The Incredible Space Switcheroo

Chapter Eight: The Three Discoveries

Sharron

Following my Master – which I had quickly fallen into a habit of calling Anakin, just like Ahsoka – down the halls of the Jedi cruiser Serenity, we soon arrived at the hangar bay. While the ship was docked on the planet for repairs, under Rex's supervision, the two of us would go to the Jedi Temple to receive instructions for our next mission.

As we boarded the small shuttle, I took one last glance at the ship around me. I had no idea how long a week in Earth time would be on Coruscant, but I had a feeling it would be longer.

I had made several discoveries back in my room as I was going to fetch my cloak. One, that Kate had sent my watch from Earth back with me, no doubt to make sure I wasn't late.

Two, that I had my cell phone. This was a wonderful thing to find, because it meant that I could take pictures of the variety of places that I would be visiting. Discreetly, of course. But I would have to be careful not to exhaust the battery life – I would only use the notes application to record my stay and the camera.

The final discovery was what Ahsoka used that pouch that you never see her open on the back of her belt for. There was a tube of mascara (probably banned by the Jedi, so she kept it hidden), a small mirror, and candy. There were these sweet little cubes that tasted exactly like chocolate would if it had been drizzled in honey.

Those sweets were going to be gone within the day.

Flying a small shuttlecraft through space was even more magical than being in a space cruiser. It was sort of like that feeling that you get when you're right up against the windshield of a bus – you feel a little like you're flying on your own.

I let out something that was in between a sigh and a giggle, and Anakin looked at me. "What's up?" he asked, a smile on his face. "Are you remembering some inside joke I don't know about?"

"No," I said, looking into his eyes. If there wasn't a risk of Anisoka happening – because I'm a hardcore Anidala shipper – then I would have been powerless to stop myself from flirting with him. To chase any such thoughts from my mind, I clung to the notion that I had to preserve Anidala, even if it went against my first instincts. "I'm just happy to be back. That's all."

"Me too, Snips. Me too." The ship glided into the atmosphere, and I got my first glimpse of Coruscant, the city that covered an entire world.

And it was beautiful. If I had had anything like that music that they always play in movies when the cast discovers something magnificent on the selection on my phone, I would have played it. I always imagine everything with background music, and what I was seeing would have totally deserved such a theme.

Masterfully constructed buildings, which shone gold instead of their usual silver in the red, peach and purple sunset, broke up the sky. Of course, I can't be certain, but I have a feeling that I was even able to spot the Senate Apartment Complex in the distance. I could just picture Padme Amidala, from that one scene in Revenge Of the Sith where's she's brushing her hair out on the balcony, looking out at the city. Maybe she even saw this shuttle.

The sky itself was like something out of one of those spectacular old paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci; with clouds that could have been matte painted they looked so unreal. But it was the good kind of unreal, the one you associated with only the best movies and TV shows the entertainment industry had to offer.

Every manner of speeder and ship was flying by in straight lines across the evening sky like flocking birds, some of them leaving one line of traffic to move to another, or darting down to the buildings far below. Even now, I'm beyond the words to explain it properly. The movies don't do Coruscant justice, but they give you a basic idea as to what the scene would look like.

My Master turned the ship into one of the lines of speeders and ships. As we flew over several buildings, which had been blocking our view, I gasped. I very nearly couldn't believe my eyes. The Jedi Temple lay just ahead of us!

As we coasted towards it, Anakin addressed me again. "Well, Ahsoka, I guess we've arrived. We'll just leave the ship in the Temple hangar and head on up to the Council Chamber."

"Sure thing, Master," I replied, still enthralled by what I was seeing.

We landed a few minutes later. As he got out of the ship to talk to one of the Clone Troopers outside, I carefully positioned my cell phone so that it was up against the windshield, but not high enough for anyone to notice it. Angling it to get as much of the hangar into the shot as possible, I took several pictures.

"Snips?" Anakin called from outside.

"Coming!" I yelled back, then grabbed my Jedi cloak off the copilot's seat. It was time to go see the Council.