Lol, I was re-watching Captain Marvel and I just realized that I named my character Veers and had emotion be a large part of her character...I swear that was not intentional. Oops.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, only Veers.

Battle droids on Naboo! As the Separatist rebellion rages through the galaxy, even peaceful planets are threatened. Following the discovery of Separatist droids wandering the grassy wasteland, Naboo is once again on high alert. Fearing their home is facing another invasion, Senator Amidala and Representative Binks race to Naboo to assess the situation. Meanwhile, near the Gungan swamplands, an even graver threat is about to be discovered…

Obi-Wan walked through the silent archives in the Jedi Temple. He had been training Veers for only a month, but he had quickly learned that during her spare time she was almost always in the Temple's archives, studying some obscure topic or another.

He found her at a small desk at the side of the large room. She was crouched over a blueprint, running her finger down the print as she made a note. As he approached her, she straightened up, blinking owlishly.

"Master," she greeted the elder Jedi.

"Hello, Veers," Obi-Wan responded. He looked down at the holographic blueprint she'd been studying. "What is it this time?" he asked her. Veers began to shut down her work – she knew that Obi-Wan hadn't just come to make idle talk. He was summoning her for something - either training or a mission.

"Oh," she said, a little sheepishly. Some people found her odd desire to know random things irritating. But she couldn't help it. "Those were the blueprints for the Resolute." Obi-Wan chuckled.

"The Resolute," he repeated. "The Stardestroyer?" Veers nodded as the two began to walk out of the archives. Obi-Wan smiled again. He didn't question Veers's curiosity. He wasn't even sure if she knew it, given how young she'd been when she'd left her planet, but curiosity was an innate trait in most Motiens. "Well, I hope you managed to get some rest," he said. The pair had just returned to the Temple from another mission.

"A little," Veers replied as the duo exited the archives. "I'm not tired. Where are we going?"

"Senator Amidala and Representative Binks have requested our help on Naboo," the human Jedi informed his Padawan. Veers nodded slightly – she'd heard a little about what they were doing there – something about the droid army on Naboo. "They – "

"Did they say what happened?" Veers asked without thinking. Obi-Wan shot her a look, half-amused and half-exasperated, and she glanced down, her ira marks flaring with embarrassment. Veers had an amusing, if slightly vexing, habit of not letting Obi-Wan finish when he was speaking. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"They didn't know much," Obi-Wan continued. "All they managed to get was there something about a secret lab on Naboo. Padmé believes that Jar Jar knows the location of the lab, and she called us in for help." At first Veers was slightly surprised to hear Obi-Wan speak of the senator and representative so casually, since he was usually so proper, and then she recalled hearing that he'd met them when he was just a Padawan himself. She suspected her knew them intimately.

"Is it just us?" she asked him. Obi-Wan shook his head, leading his Padawan into the hangar. As the two Jedi entered the large room, Veers spotted two others across from them. Anakin Skywalker and his own Padawan Learner, Ahsoka Tano, were standing in front of a ship. "Oh," Veers said, pleased. She didn't know Ahsoka terribly well, but they had trained together before, and she enjoyed the Togrutan's company.

Obi-Wan and Veers joined the other two, and Anakin greeted his former Master and his new Padawan with an easy grin.

"Apologies for the delay," Obi-Wan said as the four boarded the gunship. The small aircraft took off, leaving Coruscant and heading for space to dock with a larger aircraft. "Veers here was extremely busy learning about the inner workings of the Resolute." Obi-Wan shot his Padawan a small smile to show that he was only teasing.

"Hey," Veers protested faux-indignantly. "Because of that, I can tell you that we're going to be docking at the port-most side of the Resolute's hangar. The gravitational pull of the surrounding planets makes the starboard side of the hangar inaccessible for a small ship like this one." Anakin raised an eyebrow dubiously. The pilot in him was analyzing that statement.

"Is that true?" he asked her. Veers smiled widely, her slightly pointed teeth giving her smile a permanently mischievous appearance.

"No. I made that last part up." Obi-Wan chuckled slightly as the Coruscant aircraft boarded the Resolute.

Naboo was in the Mid Rim, but it was close to the border of the Outer Rim that the quickest way there from Coruscant was to take the Resolute through hyperspace and then pilot a smaller vessel down to the planet's surface. Since both the Queen and the Senator of Naboo had requested that the Republic intervene, having a Stardestroyer in close proximity to a peaceful planet for a short period of time was not a problem as it normally might have been.

The four Jedi waited on the gunship as the Resolute came out of hyperspace. Just before the doors could close, a clone naval commander came running up to them. Obi-Wan put his hand out, motioning for the doors to be held.

"General Kenobi, General Skywalker," the commander said breathlessly. Veers looked up, curious and a little concerned. She exchanged a look with Ahsoka, who shrugged. Both of the Padawans listened to the conversation while simultaneously trying to look like they weren't.

"I've just received a message from General Typho," the clone told them. "Senator Amidala is missing." Obi-Wan's eyes went wide with shock, and Anakin stiffened beside him.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan told the clone. "We must hurry." Without another word, the two Jedi boarded the gunship, the doors sliding shut after them. Veers and Ahsoka exchanged a shocked look. As the gunship left the Stardestroyer, Veers looked to Obi-Wan, about to ask a question. To her surprise, Obi-Wan was looking directly at Anakin, his eyes narrowed in concern.

Veers followed Obi-Wan's gaze, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw the look on Anakin's face. The young Knight looked furious, his face contorted in a scowl and his shoulders tight. Veers blinked. She knew that Anakin had met the senator on the same mission as Obi-Wan, before Anakin even became a Padawan, so maybe that was why he was upset.

Still, something about his anger sent a chill down Veers's spine. She would not want to be on the receiving end of it, ever.

The gunship entered the atmosphere of Naboo, soaring towards the palace. The horizon was glowing as the sun set, casting a golden-orange light over the planet. The gunship swooped through the air, landing in the palace hangar. As the doors slid open and the four Jedi stepped out, a translator droid, a Gungan, and a Naboo man with an eyepatch that Veers assumed to be General Typho were there to receive them.

"General Kenobi," the man said, sounding relieved. "Anakin. We're so glad you – "

"Where's Senator Amidala?" Anakin demanded, not letting the other man finish his sentence. General Typho didn't seem offended by Anakin's interruption, but his face creased in concern at the question.

"She went to look for the lab," he explained. Anakin scowled, his eyes flashing with fury and disbelief.

"And you let her go?!" The translator droid waddled up to Anakin.

"Senator Padmé can be very hard to stop once she has made up her mind," the droid reminded the Jedi. Anakin sighed, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

"Good point," he murmured. "I know what you mean." General Typho gestured to the female Gungan behind him. The alien had pink skin, with the same long floppy ears and buggy eyes that all Gungans had. Based of her dress, she appeared to be a farmer of some kind.

"This is Peppi Bow," General Typho introduced her. "She was the last person to see them. Padmé sent her here to safety." The Gungan nodded, taking a few steps forward.

