A/N: Hello. Thank you for the new follows. I hope y'all are all well and safe. I'm starting to go a bit stir crazy but at least I'm starting to feel some motivation to resume working on my Cara Dune kit for Rebel Legion approval. I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always please let me know what you think.

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Random: Nope. In hiding on a distant planet for all these years, remember. :)

TOWG: Thanks. Character interaction is something I always worry about getting right.

naria: No worries! Not everyone always has something to say and that's okay. :)

Paul: The city was destroyed. :)

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All of the people and places belong to Lucas and Disney ... except my gal Alés and her part in all this.

It took longer than expected to get to Jedha.

Din made several jumps, back tracking and going out of their way, in the hopes of throwing off anyone who might be tracking them. Though the encounter on Eriadu had come to nothing, thanks to Alés, it had reminded him that he could not let his guard down. He hoped her intuition was right and they could find information that would lead them to the kid's home or at least more of the Jedi. Surely he would be safe surrounded by others that had this power of the Force. He would certainly be able to relax knowing the little guy was safe. A slight noise had him glancing over his shoulder to where the kid was seated in Alés's lap playing with the braid hanging over her shoulder. The woman was merely staring out the window watching the lines of stars pass by. There was a quietness about her now that hadn't been there before, one he hadn't noticed until she'd shared her memories of the Jedi.

He hadn't felt such an urge to comfort another since … honestly he couldn't remember a time when he'd felt so strongly, even when he and Cara had helped Omera and the families on Sorgan. Perhaps it was the way Alés had shown him her emotions and memories. She had trusted him with that knowledge, had let him inside her head – literally – and that level of trust was not something he encountered frequently. As hard as it was for him to trust others he knew it had to be just as hard for her considering how she had been hunted by the Empire … just as the kid was now. And just like the kid she didn't seem to let it bother her.

"Something on your mind?" he finally asked though he wasn't sure why.

"Just trying to find some balance." Though he didn't say anything she seemed to hear his unspoken question. "I had buried all those memories so I wouldn't feel the pain they bring. Some times remembering things from your past aren't always pleasurable … even if the memories themselves are good."

"And … balance helps?"

She grinned at him. "Mental balance, Mando. Mental balance. One of the first lessons I learned when I was brought to the Temple was that a Jedi does not let emotions take control."

"You weren't supposed to have emotions?"

"Of course we have emotions, we are sentient after all, we just had to learn to control them. Emotion, yet peace. If you get overly emotional, letting that consume you and dictate your actions, then it is harder to hear the will of the Force." She paused, staring back out at the stars for a moment. "Most decisions made in the heat of the moment, so to speak, are usually ill thought out. Being able to hear the will of the Force and being able to tap into it could be dangerous if someone let their emotions take over."

"I am sorry I caused you to have to relive those memories."

"Please do not apologize or feel guilty. It was my idea to allow you to see them. Practicing a skill is never a bad thing. Perhaps I needed to see that I could still let go of any despair I might feel upon reliving those memories and regain balance."

Din took her at her word as he didn't want to delve too deeply into any type of emotional territory … despite the fact it was obvious she hadn't completely found the balance she was searching for. At least he wasn't having to deal with an overly emotional female.

A very welcoming beep from the control panel had him giving a quiet sigh of relief. Flipping a switch they dropped out of lightspeed and Jedha hung in the darkness of space in front of them.

"A desert planet it would seem," Alés observed as she peered out the front window.

Information came across one of his screens. "It is though not a scorching hot one like Tatooine." Flicking a switch he expected to hear the hail from the city with landing information but there was nothing but silence. He frowned.

"That's odd. I'm not getting any signal, no landing clearance transmission or docking bay assignment."

"Should you be?"

He nodded, his senses on alert as his mind worked through the possibilities. "We will land some distance from the city and go the rest of the way on foot. I'd rather get a look at what we might be walking into first."

"Do you think there's a problem?"

"If my luck holds the way it has then yes."

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Once they'd landed Alés helped Din strap the Child into a carrier he'd fashioned to go across his chest. He then opened the door to his armory and handed her a small blaster. At her raised eyebrow he just shrugged.

"Jedha has had a rough reputation in the last several years."

"And you're going to bring the little guy with us?"

"I feel like he'll be safer with us this time." She suppressed a shrug; the Child's welfare had been placed into his keeping after all.

They exited the ship and he closed the ramp, pushing several buttons on his vambrace to lock it. She was glad to be on solid ground again. Becoming acclimated to space travel did not automatically mean she liked it. Letting him take the lead they began their trek east. The land was barren and dusty, no signs of life anywhere. Every so often there were large boulders that seemed a bit out of place as if they'd been dropped there recently.

