Star Wars fic: A Galaxy Not Their Own (2/33)
Star Wars: A Galaxy Not Their Own (2/33)
Rating: T for teen, involves canon level of violence
Spoilers: Spoilers for the movies and some minor EU references.
Summary: Stranded in the future, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Qui-Gon struggle with each other as much as the mission given to them by the New Republic.
[Included Pairings]Obi-Wan/OFC, if you squint hints of Anakin/Obi-Wan pre-slash
Disclaimer: Most of the Star Wars universe belongs to George Lucas and Twentieth Century Fox - except for the Ekash. If George Lucas wants to borrow the Ekash, he may. Anybody else has to ask first. This author uses these works without permission and for non-profit purposes.
Chapter 1 | 2 | 3
Emalda watched from the cockpit as the cargo ship raced above the canopy of a purple rainforest. She clung to the seat in front of her, blinking at the alien crew around her. The co-pilot was a wookie, dark, towering and wild with one massive arm in a sling. His howling set her teeth on edge. The Captain was a human with a bleeding cut over his eye, a tendency to talk and the darkest hair colour that Emalda had ever seen. She'd heard rumours that humans had different hair colours, like black or so blond that it was white but she wasn't sure if she believed it.
Emalda had chosen to run for her life rather than ask their names. The only one who had introduced himself was the other passenger - a human man with the sandy-coloured hair that was the only shade that Emalda was used to. Named Ben, he was friendly but his face had made her jump the first time she'd seen it. She'd wondered if he was half-wookie until she realised that the hair on his face was a beard. Emalda had never seen a beard before either and she kept wanting to ask him if it got in the way while he was eating.
"I'm picking up cannon fire to the east," said the Captain.
The Captain jabbed at a switch irritably and the wookie rumbled out some kind of observation.
"You said it," said the Captain, his whole face twisting into a grin.
Ben wore a lightsabre on his belt, the innocuous looking weapon swaying side to side as he leaned forward in his seat to peer over the Captain's shoulder. It was another thing Emalda wanted to ask about.
"Is it inside the city?" asked Ben.
"No, just outside the city limits," said the Captain. "Nothing we have to worry about."
"Are some of your... our people involved?"
The wookie consulted the control panels before whuffling to the Captain.
"I don't recognise it...," mused the Captain. "You?"
The wookie shrugged and rumbled in the negative.
"May I look?" asked Ben. "My apprentice... borrowed a ship from Emalda here."
"Sure, knock yourself out," said the Captain, waving an arm generously.
Emalda scooted forward, anxious for news, but the console was unfamiliar. She couldn't make any sense out of it and slid back into her seat disappointed. Ben frowned at the console before turning to look at Emalda. The round pupils in his eyes were unsettling but his expression was undeniably friendly.
"The Ekash defensive towers are firing at a ship," he told Emalda. "Can you tell if it's yours?"
She leaned forward again and followed Ben's pointing finger to a display she could actually read.
"That's it," said Emalda. "That's the Fahren. What's happening?"
"It's harassing the towers quite effectively," said Ben. "But it's taking heavy fire."
"Got no back-up to speak of," said the Captain. "The nearest Squadron's at least two minutes away."
"That sounds like my apprentice."
The wookie growled an opinion.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," said the Captain. "We'll head over and see if we can give him a hand."
The Captain and the wookie busied themselves with changing the ship's course. Ben glanced at Emalda and smiled reassuringly at her.
"Ah hell," said the Captain sharply. "The ship's gone down."
Ben raised out of his seat, "Any chance the pilot survived?"
"Can't tell, it slammed straight into one of the towers."
Emalda wanted to ask if the ship was alright but bit her tongue. Ben looked worried, his fingers clutching at the back of the pilot's seat.
"It's taking a lot of fire from the ground forces. Wait, it's moving - just pulled clear of the rubble."
Ben sighed in relief. Emalda edged forward to try another look at the console. She could decipher the Fahren's position, much closer than when she had last looked.
