Author Note: For the tune of the song, think Don't Stop Believing by Journey.


Galactic Adrenaline

"So, here we are, stranded on a planet in the Outer Rim, with a damaged ship and no way to purchase the parts we need since Republic credits seem to be worth nothing," Obi-Wan grumbled, as they trudged along a dusty dirt track, surrounded by decaying trees, the charred remains of crashed ships, and the occasional stall of a junk dealer selling ship parts or a farmer selling crops. Oranges and yellows began to peak through the grey clouds in the sky above them.

"You could always enter me in a podrace. That worked last time, all those years ago," Anakin joked, scoring him a withering look from his former master. "Oh, come on! I was kidding. We'll find a way to either get the parts we need or send a transmission, so someone can come get us."

"We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't crashed the ship," Obi-Wan retorted in an irritated tone. "Surely you're in the running for a galactic record by now."

"Very funny," Anakin muttered sarcastically. "I'm actually aiming to crash on every planet in the galaxy."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, because every planet wants your famous skid marks engraved its soil," he responded, a hint of laughter breaking through in his voice.

Soon, a blanket of blackness chased away the oranges and yellows in the sky, leaving the pair in darkness. They continued to walk in silence, until Anakin noticed something in the distance. "Look over there!" he exclaimed, pointing ahead. Behind the curtain of splintering tree trunks, stood a building.

As they neared the building, the faint sound of music flowed softly into the air. The building appeared rather run-down, but sported a vibrant, illuminated sign positioned above the entrance.

"Blood Moon Bar," said Anakin, reading the sign aloud.

"Sounds inviting," Obi-Wan commented. He began to wander through the bar's entrance. "Come, let's go. I could use a good drink."

Anakin folded his arms. "What happened to 'no drinking on the job'?" he asked smugly.

"You put the job on hiatus when you decided to crash the ship," Obi-Wan replied, continuing to walk ahead.

The drab outside appearance of the bar did not accurately represent its interior. Neatly arranged tables and chairs covered most of the floor. To one side, the bar was set up, lined with wooden stools. Behind the bar were shelves full of liquor and glasses. Music played softly in the background of everyone's chatter, and the lights hanging from the ceiling seemed to change colour to suit the mood of the current song. Positioned towards the back of the room was a stage. A band seemed to be already assembled, except for the spaces by the two microphones at the front of the stage, which remained vacant.

Anakin sat at the bar and took in the atmosphere of the place, while Obi-Wan ordered some drinks. Suddenly, a male Rodian appeared beside him. "You're here!" he exclaimed, flustered. "We need to get you both backstage, quick!"

The two Jedi exchanged confused glances. "Why would we need to be backstage?" Anakin asked.

"Because you're Galactic Adrenaline!" the Rodian shouted in frustration, waving a poster in front of their faces. "Your performance was supposed to start half an hour ago."

Anakin grabbed the poster and studied it carefully. Much to his surprise, the two band members on the poster did bear a slight resemblance to him and Obi-Wan, if you took away the tattoos, piercings, and thick eyeliner. Then, a thought struck him.

"Yes, of course. We are Galactic Adenaline," he told the Rodian. "We'll go get ready at once. Oh, and we were just wondering about our payment arrangement..."

"Oh, yes, you will be paid as soon as the performance is over," the Rodian explained with a smile. "I'll show you to your dressing rooms. Your costumes are ready and waiting. The audience is very excited to see you perform. I'll confess, I am also a huge fan. The band has fully rehearsed your songs and..." He continued to chatter as he wandered away towards a door beside the stage.

As Anakin rose from his seat, Obi-Wan grabbed his arm. "Are you mad? What exactly is your plan? To impersonate this band until the audience realises we can't sing?"

"My plan is to impersonate the band, get the money we need to purchase the parts, fix the ship and, once again, save the day," Anakin replied, in a serious yet cocky manner.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "But we don't even look a thing like these people," he tried to reason.

"Sure we do. Now, come on!"

"He has his beard braided! And what is the uncivilised monstrosity through his nose?"

oOo

"These ridiculous pants are going to cut off my circulation," grumbled Obi-Wan, shifting uncomfortably on the spot in an attempt to find a more comfortable way to stand. The leather pants clung horribly to his skin. In addition to the pants, he wore a brown jacket with tassels dangling from the bottom edges and a piece of fabric tied around his head to form some sort of headband.

"Relax," Anakin said, adjusting his own uncomfortable leather pants. He had managed to escape the headband and tasseled jacket. Instead, he wore a black shirt, baring his toned arms.

They wandered out onto the stage, and both squinted as the bright lights beamed in their faces. The crowd erupted in applause, cheers, and high-pitched whistles.

