A MESSED UP DESTINY
A STAR WARS STORY
Chapter 8
Disclaimer: Disney owns everything and I make no profit from this.
Hello there everyone and welcome to chapter 8 of the story. It's been about two weeks since the last update (so much for speeding this up), but I'm back with a new chapter for you guys. Before we begin, I'll add a quick summary of the things that have happened so far since some of you may have forgotten stuff. The people that remember everything can skip it (and please do as this is a mere summary of recent events). Good? Good. Let's get started, shall we?
After disrupting several attempts on Senator Amidala's life, Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker escorts his old friend to her home world of Naboo, where they go into hiding from the bounty hunters, while Jedi Knight Obi Wan Kenobi conducts an investigation and stumbles onto the planet of Kamino. While on Naboo, both Anakin and Padme try to ignore their feelings for the other, but for very different reasons. Everything changes for the pair when Padme discovers that Jedi Master Qui Gon Jinn is still (somewhat) alive and has been speaking to Anakin for quite some time. She confronts her friend the following morning, only for the conversation to turn into a heated argument. Anakin seeks guidance from Qui Gon while Padme tries to make sense of her feelings and they both apologize when Anakin returns after a couple hours of meditating in the grasslands. The Jedi Knight comes clean with his true feelings and reveals himself as the Sith Lord Darth Vader, a reveal that came with a lengthy explanation of the War that is about to plague the Galaxy. Taking the news rather well, Padme confesses her own feelings and the pair falls asleep with the galaxy looking a little brighter despite the falling shroud of the Dark Side. Anakin gets a transmission requesting his presence on Tatooine the following afternoon and he and Padme blast off to the desert world, hoping to find and rescue Anakin's mother before it is too late.
With this (rather lengthy) summary out of the way, I'll be moving onto the actual prologue. So…about chapter eight. This one is the only chapter set on Tatooine (at least until Ahsoka comes along) and will feature the rescue of Anakin's mother from the Sand People. Since I've decided to include Ferus Olin and Siri Tachi, I'll need to add these two to the plot, so you can expect the two Padawans to team up for this impromptu mission. I've also decided to have Owen go with the two, as I want him and Anakin to at least have a proper introduction and spent some time together, since I don't want Owen to dislike Anakin like in cannon. Another thing is that this chapter features an appearence from one of Anakin's friends first seen in the Phantom Menace. Lastly, Anakin will learn how important it is to trust your mentors and to accept help when he needs it during the battle at the Tusken Raider camp. . Now, without further ado, let's jump straight into the chapter!
Note: The speeder mentioned in the following chapter is the same model as Luke's from Episode IV, capable of carrying multiple people at a time.
A daring rescue! After landing on the desert planet of Tatooine, Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker and Republic Senator Padme Amidala, both disguised as mere civilians, are headed for the Lars Homestead and seek help from an old friend of Anakin's. Meanwhile, Padawan Ferus Olin gets tires of waiting for his fellow Jedi and goes to rescue his Master alone, a foolish action in the mind of Owen Lars. With time running out and three lives at steak, will Anakin be able to save them all, or will someone be left behind?
Tatooine, Mos Eisley, Anakin's point of view:
Landing on Tatooine wasn't the easiest thing for me -since it meant returning to the dust ball in the first place-, but I would do what needed to be done in order to save my mother's life. We had arrived on Mos Eisley by land after 'borrowing' a speeder from a bunch of Jabba's thugs –not that they needed it- and I definitely didn't snap their necks while driving away. That would've been unnecessary. After parking the speeder someplace and it getting stolen by Jawas almost immediately –which may have been our intention, but I wasn't about to admit that Padme was capable of thinking like this-, we proceeded to roam around the city by foot –Artoo following me wherever I went-, searching for another speeder to borrow so we could make our way towards the Lars homestead, when we suddenly heard yelling across the street.
"I already paid him the money! We had a deal! Go ask him, he'll tell you!", a voice echoed. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember where I knew it from.
"That's too bad pal, because Jabba wants double from both of you now. Your master paid his share, it's only fair you pay yours. Unless you want a broken leg, that is.", a thug said, and Padme tried to move closer before a pulled her back, unwilling to let her get hurt.
