Survival: A Star Wars The Clone Wars Story

Chapter 14

Goodness me! I've been working on this pretty much all evening but it's finally finished (actually I started it before the weekend.) With some prompting from 501st_jedi (thanks :)) I've at last managed to get around to writing this chapter. I know its been a while, hopefully the next one won't take so long :/ Also this is only a first draft, I've barely edited it at all, so it probably won't stay like this forever but will be along similar lines.

-----------------

Luminara's thoughts were rushing almost as fast as she was, the corridors a blur as she sprinted beside Obi-Wan. Number one on the list was they were still alive. Somehow, though all that had happened so far, there was still a tiny slither of chance at getting out.

And Luminara intended to take it.

As the saying went, while there's life there's hope. Luminara could not allow herself to stop believing this, for even a second.

Now, the task of relocating the clone DNA was difficult, but not impossible. Like most organic things in the universe, it was detectible through the force. Though the trace was slight, there was still enough for Luminara and Obi-Wan to follow. The further they ran, the more laboratory and bio-hazard symbols seemed to appear on the walls, dragging her thoughts towards all of the horrific bio-weapons that could be made from that single sample. It made Luminara's head spin, and added an extra burst of speed to her pace. All because her ship couldn't have avoided the Separatist patrol. It was her mistake and she had to do everything in her power to make it right again. Not to mention all the clones on the med station, whose treatments were being delayed by her blunder.

Luminara had revealed the existence of the DNA sample as calmly as possible to the rest of the party, when in reality, her stomach had been practically eating itself. The unfazed manner in which Obi-Wan had taken it in eased her mind a little, but it was still churning over all the possible outcomes.

No! It does no good to think of all the 'what ifs'. Focus is the key! Luminara snapped herself back into the moment. After all, the chances of recovering the sample were increased just by having Obi-Wan with her. With her mind resolved on this fact, she continued the charge deeper into thundering heart of the Citadel.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I have a bad feeling about this.

As usual, Obi-Wan admitted with no small amount of regret to himself, he had been right about the direction the turn of events would take. It seemed to be the unfortunate pattern with most of their missions.

Though he would never allow these thoughts to leave his own head, Obi-Wan couldn't deny the ache that had stabbed in his chest when he'd seen Luminara crumpled on that cell floor. What pained him the most was how much it must have taken to break her down from her usual cool and collected self. The gruelling years of war had brought them closer, as had the strong friendship between their padawans. Well, Ahsoka wasn't technically his padawan, but he'd been on so many missions with her and Anakin, she might as well have been.

Seeing Luminara in that near-broken state had jerked his mind back into a painful recollection of the last time he had seen Satine. For a long time after, there hadn't been a day that went by without the image of her lifeless body plaguing him. Her beautiful, bright eyes closing one last time, over and over. No matter how much he berated himself for not doing enough for Satine, he knew it could not change the events of the past. But, he could control the future. He would not allow Luminara to fall to the same fate.

Obi-Wan had seen so many people suffer, so many friends die, but he had long since learned to master the anger it caused to rise to the surface. That's why he could always be relied upon as the strong, steadfast island of calm in the raging sea that was this ongoing war. He quickly glanced across at his companion, still somehow matching his pace.