A Stitch In Time

Anakin felt his lungs burning, his heart pounding, his blood boiling, yet he fought on. He twisted and twirled, slashing in and out of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors effortlessly. It was surprisingly simple now that he could feel them in the Force. Now that he had opened up to all of existence. Even as he felt that existence burning out his cells, shredding his body on a cellular level.

He could feel himself dying, one cell at a time.

As each cell ruptured and burst from the massive energies flowing through the microscopic symbiotic lifeforms that lived within each of his cells.

He pushed the thermal detonator away from Nom Anor one last time, sending it to rest next to the cases of genetic samples.

With a flash of light, the cases and the storage area of the cloning grotto disappeared. Anakin stumbled to a stop, and looked around. Frowning as he did not find anyone to fight. He turned and looked down the hallway which Tahiri and Tekli had fled, even as the Force seeped from his cells.

He took a step in that direction, and collapsed. He wanted to get up and move, but he just did not have the energy to move. Or breath.

And as the battlefield fell into calm silence, so did he.

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Tahiri hurt.

It had been five years to the day since Anakin's death, and as always at this time of year, she made her way to Hapes. A quiet visit to an out of the way glen in the Royal Forest. This year though was different. This year was not quite the same as the previous five.

For while she still hurt, while a part of her still grieved and mourned and cried, there was another part of her that soared with new life, with hope and laughter. And with love.

This year was different, because this year she was not alone. Standing beside her was Doran Tainer, his hand clasping hers, offering his comfort and love, offering her his strength and loyalty. Being for her, what Anakin would have been if he had lived.

She stared at the simple mound that at one time had been a funeral pyre, then in a halting voice, spoke.

"Hey Dummy, it's that time again. I still miss you... but, I found something. Something that I thought I wouldn't have after you... after you left. Doran and I... well, we're getting married next week. I, I hope you're happy for me, for us. I love you, and I'll never forget you."

She brushed away a tear, squeezed Doran's hand and looked up at him, smiling brightly. He leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

"You ready to go," he asked.

She glanced quickly at the mound before looking at him again. "Y-yes. I think it's time that I moved on. I'm glad you came with me. After all, this will probably be my last trip here."

Doran nodded his head, and grinned. "I'm proud of you, Toes, and I love you."

She smiled bright and happily for him, even through the tears that trailed down her face. She squeezed his hand tighter in hers. "I love you, too."

Together they turned away from the mound, away from the glen, facing the forest path which led to the Palace and the Royal Hangers.

Without looking back, and with her hand clasped tightly in Doran's, Tahiri walked from the glen, her soon to be husband by her side.

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Darth Caedus snarled as he stared at the reports he had been given. He had hoped to corrupt Tahiri by Flow Walking with her to the past, so that she could visit Anakin. But she had gotten married while he was on his voyage to learn as much about the Force as he could. She had went and gotten over the death of his little brother.

He stood and began to pace around his office, ignoring his security droid which stood calmly in one corner of the room, merely watching him.

He knew, that he had to find a way to bring another Jedi to his way of thinking. He needed someone to warn him about Luke's plans. He scrubbed at his face with one hand, and once more cursed Tahiri and Doran Tainer. She was still supposed to be filled with grief and pining after his dead little brother, she was still supposed to go to Hapes on the anniversary of Anakin's death, the way she had during the final years of the war. Yet, now he had found out that she had not been in eight years. He knew that he needed to punish her.

He suddenly stopped in mid-step. A malicious grin, came to his lips, and he ordered his personal shuttle to be prepped for launch. He knew what he could do to destroy Tahiri now; how he could punish her.

Two days later, he was in a pressure suit, floating in space in an orbit around Myrkr. A thin tether linked him to his shuttle craft. A tether that provided safety and a steady supply of oxygen and energy to his suit all while carrying away his wastes. A tether that would allow him to stay outside in the cold vacuum of space nearly indefinitely.

