A/N 1: Well, the chapter lengths seem to continuously increase, primarily because I've started to love writing, especially something related to Star Wars. I hope you enjoy this one too!

Cookies to everyone who guessed the rescuer's identity right! C'mon, it was pretty obvious. :P

As always, Beta credits to my Padawan anand891996. I s'pose Masters can learn a thing or two at times too. XD Also, I really wish I could claim the Force as mine, but damn you Lucas, you took it all.

Keep on readin', and May the Force be ever in your favor!

Chapter 4

Somewhere deep in Hyperspace, a few hours before Order 65

Obi-Wan Kenobi waited patiently for the heap of junk he was sitting in to exit Hyperspace, while he pulled on the civilian clothes he'd brought along on top of his Jedi robes. Going in as a merchant transporting goods would definitely attract less attention when compared to a Jedi and his starfighter. His navicomputer showed that there was still about half an hour to go before he reached Utapau, which was half an hour more of twiddling his thumbs and contemplating about whether this actually was a wild Bantha chase or not. Obi-Wan tried to calm himself by drawing in on the living Force around him. The strength of said metaphysical field always seemed to surprise him. No matter which corner of the Galaxy he went to, or how fast he was traveling, it was omnipresent. The strength varied, of course, depending on the presence of other beings or objects around him, but it was always there, and it never failed to reassure him. He was a Jedi, a Peacekeeper of the Galaxy and an adept at wielding the Force. Nothing could go wrong if he trusted the will of the Force, as Master Yoda had told him, so many times.

Obi-Wan's musings were interrupted as he noticed a difference in the feelings that permeated him. Something felt off. Of course, Obi-Wan had felt weird ever since he had heard that the Chancellor himself had reported Grievous' location as discovered by Clone Intelligence, and had specifically requested for Master Kenobi to lead the mission. As far as he knew, the two of them had never exchanged words apart from pleasantries and the Chancellor going as far as to recommend him for the mission was confusing. Given what Anakin had told him about the Chancellor, the latter's 'recommendation' and the disturbance in the Force he felt, Obi-Wan realized that there was a lot he was unaware of, and all the answers lay back on Coruscant.

Well, one thing at a time. He'd have to finish this mission as fast as possible and head back to Coruscant. Fretting about everything at once wouldn't help, so he focused on getting rid of Grievous once and for all.

Diplomatic or aggressive, he wasn't called the Negotiator for no reason.

Less than a minute later, the hyperdrive shut off and the sublight engines took over. The streaks of light from various stars faded into dots and the planet of Utapau rushed up to fill his screen. Thankfully, the death trap he was in didn't explode on being given commands. Obi-Wan made for the planet's surface, noting the lack of any Separatist gunships in orbit.

This was either going to be another dead end, or a very short battle if he called for his fleet.

Guiding his starship towards the area with the highest signs of life forms, which he believed to the capital city of sorts, which was as good a place to start as any. The surface of the planet was pockmarked with sinkholes, and his destination was inside one of the biggest he had ever seen.

"They could fit gunships down there, given the size of some of the holes.", He thought to himself.

A message pinged his navicomputer, giving him the necessary trajectory to follow and the landing pad allocated to him. A few minutes later, the Starship came to a standstill at the allocated pad, and he stepped out, surprised to see that he had visitors, who, given their clothing, were probably dignitaries. So, Cody had managed to get a word out to them. As he himself had received no message telling him that the target was absent, Obi-Wan realized that he was in the right place, and that the Clone Army wasn't too far out.

Employing his usual Jedi demeanor, he bowed to the one in lead.

"Welcome, Master Jedi. We were contacted securely by your Clone Commander and told about your arrival. As far as the Separatists go, they think you're trading goods here."

"Thank you, and that is indeed a relief to here. Without further delay, if you tell me where Grievous is, we can get the mission underway immediately."

The lead Pau'an leaned in.

"The upper levels. He's here himself and has an army of droids with him. We're being held hostage. Will you help us, Master Jedi?"

"Wouldn't be much of a Peacekeeper if I refused, now would I?"

Obi-Wan mentally frowned at his own statement. Apparently staying in Anakin's company affected everyone, and he, the Jedi Master associated with civility and a calm demeanor was sassing people asking him for help.

Clearing his throat, Obi-Wan said, "Get your civilians to safety. The Republic Army and I will handle this. Do not worry, you will have your planet back in no time.", with a smile.

