Chapter 14 - Family

"They're this way." Even Piell motioned.

Yoda followed the Master onto the ranch and up to the door of a dwelling. He used his stick to knock.

A Protocol Droid opened the door, and Yoda recognized the droid belonging, at one point, to the senator from Naboo. "Visitors, oh Master, Mistress, we have visitors."

"Quite excitable," remarked Mace.

Yoda nodded. Almost the personality of the Youngling, Yoda suspected, had built it.

A man in his late thirties or early forties walked up to the door next.

"Greetings, Mr. Lars," Even said. "May I introduce Grandmaster Yoda, and Master Windu of the Jedi High Council." Each of them bowed in turn.

"Did you bring Anakin?" Cliegg nearly stuck his head out to look for the youngling.

"Here, he is not. Wish to meet with you, and your wife first, we do. On our ship now, he waits."

"Of course," a woman interrupted from behind. "You got Ani to wait. You must be excellent teachers. I'm Shmi." She stepped past Cliegg and held out her open palm.

Mace stood there a few seconds, unsure what to do. So Yoda stepped forward and took her hand. He bowed as he gently shook it. Cliegg held his arm back inviting them to enter.

Yoda had learned many greeting gestures over the years, but that gesture he'd learned from Luke. As he entered the home, he felt the ghost of his once-future Padawan playing across the room. Then recovering, he realized it was another youngling boy, who sat with a toy speeder on the floor.

"This is my son, Owen." Cliegg said. "Owen, say hello."

The boy passively waved a hand.

"Greetings, young Owen." Yoda bowed to the youngling. Owen watched with wide eyes, as unsure about the gesture as Mace was earlier. Yoda felt he should say something, a word of thanks to the boy who, one day, would have raised their last hope. But there were no words to express that, so instead he turned away.

Shmi, Cliegg, and Mace were making themselves comfortable in a small sitting room, so Yoda joined them.

"We wanted to apologize for not responding personally to your inquiry. If we had been aware…," Mace started.

"You are here now," Shmi said, forgiving in her very nature. Yoda saw some of her grandson in her.

"Yes, and we understand Qui-Gon might not have explained all our ways to you. We wanted to clarify some things." Mace paused, and the woman nodded. "Anakin was accepted into the Order. That means that by Republic law, we are now his legal guardians, his family."

Shmi wiped a tear from her face. "Yes, I understand that. Sending him away, I knew I was giving him up." Cliegg reached a hand to hold hers, a silent show of support. "But it's for the best. Anything to get him away from Watto. That Toydarian would have gotten him killed one day. All for his love of money."

Yoda felt speechless, knowing that in the original timeline he had failed this mother and her child in so many ways.

"Yes, well. Anakin's safety, and his peace of mind are our chief concern here. I understand that he expressed confusion and anxiety when he was told about your, uh- relationship," Mace said.

"I should have probably told him myself. Just, my Ani tends to be a romantic, and at the time, this all felt like a fantasy." Shmi explained.

Yoda had to suppress a smile. 'A Romantic, he was. How true.' He remembered the many theories he'd heard Council Members and fellow Jedi gossip about Anakin's odd behavior concerning Senator Amidala. None of them even guessed that they were secretly married, however pregnancy came into a few of them. Still, that boy could never hide his heart. 'What displays would there have been, hmm, if a secret it was not!'

"You see, as a slave, I didn't really have the choice." A haunted look came over Shmi.

"We don't need to go into that now," Mace tried to reassure.

"Blame you, we do not," Yoda said.

"No, we only want to explain," Mace said. "When we bring him, we'd like for it just to be his mother here. We will entertain the possibility of introducing your husband and his youngling later. One at a time, preferably. All depends on how the initial meeting goes. And we'd like for a few of our order to be here whenever Anakin is present."

Shmi looked at her husband, and nodded. "Yes, we understand. I'd probably do the same."

Mace smiled and he nodded, satisfied with himself for getting the job done.

Yoda, however, reached out to Shmi. "Very happy to hear of your freedom, Anakin was. Much relief, he felt."

Shmi smiled at him. "You better go now. If I know my boy, he's bouncing off the walls waiting to hear from you."

