I'm a Skywalker too!
By: Tellemicus Sundance
Chapter 06

12:9:12 GrS
Carida

The landscape where a pair of young children in a starfighter had set down five years ago had changed somewhat considerably. The original clearing remained much the same, but now had signs of civilized life scattered in and around it like random crates of cargo, a small storage hut just inside the treeline, and an enlarged clearing nearby that easily housed the Z-95 Headhunter and an old saucer-shaped freighter. On the other side of the clearing, away from the starships, there was a corral that had a dozen grazing animals. These creatures had been found, tamed, and trained, and now they were just waiting for the two who did all that to finally transport them to a settlement to be sold off.

The morning air was crisp and warm, clouds hung low in the sky. The landscape was soggy and wet from last night's heavy rains. As the air rapidly warmed with the onset of day, steam and a thick mist began wafting up into the air. This gave the forested area a sense of a complacency, with few creatures desiring to awaken and begin their days. The birds, unburdened with the struggles of the earthbound animals, chirped and cawed in greeting the day's first light. Far off in the distance, a large alpha herbivore trumped a command to its herd to rise. It was a peaceful setting, natural and content with its state of being.

Thus, when it was abruptly shattered by a thunderous crash, the echoing sounds startled the surrounding lands into full wakefulness in an instant. The loud noise momentarily startled the grazing animals, but they quickly ignored it, having grown accustomed to it over the past few weeks.

Leaping mightily over the large pile of boulders that she'd thrown but which had been intercepted, a brunette preteen girl cried out in exertion as she spotted her opponent rushing up at her with the same intention. Blocking his leading kick with her shin, Leia used the momentum he'd given her to further power her punch as she lashed out at his chest. Though he was able to cross in his arms into a guard position, the impact of her fist still sent him careening backwards. With her brother still on the defensive, Leia's other hand shot forward and launched a powerful but narrow blast of telekinesis. Just as he was getting his legs back under him, her Force Push hit and penetrated his shields, knowing from long experience just where and how they were weak. The attack struck his ankle and knocked off his center of gravity. Luke landed heavily on the muddy ground below him, but as quickly able to roll to the side and pop back up to his feet, dodging Leia's follow up stomp as she landed where he had been.

As Leia was recovering her own footing and adjusting to the mud that her feet had sunk into, Luke spun around low, his leg lashing out and hitting her behind her own ankle. As her legs buckled, Luke hit her with his own Force Push, expertly punching through her own shields and sending her flying backwards. But with a grace and skill that Luke lacked and envied, she was able to right herself in midair and land somewhat haphazardly on the ground, sliding in the mud several meters before coming to a stop. Without wasting time, both siblings rushed forward, fists raised in preparation as they delved deeply into the Force.

Just as they were meters apart, a sharp warning through the Force reached them. Reacting instinctively, they altered their course, springing as far to the sides of where they'd have met as their powerful muscles would allow. It was a good thing too since in that exact spot a pair laser bolts struck. The impact of the high-powered lasers kicked up a respectable concussive force and a small dust cloud of steam, dirt, and pebbles. But thanks to their fast reflexes, both Skywalker siblings were safely away from the area and turned to face where the attack came from.

"What's the big idea, Sparky?!" Leia called out, quite upset. She was just about to get the upper hand and finally take down Luke! "I had him on the ropes! What did I tell you about interrupting us?!"

"Not to do so," came the synthetic voice of a droid from a set of external speakers. "But this was the most expedient way to get your attentions."

"Why?" Luke asked, looking up at the humanoid droid who was visible through the window glass of the freighter. "What's happened?"

"We've got a job that might interest you two," Sparky answered. "And you better hurry, Tes'chi is likely about to accept the mission regardless of your choice."

"We're coming!" the two 12-year-olds cried out simultaneously, sprinting for the ramp to the YT-1250. Quickly boarding it, they hurried to the cockpit where they found their friend and droid already waiting for them.

