Author's Note: Just a quick heads up. The next chapter will be coming out TWO weeks from now, not just one. I need a week off to handle some things. Then service should return to normal. Otherwise, enjoy this week's chapter.

Felucia Wilds

Ravine Camp

Aayla was confused, it wasn't a feeling she was particularly used to. For the most part the universe, even that part of it encompassed by the strange and wondrous power that was the Force, made sense, it had rules. Now she stood there marvelling at the newly repaired shirt and pants that she'd donned. The shirt had been an tattered ruin, and the pants were not much better after being shot repeatedly…

Now after Hermione had spent a few minutes labouring over them, they appeared good as new. Appeared, apparently being the operative word in this case. "The repair spell took material from the rest of the clothing to fill the gap, it's going to be more prone to ripping and tearing going forward, you'll want to buy some replacements when you get the chance." Hermione had warned Aayla, using a spare wash cloth as a visual example of the issue in question.

Still, the effect was remarkable. The clothing, which had been well beyond hope now covered her just as well as it always had. It was nevertheless a good thing she planned to grab some replacements if they had the chance back at base. In fact, if things went according to plan, those might not be the only things they grabbed.

After warning the Jedi of course. Her clothing - and anything else she might procure from the base - were a very distant second to that objective.

Aayla clipped her lightsabers to her belt as she prepared to leave the small room where she'd thus far spent her entire time.

Finally she pushed back the flap and stepped out into the main living space. The entire place was highly inconsistent with what she understood a basic tent to actually be. Just as with the bedroom, this "tent" bore the signs of being a more permanent construction, a firm and well constructed wood floor for the most part, with tile from the looks of things within a kitchen unit…full sized and comfortable permanent furnishings. And yet all of it was enclosed under the canopy of a large tent constructed of some unknown weatherproofed fabric of reasonable quality.

Aayla drew herself out of her observations and redirected her attention to searching for her hosts. Finding them over by the large flap door at the front of the tent she headed in their direction. As she drew closer she heard a muffled argument though it was too soft for the words to carry. Cocking her head to the side and torn between eavesdropping and remaining polite, she found her decision made for her in short order. The same beast which had investigated her upon her return to wakefulness made it's presence known. The animal nudged her gently in the side with its nose before looking up at her soulfully.

While not exactly certain what the creature wanted, she did what seemed to come naturally and reached down to tentatively scratch its head behind its ears. Just as she would have done for T'da back in the day…It was a strange irony that the Felucian Cat Bunny which had been her beloved pet all those years ago, had been buried here on Felucia. She couldn't help but wonder just how close she'd come to being buried here as well.

As she continued her delicate, but apparently appreciated ministrations to the beast's scalp, she saw Hermione shake her head and turn away with her arms crossed over her chest. Harry sighed and gently squeezed her shoulder before walking back into the tent proper and busying himself in getting ready for their strange mission. Aayla was still getting used to the notion that she was about to attempt time travel…it was far easier to just think of it as 'the mission'.

While Harry was pulling on an overcoat of a strange cut over his plain shirt and pants, she also noticed that unlike Hermione, he had two bracers strapped to his forearms, and not just one.

She gave a start at the slight chuffing noise produced by the cheerful creature at her hip, which then proceeded to bump into her in a way that was clearly meant to encourage her to get moving again.

She took the hint and started pacing towards the pair of odd humans as Hermione re-entered the tent and walked over to Harry blinking rapidly as she murmured to him while they prepared.

"You take care of yourself Harry Potter, you hear me?" Hermione asked, looking fretful, tugging a bit at Harry's collar to make it lay correctly. "I won't be there to watch your back this time…"

He smiled gently down at his friend, "We'll be okay 'Mione, we'll try and be back as soon as we can, just don't panic if we're not coming back a few moments after we left would you?" He requested though it didn't seem to do much to reassure her at all. "Keep in mind we're heading back nearly twelve or so hours and our mission might take a little longer depending on how things go…This isn't the first time I've done something like this Hermione."

Hermione glared at him exasperatedly for a moment before replying, "Yes and generally they end rather poorly as I recall... This isn't something you can just blast through with a well placed curse, Harry! I didn't steal that Time Turner so you could get yourself killed five minutes into the trip!"

"You stole it? So much for them letting you 'borrow' it..." Harry said an amused expression on his lips..

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I stole it! We were heading through the Veil and it was just sitting there gathering dust since there's no more sand to refill it with and no one wanted to waste the last few grains." She scowled before taking a deep breath and then cocked her head affecting a small smile. "Look I don't want to fight. I - Look, just promise me you will be careful okay? That's not a ragtag band of terrorist psychos like it was with Voldemort. It's an entire army." She admonished. "An army with very advanced and powerful weaponry that you know nothing about."

Harry nodded dutifully, "I hear you and we'll do our best to remain undetected. You know we have to do this"

Hermione was once again nodding, though there was an uncertain note in it this time, she cast an unreadable look in Aayla's direction before leaning forward and pecking her friend on the cheek.

Blushing a little at her friend's surprised look, she explained, . "For luck. I believe it's a tradition?" She noted smiling wryly.

He returned her smile with a crooked one of his own. "Thanks 'Mione"

Aayla felt a stirring of amusement, So it's like that is it?

She refocused on the task at hand. She was a bit jittery, a mild surprise under the circumstances, it had been some time since she'd been this nervous going into a mission. But the ramifications of it, should it all work out…

Harry straightened as he turned his attention to Aayla, "All ready to go?" He asked, and she nodded in confirmation. He pushed open the flap and gestured her through.

She waited patiently outside in the cave, while Harry and Hermione murmured one last goodbye as she took in their surroundings: the camp's position, and the disturbingly small exterior of the tent. She had no idea what to make of that last bit, and resolved to ask about it at a later time. Perhaps it was some illusionary defence?

