A/N: Hi everyone! So here's chapter 14, and I hope you like it. I don't know when the next chapter is coming out, but hopefully it's soon. I've already written it and it just needs some polishing, so I think it will be done in the next few days. I guess we'll see.

Until next time please read, review, and enjoy!

Victory on Geonosis! After a massive planetary siege, the Separatist forces on Geonosis have finally fallen. Key weapons factories have been destroyed, but at a heavy cost to Republic troops. Now, as Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Ki-Adi Mundi begin a clean-up of the planet, they launch an intense campaign to find Separatist leader Poggle the Lesser and bring him to justice...

It had been many hours since the fight in the arena, and the sun had risen a few hours before above ground. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were still in the planet's depths, following the half-Nautolan deeper and deeper through the tunnels. They had no way of knowing where they were going or what was waiting for them, and the half-Nautolan had no intention of letting any of them get close. The only one who had been able to was Kix that one time, and that was more out of the fact she had needed his help to stop the bleeding in her arm. It was still pressed against her stomach, useless and bloody, and looking down, Obi-Wan was able to see small droplets of blood from the leaking wound.

Looking up, he was able to see her adjusting the bandages and tightening the tourniquet, making sure her vital lifeblood stayed inside where it belonged. Hopefully, they would get out of here in time, and she would let them help her some more, assuming she trusted them enough to do so. Anakin seemed to have the same thoughts since he finally said into the somewhat uncomfortable silence: "This is getting unnerving. I wish we knew where we were going, or where she thinks she is going. She's leading us someplace, but I have no idea where."

"Neither do I," Obi-Wan said as he watched her back, "But I get the sense that there is something she knows, through the Force, that we can't detect," he looked at his former Padawan then, "Perhaps her connection to the Force is much stronger than we originally thought."

Anakin shrugged, saying, "Doesn't change that we have no idea where we are going or what is waiting for us in these tunnels. The fact we can't get a signal above ground isn't comforting either."

Obi-Wan inclined his head at that, knowing Anakin was right. This hadn't turned into an ideal situation, leaving Obi-Wan and Anakin in the uncomfortable position of following a complete unknown through a never-ending maze of tunnels and hoping for the best. Despite several attempts over the past few hours, they hadn't been able to get a message to Master Mundi or Master Luminara saying where they were or that they needed help.

It wasn't a situation anyone would have wanted under even the best of circumstances, which these definitely were not.

The only bright side was that Delta Squad was there, watching their flank and helping them out. Scorch had wanted to collapse the tunnels every few hundred yards or so, but that idea had been quickly shut down since there was no way of knowing how connected the tunnel's supports were to each other. They could all collapse on them at once, which wouldn't be ideal for anyone.

Obi-Wan's musings were abruptly cut short by his comlink beeping. He raised his arm and looked at it, surprised that they were finally getting a signal of some kind, before answering quickly, and an image of Luminara appeared. Even more surprising was that she was crouched and seemed to be hiding, "Master Luminara, what's going on?"

"I would ask you the same thing, Master Kenobi," Luminara said, "No one has been able to reach you for almost an entire day!" her voice strained and stressed, two things that were not good signs.

Something very wrong had happened for a Jedi like Luminara Unduli to be stressed.

"It's a long story, so I won't go into full details now," Obi-Wan said, "But the short version is that we were captured by Dooku and just managed to escape with the help of Delta Squad, and are now underground and have no idea where we are going."

Luminara immediately looked confused, "Then why are you still moving?"

"I said we have no idea where we are going," Obi-Wan said, "But I think the one we are following does."

Luminara only looked even more confused, "Who are you following?"

Obi-Wan sighed, "The half-Nautolan. She was captured by Dooku as well but helped us escape into the tunnels and now clearly expects us to follow her. Every time we stop, she stops, and every time we go, she goes. We have been following her for quite some time, but it's getting difficult. She was wounded, very seriously, while we were escaping from Dooku, and I don't know how much longer she will last. I'm hoping she has some plan."

Luminara didn't answer for a few moments before saying, "I wish I could be of some help, but I have a problem as well."

"What would that be?" Obi-Wan asked, to which Luminara replied, "I was tracking Poggle before he could get off-world, and he was heading for the Progate Temple. I got there in the middle of a sandstorm as he was entering, but by the time the clone I was with and I got inside he had disappeared. He went down into the catacombs below. I was reporting to Master Mundi when we were attacked, and that was the last thing I remember before I woke up and found myself being dragged through the tunnels. I was just able to get away but now have no idea where I am."

It was then that Obi-Wan noticed that her hands were bound together with binders, and so he said, "Stay where you are if you can. The fact we were able to establish a connection says we are close to you. Just stay there and we'll come get you. We can figure out a plan regarding Poggle and getting out of here."

"Are you sure your guide is leading you towards me?" Luminara asked, "She could be leading you to the surface for all you know. Or into a Separatist trap. We still aren't sure where her allegiances lie."

Obi-Wan looked up then and saw that the half-Nautolan had turned her head slightly and was listening to everything they were saying. As the hours had worn on, she had started closing the gap between her and the Jedi and clones and was now only five or so meters ahead. She was still staying out of reach but now could hear everything being said. Whether that was because she wanted the company or was just too tired to move any faster, Obi-Wan didn't know, but he did know she was paying more attention to them than they thought. That became clear when she glanced over her shoulder at Obi-Wan, and something in her eyes said she knew what she was doing, even though her silence was kept. That reaffirmed to Obi-Wan that even though she might not speak Basic, she did understand it.

"Yes, I think she is," Obi-Wan said finally, "I think she is leading us right towards you. I have no idea how she can find you in this maze, but I think we can trust her this time."

Luminara still looked doubtful, but seconds later, she looked over her shoulder as she sensed something behind her. Whatever it was made her miss the Geonosians in front of her, and Obi-Wan's quick: "Luminara, look out!" was missed as she was attacked and swarmed, the transmission being cut off almost immediately, Luminara's last words being, "Don't follow me!"

"She must be close by," Obi-Wan said, running ahead as the half-Nautolan also picked up her pace, running down the tunnel they were in and clearly knowing there was something wrong, "Come on!"

