(Sorry for the late chapter. I was helping a friend with math. He bad. I hate having to wait for the google doc to load. There is like 200 pages.)
R2-D2 beeped excitedly as he spun around. He then projected a map of the debris field with a blinking red dot where the signal was coming from.
Anakin turned his head. "Are we still picking up that signal?"
Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, but why aren't we finding anybody?"
Anakin sighed. "I don't know, Ahsoka."
Tyler laughed. "Have patience. The force will guide us to them. I have faith in Master Plo."
Ahsoka pressed a button on the panel. "Is there anyone out there? Come in. This is Ahsoka Tano. Can anyone hear me? R2, see if you can boost the reception."
R2 beeped and turned back to the console.
Ahsoka slammed her head back into the chair. "UGHH."
Anakin shook his head and sighed. "As Master Draco said, patience. We're trying to boost the power. Hang on."
Ahsoka looked at the blinking light on the panel. "Incoming transmission." She pressed the button and a hologram of Chancellor Valorum popped up.
Valorum was visibly flustered. "Draco, what in the galaxy are you doing?"
Tyler laughed nervously. "Ummmm, a rescue mission?"
Valorum was livid. "I thought you said that your fleet would go defend the medical station."
Tyler nodded. "And that is where my fleet is. Is there a problem?"
Valorum shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder what will kill me first. Will it be you or Count Dooku?"
Tyler laughed. "Worry not, Finis. There are some survivors and we will be picking them up in a few minutes." Anakin looked at Tyler with a panicked expression.
Valorum scoffed. "Fine. Hurry up and get back to your fleet. Commander Blaze is not prepared to command an armada."
Tyler nodded. "Thank you. See you soon!" Tyler quickly pressed a button on the dash to end the call.
Anakin was very confused. "Draco, why did you tell him there are survivors? We haven't located any as of yet."
Tyler shook his head. "It's just a feeling. Let's keep looking. Don't worry about anything. And my connection with Master Plo through the force has yet to be terminated. Ahsoka, you should have noticed this by now."
Ahsoka took a deep breath and then her eyes widened. "He's right. We can't leave. I know he's alive."
Tyler nodded. "Good. Take the wheel, padawan. You should know where he is now."
Ahsoka nodded and grabbed the controls. The ship flew forwards and turned sharply. She navigated through the debris field and followed the guiding hand of the force.
Tyler smiled and pointed. "Look, it's them!"
Ahsoka was ecstatic. "I knew it!"
Anakin smiled. "Ready tow cable."
Anakin took over the controls as Ahsoka rushed over to the console. The ship decelerated as it flew past the pod. Plo Koon and two clones were hanging onto the outside of the pod.
Ahsoka turned back to Anakin. "Cable loaded, master."
Tyler laughed. "Hold on. Let me move my ship so that the escape pod doesn't damage it."
Anakin nodded. "Good idea, master."
Tyler rushed to the cargo bay where his ship and hyperspace ring were parked. He raised his hands and used the force to shift them out of the way. "READY!"
Anakin pressed a button on the dashboard and the tow cable shot out. It attached to the pod and pulled it in through the shields.
As soon as the pod landed, Tyler was waiting with stretchers from the medical bay. He waved his hand and the glass on the front of the pod came flying off.
When Ahsoka and Anakin came down from the cockpit, Tyler was already loading the clones onto the stretchers. A Jedi Master can survive a while in space without breaking a sweat after all.
Ahsoka knelt down next to Plo Koon. "Are you okay, Master Plo?"
Anakin looked to Tyler. "Will they be alright? And since when were you a medic?"
Tyler laughed. "They'll be just fine. A few hours in a bacta tank should get them up and running. And I picked up the skill when I was a padawan. It's been quite useful over the years and I've gotten plenty of practice."
Ahsoka smiled. "Your men are safe now."
Plo Koon looked at Anakin with a somber expression. "Tell me, were there any survivors?"
Anakin sighed. "We couldn't find anybody else."
Plo Koon shook his head. "The hunters must have destroyed the rest."
Ahsoka sighed. "I'm sorry, Master Plo." She then hugged him.
