A/N: Hi everyone! Here's another very long chapter, and for that, I apologize. But I did my best to include some action, and the next chapter is already written. It just needs some polishing up and it will be good to go. Please read, review, and enjoy! See you next time!

Captured! Returning from a perilous assignment in the Outer Rim, Jedi Master Even Piell's cruiser has fallen under attack and been boarded. Seeking vital information he carries about secret hyperspace lanes called the Nexus Route, Separatist forces have taken him alive. Now the Jedi are preparing a stealth mission into the heart of Separatist space in an effort to rescue Master Piell from the deadly prison known as the Citadel.….

With the briefing on the plan to rescue Even Piell over, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Plo Koon were walking down the hallway discussing what they were going to do when Obi-Wan and Anakin finally arrived at the prison. It had been two weeks since Taylora had come and told them about Kit's clan and family, and there had been no sign of any of them in all that time. Nor had there been any sign of Santiana or Tzakara. Despite what Taylora had said about this family, they weren't all that inclined to come out of hiding and were doing everything in their power to stay invisible. People that knew about them were starting to come out and say where they liked to hide and where they could be found, but those leads had turned up nothing, revealing that the brothers had likely moved on to new territory and set up new jobs there. Quinlan Vos and the two cruisers he had commandeered had also vanished, and there was no way to guess where they had gone. And with the Outer Rim, the Unknown Regions, Wild Space, and a million other places to hide, the Jedi and Republic simply didn't have the means to track them down.

Or find Home Base.

"Based on the archive schematics, we've narrowed it down to three possible locations they could be holding him at," Master Plo said as they left the communication center and started walking down the hallway.

"My greatest concern is infiltrating their outer security," Obi-Wan said as they walked, stroking his beard in thought and concern, "The life-form scanners will not be easy to fool."

"I've got a thought about that," Anakin said, not revealing his idea just yet as Ahsoka came running up the hallway behind them to catch up, having missed the briefing, "Master! I'm sorry I'm late. I was checking on Master Fisto. I just heard about the briefing. We're going to rescue Master Piell, right?" Ahsoka asked.

"Has there been any change in his condition?" Obi-Wan asked instead, and Ahsoka had to shake her head and say sadly, "No, Master. There's been no change. He's still comatose and unreachable. Seeker visits him, and there seems to be a routine to everything between her and Tristan. They check him twice a day for brain function when they change the bandages and stay and talk for a little while about medical things I don't understand. They turn R6 off every day for a few hours and then turn him back on when I'm guessing Master Fisto's mate leaves. Kailan spends a lot of time with him too, but those visits are starting to get farther and farther apart, and so does his mother. She sits with him for hours at a time. Sometimes she talks, sometimes she doesn't."

"What does she say?" Anakin asked, and Ahsoka shrugged, "It's in their language, Master. I have no idea what she is saying," leaving out the fact that she reviewed the rest of the footage the bug in Kit's lightsaber had recorded and seen a few things the Council would like to know about that she knew were instrumental to the Conspiracy succeeding. She was staying silent about that but only felt slightly guilty about it because she knew it was for the better. Over the past two weeks, she had become responsible for coordinating much of what was happening inside the Temple. She was only now realizing how much effort and time Masters Vos and Fisto had devoted to this. It was unimaginably difficult for her; how had they managed for so long?

And how in the name of the Force did they manage to smuggle out so many children without anyone noticing? How was she going to manage it now? And it was strange to have Jedi Masters coming to her for instructions and orders.

Usually it was the other way around.

Turning back to the conversation, she was in time to catch Anakin's nod, and she asked, "What did I miss in the briefing? We're still going to rescue Master Piell, right?"

Anakin stopped walking and crossed his arms while Master Plo and Obi-Wan kept walking, Plo saying, "You two have much to discuss," as Obi-Wan smiled over his shoulder and they kept walking.

"Ahsoka, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but you won't be coming along on this one," resting a hand on her shoulder when she looked at him in disbelief, "Not coming? But you're breaking into the Citadel! No one's ever done it," Ahsoka said, unable to believe he was leaving her behind, again.

"The Citadel wasn't designed to hold common criminals," Anakin said as he walked away, "It was created to hold Jedi if any of us lost our way. It's not a place for Padawans."

"You're just being protective again," Ahsoka said, trying to get him to be as reasonable as he could be, "That's not fair. How am I supposed to learn if you won't let me share the risk?" crossing her arms in front of her, but Anakin wasn't interested in her argument as he said forcefully, "This isn't a mission for learning. You either do or die. And that's not a risk I'm willing to share," as he walked away to get ready for the mission, leaving Ahsoka in the hallway to stew and come up with a plan of her own to get in on the mission. She wanted to be involved in this mission and was willing to share the risk, but knowing how stubborn he was, she decided to come at this from a different angle. To that end, while Anakin and Obi-Wan were dealing with the clones and droids and getting ready to go, she went to Master Plo, who was taking care of some things in his starfighter, knowing he would hear her out, "Master Plo? May I speak with you?"

"What is it, little 'Soka?" he asked, and Ahsoka sighed before saying, "It's about the mission. Master Skywalker doesn't want me to go."

"That….is his choice," Master Plo said neutrally, and Ahsoka sat down on the wing of his fighter as she said, "I know. But I think he's being overly protective. He's picking and choosing which assignments I can be a part of," causing Master Plo to look up and stop what he was doing.

"He is your master," the Kel Dor said, but Ahsoka was ready for that when she said, "Yes, but it's not for him to decide when and how I should put my life in danger. That should be my choice."

Master Plo was left wondering about that while Anakin and Rex were discussing how they would get past the Separatist blockade of the Citadel: "I've never been carbon-frozen before, General," Rex said.

"It's the first time for us, too," Anakin said as they walked towards the machine that would freeze them in carbonite for the long journey to Lola Sayu. Obi-Wan wasn't entirely pleased about the idea, asking, "This is your idea? Carbon freezing?"

"Hey, you wanted to shield us from the life-form scanners," Anakin said as they got into position, while Fives had a few more concerns, "Are we sure this thing is safe? I don't want to end up a wall decoration," turning to face his general and quietly wondering if General Skywalker had finally lost it.

"Try to relax," Obi-Wan advised, "We'll be unfrozen as soon as we arrive," as they faced forward and prepared to be frozen in carbonite. A technician working the machine soon had everything ready to go, and minutes later the process was complete, and graspers were reaching down into the pits and bringing up the clones and Jedi successfully frozen and ready for the mission.

From there, the slabs of carbonite were loaded onto the shuttle by reprogrammed battle droids, Artoo in charge, and a few minutes later the shuttle was taking off as Master Plo watched, "May the Force be with you," was all he said as the shuttle left and headed for the Citadel.

Finally arriving at Lola Sayu and making it past the blockade, Artoo and his battle droids brought the shuttle in for a landing away from the prison and released everyone from the carbonite. Working the stiffness out of his neck Anakin said, "Hey, Snips," not sounding surprised to see her at all.

"Hey, Master," Ahsoka said as she worked the stiffness out of her neck, leaving Anakin to stare in disbelief that she had disobeyed his orders so completely. Obi-Wan was similarly surprised because he said, "I must have carbon sickness because I could swear that's Ahsoka."

"Your eyes are fine," Anakin said as he motioned at Ahsoka, "It's Ahsoka's hearing that needs help."

"I received orders to join the team," Ahsoka said as she stepped away so she wouldn't have to look at Anakin, "I thought you knew."

"Orders? Anakin asked, knowing they hadn't come from him or Obi-Wan, "From who?"

"I discussed it with Master Plo," Ahsoka said, not quite telling the truth but not quite lying either as Obi-Wan went over to check on the clones as they were released from the carbonite by Artoo.

"He didn't tell me," Anakin said, to which Ahsoka said with a shrug and a thumb jab at the carbonite blocks next to them, "You were already in carbonite."

"Well, I gave you a specific order not to come!" Anakin said firmly, but Ahsoka wasn't about to let that stop her as she said, "If there's one thing I've learned from you, Master, it's that following direct orders isn't always the best way to solve a problem," as Obi-Wan overheard what they were talking about and walked over, looking amused.

"I see Anakin's new teaching method is to 'Do as I say, not as I do,'" Obi-Wan said with amusement before turning to Ahsoka and saying, "Welcome aboard," making Ahsoka smile while Anakin looked even less pleased with the situation but knowing they couldn't delay and make her stay behind now that she was there.

She would just follow them as soon as she could.

Minutes later, they were ready to head on their way, Ahsoka heading off next to Cody with Obi-Wan behind them, and Anakin turned back to Artoo, "Guard the shuttle, Artoo. We'll contact you when we're ready for take-off," before also leaving to begin the mission, knowing Artoo would take care of the ship and be ready for anything they needed.

About an hour later, they arrived at the Citadel, or at least across a lava lake from the prison. Anakin quickly scanned the area with macros and finally found what he was looking for, "I see the entry point."

"You were right," Cody said as the wind blew around them and caused gusts, "The wind conditions are too strong for jet packs."

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed, "We'll have to do it the old-fashioned way, with ascension cables and a steel grip," as Anakin scanned the area around the entry point again and found something disturbing.

"I don't think so," the younger Jedi said, causing Obi-Wan to turn to him and ask, "What do you mean?"

Anakin turned back to the entry point, zooming in on what was surrounding the door before saying, "Electro-mines. There's nowhere to put a grappling hook at that height," lowering the macros and handing them to Obi-Wan, "and we hit one of those, the mission's over. They'll know we're here," as Obi-Wan also looked at the entry point.

"I suppose that means we free-climb it," Rex said, sounding less than thrilled about the idea. The others didn't like the idea either, but there was nothing else to do but climb the wall and avoid the mines as best they could. Which they did until they ran into the problem of the door being locked by a patrol. The mission truly looked like it was ending then and there, but Ahsoka came to the rescue when she was able to squeeze through the ventilation duct and open the door from the inside. The Jedi and clones started entering the prison, but the last clone, Charger, lost his footing when the rock gave way and started falling, hitting one of the electro-mines and setting off the alarm, leaving Obi-Wan to say, "Well, they know we're here," as he turned to Anakin, who looked less-than-thrilled about the situation.

In the command center, Osi Sobeck growled when a droid told him, "Sir, a mine in sector 9-G was just detonated."

Realizing that could only mean one thing, Sobeck snapped, "Mindless droids!" turning and heading for his chair, "Activate all security protocols! Lock everything down!" whipping around and asking, "Where are my special units?"

"They are here, sir," the tactical droid said as he opened the door and revealed commando droids with magnetized midsections.

As this was happening, the strike team was heading deeper into the prison, knocking out surveillance and staying ahead of the droids that were looking for them. Unfortunately, the walls were electrified and they lost Longshot, but they had no choice but to keep moving. They finally made it to the interrogation level and arrived just as the droid was aiming for Master Piell's remaining eye, "Say goodbye to your one good eye," the droid said with a laugh but was stopped by a blaster bolt through his eye by Rex.

"Secure the entrance!" Anakin ordered before releasing Master Piell from the force field. Obi-Wan quickly set him on the ground, asking, "Master Piell, are you all right?"

"Obi-Wan," Master Piell said as a greeting, "What took you guys so long?"

Anakin exchanged a glance with Obi-Wan before saying, "At least your sense of humor is still intact," as he helped Even stand up, and Obi-Wan handed the Lannik his lightsaber. Even only said, "It takes more than they got to break me, young Skywalker," reminding Anakin about what else they were there for.

"So you have the coordinates for the Nexus Route?" the younger Jedi asked.

"I got them all right," Even said, "Half of them, anyway. My captain's got the other half," as Anakin and Obi-Wan again looked at each other, "I erased the computers when we were boarded and had both of us memorize part of the intel. That way, if somehow I cracked," kicking the head of the droid that had nearly taken his eye, "the information would be useless to them without the other half."

"Where's your captain?" Obi-Wan asked, and Even answered by saying, "Being held with the other officers, I assume," as he turned to face them.

"We're gonna need a new plan for getting out," Anakin said before they left the cell to find where Master Piell's officers were being held.

They navigated the hallways carefully, not realizing they had been found and were being watched. Eventually, they reached a bit of a dead end when commando droids surrounded them. It became a full-on fight, with the droids gaining the upper hand over the Jedi and clones for a few minutes, but the Jedi were able to fight back with the help of the clones and destroy the droids.

"We need to keep moving," Obi-Wan said, and they kept walking down the hallway. Watching all this, Sobeck activated another trap, causing a high-frequency sound to start that was so loud everyone stopped to cover their ears. That sound was accompanied by all their weapons heading for the ceiling, including Anakin. The ceiling must have been magnetized as well.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan exclaimed when he saw that, and seconds later the younger Jedi was being electrocuted, causing Ahsoka to cry out, "Master!"

The electricity eventually stopped, but that was only because more commandos came and surrounded the Jedi and clones, who were forced to listen to a raspy voice say over the intercom, "You fools! I hope you enjoyed the reunion with your fellow Jedi, because you're going to be my guests for a very long time!" as Obi-Wan and Even looked at each other and nodded before using the Force to push back the droids.

That didn't work as well as they had hoped, because the droids only slid back a few feet before suddenly stopping, making Obi-Wan realize, "They're magnetized," as he and the others tried again. As they did this, the clones attempted to fight the droids, but the commandos were too quick and the clones were easily beaten back.

While this was happening, Anakin still hung from the ceiling, and seeing how it was going, he looked up and saw his lightsaber. He started reaching for it, which Sobeck noticed, saying, "Oh no, you don't," electrocuting Skywalker again. But this time, the Jedi was able to focus through the pain and grab his lightsaber, disabling the magnet and falling to the ground along with the rest of the weapons. He hit the ground hard and needed a few minutes to collect his wits, allowing the others to destroy the droids. Finally, Anakin was able to get up as the droids were destroyed, with Echo asking, "Are you all right, sir?"

"Yeah," Anakin said as the ARC trooper helped him up, "Let's get out of here," and started running down the hallway, followed by the others. Rex was the last one there and put a blaster bolt through the surveillance, making Sobeck even angrier than he already was.

