Chaos.

It was a word meant aptly for its designation. The word, fitting what was currently taking place in Herta Space Station, was in disarray and chaos, for that could only what seemingly fit with the situation at hand. Researchers shouted as they attempted to escape from the source of the chaos, the Antimatter Legion.

Their very sudden appearance within the threshold of the ship threw many off guard, especially those working for madam Herta, the 83rd member of the Genius Society, as they screamed in terror and scattered, trying to find any form of safe haven within the very confines of the ship station itself, but they were trapped. The very chaos they caused was intentionally what they sought, and fear was what they devoured, ready for their fill of Herta's researchers for the slaughter.

Shmi Skywalker herself was unprepared. Armed with only a DL-18 blaster pistol, she attempted to safeguard as many researchers as possible, scoring shots whenever. The woman, hardened from her experience of slavery on the desert planet of Tatooine long ago under Watto, knew she wasn't a fighter. That had been painfully obvious. Yet she knew she had to defend herself and others whenever the moment her life changed the moment she had joined the Astral Express. The sudden arrival of the Antimatter Legion, even despite scanners, threw the entire ship into disarray, and the mechanic, with an action even she knew her son would find ridiculous, went out of cover to save as many researchers as possible.

"Help!"

A young researcher by the name of Cassidy, she knew his name by the nametag he was given, was attempting to crawl away from one of the Void Rangers, its twin blades ready to bisect the young man to pieces. With tears in his eyes, he shut it, awaiting his inevitable fate.

Shmi would not allow it. She raised her blaster, aimed and fired. The blaster struck it at the side of its face, the impact of the bolt burning through the sides of its head and out. It died from the shot to the head, crumpling and crumbling.

Cassidy's eyes turned to her, his expression grateful only for a split second before he screamed out an alarm. "Shmi! Behind you!"

Shmi turned around to see another of the Void Rangers, lunging towards her at astonishing speeds that she knew she would not be able to avoid in time. The Void Ranger, its blades at the ready, began its downward descent before another blade, not of its own kind, pierced through its stomach. The Void Ranger snarled in pain, its peripherals turning to see what had stabbed through him and caused it pain.

Behind him was a golden plated droid. Though there was no expression on his face, Shmi knew it from the faceplate to the photoreceptors that glowed ominously. C-3PO stood, its own arm holding a vibroblade that pierced through the Void Ranger's stomach. "Greetings! I am C-3PO! Human cyborg relations!" The droid tilted his head, shaking it slightly.

The Void Ranger attempted to swing at the droid in response to its ranting, only for the droid to quickly process, calculate the trajectory, and draw and swing his other vibroblade to counteract the attack, slicing off the arm of the Void Ranger. It roared in agony. C-3PO's eyes lit up in satisfaction, before taking on a darker, sadistic tone.

"Statement: "I seem to have noticed you attacking Mistress Shmi! That won't do! That simply won't do! You see… I do believe carnage is a joyous occasion, but we can't have a galaxy or a life to live if every soul in a meatbag dies. But unfortunately for you and the Aeon you follow, any who dares attack Mistress Shmi, my Master, or any of our beloved crew of the Express…" C-3PO grabbed the vibroblade stuck in the chest of the ranger before bringing it up to bisect it from torso to head.

Cassidy vomited from the sidelines at the sight while Shmi stared, only slightly disturbed by the creation's brutal kill. C-3PO then tilted his head to hers, and if the droid could smile, its photoreceptors lit up instead, sheathing his vibroblades as if it was nothing. "Concern: Oh, mistress Shmi! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, 3PO…" Shmi didn't realize she was clutching the blaster so tightly it dug into her palms. She smiled at it reassuringly.

"Oh, my objective was a success then!" The golden droid was relieved, resting a hand on its chest plating. Should he fail in his objectives to protect Mistress Shmi per his Master's orders, he would go and certainly self-destruct should his Master desire him to.

"Ah! Thank goodness you're all right, Miss Shmi! 3PO!" All three turned to see a young girl approaching with pink hair. Her eyes were alighted with worry and concern, along with relief at finding another member of the Astral Express Crew alive, her hands clutching a bow.

