Padmé stepped forward with Ahsoka when they found a blond human teen who looked as if he was very sick lying on what passed for a pallet to sleep on. She bent down and checked for a fever but found none.

"Looks like we found the boy that Rex asked me to locate." She looked up at the other woman and asked, "Now how do we get him out of here?"

"I guess I'll have to use the force to help us. I'm not sure that we could carry him out between the two of us. Not between your condition and the fact that he's taller than either of us." Ahsoka knelt to try to get a handhold on the teen when he appeared to be regaining consciousness. "Wait."

Padmé saw what the former Jedi did. The boy was coming around. "Are you feeling any better? Are you alright?"

The teen looked up and realized that two strange women were kneeling over him. He nearly flinched but worked hard to not show any weakness or the fact that he was a little intimidated at their sudden appearance.

"Who are you?"

"We are friends and are here to help you. For exact details, it may be better to get out of here, first. But we were asked to come find you and take you someplace safe." The senator tried to stand back up but ended up having to accept Ahsoka's help to do so. "Now, you aren't going to let a woman in my condition walk back after making my way all the way here without you, are you?"

Alexsandr eyed the woman whom he'd never met before but sighed since he would feel a bit guilty. "Fine."

He stood and felt a little dizzy from doing so, so fast. He had no idea why he'd gotten sick again. He's been perfectly fine for the last week and a half. Granted, he'd spent a few days before that with a mysterious illness but then it had passed on its own. He'd ended up being extremely dehydrated and lost a little weight but healthy otherwise. At least as far as he could tell.

Ahsoka saw the boy reach out to the wall to steady himself briefly and became worried. Why was Rex concerned about this teen? Padmé was right. He wouldn't have asked for this favor if it wasn't important. She walked with the pair and when they reached where the driver had been left to wait Ahsoka had made up her mind. When asked if she'd go with them, she agreed. She was intrigued and she hoped that she'd be able to get answers. If not right away, then once the clone returned to the planet.

Alexsandr eyed the speeder and realized that these women weren't from the lower levels. No one had speeders that looked that expensive down here. He eyed the pregnant woman and took in her clothes. There wasn't any dirt, no smudges, no tears, nothing that would tell him that she had been down in the lower levels of the city for longer than quarter of an hour, a half at most.

"Where are we going?"

"For now? My place." Padmé accepted her driver's help into her speeder and sat and waited for both the teen boy and the former padawan of her husband to join her. "From there, we'll see."

As they flew up into the upper levels of the city Ahsoka took in the view that she'd not seen in several months. She'd not been able to afford to stay closer to the upper levels on her own, so she'd become lost in the crowd with those who barely scrapped by. She was a decent mechanic so getting work where she could did help her with her essentials but that was about it. She didn't have the experience or the contacts that those at the upper levels required to get a better job. And there weren't exactly a lot of positions available for former Jedi.

When the speeder landed on the pad outside of the senator's living quarters, she had to smile. How many times had she come here with Anakin, or even just to spend time with the other woman on her own under the guise of fulfilling one duty or another. Ahsoka had always genuinely liked the senator who was clearly much closer to Anakin than the Jedi High Council would approve of.

In the time since leaving the Jedi Order she had been trying to sort out her thoughts and feelings about the Jedi. They had been so quick to assume that she'd bombed the temple without really looking at the evidence. So rigid and at one time she had been just as staunch. But her time with Skywalker had opened her eyes to other ways of thinking. Oh, she knew that some of his methods were a bit unorthodox, but they seemed to be the best ones at times. So now, even if she wanted to return, she no longer held onto some of the beliefs that the Jedi taught. That meant that she didn't have anywhere that she belonged, now. She wasn't a Jedi, nor could she ever associate with the Sith.

"Come on in. I'll try to contact Rex and let him know that we have Kallus, here, and tell him that he's safe." The pregnant woman led the pair into her apartment. "And then perhaps we can have some food prepared. I think both of you could use a decent meal."


Young Kiara walked down the corridor while carrying the Loth-cat behind the droid and noticed something was different about this ship. She couldn't explain what it was. She just felt strange. Especially when she tried to see how many people were in the common area where they were heading on the other end of the corridor. She couldn't sense anyone, but she could hear their voices. When she got to the doorway she looked in and saw Ezra and two other men with him. They appeared to be speaking with someone through subspace. She paused to try to listen to what was going on.

