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      DO WHAT YOU MUST. Araminta believed she had, but a part of her she had yet to shed still played different images in her head, a cold hand on her right shoulder reminding her what she was truly capable of. A scenario where she had killed Vindi before the platform had even risen all the way. One where she had amputated his arm and grabbed the falling vial while he writhed. One where she had pushed him over the edge and left the lab to seal itself and the virus in a tomb.

But she had done what she needed to do, she told herself. She hadn't needed the violence she had once acted with, the violence she knew she was capable of. Vindi had been stopped and now they could question him on the science and an antidote, the Council would not frown upon her more, and she had followed her orders through. Anakin had made some remark she took to heart, and Obi-wan had given her a nod in acknowledgement as he had joined them and shackled the doctor.

Had she needed to, Araminta knew she would have killed the doctor. She had killed for far less in the past than the fate of the universe. But Anakin had been right– she had trusted him. She had given up the control for a split second because she had needed to, given the situation, but no matter she had placed her life in someone else's ability other than her own.

The realisation cut into her like a knife, and then Octavian gripped it by the handle and twisted it as he whispered in her ear.

Araminta sheathed her bloody knife, having not released her hold on it since Vindi had been removed from under her boot, watching him like a hawk. Blood was crusting on his upper lip, the purple bruising almost blended in with his skin tone, and the glass of his helmet crunched under their feet.

The assassin swallowed back her doubt, moving forward as Anakin looked at her with a small smile. She ignored him as she took her usual place at Obi-wan's side.

"That was close," Anakin remarked as he returned from shackling Vindi inside the ship.

"Yeah, too close," Araminta agreed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"If that virus had escaped, everyone on Naboo would be dead now," Anakin pointed out.

Obi-wan shrugged. "Oh well, just another boring day saving the universe," he said, dryly.

Anakin sighed. "Alright, let's take this sleaze back to Theed so we can help Padme and Ahsoka clean up down there."

Obi-wan nodded, turning to his bodyguard. "Araminta, go on. We'll be down soon."

Araminta slumped at the command, looking back into the ship where Vindi was sitting with his back to them. "If he tries anything he's a dead man," Araminta said, firmly.

"I have no doubt," Obi-wan responded with a slight teasing note in his voice.

Araminta scoffed and pulled away, heading back towards the landing platform, which was cracked open to let them in and out. She jumped down a few levels before climbing down the ladder and plopping down at the bottom, glancing briefly up at the sunlight filtering through.

"Ahsoka," Araminta chimed into her wristcomm. "Where are you?"

"Corridor B," the padawan replied. "You joining us down here?"

"Apparently," Araminta sighed as she headed through the door Anakin had cut down in their chase.

A piercing alarm suddenly began to blare, Araminta wincing at the sudden noise, before an explosion shook the ground, coming from somewhere further in the lab. The alarm grew into a different tone, one of more urgency, Araminta gritting her teeth as she saw the illuminated symbol on the wall.

Virus leak.

Her feet moved before her brain did, charging back to the exit, and through the door which shut behind her with a metallic clang. All around she could hear doors in the facility sliding shut, metal on metal, sealing them in as the alarm continued to ring. Araminta jumped halfway up the ladder as she pushed herself upwards towards the sliver of sunlight.

Survive, repeated in her mind, screaming at her, beating at her chest as her heart pumped against her ribcage. She almost couldn't see through the rush, too focused on getting out before the air she breathed became infectious. She could not fight a disease, nothing in her training could protect her against that, and she had not come so frustratingly far to die from an extinct sickness.

The small gap in the landing ceiling began to close, and Araminta let out a yell as she pushed and jumped up, catching the ledge with her torso. She ignored that she was moving towards the other side and risked being crushed as she clambered up and out, jogging a few steps away as the door sealed itself with a crunch.

She was left in deafening silence without the alarm, heart pounding in her ears as she backed away from the lab. She tried to listen for something, anything below her to indicate where the others had ended up. Where Padme was, or Ahsoka. She tried to remember the geo-scan. Corridor B was near a safe room.

Her comm suddenly shouted, "Solarii!" Anakin's voice was desperate, cutting through her listening for survivors as she winced at the noise. "Solarii, can you hear me?"

"I'm here!" she shouted out loud, turning and jogging back to the ship where Anakin and Obi-wan were still intact, pulling into their line of sight through the shadows and the trees.

Anakin was at her side in a second, a hand immediately going to her upper arm and the other pressed against her forehead, as if searching for a fever. "Are you okay?" he demanded.

Araminta moved the hand off her forehead, looking at him with furrowed brows. "I'm fine," she said, caught off guard by his worry.

Obi-wan had approached now, unable to hide the small look of concern. "You didn't get caught inside?" he asked.

"No, almost," Araminta replied, not wanting to revisit her mad-dash of self-preservation mere minutes ago. "I'm assuming the worst happened," she added.

"The virus is loose," Obi-wan sighed. "Ahsoka shut the whole facility before it could get out, and they all managed to find a safe room, but they're trapped down there."

"Not for long," Anakin snapped as he stormed into the ship, his hand slipping from Araminta's arm. She exchanged a look with Obi-wan as they followed him inside. His lightsaber was at the doctor's throat already as he said in a dangerous tone, "Where's the antidote Vindi?"

The doctor laughed, looking down at his lap, unfazed by the plasma weapon in his face. "You mistake my role, Jedi. My job was to manufacture a plague, not to cure it."

"We don't have time for games," Anakin said threateningly, moving his lightsaber closer.

"Patience, Anakin," Obi-wan scolded. "There's more than one way to skin a womp rat."

Anakin ignored him. "I said where?" he demanded.

"Yes," Vindi drawled. "Kill me now and spare these old bones the blue shadow's dire embrace because once the first droid breaks out of that laboratory all Naboo is doomed!" he cheered.

Araminta shifted slightly, giving Obi-wan a pointed look, but he only shook his head and turned back to his former padawan. "Anakin, the fastest way to save them is to get Vindi back to the capital and find an actual antidote."