"He isn't my Master anymore! I don't owe you anything!", said the voice, and it was clear that the person it belonged to was afraid.
"Maybe you don't, but we don't care. Jabba wants his money pal, and someone has to pay him.", said another thug, raising his blaster to aim at the man the frightened voice belonged to.
Padme looked at me, determination clear in her eyes. I gave a silent nod, agreeing that helping was the right thing to do, even if it would cost us a little time. Nothing my Force Speed couldn't compensate for later.
"Okay, okay! I'll pay you! Just-", began the voice, only to be cut off by a thug, who punched the man in the face.
Padme and I moved closer while carefully staying out of the enemy's sight, until we were right behind the three thugs that were threatening the man, who looked like a slave. One of the thugs moved in for another hit, raising his arm for a punch, but he found it closing around his neck instead. He began to choke and fell to the floor after a few moments, his body now lifeless. His two companions turned around to look at Padme and me, only for one to get shot in the chest and for the other's blaster to be cut to pieces. The slave looked at my saber in awe, but I ignored him, focusing on the last thug, who was now shaking in fear. Padme moved herself next to me and pointed her baster at his chest, causing the man to start shaking even more.
"Sorry 'pal', but you messed with the wrong slave.", I told the thug, who refused to look me in the eye.
"You should have let him go.", Padme added.
"Jabba will kill you bo-both. Jedi or not, your corpse will end up in a ditch because of this.", the thug told me, trying to hide his fear.
I laughed at his words, which seemed to scare him further. "Sure, pal. And when I'm dead, an army of Jedi will come to avenge me. Jabba stands no chance against one Jedi, much less against a dozen, or a hundred of us. So, are you sure that he's going to try? Because I doubt it.", I said before running my blade through his chest, leaving the corpse with a look of utter fear on its face.
"Ani, you could have been a bit nicer you know.", said Padme, but I brushed her off with a quick remark about how they deserved it and chose to focus on the slave, who was looking at me, star struck.
"Anakin?", he asked. "Anakin Skywalker?"
"Yes, that's me. What's it to you?", I ask him, trying to keep a polite tone.
"It's me, Kitster. We used to be best friends man!", he exclaimed.
I took a good look at him and then suddenly saw the resemblance. I never would have guessed that it was him if he hadn't told me and I silently berated myself for forgetting about him.
"Huh. Small world.", I said, unsure of how to proceed.
"I can't believe you're an actual Jedi now Ani! Wait, are you here on a mission?", he asked me and I nodded an affirmative before answering him.
"Yeah. I'm looking for my mother. Do you know where the Lars homestead is?", I asked him in return, feigning ignorance.
Kitster responded with an affirmative and offered to take us there on his newly acquired land speeder, an offer which Padme was more than happy to accept. That automatically meant that I was going with them, despite wanting to avoid distractions. The three of us and Artoo boarded the vehicle and drove away from the town and into the desert with Kitster as our driver. I had to take Artoo into my lap in order for all of us to fit and Padme couldn't help but snicker at the sight. That put me in a slightly worse mood than before, but Padme and Kitster quickly filled the void with all sorts of different questions and small talk and I slowly felt myself loosen up, so I did my best to take an active part in the conversation –despite not wanting to- and my mood improved significantly, excluding the few times where I had the sudden urge to Force Choke the nearest Hutt.
We arrived at the homestead after about an hour of driving through the sandy dunes, but none of us were feeling the heat sickness that usually came with these trips. Kitster wrote it off as getting lucky, but Padme and I knew what the Force was really capable of. The introduction with Cliegg, Beru and Owen went better than last time, probably because Ferus had told them about my arrival. Beru seemed nice enough and Cliegg was polite –if a bit grumpy at times-, but Owen kept looking at me with anger in his eyes when he thought I wouldn't notice, not understanding that I never needed to look in the first place. The conversation during dinner went a bit differently, with Cliegg saying that Owen should come with me when I mentioned going to rescue Mom and the other Jedi, so I told Padme to stay behind. She agreed, understanding that this was a family matter and trusting me to handle it. Owen didn't seem very excited at the prospect of being alone with me, but I ignored that and tried to understand what he was feeling. After all, Master Qui Gon had said that I would have to fix my mistakes, and never even trying to connect to my new family definitely counted as one in my book.
