When I came to, all I could see was sand.

I looked around, trying to get my bearings. I could sense that I was close to some sort of civilization, but how safe it was was still up for debate.

I slowly unlocked the pod door, pushing it open as sand came pouring in I climbed out of the pod and through about a foot of sand.

I was in a rocky ditch, recently filled with sand after the storm. It was also unbearably hot. Hotter than anything I had ever felt before, and I dully remembered something about this god forsaken planet having two suns.

Lucky me.

I climbed out onto the sand and started moving towards where I figured civilization would be. The sand was killing my bare feet, and the rocks would burn and cut them.

As I got over the crest of the ridge, I saw a mass of domes and adobe buildings.

I walked through the streets, my white dress billowing behind me in the wind. I was surrounded by crowds of bounty hunters, slaves, and slave masters alike. It hurt my heart to see all of these people here under the thumbs of these pigs. How is it that our republic allows these atrocities in its borders?

I shook my head slightly and continued moving until i heard buzzing behind me.

"Shmi!?" A gravelly voice behind me said. I flipped around to see a flying blue species right behind me.

"Oh… eh-never mind. Sorry."

"No no, who is this Shmi you speak of?"

He looked slightly surprised. "She was a slave I had…. A while back. She had a son too. He's a Jedi now, if he isn't already dead. She was killed by sand people about 20 years ago." He studied me curiously. "You look…. So much like her."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. For a moment there I thought I saw a ghost."

I smiled slightly. "Well, I heard of a woman named Shmi from Tatooine once. I'm sure she was wonderful."

"She was…." He studied me. "… A girl…. Ani had a girl last time…"

He left, mumbling to himself.

Cantinas. Smell. Horrid.

At least on this desert hell of a planet.

The second I walked in I was bombarded by body odor, alcohol, and…. Wait, were those death sticks!?

Slavery isn't the only thing that flies under the radar here, I guess.

I went over to the bar, sitting down next to the most approachable looking person in there. He was a younger guy, probably about 24 if I had to guess, and he wore a tired look in his eyes. Next to him was a Wookie, and I wasn't about to get tangled with that.

"Hi sir." I tapped on his shoulder, smiling warmly at him.

He turned to face me. "Hi there Princess…. What's a girl like you doing with people like these?"

"Exactly. I kind of…. Got here by accident."

"Got anyone to go to?"

"Not that I know of…."

He looked me up and down. "You're really young. How did you get here?" He took a slow sip of his drink.

"Well, if you want to know…. I was kidnapped."

He coughed, his drink spewing out of his nose. "What?" He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and faced me squarely. "Kid, are you in trouble? Who took you? Please just be honest with me."

I looked down. "I…. I am in trouble. They were following me through the sandstorm in that escape pod."

"And who took you…?"

I looked up. "A man named Darth Kronus, on direct orders from Darth Sidious, head of the Seperatist Alliance."

He gaped at me. "You're in more danger than you know, hon."

"I have a pretty good sense of how much danger I'm-

"No no no, you don't."

"How do you know that?"

"Because a separatist bounty hunter is right. There."

He gestured toward the door, indicating the presence of a bounty hunter talking to a Twi-Lek, who was dancing provocatively towards him.

"Oh…. Oh no-

"Get down!" He hissed, throwing his jacket over me. "Look, you need to get out of here. I don't know where, but anywhere is safer than here."

"I don't have anywhere to go."

He looked up and sighed before looking down again. "I know an older couple. Owen and Beru Lars. They might help you for a little while."

"Really?"

"Yes, now go. I'll help you get out of the Cantina, but after that you're on your own." He scribbled something on a piece of paper and put it in my hand. "That's their address. Stay safe kiddo."

He gently pushed me towards the door as he went over to talk to him. I set his jacket on his chair and ran.

I burst out of the cantina, my head spinning. I was in any meaningful way, in Separatist territory. The realization made me nauseous if I thought about it too hard.

I pulled out the address, reading over it a few times before setting off. I hoped they wouldn't be too unhappy, I was a total stranger being chased by the sith.

I couldn't imagine that they'd be too happy.

I slowly worked up the courage to knock on the door. They were farmers…. But what can you farm with no moisture? I would have to ask.

I tentatively knocked three times and waited, swallowing my anxiety.

An older woman answered the door and her demeanor instantly softened when she saw me. "Hi honey! What are you doing out here?"

I started bawling.

After some explaining, crying, and blue milk, she was holding me close to her chest.

"Oh, poor dear! You've had quite the day…. Oh honey….. do you need help getting home?"

I nodded, wiping my eyes. "Yes, I do. I need help though."

"You do, huh? Do you think we could contact one of your parents?"

"I don't know if we are within range for either of them."

"Well, any granddaughter of Shmi's is welcome to stay as long as she needs."

That night, I helped them with chores around the house and slept in the guest room. I rose early in the morning and formulated a plan, leaving a note to thank them for their kindness.

