Ep I: The Slave Jedi

by jdLevengood

A rebooted version of Episode I. In this version, Anakin Skywalker is a young man, and former slave, who saves the life of Queen Padme Amidala when she flees to Tatooine after the conquest of Naboo. She is accompanied by the newly minted Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who recognizes the Force power in Anakin. The three will lead the liberation of Naboo, initiating the Clone Wars.

4. An Army of Clones

Chapter 4: An Army of Clones

Everyone in the Lars homestead was tense in the morning. There was much riding on the events of that day. Anakin and Obi-Wan were traveling to the deserted city of Mos Espa to try and find the bounty hunter Jango Fett. If they could do so, and capture him, they could turn him over to Jabba and collect the bounty the Hutt had for him. That would give them the money they needed to travel to Coruscant. If the two failed, they were likely going to be stuck on Tatooine a long time. Padme shuddered to think how the Neimoidian Federation would use that time to consolidate their conquest of her planet.

Before Anakin and Obi-Wan left, Padme gave Anakin a tight hug. Their bodies touching was enough to form their connection. Padme could feel Anakin was scared that he might let her down by failing to capture Fett. There was a glimmer of hope he was feeling, as he wouldn't have minded if she had to stay with him longer. Anakin could feel Padme was scared something might happen to him on the mission. Her fear came from more than just feeling responsibility over the situation, she had personal feelings for him.

In his mind, Anakin was telling Padme he was going to be okay. He told her to trust in the Force. It had seen him through much, and it would see him through this. After they broke the embrace, Padme wished him and Obi-Wan good luck.

"May the Force be with you," Padme said. Her words were repeated by almost everyone else as the two got into the speeder. Anakin and Obi-Wan were silent as they drove away, but Artoo, who was tied to the back, beeped a good-bye to everyone.

...

As Obi-Wan and Anakin drove to Mos Espa, the view never changed for them. It was one identical sand dune after another, seemingly to infinity. The monotony almost caused Obi-Wan to fall asleep, making him thankful Anakin was driving. Being used to the landscape, Anakin could navigate it without getting drowsy.

Given the long journey, and the fact they were mostly alone, Obi-Wan figured it might be a good time to talk with Anakin about his own life as a Jedi to sell the young man on joining the Order. Not wanting to bring up the subject out of the blue, he started by telling Anakin how Qui-Gon had died. It was a subject he had avoided the night before, but it was a story Anakin needed to hear and he needed to tell. Obi-Wan wanted to give Anakin the full picture of what it meant to be a Jedi. He was trying to show Anakin the comradery the Jedi had for each other, figuring that would be most enticing to the man. Obi-Wan spoke extensively about his time with Qui-Gon, working backwards from the mission on Naboo and getting to the mission on Ord Mantell by the time they reached Mos Espa.

As they drove through Mos Espa, Anakin did his best to avoid looking around, as he didn't want to see anything that would remind him of his former life there. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, was looking around and taking in as much as he could. He wanted to get the lay of the land, but his mind kept wondering what Anakin must have done almost a decade ago to cause the city to empty out. While he knew the emancipation of the slaves destroyed the local economy, there had to be something else that caused everyone else to abandon their homes. He wondered if the all the slave masters fled because they were afraid Anakin was going to return and finish what he had started that night.

As they neared the center of the city, Obi-Wan started to pick up the Force presence of others. They drove past a lone building that seemed to have people inside. "That's the local watering hole," Anakin explained. "The one place where everyone congregates. The only people who come here are offworlders, and they mostly stay in their ships. Coming here to drink is the only socializing they do."

"Well, that might make this much easier than I thought." Obi-Wan stepped out of the speeder with Anakin following him. The two of them untied Artoo and put him on the ground.

"Why don't you let me take the lead on this," Obi-Wan said to Anakin as they walked to the establishment.

"Gladly, I'm anxious to learn how the Jedi operate," Anakin replied.

As they walked, Obi-Wan checked to make sure he still had the tranquilizers he had packed. They were discreetly hidden under his Jedi robes. He was not going out in disguise today as he figured the intimidation factor from being a Jedi would greatly aide them.

When the two walked inside, all eyes were on them. The place appeared to be full of bounty hunters. "There he is!" someone screamed. Obi-Wan's eyes darted around the room as he saw one patron after another pulling out a weapon. He had just seconds to make a decision, and he figured that it was not wise to try and take on an entire room of bounty hunters.

"Run!" he screamed to Anakin. He could feel that Anakin was hesitant to flee, but after Obi-Wan ran past him, he figured he didn't have any choice other than to follow. The two of them made it through the door right before it got torn apart by the volley of blaster bolts.

When they ran out the door, they failed to notice Artoo. All the bounty hunters ran past him as well. Artoo tried to zap them, but they were too fast for him to do anything. He wanted to help and rolled away to try and find some way to do so.

After exiting the bar, Obi-Wan and Anakin kept running without breaking stride. They looked back just enough to see that as they expected, the bounty hunters were continuing the pursuit.

"It looks like people remember what you did here."

"Maybe it wasn't me they recognized," Anakin suggested.

"You think they might have been talking about me?"

"Yes." Anakin didn't say any more as he was concentrating on trying to find shelter where they could hide from their pursuers. "Follow me," he said as he turned into an alley. Obi-Wan followed him, and immediately knew they had made a mistake. The alley they were running down looked like it terminated in a dead end. They couldn't turn back, though, as their pursuers were too close on their heels. There were abutments near the end that looked like they might provide them with some cover at least.

"Good job," Obi-Wan yelled to Anakin. "You picked an alley that's a dead end."

"Those abutments might be hiding other alleys we can turn down," Anakin countered. When they reached them, they each turned in opposite directions, only to find themselves staring at a wall. They were trapped with no way out. They pressed their backs to the walls as the laser blasts passed them by and started tearing apart the wall at the end of the alley. It didn't take long for all the blaster bolts to tear a gaping hole in the wall. Realizing that continued fire was pointless, the hunters silenced their weapons.

"Why did they stop firing?" Anakin asked.

"They might be trying a new tactic." Obi-Wan looked around to see if they might be trying to attack from the roofs.

"Okay Jedi, we are simply after the bounty that's been placed on you. Your Neimoidian friends desperately want you. If you just come out, we can take you alive."

"I should have known those ships out there would not just be waiting for us to leave. They must have put out a bounty on me."

"I didn't hear anything about a bounty on a Jedi yesterday," Anakin pointed out.

"They wouldn't have announced it locally, for that very reason. It only would have gone out to bounty hunters in nearby systems."

"Does that mean there is one on the queen as well."

"Most likely not. Putting a bounty on her would have been announcing to the entire galaxy she was here, which the Federation doesn't want. A bounty on a Jedi wouldn't raise such red flags. Once they captured me, they must have been hoping I could lead them to the royals."

"Or that the royals would be easier to catch without you around." Anakin peaked his head around the abutment but couldn't see anything. "That bounty must be the reason Jango Fett is here. I wonder if he is with the group. I didn't get a good enough look to see if that was the case."

"I did get a good look at everyone. There was no one in Mandalorian armor."

"Really doesn't matter if he's around," Anakin said. "It doesn't look like we are in any position to capture him."

"We are just going to have to put ourselves in a position to do so, then."

Anakin looked over at Obi-wan and smirked. "I was hoping you would say that. Do you have a plan for getting us out of here?"

"Yes. Remember the story I told you about how we defeated the battle droids on Naboo?"

