Chapter 13 – Brain Invaders
Author's Note: In which Theseus rejoins Ahsoka. :D
~ Amina Gila
"It's good to see you managed not to get killed in my absence," Theseus quips as he joins up with Ahsoka again, and the other Mirialan padawan there. Barriss Offee. They've met in passing before but were never really introduced.
"Well... about that we might have almost been squashed under a building."
"Wait, what?!" he hisses, coming to a stop.
"Ahsoka and I were sent to infiltrate the factory and plant bombs in the main reactor," explains Barriss.
"What?" he echoes again. They went inside alone? Into the catacombs? They could have gotten lost in there! Now he's really beginning to wish he'd been here to help them out.
"Hey, don't worry. Anakin found us," Ahsoka assures him.
"You're not really making me feel much better about this," he mumbles. He was only gone for a day, and she went and nearly got herself killed already.
"It had to be done, regardless of the cost," interjects Barriss. Maybe, but that definitely isn't making him feel better about it.
Their conversation is interrupted as Mundi walks down the ramp of the shuttle, approaching Luminara, Obi-Wan, and Anakin who were discussing the situation with each other. "I'm afraid we have a complication," he declares.
"Don't we always?" Anakin asks dryly.
"I've just received a distress signal from our forces on Dantooine. Master Windu's defenses held, but at a great cost to his men. They need medical supplies immediately. We can obtain these supplies at the medical station near Ord Cestus."
"We're delivering Poggle to Coruscant," Anakin objects, "And Cestus is not exactly on the way."
"The Republic must begin debriefing Poggle right away if we're to get useful intelligence form him," Luminara asserts.
"Master, I suggest we let our padawans handle the supply mission," Anakin proposes.
"Whatever needs to be done, Master, I'm happy to help," Ahsoka chirps.
"Me too," Theseus agrees. "Not like I'm helping here, anyway."
"As am I," Barriss agrees.
"Very well," Obi-Wan says, "Take a medical frigate, and after we've delivered Poggle to Coruscant, we'll rendezvous with you for the voyage to Dantooine."
**w**
Theseus stares up at the dull gray ceiling above him. He's on the upper level of Ahsoka's bunk. As hard as he tries, he can't bring himself to sleep, for more reasons than that he just got back from a recovery period. The room is too cramped for his liking. Too dark. It's too... quiet.
He can hear Ahsoka rolling around on the bunk below him, her movements punctuated by an occasional groan. Barriss is the only one who doesn't seem to be having any trouble, or maybe she's pretending.
"Can't sleep?" he finally asks rhetorically in a low voice, hoping not to disturb the other padawan in case she is actually sleeping.
"No," Ahsoka grumbles.
"What is it?" Barriss speaks up suddenly, opening her eyes.
"It's too quiet," the Togruta replies, "It's a big change from all the fighting the last few days."
"You should enjoy this peace while it lasts," admonishes Barriss.
"I can't," Ahsoka huffs.
"Then maybe we should do something other than rolling around in bed," Theseus suggests, sitting up.
"Like going to eat?" offers Ahsoka.
"Sure. We can try to rest after that," advises Barriss.
Theseus isn't tired. He already slept. Or he is tired, but he doesn't want to admit it. Every time he tries to sleep, nightmares plague him. Best to get up and get moving.
The three find themselves in the mostly dark cafeteria minutes later, the only light on being the one shining overhead. It's still dark, and Theseus has no idea why it feels like something might jump out at them from some dark corner. This is stupid. He's fifteen, and a Jedi. He should have outgrown fear of the dark at least a decade ago. So why is he so on edge?
He's grateful when Ahsoka finally breaks the silence. "I was just thinking about what you said earlier, about enjoying the peace while it lasts. As a Jedi, I'm not sure I know how to do that."
"Master Windu has said we are keepers of the peace, not warriors," Barriss asserts.
"But it seems to me that all we're doing these days is being warriors," Theseus objects.
"We're fighting to restore peace. Once the war is over, it will be our job to maintain that peace." she replies.
"Yes," agrees Ahsoka, "But will we do so as keepers of the peace or warriors? And what's the difference?"