Reassured, the Pau'ans bowed and made their way out of the landing pad, while Obi-Wan ordered his astromech to wait for the starship to get refuelled and then head back out to the planet's orbit. He then switched on the 'Commence attack' beacon he'd been provided with, which sent an alert to Commander Cody and the 212th Attack Batallion. If all went well, the war would be brought to a close after this. Turning, after ensuring that there was no one watching him, he made his way to the nearest stairwell. He had to find and engage Grievous before the fleet arrived, lest the Cyborg Coward decided to flee again.

Obi-Wan climbed up into the rafters, once he reached the floor where Grievous apparently was. He moved in the general direction from where a certain robotic/human voice and a lot of yelling and coughing ensued. Even droids weren't immune to the flu, apparently. "Not that Grievous would appreciate that joke", he snickered to himself. Reaching a point above the general proceeding below, where Grievous was having a shouting match with a few head members of the Separatist Alliance, Obi-Wan took off all his civilian clothes and crouched down to observe. Apparently Grievous' enhanced voice-box had won out in the end, as the others looked very flustered and angry. They curtly nodded to him and made to exit the room, but that was as far as they got before a massive ventilation pipe collapsed on top of them.

"Well, it wouldn't be okay to just let them walk right out, now would it?", Obi-Wan said to himself.

Grievous did a double take at that, and looked up to see a figure jump off the rafters and land in front of him. His eyes narrowed as they took in the Jedi robes the person was clad in, and he positively growled when he recognized the figure, as he looked up with a smile.

"General Kenobi. Well, aren't you a bold one?", he said, activating the emergency alarm on his wrist, summoning all droids to his location. He motioned to the Magnaguards behind him to take on the Jedi, while he intended to make for his personal ship to escape the planet. He had no idea if the Jedi was alone, but he doubted the Clone Army was too far out, even if not already here.

The four Magnaguards took a step forward menacingly, and simultaneously, four high powered blaster shots shattered their chassis from behind. Grievous turned around at that, and saw the very same Clone Army he was wondering about leap into action. The droid army immediately moved off to engage the clones, leaving a very pissed off Cyborg and a very content Jedi Master behind. Growling to himself in rage, Grievous turned to face Obi-Wan. He did not like the way things were proceeding. Well, he'd at least get rid of that annoyingly persistent Jedi, even if not win the war.

"Army or not, you must realize, you are doomed.", Grievous said, menacingly, hoping to unnerve his opponent. Obi-Wan just calmly detached and ignited his lightsaber, pointing it's glowing tip at Grevious and said, "Your move?"

Grevious detached his four robotic limbs, each sporting an ignited lightsaber.

"You fool! I have been trained in your Jedi arts by Count Dooku! You will not leave here alive.", he sneered.

Obi-Wan merely sighed. Trash talk aside, he knew he just had to stay away from Grievous' various limbs, for which he had the perfect weapon in his arsenal: the Force.

"Well then, let's recount how droids fare against Jedi, shall we?" he said.

Grievous once again snapped, roared menacingly and charged at Obi-Wan like a madman.

"How predictable." Obi-Wan thought to himself, as he prepared a Force Burst in his right hand.

*A short battle full of robotic screaming, indignation, dismemberment and disbelief later*

Obi-Wan looked down at Grievous' charred remains beneath the cybernetics. All it had taken was a blaster bolt to set his innards on fire, and the Droid General was toast. Literally.

Tossing the blaster he held aside, he muttered to himself, "So uncivilized."

He then turned and made his way towards the exterior of the Hangar bay, where he had seen Cody directing troops from, earlier on, all the while slashing his saber at any droid that walked too close or dared to take a potshot at him. Reaching Cody's position, he asked "What's the situation like? Did you secure those Separatist leaders I'd left for you under that pipe yet?"

"Yes, Sir! They're currently being transported back to your Jedi Cruiser, although I suspect they're going to be out of it for a while, given the size of the lumps on their head. Good job, Sir!"

"Thank you, Cody. Now, let's get a move on! We've a battle to-"

Obi-Wan's sentence was cut short as a sudden shift in the Force around him left him gasping for breath. Something drastic was underway, and it felt ominous. Cody made to grab his shoulder, and Obi-Wan righted himself, his head throbbing due to the turmoil the Force was undergoing. He had never felt this way, and the disturbance felt widespread. It was definitely not due to something nearby.

"Coruscant.. Anakin.. What the hell is going on?"

His attention shifted to Cody a second later, as the man made to receive a holocall. Cody hit receive, and surprisingly, it was Anakin's hologram, or at least, a recording of it.

Enunciating clearly, he said "Execute Order 65", leaving Obi-Wan to wonder exactly what in the name of the Force had transpired while he was in Hyperspace. Cody, similarly was taken aback, but a cross check confirmed the Contingency Order to be legitimate and backed by the Republic's Security Council. Shrugging to Obi-Wan, he relayed the order to the rest of his unit.