"This way," Harry indicated strolling past her and outside, she moved to follow, momentarily stymied by the shiver which washed over her as she passed through whatever protections these two had managed to layer within the Force over the mouth of the Cave.

It was enough to make her look back questioningly, only to find an apparently empty cave behind her. No tent in sight. She looked uncertainly at an amused Harry Potter, "More of your magic?" She asked archly, managing not to sound too skeptical.

The Jedi tended to be a bit condescending towards those cultures which viewed the Force as 'Magic'. However...she had to concede that the things these two managed with the Force could indeed only be described as Magical.

He nodded, cocking his head at her curiously. "Wards, they're a type of protective enchantment Hermione put together for us. They'll keep back enemies and protect those inside. Within reason of course."

She couldn't even pretend to understand just how they managed it, but she got the general gist of what had been done. "So what now?" She asked, hoping that the miracle of time travel was indeed another wonder these two could manage.

Harry bobbed his head accepting that it was indeed time to get down to business. "First we need to go to the site where you were shot, it should be clear by now, but we'll be concealing ourselves anyways." He shrugged easily. "From there we'll follow the path back to your base I think, I assume that is where you want to go? We'll jump back in time once there."

Aayla nodded, then frowned as she had a thought. "I thought you said the place where I was wounded was close to twenty five….'klicks?' away, how long will it take to get there, seeing as we are short on time?"

To her surprise he smiled. "It won't take long at all, after all we managed to get you back here for healing before you could die right?"

She conceded that was true, though she was unclear on that. Generally speaking, someone who was shot with a blaster died fairly quickly…and judging by the wounds she could feel on herself she should be very, very dead. Harry took her general attitude as acceptance. "Now, I'm going to get us back there quickly but two things first…"

He drew the stick - which she was certain had a more appropriate term to describe it - and soon she felt the Force washing over her. He then directed the stick at himself and he briefly flared blue before fading back to normal. "What was that?" She asked a touch worried.

"A linked disillusionment charm, mixed with a notice-me-not charm. We can see each other because of the link, but are invisible to anyone else for the time being. I'll lower it later..." He explained patiently.

It was an amazing thought, assuming it worked. "And the second?" She prompted.

"Second, I feel I should warn you, the method of travel we'll be using is somewhat unpleasant for beginners, and we'll have to do this a couple times I imagine. Are you up for it?" He asked, drawing nearer to her.

She nodded but she couldn't help but wonder just what it was she was getting ready for. Harry offered his hand to her and she took it, he turned sharply as though to pull her along after him and the world evaporated before her eyes.

Felucia Wilds

In transit

Apparition, as she'd later learn it was called, was, it had to be said, highly unpleasant. To her it felt like she was all but being suffocated in the Force at the same time as being drawn through a very small tube at great velocity and then beat out like a dirty rug before coming back to reality with a dull snap.

She gasped as the pressure on her abated and fell to her knees coughing, struggling to take a few steadying breaths. "That!" She croaked, "Was the worst thing... I have felt in a very VERY long time." Which was saying something since she was still sore from having been shot repeatedly.

A hand pulled her gently to her feet and she was once again staring into Harry's green eyes. He looked very apologetic. "I know, and I'm sorry, I did try to warn you, but it's always bad for those just starting out. Your magic…or Force I guess, if I remember the term you used correctly, fights the transition making it worse." He eyed her speculatively as she collected herself. "Now, we have to go a couple more times, do you think you can handle that?"

She nodded weakly, a little ill at the thought, looking around at her new surroundings. They'd teleported…of all the things in the galaxy…They had teleported...She tried to wrap her head around that.

She recognized the battlefield now, it was where she'd been before ending up in Harry's and Hermione's company sure enough. It was strangely peaceful now. No army in sight, no traitorous clones, no rampaging droids…Just the shattered remnants of the forest. How much of this destruction had been caused by her men in their failed attempt to kill her?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry's speculative voice. "Now, as your army was advancing from this direction, I assume your base is that way?" He asked pointing to the long swath of cleared jungle stretching off to the south. She nodded agreeing and he cast his eyes about eventually pointing to something else in the distance. "Okay, I see a good spot to get a vantage point, we have to jump again, are you ready for that?"

She grimaced at the thought of it, but she was more than willing to endure it for what she had to accomplish. He held out his hand again at her agreement and she grasped it before once again disappearing.

This time she managed to keep her feet upon 're-entry' as she now thought of it, and was quite surprised to find herself standing atop a large fungal tree not far from the cleared road through the forest looking south.

She could barely see the landed Cruisers in the distance, where they sat alongside the main Republic forward operating base. Harry whistled in appreciation and she looked at him curiously. "Are those what I think they are?" seeing as she had no idea what he thought they were she just looked confused. "Ships?" he asked hopefully.

The Twi'lek smiled a bit at his almost childlike awe. "Yes, those are Venator class cruisers, they serve as our military's mainstay warship and as our orbital support platform during ground-side invasions like this one."

He nodded thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "You know, I sorta assumed judging by the way you spoke back in the tent, that your Republic wasn't just on this world, but I have to admit…Seeing massive interstellar warships sorta drives that notion home. Just how large is your Republic?"

She considered that trying to remember the stats she'd heard in the past. "At its peak before the Separatist crisis, it spanned about two thirds of the Galaxy, which itself is about one hundred and twenty thousand light years across. Leaving aside a few independent regions and unexplored space around the fringes or on the western side of the Galaxy of course…It represents many thousands of species and worlds, and has done so for nearly twenty thousand years."