I went back into the main square, watching for the man I had talked to in the cantina. I spotted him and strolled up to him.

"Hello, good sir. I am in need of assistance."

"Oh…. Um…." He stared at me awkwardly. "I already said I couldn't help you…."

"I think you can. You have a ship, don't you?"

"Well… yes, but I can't use it for favors…."

"I'm not asking for a favor. I'm giving you a job."

Anakin

Luke and I sat as we sped through hyperspace, thinking.

"Her force signature is getting stronger as we're going." Luke observed. I nodded in response. "I hope we're following the right thing." He pulled his knees to his chest, looking worried.

I sighed and gave him a hug. "I love you Luke. I just want you to know that I do. No matter what happens, it's going to be alright, okay?"

Luke nodded. "Okay."

I suddenly realized that her force signature was getting weaker. I snapped us out of hyperspace to see a massive moon towering over us.

"I didn't realize that there was a moon here…" Luke began looking at the computer. "The archives don't show anything…."

The ship suddenly began to shake, knocking Luke over. I grabbed him before he hit the ground and tried my best to pull back.

"I think we're in some sort of tractor beam…" I muttered as I put the thrusters on full blast backwards. "Luke, I don't feel good about this at all…"

Luke shook his head and helped me get the engines online. When everything came up fruitless, I told him to get below deck.

"No! I'm helping you!"

"You can't help anyone if you're dead." I pushed him below deck, ignoring his pleas to stay above. "I love you son." I closed it.

Darth Kronus

A Jedi ship was entering the hangar. I told all the droids to be prepared for anything from Plo Koon to Anakin Skywalker, as I would be. Another Jedi execution would be fun, and we only needed one more kyber crystal to complete the weapon. How fitting would it be if it came from a Jedi lightsaber, slain by my hand.

I stood in the hangar, waiting, my mask on. I was ready for a fight.

At first there was silence. Then, chaos.

The door burst open, sailing through the room and sending several battle droids airborne. The opening was hit by a barrage of blaster fire as a Jedi and a Padawan jumped out, swinging their lightsabers with almost unearthly precision. The Padawan was focused on cutting all of them down whilst the Jedi was distracting them somewhat. It was almost mesmerizing.

Then, it all fell into place.

The padawan was hit and rolled onto the ground with a short gasp of pain. The Jedi yelled and rushed over to his student, blasting several droids in the process.

"LUKE!" The Jedi picked him up with more tenderness than I expected. It was almost like a father holding his son…

"It's okay, I'm not hurt too bad…"

"Yet."

They turned around to see me stepping out of the shadows. "Anakin Skywalker. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He stared at me. "Korkie…?"

"That name no longer has any meaning for me. You will refer to me as Darth Kronus, I will make that clear…" I pulled out my lightsaber. "... by any means necessary."

He stood up slowly, holding his padawan. "Your father… what happened?"

"I have no father." I waved my hand, signaling the Magna Droids. "Take the padawan. I will deal with the Jedi."

Skywalker pulled his student to his chest, pulling him into a defensive position. "Not on your life."

"Take him."

Leia

"It's the fastest ship in the galaxy. It'll get you anywhere you need to go in no time!"

"Very impressive. Let's hope you haven't exaggerated anything."

"Of course I haven't Princess, what would make you think that?"

"I'm not a princess."

"Same difference. And…. voila!"

He led me past the doors to see…

A wreck.

He was going to fly me home in a wreck.

"Oh… It has so much…. Personality." I smiled painfully, mentally tallying the strips of tape on the engine. "Can this thing do hyperspace?"

"Oh, of course! I do it all the time!"

"Successfully?"

"Well, yeah! Are you ready to go?"

I steeled myself, taking a deep breath. "Yep! Let's go!"

I allowed him to walk ahead of me, praying to whatever deity listening for a miracle and a half.

SLAM

I was thrown to the floor of the rapidly vibrating ship, tasting blood in my mouth.

"Woo! Entering the atmosphere!" Solo remarked jovially, seemingly oblivious to my rather painful plight. His copilot roared in agreement.

"This… doesn't feel very secure!"

"Of course it is, Princess! You can barely feel that we're moving!"

"... Barely"

The clouds slowly thinned and the stars became visible. As I looked to my left I could see the station, massive as ever. But as I looked, a presence pulled at the back of my mind.

I tapped in and was troubled to feel… Luke

"Dad…. DAD!"

We slammed into something and everything went black.

"Princess? Princess?"

I groaned, slowly opening my eyes.

"Oh good, you're alive. Now get up, I need help figuring out what is going on!"

"What… what happened?"

He pulled me to my feet. "Somehow the thrusters malfunctioned. She couldn't make the jump." He patted the wall of the ship. "I think there was another factor at play."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Where are we?"

"Oh, we're on Mustafar. It's the only planet I could get-"

"WE'RE ON MUSTAFAR?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"THIS IS LITERALLY THE SEPARATIST BASE! By FORCE you're an idiot!"