[for clobbers] the multiverse has it in for him

[morally_cryptic]

Solo missions were rare anymore. Even if he and Obi-Wan were split up they usually still had troops with them. But as the war went on, the Jedi and the GAR were spread ever thinner across the galaxy and this had been something that hadn't called for a full detachment. Just one Jedi, in and out.

Anakin had been shocked at how easy things had gone. Missions never went that easy.

Except this one, apparently.

He was even managing to do some honest-to-goodness meditation in the cockpit (because what else was he going to do for the next several hours of nothing to do?). Right up until his ship jolted out of hyperspace and the stars snapped back into focus around him.

Whatever just happened, he found that almost all of the ship's systems had been shorted out including Artoo. All he was left with was basic life support and his sublight engines.

And, it appeared, a planet that appeared habitable.

The problem with having only sublight engines and no repulsorlifts meant landing became a sort of hopefully-controlled skid into the ground instead of a gentle dropping onto landing gear. If Anakin hadn't been sure he was going to need to be outside of the ship to do his repairs (or call for help), he might not have even tried.

In the end, he'd chosen to shoot for a body of water near a city, figuring the landing (such as it was) would be marginally easier on the ship and if there was a city surely he could find holonet access to call back to the Republic for pickup.

Which was a great plan save that some of his ship's exterior plating had gotten loose during his controlled crash and was now letting water in, leaving him sinking rather quickly.

He's forced to leave the ship in the water and struggle to shore, cursing colorfully as he looks back toward his drowned ship (and Artoo!). "Might be able to get it out with the Force," he mutters to himself as he pushes a lock of wet hair out of his eyes, "but that's a lot of metal to move."

But it wasn't like he was just going to leave his droid down there, if nothing else.

Comments

[morally_cryptic]

Winn turns out to be a pretty good helper Anakin finds which at least seems to ease some of the relentless fanboying tension he'd been feeling earlier.

And Anakin actually doesn't mind explaining while he works. He could probably work on Artoo blindfolded by this point so it's not hard to make conversation and fix the droid at the same time. Besides, he's had a padawan, he's gotten experience in explaining things for non-mechanics.

Eventually he lets out a sharp, "hah!" and then gives a deft twist of his wrist to finish one final repair then closes Artoo's instrument panel as the little droid whirrs back to life. For a few moments there's just a quiet sort of beeping as Artoo re-calibrates and only then does he rotate his dome to fix Anakin in his view-sensor and start in on a flurry of beeps and whistles that sound a whole lot like berating.

"Hey!" Anakin raises his hands to fend off the attack (so to speak), "it was an accident!" He's pretty sure it was an accident.

[clobbers]

It proves to be an educational experience, and when Kara's gaze flickers up briefly to catch the time—she's more than passing impressed at how quick that really was. Winn exclaims an 'I knew it!' and something about this being the most awesome day he's had in a while in the background, causing the corners of her mouth to twitch upward. That beginning of a smile only sets in fully when the droid comes back online.

Kara can't restrain her laughter for the life of her, so she doesn't bother trying. Still, she feels the need to stick up for her new companion, and sidles up to raise an eyebrow.

"I can't understand any of that, but from your tone, you're being just a bit hard on him." Just a bit. The droid's personality is certainly entertaining in its sassy nature. In comparison, Kelex is far too serious.

Glancing over, she grins. "Why do I get the feeling he's a lot like my boss? I've only ever seen that look on someone's face after she'd chewed them out."

[morally_cryptic]

Anakin smiles back at her and then lays a firm pat on the top of Artoo's dome. "I'd have to meet your boss to say but Artoo's really just very...opinionated for a droid."

That gets a pretty emphatic chirp of agreement from the droid in question.

"Anyway, come on buddy...please tell me you can get a signal out to the fleet? To anyone?"

Artoo response by extending a small satellite-type dish from one of his equipment panels for several moments before letting out a mournful tone.

Kara doesn't have to understand Binary to get what that means, probably. Anakin just sighs and looks up at her, "guess we'll get out the maps, then."

