Rise of the Phoenix

by Elfwarrior96

What if Skywalker wasn't the Chosen One? What if there was another maintaining the balance in the Force by whatever means necessary, protected by an order and a Jedi willing to die for them? What if that person came to restore the balance and revealed truths about the galaxy that had been ignored and forgotten by the Jedi for so long? Can they succeed? Or will they all fall?

31. 30: Revelations

A/N: Hi everyone! So here's the next original chapter I wrote, and I hope you like it. A lot is going on here, and we're meeting even more new characters, and I hope you like them. I certainly enjoyed creating them. The next chapter is written, but it's a bit long and needs to be reviewed a few times before I post it. But for now, please enjoy this chapter, and I hope to see you again soon.

Please read, review, and enjoy!

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Having realized Kit Fisto was working with the half-Nautolan, Captain Tarkin detained him after figuring out the Jedi Master had also taken a Jedi youngling named Grogu from the Temple. But before he could truly interrogate Kit, a team led by the half-Nautolan infiltrated the ship and retrieved Kit. The half-Nautolan, whose name has been revealed to be Seeker, and Ventress, are working together along with clones that have deserted the Republic. During his escape, Kit Fisto was attacked and wounded by Captain Tarkin. Now Seeker and Ventress race through hyperspace to get him aid, unaware their every move will be watched….

An hour had passed since the space battle had started, and it was finally finished. The arrival of more Republic cruisers had forced the Separatists to retreat, leaving the Jedi to regroup and turn their attention back to Seeker and where she had gone with Kit. They had been forced to pay attention to the battle, but now that it was over, they were able to turn their attention back to the fact the half-Nautolan and Kit were working together and that Ventress seemed to be a friend of both of them.

"I don't understand how this could have happened without us knowing about it," Obi-Wan said softly as they looked at a still hologram of Seeker, Ventress, and an unconscious Kit on the holotable, "How and where was Kit attacked by a Sith? And how is it possible for us to not know about all that has happened on Glee Anselm with his people if Seeker is telling the truth? Surely someone leaving Glee Anselm would have said something?" turning to the others gathered there.

"It was a long time ago, Master Kenobi," Mace said quietly, "Perhaps the king and queen of Glee Anselm were hoping for it all to fade from memory. And it likely has, except in the memories of those that have lived long enough to tell the story. We need to focus on finding Master Fisto and Seeker, and learning what this is all about."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly while the other Jedi gathered around murmured amongst themselves. The Council was there, as was the chancellor and Dr. Boll via hologram. Captain Thrawn was there in person, his fleet having come as reinforcements. He and Tarkin were huddled together with a datapad, typing away and working on something. After a few minutes, Thrawn nodded and stepped forward, nodding his head respectfully to the chancellor and the Jedi before saying slowly and calmly as was his way, "We may have a way to have a live feed back into the Ghost."

That caught everyone's interest, and the chancellor asked, "How do you plan on that, Captain?"

Thrawn tapped a few buttons on the holotable as he explained, "We have interfaced the bug in General Fisto's lightsaber with his droid, R6-H5. As long as the two are in range of each other, we can see what is happening. Unfortunately, we can't track the signal or see where it is coming from, but it is something. We can also use R6 as a spy to see what he sees, but again, it is limited to everything in his normal range. And there is the issue that if R6 is turned off or the bug is discovered, we could lose the feed altogether. But the bug in General Fisto's lightsaber will still record when it is out of range of R6, so we can see what it has recorded when it is back in range," standing straight as the feed was brought back and the common room of the Ghost was again visible.

Nothing much had changed: Kit still lay on the stretcher, unconscious, Seeker sitting by his right side keeping a close eye on the knife, and Ventress was leaning against the wall now and tapping her head against it as she waited. Seeing her so calm and quiet, the Jedi were surprised; usually, Ventress was someone that had a lot of rage and anger built up inside of her, but now she seemed relaxed and settled, like she was at peace with herself.

Seeker moving caught their attention, and they watched as she rested her hand at the pulse point at Kit's neck, concentrating on it for a few moments before shaking her head and sitting back. Looking down the hall nearby, it looked like she had made eye contact with someone, and a few seconds later, Kailan appeared and sat down near his brother. He was still silent as Seeker put the needle back in his arm and gave his brother more blood, and after five minutes she stopped, and Kailan sat down on the couch near the holochess table. It was pretty quiet and a little unnerving for the Jedi as the minutes passed, but then Ventress raised her head and asked, "We just left hyperspace, again. Are we there yet?"

Seeker smiled slightly and shook her head before turning to look at Ventress, "No, we aren't. But protocol for going to Home Base is to make multiple jumps and go by indirect routes so that no one can find us. It keeps the base hidden and makes it harder for anyone to follow us. A few jumps to dead space, a few more to random parts of the galaxy, and we're there. Keeps everything a bit safer. There are children where we're going after all, and if it was found, Home Base would be destroyed, likely with them inside. The Monarchy would make sure of that," she turned to Kailan then and asked, "Spitz does know to make as few jumps as possible, right? We don't really have time for his lightspeed skipping habit."

Kailan nodded while the Jedi looked at each other, knowing how dangerous lightspeed skipping was and that not even Anakin would attempt it, even though the young Jedi did look interested in the idea. But the interest went away as Seeker again turned to Ventress and said, "When we get to Home Base, every doctor and medical droid we have will rush in here. When that happens, get out of the way or get trampled. They won't be interested in stopping or going around you."

Ventress nodded, and they lapsed into silence again for a few minutes before Ventress suddenly asked, "How many of their people are left?" nodding at Kit and Kailan, who had looked as though he had fallen asleep since his eyes were closed and his breathing was deep and even.

Seeker froze for a moment before saying, "Not as much as you would think, but more than the Monarchy wants to survive," she turned to Ventress then, "The Monarchy wants to wipe out not just the Fisto family, but also the entire clan. As long as the clan survives, they are proof of what the Monarchy has done because there are many alive now that remember what happened 9,000 years ago and in the subsequent years that can provide testimony and get the current king and queen forced out of power. When that happens, their mother could take her rightful place as ruler of the planet, but I doubt that will happen. The days of the Fisto reign ended a long time ago."

She turned back around and was silent, and Ventress respected her silence and didn't ask any more questions. The next half-hour passed that way until finally, Seeker raised her head and said, "We're here," standing up along with Kailan as Ventress moved to the hallway that led to the bridge to be out of the way.

What happened next was quite a bit of chaos as droids and medics flooded the room; among them the Nautolan Seeker had called Tristan. He peeled back the bandages around the knife for a few seconds to take a look but instantly put them back in place as two droids held the stretcher ends and another held the machine breathing for Kit. He turned to Seeker and said, "We'll get him prepped while you get ready. We'll see you there," before directing the droids and medics to carry the stretcher off the ship.

As this was happening, Seeker was approached by a droid who waited patiently for instructions. They came soon enough as she said, "Restock my packs, please. Right away."

"Yes, mistress," the droid said calmly before picking up Kit's ruined robes. He held them gently, asking, "Would you like me to destroy these? They seem to be ruined."

The Jedi watching were curious to see what she would do since Kit wasn't there to give his opinion on the subject and were somewhat surprised when she said, "No, give them to Kalana. If anyone can fix them, she can. She will know whose they are and will do everything she can. I need to go," leaving the ship and not seeing the droid as it nodded to her and began packing up her medpacs to begin restocking them.

The half-Nautolan left the ship then with R6 and Ventress right on her heels, and it was then that Thrawn said, "We are able to control R6 and direct him where we want him to go, but that is all we can do. The signal isn't strong enough to track, and it seems there are protections in place wherever they are to make sure trackable signals don't get out. I'm afraid this is the best we can do," he turned to the chancellor, "Whoever these people are, they certainly have taken quite a few precautions to ensure they aren't found."

Palpatine nodded, but his attention was soon back on the holotable as they watched Seeker and Ventress stop outside the ship for a brief moment before running through what looked like a hangar and heading down a long hallway. Seeker clearly knew where she was going because she didn't stop once and soon arrived at a hallway connected to the hangar with rooms on each side. There was some commotion coming from the first room on the left, but before she could go in, a voice called behind them and she turned. She clearly knew who it was because she turned to Ventress and said, "Go inside, Ventress, I'll be there in a moment," seeing the way Ventress was looking at her with concern and what might have been fear, Seeker said quietly, "It'll be alright, Ventress. This is something I need to do."

Ventress nodded slowly when she heard that and went inside, leaving the half-Nautolan to start walking back the way she came, where eventually six male Nautolans came into view. Seeing them, it was clear from the start that these were a few of Kit's brothers. They had similar features to him, were just as tall and strong, and carried themselves with quiet pride and dignity. Seeing them, the Jedi could see that they were all armed, with a strange rifle looped over each of their shoulders and various blasters and things in holsters on their hips. One strange thing was that they all had metal bands wrapped around one of their head-tentacles, and they looked to be different colors. It was hard to see what three of the colors were, but the other was clearly black. Each of the brothers had different amounts of each type of band around the tentacle, but nothing was said about it and it seemed normal to them. Seeker had reached them by then, and they all looked at her before one asked in a deep voice with a thicker accent than Kit's, "Tristan told us to hang close after our patrol and said you would explain when you got here. He said you were coming in fast and that there was something wrong. What happened? Did something go wrong when you went to retrieve Kit?"

Hearing that Kit's extraction had actually been planned caused the Jedi to realize there was even more going on here than they realized, but they turned their attention back to Seeker and the brothers as Seeker said softly, "Yes, something did go wrong."

The brother that had been speaking stared at her before asking quietly, "Who?"

Seeker only looked at him before looking away, unable to voice the answer. Still, the brothers seemed to know who it was that was hurt right away, with one of them gripping the shoulder of another. At the same time, another appeared to have a bit more volatile of a temper lashed out and punched the wall, actually leaving an indentation in the metal from his fist, surprising the Jedi at his outburst and the strength he had. The one that had been doing all the talking up to that point looked behind Seeker then and said, "Tristan needs you, but we need to know what you need from us. Anything we can do, you just have to ask."

