Star Wars: Clone Rebellion (Season 1)

by SaintOfAllSaints01

During the beginning of Order 66, Rex and half of Torrent Company decided to betray what was once a proud Republic and build a new one. They try to find what's left of renegade Clones and Jedi to help their cause. (Note there are big errors and skipping any continuation of the first half chapters is advised. Such as chapter 5 having a mess up with chapter 8. WIll be fixed ASAP.)

25. Man Behind The Mask

And we're back to Star Wars: Clone Rebellion!

Alright, this shall be the final chapter of the 1st Season. This chapter in my opinion is needed for the end of the 1st series, before we cut into the next path.

Note: Ranks have changed since last chapter so you'll be hearing 'General Ahsoka', 'Commander Rex' & 'Captain Fives'.

Hope it is worth the wait! Enjoy!

Ahsoka's Transport:

---

Ahsoka was journeying onboard the Jedi transport she had used before in her travels, with a group of her men towards their base on Yavin IV. After a long time of making plans and starting an army on Kamino and Yavin IV in secret, they had finally gotten to where they needed in order to complete their first step of the plan for bases. She had decided to do some recon scouting near planets around the Yavin system. So far, nothing useful had come up, but she did enjoy the boring flight, for once.

The crew on the ship was the men Rex, Fives, Echo, Jesse, Kix, Hardcase, Tup and Dogma. They were all going at it when it came to the final stages of finding out who their allies are in the new Rebellion of theirs. Since they were around during important bits, Ahsoka had chosen them to accompany her and given them the rank of ARC Troopers.

Ahsoka and Rex were at the pilot seats of the ship and they watched as the blue from the hyperspace kept moving past them. They were finally going to get a well-deserved break after a long hard time of intense planning. The circle is almost complete. Ahsoka then rotated her chair to face Rex and put her arms above her head.

"Well Rex old boy, looks like we're finally getting somewhere."

"I couldn't be more glad myself, General. This whole disaster has been a miracle for us to pull through." Rex replied agreeing with the Togruta.

"Yeah, I know. It is a shame that most of our old friends are either dead or have relations with the Emperor." Ahsoka said, and then put her hands over her face in annoyance. "Seriously, why? Why have this had to happen!?"

"I don't know myself, Ahsoka." Rex replied shortly. "The implants for one thing brought the end of what was good in the galaxy. I myself, wish it didn't happen by our brothers. I'm so sorry."

Ahsoka sat in thought for a moment and noted what had happened in the past few weeks. The Jedi Order's demise, the end of the Republic, and the start of the Galactic Empire. What else could come to make their lives worse? It was then that she had decided to keep as calm as she could. The idea of going off wasn't going to get her anywhere and being the voice of reason would be better.

"Rex, you don't have to apologize. It isn't your fault."

"I know. But I wish I could've done something to stop this." Rex said while looking down. "You are right. This didn't deserve to happen. It didn't have to happen. I could've found out the Emperor's plans and stopped him."

"I understand your pain, but there's nothing else we can do, but keep letting the Rebellion grow and wait for the right time to attack." Ahsoka said softly.

"I understand, sir." Rex replied.

"Come on. Let's go see what the others are doing." Ahsoka said while getting off of her seat.

"Alright, Ahsoka." Rex replied while hoping off of his seat as well.

Ahsoka and Rex then went towards the door that would lead directly towards the back room, where the ARC Troopers would be hanging about, passing the time before they would make it back to Yavin IV to take a proper rest.

When the two got to the back, they saw Fives and Echo having an arm wrestle on a bench that was situated on a lonely side of the back, while the rest of the men were playing a game of Pazaak. Ever since Takaata had introduced his deck of cards to the men of the Rebellion, it had quickly gotten back into popularity after a long time of it not being played. It wasn't ever played before Takaata for a few thousand years.

"Ah, you got over twenty, Kix! You should've held when you got seventeen" Jesse bragged.

Kix slapped his left kneecap because he lost the game.

"Seems you didn't have a minus card in your hidden deck. Ha!" Jesse continued.

"Move, I'm next!" Tup cut in and started his game.

"Alright Tup, let's see if you got what it takes!" Jesse said.

"Alright then." Tup said, ready for this challenge.

"I got a seven." Jesse started.

"Four." Tup simply said.

"I've got eleven."

"Thirteen."

"A sixteen."

"Eighteen. Hold." Tup said, closing his deal.

"Hmmm…" Jesse hummed for a minute, before he finally made his move. "Ha, nineteen! Hold!"

"Good one, Jesse." Tup said smoothly.

"I'm so good at this! I wish I had played this sooner!" Jesse exclaimed and sat back with his arms behind his neck.

"Hey boys, what's been happening?" Ahsoka asked the Pazaak players.

"Hey General, we've been playing Pazaak. I'm so good at it." Jesse said calmly, but bragging on the inside.

"I'm so sure you're cheating, Jesse! I can see that look on your face!" Hardcase expressed to the bragger.

"Yak, yak, yak." Jesse said back to Hardcase not caring what he said.

"Well, we're glad you're all having some fun." Rex said.

Ahsoka then turned her attention to Fives and Echo who were arm wrestling. They were currently straining themselves due to their strengths. Fives was pushing hard against Echo's wrist, as he was doing the same.

"Y-you've gotten stronger, Echo." Fives commented hardly.

"I can easily say the same to you, Fives." Echo said as well. "But it won't help you win."

"Oh yeah? I doubt that!" Fives said getting louder and then pushed even harder against Echo's arm and shocking brought it down, making Echo lose and Fives emerging victorious.

"Damn, I didn't know you were going to pull something like that off, Fives. You sure you didn't cheat somehow?" Echo asked confused with the sudden strength.

"I have many surprises, Echo." Fives said while crossing his arms and leaving a grin.

"Way to go, Fives. You too, Echo." Ahsoka said while walking up to the two ARC Troopers of Domino Squad.

"Thank you, General." Both Clones said, happily with the Togruta's complements to them.

"You too could teach men about strength, Fives, Echo." Rex said walking up to the two.

"It'll be something to show the brothers on Kamino, Rex." Fives said proudly.

"Yeah, maybe they'll be copies of us." Echo joked.

"We're all Jangos, Echo." Fives said.

"Just keep on training and you'll do fine." Rex said.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. Relax." Fives said.

Ahsoka was more curious of the game known as Pazaak and saw that the men actually did enjoy it. Even if they did lose rounds, it did require a lot of thinking and chance, which made her more intrigued. She wanted to join in for a round.

"Hey, you boys mind if I join in?" Ahsoka asked.

"Of course, General." Jesse said sitting back forward and messing with the deck. "Just let me reset everything thing an-"

Jesse wasn't even allowed to finish his sentence, as everyone on the ship felt the transport they were on suddenly stop and force them all to fall forward. Everyone stood up and looked around in confusion. The engines had also powered down, which could've been a bad sign. What didn't make sense was why the ship had stopped. If the engines had been tampered with by someone, they would've had to have been traveling with the ship.

"What was that?" Rex asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to go and check the front." Ahsoka said while traveling to the front of the ship.

"Come on men; let's see what we can do to help." Rex said, making the men quickly move to the front, not with any delay.

Ahsoka had made it to the front and had her eyes on the main controls and unexpectedly saw them shut off. There was no power to the systems running. It was going to be a while before they could get everything up and running again.

What Ahsoka didn't expect to see however, was a big Venator-Class Star Destroyer colored with… no color to the far right of the top of the ship. She didn't know what would happen, but she expected the ship's Turbolasers to start blazing at the transport.

When Rex and the others got there, they had noted the same thing that she did. Thought their expressions were more readable than Ahsoka's. It was like they all had seen a ghost from their past sitting right in front of them.

"Oh… no…" Rex said while trailing off.

"Rex, is something wrong?" Ahsoka asked worried by Rex's horrified expression.

"It's… it's the Resolute Two." Rex replied.

"The Resolute Two… What's th-" Ahsoka then realize what it meant. The first Resolute of the Republic was under the command of her old Master, Anakin Skywalker. It was destroyed at the battle of Sullust during the first year of the Clone Wars. The Resolute II was officially finished being constructed during the final days of the Republic and it was directly sent to Anakin. Now the ship was here, and it had trapped them like ants to a picnic. "It can't be…"

Fives then stopped watching the ship and looked around the area between both theirs and the enemy. It looked like that the Rebellion transport was coming closer to the Empire's ship.

"General, I think we've been caught in their tractor beam." Fives announced.

"That would explain the sudden jump outside of hyperspace." Tup said.

"They're going to try boarding when our ship is dragged aboard. I think we should do all we can to avoid a tragic end." Kix says.

"No way am I going out without fighting!" Hardcase said, and he charged for the back of the ship.

"Hardcase, what are you doing?" Rex demanded while following the hyper Clone.

Everyone else followed suit and wanted to see what Hardcase had on his mind. Clearly, whatever he was going to do next was better than standing around, waiting for enemy Clones under the title of Stormtroopers to barge inside the ship and hunt them all.

When they watched Hardcase going to the back, everyone watched his steps carefully. Hardcase had just reached down below the seat he was sitting on just minutes ago and yanked out his Z-6 Repeater and wined it up for a brief second. He then waited right at the loading ramp that was currently raised high and knew what would come very soon.

"Well come on! Don't just stand there! Get ready for the attack!" Hardcase yelled to the team.

"As much as it seems like a bad plan most of the time, it seems like a good one at this time. I'm with Hardcase on this one." Jesse said and reached for his DC-15S Carbine.

"Yeah, this is all we can do right now, I guess." Fives admitted and grabbed his DC-15S he had leaning against the Pazaak table and made sure it was loaded.

Everyone else eventually followed their actions and had their weapons ready. The team had weapons of both DC Carbines and Rifles with them and was ready for a heavy battle, but only if the enemy wasn't as good as they were. Much had changed with the Clones of the Empire, as well as the ones of the Rebellion. The Imperial Clones were dominated by their implants and fought for evil. The saved Clones were basically brought into a salvation and were saved from the Empire's wrath, but one such order could change all that in just seconds. The saved ones may have still been brought into fighting, but it was just like how they wanted to fight in the Republic, only it wasn't corruption.

"Carefully men, we have to be ready. This is the crew of the Resolute two we're going to be fighting. Men of the 501st as we are from too." Rex warned while aiming his DC-17 Hand Blasters aimed up and stood at the doors.

"Great, that image will be hard to get out of my mind…" Fives said annoyed with Rex's warnings.

"What do you mean, Fives?" Rex asked turning his now helmeted face towards the ARC Trooper.

"The men we'll be facing are from the same legion as us. So don't get me wrong, but making me think about the other half of the 501st makes me feel weary about shooting them." Fives said.

"Sorry Fives, but these guys here are no longer our brothers. These guys attacked the Jedi Temple and caused quite a lot of harm to our Generals and Commanders. We knew that the Jedi were in the right. I think now is the time to finally see if we can get payback." Rex said, sounding a bit different than usual. "Are you with me Fives?"

Fives watched Rex as he stared into the ARC Trooper's helmet with hope behind his tinted visor. There wasn't much of an option to pick from now, so why hold back? "Yeah… I'm with you, sir."

Fives then felt his right shoulder plate being pressed on by a hand and saw Echo with his DC-15S held up and gave a glance at Fives' face. "Don't worry, Fives. These boys are from my legion too."

"I doubt that counts Echo, considering that you've been absent for about two years." Fives says.

"Hey, can we just stop speaking about it and just be prepared?" Kix asks. "I cannot handle hearing about fighting our men from the opposite team. These men were our brothers that I used to patch up. I don't need to feel this compassion right now."

"Right, sorry Kix." Fives and Echo say to the 501st Medic.

"Alright, now get ready." Rex orders. "General, you're in charge."

"We'll have to make our plan out of the box, Rex. We don't know what else could be different on the Cruiser's model, so a strategic plan wouldn't work so well when we get on board. However, if it is identical to ours, we should know where everything this." Ahsoka says.

"I just hope we can find out a way to leave that ship without any casualties." Rex says worried for his friends and brothers.

"We can only believe now, Rex." Ahsoka says.

"And this could be fun!" Hardcase says.

---

Resolute II Vader's Quarters:

In a personal chambers on the ship, the dark lord Vader stood with the Imperial Clone Commander Appo in front of him. The loyal to the Empire Clone was giving the details of the shuttle to the Sith and expected more orders.

"My lord, the shuttle has successfully been detained and is about to be boarded. What are your commands?" Appo asks.

