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      THE campaign on Geonosis lasted multiple days. After being evacuated along with the rest of the injured, Araminta had been dunked in a bacta tank and the wound on her stomach had mostly healed, along with the rest of the cuts and bruises she had sustained in the disastrous landing. The once-gaping wound was slightly tender if she twisted too much, but for the rest of the cleanup, she had managed to keep it in check.

Following Anakin and Luminara's success in destroying the primary factory and crippling Geonosian defences, it was their turn again to lead the secondary attacks on smaller factories and collections of soldiers– that the Clones had affectionately started to call bugs. The padawans for both Jedi had been badly hurt and evacuated, and Araminta was yet to see Anakin and gauge how he was.

She didn't dare ask directly and give away her concern, and Araminta and Obi-wan had only met up with Luminara during their arrival. The female Jedi had been going after Poggle for information on the Separatists, leaving Obi-wan to lead with his bodyguard in tow.

"I never did thank you," Obi-wan said abruptly as they headed for the collection of frigates they had landed on the planet's surface. They acted as their base of operations for now as they continued to sweep Geonosis, and the perimeter was guarded by clones.

Araminta hid the stiffness in her shoulders at the remark. "Whatever," she said dismissively.

"Even if you did yell at me," Obi-wan said teasingly.

Araminta shot him a look. "Blame it on the adrenaline."

"I always do. It's common knowledge that you grow teeth on the battlefield," Obi-wan continued lightly.

Araminta rolled her eyes to the back of her head, but was relieved that her harshness in the landing had been swept under the rug. She hadn't had much of an opportunity to talk to Obi-wan since they had been evacuated– she believed she had lost consciousness on the gunship out.

The assassin had been injured plenty of times in the field, and she had healed from far worse than a light stab to the side of her stomach. But they had all been occupational hazards– she had fallen from a great height, she had been stabbed by a target resisting, or been struck in the head to the point she saw stars by a much larger opponent. All things she had done in the name of completing the mission and earning the paycheck that Octavian lived off of.

This hadn't been that. Sure, she could argue that it was in the name of the mission to protect Obi-wan, but Octavian never would have accepted one of his assassins taking such a risk. They were not as expendable as he would have them believe– he did not spend sixteen years training up a weapon simply to break it down their first outing.

"For an assassin you make a good warrior," he added, drawing her back from her thoughts.

"I'm adaptable," she sighed. "That is what I was really trained for."

"Anakin was right," Obi-wan said as they scaled the ramp into the middle ship. Araminta only perked up, looking at her charge warily. "You don't take thanks well."

Araminta scoffed loudly as they entered. She kept quiet the rest of the way through the ship, some of the clones greeting them as they passed. "What's this?" Obi-wan called as they entered the bridge. "I didn't expect to find you up and about."

Mundi turned to them, as serene as always. He had been evacuated after Obi-wan and Araminta were removed from the field, injured in the final assault of the landing. It was a wonder Anakin had made it through without dire need of medical attention, too.

"After enough time in a bacta tank, one longs for the mundane comfort of star charts," Mundi said softly, turning away from the pale blue holograms in front of him.

Obi-wan nodded and stepped up to the other Jedi. "Well, it seems it did us all some good," he told Mundi, Araminta at his side,

"I wish I could say the same for most of my men," Mundi sighed, gazing out the window at smoke in the distance. There was still a graveyard of their ships and landing forces that hadn't made it in the first assault, now partially buried by sand,

"Well, let's make sure we don't have to take Geonosis a third time," Obi-wan said firmly.

"Hear, hear," Araminta said dryly.

"Poggle's forces seem to have come from the Northern Hemisphere," Obi-wan explained, turning away from the window. He brought up an image of the planet on the bridge's console, the blue light reflecting off their faces.

"And where was Master Unduli's last contact made from?" Mundi asked, moving to join them, hands clasped behind his back.

"This region farther to the west," Obi-wan said, gesturing on the planet. "But there's nothing out there according to our latest intel."

"We can never be too sure," Mundi said thoughtfully.

Obi-wan nodded. "I agree."

"Master Kenobi, Master Mundi," Luminara greeted as she answered the transmission. "Your timing couldn't be better."

"What did you find?" Obi-wan asked, exchanging a glance with his bodyguard.

"It appears to be a munitions container of some kind," Luminara answered.

"It could just be debris," Mundi reasoned.

Luminara shook her head. "I don't think so. There was no battle in this area."