Seeker nodded before saying, "I need you to get all your brothers here, now. Those of you that can donate blood have to do so immediately, and tell the others as they come in to do so as well," four of the brothers immediately nodded and walked past her to do so. She continued, "You two need to coordinate getting the rest of your brothers here and then keep Kailan company. He's not coping very well with this," sympathy in her eyes and voice as she said this. The two brothers that were left nodded before turning away to get in contact with their brothers.

Before they left, the one that had done all the talking turned back and asked, "Should we let her know what is going on? Our mother already knows something's wrong, I would bet my life on that and is on her way, but should we let her know?"

Seeker nodded immediately, "She probably already knows, but let her know we are doing everything we can. It won't be enough for her, but it should slow her down long enough for us to get started," leaving the Jedi wondering who they were talking about.

The brothers left, and Seeker was able to leave as well, heading for the room all the noise had been coming from. She entered, climbing down a couple steps, revealing a large medical room with two beds along the right wall. On the left side was another door at the far end that looked like it led into an office of some kind, and there were a few chairs and a table along that wall as well. The far wall had several large floor-to-ceiling windows, but it was clear the image outside of them wasn't real and they were programmed to show different scenes. A bookshelf stood against the left wall beyond the door. Beyond the beds was another door that was out of range of the bug; therefore, the Jedi couldn't see what was inside, but it seemed to lead deeper into the medical center. Nor could they really see what was happening in the room either; it was chaotic but looked like controlled chaos.

But the half-Nautolan seemed to know because she looked at Tristan. He looked up from what he was doing and said, "He'll be ready by the time you are. We'll meet you inside," nodding at the door to the right that went deeper into the medical rooms before turning back to where he was gently pressing on Kit's stomach with his hands and looking more carefully at how the knife had gone into his body. Other medics were getting more IVs into Kit and giving him more drugs while one was getting his boots off.

Seeker only nodded and left, glancing at where Kailan and Ventress sat on the other bed and stayed out of the medics' way and looking curiously at R6 who was standing silently next to the steps, heading down the hallway once more before arriving at a small room a few doors down. She entered quickly and shut the door behind her, going to the wall opposite the door lined with cubbies. Those cubbies had clothes hangers hanging from rods at the top, and surgical scrubs were folded at the bottom of each. Seeker immediately headed for one near the center, removing her utility belt as she did so. That hung up on the rod, the two lightsabers clinking against each other gently as she reached down and quickly removed her boots. Her skirt and trousers went next and were replaced by the scrub pants, which fit snugly on her, and then surgical shoes were placed on her feet. Her comlink, bracelet, gloves, and arm wraps followed as well, all going in a smaller cubby at the top, but her necklace stayed.

Her hair was lying across her chest throughout all of this and was half braided as usual, which was a good thing because her top wrapped around her neck and back, and there was nothing else. That was removed as well, those watching looking away to give her some privacy, and so they missed it as she only put a wrap around her chest and then put a scrub shirt on. Finally, her hair was taken and twisted into a knot, which a tie kept in place. A surgical cap went on over it to keep it out of her eyes before she turned to a nearby sink to wash the blood off her hands before returning to the cubby, and then she was ready.

Almost.

She stood there for several minutes, just staring at what she had been wearing before, before suddenly leaning forward, her head in her hands and her elbows on the wall, just taking a few minutes to center herself and get herself ready for what she was about to do.

Seeing this, Yoda narrowed his eyes, wondering if she really was capable of doing the task she had set for herself. But there was no way to second guess her as she suddenly took a deep breath and let it out before suddenly standing straight and rolling her neck a bit, letting the bones crack and snap before running her hands over her face and shutting her eyes. They opened moments later, and any hesitation was gone, replaced by determination and confidence in herself. She stepped away from the cubbies then and opened a door to the right of them, shutting it behind her and leaving the Jedi staring at the empty room. Mace turned to Thrawn then, and the Chiss said quietly, "We can switch to see what R6 is seeing for a few minutes and then switch back."

Mace nodded, and the image changed to the room where R6 was. It was the same room as before, with Kailan and Ventress sitting on the bed. Kailan was sitting there with his arms wrapped around his legs and his chin on his knees, waiting and watching the door that apparently led to the operating room. Kit and the medics and doctors were gone, the droids all that remained, cleaning up the blood on the ground and getting the room ready for another patient. Ventress was leaning against the pillows and headboard, her arms around her legs as they waited for news.

All that hadn't changed, but what had changed was there were a few more Nautolans in the room than before. Six of them were the brothers from before, and of those six, four were with the droids giving what blood they could, while the other two were just leaning against the wall and clearly looking like they wished there was more they could do.

But there wasn't, so they were reduced to waiting, which didn't sit well with them. A few minutes later, another Nautolan entered the room, similar in appearance, and looked around before walking over and checking on Kailan, who didn't seem to care he was there. This new Nautolan only gripped his shoulder for a few moments before finding a place for himself to sit, clearly planning to wait for news as well. Just as he was settling, six more Nautolans came, but only two entered the room and settled. One of them headed for the droids as he rolled up his sleeve and was soon giving as much of his blood as he could also.

Seeing this, Saessee Tiin commented softly, "Their commitment to each other certainly is sincere, and rather touching. They aren't even hesitating to give what they can, even if it is just blood. Perhaps Seeker was right about the bonds between them. Even though there is a powerful bond between Kit and his twin, the bonds between these brothers seem just as deep and as strong. It makes you wonder what must have happened to them to cause those bonds to be so powerful."

"And what they will be willing to do to protect their own," Master Mundi added, "I can't help but wonder what is going to happen when they figure out what happened on this ship."

Tarkin only glanced at him and said nothing, and they watched as a couple more Nautolans arrived. One of them entered the room while the other kept walking, and Anakin said, "If these brothers spend their time being hunted and having to rely on skill and fighting to survive, how much do you want to bet those not entering the room are bodyguards? They're all armed to the teeth, literally; it wouldn't surprise me if that's the case."

"And those brothers seem capable," Luminara said as she watched them closely, "They are likely even more skilled than those protecting them," she looked up then, "We will have to be cautious if we ever run into any of them."

Nods and murmuring were seen and heard all around, and then Thrawn said softly, "I'm going to switch back to the other room and see what is happening there. Maybe there is a way to see into the operating room and see what is going on."

He switched the views, and the Jedi could see that nothing had changed and Seeker's clothing still hung where she had left it. As Thrawn got to work on getting past whatever interference was stopping the bug from transmitting beyond into the operating room, the door to the hallway opened suddenly. A small girl entered, resting a hand on the doorway as she looked around carefully, looking for anyone that would stop her and apparently having snuck away from wherever she was supposed to be.

Seeing no one, she entered even more, and the Jedi were surprised to see her eyes and facial features were Nautolan, and she had gill plates on both sides of her head. She had long, dark hair that looked a bit tangled and was rather wet, revealing she had likely just been swimming and was a half-Nautolan. As they watched, her large eyes scanned the room before seeing Seeker's clothing hanging in one of the cubbies, and her eyes lit up as she ran into the room. Even though she was rather small, she jumped into the cubby easily, jumping again to reach up and grab Kit's lightsaber before jumping down and running out of the room with it. She turned left, clearly planning to head deeper into the base, but before she had gone far, a deep voice called out and she turned to see who it was.

Her face lit up even more, and she called out happily before running fast and leaping into the arms of another Nautolan that had kneeled down and was also clearly one of Kit's brothers, the two with him smiling at each other as they kept walking. He smiled, and his smile was Kit's as he hugged her close, speaking to her in a strange language for a few moments. She stopped hugging him then and held out the lightsaber, talking even more. After a few minutes of quiet listening, the Nautolan smiled again and held out his hand. She gave him the lightsaber readily, and the Jedi breathed soft sighs of relief when she did that.

She could have gotten seriously hurt if she had accidentally activated it.

After a few more moments, the girl clearly ran out of things to say, and that was when Kit's brother sent her on her way and she charged away at full speed without a second look back. Kit's brother only shook his head as he stood up and started heading into the room, and Threepio said quietly to Anakin, "I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I don't know that language at all. It is not anywhere in my memory banks."

"How is that possible?" Anakin asked, to which Threepio replied, "There are languages that are forbidden for protocol droids to be programmed for. Perhaps this is one of them?"

Before the Jedi could speculate on this idea, Kit's brother had entered the room with the lightsaber, which he casually tossed to one of his brothers, who caught it one-handed. He said, with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes now that the girl was gone, "One of the children was taking Kit's lightsaber to go play with. I convinced her to chase a few butterflies instead and then go for a swim."

A few of the brothers actually snorted at that, and one of them chuckled slightly, but they all quieted down almost immediately and resumed waiting somberly for news. They tossed Kit's lightsaber between them halfheartedly for a few minutes, but that game died down when one of them tossed it to Kailan and it bounced off his knee and fell to the ground, he making no effort to catch it. Seeing this, the one that had taken it from the girl stood up and walked over, getting down on one knee to pick it up and turned to Kailan, saying quietly, "The promise isn't broken until he's gone. Don't give up on him just yet; he's never given up on you, and that shouldn't start now," holding Kit's lightsaber out to his twin.

Kailan stayed silent as he stared at it, and the Jedi were left wondering what promise they were talking about but weren't given time to think about it as Kailan finally reached out and took his brother's lightsaber, holding it close and going back to staring at the operating room door.

A few minutes later, another of the brothers arrived, and the Jedi instantly didn't like the look of him. Something about him was just….off, and he looked like a whirlwind of negative energy and anger. Even with the blue tint from the hologram, it was easy to see there was a circle of some kind around his left eye, and he looked more armed than his brothers. He looked around at his brothers before seeing Kailan sitting on the bed and looking dejected and quickly made the connection. He headed straight for the operating room door, and none of his brothers tried to stop him, even though they exchanged amused glances as he walked past them.

"Aren't they going to stop him?" Anakin suddenly asked, but then the operating room door opened, and a human woman stepped out. She was short and a bit heavy-set, her dark hair and skin contrasting with her bright blue eyes. She stood in the doorway, using every inch of herself to block the door, and the Nautolan stopped short when he saw her. She was dressed in surgical scrubs and a gown, and her mask was off and hanging from her neck. A surgical cap kept her hair out of the way, and she was pulling gloves off as she glared at him. She stood there after getting the gloves off, arms crossed and clearly not intimidated as she asked, "What….do….you….think….you….are….doing?" her voice sharp and severe, clearly daring the Nautolan in front of her to try and challenge her.

