Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I only own the OC Jayden Shan/Darth Khan.


"I have a task for you, my young Apprentice." Count Dooku said as soon as Jayden entered his quarters onboard Dooku's Providence-class Dreadnought, having been summoned by his Master.

"What is thy bidding, my Master?" Jayden said, lowering to a knee with his fists pressed against the smooth flat metal floor and his head bowed so he was staring at the ground.

Dooku gave a hand gesture for him to rise and he did so, before the Sith Lord got to the point. "You will be going to the Naboo system, where I want you to link up with this man." Taking out a holoprojector, Dooku activated it. "Doctor Nuvo Vindi. Faust, male. Expert virologist and formerly in service of the criminal families on the planet Perma. When it comes to viruses, it is his passion. Which is why I removed him from under his criminal employers and commissioned him to pursue the matter of biological warfare. It is not a civilized means of defeating the enemy, but a worthy deterrent that could win battles before they are fought. I have not had the time to check-in on Doctor Vindi's efforts, I want you to travel to his secret laboratory on Naboo and assess his progress."

"And if he proves to be... a liability to our cause?" Jayden asked, looking at his Master.

Dooku didn't blink. "Kill him."

"I shall leave at once, Master." Jayden said, turning to leave but stopped when Dooku spoke again.

"Be wary, my Apprentice." Dooku said, turning to look out the view window in his quarters. "Doctor Vindi is... a madman. He's taken his craft as a virologist to an extreme level the likes of which I've never seen in any 'scientist' before. Assess him and his work, then send me what you have and I will decide if the good doctor is still of any use to us... or has outlived it."


Later...

Naboo...

A peaceful planet that has seen it's fair share of war and danger at the hands of the Separatists. Around eleven years ago, the Trade Federation instigated a blockade around the planet, but needed the then-Queen of Naboo to sign the treaty, in order to make the invasion legal. Dooku had told Jayden about this, that the Trade Federation had done so under the orders of Darth Sidious.

Naboo could be described in many words. Tranquil. Peaceful. The poster-planet of the Republic and the original symbol used by the galactic government to vilify the Separatist movement.

Jayden almost rolled his eyes at the thought as he piloted the Rogue Shadow through the planet's atmosphere, breaching through and flying past fluffy white clouds. Below him were nothing but long grassy fields and hills for miles. Credit where it was due, Nuvo Vindi certainly picked the best place for a secret laboratory. Civilization was many kilometers away, at least that's what his instruments told him, and the swamp was so out of the way that chances of it being stumbled upon were slim to none.

Jayden's scanners beeped to alert him that he was coming to his destination, and sure enough, a portion of swampland began to pull apart, revealing an elevated landing pad. A single Sheathipede-class transport shuttle was already seated on the platform. Locking it into the navigation system, Jayden's ship descended and parked beside the shuttle. Grabbing Revan's mask, Jayden put it on and left the Rogue Shadow, descending down the ramp where a diminutive LEP servant droid met him at the bottom.

"Greetings, Lord Khan." The droid greeted. "Doctor Vindi waits for you in the main lab."

"Good. Take me to him." Jayden said without pause.

"This way." the droid turned and led the way, the Sith Apprentice following behind. Taking a moment to analyze his surroundings, nothing seemed terribly out of place to Jayden, every surface was neat and tidy.

A large octagonal door parted in two before them, ushering Jayden into an open room full of lab equipment. He stopped and stared for a moment, looking around the lab before him. Cylindrical cases held stockpiles of countless vials, each one glowing the same shade of blue. Towering electrical generators took up an entire wall within the room. In addition to him, a pair of B1 battle droids stood guard on either side of the entry door.

Near a data mainframe, clad in military-grade lab-wear, Nuvo Vindi appeared busy bent over some readout charts. When he turned, the full length of his long, skinny head was made known to Jayden and he quirked his head slightly at the sight.

"Doctor Vindi, you have a visitor." 86C8 stated.

"I am well aware of that!" The Faustian snapped and LEP cowered in fear. Withdrawing a pair of spectacles from his coat pocket, he stepped forward and studied Jayden like he was some sort of scientific specimen. "Tsk tsk tsk, another war machine in my laboratory." He muttered. "I suppose you're the one Dooku told me he was sending." He sighed. "I told the Count that everything was in working order! The last thing I need is some servant befouling my laboratory!"

Jayden's eyes narrowed underneath his mask, not liking the doctor's tone and his hand briefly twitched towards his Lightsaber but he held the urge back. Already, the doctor was grating on his nerves. Outwardly, he merely crossed his arms.

Vindi looked him over again. "Do not think you can intimidate me! You are not the ultimate life form!"

"Never said I was." Jayden said, and it was obvious the doctor was startled by his sudden response for he flinched back in surprise before composing himself. "My Master sent me here to assess your work, doctor. He wants to know exactly what you've been doing while working in biological warfare... and I see you have cooked something up." He looked at the rotating containment tubes. The blue glow was quite enchanting in a sinister way, bearing a vague resemblance to the skies above. Surely that was the fruit of the virologists labor.

Vindi followed his point and then smiled, his tone and expression relaxing, almost in a reassuring and comforted way. "Ah, I see your eyes are drawn as mine are. Exquisite, isn't it? Pure of form, so bright, so beautiful! Yes! Yes yea yea yea ya ya!"

"Spare me your annoying chatter, doctor, and explain what it is." Jayden demanded, taking a sharp step forward. Jayden may be fourteen and not tall to tower over people, but his very presence came off as cold, enough to make some stop and stutter at times. The doctor did stop, but he quickly composed himself as the Sith stared at him with his expressionless mask.

