Consequences

Chapter 13 - Tatooine

The hot suns of Tatooine beat down on our heads as Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and I stand outside watching. Before long, Artoo and Threepio disappear from sight between the sand dunes, off on their journey Jabba's palace. It's been a long six months since I arrived in the future and we're finally ready to execute the plan to free Han. The last few straws are finally being drawn into place before we set off to Jabba's palace ourselves. I'm getting a distinct feeling from the Force that I won't be here much longer. It's nearly time to return home.

I can hardly believe that I've been here for so long. I miss everyone from my own time terribly, but it's definitely a good thing that I've been here as long as I have been. It's given me a lot of time to sort through everything that happened before I came to the future, and everything that I've discovered after. And it's allowed me to figure out what I am. A grey Jedi.

Our new lightsabers are hidden safety inside Artoo for when I know we're going to have to use them. I made two new ones, and Luke made one as well, all three of which are green. I'm not sure how well green fits me in the newest turn of events, but I made them before I fully accepted becoming a Grey Jedi.

"I wonder what kind of condition Han is even in," murmurs Luke, looking worried, "I mean he's been carbon frozen for half a year." Chewbacca growls angrily at the reminder.

"He's probably going to have carbon sickness, since it's been this long," I sigh as we step inside a nearby cave to shield ourselves from the sun and wait. Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the day we've been planning for.

"How bad?" wonders Leia with a tinge of worry.

"I don't know. I was carbon frozen once, but not nearly for that long," I remark, smirking at the memory for a moment.

"Really?" exclaims Leia in surprise.

"I was just a little sore after getting out, but nothing major. I was only in it for some hours," I add.

"Why? How did that happen?" demands Luke while Chewie growls interestedly.

"Anakin was going on a mission to the Citadel to rescue a Jedi who'd been captured by the Separatists. He didn't want me to come, but I snuck along anyway because I wanted to go and wasn't going to let him go alone." I smirk again. "Anyway, we had to sneak past the Separatist ships surrounding the planet, so Anakin had Artoo reprogram three battle droids to follow his lead, and then carbon froze us all so they wouldn't pick up any life forms when we flew in."

"Impressive," he murmurs, looking almost awed.

I nod. "He was an expert strategist." Going to the Citadel was definitely a very interesting experience. The only thing I regret – even if I shouldn't – is the very end. It was me who saved Tarkin. I killed a monster to save an even greater monster. In our time he hadn't done anything wrong that I know of, but I can't help but regret it anyway. I know wartime will incline people to do things they normally wouldn't, but still. He destroyed Alderaan. The entire planet. Even if the leaders of the planet were traitors from their point of view, there were billions of people on the planet – many of them innocent – not to mention the countless other living creatures destroyed pointlessly.

A silence settles over us for a few moments.

"I'm thinking about going to meditate," I inform him. I would suggest a sparring match instead, except that our lightsabers are already gone. Besides, we've already spent collective weeks sparring since we made our new lightsabers. Luke has drastically improved since I first sparred with him back on Dagobah, though he still has a long way to go. "I'll see if I can't figure anything out about this upcoming... adventure."

"Okay," agrees Luke, "I'll just wait until the time is right. I'm not really up to meditating at the moment."

I take a seat in the floor of the cave, shifting into a meditative position before letting my mind drift out into the Force, feeling the energy swirling around us, slowly reaching all the way out into further parts of the galaxy. Searching for something, someone. I don't know what. At least not consciously.