morally_cryptic | [for Han] pretend holothriller title: clone conspiracy on coruscant

[for Han] pretend holothriller title: clone conspiracy on coruscant

Ringo Vinda and what had happened with Tup and Master Tiplar had been bad enough. Having to take a side-trip to the Chancellor's office to tell Palpatine what had happened--the Chancellor had insisted and since it had been his suggestion for the mission, Anakin hadn't been in any position to refuse--had been even worse. It was still difficult, when in the Chancellor's presence, to reconcile the man before him with the Sith lord Luke and Leia knew.

It was easier to see himself as Vader than to see Palpatine as this Emperor. Perhaps because Anakin was self-aware enough to know how closely he'd treaded to line in the past, perhaps simply because he'd seen the masked figure himself through Leia's memory she'd offered him. Or maybe just because he'd dreamed of the future he still devoutly hoped would never happen.

And then came the news that Master Shaak Ti had brought Fives back to Coruscant, bound and restrained, with an apparently wild tale he insisted he tell the Chancellor. Only it seemed he'd tried to assassinate Palpatine instead and taken off, disappearing into the streets of Coruscant. The belief was that he had snapped the same way Tup had and troopers had been dispatched to locate him.

Anakin planned on getting there first.

Normally, he would have brought Rex along since Fives would be more likely to trust his Captain than any other clone but someone had ordered that the 501st stay put until all of them were inoculated for the supposed virus that had affected Tup and Fives.

So, strangely enough, it's down to the hangar where the Twilight sits that Anakin goes. He doesn't actually pause for pleasantries, "you want something to do? I've got a job. And we need to go now."

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Han had been working on the circuitry boards in the navigation systems when he heard the footsteps, and he'd learned by now not to play 'Guess Which Skywalker.' He never ended up being right anyway.

That it's Anakin doesn't surprise him. It hardly even puts him on edge now, mostly due to commiserating about Hutts, and the way he tenses is entirely because everything in Anakin's manner is too urgent for Han to do anything else but tense, wait for a blow that's got to come from somewhere.

"Now?"

Still, he's up and moving, as 'casually' armed as Leia lets him be in the Temple. Which is well enough for now, thanks to his paranoia back on Bakura.

"Now." Anakin confirms grimly. "We've got someone to find. I need to find him before Coruscant security does."

And, well, Han is not security and he doesn't think like someone who is. That could be helpful.

Luke and Leia were both a little too...well, they hadn't lived the kinds of lives Han had, of that he was sure. And something told him asking them to help with this, particularly in light of some of the conversations they'd had recently, just wasn't a good idea. Well, Luke might be upset about it. He'd been there when Tup had-...but that was just another reason not to take him. Fives might see Anakin coming with another (supposed) Jedi as him coming in force, if he felt threatened...anything might happen.

Why that translated to bringing Han Anakin would say it's because he didn't think he had any other choice.

No, he's not security. And he's probably the only one in this unfortunate group to have seen the very bottom levels of Coruscant for himself while on the run from aforementioned security forces.

"Who are we looking for?" Knowing that will get them a long way toward knowing where to look. Though, if he's asking Han instead of certain other people...

"It's not Luke, is it?"

He wouldn't be entirely surprised if Luke had found a way to get on the security force's bad side for no reason at all, it was just the way their luck seemed to work, but it would ratchet up the concern prickling at the back of his neck quite a few notches.

"It's not Luke," Anakin confirms, "his name is Fives." And then he hesitates. "He's a clone, one of my men."

Han can consider that his out. If he wants out, now's the time. "He's in trouble, okay?"

Maybe it says something that Anakin is willing to drop everything to help one of the men under his command. Hopefully that something is something good.

There's a moment of hesitation, of Han wondering what he's getting himself into with clones and the military that will end up being the Empire's military, but then he nods. It seemed to be a family trait, showing up with morals to spare and getting him into things.

"Then we should probably hurry before he goes down so far we need a luma," said as he gestures for Anakin to lead the way.

Anakin just nods sharply and leads the way at a rather brisk pace, though not a run, down to the nearest speeder garage.