"I don't know, really," Theseus responds. "Maybe it's that warriors lead battles while keepers of peace... don't?"
"I don't have all the answers, either," the Mirialan responds, "Like you, I'm still a learner. What do your masters tell you?"
"Anakin?" Ahsoka asks, shifting almost as though suddenly a little uncomfortable, "Oh, um... you might find some of his thoughts on the future a bit radical." He supposes he understands why she probably is uncomfortable at the sudden topic change. Now that Theseus has been around Anakin for so long, he's realized that his opinions tend to be quite different from that of the rest of the Jedi. It's not something he really wants to talk about with anyone. Not that he has anyone to talk about them with.
"Really?" Barriss inquires looking almost amused, "Why?"
"Let's just say my master will always do what needs to be done. I'm not even sure how peacetime will agree with him."
"The same way it did before the war started, I guess," Theseus shrugs.
The door to the cafeteria slides open, two clones from Barriss' personal command which she'd brought with them for their mission appearing in the doorway. Still, Ahsoka has clearly been working with them long enough to remember names. Theseus would remember to, if he hadn't spent most of the mission in the medbay recovering from his injuries.
"Evening, Ox, Edge," she greets, "Would you like to join us?"
The two stare blankly back at them, and Theseus narrows his eyes slightly. What's going on? Something feels... off.
"Is something wrong, troopers?" Ahsoka frowns, clearly realizing the same thing.
Something suddenly seems to snap in them, and they both march forwards, raising their blasters to fire. What?! Only the constant need for instantaneous reactions that they've all learned during the war allows them to react fast enough. Theseus already has his lightsaber activated, blocking the blaster shots along with the other two, even though he has no idea what's going on. In war there isn't time to constantly question threats, only to instantly act to defend against them.
"Troopers!" shouts Barriss, "Stand down!"
Ahsoka jumps onto the edge of the table, so it flips over, and Barriss leaps over to duck behind for cover. Theseus charges the clones, his blade slicing through the ends of their blasters. Edge lunges at him, throwing him back into the table.
A Force wave from Ahsoka slams into the clone, throwing him across the room into the wall. He slumps to the floor, unmoving. Theseus dodges out of Ox's way as he tries to attack him next, punching him hard across the head. The clone falls to the floor, unconscious.
"Why would they have attacked us?" he asks with a frown. This doesn't even make any sense. Why would the clones attack them?
"I don't know," Barriss utters as she and Ahsoka step out from behind the table and walk over to him.
The door behind them opens again as they approach the temporarily stunned clones, two more troopers rushing in with raised blasters. They immediately spin around, leveling the lightsabers at their necks. The clones jump back in surprise, which Theseus is pretty sure isn't feigned. "What are you doing here?" he demands sharply.
"Two clones just attacked us. What is going on?" Ahsoka inquires.
"Trap, do you know what happened to those troopers?" presses Barriss.
"Couldn't tell you, Commander," he answers nervously, "I'm just as confused as –"
"You're in charge of those men!" snaps the Mirialan, "Did you order them to kill us?"
"No, sir! I did not."
"What's happening? Why would they do this?" Ahsoka demands.
"We don't know. We heard shots," the other clone answers.
"Why should we believe you?" the Mirialan snaps. Theseus may not know her well, but he already doesn't like her attitude. Obi-Wan may have taught him already how to not get too close to the clones while still caring for them, but it seems like she has little regard for even her own men. She doesn't even call them by name.
"Look, no guns." The clones slowly lower their blasters to the floor.
"There has to be a reason they attacked," Theseus frowns, turning off his lightsaber. He doesn't think the clones are planning anything, and they shouldn't be able to attack them unless something is going on. Something no one knows about, because he knows they would never try to kill their superiors of their own free-will.
"They wouldn't attack us for no reason," agrees Barriss.
"My master had a clone betray them once, a traitor who was paid off by Ventress," Ahsoka comments, sounding disgusted.
"It can't be that simple," argues Barriss as she turns to the two unconscious clones, "At least, it didn't feel like that."
"I think there's something more than that going on. They were acting... weird. But I don't think we should linger in here," Theseus interjects. "We have to figure out what's going on, and these men could wake up any time. We should go check the bridge." Because the last thing they need is for something to have happened there, and it's also the first place the Separatists would target if they were doing something.
