The End

Shadows of the future

".I could see the future! You're going to die alone, I saw you dying alone, all old and deformed and metal and you were alone! I didn't want to see you alone! It was all fire and burning and panic everywhere and there were people dying everywhere, and there was no Obi-wan, there was no Mace, there was no Jedi!" At this point she broke down and started shaking insanely. " There was no Jedi!" she repeated over and over.

" Where were you?" Anakin asked trying to keep his voice under control, her pain was affecting him seriously.

" I was dead! I was dead! I don't want to die!" the child cried. Anakin hugged her even tighter and he rocked her.

" You are not going to die, I am not letting anything happen to you! Ever!" he said firmly and a tear rolled down his face.

" Yes I will! I'm going to die soon! I know I am! And chancellor Palpatine has something to do with it! He's so evil Anakin, he's so evil!" she cried passionately. Anakin gulped and closed his eyes - he didn't want to hear this, he didn't want to know this. Her premonitions were usually very accurate.

" How are we going to lose all the Jedi?" Anakin asked.

" The Sith are going to kill them!" she cried.

" What all of them?"

" Yes," she cried and she fully broke down. unable to talk about it any more. Anakin gulped and held her tightly till she fell asleep, she was already much calmer now and he focused all his energy on soothing her. Then, when he sensed that she was totally calm again, he focused on getting to sleep himself.

* * *

The next day Mayco woke before Anakin and she climbed quietly out of bed and left his room. Obi-wan was cooking breakfast in the kitchen.

" Good morning Mayco, how are you feeling today?" Obi-wan asked sitting the girl down at the table and placing his hand protectively on her head.

" Better thank you," she said.

" Do you want some breakfast?" Obi-wan asked and Mayco nodded enthusiastically as he dished out some of the meat he'd been frying. Then he put the toast on the table and the hard-boiled eggs. " Help yourself," he said and she dug in, chatting enthusiastically to him about the trip they were going to take. Soon enough Anakin woke up and came through fully dressed. He walked over to them and stood between them, smiling broadly (this was his ideal situation, a real family life with his daughter at his side) and to his surprise Mayco lunged at him and hugged his waist.

" Thank you for last night," she said. Anakin ruffled her hair with his hand.

" You're welcome kid," he said and he joined them at the table, still smiling at the familiarity of it all. " So what are you going to do the next few days?"

" Try to do some good deeds I guess." Mayco muttered grimly.

* * *

" Mayco, sweetheart, did you really have to put him all the way on the fifth pillar, I mean couldn't you have just sufficed with one of the lower ones so he could jump down?" Obi-wan asked patiently, a slight smile pulling at his face. Mayco turned to glare at him and shook her head.

" That was not my fault!" she hissed, thrusting her finger back in the direction of the chaos she had just caused. " Like it's my fault that guy chose us, out of everyone out here us to pick pocket! He nearly got hold of Kito! I love that little guy!" Anakin grinned at Obi-wan over his warm drink. Kito had been the first cuddly toy Mayco had ever received, and it had been from Anakin on her first birthday.

" I doubt that he would have kept hold of Kito when he saw the disgusting brown colour he's turned," Obi-wan said smiling back at Anakin. Mayco's jaw dropped.

" Hey! He's great! Kito is the cutest little.brown.thing ever! And anyway, that guy had it coming," she said rebelliously, but then her stubborn expression turned into one of mischief. " And besides, it's really funny watching those guys trying to get him down, you guys should watch! Look!"

" Well I for one must say that your behaviour over the last few days has been despicable," Obi-wan said sternly. Mayco shrugged her shoulders.

" Yeah, well my plan was that if the council thought I was badder without Tio then they'd get us back together," she said triumphantly, throwing down the remains of the awful tasting café made toast sandwich.

" Badder isn't even a word!" Anakin chuckled. " I mean come on kid, if you're going to make a stand at least."