Anakin didn't move immediately, staying where he was, eyes dark. "Fastest," he spat, retracting his sabre and strapping it back to his hip. Araminta gave the doctor a withering look as they took off towards the city.

Make him talk, a voice whispered from her right, her brand burning. She knew she could do it, she had made the floor slick with blood before and made throats turn raw. She had made people talk in the past in the name of the mission, through whatever means necessary. It was not her specialty nor her favourite thing to do, but as she was coming to find out, she was capable.

Do what is necessary, that was what Octavian had drilled into her. No, beaten. She remembered. He had repeated the words as he had bested her, time and time again when she was younger, unable to stand a chance against his experience. She had been shaking, unable to push herself onto her hands and knees, blood running down her face.

Do what is necessary.

"This is necessary," he had said. "To teach you strength."

She remembered she had thought the iron tasted like weakness, not strength.

Araminta turned away from the doctor and back to the scenery flashing past them. Something gnawed at her, deep in her chest, batting against her ribs in annoyance: worry. It was worry for Padme in the infected lab, it was worry for the padawan that had become a part of her life the last few months– it was worry outside of the mission.

In fact, she found that she wanted to do something to help.

But then her right shoulder would ache, and she would be reminded that she had turned tail and ran out the bunker without a second thought, and her nature was still not entirely hers.

They docked in the hangar, and Araminta caught Obi-wan's look as he unlocked Vindi from the ship and began to escort him out. Araminta waited to watch his back, and in turn saw the way Anakin was seething with barely-controlled anger, mouth pressed into a firm line and dark, stormy eyes fixed on the back of the doctor's head.

Typho met them outside the ship, shouldered by two armed men. "Doctor Vindi, you'll pay for your treachery," he said firmly, before throwing out an arm. "Take him away."

"Now we need to find an antidote," Obi-wan said as Vindi was escorted away by the two men, Araminta's eyes following him for longer than needed, as if he would break out.

Typho didn't look as grave as the rest of them, saying, "I think I found an answer for you." Obi-wan and Anakin exchanged a glance over Araminta's head as they followed the Captain.

"So you think you found a cure?" Anakin asked enthusiastically as they returned to the console room from the day before.

"Possibly," Typho corrected carefully. "A little-known extract made from reeksa root." He pulled up a holographic image of it. "A weed-like vine found only on Iego, the world of a thousand moons, deep in Separatist-controlled space."

Anakin looked unfazed by the odds, as he simply said, "Then let's go." He moved off from where he had been leaning against the console, but Obi-wan stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

Typho looked concerned by the haste. "You must move cautiously if you–"

"There's no time for caution," Anakin cut him off, back to them. "They're trapped down there."

"I applaud your courage, General Skywalker, but it's suicide," Typho warned. "Once we contain the virus we can send troops."

Anakin hit Obi-wan's hand off him. "No, we can handle it," he snapped, heading for the door.

Araminta sighed, not moving to follow until Obi-wan did. "I concur, Anakin," he said, tightly, as they returned to the hangar.

No one said anything else. Araminta took her usual seat with one knee pulled up and Anakin took the controls alongside Obi-wan as they pulled out of the hangar and skyward.

But no one needed to say anything to sense Anakin's growing unease and the anger simmering under the surface– it was something Araminta knew well over time, and she suspected Obi-wan did, too, by the way he was looking at his former padawan.

"Padme and Ahsoka will be fine," Obi-wan assured as they left Naboo's atmosphere.

Anakin didn't even look across at him. "They will be, if we succeed."

Obi-wan's face fell at the response as Anakin activated the hyperdrive and sent them hurtling towards the coordinates they had been given, bathing them in pale light as Araminta watched him carefully.

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      THEY ARRIVED in good time, pulling out of hyperspace and snapping Araminta to attention as Anakin moved through the vacuum of space. The assassin blinked at the upcoming planet, moving forward and leaning on the back of Anakin's seat.

"There it is," Obi-wan said as they veered towards the massive, lilac planet.

But Araminta had bigger concerns, such as the massive collection of debris and ships caught in the belt orbiting it.

Anakin had to swerve to avoid being hit as they moved through it. Araminta could make out some pieces of ships, some beyond recognition, others still in good condition. Her tail twitched as a body, choked by space, moved past them.

"What do you make of this?" Anakin asked, glancing at Obi-wan and Araminta in turn. As he turned to the assassin, her position against his seat put them almost nose-to-nose.

"It looks like a graveyard of ships," Obi-wan said, sounding unsure of the description.

"It is Separatist-controlled space," Araminta pointed out.

Obi-wan regarded her with a nod. "Iego has been a mystery for some time now. Anakin– we should stay alert." Anakin scoffed at the chiding, but he slowed their movement through the debris to something more careful. "Who knows what we'll find down there."

Anakin carefully piloted them through the rest of the belt, and they cleared it and passed through the planet's atmosphere and descended in silence. Araminta pulled away from Anakin's seat, watching the scenery pass them, a rocky world of steep cliffs and fog, their windows misting up slightly at the cool temperatures outside.

Araminta watched warily as Anakin took them straight to the entrance of an old Separatist base built into a cliff, with landing platforms suspended outside. She was viciously aware of the weapons on her body as Anakin pulled away from the controls.

"Let's go," he said immediately.

"Anakin–" But Obi-wan was hopeless to stop him as Anakin hurried out of the ship, ignoring the lack of a threat in front of them. "If only he slowed down once in a while," Obi-wan sighed as they, too, left the ship. Araminta only laughed sarcastically at the words.

Araminta could hear the hum of plasma and the clattering of metal as they headed outside, coming to see Anakin surrounded by droid parts and no active threat. The battle droids and the two vulture droids behind them were unarmed, and not marching as a threat.

In fact, Araminta noted, they were oddly mismatched, some with limbs or headpieces on the wrong way and they were all covered in colourful drawings.

"Welcome to Iego," a battle droid said.

"Welcome to Iego," another echoed.

Anakin had stopped now, lightsaber fading away as he realised there was no danger. Araminta followed Obi-wan forward as he approached, dryly saying, "Very impressive." She suspected Anakin rolled his eyes as he turned to them. "You just destroyed seventeen defenceless battle droids without suffering a scratch."

