Seeking her master

Perhaps, he didn't need anyone around him. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He didn't need anyone's help, not even in this new time he found himself in. But still, Caedus couldn't leave his apprentice behind. Finding a new one wasn't always easy. Then there was the whole fact Caedus actually trusted Tahiri. She was probably the only person who he trusted since a whle. She was a loyal woman. She was loyal to him. Thus, he was loyal to her. It was a mutual thing in between them. He wasn't going to ditch her.

Since the moment Caedus felt Tahiri's presence in the Force, he knew he had to go and pick her up from where she appeared in this time slip. He wasn't sure how she was dragged here, but it mattered not. Caedus was glad to have Tahiri following him anywhere. He might have doubts on taking her as his apprentice for a while, but she made him change his mind with her skills and determination.

The ship he borrowed from Coruscant belonged to a trader. He paid the man to use this for a few days. Soon he was going to get a better ship of his own. While he desired to get a Star Destroyer, that wasn't as easy. But Caedus had his plans for it.

Finally landing in the very planet he felt Tahiri in, Caedus stopped the engines; then left the cockpit. Jumping off the ship, he started to walk in a certain direction. He knew where Tahiri was and he had no plans of wasting his time to pick her up. In the meanwhile, he made his presence known in the Force. So she would know he was here.

Caedus arrived here alone. It was a journey he had to make alone. This was a personal matter and he was still a bit new here to build strong relations already. Not that he had a trusting nature for that. No. Being a Sith Lord brought loneliness. But he knew he didn't need to be that alone. Not when he could have his apprentice back to his side.

His heavy military type boots made their way through the damp ground. Trees were laying tall and thick ahead. And a storm was about to arrive, hit the area soon. He didn't care about getting a little wet by some rain. He didn't feel any cold either. He was still wearing his G.A.G. uniform and black robes over it. Maybe it was a sentimental thing, but he was working on it as he was working on many things at once. Since the moment he found himself in the past with Jaina, nothing had been going as he expected. But he could turn this to an advantage, if he played his cards right. But Caedus was a good player. He always thought a lot on his hand and options. Every single detail must have been thought, so he could weight them in comparison and decide the best route for his next actions.

There was no second thoughts, as he walked ahead. He wasn't in a rush. And he could feel Tahiri was doing good. She wasn't in pain. She wasn't hungry or thirsty either. Of course, that was expected of her. She was a skilled woman and Caedus trusted her for reasons. Being stranded in an unknown planet wouldn't be enough to make her fall weak.

Caedus felt rather proud.

And when Tahiri was in his sight, Caedus wasn't surprised to see her boots hanging from her shoulders. It was a familiar look, with how the blonde would ditch any footwear at any chance. His brown eyes were fixed on her and he could hear her calling his name... Not the name he used anymore. He was Darth Caedus now, no longer Jacen Solo. He didn't like it. No. But he allowed that slip once more. Caedus certainly didn't mind Tahiri using that name. She kept it in their personal and private time mostly in the end.

"You are fine." Caedus said, a small yet lopsided smirk touching his lips.

Tahiri smiled back at him. There was nothing further than that, even if they seemed to be alone in the area. No hugs or physical contact to show any sort of affection. Caedus had scanned the planet before he landed and found no trace of people. Only a few hundreds of exotic animals were residing in this particular planet. An interesting place to investigate indeed. Perhaps, when he was a kid, he would love to stay here and search for all the animals. But now he had no time for this.

"Of course, I came for my apprentice." Caedus kept up with his lopsided smirk, being cocky; somewhat reminding of his father. "I couldn't leave you here. Your place is beside me." Caedus said with a smooth tone, but certainly not lying about his words.

Tahiri's story matched with his. It was obvious she went searching after him, when he didn't show up in the time they discussed before. She was a good little soldier, looking after him. But the trap he fell into sucked her in as well. While this was not the planet Jacen crashed into, Tahiri still came to the same timeline. So the tunnel had to be the same.

Glancing around with neutral brown eyes, the Sith Lord listened to Tahiri's questions. He had the same questions not long ago. "It's a long story and we have a long way back to Coruscant." He tilted his head as in an order to follow him. They were leaving and Caedus was going to fill in the gaps in the ship.

As the cool raindrops started to fall upon them, they arrived the cargo ship he had rented from it's owner. It was not too big, but certainly not small either. There was enough space for two. A small kitchen and even a room to rest in. If Tahiri wished, she was free to use them. But once he set up their route in hyperspace, they would be arriving their destination in short time.

As Tahiri occupied herself with the small bathroom to wash up, Caedus was starting the ship and already taking off. He was always a skilled pilot and he could fly anything under his hands. The rain was getting thicker and thicker by the time they were rising up in the air. But the storm didn't catch them. He was quicker to leave the atmosphere. The pitch blackness of the space was around their ship now.

Fora while he moved the ship in a mediocre speed straight-forward. In the meanwhile, Caedus was entering the coordinates for Coruscant and preparing the ship for the hyperspace. He wasn't going to do everything manually, once he was done.

Coruscant was always his home and it was no different in this timeline. He already got himself a fancy apartment place in his favoured location. And his intention was to bring Tahiri there along with him. The place was big enough for two. She could use one of the rooms to her liking. It was different than living in a Star Destroyer. But they knew each other since too long. It wasn't going to cause a problem, he was sure.

Once Tahiri showed up in the cockpit, Caedus leaned back comfortably in his pilot seat and motioned for Tahiri's seat belt. "Buckle up. We are about to get in hyperspace." He warned her about the slight impact they were going to experience in a few. And then white light surrounded them, as their speed pushed them tighter in their seats. Now everything was in auto and Caedus decided it would be a good time to answer her previous questions.

