Chapter 2
By mid morning Courscant was bustling with speeders and air taxis flying all over the planet and amongst it all, Anakin and Padme prepared to head out with their family to leave for Luke's Academy. Han and Chewie had already headed out to the private landing platform where the Millennium Falcon was docked to begin their pre flight checklists leaving Anakin, Padme, Leia and Keely to finish packing their bags along with 3PO and R2.
Ben was standing beside the speeder watching as his grandfather packed the bags into the speeder. Ben couldn't wait till they were at the Academy and couldn't contain his excitement from his grandfather. "Grandpa, will you teach me any Jedi tricks when we're with uncle Luke?" He asks him as Anakin chuckles giving him a small
"Of course Ben, when have I not been up for helping you train" he reminds him. This was true especially in the last two years, although it would have been earlier except Leia felt Ben was a little young at three to learn force abilities, although she didn't know about the secret training when Anakin and Padme were babysitting him. Ben smiles "Will I get my lightsaber this time?" He asks curiously as Anakin picks up another two bags and places them into the speeder.
"Maybe" he replies "But I will help you construct your lightsaber" he promises him before he kneels down in front of him, unclipping his lightsaber from his belt "Or I could let you 'borrow' mine" he reveals. He watched Ben's eyes light up with excitement fingers twitching towards the lightsaber right before they heard a firm voice
"Anakin Skywalker!" Came Padme's horrified voice "Don't give Ben your lightsaber" she warns as Leia and Keely came behind her with their bags. "He's still too young for one dad" Leia tells him as Anakin straightens up. "I wasn't going to let him activate it" he informs them as Padme and Leia both stared over at him as Keely moves over towards the speeder. "Dad, you've never been a good liar" she tells him placing her bag into the speeder.
Padme and Leia exchanged glances with each other as Leia moves over towards Ben. "You're too mellow with him dad" she tells him "Ben's always talking about he loves being around you and showing you all these tricks" she points out as Anakin stares down at his grandson
"Oh, has he?' He asks seeing Ben grin cheekily before he adds "And does Ben know it's not nice to tattletale" he warns as Ben giggles once more before he takes his mother's hand and moves towards the speeder as Padme takes Anakin's hand. "I believe you sweetheart, but you need to remember Ben idolises you and he's eager to follow in your steps as a Jedi" she reminds him seeing Anakin smirk "You just need to take it slow" she adds giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek
"Let's not keep Han and Chewie waiting" she tells him before they head over towards the speeder where Leia, Ben and Keely were already inside waiting. Anakin then helped Padme inside before getting into the pilot's seat and flying off into the traffic in the direction of the landing platform.
A few minutes later, Anakin piloted the speeder down onto the landing platform seeing Han and Chewie doing last minute fixes to the Falcon. Ben's eyes excitedly widen as they landed and he saw his dad and Chewie.
"Dad!" Ben cried jumping out of the speeder once it had stopped seeing Han look over at them smiling catching Ben in his arms. "Hey kid" he smiles. "Is the ship ready yet?" He asks eagerly as Han nods. "She's ready to fly. You gonna sit with me and Chewie in the cockpit?" He asks as Anakin, who had been unloading bags from the speeder, spoke up "Of course, he's gonna be sitting on my lap until I need to intervene" he reminds him as Padme shakes her head looking over at Leia and Keely. Who remained silent as Han shakes his head
"And I told you that won't be happening" he reminds him. Han then moves over towards Leia placing Ben down and taking two bags from her before leading them towards the ship and up the landing ramp ahead of Chewie. Ben grins throwing his arms around Chewie "Chewie!" He cries feeling the large Wookie's arms around him before they followed everyone up the landing ramp.
Padme went to go settle in with Leia, and Keely as Anakin headed straight for the cockpit where Han and Chewie. "Grandpa, wait for me!" Ben exclaims running up to his grandpa as R2 and 3PO stayed with Padme, Leia and Keely. "I didn't forget you Ben" he smiles taking his hand, he led him into the cockpit where Han and Chewie were preparing to take off.
"How's everything in here?" Anakin asks taking a seat then lifting Ben on his lap as Han looks back at him. "Just about ready to take off, everyone all strapped in?' He asks as Ben nods. "Yes, let's go!" He exclaims watching Han and Chewie take hold of the controls before the ship lifts off into the traffic heading towards the outer atmosphere and off planet. Once they were in space, Han reaches for the hyperdrive lever "Alright everyone, hang on" he tells them before he, Chewie, Anakin and Ben all saw the stars flash outside before the ship disappeared into hyperspace.