"It looks like Poggle was on a direct course," a clone from Luminara's side said, his voice coming through on the transmission. "11 mark 72, that way."

Luminara blinked in the direction beyond their sight. "Headed directly for the Progate Temple."

"That doesn't make sense," Araminta spoke up. "Nothing in that temple could have survived. We pretty much flattened it in the first assault."

"Araminta is right," Mundi agreed. "Why would he risk exposure to go there?"

"I'm not yet sure," Luminara sighed. "Perhaps he doesn't realise the extent to which we cleared that area."

The doors to the bridge opened, and Araminta glanced up to see Anakin enter. Her face softened slightly, her golden eyes searching for his, but he was solely focused on Luminara's transmission. The assassin could see small cuts on his face but they were scabbing, and for the most part he only looked tired from the campaign as one of the few to have not been evacuated so far.

"Master Luminara, I'm tracking a sandstorm that's heading your way," he informed her, Araminta looking through the blue hologram and scanning his face.

"No matter," Luminara said assertively. "Poggle is out in the open and I intend to grab him before he can get offworld."

"I advise against it," Mundi spoke up. "You might get lost in the storm."

"Then we'd have to find both you and Poggle," Obi-wan added. Beside him, Araminta stayed quiet.

Luminara seemed undeterred by her associates' opinions, her eyes hard. "I feel it is a risk worth taking."

"As you wish," Mundi said, softly.

"I like her," Araminta chimed in once the transmission ended. Mundi and Obi-wan cast looks her way but she was used to them by now.

"Of course you do," Obi-wan said dryly.

"Gotta do what you gotta do," Anakin agreed. Araminta glanced once at the supportive Jedi, before back to Obi-wan with a smug look. The older Jedi only rolled his eyes at the pair as he turned away. "You look better," Anakin said, quieter, angling so he was facing the assassin.

"I'd hope so," Araminta said with a shrug. "You look like shit," she added lightly, pointedly scanning him up and down.

"Thanks, Solarii," he said sarcastically. She scrunched up her nose at him, to which he only gave her a small, fleeting smile that made her tail twitch.

The storm hit their station soon after Anakin's warning, blotting out the light in the windows and surrounding them with the sound of rushing wind and sand scratching against their ships. Araminta had already grated on Anakin's nerves with sand jokes, but as she had put it, he had no way to escape her.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he had said under his breath at a volume only she could have heard. Obi-wan had not understood why his bodyguard had given his former padawan an annoyed glare at his recklessness.

But the time stretched on, and early morning turned into day, the sun shining down on them from somewhere between the grains of sand and blustering winds. Anakin, as he so often did, grew anxious with time, and even Araminta's playful teasing could not distract him from the pressing issue.

Obi-wan had exchanged glances with her when Anakin spoke up impatiently, but she wasn't sure what her charge was trying to say as they lapsed back into waiting, the concern only growing as the storm raged on.

When Obi-wan finally spoke up it was met with relief. "See, Anakin, here she is," he said as the transmission beeped. Anakin sneered at his old master as he and Araminta joined them at the console from where they had been watching the sand fly by.

"Master Kenobi, we tracked Poggle to the Progate Temple but there's no sign of him," Luminara told them, making no mention of the time between their last contact.

"Go no further until we can send support," Obi-wan said firmly. "The storm is making things difficult. We can barely read your transmission as it is."

"Are you sure he went into the temple?" Mundi asked.

"Yes, we saw him enter but I think he's gone into the catacombs below," Luminara explained.

Obi-wan looked grave. "Those catacombs go on for miles. I fear we may have lost him." Araminta couldn't help but agree as someone who had gone into those tunnels in the past. "Get yourself out of there," Obi-wan instructed.

There was garbled screaming from outside the hologram, and Luminara drew her weapon as the transmission cut out. "Master Unduli!" Obi-wan called, eyes wide, but his words fell on a dead signal.

"We've lost the connection," Mundi said gravely.

"That was fast," Araminta murmured, raising her eyebrows, and looking to exchange a glance with Anakin, but he was already turned away.

He pulled away from her side, making it two steps before Obi-wan stepped around the console with a familiar glint in his eyes. "Where are you going?" he asked sharply.

Anakin stopped, back to the group. "Take a guess," he responded.

"We'll never get to her in this storm," Obi-wan pointed out. "The gunships can't handle it."

Anakin whipped around to look at them. "We can't wait!"

"I'm sorry, Skywalker, we have no choice," Mundi replied in his usual soft tone. "We must be patient and trust in Master Unduli."