Obi-Wan simply shook his head in perplexion and said, "Cody, let's get this over and done with as soon as possible. We need to head back to Coruscant immediately."

"Sir, yes sir!"

(Kashyyyk; Around the same time)

Jedi Grand Master Yoda clutched his chest painfully as he felt the shift in the Force. Due to his extremely high Midichlorian count, he was almost rendered breathless when the disturbance hit. Something monumental had transpired, and drawing in on the Force, he could tell it came from somewhere deeper in the Galaxy, which most likely meant Coruscant.

Commander Gree stood up next to him and pulled out his pinging holocomm, while Yoda watched on, warily. If this was a trap, he was not going to be caught in it. He was, however, bewildered when Anakin Skywalker's hologram materialized and commanded for execution of Contingency Order 65.

Shaking his head, Yoda made to take a look at the holovid displaying the current scene of battle. Heading back to Coruscant had just gained higher priority, as he had no idea as to the state the Order was in. He made Gree connect him via holocall to the Jedi Council chambers, and upon getting not a single reply, he requested him to find out about the situation in Coruscant.

Still, despite the Force throwing out negative emotions, Yoda couldn't shake the feeling that something far worse had been averted. And usually, his feelings were never off.

(Cato Neimoidia; Around the same time)

Jedi Master Plo Koon and his squadron of starfighters were making easy work of the Droid Starfighters, nimbly weaving between buildings and enemy ships. Having a Jedi lead in such battles certainly made it easier, especially when coupled with their battle precognition ability. The droid army would be in full retreat shortly, given the rate at which the GAR was advancing.

Master Koon dismissed the tension he felt in the air to battle nerves, and focused himself on taking down the remainder of the droid aerial force. It was definitely easy work.

He did, however, almost spit his breather out when Captain Jag told him that Anakin Skywalker had issued Order 65, and that he was currently the Acting Commander of the GAR.

"What on Dorin-?"

(Market District, Coruscant; About half an hour before Order 65 was issued)

A hooded figure made it's way through the busy streets of Coruscant's Market District, while threading it's way towards the Senate Tower. The disturbance in the Force was strong throughout the planet, and it was even affecting the non-Force sensitives. Everyone felt uneasy and multiple fights broke out all around for the smallest of reasons. The other Jedi wondered what in Revan's name was so wrong to have affected the multitude of citizens throughout the city, but the hooded figure in question knew exactly what was wrong, and where it was going on.

Her connection in the Force with her Master had never really broken off, and she could sense his emotions when she tried, or without trying if they were very strong. Right now, his emotions were almost being broadcast across their empathy link. Something was very wrong, as this was on a different scale from all previous times she'd felt him get angry or concerned.

"Damn it, Skyguy. What have you gotten yourself into this time?", Ahsoka Tano said to herself, as she broke into a jog, trying to get to the Senate Tower faster, her hood keeping her face covered in shadows. She wondered where Padme was and if she was alright.

The closer she got to the Senate Tower, the more the disturbance amplified. She could almost feel the ripples in the Force, and it's epicentre, doubtless, was the Senate Tower. Ahsoka paused to catch her breath as the tower in question came into view as she took a turn, exiting the Market District.

No matter how many times she'd been here, the massive size of the building always took her breath away. The sheer scale of the building and the number of people it could house always astounded her.

This time, though, it was not bustling with Senators trying to get in and out of the building. An entire battalion of Clones were trying to evacuate the building, and were escorting everyone out. Many clone officers were yelling out orders and Ahsoka could barely grasp what was being said, given the noise all around her.

"Trooper, get a-"

"Order 65 ha-"

"Sir, you have to get away from th-"

"Order 65? What's going on? Why is there an evac-?" Ahsoka's thoughts were interrupted mid-sentence as her Force precognition warned her of impeding danger.

There was a collective gasp and some more screaming when a massive explosion erupted in the distance, and the entire part of the city she could see was plunged into darkness. A mushroom cloud billowed out, and the shockwave followed, knocking a few bystanders to the floor.

"Even though the blast was so far away... Oh no, the power stations. This is insane!" Ahsoka thought, wide-eyed.

She turned to face the Senate tower.

Her eyes widened further, and she took an involuntary step back, when a sudden massive bout of lightning wrecked the topmost floor, from the inside.

"From the inside? That's too big to be an electrical fault. And it's almost like the tendrils of lightning are alive in the Force.. I can feel it all the way over here. Damn it, I have to get inside and find Anakin."

Ahsoka looked around, trying to find a way in. A lot of senators were shouting in fear, looking at the fireworks display emanating from the tower, while the troopers tried to get them to calm down, and prevented them from stampeding. She decided to make use of the ensuing chaos to slip in and try and find Anakin.