"Bouncing off the walls puts it mildly, my lady." Mace remarked. He and Yoda bowed in salutation.

Twelve Hours Earlier

"Anakin, Anakin. Oh, Master Windu, have you seen Anakin?" Asked a frantic knight.

"No, Kenobi. I have not. Please try to stay calm. The Youngling is on the ship. There isn't far he could've gotten," Mace scolded. He was told he should be more supportive of the younger knights, but really! When they insist on being so loud in the Force, is it really so bad to speak up?

"You're right. I overreacted. I apologize. If you do see him, can you send him my way?"

"Yes, I will," Mace promised, and with that, Obi-Wan disappeared around the turn in the ship hallway.

Mace turned back the way he was headed, into the quiet nook between the ship's engine room and it's hydraulic system. It was his favorite place when on any long space voyage. 'The perfect spot to medit... Wait! There's someone in my spot.'

A pair of blue eyes peered up at him. "Skywalker, what are you doing here? This is no place for a youngling, and your Master is looking for you!" Mace took a moment to peer at the boy. He was usually able to read Anakin like a book, but now, it was like there was a thick cloud covering him. "But look at that. You have developed your first shields. Congratulations."

'There, I gave him a compliment. Look, he's smiling at me. Now what do I do?' Mace panicked.

"How do you feel?" Mace asked.

"Cold, M-master." Anakin shivered.

Mace nodded. It made sense now that the boy was here. The engines produce a lot of heat. But Mace knew that wasn't it. A spontaneous shield generation, without being taught, usually only occurs when one is afraid. "Come here. Do you have a cloak?"

Anakin shook his head nervously. "We're going to Tatooine. It's hot there."

"Yes, but space is cold," Mace pointed out.

"I know. I forgot."

"Then let's see what we can find you. Here take mine." The Jedi Master pulled the cloak off his own shoulders and wrapped it around the still shivering youngling. "You know what I think. Activity keeps you warmer. Want to learn something new?"

Mace brought Anakin to the ship's training room. He pulled two items off of a rack and turned back to the student. "You have been learning control and awareness very well, and I think you're ready. This is not a real lightsaber, but it will allow you to learn to balance one."

"Oh, cool!" Anakin exclaimed.

Mace held the practice saber between them. "Press this to activate it." He pushed the button and activated the blade for demonstration. "Now this blade won't cut off your arm, like a real saber would, but it will sting. Go ahead."

At his bidding, Anakin touched the yellow lit blade. Then he hissed and pulled his finger into his mouth.

"Yes, as you practice you will learn how to avoid getting stung. Now, I'm going to show you a set of moves, and I want you to practice them, over and over again. Until your muscles learn the moves. That way if you're in a fight, you don't have to think about them."

Anakin nodded.

So Mace stepped back and into the starting position. Anakin copied the stance. "Very good." Mace swung his saber downward and up. A beginner move.

Anakin copied the move, only he stumbled and almost dropped his saber. "Whoh, oh."

"Keep trying, and you'll get it."

Three tries later, Anakin finished without stumbling and threw his arms up, "Whew, I did it!"

Mace laughed. "Alright, you're learning fast. Want to try another?"

Anakin's excited eyes shared his answer. "Wait…" He walked to the side bench and threw off Mace's cloak.

Mace laughed. "Good thing your Master isn't here."

Anakin looked forlornly at the floor.

"He and Qui-Gon are very particular about how to remove a cloak. It's all showy if you ask me. But he'll probably teach it to you one of these days."

"Uh huh." Anakin put on a brave face.

Mace was getting close to it, the source of the problem. He did not forget about the Master looking for his Initiate. No. Most Creche Masters use meditation to calm younglings, get them to talk, but Mace always found exercise to be a far easier strategy.

He discreetly pulled out his comlink and typed in a message. "Shields up. Come to training room and WATCH." He hit the button to send it to it's designated recipient, then turned back to Anakin.

"This one involves a few steps, so watch closely…" Mace began to demonstrate another move.

Ten minutes later, Mace stopped Anakin's activity to give him a water break. The boy panted as he refreshed. "You're learning fast. Obi-Wan should be proud of you."

