A standard year and a half ago:
"Well general, I think your ribs are just bruised, not broken, and your right leg is broken." Echo finished checking him out. "That's not mentioning the burns and the cuts." Anakin closed his eyes.
"You're forgetting all the drugs in my system."
"There's not a lot we can do about any of this, sir. We don't have medic training." Rex sighed. Field medicine covered burns and cuts, broken bones weren't as detailed, at least for his group, there were field medics who knew all that.
Splint was supposed to have been one, but he'd apparently preferred bombs to medicine.
"This is a mess . . . blasters are barely charged and won't last long, and other than that, we have no weapons." Fives scowled at the weapons.
"Yeah, and I'm out until something starts to heal." Anakin opened his eyes. "But we just have to survive. We can't worry about the future now, we have to just focus on the moment and survive. We can make it."
"Right! I remember the survival guide for planets we haven't been!" Echo noted the look from Fives. "What? I don't always read the Regulations, sometimes I read survival guides and other informational books."
"Well, sounds like this will be your shining moment." Rex sighed. "You know how to patch up the General?"
"Yes, but I've never done it . . ."
"Well, you're going to have to, Echo." Anakin shifted. "I need to get patched up, sooner, not later. I can do a healing trance, but that's it. I can't heal the worse damage. And at this point, even if it heals wrong at least it healed."
"I . . . I understand, General."
"Then do it, we need to find better shelter than the pod, just in case there's something out here."
"You sense something?"
"Yeah, but I don't know what." Anakin winced as Echo touched a particularly tender spot. "Hard for me to focus."
"Considering the bruise you have on your head, I'm not surprised, General." Echo kept working with bandages and quickly made a wooden splint for Anakin's leg. Anakin's hisses of breath were the only sounds he made of pain. He didn't want to alert any hostiles that one of the four was in trouble.
Present:
"Ooh, my head." Ashoka woke up to a headache. That's when she realized she was tied up with rope.
"Good to see you awake, it is." Yoda was across from her. "Captured by natives, we are." Obi-wan and Mace groaned, as the Clones also began to stir.
"What was in those darts . . . why can't I feel the force?"
"The answer to the first, I know not. Force, blocked by the grass in ropes and hut, it is." Yoda sighed. "Taken our weapons they have. Talk with them, we must." Artoo beeped from where he was tied to a pole.
"If we can." The door opened, and two furry, fox-like creatures that walked on their hind legs entered. They had large ears, and bushy tails, one was gold, the other red furred. They noticed the prisoners awake.
"Awake?" The red furred one blinked. Its voice was high-pitched and rather sweet.
"They're Awake!" The Gold one chirped, and its voice was similar.
"Excuse me, why-?" Obi-wan never got to finish. Both creatures jumped a foot in the air, no mean feat, for something the size of Yoda.
"It talks!"
"The creature talks!" Once again the gold repeated the red one's comment.
"Of course we talk!" Ashoka glanced at Obi-wan who shrugged.
"That one talks too!"
"It does! It does!" The gold one agreed.
"General, this isn't working." Cody muttered.
"I'm Obi-wan Kenobi, a Jedi-" Once again, he was cut off.
"A Jedi?"
"A Knight?"
"Yes, I'm a Jedi Knight."
"A real knight?" The red one turned to the gold one.
"Another Knight?" Gold tilted its head, trying to figure it out.
"Look, we mean you no harm, can you let us go?" Ashoka felt annoyed by this point.
"No!"
"We Can't!"
"You could lie!"
"Other Knights aren't always Knights!"
"The real Knight will tell!" So agreeing, the two rushed out.
"Well, that went well, I think we're scheduled for trial now." Obi-wan stated drily. He wished Anakin was here, even if it was just to give a sarcastic comment. "They took our light sabers."
"Wait, we will. Sense something, I do."
"Well, might as well. I doubt I could walk in a straight line, anyway." Ashoka leaned against Cody. He frowned at her, but allowed her to do so. Several hours passed, and Mace noted something out the open door.
"There are two humans out there." Brownish green hooded cloaks hid their build, but they were talking with more of the creatures (some even had small tunics rather than just their fur). They received two bundles, and one pulled out a lightsaber. They clearly recognized it, and then they took both bundles and left. The creatures started dancing around.
