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Galen Marek looked around as he walked into the small Tatooine town, suspicious of everyone. "You never know who could be a friend & who could be an enemy." Master Kota had once said. This had been especially true ever since a suicide bomber had taken the uniform of a Rebel soldier & snuck into a base. Galen's thoughts were interrupted as he bumped into a Dug. "Kee baatu baatu." the Dug muttered as he walked off. Turning back in the direction he was walking, Galen stopped dead in his tracks & felt his hands instinctively grab the handles of his lightsabers. A security checkpoint, teeming with stormtroopers, sat in front of him. I've gotta get out of here, he thought. As he turned away to walk off, a voice called from behind him, "Hey, you! Stop!" Pulling the hood lower over his eyes, he turned back towards the checkpoint as a white-armored stormtrooper strolled up to him.

"Can I help you, Officer?" Galen said. "What's your name?" the trooper asked. "Zeon." he lied. "Are you aware you are carrying a weapon made illegal by the Empire?" Stang...He did see, Galen thought, gripping the handle. "Oh...You mean this?" he said as he whipped the weapon off his belt. Pressing the ignition, the lightsaber activated in a brilliant flash of blue light & Galen raked the blade across the trooper's chest. "Jedi! Kill him!" a trooper shouted as a half dozen white-clad soldiers rushed out of the checkpoint, guns blazing. Galen ignited his other saber & readied for battle when a pair of green lightsabers flew out of the crowd surrounding the fight & struck down the first two stormtroopers. A Togruta female of about 26 backflipped out of the crowd & caught the lightsabers, landing perfectly on her feet. The crowd dispersed as its members ran away screaming. Galen smiled & adjusted his grip on his lightsabers, slicing down stormtroopers & covering the Togruta's back. When the dust cleared, a sea of white-clad bodies lay dead on the ground. "Come with me." she said, running towards the city's gate. Galen reluctantly followed her, glancing back at the sleepy desert town.

Later, Galen sat in a hut in the Jundland Wastes, the Togruta sitting across from him. "Why did you help me earlier?" he asked. "I've heard of your exploits, Galen", she said, "And my master sent me on a mission to find you." Galen lunged to his feet & reached for his lightsabers, but the Togruta grabbed his wrists & pinned him to the wall with surprising strength. "Calm down!" she said. "I'm not with the Empire. I'm a Jedi, like you." "A Jedi like me..." Galen echoed, remembering Kota's words: "You are to journey to Tatooine & recruit any & all Jedi you find to our cause." "Apologies", he said as the Togruta released her grip, "You just can't be too careful these days. Sometimes, you can't tell the difference between friend & enemy." "I know the feeling." she said sadly. A man of about 50 walked in from an adjoining room, grey streaks through his otherwise brown beard & hair. "Is this him, Ahsoka?" he asked. "Yes, Master." she replied, bowing. Smiling & holding out his hand, the man said, "It is both an honor & a pleasure to meet you, Galen Marek. I've heard much about you from Master Kota."

"You know Master Kota?" Galen said excitedly. "Of course", he replied, "We were friends in the Order. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi." "Obi-Wan?!" Galen repeated in disbelief. "The Obi-Wan Kenobi? Sir, it is I who should be honored & pleasured to meet you!" He sat down & said, "If you already know about me from Master Kota, then you must know about my mission here already." "Indeed." Obi-Wan said. "Then will you come with me? Join the Rebellion & fight against the Empire with us?" Galen asked hopefully. Obi-Wan's face darkened & he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Galen, but I'm afraid I have to decline", he said, "I have business here. I am keeping watch over...A certain child. He will be the one to defeat the Empire & bring peace & justice back to the galaxy." Turning to Ahsoka, he then said, "Ahsoka, you are much more youthful than I am, in addition to not having any major responsibilities here. I want you to go with Galen & join the Rebellion." "No, Master!" she cried. "My place is here, with you. If you died, I don't know what I'd do. You've been my friend, my companion, my mentor, ever since Order 66!" "Ahsoka, I know this must be hard for you", Obi-Wan said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "But you and I both know that it's for the best. You'll do a lot more good fighting with Kota & Galen in the Rebellion than sitting here with a crusty old man in the middle of nowhere." Ahsoka lowered her eyes, as if thinking it over, then said, "Give me a moment to pack a bag."

