(no subject)

[sandhate]

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?

Comments

[resnipstance]

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.]

[sandhate]

[ 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.

[resnipstance]

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?

[sandhate]

[ 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. ]

[resnipstance]

... 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.

[sandhate]

[ 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?

[resnipstance]

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.

[sandhate]

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?

[resnipstance]

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.]

[sandhate]

[ 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?

[resnipstance]

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. ]

[sandhate]

[ 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. ]

[resnipstance]

[ 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?

[sandhate]

[ 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.

[resnipstance]

[ Well that gets an amused eyebrow raise. ]

... No, hang on, that sounds like something I want to hear about. Did you have to go sledding for a mission?

[sandhate]

[ It's not just a long story. It's a crappy story. He feels both anger and regret for Clovis. A long exhale later, he starts. ]

Senator Amidala got into some trouble with the Banking Clan on Scipio. I rescued her from them, only to get targeted by a bounty hunter. They shot our speeder and the power was fried. No repulsor lift, barely any steering and no brakes. So we went "sledding" down a mountain. I had to use my lightsaber to steer us away. And we were being shot at, too. And we almost ran out of mountain.

Luckily, Artoo got us in time. Everyone got back to Coruscant safely.

[resnipstance]

... Yikes. That sounds... less fun than the version I had in mind.

[sandhate]

[ A small smile. ]

I could've used you out there, Snips.

[resnipstance]

[ Ugh. The guilt that remark induces in Ahsoka is so intense, Anakin can probably feel it from the Marsiva. But she squashes it down angrily. Maybe if the Council had been better Jedi, she wouldn't have had to leave. It's still such a fresh wound for her-- even the two months she's spent here haven't been long enough for her to divorce herself from the bitterness she still feels over the whole affair, try as she might. As a result, the reply she eventually settles on is stilted beyond belief, distinctly un-Ahsoka-like. A desperate attempt to convey a neutral response to a situation she feels anything but neutral about. She may not be a Jedi anymore, but it's clear she still holds herself to the standards of the Code anyway. ]

... I'm sure the Council will assign you a new Padawan soon.

[ She doesn't mean anything by it-- quite the opposite, really. It's just the first thing that comes to mind to say that doesn't sound bitter or angry or sad. ]

[sandhate]

[ He shouldn't have said that. The guilt from her makes things worst. He still thinks she should have came back, the Jedi is their life. The Order is their family. He is her family. To walk away was to abandon him. And though he understands the wont to, he can't help but be frustrated and angry about it - the only way he can express his hurt.

Though right now, the Order is in a galaxy far far away and he only feels a sharp bitterness at how formal her words were.

He wants to harshly snap at her for even suggesting he should have a new Padawan. A sharp whisper that hinted at all the betrayal and hurt. How could you say that? And he had started with that, until it devolves - until all he wants to say he doesn't want a new Padawan. ]

I was on Utapau. Me and Obi-Wan were investigating Master Tu-Anh's death. We were... stranded.

And I thought I could've commed you for help. Because there is no one in this whole galaxy I could have trusted to have my back more than you.

1/2

[resnipstance]

[With genuine shock, and sadness:] ... Master Tu-Anh died?

[But no, that's not what's important here. Ahsoka tries valiantly to reign in her feelings, to sort out what to say to that.]

2/2

[resnipstance]

[Finally:]

... If you're ever in real trouble, Anakin ... I wouldn't begrudge you calling me. Even if things can't be the same, you're still-- you're still important to me. You know that, right?

[sandhate]

She was shot down by Separatist associates.

[ A beat. ]

What I'm saying, Ahsoka. What I'm trying to say is no one can replace you.

[resnipstance]

[Ow. She should be happy to hear that, and once upon a time she would've been, but right now it just feels like twisting the knife.

She doesn't really know what to say to that, though. After a moment's silence, she realises she's been quiet too long.]

... Why do you even still want to be a part of them so badly, anyway?

[After all that. And she knows the question isn't fair. She knows why. Part of her wishes she could take back what she now knows so she could go back to the Jedi Order, too. Have that sense of belonging and community back again. She doesn't think she'll find that anywhere else in the galaxy ever again. But still. She knows Anakin has his doubts too. And his reasons.]

[sandhate]

[ The question startles him. No one ...has ever really asked that, besides his mother. He has never asked himself that. It's not a question, at all. And if it was, it was always yes. When he was a child, being a Jedi was everything. It took him away from a life of slavery to a life with stars, ships and adventures.

It was everything he wanted. It still is.

The Temple never did him any favours; it never brought him that golden warmth and peace that many in the Order knows of. For him, that was his mother. ]

...Because. Because they fight for the people, Ahsoka. We fight for the ones that can't do it themselves.