"Yeah?" There again, the downward cast eyes. He dilly dallied around then spoke up, "Master Yoda said he has a son too. What if my mom likes him more than me? What if Master Obi-Wan likes him more too?"

There it was, the reason for Skywalker's anxiety… And there, running out of the viewing area, right on cue, was the Master.

"Anakin." Obi-Wan fell to his knees as he looked the boy in the eye. "I can't speak for your mother, but I pledged to train you. No one else."

"One Tatooinian youngling is enough for me, thank you," Mace added.

"He's not competition, Anakin. He's a brother." Obi-Wan went on.

"I never had a brother," Anakin stated.

"Yeah, look around you," Obi-Wan said.

"Huh?" Anakin did just that.

"The Jedi are a family, of sorts…"

Mace felt conflicted between the doctrine the Council had supported for over a thousand years, and what he felt was right. Sure, what Obi-Wan said could easily sound like attachment, but weren't they like brothers and sisters? Did they not all live together and support one another? Mace kept quiet, though he gave the Knight a reproachful glare out of the corner of his eye… More for the benefit of anyone observing this.

"... We are like brothers, in a way. I will always look out for you," Obi-Wan continued. "And I am proud of you. For your first lesson, that was great."

"Really?" Anakin looked up hopefully.

"Yes, one day, we'll show you how to put all of those moves together into a duel. You'll be a fierce competitor." Obi-Wan laughed.

"Can you show me now. You and Master Windu. Can you Duel?" Anakin asked.

"Oh, uh… I don't think Master Windu has the time." Obi-Wan explained.

"I have plenty of time. If you're feeling up to it, I'm sure it will be educational." It was clear the Jedi was trying to wiggle out of it. Most of the knights had a good respect for Mace's dueling style. But then Obi-wan was the one to mention dueling to his Initiate. And if you're going to put your foot in it…

"Ok-ay" Obi-Wan nodded. He took hold of the practice saber that Anakin held out to him, and breathed heavily a few times.

"Wait." Anakin ran off to the side of the room and returned with the cloak.

Obi-Wan looked funny at him. Then Windu spoke up, "The kid wants to see your showy moves."

"Oh." Obi-Wan threw on the cloak. "It's not just theatrics. It's psychological intimidation." Obi-Wan stepped proudly onto the field. He pulled out his lightsaber and carelessly spun it in his grip. Then he stretched in an intimidating fashion, and with a swipe, threw his robe off his shoulders and onto the floor by his feet.

"Oh, I'm intimidated." Mace laughed it off, and took up the ready stance he had taught Anakin earlier.

On the side, Anakin Jumped and cheered. Mace wasn't going to 'let' the young Knight win, but he did try to stick to form one, for educational purposes. And he made a point of using the moves he had taught Anakin. Of course, If he'd used form seven the duel would've been over a lot earlier, but where would the fun be in that.

Hello,

A note on ages, I did some research. According to the Legends wiki pages Shmi is in her 40's and she would've been at least 30 when Anakin was born. Cliegg Lars would've been in his 50's. And Owen would've been 20! None of this fits my story so I'm going to reject all of it. It makes more sense for Shmi to have been in her early 20's when Anakin was born. I'm guessing this age is based on the actress's age for Episode 1. I'm gonna point out that they made episode 1 and 2 only a few years apart. So they knew they needed a woman who could play both ages. As to Cliegg, older men do tend to play a larger age gap. And if Owen were 20 when his Dad married Shmi, his line in the movie would've been "my father's wife" not "my mom."

This chapter came out kinda funny. I started intending to do their arrival and visits in one chapter, but then I got an Idea for the trip out, and decided to structure it differently. I hope you like it. I wanted to have Yoda have this emotional moment seeing Luke's once-future childhood home. I'm assuming that Yoda bonded with Luke as his Padawan a little more closely than is in the movies. They do tend to rush through those scenes.

As to the duel scene, I tried everything to find a clip of the famous Kenobi cloak drop on youtube, but I couldn't find it. I hope my duel description doesn't suffer as a result. And I'm not very educated on the whole lightsaber forms/ training stuff, but I did some research, and I hope I did well explaining it. Anakin was basically on Day 1… "This is your lightsaber and this is how you hold it. No Ani (winces) don't touch that part!"