Harry nodded, looking impressed. "Well that'll knock Hermione's socks off when you tell her I'm sure. She lives and breathes stuff like that. Now, back to business, as we're in a bit of a hurry I'll note that I can see another vantage closer to those ships of yours. From there we'll hopefully be able to safely jump the rest of the way. Thank Merlin we probably won't have to hop about like this on the way back…" He muttered.

She couldn't help but wonder just what he meant by that but let it go for the moment. Again he held out his hand. "You ready?"

Again they jumped, and this time she barely broke her stride, though it still felt awful.

From their new vantage point, she could clearly see the majority of the Republic base in the distance, overshadowed by the Cruisers landed beside it. There was a lot of traffic, now that her forces had returned from their mission. She could see smaller craft landing and taking off from the various pads strewn about the base, spotted dozens of speeder bikes patrolling the area around the perimeter, and saw an HAVw A6 Juggernaut tank rolling up the ramp into the belly of one of the ships and various walkers formed up on the parade ground for maintenance and inspection.

She wondered how long it would be before the Republic left this world…Would it be soon? In securing the water treatment plant they had likely crushed much of the remaining Separatist forces on planet. The locals likely wouldn't be a serious problem…

"Okay," Said Harry straightening himself out a bit, "Where do we need to be inside that base?" he asked drawing the Time Turner on it's cord out from under the edge of his jacket.

She considered that, looking over the base with a critical eye. She was relieved she wasn't responsible for protecting base security anymore, considering Harry's ability to teleport…How was one supposed to protect against that? "There, you see that large prefab near the centre with the large comm array?" She asked indicating a building which bristled with antennas and sat dishes.

He nodded easily. "Okay, come here, we're going to turn back the clock before we head down there,"

She stepped over eagerly, this was it, this was her chance to stop everything from happening…or well, at least to mitigate it somewhat, she chided herself. It wouldn't do to go counting their victories just yet. Harry loosened the necklace of the device and stepped right up next to her shoulder-to-shoulder before draping it around both of their necks. "Wait!" Aayla exclaimed before twisting her wrist and eyeing her chrono. At Harry's questioning look she shrugged. "It passively updates through signals from that tower. You can't blame me for being curious whether this will actually work."

Harry shrugged and nodded towards her. "Last chance to change your mind. You're absolutely certain that you want to try this and that you can abide by the rules?"

Aayla shut her eyes and drowned out the quiet voice that had been screaming for answers since seeing them arguing earlier. "I cannot leave a chance to save my friends and comrades untaken. I understand that you have understated the risks, I will be asking for a full explanation once we are back but not now. We have to go."

Harry flashed her a small smile before he looked down to the small hourglass and took a deep breath. "Here we go then. Wish us luck…" Harry muttered, unlatching the device.

"May the Force be with us." She agreed.

He began turning the device and spun it twelve times before locking it. Then things got...strange…Time seemed to almost flow...backwards, the tank rolled back down the ramp, those speeders flew backwards and the army within the base marched back through the gates at high speed. It was fascinating to watch, as the process accelerated and she could literally stand and follow the sun being hauled back across the sky…

Finally it slowed and she and Harry found themselves once again staring at the base, this time calm and empty, its forces absent for their critical mission. There was a brief moment where the world around them seemed to stutter, the few personnel still in the base walked backwards again then forwards and finally backwards before halting in place for a long moment. The moment felt like it stretched out into eternity before with a loud crack, time reasserted itself beginning it's inexorable march onwards and depositing Aayla and Harry onto the ground with a hard crash..

She blew out a breath and rose to her knees shaking her head and trying to regain her equilibrium. "Was that supposed to happen?"

Harry scowled as he looked upon a shattered hourglass and the broken chain clutched in his hand. "No, it's supposed to be smooth. Well that's what we get for using a broken Time Turner."

Aayla eyed him for a moment before shrugging. She checked her chrono again to see if it had updated and couldn't prevent the smile from spreading across her face. It had actually worked! She was a bit staggered by it all, but nevertheless smiled brightly turning back to eye Harry. "Nine and a half hours back! Thank you."

He nodded, eyeing the pieces of the hourglass worriedly. "Nine and a half hours...Well, we should hopefully still have enough time; we'll just have to work a bit faster. You're welcome by the way….As to this thing…well I think it's pretty obvious we're not going to get a second chance. I'll take this victory and call it done."

She nodded understanding. This was their one shot. She'd have to make it count. Harry put the little device away and looked to her. "You ready then? Good." He grasped her hand and they made the last jump. This was it.

Republic Base

Felucia Wilds

They arrived with a crack beside the command centre's main communications building, just as a clone trooper stepped out the door yawning.

Aayla had to stifle a curse as she reached for her lightsaber, only to have her hand stilled by Harry's as it gently grasped hers about the wrist. The clone looked up from his data pad in confusion at the snap of their apparition, and Harry drew a finger to his lips indicating a need for silence.

The clone looked about uncertainly for a moment before shrugging and continuing on his way, muttering about how he hoped to get some decent chow for once at the mess hall. Apparently they really were invisible, it was all enough to make her slightly giddy.

Harry smirked watching the clone wander away before making an exaggerated after you motion to her. She smiled, nodding silently before taking the lead and stepping through the door.

They managed to get inside without further interruption, the building largely abandoned with so many of the clone troopers out on mission. Here Harry stopped her, checking his watch, before sighing in relief. She had to admit the charming little antique chrono was an interesting addition to his outfit and wondered why he had such an old device. He nodded after a minute and indicated a closet off to the side.

They entered, quietly closing the door behind them, Harry pulling his stick to perform a few spells on it just to be safe. "We have just over an hour before they betray you, how do you want to do this?"

She considered that, she'd been thinking about that off and on since the plan had been suggested. She knew what she wanted to do but was certain she could use some help doing it. "Can you keep everyone in the command centre away from the consoles and distracted once I open the door? Preferably without alerting the entire base to the that they have intruders…"

Harry grimaced, but nodded firmly. "I can." He said shortly, and she wondered just what it was he would need to do, if it upset him so. Apparently her concern showed as he sighed and elaborated. "I can do it. It just won't be pleasant."

