Chapter 11 - Attachments Are Not Easy to Let Go Of
They waited for Ahsoka to detonate the bomb before moving in, Sulani waited for the clones to go in before her before she dropped down into the hole beside Ahsoka who was already deflecting blaster fire while sticking low to the ground, "How nice of you to drop in Mother."
"Yes well, Anakin is in a mood and I just had to give Obi-Wan a few reminders he needed to hear, so why go with them when I can spend some time with my Force Daughter instead," Sulani says as she nonchalantly deflects blaster fire as well.
Ahsoka can only smile to that, but inwardly she was confused. Mother Sulani had not referred to her as Force Daughter since before she was Anakin's Padawan Learner, at least not without the 'former' before it. She could tell something had been bothering her Mother for a while now, but she had hidden it rather well. Until now at least, something was not right, but Ahsoka did not have the time to contemplate this further as she felt the lab shake from where her Master and his former Master had detonated bombs in order to enter the facility as she had. Ahsoka started moving forward just as Rex had called out for it to the troopers.
Sulani had decided to take up the rear just in case they came from behind. They did not get far forward, however, as a couple droidekas roll around the corner towards them. "Fall back," Ahsoka calls while Sulani comes forward again to deflect blaster fire off the clones.
As one clone falls, they continue to move backwards in the hopes of evading the incoming droids, the two Jedi continuing to deflect the blaster fire. This lasted for several minutes, falling further and further back. Another clone dropped behind them as they fell back even further, Ahsoka was starting to strain, "I can't hold them."
Sulani on the other hand paused after feeling something through the Force, she smiles as a portion of the ceiling falls upon the droids, destroying them in the process. Obi-Wan then drops down from the new hole with a smirk on his face, his clones dropping behind him, "Need some help?"
Ahsoka sighs in relief, "Oh, so good to see you, Master Kenobi."
Sulani and Obi-Wan share a knowing look before the group start hastily making their way forward again, "Things are going well," Obi-Wan says. "The lab is secure, and hopefully Anakin has reached Padme by now."
They turn another corner, finding more droids, all three Jedi activating their lightsabers in response. They deflect more blaster fire, Obi-Wan turns away down the corridor behind them, "I'll get the bombs."
"We'll keep the droids occupied," Ahsoka calls back to him, her and Sulani doing just that.
His clones turned to follow him, leaving Sulani and Ahsoka with their original team. They defeated the droids, then continue down the path they were heading. As they were running, Ahsoka got an incoming call from Anakin, "Ahsoka, we've got another situation. Send all the clones to search the facility. We've got a miss-"
The only reason Anakin interrupted himself was because both their group and his met each other in a junction of tunnels, Ahsoka is surprised to say the least, "Master?"
Anakin just quickly continues without the communicator, "We've got a missing bomb and a trigger-happy mad doctor on the loose."
"Missing bomb?" Padme asks, "I saw Doctor Vindi give a little droid a bomb."
"You guys split up," Anakin says to the others. "Find that droid."
Sulani allowed Ahsoka to go with the clones while she went down another path, leaving Padme and Jar Jar behind in the intersection. Sulani wondered the halls alone, not moving quickly, but the Force was leading her towards an unknown direction. She spent several minutes this way, before turning down a corridor where in the distance, she could see Obi-Wan, Anakin and the clones about to enter a doorway. Well, Anakin was using his lightsaber to make his own entrance, but it was basically the same thing. They used the Force to move the cut durasteel out of their way, running into the room which she could now see had a landing platform that was rising. She made her way towards it, her stride faster than it had been. Obi-Wan had tried getting there first, but sometime after Anakin started climbing, she watched Obi-Wan fall back towards the ground and he appeared to be catching something. She finally entered to see that they had been vials of what had to be the Blue Shadow Virus. "Obi, are you okay?"
He looked to her as he stood, "I'm fine, but that was a close one. We have to stop the doctor before he escapes."
However, once they had reached the top, Vindi had been dealt with and looked rather confused about something, Sulani guessed it was the lack of explosions. "Ahsoka, are you there?" Anakin asks into his comm.
"I'm here, Master," she replies. "The bomb has been deactivated. Did you find Vindi?"
"Deactivated as well," he answers. "Have you seen Padme?"
"She's right next to me. I'm okay too, thanks for asking."
They had managed to capture the doctor and save Naboo from an outbreak of a deadly virus, and yet, Sulani had a niggling feeling that something was still wrong. Her feelings were usually right on the mark and that made her all the more concerned.