He did, surprising the Jedi when he said, "I want to know what's going on and how he's doing. Please, Krista," almost sounding like he was begging.

Krista only narrowed her eyes and said quietly, "You want to know how he's doing? Are you sure you don't want to breathe down anyone's neck while you're in there and cause problems? It wouldn't surprise me if you did."

The Nautolan seemed to deflate then, and the Jedi were surprised to see the anger leave him as he looked at the woman stopping him from checking on his brother, eyes wide and almost begging as he said quietly, "He's my brother," as if that explained everything.

Krista was clearly not as impressed as the Jedi, or had seen this display before, because she only said, "Yes, he's your brother. And your brother is currently naked and cut open with his insides on full display right now. And even though he's unconscious, he's probably scared out of his mind. Seeker and Tristan don't need you in there distracting them while they're trying to save his life."

With that, and not giving the brothers any chance to stop her or try and convince her to do anything, she turned around and headed back into the operating room, saying, "If one of you even breathes in the direction of this door, I will tell your mother, and she will eat you for lunch, understood?"

Barely giving them the time to agree, she shut the door behind her and locked it, leaving one of the brothers to say, "I think she's getting wiser to our ways and wiles, brothers. We may need to think more creatively next time," he raised an eye-ridge then, "Not that it will do you much good, brother," addressing the one that had tried to get into the operating room, "You're about as creative as a rock. And three times as blunt."

His brother only glared at him but didn't say anything, apparently honest enough to acknowledge his faults, and it was relatively quiet in the room for the next half hour or so. The brothers settled a bit more, a few leaving at a time to relieve themselves of a few of their weapons and coming back with a few more brothers than they had left with, and soon it looked like all of them were there. They were all dressed similarly in tunics and trousers and heavily armed, with tough boots and a few of them wearing overcoats, and they all had those metal bands around one of their head-tentacles.

Freezing the image for a moment and counting, Thrawn said quietly, "There are currently fifteen there. Counting Master Fisto, that is sixteen, so there are two missing. I wonder where they are?" before unfreezing the image and allowing the holovideo to catch up and reveal that the brothers were still waiting. Looking them all over, the Jedi were surprised to see how different they all seemed. With the blue tint of the hologram, it was impossible to see their skin color, but there were even more differences between them all.

A few of them were more laid-back and calmer, sitting and resting their heads against the wall as they waited or cleaning their weapons or taking care of business on datapads, while a few were more high-strung and active, pacing and standing around as they waited for news. One of the ones standing near a window was missing an eye, and two seemed glued at the hip, unwilling to leave each other's side. Kailan wasn't paying attention to any of them, but that changed when another entered the room, and there was something about this one that said he was in charge. It was just something about how he carried himself that said he was older than the others and expected to be obeyed.

He could even have been their father for all the Jedi knew.

The blue tint of the hologram wasn't doing his skin any favors, and it made his skin look white, but that couldn't be right. His eyes were also strange, but that might have been the hologram as well. He had a walking stick but didn't seem to need it as he entered the room and looked around. He also was armed with the strange rifle all the brothers had, and he took it off and leaned it against the wall before turning to one of his brothers and asking, "What happened? The message only said to come here as quickly as possible," his voice soft and deep like a few of his brothers. The others had voices that were slightly higher-pitched but still smooth and accented.

The one he had addressed said, with an accent thicker than Seeker's but his Basic was flawless, "We're not entirely sure. We all got the same message and arrived to find out that Kit had been hurt when Seeker, Ventress, and Kailan went to retrieve him from the Republic cruiser. There wasn't a chance to learn anything more before they rushed him into surgery. We're just waiting for news and giving blood when they ask for it. At least, those of us who can. The rest of us are just frustrated we can't do anything but wait," clearly upset as he said this and looking a bit irritated that there was nothing he could do for his brother.

His brother nodded slowly before looking around and seeing Kailan. He went over and sat next to him for a moment, holding him close for a few minutes before standing up and walking over to the operating room door, leaning against the wall and holding his stick out in front of him to make it clear he would stop any of them from going in there. The one-eyed brother snorted when he saw that and said, "A day late and a credit short, brother. Krista already threatened us with dismemberment if we even looked in that direction."

At that moment, the last and final brother arrived, saying quietly as he entered, "I found Mithrol. He won't be going anywhere anytime soon, and we can decide what to do with him later. What do you need from me?" turning to the medical droid standing nearby.

"A liter of blood, sir," the medical droid said, and the brother nodded as he walked over, rolling up his sleeve as he did so. Before he could sit down and the droid could start, a cloaked and hooded being entered the room, and everyone there seemed to stand and sit up a bit straighter, staring at this person intently.

Even Ventress looked at them but also as though she wanted to run away and hide somewhere in a corner.

After a few seconds, this person reached up and pulled back their hood, revealing a female Nautolan. She held herself proudly and with quiet dignity, and her features seemed warm and familiar. The slight lines around her mouth indicated she liked to smile and laugh, and her head-tentacles went down her back and were mottled with spots. She was thin but also looked strong, taller than the brothers, and regarded them with affection and warmth. But there was something else there, quiet grief and longing that spoke of long, hard years and challenging times, and her eyes were deep-set and wise. But there was a light in them that spoke of youth and vitality; it was clear she loved living and found joy in it.

Mace and Yoda looked at each other while Aayla said quietly, "Kit's mother," the Jedi agreeing as they saw her features in different parts of her son's features and how they all looked at her with absolute love and affection.

Despite having never met or seen her before, the Jedi knew who she was.

The Nautolan woman looked around slowly at all her sons, checking them all carefully for any injury, but then her eyes found Kailan. Seeing how he was sitting and holding himself, she instantly knew something was wrong, turning to the one with the walking stick, who shook his head and said something in their language Threepio still didn't understand, to his great frustration.

Kit's mother only listened before turning to Kailan, walking over to him, and sitting next to him. She gently pulled him into her arms, holding him close against her chest so he could hear her hearts beat, and he closed his eyes as he listened. She closed her eyes then and kept holding him. After a few minutes, she looked at her sons gathered around before asking, "What happened?" surprising the Jedi again with her warm voice that still had some authority to it, making them realize this was a woman that expected to be obeyed when she spoke.

That became clear when the brother that had confronted Krista said, "We don't know. All we know is that Kit was attacked when trying to get away from the Republic and the only ones who know what happened are Kailan and that one," nodding at Ventress, who tried to make herself smaller as Kit's mother turned to look at her. The brother continued, "She hasn't said anything since she came here, and I'd like to know why. Dooku cut out your tongue when he was training you?"

Ventress again tried to make herself smaller, fear in every line in her body, but before things could deteriorate even more, two of the brothers separated themselves from the group and went to stand protectively in front of her. Four more joined them, and their mother said, "What happened is not her fault, child. And I would remind you that she has my protection. If she had decided to wait for me to arrive, it would make sense that she hadn't told the entire story yet. Or perhaps she is waiting for Seeker to finish saving your brother's life and tell the story then?" somehow saying all this without letting go of Kailan, who was clearly blocking everything out and just waiting for whatever came next.

Her sons settled after that, and it was quiet for a few moments before the one with the walking stick asked, "Should we get him? He'll want to be here."

His mother looked at him, thinking for a few minutes before saying, "Yes, but wait for the surgeons to have news. He will want to know what is going on during the journey here, wherever he is coming from. Let's let the surgeons do their work without feeling pressure."

She was quiet after that, and her sons settled down as well, leaving the Jedi to wonder what would happen next and who they were talking about now.

And how long it would be until they had news.

---

The wait turned out to be a long one, eighteen hours long to be precise. During that time, the Jedi had the hologram moved to another room to free up the holotable and took turns waiting and watching the feed. Kit's brothers and mother didn't leave at all, even though a few of them did fall asleep waiting. Clearly, they had journeyed fast to get there and were exhausted from the journey.

The Jedi passed the time either watching, meditating, or talking quietly about what it all could mean. Just as the wait neared the nineteen-hour mark, the operating room door finally opened. Seeker came out, throwing her blood-stained surgical gown into a nearby bin and her used mask and gloves. She ran a hand over her eyes before pressing it against her forehead, closing her eyes for a few brief moments before opening them and looking around. She only said, "He's alive but still critical. We'll know more in a few hours. You and Kailan can come in now and see him, if you'd like," looking at Kit's mother, who nodded and stood up, taking her cloak off as she did so and revealing a long split skirt over trousers and strong boots and a one-shoulder half-top that bared her stomach. Jewels went over her shoulder and above her breasts before disappearing under her left arm, somehow making her more beautiful than she already was. Another, smaller cape decorated with small jewels lay over her shoulders and was pinned at her throat with a brooch made of diamonds and a large sapphire. As she entered the operating room, it shimmered in the light, with Kailan giving Seeker Kit's lightsaber as he passed.

Seeker only looked at it in confusion before she smiled slightly, and the Jedi could tell she had instantly figured out what had happened.

Kailan and his mother came out a few minutes later. Once they were all settled and Seeker returned to the operating room, Kit's mother turned to Ventress. She said, "Now tell us what happened," Ventress only looked at her quickly before looking away. Kit's mother's expression softened as she said, "You won't be punished, child; you have my word. I gave you my protection long ago, which doesn't go away easily. I just want to know what happened. Who did this to my son? I know you know," Ventress again looked at her, and the Jedi watching could only look at each other and guess what was about to happen. Tarkin and Thrawn, who were there as well, were concerned when they saw that Ventress was struggling with the decision to speak. In the end, loyalty won out, especially when Kit's mother reached over and took Ventress' hand in her own, showing her affection that she wasn't really used to, which was apparent as she tried to pull her hand away, but then another of Kit's brothers came over and sat down next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She looked at him and seeing the way he was looking at her and how he smiled and nodded gently, she said quietly, "His name's Tarkin. He's a captain in the Republic navy. He surprised Kit and ambushed him before we could get him out," as she turned to Kit's mother, who started frowning and her eyes turned hard.

