Well, I reach 100K words with the Compost Heap with yet another attempt at a Star Wars crossover, one that's Anakin-centric, and will doubtless get him more badass moments, less whining...oh, and it's set, as with Spreading Wings, about a year prior to Episode II.

I won't say anything else, only...enjoy!

GATE: THUS THE CHOSEN ONE FOUGHT THERE

CHAPTER 1:

CRASH LANDING

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Or perhaps not…

Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, the Chosen One Anakin Skywalker, have recently finished a mission for the Jedi Order. However, their enemies, filled with spite, had sabotaged their transports, hoping to destroy or cripple their spacecraft. In doing so, they hoped to deal a dreadful blow to the Jedi Order.

The sabotage damaged the hyperdrive of the Jedi Starfighter belonging to Anakin just as they were entering hyperspace. What should have been a standard hyperspace jump to Coruscant, capital of the galaxy and home of the Jedi Order, instead caused him to be flung into the depths of hyperspace. The Chosen One could have been lost forever in nothingness, but for chance.

Anakin Skywalker emerged from hyperspace, a long way from home, above a planet in a galaxy far, far away. But even as he makes a crash landing, he will soon find that something brought them here. Perhaps it was the will of the Force. Maybe it was coincidence. But it would bring him into contact with something that would change his life…

Anakin Skywalker. The Chosen One. Born to Shmi Skywalker. Father, unknown. Possessing a record number of midichlorians in his blood, giving him an unprecedented connection to the Force. And currently, feeling a mixture of annoyance, curiosity, and caution.

The former was a familiar feeling to Anakin. Annoyance and frustration were feelings he felt a lot lately, as he felt that the Jedi Order had failed to recognise his talents…or else feared them, and deliberately held him back. A more intellectual, objective part of him understood why: he had been accepted into the Jedi Order on sufferance at a much older age than the norm, and it meant more to learn in less time. He tended not to listen to that part of him, which frequently spoke with different voices. Sometimes, it was his mother. Sometimes, it spoke with Yoda's voice, even with that irritating syntax of his. And sometimes it was Obi-Wan's voice.

Curiosity was also familiar, albeit less so than annoyance of late. Of course, every time he went to another world, it was like a new experience for him. It was certainly novel, compared to the desert wasteland of his homeworld, Tatooine. He wanted to go back there, free the slaves, free his mother…but he wouldn't be able to even contemplate that before he finished his training.

Then again, considering he was stranded here, his starfighter smashed beyond repair, even to his skills or that of the now-irrevocably destroyed astromech droid, and with limited supplies (as well as what he could salvage of the comms systems, so that he could try repairing it when he had a moment), well, his ability to finish his training was now rather limited. He was lucky to be able to walk away from that crash with cuts and bruises, and a limp. And a quick look in the skies showed that they weren't in any region of space he was familiar with. Admittedly, he hadn't travelled to every single sector of the galaxy and did any real stargazing, but he needed to know the basics for astronavigation.

On worlds that hadn't made contact with the Republic and whose spacefaring capabilities weren't up to going into FTL travel, well, protocol was tricky. In truth, Anakin knew that more than a few worlds had attacked potential ambassadors and stolen the technology. Other first contact scenarios hadn't been so brutal, admittedly, but still, it paid to be prudent.

The landscape he had landed in was actually quite beautiful, not unlike the countryside of Naboo, as well as many other worlds he had been to since he joined the Jedi Order. No signs of industrial development, just grass and trees. But there was something dark tainting the Force nearby, he could feel it.

And then, he heard laughter from nearby, and heard the distinctive crackle of a bonfire. He walked around cautiously, and listened in. He frowned. He couldn't place the language. It didn't sound like Basic, and he only caught a few words here and there. But when he rounded the corner, and found a cart with a trio of dead bodies, he knew something was amiss.

The bodies were a man, a woman, and a teenaged girl, apparently human. All three were dead, murdered brutally…and if he wasn't mistaken, both the woman and the girl had been raped. He heard a sudden shout in that language, and he looked to see a group of thuggish-looking men coming around to find him.