[clobbers]

That makes Kara laugh again, because that sure does sound like Ms. Grant. "If he's any kind of witty, then he really is like her." Which amuses her. If only Cat understood binary. The 'discussions' they'd have! Such a missed opportunity.

Kara frowns at the droid's mournful whistle, and steps forward. "Okay, could you connect to some very archaic technology and cross-reference your charts with ours?" Compared to this droid, computers and monitors are archaic. They certainly are to Kara, who'd dealt with technology far more advanced than this back on her home world. If it doesn't work here--it occurs to her not for the millionth time that they'd probably have better luck up at the Fortress.

But she's never brought a stranger there, and one of those has already been present and--Kelex! Whatever was done to him could be undone. rather easily, as she's just seen.

She'll pitch the idea if their combined star charts don't align. Heck, she'll pitch it anyway. But she wants to give this a try first.

"We'll try it. If this doesn't work, I can take you two somewhere it might. Winn--" Her friend is apparently already on it, pulling up the vast store of charts compiled by the DEO on his work computer. "Thanks. You're a lifesaver."

[morally_cryptic]

Anakin looks over at their computers systems. They don't have the same kinds of ports normally used by droids like Artoo but he figures they can cobble something together between the three of them...that is, him, Artoo, and Winn. Sorry, Kara.

Once they do, Artoo helpfully illustrates by holographically displaying his own galaxy chart as he starts comparing it against the star charts Winn gives him.

"This might take a while," Anakin says to Kara. "Since we don't really know where we are. I'm having him start with the sectors near our last known position."

[clobbers]

Aww, maybe next time! It's more interesting, at least, than science had ever been to her. Her dad would have been so disappointed, bless his heart. Kara scrunches her nose comically at the mention that this might take a while. Because she could fly to the Arctic and back hundreds of times between now and whenever this might be done. She straightens her posture, and turns to look at him.

"There's a place my cousin's gathered all known records to survive our planet--and they're nowhere near this archaic. But I'd need your help. The robot... droid, I guess, that takes care of it was sabotaged recently, and I had to disable it. Uh, and not gently. It was attacking me--anyway! I can't fix him, and I need him up and running to help you."

The suggestion is an obvious one, but her gaze turns sincere, much as it had been when she'd asked Barry for help. "Can you help me? You'll need a jacket, though. It's cold up there."

[morally_cryptic]

"Well..." he looks over at Artoo still calculating locational probabilities and Winn who...seems to pretty much have things handled otherwise.

"I have a cloak..." he starts, "unless you've got something better?"

The Jedi habit of dressing in multiple layers is as much about practicality as it is a fashion statement, apparently.

[clobbers]

"One sec." Kara's there one instant and gone the next. When she reappears just as quickly, it's with a standard issue DEO parka. She holds it out to him, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"When I say cold, I mean the Arctic. Here's a bag for the tools you'll need,and--thank you! I uh, probably should've said so first."

Really, she appreciates it. Once they've got the necessary gear together and she's given Alex a heads up, she moves to stand by the window, holding out an arm.

"Put your arm around my shoulders. You'll want to really hold on."

He's never flown quite like this, has he? Well, there's always a first time for everything!

[morally_cryptic]

Once he's got the parka and bag situated and he's standing by her, he's still looking dubious.

"I know you can fly and all." Because that's how he got here. "But have you ever actually done this with someone else?"

[clobbers]

"As a matter of fact, I have." More than once. With the most recent occasion being when she'd caught Oliver. If he could trust her, it ought to be a walk in the park for someone she gets along with. Maybe? She'll hope so.

"But I'm fast, and my turns are apparently really tight. You won't be falling."

She's strong; and he knows it. Her features soften a little.

"Promise."

[morally_cryptic]

Something in his expression suggests the thought that just crossed his mind was basically, eh, what the hell... and then he's moving to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

He opted for the right one. He doesn't have to worry about the fingers getting tired.

"Always wondered what it'd be like to fly without a ship."

[clobbers]

That's precisely when Kara shifts her arm to do the same, her grip ironclad about his shoulders. When she'd said he won't be falling; maybe he'll start to believe it.

A little smirk plays at the corners of her mouth. "Just don't try to direct me. Nobody likes a backseat flyer!" She's still laughing as she takes off.

