HEROES AND VILLAINS By Kondoru.

Alternative ending to RotJ

Standard Disclaimers.

Thanks to Budgie for Beating.

Chapter 17; Less Hard Times.

The next day Leia got her father's records. She sat at the table, lost in thought.

Anakin was silent.

"Your mother's side seems to be some sort of unrecorded Wildspace." She told her misbegotten sire thoughtfully.

"And my father?" Asked Anakin with a wry look. Shmi had never said anything about his father.

Leia shook her head. "Seems to be no father…" She skimmed through the datafile for the fourth time. "I am no geneticist but these results look very confused…Almost as if they have been tampered with." She looked again. "But the sample we used was just taken from you yesterday." Leia tapped the keys. "What is going on?"

"I'm sorry." Basket said unhappily.

"Sorry for what?" She asked.

"Sorry for everything."

Leia shook her head. "We can't choose our parents."

"But we can choose our spouses."

Leia had to smile. "And my mother chose Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight. He must have had `some` merit to catch her eye." She smirked gleefully. "I imagine an ex Queen of Naboo as accomplished as my mother was would have had the run of the finest men of the Republic…Yet she chose you."

"A Jedi has status." Basket growled "I am more than a slave…"

"You are a Jedi slave." She said. Her father did not dare rise to that jab.

"And you have your eye upon a certain notorious Corellian Smuggler?" Her father said disapprovingly.

Leia rubbed her face thoughtfully; she did not rise to that. "I'm glad I now know about my mother."

He nodded. "Padme would have been proud of you...But maybe she would have despaired of me."

"You bet."

"Now you can breathe properly I say you are ready for the Bacta." Dr Querken rubbed his hands together. The bearded old Doctor was on one of his periodic visits to treat Anakin. Now that he could breathe Anakins slow recovery was going ahead leaps and bounds.

He underwent another check-up. All was going smoothly.

"The Bacta tank is ready. Tomorrow I am going in." Basket announced at supper.

"Sensory deprivation…Jut like Darth Vader. Go drown yourself." Leia told him.

Anakins bacta treatment was unconventional due to it being so long since his injuries, wounds which had never really healed up. Dr Querken had devised an experimental bacta mix. "Though you will spend a lot of time in the tank." He had said.

Basket was not at all fazed by the harness and breathing mask; this was all too familiar to Darth Vader. Nor did he need a sedative to keep him docile. Anakin no longer was bothered by meditation.

He spent nearly two weeks entombed in the tank, only coming out for meals and necessities. Leia bathed and fed him as usual. She was amazed at his patience in remaining in the bacta, having hated the times she needed treatment herself.

Slowly her arch enemy's skin began to reform, after being scarred so long.

He was covered in a thick layer of scabs and dead skin. Leia had to smile at her sire's gnarly transformation. "But one day I will turn into a moth." Anakin stated with confidence. He occupied his time in listening to holo recordings on Nubian culture. He had a feeling the people of Naboo liked him a bit.

The process was very itchy. When out, Anakin rubbed himself vigorously against his rough blanket, cursing his lack of hands.

Two weeks later Basket began to shed his protective layer. The dead skin came off in sheets and flakes. Leia smiled. "You are the Sith Lord of Scab Picks now." She told her father as she tugged and peeled.

"I'm so grateful to you for giving me a scratch." Anakin praised. "Don't tell me, you enjoy picking scabs, don't you?"

In reply, Leia ripped off a big and not very ready one. Her father yelped.

Out of the tank Anakin was much changed. He had proper skin now. After a minor operation on his stumps he was pretty much done.

Ashoka Tano visited, she cooed over her Ex-masters new appearance. Anakin preened egoistically.

"Care to peel off my scabs, Ashoka?" Anakin offered. (He let anyone scratch at him these days.)

Ashoka rubbed an orange hand over the shedding Sith Lords scalp. Sure enough he had a baby layer of fluff. "My Skyguys growing hair," Ashoka accused.

"Jealous?"

"No, I'm happy as I am, Wookies get fleas, after all."

"You can brush me like you do my daughter." He offered kindly.

"You do realise that you will have to be stripsearched, you know." Governor Norran told the young woman on the holo. "Security is very tight in here."

Pooja Naberrie nodded. "I was warned this by Mon Mothma" she replied. It had taken nearly an hour for the suspicious Governor to confirm the truth of her visitors permit with the Alliance. Pooja had been very patient.

"Very well…Sentients or droids?" He asked.

