Disclaimer: Me no own Star Wars. If only...
It Wasn't Supposed to be this Way
My mother watched me with pleading eyes as I signed my name on the Naboo Security Force Induction papers.
"Please, Rian. Think about it,once more?"
I looked my mother straight in the eye. "Mother,this has always been my dream. You know that."
I was eleven the year my family took a trip to the nearby planet of Sullust. My father liked to take us on his business trips so we could be enriched in a variety of cultures.
Something went wrong with the deal my father was trying to make, though. We were walking along a back street when all of the sudden a Devorian bounty hunter jumped out, pointing a gun at my father. He froze, helpless, Naboo's peaceful background offering him no knowledge of defense.
My father surely would have died had a Jedi Knight not appeared. A single downswipe disarmed the bounty hunter and a Force push slammed the Devorian into the wall, knocking him unconscious.
I wanted to be a Jedi. I wanted to guard and protect the innocent, but I didn't have the Force. So at age 18, I decided to become part of the Naboo Security Force.
"We're a peaceful planet, Mother," I said, handing my induction paper to the secretary behind the desk.
"It's not supposed to be this way," she whispered tearfully.
I placed my hand on her shoulder. "I just want to serve my planet. Nothing will happen to me. I promise."
A month later fate tested my words. The Trade Federation invaded Naboo. Queen Amidala was held prisoner in her own palace. Managing to escape to Coruscant, she returned with a small group of supporters. I, along with my colleagues, was held in a camp until Captain Panaka freed us and told us of a plan the Queen had devised to capture the Federation Viceroy. I was one of the few handchosen to participate in the small group in our perilous quest to capture the Viceroy.
We entered the palace through the hanger bay. I was so afraid of the battle, red and green laser bolts whizzing through the air, that I hardly noticed my comrades. It was not until the hanger fell dead silent that I turned to see a devilish figure dressed in black glaring evilly at us.
"We'll handle this," a deep voice said and suddenly two Jedi stepped forward from our company.
I gasped as the taller Jedi shrugged off his cloak. He had been the one who saved my father on Sullust!
"Jedi," I croaked, but Amidala was taking a detour, saying, "We'll take the long way," and the Jedi were drawing their lightsabers. The last image I saw my of hero was a man with a determined look on his face, unafraid of death, ready to fight with everything he had.
"Rian!" called my comrade and I ran off to do my part in the battle for Naboo.
The battle was not what I had in mind. The memories are so horrible I have shut them out. My close friends Sha'ak and Corj were killed. Countless buildings, including my home, were obliterated.
And my Jedi, my father's savior, my hero, was killed. I was one of the ones asked to take his body out of the palace where he had been cut down. I looked in his face and saw, even in death, pride, strength, and purpose. I wished I could be like him.
***********
Today, I visit my mother's grave. I try not to think about her being alone in our house when the Federation destroyed it.
I kneel by Mother's tombstone. I recall my words to her the day of my induction. I am all right. Nothing happened to me. But that is far from true for Sha'ak, for Corj, for my Jedi hero. For my mother.
"Oh, Mother," I whisper. "It wasn't supposed to be this way."