"Statement: Ah, mistress March! I assume Master Heng is alive and kicking as well, as I saw you both before the Legion invaded!" 3PO clapped his golden hands together cheerfully, photoreceptors flashing. "Query: Shall we eliminate all of them together? I see you have cleared up the ones on those ends where those poor lab coats under genius society meatbag Herta are occupied. It's more fun when the odds are stacked against us in a three versus… a couple hundred, I'd say at least!"

"Not now, 3PO. First, we have to evacuate everyone." Shmi turned to the young researcher, Cassidy. "Go, hurry!"

Cassidy scrambled away with a nod and a thanks.

A roaring sound from another

A blur of motion landed in front of them, and Dan Heng stood, his spear at the ready. A young man of a reserved nature with dark hair, he spoke calmly, only a tone of slight relief at the sight of those surrounding him were that of the Crew. "I am glad to see everyone seems to be all right here, March." He gave a polite nod to Shmi. "Miss Shmi." His attention then turned to the golden protocol droid that belonged to one of his closest friends. "C-3PO."

Shmi sighed in relief at the sight of one of her son's friends. Son… She just then realized who was left unattended, and panic and terror filled her heart in the midst of the chaos surrounding them. "Where's Miss Himeko? Wait! Where's my son?! Where's Anakin?!"

"It's fine. I'll take it from here. Go to the rest of them."

That was the final exchange through the coms from Himeko before he found himself surrounded, the Force warning him of their presence even long before he sensed their arrival.

At least twenty at most of those of the Ravagers of the Void Rangers from the Aeon of Destruction surrounded him, their blades gleaming, some already glistening crimson from the few souls they had slain. Their target was in front of them, their gazes narrowed at the figure below.

Anakin Skywalker took a deep breath, letting the Force flow through his body, and his eyes momentarily shut and in concentration, it morphed into a cold expression as it changed just as he concentrated.

He drew two hilts from his waist, unclipping them, before a burst of indigo and crimson shot out of the hilts, cutting through the open air with a snarling hiss.

He was there for one moment, standing, before he lunged at them, blades flashing as he cut one down with a burst of enhanced speed before it could react. As the Antimatter Legion recollected themselves, lunging to bisect the young man into pieces and the man himself moved into a blur of motion, they were unaware they had two guests watching them from one of the screens above.

"Hmm, quite impressive from the last I've seen of him. Even Blade said he's getting there." Two figures watched the screen above of the mayhem and carnage from where the lone figure fought off the group of the Antimatter Legion. Focused on the screen momentarily, they seemed to be unaware of their surroundings, yet their senses were alert.

As from behind them, a Void Ranger managed to recollect itself to its feet, lunging at the two in a fruitless final attempt at a charge to kill at least one. The shorter female, with a blank expression on her face, not even taking her eyes off the screen, simply tapped in front of her a holographic screen on her device; the Void Ranger could not stop itself as the world behind her seemingly opened up to swallow the ranger in, sending it to wherever its creator desired.

"He would've made a fine Stellaron Hunter. A pity he chose to be a mama's boy instead and just tag with the Astral Express. Or that we could recruit someone of his talents anyway." She spoke with a shrug, blowing up a bubble gum that popped in her mouth.

The older figure turned to her shorter compatriot, a smile playing on her lips. "Family is family, Silver Wolf. Can't leave your connections behind or leave them for a profession like ours. They found him first. And besides, he's quite the technical hacker like you are. Besides, didn't you have a crush on him?"

Silver Wolf glanced at her, a mild look of offense on her otherwise indifferent expression. "I did not have a crush on him."

"Sure. Whatever you say. Denial is the first step to the truth." A mild look of amusement crossed her face, with Silver Wolf scoffing. Of course, it was Kafka to sidetrack their objective for the Stellaron with a talk about romance.

"If you have enough time to chat about love, let's hurry it up before the crew arrives." She popped another piece of bubble gum into her mouth. Together, they made their way towards the central control room.

In the throes within the Force, he evaded and dodged, his blade a tornado of crimson and indigo that sliced through them like butter. It became clear to the Antimatter Legion that they could not kill him, could not kill him, and they attempted strategies to employ to split up instead of sheer numbers.

Anakin detected multiple Baryons firing a shot at them, slapping them all back to their owners with Tutaminis and destroying them with their own killing energy. He glanced through his peripherals and located a large amount of wreckage, sending them towards a number of them as an improvised weapon of sorts as the wreckage came flying, smashing numerous numbers of the Rangers to pieces. Channeling bolts of lightning down his limbs, he sent the spider web like energies forth to destroy another group of them.

