As the pair followed the Jedi through the temple, they both took in the opulence of their surroundings. Neither had seen anything like the temple. During the near endless halls and corridors that the pair walked through on their way to the lift that would take them along with their Jedi escorts to the center spire they observed evidence of ancient battles along with priceless art that lined their path. Once the retinue of Jedi led their visitors to the High Council Chamber the Jedi took their seats, while others were already waiting for them, and it was clear that Kallus and Valour were to stand in the middle of the room.

"Now, why don't you explain just who you are and why we are to believe you when you say that you are from the future," Mace Windu started the meeting.

"The fact that you know we are from the future speaks to the fact that you already have been told who we are." Kallus raised a brow at the man. "As for why you should believe us, you don't have to. That is unless you want your arrogance to be the cause of billions of lives either being cut short or ruined. Because in the future that we came from, this council, nor this Order, are still around."

Mace narrowed his eyes at the man. What was it with both of these individuals not knowing how to give the masters their proper due?

"I had hoped that Master Billaba would be joining us for this meeting," Kiara said as she thought back to the fact that the man who seemed to have decided to be the council's spokesman had suggested for the woman to take her padawan elsewhere during the meeting. "I did tell her that my identity could be confirmed."

Another man, this one being a light-skinned human with auburn hair, spoke up as he stroked his beard. "She told us that you are Kiara Dume. However, that is hard to believe to be true since she is only twelve years old and has been confirmed to still be on Lothal. But you said that you are from the future. How is it that you have been able to come to this time if you are who you say you are?"

"Trust me, it wasn't something that we did on our own. We didn't wake up one day and decide to fix the mistakes of the past," Kiara turned to face this man since he treated her with more respect than the one who had first addressed them. "The purrgil are the ones who decided to bring us here."

"The purrgil?" Obi-wan asked. "I've heard of them harassing ships in the past, but this is something new."

"We'd never heard of it, either. One minute we were travelling through hyperspace on a mission and the next we were being pulled out of it and found ourselves waking up in this time period," Kallus snickered as he spoke.

"And you said something about mistakes of the past as well as mentioned that in your future, this council doesn't exist. Could you explain what happened?"

Kiara glanced around the room and instantly liked this master more than the first one. He gave off a much more friendlier vibe.

"I should preface this with the fact that anything that you hear here today must not be shared with anyone, at least not until a plan has been devised on how best to go forward." Kiara saw that most of the council were intrigued but the first Jedi looked at her with indignation. Was he always so arrogant? "Especially not with anyone from the current government."

That then had the eyes of the friendlier Jedi to take on a suspicious look to them. Still, it was the darker-skinned Jedi who spoke up first.

"Our loyalties are to the Republic. Yet you are asking us to-"

"I beg your pardon. However, I was under the impression that the loyalties of the Jedi Order were to the Will of the Force. Governments rise and fall. Usually due to the corruptness of their leaders and officials." Kiara didn't mean to glare, but she did. "And the current government has been corrupted. If you weren't so unbalanced in the force, then perhaps you would have been able to have detected that before it got to the level that it has. And if you speak out of turn too fast then it will only cause the disasters that took place in our timeline to occur much faster."

"And you know this because-"

"Because we've lived with the consequences of this council's lack of awareness." Kiara crossed her arms and once more found herself in a starring contest with the man.

"In our time, the Sith has taken over the government and has had the Jedi hunted down to near extinction." Kallus added as he saw once more the youngest of the council was smirking. "We can only assume that our presence here now means that it is the Will of the Force for the events that we lived through to be altered. But if you'd rather have the Republic replaced with a tyrannical empire, then by all means, ignore our warnings. Because that is what will happen to your precious Republic in only a matter of months from now unless things are changed."

On one of the strange chairs a green individual of small stature held up a hand which caused all of the Jedi to quieten and wait for the man to speak up. When he did, both Kiara and Alex found his odd way of speaking to be intriguing.

"Our visitors speak, let us. Our minds on what it is that they have to say, we will then make."

Mace nodded as he spoke up, "Very well. Tell us what you claim to know about what will bring about the destruction of both the Republic as well as the Jedi Order."

Kiara swallowed before she started, "Okay, how much about the creation of the Clone Army do you know?"

That took Obi-wan by surprise since he wasn't sure what one could have to do with the other. "What do you know about it?"

