Dawn's Light

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, I never have and I never will and I am only saying this once so I will not repeat it in later chapters

1.

The pirates materialized seemingly out of nowhere.

Obi-Wan Kenobi swore before angling the starship he and his Padawan were flying on their way back to Coruscant after their mission to Ansion. Due to a malfunction in the imputed coordinates, the starship had dropped out of hyperspace above Tatooine. Obi-Wan was hoping that he could have merely put in the coordinates for Coruscant and jump back into hyperspace but the sudden appearance of the pirates tossed that idea out the airlock.

"Master?" His nineteen-year-old Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, said breaking Obi-Wan out of his thoughts as he twisted the starship away from the blasterfire the pirates' starship were directing at them.

"Blast it," Obi-Wan muttered. "Anakin, put in the coordinates for Co…" He broke off as blasterfire slammed into the starship. The ship spun and Obi-Wan had to fight to keep the ship under control before swearing under his breath.

"Blast. That blast knocked out the majority of the shields around the left stabilizer. Another hit like that and we'll lose the left stabilizer all together."

"Master, let me fly," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to protest until he realized that Anakin would be his best bet at getting out of this mess somewhat unscathed. Even if some of his flying can be suicidal, there was no contest that Anakin was the better flyer of the two. He closed his mouth before nodding and he and Anakin switched positions.

Anakin rested his hands on the controls before twisting the controls until the ship spun away from the blasterfire. Obi-Wan strapped himself in as Anakin continued his death defying stunts to avoid the blasterfire. However, one blast managed to strike the left stabilizer and Anakin, cursing under his breath, immediately ran his fingers over the console in an attempt to stabilize the rapidly spinning starship.

The ship spun; space, Tatooine, back and forth, back and forth.

"Master, the left stabilizer is gone. We're going to have to land while we have enough shield power to make it past the atmosphere without burning up," Anakin called gripping the controls hard.

Obi-Wan glanced at the console before frowning, his anxiety growing. "The shields are down to fifty percent, Anakin. If we're going to land then we're going to have to do it now."

Anakin nodded, eyes narrowed with concentration as he guided the ship toward the atmosphere. The ship continued to spin and Anakin gritted his teeth as he attempted to right the ship as it plunged toward the sandy landscape of Tatooine.

"I never thought I'd return to this dustball," Anakin muttered just loud enough for Obi-Wan to hear as he struggled to stabilize the ship as it fell rapidly toward a large dune of sand. "Hold on, Master. This landing is going to get rough."

"When aren't your landings rough?" Obi-Wan replied but he did hold on as the ship, still spinning, crashed upside down onto the sand, skidded across the sand before slamming hard into another dune of sand. Obi-Wan coughed as smoke entered the cockpit before he blinked before gazing around and up, er down, at the top of the cockpit.

"Anakin?" he called.

"Master?" Anakin's voice murmured and Obi-Wan could barely see him through the smoke.

"Are you all right?"

"My head hurts a little and I think I broke an arm though I'm not sure. I can't feel it so I probably did."

Obi-Wan was glad that his apprentice didn't suffer worse wounds. He unclipped the lightsaber that hung on his belt and ignited the brilliant blue blade to sever the straps that kept him pinned to the chair. He used the Force to land lightly on the ground before wincing in pain when he moved.

He turned his attention to his apprentice before igniting his lightsaber and slicing through his apprentice's straps. Anakin fell to the top of the cockpit before using the Force to soften his landing.

Anakin slowly sat up before holding his head. "Are you okay, Master?"

"I'm fine, Anakin. We should probably get out of here. There's a lot of smoke."

Anakin nodded and Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber before cutting through the cockpit and part of the ship to create a hole big enough for the two of them to move through. Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber before clipping it to his belt and crawling through the hole onto the sand. He turned around before stretching out a hand to help his apprentice out of the ruined ship.

Anakin was covered in bruises, dust and scratches with one arm hanging limply at one side. He sank into a sitting position the instant he was out of the ship before examining it. "We're going to have to find some other way to get back to Coruscant," he said.

Obi-Wan nodded before standing up and gazing around. "Do you know where we are?" he asked knowing Anakin was more likely to know because this had been his homeplanet before he joined the Jedi.

Anakin struggled to his feet before gazing around though he did sway a bit and his eyes glittered with pain. "I think we're in the Dune Sea but I'm not entirely sure. We should see if anything survived the crash."

Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin's unbroken arm. "How's your head?" he asked.

