Lux Bonteri
12 ABY
Imperial Medical Research Laboratory
Wobani

Lux had never been this sick in his life. His chest hurt from breathing hard, his arms and legs were numb, and his head was throbbing. Hopefully, the Reeksa Root wouldn't be too difficult to find. If he was to survive, they needed to be quick. He was told that the virus would consume him in a matter of hours, and quite frankly, he wasn't in the mood to be consumed just yet.

The lab was unusually quiet when they landed. He didn't hear the usual echoes of stormtroopers marching or the hustle of nurses about the halls, though he didn't think much of it. The doctor knew that the Resistance didn't have an army, so there was no point in elevating security. Dr. Pestis was trying to draw them back to the lab for reasons Lux had yet to discover. They needed the Reeksa Root, and the only place to get it was the lab. The doctor certainly knew how to play this game and win; Lux could only hope he was a worthy opponent.

Kal had gone off on his own again. As much as he hated to admit it, Kal was exactly like Ahsoka had been. He'd disappear for a few hours, doing who knows what, and come back with all sorts of strange things and people. Lux just hoped Kal wouldn't make friends with the wrong person and get himself killed.

Leia seemed to be the only one capable of leadership. With Chewie managing Yersinia, Han looking after the baby, and Kal gone, she was the only one able to actually do anything. She was a natural leader, just like her father, Anakin Skywalker, had been. It was a shame that Vader had been destroyed during the Battle of Endor. There had always been good in him, even after he turned to the dark side. Luke had been so close to pulling him back to the light, but then Luke was poisoned by the Emperor, too. Leia was the only Skywalker left.

She lead the group down an empty hallway and into one of the general patient rooms. "We're going to have to split up. I have all the information I need from Yersinia about access codes and the location of the root. Han and I will go grab it while Yersinia stabilizes Lux and Ahsoka."

Yersinia laughed. "You realize that I don't have to help you do anything, right?"

Chewie's hands moved from her arms to her neck, and Han smiled. "If you want to live, you do."

Han handed the baby bundle to Lux. "Here you go, Dad. We'll be back with your meds before you can say 'Wookie.'"

"Thanks, Han. Be careful." Leia nodded, and they left.

Lux gently rocked the baby in his arms. He still couldn't believe that it was his daughter. He had thought all hope was lost when Ahsoka was killed but he had been wrong. It really was Ahsoka, and this really was Raiya. Both of his precious girls were alive again, and he was starting to believe that there was hope for all of them to escape and be a family again.

"Hey, Lux, are you okay?" Ahsoka asked, sitting down next to him. She draped her blanket over his shoulder so they could share it.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Besides the virus that's about to kill us, I mean."

"I would rather have gone out with a bang, but I guess we don't have that luxury. I wish I'd had more time. You seem like a pretty cool person, Lux." She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "At least I'm not going to die alone."

"You didn't the first time, so what makes you think I'd let you do it again? I'm not planning on dying today, and neither are you. Leia and Han will come back with the cure, and we'll be alright. I promise."

-:-:-:-:-:-

Kalex Bonteri
12 ABY
Imperial Medical Research Laboratory
Wobani

Kal had hacked into many a computer in his lifetime, but no computer he had ever worked with was this difficult to manage. There were so many firewalls which was overkill. It just made the process much more tedious.

He had made it to the research library without any problems. It was unusually quiet in the lab, but it made no difference to him. His job was easier that way.

After he managed to gain full access to the computer, Kal immediately searched Ahsoka's name. All sorts of things popped up: videos, documents, news articles—everything.

"Holy kriff," he muttered, "it's all here..."

He opened a file dated years and years ago. A younger-looking Lux and Ahsoka were walking side-by-side, talking about something.

"I'm the first Jedi you've ever met, aren't I?" Ahsoka asked. What was a Jedi?

"Well, um, yes," Lux said, barely audibly. He was clearly embarrassed about something.

She stopped. "Look at me. Am I so bad?"

Lux looked her up and down. "No, not bad at all," he said more optimistically.

Kal smiled to himself. Though they were so young, he could tell they were happy. He just wanted it to be like that again for them. Lux missed her terribly; not a day went by when he didn't think about her or mention her to Kal.

He pulled an empty holodisk from his pocket and put it into the computer. Once all the files were downloaded, he ejected it and set the computer back to normal. It were as though he hadn't even touched it in the first place.

With one final glance, he jumped up into the ventilation shaft.

"I'm coming, Mom," he whispered to himself. "Just hold on a little longer..."

A/N: Kal has finally set events in motion that will snowball into the grand finale. Now that he has Ahsoka's memories, he has the power to fix everything the doctor has broken.

I'VE BEEN WAITING TO GET TO THIS PART THE ENTIRE TIME. IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE WHEN IT GETS BETTER, BUT I'M SUPER EXCITED TO START THE NEXT ARC (which I'm sort of blending into this one because it works better so why not).

I don't know how much I want to tell you about what's coming, so I'll err on the side of caution and say this: there will be feels. I'll give you some fluff, though, before it gets worse. The calm before the storm... hehehehe...

I forgot to mention in the last few chapters, but I redid almost all of my book covers. I was playing around a bit with a new app, and that just kind of happened. I still don't like Tango's, though. I'm a lazy procrastinator, so I'll just fix it later.

I'll have another update up tomorrow. Until then, may the force be with you!