AN: Thanks to the fellow writers who came up with the OCs that will be in the sequel to The Forbidden. I would like to give my thanks to alienvspredator5 and Ben Rachlin for giving me great characters that I will be using. One is Ryan Sarkia and the other is Torias Flynn. Thanks again for giving me these characters; I will try to make them seem as good as can be. This story is close to the end and the second one will start out just before the episode in Season Three that's called "Heroes on Both Sides". And…like all chapters of this story, Read and Review.

The Battle of Geonosis was finally over. The massive siege that was set down upon this harsh world had been complete. The factories all over the world have been destroyed including the main factory that Barriss, Ahsoka and I had a hand in taking down. Once we had gotten out of the rubble, Luminara and Anakin greeted us and were glad to actually see us alive. Ahsoka, Barriss, and I didn't have any injuries that were serious, only fatigue. The healing trance got rid of that all. I walked them both over to a gunship. Rex had joined me in sending them off.

"Sorry to leave you here, Rex," Ahsoka said tiredly. "There's still a lot to do."

"You two have done enough destroying that factory," Rex replied. I cleared my throat to get his attention. "I'm sorry, the three of you."

"That's better," I said to Rex. I then turned back to Ahsoka and Barriss. "Go get some rest."

Rex cut in. "General Kenobi will take it from here."

I turned back to Rex. "Thanks for interrupting me, ner vod."

"Just doing my job, sir," he replied with a chuckle.

"We'll be back before you know it Capitan Rex," Barriss said touching her hand to her chest and nodding at him. Ahsoka and Barriss got on the medical ship with two other wounded clones and a medic. The gunships engines heated up win a familiar hum. The gunships doors closed and the gunship immediately lifted off and headed to the medical ship in orbit around the planet. That just left Rex and me alone. The Capitan started walking away towards two other gunships. "So, what are we supposed to do?"

Rex turned back to me. "I'm sending you to be with General Kenobi and General Luminara," he said. "Plus, you might even see some more action with them then you would with me."

He and I walked towards a gunship that had no beam cannons and a unique design on the sides. It was the design of a Mythosaur skull that was painted red. It had looked like it was dripping the red paint on the side. It also had an inscription on it also. But it wasn't in Basic…it was in Mando'a. Luckily, I knew how to read the language. 'Oya Manda,' which, to my best translation, meant 'To the hunt, warriors'. I had officially come to like this gunship. I got on the gunship with other clones who were conversing with each other on their private comlinks. Once I got on, they stopped their conversation. I urged them to keep talking, which they did, but out of the private comlinks.

"I hate the cleanup effort," one of them said as the gunship's doors closed and took off leaving the supply area.

"So do I," another replied. "I just don't see the point. I mean, we've taken the planet, but why do we have to help the planet?"

"Beats me," the third one said. "But the point is that we have a job to do. Nothing in this galaxy can change that."

In that brief conversation, we got to the destination. The blast shields of the gunship opened to reveal Master Luminara on the edge of a cliff with her BARC-speeder. I looked back to see another gunship with the design of an animal that I didn't know the name of, but it was the gunship Commander Cody was riding when the first attack on the front lines happened. Obi-Wan must be using it as his head gunship since his was destroyed.

The pilot of my gunship started his landing sequence and I jumped out when we were about two feet from the ground. I landed without pain and walked over to Luminara and Obi-Wan who were already conversing. I was just able to catch the middle of it. "We suffer a great many losses in these battles," Luminara said. "Too many."

"The battles do appear to be coming with growing frequency," Obi-Wan pointed out.

Luminara just got right back on track though. "No sign of Poggle then?" she asked.

Obi-Wan stopped looking out at the landscape in front of us. "Nothing," he said. "We have clone squadrons spread out over the area, but no hits yet."

Luminara started to walk towards her speeder. "I'll go out and find some clue of where he went."

"I'm sure the clones can handle—" Obi-Wan started but was interrupted.

"Poggle has too much information about the Separatist to let him get away," Luminara pointed out and mounted her speeder.

"Very well, Master Unduli," Obi-Wan replied.

