Chapter Two

The Awakening

"Home sweet home" Annia spoke as she, Poe, and BB-8 approached the homestead of Annia and Arica, "It's not much, but it's home-"

"What the hell is that stench?" Poe asked as he clenched his hands over his nose. Poe was not used to the smells of the farm life. The closest thing that was considered a farm was the lizard crabs that his neighbors would harvest back on Yavin 4 when he was a child. But lizard crabs never smelled so horrendous.

Annia laughed, "Guess you can't handle the smell of bantha" She continued, "You must be from the city if you never smelled a farm"

"I'm not from the city" Poe spoke as he held his nose, "I'm from Yavin 4-"

"Ah! You're from the small rebellion colony, I should've figured that out" Annia continued as she parked the cargospeeder, "We farmers are used to terrible smells. The worst scent I smelled before was Jaalib's breath when he got too close to me."

Poe released his hand that covered his nose, still making a sour face, "So I guess with horrifying bantha scent, no predators come and steal your crop?"

"Sadly, that's not the case" Annia answered as she got out of the cargospeeder and made her way to the back to fetch the leftover milk, "Sand people stole some banthas in the past, luckily we haven't had that recently."

As Annia began carrying the heavy load of milk, Poe came by her side, "Woah woah, let me carry that" He continued as he took the milk from Annia's grasp, "We don't want you getting a broken back"

Annia laughed, "Ha! I carried heavier stuff than this. Hell! I could probably carry you!-"

"Annia!" Arcia's voice called from the distance.

Annia and Poe looked at Arica as they carried the milk back to the house. "I'm guessing that Ms. Pradeux?" Poe asked Annia.

"Yes, that's my mom. And it's 'Arica', she's going to correct you-"

With a raised eyebrow and smirk on Poe's face, "Are you sure? I can charm people inside and out-"

"And she'll shoot you down like an X-Wing, inside and out" Annia continued, "And stop smirking, my mom will think that you're some hotshot-"

"You're not the first to say"

As the reached the house, Arica stood at the door with her arms crossed, "You didn't tell me you were going to bring a boy to the house"

A blush came upon Annia's sun-kissed cheeks. Flustered and embarrassed, Annia rolled her eyes, "Mom, it's not what it looks like-"

"Ms. Pradeux" Poe spoke up, "I'm Poe Dameron of the Re-"

"Arica"

"Ma'am?"

"Call me Arica" Arica spoke in stern and semi-frighting tone, "If we're going to talk one on one, you need to call me Arica. I don't care about manners or charms, I want to be called by my first name. Got it?"

Poe was taken back. He never thought that Annia was serious that Arica wanted no formalities, let alone being a bit harsh. With a small gasp from Poe's breath, he fluttered his eyes in shock and continued, "Right… Arica, I'm Poe Dameron of the Resistance. I was sent here on a mission to find any leads on Luke Skywalker" He continued, "Your daughter, Annia, told me and my droid that you once knew him-"

"Look kid" Arica cut him off, "I have not seen Skywalker for almost twenty-one years, I can't tell you where he's at or what he's doing-"

"We're also looking for his friend: Mara Jade"

Arica was startled by the name and almost tripped on the stairs that led down into the house. Annia noticed this and confusion came upon her. Did her mother know this 'Mara Jade'? And if so, what connection she had?

"Mom?" Annia asked, "Are you all right?"

Arica looked at Annia with both nervousness, shock, and seriousness, "You two better get inside" And then she glanced at Poe, "Along with your droid… We're going to talk…"

Annia studied her mother as she prepared dinner for Poe, Annia, and herself. She noticed the tensity that her mother had as she baked bantha steak and cooked vacuum flower soup. It was odd for Annia to see Arica so tense, it was as if she was hiding a secret and it was finally revealed... Something told Annia that there were more things to her mother than meets the eye. As Annia watched her mother, Poe took noticed of it and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey"

Annia jumped from startlement and then calmed down when she noticed that it was Poe who confronted her, "You scared me"

Poe softly chuckled, "Sorry, I just want to see if you were okay?"

Annia nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine" She continued, "Maybe we should sit at the table, I think dinner is about it be served."

As Annia led Poe to the dining room, Poe studied around the room and noticed an old hologram that hung on the wall, "Who's the kid?" Poe pointed at Cade in the hologram. Annia took noticed and sadly smiled, "That's my brother"

"Is he here?"

After Poe asked, a frown came upon her face, "No, he left" When Poe heard Annia's answer, he grew curious, "Where to, if I may ask?"