Owen and I arrived at the Tusken camp after what seemed like hours upon hours of speeding across the desert, but probably wasn't more than half. I had tried to initiate conversation a few times with no luck, so I had stopped after a while, knowing that Owen wasn't going to respond. We both got off the speeder bike and grabbed our gear, a lightsaber for me and a stolen cycler rifle for Owen, trying to stay silent as we approached the encampment. The place was full of Tuskens, which was to be expected, either running around while carrying something, practicing attacks on some stacked rocks, or –weirdly enough- using their gaffi sticks to wash the teeth of the nearest Bantha. It didn't take me a particularly long time to spot the six guards standing near the entrances of three separate tents, or to hear Ferus screaming to the heavens about how he would cut the monsters open when he got out of there. Idiot. His screams will have every Tusken running to us if he keeps this up.
"Hey, Skywalker.", Owen said, trying to get my attention.
I shot him a questioning look and he pointed at the Tusken that had just passed our hiding spot, silently telling me that we had to move to a better hiding place. "Yeah, I saw him. Her. It. Whatever.", I told him. "We're going to have to avoid those guards, but these fellas are smarter than some of the generals I've gone up against."
"How will we take them out?", Owen asked me.
"The Force will help us, but we'll need a distraction when we free the others.", I explained.
"How about your Jedi friend? He seems eager to cut some of them down.", Owen pointed out.
I pondered over the idea of letting Ferus loose on the Raiders for a moment and then immediately found myself agreeing with it, not caring about what would happen to them. "Good plan. I'll handle those guards and you'll go free Master Tachi. I'll handle mom while she gets Ferus and you provide ranged support out if we need a louder escape.", I told Owen, hoping that he wouldn't object to the idea.
"How will you get past them? They'll kill you if they see you.", Owen warned.
"It's brave of you to assume I can die.", I joked.
Owen didn't seem to find it funny, instead prompting to scoff at me before shaking his head slightly. "Ugh. You're a real piece of work, you know that?", he asked me.
"I was joking Owen, but in all seriousness, the guards can't kill me if they're already dead.", I told my 'brother'.
"And how will you get to them? Jedi or not, you can't get rid of them without getting blasted into oblivion.", the farmer said, questioning my abilities.
"I find your lack of faith disturbing.", I answered him, only half-joking.
I raised my right arm ever so slightly and then proceeded to clench my fist as hard as I could, causing the Raiders to start choking on thin air. They dropped dead after a mere second, succumbing to the power of the Dark Side without much trouble. Owen looked at the Tuskens, me, and them the raiders again, a look of disbelief plastered on his face.
"Come on, 'brother'. We have hostages to save, don't we?", I asked him, unintentionally mocking his surprise.
"Yes, that we do.", Owen responded in a cold tone and I just shrugged, unsure as to what I had done that managed to piss him off this badly.
I pointed Owen to the tent Siri was in and he went inside, working on freeing the Jedi Master, while I ducked inside the tent mom was in. The Tuskens had strapped her to several wooden pikes, suspending her only slightly above ground level. Her eyes lit up when she saw me and she tried to speak, but I told her to quiet, saying that I'd get her out of this wretched place soon enough. I quickly checked her vitals with the Force, only to see that her presence was fading away. My anger spiked as soon as I felt that and I thought back to the first time this had happened. I knew that I shouldn't have wasted time chatting away when I could have been rescuing her, that I should've just landed in the middle of the camp and slaughtered the monsters that had harmed her. Her life force continued to fade away and my anger continued to rise by the second. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't heard Qui Gon's voice in my head, telling me to calm down, saying that we still had time to save her.
"Anakin, there is a way to save her, but you must listen to me. There isn't much time", my old Master's voice told me.
"Master, I…please help her.", I pleaded.
"Only you can do that now, but the Dark Side's power will be of no use. You must do as I say Anakin, and do so swiftly.", Qui Gon's voice said, responding to my plea.
"Anything, Master.", I told him.
"Very well, Padawan. First, you must stop stressing over the matter. The method will fail unless you are relaxed."
I took a deep breath, not unlike the ones my respirator had been forcing me to take barely a month ago and tried to steady my pulse. To my own surprise, I was mildly successful and I soon felt a little more relaxed than I had a minute ago.