She nodded, such was the way of things sometimes. It was for a good cause though…

They left the closet and she led him over to the door to the main communications centre. She tapped the key code into the door lock and it hissed open, allowing them to hurry through as the clones within looked up in confusion noting the conspicuous absence of a person in the doorway.

They may have even investigated had Harry not drawn his stick again, straightening again with a grimace before growling out a single word. "Imperio!"

She wasn't sure just yet what he had done, but the wave of Force energy which emanated from the little device and washed over her clones, causing them to stiffen before relaxing into a blank expression…It made her sick, whatever that was it absolutely reeked of malevolence, leaking it into the Force like an oozing wound.

Harry gave her a sad sympathetic look and then turned to the clones. With a muttered word she felt a mild tingle as the earlier invisibility bled off of the two of them. Once the tingle vanished, Harry spoke to the clones, "You will cluster against the wall and think of the happiest moment in your life. You won't react to anything going on in this room until we leave." He intoned in a voice firm with command, and the clones, one after the other, nodded before moving to the back wall in a stiff orderly fashion. In less than a minute each clone had a happy smile on their face and some were nodding along to an unheard beat.

She found herself conflicted, she'd asked Harry to do this, and it was critical to their mission but…He nodded at her, looking sickened himself, and explained. "I hate doing that…I've had to do it once before like that and it always makes me want to vomit. Figured this way they'd at least have something nice to think about...I'll obliviate them as we leave in case they overhear anything you say. I can't do anything specific but I can get rid of the last few minutes."

She asked for clarification. "You just took control of their minds didn't you?" She suspected the truth and his nod confirmed it.

"Yes, and were the situation not so dire, I'd never have even considered doing it." He grumbled, shivering. She understood then that what he had done was no easy thing for him - and it had come as a sacrifice on his part. That he hated himself for resorting to it. "You have the room, the show's yours." He noted pacing uneasily. "What now?"

She nodded getting herself back on track, "I'll establish an uplink to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, using full security procedures, I'll have to hurry though, once connected I'll only have five minutes before the system makes a recording of my message for security purposes."

"Who will you be speaking to, and do you think you can convince them?" Harry asked.

She'd considered that already, "Shaak Ti, she is a Master in our Order, and was present at the Temple when we had our briefing this morning…" So much could change in a day. "She's a friend of mine, and if I give her the correct counter signs she'll trust what I have to say."

He nodded and stepped to the side giving her free access to the consoles. She dipped her head in thanks before hurrying over to the main comm uplink and powered it up. The projector heated and ignited into a blaze of light before dimming, an image of Shaak Ti resolving from the motes of light a few moments later.

Shaak Ti was a Togrutan Jedi with red skin and pale white markings around her eyes and up her horn-like montrals. A woman of about two and a half years her senior, and about her height, Shaak Ti was a powerful Jedi who had quickly worked her way up to a Council rank, despite lacking the usual…more forward approach of the guardian path. She was one of those who favoured a more temperate approach to matters and was a strong voice of reason on the Jedi's ruling council.

"Ah, Aayla, I did not expect to be seeing you again so soon. I hope you are making good time?" She asked dipping her chin in greeting.

Aayla nodded, in a way it was true after all… "I'm sorry for skipping any pleasantries Master Ti, but I have an urgent matter to discuss with you. Priority Omega Code Black."

Shaak Ti blinked, challenge request codes were not lightly utilized. This one in particular denoted a top level crisis for the attention of the Grand Master or the highest ranking Council member available. She offered the prearranged code between them though with only a moment's pause. "Challenge: Quinlan"

Aayla bobbed her head, then gave the response. "Counter: T'da."

"Stimulus: Glitterstim."

"Final Response: Kit Fisto," Aayla said suppressing a shiver.

Shaak Ti nodded accepting it. "What is wrong Aayla?"

Aayla shook her head in frustration, she had so little time…"I don't have much time, security will start recording this call soon…you know that if I used those words in that context I am being serious and the matter is truly urgent." The Master Jedi nodded agreement.

"I know what I am about to tell you sounds - well frankly impossible but please believe me, I beg you." Aayla pleaded. "I have just traveled back in time, about nine or ten hours or so, to deliver a warning to the Order." Aayla explained wincing slightly when the other Jedi adopted a quizzical look, her mouth popping open to protest but Aayla pressed on before she could be interrupted. "Within one hour, the Supreme Chancellor will give an Order to all our forces across the Galaxy to eliminate the Jedi Order."

She ploughed on despite Shaak Ti's thunderstruck look. "My soldiers turned on me and I was wounded, I had assistance in surviving the attack and indeed in coming back to tell you this…please, Master Ti, you have to believe me. It isn't too late yet…"

Shaak Ti considered her for a time before beginning to nod slowly. "Had you not used that code I would have called you a liar or assumed you up to mischief…however you would never profane those names' honour in such a way…." Her nodding had become a bit more firm now as she frowned. "Very well, I'll handle things on this end. Although—" She paused looking worried. "Masters Windu, Fisto, Tiin and Kolar, all just left not long ago on critical business with the Chancellor…"

Aayla blanched, Kit….he was going to face that monster…if the attack happened as she knew it did. He had to have failed…

"Whatever business it was, it clearly went awry…That might be linked to the attacks." Harry noted in an undertone.

"Who was that?" Asked Master Ti curious at the visage which had briefly entered the projection on her end before retreating.

"A friend, the one who helped me come back. Look, we're just about out of time…but—you cannot contact me again before the attack. There is another version of me running around on Felucia and if you interfere the consequences would be dire."

