Had 3 MSWord documents on at the same time, so I hope this is not mixed with anything else that I wrote. Last time anyone will see Shmi as a baby. Just be warned that I don't know when the next update will be, since I have yet to decide how old Shmi is going to be in the next post.

Part 6: The End of the Beginning

"Hah! I knew they'd abandon this bank!" Mercure Skywalker exclaimed in triumph as the wall before her crumbled and the vault opened without much effort.

"This is a bank?" The red-headed Palpatine staggered backwards in surprise. "I thought banks store credits!"

Palpatine had expected to see credits, but he found himself standing before an ancient but somewhat majestic ship. The ship was flat on its ventral side and the V-shaped viewport gave it the appearance of a bird's beak.

"Most do, but not this one. This is one of the ancient banks that store everything you can imagine." The Sith Lady grinned as she pried open a hatch on one of the ships that the Republic had confiscated from her. "Ah, good, just as I left it."

iAnd I thought she was scary when she was all creepy and weird. I wonder if she's ever been normal./i Palpatine thought as he followed the Sith Lady to the cockpit and chose a seat behind Lady Skywalker.

"A proper Sith should always be a source of fear. Secure your crash webbing and watch me through the Force." The woman seemed to sense the boy's thoughts once again.

Halen Palpatine repressed a sigh as he obeyed the Sith Lady. If her piloting was anywhere near as insane as her personality, the crash webbing would probably save his life. Palpatine's eyes widened as he watched the Sith reduce the walls around the ship to flying debris. He shuddered as he tried to ignore the speeders that were unfortunate enough to slam into oversized chunks of building material.

"Stanging Jedi! We'll make a few stops to throw these pests off, but we're going to find Exar Kun in the Yavin system." The dark-haired Skywalker woman cursed as she sensed Force sensitives closing in on her ship, but before anyone could stop the Sith, her ship was off the planet. Less than a nanosecond later, Mercure Skywalker and Halen Palpatine had disappeared into hyperspace.

"This is Shmi Skywalker. May the Force be with you." The Bothan nervously handed the baby girl to the tall, lanky Rar.

"Thank you, Doctor." The Twi'lek smiled as he accepted the child.

"Hold it, bounty hunter! You may be able to con Dr. Or'lay, but you can't fool me." Janier Rar spun around to see a copper-skinned, human teen followed by an enormous reptile.

"I apologize for the confusion, Doctor, but the Jedi Council had sent us here to take Shmi Skywalker to the training center on Bespin." The Barabel smiled before turning to Janier Rar. "Now give Shmi to me, and you will not be harmed."

"This child has a hefty price tag and you two stand between me and my payment. Now, if you'll excuse me." Janier Rar flashed a charming smile before breaking into a mad dash for his ship.

"I don't know who you, sir, but you are going nowhere with Shmi." The robed, human girl grinned as she levitated a squirming Janier Rar a meter from the durasteel floor.

Janier Rar swallowed his surprise as he whipped out a blaster from beneath his armor. Whatever sorcery those Jedi used, stun shots would place Rar back on his feet. He fired at the dark-skinned human, but a long, green stick sprung from something in the girl's hand and intercepted every shot. Rar turned his attention to the seemingly overgrown reptile, but his attacks were met with even less success than before. No blades snapped from anything in the Barabel's hand, but every blaster bolt seemed to disappear as they neared the large Jedi.

"Sithspit!" Rar cursed as he fired the last bolt from his blaster. Before he could reach into his blasterproof armor and replace his blaster, however, both the weapon and the child flew out of his reach. Rar, for the sake of his payment, wanted to chase the two Jedi the minute they gently placed him back on the floor, but the survival skills he had learned in the dreary underworld of Ryloth told him to avoid another fight that could not be won. If he avoided that pair, he would not be sent to any correctional facilities and live to hunt another bounty.