" Hey our transport is boarding!" Mayco suddenly said pointing at the huge information screen, showing the port flight details of the incoming and outgoing transports. She jumped to her feet before Obi-wan or Anakin could confirm, grabbed her duffel bag and ran off in the direction of the hanger.

" Mayco, get your little locomotionally challenged butt back here!" Anakin yelled into the crowd and within moments Mayco was back.

" Locomotionally challenged?" she asked with an incredulous look on her face.

" Well yeah, as in you don't know how to walk at a good pace in public," Anakin explained. Mayco continued to stare at him incredulously. " What that was funny!" Mayco shook her head. " Master, that was funny right?" But he never got his answer as both Obi-wan and Mayco were laughing and walking away from him. " Guys come on!" He smiled to himself, picked up his own duffel bag, and followed the laughing pair through the crowds.

* * *

" Is that them?" a deep threatening voice asked through the darkness overlooking the port lobby.

" Yes," came the reply. " You watch them closely.you watch them very closely. Without them, all this will be for nothing, and my master will be very unhappy!"

" Understood boss, understood."

* * *

" What time will they arrive Aunt Padme?" Padme pulled away from the window and smiled at the young girl.

" Soon Pooja, soon. Master Kenobi contacted me earlier today to tell me that they would arrive this evening," Padme told her niece.

" I can't wait to meet them, real live people from Coruscant and one of them is a kid!" Pooja said wistfully, in her twelve years of existence, she'd rarely been given the chance to play with children from other worlds.

" As apposed to not real live people?" Padme asked chuckling.

" No silly, like droids and stuff! They come out here from Coruscant all the time, but people, that's so different!" the girl protested, losing her peaceful demeanour for a moment, before her dreamy look returned.

" Oh," Padme laughed. " Well remember Pooja, Mayco is very.special to the Jedi and to Master Kenobi and his apprentice, so you can only take her to safe places where there are a lot of people!" The young girl nodded knowingly, she was tired of hearing this speech over and over.

" Yeah but what I don't understand is if she's like training to be a Jedi, then surely she could take anyone on right?"

" Pooja," Padme warned. " Don't get any ideas! Mayco is only eight-years- old, she's too young to 'take anyone on'!" she said feeling apprehensive.

" But everyone's heard about her, she's apparently the most amazing kid they've ever had at the temple! Yoda is like her personal mentor and she can do almost everything he can!" Pooja said dreamily.

" Pooja, Mayco is powerful yes! But her combat training in real live situations has been limited; she needs to be prepared for it. Don't put her in any dangerous situations, or the Jedi may never take her back to visit Naboo," Padme said firmly. Pooja gave her a defiant stare, but then smiled childishly.

" Okay," she said sighing dramatically, but her eyes were smiling. Padme nodded and smiled back at her niece, praying to her Gods that Mayco's visit would go by uneventfully.

* * *

The transport landed on time, and the small cloaked party made their way quickly through the port to the arrival lobby where they were being met by a representative of the senator, who would be taking them to their hotel, and then on to lunch with the senator. They found the representative quickly and he led them out of the port and out onto the streets of the beautiful capitol. It was a short, but enjoyable walk to their hotel and once they got there Obi-wan spoke to the man in the lobby, and eventually got the keys off him. They would all have their own rooms, but Mayco's would have a door leading into Obi-wan's. After dropping off their bags they once again set off into the city, this time riding by carriage to the restaurant.

" Now remember Mayco, you are to be on your best behaviour, you are representing all the children at the temple!" Obi-wan warned. Mayco rolled her eyes and nodded tiredly.

" And don't go leading Senator Amidala's niece astray either," Anakin added grinning at Mayco cheerfully.

" What?" Mayco cried innocently. " Like I would do such a thing! I'd be more worried about you guys getting us into trouble than me! At least what I do is innocent fun, you guys are the ones that land us in major problems remember?" she complained.

