Tatooine 977ARR:11:28:11:00/12GrS:2:28:11:00
"Mom, we're home!" Anakin runs off the ship as it lands right outside of the Lars Homestead. Owen was the first to come out and grabbed Anakin in a hug. Cliegg followed not that far ahead of Shmi. Anakin broke free of Owen to then hug his mother and then clap Cliegg's back as he pounded his. A small woman moved next to Owen and he placed his arm protectively on her shoulder.
"You need to visit more. Three years is too long. You missed Owen's wedding to Beru Whitesun." Anakin looked their way before looking over his mother again. Relief was obvious even to Cliegg that Anakin is worried.
"What's wrong? Something happen to Lady Kimble?"
"No I, I'll tell you later."
"There she is. Thought Annie wore you out." Cliegg bellowed as he saw Aliora come down the ramp of the large ship.
"Wow, I don't think she has aged at all. She looks good." Owen whispered to Beru who then elbow him in the side.
"Greetings and it has been a long time. Anakin you left this in your cabin." Aliora hands him a cylinder that causes Cliegg and Shmi to raise their eyebrows before they glanced at Aliora's waist to see a different type of cylinder handle that could only be a lightsaber.
"Master Allie, I don't this at home."
"That is not why you need to carry it. This is no different then your shoes or shirt. Do you go with out them?"
"No, but it is like a jacket or work boots. I need it when I go out, but not when I am at home. So I take them off at the door. I have the Force."
"Very good C2 please take our lightsabers back into the ship. HK start an expanding circular patrol have T7 relay the sensor data to my tablet. Oh C2 you can bring the crate marked G1 and the food we brought with."
"More food? This is going to be a feast."
"Who else is here?"
"You remember Amee, Seek and Melee?" Anakin looked toward the entry way of the Lars family home.
"Why are they here?"
"Seek and Melee just got married and are heading out to the old Maren Homestead to take over the farm there. The place between here and the Darklighter's land."
"That is a surprise."
"Come inside I feel my brain baking already." Everyone moves inside, and another set of squeals ring out as Amee and Melee spot Anakin. Melee briefly hugs Anakin, but Amee nearly jumps into his arms as she places a kiss on his cheek. Seek shakes Anakin's hand once Amee releases him. Melee suddenly pulls Amee to the other side of the room.
"Amee he sure is handsome. You better find out if he is single." The one whisper to the other.
"Look at who he is with. She is so beautiful. I can't..."
"He let you kiss him and she only raised a brow." The girls then giggled drawing the attention of Melee and Anakin as they talk.
"So you're married. Never would have thought."
"Helped that we were freed a few years back. You should contact Wald and Kitster. They are running Watto's old junkyard. Any profits they get go to freeing our friends. Though it has been hard."
"I would be happy to provide a loan to them again."
"Wait so you are Lady Kimble?" From across the room.
"You can't be her you are so young!"
"Calm down and yes this is Lady Kimble and I think she looks her age. She is not exactly human. Isn't that right?" Aliora nodded as Anakin looked at her. The two girls looked at each of them and caught the guilty look Anakin gave his friend or was it master?
"Okay everyone the food is ready. C2 has offered to serve so every be seated." Cliegg bellowed ending the awkward situation though the two girls whispered now and then bringing Beru into the conversation as Anakin tells of his adventures over the last three years. Aliora adds a few of her own not holding back when it embarrassed the young Skywalker in front of the girls. She knew what the girls were trying with how they switched seats as dessert was served putting Amee right next Anakin. Had they been able to glow the lights could have been turned off with how they blushed at each other. As the alcohol came out the the younger ones of the group moved to a different part of the homestead leaving Anakin there with a silent but pleading Amee.
"Go Anakin, be with your friends you see me enough." This brought on a large smile that made Amee's face glow and a fearful cringe in Anakin's Force signature. Even as he maintained a calm outwardly smile. Amee was quick to drag him out of the room to the slightly louder room that the others had retreated to. Once the door was shut it was almost muted entirely. Owen and Beru got up and handed their plates to the ever attentive C2 and 3P0.
"Going to bed or to the party next door?"
"Let them have fun and suffer tomorrow as they have to work early."
"As you wish." Cliegg bellowed in laughter and Beru suddenly blushed. Cliegg calmed down as the hallway door that lead to their shared room closed. Cliegg held onto his smile until he downed the shot in front of him. He then stared harshly at Aliora.
"I heard the orders you gave that tin can of yours. It is like you already knew the Sand People are causing trouble. You are not just here to visit."
