"Gah, my face feels like it's on fire!" The voice of Caleb echoed through the dark corridors of the Separatist base, one of his hands coming up to gently rub his brow.

The statement was not an exaggeration either. Ahsoka was fairly certain humans weren't supposed to have bright red faces. At that moment she was incredibly thankful for the protection offered by her helmet. She would hate to have a face as sore as Caleb's evidently now was. Depa's face was a similar shade of red, though she complained significantly less. That said, Ahsoka could have sworn she saw a few grimaces of pain covering her face from time to time.

"If you two had put helmets on like I suggested then you wouldn't be in this mess. We had a least two spare ones after all. You brought all this on yourselves." Commander Grey spoke next, his voiced somewhat hushed, yet full of both mirth and sarcasm.

Moving as silently as her armoured boots would allow, Ahsoka poked her head round the corner of an intersection in the corridor, checking to see if the route was clear, before seeing that it was and signalling the others to follow. She had volunteered to be on point for this part of the mission. It was only right after all.

"In hindsight you are probably correct Commander, but it is nice to know you care." Depa spoke next, her voice equally as quiet as to avoid being heard by any battledroids that might be lurking around.

A loud sigh escaped from behind Grey's helmet, one that Ahsoka could tell was merely a show of frustration at the actions of his Jedi.

"I swear, one day you two are going to kill me."

At that several chuckles emitted from the other troopers present, as well as from Caleb too. Behind her helmet, Ahsoka couldn't help but smile. It was nice to know that even these troopers had independent personalities. They weren't like Rex, but they were just as good.

Slowly advancing further through the hallways of the Separatist base, Ahsoka forced her thoughts to change from the whispered banter to a more serious topic. The mission.

And more importantly, the lack of any resistance.

It was downright odd, and it put Ahsoka on edge. Ever since they had entered the base they had begun to slowly navigate the seemingly endless hallways, searching for anything that could help them. The layout was similar to the base on Myrkr, but had subtle differences as well.

And so far, the one difference that set her on edge was the lack of any battledroids. They had not seen a single one so far. In fact, they hadn't seen anything that so much as resembled security of any kind.

Something was clearly not right, and Ahsoka wasn't the only one that felt it.

"So, where are all the droids, not that I'm complaining?" Big-Mouth spoke from behind her, his question directed at anyone who'd respond. Not having any real answer, Ahsoka merely shrugged her shoulders. The answer didn't seem to satisfy Big-Mouth, as he clutched his blaster even tighter than before, helmet scanning practically every single shadow in search of something. To some it may have seemed that he was being paranoid, but Ahsoka knew what he was doing. He was watching her back, watching the entire squad's back. And for that, she was grateful.

"Be cautious, something is wrong with the Force here." Depa's voice was grim, her entire posture on edge. She too was worried by the complete lack of guards so far, and had clearly sensed something within the Force that was not right. Ahsoka could feel it too. The Force was, in a way, twisted, yet also felt distant or hard to touch, as if something was either blocking it or heavily distorting it. Years ago the feeling would have made Ahsoka's stomach queasy, and her head light. These days she was used to such feelings, which certainly wasn't a good sign.

Glancing behind her, she saw Caleb, his own face contorted in what appeared to be immense discomfort, both from the soreness of the skin and the distortion of the Force. Ahsoka had no idea which was worse. The young Padawan looked up, his eyes locking onto her helmet's visor, before nodding once, a small semblance of a smile appearing, before it faded twice as fast as it had appeared.

There wasn't much she could do for him right now, She didn't want to risk using the Force to send comforting messages to him, just in case whatever it was that was disturbing the Force found a way to corrupt her messages. The last thing they needed was a mentally distraught Padawan.

Continuing forward, Ahsoka found herself before yet another intersection, and again, there was no sign of any Separatist occupants. No droids, no scientists, nothing. It was as if no one was home.

"Perhaps the guards are all outside enjoying the weather?" A clone spoke from the back, earning another series of chuckles from his brothers, as well as a visible smirk and roll of the eyes from Depa.

"I hear battledroids do love a good dust storm." The Jedi Master rebuked, before her face shifted back to the tense one Ahsoka had seen earlier. Her face changed a few more times, pain, discomfort, and then what appeared to be understanding. She blinked twice, before looking directly at Ahsoka.