"These don't appear to have been here for very long," she said as they passed another. "There is not the large build up of sand around the base. It almost looks like sand has been pushed away from the base."

Din had no explanation and steered the conversation towards a more relevant topic. "Why do you think we might find answers here?"

"It is a great Temple and ancient. Some say the Jedi trace their origins here. Those that study the Church of the Force studied there and protected it. My Master said the tunnels underneath it are full of kyber crystals. It never became as … cosmopolitan as the Temple on Coruscant. Because of that I am hoping the Empire never really took notice of it and any records it contains will have survived unharmed."

"And if there's nothing here that can help us?"

"Then I suppose our next destination will be - " Alés froze, her eyes wide. The Child made a concerned squeak, reaching a hand out towards her, but she didn't hear him.

"What – what … happened?" She could barely get the words past her lips.

They stood at the edge of a small hill staring at destruction that spread almost to the horizon in front of them. Where the Holy City was supposed to be was nothing but a crater. The land itself looked like it had been peeled back, massive hills of it were piled up forming a ring around the crater that was miles wide. The blaster she'd been carrying fell to the ground and her hands clinched and unclenched at her sides.

Gone.

Everything was completely gone. The Holy City, the Temple, the kybers. All of it. She had hoped some of the Jedi would be here, some that managed to escape the Emperor's purge, or something that would remind her of those she'd loved, the life she'd lost … but there was nothing left except a crater. For the first time in many years Alés truly struggled with her emotions. Not what she'd experience after letting Din into her head – that had merely been a test of her ability to find balance – but a true struggle of trying to remain calm and push back at the anger and despair that was threatening. There was nothing she could do, no way to help those already dead, but there was almost a physical pain inside at the thought of what was now lost. Her internal battle must have shown on her face because Din laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"How? The entire city … gone. How … what could have done this?"

He could only shake his head.

"I want to go down there," she said several minutes later.

"Why? Anything that might have helped us is gone."

"I just feel like I need to."

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They came upon a small cluster of tents and ramshackle huts not far from the base of the hill they'd been on. There were a mixture of beings milling around and Alés felt compelled to stop.

"What are you doing?" Din whispered, one of his arms coming up to partially shield the Child.

"Hush." She cautiously approached a group sitting around a brazier over which they were roasting … something.

"What do you need?" one asked briskly. His face and head were almost completely covered with black cloth but the eyes were not threatening. Weary but not threatening.

"I'm merely seeking answers." She gestured towards the destruction to the right. "What happened here?"

"The Empire happened. They'd filled the city with troops and were stealing the kybers from the Temple."

"What for?"

He shrugged. "We never knew. Then one day all the troops were evacuated. What happened next I can't exactly explain but something big appeared in the sky, it blocked the sun, and then there was … some kind of laser – it looked like it had come from a giant blaster – and it hit the city. Everything exploded and just peeled away from the force of it."

"How did you survive?" Din asked.

The man eyed him. "As you can see the blast did not consume the planet. Anyone not within that zone, or close enough to the edge to outrun it, survived."

"Why would the Empire do such a thing?"

Again he shrugged. "There were whispers that it was because of the Temple, because of its connection to the Jedi, but we don't know. It had been many years since any Jedi were here. Most think it was because of the rebel uprising going on at the time."

"The Rebellion was here?"

"Some. They really harassed the Troopers the Empire had stationed here. Right before it all blew you could just feel the tension in the city," the man replied in response to Din's question. "That's why I think it was targeted."

Alés thanked him for his time and continued on; they couldn't tell her anything else.

"They were telling the truth. I could feel it but … how can that be?"

"There were rumors several years ago about some kind of super weapon that could destroy planets."

"The Empire managed to create such a thing?"

"It was never confirmed but I cannot see how a Star Destroyer would've had a weapon capable of destruction like this. An … acquaintance of mine has told me that her home planet of Alderaan was completely destroyed by such a weapon."

"Alderaan is gone?" He nodded. "Why would they create such a thing?"

His helmet turned towards her. "To subdue anyone that dared oppose them."

The closer she and Din got to the crater the larger the debris around them became. Massive pieces of earth had been hurled out of place like they were children's toys. Though he tried to talk her out of it she began climbing the rim created by the blast, struggling to find footholds every so often as the dirt beneath her feet wasn't completely solid. He followed, she could hear his exasperated sigh behind her, but she wouldn't be deterred. She wasn't sure why she felt so strongly about this but she did. When they finally reached the top they were faced with an expanse of land that had been completely wiped clean. In the very center there was an area deeper than everything surrounding it and she knew that's where the city had once stood. She and Master Basri had heard stories, when they'd ventured into the village, about the lengths the Empire had gone to in order to keep the galaxy under control but there was no way they could have imagined the Emperor capable of destroying entire cities – or planets as Din had told her. How much she had missed while living in exile in the Outer Rim.