The Togrutan Jedi nodded, pondering. "Very well, I trust you Aayla. Be careful…I would suggest going dark as per protocol for one week. If you don't hear from any of the Council before then…"

"I understand." Aayla murmured. If none called it was because they no longer could.

"Alright, I have work to do it seems, I'll try and contact as many of our number on the frontline as I can—good luck Aayla. May the Force be with you."

"May it be with us all." Aayla murmured as the link closed. She turned her attention to Harry who stood looking at his watch. "Fifteen seconds left. Good work."

She sighed her relief, as she checked his count against the indicator on the comm board. She had given her warning, it was up to the others now. Somehow she found it difficult to find comfort. "Hey this should make a real difference, who knows how many you'll save by doing this?" He offered.

She nodded, appreciating what he was trying to do. "Thank you Harry, without you this wouldn't have been possible." She shook her head. "Without you who knows what would have become of the Jedi?"

Harry shuffled uncertainly, and she grimaced, realizing he was far from comfortable with being praised. "Yeah well. I'm just here to help you along right? It was Hermione's time turner—" She smirked in amusement at his modesty, but didn't press him.

"Now then, what should we do next?" Harry asked, diverting attention. "We can't head straight back to camp anyways…"

She nodded acceptance of that. "I would like to gather some of my belongings from my quarters, and…" She considered what was likely possible. "We'll need supplies, even though your camp seems well provisioned, having some extra wouldn't hurt." He nodded agreement at that.

"Okay, let's hit up your quarters first then." He paused, "But we'd better disillusion ourselves before we go…"

A moment later and the curious sensation which came with being invisible fell over her.

"Alright let's get out of here," Harry murmured, and followed her nearly to the hallway, pausing as they reached the back wall with the clones who were still dutifully lined up near the wall with their happy grins and vacant expressions.

Harry cursed. "This—this is why I hate doing this to people…" He growled, then straightened and addressed the clones. "Alright you lot, we're done here, you may return to your posts."

He watched them file back into the comm centre and as soon as they took their places he murmured, "Obliviate!" Another wave of the Force flowed from his stick and wrapped around the clones. Unlike his previous 'spell' this one had a distinct neutral flavor to it almost as if it was equal parts Dark and Light. She shook her head to brush away the philosophical examination for a more appropriate time and watched as the clones slowly seemed to come out of their confusion resuming their prior duties. Harry scowled briefly and shook his head. She patted him consolingly on the shoulder, stifling a cringe as she picked up a surge of self loathing at the touch. Finally she shook that off and led the way back out onto the base, guiding the way towards her quarters which were located across the main square from the command prefab.

She noted her starfighter where it rested on the small pad next to her prefab and frowned, even were it not far too small, taking it would unnecessarily draw attention to the possibility of her survival, though that was secondary to the possibility of accidentally tipping off the clones to her presence here on base when the Order to kill the Jedi eventually came. She stopped before the door to her quarters and frowned, At the curious expression Harry directed her way she explained. "The only person with the passkey to open my quarters is me...if I open this door with my card, they'll know I was here when I should be out there…" She said indicating the jungle beyond the forcefield wall.

Harry looked quizzically at the door. "We can open though right? Just not with your passkey?"

"Well yes but unless you happen to have a hacking program in your stick that will be a little difficult," Aayla noted tiredly.

"Well, it's not quite hacking, but in this situation it's close enough." Harry offered with a grin. He moved towards the door lock and a moment later and offending barrier was hissing open. Despite the encrypted hard lock…

She shook her head as they entered the prefab, closing the door behind them. "I don't understand how it is you use the Force in such a manner."

He shrugged, smiling ruefully. "We can talk about it a bit later perhaps. Maybe while we're waiting for our time to head back to camp?" He offered.

She could accept that, she reflected as she turned to consider her spartan quarters.

"I suppose you don't get a lot of creature comforts when leading an army…" Harry speculated taking in the mostly bare space.

She couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Oh, some officers live very finely indeed." She argued thinking of some of the quarters she'd seen captains and admirals keep. "But this is just a field prefab. Not the quarters I'd be assigned while on a long term deployment aboard a ship or at a base." She shrugged. "Also, I'm a Jedi."

Harry tilted his head at her quizzically as she continued to take stock of the room. "You say that as if it explains everything…and just what are you looking for?"

She frowned a bit. "A bag, I'll need something to carry my things in…"

He shook his head in amusement. Pulling a small bag from his pocket and handing it to her. She couldn't help but frown at it, it wasn't very large. "It's bigger on the inside than on the outside." He explained baldly, and she felt her brow lines climb up her forehead. Her brain quickly going over the implications. She had to test it however.

Hurrying over to her dresser, Aayla pulled open the drawer and began packing the clothes into the bag, only growing more and more intrigued as the bag barely expanded with each bundle that was stuffed inside. She turned back to him as the last of it entered the bag, leaving it little bigger and no heavier than before. "It's like your tent then? I thought that was an illusion but…"

He nodded and she just shook her head, more than a little awed by it all, before moving to collect the rest of her belongings. She even managed to find some bags - though there was no reason to use them anymore thanks to the one Harry had provided.

She shook her head bringing herself back to his comments. "I forgot you don't know anything about the Jedi…" She admitted. "We are not prone to living extravagantly for the most part. I may not live as ascetically as some within the Order, but I still refrain from lavish decorations."

A shaken head met that statement. "You make the Jedi sound like monks…"

It wasn't a bad analogy she had to admit, though there were several big differences. "I suppose the comparison is apt, the Jedi tradition is supposed to be a way of life and not merely an organization that one joins. Limiting ourselves somewhat is a part of that."

He nodded, watching her work her way about the room, "Are all Jedi magical, or use the Force as you say?"