"Capture them alive, Commander. If these renegades happen to be the culprits responsible for this 'Rebellion' they might prove useful for an interrogation." The Sith orders.

"Yes, my lord." Appo says.

---

Resolute II Hanger:

Meanwhile, the vessel of Ahsoka's had come in for a landing inside the Venator and a party of 501st Stormtroopers went to the loading ramp of the transport. They had special equipment that appeared new to somebody outside of the new Galactic Empire. It would be tested on Ahsoka's men.

"Force that ramp down! Lord Vader demands the crew to be brought to him alive!" One of the Stormtroopers exclaimed.

"Roger that!" The others exclaimed.

Beyond the loading ramp, Ahsoka and her men were waiting for the opening so that they could start their run inside the ship. While the enemy was clearly making their attempt to open it up, Hardcase had gotten an idea.

"You know, I'm thinking that we might be put in a lot of danger just by waiting for the enemy to blast us, so I'm going to do the most logical thing at this point." Hardcase says.

"And what… would that be?" Jesse says slowly turning his head to the left to look at Hardcase's helmet.

The loading ramp then slowly got forced down by the enemy and Hardcase slowly reached for his utility belt. His hand was trying to find a particular shape in mind. He then found what he was looking for and brought up what he needed with his left hand. Jesse watched Hardcase's left hand and instantly panicked when he saw what he had. A Thermal Detonator.

"Hardcase! No, don't!" Jesse snapped quietly.

As the loading ramp went half way down, the hyper active Clone the stood up from his crouched position and then ran on the falling ramp. He looked over the ramp and quickly counted up nine Stormtroopers within the area and threw the Thermal Detonator at the group's feet.

It then exploded and shook up the transport very violently. The issue with Hardcase's move was that the grenade had enough power to blow up the ship within the distance of explosion. The group that was attempting to get aboard was only about ten feet away when the grenade exploded.

The ramp was then forced to smash down fast and Hardcase fell. Out inside of the Star Destroyer. He quickly got back up and Ahsoka's group then walks out.

"Hardcase, you moron!" Jesse shouts angrily. "You do realize that the explosion could've alerted the entire ship! Not to mention the chances of ours being blown up!"

"I admit… that it was a bad idea." Hardcase says while looking at his brother. "But hey, we're fine, right?"

"Hardcase, I don't know what we're going to do with you…" Jesse says while rubbing his bucket.

Suddenly, explosions of gas went all over the area and everyone from the transport didn't know what to expect.

"I think we should abandon the ship and only return when we've got everything sorted." Rex suggested.

"Good idea, Rex!" Ahsoka shouts while activating her Jedi weapons. "Come on boys, we've got to move!"

"Sir, might I suggest we go through that door over there?" Rex asked while looking towards a door further away from the shuttle. It seemed a bit far, but Ahsoka agreed.

"Sure, Rex." Ahsoka says.

The group then rushed for one of the far doors with their weapons aiming at any corner that remained covered by gas clouds. Rex and the men fired their Blasters into the clouds and did it all the way until they had reached the door. Dogma, who was in the far back, got struck by some grenadier and a gas bomb had exploded all over him. He had let out a yell before making it beyond the door. Ahsoka and the team watched as Dogma strolled in.

"Dogma, are you alright?" Rex questioned the loyal brother of the Rebellion.

"I'm… alright Commander … I just… I…" Dogma trailed off until he finally collapsed to the ground from where he stood.

"Dogma!" Tup says with concern.

"Kix, take him with us." Rex orders the Medic.

"Yes, Commander." Kix replies and picked up Dogma and held him on his back. He also managed to pick up his Carbine.

"Now let's get a move on." Ahsoka says.

The team then went down the hall. They had to slow down because Kix, who was holding the weight of another brother and a few Blasters made his traveling power go at less than full strength.

The team then made it into another hallway and found it to be packed with more Stormtrooper Clones. Ahsoka and Rex had taken the lead with Hardcase to take up a lot of the front in order to fight at high strength.

"This combat is only going to get more complicated than I had anticipated." Rex says.

"I ain't complaining." Hardcase says.

"It also seems like as if their intentions are not to harm us." Ahsoka says. "Take note of the stun blasts."

"The Commander's right. These men aren't using lethal attacks." Fives says. These grenades and shots are stun blasts.

"Why would they be trying to capture us?" Tup asks. "What makes us so special not to kill?"

"Maybe they want answers to something?" Fives suggests.

"That could be it, brother." Echo says.

"Where should we head next? We're just basically running around this Destroyer. I think we were better off on the ship." Jesse says.

"Only if you wanted to face a would squad barging in, then go ahead." Fives says. "But I think Jesse is right, if we don't make any moves soon, we're going to end up facing a whole battalion of men."

"Well, I know this is a risky thing to say, but I think that if their plan is to capture us and interrogate us, we should maybe just leave Dogma here and pick him up later." Kix says.

"Kix, we'd never abandon a brother!" Fives says tapping the chest plate of the Medic.

"Then again, Fives. I think Kix does have a point." Rex says moving Fives away from the ARC Medic. "If we're forced to carry our unconscious men around, we'd just be easy to grab targets. Once we've got our own way of the ship we'll pick whoever goes down up."

"Commander, you cannot be serious about this." Echo says.

"Sorry, Echo. But I believe it is best at this point. Commander what do you think?" Rex asks.

Ahsoka looked at Kix who continued to carry the downed loyal soldier Dogma. The weight was being held by Kix well, but even with that skill he was still struggling to move. It would most likely be best to do what Rex suggested.

"I think Rex… is right." Ahsoka admits. "Leave Dogma here."

Kix looked as if he was about to protest to his Commander about her answer, but even he knew that she was right deep down. He slowly placed the loyal ARC Trooper armored Clone down and had him lean against the wall. "Sorry buddy. I promise that we'll be back for you."

"Let's move, before any more surprises come to us." Ahsoka says.

Suddenly after Ahsoka had said that, another explosion of gas grenades had exploded around their feet and both Jesse and Tup went down with groans. Ahsoka and the remaining men then went down another hall away from any more attackers.

"Ah, we've lost Jesse and Tup!" Kix shouts.

"We can't help it for now! We have to look out for ourselves now!" Rex shouts while shooting at what appeared to be other Clones of the 501st in the Imperial Navy.

Kix hesitated for a brief second, before following with the group again. As they kept on running around the ship, the more they got deeper inside of it. It would only get much more dangerous as they get into the deeper decks.

---

Resolute II Bridge:

Darth Vader had arrived at the lookout tower of the Venator vessel. He was expecting news from his Admiral, since he was watching the progress of the rouge Clone via security cameras onboard.

"My lord, it appears that three of the intruders inside the vessel have had three of their men taken down and their being sent to the detention level." The grey haired Admiral announced to the Sith.

"Good. Make sure that the Jedi and the rest of the traitors are captured. I need them alive so they can be integrated. Do not let them escape, Admiral Yularen." Vader says.

"Yes sir."

---

Resolute II Engine Room:

After a lot of running and shooting at the enemy, Ahsoka and her team had made it to the engine room. The map layout of this Venator-Class Star Destroyer was much different than the ones from the Republic Era. About fifty percent of the layout was completely different than before. With the new changes, it was hard to tell where they were even heading. Now that the engine room was found, the team walked silently inside. Whatever Imperials were on their trail before, they were long gone now.

Ahsoka went in the lead with her Lightsabers activated around the room. There weren't any lights on within this part of the ship for unknown reasons, but it wasn't a danger for her weapons to be activated. The Lightsaber and Shoto could both be mistaken as humming from the engines and the lighting could be considered the engines heating up from usage. After a while of observing the area, it was pretty clear that the engine room was like being in a ghost ship.

"I think we're safe for now." Rex says breaking the walls of silence.

"I hope so. I just hope the others are alright." Kix says.

"Don't worry, Kix. I'm sure the others aren't getting put in harm's way… yet." Rex says while looking around the engines.

"Oh, well reassuring, Commander." Kix says with sarcasm.

Rex ignored the Medic's comment to him and just continued to look around the room. Looking toward the engines, Rex had gotten a thought.

"General. I think I've got a good idea." Rex announces.

"What is it, Rex?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, when we get off of the ship, we don't want the risk of being tracked an option. So what I suggest is that we take whatever explosives we have left and put them all over this room." Rex says.

"Rex, you're beginning to remind me of Ventress right now." Ahsoka replied.

"Sir?" Rex questioned.

"It's nothing. Let's just plant some explosives and move on." Ahsoka says.

"Alright, kid." Rex says. "Hardcase, you're in charge of planting the explosives."

"Finally! Someone trusts me with them!" Hardcase exclaims excitedly.

"But do NOT set them off until we're off of the ship." Rex says strictly.

"Yeah, yeah I know." Hardcase says and proceeded to plant the bombs in key areas on the inside of the ship's engine room.

Hardcase saw certain spots that were weak enough to handle the slightest hit and some spots that couldn't be looked around easily. He made sure the each and every one of the bombs were primed and able to explode when ordered.

"And, done." Hardcase announces. "General, Commander. The bombs are set and ready to detonate."

"Good job. Now let's get out of here before the enemy arrives." Ahsoka says.

The group didn't hesitate that command and left through a second door. Going through the same door again was a risky choice since the enemy knew of the way they had traveled from before. Whatever was left to fight, it would be hard to battle against going in the next few halls. They usually got more packed with Clones when heading deeper inside the Venator vessels.

When the remaining members of the group continued moving. They encountered a lot more resistance from more Imperial troops and got locked within a hallway. Certain doorways were sealed off every time Ahsoka's men got through. They had all made it to a Turbolift that would take them to a different deck as they desired. Rex pressed the button for it to get to their level but it was taking quite a bit to reach them.

"Come on you stupid thing!" Rex snapped at the buttons as he kept on pressing them. "Work!"

"I hope this thing gets here quickly, or we're going to be captured quite quickly." Kix says observing the passageways. There was only one direction that they could go to exit the area and it was the space they had come from before.

"That's why I'm pressing this thing repetitively." Rex says.

"Keep your guard up, the enemy is coming!" Fives shouts while pointing to a while group of 501st Stormtroopers coming down the hall, shooting.

Ahsoka blocked as many stun shots but couldn't send them back to the Imperial Clones. The stun blasts weren't as deflectable as a regular lethal shot. The men fired back with the aim to cause death to the enemy and avoid more losses. Finally, the Turbolift had got onto the same level and everyone attempted to scramble in quickly. However the attempt wasn't completely successful, as both Kix and Hardcase got hit by stun shots and quickly fell before reaching inside.

"Kix! Hardcase!" Fives yelled with concern for his fallen brothers.

"We have to leave them!" Rex says holding Fives from running out into the open stun fire. They all watched as the lift's doors slowly closed its seals. But right before it could close, a gas grenade ,managed to get flung in and it was between Ahsoka's, Rex's, Fives' and Echo's feet. All of them had looks of panic on their faces, especially from beneath their helmets.

Rex had already picked a random floor to land on and didn't get a chance to decide on his actions. The elevator begun to rise and all attention drew upon the grenade that could go off any minute. The suspense was killing all of them very slowly as to when this thing would go off. But they all didn't want to be inside the lift for when it goes off.

Finally, the next floor had been landed on and the remaining four charged out as fast as they could, begging to not become the victims of this grenade. It had exploded when Echo was the last one to come out and he instantly felt nauseous when the gases reached beyond the filters of his ARC Trooper helmet. He swayed left and right and leaned against the silver shinny wall.

"Echo, are you alright?!" Fives questioned with concern for his Domino brother.

"Uh, Fives… I think I'm about to go… and pass out…" Echo says.

"Don't say that, Echo! Just control it and you'll be fine!" Fives says.

Echo didn't reply. Instead, he just fell to the ground and he passed out on the spot. Fives went down to his brother and laid his left hand on his brother's ARC gear on his back. Fives then yanked off his classic helmet and punched the wall.

"Uh! Why does this have to keep happening?!" Fives questions. "How is this gas getting through our helmets?! Shouldn't these things be able to avoid these kinds of things?!"

"I wish I had an answer Fives, but I think that it would be best to just move on now." Rex says. "I'm afraid that we'll have to leave Echo here. He'll be fine without us."

Fives looked at his downed brother and he thought that if Rex was correct, maybe Echo would be fine, as long as he didn't get up anytime soon. "I just hope this is the best choice. I don't want to see him die again."

"I promise you Fives, Echo won't be going anytime soon." Rex says. "General, what's next?"

"I think we should probably move. The enemy will probably be coming up at any moment." Ahsoka says.