"Luke Skywalker, you will not defeat me again" came the cold voice of Palpatine, however it couldn't be because Luke remembered hearing that his father killed Palpatine, so this Palpatine had to have been a clone.
"Luke…." He heard his father speak, he could barely stand having just been blasted with force lighting "Get…them….out….." Anakin screams in agony as Palpatine hit him with more lighting. He then heard Ben cry out
"Uncle Luke, we need to save him!" He exclaims as Luke is paralysed with what he could do unfortunately, Palpatine did know what to do next
"The Jedi will die and so too does the Skywalker legacy!" He declares before Luke then feels himself and Ben being lifted off the ground and thrown across the cavern then blackness..
End of dream
Luke's eyes flashed open as he breathes heavily before he finds his younger brother Henry looking down at him with worry. "You alright Luke?" He asks "I sensed something was wrong and saw you tossing and mumbling" he explains as Luke sits up in his bed trying to shake his head from the dream he just had.
"Just a dream" he replies as Henry tilts his head "You were muttering Palpatine's name when I came in and you look like you've seen a ghost" he points out. Luke gives his younger brother a small smile shaking his head. "Palpatine is no one you need to worry about brother, be grateful you never met him" he admits referring to the fact that Anakin killed Palpatine way when Henry was little.
"And you don't think none of our enemies will try and bring Palpatine back?" He asks Luke as Luke thought for a moment. There may have been rumours or enemies who tried but none had succeeded yet. Luke then gets to his feet placing a hand on his brother's back. "I'm sure those who still want to try but we will ensure they fail" he assures his brother
Henry gives him a small smile before Luke then smiles "Come on, up for some early training practices?" He asks as Henry grins "Always" he replies heading out with his brother heading towards the training chamber.
As the falcon continued to fly through hyperspace, Anakin, his fingers still twitching to fly, left the cockpit to find Padme, Leia and Keely. Ben remained back with his dad eager to learn more about the controls. As Anakin entered the main seating area of the ship, Padme spotted him first sensing his itchiness to want to pilot.
"You don't like it when you're not flying do you?" She asks as he moves over towards her kissing her softly. "Are you sure you're not a Jedi?" He asks referring to her senses. Padme blushes "I just know you well" she smiles taking a hand in his as Keely looks up at her dad. "Dad, I know Luke and Henry are looking forward to seeing you" she explains "Henry's gotten quite good with his lightsaber training and I think he's looking forward to a match with you" she warns as Anakin chuckles
"Looking forward to that and it will be nice to see the Academy again" he confesses. Since he Academy opened, Anakin had only been there twice than he would have liked but his focus was on family and being with Padme. Leia agrees. "I was only talking to Luke the other day and he's been very impressed with how the students have been learning" she points out before she adds "I'm not sure if I will ever be ready for when Ben will be there full time" as Padme wraps an arm around her daughter
"And only when you are ready does that have to happen. Ben will be well looked after by Anakin when he visits, Luke, Henry and Keely when he is there" she promises as Leia looks around at her family. "Ben is very blessed to have all his family around him" she admits right as Han enters the main room, Ben in his arms.
"Well, ship's flying smoothly now. Looks like we'll arrive well ahead of schedule" he promises them taking a seat beside Leia, Ben on his lap. "What are we talking about?" He asks as Keely looks over at him. "Just talking about the Academy and Ben being at the Academy full time" she informs him as Han ruffles Ben's hair
"Well, that's not gonna have quite yet" he informs them right before something large and hard hit the side of the ship. Anakin looked worried "We're in hyperspace, how could we hit something?" He points out getting to his feet as a beacon flashed red inside the ship. Han was quick on his feet, handing Ben to Leia just as another even more larger object hit the ship. "I got a bad feeling about this" Anakin muttered as Han rushes over towards the cockpit "Come on Chewie!" He calls out as Anakin is quick to follow. "Strap yourselves in!" He calls back to Padme, Leia, Keely and Ben.
Whilst in the cockpit…
"Anything out there?" Anakin asks as he enters the cockpit seeing Han and Chewie at the controls once more. "Scanner is picking up a lone ship that appears to have followed us from Courscant" Han replies as Anakin is confused "Another ship following us?" He asks as Han shrugs "Don't know but…" all three were startled by the ship outside shooting another blast at the falcon.