The Governors two most notorious inmates had finished their breakfast and now were sat checking over their assignments for the day. Red was going to review some new treaties for several planets new pledged to Mon Mothma's gang (seldom a week went by that the Alliance did not grow, though there were still Imperial holdouts…These were left alone provided they caused no trouble.) Basket was checking statistics on his penal problem…Though these days it was much less of a problem. Anakin had roughly estimated that over three quarters of the Empires jailbirds were now free, or in the process. The issue he was working on now was of locating the paranoid Emperors secret complexes. It was a nightmare in itself. Still, he had managed to release some useful spies who were helping.

Governor Norran came striding in. Leia and Anakin looked up simultaneously; he seldom came this early.

"Surprise visitor" He announced and stepped aside to reveal a golden haired woman in her early thirties.

It was Pooja.

Leia gave a huge and very happy smile. "Pooja!" she stood up and gave her older cousin a huge hug. "We were told we had a visitor but not who. How happy I am to see you."

"I said I would come and visit you and Uncle Ani." She told them.

"Yes but I didn't expect you to get a permit to see us." Leia replied.

Anakin was sat ensconced in his chair as usual. He wore a yellow t-shirt, and boxers. Also a somewhat bemused look. "I'm surprised too." He said warily.

Pooja stepped over and knelt down by her uncle. She looked at the unfortunate Basket. He was indeed an older version of the handsome young knight she remembered, her childhood hero.

But his blue eyes were haunted with unspeakable pain. Anakin looked nervous, so unlike the `Hero with No Fear` she had idolised. Something beyond dreadful had happened to her uncle.

She smiled sadly. "I remember you from my childhood, my Uncle Ani, the brave Jedi knight, coming and amusing us with his Force tricks, and telling stories of his adventures."

Anakin looked grim. "I remember that person, I lost touch with him for many years." He smiled. "But he is getting better." Basket laughed. "And no more of my Force tricks; Security here have ways of blocking me from the Force."

Pooja was aghast. "But the Force is part of you!"

Anakin shrugged. "So are arms and legs." He gestured with his stump. "I'm not permitted cybernetics in here either."

"Don't you have rights?" she asked.

"Not to anything I can use to make mischief with." He replied.

"The Nubian government are concerned over your welfare." Pooja told him sternly. "I for one think you should be given a pardon, after all your suffering…And efforts to reform."

All through this Leia was silent.

"But what about me?" She said icily. "I'm the one in remand, -he's guilty."

"The Queen has had words with Lady Mothma; about getting you bail." Pooja said. "If you were under house arrest Grandfather has said he would be willing to put you up on his estate."

"That's very kind of him." Leia said. Possibly the Nubian Queen had more clout than did Ruwee and Pooja.

They sat and talked on many things.

Rene brought in dinner on a big tray.

They had a big bowl of Aubesh soup, and crusty rolls. Washed down with mugs of tea. Afterwards were some of Poojas iced buns she had brought for Leia. The foodstuffs were basic but of commendable quality.

"Do you eat like this every day?" She asked.

"No, sometimes our jailers feed Basket here." Leia nearly poked the spoon up her father's scarred nose.

"I mean food wise." Pooja qualified.

"We get one hot meal a day, mostly beans and rice." Leia said. "Most of the rest is nutra bread or porridge."

"You should be fed like everyone else" Pooja told her cousin.

"Malnourished, you mean?" Leia replied. "If you mean like the rest of the galaxy, a high proportion don't get enough...And that is only the humans, -with others it's even higher."

Pooja had to nod.

"We have very nice food in here." Anakin added counterproductively.

"Are you trying to be sarcastic?" Leia sniped.

"Well, the Temple was all artificial muck...Designed to suit every species and satisfy none." Anakin told them. "Either that or it was GAR nutrient bars." He sighed, "I have ate far too many of those."

"Were they as bad as the Imperial rations we had to risk our necks stealing when in the Rebellion?"

Anakin turned to Pooja. "Your cousin loves them so much she bet her life on them!"

"Don't be snide." Leia snapped. She did not think this funny.

"Darth Vader did not eat." Anakin said grimly, "recycled water and a few grams of Vitapaste was his dinner."

"Oh, I love to hear you boast of how you mortified your flesh!" growled Leia.

Pooja shook her head at that, smiling to herself. She had read the reports on Anakin…He was getting over his terrible life as Darth Vader…Even if Leia didn't think so. "Anyhow, the Nubian government have had a little discussion, and here you are." She handed both a data card.

Leia got out her datapad and plugged it in. "It's an exam" She said with consternation. "An exam to test my knowledge of Naboo and its culture." Leia paused. "I know next to nothing about Naboo."

"Everyone applying for citizenship has to pass our exam set by the Ministry for Culture."

"Oh, I see." Said Leia. That she agreed with.

