Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or elements of the universe found in the story below. They are all property of George Lucas, Disney, et al.
Author's Note: Here's the second chapter. I will try to update no less than once a week and I will continue this story until its conclusion, but your reviews and encouragement sure do help the process. Hope you enjoy!
Please R&R!
Obi-Wan is uncomfortable. He cannot see anything. He is totally surrounded by darkness and something is hurting... something on him. His head. Yes, that's it. Obi-Wan's head is definitely hurting, but why he doesn't know. The pain won't let him focus and it is so dark. There is something hard beneath him. He feels bent at an awkward angle, his back against something not hard, but not soft either. It isn't comfortable. Now there is noise. Someone is talking... loudly. Obi-Wan is annoyed. He is annoyed and uncomfortable. Something else is happening. The darkness is being replaced by a painful, blinding light... and why is that person still yelling...
"Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan!" Anakin says first in concern then he repeats it in panic. As soon as Obi-Wan leaned over the box Anakin had sensed... something... a shift in the Force. When Obi-Wan started to tilt backwards, Anakin was already rushing to catch him. Now he sat on his knees holding his former master in his arms screaming his name.
"Master, please!" Anakin begs. Slowly, a frown begins to crease Obi-Wan's face making him look remarkably grumpy for an unconscious man.
"Master!" Anakin yells his relief growing as Obi-Wan continues to stir beneath his gaze. After what seems like an agonizingly long time, he opens his eyes, blinking rapidly against the harsh light.
"Wha... what...," he half groans, half questions.
"Careful, Master," Anakin says as Obi-Wan begins to pull away from his embrace. Obi-Wan pulls gently at first, but once he senses Anakin's hesitation he snatches himself away more violently. Anakin doesn't try to stop him, but he can't help himself from staring at Obi-Wan in surprise.
"Obi-Wan," he starts, but he is immediately cutoff.
"Stop coddling me, Anakin. I'm not a youngling!" he snaps. Obi-Wan regrets his words before they even tumble out of his mouth, yet he is unable to stop or even slow them. Anakin stands, his expression no longer registering surprise, but instead worry and confusion. Obi-Wan's expression suddenly softens, his eyes wide and apologetic.
"I'm sorry, Anakin. That was..."
"Not like you," Anakin supplies. Obi-Wan wants to argue, but he is forced to quickly concede.
"Indeed," he says as he glances back at the open box. "I suspect that our little mystery b..." he begins, but Obi-Wan is unable to complete the thought as the small shuttle violently attempts to throw its meager crew into the wall. Both Jedi stumble, but both are able to remain upright. Anakin is the first to reach the cockpit. He slides into the pilot seat, his eyes quickly scanning various readouts, his fingers deftly flitting over the ship's consoles. Obi-Wan falls into the seat beside him.
"There was an explosion on the port side wing," he says as he glances at Obi-Wan. "Imagine that," he adds snidely. Obi-Wan has the decency to look a little abashed. Anakin doesn't push the issue, he has more pressing matters demanding his attention. He allows the small craft to tumble out of hyperspace. Obi-Wan begins scanning around the vessel as Anakin desperately attempts to hold it together.
"There!" Obi-Wan starts as he shows Anakin the coordinates of a medium size, non-descript moon. "Can you get us there?"
"I don't suppose I have a choice," Anakin answers through clenched teeth. Lights blink frantically all over the cockpit. A warning alarm wails noisily in the background as Anakin plunges the ship into the moon's atmosphere. The cabin trembles and shakes. A red glow can be seen just outside the window.
"Anakin..." Obi-Wan says as he grips his armrests tightly.
"Just... a little... longer..." he says. Obi-Wan's face grows pale and the blood begins to drain away from his knuckles so strong is the vice like grip he has on his seat.
"Anakin..."
"Almost..."
"Anakin!"
"Brace yourself!"
"Uggh," was the closest thing to a verbal expression Obi-Wan Kenobi could muster at the moment. His last certain memory was of the ground hurtling towards them, or more accurately, them hurtling towards the ground. "Typical Anakin landing," Obi-Wan thinks to himself. Now that he has his senses about him again, Obi-Wan takes a few moments to survey his surroundings. What is left of the cockpit is in complete disarray. Half of the windshield is blown out and every console is either smashed, sparking, on fire, or some deadly combination of the three. Obi-Wan attempts to sit up, but is surprised at the resistance he encounters. From the waist down he is pinned beneath some large piece of formerly essential machinery. Instinctively, Obi-Wan grabs the edge of the scrap to lift it off of him, but is stopped almost before he starts as a blinding bolt of pain rockets thru his right arm.