Anakin and the clones followed, keeping up with the half-Nautolan and Obi-Wan as best they could, and minutes later, they had arrived at what looked like the right place. The half-Nautolan had stopped and was looking around but whipped her head around suddenly as pebbles fell. The others looked where she looked, only to be confronted by Geonosians coming towards them, Obi-Wan saying, "I don't like the looks of this," gripping his lightsaber in both hands. A strange call from behind them caused Skywalker and a few clones to look and be confronted by even more Geonosians. Anakin got ready also, charging forward and starting to cut the bugs down as the clones began firing, "Look out!" one clone calling as Obi-Wan cut two more bugs in half. Cody shot one point-blank in the head, but nothing happened. The bug stayed standing and continued fighting, although a long green worm went from one of its nostrils to the other while Cody was watching.

"I can't stop them!" Cody said to Anakin, who, in response, cut off the bug's arm and its head, he and Cody watching as the worm slid out of the Geonosian's nostril and started looking around for another host.

As this was happening, Obi-Wan was dealing with more bugs, cutting down a few before running to try and save two clones that were being dragged deeper into the catacombs. Failing this, he suddenly realized something which made him call out to the clones and Anakin, "Back, everyone! Back!" pointing up at the pillars supporting the tunnels and telling the clones, "Take out the tunnel supports! It's the only way!"

The Jedi and clones sprinted down the tunnel as it started to collapse, ducking down a side tunnel with the commandos at the end to make sure no one was left behind. Once all were through, Anakin asked, "What were those things? We couldn't kill them."

"I've heard stories of a Geonosian hive mind so powerful, so strong," Obi-Wan said, leaning against the wall before turning to face Anakin and the clones, "that it can maintain its connection with its warriors even after they have died."

"And you think that's why we couldn't kill them?" Anakin asked, realizing what was happening, "Because they're…."

"Already dead," Obi-Wan said, stroking his beard in thought, "Yes."

"That can't be true!" Anakin exclaimed, "That's impossible!"

"Impossible or not," Obi-Wan said, "these creatures keep moving after we cut them up or shoot them down," before looking over their remaining men. He then added, "We must be close to the Progate Temple by now, but we can't risk going to the surface. Every moment we wait puts Luminara in greater danger. We need to find her now."

"I agree," Anakin said, "but that still leaves us with the little problem of finding her. These tunnels are almost endless; how will we know which one is correct?"

Obi-Wan stroked his beard in thought, but movement caught his eye and he looked up, the others with him doing the same. The half-Nautolan had somehow dodged the fight and was now standing at a tunnel entrance a few meters behind them, clearly deciding to save her strength for when it counted and not engage in any fighting. She watched them, and seeing them all look at her, she cocked her head at the entrance before disappearing inside, coming back a few seconds later.

Sighing, Obi-Wan turned to Anakin, who said, "I would literally take any other idea right now if we had one. But it feels like she is the only one who knows where we are going."

Obi-Wan nodded and turned to the clones, "Be ready for anything."

The clones all nodded, with the commandos taking point and following the half-Nautolan down the tunnel. But just as they started, Fixer kicked something and looked down. He picked it up a second later and turned to Obi-Wan, saying, "Sir, I think she dropped this," handing the Jedi Master a lightsaber.

Obi-Wan took it and looked it over before saying, "Luminara's lightsaber. How in the name of the Force did our half-Nautolan friend get this?" handing it to Anakin a moment later. Anakin only shook his head and put it on his belt before they kept going. They followed the half-Nautolan deeper and deeper into the tunnels, eventually coming upon something that convinced Obi-Wan they had reached their destination. The half-Nautolan disappeared then, but Obi-Wan didn't notice when he said, "The air is warmer here. We must be getting close."

"Uh….forget the heat," Anakin replied, coughing and trying not to gag as he sheathed his lightsaber, Obi-Wan doing the same, "It smells down here."

"Keep your voice down," Obi-Wan quickly rebuked. Still, Anakin couldn't help but get the last word in, "I'm just saying. This planet is rotten from the inside out," finally reaching a large cavern and looking around before seeing something at the far end that caused him to say, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

At the far end of the cavern was a Geonosian the likes of which Obi-Wan and Anakin had never seen before. Compared to the drones surrounding her, she was massive and looked like a giant worm. She had a large crown on her head and was clearly highly ranked. Several eggs sacs combined to form much of her body, which was a brownish-tan in color. The front part looked like a regular Geonosian bug with red and black eyes and a few arms that didn't look like they could be used for anything practical or useful, her head and neck almost skeletal-looking.

"It must be the queen," Obi-Wan said as Cody came up behind him and turned on his helmet's night vision scope to look around and scout out the area; Anakin asking, "Any sign of Luminara?"

"I see her," Cody said, zooming on where Luminara was, "She's suspended in the throne."

"Perfect," Anakin said before asking, "What about Poggle?" to which Cody replied, "He's speaking with the queen."

"Good," Anakin said, "You take the soldiers," turning to Obi-Wan with a smile, "I'll take the queen," but Obi-Wan wanted to try a different approach: "Must you always rush into things?" he asked his former apprentice, causing Anakin to almost roll his eyes. He knew what that meant, "Oh, no," he said with exasperation, "You don't actually want to talk to it, do you?"

"Matter of fact, I do," Obi-Wan said, wanting Anakin to see reason, "Anakin, don't you wonder why they took Luminara captive? Why not just kill her?"

"She's leverage," Anakin said quietly, "She's a hostage," but Obi-Wan wasn't buying it: "Leverage for what?" Obi-Wan asked, knowing there was no reason for the queen to take Luminara captive, and there had to be another reason, "No, there's something else going on here, and these zombies are connected to it."

"Fine," Anakin said, deciding to relent and see what happened, even if he thought it was a terrible idea, "We'll try it your way."

"So glad you agree," Obi-Wan said with just a hint of sarcasm before turning to his commander, "Cody, set your men up around the perimeter. These creatures live in darkness. The light from your helmet should blind them temporarily. Turn your lamps on at my signal. They should create enough confusion for us to get Luminara out of here," deciding that was the best plan he would come up with quickly.