"Need an extra set of hands to help out?" Anakin asks him as Han glares back at him "Chewie and I got this" he informs him as another blast rocked the ship as Anakin shook his head "We need to get away from this ship before they destroy us or worst attempt to board the ship" he warns him "And I am not putting my family in that danger" he warns reaching forward, Anakin pulled on the hyperdrive controls releasing the ship from hyperspace. "What are you doing?" Han asks in shock
"We needed to get out of hyperspace, now I can get rid of the ship" he informs him rushing off towards the gunners as Han looks over at Chewie "Well, he's not wrong but still bold to touch my ship" he admits "Attempt to get behind this ship so Anakin can shoot him down" he instructs Chewie right as another blast hits the ship.
As another blast shook the ship, Keely decided she couldn't just wait around and undid her buckle and ran towards the other gunner. "Keely, wait!" Padme called out to her daughter as Keely shook her head. "I can't sit around when I could be helping dad, Han and Chewie" she informs them. She climbed down into the second gunner seat, grabbing the headset.
"Okay dad, where are we firing?" She asks as she hears her father's voice "Aim straight ahead, there's a small to medium sized ship tailing us. I've dropped us out of hyperspace but before we can land, we need to take them out" he instructs her as Keely then sees the ship in question and taking a deep breath. She began to fire just as the ship continued to return fire. The blast hit the ship blasting the hyperdrive
"We lost the hyperdrive!" Keely called out as Anakin sighs "Just have to ensure they don't take anything else out" he fires another shot at the ship hitting the side of the ship seeing it begin to fall back as Keely then watched it come into shot. She fired straight at the ship hitting it right in the middle watching it explode. 'Nice shooting there Keely!" She heard her father call out as Keely took another deep breath slumping back in her seat.
"Except we don't know who they were" she admits "Probably pirates and I don't want to meet them" he admits "Come on let's head back up to the cockpit" he tells her climbing out of their seats rushing straight to the cockpit.
"Great job you two however we've now got no hyperdrive and the engine sustained some damage" Han informs them. Anakin looks straight at him. "So, we'll need to find a place to land" he states as Han nods "Well, when you dropped us out of hyperspace, Chewie spotted a planet up ahead, no idea what's down there but we don't have a choice" he explains "Strap yourselves in, it's going to be a rough landing" he warns them as Anakin tried once more to intervene "Unless, you want me to land the falcon" he states.
Han glares back at him "Chewie and I got this" he assures him. Anakin silently takes his seat just as Keely straps herself in the fourth seat as Han and Chewie begin to fly towards the planet. As the planet came into view, they all could see it was a yellow desert planet, as the falcon entered the atmosphere they could see nothing but sand through the viewport. Anakin closed his eyes - did it have to be a desert planet? He thought as Chewie let out a roar as Han looks over at him
"I know! I'm gonna try to land straight ahead, when I say so Chewie, released the landing gears" he instructs him as he continues to fly the falcon towards the ground. "Now!" He exclaims as Chewie pulls the landing gear control as Han pulled back on the controls and minutes later they hit the ground hard with smoke billowing out the back of the ship.
Han smirks as he relaxes back in his seat "See, told you I'd land my ship" he smirks as Keely looked over at her dad who folded his arms across his chest. "Yes, and at least we're still in one piece" he admits just as they heard more voices. "Anakin?" Came Padme's voice "Is everything alright?" She asks appearing at the entrance to the cockpit as Leia moved past her with Ben towards Han.
Anakin moves over towards Padme, wrapping his arms around her. He gently kisses her forehead "Just an unexpected landing which if I hadn't dropped us out of hyperspace wouldn't have happened" he calls back as Han rolls his eyes wrapping an arm around Leia as Ben climbed into his father's seat.