Tyler clapped to get everyone's attention. "You guys head back to the cockpit and get us out of here. I will handle the recovery along with the medical droid."
As soon as the three Jedi left, Tyler quickly powered down the medical droid and his R2-F4.
One of the clones looked at Tyler in confusion. "General, why did you power down the droid?"
Tyler shrugged. "Just a feeling. He would get in the way anyways."
The clone shrugged. "Whatever."
Suddenly the lights went out. Tyler smirked. "And it begins. Everyone sit tight and shut off any electronics."
The clones quickly shut off their radios.
After a few minutes, the freighter started shaking. Tyler waved off the clone's concerns. "It's just a large ship passing by. Let them pass and we'll be fine."
Tyler left the medical bay and went up to the cockpit. "How are things up here?"
Plo Koon turned to Tyler. "They have passed and appear to be leaving the system."
Tyler nodded. "Good. Let's wait a few more minutes. Then we can get out of this shit show."
-GE-
Count Dooku, General Grievous, and another man were standing aboard the bridge of the Malevolence.
Count Dooku turned to the man. "Eric, what do you think of the weapon?"
Eric smiled. "It's fantastic. We should be able to use this to cripple the Limitless fleet. Once we eliminate their defenses, we can disrupt their sources of income and end this war. Lord Sidious will be pleased."
Dooku nodded and turned back to Grievous. "What is taking so long? We can not allow any survivors to escape."
Grievous growled angrily and slammed the railing next to him. "Status report!"
A droid turned around from the scanners. "We have nothing. Wait, a ship just came online. We passed it a few minutes ago. The enemy is attempting to flee through the debris field."
Dooku scoffed. "General, I don't want any witnesses."
Grievous growled. "MOVE INTO ATTACK POSITION!" The ship started turning. "ENERGIZE PLASMA ROTORS!"
A droid called out. "Enemy ship targeted, general."
Grievous punched the chair. "FIRE!"
The crackling of electricity was audible throughout the ship as the ion cannon charged its shot and fired. A huge, purple ring of lightning launched from the cannon and flew towards the Twilight. Before it could even come close, the Twilight jumped to hyperspace as it cleared the debris field.
Grievous reached for the ship desperately and roared. "AHHHHHHHH!" He then slumped in defeat. "Now the Republic will learn of our ion cannon."
Dooku and Eric glared at the general. Silence pervaded the bridge. Each and every droid slowly turned their heads to look at the Count.
Dooku shook his head. "Your failure is most unfortunate. I will have to discuss this with my master." He turned and left the bridge with Eric. "Eric, let's go meet with Lord Sidious. Hopefully we can rectify this."
As they left the room, Grievous roared and slapped the head off of one of the droids. "Get back to work." He then walked over to a display and gazed upon it, trying to decide what to do next.
-GE-
Anakin and a clone officer were walking down the ramp of the Twilight. They were parked in the hangar of a cruiser. "Thanks for getting us out of there in one piece, General Skywalker."
Anakin laughed. "You have my padawan and Master Draco to thank for that. She always said you guys would pull through and he is the only reason we aren't getting in trouble."
Ahsoka stood up from checking on R2. She smiled and turned back to R2.
The clone nodded. "General Plo said someone would come for us. We're glad he was right."
Plo Koon then walked up behind them from the ramp. "Skywalker, it is time to give our report to the Council."
Anakin sighed. "Right, the Council report."
Tyler then popped over from checking on his fighter. "I'll be coming too. Don't worry Anakin, I'll cover for us."
Anakin nodded and smiled. "Thank you, master." The three Jedi started walking towards the elevators. He then turned back. "Come on, Ahsoka."
Ahsoka looked up. "You want me there? I figured, because of before…"
Anakin shook his head. "Ahsoka, through it all, you never gave up. You did a great job. But if I'm getting in trouble for this, you're gonna share some of the blame too." They laughed. "So come on. Let's go."
Ahsoka nodded and started following them. "Right beside you, Skyguy."
-GE-
Windu was furious. "Skywalker, you disobeyed orders. Even though you rescued Master Plo, you still put both you and your padawan at risk."