Trotting over with a near skip in his step, Vindi unlocked the capsule and withdrew a single vial. "Behold! The wonder of a lifetime! For I have brought the Blue Shadow Virus back from the dead!" He proclaimed, holding the sample aloft like a precious jewel. "With it I will unleash a plague upon the galaxy the likes of which has never been seen before!"

You've got to be kidding me... Jayden thought with disbelief and growing horror. The Blue Shadow Virus... Jayden knew of that from looking through some galactic history, and one of the many disasters happened to be this virus.

The Candorian Plague had wiped out the entire populace of the Candoria settlements out in the Colonies, some forty-six years before the start of the Clone Wars. Only later was the cause for the scourge identified as the Blue Shadow Virus. It had been introduced into water supplies, somehow, and rampaged across the planets until everything was dead. The Republic had taken great pains to exterminate the virus, eradicating every strain they could find. They had succeeded.

Only for Vindi to have now undone all of their efforts.

"I should think this would please Count Dooku a great deal. But what would any so-called 'sentient being' know about the true value of viruses…?" Vindi muttered, gently slotting the capsule back within its place with a surprising amount of delicacy. "So pure, so perfect…"

Dooku was right... he is a madman. Jayden thought with annoyance, felling signs of a headache coming on the more the doctor spoke.

"You seem like a very tight-lipped man. Let me share a secret with you, Khan." Vindi proffered in a low voice, strutting back over. "A virus does not need war. A virus does not need soldiers. A virus does not need anything or anyone. It is self-sustaining! And I intend for the whole galaxy will learn the wonderful truth about the Blue Shadow Virus, one way or another!"

"The galaxy is plagued enough by the Republic, the Jedi and this war... the last thing it needs is some virus spreading throughout and infecting everyone." Jayden said. While he wouldn't mind the virus being turned on the Jedi, something told him that Vindi planned to infect the whole galaxy with it which would be very dangerous.

The Faustian sighed and rolled his eyes. "This is why I prefer droids. They are dumb enough to not overthink everything!" Jayden's eyes narrowed and he went to speak when a B1 droid arrived, leading a small contingent of other droids.

"Doctor Vindi, we're getting reports of pressure sensors triggering in sector B-Three!" It exclaimed. Vindi straightened up and pursed his lips.

"Is that right…" He mused, turning around and snapping his fingers, prompting the viewfinder of an electroscope to drop down from the ceiling. He peered into the electronic display, tutting to himself as he studied the findings. "A pair of intruders investigate the swamps above! And judging from their attire they appear to be looking for us." Vindi announced, his eyes glued to the scope. His fingers drummed against the metal for a moment, watching the intruders. "Hmm… I suppose one can never have too many test subjects." He mused, mulling over his options. Turning around he waved off Jayden and the droids. "Stick around a little longer, soldier. Please, escort our guests inside." He commanded.

Suddenly, Vindi was thrown off his feet and slammed into the wall, his windpipe constricted by an invisible grip. Jayden stepped forward, right hand outstretched as he choked Vindi, watching him squirm and choke for a moment. "Do not presume to command me, Vindi. I don't take orders from you." Releasing his hold, Jayden turned and ordered the droids. "Droids, with me."

"Roger roger!"

Since the droids knew their way around the base, the young Sith followed their lead to a series of one-man turbolifts. Obviously the base had been built with defences in mind, engineered for rapid deployment and surprise attacks that would guarantee catching any intruders off-guard. Briefly marvelling at the ingenuity of the design, Jayden took his place on a lift as a droid company took up positions with him.

They ascended quickly, emerging from the cold recycled atmosphere of the lab into the warm, humid environment of Naboo's swamps. With E-5 blasters primed, they wasted no time targeting the pair of intruders the moment they were on the surface. "Freeze! Hold it right there!" The company commander ordered. Jayden stepped forward and looked at the pair of intruders. After a moment's study, he found to his surprise that he recognized one of them from personal experience. The other he knew from the HoloNet.

It was none other than Senator Padme Amidala and Gungan Representative Jar Jar Binks.

The Senator's eyes widened as she looked upon the young Sith. "Oh no..."

"Good evening, Senator Amidala." Jayden greeted


The pair were detained in short order, taken down to the lab below as they were stripped of their hazmat suits, commlinks and the only weapon on them; Padme's ELG-3A sporting pistol. Their hands then bound with restrained cuffs, Jayden personally escorted the pair to Nuvo Vindi who was waiting with doubled security as multiple B1 and B2 droids kept their weapons trained on the two, who struggled in the iron grip of the young Sith Lord.

"Yousa lettin us go!" Jar Jar demanded, to no avail. Instead of demands, Padme began asking questions.

"Who are you? Why are you holding us?" She asked, looking straight at the Faustian. Withdrawing a pair of spectacles from a pocket on his lab coat, Vindi took to studying them closely and carefully.

"Wonderful specimens…" He mused under his breath. "What's a life-form like you doing in a swamp like this?" He wondered, peering down at Padme.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." She retorted with a glare. Vindi chuckled and withdrew.

"Thanks to the support of my compassionate friends in the Separatist Alliance, I am creating life!" He proclaimed. Jar Jar was confused.

"Howsa yousa creatin life?"

"I'm so pleased you have inquired," Vindi replied, "a demonstration is in order!" He strutted over to one of the holding cases and withdrew a single vial. "Allow me to introduce the return of the infamous… Blue Shadow Virus!"

"The Blue Shadow Virus?" Padme repeated. "I thought that deadly disease was extinct?"

"Yes, it was wiped from the galaxy many generations ago." Vindi confirmed. "But I have given it life!"

