Kallus sat while listening to what Kiara had been doing since she'd left on her own private mission. He had to admit, she'd accomplished quite a bit in her absence. He just wished that she hadn't needed to leave the rest of them, him, behind to do it. He heard Kanan and Kiara discuss what the spirits of the Kwa had told her about the force and about balance, along with a lot of other things that he didn't quite follow. But he got the gist of it. She had learned what she needed to start gaining the control over her abilities that had eluded her for most of her life.

Still, it was clear that she wouldn't be returning with the Ghost crew when they returned to the Rebellion. He was about to say something, anything really, to try to convey that he was proud of all the hard work that she'd put into her training when a sound caused him to freeze.

Hera shifted Jacen as he let it be known that he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. She bounced her son in her arms. "Guess I'll need to go put him down. I'll be back."

"Need any help?" Kanan asked as he prepared to stand to join her.

"I got it." Hera then left out of the common area and headed toward the airlock to go back to the Ghost.

When the crew got ready to return to their conversation Zeb noticed that Kallus hadn't moved in several minutes and spotted the too familiar glassy-eyed look. Hearing the baby's cries seemed to throw his friend into his episodes more frequently now that they have been flying around on the Ghost. While back at the base he could put more distance between him and his triggers but on a ship the size of the Ghost there was no escape from the sound of the cries.

He held a hand up to the rest as he put his other on his friend's shoulder to ground him back to the present. When the look on Kallus's face started to revert back to normal Zeb then started the conversation back as if it had never stopped. Kiara raised a brow in question toward the Lasat but he just gave a slight shake of his head in response. This wasn't the time to explain. He'd do so in private. He lowered his hand from the man's shoulder and watched him out of the corner of his eye as the episode passed.

Kallus felt a little disoriented for several moments as the conversation started back up around him. He started to see how the others in the room were eyeing him, which told him that he'd had another flashback. Well, an obvious one, at least. He had small moments several times a day, it seemed. Zeb had told him that it was to be expected. That didn't make him feel better about how his mind had decided to go back to the Star Destroyer and the events that occurred there long after his body was practically healed. That something as simple as a child crying for his mother could cause him to hear cries of another sort at any time.

As the conversation continued, Zeb stood and excused himself for a while and returned at around the same time that Hera did. By then the conversation had changed to how Kiara had hoped that she'd be able to eventually get the lead purrgil to tell her where they had taken Ezra.

"Wait, you mean in a literal sense, don't you?" Sabine asked.

"They are sentient, Sabine. In fact, in their minds, we are the ones that they doubt the intelligence of."

"And your sitting out in space on top of your ship was going to do what, exactly, regarding their doubts of your intelligence?" Kallus asked since he still couldn't help but think that to do such a thing, without anyone other than her techno-service droid around, was more than a bit reckless.

Kiara laughed. "Probably nothing. But if nothing else, perhaps they'll become amused by my oddities."

Kallus went to send back a retort when an alarm sounded throughout the ship just before Tac's voice could be heard on the comm channel.

"Mistress Kiara! A Star Destroyer has just dropped out of hyperspace!"

That sent everyone scrambling. As the crew of the Ghost started to race toward the airlock Zeb called out, "I'll take the turret cannon on the Ghost. Sabine, you take the nose cannon. Kallus, you get on the Shadow Chaser's!"

"On it!" Kallus turned and headed toward the cannon.

The ship rocked as it was hit but it only caused minor damage. Over the comm he heard Hera give the order to prepare to detach the two ships so that they would have better maneuverability. When the ship rocked once more, he knew it was due to the decoupling of the ships. He scanned the space in front of him and saw that the TIE fighters had been deployed in their direction. He and the rest operating the cannons all started to take shots at their ample targets while both pilots found their own with the use of their main guns.

"Hera, start making the calculations to make a jump to hyperspace. We'll both jump at the same time. And if we go in separate directions, it will make it harder for them to try to follow us. We can meet back up after a jump or two."

"Sounds like a plan. Chopper?" There was a pause before the woman spoke again. "Alright, we've got them. On your mark."

"Three. Two. One!"

Kallus watched as the stars changed their appearance to show that they had entered into hyperspace. He took in a deep breath of relief. He stood up and went in search of the woman that he'd spent far too much time apart from. He wasn't surprised to find her directing Tac in a minor repair from the torpedo that had rocked the ship at the start of the small skirmish. He smiled upon seeing her but paused when he saw her put a hand to her head and shake it before she realized that he was there.

"You alright? You didn't hit your head back there, did you?"

"No, I'm just a little dizzy for some reason." Kiara gave herself one last shake before she turned her attention to Alex. "What about you? You know, since..."