"I… wasn't thinking about that…" Rex admits. "Come on, Fives. We're moving."

"Right…" Fives says.

Soon, Ahsoka, Rex and Fives had made it to what appeared to be a supply room on the Resolute II. They remained in cover away from anyone's eyes. It was very wide and it had many guards in the room. It had appeared that it had very important supplies were in here, because there was also Dark Troopers doing patrols around the room.

"This is going to be tricky." Rex says. "I doubt we'll be able to avoid these men from seeing us, and there are quite a lot of them in here."

"I noticed that, Rex. But I'm trying to see if there's any other means for avoiding any battles. We can do avoiding of any bloodshed if we can find ways to sneak around." Ahsoka says.

"Well, do you see anything useful to avoid any battles?" Rex asks.

"Not yet. There aren't any holes in their defenses that I can spot." Ahsoka says.

"Well we can't wait here. Anything could come out and surprise us." Rex says.

Ahsoka and Rex were too focused on speaking to each other about the enemy in front of them that they didn't think to consider the ones that were coming up from behind. A group of five Stormtroopers were sneaking about behind them. Two of them were using hand signs to communicate with each other. One of them had ordered another to roll a grenade right next to the three remaining intruders.

This Stormtrooper had taken the one grenade he had stashed in his pouch and silently with skill, rolled it to the three Rebels. The grenade moved the speed of a slow Mouse Droid and lightly tapped the box that Ahsoka and Rex were right between. Despite the tap being very light, Rex had thought of the sound to be something best to check out right now and looked down. His facial expression beneath his helmet went into shock. Both Ahsoka and Fives had detected this and noted the grenade's presence.

"Oh, no…" Fives managed to say.

BOOM! The grenade had exploded and took the three down quickly.

The guards who were around the supplies had seen the gas shower and went to observe what their brothers had caught. They found the Jedi and two ARC Troopers down and out of action.

"Contact lord Vader. He'll be very pleased with our results." One 501st soldier ordered.

---

Resolute II Bridge:

Vader stood at the bridge with his breathing echoing through the room and disturbing the Officers of the bridge. Admiral Yularen and Commander Appo stood at the holo table and noted that a signal had gone off and a brief message had been sent to the bridge.

"Lord Vader, all of the traitors have been captured and are currently being sent to the detention center." Yularen announced.

"Change that order, Admiral. Send them to the advanced detention center." Vader commands. "When they wake up, I expect to have them unaware of their location."

"Yes, my lord." Yularen says.

---

Advanced Detention Center (Five Hours Later):

Ahsoka begun to awaken from her slumber after being one of the final three to say up the longest. She blinked fast as she adapted to the area she was in. It didn't look like any part of a Venator that she's ever seen before. It was hard to tell where she was.

When trying to get up, she noted that she had such limited actions. Her hands were equipped with Force binders and they were tightly put around her wrists.

"Glad to see you finally awake, General." A voice greeted her.

Ahsoka looked to where the voice came from and saw Rex's helmeted head facing her. Fives was also staring at her with his helmet on too. Even with the bucket on his head to conceal his facial emotions, he was clearly worried for her. The two of them were friends for about three years now.

"Are you alright, Ahsoka?" Rex asks.

"I'm fine, Rex." Ahsoka replies. "What happened?"

"We were caught by surprised by one of their grenades, as Rex told me." Fives says.

"We were too careless." Ahsoka says leaning forward to her men. "We're in a very delicate situation and I don't think it could get any worse."

"Maybe. I think we were hit with a weaker grenade than the others." Rex stated.

"What bring you to that conclusion?" Ahsoka asks.

"The others are still out and don't have any signs of waking up anytime soon." Fives answered.

Ahsoka looked around and saw that the others were stuck behind a barrier. Ahsoka, Rex and Fives were stuck behind their own however, which didn't make sense to them.

Unaware to them, a camera watched them that was wired to the bridge of the vessel.

---

Resolute II Bridge:

Commander Appo watched Ahsoka and the men via the camera and knew that this is the signal that Vader demanded. Appo didn't realize why keeping the Jedi alive was important to Vader. Other than being a Jedi herself, Ahsoka was close to Vader like a sister. Was.

"Lord Vader, the prisoner Ahsoka Tano has awoken, along with her two ARC Troopers." Appo announces.

"Good. Send them to my personal quarters. I demand to integrate them personally, Commander." Appo replies.

---

Resolute II Advanced Detention Center:

Ahsoka and her two friends drew their attention to what appeared to be the door to the room. It opened with a few 501st Clones with DC-15S' walking in and one similar Clone Commander that Rex gritted his teeth to even speak of.

"Lord Vader demands to interrogate you three personally." Appo demands.

"Well, I'm surprised that you're still apart of this Empire, Appo." Rex says with anger. "I would've thought that the Jedi would've taken care of you back at the Temple."

"I assure you Captain, the Jedi are not worth fighting for." Appo said and turned to Ahsoka. "And soon, you'll be joining most of them."

"Hey, leave the General alone!" Fives barked.

"General?" Appo questioned. He then understood what the ARC Trooper had mentioned. It had appeared that he was referring to the Togruta Knight. "Ahsoka Tano isn't even capable for being a General. Or a leader for that matter. I can't wait for when you all get executed for betraying the Republic. I'll be one of those who kills you."

"We didn't betray the Republic, the Chancellor betrayed it. You betrayed yourselves." Ahsoka retorted.

"It doesn't matter now. Lord Vader demands you, so I shall bring you to him." Appo says. "Release the ray shields."

The ray shields holding the three trapped people disappeared and the Clones forced the three to move. They were then forced to move out of the room and were sent to Vader's personal quarters.

---

Vader's Personal Chambers:

The new 'Lord of the Sith' stood in his chambers in silence, waiting for his 'guests' to come and be 'greeted' by him personally. His ties to these visitors on board his vessel were some of those which he once called family members. He even considered most of the prisoner Clones of the 501st to be his family of the war. Now, all that seemed was left was the betrayals he felt that he faced by those who loved him and who he once loved.

A beep suddenly killed the silence of Vader's thoughts raining in the suit and the Sith listened for the next series of actions that happened next.

"Lord Vader, the prisoners are here to see you." Commander Appo's voice announced via holo terminal.

"Send them in, Commander." Vader replies. "I wish to integrate them personally."

"Yes, my lord." Appo replied.

'My lord? Seriously?' Rex questioned mentally. 'Why don't you just put yourself in a Bantha saddle and call yourself the Sand People king's prize pet?'

The doors to the chambers suddenly made some loud noises and popped open slowly. Vader remained looking away from the doors and noted the presence of three of those he had once trusted. He didn't feel any sympathy for these people, but there was still a test for them that he wished to know about.

On the end of the room where Ahsoka, Rex and Fives stood, the doors had closed with Appo on the outside with his men. Vader requested that he deals with this matter personally, which implied the lack of Imperial Stormtroopers to interfere when trouble could strike.

Vader then did a turn and faced his enemies, standing with their hands all in restraints. The look Ahsoka gave this Sith lord implied that she felt no fear, but her body trembled with the strong dark aura pattern waving around like rain all over the room.

Fives and Rex watched this Sith with horror beyond their helmets and didn't know why they were really brought here with their newly stated General, but even with the feelings of horror, they didn't want Ahsoka to be left along with a Sith like this.

"Rex, what the hell is this?" Fives whispered to the new Commander.

"I don't know Fives, but I know that this guy isn't good." Rex whispered back.

"I wish I had my Blasters right now. Seeing a sight like this makes me want to fight…" Fives says.

"I'd either believe that you were really brave, or very stupid." Rex says, than added. "Or both."

Vader then begun approaching when he had heard the ARC Troopers speaking in the short distance. He couldn't understand what they were speaking about, but Vader knew that it wasn't anything good. Ahsoka noted the Sith lord's approach and louder breathing, so she stopped Rex and Fives.

"Boys, stop this now!" She snapped with a whisper.

Both Rex and Fives looked back at the Sith and instantly complied with the Togruta General. A wrong move, and all they had worked on, could turn into nothing within a brief second.

"Jedi. Clones." Vader starts. "You know something that the Emperor demands to find. Where is the Jedi secret base?"

Ahsoka stared for a brief moment between her men and they looked back at her. There was no telling where these questions would lead to in punishment wise, but they all had a vow to not mention anything to the likes of those that wished for evil. Looking back to Rex and Fives, the silent promise had breached their minds and started speaking to the dark lord.

"You think I'm going to give that away?" Ahsoka questioned with slight disbelief. "If I were to get rid of that secret, chances of restoring hope and freedom to the galaxy would be lost."

"There is already freedom, Jedi. You're kind are nothing but a corrupt religion that tainted the galaxy and the Republic. The Sith have gotten rid of this threat, and the Empire will reign supreme." Vader says bringing up his left wrist in a vow.

"The Jedi weren't power hungry; they did what they only could to help the Republic. It was only the law that held them back from proving this." Ahsoka says, jumping forward a bit.

"They were fools, and died like the fools they are. They ruined my life. Especially Obi-Wan." Vader growled saying the former high Council member's name. "He is the reason for this!"

"Obi-Wan did what?" Ahsoka questioned. "What's your grudge with him?"

"He's the reason for my torture. I'll kill him when I get the chance. The old man will die!" Vader says darkly, but then had another proposition to give. "But you, you could have a chance. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy, and destroy the Emperor."

"Join you?" Ahsoka questions. "Why would I join you? The Darkside taints the living and causes suffering for life. My Master made that same mistake, and now… he's dead…" Ahsoka says with sadness.

"Whatever you've been told, is a lie!" Vader snaps. "Obi-Wan didn't kill Anakin Skywalker, he destroyed him!"

"How would you know if Anakin is alive unless….-" Ahsoka tried to say, but then she put the pieces of the puzzle here together and made it complete. The result that she had been given was most likely the most surprising and unsettling bit of information that she ever heard in her life. She looked up into the mask of the Sith and felt the slight connection right there though the tinted eye visors. She had been told that Anakin had been left severely broken and left for dead on Mustafar. But it was possible that he was recovered before his fate was sealed. "Master…"

"So, you can see the truth behind this mask, Snips." Vader says.

"That's… that's General Skywalker?!" Rex questions.

"I can't believe it… he's changed…" Fives says quietly.

"That's right, Captain, ARC Trooper. Because of the Jedi, I have no choice, but to live like this." Vader says. "The Jedi need to be brought to justice."

"The Jedi did this to you?" Rex asks. "You did it to yourself."

"Do not twist my words around, traitor." Vader barks. "Only I stand between you and your death. I could kill you with one swing of my new weapon."

Vader reached to the left side of his utility belt and brought up a new unrecognized Lightsaber. It looked new and undamaged. Ahsoka and the Clones hadn't seen such a Lightsaber before. Vader activated the blade and there was no surprise that it was blood read. The blade seemed to give a lot of color to the darkened room, but it continued to shine its evil all around.

"So, you've changed weapons. I saw Obi-Wan carrying your Lightsaber, before he left." Ahsoka says.

"If you know the location of Obi-Wan Kenobi, you will tell me." Vader threatened demandingly.

"I wouldn't tell you anything. He's a good man who wanted to help you, and you ruined everything!" Ahsoka blasts at the Sith.

"Sir, I think you should step down…" Rex says softly while placing his cuffed hands on her shoulder.

"Stay out of this, Rex. You know what I am saying is true, and he must see this!" Ahsoka says.

"Ahsoka, please." Rex pleaded.

"You are a fool to stand by the Jedi!" Vader blasts and used a Force Push against Ahsoka and her men.

Rex and Fives got sent back and slid on the floor. Ahsoka had the same effect, but her strike was stronger due to her being closer to Vader.

When Fives had gotten up and looked at the Sith that used to be Anakin Skywalker, all he felt that he could say was. "Boy, has the General we once fought under changed."

Rex got up after Fives and heard what the recently promoted Captain had meant. Anakin had a fuse that was noticeable to a degree, but with Vader it seemed like the fuse to his anger was once a smaller one and it could be set off a lot easier than before. The damages to Anakin's body with the pains of his missing limbs carried could be the reasons for these as well as the result of his darkened path.

"I know, we should try not to anger him any further. "Rex says, before he turned to Ahsoka who was rubbing her head and seemed slightly disoriented by the wave that hit her. Rex ran up to her and helped bring her up. "Ahsoka, are you alright?"

"Yeah, just some… unexpected results and flashes in my head." Ahsoka replied slightly confused.

