"Any luck with Kanan?"

Anakin shook his head as he and Rex walked onto the Rogue. "No. Nothing I can do if he cuts everyone off." He glanced at the commander. "You gave him that mask, didn't you?"

"How'd you know?"

"The markings. They're the same ones that are on your helmet."

Shrugging, Rex grinned a little. "I found it lying around, figured he might want it. Better than the medical mask he was wearing earlier."

They sat in the cockpit together, neither of them very optimistic about Kanan's situation. "I just hope he recovers soon. The rest of his crew needs it."

"I know. I'm hopeful that he'll pull himself out of this, but I wish I could do it for him," Anakin explained. "I've seen this before. It's not fun."

Rex nodded, then a thought crossed his mind. "Does this affect the Balance thing at all?"

A moment passed, then Anakin's eyes went wide and he breathed into his hands. "Dammit." Not wanting to rush him, Rex waited until he looked up again. "The Inquisitors, the ones who died."

"You said there'd be consequences," Rex remembered. "You think this is it? You think the Force is taking it out on Kanan?"

"Either that or this is very convenient timing," Anakin groaned, rubbing his head. "Kanan is making this choice, but the choice probably balances out the Inquisitors' deaths. It's not that the Force is making him fade, but I'm not sure it makes a difference either way."

"So how do we get him back?"

"I don't know," he confessed, his gaze drifting. "I don't know if it's my job to figure it out or if I just get to watch the show. I don't know if this fixes itself eventually or how long it will last."

All he did know was that actions had consequences, both in the secular world and the spiritual one. Secularly, the Ghost crew was operating without Kanan and the Empire was down two agents. Spiritually, Kanan was cutting himself off from the Force and the Inquisitors were lost to the afterlife. The Force was balanced again, but it had cost them.

That was the other thing. This happened because of Maul, yet Maul hadn't paid the price for his actions. He made his enemies suffer the losses, and Anakin wasn't sure if he had lost anything, except perhaps Jadis, but that had happened years ago. He made the Jedi and the Inquisitors both suffer casualties, and somehow they balanced out in the end. Either Maul was acting impulsively and it just happened to result in balance, or Maul knew exactly what he was doing. Anakin wasn't sure which was true, but he hoped for all their sakes that it wasn't the second possibility.

"You know, it might be time to send Obi-Wan after Maul after all," he mused, bringing his mind back to the surface and looking at Rex. "If he keeps pulling stunts like this, whatever consequences come from his death might be worth it."

"Hey, I'm not about to complain," Rex said. "I got one good look at him on Mandalore. That was enough for me."

"Ahsoka should have killed him. If the Jedi Purge was going to happen anyway, might as well."

The thought entertained the two of them until Artoo rolled in, saying hi to Rex. He asked Anakin if he should show the video clip, and, for the moment, Anakin was distracted enough to smile. "Go ahead, buddy."

Pivoting, Artoo recalled the memory file and projected it so Rex could see. Luke and Leia appeared via hologram, as well as Sola standing in the background.

"I told you guys that I found Rex, right?"

"NO, YOU DIDN'T!!"

"YOU FOUND REX? When was that?"

"Not long after I met the Ghost crew."

"DAD!!!"

Rex laughed, partially at the twins' reaction and partially at the idea that there existed two teenagers that were calling his general 'Dad.'

"I'm sorry! A lot's been going on right now! I guess I thought I had already told you."

"Wait, is he gonna see this recording?"

"I was planning on it. I figured you would want to say hi."

"Sorry you have to deal with my dad again!"

He snickered, glancing at Anakin. Those were his kids, no doubt.

"We're going to be there soon! Four years, and then we're coming. Just you wait! As soon as I get there, I'm going to race my dad in an x-wing!"

"Oh, is that how it's going to be? You're going down, son."

"Bring it on!"

"Can't wait to see that," Rex said, grinning. "Skywalker showdown, brought to you live by the Rebellion."

Anakin laughed as Obi-Wan stepped behind the twins so Rex could see him. "It's good to hear that you're safe, old friend. Hopefully, I'll see you sooner rather than later."

"Bye, Rex!"

"Bye!"

The recording ended, but Rex had the biggest smile on his face. He looked at the Jedi. "Sounds like everything's going well back at home."

Nodding, Anakin looked back at Artoo. He didn't get to talk about his kids very much at work. "They just had their sweet sixteen. They're signed up to go to boot camp, and then they'll work a four-year contract before they jump on with the Rebellion. They probably just left the house," he realized, looking down at his comlink. "Maybe a couple hours ago. Soon, they'll be on a transport out to the campgrounds."

Rex could tell he was a little excited. The kids of Anakin Skywalker were finally going to start earning their wings. He glanced back at where the hologram was. "Did I see... their mom in the back?"

"Their aunt, actually," he corrected. "Their mom was already back at work."

"How's she doing?"

"Stressed. Can't blame her, not when her kids are heading off to train. Then she has work on top of that, and the Rebellion on top of that, so... yeah. She's busy."

"Nothing new, though," he remembered. "She's been running around for ages. Never stays in one place for long."

"Don't we all," Anakin mumbled, and when Rex shot him a look, he explained. "Command is sending me out. This new mission is going to take months, and I don't know when I'm going to be around again. I can't exactly be Fulcrum anymore."

He nodded, anticipating that he would have to leave soon. "Did they tell you where you're going?"

"Nope. It's not that kind of mission."

"Sounds like fun."

"Yeah. If it weren't for Kanan and Ezra, I'd be all for it," he remarked, glancing out the front windshield of the cockpit. "Talk about horrible timing."

Despite that, Rex wasn't very worried. "You'll come around when you can. Until then, I can keep an eye on 'em. There's not much I can do, but it's better than nothing."

Anakin nodded. "Thanks." After a moment, he added, "I guess all of us are going to have to come to terms with what's happening. The war is changing, and we're going to have to change with it."