She considered that, "Yes, all Jedi are Force sensitives. It is what allow Jedi to perform our duties when others could not." She paused to wobble her head a bit on her shoulders, "Which isn't to say the Order is solely made up of Jedi. There are many thousands of ordinary people of all species who work with the Jedi and help keep the organization running. It would after all be somewhat odd to have a Force sensitive who could otherwise be training or carrying out missions, spending his or her time instead maintaining the Temple, or scrubbing the floor."

Harry frowned slightly at that. "Just because someone can do something others can't doesn't make them better than everyone else, Aayla. There's no reason Jedi can't scrub floors."

"My apologies, it was a poor analogy. We tend to have droids doing that sort of work actually. What I meant was simply that our non…'magicals' are just as valued as the Force Sensitive personnel." Grabbing up a few things from the bathroom she shrugged. "They are in the end just as critical to the Order's continued existence as the Jedi…" She paused as a thought occurred to her. "I just hope they are being protected too."

Harry nodded sympathetically, looking speculative. She wondered what was going through his mind. Finally she stuffed the last of her belongings into the small sack and tied it off.

"Where to now?" Harry asked, as he took in the now utterly barren room.

"The armoury I think, it's where we stored most of the supplies for this base." Aayla responded, securing the small bag to her hip. "It's this way."

She led him once again across the main square, this time to a larger prefab with big cargo doors. Slipping into the armoury actually proved depressingly easy, the main doors were open as the clone officers present went about sorting a shipment through the door. Invisible as they were it was a simple matter to just walk inside.

Aside from the crew working near the door, the armoury was actually fairly empty, a lone clone quartermaster working in the back with an inventory droid.

She noted Harry watching the droid's progress with interest for a moment before he turned his attention back to her. She really was wondering why so much they encountered seemed to catch his interest. Was it just the newness of the surroundings or was there...something more?

"So what do we need in here?" Harry asked quietly.

She pointed to a grav sledge which floated unused in the corner and he nodded understanding. The unit was soon disillusioned and linked into their own concealment allowing them to see it.

The Twi'lek then quietly led Harry about the armoury carefully collecting items of interest onto the sledge and linked into the disillusion. First up were four crates from the pile of rations. She wasn't exactly eager to eat the tasteless bars of nutrients but it was better than starving.

After grabbing a crate of grenades she was ready to call it done. Here Harry actually stopped her. "What about guns?" He asked, curiously, indicating the racks of weapons which dominated the majority of the warehouse.

She frowned a little, a touch confused. "Jedi don't use blasters…" She offered, trailing off a touch weakly when he raised a brow at her.

"Look, I sympathize, magicals don't use mundane weapons generally either, but it'd be a bit silly if we found ourselves in a situation in which you needed to fight at range and were unable to do so…Now's not exactly a time to be picky…" He noted dryly.

She had to concede he had a point and took the gentle rebuke as it was intended, feeling a bit chagrined for being so hidebound as to dismiss their utility out of hand.

Their next stop therefore was to make off with a rack of DC-15A Blaster Rifles and a smaller rack of DC-15S Carbines, as well as a couple crates of energy cells and blaster gas. Which brought her up short. Despite all they had grabbed there was still space on the sledge, and it felt rather silly to not grab all they could.

She had him grab a crate of medical supplies, while she surreptitiously purloined a deactivated Astro-droid. She had a notion of what they were going to do next, and if they went ahead with it, they'd likely need one of the little fellows. She was pleased to see it was an R2 unit as opposed to some of the more temperamental R3 or R4 units.

"That should do for the moment, come on." She said to her companion, and led the way back to the door, where the clones were idling, waiting for another shipment, no one paying enough attention to catch the few signs that an invisible pair with a grav sledge were sneaking by.

"So where to now? You have an idea where we can stash this stuff?" Harry asked from his place guiding the small hovering craft.

"Oh a few," She murmured back in amusement as she led him towards the airfield. As they approached the hangars and airstrip which lay in the shadow of a looming warship, Harry had to speak up.

"You know I admire how well you're handling all this, magic powers, time travel and all that, but…I'm not sure we can steal one of those…even with my help." Harry murmured staring at the landed Venator.

Aayla snickered a bit at his worry, and filed away the notion that there was indeed a limit to what Harry could do. "We're not going to steal one of those. You're quite right, and not the least because such a ship would be impossible to steal with so few people to aid in running it. No, we're going to steal one of those…" She said indicating a craft which lay idle in one of the prefab hangers.

Harry considered the smaller craft, a Consular class Frigate, the so called 'Charger Refit', before nodding. "That's far more manageable, especially if there is no one aboard…"

She paused as she considered that risk, and nodded, it was something she should have thought of, but she'd been too preoccupied. She cast her senses at the vessel and was relieved to find that it was indeed currently empty aside from an astro-droid which was toddling about the lower decks. "It's empty," she reassured him and Harry shook his head in interest.

"I still can't get over how casually you are able to sense things…For me to even try that I'd need an incantation." He muttered as he continued to ponder the ship. "I assume you want to take this ship and hide it near camp right?" She nodded agreement.

He sucked at his cheek as he considered that. Then nodded. "I think I can do that, yeah. We'll keep it simple until we want to go though… some redirection wards and a notice me not should do nicely until we're ready to leave."

Aayla nodded agreement, "Very well, let's get these aboard the ship and see about removing any tracking equipment, then I'll give you a proper tour." She offered with a touch of mischief.

Her companion just shook his head in amusement before following her lead towards the ramp. They'd been able to get a warning to the Jedi, she was alive and they had a plan for how to proceed regardless of how things went out there in the galaxy. That was a comfort in itself. It could have been far worse…

A few hours later

Felucia Wilds

Ravine Camp

Hermione was worried. She'd been fighting the urge to run outside the moment she'd heard Harry and Aayla Secura disapparate. However, the reason she was resisting was because her friend had asked her not to panic should things take a little longer than expected.

