Chapter 25

(Space)
In another part of the galaxy, a modified Marauder-class corvette was heading away from Tatooine after its captain picked up two passengers from the desert plains.

Inside its medical bay, Kleen floated inside a bacta tank, which healed the wounds he sustained from the crash of his Swoop bike. The bounty hunter suffered the loss of a few pieces of skin, bruised muscles, and some blood loss which had been taken care of before going into the tank.

As for his partner Strafe, he broke two of his ribs and was dehydrated after waiting in the heat. He was given relaxants for the pain and an infusion of water to replenish his body.

Since coming onboard, the bounty hunter hadn't seen his captain as she was up in the cockpit. This relieved Strafe for the time being. But when the ship entered hyperspace, said peace went away when she entered the room.

Like her people, Ilsa was a female Duro who had light blue-green skin and red eyes. Her lips were covered by violet lipstick, and her head was covered by a noir triangular-shaped hat. Ilsa wore a black jumpsuit covered by a faded silver overcoat with red lines, which concealed her six blasters. Each one was a different size and shape for the targets she went after.

Strafe watched as Ilsa first approached the medical droid and asked about Kleen's condition. "He will require time off from hunting until his wounds have healed," the skeletal 21-B droid stated dryly.

"And what about him?" Ilsa asked as she pointed to Strafe, who remained silent. "Once his ribs have healed, he may return to duty,"

"Good to know," Ilsa said, then walked over to Strafe's cot. "I take it you heard that?"

Strafe nodded yes, then watched as Ilsa continued.

"Normally, I would chastise you and Kleen for failing to capture our quarry," she told him with a glare. "But given the injuries you both sustained from the Solos, I'm going to let you off easier this time."

Strafe blinked in surprise.

"Besides, shooting the two of you would be a waste of time," Ilsa added coldly.

Sighing in relief, Strafe told Ilsa, "So, if you don't mind me asking, boss. Why are we leaving Tatooine? I thought we were looking for the Jedi?"

"We were, but given the Solos were there. The Jedi most likely left with them and are gone by now. As to where we are going now, I received a message from one of Viqi Shesh's agents. Seems she has a plan to lure Jacen Solo into the open," Ilsa said, pulling out a holopad from her jacket. She showed its contents to Strafe, who read it.

"Once Kleen's out of the tank, tell him what you've read there. I'll be in my cabin."

Nodding to this, Strafe watched as Ilsa left the bay. This gave him time to rest and read about the upcoming mission.

(Venator: Alpha)
"So, you're telling me you served with my grandfather during the Clone Wars?" Jaina asked while eating her dinner with Rex and Padme in the mess hall.

"That's correct, General Skywalker led the 501st division I was a member of. And we would often work with General Kenobi, who commanded the 212th battalion," Rex told Jaina as he recalled those days.

"Your grandfather would often tell me of their missions and adventures when we had some alone time," Padme added.

" I also want to hear about that, but first, I must ask something. How does Ahsoka fit into all this?" Jaina wondered.

"Well, the answer to that is simple, Jaina. Ahsoka was Anakin's apprentice," Padme told her.

"H-His apprentice, grandfather had an apprentice!" Jaina's inner voice stated. Multiple questions began to form, but Jaina calmed herself down and focused as she asked the first important question.

"How did Ahsoka meet my grandfather?"

"I can answer that," Rex began to explain. "Those two met during the Battle of Christophsis. Ahsoka had been sent by the Jedi Council to aid us and begin her training under the General, who wasn't too keen on this at first. But he came around to this later, and the two became a great team."

"I see…and I take it you knew her too?" Jaina asked Padme, who nodded yes.

"Ahsoka and I worked together on several missions during the war. Including one where she saved my life," Padme told her granddaughter.

"It began when I was to travel to Alderaan with Senator Organa to address the growing humanitarian problem of war refugees. Right before we left, Ahsoka told me she had a vision of a bounty hunter going after someone close to her. And said that someone was me,"

"Did you believe her?" Jaina wondered.

"Not at first, which concerned Ahsoka, who asked to come along just in case. Which I allowed, and at first, she allowed her fears to get the best of her. But I told her that things were fine. However, it turns out that Ahsoka had a right to be concerned, as the bounty hunter she saw did indeed come after me during the conference," Padme responded, which made Jaina worry.

"Don't worry, Jaina, the bounty hunter didn't kill me. Ahsoka deflected the bolts aimed at my heart, But one did hit me in the shoulder, and I was given medical attention and extra security after this," she told Jaina, who then asked about who the bounty hunter was.

"The hunter was named Aurra Sing, whom Ahsoka had encountered before on another mission. And was believed to be dead, only to discover she was alive," Padme said.