A droid stepped forward, starting to repeat the welcome again but collapsed to the ground in a delayed reaction to the glowing cut through it. Anakin blinked down at it, giving his former master a smug look.

"Eighteen, actually," he remarked.

"The venerable Jaybo Hood requests an audience," one of the droids said.

"Who?" Araminta asked, scrunching up her face.

"Hey!" came a voice from somewhere behind the line of droids. Araminta tensed, but the person sounded young, almost boyish, so she didn't unsheathe a knife just yet. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to repurpose those droids?"

It was a kid, the same height as Araminta, marching through the droids and coming to stand in front of them. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared up at Anakin, which hardly looked threatening at all.

The younger Jedi scoffed. "You're Jaybo?"

The kid ignored his question. "Well, do you?"

"I apologise for my friend's rather rash behaviour," Obi-wan stepped in as the kid stormed off.

"Nine months, man," he snapped over his shoulder. "It took me nine months."

Jaybo sighed dramatically as he slumped into a hammock strung up between vulture droid legs. The group of three exchanged mixed looks, as Jaybo clapped expectantly.

"Oh, that's our cue," a droid near him said, picking up a fan and gently moving it above the boy.

"Channel two," another droid, with a head like a speaker, said as it adjusted a tuner on its chest until relaxing music began to play from it.

"Well, that's new," Araminta said with a shrug.

Anakin pressed forward, studying the group of droids that stood peacefully around them. "How'd a kid like you come by so many battle droids anyway?" he asked.

"Simple. When the Separatists took off they left all this junk behind," Jaybo replied, swaying in the hammock. "I got a whole warehouse full of 'em right over there." He jabbed a thumb behind him

"So you programmed them to serve you?" Obi-wan asked, hands behind his back, as Anakin ran a hand over the back of one of the droids, eyes narrowed. Araminta stayed at Obi-wan's flank, studying their bleak surroundings.

"No reason to let a good droid rust, right?" Jaybo replied.

Anakin hummed in response. "Looks like you used a macro protocol to wipe them all simultaneously. Impressive."

"I see you know your droids," Jaybo said, sitting up. "You're Jedi, aren't you?" Obi-wan nodded. Jaybo scoffed, pointing at Anakin. "You want me to show you how I did it?"

"Perhaps another time," Obi-wan interrupted, as Anakin genuinely looked interested in the proposition. "What we need now is reeksa root. Do you know where we can find some?" Obi-wan continued.

Jaybo shrugged noncommittally. "Here, there, everywhere."

"Not the answer we're looking for," Araminta said sharply.

"You," Jaybo said. "You're not Jedi." He scanned her up and down, eyes raking over her layers of weapons but lack of lightsaber.

Araminta lifted her chin higher at the words, as she always did when someone noted it. "No shit," she sneered.

"We don't have time for games, kid," Anakin said, stepping forward and blocking some of Araminta's view. "Where's the root?" he demanded.

Obi-wan gave him a pointed look, before politely saying, "What my friend is trying to say is that we are in a bit of a hurry."

Jaybo scoffed. "Not anymore you're not."

Anakin stepped forward. "Look you little–"

Obi-wan placed a hand on his chest, holding him back as Jaybo only looked amused by the display. "This system is haunted, cursed, whatever," he announced. "Anyway, Jedi or not, no one gets off this rock alive. Not past Drol."

"Drol!" one of the droids shouted, shaking.

Obi-wan released Anakin, looking concerned. "Drol?" the older Jedi asked.

"Yeah, Drol, the phantom ruler of Iego. He destroys anything that leaves the planet," Jaybo explained. "Fifty of the best star pilots in the galaxy have tried. Fifty tried, fifty died."

"I suppose that explains the ruined ships in the moonbelt," Obi-wan remarked, lightly.

Anakin didn't look amused, or concerned by the warning. "First things first. We'll have to deal with this Drol later," he said, firmly.

"Alright," Jaybo said with a shrug, jumping to his feet.

He walked off, the three being given no choice but to follow him. He stopped at the edge of the base, at the part that connected to the cliffside. He jabbed a finger down into the abyss, where a small trail of bright green vines disappeared.

"Down?" Anakin snapped.

Jaybo turned back to them and tilted his head. "Yep."

The decision to climb only had to hang in the air for a few seconds before Anakin relented, "I'll get the packs."

"You're not serious," Araminta said in disbelief.

"Listen lady if you want reeksa root it's down there," Jaybo jeered.

Anakin moved forward, stepping in front of her almost protectively. "We heard the first time," he snapped at the kid.

"Alright," Obi-wan interjected, stepping up to them and interrupting the high tension in the air. "Anakin, get the packs," he instructed. Anakin scoffed loudly as he pulled away and headed back towards the ship. Obi-wan sent his guard a look, which she understood perfectly as she stepped back and moved to the edge, ignoring the smug look on Jaybo's face.

"He's like a baby Skywalker," she snipped as they moved away.

Obi-wan ignored the comment as they approached the edge of the cliff. "What do you make of this?" he asked her seriously.

"Nothing good," she sighed. She moved to her knees, pressing back as far as possible while still being able to look closely over the edge. Her ears flicked forward, but it was quiet. She moved at the sound of Anakin returning, throwing a pack at Obi-wan who caught it.

"I brought rope," he said, holding up a set of harnesses and a ring of rope.

"Well, this is giving me flashbacks," Araminta remarked as they strapped the rope to their belts, linking them together. Anakin gave her a glare. The assassin was the second one strapped in, which meant Obi-wan or Anakin had to lead.

"Well, any volunteers?" Obi-wan asked lightly, gesturing down to the rockface.

Anakin said nothing as he moved forward and began to clamber down, gripping tightly onto the crevices and niches in the rock. Obi-wan and Araminta exchanged glances, the assassin shrugging dramatically as she was forced to follow second, vaulting lightly off the edge and clutching to the rock.

Araminta's small, lightweight frame helped her climb, back and shoulders straining from the effort to keep her steady as she searched for footholds with her feet. She glanced down, craning her neck as she moved, lightly following in Anakin's steps, but with his longer strides, he could make movements she couldn't.

