The group had been running for a good minute or so, on the hunt for droids when they heard the sound of approaching destroyer droids and got ready for the upcoming fight.
Ahsoka did most of the work by jumping on top of them and putting her lightsaber through their forcefield. However, JarJar attempted to shoot one. Melanie and Padme knew that it would only go badly so they tackled him to stop him. Unfortunately, Melanie hit her helmet on the ground, causing cracks to appear and one of Padme's air tubes broke. Almost instantly the two began feeling severely ill.
"Your suits have been compromised!" a trooper stated. The two women gave up and pulled off their helmets.
"I'm so sorry..." Ahsoka looked down in shame.
"Don't blame yourself. These things tend to happen in a war zone." Replied Padme. They stood up and continued their droid hunting.
Melanie had a throbbing headache and her sight was starting to blur. She couldn't believe just how fast the virus had taken hold of her. How had Ahsoka and the troopers been able to carry on as they were? They must have been feeling awful.
Shaking these thoughts out of her head, Melanie jogged to keep up with the group. They could hear a mechanic noise up ahead so they speed up.
"How's it going up there?" Asked a droid.
"I'm almost through" replied the other. As the group rounded the corner they saw two droids, one sawing the hatch while the other stood at the bottom of the ladder.
"There they are!" Cried Ahsoka as she ran towards them and sliced them using her lightsaber and the force. However, all this exertion caused her to lose balance in her unhealthy state and lean on the ladder.
"Ahsoka!" Melanie cried out, rushing forward to steady her, the action also making her head spin.
"I'm alright." She replied, slightly breathless. "Come on, let's contact my master and tell him we found all the droids."
They made their way towards a communication room. Some of the troopers that were in Ahsokas room when the bomb went off were becoming increasingly weak and needed help to walk. When they arrived Melanie set up the link.
"Master? Can you hear me?" When no answer came she continued anyway. "We destroyed all the battle droids inside the compound, Master. Naboo is safe from further contamination. I repeat, Naboo is safe."
Ahsoka could no longer continue and started coughing madly. Melanie patted her back, realising how cold and sticky her skin felt. Padme turned to the transmission.
"Promise me that no one will ever open this bunker. Goodbye Anakin, I-" Padme was also cut off due to a coughing fit. The communication ended and the three sunk to the ground.
All around them troopers were sitting, coughing madly. Melanie still had a reasonable amount of energy left so she went on a search to find some towels and a water source. Once she found it she returned and began caring for the troopers. Padme and Ahsoka joined her while Jarjar tried his best. He would be the only survivor, given he was still in his safety suit. How ironic.
Unfortunate one or two troopers had already passed away and Captain Rex covered them with a blanket.
"What a waste." Padme sighed in sadness.
"With all due respect Senator, it's what these men were born to do..." Rex replied.
"I hope that their sacrifice brings us closer to peace."
"It will, Padme." Coughed Ahsoka. She was looking very pale and weak. Melanie turned her attention to her. "You must believe that..."
"Ahsoka!" Melanie called to the young girl as she passed out. She lay her down, resting Ahsokas head on her thigh. She took felt a wave of exhaustion hit her and she closed her eyes.
The next thing she knew, she was being placed on a stretcher by medical droids. They carted her down the hall and in her sick daze she saw Ahsoka, Padme, and the troopers being moved too. They made their way into a large room and the ceiling came down, it must have been a platform that would take them to the surface.
"Stop... no... You cant... not safe." She tried to lift her hand to stop the medical droids but she had no energy.
"It's okay, you're safe now. The Jedi found a cure to the sickness. You're safe now." The droid calmed her as the platform began to rise.
When they made it to the surface, she could feel the warmth of the sun on her face. It was a welcome change from the cold confinement of the bunker. Melanie heard Anakin called out to Padme and they began talking.
"You're not looking at your best." Came a voice to her right. Melanie turned her head to look at the speaker, which was Obiwan.
"Oh wow, thanks for pointing out the obvious, Obiwan. I had no idea." She rolled her eyes. She didn't want him to know that she was mortified that he saw her in this state. From what she had seen from the state of the others, She didn't doubt she was probably blue in the face and frail-looking. At least the awkward tension they had shared when he first arrived on Naboo had disappeared.
