Chapter four----------SPEEDER CHASE!!!
Anakin jerked the speeder up, climbing another twenty stories. Again the black cruiser followed their exact movements. But now out of secret compartments, the lethal looking cruser produced blaster cannons. "Slin!" Anakin yelled,
"What!" His voice betrayed the fact that if Anakin kept driving this way he was going to be sick.
"Make yourself useful!"
"How?"
Anakin turned a sharp corner, "Shoot them!"
"But whad-if they're cops!" Slin yelled back.
"They aren't!" Padme yelled. "I'm a Senator, they wouldn't be chasing me if they were."
A laser blast whizzed past Anakin's ear, "Just do it!"
"Well you didn't have to get all violent." Slin whined, taking an ancient blaster out of his hip holster.
Anakin glanced to his right, "Hold on!"
Padme looked out the front window just as Anakin brought the lurching speeder into oncoming traffic. "Are you crazy!?" Padme screamed.
"I've been flying before I could walk. Relax."
The young thief zig-zagged in between the speeders, like it was some freaky game. Coming within inches of ultimate disaster. "I'm surprised you lived this long." Padme's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Anakin flashed her a warning glance. Taking his attention away from his flying and in the same time showing off.
Slin leaned in between them and Anakin went back to his flying. "The stinkin' thing's got amour!"
"Alright." Anakin said, "Gonna put the speed on."
Padme looked and saw that the black cruiser, ready to bear down on them with their blaster cannons without mercy. She looked back at Anakin, who was turning switches and nobs on the ancient speeder. It wasn't until then she realized that a person like Anakin wouldn't just be riding an old clunker. It must be juiced up in some way, and judging from the Frankenstein look of extra controls and tinkered-with monitors it was juiced up in several big ways. She grabbed at her restraining belt, trying to brace herself.
The speeder shuddered as a blaster bolt hit it on the back quarter. This caught Anakin by surprise, and he veered the speeder up and around, temporarily getting them away from the blaster fire.
Anakin flipped a few more switches, "Here we go."
Padme watched as he pulled down a long lever, and pause. She felt the speeder shudder again, the engines that had begun to warm up died. "Go where?"
Anakin took in a harsh breath, obviously he hadn't expected this. "Take the controls."
"You are crazy!"
"The power wires must've been jogged loose, I gotta fix'em or we're dead!" Anakin sat up, getting ready to climb over the seat.
Padme grabbed the controls, and slid into the seat just as Anakin climbed into the back. She took the controls, dodging under a large hover- bus. "What do I do?"
"Don't run into anything." Anakin answered.
Padme looked around, "Great."
Anakin held onto the arm-rests, and looked at Slin, "Grab my feet."
Slin nodded, the blood was draining from his face now, and Anakin seriously hoped he wasn't going to be the one the guy was going to hurl on.
Anakin eased himself onto the back of the speeder, with Slin holding onto his feet so he wouldn't slip off and fall at least five-hundred stories. The wind howled in his ears, and he regretted having one of his droids put a layer of wax on the speeder. Reaching down into the open engine he fumbled with the electrical system.
"Hold on!"
The warning had good intentions, but there wasn't anything for Anakin to grab onto as Padme put the speeder into a complete loop, dodging the cannon fire, and a building at the same time. But while the speeder was upside down, Anakin was dangling helplessly with only Slin's hold on his feet saving him from a long fall to a quick death.
Anakin flailed his arms as the speeder slipped out from underneath him, leaving him in a split instant of limbo until he came down again on the hard metal with a breath-taking thud. Anakin gasped, trying to get air back into his lungs. This was absolutely the last time he was going to let that woman drive his speeder. Reaching back inside of the engine he found the loose wires, and yelped as he accidentally touched the rover-von. The thing had a tendency to overheat, and it didn't feel good when he gripped it. He reached back inside again, looking for the loose connection, and grabbing the wires with both hands. Looking up, Anakin saw that the armored cruiser was bearing down on them again, and that Padme probably had the speeder engine on full power.
"Ease up!" Anakin yelled over his shoulder,
"What?" Padme could have sworn this guy had totally gone crazy.
"Ease up on the power!" And with that, he closed the broken connection.
Unfortunately, Padme had it on full drive as the larger engine kicked in. The Z-20 engine was hard to find for three reasons, how it could outrun any speeder in existence, how old it was, and because it was outlawed on most planets. Even Anakin had never floored the Z-20.
Padme was pushed back in her seat as the engine accelerated. The wind whipped her as they blew past other speeders in the lane. And then in front of them was a giant building, actually two. But there was just enough space in between to perhaps...