The rope above her moved, as Obi-wan joined them on the climb, shuffling down carefully. "Are you coming?" Obi-wan called up at Jaybo, who was peeking over the edge at them.

"You gotta be kidding," the kid scoffed. "No way I'm going down there."

Anakin grunted. "You trying to tell us something?"

"Don't worry, it's simple. Follow the vines to the bottom, dig up the roots, but don't touch the vine," he yelled down as they got further away.

"Aside from the obvious, why not?" Obi-wan asked.

"Because the plants don't like it, and they have big, sharp teeth," Jaybo said, simply.

"Teeth?" Anakin laughed, taking a moment to look down at the distance they had left to go. "This is getting better by the minute."

"And watch out for the flying xandu!" Jaybo yelled as they began to shift in altitude, his voice getting harder and harder to hear.

"What's a xandu?" Anakin asked as they descended deeper, out of earshot of above.

"I'm not sure," Obi-wan admitted, sounding thoughtfully. "Don't know if we want to find out."

"Amazing," Araminta deadpanned, as she dropped a bit and continued to climb down, the vine to their right.

The light began to fade as they moved down. Araminta ignored the way her hands shook and she could practically feel the blisters forming. They stayed quiet for the most part, except for the grunting of the effort or the occasional remark from Anakin.

Araminta paused abruptly, ears perking up. Something was making noise in the wall, something rather large. She shifted slightly, moving closer to the vine, finding a gap in the wall that opened up a chunk of darkness she couldn't see through. Wanting to get as far away as possible from the cave opening, she moved down, fingers over the lip of the cave, the warning on the tip of her tongue.

Suddenly, a shape erupted from the gap in the cliff face, something quadruple her size easily, shrieking loudly and cutting across the area she was climbing on. It had wings, flying past her with one beat, claws outstretched for the grip she had on the cave lip.

Araminta couldn't help it– she screamed, as the creature knocked at her and she came away from the wall with the small grip her fingertips and toes had on it being no match for the velocity behind the creature.

Gravity failed her and she hurtled downwards, the slack between the ropes attached to them causing her to arc downwards instead of straight to her death. She only had a second to cover her head with her arms as she swung down and slammed into the rock.

Her world went quiet, head ringing and vision nonexistent. She could hear her own breath in her ears, but not much else. She wasn't falling anymore, the rope around her waist being held taught, but she couldn't be sure of anything else as her world spun and she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her tongue as if to redirect the pain in her head and arms.

"Fuck," she heard through the ringing. "Solarii! Solarii, can you hear me?"

"Anakin, it's coming back!"

The line tugged, and Araminta blinked through the spots in her vision. She let out a sound of pain, managing to her head upwards to see Anakin had gripped the rope between them before it had fully tugged on him, holding it with one arm with the other hand still clung to the rockwall.

"I'm okay," Araminta got out, mouth feeling sticky.

"It's okay, I got you!" Anakin shouted down. Araminta tried to pull herself on the rope, give herself some leverage, but her arms were shaking and her limbs didn't react the way she wanted them to. She heard the hum of plasma, buzzing in her ears, and she hung her head forward. "Hey, stay awake!" she heard.

Her head was swimming, flashes of her life in her eyelids, her shoulder was throbbing but she couldn't be sure if it was memories of Octavian or from slamming into the cliffside– both, she concluded. Araminta could almost hear him in her ear, garbled words stolen from the past and pieced together to form her thoughts.

Once again, she had almost died without shedding his skin.

She narrowed her eyes down below her, trying to discern if she was that dizzy or if she was seeing things correct. Figuring she'd drag them down if she stayed where she was either way, Araminta trusted her gut.

"There's a ledge!" Araminta cried, head pounding. "Give me some slack!" Anakin did, unlooping some rope from his belt and slowly lowering her down a few more metres.

Her legs buckled the second she was on the ledge as she leaned back against the wall, hanging her head back and breathing heavily. She cautiously raised a hand, and thankfully found no blood, just a painful bruise on her scalp. Her arms were grazed up from taking the brunt, but she hoped her head would be fine.

A few minutes later, Anakin joined her on the ledge, eyes wide. "Are you bleeding?" he asked quickly.

"Not my head," she responded, gritting her teeth against the splitting headache that was setting in now that the dizziness was passing.

"I'm sorry–"

"Not your fault," she snapped, cutting him off.

"Can you walk?" Obi-wan asked as he dropped down onto the ledge as well.

Araminta looked at him warily as she pushed off the wall she was leaning on, feeling her ego crack as she stumbled, the edges of her vision wobbling as much as her knees. Anakin had jumped in to support her before she could say anything, but just as quickly she had swiped him off, falling back against the wall with her arms propping her there.

"I'm fine," she hissed, pinching her brow and breathing through the pain, ignoring the look of hurt on Anakin's face. "I'll be fine," she insisted, pushing herself so she was standing as straight as she could, a hand still against the wall to steady herself.

"You're likely concussed," Obi-wan said.

"You don't say," she hissed back.

"If you say you're fine, we have to keep going," Anakin said, sounding reluctant. Araminta only nodded once. Anakin sighed, looking over the edge of the ledge they were steady on. "I have an idea but you're not gonna like it," he said after a moment.

"I, for one, never like your ideas," Obi-wan chimed in.

Anakin sneered at him, before cupping his hands over his mouth and mimicking a shriek. Araminta winced at the sound, the real version of the call bouncing back as the xandu reappeared from below and arced down towards them.

"Get ready!" Anakin shouted as the creature flew towards them. They moved in sync, rope still connecting them, crouching to avoid the direct hit. The second they were clear of danger, Anakin jumped straight off the ledge, clinging to one of its feet. Obi-wan followed, forcing Araminta to as well, the pair both grabbing hold of the other foot.

"You're right," Araminta huffed. "I don't like this."

The added weight forced the xandu down as it tried to swerve and throw them off but to no avail, as they rushed down towards the bottom of the cliffs. Araminta held on for dear life as they neared the bottom, fast approaching where the roots cracked above the earth and were visible in the dim light.

