The full moons illuminated the desert valley with an eerie pale light. A community of Tuskens had built a settlement in the middle of the valley around a small oasis. Every one of the village's buildings were yurts made from the bones and hides of banthas with a thick layer of dried mud to keep them cool during the day. Scattered around the village were small campfires, upon which some of the Tusken night watchmen were cooking morsels of food.
Anakin tied Cliegg's horse to a rock some distance away from the village. The desert air was cool and unnaturally still. The horse let out a quiet whinny of displeasure, as though sensing an unseen threat. Anakin patted its flank and shushed it. "I'll be back soon."
On his approach to the village, Anakin heard the yips and growls of the Tuskens' guard dogs playing. He could only hope that they'd stay distracted long enough for him to get to his mother.
Anakin weaved between the yurts, staying away from any of the Tusken watchmen until he sensed a presence with a different aura than the Tuskens. The presence was a familiar one, but he hadn't been as attuned with the Force the last time he had been near it. Anakin was certain that his mother was not just alive, but very close.
Anakin let the Force guide him to one of the yurts. Standing to either side of the entrance was a Tusken armed with a jezail. One of the masked men leaned against the yurt's rigid side, as though he had nodded off. Anakin circled around the back of the yurt and drew his Lightblade.
Taking great care not to push the tip of the blade too far through the side, he cut a hole large enough for him to step through. To both Anakin's delight and dismay, he indeed found his mother, but she was lashed to a wooden frame.
The Tuskens had been brutal to her over her month of captivity. Her face was covered in bloody gashes and the left side was swollen and purple. Her nose had been broken at some point and it leaned to one side. The Tuskens had torn open the back of her dress and the skin beneath was covered in a thick crosshatch of both old and fresh whip marks. They had also bound her wrists so tightly that the lashings had long since dug through her skin. Flies circled around her, eagerly drinking her blood.
Anakin's mouth hung open and his lower lip quivered at the sight of his mother in such a state. She stirred and let out a weak groan. Anakin rushed to his mother's side and began undoing the blood soaked lashings.
Once freed, she fell into his arms, too weak to support herself. Shmi's entire body burned with a high fever, feeling almost too hot to hold.
"Mom?" Anakin's voice cracked. "Mom, can you hear me?"
Shmi slowly opened her right eye, the only one she could. "...Ani?"
Anakin nodded and gave a sad smile as tears started streaming down his face. "Yes, Mom, it's me."
"...Ani? Is it really you?"
Anakin sniffled. "Yes, it's really me. I've got you now. You're safe."
"...Ani? Oh, Ani, you... look so handsome..." She weakly lifted a hand and placed it on Anakin's tear-streaked cheek. Anakin gently kissed it. "My son... All grown up..."
Anakin gave a quiet sob.
"...So proud of you... I've missed you..."
"I've missed you too."
"Now I am complete..." Shmi gave Anakin a weak smile, it was evident that even doing this was painful. "I love y-" Her eye unfocused.
"Stay with me, Mom," Anakin pleaded.
Shmi's eye refocused. "I love..." Her eye unfocused again and her hand fell from Anakin's cheek.
"Mom?" He shook her gently. "Mom!"
Shmi gave no response, she was gone. Anakin held his mother's lifeless body tightly, rocking back and forth while sobbing. Dark thoughts quickly filled his mind. This was all the Tuskens' fault. They killed his mother. His sadness rapidly gave way to hatred.
He would have revenge.
Anakin stormed to the door of the yurt and ran his Lightblade through the chest of one of the guards before pulling it out and cutting the other guard in half. The other Tusken watchmen sprang into action and rushed at Anakin. One by one, he butchered each of them. The fear, anger, and hate that had been building within him over the past week finally broke through.
In Coruscant, Master Yoda's meditation was interrupted by the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn. "Anakin! Anakin, no!" Yoda flinched at the massive disturbance in the Force and pondered the meaning of hearing the dead speak.
Mace Windu entered the meditation chamber. "Master? What's going on?"
"Pain... Suffering... Death, I feel. Something terrible has happened. Young Skywalker is in pain. Terrible pain..."
Master Windu had felt the disturbance as a ripple of darkness. Knowing that Anakin was involved gave him a further sense of unease.
Obi-Wan returned to the delsev just before sunrise. His legs and feet ached from his nightlong trek and even if he wanted to sleep, he had dumped his bedroll to escape Jango. The delsev lifted its head and gave a snort to clear the dust from its nostrils.