"He's no captain; he's dead," Kit's mother said quietly, but with a sudden hardness and bite to her tone, turning to her sons and saying slowly, "I don't care what you have to do, bring me his head," surprising everyone watching the feed but not having time to think about it as the conversation continued. All of her sons nodded, a few even looking eager and excited about the idea, but then Kit's mother turned back to Ventress and said, "Thank you, child, I am grateful. Go find Seeker now and get some rest. You have more than earned it, and I would like to speak to my sons alone."

Ventress quickly nodded and left, and Thrawn said, "The operating room is made of a metal that blocks frequencies and transmission. We won't be able to get around it and see what is going on inside. It was probably designed that way for patient privacy."

The Jedi weren't really paying attention to that, still trying to understand how Kit's mother had gone from caring and compassionate one moment to brutal and cruel the next. This shift in her personality didn't make much sense, but they went back to listening and watching what was happening to see if that would help make sense of things. That turned into a problem when the Nautolans started speaking in that strange language from before, a throaty language with what sounded like quite a few consonants and very few vowels.

Unable to understand what was being said, and with Threepio unable to figure it out either, Thrawn swapped the feed to what was happening with Kit's lightsaber. Seeker was in the hallway, still dressed in her surgical scrubs, and as she was walking away down the hallway, a voice called out to her. The Jedi looked up, wondering if they had heard it correctly.

The half-Nautolan turned around then, smiled tiredly upon seeing who it was, and started walking back the way she came. Seconds later, she was in range of whoever had called out to her, and the Jedi were shocked to see Quinlan Vos, alive and well and no worse for wear. He was walking towards her with his palms out at his sides, looking completely confused, and once in speaking range asked, "Seeker, what is going on here? I come here after fake-crashing my cruiser to find blood in the Ghost and a medical droid cleaning it up and telling me Kit's been hurt. What in the name of the Force is going on here? And do I want to know who they all are?" pointing his thumb at Kit's brothers and mother.

Seeker smiled slightly before saying, "Those are Kit's brothers and mother, Quinlan, and they are none-too-happy about recent events. I told you about them, remember?" Quinlan blanched slightly at that, and the Jedi watching looked at each other in concern. If Quinlan Vos, who was something of a legend in the Temple for not being afraid of much, was openly showing fear of this kind, just what kind of people were Kit's brothers?

"They came after I sent word Kit was injured escaping from his cruiser. Tarkin figured out what we were doing with the younglings when Kit took Grogu and detained him before we could get rid of Tarkin," Seeker said, "Personally, I was going to leave him in a damaged escape pod with no way to call for help, but Kit insisted on leaving him on a semi-populated planet. Now his brothers will likely want to drop him into one of the lava pools on Mustafar if I know them at all."

Quinlan nodded slowly at that, still looking as though he wanted an answer, and Seeker sighed as she took his arm and guided him about ten paces away from the room. Quinlan only raised an eyebrow and said, "Old-breed senses are twenty times sharper than a Jedi's. You really think walking a few paces away is going to help?"

"It's the thought that counts," was all Seeker said on the subject before saying, "And we have bigger problems."

"How's Kit?" Quinlan asked softly, and Seeker sighed again as she looked through the see-through wall of the room where Kit was being carefully settled. He was still unconscious and had a tube down his throat, unable to breathe on his own. Tristan was making sure he was as settled as possible while his brothers and mother looked on. Only once he was done and had stepped back did they gather around, and that was when the Jedi lost sight of Kit completely and turned their attention back to Seeker and Quinlan.

Seeker was watching all this before saying quietly, "We had to stop," she turned to Quinlan, who was clearly trying to be optimistic since he asked, "So you saved his life and he'll be fine? Right?"

Seeker shook her head, "No, we had to stop because he crashed on us. Twice," looking up into Quinlan's eyes, she said seriously, "He was bleeding heavily internally when we opened him up, and we still haven't found where he is bleeding from, but we had to stop and give his body a chance to rest and stabilize. We packed the site with gauze and sterile towels and then closed him. We'll go back in and finish when it's safe to go back in, and his body has had a chance to recover. Surgery is rather traumatic in and of itself, and we're also undoing and repairing the mess that idiot made thirty years ago," she looked over at the room, "I'd say we have another ten hours, maybe more, before we're done with him. And you asked me once about why his breathing was so terrible?"

Quinlan nodded while the Jedi looked at each other in confusion, having never noticed that Kit had trouble breathing but wasn't able to think about it as Seeker said, "We opened his lung and found a surgical towel. It's been in there for a few decades, I'd guess; probably ever since he was wounded by that Sith. It'd explain why he coughed up blood on the Ghost; it absorbed the blood but made it hard to breathe. Now that it's out, I'm guessing breathing will be a lot easier for him. It doesn't change the fact we still have a lot of work to do before we're done, but it is one less thing for us to worry about."

Hearing the news Kit still wasn't out of danger and had had a towel of all things in his lung was hard to take, but Quinlan nodded and said, "If anyone can get him through this, it's you and Tristan. I think you're the best surgeons I've ever met. How will you know when to go back in?"

Seeker shrugged slightly before saying quietly, "There isn't really a perfect time to go back in, Quinlan. You just pick a time that is less crappy than the others, when it looks like he is as stable as he's going to get, and then hope your guess is right and he survives."

"I don't like the sound of that," Quinlan said, to which Seeker replied, "It's not that great, but it's the best we can do. We need to do a lot more and then, if we think he can handle it, there is something else we need to do. It isn't medically necessary right now, but while his abdomen is open for us, we might as well do it."

"And that would be?" Quinlan asked, and Seeker looked at him thoughtfully before saying, "Very few things can kill a mature old-breed, Quinlan, as you know. They can easily walk off injuries and poisonings, and severe falls don't really hurt them. They are essentially indestructible, but there is one thing that can kill them almost without warning," Quinlan only looked at her. Seeker continued, "Old-breed Nautolans can get something called stomach torsion. Their stomach twists on itself, and food or air gets trapped. The stomach can't untwist, causing excruciating pain and eventually death because the twist in the stomach traps air and blood from getting to their hearts. The only fix after that is surgery, which comes with its own risks."

Quinlan shook his head while the Jedi looked around, again wondering how many more surprises were going to be thrown at them that day. Quinlan asked, "What are the chances of this happening?"

"Great enough that old-breed Nautolans would rather have the cure before the problem occurs, but less enough that we don't see that many cases a year," Seeker said bluntly, "The number of cases has certainly gone down since we figured out a cure. We normally wait until the patient is healthy, but since he'll already be open on the table, we might as well do it now and save him the discomfort of doing it later."

"So you're just going to keep this from happening while trying to find a bleed that could be anywhere in him and undo all the damage that surgeon caused thirty years ago?" Quinlan asked, "That's insane."

"That's rich, coming from you," Seeker shot back sarcastically, "We both know you take more risks than anyone else, except maybe Kit's brothers. And this will be easier on him in the long run and likely save him from having to deal with it in the future. There is no warning when a twisted stomach happens and no indication it's going to happen. There isn't a reason for it happening either; at least, none that we can find."

Hearing this, the Jedi were left wondering what Quinlan was thinking, but after a few seconds, it started becoming clear that he was actually considering the idea, and after a few seconds asked, "What exactly is the cure?"

Seeker smiled tiredly and said, "We stitch the stomach to the wall of the abdomen so it can't move. That way, if it wants to twist, it physically can't and is held in place. Compared to everything else we've done to him today, this is the less intrusive and less traumatic part of the surgery. Getting Tarkin's knife out of him was the hardest part. We had to take his liver and kidney out of his body to repair both and remove the knife before putting them back in. Thankfully there was enough left of both to salvage. The knife just missed going all the way through the kidney. The layers of muscle and fat, and the layers of clothing, kept his kidney safe."

"And you can't do organ transplants because…?" Quinlan asked, and Seeker said, "Because old-breed bodies reject organ transplants. They will only tolerate their own original parts. They accept blood transfusions easily enough, but that's it. Thankfully everything that knife hit was repairable. If it wasn't, we could only give heavy doses of painkillers, wake him up, and keep him comfortable. There would be nothing else we could do."

Obi-Wan, listening to this, shook his head and said, "I wish she was making this up, but I don't think she is," turning to Mace and asking, "Do you?"

Mace shook his head, looking as though he was regretting what he was watching completely, "She's telling the truth, no matter how much we all wish she wasn't. I hope she is as good a surgeon as everyone there thinks she is and that….Tristan, was it? is as good as she is too. Kit may not survive otherwise."

Everyone there nodded, with the chancellor looking sympathetic to what was happening and looking on via hologram. At the same time, Quinlan seemed to have realized something and asked, "Tarkin? He's the one that did this? Are you sure?"

Seeker nodded as she held up a clear plastic tube with a large knife in it. The knife blade was six inches long and curved to a pointed tip at the end. Serrations near the hilt made it next to impossible to pull out, and it was elegantly made. Seeker only said, "The next time Tarkin wants to stab someone, he should be a little bit smarter and not use something that has his name on it."

Quinlan snorted, "Seriously?" Seeker nodded as she turned the tube to reveal some Aurebesh letters carved into the blade, "How stupid can you get?" Quinlan asked, Tarkin grinding his teeth in frustration and anger at being spoken about in that way. But there was no time to think about it as Quinlan asked, "Why haven't you washed the blood off?" and the Jedi looked closer, seeing a fair amount of blood still on the knife. Seeker only looked at him and said, "It's evidence. It has Kit's blood on it, Tarkin's name engraved in it, and Tarkin's prints on the handle. It won't do much good for getting him tried in a Republic court, but it will be enough for Kit's family and clan. They will want justice for this. Preferably their own."

"Which is death," Quinlan said quietly, "Yes, I know their clan law very well and have seen it in action. I also know that Tarkin is a Republic naval officer subject to the same regulations as anyone else. The Republic will make him answer for this."

