Sequel to Dress-Up. Suffice it to say, their first official mission back and things get... interesting. Part one of two.
Disclaimer: If only I didn't think up so many ideas... or allow myself to be distracted...
Well, there went that break.
One standard day had barely passed when they received the call. The Jedi Council had gotten wind of a surprise attack the Separatists were about to do to a small fleet of medical frigates. The frigates had been shuffling around the known galaxy from fleet to fleet, taking aboard the more seriously wounded while dropping off those fully healed and kicking to get back into action. While not unexpected, the attack if effective would cripple their transportable medical supplies. At least half of their usable medical frigates would be gone, and that wasn't counting the higher grade equipment that their transports just didn't have the room for.
One hyperspace jump later, and they found themselves in the midst of a firefight. The padawans were dispatched to the nearest frigate to help the wounded and contain the fires. Anakin was going to pilot his starfighter to aid the defending forces, and Luminara was going to remain on the bridge to direct forces accordingly.
"Okay, we're entering the last frigate, Master Luminara," Ahsoka said over her wrist comm. Barriss and her had just gotten off their borrowed gunship. The frigate's landing bay was decently intact. If this continued, there was a good chance of this ship surviving for use after the battle.
"Copy that. Be careful in there. I'm detecting one heat signature that's steadily increasing in temperature, with the likely location being in the engine room," Master Luminara's response crackled back.
"Will do." Barriss's face looked solemn as she gave her response, and Ahsoka couldn't think of anything to counteract that. The heat signature could mean anything, really, but given the state of the frigate and the stated location, it meant it was worth checking out now.
"I will go secure those whom I can find behind secure doors," Barriss said.
"Then I guess I get the fun part," Ahsoka sighed. "See ya later, Barriss." The Mirialan tossed a smile in her direction before responding.
"May the Force be with you." The corridor sounded awfully loud with both sets of running steps echoing through the emptiness. The metal made the echo last longer, and so Ahsoka ran faster. The faster she ran, the less the echo annoyed her, or so she told herself. It certainly caused the gray color of the walls to speed past her, saving her eyes from having to look at more gray metal. And they said the Jedi were monochromatic…
As she entered the engine room, she glanced all around, taking in the warning lights from the console panel across the room to the exposed wires on her left. Steam hissed from almost every corner of the room, covering the rest of the panels with a light grey cloud. The little roly-poly droid was wheeling around squealing frantically, obviously overwhelmed by all the chaos.
As disrupted engine rooms went, it could have been worse.
"Cooling system, cooling system, where are you?" Ahsoka murmured as she walked around, peering through the clouds of steam. She squinted as the clouds momentarily thickened. She didn't sense anything out of the ordinary, no warning from the Force as to whether or not immediate danger threatened her life as well as untold others on this frigate. There! To her immediate right was the control panel for the emergency systems, which included the coolant system.
Practically lunging at the panel, she began to press at the buttons. Frantically searching the screens, she finally spotted the option for rebooting the system and recycling the handlers. Plugging that command into the system, she waited as the console displayed the intergalactic symbol that showed it was thinking. Diagonal lines formed the outer contours to connect in the middle as an old-fashioned design. Some sort of filling was displayed being contained within the lines, but with every turn it went from one end over into the other.
In other words, an hourglass.
Impatient, she began to tap her foot as time stretched out into a crazy infinite stretch of boredom. Why did reboots always take so long to start? The ship had obviously suffered some damage, but there had to be a faster way to initiate the cool down sequence and recyclers for the air handlers. Finally, the image disappeared with a positive ding.
"Yes!" Ahsoka cheered. "That takes care of that disaster!" She made for the exit when suddenly a squealing blur intercepted her path. "AGH – oh, it's you." She eyed the droid up and down with a critical eye. "Geez, get a grip would you? I got the coolant systems up and running, and the air handlers are cycling the crap outta here." She patted the top of its binocular-shaped head. "We're all gonna be fine," she crooned. "Get back to work and see if you can't continue fixing this ship, okay?" She exited the engine room as fast as she could, ignoring the whistles and beeps from the droid moving about behind her.
She almost collided with Barriss. Kark it – how could the girl with floor-length skirts and a cloak to boot run quieter than she? The Mirialan adjusted herself quickly – to be presentable – and said, "It's done. Everyone on the ship has been quartered behind the containment doors, with the exception of the pilots."
"Great; more beings who think dying is cool," Ahsoka quipped. "I took a look in the engine room. Looked like the only thing I had to worry about were the engines overheating. That's taken care of now, and this should be the last of the rescues."
"Well, this couldn't be any worse than our punishment," Barriss sighed. The floor then rocked beneath their feet, almost causing both padawans to lose balance.
"You never say that!" Ahsoka hissed as she wobbled back and forth on her feet. "Never ever ever!" Finally regaining her balance, she pressed her hands into fists and set them atop her hips, spotlighting her glare across at her best friend. "I shouldn't be asking this, but you okay?"