About twenty minutes later, they finally arrived at the cell where Master Piell's officers were being held. The officers were being guarded by commandos on the inside, who weren't aware of the Jedi on the outside. But the clones were able to recognize the sound of a lightsaber being ignited and knew what it meant, so they weren't surprised when one of the guards turned towards the door and said, "I hear something," heading up the stairs and immediately being impaled by a lightsaber.

Seconds later, the door was opened as Ahsoka leaped into the cell and knocked over the last one before impaling it on her lightsaber. Once the droids were destroyed, the rest of the Jedi entered, with Master Piell looking around as the detained officers stood up. The only non-clone in the room seemed surprised to see them, saying, "General."

"Captain Tarkin," Master Piell said by way of greeting as he walked over to his captain, who said, "I never thought I'd see you again. And you brought friends," clearly remembering Obi-Wan and Anakin, while Ahsoka rolled her eyes at the sight of him, unable to stand him, and she knew the feeling was mutual with many Jedi.

After what he had done to Master Fisto, no Jedi had wanted him under their command, especially when Seeker's prediction turned about to be true and he was protected by the chancellor and the Senate was reluctant to prosecute him. Friends of the Jedi, like Padmé Amidala and Bail Organa, were willing to push the issue, but then Master Piell decided to take him on as a captain and get him away from Coruscant. Even though Kit's brothers had made no attempts on his life, Master Piell decided that there was nothing else to do but get him off Coruscant for a while. And Even's general demeanor meant he would tolerate even less than Kit.

Tarkin's annoying voice caught Ahsoka's attention, and she turned back to what he was saying: "Well, now that you've found us, how do you expect to get us out? If they've locked this fortress down, there's at least ten squads on their way. It's going to be impossible to escape," as Obi-Wan entered the cell even more and started stroking his beard, a clear sign he was thinking about that very problem.

And apparently he found a solution as he said, "What if we split up? My team will create a diversion, while Anakin leads the others away. That way, if one of us is captured, the enemy will only have part of the information and not all of it."

The other Jedi seemed to think this was a good idea, but Tarkin was determined to be difficult when he said, "General Kenobi, I think it's better if we stick together. A stronger force would have a better chance of protecting the information," causing Obi-Wan to become slightly annoyed and wonder how Kit had put up with this captain for so long.

"Not in this situation," was all he said as he started turning towards the door where Even was already waiting.

"But surely we'd have more strength in numbers, rather than divide us," Tarkin insisted, trying to get his way, but that was when Even got involved, since he knew that keeping the information secure was essential but that they also needed to make it as hard as possible for Sobeck to get the intel, "Obi-Wan has a point. I'll go with him; you go with Skywalker."

Tarkin didn't look too pleased about the idea, nor did Anakin, but there was nothing to be done about it as they left the cell. But they had only gone a few steps when Anakin suddenly turned back, having sensed something from the cell next door.

"Anakin, we're on a bit of a schedule here, in case you haven't noticed," Obi-Wan said with exasperation, but Anakin ignored him as he went to the cell. Sharing a glance with Master Piell, Obi-Wan and Even followed him with Ahsoka behind them. Fives and Echo went with them, ready to start blasting if they needed to. Tarkin followed behind the two ARC troopers, and that was when Anakin opened the door.

The light from the hallway spilled into the cell, revealing a Nautolan hanging from his wrists over his head against the far wall. His head was down, but he raised it as the cell opened, and his eyes scanned those there with interest as the Jedi and clones walked into the cell, Tarkin staying out when he saw who it was.

Obi-Wan only crossed his arms while Anakin asked, "And which of Kit's brothers are you?" still having a hard time keeping them straight.

The light green Nautolan swallowed and smiled slightly before saying, "Lyzann. Pleasure to meet you, Jedi," the sarcasm more than clear, "Any chance you could get me out of these binders so I can be on my way? The hospitality here is somewhat lacking," his voice rough and gravelly, even more than Kailan's had been when he had taken the Senate hostage. A thin scar the Jedi hadn't noticed before ran from his right eye-ridge into his head-tentacles.

Despite the situation, Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile slightly; it was just the kind of thing Kit would have said. Anakin wasn't as impressed and said, "I don't see why we should. You and your brothers have a reputation for getting into and out of situations like this. I'm sure you can find a way out."

"Possibly," Lyzann agreed with a thoughtful nod, "But would it be in time? That is the question. And you may want to take me with you. I could tell the prison's commandant, Osi Sobeck, where you are going and your plan for escaping."

Anakin stared at him, while Even said, "You wouldn't. You don't know what our plan is," deciding to call his bluff.

"Wouldn't I?" Lyzann asked quietly as he turned to look at Even as best he could, "You plan on splitting up into two groups: one group as a diversion while the other gets away. From there, one group will get to the landing pad, while the other will be picked up away from the prison. How close am I?"

"Pretty close," Obi-Wan said grudgingly, "But there is no way you would tell Sobeck. You would be betraying your brother's friends," turning to leave along with the others. Lyzann Fisto could get himself out of this mess for all they cared. By the time Sobeck figured out anything from him, they would be long gone.

"My execution is scheduled for tomorrow," Lyzann said quietly, making them all turn around, "I've apparently outlived my usefulness since I won't tell Sobeck about my contacts in the Separatists," he raised an eye-ridge, "I've been able to stall, but now Sobeck has realized I won't tell him anything, so my death is set. But perhaps it can be delayed if I tell him where you are going and how you plan to escape," he cocked his head, "And if you see Kit again, will you be able to look him in the eye and explain why you left his brother here to die when you could have prevented it?"

Obi-Wan and Even had been listening closely to what he was saying the entire time and looked at each other before Obi-Wan sighed and said, "Let him go," to Echo and Fives. The two ARC troopers immediately went and started working on the binders. Lyzann looked up at what they were doing before looking straight ahead, hissing slightly as the binders tightened for a moment before loosening. Fives was able to open his first and Lyzann lowered his hand, blood coming from his wrist because of how tight it had been, Fives holding him up to keep his weight off the other wrist.

Seconds later, Echo was done and Lyzann was dropping to the ground with a bitten-off groan, nodding at the two clones in thanks before heading towards a corner of the cell. The Jedi turned then and were surprised to see an electric cage. Lyzann shook his hands for a moment before reaching up and turning off the cage, revealing his weapons. Sobeck must have put them there to taunt him. He quickly armed himself with his Amban rifle, a heavier blaster than the clones usually used, and a pair of modified pistols before putting on a worn overcoat and his utility belt, which had a few vibroblades and other small weapons, reaching into one of the pockets and injecting something into his neck.

"What was that?" Anakin asked, to which Lyzann shrugged and said, "A few years ago I hit my head, and a piece of my skull went into my brain. Tristan got the piece out and put it back where it belongs, but I've been having seizures ever since. The medicine keeps them from happening when I'm working," he looked up then, "And I don't think you want me having a seizure in the middle of a firefight."

Anakin said nothing and only left the cell with Obi-Wan and Even, Lyzann leaving after Fives and Echo. Once outside, the Jedi turned to each other and Anakin said, "Plan is still the same. We split up. Who wants to have Lyzann with them?"

No one seemed to want the job, but then Ahsoka asked, "Hey, where'd he go?" looking behind them and seeing Lyzann had disappeared. The other Jedi turned but saw nothing but another open cell door farther down the hall. They all looked at each other, and seconds later, Lyzann came out of that cell with two more Nautolans with him; Obi-Wan closing his eyes as Lyzann came over with them and said, "Now we can go."

"Who are they?" Anakin asked in exasperation, clearly unwilling to have any more hitchhikers with them.

Lyzann only raised an eye-ridge and said, "This is my son, Malachi," as he turned and gestured at the light blue Nautolan, "and my nephew Deveran," gesturing at the orange one with him. Both were as armed as Lyzann but missing the Amban sniper rifle and nodded at the Jedi. At the same time, Lyzann added, "These two boneheads thought it would be a good idea to sneak into the Citadel, alone, and then sneak out again. Needless to say, it was a stupid idea, resulting in someone having to come get them," his glare hardened for a moment. He added softly, "Now they are in for the fight of their very short lives," he turned to the Jedi then and said, "You know how slowly we age. Malachi is in his twenties; Deveran in his thirties. That means they have the mindsets of reckless teenagers, and the somewhat scrawny bodies of them as well, but they are stronger than they look," since both young ones were a bit thin and were just starting to fill out with muscle.

Obi-Wan shook his head again while Anakin pinched his nose. Even looked less than amused by the entire situation but only said, "We still need to split up and keep moving. The droids will be here soon."

"Right," Obi-Wan said but then turned to the three Nautolans, clearly unsure about what to do with them. Thankfully Lyzann had a solution since he said, "I will go with you, Kenobi; my son and nephew will go with Skywalker. I don't think you want me having a moment alone with him," nodding at Tarkin before adding, "A fair warning, Master Skywalker," turning to Anakin, "Deveran speaks no Basic and understands none of it. Malachi knows and understands a little but is still learning. Please be patient with both of them," turning and giving them some instructions in their language that they both nodded to before turning back to the Jedi.

"Fair enough," Obi-Wan said, "Let's get moving."

They immediately headed down the hallway before splitting up. A few minutes later, Sobeck arrived with a squad of commando droids, one of whom entered the now-empty cell where Tarkin and the other officers had been before turning around and saying, "They escaped, sir," inadvertently angering Sobeck, who said to a nearby droid officer, "Captain, show this droid what happens when we use that word."

The droid captain immediately shot the offending droid just as a squad of battle droids approached, one of them saying, "Sir! They've been spotted heading for the upper levels."

"They're trying to steal a transport," Sobeck realized before ordering the droids, "Seal the landing platform and send all battalions to their positions. Bring 'em back...alive," noticing as he left that the other two cells were opened as well but decided to leave it alone for now. He would deal with the escaped Nautolans after getting the Jedi back.

As this was happening, Obi-Wan and his group were getting a distraction ready as they laid charges along one hallway. Just as they finished, they were found by a small squad of droids, one yelling, "Hey!"

The group kept running, but finally Obi-Wan and Lyzann stopped and turned for a few brief seconds before Obi-Wan hit his comlink and set off the charges. The entire hallway blew up as Obi-Wan and Lyzann ran to catch up with their group, while far below, Anakin and Ahsoka finally found what they were looking for. Anakin quickly cut a hole in the wall before turning to Fives and Echo and saying, "Everybody in."

The two ARC troopers immediately pushed through to a tunnel and started checking for droids as Ahsoka jumped through as well and ran to the end of the tunnel. Looking around, Echo said, "This is one of the original fortress tunnels," leaving his brother to reply, "The advantage of old archive data."

"The tunnel's clear!" Ahsoka called from the far end as Anakin climbed through behind the rest of the clones and Tarkin, and her master said, "Looks like Obi-Wan's distraction worked. Things seem to be going as planned," as he turned to Tarkin.

"It's when things do not go as planned that concerns me," Tarkin said, "What then?"

"It's when things don't go as planned that we Jedi are at our best," Anakin said, not liking Tarkin's attitude, "Trust me."

"I reserve my trust for those who take action, General Skywalker," Tarkin said bitingly, making Anakin stop dead in his tracks because he knew the captain had issues with the Jedi ever since Kit had escaped and the Jedi hadn't done as much as they could have to track him and his brothers down. If the Jedi had been more forceful and not so agreeable, they could have learned more from Taylora and perhaps even found Home Base, making Sidious a bit happier with Tarkin and the entire situation. And helping Tarkin get even with his former general for everything the Nautolan Jedi had put him through over the last few years whenever they butted heads. Kit Fisto had disrespected him so much in front of their men the clones had all mutinied as soon as they were given a chance. Because of that mutiny, it had made him look terrible in front of the other officers now that they knew he had never had the respect or trust of his men.

"Then let me remind you, we rescued you back there," Anakin said without turning around, "And I reserve my trust for those who understand gratitude, Captain Tarkin," walking away and leaving Tarkin to look at the two young Nautolans standing nearby who had been silent the entire they had traveled together so far. They had been fine with covering their flank and always had their blasters out and ready, their youth hidden behind serious masks that said they knew how serious the situation was and how important it was to focus on the task at hand and not get distracted.

The two youngsters only looked at each other when they heard that name. Still, they said and did nothing as they turned and helped Fives and Echo put the piece Skywalker had cut out back, clearly a bit stronger than their somewhat thin bodies showed before turning and following Anakin and Ahsoka deeper into the tunnels, but now they watched Tarkin with unnerving intensity and wariness. They clearly knew what he had done to their uncle and weren't about to let their guards down for a second.

Escape from a Separatist prison! Carrying information about secret routes into the heart of the Republic and Separatist homeworlds, Jedi Master Even Piell was captured and imprisoned in a fortress known as the Citadel. Leading an elite strike team, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker rescued Master Piell and his officers. Now the Jedi have split up to evade Separatist forces as they attempt to escape the Citadel….

Deep in the tunnels surrounding the Citadel, Anakin and his team, along with Malachi and Deveran, followed the tunnel as Anakin got in touch with Artoo and asked, "Artoo, are you and your battle droids ready to go?" Artoo beeped in agreement, leaving Anakin to say, "All right, get the ship fired up. We'll meet you at the pipeline exit after you've picked Obi-Wan, assuming he's still on schedule."

Artoo and his droids immediately got on board the shuttle and started heading for the prison, while at the same time, Obi-Wan and his group were evading patrols by hiding in ventilation shafts, Lyzann having to crouch a bit lower than the others because he was almost too tall for the shaft and was carrying his rifle in his hand because it also was too long for the shaft, with Obi-Wan saying, "This passage will get us near the landing pad," as they finally reached a tunnel that went up. Everyone immediately started climbing, with Lyzann taking up the rear. Obi-Wan stopped for a moment to contact Artoo, saying, "Artoo, send the shuttle to the rear landing platform."

Artoo beeped and chirped in response, and one of his droids said, "We've already been given the go-ahead by General Skywalker, sir. Assuming you are still on schedule."