"Yes, I remember, you just told it to me," Anakin replied.

"Good, just do your part." Obi-Wan said as he emerged from the abutment with his hands up. "Don't shoot," he yelled. Anakin wished he would have given him some more instruction before they started. He simply watched as Obi-Wan walked out of the alley, wondering when he should try and disappear.

Obi-Wan stayed unmoved as one of the bounty hunters removed his lightsaber from his belt. "What makes you think you should get that?" one of the hunters snarled behind him, questioning the one who had the lightsaber. Obi-Wan had to suppress a smile. He wondered how much they would be able to cooperate. The more they fought and distrusted each other, the better chance for them to be distracted when Anakin attacked.

Obi-Wan turned his head to see who had taken his lightsaber. In the process of doing so, he took a quick glance at Anakin to see he was making his escape through the hole that had been blasted into the back wall. Obi-Wan was pleased to see a rather smallish Rodian had taking his lightsaber. He knew he would easily be able to call it away from him when the time came.

"Get moving," a deep voice yelled to him. He turned his head back around as someone gave him a push forward. He started walking, and the circle of bounty hunters moved with him.

"You know, if all of you are just going to be following my lead, then you should really tell me where we are going."

"We're just going back to the bar, so we can call the Federation and have them come get you."

"And then what, you're actually going to divide up the bounty among the what, ten of you."

"It will be a pretty good pay day for just an hour or so of work." Obi-Wan understood bounty hunters, and he knew they would never split the money evenly. They would fight it out once they got it, not that they were going to receive anything. He was confident Anakin would come through. He was reaching out to him and sensed that he was coming up from behind. He could sense the anxiety in Anakin rise as he readied himself. When that anxiety turned to fear, he knew something had gone wrong. Anakin's fear was making it hard for him to read, so he tried to discreetly look back and see what was happening.

Obi-Wan heard the thermal detonator rolling along the ground before he saw it. "Everybody stand still!" The voice Obi-Wan heard sounded like it had been filtered through a helmet. He could guess who it was, and looked back to see that sure enough, Jango Fett, in his Mandalorian Armor, was the one who had yelled at them. Anakin was standing in front of him, with Fett holding a blaster against his back. Fett's other hand was holding a switch raised over his head.

"Fellow bounty hunters, if any of you make one wrong move, I will activate the detonators at your feet. "Jedi, if you don't come out here, I'll disintegrate your friend."

"Looks like I don't have any choice." Obi-Wan tried to be snarky in order to exude confidence. The truth was he had no idea how they were going to get out of the situation, but he figured he could think of something. He had gotten out of tighter spots than this. Of course, he had always had Qui-Gon with him. He had picked up a lot of insight from him and figured he could call on that to save them.

Obi-Wan walked slowly out of the circle of bounty hunters, his eyes on Fett. While his eyes were hidden behind the helmet, the small movements he made with his head indicated he was looking between Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the group of bounty hunters. It was a lot to keep track of, and Obi-Wan figured if he watched him closely enough, he could find just the right moment to attack.

Obi-Wan noticed with the way they were lined up, Fett didn't have much difficulty keeping them all in sight. Wanting to throw him off, he walked forward the short distance he needed to so that he was behind Fett. It made it much harder for Fett to keep them all in his sights, as he had to completely turn his head around to keep his eye on Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan's gaze was on the ground in front of him, where Anakin's blaster was laying. Fett must have disarmed him and thrown it to the ground. While Obi-Wan didn't like using such an uncivilized weapon, he knew if he could call it to him, he could threaten Fett with it.

"Get back in front of me," he yelled to Obi-Wan. "If you don't, your friend dies." Obi-Wan sighed as he realized his plan had been bad. He had been hoping to find an opening to attack, but he knew Fett was too good to ever give him one. Just as he started walking in front of Jango, he felt an invisible pulse fling him off the ground and up into the air.

Obi-Wan hit the ground a good distance away. He heard someone land near him, and the muffled grunt that came from the man indicated it was Jango Fett. He did his best to gather himself so he could see what was happening. What he caught sight of was Anakin utilizing his power in the Force. The man was a good distance away, but Obi-Wan could see he had Qui-Gon's lightsaber in his hand. The light of the blade whirled around Anakin as he charged at the bounty hunters laying stunned on the ground. Their screams and cries rang out as Anakin sliced through one after another.

Obi-Wan sensed danger just a moment before he felt Jango Fett jump on top of him. He called on the Force to give him strength, but found himself unable to take the offensive initiative against the bounty hunter. Fett's armor was loaded with numerous tricks, and Obi-Wan had to evade one after another.

Just when Obi-Wan was beginning to wonder how long he could hold out against the bounty hunter, Fett started gurgling as he had trouble breathing. In terror, Obi-wan looked back to Anakin. He was standing in the middle of the dead bounty hunters, one of his hands was raised and clenched in a fist.

"Anakin! Stop it!" Obi-Wan became terrified when he looked into Anakin's eyes. They exuded anger and fury. He looked back to Fett, who had taken off his helmet in the vain hope that it would help him breathe.

"Let him go, Anakin," Obi-Wan repeated. Anakin said nothing as he dropped his fist and ended the strangulation of the man.

"That wasn't very smart of you," the Jedi said to Anakin as he walked up to them. "You know Jabba wants him alive."

"I was never going to kill him." Anakin's snarling tone indicated he didn't like the way Obi-Wan had admonished him. "I just wanted to make sure he understood the consequences he would face if he disobeyed us. I don't want him giving us any trouble before we give him to Jabba."

"You don't have to hand me over to Jabba," Jango pleaded. He was still overcoming the near strangulation and had difficulty speaking. "I am extremely valuable to a Republic senator. If you contact him, I am sure he will give you more than you could get from Jabba."

"And just who is this senator?" Anakin asked. While he figured the bounty hunter was lying, he saw no harm in at least humoring the man.

"Senator Palpatine." When Anakin heard the name, he was immediately skeptical. It was the senator Padme had told him about, the one who had spent years sounding the alarm about the dangers of the warlords. He was wondering why he would be mixed up with bounty hunters.

"Why are you so important to him?" Anakin asked. Fett looked like he didn't want to reply. He looked between Obi-Wan and Anakin.

"Do you even know the senator? Are you just trying to find a way to delay your delivery to Jabba?" Anakin was incensed. Fett was terrified Anakin would start strangling him again and rushed to reveal the truth.

"I'm the template for Palpatine's clone army."

"Clone army?" Anakin asked.

"Yes, a clone army. A very good one." Jango smirked as he talked. While Anakin was skeptical, Obi-Wan knew there was some plausibility to it.

"Tell us more," Obi-Wan commanded.

"Palpatine has known for years that a major galactic war was going to break out. Ten years ago, he hired me to be the template to his clone army so that if war ever came, he would have an army to provide to the Republic."

"And this was all done on Kamino, Palpatine's home?" Obi-wan asked.

"Yes, on Kamino. I take it you know something about the world. While Palpatine has made a name for himself as their senator, the planet itself is unknown and rarely gets visitors. Very few people ever take advantage of the expert cloning abilities the natives possess. Palpatine took advantage of them himself, growing and training a large army in the underwater cities."

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Anakin asked. He was excited by the prospect of a clone army. It seemed like it was exactly what Padme was looking for, provided Palpatine would be willing to let them use it. Despite wanting to believe it was real, he was still skeptical. He knew Fett had needed to come up with something to make himself sound important to someone. While claiming to be the template for a clone army was an odd lie, it also seemed too grandiose to be true. The galaxy was big, but not so big that a sizeable army could be easily hidden.

