Ella sat up from her hunched over position, a smirk growing across her face. The Council didn't want her searching for survivors, but they couldn't punish her if they didn't find out. She could easily take a ship and find the Abregato system where Ahsoka and Plo Koon were. Multiple times, she'd watched Anakin pilot a ship- she could figure it out.
Carefully, Ella crept through the halls trying not to look obvious. She felt through the Force for Anakin, making sure she never ran into him on her way to the hangar.
"Whatcha doin'?" Captain Rex asked from behind her, catching Ella off guard as she slipped around a corner.
"Don't tell Ana- nothing!" Ella shrilled, practically jumping out of her skin. Trying to act normal, she propped herself up against the wall and let her eyes wander around. "Just going on a walk."
"Right," Rex replied skeptically, "have you seen General Skywalker?"
"Nope, not at all!" Ella said shortly. She turned to walk away before he caught on to her.
"Wait!" Rex said, making Ella freeze to a halt nervously. "You're already halfway to the hangar, why don't you just go check there on your walk?"
Sighing in relief as she faced the other way, Ella nodded. "I will definitely do that, Captain." She gave him a thumbs up before hurrying off.
Making sure to check behind her first, Ella crept into the hangar. She giggled softly, shocked that she'd pretty much pulled this off. Relaxing a bit, she strolled through the hangar into a transport ship. That would probably be the least suspicious and easiest to hijack.
She let down the boarding ramp, flinching as it clanked loudly. Ordinarily, she wouldn't look twice at a cargo ship ramp, but today was far from ordinary.
Again, she was shocked and a bit proud as she boarded the ship, knowing she was getting away with this. Out of disbelief she laughed quietly as she opened the door to the cockpit.
Suddenly, the engine roared to life catching Ella off guard. She jumped and gasped, knowing she wasn't the one who'd done that. Partly, terrified as well as nervous, Ella pushed open the door to the cockpit.
R2-D2 let out a whiz in shock as she appeared. "R2, what is the big-" Anakin froze as soon as he laid eyes on Ella. She stood in the doorway with her jaw completely dropped.
Fuck. Ella stared at Anakin. "What is going on?"
"I might ask you the same," he replied shortly.
"I asked first," she countered.
"I was just going out to go check on the rest of the fleet," he replied. She could tell he was lying, but she used it to her advantage - or so she thought.
"Me too!" She said as she took a seat. "You've already turned on the engine, what are you waiting for?"
Dazed by her, Anakin came back to reality. "Right.." he replied suspiciously. He pushed the lever forward causing the ship to rise into the air and slowly float out of the hangar into space.
"R2 request hangar space from star destroyer number-" Ella said, as she'd been trained to do.
"Actually R2, prepare the engines for Hyperspace while I plug in the coordinates," Anakin interrupted her.
"No...!" Ella snapped at him, "Why are we going into hyperspace of you're just-! Oh...wait a minute."
"Thanks R2," Anakin said as if Ella hadn't just realized the plan and everything was normal. She pushed the level forward even more until the lurched into Hyperspace. The cockpit glowed blue.
"We're going to rescue them!" Ella exclaimed. "I can't believe it! I could kiss you right now!"
As soon as she said it, she regretted it. "Alright, El, that's definitely legal," Anakin said sarcastically.
"It was a figure of speech!" She vouched for herself. "And hey! I'm not even that much younger than you! Only five years!"
"You're right, only five years," Anakin repeated. His smile looked even brighter than usual in the dark blue light.
"I can't wait to see Ahsoka, I haven't gotten to see her for a week, you know," Ella said, changing the subject.
Anakin sighed, "Ella, now, you may see something you don't want to see," he said cautiously, "and you need to prepare yourself."
"I know, Master," she said sadly, images she didn't want to see flooding her mind, "I know how to handle losing someone we care about. We both do."
He slowed them out of Hyperspace and a blood red planet came into view - an ominous sight. Debris orbited around the planet, all that was left of Plo Koon's fleet. Whatever this mystery weapon was, it was ruthless.
"Turn life form scanners up to high sensitivity, R2," Anakin said, not able to take his eyes off the terrible sight in front of them. He slowed down their ship and attempted to maneuver through the debris.
Wanting something else to focus on, Ella began to flip through the signal channels, desperate to pick anything up. Signal was weak and all she got in return was static.
There was a ringing sound coming from their signal-lacking navicomputer. "Incoming transmission," she said nervously, "I think someone's noticed we're gone." She tapped a small button and a projection of Obi Wan appeared in front of them.