"Yes, but that was strange. You did say you checked the engine room?" Ahsoka nodded vigorously.
"Yes, I di –" The floor shook again underneath before completely disappearing beneath their feet, this time tossing both girls up into the air. The floor came back up to meet them all too soon, causing a jumble of limbs, cloth, and bad words.
"What is going on with the ship?" Ahsoka grumbled, pushing Barriss off of her.
"I'm not sure," a cultured voice said. "Perhaps you could enlighten me." A hand was held out to her.
"Luminara?" Ahsoka gingerly patted herself to make sure she wasn't hurt before taking the hand, taken up to a standing position. Barriss was already standing at attention for her formal master. "What are you doing here? We're not even done yet."
"I sensed something was wrong, and it surrounded the two of you. Besides, the rest of the Separatist fleet is now in pieces. Anakin is currently taking care of any stragglers."
"But there's nothing wrong!" Ahsoka protested. "We successfully rescued all the stragglers, got them behind the containment doors, and the engines overheating was averted. What could we possibly have missed?" A loud racket hit the air. Wincing, Ahsoka turned to look out the viewports. A hunk of grey metal was seen streaking past with a fiery trail before another racket hit their ears. It was Barriss's turn to glare at her friend.
"And you thought it was me jinxing us," she growled. The Togruta's cheeks darkened.
"Well… I… well…"
"Enough!" Luminara commanded, running towards where they had last seen the fiery trail lead. "Let us go investigate." Ahsoka and Barriss hurried after. The Togruta was personally worried that she had forgotten something when last in the engine room.
"Ahsoka, Barriss," the comm crackled to life, Anakin's voice never sounding so good as it did then. "Be warned, some pods took off of the last Separatist ship here. I shot at them, but a couple escaped to impact the side of one of the frigates."
"Yeah, Skyguy, we know," Ahsoka snarked back. "We happen to be on that frigate right now!"
"Kark!" she heard him swear. "Luminara, do you copy? Can you reach the padawans?"
"I copy, Skywalker," Luminara responded. Ahsoka swore she saw the Jedi Master smile slightly. "And I'm already here."
"Good." He sounded relieved. "Keep me updated on what happens. They probably were carrying droids on them along with any number of Separatist personnel. Be careful."
"You as well. May the Force be with you." And still they raced towards where they had last seen the pod go. At least two rackets, and probably two pods to go with both. Any number of Seppies on them. Who said rescue missions couldn't be fun?
They were one hallway away from the engine room when they stumbled across two pods. Both were still sizzling, indicating that some part had been damaged on each, but not enough to stop them from crashing into their ship. Nor had it been enough to destroy the contents they each carried. Three droid commandos jumped out from the open maws of each of the pods, wielding their dark metal sabers.
"Oh COME ON!" Ahsoka shouted, igniting her lightsaber. The blue of Barriss's blade went on, as did Luminara's.
"We don't have time for this," she heard Luminara mutter, before, "Padawans, pick your targets. We need to make this quick." In the blink of an eye she had halved one commando and was battling another one.
"That's my line, Master!" Ahsoka whined even as she complied. Being so close to the engine room meant that if the programming still worked, the commandos would head there to do some damage. Bye-bye, Jedi. She met one to her left that a few strikes made it into scrap, but the one that came almost on top of the first one was a bit harder to manage.
"Barriss!" she called out, seeing her friend struggle with another one in a similar fashion. "Let's switch." A terse nod was the response she got. She worked her way closer as Barriss did likewise, the Force acting as their communication bond. They didn't need so much as words as they did that sense of themoment. That one, perfect moment where they would swap opponents and end these bouts to go for the remaining two droids.
That moment became now. With a sidestep, Ahsoka pivoted on her stepping foot to turn to face the droid she knew was behind her, simultaneously clearing the way for Barriss to whirl around and face backwards. She took out Barriss's droid with a clean bisection, whereas after two strokes Barriss had disarmed and then beheaded Ahsoka's opponent. Turning to look at her friend, Ahsoka grinned.
"And you say Anakin and I are bad influences on you!" Barriss looked back at her with an eyebrow raised, similar to her master.
"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," she replied. Before Ahsoka could say anything, the other padawan had cast her gaze around and, with a worried look, asked, "Have you seen Master Luminara?"
"No." Ahsoka responded. Sounds of fighting reached their ears from the engine room, and she traded worried looks with her friend. "Come on!" She led the charge into the engine room. As soon as she made it past the doorway, she saw Luminara embroiled in a heated battle with the remaining commando. Then she saw that it wasn't really Luminara it was going for. The droid, with all its intelligence and cunning programmed by too-intelligent beings, was going after the engine room droid, who was squealing away as Luminara kept herself between it and its attacker. Why it would go after the engine room droid became apparent when Ahsoka gave the scene another look over. The panel that she had used to reset the coolant system and air handlers earlier had been slashed; it was probably where the droid had been before a stroke of luck had saved its metal butt. Ahsoka had little doubt that anything was left of the panel that they could use. Several wires, connectors, and tubes had been either bashed or sliced open, and those she saw with a sinking feeling led back to the coolant system. Steam once again was filling the room, and now without the console there'd soon be no way to even do basic repairs to the system if the droid was destroyed.
