Up in space, the Alliance ships battling suddenly found ships jumping out from behind and in front. Lando and Chewie gave them the warning about the ambushing ships from the core, but ships leaped in behind as well. Had Lusankya lifted off, they'd have been pinned on all sides. As it was, they were forced into a battle every bit as intense as at Endor.

Rogues Squadron harried and battled their way to the shuttle, but they found a flight of TIE fighters and interceptors charging into their path. The shuttle gained ground. Antillies relayed the warning to grab the shuttle ahead to the fleet, but in the intense firefight, there was little they could do. When in the midst of a space battle, top priority when to fighters and cruiser combat, not pursuing a lone shuttle. The ship docked with the Chimera and made for the edge of the fleet. They got clear of the primary battle zone and met up with another Destroyer, which took Isard to one side of the fleet.

The numbers would've been on the Imperial's side before Endor. Now, they were more evenly matched. The Empire would've had the advantage of surprise. But the Alliance fleet had a surprise as well.

Obi-Wan Kenobi leaned on the bridge of Home One, the mon calamari cruiser. Ackbar was in the command seat, but he was advising. Former Admiral Piett watched too, jaw tight. "Is this how he felt? That no matter what he did, it would betray someone?" His voice was a whisper.

"Very likely." Obi-Wan whispered, thinking of Anakin. "At least when he first fell." The frightening tremor in the Force threatened to distract him from the battle plan. His friend was in danger. And then he winked out. But it didn't feel like death. Unconscious? But he could not, would not, allow it to distract him. The balance of the Force had shifted. Obi-Wan could see how the shatter points in the Force here, the points where the space battle would turn. And Admiral Piett's information, more recent than Anakin's, shifted it the rest of the way toward the Alliance.

The Imperial fleet split in an attempt to stop them. The half of the fleet directly commanded by Thrawn was at all angles, not positioning itself traditionally, but using odd tactical patterns that some of the Alliance was having trouble adjusting too. But Ackbar had studied Thrawn's tactics, and Anakin's intel. His decisions directed the fleet. Obi-Wan was advising him, based on warnings he sensed in the Force. Suddenly every warning Anakin had given them about Thrawn was integrated into the battle and everything Piett had said about Isard and his fellow officer's tactics and plans was weaving into victory.

Finally the Imperials apparently admitted defeat when they were whittled down by a third.

"Luke." Wedge signaled him on the comlink.

"Wedge! Did you get them."

An ominous silence followed. Luke, Leia, Han and Ahsoka all stared at each other in distress. They all knew before he answered.

"No. The shuttle made it to the star destroyer Chimera. They just jumped to hyperspace. I'm sorry."

An Alliance cruiser, with Bail Organa and Padḿe had arrived in system right after the battle. They had only waited for the signal it was over.

They regrouped on Home One and as soon as Padmé saw Luke, Leia and Ahsoka she turned white. She didn't need to ask where Anakin was.

"We need to talk to Piett." Ahsoka said firmly. "We need to know where they're taking him, how they'll get there. And fast."

Piett looked up as they charged into the room as if they'd run him over.

"They got him! Where will they take him! How can we intercept!" The demands were urgent, just short of panic. It was Padme who nearly shook him, pleading.

Piett was taken aback. He could've used this as a bargaining chip, but it was overwhelming to have the former Lord Vader's wife shaking him, or his son and Jedi allies staring and firing questions. "Byss." He whispered. "In the deepest core. They'll only stop once, in a zone that's got an erratic, unpredictable gravitations shift. It affects an asteroid cluster...there's a supply base on one..."

"Thanks. We'll need the coordinates." Luke said.

The man hesitantly gave them over and the overwhelming, unexpected Rebels left.

Leia had her hand on her forehead. Han glanced around. "I'm going to go warn the others about that bio weapon, just in case any got out, while you figure this out. We should make sure those test subjects get more medical help. I'll send the coordinates for the Lusankya too, assuming they can't figure it out from the mess down there." He pressed a reassuring hand to Leia's shoulder before leaving.

"It's my fault." Leia whispered to Obi-Wan. "He knew there might be sleeper agents in with the prisoners. He didn't think we should release them until afterward. But I wouldn't listen. One turned on me. They had me captive and he sacrificed himself to get me away. I can't believe..," her voice choked to a halt. "I was arrogant. Refused to accept his input...I can't believe I made the mistake Fey'lya...,"

Obi-Wan gently held her shoulder. "Princess, he knew the risk. And your mistake was not the same. You made a choice in the heat of conflict. You might've been right. Anakin has done the same on many occasions, as have I. Anakin is strong. Stronger than he was as Darth Vader, or even when he was young. We will find him."