"Theysa looking for the sick-maker," she told the Jedi. Obi-Wan frowned at the statement, Peppi's word choice catching his attention.

"They?" he repeated. The Jedi had only been informed of Senator Amidala's disappearance. General Typhoo nodded, realizing that they'd left out an important bit of information.

"Representative Binks was with her," he clarified. Next to Veers, Anakin's astromech R2-D2 beeped plaintively. Anakin digested this information and then turned around, looking at Ahsoka.

"Go with the Gungan. See if you can find them." Anakin spoke rather brusquely, but Ahsoka nodded, unbothered by her instructor's tone. Given that it was Padmé who was missing, she wasn't surprised at Anakin's adverse reaction.

"You've got it, Master." The Togrutan walked towards Peppi, and Veers glanced at Obi-Wan, wondering if she should go with the other Padawan. Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should let her go off without him, and then nodded slowly.

"Stay in contact, and stay close to Ahsoka," he warned his Padawan. Veers nodded, a little impatient. Weren't both of those orders givens?

"Yes, Master," she simply responded, joining Ahsoka and Peppi. As soon as she was out of Obi-Wan's sight, she rolled her eyes. Ahsoka caught Veers's expression and gave her a quizzical look. Veers smiled sheepishly, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry," the Motien said as the two Jedi apprentices followed the native Gungan. "I just didn't think it would be this difficult to adjust to training under another Jedi," she admitted with a sigh.

"How so?" Ahsoka asked. She didn't look judging; she was merely curious. Veers shrugged.

"I like Obi-Wan a lot, don't get me wrong," Veers said. She realized too late that she'd called Obi-Wan by his first name, which was technically a sign of disrespect. Her ira marks flickered at her faux-pas, which would have scandalized some Padawans, but Ahsoka didn't bat an eyelash. Relieved, Veers continued. "I just…when I was training with Rizak, he never needed to tell me to stay in contact – at least, not since I was a youngling." Ahsoka hummed.

"I'm sure it will get better," the Togrutan female said reassuringly. She understood Veers's frustration - Ahsoka too disliked it when Anakin or Obi-Wan babied her. "He's probably adjusting, too – just give it time." Ahsoka paused, and then added in a conspiratorial tone. "Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if that order is an engrained habit from when he trained Anakin." Ahsoka grinned mischievously. "Master Obi-Wan still has to remind him of things like that."

Veers couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her throat.

Momentarily distracted from his anxiety over Padmé's disappearance, Anakin watched in a mixture of disbelief and amazement as Veers walked after Ahsoka. The Jedi Knight shook his head. "Wow," Anakin said, side-eyeing his former Master. Obi-Wan blinked, and Anakin continued mischievously, "You're getting soft in your old age."

"What?" the elder man said defensively. Anakin shrugged.

"Nothing…I just know you would never have sent me off alone, another Padawan notwithstanding, this early in my training," Anakin replied. Obi-Wan sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. Anakin was feeding into his dilemma about how to train Veers.

"I agree," Obi-Wan admitted. His eyes were narrowed in concern as he watched his apprentice's disappearing figure. "But she's not a month into her training – I am a month into training her." Obi-Wan rubbed his chin. "I know Master Lunian trained Veers well. I can't treat her like a youngling." Anakin nodded slowly, seeing Obi-Wan's point of view.

"You're right," Anakin admitted. General Typho cleared his throat slightly, and Anakin immediately snapped back to the matter at hand. He nodded briskly, and Typho turned to leave. The two Jedi began to follow C-3PO and General Typho through the palace. R2-D2 rolled after them, beeping. Shaking his head, Anakin spoke again, this time to General Typho. "Why didn't you send someone to look for them?" he asked.

The Naboo man stiffened almost imperceptibly. Since Padmé and Jar Jar had left, they'd received more information about the Separatist's plans, and Peppi Bow had confided that at least one river in Naboo was already poisoned.

"Considering the latest developments," General Typho explained as they walked into a lab. "We thought it was best to wait for you." Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at this ominous-sounding statement.

"What latest developments?" he asked, slightly alarmed. General Typho walked over to a scanning table, where the decapitated head of a battle droid was lying. He turned the machine on as he began to explain.

"We did a robo-lobotomy on the battle droids and came up with this piece of memory." Typho hit play, and a holographic figure came up. Obi-Wan leaned in closer, frowning. He didn't recognize the person in the recording.

"Who is that?"

"Doctor Nuvo Vindi," Typho responded. "The senior medic for the Perma families. He disappeared ten years ago." As Typho fell silent, the audio of the recording began and Vindi began to speak.

"Good news, my soulless automaton friends," Vindi said. He spoke in Galactic Basic, but with an accent. "We now have enough of the blue shadow virus to start filling the bombs!" He held up a canister bomb triumphantly, stroking the machinery in an almost loving manner. Obi-Wan exchanged a horrified look with Anakin, and General Typho nodded grimly.

"He said – bombs," C-3PO noted nervously. R2-D2 beeped in agreement. On the recording, Vindi continued.

"We will only need to send one bomb to each key star system," Vindi said. "Work quickly!" he ordered the droids as the recording began to flicker. "I want – " the image cut out completely, and Obi-Wan spoke up.

"If those bombs get delivered, we'll be facing a galaxy-wide plague," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "The war will be the least of our worries." General Typho nodded. He understood the gravity of the situation well.

"There is some good news," he told the two Jedi. He pressed a few buttons to pull up another image. "Senator Amidala found the lab," he said as the blueprints for Vindi's headquarters came up. "She sent us the coordinates before she disappeared. We've managed to get a geo-scan of the area."

"It's enormous," Obi-Wan said in surprise, looking at the many pathways and chambers within the lab. The compound spanned several different levels - Obi-Wan was guessing that it was built deeply underground, but he still couldn't believe that it had gone unnoticed for this long.

"It looks like there are three entry points," Typho said. He indicated a few of the chambers, highlighting them in red on the blueprint. "Here, here, and here. This appears to be the main lab," he added, pointing to the middle chamber.

"And the bombs?" Obi-Wan asked. Typho nodded, rotating the floating image to indicate another part of the laboratory.

"There seems to be an above-average amount of radiation in this chamber," Typho responded, highlighting another of the chambers on the floating blueprint. "It's likely that they're being assembled." Obi-Wan stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"If Padmé has alerted them to our presence in any way," he began nervously. Anakin cut Obi-Wan off, knowing where the other Jedi's mind was going.

"If Padmé's in there, and we go in guns a'blazin, she may get killed!" Anakin couldn't keep the emotion out of his voice, and Obi-Wan shot his former Padawan a pointed look. Obi-Wan was quite used to Anakin's inability to keep professional when it came to Padmé, but given the precariousness of the situation, he needed Anakin's head as clear as possible.

"It is a risk we are going to have to take," he replied, not without regret. Padmé was his friend, and he didn't want her to die anymore than Anakin did. Unlike Anakin, however, Obi-Wan could see the bigger picture. He shook his head. "Doctor Vindi and those bombs must not leave the lab." Anakin crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't like these odds.

