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“Anakin, you should really put your belt on.”
“Obi-Wan, seriously, I’m fine.”
“With the way you fly, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Besides, safety first.”
Anakin shot him an incredulous look. “What are you…-?”
“Five!” Ahsoka interrupted exuberantly from her spot behind the two of them..
Anakin chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I was going today ‘my father’, which would have made me the one who is five.”
Obi-Wan grinned. “Well, you said it. Not me.”
“I wasn’t trying to say I was five! I’m saying that I am perfectly safe without my belt on.”
“Until you crash.” his former master retorted dryly.
“I do not crash every time I fly, Obi-Wan.” he sighed. “I am an excellent pilot. You know that.”
“I suppose not every time.”
“Exactly! And I’m just fine belted as I am until we come out of hyperspace. Which isn’t any time soon.”
Despite his assuredness of the situation, luck really wasn’t on his side. As soon after he finished speaking, the ship was torn out of hyperspace. Violently.
The jerking stop from the sudden motion had his chest colliding heavily with the control panel. The impact stole his breath and left him completely winded. As soon as he could properly inhale, it took multiple deep breaths before he stopped seeing metaphorical stars.
“Anakin!”
“I’m okay.” he reassured Obi-Wan’s panic the best that he could while still panting heavily through the blinding pain. “I’m okay.”
He very much wasn’t okay, but he had a job to do, and keeping them alive was much more important than the spikes of pain emitting from his chest. So, as soon as he could, he returned his attention to the controls and viewport. What he saw had him immediately frowning in worry.
“I’m not so sure we are going to be okay though. We just got jerked out of hyperspace by a Separatist ship.”
Said Separatist ship was huge and looming ahead of them threateningly. It was far more firepower than their tiny little transport one had. It also seemed to be eagerly gunning right for them.
Anakin twisted his head to look at Obi-Wan with a grim smile. “So, what I said minutes ago?”
Obi-Wan sighed. “The fact about not crashing?”
“Uh-huh. Well, it looks like we're going to want to crash if we want to live. I’m only assuming here, but I figured that's something we want to do.”
“Controlled crash.” Obi-Wan groaned. “Lovely.”
“Controlled is the keyword here, Master. I’m not technically crashing, just bringing it down very quickly so it looks like we’re crashing.”
“Yes, of course that’s what you’re doing. Just don’t kill us.”
“So little faith.”
“I have faith you won't kill us, Master!” Ahsoka pipped up, startling Anakin as she had been uncharacteristically silent as he and Obi-Wan talked.
He shot her a thankful grin over his shoulder though at her assurance. “Thanks, Snips! At least one of you does.”
Anakin joked, but Obi-Wan had a legitimate point. With the Separatists right there , it had to look like a crash that would kill them on impact without being a crash that would kill them. They needed the enemy to think they were dead, so they didn’t come looking for them and assure that they were.
Normally, this sort of flying was his favorite. He had no issue with dangerous drops and false fails. Now though, he could barely breathe. Could barely move without sharp agonizing pain stabbing through his chest. A fact which made trick flying incredibly difficult.
He refused to let Obi-Wan know that though. He didn’t need him worrying, and being smug about having been right. More so the second one. Anakin would never admit it, but he secretly liked it when the older Jedi fussed over him.
He still didn’t want him to know he was injured, though. So he did his best to hide his pain as he brought them down towards the planet below. Thankfully, Obi-Wan was distracted by sending the Council their coordinates and likely, hopefully, didn’t notice how much the effort pained him.
Despite his distraction, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka, likely noticed something. Less because Anakin showed it and more because he had to rely on the Force to make sure the landing went smooth enough they could walk away from it. An action he never took, as his piloting skills were more than enough on a good day.
He did succeed though, thanks in large part to the Force’s assistance, and they were able to stumble out of the ship's burning hull with whatever they were able to quickly salvage. Rations, medical supplies and a long range communicator were their primary concerns. Taking in the dense wooded area they crashed in, Anakin wished a tent had been one of them. Even though he was barely able to hold onto what he had in his arms as it was.
As they stumbled away from what remained of their ship, Obi-Wan shot him a look that was a cross between concerned and annoyed.
“You aren’t alright.”
