This story really jumps all over the place with PoVs, doesn't it? But considering how many characters are roamin' around, is it really surprising? Ch 8 is more of the same, so y'all have that to look forward to! This Obi-Wan PoV almost was in Ch 6 but after some very stressful rearranging it is now in a separate chapter. We also get a one on one Cross and Shadow talk, with some small hints at events in TtFR! Sorry about the eye, Cross.

As always, all Patrons get chapters two weeks early! Big thanks to patrons Jesse, Dragon, and Lil!

CW: Authority trauma mention, subtle sexual humor, mentions of past physical abuse.

Interrogation? Is that really what the Realm Walker thought of him? Of the Order?

Based on Cody's description of Shadow, Obi-Wan expected a timid fighter who preferred to avoid conflict. Shadow was… not exactly timid. A bit of a spitfire if anything. Sharp tongued and defensive, he understood why Cody felt a degree of animosity towards them but he also could respect Shadow's mistrust.

The Order and the Republic were… not always right.

Shadow was… a bit rough, to be sure, but no worse than Anakin. Or even Ahsoka when the Togruta teen was younger. But, oddly enough, Obi-Wan found he didn't mind the snarky attitude even if the Realm Walker frustrated him. That was not to say they did not worry him. Their emotions swirled in a violent whirlpool through the Force; anger, excitement, fear, worry, protectiveness. The sheer intensity of emotions from one so powerful alarmed him, but Shadow was more compromising than he expected. As long as he respected them, and did not threaten them nor their team, Shadow's mood remained stable.

A comforting and reassuring discovery that he eagerly shared with the Council.

"Shadow was cooperative, then?" Master Windu asked.

"I would not use cooperative, but they seemed open to conversation as long as they were not forced to do anything," Obi-Wan replied. "Agreeable, even."

"Hmmm. A problem, do you see them becoming?"

"Certainly not anytime soon. They refused to share anything about the future, as Cody warned, but I did not want to press them and cause them to shut down."

"Are they as hostile as Commander Cody suggested?"

"Not at all. I am uncertain of the specifics of their altercation, but Shadow did not attack him on sight so it may not have been as terrible as we feared."

"Why have they called you to Naboo?"

"They rescued Corporal Echo, and now seek a week of leave for both him and Corporal Fives."

Master Windu and Master Yoda exchanged shocked glances. "Rescued Corporal Echo? Was he not declared killed in action by the same explosion that took out your rescue shuttle on Lola Sayu?"

"Yes. But while burned and sadly missing his legs below the thighs, Corporal Echo is very much alive. Shadow spoke of some terrible fate befalling him in what I assume to be the original timeline, hence their anger with the Skakoan scientist."

"Know the future then, they do?"

"It certainly seems that way. They were not eager to share what they knew, and frequently expressed distrust of the Council and Order as a whole. But they were open to speaking with us in exchange for the two troopers' week of leave."

"Are they a flight risk?"

"Not at all. They do want to be involved in keeping troopers alive, that much is certain. Cody has also revealed that they are particularly fond of Captain Rex and the 501st."

"Yet they will not cooperate with the Council?"

"They appear to have suffered authority trauma in the past, and while I did not pry it seemed quite severe. Enough to make them wary of anyone who holds a rank of any sort"

"Caused by your commander?"

"I believe the issue runs deeper, given Shadow's tolerance of Cody. He is not the primary cause, I wager. But I did not press the matter in case it backfired."

"A wise call," Master Windu agreed. "When they come back with you, we may be able to put some of their worries to rest."

"Should I confirm the week of leave for the men, then?"

"Yes. May the Force be with you."

The Force better be with him, because stars above would he need it.

Realm Walkers weren't even supposed to be real, and yet one was out in the galaxy getting very entangled with many people close to Obi-Wan. Did they know of Anakin's prophecy? They must have known of the war's outcome, so would they also know the fate of Obi-Wan's former padawan?

Walking back to the transport with Cody and Rex, Obi-Wan waited until they were out of earshot of the commando group then turned to the latter. "Captain."

