Chapter 24 - The Blue Shadow Virus
DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P
Author's Note: In which the Blue Shadow virus threatens Naboo.
Many thanks to loldelegate here on ff. net who has been giving us advice and suggestions for this fic! We never could have made so many unique plans without you! :D
~ Amina Gila
"General Kenobi, Ahsoka, we're so glad you made it," Captain Typho – the head of Senator Amidala's guard – declares, stepping forward to greet them as they, followed by Anakin, step off the ramp of the shuttle.
Ahsoka frowns instantly. "Where's Senator Amidala?"
"Shesa went looking for the lab," explains Representative Binks. There's another Gungan with them too, along with an astromech droid.
"By herself?" Obi-Wan queries.
"She took Kitster with her," Typho responds.
"And you let them go alone?" Ahsoka demands, worry creeping into her tone.
"You know how she can be when she's made up her mind," the Captain points out.
Ahsoka huffs.
"This is Peppi Bow," he declares, "She was the last person to see them. Padme sent her here to safety."
"Theysa looking for the sick-maker," the Gungan exclaims. Sick maker. Quite a title. Anakin keeps any amusement to himself.
"Go with the Gungan," Obi-Wan instructs, turning to Anakin, "See if you can find them."
"You can take the astromech with you," Typho adds, "It could come in handy."
"I'm on it," Anakin replies, heading off. The droid rolls after him, beeping cheerfully, letting him know that it's number is R2-D2.
Even if they're dealing with the fate of possibly the entire planet, Anakin can't help but admire the sunset, as the golden light streams in between the towering trees. It takes time to find them, but Anakin and Artoo finally track the Senator to where she last was on the surface.
They all crouch behind a tree, watching as one of the sensors pops up out of the ground, scanning the area before disappearing again. "I'm pretty sure they're inside the lab," Anakin tells them, "The whole area is wired with pressure sensors, so there no way to get in without detection."
"Do not attempt to get inside," Obi-Wan instructs, "You need to go detonate a bunker bomb at the south end of the facility, as a diversion. We'll come through the hatches while the droids are busy with you."
"You can count on me, Master," Anakin promises.
"Cody will be there shortly," he adds.
"Good luck," Ahsoka calls, before the connection breaks.
Well, time to get to work.
It's completely dark out now, as Anakin lifts the explosive he has with the Force, maneuvering it into the right spot above the ground. The moment the next few motion sensors rise up out of the ground, he drops it, and then dodges behind the nearest tree trunk.
A deafening, blinding explosion rings out, momentarily lighting up the forest around them. Right on cue, a shuttle flies overhead, and clones start dropping out of it, down into the hole Anakin blew into the facility.
"Stay here and don't get hurt," Anakin tells the Gungan before he ignites his lightsabers, running forwards and leaping into the hole after the clones. He only hopes she'll listen.
Battle droids are already stalking down the hall towards them, shooting. Anakin swings his lightsabers up to deflect away the first few shots, and then charges forwards, slashing through the droids. The clones are shooting from behind him, letting him cover for them.
They quickly cut through the first wave of droids, and start advancing down the hall.
**w**
Ahsoka lands easily on the ground, looking up and down the hall to make sure it's clear as the clones start landing behind her. So far, they're unnoticed. The diversion seems to be working, but that doesn't stop the worry flooding her. If this mission fails, it will mean the loss of the entire planet.
And Anakin, Kitster, Padme, and Obi-Wan are all here. Rex too.
She's used to pushing past her emotions, though, focusing on the mission, so she tries to do the same now. It's far from easy when she's so personally involved, but she has to do this. If she can't focus, they're more likely to die.
"Looks like the distraction is working," Ahsoka observes, as she sprints off down the hall. She studied the map of the facility on the way, so she has a general idea of where she needs to go.
All the droids are elsewhere, right now, so they don't run into any resistance on the way. Finally, a door comes into view at the end of the hall. She can sense Padme and Kitster right on the other side. Running forwards, she plunges her lightsabers through the door, cutting a hole in it. If only there was a less visible way for them to enter and catch everyone off guard.
She kicks the piece of durasteel down, darting into the room, gaze instantly falling on where Padme and Kitser are tied to a poll near the center of the room. Her gut twists as she suddenly remembers finding her mother in a position much like this. Rage wells inside her, instantly demanding vengeance. The doctor stands only several paces away, right next to the wall.
"Take another step, and your friends die," he warns, shoving down a lever. Electricity springs to life on the poll, crackling into Padme and Kitster. "Drop the weapons," he orders.