"Padawans," Luminara commanded. "See if you can't get the Treadwell droid over to whatever panel is left for repairs. I'll keep the commando busy."
"Yes, Master," Ahsoka responded. Using the Force, she yanked the droid over to her. Turning, she found Barriss on the opposite side of the room, working on the only panel left standing. She ran over there with the droid, setting it down only once she was practically right on top of her friend.
"Ouch! Watch it, 'Soka!" Barriss whined.
"Just help me with Squealy here," Ahsoka grunted, shoving the droid toward the panel. It continued to live up to its name. "Oh shush! Just access whatever you need to so we stay alive." It beeped in the affirmative as its tiny arms moved all over the screen.
"Watch out!" Barriss yelled. Ahsoka turned around to see the commando poised in mid-air, saber ready to strike down at them. She raised her lightsaber, but frowned.
The droid was not going any further down than it had a second ago. She had a hunch, and looked back beyond the droid. Luminara's face was the epitome of concentration, hand outstretched, holding the droid in place with a combination of Force and sheer willpower.
"Ahsoka, Barriss," she yelled at them. "When I say, use the Force and shove the droid back my direction."
"But –" the girls chorused.
"Just do it!" the Jedi Master ordered.
"Fine, but this is suicide!" Ahsoka ground out. She joined Barriss mentally in the Force, and together they pushed the droid back toward the Jedi Master. Luminara appeared to release the hold moments before the droid would have been on top of her; she flitted away just before the strike landed where she had been standing. She tore her eyes away from the fight to look to Barriss and the droid when the look on her fellow padawan's face stopped her. "What?"
"You don't think that that," she jerked her head at the renewed fighting between Jedi and commando, "is enough evidence of your bad influence?"
"Just watch the droid," Ahsoka grumbled, clipping her lightsaber back onto her belt and folding her arms. "I'll watch the fighting."
It would probably be better if she had joined in. Either the wiring was perfect on this model, or the programmers had figured out how to make the commandos learn by watching, because this fight was crazy. The commando had at least learned enough to attack Luminara, leaving the padawans alone, and the Jedi Master was keeping its attention appropriately focused. How long that would keep going was anyone's guess. Meanwhile, they still had a job to do.
"Barriss, how's the droid coming along?"
"He's almost completed, with just a few more steps to go –" Suddenly the droid shrieked and sped away from the panel. Sensing what the droid had detected, both padawans leapt after the machine, avoiding the subsequent explosion.
"This is crazy!" Ahsoka yelled. "We'll never get the ship fixed now."
"Perhaps we could get the droid over to the bridge to reroute the systems," Barriss suggested. "It wouldn't fix the problems, but it would stabilize it enough to maintain those systems crucial for our survival until we can either offload the workers or get repairmen and droids on board to fix it back up."
"Then let's do that," Ahsoka nodded in agreement. Before they could do that, the lights winked out, being replaced by the burnt red color of the emergency lights. "This is not good," she moaned. Barriss gave her a look.
"Really?" she asked incredulously. Suddenly, the doorway looked to be at an awkward angle, and the ceiling closer than usual. Ahsoka looked down and gasped. The gravity had been shut off too; they were floating!
"If we're going to get to the bridge, we'd better do it now," she told Barriss, who nodded. Putting the droid between the two of them, the two padawans turned and used the Force to push against the opposite wall. It was slow to start, but they finally got enough momentum to start making it to the doorway. They got about halfway across the room when the unthinkable happened.
The droid commando was marching straight towards them.
Apparently, the commandos now had their feet magnetized to help them in cases like this, because it was reaching them. Given its strides, it was going to reach them faster than they were going to get out of the room. It must have planned the explosion, because it was closer to where they were than where Luminara and it had last been fighting. Luminara, meanwhile, was floating over in that general area. Alive, unhurt, but looking very irritated. Probably had something to do with the commando not buying the distraction anymore.
Ahsoka mentally reached out to her with her semblance of a plan even as she reached for her lightsaber. The commando was too close to risk remaining unarmed at this point. She sensed Luminara's acceptance of her idea before she uttered a single word.
Go. What?
Too late, she found Barriss, the droid, and herself being speeded towards the doorway. She shook her head frantically at the Jedi Master, who didn't let up until they had hit the opposite wall. Then the doors began to close. As they began to slide shut, Ahsoka saw the commando's focus turn from their group to Luminara, and its beginning strides towards its obstructionist. The sabre was raised in mid air when the doors finally shut.