"Just make sure to leave a bit of strategic planning for me when I get back, Master Kenobi" she said looking back with a smile at the end. "I would hate to be left out."

She turned around and powered up her speeder and sped off into the scene in front at full speed. Obi-Wan and I walked away and headed back to the gunship. Obi-Wan didn't even say a word to me. Once we got on the gunship and even when we got off the ship to head to the grounded Acclamator-Class ship where the battle planning would take place. My guess was that he had a lot on his mind. We both went to the bridge to see what was going on in terms of strategy. We walked onto the bridge to find Master Mundi up and about.

"What's this?" Obi-Wan asked jokingly. "I didn't expect to see you up and about."

"After enough time in a bacta tank," the old master replied. "One longs for the mending comfort of star charts."

He was looking at star charts but not of the galaxy itself, but of Geonosis. "Seems like the bacta did you good, Master," I complimented. "Your wound is almost healed."

"I thank you for the compliment," Ki-Adi replied then looked out the view port of the bridge. "But, I wish I could say the same for most of my men."

"Well," Obi-Wan started. "Let's hope we don't have to capture Geonosis a third time. Poggle's forces seemed to come to the northern hemisphere."

Obi-Wan was referring to the hologram of Geonosis. "And where was Master Unduli's last contact maid from?" Mundi asked.

"This region," Obi-Wan said pointing west of the coordinance of the factory. "Further to the west. But there is nothing out there according to our latest intel."

"Maybe she has found something of value," Ki-Adi suggested. Not a moment later, Luminara's image came up on the holoprojector.

"Master Kenobi, Master Mundi," Luminara greeted both of the masters. "I believe I have found something."

"Do tell, Master Unduli," Obi-Wan replied with a little bow.

"It appears to be a munitions container of some kind," she said.

"It could just be debris," Ki-Adi put in.

"I don't think so," she replied shaking her head. "There was no battle in this area."

Her clone's voice could have been picked up through the holocom's mic. "It looks like Poggle was on a direct course. Eleven-mark-seventy-two. That way."

Luminara continued. "Headed directly towards the Progate Temple."

"That makes no sense," Ki-Adi said. "There is no way the temple could have survived the munitions we used in the first wave of the attack. Why would he risk exposure to go there?"

"I'm not yet sure," Luminara replied. "Perhaps he doesn't realize the extent of which we cleared that area."

"Master Luminara," I heard a voice from the shadows of the bridge say. When I looked towards the source of the voice. It was my master, Anakin Skywalker. "I'm tracking a sandstorm headed your way."

Luminara's image turned around to face Anakin. "No matter," she said. "Poggle is out in the open and I intend to grab him before he can get off world."

"Master Luminara," I said. Her image turned to me. "I have seen some sandstorms in my life on Ryloth. These ones maybe worse."

"I agree," Ki-Adi added. "You might get lost in the storm."

"Then we would have to find both you and Poggle," Obi-Wan said counting off both Poggle and Luminara on his hands.

"I feel it is a risk worth taking," she replied not shaking her opinion.

"As you wish," Ki-Adi replied as the transmission was cut off.

I turned around to Anakin. "Master, how exactly big is this storm?"

"About 200 kilometers wide," he replied. "The wind speed is up to 200 kilometers an hour also."

This truly was a big sandstorm. I nodded at my master and went down to my quarters to get some rest until the storm wore down. Communications couldn't be made, neither could the gunships take off let alone big Acclamator ships like this. But with the ship grounded, and the landing gears were anchored down into the Geonosian soil. We aren't going anywhere.

But still, I feared for Master Luminara. I have been caught in a sandstorm before but a minor one. I was about 7 and went outside when I wasn't supposed to. The sandstorm came like a vampire fixed on blood. And the storm matched the ferocity too. I was lost from my home and almost blown away before I found shelter in a cave not too far away. I didn't want something like that to happen to Luminara in a storm as big as this one.

I got to the turbolift and went to my quarters. I had a feeling Ahsoka was in there resting. I saw the room through the Force and isolated any life forms inside. I found that there were two. It was Ahsoka and Barriss.