"It hurts. Everything's spinning a little," Anakin said putting his unbroken hand on his head.

"All right, take a seat Anakin. I'll go see if anything survived the crash." He straightened up before wincing as he moved. Using the Force to examine what wounds he had, he was thankful that none of his wounds were life-threatening. He made his way back into the ship to see if there was anything he could salvage.


Anakin climbed to the top of the dune the ship had crashed into before gazing around but he found that even from his vantage point he couldn't see anything. He sat down before crossing his legs and closing his eyes in an attempt to stave off the exhaustion he had successful hid from his master with the Force. His master had managed to snap his arm back into place and put it in a sling using some materials he managed to salvage from the wrecked ship when he first went in it. Anakin's headache had also faded away; however, the memory of his recurring nightmares came back into his mind and he found it hard to push the dreadful memories away. The sandy landscape of Tatooine only served to bring the images of his nightmares back into the forefront of his mind.

"Anakin?'

Anakin opened his eyes before turning to find his master standing at the base of the dune with a pack in his hands, likely the rest of what had survived the destruction of their starship. "Yes master?" he called down.

"Do you see anything?"

"I'm afraid not. We're too far away. Did you find a pair of working macrobinoculars?"

"Don't know if they work, no, but I did find a pair." Obi-Wan climbed the dune before coming to a stop beside Anakin as he stood up before handing up the macrobinoculars. Anakin took them before turning them on and lifting them to his eyes. He examined the area in front of him, turning a few times until the macrobinoculars locked on a settlement lying a few kilometers ahead of them.

"I see a settlement, master," Anakin said lowering the macrobinoculars to glance at his master. "It's right in front of us but I don't know how far it is."

"Well, I guess we'd better start walking."

Anakin glanced up at his sky where the twin suns were beginning to sink beyond the horizon. "It wouldn't be a good idea to start now, master. It gets cold when the suns go down."

Obi-Wan pursed his lips together in thought. "The ship isn't in danger of blowing up so we should be safe from the cold and any unwelcome guests," he said. "We'll stay there for the night. Do you think we can reach the settlement before dark tomorrow?"

"If we move fast and there aren't any sandstorms or Tusken Raiders."

"Then we may as well get some rest so we can reach the settlement by tomorrow night." Obi-Wan glanced at Anakin with concern in his eyes before adding, "You haven't been getting much sleep, Anakin, have you?"

Anakin froze but he knew better than to lie to his master. "No master, not since Ansion."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Anakin was silent for a long moment. "I've been having nightmares…about my mother, master," he said quietly. "They keep occurring each night ever since we left Ansion and they keep getting worse with each passing night."

Obi-Wan continued to gaze at him. "Dreams pass with time, Anakin," he said softly.

Anakin looked away feeling a spark of anger. His master didn't understand; the nightmares, they felt so real to where Anakin felt as though he could stretch out a hand and touch his mother. Not to mention, they were recurring. Normal nightmares may go away with time, as Obi-Wan had said, but never before has Anakin experienced nightmares that kept getting worse and worse with each passing day.

"Get some sleep, Anakin," Obi-Wan said gently.

"Yes master," Anakin murmured before walking into the ship. He lied down before closing his eyes and immediately falling asleep.

The sand whirled around him. The heat scorched his skin. The loud guttural yowls of the Tusken Raiders and the hum of the speeder bikes grated his ears.

Suddenly, the Force throbbed with pain. His mother was covered in deep gashes and bruises and tied to what looked like a pole. A Tusken Raider appeared. It attacked his mother; the pain caused the Force to shudder. He felt it; it hammered against his consciousness.

"Mom?" Anakin called.

"Ani? Oh my little Ani, why did you leave me?" His mother moaned in pain. "Please, Ani, please help me."

"Mom! Where are you? I'll help you but where are you?" Anakin shouted.

"Ani, my little Ani. Help me please."

"I will, mom, but tell me where you are, please."

"Ani, please help me."

Suddenly, she began to fade away.

Anakin stretched out a hand. "Mom," he cried as his mother continued to fade away until she shattered as if she was made with fragile glass and the Force seemed to shudder with the sudden disturbance that accompanied the shattering.

"Mom!" Anakin cried.

"Anakin, wake up! Anakin!"

Anakin sat up sharply gasping before gazing around to find himself flying in the remains of the cockpit with his master sitting at his side gazing at him with concern.

"You were crying out in your sleep, Anakin," he said.

Anakin realized his face was wet with fallen tears and he quickly wiped the unshed tears away. "It was…just a nightmare," he whispered.