"But what happens when the bugs pursue?" Cody asked, recognizing the only flaw in the plan, "You've seen them in action, sir. We can't kill them," but Anakin was looking around and up at what was keeping the cavern from collapsing and said quickly, "We'll have to bury them. It'll at least slow them down. Shoot out the support pillars and this whole place will collapse," behind him Scorch smiled under his helmet as he started imaging the amount of explosives that would be needed for this job.

This was going to be fun.

"Let's go," Obi-Wan said, agreeing with both Cody and Anakin at the same time before starting to walk into the cavern, Anakin right beside him. At the same time, Cody, Rex, and the commandos got their men into position, waiting for General Kenobi's signal. As he was doing so, Kix looked around, looking for the half-Nautolan, but it was like she had disappeared – again. He shook his head then; he needed to focus on the here and now and wait until later to figure out what had happened to her.

Obi-Wan and Anakin walked deeper into the cavern as the clones got into position, Anakin asking quietly, "How did you know they wouldn't just attack us?" as they started walking between the undead Geonosians and weren't attacked at all. The queen let out a roar while Luminara smiled from where she was hanging in the force field; Anakin and Obi-Wan had found her and hopefully, they had a plan.

"Because I make observations while you think with your lightsaber," Obi-Wan said with a slight smile as they walked.

"Well, that quick thinking of mine is usually needed when your observations get us into trouble," Anakin said as they continued to walk, with Obi-Wan replying, "Anakin, the queen took Luminara hostage. She wanted a Jedi; now she has two more. I want to know what she's after."

Looking at the dead Geonosians who were, for lack of a better word, watching them, Anakin said, "Well, when this doesn't go as planned, which it won't, I'll be ready," causing Obi-Wan to say as sarcastically as he could, "That is so reassuring."

Finally stopping in front of the throne, the two Jedi were greeted by Master Luminara, who said, "I thought I told you not to follow me, Master Kenobi."

"Yes, well," Obi-Wan said as he stroked his beard, "I took a lesson from Anakin and decided not to follow orders," causing the younger Jedi to look at him, not at all impressed, "Hey!" was all Skywalker said, clearly knowing his old master was right about his regard, or disregard in this case, for orders.

"You," a thin, nasally voice said. It was the Geonosian queen, speaking in Basic, "You are the creatures that attack Geonosia. Why have you come before me?"

"Your Majesty, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," Obi-Wan said, "I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is Anakin Skywalker," motioning at the younger Jedi, "It is our sad duty to inform you that your rule is at an end."

"You not dictate to me, Jedi!" the queen said, "My empire is forever!"

Obi-Wan looked at Luminara as the queen spoke, the Mirialan Jedi looking at him with some concern, not sure how this was going to play out. Obi-Wan could only try again to get the queen to see reason, "I'm afraid it does not appear that way, Your Grace. You shall release the Jedi Luminara and submit to Republic law."

The queen let out a roar of anger before saying slowly, "I no submit to you!" and the two bugs that were actually alive started advancing towards the Jedi with their weapons ready. Anakin immediately ignited his lightsaber, ready to attack, but Obi-Wan quickly stopped him: "No, patience, Anakin. Wait," and Anakin agreed grudgingly, sheathing his lightsaber and letting the bugs take it, which they did along with Luminara's and Obi-Wan's. After they were done, Obi-Wan again tried to reason with the queen, "Majesty, destroying us shall only make the Republic's judgment of you harsher."

"No, Jedi. No!" the queen said, savoring the moment, "I no destroy you, I devour you! I control you. I had but one Jedi before young Poggle bring me," Poggle looking none too happy about the situation, "but now I have three!" Poggle turned to an undead bug, speaking to it and having it come closer. It did so, giving Poggle a small egg with a long green worm sticking out of it, "Now, watch as my child enters your Jedi friend. And once inside, her mind becomes my mind. Her thoughts, my thoughts."

"It's a sort of mind control, a hive mind," Obi-Wan said suddenly to Anakin, realizing what was happening, "She thinks she can possess us."

"Great," Anakin said quietly, "Find out everything you wanted to know yet?"

"No, wait," Obi-Wan said just as quietly, "I want to see how it works," causing Anakin to say just as quietly, "I don't think Luminara wants to see how it works."

"No, I don't," Luminara said as Poggle started coming closer, but Obi-Wan still wouldn't implement his plan: "I'm curious. The more we know, the better."

Poggle started walking closer to Luminara, who recoiled in disgust, "I disagree!" she said, causing Anakin to add in, "So do I."

Obi-Wan was being a bit more studious about the whole affair, asking his former Padawan, "Come, now, the nose or the ear?" his hand on his beard, "Which do you think it will enter?" as Poggle brought the worm closer and closer to Luminara's face.

Finally, Anakin decided to play along and sighed before saying, "I think the nose," clearly unimpressed by the entire thing. Poggle only put the worm on Luminara's head, where it rested on her forehead for a few moments, apparently unsure about what to do. Luminara could only watch as the worm moved around, "I hope this is part of the plan."

Obi-Wan only smiled suddenly, "Isn't it always?" before yelling, "Cody! Now!" and the entire room was bathed in light as the clones appeared. Obi-Wan and Anakin immediately reached out to the Force, retrieving their lightsabers from the two bugs. Anakin ignited both his and Luminara's and attacked them, heading for Luminara. At the same time, Obi-Wan used the Force to get the worm off Luminara's head and draw it to his hand, where it immediately started wriggling and struggling to get free.

Obi-Wan only looked at it with mild disgust and some curiosity; it would be an interesting thing to study.

As this was happening, Anakin had reached Luminara and quickly freed her, giving her her lightsaber, which she ignited and aimed at Poggle, who cowered back as Anakin brought out a pair of binders and said, "You're coming with us, Poggle!" cuffing the Geonosian's hands and dragging him forward, ignoring his protests.

The undead Geonosians kept coming, the Jedi having to cut them to pieces to protect the clones, "Obi-Wan, look out!" Anakin called as a bug tried to come up behind him. Obi-Wan immediately reacted, turning and slicing the bug in two, but that wasn't what Anakin was talking about. Before Obi-Wan could react, Anakin had grabbed the bug out of his hand and dropped it to the ground.

"What?" Obi-Wan said in surprise, "Anakin, no!" he exclaimed as Anakin crushed the bug under his boot.

