Disclaimer: I own nothing. No copyright infringement is intended.

-1-

Young Anakin

(32BBY)

'If there was one thing to see on Tatooine, besides the dust and the sand and the dirt of a scum-ridden planet, it was the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace. Thousands of fans made their loyal pilgrimage across the stars to witness this annual event, and in the year 32 BBY I was among them. But I had come for another reason also. There had long since been someone I had desired to meet upon this planet; a young boy. And the time to make his acquaintance had finally arrived.'

It was blisteringly hot. Only occasionally did a breath of cool air embrace me as shop doors hissed open, flooding Mos Espa Main Street for a moment with blissfully cooled, conditioned air.

The suns hung low over the spaceport as I made my way towards a little junk shop I had only ever seen on a screen, many years in the future. But now it lay just ahead, on the left side of the dusty street. I stepped into the cool shop and sighed with relief as I relaxed my hold on the Force.

'Kee booda? Yo bana pee hota?' [What? What do you want?] A Toydarian shopkeeper snapped, his wings beating restlessly.

'Me boshka de Anakin Skywalker.' [I'm looking for Anakin Skywalker.] I replied quietly and Watto, the Toydarian, fluttered backwards, agitated.

I walked over to the Nubian hyperdrive lying in the middle of the shabby room and took a closer look at the machinery I knew exactly when and by whom would later be procured.

'And why are you looking for my slave?' Watto snapped, placing the tool he held clasped in his hand on the counter and crossing his arms.

'I have a message for him.' I said smoothly.

'That makes it my business.' He hovered closer, intrigued.

I picked up the component of a repulsorlift coil and inspected it carefully.

'I would prefer to speak to the boy myself.' I smiled politely. 'It's nearly dark. The boy's shift should be over soon.'

'I do not like this. What is this message?'

I declined to answer. Instead I jumped up onto the counter beside Watto, crossed my legs and closed my eyes. I heard the Toydarian curse in Huttese, but ignored him.

'Ding me chaza hopa?' [Can I help you with that?] The voice came out of nowhere, but it was soft and gentle and I opened my eyes to find myself staring at a young Anakin. His grey-blue eyes burned brightly, unbelievably intelligently for a boy his age, a slave. His sun-bleached hair matched his tanned skin but it was nearly the same colour as his light, beige tunic. A delicately crafted necklace hugged his neck.

I stared at him intently. This little boy would one day become the feared Darth Vader, one of the greatest villains this galaxy would ever know. And yet here he appeared so innocent, so good, standing before me.

'Anakin Skywalker.' I stated, pronouncing every syllable.

The boy gaped at me somewhat puzzled. 'Yeah, that's me. Who're you?'

'Cara, Cara Liana. It's nice to finally meet you Anakin.' I held out my hand and after a moment of hesitation he shook it.

'It's nice to meet you too.'

'This person has business to discuss with you.' Watto announced, evidently irritated.

'Business?' the boy asked.

'I do. Come. Walk with me.' I stepped out of the shop, and into the faintly lit street. I waited beside the entrance for Anakin to follow.

'Go. Go on then. Go home.' Watto snapped and Anakin stepped out.

'What business?' he asked again, wiping his dirty hands on his tunic.

'I would prefer some privacy.' I implied and Anakin nodded once. 'I'll take you to my place then.'

He led the way towards Mos Espa's slave quarters and after a short walk we entered one of the many small dwellings. We were greeted by Shmi Skywalker. Long dark hair framed her soft face and her bright eyes met mine slightly startled. I stepped up to her and offered her my hand. She shook it.

'Hello, my name is Cara Liana.' I introduced myself.

'Mom this is my friend. She's staying for dinner.' Anakin announced cheerfully.

'Welcome, Cara.' Shmi said softly, turning back to a large, steaming pot on the heated stove. After a moment she wiped her hands on a ragged towel and gestured for me to sit at the table in the centre of the dimly lit room. I did as she bade and waited for her and Anakin to take their places beside me.

'So what brings you to Mos Espa?' Shmi asked.

'The races.' I answered politely. 'My master has me betting on the dug, Sebulba. I heard Anakin has raced him a few times. I came to enquire about the odds. Anakin tells me Sebulba nearly always wins the races, but I think I'll put my own money on someone else.'