Given his luck with finding troubles, Ahsoka was sure he was right at the top where the lightning still emanated from. She strode forward, deftly moving between troopers and senators alike before she reached the very front of the crowd. Moving to make a dash for the Tower entrance, she took a step forward, but an armored hand blocked her way. She looked up right into the visor of Commander Fox's Phase-II helmet.

"Commander…Tano? What are you-? No, never mind. Commander Skywalker is inside, and at the topmost floor. Us Clones are unable to even go close to the place where he's fighting the Sith. Please go help him out! I'm not sure as to what state he's in. Emergency power has been re-instated in the tower."

"Sith? WHAT? Okay, that explains the lightning, but, not good.", Ahsoka said, as she sped towards the doors, using the Force to augment her speed.

*A few terse minutes of running up stairwells and taking working elevators later*

Ahsoka panted as she reached the Chancellor's office, or what remained of it and took in her surroundings. The lightning had apparently been strong enough to melt through durasteel and had started quite a few fires. The air felt...tainted, and it was not just because of the heat or the dust. The Force itself was in turmoil, as if something had tried to tear it to shreds. There was no sound of any fighting, just the elecrticity sparking from wirings, the crackling of fires and some falling debris.

Still, catiously, she called out her Master's name. No answer. Ahsoka moved towards the interior of the once-prestigious office room.

Not seeing anyone present, she threw all caution to the wind, wondering what happened to her Master.

"Anakin!" "ANAKIN!"

A faint cough reached her ear, and she located it to be coming from near the exterior of the building. The entire section of the wall had been torn apart, and this floor had caved in on to the one below, almost hanging at the exterior. She deftly dodged falling debris and missing patches of the floor and ran to the edge.

Two figures lay prone on the caved in section of the floor, not too far away from her, one of whom she recognized as her Master, and the other as the Nautolan Jedi Master on the Council. Anakin weakly lifted his head to look at her.

Relief flooded her. At least he was alive! Extending her hand, she said, "Grab on to it! I'll pull you up!".

Anakin weakly raised one arm to her, while his other arm, the cybernetic one latched itself around the unconscious Jedi Master's waist. Smiling to herself at his attempt to save another even in this condition, she pulled them both up, using the Force to augment her strength. Once she pulled them up, she realized that she was nowhere close to being big enough to carry them both. Letting them lie on the floor, she dragged them to the elevator, pulling them by their robes.

"Sorry, Anakin. I suppose saving your life is more important than your dignity for now.", she smirked to herself. Once she reached the lower floors, she called a Trooper who was on duty there and together, they carried out the two unconscious Jedi out.

A medical unit was waiting outside the Tower, tending to any minor injuries the Senators or Troopers had suffered. When Ahsoka walked out with the two unconscious Jedi, they were given a wide berth and the Medics rushed to them with a stretcher. Both were fitted with respirators, and as they were still breathing, they were immediately loaded into the Medical Transport. Ahsoka climbed in behind them. Once loaded, the transport sped off towards the Jedi Temple. Jedi were always treated in the Temple's own Medical Unit, as their physiology was different compared to normal civilians, and they were more suited to Force-enhanced treatment procedures.

Ahsoka let the Medical droid tend to her wounds, which were mainly scratches and some slight burns, while she shut her eyes, and tried to reach out to her unconscious Master through the Force. Having lived with the empathy link for so long, both of them inadvertently found the other's presence comforting, and hence Anakin's jumbled up mind eased when he felt her presence. She calmed him by using the Force to bring up good memories, and soon, the Jedi Master was comfortably asleep, and not just unconscious due to his efforts.

She sighed to herself at the proceedings of the day. The shitstorm this was gonna kick up throughout the Galaxy was going to be massive. At any rate, she had to make sure Padme was okay. She was not at the Senate Tower, as Ahsoka hadn't felt her presence, so she decided to check on her at her Senatorial Suite once Anakin was in the Jedi's care. Ahsoka had known about her Master and Padme's relationship for a long time, and she was sure so did Obi-Wan, but both of them realized that Anakin was much better than the lonely and impulsive person he had been before mainly due to Padme's influence. Sure, he was still impulsive, but at least he was smart about what he did, and he did put other's thoughts before his own.

The Transport came to a halt outside the Temple's Main hall while Jedi healers ran up to the rear. Anakin and Kit Fisto were quickly unloaded and their repulsorcoil-fitted stretchers were hauled off towards the Emergency room. Ahsoka followed them, not willing to let Anakin out of her sight until he was stable again.