Without warning, Anakin felt the speeder turn beneath him, and knew that it was on it's side. He rolled, desperate to grab onto anything as he felt Slin's grip on his feet loosen, and then totally dissolve. Anakin slid out, then just as he was about to fall over the edge he seized one of the speeder's fenders, half of his body over dangling the side. He heard a whirring sound and realized that a dura-steal wall was whizzing past, inches from his head. Suddenly, they leveled out, and Anakin almost lost his hold. Grinding his teeth, he swung himself up and around, temporarily getting back onto the speeder. Until Padme took a quick turn and launched him up and over the open cab onto the nose of the ship.
Anakin hung onto the hood of the speeder like a zap-ner. Looking up he stared right into Padme's eyes. A look of total shock crossed her features, and then to his surprise...Annoyance.
"I can't see!" Padme desperately tried to look around Anakin, but in the same instant jostling the controls so that where she looked the speeder went.
Anakin slid down and over the hood, again dangling over the edge. Just as he lost his grip Anakin screamed, but was quickly silenced as a small but sure hand wrapped itself around his wrist. Anakin gasped, looking up and again getting a good hold, this time on the door of the speeder. Padme groaned as she lifted his other hand to get him on better. However, as soon as she looked up she realized she couldn't dodge this next obstacle.
Padme slammed on the reverse thrusters, making the engines fight against themselves, grinding to a slow halt. Hopefully before they hit a very large building.
Just as soon as Padme slammed the engines in reverse the reaction to that action sent Anakin flying to the ground which they were luckily only ten feet above. Padme watched him fall, but soon turned her attention back to the wall that was approaching at a remarkably fast rate. People on the walk-way scattered, desperate to get out of the way of the out of control speeder. The thrusters were a little off, so the ship slid on it's cushion of air ready to side-swipe the building. Or in other words Padme was going to have a nose-to-wall conflict with a very large building.
Padme squeezed her eyes shut, trying to brace herself. Trying to get herself ready for a bone-crushing contact...But that contact never came. She first opened her right eye, then her left. The speeder had stopped inches away from the wall.
"Wheww!" Slin yelled, "I love this baby!"
"Uh-huh." Padme suddenly noticed she was shaking and tried to calm herself. She glanced over, "Anakin!"
Padme and Slin jumped out of the speeder, and brushed past the crowed.
Anakin lay sprawled out on the ground and oblivious to the world for all Padme could tell.
"Yo man," Slin ran up to him, "You okay?"
"Anakin..." Padme kneeled next to him, she felt panic setting in, but she couldn't see if he was bleeding. He didn't look like he was dead, but it was possible...Padme reached down, placing her two first fingers against his neck, feeling for a pulse.
Anakin shuddered and opened his blue eyes, looking up at her. And smiling.
Padme pulled back, glaring at him. The guy had enough ego as it was, he didn't need to know she had been worried about him. "Anakin Skywalker, you are a-"
Anakin nodded, still trying to catch his breath, "Yeah, yeah. But next time I drive."
Slin laughed, taking Anakin's hand and hauling him to his feet. "You, my frien' has at least nine lives."
"Nahh." Anakin said, leaning heavily on Slin's shoulder, "I've used up nine already, maybe thirteen." He straitened, groaning, "That's gonna leave a mark."
"So where do we go now?" Slin hopped into the back of the speeder again, relaxing in the back seat.
Padme, who was getting ignored looked around, waiting for the black cruiser. "Shouldn't we hide somewhere?"
"You can just go someplace on Couriscant and might as well be hiding." Anakin looked over the readouts on the speeder's control panel. "It's huge. There's too many places to look." He glanced over at her, "Well, are you coming or not?" He climbed into the speeder's pilot seat, a sly smile on his lips.
"Yes." Padme lifted her chin, "The Captain might assume those assassins succeeded, I need to get back to the Naboo Consulate."
Anakin looked away, she was telling him what to do. The tone in her voice was definitely more of a command then a request. He only did what he thought was best in many situations, regardless of what anybody said. How ironic. "Very well, M'lady." Anakin said gruffly.
Padme climbed in next to him in the passenger's seat, and heard his remark, and wondered if she should have been more polite. But what did she care, soon she'd be back in the Naboo conciliate and have forgotten about him. Wouldn't she?
Without another word Anakin slammed on the thrusters and they sped up and away into the couriscant night.
To be Continued!!!!
(A.N. I'm sorry it took so long to write this. I just didn't know how to do it very well, and I wanted it to be good quality. Sorry!)
("Sometimes we have to let go of our pride, and do what is expected of us.")
