Chapter 2: Mother

The melodious voice floated through the air, and the three Jedi turned to see an elderly woman sitting on a pillow in the middle of the room. Three similar pillows were sprawled out in front of her, and she smiled as she indicated them. "I am called Sava. I am the oracle of, and guardian to the gates to the past. Please, sit with me."

They did as she bid, Anakin sitting on the cushion directly in front of her, Obi-Wan to his left, and Ahsoka to his right. Something about this woman's gaze seemed strange to the young knight, and once he had settled on the pillow, he thought he realized what it was. To prove his theory, he waved his hand in front of her eyes.

There was no reaction.

"You're blind," Ahsoka gasped. Then blushed, embarrassed at her own outburst. "Sorry."

The woman's laughter came out as a soft purr. "No need for apologies, little one. One does not need eyes to be gifted with sight. What do you see when you look at me?" Her head was turned toward the padawan.

"Um..." the young Togruta bit her bottom lip before stating honestly, "you're old, but beautiful. You have a nice smile."

"Thank you." Sava bowed her head slightly to the girl then turned to Obi-Wan with a tilt of her head. "What do you see?"

"A woman who has seen much good and evil. You're strong, yet gentle and very wise." The older Jedi then paused. With a slight gleam in his eyes, he added, "And you are rather amused by us."

"Indeed," the word came out with bubbly laughter. She quickly sobered as she turned her attention to Anakin. "And what does the Chosen One see?"

Though the woman's eyes were sightless, he gazed into them as though hypnotized. His heart beat quicker as he tried to look away. What he saw was something he had lost long ago. "A mother," he rasped hoarsely as he fought to keep tears from forming. He closed his eyes as he lowered his head. Silence reigned for a few moments as he sensed both his padawan and former master looking at him. Taking a deep breath, he looked back up at the woman, studiously ignoring his companions.

"There, you see? Each of you just demonstrated three different ways of seeing things. Ahsoka, with her eyes, Obi-Wan with the Force, and Anakin with his heart. Each gave part of the truth. Put those together, you still do not see the whole."

"How do you know our names," the young padawan inquired.

"We have been watching you. Now," her voice changed suddenly as she intoned, "it is time."

Anakin felt a strange detachment at her intense gaze. Though she spoke softly, her voice seemed to reverberate within his head. At first, she spoke to his companions. "While he walks with me through the veils of time, the two of you shall be his anchor. If something happens, you must call him back to himself." He could barely hear their words of assent.

"Now, my child." As the oracle spoke, he felt as though his spirit was in another place. He was standing in front of the woman as he faced her. She reached out a hand as she said, "Take it, and do not let go for any reason or you may be lost beyond time. We shall only observe, do not try to interfere. Any disturbance in what was can damage what is and shall be. Do you understand?"

He obediently took her hand, feeling as though he were once more a small child. "Yes, ma'am." At least I think so.

Sava gently smiled. "Just don't let go," she said as she led him towards a filmy curtain. As she reached out with her free hand, she reminded him once more, "Do not interfere with what you see."

At the touch of her fingers, the thin veil shimmered then dissipated. The air suddenly became hot. They were standing on a rocky outcropping above the sandy floor of a desert, where sat what appeared to be a temporary encampment. Anakin shook his head as dread filled him. "No..." his voice broke. He saw Tusken Raiders walking around. A female carrying an infant in a sling over her back was throwing tubers in a boiling cauldron. His free hand balled into a fist as he heard the guttural voices of these people laughing and conversing with each other. As he watched, the suns were setting, and the air rapidly began to cool.

Looking around, he realized this was not just a Tusken tribe, but the tribe.

The one tribe he slaughtered.

He turned to Sava. "Why did you bring me here?" He realized he was shouting, and swallowed before continuing in a quieter voice, though the tone was still angry, "I already know what happened. I know it was wrong. Why bring me here if I can't stop it? What is the purpose?"

"Just wait and watch, young one," she instructed softly in a sad voice.

The twilight darkened into night, and the Jedi heard light footsteps behind him. He turned to see himself just a few years younger. A determined expression was upon his younger self's face as he passed through himself, unseeing. Damn, that's creepy! The present Anakin turned in time to see the past Anakin jump off the outcropping and head toward the encampment.

"Please, I don't want to watch this! I've relived this thousands of times in my dreams, I don't need to see it again."

"This time, you may actually learn something if you are open to it."