Sparky was a combat type of humanoid droid, an old assassin model reprogrammed for security and defense. Though its armor was dented, the faded red and gold paint chipping off in places, and the overall frame of the droid was notably archaic-looking from its indistinguishable age, there was no mistaking the fact that the aforementioned combat droid's CPU was top-notch and quite lethal when the droid decided to engage it. A year ago, the two children had found his chassis when they were visiting Taris, apparently the droid had been ambushed by bounty hunters who were hunting its client, critically damaging it. Taking pity on the droid, the two had brought it back to the ship, repaired and reactivated it. Despite its gratitude, the droid had immediately departed to return to its client, only to return later that day claiming it had failed its primary programming and offer its services to them in repayment for repairing it.

Seated in the pilot's chair just in front of the droid was a blue-skinned Pantoran young woman, wearing a rough sewn shirt and pants with a simple tiara in her light purple hair. Taken as a toddler from her parents during a pirate attack on their vessel, Tes'chi was a 15-year-old slave to a black market arms dealer that the Skywalkers had been hunting when they first met her. Against Tes'chi's expectations, the two children had managed to unearth incriminating evidence of fraud, money-lauding, murder, theft, and blackmail against her master which quickly caused several of the dealer's former clients and associates (several none-too-pleased Hutts being among that number) to post a substantial bounty on his head, which the children had managed to collect a week later after capturing her former master. Following her release from enslavement, Tes'chi had immediately volunteered to become the children's chaperon, servant, and handyman, more or less voluntarily becoming their 'slave' in all but fact and name. When asked later, Tes'chi had simply said, 'It's the only life I've ever known and I owe you two a great debt.' That was three years ago and the young Pantoran woman had more than earned her keep since then.

"What mission?" Luke asked pointedly once he and Leia had arrived.

"Who's the client?" Leia demanded a split second later.

"Aw, there's the two miracle workers!" came a voice from the holo-comm as Tes'chi and Sparky turned to greet them. By doing so, the Skywalkers spotted a semi-familiar figure of a well-dressed bureaucratic Toydarian seated in some obnoxiously large throne-like chair.

"Lonnvy," the two said, sharing an identical look of resigned annoyance.

"Now, now, is that anyway to greet someone who's about to offer you a job?" Lonnvy asked, sneering at their tones. He always enjoyed working with these children and their little 'crew' of mishaps and rejects. They always brought in good money for him, inadvertently of course.

"Only when it's you who's offering," Luke stated, turning away to sulk. He hated dealing with Lonnvy, a merchant and con-artist who dabbled in many different fields to make a quick and easy credit, usually by mooching off the hard work of others. The only reason he personally put up with the Toydarian at all is because one of his biggest areas of expertise was in intergalactic shipping and cargo. He was able to tell them what was going where and when. And thanks to his other 'contacts', these shipments he came to them with were always the most susceptible to be hijacked by brigands and pirates.

"How may we be of service this time, Lonnvy?" Leia asked in an almost pleasant voice, ever the diplomat her foster parents wanted her to be. As such, she was usually the one in charge of dealing with their 'clients' when it came to missions.

Chuckling loudly, Lonnvy nodded towards the female Skywalker as his fingers tapped a few buttons on the console in his throne's armrest. His image was replaced with that of a long convoy of parked transport vehicles, clearly only speeders since they had only light armor and no large engines. At just a glance, Leia could count easily two major haulers and six escort speeders armed with some light blaster cannons and a guard of fifty mercenaries.

"This was brought to my attention about six hours ago," Lonnvy said, his tone of voice implying that he was now in his 'professional' mindset. "A recent shipment of foodstuffs and medical supplies has been ordered for Coruscant. The shipment is being massed together and loaded upon a series of transports on Cerea. Word has spread that Cerean foodstuffs are all the rage there these days apparently." The four listeners could practically hear the indifferent shrug that the Toydarian made with that final statement, and it was a sentiment all of them could relate to, unable to understand or care about the whims of high society in the Core Worlds. "This particular convoy is said to be carrying a considerably amount of unique fruits and vegetables that are in high demand. But the convoy itself has been held up by sudden severe weather conditions."

