Ella nervously paced the brightly lit command room, fidgeting her hands. She stared up at the clear blue positioning board in front of her and stared at the little gold dot that represented Anakin's location. Her eyes were glued to it. She hated when he went on missions without her. Hell, he'd have died today if it weren't for her stopping that bullet.
"Everything alright, Commander?" A clone trooper asked, setting down his pencil that he planned battle strategies with.
Ella sighed shakily and nodded, still staring at the gold dot. "Just nervous that's all," she replied. "His droid has some defects I didn't get the chance to fix."
"Don't worry, it's General Skywalker," the trooper said, "he's always got it under control."
A small smile appeared on her face and her eyes glinted at the trooper. No one could see through a squint and a smile. "Of course," she replied sweetly.
Suddenly, the positioning grid started to beep and flash. Green rings rippled around Anakin's dot. Captain Rex came jogging over next to her.
"His tracking beacon is on," she alerted him. "Something must be wrong."
"Maybe it was an accident?" A trooper piped up from behind them at the strategy table.
"Even if it is, we're not the only ones who see that beacon," Ella breathed, "Rex, send him as many reinforcements as we can."
"Right away, Ella!" He barked before springing into action. "You heard her, Bucketheads, let's move!"
While everyone rushed around barking orders at each other, Ella stood impatiently rocking back and forth on her tiptoes as she held down the command center. She hated this so much - standing around and not being able to do anything. They didn't need her, and she was sure in these moments that no one really did.
And when a clone trooper came jogging back into the command center, she had a shred of hope that she would get to see some action. "Yes?" She asked eagerly, already preparing herself to run off.
"Commander, I need your approval to be redeployed," the trooper said. She recognized him as Chip.
Ella stared at him, her excitement lost once more. "Oh, yes absolutely, Chip! We need our best pilot in the field!" She said, trying to act happy.
Then again, she was all alone in the midst of the chaos of preparing for a battle. That was until Rex came sprinting back towards her.
"Is something wrong?" She asked urgently, sending his distress. It radiated off of him so intensely she felt it meters away.
"The hangar doors are jammed, Commander! Our mechanics say the droid outlet isn't bypassable like usual, something activated it."
Ella facepalmed and leaned onto the battle board with a long sigh. "R3..." She groaned.
"You stay here with the Squadron, command the ship," she said, her tone of voice changing to a more serious one.
"Commander, are you sure?" Rex said hesitantly.
Ella nodded. "The freighter's not in the main hangar," she explained, "It's better if at least one ship can go help him."
"I mean this in the best way possible, Commander, but can you pilot the freighter by yourself?"
"... yes! I mean- well- definitely!" Ella squeaked, "no problem!"
Before Rex could say otherwise or make her change her mind, Ella took off running. A smile gleamed on her face as she ran up the freighter's ramp and into the cockpit.
It wasn't until she plopped into the pilot's seat did she actually realize the seriousness of the situation. She stopped herself, taking a deep breath to calm down her excitement. "Focus, Ella, this is important," she said to herself. She wiggled her fingers over the controls, figuring out what to do first.
"You've seen Anakin do this a dozen times," Ella breathed. She stared at the dash, intimidated by the many different buttons, lights, screens, and switches.
"Prep the engines, right!" She shook her head and laughed at her stupidity.
Suddenly, she felt a wave ripple through the Force disturbing the usual smooth flow. It was Anakin- she could feel his distress.
And so she seized the controls, stifling out a laugh as she maneuvered the ship out of the star destroyer. Once she was in space, she felt a sense of smallness - a vulnerability she'd never felt before. All around her, there was endless possibilities to explore.
Ella let go of the controls, marveling at the wide landscape as if it were her first time seeing it. It was just her right now, just like old times. There was no Council, no Obi Wan, no Anakin to hold her in place now. She could go explore the galaxy like she'd always wanted.
Maybe this was why they never let her do things on her own. Why they kept secrets from her. Why the Jedi did not trust her. They were afraid of her finding something, and in that moment she had every option to go find out what it was. Her hands moved toward the controls.
The Force shifted once more. Ella stopped, and clutched her heart. "Anakin," she whispered under her breath.
She'd wanted one thing her entire life and here was her chance. But, in that moment she realized needs were more important than wants.
She was a Jedi, she was heroic, and most of all she was Anakin's, well, Padawan. Living a life on her own, exploring the galaxy was what she wanted, no doubt. But she needed something else. She needed what her mother had prophesied. She needed the person who had found her, or more likely she'd found him. She needed Anakin. And he needed her now as well.
Quickly, she changed the coordinates on the navicomputer to where Anakin's location was. "R2, prime the hyperdrive - oh wait." Ella sighed and reached over all the controls to the hyperdrive switch. The ship turned and then the cannons started to rumble as they gained power to jump into Hyperspace.
