"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."

Zelina, Aayla, Ahsoka, and Master Plo all stood off to the side, listening to the briefing that the Admiral and Anakin were conducting. Even if they had just made a narrow escape, they were back to the middle of the action.

Just another day in the life of a Jedi.

"Thank you Admiral. While our capital ships are vulnerable to the enemy's attack, I believe a squad of bombers can outmaneuver their ion weapon. Our target will be the bridge; and General Grievous. Our bombers will attack at high speed to evade the enemy's ion weapon. We'll concentrate our firepower on the bridges superstructure here," Anakin stated, pointing at the target point on the ship. "We destroy Grievous, we can bring the war to a quicker end. Pilots; prepare your bombers!"

With that, the men were dismissed. Master Plo spoke up as the men left. "Skywalker; this is an aggressive plan. Are you sure your squadron can complete this mission?"

"Let's ask them," Anakin said cheerily. "Matchstick; you think our boys can pull it off?"

Matchstick, who had turned the moment he heard his name called, answered immediately. "Yes sir! There hasn't been a mission Shadow Squadron couldn't complete."

"That's right: minimal casualties, maximum effectiveness, that's us," said the soldier beside Matchstick.

"I admire your confidence pilot; even so, minimal casualties may be enough to prevent you from breaking Grievous' defenses," Master Plo said slowly.

"Master Plo is right. With Grievous on that ship's bridge, it's bound to be well protected," Ahsoka chipped in.

"Don't worry Ahsoka. We'll destroy that bridge; and Grievous along with it," Anakin said confidently. With that, he turned and left. Zelina chased after him, Aayla shadowing her. Whether to make sure Zelina stayed in line, or simply out of amusement, Zelina couldn't tell.

"You've got something for me to do, right Ani? I mean, you're not going to confine me to the blasted bridge, right?" Zelina said with a small smirk.

"I don't know, I still need to get you back for a few insults you've thrown my way recently," Anakin started slowly. Zelina rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the side.

"Oh come on Ani, I haven't been that bad."

Anakin chuckled. "You're coming with us, don't worry Zee. You and Aayla are piloting a bomber too. I've seen you fly. I think I've rubbed off on you."

Zelina shook her head. "Force Ani, can you not admit I have my own skills without giving yourself any credit?" she chuckled.

"Of course I can! You have a skill at staying a Padawan."

Zelina scowled. "Ha, ha, very funny Skywalker."

Anakin grinned. "I live to amuse."

"You live because I haven't killed you for driving me insane yet."

"Ouch Zee, that hurts."

"Good," Zelina said, sticking her tongue out at him like a child.

"At least I've maintained my pride throughout this conversation."

"Low blow."

"You struck first."

Zelina sighed. "How about we go blow up some things to get this out of our system?"

"I couldn't agree more Zee."

*************************************

"I'm the pilot, right?"

Aayla and Zelina stood by their ship, just three down from Anakin and Ahsoka's, getting all the details worked out.

Aayla smiled, shaking her head. "Of course you are Zelina. You're piloting is somewhat better than mine, so you get to take the wheel. Though I would have thought you'd want to be the gunner given your statement to Master Skywalker earlier."

Zelina rolled her eyes. "It was just a joke Master," she insisted.

Aayla chuckled. "Sure it was Padawan, sure it was."

Zelina scowled lightly, though the moment was cut off there. Aayla perked up, looking over towards Anakin's bomber. "Something's going on," Aayla mumbled, already headed in that direction. Zelina trotted after her, noticing that the Admiral and Master Plo were also at Anakin's bomber.

"What's going on?" Zelina asked as they approached, taking in everyone's grim expressions.

"Grievous is attacking medical transports in the Kaliida system, near Naboo," Anakin informed them.

Zelina folded her arms over her chest, scowling. "Of course he is..."

"It's also where our medical base is," Aayla murmured, catching on quick to the imminent danger.

"He's targeting our medical base?" Zelina stated, shocked.

"I was just saying if we're going to get there in time to stop him, we're going to have to take a shortcut," Anakin told them. "Admiral, warn that station what's coming."

"This journey may be treacherous. If you lose any ships before you reach the target..." Master Plo said.

"We won't lose anybody," Anakin said forcefully before he turned back to his ship. The others watched the following conversation between him and Zelina with mild interest.