"The trick will be if Anakin arrives on time," Obi-Wan said in amusement, knowing his former Padawan's penchant for running late. As this was happening, Cody kept climbing and suddenly found himself face-to-face with a surveillance probe. The second the probe saw him it took off, and Cody called down to the others, "A probe!"

Lyzann looked up and started reaching for his blaster but wasn't in time as Even Piell shot after the probe and was actually able to slice it in half before falling back down. Obi-Wan called, "Did you get it?" Even didn't respond, but he didn't need to as a noise caught Obi-Wan's attention and he looked up to see doors starting to close above him and to the side. He knew what it meant instantly and turned to those below him, "Security doors! Move, or you'll be cut in half!"

Lyzann immediately hopped up out of the way behind one clone struggling to get to safety and gave him a shove that got him through the doors before he could be cut in half. The Nautolan also was able to climb into the same space seconds before the door beneath him closed. His coat caught in the door, but he only shook his head and reached for a knife, cutting through the coat while saying, "And there goes my favorite coat."

Above them, a lightsaber started cutting through the door, and a few seconds later, Even was looking down through the hole he had made. Seeing they were all still in one piece, he nodded and started working on the door above him while the clone Lyzann had saved turned to him and said, "Thanks."

Lyzann nodded and started climbing after Even as Obi-Wan began cutting through the doors above them, the clones following along. After almost an hour, they were finally through, while Anakin and Ahsoka dealt with a probe of their own in the tunnels. Once the probe was gone, Tarkin was actually having some respect for where they were, "I am beginning to admire the design of this fortress," he said to Ahsoka as he looked around, "It's rather formidable to evade."

"How can you admire such a horrible place?" Ahsoka asked, not understanding, and Tarkin decided to see if he could teach her a lesson as he said, "Ah, you reveal your shortsightedness. This ordeal only demonstrates how effective facilities like the Citadel are. Pity it ended up in Separatist hands and not ours."

He kept walking as Anakin caught up and said, "He has a point," Ahsoka turned to him, not believing he would say such a thing after all Tarkin had done, but Anakin only said, "All right, Snips, I need you to lead the group. Keep following the tunnel," as he pointed ahead after Tarkin, "I'll catch up."

"Hey, where are you going?" Ahsoka asked as he started turning around, making him turn back and say, "Obi-Wan's not here, so someone has to protect our flank."

Ahsoka smiled when she heard that, "I guess it's a good thing I came along after all."

After only about ten minutes of Ahsoka leading the group, though, Tarkin started having concerns and said as much to Rex, who shared his general's opinions about Tarkin but kept them to himself as Tarkin said, "I am concerned that the Jedi have elected this child to lead the group."

"I've served with her many times, and I trust her, Captain," Rex said neutrally, knowing his opinions regarding Tarkin weren't pleasant and aware that he didn't have the authority to tell him anything else, even if they were of the same rank.

Ahsoka had rounded a corner by then and come upon a problem, "Uh-oh," was all she said as she stared at the wall blocking their path.

"Dead end," was all Rex said as they stared at the wall. Tarkin raised an eyebrow at the sight, seemingly having his concerns about Ahsoka leading the group justified since she wasn't sure about what to do. Coming up behind them, Malachi and Deveran cocked their heads before Deveran turned to his cousin and said something in their language. Whatever it was was lost on those with them, and the others were surprised at how high-pitched their voices were despite the fact they were well past the age when their voices should have matured. After a few moments, Malachi stepped forward and asked, "You have…." he trailed off as he looked for the right word, and after a few seconds, he seemed to find the word close to what he was looking for since he said, "….boom?"

Ahsoka stared at him before looking at Rex, who only shrugged, not really understanding what the Nautolan was saying because his accent was too thick. Ahsoka only shook her head before turning around and staring at the wall, and Malachi looked at his cousin before shrugging and turning back to watch the tunnel behind them.

If the Jedi didn't want to take their advice, it wasn't on them if they were stuck with seemingly no way out.

Unaware of what was happening or that the strike team was running behind schedule, Artoo and his droids were stopped by the tactical droid that reported to Sobeck. Needing a fast way out that would give them some freedom, one of the droids improvised his way around the tactical droid and claimed Artoo was their prisoner. The tactical droid believed them, giving Artoo and his droids full access to the prison and now being in the position to help their allies if something went wrong.

Ahsoka, the clones, Tarkin, and Nautolans, were still staring at the wall when Fives looked behind them and saw that super battle droids were heading their way. Immediately they started firing, Malachi and Deveran firing as well and actually having very good aim, and that was when Anakin suddenly appeared, slicing the super battle droids into pieces as commando droids with shields appeared. He started deflecting the lasers as he snapped at Ahsoka as she was also deflecting lasers, "What happened? Why didn't you blow the wall? That part of the plan was your job!" as the clones started firing at the droids but were unable to do much because of their shields.

"I thought it was a dead end," Ahsoka said as she put her lightsaber away and headed for Rex, who took his backpack off and handed it to her. Anakin wasn't impressed by her reasoning and said, "If Master Plo really assigned you to this mission, he would have briefed you on the plan."

As Anakin and the clones kept trying to shoot the droids, Ahsoka ran for the wall and started placing explosives, but then she saw that she had two grenades that couldn't be attached to the wall. Seeing this, she ran back to the battle and armed them, rolling them towards the commandos. They made it past the shields and blew up as the wall behind them also blew, and then it was possible to keep going.

Once the wall was down, they headed through it, with Malachi looking behind them one more time before following along, not entirely sure what was going on by clearly trusting that the Jedi knew what they were doing and where they were going. At the same time, Deveran never took his eyes off Tarkin, and Tarkin could feel those eyes boring into his back. It finally got so bad that Tarkin said quietly, "I wish he would stop staring at me. It's unsettling."

"If you hadn't stabbed their uncle, maybe you wouldn't be in this mess, Captain," Anakin said with no sympathy, "Maybe you should have thought that possibility through before attacking Kit the way you did."

"I am an officer of the Republic navy, General Skywalker," Tarkin said, "And I don't care much for the threat from that woman. These two are young; I doubt they would be much of a match for you."

"They shot down two of those battle droids just now with direct hits," Fives said suddenly, "Someone taught them pretty well."

He said nothing else, and neither did Anakin, knowing there were more important things to worry about than Tarkin's discomfort.

They didn't know it, but at that exact moment Obi-Wan, Even, Lyzann, and their clones were also having a bit of an issue. They were still in an air vent and were watching the shuttle that was supposed to get them out of there, with Cody saying, "The shuttle's there, but there's no sign of Artoo."

"Something might have happened," Obi-Wan said as Cody turned to him, "We'll have to make our way around to the other side and get a different view," the Jedi turning his companions, "This could be a trap."

Even's mouth tightened for a moment as he looked out but said nothing. Lyzann also looked out, and his eyes were thoughtful as he considered the situation. In the end, he said nothing as Obi-Wan kicked the vent cover out into the lava far below. Cody passed him a cable, and the Jedi repelled down to a ledge below. Obi-Wan looked around quickly before signaling to Cody it was safe to come down. The clone nodded, and the rest of the group followed, but Lyzann hesitated and decided to wait for a few minutes, old memories coming to the fore and making him stop.

Something wasn't right; he knew it.

After walking along that ledge for a few minutes, the Jedi and clones made it to a small landing platform where there were two gun turrets as well as a few STAPs. Obi-Wan helped the clones, while Even could get down on his own. Once on the platform, Obi-Wan activated his comlink, "Anakin?" he asked, hoping the other Jedi was in range and close by.

Instead, a strange voice he had heard before came through, and immediately it was clear there was something wrong, and their plans had just been compromised, "I must commend you on your escape tactics, but in the end, it was easy to predict your every move," seconds later both turrets were activated as a crab droid came down from above, and a few destroyer droids and commandos came through the door with shields up and ready to fire.

Obi-Wan looked around with crossed arms, shaking his head as the person on his comlink started laughing cruelly. A few seconds later, he looked more carefully and realized that Lyzann wasn't with them. The Nautolan was nowhere in sight and had abandoned them. Looking at Even Obi-Wan could see he had made the same realization, but they were left with no choice but to surrender and be taken back into the prison.

As this was happening, Anakin and Ahsoka had finally found the tunnel that would help them escape, with Anakin saying, "This pipe leads up to the top of the ridge, where Artoo will pick us up and get us out of here. There's the hatch," climbing up and opening the hatch, releasing a noxious smell, "Let's go! Let's go! Everyone in," as he turned to the clones and said, "Don't use your lights, and make sure your weapons are locked. The slightest electronic pulse could ignite this whole tube."

"I hope somebody tells the droids that," Tarkin said as he went into the tube, followed by the clones.

Anakin shook his head and turned to Malachi and Deveran, unsure how to tell them to lock their weapons, but Malachi only looked at him and said, "Weapons locked. Understand that," his words halting and slow as he spoke, clearly not familiar with Basic but doing his best, even though his accent was incredibly thick and almost impossible to understand. He showed Anakin his blaster, and the Jedi nodded when he saw it was locked and safe. Deveran showed him as well, and then they all entered the pipe, Malachi sneezing from the bad smell while Deveran shook his head and snorted.

But they said nothing else as they followed the Jedi and clones through the dark tunnel, unaware that Obi-Wan and Even were having their own problems as they were escorted to the command center by commando droids. Arriving there, they were greeted by Sobeck, who said gleefully, "Welcome back," as he turned to face them.

"I must say," Obi-Wan said as he saw Sobeck for the first time, "you're not at all what I pictured...someone with such a soft voice."

Sobeck growled slightly as he faced Obi-Wan but only said, "I want your half of the information," walking down the line of prisoners, "Give it to me now, or I'll start executing your men."

Even looked down before saying, "This is war, Sobeck. We're all prepared to die to protect that intel."

Sobeck chuckled before grabbing a blaster from one of his commandos and aiming it at a clone, asking, "Really?" the clone recoiled back but was unable to do anything as Sobeck shot him in the head. His body fell to the ground limply, angering both Obi-Wan and Even, but before Sobeck could kill another clone, the tactical droid behind them said, "Sir, we have located the other group, and our droids are closing in on them."

Sobeck threw the blaster back to the commando, saying, "Your Jedi resolve only delays the inevitable. Take them to Interrogation. Torture them slowly."

The droids started escorting them out of the room and down to Interrogation, but they hadn't gone far when three blaster shots sounded behind them and the droids were destroyed. The mouse droid with them tried to get away but was also shot, and they all turned to see Lyzann standing in the hallway behind them. He had a cocky smile on his face, but seeing the unimpressed look Obi-Wan gave him, he asked, "What? Did you really think I left you out in the cold like that?" as he holstered his pistol and walked over as Obi-Wan's put his hands down in front of him. Lyzann had the binders off in seconds before moving on to the clones and Even, leaving Obi-Wan raising his eyebrow and slightly impressed at how quick Lyzann had been with the binders. He hadn't even felt it when they were unlocked.

"We thought you had left, Lyzann," Obi-Wan said as the Nautolan kneeled down to get the binders off Even, "You just disappeared the second we were trapped."

Lyzann shrugged, "My brother asked me to do what I could if I ever found myself on the same side as Jedi again, and I keep my word. As for leaving you, yes, I did. But there was a reason behind it," he looked at Obi-Wan then as he worked on Cody's binders, "When I came here to retrieve my son and nephew, I knew I wouldn't be able to get in by walking through the front door. So I went through the ventilation system and found myself on that same platform where you were detained. That was where I was captured. This time, it felt like we were being herded in that direction, so I decided to hang back and watch and see what happened. And then, once you were captured, I backtracked to the control room and waited for the right moment. Sobeck would want to gloat, so I just staked out the control room until you left and followed you in a more roundabout way to take the droids by surprise. I also was able to retrieve these," handing Obi-Wan his lightsaber and tossing Even his, "Sobeck collects them."

Obi-Wan shook his head and said, "We must keep moving and try to find Artoo. We won't be able to get out of here without his help."

Lyzann nodded slowly before seeing something behind them and asking, "Is Artoo an astromech with blue markings? Being followed by battle droids also with blue markings?" nodding behind them, and Obi-Wan turned to see Artoo, who was very happy to see them, beeping and chirping happily.

"Good to see you, Artoo. I wondered where you've been," patting the droid on his dome, and Artoo beeped again.

"The commander is pleased to see you as well, sir," the lead battle droid said, "but would like to return to the shuttle as soon as possible."

"Yes, I couldn't agree more," Obi-Wan said as they started walking towards the exit, with Cody asking, "What about General Skywalker, sir?"

"Not to worry," Obi-Wan said, well aware of how his Padawan thought, "he'll switch to Plan B."

Once free of the binders, they moved on, with Lyzann taking up the rear with his more powerful blaster, and after a few minutes they were able to find the backpacks and weapons that had been confiscated from the clones. They kept moving after that, unaware that Anakin and Ahsoka were still wandering in the tunnel, something Tarkin was less than pleased about, "How much longer are we going to wander through this tunnel in the dark?" he asked as they walked, a hand over his nose in an attempt to block the smell.

"Captain Tarkin, haven't you learned to trust me by now?" Anakin asked sarcastically as he also held his nose.

"You may have earned my trust, General Skywalker," Tarkin said, "but my faith in your comrades is still lacking."

"You lack faith in the Jedi," Anakin said simply, "because of the apparent betrayal of Kit Fisto, correct? Even though no one knows why he did what he did, and now we can only wait and see if he survives?"

"Exactly," Tarkin said, "I find their tactics ineffective. The Jedi code prevents them from going far enough to achieve victory. To do whatever it takes to win. The very reason why peacekeepers should not be leading a war," Anakin turned around and looked at him, and Tarkin asked, "Have I offended you?"

"No," Anakin said, sounding somewhat surprised that he agreed with Tarkin and wondering if the captain wasn't all that bad, "I've also found that we sometimes fall short of victory because of our methods."

"Well," Tarkin said, "I see we agree on something."