"Got it," was all Anakin said, causing Obi-Wan to say, "What are you doing? I was going to study that!" Anakin was thoroughly unimpressed either way and clearly sick of being there since all he said was, "Study the bottom of my boot. Come on, let's get out of here!" Obi-Wan actually looking at what was left of the worm with a rather sad expression on his face before following.

"Here they come," Cody said suddenly as the undead bugs started attacking them more forcefully, "Take out the supports!" Cody ordered, and Scorch grinned inside his helmet as he hit the detonator and caused all the charges he had set to go off, causing the ceiling to start caving in. Everyone started running then, as a dust cloud came up. Cody stopped suddenly and looked back to see how many of them were left, letting Luminara and a few more clones pass him. Obi-Wan came past with Poggle before Cody looked back and yelled, "They're still coming!" as the last clone, Gadget, started firing to try and keep the undead Geonosians back. The commandos added their own firepower then, Scorch throwing a grenade in that direction, but it did little good.

The bugs just kept coming.

Fortunately, by then, Luminara had found the way out: a hole in the ceiling that led straight up. Daylight was visible through some of the rocks, "This is our way out!" Luminara called as she pointed straight up before starting to climb.

"Start climbing," Anakin ordered the clone next to him, who nodded and followed the young Jedi. Behind him, Obi-Wan dragged Poggle forward and forced him to start climbing, which he did with a bit of complaining. Obi-Wan was right behind him as the clones below kept shooting at the undead bugs to try and slow them down. Cody was the last one to start the climb while above him, rocks began raining down, and below him, the undead tried to follow. Obi-Wan turned to use the Force to push them back, but before he could, there was a call of "Obi-Wan, look out!" from Luminara as a rock hit him in the back and made him lose his grip and nearly fall. Luminara was able to catch him and hold on until he got his grip again.

Below the undead were knocked down by falling rock, while behind them in her chamber, the queen let out a roar as it collapsed on her. That roar went out far beyond that chamber, echoing through the maze of tunnels under Geonosis as the ceiling collapsed and she died and awakening something else.

The Jedi and clones didn't know about that and didn't care as the tunnel they were in created a vortex effect that sucked them all out and into the remains of the Progate Temple. But the temple itself was also collapsing, and so they all had to run quickly to get out, Cody grabbing and dragging Longshot as the young clone tried to get the world to stop spinning for a few seconds. Not even a second later, a rock crashed down where Longshot had been, large enough to crush and kill the clone if his commander hadn't gotten him out of the way. Seeing what was happening around them, the Jedi and clones immediately ran out, Scorch unable to resist dropping one last charge down the hole they had just been in to make sure the undead really couldn't follow.

Once safely outside, they all stopped to watch as the Temple collapsed even more. Then, once everything had settled and the rumbling had stopped Anakin said, "All things considered," coughing slightly from the dust, "that went better than I expected."

"I wish we could have gotten one of those worms," Obi-Wan said, "Knowing how the queen controls her minions could have proven valuable," as Luminara walked over to look at what remained of the Temple.

"Well, hopefully the secret is buried with her," Anakin said as they looked over the destroyed Temple in silence. A few seconds later, he turned to Rex and said, "Contact Master Mundi and let him know where we are and that we need a pickup."

"Yes, sir!" Rex said, clearly ready to get back to the command ship and get off the planet. Something caught his eye as he was doing this, and he asked hesitantly, "Uh….General? What about her?" pointing east.

Everyone turned to look and was surprised to see the half-Nautolan. She had disappeared while they were dealing with the Geonosian queen but had apparently decided to reappear. She was standing there and watching them all, too far away to catch quickly. As they watched, she canted her head to the side for a few seconds before turning and walking away, heading east. Her damaged arm was still pressed against her stomach, but the bleeding was still under control, and she was walking tall and straight. A few seconds later, she was gone, swallowed up by the vast expanse around her and disappearing into the heatwaves always on the planet.

Obi-Wan sighed, "Let her go. We have other problems we need to deal with, and she clearly doesn't want our help. If she has a ship nearby, she will signal it and get out of here before ours arrives, and I think we should allow her this for helping us get out of the tunnels."

"Yes, sir," Rex said and left to put the transmission through to General Mundi. As he was doing this, the other Jedi joined Obi-Wan with Cody and the commandos watching Poggle. Luminara couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure we should let her go, Master Kenobi? That arm didn't look good, and Kix tells me the artery was damaged. She could bleed to death before she gets help."

Obi-Wan nodded, "Perhaps. But she knew when she needed help the most, Kix was there to give it, so perhaps if she needs that help again, she will come to us. I sensed a lot of fear in her, and not much trust. I don't think we should force that trust on her right now. Let's let her decide to make the first move."

Luminara nodded, while Anakin only looked thoughtful. There was a chance that the half-Nautolan would accept their help, Anakin agreed with that, but he was also of the opinion that there was something….untamed about that young woman. Like she was a wild spirit that wouldn't let anyone tame her, and that her freedom was all that mattered to her.

Perhaps Obi-Wan was hoping for too much, but only time would tell if that was true or not.

Deep in the hidden tunnels of Geonosis, a secret cavern was bathed in light from a small hole in the ceiling. On a pedestal in the cavern center were six eggs in a circle. If anyone had been there, they would have seen one of those eggs start to rock and crack, and hours later, a hatchling queen laid a queen egg of her own before leaving the cavern to grow and start her own hive.

Behind her, the six eggs stayed, waiting for their time to hatch and create hives of their own.

Victory on Geonosis! After a massive assault, the Republic has finally recaptured the Separatist planet and shut down its droid factories of doom. An investigation by Luminara Unduli led to the discovery of Queen Karina the Great, whose hive-mind could reanimate dead Geonosian soldiers. During the destruction of the queen's temple, the Jedi apprehended her advisor Poggle the Lesser, and now prepare to deliver the villain to Coruscant for trial….

