Thank you to the 13 people who reviewed the last chapter and I hope that you like this chapter. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

Chapter 19

Ferus Olin did his best to research the planet where the mission was going to take place but there wasn't much to go on. The planet wasn't mentioned in the Temple Archives but Skywalker's Padawan, Ahsoka, had found a brief mention of it in the Kaliida Shoalis Medical Center's records. However, that brought little to nothing to light. The Order was only lucky they managed to get a topography image of the planet so that they could figure out how to infiltrate Durd's base of operations.

Ferus glanced at Jenica; the dark haired apprentice of Obi-Wan Kenobi was quiet but she was also determined and seemed to take her work very seriously. In fact, she did the same amount of research Ferus did on Lanteeb but became frustrated when she found out there wasn't a lot of information on the planet.

Ferus explained to the younger Padawan that Lanteeb didn't appear on the Jedi Archives so it would make sense that she wasn't finding a lot of information because the only people who likely knew more about the planet were people who lived on the planet. Ferus did know that Lanteeb, while aligned with the Republic, didn't have a representative in the Galactic Senate. However, the lack of information the planet made him wonder how anyone even knew about the planet as it is.

"Ready to go, Jenica?" he asked watching as the dark-haired girl stepped into the hangar bay. She was dressed in her Jedi robes with her lightsaber hanging on her belt.

"I'm ready," she said before she jogged toward the small starship Ferus would pilot to the surface of Lanteeb in fifteen minutes. Skywalker and his Padawan had left for the planet's surface fifteen minutes earlier.

Ferus thought about Skywalker. To this day, he was still convinced that there was something different about Skywalker, something Skywalker's former master was blind to. He wasn't like other Jedi. He was reckless, stubborn and impulsive and Ferus couldn't help but wonder why it was that Skywalker had become a Jedi Knight before him and got himself an apprentice before him.

Ferus firmly pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. They were the thoughts of a jealous Padawan and Ferus was not jealous; a Jedi wasn't supposed to be jealous. He decided to focus on the matter at hand and he jogged after Jenica into the starship.

He slipped into the pilot's chair before activating the ship's main engines and running a diagnostic scan on the ship's engines and stabilizers and, once everything was ready, he turned his brown gaze to Jenica who was examining the stars that speckled the black surface outside. He could sense a brief surge of nervousness and he frowned.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Jenica nodded mutely. "This is the first time I've gone on a mission with my master though," she said softly.

Ferus blinked sympathetically; he recalled the first time he had gone on a mission by himself. It had been a while but he still remembered that day; he had been nervous too.

"You can do it," said Ferus.

Jenica smiled before she glanced at the stars. "Do you think we'll succeed in this mission?" she asked.

"I believe so," replied Ferus as he continued to gaze at the stars before he rested his hands on the control yoke and prepared to leave the hangar bay.

Fifteen minutes had gone by.

Anakin was practically crawling on his hands and knees down the tunnel the map of Durd's base of operations had shown. The tunnel was a lot smaller than Anakin thought it would be; it wasn't small for Ahsoka who was moving several feet ahead of him but, with his height and broad shoulders, it was small for him.

So it was difficult to make it through the tunnel.

Anakin gritted his teeth before pushing further as the tunnel curved around and then around again. Luckily, by the time he neared the third turn, the tunnel widened out and Anakin breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily breathing in the dust that filled the tunnel. Coughing as he shifted into a sitting position, for the widened part of the tunnel was also high enough to where Anakin could sit up without hitting his head on the compact dirt above his head, he looked around.

"We're not there yet, Master," Ahsoka said smiling as she also sat cross-legged on the ground in front of Anakin and glanced at him. Her headdress and lekku were covered in dust as were her clothes.

"Please tell me the tunnel isn't as small as the tunnel we just left," Anakin said rubbing his shoulders. "I barely fit through there."

"You still have to go back through there on the way out," Ahsoka said.

"Yes but only if the bioweapon is still here, which is highly unlikely." Anakin stretched before moving toward the tunnel and gesturing toward Ahsoka to go first. She smiled before crawling into the tunnel and Anakin followed her. Thankfully, the tunnel wasn't as small as the tunnel he left earlier and he was able to avoid banging his shoulders on the walls of the tunnel.

They continued to crawl through the tunnel for about a kilometer before they neared the gap that showed a sewer stretching to the left and right of the gap with both ends curving. Unfortunately, there was no way to go ahead; they had to go either left or right and through the sewer waters.

