Chapter 7: MAV and the Plan
DATE: 4/19/45876 (Four months since Coruscant's infection) (One month since every other planet except for Naboo was pronounced uninhabitable)
The virus spread like a wildfire, uncontrollable. Unpredictable. Destroying everything, and everyone, in its wake.
But even then, nothing can compare to how fast fear spreads.
Christophsis and Coruscant were the first two to fall. One week later, three other planets had mutants ravaging their surfaces. Add another week, and the Inner Core and Outer Rim were completely devastated, as the virus began traveling from the edges of the galaxy inward, towards the more populated systems. Millions died, but billions were transformed into mutts; zombie-like creatures mutated by the virus.
The survivors became fewer and fewer in number. Eventually, they were forced to Naboo. And there they had remained, hiding in that tiny corner of the galaxy while demented monsters ruled the rest of their universe.
It was an apocalypse that seemed crazy enough to pass as a strange fairy tale or a scary holo-vid.
Only it wasn't fake. It was reality.
Naboo was the galaxy's last safe haven. Maybe a million or so people all crowded onto one small planet, cowering without hope. Just waiting for MAV (mutating aggravating virus) to reach them and turn them into more of those creatures that plagued the galaxy.
"My mommy said monsters weren't real," one little Twi'lek girl whimpered from the cot where she lay. "Why did she lie to me?"
Sitting right next to her, Padme Amidala held a small, blue-skinned hand as she whispered, "Most of the time it isn't true. I don't think your mother would lie to you on purpose. But your safe here, Brya. Now, go to sleep. I've got some business to attend to."
The brunette stood up and walked out of the large hut which was serving as one of the several 'orphanages', places for children whose parents were either missing or turned into one of… them. Padme liked working with the kids – especially when she thought of the growing bump forming in her abdomen. One hand placed protectively over her unborn child, she walked through the Virado square to the capitol building, which was one of the ten security headquarters set up across the planet.
She entered after flashing her ID pass, and then continued to the main war room. It was already filled with several people, mostly military commanders and scientists. The Jedi Council was positioned in the nearby city of Theed; but a few, like Obi-Wan and Plo Koon, were with them. Her eyes immediately searched for a certain Knight. She found him quickly – Anakin was with his mentor near the holo-projectors, looking over a bunch of charts depicting how fast the virus had spread on each system.
She stared at him for a few moments. He looked so tired, so dismayed. Ahsoka's death had been traumatizing for him… He was working his way out of the depression, but it was slow.
Obi-Wan was next to his friend's side, helping him to calculate times and work out the proper numbers. After a few more moments, Obi-Wan happened to look up, and then he flashed her a weary smile.
That made her approach them. She noticed a few disapproving glares for a handful of people. Too bad for them. She kept one hand on her stomach, and as soon as she reached Anakin, she flung herself into his arms and kissed him.
Their marriage had been discovered perhaps three weeks after Coruscant's fall. A huge debate had followed, the Jedi Council immediately wanting to expel Skywalker, many of the senators wanting Amidala out of office. Eventually, though, the arguments had ceased without any real solution, because MAV was spreading too fast, and soon enough, there was no Republic. No Clone War. No Separatists. Everything was just… gone. And even though there were the Jedi still, the Temple was long gone, and their numbers had dwindled to a mere handful. The Code didn't matter anymore, Obi-Wad had argued. Now, it was all about survival.
Anakin and Padme kept their positions, and were free to be open with their love.
For now.
Anakin returned the gentle embrace, and then backed away a bit. "How are the children doing?" His voice was very quiet. Padme looked up into the eyes, and noted how they weren't even the bright blue that had put Nubian skies to shame – they had dimmed so much, almost a grey color.
"They're okay," she replied, equally soft, keeping her voice steady.
Her mind flashed back to a few months ago, Anakin with his arms wrapped around him while both of them cried together. "They're going to take her away from me today," he had whispered in her ear, which had triggered the tears. The long hours with the surviving Soul Healers had done her husband good, when he had gone into denial about Ahsoka's death, despite the fact that he knew she was dead. No one could sense her, and no one could have survived that crash. At one point, he'd sworn he'd seen her in a crowd. That was when Obi-Wan had begun bringing him to the Healers, and slowly, the slight dementia faded away. The memories of his Padawan were now fogged and cracked, with several gaps. It had torn him apart, but he was better now.
She hoped.
Obi-Wan cleared his throat, and the couple turned to see him pointing to a small hologram that was projecting several codes and charts. "Anakin and I were just going over Inya's notes on MAV. Trying to find weaknesses in the DNA structure of the virus and such."