"Yes, sir?"

"If I may ask, what did you and Shadow speak about? Were you successful in your talk?"

Rex remained quiet for a moment, glancing over his shoulder. "They… were concerned about sharing what they knew due to fear of a mole within the ranks, although they didn't spill on who it was."

Another insider threat? Wonderful. Just what they needed.

"Ah. So no success?"

"Not exactly, sir. They agreed to tell me, or at least what they could."

"They'll probably swear you to secrecy," Cody grumbled.

Obi-Wan thought for a moment. While the lack of information would certainly hamper the Republic going forward, it would be far better to have at least one person outside of Shadow's immediate circle aware of what lay ahead. Not to mention the progress made with the Realm Walker if their trust was built up. To see that one person from the Republic could be trusted may, in time, persuade them to trust others from the Republic. Perhaps, even, members of the Council.

So long as the Council did not house the mole Shadow feared.

"I believe that the compromise of secrecy may be necessary," Obi-Wan said at last as they reached their shuttle. He stroked his beard. "Should Shadow trust Rex, it will be a step forward."

"Shadow is stubborn, I got that much," Rex remarked with a snort. "But I can see they do care. Deeply so."

"I never said they didn't," Cody countered. "But their stubbornness and refusal to listen to people above them in rank may get people killed." He shook his head. "Or get themselves killed."

Obi-Wan glanced at Rex, curious if he caught the additional comment, but the captain seemed to share the same worried expression as Cody himself. Brows furrowed and lips drawn in a thin line, there was something both he and Obi-Wan's commander knew that Obi-Wan himself didn't.

What am I missing?

"Is there something I should know, Cody?" Obi-Wan asked, careful to keep any accusation from his tone.

He was no fool; there were things Cody knew that he didn't share. Rex, too. Obi-Wan never questioned their loyalty because of it, since being a member of the Council meant he himself had to sometimes keep things secret from those he cared about. That was just an unfortunate and uncomfortable facet of war. There was no getting around it. But if something was bothering his commander, his friend, he needed to know.

Cody exchanged a look with Rex before he sighed. "Shadow… we've met them before."

Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. "Yes, you mentioned you had spoken to them before. But when did Rex?"

"The same time I did, actually. Do you remember the rogue fighter we told you about on the Rishi moon base?"

"Yes, you said their name was Scar and they claimed to be a member of a commando squadron-" Obi-Wan's eyes flew wide and he stopped in his tracks. "That was them?" he exclaimed, gesturing the way they came. "But the base was destroyed! How did they survive?"

"They said they did not know, yet."

"Yet?" Obi-Wan repeated, shaking his head in disbelief. Had he heard his friend correctly? "Are you saying that not only does this Realm Walker have a strange influence on the order of things and future sight, but they can time travel?"

"Yes, sir," Cody said. "How, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure when they go back. But it is them, I'm certain about that."

Time travel was useful, but highly dangerous. Should Shadow have the ability to go back in time at will, keeping them on the side of the Republic was of utmost importance. If they fell into Separatist hands, or worse, into Count Dooku's hands…

The hard won and costly victories that could be undone…

"All the more reason, then, to keep their trust," he said, stroking his beard again. "Cody, their squad trusts you, correct?"

"Yes, General."

"Is there a way to reconnect with Shadow?"

"I'm not sure about that, but I can certainly attempt to."

"I am not pressuring you to. Nor am I pressuring you, Captain, to maintain trust," Obi-Wan said, leery of putting too much on the captain's shoulders.

Rex was a capable soldier and a fine young man, but even he had his limits. Giving him the immense responsibility of maintaining a link with a less than predictable Realm Walker would be too much for him to bear, and Obi-Wan refused to do such a thing.

"I want to, sir," Rex replied with a stubborn shake of his head. "Shadow is a bit rough, but they risked their life to save my men not once but twice now. That's enough to be considered an ally in my book."

"Do they view you as an ally?"

Rex glanced back towards the cantina, frown deepening. "Far as I can tell."

It's a start.