"And we don't know who was following us?" Leia asks her husband who shrugged "No, they were most likely low life scum who tailed us from Courscant and planned to rob us" he points out "Now we just need to figure out where we are and what damage is done to the ship and begin repairs" Han explains as Padme had a thought
"Well, even though we don't know where we are, there must be a small village or town somewhere and figure out how we're gonna contact Luke and Henry" she reminds them. Leia nods "That's a good idea mom" she agrees "And as much as dad and Han are both excellent repairers, it would be better if they weren't both working on the repairs" she hints as Anakin looks over at her
"Then maybe Han should go find a village because he'll know what parts to look for" he suggests as Han laughs "And leave you with my ship, forget it. Chewie will go with you, Padme and Keely, while Leia and Ben stay with me" he explains as Ben then speaks up "Dad, can I go with grandpa and grandma?' He asks as Leia smiles down at her son. "Perhaps Chewie stays to help with repairs and 3PO, and I'll go with mom, dad, Keely, Ben and R2 and hopefully we'll find a small village or town" she suggests as Keely grins looking from her dad to Han
"I think for the sake of dad and Han's sanities that's a very good idea Leia" she admits with a smirk ignoring her father's glare over at her. Padme then nods "Alright, so, let's get ready to set out. Anakin, will you go prepare the speeder down in the hold and we'll grab some supplies" she explains. Anakin nods before heading out of the cockpit to head off towards the hold, Padme looked over at Ben holding out her hand. "Come on Ben's let's go get ready" she tells him seeing him get off the seat taking her head, they headed out of the cockpit followed by Keely and lastly Chewie leaving Han and Leia alone.
Han let out a deep sigh as Leia looks over at him, wrapping her arms around him. "Don't let dad get to you, he's coming around. Mom's just always told us of how Anakin doesn't like to let go of piloting. He's use to doing things for himself" she explains as Han smiles down at her
"You're right, he just sometimes likes to push my buttons and must think I'm crazy to let him fly my ship" he admits seeing her smirk "I think we both know that can only happen if you were unable to" she tells him. Han gives her his familiar smirk "That's right" he replies placing a hand on her cheek before she felt his lips touch hers in a romantic tender kiss.
Anakin's Dream
"You thought you had defeated me on the Death Star didn't you?" Came the cold sinister voice Anakin did not want to hear as he looked around for the source but could not see anything.
"You're dead, you cannot harm my family" Anakin warns hearing the familiar laugh of the man he thought was a mentor but turned out to be one of the evilest Sith Lords that nearly threatened to destroy his new family.
"You almost turned to save your family, how are you not certain that your dear grandson will fail you and turn to the dark side for his family and friend?' He asks as Anakin realised he was referring to Ben's new friend they had taken in.
"You will not turn my grandson" Anakin warns protectively before he heard Palpatine speak once more
"You should be more cautious of his new friend" he informs him as Anakin shook his head "Stay away from my family!" He screams into the blackness hearing the laughter increasing in the darkness
End of dream
"Anakin?" Came Padme's voice gently shaking his shoulder "Anakin, are you alright?' She asks seeing his eyes open. He was sitting in the speeder waiting for Padme, Leia, Keely and Ben when he had fallen asleep. Padme tilts her head seeing that his face had gone white. "What happened?" She asks as Anakin shakes his head, getting up out of the speeder before he lifts her into his arms
"Nothing, just bad memories" he lies holding her close before their lips touched in gentle kiss before Padme rests her head on his chest as Anakin places his head on hers. He hated lying to Padme but he didn't want to worry her and besides his mind was now wondering about this new friend of Ben's, who were they and why haven't they met yet?
It was only 10 minutes later, when Padme, Leia, Keely, Ben and R2 settled into the speeder before Anakin piloted it out of the hold. The planet was barren and desert like and Anakin couldn't understand how they'll find anyone out here who can help them let alone a village although he never developed a liking for desert planets, having grown up on Tatooine, when Qui Gon informed him he was freed, he was sad to live his mother but couldn't wait to leave Tatooine.
Anakin began to pilot the speeder across the sands before he looks around at his family "We stay close together. We don't know what we'll find here so we stay together" he informs them as Padme nods before Leia adds "Of course dad. Ben won't leave my side" she informs him as Keely then had a thought "So that means we should keep our lightsabers hidden from sight if we find anyone huh?" She asks as Anakin nods
"That's right. We don't know who we will find and there are rumours every day on the holonet about new orders" he reminds her "And we don't want to attract attention" he adds as Padme looks over at him with a smirk "Reminds me of something Qui Gon said when we came to Tatooine all those years ago" she simply replies seeing Anakin give her a small smile back as he continued to fly the speeder across the plains
It was then at that moment Keely's data pad started to beep causing her to look down "Huh, dad, according to my data pad, there's signs of life a few miles ahead" she calls out. "How much further Keely?" He asks as she responds "Keep flying straight ahead, it's not a large city but there should be a small town" she informs him as Anakin increases the speed on the speeder "Let's see what awaits us" he tells them flying over the sands once more.