"The Knight comes tomorrow! The Knight comes tomorrow!" They sang, and Ashoka shook her head.
"How did we get caught? They're like children!"
"Judge not by appearances, young Tano."
"I'm going to have to agree with Padawan Tano." Mace muttered.
"Meditate, we will. Clear your minds, think not of our trouble." They all obeyed.
The next day came bright and early with anticipation. The furry fox creatures began to decorate the village.
"I don't suppose they could feed us." Ashoka stared at the soup pot.
"Let's not push our luck, shall we?" Obi-wan gave Ashoka a look. "For all we know, they're cannibals."
"Master Kenobi- you . . ." Ashoka trailed off. "Oh forget it."
"Well, we can see the entrance to the village from here. We'll see this mysterious Knight soon enough." Mace went silent after that.
As they watched, the creatures lined up, and two men entered. One had a darker brown cloak, the other had black. It billowed around him and they all tensed. Black reminded them of the sith.
"A sith lives here?"
"Doubtful, that is." Yoda then shushed them. The man in the black cloak entered their prison hut.
"Well, looks like even Masters Yoda and Windu can get caught off guard." The man chuckled and pulled down his hood with his left hand. "I believe this is the eighth time I've had to rescue you, Master."
The voice had made Obi-wan and Ashoka's hearts pound, realizing who it was before their minds caught up.
"Master!"
"Anakin!" The young man smiled, his hair a little longer and more shaggy than it had been. The smile was a little strained and tired, and he looked a little pale.
"They're friends!" He quickly called out to the furry creatures. They cheered, and several swarmed into release the Jedi and clones from their bonds.
"Friends! Friends!" The creatures chanted. "Sit and eat with us!"
"Anakin, How-?" Obi-wan gripped his friends' shoulder, the closest to a hug he could get with the small furry creatures dancing around. Anakin returned the one handed grip.
"Long story, I'm afraid it will have to wait after the Vulpes' hospitality . . . and don't bother trying to correct them if they say something that is wrong, it's not worth the headache and they don't listen anyway." Anakin sighed. Ashoka didn't bother worrying about them, she grabbed Anakin in a hug like she wouldn't let go. Anakin wrapped his right arm around her, or rather, what was left of his right arm, and then let go of Obi-wan to wrap his left around her as well. "Miss me Snips?" He gently probed for her end of the bond.
"Skyguy, I thought you were dead!" She let the block go and relaxed as the familiar presence of her master brushed her consciousness once more. "But you're not, so I can return to training under you, right?" It was directed to the other Jedi.
"What, you don't like the way I teach?" Obi-wan smiled. "Yes, Ashoka, you can." Then Obi-wan noticed Anakin's arm. "Oh, Anakin . . ." Instead of just missing a hand, he'd lost even more of it, up to his elbow. His sleeve had been sewn shut. Anakin noticed his gaze and gave him a soft smile.
"It's alright, Obi-wan. I'm alright." Ashoka pulled back and looke in horror at what was left of her master's right arm.
"Master-"
"It's okay, padawan, it doesn't slow me down. And I can get a prothstetic when we return to the temple." Ashoka felt his reassurance ease her mind. "Now, we might as well enjoy the fest they've made."
"Eat Now! Eat Now!" The furry Vulpes tugged on them, and they were led to the center of town which had turned into a picnic spot. The color of the Vulpes fur ranged from tan to red, with a few sporting brown patches of fur as well.
"Rex, you're alive!" Cody found who the other man in the dark cloak was. The black body suit and the remains of the armor were still there, but Rex wore a brown tunic over it.
"So are you, Commander." Rex saluted. "Good to see you all. Sorry Echo and Fives left you- they don't rank high enough for the Vulpes to listen to in matters of prisoners." He sat down, accepting the bowl given to him by one of the furry creatures- Vulpes.
"Um, is this edible?" Ashoka sat next to Anakin. She stared at the strange soup she'd been given. It was green with blue things in it.
"Yes. Doesn't taste like much, though." Anakin began to eat. Ashoka watched as he balanced the bowl on his lap, using the stump of his right to keep it steady so he could eat left handed. She knew he was naturally right handed, and was impressed with how easily he did things left handed. "Well, are you going to eat?" Hesitantly she sipped the broth, and then promptly choked. She wasn't the only one, though.