Ahsoka's eyes narrow, a dark, seething anger twisting inside of her. It's not just a desire to protect her friends. It's also about revenge. No one will treat her friends like this and get away with it. But she only has one second to make a decision. She can do this fast enough, she's certain of it. In a flash, Ahsoka lunges forwards, but the super battle droids all instantly open fire before she can reach the doctor.
Padme and Kitster's screams ring through her montrals, throwing into a furious blur of motion. She slashes wildly through a few of the droids, finally throwing out a hand and slamming one of the pieces of destroyed-droid-debris against the lever on the wall, flipping it's direction. The electricity dies instantly, but there's still too many droids left, and the doctor is already getting away.
She slashes through a few more droids blocking her path, sprinting over to her friends. "Kitster? Padme?" Ahsoka calls, urgently, "Are you... alright?"
On second thought, that was a really stupid question.
"Yeah," Kitster coughs when he finally finds his breath, "Totally."
"How about the next time you rescue us before killing all the battle droids?" Padme suggests, a tired but teasing smile on her face.
"They're actually not all dead yet," Ahsoka snips, reaching down to help them stand. They're capable of standing, at least. She's been electrocuted before, and it's... far from fun.
By the time they're on their feet again, the rest of the droids are down. "Which way did the doctor go?" Ahsoka demands, scanning the room. He nowhere in sight, but he won't get away with what he's done.
"He took off with one of the vials and a bomb before we could stop him," Rex informs.
Ahsoka glances back at the other two. "I hope you can run, because we have to go."
"We'll be fine," Kitster assures.
"Then let's go." She spins at that, and sprints out of the room, reigniting her lightsabers as they go. Vindi is around here somewhere, and they're going to find him.
**w**
Anakin is still running through the halls, cutting through all the droids in his path, when Ahsoka suddenly calls through his comm. "We have another situation," she calls, urgently, "Send all the clones to search the facility. We've got a –"
He skids to an abrupt halt as he rounds the next corner, nearly stabbing Ahsoka in the process.
"What was that?"
"We've got a missing bomb and trigger-happy mad doctor on the loose," she declares.
"I saw Dr. Vindi give a little droid a bomb," Senator Amidala offers, moving forwards.
"Split up and find it," Ahsoka orders before she takes off again.
"Come on," Anakin urges, looking to Cody and the others.
They haven't gotten far before Senator Amidala calls with the news that she found the missing droid. "We're on our way," Anakin calls, "Wait where you are."
He takes off running again, not allowing himself to slow down. This isn't just a normal battle here. It's a fight that will determine the life or death of an entire planet. He's never had a mission this dangerous before, and he isn't going to make a mistake.
They've just finished deactivating the bombs, and not a moment to soon, when Anakin's comm beeps. "Anakin, what's going on?" Obi-Wan demands.
"All the bombs have been deactivated," he answers, immediately, "What about Vindi?"
"We have him," Obi-Wan assures.
"Are you all alright?" Ahsoka calls, voice slightly muffled, probably because she's speaking from further away.
"We are," Anakin confirms, "Just making sure we have the situation under control."
As it turns out, they don't have the situation under control. Because no sooner has he finished speaking, then one of the clones calls him. "Commander, you should see this."
Anakin and Cody both immediately move over to him, to see that one of the bombs just so happens to be empty. Great. Exactly what they needed right now.
"Sound the alarm," Cody orders, immediately.
Everyone is scrambling everywhere at once, going in search of where the missing vial could be. The Force is humming in warning, though, and Anakin just knows that something about is going to go very wrong.
Anakin circles through another hall, with Cody and a couple other clones close behind him, only for a sudden deafening alarm to go off, lights flashing red on the wall. He knows what it means instantly, and dread pools inside of him. No.
"Virus leak!" Cody yells in warning, "Get to the safe. Come on!"
Anakin whirls around, sprinting down the hall as fast as he can, with the clones close behind. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a swirl of blue haze filling the air, pouring around the corner at the end of the hall behind them.
The other end where the safe room is seems infinitely far away, and it hardly helps that the door is already starting to close, to ensure that it will be sealed in time before the virus gets there. They need to move faster, but that's not possible.
There's only one thing Anakin can think to do at this point, even if it means risking himself in the process. He's fine with that, as long as Cody and the others will be alright. Skidding to a stop, Anakin raises his hands, holding the closing doors open with the force.
"Hurry," he urges.
The clones run forwards without question – though Cody pauses for a brief moment to shoot him what's probably a worried glance though he can't tell because of the helmet – and climb through the opening. Cody goes in last, instantly turning to help hold the doors open.
Anakin knows already that it's too late for him. He can see the haze surrounding him already, and the clones need to get that door closed. But they obviously won't until he's through. He darts forwards, scrambling through the opening, letting it slam closed behind him.
A far too obvious and disturbing faint blue haze hovers right next to the sealed doors.