"I can prove I'm telling the truth." Fett was trying his best to speak in a reassuring tone. "As part of my payment, I requested a clone of my own, one I could raise as a son. He's on my ship right now. I can take you there, so you can test our genomes, and see they are identical."

"Well, show us the way," Anakin commanded.

Obi-Wan didn't approve of Anakin's trust of Jango. He knew the man could easily be planning an ambush when they reached his ship. He didn't do anything to stop him, as he accepted the fact they had to find out the truth. He understood what Anakin was thinking with this army.

...

They reached the shipyard to find it full. Obi-Wan could guess most of the ships belonged to the bounty hunters Anakin killed. Whoever was set to salvage these ships was in for a huge windfall. Obi-Wan couldn't help but think if they could take possession of the ships themselves, they could sell them for the money they needed. He knew on a planet such as this, scavengers were already learning what had happened to the bounty hunters and would be by shortly to plunder the shipyard.

"Which one is yours?" Anakin demanded of Fett. When Obi-Wan glanced over at Anakin, he could see his eyes were darting around. Despite his earlier enthusiasm, he now seemed skeptical of what they were walking into.

Obi-Wan sensed the coming attack the mere moment before it happened. He yelled to Anakin to take cover right as the laser blasts hit the ground in front of them. He hadn't seen where they had come from, but he could guess it was from Jango's ship. His son was firing at them but being careful not to get too close to his father. He was merely creating a distraction that would allow Jango to run away. The bounty hunter tried to make a break for it, but only managed to take a few steps. Anakin recovered from the attack quickly and was able to Force choke him again. Fett collapsed, gasping for air.

Anakin ran up to Jango, knowing his son would never fire on the two of them. Obi-Wan watched everything, feeling the dark side emanating from Anakin. He did nothing to stop him, as he felt they needed Anakin to do what he was doing in order to survive. He was in a situation eerily similar to the one that had cost Qui-Gon his life just two day earlier. He did not want to see another partner die.

"Come out and show yourself?" Anakin yelled. He was periodically releasing his choke hold on Fett so he could take in a gasp of air from time to time. Obi-Wan heard the thrusters of a ship fire up nearby. He looked in that direction to see a discus-shaped ship lift off the ground. It flew away from the other ships, so it had a clear view of Anakin and Jango. Its guns were raised so they were pointed at the two. Obi-Wan noted the boy was showing quite a lot of gumption.

"Lower your guns!" Anakin yelled to the boy.

When Obi-Wan heard laser blasts, he initially thought it was Fett's ship firing, even though he didn't see it doing so. He only realized they were coming from another ship when he saw the thrusters of Fett's ship explode. With no propulsion, the ship fell to the ground with its tip burying itself into the sand before it keeled over.

When the ship that had fired came into view, the blue dome in the astromech pit revealed who had saved them. "Thanks, Artoo," Obi-Wan said. The droid started to rise from the pit, but Obi-Wan held out a hand to indicate he should stop. He looked over to Fett's downed ship to see a young boy standing on top of it. It was apparently Jango's clone son, and while Obi-Wan could see the resemblance, there was no way to know if he was an actual clone until they checked the genomes.

"You can run the tests you need on my ship," Jango told them. "I've got everything you need."

Given everything that had just occurred, Obi-Wan was not willing to trust the man in any capacity. "I think we'll try and find another way to do it. We should go back and discuss with the others what we should do." Obi-Wan took out the cuffs he had brought along. To his surprise, Jango let him put them on him without resisting. Anakin's actions had instilled the proper amount of fear in him.

Obi-Wan ordered the kid to come down and he obeyed without hesitation. "This is how things are going to go. The four of us are going to walk to our speeder. We will get in, then drive back to our home. The entire time, our astromech droid will be following us in the fighter he hijacked. If you try anything, he will fire on all of us. Do you understand?"

While Jango nodded his head, the kid just stared at Obi-Wan. From the look on his face, it was clear he was trying to act defiant.

"Boba, let the Jedi know you understand?" The kid gave his father a piercing glare but ended up obeying him and nodding his head.

The group walked back to the speeder and drove out of the city without incident. Artoo followed them in his fighter the entire way.

...

Everyone was waiting outside for them when they drove up. They had been spotted when they were a good distance away, and everyone came out to greet them. They were puzzled by the fighter trailing their speeder, but they quickly understood when they saw Artoo piloting it.

"I see the two of you were successful." Padme moved to the front of the group as she felt she should act like the leader in front of the captured bounty hunter. "I see you brought back more than just our expected bounty hunter." She tried not to stare at the boy but couldn't avoid it.

"This is Boba Fett, the bounty hunter's son, err, I mean clone. At least, Jango claims he is his clone. It's something we need to figure out, and you are not going to believe the implications if he is a clone." Anakin excitedly looked between Jango and Padme. "Why don't you tell her what you are, bounty hunter. It will be better coming from you."

"I am the template for a clone army that was built by Senator Palpatine," Jango was stern and forceful as he spoke. "The senator has long suspected that the ambition and bloodlust of the Separatist warlords would spark a galactic war. In order to prepare for this, he commissioned a clone army to be grown and assembled on Kamino. This was all initiated ten years ago, with the clones being modified for growth acceleration and absolute obedience. The combat training they have been given is extensive. I have seen them, they are like me, strong and skilled. They are ready to fight in any war. The senator is just waiting for the right time to reveal them."

Padme appeared overcome with doubt by what Fett was telling her. Anakin had been expecting her to be joyous, but instead she appeared fearful. The eyes of everyone were on her, as they were waiting to see her reaction. She had the chance, the opportunity to make a bold choice and save her planet. There was also great risk involved. Utilizing the clone army would likely set-off a full-scale galactic war.

While Padme knew everything rested on her shoulders, the burden felt to be too much for her. She needed a moment away and ran down the stairs into the house to have some privacy. When Anakin saw this, he ran after her.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw her leaning against the wall, her back turned to him. He was going to call to her, but something told him he should stay silent. He started to think he shouldn't have followed her and began to leave.

"Please stay." Anakin detected the plea in Padme's voice. She turned around to talk to him. "I'm glad you came down here, I could use someone to talk to, and I feel like I can speak freely in front of you. Everyone up there, they have so many expectations of me, but you, you see me as just another person, not a royal."

"You cannot avoid the fact you are a royal," Anakin reminded her. "You have a stark choice to make, one that will affect your people, your planet, and possibly change the course of the entire galaxy."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"I would suggest using this army, if it exists. You are facing a decision similar to what I did when I acted to free my family and the other slaves. I knew no one would come to save us if we did not act on our own. From what you have told me about the Republic Senate, it appears they will do nothing to save your planet. You have to take this opportunity, Your Highness."

"And what if this starts the war everyone fears?"

"You can't let that stop you, at some point, you have to take the risk. From what you have been saying, it sounds like these warlords will continue conquering one system after another until the Republic itself stands up to them. I know it might feel inordinately burdensome to have to make a decision that could affect the entire galaxy, but you can't shy away from it. I think the Neimoidians, and this Hego Damask, are counting on the threat of war to keep you docile. They are counting on the same docility out of you that our slave masters counted on from us. More than anything, they tried to keep us in line by making us believe we had no hope in fighting back. Once we got over that, we were able to fight back, and we won. I can guess what you're thinking, that if you just wait, something will happen that will win your planet it's freedom. That is most likely what your warlord is counting on. That is what every powerful person counts on. You need to be powerful yourself. Act like this warlord. Stand up to him. That is the only way to accomplish anything."