There was nothing amidst the debris that differentiated between what had been city and what had been natural. Standing there in the middle of the destruction Alés could sense the lingering thoughts and emotions of those caught in the blast. Reaching out she laid a hand on a large rock and visions flashed across her consciousness: a Star Destroyer leaving, a shadow stretching across the city as the object in the sky blocked the light, curiosity then terror in the citizens, a massive blast that sent debris far into the atmosphere, then … darkness. It was like the very last conscious thoughts of those here had been left in the air, frozen in time, for others to find so they wouldn't be forgotten. She could only hope there had been no pain.

"Let's go. As you said there's nothing - " A sudden awareness rolled over her and her eyes darted in the direction they'd come. "We need to hurry. Someone is coming."

"What do you mean? How do you - " Din's words were cut off by the sound of distant blaster fire. She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. The two of them slid down the side of the crater and took off running in a direction perpendicular from the way they'd come but still towards the Raven Crest. The way was not easy, they had to climb over and around the destroyed pieces of Jedha, and she could always sense the approach of whoever it was behind them.

Din hadn't even bothered asking how she knew the blaster fire was from someone looking for them. He'd seen the sudden fear in her eyes. The kid seemed to sense their anxiety and had slunk down in his little carrier with only the tips of his ears sticking above the edge. They were moving up now, the ground beneath their feet quickly ascending, and he knew they were approaching where the Raven Crest was waiting though from a different direction than they'd left. Instead of the gentle slope down they'd originally traversed they appeared to be climbing up the side of a steep cliff. He briefly wondered if the men they'd spoken to at the little settlement had tipped off their pursuer. Maybe one of them was the one now coming after them. There was just no telling. When the Crest was finally visible he almost allowed himself to believe they might make it – then a figure he'd thought dead stepped from around one of the large boulders Alés had commented on earlier.

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"Surprised to see me?"

"A little."

"Perhaps the next time you and your friends have the opportunity to shoot down a ship you will take the time to make sure its occupant is actually dead."

"I'll make sure to pass along that information so that the next time you will stay dead, Gideon."

She fought to keep her expression calm as she heard the name of the man that Din had explained was hunting for the kid, the one responsible for all the bounty hunters trailing them. It wasn't hard to feel the bit of darkness flowing around him, not strong enough to suggest he was a Force user, but enough to tell her that he was not a good man.

"Escape will not be so easy this time, Mando. There is no one to help you." A dozen or so Stormtroopers swarmed the area, flanking Gideon on both sides. "You are quite outnumbered. The way to your ship is blocked. I will leave here with the Asset."

"The odds don't seem too bad," Din replied flippantly though she could hear the tension in his voice.

Alés pressed her lips together for a moment as she tried to come up with a way out other than the obvious as she really hadn't wanted to go that route. She'd remained hidden and safe all these years, hidden what she truly was … but when the troopers raised their blasters she knew time was up.

"Shield the Child just in case," she whispered.

"Just in case what? What are you – Alés - "

She didn't hear the rest of Din's frantic words as she took a few steps towards Gideon.

"What are you doing, girl?"

"I haven't been called a 'girl' in quite a few years."

"I don't know who you are but you cannot stop me from getting what I came for. Take another step and it will be your last."

A smirk flirted across her lips as she resolutely stepped forwards.

With a single word the troopers opened fire.

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Din instinctively turned to shield the kid then watched in amazement as the blaster bolts stopped midair when she raised her hands. The glowing streaks hovered there a moment, shimmering as their energy struggled to break free of whatever was holding it. Then, with a flick of her wrists the bolts were flung back the way they'd come taking out all the Stormtroopers that had fired them. The expression on Gideon's face was slightly comical: wide eyes full of shock, mouth gaping open momentarily like a burra fish. Before he could take advantage of the situation now swinging in their favor, number wise anyway, Alés had started towards the Moff again. He called out to her to stop but she just waved him off. There was a flash of panic inside when he realized she no longer carried the blaster he'd given her but at that point all he could do was watch as it was clear his assistance was not currently needed. What happened next opened his eyes even further.

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"You're a Jedi." It wasn't a question.

She chuckled a bit. "You thought the Jedi were extinct? That the Emperor's cowardly lackies had found and destroyed us all." In a heartbeat she called her lightsaber to hand and thumbed it on, taking a slight defensive stance as she did so. "You were wrong."