"And if they, or we, detonate one during our attack?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan pointedly. The elder Jedi shrugged grimly.

"Better to have one planet infected than the entire galaxy."

"Dis da ship belonging to them," Peppi announced, brandishing her staff with her free hand to indicate the vessel. Her other hand gripped the reigns of the shaak the three females were riding. Peppi was a shaak herder, and she had led the two Padawans to her stables for transportation. Though the Naboo animals were rather rotund and un-athletic looking, Veers was surprised to see that it could carry three of them at a fairly fast pace.

"So where are they?" Ahsoka asked from behind Peppi. The Gungan guided the shaak forward several more yards, and then pulled to a stop. All three dismounted to survey the area. Veers frowned. She knelt to the ground for a better look, touching the damp soil with her hand.

"Their tracks end here," she noted, looking back up. A whirring noise caught her attention, and Veers twisted to the side instinctively. Her eyes went wide as she noticed the camera-like lens rising from the ground. Veers immediately flipped backwards, landing lightly on her feet behind a large root, out of eyeline from the scope. Ahsoka slunk into a crouch, moving slowly behind the lens as it rotated to avoid detection.

"Peppi," Ahsoka hissed to the Gungan, who had been standing on top of the scope when it had risen from the ground. The Gungan was now balancing on the machine precariously. "It's a scope. Don't let them see you." Veers raised her hand slowly, channeling to the Force to keep Peppi balanced.

Ahsoka hesitated for a second, timing her movement carefully. She jumped forward, tackling Peppi as gently as possible. The pair landed on the ground next to Veers, who ducked behind the root again just as the scope swung towards them.

Peeking out cautiously, Veers watched as the scope descended back into the ground. The three had managed to remain undetected. Curious, Veers picked up a stone at her feet. She tossed it forward, as far away from the trio as she could, and then ducked quickly behind the root again.

About fifteen yards away, at the other side of the clearing, another scope popped up. Veers and Ahsoka exchanged a look.

"Well," Veers said with a sigh, turning to press her back against the root. "I think it's safe to say we've found the lab." Ahsoka nodded. The Togrutan reached for her communicator, pushing down on the button to radio their teachers.

"Master, are you there?" Anakin's response was immediate.

"Did you find her?" Veers couldn't help but blink in surprise at the urgency in Anakin's voice. He seemed…personally invested in this case.

"Negative," Ahsoka replied regretfully. "I'm pretty sure she's inside the lab." Veers leaned in closer to the communicator.

"The whole area is lined with pressure sensors," Veers reported. "There's no way to get in without detection, but we can probably –"

"Do not attempt to get inside," Obi-Wan said, cutting his Padawan off. A hologram popped up from Ahsoka's handheld communicator – it was the blueprints of the lab. "I need you to detonate a bunker bomb at the south end of the facility." The chamber he indicated glowed red. "It should cause a nice distraction and seal off the bomb area while we come in through the hatches." Veers nodded.

"Got it," she said assuredly.

"Rex and his men will be right behind you, Snips," Anakin told Ahsoka. "They'll have your back." Ahsoka nodded, and the transmission ended. Veers gave Ahsoka a slightly amused look.

"Snips?" she asked, her lips twitching slightly. Ahsoka rolled her eyes, looking a mixture of amused and exasperated. She found the nickname both annoying and endearing at the same time.

"Let's get started," she said. Veers nodded. Though the two Padawans were of the same age, Ahsoka had begun her training slightly before Veers had, and the Motien always subtly deferred to Ahsoka. She wasn't sure if the Togrutan had noticed or if it was just her natural leadership taking charge, but she appreciated it, nonetheless.

Darkness was descending on the trio rapidly as the two Padawans worked. Though their choice of ammunition was limited, Veers was able to modify a bomb so that the explosion would be contained enough to not completely blow the lab. Not only were the senator's and representative's lives at stake, if even one vial got blown during the attack they were all screwed.

"That should do it," Veers muttered, crossing two wires before closing the panel to the device. She handed it to Ahsoka, who began levitating it with the Force. Veers glanced at Peppi. "Call your shaak," she told the Gungan.

Peppi whistled softly, and her animal lumbered over to the herder, out of harm's way. Ahsoka let go of the bomb, closing her eyes to focus. She guided it with her hand, weaving in between the scopes to avoid detection.

As the bomb reached the center of three scopes, Ahsoka opened her eyes. "Now!" she said, flicking her wrist downwards and diving for cover. Peppi and Veers followed suit, and debris and shrapnel rained down upon them as the bomb exploded.

Gunships whirred overhead, signaling the arrival of their backup. As Veers and Ahsoka stood up to leave, Peppi grabbed Ahsoka's arm.

"Meesa come too?" she asked hopefully. Ahsoka shook her head.

"No," she replied. "Stay here and make sure no one escapes." The Togrutan didn't really wait for an answer, but as she and Veers took off, they could hear Peppi's somewhat-reluctant agreement.

The two Padawans charged towards the hole. When they dropped through the breach they'd made, droids had already descended upon them. Clone troopers were sliding down from the gunships to back them up.

Veers stood up, unsheathing her two lightsabers. Instead of remaking her lightsaber that had been destroyed in her fight against Ventress, the Motien had instead decided to use Rizak's lightsaber to honor his memory. It had been a little strange feeling the uneven hilts in her hands at first, but Veers had quickly adjusted, and by now she barely noticed it.

Ahsoka and Veers moved forward in an unspoken agreement, leading the charge against the droids. The confined space made it somewhat difficult for full range of motion with their weapons, but the two Padawans had completed training exercises for nearly every situation imaginable, including this one.

Using one of the tactics they'd learned, Ahsoka stayed low, slicing through battle droids' legs and blasters. Veers propelled herself through the narrow corridor by jumping from wall to wall, dragging her lightsaber through half a dozen of droids in one jump. This way, the two Jedi weren't at risk of hitting one another with their lightsabers, and still left room for the troopers to use their blasters.

Two droidekas came rolling down the hallway and Veers groaned.

"I hate these things," she muttered, leaping backwards to avoid the blasts. "Fall back!" she warned Ahsoka and the others, slashing her lightsabers through the air to block the gunfire.

Ahsoka sheathed her lightsaber momentarily, ushering the troopers back towards cover before taking a stance in front of them. Veers backed up slowly, her ira marks flickering as she continued to deflect as much of the gunfire as she could. Ahsoka moved backwards in time with Veers, her own lightsaber flashing.

"I can't hold them!" she muttered. The droidekas were getting closer, and then gunfire was too thick for either Veers or Ahsoka to get behind them.

"Me neither," Ahsoka replied, her teeth gritted in concentration. A rumble above Veers's head made her frown. She slid her eyes upwards, her breath catching in surprise as she noticed cracks appearing above them. A second later, the ceiling crashed down, smashing the droidekas. Veers coughed, waving a hand in front of her face to try and dispel the dust. When she could see again, Obi-Wan was standing on top of the rubble, smiling.