Ahsoka held her nose. "Ugh, it stinks worse than a hutt in here and we both know what hutts smell like," she said.

Anakin grimaced. "Tell me about it. At least we can stand up," he said before he stretched out with the Force. The Force seemed to tell him to head right so he leapt down into the sewer and the water splashed around him before splashing again when Ahsoka leapt down into the sewer behind him.

The two of them began hurrying through the waters of the sewer to the right. When they reached the curve, they turned it and spotted a pipe resting in the wall. Above the pipe was a stone wall but Anakin sensed that they had reached their goal.

"Come on," he whispered before he used the Force and leapt onto the pipe. He unhooked his lightsaber from his belt before igniting it and plunging it into the stone above him.

"Are you sure that's wise, master?" Ahsoka whispered. "What if there are people up there?"

"I can sense no one, Ahsoka," Anakin whispered back as he cut a hole big enough for him and Ahsoka to slip through before using the Force to push the circular piece of stone and gently resting it next to the hole. As he did this, he found himself hoping his hunch was correct and there weren't any people, or droids for that matter, above his head. After all, a Jedi couldn't sense droids. He used the Force to leap through the hole, relieved to see his hunch was correct, before pressing himself against the durasteel corridor and glancing to the left and right of the corridor but he couldn't see anyone. In fact, he seemed to be near the garbage masher, if the smell was any indication, but he knew he was in the base so that was good to know.

He sent a nudge through the Force and Ahsoka joined him before also pressing herself against the wall lightsaber in her hand as Anakin gently replaced the stone in the hole to where it didn't look as though someone had opened it. "I doubt they won't notice anything so we'd best get moving," he said.

"Where do we go?"

"Any computer terminal would be fine."

Ahsoka nodded and the two of them began to, as stealthily as they possibly could, search for a computer terminal.

Using the Force, Obi-Wan lowered the grate blocking entrance to the ventilation shaft to the ground before using the Force to leap into the shaft. He shifted backwards a couple of meters as Siri leapt into the shaft behind him before using the Force to replace the grate. "I don't think anyone noticed us," she whispered.

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement before he began moving deeper into the shaft stretching out with the Force as he did so in an attempt to locate Lok Durd. He knew enough about Neimodians from the missions he had in the future that dealt with them that he knew they could be cowards. That being said, Obi-Wan was determined to at least get close to Durd before Durd learns that something was not right.

However, first he had to figure out where Durd would be located.

Siri glanced at him as the two of them came to a stop on top of a grate and Obi-Wan peered down at the droid-filled corridor beneath their feet. He glanced at Siri before gesturing forward. "Let's keep moving," he whispered quietly. "We should probably get as close to the center of the base as possible."

"I agree," Siri whispered in reply and the two of them began moving again. They walked for what seemed like ever until they reached the portion of the shaft that ended in a gap showing a vertical shaft through which the turbolift traveled.

"There's a turbolift out there," Obi-Wan whispered pointing down through the grate at a turbolift lobby filled with droids.

"If we go down there then we're going to announce our presence to the entire base," Siri whispered.

Obi-Wan pursed his lips together knowing the blonde woman was right. "Not if we ride on top of it," he said as an idea came into his mind. "We just have to remember to get off before we reach the top floor."

"The top floor is likely where Durd is located though."

"Yes but at least we won't announce our presence until we reach the floor below the top floor. That should buy us some more time."

"Good point." Siri leapt onto the turbolift that had come to a stop at the floor beneath their feet and Obi-Wan followed her. They crouched down as the turbolift began to rise steadily toward the top of the base.

The instant the turbolift came to a stop on the floor below the top floor, Siri leapt into the ventilation shaft and Obi-Wan followed her before they began moving slowly down the shaft toward the nearest grate so that they could see what they would be facing when they finally got down to the floor below them.

"A lot of droids," Siri whispered her arm brushing Obi-Wan's slightly. "Is it just me or are there more droids here than should actually be here?"

Obi-Wan sat back on his heels caressing his beard thoughtfully. "I feel it is likely Durd knows we are coming. However, if he does know we're coming then why hasn't he sounded the alarms?"

"Maybe he can't be sure we're here yet," suggested Siri.

"Possibly." Obi-Wan glanced at the droids. "Let's keep moving and see if we can find a place where there aren't as many droids."