Anakin jerked the speeder up, climbing another twenty stories. Again the black cruiser followed their exact movements. But now out of secret compartments, the lethal looking cruser produced blaster cannons. "Slin!" Anakin yelled,
"What!" His voice betrayed the fact that if Anakin kept driving this way he was going to be sick.
"Make yourself useful!"
"How?"
Anakin turned a sharp corner, "Shoot them!"
"But whad-if they're cops!" Slin yelled back.
"They aren't!" Padme yelled. "I'm a Senator, they wouldn't be chasing me if they were."
A laser blast whizzed past Anakin's ear, "Just do it!"
"Well you didn't have to get all violent." Slin whined, taking an ancient blaster out of his hip holster.
Anakin glanced to his right, "Hold on!"
Padme looked out the front window just as Anakin brought the lurching speeder into oncoming traffic. "Are you crazy!?" Padme screamed.
"I've been flying before I could walk. Relax."
The young thief zig-zagged in between the speeders, like it was some freaky game. Coming within inches of ultimate disaster. "I'm surprised you lived this long." Padme's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Anakin flashed her a warning glance. Taking his attention away from his flying and in the same time showing off.
Slin leaned in between them and Anakin went back to his flying. "The stinkin' thing's got amour!"
"Alright." Anakin said, "Gonna put the speed on."
Padme looked and saw that the black cruiser, ready to bear down on them with their blaster cannons without mercy. She looked back at Anakin, who was turning switches and nobs on the ancient speeder. It wasn't until then she realized that a person like Anakin wouldn't just be riding an old clunker. It must be juiced up in some way, and judging from the Frankenstein look of extra controls and tinkered-with monitors it was juiced up in several big ways. She grabbed at her restraining belt, trying to brace herself.
The speeder shuddered as a blaster bolt hit it on the back quarter. This caught Anakin by surprise, and he veered the speeder up and around, temporarily getting them away from the blaster fire.
Anakin flipped a few more switches, "Here we go."
Padme watched as he pulled down a long lever, and pause. She felt the speeder shudder again, the engines that had begun to warm up died. "Go where?"
Anakin took in a harsh breath, obviously he hadn't expected this. "Take the controls."
"You are crazy!"
"The power wires must've been jogged loose, I gotta fix'em or we're dead!" Anakin sat up, getting ready to climb over the seat.
Padme grabbed the controls, and slid into the seat just as Anakin climbed into the back. She took the controls, dodging under a large hover- bus. "What do I do?"
"Don't run into anything." Anakin answered.
Padme looked around, "Great."
Anakin held onto the arm-rests, and looked at Slin, "Grab my feet."
Slin nodded, the blood was draining from his face now, and Anakin seriously hoped he wasn't going to be the one the guy was going to hurl on.
Anakin eased himself onto the back of the speeder, with Slin holding onto his feet so he wouldn't slip off and fall at least five-hundred stories. The wind howled in his ears, and he regretted having one of his droids put a layer of wax on the speeder. Reaching down into the open engine he fumbled with the electrical system.
"Hold on!"
The warning had good intentions, but there wasn't anything for Anakin to grab onto as Padme put the speeder into a complete loop, dodging the cannon fire, and a building at the same time. But while the speeder was upside down, Anakin was dangling helplessly with only Slin's hold on his feet saving him from a long fall to a quick death.
Anakin flailed his arms as the speeder slipped out from underneath him, leaving him in a split instant of limbo until he came down again on the hard metal with a breath-taking thud. Anakin gasped, trying to get air back into his lungs. This was absolutely the last time he was going to let that woman drive his speeder. Reaching back inside of the engine he found the loose wires, and yelped as he accidentally touched the rover-von. The thing had a tendency to overheat, and it didn't feel good when he gripped it. He reached back inside again, looking for the loose connection, and grabbing the wires with both hands. Looking up, Anakin saw that the armored cruiser was bearing down on them again, and that Padme probably had the speeder engine on full power.
"Ease up!" Anakin yelled over his shoulder,
"What?" Padme could have sworn this guy had totally gone crazy.
"Ease up on the power!" And with that, he closed the broken connection.
Unfortunately, Padme had it on full drive as the larger engine kicked in. The Z-20 engine was hard to find for three reasons, how it could outrun any speeder in existence, how old it was, and because it was outlawed on most planets. Even Anakin had never floored the Z-20.
Padme was pushed back in her seat as the engine accelerated. The wind whipped her as they blew past other speeders in the lane. And then in front of them was a giant building, actually two. But there was just enough space in between to perhaps...