"How much of a profit are we talking about for this particular convoy, Lonnvy?" Leia asked.

"Latest estimate is about three million," Lonnvy said, causing his audience to all flinch and gawk at the obscenely high number.

"With a value that high, pirate attacks are a guaranteed thing," Sparky stated with utmost certainty.

"Indeed," Lonnvy agreed easily. "But the same weather problems that are stopping the convoy from leaving are also preventing any pirates from landing."

"Must be lightning storms," Luke commented quietly.

"The most current estimate is that these storms will be lasting for at least another three to five days, at minimum," Lonnvy continued. "And this is where your mission starts."

"You want us to steal you some of the cargo, don't you?" Leia guessed knowingly. Even after doing this type of business for two years now, she still hated having to do it. But it was usually for a good cause, if she had anything to say about it.

"But of course!" Lonnvy acknowledged. "I figure we could handle this our usual way, 30-70 sounds fair."

"10-90," Leia countered immediately. "A target this valuable is going to draw bloodsuckers to it faster than a fresh carcass. Unless the convoy has got some serious armed escort ships and frigates, the danger level is going to be very, very high for us."

"25-75," Lonnvy stated. "While you might be right on that, I'm also in danger in my own way. I will of course be feeding you up-to-date intel on the situation as it progresses. Such attention to such things have a tendency to draw unwanted attentions from elsewhere to you. I need a worthwhile share to compensate for that. Besides, I know you kids. You're going to donate your share to charity anyway."

"20-80, final offer," Leia said, crossing her arms and setting her expression in stone, making herself as immovable as possible.

There was a long pause as Lonnvy considered the bargain. Then, finally, as his image reappeared before them, he nodded in agreement, "Deal. You can leave my share in the usual storehouse on Denon." With that said, he abruptly disconnected the transmission, leaving the four of them sitting in silence for a moment.

"Well, you heard it," Luke said, moving forward and gently nudging Tes'chi out of the pilot's seat. "I'll begin the takeoff procedures. You guys go get ready for departure."

"Yes, master," Sparky acknowledged, turning sharply around and marching towards its personal area in the secondary cargo hold of the ship. The two girls followed the droid out with only quiet conversation between them as Luke started flipping switches and checking gauges.

Mustafar, secret Sith facility

Dropping the unconscious body onto the hospital bed, the Fifth Hunter let out a sigh of relief. That was the last one, finally! He wasn't one to complain about any particular task he'd been assigned to by his master, but this most recent one had been mind-shatteringly dull in his humble opinion. Things had gone all that well for him since his arrival in the past. Not since he'd lost the trail of those two Children of the Force he'd come to the past with. This fact had placed an irreparable blemish on his record to his master, something he knew that would be forever used to gauge his skills against and to decide whether he was worthy of performing certain missions. Ever since that tragic loss, he'd largely be delegated to kidnappings, backroom black market enforcer roles, and the very occasional assassination, with most of his time being used to recruit other known Force-sensitive children into what would become the Inquisitorius.

Only that one failure against the original two Children stained his track record now. For whatever consolation it was worth, the fact that the two had so thoroughly disappeared from common Force sensing was something of a relief. Somehow, over the months and years, it seemed that the two Children had learned how to hide their presences from other Force-users or they had become so deeply immersed in the Force's ebb and flow that they no longer registered among the common Force-users unless they were doing something very active. These were the only explanations that the Hunter and even his Master, who had routinely sought to locate the two of them over the years, could come up with. And the fact that the Jedi hadn't been making any overt activities or strange movements left Sidious convinced that the High Council had also been unable to locate and/or recruit them as well.

