#yup this is gonna be a slow one boysss

[wildedoves]

A Star Wars Story

Murphy’s Law with a Hint of Luck

Part II: Creature

“What is that?” With his metallic hand, Anakin poked the unknown green thing on the table in front of Obi-Wan, Rex, and Cody.

“We think it’s a tentacle sir,”  Rex responded. “General Kenobi and Cody found it along with some other down troopers near where the Senator was.”

“A tentacle?” Anakin gave it another poke.

“Yeah and that’s only a part of it. The rest of it is still over there but it’s damn long and heavy,” Cody added. “It’s body though, that’s a mystery.”

Anakin gave his master a questioning look. “And you brought it here why?”

“To study it.”

“But it’s dead.”

“So? As long as it isn’t on the bottom of your boot I’d say we can still study it.”

Ah, so he still remembers that. “To be fair I thought that worm was going to find it’s way up  your nose. I did you a favor.”

“Oh, Anakin.” Obi-Wan shook his head. Cody chuckled.

“Anyway, do you have any idea what creature has this thing attached to it?”

“Hmm. No, not of this kind. It’s bizarre and from the Twi’leks’ sheer look of terror, it’s not good Anakin. They’re—”

His master studied the tentacle more carefully and Anakin, curious as to why his master stopped his train of thought, looked at the tentacle as well. Twitch. All four men took a step back. Twitch.

“Was this thing actually dead before you brought it here?!” Anakin demanded as he swiftly reached for his lightsaber.

Rex and Cody had their pistols in hand, momentarily shocked, meanwhile Obi-Wan, the ever calm Jedi, stroked his chin in wonderment. The nearby troopers who were lifting/moving supplies and repairing starfighters stopped and watched them.

“Interesting.”

“Interesting?” Anakin repeated incredulously.

“Just say the word General,” Rex said.

Obi-wan waved him off. “No wait. I want to see what this leads to.”

The tentacle twitched again then violently spasmed, dropping any scattered tools it came across off the table. It contorted and smacked the counter...and if Anakin wasn’t mistaken, he could hear a faint screech.

His lightsaber hummed to life. That definitely did it. “Now’s not the time for your curiosity!”

“For once in your life be patient Anakin.”

They watched the tentacle angrily thrash, smack, and twist. A green discharge started oozing out from its skin and a horrid stench with such intensity soon followed. Anakin crinkled his nose and coughed a couple of times, truly disgusted.

“Ugh, are you satisfied yet? It smells.”

“Well, that’s certainly not what I expected,” Obi-Wan replied.

“Did you think it was going to talk to you?”

“Anakin.”

It gave a final squeeze before it suddenly went limp. Maybe this time it really was dead. The men relaxed and returned their weapons to their appropriate holsters.

“At least it didn’t pop.” Rex commented.

Obi-Wan stroked his beard, studying it. Anakin really didn’t care for it at this point and very much wanted to toss it out of his sight. Kriff! That thing should be thrown outside where it belongs.

Now now Anakin, Obi-Wan spoke to him through the force. That’d be rude to our partial friend here.

Which part? The fact that it stinks or that it's ugly?

Obi-Wan shook his head. Aren’t you curious to know what this is? Why are the Twi'leks so frightened by the mere sight of a tentacle? What was its purpose near the village? And where’s the rest of its body? Not to mention what does  it look like in its entirety?

During their exchange, Cody and Rex gave each other that look. The Jedi weren’t vocally speaking and they wouldn’t have realized they were speaking through the Force if it weren’t for their facial expressions and body language. If Rex was able to do this with Cody, he would have Force spoke, they’re doing  it again but the mere look from his comrade suggested he knew as well. And so they stood there watching them and, occasionally, at the limp tentacle.

Master, it belongs to a creature that’s likely native to this planet and, if memory serves me right, usually native creatures aren’t friendly.

Yes but—

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows as the thing suddenly expanded on one side then the other, each side growing larger and asymmetrical with each second, the table sustaining it collapsing underneath.

“Uh, Rex? I think you spoke too soon.” Cody said, backing away from the tentacle. Rex, Anakin, and Obi-Wan did the same.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Anakin looked at Obi-Wan. “I think that’s all you’re going to study Master.”

“Anakin don’t!”