"Thank you," Anakin greeted the crowd. "We're... uh... in the process of rewriting some of our songs, so if the lyrics sound a little different, that's why."

"Do you really think they're going to fall for that?" Obi-Wan whispered.

"They're drunk. They're not even going to notice," Anakin whispered back. He gestured to the band to start playing. "We'll just make it up as we go. It'll be fine," he assured his former master.

The music started off as a gentle tune from the keyboard. Anakin began to sing the first thoughts that entered his mind. "We're just here to sing, but we don't know what we're doing. We landed, lost our way, now we're on this stage." He glanced sideways at Obi-Wan, who appeared panicked.

But Obi-Wan never lost his cool, not even in vein-constricting leather pants. He started to sing, his voice a little shaky. "Now, my friend, that's not true. We didn't land, we crashed thanks to you. And now your so-called genius plan has put us on this stage."

The guitar joined in the melody, its tempo increasing exponentially, until the drums crashed, signally it to stop. "Hey, come on this might be fun," Anakin sang, looking at Obi-Wan with a smile.

"Yes, it will be, once we're done," he sang in reply. "Let's just try to keep these people happy with our song, our song, our song, our song."

The strong beat of the drum kicked in, and the two Jedi continued to improvise their song.

"Stranded, waiting.

With a ship that's falling apart.

We're totally not a Jedi Master and Knight.

We're just people,

Who've damaged their communications,

acceleration compensators and hyperdrive!"

"Working hard during this war.

Nobody knows what's in store.

We hope someday the Chosen One brings balance to the Force.

Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Yoda and Plo Koon,

All deserve a special mention here in our song, our song, our song, our song."

"Stranded, waiting.

With a ship that falling apart.

We're totally not a Jedi Master and Knight.

We're just people,

Who've damaged their communications,

acceleration compensators and hyperdrive!"

"I'm running out of ideas, Anakin," Obi-Wan spoke loud above the whining of the electric guitar and crashing of the drums.

"You're doing great," Anakin encouraged him. "Just sing whatever comes to your mind. Think of something uplifting and inspirational."

"Peace, hope and... Grevious?" he sang shakily, then cringed. He turned to look at Anakin, silently pleading with him to take over.

"May the Force not leave us," Anakin added melodically. "Clones are people!"

The lyrics made little sense, but they worked. The audience whooped and cheered in response. Anakin threw his head back and forward to the beat of the music, while Obi-Wan attempted some rather awkward hip-shaking.

"Peace, hope, and Grevious.

May the Force not leave us.

Clones are people!"

"Peace, hope, and Grevious.

May the Force not leave us.

Clones are people!"

Anakin slid out on his knees and threw his arms in the air triumphantly. The audience applauded and cheered louder than before. Some people even shouted words of praise, while others let out ear-splitting whistles. Anakin rose to his feet and took a bow. "I told you we could do it," he said, turning to face Obi-Wan.

He nodded. "Yes, now, let's collect our payment and get out of here."

oOo

"So it seems that, in the end, you were able to overcome the obstacle placed in front of you with..."

"Our heavenly voices and wizard song writing skills," Anakin chimed in, interrupting Master Windu.

"I think it's worth noting that Anakin was the obstacle placed in front of us," Obi-Wan added, a smirk forming on his face. "He did crash the ship after all."

"All that matters is that you were able to successfully complete your mission," Mace Windu replied seriously. "And I'd like to thank you both for mentioning me in the song. I am honoured."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "You've heard the song?"

"Padawan Tano brought it to my attention," Master Plo Koon informed them. "She says it's gone viral on the holonet. I showed it to the rest of the Council. I didn't know you had such a spectacular voice, Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan's face glowed red with embarrassment. "Um... uh... thank you, but it really isn't that spectacular."

"Rather catchy, your song was," Master Yoda joined in. "Singing it all through class, the younglings were."

"And it seems your performance has revived the dead careers of the real Galactic Adrenaline," Windu explained. "Literally dead, in fact. The real duo were found dead at their previous performance venue. Presumably a drug-related death. Their fans were thrilled to discover they had performed again, believing they somehow defied death." The members of the Council proceeded to converse amongst themselves.

"Masters, are we able to leave now?" Obi-Wan inquired, his face still crimson-tinged.

Once dismissed, Anakin and Obi-Wan wandered out into the hallway. "I don't think we're ever going to hear the end of this," Obi-Wan groaned, running his hands through his hair.

"Come on, Obi-Wan. Maybe it's the will of the Force," Anakin joked, throwing one of his former master's typical phrases back in his face. "Maybe your destiny involves singing. It's not a bad back-up career, in my opinion. If anything ever happened to the Jedi Order, we could do a galaxy-wide tour together. What do you say?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No thank you, Anakin. I think I'd rather be a lonely old hermit than a rockstar."