"Wha-! Yousa not creatin life, yousa takin life! Yousa poison da Gungan water!" Binks exclaimed.

"Yes! Yes yea yea ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya!" Vindi cackled overenthusiastically. "Unfortunately, the Blue Shadow Virus in its natural form thrived only in water, until I improved on that weakness…" He stated, moving over to one of his various pieces of lab equipment. Placing the vial on a pedestal, Vindi then pulled a lever and a pair of tesla coils began to glow, generating direct current electricity that struck the sample between them and then energized the virus sample. After only a few brief white flashes, what was once a liquid virus sample had become a gaseous virus sample.

"Yes yea yea ya ya! Your eyes do not deceive you! I have perfected an airborne strain of the Blue Shadow Virus! It shall bring death in a mere two days, just like its former form… only it can spread much much faster now!" Vindi proclaimed.

Padme and Jar Jar looked horrified, and underneath his mask, Jayden frowned. At that moment, LEP-86C8 toddled into the lab, carrying a spherical device in its tiny servos.

"This is the last of the bombs, Doctor." It squeaked, holding up the device.

"I'm well aware it is the last!" Vindi snapped. "Do you think I lost count?!" He snatched the bomb from C8's hands and the droid cowered frightfully. "The virus in its gaseous form combined with these bombs will release the Blue Shadow Virus back into the galaxy!" Vindi continued, delicately and gingerly loading the virus sample into the explosive. "More potent than ever before!" He proclaimed gleefully.

"Are you insane?! It's a deadly disease! No life-forms are immune to it! That's why it was eradicated!" Padme cried in dismay.

"You mean murdered!" Vindi snapped. Clearing his throat, he stooped down and gave the bomb back to C8. "Take this away." He ordered and the LEP toddled off to do so. "Meanwhile, as we speak, thousands and thousands of so-called 'superior life-forms' are spreading their disease of war throughout the galaxy! Perhaps they are the ones who should be eradicated!" He remarked, fixing Padme and Jar Jar with a glare. Snapping his fingers, the B2's moved to escort the pair out of Vindi's lab, no doubt to a more suitable holding facility.

Jayden remained where he stood, arms crossed as he watched Vindi putter about and the droids move on. It was a good thing his mask had an in-built recording feature, and was ready to be transmitted.

His Master would want to hear about this...


Although she may have been captured, Padme took precautions before coming here. And one of those precautions was to contact the Jedi Council and have two Jedi be sent to Naboo.

As the sun set over Naboo, casting the scenery in picturesque golden hues, a lone LAAT arrived at the palace hangar. Emerging from within, Obi-Wan Kenobi, R2-D2, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, were immediately greeted by Captian Typho and C-3PO. "General Kenobi! Anakin! We're so glad you're-"

"Where's Senator Amidala?" Anakin demanded, cutting him off.

"She went to look for the lab."

"And you let her go?!" Anakin exclaimed, temper rising.

"It can be very very hard to stop her, once she has made up her mind." The golden protocol droid explained. Anakin sighed.

Anakin had to concede to that, knowing how stubborn his wife was when her mind was set on something. "Good point. I know what you mean."

Typho then turned to introduce a third party, a pink-skinned female Gungan.

"This is Peppi Bow. She was the last person to see them." He stated. "Padme sent her here for safety."

"Theysa lookin for the sick-maker." Peppi said.

"'They'?" Obi-Wan queried, frowning.

"Representative Binks was with her." Typho explained. R2 loosed a series of trills, emphasizing what others were merely thinking. Anakin was in no mood for anymore talk, the situation was perfectly understandable and now they needed to act.

"Ahsoka, go with the Gungan, see if you can find them." Anakin ordered his Apprentice.

"You got it, Master." Ahsoka nodded, the teenage Togruta making to leave as she followed the Gungan. Anakin's focus returned to Typho.

"Why didn't you send someone to search for them? How long have they been gone for? Hours?" He sternly asked.

"Considering the latest developments, we thought it was best to wait for you." He replied.

"What 'latest developments'?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Follow me." The Jedi, as well as the droid duo, followed him into the palace security office. They approached a holotable, where the head of a B1 battle droid sat. Typho wasted no time in getting to the point. "We did a robo-lobotomy on the battle droids and came up with this piece of memory," Typho explained, using a data chip to toggle a holographic recording. The figure who appeared was unknown to the Jedi.

"Who is that?" Obi-Wan wondered, cupping his chin.

"Doctor Nuvo Vindi. A senior medic for the criminal families of Perma. He disappeared ten years ago," Typho described.

"Good news my soulless automaton friends!" The hologram announced. "We now have enough of the Blue Shadow Virus to start filling the bombs!"

"He said 'bombs'?!" Threepio stuttered nervously and Artoo tooted his own worried thoughts.

"We will only need to send one bomb to each key star system. Work quickly! I want them ready to deliv~…red-…." The message cut out before it could be completed, but the truth of it was well received.

"If those bombs get delivered, we'll be facing a galaxy-wide plague. The war will be the least of our worries!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, stating the obvious. The Jedi were spread thin with the war as it is, and the Republic did not need a plague to go on top of the war.

"There is some good news." Typho quickly cut in, keying a new command into the holotable. "Senator Amidala found the lab, she sent us the coordinates before she disappeared. We've managed to get a geo-scan of the area." A render of the scans flashed before them, so big and thorough they towered over the men present.

"It's enormous…" Obi-Wan gasped and Anakin was equally shocked by the scope of the place.

"It looks like there are three entry points; here, here and here." Typho stated, the areas in question glowing red for a faint moment as he pointed them out. "This appears to be the main lab."