Kallus shrugged. He knew that she'd noticed his episode earlier before the Imperials showed up. "Better. For the most part, it's like nothing ever happened... Unless I push myself too far."

"Which happens regularly," Kiara said since she knew him too well. "And then you push yourself more to try to prove that you are just fine, right?"

Kallus chuckled. "Maybe."

"When will you ever learn?" Kiara shook her head. "Anyway, I set a series of jumps in the nav-computer. I plan to go and see if I can contact the others to find out where they want to rendezvous. Care to join me?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Kallus motioned for Kiara to walk ahead of him back up toward the cockpit. When they sat down, they waited for the comm link to be established. When Hera and Kanan's faces popped up he asked, "Is everyone over there alright after our run-in with our friends?"

"For the most part. Sabine is having to work with Chopper to make a few repairs, but we seemed to have made it out fairly unscathed," Hera confirmed while eyeing Kanan. "I'll send some coordinates for a rendezvous. The problem is, we've been asked to make a detour first by Mon Mothma."

Kallus listened but was distracted when he saw that Kanan was resting his head on his hand. "Kanan? Is something wrong?"

Both women eyed Kanan in response to Kallus's question. Kanan lifted his head and asked, "Why would you ask?"

Kallus turned to look at Kiara then back at the transmitter. "I spotted Kiara holding her head the same way you are now a few minutes ago. She didn't hit her head; is it too much to assume that you didn't either during the escape? I don't believe in coincidences. Why would you both suddenly have bouts of dizziness or headaches." He then asked Kiara, "Do you sense anything differently than from before?"

Kiara eyed Alexsandr before she realized what had been bugging her since the fight against the Empire. "Actually... I can't sense anything," she said with alarm.

"So, it's both of us." Kanan said dejectedly. "By the time the ships had separated I couldn't sense the force any longer. And that left me completely blind for the first time."

"Hera? Why did you tell us that everyone was fine?" Kiara asked as she tried to figure out what could have caused both hers and Kanan's ability to sense the force to disappear.

"Kanan didn't want to worry you." Hera shook her head. "I don't get it. How is this possible?"

"As far as I know, it shouldn't be," Kanan answered. "Kallus, are you aware of anything that the Empire was working on that could do this?"

The man shook his head. "If they were, it would have been held in utmost secrecy. Meaning that if I didn't need to know about it, I wouldn't have."

"Well, it looks like they have something now." Kiara felt disconcerted being disconnected from the force. And this is how most people live their lives? "But the question is, how did they expose us to whatever it is that they have used on us?"

Kallus thought back to the interaction with the Imperials. "Hera, how much damage was done to the Ghost?"

"Not much. It mainly just knocked a few minor systems offline. Why?"

Kallus scrolled through the ship's data that had been recorded during the interaction. "Because the first blast that rocked the ships was from a torpedo. And neither ship had its shields up. That means that we should have substantial damage to them."

"You think that the torpedo was modified?"

Kallus nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time that the Empire has released a biological agent via a torpedo. It wasn't meant to cause damage to the ships."

Kiara scrunched her brow. "How could a biological weapon be used to block Kanan and I from using the force? Is there even anything that can do that?"

"Apparently there is now," Kallus flipped some switches. "Hera, purge the ventilation systems to rid them of any lingering remnants of the agent. I'll try to do some research to see if we can figure out what the Empire has stumbled upon."

Hera started to flip switched of her own as she nodded. "I'll put out some feelers, too, to see if anyone has any idea of what we may have stumbled upon."

"One more thing," Kallus said when he saw that Hera was about to end the transmission. "We were in the middle of nowhere. There was no reason for that Star Destroyer to show up. It was as if they knew we were there. So, you may want to try to check for a tracking device. We'll do the same over here."

Hera's eyes darkened at the thought that someone had put a tracker on her ship. She nodded and with that the transmission ended.

"Didn't you check for that when you found out that Salora was a spy?" Kiara asked in response to the idea that the Ghost could have a tracker.

"No." Kallus said with a sigh. "Kanan said that when he checked using the force that Salora hadn't ever put a tracker on the ship."

"Well, she may not have but someone else could have."

"Agreed." Kallus stood and called for Tac. "We need to perform a thorough search of the ship to ensure that there aren't any trackers onboard."

"Oh my! Why of course, Master Kallus. I'll get started on that right away."

"Great, so now the Empire has what? A force suppression weapon of some kind?"

"It would appear so. I'll see if I can find anything on the holo-net that would suggest that any scientists have been working on this. Even when working for the Empire and instructed to keep it a secret, many scientists are so proud of their achievements that they can't help but boast a little. I'll start with some of the scientific journals as well as some of the net-sites where they may go to discuss projects with one another." Kallus turned to the computer station.

