A Path Less Taken

Chapter 9 - General and Soldier

A/N: I'm skipping as far as am I because nothing really changes as far as the canon turn of events go. That, and I prefer to be able to get back writing out Anakin's storyline with Ahsoka.

"Tup's dead," Anakin said in a toneless type of voice. Then he could hear a heavy sigh over the comm.

"What happened?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, Fives acted on his own and, with the aid of a service droid, managed to remove this microchip out of his head. Whether or not the chip led to Tup's death, we don't know. But I do know that Fives would've never done something that indirectly lead to the death of one of his brothers. As for what the chip does that Kaminoans never told the Jedi, well, that's something we need to find out," Anakin explained in a serious tone.

"Do you think all of the clones have these chips you mentioned?" Ahsoka asked.

"I can't say for certain. If they do, then again, the Kaminoans have some explaining to do. Cause if that chip lead to Tup's death, all the clones could be affected," Anakin said, with his left arm under his right, which was holding his chin in thought. Then all of a sudden, the door behind him suddenly opened and Anakin responded in a calm manner. But he also noticed that the sound of an alarm was coming in more clearly than before.

"Got to go for now. I'll keep you updated," Anakin said before cutting off his comm link. "Trooper, you have news for me?"

"Yes sir. Soldier Fives has gone rogue. He's making a run away from here," the trooper said.

"What was happening prior to this?" Anakin questioned with a frown.

"He was scheduled to have his memory wiped, but..."

"Who authorized this?" Anakin questioned, his even tone gone on the spot. The trooper had to catch himself to avoid taking a step back. Many of the soldiers knew that an angry Anakin Skywalker was scary in itself. That was one thing that set him apart from your average Jedi.

"Nala Se. She decided that..."

"She decides nothing when it comes to the punishment of our clones," Anakin said, advancing and pointing a finger in the clone's face. Then he calmed down, as he reminded himself that there was no need to take it out on the clone that was standing in front of him. "No wonder he went off like he did. We need to find him and assure him that his memory will not be wiped. Which it won't."

"Sir, yes sir. Master Ti wishes to meet up with you so that you can track him down," the trooper told him.

"Lead me to her. Let's make it fast," Anakin said, easily being able to keep up with the running clone trooper with a semi-fast jog. At least he knew he was still in shape.

Then all of a sudden, Shaak Ti was running along with Nala Se and a few other clone troopers. Anakin immediately redirected himself to follow them.

"Where are you heading?" Anakin asked asked as he was following alongside them.

"To the hangar bay! Fives is there," Shaak Ti said. To that, Anakin's response was to simply turn up the speed of his running to get to the hangar bay. Not only through his own legs, but through use of the Force. For Shaak Ti, to see such speed was a bit... unusual for her. She knew he was fast, but this was different. Far different.

Then he walked into the hangar bay before seeing that Fives was in the process of talking with a soldier. That didn't last long before he swiftly knocked him out.

"Fives! Stand down!" Anakin exclaimed, approaching the clone. Anakin could feel a small bit of conflict hitting the clone before he ran inside the ship. Anakin moved quickly to get inside the ship before the door hissed shut. "Hurry up and get moving. You can offer me an explanation on the way. It'll decide whether or not I decide to take you back to them in handcuffs or not."