Closing his eyes, he began to meditate, drawing the Force to him. Slowly, he disconnected himself from the flow of time, willing his essence back into the past. Drawing himself to this point, thirteen years ago. To that fateful day when his little brother was killed.

An explosion sounded close to his ears, and he finally opened his eyes.

The white of a baradium explosion was slowly fading, and he saw his brother standing there in the cloning grotto. A brilliant golden light slowly fading from his skin and hair, even as blood flowed from the numerous wounds across his body. Anakin was staring down a hallway, a look of yearning on his face.

And then he collapsed, slamming hard into the cold ground, laying in a pool of his own blood.

Jacen went over to him, and opened up to the Force. Reaching for a set of abilities he had not used in years. His innate healing abilities. He allowed his power to wash over his little brother, repairing the damage which Anakin's final stand had caused to his body.

That finally done, he opened his eyes to find Vergere and Nom Anor standing over them both. Vergere cocked her head slightly. "You've aged a lot recently."

He laughed. "And you've not aged a day since I last saw you."

She nodded her head slowly. "Be that as it may, why have you come here?"

He grinned, and replied, "You expect me to tell you that? Besides, you have no reason to believe me, after all, everything I tell you would be a lie."

Nom Anor looked down at her, "Who are you talking to, you foolish bird?"

Vergere cocked her head at him. "Only a fragment of the future." She then gestured towards Anakin, "What of this one?"

Nom Anor snarled and gestured towards a pair of warriors. "Take this Jeedai and place him in a cell. Ensure that there are ysalamari around him to prevent his escape."

The guards dragged Anakin's unconscious form away. After a moment, Nom Anor followed after them. For her part, Vergere stared at Jacen.

Jacen chuckled, "Make sure to tell me later where they've taken him. I'll need to know when I get back."

Vergere nodded her head, and Nom Anor snarled over his shoulder. "Come along, Familiar."

Caedus watched as Vergere hopped after Nom Anor, going to fulfil her destiny, and ensure that he, Jacen, takes his first step on the path of the Sith.

He then allowed his mental self to fade from the past, allowed his consciousness to flow down the river of time to the when where his body was floating in space. He snapped his eyes open, and new memories flooded his awareness. Pulling himself along the tether, he climbed back into his shuttle, and pulled from his new memories, a recollection of one of his more confusing conversations with Vergere. One which she had not told him the first time he lived through those events. She had simply said, "The prize is on Althos 3."

Despite repeated questions, she had never spoken of Althos 3 again. Had never told him what the prize could have been. During his five year sojourn for obscure Force powers, he had visited Althos 3, but because he did not know what to look for, he had not found a thing.

Now he knew.

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Anakin Solo hung in his cell. His arms pulled taut over his head, his thin, wry frame, stretched and pulled by the bindings attached to his legs. Some type of slug crawled across his back occasionally stopping to take a bite from his flesh.

He does not know how long he has hung here. All he knows is that before this, he was tied around a ball, which alternated between blistering heat and searing cold. Before that, it was some other torture. And something different before that.

He does not know how long he has been without the Force. It has been gone since that fateful day on the worldship around Myrkr. He does not know if it is some trick of the Yuuzhan Vong or if he had burned out all his abilities. What he knows is that the warm river of life, that connection to Tahiri is lost to him.

He does not know how long he has been a prisoner. There is neither day nor night in his cell, just a soft, diffuse greenish glow, and he has long since lost the number of times that he has fallen asleep and woken up.

The only thing he knows, the only thing that keeps him sane, that keeps him from giving up and dying, is that he loves Tahiri. That he promised Tahiri that he would return to her.
What he does know is that he has felt his body aging. He has grown older while a prisoner of the Yuuzhan Vong, and he often wondered why they have yet to sacrifice him.

For the first time in his memory, he hears something new. Something that he had never heard on this planet before. The eruption of explosives.

