TRTSS1: The Warrior of Stars! – By DS Wynne

Disclaimer: R1/2, SM, ST, SW and other genres belong to their respective owners.

Note: This is a multi-genre story.

Part 2

A month after the Battle of Genosis, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of Naboo prepares a major "State of the Republic" address in front of the assembled Senate. The address would be the precursor to the actual vote to grant Palpatine "war powers" responsibilities. With the ability to wage war, Palpatine can direct the newly acquired "Cloned Troops". Furthermore, as part of the speech, the heroes of Genosis would be honored with the prestigious "Medal of Valor". Among those to receive this award will be the Jedi Knights Ranma Saotome, Usagi Tsukino, Ami Mizuno and Anakin Skywalker (to name a few). The Jedi Masters Yoda, Mace Windu, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi would receive a special commendation—the Medal of Honor—for directing the assault against Count Dooku, and his Confederacy of Independent System (also called the "Separatists"). The senior Jedi were not happy with all the attention, but supported the idea since receiving the awards would demonstrate a united front.

Meanwhile, Kasumi Tendo, for some reason, was being referred to as "Padme Amidala"—Senator from Naboo—was trying to prepare a policy position as "chairperson" on the Committee on Foreign Affairs. At first, Kasumi wondered if she could keep up the pretense of being someone she wasn't. Strangely, no one seemed to question her behavior since the affair on Genosis. As a avid fan of the "Star Wars" franchise, Kasumi could recall what she needed to do in order to fulfill her role as Padme. However, there were some things that the "source material" did not refer to. For example, she never recalled Ranma—or any other person she knew, for that matter—being a part of the "Star Wars" saga, and she didn't know how she should portray herself as Padme.

And then there was Anakin Skywalker to consider.

Based upon the movies, Padme had to marry Anakin secretly, in order for Padme and Anakin's twins to be born. On this, Kasumi was hesitant to do, since she loved her Tofu. If she was so inclined to do, should she simply go on ahead and marry Anakin? Would that be a form of cheating, especially in a fantasy world? Perhaps she should call on the one person that has a liberal view on relationships…

CHIRP-CHIRP! CHIRP-CHIRP! CHIRP-!

Kasumi turns away from reading her prepared statement, as someone goes to the front door of the ambassador's executive suite.

"I gonna get that!" says Representative Jar-Jar Binks, as he slouches to the door. He opens it…

"Hey, Usagi!" Jar-Jar says, as he hugs old friends. "Hey, Ami! How's it going?"

Kasumi sees her old friends Usagi and Ami, both dressed in the traditional brown/tan Jedi robes. On Usagi's shoulder was some sort of half-cat/half-rabbit creature.

"I am fine, thank you," Ami says, as she pats Jar-Jar on the back.

"Hey, Jar-Jar!" Usagi says, as she squeezed her friend.

"Th-oww!" the creature on Usagi's shoulder yowled.

"How's it going?" Usagi asks.

"It's been REAL busy around here," Jar-Jar says, as he breaks the hug. "Lot's of things to do for tomorrow night."

"I know…what drag."

"How is Ani?"

"Anakin is fine, actually," Ami replied. "He's supposed to be back from Tattoine tonight."
"Oh, that's right. His mother is still sick. Poor Ani…"

'That…that can't be right,' Kasumi thinks to herself. 'Shmi is suppose to be dead…'

"Well, if we hadn't gone to look for Ani's mother when we did, she'd be dead…I'm afraid," Usagi says with a sigh. "I tell you…separating a mother from a child is hard on BOTH."

"Jar-Jar, is the Senator in?" Ami asked.

Before Jar-Jar could answer-

"Why, hello, you two," Kasumi says, as she enters the main foyer, with her speech in hand. "I'm glad you two were able to make it."

"Hey, Padme," Usagi says with a smile. "Considering all the hoopla happening around here…"

"You wanted to see us, Madame Senator?" Ami asked.

"Yes. Jar-Jar, can you excuse us?"

"Certainly, Padme," Jar-Jar replied jovially. "Me-sa be right back. Will get lunch."

"Oh, neat," Usagi says, as she reaches into her cloak and pulled out some Galactic Republic credits. "Could you pick me up a 'Bantha Burger' and fries?"

"I could use vegetable soup," Ami interjects.

"Certainly. Padme, you-sa want something, too?"

"I am fine, Jar-Jar," Kasumi says. "But thank you for your consideration."

"You're welcome! Me-sa be right back!"

And with that, the Gungan leaves for a food run.

