Jedi Temple - Coruscant
With the awkward silence still hanging across the cockpit, the Jedi shuttle finally landed with Shaak Ti exiting first and allowing Chief to shut down the last few systems. Word was that Ahsoka Tano was the one who planted the bomb and was now on the run. Chief had received three different calls, one from General Skywalker, one from Captain Rex and the last one was from someone he least wanted to talk to; Tarkin.
Both Skywalker and Rex wanted Ahsoka brought to them directly in secret so that they can talk about what was going on. But given that both called him separately, Chief guessed that neither knew about the other. Skywalker's bond with the fugitive could easily be explained, with his more emotional approaches to matters it made complete sense why he was reacting this way with his Padawan. Rex however, had probably developed feelings for her over the years that they served together, so she was most likely more than just a commanding officer for Rex. Fives explained it well once on the way back from a mission; "Commander Tano is more than just another officer, she's our vod'ika. She genuinely cared for us and did her best to stand up for us."
Remembering how Rex acted in the dungeons of the Royal Palace on Zygerria, Chief was fairly confident in his deductions. Compounding the fact was that he had personally seen how clones could become attached towards other people, especially Jedi. But there was no time for that now, he had three assignments regarding the missing Togrutan teenager that he had to pursue.
Admiral Tarkin had a much different request for Chief, he wanted Ahsoka hunted with extreme prejudice, dead or alive. To say he wasn't going to listen to Tarkin's assignment was an understatement, Chief was going to ignore or actively try to sabotage the admiral's goals given three reasons. One; what Tarkin did to him in the past regarding the trial, R.S.A. missions and his disrespect towards Blue Team. Two; Tarkin was likely actively working with Palpatine to destroy the Jedi, so by doing this mission, Chief would indirectly be helping Palpatine with his end game plans. Lastly; though he may have only had a very limited interaction with her, she was just a teenager, one of the things that even the stone cold spartan would not eliminate, or at least be reluctant to do so.
So, with his objectives clearly set, Chief walked out to a different landing pad where he boarded a gunship. But moments before it took off, Commander Wolffe and four Coruscant Guard troopers also climbed aboard and told the pilot to take them to sub-level 38. As the LAAT's doors slid shut, Wolffe spoke up. "Chief, I'm guessing you've also been assigned to hunt down Ahsoka Tano, so I'll give you the brief. She was last seen exiting a transport on sub-level 38 near a large warehouse. We're going directly to the warehouse while Captain Rex and Commander Thorn establish a perimeter."
"Copy that commander, what's the rules of engagement given that there will likely be civilians?" Chief asked, if there were less-than-lethal measures in place, it would give him the excuse for not killing her should Tarkin or another high commanding officer ask. "The current ROI is that we are to use non-lethal measures only. That means stun blasters, riot sticks, tear gas and droid poppers. No heavy blasters or detonators."
"Affirmative, what's our ETA?" 117 replied with some slight relief, although that did limit him to only his pistols and the three EMP grenades he held with him. Answering from the front of the gunship, the clone pilot answered by stating that they will likely be there in 5 minutes depending on the air traffic.
Pulling the massive spartan to the back area of the gunship and out of earshot of the red shock troopers, the 104th Commander almost whispered to Chief. "Look Chief, Rex told me what he asked of you and to be honest, my general asked something similar of me. So when the time comes, I'll distract the Coruscant guard while you convince her to join Blue Team."
With a silent nod, 117 was onboard with the plan. If it failed, there wasn't that much damage that could be done. But if it succeeded, then the Pillar of Autumn would be adding a Jedi to its ranks.
Time skip
Sub-level 38 - Coruscant
The operation was taking place surrounding an old abandoned warehouse that was once used to store hazardous chemicals for a factory in the industrial zone. But it been long deserted by the start of the Clone Wars and condemned, though given the lack of manpower, demolitions have constantly been put off up till this point. This left the building as the perfect place to hide from authorities, hence why Tano probably chose it.
As the LAAT hovered above a nearby street, the men ziplined out with the exception of Commander Wolffe and Master Chief, who used jetpacks to rapidly descend from the dropship. Telling Chief that he should scout ahead and check for any civilians that may still be in the warehouse, Wolffe held back with the rest of the troopers whilst Chief started marching forwards. Equipped with only a pistol, 117 started clearing the warehouse from a basement entrance that he found.
