Chapter 11 - The Blue Shadow Virus
Author's Note: More chaos with Leia. :)
~ Amina Gila
"Looks good to me," Qi'ra says, passing the datapad back to Leia where her next speech is written up.
"As always," Pooja agrees, cheerfully.
"Good," Leia replies, exchanging a smile with them. The friendship she has with them and... Jyn Erso – her last handmaid – isn't really something she's had with anyone before. Of course, she's had friendships in the past, but it was never this personal and close, except Kier, and that was in an entirely different way. For at least a little while, it fills the emptiness that not having any immediate family member with her left behind. They're all growing quite close, especially given that they all live in the Queen's quarters.
"We still have to address that trading route bill," Jyn adds, glancing up from the datapad she's working on. She's not really one for speeches – generally, that's more something Leia and Pooja come up with.
"Right. I was –" Leia's cut off when someone knocks on the door, before opening it.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Han asks. Something about his usual cheerfulness is dimmer, which is never a good sign.
"Something important?" Qi'ra asks, frowning. Her and Han are... more than friends, Leia knows.
"We received word about the rumors of the Blue Shadow Virus," he explains, "It appears there is some evidence that Separatists are using an old, abandoned bunker beneath the surface, right by where the water was first contaminated. Gungans reported they spotted droids in the area."
Separatist?!
"Why would they come to Naboo?" Pooja protests.
"We have to look into this," Leia declares, firmly, standing. "If the Separatists are using Naboo as a base to generate new weapons..."
"Should I send security to look into it personally?" Han queries.
"I will go personally," Leia replies. She has the Force – she could sense it if something was amiss. It's a risk, but they can't wait. If the Separatists have been able to conceal sneaking onto the surface, and traveling back and forth to get whatever supplies they need, it would have to be a major operation. And the Force is warning her that something is very wrong here.
"You can't be serious," Qi'ra exclaims.
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty," Han replies, "That is unnecessary and far too dangerous. I will send in extra security to investigate."
"Haven't the other Nubians already done so?"
"... Yes."
"And what happened to them?"
"Many did not come back," he admits.
Which is why she needs to go, because with the Force, she'll be able to avoid what they can't, but Han and Qi'ra will definitely not back down. And they aren't entirely wrong that it's extremely dangerous.
"Put in a call to the Jedi," Leia decides, "I will request Commander Naberrie and perhaps General Skywalker, as well, be sent in to investigate further."
"That is more sensible," Qi'ra replies, dryly.
Leia pointedly keeps quiet that this doesn't mean she's still not planning to look into it personally. But she will wait for the Jedi to arrive, if it's possible.
**w**
"Where's Qi'ra?" Leia asks, as innocently as she can, when she stumbles into Jyn and Pooja alone, together.
Luke should be here soon, and Anakin will come in with reinforcements if it turns out to be necessary.
"What are you up to?" Pooja asks, a hint of amused suspicion in her voice.
"I never agreed I wouldn't go," Leia replies, "Luke will be showing up shortly, and we can meet up with him."
Qi'ra and Jyn don't know the truth, and she won't tell them yet, but she thinks they... wonder. Sometimes, Qi'ra acts like a bossy older sister of sorts, and Jyn... They're friends; she can't really define what they are. There's something more closed off and distant about her that Leia doesn't really understand. Sometimes, she thinks there's more to... something that Jyn isn't saying, but if it's important, she'll tell her in time. They don't know each other that well, yet, after all.
"Are you sure that's safe?" Jyn objects.
"No, but we won't go in without weapons," Leia replies. They've all had extensive blaster training, after all.
"Sounds good to me," Pooja offers, "I'll keep Han and Qi'ra distracted."
"Then I'm with you," Jyn decides, "Let's go. If you really think going is a good idea."
**w**
"Leia," Luke breathes, turning as she approaches, where they are right near the tree line. She doesn't refrain from throwing herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.
"I knew you'd get here in time."
"Of course. I came as soon as I could," he replies.
"This is your... brother?" Jyn asks. What's with the strange uncomfortableness Leia senses from her again, momentarily? It's not like Jyn's a shy person.
"He is. Luke, this is Jyn, one of my handmaids," Leia introduces.
