Chapter 18 – A Plan for Deliverance

Anakin reeked of self-satisfaction to an extent that left even Padme annoyed. He had returned, after weeks away from the Consular class ship that had become their mobile home, and which Yoda had named the Windu, with two frigates, each of them more than twice the size of the ship he had piloted out of the Temple months before. They sat in the 'council chamber' of the Windu, which was the same room used for the training of the younglings, and where most of the younglings slept. But when the table rose from the center of the room it became the 'council chamber'.

"Do they even work?" Obi-Wan asked skeptically.

"Of course they work," Anakin said confidently. "I went over them myself."

"I say again, do they work?" Obi-Wan said drolly.

"I had to make some repairs to get them space worthy, and I would prefer to make some upgrades before we put them to any test, but they work. They have shields, hyperdrive, life support, even weapons," Anakin responded.

"How did you manage to acquire two working ships?" Ahsoka asked.

"These are Old Republic ships," Anakin said.

"How does that answer the question?" Obi-Wan asked, raising his eyebrow at Anakin's obvious deflection.

"By rights these ships belong to the Republic. The real Republic, the one we are fighting to restore," Anakin said.

Padme put her face in her hands and shook her head while saying, "He stole them."

"Is that true?" a scandalized Obi-Wan asked.

"No, not exactly. I paid for them. I just paid less than the current market rate," Anakin said sheepishly.

"You used the Force to make them sell?" Ahsoka said, a look of disappointment on her face.

"He was a very disreputable dealer. I know about that business; I grew up in that business. He was worse than Watto," Anakin said, as though he had just levelled the worst insult he could think of.

"There are rules on this for a reason Anakin. And they are especially important now. We can't go around confirming the propaganda the Chancellor's office is putting out against us if we have any chance of getting the people on our side," Obi-Wan said.

"If it helps, I also made him free all his slaves," Anakin said, half in hope of approval and half in anticipation of censure.

"What?" a genuinely shocked Obi-Wan said.

"They are crewing the ships. They agreed to a term of service working on them, repairing and upgrading them with me. Sixth months, and I promised afterwards we would take them anywhere they wanted to go," Anakin said.

Yoda, who had to this point seemed mostly uninterested in the discussion, gave Anakin a quizzical look and said, "Very difficult it is to make someone part with their whole livelihood. Beyond the abilities of most Jedi, even with the most weak minded of adversaries."

"Well obviously I used a variety of methods to achieve the worthy goal of freeing slaves and securing us a fleet," Anakin said as convincingly as he could. "I am not really sure what everyone is so worked up about. We got two ships, which we needed. The slaves were freed. Even the dealer is better off, because now he is not involved in the vile traffic of sentient beings."

"You are entirely too pleased with yourself," Obi-Wan said as he threw his hands into the air as if to say he was done with the whole topic.

"I agree with General Skywalker," Rex said. "We desperately needed those ships. We are straining the life support capabilities of this one as it is, and it is not strong enough or fast enough for us to reliably escape a Republic patrol if it comes our way."

"I have a lead on a few more ships too. There are other dealers selling ships of a similar age, and I have some ideas about where they all got them," Anakin said.

"Just don't hurt anyone, promise me that much Anakin," Obi-Wan said.

"Of course not. I might even liberate a few more slaves along the way," Anakin said. Obi-Wan nodded wearily.

Ahsoka stood up and cleared her throat. The others looked up at her, except for Rex, who looked down at this hands. "Now that we have our immediate space needs taken care of, I want to propose an operation," she said.

"Very well," Obi-Wan said smiling. "Proceed by all means."

"I have told you all of how I came to escape my ship. I told you how Rex hesitated when the time came to execute Order 66, how he told me to find Fives," Ahsoka said. "I also told you how, immediately after I removed his chip, he reverted back to his old self, and was willing to lay down his life, and fight his brother clones, to protect me."

"And in between he tried to shoot you," Anakin said. Rex closed his eyes in response.

Ahsoka ignored Anakin's interjection and continued, "I think all the clones, at least all the ones that fought by our side during the war,…I think they are all like that. I think they are all struggling against the chip and what it is doing to them. I think if we can get the chips out of them they will be like Rex, willing to fight by our side."

"That may be so, but what are you suggesting we do?" Obi-Wan said.

"I think we can, using Rex, infiltrate a ship, and incapacitate the clones there. If we can acquire some medical droids, we can remove their chips while they are unconscious. Then we will have the ship and her crew," Ahsoka said.

"How do you intend to incapacitate them?" Obi-Wan said.

"Gas won't work," Rex said. "Their helmets have rebreathers. But the standard issue helmets don't have an air supply. We reduce the oxygen. Not enough to kill them, just enough to knock them out. Then we hit them with the sedative gas which will keep them out for hours. Long enough to do the surgery, if we have enough medical droids."

"Which we don't have," Obi-Wan said skeptically.

"And if unlike Captain Rex, they turn out to be? What then will you do Ahsoka?" Yoda asked.