"Do you feel that?"

Ahsoka nodded. The Force has shifted again, this time almost calling out to them, leading them. Ahsoka had no idea what it meant, but something within her told her to follow it, to track the source of the signal in the Force. Perhaps, if they were lucky, it would lead them straight to where they needed to go.

Or perhaps it was someone calling out for their help.

"I think it's coming from this direction." Ahsoka replied, allowing the Force to guide her as she began to stroll down yet another seemingly endless hallway. Ten steps turned into twenty. Twenty into thirty. Thrity into…

"Here!"

Before her was a door, one that looked no different than any of the other doors they had passed on the way in. None of them had opened for them when they had approached, but there was something about the door before her that made Ahsoka approach it. In fact, it felt like the Force was guiding her to it.

Not expecting the door to open, Ahsoka was surprised when it slid open with ease, allowing her entrance into the room beyond. Stepping through the threshold of the doorway, Ahsoka felt her eyes go wide at the sight before her, even if it was one that she had seen before.

There, positioned around the room were several tall glass containers, each filled to the brim with what appeared to be a green liquid of some kind. The liquid emanated a fluorescent glow, suggesting that it was chemical in nature, and quite possibly highly volatile. But that wasn't caught Ahsoka's eye. Instead, it what was what was suspended in the liquid that did.

Shapes floated in the containers, shapes that looked unmistakably like body parts of a creature of some kind. Images flashed in Ahsoka's head of the room she had found in the previous lab, with discarded carcassses of those strange lizard creatures, each missing various limbs from their bodies. Was this what had happened to said limbs?

"Holy kriff!" BIg-Mouth had entered the room behind her, his hands coming up to remove his helmet so that he could get a closer look at the parts floating in the liquid. His face contorted in disgust and horror, his eyes jumping between each container as he mentally tried to put each piece back together.

Slowly, more of the Clones began to enter the room as well, each surveying the sights before them with their own eyes, and each letting out various sounds of disgust at what lay before them.

Caleb and Depa said nothing as they entered the room, closing the door behind them. Through the Force Ahsoka could tell they were horrified, and somewhat intrigued and confused.

Ahsoka had deduced back at the previous lab that the Separatist were doing something to the lizards, which appeared to be native to Myrkr. At the time she had assumed that it was some sort of project being conducted on various different species of animal.

But now, from what she could see, the Separatists only had an interest in these strange creatures. The question was why? What did they hope to create? What sort of bioweapon was this?!

"Hey, there's an intact one over here." Big-Mouth spoke again drawing the attention of everyone around him.

Glancing over at where Big-Mouth stood before another glass container, Ahsoka saw he was correct. One of the strange lizards floated in the tube whole, clearly dead, but completely intact. As she got closer to investigate, she began to match the similarities to the carcasses she had encountered in the past. They were one and the same creature.

"I've seen this before, in the lab on Myrkr. The Separatists are experimenting on these creatures for some reason."

"But why?" Caleb spoke for the first time since entering the room, one of his hands resting against the glass of the container, as if he hoped to touch the creature.

Ahsoka had no answer for him, at least none that fully explained the situation.

Not yet at least.

Ahsoka's vision was drawn over to what looked like a series of terminals, as well as several display screens. Hopefully, if they were working, they would provide the information they sorely needed to be able to piece this mystery together.

Approaching the console, Ahsoka's hands began to glide across the surface of the displays, each terminal and screen coming to life, displaying what looked like countless pages of information.

Or, if she was reading it right, research.

"Project Nullify continues to stump even the brightest minds we have. The species known as the Ysalamir possess a unique trait that no other species has. It's natural ability to survive in harsh conditions, as well as adapt to any situation makes it a formidable creature, both as a hunter and as prey." Ahsoka read aloud, gathering the attention of several troopers, as well as both Jedi Master and Padawan.

"I'm guessing these poor creatures are the Ysalamir." Depa replied, shaking her head at the sight of what appeared to be a long wispy tail suspended in the green liquid.

Ahsoka's hand ran across another terminal, this time bringing up a holographic readout, or more precisely, a scan of one of the small creatures bodily structure. The hologram displayed itself on one of the main readout screens, various smaller boxes of text appearing alongside, each with an arrow pointing towards a specific body part.