Ella rested her hand on the speed lever. "Wait," she stopped herself before pulling it, "No, this is right - yeah, it's the speed lever." She paused, hesitant to pull it. "Fuck it, I've got nothing to lose." She pulled the lever back, slightly flinching until she felt the familiar lurch into the blue glowing tunnel. Ella's out a sigh of relief. "Actually, I have a lot to lose now, yikes. Better not say that anymore."
Thankfully, Anakin hadn't gotten too far before Grievous caught up with him. Well, no. It was unfortunate, yet extremely fortunate. Ella slowed down out of Hyperspace only to become face to face with giant unfair battle.
Huge starships, vulture droids, missiles, and buzz droids all targeted Anakin at once. Somehow, he was managing to hold them off. His yellow ship, that he'd only just repaired from yesterday's crash already had a million more dents and scuff marks on it. Yet still it swiftly soared through the air. Anakin made flying look so effortless.
Suddenly, his ship came to a screeching halt in the middle of battle. As she neared closer, she saw the ship slightly jerking in various directions as if it couldn't decide which way to go. Then, dozens of vulture droids came zooming over the starships' bridges. Every single one fired at Anakin and miraculously nothing hit him straight on.
Ella veered the ship upwards, aiming her cannons over Anakin. She waited until she felt the correct moment. Through the Force she could feel every beam being shot. Patiently, she waited until she felt all of the ships just slightly align, only by a centimeter, as they neared deathly close to Anakin. She slammed the trigger.
To the naked eye the ships were scattered apart, but she was able to feel the smallest alignment between them all. As hoped for, the single missile whizzed into the air. It blew up the first ship, and with a ripple effect the explosion spread.
"You're welcome," Ella chirped into the commlink that was connected to his ship, "again."
"Perfect timing, El," Anakin said back, "a little too perfect. You could've made that shot earlier."
"But I made the shot, you've got nothin' to worry about, Master! Just get in here!" Ella replied sassily.
"I would if I could, sweetheart! Your little friend, R3, can't seem to fix my engines!"
"Well how'd you break them?" She asked, defending the helpless droid.
"Why don't you ask R3!" Anakin snapped back. He was short tempered when he was stressed.
"C'mon, R3, just turn the engines on, then you get to have nice long break!" Ella coaxed the droid sweetly. Another wave of vulture droids came towards them.
"Anakin, put the ship in forward position! I'll cover you!" Ella called through gritted teeth. She seized the ship's controls and flew in front of him.
Red beams of light whizzed passed the ship and sometimes hit the shields with a loud clank. She fired back when possible, but trying to fire a giant gun and fly a ship wasn't exactly easy. Especially when you had to fly backwards.
Ella maneuvered the ship in front of him. If he couldn't fly to her, she could fly to him and give him cover. There was a loud scraping sound as Anakin's ship slid into the freighter.
Then, Ella shoved the speed lever forward and pushed the ship forward towards Grievous's two starships. Her heart pounded in her chest, her eyes were glued on the narrowing slot between the two ships, and she realized in that moment she never ate breakfast.
Anakin came jogging into the cockpit. His eyes widened as he took notice of what she was flying towards. "Ell-!"
"Just hold on!" She barked at him, nervous herself if they could make it. Her stomach growled
Anakin clung onto the doorway as Ella began to turn the ship onto its side to fit through the narrow gap. "Shit, shit, shit, shit-!" He muttered repeatedly as they flew through the closing in ships. Sparks erupted on either side of them as their ship scraped against the other two. Then, right before they were crushed Ella jerked the speed lever, sending them into Hyperspace.
The doors opened once more and R3 rolled in, beeping happily as if nothing had happened at all. Ella, who was slumped in the pilot's seat, shut Anakin's mouth with the Force before he could flip out.
"Listen to me," Ella said sharply while Anakin struggled against her, "Don't be rude, that's all."
Anakin took a deep breath, scowling at Ella, before nodding. "R3, you tried your best." He said softly.
Ella rose her eyebrows. "That's all?" She asked.
He nodded, a small smile on his face. "That's all," said Anakin as he took a seat in the copilot's spot.
"No passive-aggressive or sarcastic comments? No scowling?"
Anakin shook his head. "You said not to be rude. Besides, you listen to me most of the time, so I should listen to you sometimes too."
Ella stared at him, skeptical about his reaction. This was too unlike him not to mean anything.
"I'm just creating a healthy relationship, you know? It's all about compromise? You like R3, so I guess I have to be okay with him."
"Who are you and what have you done with Anakin Skywalker?" Ella asked, a grin stretching across her face.
"He's right here, and damn glad to be next to you."