"Well I don't see any other option." Rex lowered his head.
Ahsoka stared out at the army lying in wait for them as the gears in her mind churned. Slowly a plan began to take shape, it was a long shot but far better than a suicidal charge or just waiting to die in the crash. "I have an idea."
...
Amidst the bodies of the murdered Separatist leaders, their blades struck one another within the bunker, which allowed the fallen Jedi to force the Master into a bladelock with one another, to which Skywalker forced their sapphire blades into one of the control panels. What Kenobi did not expect, was a hand gripping down his throat and threatening to break it entirely.
"Obi-Wan!", Anakin cried out for his master, watching both in fear and anguish on what he witnessed before him.
Several times he had gripped so many in sheer agony throughout the war, but the thought of his Master being one of them never crossed his mind. It was clear that the rest were immediately distressed at the sight of Master Kenobi being held by the ropes. Any wrong move would mean a fatal one at that.
Anakin sneered as he slowly tried to force his former Master's own blade down to his throat. But this attempt was foiled when a hard kick struck his back, forcing the fallen to let go of him. As Kenobi tried to regain his focus, he felt a kick struck his abdomen.
Getting up, Obi-Wan forced Anakin to the table by kicking him by legs. Reaching out to the Force, Obi-Wan retrieved his lightsaber as he prepared to strike down his former apprentice.
Ahsoka's eyes widened in horror as she tried to calm down Padme, trying her best to make sure that she was still in both her physical and mental capacity because of her ongoing pregnancy that could escalate way further than expected. "Anakin!", she cried out for him.
Reacting quickly, Anakin reached out for his lightsaber where he parried the incoming blade in time.
...
"Sir, we think Maul might be headed your way." Jesse's communicator pinged as one of the clones tracking the Sith's rampage through the ship gave his best estimate of Maul's destination based on the units he was butchering along the way.
Before Jesse could reply, a loud shout rang out in the hangar. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!"
He looked up and saw a captured Ahsoka being escorted towards them at gunpoint by Rex.
"Wait, since Commander Rex outranked all of them, then he could convince them right?", Caleb asked in a hopeful tone.
Saesee Tiin shook his head. "That could be a problem by itself, if we are going to refer to what Commander Rex told his men before they started the search for Padawan Tano. I do not think rank would matter as long as the orders are executed"
Everyone, particularly to those who were close to their respective battalions, were horrified at the lengths they would go just to fulfill the Sith Lord's orders, not even caring for the well-being to the comrades they refer to as brothers.
"Hang on, we have Tano and the Commander. Send all remaining troops to my position." Jesse said into his communicator as the Clones raised their weapons and took aim at the new arrivals.
"I said hold your fire Jesse! I have the situation under control." Rex ordered.
"You have your orders sir, now execute it or I will." Jesse urged him but held fire for the moment, allowing Ahsoka and Rex to close in.
"The order was to execute the Jedi for treason against the Republic. The problem is, Ahsoka Tano is no longer a Jedi, hasn't been for some time." Rex argued back, keeping the clones' attention on them while Ahsoka's droids snuck past to carry out their tasks.
Anakin and Obi-Wan were hoping that at least logic would have been enough for Jesse and the other half of the 501st to be convinced, but one could not express his hopes, as he analyzed the situation more thoroughly. "Left the order, she may have. In all but in name, a Jedi she is", Yoda professed for the former Padawan.
"Considering how Sidious first contacted Commander Cody, it would make sense that he wanted to go after to those Anakin was closest, and that includes Padawan Tano", Kit Fisto supported Master Yoda's claim.
The ARC Trooper was silent for a moment, before he continued. "…Sir, you said yourself. We're under special orders from Darth Sidious to eliminate Ahsoka Tano and any other clone who disobeys Order 66." Jesse parroted the orders that the Commander himself had given.
"Just keep him talking a little bit longer." Ahsoka whispered as her droids still needed more time.
"Jesse! Jesse, listen to me, we've known each other a long time, if we don't get this right, we'll be the ones committing treason! Not her!" Rex yelled back at Jesse.