"Rex had his deactivated after less than an hour. We don't know what the long term effects of the chip will be," Anakin said.

"We will be able to do the procedure in order. The first cohort to wake up will be our test group. If they remain loyal to Palpatine then…then," Ahsoka trailed off.

"Then we put them out of their misery," Rex said firmly. "I know how it felt. I am the only one here who knows how it felt. I felt lost in my own mind. And if they have gotten so bad that when the chip is gone they are still lost, the men they used to be would thank us for the release."

The table grew silent after this answer.

"Rex knew you Ashoka. You were his friend. The two of you were closer than maybe any clone and Jedi. What makes you think what worked with you two will work with the others?" Padme asked.

"I don't know that it will. But I think it is worth a try. I think we owe the clones that. They saved our lives, everyone at this table, more than once. If what they're going through is anything like what Rex did, they are trapped, horrified at what they have done, and scared. I won't leave them that way," Ahsoka said.

"Noble sentiments, but Padme raises a good point. We have had no reports of anything like Rex's behavior. Perhaps it also made a difference that he had already heard Fives' theory, so he was prepared to interpret what was happening to him," Obi-Wan said.

Ahsoka turned to Rex, aware that he was being spoken of as though he was not there. They made eye contact and he sighed before speaking again. "Fives isn't why I resisted. I resisted because when I saw Ahsoka I thought of that little kid tagging along after General Skywalker, always with a comment to make. And I looked at her and thought, how could this be my orders? How? Knowing about Fives and what he had discovered, that just gave me something to say, before I was overwhelmed. As for why I resisted when others didn't, well…we all started the same, but we weren't all the same. Each clone is his own man, and those men are in there still."

The table went silent again, the silence only broken by Anakin chuckling. Padme turned to him with a look of disbelief and embarrassment. "Don't worry Senator," Anakin said playfully. "I am not making fun. I just figured out what you two are going to ask us to do. You want the 501st."

Padme turned back to look towards Ahsoka and Rex, while Obi-Wan cocked an eyebrow. "Yes," Ahsoka said. "If it's going to work on any of them I think it will work on them. The 501st served with Rex, Anakin, Obi-Wan and myself. Even Master Yoda once or twice. They know us. Deep down, beneath all the conditioning they care about us."

"Well, then, I'm in," Anakin said.

"I want to hear more about this plan," Obi-Wan said.

"I think I have a way to get us enough medical droids to make this go fast. I will need to reach out to some old friends though," Anakin said.

"Careful we must be. Few our numbers are. But if successful you are Lady Tano, then great will be the reward," Yoda said, sealing the decision. After that the group broke up. Anakin and Padme went to go pack up their things and move onto one of the frigates, while Obi-Wan and Yoda conferred about where to put the younglings and how to decide which would remain on the Windu and which would go to the new ships. Ahsoka and Rex stayed together in the conference room.

"I didn't think they'd go for it," Rex said softly.

"I knew they would," Ahsoka said.

"My brothers tried to kill them, all of them. Especially Master Skywalker. The death he must have seen at the Temple, I can't imagine," Rex said.

"He's angry. He has stayed angry," Ahsoka said. "I think there is a part of him that is ashamed to have escaped when all the other Knights and Masters in the Temple died in its defense."

"He has to know that getting the younglings out was the priority. Strategically I mean. Of course anyone would want to save them," Rex said.

"Anakin's feelings and his judgment aren't always aligned," Ahsoka said.

Rex nodded and then said, "We should get all the details of the plan ironed out. Master Kenobi is going to want to go through them step by step soon."

As Rex started loading the schematics of the standard Venator class Star Destroyer into the holoprojector Ahsoka sat back with a puzzled look on her face. She had been having a strange feeling in the days since Order 66. The voice Anakin had heard that day in the Council Chamber, Ahsoka felt sure she had heard an echo of it on the bridge of her ship. But what is more she felt as though she recognized it. It was not the voice of the Daughter of Mortis, but it nonetheless reminded Ashoka of her. Ever since then she had the feeling she was being watched. In recent weeks she had several times turned around to look behind her, certain that someone would be there, to find only an empty hallway. But whatever this voice, this watcher, was, it did not speak to Ahsoka. She had tried several times to focus on it, to use her Jedi training to get a clearer understanding of it. Once she had entered a state of concentration so deep that she had slipped from meditation into a dream. But the dream had told her nothing. She had only seen herself in a forest at night chasing a small owl that flew above the trees. It was after something, something other than her. As it flew on and on it became clear it was flying towards a storm that as forming in the distance.

As the wind picked up the owl struggled more and more to make progress. From time to time a gust of wind would force it back and it would have to make a wide circle before trying to fly into it again. At last, with the rain and the lightning all around them, the owl landed on the branch of a tree. It was cold and tired and drenched. Ahsoka came a stop just beneath the branch and the animal raised its head to look at her. For a moment Ahsoka looked into its green eyes and could feel only one thing, sorrow.