Araminta met Anakin's eye across the room, giving him the most supportive look she could muster. Anakin's face softened slightly. From beside her, Obi-wan added, "We'll leave as soon as the storm lifts."

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      ALMOST the second the sand had stopped blocking the sun, Anakin was on his feet assembling a clone force led by Cody and loading them into a gunship. Obi-wan and Araminta farewelled Mundi as he stayed behind to monitor and continue to lead the campaign.

"You alright there, Skywalker?" Araminta asked lightly as they took off, noticing her partner's hardened features.

He didn't answer immediately, and Araminta exchanged a wary glance with Obi-wan. "We don't know what we'll meet there," her mission told her, and Anakin, too, if he was listening. "Be prepared."

"Always am," she replied with a one-armed shrug.

They landed shortly, blowing up clouds of sand as they departed, the clones going first, blasters raised. Araminta stayed in Obi-wan's shadow as they also disembarked, the clones following the pair of Jedi in formation as the assassin maintained her usual position.

The temple rose above them, roof caved in and some of the pillars missing. In the wake of the storm, a thick layer of sand was trickling off some of the surfaces and debris, and Araminta glanced down at the cracked symbol in the centre as they made their way inside, her feet scuffing at what must have been a sacred place.

"Stay alert everyone," Obi-wan ordered as they slowed.

"Spread out and look around men," Anakin added.

The clones did so, and Araminta did her own scanning, ears twitching. "There's no blood," she stated casually.

Obi-wan and Anakin looked unfazed by the remark where once they would have been shocked. But the pair hardly look reassured by the assertion, as Araminta shifted closer to her charge, ears swivelling desperately to hear anything.

"General," Cody called from where he was crouched on the ground. Araminta could just see his yellow armour from around a cracked pillar. "Buzz is dead," Cody informed them as they arrived. Araminta only blinked down at the body where there was, in fact, blood.

"Any sign of Luminara?" Anakin asked.

"No, sir," Cody responded.

Araminta followed Obi-wan's eyes as he scanned the ground to their right, seeing the tracks left in the dust. "There was a struggle," he reasoned. "Araminta." She perked to attention. "Do you hear anything?"

"No," she said. "But there's that."

Obi-wan followed her finger to where something silver was glinting in the sunlight. "This is not a good sign," the older Jedi sighed as he retrieved the lightsaber hilt from the ground. "Luminara's lightsaber." He handed it off to Anakin, who then handed it to Araminta, the assassin taking it more out of reflex than anything.

"Poggle didn't do this," Anakin said. Araminta twisted the sabre hilt in her hands– it was as light as she remembered the last time she had drawn one. "But maybe that did."

Araminta glanced back up, following Anakin's line of sight to a carving on the wall of the temple. It was unmistakably a Geonosian, but with wide, bulging eyes and what looked like a headdress spread out behind it. Thin arms curled around the front and large teeth were pulled into a sneer.

"That is one ugly bug," Cody said in disbelief.

Anakin exchanged a glance with Araminta, looking unsure as he said, "I haven't seen one that looks like that before."

Obi-wan shook his head. "I don't believe anyone has. It could be the Geonosian queen."

"The bugs have a queen?" Anakin scoffed.

Obi-wan hummed. "Rumoured. But we haven't found any proof of her existence." Araminta sighed at the gaping start of a tunnel in the wall, a large archway that led to a steep drop and solid darkness.

"Let me guess," Araminta said dryly. "Until now?"

"Intuitive," Obi-wan told her, lightly. She scrunched up her face at the response. "Take care of that until we find Luminara," he added, gesturing to the lightsaber hilt still grasped awkwardly in her hands. Araminta gave him a pointed look at being given a lightsaber, but slid it onto her belt anyway. "This way," Obi-wan instructed them as a group, gesturing to the dark gap.

"Come on," Cody said to the reluctant clone force. "Let's move."

Anakin and Obi-wan led the way with the assassin in toe, ears on constant alert. It didn't take long for them to need lights, the clones turning on their headlamps and the Jedi using their sabres. Araminta wanted to keep her hands free so kept away from the small torch she carried, instead watching their shadows dance across the walls as they moved.

These tunnels were different from the ones so long ago. The walls were smoothed down, and archways and supports were built into the rock rather than left bare. That alone set Araminta on edge– that the tunnels must be used or built for a purpose.

