and rest your men as well."

Anakin nodded his assent. "And my padawan?" He asked. The subtext was clear. Would she be sent back to the front or would she aid her master?

"Join you on this endeavor, she may," Yoda supplied. "All resources, you are going to need, I suspect."

"Thank you masters," Anakin said with a bow. He was quietly relieved. He didn't want Ahsoka sent back out into the war without him there to watch her. He trusted her abilities and prowess as a jedi, but she was still only a kid. A padawan. His padawan. It was his duty to make sure she became the best version of herself that she could. And he couldn't do that when she was out there by herself.

He was broken from his revery by his old master.

"And do hurry, Anakin," Obi-Wan warned. "If we all felt it, the Sith definitely did as well. They won't be far behind us."

Anakin managed to scoff in false bravado. "Please, we survived Mortis didn't we?" He laughed. "You have nothing to worry about, Master." Not that they really did come out unscathed from that place, but the less Anakin thought about it, the better.

A dark shadow passed over his old master's face. "I'm more concerned that they're the cause of whatever this is," he admitted. "I don't want one of our best knights walking into a trap."

The urge to ease his old master's worries with a joke almost slipped past his tongue, but something held him back at the last minute. As much as he hoped he was wrong, Obi-Wan was right, this could very well be a trap that the Jedi were walking into. Obi-Wan was right to be concerned, but he still had a job to do, no matter the risk.

"I understand Master," he said instead. "I promise I'll be careful."

Obi-Wan smiled weakly. "Be sure that you do."

Across the galaxy a cloaked figure stood before their own holotable, impatience simmering beneath their dark robes. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the table turned on and a projection of Count Dooku appeared before the man.

"Lord Sidious," the count greeted with a small bow.

"Tyranus," the cloaked man said in kind. "I assume you know the reason for this meeting." It was phrased like a question, but the inflection stated otherwise.

"The shift in the Force," Dooku said. "I had felt it too."

"Good," Sidious rasped. "I want you to investigate it. Whatever the cause, it was powerful enough to send ripples through the entire galaxy. It cannot fall into the Republic's hands."

"Understood, my lord," Dooku bowed.

AN: thanks for reading! And stay safe out there, everyone!