The ARC Trooper fell silent, but not before raising his pistols again.
Rex's face fell in a grimace but that was always how it was going, with the inhibitor chip inside them, there was no way Jesse would be able to disobey Order 66.
"Commander Rex, you're in violation of Order 66. I accuse you of treason against the Grand Army of the Republic. You'll be demoted in rank from commander and subject to execution along with the traitor Ahsoka Tano!" Jesse's words cut deep into Rex, it hurt more than any physical injury he'd every sustained in his life.
The Clone Commander looked away in sheer regret, seeing himself as helpless in helping his own brothers within the 501st.
"Ready." Ahsoka whispered as she saw the signal from her droids that they were good to go.
"Yeah well, I never much liked being a Commander anyway." Rex replied
"Now!" Ahsoka started moving the instant her droids dropped the lift platforms the clones were inadvertently standing on. The bulk of his troops fell to the fighter storage deck below, leaving a greatly diminished opposition force for Rex and Ahsoka to deal with. When Jesse turned to see what happened to his men, Ahsoka force pushed Jesse over the edge to join the rest down below.
While the clones were reeling from the surprise attack, Rex tossed Ahsoka's lightsabers over and started blasting immediately, stunning the closest troops. Ahsoka herself began deflecting incoming fire and slicing apart the blasters of nearby clones.
...
Landing on one of the Repulsorpods, Sidious frantically looked around for the Grandmaster, until a small silhouette jumped towards the pod where he was in, where Yoda re-ignited his emerald blade. Acting quickly, Sidious extended his hands to conjure a burst of lightning, knocking Yoda's lightsaber out of the way, as it fell to the ground below them.
"This is not good...", Master Mundi uttered for the Grandmaster as he realized the extent of their entire duel. "At this rate, Master Yoda will have to rely only to the Force instead"
"But isn't Master Yoda more powerful than Sidious since Master Windu could defeat him?" Padme asked, alarmed for the elderly green midget in the audience.
However, Yoda shook his head, to the bewilderment and concern to everyone inside the Chamber. "Evolved, the Sith had. Stagnated, the Jedi have been. Aspects of the Force and of the Order, they have mastered. Our undoing, our ignorance had been"
The shadow unleashed its lightning while the creature was still in the air, and the little green freak took its full power. The shock blasted him backward to crash against the podium, and he fell.
He fell a long base of the Arena was a hundred meters below, littered with twisted scraps and jags of metal from the pods destroyed in the battle, and as the little green freak fell, finally, above, the victorious shadow became once again only Palpatine: a very old, very tired man, gasping for air as he leaned on the pod's rail.
Everyone inside the Chamber couldn't believe their eyes. Yoda had failed? This has to be a cruel nightmare that they could not wake up despite their attempts. The Sith has grown more powerful in the period they had hidden under the shadows. But they never thought that the Grandmaster himself is unable to prevent the Sith from rising again, as they had always seen him as the most powerful Jedi they had known for decades.
"Master Yoda...lost?", Anakin spoke first, almost speechless upon seeing how powerful the Sith had become to dislodge the best among them. When he watched the two of them, he was desperately hoping that he would somehow best Sidious in any way he can, or at least inflict lasting damage that could somehow aid his son should the time come. "But how?"
"What chance do we have if we have against someone like Sidious?", Shaak Ti in a rare occasion, fearfully uttered. Sure Master Windu would be able to overtake him, but he is only one man against an army of sleeper cells programmed to terminate all Jedi at his beck and call.
Master Windu couldn't believe it himself. Even with all his skill in Vaapad against Sidious, Yoda had always proven that he was more powerful than him by any means. However, by analyzing the situation further, Sidious had an edge due to the environment and of his use of the Dark Side. It didn't help the fact that the Coruscant Guard or any other available Clones within Coruscant to arrive at any moment to assist him.
"If Master Yoda could not...then what chance does Luke have against him if he ever faced the Emperor?", Rex uttered out.
Said Grandmaster could only close his eyes in regret, seeing that his failure to detect the Sith had led to the Order's downfall.
...
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