"Same old Jar-Jar," Usagi says.

"You seem to like him, Usagi," Kasumi says.

"That's because Jar-Jar…is like Usagi, back when she was growing up," says Ami with a giggle.

"ONLY a little," Usagi protested. "Anyway, what's up?"

"We should have a seat first," Kasumi says, as she goes over to a sofa to sit down.

Usagi and Ami look at each other with a bewildered look.

"Okay," Usagi says, as she shrugs her shoulders, before feeding a carrot to her "pet".

"Um, you have a pet?" Kasumi asked.

"You remember my pet cabbit, Tho-Ohki, right?"

"Th-owww!"

"I see…"

"What seems to be the matter, Padme?" Ami asked, as she sits down next to Usagi.

"Before we get started…could you tell me how you two came to be Jedi Knights?" Kasumi asked.

"Um…well, if you recall, we met when had escaped Naboo, back when it was occupied by the Trade Federation," Usagi says. "With you being the newly elected monarch, Viceroy Nute Gunray wanted to pressure you into signing away Naboo's economic rights as a means of circumventing taxation of routes."

"We met you on Tattoine, after your royal ship was forced to land there from damage caused by the Trade Federation," Ami says. "You and Master Jinn had come to Mister Watto's shop to find a replacement. However, because Mister Watto didn't want to accept Galactic Republic credits, Master Jinn used your ship as collateral."

"Ah, the pod races," Kasumi says.

"Yeah," Usagi interjects. "Personally, Watto could have accepted the credits, but he knew that that exchange rate wouldn't have been to HIS benefit."

"And of course, Anakin won."

"Yes," say Ami. "Usagi, myself and the others helped to get Anakin's pod racer tuned up and ready for use."

"Well, it's good thing we did, since that cheater Sebulba tried yet AGAIN," Usagi says flatly.

"So we go to Coruscant," Kasumi says.

"Yeah."

"And Anakin was examined for consideration for membership within the Jedi Order," Ami says.

"Were you two and Ranma also examined?" Kasumi says. "I was under the impression that the Jedi did not accept those candidates beyond a certain age."

"Well, that is the case, except that Masters Yoda and Windu were impressed with what had happened during the action to free Naboo."

"We kicked that Sith's butt and saved Master Jinn's life," Usagi says.

"No, it was Ranma who did the 'butt-kicking'," says Ami.

"Oh, my," Kasumi said. "Then what happened?"

"Well, thankfully, Darth Maul is stuck in cryo-stasis underneath the Jedi Temple," Usagi says.

"I'm surprised that he was not killed in battle," Kasumi says.

"Who?"

"The Sith."

"Ranma doesn't like…killing anyone, unless it's in the context of a life-and-death situation. Fighting battle droids is a different matter entirely."

"Oh."

"Master Yoda felt that inducting the five of us into Jedi Order—based on what had happened on Naboo—would 'shake up the status quo…especially in these trying times."

"I thought it was to keep us out of trouble," Usagi says.

"Er, yes, of course," Ami says, as she laughed nervously. "And since then, we have spent the last ten years in training…at least until recently."

"That is a long time," Kasumi says.

"Heh, well, a certain someone doesn't mind," Usagi says with a smirk.

"Speaking of whom, what has Ranma done these past ten years?"

"Well, training mostly. Because of our 'padawan' status, we don't see each other as often as we like. Well, not until recent events, I suppose."

"If you recall, Senator, we all gathered together at your place shortly after the assassination attempt on your life…twice," Ami says. "Once when you were disembarking from your flight to Coruscant, and the second time when that bounty hunter hired the assassin that put those worms in your room."

Inwardly, Kasumi shivered at the thought of having those things around her…

"And of course Usagi, Ranma and Anakin, being who they are, went after the assassin with less than stellar results."

"Hey…I resent the implication that I'm as reckless as those two glory hounds are," Usagi protested. "Besides, I only drove the sky-speeder. I wasn't the one who held onto the assassin's problem (Ranma) going after the assassin, nor was I the one who fell a zillion stories down to leap onto a speeding…sky-speeder (Anakin). Humph!"

Kasumi giggles.

"Nevertheless, while Master Jinn and Master Kenobi went to investigate the cloning planet Camino, we all went to Naboo to provide protection to you…not that you really needed four Jedi to do so."

"Well, we DID use the pretext of T'Pol's wedding to your cousin to get you off-world…thanks to Tho-ohki, here."

"Tho-owww!" the cabbit yowled in delight.

"'Cousin'?"