"Get in," he says, "I'm driving."

Han can help but that doesn't mean he gets the driver's seat. Besides, they'll have less problems with the traffic authorities if they start ignoring the established traffic lanes if there's a Jedi at the proverbial wheel.

[ooc: I figure at some point eventually they'll get the comm from Kix about the coordinates Fives gave him but that can wait for now. :)]

Not his choice in driving arrangements, but there didn't seem to be time to argue the point now. Han was able, at times, to put urgency before his ego. Especially when he still didn't entirely know what was going on.

"Why is he running from Security? And where do you figure he'd head first?"

Anakin was the one that knew Fives. If Han was going to be any help at all, he'd need a little help on the information front.

[ ooc: That works for me! ]

"Did Luke tell you what happened on our mission?" Start there, maybe, then get to the part where Fives supposedly tried to assassinate Palpatine.

And, bobbing and weaving through traffic in the general direction of the medical center Fives had escaped from-- it was a place to start, at least --he answered Han's second question with shrug that had nothing to do with being complacent and more to do with it was actually something he had to think about. "Most of the rest of the 501st are being detained for medical," his tone is heavy with irony, "reasons so even if he tried to go back there, which he wouldn't," he's not stupid, "he'd just get caught. He wouldn't come here," Anakin waves back at the Temple, "for the same reason."

Not that Fives had ever really come to the Temple in the first place but Anakin was hoping he would come to him for help.

"I got that it didn't go well between him and Leia..." Han gestures helplessly, "working things out."

And most of what he'd heard from that was unpleasant and shouty and not anything he felt comfortable sharing with Anakin. Not because it had anything to do with him and the future, they were past that. But it was between Leia and Luke. Han wasn't entirely comfortable having overheard it himself, felt like he'd been an interloper just knowing some of the specifics that had been too loud to ignore.

He points at a turn-off, "I'd take that, and head down a few levels, if I were you. Or your friend." Pointedly, not 'officer.' He has a feeling if they get too close to the security teams sweeping the area they'll end up in some kind of medical detention, too.

For a moment, Anakin shoots Han a sharp looks, working things out?...but now really wasn't the time to delve into that.

So he nods at Han's suggestion and follows suit, "one of the clones," he starts, almost mechanically, "shot another Jedi while on the mission. He didn't seem to understand what he'd done, couldn't even remember it. He got...hysterical." Getting into how that was a near impossibility considering the way the Kaminoans had engineered and trained the clones wasn't worth mentioning right now.

"Medical couldn't figure out what the problem was so they sent him back to Kamino for a diagnosis and hopefully...some kind of treatment." He frowns a little. "I'm not entirely sure of the rest yet...I think I've only got half the story. But basically, Fives escorted him back and after Tup got there, he ended up dying. Apparently Fives found out that there was an organic chip in their heads and that Tup's had malfunctioned. Somehow he convinced a droid to help him remove his own and he had to be captured. The Kaminoans say the chip is for managing aggressive tendencies that came from the...gene donor. Fives insisted it was something else...something he had to speak to the Chancellor about."

At that, Anakin looked over at Han again, raising a skeptical eyebrow, waiting for the inevitable reaction.

No, not the time at all. Though something about this...

One of the clones shot another Jedi while on the mission.

It hadn't been much at Carida. A line in a history text, the answer on some quiz and then on to the next chapter of the Empire's illustrious history. Han had never been good with history, but it jumps at him now and he shoots a look right back at Anakin for entirely different reasons.

"We need to find him and then get him off this planet. If he-- If this is what I think it is? It's a bigger problem than local security."

"I don't want to know, do I?"

Of course he wants to know.

"But you haven't heard the rest. Apparently, Fives attacked and tried to murder the Chancellor and...escaped. So you can guess what they'll do to him if they find him."

And Fives was his responsibility, dammit.

Attacking and trying to murder the Chancellor wasn't exactly something Han disapproves of, but he can see how that complicates things. He'd nearly died before, and all he'd done then was try to withdraw funds from the bank. (While having a Hunt-sponsored hit out on him, which wasn't inconsequential.)