“What?” Anakin blurted out harshly before awkwardly clearing his throat. “I mean, I assure you, Obi-Wan, I am fine.”
“Master, are you sure?” Ahsoka peered up at him with wide eyes. “You’ve never actually used the Force to fly before.”
“I just wanted to make sure we’d land fine.” he brushed their concern off and began to walk, clumsily and stilted, away. “Now come on. We have to find some sort of shelter.”
Luckily, the planet they found themselves on was moderate in climate and supportive of life. Dense woods surrounded them and the air felt sort of thick, but at least it was breathable and not an extreme temperature. Had it been a desert or snowy planet, their chances of survival would have gone way down.
Instead of nasty sand or horrible snow, it was covered in huge immense trees. Trees which were probably thousands of years old and quickly proved to be incredibly beneficial. They were able to find a cluster of them with a large overhang that with a bit of work served perfectly as an overhead tent.
Anakin did what he could to hide his grimaces and near silent gasps as the three of them went about using their lightsabers as makeshift axes. By the time they had a small shelter made however, the effort seemed futile. He was pretty sure the Force itself was radiating with his pain.
With the overhang done, both he and Obi-Wan laid out their outer robes, and tabards even, onto the dirt ground so they’d have something a bit more protective to lay on.
Something Anakin, and he was sure the others as well, was desperate to do. Rest was first and foremost on all of their minds, even above nourishment. They had no idea how long they would be trapped there and knew better than to waste the meager rations they had so soon.
Instead, they did what Anakin was hoping for, and laid out in their makeshift shelter. Anakin didn’t hesitate to use Obi-Wan’s stomach as a pillow. An act which earned him an exasperated sigh but no complaint. Ahsoka, in turn, decided that Anakin’s leg would be the best support she’d get and happily rested her head on it.
“This is what I get for being the oldest.” Obi-Wan playfully grumbled.
Ahsoka beamed over at him. “Yep!”
Seconds later she asked in a far less exuberant tone, “So, why aren’t we trying to find some sort of civilization like last time? Or building a fire of some sort? It could get cold at night.”
“It's dark already and we don’t know these woods.” Anakin replied. “We’d build a fire, but we don’t want the Separatists to find us. This will have to do for now.”
“That, and Anakin is injured. I doubt he’d be able to handle a trek through unknown wilderness.”
Anakin turned his head to glare at Obi-Wan’s face. “No. I’m not.”
“Anakin, please. Neither Ahsoka nor I are stupid. You’ve been moving gingerly and wincing the entire time we’ve been on this planet. Not to mention, you do share a Force bond with both of us.”
“Yeah, Master.” Ahsoka agreed. “You hurt your ribs when we were pulled out of hyperspace, didn’t you?”
Anakin sighed and finally relented with a nod. “Okay. Fine. Maybe a little.”
“Which means a lot.” Ahsoka translated bluntly.
Obi-Wan dropped his hand down to place a light comforting touch to Anakin’s hair. “Ahsoka and I will take care of anything that comes up, dear one. We can’t chance you puncturing a lung and bleeding out on us.”
“Well, free pass to do nothing, I guess I’ll take it.” Anakin replied teasingly.
His former master chuckled and then added, “When we get back to Coruscant, we will be having a very long discussion on why safety measures are important.”
Anakin groaned. “And there’s the catch I was waiting for!”
Ahsoka giggled and reached her hand over to rest it on top of Anakin’s. “He lectures because he loves, Skyguy.”
“That’s true. I suppose I can put up with it.”
“I put up with your recklessness, you can certainly manage a lecture or two.”
“Considering you wouldn’t have to lecture him if he wasn’t reckless….”
“Exactly! She has a point, Anakin. The lectures really are all on you.”
“You’re both awful.” Anakin groaned. “I’m contemplating trading you in for literally anyone. Mace, even.”
“Oof, Master Obi-Wan. He means business!”
Obi-Wan laughed and settled his hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Ahsoka. He won’t go through with it. He loves us too much.”
Anakin grinned and didn’t refute his claim, because he was right. He did love them. Faked crashes and broken ribs weren’t the best way to end a peaceful mission, but if he had these two with him he was sure he could put up with anything. Snippiness and lectures included.