"Don't be naive, Quinlan," Seeker snapped irritably, clearly tired of this conversation and surprising the Jedi that she was so curt with him and clearly not about to show a Jedi any form of respect, "Tarkin has the favor of the chancellor, who will protect him, and the Senate will just see it as him doing his job and protecting the Republic from a traitor. He'll get away with this for now, but if there's one thing this clan is, it's patient. They likely already know where he lives on Coruscant, and sneaking onto a Republic cruiser will be easy for them. And there is the fact that many people in the galaxy owe these brothers and their parents a lot of debts and favors, and many more who would do it just to get on their good side. They will gladly kill or bring Tarkin to them if it means one less debt between them. And the Outer Rim, where Tarkin is staking his career, is the brother's favorite territory to wander, and a lot of their allies are out there. Tarkin won't be safe no matter where he goes."

Tarkin, listening to this, blanched and turned to the chancellor, who said, "Don't worry, Captain, we will do everything we can to keep you safe. This clan's clearly barbaric traditions won't be applied to you if the Republic has anything to say about it."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow but said nothing as they went back to watching the feed as Quinlan asked, "So what happens now?"

"Now?" Seeker asked as she turned away, "I'm going to get some rest, and I suggest you do the same. I've been on my feet for the last eighteen hours and haven't slept in four days. I might not sleep, but I am going to rest. I'll be close by if something happens, and Tristan knows my meditation room has an intercom if he needs me suddenly. Your crew is ready for whatever we may need them for?" surprising the Jedi when they heard she hadn't slept in four days and wondering how her eyes were staying open and she had done such a difficult operation while so clearly exhausted.

Quinlan nodded, "Yep, they're hidden exactly where you wanted them to be."

"Good," Seeker said tiredly, "We weren't able to get all of Kit's fleet, but we were able to get one cruiser and all of his men. Monnk and Chipper are back in charge of their respective companies, and Monnk has secured Home Base and has more men at his disposal to protect it."

Quinlan nodded, "What about Grogu? He's here, right?"

Seeker shook her head, "I don't know where he is, Quinlan; that's the point. When the time's right, he'll be returned. Right now, it's safer for him if no one knows where he is."

Hearing this, Yoda and Mace looked at each other while Master Plo asked quietly, "What does that mean? How could wherever Grogu is now be safer than the Temple?"

Mace shook his head, and a few moments later movement caught their eyes, and they watched as about eight or nine of Kit's brothers left and headed towards the hangar. The rest wandered out over the next few minutes, taking different hallways and directions and going deeper into the base, leaving only Kit's mother and Kailan behind with the wounded Nautolan. Seeing this, Quinlan asked, "Where are they going?"

Seeker shrugged, "The ones that match Kit's blood type will stay here in case they are needed to donate more, while the others are going to find their father."

Quinlan looked at her intently then, "Their father?"

Seeker nodded, "Yes, their father. Because the Monarchy constantly hunts them, it was decided that their parents should be separated and not know where the other one is, to their great displeasure. Nautolan mates don't like to be apart, for any reason," she looked Quinlan in the eye then, "The only ones that know where they are at all times is the Geàrd Rìoghail, who has protected the bloodline since the beginning. A few of them will go with the brothers to retrieve their father, who is guarded by even more of the Geàrd."

Quinlan nodded slowly before looking through the wall where Kit's mother and Kailan were sitting and watching what was happening with him, smiling at how gentle his mother was with him as she held his limp hand in both of hers. He asked suddenly, "What's her name?" nodding his head at Kit's mother.

"Kit's mother?" Seeker asked, and Quinlan nodded again as he turned to her and Seeker smiled gently and said, "Santiana."

"And his father?" Quinlan asked.

"Tzakara. And he's on his way. I would rather face a Sith lord than that one when he's even slightly angry. A Sith Lord is predictable, Tzakara sometimes isn't, and that unpredictability transfers to his sons," Seeker said quietly, unknowingly answering two questions the Jedi had asked themselves whenever they had looked into Kit's heritage, "You're about to meet Tzakara, so be on your best behavior. He has even less tolerance for idiots than I do. Especially idiot Jedi," but there was no bite to her words as she smiled slightly at Quinlan and left, walking away and leaving Quinlan to shake his head at her words before walking away as well, even though he looked in confusion at R6 just sitting quietly in the corner of the medical room near the hallway door and not doing anything.

A voice suddenly said, "I forgot to mention, the Jedi hacked R6," Quinlan turned to see that Seeker had circled back, and the Jedi wondered how she knew that when no clue was given for it. She looked at the droid and said, "We'll keep him going for now because they're worried about him, and thankfully they can't remotely turn him on or off. I made sure of that. I'll air-gap him eventually so he can't be hacked, but for now, leave him be. Everyone on the base already knows to watch what they say and do around him, same with Kit's lightsaber," tossing it into the air and catching it one-handed, "Honestly, did Tarkin really think none of us would notice the balance on Kit's lightsaber was off? How stupid does he think we are?" Tarkin started in surprise that she knew something was off with Kit's lightsaber when the Jedi Master hadn't.

"Please tell me that's rhetorical," Quinlan said over his shoulder as he left, heading for the hangar, "I'm going to go check out the Ghost and see if it needs any maintenance. I heard R1 complaining about the hyperdrive when I was coming in."

Seeker raised an eyebrow at that, "If you see Chopper, can you tell him to put himself in gear and actually make an effort to work quickly? I know he's lazy, but this is getting ridiculous."

Quinlan chuckled and left, Seeker smiling before leaving as well, but her smile faded away instantly when she saw Santiana and Kailan sitting with Kit and just waiting for something, anything, to happen. But nothing did, and after a few minutes, she moved on as well, walking down the hallway and eventually finding Ventress sitting on the floor. She looked up when Seeker approached and said, "I had to get out of there and get away."

Seeker nodded sympathetically, "The brothers are really intense on good days. On bad days, like today, it's best not to be in the same galaxy as them," she smiled then and said, "Come with me. I heard what Santiana told you and she's right; you deserve a rest," leaving the Jedi to wonder how she had heard that when she wasn't even in the same room.

"Where?" Ventress asked sarcastically, "The Ghost is under maintenance, remember?"

Seeker looked slyly at Ventress then and said, "Quinlan's there. Can't be all bad."

Surprisingly, Ventress blushed so deeply it was visible on the hologram. Seeker shook her head with a smile and said, "Come on, I'll show you to your quarters," leaving the Jedi to wonder why Ventress would actually blush at the mention of Quinlan Vos.

"Quarters?" Ventress asked as she stood up and followed Seeker, who nodded as she led her to a room nearby, "They're a bit bare, but they'll do for now," the automatic door opening and revealing a large room with a decent-sized bed to the left and a private refresher off to the other side. Ventress was shocked to see it was hers, that was clear, and turned to Seeker, who only smiled slightly and said, "Mess hall is one floor up. After that, just follow your nose. Word of advice, get there before mealtime is called. The clones that guard the base leave nothing behind after they've been through. Apparently, the Republic doesn't feed them that well; we convinced half of 'em to join our cause just by offering them better food. And I heard you were lacking in the lightsaber department? Something about the emitter matrix of one suddenly becoming inverted and the crystal in the other failing?" Ventress nodded, almost sheepishly, and Seeker nodded towards the dresser cabinet next to the bed, "Top drawer," was all she said before walking away, the door shutting behind her and leaving Ventress alone.

Off the feed, Ventress headed towards the dresser and opened the drawer, pulling out two lightsabers, her eyes widening in surprise and admiration at how well they had been crafted. She turned them on, and two white blades activated, surprising her again at the sight. She hadn't expected that when she had seen them.

---

Now finally alone, Seeker headed back the way she came for a few minutes before suddenly turning and opening a door that led to a small room. It wasn't completely empty; there was a mat, a few candles, and dim light, and the Jedi recognized it as her meditation chamber. That became clearer when Seeker sat down on the mat and crossed her legs, sitting straight and shutting her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly before sliding into meditation, clearly planning to rest that way. Seeing that she was settled and not going anywhere anytime soon, Mace turned to Tarkin and asked, "How long has that bug been in Kit's lightsaber?"

Tarkin was surprised by the question but answered quickly enough, "Since he was rescued from Grievous," deciding to lie for now and not say it had been there even longer.

Mace narrowed his eyes, "Is there any way to see what Kit's droid saw before he and Kit left the cruiser? Maybe we're missing something."

Tarkin nodded slowly before saying, "Maybe, give me a few moments," turning back to the datapad in his hand for a few minutes before finally saying, "This is the day after Grogu was taken from the Temple." Another hologram appeared next to the one of Seeker meditating. This one showed Seeker standing on a smooth outcropping blanketed in fog. Nearby were the remains of a structure that had been built directly into the mountain, and Eeth Koth said, "That's Grievous' lair on the Third Moon of Vassek," as they watched her stand there with Grogu in hand, who looked perfectly relaxed and content with her.

He clearly knew her and trusted her.

Behind them stood the Ghost, with R6 waiting with them. Seeker continued to wait patiently, and after a few seconds, Tarkin said, "I could skip ahead to what she was waiting for."

"Don't bother," Anakin said suddenly, and they all looked to see that Seeker was suddenly looking up, and there was the sound of a ship coming in for a landing. A few minutes later, a Mandalorian in full armor, this one a man, landed in front of Seeker and Grogu. Seeker raised an eyebrow but said nothing for a few moments as they sized each other up. The Jedi watching tensed up a bit, but then the Mandalorian said, "You wanted to meet me?" and Seeker nodded, causing him to ask, "About what?"

Seeker hesitated a moment before saying, "I want to collect on the debt you owe me. Not the first one, but the one involving the creed."

"Fine," the Mandalorian said, "What do you want me to do?"

Seeker hesitated again as she looked down at Grogu, and that was when Obi-Wan said quietly, "Please don't say it."

His words were useless because she looked up and said, "I want you to take care of and protect this one for a time. He needs to be safe, and he'll be safe with you."

The Mandalorian looked at Grogu for a few moments before asking, "What is it?"

Seeker raised an eyebrow and said, "It is a he, and he is someone I would like you to protect for a while. How long, I cannot say, but you will find him easier to care for than your usual charges."