Rex waited for her to get up for a second and then Ahsoka tried to speak to the Sith again. Even after a very strong shunt like that, Ahsoka still wasn't finished. Anakin may have become a Sith lord, but Ahsoka still wanted to keep fighting. Rex wasn't impressed by what Anakin had become either and looked at the mostly machine man who stared back with a blank look to his prisoners.

"You've caused more damage than you've brought peace, General." Rex mouthed to the Sith. It seemed foolish, even though he had agreed not long ago that that shouldn't provoke Vader.

"You aren't the 'Hero with no Fear' at all." Fives adds.

"You are all fools." Vader says and deactivated his blade. He then drew his attention to Ahsoka and demanded another answer for a question that he needed. "Where are the rest of the Jedi, Ahsoka? Where are you all hiding?"

"We're… we're no longer under the title of Jedi anymore… Anakin." Ahsoka says weakly.

"That name no longer means anything to me. I am Vader, dark lord of the Sith. You will bow down to me and you will submit." Vader says.

"I will NOT kneel to you!" Snips… snaps. She then got some tears in her eyes and watched carefully on the mask of Vader who kept breathing and listening to her. "Why did you do this? Why did you have to change so much?"

"Kid…" Rex says softly.

"You would never understand about it, Ahsoka. You are too weak to understand." Vader says somewhat softer. "It was because of the Jedi that I had failed. I couldn't save her."

"Save her?" Ahsoka questioned. She then realized what he had meant. Anakin did all these dark deeds, killing the Jedi, killing the Younglings and brought the Sith over the Jedi, just to attempt to save his wife Padme? "You mean… Padme…" Ahsoka says hesitantly, expecting the Sith to Force Choke her for mentioning the name of the Senator that Anakin had once been married to. Now he was a widow behind the mask of evil that made him into the monster with it.

Vader remained silent after Ahsoka had spoken and appeared to be deep in thought after Ahsoka had realized it. He didn't like the mention of Padme's name now, since it didn't belong to the living woman that he once loved and cared for with a blinding passion. Now, the name only meant death to him. She had died, so the rest of the galaxy must suffer.

"It was because of Obi-Wan that she had betrayed me. I will kill him… for the revenge I deserve." Vader says.

"So… you lust for vengeance now." Fives says. "I think you've already taken enough away already. Maybe that was vengeance against you. To take what you loved an-"

Fives couldn't continue his statement, because Vader had gotten hold of Fives with a Force Choke and it was a hard grip on the ARC Trooper's neck. The choking sounds of Fives made both Ahsoka and Rex panic.

"Fives!" Rex shouts in concern for his brother. Vader was trying to make Fives feel pain.

"Stop it! Let him go!" Ahsoka yelled at her former Master. "Please… stop this."

Vader's attention on Fives soon turned to Ahsoka, and her eyes burning into his mask. Slowly, Vader's grip on Fives got looser and looser, until Fives could breathe again and coughed quite a bit while ducking on the ground. Rex lend down next to Fives, hoping to find no damage done to his neck.

"Fives…" Rex says softly and worried. He was glad that Vader had spared the ARC Trooper, but he was close to killing him.

Vader's occurred thought then told him that being a Sith, mercy wasn't the way for him to follow. He didn't know what part of him deemed him to show mercy to ARC Trooper Fives, but it wasn't something he was supposed to squander. He was to inspire fear into his enemies, not bring mercy to them. He knew that touching the Clone with the Force wasn't the best option or an advancing option for Ahsoka to see at the moment, so the integration would be forced to commence on the Togruta Jedi personally instead.

"You had better give me some information now, Jedi. Where are the last of the Jedi?! Where is Obi-Wan Kenobi?!" Vader says more aggressively.

"Alright…" Ahsoka starts.

"General, no!" Rex shouts while turning from Fives to Ahsoka.

Vader's mask drew a bit closer when she had said 'alright'. It was what Vader demanded for, and he thought that this'll finally be the clue that he needed in order to bring his goal for Obi-Wan to a close. All that was left was to get that answer harvested from his old Padawan.

"Dantooine… Master Kenobi… is on Dantooine…" Ahsoka answered in defeat.

"Sir…" Rex and Fives say at the same time while looking between the two Force users. Of course Ahsoka's answer was an intended lie to get Vader to waste time, but in the process of trying to keep Obi-Wan's location anonymous, pure emotion had to be a major play in for that move to work. Anakin may have been a lot more crippled than he was before the fight with Obi-Wan, but his Force abilities were no doubt increased due to his anger fueling his Force limits.

"Good." Vader says. He then called to a holo terminal "Commander Appo, take these prisoners back to their cells. They've given me enough information… for now."

"Right away, my lord." Appo's voice replied. Rex still found it weird how Appo was using that term. What respectable General forces their leaders to call them 'lord'? It made him sick.

Straight away, Appo and two 501st Stormtroopers came in and took hold of the prisoners. Ahsoka, Rex and Fives were already getting tired of this Imperial prisoner's thing. Then again, anyone would've gotten sick of that life in just one minute.

As the doors to the chamber closed, Vader stood in one spot for a bit, staring at the only entry point to the room. He couldn't believe that Ahsoka had managed to last this long. As a Jedi, he would've been proud. Now, he didn't know what to think about her. She didn't seem harmful to him, but she was still a Jedi. But what did she mean by no longer being a Jedi?

Vader just shook off the thought of Ahsoka for a moment and then recalled what she had told him.

"If Obi-Wan is on Dantooine, I shall strike him down, before he escapes." Vader says in his mind.

On the way to the advanced detention center, Ahsoka, Rex and Fives were able to speak to each other without Appo noticing. Ahsoka was starting the conversation. Because of the situation they were in, Ahsoka wanted to get as far away from the firing range as possible.

"Alright, I think we're overstayed our time here. We're busting out of this ship." Ahsoka whispered to her ARC Troopers.

"How are we going to do that, kid?" Rex asks.

"When we're back at our cell, we'll take that time there to take down these guards and set free the others." Ahsoka explained. "I just hope everyone else is awake."

"Alright, kid. I just hope this doesn't back fire in anyway." Rex says. "Fives, you in?"

"Yeah, sir. I would've done it if none of you did." Fives replied. The tone in his voice meant that he wasn't lying either. He was used to adrenaline going through him and it would be useful to add it as an advantage at this time.

The three then stayed silent along the way back to the cell. Knowing that when they would get there, they'll have to be very quick about their actions.

Soon, when reaching the cells. Appo had opened the door and the prisoners were getting pushed in. Before anyone of them were getting beyond the frame of the doors, Rex and Fives used their chained hands to punch each soldier in their bucket faces. Appo didn't expect this attack and decided to run instead. Since he lacked any form of a DC Blaster, he didn't have the required defense for when Rex and Fives gained possession of one.

"Dammit, Appo!" Rex shouts while shooting down the hall with a scavenged DC-15S from one of the defeated Stormtroopers. His hits missed, because of Appo's speed. "He doesn't have any honor to help his men anymore."

"Just get the others set free!" Ahsoka says seriously to bring Rex's and Fives' attention back to the matter at hand.

Fives stepped in the cell and checked everyone. They were all just awoken from their slumber and didn't know what was happening.

"Uhhhh… Fives, what's happening?" Echo questioned getting up.

Fives looked at the controls to the ray shields, but thought that it would take forever to get them out from using them, so Fives just took aim above the ray shields and shot the emitter for it.

"Get up, we're leaving!" Fives announces.

"Finally!" Hardcase shouts standing. "I feel exposed staying here anyhow."

"No time to waste, let's move!" Ahsoka orders.

The group of Rebel Clones run down the hall to leave the cell area. Rex had a thought come to him before coming to a turn off. The thought was important to the group if they wanted to survive.

"Sir, if I recall, there's an armory just to the right that carries all prisoner based items. Perhaps what we had when we got caught is inside." Rex suggests.

"You all heard him boys, let's move." Ahsoka says.

When they all reached the armory, they found the door with a basic seal that covered a shelf holding each Blaster and explosive from every captured individual. Rex quickly found a way to open it by using his stolen DC-15S to break the door open. It wasn't a strong door, so logically Rex made it snap open wide with no problem.

When the door pried itself open, Ahsoka and her team were glad to find each and every single one of their weapons they had taken along with them inside it. It was however, very surprising to see Ahsoka's Lightsaber and Shoto there too instead of hanging on Vader mantelpiece. Lucky Snips no doubt.

"Yes! Everything we've had before is right in front of us!" Rex says with gladness.

"Quickly take everything and make sure nothing is damaged." Ahsoka orders.

While checking the items, Echo had found his modified DC-15S with a Datapad acquainted right next to it. He quickly looked over it and found a switch to activate it. An Officer that wasn't a Clone soldier stood as a hologram on the Datapad and he held the DC-15 in his hands. It had appeared that a report on the findings was being included. Echo activated the message and listened to every detail that this man had to say.

"My findings on these basic Clone soldier weapons were with a more interesting result when I had checked them over. I had observed each weapon and compared them to a regular detail of each design. One of the DC-15 Blasters however appeared to have received a number of illegal add-ons that we didn't expect to find. What was even more thrilling with this report was that its shots were stronger by a fair bit compared to the standard Blasters. While it was a brief encounter with this weapon, I continue to expect to hear more from the same Blaster in the next few hours." The Officer explained before the report Datapad had shut off. Echo didn't appreciate anyone touching his stuff.

"Afraid not buddy, this thing is mine." Echo says in reply to the final words of the Officer.

"Let's move." Fives says patting Echo's right shoulder. "Any second now, Appo could set off an alarm and we'll be in neck deep trouble."

After Fives had finished his sentence, the alarms to the entire ship had gone off. It was very clear that if they didn't leave soon, they would end up stuck again. That wasn't what the team wanted.

"Right." Echo says.

The team then runs down a hall further away from the armory and went to find their transport. They were in a very different part of the ship than what their Destroyers were like on the inside. This was a maze inside of a Venator for them.

Ahsoka and Rex went side by side as they begun searching around. They were looking for anything in the area that would give them clues as to where a map of the ship was so they could find the hanger they were forced in. Finally, they had come to a command console inside a large hall and sealed the doors. This was going to be a very fast escape after they found what they were looking for.

Fives used his hacking skills to find what they all needed inside the ship. He was one of the best hackers that Rex knew and he's been dependable before. Now, Fives needed to show that skill again, in order to allow their own survival.

"Got it!" Fives announces.

Rex walked next to Fives and read the map that he had found. It wasn't too far to the transport really, but that didn't mean that the journey would be the easiest to go though. This implied that Vader may have seen the breach outside of the cells coming. There could be Dark Troopers or more 501st Clones to battle along the way.

"Alright. It's through that door." Rex says pointing to a door to his left. "Hardcase. You, Tup and Dogma lead."

"Alright, time for some aggressive fighting!" Hardcase shouts.

The three Clones that Rex had ordered went for the door that he had instructed them to go through. Hardcase decided to occupy the middle of the three; Tup took the right and Dogma to the left. Tup had taken the side with the operating controls and did his job to press the mechanism's buttons to open it up.

When the door shifted open, it did it at high speed. However, the three Clones were met face to face with another hall full of Stormtroopers. The closest one was looking at the controls and didn't get enough time to react to Hardcase, Tup and Dogma.

"Sorry boys, but it looks like you've picked the wrong path to take!" Hardcase shouts and then three Clones took many shots. Their aim was mostly good, despite the Stormtroopers that ran back for cover.

Tup was glad that the resistance wasn't as much of a pain as before when everyone was getting knocked out. It was hard to believe that the entire team that's never gotten killed had all got taken down by non-lethal objects and blasts. Maybe everyone wasn't taking getting hit by non-fatal weapons seriously.

"This is just too easy. I can't believe we're winning against these numbers." Tup says with calm.

"I know. It's like as if they've become the worst military organization in the galaxy. Whatever happened to the ones of us that could actually put up a fight?" Dogma questioned.

"Hey, I ain't complaining. As long as we're winning, we're fine."

"Maybe it has something to do with that implant that those two Kaminoan scientists were mentioning about to us. They said that when those things activate a command, not only is the Clone soldier forced to follow that order to the letter, but their personality changes with it." Tup says.

"You think the personality change has happened to these men?" Dogma asks.

"I don't know, but it seems more than a likely thing, now that they've changed." Tup says.

"Maybe it has something to do with how their emotions change. As another fact we've heard about, our reactions change too, which debates as to how the orders slip into our heads. Like with that Order 66 for example. It causes the emotions of Clones from a respect for a Jedi to a hate and kill them thing." Dogma says.