"Thank you for that," she replied. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it almost seems like a cruel joke that you were not born a royal. You would have made a good one. I am sure there is a planet that could use a ruler like you."

Despite Anakin having succeeded in lifting her spirits for a second, she quickly appeared dejected again. The change was so stark Anakin noticed it and had to ask about it.

"What are you thinking about now?"

"That even if this clone army is real, and at our disposal, it will not be enough. I told you before, it would take a million troops and a thousand ships to liberate my planet. I don't think this clone army is going to be nearly enough."

"There's only one way to find out," Anakin pointed out.

"Talk to Fett." Padme walked past Anakin without saying anything more. Anakin followed her and when he reached the outside, he found everyone was still where they had left them.

"How many clone troopers are there?" Padme asked Jango as she walked right up to him. "I need to know how many are battle-ready right now."

"At least fifty thousand right now, and another-"

"Does Palpatine have a way to transport the troops."

"Yes, Kamino has freighters to get them off the planet. They will have to be packed, but they can hold the troops."

"And what about warships? Does Palpatine have any of those?"

"No, he doesn't?" Jango seemed dejected having to make the revelation. "But he doesn't need warships. He has this blue-skinned alien from the Unknown Regions who is a tactical genius. According to his reputation, he could easily find a way to defeat a fleet of a hundred ships with nothing more than a single fighter at his disposal."

"That's not such a big deal, I can do that." From the look Padme gave Anakin, it was clear he should not have tried to interject any levity into the proceedings. The glare she gave him was enough for their connection to form. Anakin was able to feel Padme's utter dejection in finding out the clone army was not nearly enough to liberate her planet. Anakin wanted her to stay hopeful.

Take the chance. Don't give up yet, he said to her through their connection.

"Let's see how much truth there is to this. Anakin, Obi-Wan, you're coming with me and the Fetts."

...

Anakin, Obi-wan, Padme, and the two Fetts all crowded into the speeder. Just as with the previous journey, Artoo followed them in the commandeered fighter, ready to blast them all if the Fetts tried to escape.

For their part, the Fetts seemed comfortable with their captivity. They seemed to have a certain trust in the queen. They figured once she had what she wanted, she would let them go on their way.

When they reached the ship, the Fetts offered them no trouble as they all made their way inside and to the small medical facility. The computer used its droid arms to take swabs and tested them. To the delight of Padme, they were a perfect match, indicating that Boba was a clone of Jango, just as he had said.

After finding out the two were really clones, Padme contemplated what to do. "Do you know where Palpatine is right now?" she asked Jango.

"He's on Coruscant," he replied.

Padme did not like hearing that, as she felt there was a good chance that any communication could be intercepted if they called him. Given everything they had learned, it seemed like it might be worth the risk. She just wanted to make sure that they would truly be able to utilize the army.

"What are you waiting for, Padme," Anakin said. "This is the only option you have to fight back and reclaim your planet. You have to take it."

"If we try and contact Palpatine, we run the risk of having the message being intercepted."

"Why didn't you say that was the problem?" Jango said. "I have a line to Palpatine that is unknown to anyone, and completely secure."

"How can we be sure it is really as secure as you say?"

"Hey, no one has found out about the clone army yet, have they?"

Padme sighed as she realized the bounty hunter was making a valid point. She instructed him to go ahead and use their communicator to contact Palpatine. It didn't take long for the holographic image of the meek, old man to appear before them. The image looked familiar to Padme, even though she had never met the senator personally. He had been a part of a conference holo-communciation she had with Chancellor Valorum and other Senators when the invasion fleet first appeared in the orbit of Naboo.

"What is it, Jango?" Palpatine said. "I have been dealing with important business here on Coruscant. In case you haven't noticed, the galaxy is in crisis. You better have something good to discuss with me."

Padme was taken aback by the senator's tone of voice. He was angry, and snarling. It was a marked difference from the face he always wore in public, the one she had seen in holo-vids. Jango didn't seem surprised by it. Apparently, it was a side of the senator he had seen often.

"I do have something good for you." Jango was all smiles in his reply. "I have someone who desperately wants to talk to you. I'll just put her on and let her introduce herself."

As Jango moved back, Padme occupied the spot he had vacated so her image would appear in the communicator for the senator. She saw the remarkable change in his facial expression the moment he saw her. His eyes grew wide in surprise and his face lit up in relief. "Queen Amidala, is that you?"

"Yes, senator, it is I. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

The senator looked visibly relieved. "I am ecstatic to see you made it away from Naboo okay. Getting solid intel out of there has been difficult, but we did pick up the reports you made it out. I am glad to see they are accurate, and that the Federation was not trying to cover up your death."

"My journey off Naboo was harrowing, but I made it safely. One of my Jedi protectors was killed, but other than him, we got out unscathed. My sister and personal bodyguards are with me and safe along with the second Jedi." Even though she believed the communication was secure, she didn't want to say too much and give away where they were, just in case someone was truly paying attention to them.

"My computer has already revealed to me you are contacting me from Tatooine. You do not need to try and hide your location." A glimmer came over his face as he appeared to make a connection. "We've had reports about Federation warships battling smugglers there. Was that you?"

"Yes, it was."

"How did you ever survive a second attack after barely making it away from Naboo?"

"We were saved by the bravery of a very cunning and adept pilot." Padme couldn't help but smile in admiration over relating what Anakin did to save them. "How we were saved is not important. I am calling you because the bounty hunter, Jango Fett told us you possess a clone army, and we are looking to you for confirmation."

The image of Palpatine showed him giggle slightly. The giggle quickly changed into a smirk. "When I saw your image, I immediately thought about what you wanted. Yes, the clone army is real, and at your disposal for liberating your planet. It is yours to utilize if you wish."

For a moment, Padme seemed hesitant to reply. She looked back at Anakin, allowing him to see the apprehensive expression on her face. He nodded to her to tell her to go ahead. Her resolve stiffened, and she no longer appeared fearful, but confident.

"I will take it," she said with a steely determination.

"Good," he replied. "You have made the right choice. Using this army will be risky, but if it works outs, you will be remembered forever for this. Your people will praise you from now until the end of time." He paused for a moment as he thought of something. "We will have to meet in person to discuss tactics and strategy."

"Yes, I figured that," Padme said. "However, I do not wish to come to Coruscant. I am afraid it is full of spies and assassins."

"I concur. I would suggest meeting on a friendly planet, one much less crowded, where our security can be better confirmed. While most of the other senators here are too cowardly to stick their necks out for anyone, there are at least a handful who might be willing to come to our aid. I will speak to them personally about this while doing my best to be elusive. I will only tell them the full extent of what I am asking once I am guaranteed they will accept. We need to operate in secret as much as possible. I will send a simple message through this channel containing nothing but the name of the planet where we will be meeting."

"That is wise," Padme replied. She appeared to be apprehensive again as the enormity of what she was doing hit her. "I will be waiting for your message."

After the image of Palpatine disappeared, Padme had to place her hand against the wall to prop herself up. Anakin sensed she was close to fainting and rushed over to hold her.

