Ahsoka began to wander the halls of the palace that the duchess called home. She kept her hood up and her head down to avoid attention, but she couldn't help the feeling that she was missing something, and that it was right under her nose. She had always been good at being able to sense people's emotions and feelings, and was using that skill to come to the conclusion that someone why lying. She was sure of it. The force wrapped around her body, anxious and full of warning. As she wandered the halls, people passing her were quick to avoid eye contact, and move to the other side of the hall. She was supposed to help people, and save the galaxy, but these people were afraid to look at her. Afraid to say anything.

Ahsoka turned the same corner for a fifth time, confirming that someone was following her. She didn't turn her head around- the fact that he was still following her like this probably meant that her stalker hadn't noticed that Ahsoka knew he was there. She paused- and listened. A soft male voice was speaking behind her.

"haven't found the base yet…"

"Don't think they know the location…."

"Ship factory…."

"Poison?"

"wild animals"

"…on Malachor"

She drank in every bit of information that she could gleam from the conversation, a hint, some hope, a sign that this would work out.

"Ahsoka?" A familiar voice asked. Padme was walking towards her from down the hallway, a cautious smile on her face.

"Senator," Ahsoka said in her best formal voice. "We should talk in private." She lifted her head slightly, hoping that Padme would see the urgency behind her eyes.

"Yes of course." Padme said while schooling her face into a neutral expression. "In my quarters."

Ahsoka nodded and the two of them set off down the hallway, tense silence filling the space between the two women as they sped walk down the hallway to Padme's quarters.

"R2, Check the room for bugs." Ahsoka said. The astromech beeped a confirmation out and began to scan the room.

"We're being watched, aren't we?" Padme asked.

"We are. I was being followed by one of Maul's men earlier." Ahsoka said while taking off her cloak and sitting down on the couch.

"How do you know it was Maul?" Padme asked while sitting down next to her.

"The guy that was following me was also talking to someone through some kind of communication device. I could hear parts of his conversation." She said while fidgeting with her hands.

"We know that Maul has a base somewhere around her, and that guy was talking about a base, by a ship factory, and I'm guessing there are also wild animals nearby."

"That's not all though, it is?" Padme asked her while laying a hand gently on top of Ahsoka's.

"He… he mentioned poison." Ahsoka said softly as tears welled up in her eyes. "Do you think that…?"

"Don't think like that, Ahsoka." Padme said in a stern tone while gripping her hand. "We will get Anakin back."

Ahsoka wanted to believe her, but she could sense the fear and pain that Padme was feeling. She didn't believe what she was saying anymore than Ahsoka did.

"Satine's sister is coming to visit us soon. We will be discussing the things that she knows, and you can add in everything else that you've learned. I'm sure between the two of you, we will have enough information for what our next step should be."

"You think so?" Ahsoka asked her while looking up.

"Not I think, I know." Padme said with more conviction than earlier. Although Ahsoka figured that faking confidence was part of her job, she seemed genuine here. That they would be able to do something, find their next step and eventually find Anakin.

That was the goal, at least.

Anakin walked through the temple in silence. Maul was a few paces ahead of him, the rhythmic sound of his metal legs walking putting Anakin into a trance-like state. His legs grew heavier with each step he took, and his mind slowly started to drift to the voices that filled the mist and spoke to him about their wishes, desires, failures, accomplishments, and regrets. Between the many voices was the sound of something breathing. Slow, labored, rhythmic breaths, that filled the space. Anakin tried to match his breathing to that of the cave and found that it was surprisingly easy, almost natural for him to breathe slowly.

"Keep up, Skywalker." Maul's voice snarled from somewhere in the distance. Anakin couldn't tell where exactly it came from, since his voice was mixed in with the voices from the mist and the breathing of the cave.

A hand grabbed his tunic. "I said keep up." Maul's face suddenly appeared in front of Anakin, causing him to jump.

"The lack of oxygen is starting to affect your thinking. If you want to get out of here alive you need to focus." Anakin didn't know what he was talking about, he was having no trouble breathing in the air from the temple, even though it was damp and cold. He had reached the point where he was so cold, he became numb to the dread that was trying to seep into his body. There wasn't anywhere else for it to go.

"Satine." Bo-Katan said as she paced in front of the duchess. "Maul's hideout isn't somewhere that we're just going to be able to walk into and demand information. We aren't even sure where it is yet."

"No, but we have a pretty good idea." Master Kenobi said while pointing at some features on a holomap.

"Ahsoka mentioned a ship factory and wild animals, while you mentioned seeing people that work for him heading east at odd hours of the night." He moved somethings around the map. "Here is an abandoned ship factory to the east of our current location."

"And it's located outside of the dome, which means that there very well could be wild animals hiding in the surrounding area." Satine said.

"How far are we from there?" Padme asked.

"I'd say it would take us about 20 minutes to reach that area from our current location. We would have to scan the area on foot after that to look for some kind of entrance." Bo-Katan added.

"But it's a start." Ahsoka said. "Where is Malachor?" Ahsoka asked the group, breaking up the rhythm that had been created in the room.

"Why?" Master Kenobi asked, looking confused.

"The guy that was following me was talking about it earlier." She said nonchalantly.

"You were being followed?" Master Kenobi exclaimed in alarm.

"I'm fine master." Ahsoka said and turned to face Bo-Katan who was entering the name into the royal database.

"It's a planet, with no notable life forms, about 5,000 light years away," Bo-Katan said.

"Do you think that's where they are, Master?" Ahsoka asked.

"It's quite possible that Malachor is the new location that Maul has moved both himself and Anakin. We would be able to sense if Anakin was on this planet, regardless of any force suppressants that Maul might have access to because we would be close enough to him. "

"So… are we heading there or what?" Padme asked with a smile on her face.

"Well, we can't just do that." Satine said. "Many of the people that work for Maul are still here, and I'm sure that his base has many valuable things in it."

"I agree." Bo-Katan said while looking at her sister. "I think we should split up. The Jedi will hunt down Maul, and we will stay here to hunt down his base, and try to gather as much information as we can."

Ahsoka smiled. They were finally getting somewhere. The hope filled the force and the room, giving her the strength she needed to continue.

"Then it's settled. We will take the ship to Malachor." Master Kenobi said with a slight smile on face.