Obtaining a Speeder Licence - Part 2

"Please never do that again," Obi-Wan groaned, still hesitating to release his grip on the side of the speeder.

"I followed your instructions!" Anakin exclaimed in frustration. "You said, to do a U-turn, I needed to turn 180 degrees. That is exactly what I did."

"Well, I didn't think I needed to specify that it should be done horizontally," Obi-Wan retorted. "You could've killed us!"

His second attempt at helping Anakin prepare for his speeder licence examination seemed to be no more successful than the first. Anakin deemed flying a speeder the normal, responsible way 'too boring' and insisted on using his 'ingenious skills' to make the experience 'more enjoyable'. However, his stunts only made Obi-Wan feel more anxious, stressed and often nauseous.

"I'm sorry, Master," Anakin apologised. "Look on the bright side..."

Obi-Wan shot his padawan a withering look. "By bright side, are you referring to the headlights of the oncoming traffic you keep swerving into, or the white light I'm going to see at the moment of my death?" he asked critically.

Anakin rolled his eyes and, much to Obi-Wan's surprise, refrained from serving up a witty response. Instead, he kept his eyes focussed ahead.

The speeder glided gently through the air along the straight stretch of skylane. Vibrant lights beamed from nearly all directions, chasing away the night's inky darkness. Far above the building tops, however, the night sky spread across the city, like a black blanket.

"Here is an opportunity for you to practise merging," Obi-Wan declared, pointing ahead at where their skylane and the skylane beside them combined in the distance. "As the traffic moves together to form one lane, you must give way to vehicles in front of you. If the front of their speeder is ahead of yours, then they go in front of you. Does that make sense?"

Anakin nodded affirmatively. "It makes perfect sense, Master. It's just like a race!" he exclaimed. "If you're in front, you win."

He shook his head. "No, Anakin, that's not what I..."

Anakin forced his foot down on the accelerator, and the speeder surged forward. Viewing it as a competition, a male Balosar travelling in the skylane beside them also increased his speed. Anakin fought to stay in front, and he appeared to be winning the impromptu race, until he found himself stuck behind the speeder of an elderly lady, travelling at an incredibly slow speed. He weaved his way around her speeder in a quick, yet smooth, movement. He reached the merging point at the same time as the Balosar, but managed to surge forward and slot in front.

"Did you see that, Master?!" he shouted joyously, throwing his arms in the air in celebration.

"Anakin! That was completely irresponsible! Obi-Wan snapped furiously. "There is no excuse to be travelling at such a ridiculous speed, and it is certainly not acceptable to race someone! You've already received one speeding ticket. And you need both hands to control a speeder, so stop waving your arms like a maniac."

"Actually, I think if you looked at the speeding ticket closely, you'd see it's made out to a man named Obi-Wan Kenobi," Anakin said with a laugh.

The master shot his padawan another withering look. "You're really starting to test my patience, young padawan. Never fly that fast again, unless it's an emergency."

"Well, if I'm ever caught speeding, you could just pretend you're dying," Anakin suggested.

"That's not going to take an awful lot of pretending," he replied, with his usual wit. He looked over at Anakin. Though his padawan's face displayed an expression of seriousness and focus, Obi-Wan could sense the boy's discouraged feelings. Maybe I need to be a little less demeaning, he thought to himself. He's only trying to have fun. He placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Good overtaking though," he complimented.

A smile beamed across Anakin's face. "That old lady was going ridiculously slow," he laughed. "If you fly that slow when you get old, Master, I will personally fly you everywhere to save you the embarrassment."

"I'll have you know I intend on being a very cool old man," Obi-Wan said, stifling a grin.

A brief moment of relaxing silence washed over them. The whirring of speeders, the chatter of those enjoying a night out, and the faint sound of music coming from various clubs and shops, all combined to create the symphony of the city. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, enjoying a moment of peace. However, his peace was soon disturbed by Anakin flicking on the radio and blasting music out of the speakers, the powerful sound causing the whole speeder to vibrate.

"Jee bacaka porko winba an Jee tee caie kantasa. Uba baua whoka caiot tee taa!" he sang along, swaying from side to side in time with the music.

"Anakin, please turn that distasteful rubbish off," Obi-Wan groaned in annoyance. "Besides, loud music is a distraction when flying."

"You need to loosen up a bit," Anakin said, nudging him with his elbow playfully. "Try singing along. You might enjoy it, Master."

"I couldn't sing along even if I tried," he responded. "Now, focus on flying."

Suddenly, a red light on the control panel began to flash intermittently, accompanied by a loud, repetitive beep. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan's eyes widened in terror. A wisp of smoke rose from the front of the speeder, followed by a crackling spark.

"What's going on?!" Obi-Wan shouted, panicking.

"Looks like an engine malfunction," Anakin replied. He looked around frantically in search of a safe place to park the speeder. He spotted a mostly empty parking bay and started heading towards it. As he neared the parking bay, he pressed his foot down on the brake, but the vehicle's speed did not change. He pressed it again. Nothing. "Master, we have a problem. The brakes won't work!" he yelled above the sound of the warning alarm.

Obi-Wan sat in shock, speechless. The speeder was hurtling towards the parking bay at full speed, showing no sign of stopping. Well, this is it, he thought. This is how I go out. He felt the jolt of the speeder connecting with the concrete surface of the parking bay. Over the horrible sound of the speeder scraping across the ground, he swore he could hear his padawan shouting at him to jump. With no time to hesitate, he jumped, landing on the concrete, and rolled as far away from the vehicle as he could. The speeder connected with the wall and exploded, sending fiery blasts spraying in every direction.

"Master! Are you alright?" Anakin called frantically, once the smoke had died down. "Oh, thank the Force, you didn't die!"

Obi-Wan pulled himself to his feet and brushed the ash off his clothes. "Yes, well, I suppose there's always next time," he commented.

The padawan put his arm around his master's shoulders. "How about 'thanks Anakin for saving my rear end'?"

"Thanks Anakin, for bruising my rear end."

"Not my fault you landed on your backside."

"Well, it's sure better than landing on my head."

oOo

"And no Jedi mind tricks were involved?" Obi-Wan questioned, stroking his beard.

"Not one," Anakin declared, waving the licence card in his master's face. "I passed fair and square. I have you to thank for that."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, you naturally have incredible piloting skills. I should've had more faith in your abilities." He rested his hand on his padawan's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Anakin."

The young man smiled. "That's great, because there's something I have to tell you..."

"What?"

Anakin hesitated. "Well, the licence examiner kind of passed out during the examination," he began.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "Passed out?"

"Yeah... I might've changed into a lower skylane quite fast, but I would've missed the chance if I'd gone slow," Anakin explained. "The examiner got scared and passed out. Luckily, when he came to, he didn't remember a thing. So, I just convinced him everything had gone smoothly."

Obi-Wan glared at him sternly. Well, at least, he tried to. In the end, the man couldn't contain his laughter. Somehow, despite reckless lane changes, unorthodox overtaking and U-turns, crashing and exploding a speeder, and scaring his licence examiner to the point of losing consciousness, his padawan had managed to obtain his speeder licence. He knew he should lecture Anakin on the importance of honesty, but the situation was just too amusing. Besides, he thought to himself, what's the point of being disappointed, when I can just be proud?