A Path Less Taken

Anakin ducked into an alley with his hood up, staying out of the sight of any clone troopers that were patrolling the streets. At this point, he was almost used to having to duck quickly into alleyways like he was a wanted fugitive. Technically, as the clones were the army of the Republic, he kind of was. And any Jedi that managed to survive.

He was the first one here for about a few seconds until Ahsoka slid down the side of the building and landed next to him. Her hood was up as well, and her eyes were alert as she checked both sides of the alley.

"I made sure I wasn't followed. You?" she asked.

"Yeah. We only have to wait for Rex and Fives," Anakin said before leaning against the wall. Then he pulled out his comm while trying to keep it hidden. "Obi-Wan?"

His call was never answered. Either Obi-Wan did get killed by his clone squad or he was in a predicament at the moment. Either way, it didn't spell out good news.

"Nothing," Anakin said.

"We've got to hope he's alright. There isn't much we can do for him even if he isn't," Ahsoka reminded him as a figure ducked into the alley with them. Rex then came down one of the buildings with his jetpack.

"Were you followed?" Anakin asked in a serious tone.

"No. We weren't," Rex said simply.

"We made sure to check," Fives added, who was now fully clad in clone armor. Made sense why he went on ground level. He could blend in while Rex couldn't.

"Good. Now, I'm not sure if any of you know what's going on any more than we do, but we need to figure out what's going on, and fast," Anakin said.

"I could try and find out. Pose as one of the clones and relay what I learn to you when I can," Fives suggested.

"It's an idea, but it's relatively risky," Anakin said.

"We can put that idea in the maybe column. I'm not sure if we should really take the chance you get found out," Ahsoka said. "The chance is narrow considering most clones wear the same armor."

"We don't wear the same armor, typically. We usually stick with the same armor if it isn't damaged beyond repair. It still wouldn't be very good for suspicion if we walked around looking like a bunch of shinies," Rex quipped.

"That's a good point," Ahsoka said.

"Ok, let's think for a moment. Are there any Jedi we can get in direct contact with?" Fives asked.

"No one other than Obi-Wan. And remember, we tried that. Unfortunately, we don't have a direct line to all the Jedi like we used to. I've thought about it before, but at the time, there was never a reason to have one considering our role in the Jedi," Anakin said.

"Damn. Then all I can think of is heading to the Temple and viewing the extent of the damage. We might even be able to take it back," Ahsoka said, rubbing her temples in thought.

"It's liable to be crawling with a lot of clones," Rex said sourly as he crossed his arms. It was obvious he was not happy with the fate of his brothers.

"There's little doubt we can push through, but I'd feel a lot more secure if I knew if any other Jedi had managed to survive," Anakin said.

"We'll just have to do with what we can. But let's try Obi-Wan a couple more times before we go," Ahsoka suggested, making Anakin nod. He then pulled out his comm.

"Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan, pick up," he questioned, but there was nothing but silence on the other end. "Blast."

"Wait! Wait, Anakin!" Obi-Wan responded, making him pause in turning the comm off.