"It's flying a little unsteady," said the Captain. "But it's headed out of the cannon range... no, it's veered back. Something's definitely not right."
It sounded to Emalda as if the wookie lamented this turn of events at length.
"What's your apprentice's name?" asked the Captain.
"Anakin," said Ben.
The Captain did a double-take, looking at Ben strangely, but he turned back to the controls.
"Fahren, this is the Millenium Falcon," said the Captain. "Captain Solo, speaking. Are you there, Anakin?"
There was silence from the console. Ben's grip on the seat back tightened. It was a long moment before a weary voice responded.
"Who?"
"Captain Han Solo," repeated the Captain. "Can you make it clear of the cannons?"
There was silence again.
"Anakin?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay, buddy?"
"I think... I hit my head."
"Can you adjust your heading to the west by a few degrees?"
"Yes."
There was a long moment before the Fahren changed course, moving back out of the cannon's range.
"Let's just hope he's not too out of it to land," said Captain Solo.
"What's the atmosphere like at this altitude?" asked Ben. "Breathable?"
"A little thinner than standard but perfectly breathable. I gotta tell you, though, I'm worried by the fact that you're asking."
"If you can get alongside," said Ben. "I'll board and see what I can do."
"In mid-flight? It's your funeral..."
Emalda spoke before she realized she'd made a decision.
"I'm going with you," she said.
All three of the others turned to look at her incredulously. The wookie's response was unintelligable but passionate.
"Let's not get carried away," said the Captain, jerking a thumb in Ben's direction. "It's a crazy move for this guy and he's a Jedi Knight."
"I can do it," said Emalda. "I'm a dancer, I've got great balance."
The Captain laughed and shared an incredulous look with the wookie. Ben was looking at her thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side. Emalda couldn't have said why she was determined to do this - but while she didn't trust other people, she trusted her own feelings.
"Very well, then," said Ben. "But it will be dangerous."
"I know," said Emalda, trying to keep her tone even and not cocky or daring: responsible was the goal.
Ben nodded and stood, leading the way from the cockpit. Emalda stood still for a moment, expecting more of an argument, and then followed hurriedly. The grumbling of the Captain and the wookie behind her were cut off by the cockpit door closing. She followed Ben through the unfamiliar ship until he reached a service lift that would take them to the ship's exterior. It was a small circular platform that would be a tight fit for the both of them. Ben backed onto the platform, leaning against the far wall.
"I'm going now," he said. "Are you coming?"
"Yes," said Emalda, ignoring the hammering of her heart as she stepped up onto the platform beside him.
They weren't quite touching but there was no room to move as the platform started to rise. There was a tug on Emalda's belt and she looked down to see Ben clipping a safety line to her.
"If you decide to stay," said Ben, handing her a headset. "The blue switch will lower the platform back down."
"I won't..." began Emalda.
Then the exterior hatch opened and the rest of her words were drowned out by the rushing of the wind. Her hair whipped around her face and she wondered why she hadn't thought to tie it up beforehand. Without a tether of his own, Ben lowered himself into a crouch. The wind ruffled not only the hair on his head but also his beard. Emalda might have laughed aloud but she couldn't hear herself to know for sure. Ben pulled on his own headset and squinted into the wind. Emalda followed his gaze and froze in amazement.
The Millenium Falcon was flying over the Ekash jungle, a breathtaking view while stationary; let alone while roaring over at speed. She'd never seen it from this high before, it seemed to stretch out to the horizon itself. In the distance, a couple of large ats took flight on their leathery wings. Their three metre wingspans looked tiny from this distance. Her view of the ats was obscured as the Millenium Falcon drew level with the Fahren. The Fahren's normally silver exterior was marred with scarring and debris. Some of the gold and green trim was still visible as it danced up and down the wings but the intricate knots that had decorated the nose had been completely obscured.
