Whatever the Weather
I know in the description that I said these oneshots would be Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon centric, however Siri was begging to be written about, so here she is. Enjoy.
-X-X-X-X-
Snow
"Kriff it Kenobi, just shoot down the damn karki will you!" Siri Tachi shouted at her companion seated next to her as she wrestled the small fighter into a series of twisting manoeuvres.
"It would be a lot easier if you weren't flying like such a maniac." Obi-Wan shot back through gritted teeth as he gripped onto the targeting joystick for the weapons system.
Siri was an excellent pilot and handled the small craft well, but she had a fondness for dramatic evasive manoeuvres. Especially those of which Obi-Wan was not so fond of.
Siri dived into a barrel roll then suddenly pulled up, performing a tight manoeuvre which efficiently brought her around behind one of their pursuers.
"Now!" She shouted at the same time as Obi-Wan fired on the enemy craft. The fighter exploded into flames and Siri pulled up and away quickly to avoid the debris. They both felt the pang of sadness in the Force as a life was extinguished, however now was not the time to be thinking about that. They would have to address it later.
"I see two more." Obi-Wan stated. "What's your count?"
"Two also." Siri replied as she darted from side to side, avoiding enemy fire.
"Let's get on with it then." Obi-Wan said, letting out a centering breath.
"As you wish." Siri replied, lips quirking up into a smile as she suddenly dropped the fighter down, hugging the snow covered mountainside as closely as she could.
The other two fighters followed, dropping down into the mountains as well, following a little further behind as they were unable to keep up with Siri's Force-enhanced reflexes. It didn't discourage them from utilising their weapons systems however, as the thick blaster bolts exploded into the mountainside around them, sending chunks of rock and ice into the air, battering the young Jedi's craft as they flew through it.
Siri increased her speed, pulling further away from their pursuers. She performed a tight few manoeuvres around the natural twists and turns in the mountain ranges, causing one of their pursuers to lose control of their fighter and crash into the side of the mountain.
"One left."
"On it." Siri said, jaw set in determination. She orientated the craft sideways to fit through a narrow gap, just as their pursuer fired at them. With no way to avoid the bolt, it hit them square in one of the engines and they burst out of the other end of the narrow passageway, engine aflame with smoke streaming out behind them.
Siri muttered a long string of curses in a variety of different languages as she wrestled with the fighter, trying to bring it under control.
Obi-Wan noticed that the enemy craft had backed off now, probably assuming that they were no longer a threat. He lined up the blasters and fired at the enemy, hitting the fighter square on and causing it to explode in mid air. Enemy eliminated, he turned his attention to the more pressing matter of their rapid, barely controlled descent towards the ground.
Their small fighter was struggling but Siri was not giving up. She had one hand on the controls and her other hand was flicking over the dashboard, flipping switches, pressing buttons, trying everything she had ever learned that might be helpful in a crash situation.
"I can't save it!" Siri shouted to Obi-Wan. "Prepare for a crash landing."
Obi-Wan gripped his crash harness and Siri kept her hands on the controls, both Padawans gripping so tightly that their knuckles were white. The ground approached quickly and Siri managed to orientate the craft so that they hit the mountain on an angle. They slid wildly out of control down the slope of the mountain, sending snow flying behind them as they ploughed a deep crevice in their wake.
Siri attempted to control the craft, but the engines had been destroyed on impact and there was no way to control direction when not in flight. The craft continued to slide unchecked down the mountain, bouncing and jolting as they collided with rocks and trees, both of which became more frequent as they slid further down the mountain. Suddenly a large outcropping of rock loomed up in front of them and they were headed straight for it.
Without a word, the two padawans reached out to the Force, simultaneously bringing it to bear on the out of control fighter, desperately trying to alter its course. With a shudder, the craft began to slightly change direction, but given that they were still developing their Force manipulation skills, it wasn't quite enough and it glanced off the side of the rock, sending it flipping though their air and landing upside down.
They continued to slide upside down, but the mountainside was getting less steep now and they slowly came to a stop in a large mountain meadow.