"Good.", Qui Gon praised. "Now open yourself to the Force. Feel the presence of everything around you." I did as was requested, and Master Qui Gon continued walking me through whatever it was that he was doing. "Now focus on your mother's presence. Feel it through the Living Force." Once again, I did what was asked of me and Qui Gon kept going. "Now for the final step. Feel your own presence in the Force. Once you have found it, and your life force, you'll be able to take a piece of it and lend that strength to your mother, to help her survive this ordeal.", Qui Gon told me, encouraging me to take the final step.
I followed orders for one final time and soon saw a small light flickering in my palm. I observed it as the life force moved from me to my mother, watching as her many wounds and other injuries faded away into nothingness, as if they had never existed at all. I forced myself to keep going until no wound was visible and my mother quickly sat up, most likely feeling a sudden rush of strength.
"Ani? Is it really you?", she asked me, now fully healed.
"Yes, Ma. It's me. I'm back.", I told her, still filled with happiness over not losing her this time around. Things are already going better. Thank you Master, for saving her
"Oh, Ani. You've grown.", she told me, eyes filled with pride.
"It's what happens when people get older.", I said, not seeing the darker undertone behind my own words.
"Is Owen here? Did he come with you?", my mother asked.
"Yeah, he's here. Went to rescue another Jedi that was captured."
"We should leave this place Ani. I can't stand being here.", she told me.
"I share the sentiment.", I told her with a small laugh. "Can you stand?", I asked her.
"I think so.", my mother told me. I nodded in affirmative and helped her stand before helping her out of the tent.
Mother and I slowly walked outside, meeting up with Owen, who had successfully freed Siri and Ferus. He wrapped my mother in a hug as soon as he saw her and Siri gave me a slight nod as thanks for the rescue. Ferus said nothing, but I could feel his anger -his rage-, which was directed at the Tusken Raiders. I was certain that if he was left alone, he'd do worse than I had done the last time I had been here, and that was no small atrocity.
"We should leave this place before anyone spots us.", Siri recommended.
I found myself agreeing with her, prioritizing the safety of my family over petty revenge against a bunch of Sand People. There were more important things to do.
"Master, I think we should just kill them. That way they won't pose a threat anymore.", Ferus recommended, his eyes shining with bloodlust.
"No.", I countered. "This is but one tribe, Ferus. Their deaths will make no difference, only helping to provoke them further. I've killed half a dozen already. That'll have to be enough."
"What?", Ferus nearly screamed. "You want us to leave them unpunished after all they've done?", the boy yelled.
"Ferus, be quiet!", Siri scolded, trying to shut the idiot up before he alerted the other raiders. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the Raiders to surround us, gaffi sticks raised and cycler rifles aiming at our heads.
"So much for stealth…", I complained, most definitely not whining.
"Indeed.", Siri said with a sigh. She and I ignited our lightsabers while Owen tried to aim with his rifle. Meanwhile, mom tried to hide behind him and Ferus simply starred at the creatures with hatred flowing through him.
I pointed my blade at the nearest Tusken, doing my best to not succumb to the rage and anger their presence made me feel. Such feelings would have been unbecoming of a Sith Lord if left unchecked and the Emperor would…wait a minute what am I talking about? I'm not Vader, dammit! Mentally scolding myself for daring to believe that I was still serving as Sidious' enforcer, I raised my blade high, doing my best to keep the raiders at a distance.
"Uh…any ideas are welcome…", Owen suddenly said.
"I have one. Charge!", Ferus screamed, rushing into the horde of enemies surrounding us.
"Owen, get mother away from here! We'll handle this!", I told my 'brother' while cutting a gaffi stick in half. He gave a short nod before turning around, only to see the way blocked by at least a dozen Raiders.
"Now what?", he yelled, believing himself to be screwed.
"You underestimate my power!", I yelled back while clenching my left fist and snapping their necks, trying to ignore the sudden flashback of a molten river bubbling below my feet.
"Die! Die you monsters!", Ferus shouted, too focused in the battle –more like bloodbath- to care about restraining himself.