"Finally a chance for some peace and quiet" Han admits as he began work on the falcon's repairs, starting with the hyperdrive engine which had sustained quite a lot of damage during the fight. Chewie roars back in response as Han laughs
"Not saying I wouldn't have wanted Ben and Leia to stay but least I don't have her father telling me how to repair my ship as well" he admits "Although…" he pauses to look over at 3PO standing over by the controls. He had asked him to talk to the falcon find out what else was wrong with it. "I'm now wishing Leia had left the other droid with us" he admits in a low voice
"Hopefully they return soon, because this hyperdrive is almost completely destroyed which I hate to even say about my ship" he admits as Chewie lets out a little laugh as Han tosses the tool he had been holding at him "Laugh it up fuzzball, but looks like we'll be working on this hyperdrive for a long time" he warns him before they rescued working hoping the rest of their family would soon be back with the new parts and supplies.
Keely's directions were correct, surprisingly and soon Anakin, Padme, Leia, Keely, Ben and R2 arrived at a small village which was indeed smaller than they expected, mainly just a few stands selling ship parts, food and supplies and as Anakin looked around, there were definitely those who look like they could rob them.
Anakin stopped the speeder just outside before they all got out. "Remember, stay close" he tells them taking Padme's hand in one hand and Ben's hand in the other as Leia took his other hand as Keely walked alongside her sister with R2. They began to make their way into the small village. They didn't stand out too much because they had changed into simple attire so they didn't attract unwanted attention, for Anakin it reminded me of when he took Padme back home to the safety of Naboo after the assassination attempts on Courscant.
Ben was in awe because he hadn't gone to many planets except for Courscant, Naboo and the Academy and so he hadn't seen a great deal of humans and species. He kept close to his grandfather and mother before he looked over at his aunt Keely who then looked down at him giving him a small comforting smile as they headed over towards one of the larger stalls at the back which was showing that they were selling ship parts. The vendor was of the Zabrek species with pale skin with horns coming out of his head. He wore black pants and a sleeveless shirt which then had two leather straps of ammo. A utility belt was around his waist where two blasters hung by his side.
"Can I help you?" He asks as they approached his stall before Anakin spoke. "Yes, we need parts for a Corellian YT-1300 freighter, in particular for the hyperdrive, do you have any?" He asks as the Zabrek looked over at him with a snarl on his face. "I might have something" he reveals "However, it depends on how much you're willing to pay" he informs him as Keely and Leia both looked over at their father, starting to sense Anakin's patience and anger starting to rise however it was Padme, who placed a hand on Anakin's and looked over at the seller.
"We're willing to pay you a fair price for the parts we need that you have" she informs him using her strong and confident Senatorial voice. The seller was taken aback by her voice not expecting it and it was clear that he had been intending to charge them quite a great deal. Padme's gaze never lingered from his as Anakin spoke. "May we see what you have in stock?" He asks as he glared back at them before he started to turn to head further into his small shop. "Follow me" he replies as Anakin, Padme, Leia and Keely started to follow him however R2 hadn't as he noticed Ben had not followed the adults. He gives a low whistle however notices that Ben is looking across the small marketplace to where there was a small little girl, no older than 3 years old hiding. Ben sensed that she appeared to be scared.
He knew he needed to stay with his mother, aunt and grandparents but he couldn't ignore someone who was upset especially a child younger than him, especially when he had so much family to love him. R2 whistles once more before watching Ben silently walk through the crowds not seeing R2 watching before turning back to alert the adults as Ben moved over towards the little girl.
As he got closer, she appeared to be crying, and indeed hiding from something or someone. Her little tearful face looked up at him as he approaching kneeling down before her, he held out a small hand to her. "Hello, my name's Ben, who are you?" He asks as the little girl looks tearfully up at him. "Rey, don't let him see me" she whispers sniffing once more as Ben looks confused "Who?" He asks as Rey kept quiet once more just as both Ben and Rey heard a low booming voice "Where is that child!?" He exclaims as Ben suddenly realises he wishes at least one of his family was here
Next time: Anakin, Padme, Leia and Keely meet Rey and after meeting a disgruntled Unkar Plaett, Ben pleads with them that they need to protect her to which they agree however Anakin can't help but feel there's something about Rey he can't quite figure out while over at the Academy, Luke and Henry become worried when they can't contact their family after they fail to arrive at the Academy