Anakin had not flown a Naboo ship in years. Beside him Captain Typho occupied the copilot's seat. The quiet man was the Senator's chief of security. He was circumspect and loyal, necessary qualities to work for a politician.

The sleek silver craft traveled smoothly, the controls responding to his slightest touch. He loved the Millenium Falcon, but Dorme's ship flew like a dream.

Up ahead, Ansion appeared in the firmament, a dusty orb surrounded by twinkling stars. Soon, they would be whisked into King Na'lel's presence to try and convince the ruler to remain with the Republic.

The stakes were high with Na'lel considering defection to the enemy. Anakin didn't like Cassandra being involved in a situation that could easily turn into a warzone. The political climate on Ansion was extremely volatile, one struck match away from going up in flames.

His protective instincts screamed at him to turn the ship around and fly back to Coruscant where Cassandra would be safer. An assassin was easier to defend against than an army of droids.

Next to him Typho squinted at the radar. His eyes bulged in alarm. "Two vulture droids, coming in hot!"

Anakin glanced at the navicomputer and swore. "They must have been waiting to ambush us! Prepare for evasive action, Captain! Artoo, raise the deflector shields!"

The astromech rolled over to the droid port and linked itself into the system. R2-D2 beeped at Anakin.

"What do you mean the shields are gone?"

The droid released a series of shrill whistles.

"Someone hacked into the system and erased them? That's just great!" He bellowed as the vultures opened fire.

A hail of lasers bombarded the craft, slamming into the left wing. Anakin turned sharply, the ship tipping precariously to the right. "We need to get planet side! Fire torpedos as a diversion!"

"Firing, now!" Typho hit the trigger, sending the missile hurtling toward the pair of vultures hugging their tail. Pulling down the telescope, the captain crouched in the rear of the cockpit. "No good! The vulture droids have shields!"

Force, let him make it! Anakin accelerated, desperately aiming for Ansion's surface. The walls of the cockpit rattled from another attack, alarms going off on every inch of the control panel. The controls shook so hard in his grip, Anakin could barely maneuver the craft into the planet's atmosphere.

The vulture droids followed, firing another spread of lasers against the ship's tail. Typho's lips compressed in a grim line. "The rear guns are gone!"

Anakin spun the ship in a barrel roll, spiraling toward the ground. The vulture droids arced around in front, their engines whining at full throttle. Sweat beaded his forehead as the enemy ships hurtled toward them head on, cannons primed to fire.

Jerking the controls, he evaded the blast of gunfire, the ship banking to the left. Smoke trailed from the damaged wing and a durasteel panel snapped free. Anakin righted the ship, ignoring the warnings blaring at him.

"We need to land or we won't make it!" Typho yelled over the noise.

"Don't worry, I've got this!" Anakin growled.

The captain shot him a skeptical look, a white-knuckle grip on the arms of his seat. "I hope you know what you're doing!"

So, did he.

Adrenaline pumped through Anakin's body, making his arms tremble. Everything depended on him. Gravity tugged the ship, the sharp steel nose precariously aimed for the ground.

The vulture droids fired.

Using the Force, Anakin slid through the laser bolts and fired the foreword guns, blowing up the enemy ships. The resulting explosion slammed into their damaged ship, causing it to spin out of control.

It was too late to avoid a crash, the desert sand rose to embrace them. Anakin braced himself. "Hold on, Captain! This is going to be a bumpy landing!"

The Naboo ship slammed into the dunes, losing the other wing. The belly of the craft bumped violently over the ground with a low angry groan, churning up a sea of sand obscuring the windshield.

Gritting his teeth, Anakin yanked on the controls, holding the fish-tailing ship steady until it slid to a stop on a pocket of flat terrain.

Anakin panted shakily, wiping his face. "Welcome to Ansion, Captain Typho." He unstrapped himself, rising slowly. "I'll check on the Senator and Representative Pierce. Stay here with Artoo and try to get communications back online."

Typho surveyed the astromech with an unreadable gaze. "Understood."

Anakin's legs were wobbly staggering into the corridor. He headed toward the main cabin where Cassandra and Dorme were earlier. A lump of trepidation formed in his throat as he approached, not knowing what condition he'd find the girls in.

The automatic doors were damaged, fueling his fear.

Anakin cut an opening with his lightsaber and hurried inside. "Cassandra! Dorme!" He called. It took a second for his eyes to adjust in the gloom.

The far wall of the cabin had buckled. A chunk of ceiling dangled precariously by a cable from above. Broken glass littered the floor and a table had been overturned.

The two women were sprawled on the floor, thankfully conscious. Dorme pressed a scrap of cloth to a gash on Cassandra's arm. "The cut isn't deep." She told the sorceress.

Cassandra's glazed eyes took in Anakin. Her lips trembled, failing to form a smile on her pale, sweaty face. "The table landed on my leg. I think my ankle's broken."