" You? Innocent?" Anakin laughed, but he dropped the matter, this was supposed to be an enjoyable trip, he didn't want Mayco to get sulky before she met her mother. Padme.Anakin's thoughts strayed to his wife and he smiled, oh how he hated their secret union. He missed her so much when he was away from her.

" Why are you getting so emotional?" Mayco suddenly asked him, giving him an amused look. Obi-wan flashed Anakin a warning smile, Mayco was getting too good at picking up on people's emotions.

" Padme's a very good friend, I look forward to seeing her again," he said truthfully. Mayco continued to stare at him, aware that he was hiding something, but eventually she let it drop. This worried Obi-wan, if she could pick up so easily on Anakin's emotions, then Padme's emotions would be easier to read. He hated this insecurity, this trip was such a bad idea, they were putting too much at risk, they had too much to lose!

Their journey only lasted a few more minutes, and the carriage then pulled up a drive to a beautifully archaic building. The party thanked the driver and were led into the building. Several people were dining and their guide led them through all the tables to a sectioned off area. Here he left them and they cautiously made their way past the screen. Sitting there in all her glory was Padme, surrounded by her family. Anakin beamed at her.

" Anakin, Master Kenobi," she called to them and she stood up and rushed over to them, greeting them enthusiastically. " It is so good to see you again!" She exchanged an apprehensive glance with Anakin before turning her attention on Mayco. " And Mayco, it is good to see you again," she said in a slightly strangled tone, the emotion at seeing her daughter again was almost too much. Mayco smiled warmly.

" It's good to be back," she said in a charming way. Padme smiled at her, feeling tears stinging her eyes, so she pulled away again and stood back.

" I'd like you to meet my sister Sola, her husband Tobas and their children Ryoo and Pooja and my parents Jobal and Ruwee," she said happily. Then she turned on her family. " This is Master Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Mayco Naberrie." The family looked surprised.

" Oh you share our last name, do you have relatives on Naboo?" Jobal asked Mayco. Mayco stared at her thoughtfully for a moment and then up at Obi- wan.

" Do I?" she asked interestedly. Obi-wan and Anakin laughed.

" We don't know," he said, hoping the child would be satisfied. Luckily, she knew how to behave in situations like this and she let the matter drop, but no doubt, later on she would bring it up again. There was an awkward silence, in which Mayco grew slightly alarmed by how emotional the senator was feeling towards herself. She was very confused by what was going on. She could sense a big secret was being kept by people in this room, but she had no idea how it could relate to herself.

" Please sit down," Padme eventually said and the party sat down at the table; Mayco finding herself next to her designated companion Pooja and Obi- wan. As a general chatter filled the table Pooja felt confidant enough to speak to this child legend sitting next to her.

" Hey," she said trying to sound cool. Mayco could sense the unease in her companion.

" Hey," she replied cheerfully and she grinned cheekily at her. This put Pooja at ease.

" So do you really train with Master Yoda?" With this the ice was broken and the pair got into an animated conversation about training, mediation, foods and just about everything in the Jedi world. Pooja was fascinated and neither child noticed when silence fell over the table for Padme to make a speech. Obi-wan had to clear his throat to get their attention. When they realised their error, Pooja blushed scarlet and hung her head, but Mayco just sniggered at Pooja's reaction, but she fell silent too. Padme smiled fondly at them and then raised her glass.

" I would like to propose a toast for our visitors," she said and everyone raised their glasses. " I hope your stay is enjoyable and that you find what you came here to find," she said smiling at the visitors. With this she took her seat and Obi-wan took to his feet and wished Padme and her family the very best of health. Once all the formalities were over with, Padme started explaining what she had planned for her guests, and Mayco was thrilled to find out that in a few days they would be travelling to the lakeside retreat that Anakin had told her about so much in her bedtime stories. For the rest though, it sounded like this visit was going to include a lot of diplomatic events.