No, not a body part… but an internal organ!

Glancing back at the research before her, Ahsoka continued.

"However, it's true capability, and the reason for this project continues to elude us. How is such a creature capable of such power, power that no sentient being has been able to replicate so far? Is it an internal organ that provides this attribute, or some kind of mutated gland? Perhaps a pheromone produced by the creature? So far, none of our experiments, none of our dissections have revealed any results. Count Dooku demands results, but how are we supposed to produce them when we have no idea how these creatures can negate the Force in such a manner?!"

The end of the log she had been reading caused Ahsoka to halt. Negate the Force? What could that mean?

"Hang on… does that log really say that?" Caleb's voice was the first to break the sudden silence that had flooded the room. His face was a mixture of emotions. Confusion and fear were dominant on it, and Ahsoka couldn't blame him. If the Separatists were developing a weapon that could nullify the Force itself…

"It's not a bioweapon against the Republic! It's a weapon to be used against the Jedi!" Ahsoka realized , piecing everything together. The experiments on the creatures, the secret labs, the discarded carcassess, all of it was to find a way to neutralise the Force, and in turn, destroy the Republic's biggest advantage in the Clone War.

"An astute observation Miss Tano. Not what I expected from the apprentice of Skywalker."

The voice, one full of dark sarcasm, but one carried with a tone of regalness seemed to come from nowhere. The room burst into movement as every trooper reacted, their blasters coming up to, eyes searching for it's point of origin. Even they could tell that the voice was not a friendly one.

But no figure emerged from the shadows as expected. Something was not right. Clearly she hadn't been the only one to hear whoever's voice that was, and judging by the way both Caleb and Depa glanced around, they too had heard it.

It was then that Ahsoka felt a wave of darkness flush over her through the Force, her face contorting in discomfort, though not as much as both Caleb and Depa's. Was it odd that she had less of a reaction to the dark side of the Force than a Jedi Master did?

And then, another terminal flared to life, and a large hologram of an elderly human man flashed to life before them all.

He was tall, and his face was, in a way, pointed. He possessed a sharp beard, one that looked like it could cut through Beskar. His outfit was regal, one that screamed 'royalty' to Ahsoka.

But those were not the only things that caught her eye. On his belt was a lightsaber, with a curved design, not too dissimilar to her current hilt, but one with far more complexities to it.

And the man's eyes. Rather than a calm collected shade of blue or green, were a darker shade of gold.

She had never seen him in person, at least not to her memory, even if he had once been a Jedi. But she knew who this was right away.

"Count Dooku."

The Count of Serenno's face turned into a vicious smirk, one that Ahsoka would connect to a Sith Lord any day. Ventress had once had similar looks on her face, before her departure from the Count's services.

Dooku's eyes continued to linger on her for a moment, silently judging her in a way that reminded Ahsoka of Master Yoda, only in a much crueler way. When he was done with his analysis, his gaze moved over to the next person, his smirk being replaced by a sneer.

"Depa Billaba, I am surprised to see you here, and with a young Padawan no less. A shame what is about to happen to you, truly."

Ahsoka could see the look of anger and disgust that appeared on Caleb's face. The young Padawan had stepped forward, clearly intending on voicing his own opinions about the Count.

In contrast, Depa's face remained unchanged and unfazed. She was not intimidated by the Sith Lord.

"Count Dooku. A shame you have not decided to grace us with your presence this day. Organizing tyranny and slave empires must be hard work for you after all, especially for someone in their twilight years."

Ahsoka was honestly shocked at the insults coming from the respected Jedi Master's mouth. She knew that taunting was a common aspect of confrontations, something that she had partaken in the past as well. But hearing it from someone other than Anakin, and dare she say, Obi-Wan, surprised her. Depa Billaba was clearly nothing like Master Windu.

Dooku's face twisted into a even darker sneer than before, one full of hatred and barely concealed anger. All common traits of a Sith Lord.

"Charming to the end, Master Billaba. I do so wonder how you and your expendable troopers have survived as long as you have. After all, General Grievous did annihilated virtually all of your army the last time he encountered you. Clearly you have not learned your lesson."