I opened the door. They were sleeping; all tensions were lost in their sleep. I didn't want to wake them from their peaceful slumber. So I walked back to the bridge to see where we stood in terms of finding Poggle the Lesser. But before I left, I gave Ahsoka the impression of me being with her on a planet alone…with no one in sight. I heard her sigh as I left the barracks and headed to the bridge.

I think I will never get over the death experience with Anakin and Ahsoka. The turbolifts always seemed a lot creepier after that. I got to the bridge to see that Luminara had made contact. She had escaped the storm safely. She had just started her transmission.

"We tracked Poggle to the Progate Temple," she started. "But know there is no sign of him."

"Go no further until we can send support," Obi-Wan said to her. I walked up beside Anakin who was also listening Luminara's image. I had noticed something; her transmission was becoming more and more distorted. "The storm is making things difficult. We can barely read your transmission."

The storm outside was extremely dense. I couldn't even see the assault ship that was only a few klicks away. The storm looked like it wouldn't ware down. Ki-Adi spoke up. "Are you sure he went into the temple?"

"Yes," she replied with a nod of her head. "We saw him enter but I think he has gone into the catacombs bellow."

"Those catacombs go on for miles," Obi-Wan replied sternly. "I fear we may have lost him. Get yourself out of there."

A second later, the shriek of a clone could be heard and Luminara's lightsaber was turned on as the transmission was cut off.

"Master Unduli?" Obi-Wan asked as the transmission was lost. "Master Unduli?"

"We've lost the connection," Ki-Adi announced. Anakin walked away from the projector.

"Where are you going?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin turned around. I knew exactly what he was doing. "Take a guess."

"Master," I said to him. "We'll never get to her in this storm. I'm very sure the gunships can't handle it."

"Jadin, we can't wait," he said to me then looked back at the masters.

"I'm sorry, Skywalker," Ki-Adi said. "We have no choice. We must be patient and trust Master Unduli."

"We'll leave as soon as the storm lifts," Obi-Wan said and they all looked out the window, waiting for the storm to lift. Anakin and I were the first to leave. He wanted me to get some time in the mobile Starfighter simulator on the ship.

I got in the cockpit and Anakin familiarized me with the controls. Once I got the basics of flight control down, I said I was ready to face a simulation. "Are you sure?" he asked me.

I nodded and got myself situated in the cockpit. Anakin lowered the canopy and a full vastness of space was displayed in front of me and all around. I started the thrust up and maneuvered a couple of times. Then, the sensors in front of me showed an individual droid fighter. I swung my ship around to see that it was closing in on me fast. I activated my lasers and started to play chicken with a droid. I held my finger close to the trigger and waited for the right moment. Once the fighter got within 500 meters in front of me, I opened fire. The beams blasted into the empty space between me and my opponent. I saw sputters from the droid and my immediate reaction was to pitch down and bellow.

My laser blasts hit the fighter but didn't damage it much. I dialed up my inertial compensator to 95% and went to full throttle. I felt the speed of the ship propelling though space and my body being pushed into the seat. Not hard but still enough to say that I was going fast. The fighter was now firing at me from the rear; I had to find a way to get the droid back in my sights. Without getting destroyed anyway. I turned my ship left and right avoiding laser blasts from the droid.

I finally had an idea in my head. I took the control stick in my hands and pulled it towards me. The repulsors had activated and sent me up and over in a backwards flip. I looked up…or down in this case and saw the fighter wondering what to do. I came out of my flip behind the fighter and fired my blaster shots into the fighter's low armor. The fighter slowed down from engine damage and I took the opportunity and destroyed the fighter with one trigger pull.

The simulation stopped and my canopy opened. Anakin greeted me with a smile on his face. "Impressive," he said to me. "Most impressive for a first timer."

"Thank you, Master Skywalker," I replied and got out of the cockpit. A moment later, a clone came from the door leading to the simulator and said that the storm has worn down.

"General Kenobi has requested that you go with him," the clone finished.