"Maybe," Anakin agreed, "But I don't think you'll find many Jedi friendly to you after what you did to Master Fisto. He was and still is one of the more well-liked Jedi, and now you have to deal with his very powerful family. Even if you hadn't known about them, you still should've been concerned that there would be repercussions of some kind."

"He betrayed the Republic, General Skywalker," Tarkin said, "What was I supposed to do about that? Wait for the Jedi to come and beg the information out of him? That wasn't going to happen, and once he escaped, I felt I had a duty to keep him from leaving the ship. How was I supposed to know he was that severely injured?"

"Most people use heads," Malachi said suddenly, "But then, you too stupid for that," coming up behind them and shouldering Tarkin aside, making him fall into the pipe next to them. Deveran came up next and pushed him also, and none of the clones or Jedi seemed to notice or want to help him as he straightened and glared at the two young Nautolans.

At that moment, Ahsoka cut in, deciding to get ahead of this before it could get worse, especially since she had found something useful to them, kneeling down on top of the pipe they were walking next to and saying, "I think I found a way out," before unlocking the hatch but only opening it a little to see what or who was possibly waiting for them.

Below her, Anakin asked, "What do you see, Snips?"

"The coast is clear," Ahsoka said as she looked around carefully, and Anakin asked, "Any sign of Obi-Wan and the shuttle?"

"No," she replied as she opened the hatch even more, "I don't see him or Artoo anywhere," starting to climb out, a lightsaber in hand, when a blaster appeared. She only looked at it for a few seconds before springing into action, something those below her missed as a severed droid arm fell down into the hatch. Finished with the droids on the pipe, Ahsoka turned to see even more droids heading their way and called down into the pipe, "We've got to go!" deflecting lasers as she said this.

"There could be a whole battalion of droids out there," Tarkin pointed out, but Anakin decided it was the better option as he said, "Better than hiding in a fuel line."

Anakin immediately climbed up the ladder to help Ahsoka, giving the clones, Nautolans, and Tarkin cover as they deflected the lasers. The others quickly slid down the pipe and headed for cover, the Jedi following after everyone was out. Once safely behind some rocks, Tarkin again stated the obvious: "The plan's been compromised. The shuttle's not coming."

Not as bothered by this as he could have been, Anakin only called, "Throw me a charge!" to Rex, who did so. The Jedi ran forward, somersaulting forward before standing up and arming the grenade. He threw it, and it landed in the fuel pipe; seconds later an explosion rocked the area as the fuel and the pipe blew up. Once the explosion had died down, a crab droid fell right in front of them, slowly dying from the blast, and that was when Anakin stood up and said, "Let's go! Time for Plan B."

"There's a Plan B?" Tarkin said in disbelief, having not heard that there was a plan B, and Anakin said, "There's always a backup plan. We'll meet Artoo at Obi-Wan's position," he and Ahsoka walking over the crab droid and heading for the landing pad where the shuttle was.

Unaware that Sobeck had figured out they were heading for the shuttle, Obi-Wan, Even, Lyzann, and the clones headed for the landing pad, where they were stopped by a droid. One of their reprogrammed droids tried to talk their way out of the situation, but seconds later the tactical droid could be heard over a transmission as he said, "The prisoners are escaping with reprogrammed battle droids. Let no one on board that shuttle."

Immediately a firefight broke out as Obi-Wan sliced one droid in two and one of their droids shot another. Behind them, Lyzann turned and shot two commando droids that were approaching, hitting both in the eye before racing after the Jedi and clones to find cover. He skidded around and joined Obi-Wan and Even, looking out for a brief second before ducking back down as a laser nearly hit him. He shook his head then and called out, "I don't think this is going to be easy! Those turrets are going to be a problem!"

"Can you hit the droids in them?" Obi-Wan asked, knowing he was a marksman that had never missed a shot if Taylora was to be believed.

"I'll need cover fire, and this angle is lousy," Lyzann said, and at that moment more lasers were fired, but they were coming from the other direction as Anakin and his group appeared, Anakin saying as he took cover near Obi-Wan, "Sorry I'm late," making Obi-Wan say shortly, "How nice of you to join us."

Malachi and Deveran skidded to a stop near Lyzann, who looked them over briefly before turning back to trying to shoot the droids, having to leave cover to have the angle he needed. He stayed on one knee, closing an eye as he aimed, and the clones kept up cover fire. Seconds later he shot once, and the commando droid in the first turret fell to the ground far below, and he was aiming for the second one.

But before he could shoot the second one, laser shots came out of nowhere and hit him in the leg and arm. He hit the ground instantly, the pain overriding his senses, Malachi crying out, "Athair!" and trying to run for him, but Obi-Wan and Deveran held him back, knowing they couldn't let him get near his father now that he was exposed. Ahsoka ran out, deflecting lasers as the clones kept up cover fire, and seconds later, she was kneeling near Lyzann. He was awake with his eyes open, but they were unblinking and staring straight ahead for several long moments. Finally, he blinked and looked at Ahsoka, and then he could get up with her help.

He grabbed his blaster as he did so and shot a few of the droids with his left arm against his stomach. Seconds later, they were back under cover, with Malachi yanking himself free of Deveran and Obi-Wan and going to his father. The latter was leaning against the container and looking at the wound in his leg. He nodded when he saw his son and Malachi relaxed, but it was clear he was out of action for the moment as he shut his eyes and leaned his head back, needing a few moments to regroup and collect his wits. Malachi went digging through his utility belt then and pulled out the needle, giving his father another dose of the anti-seizure medication before putting it back and drawing his pistol, standing protectively over his father and ready to fight.

"Ready," was all he said to Obi-Wan, and the Jedi looked at each other before again taking a look at what was happening with the ship with Ahsoka right next to him, who said, "The ship is surrounded!"

"We need to launch a full-forward assault and take that vessel!" Tarkin said, but Obi-Wan knew it wouldn't be that easy as he said, "We may have a bigger problem. Those turrets. If we don't take them out, they will use them to destroy the shuttle and prevent our escape."

"Which is precisely why we should get aboard that shuttle," Tarkin argued, "and use the weapon systems to decimate those droids."

"Whatever we're going to do, we better do it fast," Anakin said as he pointed his lightsaber at a few battle droids on STAPs heading right for them. They started firing immediately and blew up a few of the boxes they were hiding behind, making them all head for more cover. Anakin, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Even all faced the STAPs and ignited their lightsabers, deflecting their lasers as Even used Skywalker's greater height to jump up and destroy one of the STAPs. Anakin jumped as well and commandeered another STAP, heading for the turrets.

As this was happening, Echo and Fives were destroying a crab droid, leaving Anakin to swoop back down and pick up Even, who climbed onto his back and held on as they kept flying around the landing pad. Commando droids suddenly appeared, armed with blasters and shields, and Echo threw another grenade. But this grenade didn't destroy the commandos, they were too tough for that, and one of them headed towards one of the unmanned turrets. Echo immediately told Anakin about it, "General Skywalker, a droid is manning one of those turrets. They're going to blow up the shuttle, sir," causing Anakin and Even to head for the turret.

But they were unable to stop the droid as he started shooting at them and caused them to crash, and that was when Echo decided there was only one thing left to do, "This is our only chance. We've got to stop him," picking up a discarded shield nearby and running for the shuttle. But the commando droid was watching and aiming for the shuttle and the clone, something Fives noticed and called, "Echo, look out!"

But he was too late, and seconds later the shuttle was destroyed, and Echo along with it, "Echo!" Fives yelled, but there was nothing he could do. Seeing their way out was destroyed, Obi-Wan said, "We have to go now!"

They all left then, Lyzann back on his feet but limping slightly before his stride evened out and he was running at their pace, he, his son, and nephew shooting a few of the droids in the head because they were too close before leaving as well. As this was happening, Obi-Wan reached out to the Temple, knowing there was only one thing left to do if they wanted to get off the planet. Master Plo quickly answered, asking, "Master Kenobi, what has happened?"

"I'm afraid we've had a situation with the shuttle," Obi-Wan said as Anakin caught up to him and added, "By "situation," he means big explosion. We're going to need a rescue."

"It will be done," Master Plo said immediately, "I'm sending our cruisers now," the transmission ended then, and Master Plo was turning to Yoda and Mace, Yoda shaking his head now that he knew there was no easy way for their friends on Lola Sayu to get off the planet now.

Safely hidden in a cave near the prison, the strike team regrouped and collected itself after the shuttle's destruction. Lyzann was sitting on a ledge and taking care of the wound in his arm and leg, borrowing some supplies from a medpac his nephew had produced, while the Jedi discussed what happened next, "We'll need to hold out until the Council sends a ship," Obi-Wan said.

"Not a problem," Even said from where he was leaning against Artoo, "We've beat them once; we'll beat them again."

Fives turned then, being a dose of reality none of them really wanted at the moment, "This landscape is almost impossible to cross," as he climbed down from his lookout spot to join them, "How are we going to get to the rendezvous point?"

"That is the trap of the Citadel," Obi-Wan said as he stroked his beard, "It was designed so it would be almost impossible for fugitives to get off the surface, even if they escaped the tower."

"Lucky we're not just any fugitives," Anakin said, clearly feeling confident in their abilities, but Even only said, "I hope you're right."

They moved on after that, with Fives looking back one more time at the prison and nodding in respect to Echo while Lyzann hopped off the ledge and started walking. His leg looked a bit stiff, but after a few seconds, he was walking normally and keeping up easily as he followed the Jedi, his son and nephew staying close as they headed deeper into the landscape of Lola Sayu, knowing they would need all their wits and skills to survive the trap of the Citadel.

Trapped behind enemy lines! Carrying secret information vital to the Republic's war effort, Jedi Master Even Piell and Captain Tarkin were taken prisoner by the Separatists. An elite strike team led by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker landed on the planet Lola Sayu and infiltrated the prison. The team rescued Master Piell and Tarkin, but they were pursued by the prison's evil commandant, Osi Sobeck. During the escape, their ship was destroyed. Now we find them on the run, desperate to escape the trap that is the Citadel….

Having managed to escape the tower, the Jedi and clones, along with Lyzann and his son and nephew, were now navigating the caves and tunnels of Lola Sayu while they looked for a safe spot to figure out their next step. Lyzann, Malachi, and Deveran were using all their heightened senses to search for droids or probes nearby, but after a few seconds, Lyzann nodded and walked back to the Jedi, his hands relaxed on his blaster. So far, he hadn't used his Amban rifle, and the Jedi weren't really interested in him using it since they knew how dangerous it was. Seeing that it was safe, Lyzann sat down for a few moments and took the bandage off the wound in his leg, revealing the skin had knitted together, and everything was healed. The wound in his arm was also healed; they saw as he took the bandage off that arm, throwing the used dressings into a nearby lava stream before standing up and looking around for danger again.

Obi-Wan shook his head when he saw that; if a Jedi had been injured in that way, it would have taken days to heal, but here was Lyzann only a few hours later completely healthy and able to keep going.

"We are clear!" Rex said suddenly, allowing them all to stop and Ahsoka to ask, "What's our next move?"

"We're going to have to fight our way off this rock," Anakin said, with Obi-Wan adding, "Contact the Council. See when they plan to rescue us."

"I'll handle it," Even said as he turned to Artoo, who immediately sent a transmission to the Temple and Mace Windu answered, "Master Piell, it's good to see you alive, my friend," the other Jedi Master said.

"Likewise, Master Windu," Even said, "Our escape route has been compromised, and there are several squads of droids closing in on us," as Anakin approached and asked, "When can we expect your arrival?"

"Master Plo is already en route," Mace said as he gestured at a nearby hologram of the Kel Dor Jedi.

"Gunships will arrive to evacuate you and your men," Yoda interjected then, "but do not delay, only a small window of opportunity shall we have. Your rendezvous point will be this island," the hologram changing to an image of the rendezvous point and the surrounding lake.

"Understood," Even said, and Mace added, "May the Force be with you," with that Mace started to turn away, but that was when Anakin said hesitantly, "Um, we did pick up a few strays while in the prison, Master," causing Mace to turn back and ask, "What kind of strays?"

Anakin hesitated and looked behind him, and that was when Lyzann walked into range of the transmission. Seeing who it was, Mace asked, "And which of Kit's brothers are you?"

Lyzann smiled slightly and raised an eye-ridge, "One of the more reasonable ones, Master Windu, I assure you. I want off this rock as much as everyone else here and have an incentive to do so," inclining his head back to where his son and nephew were standing nearby, and they walked into the range of the transmission, "This is my son and nephew. They decided to be a bit stupider than we thought they would be and break into the Citadel," he raised his eye-ridge a bit higher in light of Mace's surprise, "And now they need help getting off this planet, hence why we're still here."

"He did threaten to tell Sobeck how we were going to escape," Captain Tarkin said suddenly. Lyzann looked at him indifferently for a few moments before saying, "Yes, I did. But it doesn't make much of a difference now, does it? The ship is destroyed, and we will have to work together to get off this planet. It might be a bit difficult for you, Captain, but hopefully you will be more mature than my son and nephew about all this," turning back to Mace and saying, "I have a vested interest in getting off this planet. So I will help your team do so. My son and nephew thought coming here would make for an interesting adventure, which it certainly has been so far. But it doesn't change the fact that we have to get out of here."

"And will you and your family there submit to any questioning after you are rescued?" Mace asked, and Lyzann cocked his head, "Let's see what the circumstances are, Master Jedi. I'm sure an arrangement can be reached."

Mace frowned at that, and the transmission ended with Obi-Wan saying, "You could have handled that better," and Lyzann shrugged before saying, "I can be tactful when I want to be. I just know it won't help me now."

With that, he walked over to his son and nephew, both of whom were watching Tarkin carefully, just as they had been doing for quite a while. Seeing this, Obi-Wan asked, "Should we be concerned they are going to do something?"

Lyzann looked over at Malachi and Deveran for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "No; you should be more worried about me doing something to Tarkin. You never know where a laser bolt can come from during a firefight after all," saying nothing more and leaving Obi-Wan and Even to share a glance with Anakin and Ahsoka.

This was going to be a difficult journey.

