Mutual Feelings

The Battle of Coruscant - Part III

"Guys, I need you two to stay here with the ships." Anakin said, tossing a comlink to Artoo. "If I need to contact you, or you have any news for us, use this." He received a tootle in reply.

Stepping into the corridor, the two Jedi made their way towards the nearest elevator, lightsabers drawn but not ignited. Both were aware, for different reasons, that the holocams were tracking them. Ahsoka could feel their movement through the passive echolocation of her montrals, while Anakin, more reliant on visual data, had noticed several lenses glinting as they were tracked.

The elevator was about two hundred yards away from the lift shaft. Anakin pressed the panel to summon the elevator, before they heard a tell-tale sound approaching them down the corridor, and ignited their lightsabers just before three destroyer droids emerged, deployed their shields, and opened fire on the pair of Jedi.

Batting away the stream of bolts, they waited for the elevator, pounding on the button to summon it several times each, before it finally arrived, and the doors slid open.

Ahsoka backed in first, obeying a stern mental shove from her master, before the door slid shut, and they relaxed for a moment.

"Drop your weapons! I said drop 'em." There was a rattle of servos as various weapons were aimed at the heads of the two Jedi. Anakin glanced at Ahsoka, before they spun in opposite directions, igniting their lightsabers, although Anakin held back slightly, allowing Ahsoka to turn the corridor full of droids into spare parts.

She glanced back at him with an offended look. His response was to spread his hands expansively. They both chuckled slightly, before Anakin hit the control button on the elevator, setting it for the observation deck.

About halfway there, it stopped.

"You didn't lean on the stop button, did you, Snips?" Anakin asked, lowering the small Togruta back to the deck, from where he'd been firmly kissing her. She cooperated in allowing him to stand up by unwrapping her arms from around his head.

"No. It's over there." She replied, indicating a point ninety degrees to the left of where she'd been backed into the wall.

Both of them, almost in sync, glanced at the top of the elevator.

"It'll be a long climb." Anakin mused.

Ahsoka, after a few moments, looked at him with smouldering eyes.

"You're sure you don't want to... stay here... for a bit?" she asked.

"Ah... Snips, we're in the middle of a battle here..." Anakin replied, grinning, before pulling out his comlink, and reading the identifier off of the lift panel.

"Artoo. Do you copy? Activate elevator 31174."

There was no response. Glaring at the panel, Anakin tried again. "Artoo, do you hear me? Activate elevator 31174."

There was a lurch, and the elevator started hurtling downwards at a speed in excess of anything remotely legal.

"Stop, stop! Artoo, we need to be going up"

The lift ground to a halt within seconds, throwing both Jedi to the floor in a not entirely unappreciated heap.

About thirty or forty seconds later, the lift ground to a halt at the top of the observation tower. "Wheeop." Artoo muttered over the comlink.

"Thanks, Artoo." Anakin replied.

The droid responded with a "Wee Wee Woop."

Ahead of them, there was a panoramic view, showing the spectacular light show of a main fleet engagement, although a quadrant of it was interrupted by the imposing broadside of the RSS Republic, which, Anakin noticed, was saving turbolaser fire for any CIS unit with the temerity to approach and attempt to assist the Invisible Hand. The separatist flagship, on the other hand, was being steadily pounded with the more than 60 ion cannons mounted on the star destroyer, keeping it as ineffective as possible during the boarding action, and producing a near-constant storm of blue light.