"Thank you trooper," Anakin replied and turned to me. He tilted his head for me to race him almost. I smiled and took off towards the hanger running with Anakin on my tail. I probably didn't know the ship well enough, but I could run fast.

Anakin turned out to have beaten me. Apparently he rigged one of the turbolifts to go faster than the one I was in and one. "What took you so long?" Anakin asked with a smile of victory on his face.

I shook my head. "Next time, I won't be so easy on you," I said gasping a little.

"If you both are quite finished, we have to rescue a Jedi-in-distress," Obi-Wan said to us, gesturing us to the gunship.

"You and the late stuff," I said to Obi-Wan.

"Well," he replied. "I wouldn't have to say stuff about you two being late all the time."

"Hey," Anakin said. "We ran here."

"And how you still manage to be late I will never figure out," The old master replied. Anakin and I got on to the gunship just before it closed its doors and was on its way to the Progate Temple.

We landed in front of the Progate and got out and headed inside the temple. There was an AAT and two crates outside. "I think Poggle's here," I said.

"Good observation," Obi-Wan said pointing a smile in my direction. The clone that we brought along as back up piled out of the gunship and stood at attention in ranks. Cody grunted a word but I didn't catch what he said. Obi-Wan turned to the men. "Stay alert everyone," he commanded.

"Spread out and look around, men," Anakin ordered as we entered the temple walls. The clones started to spread out to see what they could find. Cody was the first to find something.

"General," he called to Anakin. We ran over to his side. There was a clone, lying limp on the ground. "Buz is dead, sir."

"Any sign of Luminara?" I asked Cody.

"No, sir," Cody replied with a shake of his head.

Obi-Wan turned his head to look at what appeared to be a sewage line to me. There where foot prints and dragging of boots. "There was a struggle," he said walking around to find anything else. His eye caught something and ran over to it. I saw it too, it was Luminara's lightsaber. "This is not a good sign," he said revealing her saber to Anakin and I. "Luminara's lightsaber."

"Poggle didn't do this," Anakin concluded grasping Luminara's saber. He lowered it and looked up at one of the statues. "Maybe that did."

The statue was of a Geonosian alright, but it was not like the ones I have seen before. It had a headdress on its head. Also it had slits for eyes instead of dots like other Geonosians. It looked like a womp rat ready to pounce.

"That is one ugly bug," Cody and I said simultaneously.

"I've never seen one that looks like that before," Anakin confessed still looking up at the statue.

"I don't believe anyone has," Obi-Wan put in. "It could be the Geonosian Queen."

Anakin stopped looking at the statue and gazed at Obi-Wan. "The bugs have a queen?"

"Hmm," Obi-Wan consulted. "Rumored. But we haven't found any proof of her existence."

We all walked to the doorway under the statue. The tunnel leads down a ways. Being under the factory I could tell that the catacombs were vast. But a sort of palace could be much vaster. "Until now," Anakin finished for Obi-Wan.

"This way," Obi-Wan said to the troops.

Cody put his blaster up in the air and gestured with his left hand. "Come on, men. Let's move!"

We started walking into the cave. Both the senor Jedi ignited there lightsabers. I turned the crystal to blue and did the same. The hall was immediately lit up in a blue hue. The clones all turned on their helmet lights to light up the hall more. We walked down numerous hallways. I looked on the ground once and saw a Geonosian skull there. I didn't know how the bugs treated there dead but it couldn't be pretty. We walked down one hallway before the tracker on Cody's wrist com started beeping.

"This leads to a dead end," he told us. He stopped and went to one of the sub-hallways. "This one goes down the furthest. Sir, I'd say that's our best bet," he told Obi-Wan.

"I'll go first," he replied nodding to Cody. Obi-Wan entered in the cramp tunnel.

Anakin turned off his lightsaber and crawled through. I turned off my lightsaber and did the same thing. The clones followed. This hallway was even vaster than the other one. We walked down the hallway with the caution of looking for any sign of Luminara or her captors we found none. I thought I had heard something before Obi-Wan's comlink started beeping. He activated it and saw Luminara's image on the screen.