Anakin was about to speak but Tyler cut him off. He spoke in a passive aggressive tone. "General Windu, I hate to break it to you but saving General Plo was the best thing that could have come out of this. Without this rescue mission, we would still be in the dark regarding the ion cannon. I commend General Skywalker and Commander Tano for their bravery in recovering the survivors."
Windu scoffed. "Draco, watch your tone when speaking to your superiors."
Tyler laughed. "I could say the same to you, General. I outrank you in these circumstances."
Windu nearly choked and was about to retort but Yoda stopped him. "Fortunate we are for this. Our next move, important it is."
Tyler nodded. "I suggest we put together a strike force to take down the weapon. Plo Koon and myself can escort a squadron of bombers. We can even put Skywalker and Ahsoka in a bomber. We will attack the ship and destroy the weapon so our cruisers can take care of the rest."
Chancellor Valorum nodded. "I agree with General Draco." He had caught on to what Tyler was pulling. He was using his rank to outspeak the former grandmaster of the Jedi Order. "We will leave that to you. General Kenobi, have your fleet be on standby. Be ready to support General Draco's defense at any time. You are all dismissed."
Tyler smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Chancellor." He then pressed a button on the communications table. "See? Everything is just fine."
Anakin nearly choked. "You call this fine? The Council will have your ass for this."
Tyler shook his head. "I'm untouchable to anyone other than the Chancellor. He is the only person that I follow orders from aside from the occasional mission from Master Yoda."
Plo Koon shook his head. "What kind of monster did Master Fisto train?"
Tyler laughed. "Now isn't the time. Let's move before the seppies can make their next move."
-GE-
R2 was projecting a hologram of the Malevolence. Next to him were Anakin, Tyler, and Yularen.
Yularen gestured to the hologram as he spoke to the clone pilots in front of him. "This strike force has been commissioned by the Senate to hunt down the enemy's new battleship. As the bulk of our fleets are engaged on the front lines, we'll be on our own. General Skywalker has prepared our attack strategy."
Anakin nodded and stepped forward. "Thank you, admiral. While our capital ships are vulnerable to the enemy's attack, I believe a squad of bombers, at General Draco's request, can out-maneuver their ion weapon. Our target will be the bridge and General Grievous."
The clones started murmuring among themselves. One clone spoke to another. "Ha, the head clanker. Skywalker's getting pretty ambitious."
The clone shrugged. "Draco is with us. I have no doubts we can take on an army."
Anakin continued. "Our bombers will attack at high speed to evade the enemy's ion weapon." He pointed to the bridge and a red dot started blinking. "We'll concentrate our firepower on the bridge superstructure, here. We destroy General Grievous, and the ship will fall with him. Any questions?"
A clone stood up firmly. "Just tell us where that metal-head is, sir."
Another clone stood up while the others started cheering. "Yeah, We've been waiting for a chance to take him out."
Anakin smiled and nodded. "Alright men, settle down. This is an important mission. We destroy Grievous, we can bring the war to a quicker end. Pilots, prepare your bombers."
Plo Koon walked over the Anakin as the clones stood up and walked to their bombers. "Skywalker, this is an aggressive plan. Are you sure your squadron can complete this mission?"
Anakin smirked. "Let's ask them. Matchstick, you think our boys can pull it off?"
Matchstick nodded. "Yes, sir. There hasn't been a mission Shadow Squadron couldn't complete."
Another clone behind him cut in. "That's right. Minimal casualties, maximum effectiveness. That's us."
Plo Koon nodded. "I admire your confidence, pilot. Even so, minimal casualties may be enough to prevent you from breaking Grievous' defenses."
Ahsoka nodded and spoke softly. "Master Plo is right. With Grievous on that ship's bridge, it's bound to be well-protected."
Anakin shook his head. "Don't worry Ahsoka. We'll destroy that bridge and Grievous along with it."
Tyler nodded. "Exactly. Even if he tried to get away like the roach he is, I'll be sure to blast that robo-bitch into smithereens."
Plo Koon sighed as Anakin, Yularen, and Tyler walked away. "Master Skywalker seems to inspire great confidence in his men."
Ahsoka chuckled and looked at Plo Koon. "He does lead by example."