"No!" Ahsoka shouted. Scrambling frantically before realizing she was going nowhere (remember: no gravity), she let out a frustrated howl. Barriss looked worried but didn't say anything. The engine room droid beeped in a questioning manner.
"Oh hush!" Ahsoka kicked out at its rolling tread bottom, only to shout in alarm as it suddenly dropped to the floor with a clatter. Given the noises it was making, it was okay. It rolled back and forth across the floor. She caught Barriss's raised eyebrow. "Huh," she said, feeling sheepish. "I guess I should have thought of that."
"Either of us should have," Barriss said before wincing.
"Hey!" Ahsoka said. "You okay?" The Mirialan nodded.
"I'm fine, but Master Luminara…" Barriss trailed off, glancing towards the closed doors. Ahsoka caught her meaning. Guilt began to gnaw away inside, but she shoved it away.
"Let's get going. The faster we get to the bridge, the sooner we'll be able to help Luminara. Grab an arm." Barriss grabbed one arm of the Treadwell droid as Ahsoka grabbed the other one.
"I hope this will work, Ahsoka."
"Me too." She leaned down to knock on the droid's head. "Okay, droid. Head to the bridge, and step on it."
Hindsight was 20/20 for a reason. You may make a decision that you think is amazing and nothing bad will come of it, only for hindsight to remind you of all the glaring problems you missed. For example, telling a droid to speed on its way to the bridge while you hang on for dear life sounds like an amazing idea when someone you care about is in trouble. But hindsight points out that when you're in a zero gravity environment clinging to a speeding object – the only object around that can move with its personal artificial gravity – there are other obstacles to be considered. Such as low-hanging door jambs, door openings, and various parts of the ceiling that, Force only knew, were absolutely fine when you're standing up, but when the ceiling has become the floor…
"Well, Ahsoka," Barriss called out through gritted teeth, "you got any more bright ideas?" The Togruta winced.
"How was I supposed to know that we'd be floating that high up?!" she protested. Having released the arms of the droid, they watched it as it sped around the bridge, accessing the ship's systems in its own way, whirring and beeping all the while. The bridge crew were hanging onto their consoles for deal life, faces pinched with anxiety. They were remaining abnormally quiet even now. Meanwhile, they were taking stock of the aches and pains that had been accumulated on their route here, which Ahsoka knew Barriss was never going to let her live down.
Better distract her.
"Felt anything recently from Luminara?" she asked anxiously. Barriss shook her head.
"After the pain that I sensed she had received, she blocked her end of the bond. I haven't felt anything since then." The Mirialan bit her lip, a sign she was seriously worried.
"Force, I hope she's okay," Ahsoka sighed. She folded her arms tight across her chest, and looked back over to the droid. "Come on! Hurry up, would you?" It beeped back a string of nonsense at her. "Yeah, yeah. Just be thankful we still need you around. Otherwise, you'd be scrap by now."
"Ahsoka!" Barriss exclaimed.
"What? He would!" She defended. Almost immediately, the emergency lights winked out to be replaced with the normal lights, and she felt the pull of gravity coming back. She landed on the floor with both feet, Barriss likewise had adjusted. "See? Nothing wrong with some proper motivation," she grinned at her friend. Barriss rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Cheers erupted around them along with sounds of the flight crew scrambling to get back to their jobs – and seats. Just then, her wrist comm crackled to life.
"'Soka, Barriss, how are you guys doing?"
"Skyguy!" Relief flooded through her, even as the knowledge of what they had to do now filled her. Barriss looked over in her direction, and she nodded back. "Thanks for the help, droid!" she called out before they left the bridge. "Let us know if you need anything," she told the captain on her way out. "The droid should have the power restored to the comms now."
"Will do, sir," he responded. She took off running with Barriss from the bridge and down the corridor.
"Well," she slowed down to resume talking with her master as Barriss ran on ahead. "We just had a little glitch happen to the system. What about you, where've you been loafing?" She made for a fast walk. She didn't want to be far behind when they found Luminara. Alive, she told herself.
"Sure, Snips. Not like I was doing important work out here," she heard him respond. She rolled her eyes.
"Are the Seppies all gone now?"
"They are now. I'm docking in the bay as we speak. Hey, do you know what Luminara's up to? I tried her comm, but she's not answering." She froze mid-step, almost tripping over herself. Fortunately, she caught herself, stumbling feet-first onto the hard metal floor and soon was running again. "Ahsoka?" Damn it.
"Uh, yeah, she's in the engine room," Ahsoka said.
"Snips." He must have sensed something from her. His voice had become tense. "What happened?"
"Well, remember those pods that crashed into the ship? They had droid commandos inside, and she took on the last one so Barriss and I could get the Treadwell droid to the bridge for repairs."