"If you are following me," she started. She was kneeling as if she was hiding from something. "Just get out. I repeat, fall back!" he transmission was interrupted by a Geonosian's limb grabbing onto her shoulder and pulling her out of the frame.

"She must be close by," Obi-Wan concluded. "Come on!"

We started running down the hall to get to Luminara. Apparently Obi-Wan didn't care about getting out and abandoning Luminara to the bugs. I personally wasn't too thrilled about running into what we were about to after a moment. I had heard steps of something coming through the hallway slowly as if they were being drug. I assumed it was Luminara, but it wasn't. There was about twelve Geonosians that were either walking or climbing up on the walls. But they weren't like normal bugs. Their eyes glowed white. And they were almost dragging their bodies just to get around. Kind of like zombies.

"I don't like the looks of this," I said and switched the crystals in my lightsaber to silver and readied for what was coming our way. They were also coming from our six as well. We were almost surrounded by zombie bugs.

One of the bugs launched forward at me. "Look out!" Cody cried as all the other clones started shooting at the Geonosians. The hall was filled with blue as the blaster bolts went flying around me at the zombies. I saw Cody out of the corner of my eye shoot one right in the head. Its head fell limp for a second but bounced right back up and continued to come towards us. I could smell the burnt air from the blasters and the lightsabers, not to mention the rotting corpses of the dead bugs. One clone was grabbed by one and was dragged into one of the small tunnels faster than some of us could run. Obi-Wan tried to rescue him but was too late.

"Back, everyone, back" he commanded rejoining us. "Take out the supports, it's the only way!"

Anakin, Obi-Wan and I retreated behind the clones as they fired at the ceiling. It was collapsing by the second. We ran back to the sub-hallways entrance. I and other clones were the first to walk though, followed by Obi-Wan and Anakin. The sub-hallway collapsed and a puff of dust rose from the entrance and into our lungs. Now don't get me wrong, almost everyone loves the smell of the dirt after a brief rainstorm. The iron oxidizing fills your nostrils with a deep breath. But dry dust was a different story. I coughed up a storm, but soon got rid of it and listened to Anakin and Kenobi on what to do next.

"What where those things?" Anakin asked panting for breath a little. "We couldn't kill them."

"I have heard stories of a Geonosian hive mind so powerful, so strong that it can maintain its conection with its warriors even after they have died," Obi-Wan explained.

"And you think that's why we couldn't kill them?" I asked with a small cough. "Because they're—"

"Already dead," Obi-Wan finished. "Yes."

"That can't be true," Anakin contradicting what Obi-Wan and I were talking about. "That's not possible!"

"Impossible or not," I said. "These bugs keep moving after we chop them up or blast them to shreds."

Obi-Wan had his hand on his chin in thought. "Call for reinforcements," he commanded to Anakin.

Anakin put his wrist communicator up to his face to see what he was doing. He dialed the Acclamator-class ship. It beeped a few times but was interrupted by static. "Ahg!" Anakin grunted. "There's no signal."

"We must be too deep underground," Obi-Wan concluded and turned towards the clones that were facing him. "You two go back to the surface and contact General Mundi. Tell him we need reinforcements."

"Yes, sir," one of the clones said. The two clones he selected started walking back the way we came.

"I'll go with them," I said and ran to catch up with them, lightsaber ignited in my hand.

"I won't be unhappy to get out from under all of this dirt," one said as we walked through the hallway. I had found out his name was Gearshift. "This place gives me the shivers."

We turned a corner as I heard what it thought was to be a bug scream coming from behind us. Both the clones pointed there blasters behind us. "Wind's probably playing tricks on us, right?" the other one named Camshaft asked.

"Look around," I said to them, kinda creeped out myself. "There's nothing he—" I was cut off by another scream coming from behind.

I turned around to find three zombies blocking off our shot to the surface. Camshaft and Gearshift started firing at the bugs with all they had. "They're not going down!" Gearshift yelled. "We have to head back!" I shouted over the blasting and Geonosian wining. But they wouldn't go down. I ran towards the three and sliced all of their heads off. "Gearshift!" I shouted as a bug grabbed him from the helmet and broke his neck, killing him instantly. Camshaft got taken down by another bug also. They were closing in on me now. I decided not to risk it as I tried to run back to Obi-Wan and Anakin. But just as I was about to shoot off, the bugs stopped attacking and the two Masters came through.

