Kenobi and Skywalker: The Attack of the Trucks (Star Wars / Multicross)

Two Jedi found themselves lying on a barren hill, pondering on the mysteries of life and of the Force, specifically, on how they did not see that Freighter coming straight at them.

"I think that Freighter just got out of a Hyperlane."

"I don't think it matters where it came from, Master."

"You're quite right about that my young apprentice. Now that I think about it, I really shouldn't be thinking about such things when I find myself deceased, now should I?"

"One would think that being one with the Force would feel more serene than this."

"If this is the Force then it's not quite what I'm expecting."

As the words left his mouth, Obi-Wan caught the movement of his apprentice, Anakin, at the corner of his eye.

"Anakin?"

"I'll take a look around Master." The young man was already up and about, exploring this new place they found themselves in.

"Always on the move." His tone may have sounded exasperated but Obi-Wan's failure to hide the smile on his face spoke the truth about how he felt.

After getting up Obi-Wan examined his typical Jedi belongings and found them all to be in working order. A cursory examination of his surroundings showed that he was atop a small hill overlooking a barren wasteland.

And no sight of Anakin at all.

"Well, that was quick. Anakin, where are you?"

"Over here! I found civilization!"

"Good job! I'm on my way."

Obi-Wan made his way over to Anakin who had been impatiently gesturing him to come over as he continued walking.

"... What is that?"

"It's a mini-Coruscant."

"A terribly designed one, that's for sure."

Not that Coruscant could be said to be particularly well planned either.

"Oh, I agree, Master. Those plates look like they could collapse if the right kind of ship crashes right into them."

"Right, which means that once you find a ship, no spinning allowed."

"You make it sound like spinning is a bad thing."

"It's not flying that's for sure."

"But it's a good trick."

"As you have told me countless times my young padawan."

Anakin always did feel rather smug about how his "spinning" essentially saved Naboo.

It looked to be a long journey towards the city.

As they walked, the two Jedi attempted to evaluate how different the Force felt on this strange planet, compared to the galaxy that they knew.

"Well, we're a long way from Coruscant, that's for sure."

The Force felt more "alive", in a certain sense, even as it felt so much more different. They would certainly need to meditate on this, but it wasn't the time and place to do so.

Especially when they were beset upon the native wildlife. As much as they would have preferred not to kill senseless, the purple creatures didn't seem willing to negotiate, not that they were able to in the first place.

"Are those… credits?"

"Whatever it is it's certainly currency."

Anakin gestured and pulled the coins left behind by the monsters, that had somehow dissolved into the Force upon death, into the palm of his hand.

At Obi-Wan's questioning look that most definitely said "You're using the Force trivially again", Anakin reacted to the perceived criticism with a sharp "What?"

"Anakin! You don't know how long those coins have been in… whenever it was, it could be diseased!"

"We'll be fine Master. If it were dangerous we would have sensed it."

"Oh yes, certainly, like we sensed that freighter-"

Anakin sliced right through a tiny plant-like monster that attempted to sneak attack him from behind.

"Master, I think we should get a move on."

Looking at where Anakin was pointing, Obi-Wan looked at the strange creatures both large and small charging towards them and quickly nodded.

"Good call."

After a few hours of running (aided by the Force), they finally reached the city proper, which they entered without hassle using a simple mind trick. Thankfully, the people on this strange planet seemed to speak Basic perfectly fine despite both Jedi finding themselves unable to read the written language of this place.

"I'm going to call it Coruscant 0.1 until they make some proper support for those plates." Obi-Wan was greatly disturbed by the city above him.

"Considering how the wealth is split, I somehow doubt the beings here would get their petitions heard." This place reminded Anakin way too much about the worst places in the galaxy, other than Tatooine that is, if only because his home had one thing that few other places had.

Sand.

"I would find your lack of faith in the democratic process disturbing if I didn't think you were correct this time."

"This time?"

"Fine, we're 7 to 3."

"5 to 6."

"Only in your mind, Anakin."

It didn't take them long to figure out that this planet hadn't yet come close to discovering space travel, let alone Hyperspace travel. The two of them were deeply worried but continued to move along and learn more about the place.

"Just trust in the Force Anakin, who knows? Perhaps being hit by yet another transportation vessel would get us back to our side of the galaxy."

At the Jedi Knight's words, Anakin relaxed noticeably.

"Do excuse me if I decide to jump out of the way instead, Master."

Obi-Wan grinned.

"Only if you remember to pull me along. I don't want to imagine what you'll get up to without me."

"Are you saying I'm reckless?"

"Only for the thousandth time."

"Who was it that jumped out of the-"

"-T-that doesn't count."

Their usual banter helped keep their spirits up despite the odd sensation they were picking up from the Force. Something was deeply wrong with this place, yet they couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

"I say we go up. Get some information from whoever owns the place."

"Great idea. And how do you suppose we do that when this planet clearly hasn't heard of a Jedi? Much less understand our mandate."

"We'll figure it out, Master. Besides, I get the feeling that we… stand out."

"Oh yes, it's the robes, isn't it?

"We should buy new ones."

"I'm fine with these."

"If anyone asks then I'm telling them you're my crazy father who lived as a hermit up a mountain."

"There's no need for that. I'm certain that the idea of a religious order should exist on this planet. It wouldn't be the first time a Jedi has been mistaken for a monk of some sort."

"Aren't we sort of monks?"

"Exactly. Which is why, for the sake of our credibility, you should be playing the role of a monk too so keep those robes on."