The Fifth Hunter had hoped that his master's present self would've had more fitting uses for a warrior and hunter of his skills and talents, but it seemed that his master wanted to error on the side of caution for now or at least until the Clone Wars started. If nothing else, his time spent in present era had greatly enlightened him to all the backdoor deals and subterfuge that his master had had to deal in the years prior to the Empire. The sheer scope of what needed to be done, how much was ready, and how much had yet to be done or occur, all this caused his bone deep respect and fear of his master to deepen ever more as the years passed.

Turning to the nearby medical droid that had just wheeled up to him, he snapped out, "The last of the batch. See to it that it's raised in accordance with the master's wishes."

"Of course," the droid said agreeably. "That is my primary programming, sir."

The Hunter didn't even spare the unconscious form of the Duros child another glance as he turned and marched purposely out of the infirmary. With his mission now complete, he reached down and sent the pre-prepared message to his master along the secret com-line they'd made to communicate more easily. If he was lucky, he'd get a reply from his master in an hour's time. If not, well, he needed to catch up on his forms and techniques some more. With the Clone Wars just a short year away from breaking out and the situation of the galaxy becoming increasingly more dangerous, it was always a good idea to dedicate a few hundred extra hours to sharpening and boosting his combat skills.

Walking outside of the facility, he walked out to the spare landing platform which was empty. Standing in the center of it, he closed his eyes and opened himself up to the dark side of the Force. Its power was extremely strong here on the volcanic world, as it should be. The Sith and dark siders of past and present had always used this planet. No amount of feeble Jedi tricks could possibly purge its delicious dark taint from the world. And the fact that the planet had such an enormous abundance of ores ready to mine and refine had made this world one of immense value to the Empire and the Emperor's dark acolytes. It did not surprise the Hunter in one bit to learn that his master had been using it for decades prior to the Empire's creation.

Drawing in the dark side once again, he could feel it filling him up. It fanned the flames of anger that his fears had ignited. Then it turned those flames into a lava-hot substance of pure rage. With that immense rage came a tremendous boost in his power in the Force. Unclipping his lightsaber, the Hunter entered the opening stances of Form V: Djem So, his preferred form. Protected from the poisonous fumes and ashes of the volatile world only by the ray shield around the landing platform, he threw himself into his training regime with a savage gusto.

After a lengthy time of two and a half hours, the chime of his comlink aroused him from the singular focus that his training had drawn him into. Switching off his weapon and breathing heavily, only just now realizing that he may have overdone it again, he hurried over to where he'd stowed his comlink. Activating it and quickly kneeling down with his head bowed, the Hunter said, "My master?"

"You have finished your assignment, much sooner than I'd anticipated." There was a definite note of…something in Sidious's voice when he said that. Whether it was respect, annoyance, or pride in the Hunter's expedient ways was debatable though.

"I am a hunter, my master," the sweating Twi'lek stated softly. "To locate and capture or kill my prey is what I was born to do."

"And do it well, you do indeed," Sidious acknowledged shortly. "I have a new assignment for you, my old friend."

"What is thy bidding, my master?"

"There has been an interference in the special financial system," Sidious said, the deep frown marring his wrinkled face clearly visible despite the cloak's hood over his face. "Someone is investigating the funds for the Clone Army. Go to Eriadu, find the slicer, and deal with it."

"It shall be done, my master," the Hunter answered automatically, his voice cold and unwavering. But when Sidious's hologram faded and the Twi'lek raised his head, there was an obvious expression of disgruntled annoyance on his face. "Another useless errand. When will I have a real hunt again?!"

12:9:18 GrS
Cerea

There was a natural beauty to the world he found himself on that was hard to dismiss or compare. While Alderaan certainly was a fair competitor in that regard, the Core World had a bit more civilized and cultivated flair to it while Cerea seemed more…cherished and natural. The Force was alive and practically singing, unlike a majority of the other worlds he'd visited. To this end, the lone Jedi Padawan found himself in a rather peculiar predicament. The incredible beauty and liveliness of the world was drawing him into a state of calmness and serenity that was quite unnatural for him. Yet, paradoxically, it also pulled at his being, drawing him outside, tempting him to go and do something.