The air rushes at them, cold and brisk, and she keeps her eyes ahead to look where she wants to go. Responsible, right? Kara also travels under her usual speed for now, until he gets used to the feeling of being up in the air without a ship.

"Liking it so far?"

Just because she's not looking at him doesn't mean she can't tease him a little.

[morally_cryptic]

"How am I going to direct you? I don't know where we're go-...kriff!!"

The last bit because he was a little startled by the takeoff.

If it helps, he gets used to it pretty quickly. Skywalker indeed.

"Little windy for my tastes..."

[clobbers]

They're moving so quickly that the roar of the wind mostly drowns out her giggles. Maybe that's for the best; saves some of his dignity, at least.

"Just a little?"

It's funny how easily the banter comes to her with someone she barely knows. But she's not complaining.

In short order, the scenery beneath them changes as they cross the Canadian border, and then, every last sign of civilization falls away into fields of snow and ice. Finally, a minute or two later, she takes them down to land inside what appears to be a cave hewn into the ice. Freshly fallen snow has covered the footprints left by Hank Henshaw. Good. The massive sculptures of Kal-El's parents guard the doorway, and her gaze flickers up briefly. Were they better than her parents? She'll never know.

Kara shifts her arm to release him, and glances around with a shaky sigh. This might be a sight he's more familiar with: advanced tech everywhere, and Kal-El's pod at the far end of the chamber. The fallen form of Kelex rests in the snow nearby, and she cringes.

"He was reprogrammed to think I was an intruder here and tried to kill me. But I still feel bad."

In fact, she does. Her sharp change in emotion can be felt easily.

[morally_cryptic]

As they enter the cave, Anakin looks around curiously. "There's a Jedi Temple on an icy planet called Ilum. This reminds me of it..." It, too, is carved out of ice though there are no droids there to guard it.

Then he makes his way over Kelex and crouches beside him to look him over. "Why'd someone do that?"

[clobbers]

"It must be really pretty, then." She knows less of his... everything than Winn, which she's sort of thankful for. Hearing firsthand accounts is always the best way to learn about something. (Except when the source is unreliable, Kara. Thankfully that won't be a problem for a while yet.) Glancing over at him, she smiles a little, and points over to the pod.

"That belongs to my cousin. Mine is identical to it."

Snow crunches lightly under her boots as she moves to stand next to him. "They're an enemy; who somehow found out about a bio-weapon my dad created. A virus meant to kill all off-worlders other than my kind. Turns out my people were even more afraid of the unknown than CADMUS.

"Anyway. Using my blood, they reprogrammed the defenses here to attack me. A distraction, I guess. To keep me here and away from where they were going to release the virus. It almost killed Mon-El."

She'll never forgive them. CADMUS, or her parents.

[morally_cryptic]

"Mostly the crystals are," he says distractedly as he continues inspecting her robot.

Then she tells her story and he's staring up at her blankly. "Someone released a virus to kill off everyone except you and your cousin?"

She left out the part where it was re-engineered.

Pause. "You father created it??"

[clobbers]

"Oh--sorry. No, it was synthesized by human scientists so that it'd spare their own species. But they couldn't fix the failsafe my dad built into it, I guess."

Yeah, she had. Oops. Kara blinks hard, and then moves toward what appears to be a console. Pulling up the holo of her father again, she raises her head and asks loudly: "Tell me about Project Medusa." The AI construct of Zor-El goes onto explain, as it had once before. Before it'd barely begun talking, Kara has to turn away.

"Yeah. My parents weren't the people I thought they were." And Krypton wasn't the utopia they'd raised her to believe it was.

She sighs, and swipes at the console to cause the image of her father to vanish. Maybe it'd be best to focus on the matter of locating Anakin's galaxy. Kara runs through several options on the console before she finds what she's looking for, and the image of her aunt appears, instead.

Well. She should have known. Astra had been the expert in the family when it came to the stars.

[morally_cryptic]

"I'm sorry," he says and he means it. Hard enough to lose your parents. It had to be harder to have your illusions about them shattered.

When Astra appears, he cocks his head to the side slightly. "Who is that?""