"Yes, um, what's his name…?" Usagi pondered.

"His name is 'Jon Naberrie', Usagi," Ami says.

"Oh, that's right. Him. Anyways, I guess Jon impressed her enough for her to logically marry him."

"Which is surprising. But at least we got to see her and Hoshi on Naboo."

"'Hoshi'?"

"Yes, she and T'Pol sit on the Naboo Royal Advisory Council. After what had happened ten years before, you appointed them to the council to give the ministers and the governor a 'fresh point of view'. Now, under the rule of your cousin Queen Jamillia—who's pretty cool, I guess—T'Pol is the present Minister of Science, no big surprise, while Hoshi is the Minister of Emergency Preparedness. Since the locals still refuse to establish even a 'Ministry of Defense', the Ministry of Emergency Preparedness is the back-door way of having a defense mechanism in place, in the guise of 'emergency preparations'."

"I see…"

Kasumi goes over her thoughts, as she ingested this information. Some things were consistent to what she was familiar, while others were not. She did recall what Ranma had told her about the difference between the source material, and the true story of "Star Wars".

"Thank for telling me this," Kasumi says. "Our talk has been…informative."

"It is our pleasure, Senator," Ami says.

"I'm curious about something," Usagi says. "I don't mind going down memory lane, but…is there something going on with you?"

"Usagi!" Ami says. "You shouldn't be that way."

"I'm just saying that Padme wouldn't have asked us here to reminisce, if there was a reason for it. And I'm saying this because I know that Padme wouldn't have asked us to be here JUST to chitchat, since she has an important policy brief to give tomorrow."

Kasumi sighs, as she stands.

"You're correct, Usagi. I wanted to…reflect on some things before…accepting Anakin's hand in marriage."

"What?" Usagi and Ami yelled in unison, as they both stand up.

"Yes. When Anakin was last here, he had asked me to marry him. I needed time to think things over while he returned to Tattoine."

"In secret, of course," Ami says. "Need I remind you of the consequences of what could happen if it is known that you and Anakin were married?"

"I know, Ami, which is why I wanted your advice."

"Hmm…"

"Well, first, do you truly love him?" Usagi asked.

"I don't know. But he's a nice person, and I don't want to disappoint him."

"If you are not sure, then you shouldn't," says Ami. "You'll be taken a lot of risks by marriage."

"I see…"

"Personally, with this impending war, you should go ahead and marry the guy," Usagi says.

"But wouldn't that be living a lie?" Kasumi asked.

"Is he cute?"

"He is…handsome," Kasumi says.

"Is he a friend?"

Kasumi thinks for a moment. During Anakin's recovery from his fight from Count Dooku, Kasumi spent time with the young Jedi. She admired Anakin for being adventurous and noble, which makes it harder for her to believe that he would turn to the dark side. And then there was the fact that she loved Tofu. Could she simply put that aside, and fulfill her role…even in the context of a fantasy?

"Yes, he is a good friend."

"Then there you go," Usagi says. "My philosophy is that if you at least like the guy, you should try to see if you are compatible. And considering the fact that all of us will be going to war soon, you're going to have to make…concessions somewhere."

"Even if you…have feelings for another?"

Usagi and Ami turn to look each other, before turning back to look at Padme.

"Do we know this person?" Ami asked.

"No," Kasumi lied. "There is a man that I knew a long time ago. We…were to be married, but our paths have taken another turn."

Usagi nods her head, as she places a hand on Kasumi.

"I know how you feel."

Kasumi looks straight into Usagi's eyes.

"You…you do?" Kasumi replied.

"Yes. When I was younger, I thought that I was to marry my 'Destined One'. But Fate changed my life to the point that I had to move on to marry another man."

"Was this person…Ranma?"

"'Ranma'? Ranma and I aren't married or anything."

"The way you and him behave around each other sometimes indicate otherwise," Ami quipped.

"Look, as I said MANY times, having intimate moments with close friends is FAR different than having an actual relationship."

"Oh, my," Kasumi says.

"At any rate, we haven't been together in that way in years, after celebrating the defeat of the Trade Federation on Naboo. And besides, I hear he and Aayla Secura have a thing going on."

Kasumi ponders Usagi's words. She had forgotten that Ranma and Usagi were extremely "long-lived", and that the two would not have been married at least until returning to their proper time and space…

"Aayla and Ranma?" Ami says, as she begins to fidget.

"Heh, looks like someone has a thing for the stud," Usagi says jokingly, as she faced her fellow padawan.

