InsaneJournal

Who: Anakin & Obi-wan
What: Preparing for the Zillo
Where: Tynobi's shed, Obi-wan's star fighter
When: Sunday midday, November 24th (during the Zillo plot)
Rating: Low
Status: Complete



At the moment, Obi-Wan was going between three houses, which ultimately meant that none of them felt quite like home. Not yet. Most of his possessions were at Loras’s, some were in Faiza’s flat, and the Urdot Ranch cabin was a work in progress. He was a nomad--a lifestyle which was not entirely foreign to him. One day, things would settle down. One day... Or not.

The largest of all his possessions, his modified Eta-2 Actis Class Interceptor, was still at Loras’s. Obi-Wan didn’t often take it out, hardly ever, but it was a gift from heaven or the universe or whathaveyou. He stood at the glass door in the kitchen, looking out at the backyard and the shed he’d built to conceal the ship. Stormy wind gusts caused the lock rattled against the door.

With his arms folded, he took a deep breath and found his chest was tight. Anakin was on his way over. Everything, everything, they’d built between them in this world was about to be tested. Trust most of all, trust that went both ways. Anakin had to trust that Obi-Wan knew what he was doing taking him into the atmosphere in a small, two-person craft. And Obi-Wan had to trust that it wasn’t a mistake to introduce his padawan to all this advanced, otherworldly technology so soon after his dreams began.

Anakin for the moment wasn’t as concerned with trust as he was with trying to recall every bit of piloting he could remember from his dreams. Back at his place he had done a few rough drawings from what he could remember, mentally superimposing the starship controls over the cockpit of the last fighter jet he had taken up, doing his best to prepare himself. Padme had caught him and hadn’t been satisfied with his ‘just thinking about something’ answer, giving him that look she always did when she thought he was being odd. It seemed like she was going to press him on it further but luckily for him it had been time for him to get going, he left her with a kiss and a promise that he would be alright.

And he was sure he would be. After all, he was Anakin Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker was the greatest pilot who had ever lived.

Bolstered by that mental pep-talk and his trust that Kenobi wasn’t suicidal it took him little time to get to the address he had been given. He had no trouble easing into that supremely and endlessly confident posture that might have seemed more fitting on that dream version of himself. It technically wasn’t something encouraged by the Jedi who claimed to hate pride yet always be so full of it, but in this case when he was trying not only to keep himself at ease but also Obi-wan who hadn’t seemed thrilled when Anakin insisted he pilot. Even his knock at the door in the rhythm of ‘shave and a haircut’ was part of it, he was only happy that Padme wasn’t there to call him ‘intolerably smug’.

Shave and a haircut... The look on Obi-Wan’s face as he looked toward the front door was somewhere between a glare and mild amusement, an expression no one could pull off quite like him, especially when Anakin was involved. The dogs began to bark. They beat him to greet the visitor and there was a lot of, “Sit! Stay!” before the door was finally opened.

“Glad you could come on such short notice,” he said a bit dryly. Of course, it hadn’t been one of his get your ass down here commands, a tone he’d frequently taken with Anakin (whether or not it yielded immediate results) during the Clone Wars, but it wasn’t as though they had a great deal of time to prepare.

“That’s me, always ready to fly around and save the day at a moment’s notice.” He smirked at Obi-wan then glanced down at the dogs, unsurprised by them. Anakin had an affinity for droids and computers and machinery that was generally well known, but with Obi-wan though he tended to handle animals and living mounts in particular with just as much skill as Anakin did his machines. He did like animals though, especially dogs, which was a bit of a blessing as the gift he was already planning to give Padme for Christmas was very much of the canine persuasion. “No wonder you spent your time as a cat with your girlfriend, doubt these big beauties would have gone for sharing their house with a cat, grumpy or no.”

Typical Anakin, seeming almost unnaturally upbeat and bordering on perky when there was likely something very serious going on. Whatever anxiousness he may have felt before seemed to have melted away only to be replaced by something more akin to giddy as he thought more and more on taking a bird up. “So, can I see her?”