Ben was already moving across the Falcon in a crouch. When he was an arm's length from the edge he raised a hand to his headset. Emalda couldn't hear what he said but the Falcon climbed slightly so that the edge nearest Ben was hovering just above and in front of one of the Fahren's wings. Ben looked over at Emalda and smiled. Then he launched himself off the edge. He was just gone. Emalda might have screamed, she wasn't sure. She still couldn't hear anything.
Emalda took a step towards the edge where Ben had disappeared, not knowing what she intended to do. The world tilted precariously and she dropped to all fours. The wind was still roaring, the jungle still speeding past and Ben was gone. She edged forward and the tether pulled tight against her belt. She unclipped it. There was nothing now to save her from falling to her death and she lay flat on her stomach, wiggling forward like a worm and digging her fingers into any handhold the ship's surface offered. She crawled to within arms reach of the edge before she finally saw Ben edging up the Fahren's wing beneath her. He was moving in a cautious but steady crouch, heading for a hatch on the Fahren. He stopped and waved at her, his concerned frown visible even from this distance.
Emalda looked down at the Fahren's wing. It wasn't a long distance. She knew from a lifetime of pushing her body to the limits that she could easily jump three times the distance. It was just that normally if she failed a move, her peers laughed and she got a sick angry/guilty feeling in her stomach while she was reprimanded - she didn't fall to her death in the middle of a war zone surrounded by aliens whose names she didn't even know. She knew Ben's name, though. He had turned away from her and was trying to open the Fahren's hatch. It was taking some time, probably because he was human. The Fahren's access panels were labelled in the local dialect of Jalul, which not even all the Ekash were fluent in.
She fixed her eyes on a black scuff mark on the Fahren's wingtip. She made it the centre of her focus. She didn't block out the endless movement and noise that surrounded her but she let it fade into the periphery.
Focus, she told herself. Emalda Colash, you've got this.
She didn't think, she let her body run through a leap and forward roll that she'd done countless times before the military had shut down the dance halls. She was starting to straighten up again to bow to an imaginary audience when her brain caught up with her actions. She laughed a little hysterically before pressing her body and face firmly into the Fahren below her.
A hand gripped her wrist and she looked up to see Ben crouching next to her, looking... impressed? He waved at the hatch and Emalda obligingly slid forward to enter the unlocking code. Her muscles locked up at that point and Ben was the one to drag her inside the hatch, not letting go until they were inside and the roaring of the wind had fallen silent. He gave her a reassuring squeeze before striding off into the ship, smooth and graceful.
Emalda followed when she felt able, her heart beating in her chest. From inside there didn't seem to be any damage to the Fahren, other than a few indicator lights that were flashing. The cockpit door was open when she reached it, an Ekash in a military uniform sprawled in the doorway. His uniform was burned in a blackened line across his chest. She didn't want to look too close to see how deep the burn went. He wasn't breathing and he wasn't going to get up and hurt her, and that was all she needed to know.
She stepped across the body and into the cockpit. Ben was at the controls but it was clear that most of his attention was on the figure slumped unconscious in the pilot seat. Emalda joined Ben, sliding her fingers under his to take over the Fahren. Ben gave up the pilot seat and turned to the unconscious figure.
"Anakin?" asked Ben gently, sliding a hand under the unconscious man's chin. "Can you hear me?"
Anakin's eyes fluttered, and focused with effort on Ben's face.
"Master Obi..." began Anakin.
Ben hushed him, a finger against his lips.
"It's Ben," said Ben. "If anybody asks, it's Ben. Understood?"
Anakin's eyebrows drew together in confusion, his gaze flickering over Emalda before drifting back to Ben.
"Understood," croaked Anakin.
Anakin's head rolled bonelessly on his neck before Ben steadied it again with a gentle hand.
"How?" said Anakin. "How. When. How can we get home?"
"I'm not sure yet," said Ben, his hands dropping to check Anakin for injuries.
"Join the club," grumbled Emalda.
She laid in a course away from the planet, towards the New Republic and a new life as a political refugee.
