driftfleet | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who: Anakin
Broadcast: Fleetwide video
Action: Marsiva - Hospitality Deck
When: Dec. 17th

[ His first moments of waking up are pretty typical; groggy mumbling, hands and arms flapping around and a jerk that brings him upright then standing. Something... feels wrong. ]

Wha- Where am I?

[ His hands goes to his belt, only to grasp at air. It's alright, don't panic. It's not the first time he lost his lightsaber, not the first time he's gotten a concussion with the foggy space in his memory either. He checks his right arm, gripping it along the junction where durasteel meets flesh while he takes in his surroundings.

He scowls at the video feed that looks particularly turned on. But he doesn't care about that now. His arm is brought close to his face, and his own Jedi commlink beeps. ]

Obi-Wan? [ Nothing. ] Artoo, come in. [ More nothing. ] This is Anakin Skywalker, requesting emergency-- [ An odd electrical sound and click later, he sighs. ]

Great. I better not have to ask Obi-Wan to pick me up.

[ The same arm reaches out towards the ship's communicator and it flies to into his fist. Now, the feed points away from him and through his point of view as he scans the Hospitality deck. ]

What is ... this ship? [ The communicator shuffles. ] Where is this transmitting to?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ashoka.

[ This.. he didn't see it coming. He has tried so hard to blocked the need to feel for her in the Force that he forgot how reassuring it was, how loudly it sings in their connection. And how bitter he is over the events that has occurred. ]

Let's get the good one first. Save the bad for later.

[She makes a pretty good effort at keeping her voice level.]

... The good news is, you're safe for now. Whatever system we're in, it seems to be a different galaxy entirely. There's no war here. ... No Jedi, and no Sith, either.

[She learned that the hard way.]

Edited 2015-12-18 03:42 (UTC)

[ No war is a bonus but there's an absence where the warmth of the Jedi always held, and a cold looming from something he's dreading and inspired from just seeing his former Padawan here. He push it aside for now. ]

And the bad?

[Ahsoka hesitates for a second, then she says the next part all in a rush:]

... We've somehow traveled to another galaxy outside our own entirely and are being held captive by a species called Atroma for their entertainment and I have no idea how to get us back.

[PHEW. Pause for breath.]

[ There's a lot of static and shuffling and sighing while he process this. This is fine, they've gotten into worst before. ]

Wait, did you say entertainment? We are fighting a war! And where is my lightsaber? Do they think taking that away is entertaining too?

[ There is no chill in Anakin Skywalker. No chill at all ]

[Ahsoka didn't have her lightsabers anymore even when she got here. They're lost to the bowels of Coruscant. But she had hoped maybe Anakin still had his. No such luck.]

Yeah, I don't think they really care about that. All they seem to care about is that we play their game. They probably have your lightsaber, too. They take away everyone's weapons.

I've been working on something in my own time to try and take them down, but... there are cameras everywhere. It's kind of hard to formulate a plan of attack when the enemy is watching your every move. [She is not happy.]

[ His head hurts from all this. It's been a pain espeically in his neck but there's a voice in his head that stubbornly tells him to ignore, ignore it. Get out and then tend it. He turns the comm towards him, finally seeing her for the first time in ... a long time. A beat, before he looks away. ]

A game. Don't they know we're fighting a war. [ His scowl deepens ] Well, what can we do here? Any way to hijack the ship?

[ They shouldn't even talk about that over the enemy's comms but asking where she is... He's still mustering the will to ask that. ]

On the ship you're on? Nope. Tried that. [THAT'S UR GIRL.]

I have control of the ship I'm currently on though, not that it seems to mean much. I can pilot the thing around, but if I try to take the ship more than a day's reach outside of the rest of the fleet, the controls autolock and take us back.

[ Artoo could do it, he thinks. Not bitter at all. Nope.

He looks out the large window in the Hospitality Deck and at the ships that are around it. ]

So, we're on a floating game show with no way to get out. We just have to play this game and wait until they get bored of whatever we do here. That's just what I need.

[ ANOTHER SIGH. ] Which one are you on?

It's called the Starstruck. It's the one that's a bit... uh. Sparkly.

[IT'S SOOOO SPARKLY. Even from where Anakin is hundreds of meters away on the Marsiva, the Starstruck stands out.]

[ He makes a audible noise of disgust. ]

That's one way of putting it.

The pirates back home would love you, Sparkly. Careful you don't get harvested for parts.

Please. Like I'm going to let any sleemo pirates catch up with me. You taught me to fly better than that.