"Need some help?" he asked teasingly. Veers smiled back, coughing again.

"It's good to see you, Master," she said with a sigh of relief, sheathing the green lightsaber that formerly belonged to Rizak. She left her original blue weapon out – maneuvering the narrow hallways with one was significantly lower-risk than with two.

"Second to that," Ahsoka grinned. Obi-Wan smiled slightly, stepping off of the rubble so that he was level with the younger Jedi. Behind him, several troopers began to descend from the upper level. They were wearing armor that marked them as bomb squad troopers.

"Things are going well," Obi-Wan informed the two Padawans, leading them through the corridors. "We've secured the lab and hopefully Anakin has reached Padmé by now." The three Jedi rounded the corner. As they turned, the trio ran smack-dab into a squadron of battle droids. Veers and Obi-Wan unsheathed their lightsabers, and Ahsoka raised hers.

"I'll get the bombs," Obi-Wan said, continuing down the hallway as Ahsoka began to fight. He called over his shoulder, "Veers, with me!"

"Coming, Master!" The Motien backed up, deflecting gunfire as she walked backwards before turning around and racing after the Jedi Master.

"I'll keep the droids occupied!" Ahsoka called reassuringly. Veers followed Obi-Wan through the corridors. The troopers from the bomb squad followed them, ready to deactivate all the weapons.

Obi-Wan had memorized the blueprints before arriving in the lab, so he knew exactly where to go. He turned the corner, entering a large chamber lined with bombs. The entire room was lined with the explosives, all of which had been filled with the virus. Fortunately, all of the bombs were dim, signaling that they were unarmed.

"Well, looks like the bomb room," one of the troopers said, placing his gun on the ground. Obi-Wan nodded, walking through the room as he looked at the explosives.

"Yes. And luckily, they seem to be inactive," he said. No sooner had the words left his mouth then did every single one of the bombs turn on and arm itself. Vindi must have remotely armed them from somewhere else in the lab. Obi-Wan sighed. "I spoke too soon. Get these deactivated now!" Obi-Wan pressed his comm. "Anakin, I'm guessing you didn't capture the doctor."

"I'm working on it!" The Jedi Knight replied, sounding slightly indignantly."Do you have the bombs?"

"I'm working on it," Obi-Wan echoed his former Padawan. "Dr. Vindi has remotely activated the bombs – they're counting down!" As Obi-Wan had been talking and the bomb squad had been working, Veers had been looking around for anything amiss.

"Master, I hate to say this," the Motien said, her eyes locked on an empty spot. She pointed. "One of them is missing." Obi-Wan followed his Padawan's gaze, groaning.

"Anakin, did you get that?" he asked.

"Copy," Anakin replied. "It's gotta be down here somewhere." Veers paced the length of the room anxiously. She felt useless – she didn't know how to disarm the bombs, so all she could do was watch. She glanced at Obi-Wan, hoping that he would say something. But her Master seemed solely concentrated on the bombs ticking down around him. Veers shifted uncomfortably. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Master, maybe I should –" she began. Obi-Wan cut her off.

"No, Veers," he responded. "You need to stay with me." His eyes were focused on the bombs in front of him, but he could sense his Padawan's potent nerves. "If Anakin needs us, he'll ask." Veers pressed her lips together – she could sense the implication of Obi-Wan's order: you cannot go off by yourself.

"Master, with all due respect," Veers said, trying her hardest to keep the irritation out of her voice. Obi-Wan's eyes flashed to his Padawan, surprised at her quiet, rebellious tone. She continued, "I don't think now is the time to treat me like a youngling."

"And I know now is most certainly not the time to be arguing with me," Obi-Wan responded, arching an eyebrow. Veers's eyes fell to the ground, slightly chagrined at the reprimand. "Have patience, young one." Veers had to bite her bottom lip to keep from arguing further, but she managed. Her ira marks flickered slightly with her irritation and embarrassment.

"Yes, Master," she muttered. She couldn't quite bring herself to apologize, but Obi-Wan said nothing of her disrespect. He glanced around, watching the clone troopers progress. Obi-Wan's comm. beeped, and Anakin's voice crackled over the radio.

"Obi-Wan! Dr. Vindi's escaping – he's at the landing platform!"

"Alright, we're on our way," Obi-Wan responded. He beckoned his Padawan, turning and running out of the chamber. Veers followed him, relieved that he had allowed her to come along. She wouldn't have been terribly surprised if he'd had her remain behind as a sort of lesson and/or punishment.

Obi-Wan raced around a corner, and Veers had to quicken her pace in order to keep up with her Master – Obi-Wan's legs were much longer than hers.

It didn't take the two Jedi long to reach the hangar. Along the way, Obi-Wan had summoned a squad of troopers to assist the Jedi. Anakin was cutting through the door when they arrived, his lightsaber sunk into the metal up to the hilt. He had almost completed cutting an arch of molten metal.

"Almost…got it," he announced, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He brought the weapon down with a grunt, cutting through the last part of the door. Then he shoved his hand out, using the Force to thrust it aside.

As the Jedi and the clones ducked through the archway into the hangar, Vindi began to shoot at them. The doctor was standing on a rising platform with a ship on it, clearly meaning to escape as soon as he got above ground. The doctor was wearing a containment suit and holding a case that Veers suspected was full of the virus.

Obi-Wan ran forwards, summoning the Force as he jumped upwards. He landed on the edge, his arms wrapped around the lip of the platform. Anakin and Veers stayed on the ground, deflecting Vindi's gunfire. As one of the clones raised his gun to retaliate, Anakin grabbed the end of the blaster.

"Don't shoot!" he ordered. "If he drops one of those vials, we're finished." At that, Anakin ran forwards, leaping up the platform as well. Veers hesitated for a second, and then followed the Jedi Knight. No one had explicitly ordered her to stay behind.

Veers followed Anakin as he climbed up to the platform. As she climbed, she saw Obi-Wan falling backwards. He had one vial clutched securely in his hands, and he grabbed another from the air. Re-focusing, Veers made one final jump, landing on the top of the platform behind Vindi. Anakin was standing in front of the doctor, brandishing his lightsaber. Veers unsheathed her own weapons.

"You're under arrest, Dr. Vindi," Anakin said menacingly. Vindi scowled. He tucked his blaster into his belt. For a moment, Veers thought he was giving up. But instead of surrendering, the doctor picked up another vial. Quick as a flash, he threw it high into the air. It sailed in Anakin's direction, and the Jedi Knight had to dive to catch it, his lightsaber closing and rolling to the ground.

As Anakin's fingers closed around the vial, Veers stepped forward. She pointed her lightsaber at Vindi, scowling.

"Nice try," she said. Vindi simply laughed manically, picking up another vial. This time he tossed it towards the side, as far away from both of the Jedi as he could. He laughed again in glee.