With the Jedi Masters taking care of delivering Poggle and the Padawans Ahsoka and Barriss handling a supply run to a medical center, the half-Nautolan had decided there was only one way off the planet of Geonosis, especially with no way to get her ship down to her. She had been able to send coordinates to meet the Ghost, but that still left her with the problem of getting off-world. So she had done the only thing that had a chance of working: sneaking aboard the medical ship. Once on board, she had settled in the cargo hold after raiding the medical supplies for what she needed. The cargo hold was large and spacious, with several empty boxes already there, so she had hidden in one of them while repairing the damage to her arm. The artery had been repaired, the blood flow restored, and a few hours of Force healing would have everything set right again after a long rest. A few transfusions wouldn't hurt either, and she knew exactly where to get them. She just needed to get off the medical ship before she passed out. The blood loss and lack of rest meant she was reaching the limits of her endurance, and she needed to get off while she had the chance.

With the brain parasites taking over the crew, and then Barriss, the half-Nautolan knew that Ahsoka would need help. Coming out of hiding, the Togruta had been surprised to see her, but that surprise faded quickly when the Padawan said, "We need to rupture the coolant system. The worms can't handle the cold."

The half-Nautolan had nodded and gone with Ahsoka, her arm in a sling to support it and keep the blood out of it while the artery healed. Reaching the engine room, they had quickly ruptured the coolant system, and the ship's internal temperature had immediately started dropping. But while they were there, the half-Nautolan had disabled the hyperdrive for a few minutes, and Ahsoka had only said, "Your ship is waiting for you, isn't it?"

She had nodded, and the Togruta had sighed, "I'll make the corrections to the navigation records and fuel logs, but I don't like doing this. I don't like sneaking behind everyone's backs. Especially the Jedi's."

The half-Nautolan had looked sympathetic, but there was no changing her mind, so Ahsoka could only walk with her to the hatch and get her into her ship, both of them looking out for the clones and Padawan under the effects of the brain worms. Once the ships were disconnected and far enough away, the medical ship had jumped into hyperspace again, leaving Ahsoka alone to deal with the outbreak of parasites on the ship. But the half-Nautolan knew she could handle it and quickly went to her quarters on the Ghost after signaling Chopper and R1 to get the ship to safety and get her help. Once settled in her quarters, she passed out, finally giving in to her body's need to rest.

The droids knew where to go and would get her there safely.

Deep in Separatist space, Grievous's frustration grew as Kit Fisto still refused to speak. He was giving overdosing levels of spice and truth serum to the Jedi, but his silence was kept for some reason. Nothing the cyborg did opened the Nautolan's mouth, and Grievous was running out of ideas to get him to speak. At this point, though, he didn't care about what Kit said and just wanted to see the Jedi broken.

He wanted the Jedi to feel all the pain he could possibly inflict.

With that in mind, and hearing about what Dooku had subjected Skywalker and Kenobi to on Geonosis, he suddenly had a great idea to get the Jedi maybe not talking but definitely in more pain than he was in. And so, one day, he went to Kit's cell, opening the door and walking in. Not much had changed; the Jedi still hung in the force field, suspended and unable to move with his hands to the side and over his head, and his head was down. The drugs had a pretty firm grip on him regardless of whether he said anything under their influence, and so the Jedi often found himself in a fog from all the drugs in his system. His eyes were dull and unfocused, his breathing light and raspy from the broken ribs. His shoulder was still dislocated, but it wasn't healing and looked as though the injury had just happened. His broken ankle looked the same. Grievous didn't know if that was a Jedi trick or not, and at that point, he didn't care.

He just wanted to see the Jedi suffer.

He clanked over to where the Jedi hung, grabbing his chin and forcing his head up. Kit's mouth hung open as his head lolled, unable to be aware of what was happening around him, his dull eyes unable to focus on anything. Grievous nodded at the sight; he was going to enjoy this.

The cyborg turned to the medical droid that was always in the cell, monitoring the Jedi and making sure he didn't die too quickly, "Drop him," was all he said, letting go of the Jedi's chin and stepping back. The droid did so immediately, turning off the force field and letting the Jedi drop. Kit couldn't have stopped his fall even if he had the presence of mind to do so and was so drug-addled he didn't even feel the pain of the fall right away. He only closed his eyes and stayed limp when he finally did, just trying to block everything out.

He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last.

Grievous only gave his body a nudge with one of his clawed feet before saying, "So much for the fabled Jedi endurance. You truly are at my mercy now," there was no answer from the Nautolan, not that Grievous was expecting one, and so Grievous continued, "Since you're at my mercy, I thought I would make your stay even worse than it is," he leaned close to where the Nautolan lay half on his side, his hands bound together with binders, the same with his feet, "You want to know what the Count recently put Kenobi and Skywalker through?" again there was no answer, but that didn't deter Grievous who only said, "Let me give you a taste," turning and nodding behind him at the Magnaguard, "You've heard of kath hounds, right?"

The guard immediately stepped away, coming back a few minutes later with another guard, the two of them struggling to control a creature on a chain leash. Kit, feeling the presence of another living thing, actually tried to raise his head and look up, but the effort was just too much, and it fell to the ground with a quiet thud. Hearing that, Grievous turned to look at the Jedi, and there was something in his eyes that said he was going to enjoy these next few minutes.

He said nothing and only stepped to the side, and the Magnaguards came in with the creature. It was large and had cloven hooves, shaggy fur, and strong jaws. It was growling and incensed, and if Kit had had the presence of mind, he would have noticed the whip marks all over the creature. But he didn't and didn't realize he was in a lot of danger; otherwise, he would have tried to get up and get away. He only lay still, and Grievous nodded to himself before signaling the Magnaguards. The guards led the creature over to the still Jedi, the creature becoming more incensed by the second.

One of the guards let go then and moved around to hold the Jedi in place, pinning his arms to the ground and not giving him a chance to get away or move. At the same time the other guard released the hound, and it rushed forward, drawn by the smell of blood it picked up coming from the Jedi. It attacked viciously, biting into the Jedi's left leg and tearing deep cuts and gashes into it, breaking bone and tearing muscle. It attacked over and over again, egged on by the smell and taste of blood and Kit's struggles to get away.

The attack hadn't done much to clear the drugs from Kit's system, but the pain did. The adrenaline caused by the pain brought everything into focus, and he started fighting and struggling with everything he had, trying to get away from those teeth and jaws. But the Magnaguard held him in place and wouldn't let him move a muscle. Finally, the more instinctive part of Kit's brain took over, and he stopped struggling, just trying to conserve his strength and not pass out. The kath hound continued to bite and tear, and all Kit could do was scream and cry out, his screams reaching a pitch so high that humans wouldn't have heard it.