Occasionally, as they descended further into the ground, Obi-wan would send her the slightest of glances, checking if she had picked up on something. She had yet to. Behind her, almost in the breadth of her tail, Cody was looking at the holomap on his wrist, faint beeping coming from it as they navigated the tunnels.

"Well, this is fun," Anakin remarked lightly as they took another left.

"Shut up," Araminta snapped back, practically breathing down his neck from how close she was to him and Obi-wan. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Until we find something," Anakin replied.

"Oh, great, that's reassuring," the assassin drawled.

"Cody will let me know," Anakin said, glancing over his shoulder. "Won't you, Cody?"

"I– choose not to get involved in this," the clone Commander replied unsurely, briefly glancing up from the small map.

Obi-wan scoffed from the front. "A wise choice."

They took another left, Anakin peeking out before moving forward. Araminta was still straining her ears for a noise, but amongst their footsteps in the small space and Cody's navigator beeping right behind her, she could pick up nothing. Somehow that was more eerie than hearing something.

"This leads to a dead end," Cody said suddenly.

Anakin and Obi-wan slowed, the former glancing smugly at the assassin. "Told you," he said snidely. Araminta shot him an unimpressed look, the blue light from his sabre bouncing off her angled features.

"This one goes down the furthest," Cody continued as if nothing else had been said. He crouched down to the side, staring into another tunnel that branched off. "Sir, I'd say that's our best bet."

Obi-wan nodded. "I'll go first."

The small passageway forced him and the others to slouch slightly to fit, while Araminta followed second, staying fully upright with her knife raised. She swallowed thickly, hating how small the space was if they were to be attacked. Anakin was right behind her.

Thankfully, after a few minutes they came to the end of the small passageway and into a new set of tunnels, these ones grimier and older. The support beams were rotted and covered in dust, and Araminta couldn't see a thing past their beams of torchlight.

"How far do you plan on going?" Araminta questioned as they started to move again.

"Until we find Luminara," Obi-wan told her. The assassin hid her scowl. This was starting to feel like a suicide mission, and the creeping apprehension of not knowing what they were facing was sinking into her.

They continued onwards, Araminta violently aware of the slope they were now walking down. She obediently stayed in Obi-wan's blind spot, both hands still free as they moved, ears swivelling constantly. She knew Anakin was watching her carefully, as he often did, but didn't dare glance at him over her shoulder at that moment.

Beeping cut through Araminta's sensors as Obi-wan accepted the incoming transmission to his write comm. "If you're following me, you must leave this place. Just get out," Luminara's voice came, frantically. "I repeat, fall ba–"

A terrible shriek in the back cut the transmission off, and they were plunged back into silence.

"She must be close by," Obi-wan said quickly. "Come on."

They broke into a jog, Araminta forced to follow, before she skidded to an abrupt stop, hand catching the sleeve of her mission. "There's something– holy shit."

She cut herself off as the lights from their group illuminated the tunnel further down, the ceiling crawling with snapping and clicking Geonosians. Araminta's eyes hardened, and she released Obi-wan and drew her knife and a single baton in one swift move.

"I don't like the looks of this," Obi-wan said cautiously, lightsaber held out.

"No shit," Araminta hissed, scanning the approaching Geonosians in the cramped space.

They were all dressed the same, some sort of armour with a red stone and gold detailing, but it was their body language that set off alarm bells in Araminta's head. She had fought Geonosians in tunnels before, and they did not sway and shuffle like these did, limbs twisted oddly and heads lolling to the side.

Scuffling and snorting from behind proved that they were cornered between two oncoming waves of Geonosians, and Araminta braced herself as one charged at them.

"Look out!" a clone shouted, as the shooting began and Anakin darted off in the opposite direction to where Araminta and Obi-wan were standing.

She didn't have time to worry as she engaged side-by-side with Obi-wan, her knife and baton combination deadly in delivering blunt blows and slicing. But nothing happened. Two Geonosians whose heads she caved in got back up with horrible cracking sounds and looked her straight in the eye, glassy orbs looking right through her.

"That's not possible," Araminta said over the noise as she cut down another Geonosian, a horrible smell and no blood wafting up from the wound.

"They're not stopping!" Cody added, as blasterfire did little to stop the bugs from encroaching.

Araminta slammed into one, forcing it back a few steps as she resheathed her knife and drew the other baton, connecting them in the middle and twisting. The staff allowed her to keep them at a distance somewhat, but it didn't seem to matter how much she bruised them, they only seemed minorly inconvenienced and kept moving.