Padme's heart skipped a beat. "And did you…?"
"No." Obi-Wan cut her off, not wanting to raise any hopes. "Not yet. We have confirmed that the virus is 'transported' from the saliva glands in a mutt's mouth into an open wound – thus, the biting."
"But you still haven't found a vaccine or anything." Not a question.
"No."
Padme placed her head in her palm, sighing quietly. When she looked up, both Jedi were staring at her sadly. She composed herself. "What are we supposed to do then? Keep searching on computers and paperwork hoping for a miracle that is clear will never come?"
At those words, both men visibly tensed – and that did not go unnoticed by Padme. "What? What is it?" She stared at her husband.
Anakin's eyes were locked onto the ground, and Obi-Wan was shifting uncomfortably. She narrowed her eyes. "What is it already?"
Obi-Wan finally had to say something. "The Jedi Council and some military officers… they've… they're working on a plan that may provide a cure."
Padme stiffened. "What?"
Finally, Anakin raised his eyes to look at his lover. His voice was still quiet, but it provided answers. "They're going to send a team back to Coruscant to try and find a cure there."
No. Way.
"They can't do that!" was her first reaction. "Sending anybody there would be suicide? Are they crazy?!"
"Padme, it's the only way…"
"Who would even be willing to go back to that hell-hole?"
There was a lapse of silence.
No. Way.
Immediately, she felt a chill run through her veins. Anakin was giving her this sad, regretful look. Of Force, no… "No. No, no, no, no, no, no! Anakin…!"
"I have to do it!" he blurted out finally. "Padme, I'm the only one…"
"No, Anakin!" She didn't care that the entire room was staring at them. The Council and police had devised this scheme of sending a team – with her husband – on it to apocalyptic Coruscant behind her back. "You're not going! You can't! I need you here!"
Her words sounded a bit selfish, but she didn't care about that either at the moment. She wanted Anakin on Naboo, with her, away from MAV and the mutts, helping her and being with her when their child was to be born.
"Padme, I'll be going with him…"
Obi-Wan too? "No, you can't go, you can't! I won't let you, I-I…" Tears began falling. Damn pregnancy hormones. She was on the verge of breaking down. She didn't want to do that, not in the headquarters. She turned around and ran.
"Padme!" Immediately, Anakin bolted after her, while Obi-Wan remained behind, staring at the ground. "Padme, wait! Stop!"
She didn't stop, though; at least, not until she was a good distance out to the Virado borders. There was a little patch in the forest there, near a small, uncharted lake. She loved that place, and once she reached it, she finally felt free to shatter and sob.
Anakin was never so grateful for his Jedi tracking skills as he easily found her crying on the ground near the crystal blue lake. He knelt down next to her, and she cried into his shoulder as he held her and shushed her. "Padme," he whispered quietly. "It'll all be alright. It'll be okay."
She looked up at him with watery eyes, shimmering with the rays of light that managed to break through the leafy overhang. "Why do you have to go? Why not someone else, the Council, the military, some clones…"
"Angel." He held her shoulders gently but firmly, looking right into her eyes. "Do you remember last year, before all this happened… Do you remember how I used to leave the apartment at night, and when you asked what was wrong, I told you I just couldn't sleep. I said it was nothing. Do you remember?"
She did. "Yes."
He lowered his eyes to the blades of dark green grass that was tinted with the random leaf and flower. "I lied…"
"…I said nothing was wrong, but there was. I was having nightmares, constantly. I kept dreaming of an apocalypse, a genocide, but I kept them mostly to myself."
She was beginning to understand. "You dreamt about… about this?"
He nodded, as if ashamed. She didn't want to see him so full of self-blame – she leaned forward and kissed him gently on the forehead. He spoke up again. "Padme, the dreams are still going on. At first they were about Ahsoka, and her death. But now they've gone back to being about the virus. I keep having the same dream, about a group of people on Coruscant researching for cure. Obi-Wan and I are on that team, and so is Jason and Inya and several others. And I keep having the feeling that if I ignore this one like I ignored the others…" He couldn't finish. He bowed his head and rested it on her own forward, so that they were both facing each other with their noses just barely touching.
"I have to go, Padme. These visions may be the only thing that will help us survive this thing. If I don't, it'll only be a matter of time before MAV reaches Naboo."
His words made sense, a very good point. Silent tears rolled down her delicate cheeks, dampening her gentle curls that stuck to her face as she said, "And what if the dreams are wrong? What if you go to Coruscant and can't find a way to get back? What if your trapped there, or infected by one of those monsters? Ani, what if your killed? I can't raise this baby alone!"