Back in the waters of Glee Anselm, it would have brought Nautolans to his aid, but there were none there to help him now.

Finally, just when it seemed like Grievous was going to let the hound rip his leg off, he signaled the droids, who immediately wrestled the hound off and out of the cell, the medical droid releasing Kit's hands and feet by turning off the wire of energy between the binders. Once the Magnaguards and hound were gone, the cyborg stepped forward, looking closely at the damage left behind. The Jedi's trousers were ripped and shredded, giving Grievous the chance to have a good look at what the hound had done. Grievous could even see the white of bone in some places, and he nodded to himself.

"Let's see you try and fight with a leg like that, Jedi," he said mockingly before turning to the medical droid, "Leave for an hour and do nothing for that leg. Let's see what this Jedi is made of," looking one more time at the prone Jedi, who only lay there and tried to regain control of himself, tried to get the pain under control.

"Yes, sir," the droid said, leaving after the cyborg and shutting the door. Once he was alone, Kit closed his eyes in pain and tried to sit up, but the pain was too great. It radiated up and down his leg, and feeling it in his hip he could only guess his hip was either wrenched or broken. The only good thing about the pain and adrenaline was that it cleared the drugs from his system, allowing him to think clearly for the first time in a while.

What he would do when the adrenaline faded away, he didn't know.

Struggling against his body proved to require more strength than he had to give, and after a few seconds, he gave up, feeling the blood trickling down his skin and pooling underneath him. If he had to guess, the artery in his thigh hadn't been damaged, but the wounds were still severe enough to kill him.

He needed help, if only to have the strength to dress the wounds and stop the bleeding.

Realizing that left him with only one option, and it was the option he had promised himself never to use unless he absolutely had to. He couldn't reach out and look for the half-Nautolan in the Force; he didn't want to attract any attention of any kind to her if he could help it, which left him with only one other option. Realizing he didn't have a choice he took a few deep breaths before reaching deep inside himself, feeling for something he knew would always be there. It wasn't the Force; that could abandon him under the weight of drugs and pain, but what he was looking for now would never leave him.

He felt deeper and deeper inside himself, searching for the burning ember that had sustained him for so long. The one thing that tied him to those that couldn't be known about now. He found it then, reaching out with his mind to touch it, knowing that doing so would draw the attention of one that could help him, and immediately he felt a response.

Brother….he whispered in his mind, help….me….

Warmth filled his mind and his heart then, a bond from long ago becoming stronger and stronger in seconds, and the pain became a distant memory. This bond was not of the Force; it was of something older and deeper than both brothers. The strength of the bond with his brother deepened and strengthened beyond anything that existed in the galaxy, and he relaxed as his brother's comforting presence filled his mind, feeling the love and care his brother had for him.

Opening his mind to his brother and their bond allowed his brother to see what was wrong, and he instantly found the painful wounds in his leg. Anger filled his brother then that someone would dare to hurt his little brother, and Kit felt it, sliding into delirium when he felt it and the pain spiked suddenly. The Jedi let out a groan and a small whimper, and his brother immediately forced his anger down and away, reaching out with his mind to calm his brother, brushing against his mind like a hand against his brow. The reaction was immediate as Kit settled and relaxed, allowing his brother to turn his attention back to his leg. Knowing Kit's mind didn't have the strength to resist, he reached out and felt the damage, looking to see if there was anything he could do. Seconds later, the blood stopped flowing and the wounds closed slightly, the Force responding not to Kit, but to his brother and healing some of the more severe wounds. The pain lessened then, and Kit was able to raise his head with his brother's strength, finally sitting up and leaning against the force field generator behind him. It gave him the first good look at his leg, and he couldn't help but feel some despair when he saw it.

Grievous could be right; he could quite possibly never fight again with his leg looking like that. The only thing that had saved it from being worse were his heavy boots and trousers.

His brother's mind brushed his gently, reminding him not to borrow trouble, and he knew his brother was right. He reached down with his left hand then, keeping his right still since the dislocated shoulder was so painful, and started ripping his robes. He tore them into long strips, using his teeth and left hand, and soon had a pile of makeshift bandages nearby. Turning back to his leg, he yelped as he was forced to move his right arm, feeling the bones grate against each other and the nerves and tendons pinch and spasm. His brother immediately pushed some of his own strength into his battered body, helping him finish what he needed to do, dulling the pain not just in his shoulder but in his ribs and ankle also.

Minutes later, the bandages were wrapped around the more severe wounds in his leg, Kit having to grit his teeth and bite his tongue when he set the bones. But finally, it was done, and he was relaxing back against the generator, unable to do anything more. His strength was just gone, and he had nothing left to give that day. It was time to rest, and his brother knew it.

Rest, brother, his brother's voice came into his mind, and Kit obeyed, laying down and getting comfortable as best he could, I will stay with you from now on, no matter what happens, until you are safe.

Kit smiled slightly and fell asleep, his brother's words echoing in his mind and giving him comfort and companionship, just as he had always done. As he did so, the warmth of their bond warmed him from the inside out and let him know he was never alone. His brother meant safety and security, and that would never change.

And also meant a love so strong nothing and no one could ever stop it or understand it.

When Grievous returned an hour later with the medical droid, he was surprised to see Kit unconscious; his leg tended with the torn fabric of his robes, and snarled in anger before ordering the medical droid to put him back in the force field. The cyborg could not understand what it was about that Jedi that made it impossible for him to be broken and was left with no other choice but to go and try and find the answers. Behind him the droid put Kit back in the force field, the Jedi not waking at all, unable to feel anything happening to him as his brother protected him from the worst of it.

Grievous had no way of knowing the answer was something he could never understand.

Obi-Wan, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Luminara Unduli had returned to Coruscant by now and delivered Poggle to the courts, having debriefed him while on the journey from Geonosis. Surprisingly, after Anakin visited him, the Geonosian was more willing to tell them what he knew, leading Obi-Wan to worry about what his former Padawan had done. But there was no time to consider it as the Council was meeting to discuss Geonosis.

