Hello! This is my first Star Wars fic and I am so glad to be writing again! I got this idea (and many others) after a long stressful year of college. Since this is the first time I'm writing Star Wars, don't judge TOO critically. I tried to stick as close to the films and Clone Wars TV show as possible, but I'm only human.

Please read, enjoy, and review!

Chapter 1

Her face is stricken by pain as he stares at her. She pleads with him to run and leave everything behind. He wants to leave, more than anything because he knows what will happen. He always knows what will happen. He knows he will see Obi-Wan at the top of the gangplank. He knows he will use the Force to take the breath away from the woman he loves. He knows he will fight. And he knows he will burn. It always happens. It always haunts him, even if it has never happened.

"Daddy!" the cry of a young girl jolts him from his sleep, his blue eyes open wide as he stares at the face of his daughter, Serena, "You were having a bad dream again," she says, crossing her arms over her chest.

Anakin shakes the sleep from his head as he sits up to swing his legs off the small cot. Rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his short hair, he takes a deep shaky breath as he tries to will the images from his head. Reaching for the parchment on the side table, he breaks off a piece of the seeds and pops it in his mouth, eyes closed and chewing softly, he waits for the drug to take effect.

"Mama hates when you do that," Serena says with a scowl on her face.

Anakin gives her a lopsided grin, "I hate it too, sweet girl," he says placing his good left hand on top of her head to ruffle her hair.

"Then why do it?"

He groans as he stands, staggering slightly from the drug as he walks towards the water basin, "Keeps the demons at bay," he says, splashing ice-cold water on his face. The seeds or, onyx as most people call it has helped keep some of the more disturbing visions away for years. Some days it feels like it is the only thing keeping him from going mad, "gods be good, I pray you never see demons like mine." He told her.

"You don't pray."

"Maybe not to your mother's gods, but I do," Anakin says as he pulls the dirty shirt off of his body and rummages through drawers for a clean shirt.

"You mean the Force, right?" Serena asks as she makes herself comfortable on her father's cot. Anakin glances at her a moment before turning away silently as he pulls the dark grey tunic over his head. Sometimes he regrets telling her about the Force. He didn't tell her much, but from what little he did, she understands that it is an energy that surrounds them and that they are more sensitive to it. Mention of it reminds him of all he left behind years ago. He does not regret abandoning the war- the opposite in fact. Living on this primitive planet has brought him peace he never knew he could have. He regrets leaving his friends, the Jedi but most of all he regrets leaving her. His wife. Padme. He had dreamed of her that night. She was the woman he always dreamed of should he not take enough seed before going to sleep. He regrets leaving her more than anything; but it is for the best. Had he stayed, the Republic would have fallen, the Jedi would be dead, she would have died, and he would have become a monster.

Looking in the mirror, he can barely recognize the man he had once been. His sandy hair was much shorter, short on the top of his head and down to his neck but shaved on the sides. The scar over his right eye has faded and his skin is nicely tanned. Anakin rubs the short stubble growing on his chin, it had been several days since his last shave, but he could last another couple days without it.

Shaking his head to rid himself of his thoughts, he fastens the glove over his durasteel hand and looks back at Serena, "Come on then, I promised to show you how the forge works," the young girl's face lit up as she rushed to take her father's hand.

The planet Bayrilia is located within the unknown regions of the galaxy. A fairly primitive planet, still living in the middle ages and far from being capable for space travel; the planet has proved its worth to Anakin, being that it would he highly unlikely anyone would find him here. The town he has taken residence in, Riverview, overlooks the Goz River. The town is less than a mile from the harbor and is frequented often by travelers in search of cheaper goods.

The smile on his face is genuine as he walks from his shack to the adjoining forge with his daughter chattering away about anything and everything. While his nights are plagued by the past, this girl brings joy and purpose to his days. Approaching the forge, Anakin sighs as he prepares himself for another long day working. Unable to work with machines as he would have preferred, working as a blacksmith seemed like a better alternative to trade, farming or artisan work.

Rolling his sleeves past his elbow, Anakin set to work, lighting the forge, replacing the cooling waters, and checking the molds he had left to cool overnight. Serena set herself up on the workbench near the front of the shop. Picking up a rag and a horseshoe she began polishing as she did almost everyday she was with her father. Anakin smiled as he watched her, she often reminded him of himself when he was younger, sitting on the counter in Watto's shop polishing one piece of machinery or another. Anakin checked the heat of the forge to make sure it was hot enough to melt the steel, "Serena, let me show you how to reshape steel."

Serena absolutely adored her father. She would spend whatever time she had with her father helping in his forge and learning what she can from him. Unlike her mother, her father was fun and went out of his way to make things exciting be it showing off dangerous tricks with red-hot steel, or showing her how to use the weapons he made. Recently he had been teaching her archery on his breaks, which was harder than he made it look. Today it seemed he wanted to teach her how to work the forge. Holding a piece of molten steel over the anvil he hands her the hammer. She takes it with a smile on her face and begins the process of flattening the steel and shaping it as he instructs.