There was a hesitation on Gideon's side before he pulled a hilt out from under his cloak and ignited it. Though no reaction showed on her face inwardly she was a trifle surprised … and she clearly heard the sharp intake of breath behind her. His having the Darksaber didn't faze her in the least though; he was not in tune with the Force. His lack of training was quickly obvious as he came right at her swinging the blade down at an angle. There was strength behind it but she easily parried it. Deciding to let him tire himself out she stayed on the defensive keeping her movements to a minimum while he did all the work. It was something Master Basri had insisted she learn since she was on the short, small side: save energy whenever possible in a match against a physically stronger or larger opponent.

He eventually caught on and sneered at her. "Why do you not strike back, girl? Lacking in skill? Determination?"

"Simply giving you the opportunity to leave before I have to do something I really would prefer not to."

"You are merely a remnant of an Order long gone and forgotten."

"As you are a remnant of an Order soundly defeated and reviled. You may have forgotten us. The Emperor may have thought he'd destroyed all the Jedi, destroyed our hope, but he didn't." She quickly switched to the offensive, her white blade spinning quickly in front of her now as she began pushing Gideon back. "We waited. We learned. We adapted."

"You have no idea what you are doing, what you are getting in the way of. You have no idea what you have there."

"I believe I have a better idea than anyone."

Alés had had enough of the little game and she opened herself up fully to the Force, allowing it to rush through her like a wave, and guide her movements. It had been so long, so very, very long, since she had done so and a smile crossed her lips as she felt it. With a fresh determination she drove him further and further back, her quick swings not giving him time to do anything except frantically block her blade. She sensed the quick approach of at least two others, rightly guessed it was more Troopers, and was ready when they appeared. Spinning towards Gideon she pushed out with one hand and the two newcomers were shoved backwards. Thankfully Din had his blaster ready and finished them off before they could regroup. Knowing there were more and not wanting the Child to remain in danger she swung downward with her blade right through the wrist holding the Darksaber. Gideon gave out a howl of pain and stumbled backwards, gripping where he used to have a hand. As she stepped towards him he pressed something on his armored chest plate and there was the rumble of engines behind him. There was only time to fling herself towards Din and the Child as a small transport type ship rose above the edge of the cliff and fired at them. She pressed her lips together in frustration knowing this was allowing Gideon to escape but it had happened so quickly and her first instinct had been to protect the others. Sensing when they were going to fire again she flung her hands out, stopping the blast, and shoving it back at the ship. That seemed to be quite enough for whoever was in the pilot's seat.

The ship swung around to attack from behind, pushing them away from the Crest, and they dove to the side to avoid another round of cannon fire, wrapping themselves around the Child. Though it missed them the ground where it hit exploded and the overlook began to crumble. Another blast from the departing ship landed near Din and the force of it sent him hurtling towards the edge. She reached out and managed to grab his leg before he plummeted over. However his momentum threw him forward and most of his body did slide off the cliff. Her grip on him kept him from going all the way over, and she saw that he wrapped his arms around the Child in his carrier, but his head slammed against the rocks and knocked his helmet loose. Alés watched as it tumbled away, striking the wall of the cliff on its way down. After a split second of surprise, and the briefest glimpse of dark hair on his head, she clamped her eyes shut.

"I've got you!"

He was heavy and she was afraid they'd all go over if she didn't get him back on solid ground fast. Gritting her teeth she took a deep breath and pulled, focusing on the wonderful feeling of the Force flowing through her. It had been so long since it had been felt so strongly; even in the five years since the veil of the Dark Side had lifted she still hadn't reaccustomed herself to it. To tap into it so fully twice within a few minutes felt wonderful. It didn't take very long and she heard the sound of his armor scraping along the rock.

"Why do you have your eyes closed?"

Without the modulator in his helmet his voice was a very pleasant baritone.

"Your helmet. I know no one is to see you without it."

"There doesn't seem to be anyway to avoid that now." There was a hint of dejection in his voice.

"Give me a moment."

She turned from him and opened her eyes, peering down over the edge. Though she couldn't see it she knew it was down there. Putting a hand out she again reached into the Force. A few heartbeats later and the now dented helmet settled into her hands. Turning her face away she held it out to him.

"Only a little worse for wear," she quipped. There was the sound of him sliding it back on his head and he told her she could open her eyes.

"Thank you."

"I couldn't let you or the little guy end in such a way. That would be letting Gideon win." She reached out to pat the Child on the head. "Is he okay? You hit that wall pretty hard?"

"He seems to be."

"And you?"

"Only a little worse for wear," he replied, echoing her words. "That's not the hardest knock on the head I've ever had."

"Why does that not surprise me?"