He looked around for more, and detected the Baryons surrounding him, and one of them, a quadrupedal Trampler came forth, charging up a bolt from its bow, aiming directly at him, giving off a roar that attracted a dozen more from the exterior of Herta Space Station to teleport within. Anakin felt all their dark corrupted presence of them ready to destroy.

The Trampler simultaneously roared in an unknown language as a signal to gather before firing its shot from its bow at him. Then, they all rushed at him as the shot rang out.

Anakin was not concerned, his expression simply in a cold expression as he simply gathered up his reserves, he charged it even as the Force screamed a warning of the threat that was presented as they came closer and closer.

Then he unleashed it, sending a ball of electricity that completely vaporized the shot and all the Rangers that came forth at him, eliminating the last number of them as the telekinetic blast was strong enough to vaporize them.

Anakin lowered his hand and waited, feeling through the Force for any number of them. When none presented itself as he wiped out the ones from his side, he sighed in relief, then realized his predicament. The Force still warned him that he had only eliminated his side of the Antimatter Legion, and there was still a plentiful amount in other parts of Herta Space Station.

Extinguishing his blades, he immediately called C-3PO from his comlink, the protocol droid immediately answering. "Statement: Ah, Master! So glad you're alright! It seems like you've killed your own fair share of them! I am happy to report that your mother is quite all right as well and right beside me!"

"Bring my mother to the evacuation point where Miss Asta is leading them, 3PO." Relief only flooded through Anakin at the report of his mother, though it was immediately replaced by the concern of his two friends within the Astral Express. "And where is Dan Heng and March? Aren't they with you?"

"Statement: Not to worry Master! They just left!"

Anakin swore under his breath. "Where did they go? Why?" He immediately calmed himself. There was no need to panic.

"Comment: They had left because they were locating any other lab coats in need of evacuation. I determine they are about heading down to locate a lab coat who has an iota of a fucking clue where he's even remotely going."

Anakin was glad at least both of his friends were together. He quickly accounted for every single one of them. His mother was with 3PO and now likely joining Asta, Dan Heng was with March, Miss Himeko… Anakin had talked with her just before he cleared out this side of the space station.

Then he remembered another individual. "What about Arlan?"

"Comment: I do not know where he is."

Typical. Even with the Force, he could not prevent the entire situation from resulting in a catastrophic mess. "Get my mother to the evacuation site first, then find and locate Arlan and make sure he's alright. Assist him." Anakin had grown fond of the young head of Herta's Security Department. Even then, the young man would need assistance. The Security Department had only a few fighters and those able to take arms, and Anakin knew he and the Crew wouldn't be enough.

"Statement: Of course, Master! Thank you for granting me such an opportunity to kill more of them! I will save the Herta's Head Security meatbag too."

It became apparent to Anakin that as he ended the call with a mild look of fond amusement even despite the situation, that the protocol droid would not give his respect to anyone else beyond him and the Astral Express Crew. He supposed fitting 3PO alongside the ancient memory banks of HK-47 gave him both a caring personality that was apparent to 3PO's original mind, alongside a sociopathic, misanthropic pride and joy of killing any Antimatter Legion or anything deemed enemies to them. At times, March whispered to him that she was glad the Astral Express had a "murder droid".

Humor aside, he had work to do.

Pausing to feel through the Force once more to make certain, and detecting nothing, Anakin allowed himself to relax. As he was ready to head out into other parts to rejoin and assist his friends, he paused as from amidst the chaos of Herta Space Station caused by the Antimatter Legion, through the vile threads that made them up from their Aeon they followed, Anakin felt it. Even if he didn't try to reach out to it, the Force chimed its warning to him.

Both Dan Heng and March 7th did not wish to leave Shmi Skywalker and C-3PO but in the moment of an act that would allow them to quickly move through Herta's space station. Alarms and sounds and cries of panic blared through their heads like a frantic rhythm. March fired precise kill shots into Baryons, while Dan Heng parried and twirled his spear, cutting through numerous Rangers as they continued their way through the space station.

Dan Heng twirled his spear, sighing in relief as he received a message on his coms. "Anakin is all right."