"And how does that explain the fear we're seeing?" Tup asks.

"I think the chips make them more violent, but more like cowards when the numbers of soldiers on their side is falling fast." Dogma replies.

"Perhaps so." Tup says continuing to shoot more Imperials.

Vader's Personal Chambers:

Vader had Commander Appo on his holo terminal giving the report of the escaped prisoners to the Sith. Since it was a personal thing for Vader, Appo knew what it would mean if the Sith wasn't told.

"My lord, the fugitive and her traitorous allies have escaped the cells and went to find their way for an escape." Appo explains.

"The Jedi and her Clones must not be allowed to leave the ship. Send more men to find them and bring them back." Vader orders.

"It will be done, my lord." Appo says.

"And Commander, do not fail me. Ahsoka Tano and her allies are more powerful than they look. She's capable of taking a lot of the men." Vader warns.

"Thank you for the warning, my lord." Appo says while giving a bow to the Sith.

The transmission cut on Vader's end and he went to get prepared to join the hunt himself.

The mostly machine Sith was heading for the doors to exit his room. It was imperative that they were caught alive, in order to get more information. Vader was very angry with this situation, because he continued to feel the pain of the new body parts affecting him in both body and mind. However he would try to capture the traitors, he would risk as many men in order to fulfil his desire.

Once walking out beyond the door, he went for the nearest turbolift, so he could find where his prisoners had escaped to.

---

Ahsoka's Group:

Ahsoka and Rex watched as Hardcase started to lead down the hall that he had taken down the fairly large group of 501st Stormtroopers. It seemed as if he was good at aggressive attacks, but that was no surprise at all. Hardcase was crazy, but in a good way. He would fight for good and try to have fun while fighting as well. It was what made Hardcase who he was.

"Hardcase is sure dishing the Imperials what they deserve, General." Rex says.

"Yeah, I'm glad to have men like Hardcase fighting alongside us. Good thing we haven't faced any Clones that are as crazy as him." Ahsoka said agreeing completely.

"Yeah, that would be an… interesting turn of events." Rex says.

Suddenly, Ahsoka and Rex heard the sounds of the opposite door to the room breach open. When they looked over there, they saw more 501st Stormtroopers charging to in to take the prisoners on.

"Fives, Echo, behind us!" Rex called to his man. He sent some shots to the approaching Imperials and took three down. It wasn't going as good as it was before the other men had broken in. All hope went to Hardcase, Tup and Dogma to get their side clear.

Everyone slowly and steadily made their way into the hall to avoid Blaster fire from the Stormtroopers coming in from behind.

Rex had been the last one to get back and out of the firing range, with his dual Pistols firing off at the Stormtroopers and went even further back to catch up to Ahsoka and the others when he got out of their firing range. The entire incident in this area was going completely break neck on them. Everything just kept speeding up every time they moved on.

The next spot that they had reached was the port laser cannons. The four main weapons deck had even more Stormtroopers, along with some Dark Troopers and an Acolyte. Ahsoka saw the Acolyte and they proceeded to engage in combat with them.

In this area, the Clones had noticed some spots that were possible to avoid fire from. It was just a matter of how long the battle in this room went for, because it was being to close on them like a trap with enemies on both sides.

Fives had decided to look around for alternatives to taking down the large group of 501st Stormtroopers. He noticed the lights above the enemy had appeared to be a good idea to use against them, so he took a shot at one after another and make them drop at the Stormtroopers' feet. The lights sparked and made them go blind due to the range that the explosions of light had hit them at.

"Yeah, that got them!" Fives shouts.

"Good work, Fives!" Kix shouts.

Everyone started taking out the 501st members at the front and wanted to make this attack quick enough before anyone of them could possibly regain their vision. However, the flash that had affected them, it seemed likely that their vision was going to be very impaired. That didn't matter for them now, since their deaths was the only thin coming. Everyone one of them had dropped in a line.

"Let's move!" Ahsoka commands.

"This battle feels so difficult." Dogma says wearily. "If we don't act very soon, we could end up dead."

"That's what we're trying to avoid, Dogma. Once we head to their hanger, we'll steal back our transport and then we'll be home free. We'll also be able to do some extensive damage to their engines." Rex says.

"But aren't we forgetting something?" Dogma questioned.

"Like what?" Rex asks.

"Even though we've got the engines at risk, we've still got that tractor beam to deal with. I doubt the enemy will ignore us if we do some destruction on here." Dogma explains, and Rex along with the group stopped in their tracks. They knew that what Dogma had mentioned was a fact that was very bad. Unless they dealt with the tractor beam, they weren't going anywhere.

"That's a very good point, Dogma." Rex says in response to Dogma and turned to Ahsoka for the next question. "General, how do you want to play it?"

"If there was a way to sneak around the ship without the enemy knowing where we are, then we'd be safer. I doubt this'll be any easier." Ahsoka says.

"Unless we can acquire some on the enemy's armor. Then we could sneak around and do what we can without the slightest chance for getting spotted." Echo suggests.

"The problem with that Echo, is that the General will not be able to fit inside our armor. She's a little too short for standard armor." Rex says.

"But I can't just sit around and do nothing." Ahsoka says. "And if we're going to need some time to steal us some armor, we're going to need to seal these doors."

"You heard her, Fives." Rex says to the experienced ARC Trooper of the group.

"No problem, sir. I'll get these doors closed up nice and hard. You all go on ahead, I'll deal with this." Fives says.

"No, Fives. We're staying as a group. No one gets left behind." Rex objected.

"Please, sir." Fives pleads. "I don't want you all to be put at risk, because we could all be caught here. It's best that I take that risk."

Ahsoka and Rex looked at each other's faces for the answer to just 'magically' pop up at them. It was a look of understanding that they all had always supplied each other when something is hard to answer to. They had always however, got a result at the end.

"Alright, Fives. You can stay here. But be very careful. I don't want to lose any more of my brothers." Rex says.

"Thank you, sir. Don't worry, I promise to be joining you soon." Fives says reassuringly.

"Hope so." Rex says. "We'll see you shortly, then."

The group then started to break away from Fives, and went down the halls to get to the transport of theirs. While they were beginning to leave, Jesse stops for a moment and pats Fives on his shoulder, with only a few words to give the ARC Trooper. Fives looked back, wondering what Jesse was trying to do.

"Hey, drinks later."

Jesse then removed his hand from Fives' shoulder plate and went to join up with Rex and the other again. The fact that Jesse was telling to Fives that they were going to have drinks later was quite reassuring for this ARC Trooper. It was a sign that Jesse knew that Fives would make it back alive and not dead. Fives had to remember that he stayed here to delay the enemy, not think about Jesse's few words that he supplied Fives with. So the ARC Trooper proceeded to continue messing with the controls and brought down the first set of many doors that the Imperials would plan on going down. While they had other means for getting by, at least this side was cut off, instead of having each and every corner swarming with Imperials.

"Ah, done!" Fives says with triumph and proceeded to follow down to the next door closer to the hanger. The best thing Fives could make out of this was that each door was as simple to close up and block as having to be forced to open them.

Meanwhile with Ahsoka and Rex, the group had found more enemies to engage. Ahsoka managed to take them down with ease from her abilities with her Lightsaber and Shoto. The hanger wasn't that far from their distance and it meant that they could find something useful, or something unexpected. She wasn't sure if their capture was necessary anymore, because it seemed as if the Stormtroopers had changed their Blaster settings from stun to kill. She also wondered how Rex and the others were feeling about this. Rex's devotion to the 501st was with great pride in the Republic and now he was here, fighting against the same legion, and possibly killed some of those men he's fought beside before.

"Hey Rex, are you alright?" Ahsoka asks.

"Whatever to do you mean, General?" Rex asks. "Of course I'm fine."

"Are you sure? This seems like a heavy position for all of us to be in." Ahsoka says.

Rex sighs for a brief moment as they kept on moving. His honesty wasn't that hard to tell from the lies, because when he said that he was fine, there was some hesitation built in with mistrust.

"General. These men… I used to work with them. They are my brothers, our brothers, no matter how we see things from our side. These men, are just as much as victims as murderers. It's because of the cursed inhibiter chip that we've got this mess on our hands." Rex grieves out loud, while controlling his voice.

"The Captain- Commander is right." Tup says, while correcting himself. "As much as they caused suffering, they're suffering themselves. We're also doing a bad thing by killing victims."

"I don't know if this is a way to make you feel better or not Rex, but what if killing these men is the only way to set them free?" Ahsoka suggested. "It could be saving them. From a certain point of view."

Rex remained silent for a moment. Ahsoka seemed to have made a small bit of a point to what she had implied. Rex felt a small bit of closure to Ahsoka's comment, except…

"That last comment was so strange for you to say and somewhat offensive. No offense General." Rex says. "But thanks for the closure."

"Sorry, Rex. I can understand the pain you feel within your heart when it comes to your bothers being turned against you. Not in your way, but in a way where they've been close like brothers to me during the war. In a way, I guess I could say that I was glad that the Clone Wars happened." Ahsoka says. "I wouldn't've met any of you and I probably wouldn't have met Master."

Rex was surprised by Ahsoka's thought of the Clone Wars happening. All though it was shocking, he knew what she was really referring to. If the Clone Wars didn't happen, the Clones would never have existed, and Ahsoka would've never met Rex or the others. She probably wouldn't have been teamed up with Anakin as the role of Master and Padawan. That relationship however, was over. Now all she had left was her 'family' of Clones.

"I understand how you are explaining it, General. Our friendship has definitely improved throughout the progress and fall of the Republic. Even now with this new Republic we've started, we're still getting closer. All of us." Rex says.

Ahsoka slows down for a moment and faced all her men with a smile upon her face. They all were the same in appearance, mostly, but they all had hearts. Good hearts. Even if it was a cloned one from a dead Bounty Hunter, Ahsoka could see their good hearts. She is proud to have these men here.

"I'm honored to have all of you men fight beside me. Together, we will be able to bring those values of the Republic back, and once again… bring peace." Ahsoka says.

"We're here to serve, sir." Rex says. "We're also honored to have had a perfect Commander lead us with General Skywalker. It was never the same when you had left. Now, we're glad to fight with you. We have many more years of action left before we can celebrate. So let's keep working together, as a team, General Tano."

Everyone gives shouts of pride and joy to Rex's words. The Commander of the Republican 501st Commander was always improving on his small, yet touching speeches. Obi-Wan was sure correct about Rex in Ahsoka's opinion. His personality was a golden source of inspiration among the men. With it, he could probably change the face of the galaxy and the opinions of many Imperials.

"Hey, has anyone seen Jesse around?" Kix asks.

Everyone looked around the group for the joker from the 501st and found him to be nowhere around. He seemed to have snuck off from the group without any of them noticing, which was strange.

Meanwhile with Fives, he was sealing the third door along their path. He was double checking his progress with the door to make sure that it was fully sealed. He nods with satisfaction for his progress and went to move on to whatever trial he had to face next.

As he moved on, three air vents landed on the ground and three 501st Stormtroopers landed on their feet directly and aimed their DC-15S Carbines at Fives. Fives had retaliated with the same gesture, but it was a three to one against him. Feeling somewhat trapped by these Imperials, Fives moves slowly to a side and managed to spot a crate of something filled inside of it. He didn't care about what was in it, but he knew that he needed cover.

"Don't do anything stupid, traitor! Give up now, or we'll have no choice but to use lethal force!" One of the Stormtroopers threatens Fives.

Fives remained in cover with his DC-15S Carbine aiming at the enemy. It wasn't the best place for cover, but it was better than standing around in the open, waiting to get shot.

"Oh boy, Fives. You sure know how to get yourself in interesting situations, do you…" Fives says quietly while his remaining energy kept focused on the Imperials.

The middle soldier of the three gave hand gestures to the side men to move forward to close in on Fives. The ARC Trooper noted this movement from them and slowly kept his left hand on his DC-15S' trigger and got his right hand to reach into his holster and grab the DC-17 Hand Blaster nesting within. He had to find the right timing to pull it up and maybe take all of the Stormtroopers out at once. But how?

"Hey, Imperial scum!" A voice calls in the distance behind the enemy. They looked back and saw Jesse with his DC-15S aiming for them and he attempted to look as menacing as possible for them. That's how Fives managed to get the right distraction he needed.

Fives pulled up out of cover and fired both weapons at the soldiers watching Jesse, while Jesse took down the middle one when he gave a look back to Fives. The distraction was a success and Fives jumped over the cover and walked for Jesse.