Terrified screams cut through the noise as two clones were swiped and pulled into small holes in the side of the tunnels, their voices quickly fading away, even to Araminta's ears. Her eyes widened slightly as their situation grew more dire, the small space growing smaller by the second.

"Back everyone, back!" Obi-wan ordered. Araminta skipped backwards so she stayed in a protective position to him. "Take out the tunnel supports, it's the only way!"

Araminta stayed by Obi-wan's side as they passed the clones, skidding to a stop at the small passageway. The tunnels shook slightly as the clones bombarded the supports with their blasters. The assassin quickly followed her charge through the passageway, this time making it out in seconds, with Anakin bringing up the rear of the clones as dust billowed in from the cave-in.

Aside from the sound of the tunnels shifting, it seemed to have gone quiet, as Araminta heaved in a breath, polearm still held at her side.

"What were those things?" Anakin asked after a few moments, sounding flustered. "We couldn't kill them." He looked to Araminta as if she would have the answers, but she only shrugged.

Obi-wan however sighed and turned away. "I've heard stories of a Geonosian hive mind so powerful, so strong, that it can maintain its connection with its warriors even after they died," he explained.

"And you think that's why we couldn't kill them?" Anakin said carefully. "Because they're..."

"Already dead, yes," Obi-wan finished.

"Zombies?" Araminta asked in exasperation, both Jedi's eyes going to her. She held out her hands in a lost sort of motion. "Why am I even surprised at this point?" she hissed, leaning her head back and looking up at the ceiling.

"That can't be true. It's impossible," Anakin denied, looking away from the Adanei girl.

"Impossible or not, these creatures keep moving after we cut them up or shoot them down," Obi-wan pointed out.

"Usually, when I stab someone in the eye they die," Araminta added viciously.

"Call for reinforcements," Obi-wan ordered, looking at Anakin.

He seemed to pull himself together, trying to open his wrist comm. It only beeped rapidly. "There's no signal," he growled.

Obi-wan didn't look surprised, only disappointed. "We must be too deep underground." He turned back to the clone force awaiting orders. "You two, head back to the surface and contact General Mundi. Tell him we need reinforcements."

"Yes, sir." The pair of chosen clones headed off without hesitation.

Araminta watched them with a bitter taste in her mouth. "I don't know if that was a good idea," she said quietly.

Obi-wan looked at her warily. "You would have us all go back to the surface?"

Araminta nodded once. She felt it best not to voice that perhaps leaving Luminara behind was for the best, too.

Her mission didn't reprimand her, but he also didn't listen to her, turning away and leading the way with a single hand gesture. Araminta followed in his footsteps, Anakin behind her. Cody's navigation was beeping again as they took an alternate path down, and Araminta grit her teeth at the thought of meeting the undead warriors again.

As predicted, it had only been a few minutes when Araminta whipped around at the sound of struggle. Obi-wan and Anakin both stopped and looked at the alert assassin, before the screams grew louder to the point they could hear them, too.

Araminta kept quiet as they raced back the way they had come, headlamps shining over the two dead bodies. This time there was blood, spilling over the ground from the clones' throats, their weapons fallen beside them. Obi-wan's eyes widened, something akin to guilt in his features, but his bodyguard kept her mouth shut.

"Obviously this thing is a lot more powerful than we assumed," Anakin said after a moment as the scene sank in. "I'm going to the surface to alert General Mundi myself."

"No," Araminta said before she could stop herself,

"What?" he scoffed, giving her a pointed look.

But Obi-wan was on her side, hardly fazed by her care. "I think that would be a foolhardy move, Anakin," he agreed. "We can't divide our troops again. And we don't have time to double back to the surface," he added, to Araminta's disdain. "Every moment we waste puts Luminara in greater danger."

"We're going back?" Araminta clarified.

Obi-wan sighed. "We must." He only watched as his bodyguard hardened her resolve, ears flicking back expressively. "Cody, lead the way," Obi-wan instructed.

"Yes, sir," the clone replied, before they were descending into darkness again, leaving the two troopers to be buried alone.

It didn't take them very long to make it back to the part of the catacombs they had narrowly escaped, and it grew steep, as well. Araminta had to brace her knees as they headed down, her toes catching on bones which, horribly, looked like other Geonosians.

She scrunched up her face at the sight, her polearm still in one hand to put space between her and anything that leapt at them. But they were met with nothing, and Araminta remained on constant alert for the sound of corpses moving or shuffling footsteps, but was met with silence.

