ANANKIN SKYWALKER

Anakin sipped a glass of jarwa juice at Dex’s Diner while Obi-Wan gave him his Jedi-Temple-renowned raised-eyebrow stare. His old Master had been giving him the look, as he called it, for nearly five minutes now, and it was starting to get a little uncomfortable.

 “Okay, Master, is the whole staring thing part of your therapy session or something?” he asked, unable to hold it in any longer. “Because it’s a little weird.”

  As calmly as some sort of lazy feline blinking, he fazed out of it. “Well, Anakin, I was simply checking if there was anything physically about you that was off. You’ve been dedicating too much of your meditation time to her. You know why she left.”

  “I’m in agony, Master. One half of me knows why, but the other refuses to believe it. She can’t have left the Jedi Order because she wanted to work out her issues alone. I don’t want to believe it!” Anakin slumped and put his forehead on the table, nearly knocking over his glass of juice.

  “You’ll learn to forget this in time. But for now, you have to let her go. It will help you, you’ll see.”

  “Forget her! Master, she’s a part of me. I can’t give up on her!” cried Anakin, standing up and smashing a fist against the table. Suddenly he sat back down. “I feel…”

  “A disturbance. You really seem to be lacking patience today, Anakin. I felt it too, and that is why I brought you here. She was here last night. While you’ve been putting up posters, I’ve been using the Force to track her.” Obi-Wan flashed a raised eyebrow-stare at him again, then promptly turned it off.

  “Why didn’t you tell – I’m sorry, Master. I didn’t mean to be impatient. I’m just… I miss her so much.”

  “Let’s ask Dex if he’s seen anything. Ahsoka probably ate here.”

  The younger Jedi tensed a little at his old apprentice’s name, but didn’t say anything. If there’s a chance of finding her and bringing her back, then I’ll do anything, he thought. He left a tip on the table and went over to the cash, where Obi-Wan was talking to the owner.

  “Dex, I’d like you to meet Anakin Skywalker, my former apprentice.”

  “Well,” said the Besalisk, “this is the famed Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Your exploits are legendary here on Coruscant. It’s good to finally meet you.”

  The said Jedi tipped his head in response to the praise. “Maybe you can help us. We’re looking for someone.”

  “Your old apprentice, the runaway? I heard about that. I haven’t seen her here, though. Sorry.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Obi-Wan. “Because we know that she was here last night. We felt it.”

  “If she was, then I must have been in the back room, because I don’t remember her. I don’t even know what she looks like.”

  Anakin pulled his old Master aside to whisper, “I think that she used the mind trick on him. Her face is everywhere on Coruscant: he should at least know what she looks like.”

  “I agree. But there’s only one way to find out.” He walked back over to Dex. “You will forget what Ahsoka Tano told you and regain your real memories.”

  The restaurant owner blinked, as if coming out of a daydream. “You know, my friend, I think she was here. I’ll tell you what I know.”

  The two Jedi shared a grin. They were hot on the trail of Ahsoka Tano.