"When you say shortcut..." Zelina started. "You don't mean, like, that shortcut you took back on Coruscant where we almost lost that bounty hunter, right?"

Anakin shot her a glare as Ahsoka hid a snicker. "In case you don't remember, my shortcut worked and we were able to cut her off."

"Yeah, well, still, we could have lost her," Zelina stated.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "But we didn't. Besides, I'm certain that this shortcut will work."

"I'll take your word for it," Zelina said with a smirk. "Well, I'm going to get to prepping our ship Master. We've got to be ready for...well...whatever Ani has up his sleeve."

Anakin shook his head. "Thanks for the vote of confidence Zelina."

"Any time Ani."

***************************************

"Shadow Squadron, tighten formation. All in."

Zelina sighed, getting a feel for the bomber she was flying as she followed Anakin, waiting for her signal to sign in.

"Shadow 13, standing by Master Skywalker," Zelina said with a small smile. "How did I end up with lucky thirteen, huh Ani?"

"It's just your luck Zee. That's all I can tell you." After a few seconds, he spoke again to the entire squad. "All right boys...ma'am...let's go."

Zelina rolled her eyes at the formalities they were exchanging, but didn't say a word, already getting ready to jump into hyperspace.

"You seem eager my young Padawan," Aayla noted as the stars became a blur around them.

"I have the feeling something big is going to happen Master. It's just anticipation, that's all," Zelina responded smoothly.

"A Jedi does not seek adventure, Padawan. You should know this by now."

Zelina was hit with a pang of sadness, reminded of Ur-Sema saying the same thing to her before that fateful mission with Anakin protecting Padme. Quickly, though, she shoved those feelings down. She didn't need to be distracted by the past right now. There was a medical base full of men that she needed to focus on. Being blinded by her grief would help no one.

"Are you all right young one?" Aayla asked, sensing Zelina's discomfort.

"I'm fine Master, just...thinking, that's all."

Zelina could practically see the knowing glint in her Master's eyes. "It will do you know good to dwell on the past Zelina. It cannot be changed."

"I know Master...I was just reminding myself of that," Zelina stated quietly.

"I'm just reminding you...just in case young one."

Zelina sighed, but they both let the conversation end there, watching aimlessly as the stars blurred by until they came out of hyperspace.

"Okay, if we can just manage to navigate through my shortcut, we'll be all right," Anakin stated as Zelina and Aayla studied the nebula he was leading the squad towards.

"Are you sure about this Ani? Going through a nebula isn't one of your worst ideas...but it's definitely not one of your best."

She could practically hear Anakin roll his eyes.

"A nebula can be very unpredictable. I advise caution," Master Plo chipped in.

"Don't worry about us Master Jedi, we can hold our own. Right Shadow Squadron?" one of the other pilots said.

"Copy that Shadow Two."

"Does anyone care what the Padawan thinks?" came Ahsoka's voice.

"Of course we care Snips; but we're still going through that nebula," Zelina heard Anakin tell her. Zelina started chuckling.

As they entered the nebula, Zelina looked around with a small smile. "Just to throw in the female point of view here, but this place is pretty beautiful."

"Thanks for the input Zee," Anakin responded.

"This soup is thick...can you see anything?" one of the men said.

"Just keep your eyes on my thrusters Shadow Two," Anakin responded.

"So glad I'm all the way in the back now," Zelina joked.

"You'll be fine," Anakin told her. "There's just no scanners. This is old fashioned flying. You have to feel your way through to stay on course. Just use the Force"

"So basically, you'll be an expert, as I remember such flying roughly eleven years ago," Zelina replied with a small smile.

Anakin sighed. "You have to make everything difficult, don't you Zelina?"

"It's my specialty."

************************************

Several random conversations out of pure boredom later, they actually had an actual topic to discuss.

"So Skyguy; how did you know about this shortcut?" Zelina heard Ahsoka ask.

"It's an old smuggler's route; pilots used to talk about it on Tatooine," Anakin responded.

"Figures that's where he heard about it," Zelina muttered under her breath.

"Smuggler's route! Oh, that makes me feel better!" Ahsoka said sarcastically.

"And you really think the pilots of Tatooine is a good source for information Anakin?" Zelina asked, her use of his real name stressing how serious of a question it was.