"You did well," Anakin said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her steady. "You did the right thing. Within a few days, you are going to have everything you need to liberate your planet." With Anakin's strong arm around her waist, Padme went from feeling flush to feeling flustered. She seemed to soak up his strength as she regained her composure in a second. When she did, she felt embarrassed by the way he was holding her. She did her best to get out of his grip without making it obvious she was trying to push him away.

"Do we need the bounty hunter anymore, Your Highness." Obi-Wan wanted to send him along his way before he could fill the queen's mind with any more boasts. "Given that he works for Palpatine, I don't think you have to worry about him compromising you."

"Oh no, not at all. You can trust me. I won't tell anyone about you. I swear. I promise." Jango sounded shifty as he spoke.

"The two of you are free to go," Padme said. "You can take the fighter that is sitting outside and return to your own ship. I understand you have some repairs to make to it. For that, you are on your own. If everything works out, I will do my best to reimburse you through Palpatine."

"Thank you." Boba and Jango wasted no time in leaving before Padme could change her mind. Padme, Anakin, Obi-wan, and Artoo stayed around to set up the communicator so it would forward any messages they received to Anakin's place. When everything was set, they headed home.

...

When the party of three reached Anakin's home, they informed the others of what happened. Soala, Tarsals, and Olie all approved of fighting to free Naboo. Despite that, there were still several issues to discuss.

To the shock of Padme, she received the message from Palpatine shortly after they got back to Anakin's. He had managed to find a planet they could meet on in the time it took them to travel from the ship to the homestead.

"Palpatine found a place for us to meet," she announced to everyone. A stunned expression came over her face when she saw the reply. "He's arranged for us to meet on Alderaan."

"Bail Organa is helping us with this?" Soala was just as stunned as her sister over the news. "I thought he was one of the loudest voices for pacificism in the galaxy."

"He has been," Padme replied. "I remember reading that he and Palpatine always butted heads over their differing views. However, they became close friends as they got to know each other well through their constant debates."

"It's obvious Palpatine believed he could trust Bail Organa to keep us safe," Soala said. "I'm just surprised he would think that he would be willing to aid us in liberating our planet."

"It's possible he's just providing us with sanctuary," Padme pointed out. "However, a pacifist such as himself has to be livid over the actions of Hego Damask and the other warlords. If he has come around to the position war is now inevitable, it will do much to win the Senate over to our cause."

"Which means we won't be arrested as war criminals if fighting back against our planet's occupation triggers the large-scale war everyone is expecting," Soala said.

While the royals were concerned about the larger implications of the trip to Alderaan, Tarsals was thinking about the more immediate concerns. "So, now that we aren't going to Coruscant, I take it we don't have to worry about hiring a transport. We can just take our own cruiser."

"We could if there weren't a fleet of dreadnaughts orbiting the planet, waiting to attack us should we try and leave," Olie pointed out. "Our best bet for getting past them might be to hire a smuggler so we can sneak past them."

"That would still take money, money we have yet to be able to earn," Obi-Wan said.

"What about another bounty?" Soala asked. "There has to be others that could pay us enough, so we can leave here." All eyes turned to Anakin.

"Jango was the only single one that would have given you what you needed. You could always try and catch a few different ones, but that will be difficult, take time, and might involve capturing people who should really be left free. I've been questioning if I should bring this up, but I don't think hiring a smuggler is going to change much. I know what kinds of pilots come here, very few will be willing to risk their lives for you. Most likely, they will sell you out to the Republic ships for more money than you could ever pay them."

Anakin sighed as he wondered if he was going to regret what he intended to say next. "The best thing for you to do would be to leave in your cruiser and try to run past them. I could go up in my fighter and help you. We formed a pretty good team when you arrived. I know there are more ships for us to deal with this time, but all you must do is make it outside the planet's gravity well. Once that happens, you can jump to hyperspace and disappear."

"And what will happen to you?" Padme asked. Her voice was cracking as she imagined what his fate would be. "Once we leave, it will just be you against all those dreadnaughts, plus whatever fighters they have. You'll never make it."

"What do you mean I'll never make it?" Anakin smirked as he talked, trying to act cocky. "Don't you remember how I was flying before? I can run rings around them."

"And just how are you ever going to make it back here? You're never going to defeat all the forces they have up there. If you try and run, they are just going to follow you down here. They will shoot you out of the sky. I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself like that. I am the decider here, and we will never leave under those circumstances."

"You have an entire planet relying on you, Padme." Anakin was raising his voice to her, something which others had rarely done, given the Naboo protocols when addressing the queen. "The freedom of your planet relies on you making it to Alderaan. I am willing to make any sacrifice I must to help you get there."

Owen was off to the side, witnessing everything. He felt everything that was happening was a result of his brother being manipulated by others. He wasn't sure what they wanted with Anakin, but he was afraid they didn't have the best interests of his brother at heart.

"Please, don't think you have to do anything for them, Anakin." Owen stepped forward to try and block Anakin's view of everyone. It didn't work as Anakin was so tall, he could simply see over his brother's head. Owen still did his best to gesticulate to draw Anakin's attention as he yelled at him. "This is not your fight. You owe them nothing. You have no obligation to them. You have already done enough for them, more than enough. Please don't do anything stupid on their part."

Owen paused as he considered if he should tell Anakin what he was contemplating telling him next. "I never mentioned this to you, but after our parents were sold, they had a feeling they were never going to see us again. The two of them made me promise to watch over you, and I am not going to let you sacrifice your life for these people."

Everyone believed Owen's words were extremely harsh. The tension in the room was palpable. Soala did her best to try and break it by offering an alternative.

"Why can't we just get out of here the same way we escaped from Naboo?" she asked. "The Jedi is fully recovered now. Can't he just move a ship out of the way for us."

"The situation leaving here is going to be much different than when we left Naboo," Obi-Wan explained. "We were very fortunate that the ships blockading Naboo were in the middle of landing troops. If their hangars had not been full of transports, they would have launched fighters against us. Also, those ships were defensive. They were large and slow and couldn't chase us. These dreadnaughts are built for offense, they are fast and will not only be able to chase us but be able to surround us and attack from all sides. I might be able to move a dreadnaught, but only one."

Everyone was completely dejected to hear they had nothing but bad options. Obi-Wan was thinking about one option, although he wasn't sure if he should mention it given the current mood of the room. "While I may not have the power in the Force to clear a path for us, I think Anakin just might."

Anakin was shocked by what Obi-Wan was saying, as was everybody else. "You really think I can do it?"

"Yes, you have a natural affinity for the Force, as I've said before. With the proper channeling, I think we can get you in tune to the Force enough to allow us to escape."

"So, I would have to go on the ship with you and go to Alderaan with you."

"We could arrange for you to get transport back here after we reached Alderaan," Obi-Wan told him.

"Or you could stay with us, and start a new life," Padme began. "If we make it out of here, my people will owe you immensely. I will make sure you are taken care of, and that you will be able to have whatever life you want."

Owen's fury grew even more. "Don't leave with these people, Anakin," Owe pleaded. "You barely know them, you don't understand the world beyond this planet. Leaving here would be a mistake, no good can come from it."

"What happens when we reach Alderaan won't matter if I fail, and I am almost certain to fail." Anakin shook his head over having to tell them an uncomfortable truth. He turned his attention to Obi-Wan. "Master Jedi, I appreciate that you believe I have the potential to utilize the Force, but I will never be able to harness it to the level you need in the time frame you need. As a pilot, however, I am aware of what I am capable of and what I have the potential to do. Despite the fact I will just be flying a single flyer, I am confident I will be able to hold the fleet off you just long enough to allow you to escape."