"And the bombs?"

"Well… there seems to be an above average amount of radiation in this area." Typho responded, gesturing to an out-of-the-way section of the base. "It's likely where they are being assembled."

"If Padme has alerted them to our presence in any way…" Obi-Wan trailed off.

"If Padme's in there and we go in guns-a-blazin', she may get killed." Anakin stated firmly.

"It's a risk we have to take." His friend countered. "Doctor Vindi and those bombs must not leave the lab."

"And if they, or we, detonate just one during the attack…?" Anakin pressed, trailing off.

Obi-Wan said nothing for a moment, then he sighed quietly and grimly. "Better to have one planet infected than the entire galaxy."


Later...

Darkness was settling in. The sun was setting s Ahsoka rode with Peppi Bow atop one of Naboo's native shaak; a gentle, docile herbivore that gave Ahsoka cause for plenty of questions.

I wonder if Master Ti got her name from these creatures. But if that's true, why in the universe did her parents pick the name of an animal? Better yet, how did they know about it? There's no shaaks on Shili…

"Dissen da ship belongin' to them." Her Gungan guide pointed out as they passed a brightly coloured, and oddly-shaped, scout carrier airspeeder.

"So where are they…?" Ahsoka wondered, trailing off as she tried to deduce for herself where the Senator had gone. Sliding off the bulbous back of their mount, Ahsoka knelt low and furrowed her brow as she studied the ground intently. "Their tracks end here…" She realized, studying the impressions in the ground. Evidence suggested they simply vanished into thin air, their final footprints stationary and immobile.

Then she heard something, head perking up as she strained her montrals. It was a soft whirring noise, mechanical in nature. She turned, watching Peppi suddenly rise into the air. Startled at first, Ahsoka softly gasped and quickly but quietly moved. "Peppi! It's a scope!" She hissed as the Gungan struggled to balance herself atop her newly-raised position. "Don't let them see you…" shuffling across the ground, and keeping just out of range of the viewfinder, Ahsoka waited until she was opposite the device before leaping through the air and tackling Peppi off her perch. Together they fell behind some overgrown roots and stayed hidden as the scope continued it's sweep of the area.

Chancing an opportunity to poke her head up, the Togruta watched as the device remained fixated on Peppi's mount for a moment. The dullard creature oblivious to little more than a source of food and proving to be of no harm to the Separatist controlling the device. It sank back into the dirt, disappearing from view completely and revealing to Ahsoka just how easily Padme and Jar Jar could have fallen into a trap.

"Looks like we found out what happened to them." She mused outloud while accessing her commlink. Anakin's frequency was at the top of her options. "Master, are you there?"

"Did you find her?" He eagerly asked and she almost didn't need the Force to sense his intensity..

"Negative." She replied and disappointment was rife across their Master-Padawan bond. "I'm pretty sure she's inside the lab, the whole area is wired with pressure sensors. There's no way to get in without being detected." She explained. "But I'd be more than happy to-"

"Do not attempt to get inside." Obi-Wan's voice suddenly ordered and her holocom chirped moments later. Quickly triggering the more powerful device, Ahsoka discovered the blueprints for the lab had been sent to her. "I need you to detonate a bunker-bomb at the south end of the facility. It should cause a nice distraction and seal off the bomb area while we come in through the hatches." The map dissipated, replaced with holorenders of Anakin and Obi-Wan.

"You can count on me," Ahsoka promised with an eager smile.

"Rex and his men will be right behind you, Snips." Anakin promised. "They'll have your back." The signal cut out and Ahsoka slipped her comm back into place on her belt.

Night fell as Ahsoka played with the settings of her explosive. Captain Rex had taught her all about making necessary adjustments to the things. Well, 'taught' was a loose way of saying she paid close attention while he was teaching new additions to the 501st. Taking the simple instructions to heart, she could now retrofit thermal detonators at will, turning them from mere 'crowd control' devices to building-destroying bombs.

In the darkness, her predatory eyesight allowed her to pick out details better than most, everything from the minute details in grains of mud to the constant flickering of lights as an array of scopes performed their nightly checks. Peppi for her part tended to her shaak and Ahsoka noted her compassion for her animals. She seemed less-clumsy and less accident-prone than Jar Jar, a sturdy and capable farmer who could think as quickly as she could react.

Good people like her shouldn't suffer from the Seps like this. I've got to make sure she doesn't fall victim to this senselessness!

Poking her head over the roots again, she levitated her thermal detonator into the air, giving it a gentle telekinetic push that sent it coasting above the ground in a very straight line.

I may not be good at meditating, but I sure know how to make things move! She thought proudly. However, she frowned as she sensed something... something familiar. Her senses brushed against that of another Force-user's, one she recognized instantly and he too recognized her. Khan!

Suddenly, a scope popped up out of the ground and Ahsoka cursed the randomness of these things. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the thermal detonator hurtling into nearby foliage, out of sight of the scope's visual range. Taking a slow, measured breath to compose herself, Ahsoka sank deeper into the Force as she closed her eyes and felt out the area with her senses. Her presence became one with the explosive, allowing her to see and know where it was when her eyes might fail her. It moved slowly and methodically, her use of the Force propelling it smoothly towards the solid metal hatch several yards away. She slowed her pace, letting the explosive hover… only for a trio of scopes to suddenly spring up from the ground.

"Now!" She exclaimed, throwing her hand down before diving for cover.

The detonator struck the hatch door and exploded with significant force, a mushroom cloud of ashen smoke erupting from ground zero. As the rumblings grew quieter, Ahsoka heard the telltale drone of approaching LAATs and looked up to see three moving towards the area. Rexster and the boys will be on one of them. That's the one I need to rendezvous with.

