Ben made his way down the narrow path, sipping his cup of caf as he walked.

"Death-sticks, get your death-sticks for cheap!" an Ithorian, who looked as if he himself had some of those death-sticks, called from an alleyway.

"Hey, you!" he called, noticing Ben. "Wanna buy some death-sticks?"

"I want to go home and rethink my life." Ben mumbled into his caf, waving his hand at the alien.

"I want to go home and rethink my life." the Ithroian repeated.

Finally, Ben reached a dingy apartment building, where a tired-looking Rodian was waiting for him in the lobby.

"Good morning, Chulo." he greeted.

"Ben, your rent's late again."

"Yes yes, I'm aware." he replied, taking another sip of his caf. This time he made a face at the bitter taste.

"Here, have a drink." he said, handing him his second cup. There had been a two-for-one sale, and while he wasn't particularly fond of the drink, he needed the energy. Besides, it was a good deal.

Chulo sighed as he was handed the cup, Ben breezing past him and heading for the stairs.

"Sehkevu stopped by." the Rodian called after him. "I sent her up to your place."

"Oh good, I was beginning to think she'd forgotten about me." Ben said half to himself and half to his landlord.

When he reached his apartment, he found an inpatient Twi'lek sitting on his couch.

"Of all the days you decided to leave your house, it had to be today." she said, getting to her feet.

"Relax, I'm almost done." he sighed, setting down his drink on the nearest flat surface. "I'll send you the draft as soon as it's finished."

Sehkevu sighed, relaxing slightly. "Fine, but if it's even a minute late-"

"It won't be."

The Twi'lek pursed her lips and gave him a stiff nod before leaving, the door closingly loudly behind her.

Ben sighed and sank into his chair, turning on his datapad. For the past twelve years he had secretly lived on the lower levels of Coruscant working as a writer for Starfeed.

So far his most famous article "What Darth Vader's Voice Really Sounds Like" had gotten three million reads.

Of course, it was considered highly treasonous to write anything remotely unpleasant about the Empire or it's rulers, so great lengths were taken for them to be published in secret.

Ben wasn't sure exactly who was paying him to write these articles, but he suspected some rowdy pranksters in the Rebellion were responsible.

A notification appeared and he suppressed yet another sigh.

Oh right. He'd forgotten.

Owen and Beru had recently found themselves involved in some trouble with the Tusken Raiders and had decided that it would be better if their niece and nephew weren't around, lest it lead to some aggressive negotiations.

And of course, I have to be the one to babysit them.

Almost as if on cue, there was a knock on his door.

"Hey, Ben?" Chulo's voice called. "There are some kids here to see you."

"Thanks, Chulo." Ben replied.

Closing out of Starfeed, Ben hopped up and made the short walk to his door, where two twins were waiting with a very confused Chulo.

"Hi, I'm Luke!" Luke exclaimed, bouncing slightly as he spoke. "And this is my sister, Leia."

"Yes, I'm aware. Come in."

The two slipped past Ben, who gave Chulo another "Thanks." before closing the door.

"You'll be staying in the spare room." he stated, motioning towards a door.

Leia opened it curiously and peeked inside. "Cool! Luke, we get our own room."

"I hear this is your first time off Tattooine." he continued awkwardly, not really sure what to say.

"Yep!" Luke replied, grinning widely. "Space is cool, and also cold."

"Yes, Tattooine is very warm, I'm sure it was a big adjust for you."

"I didn't mind it much." Leia said, speaking more quietly than her brother. "Tattooine is really hot, and there's a lot of sand. I like it better here."

"So are we inside the planet?" Luke asked, gazing up at Ben. "I saw the ship go below the surface."

"Erm yes, I suppose so."

"Are we going to go on the surface? What if the supports fail and the surface crushes us? Are we going to meet the Emperor?"

"No, that is very unlikely, and hopefully not."

"So what do you do around here?" Leia asked, lifting a corner of a curtain and looking out the window.

"Not much." Ben admitted. "I'm afraid this stay may be rather boring for you."

Ben looked as if he was going to say more, but a brief glance at the time stopped him.

"I have to take care of something for a minute, can I trust you two to sit here and not cause any trouble?" he asked, casting a quick glance at the kids.

"Of course, Mr. Ben, you can count on us!" Luke exclaimed.

Ben nodded and hurried out the door.

Luke waited for his footsteps to fade before turning to his sister and saying, "You wanna cause some trouble?"