"There, those are the roots we're looking for," Obi-wan spoke up, gesturing with his head.

"Ah, shit," Anakin cursed as it became clear it would be near-impossible not to hit a vine as they let go of the xandu and rolled along the ground.

"Well," Araminta huffed out, staying in a crouch for fear of falling if she tried to stand. "We definitely touched the vine."

As if on cue, the ground split up with a deep crack, Araminta's eyes widening as massive vines erupted to the surface, moving as if alive, followed by snapping, sharp-toothed heads. The plant – the reeksa itself – let out a string of hisses, moving around as if searching for them with a sense they didn't know about.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-wan sighed, brandishing his lightsaber. Anakin followed the movement, as Araminta unsheathed her knife, knowing she was useless for a fight at the moment. "Don't take too long with that," Obi-wan said over his shoulder.

"No, I'll let it eat you," Araminta snapped back as she cracked the slate of rock off the roots with her knife, which revealed the weed-like part of the plant she had seen in Typho's hologram. "By the way, if it hasn't seen us yet, now it will," Araminta piped up as she drove her blade into the visible root.

The reeksa let out a shriek, all its heads turning at the same time in their direction. "Hurry!" Obi-wan said in exasperation as Araminta chopped at either end, the root being surprisingly tough. With a few precise cuts, it came loose, and she picked it up and pushed herself to her feet.

"Got it," she announced, stashing it in Anakin's backpack.

"We have to get out of here now," Obi-wan said firmly, as the reeksa shot towards them.

They ran, Araminta pushing herself through the pain in her head and shakiness of her vision. She told herself she could lie down later, as they headed back towards the face of the cliff. Araminta didn't bother turning to see the reeksa snaking its heads after them, leaping for the wall and crawling up with sore muscles. She heard the reeksa shriek, the rock below them cracking with its further emergence.

"Climb! Climb!" Obi-wan shouted. Araminta had never followed his orders closer as she pushed herself up and up, hearing the hum of plasma behind her as the two Jedi prepared for an attack, the reeksa heads rising and snapping at them, only deterred by the glowing weapons.

Araminta turned at the sound getting too close, and she dangerously removed a hand from the wall, seeing Obi-wan in danger splitting through her spotty vision and headache. Using the Force she grabbed a chunk of rock from below and lifted it up, straining at the effort, before dropping it straight down on the reeksa's main head.

The blow sent it flailing to the ground, the smaller heads letting out shrieks of surprise as they sped back down as if they could help. Araminta heaved in a breath, turning away from her work as they continued to climb back up, quickly to avoid the reeksa making a comeback.

The climb back up took far longer than their descent, and Araminta was pushing through a layer of sweat and dizziness, having resorted to using one of her less-important knives to help support her, stabbing it into visible gaps and pulling herself up. Anakin stayed in the lead, but continued to look back down at Araminta, which she pretended not to notice.

If she felt anything, it was shame. She had been injured in a way completely out of her control, not even performing her job, and had once again been put in the unexpected situation where she had no other choice but for someone else (Anakin) to save her. It burned in her stomach, tore at the scar tissue on her right shoulder.

She had to push through it for the mission and the urgency of the situation. She had to be strong because that was what was necessary. She had to keep going even if everything in her hurt and wanted to lie down, push the pain to the side and focus on placing one hand in front of the other, pushing against the hilt of her knife when needed.

"Almost there!" Anakin called down after what felt like hours, the sunset above them colouring him in golden light from Araminta's angle. She didn't manage to say anything, only moving with renewed energy, as Anakin was pulled over the edge above her.

"You made it!" she heard Jaybo cry. A moment later, she pulled herself over the edge, shoulders shaking with the effort as she pushed herself further from it and flopped onto the ground, staring up at the sky. "I knew you would," the kid mused.

Obi-wan arrived, the last in their line. "Oh did you?" he said, snidely.

The trio unclipped their ropes and harnesses, as Araminta relished the feeling of flat ground under her again. "Alright," Anakin announced when they were clear, gripping at the strap of his pack. "Let's get this back to Naboo."

"Did you forget about Drol?" Jaybo asked in exasperation.

Anakin sighed. "No, but–"

"Come on," Jaybo urged, getting to his feet.

"We don't have time for this," Anakin hissed under his breath as they followed the kid back to the Separatist base.

"It could be useful to know," Obi-wan chided him. Anakin scoffed but didn't protest further as Jaybo led them inside where Araminta now saw others moving around and living, which made sense given the nature of the planet now that she knew.

Araminta's headache had slightly faded now, but she knew a concussion didn't just go away, and there was still an edge of dizziness when she moved her head too suddenly. Obi-wan had given a weary look as they regained their footing and removed the ropes, but she had ignored it. His job was not to worry for her or get her medical help.

"The place dried up once the spice convoy stopped running," Jaybo explained, as if a tour guide. "Out here, we're just one of the millions of little backwaters no one cares about." He held a hand up to the sky. "Those of us who are left can't leave because of the curse."

"Cursed, we are!" someone shouted, and they turned to see a Quarren man emerging into the hallway. "The planet is cursed!"

"Cursed by whom, my twitchy friend?" Obi-wan asked.

"The ghost of Drol, that's who," the man said.

"A ghost?" Araminta asked doubtfully.

"The spirit of the thousand moons, our protector and destroyer," the man said dramatically.

Araminta frowned, knowing the deity her home planet followed, but didn't say anything as Anakin scrunched up his face, saying, "If you ask me that sounds like a load of–"

"Superstition," Obi-wan cut in

Anakin scoffed. "That's one word for it."

"Superstition, you say," the Qaurren snapped, sounding offended by the doubt as he slammed a projector on top of a crate of spice.

It erupted to show a hologram of a man sitting in a pilot seat, the projection distorted and shaky. "Can't hold... on much– someone help me!" he cried, before an explosion ended the transmission abruptly.

"That was Taquito. He was a friend of mine," Jaybo said after a few seconds of silence.

"Try to leave this planet and your fate will be the same," the Quarrent said ominously.