"Mesa come too!" Peppi urged, trying to join her.

"No." Ahsoka responded, forcing her to remain. "Stay here and make sure no one escapes."

"Hmph. Okeeday." Peppi grumbled, slumping against the roots while the Togruta took flight.


He had sensed Ahsoka. Jayden knew her Force signature, easily. Ever since he sensed her while on the Malevolence, it's as if her presence was an instant recognition o him whenever it was near. He didn't know how to explain it, but he assumed it was just their Force signatures brushing against one another through the use of the Force... even though at times neither are using the Force to even sense each other.

Suddenly, a distant rumble drew him from his thoughts and he made his way to the main room just in time to see the shaken droids and Vindi pull themselves together. The young Sith took note of the explosion directions.

Sensing Ahsoka before explosions go off is no mere coincidence... Jayden thought and found himself smirking excitedly. I look forward to our upcoming fight, Tano,...

"We have a breach! All droids to hatch number one!" The Faustian called out. "That includes you, Khan! Go on, go!" He urged, shooing Jayden out of the lab. With a grunt, the young Sith did as asked as Vindi approached the helpless Padme and Jar Jar. "Friends of yours, I assume. They've arrived sooner than I expected." He remarked, sliding a containment helmet over his long head. "No matter. Their efforts will be futile in due time."


The droid patrols nearest Hatch 1 quickly engaged the Clone troopers arriving via the breach in the roof. Ascension cables pooled on the floor as trooper after trooper descended to fight the mechanical monsters, several of which were quickly felled by barrages of blasterfire. Darting down from above, Ahsoka's green Lightsaber flashed to life as she took up a defensive position in front of her men, reflecting incoming salvos back at the droids as more members of Torrent Company joined her growing numbers.

Meanwhile, the other gunships bombed Hatches 2 and 3, blowing open access points through which Anakin, Obi-Wan and the rest of the 501st legion descended. The Knight took notice of the quiet, unpopulated corridors, an unnerving sense of quiet settling over him that did not go unnoticed by his men. "It's quiet. Too quiet." Trooper Denal noted.

"That means Ahsoka's distraction is working." Anakin surmised. Dividing the focus of the enemy would guarantee their advantage over the Separatists. All they had to do now was press it.

Hang on, Padme. I'm coming.


The fighting was getting fierce. Which, on the one hand was a good thing, but it also made her job incredibly difficult.

Ahsoka was moving quickly, flicking her Lightsaber back and forth to deflect incoming shots as she darted ahead and used her superheated weapon to cleave through B1 and B2 droids, thinning the enemy ranks as Captain Rex and Torrent Company backed her up.

But then she suddenly stopped short as the droids parted and Darth Khan stepped into the fight, activating his red crossguard Lightsaber while he stared directly at Ahsoka... who found herself smirking eagerly.

Time for a rematch! She thought to herself with a determined glare. The two hadn't encountered each other since that time Khan came to rescue Gunray, and he won that fight against her. Ahsoka vowed that this time it would end with her beating him for the third time. Maybe she'll dunk him in swamp water to end the fight, like she buried him in sand on Tatooine in their first fight.

"Well, well, look who it is." Ahsoka remarked, twirling her Lightsaber before holding it in reverse grip and assuming a stance. "Hope you're ready for a third loss to me. And this time... I'm not going easy on you!"

Jayden scoffed at her words. "The last few times were you going easy? I'd hate to see you at your worst. Because it'll just be too embarrassing."

Ahsoka growled at his words before she Force dashed at him, swinging her Lightsaber, but Jayden blocked it with his own while using just one hand, the other behind his back. He looked at Ahsoka, who was under the impression he was smirking at her behind that mask, and she began attacking more ferociously, going on the offensive. Jayden blocked, countered, parried and sidestepped her attacks before quickly leaning back to avoid having his chest struck again by the Togruta.

Their sabers were a clash of red and green, both parrying and blocking each other's blows, before they twirled their sabers in perfect sync then slammed them together with enough force to make them stumble back from the collution but Jayden was quick to attack, causing Ahsoka to back off and roll to avoid his attacks. Lightsaber marks were left in the ground as Ahsoka kept avoiding Jayden's swings and strikes, then she pushed him back with a Force push before leaping at him with a war cry, intending to swing her Lightsaber at his hand. However, Jayden quickly raised his free hand and Ahsoka thought her Lightsaber would go right through.

Only for her saber to be stopped from going through her opponent's hand by a glow coming from Khan's hand. Ahsoka's eyes widened as she tried to cut through his hand, but he seemed to be stopping it.

Jayden had to admit, he was surprised at this turn of events as he was blocking Ahsoka's blade with his hand. The Force was in use, that he was sure of, but he had never done something quite like this... but he was sure his ancestor, Satele Shan, did something similar in a fight against Darth Malgus during the battle of Alderaan thousands of years ago.

Clenching his Lightsaber tightly in his free hand, he swung it and Ahsoka quickly had to back off before she ended up killed. Both righted themselves and assumed a stance, neither willing to give up or back down from this. A rivalry had been formed between them since their encounter on Tatooine, since Jayden's humiliation at being buried in sand by Ahsoka and he had not given up the desire to finally end Ahsoka Tano's life. And every time they fought, their desire to face each other again would only be strengthened.

Jayden ran and slid to his knees, ducking under Ahsoka's swing, and he took her off her feet with a leg sweep. Ahsoka grunted as she landed on her back, found her Lightsaber arm pinned by Jayden's boot and looked up with wide eyes as h raised his Lightsaber to finally put an end to her.