"I hope you've been keeping her out of trouble without me," Luke says.
"Hey, you are the one who always attracts trouble," Leia retorts.
"I've been working on it," Jyn replies, looking momentarily amused.
"Working on it?" Luke echoes, "That's probably the most accurate statement."
Leia elbows him. "Says the one who rushed off to war to get in trouble every day. Come on. We should move out."
"Right," Luke agrees, growing more sober, "I'll lead the way."
They set off through the trees, and Leia reaches out with the Force, trying to focus on pinpointing... something. She can feel the first inklings of danger, and they pause.
"Something's close," Luke tells her.
"I feel it, too," Leia whispers back. "What is it? It's not living, but it's like... we're being watched." And her brother knows more about it than she does.
"Could be pressure sensors," he answers, "Or... a hidden camera. We have to be careful."
Leia glances around warily, but she doesn't see anything.
Luke steps deeper into the trees, cautiously kicking dirt aside on the ground, the way she imagines he would when dealing with a... bomb. Somehow, it hurts to know he probably has to deal with that on a regular basis. "It's a hatch," Luke whispers, crouching next to it.
"The one to the bunker," Jyn agrees, crouching next to them, "We better report what we found."
Leia nods, pulling out her comm. "Han?" she says, without preamble, "I think I have the coordinates to the lab. Do a scan of coordinates SP127."
"I will," his voice crackles over, sounding very annoyed, "And Your Highness?"
"What?"
"Get out of there. Qi'ra is panicking already."
"That went better than I expected," Leia says dryly, ending the call.
"We should go, Leia. Han's right that you shouldn't be out here," Jyn says, glancing around warily.
"Something's not right. Come on," urges Luke, and they dart away into the trees again, except it's a moment too late.
There's a sudden clanking noise behind them, and Luke whips around first, drawing his lightsaber. Battle droids are standing there suddenly – where did they even come from?! – and Leia instantly whips out her blaster.
"Drop your weapons," the droid squawks, and Leia fires. The droids do, too, but Luke skillfully deflects the shots away, quickly taking down the droids, except another hatch must've opened behind them, because Leia whips around barely in time to avoid a blaster shot that would've otherwise hit her.
There's droids coming at them from several angles now, and she hastily retreats a few steps to partly take cover behind some of the towering trees, as she and Jyn try to shoot them, while Luke gives them cover.
Except... there's too many. They keep coming, and – how did they even get so many droids onto Naboo?! How could no one have noticed?
Several more blasts strike the tree, and the wood starts catching fire, forcing her to step away from the cover it was providing. This is bad. Being able to use the Force herself would be very helpful right about now –
"Surrender," orders one of the droids, and one glance around shows that they're outnumbered.
"Luke..." Leia says.
He glances around, eyes narrowed, but tosses his lightsaber on the ground, indicating for them to do likewise. "I'll find a way out. Don't worry," he promises, as the droids move forwards, putting them in stun cuffs and shoving them towards the bunker entrance.
**w**
There's droids everywhere down here, especially in the large room they're dragged into. Shelves of vials line the walls, and there's other strange equipment in here that Leia can't identify the purpose of. "Who are you?" she demands, sharply.
"Wonderful specimens," the man with the tall neck who must be a scientist muses, leaning forwards and staring down at them, through his much too huge goggles. "And a Jedi. It will be fascinating to test this on one."
"You don't belong on Naboo, Separatist," Luke snaps, angrily.
"Thanks to the support of the Separatist Alliance, I am creating life," he replies, undeterred.
"Creating life?" Leia repeats, skeptically. She does not have a good feeling about this. Why would the Separatists be funding this, unless...
"Yes," the scientist agrees smugly.
"Creating life is impossible, unless you're cloning," Luke throws back, "And this isn't a Kaminoan facility."
"Allow me to present to you the return of the infamous Blue Shadow Virus," the scientist replies, with a cackle, and Leia's eyes widen as he holds up a test tube. Oh. Oh no. Of course, she knows what that is – it was crammed into her head along with so many other facts about Nubian history that could be important someday. (And sometimes, she thinks it's because the teachers just want the students to suffer having to remember... useless information – at least that's what Pooja says.)