He kissed her, shushing her for a moment before turning away. "I promise, I'll a way back. You won't raise our child alone. We won't be able to return until we find a cure, but there will be a return. You have to trust the Force that it'll keep us all safe."
"What do you mean, won't come back until…?"
"Angel, this virus is so contagious and deadly. The team will not be leaving Coruscant until we are sure we've found a solution. Naboo is the only safe haven left – we can't risk infecting it."
"What about comms or holo-disks or…?"
"All the power lines and grids are down, remember? Nothing will work outside of Naboo."
She started crying again. She couldn't lose him, she couldn't bear to lose him…
He wrapped his arms around her, rocking her as she wept. Should he tell her about the demonic nightmares, the ones about Death and her taunting? No. It would be too much for her to handle. MAV itself was enough to send anyone to an asylum after long… The suggestion that it may have been caused by supernatural demons would…
No. It was best not to tell her.
But he had to go to Coruscant with his team.
It was the only way.
The only way.
xXx Date: 5/06/45876 (One Month Later) xXx
For the sake of everyone going, the plan wasn't put into actual effect for another month. By that time, everyone knew what the Jedi Council was strategizing and most of the common citizens were furious. The main argument was that sending anybody – even Jedi – back to that wasteland would be like marching a clone squadron into the heart of enemy territory without any weapons. They hardly had any real information on MAV, absolutely nothing to help them begin looking for a cure. Not to mention there were only a dozen or so going. Three Jedi (Anakin, Obi-Wan and Jason), Inya (who had been Dr. Fuzio's assistant), three military officers from Yaazix-5 (Ax, Dean, and Josh), a Naboo security guard (Karis), another scientist and doctor (Nathan and Lynn), and finally, a handful of clone troopers (including Captain Rex of the 501st).
The Council had asked only for volunteers. They hadn't forced anyone to go, didn't bribe or threaten. At least that part had been fair.
The day of departure was pluvial, dark clouds hanging in the Naboo skies, with a light drizzle dampening everything and everyone. The Theed square was filled with people, packed together to watch the departure of the Colony; that was what the team was being called. They would be using three Yaazix-5 military transports; they'd land on Coruscant, and remain there as long as it took to find a cure. Obi-Wan had been the one to suggest Standards hospital, since that was where Fuzio had first begun investigating MAV, and he might've left some research. Inya had quickly agreed.
Most of the surviving Jedi were present. Quinlan Vos had a torn, regretful expression as he shook hands with Kenobi – that only lasted a second before the yellow-tattooed ruffian pulled his friend into a quick embrace. "I should've volunteered," he whispered hoarsely. "I should be going with you. I can…"
"No, Quin." Obi-Wan cut the other man off, and pulled out of the crushing hug, offering him a weak smile. "There has to be somebody left here when we find that cure and wipe this thing out."
Quinlan simply nodded.
Obi-Wan scanned the crowd that had gathered around the landing pad. True – the prospect of a dozen against millions of mutts chilled his blood. He could think of countless volunteers that would've gone if only they had survived the first few months of the outbreak: Bant, Ahsoka, Kit Fisto, Barriss Offee, Master Luminara…
He pushed those thoughts away.
"Please don't leave me." Over on the other side of the ships, hidden from the crowds and the others, Padme hung limp in her husband's arms as he tried to calm her down.
She had sobbed the entire night through, and had run out of tears. So she just let him rock her as she closed her weary eyes, leaning against his chest. Just being in his touch made her feel like nothing in the galaxy could harm her…
She wrapped her thin arms around his strong build. "Anakin…"
"Shh." He leaned his chin on the top of her hair, breathing in her perfume. It reminded him of a salty ocean, a white-sanded beach. He wasn't too fond of the sand, but the crystal turquoise water, so deep and refreshing…
"When I get back, I'll take you to the beach."
The statement sounded so out of place she pulled away to look in his eyes quizzically. She searched his face; and only found longing. He didn't want to leave her – he just had no choice. She knew that deep in her heart, even if she wanted to deny it.
The awkward suggestion sounded much better than her sobs or the goodbyes she had planned, so she replied with a quiet, "I like the beach." She sounded like a little girl again, and when she looked back up into his eyes, it was almost like looking at the small nine-year-old boy on the desert planet.
His lips twitched so that they formed a small smile. "I know. We'll have a picnic, on the sand."
"You hate the sand."
"I don't mind."
She actually laughed. Their conversation sounded so stupid, so, so stupid… He wasn't going to take her to the beach. He was going to Coruscant, not to return for what could be months. Years even, if they couldn't find a cure.
