Back in the Game (COMPLETE)

9.1.4

Outside the blast room, the troopers and the Padawans waited for the plan. Ahsoka did a quick headcount before deciding what needed to be done.

She addressed the whole group. "So far, the troopers have taken down eleven Changelings, and I took out a twelfth one in the Lower Levels before I came here. Twelve isn't enough to fill the missing numbers, though, so until we know otherwise we have to assume that there are more Changelings hiding in the Temple somewhere. All of the Padawans, divide yourselves into three groups, one for each squadron. O-Mer will lead the first squad, Jinx will take the second, and I will take the third. O-Mer, sweep through the mess hall, the communication and command centers, and the Council room. Jinx, I want your squad to take all the training facilities. I'll go through the storage units and the library. Stun any Changelings you find."

Everyone nodded and began to pull out their weapons. A Padawan in the rear of the pack, named Edisa, piped up. "What about the real Jedi? Where are they?"

Ahsoka had thought about this and had come to the following conclusion: "I doubt that the Changelings would have been able to smuggle away over a hundred Jedi without anyone noticing, so it is possible that they are still in the Temple. That's why I want the squadrons to be extra careful during the sweeps. Check every crevice in the building. If the Jedi are really here, then we'll find them. If they have been kidnapped, then we'll decide what to do after the Temple is secure."

That decision seemed to please everyone, so Ahsoka pulled out her blaster and flicked the safety off. After a moment's consideration, she bade them all, "May the Force be with you."

Splitting up into three, everyone dispersed up the stairs and to their assigned locations. Caleb didn't leave Ahsoka's side and pulled out his lightsaber. Ahsoka turned towards the rear of the building and down the storage halls, and they worked their way through their assigned area. They swept through multiple stashes of rations, spare robes, medical supplies, and plenty of other resources that weren't being used. After a thorough scan of all twenty rooms, nothing had been found.

Ahsoka turned to Caleb. "Check in with the other squadrons."

He nodded and held his wrist up. "Ahsoka's squad, checking in. Nothing in the storage units."

Jinx responded first. "We've gone through most of the upper training rooms, but no one is up here except us. We're making our way down to the large training halls."

"Same status in the mess hall, but the command center looks a little tampered with," O-Mer added. "I'm not really sure what happened, but someone definitely got their hands somewhere they didn't belong."

"Not good," Ahsoka mused. "Tell them to keep going. Securing the Temple takes precedence. The systems will have to wait."

Caleb relayed the message, and their squadron wound their way down to the library. No one saw any Changelings or Jedi, but Ahsoka refused to let her guard down. They approached the doors to the library, when someone in the group, Dixtar, voiced some concern. "Is anyone else worried about what's behind those doors?"

A sinister feel was radiating from the library. The clones obviously had no idea, but Ahsoka and the Padawans could sense it easily. "I feel it too," Caleb responded. "Something happened here."

"Weapons at the ready," Ahsoka commanded, and she raised one hand at the doors. "Three, two, one."

She opened the doors quickly with the Force and raised her blaster, ready for any resistance that might meet them.

What actually met them? An entire hall full of Jedi.

Frozen Jedi.

The troopers and Padawans prepared to fight, but when none of the Jedi reacted or even moved, they hesitated. They weren't literally frozen, but they were all stuck in random, odd positions as if someone had frozen time while they were doing something.