Anakin watched in horror was Vindi threw the last vial of virus through the air. He was too far away, and Veers wasn't much closer. Still, as the Jedi Knight climbed to his feet, he yelled out a desperate warning to the other Jedi.

"Veers!" he shouted. The Padawan was already whipping around, closing her lightsabers and turning her back on Vindi in her haste. The doctor had anticipated her reaction, and he raised his blaster, cackling. The weapon was pointed directly at Veers's back. Anakin rushed forward futilely; using the Force to pull his lightsaber back into his hand. He knew he'd never get there in time.

As it turned out, he didn't need to. Out of nowhere, Peppi Bow came rushing up behind Vindi. She tackled the doctor, and both his blaster and case of virus went rolling harmlessly to the side. Peppi clambered to her feet, brandishing her staff. She whipped it down on the doctor's helmet viciously, and his suit began to spark.

For Veers, time seemed to slow down. She turned her back to Vindi, realizing her mistake a half-second after she moved. Leaving no time for herself to correct, the Padawan jumped forwards, diving to catch the vial falling fast towards the ground. As Veers twisted in midair, she heard Rizak's voice.

"Focus, Veers. Channel your emotions into the Force, don't block them," her former Master whispered in her ear. It was a mantra he'd been drilling into her head since he'd begun training her. It went against everything the Jedi Code suggested, but Rizak hadn't cared. He felt that he had failed her and her mother – he had watched the Separatists consume her planet, watched her people become endangered, watched Veers lose everything she had ever known.

When Rizak had begun to train her, he had stubbornly decided that he wasn't letting the Jedi Code interfere with what he knew to be an integral part of Motien culture and identity. He had set his mind to teach Veers to use her emotions instead of to fear them. Despite how effective he had found it to be, he knew that the council would disapprove, so he had kept it quiet and had warned Veers to do the same.

So, when Veers closed her eyes to let the full weight of all her fear, adrenaline, and anxiety crash down upon her, Anakin's heart dropped. Her ira marks throbbed violently, betraying exactly what she was feeling, and for a split second the Jedi Knight was sure they were all doomed.

But to Veers, everything had become crystal-clear. Even with her eyes closed and her back turned, she could see Vindi's silhouette perfectly clearly in the mind's eye. She could see Peppi whacking the doctor over the head with her staff, destroying his containment suit's helmet. And she could see the vial.

The Force rushed through Veers, and she reached out.

Veers arched her back, her fingers closing securely around the vial as she tucked forwards, completing her front flip and landing on her feet right before Vindi's prone form. Her green lightsaber was in her free hand, unsheathed and pointed at Vindi's exposed throat before she'd even opened her eyes. Vindi's expression flickered for only half a second. Though his plan in unleashing the virus manually hadn't succeeded, he still had the bombs.

"Yes!" Vindi shouted, laughing even though he was completely at their mercy. "The bombs are going off and we're all going to die!" He said with way too much glee. As he continued to cackle, Veers's eyes locked onto the timer on his wrist, which was ticking down rapidly.

Please let them deactivate the bomb, she though desperately.

"Yes, yes!" Vindi continued to crow. "Die! Die!" He laughed again, and then the timer went dim, the countdown cutting short with a beep. Vindi's laughter cut off abruptly, and he stared at the timer in shock. "Oops…" he said, confused. "What happened?"

Veers sighed in relief, lowering her lightsaber and sheathing the weapon. She put it back on her belt, glancing down at the small vial in her hands. Anakin was standing next to Veers, his eyes still wide with surprise. He couldn't help but to study Veers curiously. The intensity of the glow of her ira marks was slowing down some, and her posture was relaxed. He gave Veers an impressed look.

"Not bad, kid."

"Thanks," she replied, trying not to smirk. She wasn't quite sure if she succeeded. Veers looked at Peppi. "Thank you," she said to the Gungan gratefully. She knew that she would have been dead had Peppi not intervened.

"Mesa was happy to do it," Peppi responded with a triumphant smile. The herder felt somewhat vindicated now that she'd helped apprehend Vindi – the death of several of her shaaks had been his doing, after all. Veers smiled, turning around as Obi-Wan and the clone troopers came running up to join the others.

"Ahsoka, are you there?" Anakin asked, turning away slightly as he radioed his apprentice. Her response was prompt.

"I'm here, Master," she replied. "The bomb has been deactivated. Did you find Vindi?"

"Deactivated as well," Anakin responded, glancing down at Vindi's prone body with a slight smirk. "Have you seen Padmé?" Veers raised her eyebrows slightly at the question. Veers had sensed Anakin's heightened sensitivity around and concern towards the senator throughout this ordeal, and she was starting to gather that Anakin and Padmé's relationship wasn't strictly professional.

"She's right next to me," Ahsoka replied. From the other Padawan's tone, Veers was guessing that Ahsoka knew as well. "I'm okay, too," the Togrutan added sarcastically. "Thanks for asking." Anakin smiled, his posture relaxing slightly.

"Good to hear it, Snips," he said, ending the transmission. Veers's lips twitched in amusement. Now the nickname made sense. As Obi-Wan and Anakin walked over to Vindi, Veers stepped back to give the two elder Jedi more space. She walked over to the side of the platform to wait.

Obi-Wan stood next to Anakin, looking down at Vindi. The doctor seemed stunned that his plan had failed.

"Your Padawan did well," Anakin told Obi-Wan. The other Jedi blinked. He turned to glance at the young Motien, who was now speaking to one of the troopers near the edge of the platform. Obi-Wan smiled.

"I'm not surprised," he replied. He regretted snapping at Veers a little – he didn't necessarily think that he'd been wrong to reprimand her, but he also realized that he should have respected her experience more. He glanced at Anakin. "I'll be back."

Obi-Wan walked over to Veers. As he approached her, the Motien looked up at her instructor. "Well done," Obi-Wan said to his Padawan. Veers smiled slightly.

"Thank you," she said. She paused, and then added, "And…I'm sorry for before. I shouldn't have questioned your orders." Obi-Wan waved a hand dismissively.

"Apology accepted. I shouldn't have doubted you," he responded. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, too." Veers smiled widely.

"Thank you, Master."

"Of course," Obi-Wan replied. He cast his Padawan a sideways look, wondering if she was tired. All Jedi were used to going long hours without sleeping, but unlike Ahsoka and Anakin, he and Veers were practically fresh off another mission. "Ahsoka and Padmé are cleaning up downstairs," he told his Padawan. Veers nodded.

"I'll join them," she replied. She could sense that Obi-Wan was giving her the choice without asking it as a question – he didn't want to patronize her. She turned, about to head for the stairway before pausing. She shot Obi-Wan a teasing smile. "And – I'll stay in contact."

Veers was patrolling the hallways with a couple clone troopers when an alarm began to blare loudly. Next to her, the two troopers stiffened and Veers tensed, her ira marks flaring. What now? She thought with a sigh. Her comm. beeped, and Veers pressed down on the button to answer the transmission.