Fives holstered his DC-17 and griped Jesse's hand in respect for his help. "Thanks brother, I appreciate your help."

"You know, Fives. I expected better out of you. Not trying to get us all killed." Jesse says patting Fives' shoulder plate again.

"What are you talking about, Jesse?" Fives questioned while watching Jesse approach the crate that he had hidden behind before when the Stormtroopers caught him by surprise from the vents.

"Fives, can you tell me what that word on the supplies crate says there?" Jesse questioned while pointing to the grey exterior of the metal box with a word written in Aurebesh colored with yellow text.

"Of course. It says 'Ryhdoni-'" Fives didn't bother to finish his answer, because he just realized what he almost did. It was official. There was Rydonium on the Resolute II. "Oh… so I almost…"

"Yeah, Fives. You almost killed us all…" Jesse said with a sense of mockery in his voice.

"Uh… I should've paid more attention." Fives says.

Jesse then starts laughing at the ARC Trooper. His thoughts of Fives' little screw up was a funny thing to him. He never would've expected this from Fives, but he would've from Hardcase.

"But it's so funny to know you had almost pulled a Hardcase on us!" Jesse says continuing to laugh at the ARC Trooper.

"It wasn't funny, Jesse." Fives says sounding down. "I'd like to laugh at you after you blow up something important." Fives says. "Then we'll see how you feel then…"

"Oh come on, Fives. Look on the bright side, we're fine." Jesse says while ceasing the laughing. "Now come on, brother. Let's regroup, before the General gets more worried."

Fives just sighs before following Jesse to the others. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to admit it, but he had almost pulled a Hardcase on everyone. He didn't imagine that making a mistake like this was possible for him. Before Fives was going to follow Jesse, had had an idea that could prove interesting for when the ship goes in flames.

"Hey, Jesse? You wouldn't happen to be carrying anymore explosives hooked to the same channel as Hardcase's would you?" Fives asks.

Jesse looked at Fives as if he was about to do something that would be risky, yet he decided to answer. "Yeah, I do Fives. Why do you ask?"

"I think we could make this ship go down with more than just a bang from the engines. Maybe if we put some right inside this box, we can cause A LOT of damage." Fives says.

A smile crept on Jesse's face beneath his helmet. "I like how your thinking. I suppose you're thinking about doing this because you hate the Empire as much as all of us?" Jesse asks.

"That… and the fact that the Sith on board this ship decided to choke me with the Force. So I want to get even." Fives confessed his feelings. "If the General used to think he had good repairing skills, I'd like to see him build a while Cruiser…"

"Ah, well in that case, I had better hand you the bomb right now then. Here you go." Jesse says handing Fives another Detonator. "Don't set it off, or we'll be unidentifiable by our remains."

"Yeah, I know." Fives replied sarcastically while carefully opening the top of the box and putting his hand deep down inside of it to lay the bomb in without the worry of messing up. The fact that the fuel was very sensitive, the slightest drop sounded like a bad idea. Fives removed his hand from the crate slowly and shifted the top on it carefully back into position. He was smiling beneath his helmet at the thought of the destruction that he would cause. "Alright, let's move."

Fives and Jesse then went to continue their journey to meet up with Ahsoka and the others.

When Fives and Jesse kept running down the hall that they were traveling through, they found the bodies of more 501st Stormtroopers lying around. Some of the bodies were leaning against the walls of certain spots and others were bundled together as if they had died over each other. The sight seemed to generate weird feelings for both the ARC Trooper armored soldiers.

"Fives… does this area seem to make you feel… different?" Jesse asks with a strange tone in his voice.

"Yeah, I noticed it too. But I think we should just keep moving and ignore it. It feels as if we shouldn't be here." Fives replied.

"Right. It's just that these men…" Jesse begins.

"These men were our brothers, Jesse. But with the recent changes weeks ago, we're going to have to banish that thought from our heads. We've been thinking about this more than we should have. It only gets harder to cope with if we keep thinking about it." Fives says observing the dead, assuming that anyone of them could pop up and blast the two of them without a warnings notice.

"I'll try, Fives." Jesse says.

"I think we're just putting ourselves in worse danger going slow though here. Let's run." Fives suggests. "It'll… keep the enemy further away."

"Yeah, good idea." Jesse agreed, and the two of them begun to pass the dead Stormtroopers pilled in this hall.

When the two of them reached the next turn off from the hall, they spotted what they were looking for, their transport ship. It appeared to be untouched, but there was noticeable damage to some of the paint and some burnt scoring across parts of it. Rex happened to be standing at the ramp with both Pistols in hands and watched at every corner for incoming enemies. He noticed the two ARC Troopers Fives and Jesse coming to the ship and Rex went to intercept the late soldiers.

"No doubt about it. Hardcase was responsible for this damage." Jesse says.

"It's about time you two got here. I was worried when Jesse had gone missing." Rex says. "What's the status of the doors?"

"They're blocked up for now, but I do suggest that we get a new plan sorted now, because it will not stay blocked for long." Fives says.

"The General is already ahead of you on that. Come on board, we've already got a plan being started." Rex says walking back to the shuttle.

"Yes, sir!" Both Fives and Jesse replied.

On the transport, Ahsoka had noted the return of the other two missing soldiers and started going through the basics of the plan. She had already gotten enough time to create one within her head and she was more than certain that it would work to her perfection.

"Alright, so this is the plan: Every one of you will be going in couples to watch each other's backs." Ahsoka announced. "Rex, you are going with Fives."

"Understood, sir." Rex replied.

"Echo, you're going with Hardcase."

"Uh, sure." Echo replied, thinking of the regrets that he'll feel teamed up with the war hungry Clone.

"Jesse, you're going with Kix."

"Sir!" Jesse replied while saluting the Togruta General.

"And finally Tup, you're going with Dogma."

"Alright, General." Tup says.

"Alright, now here's what the plan will be: There is one main point to the Cruiser that needs to be taken offline before we can escape. The tractor beam. Because we would be noticeable in our normal outfitting, we're going to make some alternate choice for getting around. Every one of you will be taking some stored armor from one of the supply points. Since there are chances that they might be heavily guarded, we're going to travel as a group to get there first, and then when we've got all the needed equipment, we'll split off." Ahsoka explained. "Does everyone understand?"

"Just two more things, General." Rex says. "One: What do we do with our current armor? And two: What's your position in this plan?"

"I'm so glad you asked that, Rex." Your armor and normal supplies will have to be left inside the ship. If we lose the chance to get the supplies back, it'll be very costly. My position in the plan is that I'll be heading around alone looking for Skyguy."

"You mean 'Vader'." Rex says correcting the Togruta.

"No matter whom Vader is, Rex. Anakin is still in there. I know it." Ahsoka says.

"Look kid, I know you've grown a lot stronger in the recent year of fighting, but you can't take on a Sith by yourself. You've trained with him once before. He's been able to best you in Lightsaber combat. Now he's become someone else with the same techniques. He's most likely more dangerous than ever." Rex says.

"I know that, Rex." Ahsoka says. "But I am your leader. I have to take risks in order to ensure all of your safety."

"But… sir…" Rex says starting to object.

"Sorry, Rex. But it's my job." Ahsoka says finally. "This is my personal battle I had to fight in. I hope you understand my need for this."

"I guess I see no way of stopping you then." Rex says understanding where this would lead. "I just hope you know what you're doing, sir."

"Please have faith, Commander." Ahsoka says. "Just do your part of the plan and we can get out of here unharmed."

"Yes, sir." Rex says.

The team of Clones inside the shuttle then went to get their armor taken off. Since this operation would require hiding in plain sight, it would be much quicker to take some armor when they only wore their outfits when not wearing their armor. Every bit of shoulder plating, knee platting and helmet went off and left the Clones more exposed. Nothing but black outfits was left.

Every one of the men inside the shuttle checked themselves over, as if they felt naked without their war suits. Since they were going to be going to a location without any armor, it made sense to feel sensation of discomfort. Battling in a warzone without the needed supplies was never permitted, especially when the forces of enemies were higher in number against you.

Ahsoka and the men left the shuttle with their eyes watching all over the place. Since they hadn't heard of any Stormtroopers of the 501st coming, it seemed as if it remained too quiet. Why that is the way it was, they were unsure of. But they knew that as long as they made it to their destination sooner, the better they didn't need to worry about death.

The group of dis-armored Clones had followed their leader to the supply point of the Cruiser and discovered the armor that they needed contained inside it. There was just enough for everyone to wear and hide in plain sight.

Minutes of changing their uniform and noting not a single Stormtrooper coming around to investigate their supplies. So far, their plan was going according to plan.

When everyone had popped out of the supply point, their new outfits had been put on correctly. If Ahsoka hadn't been paying any attention to them, she could've sworn that they were the enemies finding her and the others.

Everyone had taken the DC-15S Carbines and wanted to carry the same supplies as the others on board the ship. That was however, questionable to Hardcase thought. Due to his 'minor' obsession with explosives, he had taken the liberty to carry a Rocket Launcher on his back. To the annoyance of Echo, he didn't wish to be attracted by the enemy, just because someone wanted a big weapon.

"Hardcase, I said leave it!" Echo snapped.

"No way! If we're going to be taking down a tractor beam, we might as well do it the fast way… and the fun way!" Hardcase protested.

"I swear, you've got a mental disconnection somewhere…" Echo says.

"Cut the chatter!" Ahsoka cut in. "We need to go. Remember, head to the tractor beam. I'm going to find Mast- Anakin, before he knows where we are and what we're going."

"Alright, but be careful, kid." Rex says seriously and loud enough to not ignore. Ahsoka just ran down the hall while waving to Rex's reply. It seemed as if she had listened, but she didn't really care about a worrywart like Commander Rex.

"Let's move, and do things quickly." Rex commands while heading down the opposite corridor from Ahsoka. "If we wonder around for too long, we'll be caught. And we don't want that again."

The men all understood the Captain and didn't need to be reminded of the risks that they would be taking on this trip. Because of the changes in the brainwashed Imperial Clones, they were very rough with their thoughts and bold in their actions. While that was a disadvantage for them, it also served as an unpredictable action to spread onto the group of Clones. While it worried Rex about the Imperials being more dangerous, he knew that he wasn't as vulnerable as General Tano. The Togruta teen was already exposed since she didn't carry armor like them and she was working alone. Rex could only think of the lecture he'd get if Anakin was still on their side.

'Rex, why did you leave her alone again?! You know how Snips can be when she thinks with overconfidence! She was lucky that Grievous didn't kill her!'

'Boy, has that personality changed...' Rex thinks to himself.

His thought wasn't something to question. Before his problems, he was a much nicer man who joked around heaps. He and Ahsoka could've been considered the best brother and sister type relation. But now Anakin was the evil Vader, with nothing but the lust of vengeance and greed to fuel his will to live. The Commander could swear that if it had been Ahsoka who had been in Anakin's place in a metal suit with most limbs being machine, she'd just die on the spot, not wanting to be that person that she had become. She would've been seen as a freak of society.

Rex pondered to himself about his mixed series of thoughts. Each one of them just made him feel worse about the situation. Why he thought like that, he didn't know. But his goal at the moment was to do what the General had ordered and not to delay any further. What made the trip hell was that no matter how dangerous their situation was, they had to remain at a marching pace throughout that Cruiser. Spotting them running with the size of their group matching the number of Clones sneaking around would make

"Remember, avoid any unnecessary conflicts, unless they present themselves to you directly and catch you.

Meanwhile with Ahsoka…

The young Togruta was approaching towards an open area at the end of a hallway that she had run through. There were many turns that she had gone around, rooms that she had gone past and enemies to be avoided. She slowed down in her steps as she got to end. She could sense Stormtroopers nearby in the room up ahead. From what she could tell, the room was a security point for detecting intruders. What she didn't consider beforehand was that the Imperial Venator Cruiser would've logically had security cameras that would've caught anything that happened, which means…

"Attention all troopers, keep on the lookout for Imperial fugitives running around the ship! Suspects are moving around with stolen Stormtrooper armor and are presumed dangerous! Set Blasters to kill! This is a kill order demanded by Lord Vader!" The voice called. A human male that wasn't a Clone was at one of the microphones around a console and kept on ranting as his rank was clearly an officer of security. He was a blonde with short hair and looked pretty calm, yet was truly hostile. Ahsoka was however surprised that he didn't mention anything about a Jed- "Also, be aware of a Jedi fugitive onboard the ship! She is a female Togruta with two Lightsabers! Stop her at all costs, before she can escape!" There it is…

Ahsoka then cursed silently. "Great…"

On Rex's end, he too had also heard the call from the Imperial Officer. The voice had already annoyed him greatly and didn't like what it was explaining. It had appeared that there was a floor in their plan. They had missed the security cameras all about the ship. Everyone was so worried about the enemies all around that they didn't consider the disadvantage to observing their environment.