Obi-Wan had turned to walk back toward the back door while they were still on the subject of animals, gesturing for Anakin to follow. “When you’re a third their size, they might as well be a pack of wild wolves.” However, the boxer triplets themselves had given up barking for sniffing and circling the visitor, getting underfoot. They weren’t the best behaved bunch when they were excited, but all it took was a stern look from Obi-Wan and they disbanded.

It was only a short walk, but it was enough time to sense Anakin’s emotions twist like a wind though the room. Again, Obi-Wan questioned himself and what he was sanctioning. Was Anakin ready for this? Were they ready for this?

He opened the glass back door. “It’s out here. In the shed.” There was no key necessary to open the lock. A quick wave of his hand, and it disarmed itself. The ship was covered by a thick tarp, with only its nose (or noses) exposed.

“You’ve got to show me how to do that soon, so many useful applications.” Anakin didn’t waste any time, even if he had paused a moment to scratch each of the boxers behind the ear before heading out the back. With a hard yank he pulled the tarp off the ship and simply stood in awe for a moment when it was exposed, which was likely a blessing where Obi-wan was concerned as his former and now again padawan’s mind was racing with thoughts of the engineering, mechanics and pointlessly complex mathematical equations associated with the craft. He could have rambled on and on, he often had in the other world. But he was more restrained now, but it was easy to see, even without the force, that he was delighted.

“I was half expecting your Delta-7,” he said finally, glancing back to Obi-wan. “All that would have been needed to modify that would be just extending your cockpit housing. But this is beautiful, even if it is shorter.” he glanced back to the ship, slowly walking around it. “With your modifications were you able to add a hyperdrive?” Anakin had always been obsessed with putting hyperdrive on fighters, and it seemed that he always would be. He got his wish when he would design his own TIE interceptor, but when he was finally able to see that in his dreams he would more than likely be too upset by everything else going on to enjoy it.

Anakin was like a fingerprint in his memory, singular and unmistakable. There was no separating the two worlds anymore. Obi-Wan couldn't help but smile. "Yes and no. I attempted to and it nearly worked. It never quite achieved hyperdrive speed..." He paused briefly. "If you'd like to take a crack at it some day, by all means."

He beamed, “Oh you know I would, but getting my hands on a hyperdrive here might be a bit of challenge, I doubt I could build one with earth materials anyway.” Giving Anakin the chance to fiddle ‘under the hood’ of a starfighter was like rolling together all of his birthdays, Christmases and booty-calls from Padme, and if they hadn’t been in the middle of a serious situation he likely would have started taking the thing apart instantly. Nerding-out would simply have to come later.

“We should go, if I look at it any longer I might start trying to take it apart with my mind.” he said coming back around to stand next to Obi-wan. He put his left hand out, patting the older man on the shoulder before moving forward to pull the latch and open the domed cockpit. “Don’t worry, Master, I still remember how to read basic. We won’t crash unless we absolutely have to.”

“Wait a minute…” Obi-Wan sort of blurted the words out. His expression changed, as well. Suddenly, his skin had blanched. “We haven’t… I mean, how much do you really remember from your dreams? Did you really wake up with the ability to pilot this?” It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Anakin to work the ship. But, well, it was a complicated piece of equipment, to put it very lightly.

“I can remember how most of the controls in a starfighter work, and how he could see most things before they happened,” pointing it out in a tone that said he was finding it all too easy to slip into the desire to prove himself to his doubting master as his other self seemed constantly want to do. “But more importantly I have around two and a half thousand hours logged in various fighter jets alone. They may not be laid out in the same way but when you come down to it they are all essentially the same.”

He gave Obi-wan a look, “If you’re that nervous we could call this off. Let California and then eventually the US military handle it all themselves.”

There was a pause before Obi-Wan replied. He shook his head. “Except that it’s our mess. Mine, most likely.” He assumed, because he’d been dreaming longer, although there was no way of knowing if either of them was really responsible for the appearance of the Zillo beast. “And I don’t like standing by while someone else cleans up after me.” It was akin to saying, Let’s not waste any more time. He could put his worries aside.

