Kiara went over the information that Alex had been able to uncover regarding the project that Thrawn had apparently started only for her father to pick up after he disappeared. The first man had researchers who had come across a lizard-like creature that had the natural ability to create a bubble around itself that would repel the force. Thrawn had hoped to turn that into a weapon against Jedi; against Kanan. At the time of the man's disappearance his scientists had yet to figure out way to duplicate the ysalamiri's ability.
"I want to check on something," Kallus said as he continued to go over the limited information that he'd been able to dig up. "Set course for the nearest habitable planet."
Kiara eyed Alex confused. "Why?"
"Just going to check out a gut feeling." Kallus shrugged before going back to the holonet and the latest find. It would seem that several scientists have been found executed who worked for the Moff. That meant that the man was cleaning house. Getting rid of those who may have any knowledge regarding the experimental weapon.
Kiara nodded before setting course for a small planet that was only a short distance from where they were at. She then added with a chuckle. "Far be it for me to question your gut."
Kanan listened as the others tried to figure out how they would manage both taking care of Jacen and him (since they seemed to feel that he was helpless now that he was newly reblinded by his loss of the force) as well as how to go forward with the mission that they'd received directly from Mon Mothma.
"I'll be fine here, and I can take care of my son, too," Kanan insisted with his arms crossed.
Hera glanced back and forth between him and the rest of the crew before she sighed in resignation. They had been going around in circles trying to figure out how they were going to get the job done and make sure that Kanan and Jacen would be alright.
"I know you can, Love. But that doesn't mean that we can't still be concerned," Hera said but knew that there was at least one way to keep Kanan from feeling as if they thought that he needed to be babysat, himself. She turned to Chopper. "Chop, you'll stay behind to give us a lift when we call. Be ready at a moment's notice. And while you are here, you can keep performing the search to make sure we don't have a tracker on the ship."
Chopper gave an affirmative as he saw Hera give him a sign to watch over the Jedi. He then waved as the rest of the crew headed down the ramp to go on their mission, sans Kanan.
The blind Jedi made his way down the corridor toward the cabin where Jacen was sleeping. He quietly went in and listened as the baby's soft breathing filled the room. Being assured that the boy was sound asleep Kanan turned and made his way back to the common area of the ship.
"Alright, Chopper. You can stop babysitting me. I know the real reason Hera left you behind. But since she did, you can at least head up to the cockpit so you can be ready when they need a pickup." Kanan put a hand on the wall to check to see how close he was to the common area.
Chopper complained and continued to follow the man and suddenly let out a warble of alarm. A squad of stormtroopers were standing in the common room waiting for Kanan. Before the Jedi could react, however, the troopers stunned both he and Chopper. Sending them both into darkness.
Kiara finished the shutdown procedures and turned to Alex. "Okay, now what?"
Kallus smiled. "Now, we go for a walk."
He reached out a hand and offered it to her. With a bit of suspicion and confusion she took it and the two left the Shadow Chaser behind and headed toward a market on the other side of the spaceport. Kiara took in the sights and actually enjoyed just being able to walk side by side with Alexsandr. It was like they could pretend that the Empire didn't exist; nor did the hardships that it brought with it.
They passed several venders and Alex stopped at one to buy each of them some fruit. They continued their stroll while eating the foreign food that surprisingly started off quite tart but left a sweet aftertaste in Kiara's mouth. She would have to remember to get a few more to take to the ship when they walked back later on. As they reached the other end of the market, Kiara had almost forgotten about why they had come to the small planet and its market to start off with.
"This should be far enough," Kallus said as he stopped walking and pulled Kiara back by the hand to pause her, as well.
"Far enough for what?"
Kallus pointed toward one of the venders and whispered, "See that guy? Try to read him like you would when you are gambling."
"I'd have to use the force for that, Alex."
"I know. Try it anyway."
Kiara tilted her head and gave Alexsandr a look as if he'd lost his mind but went ahead and focused on the vender. She paused for a moment then opened her eyes wide when she realized that she could indeed read him. She turned back toward Alex and pulled him into a hug.
"How did you know?"
"The delivery of the agent that was blocking your ability to use the force didn't come in contact with you. So, the bubble created didn't attach itself directly to you. It attached to the ship," Kallus explained. "So once away from the Shadow Chaser you are no longer in the range of the force suppression bubble."
Kiara looked up with a sudden realization, "We need to tell the others, too. We have to tell Kanan."
Kallus nodded. "I wanted to test my theory first."
"Wait. How long will the bubble surround the ship? Will it be permanent or what?"