"You WHAT?!" His yell echoed off the walls of the corridor, almost permanently damaging her hearing. She winced, slowing down.
"Look, Skyguy," she began, trying to reason with him.
"I'll meet you there," his voice said, short and angry. The comm went silent. Frustrated, Ahsoka shook her head. Figures. Starting to run again, she passed the final bend in the hallway. She slowed down, inhaling sharply. Barriss was standing in front of the engine room, her face a solemn mask. From the opposite hall she saw Anakin run up and join them. His footsteps echoed away, but no other sound came up to replace the growing silence. The doors were shut, but there was no noise to be heard coming from inside the engine room. It was beginning to get eerie.
"Barriss," Anakin asked, his face radiating urgency, "do you sense Luminara inside?" She hesitated before nodding.
"I sense her presence inside," the Mirialan said, "but I only can tell that she is alive." Better than the alternative.
"… Let's push the doors open," Ahsoka suggested.
"You do that," Anakin said, taking his lightsaber off his belt before thumbing it on. "You two stay out here; I'll go in and make sure the scene is safe."
"Okay," Ahsoka chimed in with Barriss. They turned and faced the set of doors, and establishing a point of contact within the Force together they put pressure on the metal. Creaks gave way to groans, and the groans became sharper and louder. Ahsoka almost feared that they'd crack the doors before opening them. As she thought that, the doors wailed one final time before opening, begrudgingly acceding to their demands. She saw Anakin rush inside, and desperately wanted to go in too. Once the doors were open fully, she made for the entrance.
"Ahsoka!" Barriss hissed at her. "Master Skywalker told us to stay put!"
"Since when do I listen to Skyguy?" Ahsoka said with a shrug. "He should know that by now." Ignoring further protest, she went right up to the doors before looking inward. If she had thought it had been a mess before, it was a disaster now. Half the ceiling looked like it had been cut away, with pipes of assorted sizes lying scattered on the floor. Steam was escaping the room in clouds, yet obscuring still the majority of what she saw. Skywalker's blade appeared a blue smudge, held at such an angle that she guessed he was trying to see as well. Cautious, she traipsed after him.
Avoiding the mess as best she could, her objective to remain silent and unseen, she wasn't hearing the familiar whir or grinding of gears that signified a clanker moving about. Seeing the blue hue of the lightsaber heading opposite her chosen direction, she continued her slow progress across the floor. Seeing a mauled rectangular shape ahead, she went up to take a closer look. It turned out to be the panel they had attempted to access probably moments before their exit. Wires were extruding out, some forming a molten nest upon the screen. Chunks big and small were missing from various places, and judging by how much appeared to have broken off Ahsoka shuddered, glad to have missed getting hit. Turning away, she squinted against the clouds of steam, seeing what looked to be a bigger pile of exposed wiring, panels, and various debris. She edged as close as she dared, not wanting to trip and cause noise, or worse, a bigger mess. Step, step, dodge around the wiring. Step, step, avoid that jagged metal sheet. Step, step, step, step, avoid that downed pipe overhead. Something caught the tip of her boot, and she tipped forward. Swallowing a yelp, she braced herself, preparing for a hard, metal –
Soft, cool, and were those clothes?
Deciding to risk getting yelled at, Ahsoka rocked back onto her heels and ignited her lightsaber. Relief spread quickly.
"Luminara! Master!" she called out over her shoulder. "Master, I found her! I found Luminara. Follow my lightsaber!" She lifted the blade up fearlessly, keeping her gaze focused on the downed Jedi Master. Outwardly, there didn't appear to be damage beyond a bruise here or there. However, Ahsoka didn't see her breathing, and she was afraid to check for a pulse. Surely she was unconscious. She would have said something by now to reassure Ahsoka that she was alright. Had to be unconscious. A clatter was heard behind her, and she looked up, grateful for the help. "I'm so glad you're here. Can you –"
She stopped cold, bringing her lightsaber down into a defensive position.
The saber looked like the tip had been smashed off, almost like it had been caught and ripped out without any regard for stressing the metal. Given how its framework shuddered with each step, it was a wonder it could even move. The droid commando remained doggedly on task to kill its opponent. The programmer should be proud.
"I almost feel sorry that I have to scrap you, tinny," Ahsoka murmured. She waited for it to make its move. It appeared to be content to just sit there, staring back at her. The tip of the saber never budged. Normally, the padawan had no qualms about charging forth to take out her opponents. Given that she was now responsible to protect a downed Jedi Master, however; it was enough to scrap her general business model. She continued to watch it, sharp as ever. In the space of what felt to be hours, probably minutes, it never moved an inch. She grew restless. What could she do to provoke it to action?
"Maybe this will wake you up," she declared. Summoning her powers, she Force-pushed hard at the droid. It should topple the tinny… no. There it continued to stand. She had gotten some action in response – it cocked its head sideways at her.
