Disclaimer: Star Wars is owned by Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd. The following work is not intended to add to, promote or distort this series. This is a work of fanfiction, and the author does not profit in posting. This is simply a writing exercise written for fun.

Breakfast was rather… eerie, yep, that's the word, as Ahsoka sat before her two, female offspring. She was surprised to see them so timid and quiet, staring at her like a ghost while she ate. Though, she figured it was no different from her end. She still couldn't believe she was a mother to them. What ever happened to her dream of being a Jedi Master?

"So, um," She tried, noticing how Padme, who sat beside her, was fighting a chuckle, "Tell me about yourselves… You're clearly Jedi, but what else should I know?"

Both sisters glanced to one another before resuming their meals in silence. It was clear this silence was intended to end any and all further inquiry. Unsure of what to do, Ahsoka shot Padme a pleading glance, to which the woman shook her head solemnly.

"Do you know Luke and Leia?" Padme asked carefully, causing both girls to stiffen into a position of frozen terror, "Because we can help you get in contact with them." As one girl gulped down her meal, the other, younger one smiled wide.

"You know Princess Leia?" she chuckled. When Padme nodded, Luci added gleefully, "She's my master!" The way she spoke clearly showed her age, making Ahsoka all the more suspicious of her.

"You couldn't possibly be a Padawan yet." she noted, "You're much too young to be training out of the temple right now." Biting her lip, Luci's sudden enthusiasm died promptly. Ahsoka's keen montrals barely heard her remark of but I am.

While the comment was one of obstinance, Ahsoka did her best to let it go. This situation was complicated, and she had no idea what these girls had been through up to this point. She wanted to tread lightly, even as she was desperate to understand why her oldest child was now an agent of the dark side, the image of his furious face still echoing in her mind. Worse, she wanted to know why Luke and Leia failed to tell her about him.

Yet, as she was about to inquire after him, Mina entered the room with a soft smile. "The arrangements for your return have been made." She sat down, her son Lux following beside her, "I am sorry to see you leave before any actions can be moved in the senate, but I do understand your safety concerns."

Setting a reassuring hand on Mina's, Padme reminded her, "It isn't so much us that I am concerned about." Nodding, Mina sighed turned back towards the three Togruta.

"Whatever oddity you are dealing with," she said carefully, with the elegance of a trained politician, "I hope that it works out for you in the end. And thank you for protecting my son from that… assailant." With each girl nodding their heads first, the Togruta stood silently and moved towards the door. It was time to begin packing, and Mina and Luci had no intention of leaving Ahsoka alone.

Ahsoka found herself oddly aware of her new shadows. It made her all the more uncomfortable.

Once inside of her room, Ahsoka pulled her pack out and sighed. "Are you girls okay?" she inquired, watching the both of them in the mirror, "You've barely spoken since you got here."

Frowning, Mina retorted quietly, "Maybe we're just quiet."

Turning about, Ahsoka shrugged, "You… I believe that." She then gestured with her thumb towards Luci, "Her… not a chance."

"Hey!" Luci cried out, "I am quiet too!"

Rolling her eyes, Mina dryly added, "You couldn't be quiet to save your life, Luci. I couldn't even take you hunting back home, because you would scare all the animals away." Puffing out her cheeks, Luci crossed her arms and sat down on the bed in a fit. This action amazed Ahsoka, as Jedi children typically didn't throw tantrums.

She was about to comment when a knock on the door sounded, and Padme suddenly sneaked inside. "Are you girls ready?" Her answer came when all three of them turned away ashamedly. "I see… Well then, we'll have to expedite this."

Suddenly frustrated herself, Ahsoka demanded of Padme, "How can you act so calm about this?! My children are running around and I'm not even supposed to have children. I'm not even old enough to think about kids yet!" Yet, as soon as the words had left her mouth, she realized her error in speaking. Covering her red cheeks and guilty frown, Ahsoka turned away, "I'm sorry Padme… I, I'm…"

"Overwhelmed?" Padme finished for her, "I can certainly understand why. You forget I've been in your shoes for weeks now." Nodding, the young Togruta turned back to her, her frown still present. Ahsoka took action by sitting down on the bed beside the suitcase to re-pack a few articles, while Padme turned towards Mina and Luci to inquire, "So… You two girls grew up together? Were you in the Jedi temple?"

Shaking her head, Mina admitted, "We actually grew up on Shilli… After mom died, our grandparents raised us." Raising a brow, Padme turned her eyes towards Ahsoka, only to see the young girl with her jaw dropped.

"And what about your father?"

While Mina shrugged, Luci confessed, "He was a clone. Mamma really loved him… We all did." She began kicking her legs a little, "He went undercover in the military, feeding information to the alliance. Mom used to be in the alliance, but retired to raise all of us." Nodding, Padme set an arm down on the girl's shoulder, rubbing at her back to help with whatever emotions she was dealing with.

"A lot of people lost their parents, it seems." Mina suddenly added, "We lost mom, dad and our brother... Master Luke and Princess Leia didn't even get to grow up together-"

"-They didn't?" Padme suddenly wondered, surprised by the revelation. As the girls nodded, Padme frowned and turned away. She had every intention of asking them about this later.

