"Treatment might take too long," Steve pointed out grimly. "We're running out of time."
"So what can we do now?" Peter asked with growing worry. "Everyone trapped down there is infected with this Blue Shadow Virus, and Dr. Vindi claimed there's no antidote."
The Jedi and the Captain didn't get a chance to respond as Rhodes and Luminara returned from their rapid reconnaissance of the underground facility's perimeter.
"What's the situation?" Anakin asked tensely.
"Whatever that explosion was, it didn't cause any surface-level structural damage," Rhodes reported.
"For now, the contamination appears contained," Luminara added with careful calm.
"For now," Anakin muttered under his breath, his jaw clenched with frustration.
Seeing the young Jedi's agitated expression, Steve addressed him directly. "Stay focused, Anakin. We will find a way to save them."
"Easy for you to say, Steve."
"No," Steve shot back firmly. "It's not easy at all. But we have to keep our heads here. Otherwise, we'll only make desperate decisions that could make things worse."
As much as he hated to admit it, Anakin knew Steve was right.
Obi-Wan observed this exchange and nodded approvingly at the Captain's leadership.
"First priority is getting Dr. Vindi back to Theed and extracting everything he knows from there," Obi-Wan said.
"Any ideas would be welcome," Anakin said bitterly.
"Well, we're dealing with a plague, right?" Peter offered. "One that was supposedly eradicated thousands of years ago. That means someone, somewhere, must have developed a cure back then. The doctor here has to know something about it."
"Or perhaps not," Kenobi cautioned.
"Could we search through historical medical archives for the original treatment?" Rhodes suggested.
Luminara shook her head. "It would take far too long, sifting through millennia of data."
Anakin's frown deepened. "So what are our options? Because right now, it looks like we don't have many."
Suddenly, Peter snapped his fingers with inspiration.
"What if we track down Skull-Face and those dark side guys?" Peter said excitedly. "I bet they know something. Maybe they even have access to an antidote."
The others looked at him with puzzled expressions.
"What makes you think that?" Rhodes asked.
"Because they were so concerned about the virus being released that they forced Dr. Vindi to reveal the antidote's location," Peter explained. "They wouldn't have cared unless they needed protection themselves."
"That's... actually logical reasoning," Obi-Wan admitted.
"So how do we find them?" Anakin asked after a moment.
"I planted a tracking device on one of their ships," Peter said proudly.
"...Wouldn't it have been helpful to mention this earlier?" Obi-Wan asked with mild exasperation.
Peter looked slightly embarrassed. "Uh... yeah. Sorry, I kind of forgot in all the chaos."
Steve sighed but gave him an understanding look.
"Alright. Let's get Dr. Vindi secured and get that tracking signal operational. We can't afford to waste any more time," Steve decided.
"We're taking a considerable risk with this approach, you realize?" Obi-Wan pointed out.
"What choice do we have?"
They returned the captured Separatist scientist to Theed, and the team immediately departed for the Republic fleet in orbit to pursue Rumlow's signal.
Luminara and Rhodes remained on Naboo, establishing a containment perimeter around the underground facility while maintaining constant communication with their trapped allies. They had to ensure that if any battle droids escaped or attempted to breach the surface, they would stop the virus from spreading at all costs.
The fate of Naboo—and potentially the galaxy—depended on it.
A four-person strike team consisting of Steve Rogers, Peter Parker, Anakin Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi set out to track down the escaped mercenary.
The four now stood on the bridge of Anakin's flagship, the Resolute, gathered around the central holo-table.
Peter interfaced his suit's systems with the ship's computers, pleased that he was able to establish an effective connection. With the enhanced processing power of the Republic vessel, the tracking signal's range and clarity were significantly improved.
"Okay," Peter said, his mask displaying the tracker data on his HUD. "I've got a lock on where Rumlow's ship went."
From the displayed coordinates, the Jedi Masters aboard could immediately identify their destination.
"Nar Shaddaa?" Anakin exclaimed in disbelief. "That's deep in Hutt Space!"
"That's friendly territory, right?" Steve asked, uncertain about galactic politics.
"Not exactly," Obi-Wan said with a grimace. "Despite the Hutts' nominal control, Nar Shaddaa has always been a challenging world to govern."
"It's also known as the Smugglers' Moon," Anakin added. "It's essentially the crime capital of Hutt Space. Although we technically have an alliance with the Hutts..."
"I doubt we'll receive a warm welcome there," Obi-Wan concluded, crossing his arms.
"Sounds like Rumlow chose his hiding spot well," Steve observed.
"Finding him won't be simple," Obi-Wan warned. "Your tracker can follow his ship, but once he disembarks, locating him among millions of criminals and fugitives will be nearly impossible."
"What's this planet like?" Peter asked.
"Imagine Coruscant," Anakin answered immediately, "but completely lawless, crime-infested, and corrupt to its core. They may claim there's order, but that's just Hutt enforcement, and it's minimal at best. As long as you don't anger the Hutts directly, Nar Shaddaa operates under its own rules."
"Sounds like the worst parts of New York," Peter couldn't help but comment.
"If we're venturing to a world with no effective law enforcement, we'll need to travel discreetly," Obi-Wan advised. "Finding our targets won't be easy under the best circumstances."
Anakin crossed his arms, deep concern etched on his face. "Are we certain about this? Isn't there anything else we can try?"
"Nar Shaddaa isn't far, and it's technically within Republic space... theoretically," Kenobi said.
"Couldn't we... find a way to synthesize the antidote ourselves? Gather the necessary components?" Anakin asked desperately.
"You saw what Captain Typho's intelligence showed us, Anakin," Steve reminded him. "Venturing into Separatist-controlled space right now would be extremely dangerous."
"This feels like an enormous gamble," Skywalker sighed in frustration, running his hand through his hair.
"Um... couldn't your... Force help?" Peter asked hesitantly, as both Jedi stared at him with blank expressions.
Undeterred, he continued. "You know, isn't the Force supposed to provide guidance or visions? Like showing you the right path, or—"
"Well, no, Peter, that's not quite how it works," Obi-Wan said with an amused smile. "The Force isn't exactly a cosmic GPS system."
Steve shook his head decisively.
"We can't waste any more time debating."
Anakin nodded, his expression resolute. "He's right. We need to reach Nar Shaddaa now. Our friends are counting on us."
"I agree we need a better approach," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. "Taking a Republic Star Destroyer into a criminal haven would immediately attract attention, and Rumlow would undoubtedly flee at the first sight of it."
"Agreed," Steve nodded.
"Then we'll take the Twilight," Anakin decided.
The modified light freighter would allow them to blend in with the countless smugglers and traders that frequented the Smugglers' Moon. Their mission to save their infected friends was about to take them into the galaxy's most dangerous underworld.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more early access chapter of this fanfic or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~