"Anakin, what's happening?" Obi-Wan demands through his comm only moments later, sounding distinctly worried now.
"One of the bombs went off," Anakin answers immediately. "I'm in the safe room with Cody, but I don't know about Rex and the Senator."
"Find them," Obi-Wan instructs, "But don't risk contaminating yourself. Ahsoka and I will see if we can find any antidote for this."
The connection breaks at that, and Anakin tries to calling for Senator Amidala next. She answers, after a moment, confirming that her, Kitster, and Rex are alright – well, no they aren't because while she and Kister have protective suits against it, Rex doesn't – and they're on their way to the safe room.
And maybe it's Anakin's imagination, but he thinks he's starting to feel... a little queasy. And just... off, in general.
"No, no, no!" exclaims one of the clones suddenly, "Some of the virus got in here! We didn't close the door fast enough."
No. His stomach plummets to the bottom of his boots. Maybe lower. This is what he was afraid of. Everyone is contaminated here now, except for Padme and Kitster and the clones with her. Maybe.
"We still need to stop those droids," Cody speaks up.
Anakin nods. "And don't worry. Master Obi-Wan said he's going to find an antidote for this. We need to stop the droids, and then wait for him to find a solution." He has to believe that, because he can't accept that they're all about to die here. It doesn't feel real.
"Senator Amidala, where are you?" Anakin calls into his comm, moments later.
"We're right outside your safety room," she replies, "Can you get the door open?"
Not like there's anything to not open it for. The room is contaminated anyway. Anakin pushes the button to open the door, letting her, Kitster, and Rex? Inside, and a cloud of blue floods the room.
"I'm sorry," Senator Amidala murmurs.
"It was already contimatined. It won't really make a difference," Anakin assures, giving her a half-hearted smile. He wasn't expecting to meet the Senator who Ahsoka often talks about like this. (Right before he may or may not be about to die.)
"We need to get out there and find those droids," Rex speaks up, "We saw some heading toward the south entrance."
"Then we better get moving," Cody urges.
They open the door again, and sprint out into the hall, going separate ways in search of the droids. It's much harder to see, with the clouds of blue obscuring so much, but Anakin keeps moving, using the Force to help him maneuver his way through the halls.
Right up ahead, he suddenly hears a much too familiar clanking. Rounding the corner, there's several battle droids hurrying for the ladder that leads up to one of the hatches. He runs forwards, slashing through the first one. The clones fire at them, taking down a second, while the third frantically starts to scramble up the ladder away from them. Raising a hand, Anakin yanks it down with the Force, lopping it in half, letting the pieces fall to the floor.
With that taken care of, they take off again. They destroy several more groups of droids as they keep making their way through the entire facility, but as they keep going, the more Anakin begins to think that it isn't just his imagination how queasy he's beginning to feel. He tries to ignore it though, and forces himself to keep moving. He's fought when he's in much worse conditions before, after all.
Anakin hears a faint whirring sound up ahead, skidding around the corner to see yet another group of battle droids – hopefully the last. "There they are!" he calls to the others, sprinting forwards and slicing through the two battle droids at the bottom of the ladder with his lightsabers, using the Force to crush the one trying to cut through the security shield over the door to the bunker.
With the three droids destroyed, he extinguishes his blades, glancing at the others through the thick, blue clouds of the Blue Shadow virus. A wave of nausea takes him by surprise, and he scrambles into a nearby corridor before vomiting on the floor. "Anakin!" exclaims Senator Amidala, voice filled with worry, even as it echoes oddly through her helmet. "Are you alright?"
"Ugh," Anakin groans, breathing heavily, trying to force his stomach to cease and desist from any further attempts to expel itself all over the durasteel. "Vomiting isn't supposed to be one of the symptoms of this, is it?"
"No. Not that I know of," replies Kitster uncertainly. "The virus is supposed to affect your lungs, not anything else."
"Well, then don't worry about it, because this is obviously not from the virus," Anakin argues, knowing even as he does that his logic is... absurd. Hopefully, no one will notice the weird specks of blue... whatever that is in his vomit. Ew. He takes a couple steps back towards everyone else, clearing his throat and trying to ignore the taste of vomit in his mouth. "All we can do now is wait." The best thing to do is take charge of the situation once more and hope that everyone forgets about what just happened.
"We need to try and get a signal through to Master Kenobi and Knight Tano," he continues. "They need to know that the bunker is secure."
After that, they'll have to care for the clones who have been infected by this exotic, fatal illness and hope that they receive help before it's too late.