Anakin and Obi-Wan were loading Vindi onto a transport, Sulani standing off a little further, but she was in range to hear Anakin start to speak, "That was close. If that virus had escaped, everyone on Naboo would be dead now."
Which was the truth, but Sulani continued to worry about that bad feeling she was having. Obi-Wan was clearly not feeling any such thing as he replies, "Oh well, just another boring day saving the universe."
He was being way to nonchalant about the whole thing, but she had to remind herself that she was the only one having this feeling. "Alright," Anakin says, "let's take this sleemo back to Theed so we can help Padme and Ahsoka clean up down there."
They were ready to move Vindi again when they started to hear the faint sound of the alarm going off in the lab, this was making Vindi very happy, "The virus is liberated.
You are doomed, young Jedi, along with the rest of the planet."
It was not long after that when the ground started shaking, a bomb clearly having gone off, "What was that?" Anakin asked.
"I knew it," Sulani whispers to herself, "I just knew it."
They marched Vindi onto the transport before Anakin contacts Ahsoka, "Ahsoka, what is going on down there?"
"The droids released the virus," she explains. "But we managed to seal the lab."
"And Padme?"
"Haven't heard from her since the bomb."
"Anakin?" Padme's voice comes through, "Can you hear me? Anakin?"
"Padme, I'm here," he answers swiftly. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, for the time being. Jar Jar and I were in a safety chamber when the alarm went off. We're wearing protective suits."
"The virus is loose," he says to her, "but Ahsoka has sealed off the entire facility."
"Yes, but any remaining droids will try to break out. I'll do what I can to stop them. I can not let that virus escape."
"Be careful," he warns her.
With that, they end the call and Sulani can see how worried Anakin is by the set of his shoulders, "Anakin," she says gently, "she'll be okay. Padme is a very strong woman."
"I know, but I can't go in to help her, or Ahsoka, aren't you worried about Ahsoka?" he asks her.
"Yes, I am," she admits, "but I have to believe that the Force will be with her. We may not be able to help them directly, but we can still do what we can from out here."
Anakin was clearly done with this conversation though as he whips out his lightsaber, turning it on Vindi. This was not the kind of help Sulani had in mind with her last statement. "Where's the antidote Vindi?" he asks.
The doctor simply starts laughing before replying, "You mistake my role, Jedi. My job was to manufacture a plague, not to cure it."
"We don't have time for games," Anakin jabs his lightsaber closer to him.
"Patience Anakin," Obi-Wan says, trying to get his former Padawan to calm down. "There's more than one way to skin a womprat."
"I said 'where'?" Anakin ignores his Master in favour of trying to intimidate Vindi further.
"Anakin," Sulani cries, "that's enough."
"Yes," Vindi calls gleefully, "kill me know and spare these old bones the blue shadow's dire embrace, because once the first droid breaks out of that laboratory, all Naboo is doomed!"
Even Sulani was getting sick of listening to him, but Obi-Wan realised exactly how those words were making Anakin feel, "Anakin, the fastest way to save Senator Amidala and Ahsoka is to get Vindi back to the capital and find an actual antidote."
Anakin did not reply, but he did retract his lightsaber as the shuttle lifted off the landing platform and they made their way back to Theed.
When they arrived in the hangar, Captain Typho and a pair of Naboo Guards were waiting for them. "Doctor Vindi," Typho says, "you'll pay for your treachery. Take him away."
As the two guards did just that, Obi-Wan got straight into the more important matter, "Now we need to find an antidote."
"I think I found an answer for you," Typho says.
With that, they quickly made their way to the holo-table again, Anakin was getting excited at the prospect of a cure, "So, you think you found a cure?"
"Possibly," Typho replies, bringing up an image on the table, "A little known extract made from reeksa root, a weed-like vine found only on Iego, the world of a thousand moons, deep in Separatist-controlled space."
"Let's go," Anakin says, eager to get the reeksa root.
"You must move cautiously if you-" Typho tries to warn, but Anakin interrupts him.
"There's no time for caution," he says, "My Padawan is trapped down there, and so is Padme."
He says those last few words at Obi-Wan who had halted him with a hand on his shoulder, frowning at his words, which made Anakin back track, "I mean, Senator Amidala."
Sulani had to hold in her sigh at that, Anakin needed to calm himself or he was going to reveal things he was not ready to reveal.
"I applaud your courage, General Skywalker," Captain Typho says, "but it's suicide. Once we contain the virus, we can send troops."