Chapter 1 | 2 | 3
Rating: T for teen, involves canon level of violence
Spoilers: Spoilers for the movies and some minor EU references.
Summary: Stranded in the future, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Qui-Gon struggle with each other as much as the mission given to them by the New Republic.
[Included Pairings]Obi-Wan/OFC, if you squint hints of Anakin/Obi-Wan pre-slash
Disclaimer: Most of the Star Wars universe belongs to George Lucas and Twentieth Century Fox - except for the Ekash. If George Lucas wants to borrow the Ekash, he may. Anybody else has to ask first. This author uses these works without permission and for non-profit purposes.
Chapter 1 | 2 | 3
Emalda watched from the cockpit as the cargo ship raced above the canopy of a purple rainforest. She clung to the seat in front of her, blinking at the alien crew around her. The co-pilot was a wookie, dark, towering and wild with one massive arm in a sling. His howling set her teeth on edge. The Captain was a human with a bleeding cut over his eye, a tendency to talk and the darkest hair colour that Emalda had ever seen. She'd heard rumours that humans had different hair colours, like black or so blond that it was white but she wasn't sure if she believed it.
Emalda had chosen to run for her life rather than ask their names. The only one who had introduced himself was the other passenger - a human man with the sandy-coloured hair that was the only shade that Emalda was used to. Named Ben, he was friendly but his face had made her jump the first time she'd seen it. She'd wondered if he was half-wookie until she realised that the hair on his face was a beard. Emalda had never seen a beard before either and she kept wanting to ask him if it got in the way while he was eating.
"I'm picking up cannon fire to the east," said the Captain.
The Captain jabbed at a switch irritably and the wookie rumbled out some kind of observation.
"You said it," said the Captain, his whole face twisting into a grin.
Ben wore a lightsabre on his belt, the innocuous looking weapon swaying side to side as he leaned forward in his seat to peer over the Captain's shoulder. It was another thing Emalda wanted to ask about.
"Is it inside the city?" asked Ben.
"No, just outside the city limits," said the Captain. "Nothing we have to worry about."
"Are some of your... our people involved?"
The wookie consulted the control panels before whuffling to the Captain.
"I don't recognise it...," mused the Captain. "You?"
The wookie shrugged and rumbled in the negative.
"May I look?" asked Ben. "My apprentice... borrowed a ship from Emalda here."
"Sure, knock yourself out," said the Captain, waving an arm generously.
Emalda scooted forward, anxious for news, but the console was unfamiliar. She couldn't make any sense out of it and slid back into her seat disappointed. Ben frowned at the console before turning to look at Emalda. The round pupils in his eyes were unsettling but his expression was undeniably friendly.
"The Ekash defensive towers are firing at a ship," he told Emalda. "Can you tell if it's yours?"
She leaned forward again and followed Ben's pointing finger to a display she could actually read.
"That's it," said Emalda. "That's the Fahren. What's happening?"
"It's harassing the towers quite effectively," said Ben. "But it's taking heavy fire."
"Got no back-up to speak of," said the Captain. "The nearest Squadron's at least two minutes away."
"That sounds like my apprentice."
The wookie growled an opinion.
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," said the Captain. "We'll head over and see if we can give him a hand."
The Captain and the wookie busied themselves with changing the ship's course. Ben glanced at Emalda and smiled reassuringly at her.
"Ah hell," said the Captain sharply. "The ship's gone down."
Ben raised out of his seat, "Any chance the pilot survived?"
"Can't tell, it slammed straight into one of the towers."
Emalda wanted to ask if the ship was alright but bit her tongue. Ben looked worried, his fingers clutching at the back of the pilot's seat.
"It's taking a lot of fire from the ground forces. Wait, it's moving - just pulled clear of the rubble."
Ben sighed in relief. Emalda edged forward to try another look at the console. She could decipher the Fahren's position, much closer than when she had last looked.