Anakin gawped at me, momentarily somewhat startled by my reply, but he regained his composure soon enough and announced with a grin:

'Yeah, Sebulba can't always win. I think someone else could really pull through this time, mom.'

'So, Ani, now you've become an expert on the races, advising betters?' Shmi didn't look too pleased by this prospect and Anakin frowned.

'Well, I have come for another reason also.' I quickly intervened and drew from the small bag I carried beneath my cloak a strange looking piece of machinery. 'Actually, Anakin's reputation as a great mechanic precedes him. I have had no luck trying to get this fixed. I heard from one of the junk dealers that Anakin can fix almost anything, so I thought I might enquire about his services. I'm willing to pay, of course.'

Anakin's eyes widened as he beheld the odd scrap of metal and a small smile tugged at the corners of Shmi's lips.

'Well, I am sure Anakin would be only too willing to help you out.' She said gently.

Anakin had already leapt to his feet and now held out his hands for the item I was holding. I gave it to him without hesitation and he hurried to his room. After a moment he reappeared and gestured for me to follow, his young eyes still intent on the object before him.

He let the door slide shut behind us and jumped up to sit on the workbench beside his unfinished protocol droid. He paused his inspection of the object to watch me as I wandered about the small room.

'Are you a Jedi?' he asked suddenly.

'Why would you think that?' I smiled, sitting down on his small bed.

'I dunno. Just got the feeling.' He returned his attention to the object and began fumbling with some of the wires.

'Well, you're not entirely off the mark.' I offered no further explanation.

'You're not normal though.' He countered eventually, hesitating slightly on the word 'normal'.

'Thank you, Anakin. That's sweet. I try my best to avoid normality.' I laughed softly.

Anakin grimaced as he looked up from the object. 'It wasn't meant to be sweet.' He mumbled. 'So, what else can I do for you?' he asked.

'Well, asides from fixing this curious thing for me I would ask only that you to listen to what I'm about to tell you very carefully.' I walked over to where he was sitting on the workbench and glanced into his bright and intelligent eyes.

'You have to promise me that you won't ever speak of what I am about to tell you. You have to swear it!'

His expression turned puzzled. 'But I -'

I cut him off. 'You'll understand one day, Anakin. But you have to promise me now!'

'Ok, ok. I promise. I won't tell anyone.' He appeared chagrined as he said these words, but he reached out and took my hand in his nonetheless, placing the object he had been holding aside.

Smiling, I withdrew a small datapad from within one of the pockets of my tunic and pressed the power button. The small screen whirred to life and depicted on the small screen was a picture of a far away world: Coruscant.

'I doubt if you'll believe me today, Anakin, but one day, when the prophecy comes true you will come to believe all I will now tell you.' As I spoke I turned the screen so Anakin could see it.

'This is Coruscant, and this is the Jedi temple.' I explained quickly, tapping the screen.

I heard a sharp indrawn breath and glanced at Anakin. 'It's burning.' His eyes were wide and I grimaced.

'This won't happen for many years, Anakin, so you don't need to worry about it now. But listen to me. This event is fixed in time. It will occur. When it does, you will know that all I tell you is true and you'll be able to believe.'

'But how can you know this? How do you know the future?' he asked, and his voice shook ever so slightly.

'Because I do. There is no adequate explanation I can offer you at this moment in time.' I replied.

He sat motionless for a long time, resolve burned in his eyes as he finally spoke.

'I won't let the Jedi temple burn! I will become the greatest Jedi ever and I will protect them.' The conviction in his voice was so complete and pure, but a shiver ran down my spine as I heard his words. I cupped his young face so his eyes met mine and smiled sadly.

'You are so brave Anakin Skywalker. And you are so very good and kind. But I honestly doubt your life will be that of a brave, good boy, Anakin. You are destined to walk a path of darkness. You are the Chosen One, the boy who will bring balance to the Force.'

I could tell by his expression that he did not understand my words and I did not blame him, but I did not wait for him to respond. 'Now, Anakin, you may be gifted, but the day will come when your gifts will fail you. I have come to bring you the means to save your life then.'

He allowed his confusion to show, but continued to listen intently, his head cocked slightly to the right.

He began to grin widely as I floated him into the centre of the small room.

'I am here to teach you an ancient trick that my Master taught me many years ago. It has long been lost to any fraction of Force users, but I believe it is important that you come about this knowledge.'