"Right," Kiara sighed. "You don't want to reveal more than you think I might already know." She exchanged a glance with Alex who shrugged at him. She thought back to what both Rex and Kanan had told her before she started. "From what I've learned from both my brother as well as a couple of clone survivors whom we've worked with-"

"Clone survivors?" The younger member on the council looked distressed as the term. "What do you mean?"

"There are even fewer clones around than Jedi in our time," Kallus explained. "Both thanks to their accelerated aging as well as the fact that the Empire worked tirelessly to replace them as quickly as they could after their inhibitor chips were activated. I figured, looking back, that the emperor didn't want the same chips that caused the clones to be turned into weapons against the Jedi to then be turned against him. Though our friend is a first-generation clone. So that means that he's had quite a bit of experience and I find him to be a highly reliable source."

Anakin's eyes widened at the reference of the inhibitor chips. He'd heard about them once before. When Fives was brought back from Kamino he was going on about them when they had to hunt him down. But he'd been hysterical. He'd been convinced that it was the result of a man who was ill from the same virus that had caused Tup to turn on his Jedi general. He looked over at Obi-wan and saw that he was surprised to hear about the chips as well.

"We were told that the inhibitor chips were to prevent the clones from becoming violent thanks to the source for their DNA," Obi-wan said as he leaned back and prepared to hear more of what this pair had to say.

"Told that by whom? The same people who created them, I presume," Kallus snickered. "Do you really think that if they had an ulterior purpose that they would tell you?"

"I suppose not," Obi-wan said simply.

"Such inhibitor chips were a wise precaution," Mace insisted. "Jango Fett was a violent man wh-"

"Who was chosen to be the source for the clone DNA because he was known as being able to kill Jedi with his bare hands, from what I gather." It was now Kallus's turn to stare down the dark-skinned Jedi. "Ever care to wonder why it was he who was chosen to be the source for the genetic material? What were the criteria that was looked for? Who were the ones to choose that man to be the face of the Army of the Grand Republic?"

"Alex," Kiara said softly to get him to tone it down just a little. They weren't going to get through to anyone if they went on the defensive. She then turned toward the Jedi sitting in a circle around them. "The friend of ours, a clone, told us about the chips. He removed his and told us that he didn't fulfill the order when it was given. But the chips were designed, from the beginning, to program the clones. Many of the orders they would obey subconsciously without being told to. Others, these contingency orders on the other hand, must actually be vocalized to activate them. Most of them required multiple steps for activation. But not one. That order is Order Sixty-Six. To force them to kill the Jedi when the Sith Lord gives the order. To cause them to believe that the Jedi had betrayed them and the Republic."

Obi-wan exchanged looks with several other Jedi. He thought back to his discovery of Darth Tyranus and his role in the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic. The pair here didn't seem to have all of the pieces of the puzzle, but they did have pieces that the Order hadn't had up until now.

Kallus watched on as the various thoughts showed on the faces of the Jedi. "Answer me this. If you were to decide to do so, what would be the most strategic way to kill the Jedi?"

"My men would never kill me," the younger Jedi on the council insisted.

"Perhaps not. But from what our friends told me, not every clone had the kind of generals that they had. Our friend has told us many stories and he seemed to practically idolize his, from the way he goes on about his general. But he's also told us of some Jedi who treated the clones as if they were little more than biological droids. For those clones, if they were told to kill their Jedi generals, they likely wouldn't hesitate." Kallus saw the recognition of what he said was true. In fact, he wondered if any of those present were known to treat the men under their command as he'd described.

Anakin's brows creased as he thought about some of the other Jedi who didn't look at the clones as if they were men. And there were many Jedi who were poor generals. He swallowed hard. Yes, he supposed that if someone wanted to kill the Jedi that using the clones who surrounded them in battle would be very effective. While the Jedi were focused on a battle in front of them their clones would be all around them and could strike down the force user before they even knew something was wrong.

Anakin thought back to another comment that the woman had said. One that may be a bit off topic, but it called to him anyway, so he turned to her. "You spoke of the Jedi being out of balance. How do you know of this?"

