Present Day
Location: Geonosis
Aurora's POV
I sighed as I placed my feet onto the holotable. I was leaning back in a chair that surrounded the holotable in one of the Star Destroyers that landed and was docked on the surface of Geonosis. After the factory was destroyed, the second wave of the invasion began. With the Republic occupying most of the planet, there was still work to do as Poggle has neither been captured nor has he surrendered. Luminara and a few troopers from her battalion went out in search for Poggle as they had a lead, however they have been gone for a few hours and no one has heard from them.
I crossed my arms as I watched Obi-Wan pace back and forth along the bridge…it was starting to get irritating.
"You're going to burn a hole through the floor if you continue to pace." I explained with an eyeroll.
Finally, he stopped to look at me. "I do this when I am anxious…its calming in a way."
I gave him a small smile. "My cousin does the exact same thing…he's been doing it since he was a kid. It calms him down as well."
Before he could respond, Ki-Adi walked onto the bridge.
"I'm surprised to see you alive and well." I said with slight humor and as he walked by me, he gave me a pat on my right shoulder.
"After enough time in the bacta tank, one longs for the mundane comfort of star charts." He said with a small smile, and I laughed at his comment.
"It seems to have done you some good. Your wound looks almost healed." Obi-Wan says glancing over Ki-Adi.
Ki-Adi sighs. "I wish I could say the same for most of my men."
He then turned back to me. "How are you not exhausted?"
My smile grew. "I honestly don't know. It's funny because I'm not even that tired. My mother once told me that my father was the same way…probably the reason why I'm an insomniac."
I then hit the button to activate the holomap and stood up from my chair.
"Poggle's forces seemed to come from the Northern Hemisphere." Obi-Wan explained.
"And where was Master Unduli's last contact made from?" Ki-Adi asked.
I pointed to a region on the map. "This region, far to the west, but there's nothing out there, at least according to our latest intel."
A beeping sound then came from the holotable leading to Obi-Wan pressing a button on the side of it, so that a holographic image of Luminara popped up in front of the three of us.
"I found a crate lying out in the middle of nowhere. It appears to be a munitions container of some kind." She explained.
"It could just be debris." Ki-Adi explained.
"I don't think so, there was no battle in this area." She replied.
"It looks like Poggle was on a direct course. 11 mark 72, that way." A clone trooper who was accompanying Luminara explained.
"Headed for the Progate Temple." She confirmed with a nod.
"That makes no sense." I interjected. "Why would he be going all the way out there?"
"The temple couldn't have survived our first wave of attacks." Obi-Wan confirmed with a nod.
She shook her head. "I'm not yet sure, perhaps he doesn't realize the extent to which we cleared that area."
Just then, Anakin walked up and stood alongside me.
"Master Luminara," He began. "I'm tracking a sandstorm that is heading your way."
She shook her head. "No matter. Poggle is out in the open, and I intend to grab him before he can get off world."
Ki-Adi frowned. "I advise against it. You might get lost in the storm. Then we'd have to find both you and Poggle.
She nodded. "I feel it is a risk worth taking."
Ki-Adi nodded. "As you wish."
The transmission then ended, and I sat back down in my chair, and within minutes the sandstorm begins.
"How's your arm?" Anakin asked as he leaned back against the holotable.
"It's been better." I explained. "Did Ahsoka get off world?"
He nodded. "Her and Barriss are back on the Resolute."
I sighed and closed my eyes. "Good."
"Why don't you try and get some sleep?" Anakin suggested. "It's going to be a while before Luminara gets back."
"I won't be able to sleep." I explained.
"At least try." He replied.
I rolled my eyes and stood up. "Fine, call me if anything happens."
I sighed as I walked off the bridge and to my quarters. I took off my suit and took a shower. The water soothed my sore and aching muscles and that's when exhaustion hit me. I quickly put back on my suit and laid down in bed. As I laid down in my bed, exhaustion waved over me, and I fell right asleep. I had been up for 3 days straight and have gotten no sleep. I probably had bags under my eyes, along with the fact I hadn't really showered either…till now. I must've fallen asleep quickly because the next thing I remember is someone calling my name.
"Ro." A familiar voice said. "Ro."
I groaned in response.