"Wasn't that wiped out long ago?" Jyn objects, looking no less alarmed.
"Yes, but I have given it life once again," he responds, proudly. Something about the way he talks makes Leia think he's at least a little insane.
"Why do you need a whole lab for that? And why on Naboo?" Leia demands.
"I have perfected an airborne strain of the virus. Once released, it will be more potent than ever before." He actually sounds gleeful about it.
"You're out of your mind," Luke snaps, "It's a toxin that kills all life-forms it comes into contact with." Centuries ago, people thought it was just a dangerous virus, until they started studying it more, and revealed exactly how dangerous the toxin is. Even so, years later, the name remained.
"Thousands and thousands of your so-called super life forms are spreading their disease of war across the galaxy," the maniacal scientist replies, "They are the ones who must be eradicated."
He motions to the droids, who drag the three of them to a... something in the center of the room, that Leia does not like the look of. She can only hope that reinforcements will come soon, or that they can figure something out quickly, because considering the clearly completely lacking mental state of this maniac, he's probably going to turn them into lab rats soon.
"If you resist, Jedi, your friends will die," he warns, as Luke looks very close to lashing out.
They're left restrained to the... thing, and Leia can only watch as they prepare bombs for each of the test tubes. How many systems are they planning to infect?
"We have to do something," she hisses, barely above a whisper.
"How can we, without being shot?" Jyn asks, glancing around.
"Or electrocuted," Luke agrees grimly – evidently, he's aware of what this device is for, "But I'm working on it. Any ideas?"
"Not yet," Leia admits. Because really, she has no idea what they can do other than wait for Anakin to show up, and she doesn't know if they have that kind of time.
**w**
She has no idea how long it's been – but definitely enough to leave her very sore, and she's been trying to work on getting the cuffs off the way Padme showed her how to, but it's taking time when she has to make sure none of the droids surrounding them on all sides are paying attention; besides she can hardly move – when the floor beneath them suddenly shudders, the lights flickering for a moment.
"I think F – reinforcements are here," Luke says, "I assume the 501st was sent in."
Leia hopes so, so badly. That would mean Anakin is coming again, and it's so rare they get to spend time together. It'd be the first time they actually got a chance to fight together. That's something Luke gets constantly.
The scientist yells orders to the droids into his comm, before approaching them, pulling a mask on. "Friends of yours, I assume."
"You tell us," Leia shoots back, "You're the one keeping us here." Antagonizing him is probably stupid, but she doesn't much care. At least he doesn't know – probably – that she's the Queen.
"They arrived quicker than I would've thought," he muses, pacing back and forth. And with all the droids distracted, she manages to shift around just enough to make the cuffs snap open.
Outside, she can hear the sound of blaster fire approaching, and finally,a blue lightsaber plunges through the door, cutting a hole in it. Anakin throws it through, stepping inside, clones behind him.
"Walk any closer, and they die," the scientist warns, hovering by some mechanism.
She and Luke instantly spring to their feet, and he uses the Force to free Jyn before the doctor can activate the machine. Only for half the droids to instantly turn their blasters on them. And there's no way they could duck them all fast enough, even if Luke calls his lightsaber from where it is on the other side of the room.
The scientist motions to the droids, and they all fire at once. Leia ducks down to the floor next to Jyn, dodging the shots that barely miss them, as Luke tries – and fails – to give them cover.
Anakin slashes through the droids right in the doorway, throwing several against the wall hard enough to mostly disable them. The clones hastily shoot them down, advancing forwards, and the moment there's enough cover to move, Leia scrambles for a dropped blaster, joining in the shooting.
She's never been in an actual battle before, and it's... terrifying. At least they're only fighting droids. She can't imagine fighting living people. Both because they'd probably be far more skilled at shooting back, and because she can't imagine actually shooting a living person. Even if it's sometimes... necessary.
There's so much smoke everywhere, and it's hard to breathe. How do her father and brother stand this on a daily basis? She'd be willing to fight if she really had to, but she can't say it's something she would ever want to do. Especially not with how many times she's come close to dying in the past few minutes.
Anakin is here, though. And Leia trusts him blindly with anything. She knows he'll protect them, as much as he's able to, and this is definitely something he'll be able to protect them from.