There was dead silence.
"Fierfek." Siri groaned after a long few seconds.
"You can say that again." Obi-Wan groaned back as he undid his crash harness and fell from his seat. He rubbed his head as he stood up, crouched over in the cramped space.
Siri followed suit, releasing her harness and falling next to Obi-Wan with a pained grunt.
"Are you hurt?" Obi-Wan asked, bending over towards the blonde Padawan, offering his hand to help her up.
Siri pointedly ignored his hand and rose to her feet by herself, although she lacked her usual effortless grace.
Obi-Wan bit his tongue, deciding not to comment, and detached his lightsaber from his belt. He activated it and began cutting away at the joins in windscreen panels of the fighter. It didn't take much to loosen the panel and he kicked at it with his boot, sending it tumbling into the snow covered meadow beyond.
He jumped out of the newly established emergency exit and watched as Siri followed him, noting the fleeting pained expression on her face as she jumped to the ground.
"You're injured." Obi-Wan stated.
Siri glared at him. "I'm fine." She changed the subject. "We should try and contact our masters."
Obi-Wan nodded in agreement and reached for his comlink, activating the link through to Qui-Gon. He waited for a minute before getting a response, although the link was so tenuous he could barely make out what his master was saying.
"...bi-Wan? Where...ou?"
"Master, Siri and I were attacked by enemy fighters. We crashed in the mountains."
"Are...njured?"
Obi-Wan flicked his eyes over to Siri, who gave him a hard look.
"Just a few bruises."
"Activ...locator beac...we will...you."
"Yes, master."
Obi-Wan ended the link and activated his locator beacon before replacing the comlink in his utility belt.
"We should get moving." Siri said.
Obi-Wan pointed up at the dark clouds rolling in across the sky. "I don't think that is a good idea." He replied.
Siri contemplated the clouds with a withering glare. "You're probably right." She conceded begrudgingly. "I'm going to have a look around." She added, stalking off towards a small group of snow-covered trees at the other end of the meadow.
Obi-Wan climbed back into the craft and pulled open the few storage lockers, looking for anything which could assist them in their current situation. Most were empty, but a large sheet of canvas fell out of one and another produced a very basic medic pack.
Obi-Wan then pried off one of the dash covers and reached in to grasp a handful of the many wires connecting the various electronic systems together. He pulled sharply on the wires, loosening a few lengths and tossed them and the canvas sheet out of the fighter and went to work stringing it up to cover the exit hole he had created earlier. Judging by the darkening sky and the approaching stormclouds, he figured that it was entirely likely that their masters would not be able to get there until the next morning and he wanted to make their only shelter as weatherproof as possible.
Siri returned as he was tying off the ends of the wire. He had secured the top and sides as best as he could, leaving a small flap at the bottom which they could crawl through.
"Did you see anything?" Obi-Wan asked.
Siri shook her head. "Nothing but snow, snow and more snow."
As if summoned by Siri's words, snowflakes suddenly began drifting down from the sky, gently settling on the heads and shoulders of the two young padawans. It was a short lived magical moment, however, as the wind abruptly picked up, swirling the snow around them as it began to fall more heavily.
"We should take shelter." Obi-Wan said, motioning for Siri to head into the downed fighter.
"No need for chivalry." Siri said, standing her ground. "You go first."
Obi-Wan bit his tongue and settled for a shrug before turning and crawling under the canvas into the craft. He would never understand why Siri had to fight against everything he suggested.
Siri crawled in after him, although she appeared to do this with some difficulty and was avoiding putting weight on one of her arms.
"You've hurt your arm." Obi-Wan said.
"It's fine."
"You should let me look at it."
"It's fine, Kenobi."
"Stop acting like a stubborn bantha." Obi-Wan growled in frustration.
"Yeah because calling me names is really going to get us anywhere" Siri snapped back.
Obi-Wan let out a centering breath. She had a point. Despite being so infuriatingly stubborn.