She looked up at the Temple's massive structure. She never thought she would be coming back here, at least not like this. She had given up the ways of the Jedi because of how they had treated her, but this place still felt like home.

As Ahsoka stood outside the emergency room, quite a few senior Jedi Knights and Masters walked in, one by one, inquiring as to the patients health and expressing surprise on seeing her there. Ahsoka was glad to see that none of them treated her like an outsider, and many of them even expressed happiness on seeing her alive and well again. Jedi Master Tera Sinube and Jedi Battlemaster Cin Drallig walked in after a while and asked the Medical Droid stationed outside for a report.

"Both of them are still in a critical condition, but they are stable. I'm sure they will make a full recovery, although Master Fisto will likely take a longer time to recuperate than Skywalker, who, as always, is exhibiting accelerated healing rates due to his unimaginably high Midichlorian count. Skywalker is expected to regain consciousness in seventy five hours, six minutes and seven seconds."

Drallig continued to ask the droid questions about their conditions, while Sinube turned to Ahsoka.

"It has been a long time, young one. I see you are doing well after leaving the Order, much better than before, in fact. Haven't lost any lightsabers since then, have you?"

"A long time indeed, Master. And no, I learnt my lesson that time.", Ahsoka said with a smile. "Master, if I may, I need to check up on a friend of mine. Can you inform me in case there are any changes in Anakin's condition?"

"Of course, my child."

Ahsoka was gone before he could even finish the sentence. She needed to make sure Padme was alright, and Anakin was in good hands, for now. Walking out of the Temple, she pressed a button on her wrist console, remotely summoning her speeder to her current location.

(Senatorial District, Coruscant; A few minutes before Order 65 was issued)

Padme Amidala's brows were knitted with worry as she paced her apartment's bedroom, gazing out towards the Coruscant skyline intermittently, where she could just make out the Senate Tower amongst the throngs of other structures. According to C-3PO, her protocol droid, Anakin's astromech R2-D2 had reported that it's master had made for the very same building a while back. That was barely a cause for concern, but for the past few minutes, something felt off. Anakin's emotions were leaking through the mental link that they shared, and his worry, well, had her worried too.

"That headstrong idiot. Always running right into trouble. He's never gonna learn, is he?", she mentally sighed to herself.

She made her way towards her apartment's lobby. Ever since Anakin had found out about their child, a trooper from the 501st clone battalion under his command was always stationed near the entrance to her apartment. He absolutely refused to hear her complaints about it and so, it had continued. She was eight months pregnant now, and barely ever attended Senate hearings, unless they were of utmost importance.

Today, thankfully, Rex was the trooper stationed at her apartment. The 501st was off missions for a while, and was assigned to patrol duty on Coruscant. Captain Rex, head of Torrent Company, had taken it upon himself to be the one in charge of Padme's well-being, because he knew her personally, and also because he was the only clone Anakin trusted with his life, so much so that Rex had been told about their relationship. His deep respect for his commander showed, as he made sure Padme's apartment security was never lax, irrespective of the trooper on schedule.

Rex was currently seated near the entrance, cleaning out parts of his dual blaster pistols. His helmet lay on the ground next to him. Seeing Padme walk towards him, he holstered his blasters and snapped to his feet, helmet in hand.

"What can I do for you, Ma'am?"

"Can you find out as to what Anakin's up to? I feel uneasy, and there has been no word ever since he left for the Senate Tower."

Rex fitted his helmet on, and checked the HUD for any updates.

"There doesn't seem to be any messages from Commander Skywa-... Hang on, there's an emergency broadcast. The Senate Tower is being evacuated for some reason, and the Security Council has been called into session."

"Evacuated? Why?"

"No idea, Ma'am. I can't seem to reach the Commander on his comm frequency either. I'll ping Coruscant Guard for details. Something's not right here."

The words had barely escaped Rex's mouth when the explosion manifested itself. Given that the Senatorial district and the Power Station for their sector were on opposite sides of the Senate Tower itself, they only heard the explosion, and later saw the mushroom cloud as it billowed upwards. The shockwave had dissipated by then. The power throughout their field of vision winked out, plunging the entire durasteel landscape into darkness.

Out of sheer instinct and reflex, Rex pulled out his blasters. Most clones seemed to possess a sixth sense for danger, having spent so many years on the battlefront, and Rex's danger sense was pinging. A second later, he realized he was actually hearing the pinging sound, as an emergency high priority holomessage was being beamed to him.

Frowning, he activated his holocommunicator and a hologram of Anakin materialized. There was a sharp intake of breath from Padme as she recognized the figure.

"Execute Order 65.", he said, and the figure winked out. Apparently the Contingency Order was backed by the Security Council, and under special considerations, Anakin Skywalker had been made Acting Commander of the GAR.