"Cody," Obi-Wan said. "What did you say exactly to them?"

His commander shook his head slowly. "Told 'em I was trying to do what's best for 'em."

Obi-Wan grimaced, recalling the times he had told Anakin roughly the same thing. The fallout afterward was enough for him to not try that tactic more than twice. "Ah, I see."

Cody sighed. "I didn't mean to trigger their trauma. Had I been aware of it, I would have worded things differently."

"You meant well, I know," Obi-Wan assured him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It is not your fault."

"In a way, it is," the marshal commander said. "It's on Shadow for not telling me, but it's also on me for forgetting that Shadow isn't a soldier. They're a civvie way in over their head."

"Perhaps," Obi-Wan mused. "But their skills make them formidable opponent."

"As does their stubbornness," Cody grumbled.

"They don't hate you, you know," Rex spoke up. "Said you were a good man."

"They did? Thought they saw me as too loyal."

"Yeah, they were honest about that, but also why. Worry that if you need to act, but the rules forbid it, you'll hold back."

"Rules keep us safe," Cody retorted.

"There are times," Obi-Wan said, a bittersweet smile ghosting his face as he remembered his old master's unorthodox tactics. "When doing the right thing may require… bending the rules a little."

Cody looked at him. "Certainly not the Jedi Council talking," he said, tone slightly teasing as a faint smile tugged his lips.

"Sshh, do not tell them I said that."

The two troopers chuckled. "Of course not, sir."

Foot on the ramp leading into the transport, Cody looked back the way they came. "I'll… try to reconnect with them when we return."

"Thank you, Cody. Shadow themselves may be hoping for reconciliation," Obi-Wan suggested.

"Maybe." Cody cast a final glance behind them. "Maybe."

-Shadow PoV-

"You're awfully happy."

Crosshair's voice tickled my ear fur as I ran through the trees back towards the Hideaway. While Echo and Fives took one speeder and Hunter and Wrecker took the other, Crosshair sat atop my back. We'd fabricated a saddle since I'd been with them, making it easier for the sniper to ride without getting jolted off which also allowed him to get off shots more easily. There was also the added bonus of his armor not rubbing painfully against my spine.

A downside, of course, was he could grip the horn on the Western-style saddle and get right next to my ear. Which, despite not liking people in his personal bubble, he loved to do. Maybe he got a kick out of the shivers that always went down my spine whenever he spoke in a low tone. He was a sadistic bastard after all.

"Course I am," I replied, voice at normal volume since the other four had to take the road back up. Meanwhile, my Mountaineer form would allow me to scale the cliffs and clear the creek with ease when we reached them. Slowing to a trot, I gradually came to a walk. "I just met Rex. Younger me would have lost their shit."

"But that favorite designation has shifted, hasn't it?" Crosshair asked, yet there was hardly any malice in his tone. If anything, the purr was slightly flirtatious as he reached up and scratched between my ears.

Chuffing happily, I shook out my mane. "Indeed it has. Glad to see you're gettin' better about the whole reg thing."

"Still don't like 'em in our Hideaway," he grumbled.

"Gotta play nice with those regs, Twiggy."

"Tch, no I don't."

I flicked my ears. "These aren't the regs that bullied you."

"They still probably think they're better than us because they're normal."

I easily cleared a small gully. "Well, Echo is a cybie now. He would have joined y'all in the original timeline, you know."

"Noted," Crosshair remarked, adjusting his weight as I landed. "Still don't like him."

"You don't have to like him."

"Good. Because I don't."

Big surprise there.

"But you do need to show him respect."

"Regs never showed us respect." A pause. "You remember what they did to me. You… you saw it."

Yes, I had. The Fractalis section of the Farlands certainly lived up to its purpose of being an utter hell with the ability to tap into your mind and force you to relive memories; yours and others. I don't think I could ever forget younger Crosshair's scream as the hot metal pressed into the tender skin around his right eye.

I stopped and looked over my shoulder the best I could. "You want to get better, right?" I asked gently.

He muttered under his breath, avoiding my gaze, but eventually admitted, "Yes."