Anakin glared at them, his blue eyes as piercing as his own lightsaber, which he pulled from his belt and ignited. "Did you do this?" he said, indicating the bodies. Not that he doubted it, or that they would understand what he said…but he wanted confirmation.

The bandits jeered, and then, one of them said, in rough-sounding Basic, "Hohoh, sounds like someone's pissed. Well, those guys had to pay the toll. So do you. Hand over your valuables, including that little glowing stick, and maybe you can pass us by."

Anakin merely swung the lightsaber, severing the man's hand. "You're not the toll collectors," Anakin said. "I am."

"Ooh, I like your style," purred a voice from nearby, and Anakin whirled to find a most strange apparition before him. He got careless, concentrating on these damned bandits, for he was sure that's what they were.

The girl appeared to be in her early teens, dressed in a black frilly dress that seemed both old fashioned, and yet, had an alarmingly high hemline. Her face was beautiful, framed by long tresses of glossy raven black hair, crimson eyes peering at him curiously. Her general demeanour was vaguely feline, enhanced by the black bow she wore, like a pair of cat ears. She wielded a massive halberd that no child her age should have been able to wield.

"Rory Mercury!" screamed one bandit. And this was a panicked cry taken up by the rest of the bandits, as the girl leapt at them, laughing as she sliced them to ribbons with her halberd. Anakin could only watch in horror…and not a little vindication. For a moment, Anakin wondered if she was a Sith, but while she did create something of a localised disturbance within the Force, it didn't feel quite like a Jedi, or even a darker form. It was more…wild, like a force of nature, mercurial and (relatively) impersonal.

Soon, she was done, and she walked over to the bodies of the victims, looking down at them with regret and sympathy. She spoke something in a language Anakin didn't know, a prayer or a benediction. She then began putting the bodies of the family on a cart, arranging them so that their bodies were decent. Then, she said, "I don't suppose you have a means of setting this cart on fire? I intend to leave these bloodthirsty bastards for the crows, but for their victims, either a burial or a pyre."

Anakin nodded, taking out his campfire equipment, and swiftly igniting the cart. "Who are you?" Anakin said as he backed away from the flames.

The girl looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? So you have never met an Apostle before?"

"…An Apostle?"

The girl peered at his lightsaber, which he had deactivated during the fight. "Ah…I see how it is. I have roamed this world for many years, and I haven't seen a weapon like that, a sword of pure light." She smirked. "Ooh, what a lovely weapon. Emroy would be pleased. Still…I wonder, did you come from beyond the Gate, or to this world by other means?"

"…By other means. My transport has been destroyed, and I've been left stranded," Anakin said.

"Ah! Well, I should introduce myself. I am Lady Rory Mercury, Apostle, Priestess and Oracle to Emroy, God of War and Calamity. And, as you can see, I take out the trash on occasion."

"…Anakin Skywalker, Jedi. Well, Padawan," Anakin said.

"…Jedi…now, that term sounds oddly familiar," Rory mused. "Still…you seem like the righteous sort. And if you are stranded here, then it behoves me as an Apostle to accompany you until you reach civilisation."

"No offence, but…while I'm sure you can handle yourself given what I saw…you're a kid."

She pouted. "Excuse me? Apostles are granted eternal youth by the deity they worship, thank you! I happened to be thirteen when I was chosen, but I am 961 years old, little boy!" She grinned. "And when 900 years old you reach, you won't look as good, huh?"

In another galaxy, Grand Master Yoda sneezed twice, and frowned. One of his favourite lines, someone had stolen. Most perturbing this is…

"You're 961 years old?" Anakin said, staring at Rory flatly. "What."

"Yep." Rory looked at the cart solemnly. "Damned bandits. I heard them speak of attacking Coda Village, as the Flame Dragon has been spotted nearby, and Coda would have to evacuate. And there are rumours of soldiers with unusual weapons, the Men in Green, having been spotted. I wonder if they are soldiers from beyond the Gate. Hmm, that might be interesting. Indeed, Emperor Molt Sol Augustus may very well have bitten off more than he can chew…"

Anakin didn't know quite how Rory persuaded him to travel with her. However, he needed someone who knew the lie of the land, and who'd be willing to ally themselves with him. And despite her dark nature, her victims were rapists and murderers.