"Well, they know what we've done. We really need to keep our guard up." Rex says.

"Could still have fun though?" Hardcase questioned loudly.

"Wow, you sure don't seem bothered by slaughtering your brothers, Hardcase." Jesse says with a smart tone.

"Everyone, stay serious. We're coming up to a populated area. Whatever we do, don't draw attention to ourselves." Rex commanded. What he warned about was a command, due to the serious situation.

Everyone stayed quiet as they approached the area Rex had noted about. There were a few groups of Stormtrooper units circling around the area. There were also a few lone soldiers that appeared to be observing the area themselves, making sure that no one was doing anything suspicious. A few droids were roaming around the area too, either Astromech or Mouse classes.

"Alright, just keep following me and don't look interested in anything." Rex warned. "The slightest change in reaction might mean the failure of our part of the mission."

"Keep calm, sir. We've got this." Kix says.

No matter what Kix had said, Rex still had to keep worrying about the area they currently occupied in. This was different from invading a Separatist Cruiser. At least on those Cruisers, the battle was more direct and you know when the enemy was going to target you. Here inside of a Venator-Class Star Destroyer, you've need to watch out for enemies at all times, before they could take you out.

Back with Ahsoka…

The Togruta was pacing past the Imperials backs in the room that had the warnings called out through the microphone. The Officer was pretty bold and didn't seem to worry about what was behind his back, because he wasn't even listening to the situation. He knew that Ahsoka was split off from her men, but he didn't consider that she would actually be right behind him. What a fool he is.

It didn't take long, but Ahsoka had managed to get beyond the room without anyone else seeing her. The main threat that was in there was the Officer.

When she had gotten beyond the room, she had assumed that she was clear. She was not. As the doors had closed up behind her, two 501st Stormtroopers had suddenly popped around the corner like magic. They were expecting anything bad to happen and they were unarmed. The two were too busy speaking to each other to even take the walk seriously. Ahsoka had noted them and quickly jumped against them.

"Hey!" One of the men shouted noting Ahsoka's presence

Ahsoka knew that she needed to deal with them before they could alert anyone else of her appearance in the area. She had punched one of the Clones in the bucket pretty hard, which was enough to knock them down and leave them out cold. The second Imperial was more prepared for the attack and went at full force to bash the Togruta with both fists. Left, right, left right. But Ahsoka had learned more about Clone hand-to-hand combat with the later year of the Clone Wars. It was quick taking the final soldier down. All she did was some dodging and jump kicked him in the helmet, resulting in his loss and also leaving him out cold.

Ahsoka then quickly continued toward where she was heading, looking for the Sith that was aboard the ship. Despite the changes to Anakin, with his personality being entirely different and physical appearance being a hundred percent altered, she could still sense him through their bond. Even though it was something Ahsoka could track for now, it is something that she could feel slowly dying. Anakin was still there partly, but only by a tiny, tiny fraction of who he is.

Meanwhile with Vader…

"Send all men around the ship and find fugitive Rex and his allies. He must not escape alive." Vader commanded a squad of Stormtroopers being led by an officer.

"Yes my lord." The Officer replied. This officer was the same man who had examined Echo's modified DC-15S before and planned to get 'his' new toy back. The thing about these new Officers in the Galactic Empire was that they were just as crooked as Tarkin. To think it was hard enough to get good Admirals and Officers during the Clone Wars, now more appeared than ever, because Palpatine wanted more… expert minds running things.

"Commander." Vader started while looking to his right to face Appo. The Clone Commander of the 501st was the replacement of Vader's right-hand man Rex when it came to this legion, since his discovered betrayal of the Imperial services. "Take a squad of men and find Rex. If he is in your sight, destroy him."

"Of course, my lord." Appo replied while gathering eight men to follow him.

Vader suddenly looked toward a door that seemed to persuade him to get an interest in it. He knew what was drawing him towards it and wanted to get to the source of the attention he felt. If he knew that whatever it was is coming his way, he would have to deal with it quickly.

The tall darkened figure walked toward the door, determined to solve the issue that came from the area ahead. With his new Lightsaber in hand and finger on the activation button, he kept his guard up as he moved forward with each step.

'I'm coming for you, Ahsoka Tano.'

On the Togruta's side, she had felt sudden coldness as she kept on moving ahead. Whatever gave her the chills, it defiantly wasn't the weakest she would feel. Since her 'meeting' with Vader had taken place, she had discovered the feeling of trapped darkness forcing itself into her, both mentally and physically. She couldn't explain how it did work, but that's what happened to her. It was as if it was Anakin's aura that he carried that had inspired those before had changed into a deep abyss that dragged anyone down who was in his presence. If she was any more foolish, she would have to admit that she was scared of Anakin too.

"He knows I'm here." Ahsoka says to herself, knowing that no one was anywhere nearby. She readied her two Jedi weapons with her backhand grip and proceeded to take extra precaution in intercepting Vader.

As she increased her Jedi based senses, she had revealed that her old Master was coming in at her from the direction that she had decided to go. The Togruta then thought of an idea that could be advantageous for her if she played her cards right. Taking notice of the vents that were easily displayed around the Resolute II, Ahsoka had grew a grin on her face that she even knew couldn't resist doing. By using the vents for travel, she could sneak up to where Vader was currently moving towards, and take him by surprise.

With quick thinking, she didn't protest against her thoughts and ripped off a vent and climbed right inside, before placing the cover back in place. In case she had managed to fail at taking Vader at the right time, she needed to make sure that she had covered her tracks; otherwise the dark lord would be able to get a chance to cut her down quickly. Even though it was Anakin who would be doing the task, she didn't doubt that he had the willpower to do so.

The crawling inside of the vent wasn't as annoying as some people she knew didn't enjoy. Many people she had worked with had said that moving through said spaces wasn't worth the sneaking around, either because they hated tight spaces, or because it was more painful than walking and took twice as long to go anywhere.

The journey time to get to Vader was cut short, because the vents were slower for travel and Ahsoka was moving at least at half or a quarter her normal movement speed. This wasn't an issue for her, since she knew that she would be 'sparring' with Vader for a while.

Upon reaching closer to Vader's life signature she had sensed, she stopped at the edge of the closest vent and waited in the shadows for the Sith to arrive. The sounds of breathing and footsteps sounded off in the distance and the hall seemed very darker when Vader made each step, which echoed a lot louder each time.

As Vader's helmet had suddenly gotten into view, Ahsoka had almost missed a heartbeat when she saw it, as if not expecting it so show. But even with that reaction, her mind was still set straight on the plan. She expected Vader to just walking on by and not notice anything out of place. But instead, he stood there at that spot, motionless and looked as if he was deep in thought. Ahsoka got nervous of this sudden change of pace and moved her arms a bit without her knowing. Her body was attempting to get well-adjusted inside the vent, which became a stupid move. Her left hand had moved slowly back and the tip of the Shoto in that hand begun to move to the wall on her left. It was slowly moving towards the wall, with mere inches to go before…

Tap.

Vader quickly turned to where the sound came from and reached his left hand toward the vent in response.

CRACK! BOOM!

Ahsoka was sucked with the wall she hid behind and it went directly towards Vader at first, but then journeyed at another wall outside of the vent she was in she had hit it hard with her back and almost dropped both of her weapons when falling on her butt to the waxed metal floor.

She slowly regained her mind on reality and saw Vader facing her, with his Lightsaber now lit up and facing her, as if demanding a response.

"You know, for a crippled guy, you sure have fast reflexes…" Ahsoka said trailing off while she got off of the ground. She knew that the statement wasn't a wise choice.

Vader then went at her with his Lightsaber raised above his head and slammed down at Ahsoka as fast as he could. Luckily for the Togruta, she had managed to regain her steps fast and activated her Lightsaber and Shoto fast enough to avoid being split in half by Vader's Lightsaber.

"Don't think you can trick me with such tricks from you, 'Jedi'!" Vader started, assuming that Ahsoka was started upon a carrying role of a Jedi no longer. "Your trick that you pulled is something I would expect from you kind. Every move, every tactic, every strategy you know is something I can quickly turn against you. I have the odds to defeat you."

'Well, it would appear that he wasn't smart enough to take my bait of Obi-Wan being on Dantooine. Why would he be there anyway?' Ahsoka thought.

"And don't think you've played me for a fool. I can see through your lies. Obi-Wan could not be on Dantooine. What you said to me wasn't the truth. I can sense the hesitation in you. You let your feelings speak the truth, yet not what came out of your mind." Vader says.

'Argh!' Ahsoka didn't respond by words and just attempted a shunt to distract him, but it achieved nothing but brought Vader down at her deeper. Because of Vader's considerably smart mind, Ahsoka had to realize that she would be fighting a losing battle if she didn't attempt to grapple the upper hand. But what could see do? Her job was to create a distraction for Vader to want to target, not make a personal fight break out.

Ahsoka looked around for a chance to get something from the environment to assist her, even if it could help for only a second… or less.

The Togruta spotted a pipe lying around, assuming that it had come from the vent and used what she could of the Force with her right hand to grab at the junk. It was hard to face it with her fingers so hard on the metal object while trying to use the hand to do two things at once. Finally the pipe had risen off of the ground and it launched directly towards Vader in fast speed. He had sensed the approaching object head to him and knew that it would greatly expose him if he let it hit his back, which meant letting Ahsoka get a chance to kill him. She might've spared his life, but he couldn't risk that chance.

Vader then suddenly used his Lightsaber to push back from Ahsoka and then quickly directed his red blade at the pipe, thus breaking it into two and sending both halves smoldering in pieces around the dark lord. When Vader had turned back, he saw Ahsoka on both feet again, readying herself for the fight once again. Vader knew that she had already known that she was not strong enough to beat him, so the on question that rang upon his mind like a cut so deeply was why she was fighting him instead of escaping. Unless…

"I see what you are doing." Vader announced.

"I don't… follow…" Ahsoka mouthed slowly while getting into a defensive stance.

"If you knew that you needed to escape, you would've done your best to avoid any contact with me. Yet here you are, fighting a losing battle. Unless your Clones are doing something that requires my attention drawn."

"Well, you caught me." Ahsoka says with a sarcastic tone. It was more childish toned than filtered with sarcasm. "But I'm afraid that I cannot tell you more… unless you're good with keeping secrets." Now Ahsoka was just pushing buttons.

"Well then, I suppose that this conversation must come to an end." Vader said, drawing his blade closer to the orange skin of the Togruta.

Ahsoka drew her weapons back to Vader as well as he did to her. Now, the true fight started. A Sith lord, verses an ex-Jedi Knight.

Meanwhile with Rex…

The group of rebel Clones had made it to an engineering point of their journey and found where most of the critical systems had been located. Apparently this vessel was somewhat different than the ones Rex had read about in the designs of the manuals. Everything here was somewhat different or out of place. Not that it worried Rex, since he didn't carry the responsibility of this chip, but what did annoy him was that the journey around the ship could get him and the group lost. The Commander of the group didn't want to had to face the fact that getting lost was actually a possibly for him.

"Alright, if things appear to be the way they are, the controls to the Tractor Beam must be in here somewhere. Start your search on the terminals of the ship. I'll deal with the cameras before anyone spots us." Rex ordered.

"Yes sir!" Rex heard from a few men, which he noted were Kix, Tup and Dogma. The others, he knew didn't need to reply to get the job underway.

Rex looked around and spotted at least four black cameras at four positions around the area. With his Carbine Blaster, he aimed for brief seconds as he got the targets in range and fired one round in each camera. The time it took to do such a thing wasn't long, but he had hoped that no one caught a glimpse of their actions. But all plans did have at least one flaw in them…

On the bridge of the Cruiser, one Officer at a monitor had seen enough to know something was wrong. He had observed the large group just suddenly stumble in on the empty room and then the cameras suddenly went out, one by one. He quickly turned his attention to the grey haired Admiral of the ship who stared out the main windows at the front, without a worry on his face. Even with Yularen's face bent exactly the other way, it was easy to tell that he had a care free expression.

The Officer walked to the Admiral with eager movements, wanting to get this bit of information to him. It wasn't that easy to find a group of men when they were welly trained soldiers of the Republic who now fight the Empire. They knew about the cameras all too well.