After Ki-Adi had delivered his report, it was Obi-Wan's turn to tell them what had happened. The full Council wasn't there, at least not in person, as Mace Windu had been called to the front on Dantooine and Shaak Ti was still on Kamino. But the others were gathered there in person, with the notable exception being Kit Fisto. No one had been willing to take the seat of the Jedi Master, and so it stood vacant for the time being.

Hopefully, it would be filled again by the Nautolan Jedi soon.

Obi-Wan's musings were cut short by Yoda saying, "Master Kenobi, a report you have on Geonosis?"

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said, "Master Skywalker and I were tasked with destroying a communication relay station near the Petranaki arena. Unfortunately, we were unaware it was a trap and walked right into it. Without the timely arrival of Delta Squad, things would have gone much worse. We were again put into the arena and forced to fight, but thankfully, we had our troops with us this time. Dooku was there, and so was Ventress, but they left before the Republic could destroy the arena. Delta Squad destroyed the relay station, and we escaped into the tunnels under the planet, eventually finding the caverns that housed the Geonosian Queen. We were able to rescue Master Unduli and arrest Poggle and destroy the queen. Apparently, she was able to control the bodies of dead Geonosians with hive worms, which could take over the minds of others, as Padawans Tano and Offee discovered on their way to Ord Cestus."

Master Yoda nodded, while Ki-Adi said, "I believe you are omitting a few parts of the story, Master Kenobi," he said with a slight smile. Obi-wan inclined his head and added, "You are right, Master Mundi. We did have some help escaping from the arena and finding Master Luminara."

"What kind of help?" Mace asked.

Obi-Wan smiled slightly before saying, "It seems the half-Nautolan had infiltrated the primary droid foundry on Geonosis while we were there, although I can't imagine why she was there or what she was doing. She had been captured by Poggle and was brought to the arena. She helped us escape and navigate the tunnels to find Master Luminara and the queen."

"She fought in the arena?" Eeth Koth asked, to which Obi-Wan nodded, "Yes, she did. And she held her own very well. There were gladiators from other parts of the galaxy there, and one of them, a Zabrak named Viscus Stabo, tried to kill her. He was easily twice her size, but she defeated him easily. Apparently, those knives she keeps in her boots see quite a lot of use because she killed him with rather disconcerting expertise. He was defeated and on his knees before her, and she still killed him by cutting his throat with an unnerving coldness. The look in her eyes was the strangest thing I have ever seen," stopping for a moment before saying quietly, "The brutality in her eyes was something I have never seen before. She wasn't the hunted then, she was the hunter, and she killed him with a skill and proficiency you would only see in a trained assassin."

There was silence in the chamber for a few moments before Yoda said, "Disturbing this news is. Take precautions with her we must. Learned something new we have about this one this day."

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said quietly before adding more loudly, "And I think it should be worth noting that when she fought Stabo, she was wounded, very seriously."

"In what way?" Shaak Ti asked.

Obi-Wan actually winced before saying, "In the fight before the gladiators, we were pitted against a pack of kath hounds. I distracted them momentarily, but when no one was looking, one of them went after her. She had been released into the arena to fight, but with her hands bound before her. That wasn't something that concerned her; she used the Force to break the binders apart from the inside. She then killed one of the hounds that attacked her by jumping and landing on top of it, breaking its spine. Then she drew one of her knives and killed it, which is when I should have noticed there was something different about her. But I didn't, and she did give me one of her knives as Dooku had my lightsaber. But it cost her, since the next thing I knew, she had been bitten on the arm and was bleeding heavily."

"How heavily?" Master Gallia asked, to which Obi-Wan replied, "The artery had been either nicked or cut; Kix couldn't tell for sure. The blood was spurting out of her arm in wide arcs, and it took her and Kix to stop the bleeding. Once it was under control again, she went back to fighting like nothing had happened, and that was when she killed Stabo. I have never seen anything like it before. She was close to death then, that was sure, and yet kept going with everything she had. She certainly is a fighter," quite a bit of admiration in his eyes as he remembered what he had seen.

"She let Kix get that close?" Master Plo asked, surprised. He knew, as did the rest of the council the half-Nautolan hadn't let anyone get close in the brief time they had been aware of her.

Obi-Wan nodded, "She knew she needed help and knew that Kix could give it. She let him help her again when we escaped into the catacombs, but the second he tried to check her pulse at her neck, she tried to bite him," he raised an eyebrow at that, "The message was clear, and Kix respected it. After that, we rescued Master Unduli, and once we were above ground again, we saw her in the distance. We decided to let her go since she clearly didn't want help, but I don't know where she went after that."

"Probably to get help from someone she trusts," Mace said thoughtfully, "She certainly is an enigma."

"An enigma Count Dooku was interested in," Obi-Wan said, "He wanted to fight her if she survived the first few fights in the arena."

"What?" Shaak asked in complete surprise, while Adi said, "I don't understand why he would want to. It wouldn't be a fair fight for her, and the odds of her surviving would have been low."

"She was able to fight her way up to the balcony while wounded where he and Ventress were and retrieve my lightsaber, as well as Master Skywalker's, even though I think the surprise of her daring kept them from reacting too much," Obi-Wan said lightly, "I don't think the Count noticed, and she tossed them back to us."

"So someone is a pickpocket," Master Plo said amusedly, while Mace said, "Count Dooku wanting to fight her may not be as far-fetched as it seems. There is a fair chance he knows what we just found out," looking at Master Yoda as he said this.

The Grand Master only nodded, and Mace continued, "When she used the Force to remove the Zillo Beast from Coruscant, we had our suspicions about her since there has never been a record of a Jedi being able to do such a thing, or a Sith for that matter. We wanted to see what her midi-cholrian count was and was given the chance when she left some of her blood behind afterward. While that blood tells Dr. Boll one thing about her DNA and how she came into being, it tells us another story entirely."

"She is strong in the Force and clearly trained," Master Gallia said thoughtfully, "What is her count?"

Mace looked at Yoda, who nodded slightly before saying, "Register on the test, it did not. Higher than Master Skywalker's, it was. More powerful than a Sith or Jedi, she may be."