"I don't know" Annia continued, "Before he left, he told me that he was going to hop on a cargo ship and join the Smugglers' Alliance... That was eight years ago, I haven't seen him since"

When Poe listened to Annia and her story about her brother, he heard the sadness in her voice and her eyes said it as well. He could tell that she missed him and it made him feel bad for her, "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be" She continued, "Many people ask about him, it was his choice for leaving... He felt stuck here, which I can understand, but it broke my mom's heart-"

Arica came in with a plater of the steak, "Here you go, I hope you like bantha"

"Ah, well, I can always try it," Poe said as he, Annia, and Arica sat down at the table. Annia never liked bantha, it wasn't that her mother prepared it terribly, it had a really bad gamy taste and texture to it. She knew that Poe would not like it, and when he first took that bite from the bantha steak- a sour expression came upon him which made Annia chuckle. Arica, however, raised an eyebrow at Annia with a disapproving look. With Arica's serious look, Annia stopped chuckling and waited for Poe's response.

"It's ah..." Poe continued with uncertainty in his voice, "The sauce is excellent-"

"It's terrible"

Poe looked at Arica and felt defeated with her seriousness, "Ah..."

"Don't worry, bantha isn't the best thing to eat around here... No one really likes it..." Annia spoke up which made Poe a bit in shock and Arica raising a brow, not in a disapproving manner but approving Annia's comment in which made her smile a bit.

"Right...Thanks for the reassurance" After Poe's reply, he looked at Arica, "So, I'm guessing you know some valuable information about Mara Jade?"

Arica put her arm on the table and leaned in, "And why do you need information about Mara Jade's whereabouts?" She continued, "I know her and she doesn't want anything to do with the Resistance or with the New Republic. She's retired from all the drama of space, politics, and wars."

Poe then leaned back in his chair with a sigh of stress, "We need her not only for having more leaders and morality in the Resistance, but she is the key to get a hold of Luke Skywalker-"

"Ha!" Arica spoke, "I doubt Mara would have any knowledge where Luke Skywalker is. And if she did, she wouldn't give any damn information to anyone-"

"Mara Jade is in danger" Poe cut her off, "Anyone who knew Luke Skywalker or even helped him revive the Jedi are a target to First Order and the Knights of Ren."

Arica slowly sat up in her chair and a look of uneasiness came upon her, which made the young sandy-haired girl worry. Arica looked both at Annia and Poe, "What happens if Mara Jade gets caught by the First Order?..."

"She and anyone close to her would either be imprisoned by the First Order... Or would be slaughtered by the Knights of Ren, especially Kylo Ren..." Poe continued, "Arica, Mara Jade needs protection. I know she was once a Jedi, but she cannot take the First Order down with a laser sword... We, the Resistance, want to protect her-"

"You have her"

Poe's brows furrowed in confusion along with Annia, "What- What do you mean?..."

Arica slowly looked at Annia's hand and dared not to look at Annia, she looked straight at Poe and spoke, "You're talking to the woman you seek... I am Mara Jade..."

Shock was in the air. Poe couldn't believe that he finally found Mara Jade and was talking to her right inside of her home, even BB-8 was in surprised as he made whistles of excitement. But for Annia, emotions of betrayal and confusion came upon her. How could she keep this from her? Why? Why didn't her mother tell her anything?

With anger rushing through Annia's veins, she aggressively slipped her hand out of Mara's and jumped out of her seat, "Why? Why didn't you tell me?"

Mara couldn't look at Annia, she was ashamed for keeping her only daughter in the dark.

"Everything I was told, everything you told me was a lie-"

"Annia Beru Padmé Pradeux, I never told you any lies-"

"I bet my last name isn't Pradeux! Isn't it?"

The silence was the only response from Mara and the tension between mother and daughter grew higher. Poe felt out of place between the fight, along with BB-8. It was awkward for him to watch two people he hardly knew to fight about things too personal for this broken family to share. All that Poe can do was to watch and not get involved unless something unexpected happens.

When Annia heard no answer from her mother, she shook her head in disbelief and tears fell down her freckled face, "Unbelievable... I never thought my own mother..." She couldn't finish her words, Annia never felt this pain in her life... This much anger...

Annia walked backward slowly before she turned her back from the woman she called mother. Mara stood up and pointed her finger at Annia unknowingly what was going to happen next, "Don't you dare walk away from me-" Then a force of great amount of power pinned Mara against the wall. Annia's arm was raised up and her hand held as if she was holding her mother down. Besides Mara being pinned down, objects like plates, bowls, and glasses started to float from the ground. Even BB-8 was floating a good twelve inches off the floor. Poe couldn't believe he was seeing, he heard many stories about Force-sensitive people... But seeing Annia doing it out of anger wasn't what Poe wanted to see.

"Annia!" Poe yelled as he stood up, "Annia stop!"

Annia did what Poe ordered, Mara fell from the wall, glasses, and plates shattered, and BB-8 landed down. A glow of tears and sweat came upon the farmgirl's face and her expression changed. The anger in her heart fled as the realization hit: she had the Force... The same power that her mother told her about that Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader had... She looked around the dining room and saw almost everything destroyed, almost everything she destroyed... Fear ran cold within Annia and her body was shaking... All she could do was run, and she did.