As for the rest of the planet and the virus, though, she doesn't know. They have to find a way to stop the scientist, and any of the bombs and vials from getting out of this lab, and when there's so many droids everywhere, that's going to be very difficult.
And –
Speaking of that... where is he?!
Leia fires at a few more of the droids, helping Luke take down a few getting close. Anakin and the clones are just finishing up with the rest, and she stands the moment it's safe. Her ears are still ringing from all the shooting, but that's hardly a concern right now.
"Are you alright?" Jyn asks, hovering at her side.
Leia nods, sparing her an extra glance to make sure she's okay. "Where's the scientist?"
"He ran. I couldn't stop him," Luke replies breathlessly, making for the door.
"We will find him," Anakin replies, determinedly, turning to Rex, "Split up, and search all corridors. Send men to any exits you can find. We must ensure he and the droids have no way out."
"Yes, sir!" Rex calls, turning to give orders to the others.
"Where should I go?" Leia asks, shifting. She doesn't know how to work with the clones, but she can figure out fast if she has to. This is life and death for all of Naboo – and many systems beyond.
"Stay with me," Anakin instructs, starting for the door. Now isn't the time for Leia to think about how she's here with him again, alone, for the first time in... a very long time. They need to focus on the mission, on protecting Naboo. But still, there's a small part of her that still manages to be happy.
Luke takes off down a different hall, with Jyn and a couple other clones following.
She can feel a slight inkling in the Force about where to go as they run through the halls, destroying any droids they encounter along the way. Anakin obviously senses it, too, since he's leading the way.
And then, they finally catch sight of the scientist at the far end of one of the halls.
"There!" she calls, firing through the shot totally misses.
"I see him," Anakin replies.
They're gaining ground on him, but she doesn't know if it'll be fast enough.
"The bombs have been activated," a clone's voice suddenly calls through Anakin's comm. They've been activated?! This is bad. Because Leia's certain there's way too many to deactivate by hand, and –
"Vindi has the control. We will have him soon," Anakin replies, as they finally turn into the last hall that leads right to a landing platform.
And Vindi – that's his name apparently – himself is on it. They can't let him leave the planet. They can't let him out of their sight; with this maniac, Leia has no doubt he'll release the virus out of spite the moment he has a chance.
"You are running out of time," Vindi cackles, withdrawing a test tube and hurling it at them.
Leia scrambles to catch it, but he only throws another, so Anakin has to slow down to stop it from hitting the ground. He catches the next one the scientist tries to throw with the Force, as Vindi pushes a button, and the doors to the platform start sliding closed.
They're never going to make it through in time, unless –
An invisible Force freezes those in place, too, and Anakin passes the vials to Leia to hold safely before scrambling through the opening, in pursuit.
The scientist instantly tries reaching for another vial to throw, but Anakin yanks away the canister he's carrying them in with the Force, and Leia snatches it before it can hit the ground and dislodge any further test tubes.
Vindi scrambles back, racing for his ship, but it's not near fast enough. Anakin's lightsaber is leveled at his neck in seconds.
"The bomb's still going off, and we're all going to die," he cackles.
"Deactivate it," Leia snaps, glaring. She has no idea if the clones will be able to finish in time or not, and – Maybe they should seal off the bunker. She's too afraid to try clearly sensing the future with the Force, something she's able to do from time to time, but she doesn't think everything is about to go disastrously. It's hard to tell, though.
"Oh no," he insists, gleefully, "We're all going to dieeee."
"No, we're not," Leia throws back. She already knows who will come out on top – she can sense it. But that doesn't stop her fear.
She can see the dial on his wrist ticking down, and they only have seconds left.
"The bombs are deactivated," Luke finally calls, and she breathes out a sigh of relief, right as it finishes counting down.
Nothing happens.
Vindi stops cackling then, looking immeasurably disappointed as clones show up, taking him to a waiting ship.
"Are you alright?" Anakin asks Leia, turning to her the moment they're alone.
She nods. "Yeah. It was close, but I'm fine. You came right on time."
He smiles, and she returns it. "Your fighting was... impressive. But you should remain out here. I must go back in to ensure all droids are deactivated."
Right. Because they could still have a bunker leak, even if Vindi himself is... deactivated.