Seconds later, Cody called "Incoming!" shooting at four commando droids that had found them, hitting one of them and causing it to fall into a nearby lava stream. Seconds later, Fives was reaching for a charge, but three shots rang out before he could throw or even arm it, and the remaining droids were falling into another lava stream. They all turned to see that Lyzann was slowly lowering his blaster, having shot all three droids in the head without missing, but there was no time to admire his aim as Obi-Wan said, "No doubt there's more on the way," and they kept moving.

Back at the Citadel, Sobeck was in a mobile command post when he received a transmission from Count Dooku, who made it clear he was not happy with what was going on when he said, "Commander Sobeck, you've been avoiding my transmissions."

"My deepest respect," Sobeck said, his eye starting to twitch slightly since he knew Dooku wasn't pleased with him, "I was hoping to surprise you with good news."

"Good news would indeed be a surprise," Dooku said scathingly. Sobeck's eye started twitching even more as Dooku continued, "Have the prisoners been captured?"

"Not yet, my lord," Sobeck said, knowing that if he lied then his tactical droid would likely tell Dooku the truth later, "But we've located their position, and my droids are moving in now."

"I need not remind you that the prisoners are carrying secret hyperspace coordinates into the core systems of the Republic and our Separatist home worlds," Dooku said severely, "This information will allow us to launch a surprise attack on Coruscant, striking a crippling blow to the Republic and the Jedi."

"Yes, my lord," Sobeck said, his eye not twitching as much now that he had a goal and even more motivation to complete it, "I will see to it that they are soon back in our possession."

"You should know, Commander, right now your honesty is the only thing keeping you alive," was all Dooku said as he ended the transmission, starting Sobecks' eye twitching again as he thought about what Dooku would do to him if he failed to not only retrieve the prisoners but also the information they were carrying.

Reaching a ledge that led down into the mountains surrounding a large lava lake, the Jedi and clones were again attacked by droids, with Ahsoka saying, "They're boxing us in!"

"Lock in your cables!" Anakin said as he and Obi-Wan took out their ascension cables and locked the grappling hooks into the ground. Anakin then turned to Artoo and said, "Artoo, we need your droids to hold off the enemy as long as possible," Artoo beeped in agreement before turning to his droids. Anakin said, "Good. Everybody, follow me!" as Tarkin and a clone climbed onto his and Obi-Wan's backs to start the dangerous climb down.

"This is sheer madness!" Tarkin exclaimed, while above them, Lyzann kept firing and shooting at the droids, never missing. Taking a few seconds to turn his head, he called out to his son and nephew, "Rach air adhart! Bidh mi dìreach air do chùlaibh!" when they hesitated he turned his head even more and added, "A-nis! Na toir orm innse dhut a-rithist!"

The two young Nautolans turned and ran, reaching deep inside themselves for the Force and leaping off the ledge. They flipped through the air and made it to the ground before the others, looking up with blasters ready as Obi-Wan and Anakin kept walking slowly down the side of the cliff, even though they took a few seconds to exchange a glance when they saw the stunt the two young ones had just pulled.

Not even Anakin would have attempted such a dangerous jump, and he was often the definition of reckless.

As this was happening, Artoo was dealing with his droids, beeping and chirping orders that they obeyed immediately, one of them saying, "We understand, sir. We will delay the enemy as long as possible," Artoo chirped again as the droids got themselves ready, with one of them telling the others, "Prepare for attack!" before turning to Artoo and saying solemnly, "It was an honor to serve under you, sir."

Artoo chirped and moved on as Lyzann stayed behind a few minutes longer, not turning his back on the droids, while far below, Obi-Wan called, "Keep moving!"

Seeing that everyone was safely heading down, Lyzann backed up towards the ledge and fell backwards off it as the last of the reprogrammed battle droids was destroyed. A commando droid hit one of the cables and sent the two clones attached to it to their deaths far below, while Lyzann used the Force to flip and somersault through the air and slow his momentum, coming to a safe landing near an open crevice in the ground. Once safely on solid ground, he turned and started firing up at the commando droids above to distract them, actually hitting two that were immediately replaced.

Artoo flew down to the ground then, and minutes later they were all on solid ground and following Malachi and Deveran into the crevice while Anakin and Lyzann stayed behind, "Keep moving, keep moving!" Anakin called as he ignited his lightsaber and deflected the lasers raining down on them from above. Lyzann and Cody both shot up at the droids, Cody hitting one while Lyzann hit two more and made them fall. Once they were down to one or two, they all jumped into the tunnel and ran to catch up with others, hoping they would be in time for the rescue on its way.

Master Plo was already discussing the strategy they would use as they went through hyperspace as quickly as possible. With him were Masters Tiin, Gallia, and Luminara. Master Gallia's strength and energy was back, and she was more than ready for this mission now and eager for some action.

"Master Tiin, you should be leading the fighter attack," Master Plo said, "Once you punch a hole through their defenses, I will lead the gunships down to the surface and extract the team."

"Depending on the size of their force," Master Tiin said slowly, "I don't know how much time we can buy you."

"You will do your best, I'm sure," Master Plo said as he straightened, but Master Gallia had to add something as well, considering how perilous this mission was, "If the team isn't at the extraction point when you arrive, you may be forced to leave them, or put us all at risk."

"I'm afraid Master Gallia is right," Master Tiin said regretfully, knowing they likely wouldn't be able to stay longer than a few minutes if the team wasn't there in time.

"They'll be there," Master Plo said firmly, unaware that Sobeck was tired of his prisoners staying ahead of him and was about to unleash everything at his disposal to get them back.

At Citadel command, Sobeck had decided there was only one thing left to do: "The prisoners have evaded us long enough. Bring out the anoobas! Use them for tracking only!" as droids opened cages and unleashed the anoobas: huge, hulking creatures with a giant tooth on their bottom jaw and powerful senses, "Contact me as soon as the fugitives have been located."

"Roger, roger," one droid said, and the hunt was on.

Successfully evading the droids looking for them, the group walked along the edge of a lava lake as they headed for the rendezvous point with Tarkin asking, "What if your Jedi friends are not there when we arrive?"

"Keep moving and you won't have to worry about that, Tarkin," Even said shortly, clearly running out of patience with his captain, while Ahsoka rolled her eyes at the thought of the captain and what he had done to Master Fisto. Knowing what she knew, it was challenging to put up with him since he was likely an even more traitorous agent than the Republic thought Master Fisto was, but he had the backing of the Chancellor and would be able to get away with just about anything now.

But she still couldn't help but question Master Piell's wisdom and said as much to Anakin, "Why did Master Piell have to share half of the intel with that guy?" nodding her head behind her to where Tarkin was walking, "It's like he's not even grateful we rescued him."

"Captain Tarkin feels the Jedi should be….relieved from the burden of leading the war effort," Anakin said by way of explanation.

"That's ridiculous," Ahsoka said, and Anakin agreed as he said, "Maybe, but we aren't soldiers; we're peacekeepers. The Jedi code often prevents us from going far enough to achieve victory."

Hearing this, Obi-Wan said, "A rather simple point of view," knowing the Jedi Code was a bit more complicated and nuanced than that.

"Either way, he is a good captain," Anakin said, having realized that as they spent more and more time together and he was forced to think of other perspectives than his own as they fought to survive the Citadel.

"I think my brother would disagree with that statement, Skywalker," Lyzann said in his gravelly voice from behind him, making him jump since he hadn't heard or sensed him approaching. The Nautolan matched his pace with Skywalker as he stared straight ahead and said, "My brother is someone you count on to find the best in everyone he meets, and he found nothing good in Tarkin. Kind of says a lot; doesn't it?" before walking on and leaving Anakin to glance at Obi-Wan, not sure what to say or make of that statement.

They always seemed to be in unfamiliar territory when dealing with these brothers. Every time they thought they were gaining a new understanding of them, something like this came along to prove they had a lot to learn.

Deciding there was nothing else for it, Obi-Wan matched pace with Lyzann then, glancing at him a moment before deciding to stay quiet. But that didn't last long as Lyzann suddenly cocked his head and said, "You have a question. Ask it, while I feel like answering."

Obi-Wan looked at him before asking, "Why show yourselves now, so late in the war? You could have come out of hiding sooner and helped the Republic."

Lyzann stared straight ahead for a few moments before saying, "We thought about it; fighting in the Clone Wars. But in the end, many of us decided against it and tried to talk Kit out of fighting as well. We knew it wouldn't end well for him, but he refused to abandon his friends. And if we had revealed ourselves, we wouldn't have hidden behind aliases or other names; we would have used our real names. Which would have opened the door for many questions we didn't want to answer. And we didn't want to put Kit in the position of having to pretend we weren't his brothers, or pretend he had never met us before. That was something none of us wanted to do, or put him through."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly, realizing even more how much these brothers protected their youngest sibling and what they were willing to do for him, before saying, "And yet here you are, helping us get away. You could have abandoned us yourself many times over the last few hours and struck out on your own with your son and nephew, but you are still here. I can't imagine that is all Kit's doing."

"And yet it is," Lyzann said softly, "He asked us to defend his friends if he wasn't there to do it himself, mostly defend you against ourselves, and that is something we will do. Whether we like it or not, we keep our word."

Obi-Wan shook his head before asking, "How is he doing? We check him every day, but I'm sure you know more than we do."

Lyzann's face froze a moment before saying, "He's still alive; something I didn't think was possible for a long time. How that's possible, I don't know; I have had friends die sooner than this from comas. The fact he is still alive is something, but I'm wary of what will happen if and when he wakes up. Will he still be the same afterward? Or will he be nothing like he was before? Only time will tell."

Obi-Wan was silent for a few minutes before saying, "I'm hopeful he will be alright. I don't know if that is enough, but it is all I can offer right now," Lyzann nodded, and Obi-Wan's tone softened a little as he asked, "Do you mind me asking what it was like growing up on Glee Anselm? Taylora didn't speak of it much, but I could sense it wasn't easy."

"No, it wasn't, and I don't like to talk about it," Lyzann said, shutting down that question quickly, "but I can say I was glad to leave and fight during the fall of the Old Republic, and glad to leave for good when Seeker and Kit found that new planet. It felt like I was actually doing something worthwhile then, fighting in the old wars, even though there was a heavy cost."

"I see your bands, Lyzann," Obi-Wan said quietly, "You have killed a Jedi," the one gold band on his head-tentacle in stark contrast to the twenty he had for the Sith.

Lyzann nodded slowly, "Yes, I did. He was my friend," causing Obi-Wan to turn and stare at him, but Lyzann was suddenly busy checking his weapon. He took the clip out, put it back in, made sure the safety was off, and then said, "He fell to the Dark Side, and I killed him to protect those with us. I will never forget that fight, or how hard it was to deliver that final blow. I don't wear that band as a point of pride; I wear it to remember the friend I once had, not the Sith he became or what he did to those that got in his way before he got to me."

Hearing the grief in Lyzann's voice Obi-Wan was silent as he waited for Lyzann to speak again, and eventually, he did: "I remember the days of the Old Republic, Master Kenobi. I remember fighting with everything I had some days just to see the next, and burying my brothers-in-arms by the hundreds. I remember when the Sith took and tortured Tagali," Obi-Wan looked at him, but he wasn't paying attention as he said quietly, "Tagali knew where some Jedi younglings had been hidden, and the Sith wanted that location. They tortured him for weeks, and then decided that if he wasn't going to speak to them then, they would make sure he never spoke again. So they cut his vocal cords and removed his voice box, while he was still awake, and then deafened him with Force-lightning. Still he refused to yield, or give up those younglings," he looked at Obi-Wan for the first time since the conversation began then, "Our culture and our way of life revolves around music, if you can believe that. We are a musical people, and enjoy singing and playing instruments. Our history isn't written; it is sung. Singing is our pastime and our pleasure, and we enjoy it more than anything. Tagali had one of the best voices in the clan, but he was willing to give it up if it meant those younglings were kept safe. Now, we try and keep him involved when we start singing, but it is hard when you can tell he wants nothing more than to join in and sing along with us. It hurts to see him like that, but that was the price we agreed to pay when the Jedi were our allies. Thankfully Nagala is willing to stay close to Tagali, but that was always a guarantee. Our mother, like many old-breed mothers, usually waits a few centuries between children, but Nagala and Tagali are only five years apart. They are about as close as Kailan and Kit."

"Do you think that will happen again?" Obi-Wan asked, "The Jedi being your allies?"

Lyzann shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe. There is always tomorrow, and change can happen in the blink of an eye. Your enemy today can be your friend tomorrow; it's that fast. The future is as unpredictable as a storm; sometimes, you just have to wait it out and see what happens."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly before asking, "Would you really have sold us out to the Separatists? They wouldn't have let you survive either way."

Lyzann shrugged, "I traffic in information, Master Kenobi. I spend my days gathering information of all kinds and selling it to the highest bidder. Sometimes that's the Separatists, sometimes that's the Republic. I usually do so through a droid over a transmission but can and will have meetings face-to-face sometimes. There was a chance Sobeck would have taken the bait and let me go, but there is a greater chance he would have killed me even with that information. And then he would have killed Malachi and Deveran. Maybe I was hoping he would call my bluff and give me a way to escape with them."

"You sell information?" Obi-Wan asked in surprise, "Why? Aren't there other ways you could make money? And to the Separatists as well?"

Lyzann nodded, "I sell it because I can ask top price for it. Those I sell it to know that it is verified intel and hard to come by, so it isn't difficult to get as much money as possible. When I sell to the Separatists, I make sure anything I sell won't harm my brother in any way, but now that he's out of the Republic fleet, it doesn't really matter. To be honest, I prefer selling to the Republic. They don't stab you in the back just because they don't like what you're giving them. And there are other ways I can make money, but this is the way I'm most comfortable with."

Obi-Wan shook his head but said nothing more, and the conversation died down when a faint howl was heard on the wind and Ahsoka asked, "Did you hear that?"

"Yes," Even said, "We're going to have company."

High above the planet, vulture droids were arriving at the droid control ship blockading the planet. In the control ship's bridge, the tactical droid spoke with Sobeck, saying, "Commander, the additional reinforcements have arrived."