"Veers." Senator Amidala's voice was urgent. "A droid took a vial from one of the bombs. We need to re-check the bombs." The Padawan glanced around at her surroundings, nodding to herself. She motioned to the clones to follow her.

"Copy that," she responded, picking up the pace to a run. "I'm on my way with two troopers."

"How could droids have gotten ahold of the virus containers?" One of troopers asked. Veers shook her head - she had been wondering the exact same thing.

"I don't know," the other clone responded. "But I don't want to be around when they set it off." A tingling feeling shot down Veers's spine. She whipped around, studying the hallway behind her intensely. She had been sure that she'd sensed something…

"Commander?" One of the troopers asked. They were used to Jedi's odd reactions to things they couldn't sense, but given the circumstances, they were slightly apprehensive. Veers frowned, looking around again. The hallways were empty.

"I could've sworn…" she muttered. She shook her head with a sigh. There was nothing there. "Never mind. Let's keep moving." The trio walked into the bomb chamber. After the bomb squad had deactivated the explosives, they had gone through and removed all the vials to transport them away.

"We've already taken the virus containers out of these bombs," the first trooper said. Veers nodded grimly. She'd been around for part of that task – it had been tedious, stressful, and long. None of them wanted to do it again. Even if only one of the bombs had a vial in them, they were going to have to check each and every one - and there were hundreds.

"We're just going to have to check them all over again," she said with a sigh. As the clones walked ahead of her to the other end of the room, Veers paused again. Something didn't feel right…

Turning her lightsaber on with a hiss, Veers whirled around. The troopers heard her reaction and turned to see what was happening. A small droid was on the other side of the chamber. It had placed a vial in the last bomb on the row.

"Hey, you!" One of the troopers shouted. They both raised their guns and Veers rushed forwards, bringing her lightsaber down. As the weapon swished through the air, the droid reached out to press the button on the bomb.

The glowing blue weapon sliced the droid in half just as it activated the bomb. There was no countdown – it had immediately armed itself to detonate. Veers's eyes went wide.

"No!" she shouted. She instinctively whirled around, using the Force to throw the two troopers backwards. It wouldn't save them from the virus, but they would at least survive the explosion. She dove for cover, just as a wave of heat and smoke hit Veers. Debris rained down around her, and the Padawan fell to the ground with a grunt, her vision going fuzzy.

The world faded out for a few moments, and when Veers regained consciousness the room was filled with bright blue gas. She sat up, groaning in a mixture of pain and dismay. Across the room, the two troopers were getting to their feet as well.

"Thanks, Commander," one of them said gratefully. Veers sighed, rubbing her forehead as she got to her feet. She looked around, shaking her head.

"I don't know if you should be thanking me," she said with a heavy sigh. "Dying in the explosion would have been easier than to the virus."

"That's…cheerful," the trooper said. He might've been about to say more, but he was interrupted by a coughing fit. Veers winced. They were already showing symptoms, which wasn't exactly surprising. The three of them had gotten hit with a direct blast of the virus, and they were still breathing it in. Veers's comm. beeped, and she lifted her arm closer to her ear to hear the message better. It was Obi-Wan.

"Veers, what's your status?" Obi-Wan asked urgently, concern edging his voice. Anakin had made contact with Ahsoka, who had informed him of the virus leak. The Togrutan said she hadn't heard from Padmé, but she knew that Veers had been heading towards the chamber when the bomb had gone off.

"Well," Veers said, looking around. "I'm alive for now." She sighed. "I was in the bomb room when it detonated," she told her teacher. "I'm with two troopers – we're all definitely infected." There was a moment of silence on the other end as Obi-Wan digested this information.

"We'll find a cure," Obi-Wan told his Padawan as reassuringly as he could. Veers smiled.

"I don't doubt it, Master," she responded. She paused, and then added, "There is one good thing about it being airborne. The gestation period for the virus is much longer because it takes more time to infect the entire system than if it was ingested."

"How long?" This time it was Anakin's voice asking the question. Veers pursed her lips.

"We might live forty-eight hours?" she responded, an uncertain lilt to her voice. "I'm not sure at what point the virus will become incurable, though." She didn't wait for them to answer this, instead asking a question that had been weighing on her mind. "Are the others okay?"

"Padmé and Jar Jar were in a safety chamber," Obi-Wan told his Padawan. "Ahsoka and a group of troopers were in the hallway, but they made it to another safe room." Veers nodded, even though she knew Obi-Wan couldn't see her. He continued, "There are still droids remaining in the facility."

"Don't worry, Master," Veers said. She stifled a cough. "I'll find the others – we'll keep the virus contained." As she said this, she beckoned the troopers after her. The three of them began to walk through the hallways.

"Good," Obi-Wan said. Her cough hadn't gone unnoticed by him, and his voice was quiet as he spoke, "May the Force be with you, Veers."

"And with you, Master," Veers murmured. The transmission cut off, and Veers quickly opened another line. This time she contacted Ahsoka.

"Veers," the other Padawan said with a relieved sigh. She had been worried that the Padawan had died in the initial explosion. "It's good to hear from you. We're in the safety chamber in complex B. The senator is on her way." Veers nodded, picking up the pace.

"On our way," she responded. Her breath caught in her throat as she coughed violently, her chest aching. Shaking her head, Veers took a shallow breath and continued on. Complex B wasn't that far away, and it didn't take Veers and the troopers long to arrive. As the trio turned the corner, Veers caught sight of Senator Amidala and Representative Binks. To Veers's relief, both of them were wearing containment suits.

"Veers!" the senator said. She looked at the Padawan and the two troopers with her gravely. She knew all three of them had had potent exposure to the virus. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly. Veers smiled slightly, waving off the apology.

"Don't worry about us," she responded. She paused at the closed doors, knowing that Ahsoka and the other troopers were on the other side. "Are they infected?" Padmé nodded, and Veers swallowed, her ira marks flickering as guilt surged through her. She felt as though it was her fault the virus had gotten loose – maybe if she'd just trusted her instincts more, the droid wouldn't have been able to detonate the bomb.

Before Veers could dwell on this more, the comms. beeped and Ahsoka's voice broke through over the radio.

"Senator Amidala, Veers – where are you?"

"We're both right outside your safety room," the senator responded. Veers looked at the closed doors.

"Can you get the doors open?" Ahsoka asked. Padmé lowered the comm. and then nodded at Veers. The Padawan moved over to the control panel. She hit the button to override the lockdown, punching in a code, and the doors opened with a buzz. Veers coughed again, holding a hand to her mouth as she winced.

As the doors opened, the virus began to swirl into the room. Veers and Padmé walked in, followed closely by the troopers and Jar Jar. One of the clones who had been in the safety room with Ahsoka was coughing also, and Veers's ira marks flickered again.

"I'm sorry," Veers said as she reached the other Padawan. She sighed, looking around at the group. "I should have paid more attention." Ahsoka shook her head at the other girl's apology and smiled reassuringly.

"This isn't your fault," she said decisively. Veers pursed her lips, looking unconvinced, and Padmé spoke up.

