Anakin could see Obi-wan below him, the weight of the speeder pulling Obi-wan to the ground more quickly. Anakin angled his body into a free-falling position that moved him ahead of the speeder. If Obi-wan could get the engines back on-line, Anakin might be able to catch the speeder and slow their decent before they hit the ground.
Obi-wan was trying to use the speed of the decent to prime the engines back to life, but all he got was spuddering flares of restart before the engine died again. In a last ditch attempt, he shut the whole system down and restarted it cold. The engine roared to life and Obi-wan pulled up hard on the controls. The speeder was still losing altitude but much more slowly now.
He looked up and saw Anakin falling ahead of him. He flew the speeder underneath Anakin, pulling up gently allowing Anakin to grab the back of the speeder. Anakin held on with one hand, then two, and finally pulled himself into the seat next to Obi-wan.
Anakin looked at Obi-wan. "What took you so long?"
The speeder was still losing altitude fast. The engines too stressed to stop the heavy machine from falling. The lights and structures below were rapidly closing in.
"We're not out of this yet Anakin," Obi-wan said, pulling harder than ever on the controls but feeling little reaction from the speeder. "We're coming in hot. Find a place to land. We're going to need a lot space."
"There," Anakin said. "Metro Tunnel."
"It's not long enough." But with no other choice, Obi-wan angled toward the tunnel that traversed through several Coruscant skyscrapers above the city.
The speeder flew into the entrance and hit the ground with so much force, it bounced back into the air before landing again, still speeding forward, blazing a burnt and torn, metal trail through the tunnel behind them. Obi-wan and Anakin jumped from the speeder and landed softly, balancing on the edge of the tunnel exit, as the speeder continued on, now free-falling into a depths of the Coruscant underworld until it crashed to a stop at the bottom of tunnel's tower.
Anakin watched the speeder explode at the bottom of the tower, then turned around determined to find Padme.
"Where are you going," Obi-wan asked, turning to face Anakin.
"To find Padme."
"Anakin, stop and think," Obi-wan said, running to catch up to Anakin. "Bane did not try and assassinate Padme. He kidnapped her. If you go after her on your own, you'll be walking right into a trap."
"I can't leave her fate up to the Senate."
"Anakin, don't underestimate Padme's influence. She has been a friend and ally to the Jedi Council for a long time. With the council's approval, we can bring two full battalions after Bane, giving us a much better chance to face whatever trap awaits us."
Anakin stopped and looked at Obi-wan.
"Contact Rex," Obi-wan said. "Ask him to monitor and track any hyperspace jumps. I will contact the council to ask for help."
Anakin closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.
"As you say, Master."
YOU ARE READING
The Clone Wars: Path of the Force, A Star Wars Story
Fanfiction"Padme," she heard Anakin call through the door. Relief washed through Padme. She only needed to keep fighting a little longer. Her attacker pulled Padme's hair back so her head bent back. He grabbed her neck and whispered in her ear. "Shhh." She tr...