"Skywalker, you call this edible?" Mace looked at him as if he was crazy.
"I didn't say it tasted good." Anakin still ate like nothing was wrong. "Then again, I've had to eat this for a while, so I'm probably used to it." He put the bowl to his mouth to drain the broth. "And this is one of the better dishes." Obi-wan made a face as he looked at the bowl. He wasn't sure he wanted to even try getting used to the soup.
"What's it called?"
"Kreb-Gran Stew." Anakin accepted seconds from a female looking Vulpe. "It's better if you don't know what's in it."
"What's on the skewers, then?" The vulpes were roasting meat.
"Probably Char meat. It's got a funny after taste, but if you eat the pogu, it helps." He pointed to a bowl of white paste like stuff.
"I don't think that's Char meat, I think is Karch." Rex commented from where he was eating. "Size is about right."
"In that case, don't even bother eating it." Anakin made a face. Rex laughed.
"It's not that bad, sir."
"Rex, despite the agreement we'll try everything once, I still wish I hadn't tried Karch." Anakin declined as a Vulpe with a tray tried to give him the meat in question. "I'll stick with Kreb-Gran Stew."
"Hmm, good food." Yoda apparently enjoyed it. The clones ate without complaint, though it was clear Rex was the only one with a taste for the stuff.
"It's good to see you alive Skywalker, but how did you survive?"
"Later, Master Windu. Just live in the moment."
"Then we shall." Yoda nodded, before his eyes narrowed a bit and a small smiled appeared. "About to be ambushed, you are." Anakin was then pounced on by the smaller versions of the creatures that were the children.
"Hello!"
"Knight!"
"Hello, kits, what do you want?" He smiled as one clambered up to sit in his hood, which he had left down.
"Will you Play?" The one in his hood gripped his hair, playing with it.
"Play?" Another looked at the one nest to him.
"No!" That one shook its head.
"No, tell a story!" The third changed the request.
"Yes, Yes, Story!" They all agreed on that.
"What story do you want to hear?" Anakin put down his now empty bowl and let one of the kits climb up on his lap. Another burrowed into his cloak, and the others quickly found spots around him, one even sitting on Master Windu's lap. The Jedi master frowned, but did not bother moving the kit.
"This ought to be good." Ashoka muttered to Obi-wan, who smiled. The children started to answer.
"A Knight story!"
"An epic!"
"Magic!"
"An epic knight story with magic!" A tiny one with reddish gold fur piped up, waving its paws.
"But not scary!" Its twin added, eyes wide and gripping its own tail.
"Not scary, huh?" Anakin glanced at Obi-wan and smiled. Obi-wan knew what was probably going to happen, but he let him. He wanted to see what damage his former padawan had been doing. "Alright, this is a story of Knight Kenobi, when he first had a student." Anakin then gave the story, slightly dramatizing the events, though he didn't make himself the main character. Obi-wan recognized it as the first mission they did as padawan and master, though it was a delivery mission for some Senator's son, not delivering a magical artifact. That had been the only mission that had gone smoothly, actually. All the rest soon developed an annoying habit of attracting attention and trouble.
The kits enjoyed it, though. After he finished, they rushed off to play make believe, and used the story as the idea.
"Village Storyteller, are you?" Obi-wan raised an eyebrow.
"You did say I had the imagination for it. And there wasn't much else I could do for a while. Rex is distracting the rest of the Kits, so we can get ready to leave." Anakin reached out and used Ashoka to lever himself up, and that's when they noticed the disappearance of the clone captain. "They don't mind if we slip away, they love any excuse for a party." He winced, "I really shouldn't sit on the ground." They headed to the entrance of the village to wait. When they got there, Anakin used the force to pick up the bag and open it, revealing their lightsaber's and weapons. "Here, you better take them. Echo and Fives took them so the Vulpes wouldn't play with them and get hurt."
"Anakin . . . this grass blocks the force, how can you use it?"
"It's mostly the darkside, though, if you focus a little more, you can still use the light." Anakin pointed out. "And I've had practice." Rex strolled up, fixing his cloak.
"Special reason for the cloaks?" Cody appraised the captain. Rex just shrugged.