[clobbers]

Her breath hitches a little as emotion wells up from within her to form a tight knot in her throat. The woman before her is so very like her mother in appearance, but for the streak of white in her hair. But the two of them couldn't have been more different. She holds onto that, and to the sight of Astra before her.

"Astra. My mother's sister." The construct's expression is placid, nowhere near as alive as the woman herself had ever truly looked. But her voice is the same, minus, well. Any hint of emotion.

'Hello, little one. How can I assist you?' If it's hard for her now, she can't imagine how Kal-El feels staring into the faces of relatives he'd never been able to meet. She swallows hard, tugs at a strand of her hair, and moves off to stand before the apparition of her aunt.

"The stars. My new friend here is looking for a world called--oh, shoot! I'm sorry." Looking back apologetically at Anakin, she tilts her head. "What is your world called?"

[morally_cryptic]

He watches Kara's expression as she faces the image aunt, frowning. Was that also from the loss of someone she cared about or had something happened between them too? Anakin's not sure it's really his right to know. They've only just met and it's not like he tends to open up about his past to people either.

"Coruscant," he says after a moment when he realizes she's waiting on him. "It's a Core system. Most of the major hyperspace routes lead to it." Surely she's heard of it?

It's not where he came from, technically, not on this particular trip but it would give them somewhere to extrapolate from if they can find a commonality.

[clobbers]

Before she can say anything at all, the AI of her aunt is already speaking up. 'Coruscant: seat of a confederation of systems known simply as the Galactic Republic. Found at coordinates 0, 0, 0, it has four moons and orbits a yellow sun.' Well, now she's wide-eyed, looking at the hologram as all the colour drains from her face. Since Anakin is currently working on kelex, she steps forward to address the construct herself.

"Just how did we know about this--and why wasn't I taught about it?" Her expression draws taut, her features turning carefully neutral. Great. Just one more thing she'd been kept in the dark about.

'They were deemed a threat, little one.' The apparition goes onto explain in minute, mechanical detail about how once, some Kryptonians had been intrepid explorers, seeking to expand their influence. When they had encountered resistance and force, they had abandoned the plan, as it wasn't feasible or practical to begin a war so far from their own planet and any resources they'd need. Thus, all records were made classified by The Military and Science guilds, as well as the Law Council. Kara kicks at some snow with her boot.

"Can you contact that planet for us?"

'I am sorry, little one. I am not programmed to do that.'

"Then at least show us the most direct route to get there." A beat, and she exhales deeply. "Please."

That seems workable, as the chart pops up on the console. Kara presses a button, and the image of her aunt disappears. Thank Rao.

"Oh my--wow, you weren't kidding earlier. I can't believe all this was covered up! They've got a record of the exact coordinates the original explorers recorded on their trip there."

[morally_cryptic]

Anakin snorts as he continues to work on Kelex. "A threat? You weren't kidding about your people being afraid of outsiders. They basically shut out the entire rest of the galaxy it sounds like."

He continues working for a minute, then shrugs slightly, "though I guess you wouldn't be the only ones. There's pockets like that around. Systems or groups of systems not a part of the Republic and want nothing to do with it...or the Separatists. And there is a whole big chunk that's called the Unknown Regions for a reason." Anakin flashes her a smile and then looks up to see the console. "......which....we appear to be in. Huh."

[clobbers]

"No," she agrees with her mouth set in a grim line. "I wasn't. It's sad." What she doesn't add us that aside from Astra and Clark, she's ashamed of her blood relations. Crossing her arms over her chest to ease how vulnerable she feels, she peers down at the console with him.

"The humans on this planet have too hard a time getting along to bother wanting to separate from the rest of the galaxy."

She snorts at that, a rare cynical moment that blessedly doesn't last.

"I guess that explains pretty much everything aside from how you ended up so far off course."

[morally_cryptic]

"Yeah, it should still be impossible." He frowns at the display and shakes his head. "I mean...even considering I was in hyperspace, that doesn't mean just jumping halfway across the galaxy in a couple of seconds. It's literally impossible."

And he certainly wasn't going to be getting back to civilization as quickly as he'd landed here, of that he's certain.