"Oh, I agree," said Obi-Wan. "I can't wait to get back to Coruscant either." He removed his pocket font from his pouch to place it on the Hyperion Ring. "Oh, blast..."
The Ring was gone, meaning he couldn't reach Coruscant. Or, he realized immediately afterwards, leave Geonosis. Obi-Wan's shoulders sagged as he looked at the font in his hand. Then an idea came to him.
"Arfor? How far is Naboo?"
A series of chirps.
"That's just on the edge of the font's range... I'll have to try it." Obi-Wan spoke the incantation phrase to connect to Anakin's font. Instead of Anakin, though, the font's surface took the form of Artu-Deetu. "Er, hello, Artu."
Artu whistled happily.
"Where is Anakin?"
A nervous wail and several beeps.
"What do you mean 'they've gone inland?' Where are you?"
Artu beeped apologetically.
"Tattooine? What in blazes is Anakin doing there? Nevermind, there isn't much time. Artu, I need you to record a message to retransmit to Coruscant."
Unbeknownst to Obi-Wan, a set of insectile eyes was watching him from the crags high above. Their owner ducked back out of sight and flew away.
Artu readied the recording drum in his chassis and chirped twice, signalling his readiness.
"Anakin, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi. My Hyperion Ring has been knocked out. I am stranded on Geonosis with information that needs to be retransmitted to Coruscant..."
Anakin returned to the Lars homestead with his mother's body wrapped in cloth slung over the saddle behind him. At the sound of hoofbeats, Padmé ran outside to meet him. Her smile at his return quickly turned to an expression of shock when she saw his haggard face and what he had brought back with him.
The Lars family came outside as Anakin lifted his mother down from the horse. Cliegg hung his head while Owen and Beru watched him walk past them. Nobody said anything as he carried Shmi's body inside the house.
Some time later, Padmé made her way down to the homestead's workshop where Anakin had hidden himself away. She carried a pewter cup and trencher with a simple meal on it.
"I... I brought you something to eat... Are you hungry?"
Anakin didn't look up from the worktable. "The wheel spoke came loose," he said quietly. "...Life seems so much simpler when you're fixing things." He gave the cartwheel a few measured hits with a mallet.
Padmé set the cup and trencher on a clear part of the worktable.
"...I'm good at fixing things. I always was. But I couldn't..." He trailed off. Anakin finally looked up at Padmé. His eyes were red and irritated and there were deep dark circles beneath them. "Why did she have to die? Why couldn't I save her? I know I could have! There are higher levels of healing magics!"
Padmé placed a hand on Anakin's back. He shied away from it and walked over to the cart he had been fixing. Padmé stayed by the worktable. "Sometimes there are things no one can fix. You aren't all-powerful."
"Well I should be... Someday I will be. I will become the most powerful Jedi to ever live!" He spun around to face her, a fire in his eyes. "I promise you. I will even find out how to stop people from dying."
"Anakin..." Padmé had never seen a Jedi so upset.
Anakin screwed his eyes closed. "This is all Obi-Wan's fault! He's holding me back!" He threw the mallet against the far wall of the workshop and sunk to the floor as tears ran down his face.
Padmé walked over and knelt beside him, placing her hand on him again. This time he didn't shy away. "Anakin, I may not be a Jedi but I can sense there's something else troubling you."
Anakin sniffled. He couldn't tell her what had happened last night, he could hardly believe it himself. Every single Tusken in that village had died by his hand, man, woman, and child. He had butchered them, relishing the fear they felt towards him. It made him feel powerful at the time, but now there was only shame. His actions had gone against everything he had been taught.
"I'm a Jedi," Anakin said between sobs. "I know I'm better than this..."
Padmé put her other arm around Anakin and pulled him into a hug. She rocked him back and forth as he continued to bawl.
That afternoon, Anakin, Padmé, and the Lars family buried Shmi in the sand a short distance from the house. It was a nice spot, with a lovely view of the setting sun. Anakin had even carved a block of stone to act as a grave marker. After she was interred, they held a small service in line with her beliefs.
Cliegg rolled his chair over for a final farewell. "I know that wherever you are, it's become a better place. You were the most loving partner a man could ask for... Goodbye, my darling wife, and thank you."
As Cliegg rolled away, Anakin walked over and fell to his knees at the foot of his mother's grave. Following a few moments of silence he spoke, barely audible to everyone else. "I'm sorry, Mom. I wasn't strong enough to save you... But I promise, I won't fail again." He gathered a handful of sand and tossed it over the headstone, a traditional final farewell. Anakin stood and brushed the sand from his knees. "I miss you. So much..."
