Anakin fell out of the sky. He'd caught the Trandoshan and the Duros in a Stockhli spray, but just as it was beginning to harden around them, the Trandoshan had tossed a concussion grenade. It hadn't been a particularly accurate throw, but it had managed to blow Anakin off his feet and right through a nearby window. Now he plummeted towards the ground nine stories below.
Anakin had faced death before. Heck, he'd experienced it once, and while he'd prefer not to experience it again for a long, long time, he was not overwhelmed by fear as most beings would be in his situation. There was a substantial amount of panic, but there was also analysis. He was not dead yet, and perhaps there was still something to do to preserve his life for the moment. What were his resources? His lightsaber? Useless. The Stockhli spray stick? He'd dropped it when the concussion blast hit, and anyway, it took too long to harden to be any use as a safety net or to latch onto the building. Ah, but he did have a grappling hook on his equipment belt.
All of this went through Anakin's mind in the first few seconds after he broke through the window. He fumbled at his equipment belt, doing his best not to fixate on the ever-looming proximity of the ferrocrete below. He pulled the pocket open and … stang, he'd forgotten to replace his grappling hook after that last mission.
From below him he heard a cry of desperation. He looked down to find the source—Tahiri, standing on the Kremminer roof, staring up at him. She was too far away for Anakin to make out her face clearly, but her voice carried clearly to him. She called his name, like a forlorn invocation against disaster.
Tahiri. He'd promised always to return to her. He'd already let her down once on that score. He'd be damned if he would do it again.
Think, Anakin, think! Was there some way he could fashion a make-shift parachute out of the materials he had on him? His cloak would probably do nicely, but he doubted he could get it off in time for it to do him any good. Still, lacking any better ideas …
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He must remain calm, must concentrate. He could still survive this fall, but he would have to do everything just right.
He began to tug at one sleeve of his cloak, rolling it down his arm. It was ridiculously awkward, but Anakin's years of Jedi training came to his aid, lending him greater levels of focus and precision than he would normally be able to muster. His sleeve continued to unroll, then suddenly stopped and began to invert around his wrist.
Anakin cursed. He'd caught his sleeve against his glove, and instead of sliding neatly over the glove, it had begun rolling out again, although this time inside-out. He tugged at the sleeve, but it was firmly stuck against the glove. The seconds were slipping quickly away, he didn't have time to get his sleeve free.
No time for finesse, but maybe he still had a chance. If he could cut through the sleeve with his lightsaber … Wait, where was his lightsaber? He must have dropped it at some point after he'd gone through the window.
Anakin looked back to Tahiri, still standing on the Kremminer roof, much closer now. She was staring at him, as if he were carrying all the light in the universe with him, and she knew already that it was about to be snuffed out. He fixed her with his gaze, hoping that she would be able to see his face clearly. "I love you, Tahiri," he mouthed, speaking slowly to make sure she caught every word. "I'm sorry."
The look on Tahiri's face once he finished speaking was terrible to behold, and Anakin knew he would carry that image with him into to death. In death, there is the Force, somehow, just at this moment, it wasn't a particularly comforting thought. He wanted to look away from Tahiri, but he couldn't tear his eyes off her, and even if he could, he owed her this much. There was little else he could do for her, now.
Then Tahiri's expression changed. She smiled, and Anakin felt his body, burning hot with adrenalin, suddenly chill.
Tahiri cried out as she saw Anakin fall. She watched him frantically search his person, and then tug at the sleeve of his robe, trying to pull it off. All this time, a voice in the back of her head screamed over and over, No! Not again! Not again! Not again!
Whatever Anakin was trying to do, it didn't seem to be working. His sleeve was stuck and he apparently couldn't find whichever tool he was searching for.
And then he turned to look directly at Tahiri, and he told her goodbye. She didn't have to hear his voice or read the words on his lips to know what he was saying to her. Now she was the one falling, as if a bottomless pit had suddenly opened right underneath. No! Anakin! No!
She took a step forward, toward edge of the Kremminer building's roof. You're not leaving me behind again, Anakin.
And then, without any warning, the answer came to her, blossoming full-formed in her brain like a chunthaa nightflower. Tahiri smiled up at Anakin, then closed her eyes. He wasn't going to leave her behind again.
With he eyes closed she could no longer see Anakin, but she could feel him, could pinpoint his exact location. She raised her hand and stretched out with the Force.
Anakin was still tingling all over from the eerie smile Tahiri had given him. He couldn't immediately discern its meaning, and his present circumstances were not exactly conducive to taking a few minutes to sit down and think about it. He was practically level with her now, and he watched in confusion as she closed her eyes and then held out her hand towards him.
For a moment, he didn't realize what was happening. Then he noticed that his acceleration was dropping, his fall was slowing. He looked back at Tahiri, and this time, he had no trouble reading the smile she was wearing—it was a smug, self-satisfied grin of the type Anakin's father often sported.
By this time, Anakin had essentially ceased falling and begun hovering. With apparent ease, Tahiri glided him the seven or eight meters horizontally it took him to float above the Kremminer building book. She then eased him down until he finally touched the surface as lightly as a feather.
As soon as he had secured his footing, Anakin sprinted towards her. Tahiri opened her eyes and rushed toward Anakin in turn, and they met a moment later in an embrace so powerful it spun them around nearly knocked them both off their feet.
Tahiri spoke his name over and over again, like a little prayer. "I love you, Tahiri," Anakin told her. "You were incredible." Then the fatigue of the last minute's activity caught up to him, and he sank unceremoniously to his knees. Tahiri still managed to keep her, feet and held him so that he could not fall any further. "Anakin," she whispered one last time, and planted a kiss on the top of his head.
They were both broken out of their reverie by a hissing rasp from behind Tahiri. Anakin looked up and Tahiri half turned to see two Niktos, one caught in a Stockhli web, the other dressed in ribbons but holding up a powerful-looking holdout blaster. The Niktos' aim wavered, but it pointed in their general direction.
"Hey!" Anakin called, and the Nikto focused its gaze on him. "I wouldn't."
The Nikto's expression turned questioning and Anakin indicated Tahiri with a tip of his head. She, in turn, gave the smile that was more Riina Kwaad, Yuuzhan Vong Shaper than anything else. The Nikto dropped its holdout blaster and fled.
"Well," Anakin said, "that's gotten rid of that one, and I see you've already seen to the partner."
"All taken care of," Tahiri said. "What about yours?"
"The same, though I was a bit too slow in neutralizing them, as you may have noticed."
"Oh, believe, I noticed. Don't ever scare me like that again, Anakin."
Anakin gave her a loving squeeze. "Now, if you wouldn't mind helping me back to my feet and retrieve my lightsaber, I think we can report this group of ne'er-do-wells to the local authorities, and let them handle the cleanup work. I doubt it will give them much trouble."
"No," Tahiri said, surveying the aftermath of her battle with the Nikto mercenaries. "I don't think they will at that. Come on, Anakin, let's go home."
Anakin smiled as she helped him to his feet. He was still wobbly, so she threw one of his arms over her shoulder and started walking. Home indeed, back to family and friends. It was certainly a reunion he looked forward to, but, Anakin reflected, his home was right there with him. He'd felt it when Tahiri said his name.
He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the temple. "Thank you."
She turned her head a little and smiled at him. "Thanks for what?"
"For being there for me?"
She chuckled. "Anakin, don't you know by now that I'm like the Force—I'll always be with you."
"Guess I just needed a reminder."
"Any time, Anakin. Any time at all."
The End.