"I'll contact them now," Barriss frowns, pushing a button on her comm, "Bridge, this is Barriss. Respond." No response. Just what he was worried about.
"We need to get up there!" Ahsoka exclaims urgently.
"I concur," Theseus agrees. "We should hurry." He doesn't waste another moment before sprinting out of the room. Every moment counts at this point. They leave Havoc to watch the two unconscious clones, and Trap follows them. Except the moment they reach the hall leading to the bridge, the ray-shields lining the halls turn on, cutting them off.
"Someone doesn't want us going up there," Ahsoka observes.
"I think we may have already lost control of the bridge," Theseus warns. "I'll see if we can override the controls." Suddenly, he really wishes he'd brought BD with him. The droid would be very useful in something like this. He crouches next to the controls and starts pushing buttons. Really, he needs more lessons in machines. He tries to suppress the memories that always comes with those thoughts.
Everything happens all at once. The Force is whispering a warning, tensing around him, and he spins around to see Trap aiming his blaster right at Barriss. She ignites her lightsaber in a flash and deflects the shots, only for him to lunge at her.
Her lightsaber falls from her hand as he slams into her, a long slimy green worm slithering out of his mouth. "He's infected!" shrieks Barriss, "Get this thing off me!"
Both Theseus and Ahsoka are momentarily frozen in shock, disgust, and confusion. Barriss calls her lightsaber back to her igniting it through Trap's chest. She throws him across the hall before reaching for the worm which is now crawling around her neck.
Ahsoka yanks it off with the Force, cutting through it with her lightsaber midflight. The smoking and still wriggling halves fall to the floor. With all his time being a padawan, he's never encountered anything like that before. And already hopes he never has to see one ever, ever again because that's disgusting, and it came out of someone.
Ahsoka shudders in disgust and voices everyone's thoughts. "What is that?"
"Looks like some type of parasite. It must be controlling their actions," Barriss observes.
'They're being mind-controlled, then," Theseus concludes, "So the question is how widespread is this? Havoc could've been being controlled too, for all we know."
"He probably was," Ahsoka agrees shuddering again as she looks back down at the worm halves, "This explains a lot. Trap was my friend. He would never have tried to kill us."
The girls kneel down next to the worms. Theseus grabs Ahsoka's shoulder when she tries to pick up one of the halves. "You have no idea what could even be on that thing!" he yelps. "Why do you want to touch it? We don't even know what it is!" And besides, that's plain disgusting. He'd think the girls would find it grosser than he does. Apparently not.
"... Good point," she concedes reluctantly.
"How did these things get on board in the first place?" Barriss wonders.
"They must have infected the clones while they were on Geonosis," Ahsoka realizes.
"We'll have to quarantine the ship," she states grimly.
"Which we can do once we actually get in control of the situation again. For all we know, all the clones could be infected by now. We need to be suspicious of everyone until we can confirm that they're actually on our side," Theseus declares, looking between the others, "We need to contact Mo- Master Shan and let her know about the situation." And he can't believe he nearly slipped up and called her 'mother' in front of another Jedi, especially one like Barriss. Thankfully, no one seems to have noticed.
"Let's go," Barriss agrees.
They take off running through the halls, Theseus staying on high alert for any signs of life. They've only rounded a few corners when Ahsoka suddenly slams to a stop, Theseus and Barriss skidding to a halt behind her.
"What?" he hisses, looking around anxiously.
"That sound," she whispers back, "Listen. It's... Geonosian." What would they ever do without her enhanced senses? It's saved them so many messes before. Togrutas have extremely heightened senses compared to humans, and she's always the first to spot danger.
He pauses, listening. Sure enough, right around the corner he can make out faint clicking noises, the same kind of sounds he heard the bugs making while he was fighting them.
"There's a bunch of clones right up ahead," Theseus warns, "We'll have to be cautious."
The three creep down the hall, looking into the room the sounds are coming from. A group of clones are gathered on the far side of the room, and two of them are pinning another struggling clone against the wall. A third one approaches him, holding a green worm in his hand. It makes Theseus feel sick, even for having been on the battlefield for half a year.