"Order 65? What does that mean?"

"It means the Supreme Chancellor is a traitor, and that Commander Skywalker is somehow deeply involved. Senator, I'd ask you to change into something more suitable for moving around. If Anakin is involved, there's a chance, however unlikely, that you might be drawn into this."

Padme trusted Rex completely. She made to her bedroom, and changing from her gown into a pair of brown leggings, a full sleeved cream colored shirt and brown knee-length boots. Rex, meanwhile, checked the feed from the cameras he'd installed outside. As Padme walked out of her bedroom, Rex pulled out his holocommunicator and played the feed from the cameras.

Six figures, all armed stood at the bottom of the spire that Padme's apartment was located on.

Rex wasted no time in activating his SOS beacon, sending priority alerts to the rest of his Battalion.

"Bounty Hunter scum. Damn, this is not good. Ma'am, please stay behind me at all costs. I'm going to hold them

off till reinforcements arrived."

"I understand. How are the cameras still operational, though? The power's out."

"Last month, during the security upgrade, I had auxiliary power attached to your apartment. Thanks to that, I have a few surprises in store for them. And I'm pretty sure they aren't aware of my presence, as this assignment was off records. Please, hide yourself behind that cupboard, and don't come out, irrespective of what you hear."

Padme moved towards where Rex indicated, while the latter upended a table for cover and crouched behind it, all the while keeping an eye on the camera feed on his HUD. Two of the bounty hunters, both human and armed with blaster rifles, were in the elevator, while the remaining were running up the two stairwells. Apparently they were planning to enter at the same time and take the senator hostage by force. Well, it was a good thing that the apartment had only one entrance.

Rex had taken precautions to install multiple traps in case the senator was ever attacked. Assassination attempts on her had been many in the past. Rex activated the detonator coupled to infrared sensors at knee level on both the staircases. One group was slightly ahead of the other, consisting of a Trandoshan and another human, with the former in lead. The Trandoshan recklessly crossed the beam, and the detonator went off an instant later, blowing him to pieces. Irrespective of how thick their skulls were, Trandoshans apparently were soft from below. The human coming up behind up was thrown on his back, but he seemed unharmed, given the armor he was wearing. The survivor spoke into his communicator and the other group immediately slowed down. The human picked himself up, activated something on his visor and slowly made his way upwards, avoiding the other traps.

"One down.", Rex thought to himself, and activated the trap on the elevator, just as all three groups reached the top. The elevators power simply shut off, and the emergency brakes were disabled, without which, the box plunged noiselessly down the shaft, leaving the other groups wondering as to exactly why the group in the elevator wasn't out yet.

The first Bounty Hunter to reach the top, voiced his thoughts out loud to the others, and got a blaster bolt in his head for his trouble, killing him instantly.

"Four down, two to go. You don't mess with the GAR for exactly this reason, scum.", Rex smirked to himself, his pistols barrel smoking.

"Damn it! There's a Trooper in there! Take him out!", the surviving member of this team shouted. Apparently he was a Duros, given his voice, and if his weird hat was anything to go by, it was the infamous Cad Bane that Rex was dealing with. Both the Hunters had concealed themselves behind pillars and were snapping shots off intermittently. Rex crouched back behind the table and tossed a thermal detonator over. The detonator rolled to a stop between the two pillars and exploded, knocking the human into the wall behind him. The man slid to the floor, unconscious.

Cad Bane, meanwhile, on seeing the detonator, simply activated the rocket boosters on his shoes and flew in the opposite direction. The space was very limited, yes, but it helped him escape the shockwave. Holstering his blaster and using the smoke for cover he dove for the clone from mid-air. He bowled into Rex, knocking his pistols from his hand, and both of them went sprawling. Without a moment's delay, both of them got to their feet, and surveyed their opponent, poised for a fight.

Rex had faced off against this particularly nasty Duros during some of his previous missions, and had sworn to take down scum like him if he ever got the chance. Cad Bane, on the other hand, took in the blue colored armor and the shoulder pauldron, and realized he was dealing with a Captain from the 501st, if not an ARC Trooper. Having faced off against a lot of clones, he didn't recognize this particular one. Still, this was not going to be easy.

"Stupid botched mission. The contacthadn't told us there would be a trooper here!", Bane thought, his eyes narrowing, as he looked around for a way to either make his escape or gain the upper hand immediately.

In that moment of distraction, Rex closed the gap between them and swung his right fist at Bane's face. Bane reacted quickly, parrying his punch and kicked out at Rex's side.