Anakin met Dorme's serious gaze. "Are you injured too?"

The Senator shook her head. "I was fortunate. You'll have to carry her out of here, Ani." She tied the cloth tightly around Cassandra's arm and used the bench to clamber upright. "What about the vulture droids?"

"Shot down." Anakin scooped Cassandra into his arms, draping his arm underneath her shoulders and the other behind her knees. "We need to find cover in case they're more."

"My suitcase and staff." Cassandra murmured, her voice laced with pain.

"Shh." Anakin cradled her tenderly against his chest. "Don't worry about that now. The important thing is to get you to safety."

The three of them exited the cabin. Down the hall Anakin discovered an opening where part of the ship had been ripped apart. Tightening his hold on Cassandra, he emerged into the blinding sun.

Typho met them on the crest of a dune with a squad of Naboo security, expression grim. "Communications were destroyed in the crash. We have no way to reach anyone in the Capitol."

Artoo whistled an apology.

"Its okay, buddy. I'm sure you did your best." Anakin comforted the droid.

Everyone looked at Anakin expectantly for him to pull a solution out of his ass. His shoulders slumped. The Naboo had met him on Tatooine years ago and for that reason assumed he'd be able to navigate this desert as well.

Anakin looked down at Cassandra, her delicate features twisted in agony. The mid-afternoon sun beat down on her skin, giving her a ghostly pallor. He scanned the terrain spying rolling hills of sand in every direction. They were stranded in the desert. Their only option was to walk until they found a city or settlement. The heat made that dangerous.

Cassandra grabbed his collar, eyes shining with determination. "Find my suitcase. I have stuff in there that can help us." *******************************************************************************************

The 'stuff' turned out to be an entire survival kit. Tent in a bag, ration bars, first aid kit, three canteens spelled to automatically refill with water. Trekking through the desert at the hottest point of the day was too treacherous. Thanks to Cassandra's foresight they could avoid risking heat stroke or death.

Anakin and Typho erected the tent which had a spell to increase its internal dimensions to fit their entire party comfortably with room to spare.

The guards combed through the wreckage to salvage what they could from the ship. Dorme slumped tiredly on a rug in soot-stained clothes, speaking quietly with Captain Typho.

Anakin patched up his girlfriend, an all too frequent occurrence he was afraid to say. Her ankle was swollen to twice the size of a Jogan Fruit and was purple like one as well. "Good news, its not broken. You have a bad sprain."

"Yay." Cassandra said dryly.

A guard brought him a med pack he located in the remains of the med bay. Anakin left Cassandra's first aid kit, doubtful it contained anything of use. Terran medicine was leagues behind the Republic's. He cleaned the cut on her arm, taping a piece of gauze in place.

Anakin bandaged and splinted Cassandra's ankle. She moaned in pain as he straightened out her leg. "I'm sorry." He stroked his knuckles along her exposed calf where an ugly purple-red bruise had formed. "It seems I keep hurting you."

Pushing up against the mound of pillows she laid against, Cassandra lifted her head. "Listen, this isn't your fault. If it weren't for your piloting skills we'd have been blown up." She smiled softly. "You saved us, Ace."

"Ace?"

Cassandra sagged back against the pillows, looking up at the canvas above them. The coarse blue fabric rippled in the arid breeze. "On Earth, gifted pilots are called Ace."

Ace.

Anakin sort of liked it. The corner of his mouth lifted. "Well, its better than the other nicknames you've given me." He rolled down her pantleg and retrieved a pain suppressor injection. "No man would approve of being called Cuddles."

"Hmm, I don't know. You're sort of cuddly like a teddy bear." Cassandra whispered, some of her unique humor creeping in. "The night the power went out on Caranda, I enjoyed sleeping in your arms."

Heat crawled up the back of his neck. When she said stuff like this, it was difficult not to kiss her-even in front of witnesses. Anakin tucked a loose strand behind her ear, caressing her temple. "Are you comfortable?"

"As comfortable as anyone who survived a spaceship crash. I imagine everyone's sore with whiplash." Cassandra said with her usual pluck. "Now, give me the goofy juice so I can relax."

If the sorceress could make jokes, Anakin guessed she'd be okay. Once he administered the medication and admonished Cassandra to rest, Anakin pushed aside the tent flap and stepped outside.

The soft scuff of sand underneath his boots made his skin crawl. The Naboo security were covered head to toe in red dust. He could feel the miniscule grains chafing his own kin with every step.

Sweat drenched Anakin's robes as he marched over to them. "Any sign of the enemy?"

"No, sir."

"When night falls, we set out. It'll be safer to travel the desert then." Anakin folded his arms and surveyed the guards. "Until then, keep an eye out for the Seppies. We don't want them catching us off-guard again."

The men saluted him. "Yes, sir!"

A/N: Sorry this took so long, I wanted to get it right! As always please comment so I know how I'm doing! Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.