"Excuse me, sir." The Officer started while standing behind Yularen respectfully. The Admiral turned carefully to face the Officer who appeared to have a bit of news.

"What is it, Officer? I do hope it is some important news that gives you the right to leave your post." Yularen says while reminding the Officer of his duties.

"Yes, Admiral." He replied before getting to the information about Rex. "I spotted a group big group of armed men heading into the systems room and they started accessing the terminals from within. Only seconds after their accessing of the systems, the cameras inside the room suddenly began to shut off do to 'technical difficulties'. I then considered reporting to you about this and hoped that it didn't mean serious harm to the ship, sir."

Admiral Yularen turned back to face the windows and pulled his right hand under his chin and proceeded to think about the appropriate steps to apprehend the situation. It was a clear choice to answer to.

"Close the systems to that room, and raise the alarms. If they are indeed within the room, they just might be causing a lot of danger." Yularen replied.

"Of course, sir." The Officer replied with a salute and went back to his station to give out the orders. Once he had reached his station, he sat back down on his spot and pressed a few buttons and then raised the alarms from that section of the ship. His panel had the begun flashing red.

Back with Rex…

The Commander was looking around every door that was attached to the room with the expectation of a Clone or more just walking through the door to face all of them. Still, everything was very quiet, aside the constant tapping from the panels and the beeping said panels made from each touch. The quietness and beeping had reminded Rex of the old days on Kamino when he was just a Cadet, learning thing basics. It was hard for him to believe that he had gotten so far after all those years. He wasn't even fifteen, yet his body was clearly shown to be over the age of twenty. Maybe even in the mid-twenties. Despite being seriously deep in enemy territory, he was glad that he could get this much silen-

The alarms to the ship had suddenly gone berserk as Rex had been thinking deep. He knew that he and the men would've been found out sooner, but this was just at a very inconvenient time for them.

"Ah, no!" Rex heard Echo shout. "My control console has been cut off!"

"Mine as well!" Tup cried.

"How are we supposed to take down the Tractor Beam when we don't even know which part of this room contains it?!" Jesse questioned clearly annoyed and removing his helmet to protest louder. "It would be too risky for us to just blast the room apart until we've assumed that we've hit the right part!"

"But it sure would be fun!" Hardcase yelled.

"I know where it is." Dogma chimed in.

Everyone looked at Dogma as if he had a Jawa hood on. He could be the answer to dealing with the reason for their situation on the ship.

"Dogma, where is it?" Rex asked.

"Right there." Dogma pointed to a machine that looked big. "It is the control circuit to the Tractor Beam, but it is incased with heavily crafted metal. It would take a large explosive to even damage it."

"Not a problem, brother!" Hardcase shouted as he drew his Rocket Launcher from his back and got into a kneeled position.

"Wait, that's too dangerous." Dogma quickly protested.

"Dangerous or not, I'm afraid we're going to have to take this shot." Fives says putting his hand on Dogma's back and shoving him back to the group.

Rex nodded in agreement and allowed Hardcase to take the shot. "Very well, Hardcase. But don't take too long."

"Why Rex, I didn't know you doubted my abilities." Hardcase says cheekily. He then aimed at the Tracker Beam generator and let off the explosive at the target he needed to take down. The explosion was greater than they had wanted and everyone was toppled back to the door that they had come from. Everyone was concerned about how the explosion could've killed them. Hardcase… Hardcase however…

The hyper Clone of the group didn't seem to be worried by the least bit. He had enjoyed the explosion a lot more than anyone else could have. "Now that's what I can a Hardcase delivery!" Hardcase shouted.

"How the hell did anyone of you work with this guy!?" Echo asked almost terrified by the hyper Clone's reaction.

"It's a lot easier than you would imagine." Kix said offering a hand to the downed ARC Trooper.

"We've got to leave. Now!" Rex snapped while getting up.

Meanwhile with Ahsoka…

The fight between the Vader and Ahsoka had led them into another predicament with Ahsoka almost close to getting killed again. Due to her negligence, she had been put into that position once again and was sure that she was near her end. Both her Lightsaber and Shoto were downed to the ground and she knew that the swift swipe of Vader's blade would end her.

As Vader was about to go in for the kill, the aftershock of the ship's Tracker Beam being destroyed had reached its effect to Vader and Ahsoka. His final attack was interrupted and his killing blow was ruined.

"WHAT?!" Vader shouted while falling backwards, and almost on the ground too.

Ahsoka took that as her cue to get up and make her daring escape from her old Master. Staying here meant a quick yet emotional pain for her to deal with. Rex and her men would've made it, but she wouldn't, and that would probably inspire the men to fight, or perhaps make them lose all hope.

Vader wasn't able to get a hold of himself and easily saw Ahsoka escaping back to where she had come from. He was really angry that he couldn't kill her, because of the sudden shock of the ship beginning to rumble and make explosion sounds.

"Sorry to leave this fight, but I hope we can have it again!" Ahsoka called out to Vader while he stayed in that one area, due to reasons that he knew would slow him down.

As Ahsoka continued running to where her ship was, she had begun wondering why she had said what she did to Vader. She was either acting childish again, like in the old days in the Jedi Temple where she would spare with Anakin, or she felt as if Anakin was still inside of that metal suit and damaged body. Seeing him in this state built a large debate about who he is and was. She wouldn't be able to get any true answer. Not yet that is…

Meanwhile with Rex…

The Commander was leading the men down a hall that went a long distance. The areas that Rex had explored went in many directions and he was glad that he could recalculate his steps pretty well. When he was worried about getting lost on the ship, he knew that if he wouldn't be able to find his way back easily. When he was lost, he was lost.

The coverage of Imperial Stormtroopers along the paths continued to remain still and didn't seem to have many roaming around. From what Rex could gather, the Stormtroopers were heading towards the systems room, because that was where the team must've been spotted. But they must've not relied upon the fact that Hardcase had taken the liberty of destroying the Tractor Beam. The aftershock that had affected the area would make it to the bridge crew aware soon enough.

"We shouldn't be too far off! Once we make it back to the ship, we'll be out of here and leave the enemy a nice surprise!" Fives said excitedly.

"That is whether or not the General had made it back to the ship. We can't leave without her, unless…" Rex started. He didn't want to explain the alternative, but everyone understood what he had meant. No one wanted to see Ahsoka dead. At least not the people who were in the Clone Rebellion.

"We understand what you mean, sir." Kix started. "But knowing the General, she's bound to make it before us."

"You're right, Kix." Rex says. "Now keep moving, we've got to make sure we do our part to get there!"

Rex. The main man who kept his objective in mind. He would always believe in his allies and remember the objective. His commanding position of the mission was always admired and it was always put to good use.

With Ahsoka, the Jedi was under different pressure than what Rex and his team were against. It had seemed that the Imperials had been coming down her path that she had traveled from before. She knew that on the same route, there was the same place she had snuck through before. There were Stormtroopers who had not been around before coming up towards her position, expecting to corner the ex-Jedi into a trap. But rather than making her feel trapped, she had instead charged her way through the blockages of Imperials in her path.

Cutting down Battle Droids was easy, but cutting down living beings? This was where her limits drew the worst of her. It just didn't feel right, using her Lightsaber and Shoto to fight people. If it was a Sith or anyone who allied themselves with the Separatists, it wasn't any trouble at all. Killing Clone Troopers however? That reached her breaking limits by far. She had worked with them for only about two years, disregarding her absence when she had left the Jedi. This would take a lot of getting used to. It was new ground and she knew that she needed to tread upon it in order to survive.

With Rex, his team had made it back to the ship and noted that it appeared as it did before, except it had a few Imperial guards around it. At least four were counted, assuming that they were considered reliable to guard the ship from the intruders. Yeah, right…

It wasn't hard to get beyond the defenses set out. Rex and his team counted as double in numbers and no doubt carried a lot more experience. The stance that the four Stormtroopers had given proved that they weren't experienced enough. They were just rookies, or shinnies as another term that spread in the Imperial army.

Traveling past their dead bodies, they group of eight Clones boarded the ramp of their ship and checked everything out. They knew that this was their transport, because of the recent damage matching Hardcase's 'artistic' work. Their main reason getting on board the ship was because they didn't want their stuff bugged with trackers or anything that could prove regrettable if not spotted soon enough.

The team quickly did a good search of the entire ship without missing an inch. However, despite their efforts, they couldn't find anything different around the ship, aside the moved items that remained on board. Surprisingly nothing was taken, assuming that anything that wasn't a weapon or information was just rubbish that would be thrown out later.

Soon Ahsoka had made it to the hanger, but not without a while trail of Stormtroopers following from behind. She couldn't take them all and she had sensed her men on board the ship. She knew that they were ready, otherwise she wouldn't have sensed them on board… or heard the rumbling explosion beforehand.

As she rushed for the loading ramp she heard the distinctive sounds of DC-15 rounds heading towards hear from the distance. Whatever she needed to do, she needed to do quickly. From the sounds of it, the Imperials were all gathered in one hall and were rushing madly towards the ship.

When Ahsoka had gotten up the ramp, she had been greeted by her men who watched her with surprise. She sensed their reactions to her going up the ramp. They didn't expect to see her so soon.

"General, it's good to see you." Rex says giving a salute.

"Sorry Rex, but now's not a good time." Ahsoka says pushing past her men. "We need to escape before we're completely cut off."

"Understood, sir." Rex says while following her.

When Ahsoka had made it to the cockpit, she chose to close the loading first. Logically it was the first thing a pilot needed to do before taking off, especially in space.

When she looked outside of the windows, she spotted the Imperials standing around deciding what to do. Some were shooting at their ship with their infantry units and others just stood there confused. Some Imperials even dared to venture closer to the ship slowly, but then turned back, thinking that the Jedi was very dangerous.

"Let's get out of here." Ahsoka says while taking onto the controls to lift the ship off.

As the ship begun to rise off of the ground, Ahsoka instantly spotted the figure of Vader entering the hanger. His emotionless mask burning into her face as he looked through the ship's window. It felt as if it lasted for a while, but Ahsoka knew better than to keep distracted by such a trivial matter. Currently her only goal was to get this transport off the ship and return to her base quickly, without anyone following them.

As the ship turned to leave, the Imperials kept on firing, despite the uselessness of the choice to do so. When the ship left the hanger, everyone that remained inside the ship just watch as the transport go smaller and smaller in the distance.

Vader's reaction to the enemy's leaving was to simply follow its general direction. He would order Admiral Yularen to make the pilots follow the transport and then get the location of the secret base.

But suddenly…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Multiple areas of the ship started shaking and exploding as if there were bombs set along the paths. But Vader hadn't been able to get an answer for that. Well at least not until now. Because of the sudden explosions, he had reason to believe that Ahsoka might've decided to blow up the ship. Now his plans for following Ahsoka seemed quite dull of a plan now. From what Vader could already tell, the engines were affected by the explosions, as well as the cannons, so now he knew that killing the transport's team was a useless choice to follow up with. As much as he hated to admit it, he had lost… for now.

You've made it this time, but don't expect to expect the same result next time… Ahsoka.'

On Ahsoka's transport, the team had begun to setup the coordinates to get back home. Once they were clear of anything that could harm their ship and launched into hyperspace, the team breathed a sigh of relief. It was a close call. A VERY close call. Not only did they avoid dying, but they managed to fight off the 501st on the ship. Vader's personal ship.

When Ahsoka looked back to the wall behind her seat, Rex noted that she looked that way as if she could still see the Imperial fleet that they just left behind. The Commander even knew what she thought.

"I know, kid. This is a big amount of news to take in." Rex says.

Ahsoka slowly looked towards Rex and then back to the front, thus looking forward ahead into Hyperspace, not looking back, but moving forward. This was where the start of the new war would commence. She had met her old Master again and looked into the face of the enemy.

---

End of final chapter:

Note from the other chapter: This chapter was originally going to take place at an earlier stage for this story, but since I thought… "Come on, it's Darth Vader's first confrontation with Anakin Skywalker's old Padawan Ahsoka Tano! Why not make the end a blast?!" …so here we are, final chapter of the Season 1 Clone Rebellion story.

Season 2 will be even more interesting. Before that however, the mini-arcs will be started on, which the first set will deal with two years in the future and two years prior to Season 2. It will show how the new Clones get ready for the Imperial conflicts. You could say that the early part of the Imperial warfare is the Clones' War. If you get what I mean that is…

Note: I may have cut of some points where boid writing is usually put, but it is because it was almost over used in this.