"Yes, Master."

After sneaking their way up the plates to the city proper, the pair walked around in order to find out more about the governing body.

"It's like a Trade Federation-lite." Anakin grumbled about the greedy capitalism evident in this place.

"That only applies to a group of mega-corps. I think it's just one company so that makes it a… well, Mega Corporation." Obi-Wan corrected Anakin's definition.

"And now they have centralized control without rivals, even better." Naturally, the situation demanded sarcasm.

"Nothing new, unfortunately."

From what they could tell, the President of Shinra basically had the ultimate power here. And quite frankly, unless they were important enough, getting a meeting with him would be nigh-impossible without some aggressive negotiations.

Not that there was an expressed need to do so, especially when they weren't quite sure what the governor of this planet could provide to them, or if they had anything they could use to bargain with the President at all.

"The greedy types aren't all that dissimilar. If we say we can open up this planet to newer markets then he might want to advance space exploration."

"By the time he's done that we'll be old men."

"Quite right. So… want to find the Freighter equivalent?"

Anakin simply looked at Obi-Wan after his attempted joke pretty much suggested suicide.

The awkward silence lingered on for a while longer until Obi-Wan looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Go and take a walk."

"And where are you going, Master?"

Obi-Wan gestured with his thumb to a building with lots of bright lights, the local equivalent of their clubs.

"For a drink."

Anakin rolled his eyes and left Obi-Wan to his own information gathering mission. He didn't wander far, however, as he sensed that his Master would surely get himself into some trouble that would require him to bail Obi-Wan out off.

He wasn't quite sure where his feet were taking him. Yet it felt right.

It was as if the Force was calling him towards somewhere, to someone. The Force had always felt "off" in this city, yet he began to feel a presence that reminded him of the Jedi Temple, and if he had to be honest, it was much more comfortable and "alive" than the home of the Jedi.

Before he knew it, Anakin's feet stopped moving. He knew he should be here but he wasn't quite sure for what, or for whom.

He looked down at the ground and took a deep breath, calming himself so that he wouldn't give out a frustrated reaction that wouldn't be appropriate for a Jedi.

"Are you okay?"

He was started when a girl his age appeared in his vision. It wasn't just the beautiful face that shocked him, but also the gap between the girl's dress and body when she leaned down to place her head in front of his.

"U-uh, yes, I'm fine. Thank you, miss, um…"

The Jedi were never that great in managing hormonal teenagers, hence, Anakin's lack of composure could be partially blamed on a lacking education in this particular scenario.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, really. I'm just feeling a bit lost."

And in spite of that, he felt rather safe right now. It was an odd feeling.

"First time to Midgar?"

"Midgar? Oh, yes, uh, me and my… father just came here, by foot. I mean uh…"

Anakin quickly tried to regain control of his nerves and quickly pointed out the most startling thing in his line of sight.

"Are those flowers?" While he saw all sort of plant life in his missions with Obi-Wan, Coruscant and Tatooine both lacked this particular kind of plant life. "I haven't seen one at all on the way to Midgar."

"You must be from really far away. They say you can't grow grass and flowers around Midgar.."

"Then something's wrong."

"Hehe, you think so too?"

"Yes, um, wait. How did you manage to get these then?"

"Hmm, there's a place where they have no problem blooming back down on the ground. I take care of the flowers there and sell them for a living. I'm probably one of the only flower girls in Midgar."

Somehow, Anakin had the feeling that it wasn't just about the location. Perhaps she was a Force Sensitive attuned with the Living Force, Anakin wondered. Cultivating plant life would certainly be a feat that wouldn't be out of place in the Agri-Corps.

"That's good to hear. Your flowers are beautiful, just like you."

"Oh!"

At her startled reaction, Anakin quickly realized his blunder and quickly attempted to salvage the situation.

"I mean uh, for a flower girl, I mean um…"

"Hmm? Would you care to repeat that? What kind of flower girls have you met?"

"None!"

"So who are you comparing me too?"

"That's-"

"Oh relax. I'm just teasing you."

"Oh, well, whew…"

"You don't meet many women, do you?"

Anakin winced.

"Define "meet"."

"Sounds like there's quite a story behind it."

"There was, I couldn't believe it could happen until it did. But if I told you then Obi-Wan would kill me for it."

"Oh my!"

"How much for a flower?" Anakin decided to support her business while using the opportunity to learn about how the currency denomination worked, with the flower girl's help.

"Thank you. I can't say I've head coins like these in a while."

"It's no trouble at all. Hey, I don't think I got your name!"

"It's Anakin."

"And I'm Aerith. Nice to meet you."

It was certainly nice to meet her, Anakin thought. Somehow, her presence was soothing.

"Is it really? I'm flattered."

"... I said that outloud, didn't I?"

Anakin hung his head in shame as Aerith laughed.

Eventually, Anakin left for the club Obi-Wan had entered earlier, sensing the trouble that he predicted was about to come to pass.

"Anakin, that vehicle! Make it work, quick!" The Jedi Knight yelled as he ran out of the club with some items in tow.

Like Master, like Padawan, Obi-Wan seemed to have a good head for gambling just like his late master had.

AN: These are likely going to be a bunch of loosely connected snippets involving the pair of brothers (+potential tagalongs) getting rammed by the local equivalent of a truck and sent to another world. Repeatedly. It's mostly for fluff and for Sheev to tear his hair out later on. At any rate, this Anakin and Obi-Wan are from the time period just a bit before the start of Attack of the Clones.