Cliegg rolled up beside Anakin. "Son... That automaton you built... As much help as he is around here, he was always your mother's and... I think you should have him."
Anakin slowly turned to face him. "Thank you."
The ride back to Mos Eisley was a quiet one. Threepio was glad to be back with his maker, but saddened by Shmi's death. He also worried about travelling across the sea, even if it was with people he knew.
Once the three of them had returned to the dock, they saw Artu coming down the gangplank, frantic.
Padmé furrowed her brow. "Artu? What is it?"
He whistled and beeped urgently.
"It seems he's carrying a recorded message from an 'Obi-Wan Kenobi,'" Threepio translated. "Master Ani, does that name mean anything to you?"
Anakin cringed. Had Obi-Wan somehow found out about what he had done? He could only hope that Obi-Wan didn't expel him.
"Come on," said Padmé. "Let's head back aboard and see what he said."
Artu led them to the ship's font, one that could reach halfway across the world. Once he was sure that Anakin and Padmé were ready, Artu began the playback.
"Anakin, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi. My Hyperion Ring has been knocked out. I am stranded on Geonosis with information that needs to be retransmitted to Coruscant..."
Anakin waved a hand over the ship's font and soon he was not just connected with the Jedi Council, but the Chancellor as well. The group of them stood and watched Obi-Wan's recorded transmission with bated breath.
"...I have tracked the bounty hunter, Jango Fett, to some kind of manufactory in Geonosis. Based on other evidence I have found, I believe this manufactory is constructing an automaton army. The Trade Federation is to take delivery of a large number of automata, and it appears that Viceroy Gunray is the one behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala.
"The Commerce Guild and Corporate Alliance have both pledged fiscal and material support towards Count Dooku and the Separatist cause and are forming a-" Obi-Wan's eyes widened and he drew his Lightblade. "Hold on..." There came the sound of crossbows and Obi-Wan retreated out of sight. Soon, the form of an automeka materialized in the font and fired more bolts. Then the recording ended.
In Coruscant, Yoda turned to Mace Windu. "More happening in Geonosis, I feel, than has been revealed."
Master Windu nodded in agreement. "Anakin, we will deal with Count Dooku. The most important thing for you is to stay where you are. Protect the Senator at all costs. That is your first priority."
"Understood, Master."
Once the communication had ended, Padmé turned to Anakin. "It's been too long already, they'll never reach Obi-Wan in time. They have to come halfway across the world." She pointed to the ship's map. "Look Geonosis is just a short distance away. We could be there in less than an hour."
Anakin sighed. "If he's still alive..."
"Ani, are you just going to stand by and let him die? He's your friend! Your mentor! He's-"
"He's like my father, I know! But you heard Master Windu. He gave me strict orders to stay here!" Anakin wanted to go after Obi-Wan more than almost anything, but his faith in himself had been shaken and he didn't want to let anybody else down.
Padmé smirked in a rebellious way. "He ordered you to protect me foremost. Well, I'm going to help Obi-Wan. If you plan to protect me, you'll just have to come along."
Anakin's eyes lit up, realizing that Padmé's loophole would work. He hopped to and within minutes, they were on their way to Geonosis.
Threepio looked down at Artu. "No, I'm not nervous. I've just... Never been at sea before." He stumbled as the ship entered a Hyperion gate.
Meanwhile in Coruscant, the mood in the Chancellor's office was grim. Most of the Jedi Council had left for the Temple to prepare for the rescue of Obi-Wan. In their place, Chancellor Palpatine had called in the Loyalist Committee and informed them of the disturbing news.
Senator Organa shook his head in disbelief. "There can be no doubt that the Commerce Guild is preparing for war."
"Count Dooku must have made a treaty with them," said Chancellor Palpatine.
"The time for debate is over. We need that army," Senator Ask Aak of Malastare growled.
"No," said Senator Organa. "Unfortunately, the debate is not over. The Senate will never approve the use of homunculi before the Separatists launch an attack."
"This is indeed a crisis," said the Vice Chancellor. "The Senate must vote the Chancellor emergency powers. He can then approve the creation of an army."
Chancellor Palpatine raised his eyebrows. "But what senator would have the courage to propose such a radical amendment?"
The Vice Chancellor nodded slowly. "If only... Senator Amidala were here."
Jar Jar thought deeply on the Vice Chancellor's musing. Senator Amidala had instructed Jar Jar to take over her duties while away, and such a proposal might be vital to the survival of the Republic. He would have to think deeply about this first, but he had to admit that it seemed like the only real option.