"I'm not sure. Likely enough, the Empire doesn't, either. I'm willing to bet that the weapon is still in the experimental phase." Kallus took Kiara's hand and started to walk back toward the spaceport where the Shadow Chaser was docked. "The good news is that they likely don't know that the effects aren't directly linked to either you or Kanan. So even if we come across them, we have a bit of knowledge that they won't know."
Chopper found himself on the deck on his back and panicked when he realized that he'd been deactivated for several minutes. He set himself back upright and spun his dome around looking for any sign of Kanan. Unfortunately, the ship only had one other occupant: the small sleeping baby.
He activated his internal comm device and contacted Hera immediately.
"Whoa! Chop! Slow down. What do you mean that they took Kanan? Who took him?"
Chopper sent out several more warbles and beeps in a panic and heard Hera respond with a determined tone.
"Go ahead and pick us up. We're scrubbing the mission. Is Jacen alright?"
Chopper assured the mother of her son's wellbeing since that was one positive of the experience. At least the Imperials hadn't known about the baby and hadn't harmed him.
"Alright. Lock onto our location and pick us up."
Chopper went to the cockpit and activated the ship and maneuvered it to where the others were and picked them all up. As soon as they were aboard Hera instructed him to scan for any Imperial ships in the sector. They couldn't have gotten far. At least, they hoped.
"Hera, looks like we have a transmission coming in from Kallus and Kiara," Zeb broke the tense silence that had fallen over the crew.
"Put it through," Hera turned in her chair to watch the incoming transmission. It was Kallus who spoke while Kiara was beside him facing the transmitter.
"We've got good news."
"Good. We could use some."
"I had Kiara test out a theory and it worked. It would appear that the force suppression agent only attached itself to the ships. That means that so long as they are away from them then they can still touch the force."
Hera let out a sigh of relief. "So that means that Kanan will still have his ability to see and fight now that he's not on the ship?"
"What do you mean he's not on the ship?" Kiara asked. She saw how worried Hera looked and didn't like it one bit.
"We were on a mission for Mon Mothma and had left Kanan on the ship in a spaceport. While the rest of us were gone, some troopers ambushed and took him. We don't know where, yet."
Kiara narrowed her eyes. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out who had been behind Kanan's kidnapping from the Ghost.
"We will. And when we do, Elios best be prepared. Especially if he hurts Kanan."
Elios strolled into the detention cell where the Jedi had been brought to him. The man had apparently been blinded a few years ago. Still, he'd heard his approach and looked up defiantly.
"Moff Dume, I presume," Kanan practically seethed as he spoke. He'd awakened to find himself on an Imperial Interrogation table. Apparently, the trooper who had been left to guard him had been given orders to send electrical shocks regularly, just to set the stage so that he knew who was in charge.
"So, you know who I am." Elios stopped just a few feet from the man who had once been his own son. "Shall I assume that your sister has told you stories about me? All fabricated, I assure you."
"Just as the fact that you nearly killed a good friend of mine is also fabricated, right?" Kanan tried to calm himself as he spoke. At least now the shocks had been paused, giving him time to collect himself. As he found his inner calm, he realized that he could now sense what was around him with the force. He was surprised and couldn't explain it, but he willingly embraced it like an old friend. "And the fact that you've been hunting her down? Why exactly?"
Elios smiled. "That is none of your concern. As for your friend, I must admit that he impressed me. Or is he a Jedi, too? Is that why I wasn't able to break him? I know Jedi are able to endure more than most."
"Hardly. Why would you want to know? Or are you just trying to capture anyone who is a force sensitive? That why you've changed your tactics and decided to come after me, instead?"
"I needed a test subject before taking your sister to the emperor." Elios sneered before turning his attention back to the trooper who would be standing guard. "I want to be alerted to even the slightest hint of his being able to reach back out to the force. Then, stun him and keep him out until I say otherwise. Though, it may take a while. Our last test subject with the concentrated serum still has yet to regain his ability." Elios turned back toward Kanan before saying, "We had to restrain him, too. You see, the lack of being able to use the force has actually driven him mad. He's been locked in his madness for a month, now. Are you prepared to join him?"
Kanan flexed his fist and struggled against his bindings. Still, he knew that he had the upper hand. He didn't know that his experiment had already worn off. He had to keep it that way until the right moment to get away. Until then, he'll bide his time.
"So how will we find Kanan?" Zeb said over the transmission. Kiara and Kallus were sitting in the Shadow Chaser's common area and joined the crew of the Ghost in their discussion and planning for the man's rescue.