Araminta swallowed thickly at the projection, as Obi-wan looked more cautious, too. But Anakin's face only hardened, hand tightening around the bag strap that held the root.

"Bullshit," he finally said, turning on his heel and heading back for the Twilight without another word.

Obi-wan apologised for his friend and thanked Jaybo for his help, as Araminta and him followed quickly. "Look, I know moon religion isn't anything new, but something real took out that pilot," Araminta pointed out as she jogged after Obi-wan.

"Something tells me Anakin won't heed that," Obi-wan sighed as they boarded the ship, where Anakin was already at the helm, waiting impatiently for them.

"Told you, we were wasting our time," he said, snidely.

Araminta huffed as she took her usual seat. "Well, it's not a ghost–"

"No way," Anakin cut her off sarcastically. He took off the second Obi-wan had taken the second seat at the helm, speeding them out of the atmosphere. Araminta shot him a glare at the response.

"The ghost of Drol may be a local superstition, but something real did blow up those ships," Obi-wan said cautiously.

"Real we can handle," Anakin replied easily.

Obi-wan rolled his eyes. "Arrogance is not a good look, Anakin."

Anakin ignored him as he connected to Jaybo's commlink back on Iego. "Thanks for your help, kid," he said. "We couldn't have done it without you."

Jaybo didn't acknowledge the good graces, instead asking, "Have you run into Drol yet?"

"Not to worry, Jaybo," Obi-wan assured as they began to pass through the moonbelt of dead ships.

Araminta's skin was crawling, completely unable to predict what they were about to encounter, as R2 chortled from the back. Araminta glanced back, eyes widening at the glowing beams behind them.

"What's the matter R2? Afraid of a ghost?" Anakin snickered. "Drol is just a... superstition." His voice trailed off as the chain of light crossed into the front view.

"There's our ghost!" Obi-wan cried.

"They're lasers?" Araminta said in exasperation as Anakin swerved to dodge the net of energy in front of them, forcing her to grip onto her seat as they tilted, R2 rolling past her.

"We've triggered an energy field," Obi-wan concluded, as Anakin continued forward. Obi-wan turned to him with a firm look. "Turn the ship around! We'll never make it through!" he ordered.

Anakin clenched his jaw, before relenting and pulling the ship back the way they had come, Araminta only relaxing when they had passed out of the field and back into the orbit of Iego. But the apprehensiveness she had had during takeoff had faded, as her mind raced with ways to solve their problem, glad to know what they were dealing with at least.

"The Separatists must have installed those lasers to prevent people from leaving the planet," Obi-wan thought out loud, but Anakin didn't respond as he kept his eyes on the horizon and took them back through the atmosphere.

"That means it can be stopped," Araminta said, firmly. "Better than a ghost."

"Better than a ghost," Obi-wan agreed.

Anakin looked defeated as they landed, staying quiet, Araminta watching him carefully. Before she could say anything, a transmission came through, blinking on the console. Anakin accepted it, bringing up a hazy hologram of Ahsoka and Padme standing together.

"Master, can you hear me?" Ahsoka said, voice weak.

"R2, amplify the signal!" Anakin ordered. The droid said something back as he moved to the back of the ship and chimed into it.

Ahsoka leaned against Padme, looking unsteady. "Destroyed... all the battle droids... inside the compound, Master. Naboo is safe from further contamination. I repeat, Naboo is safe."

"They can't hear us," Araminta murmured, eyes wide as Ahsoka coughed violently.

Both Ahsoka and Padme were deathly pale, with a sheen of sweat, having been exposed in their efforts to keep the lab sealed, Araminta assumed. She glanced back at the pack with the reeksa root, knowing desperately they had to get it back.

"Promise me that no one will ever open this bunker," Padme spoke up. "Please–"

The signal died, Anakin's eyes widening. "No!"

Araminta reached out a hand. "Skywalker–"

He rushed out, movements jerky, eyes wild. He was already speaking as Araminta and Obi-wan hurried to catch up. "We'll borrow a power converter from Jaybo and reprogram it to feed our–"

"Slow down Anakin," Obi-wan insisted, a few paces behind the frantic Jedi.

"Slow down? Slow down?" Anakin rounded on him, eyes gleaming. "You saw them, Master. They're dying."

Obi-wan frowned, catching up to him. "A great leap forward often requires taking two steps back," he said, calmly.

Anakin narrowed his eyes, fists clenched at his side. "And sometimes all it requires is the will to jump."

Obi-wan looked disappointed but not surprised by the answer, and for a moment Araminta could imagine they were kids again and Anakin was a padawan being taught a lesson. Except this wasn't a lesson, and Anakin had grown louder and more defiant.

"At least hear me out on this," Obi-wan said, softly.

Anakin hesitated, before turning away. "No."

Araminta watched him go, storming past Jaybo and the other inhabitants who had been awaiting their fate. Obi-wan sighed from beside her, placing a hand to his forehead.

The assassin turned to her charge warily. "I can get him," she offered.

Obi-wan nodded. "Go."

Araminta stepped off the ship's exit ramp and hurried after him, past Jaybo who tried to yell something at her as she went. Anakin was strides ahead of her, navigating the labyrinth of the base, movements rapid and head constantly swivelling. Araminta suspected he meant to simply find and take a power converter, rather than waste time asking.

She wasn't sure what she would even say, just that she needed Anakin calm if they were to get off the planet in any amount of time to get to Naboo. That and she was in deep enough to know she might have a chance at connecting with him in a way Obi-wan didn't. It was the consequence of their late night talks, she supposed.

She finally caught up to him, close enough to yell "Skywalker!" and know that he would hear. He ignored her and kept moving, strides forcing her to jog to catch up. "Dammit, Skywalker, listen to me," Araminta persisted, but he continued. Now she believed he was just trying to avoid her completely. "Anakin!" she snapped, a few steps behind him.

He finally stopped, whipping around to her. "What?" he snapped. Araminta gave him a look at the tone as she moved closer now that he had stopped moving.

"You're losing it," she said, stepping up to him.

Anakin sneered at the words. "You gonna tell me to slow down, too?"