"That was supposed to be a lesson?" Depa shot back, her face never changing from calm and collected. Ahsoka admired that.

"Impudent Jedi!" Dooku snarled again, his holographic form bristling with anger.

"What do you want Count?" Ahsoka joined in, drawing the Count's attention away from Depa and back towards her. His face did not change, but he seemed to calm down, if only a little bit.

Were Sith Lords ever calm after all?

"What I want is irrelevant Miss Tano. What matters now is that you have, as expected, fallen right into my trap. Did you really believe we would let you all stroll in here undetected?" Dooku spoke, his tone full of menace and what Ahsoka could only call a dark sense of glee.

"How did you know I would be coming?" Ahsoka enquired, her mind racing. This had been a trap, that much was clear.

Still, now that she knew, she could at least plan how to escape it. That or she would do what Anakin had taught her best.

She'd improvise.

"We had intelligence that you would be coming, and given your last raid on our facility on Myrkr, it was only a matter of time until you came here as well. That we have the company of a Jedi Master and her Padawan is merely an extra benefit to the Separatist alliance."

"How do you mean?" Ahsoka questioned again. Dooku's words, while clearly threatening, were just as cryptic as those of a Jedi Master. Had she missed some sort of lesson during her time as a Padawan on how to be cryptic?

Dooku's head shook from side to side slowly, disappointment evident on his face.

"For a brief moment I believed you were more perceptive than your Master. Clearly I was mistaken. I suggest you look outside." Dooku replied, his holographic hand gesturing to another terminal, one that suddenly sprung to life.

Before Ahsoka could respond to Dooku's quip about Anakin, the hologram fizzled out, the room falling silent again. Rather than focusing on where Dooku's hologram had been, Ahsoka's eyes were drawn towards a now illuminated console.

As she approached the image displayed on screen became clear. It was security footage, clearly linked up to some unseen camera on the outside of the base.

And there, standing in the open was a legion of battledroids. The storm had died down, particles of dust now resting on the plains around the facility. There was no more concealment, not for anyone.

Endless rows of droids stood, various models waiting, each facing the facility. Far too many for them to handle in a straight up fight.

But that wasn't what concerned Ahsoka the most. It was who was standing at the forefront of the army, white cape over his metallic shoulders, the bright light of the sun reflecting of his frame.

And hands grasping a pair of unignited lightsabers.

Author's thoughts

Well, this was a pretty boring chapter am I right? Nothing happened whatsoever. XD

In all seriousness, I hope you enjoyed this one. I tried to create a creepy sort of foreboding atmosphere with it. Whether or not it paid off is up to your opinion.

Not much else to say regarding this one to be honest, other than the usual, so I'll leave it at that for now. Maybe I'll have more to talk about next time round.

That said... I imagine the reveal of what the bioweapon is isn't much of a surprise to most people. It wasn't meant to be a great secret after all. Hope you like the idea nonetheless.

Once again, thanks to my beta reader 'ArrinSynders'. He keeps doing good work. :)

As for what is next... everyone's favourite cyborg General begins to do what he does best!

As usual, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:

Mysterious guest one: Glad you liked the Clones. For future traitors they are fun to write for. (not their fault I know)
The darker voice in Ahsoka's head is fun as well. Let's hope it doesn't have any detrimental effects on her.

Juxshoa: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the chapter. Hope this one was just as good.
Poor Caleb can't help but get into situations where his vision is impaired. XD

1saaa: Glad you liked the chapter. Not even my beta knows where the story is going. He wanted to remain as much in the dark as possible so he is only ever a chapter ahead of you lot. XD
As for your questions and comments... allow me to answer them.
Ahsoka's shuttle is a T-6 shuttle, the same type of shuttle she and Anakin use to rescue the children from Mustafar in the Clone Wars, as well as the same design as the shuttle Ahsoka has at the end of Rebels when she picks Sabine up from Lothal. The design and size is the same, just with a few modifications. (such as the stealth drive and weapons) Hopefully that answers that question for you. It's not large enough to carry a platoon of Clone's but it is large enough to move a small strike team perhaps.
As for why no cliffhanger, (unlike in this chapter), I don't always like ending on them as they can annoy. That said I agree with what you said, hence the ending to this chapter. :)