Anakin first thought was that he felt sick. He was disoriented, dizzy and his stomach and inner ear were apparently having an argument. He didn't sense anyone near. Suddenly his breath caught. Near panic surged as he remembered what had happened. The ysalamiri...was one near him now? Had he been taken? The last he remembered was battling a horde of stormtroopers. He forced himself to calm. He controlled his breathing. He tried his normal senses first. A hard, cold metal surface beneath him. V He couldn't hear much of anything, but a distant hum of air and engine. Very distant, it was a large ship then. That alarmed him and he took another moment to calm his breathing. Ordered himself not to open his eyes, not to blink. A good sign, he couldn't hear any breathing but his own. No-one or nothing breathed near him. The smell of metal and recycled air, common on spacecraft. His mouth was very dry. It tasted unpleasant, like he'd been sucking on metallic cotton. His nostrils flared a bit at this. He cautiously licked his lips. Still not opening his eyes, he reached for the Force. Reached out, reached in. An uncomfortable silence there, he couldn't feel anything. Not like looking into the dark side. More like a soundproof room, as if everything were too still to be felt, seen or make a sound. Very unnerving. Had that ever happened before? Once. A terrifying memory of pain, of agony, being told he'd killed his wife, reaching for the Force...and his horror had shattered restraints and metal but it wasn't the Force connection he was used too. At the time, he was weaker than he had been, weaker because he'd used the dark side, not just due to loss of limb. That made his limbs twitch. And that nearly made him curse. He was cuffed, ankles and wrists both. He could hear the minor clank and feel a minor electronic buzz that sizzled his skin in warning.

He couldn't put it off forever. Odds were, they were watching with holocams. He shifted his head, reaching for all of his senses again, trying to shift perspective. Something hard on his neck. It ached. It had a slight sizzle. Slave collar! That brought a flicker of fear and fury. He had to fight to force it down again, he didn't want them to have the satisfaction of affecting his emotions. Finally, he opened his eyes.

At first he just rolled them around without moving his head. Sure enough he was in a cell. Not an ordinary cell. Most cells were just for ordinary prisoners. This one had well hidden accessories that would make the blood run cold on anyone who recognized them.

For sometime he was left alone. He had no idea how long since he'd had food or drink, but it was long enough that he felt it. His whole body ached, complaining that he, like Obi-Wan, was getting to old for this. His bruises had bruises from the stormtroopers piling on. His limbs ached where they joined the prosthetics. He almost smiled at that. How many had it taken to down him? He had a cut on his cheek, no memory of how he got it.

Okay. So what was the deal with the ysalamiri? He considered the problem...no, challenge, he reminded himself firmly. A challenge was something you could overcome. Like the finish line of a race. A problem was a wall to break through. It was negative. These creatures were manipulating the Force. Non sentient or not, they used the Force. What did he remember about them? The blocking of the Force, or whatever it was, was a defensive mechanism against predators. Somewhere way back in history, Mrkyr had even been the birthplace of Jedi. So, Jedi had, at one point, coexisted with them.

The Jedi had never studied them scientifically, at least not the living ones. Palpatine probably had, along with the zillo beast and who knew what else on Byss. Byss. He fought down a shudder as he realized that's where they were taking him. The place where the pretender to the throne lay. The place where the Dark Side was so strong it may as well have been it's birth place.

He had to escape. Ysalamiri were in the way. If it was a defense mechanism, then something hunted them. Something had to have a counter measure. There was always, as Qui-Gon had pointed out, a bigger fish. And if Jedi had come from Mrkyr, then maybe they had known how to counter it. Maybe it was just a lost technique, like Qui-Gon communing after death.

He sat up slowly and carefully, shifting upright and sitting cross legged on the wide, hard metal bench. It wasn't easy with the chains. He sank into meditation. "When you learn to quiet your mind, you will hear them talking to you." Qui-Gon had said, when he'd first asked about midichlorians. And Plagueis had manipulated them into creating abnormal life. So what if he just reached for them? Not to manipulate or try and force, merely to listen. Listen deeper and harder and more focused then ever in his life?

Thrawn watched through the holocams, thoughtful. He sat back calmly, fingers steepled together before his red eyes. Captain Pellaeon was watching beside him.

"What do you make of this, Captain?"

"He doesn't act like the lizards are bothering him."

"Yes. He's a consummate warrior. Even in battle he didn't slow a stride." Thrawn said slowly. "He seems far more disciplined now than when he called himself Lord Vader."

"Do you think it is affecting him?"

"Most certainly, Captain. It's subtle. An occasional twitch. A barely discernible shudder. After so many years behind the mask, his sabaac face isn't perfect."

"Actually considering he didn't need one behind the mask, I'd say it's excellent."

"Perhaps. Have the guards activate the cells softening up methods. Light, sound, mild electric shocks."

