Oh, my. My LOTR readers are going to lynch me. I've got writers block on my current chapter there, but I'm flying along with updates on this one. See first chap. for disclaimers.

Cammy: Is it just me or do you like this story? Thanks for you comments. I did have to make Anakin a little more grown up than the books. I felt that holding onto his more childish perspective wouldn't have been realistic for the situation he was growing up in. PLUS it really annoyed me that the NJO series had such a great character making such stupid mistakes while the incredibly annoying Jacen was portrayed as being "Very wise for his age." Balderdash! 

 Ahem, getting off my rant now.

ShortySC22: Glad you liked the view back at the ranch. As a special bonus, this chapter will feature a scene from the venerable Master Luke.

Remnant: Not much I can say but thanks for the review!

BTW—I'm skipping ahead again (Please don't hurt me) Anakin is now about fifteen.

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 Jedi Master Luke Skywalker was having a very, very bad day. For the past two years select members of the Empire had gone missing or shown up dead. Rumors had been spreading of a new power building. A dark presence was growing in the Force, but it was elusive, impossible to track. What was causing Luke's bad day was how the latest official had died. She had been found, in a park on Coruscant by some school children, stabbed through the heart with a lightsaber.

       Now he had a report on his desk from the Republic demanding that he interrogate his order. There had to be a defector among them somewhere. It was classified information at the moment, but the instant a reporter got a hold of how the official had died there would be no end to his torment. All Jedi would be suspect. Their steps hounded wherever they went.

     It was frustrating to say the least. Why did his life have to be so hard? Orphaned with a Sith for a father. His mentor cut down before his very eyes. Cut off hand. Abducted Nephew. Now this. It was unfair. All he wanted to do was yell at all of the universe. Tell everyone how unfair and stupid they were.

    Ben would never feel that way. A smile crossed Luke's lips as he thought of Old Ben. Calm, steady mentor. He had faced down his own apprentice and never showed rage. He listened to a starry eyed farm boy and never showed frustration. Luke sighed, he wished he knew how to be just like Ben.

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  With a slight jump Anakin twisted away from his master's blue blade. Obi-Wan was frustrated and had decided that the perfect way to release his tension was saber practice. Anakin flipped backwards trying to get some time to catch his breath. When Obi-Wan was frustrated, he tended to become more aggressive when they trained.

     At least, Anakin mused, he wasn't fighting Qui-Gon. While Anakin had grown tall, Qui-Gon was still the most imposing of the four. Without full access to the Force, Qui-Gon was the strongest. Which automatically made him a pain to fight. There were only so many blade strokes you could take from him before your arms felt like they were going to fall off.

     Fighting Ani wasn't so bad. Ani tended to focus on mechanics or politics. While he was better than most at the lightsaber, it wasn't his favorite focus. That meant he was easier to fight against than two of the greatest swordsmen in the order.

  Obi-Wan was charging Anakin again. Three swings, a stab, and two blocks later: Anakin was laying on the cargo room floor with his master's blade at his neck.

"You must watch your footwork, Padawan. Not matter how tired you are. A true master of the saber knows it is a function of the total body, not just the upper half."

  Anakin pushed himself up off the floor. "Yes, Master"

   He wasn't surprised at Obi-Wan's snippy mood. None of them were feeling very great. They had found out two days ago that a Jedi scout had finally responded to one of the messages they had managed to send over the years. He had been denied access to Hutt space, and on his way back had been attacked by a group of space pirates. His conclusion was that it was a trick by the Pirates to lure Republic vessels nearby so they could loot them.

    They had also gotten the latest news from the core worlds. Another Empire official had been assassinated on Coruscant. A sure sign that Callista had been at work.

     Those two major downers were combined with the fact that their last employer had only given them half their promised pay. A fact that Obi-Wan in particularly was not happy with.  Being the smallest of the group, he had been elected to crawl up the refuse pipe in order to break into an office that held some incriminating documents. A job he disliked at the time, and hated now. Well, would hate if Jedi were allowed.

  It wasn't just Obi-Wan who had been affected. Anakin swore Qui-Gon had gone through three tins of tea while he was obsessively tending his mini garden. Ani had run diagnostics on everything on the ship. Even the blender.

  But still, Obi-Wan was in the worst mood. Driving Anakin's training, brooding for hours on end, picking fights with Ani over the smallest thing: it wasn't just what had happened lately. It was what had happened three weeks ago.