"I sent one to Luke and Han." She paused. "The Parliament are still in a discussion over Chewbacca and that striped woman." Pooja sighed. "I'm afraid Naboo can be a wretchedly conservative place when all is said and done. We make a great show of being liberal, but there is still a lot of prejudice against folk who are not Human or Gungan."

"Striped? Oh, you mean Ashoka Tano." Anakin worked it out. "And she was good friends with Padme too." He gave an arch smile. "Don't go calling her striped. She is a Togruta." Anakin flexed his muscular stumps. "Ashoka is a Hero of the Alliance. Also one of the few people to go toe to toe with Darth Vader and survive." He said with a proud look on his face.

"I'm glad you included Han." Said Leia. He had made a good impression on her Nubian family.

Leia was keen to marry the Corellian smuggler, but also well aware some people did not approve. Her Alderaanian family would have had conniption fits, and Anakin had frowned…But he had no say in the matter. Leia had rubbed Anakins nose in that many times.

She was also aware that by embarking on this project she would be technically marrying Chewbacca too. The life debt would cover her, and Leia would also become part of the Wookies family. She had asked Han one torrid night, and he had reassured her that it was very unusual for Wookies to mate with ones not of their kind, even a family member like Han. Chewbacca and Han were emotionally and economically co-dependent, their relationship was physical, Han never lacked for well combed hair as Chewbacca groomed it as a matter of course (And Leia would have to get used to Chewbacca's attentions too). But it was not sexual. However they had both discussed the matter.

Anakin actually approved more of Chewbacca than Han. The Wookies presence in the relationship had his full support. `Chewbacca is a loyal friend of the Jedi` he had told his daughter. `He rescued Ashoka from Trandoshan hunters once. I would be honoured to have him as part of my family.`

Chewbacca for his part was oddly amiable towards his class enemy. He had explained to Leia that he himself had been a slave, that he understood what it was like to have your life in the hands of an indifferent and sadistic Master…Finding that Darth Vader was not in charge had changed the Wookies view a lot. Plus, of course, his enemy had stopped Boba Fett from killing him.

Though he had had bad experiences at the hands of humans, he was still prepared to forgive them.

"I'd like to see what is on my card." Anakin complained.

Pooja plugged it in and held the datapad up so her uncle could read it.

"They are probably telling me to go kriff myself." Anakin said gloomily. "Cannot blame them." He read it, "-oh, I have the test too." He brightened. "You mean to say the Nubians are considering granting the likes of me citizenship?" He said disbelievingly.

Pooja gave an arch smile. "Considering you singlehandedly saved them from invasion once." What she did not tell Anakin was that his test was considerably harder to pass than the standard citizenship test she had given the twins.

"That was a long time ago." He confessed. "And it was a bit of an accident." Anakin turned to his daughter. "I only wanted to have a quick spin in a star fighter."

"Just like you, Anakin." Leia said icily. "That's the story of your life, isn't it?" She mimicked him "I only wanted a quick dip in the Dark side..."

Her father huffed. "I've never sat an exam" said Anakin. "I applied to Kuat University to study engineering. They turned me down. Said I lacked formal qualifications."

"Yes, that's an absolute joke," Leia grunted. "I tried telling my useless father here that you need proper schooling to go to Uni."

Anakin looked sad. "Slaves don't get to go to school."

It had been the one time he had seen Watto really angry.

The old Toydarian was pleased to win two very talented slaves in his bet with Garulla; He had resolved to pay to send such a bright lad as Ani to school. Schooling on Tatooine was not compulsory, indeed had to be paid for. "Good investment" his master had muttered to himself.

But the Headmaster had refused. He said having slave children would provide a disruptive influence on the free, and lower the tone of the establishment. Watto had used all his best Huttese swear words, (inadvertently expanding Anakins vocabulary in the process.) He had spent the day in fluttering around his shop, angrily throwing bits at droids. "I guess I will have to teach you myself."

And along with his mother, Watto had educated his new possession. Every day after the shop closed Watto sat down with Ani and taught him something new. It had been a good experience for the both of them. Watto had no family, his business was not very movable and so he was trapped on Tatooine, isolated from his kind. Ani was an eager and gifted scholar, and one who had hope of escape of his sad drudgery. Watto did nothing to dissuade him, even though he knew he might eventually lose by this. The Toydarian let Ani do as he pleased, provided he kept up his end of the shopwork. He mostly turned a blind eye to any parts Anakin might `borrow` for his projects.

Life on Tatooine…It had not been all bad. If Anakin had to have a master, then he wanted one as understanding as Watto. The Alliance were not quite that.

"And neither do Jedi, it seems." Leia mused. "Maybe it's your rather comprehensive rap sheet that puts them off?" His daughter snarked.

"I'm trying to reform. This means improving my rather inadequate education, yes?" Anakin had replied levelly.