Ahsoka finally pulled herself together enough to drop down and keep moving. Swiftly, she snuck to the detention level and found the cell Maul's containment module was being held in. Two clone troopers had beat her there, but she knocked them out before they had a chance to do anything more than open the pod.

Maul's bloodshot eyes followed her, eying her lightsaber somewhat fearfully as she held it to his neck. "Don't make me regret this," she threatened him, before pressing the release button on the module. Bo-Katan would kill her when she found out, but she didn't see any other options.

Coughing, Maul sank to his knees before managing to choke out a few words. "You-you survived."

"Is this your doing?" She asked, using her lightsaber to keep him on his knees. "Choose your words carefully!"

"No, no. It was not my doing," he told her. "I do not know what has occurred, but surely, you have felt it. The voices crying out. The death."

She didn't deny it. Ahsoka still wasn't sure she believed Maul was innocent, but there was only so much he could have done from his cell. "The clones turned against me. Even Rex, I think," she admitted. "I don't know why, they just suddenly...weren't themselves." She was about to walk away, but Maul chuckled lowly behind her.

"Brilliant, brilliant! I was not privy to my master's plan but now, now I see it." Looking up at Ahsoka, he explained. "He turned the Jedi's own army against them."

"Order 66," she whispered hauntingly, finally able to think straight for the first time since she had left the bridge. She wanted to kick herself for being foolish enough to forget about it, but Maul didn't give her that opportunity.

Standing up, he exhaled and started talking. "Well, you've done the right thing by coming to me. Only together can we survive this. Now, if you'll follow my lead-"

"You don't understand," she corrected him, bringing her lightsaber back up to his neck. "I'm not here to team up with you. I need a diversion, and you're it. Now go cause some chaos, it's what you're good at," she snarled, walking slowly out of the cell.

How could this have happened? She wondered, trying to comprehend what it meant. She would have thought more about it, but Maul bothered her one last time. "Uh, care to give me a fighting chance?"

As a matter of fact, she didn't. "I'm not rooting for you. Now get going," Ahsoka ordered, much to Maul's displeasure. He stalked off, hopefully to go get killed. It was the least Ahsoka could hope for, if the clones were being forced to murder Jedi. Maybe they would kill him off too.

Turning the other way, Ahsoka started looking for cover. She needed to get her head on straight again, especially if she was going to come up with a plan of her own. After a minute or so of sneaking around, she found the compartment the droids usually charged themselves in. No one was in there, clone, droid, or otherwise, so she had some time to process what she had learned.

She really felt stupid now. Ahsoka should have realized right away that the mass murder of Jedi was a result of Order 66, but she had been so distracted by the deaths themselves and the betrayal of the clones that she hadn't even thought of it. The very thing the Sister has suffered for a year to prevent had somehow slipped her mind at the most crucial moment.

If she had the time, Ahsoka would have tried to figure out how it was even possible that the order had been activated, but that information wasn't going to save her right now. What she needed to do was find a way off of this cruiser. If the clones found her, they had orders to kill her, despite her not being a Jedi. Again, she didn't have time to wonder why she had been marked for termination. She just needed to stay away from-

Wait, what about Rex? She wondered, trying to slow her mind down. Did he say that he had taken out his inhibitor chip? Then why did he try to kill me?

It's obvious, isn't it? The Sister told her, knowing now wasn't the best time to interject but not wanting Ahsoka to freeze up either. He didn't. He gave you as much of a warning as he could before he fired on you. Enough to give you a chance to escape.

Then why fire in the first place? Ahsoka countered, rubbing her head. I don't understand.

Join the club, the Sister invited her, but Ahsoka didn't have time to think up a good response. Someone was coming into the room.

The door opened, and Ahsoka prepared to defend herself from whoever had found her. It wasn't a who, though, but a what. An astrometric droid has rolled into the charging chamber. Not just any droid, but it was R7, the droid she had flown with on Cato Neimoidia.

Ahsoka tensed up, hoping R7 wasn't about to give her away, but the droid chirped happily when he saw her and she relaxed a little bit. "I know, it's good to see you too," she told him, kneeling down to greet him. At least she had one ally on this ship.

Then R7 gave her a message she wasn't expecting. He had been sent by Rex to find her.

"Rex?" She repeated, her hope shining just a bit brighter. "Why?"

In response, he turned his head and activated his projector, playing the recording the commander had given him.

Rex appeared above the ground, looking straight at Ahsoka. "Level 4, sector 8," was all he said before turning off the camera. Short and sweet, and straight to the point.

"It's bound to be swarming with clones," Ahsoka murmured, letting her gaze fall. "I don't know if I should go. I'm going to get trapped down there."

The droid objected, beeping intently at Ahsoka that Rex was trying to help her, not hurt her. He needed to trust her, and to prove it R7 handed her something she hadn't realized he was carrying with him.

It was her bag, with everything in it that she had come with. Her clothes from work were still here, as well as a few spare items she kept with her at all times. At the bottom of the bag, though, she had left her blaster, the one Rex has given her. She had left it behind for the Siege of Mandalore since she didn't think it would help her against Maul.

Her blaster was the thing that made her hesitate. Rex and some of the other clones had given this to her, not as soldiers but as her brothers, her friends. Her fingers brushed over the black '501' painted across the butt of the barrel, remembering the day she had received the gift. If Rex had told R7 to give this to Ahsoka, there had to be a reason. She had to believe Rex was trying to help her.

Ahsoka stood up, putting the blaster back and slinging the bag over her shoulders. "Okay, I guess it's more of a plan than I have anyway." R7 beeped, offering to scout the way. "Are you sure you want to help? It could be dangerous."