"I'm glad you were able to find... him," a man with a beard said as he raked a hand through his blond hair. "We won't be there for at least a week and a half. We still need to go and pick up Skywalker and Valour before we go back to Coruscant. Hopefully they will be ready to return when we go and get them."

"Well, is there any way that you can let me know where he is? What he might be doing?" The woman on the transmission was very pregnant. She looked as if she could deliver at any moment.

The other man who stood stiffly by the two men was the one to answer this time. "I'm afraid not, Senator. But you know that when he can, you'll be the first to hear anything from him."

"I'd better." The woman laughed. "So, I guess for now, I'll be taking in the boy and see to his safety. But I do want to hear about everything when you get here. Everything that you can tell me, at least. Oh," the woman added, "Rex, guess who I found when I was looking for this young man? I brought Ahsoka back with me, too. I'm hoping that I'll be able to talk her into sticking around, this time."

"Perhaps you can tell her that you'll be needing someone you trust who can protect that little one that will be here soon. With the lives that you and General Skywalker live, someone who can protect the little one will be a must."

"And why would you mention Anakin," the senator asked coyly. After all, no one was supposed to know that he was the father of her child.

"I think we both know without me saying it," Rex said with his arms crossed. "And if I've figured it out then we know that others, have, too. So, I think that having Ahsoka around, especially right now, is a great idea."

"I'll make sure I tell her you said that. And I do like the idea of having her around more often." Padmé turned as if she heard something out of range of the transmitter. "Well, I think I'd best go. I wanted to send this message before we sat down to eat. I think both of them need a really good meal. I'll see you in about a week and a half. Let me know if you'll be delayed."

"I'll try." Rex nodded before the transmission faded away. He then turned and saw that the girl had woken up and found her way to the rest of them. "Looks like your friend is awake."

Ezra and Kallus both turned around and saw where the young girl was trying to covertly look into the room. When she realized that the men were all looking in her direction she stepped fully into the doorway and gave a weak wave.

"Hey."

Ezra waved her in. "I see you look like you are feeling much better."

Kallus looked her over and saw that the pale color that he'd noticed earlier was gone. She did indeed look much healthier now. That meant that the issue with the duality was solved as long as one of them was in the ship. Which meant that for the health of his younger self he would have to remain on the ship as well.

"A little. Who are they?" Young Kiara walked over and sat in one of the seats in the room. The Loth-cat leapt down to the deck and bound over to the young Jedi and settled into his lap.

"These are some friends of mine. This is Kallus and Rex."

"I suppose that we should take off if we are going to get the others. I'll have Tac send out a message to let them know we are on our way back. And you might want to let that thing back off of the ship before we leave." Kallus stood, indicating the Loth-cat, and headed toward the corridor then turned to speak to the girl. "I'm glad you are feeling better."

Young Kiara smiled back as the man left to head to the cockpit. "So," she asked Ezra, "Where are we going?"

"I sent a message to your mother saying I was going to take you with me when I go to meet with other force users. One of the individuals that we are going to pick up is a Jedi but the other isn't. She is like you. Someone who had to sort of figure things out for herself."

"You likely made her day," the girl said just a bit grumpily. "For as long as I can remember that's all she's wanted. For me to go off with the Jedi. And when she met you..."

The two men watched as she pulled her knees up to her chest and rest her chin on them as the girl then shrugged. Ezra felt bad for her. He'd seen firsthand how much her mother had pushed her in the hopes that she'd be taken to the Jedi temple. She'd actually balked at his insistence to stop pushing her development of power and instead started to teach her meditation and how to remain calm. Ziarah didn't see the benefit of teaching what didn't help her daughter to become stronger. But Kiara was powerful enough. Too powerful if she had no control. But with control then she could be a force to reckon with.

Ezra quickly released the Loth-cat back out to the meadow just outside of the ship. He then returned to the common room where he'd left Kiara.

"Well, we have quite some time to kill while we travel. I think it would be better to see if we can find something else to dwell on, for now." Ezra gave the girl a smile and watched as she nodded then stood to leave; presumably to return to the cabin that she'd woke up in.

She was almost out of the room when she paused and turned back. "Um... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why can't I feel the force?"