**w**
Anakin clenches his hands into fists, trying to quell his rising panic. He has to have faith in the Force that Ahsoka and Obi-Wan will return to Naboo with the cure for the Blue Shadow virus in time to save everyone. "Take it easy," he advises Rex, crouching down next to him as he coughs uncontrollably. "If you don't strain yourself too much, the virus will take longer to cause harm."
Rex nods weakly, not wasting the energy with a verbal reply. Senator Amidala passes them as she goes to tend to another one of the clones. Of all of them in the bunker, she and Kitster are the only ones who were not contaminated. Their protective suits will continue to function for a while, Anakin hopes. He doesn't think that they have longer than a day before the first clones will start dying.
That realization sends a pang of distress and helplessness shooting through him. He wants to help them. He wishes he didn't have to simply sit by and try to ease their pain. More importantly, he doesn't understand why he isn't showing any of the symptoms. He's violently thrown up twice so far, but other than that, he can still breathe and walk freely. It almost doesn't seem fair that he, a simple Padawan, is doing so much better than the clones. Maybe it's because he's a Jedi, Anakin doesn't really know.
They've already destroyed all the droids down here, so they can simply rest and wait and hope that they're rescued. Anakin has full faith in Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. He knows they'll do everything in their power to help them, but he can only hope it will be soon enough. Together, they ought to find a way to do something. He has to believe that.
Rex coughs again, his breathing more labored than it was a few minutes ago. Anakin sighs, resting a hand on the captain's forehead and delving into the Force. He's not skilled in Force healing, but he might be able to do something. Maybe. Please, he silently begs, please hurry. We're running out of time.
He can feel the sickness which is slowly stealing Rex's life, but he doesn't know how to fix it. He should. He knows he should. "Commander, it's alright." Rex's voice is weak, and Anakin realizes that he must have groaned aloud at his inability to help. "You should rest."
Anakin lets himself slump to the floor next to Rex, wishing that he could actually do something. "I'm alright," he insists. Rex gives him a flat look, and he sighs. "I feel fine," he amends.
"Really?" Senator Amidala queries, amusement in her tone. Anakin starts, not having sensed her approach. "Is that why you threw up twice?"
He can feel himself flushing, which only makes him feel more embarrassed. "Maybe it's something I ate," he offers lamely, before turning to another one of the nearby clones. The man is nearly unconscious, and they've been doing their best to keep him comfortable.
Rex snorts mirthlessly, shaking his head and muttering something which Anakin doesn't bother trying to hear. He knows it'll be something along the lines of he doesn't know how to take care of himself. "Is there nothing else we can do?" he asks the Senator, as one of the clone slips into unconsciousness.
"No," she murmurs sadly. "Nothing."
Anakin never thought that he could die like this, even though it doesn't feel like he's dying. He'd always thought it would be in the middle of a battle – well, a battle against droids. It feels as if he's being cheated by life for dying from a virus that he has no way to fight. And... he doesn't know how he ought to feel about the situation. He's oddly numb. They're running out of time.
Anakin finally stands, looking around the room. He doesn't know how much longer the clones are even going to make it. "I'll check on the others," he decides, at last. After the battle was over, they split the sick into multiple rooms.
"Don't strain yourself," Kitster advises.
"I'm fine," Anakin mutters again, slipping out of the room.
Artoo beeps, rolling after him. The droid has been staying with them throughout the battle, although staying out of the line of fire. It's honestly disappointing that he might well never see the droid again after this. If you survive this, his mind reminds darkly. He ignores that thought. He does feel fine now, more or less. A little bit tired maybe, but otherwise normal, which is odd. Everyone else is coughing – more like hacking up their lungs – and are just... rather delirious, in general.
Anakin moves to Cody's side first, crouching next to him. He does not look good. "How are you?" Anakin asks gently.
He frowns. "Why are you walking around?"
"I'm not being affected like everyone else."
The clone does not seem to buy that answer. "Or are you just trying to ignore it?"
"I'm serious," Anakin whines.
"There's nothing more you can do, until the General gets back," Cody points out.
Anakin sighs, settling onto the floor next to him. He is worn out from the battle, but he's had to keep moving for longer before, and the knowledge that he could literally be about to die is making him not want to hold still. Anakin reaches over, taking Cody's hand. There's a high chance that the clone at least is going to die here, and while he's certain his master will get back soon, he doesn't know when or if it'll be too late. He can only hope.
Final Notes: If you want to join our Discord to receive updates or just hang out, here's the invite link, and please delete the spaces! :) discord . gg / nqSxuz2
We also have a tumblr account (and delete the spaces): fanfictasia . tumblr . com
And! We have a YT channel for tributes! Please delete the spaces in the link. :D youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA
Finally, if you're interested, you can submit a SW gift fic request via the following form (delete the spaces): forms . gle / rmXWtRomMMaULuPa6