"Are you sure that's wise? What if he really isn't affected? We could be unleashing Lord Vader at his worst."

"My concern Captain, is that he may find a way around the ysalmiri blocks. We haven't any scientific way of knowing how they work. Just because the Jedi didn't know a way, does not mean the Sith didn't find one. By all accounts he may be the most powerful Force user ever born. Best we don't give him time to experiment."

Anakin could feel the Force, feel the midichlorians...just barely. He lost them, gained them, wrestling with his own inner distractions and random thoughts. When he finally got a good enough grip, the impression he got was one of white noise. Less like the Ysalamiri was blocking the Force, on the contrary, it was using it, throwing out a natural illusion, a blanket camouflage that affected everything in the area. Camouflage. That could be useful. A form of Force cloak. He'd used such things in the past, and it made sense that it could be done naturally. At least, it made sense to him, given that he'd been able to do it even as a boy without any training whatsoever, or any honest notion how he did it. This was a different technique though. It didn't affect light, or sound, or smell. It didn't even affect the mind, or not just the mind. It affected the midichlorians. It had to. Almost like they joined together to match a natural frequency.

A sudden blast of sound, high pitched to an ear bleed inducing level hit him suddenly. Startled, he opened his eyes. He shut them again rapidly as the sudden blast of wildly gyrating lights joined the audio assault. He sighed. He should've known they wouldn't take any chances. He contemplated blindfolding himself and stuffing bits of cloth in his ears, but they had a ways of dealing with that. The best he could do was hunker down and endure. Don't give them satisfaction of losing control of himself. Memory flickered briefly. Leia. This was how her torment had begun. He had to swallow nausea at that. It didn't matter. He told his increasingly fast heart and complaining stomach. His deserving it didn't matter. What did matter was, the Empire was built on the lies of the Sith, built on the Dark Side. And whatever he deserved, the Dark Side did not deserve the victory. He swore he wouldn't give it this one.

The light and sound faded abruptly. "Impressive." Thrawn said from the doorway.

It took a moment for that to register. Anakin's hearing was confused at the sudden wild shift between high pitched noise, booming and now the sudden silence. Thrawn's voice was amazingly quiet.

"I think you just stole my line." He blinked hazily at the Grand Admiral.

"Without the Force, I confess I thought you'd be a good deal weaker."

"Weaker than what?" He asked flatly.

"Then a Sith or a Jedi."

"Guess that depends on your definition of strength."

"What is yours?" Thrawn asked.

Anakin glimpsed Pellaeon hovering behind and to the side, watching with fascination. Two stormtroopers stood on either side of the door. He heached for the Force again. Brushed just barely against that white noise. He cocked his head. "That's for me to know. Anyway, I asked first."

"I may need to insist."

"You may try. Or maybe your mysterious leader would prefer you wait." Anakin replied, meeting Thrawn's red eyes and well aware of the dangerous game he played. Thrawn was a genius. He was a master at psychological advantage. Anything he heard or saw would be pieced together into a puzzle that would reveal how to beat his opponent.

"The Emperor is eager to see you again."

"The Emperor is dead."

"So you believe."

"So I know." His eyes were bright. "And if you show me one who looks like him and acts like him I'll still say it's a copy. And if I beat one I can beat the other." His voice was very firm.

"I think you may be in for a surprise."

Anakin shrugged. He thought about pointing out a government built on lies was doomed. But giving Thrawn any information was dangerous. He was too good at ferreting out clues and might take countermeasures to prevent the truth of Palpatine's lies from getting out, or find a way to spin them. No, he was better off keeping his mouth shut.

He glimpsed Pellaon still peering in, fascinated and alarmed. Pellaeon had never respected him quite the way Piett had, though he'd served under him. He was a good officer, though. Anakin grieved a little that he couldn't win him over, but certainly not while he was under Thrawn's influence. Clearly he was firmly behind Thrawn now. For a long moment, Anakin and Thrawn remained in a staring match. Anakin crossed his arms and leaned with false casualness against the wall. He could feel the slight buzz of the cuffs, warning him that it wasn't just the guards blasters between him and Thrawn. Finally after studying him silently for a time, Thrawn left. Anakin resisted the urge to sigh. If he knew Thrawn, the man was watching or recording him. The relief would've been premature anyway. Sounds suddenly blasted, light flashed and the sizzling of the cuffs and collar bombarded him with pain. They weren't taking any chances on him being able to find and focus his power in spite of the ysalamiri. Anakin turned inward, unable to physically curl up due to the added pain of the collar and cuffs. The closer they drew to each other, the more it hurt. But in his mind, he curled up, battling the external assault and trying to find the Force...and just what, exactly, the ysalamiri were doing to manipulate it. He mentally swore, if he got out of this, to make a study of these kind of things and how to counter them.

to be continued