"Ahsoka's right, Veers," the senator said. "This is no one's fault but Vindi's." Padmé placed a hand on Veers's shoulder. "None of us noticed the droid getting the vial until it was too late," Padmé pointed out, indicating herself and Jar Jar to show that blame could be placed on any of them. "This is no one's fault." Veers nodded, but she didn't quite look convinced.

Padmé surveyed Veers in slight concern. She was already showing symptoms of infection. She been coughing earlier, and her ira marks were growing paler – not the way they did when her emotions were level, but the way that signified illness in Motiens. The veins in her face were turning blue. "Are you okay?" Veers straightened up at the question.

"Don't worry," she said again. "We still have a job to do." Ahsoka nodded in agreement.

"There aren't very many droids left," Padmé said. She glanced at Jar Jar. "We saw some heading toward the south entrance."

"As long as we're able, we'll help you destroy those droids," Ahsoka said, speaking for all of them. Captain Rex handed the senator a blaster, which she accepted with a grateful nod.

"You take the north corridor," she told Ahsoka and Veers. "And we'll take the south." The group split up, Representative Binks and Senator Amidala leading one squadron of troopers and Ahsoka and Veers leading the other.

The two Padawans reached the north entrance quickly. When they got there, a group of battle droids were fussing with some tools, trying to figure out how to cut through the wall. Ahsoka and Veers unsheathed their lightsabers, and the hissing noise caught the droids' attention.

"Ah! Jedi!" One of them yelled. The droids abandoned their tools for their blasters, beginning to fire at the group. Veers ducked a blaster shot, leaping off of a wall and slicing through a droid. As she and Ahsoka began to cut them down, the clones behind them began to fire at the group of adversaries as well.

"Retreat!" one of the droids shouted, beginning to run down the hallway. The squadron gave chase, following the droids through the corridors. Veers quickly realized that they were heading to rendezvous with the group at the south corridor.

As Veers and Ahsoka rounded the final corner, slicing through the last few droids, Veers caught sight of Senator Amidala and her squadron. They had destroyed all but one droid, which was clambering up the ladder to a hatch in the ceiling. Anxiety coursed through Veers, and all of them rushed over to gather at the bottom.

"Stop!" Rex ordered. Senator Amidala raised her blaster, pointing it at the droid.

"Don't open that hatch!" The droid looked down at the assembled group.

"Ha!" It crowed. "Too late!" The droid raised its blaster, firing at the door above it. Fortunately, the lab's walls were meant to be impenetrable, and the blast rebounded, bouncing around the walls of the narrow tunnel before it hit the droid. The robot yelped, falling to the ground in a heap of parts.

Veers sighed, sheathing her weapon and putting it on her belt. She leaned against the wall behind her, panting slightly. The virus took a toll on her endurance, and she had quickly become exhausted. She coughed again, covering her mouth and turning her head to the side as her breath rasped in her throat. When she tried to push herself off the wall she stumbled, and Rex caught her elbow to steady her.

"Veers!" Ahsoka exclaimed. The other Padawan pushed herself back to her feet.

"Thanks," she murmured to Rex. "I'm fine," she said breathlessly, not completely meaning it. "Let's keep moving." Some of the clones had been scanning for other droids and had located a few moving towards them.

Ahsoka led the way, Veers and the others following closely behind. Two droidekas were rolling down the hallway towards the squadron. They stopped and unrolled, putting their shields up and beginning to shoot at the group. Veers unsheathed both of her lightsabers to deflect the gunfire.

Ahsoka flipped forwards off the wall and landed on the top of the droid. Veers thought about doing the same thing with the other droid, but quickly decided in her current state she would only be a liability. Instead, she positioned herself in front of the senator and representative, absorbing the blaster fire with her weapons. The containment suits weren't exactly bulletproof.

On top of the droid, Ahsoka positioned her lightsaber downwards, aiming for a weak spot on the top of the droideka. Before she could open her weapon, Representative Binks raised his blaster.

"Thisa help!" he exclaimed, pointing it at the droid. Veers whirled around, her eyes going wide.

"Jar Jar, no!" Senator Amidala shouted. Jar Jar's blaster fire made Ahsoka stumble, and the blast ricocheted outwards. Veers ducked instinctively, and Jar Jar threw his hands over his head in instinctive panic. The senator tackled Jar Jar to the ground, and Veers's blood ran cold as she heard a hissing noise.

"Senator!" Veers shouted, rushing over to the two Naboo officials. She knelt next to the woman, her hands trembling slightly. One of the tubes in the woman's suit had ripped, exposing her to the virus. Behind Veers, the gunfire ceased as Ahsoka made quick work of the two droidekas, rushing over to join Veers.

"Senator, your suit's been compromised," one of the clones said quietly. Padmé's eyes fell on the hole and she gasped in surprise. Ahsoka fell to her knees beside Veers and the senator, her eyes wide.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. Padmé smiled reassuringly, removing her helmet. Now that she was exposed to the virus, keeping the suit on would simply limit her mobility.

"Don't blame yourself," she said, echoing Ahsoka's earlier sentiment towards Veers. "These things tend to happen on a warzone." The senator and Ahsoka got to her feet, but Veers stayed kneeling, her hands on her knees. The two clones that had been infected at the same time as she were also leaning against the wall, exhausted. Ahsoka looked at her friend in concern.

"Maybe you should rest," Ahsoka suggested to Veers. The Motien closed her eyes, summoning her strength. It took great effort to pull herself to her feet.

"Later," she said with a weak smile. "Let's find those droids, first." Still, as the squadron progressed through the hallway, Veers found it increasingly difficult to keep up. By the time they had reached the final hatch, she was breathing hard. Her ira marks and eyes were completely colorless – instead of magenta, they were a pale, milky white.

"There they are!" Ahsoka shouted. Two droids surrounded the ladder, and a third was cutting through the hatch at the top. Before Veers had even opened her lightsaber, Ahsoka slashed through the two battle droids on the ground. She pulled down with her hand, yanking the battle droid at the top of the ladder with the Force and slicing through that one as well.

As the remains of the droid clattered to the ground around her, Ahsoka groaned in pain, falling against the ladder.

"Ahsoka!" the senator said in alarm, rushing to the younger girl's side. The Padawan straightened with difficulty.

"I'm all right," she said. She limped over to the others, sheathing her lightsaber and putting it at the belt on her hip. Captain Rex was scanning the lab. He looked up as Ahsoka rejoined them.

"Those were the last of the clankers," he announced. Veers sighed in relief, slumping back against the wall as coughs racked her body. Her legs gave out beneath her and she sat down hard. She couldn't summon the energy to stand back up.

"We should…report," she muttered. Her eyelids slipped shut and she leaned her head back. Captain Rex knelt down by Veers, taking his helmet off to take a better look at her.

"Try to keep your eyes open, kid," Rex told the Padawan. It took effort, but Veers managed to open her eyes again. Everyone was showing symptoms of the virus, but Veers and the two troopers who had been in the bomb room were the sickest. As the Motien cracked her eyes open she realized that Ahsoka had opened a transmission.