Kiara let out a soft laugh but quickly covered it up. She hadn't expected anyone to call her out on that comment so quickly. "When one ignores half of the ancient teachings of those who came before regarding the force then of course there will be an imbalance. The ancient force users, not just the Kwa whom I studied the teachings of but the Je'daii as well, taught that going too far to one side or the other is dangerous. That isn't just directed to the dark side but the light, as well. Because one can become blinded by either."

"That is enough," Mace demanded. "The Jedi are no threat. The Sith, however, are."

"If the imbalance within the force causes the Jedi to become blind to the workings of the Sith, then I'd argue that is just as dangerous. Especially when the rest of the galaxy are who will pay the ultimate price for such hubris," Kallus said with a brow raised. The look on the man's face was priceless as he tried to refute the logic of his statement. What was it about this darker-skinned Jedi that made him want to argue with him?

Anakin listened and considered what both of the strangers said. He nodded as he leaned back into his chair. After all, the very fact that there was a prophecy regarding bringing back balance to the force meant that the Jedi acknowledged that they were unbalanced. He looked over at Master Windu and saw that he was about to argue with the strangers again, but Master Yoda raised a hand once more.

"What I have suspected for quite some time, our guests only say. Suffered from our imbalance, the Jedi have. Due to this, able to rise with impunity, the Sith were. Now, return to the issue of the inhibitor chips, let us."

Another master, a Togruta who wasn't actually present but was joining the meeting through a holographic transmission, spoke up. "I can try to learn more about the chips here on Kamino but it would run the risk of tipping off the Kaminoans if they are indeed involved with this plot that our new friends have told us about. After the incident with Fives and Tup, their chips were lost, and likely destroyed. Especially if there is a plot like the ones that we are now being told about."

Obi-wan nodded. "Be sure to be careful. We do not want to tip our hand too quickly. Though, it would help if we knew who this Sith Lord is."

Kallus and Valour both exchanged a look when they saw the Jedi look at them expectantly. Kiara took a deep breath and released it before she spoke. "You mean Emperor Palpatine."

"The Chancellor?! There is no way that the chancellor would be a Sith," Anakin said with a tinge of anger. "He has been nothing but kind to me."

"Let's hear them out, Anakin," Obi-wan calmed his former padawan. "Yes, he has been kind to you, but he has often shown himself to be... different when you aren't around. I've often had my suspicions over the years."

Kallus spoke up, next, "We were taught in our schools that the Empire set up to train their officers that the emperor faced an assassination attempt from the Jedi. That was the story that he used to justify his hunting down of every last Jedi. Clearly, it was all a ruse to gain sympathy from the senate. Though, once he declared himself Emperor the senate lost all of its real power. In our time, it had been disbanded just before the emperor ordered a massive super weapon to destroy Alderaan as a way to show his power to the rest of the galaxy. Hoping that it would stamp out the dissidents who had formed a rebellion to fight against him and his Empire."

Obi-wan absorbed the man's words, especially the fact that apparently this Empire was willing to destroy an entire peaceful planet, before asking, "I assume that it is safe to say that you two are members of that rebellion."

"We weren't always," Kiara said before Kallus spoke once more.

"I'm ashamed to say that I once bought into the Imperial propaganda. I was an Imperial officer who actually was assigned to help maintain the emperor's version of order. It took too many years for me to realize what kind of a tyrannical government that I was supporting. But, yes, I did eventually join the Rebellion."

The Jedi Grand Master looked to be deep in thought as Mace once more spoke up. "I still find it difficult to believe the words of these strangers that the future is as dire as they claim. How do we know that they truly are as they say? This could be a trick of the Sith to get us to commit treason toward the Republic, and the Chancellor."

"Make an interesting point, you do, Master Windu. One way we could be assured, there is, with the permission of our new friends."

"What do you need of us?" Kiara asked.

"Us to go into your minds, to see your memories for ourselves we could be assured of your honesty, if you would allow."

Kiara exchanged a look with Alex before they both nodded. If this is what it would take, then they didn't really see any other choice.

The pair remained still and did their best to clear their minds as the Jedi around them used their force abilities to focus on their thoughts. Kallus thought about his conversations with the clones in the rebellion and what they had told him over the last couple of years. When he looked around the room, he saw a mixture of emotions on the faces of the Jedi. He hoped that this invasion into his thoughts would convince the men and women around him and help them know that they needed to act to change the events that would lead up to the creation of the Empire.