"Dammit! Gravity generator!" Of course it had one on it. How come they couldn't have known that beforehand so they knew to take this one out first? Her patience wearing thin, she weighed her options. One, charge at the thing and hope it would take her distraction over going for Luminara. Or two, continue to sit there until Master Anakin reached her. As much as she really wanted to do the first option…
Before she could talk herself into or out of anything, she saw a flicker of movement behind the droid and decided to take her chances. The droid still didn't budge, so she'd make it budge. Lifting up a hunk of twisted metal, she then used the Force to hurl it at the droid. "Catch this, clanker!" she snarled. The droid bent over backward, narrowly avoiding a decapitation. It twisted back up with obvious effort; it had taken damage with whatever Luminara had done to it. Good news; she'd still have to disassemble it, but with less effort. Hopefully. It took a step forward –
–and a blue lightsaber went through its chest. "Skyguy!" Ahsoka cheered even as she lunged forward to shorten it at the waist. Both halves clattered to the floor as master and padawan simultaneously withdrew their blades. "I'm so glad you found us."
"Me too, Snips. Say, didn't I tell you to wait outside?" His tone made that more a statement than a question. She winced, but waved that off.
"Yeah, yeah, but I found Luminara."
"Yeah. Good work." All it took was a glance for her to see that something was bugging her master. He had that look, a combination of frustration and anger. She'd seen it before when either Obi-Wan or herself had gotten themselves into trouble – the dangerous kind. He had had it back on Geonosis, too, and not just when Barriss and her had pulled that stunt in the catacombs. Now there was another layer added on – annoyance. "What is that scraping noise?" She looked down and gasped.
"We forgot to carve it up, Master!" Their fault – commandos needed complete and total dissection. The commando's programming was good, however; it was crawling across the floor, one handheld at a time. Before either master or padawan could react, a green blade fractured its skull into a burnt black hole. The metal claws relaxed their grip for the final time.
"Luminara?! You're okay!" Ahsoka immediately kicked the droid away once the blade was retracted and came to kneel down next to the older woman. "How are you feeling?" Dyed black lips grimaced in response.
"Under the circumstances, I'm doing okay. Alive, at least." The Togruta frowned.
"But I couldn't sense anything from you. I thought you were –" she hesitated.
"Dead?" The question came out gentle. Ahsoka nodded, secretly relieved she didn't have to say that word. "I understand. I was doing that on purpose. After the doors were shut, the commando completely focused on me. It had a gravity generator; I couldn't just push it away. It also had magnetized its feet so it wouldn't fly all over the place. I couldn't do much against that, so I did the next best thing."
"Which was to tear apart the engine room," Anakin interjected. Ahsoka could have sworn he showed a flicker of a smile.
"Exactly, Skywalker." She appeared to smile, but it looked pained. Knowing what she knew now, she reached out through the Force to get a sense of Luminara's condition. What she received back was not good. "While I made sure it got pinned down by debris, I unfortunately got caught up in my own maelstrom. Not the brightest idea. And if I was pinned down while it somehow survived, it would probably find me. I then entered into a deep meditative state to appear dead."
"Cool! Can you teach me how to do that?"
"Ahsoka!" Anakin snapped at her.
"What, Master?" she responded, feeling defensive. "It couldn't hurt to know. And it obviously worked."
"Too well." He appeared to get angrier, and Ahsoka now felt more confused than defensive. What was his problem? Everything was okay now; the commandos were destroyed and Luminara was alive. "We need to get Luminara back to the ship, Snips. She needs a bacta tank." Right. "I'll get her there, but you need to take care of the mess she's under."
"Okay, okay. I'll lift up the debris." Ahsoka took a critical look at the pile of metal, and reached out with the Force. Tentatively at first, then growing in confidence, she gradually increased her hold on the metal, listening to the various creaking noises as she did so. She wouldn't want to miss a piece of metal that could potentially fall and injure Luminara further. Once she felt secure enough with the grasp she had, she looked down to Anakin and nodded. He nodded back. She lifted up as he pulled the Jedi Master out from under, quick and easy with the Force. Or so she thought; Luminara let out a groan as he set her back down on the ground, a couple feet away from Ahsoka but far enough away that she could release the garbage. Once she did so, the huge, creaking pile of metal back on the floor of the engine room, she rushed over. "Master Luminara, you okay?"
"I'm fine, dear. Merely a scratch." The look on her face said otherwise.
"Great," Anakin said, rolling his eyes and looked down at her . "I suppose you'd like to walk then?"
"If you don't mind." She appeared to be impervious to his glare. Then his glare changed to a thoughtful look on his face. Ahsoka shuddered. That was not a good sign.
"Or," he began. "I could just carry you." Ahsoka's eyes widened as a smirk grew on his face. "Like I did back on Ansion." The look Luminara shot his direction had enough ice to freeze him solid.
