A/N: A huge thank you to my beta reader for this story, MsFicwriter. To edboy4926 and .L, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

ii. makashi

Aboard the Invisible Hand
Above Coruscant

Anakin looked away from the blinking red and green panel, doing his best to hold back his frustration. Too many battles in the past three years had ended like this one was shaping up. "All of the escape pods have been launched," he informed Obi-Wan.

"Grievous," Obi-Wan said, in sad, annoyed reluctance. Artoo beeped and blared as he joined the two Jedi, along with Chancellor Palpatine, at the front of the bridge of the Invisible Hand. Sections of the transparisteel viewport were covered by durasteel plating thanks to the escape of General Grievous. Anakin knew there was no time to focus on the fact that the war, once more, would continue for who knows how long. The vessel they were before had been caught in the gravity well of Coruscant and it would take his considerable luck to reach the ground intact.

"Can you fly a cruiser like this?" asked Obi-Wan as they sat down in the forward pilot seats. He shifted uncomfortably, for the seats were designed for B1 droids, not humans.

"Do you mean 'do I know how to land what's left of this thing'?"

"Well?"

Anakin began pressing buttons. "Well under the circumstances, I'd say that my ability to pilot is irrelevant. Strap yourselves in."

They were all quick to do so, connecting the limited crash webbing of the bridge to their seats. "Open all hatches. Extend all flaps and drag fins. This will be rough."

Obi-Wan vaguely nodded from Anakin's left. Artoo beeped and whistled a semi-reassuring pattern. There was a loud groaning as the ship shifted. A long moment passed and then a great weight was released as the burning glare of atmospheric entry seared the view port before them. It was all Obi-Wan and Anakin could do to keep their eyes open.

"We lost something," Anakin supplied.

Obi-Wan huffed and added, "I hope you can fly half a ship. We won't get medals if the Chancellor arrives in similar shape."

The Chancellor made an awkward squeaking sound at the jape.

He looked over, grinning. "That was worst than that time you mocked Windu, master. Of cours—" Anakin paused, feeling an unnatural deceleration seize upon the section of the cruiser they occupied. He stood and looked out of the viewport. Far to their left and flying in tandem was the small fighter of Rogue One. Narrowing his eyes, he drew upon the Force until he could get a vague look at the pilot. Her arms were outstretched, hands lowered as if cradling a baby.

Or a broken cruiser falling towards the ground.

"What is it?" asked the Chancellor, looking around. "I noticed we decelerated."

Anakin sat and turned to a curious Obi-Wan. "It appears your savior is more powerful than we thought. She's helping to slow our descent."

"Is she now," said Obi-Wan, glancing over. "Oh, we just entered the atmosphere."

Anakin nodded, guiding the cruiser section as it fell towards the surface of Coruscant. Flames still built up around the ship as they carved through the atmosphere, even with the benefit of Rogue One slowing them with the Force.

The fragmented cruiser streaked across the skies of Coruscant, burning and breaking apart as the stresses of the fall exerted upon the durasteel frame and paneling became too much for the bruised, battered ship of a hundred battles. Even as fire ships came about to help put out the flames, Rogue One in her mysterious fighter followed them, drawing upon the Force in order to control their descent.

After a minute of falling and nearly twice as long grinding along the duracrete ground, the cruiser—the front half of the infamous Invisible Hand—came to a rest upon the long starting field of the Coruscanti pod-racer and swoop bike racing course. "Another happy landing," remarked Obi-Wan, running a hand through his auburn hair. Anakin shook his head at his master's antics and looked out towards the Coruscanti skyline as the mystery starfighter broke away, its four engines blazing bright orange, and headed towards where he knew the Jedi Temple lay.

Medical Ward
The Jedi Temple
Galactic City, Coruscant

Jaina scowled at the clone troopers that led her from the hangar of the Jedi Temple towards some unstated location. She also scowled at the manacles slapped upon her wrists the moment she got out of her StealthX. No thank you for helping to fight the Separatists. She wished they were Jedi, concerned and confused by her presence, dragging her before the Council so she could be lectured to for ten minutes as if she were an apprentice still before she'd storm out, itching to fly or fight. Instead, they were walking into a med bay. The Jedi healer glanced at her and told the troopers, "Take her to an Emdee droid. She seems fine to me, though…"

They guided her to a bed, as the healer shook their head at whatever thought they briefly had, and departed once a droid came up and took a quick blood sample. Thanks to the Force, she felt nothing as it drew enough to do whatever tests happened in the time before the New Republic's founding. As she waited, Jaina became certain a different healer kept glancing at her with a confused frown. She looked around, bored, tired, and itching to inspect her StealthX after flying in a kriffing Clone Wars battle. The chamber was white, reminiscent of Clighal's infirmary in the Jedi Temple of her own time, though there were more Jedi healers than she'd ever seen in a single place. She tried to imagine the Calamari healer in the environment around her, yet it didn't seem right.

Perhaps it's best to leave the past in the past and the future in the future. She sighed and wondered, if so, then why am I here? Unless…

Sudden movement. Jaina turned towards it, instincts drawing upon her battle experience. She watched as a few Jedi in robes and armor strode into the ward and spoke with the Jedi healer who had seen her upon being brought in by clone troopers. They spoke in low tones and with odd glances in her direction.

"Is there a problem?" Jaina asked. She had raised her voice as to startle them. They flinched at the sound of her voice, and after another round of whispers, sent one of their fellows over.

Jaina watched him closely during his approach. He means to not appear like a threat. "There were some issues brought up by your blood test results. We were wondering how someone with a midi-chlorian count like yours was never brought to the Temple for training."

"Midi-whats now?" Jaina asked, frowning. "Have I done something wrong?"

The Jedi scowled, though there was a hint of confusion mixed into the furrow of his thick brows. "Midi-chlorians are microscopic organisms responsible for Force-sensitivity. It's how we pick future candidates to become Jedi. Your count is higher than most in the Order."

Jaina's scowl deepen, trying to think if her Uncle Luke had ever suggested there were things like these 'midi-chlorians.' "Sounds fake, but sure, they totally exist. Why does it matter my count is so karkin' high?"

Before the Jedi could continue his tedious tirade, a clone trooper entered the ward and handed her lightsaber to another one of the strangely dressed Jedi. "Found this in her fighter, sir. Thought you should see it." He ignited it. Jaina watched his face and felt herself worried that the violet hum of her lightsaber bothered him before deactivating it.

"Thank you," he said, dismissing the soldier. He walked over, going to the opposite side of Jaina's bed. "Care to explain this?"

"A trophy," she said, shrugging. More and more, Jaina was feeling hesitant about telling these men the truth. It wasn't like they were the Council, after all. "As I asked, why does it matter?"

The Jedi glanced at his fellow and instead muttered, "This might just explain why the genome scan claimed Skywalker as one of her closest biological family members. It doesn't explain the connections to that MIA Corellian freighter nor to Senator Amidala."

Jaina knew exactly how all four individuals (or groups) factored into her genetic pattern. She leaned back onto the bed with only a single word dominating her thoughts.

Fierfek.