"Aurora, we've got to go." The voice said again.
I slowly opened my eyes to reveal Anakin standing in front of me. I slowly sat up in bed.
"What's going on?" I asked in confusion.
"The sandstorm ended, and Luminara's transmission cutoff…. we think she's been captured. You and Fox are coming with Obi-Wan, Cody, and I." He explained. I nodded and slowly got out of bed and put my boots on. After my boots were on, we both walked down to the hanger.
"What happened to 'I'm not going to sleep?'" Anakin teased.
"I guess I was tired. I hadn't slept in three days." I said with a small sigh.
"After everything that's happened, you need all the sleep you can get." He said with a small smile.
"That goes for you too." I smirked.
Eventually, me, Fox, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Cody, and a few other clones boarded a gunship, and we all flew out to the temple. It wasn't too long before we landed and began our search.
Fox and I went off on our own looking around the temple before one of the clones called out:
"General!"
Fox and I turned around to see Cody standing over the dead body of a clone trooper. Anakin and Obi-Wan, along with myself and Fox all rushed over.
"Buzz is dead." Cody explained.
"Any sign of Luminara?" Anakin questioned.
Cody shook his head. "No sir."
I glanced to Obi-Wan who was clearly distracted by something…from where I was standing it looked to be an underground tunnel, that was covered by stones. I ignored it for the moment and knelt and looked over the clone trooper's neck. I noticed slight bruising beginning to develop and tilted my head in confusion.
"It looks like there was struggle." I said quietly to Cody.
I then walked back over to Obi-Wan and Anakin who were holding onto another lightsaber.
"This is not a good sign." Obi-Wan explained. "Luminara's lightsaber."
"Poggle didn't do this." Anakin began as he pointed to something. "But maybe that did."
I glanced up to look at what looked like quite possibly the most disgustingly, grotesque, hideous statue of a Geonosian I have ever seen.
"That is one ugly bug." Cody and Fox both said at the same time.
"I haven't seen one that looks like that before." Anakin explained.
"I don't believe anyone has." Obi-Wan began. "It could be a Geonosian queen."
I frowned. "Like the one's in the archive text's on Mandalore? I thought they were just Geonosian folklore."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, rumored. But we haven't found proof of her existence."
"Until now." Anakin and I both responded simultaneously.
Obi-Wan gestured to the tunnel under the statue. "This way."
All of us walked into the tunnel, and it was dark as hell. I couldn't see anything, until I activated one of the flashlights on my vambrace.
"I should've worn my helmet." I murmured, even though wearing the damn thing was starting to get annoying.
There were clones behind us facing the other way with their blasters aimed in case anything attacked us from behind, and there were clones in front of us in case anything attacked us from the front.
Cody activated one of the tracking devices that was on his wrist. "This one leads to a dead end."
He then crouches down in front of another tunnel that was off to the side of the original tunnel we were in. "This one goes down the furthest sir. I'd say that's our best bet."
Obi-Wan turned to Anakin and I. "I'll go first."
We all followed him down the tunnel and eventually end up in a very large corridor once again. I looked back to Fox who just shrugged in response…he was just as confused and freaked out as I was. We all were silent but eventually we all heard a noise up ahead of us.
"She must be close by." Obi-Wan began. "Come on!"
We all started running down the tunnel, but we all came to a halt when we heard a clicking noise. Some of the clones shined their headlights ahead of us, and my eyes widened at what I saw. Right in front of us were a few Geonsians, but unlike how they normally looked, these ones looked different as their eyes were all white and moving rather odd. That's when I realized what they were.
"No way." I said aloud.
More of the same screeching noises came from all around us, and that's when I realized that we were surrounded by them. The clones began to blast at them, but it did nothing to them, if anything, it made them more aggravated.
"No! Stop! It won't work!" I explained.
One of the Geonosians grabbed one of the clones and dragged him away, and his screams echoed through the tunnels. Obi-Wan tried to stop them, but it didn't work.
"Take out the tunnel supports!" I instructed to Fox and Cody who aimed at the supports allowing for the Geonosians underneath to become trapped. We ran down another one of the side tunnels which eventually lead to another open corridor.
"What were those things?" Anakin questioned. "We couldn't kill them."