Anakin extinguished his lightsaber as Obi-Wan did the same. "Obviously these things are more powerful than we thought," Anakin said walking past me. I was gasping for air as the adrenalin was wearing down and I became tired. "I'm going to the surface to alert General Mundi myself."

"I think that would be a foolhardy move, Anakin," Obi-Wan stopped Anakin. Anakin turned around to listen to the old master. "We can't divide out troops again. We don't have time to double back to the surface. Every moment we waist puts Luminara in greater danger."

"So," I said trying to make sense of what Obi-Wan was trying to say. "We find Luminara and possibly the queen. When we do that, we either destroy the queen or rescue Luminara, right?"

The two masters nodded and went through a different tunnel that led even more to the center of the catacombs. We reached another sub-tunnel that was where the air was warmer. But the smell was horrid. It was like womp rats feeding on Geonosian osik then dying and left to rot for fermentation to set in.

"The air is warmer here," Obi-Wan pointed out. "We must be getting close."

My master grimaced. "Ahg! Forget the head," he coughed a couple of times. "What smells down here," he said and deactivated his saber. All the remaining clones did the same with their head lamps.

"Keep your voice down," Obi-Wan tried to tell Anakin. But my master is more stubborn than a feral bantha.

"I'm just saying!" he shouted in whisper. "This planet is rotten from the inside out."

We walked around the corner to find a spectacular sight. It was the Geonosian Queen. She was as big as the chamber almost and was bulbous all around. If you asked me 'How's the Geonosian queen?' I would have said 'Go screw yourself!' in the meanest possible way.

Luminara was also strung up. She looked very similar to one of your religions in the Milky-way. She actually looked like…Jesus I think his was as he was nailed onto the Cross? Anyways, that's what she looked like. But instead of nails, she was held up in the air by ray shielded cuffs, it was impossible to get out of.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Anakin said looking at the queen.

"It must be," Obi-Wan started. Cody came up next to us and turned on his infrared scope attached to his helmet. "The Queen."

"Any sign of Luminara?" Anakin asked Cody.

"I see her," I said. "She held near the throne."

"Perfect," he replied almost as if he was about to admit defeat. "What about Poggle?"

"I don't see him," I said regretfully. "Cody?"

"He's speaking with the queen," he announced.

"Good," Anakin said, his mood was even cheerier. "You take the soldiers, I'll take the queen."

"Must you always rush into thing?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Oh no," Anakin said. "You don't actually wanna talk to it do you?"

"A matter of fact, I do," Obi-Wan replied with a hint of enlightenment. "Anakin, don't you wonder why they took Luminara captive? Why not just kill her?"

"She's leverage," Anakin answered. "She's a hostage."

"Leverage for what?" I retorted. My master glared at me but with a 'can-you-elaborate-on-that' look "No, there is something going on here and these zombies are connected to it."

"Fine," he replied to me then turned to Obi-Wan. "We'll try it your way."

"So glad you agree," Obi-Wan said. He turned to give Cody the orders. "Cody, set your men up around the parameter. These creatures live in darkness. The light from your helmet should blind them temporarily. Turn you lamps on at my signal. It should create enough confusion for us to get Luminara out of there."

"But what happens when the bugs pursue?" Cody asked in return. "You've seen 'um in action sir, we can't kill them."

Just then, and idea popped into my head. "We'll have to bury them," I said. "I think it'll at least slow them down. Shoot out the support pillars and this whole place will collapse."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Let's go," he commanded. Cody went to gather his men up and the three lone Jedi, Obi-Wan, Anakin and me, walked out to the queen.

She had a bunch of zombies surrounding her but strangely enough, they did not attack. They let us walk right under Luminara. She looked surprised to see us almost. The queen held up her limbs, all…six of them, and let out a giant roar. It was screeching and howling with a slight slither at the end.