"I…I do not have a crush on Ranma."

"Yeah, right."

Usagi then turns her attention back to Kasumi.

"My point is this: you will always have a special place in your heart for those people you care for the most, but if you sit around and wait for things to falling in place, you'll be in a world of disappointment. I waited ten years before I moved on. Don't be like me, Padme. Seize the day, and find your happiness NOW."

Kasumi nods her head.

"You've given me much thought, Usagi," Kasumi says. "But, I need to finish preparing for my speech."

"Of course, Senator," Ami says, as she and Usagi stands, while Tho-Ohki hops on Usagi's shoulders.

"Now, if you need someone to talk to-" Usagi began to say.

"Of course," Kasumi says with a smile. "You two take care of yourself. And say hello to Ranma for me."

"Certainly," Ami says.

"If we're able to," Usagi says. "Knowing him, he's probably trying to show off or something…"

Meanwhile…

In the center of a training area in the Jedi Temple, a lone figure sat on his knees while blindfolded. In front of him was his lightsaber, while metal spheres dotted the area around him. The padawan learner was in deep meditation, when the spheres suddenly came to life…all twelve of them.

WHOOOMMMM…

They began to move about the figure, before each one chose an attack vector.

PING! PING! PING! PING-!

As non-lethal energy discharges lanced the air towards the intended target, the padawan learner rolled forward, grabbed his weapon, and then fluidly leaped into the air while activating his weapon.

SNAP! Hzzzzz-

SLICE! SLICE!

Two spheres were down, ten more to go.

While still in the air, the padawan propelled him self towards the wall. He then tucks, rolls, and lands on his feet, only to bounce backwards.

SLICE! SLICE! SLICE!

Three sphere were down, seven more to go.

With one more tuck to go, the padawan lands on his feet in the center of the training mat. The padawan twirls his lightsaber—which glowed a bright yellow hue—and waited for the next attack.

The spheres began to change their attack stratagem. However, the padawan sensed this shift. He then reaches out, opens his free hand…and then closes it.

CRUNCH!

Some sort of unseen "force" crushes five of the spheres, leaving two left to continue the attack.

"Humph," the padawan smirked with a smile.

One of the spheres vectored into a wide circular arc in one direction, while the second sphere did the same in a different direction. The final gambit was to force the padawan to choose a target, thereby leaving his flank open to attack.

PING! PING! PING-!

ZOOOMMMMMM!

Suddenly, an energy blade forms in the padawan's free hand. Made from concentrated psychic energy, the padawan was able to both block the attacks, as well as finish off the attackers.

SLICE-SLICE!

Clatter!

After a moment worth of calm, the padawan deactivates his weapons.

DOOOOP!

Hzzzzz-SNAP!

Ranma removed his blindfold, as he surveys the scene.

"Not bad," Ranma says indeed.

"Not bad indeed, Ranma," says a voice.

Ranma turns towards a fellow Jedi, who was standing on the sidelines. The girl was a Rutian Twi'lek, a species of humanoids who have blue skin and a pair of tentacles growing from the base of their heads. Typically, Twi'lek females possessed the reputation for being very attractive artists and singers, which is why there have been frequent raids on their homeworld (called "Ryloth"). The Twi'lek padawan was no exception in this regard.

"What do you mean, 'not bad'?" Ranma complained. "I just topped my old score, Ayala."

"True," Ayala says, as she saunters to her male friend. "But the bet was for you to top your old score with just a single lightsaber."

"Hey, you never said not to use a 'psi-blade',' Ranma says. Since joining the Jedi Order, he and Usagi have shared the secret to how to create more psychic-based effects, including the creation of the psi-blade. Jedi were still required to build their own lightsabers, but the creation of their personal psi-blade was the true test of one's ability to master the Force…

"But that wasn't part of the test, and you know it."

"Grrr!" Ranma growled.

"Shhh," Ayala says, as she places her finger on Ranma's lips. "I didn't say what you did was not impressive. And had you actually succeeded, you would have been rewarded with this…"

Ayala goes to Ranma's ear, and whispers something into his ear…

SPRONG!

Whatever Ayala had said, her words caused Ranma's trademarked pigtail to jump.

"Er, you KNOW we can get in trouble…if we do THAT," Ranma says.

Ayala smiles mischievously.

"I KNOW."

And with that, Ayala turned around, and saunters out of the training room.

"I'm going to need a cold shower," Ranma says, as he gingerly leaves the training room for the showers. Unknown to him and Ayala, what had just took place was being watched…

Tbc.