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Feedback: Is most welcome.
Author's Note: I am so sorry. This update is almost a month later than my last one. And I apologize. The fact is that I got Conjunctivitis, and I wasn't allowed to look at a screen for long periods of time. So… I wasn't really able to do any writing.
Now, I'd love to say that my next update will be quick, but reality is that my exams are starting from the second week of December. It will be only after those that I will be able to update again. Sighs…
But till then, please enjoy this chapter. It's a little longer as a compensation.
Chapter II
"—And that goes in there. Put the stabilizer up here and connect these two. And ta da! You have got your old broken down cooling unit working again!"
The alien glances at Watto and slyly asks, "You have got a nice slave there Toydarian. Want to trade him?"
"He is worth more than what you can offer." Especially after he showcased his skills today. I never realized he is such a good mechanic.
The alien tries to subtly persuade Watto to hand him Anakin. Anakin watches the exchange with a frown. He does not want to lose his mother especially after he got her so many years later. Meanwhile, another customer enters and Watto goes to attend to him.
Anakin feels the alien look greedily in his direction. He sighs. Then he faces the alien and waves his hands in front of his face. "You do not wish to buy me. You will leave instantly." And then with a further thought adds, "You will buy no more slaves from now onwards and you will free those you currently possess."
Watto chooses that moment to enter the shop. But before he can say anything, the alien says as if in a trance, "I do not wish to buy him. I will leave instantly. I will buy no more slaves and free the ones I have."
"Wha—"
"I will buy this." Watto hears the voice of his customer entering the shop from the backyard. He glances once more towards the alien leaving the shop before shrugging and going to the counter to sell the droid the customer bought.
He misses the mischievous grin adoring Anakin's features. Pity the mind tricks do not work on Toydarians.
Anakin chuckles silently and leaves for the back of the shop. The intense light from the twin suns burns into his back.
It is great to be able to feel again, Anakin thinks, but honestly I am getting sick of this hot weather.
-x—x—
Her eyes are so full of hope.
Obi-wan thinks as he sees Padme. They- he, Qui-Gon and Jar-Jar Binks- are crouched in a walkway above the plaza where the Queen's decoy, Padme and other handmaidens, Captain Panaka and Sio Bibble are being taken by the guards.
"Jump now." Qui-Gon speaks through their bond. Obi-wan just takes a moment to relish that feeling again. It just feels so good to have his master back in his mind.
The next moment he slashes his lightsabre through the battle droids in the plaza aided by his Master. And does that not feel good? Obi-Wan still remembers his first sparring session with his Master after travelling to the past, somehow, and how awkward it had been for them. It was almost like he had forgotten how to fight alongside his Master while they were fighting off the training droids, and well scratch that. He did forget how to fight alongside his Master after so many years.
An awkward talk later giving excuses which he was sure his Master saw right through, he had practised hard to get back to his original style. And now he was confident that it had worked to some extent. Well enough to not trouble his Master.
Obi-wan takes care not to use the techniques he learnt during the Clone Wars and then later for it may lead to serious questioning by Qui-Gon as well as the Council.
He does not want them to suspect him of using the Dark Side.
Soon, they are finished with the droids. They pull the royal party between two buildings.
"Your Highness, we are the Ambassadors, for the Supreme Chancellor." Qui-Gon says looking at the Queen.
Obi-wan, on the other hand, glances at Padme. Her face is one of determination and sheer resolve. Obi-wan closes his eyes willing to oust his last memory of Padme's face scrunched in pain and her hopeless eyes replacing it with the one in front of him.
He knows his Master will soon figure out the decoy being played here and he suspects even the last time, he knew it way before Padme revealed it.
"Do you have transport?" Qui-Gon is now speaking to a dark-skinned man. Obi-wan cannot remember his name.
"In the main hangar. This way." He informs them.
The group disappears into an alley.
-X-X-
"Your Highness, under the circumstances I suggest you come to Coruscant with us." His Master offers.
"Thank you Ambassador. But my place is here with my people."
"They will kill you if you stay."
Not on my watch. Obi-wan thinks.
"They would not dare." Another man speaks. Now what was his name?
Obi-wan tunes off for the rest of the conversation. He knows what was going to happen anyways.
Instead he looks around. The technology around here is old and outdated for him but new as compared to this age.
"We are brave, Your Highness." Padme's voice makes him focus on the present matter.
"If you are to leave, Your Highness, it must be now."
"Then I will plead our case before the Senate. Take care Governor Bibble." The Queen says before moving ahead.
