Altered Destiny:
The death of Shmi Skywalker set Anakin on a dark path, but what if he had been able to save her? How would this affect Anakin's destiny?
Chapter 1
Anakin ignited his lightsaber and cut into the tent where he he faintly sensed the presence of his mother. His heart nearly stopped when he saw his mothers beaten and bloodied form, he quickly untied her. Shmi's eyes fluttered open and she smiled seeing the face of her son. "Ani" she whispered. "You have become so handsome and strong" Anakin whispered "I've come to save you mum" before closing his eyes and calling upon the Force, sending it into his mothers body, while he was not a healer, he was able to stabilise Shmi and carry her to his borrowed speeder bike. He raced to Anchorhead, the nearest place with a bacta tank, where Shmi could recieve treatment. Once Shmi was in the tank, Anakin contacted the Lars homestead. "Anakin, did you find her?" came the voice of Cliegg Lars. Anakin responded "Yes, we are in Anchorhead, she needs medical care, but she will be ok" Cliegg, sounding overjoyed shouted "We are on our way, I'll get Owen to get the speeder out" Anakin smiling said "Or you could ask Padme for a lift, her ship would be a lot faster" before ending the transmission. Anakin stood in front of the bacta tank and watched his mother floating in the bacta. A short time later, Cliegg arrived in his hoverchair, followed closely by Owen, Beru and Padme. Cliegg had the look of a man who had been brought back to life, full of joy. Owen, taciturn and self contained as he was, still had a large smile on his face. Beru was openly weaping with joy. But Anakin's eyes found Padme, a small smile on her face, overjoyed that Anakin had been able to save his mother.
A few hours later, Shmi came out of the bacta tank. She was swamped by her entire family wanting to give her a hug. But her eyes locked onto Anakin. She walked up to him and put a hand on his face. "Anakin, I am so proud of you, you are every bit the man I knew you had it in you to be" Anakin, for once, felt completely at peace, smiled and said "Mum, I have missed you so much, being a Jedi is so hard". Shmi simply said "But you are a Jedi, and a good one I think. How is Master Qui-Gon? Does he know that you are here?" Anakin, feeling the ghost of an old pain "Mum, Qui-Gon was killed shortly after I was freed, before he could start my training. I was trained by his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi." Shmi felt sad, she had not known Qui-Gon for long, but she could tell that he was an extraordinary man. Seeking to change the subject, Anakin asked Cliegg "How did you meet my mum?" Cliegg answered "It was around 5 years ago now, I was looking for a cooling pod for the landspeeder I was fixing up for Owen, I walked into Watto's shop, she was behind the counter, she had this quiet smile on her face. While Watto was looking for that cooling pad, we got to talking, just sort of took off from there. She spoke of you frequently, she always knew you would return one day. I eventually came up with the money to buy her freedom, and I asked her to marry me. She gave me a happiness that I never thought I would experience ever again after the death of my first wife, Aika." Cliegg's face was full of joy, Anakin could see why Shmi had married him. Owen walked up to Anakin and asked bluntly "Does your girlfriend always talk this much?" pointing at Padme and Beru, both jabbering away in the corner. Anakin quickly said "Padme isn't my girlfriend, as a Jedi, I am not actually allowed to be romantically involved with someone". Shmi, sensing her sons discomfort smiled and said "Lets go home, I want to cook a massive dinner for everyone"