"Anakin," he sighed, crossing his arms, "where are you?"
Anakin looked like a sick puppy. "Oh, hello Master! We- uh- made a quick stop in the Abrigato system." He said, trying to sound innocent with a cheerful tone.
"A rescue mission I suppose?" Obi Wan said, seeming unfazed. He knew them too well - Obi Wan was definitely expecting this out of them. "You had other orders."
"It was my idea!" Ella sighed, trying to take the blame.
Again, Obi Wan looked unfazed. He looked at her for a moment, just staring at her. "Oh, I'm sure," he said, turning to Anakin. "Have you found any survivors at least?"
"No," Anakin said sadly, "you were right. The Seperatists don't want any witnesses."
"As always," Obi Wan muttered under his breath. "This gives you an even bigger reason to rejoin the defensive fleet. We need you, Anakin. If you don't hurry you'll miss the rendezvous."
"Yes, Master, we're on our way."
Obi Wan faded out. Ella sighed and looked at her feet. "How could I have been so stupid to think they'd be out here, I should've listened to Obi Wan."
"We had the same idea, El. Besides, this is a good learning experience for you." Anakin said as he began to turn the ship back in the other direction.
"I just can't believe Ahsoka's gone, Barriss will be devastated," Ella sighed, shaking her head.
Suddenly, R2 began to whistle and squeak, rocking back and forth. "What is it, R2?" Anakin asked urgently, slowing down the ship. "He's got something on the emergency channel!"
Ella sat up, hopeful once again as R2 displayed a blinking red light amongst a projection of the area. Anakin nodded and increased their speed, racing to find where the signal had come from. Ella tinkered with the navicomputer, anxiously trying to find the emergency channel. Finally, she found it.
"Come in, come in!" She called into their commlink. "This is General Skywalker and Commander Ella, do you copy?"
No matter how many times she repeated herself, no one answered. Frustrated, she sat back in her seat with a groan. "R2, try to boost the reception."
"Patience, we're trying to boost the power," Anakin said calmly.
The navicomputer started to ring again. Ella sighed sharply, "what do they want now?" She slammed the button, and a projection of the Chancellor appeared.
"Anakin, the Council is furious," he said immediately. "Why have you made such a reckless decision?"
"It's the right thing to do," Anakin replied. "We can't just neglect them without giving them a chance."
"So your Padawan successfully persuaded you," Palpatine said bitterly. "You are her Master, you can say no, you know."
"I am aware of that, your excellency," Anakin said sharply, "I'm also aware that my Ella can make good decisions."
And with that Anakin tapped the button once more, hanging up on the Chancellor. "There," he said, "he can't scold us anymore, but I'm afraid he has a point. We can't stay out here much longer before the Council intervenes. We're in for it if they do. We really should go back now."
Ella sighed, knowing he was right. Poor Ahsoka was dead or alive, maybe dying at the moment and probably thought no one had come for them. They didn't deserve this. She couldn't believe the Council would send two of their best Jedi on a mission, as if Plo and Ahsoka were just expendable. It made her sick to think about it- that she was just a another pawn in their game.
Suddenly, Ella felt the Force shift drawing her in the other direction to where they hadn't searched yet. "Can we just finish one orbit," Ella said patiently, staring straight ahead and calmly searching the Force. Like she'd been asked to, she was patient while waiting for Anakin's response. She felt them, she felt life and it wasn't far at all.
"Ella, we need to go back-"
"Nope," she said shortly, seizing control of the ship. She increased the speed and spun the ship around, making R2 and Anakin yell out in surprise.
"Ella!" Anakin grunted, rapidly trying to strap himself into the seatbelt.
"See? Look over there!" She exclaimed, pointing to a damaged pod. Master Plo, Ahsoka, and two clone troopers held onto the top of it while one remained inside. Oxygen blew out of multiple cracks.
"R2 deploy the cable! Bring em' in!" Anakin said, jumping into action.
Ella shoved passed him and into the storage part of their freighter. She raised open the door, just in time for the damage pod to slide right in. Immediately, the clones and Jedi rolled off the pod, exhausted and with little air. Anakin came running in, as well as a medical droid.
"Ahsoka!" Ella exclaimed, almost in disbelief. Her friend was barely breathing and her eyes were droopy and almost closed.
"E- Ella..." Ahsoka muttered deliriously, tapping her face.