"Geonosians. Undead Geonosians, or Zombies." I explained. "I read about them in some archive texts on Mandalore. Apparently, there is some ritual that occurs to do it. It originated on the planet Dathomir with the witches…they wanted to resurrect their own fallen warriors….I guess the Geonosians followed suit with their own methods."
"I have heard stories of a Geonosian hive mind so strong, that it can maintain its connection with its warriors even after they died." Obi-Wan explained.
"That can't be true." Anakin began. "That's impossible."
"You just witnessed it with your own eyes." I explained. "What more evidence do you need?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "Impossible or not, these creatures keep moving after we cut them up or shoot them down. Call for reinforcements."
"Yes sir." One of the clones responds as he and another clone part form the group and head to the surface.
We continue down the corridor, but sure enough within the next few minutes more screeching echoed through the tunnels, and the the familiar screams of the clones. We all then ran toward the direction of the screams to see one of the clones fighting off Geonosians, and another lying dead on the ground. The clones started to fire once again, at the Geonosians but it didn't work. That's when I remember what killed them during my time reading in the Mandalorian archives…fire.
I pushed one of the clones who was firing out of the way and used the flamethrowers on my wrists to burn them to the ground. After a few minutes I turned them off and lowered my wrists. I looked down at the burned and dismembered Geonosian bodies which was in too many pieced for them to come back to anything.
I turned back to the group. "Fire is one of the ways to kill them. The other is to dismember them so much to the point of no return."
"I'm going to the surface to alert General Mundi myself." Anakin began.
"Bad idea." I explained.
"Why?" He questioned. "Clearly you could destroy all the Geonosians yourself."
"While Aurora could kill them herself," Obi-Wan began. "We still need all of the help and expertise we can get on rescuing Luminara. Remember our main goal Anakin."
I gestured to the tunnel ahead of us. "Come on, let's keep moving."
I lead the way down the tunnel, and I head the footsteps from the rest of the group follow me. Within a few moments I felt a bead of sweat rolling down my forehead.
"It's warm down here." I said aloud.
"Agreed." Obi-Wan replied. "We must be getting close."
"Forget that." Anakin said in disgust. "It smells down here."
"Keep your voice down." Obi-Wan said with a sigh.
"I'm just saying this planet is rotten from the inside out." Anakin responded with a sigh.
We came to an opening and around the corner was a large room that consisted of what I guessed was the Geonosian queen, Luminara suspended near its throne, along with Poggle right by her side.
"Ew." I said quietly.
"It must be the queen." Obi-Wan began. "Where's Luminara?"
Cody pointed. "Suspended near the throne."
Anakin nodded. "Good, what about Poggle."
"Right by the queen." I said quietly.
"Good, you two take the soldiers, and I'll take the queen." Anakin said to Obi-Wan and I.
I nodded. "Works for me."
"Must you both always rush into things?" Obi-Wan questioned.
My head whipped around to face Obi-Wan.
"Hold on." I interjected. "You want to have a face-to-face conversation with that thing?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "Matter of fact I do. Don't you wonder why they took Luminara captive? Why not just kill her?"
"She's leverage." I replied.
"She's a hostage." Anakin replied.
"Leverage for what?" Obi-Wan questioned. "No, there's something else going on here and these zombies are connected to it."
"Fine." Anakin said with a sigh. "We'll try it your way."
"So glad you both agree." Obi-Wan said sarcastically making Anakin and I roll our eyes. "Cody, Fox, set up the clones around the perimeter. These creatures live in darkness. The light from your helmet should blind them temporarily. Turn your lamps on at my signal. They should create enough confusion for us to get Luminara out of here."
Cody nodded. "But what happens when the bugs pursue? You've seen them in action sir. We can't kill them."
"We'll have to bury them." Anakin explained. "It'll at least slow them down. Shoot out the support pillars and this whole place will collapse."
"Let's go." Obi-Wan said gesturing toward the Queen and the three of us began to walk toward…it.
As we walked forward, I realized that the Geonosians knew we were here, but for some reason, unlike the others we encountered, they weren't attacking.
"How'd you know they wouldn't attack ask?" Anakin whispered to Obi-Wan.
"Because I make observations while you think with your lightsaber." He responded back.