"No," she warned. Well, tried to.
"Yes." Placing one hand underneath her shoulder and another under her knees, Anakin scooped her up. The Force had aided him in picking her up as well as keeping her still. She now was being tightly carried up against his chest, one arm fully around her shoulders, and the other a full grip from underneath both knees. It was a mark of how hurt she was that Luminara did not utter a word of protest. If looks could kill, he'd have been killed ten times over, each more painful than the last. Despite that, Ahsoka sensed reluctant amusement leak from the Jedi Master. She became curious.
"You had to get carried by Master Anakin on Ansion?" Once she let that burst out, she knew she'd probably regret it. She got an initial glare from Luminara that turned into a sigh.
"Yes. I had to get the wool of an albino surepp in order for a tribal council to speak to us. However, after grabbing the wool, I accidentally slipped and fell. Your master, Barriss, and Obi-Wan had to come in and rescue me." As she had been speaking, Anakin was picking his way through the mess towards the door where Barriss hovered anxiously. Ahsoka was following, hanging on every word.
"How did you have to get the wool in the first place? You don't just slip and fall, Master."
"No, I don't." The tone was wry. "I had to enter a pen filled to the brim with surepp. They so filled the pen that they were stacked each right next to the other, back to back. To have a hope of finding the albino surepp, I leapt from back to back in search of it."
"And fortunately she had grabbed the wool before she slipped and fell," Barriss interjected. They had reached the doorway, and the padawan was diligently checking on her master. "Apparently, one surepp had a wet back from grooming."
"After I fell," Luminara continued, "Obi-Wan, Barriss, and your master came in on foot, picked me up, and we made it out."
"What?" Anakin acted outraged, the smirk giving him away. "You're not going to tell her how I carried you?" Luminara's face, pale green due to the pain she was in, darkened across her cheekbones. Ahsoka leaned forward eagerly. This had to be good.
"I was… out for that part," she said stiffly. The smirk grew across his face.
"I had you over my shoulder." Ahsoka didn't know if it was the words themselves or how he said it, her reaction was the same. She began to giggle.
"No, you didn't," Luminara scoffed. Barriss paused in what she was doing to tap her on the shoulder. "What?"
"Um, actually he did, Master." Luminara looked halfway between shocked and appalled. Then her face relaxed into reluctant acceptance.
"There better not be any pictures," she mumbled.
"Don't worry; there aren't," Anakin agreed. Ahsoka scowled as she thumbed her belt.
"Aw, come on!" she grumbled. "No fair! I missed out."
"At least you're here to see this one," Barriss pointed out.
"Lucky me," Luminara murmured. Barriss looked down at her master with a small smile on her face.
"Yes, you're lucky, Master." She looked up at Anakin. "You're okay to move her back onto the ship. And you're right – she will need the bacta tank."
"What did you see?" he asked, becoming serious once more.
"Fractured ribs, definite concussion, and there's shrapnel bits embedded in her legs and arms." Anakin nodded and without speaking further he pivoted on his heel and walked away. The padawans followed close behind. Thankfully, the walk to the landing bay was relatively short. Anakin turned around upon entry to face the two padawans.
"I'll meet you in the medical bay, Barriss," he said. "I'll take Luminara with me. Ahsoka, once you guys get back to the ship, make sure there's a clear path from the landing bay to the medbay."
"Copy that, Master." The ride back to the command ship felt like it took forever.
Anakin still hadn't arrived to their debriefing, Ahsoka saw. Barriss had just arrived in the room, but when she asked for Skyguy's whereabouts, she had shook her head, lips pressed tightly together. She was obviously worried about something, but only said, "Later," as a response. And she had thought the ride back was terrible.
Rex and Gree were already there, stoic to the untrained eye. Looking closer, the padawan saw worry creasing the eyes of Gree, and stress in the way Rex tightened his lips. They had been forewarned of the arrival and condition of Luminara, and they had alerted the Jedi Council of such. However, with Anakin not showing up, they'd ask about him. Ahsoka didn't want him to get into trouble, but what could she do when he brought this on himself?
"Let's get this over with, General," Rex said by way of greeting. Ahsoka frowned and nodded. The holographic communication table flickered on as he pressed the button to connect communications with the Jedi Council. The holograms of Masters Obi-Wan, Windu, Koon, and Yoda appeared.
"Masters." Ahsoka bowed deeply, seeing Barriss follow suit. The clones nodded their respect as she straightened. "We report success on the rescue of the medical frigates. Out of the original five, three survived with minimal damage, one lost the engine room, and one frigate was lost altogether. Crews are still picking up the escape pods from that lost frigate, but the general number rescued as of yet exceeds the general number lost. Repairs are being started even as we speak, and initial reports promise results within a few standard days."
"We commend you on your success, Padawan Tano," Master Plo said. He nodded in her direction, which she in turn acknowledged. A small spark of gratitude welled up inside. He knew her best out of all of them, and she knew he genuinely meant the praise.