Without warning, Anakin felt the speeder turn beneath him, and knew that it was on it's side. He rolled, desperate to grab onto anything as he felt Slin's grip on his feet loosen, and then totally dissolve. Anakin slid out, then just as he was about to fall over the edge he seized one of the speeder's fenders, half of his body over dangling the side. He heard a whirring sound and realized that a dura-steal wall was whizzing past, inches from his head. Suddenly, they leveled out, and Anakin almost lost his hold. Grinding his teeth, he swung himself up and around, temporarily getting back onto the speeder. Until Padme took a quick turn and launched him up and over the open cab onto the nose of the ship.
Anakin hung onto the hood of the speeder like a zap-ner. Looking up he stared right into Padme's eyes. A look of total shock crossed her features, and then to his surprise...Annoyance.
"I can't see!" Padme desperately tried to look around Anakin, but in the same instant jostling the controls so that where she looked the speeder went.
Anakin slid down and over the hood, again dangling over the edge. Just as he lost his grip Anakin screamed, but was quickly silenced as a small but sure hand wrapped itself around his wrist. Anakin gasped, looking up and again getting a good hold, this time on the door of the speeder. Padme groaned as she lifted his other hand to get him on better. However, as soon as she looked up she realized she couldn't dodge this next obstacle.
Padme slammed on the reverse thrusters, making the engines fight against themselves, grinding to a slow halt. Hopefully before they hit a very large building.
Just as soon as Padme slammed the engines in reverse the reaction to that action sent Anakin flying to the ground which they were luckily only ten feet above. Padme watched him fall, but soon turned her attention back to the wall that was approaching at a remarkably fast rate. People on the walk-way scattered, desperate to get out of the way of the out of control speeder. The thrusters were a little off, so the ship slid on it's cushion of air ready to side-swipe the building. Or in other words Padme was going to have a nose-to-wall conflict with a very large building.
Padme squeezed her eyes shut, trying to brace herself. Trying to get herself ready for a bone-crushing contact...But that contact never came. She first opened her right eye, then her left. The speeder had stopped inches away from the wall.
"Wheww!" Slin yelled, "I love this baby!"
"Uh-huh." Padme suddenly noticed she was shaking and tried to calm herself. She glanced over, "Anakin!"
Padme and Slin jumped out of the speeder, and brushed past the crowed.
Anakin lay sprawled out on the ground and oblivious to the world for all Padme could tell.
"Yo man," Slin ran up to him, "You okay?"
"Anakin..." Padme kneeled next to him, she felt panic setting in, but she couldn't see if he was bleeding. He didn't look like he was dead, but it was possible...Padme reached down, placing her two first fingers against his neck, feeling for a pulse.
Anakin shuddered and opened his blue eyes, looking up at her. And smiling.
Padme pulled back, glaring at him. The guy had enough ego as it was, he didn't need to know she had been worried about him. "Anakin Skywalker, you are a-"
Anakin nodded, still trying to catch his breath, "Yeah, yeah. But next time I drive."
Slin laughed, taking Anakin's hand and hauling him to his feet. "You, my frien' has at least nine lives."
"Nahh." Anakin said, leaning heavily on Slin's shoulder, "I've used up nine already, maybe thirteen." He straitened, groaning, "That's gonna leave a mark."
"So where do we go now?" Slin hopped into the back of the speeder again, relaxing in the back seat.
Padme, who was getting ignored looked around, waiting for the black cruiser. "Shouldn't we hide somewhere?"
"You can just go someplace on Couriscant and might as well be hiding." Anakin looked over the readouts on the speeder's control panel. "It's huge. There's too many places to look." He glanced over at her, "Well, are you coming or not?" He climbed into the speeder's pilot seat, a sly smile on his lips.
"Yes." Padme lifted her chin, "The Captain might assume those assassins succeeded, I need to get back to the Naboo Consulate."
Anakin looked away, she was telling him what to do. The tone in her voice was definitely more of a command then a request. He only did what he thought was best in many situations, regardless of what anybody said. How ironic. "Very well, M'lady." Anakin said gruffly.
Padme climbed in next to him in the passenger's seat, and heard his remark, and wondered if she should have been more polite. But what did she care, soon she'd be back in the Naboo conciliate and have forgotten about him. Wouldn't she?
Without another word Anakin slammed on the thrusters and they sped up and away into the couriscant night.
To be Continued!!!!
(A.N. I'm sorry it took so long to write this. I just didn't know how to do it very well, and I wanted it to be good quality. Sorry!)
("Sometimes we have to let go of our pride, and do what is expected of us.")