"No," Anakin says as he knocks Obi-Wan's hand off his shoulder, "Obi-Wan and I can handle it."
Obi-Wan sends a look Sulani's way before turning around after Anakin, "I concur, Anakin."
Sulani watched them leave, and whispered, "May the Force be with you both."
She turned back to Typho, "There isn't much we can do from here is there?"
"I'm afraid not General," he answers, "All we can do is hope they find the root in time."
Sulani no longer holds back her sigh and decides to simply wait. Wait and pray.
It had not been long after Anakin and Obi-Wan had left that Sulani found herself interrupted from her meditation by her comm beeping, when she saw it was Ahsoka, she answered immediately, "Ahsoka, are you alright?"
She could see the effect the virus was having on her as her veins were becoming a very distinct shade of blue, "I'm okay Mother, but unfortunately, we have another problem."
"What is it?" Sulani asks, her worry spiking.
This is when Padme enters holo-image, the lack of her helmet was more than obvious, "Oh Padme, why is your helmet off?"
"I'm afraid my suit was compromised while we were dealing with the droids, I took off the helmet since it was unnecessary."
"Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do," Sulani says, her heart hurting being unable to do anything for her former youngling and her friend, "but Anakin and Obi-Wan are on their way to look for the cure. Force willing, they'll be back in time."
It was later on that Sulani joined Ahsoka and Padme in contacting Anakin and Obi-Wan, "Master, can you hear me?" Ahsoka asks weakly.
It was clear that they were not getting the signal as clearly as she was as Anakin asked R2 to amplify the signal.
Ahsoka did not wait for R2 to be done, "Destroyed all the battle droids inside the compound, Master. Naboo is safe from further contamination. I repeat, Naboo is safe."
Ahsoka started coughing after those words, and Sulani felt her heart pull painfully. Padme took over for Ahsoka, "Promise me that no one will ever open this bunker."
Sulani could see as Anakin frowned and knew he would have trouble agreeing to that, if he even could. Sulani found that she would probably be right beside him. "Good bye, Anakin, I-" Padme tried to say but she interrupted herself with a cough.
The signal is then lost and Sulani felt her stomach plummet as Anakin called out, "No!"
"Anakin," Sulani says quietly, "I know you already know this, but please, please hurry, I'm losing Ahsoka's presence in my mind, our bond is fading and I know you can feel it too."
"I-" he tries to speak, but his voice hitches, "I will Mother, I refuse to lose her or the Senator."
She could see that Obi-Wan was frowning at their words and their obvious feelings on the matter, but he thankfully stayed silent. With that, the call is ended and Sulani went back to doing what she could do; pray.
Sulani was almost losing hope when she had a call from Anakin saying they had found the root. So she could thankfully now be at Ahsoka's side as they prepare to move her to the shuttle for transport to the hospital. She reached for Ahsoka's hand, blued by the virus in her blood, "Oh Ahsoka, thank the Force you will be fine."
"Of course, Mother," Ahsoka answer with a weak smile, "I never lost faith that Master would find what he was looking for."
This was the time that Anakin decided to walk over to them, "You did a fantastic job today, Snips."
"All thanks yo your training, Master," she answers.
"Yeah, you're right," he says jokingly, "I probably do deserve most of the credit."
He watches as Ahsoka rolls her eyes, and gently says, "But not all of it."
"Good thing I know you don't mean everything you say," she shoots back.
"Pilot," he calls, "Get these two out of here."
"Thank you, Master," Ahsoka says before her stretcher is taken into the shuttle, Sulani holding onto her hand where she stood as long as she could reach it.
"I have to thank you as well, Anakin," Sulani starts. "As a Guardian Mother, I am still supposed to release my attachments to my younglings when they become Padawan Learners, but you can understand how hard that is. I can still keep my connection with Ahsoka because you were able to find the thing that could save her life."
"I care about her too Mother," he answers, sending her a gentle smile, "and today, I think, has shown me, that I don't think I'd find it all that easy to let go of her either."
She said nothing else as her and Anakin watched the shuttle take Padme and Ahsoka to the hospital in Theed.
A/N: and that concludes the blue shadow virus arc, most of it was episode one as it crossed over into the second chapter, but that was mostly because Sulani didn't go to Iego and that was a lot of the episode. Anyway, not sure when the next chapters will, still tossing up on the next arc to be honest, but at least the gaps won't be as long as the last over a year gap haha, until then
Seza, out