"Yeah," Luci chimed in, clearly enjoying being helpful as a smile spread across her face, "Nobody, except a few people, know that they are brother and sister. It's a big secret! Like, the galaxy's biggest secret!" Her enthusiasm brought a chuckle to Padme. Ahsoka merely stared at the girl impatiently, embarrassed by her immaturity. As the conversation was about to progress, a knock came at the door once again.

"Come in!" Ahsoka called.

The hesitant eyes of Lux Bonteri peeked into the room, "We are preparing to leave shortly. Are you all packed?" With all four ladies sighing, he figured they probably weren't. "I see." He said with a slight crack in his voice before ducking out of the room.

The awkwardness of the boy did them all one favor: they all managed a good laugh.

Leaving Advorosia had been a lot easier, now that he knew what to expect. It seemed that his new awakening had invited a brand new scope of abilities that felt far more natural than any Jedi technique he'd ever experienced before. The asteroid barrier, the electric storms, they all avoided him as though sensing he was not the enemy. Or perhaps they now recognized him as the master he always was.

Within no time, he was at the familiar refueling station, awaiting his departure once more. Half expecting Asha to return to him, Luke had walked nearly every hall in search of her, wanting to thank his ancestor for her assistance with his training. He felt a new calm, one that told him to enjoy the quality of his life and relationships, and not concern himself with the painful what-ifs that consideration would not help him avoid.

Yes, he felt like a new-old person. Not as immature and demanding as he had been at nineteen, nor as burdened with guilt as he had been at twenty-four. He was some healthy mix of the two. He no longer feared his darkness, but knew better than to embrace it. He no longer lusted for power, because he knew who he was was enough. It always was.

He also knew that there was one person in the great span of the galaxy that needed to learn this feeling: his own father.

"Indeed." Asha chuckled from beside him, her purple eyes glowing gently in the gas planet's light, "Your father also seeks power unnecessarily."

Smiling, Luke turned to her, "Great-Grandmother." he greeted, "I am glad to see you, to show you what your advice has done for me." The woman rested a hand on his shoulder, her proud face beaming brightly. "Perhaps you can guide me on how to reach my father."

Nodding, Asha pushed her dark curls back, biting her lower lip in much the same way Leia did when in nervous thought, "He will be rather tricky to reach at the moment. You and your sister's focus on your mother has left him rather vulnerable. Of course," she added with a smile, "It wasn't until recently that you two had committed yourselves to changing the past. To saving him before his crimes become too much for his soul to bear."

"I did not want to be selfish." Luke rationalized.

"That was very selfish of you Luke." Asha pointed out, "But understandable, given your affliction with always wanting to be perfect. To reach your father, you must make him face his dark past… At this point, it is the only way to make him see that he is allowing himself to fall. That his shortcuts need to end." With that, she faded away, Luke watching her dissipate like mist meeting morning sun in a desert.

He thanked her and then puzzled after her ominous advice.

Rex was relieved to be discharged from the Jedi clinic, wanting now more than ever to at last return to his 501st brothers. Fives and Tupp had met up with him, escorting him down the halls with tales of amusement. Their favorite topic, however, was that of the fall of Knight Wezz from grace. Her inability to determine the origins of the Darklighters and their assailants had been an element of frustration for the council.

"And she damned well deserves it," Fives spat, "Manipulating us like that." Beside him, Tupp agreed.

Frowning, Rex, the constant good soldier, kept his thoughts to himself. Something told him that Wezz actually did mean to help them in her own way, and she had revealed to him something troubling. He'd spent his entire recovery puzzling after that Togruta.

The way he'd spoken, his expressions as he did; they all seemed to carry some meaning that went deeper than him killing the man's mother at some point. The more he'd pondered it, the more convinced he'd become that there was something more to his words.

"Captain?" he'd heard one of the men say, "What's the matter?"

Smiling to hide his thoughts, Rex merely shrugged. "I'm just craving some action." he replied, his forced enthusiasm actually convincing for once.

Grinning, his men nodded to him, each stating that they'd been away from the fighting for far too long. Yet, as they turned about, a small woman approached them with worry in her eyes. Rex recognized her at once from snippets on the HoloNet and temple gossip, "Ms. Darklighter." He greeted her, "What brings you here?"

Taking a deep breath, the woman looked to the ground with her dark eyes before turning back to him in earnest, "I'm very worried about General Skywalker… I think- no, I know he's being manipulated by someone. Is there any way the 501st can help me keep an eye on him? Keep him out of trouble?"

Looking to one another, with Tupp especially shaking his head at the idea of helping another Jedi under the table, Rex turned back to her, "We at the 501st actually specialize in keeping General Skywalker out of trouble… Best at it in the galaxy, in fact." A few proud grunts from behind him showed this point to be true, "But, with him suspended from his duties and us about to ship out, there is very little we can do to keep an eye on him."