"Then you gotta acknowledge these aren't the regs that hurt you," I said, curling my tail over my back in an attempt to pat him on the head. "They were good friends of 99."

"Only met him a few times, remember?" Crosshair grumbled, swatting the fluffy tip from his face but letting it rest on his shoulder. "Tech's the one who was buddies with him."

I uncurled my tail. "My point is 99 wouldn't have been friends with 'em if they weren't good people."

"Can be good people away from me," came the sarcastic retort, but his tone was luckily void of any malice. At least, malice towards me.

I picked up a jog again. "Depthfire, you're a sourpuss today ain'tcha?"

"Goin' to be stuck with two regs for a week, sweetheart. Let me be grumpy."

"You mean grumpier than usual?"

I got a smack on the shoulder and a light kick in the ribs for my comment.

I snickered, but my laughter soon died down. "You were rubbed the wrong way with Rex, weren't you?"

He'd joked earlier about it, but I could tell my excitement over the 501st captain definitely struck a nerve. One of the benefits of living with Crosshair for over a month; you could easily tell when something bothered the sniper. He may have been abrasive and hostile with outsiders, and kept his sensitive side hidden safely behind barbed shields, but if there was one thing Crosshair could not and would not do… it was hide his displeasure.

"Don't miss much," Crosshair muttered.

"I try not to. Especially when it's something that bothers my teammate and partner."

"Just seemed really happy to see him." A pause. "Happier than when you met us."

"Well, considering you did call me short and looked at me with the contempt one shows to a particularly irksome middle schooler, can you blame me?"

He snorted, but a chuckle slipped out. "You were short."

"And you were a Homicidal Twig, Twiggs McGee."

"Thus began the crusade of nicknames, hmm?"

"You know you love 'em."

"Could do without bein' called a bastard lovechild of a vulture and a sleep paralysis demon."

"Am I wrong? And your sleepwalkin' don't help your case."

"My case," he drawled.

"Yes. Case of bein' an unnerving motherfucker."

We shared a brief laugh as I climbed up the ridge near the Hideaway. Once up top, I could sprint all the way back.

Cresting the fern strewn summit, I stopped. "I know years of trauma are hard to shake, Twiggy," I said. "But you've improved a lot. Just think of this reg thing as exposure therapy."

"Ew."

Laughing again, I took off through the trees. Clearing the creek with a single bound, I stopped at the shed. As Crosshair pulled the blanket and saddle off, the distant whine of speeder bikes reached my ears.

"They ain't back yet?"

"Maybe the regs fell off the bikes," Crosshair said.

"Imma go wait for 'em," I said, heading for the corner of the shed.

"Ah ah ah, brush down first," Crosshair scolded, pulling my tail back.

Grumbling, I twitched my ears impatiently as Crosshair brushed the flattened fur where the blanket had been. "Cross-"

"Patience, darlin'." He scratched under my chin. "Will make it worth your while," he sang, giving me his classic Smug Crosshair smiles.

Squinting in delight, I surrendered and let the sniper finish his current mission. By the time the speeders arrived, my fur was back to its original state and I had just enough time to shift into Beta form as the others pulled up.

"What took y'all so long?" I teased Hunter and Wrecker as they pulled around to the shed doors.

Hunter jerked his head towards the two ARCs, hair swishing with the movement. "Echo had to go."

I flicked my ears. "Ah, gotcha."

Helping his brother off the speeder, Fives gawked at my tail. "Hold up, you did not have that back at the bar!" he exclaimed.

"Shapeshifter," I replied with a shrug, crossing my arms. "Alphians have many forms. The human one is Omega, and this is Beta."

"I heard you guys were shapeshifters but…" He trailed off, staring at my tail. "Hang on. I…" His eyes darted to mine. "Have we met before?"

I hesitated. "You've met me. I haven't met you."

Echo, an arm around Fives' shoulders, frowned. "But that doesn't make any sense!" he protested.

"Ah, but it will," I said. "After dinner, things will be a little more clear." I frowned. "Clearer? More clear? Damn it all, which is it?"