Kiara fought off a snicker. She hadn't considered how they both were well-adept at researching. While the subject of her searches had almost always been long since dead his were living and breathing. First it had been to track down criminals and then it was his job to ensure that those individuals deserved their jobs. After all, the first time that she'd seen him since they had left the academy was because he'd found an anomaly in her file.

"I'll help. Maybe if we both look, we'll find something faster."


Elios stood at the bridge of his ship as he waited for word of whether or not the ship had come out of hyperspace yet. He needed to know if the torpedo had worked. And it would be beneficial to know how long the effects of the weapon lasted. Soon, he'll have his test subject. Well, another one, at least.

He had been sent an Inquisitor to help him in his search. At least that was the official reason for his posting to his ship. In actuality, he'd been the first force sensitive to be exposed to the experimental formula that had then been modified to be deployed with the torpedo.

Elios made his way toward the infirmary where the test subject was at. He had been given the serum more than a month ago and the man still had yet to have his force sensitivity to be returned to him. Perhaps the concentration was too pure? He'd been assured that the injection would display stronger results so the dispersal via the torpedo should wear off sooner. And he did need it to wear off since the emperor found an interest in his daughter and she would be useless to the man if she no longer could use the force.

The problem was, he'd been joining his admiral on the bridge when he heard the man give the order to fire the torpedo. It had only been after it was on its way toward the ship called the Ghost that he saw that it wasn't alone. It was docked with his daughter's ship. That meant that she'd been exposed to the experimental concoction, as well. He hoped that his scientists were correct when they had told him that the effects wouldn't affect the victim for nearly as long when delivered via a torpedo.

After getting the latest report on the Inquisitor's status he returned to his office. He then sent out orders to have the scientists killed. He'd have new ones brought in if needed. He would have the only copy of the research by the end of the day. In any case, by now, neither his daughter nor son would be able to use the force. That meant that they were no longer as dangerous.

"Sir, the ship appears to have rejoined the Rebel Fleet. Should we pursue?"

"No. Monitor them and inform me when the ship leaves the fleet behind. At least for now. If they do not leave the fleet in a rotation, we may reevaluate this stance."

"Yes, sir."


Kanan felt weird stumbling around the ship that had been his home for so many years. He had depended on his use of the force so completely that he had taken it for granted. The rest of the crew wanted to help him, but he knew that the only help that they could really give was the space and permission to do exactly as he was doing right now. Stumble and bump into nearly every corner on the ship. In a way, this was far worse than when he'd first been blinded by Maul. He'd floundered then, as well, but he still had sight in some form. Now... Now he was truly blind.

"Kanan," Zeb finally spoke when he saw that the man was getting a little too close to the ladder that would take him down the lower level of the ship. And the hard way if he wasn't careful. Each of the crew had subtly been trying to watch Kanan as he tried to adapt to this new sensation for him. None of them wanted to embarrass the man by making it obvious but they also didn't want to see the man get hurt needlessly. "Why don't we go sit down? Hera will be back from speaking to Mon Mothma soon."

Kanan felt the Lasat take his arm and steer him away from where he'd been heading and soon found himself up against a chair. Aggravated, he collapsed onto it and ran a hand over his hair.

"Any word from Kallus and Kiara? She still affected, too?"

"Yeah, Kallus sent in a message saying that they are delving into trying to figure all of this out. Apparently, he found that Thrawn was funding a project for exactly this same thing. So, it would appear that someone has picked up where he'd left off."

"Moff Dume," Kanan sneered at his father's name. "I guess he decided that he's lost two prisoners to the interference of a force user or two and he didn't intend for it to be a factor the next time he had one of us in a cell."

Zeb wanted to encourage the other man but was interrupted when Sabine joined them carrying Jacen and he was screaming louder than he'd ever heard him.

"Kanan, I can't get Jacen to calm down. Want to try?" Sabine carefully handed the baby over to his father who continued to scream "What is wrong with him? He's not hungry. He's dry. It isn't time for another nap. He's been like this ever since-"

"The run in with the Empire," Kanan finished for her. "He's crying because he can't sense the force and he doesn't know why."

Zeb knew that the Jedi recruited Kanan as a young child, but he'd never really bothered asking how young. "He can use the force now? At this age?"

"Use it? No. But he would feel connected to something. For him, he just knows that something that has always been a part of his life is suddenly gone." Kanan hugged his son to him and tried to soothe him. At least he could sympathize with him. If he wasn't a grown man he'd probably cry, too. In fact, he may still do so if things didn't return to normal soon.