"Hey, I've heard plenty of useful information there. You can't deny it, I know you used to eavesdrop all the time," Anakin shot back. "This one...they called it Balmorra Run."

"Balmorra Run?" Master Plo echoed in alarm. Zelina suddenly felt a bad feeling rush through her.

"I think I'm picking up a contact," Ahsoka said.

Master Plo's urgent voice came back. "Skywalker, listen to me, we need to turn around!"

"We can't; not if we're going to catch Grievous," Anakin replied.

"Another contact! This one's much larger," Ahsoka's voice came again.

"Anakin," Zelina said, her own bad feeling continuing to spread.

"Skywalker, Balmorra's a nesting ground for giant neebray mantas!" Master Plo said as Ahsoka continued to report contacts.

"Great Anakin, a wonderful situation you've got us all in this time," Zelina shot as she heard Ahsoka gasp.

"Take evasive action!" Anakin barked to the squad.

"Focus Padawan! Let the Force guide you; it's too thick here for you to rely on sight alone," Aayla warned her.

"I know Master, that's what I'm doing," Zelina assured her as she sank into the Force, maneuvering away from the huge mantas that appeared in front of the group. "Well this is going to get interesting!"

"Those gas gulpers are huge!" Ahsoka cried out.

"Exactly what I was thinking, except not so panicked," Zelina said.

"Don't shoot, or they'll panic!" Master Plo warned.

"They'll panic? I'm about to panic!" Ahsoka responded.

"There's so many of them!" one of the men exclaimed.

"Thank Anakin, he lead us right into their breeding ground," Zelina responded.

"All right, that's enough, let's just focus on getting out of here, how about that," Anakin snapped.

"I'm hit!" came a sudden cry.

"Well this is going wonderfully," Zelina griped.

"Pull it together Matchstick!" Anakin said, some of his stress leaking into his voice. Zelina decided to stop with the quips, reaching out towards Anakin through the Force in reassurance before she had to focus on maneuvering around the mantas again.

"I'm okay, I got it," Matchstick replied.

"These things are gonna make a meal out of us!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

No one was really helping Zelina sink into the Force with all this back and forth.

"All wings, line up behind me!" Anakin ordered.

"Hey, a plan, I'm all for it!" Zelina agreed, already flying into place.

"Hurry, they will not follow us beyond the nebula!" Master Plo instructed as Zelina watched someone's droid head go flying past her window. Zelina grimaced, shaking her head.

What a lovely situation...

"That one looks hungry!" Ahsoka cried out.

"Nah, it's just smiling at you!" Anakin responded.

"How do you know that Anakin, is it like looking in the mirror?" Zelina asked calmly, thankfully, the quip got a laugh out of Ahsoka, which is what she had been aiming for. The girl was panicking too much.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Zee," Anakin responded with is usual attitude.

"We're coming out of it!" Ahsoka reported ahead of Zelina's ship as Zelina maneuvered out of a particularly tight spot. She hadn't thought she would be so relieved to see open space again. "Let's hope your shortcut paid off."

"Yeah, after that, I expect to have gained ground on Grievous, Ani," Zelina said with a smirk.

"Well I hope I don't disappoint Zee," Anakin responded snidely. Despite the banter, they both reached out through the Force, each making sure the other was all right and reassuring each other before finally retreating back to each other. Though they still stayed open enough to be aware of each other.

"Ah, long trips through space, always fun," Zelina commented to Aayla after some time.

"Don't tell me you're getting restless Padawan," Aayla chuckled.

"Just waiting for something to happen Master."

"Sir, another contact," came a sudden report.

"I thought those things wouldn't follow us?" Ahsoka said a little grumpily.

"Not following; coming out of hyperspace," Matchstick reported. "It's a ship...it's the Malevolence!"

"What do you know Zee, we did gain ground on Grievous," Anakin said. His grin could practically be heard in his voice.

"Looks like you're going to get your action Padawan," Aayla added.

"It does Master. Are you ready back there?" Zelina asked.

"Only if you are."

Finally, Zelina spotted the ship. "There it is," she said grimly. "Well...let's get to work."

She had to grit her teeth when she saw the Malevolence disable and open fire on the transport ships. She couldn't focus long on her aggravation though; she had more pressing matters at the moment.