"I'm sorry." He said genuinely. "Please let me take a look at your arm. I found a medic pack before, maybe we can use something in there to help."
Siri eyed him up for a moment then sighed and reluctantly extended her left arm towards him. "I hit it on the dash when we hit that rock. I think it might be broken." She explained.
Obi-Wan inspected her forearm. He was no healer but all Padawans were required to complete basic anatomy, physiology and healing classes considering that their risk of injury was abnormally high due to their line of work.
Siri's arm had swollen up considerably just above the wrist. Obi-Wan gently placed his hands on her smooth skin and reached out with the Force, which confirmed Siri's initial diagnosis. "I think you're right." He said. "It feels like you've fractured your ulna."
Siri nodded and sighed, not surprised by this revelation but still thoroughly annoyed with the situation.
Obi-Wan grabbed the medic pack and rummaged through it. There wasn't a lot in it but he was able to produce a long bandage.
"I'll find something to splint your arm with and we can wrap this bandage around it to keep it still." Obi-Wan said, searching around the small craft for something of appropriate size and shape but he found nothing. "I'll have to go out, I'm sure I can find some sticks or small branches that can do the job."
Siri nodded and looked him in the eye, her blue eyes conveying the words of gratitude that she was reluctant to speak.
Obi-Wan climbed out of the craft again. The snow and wind had picked up more but it wasn't too bad yet. He could still see the crop of trees across the meadow. He trudged through the snow as quickly as he could, which was somewhat difficult when he was spending as much energy preventing himself from sinking too far into the snow as he was in moving himself forward.
Eventually he made it over to the trees and he used his lightsaber to slice off a couple of branches of appropriate thickness and cut them to the right length. He collected up the sticks and tucked them into his cloak then turned and trudged back across the snow, following in his previously made trail, which was very quickly filling up with fresh snow.
By the time he got back, the snowstorm had taken it up a notch further and it was getting so thick he could barely see the fighter anymore. He brushed off as much snow from his clothing as possible and crawled back inside.
Obi-Wan thought he saw a flicker of relief in Siri's eyes but it was gone as quickly as it came so he assumed that he had imagined it. He pulled the sticks out from where he had stashed them inside his cloak and scooted himself over next to Siri. He carefully arranged the five sticks around the underneath of Siri's arm and wrapped the bandage securely around the sticks and her forearm. He then rested his hands over the top of her forearm and called on the Force, applying a basic pain relieving technique to the area. He wasn't anywhere near skilled enough to mend bones, but he could at least help reduce the pain.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan." Siri said softly as he pulled his hands away.
"You're welcome." Obi-Wan replied.
There was silence as Siri pulled up her hood and leant back against the back wall of the craft and closed her eyes. Obi-Wan felt the Force begin to swirl around her as she entered a light healing trance.
He moved carefully and sat away from her, not wanting to disturb her meditation, however he was hunched forward uncomfortably. There weren't many places to sit considering that the craft was upside down. There were two proper seats side by side, which were of course currently orientated on the ceiling, and they were sitting on the clear transparisteel windshield which was rounded into a dome shape.
Obi-Wan lay back against the curved dome which provided him with a slightly more comfortable position. Well except for the cold air coming in from the bottom of the canvas flap. And the coldness coming through the uninsulated transparisteel. But not much could be done about that so he pushed his discomfort aside and watched as the sky completely darkened outside, making it so dark he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. There wasn't anything else to do now, so he wrapped his cloak tightly around himself and decided to sleep. He was just on the verge of falling asleep when he heard a sharp intake of breath from across the small space, pulling him back to alertness.
"Obi-Wan?" A soft voice carried over to him.
"I'm here."
Silence.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah." Siri replied. "I'm just sore...and cold."
"I think I saw a thermal blanket in the medic pack." Obi-Wan said as he sat forward and reached for the medic kit, using a combination of memory and Force guidance to extract the small package. He opened it, unfolding the small single person blanket and handed it to Siri. There was a rustling as she wrapped the blanket around herself.
"Thanks."