"Tighten your grip, K2-B4," Sobeck said over hologram, "The Republic will almost certainly attempt a second mission to infiltrate our defenses and rescue the prisoners. I'm counting on you to ensure that nothing slips past our blockade."

Walking along the lava lake, Anakin and Tarkin found themselves walking side by side with Ahsoka and Malachi nearby. Deveran was up with Lyzann, who was giving him the cold shoulder and not interested in any of his excuses for coming to the prison. After a few tries, Deveran gave up, knowing his uncle's silent disappointment would only devolve into anger if he kept pressing the issue. Walking near Tarkin, Anakin couldn't help but chuckle slightly and say, "You know, it's not wise to argue with Master Piell. It's certainly not a good career move."

"General Skywalker, I stand by my principles, no matter what. Besides, I needn't worry about my career. I've fallen into favor with the Chancellor," Tarkin said, reminding them for what felt like the millionth time that the Chancellor protected him and supported him and his career, "He shall support me."

"Oh? I happen to know the Chancellor quite well myself," Anakin said, surprising Tarkin, who asked, "Oh...Really?"

"Really," Anakin said as he turned to Tarkin again, but Malachi had been listening closely and couldn't help his next words, "Chancellor is coward. He not do right thing."

Tarkin whipped his head around to glare at him and snapped, "You don't know what you're talking about! Don't you dare call the Chancellor a coward. He is not!"

"I will discipline my son as I see fit, Captain," Lyzann said suddenly, having stopped along with Obi-Wan when he heard Tarkin raise his voice, "He is expressing his opinion, something he is allowed to do. I wouldn't lecture him for that, especially when you consider that you are in no position to make demands of any kind regarding our people. Kit is a favorite amongst his brothers and especially amongst his nephews. These two," nodding at Malachi and Deveran, "love him more than the rest of their uncles because of how kind he is to them while also being firm when necessary. And the fact the Chancellor is a coward is a well-held opinion among our people, simply because he stopped doing the right thing for those under his protection a long time ago. When Kit was stabbed by you, none of us held out hope for the Republic or the Chancellor prosecuting you, because we knew he wouldn't have the courage to do so."

Tarkin glared at him, but Lyzann ignored it with practiced ease as he turned to his son as Malachi started talking in their language, clearly unable to express himself properly with his limited Basic. After a few moments of listening, Lyzann nodded and sent Malachi up ahead with Deveran, and that was when Tarkin asked, "What did he say?"

Lyzann shrugged, "He said the Chancellor is a coward, who bowed to political pressure to keep you from being prosecuted by the Courts, and that no one in power ever stands up for us, so why should we stand up for them? And why should we show respect to someone who has no respect for us?"

With that, Lyzann started walking again as Obi-Wan said, "Let's keep moving. If we're not at the rendezvous at the exact time, we'll miss our window."

They started walking again, but a faint howl caught Fives' attention, and he turned and said, "Those creatures are gaining."

"If they've caught our scent," Even said as he turned to Obi-Wan, "they'll lead the droids right to us."

"We're gonna have to deal with them," Anakin said, while Ahsoka looked into the caves nearby and asked, "What about using this cave to surprise them?"

"If we can get them to pass by, we can attack them from behind," Even said, catching onto her plan, "But we need a distraction."

"Leave that to me," Anakin said as he looked behind him in anticipation of the fight. Obi-Wan cleared his throat, and Anakin quickly added, "And Obi-Wan, of course."

"Okay, the rest of you, follow me," Even said before leading the others into the cave. Artoo went with Obi-Wan and Anakin, and a few minutes later the anoobas passed the caves, following Anakin and Obi-Wan. They caught up to the two Jedi soon enough, attacking them quickly and nearly getting the upper hand, but the two Jedi were more than able to handle them. Droids attacked then as well, while behind them crab droids attacked the group as it ran to catch up with the two Jedi. Turning, Ahsoka and Even were too late to stop the droids from killing one clone, but before it could kill another it had knocked over Even sprang into action and cut the droid's legs off while more droids came up the side of the canyon.

"Keep going!" Even called, "Ahsoka and I will take care of the droids," the others quickly ran to catch up with Anakin and Obi-Wan and helping them in their fights, but after a few minutes, Lyzann turned his head and looked back the way they came, sensing that something in the Force wasn't right. He ran back quickly, hoping he wouldn't be too late.

Ahsoka and Even were fighting the crab droids that had found them and were winning the fight, unaware that one of the anoobas had circled back and was watching them, crouched and ready to pounce. As Even jumped on top of the last droid and sent his lightsaber through it, the anooba snarled and leaped into the air, and there was no way for Even to get out of the way as he looked up and saw it in the air.

But before it could land on him a burst of energy hit it, and it disintegrated into nothing. Ahsoka and Even looked up then as they climbed off the droids they had been fighting, seeing Lyzann down on one knee, his Amban sniper rifle aimed at where the anooba had been. He lowered the rifle then and said, "I sensed one double back and followed it."

"I'm glad you did," Even said by way of thanks, knowing that Lyzann's perceptions had undoubtedly saved his life just then, "Let's go and catch up with the others. We can't miss our window."

Lyzann nodded and stood up, keeping his rifle in hand as he loaded a shell into it just in case. Heading back the way they came, they missed the others dealing with the last of the droids and anoobas, with Cody saying, "So much for the hunting party," as the last droids were destroyed, Artoo even getting in on the action and destroying one as well.

"There are more squads on their way," Tarkin said, wary of what was likely coming next.

Looking around for a few moments Obi-Wan noticed someone was missing and asked Anakin, "Where'd Lyzann go?"

"It wasn't my turn to watch him," Anakin said irritably, "He's a grown man, and in case you haven't noticed, Master, more than capable of looking after himself. I was a bit busy making sure that creature didn't rip my throat out to notice he was gone."

Obi-Wan only ignored his snippiness with the ease of long practice as he turned to Malachi, who was staring back the way they had come. He and Deveran had given a good account of themselves and shot down several droids on the first shot, revealing someone had taught them how to shoot, and shoot well. Seeing how Malachi was staring, Obi-Wan looked as well and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he saw Ahsoka, Even, and Lyzann approach. Lyzann's Amban rifle was now in his hands, and it was clear he thought he would need it in the near future because he had it loaded and ready.

Master Piell only said, "Lyzann was kind enough to shoot the last anooba before it could hurt me. We won't have to worry about them anymore."

"That's good to hear," Obi-Wan said, "We need to keep moving and get to the extraction point. We can't miss our window," as far above them Republic cruisers exited hyperspace and prepared for a space fight to retrieve those down on the surface below.

Finally reaching the small lake where the island was, Obi-Wan pointed and said, "There's the extraction point," Cody and Anakin running over and firing their cables across the lava to cross over to the island. Seeing how they planned to get there, Malachi and Deveran immediately looked unsure about the idea, turning to Lyzann. They spoke to him quietly for a few minutes, him listening carefully before asking, "A bheil thu cinnteach gun urrainn dhut a dhèanamh? Chan urrainn dhomh do chuideachadh."

The two young ones both nodded with determination on their faces, and Lyzann stared at them before nodding slowly. Malachi and Deveran then looked at each other before nodding to each other, and a few seconds later they were running back the way they came for about twenty meters. They spun on their heels then and charged full speed for the lake, and the Jedi could feel the Force gather to them. Seconds later, they were leaping off the ground and landing on the island, with Lyzann saying quietly, "They didn't feel comfortable crossing on the cable," before he leaped over as well with the Force, leaving the Jedi shaking their heads as they followed.

They had known the family was Force-sensitive, but had been seeing it in action more and more over the last few hours. Koryo and Mataka had used it on the cruiser, but not to the same extent.

"Incoming!" Rex said suddenly and pointed up as several STAPs came in with Sobeck leading the way.

"Look what I found!" Sobeck said to himself as he and his droids started attacking. Above them, the fighting in space intensified, with Master Tiin saying, "There are too many droid fighters. We need more time to break through the blockade."

"We're out of time, Master Tiin," Master Plo said from the gunship, "We must break through now!"

"Very well," Saessee said, "Wing commanders form up. We're going in!" as Adi and Luminara flew over and started their run down to the planet's surface to retrieve the team.

Far below them, the fighting intensified with lasers and lightsabers flying every which way, and that was when Lyzann and his son and nephew really started showing their skills. Malachi and Deveran were skilled shooters, and Lyzann disintegrated several STAPs with his Amban rifle before things got too close, and he was forced to put it away and take out his blaster and a pistol. Both were fired with deadly accuracy as around them, clones and Jedi fought to survive long enough to be picked up by the gunship.

Sobeck started flying low and heading for the two cables as two clones were making their way across, but Artoo was able to use some of his exhaust to mask them and cause Sobeck to change course since he couldn't see where the lava was. Seeing him, Fives aimed for him, shooting him down, which is when Tarkin came over and aimed for the commandant's head. He shot but missed, and Sobeck quickly beat him down and started to head for the lava lake.

"Captain!" Ahsoka called from near Lyzann, and the Nautolan turned his head to see what was happening as Sobeck said, "If I can't have the information, it will die with you!" but before Sobeck could throw Tarkin into the lava, a laser was fired, and he fell to the ground as Ahsoka pulled Tarkin towards her with the Force, and they all turned to see where it had come from and were shocked to see Lyzann lowering his blaster, a cold look in his eyes.

Malachi was standing nearby and said quietly, "He not giving Sobeck satisfaction. Want do it himself."

Deveran was dealing with a commando droid, shooting it in the head before coming over and easily putting two and two together. He only looked at his uncle and nodded, and Lyzann gripped his shoulder for a moment before moving on to make sure the rest of the droids were truly destroyed while Obi-Wan said, "The rescue ship should be here by now."

"So should the rest of the Separatist army!" Anakin said, and a few seconds later, more crab droids appeared around the island at the same time a gunship appeared through the steam and fog from the lava. The doors opened to reveal Master Plo and the Wolfpack, with Master Plo saying, "I believe you've worn out your welcome."

They all jumped and ran into the gunship, Malachi and Deveran getting on first, followed by the other survivors, and then the gunship started taking off. Anakin jumped on board, but Lyzann was a bit slow as he dealt with a crab droid that had separated him from the others. He dispatched it easily enough before watching the gunship fly overhead as he ran after it and reached for his blaster, and Malachi called out, "Athair!"

The others on the gunship watched as he aimed his blaster at the ship, and seconds later, a cable was fired and hit the hull of the ship. Lyzann kept running, running up a tooth-like stalagmite before leaping off the end and using the Force and the cable to arc through the air and land in the ship, several hands catching him and keeping him from falling out. He quickly got out of the way of the door, disconnecting the cable from his blaster as the door shut, and then Master Plo was speaking to the fleet, "Admiral Coburn, we have the survivors. Recall all fighters."

Aboard his cruiser Admiral Coburn received the transmission and immediately responded, "Yes, General," before turning to his bridge officers and saying, "Prepare to jump to lightspeed."

Behind Master Plo, Lyzann went to Malachi and Deveran, who were clearly nervous about being in the gunship as it shook and explosions could be heard outside. Outside the gunship, the three Jedi in their starfighters kept the droid ships away and escorted them through the blockade and back to the fleet. Once safely in the hangar of one of the cruisers, Master Plo said, "We're all ready, Admiral," and the ships jumped into hyperspace and to safety.

The gunship flew into the actual hangar then, along with the three starfighters. The ship's doors opened then with everyone starting to get off, but then Tarkin turned to Lyzann and asked, "What do we do with you now?" and everyone there looked at him as Master Tiin came over with Master Luminara. Master Gallia was speaking with a mechanic about something but was also walking that way.

Lyzann raised an eye-ridge, "I would think letting us go."

"Why should we do that?" Tarkin asked, "If you are being detained, then there is less threat to my life and the lives of others."

"If I was a bounty hunter or a mercenary, that would make sense, Captain," Lyzann said calmly, "but I am neither. And I would think that after helping you survive this little expedition, that would grant us something."

"And if it doesn't?" Tarkin asked, and that was when Lyzann's eyes narrowed to slits for the briefest moment, and the Jedi could feel the Dark Side well up inside of him as his anger came to the fore. But that lasted all of a few seconds before he asked quietly, "You would really deny my son the chance to go home to his mother? Are you really that cruel? She is tracking us right now, after all," holding up his wrist and revealing a blinking cloaked binary beacon.

Tarkin looked at Malachi then, who was still standing behind his father and watching all that was happening. Deveran wasn't watching; he was still distracted and upset about what he had seen on Lola Sayu, clearly not used to the more brutal side of his uncles and what they were capable of. Tarkin narrowed his eyes, "He doesn't look like he needs her."

Lyzann stared at him for several long moments before handing his rifle to Malachi without taking his eyes off Tarkin. Malachi took it gingerly, clearly knowing it was dangerous and to be careful with it. Lyzann then reached under his head-tentacles, and as Master Gallia walked over, he looked behind himself as he pulled a Nautolan infant out from under them and cradled the child in his arms. The child was small and light orange, wearing nothing but small trousers. His eyes were closed, and he whimpered slightly as he was moved, adjusting himself to a more comfortable position in Lyzann's arms before gripping Lyzann's tunic and holding on weakly.

"By the Force," Luminara breathed, and Lyzann nodded as he looked at the child and reached up to the child's chin. The little one only grabbed his forefinger and held on weakly as he pulled it close to his little chest, whimpering again and not opening his eyes. The other Jedi were similarly surprised, and then Anakin said softly, "That is why you never turned around whenever we were fighting droids. That is why you were so careful. Your son was on your back the entire time."