There was a reason people never engaged with Clone Troopers in hand-to-hand combat. They were bred for battle and trained by Mandalorians and were lethal in any confrontation. It was an especially bad idea when the clone in concern was a Captain and also wearing his full body Phase-II armor. Punching that would be like hitting a wall, unless you were as strong as a Wookiee, or a Force user.

Rex could've caught Bane's kick, but he just let it collide with his side. Bane grunted in pain when his kick made contact with the heavily armored plates, leaving him unbalanced and vulnerable, as his kick had not even been felt. Rex simply kicked out the other's remaining foot from under him, and the Duros fell flat on his back. Immediately resorting to his Bounty Hunting weapons, Bane shot his wrist-mounted grappling hook, which wrapped the cable trailing it around the clone's torso, snapping his arms to his side, while he activated his rocket boosters on his boot, intending to topple the clone. Rex realized exactly what was going to happen and leapt right at Bane, using the pulling momentum generated by the rocket boosters for extra thrust. He slammed his boot on to Bane's wrist, shattering the Duros' wrist and the grappling hook console, at the same time unhooking the cable. Rex unspooled the cable around him while Bane cringed and held on to his broken wrist. He awkwardly got to his feet and jumped at the clone, shoulder first. Rex simply grabbed him by the lapels of his outfit and smashed his helmeted face on to the latter, causing him to scream out in pain. Intending to finish this battle immediately, he grabbed the breathing tubes attached to the Bounty Hunter's face and heaved it towards himself, at the same time slamming his armored foot into Bane's stomach, which wrenched the tubes right out of his face and the apparatus, leaving Cad Bane screaming on the floor in agony. Even though the breathing tubes were only to prevent him for succumbing to Force Choke, having them wrenched out of his face hurt. He spat out blood and his muscles screamed from the strength of the blows the clone had dealt him. Five seconds later, he stopped yelling abruptly as Rex fired his retrieved blaster pistol into the bounty hunter's head, instantly killing him.

"That's it? Can't see what all the fuss about him being the best bounty hunter in the galaxy was about."

He looked around and checked his HUD for any reinforcements, except there were none. Holstering one of his blasters, he went to check up on where Padme was hiding. Irrespective of her situation, the senator hadn't made any noise throughout the battle, and Rex was glad for that. He had wanted to avoid any hostage situations.

Padme was still crouched behind the cupboard, her arms clenched around her head. Rex knelt down and placed a hand on her knee, causing her to slowly look up.

"It's safe now, Ma'am, although I think it would be prudent if we left the premises and headed for a safehouse immediately."

Rex was surprised when Padme suddenly threw her arms around him while sobbing lightly, her fear evident.

"Er-Uh-...You're safe now, Ma'am. It's over. Let's get you out of here.", Rex said, awkwardly, while slowly helping her to her feet. Padme disentangled her arms and looked at him with.

"Thank you, Rex. If it weren't for you.."

"None of that now, Ma'am. Commander Skywalker has saved my life countless times and it's the least I could do for him."

Rex held a blaster with one hand and guided Padme towards the speeder pad on her apartment with the other. Motioning her to wait, he switched on his Rangefinder and scanned the skies for any craft, friendly or otherwise. He immediately crouched and pulled out his other pistol as he noticed a speeder not registered with the GAR speed towards them, trying to focus his vision on the pilot.

"What in the world-?", he thought to himself, taken aback with confusion, as he recognized the pilot to be Ahsoka Tano, Commander Skywalker's ex-Padawan.

"Err, Senator, you might want to come out here, else you mightn't believe what I'm going to tell you."

Less than a minute later, Ahsoka parked her speeder alongside the pad and walked towards where Padme and Rex stood with widened eyes, smiling to herself. It was good to see the two of them again, after so long.

They had wanted information about where Anakin was, and she had her first-hand experience of the entire happening to recount.

(Jedi Prison, under the Jedi Temple on Coruscant; around the time of Order 65)

Count Dooku, also known to a select few as the infamous Darth Tyrannus, sat in a state of contemplation in his cell. Ever since he'd regained consciousness after being humiliatingly defeated at the hands of the two Jedi aboard his Separatist cruiser, he felt like a blanket on his mind had lifted. His memories of events that transpired after he turned Sith seemed blurred to him, like he was watching the events happen through someone else's eyes, as a third person. His actions didn't feel his own, even though he knew he had done them. His memories became sharp as soon as he thought of events before he met Darth Sidious, the man posing as the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

Dooku had spent the last couple of months pondering over the same issue. Every memory that he relived brought him to the same end, that he had been manipulated by Sidious, and not just with lies, but with the Force to bend his will too. Dooku sighed to himself. It felt like he'd let himself become a pawn.