"I take it this Aurra Sing tried again to get you?" Jaina asked.

"She did, which led Ahsoka to suggest using a droid as a decoy while I gave my speech from my room. But this failed as Sing saw through this and came after me. Luckily, Ahsoka came in time and held her off. During the fight, I asked if Sing was hired to stop the relief effort for the refugees. But it turns out she didn't care about that, as she had been hired by someone who wanted revenge against me. Which led her to gloat and gave me the moment to stun her with my blaster."

"Did you find out who hired Sing?" Jaina wondered.

"We did, thanks to Ahsoka. It turns out that Sing was hired by Ziro the Hutt, the uncle of Jabba the Hutt, who made a deal with the Separatists that led to him being arrested by the Republic. He blamed me after I learned this and confessed to hiring Sing when Ahsoka visited him in prison after she tricked him."

A smile formed on Jaina's face after learning this plot was stopped. But also led her to wonder about this uncle of Jabba's, given her family's history with the Hutts. She would ask her dad about it later. Also, Jaina would need to talk with Ahsoka as she had some questions to ask her.

"Excuse me, Miss Solo?" a new voice said. AB1 tapped her shoulder and told Jaina that someone was contacting her from the bridge.

Excusing herself from the table, Jaina made her way there, where she heard the voices of her parents, who told her things that surprised her even more.

"So there's a Jedi from the old order with you who has a message from this Master K'Kruhk. And he's offering the planet he's one for the students. Correct?" Jania questioned after hearing this.

"You betcha, kid!" she heard her dad say in his usual way.

"Jaina, we need you to keep this a secret for now. Until Uncle Luke can tell the other masters this in person," Leia brought up next, to which Jaina said yes.

"I can do that. Is there anything else I need to know?" She asked next.

"There is when we arrive at Endor tomorrow. There's going to be a service for those we lost recently," Han told Jaina who said she would be there. Then, she said goodnight to her parents. She gently rubbed her temples as she walked away.

"Man, between learning that Ahsoka was my grandfather's student and hearing about Master K'Kruhk's plan, I can't decide which is more surprising!" Jaina said to herself as she walked back to the mess hall.

(Csilla)
Inside his base of operations, Soontir Fel kept a calm demeanor as he reviewed the latest intelligence reports from the known galaxy.

"This is worse than I could have imagined!" Fel said to himself as he shook his head.

Soontir Fel was a well-built, tall man with black hair and fair skin whose noted features were the trimmed beard and the gray Imperial officer uniform he had worn for years. It showed his rank in the Empire of the Hand, a position he held for many years in the Unknown Regions. He and his family lived among the Chiss since coming here decades ago.

One of whom was waiting to enter the office, which Soontir had called for as the doors opened. And his son entered.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Jagged Fel asked in a militaristic way to his father.

Like Soontir, Jagged Fel was a tall man with a serious yet calm look. This was due to his military upbringing. A large scar ran from his right eye upward to his hair. His choice of clothing was an officer uniform that showed his rank of Colonel among the Chiss.

"That's correct, Colonel. I have some important information to share with you," Soontir told Jag, who stood at ease next and then listened.

"We've received word that the Yuuzhan Vong captured Coruscant. And the New Republic has retreated after holding the enemy back,"

"I see...and what of the leadership?" Jag asked next.

"It seems their Chief of State was killed after the enemy brought the shields down. As to how this happened, our intel doesn't say. But any survivors might know. Which will be part of your mission, Colonel," Soontir explained.

"My mission?"

"Yes, I'm sending you on a scouting mission to learn more about the enemy. This includes aiding the New Republic against them, where you can learn more about their current state," said Soontir.

"I understand, sir. Will it be just me or other pilots as well?" Jag questioned next.

"Only one can be spared at this time. As the other pilots will needed for Csila's defense. But I'm confident you will succeed, son," Soontir said with a slight smile as he saluted Jag, whose eyes flinched at hearing that last word. But he soon calmed himself and accepted

this gesture before leaving.

(Author's Note)
Happy New Year, everyone. It's Hard to believe it's been two years since the story was published. Thank you for following the story, as it's been fun to write this one.

This chapter has Jaina as the second person to learn about Rex and Ahsoka's connections to her family. This was quite a lot for her to learn. And her family will feel the same soon when they finally meet the time travelers.

Also, this chapter sees Jagged Fel enter the story, who will reunite with Jaina later on. And perhaps learn about the time travelers as well, including the person who sent his father to the Unknown Regions long ago.

And for those wondering, I plan to continue the tie-in story about Grand Admiral Thrawn. It's just taken me time to work on it due to my other stories taking priority.

The following chapters will be coming soon, with many surprises to come as we progress. Until then, Stay Tuned.