Siri took a moment to steal a glance at me, expressing concern about her Padawan with a loud sigh. As luck would have it, a nearby Tusken raised his blaster to shoot her and I tackled her to the ground just before the bolt could hit her back. The Raider fired again, only for his shot to be blocked by my hand and for my lightsaber to be sent flying in his direction a moment later. A scream was heard from his direction as his upper half fell to the ground, separated from his waist and legs.
A blaster bolt suddenly hit an object behind me and I turned to see where it came from, only to find Owen pointing at a fallen Tusken that had been about a second away from jumping me. "Thanks!", I shouted before turning back around to see Ferus slaughter yet another opponent. It's no wonder the kid fell to the Dark Side, with so much anger over a simple failure. Jeez.
"Ferus! We have to leave, now!", I shouted at the Padawan, knowing that he wouldn't listen, which would hopefully give me an excuse to kick his ass later.
The boy, because that's what he was, scoffed at me and promptly ignored my words, which caused Siri to call him out on it. "Padawan! We are leaving, now!", she all but ordered.
"But Master, we're winning! Why do we have to run like cowards?", he asked.
"Because you need to learn when to cut your losses, boy. So, you either come with us willingly or I crack your skull open and drag you to the speeder. Now, get on with it!", I threatened him, which caused Siri to look at me in strange way.
She quickly snapped out of it however, when a blaster bolt nearly took her ear off. "He's right! We have to go, right now!", she all but screamed.
"We can still beat them!", Ferus screamed back.
"Ferus, we have to go now or we'll never make it!", Siri yelled as more Tuskens approached us. Reinforcements. I hate reinforcements.
"They can't defeat-", Ferus began, but was promptly cut off when I bashed him on the head with the hilt of my blade. I then used the Force toss the unconscious Padawan away from the Tuskens and into the speeder Owen and I had used to reach the camp. Siri took down another Raider with her lightsaber while I –quite literally- disarmed the nearest opponent, before making a run for the speeder. Siri saw what I was doing and followed me by using a series of Force-assisted jumps, leaps and other acrobatics while Owen showered the Tuskens with blaster fire from his position in the driver's seat. Siri and I quickly climbed into the speeder and Owen drove away as I used to the Force to push large amounts of sand towards our pursuers. Who knew that even this damned substance could actually prove to be useful? Well, the more you know I guess…
"That…was certainly something.", my mother pointed out.
"Yeah. I forgot what the thrill of a real battle feels like. I've grown used to fighting against incompetent idiots, so it was a nice change of pace.", I admitted before realizing what I had let slip. I really need to be more careful with what I say.
"You've fought in battles?", mom asked, suddenly worried about me.
"Yeah, mostly against pirates and mercenaries. I swear, those guys need to take more shooting classes.", I said jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Battles aren't a joyride Anakin. I thought Obi Wan had taught you as much.", Siri said suddenly.
"Obi Wan? Who's that?", my mother asked me.
"Oh. Obi Wan Kenobi is the man who trained me since I was nine. He practically raised me and he…he's like a brother to Me.", I admitted.
"What happened to Qui Gon? Why didn't he train you?"
I was tempted to lie, to say that the Council had thought that Obi Wan was a better match for me, which wouldn't have even been a lie, but I could never -ever- lie to my family. "Qui Gon…he, um…he died in the battle of Naboo, a couple days after we left Tatooine. A Sith Lord named Darth Maul killed him.", I finally answered.
"…I see. And you were handed down to this Obi Wan?"
"Obi Wan was Master Jinn's apprentice at the time and he made a promise to Qui Gon that he would train the boy.", explained Siri and I found myself grateful for the interruption.
"I don't mean to bother anybody, but I have to ask.", Owen said, cutting into the conversation.
"Go ahead.", I said, giving him permission to speak before realizing that he didn't need it. Right. Not the Empire's Second-In-Command anymore. People won't ask for my permission to speak.
"I've been wondering why you left us, 'Ani'.", Owen said. "I mean, you just left to go be a space wizard and abandoned your own mother on this desolate planet. Why did that happen?", he asked, clearly angered by an action that wasn't really my fault to begin with. Padme had said as much, at least. She always knows what to say…
"Owen! Apologize right this instant!", my mother told him, irritated by the indirect insult.