It didn't bother the astromech. He turned around and wheeled towards the door, and Ahsoka hung behind, waiting for him to give the all-clear. When he did, she crept out of the room, following the droid down the hall.

R7 rose to the occasion. When clones got in the vicinity, he sent a warning signal to Ahsoka and addressed the clones, making up a convincing lie that Rex had ordered him to patrol the sector for Ahsoka. No one tried to stop him, and when the coast was clear again, he let Ahsoka know and they kept moving. Maybe Anakin's 'good luck' was working, because no one found Ahsoka once she started following the droid. 

Anakin, she realized for the first time. He's on Courscant, right in the thick of the Senate Building! Ahsoka reached out momentarily since she was waiting for R7 to get some clones to pass him anyway. Had he been one of the fallen she had felt earlier? 

A few moments of concentration suggested otherwise. Through their Force bond, she could feel that Anakin was still alive, although she couldn't discern anything else. She wasn't calm enough to try and sense his emotions, and definitely not enough to try and see him right now. It would probably only distract him though, and Anakin needed to be alert if he was going to survive Order 66. He was the Hero With No Fear, so if anyone could survive this, it was him. Ahsoka had to believe that. 

One more time, R7 motioned for her to keep moving, and she followed him down the last stretch before they came to the location Rex had sent to her. The blast doors were sealed, though, and Rex wasn't there. 

Ahsoka waited while R7 got to work on the doors. She tried not to be impatient, but she felt too vulnerable out here. It didn't help that she heard a squad of clones running down the hall. 

"R7!" she whispered, urging him to hurry. When he finally unlocked the seal, Ahsoka backed into the compartment, hiding along the wall and praying that the droid would reseal the doors fast enough. They shut just as Ahsoka caught a glimpse of an armored foot coming into view, and she prayed that none of the clones had seen her.

"Droid!" one of them demanded, and Ahsoka held her breath. "Open these doors immediately!"

Thankfully, R7 had an excuse ready. He beeped out that Rex had given him strict orders to lock down this sector because the commander suspected that Ahsoka Tano would use this area to escape to the hangar. Under no circumstances were these doors to be opened.

"I didn't hear this order," the clone argued, but R7 insisted that was the point. If Commander Rex had made the order public, Tano would hear of it and use another route. This way, they could stop her before she made it to the hangars. 

A muffled murmur of respect came from the other side of the doors. "Didn't think about it that way. Let us know as soon as you see Tano or Maul. Apparently, the prisoner's been marked for execution too. Alright, men!" The clanking of footsteps faded away, and Ahsoka finally released her breath. She really owed R7 this time. She turned away from the doors, glad to finally be alone.

Except she wasn't. Jesse was right in front of her.

Ahsoka recoiled, holding her arms up to shield herself and backing up. "Easy, General!" The trooper told her, holding up his hands in surrender. "It's okay, you're okay."

She didn't believe him, not yet, at least, but she gave him a chance, one chance to prove it. Ahsoka didn't grab her lightsabers but remained on guard, not moving. If Jesse wanted to kill her, now was his chance.

He didn't though. Slowly, he took off his helmet, showing Ahsoka his face. Jesse was smiling, relieved and his face relaxed. The next thing Ahsoka noticed was the scar on his right temple, right where the inhibitor chips were. 

Tentatively, she said his name, hoping it was him she was talking to and not a soldier controlled by the Republic. "Jesse?"

"It's alright, General," he told her again, walking a little bit closer. "I'm not here to kill you. I'm with Rex."

It was only then that she lowered her defenses, her chest heaving. "I'm sorry, I-I panicked."

"We're all panicking," Jesse assured her, resting a hand on her shoulder as she bent forward, holding her knees. "Rex nearly had a heart attack when this all started. None of us saw this coming."

"I know," she responded, thinking to herself, but I should have. Standing up, she looked around for the commander. "Where is Rex?"

"Waiting to get you out of here," he answered, pointing down the hall to where the nearest hangar was. "There's not much time to explain, but he has a plan to hide you until you can jump ship. We've got men guarding your way to Hangar 12, all of whom are in on this. They're going to shoot in your general direction and follow you down, but no one is to actually hurt you. Rex is waiting in the hangar, 'defending' a shuttle. Get in, and we'll make it look like you were killed in there. Rex will confirm your death, and as the acting commander, whatever he says goes. When this cruiser gets to Coruscant, we'll hold off chasing you down long enough for you to get out of here."

Rex really did have a plan. It was much better than the one Ahsoka had, which was just to survive. Not only that, but the men who were protecting her might even make it out of this without being accused of treason. Surely, there were some finer details she was missing, but she had a chance. She had to take it.

Nodding, she went to stand by the door she needed to pass to get to the hangar. Another droid, G-G, was waiting to remove the seal and open it for her. "Whenever you're ready," she told the lieutenant, and Jesse activated his comlink. 

"Commander, the target is in position," he announced, putting his helmet back on and drawing his blasters. Ahsoka's heart beat quickly as she turned to the doors. She had to trust that these troopers weren't going to hurt her if she was going to make it out. It went against every instinct in her, telling her to protect herself because the Republic wanted her dead, but she fought it down, choosing to trust Rex and Jesse.

It was a lot easier to do when Rex's voice came over the com. "I copy. I'll be waiting for the eneral at the rendezvous."

Jesse looked to her, and Ahsoka looked down at G-G, giving him the thumbs up. The droid fiddled with the controls, and a few seconds later the doors opened. Ahsoka started running, lightsabers out and ready to deflect any blaster shots that got too close to her. Jesse followed her, firing her as sparingly as possible in case anyone was watching.

They had one chance to get this right. One chance to make it out alive.