"Clearer?" Hunter offered.

"Close enough for government work," I snorted.

Fives cracked up, partially doubled over as he wheezed and snorted.

I'd lost count by now of how many times Fives had laughed at something I did or said. But his laugh was downright contagious, so much so that Wrecker too started cracking up. I had a feeling they'd get along perfectly in the days to come. About time Wrecker had someone around just as excitable and chaotic as him. I counted, sure, but I was also his partner. He needed a bro friend to share shenanigans with.

"Why not tell us now?" Echo asked, tiredly glancing at Fives as he tried to keep his balance.

"Cause we gotta go get supplies for dinner. I just wanted to make sure y'all settled in first," I said, leading the way to the cabin. "Now, I may have sway over these chaos sluts, but Hunter's word is law when it comes to the cabin itself."

"You really have to call us Chaos Sluts in front of the Regs, Icy?" Hunter sighed, playfully glaring at me.

"Am I wrong?"

"Hardly!" Wrecker laughed, elbowing me.

Sending him halfway across the yard with a shove augmented by telekinesis, I cracked up as he landed upside down in a shrub. "Don't care who you are, that's funny right there!"

"Woah! How'd you do that?" Echo exclaimed. "I thought Wrecker was the one with super strength."

"He is!"

"Shadow has telekinesis," Fives said, snickering as Wrecker rolled out of the shrub.

I stopped laughing and groaned. "Let me guess. Orange Blossom Special told y'all."

"Who?"

"Codes."

Echo shook his head at me. "You really should show more respect to the marshal commander."

"Probably should. But ask the boys, I really only call people by their actual name if I'm bein' serious," I explained. "If I'm callin' someone a nickname, and it ain't accompanied by a curse word, then it's probably a sign I approve of 'em."

"Yeah!" Wrecker said, staggering to his feet. "Squeaky is great with nicknames!"

"Is that what the cactus comment was?" Echo asked.

"Sorta. I did call Crosshair a cactus, but I also told him to deepthroat one."

Echo looked downright horrified, clutching his throat, but I thought Fives was about to collapse he was laughing so hard.

"Oh man, I gotta remember that one!" Fives wheezed. "Hardcase'll love it!"

I bowed. "Thank you thank you, you'll be here all week!"

Crosshair cuffed me around the ear.

"Hey!" I protested, rubbing the back of my head and jabbing a finger into his chest. "I will bite you!"

He smirked, crossing his arms and tilting his head ever so slightly as he looked down at me. "Promise, sweetheart?"

"Behave, you two," Hunter warned.

"Piss off," Crosshair and I replied in unison.

"Besides," I added. "You're just mad it isn't you gettin' flirted with right now."

Wrecker laughed and smacked Hunter's shoulder. "Oh! Burn!"

"Stand down!" Hunter ordered, swatting at his hands.

"Hunter's jealous, Hunter's jealous!"

"Wait," Fives said as Hunter tried in vain to fend off Wrecker's teasing pokes and prods. "How did you get here before us? You didn't have a speeder bike!"

I grinned, leading the men to the cabin. "All shall be revealed after dinner, Fives my man."

"They've been dodgin' every question I asked," Echo sighed as Fives helped him up the steps. "You probably know more than I do about them."

"Well, pardon me for delayin' y'all's existential crisis! No good deed goes unpunished I guess," I huffed, then raised my voice as I stepped inside. "Techie! Got the ARCs!"

Tech stuck his head out of the robotic room. "I am making some final corrections to some circuits, but they can wait in the spare room until I am done."

I turned to the ARCs. "Alright, boys. Cross and I will be back in an hour or two, then I'll answer all your questions."

"All of 'em?" Fives asked.

"You'll be sorry!" Wrecker cackled. "Squeak will shatter everything you know to be true!"

Fives laughed. "Not sure it's that bad!"

"Well, I am a Realm Walker, remember," I snickered, then gave them a two finger salute. "Be back in a few, prepare yourselves! Things are about to get freaky!"