There was stunned silence in the room for several minutes, but finally, Master Mundi asked quietly, "How is that possible? I have never heard of such a thing."

"Neither have I," Mace said, "Which is why it is imperative we find her and keep her away from the Sith. Such a high count makes her a target for the Sith; they would want to corrupt her to their side. I am not sure what it could mean for the future, but we must find her to find out. That high of a count could be why she could navigate the tunnels of Geonosis so easily; the Force likely told her where everything and everyone was in relation to each other."

"Assemble a task force we will, find her we must," Yoda said, "But, take precautions we must."

"Yes," Mace said quietly before saying more loudly, "We think it would be best if only Jedi Masters on the Council went after her and brought her in until we have been able to fully ascertain her skills. Which Masters will need to be determined at a later date, of course. There is still more we must learn about her, but we need to keep everyone safe. And certainly no Padawans or younglings should attempt anything with her."

There were nods of agreement all around, but Obi-Wan said, "Perhaps we should include Master Skywalker and Padawan Tano in the search as well. While Padawan Tano is young, she is skilled and capable of holding her own. And Master Skywalker may be able to help track her down in the Outer Rim as well. There are places he knows about to get information in the underworld; they may be of some use."

Yoda nodded thoughtfully while Mace said, "Nothing regarding this task force needs to be decided tonight. We have many responsibilities with this war and inside the Temple. A few we are considering for this task force are currently involved in the task force to find Grievous and Master Fisto. That needs to have some priority," looking around at the masters involved in that effort: Eeth Koth, Adi Gallia, and Ki-Adi Mundi. While she wasn't a member of the council, Aayla Secura was also helping.

"Of course," Obi-Wan murmured, "Hopefully, Grievous will make a move soon that will make it possible to find him. And Master Fisto as well."

Nods and soft words of agreement were seen and heard all around, and then the council moved on to other topics that required their attention, even though Yoda stayed silent for much of the rest of the meeting, thinking over recent events and what they could mean for the Republic and the galaxy at large.

A half-Nautolan with such a high midi-chlorian count? Alone and unaligned? How much more dangerous could that be?

Especially when they didn't know where she was or what she was planning next.

Deep in Separatist space, Kit still hung unconscious in the force field, unaware of anything happening on the juggernaut's bridge. If he had been aware, he might have been a bit concerned, but since he wasn't, he had no way of knowing that Dooku was meeting Sidious and discussing many important things.

"Her skill was unexpected, Master," Dooku said, kneeling in front of the hologram of his master, "She was able to kill one of the best gladiators in the galaxy and did so with a cruelty and efficiency that surprised me. And she was able to put her hand through a shield like it was nothing; it did not affect her, and she was not intimidated by me at all."

Sidious nodded slowly before saying, "She was wounded in the fight, correct?"

"Yes, my lord," Dooku answered, "But once the wound was dressed and she could rest for a few minutes, it was like nothing happened. She ignored the wound and continued on with everything she had to survive. But she did help the Jedi slightly, which you told me she likely wouldn't do?"

Sidious shook his head, "Her motives are less clear than they were during our last encounter. She has learned well to hide her intentions and herself when she needs to, so we will likely have to wait until her next move to counter it. The information on Cato Neimodia, while a trap for her that worked rather well, was still viable information she could use against us. But we had to use it; she wouldn't have come for anything she knew or thought was false. We are only safe in the knowledge that she won't release it or give it to the Republic right now. That will keep our operations in the Outer Rim safe for a while longer. In the meantime, our allies on Glee Anselm are very interested in receiving Kit Fisto. They would like him in the next few weeks, whether or not we have the half-Nautolan. They won't wait much longer."

"My efforts to get information out of Kit Fisto have been unsuccessful, my lord," Dooku said, knowing his news wouldn't be received well, "Every time I think I have broken him, he finds some hidden strength to continue defying us. No matter what we do, he continues to defy us, and we are starting to run out of time to get those answers if the Monarchy is getting so impatient. I don't think them revealing our alliance to anyone in the Republic would necessarily be good for anyone, even them. But I sense they are desperate to get him, so they may be willing to jeopardize their position in the Republic."

"I agree," Sidious said, "But everyone can be broken; everyone has a weak point that can be exploited. We just need to find Kit Fisto's."

"I thought it would be someone in the Jedi Order –" Dooku started to say, but Sidious shook his head and cut him off, "There are very few people in the galaxy that can break Kit Fisto. Finding them will take time and resources we don't have, but the one guaranteed weak point we know about is the half-Nautolan. Find her; we break Kit Fisto. It's as simple as that."

"I will double our efforts to track her down," Dooku said, "and encourage Grievous to be more forceful in his interrogations of the Jedi. Perhaps something can still be learned."

"Assuming Grievous can do the job," Sidious said bluntly, "His inability to win battles does not inspire confidence, and the fact that nothing he has done has brought anything out of the Jedi does not make me believe he can. I may need to send someone who can get the information."

Dooku only bowed his head, knowing that his master would do whatever he pleased with the Jedi, and there was nothing he could do about it. Sidious would do whatever he wanted, and in the end, he would win this war and the Sith would rise to power again.

That was all that mattered.

Just outside the doors to the bridge, Grievous was almost shaking with fury at what he was hearing. How dare Sidious accuse him of not winning enough battles for the Separatist cause?! How dare he think he wasn't doing everything he could to get the information out of the Jedi?! He had gotten quite a lot of information out of the Jedi, just not what they wanted. And it wasn't like it was his fault; the Jedi was too stubborn to easily hand over everything they wanted to know.

But how dare Sidious think he wasn't capable of the task?

Knowing that he was too afraid of the Sith Lord to confront him directly, Grievous only walked away, deciding there was only one thing left to do. He couldn't break Fisto, but maybe he could prove that he deserved to remain in the Separatist army. He just needed to prove himself, like when Fisto and his clones and Padawan had invaded his lair.

Yes….that was it. He would come out of hiding and show just how good of a Jedi hunter he was, and he would make sure the Jedi would feel fear whenever they thought of him.

The cyborg nodded to himself, heading for the detention center to see if Fisto was awake to continue their games. It was time to show the galaxy precisely what he could do, and he would make sure everyone knew who it was that killed Jedi so easily.