I held back a laugh, but a smirk became plastered on my face.
"Well, that quick thinking of mine is usually needed when your observations get us into trouble." Anakin replied.
"Anakin," Obi-Wan began. "The queen took Luminara hostage. She wanted a Jedi. Now she has two more and a Princess."
"Assassin." I sternly replied.
"Assassin." He corrected. "I want to know what she's after."
"Well, when this doesn't go as planned, which it won't, I'll be ready." Anakin replied with confidence.
"That is so reassuring." I said with sarcasm as we finally reached the base of the throne.
"I thought I told you not to follow me, Master Kenobi." Luminara said as she noticed our presence.
"Yes, well, I took a lesson from Anakin and Aurora and decided to not follow orders." Obi-Wan replied.
"Hey!" Anakin and I protested.
Just then, the queen let out a very high-pitched screeching sound.
"Should've brought ear plugs." I murmmered.
"You." She began in a very raspy voice. "You…are the creatures that attacked Geonosia. Why have you…come before me?"
Obi-Wan stepped forward. "Your majesty, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is Anakin Skywalker, and this is Aurora Kryze. It is our sad duty to inform you that your rule is at an end."
"You will not dictate me, Jedi. My empire is forever." The queen responded.
"I'm afraid it does not appear that way your grace. You shall release the Jedi Luminara and submit to Republic law." Obi-Wan respectfully replied.
The queen let out a high-pitched, long-drawn-out screech.
"Drama." I murmured.
"I…No submit…to you." She replied.
And just as she spoke, the Geonosians who originally ignored us, aimed their weapons at us, in which Anakin and I both shared a glance and had our weapons ready and activated.
"No, patience both of you. Wait." Obi-Wan instructed.
I sighed in response before I deactivated the flamethrower on my vambrace's, and Anakin deactivated his lightsaber.
"Majesty." Obi-Wan began again. "Destroying us shall only make the Republic's judgment of you harsher."
"No jedi. No!" She rasped. "I no destroy you. I devour you. I control you. I had but one Jedi before young Poggle bring me. But now, I have four."
I raised my right hand. "Um, I'm not one of these morons."
"Now's not the time Ro." Anakin half whispered half yelled at me.
The queen ignored me but continued. "Now, watch as my child enters your Jedi friend."
An undead Geonosian handed an egg-like object to Poggle, but the only difference was there were two worms sticking out of it.
"And once inside, her mind becomes my mind. Her thoughts, my thoughts." The queen explained while Poggle pulled one of the worms out and held it toward Luminara.
"Ew." I said in disgust.
"It's a sort of mind control, a hive mind. She thinks she can possess us." Obi-Wan explained.
"Great!" Anakin said in annoyance. "Find out everything you wanted to know yet?"
"No, wait. I want to see how it works." He responded in deep thought.
"I'm not sure Luminara does." I said in all honesty.
"No, I don't." Luminara added in agreement.
"I'm curious." Obi-Wan continued. "The more we know the better."
"I disagree." Luminara said leaning away from Poggle as he came closer to her.
"So do I." Anakin said in agreement.
"Come now." Obi-Wan began. "The nose or the ear, which do you think it will enter?"
Anakin and I looked on.
Anakin sighed. "I think the nose."
I nodded. "Same."
"Uh, I hope this is part of the plan." Luminara said with worry heavy in her voice as the worm began to go around her head.
"Isn't it always?" Obi-Wan asked. "Cody now!"
Cody, Fox, and the rest of the clones then rushed into the room and turned their lamps on as bright as they could possibly go. The queen and the zombies began to screech in agony from the lights. With that on our side, Anakin and Obi-Wan used the force to get their lightsabers along with Luminara's, and they began to cut down the Geonosians. I on the other hand, activated both vambrace's this time and began using the flamethrowers on them, which allowed me to burn the bugs to the ground.
Obi-Wan used the force to grab the worm, while Anakin cut away Luminara's restraints, along with handing her the lightsaber she lost. I however, turned off my flamethrowers activated the stun gun that was in the vambraces, and shot Poggle with it. Once he was on the ground, I put my boot to his chest so he couldn't move and aimed the blaster I had in my thigh-holster this entire time at his face.