A war cry brought the young Sith's attention away from his opponent, only to see Rex charging at him and tackling him off Ahsoka, dropping Jayden's Lightsaber in the process. The two grappled with one another before Jayden drove his knee repeatedly into Rex's stomach, brought his elbow down on his back hard, then delivered a vicious headbutt that sent Rex onto his back. Force calling his Lightsaber to him, Jayden activated it and swung it down, only for a green Lightsaber to block it and prevent the killing blow.

"Nice try you big meanie! But you're not done with me yet!" A perfectly-livid Ahsoka snarled, fangs out as she forced his attention away from the Clones.


Racing through the corridors, Anakin and his men quickly found the central lab, sealed off by a transparisteel door. Brandishing his Lightsaber, Anakin hastily cut through the meagre materials before bursting into the central lab, finding himself up against Nuvo Vindi himself as well as a contingent of battle droids… as well as something very worrying.

"Padme!" He exclaimed, seeing his wife strapped to a generator rack.

"Take another step and your friends die!" Vindi snapped, promptly flicking a power switch that flooded Jar Jar and Padme with jolts of electricity. Their screams filled the lab and Anakin paled. "Drop your weapons!" The Faustian ordered with a cunning grin. Denal raised his blaster, ready to shoot.

"Wait!" Anakin raised his arms, forcing his men to pause. "Do as he says," he relented. Deactivating his lightsaber and dropping it to the ground, the Clones followed his command and dropped their weapons as well.


Destroyers. Could this day get any harder?

His grumblings kept private, Rex and his men dove behind impromptu cover as the destroyer droids crept slowly towards them. With their shields blocking off the corridor wall to wall, they created an impenetrable barrier the Clones were struggling to get past. An unlucky shot killed another of his men, dropping him dead where he fell. "We're running out of men, sir!" One trooper remarked.

"I can see that, Hardcase." Rex responded. "Jesse, Fives, any droid-poppers left?"

"Just the one, sir." Jesse replied, holding out a single electrostatic detonator. "Not enough to handle the lot of them."

"Where's Commander Tano, sir?" Rex peered back over the wreckage, glimpsing past the droidekas to see the hooded form of Darth Khan, his red Lightsaber clashing with Ahsoka's green

"She's busy, holding off Khan," he replied, "we've got to give her some support. Come on, boys!" Rex urged, raising up and taking aim at the droids downrange. All of a sudden, a thunderous rattle sounded from above and the ceiling collapsed atop the droidekas much to the surprise of the Clones. Clearing the dusty clouds with a wave of his hand, Obi-Wan Kenobi made his presence known.

"Need a hand?" The bearded Jedi inquired.

"Good to see you, General Kenobi." Rex replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Not a moment too soon, sir!" The trooper known as 'Jesse' remarked, sounding pleased.

"Commander Tano needs our help!" Hardcase chimed in. Obi-Wan turned around to see Ahsoka and Jayden still engaged in a heated duel while the droids around them recovered from his shocking entrance.

"Let's get those droids off her back!" He ordered, leaping into action and cutting down several B1s with quick flicks of his blade.

Ahsoka, meanwhile, was in another heated battle against Jayden. The two clashed fiercely, their Lightsabers a red and green blur while they jumped from position to position, continuing their duel with no sign of stopping anytime soon. They landed on a tree branch, continuing to clash, then Jayden spun, blocked an attack aiming for his back, then cut the tree branch in half while jumping off. Ahsoka, caught off guard, yelped as she fell to the ground and grunted at the impact. She quickly got to her feet only to roll out the way to avoid a larger tree branch from being thrown at her.

"That all you got?" She taunted, twirling her saber and smirking tauntingly at him.

"Jut like Skywalker, foolishly taunting in a fight." Jayden scoffed then he fired Force lightning from his fingers, causing Ahsoka to quickly block it with her saber. Jayden stopped his assault and twirled his Lightsaber while they circled one another. Neither of them spoke, only staring at one another with glares, even though Jayden's couldn't be seen due to his mask. Then, they charged with war cries and their sabers clashed again.

Jayden then suddenly drove his boot into Ahsoka's stomach, causing her to lurch forward, then Jayden brought his elbow down onto his back. On the ground now, Ahsoka recovered and sweeped Jayden off his feet. However, both had lost their Lightsabers as a result of the physical combat, so they relied on hand-to-hand now. Ahsoka tackled Jayden down, delivering a punch to his masked face but Jayden recovered and punched her in the abdomen, then gave her a vicious head bbutt. Kicking her off, Jayden Force called his Lightsaber to him and pinned Ahsoka with his boot on her chest, lining his saber with her head.

"I win." Jayden said, smirking underneath his mask before he raised his saber to end this when he suddenly whirled around and blocked Obi-Wan's Lightsaber from taking his head off. "Well, well, Master Kenobi... I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"Oh I'm sure you have, dear boy." Obi-Wan retorted with a small smirk. "Has Ventress been waiting for this as well? I recall her frustration the last time I faced her."

Jayden looked around, seeing the droids defeated, the Clones closing in, two Jedi to fight in Ahsoka and Kenobi... Growling, Jayden pushed Obi-Wan back and then gathered the Force around him before unleashing a huge Force repulse that sent the Jedi and the Clones off their feet and flying, giving Jayden time to run off down a hall.

"That's right! You better run!" Ahsoka shouted, before seeing Obi-Wan looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"You have a fierce desire to beat him every time you encounter one another." Obi-Wan noted, causing Ahsoka to look down as it was true. "Don't worry, I understand you have a rivalry with him. But remember, Jedi do not start fights, only stop them. Do not let your desire to face him every single time cloud your judgement, Ahsoka. Desire can push you to the Dark Side, and that's most likely what Khan will want to take you off guard and kill you."

