𝗙𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗦 | anakin skywalker

✰ 69: ideas

After receiving payment for their ship, Akya and Anakin bought another, used ship,  it was a little rusty, but the cockpit fit six, and it had rear guns, a hyperdrive, and working shields.  In the exterior conditions it was in, they probably should have gotten it for cheaper, but you couldn't really do much better on Tatooine.  They made sure to keep their initial offers low so that the seller could go higher if they wanted.  It had worked, and Anakin and Akya took the ship to their docking bay and left it there, along with Artoo, then went to the cantina to meet the others.  It was just about 1600 hours, so the couple rushed.

"We were beginning to worry," said Obi-Wan, as the husband and wife took a seat at their table in a secluded corner of the cantina. It was loud, so no one would overhear their conversation. No one at their table had drinks, but all three of them had packs of supplies next to them.  Rex had a new blaster rifle slung over his back.

"Well, we made it," said Anakin, allowing Akya to take a seat in the booth before he did. "Just in time."

"We were talking," Obi-Wan began.

"Oh, good, more talking," said Anakin. The last time they filled him in on an idea, it had been Tatooine.

Obi-Wan ignored his comment. "We need more help," said Obi-Wan. "The chancellor has officially turned the Republic into the Galactic Empire, and made himself its ruler. He's changing everything. Every Separatist droid has been decommissioned, and there's a patrol of clones on every planet that was once in the Republic. Most of the senate supports him. They think he's going to bring stability."

"Neutral planets are being forced into the Empire," Ahsoka continued. "Every clone works for him. There's no Jedi to help us, and even if there were, we wouldn't know where to start looking for them. They'd been deployed all over the galaxy. So we need to start making ourselves a larger team."

"Where did you get all this information from?" Akya asked.

"Everyone's talking about it," Ahsoka said. "All we had to do was ask."

Akya sighed. "So where are we supposed to get assistance from? It's not like we could just ask."

"I had one idea," said Rex, looking from Obi-Wan to Ahsoka. "But it's... it's a long shot."

"Anything goes at this point," said Anakin.

"There's this group of clones," said Rex. "They were friends of Commander Cody's. Genetically modified. If what Ahsoka and I were thinking is right, their chips may have malfunctioned because of their altered DNA. Those chips were built for clones, and these clones are different. If I—"

"Clone Force 99?" Anakin interrupted.

Rex nodded. "Clone Force 99," he confirmed. "I'd check first. We don't know if their chips are working or not. They don't know I've had mine taken out. If I speak to them, we can see if their chips have worked or not."

"How would you speak to them?"

"I'll send them an encoded transmission. Have them call me at another frequency."

"Anything's worth a shot," said Akya.  "I say yes."

"I agree," said Anakin.  "But what do we do if they do work for the Empire?"