Silence again.
"I'm sorry." Siri said quietly.
"What are you sorry for?" Obi-Wan asked, confused.
"I got us into this mess. I should have taken the other route."
"You couldn't have known that."
"I should have listened more carefully to the Force." Siri said. "Master Adi is always telling me that. They trusted us to complete our mission and I screwed it up."
"We are not saints but seekers." Obi-Wan quoted a Jedi proverb.
"Sometimes I feel like I do a lot more seeking than everyone else." Siri said with a note of frustration in her voice.
"I think it's normal to feel that way. Our path is not an easy one. Even with the Force guiding us, it is often still hard to know the right thing to do."
"When did you get so smart?" Siri said, half joking.
"Master Qui-Gon has had to tell me this many times, so I'm afraid I can't claim credit for that one." Obi-Wan replied with a short wry laugh.
"I never figured you for self doubting." Siri commented. "You always seem so sure and steady."
Obi-Wan did a very un-Jedi-like snort of laughter. "You don't know me very well."
"I guess we just learned something new about each other then."
"Not much else to do when stranded in the snow in pitch black darkness."
Silence again. A short one this time, followed by rustling and shuffling and a small grunt of pain and Obi-Wan felt Siri's smaller form lay down next to him.
He stiffened, not used to having people - especially of the feminine variety - this close to him. "What are you doing?" He whispered.
"Sharing body heat and the blanket. I would rather you didn't get hypothermia. And don't pull that chivalry thing or else I'll call you a stubborn bantha."
"Ok I'll share my body heat with you." Obi-Wan grinned, earning a thump on his arm in response. "We should at least get more comfortable."
Obi-Wan shifted his arm, giving Siri a spot for her head to rest. She nestled in closer to his side and Obi-Wan pulled the thermal blanket over both of them. It was too small for two people but he aligned it as best as he could to cover as much of their torsos as possible, ensuring that their vital organs were kept as warm and protected as possible.
Siri seemed to drift off to sleep quite quickly after this, her breathing becoming deeper and slower. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and tried to sleep but found that sleep was being frustratingly elusive. His thoughts turned to the girl next to him. He had always found her infuriating and self righteous, but as he had just discovered, underneath her tough exterior, she harboured the same doubts as he did. Maybe the same doubts as every Padawan did but nobody actually talked about.
Obi-Wan reached over and gently brushed away a few strands of Siri's hair that were tickling his cheek and she snuggled in a little closer to his side, letting out a soft sigh as she did so. Obi-Wan listened to the wind whistling outside and felt the cold air biting his cheeks and toes but he was surprisingly contented. Contented enough to drift off to sleep.
And sleep they did, deeply and soundly all through the night until morning when they were awoken suddenly.
"Ahem." A deep voice laced with amusement.
Obi-Wan's eyes startled open and he sat up quickly, whacking his head on the dash as he did so. He lay back and and frowned, rubbing his forehead, turning to see the familiar face of his master poking through underneath the canvas flap, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. On his other side, Siri had propped herself up on one elbow and was rubbing at her eye with her other hand.
"Master." Obi-Wan said, mind scrambling to brush away the remnants of sleep. "You're here early."
"It's actually not too early, Padawan mine, it merely seems that you have been enjoying a companionable sleep-in in my absence."
"We, uh, we were just avoiding hypothermia." Obi-Wan said quickly, cheeks reddening slightly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Siri react in a similar manner before she quickly looked away, busying herself with folding up the thermal blanket.
"A wise decision. I am glad to see you have not turned into an icicle overnight." Qui-Gon replied, seeming to be enjoying teasing his Padawan a little too much. He shepherded the two Padawans out of the shelter and across the field towards their transport. "Come along now, Master Gallia is waiting in the transport with hot tea and blankets and she and I would both be very interested in hearing how the two of you ended up in this chilly predicament."
Obi-Wan grimaced and shot a sideways glance at Siri, who briefly wore a similar expression. But strangely enough, he didn't regret the outcome of their actions. Not one bit.