Inheritance

Crash Duty

"Anakin..." Obi-Wan says as he grips his armrests tightly.

"Just... a little... longer..." he says. Obi-Wan's face grows pale and the blood begins to drain away from his knuckles so strong is the vice like grip he has on his seat.

"Anakin..."

"Almost..."

"Anakin!"

"Brace yourself!"

* * * * *

"Uggh," is the closest thing to a verbal expression Obi-Wan Kenobi can muster at the moment. His last certain memory was of the ground hurtling towards them, or more accurately, them hurtling towards the ground. "Typical Anakin landing," Obi-Wan thinks to himself. Now that he has his senses about him again, Obi-Wan takes a few moments to survey his surroundings. What is left of the cockpit is in complete disarray. Half of the windshield is blown out and every console is either smashed, sparking, on fire, or some deadly combination of the three. Obi-Wan attempts to sit up, but is surprised at the resistance he encounters. From the waist down he is pinned beneath some large piece of formerly essential machinery. Instinctively, Obi-Wan grabs the edge of the scrap to lift it off of him, but is stopped almost before he starts as a blinding bolt of pain rockets thru his right arm.

"Arrhhh!"

The exclamation escapes his lips before he has a chance to process the situation. Obviously, Obi-Wan isn't going to be able to free himself through conventional means. He closes his eyes and focuses his mind on the task in front of him. He slowly lifts his left arm, his fingers spread wide as he commands the heavy scrap into motion. Slowly, meticulously, Obi-Wan uses the Force to free his lower extremities. Once he is clear, he throws the scrap to one side and exhales loudly from the exertion of it. After a few recovery breaths and a check of his legs for injuries, Obi-Wan attempts to sit up again. This time he meets with success. Carefully, he rises to his feet, his right arm still hurting terribly. Obi-Wan's eyes scan the structure around him and soon he finds what he needs. He walks over to the remains of the threshold leading to the rear of the shuttle. He places his right shoulder against the right beam and leans forward. He takes a deep breath and prepares himself. Then in one quick movement, he rears back and then forward slamming his shoulder into the frame, knocking it painfully back into socket.

"Blazing mmmmmmpph!" Obi-Wan half yells, the ending muffled behind pursed lips. He cradles his arm against his torso and catches his breath. Now that the pain in his arm has been reduced from excruciating to merely agonizing, Obi-Wan is able to focus on other concerns.

"Anakin?" he calls out. He looks for his fellow Jedi, but he sees no sign of him and worse, he hears no sign of him. Obi-Wan activates his Jedi wrist communicator thankful that it is attached to his left arm.

"Anakin, come in. Can you hear me? Anakin, what is your position? Anakin?" Obi-Wan's entreats are answered only with silence. He holds his right arm tight against his torso and moves his lightsaber to the right side of his belt. He continues down the corridor only a few steps before he is standing in open air. It appears that during the "landing" the rear of the shuttle sheared off and now it sat in a heap some yards behind. Obi-Wan activates the locator function on his communicator and searches for Anakin's signal. Within seconds, he isolates Anakin's ping pulsing from a direction in front of the ship. As Obi-Wan walks around the wreckage he surveys the surrounding landscape. The moon is as desolate and empty as any he has seen. Yellow rocks and dry, hard soil reach out in every direction dotted all around by sparse patches of brown, wilting vegetation. A mountain system stands to the north. Obi-Wan makes his way through the barren terrain occasionally consulting his locator.