So when his Master turned to him with an all-too-familiar sigh of exasperation at his restlessness, the 17-year-old Anakin Skywalker could only offer up a weak apology.

"Anakin, try to focus on the mission," Obi-wan said, knowing his order was likely to fall on deaf ears.

"I'm deeply sorry, Master," Anakin said, sounding not at all sincere as he glanced to the ground.

"Don't worry, kid," Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, their partner for this mission, grunted out from where he stood with Obi-wan. "You'll have something to do before this is over."

The three Jedi stood to the side of the loading bay, watching as the droids and facility personnel were stacking the last of the exotic food containers into the transports. Under normal circumstances, such a routine mission would've been beneath the attentions of the Jedi Order. Why should a bunch of peace-keeping monks interfere with a simple transport of foods from the Outer Rim to Coruscant? But, in a show of 'diplomatic discussions' with certain key members of the Senate and wealthy business owners, the Jedi Council had been essentially guilted into aiding in the mission.

Granted, even though it stung at his pride, Anakin could understand why Jedi were preferable enforcers and bodyguards. A cargo worth three million credits? If that didn't draw trouble from the scum of the galaxy, he didn't know what would. He wasn't sure why he and Obi-wan had been selected for this mission though. Master Vos made sense because of his familiarity with the criminal underworld.

Seeing the last container finally get loaded and secured into place, Anakin let out a sigh of relief. Finally, they could get a move on!

"Alright, that's it," Obi-wan confirmed before turning to his apprentice. "Anakin, you ride in the rear transport. I'll be in the front. Remember to keep your comlink channel open."

Despite himself, Anakin couldn't help looking at his Master in slight surprise as he realized what the older man must've been thinking. "You think that pirates or bandits are already going to attack?"

Obi-wan gave him a look of contemplation. "Possibly. From here to the landing pad is still a good fifty kilometers distance, and most of it over rugged mountains. An ideal place to set up an ambush."

It was true. On most other planets, the food processing facility would've had its own designated spaceport for its transports within a five-minute ride's distance, if not built into the facility itself. But the planet of Cerea was different in that its inhabitants were all very self-conscious about keeping their beautiful world as clean and natural as possible. Thus, it had extremely strict emission laws on incoming freighters and spaceships, as well as very harsh punishments for pollution committed. As such, the team of transports had to travel a rather considerable distance to reach the port.

Despite this, Anakin wasn't convinced. "That may be true, master. But no ship would be able to enter the mountains undetected, if not by us then by the Cerean government. Plus, they would first have to enter the atmosphere and the Cereans keep a close watch over all ships who enter the system, let alone the atmosphere."

"Enough!" Master Vos snapped as he returned, having walked away to inspect one of the containers before the transport was shut and locked. "I agree with Master Kenobi. We cannot for a moment assume that the pirates aren't already here and preparing to strike. You two will guard to the two transports individually while I ride in one of the escort speeders. And that's that."

"Yes, Master," both Obi-wan and Anakin said, nodding their heads submissively to the senior Jedi. They parted ways shortly afterwards, heading to their designated stations.

As he was walking aboard the transport, Anakin felt…something. A gentle caress in the Force, almost like someone was reaching out and lightly running their hand down his spine. The sensation caused him to stiffen momentarily before spinning around, searching with both his eyes and the Force for the source of the strange feeling. But in the split second he'd sensed it, the sensation had already vanished, as though yanked away from a scorching white-hot iron. Seeing nothing suspicious, Anakin's scowl deepened. Something…Someone was out there and they were watching him.

Maybe Master Kenobi was right…?

(Author's Note) This here is my sort of gift to all of you unlucky Star Wars fans who, like me, are unlikely to be able to watch the premiere of Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens tomorrow. If there are typos, I apologise. It's because I typed this up in a hurry to get it out today.

And so begins the second arc of the story!