After saying everything he needed to Obi-Wan, he turned his attention to Padme. She knew what was coming, and the thought of it caused her so much turmoil she closed her eyes in an attempt to hide her pain. "Queen Amidala, I appreciate the offer you made to me. As I told Obi-Wan, it is best for us to take our chances with me in my fighter. If you want to do something for me, do this. Commission me into your military. The way I understand things, if I were to die as a soldier in service to Naboo, my beneficiaries would be entitled to a generous pension. If you would be willing to do that, then Owen and Beru-"

"I have no intention of ever collecting any such pension." Owen was yelling so loudly Anakin figured the neighbors had to be hearing him, even though the closest ones were miles away. "I will never profit from you senselessly throwing your life away. I made a promise to our parents, and I will not profit from breaking it."

"Lose this place again, if you like." It was Anakin's turn to scowl at his brother as he was angered over the rebuke. The anger he was feeling flowed out in the Force. It was something Padme was able to feel.

"Please, Anakin, have some confidence in yourself," Padme tried to plead with him. "In the past, when you've been afraid, you have been able to harness the power of the Force to do things you didn't know you could. Going on the ship with us could be such a moment. I know you will be scared, but that is when the power of the Force has always come to you."

"The power that has come to him has come from the dark side of the Force." Obi-Wan was angry, but doing his best to speak calmly, in accordance with Jedi decorum. "The dark side only allows someone to lash out in fear and anger. It can feel powerful, but it will not allow him to harness the power he needs. Anakin needs to channel the Force for our protection. Only proper channeling of the light side will allow him to manipulate the entire fleet. With the dark side, he might be able to destroy a ship or two, but that will not be enough for us to escape. He has the potential to learn how to channel the Force enough to do what he needs. With his natural abilities, it can be done, if he is willing to listen to me."

Anakin realized Obi-Wan was slyly challenging him and sought to take up the Jedi on that challenge. He also knew that Padme was never going to accept his plan and would work on him all night if he didn't find a way to get away from her. If nothing, else, he could at least humor the Jedi and the queen for a few hours.

"What do I have to do to utilize the Force in the manner I need to?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan.

"Simply come outside with me," he commanded. Everyone moved to leave. "This is something Anakin and I should do alone." He was stern, and everyone except Anakin stayed put, in accordance with his command.

The two suns of the planet were setting when Anakin and the Jedi walked out. The beauty of the sight calmed Anakin. He did his best to hold on to that feeling, as he knew Obi-Wan wanted him calm. It was hard to maintain that feeling, as the thought he was watching the sunset for the last time kept creeping into his mind. He was fearful, and it destroyed the calm, serene feeling he was trying to channel.

"Are we out here because you wanted us to get away from the others?"

"While that does help, I mainly wanted us to come outside because we need you to commune with nature."

"You might want to take a look around." Anakin was sarcastic as he talked. "There isn't any nature out here, only sand."

"There's enough of it, and you are going to use it to channel the Force. This is how I first learned to channel the Force, in a lesson taught to be by Master Yoda. I will never forget how he explained it to me-"

Obi-Wan paused as he took a moment to embrace the pleasant memory of that lesson. "The Force flows through everything, and you are going to learn how to channel it by reaching out and feeling it in all the life forms around here."

"As I said before, there isn't anything around here but sand."

"Can you stop thinking about sand?"

"It's going to be hard for me to do. I really hate sand. It gets in everything, and –" From the expression on Obi-Wan's face, it was clear he had heard enough. "I can put it out of my mind."

"Good. Now, despite what you might think, there is life around here. You're just going to have to try a little harder to find it and feel it." Almost on cue, a small, reptilian creature with large hind legs came into view as it bounced across the land scape. "Right there," Obi-Wan said as he pointed. "There's a life form with the Force flowing through it." He looked up as he heard buzzing. There were flying reptiles above them. "And up there, those creatures have the Force also."

"And the dying Dewback they are heading for, does that have the Force flowing through it?"

"How do you know where they are going?"

"All these creatures are scavengers. They may not be making their way to a Dewback, but they are going after something that is near death."

"Yes, that would have the Force as well. Now, all you need to do, is close your eyes and reach out to feel all the wildlife that is out there. The Force is flowing through everything, and you need to be able to feel it."

From the way Obi-Wan was talking, Anakin could tell he was giving him a lesson designed for children. It didn't inspire him with confidence that he was being treated like a novice when they needed him to become an expert in less than a day. He knew he had to give the exercise a try and closed his eyes and did as the Jedi instructed.

When Anakin closed his eyes and concentrated, he could feel a mystical power running through him. He could feel the Force was a part of him, something that he could control in the same manner he controlled an appendage or any other part of his body. Knowing he could exert that kind of control over it, he reached out with it and tried to use it to feel what was around him.

At first, he reached out clumsily. He could feel the Force moving further away from his body, but it wasn't focused on anything. All of a sudden, he felt it latch on to another entity, it was the scavenger lizard that had been bouncing along. Its Force presence wasn't strong, but he felt a surge of pride in being able to feel it.

He was able to maintain the feeling of the scavenger's Force presence as it moved further away from him. Knowing the flying scavengers were traveling with him, he tried to use the jumping lizard as a starting point for reaching out further. In an instant, he could feel the flying lizards in the sky. He reached out even further, trying to feel the dying creature they were traveling towards. He could feel the Force flowing over the sand. When it reached the dying Dewback, he could sense all the pain that creature was experiencing as the life flowed out of it.

Anakin didn't dwell on the dying creature for long, as he was feeling elation over his success. He started to think that he would be able to do what the others needed. As his thoughts switched to that, the previous doubts and fears he had been feeling returned. With fear returning, he instantly lost his control of the Force. All the presences he had been feeling vanished.

"You were doing it there for a moment." Obi-Wan sounded cheerful over what Anakin had been able to do. "You just lost it there completely, at the end."

"I was feeling fear as I thought about how I have to be able to do this tomorrow. I know I can't fail. There will be too many people depending on me."

"Now you see it don't you. Fear is not an aid in utilizing the Force, it is a hindrance. You need to learn to push away the fear, so you can harness the Force, and use it for its natural purpose."

Anakin tried to repeat what he had done before but found it much more difficult. He felt the pressure on him, and it just fed into his fear, making it so that he would never be able to push it away.

"You were doing it before." The cheerfulness disappeared from Obi-Wan's tone.

"I know I was." Anakin did his best to hide his anger, as he knew the Jedi would not approve of it. "I can't help it, I'm just really feeling the pressure of what I need to do, and that is making me fearful." He took a deep breath as he glared at Obi-Wan. "I think at this point, it might be best for me to try and work on my own. Without you around, I might not be so fearful."

"I can understand why you want that, and I will honor your request, for now. However, when we are on the ship, you will need to be able to channel the Force while everyone is around. I will leave for now so that you may be able to get the hang of it alone. Being able to do that should give you the confidence you need to be able to do it even when the pressure is on you. In the morning, we will see if you can do it under those circumstances."

After Obi-Wan left him alone, Anakin tried again and again to channel the Force and reach out with it. He failed with his first few attempts, but as he continued, he was able to put out of his mind the fear he had been feeling. Once again, he was able to channel the Force calmly and reach out with it. He was able to reach out further than before, but everything came crashing down quickly.