"That doesn't explain what he is," the warrior said, "and gives me no reason to help you, yet."

Seeker hesitated again before saying, "He's a Jedi youngling."

The Mandalorian immediately backed up a few steps, "Absolutely not!" the Jedi watching actually agreeing wholeheartedly with him, "You want me to protect an enemy?! Have you lost your mind?!" immediately turning and getting ready to fly away.

"You are bound by creed!" Seeker's words cut like a whip and made the warrior stop dead in his tracks, "By creed," her voice softened then, "until the child is of age or reunited with his own, you are as his father," surprising the Jedi with her understanding of the Mandalorian creed and what part she was willing to call upon to get him to do as she asked as she said, "If you want me to, I will call on every favor I owe you as well to take care of and protect him. It's that important to me that you look after him," as the Mandalorian looked at her. She added quietly, "This is the way."

"Every favor?" the warrior asked, and she nodded without hesitation. He hesitated a moment longer before looking more closely at Grogu. Seeing this, the Jedi were even more concerned, but before they could think about it more, he looked at her and asked, "Why me? There are a million bounty hunters in this galaxy that could do the job, so why me? Or you? You're better protection than a Jedi; we both know that. And you know the Fisto brothers, one of them could take care of him."

"Because, Mando," Seeker said quietly, "While a common bounty hunter would run away at the first sign of danger, whether it be Jedi or Sith, you won't and will protect him with your life if it comes to that, which I hope it does not. And once it's revealed that one of the brothers took him from the Temple, the Jedi will be looking for them all the time, more so than they were in the past. Which was never, since they didn't know they existed, but in a few days they likely will. And you are constantly on the move. You gave me a suit of beskar armor, against the rules of your clan, causing your exile. You are now hunter and hunted. With all the traveling you do, you will have an easier time staying hidden from those that would hunt him," nodding down at Grogu, who was watching the exchange with curiosity and interest, "And finally, you are a man of honor, and will do as you say you will, whether or not you think it's a good idea. And, perhaps, you will learn something from this as well, not just the child."

Mando still seemed unsure, and Mace narrowed his eyes as he watched this, wondering what would happen and what she meant by Grogu learning something from this. But that was revealed soon enough as the Mandalorian turned to Seeker fully and asked, "What's his name?" Seeker smiled slightly, knowing she had won as she said, "Grogu."

Mando nodded slowly before walking over and reaching a hand out and pinching one of Grogu's ears gently between his fingers. He asked, "What is he?"

Seeker smile widened, "His species' name is lost to time, and their homeworld is hard to find. I know where it is and have been there, but it isn't worth the danger or the fuel to bring him there. Much safer to leave him with you and have him wander the galaxy with you for a while."

"What does he eat?" Mando asked, and that was where Seeker cocked her head and said, "I'm not entirely sure, so it'll be a learning experience for you. I do know his species likes amphibious eggs, so be careful with that if they belong to somebody. But I'm sure he'll be easier to care for than most of your bounties. He won't be trying to kill you every chance he gets, after all," she looked down at Grogu, who seemed to have realized that things were changing, and she nodded at Mando with a slight smile. Grogu looked at the Mandalorian before looking back at Seeker and then Mando. He gently grabbed the finger holding his ear, brought it down, and held it against his chest, clearly trusting the warrior.

Seeing this, Mando asked, "How old is he?"

"His species age slower than average," Seeker said, "He's about 30 years old but still a baby in the eyes of his people."

Mando was surprised to hear that but asked, "Where do you want me to take him?"

"Anywhere you see fit, Mando, just keep him safe; that is all I ask," Seeker said quietly. The Mandalorian nodded before reaching out with his other hand, taking Grogu from her and holding him against his armor-plated chest.

Grogu shifted for a moment before getting comfortable and afterward looked up at Seeker, who said, "Take care of this little guy," running a gentle hand over his head before looking up at Mando and saying, "And perhaps, he'll take care of you," stepping back then and giving Mando room to fly off. He bowed his head and walked towards the edge, his jetpack activating and lifting him away from the ground and into the air and fog. Grogu, now being held up, looked over Mando's shoulder as he flew away before resting his little head against the Mandalorian's helmet and holding on tight.

Seconds later, he was gone, and Seeker was looking up as his ship took off and flew away but was too far away for the Jedi to see what it was. Once sure it was gone, Seeker turned back to R6 and said, "C'mon, R6, we need to get you back to the fleet before Tarkin realizes you're gone. Which probably won't happen, but I'd rather not take the chance," as she started walking back towards her ship with R6 right behind her, "You think he'll ever notice anything other than his own ego?"

R6 beeped and chirped, and Seeker smiled tightly as she said, "Yeah, me neither, but let's go before he figures out you're actually gone. Don't need him suspecting Kit more than he already does."

A few seconds later, they had taken off and headed for the atmosphere. That was when Tarkin paused the holovideo and said, "I don't have a way to track the ship the Mandalorian was flying, General Windu. It was out of range."

"That was by design, Captain," Mace said. The rest of the Council gathered there turned to him, "She has guaranteed we can't find Grogu easily if he is with a Mandalorian constantly on the move and has a ship with a functioning hyperdrive. He could be anywhere now."

"At least we know who Kit was probably meeting and gave Grogu to," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, "It was likely Seeker, who didn't want anyone to recognize her and so used her armor to make sure she wasn't found easily. The fact Grogu trusts her tells me they have met before, though, but when I can't say. I wish I knew what happened between them that warranted a Mandalorian giving someone like Seeker a suit of pure beskar. That metal is quite rare."

"Strong in the Force, Seeker is," Yoda said quietly, "Sense this Grogu did. Because of this, trusts her he does. Taken by Master Fisto from the Temple he was, trusts Master Fisto he does. Given by Master Fisto to Seeker, he was. Given by Seeker to the Mandalorian he was," he looked up then, "Trusts Master Fisto's judgment he does, otherwise, go along quietly, he would not have."

"So now what?" Anakin asked suddenly, "Just wait for this to all work out and for the Mandalorian to bring Grogu back to the Temple? He's a warrior; he doesn't know the first thing about taking care of a child."

"Perhaps," Yoda said slowly, "But have a choice we do not. Find Grogu; we cannot."

"Seeker might know," Obi-Wan said as he nodded at her meditating form, "And if not, she must have a way to get in contact with the warrior and coordinate where he is taking Grogu. We just have to find her and this Home Base."

Master Mundi had been silent the entire time, but now he turned to Tarkin and asked, "Can you find the video from the time before Kit was detained by you when he was in his quarters? He had a good few hours between taking Grogu from the Temple and you detaining him. Perhaps there is something there that can be of help."

Tarkin nodded and went through the files on the datapad, and once again a holovideo appeared. This time it was of Kit sitting alone at his desk in his quarters. At least, they thought he was alone before Quinlan Vos suddenly appeared in the range of the bug and said, "Everything's almost ready. You really think someone could use Coruscant surveillance to follow you to where you brought Grogu and seen you?"

Kit nodded tiredly, "I think it's a possibility. My hood fell off while I was down in the underworld, meaning that if anyone looked through the footage, they would recognize me easily enough. And if it is Tarkin, like I suspect it will be, then he will act first and think later. He and Skywalker are a lot alike in that regard."

Obi-Wan chuckled at that as he looked sideways at Anakin, who was staring at a speck on the ceiling and clearly trying to pretend he wasn't there, but their focus was soon back on Kit and Quinlan, the latter looking at Kit with concern, "You are way too tired for just taking a walk through Coruscant. You sure you got the strength for everything you need to do in the next few days?"

"No," Kit said quietly, "But I don't have a choice in the matter. We need to make the fleet disappear before anyone's the wiser and drop Tarkin off somewhere distant so that he can't stop us. He doesn't have anyone on this ship to back him, or on the other ships for that matter, so getting rid of him will be a bit easier than we thought. He alienated the crew too much over the past few years, so none of them will follow him. A few of them actively hate him. Seeker can't stand him and hasn't even met him yet. The stories she hears from me and the crew are enough, as well as what she can sense from the Force. She does not trust him and therefore does not like him."

The anger was practically radiating off Tarkin, and Anakin chuckled slightly at the sight, but his attention was back on Kit as the Nautolan started to stand. He made it about halfway before suddenly grunting under his breath and falling forward, his hands braced on his desk to keep himself from falling, breathing suddenly heavy as his head fell forward and his eyes slid shut. He just stood there, waiting out the pain, as Quinlan rushed over and grabbed him, pushing him back into the chair and saying, "You aren't alright. We need to get you somewhere where they can actually fix you. You can't keep delaying the fix with drugs and whatever else you're doing to keep going. I know your people are tough, but this is too much for you. You need to let someone take care of you instead of the other way around. We both know she's waiting for you to be reasonable and let her fix you. The pain you're in isn't worth it, and you don't deserve it."

Kit only shook his head as he opened his eyes and said, "Another reason to get off this ship before Tarkin realizes what is going on," resting a hand on his stomach as if that would make the pain go away, "Monnk, or Chipper which is his actual name, and I will leave first and give Tarkin something to think about while the clones and officers get everything ready. Once everything is set, Tarkin will be dropped off on Orondia to figure out his own way home, giving the clones enough time to get the fleet underway. By the time Tarkin can say anything, the ships will be gone. Orondia is pretty deserted, but there is a refueling station where he can contact the Republic and have someone come get him. If something goes wrong," he stopped for a moment before shrugging and saying, "I'm sure Seeker and Ventress will think of another way to get us off this ship."

"Seeker say why she wanted all three of your ships and mine?" Quinlan asked, and Kit shook his head before saying, "She has a habit of blowing things up when the mood strikes her, and a Jedi cruiser can be a pretty big bomb if she rigs it correctly. But I think she just needs the ships for something else; she just isn't sure what. Yet."

Quinlan nodded slowly before asking, "You sure you have everything under control here?" Kit nodded, and Quinlan continued, "Alright; I need to go and get my ship squared away to 'crash land and then disappear.' I hope my clones are up for a bit of acting since this won't work without some convincing performances," heading for the door as he said this, "I'll see you at the rendezvous, and then we're getting you to Home Base. No excuses and no backing out of it. I'll get your brothers involved if I have to. We both know only the insane or the stupid go up against them if the stories you tell are to be believed, and you are neither. See you later."