"About your mother?'

Anakin nodded slowly before hesitating. He decided he would voice his worry to his master and hope Obi-Wan would listen to him. "Yes. Master, please, I think these dreams more than just a dream. It feels so real. I…think my mother is in serious danger."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said calmly, "it was just a dream…"

"It wasn't just a dream, Master!" Anakin cried suddenly frustrated and angry with his master. He got to his feet before glaring at his master. "If it was just a dream then why does the same dream keep occurring every single day and keep getting worse and more vivid with each passing day?"

He stalked out of the ship before Obi-Wan could reply and gazed up at the twin suns that were slowly beginning to rise into the morning sky. He was surprised he slept most of the night without waking up. That was the first time in days that he has ever slept more than a few hours before the nightmare would force him to wake up.

He was half-expecting his master to follow him out and lecture him on yelling on him but, to his surprise, his master left him alone. He felt a bit guilty for yelling at his master; his master didn't understand that his dreams kept getting more vivid each time he had them. He didn't have the right to yell at his master when his master didn't understand and he didn't take the time to explain it to him.

About half an hour later after the suns were well above the horizon, Obi-Wan joined him looking deep in thought. "We should start walking, Anakin, before it gets too late," he said calmly.

"I'm sorry, master," Anakin said glancing at his master, "for yelling at you. It wasn't my place…"

"Anakin," Obi-Wan interrupted him gently but firmly. "While you shouldn't have yelled at me, I understand why you did. You're worried about your mother and your dream is either being brought on by your fears or it is the Force trying to warn you of something. While it isn't a common gift, some Jedi can get brief glimpses of the future. However, you must understand that the future is always in constant motion."

"But what if it happens, Master?" Anakin protested.

"Anakin, you know attachments are forbidden."

"She's my mother," Anakin protested. "She was the one who raised me for nine years of my life. She was the one that comforted me when I had a rather bad day working for Watto. She's the one who insisted that we would see each other again. Please, master, I have to go to her; I have to see her one more time; I have to make sure she's all right. Please." Anakin was practically begging his master as the memory of his vivid nightmare continued to haunt his mind.

Obi-Wan gazed at him clearly seeing the worry and fear that glittered in the depths of Anakin's azure eyes. "It'll take us time to find someone willing to give us a lift to Coruscant," he said. "So I suppose we will have some time to visit your mother briefly. You must understand, Anakin, that you will not be able to see your mother again after today. You need to learn to let go of your attachments."

"I don't think I ever will be able to, master," Anakin said softly. "I love my mother too much to just forget about her."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said patiently, "I only said to let go of your attachment, I never said anything about forgetting her. Do you think I suddenly forgot about Qui-Gon after he died and I finally let go of my grief? I will always remember him, Anakin, and I know you will always remember your mother."

Anakin hadn't thought his master forgot about Qui-Gon. "I can't get rid of my emotions, master."

"Anakin, no one can get rid of their emotions even if they wanted to. It is not a matter of getting rid of your emotions; it's a matter of controlling them. You control your emotions. Don't let your emotions control you."

Anakin understood what his master was trying to tell him. "I understand, master," he said softly.

Obi-Wan was silent for a long moment before he stretched out a hand and gently placed it on Anakin's shoulder. "Come Anakin. The sooner we reach the settlement, the sooner we can find your mother, check on her, find a transport and get back to Coruscant."

Anakin nodded. "Thank you master," he said softly.

Obi-Wan was silent for a long moment. "Do not thank me, Anakin. This is something I feel you have to do and I do understand why you want to see her. Come, we have a long way to go."


A/n what do you think?

Blaze: and that was chapter one of my brand new story and I hope that you like it. It is likely going to have more than one part but, for now, it is only one part and will be covering an AU version of AotC soon

Darth: how AU?

Blaze: extremely!

Darth: where's my cappuccino? How about AUing me a cappuccino?

Anakin: that's not what AU means (hands Darth cappuccino)

Darth: thank you. Now where's my frappuccino?

Anakin: Dooku took it

Dooku's Ghost: I didn't! It was Palpypie!

Darth: hand me a lightsaber and where's Mother Talzin? I need to speak to her about voodooing Palpypie

Talzin: I'll help you once you get Grievous off my ass!

Darth: just pour some oil on him

Talzin: Tried that…missed

Darth: well you're not supposed to miss and don't use cooking oil

Blaze: (laughs) please review and I will post chapter 2 as soon as I possibly can but I doubt it'll be anytime soon and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.