After several failures, Anakin came to believe the problem might be he was trying to reach out too quickly. He thought it might be best to move slower, concentrate on establishing strong connections with those closest around before attempting to reach out further in the Force.

Calming himself again, Anakin channeled the Force, pushing his Force presence out, but doing so at a much slower pace. He felt the Force presences of every person in his house behind him. Before, he had just experienced the barest of their presences. However, now he was able to feel the full presence of each person in the Force. He noticed there were significant differences between each person's presence in the Force. Obi-Wan was the strongest, of course, with Captain Olie as the weakest. Anakin smirked over that revelation. The presence of Padme was only slightly less than Obi-Wan's. Anakin guessed he was feeling her presence so strongly because of the connection they shared. She was sleeping at the moment, exuding calmness. Her calm feelings seemed to be transferring to him, so he tried to focus on her even more to alleviate his anxiety.

Padme was dreaming at the moment, and Anakin was able to experience her dream. It was an odd dream to him. She was on another planet, Anakin thought it could have been Naboo. He had now way of knowing. She was walking across a small field of grass that was surrounded on three sides by rocks and sea. Padme was walking to the stretch of land leading away from the peninsula, surrounded by several small aliens all dressed in religious uniforms. When Padme looked down, he could see that she was wearing the same uniform. She looked up again right as she reached the top of a hill. Looking down, her gaze fell upon a shuttle that had just landed. The ramp was down. Walking down it was a regally-dressed woman along with three small children. Anakin could feel the excitement Padme experienced when she saw the children. She started running down the hill to greet them. When they saw her, they started running also. As the children got closer to Padme, Anakin was able to make them out. The three all looked to be close together in age. The girl and one of the boys were the same height, while the second boy was just a little bit shorter than his siblings. They were shouting a greeting to Padme, but Anakin couldn't make out what it was. When Padme finally reached the children, she wrapped her arms around them. She clutched all three as tightly as she could.

Right then, Padme woke. She was able to feel the connection and experience everything he was. Reflexively, Anakin shut it down.

Not knowing what to do next, Anakin simply stood still. He was staring at the endless landscape of sand he hated so much, wondering once again if this would be the last time he ever laid eyes upon it. For the moment, he didn't want to feel anything in the Force.

Even without the aid of the Force, he was able to feel the presence of someone behind him. He knew it was Padme. When he turned around to look at her, he was taken aback by what he saw. Standing before him was Padme wearing nothing but her nightgown, her body softly illuminated by the faint light coming from the house. While she wasn't really showing a lot of skin, he was still shocked she would have come out to see him without first putting on a robe. He wondered if it was inadvertent, if she was simply that comfortable with him, or if she was trying to send him a message.

Padme looked so angelic, that for a moment, he wondered if she was real. He thought he might have been dreaming, or, he wondered if she was some mirage he had conjured with the Force. As he looked her over for a sign she was an apparition, he noticed the bottle she was holding.

"I felt the problems you're having." As Padme talked, she walked up the stairs and took the few steps across the sand she needed to reach him. Anakin was dejected that in the brief moment she had been connected to him, she had been able to experience all his failures. He knew he was letting her down, and he felt horrible over it. She was standing right in front of him, but he stared straight ahead and over her head. He wanted to avoid looking into her eyes and connecting with her.

"I thought a little liquid courage might help you."

"Thanks," he said as he grabbed the bottle. He did his best to avoid looking Padme in the eye as he took the bottle, put it to his lips, and took a big gulp of the beverage.

"Do you want to try it again?" Padme asked. "Reaching out with the Force, I mean. You thought you had made some improvement there. If you just keep trying, I'm sure you can do it."

"Unless I learn to eradicate my feelings of fear, I'll never be able to do it." Anakin was feeling completely dejected, and he was hopeful Padme wouldn't be able to connect to him and feel it as well. "The Jedi said the members of their Order have to spend their entire lives learning to control their fear. I have one night, I don't see how I'm ever going to do it. I should give up and just go inside."

Before Anakin could make a move to go down the stairs, Padme reached up and grabbed one of the straps of his tank top. "Don't give up like this," she pleaded. "You can do this. I need you to do this. We need you to do this." With a trembling hand, she let go of the strap and brushed her fingers against the bare skin of his chest. She pressed her hand firmly against his chest as she moved it to his neck, cupping his cheek with her hand as she ran her thumb along his chin. "Let me help you with this." Her voice was pure sympathy, and she almost succeeded in getting him to look down at her.

"You helped me see a part of my dream I had never seen before. Perhaps I can help you figure out what's causing all your fear."

"What are you talking about, with your dream?" Anakin glanced down at her without looking her in the eye.

"The one I just had. The one you saw. It was a dream I started having shortly after my parents were killed. I found it odd the same dream kept repeating in my head. I thought I was just dreaming of a safe place I had imagined. A place where I could hide out and no one could find me. It always ended when I started walking up the hill. I always felt there was more to it, and just now I got to see it, all because of you."

"That was just a dream," Anakin said as he shook his head. "Me helping you see more of your dream doesn't mean you can help me with anything."

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Padme said. Anakin still refused to do anything. "What are you scared of, Anakin? The two of us have already shared just about everything. I know almost everything about you, and you know almost everything about me. Let me find out what's holding you back."

Anakin knew Padme was not going to let him give up. Letting out a sigh, he looked down at her. Their eyes met, and he could feel her inside his head. Suddenly, he found himself transported to a different place and a different time. He felt like he was experiencing a dream even though he was awake. He was in his childhood home. He couldn't tell how old he was at the time, but it didn't take him long to find he was reliving the last time he had seen his mother and stepfather alive. Watto was telling him and Owen he had sold their parents, and they had to say their final good-byes. Initially upon hearing the news, Anakin had run to his room, leaving Owen to say good-bye alone. Anakin finally made his way back. He and his mother both had tears in their eyes as he they hugged. Anakin felt something stirring inside him. A voice was telling him he had the power to save his parents. He had the power to kill Watto and allow them all to escape. The very thought of killing someone frightened him. He knew he could never do it. The stirring went away, and he and Owen watched helplessly as their parents walked out the door for the last time."

Anakin found himself back in the present day, staring down at Padme. She had a look of pure sympathy on her face. She also looked like she was going to cry.

"That was it, wasn't it?" she asked.

"I don't get it. Why is that holding me back?"

"Because you failed to save your parents. You failed to save your parents because you were too young to use your Force power. You are no longer a powerless boy, you are a man with abilities in the Force that are unrivaled in the galaxy. You have the power to save anyone. The only one who can hold you back, is you. Understand that, and you can do anything. You have the potential to be the most powerful Force user in the entire galaxy."

Anakin felt Padme was trying to build him up too much. She sensed the skepticism he had.

"Just give it one more try," she pleaded.

Anakin went ahead and took a few steps away from Padme. He closed his eyes, and tried to channel the Force, but still wasn't having any more success then he was just a moment earlier. Padme noticed his failure.

Anakin knew he was failing Padme, just as he had failed his mother. He remembered what Padme had told him. He was powerful enough to do anything. He was finally able to push away his fears and replace them with confidence and determination. He could feel the Force surging through him. He exerted it outward, over the surface of the desert in front of him. It extended over the entire planet before reaching out into space and the ships orbiting the planet.

Knowing he had succeeded, Anakin stopped. He turned around as Padme jumped up into is arms. She was so excited she almost kissed him but caught herself in time. Anakin knew what she wanted. The glance she took towards the door told him that if she wasn't scared about being seen, she might have very well went through with the kiss.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he said to her.