'But I don't know anything about the Force.' Anakin objected.

'For the time being I am sure you are well enough educated about matters of the Force to grasp the fundamental aspects of this theory. As you grow older you will become more advanced.'

I began circling him slowly and he rotated with me.

'Open your mind, Anakin. Feel the raw power of the Force as it flows through you, consumes you. Now grasp that, make it your own.' I felt a faint tweaking in the Force, but it vanished almost immediately.

'I do not deny that it will take you some time to become adept at what I am about to teach you, but once you have a feel for the Force, it will become much easier. So, let's try that again.'

It did not take him long to learn how to channel the Force with some semblance of control and so I released my hold on him and he sagged to the floor. He seemed a little surprised, but I was not interested in teaching him telekinesis; that he would learn from the Jedi.

His young cheeks were flushed with excitement and he could hardly contain his joy.

'Now, try to use the Force as your primary sense. Close your eyes. Don't look, don't listen, simply feel the power of the Force and use it to comprehend what I am doing.'

As soon as he had closed his eyes I opened my senses to the Force. I felt it pulse through me, through every cell in my body. I let it consume me and slowly my mind vanished within this complex body of millions upon millions of atoms. With a slight push I pressed my body's ability to exist over the edge of reality and blinked out of existence in front of the boy.

'Cara?' I heard him call, startled.

'I am still here, Anakin.' I spoke, but my voice echoed unusually in the small room. Slowly I began to reverse the process and my outline began to shimmer faintly blue. A few seconds later I was myself again, standing in front of a very impressed Anakin.

'Wow. I wanna do that.' He gasped.

I spent the next hours trying to teach him the basics of this ancient art. I had never credited myself with great teaching skills, but it seemed that I had always been lacking in self-confidence, or perhaps even I had underestimated this young boy. After a mere three hours he could make his shape blur and shimmer, becoming slightly translucent.

'Well done, Anakin. We will leave it at this for now. Practice what I have taught you, but don't reveal your powers to anyone.' I tapped my forehead. 'If you do, I will know.'

'I already promised I wouldn't tell.' He replied to the warning tone in my voice and I laughed lightly.

'Nonetheless, I believe it would be a good idea for you to forget all about this, for now.' I pulled him into a quick embrace and ran my hand over his hair. He sagged into my arms and I caught my breath as we passed through the isolated time boundary. He did not stir and so I lifted him up, gently setting him down on the workbench beside C-3PO.

He took a sudden deep breath, blinked twice and then shook his head. Confusion was a common side-effect of memory alteration, but I had only dampened the memory of what I had told him. He would begin to remember quite soon.

'It wasn't meant to be sweet.' He mumbled, and turned back to the object I had brought for him. 'So, what can I do for you?'

I suppressed a quiet laugh and answered his repeated question.

'Well, I managed to break this a while ago and I'm really hoping you can fix it. You see, it belonged to a good friend of mine.'

'I don't look like it's worth much.' He stated as he began taking the object apart. I winced as he threw the black metallic covering to the floor.

'It has sentimental value.' I explained and proceeded to pick up the discarded cover.

'Oops, sorry.' He mumbled, but continued his inspection.

'Don't worry about it. What do you think? Can you fix it?'

'Yeah. I think so. I've never seen anything like it. It must be pretty old. But look here, I think it might be a projector of some sort.' He continued to point to various parts of the oddly spherical object, explaining the different components eagerly.

I sank to the floor and observed him work in silence. Eventually Shmi called us to dinner.

She served up a deliciously spiced Bantha Stew and we chatted casually about the up-coming races as we ate. Anakin excused himself once he had finished and I took the opportunity to quiz Shmi carefully about her past. We sat together for a long time, for it was late when Anakin returned. I took the object he was carrying from him with a smile.

'Thank you, Anakin. How much do I owe you?'

'Erm, nothing, don't worry about it.'

'No, I can't do that.' I placed three hundred credits on the table and turned to leave.

'Well, if you ever need anything, like a protocol droid or so…' He suggested quickly.

'Thank you for the offer, Anakin, but I'm afraid I have an appointment offworld to keep. I doubt I'll be seeing Tatooine again anytime soon. And you, won't you be busy at Watto's?' I said as I rose from my seat.