"It's flying a little unsteady," said the Captain. "But it's headed out of the cannon range... no, it's veered back. Something's definitely not right."
It sounded to Emalda as if the wookie lamented this turn of events at length.
"What's your apprentice's name?" asked the Captain.
"Anakin," said Ben.
The Captain did a double-take, looking at Ben strangely, but he turned back to the controls.
"Fahren, this is the Millenium Falcon," said the Captain. "Captain Solo, speaking. Are you there, Anakin?"
There was silence from the console. Ben's grip on the seat back tightened. It was a long moment before a weary voice responded.
"Who?"
"Captain Han Solo," repeated the Captain. "Can you make it clear of the cannons?"
There was silence again.
"Anakin?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay, buddy?"
"I think... I hit my head."
"Can you adjust your heading to the west by a few degrees?"
"Yes."
There was a long moment before the Fahren changed course, moving back out of the cannon's range.
"Let's just hope he's not too out of it to land," said Captain Solo.
"What's the atmosphere like at this altitude?" asked Ben. "Breathable?"
"A little thinner than standard but perfectly breathable. I gotta tell you, though, I'm worried by the fact that you're asking."
"If you can get alongside," said Ben. "I'll board and see what I can do."
"In mid-flight? It's your funeral..."
Emalda spoke before she realized she'd made a decision.
"I'm going with you," she said.
All three of the others turned to look at her incredulously. The wookie's response was unintelligable but passionate.
"Let's not get carried away," said the Captain, jerking a thumb in Ben's direction. "It's a crazy move for this guy and he's a Jedi Knight."
"I can do it," said Emalda. "I'm a dancer, I've got great balance."
The Captain laughed and shared an incredulous look with the wookie. Ben was looking at her thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side. Emalda couldn't have said why she was determined to do this - but while she didn't trust other people, she trusted her own feelings.
"Very well, then," said Ben. "But it will be dangerous."
"I know," said Emalda, trying to keep her tone even and not cocky or daring: responsible was the goal.
Ben nodded and stood, leading the way from the cockpit. Emalda stood still for a moment, expecting more of an argument, and then followed hurriedly. The grumbling of the Captain and the wookie behind her were cut off by the cockpit door closing. She followed Ben through the unfamiliar ship until he reached a service lift that would take them to the ship's exterior. It was a small circular platform that would be a tight fit for the both of them. Ben backed onto the platform, leaning against the far wall.
"I'm going now," he said. "Are you coming?"
"Yes," said Emalda, ignoring the hammering of her heart as she stepped up onto the platform beside him.
They weren't quite touching but there was no room to move as the platform started to rise. There was a tug on Emalda's belt and she looked down to see Ben clipping a safety line to her.
"If you decide to stay," said Ben, handing her a headset. "The blue switch will lower the platform back down."
"I won't..." began Emalda.
Then the exterior hatch opened and the rest of her words were drowned out by the rushing of the wind. Her hair whipped around her face and she wondered why she hadn't thought to tie it up beforehand. Without a tether of his own, Ben lowered himself into a crouch. The wind ruffled not only the hair on his head but also his beard. Emalda might have laughed aloud but she couldn't hear herself to know for sure. Ben pulled on his own headset and squinted into the wind. Emalda followed his gaze and froze in amazement.
The Millenium Falcon was flying over the Ekash jungle, a breathtaking view while stationary; let alone while roaring over at speed. She'd never seen it from this high before, it seemed to stretch out to the horizon itself. In the distance, a couple of large ats took flight on their leathery wings. Their three metre wingspans looked tiny from this distance. Her view of the ats was obscured as the Millenium Falcon drew level with the Fahren. The Fahren's normally silver exterior was marred with scarring and debris. Some of the gold and green trim was still visible as it danced up and down the wings but the intricate knots that had decorated the nose had been completely obscured.