Eventually the tunnel plateaued, and Araminta stayed cautiously in Obi-wan's blindspot as the air turned humid, a far cry from the coolness of the rest of the tunnels so far. The assassin hated to think how far underground they were.

"The air is warmer here," Obi-wan said quietly. "We must be getting close."

"Oh forget the heat," Anakin coughed. "It smells down here,"

"Like something died," Araminta agreed.

"Like a lot of things did," he added.

"Keep your voices down," Obi-wan chastised in a whisper.

"I'm just saying, this planet is rotten from the inside out," Anakin continued. "Solarii?" he asked warily as she stopped walking, turning to look at her with concerned blue eyes.

"There's something," she murmured, not focused on looking at the pair of Jedi. Her ears were straining against the twisted passageways and the echo from their own movements. "Something horrible– I can hear it," she deduced.

Obi-wan didn't seem discouraged, taking the news as good rather than bad. "We must be getting close." And he headed off again, the clones moving after him.

Anakin gave her a lingering look as she didn't move immediately, and in the dark of the cave, he took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Araminta nodded once, before he led her for a few steps and let go, the pair rejoining the troop.

Light up ahead set Araminta on edge, as the tunnel they were in ended and spilled into a chamber. They slowed, peeking around the edge, and Araminta's golden eyes widened considerably at the sight in front of them.

Faint blue light at the back of the chamber illuminated the scene: a collection of undead Geonosians chanting and gathering around what looked like a throne, which supported the enormous weight of a massive, sluggish Geonosian. And perched atop the giant thorax, was the head and thin arms they had seen mounted on the temple above ground.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Anakin murmured.

Araminta shot him an annoyed look, before fixing it on Obi-wan. "Must be the queen. Clearly, not a rumour," she hissed under her breath. The older Jedi ignored her jab.

"Any sign of Luminara?" Anakin asked Cody.

The Clone Commander scanned the scene with his helmet. "I see her," he said. "She's suspended near the throne."

"They have a throne," Araminta drawled.

"Perfect," Anakin said dryly. "What about Poggle?"

"He's... speaking with the queen," Cody explained.

"Good," Anakin lowly. He looked between Obi-wan and his bodyguard pointedly. "You take the soldiers. I'll take the queen."

"Must you always rush into things?" Obi-wan snapped.

"Oh, no," Anakin sighed, face slackening. "You don't actually want to talk to it, do you?"

"Matter of fact, I do," Obi-wan said simply. Anakin exchanged a weary glance with Araminta. "Anakin, don't you wonder why they took Luminara captive? Why not just kill her?" Obi-wan continued, a hint of challenge in his voice.

"She's leverage. She's a hostage," Anakin listed off.

"Leverage for what?" Obi-wan pointed out. "No, there's something else going on here, and these zombies are connected to it."

"Fine. we'll try it your way," Anakin ground out.

"So glad you agree," Obi-wan said snidely.

"If you say so," Araminta relented at her charge's glance, and she split her staff back into pieces and slid them onto her belt.

"Cody, set your men up around the perimeter," Obi-wan ordered. "These creatures live in darkness. The light from your helmet should blind them temporarily. Turn your lamps on at my signal. That should create enough confusion for us to get Luminara out of here."

"But what happens when the bugs pursue?" Cody asked. "You've seen them in action, sir. We can't kill them."

"We'll have to bury them," Anakin reasoned. "It'll at least slow them down. Shoot out the support pillars and this whole place will collapse."

"Cause that can't go wrong in any way," Araminta chimed in dryly.

Obi-wan ignored her remark. "Let's go."

While Araminta was prepared for suicide as they entered the chamber, surprisingly, the soldiers did not attack as the three stepped forward. They snapped and snarled as they turned to them, but despite Araminta's narrowed eyes and taught muscles, she was not forced to make a move.

She could hear the clones scurrying around the dark corners of the chamber as they set up a perimeter, but when the Queen screeched she lost sight of them in the darkness. Anakin shot her a sympathetic look at her wince.

"How did you know they wouldn't just attack us?" Anakin asked as they broke into the crowd, which parted to let them through and made no move on them.

"Because I make observations while you think with your lightsaber," Obi-wan replied.

"Well, that quick thinking of mine is usually needed when your observations get us into trouble," Anakin grumbled.

"Anakin, the Queen took Luminara hostage. She wanted a Jedi, now she has two more. I want to know what she's after," Obi-wan explained calmly.