"Understood, Master." Ahsoka nodded.

"Otherwise, things are going well. Anakin has secured the lab and has hopefully reached Padme by now." Together they sprinted to the end of the hall, only to find a fresh company of battle droids ready to fight… and Khan was with them.

Blades swung hard as a storm of blaster bolts came their way, the pair of Jedi deflecting the incoming crimson surge. Jayden started moving towards them, Lightsaber activated as the droids followed suit. "Do you trust me to keep him occupied?" Ahsoka asked over the din of blasterfire.

"I'll get the bombs! Be careful!" Obi-Wan responded, turning and leading the bomb squad off another corridor as Rex and the remains of Torrent Company rejoined their Togruta commander.

"What's the plan, little 'un?" Rex queried as he opened fire with his pistols.

"Take out the droids! Khan is mine!" Ahsoka responded. Sprinting ahead, she lunged at Khan as the young Sith stepped back and assumed the basic stance for crossguard sabers, preparing to meet her head on.


With Anakin and his squad held at gunpoint, Nuvo Vindi carried on rather unhurriedly. "I realize I won't be able to hold you for long, Jedi." He told Anakin as he slotted the remaining Blue Shadow Virus samples into a containment case. "That is why I'm going to give you a choice."

"Fine with me… as long as one of the options is killing you." Anakin growled in retort. Vindi chuckled dismissively as he walked back over to the generator controls.

"How about… capture me, or save your friends?" He suggested and promptly switched on the generator. Padme and Jar Jar screamed as arcs of electricity coursed through their bodies, shocking them with high voltage charges. Vindi made his way out of the lab and the moment his back was turned, Anakin acted.

Leaping up and over the droids holding him hostage, Anakin called his Lightsaber to him with the Force and went to town on his mechanized foes, slicing them limb from limb and splitting them in two. The captive Clones quickly joined in, tackling the unsuspecting droids from behind and bringing them down, shutting them down as quickly as they could with vibroblades they pulled from their belts. As they dealt with them, Anakin used the Force to throw a droid into the generator controls, shutting it down with a burst of sparks. Padme and Jar Jar slumped against their bonds as Anakin raced to free his wife.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. Padme coughed, taking a moment to regain her senses.

"Ani… how about the next time you rescue me… before you kill all the battle droids." She slowly remarked with a smile.

"A little thanks would go a long way." Anakin replied, smiling himself. With his wife free, and Jar Jar too, Anakin turned back to his men. "Grab your blasters. We need to find that doctor." He ordered.


The droids had been disposed of, their broken chassis littering the floor of the hall. But Rex and his men held back, fingers on triggers but no one moving as of yet. "You really think it's a good idea to just hang back, sir?"

"Trust me, Jesse, when it comes to that thing, better let a Jedi handle it." Rex replied, watching as Ahsoka dueled Khan yet again.

"Can't we do something? Anything?" Hardcase asked, sounding desperate for action and not so much to help out their commander.

"He's blasterproof, thinks three steps ahead, hits like a freighter, and moves faster than an airspeeder." Rex listed off. "No, Hardcase, we'll let the Commander tell us what to do."

Jayden and Ahsoka's Lightsabers clashed in a sword lock, Ahsoka glaring into the expressionless mask and she could tell he was glaring right back at her. Ahsoka moved her feet, trying to push him back to overpower him, but Jayden wasn't making it any easier for her. Both of them applied the Force into their legs, but Jayden was the one beginning to make Ahsoka strain as she bent her legs, straining as the Sith raised up and bore down above her.

Suddenly her commlink chirped, a cross-channel signal opening up. The voice was Obi-Wan's and it was not directed at her. "Anakin! I'm guessing you didn't capture the doctor?"

"I'm working on it! Do you have the bombs?" Anakin responded.

"I'm working on it! Doctor Vindi has remotely activated the bombs, they're counting down!" Obi-Wan revealed. Jayden's head turned slightly and so did Ahsoka's, the two of them realizing together that their situation had escalated significantly.

"That's just great!" Anakin complained.

"And on top of that, one of them seems to be missing!" Obi-Wan added. Jayden's eyes widened behind his mask and he broke his clash with Ahsoka, taking her by surprise which allowed him to Force push her right into Rex before he turned and sprinted off somewhere into the facility.

"You alright, Commander?" Rex inquired as he helped steady Ahsoka.

"Ugh… he shoves hard." The Togruta grumbled as she brushed off her shoulders. Her commlink crackled again.

"Ahsoka! We've got a situation!" Anakin exclaimed. Watching Khan grow smaller and smaller down the hall, Ahsoka slowly lifted her arm.

"You've got more than one, Master! Looks like Khan might be heading in your direction!"


"Just what we needed." Anakin grumbled.

"Wait, a missing bomb?" Padme interrupted. "I saw Doctor Vindi give a little droid a bomb." It all clicked together for Anakin and he pieced together what he believed to be the truth.

"Then I bet that's where Khan's going." He determined, raising his commlink again. Then he paused and sighed. "Can't believe I'm about to say this…" He muttered. Desperate times call for desperate measures… I guess. "Ahsoka, follow Khan, he might know where that last bomb is." He finally ordered.

"On it!" Came her very eager reply. With that over and done with, he looked to his wife.

"Let's split up. You go look for the bomb and I'll go after Vindi." He suggested. Padme nodded in agreement.

"Be careful."

"Aren't I always?" Anakin replied with a quirked brow and smirk. Padme smiled.