   They had just finished a job when they were chased by a group of Callista's clones. They had sent Qui-Gon and Ani off in one direction with the merchandise while Anakin and Obi-Wan distracted the faux Jedi.  The fight had been exhausting, but eventually Callista signaled them to come home. She'd seen enough progress.

  But one of her flunkies didn't stop. While three retreated, the one spun around and knocked Anakin's saber out of his hand.  Obi-Wan had reacted on instinct and lopped of his head.

     The glazed eyes of Bruck Chun had stared back when Obi-Wan pulled off the mask he wore. He hadn't been normal since.

  Anakin really didn't know what to do about the situation. He had asked Qui-Gon to help, but so far nothing had helped.

    With a shrug, he tossed his tunic on his floor. He would take a shower and then go and talk to his master. A glance at the chrono told him he had approximately an hour to complete his task before he went into town to buy spare parts with his grandfather.

     One better smelling Anakin later, he was strolling through the ships corridor to his master's room.

    As he passed Jinn's atrium, he heard a muffled sob. Peeking in, he saw his master crying. Qui-Gon was giving his apprentice a comforting hug, just as Obi-Wan had given Anakin all those years ago. Grateful that his master's back was turned to him, Anakin was about to go when Qui-Gon's blue eyes met his.

           Their look said 'I told you I'd take care of it.' With a soft smile of thanks, Anakin went to find his grandfather.

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   Apparently, digging through rusty bins of junk was more than enough catharsis for Ani. Anakin had never seen someone get so excited over a free broken power converter. A ship, yes, even a broken down droid. But Ani's love of mechanics far outstripped his grandson's.

   Not that Anakin didn't love machines, but still. A power converter? It boggled the mind.

    Anakin wandered off while Ani dug through miscellaneous parts, certain his grandfather would still be there when he got back.

     He was wandering through the vendors when a small whine caught his attention in one of the alleys. Secretly, Anakin avoided alleys; they held too painful a memory for him. But he went in anyway. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the lower light, he spotted a small Hutt and two Rodians circling around something. They were throwing old cans at it and poking it with sticks.

    "I think its dead," the Hutt said

   "Nah, its still twitchin'," one of the Rodians replied.

"What's going on here?" Anakin's voice rolled through the alley.

 Startled, the juvenile thugs ran out the other end of the alley. Cautiously, Anakin approached what they had been poking. Laying on the ground was an almost dead canine specie. It's purple and green fur was matted together with blood. Its tongue hanging out the side of its mouth.

    Disgusted, Anakin put the creature out of its misery with his blaster, and put it in one of the garbage dumpsters. He was about to leave when he heard a higher pitched yelp come from a pile of boxes nearby. Pushing the boxes out of the way, he found a small puppy with Blue and green fur.

    Compassion rose up in Anakin when he realized that the thugs had just caused the death of its mother. Picking it up he realized it was quite friendly as it snuggled into his arms.

   "Hey little guy."

  A soft whimper met Anakin's ears. There was no way he was going to leave it to fend for itself. He didn't think he had the heart to kill it either. It wasn't mortally injured like its mother.

   With a smile, he trotted back to see Anakin.

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 Back at the ship, Ani had made a ball out of old cloth and some bouncy material and was rolling it between Anakin and himself, playing with the new puppy. Qui-Gon was busy building a small nest for it in the living room. Obi-Wan was out at the market, having decided before Anakin had come home that he needed some fresh air and fresh groceries.

   "Rats!" Ani exclaimed when the ball went bouncing off down the hall way. The puppy quickly chased after it. Anakin began pulling himself off the floor to give chase when Obi-Wan's boots came into view.

  "What is this?" There stood Obi-Wan. Dog in one hand, ball in the other.

"It's a ball." Ani helpfully supplied. "Its spherical and bounces when you throw it."

"I found him in the marketplace today, Master, and I just couldn't leave him there. His mother was dead and he was so little and helpless." Anakin's eyes became big, blue pools as he put on his best innocent look.

"Little things grow Anakin." Obi-Wan's voice told him he wasn't buying the act. A sigh blew past his lips. "Has Qui-Gon seen it?"

Anakin nodded. Obi-Wan uttered a larger sigh, handed the dog back to Anakin, and threw the ball at Ani, almost conking him in the head. As he walked out Anakin stopped him.

"Where are you going Master?"

 "Back to the market to buy dog food." With that, Obi-Wan walked off mumbling about Qui-Gon and pathetic life forms.