Traitors To The Heart

Chapter 10: Perserverance

Things were winding down after the fight to save Naboo, and the rest of the galaxy from the Blue Shadow Virus for that matter. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Lyra had almost all need millions of lives several times in the span of a ten minute interval. It was almost impressive.

"That was close. If that bomb had dropped, everyone on Naboo would be dead now." Lyra let her head drop, the thought of that group including Nova made her head spin. They stood by Vindi's separatist ship as he was loaded away onto a Republic gunship to await his trial.

"Oh well, just another boring day saving the universe." Obi-Wan quipped. Lyra squinted, starting to see where Nova was picking up the sarcasm from.

"I see humility is a trait the Jedi are loosing as well, Generals." Lyra bid them a due with a sloppy two fingered salute and stomping away. Just as she was about to get on the gunship with their new esteemed guest, an alarm sounded.

"What's that?" Lyra asked the Doctor immediately, not wanting to beat around the bush. He chuckled in a dark manner that sent chills down her spine. Obi-Wan and Anakin crowded her.

"The virus is liberated. You are doomed, young Jedi. Along with the rest of the planet." Lyra didn't like the sound of that. Her heart sank below the ground and into the bunker again, her feet soon followed.

"Lyra!" Anakin shouted after her, chasing her to the man hole leading the latter connected by the lifts surface. She shut it before Anakin or Obi-Wan could follow.

"Nova." Her lips hummed the only word that mattered to her in the moment. If Nova was stuck down here with whatever they were dealing with, Lyra was determined to do the same by her side. To protect her in any way she could, even if they were both doomed now. The alarm around the lab began to ring at a higher pitch and frequency than before. Lyra took off toward the main corridor and somehow ended up directly in front of the group as they just turned down the same hall.

"Hurry! There's a hatch we can escape in!" Ahsoka and Nova were at the leading spot in the pack of clones running towards safety.

"No! No one leaves, or the virus will too!" Ahsoka shouted. The doors started automatically clamping shut. Captain Rex shouted for his troopers to head to the escape room. Lyra glanced behind her to see the doors shutting. She stuck her arms up to hold the metal steady, but all she did was barely slow it down.

"Hurry, the doors are closing!" The other troopers helped her keep it open long enough for some of their brothers to jump through.

"Don't worry." Ahsoka and Nova pushed the remaining troopers inside. They all held the door open. Lyra and Tex remained on the outside, trying to wait until the people they were waiting for were in safe.

"Get inside, Captain!" Ahsoka's shouted. Rex followed her order and jumped through the slum crack of the door. Lyra refused to do it until she knew Nova was safe.

"Go!" Nova pushed on Ahsoka's back to urge her in ahead of her. She wanted everyone to be safe, but her desire to help everyone turned into a hunter an e for Lyra.

"You go!" Nova nipped at Ahsoka's heels, watching as she sucked in her stomach and made a elongated dive roll inside the door. Nova tried to copy it perfectly, but she didn't point her toes. As a result she got tripped up on the entrance. Lyra pushed her feet over the edge before twisting horizontally over the door and falling a few feet to the ground herself.

"Ah, skug-muffin." Lyra muttered. While laying on her back she had a prime view of the door. It was hard to miss the small amount of blue fog seeping in just as the door was shut.

"Ahsoka, what's going on down there?" Anakin asked over the com. Ahsoka helped Nova and Lyra sit up first before responding.

"The droids released the virus, but we managed to seal the lab." Ahsoka addressed the problem, despite feeling something accumulating in the back of her throat.