The dull throb of the hyperspace engines reverberated throughout Anakin's body, his bones shivering ever so slightly inside him as they absorbed the gentle shock of the chair beneath him. He was sitting in the cockpit with the pilot, eyes closed and meditating. Ordinarily he'd be pouring over the computers and checking the sensors, but he had quadruple-checked everything and was positive that he could sense problems before they arose.
Such it had been when he podraced; he and the pod had become one entity as he unknowingly sunk into the Force, fusing man and machine together for the duration of the ride. So it was now, as he felt himself become a part of the ship's critical systems: engines, shields, navigation; he was even alert to possible threats that might pull them out of hyperspace prematurely, inside and outside of the ship.
Unfortunately, he was struggling for control over this special meditation, as his mind kept reeling over the abruptness of this, his first mission. He wasn't ready! Some may complain that four-and-a-half years was plenty of time to learn the basics of the Force and how to handle a lightsabre properly, but damn it, those same beings had about nine years experience on him.
Obi-Wan had been a little distant these last six months, but not so much that Anakin thought of it as a problem. He had been an excellent teacher and mentor. Only during certain times of the day did Anakin spend with others, such a Master Yoda. He didn't know what Obi-Wan was doing at those times, but they always seemed to make Obi-Wan pull away from the reality of the Temple for a handful of hours afterwards. Anakin had lost count of the time they spent in silence, sharing dinner, watching holos, studying separately…but always, his Master would seem to shake himself out of it and he'd be back to normal once more.
Come to think of it, it had been shortly after one of these silent, distant spells that Obi-Wan had come to him to tell him that they had a mission. They had had a couple of weeks to prepare, but it went by so fast and Anakin had not had a chance to ask Obi-Wan why they had been picked for this mission. He didn't know whether the Council asked Obi-Wan to go, or if Obi-Wan had asked the Council for permission to go.
Either way, he was flattered that Obi-Wan had felt that they were ready to head out into the field, but he wondered at his Master's need to accelerate his training in such a way. Especially since this was not the standard bantha-trot of a first mission, consisting of merely overseeing some diplomatic function or another. Oh no, this was a full-fledged diplomatic mission, in which they had to not only oversee, but protect certain individuals and unravel any assassination plots that might be planned.
I'm not ready for this! I have no idea about the finer points of diplomatic customs, I know nothing of the dances that we may be called on to perform during receptions, and my Force-control is shaky at best! What, in all the Sith hells, was Obi-Wan thinking?
Anakin's anger flared for a moment and his meditation broke. Opening his eyes, he took a deep breath and accepted the anger, as Master Yoda had taught him. Then he let it go, forgiving the perceived slight from his Master and taking the gesture as a vote of confidence from a Master to his Padawan, as it was more than likely meant to be.
He felt calm overtake him once more, and he gave a brief nod to the pilot to assure him that all was well.