"Cliegg maybe they are. She could have here own reasons."
"Shmi he is right. We are here because Anakin has been having dreams that things are not right here and concerning you Shmi. Cliegg revealing the sand people are being aggressive has only strengthened this feeling to fact."
"Your hokey religion showed you that?"
"You did not get the exposure that I did honey. There is nothing hokey about what she and Annie can do." To add to Shmi's point, Aliora pulled the bottle to her and added a bit to her cup. She tipped back the cup and then spit part of it in the air and it flowed right back into the cup before she drank it again. Aliora then let go of the cup to have it hover in the air. Cliegg had his whole attention on that small cup.
"The Force is all around us and to those who can see it feel it and control many things are possible. I don't have to prove to you that this warning we have received is hokey or just coincidence but we are here because of it. However, I also feel that we will have to leave sooner than planned."
"You mean the rumors of whole sectors leaving the Republic?"
"Systems are joining and leaving the Republic all the time. Tatooine is not part of the Republic and I doubt anything would change even if it was."
"True as that is, this is different. The battle of Antar 4 was a complete failure and with how it was handled could be link to nearly 5000 worlds secession from the Republic."
"So why should you get involved? You are not even a Jedi."
"I never stopped being a Jedi and all my life I have never known peace. For a long time I felt the goal of peace to be a lie and something the Sith might have right. However, I have felt this peace as we traveled the galaxy. I have not had to use my lightsaber in all that time. War is coming and that is what I grew up with and if I can convince the Jedi Council to take me back and allow Anakin to serve, I believe my knowledge will be critical to the Republic remaining the Republic."
"From what I have been hearing. It is only a matter of time and good riddance. Don't need no Galactic government in my opinion. Won't change a thing hear either way."
"The Republic has stood in one form or another for twenty five thousand years."
"One form or another. Maybe it is time it changes to another form." Aliora thought about this and wondered what if this was what was needed? Many of the articles that have been released by confederate worlds have not been refute by the Republic. Much of what she had researched had made it necessary that they no longer could support the Republic, but she could not get the feeling that came through the Force that something was wrong about the current Secessionist Crisis. The conversation switched to more local concerns, but it still tumbled around in the back of Aliora's mind.
977ARR12:13:0800/13GrS:3:13:0800
Several months have gone by and the attacks have increased from the Tusken Raiders. Several homesteads had fend off attacks and one had been lost. Aliora purchased large amounts of the types of supplies the raiders had been taking, and left it not far from their camp. Even after the offering the raids have not relented. I have no doubt we could convince the Tusken Raiders to move on, but Aliora still would like to resolve this without violence. HK51 continually guards my mother when I am not near and patrols the homestead when I or Aliora are near. My dreams are constantly changing. One moment she is in danger and another she is fine. Aliora believes this is do to our actions and those of the homesteaders.
Amee is a problem. I know I should not have, but the party had gone into the early morning and the drink loosened my resistance to her advances. The Force had warned me she was not one to experiment with. I have had one encounter with a girl before, but that was a Mandalorian girl and only because she beat me in a fight. I felt many emotions back then, but in the end we left as friends. Amee feels wrong or is it that I feel wrong. How can I explain that I can not stay? I don't want to hurt her. Plus Melee said that she would kill me if I did. Force or no Force. Should I just not tell her we are leaving?
"Anakin there has been another attack and they have taken prisoners."
"Are we going after them?"
"We yes and a bunch of the homesteaders as well."
"They are just going to slow us down."
"Perhaps, but it is what they decided. This is their world and if they can not defend their people than they never will. We have the Force, but we will not stay to protect them."
"I don't get it, but I am sure you are going to drill this into me."
"No, just know that not every problem needs the Force to fix. That it is not our place to fight another beings' battle. I would rather teach them to fight for themselves."
"I get it. Kind of like what the Barsenthor did for the Rift Alliance. He helped, but in the end they did most of the work, or how giving a beggar a few credits could harm him if others covet his gain."
"Exactly. Now let's go."
"Shall T7 and I join you?"
"No, remain in the corvette. Have T7 fly above sending scans to our datapads and comlinks so that we can remain in contact with the search teams. Hopefully that will be all that is needed."
"Very well. I will inform T7 of the plan."
"You know HK will not be happy he is not part of the fighting."
"HK-51 is protecting Shmi and the rest of the Lars Homestead. He has had a few eliminations of troublemakers. HK- 47 would have went directly to speak with the Tusken Raiders or just killed them all."
