Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money off this story. All rights go to Lucasfilms. Hope you enjoy my twist on this story.
Tipoca City, Admiral Tarkin's Office
Admiral Tarkin was pacing back and forth. He had just been told that two of the conscripted soldiers that Yularen had sent over had gone AWOL. His anger was boiling before he finally called Crosshair to his office. After a few minutes, Crosshair arrived and stood at attention. Tarkin looked at him and asked, "Tell me what exactly happened, why did they escape." Crosshair relaxed and said, "We had killed all of Gerrera's fighters and were about to eliminate all witnesses, it was clear they had no useful information. Suddenly, ES-01 and ES-02 objected. They claimed it was wrong to follow these orders. I was about to kill them for demonstrating treason when they got the jump on me and knocked me out with a stun bolt. Apparently, they did the same to their other two squad mates and fled with the civilians not long after." Tarkin smirked, They may have been gone but this proved the conscription worked. If these two ordinary people were able to take out Crosshair and the rest of their squad, it proved that their dependency on clones was over. They could start phasing them out and build a galactic-wide conscription. He smiled as he dismissed Crosshair. He walked back over to his desk and typed in the frequency for Admiral Yularen. This was a glorious day for the Empire.
Anaxes
Cad Bane had just arrived on Anaxes. This was the place where the Clones had gone AWOL. He ordered Todo to scan around the south area while he looked around the north. He found several strange things, one was a set of footprints leading to a ridge. The footprints ended suddenly and turned into a trench. A set of three footprints left the ridge area and returned to the start of the footprints. The trench area then disappeared into a completely blown-out area. He pondered this and walked back to Todo. He ordered Todo to scan the north area. After Todo was done Bane had him run through the most likely scenarios and display a holographic simulator. Based on all the clues the clones landed on Anaxes and started to carry out their orders. Two squads left for some reason and only three clones returned. After resuming their work the rest of the clones returned to the ridge. Based on the trench in the ground they were stunned and dragged away. The blown-out area was the stranger ship and the clone's ship both leaving. This whole set of circumstances was getting stranger by the second. It answered a few questions but raised many more unsettling queries. Bane and Todo headed back to his stealth ship and took off back to Coruscant. As soon as he got back, he could tell Admiral Yularen what he found out and collect his payment. This was a relatively easy job but, it raised a burning question in his mind. Who was this new player and what mark would they make on this new galaxy?
Coruscant Underworld, Nicky's Bar
Dooku (formally Count) had been living in shadows for a while now. His former Master's plan was ingenious. He had executed Order 66 and wiped out the vast majority of the Jedi. However, there were several problems with that. Order 66 had made clones turn their blasters on him. They were no match for his power and swiftly fell. His escape from the Jedi Temple had been simple after that. The other problem was his former master had no intention of ruling the galaxy with him. He had chosen a new apprentice and had cast him aside. Hindsight being 20-20, he realized that he had backed the wrong horse. He knew he had to go underground at this point and work on his next step from there. He took control of the criminals in Coruscant easily enough, he was currently a crime lord, ruling the dark underbelly of Coruscant. He knew better than to announce he was still alive though, so he appointed a mysterious figurehead under his Force mind trick to run the criminals. This way he could amass wealth and plan his next move.
N.G.R. Secret Base, Training Room
Mace Windu had let Ahsoka back into the order, it was definitely a surprise to most of the council. He had thought long and hard about the decision, his natural distrust of people had been helpful in a lot of cases but he had been trying to change his ways and widen his circle of trust. He appointed Plo-Koon as Ahsoka's master, they had a close bond but each knew they had to stick to the code if there was no other way. They could both let go if the time ever came. Currently, Plo-Koon is teaching his new student his lightsaber form. She was instructed to attack him in any way except the force. Her former master had taught her well and Plo immediately recognized the moves of Form V. This was the perfect opportunity to show her the flaws in that style and to teach her his style. She was relentless in her attacks but Plo-Koon parried and made her leave openings. She grunted in frustration and tried to power through but, Plo was picking apart her style with ease. She came in for a hard side swipe but Plo knocked her blade aside and executed a perfect kick to her head. She jumped backward to gain distance but Plo-Koon didn't run after her, Plo-Koon kept his guard sharp and slowly walked towards his student. Ahsoka growled in anger, she deactivated her lightsaber and focused on martial arts. She approached her new master and tried a fast right hook. Plo-Koon dodged with a graceful aura and grabbed her fist. He pulled and swept her legs out from under her. Her momentum sent her tumbling to the ground with Plo-Koon's lightsaber at her neck. Plo smiled at his student and deactivated his Saber before he offered his hand. Ahsoka gladly took it but was still somewhat blown away at how powerful Master Plo was. Plo just smirked at his student before saying, "Now you are ready to learn my style."
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