"They'll be alright, they just need to readjust to the oxygen levels," the medical droid said, "Time and rest will cure them."
"Were there any other survivors?" Master Plo Koon asked, though they all had felt the answer.
Sadly, Anakin shook his head. "No, we couldn't find anyone else."
"The hunters must have gotten them," Ahsoka said in a weak raspy voice. The color was beginning to return to her face.
R2 began to beep wildly from the cockpit. "This can't be good," Anakin muttered. He helped Master Plo stand and the two hurried off to investigate.
"Here Ahsoka, I'll help you up-"
Ignoring Ella, Ahsoka grabbed hold of the pod's edge and heaved herself up. "I'm alright it's fi-" Before finishing her sentence her body gave out. Ella caught her arm around her shoulder before Ahsoka fell back down to the ground.
"Shut off all the power, quickly now!" Master Plo shouted, scrambling around the cockpit as the girl's hobbled inside. "They'll see us!"
Ella helped Ahsoka onto a seat, she went limp as she sat down, whimpering as she got situated. "Take it easy," Ella said softly, urging her to rest.
"The droid!" Master Plo gasped, pointing a finger at R2.
Not wanting him to have a heart attack, Ella knelt down next to to R2. "Sorry bud, I guess I have no choice." She said reluctantly before shutting down R2's power.
Ella didn't understand Master Plo's uptightness at the moment. That was until the remaining source of light from the nearby planet disappeared as something passed over them. Her stomach sinking, she stood up in disbelief and wandered to the front of the cockpit where the windshield was.
"They detect ships by electricity wavelengths and then shoot the source with an ion cannon," Master Plo explained as they all watched the massive ship pass over them.
And as soon as they thought it would pass, it did not. Halfway over them, it began to turn around with a great creaking noise as the rig slowed. "I have a bad feeling about this," Ella muttered.
"M- meh- m-!" Ahsoka groaned, waving a hand at the ship.
"Excuse her, she's delirious from lack of oxygen," Master Plo said, talking over her.
Ella rolled her eyes and continued to focus on Ahsoka. Master Plo sure doesn't care about her like Anakin cares about me.
"Yes, Ahsoka?" Ella asked, kneeling down next to her chair.
"Meh- me- m-" She stuttered softly, now pointing to the door.
Suddenly, the door slid open revealing the-
"Medical droid!" Ahsoka finally said, gathering up enough energy.
"Quick! Turn on all the power, they know we're here! We've got to escape!" Master Plo barked at everyone.
"You heard him, El," Anakin said loudly, as he scrambled with Master Plo to turn back on the power.
Ella climbed on top of a chair to access a panel on the ceiling. She shifted the metal panel, flinching as it screeched against the other panels. The opening revealed the navicomputer's wiring system. Thankfully, Anakin had taught her all about wiring systems just yesterday.
Her hands shaking from the stress of pressure, she attempted to rewire the auxiliary cannons to the engines to gain more power to the hyperdrive. "C'mon, El!" Anakin grunted through gritted teeth. Ella could not see him because of her focus on the wiring but she could vividly imagine him right now. His gaze would be locked forward, his eyes squinting just a bit, and his grip would be tight on the controls almost to the point where they cracked-
"Got it!" Ella exclaimed proudly, connecting the last two wires.
Finally, the ship exited the debris field that Anakin had to maneuver through. She could feel the ion blasts that were shot at them exploding dangerously close behind. With a sharp lurch forward, the ship jumped into hyperspace with such power that sent Ella flying off the top of the chair she balanced on. Her mere Padawan reflexes were not enough to catch her fall, but Anakin's were.
He caught her in his muscular arms, just as she almost smacked the ground. Both of them looked at each other dead in the eye for a solid second, just studying each other's faces and taking in the strange feelings that radiated off of them. Even Master Plo and Ahsoka had taken interest in them.
"... thanks," Ella muttered awkwardly, climbing out of Anakin's hands. Her cheeks felt hot and her hands felt clammy.
"... right no problem," Anakin said shortly, quickly turning back to his seat. An awkward silence fell amongst them in the cockpit.
Ella took a seat next to Ahsoka, who smirked and winked at her. "That's definitely a problem!" She whispered to Ella, nudging her with her shoulder.
"It's not going to be a problem, Ahsoka, yours still delirious," Ella whispered back, wishing that was enough to reassure herself as well.
She knew all too well she couldn't lie internally - no matter how much she tried to deny her heart.