He wanted to close his eyes, but made himself watch. His younger self came out of the tent which now held his deceased mother and swiftly put an end to the two Tusken guards who sat outside it. Suddenly, he saw a shimmering blue light at the edge of his vision, and turned his attention to a transparent man-shaped figure.

"Anakin! Anakin, no!"

The voice sounded familiar. "Who... who is that?"

Anakin pulled Sava with him as he jumped off the rocky outcropping and ran toward the figure. Even as he approached, he noticed his younger self continue to slaughter the Tusken men, women and children.

The shimmering blue image of the man fell to his knees, and in an anguished voice cried, "I'm sorry I failed you, Anakin."

Realization hit the young Jedi.

"No, it is I who failed you, Master Jinn." The ghostly image of the man who freed him from a life of slavery stood and turned to face him in one fluid motion. The tears streaming down the spectre's cheeks triggered a swell of moistness in Anakin's eyes. "I am so sorry."

Qui-Gon reached a hand up and placed it on the young Jedi's shoulder. "Anakin."

Unconditional love and acceptance coursed through the Force at the Master's utterance of his name, and he knew he was forgiven.

"You must release your fear of death so this does not happen again," the ghost instructed.

"I'm not afraid to die," Anakin replied. From the corner of his eye, he saw himself going back into the tent that held the lifeless form of his mother, but kept his attention focused on his mentor.

"I wasn't talking about your own death. You fear losing those you love."

"That's easy for you to say. You don't know how it feels to love. You never had a family!"

"I know more than you think. I loved her too, you know. Your mother was very beautiful."

"Huh?" Anakin looked horrified at the slight smile on Qui-Gon's face. "Oh no..." he shook his head in denial. "She was my mother!"

"And a desirable woman."

"Oh, gross!"

Qui-Gon glanced over at Sava who began to chuckle. "You'll show him?"

The woman nodded.

"No way, I don't need to see that," Anakin protested, not getting the fact that the Oracle and the Jedi Master were talking about something else than what he was focussing on.

"Heed the lessons shown you in your walk, Anakin," was Qui-Gon's quiet plea as his ghostly image faded.

Just as he saw his younger self leave with the still form of his mother wrapped in sackcloth, Sava said, "Come, you have more to see."

A shimmering curtain appeared before them, and at the woman's light touch, it disappeared. To Anakin's relief, the scene that unveiled itself was not one of his mother enjoying the amorous attentions of Master Jinn. Instead, Shmi Skywalker was preparing a meal as she hummed the tune he remembered hearing so often as a child. Even as he wondered what song that was, he saw his younger self, this time about nine years of age dragging his feet in, head lowered, and shoulders slumped.

"Welcome home, Ani," his mother sang cheerfully until she turned and saw the manner in which her son walked by her. "What's wrong, son?" She placed a slender-fingered hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. She then reached her other hand out to gently lift the boy's chin and gasped as she saw his nose bleeding. "Oh, Ani, another fight?"

When he only nodded and lowered his gaze back to the floor, she sighed.

"Come," she said as she gently led him to the refresher. "So," she asked as she administered the proper treatment, "what happened this time?"

"Greedo called me a... a... a bastard."

Shmi's eyes widened in shock, then her shoulders slumped slightly.

"What's a bastard, mom?"

One eyebrow lifted up. "You don't know what it means, but you fought Greedo anyway?"

"Well, I know it wasn't a nice word the way he said it."

Shmi shook her head with a slight smile.

"What's it mean, mom?"

The smile faded, and the adult Anakin saw the deep sorrow on his mother's face as she explained the definition.

"Oh." The boy thought a moment before asking, "Well, who was my father, anyway? Why did he leave?"

Shmi took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I don't know, Ani."

The boy frowned. "What do you mean? You don't know who my father is, or you don't know why he left?"

"When I found out I was pregnant with you, I had not been with a man for many years, Ani. I don't know how it happened." She reached a hand up to cup her son's face in her palm. "You are a gift to me. The most precious gift ever conceived."

"Then... who did you name me after?"

The woman took both her son's hands in hers. "When I was a little girl, younger than you, I was a lonely slavegirl, lost and afraid. A man came to me and was very kind. This stranger comforted me. His name was Anakin. Though I only met him that one time, and it was only for maybe five minutes, I never forgot him. He came out of nowhere when I needed an anchor. He gave it to me. So when I had you, I named you after him because like him, you came out of nowhere and gave me another anchor to hold onto."

"I love you, mom."

Shmi took her son into her arms in a big hug. "I love you too, Ani."

Knight Skywalker whispered, "She is beautiful, isn't she?"