(Note - last Chapter i had it where Poggle was not present at the Droid Factory but was contacting via Hologram. He actually was there in person but due to Daud being on Geonosis Poggle was fearful of being near his location hence the Hologram diffence. Thought id mention that since I didn't make it clear in the short scene before.)
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The air beneath the factory was thick with the smell of damp stone, sulfur, and the stagnant musk of something ancient.
The tunnels were a claustrophobic labyrinth of twisted passages, carved in a way that resembled a hive, which in teuth it was for the Geonosian culture.
Barriss led the way, her movements precise and steady, her lightsaber hilt clutched in one hand.
Behind her, Ahsoka followed and meanwhile Daud prowled in his Viperwolf form, his claws clicking softly against the cavern floor like the ticking of a clock.
The tunnel suddenly opened into a chamber so vast that their lights scarcely reached its ceiling.
High above, clinging to the walls and suspended were hundreds of Geonosians.
They hung in loose and slacked barely holding on to the surface they climg to as they slept, their insectoid bodies rising and falling with the slow, rhythmic pulses as they breathed and exhaled.
"They're sleeping." Barriss whispered, her voice barely more than a breath as she assessed the situation. "We can pass if we are careful."
"We have to find another way." Ahsoka protested quietly, her eyes scanning the sheer number of potential threats hanging overhead. "This is too risky."
"We don't have time. This direction is the fastest." Barriss insisted, her jaw set with determination and resolve.
"Maybe you're wrong."
"Trust me."
The trio pressed forward, weaving through the dangers that loomed iver them. Every footstep was a calculated risk; every breath felt dangerously loud in the oppressive silence.
They moved like ghosts through the cavernous chamber, but fate has a cruel way of punishing even the most careful.
As Barriss passed beneath a cluster of sleeping Geonosians, a limp, chitinous hand slipped from its perch and fell, landing squarely atop her head.
"Ahsoka! Ahsoka!" Barriss hissed, freezing mid step as the alien weight pressed down on her.
Ahsoka reacted instantly, backing away to avoid startling the sleeping swarm.
With delicate fingers and a steady hand, she reached up, gently and slowly lifting the Geonosian's hand from Barriss' head, allowing the Padawan to slip away without triggering a cascade of movement.
Panting softly, the two girls hurried into the next passage, desperate to put distance between themselves and the sleeping hive.
Daud, however, did not follow immediately. He deliberately lagged behind, his green eyes glinting in the dim light. He watched the two Padawans disappear around the corner.
Then, with a sudden, vicious motion, he lashed out. His clawed limb slashed through the air, striking the Geonosian that had quietly landed on the ground having been awoken.
The creature stirred, its wings buzzing in reflex, before the Geonosian could fully cry out it was dead.
Daud moved with surprising tenderness and agility, he used his thick padded tail to catch the falling body, lowering it gently to the ground to muffle any sound, before turning and sprinting to catch up with the others.
After navigating several more treacherous intersections and winding junctions, the group finally emerged into a massive, metallic chamber.
The Control Room of the Droid Factory. The hum of machinery was deafening here, a constant mechanical heartbeat that filled the space.
The Padawans didn't waste a moment. They scrambled toward the primary systems to begin planting the explosives.
But before the first charge could be secured, the air erupted. Red blaster bolts streaked through the darkness from hidden vantage points.
The girls reacted with Jedi reflexes, their lightsabers igniting in twin arcs of their Lightsabers as they deflected the incoming fire.
Daud, positioned slightly apart, failed to notice the ambush immediately, the complex machinery and towering vats of the factory concealed the attacker's position entirely due to the interference with his sense of smell.
'What the Hell?! No one should have spotted us since I killed the Geonosian in the tunnel that was supposed to report Ahsoka and Barris in the original timeline. So how?' Daud's mind raced as this went through his mind for the moment before he focused himself on the present moment.
"Well well, we meet again little lady." A cold, gravelly voice echoed through the chamber. "And it seems you have brought a friend with you, hmm? And I assume that mutt over there is Daud, isn't it?"
From the shadows emerged the infamous bounty hunter, Cad Bane, his cybernetic implants gleaming under the harsh factory lights as he leveled his blasters with deadly intent.
Daud wasted no time. He didn't wait for a command or a plan, this was different to cannon and he hated any variable he couldn't predict.
Hence, he roared and charged toward the bounty hunter, a blur of dark skin and teeth.
But as he closed the distance, Bane's reflexes proved superior. With a smirk, the hunter flicked a small device toward the charging predator.
The device detonated harmlessly against Daud's skull not with fire or shrapnel, but with a hiss of pressurized gas.
A cloud of noxious purple vapor erupted around his head. Daud's legs buckled mid stride. His vision swam, the world tilting on its axis as the paralytic toxins flooded his system.
His heart slowed, his limbs grew heavy, and as the sounds of blaster fire faded into a distant hum of Lightsabers, everything faded to black.