Biting her lip, the woman turned her eyes towards the ground, "I see." was all she said before turning back to the men, "Thank you… I was hoping you could help me, but I do understand what your obligations require of you. May the Force be with you."

As she turned away, Rex stopped her, setting a hand on her shoulder. A thought had dawned on him, and he had to follow through with it. "If you don't mind… I do have one question for you, Ms. Darklighter." She turned to face him, her eyes showing true curiosity, "Who is that Togruta that attacked us? The one who'd teamed up with the Mirialen."

Again, the woman bit her lip, her eyes turning towards each of the men behind him before returning to Rex. "What did he tell you?"

"Simply put: I killed his mother." Rex replied, his eyes stern, but showing his discomfort with the idea. It surprised him to find that the woman's eyes had widened at the fact: Perhaps she doesn't know anything. "The problem is, I've no recollection of harming any Togruta. Droids are what I kill." Behind him, his men grunted in agreement. Tupp even made sure to mention that such was their other specialty.

Turning away a moment to stare at the ground once more, she deliberated. Eventually, she turned back to him.

"I can tell only you…. And what you learn from me must be kept in the strictest confidence." Her serious and worry-filled eyes told him that she meant what she said. And, despite all that had happened to him recently, he aimed to respect that.

Nodding, Rex turned and shrugged his brothers away. Darklighter led the way down the lane, clenching her hands nervously. "Before I tell you who he is, I have to tell you who I am." she admitted, turning back towards him, "My birth name is Leia Skywalker. I… I come from approximately twenty-nine years in the future."

Incredulous, Rex stared at the woman, waiting for the punchline to the joke. It never came. "You're General Skywalker's daughter?" he double checked, and when Leia nodded, his brow furrowed in thought. "You don't look much like him." he pointed out, making the woman laugh.

"My brother Luke tends to resemble my father the most." She admitted, "You know him as Jacen Darklighter."

Still processing the very idea of his General's children defying the laws of time, Rex was silent for a moment. "Well, if anyone could do something as bizarre as time travel; why wouldn't it be a couple of Skywalkers?" Chuckling, he added, "Your father is damned near crazy. Very lucky too."

Laughing herself, Leia nodded, "It tends to run in the family."

"No doubt." Rex shrugged, shaking his head as he let the idea settle, making connections, "I'm assuming that that Togruta is from the future then. It would explain why I've no memory of killing his mother."

Stepping forward, Leia carefully stated, "He is very misguided right now. He was taken from his home as a child and has been manipulated into using the dark side. Worse, he's now infected with it. Luke has gone to find a way to save him, but, in the meantime, I'm alone guarding my parents." She paused and added, "I'm worried that if Zion attacks, I won't be able to stop him on my own."

After a moment, she added, "Of course, that really is the least of my worries right now." The brief pause afterwards told Rex he was free to ask questions.

"Zion is his name then?" Rex checked, and when confirmed he added, "Who is he exactly?"

Pausing, Leia informed him, "Ahsoka's son. And... " She paused for a while, her eyes darting all over the place in deep concentration, "Never mind." She finally decided, "Anyway, it's for that reason that we are trying so hard to help him, even while protecting ourselves from him and his master."

With eyes wide, Rex made a connection, "You're saying I kill Commander Tano?" When Leia nodded, he grew somber, "I wouldn't hurt the commander to save my life. How could that-"

"-The future is a very different place." Leia assured him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Many of us are forced to make very dangerous and difficult decisions, Captain Rex. You clones in particular have it very rough." She then paused and added, "The Jedi too. Most of them are dead."

As sobering as the news was, it was near unacceptable to Rex. Unfathomable even. "I just can't see that happening." he admitted, "It's not possible that I would kill any friend, orders or no."

"Then let's work together and take that possibility out of the equation." Leia suggested, "If you see my father, keep with him as long as you can. That is all I ask. And, if possible, tell your brothers to do the same. I'm not joking when I say that our future hinges on my father."

"You mean the man the Jedi keep calling the chosen one?" Rex pointed out with a laugh, "Because, with that title, it only makes sense." He paused a moment and glanced back towards his men, all of whom were looking at him curiously. With so much to consider, he wished he had more time to fact check this woman, to determine if he was once again being manipulated for another's goals. "I'll do what I can." He eventually decided, "It's not like you're asking me to follow you to Naboo or something, anyway." He then made to return to his men.

Smiling, Leia nodded, "Thank you, captain. And please, kee-"

"Your secret's safe with me Miss Skywalker." He said with a wave as he returned to his men. With each step, he knew they had questions, he was just wondering how he was going to answer them. Then there were his own questions he had to answer. Zion Tano,he considered in his mind, How can I help you too?

Author's Note: Hi everyone! I know this chapter has been a long time coming, but I hope it was at least enjoyable. For those of you who are interested, I have posted a new chapter to Heritage Foretold and another one will be going up later tonight. I've been rather focused on that story lately: I think my brain just needed a break from time traveling :)

Please don't forget to review! I'm sure your thoughts and encouragement will help me get back on track with writing this story. I need all the help I can get!