"Do you really think it's that smart?" Anakin whispered. Obi-wan sent him a glare. "Well, when this doesn't go as planned– which it won't– I'll be ready," the younger Jedi persisted.

"That is so reassuring," Obi-wan replied sarcastically.

"I thought I told you not to follow me, Master Kenobi," Luminara said with a sigh as they reached the front. The blue light in the chamber, Araminta now realised, came from the mechanical cuffs holding her up.

"Yes, well, I took a lesson from Anakin and decided not to follow orders," Obi-wan replied thoughtfully.

"Hey," Anakin snapped.

"You," the Queen said suddenly in a voice that sounded raspy from disuse. "You are the creatures that attacked Geonosia. Why have you come before me?"

"It speaks?" Anakin whispered to Araminta. But she was more focused on Poggle standing in front of them, his wings fluttering as he eyed them up and down.

"Your Majesty," Obi-wan called up to her level. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Obi-wan Kenobi. This is Anakin Skywalker and Araminta Solarii." The assassin hid her frown at the man giving the thing their full names. "It is our sad duty to inform you that your rule is at an end."

"You," the Queen shrieked, "not dictate to me, Jedi. My empire is forever."

"I'm afraid it does not appear that way, your grace. You shall release the Jedi Luminara and submit to Republic law," Obi-wan said calmly. Araminta could only watch him out of the corner of her eye and hope he knew what he was doing.

The Queen let out a warbled screech to the ceiling, thin hands clenched in front of her. Araminta watched the scene with thinly-veiled disgust. "I no submit," the Queen replied softly, "to you!"

The undead soldiers turned on them at the shriek, Anakin drawing his lightsaber immediately. Araminta glanced at Obi-wan for orders, her hand hovering over the hilt of her knife as the zombies snapped and cracked.

Obi-wan slapped a hand over Anakin's. "No, patience, Anakin. Wait," he said quickly.

Anakin looked annoyed by the orders, as the Geonosians took their sabres, including ripping the hilt from Araminta's belt, which went against every instinct in her body except for following orders.

"Your Majesty, destroying us shall only make the Republic's judgement of you harsher," Obi-wan insisted.

"No, Jedi," the Queen grumbled. "No! I no destroy you. I devour you. I control you. I had but one Jedi before young Poggle bring me. But now, I have four."

"Technically–"

Araminta elbowed Anakin in the stomach to cut him off. She was far less focused on the technicalities and far more worried by the Queen's choice in words.

"Now, watch as my child enters your Jedi friend," the Queens continued. Araminta's eyes fixed on the small egg in Poggle's hand, a sliver of something slimy and green breaking from the shell. "And once inside, her mind becomes my mind." Poggle removed the wriggling shape from the egg, holding it up to the light to reveal a thin, winding worm with pointed ends. "Her thoughts, my thoughts."

"It's a sort of mind control, a hive mind," Obi-wan said in gross fascination. "She thinks she can possess us."

"Great. Find out everything you wanted to know yet?" Anakin snipped.

"No, wait, I want to see how it works," Obi-wan responded.

Anakin furrowed his brows. "I don't think Luminara wants to see how it works."

"No, I don't," Luminara chimed in.

"I'm curious. The more we know, the better," Obi-wan said as if he hadn't heard her.

"It's a brain worm. There, we know," Araminta interjected.

"I agree," Anakin said simply as Poggle got closer to Luminara, the thing in his hand wriggling as if it could sense a warm body.

"Come now, the nose or the ear. Which do you think it'll enter?" Obi-wan asked lightly.

Anakin sighed. "I think the nose."

Luminara was arguably far calmer than Araminta ever would be if something capable of mind control was winding its way around her forehead. "I hope this is part of a plan," she said tightly.

"Isn't it always?" Obi-wan said smugly. "Cody, now!"

Beams of light drowned out the shadows in the chambers, the Queen and her soldiers crying out and shying away from them. Anakin and Obi-wan retrieved all three lightsabers using the force, as Araminta brandished her baton and knife combination on the nearest soldiers, skipping backwards to cover Obi-wan's flank.

Anakin briefly used both his and Luminara's lightsabers to cut through the soldiers and reach Luminara herself. The worm coiling around her was knocked to the ground as Anakin cut her down, reuniting her with her weapon.

"You're coming with us, Poggle," Anakin growled, crudely cuffing the leader's hands and dragging him off the throne with them.

