Anakin and Padme were passing Union Station when they heard a woman screaming. A man was trying to steal her purse. Anakin ran to stop the thief. He force pushed the thief away. The thief pulled a pistol out of his jacket. Anakin ignited his lightsaber. A Blackhawk flying above spotted him. "I just spotted that guy with the laser sword. He is at Memorial Plaza. "The pilot radioed. "What is he doing? "Dr Rather asked. "I think he is fighting a thug. "The pilot replied. "We are on our way. Keep him in sight. "Dr Rather replied. The Humvees raced towards the scene. "It's you that guy that destroyed my gang's guns. Guys over here. Get him! "The thug shouted. The gang returned. "This time we are going to take you down! "The gang leader shouted as his men pulled out shotguns and AK-47s. Anakin stood with his lightsaber ready.
Just then the Humvees pulled out and soldiers in tan fatigues with M16s got out and pointed their weapons at the gang. Dr Rather stood by the troops. "Stand down now! "A sergeant said. "It's the army run!" The gang leader said, and the gang took off. The soldiers turned their attention to Anakin and Padme. They aimed at Anakin. "I am not losing you to them. "Anakin told Padme. "Lower your weapons. Are you trying to start an interstellar war? "Dr Rather asked. The soldiers lowered their weapons. Dr Rather approached Anakin. "Welcome to earth. "Dr Rather said as he held his hand out. Anakin reached out and they shook hands. "I accidently brought you here. "Dr Rather said. "How? "Padme asked. "An experiment I was running backfired and pulled you off your planet and dropped you in St. Louis. "Dr Rather explained. "We need to get you back to Scott Air Force base. Please get in the vehicle. "Dr Rather ordered.
"Wait! The traffic is backed up from here to the interstate. We will not get back to the base that way. "Lori warned. Police were arriving and surrounding the area. "These people are part of an air force experiment and are with us. "Dr Rather said. "They are investigating the incident. We will take the Metrolink. Follow me to Union Station. "Dr Rather said. "The TV crews are coming. Hurry! "Lori shouted. "We don't want our friends on every screen in the world right now. "Dr Rather replied. They passed Union Station and started down the stairs to the Metrolink platform. Dr Rather bought tickets and then validated them. He handed them to the group, and they boarded the next train that stopped at the station. They boarded the train and sat near the front on the left side with Dr Rather and Lori sitting behind Anakin and Padme. The train left the station and headed east. Padme saw an Amtrak train heading into the station. "What is that train? 'Padme asked. "That is Amtrak's River runner. It runs between Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City. They went into the tunnel and passed through it and on to Eads Bridge. That is the Mississippi River below. There is a tow heading south. That is the towboat on the near end with the barges in front of it. "Dr Rather explained. They stopped at the East St. Louis station. "That is East St. Louis. It has been suffering for a long time. Industry left and the city leaders don't seem to care much about its problems. "Dr Rather explained. "How sad while St. Louis is prospering. Padme said. "Not much better. Crime, greed, and greed there as well. "Dr Rather said. "Greed is one of the paths to the dark side "Anakin warned. They passed farm fields on the way. The train stopped at the last station in Columbia, Illinois. They got off and a waiting Humvee took them to the base.
They walked into the hanger where the experiment was carried out. "Are these the people you brought to this planet? "Dr Curtis asked. "Yes. Their names are Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. "Dr Rather explained. "Fool. I told you to remember Philadelphia. "Dr Curtis growled. "What is Philadelphia? "Padme asked. "I will explain. "Dr Curtis said as he picked up a remote control from a table and turned on a flat screen TV. In 1943 in Philadelphia harbor we were trying to make a cruiser called the USS Eldridge invisible to radar using Einstein's research on unified field theory. "Dr Curtis started. They saw a ship on the screen with a glowing field around it. "Suddenly there was an overload, and the ship disappeared and reappeared several times. When it was over several men were fused into the deck of the ship. It was a disaster. "Dr Curtis continued. They saw the ship reappear and men we stuck in the deck. "We discovered teleportation that day. We were so ashamed we hid the truth for a long time. Then Dr Rather started messing with the technology and caused another overload which brought you here. "Dr Curtis. "We solved several problems with the original design. "Dr Rather said. "Unified Field Theory. Every school kid back home knows that. "Padme said as she walked up to a computer and typed out the formula.
"My god! If we knew that years ago, we wouldn't be here right now. "Dr Curtis said. "You need to be checked out to see if there are any ill effects from the experiment. Follow me. "Dr Rather said to Anakin and Padme. They left the hanger.
Pretty long chapter. St. Louis is my hometown which is why the story takes place there.