Siri nodded in agreement and the two of them began moving again.

Jenica pressed herself against the tree peering at the courtyard that lay outside of the base. They were on the ground floor and Jenica could see several droids ranging from skinny battle droids to droidekas to super battle droids. She glanced up to where Ferus was balancing precariously on one of the branches above her head examining the courtyard from a higher vantage point before he leapt down to land lightly on his feet next to Jenica.

"There are too many droids," he whispered. "We're going to have to be stealthy if we're going to be able to get into the main building. Doctor Fhernan is probably being kept in the detention center and that's usually below ground."

"So what do we do?" asked Jenica frowning.

Ferus examined the building brown eyes narrowed. "We don't want anyone to know we're here," he said. "So we're going to have to distract the droids long enough for us to enter the main building."

Jenica gazed around looking for something that could be used to distract the droids. "Maybe something near the main entrance," she whispered, "as if someone was trying to attack the base. The droids would have to answer to that, wouldn't they?"

Ferus glanced at her. "Yes but how do we make something happen there?" he asked turning his gaze back to the gate as he waited patiently for Jenica to respond.

The dark-haired apprentice turned her gaze back at the main gates before she spotted three battle droids walking around a cache of weapons near the gates; the gates were currently open. She narrowed her eyes before dashing toward another tree closer to the main gates.

Ferus dashed after her before grabbing her arm gently but firmly. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

"I have a plan," Jenica said glancing back at Ferus.

"Do you not think it would have been better to discuss this plan before we rushed ahead and did it?"

"You sound like my master, Ferus. I feel it'll work," Jenica said turning her gaze toward the nearest tree and dashing toward it. Ferus quickly dashed after her.

"So what is the plan?" he asked apprehensively.

"I was thinking I could make that cache blow up but make it seem as though it was coming from outside the walls while the gate is open," Jenica said.

"And how do you suppose you're going to do that?" Ferus asked.

Jenica flushed when she realized she didn't exactly have a plan for how to do that yet. She usually thought things through to the end but in her determination to get inside the base, she didn't think far enough ahead. "Uh…"

"You haven't thought of that yet."

Jenica shook her head feeling ashamed.

Ferus sighed before turning his gaze to the cache. "It's a good plan, Jenica," he said. "We just need to figure out how to do it without alerting the droids to our position." He turned his gaze to the gates eyes narrowed.

"That'll be the hardest part," he said quietly. "We'll need to do this subtlety…"

Naturally, that was when the alarms started blaring and Ferus, gesturing for Jenica to crouch down, leapt into the tree before also crouching down as the droids around the cache glanced at the hologram that had appeared before them.

"There are intruders in the base," the hologram said. "Shoot them on sight. They may be after the prisoner. Look everywhere for them."

"Roger, roger," the droids said.

"Blast, how did they figure out we were here so fast?" Jenica whispered sharply to Ferus.

Ferus glanced down at her. "I don't know," he said. "We don't know exactly that they know about the others though so we should get inside the base while we still have the chance."

"But there are a lot of droids between here and there," Jenica protested. "We can't exactly be subtle now."

Ferus glanced at the droids eyes narrowed. "We can't," he said, "but we have to move. It won't be long before they look here." He gestured toward the droids who were fanning out around the courtyard. Some of them were already heading toward the tree Jenica was crouched behind.

Ferus leapt down from the tree lightsaber in his hand. "Stay close to me," he whispered.

Jenica, gripping the hilt of her lightsaber tightly to where her knuckles were white, nodded struggling to overcome her fear. This was her first time on the field fighting droids; the last several missions she's been on, they were usually quick missions with little to no fighting. In fact, this was Jenica's second mission that involved a lot of droids and she had to fight to keep her fear back. She reminded herself she was a Jedi, or soon will be, and she will make her master proud of her by overcoming her fear. She couldn't let it distract her.

Ferus, glancing at her, dashed toward the droids blocking blaster bolts rapidly with his blue blade and Jenica quickly hurried after him moving as swiftly as she possible could to stay behind Ferus.

"Jedi! Shoot them!" one droid called just before it was sliced in half by Ferus's blue blade. Jenica ignited her own lightsaber and did her best to block the blaster bolts that were flying at her. She hadn't had much practice with lightsaber combat but she was thankful that she knew how to defend herself, that was one of the things all Jedi younglings were taught when they were first given training lightsabers.