" Don't worry about it," Pooja said when the chatter resumed. Mayco looked at her and raised her eyebrows. " Well it sounds boring right? But don't worry, we don't have to do most of that stuff," Pooja explained. Mayco laughed.

" Maybe you should be a Jedi, it's like you read my mind," she said grinning. She turned back to her food and didn't see how stunned Pooja was looking. Mayco didn't know that she couldn't have bestowed a higher complement on the girl.

* * *

Over the days that followed Mayco and Pooja became good friends. Pooja kept to her word and every day she led Mayco to popular sites around the city, where they usually ran riot instead of taking in the breathtaking sites of the city.

On the fourth day Pooja took her deep into the heart of the city to show her some fun places to run riot. They walked for hours in the midday heat, apparently oblivious to the fact that they were being followed. Deep down though Mayco felt very uneasy, she could sense a strange disturbance in the force, one that she had never felt before and even though it was unnerving, it was still so intriguing all the same.

Every now and then she would stop in her tracks and spin around, expecting to see what was causing the disturbance, but not once did she see anything out of the ordinary.

" Why do you keep doing that?" Pooja asked as Mayco spun round for the tenth time or so. Mayco frowned at the empty alley and looked at Pooja again.

" I feel a disturbance in the force, and it's getting so strong!" she explained. " I don't think that we should be here, let's go back to a more crowded area." Pooja nodded, but she felt deeply disappointed. Up till now, Mayco had been this fearless champion in her eyes; this was so.disappointing.

The two girls headed back, Mayco's feelings growing more and more erratic as this unknown entity got closer and closer. Suddenly Mayco's fears skyrocketed and she pulled her lightsaber out and jumped around the alleyway expecting trouble.

" Look!" Pooja suddenly yelled, pointing down to the end of the alleyway at a cloaked figure. It was approaching them at a painfully slow pace, but either way both girls broke into a run.

* * *

Whereas the children spent their time causing havoc across the city, Obi- wan and Anakin spent most of their time with the Senator. They had no real diplomatic reason to be here, and instead the enjoyed fine food and entertainment, while thinking of this excursion as a well-earned holiday.

On the day in question the three of them were taking a walk through the botanical gardens of the palace. They were fondly reliving old times when they heard footsteps running up behind them.

" Aunt Padme! It's Mayco!" Pooja yelled. All three adults spun round with varying degrees of distress. Obi-wan, who had responded the calmest, put his hand on the panicking child and she calmed down slightly.

" Tell me what has happened?" he asked seriously.

" We were in this alleyway and Mayco started getting really worried about something, she kept on like jumping round, thinking something was behind us. Then she got really scared and she pulled out her lightsaber.that's when I saw it. It was huge and it had a big cloak on!" she spurted out, tears forming in her eyes. " Then we started running and that's all I can remember, next thing I know I was on the floor and Mayco and this thing weren't anywhere! I don't know what's happened to her!"

Obi-wan smiled kindly at the girl and then straightened up to face his apprentice. Anakin looked very close to losing it and he was glaring at Pooja with such ferocity that the girl gave out a terrified noise and ran for it.

" Anakin you need to control your emotions if we are to help Mayco," Obi- wan said firmly.

" We wouldn't have to if it hadn't have been for." Anakin began venomously.

" Well we do have to," Obi-wan cut in coolly. " So gather your wits about you, we're leaving!" With this Obi-wan stalked off down the path leaving Anakin fuming.

" Listen to him Ani," Padme said, emotion causing her voice to stutter. " You have to find her! You just have to!"

Anakin looked up to see tears streaming down her face. Seeing her in pain made him feel so much worse, but he knew she was right. So he nodded and leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

" I will find her Padme, I swear to you!" he said forcefully and he let her go and ran off down the path following Obi-wan leaving Padme with the strongest sense of foreboding she had ever felt.

* * *

I know it's short, but it's a good stopping point till I get the next bit done.