Araminta sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "If I do, are you gonna keep yelling?"

"My padawan and our friend are down there," Anakin said, getting into her face. Araminta didn't move, looking up at him through her lashes. "How can I calm down?" he demanded. "How're you so calm?"

"You know how," she hissed without thinking.

Anakin just blinked at her. "I'm not like you."

"It's not about being like me," she pointed out sharply. "It's about choosing what to focus on. It's feeling what you need to keep yourself focused."

Anakin's face shifted at the words, and he took a step back. Araminta stopped him, reaching out a hand and catching his wrist, pulling him back. She slid her hand down and took a hold of his, before bringing it up and holding it between her two small ones, covering it. She tapped it, earning his attention.

"Use the anger and the worry to motivate you, make you urgent, make you focus on figuring this out. We need it to move forward. But don't let it control you and scare you," she said, quietly, looking him in the eye. "We have an idea of what's going on now– that's good. We can figure this out but you have to slow down."

"Are you worried?" he asked quietly. The question had a hint of something bitter in it– judgement or jealousy, she couldn't be sure.

Araminta narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes. I'm worried. She's my friend and Ahsoka's, well, Ahsoka." Anakin scoffed a bit. "But I put it to the side. I keep it there, a reminder that we need to keep moving, but I don't let it control me. That's just how I was taught."

"Everything's a weapon," Anakin said, bluntly.

"I guess so," Araminta shrugged. She had never really considered her use of emotions as a weapon. "So am I," she added.

But Anakin's face was not critical, as he squeezed her hands, bringing up his other one and placing it over their entwined ones, Araminta watching the movement cautiously.

"That's not a bad thing," he told her. "Weapons don't just hurt. They're strong, useful, and flexible." He pulled his hands away to hold up his lightsaber hilt. "Beautiful, even." Araminta blinked at the words, but said nothing. Anakin sighed and holstered his weapon, before meeting her eyes again. "You..." he trailed off, frowning.

"I know," Araminta told him, softly, gazing up at him after a few moments of silence.

And she did.

And he knew she did.

Anakin looked down at her, in the way only he had ever been able to, straight through her but with admiration. The kind of look that continued to make her feel seen and trusted, even if a part of her still considered that undeserved and impossible. He was an anomaly to her, a contradiction of natures in one person, but for over a year he had been a friend to her, even more than that.

He was a confidant and someone who she had trusted in many different ways over the war. But she found she was okay with it. She was okay holding his hand in an unfamiliar hallway, talking him through the anger and the desperation, encouraging the human nature he was so often shunned for. She found she was okay with it because it was him.

Anakin tilted his head slightly, as Araminta placed a hand on his bicep, using her thumb to run circles in the fabric. "I get it, okay?" she told him. "It's okay."

"Thank you," he murmured.

Araminta scoffed, breaking the moment. "You know I hate that. Come on."

She pulled away, dragging him by the hand for a few feet before she let go, hearing him follow after her slowly as they headed back towards the Twilight.

She could feel his eyes on the back of head, but ignored it. She had calmed him down and got him back on board, that was her mission, and now she had to move onto the next. Simple. Except for the part in her brain that ran over their conversation repeatedly, the part that made her remember the way he looked when he gazed down at her. That wasn't so simple.

If you say so.

The difference between the touch of violence and of warmth had been blurred overtime.

They regrouped with Obi-wan in the old Separatist hall, joined by the most influential of the Iego survivors. The older Jedi had greeted them with a nod, but not much else, and Anakin kept his pride intact as the pair joined the small meeting.

Their hands were not connected anymore, and he would not meet her eyes as they moved, but Araminta had accepted the response and sat quietly next to her charge, hands in her lap and tail curled around her knees.

"Citizens of Iego," Obi-wan announced. "Drol is not a ghost. Rather, it is a Separatist security system."

"Nonsense!" the Quarren man, Amit Noloff, from before retorted. "You were lucky to escape alive. Simple as that."

"And who says we didn't make our own luck?" Anakin scoffed, still on edge but with a hint of his usual confidence.

"The ghost of Drol does, that's who," Amit snapped back.

"Who lived in the system before the Separatists arrived?" Araminta spoke up. Amit's attention went to her, Obi-wan glancing over his shoulder as well.

"The angels, of course," Amit replied, matter-of-factly.

Araminta blinked at the response, while Obi-wan looked perplexed. "Angels?" he asked.

The door to the meeting room slid open, a hooded woman entering. She held her head down, and despite her drab clothing, her skin emitted a glow and wings could be seen under the fabric. For all intents and purposes, Araminta could believe she really was an angel.

The newcomer frowned, lifting her head. "We, the Diathim, were a peaceful people before the Separatists drove us from our homes and stole our moon," she informed the Jedi, voice melodic.

Obi-wan exchanged a look with his bodyguard. "And which moon was that?" he asked, cautiously.

She brought up a projection. "Millius Prime."

Anakin's eyes widened, a hopeful look in his eye. "The primary node– it must be near Millius Prime."

Obi-wan's eyes drifted to the droids stacked in the dark corner of the room. "Hm. Jaybo, can you reactivate those vulture droids?"

The boy looked surprised at being addressed, before he shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure. I could even fly them by remote control."

Obi-wan smiled slightly. "Good. We can have Araminta fly the vulture droids as a decoy into the laser field." He looked to the assassin, who nodded once in response to the veiled request.

Anakin got to his feet, looking lighter than he had all day. "And now we know what we're up against, we can destroy the laser emitter."

"And cut a path to Millius Prime," Obi-wan added.

Jaybo's eyes widened, flicking between the three. "So, we could leave?" he asked, apprehensively.

"Yes," Obi-wan told him. "You would be able to leave."

The boy didn't hesitate. "I'll do it."

"No! The ghost of Drol must not be challenged!" Amit protested, brandishing his fist. But nobody around him took it seriously, the residents of Iego looking hopefully to the Jedi and the assassin.

Anakin placed a hand on Jaybo's shoulder. "Meet us at the Twilight when you're ready."

Jaybo nodded as the three left the room, Obi-wan turning to his guard as they moved. "How's your head?" he asked.