There are cries of pain and misery on the far side of the door. Cries from his Yuuzhan Vong captors.

Then explosive charges rend his cell door from his frame, and through the smoke, three black-clad stormtroopers step into the room. Their heavy blasters wave around, finally settling on him. Silently, he stared at them, wondering if they were going to shoot him or free him.

His throat felt too raw and burned with pain, so he decided to not bother asking.

Then movement through the smoke cloud drew his attention, and he shifted from the stormtroopers to the smoke. Someone stepped through, dressed in similar black body armor, but lacking the helmet while wearing a cape. Anakin frowned, knowing that he had seen this man before, but not certain where.

The man smiled at him, and then in a soft voice said, "Anakin..."

Anakin's eyes finally meet the man's. They were a harsh brown color, the exact shade of the wood beneath a wroyshr's tree bark. If there had been any warmth in them at all, he would have characterized them as the color of brandy.

Then recognition dawned. Even through the pain, he whispered the man's name. "Jace?"

Jacen either grimaced or smiled, Anakin was not sure which.

Then several more blaster bolts went off, and awareness slammed into Anakin. The full glory of the Force wrapped itself around him, lifting him up, infusing him, becoming a part of him once again.

Without thinking, he stretched out for Tahiri, reaching for her through their long atrophied bond. He felt her jerk of surprise and awe, and then to his surprise a wave of grief, fear and guilt. Her emotions finally settled on confused disbelief.

Then he sent her a message, forcing their bond open even further. I promised you that I'd be back.

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Tahiri snuggled deeper into Doran's arms, the weight of the heavy down comforter weighing on her bare arms. A thin wind from the air cycler, brushes across her exposed shoulder, evaporating the sweat that had popped up on her skin. Shivers raced down her body, as she sighed into Doran's chest.

Sleep tugged at her, and she was just about to give in, when Doran spoke. "Hey, didn't you want to tell me something?"

She blinked her eyes a few times, looking up at him, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

"Something about Jacen," he prompted.

"Oh! Oh, yeah," she replied, feeling a blush crop up on her cheeks. "He made a point of finding me a few days ago. On... on the anniversary of Anakin's death. He seemed almost mad that I no longer went to the glen on Hapes. As if he had wanted me to do so."

He ran a hand through her hair, and she had to fight back the urge to purr. The things she had been through at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong and then the Killiks, the changes each had made to her biochemistry, had altered her physiological responses especially how she would express emotions. It often bothered her, even though Doran was amused when she purred. Besides, she could feel him thinking, concentrating, and she didn't want to distract him from that.

At least not yet.

Doran shook his head. "I can't think of a reason he would have wanted you to still do so. He certainly never visited in the past, so he wouldn't want you to go with him for one. And everyone can see how he's dragging Anakin's name through the mud with that Star Destroyer of his."

Tahiri sighed, and closed her eyes, getting ready to drift off to sleep again.

As she did so, the Force wavered. Ripples stretched across her awareness, waves crested and crashed down upon her shields. She bolted upright into a sitting position as a wave of familiar warmth, like a ratty, old worn out cloak, settled across her shoulders.

"Anakin," she whispered, her voice barely audible even to her, as her heart pounded in her chest and tears sprung to her eyes.

Doran touched her shoulder. "'Ri? What's wrong?"

She clutched her hands to her chest, feeling her heart breaking all over again. "I, I can feel him. Whole. Alive. He's alive."

"Who?"

She could hear his voice in her head, as if he was there beside her once again, whispering in her ear. I promised you that I'd be back.

She buried her face in her hands, the sobs shaking her body.

"Who? What's wrong?"

She did not look up at him. She could not face her husband. Not now. Not now that the love of her life had came back from the dead.

"He's back. I don't know how. I remember that we burned his body, but he's back, and he's alive."

"Who?" Dorran insisted.

She lifted her face from her hands, feeling the tears streak down either cheek. "Anakin."