She flung herself back into his embrace. "It's a date, then," she choked out. He nodded slowly, closed his eyes, held her close. He could feel her heartbeat – it was soothing. Just knowing she was alive, and that she belonged to him and him alone.
Her head was on his chest – she heard his heart as well.
The two beats matched each other perfectly.
She started crying again.
After a while, Obi-Wan came around looking for them, and Anakin left to join the other Colony members. Padme managed to kiss him one last time, and then was ushered back into the crowd, where several of her friends came to support her. Bail Organa, a few Jedi, and some citizens… These were people that had been happy for her when they discovered her marriage to Anakin.
Her family was missing. They had been visiting cousins on Mandalore when MAV hit.
The Duchess Satine of Mandalore was MIA too.
Obi-Wan was still depressed about that fact; though he wouldn't show it. Of course he wouldn't.
The Colony members all stood in a line before the ships as Mace Windu reminded them about the dangers, related any facts and words of encouragement he could. He spoke more to Obi-Wan directly; but nobody minded at the moment.
Jason was standing next to Anakin, and shot the younger man a worried look. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered quietly. "Anakin, you don't have to…"
"Don't." Anakin's voice was just as quiet, but more firm. "I have to go. Just drop it, please."
Jason consented reluctantly, and tuned back to Windu.
"…Good luck to you all," the bald-headed Jedi was saying. "May the Force be with you."
Suddenly, a round of blue laser shots were fired into the air. The lasers soared into the clouds and disappeared. Padme guessed Naboo security had done that part.
Slowly, one by one, the members entered the three ships. One Jedi would be in each, and Anakin managed to catch a quick glimpse of Obi-Wan waving at him a bit before the bearded Jedi disappeared among his small group.
He wouldn't even be with Jason on the way there. Anakin was with Ax, Karis, and three rookie clone troopers on his ship. He didn't know any of them. He wouldn't see the others until they arrived on Coruscant – and that was only if they managed to land without any casualties. Standards hospital would need to be completely cleared out, and it was probably overflowing with those creatures.
He only managed to see a flash of Padme reaching out to him before the ship's heavy, ray-shielded door was sealed in place. It was a military ship, so there were no windows except in the cockpit. The ships weren't normal Republic cruisers – they were a bit cruder, less modern. The entire vessel rocked as the twin engines roared in the background. They were taking off.
Karis and one of the clones were piloting. Anakin didn't have any problem letting someone else fly for a change. He chose the seat all the way in the back, wedged into the darkest corner of the area, and sat down, drawing his knees to his chest. He could here Ax talking to the clones. "…gonna blow some mutt ass…!" the middle-aged soldier was exclaiming loudly.
Anakin blocked out the noise, the sight, using the Force to form a sort of shield around himself.
He was supposed to the Chosen One. The Hero with No Fear. The Unstoppable Warrior.
But that was back when the galaxy wasn't overrun with mutated creatures. Back when he'd been with his wife and thriving within the walls of the Jedi Temple.
Back when Ahsoka was his snippy little sister, when he'd gone on mission with Obi-Wan, laughing and joking. Before the nightmares, MAV, the feeling that his life was shattering into irreparable little pieces.
He was afraid.
Oh Force, suddenly he was so terribly afraid.
He felt alone.
He dropped his head onto his knees, wanting to just hide away. Cease to exist.
He never said goodbye to Padme.
Oh Force…
He was crouched in that dark little corner, on the verge of breaking down… That was when he felt it. The quiet little whisper in the Force, the soothing, calm, familiar presence.
"It's going to be okay, Anakin"
Obi-Wan.
"I'm right here, Anakin"
"Master" He desperately reached and grabbed Obi-Wan presence, pulling the warm sensation around him, shrinking into its comfort.
Obi-Wan was in the other transport, with Josh, Derek, and two clones. He was in the back area, and quietly sent his friend soothing pulses through the Force, feeling the boy losing control of his emotions.
It was rare when Anakin allowed his inner pain to be felt through the Force, so Obi-Wan knew that his former apprentice was reaching his breaking point.
"Everything's going to be okay"
"How can you say that?" was the bitter reply. "Nothing's okay? It won't be!"
Obi-Wan was scared – he wasn't afraid to admit it. He was nervous, doubtful. He wasn't sure they would ever be returning, couldn't even guarantee they would survive the first few hours. So there was really nothing else he could tell the younger Jedi.
So instead, the two partners just held onto each other's Force-presences as the quietly whispered to each other through the energy field.
Padme looked up from where she was still standing in the Square, crying silently. The ships jumped to hyperspace, and then…
…they were gone.