"No, Ma. It's fine. Owen deserves an explanation.", I said, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I left Tatooine with my mother's blessing.", I told him. "I was told by both my mother and the Jedi to never look back, so I thought that I could honor her last request by doing exactly that. I failed on a ridiculous degree and just so you know, I've been begging the Council to let me come back for nearly a month. I had to go behind their backs to come here. Heck, the second I sensed that Ma was in danger, I told Obi Wan and he sent a team of Jedi to come and check on her because I couldn't come myself.", I explained.
Owen took a moment to absorb the information, unconsciously letting go of the navigation controls on the speeder, but I quickly used the Force to drive it from afar as to not disturb the others. "I…I guess I judged you too quickly, brother.", he finally said.
"Perhaps you did, brother.", I told him. "But just so you know, it would be a good idea to keep your hands on the controls next time.", I continued while pointing at the steering mechanism, which was being held in place by a slight use of the Force.
Finally realizing that he wasn't still driving, Owen frantically turned around towards them, before seeing that they were perfectly stable. He looked at me while raising a questioning eyebrow, expecting an explanation of some sort.
"The Force is a pathway to many abilities that some may consider to be…unnatural.", I said, trying to provide a vague, Jedi-like explanation only for the opera house to flash before my eyes. Force, I needed to stop giving myself flashbacks!
"That, Skywalker, may be the understatement of the century.", said Siri, both amused by my antics and generally impressed by how easy it was to use the Force for driving.
"Is this really all it takes to impress a Jedi?", I asked her jokingly.
"How did you…", she began to ask in surprise.
"Well…I am a mind-reader. No?", I teased slightly.
"I…suppose that is one way to describe the Jedi.", Siri said, catching on to the joke.
Mom and Owen both let out small laughs, finding the whole situation funny. Siri smiled, still amused by all the jokes, and I…found myself laughing along with the others, feeling something stir at the bottom of my stomach, or maybe closer to where my heart was. I wasn't quite sure, but it didn't really matter.
Our group arrived at the Lars Homestead after a slightly longer ride than the one it took to get to the camp, mostly because it was Owen in the driver's seat and he wasn't willing to go as fast as I was, but I didn't really mind.
Ferus growled something incomprehensible, only half awake, which prompted me to whack his on the head once more, knocking him out cold. Siri shot me a look of disapproval, but said nothing. Owen helped mother inside while Siri helped carry her unconscious Padawan. Force, he was as heavy as a statue, which probably explained why he was brainless. Cliegg was in the dining room when we entered the homestead and he was delighted to see that Ma was alright. He called Beru and Padme over to give our group a hand and both women came running, a silver-plated C3PO waddling behind them. Threepio, how I've missed that droid. Yes, as annoying as he was, he made for good company and did his job well, which was more than Padme and I could have ever asked of him. Oh, Force. He must have come with her to Mustafar! With that internal realization now unearthed, I let out a loud sigh, which was taken as exhaustion by most, so I was told to go and get some sleep. I did, leaving the others to handle whatever problems might arise in the farm, telling them to not wake me unless Ferus was killing someone or a Sith Lord showed up. Padme had laughed my moody attitude off and attempted to play it off as a joke, but I knew that Siri and Mom weren't convinced.
I woke up to my mother practically tossing me out of bed and I suddenly felt like I was nine again. It wasn't a good feeling. I got up on my own, still a bit sore from the fight with the Sand People and muttered something about Sith Lords that even I couldn't remember, but my mother didn't catch whatever it was that I said. Padme rushed in the room with a communicator in hand, followed by a worried Siri and an angry Ferus, but I ignored the two Jedi and focused on the recording that was playing on the com unit.
"…Starships from the Trade Federation and the Commerce Guilds are taking deliveries of battle droids from foundries on Geonosis. The droid foundry seems to be working at full capacity. I am going to go down and investigate. I will bring Jango Fett for interrogation.", said a pre-recorded Obi Wan.
"One more thing.", he added. "Jango mentioned he was recruited by someone named Darth Tyranus. Any idea who that might be?", the hologram asked.
"…Alliance have pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming an…Wait!... attack… I don't make it… aaaggghhh!" The transmission cut of abruptly as the sound of blaster fire filled the room.
"Anakin, we have to help him.", pleaded Padme, despite knowing that we were going regardless of the circumstances.