"See the lines between the layers?" He asks, pointing to the distinct gaps between the blocks of steel, "You want to hammer those out otherwise the steel is more likely to break," Sweat drips from both their faces; his from the heat and hers more from the labor. Anakin laughs as she lets the arm holding the hammer drop to her side in exhaustion, "You did good, sweet girl," he says with a grin as he picks up a hammer to finish what she started before the metal cools too much.

"How do you do this everyday?" Serena asks as she grabs a cup of water, "it is so tiring, and hot, and you have to meet what the buyers want every time."

Anakin wipes the sweat on his forehead with the back of his arm, "Took me awhile to learn, but I managed," he says as he gives her a goofy grin, "Your mother can tell you some pretty terrible stories from when I first started," Serena laughs as she hops on top of the workbench.

"I think for now I'll stick with this," She holds up a dagger and a rag for him to see before she starts to polish it.

Anakin looks out into the town and sees the group of kids Serena often plays with, "Or you could go out with them," He says, encouraging her to go play.

"I don't mind."

"Serena, Go. Be a kid. Have fun but be back in time for supper." She ponders this a moment before jumping from the workbench and putting her things away before running to meet with her friends.

[][][][]

The group of kids made their way to the riverbank that separated the town from the forest. They played for several hours but eventually they had all returned to town as the sunset. Serena stayed out. Her father worked longer than most so he often wasn't home until after sundown. Rather than go back to the forge or go to the tavern her mother worked at, she stayed at the bank and watched for the stars to appear. As she looked up, she watched, as one star grew larger and larger. Her excitement at seeing a falling star brought a smile to her face. Squeezing her eyes shut, she made a wish. And when she opened her eyes to continue watching, she saw that the star in fact was coming down fast. She watched as the star soon took the shape and color of hot metal like what her father forged. She saw as it disappeared into the canopy of the forest and heard a bang as it hit the ground. Without thinking, she jumped to her feet and made her way to the bridge to get to the forest.

She ran as fast as she could to reach her star. She could see the smoke rising as she drew closer. By the time she reached the site she was out of breath but that was the least of her worries. The metal vessel she found was on fire and she saw four men in white armor stained red with blood. She knew they were dead. They were not moving and one was impaled on a rod from the ship. Rather than run, she froze at the sight. She wanted to run. She wanted to go home and tell her father what she saw and see if there was anything to be done, but she couldn't. Taking a step towards the most intact part of the vessel, she followed the energy she was drawn to. Moving quietly and with trepidation she moved around the site until the feeling was so strong she knew something was there. Stepping into the ship, she shifted a few pieces of metal, careful not to burn herself, to come face to face with a sculpture of sorts. It was of a terrified woman confined in a large brick of what looked like stone. Along the edge were several small dials and switches with blinking lights. She was alive. Serena did not know how she knew, but she knew this statue was alive and she had no idea how to help.

Taking a few steps back, she tried to figure out how the woman got stuck in there in the first place. But she had no ideas. If she was going to help this woman, she needed help, without hesitation she turned and ran back to the town to get her father. Of all the people she knew, he was the one most likely able to help.

By the time she made it to the town, most of the town was gathered to watch the smoke rise from the site. Her father stood among them with her mother arguing with him again.

"How could you just let her go like that?" Her mother yelled, "There is a fire in the forest and our daughter is missing!"

"She was playing with her friends, Ellaena! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"There is when you clearly aren't watching her!"

Anakin gave a sigh, "She'll be back in a bit, I told her to be home on time for dinner."

"Daddy!" both parents look over to see their daughter running for them. Ellaena gave a sigh of relief and moved to embrace her daughter but was quickly brushed off as she grabbed her father's hand and started dragging him towards the forest, "She needs help! The lady in the forest!" she yelled as she dragged him.

"Hold up, sweet girl; what are you talking about?"

"I saw a falling star! There was a lady in it and she's still alive! She needs help." It took him a moment to decipher what she was saying and what it meant. Most would think she was crazy, like her mother clearly did from the look she gave them. But Anakin had seen so much more of the universe than anyone here. The star must be a ship that crashed and the lady was its passenger. He let Serena drag him to the crash site. The moment they arrive, Anakin notices the dead soldiers and immediately recognizes them as clone troopers. The Republic has found him. He wants to run and hide, but he is already here and he can't bring himself to be so cruel as to leave someone in danger.

Serena brings him to stand in front of the block where the woman is trapped and he is struck immediately. He sees a woman wearing a long sleeved shirt with a vest over it and pants with a belt and tall boots. Within the block of carbonite, he sees the face of the woman who haunts his dreams.

"Padme…"