"They're gifts. And having a hood is a good thing when you go through the forests for long periods of time." Anakin flipped his hood up. "Especially in the rainy season, which this is."
"How long have you been here?" Rex and Anakin looked at each other, both looking a bit stricken.
"Uh- How long have we been gone, Snips?"
"Two standard years."
"Two Years?!" Both looked surprised.
"We must've been on Grievous' prison ship longer than we thought." Rex muttered.
"I know I lost track of time." Anakin nodded.
"You had an excuse sir." They began walking.
"It's later, or are we going to have to wait until we get to wherever we're going?"
"Patience, this isn't a good time to talk." Anakin chided Ashoka. "And we'll give the full report when we're somewhere that's safer than the middle of the woods." He ducked as a bird-like creature swooped over his head.
"Oh . . ." The group went back to silence. Artoo beeped at Anakin.
"Yes, I did miss you, Artoo. I actually missed everyone." He gave a wry smile and patted the droid's dome. "I even missed Master Jocasta Nu at the library, that's how bad I miss the temple." Obi-wan and Yoda both chuckled. She was known for being the most difficult master to get along with, as she preferred the thousands of archives to actual company.
"And we missed you as well, Anakin." Obi-wan smiled at him. "Jar Jar, Padme and even C3PO were asking about you."
"And how are they?" Anakin stopped by a tree.
"Worried, but Padme is still proving she's the best Senator of Naboo ever elected."
"Glad to know that hasn't changed." Anakin took a deep breath and began moving again. Obi-wan frowned.
The same sort of thing happened twice more. Anakin would stop against a tree to either ask a question or respond, take a breath and then begin moving again. After the third time, Obi-wan noticed that Rex had come next to Anakin's right.
It turned out Rex knew something more about Anakin's condition. Ashoka was telling Anakin about Bariss's knighting ceremony and the small after party. He laughed at one of the scenes and suddenly the laugh turned to a cough. Rex grabbed him and took his weight. "I've got you, General." For a moment, it looked like Anakin had lost consciousness, and Rex was the only thing that kept him from hitting the ground.
"Skyguy, are you alright?" Ashoka hovered, unsure of what he needed.
"Let's put it this way, I'll be happy to see the healers when we get home Snips." His voice now raspy from the coughing, Anakin leaned on Rex.
"Do you need to rest, Skywalker?" Mace frowned as Anakin met his gaze.
"Nah, I can rest when we get to the camp." Anakin closed his eyes. "We're almost there." Ashoka quickly took his other side.
The 'camp' turned out to be a rock cave. Echo and Fives stood at attention at the entrance, though there was a flash of concern when they saw Anakin. Rex took his full weight again and left Ashoka with the others.
"Looks like you've done quite well for yourselves." Kenobi put them at ease.
"Depends on your version of well, sir." Fives sighed. "Apologies for not getting you out of the stocks, but they only listen when General Skywalker says something or asks."
"The captain explained. May we enter?"
"Yessir. We'll see if we can find where the natives put the extra chairs." As they entered, they came into a room with a few others that branched off. A fire crackled in a small stone pit in the center. Rex came out from one that had a curtain.
"The General's in a healing trance. I can give you my report now, if you wish, while we wait for him to wake up."
"Yes, wish to hear this report, I do." Yoda took a grass chair.
"What's wrong with Skywalker?"
"He's been poisoned, it's a slow acting one, if he pushes himself he gets weak and out of breath, more he pushes himself, the weaker he gets and the longer it takes to recover." Rex glanced at Echo and Fives. "He pushed himself pretty hard a few days ago, he's been bedridden since, today was the first day out of bed for him."
"And he spent it walking." Obi-wan sighed. Typical of Anakin to do something like that when he should be resting.
"I offered to carry him, but he would have none of it."
"Out of order, this is. At the beginning, you must begin."
The creatures mentioned here, called the Vulpes by me, are actually from Tsubasa: The Resevoir Chronicles Volume 6 (I think). It' a Manga by CLAMP. And they really do talk and look like that. (Vulpes- Vulpine- fox.) They're cute.
I was going to use the Ewoks, but I changed my mind at the last minute, I needed something that would speak with the characters. Though I could have had Anakin learn to speak Ewok-ese, I couldn't have the others understand, and they needed to interact.