Kit was actually able to chuckle slightly as Quinlan left, but the second the other Jedi was gone his smile faded and he closed his eyes, resting his forehead in his palm while his other hand still lay on his stomach. After a few minutes, he shook his head and got up, more slowly than before, but he still coughed a bit. He reached up and ran his finger along his lip, finding blood a few moments later. He looked at it before shaking his head and heading for the refresher, walking out of range of the bug as he did so. The recording ended then, and Eeth turned to Mace and said, "I can't believe none of us ever noticed he was that sick. Or that injured. How could we not have seen it?"

Master Plo shook his head, "He hid it too well. And now it has caught up to him and there is nothing we can do. We have no way to find him or Seeker's base now, and there is no way to know where to start looking."

"Where'd she go?" Anakin asked suddenly, and they turned back to see that Seeker had left the meditation room and was nowhere in sight. Kit's lightsaber was still there, and as they watched she suddenly reappeared through a door to her right with two steaming mugs in her hands. She had made some tea in the other room, using the Force to put Kit's lightsaber in her pocket. As she was leaving, she said quietly, "I know you hacked R6, Jedi, and you have a bug in Kit's lightsaber. I won't do anything about either of those things for the near future. As long as you respect the boundaries of Kit's family, I won't stop you from seeing what's going on. But get too involved, or try to stop what I have to do, and I will make sure you have no idea what happens to him. I don't fear you and don't care enough about your Republic to respect its laws. Something you will find is rather common on this base."

She said nothing more and started walking, and a few minutes later, she was back in the medical room where Kit lay, his mother and twin nearby. Kailan had lain down in the bed left of Kit's and was sleeping fitfully, and his mother was sitting in a chair and was still awake. Kit had a blanket up to his elbows, and his entire abdomen and chest were wrapped in bandages considering how bulky the blankets seemed. His mouth was slightly open from the tube making it possible for him to breathe, and he was very still.

Too still.

Seeker walking over to Santiana caught the Jedi's attention, and she gently tapped Santiana on the arm with her own, offering her the mug of tea when she turned to look at the young half-Nautolan. Seeing who it was, Santiana smiled slightly and said, "I asked not to be disturbed. What are you doing here?" as she took the mug and put it in her lap, clearly not interested in drinking it.

"The bright side of being an alpha female," Seeker said, "You're not afraid of other alpha females."

Santiana's smile widened slightly, but it faded as she turned back to Kit and said, "I hate this; not being able to do anything. It's out of my hands, and I don't like it. This isn't something I can fix, like when one of my children gets a scrape or cut. I can fix that, but I can't fix this," she lowered her head and sighed before looking back up, "This inaction is not something I can stand, and it hurts that I'm unable to help him," reaching over and running a hand gently along Kit's still face, "What do I do?"

"You keep hoping," Seeker said softly, "And you keep going. I won't give you false hope; you never want to hear that. But I will give you the promise that I will do everything that I can to help him."

"I know you will," Santiana said quietly, and it was silent for a few minutes before Seeker said, "You should get some rest. I will stay with him for now and let you know if there is any change immediately. You have my word."

It looked like Santiana wasn't going to listen for a moment, but finally she looked up and nodded at Seeker. Seeker took her untouched tea and watched as she stood up and leaned over, gently resting her forehead on Kit's for a few brief moments, her hand on his cheek, before standing to her full height and leaving the room. However, she did look back for a moment before finally going. Seeker watched her walk down the hall deeper into the base and then turned to Kit. She stared at him a moment before saying quietly, "There are a lot of people pushing for you, but you have to want to survive. So don't give up without a fight. That's all this family knows how to do; otherwise, none of you would be here right now."

Kit didn't respond, not that she was expecting him to, and she headed towards the dresser against the wall on the other side of the room. Halfway across, she stopped suddenly and turned her head, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Kit, and instantly it was clear there was something wrong. The mugs of tea were on the dresser in seconds, and she was back at Kit's side instantly, raising the blanket over his right side and looking carefully. Her eyes narrowed even more at what she saw, and seconds later, her head was snapping up as she called, "Tristan!"

The Nautolan was there in seconds and looked at her in confusion, but that confusion cleared quickly when she raised the blanket and said, "He's hemorrhaging; something must have torn when we moved him," showing him the bandages now soaked in blood.

Tristan swore under his breath before looking up and around, saying, "Everyone is helping Aressa give birth right now," falling silent for a moment as he thought before finally calling out, "Droids! Now!" and turning back to Seeker, "Go get ready; we'll meet you in the operating room. We can't wait any longer. He isn't stable, but this can't wait anymore. Go! Hurry!"

Seeker nodded and ran out of the room, heading for the prep room where she had changed and ignoring Kailan as he sat up in the bed and looked around, dropping Kit's lightsaber off in the prep room before running inside the operating room. As for Kailan, seeing the droids getting his brother ready to move, he stayed where he was, and it was clear his worry had come back. A few minutes later, one of his brothers came in and spoke in their language with him. Kailan stood up and left even though he didn't want to, looking back one last time as the operating room door slid shut.

---

Again, everyone was forced to wait for news about what was happening, Jedi and brothers, but this wait wasn't as long. Whereas the first surgery had been eighteen hours, this one was closer to ten or eleven. But it wasn't all good news when Seeker finally stepped out of the prep room as she pulled the surgical cap off. She left her hair tied up and started walking down the hallway to where the brothers, Quinlan and Ventress were now waiting, apparently having decided to vacate the medical room for now. The Jedi who had been watching the feed started paying attention and waiting for the news she had just as much as those with her.

Seeker looked around for a few moments, making sure they were all there, before turning to one of the brothers, silently asking a question that he answered, "Our mother is resting. A medical droid is on its way to get her. She couldn't stand waiting here and decided to wait somewhere else."

Seeker nodded slowly before sighing and saying, "We were finally able to locate the bleed and repair it and the damage it caused. We finished putting everything back where it belongs and cleaned up the scar tissue left behind from the first surgery and the lightsaber impalement. He is very weak right now and crashed on us again. We were able to bring him back and get him somewhat stabilized, and thankfully it happened just as we were finishing. But if he has to go through another surgery, he won't survive it; he's too weak. I also severed his connection with the Force for now, just so the Jedi can't find him and try and force him awake and give his body a rest from it. I will re-establish the connection when he is awake and stronger and can handle it."

Everyone listened closely to the news, the Jedi and Ventress shocked and somewhat horrified by the news, while Kit's remaining brothers listened stoically and without emotion. Once she finished speaking, they all looked towards the medical room, where Tristan, Krista, and the others were getting Kit settled back into the bed he had been in. They moved him slowly and carefully, taking extra care and pains not to jostle him or cause stitches to tear, and eventually, he was settled. Monitors and IV fluids were set up around him, and he still had a tube down his throat. Tristan carefully checked Kit's side with Krista, looking for any indication the move had caused something to tear or bleed.

"There is one more thing, and you won't like it," Seeker's voice caused them all to look at her, and one of the brothers asked, "Worse than the news you've already given us? I doubt that highly, but let's hear it."

Seeker hesitated a moment before saying, "He is stable for now, but he's in a coma. We can't wake him up."

Hearing that news, the Jedi were shocked to hear it, as were the chancellor and Padmé Amidala, who was listening in as well, but Kit's brothers were so surprised they were literally frozen and staring at her. Any lesser being would have been somewhat intimidated by those stares, but the half-Nautolan bore them well and waited for them to start talking again. Finally, one said, "Please tell me that was medically induced."

Seeker only looked at him, saying nothing, and he bowed his head and went into the room, followed by his brothers since Tristan and the others were done. They all settled back into chairs and on the spare bed, Kailan taking the chair closest to Kit's bed. That was when Quinlan turned to Seeker, his face the picture of confusion as he asked, "Am I missing something? I know comas are bad, but they acted like this is the worst news in the universe."

"It is, Quinlan," Seeker said quietly, "At least from their point of view. It's right up there with learning one of their mates or children has died."

"Why?" Ventress asked, to which Seeker sighed and said, "Old-breed Nautolans, for reasons no one knows, die if they fall into comas of their own making. They'll come out of a medically-induced coma, but not one of their own making. They live for three days, maybe four, and then they just….die. No one knows why," looking at Quinlan and Ventress.

The two of them were more than shocked, and the Jedi listening in were in disbelief at this news. They never would have thought it was possible, but the reaction of Kit's brothers confirmed it was true and it did happen.

Quinlan shaking his head helped them come back to reality, and he asked, "What happens now?"

Seeker shrugged, "He can't breathe on his own; the ventilator is doing it for him. He's in a coma but still has brain function, which is a good thing. But the other bad news you wouldn't know is that healing is a conscious action for an old-breed; they have to be aware and not in a coma to heal. So until he is aware, his body is essentially in stasis, waiting for his brain to tell it to start repairing itself. Which means any move or jostle can cause stitches to tear and him to start bleeding again, and he won't survive being moved at all, so his abdomen needs to be kept flat. It leaves him open to infections and viruses, and his immune system will be compromised. He's already getting quite a few antibiotics to get ahead of that. He's getting IV nutrition, but it won't do him much good if he doesn't wake up. The only somewhat good thing about this coma is that we can detox him from all the drugs in his system without him feeling the withdrawal effects, which usually come with a bit of nausea and severe cramps. This coma can spare him all that. Other than that, there is nothing we can do but wait and see. He does have a directive in case something like this happens."

"What does that directive say?" Quinlan asked, knowing that as doctors, Seeker and Tristan would honor that over the wishes of everyone, including Kit's own family and the Jedi. The Jedi listened closely as well, knowing that Kit's directive was ironclad and there was nothing they could do against it even if they were there. And the news that he was in a coma that would possibly kill him and wouldn't start healing until he came out of that coma was distressing.

Seeker glanced at him before looking at Kit, chewing her lip for a moment before sighing and closing her eyes, cocking her head as she looked at Quinlan again, and everyone could see it wasn't something he wasn't going to like. Finally, she said, "If he survives after three days, we have to check him for brain function every day. If he has normal brain function, then we keep him going, but if it stops and he's brain dead we take him off the machines and let him go."