"We've got fighters coming our way," Ahsoka warned.

And so they did. Zelina broke the formation, fanning out from the trail that they had formed as they clashed head on with the Separatist fighters. Blaster bolts zipped past them, but Zelina had finally—finally—found her center with the Force. It would be a piece of cake so long as she stayed focused. While she flew, Aayla was a blur, shooting down every target that came within firing distance.

A tingle of warning went down her spine, and Zelina was already pulling up when the cries from Ahoska and Anakin came.

"Incoming!"

"Make towards the edge of the ray, now!"

Zelina was already up, dodging enemy fighters the entire way, aiming to get far enough up that the cannon's shot would miss.

A little further, come on, come on...

"Padawan!" she heard Aayla call in alarm. She could also hear Anakin calling something out to her, but she tuned them out. She could make it; she just needed to go a little bit faster...

She tried not to watch as Matchstick's ship burst into flames, tried not to watch as his ship crashed into another, tried not to feel their deaths in the Force. Instead, she kept pushing. She could make it over the rim. Anakin was practically screaming at her through their Force bond to do just that.

A sigh of relief escaped her when she cleared the rim. She was last, and she'd gotten dangerously close to the edge...but she cleared it.

Anakin's voice broke her trance. "...report."

She listened to the voices that checked in, feeling Anakin's panic mount the longer she didn't respond. She shook it off. She just wanted to hear who else had made it first.

"Shadow Thirteen still here, just in case you're wondering," Zelina said quietly. They had lost...several pilots with that short run.

Relief came flooding through the bond she had with Anakin when he heard her voice, and she sent a wave of reassurance his way, a wave she probably should have sent earlier instead of scaring him so much. But now was not the time. They had to get moving.

"Stay on course!" Master Plo commanded, snapping her out of her thoughts as they neared the Malevolence. Blaster fire was everywhere, demanding Zelina stay deep in the Force. At least she didn't need to worry about shooting at the fighters; that was for Aayla to deal with.

"This flack is heavy!" one of the others shouted out.

"All deflectors, double front!" Anakin ordered.

"Master," Ahsoka cried indignantly. "We need a new plan!"

"We can make it Ahsoka! Hang in there!" Anakin said. Zelina could hear a note of desperation in his voice. That was never a good sign. That meant he was getting reckless, it meant he wasn't thinking straight.

It wasn't that she didn't have any faith in Anakin, she just knew the signs that someone needed to call him back to reality and get him to accept the facts.

"Anakin, I know you really, really want to carry this all the way through, but we need a change in strategy," Zelina said firmly. "We don't have enough fighters to carry out your original plan."

"Watch those towers guys," Anakin informed them, ignoring her. Zelina ground her teeth in frustration, following him closer to the ship and avoiding the blaster bolts the best she could. Every time she dodged one she found herself having to dodge two more.

"We're too close, loosen up!" one of the men called. Seconds after he'd spoken, he was hit, his right engine going up in flames.

"Anakin!" Zelina called firmly. He couldn't ignore the facts much longer; they needed to come up with something else. This wasn't working.

The ship crashed below them. She tried to reach out to Anakin, but he was purely focused on his goal, his determination forming a wall of sorts and blocking her out. She didn't know how to get through to him either.

"Master, you can make it, but everyone else is getting shot down!" Ahsoka cried. "Master!"

"Listen to her Anakin, she's right, we can't keep this up!" Zelina said firmly.

"Watch out!" Aayla cried, startling Zelina. She banked hard to the right—to hard. Despite her best efforts to correct herself, she clipped the wing of another bomber, and started to spiral out of control. The alarms blared as she tried to control the bomber once more.

"Zelina!" she heard Anakin shout.

"Focus on what you're doing Anakin, don't worry about me," Zelina shouted over the alarms. She was going to crash with a fighter, she just knew it. Even now, she could see a fighter, unaware she was on a crash course for him.

She could hear the others throwing ideas for a new plan of attack back and forth, though Anakin was focused on her and reaching out for her in a panic. She shut him out, focusing entirely on the Force. The Force would guide her, it would show her a way out of this...

She could hear Anakin shouting her name as she grew closer to the fighter, picking up speed; but she wasn't listening. Her hands steady as she steered, letting the Force guide her...