"Senator, the Council gave me strict orders to protect you…", I said, making it seem as if I disagreed.
"Senator, Padawan, all of us know that Obi Wan needs help and that we'll be going to help him. Might as well get on with it already.", Siri said, interrupting our little façade.
"I'm only going if you're going Master.", said Ferus, who had apparently recovered from the headache my saber must've given him.
"Where are Owen and Kitster?", I asked.
"They went with Artoo to get the ship.", said Padme.
"Does either of them know how to fly?", I asked, silently berating myself for leaving the girls to make the decisions.
"Nope.", said Padme. Seeing me frown, she spoke again. "Oh come on Ani, I sent Artoo with them. He'll protect them."
"If I see a single scratch on that ship, then I won't like it.", I told her, pouting slightly.
"That the best you got, Ani?", Padme questioned.
"Oh, give me a break!", I whined. And no, I'll never admit that.
Siri laughed at our antics and we all went outside to wait for the ship to arrive. It took Artoo another hour to get to the farm, during which I fixed up some machinery that had left Owen stumped for months. In truth, it was rather easy, but that wasn't something to brag about, considering I had grown up around machines. Padme and Siri spent some time chatting away with Beru about Force-knows-what, probably some girl stuff I wouldn't be interested in, while Ferus ignited his blade and began practicing some Katas, fighting imaginary opponents. The first thing the four of us did when Owen and Kitster finally returned with Padme's ship was retransmit Obi Wan's message to Coruscant.
"We will deal with Count Dooku. The most important thing for you, Anakin, is to stay where you are. Protect the Senator at all costs. That is your priority.", said the hologram of Master Windu when the message finally reached them.
"Master, wait.", I told him. "Obi Wan said that Dooku has an army. You shouldn't expect him to surrender just because we're sending Jedi.", I added.
"Why wouldn't he? Do you think he would risk fighting us?", the Jedi Master asked.
"He has hundreds, if not thousands of hundreds of battle droids in those foundries. He is bound to retaliate. I suggest you go while expecting trouble.", I advised him.
Windu seemed to ponder over my words for a moment before responding. "Good call, Padawan. Dooku may be arrogant enough to fight back, which could cause many problems for us.", he concluded.
"One last thing.", I said. "If you use the Clone Army during the attack, then by the Force, don't order them to run across empty fields! Play to the strengths of the Clones instead of the Jedi and assume more defensive roles. Don't screw yourselves over!", I insisted.
"Padawan, how would you know about the Clone Army?", Windu asked, curious.
"Master Obi Wan briefed me on the situation. He thought that someone else should know the basics in case something happened to him.", I answered.
"A good answer. You've clearly thought this through.", Windu told me. "Very well, you propose a good strategy. We'll use it if the Army is deployed, but I doubt it will be necessary.", the Jedi Master added.
Letting out a sigh, I continued. "I on the other hand, am not so optimistic. May the Force be with you Master.", I told him.
I paid no mind to the man's repetition of my words as I began preparing the ship for takeoff. It was time to confront Count Dooku and I wasn't going to lose to that weak scum again. As Padme and our Jedi companions boarded the ship I said my goodbyes to my family and friend, who had apparently decided to stay as a farmhand. I turned to board the ship myself and saw the droids running after Padme, who was already on it. I smiled before running after my metallic companions and the Nubian blasted off into space not long after, with the desolate world of Geonosis as its destination.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, was chapter 8! I hope you enjoyed reading my story and that you'll review my work (I really appreciate it). Anyways, let me give you guys the TL;DR of this chapter. Basically, this part of the movie played out very differently from the original in nearly every aspect. Not only did Anakin and Padme arrive on the planet on a different ship, they also encounter different people (Kitster instead of Watto), did things at –slightly- different times, etc. Something worth pointing out is that while things have been altered the same basic events do play out in the same way. For example, Anakin still goes to rescue his mother from the Tusken Raiders, he still finds her on the brick of death, there is still a battle with the Sand People and Obi Wan's message is still retransmitted to Coruscant via Anakin's com unit. Also, Force Healing! Yep, Anakin knows how to Force heal! Anyhow, below are the details for the important stuff that's happening in this chapter of the story.