"You've already tried?"

Ezra was surprised since he figured that so long as he didn't work with the younger girl then maybe it would take longer before she discovered the change in the environment. But then again, she was only a couple of years younger than he'd been when he first met the Ghost crew. And while he didn't know what the force was, it was still a very ingrained part of his life already. And if there was one thing that he hated when he was that age it was when people tried to dumb down anything for him.

"It's complicated and I don't really know everything about it, but this ship was fired on by a weapon that suppresses the force. Fortunately, it was only an experiment so we shouldn't come across another one like it. At least any time soon. But that is also why you feel better now that you are on the ship. There's a disturbance in the force that is the reason why you got sick."

"Oh." Young Kiara thought about what the young man said. "Does that mean that I can't leave?"

"For right now. But we are going to try to figure out a way to set everything right, again." Ezra then indicated toward the dejarik table. "Have you ever played?" When the girl shook her head, he got up and motioned for her to take the other seat at the table. "Why don't I teach you? I'm not good but I can tell you the basics. It will give you something to pass the time."

Rex, still sitting off to the side, snickered softly as he watched as the young Jedi started to teach the child the game. As they became engrossed in the game he got up and headed toward the cockpit. He'd pass the time with the other man whom he'd already developed a bit of a friendship with over the last couple of weeks of travelling.


Back at the Kwa temple on Dathomir Kiara stepped out of the Infinity Gateway. She'd spent what felt to be years, once more, within the Gateway of Knowledge. She looked around and saw where she'd left her supplies that she knew she wouldn't need inside the gateways and walked over to her bag. She pulled out her comm device and sent out a quick message to see if the Shadow Chaser was back yet. When it was the clone who answered her, she figured that he'd been bored and had chosen to man the cockpit for Alex and Ezra.

"Are you and General Skywalker ready to return to the ship?"

"Not yet. I just figured I'd check in with you to make sure the three of you made it back."

"Actually, there are four of us now, instead of three."

Kiara eyed the comm device and asked, "Did you say four?"

"I did. Apparently, the forth person is you as a kid. The Jedi, Ezra, brought her with him. It would appear that the duality of there being two of you in the same time period was causing the young you some problems. He can explain it all when you get back."

Kiara hadn't thought about her younger self or what she was doing during the time that she'd been in this time period. Of course, she'd never wondered about the potential repercussions of time travel, either, before being brought out of her own time.

"Right. Well, I'll let you know when Skywalker is ready to leave." Kiara sat down near the wall where she had set her bag at and figured that she'd pull out a ration to get a meal in while she waited.

"We'll be standing by."

Kiara sat in silence as she meditated on the force while waiting for the Jedi after her meal was done. She didn't know when to expect him. Technically, he could have spent as much time or more in the Infinity Gate if he'd gone into it by now and still returned to the rest of the temple when she did. She hoped that his delayed return didn't speak negatively regarding the man's test before being allowed into the gateways.

As she focused on the force, she felt something different about it. If felt... darker. Something was about to happen. As she noticed the date, it was getting closer to the day that she knew in the previous timeline that the order to kill the Jedi went out. She wondered if her and Alex's presence had upped the date of that order instead of preventing it. As she focused, she sensed the Jedi joining her, but she remained in her meditative state. She willed the force to prepare her for the coming days, weeks, and months. When she heard a quick intake of air she pulled back and looked to her side where Anakin sat.

"What's wrong?"

Anakin lowered a brow before he answered, "He's still planning to kill her. Just like he always planned to, but I didn't realize it."

Kiara stood as she saw the man do so. She had questions but figured that there was plenty of time to ask. She grabbed up her pack and settled it onto her back as Anakin did the same with his own. As they started to head toward the entrance of the temple, she handed the comm device to the man. He nodded his gratefulness and called for the ship. He was pleased that the man he needed was the one who answered.

"Rex, I need you to contact the men back on Coruscant. Send as many as you can, all of whom have had their chips removed, and set up an escort for Padmé. The Sith Lord intends to have her killed. I want her taken someplace safe and protected."

"Yes, Sir. I'll see to it immediately. I'll send Jessie to take care of it. He had his chip removed when I had mine. I'll make sure to impress upon him the need for discretion."

"Thanks, Rex. And go ahead and get the ship ready for take-off. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Understood."