[The banter-like reply comes so easily to her, she doesn't even notice until it's out of her mouth. Their old rhythm is so easy to fall back into. So easy to forget everything that happened when they're so far away from Coruscant.]

[ He scoffs, smirking in his usual way because this is a lot easier than...other stuff.

Maybe being kidnap isn't...too bad. ]

You're locked into a fleet system, Snips. You're going to have to do more than just fly the ship.

And I could do more, if I had any actual weapons on my ship.

[SHE'S SO MAD ABOUT IT. Anakin can probably sense her agitation from the Marsiva. Fucking Atroma, man.]

Who puts civilians on a ship without any weapons to protect themselves, I ask you?

[ He goes to look around the ship he's on, fingers looking for panels to pry into. ]

Most civilian transports don't usually need weapons. You're unfortunately just used to how things are in the war but there was a time when it wasn't like that. Back then, most people traveling in common, secured routes didn't have a single canon on their ship or even a blaster with them.

[ it was great. ]

... Oh.

[Most days it really never occurs to her how much the war has shaped her life and views growing up.

Then there are moments like this, where it becomes suddenly really apparent.]

Well. Apparently there was an attack on the fleet just before I got here. They still don't know who was responsible. They could come back at any time.

--Be careful with those panels, by the way. [She can guess at what he's doing even if the view isn't great.] Last time I pried into them, I started seeing things that weren't there. They really don't want us messing with the ships.

[ He's quiet for a moment. Then he backs away, his hands flapping about. ]

Great. I'll just sit here and wait for them to do whatever they want with us.

[ Because that'll last. He doesn't even make it back to the bed he woke up from before he starts pacing towards another panel. He could ask her how she is but that's a bit too close to everything else they don't want to approach yet. ]

Well. Do you have deflector shields at least? Are there pirates out here?

Basic shields, nothing military-grade.

We haven't run into any pirates yet, but... I don't doubt they're out there. Every system's got 'em.

[She watches Anakin pacing for a moment, and she can feel his frustration. It feeds into her own-- not at him, but at the whole situation.]

... Anakin. You're not doing anything I or fifty other people haven't already tried.

Well, it's better than sitting here!

[ He sounds angry- is angry. They're avoiding the big elephant in the room and he's not sure how much longer he can keep it up. Even if there's no point to it right now.

Pacing helps, doing things with his hands would be great too. But his options are limited. ]

Did you try modifying the shield outputs?

Of course I tried modifying the shield outputs.

[HONESTLY, ANAKIN.]

I didn't say you should just sit there.

[She forces herself to stop right there and take a deep breath, calm down before she says anything she's going to regret. Breathe. In. Out.]

Look. There are cameras everywhere on these ships, and our transmissions are monitored. If we're going to come up with a way to escape, it's not going to be like this, because they'll be anticipating everything you do. Do you get what I'm saying?

[Reading between the lines: wait for the opportune moment. In person, off a ship, is the only safe place to discuss plans for escape or sabotage that have a possibility of not being overheard. Anything else is just a waste of a potentially good plan.]

[ He looks exasperated because she is literally telling him to be patient and that is probably his least favourite thing to year. But he acknowledges the need for discretion in this case. Not that he thinks it matters at the moment. ]

Where is this fleet heading?

At the moment? Nowhere I know. We're currently stopped for a while on a planet called "Arslae". The locals seem to be pre-space flight technology though, so don't think we can count on them for help. I raided their markets for parts and no one even knew what a temporal power converter was.

You should be allowed out in a day or so. Sit tight. There are some nice sights on the planet's surface I think you'll be interested in seeing.

[ read: projects I have been working on. ]

[ Back water planets have their advantages. You just have to find them. That, at least, is a bright spot in his day. That and Ahsoka. He tries to play that off casually. ]

Well. I haven't been assigned to a ship yet. Until I do, I can't get on planet. When I can, can you meet me?

[ It's not whether she can or not, it's whether she wants to. ]

[ Under different circumstances? She might be more hesitant. But even though seeing Anakin here and now is full of complicated emotions for her, she remembers all too well the confusion and frustration of her first few days aboard the Marsiva. She can only imagine Anakin is dealing with it even worse. It was only just bearable for her because she had nowhere important to be. So she wouldn't dream of refusing that request. Her expression softens in sympathy. ]

... Of course. Who else is going to show you the best spots to go sledding?

[ He huffs a soft laugh. First time in a while. ]

Trust me, I've had enough of sledding for a lifetime. [ There's a rueful grin on his face when he realize that she wouldn't know about the sledding he did recently. ] Long story, I'll tell you when I can.