"Arrhhh!"
The exclamation escapes his lips before he has a chance to process the situation. Obviously, Obi-Wan isn't going to be able to free himself through conventional means. He closes his eyes and focuses his mind on the task in front of him. He slowly lifts his left arm, his fingers spread wide as he commands the heavy scrap in to motion. Slowly, meticulously, Obi-Wan uses the Force to free his lower extremities. Once he is clear, he throws the scrap to one side and exhales loudly from the exertion of it. After a few recovery breaths and a check of his legs for injuries, Obi-Wan attempts to sit up again. This time he meets with success. Carefully, he rises to his feet, his right arm still hurting terribly. Obi-Wan's eyes scan the structure around him and soon he finds what he needs. He walks over to the remains of the threshold leading to the rear of the shuttle. He places his right shoulder against the right beam and leans forward. He takes a deep breath and prepares himself. Then in one quick movement, he rears back and then forward slamming his shoulder into the frame, knocking it painfully back into socket.
"Blazing mmmmmmpph!" Obi-Wan half yells, the ending muffled behind pursed lips. He cradles his arm against his torso and catches his breath. Now that the pain in his arm has been reduced from excruciating to merely agonizing, Obi-Wan is able to focus on other concerns.
"Anakin?" he calls out. He looks for his fellow Jedi, but he sees no sign of him and worse, he hears no sign of him. Obi-Wan activates his Jedi wrist communicator thankful that it is attached to his left arm.
"Anakin, come in. Can you hear me? Anakin, what is your position? Anakin?" Obi-Wan's entreats are answered only with silence. He holds his right arm tight against his torso and moves his lightsaber to the right side of his belt. He continues down the corridor only a few steps before he is standing in open air. It appears that during the "landing" the rear of the shuttle sheared off and now it sat in a heap some yards behind. Obi-Wan activates the locator function on his communicator and searches for Anakin's signal. Within seconds, he isolates Anakin's ping pulsing from a direction in front of the ship. As Obi-Wan walks around the wreckage he surveys the surrounding landscape. The moon is as desolate and empty as any he has seen. Yellow rocks and dry, hard soil reach out in every direction dotted all around by sparse patches of brown, wilting vegetation. A mountain system stands to the north. Obi-Wan makes his way through the barren terrain occasionally consulting his locator.
"That's not good," he remarks aloud as he approaches the still smoldering remains of one of the cockpit's seats. Obi-Wan focuses his attention straight ahead, scanning for any sign or hint of his friend's whereabouts. Then he sees it; a crumpled mass of black and brown robes some hundred feet ahead of him, half obscured in the brown grasses. Obi-Wan breaks into a run though the jostling is like torture to his injured arm. He reaches Anakin's prone body and carefully rolls him on to his back. He is alive, but unconscious. Obi-Wan cannot tell exactly how bad his injuries are, but he does notice a nasty wound on Anakin's left leg. Anakin still has on part of his cloak, though the edges are badly singed. Obi-Wan takes his lightsaber and very carefully uses his left hand to cut enough material to fashion a tourniquet and field dressing. Anakin's immediate danger dealt with, Obi-Wan glances back north in the direction of the crash site. He cuts more of Anakin's cloak and creates an impromptu sling for his arm. Once his sling is secure and as tight as he can manage, he carefully scoops up Anakin and places his limp body over his left shoulder. Then he begins the walk back to the ship. It is painstakingly slow progress, but eventually the two reach their first destination. Obi-Wan lays Anakin down on the ground and takes a moment to catch his breath. After he gets his second wind, he begins to scavenge the wreckage for anything he thinks will prove useful, particularly for making contact with Republic forces. Once he gathers everything of value, Obi-Wan uses a large sheet of metal, the remains of Anakin's cloak, and several feet of wiring to create a simple travois. He loads the equipment and then carefully places Anakin on to it, securing him before he winds the remaining length of wire over his good shoulder in a makeshift harness. He looks to the north at the mountain range. Mountains meant caves and caves meant shelter, or so he hoped.
"Here we go," Obi-Wan says, then he begins his long trek north.
At no time in Obi-Wan's recent memory can he recall being so tired. He is thoroughly exhausted and nearly every muscle in his body screams in pain. It took several hours for Obi-Wan to pull Anakin the long distance to the base of the mountains. Once there, Obi-Wan was delighted to find several caves able to provide the two Jedi with suitable shelter and defense, if needed. He pulled both the equipment and Anakin inside a medium size cave and then set to the task of building a fire. The twin suns of the moon were setting and the temperature had already begun to plummet.