15 minutes later, Galen stood outside of a small bedroom waiting on Ahsoka. "Almost ready?" he called in. No response. Sticking his head in through the empty door frame, Galen found a cozy & quaint space consisting of a bed, a desk, and a nightstand. He watched as Ahsoka crossed the room to where a holopicture sat on top of the nightstand. Though the background was grainy, Galen could clearly make out a younger Ahsoka & a human with cleanly cut blond hair in white armor streaked with blue. She picked up the picture & looked at it sadly, running a finger gently down the length of the human's face. Kissing the picture softly, Ahsoka tucked it into her bag & zipped it up. Galen ducked his head out just as she started to walk out. "All right", she said, "I'm ready."

"Juno, prepare the Shadow for takeoff." Galen said into his comlink as he & Ahsoka approached the gate leading into the city. "That was fast", the reply came, "I'm guessing you found some other Jedi." "You bet I did", he said, "I found a girl named Ahsoka...And Obi-Wan Kenobi." "The Obi-Wan?!" Juno said in amazement. "Is he coming back with us?" "Afraid not", he said bitterly, "He has some personal business here." "Well, I have some bad news for you", she said, "After that little stunt you pulled earlier today, Imperial forces have seriously stepped up patrols. You'll need some kind of disguise to get into the city." Galen's eyes searched his surroundings & locked on an old, rough rope attached to a busted slave collar. "I've got a few ideas..." he said slyly.

"Just so you know, this is a terrible plan." Ahsoka grumbled, tugging at the collar around her neck. "Aww, poor Ahsoka doesn't like playing the slave." Galen teased. "Why couldn't you have done this?" she asked. "I had to pretend to be a slave once, and it was not fun." "It would be more conspicuous if I were playing the slave", he explained, "You remember that the Empire prefers humans over aliens." "Fair point", she said back, "But I could just mind trick them." "Just keep walking!" Galen laughed. "I still think this is a terrible plan..." she muttered. A stormtrooper adjusted his grip on his gun & waved to Galen. Pulling Ahsoka along with him, he stepped off to the side. "Do I know you from somewhere, sir?" the trooper asked. "You seem vaguely familiar." Waving his hand subtly, Galen said softly, "You don't know me from anywhere, this is the first time we've met." "I don't know you from anywhere. This is the first time we've met." the stormtrooper repeated. "I bought this slave at the auction yesterday. You saw me there." he said, motioning towards Ahsoka. "I saw you there." the white-clad soldier repeated. "Move along." "Move along." the trooper said, stepping out of their way.

As they stepped into the docking bay where the Rogue Shadow sat, its engine humming softly, Galen drew a lightsaber from his belt & slashed off the collar. Rushing up the boarding ramp, he reached to his belt & ignited his other lightsaber as a torrent of white-clad stormtroopers rushed in, red laser bolts whizzing & scorching the Shadow's hull. "Get inside!" Galen shouted as Ahsoka darted past him into the ship. Deflecting several more laser blasts, he jabbed his thumb into a nearby button & slowly, the boarding ramp came up. Rushing into the cockpit, he shouted, "Let's get this bird in the air, Juno! The deflector shield can't hold out much longer!" "Right!" she shouted, throwing a switch. The engines roared to life & the Shadow shot up out of the open roof of the docking bay. As the ship burst out of the desert planet's atmosphere, Juno slammed her fist on a button, activating the hyperdrive & turning the stars into blurry white lines. Ahsoka, smiling, leaned back in her chair & said, "Nice fighting, hotshot. You remind me of my old Master." As she turned away sadly, Galen was left to wonder whether that was good or bad.