As they walked, Rory began explaining some things. Deities here were once mortals who ascended to godhood through apotheosis, most of them doing a thousand years of service as Apostles. This land was called Falmart, and most of it was under the rule of the Saderan Empire. Many species inhabited this world, including humans and what were called demi-humans, humanoid beings with various traits. And something like magic, or a Force ability that could be misconstrued as such, existed.

Every so often, usually after several centuries, a mysterious Gate opened up on Alnus Hill, allowing other beings to settle in Falmart. However, the ruler of the Empire, Molt Sol Augustus, had decided to use the Gate to invade another world. That, according to Rory, had backfired. Apparently the Imperial army had been decimated by an army dressed in green.

Judging by Rory's description, albeit secondhand (she had heard about them from Emroy and people she met in her travels), the army may be wielding primitive projectile weapons using gunpowder. The descriptions of their vehicles sounded like ground cars with wheels, no antigrav.

In turn, he spoke to her about the Force and the Jedi. He couldn't help but laugh, despite himself, when she remarked that they sounded like a group of hidebound monks.

A couple of days after he began travelling with Rory, a murder of crows flying overhead, she suddenly peered into the distance, and smiled. "Ah, they come."

Anakin reached out with the Force, and concurred, inwardly. He could feel a group of living beings coming this way. And in the distance, when he used his binoculars, he could see a bunch of motorised vehicles, green and blocky and vaguely militaristic, leading a convoy of primitive wagons.

Rory sat down and smirked. "I think we can wait here. I want to see what their motives are."

Anakin merely remained standing. "I don't think their intentions towards us are hostile, or towards those people they're leading."

"Oh yes, this 'Force' you speak of. Hmm…well, they're coming to a halt. They must've spotted us. Let's go."

A group of children ran up, chattering to Rory, who asked questions. "Well, well," she remarked after they answered. "It seems that they are trying to just be nice."

Anakin peered at the lead vehicle. If he didn't know any better, these seemed to be using antiquated internal combustion engines, and with fossil fuels to boot! The men (as well as a woman) in there were indeed dressed in green uniforms, most with dark hair and eyes. He eventually walked over to the vehicle as Rory kept speaking with the children, and said, "Do you speak Basic?"

"…You mean English?" one of them, a lazy-looking young man with a faint scruff of beard on his chin. "Yeah. What's your name?"

"I'm Anakin Skywalker, and that is Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy. Yours?"

"1st Lieutenant Youji Itami of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces. Hey, if you speak English, are you from Earth?"

Protocol meant generally keeping that quiet from pre-spaceflight cultures, though doing so with pre-hyperspeed cultures was trickier. Anakin decided, to vac with kriffing protocol. He'd probably have to be wary around these guys superiors, true, but he could sense that these guys, despite their military bearing, were fine.

"Is that your world? No, I'm from Tatooine, originally. I'm…stranded here. A long way from home," Anakin said. "I need help repairing my comms systems at the least."

The young man next to Itami asked something of the scruffy man in a staccato language. Itami sighed. "Kurata wants to know if you're an alien or something."

"Humans are surprisingly widespread throughout the galaxy," Anakin said. Then, he frowned. "My galaxy, anyway. I'm not sure even if I am in my galaxy."

Itami chuckled. "So, what, your spaceship crashlanded or something?"

"Yes. I'm not sure you can repair it with your technology, but comms systems are another matter."

Itami seemed to speak to a few of the others, before nodding. "Wanna come with us? We're heading back to base with these civilians. You might find the stuff you need to repair your comms. Just as long as you're not here to invade us or anything."

Rory, who had finished talking to the children, strutted over. "He claims to be part of a sect known as the Jedi," she said. "Warrior monks who act as peacekeepers. Given what the children said you people are doing, you seem to be more alike than you'd think. Incidentally, the children said this is more comfortable than a carriage. May I have a seat?"

Anakin noticed her impish smirk as Itami hesitantly accepted. What did she intend? Whatever she intended, he had a bad feeling about this…

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Anakin has ended up in Falmart, and has met Rory and Itami.

No numbered annotations this time.