Obi-Wan looked at him before looking back at the child, reviewing all that had happened over the last few hours, and realized Anakin was right. Not once, during every single fight on Lola Sayu, had Lyzann turned his back to the droids or anoobas and had made sure his back was always protected. He looked down at Even then, who was similarly surprised as he looked up at Obi-Wan, clearly not expecting this either. They both turned back as Adi finally approached, and her heart melted a little at the sight of the child, with Luminara and Ahsoka's doing the same when they saw how small and young he was. The other Jedi were also taken by the child; Saessee Tiin smiled softly at the sight and how little he was, while Master Plo tried to get close but stopped when he heard Lyzann growl very softly in his throat, clearly warning him to stay back and reminding the Jedi how primitive this people and culture was if they were so willing to growl. And how much like an animal it sounded. But Adi could get close and reached out, resting her fingers gently on the child's cheek, something Lyzann allowed, likely because of the Trace she had somewhat grown to accept as part of her now. The little one did nothing and didn't wake up, and Adi frowned when she felt how hot he was.

That couldn't be normal.

Lyzann finally said, "If it had just been these two," nodding at Malachi and Deveran, "I wouldn't have rushed in so recklessly when they were caught. I would have taken my time and come up with a plan that would have worked, since this wouldn't be the first time I have broken into and out of prison. But then my mate called and said they had taken this one with them because they thought it would be a fun adventure for him," he turned around and glared mildly at his son and nephew, both of whom ducked their heads, "Instead, I imagine it has been a nightmare for him," he turned to Tarkin then and said, "My son is still completely dependent on his mother, and hasn't eaten in eight days, when he is supposed to eat every three hours. Another day, and his body will start eating itself to survive, and once that starts, it's very hard to undo. There is a chance it is already too late for him, and that gets greater and greater the more we stand here," he cocked his head then as he stared down Tarkin, "Are you really willing to kill an innocent child, and Kit's nephew, just to hold on to us? He has nothing to do with what is happening right now between us; why should he suffer for it?"

Tarkin clearly hadn't been expecting an infant to suddenly appear and turned to the Jedi. They looked at each other before nodding and walking away for a few moments. Though Adi and Ahsoka stayed near the child, Obi-Wan could tell what Adi's opinion was on the matter, and Lyzann didn't seem to mind Ahsoka being nearby for some reason. They discussed it quietly for a few moments before Even walked back and asked, "You have a way to call your ship and set up a rendezvous?" ignoring the way Tarkin started frowning when he heard that as Lyzann smiled and nodded.

Dead space was quiet and empty, nothing to be seen but billions of stars, when suddenly three cruisers dropped out of hyperspace. A few minutes later, another, smaller ship also appeared from the same direction, heading for the lower hangar of one of the cruisers. On board that cruiser Lyzann, Malachi, Deveran, and the infant Lyzann was carrying were heading that way, escorted by the Jedi, Fives, and Tarkin, who was still not happy about this and said as much, "I still don't think this is a good idea."

"The child is failing, Captain," Saessee Tiin said quietly, "He needs his mother more than you need whatever it is you are looking for."

Tarkin was silent after that as they reached the blast doors that led to the lower hangar. A few minutes later, the sound of the ship docking with the cruiser was heard, and once everything was locked in place the doors opened to reveal three female Nautolans. Two of them were clearly of the Geàrd Rìoghail since both had a red tentacle and that strange staff-like weapon. They stepped forward as one, watching the Jedi warily, one foot over the threshold while the other foot stayed on the ship, and the third female stepped forward.

She was smaller than the Jedi were expecting, only a few inches taller than Adi, but still carried herself with authority. Her skin was a light brown instead of orange, and her eyes were sharp and missed nothing. She looked them all over before turning to Lyzann, looking him over carefully before deciding he was healthy, then her gaze softened considerably when she saw her young son. She reached out and took him from his father, and the child finally did something. The entire time he had been listless and still, clearly suffering and unhappy, but the second his mother was holding him, he woke up and opened his eyes. He looked around a little before looking up at her, and she smiled gently before lifting her almost too-large tunic over him and giving him the chance to eat, which he took immediately.

She closed her eyes and sighed then, some of the anxiety and fear in her leaving at that moment. A few of the Jedi smiled at her relief, but then she was turning to her son and nephew, both of whom looked as though they wanted to be anywhere but there.

The Citadel was probably looking warm and inviting at the moment.

She stared at them for several long moments before saying quietly, "I am incredibly disappointed in both of you, and the word to describe how angry I am has not been invented yet. I will deal with both of you when I am sure Layka is out of danger, but in the meantime, Actava and Amari are waiting for you. I would advise against keeping them waiting," as Malachi and Deveran actually looked back the way they came, leaving the Jedi somewhat amused that they would rather stay with the Jedi than face the consequences of their action.

Lyzann's mate turned and took Layka into the ship then, and Malachi and Deveran turned to Lyzann with desperate looks, but he only said, "I can and will protect you from many things, but I will not protect you from your mothers. That is a fight not worth fighting, and I like my head where it is. You have to face the consequences of your actions, and that starts with Actava and Amari. And after that," he cocked his head as his eyes hardened suddenly, "it's my turn, and Sanja's," nodding in the direction his mate had gone.

The two young ones again looked as though they would rather be anywhere else, but in the end, still boarded their ship and disappeared inside, leaving Lyzann to say, "Actava is the strictest of us when it comes to parenting and expects his sons not to do something so catastrophically stupid, especially since we know it was Deveran's idea and Malachi was just going along with it like he normally does. But still," he turned to the Jedi then, "I would rather face a waterfire dragon than Sanja when she is like this."

"She's that bad?" Anakin asked, and Lyzann shrugged, "More or less, especially when her children are in danger. A lot of that anger is fear-based, believe me. Once she is done with those two, I'll be getting it for being so reckless and thinking I could get them out on my own. The last time I broke out of prison, I had Naharen and Matengi with me. And that prison wasn't as dangerous as the Citadel. Sanja will make sure I regret this, as will Amari when she's done with her son. But," he paused as he looked at the Jedi, "just as there is a hierarchy among myself and my brothers, there is one among our mates. Sanja is the second highest-ranking among them even though she is one of the younger ones; Kit's mate is much more dominant. She is definitely at the top of the pecking order for them and would have tolerated this disaster even less than Sanja and Amari. Perhaps we will let her speak with them about how stupid and dangerous this was."

"But you're not surprised they did it?" Tarkin asked, and Lyzann shook his head, not giving the Jedi a chance to ask about Kit's mate, "No, I am not. This kind of stunt is the kind of stunt my brothers and I pulled when we were just reaching maturity, and escaping from prison without help proves that you can handle anything the galaxy throws at you. But they are too young for this kind of thing and need more experience and training. And I will need to speak to Deveran about killing Sobeck; it will affect him in the wrong way if it isn't addressed. While in his thirties, that is barely out of being a teenager of fifteen years for our people. Watching a being die is not something that should be celebrated, even if he is your enemy. My killing someone wasn't something Deveran was planning on witnessing," he looked at Tarkin then, a wild look flashing through his eyes briefly, "Count yourself lucky I did save your life, Tarkin, because it will not happen again."

"And now we have the entire Nexus Route coordinates, thanks to your help," Obi-Wan said, deciding to ignore the threat he could hear in Lyzann's voice, and Lyzann raised an eye-ridge, "That is what this is all about? The Nexus Route?" when Obi-Wan nodded and looked surprised the Nautolan knew what he was talking about Lyzann snorted and shook his head before saying as he canted his head, "You should have said something sooner. Everyone in my family knows those coordinates, and they're passed down from generation to generation. Kit was given them a few days before he was injured, actually."

"You're kidding, right?" Anakin asked, and Lyzann shook his head again, "No, I'm not. I would have given them to you for free if I had known and you had asked. Oh well….no changing the past now," with that, he started to leave, but then a holoprojector on his belt started chiming, and he activated it, revealing Seeker, who was kneeling behind a container. Seeing her and the two lightsabers on her belt, the Jedi were surprised, but that went away as Lyzann asked, "Seeker? Everything alright?" but not sounding too worried.

Seeker nodded as she stared out behind the container and said, "Yep, I was just wondering if you were still on Lola Sayu."

"No, I'm not," Lyzann said, concern and worry starting to enter his voice as the Jedi gathered a bit closer to watch what was going on, "You just missed me."

"Too bad," was all Seeker said, "I was going to offer you a ride."

Lyzann's eyes focused intently on her then, and he asked, "Where are you?"

Seeker cocked her head before saying, "Near what used to be a shuttle in perfect working order," as she moved closer to the shuttle as the Jedi and Lyzann looked on. Fives came up too, watching as she came in range of the twisted remains of the shuttle, accidentally kicking Echo's helmet. She looked down before saying, "This thing is a mess. Please tell me this wasn't your handiwork, Lyzann," as she started bypassing the wreckage and heading for the prison itself, clearly not worried about droids.

"No, it's not," Lyzann said, "And will you please take some cover? The droids could be watching you!"

"They aren't," Seeker said calmly, "They're scrambling and trying to figure out who's in charge now that Sobeck is dead. I got time before they notice me," stopping suddenly as she turned her head towards the wreckage of the shuttle, eyes moving about as she smelled the air. A few seconds later, she changed course and headed for the wreckage, moving a few pieces aside with the Force and finding the body of a clone. His armor was twisted and burned, and his face was covered in burns. One arm was at a wrong angle, and the other looked to be missing. His legs were also at angles that couldn't be normal, and he was facing away as Seeker came closer. Seeing him, Fives looked away, unable to look at his dead brother, and so missed Seeker bending down and putting her hand at the pulse point on Echo's neck. She closed her eyes then and focused, and after a few moments, opened them and said softly, "He's alive," the surprise easy to hear in her voice.

Fives looked up then, and the Jedi watched more closely as Seeker gently turned Echo over and shook her head when she saw he was breathing, "Only thing that saved him was his armor, no doubt about that. These clones are too tough to kill sometimes," as she took his arm and pulled him upright, pulling him over her shoulders and heading away from the prison, ignoring the slight groan he made as he was moved because it had to be done. A few moments later, she was back on her ship, heading for a small bed in one of the storage bays and calling for a droid. When the medical droid arrived, she only said, "Do what you can; I'll be back soon."

"And if his heart stops?" the droid asked, revealing how bad it was for those watching if a medical droid was asking such a thing, and Seeker looked back at Echo before looking at the droid and saying, "Do what you can."

She left the ship then and it cloaked itself, and then she was heading back into the prison. She bypassed the wreckage and the main door, leaping up onto a ledge and heading for the open vent Obi-Wan and Even had gone through to exit the prison before Sobeck had captured them. She climbed through the vent and kept going, making her way through the holes they had cut through the security doors until finally leaving the air vents where they had entered and running down the hallway. Seconds later, she was where the charges had been set and was looking around at the damage the Jedi and clones had left behind, admiring the charred remains. She whistled under her breath as she started running, "I need to get some of those grenades. Be a lot easier than making my own charges."

"Get out of there, Seeker," Lyzann said, "What are you going to do if someone sees you?"

Seeker shrugged as she ran, "Probably slice them to pieces. I could use a workout and something to take my frustration out on."

Lyzann shook his head but said nothing else as she kept running, leaping down a few sets of stairs and easily cutting two squads of droids to pieces. The commando droids didn't stand a chance against her when she used Kit's lightsaber as well as her own, and then she was running again.

"You need to get out of there, Seeker," Lyzann said again, "What are you even doing there? The Citadel won't have any intel of use to you."

"I know," Seeker said softly as she ran down a hallway, "But something in the Force has been calling out to me the last few weeks, and it's been driving me crazy. It led me here, and I'm going to find out what it is."

Lyzann shook his head, but before he could say anything more, Seeker stopped running and looked back the way she had come. She walked back a few paces, cocking her head this way and that, before suddenly crouching down next to a sewer drain cover. She wrinkled her nose slightly at the smell but only used the Force to pull the cover off. Her other hand was held over the drain, and a few seconds later an object was in her hand, and the cover was back in place. She used the Force to clean the object off, revealing a lightsaber, but because it was a hologram the quality wasn't good and it was hard to see whose it was. She held it a few moments before igniting it and the blade came out, revealing it still worked. She looked it over carefully, and that was when Lyzann asked, unable to believe she was risking her life for this, "That is what was calling you? A lightsaber?"

Seeker nodded without taking her eyes off the lightsaber, but suddenly she was whipping her head around as she heard voices coming. Moments later the lightsaber was on her belt and she was leaping up into the air to hide in an air vent. The vent door shut seconds before the voices got louder, and she said quietly, "Dooku."

Lyzann cocked his head at that while the others stayed silent. Despite everything going on, they wouldn't betray her to Dooku.

Seeker didn't care either way as she listened to Dooku and whoever he was talking to. Once they were gone, she carefully opened the vent door and looked around before jumping back down to the ground and landing in a crouch. She took off running then, and that was when Lyzann said lightly, "I would have thought you would kill him, Seeker. He is a Sith, after all."

"I don't want him knowing I'm here," was all Seeker said, "It will make it harder to get out if the prison is on alert," Lyzann nodded slightly at that but wasn't given a chance to respond as Seeker had come to a fork in the hallway and was looking down the right hallway. She asked, "Do you think I have time to blow the reactor and get out of here before the prison is destroyed?"

"Absolutely not," Lyzann said immediately, "You need to get out of there!"

It was hard to tell if Seeker had even heard him, but seconds later she was turning right and running down the hallway, and Lyzann said, "That isn't the way out, Seeker. You need to get out of there. You'll never make it!"

Seeker said nothing and kept running, and that was when Tarkin said suddenly, "Order her to leave! You know she won't make it."

Lyzann shot him a withering look before saying, "The only person that has a prayer of a chance of getting her to listen to him is currently in a coma thanks to you. Kit is the only person in this galaxy she listens to. And the only one who can make her do something she doesn't want to do. So please shut up."

Tarkin's mouth snapped shut at being talked at that way, and Lyzann went back to watching the hologram for a moment before talking to Seeker in his language. Whatever he said the Jedi didn't understand, even though they did hear Kit's name as he spoke to her. Watching her, the Jedi could see her pace slow a bit until finally she shook her head and snorted before changing course, and Lyzann relaxed slightly.

Obi-Wan asked, "What did you tell her?"

Lyzann only shrugged as he watched her keep running, "Only that she's breaking a promise by blowing the reactor. To whom doesn't really matter if she's dead, so don't ask," continuing to watch Seeker as she suddenly twisted on herself and changed direction, and he said lightly, "That isn't the way out."