Whether Anakin wanted to know or not, Han shakes his head. "How do you figure the Jedi disappear between now and... My now?"

He'd elaborate more than that, but Anakin is driving and Han doesn't want to crash. Besides, they need to get to Fives. Then they can figure out the rest of what this really means.

Han might not want to crash but there's still a bit of a swerve as that thought distracts Anakin for a moment. "That's crazy."

No, it doesn't matter that a clone just killed a Jedi. There's got to be a better explanation.

Anakin is really good at denial.

Once they get suitably low enough, Anakin cuts most of the power to the engines, practically idling along some side streets. "I suppose this is where I play Jedi bloodhound tracker."

"Funny, I would've said the same thing about traveling through time a month ago," he says with as much respect for Anakin's denial as he can muster. (It is not a lot.)

But he has no objections to the Jedi bloodhound plan, considering Han doesn't have any better ideas yet. "You think you can find him that way?"

"I-...well. Maybe." There was a lot of mental noise on Coruscant and while clones were individuals, it didn't change that they were also extremely similar. There were enough clones around to make it difficult to pick out one in particular.

Then again, most of them weren't running and hiding for their lives, so there was that.

And yes, he did ignore Han's snark in favor of closing his eyes and trying to sink into the Force.

He doesn't get very far before his comm chimes, though.

Han needs a guidebook on what's stuff only Luke and Leia can do because they're them, and what stuff is just Jedi things. It's all very confusing, though he's not complaining about the method--and then the comm chimes.

"Something important?"

If that was something all Jedi could do with the ease that Luke and Leia do it for each other, the state of things in the galaxy would likely be rather different.

Anakin opens his eyes and keys the comm on. "Guess we'll see."

General Skywalker? comes the unmistakeable voice of a clone. Or Boba Fett. Take your pick, Solo. General Skywalker, this is Kix, I've got a message for you!

Casting his eyes skyward in a sort of thank you to the Force, Anakin responds. "Yes, Kix, I'm here. What have you got for me?"

Edited (wow, name AND html fail, I should probably go to bed) 2015-08-08 03:42 (UTC)

It's not a voice Han expects to hear at all, and the way he nearly jumps out of his seat is probably evidence enough of that. Then he sits, tense, and eyes the comm like it's a vrelt about to leap over and bite him.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Muttered as he shakes his head, shoulders tense and jaw set.

Anakin glances over at Han, frowns, and focuses on the comm again.

I saw Fives, sir. He asked me to get a message to you or Captain Rex. He wants to see you...he gave me his coordinates Kix pauses a moment before continuing. He didn't look good, sir.

Now Anakin's frown deepens, "give me the coordinates. And, Kix? Let's keep this between us for now."

The clone reads off the numbers and yes sir, I understand, sir.

A hint of a smile cracks though Anakin's expression. "Good man, Skywalker out."

He's gunning the speeder's engines almost before he's finished talking.

Edited 2015-08-08 03:53 (UTC)

"They're Fetts?"

It's the first thing he can think to say once the comm is off and they're on their way. Not that there wasn't a bigger issue to be dealt with right now, but Han needs a minute to process this before seeing one face-to-face.

One that will need him to not be jumpy and uncomfortable.

"The Kaminoans used DNA from a bounty hunter called Jango Fett as the template, yeah. You didn't know?"

This really isn't the time, Han.

"Am I going to need to leave you to watch the speeder?" You know, instead of watching his back.

"No, I didn't, though it explains a lot about Boba Fett."

Not too much, but Han was ready to make assumptions about how he became such a persistent pain in Han's backside.

"I'm fine, just... get us there before someone else finds him."

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Considering there are many people that would be holding on, white-knuckled, the way Anakin is weaving through traffic right about now.

At least the Coruscant security forces didn't seem to have made it down here yet.

Anakin isn't used to having Han as a passenger. This can't be worse than anything he's done (or certain thing's he's had to sit through Chewbacca doing), and the more important role now for him is to keep an eye out and make sure there aren't any security patrols nearby.

Or following them.

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maladjusted wookiee man. i will be over here giggling forever.

if the furry shoe fits...

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