'Yeah. I guess. Oh, well. It could've been a great chance to earn some money, mom.'

'Oh Ani, you know Watto wouldn't approve and Cara is right. It's always so busy, especially during the races.' Shmi got up and held out her hand.

'It was lovely to meet you, Shmi.' I said as I shook it and Anakin led me to the door. We stepped out into the dark.

'Oh, one more thing, Anakin.' I said as soon as we were out of earshot. 'You will soon meet a man called Qui-Gon Jinn. He will not be travelling alone.' I reached into my pocket and placed a small pendant, a miniature model of an YT-1300 space freighter, hung on a leather cord, into Anakin's outstretched palm and closed his fingers around it. 'Could you please give this to his apprentice? I would be most grateful.'

'Sure. Do I tell him who it's from.' He asked as he placed the pendant into his own pocket.

'I would prefer if you didn't, for now.' I answered honestly.

'Sure.' He hesitated, but I could tell he had something on his mind. 'Will I see you again?'

I laughed quietly and nodded.

'Soon enough, Anakin, soon enough.' I pulled my cloak tighter around me and headed out, back towards the main street. I wandered the streets of Mos Espa for a long time, not knowing where I was going. I just couldn't get the image of young Skywalker out of my mind. I had longed to meet him for so long and now I finally had. I found myself going over our conversation again and again, but I had said roughly what I had meant to.

Eventually I found my way back to the docking bay and pinned in the key code to the Falcon. I had modified the Falcon somewhat since I had bought it, seventy years in the future. I had taken it to high-grade shipyards 500 ABY and they had been only too willing to help me restore this historic vessel. It was back in pristine condition. And it was just about the right time too. The first freighters of this model were just leaving the production line. I made myself a cup of coffee and reclined in the pilot's seat in the cockpit.

By the time the suns were beginning to set the following day I had made my way back towards Watto's junk shop. Keeping to the shadows I watched as an innocent onlooker, as a tall Jedi, a lanky Gungan and a young girl, followed by an astromech droid, entered the shop. They exited a little while later and Anakin soon followed. As I watched him go I knew that my adventure, and his, had only just begun.

***

'And so ends the first chapter of my story. Have any of you heard of the planet Tatooine?' Cara spoke softly to the Younglings gathered around her. They sat in a large open garden, surrounded by tall trees and trickling fountains. A young Twi'lek female raised her hand and Cara encouraged her to speak.

'It was a planet on the Outer Rim. It had two suns and three moons, I think.'

Cara nodded. 'Yes, quite right. It was destroyed forty-six millennia ago.'

'Master Liana, I don't understand. Why did you want to see Anakin Skywalker?' Another of the Younglings, an Iktotchi, enquired timidly.

'A good question, Solt. I trust you have all been enjoying your history lessons with the High Master?' The Younglings nodded vigorously, after all the High Council Master specialized in this era of Galactic History.

'Well, then you know the legend of Anakin Skywalker. I travelled to Tatooine, because I planned to change the fate of a few certain individuals that I had come to admire in my years of study.' Master Liana explained. Her eyes trained on the faces of each and every one of the Younglings.

'But Master, you said it was impossible to change history!' Solt gasped and Cara smiled.

'As I told a young Anakin, it is not possible to change fixed events in time. Some aspects of history are always open to negotiation.'

'Master Liana, what was the object Anakin fixed for you?' another Youngling asked.

'It was an early holoprojector my Master gave me. It has an uncanny tendency for breaking.' She explained briefly but then returned to the original subject of the lesson. 'Time travel, Younglings, is not an easy concept to grasp, let alone to achieve. It is fraught with danger. That is why the Council forbids it.'

Cara rose from her small seat in the middle of the circle and the Younglings crowded around her.

'But you did it anyway, Master!'

'Why didn't the Council stop you?'

'Will we be allowed to try?'

They asked many more questions, but she refused to answer them. She ushered them to the canteen instead. One Youngling fell behind and while she urged the rest to go on ahead she waited for the young human boy.

'Dran?' she held out her hand to him and he took it with a quick glance over his shoulder, then he stood on his toes and whispered quietly into her ear.

'I will become the greatest Master, and then I'll travel through time too.'

Cara froze for one moment, and then smiled. She took his hand and led him to the cafeteria, her thoughts focused on Anakin.