"That sounds like one scary droid."
"It was created when Evan was Darth Revan." Anakin finished checking out his speeder bike as Aliora got onto hers. "Let's go."
It was only a few hours to the Tusken Camp, but the hope was to intercept the raiding party before they returned to the camp. The problem was we had no idea what route they would take. Searching for Tusken Raiders when they did not want to be found was like looking for a diamond in the sand. They blended right in, but they had captives so it should not have been this hard. However, the rest of the tribe must have been running loops as we would follow one trail or another and come up empty. C2 and T7 even with the powerful sensors on the ship could not detect them.
"This is no use. I say we all surround the camp and demand their release."
"That would be an option, but the teams watching the camp have seen little movement."
"What if they went another direction away from this camp as if there is another camp?"
"Didn't we do a really big scan before we found the camp here? Where else could they have a camp?" Aliora had to think and in her time on Tatooine their camps had been more numerous to the south of Anchorhead. The other thing is that they had been smaller camps and this one was larger than the biggest camp she had ever seen. This was odd for them to gather so many together? Unless this was some clan or tribal gathering of several tribes? In fact it was so large that there was no way they could remain together for long.
"Anakin what is slightly North East of their camp?"
"I don't know."
"You explored all around here."
"Ya I did but that was years ago."
"Master there is possibly and extended cave system in that area. I will mark the location on the map." She pulled her arm up as the holo of the area changed. Her glance showed that there very well could be a cave system with several large openings.
"I just got your map you guys are crazy. No one goes into that area."
"Why?"
"Krayt Dragon breeding ground. The Sand People would not go there either."
"Is it their time of the season?"
"Season?"
"Is this when they breed?"
"No, but maybe when the cursed things hatch." That could be why they have all gathered together. They either would take the young as food or, no could be setting up to feed them as they hatched? She shivered as the Force leaned her thoughts in that direction.
"Anakin I will need you and your team to meet me there. Will need another team or two to watch our backs." Aliora looked over to Cliegg as he checked his rifle again.
"You really want to go into that breeding ground?"
"No, but if the raiding party was not going back to camp then where else would they go."
"No clue."
"The Force is giving us one." The terrain flew by as they got closer to the entrance to the ravine that everyone had on their maps. The two Jedi and eight locales got off their speeders in a defensible location. Six took up positions as Cliegg and Huff followed behind the Jedi. Far up above Aliora was getting updates from the ship on the HUD of her helm. Not that it was in any way better in what she was seeing in front of her, but that the data C2 was able to transmit and his commentary from what imagery he gather made the droid think that this cave had seen heavy traffic over the centuries.
Aliora passed the opening as her scanners and senses in Force adjusted to the change in the light and temperature the farther they went in. The near 50 degree air dropped rapidly enough that she could almost see Cliegg and Huff shiver.
"This cave is different."
"I have a bad feeling."
"The Force is clouded here."
"I feel it Anakin."
"You smell that." Huff made an extra effort to pull in more air and a disgusted look developed on his face. He was not the only one who smelled the sweet sticky smell of burning flesh. The two men said nothing, but Aliora could feel they wanted and needed to leave, but their pride forced them to continue to follow her and Anakin. As the rounded a bend in the tunnel they came into direct contact with several Sand People and the missing homesteaders.
"They are going to die." Huff growled out as his blaster came up. Anakin and Aliora held up a hand holding him back. The Sand People shouted and then the two farmers opened their mouths as her helm speaker spewed out a reply.
"What did you say?"
"I told them to release them and back away."
"They are not backing away."
"I know. Anakin, rock storm." Rock of all around rose up in the air and spun into a growing funnel. Sand joined in thickening the visual impression that it was a storm funnel that proceeded some sandstorms. They backed away as half of them brought their weapons up. Then the stones shot out pushing them back as they grunted and cried out from the onslaught. The normally very aggressive natives retreated farther back into the cave system.
"By the gods are they alive?" Cliegg questioned as Aliora inspected the girl closest to her.
"Barely."
"This guy didn't make it."
"Pori Grendel. Nice kid, a bit too reckless. Shame really."
"Let's get them down." The four of us worked quickly and between Allie and I we levitated four while Cliegg and Huff each carried one. Pori was the only one to not survive the beatings that the natives gave them. Several other groups once they heard of the rescue called for revenge, but Allie proved she could talk down a hungry rancor. My dreams changed to flying creatures and angels that night. This bothered me but was an immense relief. I knew now my mother was safe.