Annia ran out of her home and jumped in her speeder bike that was parked beside the house. As she ignited the bike and drove away, she can hear Poe calling her name from the distance. Annia drove and drove for miles and saw the two binary suns setting on the horizon. She then saw an abandoned farm site and felt something from there... Something familiar, yet far distant from her memories... When she parked there, she observed the place and noticed how old it was... It was like no one lived there for a very, very long time... Then there were voices.

'Luke! Luke!'

Annia's brows furrowed called out as she wiped her stale tears away, "Hello? Anyone in there?"

She ventured inside the torn up home and felt both a warmth and coldness in the atmosphere. Annia knew that man things happened here, and most of the things she felt were sadness and wonder... Then, again, voices echoed into one of the halls... As she followed the voices, tho glowing figures appeared in her eyes.

'You're not all-powerful Ani-'

'Well, I should be... Someday I will be...'

Annia watched the two celestial beings talk. She didn't fully understand what she was seeing or hearing... It was as if she witnessed a memory forgotten in time...

'I will be the most powerful Jedi ever! I promise you! I will stop people from dying' The anger celestial spoke, 'It's all Obi-Wan's fault, he's jealous! He's holding me back!' After the celestial spoke, a wrench flew across the room and hit the broken door. It frightened Annia and she held her chest as she slowly came down to the ground.

'...They're animal's, and I slaughtered them like animals... I hate them!' Then the spirit sat next to Annia who felt uncomfortable being next to the anger celestial.

'To be angry is to be human' The other specter voice spoke.

'I'm a Jedi, I know I'm better than this...'

When the celestial's voice and figure faded away, Annia heard the same voice from the distress phantom. However, his tone was more of comfort, 'Don't let in the anger Annia, that was my downfall... Do not follow the path of darkness-'

"Annia?"

Annia jolted when she heard her name close by. She slowly got up and saw Poe and BB-8 who walked into the room. A moment of silence came upon them until Annia spoke, "How did you find me?"

Poe was about to say something until BB-8 spoke, (beep boop) I tracked you down, it wasn't easy since you were riding so fast- (boop beep)

"Are you okay?", Poe asked in worry.

Annia nodded, "I think so..." She rubbed her exhausted puffy eyes and looked up at Poe, "I'm sorry, I don't know what gotten into me-"

"It's not me who you should apologize to" Poe replied, "But I do accept it if that makes you a slightly better"

A nod was what Annia could respond to. She tucked her hair behind her ear, "Is my mother okay? Is she safe? Is she all right? I didn't mean to-"

Poe set his hands upon the young woman's shoulders, "Your mom is fine... You gave us a scare though, but she's fine."

A sad smile came upon Annia's face, "Good... I never wanted to hurt her-"

"Hey, she's fine" Poe noticed that the night grew dark and cold and so he took his dark tan jacket off and set it over her shoulders, "We better get going. Your mom told me that Tusken Raiders are usually active at this time of night."

"They are" Annia spoke, "They're very much like animals in the night..."

As Poe led her back to the surface, he switched to another topic, "You know, I never seen anyone drive a speeder that fast before"

"Really?" Annia raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised to hear that from a Resistance pilot"

"I'm being serious!" The pilot continued, "With that much talent, I bet you can be a New Republican pilot in no time"

"Maybe" Annia chuckled, "Maybe I can be the best pilot in the New Republic-"

"Ha! I'm the best pilot in all of the New Republic and the Resistance"

Annia raised an eyebrow, "You can't be that serious-"

"Oh, but I am Miss Annia"

Annia shook her head as she head to the speeder. "Are you sure you want to drive, Annia?" Poe asked, "I mean, you were a bit..."

"If you're saying that my emotions were imbalance for driving, then I will punch you in the face" Annia spit her words like fire... Which is a bit reminded her of her mother's.

"Hey woah, that's not what I was trying to say-"

"I hope it wasn't so Mister Dameron" Annia then hopped onto her speeder, "See you at the house"

As Annia drove back to the house, Poe and BB-8 hopped in the cargospeeder and followed Annia...

'Master Yoda, is she the one to help bring light in this dark time?'

'A helper of light, the young Skywalker is. But not the only one to help the light, she is. More out there in the galaxy, there are...'

'I felt a darkness in her mind master, are you sure she won't fall like Ben Solo or I?'

'Yes, a darkness in her, there was. In her heart now that anger isn't the answer, she knows. The Force's awakening within her and how to control the frustration of the past, she must learn...'

Author's Notes

I hope everyone liked this chapter! Sorry for not updating for four months! I've been super busy with family activities and University life that I haven't been able to update this story!

If you liked this story, please follow and/or favorite! Tell me via reviews or private messaging what you liked about it and any ideas or storytelling advice you want to give to me.

Thank you so much and may the Force be with you!

End Notes