"How did you know they wouldn't just attack us?" Anakin asked.

"Because I know how to make observations while you think with your lightsaber," he replied smiling. I chuckled at the truth behind what Obi-Wan was saying. I was also thinking of something else…remember a while back how I said I was in league with some perverted Twi'leks? Yeah…their thoughts came back to me.

Poggle was right in front of Luminara when we approached. He turned back around without saying a word. "Well that quick thinking of mine is usually needed when your observations get us into trouble," Anakin retorted.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan explained. "The queen took Luminara hostage. She wanted a Jedi, now she has three more. Well two and a half."

"Hey," I said to the old master. "That's not funny."

"It is for me," Anakin replied.

"Anyways," Obi-Wan continued. "I want to know what she is after."

The bug zombies where all howling and growling at us but still keeping a lightsaber's distance away. "Well," Anakin retorted…again. "When this doesn't go to plan, which it won't. I'll be ready."

"That is so reassuring," I told him trying to keep a straight face. We had reached Luminara when we finished our conversation.

"I thought I told you not to follow me, Master Kenobi," Luminara said to us reminding me of her last transmission to us.

"Yes," he replied. "Well, I took a lesson from Anakin and decided to not follow orders."

No the joke was on my master. "Hey!"

"It's funny to me," I said to him with a big smile on my face.

The queen spoke finally. Not in Geonosian, but in Basic? "You," she said with a raspy female voice. That sounded eighty years old "You are the creatures that attacked Geonosia! Why have you come before me!"

"Your majesty," Obi-Wan told the queen. It seemed like he was talking to an oversized queen of Hapes. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi and this is Anakin Skywalker with his apprentice Jadin. It is our sad duty to inform you that your rule has come to an end."

"Youuu not dictate to me, Jedi!" she retorted. "My empire…is…forever."

Luminara looked back at us to see what our comeback would be. "I'm afraid it does not appear that way, your grace," Obi-Wan started. "You shall release the Jedi Luminara and subject to Republic Law."

The queen raised her hands up in defiance and screamed like a kryat dragon in defiance. The howl actually hurt my ears as she continued. "I…no…submit to you!" the queen replied as two Geonosian guards held there sonic blasters up to us. Anakin activated his lightsaber but was stopped by Obi-Wan from slicing any of them up. I held my hand on the activation button of mine…waiting for the right moment.

"No," Obi-Wan said to my master. "Patients, Anakin, wait."

He deactivated his lightsaber as they were taken by the Geonosians. They took mine away also. Having your lightsaber out of reach is an unbearable force that hurts a Jedi. I was taught that the powerful device was my life. And having my life taken away was unbearable on its own. "Majesty," Obi-Wan continued. "Destroying us will only make the Republic's judgment of you harsher."

She grunted and continued. "No…Jedi, No! I no destroy you, I devour you. I control you. I have but one Jedi before young Poggle bring me. But now! I have threeeee."

"FOUR!" I shouted at the queen. I got the death stare from both my masters. I noticed that a zombie bug had a kind of egg in his hands and it had two worm like things crawling out of it.

"Now watch…as my child enters you Jedi friend. And once inside, her mind becomes my mind…Her thoughts, my thoughts."

Obi-Wan had finally figured it out. "It's sort of mind control, Anakin. A hive mind, she thinks she can possess us."

"Great," Anakin retorted with impatience behind his voice. "Find out everything you wanted to know yet?"

"No, wait" Obi-Wan replied. "I want to see how it works."

"I don't think Luminara wants to see how it works," I said to the masters.

"No," she said with a sort of smirk on her face. "I don't."

"I'm curious, the more we know the better," he said ignoring Luminara.

"I disagree!" Luminara tried to reason with Obi-Wan.

"So do I," Anakin said.

"Come now," Obi-Wan said shutting up Anakin. "The nose or the ear, which one do you think it will enter?"

The bug with the worms got closer and closer to Luminara's face. Anakin sighed. "I think the nose…"

The worm was released and crawled around Luminara's headdress and around her face. "Uhg," she cringed her face up. "I hope this is part of the plan."