She knew it was good advice to follow, Harry knowing her as well as he did…Nevertheless she was struggling with it a bit more than usual.

Struggle as she might, she couldn't help but run over the things which could possibly have gone wrong in her head. There was after all always a risk when using a Time Turner...even one which wasn't a damaged, stolen, unmaintained leftover running short on enchanted sand...She couldn't help but wonder if she had been wrong to even suggest using it.

Her impressions of Aayla could have been wrong, or what if they got caught trying to get out a warning…

She cursed herself; what if, what if, what if…Already she wanted to scream in frustration, what if's were a sure fire way to drive oneself mad. But she couldn't help it, a nasty little voice in the back of her mind kept accusing her of having gotten her best friend killed.

That would be unbearable. It was hard in the wake of her breakup with Ron though. She'd always been close to Harry, but being in such close proximity to him even for a short period brought it all back to her.

She still didn't know just why she'd done it, but she'd certainly meant a little more by that little good luck kiss on the cheek than she'd admitted. Judging by the brief look which had flitted over the alien woman's face Aayla knew, or had a good idea what Hermione had really meant.

If Hermione had hurt him, even if she'd meant the best by suggesting that course of action…she'd never forgive herself.

Juno and Crookshanks were already giving her reproachful looks. It truly was a curse, the obsessive side of her personality, the portion of herself which forced her to dig and drive, and niggle at a worry until it was either solved or rendered irrelevant. More often it simply gave her an ulcer…

The young woman was pacing faster now, more what if's thundering through her head until she could take it no more and…

She stopped as an odd humming in the distance caught her attention. It grew louder as she payed closer attention to it. A hum, definitely artificial, growing stronger, growing closer.

Hermione had no way to know for certain, but she needed to hope, to go out and be made sure…The alternative was that it was the soldiers come to find them while her friend was gone, but she had to try and be positive despite the possibility.

She ventured tentatively outside the tent, peering cautiously out at the ravine, unwilling to venture beyond the wardline just yet.

A wind picked up outside as the hum rose to become a dull throb in the air she could feel reverberating against the walls of the ravine and the wards over the cave entrance. Large clouds of dust were kicked up by some unseen force above her field of vision. The dust and grit blowing against the wards, creating dazzling patterns of light as it caressed the shields, mercifully invisible on the outside, but not from within.

Then a brief flare of light she couldn't quite track with her eyes, followed by brief washes of heat and flying debris, followed by a thump, the stones and dirt layering the ravine floor suddenly shifting under some unseen weight and the hum abated to a whine before cutting out entirely.

She smiled, a sense of relief washing through her, allowing her to sag somewhat as a small window opened in the otherwise invisible object, likely a vessel of some kind and a square of light appeared.

A slim rectangle of metal appeared next first parallel to the ground then angling downward to meet the floor of the ravine. The square of light darkened and Harry stepped out onto the newly arrived ramp and peered about.

She smiled broadly before nearly running from the cave, only now noticing Juno and Crookshanks had joined her.

Harry smiled upon spotting her and trotted down to greet her. "Hey Mione." He murmured sounding tired. She couldn't blame him for being so, he'd been up for who knew how many hours in a row now, a whole day…More?

"Harry, thank Merlin you're alright, I'm so glad you're okay!" Hermione yelled throwing her arms around him and crushing him in a rib-bruising hug. "I was so worried! And you took so long! I thought...I thought the Time Turner had...I'm so glad you're back!" She buried her head against his neck and continued to hug him tight as Harry gently patted her back.

"I'm fine, Mione."

"So, now that the mission is finished..." Aayla murmured as she walked down the ramp behind Harry and nodded to Hermione with a soft grin. "Just how dangerous was what we just did?"

Harry shrugged as best he could with Hermione still holding on. "Not the worst - or stupidest - thing I've done. But it was up there. That Time Turner really only had enough sand left for one person."

Hermione finally let her friend escape and sighed heavily as she turned to Aayla. "Using a Turner consumes a small amount of the sand inside. Generally the ratio is one grain per person per hour. The broken nature of that one made the consumption variable and should you have run out during the transit you could've been scattered across the entire timestream."

Aayla paled; which was actually almost amusing due to her skin tone. Harry however ran a hand through his hair and muttered, "Or we could've just been kicked out of the backwards flow wherever the sand ran out."

"Well technically yes, I suppose so but the odds of that happening over other catastrophic failure are..." she trailed off as she looked at him critically. Harry calmly pulled a broken bit of glass and gold chain out of his pocket and held it in front of her. Hermione growled and punched his arm. "I let you out of my sight for ten bloody minutes! Harry James Potter you are forbidden from doing any other stupidly noble thing for the rest of the week! I mean it Harry! We are on an exploration mission with a side goal of a manhunt. We are not here to kill the local equivalent of Voldemort or to leap into more death-defying situations!"

"Yes Mione. It won't happen again until next week," Harry replied with the hint of a grin spreading across his lips.

Throwing up her hands, Hermione gave it up as a lost cause. "We'll see if you can stick to that mister. Now…I assume things worked out then? Tell me how it all went?"

Harry nodded, grimacing slightly to himself before brightening slightly. "Yes, it worked out, Aayla's having a rough time of it though. We managed okay until the attacks started, and then we were swamped in visions again until fairly recently." He paused glancing back to the blue Jedi behind them. "You know you can go sit down in the tent again to keep meditating. The wards may not stop the visions completely but they do minimize their impact slightly. Might help."

"I think I'll take you up on that," Aayla nodded rubbing a hand across her scalp as she walked past them and back into the small campsite.

