Clone Wars: Inquisitor

Manhunt

 'Have you found them yet?', asked Obi-wan. He already knew the answer but just wanted the confirmation.

'I'm afraid not', answered a troubled Master Plo. 'What if they were captured? Or worse?'.

Obi-wan would have laughed at the thought if things weren't so serious. The Separatist invasion was eventually pushed back and the soldiers were now finishing off what was left of the droid army. Luckily, most of the attack was concentrated on the Jedi temple so there were no civilian casualties. The damage, however, was severe. Even with the help of the other members of the Republic, it could still take months or even years to fully repair the destruction done today.

Obi-wan brought his mind back to the current agenda. 'Knowing those two, I'm pretty sure they're already up to something devious. Even I don't have a measure for the amount of trouble they could get themselves into'.

'What now, Master Kenobi? Anakin and Ahsoka could be anywhere by now'. Both masters considered immediately going after their former padawans but eventually decided against it. The current situation needed more attention. They instead hoped that the two could fend off for themselves until a rescue party arrives. 

The two masters headed to the Jedi Council, reporting everything that had happened since the invasion. 'In trouble again, I see. Hm', said Master Yoda. 'Troubling. Very troubling'.

'What do we do now?', asked Obi-wan.

The council talked among themselves for some time. Eventually, Master Windu stood up and gave the council's orders. 'We'll recall all available Jedi to Coruscant and reestablish control of the planet. It's clear now that the Separatists were aiming for the return of Darth Occlus. Whatever they're planning, we have to stop it. Therefore, the rest of you will be divided into teams. Retrieve or eliminate Darth Occlus at all cost'.

'Master Kenobi, Master Plo. You two will lead the mission. We know that both of your former padawans are currently chasing after the enemy. It's your mission to find and join them in their search. Master Jocasta, sift through the archives for anything you can find related to the war of the Old Republic. Any possible outposts that the Sith had in those days. It's possible that our enemy would try to go to these outposts. The rest of you will spread out and search for any clues to their hideout'.

'We are now facing a threat that the Jedi Order has not faced in millennia. Before us stands a power we cannot comprehend. Find them and stop them before they do any more damage. I cannot express the importance of this mission. Failure is not an option'.

Ahsoka stared in shock as the lightning flowed through the power core's circuitry. The first explosion threw everyone in the room. Ahsoka stood up and rushed to Anakin, grabbing him by the arm. Whatever's taken hold of him, Ahsoka hoped that her master was still in there, fighting for control. The padawan looked at her master, his eyes bloodshot and unnatural. She wanted to take him away. To save him from whatever was inside him.  Instead, another ball of fire erupted from the power core, throwing everything into further chaos. 

The ceiling crashed down the room but Ahsoka was too late to react. She was then pulled to safety by Ventress and the two of them stumbled to the ground. The padawan looked to the other side of the rubble and saw Anakin's back turned to her. He was walking away from them. From her. The padawan felt lost, staring at the distance where her master had been.

'Get a grip, damn you'. Ventress said as she shook her by the shoulders. 'The ship is about to blow, damn it. We need to get out'. 

The padawan looked around, only now realizing just how terrible of a state they're really in. 'Well, don't just bloody stand there. Help me'. Ahsoka looked at the screaming woman and saw her trying to carry the Sith Lord. No time to think, she thought to herself. Ahsoka ran to them, lifting the Sith Lord's arm over her shoulders while Ventress lifted the other. 

'This way', said Ventress as she led them through the maze-like hallways. All around them, droids ran and panicked, hitting walls and falling on each other. Alarms blared throughout the whole ship only to be overpowered by the sound of the explosions. Everyone around them did their best to contain the damage but only managed to postpone the inevitable. Because of the chaos, no one cared to even look at the two women carrying an unconscious Sith Lord. The three of them passed by unnoticed until they eventually reached a ship.

'Put him down here', ordered Ventress, pointing at the nearby seat. Suddenly, another massive explosion caused the the ship to shake. 'This whole place is about to blow. I'll start the ship. We need to leave'. 

'What? No. We need to go back for Anakin', argued the padawan.

'Are you stupid? Look around you. We don't have much time'. 

Arguing with her would be useless. Ahsoka turned to look for her master.

'Wait'. Darth Occlus raised his head to look at the padawan. 'Your master's long gone. I don't feel his presence anywhere in the ship', he said between breaths. 

'You're lying. There's no way you could know that'. 

'But I do'.

'How can I even trust you? Everything that's happened right now is your fault'. Ahsoka really wanted to believe him but with everything she'd seen, she just didn't know what to do. 

'You don't. But right now, we're you're only hope of getting him back'.

Ahsoka stood quietly, mulling over what to do. When she didn't say anything. Darth Occlus began ordering his apprentice. 'Assaj, get us out of here. Set course for Ord Mantell'.

In a monitor screen, the fight between Anakin and his impudent padawan played out. Then, as the Jedi was about to deal the killing blow, he was stopped by Assaj Ventress. Count Dooku watched intently as the rest of the scene played out. 

A metallic voice came from behind him. 'Was this really wise, Master. Sacrificing a whole ship just to get this'. General Grievous said pointing at the monitor. 'With the whole army with us, we could have gone back and taken care of all of them'.

'I doubt that', responded the Count. 'We mustn't underestimate them. There is much we still don't know about this ancient Sith Lord. So far, all we've learned is that his plans do not conform to our own. Neither can he be persuaded or controlled'.

'Then he's useless to us', said General Grievous, grunting. 'We should have taken care of him when we had the chance. And the traitor with him'.

'Not yet. Darth Occlus is of no use to us now but antagonising him would only bring more trouble to our cause. Let the Jedi take care of him'. 

'Then the whole quest of Morriband was meaningless'. The general slammed his robotic fist on the nearby droid, crushing its head.

The footage then replayed to Anakin unleashing a powerful wave of lightning. 'Not necessarily', said a grinning Count Dooku.

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Author's Note:

Hey everyone. This is pretty much the first arc done. The story is now close to 1k reads. I didn't think it would get as big as it did. Thanks for all the attention you've given my story. Hope you all enjoyed reading. I might have to take a bit of break from this since my job is getting a bit hectic and I don't have much time to write. 

Once again, thanks for the support. See yah.