March only happily celebrated for a moment before they were surrounded once more by more Void Rangers, and their battle continued.

As carnage was onboard Herta Space Station, both Kafka and Silver Wolf continued their stroll through it at a leisurely pace, contrasting with the desperation of the entire Station, leaving behind a trail of what used to be Void Rangers and Baryons that extinguished in themselves. Both tapped on a device, the seal door opening with a hiss. Kafka let out a whistle.

"Hmm… not bad. Impressive actually. Did Herta organize this evacuation herself?"

"According to the access logs, nope. She hasn't been here for over six months at least. Head researcher of Herta Station, someone named Asta. Probably working for Herta."

Kafka shrugged at the unfamiliar name. "Doesn't ring a bell, though that hardly matters. Elio did say we wouldn't have interruptions from anyone. So where is the Stellaron?"

Silver Wolf recalled the script. "Elio didn't foresee nor give hints about its location. Just only that we would find it." She hummed quietly, thinking back. "Which… which would mean-"

"We'd find it the non-physical way." Kafka concluded with a smirk.

Silver Wolf nodded, popping another piece of gum in her mouth. "Considering the things in this station, it's very possible."

"Hmph…Hiding something extraordinary within something extraordinary. Sounds exactly like Herta. Well… I'm assuming you know what to do." Kafka went to the opposite ends of the room from her partner.

"Let's split and investigate. Our prize might be inside." Both began to search the entire room for their supposed prize.

Anakin approached it as the Force blared its warning within his head louder and louder, warning him of the object. "Get the fuck out of my way!"

He sprinted, his strides enhanced by the Force but was forced to stop as another group of Rangers and a Trampler crossed his paths, preventing him from moving any further.

With a swear under his breath, crimson and indigo sprung forth from his hilts as he lunged forth into battle once more, knowing he wouldn't get to the location of what he felt in time.

"Guess here it is. Heh… you would think that's where it would be. Hide and seek."

Both Kafka and Silver Wolf entered through behind the screen, flickering as it opened up as if like a broken TV screen. Their eyes remained glued to the golden orb, radiating with energy.

Kafka simply nodded to Silver Wolf, while she got ready.

She awakened, her eyes blinking in tremors of confusion and pain. Where was she? Her eyes flickered, her teeth biting down on her tongue as if to ignore the pain that was seemingly inside her. Then her eyes opened.

"Where am I…?" Her golden gaze remained shaky, focused on who was holding her. "Kafka?"

"Surprise surprise." A voice to the side said. The voice was dry and monotone, coming off to the side, but contained a hint of affection.

Kafka smiled down at her, brushing a comforting hand through her hair. It felt soothing, but there was a sense of urgency; no, not quite urgency but something entirely else. "So you do remember me. Listen, you are dazed…"

It was as if she was saying goodbye but she didn't want her to leave. She clutched her tighter like a baby to a mother, trying to make sense of her words. "Understand, Stelle? Live a life filled with good and bad with those people, share your meals, laughter, jokes, tears… and maybe you'll find love as well, a certain other soul or someone who will be your other half, your companion, or even a soulmate, someone to complete you and will give his or her all for you, and you would do the same. And maybe give grandma Kafka children with that individual? Of course, it's your choice to have children or not. Doesn't that sound lovely?"

Stelle… that was her name. She felt too weak to nod. Then, she realized what she was doing, why Kafka was giving her that expression. "Wait, Kafka… don't leave me. S.. S-stay? Please…"

Kafka kissed the top of her head, mussing her hair. "Sorry, my darling. But this is for the best. We'll see each other again one day." She was going to miss her, but she knew she was going to see her again one day.

She pressed the tips of her fingers gently against her forehead, and her vision began to blur before she had time to register or protest.

The last thing she saw was two figures, unfamiliar, with pink and dark hair, approaching, before her vision swam to unconsciousness, going down under.

For those who are curious about the prologue in which Shmi holds her hands up to the skies, that was taken inspiration from the Star Wars canon novel, Queen's Hope by EK Johnston. The Force did not directly give Shmi Anakin, and I apologize for anyone who mistaken the scene for such. It was implied the Force merely gave Shmi a sign or a "gift", that Anakin would be the gift, and she accepts that gift by holding her hands up as if "accepting" it, to which Anakin would be conceived within her later.