The ship had seen many repairs in the years it had been in use. Every journey and each lightyear was scratched and tarnished and dented across it's surface. It held all the signs of wear and tear that a Padawan could inflict. There were scratchings in the panelling that marked who knows what. There were pencil markings on the wall where Anakin had chartered his height without my knowing. There was even a number of little drawings behind the panelling in the left wing. And all of it was in flames.
I knew I had to act quickly to find Anakin and leave. I did not know who they were or what their purpose was. I had only been treated to a horrifying vision of him being taken from me. No doubt they had tracked his Force presence and knew the high price they could ask in turning him over to the Sith. Anakin was a valuable commodity in such uncertain times, his youth made him vulnerable to the Dark Side.
I was relying on Anakin's enviable skills in mechanics to find a ship and have it working. My doubts only resided in his ability to fly the thing with any concern for his passenger's queasy stomach. Panic quickly rose within me as I hunted amongst the docked vessels before one seemed to spring to life, lights flickering into action as the sound of generated power surged around me. I didn't hesitate as I climbed on board, the door sealing behind me. I found Anakin already at the control pad, grinning at me in the hopes of praise.
"Move over," I shuffled him to the side and took control, maneuvering us into the air and setting the course to return to Coruscant. His pout was distracting as he watched me work. I wanted to take a moment to admire it but I knew the blazing attraction that had once been our ship would have caught some attention. We moved onto our course but I couldn't help but check our perimetre every few hundred thousand miles.
"Who are we running away from," he asked after a little while.
"Reapers. They hunt through the Galaxy to find Force sensitive children in the hopes of selling them to the Sith. They may even be Sith themselves, I don't know."
I expected Anakin to look afraid or even slightly wary at least but he seemed as he always did, mildly unconcerned.
"Does this mean we are not on holiday anymore?"
"I'm afraid it does," I replied bitterly. It had taken so much persuasion and planning just to be able to bring my little charge outside of the Temple Walls and now they would never allow it again. I stewed in my own annoyance for longer than I care to admit. When I looked down I found my Padawan had fallen asleep, head lolling to the side as his neck perched dangerously on the edge of the seat. I pulled off my outer robes and folded them into a bundle to rest beneath his head. He began to drool on it inevitably. Wonderful.