"Master?" Ahsoka asked weakly. "Can you…hear me?" Anakin and Obi-Wan's holograms appeared on the transmitter sitting on the ground before Ahsoka. They were flickering - the group was so far underground that the signal was weak.

"Artoo, amplify the signal!" Anakin barked at the droid, which was out of frame.

"Veers?" Obi-Wan's voice was slightly panicked as his eyes fell on his Padawan slumped limply against the wall. Even at the urgency in her instructor's voice, Veers couldn't manage to pull herself to her feet.

"I'm good," she muttered in what she hoped as a reassuring manner. She wasn't quite sure if the message she was hoping to relay was successful, or even if Obi-Wan had heard her. Ahsoka managed to give a more cohesive report, but by now she needed support from Padmé to remain standing.

"Destroyed all the battle droids inside the compound, Master," Ahsoka said breathlessly. "Naboo is safe from further contamination. I repeat: Naboo is safe." She coughed, stumbling slightly, and Padmé tightened her grip on the Togrutan's shoulder. Anakin stared at his Padawan in horror.

"Promise me no one will ever open this bunker," Padmé said urgently. Even while facing death, her duty to her planet prevailed over all else. "Good-bye, Anakin," she said softly. "I…" she coughed, and the transmission ended. Her eyes widened. "No!" she said. She stepped forward to fiddle with the machine, but Veers spoke up weakly from behind her.

"Senator, you shouldn't," the Padawan said quietly. The Naboo woman turned to look at the younger girl in surprise. The Motien blinked slowly. "It won't help them…to…" she coughed, unable to finish her sentence, but Padmé nodded.

"You're right," she whispered, standing back up. Quietly to herself, she closed her eyes and finished the message: Anakin, I love you. Turning back around, she squared her shoulders and assumed command. She had been the last of the group to be infected, and though she was beginning to display symptoms she still had most of her strength.

"There's a safe room just down the hall," she said. "We'll be more comfortable there." Ahsoka nodded, standing up straight and beginning to limp towards the room. She hit the button to open the doors, leaning against the wall to rest as the others begin to follow.

A trooper helped Veers to her feet, and the Padawan managed to walk the short distance to the room by herself. As soon as she'd made it inside, however, she dropped to the ground once more, exhausted.

The stronger troopers helped their weaker comrades into the room. Captain Rex lowered one of the clones that had been in the chamber with Veers to the ground, next to the Padawan. The clone's breathing was hardly noticeable, and he barely acknowledged the change in scenery. Rex squatted down next to his brother, placing a hand on the trooper's shoulder as he drew his last breath. The captain lowered his head, closing his eyes briefly before leaning back with a heavy sigh.

Sick as she was, Veers sensed as the life left the trooper. Her eyes cracked open, and she looked to the side, her heart dropping when she saw the trooper's body. Her breath caught in her throat when she tried to speak, and she coughed out, "I'm sorry." Rex looked at the Padawan. Her eyes were closed again, but she still spoke like she knew he was looking at her. "They were with me," she mumbled, almost to herself. "When the bomb went off."

"Don't worry, kid," the captain said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's what these men were born to do." Veers didn't respond.

Rex sat up, reaching for a tarp to cover his fallen comrade's body. Senator Amidala looked over at Veers from where she was tending to another sick trooper. The young Jedi was slumped against the wall, her legs stretched outwards. Her eyes were closed and her ira marks were translucent, exposing magenta-tinged veins and bone underneath her cheeks. The faint rise and fall of her chest were the only signal that she was still alive.

"How much longer do you think she has?" Padmé asked quietly. Rex didn't answer verbally, but the twist of his mouth told Padmé all she needed to know. She closed her eyes, her heart aching. Despite what she'd said about no one being to blame, the senator couldn't help but also feel slightly responsible – she had been the one to send Veers to the bomb chamber.

"I just hope their sacrifice brings us closer to peace," the senator murmured, her eyes locked on Veers's still form.

"It will, Padmé," Ahsoka gasped, her short sentence wracked by coughs. Ahsoka staggered to her feet. "You have to believe…" Her legs gave out and she fell to the ground, her eyes slipping shut.

"Ahsoka!" Padmé cried. Rex grabbed the Padawan before she hit the ground. The trooper's eyes full of concern as he lowered the girl to the ground, checking her pulse. The senator closed her eyes, silently praying.

Please hurry.

Veers woke up slowly, the bright sunlight making her aching head throb. She couldn't tell if the head pain was from the virus or from whacking it against the ground during the explosion, but she knew for sure that the sun was making it worse.

Wait…sun?

If Veers had had more strength, she probably would have shot up in surprise. As it was, she only managed to make a surprised, concerned grunting sound in the back of her throat.

Before she could panic too much, Obi-Wan leaned over his Padawan. The girl blinked slowly, confused.

"Master?" she muttered in surprise. She noted with relief that he looked completely healthy, with no sign of infection from the virus. "What – what happened?" Obi-Wan smiled in relief when she spoke. By the time he and Anakin had gotten back to Naboo and administered the antidote, the two clones that Veers had been with were dead from the virus. Another hour, at most, and his Padawan would have been next.

"Anakin and I saved the day, as usual," Obi-Wan said in a teasing tone. Veers smirked slightly, her ira marks flaring with her amusement. The Jedi Master was glad to see that the girl's color was coming back – though her ira marks and eyes were nowhere near as dark as they should be, the magenta hue was breaking through the cloudy whiteness, pulsing slowly with her heartbeat. It was a sure sign that she was recovering.

"Glad to hear it," Veers murmured with a smile. "Thank you." Her eyes closed for a moment before she spoke again. "Are the others okay?" Obi-Wan paused.

"We lost two troopers," he admitted. Veers's ira marks flickered again.

"The ones who were with me," she muttered. It wasn't really a question – her memories of the last few hours of the incident were practically nonexistent, but she knew that the three of them had been the sickest.

The only reason Veers was alive, despite having been closer to the blast than the two troopers, was because clones had a slightly weaker immune system than most other lifeforms. The virus had worked through them more quickly than with the others. She swallowed hard. Obi-Wan touched his Padawan's shoulder in a comforting manner. He could sense her guilt.

"This is war, young one," he said. "People die. But those troopers – and you – saved a lot of people today." Veers opened her eyes a crack. "You did good work," Obi-Wan told his Padawan. There wasn't a shadow of doubt in his voice. Obi-Wan squeezed her shoulder once more. "Now get some rest."

i hope this chapter wasn't too shitty...i'm not super happy with it because i wanted to start with a mission that focuses mainly on obi-wan to develop his and veers's relationship...unfortunately there really wasn't one.

i considered having veers go with anakin and obi-wan to iego, but i decided against it and went with this instead...not sure if i made the right choice tbh.

anyways, i hope you enjoyed? please leave a review - they keep me fortified ;)

let me know what you think! i love any and all feedback.