Ah, now he remembers the name. He is Governor Sio Bibble. It was his hologram transmission they had used as a trap to lure them out while they were on Tatooine.
They enter the main hangar where they see around twenty pilots captured by six battle droids.
"We need to free those pilots." The dark-skinned man says.
"Let me handle that." Obi-wan offers. Time to stretch some muscles.
He has been just following behind the group for so long. He needs to appear a bit active.
He unclips his lightsabre and walks towards the droids. It has been so long since he used his lightsabre in actual combat. He has used it only twice before this in real combat after coming in this timeline.
Once, while he was destroying the droids in the battle ship and once in the plaza. Well, hopefully his skills have not rusted. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon and the rest move towards the Nubian Cruiser and the droids guarding it.
"We are Ambassadors of the Supreme Chancellor and I am taking these people to Coruscant."
"You are under arrest."
Obi-wan smiles as he hears that statement.
"Well, hello there." He says loud enough for the droids to hear but not for Qui-Gon.
The snap-hiss of a lightsabre is heard.
In a matter of seconds, the pilots are free. All of them quickly hurry to their stations whilst staring at him in awe.
Yep, he has still got it.
Obi-wan turns around to find that Qui-Gon has dealt with the droids blocking his path.
He hurries along with the rest of the party to the ramp of the ship while Qui-Gon blocks the blaster shots as all of them enter the ship.
Qui-Gon follows. As soon as Qui-Gon enters the ship, the ramp is closed and they take off heading towards the blockade whilst the droids fire at them from the hangar.
-x-x—
Shmi Skywalker smiles as she watches Anakin gulp down another morsel of his food with a ravenous craving. "Slow down, Ani. Your food isn't running away."
Anakin stops his spoon midway. "Sorry." He replies with a cheeky grin.
Shmi chuckles and returns to her thoughts. It was nice to see Anakin revert back to his original self. The previous day when he had returned early from the shop, she was puzzled to see a shocked expression on his face. As if she had returned back from the death.
Then Anakin had excused himself to go freshen up which was a wonder in and of itself. Anakin hardly took the initiative to clean himself up. He did always like to be covered with grease and oil. It was often her that had to force him to take a sonic shower, water too scarce to be wasted on slaves.
After that he had seemed to have calmed down a bit but a strange wariness was still prevalent in his blue eyes. He seemed to be on alert of his surroundings and took them in with a nostalgic look that it would all somehow vanish in a moment if he became too comfortable.
To say that Shmi Skywalker was worried about this change in attitude of her exuberant and eager son would be an understatement.
The next morning had calmed her anxiety to a little extent. Anakin though tried to act a little 'normal', she could see through the façade. How couldn't she? She was her mother after all.
The worst part, however, was not knowing what caused this abrupt change in her son's behavior. Was it a confrontation with someone? Was it a dream? Was it something at the shop?
It was for that reason that she had decided to pick him up from Watto's today. Perhaps she would be able to figure out the problem. But she had no such luck. Anakin had loosened a little yet remained stiff keeping a wary eye on everything.
Now as she saw him eating his food with such vigor, a small smile graced her face. Well, at least that part of Anakin had remained unchanged.
Her original line of thought, however, returned and she decided that instead of worrying herself through speculation, she really should just ask Anakin.
So when he had completed his dinner, she states kindly, "You do know Ani that you can tell me anything, don't you?"
The slight stiffening of his muscles does not go un-noticed by her. However she does not call him on that. "Of course, Mum." A terse reply.
She sighs. "Ani… what is wrong? You have been acting a little strange ever since you came home yesterday. Did something happen?"
"No, nothing happened." He looks all too ready to go to his room right about now. But she had to get her answers. This evasive behaviour from Anakin was worrying her.
So she fixes him with a look that brokered no argument.
Anakin blinks and looks at her for a few moments. Then he relents with a small sigh, "I had a…dream."
Well, at least one of her guesses had landed right.
"What was it about?" She asks kindly yet firmly.
"Uh… I was in a garden… and then… well it was sooo green Mom! And then suddenly, darkness overwhelmed the blue sky and the green garden was burning. It was terrible Mom. It felt so cold. So lonely…"
Shmi could see that Anakin's eyes had turned into a sort of wistful thinking. But with what Ani said, she could explain his recent behaviour. Anakin was, after all, susceptible to vivid dreams before.
The fact that it was nothing more than a dream eased her worries. "It is alright Ani. Nothing of that sort will happen. I am here with you. I will protect you. It was just a dream. Don't worry."
She notes that the smile Ani gives has a sort of sad resignation to it. Maybe the dream was far more vivid than she was imagining right now.