"Isn't it always," Obi-Wan said with a smile on his face. "Cody, NOW!" he shouted as all the clones came out of the shadows to turn on their headlamps. The queen howled in pain as did all the other Geonosians. The zombies that where holding our lightsabers were also stunned. The masters and I took the opportunity and reached out with the Force to pull the lightsabers back towards us. Anakin got both Luminara's and his own. I reached out for mine and was able to have my life back in my own hands once more.

Anakin sliced up one Geonosian and took off to fight more. I slid my blade through the other zombie as Obi-Wan griped the worm that was crawling over Luminara into his hand with the Force. He examined it as it slithered around in his palm. Anakin cut Luminara free and gave her lightsaber back. She ignited it and pointed it at Poggle who clicked in response. "You're coming with us, Poggle" Anakin said strapping stun cuffs onto Poggle's arms. He grabbed the bearded Geonosian and started slicing up zombies in front of him. I turned back towards the exit to find about ten more bugs. I ran up to each one using quick and precise slices with my silver blade to bring them down. Obi-Wan almost got jumped by bugs before Anakin stopped him. "Obi-Wan look out!" Anakin grabbed the worm that the older master was holding and threw it on the ground. Anakin raised his boot up and squished the parasite in two.

"What are you doing?" Obi-Wan tried to stop him…but it was too late. "I was going to study that!"

"Study the bottom of my boot," he replied. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

I got behind Cody before he started blasting at the zombies. "Here they come," he said. They blasted as hard as they could, but they would not go down no matter what.

"Take out the supports!" I shouted at the clones. They complied and riddled a stone column with blaster bolts. It shattered and gave way. Then they blasted at another which also gave way. Stone started falling on the floor. One even hit the queen. It was time to get out.

We where now running away back towards the well that we had seen when we first entered the temple. I head Cody shout. "They're still coming!" she shouted as more blaster fire when out through the tunnels. We got to the light source that was the well.

Luminara pointed up. "This is our way out!"

"Start climbing," Anakin ordered the clone that was next to us. We jumped up using the force as high as we could go to get to where we needed to be. Obi-Wan and the remaining troops where right behind us. I climbed and climbed before rocks started to fall down the well. One almost caught me in the shoulder. "Jadin!" Luminara shouted at me. "Look out!" I jumped from one side to the other and nearly got knocked out and buried alive by one stone.

I had dropped even further than Cody who was the last to enter the well. The zombies made a last desperate attempt to capture us by climbing faster than us. One grabbed onto my boot and tried to drag me down. I brought my free one up and kicked it good in the head. Its hands fell limp and released my leg from its grip. I climbed up even faster this time. I looked back down which reveled to me what was about to happen.

The sand and shockwaves from the crumpling catacombs gave way and up through the well that had now become a geyser of sand and stone. "Whuuuaaahhh!" Everyone else and I yelled. The lid holding the well spewed out and released us all into the temple's first floor. All the masters landed gracefully along with Poggle who had wings, but I landed almost on my feet fully. But instead I had broken my fall with my shebs. That was going to hurt the next day, that was for sure. But I had to keep moving or be buried by more rubble. We all ran outside the temple walls and stopped to see the Progate Temple stumble and fall.

The dust cloud settled over us. I coughed…again. By know I would think that my lungs would be caked with sand. "All things considered," Anakin said also coughing. "That when better than I expected."

"I wish we could have gotten one of those worms," Obi-Wan replied. "Knowing how the queen controls her minions could have proven valuable."

"Well," I said. "Hopefully the secret is buried with her."

"Yes, hopefully," Luminara said.

AN: This is by far, the longest chapter I have ever written. As you all can tell it took a while but I have finally got it done. There are only a few more chapters left before this story comes to an end. I like all the feedback I'm getting. Keep I coming, that's all I have to say. Again, I want to thank all the people that looked at the stories the The Forbidden and clicked on the link to enjoy this story. Thanks a ton again to the people who review. If there is any way I can make this story better, put it in the reviews (and yes, UPDATE! counts as a review Neon Templar haha!).