Anakin raised his arm and force lifted the contorting thing and pushed it quickly out of the hangar onto the other side of the magnetic field. The tentacle kept disfiguring itself as it grew nearly to the size of a vulture droid before it burst. Steaming bright gray green fluid and chunks of the tentacle oozed all over the field and onto the platform outside.

“You were saying?” Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan who was apparently quite disappointed by the thing’s...final form? End result?

“Nevermind that. It’s quite unfortunate I won’t be able to study it any further. Look at it,” Obi-Wan gestured to what was once the tentacle. “It's just a blob now.”

“Come now Master, you can still study whatever’s left on the floor.”

“That’s so reassuring Anakin.”

____________________

Padmé awoke to the medical droid bringing her another round of IV medications and informing her the severity of her injuries. She had manageable lacerations of  her spleen and liver as well as a couple of fractured ribs besides the abrasions on her face, arms, and legs. They took care of most of her injuries here but for full recovery, Padmé needed to be evaluated at the hospital in Coruscant. They did have the best medical staff there after all.

She was feeling slightly better despite the horrible events she went through earlier that day— the bombing, the cascading rubble, the piercing screams, the image of Anakin sweetly smiling at her before everything went black. The enveloping darkness was horrible. There was nothing there except for her limp self struggling to breathe for air that never seemed to reach her lungs. For what seemed like an eternity in that dark world, Padmé was finally brought out of that void. A medical droid had hovered over her, cleaning some of the facial abrasion she sustained while also scanning for other injuries. Fearful she was on an enemy ship, she attempted to get up from the bed and oh dear that hurt. She sucked in her breath, her legs wobbled, and her entire midsection felt incredibly heavy. She doubled over and groaned. The droid had tried its best to encourage her to lay back down but due to her persistent and outright refusal, it made the decision to sedate her. “Probably for the best” she had heard it say before she lost consciousness.

Anakin was no longer in the room and after the droid had left, she decided to try and sit up at least. She winced and gasped, her body aching as she worked to push herself up from the bed. A fiery pain spread throughout her and so, not being able to withstand such a sensation any longer, she carefully laid back down. Not much of a success.

Ahsoka walked in just then and smiled. “I saw that but don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

Padmé sheepishly chuckled at being discovered. “Ahsoka, it’s so good to see you. How are you?”

“You know, the usual. Keeping Master out of trouble, fighting droids, learning how to negotiate per Master Obi-Wan’s encouragement.” She shrugged. “But what about you? Are you okay? I heard what happened to the village…I’m so sorry.”

“I’m feeling better Ahsoka, thank you. I really do appreciate you coming here.”

The padawan reached for her hand and comforted her. “It’s no problem. I’m just glad you’re safe now.”

Padmé’s heart warmed. Ahsoka truly was a sweet and kind girl. She watched her as she started taking a look around the room, as if in search of something.

“Is something wrong?” Padmé asked.

“Well, we’ve been having some weird malfunctions around the ship since we arrived and we’re not sure what’s causing it. So I’m scanning the room to see if there’s anything out of the ordinary.”

“That doesn’t sound good. Will those malfunctions prevent us from returning to Coruscant?”

Ahsoka looked back at Padmé. “As long as the main reactor isn’t disrupted, we should be en route soon. We don’t think it’s anything serious but I’ve been checking different locations and so far I haven’t found anything wrong.”

The lights above them flickered. Both ladies looked up. A couple of seconds passed before  the lights flickered again.

“That’s not a good sign,” muttered Padmé.

“No, it’s not,” agreed Ahsoka.

All the monitors in the room powered down, the lights following soon after. They were in the dark now.

“Ahsoka, come in. Where are you?”

“Master, I’m with Senator Amidala in the medbay. Did the lights go out in your position too?”

“Just now. Is Padmé safe?”

“Yes, she’s safe.”

“Good. I’m heading over there right now. Make sure to—”

A loud creak surrounded them and the room began to tilt.

“What’s going on!?” Padmé cried out. She tightly clutched the bed and held on for dear life.

“I think we lost power!”

Padmé felt herself tilting further onto her left side and grimaced. Her strength faded with every second she held on and soon she would be falling off the bed. Ani! Please hurry!

“Padmé hold on!”

“I can’t!”

Her grip loosened and she felt herself fall.