The fire made, Obi-Wan finally allows himself a moment to relax. If nothing else, this tiny moon seems bent on reminding him that he is no longer a young man. He glances worriedly at Anakin. He had been unconscious now for hours. Several times Obi-Wan had stopped to check his vitals and each time they appeared stable so Obi-Wan could only assume that Anakin would wake when his body was ready. Obi-Wan stares absently into the fire light as he contemplates their situation. The Republic will come searching for them; of that he is certain. He is also certain that the Separatists will come searching for them too and probably much sooner. Obi-Wan's brow wrinkles as he reaches for the ship's transponder. It, of course, had been damaged in the crash, but Obi-Wan is optimistic that it can be salvaged. He carefully pries off the back covering and sets to his work.
The first sun has almost risen when Anakin begins to stir. The world is black, then bright and then blurry as he blinks his way back into existence.
"Ohhhh," he groans as his worldly awareness begins to include such niceties as his body's multitude of bruises. "I feel like a Bantha sat on my head."
"You're lucky to be feeling anything at all," Obi-Wan smiles. Anakin pulls himself into a seated position, rubbing his eyes as he does so. He takes a moment to take in the unfamiliar surroundings.
"What happened?"
"You crashed the ship," Obi-Wan pauses, then adds, "again."
"Oh," is all Anakin replies, his mouth curled in a playful grin. Anakin starts to stand up.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Obi-Wan warns without looking up from his work with the transponder. Anakin ignores his master's odd warning and continues to rise. He places his weight on his left leg and violently crashes back to the ground. Obi-Wan shakes his head.
"I did warn you."
"Okay," Anakin says in defeat once he recovered from his sudden change in elevation. "Maybe you should catch me up."
"The ship is beyond repair, the Separatist Army is undoubtedly searching for us and I can't do a thing with this blasted contraption," Obi-Wan says as he tosses the transponder unit to Anakin who catches it adeptly. Obi-Wan is frustrated and worse he is showing it. Anakin notices too. It isn't like his Master to have his calm so easily disturbed.
"Master," he starts, but Obi-Wan just smiles weakly and waves him off.
"I'm just exhausted," he says. Anakin's eyes fall to Obi-Wan's arm.
"And the pain?" he asks. Obi-Wan glances at his sling with a slightly bemused expression, like he had forgotten the injury.
"Minimal," he finally answers. He looks back to Anakin and offers a comforting smile. "I'm fine, Anakin. Truly."
Anakin is still wary, but he accepts Obi-Wan's repsonse... for now. He watches as his friend stands up and readjusts his sling slightly.
"I think I'll get some fresh air," he says then he walks out of the cave without another word. Anakin sits unmoving for a moment, pondering Obi-Wan's outburst. Perhaps it is nothing. Anakin doesn't buy that. There is something amiss with his former master he just can't put his finger on it. Obi-Wan would tell him to meditate on it. Anakin smiles. He will meditate—in his own way. Anakin outstretches his arm and summons to him the tools he needs satisfied, for now, to spend the next few hours tinkering and thinking.
Obi-Wan walks a few meters away from the cave, stops, and takes a deep breath. "I am letting the stress of the situation get to me," he thinks. "Or is it something more?" His thoughts feel clouded even to himself. He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose between his fingers. He is quite tired.
"Unlike Anakin," he thinks. "He's not the least bit tired. He's not the one who had to drag someone else and all the equipment over to these Sith forsaken caves. Oh no, never the dear Chosen One. Force forbid he has to do any hard work," Obi-Wan rants, his mind and body tense with the thought. As quickly as the thoughts came to his mind they leave and in their place Obi-Wan feels tiny seeds of panic start to bloom. There is a knot of pain growing in his chest.
"What am I thinking?" he says aloud to himself. "Something is wrong... something is not right," he mutters. Obi-Wan closes his eyes. He slows his ragged breathing. The pain in his chest flares briefly then begins to subside.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Down to his calm center.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
"That is better," Obi-Wan thinks to himself. With his next inhale he readies himself to release his dark thoughts and emotions to the Force...
Exhale.
Nothing happens.
Obi-Wan frowns slightly. He can still feel the Force around him, warm and comforting as always. He focuses his thoughts, concentrating. He tries again to release his emotions into the Force... and again he fails. Something is blocking him, stifling him.
"It's probably nothing," he says to himself, but even as he says it he knows he doesn't believe it.