Those watching the feed were shocked to hear what Kit's directive was in this, and Quinlan paled as he realized what she was saying, asking faintly, "What?"

Seeker nodded, "His brothers and parents know this and respect it. They will ask you to do the same."

"How can he make a decision like that so easily?" Quinlan asked, "He's fought to stay alive for the last thirty years when those injuries should have killed him. And have killed other Jedi," the Jedi watching knowing he was talking about Qui-Gon Jinn, "So how can he make that decision?"

Seeker looked at him blankly and said, "The entire family are warriors; their way is the warrior way. For them, this kind of life is no kind of life; being hooked up to machines that keep your body alive when you are gone? That is no life, not for them. They would rather die fighting than trapped in a bed. Kit made this decision years ago, and we have to respect it. Whether we want to or not," that last sentence said willfully; clearly, she didn't like it either.

Quinlan shook his head while Ventress only looked at the room where Kit was lying; his brothers and now his mother gathered around, leaving the Jedi surprised since they hadn't seen her enter and revealing there was likely another way into the room. Seeker also looked before saying quietly, "It's been a long few days, and there is nothing more I can do right now. Tristan will be around if you need anything from him, and I'm going to get some rest. Tzakara will be here soon enough, and I want to be rested for that. He doesn't mean to be, but he can be a bit intimidating until you realize how kind he actually is," Seeker smiled and scoffed gently, "He's a lot like a few of his sons in that regard," she looked at Quinlan and Ventress then, "If you need me, Tristan knows where my quarters are, but I'll likely be asleep, so try not to need me. I'll see you in a few hours."

With that, Seeker walked away, leaving Ventress and Quinlan alone in the hallway staring after where she had gone before Quinlan turned slowly to Ventress. Ventress only shook her head before heading for the hangar, snapping irritably, "This day sucks. I hate this day!" before stalking away and leaving Quinlan behind, clearly unable to deal with what had just happened and needing some time to herself.

Quinlan let her leave, watching her walk away before shaking his head and looking at Kit one more time before saying quietly, "I need to let the others know," and walking out of range of R6 as well. Thrawn turned the feed to Kit's lightsaber, but all the Jedi saw was it lying on a dresser near Seeker's lightsaber and the half-Nautolan nowhere in sight, but there was the sound of water running nearby.

Seeing that things had apparently settled for the moment, Thrawn muted the feed, and Mace turned to the others there, all of whom were mostly silent as they digested all they had seen and learned that day. Finally, Master Plo asked quietly, "What did Master Vos mean by 'others'? Does he mean the clones that have defected and are helping them? And helping them with what?"

"Many questions we have," Yoda said softly, "Find answers easily; we will not."

"We need to find this Home Base and see what it can tell us," Obi-Wan said suddenly, "Perhaps there is something to be learned there that can help us figure out what Seeker is planning and help Kit. And ask that Nautolan, Tristan, some questions as well. That name, Tristan Darka, has come up before when it came to Seeker, and now that it connects to Master Fisto and his clan, I would like to understand that connection a bit more."

"I don't think it will be easy," Master Mundi said quietly, "They have gone to great lengths to make sure this base is impossible to find, and the few people who know where it is outside of those there are unknown to us. How are we going to find it? The Force may guide us there, it may not without Kit's connection to it, but they won't give it up easily if it's as protected as they say. And if there really are children there, we can't risk an attack that would leave them injured. Or worse."

Shaak Ti added via hologram from Kamino, "And there is the fact that clones apparently guard this base and have done so for a long time. Where did they come from? If it was Kamino, how did that happen without our notice?"

Palpatine asked then, "Were Kit Fisto's companies suffering unusually high casualties?" turning to Tarkin, who shook his head, "No, Chancellor, not from what his reports indicated."

"So these clones came from Kamino and fell through the cracks so that no one would notice them or where they went," Palpatine said quietly before turning to Master Yoda and saying, "I don't want to be the one to say it, but all this doesn't put General Fisto in the best light. If he cannot defend his actions or explain why he did this, the Senate will prosecute him as a traitor to the Republic and treat him accordingly if he shows himself again. Assuming he survives his injuries."

Yoda shook his head and closed his eyes while Mace said, "I would rather hear his explanation before we reach for the execution squad, Chancellor. There is usually a reason for everything; I want to know Kit's."

"We could watch the feed," Anakin said suddenly, "At least till Kit's father shows up. Maybe with him there, they'll say more about what's happening. And if nothing else, we can better understand this family and what it's like. It might give us a better understanding of Kit's mindset and how he thinks since clearly he's been hiding that for a long time."

"I would like to know what else he is hiding," Eeth said suddenly, "This may be the best way to figure it out until he can tell us himself."

Palpatine turned to him in surprise with an eyebrow raised, "You think he will wake up?"

Eeth stared ahead for a moment before saying, "I don't know what to think, Chancellor, but after hearing everything over the last few days, I don't think this family can give up so easily. If anyone can survive a coma that's supposed to kill him, it's Kit. He survived being impaled on a lightsaber, and that was supposed to kill him, so I don't think we should underestimate him just yet. Or dismiss him so readily."

Tarkin, throughout the conversation so far, had been looking for something on his datapad and now looked up and said, "You may want to know this, Master Jedi, if you ever find yourself face-to-face with one of those brothers. I just identified that rifle they were all carrying," bringing up a hologram image of the rifle as it slowly revolved on its axis for all to see, "It's an Amban phase-pulse blaster, also known as an Amban sniper rifle. It's a type of disruptor rifle with two main functions. Those look like they are made of beskar or something equally indestructible, so be careful when dealing with them."

"What are their functions?" Shaak Ti asked, and Tarkin said, "It can either stun and electrocute opponents or completely disintegrate them. Its charges, at long range, can disintegrate organic matter on contact, and at close range, it delivers electrocuting stuns."

"It is also illegal to own one," Thrawn said softly, "So these brothers are breaking the law in more ways than one. If what Seeker said is true and they are criminals, we have grounds to arrest them and question them if we can find them."

Palpatine looked interested in that, asking, "And do you have a means of finding them, Captain?"

Thrawn nodded, "A contact of mine has just messaged me. Apparently, rumors of what has happened here with General Fisto have somehow reached the criminal element of this galaxy. They see the fact he is back with his family as a reason to come out of the shadows and start talking. This contact, in particular, says that his brother was murdered by one of General Fisto's brothers. Because of that, he has been keeping an eye out for them and has good reason to believe the ones we saw leaving will be on Rattatak tomorrow because they own some very fast ships if we are interested. We are certainly close enough. He has even provided the coordinates for where they will be in one of the main cities. Specifically, Reela, where the worst of the worst in terms of criminals and warlords live and fight. I can't say what they are doing there; I would think their father would choose a water world to hide."

"But no one would expect a Nautolan to choose a desert planet to disappear to," Obi-Wan said softly, "So if what we heard about the Monarchy of Glee Anselm hunting them is true, it would be a pretty ingenious place to hide. And if he's out of communication, it would make sense they would have to go in person to collect him. He wouldn't trust a transmission, even if it seemed real. It could be a trap for all he knows."

"I still don't know if I believe that story about the Monarchy hunting them," Palpatine said softly, "Perhaps because it was so long ago, or just because it seems impossible. But if there was a coup, wouldn't the Jedi of the time have sent a team to see what was going on and if a coup was warranted?" turning to Master Windu as he asked this.

Mace shook his head, "This was before the fall of the Old Republic, so our record-keeping wasn't its best. But I will have Madame Jocasta check and see if any mention was made in the Archives and see what, if anything, was done or learned about the coup. If they are right, then the current monarchy will face questions it will have to answer."

"But it doesn't excuse those men if they are criminals," Palpatine said, "I'm afraid I have to ask you to go to Rattatak and arrest them, Master Jedi. They cannot be allowed to make good on the threat to Captain Tarkin's life, and if they are as dangerous as it's been implied, we must make sure there is some justice brought for those that have been victims of them."

"I'm not sure that is a good idea, Chancellor," Master Tiin said quietly, "We have never dealt with mature old-breed Nautolans before; Master Fisto is the first to my knowledge, and he has been injured and sick for the last few decades and not a mature adult as I understand this, and we don't know what to expect from these people. We don't know their culture or way of life; other than that it apparently is the warrior way. And if they live as long as they claim, then they aren't stupid. They will be expecting a trap, and Rattatak isn't exactly known for its hospitality. It is a dangerous world; they will be more on their guard than usual."

"I understand your concerns, Master Tiin; believe me, I do," Palpatine said, "But there is the fact that Santiana Fisto has made a threat against a Republic officer, and that must be addressed. If a few of her sons, and her husband, are arrested, it will send a message to her that she isn't above the law and must submit to Republic law. I cannot have a citizen of the Republic believing that they are above the law enough to threaten a Republic naval officer. That is something I cannot condone."

Master Tiin looked at Mace, who shook his head as he looked at Yoda, who had been standing there for several long minutes with his eyes closed, thinking deeply about what should happen. Finally, he opened his eyes and said quietly, "Find Master Fisto in the Force; I cannot. Go to Rattatak, we will. But with caution, proceed we must. Underestimate these brothers; we must not."

The Council all nodded while Palpatine bowed his head in thanks to Yoda, endings his transmission before the Jedi could see the cruel smile on his face now that he was glad Kit Fisto was out of his way and his brothers wouldn't be a problem soon. Now all he had to do was deal with the half-Nautolan, and then nothing would stand in his way.

---

Back on the ship, the Jedi had pulled up the most recent map of Reela they had, looking at the schematics of the city and overlaying them with the coordinates Thrawn's contact had given him, trying to work out a plan that wouldn't get them and a lot of civilians killed. This was made harder because they didn't know how the brothers would react or what kind of protection their father already had on the planet. And if they brought their rifles with them, this would get significantly harder and more dangerous.

The Jedi already knew what the native population thought of Jedi, so they were wondering if they should send in some specialized units that were nearby first, just to cause as little disruption in the city as possible.

And keep the locals from getting itchy trigger fingers.