Obi-Wan laughed but felt relieved that she was safe. Anakin and Obiwan had journeyed across the galaxy when they found out the bomb had exploded, looking for a cure. All throughout the journey to Iego to get the cure for the sickness she hadn't left his mind. To be frank, she was always in his mind every day since they last saw each other. He didn't think about her 24/7 but she popped into his head at the most unexpected of times. When he was fighting, he would think of how she looked fighting on Geonosis. When he was lying in bed he would think about what she would look like when she was asleep. He had told himself off every time he thought of her, knowing they would never stand a chance.
"It's good to see you safe..." He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, ignoring the rise in his heartbeat due to the action. Melanie smiled through her exhaustion, also feeling those same butterflies. The medical droid pushed her stretcher towards the gunship and their hands slipped apart. The warmth of his hand was immediately replaced with cold. Melanie was pushed into the ship and the doors closed.
Next to her on the ship, in the same state of sickness, lay Ahsoka. Melanie reached out to her and grabbed her hand. The young girl turned to look at her.
"You did great down there. Your Master must be very proud." they smiled at each other. "And I'm very thankful to have had you by my side, otherwise I dare say we would have been in a worse state than how we are now."
"It's just part of my job." She replied humbly as the ship took off.
The two fell into a light doze as the transport flew towards Naboo's capital. The ship landed in Theed a little while later and the troopers and the three girls were rushed towards a medical bay. They were given the cure and told to rest. They didn't need to tell Melanie twice, she was still dazed by the Blue shadow viruses effect and passed out in a matter of seconds.
When she came to, Melanie felt 3000 times better than she did before she went to sleep. Her skin wasn't cold and sticky, her mind felt focused, and she didn't feel the need to cough any longer. The two beds around her were empty, meaning that whoever else was in her medical bay were also awake. Sitting up and swinging her feet to the floor, she stood up. Slightly swaying from the effort, Melanie made her way out of the medical room.
She followed the sound of voices down the hallway and stumbled upon Padme and Anakin in a tight embrace.
"You know, you two are awfully obvious and reckless." She said as she leaned against the wall. The couple sprung apart at the sound of the voice.
"Oh, it's just you, Mel." Padme sighed in relief.
"Well, I could've been anyone, namely Obiwan. If you aren't careful, he'll catch you, if he hasn't already."
"I'll catch what?" Came Obi-wan's voice. The trio jumped as he appeared with Ahsoka.
"Nothing!" Anakin defended but looked a little guilty. Obi-Wan looked between the three sceptically.
"Alright then. I just came to tell you that we are travelling back to Coruscant now so, Senator, if you would like to come with us, you are more than welcome."
"I might take you up on that offer." Padme agreed. With a sly side glance at her friend, Padme gave her a wink. Melanie knew that she had accepted the offer to firstly be around Anakin, but secondly to torture Melanie's little crush.
They made their way back to the hanger, where a gunship was waiting to take them to the starship in orbit. The Queen and Captain Typho were waiting when they arrived.
"Naboo and I can not thank you enough for your heroics. I fear the number of deaths could have been catastrophic if you had not aided us. Have a safe journey back to Coruscant." said the Queen. The Jedi thanked her and moved into the ship. Padme stayed to talk to the Queen for a few more moments but Melanie went with the three Jedi.
"Another job well done, am I right?" Melanie thought aloud.
"It would seem that way, wouldn't it," Obi-Wan replied.
"I'm glad Padme asked for you two to help us out. I've missed having you around. It's always so mundane working at the Senate so it's a nice change to have a few near-death incidents with you all."
"If life does get too boring in the Senate, I'm sure we can persuade the council to bring you along on some less important missions. You know, for diplomatic purposes." Anakin threw the idea out.
"Anakin, I'm not sure the Council will agree with you on that." Obiwan chided but deep down he did want her to join in some of his missions. "But I'll be sure to put in a good word."
"Really?!" Melanie felt so thankful. She loved being around these people and out on the battlefields she felt like she was actually making a difference for the war instead of making only a hairs difference in the Senate. She loved her job and democracy, however, being part of the battle action was exhilarating.
She felt absolutely ecstatic as they made their journey back to Coruscant. As they parted ways she hugged Anakin and Ahsoka and then hesitated to hug Obiwan. She was scared to be any closer to him, scared that she would end up liking him even more. Luckily for her, he kept his distance and just waved goodbye. He also wanted to hug her but felt like it would be out of place. Even him holding her hand earlier felt like a capital offence.
The 5 parted ways, the three Jedi returning to the Jedi Temple to talk to the council and the two politicians returning to their home. Melanie and Padme split ways after returning home and went to clean up. They both had dinner together on Padme's sofa, watched a movie and teasing each other, before passing out after their action-filled day.