"So, is that it?" Padme asked. "Does this mean you'll be leaving with us on the cruiser."

"Yes." He could barely get the word out as the momentousness of the occasion got to him.

"Maybe we should head inside now." Padme held out her hand, and Anakin took it. Just as they started to head inside, the sound of alarms blaring came from inside the house.

"What is that?" Padme screamed.

"That's the sandstorm alarm," Anakin yelled. He let go of Padme's hand and ran out a few steps. He stopped to scan the landscape, trying to spot the coming storm, but couldn't see anything in the dark.

Standing near the door to the homestead, Padme could hear all the voices coming from inside. Everyone was yelling, so it made it easy to hear them even over the sound of the alarms.

"What is that?" Obi-Wan and Captain Olie kept asking over and over.

"It's the sandstorm alarm," Owen finally replied.

"What set it off?" Tarsals asked.

"We've got sensors placed on the outskirts of the farm to detect them. They can tell us everything; how strong it is, how fast it is moving."

"And what are the sensors telling you now?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Hold on, give me a second to analyze everything."

Padme was listening so intently to all the voices she didn't notice Soala coming up the steps until the girl thrust her robe at her. "I think you forgot this." She spoke in a scowl.

"Calm down," was all Padme said as she took the robe and wrapped it around herself.

"The sensors are telling me this one is bad," Owen was yelling so loud his voice made its way outside. "It's coming up on us fast. The vaporators are going to be toast, but the rest of the house will be okay. It's built to handle it, we are just going to have to lock ourselves in the shelter." He paused for a moment before saying one more thing. "Where's Anakin?"

"He's up here with us," Soala yelled down.

When Owen emerged from the house, the two sisters could see the unmistakable look of terror on his face. He ran right out to where Anakin was.

"You need to come inside. The storm is going to be here in a minute."

"What about the vaporators?" Anakin asked.

"There's no time." Anakin knew it pained Owen to admit the truth. Losing the vaporators to this storm would be a financial catastrophe, one he might never come back from. Anakin knew he couldn't let that happen.

The others had all come out to get a personal glimpse of the coming storm. Obi-Wan was among them, and Anakin ran right up to him.

"Would it be possible to use the Force to calm the storm?" Anakin asked.

"If you have gained the ability to channel the Force enough, then yes, I think so."

Anakin walked in the direction of the coming storm. When he was a good distance from the homestead, he held his hand out in front of him as he reached out with the Force. He walked out right into the heart of the storm. With the Force forming a shield around him, he was unaffected by the wind and the sand. The shield around him grew until it encompassed the entire farm. Anakin didn't stop there, he pushed out with the Force until the storm stopped.

When he was done, he made his way back to the others. Everyone was amazed by what he had done, and they were absolutely shocked to see he showed no signs of fatigue.

"It looks like you've leaned how to channel the Force properly," Obi-Wan exclaimed in amazement. "You see what you can accomplish when your abilities are properly tamed. Instead of lashing out in anger with the dark side you reached out calmly with the light side. You must come with us to Alderaan, where I can further your training in the Force. You will be a powerful asset to the queen as she tries to liberate her planet."

When Anakin looked over to Padme, she nodded her approval to him. No one saw it, but Owen had a look of pure dejection on his face.

"That settles it," Anakin said. "I will go on the ship with you, help you escape to Alderaan, then stay to help you liberate your planet." Everyone from Naboo was elated as they headed back inside to get some sleep during the few hours of night they had left.

...

The next morning, Anakin was the first one up. He was both worried and excited about what the day was going to hold for him. He woke when it was still dark. Feeling this might be his last day on Tatooine ever, he went outside to view the rise of the twin suns one last time. As their nascent rays illuminated the bleak, barren landscape, he realized he was not going to miss the place at all.

As he did every morning, Owen woke with the sunrise. He went outside as always, expecting to be alone. He was surprised to see Anakin out there. He thought about turning back and leaving him alone, but went out to talk to him as he thought this might be the only chance he got to talk to him alone before he left.

When he reached his stepbrother, Anakin looked back briefly to glance at Owen. He turned his attention back to the sunset without saying anything. He knew how Owen felt, and he had no need to talk to him. It was up to Owen to start the conversation.

"So, did you change your mind overnight?"

"No, I'm still going to be leaving with the others."

"You're making a huge mistake."

"And why do you say that?" Anakin turned around to glare at his stepbrother.

"Because you don't know these people at all, and you are blindly letting them lead you into the middle of a war. You don't understand the world that is out there and what you are getting yourself into."

"And you do understand the world that is out there?"

"No, I don't, and that is why I understand my place is here. Your ignorance of the world you are traveling to is going to get you in trouble, maybe even get you killed. I made a promise to our parents to watch out for you, and because of that I am telling you not to leave, no good can come from it."

"I'm going to look forward to sending you a message and telling you how wrong you are."

"I would rather you not send me a message at all, good or bad. Beru and I are not going to live worrying every day what you might have gotten yourself into and whether you're alive. It will be much easier to just consider you dead the moment you leave, rather than wait for the inevitable message to come."

"If that's the way you want it, then you'll get your wish. It will save me a lot of trouble." Anakin walked back to the homestead, seething with anger. Once he reached it, he ran into Olie, who asked to drive him out to the ship in the speeder, so he could then fly it back. Anakin happily agreed, and the two were on their way within minutes.

...

A few hours later, everyone was saying good-bye to Owen and Beru. While Anakin didn't say anything to Owen, he did give Beru a warm embrace. From the look on her face, Anakin could tell she knew she was never going to see him again. Owen had apparently told her about his wishes, and it appeared she understood the ramifications. He wished her well as he said good-bye.

The couple didn't stay out to wave to them. Anakin felt disappointment as he looked for them through the cockpit window. With Olie at the controls, the ship ascended into the sky before flying away.

The moment they left the planet's atmosphere, the control panel lit up as every alarm went off. The sound of the alarms were deafening as the ship's computer was trying to warn them several warships were closing in on their position. The holo-imager activated to show them all the dreadnaughts and small fighters that were closing in on them.

Despite the danger they faced, everyone in the ship was calm. They had confidence that Anakin would get them through. When the ship started rocking from all the blaster bolts hitting it, they knew it was time for Anakin to do his thing.

"This is it," Olie yelled to make sure he got Anakin's attention. "I'm going to fly directly towards this dreadnaught here." He pointed out on the holo-imager which one he was talking about. "Try to move that one out of the way first, but all the others are going to close on us quickly, so you'll have to move all of them. I wouldn't worry too much about the fighters, as their weak blasters will never be able to penetrate our shields before we jump to hyperspace."

Trying to avoid feeling the pressure, Anakin closed his eyes and started to channel the Force. It was so strong, he felt like all his surroundings were an extension of himself. With this feeling, he knew he could manipulate everything by will.

Everyone in the cockpit watched in amazement as every ship around them moved out of the way for them. Olie wasted no time in putting the thrusters to the max so they could race past the ships and make their way outside the gravity well of the planet. As they did so, everyone's eyes were on Anakin, marveling over the fact he was showing no signs of exertion. He looked perfectly normal.

"We're clear!" Olie shouted once the display on his control panel showed they had passed the threshold of the planet's gravity well. He pulled the level to send the ship into hyperspace. The stars turned to blue streaks as they sped to safety.