"I think I'll come," Leia replies instead. There's still more she can do, and she's not senselessly putting herself in danger. Not really. The worst of it is already over. "In case I can be of help." Besides, she doesn't know when she'll have another opportunity to fight alongside Anakin and Luke.
**w**
"I still do not see what you were thinking, Your Highness," Han says, arms crossed as they stand outside near the shuttles, where the Republic forces are preparing to leave. They were able to get the situation under control, and Anakin and Luke already need to leave to head somewhere else. Leia isn't surprised about that, but that doesn't stop her disappointment. Still, at least they finally had some time with each other again.
"I'm the Queen," she reminds him, "Naboo was in danger. We couldn't wait. And it turns out, I was right." Is she intentionally picking her words to annoy him? Yes.
"We could have sent a security force in, in no time," he retorts, "And that would not have senselessly put you in danger."
"I'm fine, aren't I?" Leia asks, cheerfully.
"She is right," Jyn offers, with an unusual amount of lightness. She tends to be more withdrawn and quiet, a lot of the time.
"I should fire you," Han deadpans, "You and Pooja both."
"That isn't your choice to make," Pooja tells him, snippily.
"He has a point," Qi'ra interjects, approaching, "I can't believe you did that. And made sure to cover it up so we wouldn't know you were gone." She is not happy at all, either.
"I didn't mean to worry you," Leia replies finally, slightly subdued. "I know it could've gone badly, but I didn't want to wait. The risk was too great."
"Next time, at least tell me," Han huffs.
"Let's hope there isn't a next time," Luke offers, approaching them. "I don't know how such a large operation was formed on Naboo without anyone noticing, and there better not be a repeat of something like this."
Leia would like to promise that there won't be, but she has no such reassurances.
"Naboo is not that crucial of a system to Separatist efforts that we are aware of," Anakin muses, "It is unlikely they will try to return any time soon."
"That they were able to get onto the planet at all is still concerning," she adds, "I don't understand how they could have. Unless we have people working for them on the inside." It's possible, and that scares her. She doesn't know who they could be. They'll have to tighten security and start looking deeper.
For reasons Leia can't explain, she can't shake the feeling that there... are traitors she needs to be worried about, even if she doesn't know where to start looking. She doesn't know if they're necessarily involved in this particular incident or not, but for the sake of Naboo, she'll have to be ready for everything.
It's more than a little unsettling.
"Look into it," Anakin advises, obviously thinking along the same lines as her. "Whatever it is, you must find it one way or another."
"I will," Leia assures, "And if I need anything else, I'll always know what Jedi to ask for."
"Of course," Anakin promises. "We will come, if you ever need us."
"I hope you don't find anything," Luke interjects, "But I do hope that – you know." He trails off, shrugging.
"Yeah," she agrees, surprised at the lightness she can feel right now, despite the tension over the situation. "See you later, then."
"Keep an eye on Leia," Anakin adds, glancing at Han.
"That's difficult," Han says flatly, looking slightly caught off-guard.
"Hey," Leia protests.
Han dares to look momentarily smug.
"You could find anything here. It will be risky," Anakin points out, touching her shoulder lightly, before heading for the ship. They can't do more without arousing suspicion, but it's something.
"I'll be fine," Leia promises, "And you stay safe too."
"'Course we will," Luke replies, cheerfully, "I can even bring you a droid finger or two as a present."
She gives him an incredulous look. "What would I ever do with droid fingers?"
"That is considered illegal," Anakin reminds him, amused.
Luke practically rolls his eyes. "I know. And I don't see why. But maybe Leia could hang them on the wall."
"You do that," she replies, flatly.
"I don't have a room," he answers, cheekily, "Well, I do but there's no way to decorate it. Actually, I think I'll find you some fancy ribbons on the next unique planet I go to."
"That might be appreciated," she says, a touch warily. Knowing Luke, he just might find the most atrocious thing, just to get a reaction out of her.
"I'm sure it would be," Jyn interjects, amused.
"See you, then," Luke calls, before heading for the ramp.
Leia exchanges a final glance with Anakin, before he follows her brother to the shuttle. Something tells her they'll be back, though, sooner than she'd expect, and there's much work to be done.
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