Chapter 52: The Tusken Camp

Aila's trip to Corellia was not nearly as bad as she had imagined. She still did not like flying and suspected that she never would, but she was sure she could handle her fear. The flight had been uneventful and rather smooth. She probably would not have noticed that they were moving had it not been for the stars streaming outside the Nubian cruiser's view ports.

Both Captain Sellanti and Lieutenant Alarna, a tall, thin, and dark haired woman, had been pleasant company and had made the trip easier for Aila. They had both showed her around the cockpit area of the ship and provided a fair amount of detail for the use of the various devices. They had even let Aila pilot the ship for a little while.

Aila had been surprised with the ease of flying the cruiser. All the control panels had made it seem a very complicated process, but she found that once one had put their desired coordinates into the navi-computer the ship practically flew itself. The most human intervention came when one was taking off, landing, and going in and out of hyperspace. Both Sellanti and Alarna had taken control of the ship during these moments, but they had both told Aila that they would be happy to show her how to do these things on their next trip.

Aila smiled at this and agreed, she figured she should probably know how to fly her own ship so she would not have to be dependent on others. Since coming to Coruscant with Obi-Wan, she had been relatively dependent on him. After three years it was about time she took a stronger stance and do more things for herself. Her husband was needed elsewhere, and she needed to take care of herself.

Thinking back on it, Aila was surprised by her behavior. She had been independent while on Earth, but since meeting Obi-Wan had become rather needy. That was very much unlike her and she knew that her friends and family back on Earth would probably be surprised with her behavior. Of course, none of them had ever moved to a new galaxy, so maybe her actions had been warranted.

A feeling of melancholy filled Aila as she recalled images of everything she had left on Earth. She did not regret moving to Coruscant with Obi-Wan, she loved him dearly and could not imagine life without him. Yes, he was away from her at the moment, but at least they were in the same galaxy. That seemed closer to her than the distance separating her current home from Earth. However, she did miss her friends and family back on her home planet. Having been busy training Anakin and dealing with the other issues of the Jedi Council, Obi-Wan had little time off from his Jedi duties. As a result, Aila had not seen her home world since her departure over three years ago.

Aila shook her head to clear her thoughts. It would not do to dwell on these thoughts. She was sure that she and Obi-Wan would be on Earth again, she would just need to be patient. Spreading a smile on her face with this thought, Aila began to gather her things as the Nubian cruiser touched down on a landing platform in the bustling city of Coronet.

As they had flown towards the planet's surface, Aila had seen the beautiful beaches and open fields that were spread across Corellia. This trip was going to be rather short, but perhaps she could return and see the sights some other time. There was a small group of people from the Society for the Protection of Galactic Welfare ready to greet her, and she was excited to meet them.


Obi-Wan drove Owen Lars' speeder bike as quickly as he could through the dusty and arid expanse of the canyons and dunes of Tatooine. Generally, he would never drive like this, but with the fate of the galaxy dependent on the safety of Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan was willing to be a bit reckless to ensure the success of this rescue operation.

The Tusken Raiders were very good at disappearing in the Tatooinian desert. With an intimate knowledge of their planet, they could hide themselves from their enemies. As a result, Obi-Wan had found it difficult to locate the Raiders. However, with some useful information from a group of traveling jawas, Obi-Wan traveled east and soon came across the bodies of some of the dead farmers that had gone with Cliegg to find Shmi. Knowing he was going in the right direction, Obi-Wan continued moving in an easterly direction.

After a couple long days of searching, Obi-Wan was able to find a clearing where the Tuskens were camped. There was a high dune above the Tusken encampment and Obi-Wan carefully approached the edge and looked down for his first glance of what he was about to face. There were a few Tuskens wandering around the camp, but as it was nightfall most had moved inside their straw and animal hide abodes. There was one hut whose entrance was guarded by two Raiders. No other huts seemed to be guarded, so Obi-Wan decided to start his search for Shmi there.

Calling upon the Force, Obi-Wan leapt from his perch on the large sand dune and landed catlike on the ground adjacent to the Tusken camp. He paused for a moment to regroup himself before stealthily creeping into the camp. Obi-Wan moved slowly around several of the huts so as not to make his presence known. He used the Force to guide him away from any potential hazards.

Eventually, Obi-Wan made it to the back of the hut he thought was holding Shmi. He had almost been spotted by a band of Tusken children who were chasing their pet massiff but he had been able to roll behind an adjacent hut to hide himself. With the way clear and the sound of some of the camp's massiff growling in the distance, Obi-Wan was ready to make his final move.

Through the Force, Obi-Wan could feel ripples of pain and suffering emanating from the hut in front of him. He ignited his cerulean lightsaber and cut a small hole into the side of the hut. The smell of burning flesh met his nostrils as he burned through the animal hide surface. When the piece of the hut he had cut fell to the ground with a soft thud, Obi-Wan looked around briefly and called upon the Force to make sure no one had been alerted. When he was sure everything was all clear, he stepped inside.

A horrified look came across his features as he saw the sight he had seen in a movie over three years ago. Shmi Skywalker's unconscious, bloodied, and bruised body was tied to a primitive rack on one side of the hut. Approaching the mother of his apprentice, Obi-Wan quickly released her bonds and whispered, "Shmi… Shmi… Shmi," in an attempt to wake her.

Shmi fell limply into Obi-Wan's arms, but the movement had woken her and she weakly responded, "Ani?"

"Shmi, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi, I am going to get you out of here. I will take you to Anakin."