He couldn't even reason to himself as to why exactly he had left the Jedi Order. Sure, he might have his differences, but so did everyone! There were a multitude of Jedi, even his own padawan Qui-Gon, who disagreed with some policies of the Order, but they didn't quit the Order and run away with a Sith at the first chance.

So, that was it, then. He had become a willing servant of the Dark Side just because he wasn't careful. Dooku even felt queasy when he thought back upon the various things he'd done, no, been made to do, during his time as Sidious' apprentice. He definitely didn't have the stomach to do them now. Torturing innocents, murdering at whim, trying to murder fellow Jedi, even….

"Damn the Dark Side. It's too powerful unless you're careful enough to resist it's mind-altering effects. That madman made me a mindless servant, a pawn, of his, to be tossed aside at his own leisure. Although, I suppose, if not me, that would have been someone else, and I do not wish that ordeal upon anyone, forget a fellow Jedi."

Dooku was surprised at his own train of thoughts. He'd felt his mind start to heal ever since he was imprisoned, but this was the first time he'd outright felt compassion towards the Jedi in a long time. He needed to have a talk with one of the Councilors, to admit what he had learnt, and the way he felt now, preferably his old Master.

"Patience", he told himself, and settled in to meditate until someone checked upon him today. He seemed to enjoy doing that more and more, of late. He felt like he was returning to being his old Jedi self.

In his meditative trance, Dooku clearly felt the disturbance in the Force when it happened, and by the looks of it, so had the other Jedi who were guarding the prison. His eyes snapped open.

"Something's going on. That fool is back at his machinations. What the hell is he up to now?", he wondered.

"Well, not like I can do anything about it from here. I've already told the Jedi everything I know about his plans."

And so, Dooku shut his eyes once more and tried to draw in on the Force from the nexus the Temple was built on.

Once again, his eyes snapped open, this time in disbelief. The Force nexus…

What the hell had Sidious done?

(Felucia; Ten minutes after the power outage on Coruscant)

Jedi Master Aayla Secura rolled her shoulders as she and her troops moved through a heavily forested area of Felucia. The battle was almost theirs, and they had the droid army in full retreat. Aayla sensed the tiredness in the Clones even if they didn't show it. Extremely strong-willed, they all were. Commander Bly was especially determined, and that's what made him an effective leader. He instilled confidence in his troops by the way he carried himself, and sometimes, even she was in awe of the man. She smiled to herself, as she felt Bly in close proximity.

She knew Jedi were forbidden to form attachments, but still, she had found herself extremely attracted to Bly. He wasn't just a clone. The multitude of battles they'd been in together and the various life-death scenarios they'd lived through had her heart skip a beat every time her eyes met his. And no, this was definitely not just one sided, as she had seen the Commander get flustered every time she caught him staring or even when they made eye contact which lingered. Eventually, both of them had confessed their feelings for each other and even shared a few passionate moments, when time permitted. Both of them knew this had a chance to not last forever, and they accepted it as it was.

A sudden stillness in the Force brought her out of her contemplation that she was enjoying. She frowned to herself.

"It's grown quiet all of a sudden. What do you think, Bly? Droids?"

"No.", was the short and curt answer, as she turned just in time to see the man she had actually started to love, shoot her point-blank in her chest. She was dead before her body hit the ground, multiple other shots hitting her all over.

"Bly...Why?", was her last thought, as she died in disbelief.

(Mygeeto; Ten minutes after the power outage on Coruscant)

Commander Bacara and his remaining clone Marines ran in after Commander Mundi, as the droids mounted another wave to assault their base. Their continuous battles on the war-torn planet were getting tiresome, and it didn't seem like it was going to stop any time soon.

Barely had Bacara taken a few steps when a voice sounded in his earpiece, unmistakably that of the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.

"Execute Order 66."

Without pausing to think or actually being able to, Bacara and the rest of the Marines raised their rifles and shot Jedi Master Ki-Adi Mundi in the back, killing him instantly.

(Saluecami; Ten minutes after the power outage on Coruscant)

Jedi Master Stass Allie raced along on a speeder, with Commander Neyo and a few more troopers under his command in tow. The planet was almost theirs, and this final recon mission would give them an all clear to return home.

Lost in her thoughts about returning back to Coruscant, Master Allie never saw the clones accept an Order, nod to each other, slow down in unison and shoot her speeder, which promptly exploded, not even giving her enough time to register her thoughts.

A/N 2: I know what you're thinking. Order 66, whaaaaat? Well, everything's gonna be cleared up next time, don't worry. *Ahem* Sidious' Contingency *Ahem*

Till then, please review if you like/don't like my work, and feel free to PM me with any queries. Next week's update might be a bit earlier, due to my travel plans.