Ben was already moving across the Falcon in a crouch. When he was an arm's length from the edge he raised a hand to his headset. Emalda couldn't hear what he said but the Falcon climbed slightly so that the edge nearest Ben was hovering just above and in front of one of the Fahren's wings. Ben looked over at Emalda and smiled. Then he launched himself off the edge. He was just gone. Emalda might have screamed, she wasn't sure. She still couldn't hear anything.
Emalda took a step towards the edge where Ben had disappeared, not knowing what she intended to do. The world tilted precariously and she dropped to all fours. The wind was still roaring, the jungle still speeding past and Ben was gone. She edged forward and the tether pulled tight against her belt. She unclipped it. There was nothing now to save her from falling to her death and she lay flat on her stomach, wiggling forward like a worm and digging her fingers into any handhold the ship's surface offered. She crawled to within arms reach of the edge before she finally saw Ben edging up the Fahren's wing beneath her. He was moving in a cautious but steady crouch, heading for a hatch on the Fahren. He stopped and waved at her, his concerned frown visible even from this distance.
Emalda looked down at the Fahren's wing. It wasn't a long distance. She knew from a lifetime of pushing her body to the limits that she could easily jump three times the distance. It was just that normally if she failed a move, her peers laughed and she got a sick angry/guilty feeling in her stomach while she was reprimanded - she didn't fall to her death in the middle of a war zone surrounded by aliens whose names she didn't even know. She knew Ben's name, though. He had turned away from her and was trying to open the Fahren's hatch. It was taking some time, probably because he was human. The Fahren's access panels were labelled in the local dialect of Jalul, which not even all the Ekash were fluent in.
She fixed her eyes on a black scuff mark on the Fahren's wingtip. She made it the centre of her focus. She didn't block out the endless movement and noise that surrounded her but she let it fade into the periphery.
Focus, she told herself. Emalda Colash, you've got this.
She didn't think, she let her body run through a leap and forward roll that she'd done countless times before the military had shut down the dance halls. She was starting to straighten up again to bow to an imaginary audience when her brain caught up with her actions. She laughed a little hysterically before pressing her body and face firmly into the Fahren below her.
A hand gripped her wrist and she looked up to see Ben crouching next to her, looking... impressed? He waved at the hatch and Emalda obligingly slid forward to enter the unlocking code. Her muscles locked up at that point and Ben was the one to drag her inside the hatch, not letting go until they were inside and the roaring of the wind had fallen silent. He gave her a reassuring squeeze before striding off into the ship, smooth and graceful.
Emalda followed when she felt able, her heart beating in her chest. From inside there didn't seem to be any damage to the Fahren, other than a few indicator lights that were flashing. The cockpit door was open when she reached it, an Ekash in a military uniform sprawled in the doorway. His uniform was burned in a blackened line across his chest. She didn't want to look too close to see how deep the burn went. He wasn't breathing and he wasn't going to get up and hurt her, and that was all she needed to know.
She stepped across the body and into the cockpit. Ben was at the controls but it was clear that most of his attention was on the figure slumped unconscious in the pilot seat. Emalda joined Ben, sliding her fingers under his to take over the Fahren. Ben gave up the pilot seat and turned to the unconscious figure.
"Anakin?" asked Ben gently, sliding a hand under the unconscious man's chin. "Can you hear me?"
Anakin's eyes fluttered, and focused with effort on Ben's face.
"Master Obi..." began Anakin.
Ben hushed him, a finger against his lips.
"It's Ben," said Ben. "If anybody asks, it's Ben. Understood?"
Anakin's eyebrows drew together in confusion, his gaze flickering over Emalda before drifting back to Ben.
"Understood," croaked Anakin.
Anakin's head rolled bonelessly on his neck before Ben steadied it again with a gentle hand.
"How?" said Anakin. "How. When. How can we get home?"
"I'm not sure yet," said Ben, his hands dropping to check Anakin for injuries.
"Join the club," grumbled Emalda.
She laid in a course away from the planet, towards the New Republic and a new life as a political refugee.
Chapter 1 | 2 | 3