She gained control of the bomber, pulling up at the last possible second, so close to the fighter she could see the scratches down its side.

She groaned in relief, now shaking as she turned back around towards the Malevolence. Near death experience or not, she still had a mission she was on.

"Alright Anakin," she said gruffly, her voice shaking a little. "Let's hear a new plan of attack. That would be the smart thing to do now."

Anakin reached out through the Force, frantically making sure she was okay. She sent him waves of reassurance, appreciative of all the attention and concern from him, but pressing him to focus on the matter at hand. He reluctantly obliged, and she could sense he was already preparing for a different course.

And this was a plan she was willing to follow.

"Shadow Squadron, new target; we're taking out the starboard ion cannon," Anakin stated. His voice did not betray the pure panic and fear that Zelina had sense from him moments before. Already, she was angling her bomber back to the fight, ready to execute Anakin's plan. She caught up to the other's, meeting them just before they dived into the space behind the ion cannon.

"Torpedoes away!" Anakin called. Zelina reached out with her instincts, feeling for the right moment for her...

She moved slightly to the left, then launched her torpedoes, pulling out sharply to meet with the others.

Zelina grinned in satisfaction as, a moment later, the ion cannon exploded, balls of flame appearing on both sides of the ship. Relief seeped through her, and she realized just how tense she was from the battle, angling the bomber towards the medical station.

"Good work Shadow Squadron," Master Plo said.

"Nice job Ahsoka," Anakin said. Zelina sensed him stretch out towards her again, as if just to make sure she was still there.

I'm here Anakin, she thought. You're not going to lose me that easily. No crash in space is going to be the end of me. If I die, it'll be by a lightsaber; it's the only way I would have it.

Zelina grinned as three Star Destroyers appeared. "It looks like Obi-Wan's arrived. Just in time, too."

"It's about time," Anakin responded lightly. He still probed at her presence, like a fretting sibling or parent. It was starting to annoy her...but just slightly.

"Anakin, do you copy?" she heard Obi-Wan's voice say.

"I'm here," Anakin responded.

"Congratulations. It looks like your mission was a success," Obi-Wan said rather happily.

"Partially, but Grievous is still alive," Anakin said, sounding disappointed. "The battle was pretty rough on my men. We're headed for the medical station."

"We'll take it from here," Obi-Wan assured him. "But don't worry, we'll call when we need you."

"I'll be waiting Obi-Wan."

************************************

Zelina was shakily lowering herself out of her bomber after taking some time to control herself, though still, the signs of nearly dying in a fiery inferno were showing. It had been a close one, and even now her heart was pounding.

"Zelina!"

Zelina looked up. Aayla had got off the bomber first a while back, understanding Zelina needed time to re-find her center. So, she was alone right now.

But not any longer.

"Zelina," came Anakin's breathless voice once again, much closer this time.

She waited until she was firmly on the ground to turn to him, shooting him a small smile as she placed her hands on her hips. "Looks like we're still in one piece, huh Ani?"

Anakin stopped short a few inches from her, his eyes analyzing every inch of her, as if he would find something wrong she was trying to hide. "I was so worried—what were you thinking—you could have—I mean—" finding he could not finish his flustered sentence, Anakin turned away, running a hand through his hair.

Zelina dropped the smile, sensing the raging tumult of emotions inside of him. "Hey, I'm fine...and so are you. And Grievous is retreating, and the medical station is still here. That's what matters."

"Still, I..." Anakin sighed, staring at some spot on the ground as if he expected a black hole to appear there and suck the world and everything else bearing down on him right now. "I lost a lot of men...and I almost lost you too. I couldn't have lived with myself if—"

Anakin was cut off as Zelina stepped around him, facing him once more before she wrapped him up in a hug. For a moment, he was startled; but slowly he relaxed, hugging her tightly in return, reaffirming that she was still there with him.

"Hey...I'm fine and...I know we lost a lot of men...but we saved so many more lives. There's nothing you could have done..." she murmured into his shoulder, pushing as much comfort and reassurance his way as she could through the Force.

Anakin sighed, holding her a little tighter before he spoke into her hair. "I'm glad you're safe Zee...I don't know what I would have done had I lost you..."

"You'll never lose me Anakin, I promise."