"Yes. It is even more fortunate that we were given advance notice of this attack," Master Windu said. "Otherwise the damage could have been even more severe." He looked over at the other Jedi masters present. "Perhaps we need to consider an escort for the medical frigates."
"It couldn't be anything large," Master Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "We need the manpower for the main source of the majority of our conflicts. We could switch out their models with the fastest frigates we have."
"Assign a Jedi Healer we should, as well." Master Yoda's ears twitched as he spoke. "Good training it would be, for those wanting to do healing."
"An escort of fighters should be provided. They'd take up space, but not so much as to require a whole transport ship," Master Obi-Wan supplied.
"Where is your master, Ahsoka?" Master Plo asked. "I'm sure he would have ideas on how to solve this particular issue." She winced. Almost made it without it being mentioned.
"He is in the medical bay with Master Luminara." She saw looks being traded among the Jedi masters, and her stomach sank. You just can't act normal, can you, Skyguy? There was something to be said for when she was commended for being an exemplar Jedi, and that something wasn't very nice.
"We had heard briefly about what happened to Master Luminara, Padawan, but not what happened to Master Skywalker," Master Windu said, looking directly at her. "Care to enlighten us on the details?"
"Master Luminara defended us from a droid commando in the engine room. However, during the fight, she sustained a grade 3 concussion, fractured ribs, and shrapnel bits that are being extracted even as we speak. She will be inserted into a bacta tank once her concussion has downgraded to a grade 1." Ahsoka bit her lip, reminding herself, She's alive; she's okay. Repeating it as a mantra seemed to help.
"And what about Master Skywalker?" Master Windu prodded. Ahsoka inhaled deeply.
"Master Skywalker took some damage from assisting with the rescue of Master Luminara," Barriss said. "When we engaged in rescuing Master Luminara, one of the commandos wasn't completely destroyed as initially thought. It attacked Master Skywalker trying to get to Master Luminara, and although it was ultimately destroyed he sustained fractures to his ribs." Ahsoka pretended that she agreed with her padawan's analysis while sneaking a peak. Her face was completely believable, giving credence to… whatever category this was going to go under. However, the Jedi Masters appeared to take the story at face value.
"And we're certain the droid commando is destroyed?" Master Obi-Wan asked.
"Yes, Master," Ahsoka said, taking back control of the conversation. "The techs are studying it as we speak. It appears that the one we had trouble with could be a prototype of something newer and more dangerous."
"We'll be looking forward to studying that report once the techs have completed their scans, Padawan," Master Obi-Wan said, smiling down at her. Given the twinkle in his eye, she suspected that he guessed at the real reason Anakin wasn't present. Fortunately, he was too kind to disclose that at the moment.
"Agreed. We'll contact you again within one standard day at this time," Master Windu finished. "May the Force be with you."
"And with you, masters." The holographic image winked out, and not a moment too soon. Both clones erupted into peals of laughter. Ahsoka let out a snicker herself, glancing sideways at Barriss, who looked back with a barely concealed giggle.
"What… I want to know… heehee," panted Rex. "Who's idea was this?"
"Definitely hers!" Ahsoka said, turning to face the culprit.
"Definitely mine," Barriss agreed, a twinkle in her eyes.
"You?!" Gree almost choked on his laughter. "You sneaky little bitch!" In response, Barriss winked at him, causing him to laugh out loud again. The laughter commenced all around the four for a few minutes more. Finally, Rex wiped at his eyes, relaxing finally.
"I do have to ask… why?" he asked the Mirialan. "I appreciate it, don't get me wrong, but you're normally by-the-book." She nodded and clasped her hands together in front.
"I was going to kick him out," she began, "given he didn't have a good reason to be in the medical bay but… Luminara was lying on a bed, unconscious, ready to be placed in a bacta tank. And Anakin wasn't doing anything except just… sitting there. When I say nothing, I mean it. I was half-tempted to push him to see if he'd react. He was focused on where Luminara was lying, but at the same time he didn't seem to be focusing. He… just seemed lost," she finished.
"He blames himself," Ahsoka added softly. "He got into the same mood when you and I were stuck in the Geonosis weapons factory; remember that?"
"But he never really left that mood, in that case," Rex continued. "After that was Luminara's capture, the mind-control worms infesting your ship –" Barriss shuddered visibly, her complexion paling, "– and only after all that were you Generals able to get a break. And now this happens."
"Let's go see if us visiting him breaks him out of this… funk," Ahsoka said. She turned to Barriss. "Do what you have to do. But, thank you for doing what you did." The Mirialan seemed to gain some color again and smiled back at her.
"You're welcome, Ahsoka." Together, they moved as one towards the door. As Ahsoka exited, she could have sworn that she heard Rex mutter to Gree, "And you owe me twenty creds for that."