"We have to help him!" hisses Ahsoka. Yes, they need to. But how? By the time they cross the room, it'll be too late. The worm is already crawling up the clone's face, before slithering into his nose.
"It's too late," Barriss objects.
Theseus hears footsteps from behind them and spins around, in time to dodge a blaster shot that would have taken off his head. A clone is running towards them from down the hall, shooting. The trio instantly deflect the bolts away, but the commotion alerts everyone in the room to their presence.
They back up a few steps into the room as the clone advances and Ahsoka uses the Force to push a button on the controls, slamming the door in the other clone's face. Theseus turns to face the rest of the room, watching warily as a trooper approaches them, holding two green worms in his hands. The moment those things are close enough, they'll have to –
Ahsoka yanks them away, slashing through one as it flies through the air. Theseus is quick to finish off the other as the door hisses open behind them, and the other clone immediately starts shooting again.
Theseus whirls around to block the blasts, allowing the girls to focus on defending from the other larger group of clones. One of the deflected shots hits the clone in the chest and he collapses to the floor.
**w**
Ahsoka glances desperately around the room, looking for a way out. Even if they could fight off all the clones in here, she doesn't want to kill them if there's a choice. What would Anakin say to do in a situation like this? If they're trapped and outnumbered, a fight they can't win, they run. If there isn't a way, make a way.
She has the answer before the thought can even finish forming. "Come on, let's go for the vent!" she advises urgently.
Moving almost in sync, the three of them leap onto one of the crates, before jumping to a platform higher up in the room, all the while ducking clone fire. Theseus turns to deflect blaster shots as she and Barriss pull the heavy vent off with the Force and drop it onto the floor below. They jump into the vent, scrambling away from the opening to the room as fast as possible.
At least the clones probably won't be able to fit up here, so they're safe for now. But they can't keep hiding. Ahsoka immediately stops when she hears movement. Looking down through a nearby vent grate, she sees clones running past. They're all over.
"I'll go to the reactor room and disable the thrusters," Barriss whispers, "Two head for the aft comm center and send a warning to Master Shan. We have to stop the ship from reaching the medical station."
"I don't know, Barriss. I think we should stay together," Ahsoka frowns.
"If we split up, we'll all be more at risk," Theseus warns.
"I know, but unfortunately we don't have the luxury of staying together right now," Barriss insists, "One of us must succeed." She pauses for a moment, fixing both of them with a look, "If you need to, you'll do what must be done. I know it." There's no more arguing with her, and she does have a point.
"Yes. Of course. Then I'll see you soon," Ahsoka says reluctantly before they split off ways.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Theseus murmurs as they crawl.
"So do I," she replies, "We just need to deliver that transmission and then find Barriss."
Thankfully, it doesn't take them much longer to reach the control room. All of the clones seem elsewhere in the ship looking for them.
Even through all the tension, Ahsoka can sense how relieved Theseus is at seeing his mother, though he doesn't show it much visibly. "As long as these things are on board, we dare not land on the medical station," Ahsoka informs.
"You need to bring the ship in," Athea replies, "We have to analyze these parasites to know how to stop them."
"For all we know everyone on the ship could be infected except us," Theseus argues, "If we dock, who knows how far the infection could spread?"
"You don't understand how terrible these things are," Ahsoka agrees.
"We will take precautions," insists Athea, "You need to bring the ship in." The Togruta can see how worried she is for Theseus as well.
She sighs. "I have a bad feeling about this, Master Shan, but I will follow your instructions."
Rex calls almost as soon as the transmission with Athea Shan is broken. "Rex, this is Ahsoka," she responds, "Boy am I glad to hear your voice."
"Likewise, sir," he replies, "I've got someone here who wants to speak with you." He steps aside, allowing Anakin to come forwards.
"Ahsoka, Theseus, what's going on? Are you okay?" he demands.
"We are, but I can't say the same for anyone else on the ship," Theseus answers, "These worm-like parasites are loose everywhere."
"Make sure you both have a wrist comm," Anakin instructs, "Keep it on. I'm going to interrogate Poggle. He might have some answers. Find Barriss and wait for my signal."
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