"We don't." Kiara said as she sat back with her arms crossed. When the others looked at her in surprise she continued. "We bring Elios to us. He wants me, then we make a trade."
"That's not an option," Kallus said with a vigorous shake of his head.
"I have to agree," Hera said with a sigh. "We don't know why the Empire wants you, but it can't be good. And we know that Kanan wouldn't agree to that sort of exchange."
"Who said that I'd actually make it back to the Empire?" Kiara said as she snickered. "But I do think that we may need to ask for a transport from Rebel Command. We're going to need to use the force and Elios still thinks that his torpedo has affected Kanan and I both. We can only hope that he's keeping his abilities hidden, waiting for the right moment."
Hera didn't like the idea, but she was willing to listen as Kiara continued as she laid out her plan. It might could work, but there would be a lot of factors that they wouldn't be able to control which meant that there was a high chance of failure. But what other choice did they have? She looked over at Kallus's face through the transmission and saw that he liked the plan less than she did.
"So, where will all of this go down?"
Kiara knew the perfect place that she'd once gone to on a dig before the Empire existed. "Shantipole."
"Are you crazy?" Hera shook her head. "That planet is a one-way ticket for nearly any ship."
"The Shadow Chaser can go with no issues. Even if the transport that I go in on can't leave the atmosphere the Chaser can still be used to get me and Kanan off of the planet."
"What's special about this Shantipole?" Kallus asked since he didn't recognize the planet.
"The planet has an extremely volatile atmosphere that can take a ship down if a pilot isn't skilled enough," Hera explained.
"Which will make it less likely that there will be Imperial back up to pop up out of nowhere," Kiara couldn't help but point out.
"How do you think that you'll be able to convince the Moff to agree to meet there?" Sabine asked while shaking her head. She remembered her time on the planet and knew that it was dangerous to go there.
"Something tells me that if he thinks that he'll get me that he'll ignore the potential risks."
"And if he doesn't? What if he chooses to instead change things so the exchange doesn't take place on the surface?" Kallus didn't trust that the Moff would follow any directions given by his daughter.
"Then it will be a good thing that I know you'll be able to come up with a new plan on the fly."
Elios watched as the Jedi, his son, was tortured. He wanted to see how well his weapon suppressed an individual's ability to use the force and he couldn't think of a better way than to give the man a reason to want to use it. To end his torment. He was about to join in the fun when he was summoned via the comm link.
"I believe I said that I was not to be disturbed."
"Sir, there is a transmission coming in for you. The woman said that you'd want to take it. She claims to be your daughter, Kiara Dume."
Elios's brows arched in surprise. "Well, this isn't what I expected. I'm guessing she's learned of your capture, already," he addressed Kanan then spoke back into his comm device. "I'll take it in my office. I'll be there momentarily."
Kanan sensed the man turn to leave. He wondered what the others had come up with since he knew that they wouldn't leave him in the hands of the Moff. Most especially, he wondered why Kiara would be calling their father.
Moff Dume took his time making his way toward his office. After all, he had the upper hand. He already had Caleb and soon he'll have Kiara. He wondered if he would earn even more favor with his Emperor if he handed over not just his daughter but his son, as well. Surely such an act would place him above his colleagues and would make him worthy of a promotion.
Once he reached his desk, he casually sat behind it and steepled his fingers as he opened the transmission. In it he saw his daughter who had a very determined look on her face.
"Kiara. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"You already know. I want Caleb back."
"Do you? And here I didn't think you held on to any family loyalty."
Kiara snickered at the implication that he did, instead. "I give it to those who earn and return it."
"Did you contact me just so you could insult me?"
"No. I contacted you to propose a trade. Caleb has nothing to do with this between us. You let him go and I'll take his place. You can finally kill me like you've wanted for years, now."
"Oh, what I have planned for you is more than just your death," Elios smiled. "Come to my ship and I'll gladly make the exchange."
"I would but we both know that you damaged my ship during our last encounter. I made it as far as Shantipole before I had to make an emergency landing for repairs. Unfortunately, I didn't have the spare parts needed to fix my ship. So that means you'll have to come here to get me."
Elios stared as this daughter. "If this is a trap-"
"You have the might of the Empire behind you. I- well, you've made sure that I have no one. I left the Rebellion. I couldn't risk you attacking anyone else because of me like on Suaren. They only reached out to me because you took Caleb."
"I'll meet you on Shantipole. But be aware, I'll kill him if I see any sign of treachery."
"You won't. I only want to make sure he is safe. What happens to me is of no consequence once he is."
