Ahsoka Tano, a Jedi Padawan, found herself captured within the Coruscant underworld. This capture was executed by Coruscant Guard shock troopers under the direction of Jedi Master Plo Koon and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Before this apprehension, Tano had been falsely accused of bombing the Jedi Temple, the murder of suspect Letta Turmond, and the deaths of three clone troopers, all orchestrated by her fellow Padawan, Barriss Offee. In an attempt to establish her innocence, she ventured into the Underworld, with Skywalker, Koon, their respective commanders, and numerous clone shock troopers giving chase.
While present in the underworld's depths, Tano allied herself with bounty hunter Asajj Ventress. Unaware of Offee's betrayal, Tano made contact with her. Offee directed her to locate a clue within an abandoned munitions warehouse. It was there that the Mirialan ambushed Tano, leaving her incapacitated, where she was stunned and subsequently returned to the surface to face a trial. However, Skywalker eventually exposed Offee as the true instigator of the crimes Tano was accused of, resulting in a full pardon for Tano, although she ultimately decided against rejoining the Jedi Order.
During the Clone Wars, a conflict spanning the galaxy, in its third and concluding year, the Jedi Temple situated on Coruscant was targeted by a bombing. This act resulted in the deaths of six Jedi, several [clone troopers](/article/clone_trooper], and maintenance personnel, in addition to causing injuries to numerous others. Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, along with his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, were summoned to conduct an investigation. The Jedi High Council believed their absence during the bombing would facilitate an unbiased inquiry.
In their investigation, Skywalker and Tano, with the assistance of Russo-ISC, a crime scene analysis droid, uncovered the bombing's perpetrator: Letta Turmond. She had provided her husband, Jackar Bowmani, a Jedi temple employee, with food laced with unstable nano-droids that would detonate upon his presence within the temple. Her motive stemmed from the belief that the Jedi had transformed into warmongers, prioritizing killing over maintaining peace. Turmond was subsequently apprehended and awaited her trial at the Republic Center for Military Operations.
During imprisonment, Turmond requested Tano's presence, refusing to communicate with anyone else. Upon Tano's arrival, Turmond revealed that she had been provided with the nano-droids and instructed on their weaponization by a Jedi accomplice who shared her views regarding the Order. Turmond alleged that this fallen Jedi had also framed her to take responsibility for the conspiracy. However, before she could disclose the Jedi's identity, she was Force choked to death by an unseen assailant. Unbeknownst to Tano, Barriss Offee, her friend and fellow Jedi, secretly murdered Turmond. Offee, who shared Turmond's radical opinions of the Jedi, was framing Tano for Turmond's murder and the hangar bombing, ensuring Turmond's silence before she could divulge any information about the bombing to the Republic. Fox, a Clone Commander leading the Coruscant Guards stationed at the center, incorrectly perceived the situation as a murder committed by Tano and arrested her.
Following a short period in her cell, Tano discovered an access card that would enable her to escape. Believing her master had provided the card, she used the Force to unlock her cell. Proceeding towards the exit, she found her lightsabers, her comlink, and several incapacitated clone troopers, clearing her path. In reality, Offee had orchestrated this to further implicate Tano in the hangar bombing. Before Tano could escape, Fox spotted her, joined by Skywalker and Rex, a Captain, leading to a prolonged pursuit. Tano eventually escaped into the Coruscant Underworld. Consequently, the Council decided to dispatch Skywalker and Plo Koon, a Jedi Master, to recapture Tano.
Meanwhile, Tano, now a wanted individual with a substantial reward offered by the Galactic Senate, evaded numerous Coruscant Underworld Police units before being captured by Asajj Ventress, a former Sith assassin turned bounty hunter. Ventress intended to deliver Tano to the authorities and claim the bounty. However, the two reached an agreement: Ventress would assist in proving Tano's innocence, and in return, Tano would attempt to persuade the Jedi and Senate to pardon Ventress for her war crimes.
While venturing into the underworld's depths, Skywalker and his forces detected Ventress and Tano, but the pair managed to evade them. Skywalker then instructed his clones to deploy their probe droids to locate them.
Seeking to establish her innocence, Tano contacted Offee via holobooth, unaware of her betrayal. Offee suggested Tano seek a clue at an Abandoned munitions warehouse located on Level 1315. During their exchange, a probe droid detected Tano and Ventress, alerting Wolffe, a Clone Commander, and several Coruscant guards temporarily under his command. They attempted to apprehend the two women, but they overpowered Wolffe and the other clones. As they escaped, Wolffe, battered on the floor, informed Plo Koon of their failed arrest.
Upon arriving at the munitions warehouse, Tano and Ventress separated. Shortly after Ventress's departure, Offee ambushed her, leaving her incapacitated on the floor, and stole her lightsabers and helmet.
While searching the warehouse for the clue, Offee engaged Tano in a fierce duel. Tano mistook her attacker for Ventress, due to the stolen lightsabers and helmet. Offee, intending to alert the authorities to the Togruta's presence, triggered multiple explosions, slashing through a container filled with highly flammable material and using the Force to hurl barrels and tubing at it. Her intention was to further implicate Tano, as the warehouse contained the same type of nano-droid used in the Jedi Temple bombing. Ultimately, Offee overpowered Tano and departed. Stunned by Wolffe, who arrived at the scene, Tano was then handcuffed and returned to Coruscant.
Following her capture, the Jedi Council conceded to the Senate's demand to expel Tano from the Order, enabling her to be tried by a military tribunal. After a brief hearing that Skywalker deemed "just a formality," Tano was stripped of her Jedi rank and status and transferred to military custody.
While Tano awaited her trial, Skywalker, resolved to prove his former padawan's innocence, sought out Ventress. They engaged in combat, but Ventress, lacking her lightsabers, was quickly defeated. During interrogation, Ventress revealed that she had been ambushed, stating that only a Jedi could have approached her undetected. She also disclosed that Barriss Offee was the only other person Tano had contacted while on the run.
Upon arriving at Offee's quarters in the Jedi Temple, Skywalker discovered Offee in possession of Ventress's stolen lightsabers. He dueled her and emerged victorious. Offee was brought to Tano's trial and confessed to all the crimes she had falsely attributed to her fellow padawan.
The Jedi Council offered Tano a full pardon and invited her to rejoin the Order. However, her faith in the Jedi had been shattered by their refusal to support her, and Tano chose to decline, opting instead to seek her own path.
The capture of Ahsoka Tano was initially depicted in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series episode "To Catch a Jedi." While the duel between Tano and Offee was first shown in that episode, the reveal that it was Offee occurred later, in the episode "The Wrong Jedi."