However, training lightsabers and remotes were much different from real lightsabers and droids. Unlike remotes, droids were firing to kill not sting, stun or disarm.

Jenica took a deep breath as she blocked another blaster bolt. She was now fighting back to back with Ferus although she noticed Ferus was doing his best to make it so that she was fighting fewer enemies than he was. She wanted to prove that she could handle herself but she knew her limited knowledge on lightsaber combat, since she's only been an apprentice for a couple of months, would hinder her.

So she let the older apprentice take care of the larger number of droids as he guided her toward the entrance to the base. When she reached the door, she quickly sliced through the droids that stepped through it and dashed into the opening with Ferus just behind her. It took them both only a moment to realize they were on a turbolift when it began moving downward.

"I am pretty sure this is the way we have to go," Ferus said as the blinking lights continued to nearly blind Jenica. "But I do not think it would be wise to stay in this turbolift." Without waiting for Jenica to respond, he sank his lightsaber into the roof of the turbolift and cut a hole big enough for them to jump through. After removing the piece of durasteel, he leapt on top of the lift before peering into the hole.

"Come on," he called.

Jenica nodded before closing down her lightsaber and joining Ferus. She watched as Ferus picked up the piece of durasteel and replaced it back in the spot where it had been moments before. He then crouched down clipping his lightsaber to his belt.

"How do you think they found out we were here, Ferus?" Jenica asked.

Ferus glanced at her. "We must focus on the now, Jenica," he said.

Jenica gazed at the durasteel walls as the turbolift drew to a stop before glancing at the entrance to the ventilation shaft. "Should we go through there?" she asked pointing.

Ferus nodded before climbing into the horizontal shaft and Jenica followed him swiftly.

"Blast it," Anakin growled glancing up at the blaring alarms and the flashing red lights before he returned his gaze to the computer terminal he was attempting to hack into. "There are a lot of security firewalls up and the fact that droids could probably be here at any minute is making it hard for me to get the information we need."

"Can you see where the droids are?" Ahsoka asked.

Anakin shook his head fingers running across the console. "It will take too much time. Finding the bioweapon is primary right now, Ahsoka. Keep a lookout and let me know if you see anything."

"Yes master."

"Intruders have entered the base. All units to the detention center. Uh, unless you are the intruders in which case stay where you are," a droid's voice sounded over the intercom and Anakin glanced up.

"All right, if all the units do go to the detention center then that should buy me enough time," he said.

"What about Jenica and Ferus, master?" Ahsoka asked.

Anakin snorted. "Olin can take care of himself," he said refocusing his attention on the console.

Ahsoka looked like she was going to say something but decided against it as she took up position at the door leading into the room where they found the computer terminal. Anakin continued to work as quickly as he possibly could in order to hack into the systems and discover the location of the bioweapon.

Finally, he managed to get past the last firewall and began searching for the bioweapon. He whistled when he found the file that contained the blueprints to the bioweapon. "Either I'm getting better at this hacking business, the Neimodians forgot to delete the blueprints or someone deliberately left them in the system," he said examining the blueprints.

"But how would they have known we'd go looking for it?" Ahsoka asked frowning.

"How did they know we were going to infiltrate the base?"

"Maybe they were just lucky."

Anakin's brow furrowed. "I don't think so," he murmured. "Something's not right here. This has the feelings of a trap. To quote Obi-Wan, I have a bad feeling about this."

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: and that was chapter 19

Darth: I rather liked it

Severus: (snorts) you would

Harry: there wasn't much Obi-Wan in this chapter

Sirius: or Siri

Blaze: the next chapter is going to have two to three pages that will focus on Obi-Wan and Siri's part of the mission

Sirius: cool!

Severus: (snorts)

Voldy: SEVERUS!

Severus: what?

Voldy: will you tell the idiot Skywalker to stop trying to hex me?

Anakin: (tosses another hex at Voldy from wand he stole from Ron)

Ron: HEEEEEEEEYYYYYY

Severus: Skywalker?

Anakin: what?

Severus: stop trying to hex Voldy

Anakin: no! (Tosses yet another hex at Voldy)

Severus: okay then (glances at Voldy) I did all I could (Walks off to Starbucks)

Darth: (joins Severus)

Voldy: (glares after Severus)

Blaze: (chuckles) please review and I will post chapter 20 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it'll be anytime soon.