"Ani?" Shmi repeated weakly.

"Yes, we are going to see him. You're safe now." Obi-Wan said reassuringly, but a look of concern flitted over his features as he watched Shmi struggle to lift one of her arms towards him.

"Where is he?" Shmi asked nodding off slightly as she almost lost consciousness once more.

"He is safe, he is on a mission." Obi-Wan stated, trying to come up with the best way to get Shmi out of the camp.

"My son, my grown-up son. I am so proud of him." Shmi said with a slight smile. An image of her son gallantly righting the wrongs of the galaxy came into her mind and gave her a great sense of peace. Thoughts of her son had kept her going during her brutal beatings from the Tuskens. She would have succumbed to the brutal attacks long ago, but she had felt the need to give her Ani one last message of love. She had wanted to give him the message in person, but as Obi-Wan cradled her in his arms she realized her body was too weak to last much longer. From his last visit to Tatooine, Shmi knew that Obi-Wan cared dearly for her son and she was certain she could entrust her message to him. "Tell, him I am proud of him." She said weakly as her breath caught in her throat.

Obi-Wan jerked slightly out of his plans for escape when he heard Shmi's words. He could hear her breathing growing irregular and could feel the light of her presence dissipating in the Force. "You can tell him yourself, we are going to see him now."

"I love him." Shmi whispered faintly.

"Stay with me, Shmi. Everything will…" Obi-Wan stated quickly calling upon every Jedi healing technique he knew. He cursed himself for not being a healer.

"I love him." Shmi whispered again with a slight smile.

"I know. We are going to see him." Obi-Wan stated desperately as his actions did not seem to help. He could sense that Shmi's heart rate was slowing.

"I lo…." Shmi started to whisper before her breath left her and her head collapsed against Obi-Wan's hand.

"No, Shmi." Obi-Wan stated desperately. He was frantic and raised his voice higher than it needed to be, but luckily no Tusken Raiders seemed to notice. "You can't die!" Obi-Wan immersed himself in the Force, trying to will the heart of the woman in his arms to beat once more. Tears formed in the corner of his eyes as he said, "You can't die! Anakin, he needs you."

When the Force would not help him, Obi-Wan shook Shmi's body roughly as if trying to wake her. "Shmi, no. I came to rescue you, to stop this, to stop…." Obi-Wan choked back a sob when he realized she was truly gone.

"I… I… failed him. I… I… should have come sooner. I knew this was happening." Obi-Wan shifted his right arm and gently closed Shmi's eyes as he continued to sob. "I… should have done more." A great sense of shock enveloped Obi-Wan. He had failed his apprentice. Anakin's mother was dead. Obi-Wan had failed to prevent a key event in Anakin's fall to the dark side.

With this thought, the initial shock faded and a new emotion filled Obi-Wan's heart. He had feared this would happen when Anakin started having nightmares. "Why didn't he listen to me? I told him to go to Tatooine! He could have stopped this!" Anger rose in Obi-Wan voice as he laid Shmi gently on the ground of the Tusken hut. He closed his eyes and fought back his tears as he realized he could not blame Anakin. This was all his fault. Anakin did not know the things that Obi-Wan did. Obi-Wan should have acted sooner.

Disgusted with himself, Obi-Wan stood up and tried to steady himself as images of his apprentice burning alive in the fiery hells of Mustafar flooded his mind. "It's all my fault!" Obi-Wan stated.

"No it isn't." A strange calm voice answered within Obi-Wan's head.

Obi-Wan's head bolted upright as he looked for the voice that had just spoke to him. He saw nobody there. There was something familiar about the voice, but Obi-Wan could not recall it at the moment.

"It is not your fault." The voice repeated.

"Yes it is. Who are you?" Obi-Wan answered irritably.

"The voice of reason." The silky voice repeated. "It is not your fault. It is the Tuskens' fault. They killed Shmi Skywalker, not you."

"No, I should have been here." Obi-Wan argued with the unknown voice.

"She would have still been beaten when you arrived. She would not have lasted then. You know this. It is the Tuskens that killed her, they are to blame."

Obi-Wan shook his head, but he could not help but feel vindicated by the voice. Obi-Wan had seen Shmi's injuries, it was amazing that she had lasted as long as she did.

"You did everything in your power to prevent this. It was the Tuskens who killed your apprentice's mother."

Obi-Wan's breathing grew irregular as he tried to push back his anger at the Tuskens, but the voice whispering in his mind was coaxing it out of him.

"They are monsters. They murdered without remorse. They should pay. Kill them!" The voice stated sharply.

"No!" Obi-Wan stated even though inwardly he wanted to obey the command.

"Do it." The voice prodded once more.

"No!" Obi-Wan repeated.

"But look what this will lead to." The voice replied maliciously and an image of a dark cloaked figure appeared in Obi-Wan's mind. It was an image he had seen over three years ago and had been working tirelessly not to see again.

"No!" Obi-Wan exclaimed loudly as he called his lightsaber to his hand and ignited it. The voice cackled gleefully in his head as Obi-Wan leapt out of the Tusken hut and swiftly swung his lightsaber to take out the tribesmen that came towards him. He was not thinking of the Jedi Code or controlling his emotions, neither seemed important at the moment. All he wanted to do was sate the blind rage that had consumed him. The Tusken Raiders had destroyed everything he had worked for, and they would pay.

On a planet far away from Tatooine, a cloaked figure stood before a window with a pleasant smile on his face and whispered, "Everything is going as planned."