"You can sleep with me if you wish to."
A slight furrow of his brows and she already knows his answer. But he surprises her. "Sure. I had like that." He says with a childish smile.
She cannot help but smile back. So it was nothing bad like a beating from Watto or a confrontation with any other being. It was just a dream, after all.
And dreams pass in time.
She thinks as she goes to wash the utensils.
-X—X-X—
"The shield generators have been hit. Our deflector shields cannot withstand this. Power down… Hopefully the repair droids can fix this." Ric Olie says.
"We are losing droids fast." Qui Gon states.
"If they can't get those shield generators fixed we will be sitting ducks." Captain Panaka, Obi Wan finally remembering his name when Ric Olie had greeted him aboard the cruiser, exclaims.
No we won't. R2 is going to get it fixed. Obi-Wan thinks as he remembers the many times R2 had helped him and Anakin during the Clone Wars and then later Luke and his friends.
Soon enough, the power's back and R2 re-enters the cruiser earning applause from the pilot for his feat.
Obi-Wan smirks slightly. That's nothing as compared to what he is actually capable of.
The pilot puts the deflector shields at maximum and they fly past the blockade.
His elation, however, lasts only for mere moments as he sees something blinking on one of the numerous screens and frowns. "There's not enough power to get us to Coruscant… the hyperdrive is leaking."
"We will have to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship." His Master states and turns to study a star chart on one of the monitors.
Should I say it? Should I not? It can change the fate of the galaxy as I know it if I do not inform them.
Obi-wan can feel a gentle prodding from his Master on their bond silently asking him to contribute to the situation.
Oh, well. A quick dip in the Force gives him the reassurance he needs. The Force does not want to change this event. Then so be it.
Here goes nothing. And yet everything.
"Tatooine, Master. It's poor and small and the Hutts rule it. We will be safe there." Atleast as safe as one can be on that dust-ball.
"The Hutts?" Captain Panaka all but shouts.
Obi-Wan, however, calms him by raising his right hand and silencing his worries.
"I can understand your concern, Captain Panaka. We know it's risky but there is no other alternative." Seeing the frown on Panaka's face he elaborates, "Look, think about it this way. Landing on Tatooine would be no more different than landing on any other system controlled by the Federation. The Federation has no presence on this dus- planet. This will give us some advantage as the Hutts are not looking for the Queen."
Captain Panaka nods resignedly if not a little taken aback by the sudden speech of the younger Jedi.
Wait a minute, was it Qui-Gon who had explained the logic of landing here in the past? Blast.
He senses a bit of astonishment and pride through his bond with his Master. He inwardly beams as the feeling of pride washes over him.
One can only suppress the General in him for so long. Countless meetings during the Clone Wars had made it his second nature to completely strategize their landings on numerous planets. That, of course, is only true when Anakin did not crash them on any planet due to his reckless flying.
-x—x—
Anakin berates himself. And really, how many times has he done so after waking up, for lack of a better word, in the past. He really needs to stop this.
Of course his mom would notice the change in his behavior. Then again he had not really done anything to hide his surprise and shock the previous day after entering his house. Anyone would notice. But his mom was always the perceptive one especially so with him. How long had he actually thought he could keep up the act?
He really thought to get away with just reassuring her that everything was fine and if it was not, he would tell her as she so kindly offered but then she had given him the look.
Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, A General in the Clone Wars, Emperor's Iron Fist, Former Sith Lord, faltered under that gaze and he knew he was not getting out of this without giving her a satisfactory answer.
For a while, he just thought to blurt everything out and how no part of his situation makes any sense because it was his mother and he knew if there was someone who would listen his tale without judging him it would be her.
A nudge from the Force however stops him. He inwardly sighs. Well he has to respond with something. So he sticks with what he thinks would be most believable – a dream.
And he elaborates on it quite vaguely and relaxes as the worry lines on her mother's face eases. Well, no trouble there.
But seriously, her mother could be more perceptive than even a Force user sometimes.
Force…Jedi…
"It's alright Ani." His mother's soothing words stopped him from going into that line of thinking. "I am here now. Nothing of that sort will happen. I am here with you. I will protect you…"
Anakin smiles sadly. She was right. She was here now with him and that is what matters. And I will protect you Mum. From the Tusken Raiders or anyone else who dares to hurt her.
"You can sleep with me if you wish to."
He stares at her for a while and furrows his brows. His fraying nerves would really get some rest near her warm and soothing presence. In the previous timeline, he would have outright refused, but now…
He had lost her once and he just wishes to cherish every moment he has with her due to the unique opportunity presented to him.