"We are in the past, Tahiri." He started with his brown gaze on the blonde. But he didn't want to give her opinion. Not when she was too fixated on Anakin's memory. She needed to accept dead was dead and nothing could be done about it. She needed to get over that weakness of her and Caedus was planning to help her on that. "This is not Flow-Walking. We are way back in the past before any of us existed."

Pausing for a moment, Caedus allowed the information sink in Tahiri. Then he could continue. "I'm afraid I don't know who sent us here. But I failed to find a way to go back. But we can turn this to our advantage." Caedus didn't like the idea of starting over. But he saw an opportunity and he wasn't planning to miss it. "We can climb to the very top once again. But I need you at my side for this task." He didn't even ask Tahiri if he could trust her on this. There was no need to. Caedus already trusted her perfectly for it.

It was expected from Tahiri to give that reaction. She was still so attached to Anakin's memory, she was going to jump into every opportunity to cling to his ghost. Though, Caedus could understand her pain. It was his brother, who they lost at a young age. And as much as he didn't want to admit, he missed him very much, too. There wasn't a day Caedus spent without thinking of the people he lost. Anakin was one. Tenel Ka and his daughter were the rest. It hurt him, made his heart ache to think of them. And there was nothing he could do to bring all three back to his life. So he held onto the pain, believing it was going to make him stronger.

So Anakin always proved to be a common pain for the master and the apprentice.

When Tahiri said she was going to be by his side in his new plan, Caedus offered her a knowing smile. "I have no doubt on that." He said with a rather suave tone, also cocky. But then he was back being serious again.

"Starting over isn't easy. All the fame and reputation I made before... Now it's all gone." He kept on telling Tahiri what he had in mind. But she must have been curious about what happened before he disappeared. So he switched topics.

"I was ambushed by my sis- Jaina Solo." He corrected quickly. It was a reflex to call her family. But now they were no longer what they used to be. He wasn't Jacen Solo anymore. "Luke Skywalker was aiding her." He added, trying to underline what kind of a difficult situation he was trapped into. "Our duel ended up in this timeline. At first I thought it was Luke who sent us here. But I no longer believe in it." Even the greatest Jedi in the entire galaxy didn't have that kind of power. Even if he had, he wouldn't be sending Jaina with him.

"The reason doesn't matter anymore, as long as we work on our result." Caedus ended his words with slightly arched eyebrows. The cargo ship continued toward the destination in hyperspace, providing the master and apprentice privacy in nothingness.

Tahiri was making such a good point now. They both knew the history well, studied it to know a lot of things before. Now they were a part of this history and they had worlds to shape in their hands. Caedus was confident in himself to bring such peace to the galaxy, if he was given the chance. But no one gave anyone this kind of thing in a silver plate. It meant he needed to work from the bottom and climb up. Now with Tahiri at his side, he could do that even easier.

"Correct." He said, rewarding the blonde with a rather boyish smile of his. Then Tahiri was agreeing about this not being Luke to send them here. It would be a foolish punishment, indeed. For her question about him revealing his Sith Lord status out yet, Caedus tilted his head to the side once. It was something he had been thinking as well. As proud he was to declare what he was to the rest of the galaxy, it would be always nice to test waters first. He didn't need to rush things. Making a search on how people looked at Sith Lords was a must. Either way, he was planning to make his way into politics in this timeline.

"When the right time comes, I will. But for now, we'll wait." Caedus was thoughtful once again, having the memories of his mother. She was once a princess. She enjoyed to be in politics and that was probably where it came from. But he pushed the memories away. He didn't need to remember such things in a time like this.

When Tahiri asked him when they were going to start, Caedus' expression changed into a rather amused one. "Soon." He replied. "First we need to get you settle in and I need to make some contacts."

Of course, the Emperor's tactic was something they both know too well. The man had been very cruel and power ridden in every way, but the way he played this game was clever. If he was able to gain so much power in his hands, it was because of the wise decisions he made through the way. While Caedus didn't like to be compared to Darth Sidious, that didn't stop him from appreciating the man's ways. His path was going to be similar... for now.

Of course, Caedus had no intention in turning into a second Palpatine. He was much better than that.

As their conversation turned into a lighter subject, Caedus just smirked at the mention of a hot bath. "Hang in there, Tahiri. It'll be worth your wait."

It took three and half hours for them to arrive Corsucant. Their journey was passed in conversation about many topics. They discussed their tactics and Caedus mentioned about his worries on his family members. There was at least one of them in this timeline who saw him as an enemy. A potential threat. But one person was never a good enough threat for him, unless it was Luke Skywalker. But even his uncle couldn't dare anything, as long as Caedus made himself before many eyes. And that was the plan.

After their ship landed and Caedus returned the trader the shuttle in one piece, then he was leading them into a smaller transport to head for the buildings in the center of the city. It was a rather fancy area of the city and the apartments rose into the sky, so high and white. That was where Caedus chose his new living quarter from. Nothing less could be expected from him.

The driver of the private transfer stopped at a rather large balcony and Caedus stepped out first. Shoving his black cloak backward, he looked back at Tahiri and waited for her to follow him. Once she was out as well, the driver disappeared with his floating vehicle. Placing his hand against a scanner, Caedus unlocked the door of the apartment place. It was the highest floor in this skyscraper, fitting for his tastes. As they walked inside, Tahiri could see the wide space of the apartment. The colour white was spreading everywhere, giving a bright and fresh look to the living quarters. The rooms were large and certainly many for one person to live alone. The furniture had modern line, but it was little and not crowding.

"Suit yourself in." Caedus said and headed for his study. He wasn't going to give Tahiri a tour. She could do that herself and pick herself a room to her like.