"You're coming with us." I said with a smirk and Anakin walked along side of me with a set of handcuffs. I took my boot off him so he could be cuffed, and once that was finished, we all started heading back toward the tunnels.
Just as we thought we were home free, the Geonosians began to recover and try to attack the clones. Fox however, quickly put an end to it when he shocked all of us, and used his other blaster, which was surprisingly a flamethrower.
"YOU'VE HAD THAT THIS WHOLE TIME?" I yelled at him.
"I didn't want to show you up Princess!" He responded back as we all ran out from the tunnel.
"Obi-Wan, look out!" Anakin yelled as the worm in Obi-Wan's hand tried to break free.
Anakin pushed the worm out of his hand, and I squashed it with my boot which killed it.
"What are you two doing? I was going to study that!" He protested.
"Study the bottom of Ro's boot!" Anakin snapped as he dragged Poggle along. "Come on, let's get out of here!"
As we finally made our way back to the surface, Cody and Fox began ordering the clones.
"Take out the supports!" He instructed.
The clones began to fire at the support pillars, destroying them, which allowed for the Geonosians and their queen to become trapped and or dead by the falling debris. Thankfully we made it out of both the tunnels and the temple alive, and we all watched it crumble from outside.
"Well, with all things considered," I began. "That went better than I expected."
"I wish we could've gotten one of those worms. Knowing how the queen controls her minions could have proven valuable." Obi-Wan explained.
"Well, hopefully the secret is buried with her." Anakin replied.
We all boarded the Republic Gunship we came and headed back to the Republic Starship that was docked on the surface, where multiple gunships were arriving to take Poggle back to the fleet. As some of the clones lead Poggle onto one of the gunships, Barriss, Ahsoka, and Geenine come off the transport, along with Ki-Adi.
"Did you behave for Yularen?" I asked Geenine with a smirk and she beeped in response making me laugh.
"I'm afraid we have a complication." Ki-Adi began.
Anakin sighed. "Don't we always."
"I've just received a distress signal from our forces on Dantooine. Master Windu's defenses held, but at a great cost of his men. A relief team carrying troops is on its way, but Master Windu's forces need medical supplies immediately. We can obtain these supplies at the medical station near Ord Cestus." Ki-Adi explained.
"We're delivering Poggle to Coruscant." I explained.
"And Cestus is not exactly on the way." Anakin pointed out.
"The Republic must begin debriefing Poggle right away if we're to get useful intelligence from him." Luminara nodded in agreement.
Anakin smiled. "Master, I suggest we let our Padawans handle the supply mission."
Ahsoka nodded. "Whatever needs to be done, Master. I'm happy to help."
"As am I." Barriss said in agreement.
"I should go with you." I began.
"No, you are going back to Coruscant." Obi-Wan began. "You and Fox have been on the front lines for the last 72 hours. You need a bacta-tank."
"I'm fine." I pleaded. "Really."
He was about to protest but Anakin stepped in.
"Come on Ro, it's time to rest for a while." He explained with a hand on my left shoulder.
I looked over my left shoulder one more time to see the sun setting on the desert paradise of Geonosis. I sighed knowing I wasn't going to win this battle.
"Fine. I'll come to Coruscant." I said with an eyeroll.
"Thank you." All of the Jedi masters replied.
Obi-Wan turned to Ahsoka and Barriss. "Take a medical frigate. After we've delivered Poggle to Coruscant we'll rendezvous with you for the voyage to Dantooine."
Everyone nodded, and we all went about our separate tasks. Anakin and I were the last ones to get aboard a gunship before taking off toward the Resolute.
"I'll be honest." I began. "I do need sleep."
"You looked horrible earlier today." He said in agreement.
"I'm flattered." I frowned. "I'm just glad to get off this dust ball."
He nodded. "That makes two of us."
A/N:
To answer messages I've been getting from followers and a couple of comments on here, I'm permanently making Aurora's Faceclaim my original idea, which was Natalie Dormer. I do like the other choices and suggestions from my followers and readers, but I just feel Natalie embodies Aurora's personality, and based on the private messages I've gotten, a bunch of you do as well. I have also chosen the Faceclaim for Zara as she will become more important in future chapters, and I will reveal that very soon.