And he realizes that perhaps that is what it all is about. It is an opportunity. For what? He doesn't really know right now. But he will figure it out. But until then, he just needs a good night's rest. "Sure. I had like that."
-x—x—
"Need a hand with that?"
Padme glances up from her task to see the younger Jedi standing on the door.
"It would be my pleasure but there is no need. Thanks. I wouldn't like to trouble you."
"Well, you wouldn't. Besides," Obi Wan adds moving towards her, "I can do pretty well with some friendly talk right about now."
Padme shifts a little and Obi Wan takes a clean cloth and sits beside her. For a while they work in amicable silence cleaning R2.
Padme is a little surprised on how well they go along with each other. She feels entirely at peace at the moment that she almost misses his question.
"Pardon?" She blinks and asks.
Obi Wan glances at her and repeats, "What are you going to do about the Trade Federation's presence on Naboo?"
Padme smiles just a little and says, "I was actually hoping that the Jedi would provide us with the solution."
"Well, we are open to suggestions. Feel free to give one anytime."
Padme chuckles and resumes her work. "Well, the Queen—"
"I did not ask what the Queen will do. I asked what will you do?"
"Me?" Padme asks and then her face becomes determined and she says, "I will do everything I can Padawan Kenobi."
Obi Wan gives her a warm and knowing smile.
"I—the Queen is expecting that the Senate will do something about it. How do you think it will go?" She informs eager to listen to the Jedi.
"Well, now that I think about it, I believe that the representative of Trade Federation in the Senate would likely spring on any chance to refute the claims that you will make about the illegal trade blockade. Perhaps carrying proof about it will help our case."
Obi Wan knows that Padme is analysing that piece of information he just gave. Obviously, she does not have any proof right now but he knows once they land on Tatooine, the hologram message of Sio Bible will hopefully serve as one. And hopefully, it would be enough.
"And milady—"
"Padme."
"Very well, Padme, having said what I said now, I do believe in earnest that Chancellor Valorum is trying his best to help Naboo. Be careful and alert on what transpires in the Senate."
Padme, while thankful to hear the Jedi's advice, has to maintain her cover. "Shouldn't you tell the Queen all of that?"
R2 is finally clean and Obi Wan rises off the floor. He looks at her and with a knowing look and smirk replies, "I do believe milady that I have told it to the right person."
The way he says it has Padme doubting that he knows very well the decoy they have been playing here. She feels a little ashamed on having to hide it from her Jedi protectors but this is something that is necessary. She will apologise for it later.
He gives a polite nod which when reciprocated, he adds, "Oh, and remember unity among the people is one of the strongest weapons of any planet during a crisis. Think about it, perhaps you may find any unlikely alliance that can help us win this crisis."
"Hidoe!" Padme and R2 jump a little at the sudden entrance of a Gungan. Obi Wan, however, chuckles lightly having sensed his approach with the Force.
Obi-Wan smiles to himself as he sees Padme talking with Jar-Jar. He had missed even Jar Jar Binks during his exile. He just needed a friendly face back then to talk to.
"I am Padme. I attend Her Highness. You are a Gungan, aren't you? How did you end up here with us?"
"Me no know… mesa day starten pitty okeyday witda brisky morning munchen. Den boom… getten berry skeered, un grabbed dat Jedi, and…" Obi Wan's smile only grows bigger as he hears the Gungan describe his day.
He leaves for the cockpit when he feels Qui-Gon summoning him there through their bond.
Be right there, Master. He sends back.
They peer over Ric's shoulder to see a yellow planet appear directly ahead.
"That's it. Tatooine." Obi Wan confirms.
Home sweet home.
Tbc…
Please read and review!
NinjaGirl1117: Well, here's Anakin! Hope you liked it.
Evelris: Thanks so much!
Cooljoanna15: So many questions indeed! I will make a point to answer all of those during some point in the story. I almost thought to add the answers of the questions. But, you know, Spoiler Alert! Besides, I am toying with quite a few outcomes, whichever the story chooses to follow by the will of the Force. Glad you found it interesting.
yiggdrasill: Thanks for the feedback! I have been trying to go into more detail. I hope you liked the chapter.
Sophia the Scribe: Thank you! I hope you liked the chapter.
AlmaDreams9: I agree that their meeting is one of the most thrilling events in this story. I hope I can do a good job of it. Thanks for the support. Glad to know you like their friendship.
Oh, and I have updated Chapter I to give replies to the reviews. And could anyone please tell me how to add line breaks? Well, that's for now. I hope you enjoyed it. I will get the next update as soon as my exams get over.
Until then— enjoy!