"Dooku was heading my way," was all Seeker said. Lyzann cocked his head at that but said nothing more as she kept running, and a few seconds later, she was leaping up into an air vent and closing the door behind her. She climbed quickly through the vents, barely stopping at all, and seconds later she was out of the prison looking down at the lava lake and electro-mines far below. She shook her head, saying, "Next time, I'm ignoring you. If I had gone to the reactor I would have come out the other side close to the ship. Now I have to go the long way."

Lyzann raised an eye-ridge but said nothing as she twisted herself on the narrow ledge she was crouched on and started climbing. The wind blew at her hair and made it hard for her to climb, but she kept a firm grip, and that was when Tarkin said, "Is she really going to climb all the way up? That's got to be a few hundred meters."

Before Lyzann could respond Seeker said, voice strained with effort, "Hey, Tarkin?" and the captain looked at her, surprised since this was the first time she had actively addressed anyone outside of Home Base and her allies, "Shut up. It's hard to concentrate when you're talking. Dying a fiery death is not on my list of things I want to accomplish in life."

Ahsoka had a hard time not laughing, and so did Adi if she was honest with herself. Even Master Tiin chuckled slightly at that, while Tarkin only narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth but was cut off by Lyzann, "If you're going to lecture her on respect for her elders, don't bother. She might be younger than you, but her respect is earned, no matter how old someone is. That's why she has absolutely no respect for Tazeki and complete respect for Kit. And she would have to care in order to listen, and I know she doesn't."

Tarkin shut his mouth and turned back to the holoprojector, watching as Seeker continued climbing, the now three lightsabers clinking against each other in the wind. A few minutes later, she had reached the barrier around the landing platform and climbed it, stopping and resting at the top for a few moments before running along the top and jumping down with a somersault. She landed on her feet and kept running, heading immediately for the Ghost. Seconds later, she was on board and looking at the medical droid tending Echo, who said, "He is still alive but needs medical attention."

"We're leaving now," Seeker said as she headed for the bridge, "He'll get help when we get to Home Base."

The droid nodded, and Seeker continued, reaching the bridge where Spitz was sitting in the pilot's seat, feet up on the control panel and hands behind his head. His eyes were closed, his rifle lying over his chest, but as Seeker entered he opened his eyes and said, "You took your time," as he turned his head towards her.

"Nice to see you too," was all Seeker said as she sat in the copilot's seat, "Can we go now?"

Spitz only grinned before getting his feet off the panel and sitting up straight. Like the real Monnk, he was dressed in civilian clothes, but his hair grew wild and down to his shoulders in dreadlocks similar to Quinlan Vos'. Seconds later, the ship was fired up and ready, and then they were taking off. A few minutes later Spitz asked, "You find what you need?" Seeker only nodded, and Spitz was quiet before saying, "I saw the clone you found. Think he'll be alright?"

"His name's Echo," Seeker said, surprising the Jedi that she knew his name, "I've been watching him and his brother Fives for a while. I think he'll be okay. He seems tougher than most. We have a bacta tank at Home Base; we just never use it because most half-Nautolans and a lot of old-breeds can't tolerate bacta and it's lethal to them. We'll let the bacta do what it can after I've done what I can."

Spitz nodded, and that was when Seeker turned to her comlink and said, "I'll meet you later, Lyzann. I got somewhere else to be," reaching up to turn her comlink off.

Before she could, Anakin said suddenly, "Wait!" and Seeker paused with her hand in midair, "What are you going to do with Echo when you're done with him? Are you going to let him go?"

"He's not a prisoner, Skywalker," was all Seeker said, "Whatever he wants to do is fine with me. It's not like he's going to know where Home Base is," cutting the transmission off then and there and leaving Anakin and Fives with no answers and no chance to ask why she had been watching Fives and Echo for so long.

Lyzann shook his head as he put the holoprojector away and looked at Anakin, "She's an enigma, Skywalker. Not even I can predict what she's going to do, and I've known her a long time. The only one who has successfully gotten even a few steps ahead of her plans is Kit, but now I imagine he's going to fall a few paces behind. But she won't hurt the clone if it makes you feel any better. She'll do what she said and get him the care he needs. After that, it's up to him," turning to leave the ship.

Tarkin said suddenly, "If you leave, it won't look good for you. You know the Nexus Route coordinates; what's to stop you from selling them to the Separatists?"

Lyzann stopped mid-step when he heard that and turned around slowly, his eyes hard and mouth set in a rather unpleasant grimace. But that lasted only a few moments before he said softly, "Back on Lola Sayu I said my brother had made us promise not to hurt the Jedi and his friends. Selling the Nexus Route to the Separatists would do so, and unlike some people, I keep my word. The Separatists won't get those coordinates from me or anyone else in my family," and the Jedi could sense he was telling the truth as he spoke.

Tarkin almost looked ready to step forward and confront him again, but the two Geàrdan standing there stepped forward as one, eyes only on Tarkin, and he stepped back. Seeing that, Lyzann said, "Even without them around to keep you at bay, Tarkin, you'll never have the courage to face one of us. You didn't have the courage to face my brother honorably, and you'll never get close to doing what you did to him again," and Tarkin seemed to shrink a bit, knowing deep down Lyzann was right and he would never be able to face one of the brothers on his own again.

With that, Lyzann kept walking and entered his ship, but just before the doors closed, he turned and said, "You know, the Jedi today aren't all that bad. And in some ways, better than the ones I knew a long time ago. It will take a long time to rebuild the trust we had in you, but at least it isn't impossible now. And then there is the matter of the galaxy trusting you again. That trust has been lacking for a long time."

The doors shut behind him and the Geàrdan then, and moments later the ships had disconnected and it was gone, disappearing into hyperspace and leaving behind the Jedi, Tarkin, and Fives to wonder about it all before Tarkin turned and left. The Jedi watched him leave before Adi said quietly, "I would like to know why he's so obsessed with these brothers. I doubt it is as he says and that Master Fisto was unfair to him and didn't treat him with respect as his captain. There has to be more to it than that."

"But we won't find out the answer until Master Fisto can tell us," Master Tiin said as they started heading for the bridge, "For now, let's head back to Coruscant. We need to deliver the Nexus coordinates to the Council."

The other Jedi with him nodded and kept walking, and a few minutes later, they arrived at the bridge. Once there, they were greeted by holograms of the rest of the Council, and their report was quickly given. What Seeker was doing in the prison was discussed for a few minutes, but no one could figure out why she had gone there and whose lightsaber she had found belonged to. The topic was abandoned after a few minutes because the Council was more interested in Lyzann and the young ones with him and they didn't feel they would learn anything new about Seeker from this mission. The report moved on to Lyzann, Malachi, and Deveran and their level of skill and weapons, with Yoda and Mace listening closely when Master Piell and Ahsoka told them what they saw when Lyzann had used his Amban rifle.

"There was nothing left of the anooba after he fired his rifle?" Mace asked, and Ahsoka shook her head, "Nothing, Master. And he had another shell loaded and ready to use the entire time. He used it again when we got to the island and then put it back on his back for the rest of the time."

Mace nodded slowly before saying, "These brothers are becoming more and more complicated the more we deal with them. I would like to know how they think, but I don't think it would do much good. From what we have seen, they all have varying personalities and traits; using just one as a baseline for the others would be useless. We couldn't even use Master Fisto's personality and apply it to his brothers. They are all over the map."

Yoda nodded quietly, and the rest of the report continued, with the Council becoming more and more intrigued, especially when they heard that Lyzann had had his infant son hidden under his head-tentacles for the entire mission. When they reached the part of letting him and his sons and nephew go, Yoda nodded and said, "Right choice you made. Matter more than holding them, the child's life did."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly before saying, "I was able to have a rather deep conversation with Lyzann while we were heading for the rendezvous. He admitted to killing a fallen Jedi during the fall of the Old Republic. That Jedi had been his friend, and he wears that band as a reminder of the friend he had, not as a trophy. I think he is a bit more….thoughtful than his brothers and thinks things through a bit more. He also mentioned that the reason Tagali is deaf is because he was tortured by Sith. Apparently, Tagali knew where some Jedi younglings had been hidden and refused to tell the Sith, so they deafened him with Force-lightning, cut his vocal cords, and damaged his voice box. Even after all that, he still didn't tell them anything about the younglings."

Yoda shook his head while Shaak Ti said softly, "I can't believe that he was willing to sacrifice so much so readily."

"Apparently that is the way of his people, Master Ti," Obi-Wan said, "Lyzann wouldn't say much about their culture other than that it revolves around singing and music, and Tagali had the best voice in the clan for a long time. To be so willing to sacrifice like that must have taken quite a lot of courage. Nagala stays close to him because they are the closest in age, aside from Kailan and Kit. Apparently, old-breed Nautolans wait a few centuries between children; Nagala and Tagali are only five years apart. They have a very close bond because of that."

"As do the rest of their brothers," Master Mundi said softly, saying the unspoken part out loud, "Hence why we can't find any of them or Home Base. Their loyalty to each other guarantees their silence. And this news that Seeker only listens to Master Fisto is disturbing. If he is the only one that can control her and he is out of action, who is she reporting to? I doubt it is Master Vos, he doesn't seem like the type she will respect enough to listen to."

"Making this entire situation an even larger unknown than it was before," Master Plo said softly, "And likely even more dangerous."

There was silence on the bridge for a few minutes, but then Mace said softly, "Thankfully, the mission is complete, with some help from Lyzann and his son and nephew. That is good news. As soon as you are back on Coruscant we will debrief you for the Nexus Route coordinates, Master Piell."

The Jedi Master nodded, but that was when Tarkin said smugly, "With all due respect, Master Jedi, I was instructed by Chancellor Palpatine to bring the intel directly to him for debriefing."

"I will only deliver it to the Council, Captain," Master Piell said stubbornly.

Tarkin glared at him but said nothing as Yoda intervened, "Personally meet with the Chancellor, I will. Decide what is best to do; we shall."

The Jedi on the cruiser nodded, but then another transmission came in, and Thrawn appeared. He nodded his head respectfully to the Jedi before saying calmly, "Generals, I've just received word that two people of interest will be leaving Glee Anselm in a few days. They are Tristan Darka and Tzakara Fisto. The Chancellor has asked for your fleet to intercept and take them into custody as soon as possible. If you will excuse me, I'm afraid my fleet is under attack from Separatist warships," ending the transmission before any of them could refuse or offer to send help.

Clearly he thought he could handle that situation.

"What are they doing on Glee Anselm if it is so dangerous for them?" Shaak Ti asked, "Why would they take the risk? And how many of those guards will be with them when they are found? We have never faced those guards in battle, and the few reports from the clones when they were on Rattatak doesn't give me much confidence they will surrender willingly."

"Ask many questions we do," Yoda said, "when events involve Master Fisto's family. But for now, respond we should," turning to the Jedi on the cruiser, he said, "Return to the Temple and respective fleets, you will. Master Skywalker, needed you and your Padawan are to secure the planet of Felucia. Go you will with your men and Master Plo. Return to Coruscant, Master Piell and Captain Tarkin will."

"Yes, Master," Anakin said as he, Ahsoka, and Master Plo left, with Anakin saying, "And we can discuss whether or not you actually were assigned to this mission, Snips."

"Yes, Master," was all Ahsoka said as she cast her eyes down, clearly knowing she was in trouble, but before anything else could be said she asked, "Can I check on Master Fisto before we have this discussion?"

Anakin sighed and nodded, and she left, Master Plo going with her since he was curious about how his old friend was doing and wanted to speak to Ahsoka about the situation and if there was anything he could do to help.

Back on the bridge, Yoda turned to those that remained and said, "Go, we will, Masters Windu and I, to find Tristan and Tzakara. Be at Glee Anselm before you; we will, but Masters Tiin, Luminara, Kenobi; meet us soon. Master Gallia, return to your ship you should."

Adi nodded, knowing Yoda didn't want Tzakara and Tristan to react to her presence there and the Trace on her. She left after nodding respectfully to the other Jedi on the bridge before heading for her quarters. Once there, she made sure the door was locked before sighing as she leaned against the bed for a few moments. She straightened after that and took her utility belt off, moving her robes aside to look at the scars that covered her stomach where Opress had impaled her and where Rig had operated. They were deep and many, and she shook her head as phantom pain came to her mind.

She knew why they wouldn't fade from her skin, but why wouldn't the pain fade from her mind?

Ahsoka and Master Plo were quick to rewind the footage of the last few days from Home Base, but unfortunately, nothing was new. Kit was still comatose and unchanged, but there was a change in the amount of IV bags around him.

There were a few more of them.

Ahsoka said quietly, "I don't know what those bags are for. Do you, Master Plo?"

"No," Plo said softly, "I'm afraid I don't. But we may find out when Tristan and Tzakara are retrieved from Glee Anselm. There must be a reason for them leaving the safety of Home Base so suddenly, and I would imagine it has something to do with Master Fisto. We just need to wait and see what it is."

Ahsoka nodded as she went back to watching the feed, which only went a few more hours before it caught up to the live feed and went dark as they shut R6 down for Kit's more private and secretive visitors. Which left Ahsoka with no choice but to face the consequences of what she had done as Anakin entered her quarters, and Plo stayed to listen to the lecture and see if there was anything he could do to help Ahsoka.

She had made good points to him, but would Skywalker see it the same way? Maybe the mission had convinced him she was ready for such dangerous assignments?

It looked like they were about to find out.

Translations:

Athair – Father
Rach air adhart! Bidh mi dìreach air do chùlaibh! – Get moving! I'll be right behind you!
A-nis! Na toir orm innse dhut a-rithist! – Now! Don't make me tell you again!
A bheil thu cinnteach gun urrainn dhut a dhèanamh? Chan urrainn dhomh do chuideachadh. – Are you sure you can do it? I won't be able to help you.

A/N 2: I imagine Lyzann's voice being similar to Hank Voight from the show Chicago PD, if that helps you imagine what his voice sounds like.

See you next time! :)