In the distance he could hear some shouting and what sounded like lightsabers clashing. Hastily making his way over there, 117 saw Tano wielding her green saber as she battled against an unknown assailant that utilized a pair of crimson blades. Before Chief could jump in, he had to let Wolffe know to distract the cavalry, unless he wanted bolts flying through the building and possibly hitting some chemicals.
After getting the all clear from the 104th commander, Chief charged into the fight. Breaking through one of the walls and tackling the apparent Sith warrior to the ground, Chief looked up to see a stunned/terrified Ahsoka. To be fair, she had only seen him twice and both times she was heavily medicated. But before he could do anything, the other combatant slid out from underneath him and bailed out saying in a feminine voice; "See you later 'Soka."
Not taking any chances, 117 fired a barrage of stun bolts at the distracted Togrutan, knocking her out cold. Easily picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder, Chief disappeared into the underground slums before contacting Rex. "Captain Rex, I got her. I need you to come pick us up at the designated waypoint."
"Roger that Chief, send me the waypoint." The 501st Captain replied promptly, not wasting any time. As Chief arrived at the agreed location, Rex pulled up in an air speeder that was used by the Coruscant underworld police. "Get in, we got to go now. Wolffe and Fox are closing the perimeter in search for her."
Jumping into the backseat with Commander Tano, Chief caused the speeder to buckle for a moment under the immense weight that was just put on it. Gunning the throttle, Rex took the trio up five levels before stopping near another abandoned building. This one looked to be an apartment but all it likely housed now were pests, dust and the occasional homeless person.
Scanning the area, 117 quickly noticed a familiar transport in the background. It was the Forward Unto Dawn, the ship Blue Team originally used while working under the banner of the R.S.A. and Tarkin. "It took a lot of favours and paperwork but I managed to get her down here a few weeks ago as a precaution should you or any clone for that matter ever need a quick escape out of Coruscant."
Time skip
As Ahsoka came to, she started to hyperventilate before Rex grabbed her in his arms. Telling her that she was safe now, Ahsoka's tear stained face looked up to the colossal stature of Master Chief. Being almost 9 times her weight in armour and standing well over a foot taller, he looked more like a statue at the Jedi Temple than person for her. "You shot me?"
"Stunned, ma'am..."
"That's not the point, and you [pointing at Rex]! You didn't even try to talk to me when they arrested me. Treated me like some criminal." Ahsoka said hotly, definitely still freaking out from the whole situation and the betrayal of the Jedi Council. From what Rex told him, the Council were planning on throwing her out of the Order so that the Judicial system could prosecute. Given the way she was acting, Ahsoka definitely knew about this little detail.
"Commander Ta... Ahsoka, I couldn't come talk to you because I was busy doing something for Master Chief. Something that concerns the Jedi, the Republic, the entire kriffin' galaxy."
"What Rex!? What could be so important that you had to leave me to fall into the gutter? You know, besides Anakin I thought you of all people would come to my aid when I needed it." The teenage Togrutan replied fiercely. Feeling the need to speak up, Chief answered her question. "Commander Tano, the matter that Captain Rex was dealing with is directly related to ARC trooper Fives' disappearance. I wouldn't have asked him to do this if it wasn't of the utmost importance."
Curious but still very much pissed off, Tano demanded to know what was going on. With a joint explanation from both Chief and Rex, Ahsoka was informed of how Palpatine allegedly planted inhibitor chips inside each one of the clones. How the Kaminoan chief scientists were in on it as well and how the inhibitor chips take full control of the clones in accordance with a 150 different orders. One of which was designed specifically to kill all the Jedi and another to seize control of the Republic military leadership, giving it all to the Chancellor.
The two then explained how Blue Team faked their deaths and how some of the veteran clones from the 501st, 104th and special forces have slowly joined them on an abandoned battleship over Dathomir. Rubbing her temples with the sheer amount of information she was busy processing, Ahsoka asked if they were inviting her to join them. With a very strong yes from Rex, Ahsoka slowly got up from her slumped position, still sore from the stun blasts.