"Don't make me laugh." She deadpanned.


Using the Force to enhance his natural speed, Anakin sprinted down the many corridors of the lab until he arrived at an open location; a hangar-like area where Doctor Vindi was attempt to leave with a retinue of battle droids. Hearing his footsteps, the mechanized marauders turned in surprise. "Wha-? Jedi!" The resident commander cried, opening fire as his fellows did the same. With quick swings of his Lightsaber, Anakin sent multiple crimson bolts ricocheting back towards the droids before he quickly cut through their ranks, leaving steaming, melted chassis behind. Vindi cowered before him and Anakin was pleased as he held the Faust at the end of his saber.

"Leaving so soon, Doctor?" He asked cheekily. Vindi grumped but then flashed a smile, turning his arm around to reveal the beeping detonator control attached to his glove. It caught Anakin's gaze and he paused, pondering,

Maybe if I can get my hands on that, I can abort the detonation sequence. I'm sure nobody will be made if I return Vindi minus an arm, right?

"You are running out of time!" The Doctor retorted, reaching into his carrying case and withdrawing a single sample of the airborne Blue Shadow Virus. "Catch!" Throwing the sample as hard as he could, Vindi let Anakin chase it as he toggled the door controls. With Anakin on the other side, the pair were separated by the sealed compartment as Vindi started up the turbolift.

With one sample of the Blue Shadow Virus safe, Anakin switched on his lightsaber again and started cutting through the door. It was hard, slow-moving work, a very gradual process that took a combination of strength and patience that Anakin did not have in equal portions.

"Obi-Wan! Doctor Vindi's escaping, he's at the landing platform!" He cried into his comms.

"Alright, I'm on my way!" Obi-Wan responded. Maybe it wasn't fair that he left the bomb squad to feverishly defuse the bombs by themselves, but he needed help. He needed to stop Vindi.

Anakin kept cutting, using the natural divide in the door to his advantage. It formed a weak point, one that could be properly exploited should he destabilize the rest of the panels. His comms crackled again, another communication intercepted on the same frequency. It was Padme.

"Ahsoka, I found the last bomb! I'm in some kind of grow-room, there's all sorts of plants in here."

"Stay there! I'll get the bomb squad! We've lost track of Wraith so whatever you do, keep that bomb on you!" The Togruta responded.

Great. There she goes painting another target on her back. I love you Padme, but you worry me way too often.

The clatter of footsteps behind him brought Anakin back to reality as he sensed Obi-Wan's presence behind him. "Almost… got it...!" He grunted, straining to melt through the final few inches of panel. When his cut was complete, a burst of telekinetic energy sent the shattered door tumbling into the hangar on the other side, allowing the Republic squad to burst into the hangar. Already ascending on the landing platform, Vindi opened fire with his personal sidearm, forcing Jedi and Clone to scatter.

Using the Force, Obi-Wan lept up to the rising platform as Anakin drew Vindi's fire down below.

"Don't shoot!" He exclaimed to the Clones. "If he drops one of those vials, we're finished!" As if on cue, Vindi forsook his blaster and withdrew three more samples of the Blue Shadow Virus. Offering Obi-Wan a mere grin, he tossed the samples over the edge, forcing the Jedi to leap after them. Two of the vials he snatched out of the air, the bearded Jedi hitting the ground hard and rolling to a halt before he caught the third one too.

Anakin began his ascent, using the existing hydraulics to aid his Force-boosted leaps as he attempted to reach the top of the platform. Luckily, he managed to clear the lip of the platform with a finally, mighty leap, sailing well over Vindi's head and landing between him and his escape shuttle. Brandishing his Lightsaber, Anakin slowly advanced. "You're under arrest, Doctor Vindi." He proclaimed. In response, Vindi withdrew yet another vial from his carrier case.

"Then perhaps I will kill us all now! It only takes one sample for the Blue Shadow Virus to spread across the planet! And everyone will die, yes yes yea yea yea yea ya ya ya!" Vindi cackled, threatening to simply smash the vial against the ground and unleash the deadly plague right then and there.

Suddenly, in a flash of pink, Peppi Bow made her presence known and promptly whacked the Faust with her ranching prod, knocking him to the ground and the sample out of his hands. Anakin sprinted towards the flying vial, snatching it out of the air as Vindi's case slid across the platform surface. Using the stunner function, Peppi ensured Vindi was rendered immobile long enough for Anakin to tower over him. But instead of defeated, Vindi merely began to chuckle.

"Yes…! The bombs' going off and we're all going to die!" He exclaimed, followed by a string of full-throated laughter, the laughter of a madman, as the timer on his wrist counted down to the absolute final seconds. "Yeah yea yea ya ya! DIE!"

The timer reached its end… and nothing happened.

Anakin looked around, reflexively gripping his Lightsaber as he waited for something, anything, to reach his senses. Down below he could still sense Obi-Wan, Padme, Ahsoka and the Clones, all of them relatively normal without a flaw. He glanced down at Vindi, bemused by such an anticlimactic moment. "Uh… oops. What happened?" The doctor wondered innocently.

"Ahsoka, are you there?" Anakin inquired into his wrist comm.

"I'm here, Master. No sign of Khan but the bomb has been deactivated. Did you find Vindi?" She responded.

"Deactivated as well." Anakin replied. "Have you seen Padme?"

"She's right next to me." Anakin sighed in relief. "I'm okay, too, thanks for asking!" She added, sounding annoyed. With a simple smile, Anakin allowed himself to relax. Obi-Wan and the rest of the Clone squad were arriving and Vindi was in Republic custody...


Oh, this arc ain't over yet. It's a two-parter, after all.