Hermione frowned unable to imagine what that would feel like for the alien woman…To Hermione it had merely been a disjointed whirlwind of sensations and feelings, mixed with images of people she didn't know fighting and dying. For Aayla, it was likely that she knew a great many of those people personally….

"How did you manage?" Harry asked her, looking her over with a careful eye. She shrugged, not wanting to worry him unduly. She'd handled it rather badly, she could even admit that to herself now that the reason for her fear had passed.

"I managed," She gestured to the whatever it was behind him to redirect the conversation. "So, what is this…thing that you rode in on?" She asked, layering a note of humour into her voice hoping to lighten his mood. He was unusually grim right now and it wasn't from the Time Turner.

He smirked, appreciating the humour. "Ah right, forgot you can't see it, I'll release the spell once we reconfigure the wards to cover it as well I think…but in the mean time let me link you in." He offered drawing his wand.

She blinked in astonishment when the object resolved into view, becoming what had to be…"Okay," She chuckled, uncertainly. "I'll admit I'm no expert in such things, but is this what I think it is?"

She'd seldom seen Harry look so undeniably smug. "If you're thinking we stole a spaceship, then yes, it is indeed what you think it is." He said clearly pleased with himself.

Blinking at him in consternation for a moment, Hermione eventually couldn't help but laugh "You stole a spaceship…Of all the things—" She chuckled shaking her head.

"Well you stole a Time Turner. I felt the need to prove I can be an accomplished thief too." He shrugged and blushed, acting more his usual, modest, self. "It turns out Aayla may need a way off planet within the next week if nobody else comes along to pick her up first. We felt it best to take it before they went on alert."

Nodding in understanding she looked back at the ship. "How did all that go, more specifically I mean…"

Harry sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "We got the warning out, and the person who received our message seemed to believe us, as to whether or not it'll do any good—who knows right? In theory we made a difference." He looked ruefully at his friend. "We then went about stealing supplies, collecting Aayla's things from her room, that sort of thing, then took this ship and ripped its tracking device out…Aayla was originally going to try to sabotage some of the equipment but we ended up deciding that since she hadn't received notification of it the first time through it was too risky. The last thing we needed was to set off a paradox on top of everything. So that's really all we managed before the visions started. Then we just settled in to wait…"

He was frowning again, she noted, it was enough evidence for her to see that something was definitely wrong with her friend. She sighed, "What's wrong Harry, you seem upset…did something else happen?"

A sigh was all she got for a moment before he smiled wryly at her, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Can't fool you can I?" He teased.

She was glad his mood had improved marginally, still she wondered what had him bothered. "Never," she told him moving to stand beside him and bumping his shoulder with her own.

He nodded conceding she was right. "Well, aside from the fact I'm almost certain Aayla witnessed the deaths of some people she knew, and was quite likely fairly close to…I had to do something—distasteful, to get us into the communications centre."

Hermione didn't like the sound of that, but kept her peace for the moment. After a few seconds Harry eventually caved and admitted what he'd been forced to do in a low voice, filled with shame. "I had to use Imperio again…" He growled.

A wince followed that statement, which he thankfully didn't notice, being too busy staring at his shoes. She didn't want him to think he'd disgusted her, but she knew how that spell felt, having been placed under it in fourth year, and knowing how ill it had made her feel in her Unspeakable training course, when she'd needed to use it for instructional purposes.

She sighed. "I'm sorry Harry, what happened?"

Harry grimaced for a moment before elaborating, "We had to get the detain the soldiers in the communications centre, we couldn't risk them raising an alarm in a fight or cottoning that something was up after the fact so I used it and then erased their memories after…"

He had her sympathy; coupled with an obliviate it was indeed the most certain way to safely neutralize those within the communications centre without resorting to a pitched battle which could have drawn attention or risking someone breaking an enchantment and raising the alarm…

She hugged him tightly, "I'm so sorry Harry, I know what doing stuff like that does to you inside." She mumbled against his shoulder. She could practically taste his self-recriminations over it.

He hugged her back, holding her a minute before stepping back with a sigh. "I never wanted to be the sort of person who would use those curses…

Were it so simple, she reflected. "And you're not Harry, it was only in dire necessity that you resorted to it. The kind of people you're talking about use it on a whim, for fun…You'd never do that."

He nodded, though she could not tell if he really meant it. There was no point in beleaguering the issue, so she let it go for the moment. "So what now?"

"I'll get some of the stuff out of the ship then go check on Aayla, she flew us here but it all took its toll on her, she needs a bit of time to meditate and collect herself. Maybe we can keep her occupied until the worst passes…she's still healing anyway and with everything we just did she's going to be pretty weak. The visions can't be helping at all. Beyond that...I guess we wait until the soldiers leave maybe, or maybe just until someone comes to retrieve her."

"Okay, I'll be right here." She promised. Harry was focusing on their friend's problems rather than his own, but she knew he needed her too.

Harry disappeared back into the ship, and Hermione thought a bit about what he'd been like last time he'd been forced to use that curse…ideally he'd never have had to use that thing again, after all he'd only managed to console himself the first time based on the hope he'd never have need of it again.

A few minutes later Harry returned with a small levitating cart and smiled at Hermione as he walked. "Come on," he encouraged over his shoulder. "Let's get some food in us, and just see about relaxing for a bit, get some rest maybe. It's been a long day for all of us I'm sure."

Hermione sidled up beside him as they began making their way back to the tent. They were all alive, she reflected hooking herself on his right arm, so long as that were true things would be okay. Anything else could be overcome.

Acknowledgements: Tested out some beta's this week so I have a few more than usual.

-T-Knight (Temporal Knight)
-Mordreek
-Delphinous
-Stars90
-BrightSkywalker

Also my nod once again to Plums and Bluminous for spawning the general premise I started out with.