"Alright, so how do I get to them?" She answered reluctantly, clearly not really in the mood to help either the Republic or the Jedi Order right now. So with uncertain motives present and everything to lose, Chief took a chance and told her about the Forward Unto Dawn parked just behind her and the clearance codes she'll need to leave Coruscant.
Before he could continue, a call came in from Anakin that Chief had to answer to not look suspicious. Answering the call, Chief lied and said that he found Ahsoka and another assailant but both got away from him after a chase through the slums. "Never mind that, Chief I was thinking up to this point that someone in the Jedi Order is trying to frame Ahsoka. But given what you just told me, come meet me at the Temple. We're gonna find that person and make them confess."
"Gladly sir." Chief answered before turning around to see Rex and Ahsoka in a tight hug. "Goodbye Commander. The boys in the 501st are gonna miss you."
"Thanks Rex, but I'll be coming back for them. I promise." Ahsoka replied with a faint smile before letting go and walking towards the Dawn. "Oh and Rex, call me Ahsoka."
"Right Command... Ahsoka, will do." Rex replied quickly, cheeks flushed ever so slightly and a tear threatening to come out of his left eye. Luckily, Tano was too far away to see any of it but Chief was definitely close enough. As the ship departed, Chief turned to Rex and asked him to drop him off at the Temple steps.
Getting back into the speeder, the two soldiers sped off back into the crowded Coruscant airspace. Telling the Captain that it would soon be time to tell all the other clone units about this, Rex couldn't agree more. The thing he hated the most about this whole ordeal was keeping the secret from his brothers and keeping them at risk of the inhibitor chips activating.
Time skip
Jedi Temple - Coruscant
After Chief got dropped off by the 501st captain, 117 quickly made his way up the steps till he reached the front gate where Anakin Skywalker was impatiently tapping his finger on his prosthetic arm. "Sir, I have something that may give us a clue as to who the culprit is."
Explaining to the Jedi General that he recorded an audio file of his encounter within the warehouse. Telling Chief to play it, Anakin listened to a familiar feminine voice over the speaker; "See you later 'Soka!"
"Only myself and one other Master calls her by that name, unless...." Skywalker pondered before storming off into the Temple. Quickly pursuing the Jedi Knight, Chief asked if the general wanted him to go in as well. "No, wait for us outside the hallway, I have a feeling she won't give up quietly."
Reaching Padawan Offee's room, Anakin calmy walked in with Chief hanging back. Not even 5 minutes later did Barriss fall through the door and out onto the hallway. Noticing the lethal spartan in the hallway, Barriss tried to run away but was hit by a stun blast by Chief.
Turning around to face the spartan, Barriss saw how both Skywalker and Chief were walking towards her, shoulder-to-shoulder. Attempting to push them away with one of the biggest Force blasts she had ever done, Offee stared in fear as both her attackers merely shrugged it off. A literal speeder tank would have been easier to push away than Chief, given his extreme size, weight and durability.
Anakin wasn't nearly as heavy or strong as the 7-foot tall spartan, but his raw Force power was unrivaled in the Jedi Order. Sure Yoda and a few other masters could probably use it more proficiently, but when it came down to sheer strength, no one could even come clone to Anakin. So for him it was like just walking through a strong wind.
Before Barriss could even take the fight further, Chief started running towards her, his stomps echoing through the corridor. With speeds so fast, even the Force user couldn't react to, Chief grabbed the twin crimson blades out of her hands and pushed her back to the ground. Seeing that there was no beating either of them, Barriss got back on her feet and tried to run away again, but Anakin wasn't done with her yet.
Lifting her into the air as if an invisible hand was grabbing her by the neck, Anakin held her in the air as she gasped for air. Finally letting her go, Skywalker Force pushed her directly into the back of the hallway, leaving a crack in the marble wall. Chances were that Barriss had more than a few broken bones.
As the Temple Guards arrived, they ignited their lightsabers in defense of the unconscious Padawan. To them it appeared that Skywalker and 117 had attempted to kill the teenager. Ordering them to stand down and telling them that she was the one responsible for the hangar bombing, Anakin convinced the Guards to turn their sabers towards Barriss Offee.