Firstly, Kitster. He is a canonical character that appeared in the Phantom Menace and really was Anakin's best friend when our beloved Jedi was still a slave. These two have done some crazy stuff together, including but not limited to saving a literal princess from being sold to slavery, competing in several pod races and doing everything in their –limited- power to better the lives of slaves on Tatooine. Kitster is a side character that I'm adding to remind Vader, sorry, Anakin of his time as a slave on Tatooine (specifically about all the good moments in between of the bad childhood memories he has). He isn't likely to make an appearance again because barely any chapters are planned to be set on Tatooine, but I might include him again in some form of cameo. Idk, it's possible. Moving on.
Secondly, Ferus. In cannon (or is it Legends now?) he was the Padawan of Jedi Knight Siri Tachi (nothing I haven't said before), but he was prone to anger when his Master was in danger, much like Anakin. Speaking of the Chosen One, he and Ferus had a rivalry going on while they were Padawans, which continued until Siri's death, which led Ferus to walk away from the Jedi Order. The whole "rivalry" thing is why he and Anakin (AKA Darth Vader) are downright hostile to each other at times and why Anakin sees nothing wrong with shutting Ferus up when he needs to (though his methods are debatable). He was lashing out at the Tuskens because they had hurt his Master and I basically used him to show you guys that even Vader would put his family above revenge (#slight_character_growth am I right?). The point of Ferus travelling along with Anakin and Padme is that he annoys the heck out of the former Sith Lord and that Anakin will need to keep his cool around him on multiple occasions.
Thirdly, Force Healing! Yup, karking Force Healing! You may ask why I decided to do this so early on and it's because Anakin needs to learn that with power comes great responsibility. Let me elaborate. Anakin knowns how powerful he is and is trying to be responsible, but he doesn't understand that these two things are connected. So, he's probably going to end up screwing himself over while trying to use it before he learns that lesson. Also, the theme of the story is failure, in case you guys forgot. This whole first Arc is dedicated to Anakin's failures as Darth Vader and the story will continue to follow a similar theme because Anakin has a lot of failures to confront and overcome. Another thing is that Anakin is very close to reverting into Darth Vader again. All he has to do is let go off anything that is restraining him or preventing him from doing whatever he wants, things like a moral code, the Jedi Code (to a lesser degree) and the fact that the people he cares about (Padme, Qui Gon, Shmi, Obi Wan, Ahsoka) would disapprove of. In conclusion, this newfound power may make Anakin place too much confidence in his abilities, which could (theoretically) have catastrophic consequences for everyone. Let's hope nothing like that happens anytime soon. Another thing is that Qui Gon gets to cameo in this chapter and I'm all about that. Lastly, I didn't want Anakin to lose his mother again so I had to find a way to save her so...I did this. I feel like I should mention that this ability won't be used to heal stuff like limbs being cut off, someone who is already dead, or straight up decapitation. There are consequences for every action and not even the Force can save
Fourthly, Geonosis is finally here! Yes! Took us long enough! But in all seriousness, I'll be splitting the events of the movie into two or three chapters, probably having a duel in each one. The second (or third if I really need to stretch it out) will feature Count Dooku vs Anakin, but I'm open to ideas about the first (or second) chapter. Maybe Anakin vs Jango? Yeah, why not? We need a real duel between the two anyways.
And finally, I give you all the summary for the next chapter as a bonus to the epilogue. Enjoy the teaser!
Infiltrating the foundry! With Obi Wan's life hanging by a thread and Mace Windu's task force unable to reach him in time, Senator Padme Amidala and Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker take it upon themselves to rescue the latter's Jedi Master with the help of Jedi Knight Siri Tachi and her Padawan, Ferus Olin. As the team of Jedi descends into the sandy hell that Geonosis is about to become, they quickly figure out that their mission is about to go sideways in more ways than one. But can they rescue Obi Wan Kenobi, or are they all destined to die by the hand of the malicious Count Dooku?
I hope this was a fun read for all you guys! Be sure to leave a review with your comments and/or questions because they really help me be a better writer (And not because I get super excited or anything. Nope…I'm an absolute professional.), or PM me if you want an extended conversation. So yeah, May the Force be with you guys! Until next time! Bye!