“Good,” he said more to himself as he continued, opening the hatch all the way. He was quick to let go of those negative emotions Obi-wan’s hesitation had stirred up but they were never completely gone. Maybe fighting the creature would be just the catharsis he needed to put them aside for a while once more. “And don’t be so quick to assume responsibility, Master. I was part of the reason the thing woke up the first time and I was actively seen to be helping the person who wanted it dead. It could very well be up again because it senses me.”

He slipped into the cockpit and started the pre-flight checks like he had been flying the thing for years, “I can already tell the shields might be a problem. We’ll just have to be quicker than it is, if it chomps us and II have to pull the loud handle we might be in a little trouble since this thing isn’t equipped with a parachute.”

Obi-Wan nodded, but his arms were folded. His eyes were trusting, while his body language was protective. The two impulses continued to duel within him a few seconds longer before subsiding--not to mention that when Anakin was concerned, he quite preferred to take on the responsibility, whether it was reasonable or not. Logic seemed to go out the door whenever Anakin was involved, or so it felt, and replaced by something else.

“It doesn’t matter which of us brought it here. What matters is that we’re the best equipped to put an end to it. And if not the most equipped, at least the most knowledgeable.”

“I’d settle for over-equipped myself.” he muttered. “Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what I remember, about how we might do this without the stun cannons. It’s the scales that are gonna be the issue right, since we can’t cut through them. Gotta eliminate them as a factor. Does this thing have a tow cable?” he asked as he looked for any controls for one.

Glancing up he noticed Kenobi was still standing there and nodded his head toward the other seat, “You coming? I’m not really comfortable starting this baby up with you standing there. Not that I’m worried that I might squish you, but I might squish you.”

Right. He had to actually get into the ship, not continue to stand there like a statue. Obi-Wan climbed up the ladder and took the second seat. He and Loras had fit inside a bit more comfortably, but Loras was quite a lot smaller than Anakin.

“A tow cable? Not a very long one, but yes. We’d have to get close.” Obi-Wan released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. It was strange, sitting with Anakin, wearing khakis and a cardigan, rather than his robes. “These ships were built for patrol, not to engage in battle. At least, not for very long. Were you thinking we might pry up the scales and get at the skin that way?”

Once Obi-wan was inside he shut the hatch and primed the engines, the ship roaring to life and giving Anakin excited goosebumps. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. If we can’t pry them off completely then I can at least pull one up far enough that one of us can get under there and do some damage. If we’re lucky that will kill it or at least bring it down long enough to end it more conventionally.”

It was like he had never been away. Off the ground now he eased the ship out of the shed and took her straight up, having the sense to wait until they were a few hundred feet up before engaging the thrusters and heading in the direction he knew the ocean to be. “Like riding a bike.”

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan was recalling all the reasons why he preferred the ground to the sky. His fingers instinctively wrapped themselves around whatever he could grab to keep steady, without sending the ship into a barrel roll or blasting Loras’s house into a crater. He clenched his teeth, as well.

“Master…” Anakin could feel the tension pouring out of Obi-wan and he wasn’t entirely sure if it was the Force allowing him to feel it or just proximity. “Explain something to me, you’re an excellent pilot, obviously as the temple gave you that prototype interceptor. Why in the universe are you so terrified of flying?”

He did have to resist the urge to do anything fancy, though knowing him he was saving it all up for their encounter with the creature. Of course how Obi-wan was going to get him to land after this, when he felt so alive and excited he had no idea, the poor man would probably have to take control because he would be having too much fun by then. “Not on scanners yet.”

It wasn’t the first time Anakin had inquired about the flight-fright and it likely wouldn’t be the last. Obi-Wan could never give the boy a satisfactory answer, but the truth was, he didn’t have one. It was a mystery to him, as well, so he replied in typical form, “Because I respect that the powers that be decided, in their infinite wisdom, not to give man broad, feathery wings.” He paused, he didn’t need scanners when he could sense the animal. “Take us further out over the water.”