"It's fine," Araminta responded automatically. "Clear enough to fly the droids."

"Good," Obi-wan said as they piled into the ship.

Araminta took her seat at the back, but also pulled out the controls and scope, blinking through it as a test. She was correct, her vision had cleared up and the headache was only pounding slightly. She would be able to fly them.

"Good kid," Anakin remarked lightly, and Araminta turned in her seat to see Jaybo through the window jogging out of the base.

"Ready General Kenobi," Jaybo said through the commlink, giving them a thumbs up as well.

"Jaybo, activate the droids," Anakin instructed. A few seconds later, the vulture droids moved, stiff and jerky, but moved. A few emerged from the base, and the two that had stood outside with hammocks around their legs sprung to life. Anakin glanced over his shoulder. "Transfer control of them to Araminta."

Araminta turned back to the controls at the back, accepting the signal that came through as Jaybo responded, "Done."

"Alright. Let's go," she heard Obi-wan say as they took off. Araminta let out a tense sigh at the pressure on her shoulders as she remote controlled the droids to take fly and follow after them.

"So far, so good," Anakin remarked as they soared out of Iego's atmosphere and into space.

"Here it comes," Araminta jeered as they passed the threshold.

The lasers began to fire off, bouncing off pieces of debris and space-matter, surrounding them as it had the first time. But Araminta swerved, sacrificing two of the droids to intercept the lasers and protect them from direct hits, eyebrows pinched in concentration.

They had made it farther than the first time, their ship still intact as the vulture droids were the sabotage they needed. "Keep it steady!" Obi-wan instructed. Araminta wasn't sure who he was talking to, but held fast with the vulture droids as another one was blasted to pieces. She heard Obi-wan fire the Twilight's cannons, and a second later the energy field exploded.

Araminta flinched as the droids she had left were blown to pieces protecting the Twilight, as the space around them lit up with explosions as the energy field fell apart. Anakin sped up, escaping the fiery ring, as the debris continued to go off like fireworks. Araminta imagined what it looked like from the surface.

"You guys okay?" Jaybo's voice crackled over the speakers.

"We're fine, kid," Anakin replied, glancing over his shoulder at Araminta, who met his eyes. "I'm afraid you'll need some new droids to boss around though. These ones are pretty much toast."

Araminta scoffed as Obi-wan chimed in, "But the good news is you're free to leave Iego."

"No offence, but I'm glad your friends got sick and you had to come here," Jaybo replied.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "See you round, kid." He ended the transmission as Araminta settled into her usual seat, stretching her arms over her head. "R2, set a course for Naboo," the younger Jedi instructed.

R2-D2 burbled back as he set the coordinates, and a moment later they were hurtling through hyperspace again with the antidote.

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      ARAMINTA was sent to the Naboo infirmary as soon as the lab was cleared. She had refused to separate from Obi-wan when they had landed, despite her light-sensitivity and new headache, and pushed through back to the swamp and on the medical ships. Ahsoka, Padme and the clones were predicted to make a full recovery, and with the threat erased, Araminta had finally given herself the clear to rest.

She had a concussion to nobody's surprise, and the cuts on her arms were disinfected and left to heal as she was released and sent home on the Twilight with Obi-wan and Anakin. She had been given a notice to avoid physical activity and to rest, two things she rarely did, so the journey back to Coruscant was spent in relative quiet.

Anakin had been stiff since the rescue. Araminta was surprised, having expected him to be far more relaxed now that they had succeeded and everyone was safe, but he remained in an odd state of on-edge. She didn't question it as she leaned back in her seat, tapping her fingers against the knife she had used to help climb the cliff. She was already annoyed knowing she'd have to sharpen and maintain it, maybe even scrap it if it had been too damaged. But like everything it had served its purpose.

She reached a hand under the fabric of her sleeve, fingertip tracing the shape of the scar tissue, mouth twisting into a scowl as she did so. She had debated cutting it out of her arm for years, she knew she had the pain tolerance to do it, and she more than had the stomach to handle the resulting gore. But something stopped her, some shaking semblance of pride.

Araminta hated the toxic relationship she had with the brand. For so long wearing it had made her strong, it had been something to bring her fear and respect when she had worked. It meant that she had survived and all the years of pain and torture had meant something because it can't have been for nothing.

It still meant that she had survived, but now it meant she was a weapon branded, an asset associated with the man who had ruined her life. It connected her to something she had been cut off from, an ugly reminder that she had survived and what that meant.

She wanted to cut it off, but if she did she would let go of all the years that had shaped her, whether or not she still identified with Octavian. How odd, she thought, to almost find comfort in something that marred her in such a way.

Araminta's hand slipped from the mark.

"They should have cut you loose," she would hear, pressing the edge of her palms against her ears as she remembered falling through the air and slamming against the rock, saved only by the rope linking her to someone else's life. "You would have done the same."

But she didn't believe she would have. She was capable, that was what the brand meant to her, it marked her as capable of horrific things, of acts of violence and compartmentalisation no one should have in their conscience. But being capable did not mean it was necessary.

Maybe she should have cut them loose, had they endangered her by falling, and she knew the brand meant that she could have, but she would have chosen not to. That felt clearer in her mind than anything else amongst the murkiness of the blue shadow virus conspiracy– she could choose, regardless of all the terrible things that had made her who she was.

━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━

got writer's block on this chapter, no clue why but here it is a week late, a cute little 9k words

there was lots of anakinta in this chapter because the next is an obiminta exclusive chapter, and their relationship needs to be at a certain point for the upcoming arcs so i hope everyone enjoyed the overload of worried anakin, emotional talks and hand holding. also araminta will continue to be back and forth morally for a while, she's undoing over a decade of conditioning and beliefs okay

also if anyone has a timeline for the way the last few eps of the clone wars and revenge of the sith events cross over PLEASE please send me a link, i am struggling to plan act 3 solely because of this. (also some of the bad batch crosses over too). considering it's the emotional climax of the entire thing i want it to be done right but i am lost lost

i'll try and have the next chapter soon but life is kicking me rn so we'll see <33 thank you sm for reading