The Geonosians seemed to have adjusted now as they began to attack, lunging. Illuminated now, Araminta could see similar worms duck in and out of the gaps in the undead's bodies. She had a strong stomach from past experience, but the whole thing made her feel ill.

So it came as a shock to look back and see one of the worms grasped in Obi-wan's hand. Araminta rounded on him. "You're kidding, right?" she sneered.

"Obi-wan, look out!" Anakin interrupted, and as usual resorted to action first, slapping the creature from his former master's hand.

"Wha– Anakin, no!" Obi-wan cried.

"Got it." Anakin ignored the protest as he stamped the worm into the ground.

"What are you doing?" Obi-wan demanded. "I was going to study that."

"Study the bottom of my boot," Anakin shouted over his shoulder as he raced off. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

"Here they come!" Cody yelled as a wave of Geonosians charged, backing their group into the tunnel entrance they had come from. Araminta sheathed her knife and replaced it with a blaster as she fired at any soldiers she could, caving in their non-functioning head with a baton when they got too close. "Take out the supports!"

"Go, go!" Anakin called, his hand coming down on Araminta's upper back and moving her away. She briefly saw the flash of many blasters at once as the supports of the Queen's chamber crumbled, and then the horrible sound of cracking rock all around them.

Araminta sprinted right behind Obi-wan, almost shoulder-to-shoulder with Anakin behind her. Her ears were useless as they ran, overwhelmed by the sound of the place coming down around them.

"They're still coming!" Cody shouted as they rounded a corner. Araminta risked a glance over her shoulder, firing a blaster shot and striking one of the zombies dead centre. It didn't even react, continuing to run at the nearest clone with its arms raised.

Araminta let out a grunt and turned away, continuing to stay by Obi-wan's side as they fled. In the back of her ears, she could hear the Queen shrieking nonsensically, a horrible sound that pierced the rest of the noise right into her skull.

She almost ran into Obi-wan as they skidded to a halt. "This is our way out!" Luminara cried, pointing straight up at a gap in the ceiling that had sunlight filtering through it. Araminta recognised it briefly at the broken symbol in the centre of the temple.

"Start climbing!" Anakin ordered.

Luminara went first, then Anakin, clambering up the vertical surface using the indents to hold their feet and hands. Araminta continued to fire at the oncoming wave of Geonosians, their empty eyes gleaming in the dim light.

Araminta waited for Obi-wan to throw Poggle up the shaft, before her mission went as well. With one last shot, Araminta stashed away all her weapons and clambered up, nimbly moving up the wall in a few strides, her hands moving as Obi-wan boot left its place.

"This place is falling apart," Araminta grunted as debris began to cave in from above.

"Obi-wan, look out!" Luminara shouted.

Araminta grabbed his arm as he fell past her, pressing close to the rock as debris rocketed past them, slamming into the undead Geonosians trying to pursue them. Obi-wan's fingers dug into her wrist, doubling the hold as the entire place shook. Her own hand fought to keep hold at the added weight, before she swung him and he readjusted on the rock below her.

"Keep going!" Obi-wan said, but his voice was mostly drowned out by the noise.

Araminta could hear the entire cave and temple collapsing around them like gunfire in her senses. And with a particularly loud crash, a gust of hot air and sand sent them flying up through the gap to the surface.

Araminta managed a shaky landing in the middle of the temple, which she realised was from the still-collapsing structure. Making sure Obi-wan was beside her, they raced from the collapsing building and to the sand, her feet sinking into it slightly, but she hardly cared.

She turned back and watched the temple fall in on itself, covered in a thick layer of dust and sweat as the landscape went silent, save for the sound of wind whistling through the sand dunes.

"Now it's flattened," she breathed.

"All things considered," Anakin coughed. "That went better than expected."

"I wish we could have gotten one of those worms," Obi-wan sighed. "Knowing how the queen controls her minions could have proven valuable."

Anakin didn't seem as bothered, only shrugging. "Well, hopefully the secret is buried with her."

━━━━ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ━━━━

my may the 4th contribution, unedited filler!

desperately wish i could go back to november/december where i was cranking out chapters almost twice a week but alas uni is now a thing and it never stops. if i think i have nothing to do I AM WRONG, there is always something catch up on :)

anyway, here's this chapter. that's all? it's a fun arc but idk the beginning was so dry. the next episode is more key

part 2 of 3; ep207 legacy of terror

i want to have the next 2 chapters up by the end of the month but idk we'll see. we're approaching some exciting stuff and i have a long uni break soon too <3 thank you for your continued patience and support on my lil passion project