"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…"
When Animé Skywalker thought of running, she never imagined running for her life. Well…that wasn't entirely true. She had been in hiding for what seemed to be most of her life. She and her cousin Allana Solo had been hiding from Jedi haters, bounty hunters, and worst of all…Allana's father.
Darth Caedus.
For seven years, Animé had been on the run from Jacen Solo. Her father, Ben Skywalker and her mother, Vestara Khai, were both killed trying to save her. Great Aunt Leia and Great Uncle Han had taken her in, along with Allana, when they were younger.
Jacen seemed to be taking up the old Sith sport in hunting for remaining Jedi and either turning them into slaves for the Sith, or killing them. Currently they were on the plant Lothal, almost hiding in plain sight it would seem. Of course, the surnames Skywalker and Solo were hailed as powerful names. Not just anyone held those names. So in order to hide, Animé and Allana changed their surnames, taking on the name Adova.
Looking out the window where she worked as a seamstress, Animé shook her head. Once again she was lost in thought, and if her boss hadn't loved her, she would've been fired long ago.
"Ani! Is your head in the clouds again?"
Animé snorted and smiled at her cousin.
"'Course not Lana, I have too much work to be completed for my head to be swimming up there with purrgils," she laughed. She looked back at the work in front of her and continued her project. Hearing Allana snort, she turned her head to Allana's direction, raising a single brow.
"Please, dear cousin, I know you better than that, what's on your mind?" Blue eyes met blue, and Allana challenged her to spout another lie.
Animé sighed, why couldn't the Force be kinder to her family? Her family always had a knack for getting too chummy with the Darkside, only two members, which was still too many, ever fell. The rest toed the line but managed to be brought back to the light. Including her.
"Your father, Lana…your father."
Instantly, Allana's eyes dimmed, and her playful mood vanished. "Oh…I see."
Animé gave her a sympathetic gaze, one which Allana waved away. Allana knew all too well how her cousin felt.
"One day...everything will be set right, Ani...one day, whether or not the Skywalkers and Solos live," Allana said firmly. Only the family truly knows how much the Skywalkers play a part in the galaxy falling Yet, time and time again, the Skywalkers were the saviors of the galaxy.
"But, what if Jacen does hunt us down, and he kills-"
Allana interrupted Animé harshly, "he won't! My fath-my father wouldn't be so cruel." Tears gathered in her eyes as Animé came closer to wrap her arms around her.
"Of course, Lala," calling her by her first nickname when they were just younglings, "I was insensitive to even consider it." Although, she kept her thoughts to herself. After all, it was Jacen who killed her Grandma Mara.
"It's alright, I thought about it too, it just...hurts...y'know?" Allana sniffled and backed away from the hug, wiping stray tears away. Animé nodded, hesitantly turning back to her station. Allana followed her lead and they finished their work in silence.
"I want to see a purrgil," Allana said suddenly as they were putting their tools back in their proper places. Animé choked on her caf.
"Wh-where did this topic come from?" Allana giggled and handed Animé some paper towels to dry her face.
"You mentioned it earlier, I wonder how they look, and how big they are."
Animé tapped her chin thoughtfully and shrugged on her bag, "probably really, really, really, big, they're hyperspace whales for Force's sake!"
Allana styled her hair in two buns that closely resembled how her grandmother Leia used to style her hair. "True, you think they can travel anywhere? I heard deep space pilots talk about it once, they can travel between galaxies!"
The girls waved goodbye to their coworkers and headed home, to a house near the outskirts of the city.
"We're home," Allana called out, putting her shoes away on a bench near the front door.
An elderly woman with graying hair walked to them, kissing them both on the cheek. "You came just in time, dinner is ready, go wash your hands." The girls nodded.
Walking back to the dining room, Allana, refreshed and dressed in a white top and black sleep pants, noticed that her Grandpa Han was already there at the table.
"Hey, kid, what took you so long?" Han raised an eyebrow as he drank some blue milk.
"Mé and I wanted to freshen up," she shrugged, taking a seat next to him.
"Speaking of Mé, where is she?"
"Getting dressed."
Han hummed, going back to the holo news. Leia came with a tray full of steaming, hot vegetables and meat. Animé came back dressed in a black nightgown.
She set dead birds on plates, calling Anji and Sari, the medium sized nexu and Lothal wolf padded down the hallway.
"Yum," Animé sniffed, entering the kitchen, "I smell Shaak meat."
"Come sit, dear, tell us about work." Leia beckoned Animé over to the table. As the four members of the family helped themselves, Allana and Animé recalled events that happened during their shift.
"There was a going away party–"
"–and it was amazing–!"
"–one of the older workers was retiring–"
"–it was kinda sad to see her leave–"
"–but it was wholesome in the end." Han and Leia chuckled, their eyes sparkling.
"Sounds like fun, girls," Han commented. He and Leia shared a sad look, one that was missed between the younger girls.
"Grandpa, is it okay if we could fly tomorrow, on the Falcon?" Allana asked, shoving her greens around on her plate. Animé's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands twice.
"Yeah, can we? We promise to be careful, it's our day off tomorrow," Animé added after swallowing a bite of Nuna Legs. Leia hummed thoughtfully.
"I suppose...but only if you promise not to leave the planet."
Han looked scandalized, "That's my ship you are talking about…but, I suppose you could, don't go breaking it now, that's the only thing I have left."
The two girls cheered and talked excitedly to each other.
"Oh, see what you did, Leia? Now we'll never hear the end of this for the rest of dinner," Han complained jokingly, he winced when Leia landed a swift jab to his arm.
The next morning, Animé and Allana woke up bright and early, excited. Allana dressed in a short white cropped top, with beige pants, dark brown boots, and an olive green jacket. Styling her hair into twin pigtails.
Animé, wore a short black cropped top, paired with a matching dark gray cropped jacket and skirt. She buckled on her black knee high boots and parted her hair, styling it into a half-up half-down.
When she arrived at the kitchen, Leia was sipping caf chatting quietly with her husband.
"Aunt Leia, Uncle Han," Animé greeted warmly, giving the two a kiss on the cheek, "is Allana still in her room?"
Leia nodded, "there is some breakfast on the counter, I made pannacakes."
Allana ran straight to the kitchen, offering a quick hello to the three people occupying the living room.
"Pannacakes!" Shouted Allana in glee. Animé laughed and followed her to the kitchen. Grabbing a healthy serving they returned to the living room and turned on the HoloNet.
It was a quiet morning with the Skywalker-Solos. The soft chatter coming from the HoloNet made everything feel homey, cozy, full of peace.
"Mmm, those were the best, Grandma, thanks so much," Allana praised. Han grinned.
"You should've tasted her food back when we first married, she was awfu–hey! What was that for!" Han suddenly yelped.
"You nerfherder, I have always been a great cook," Leia sent him the stink eye, mouthing promising words of punishment. Animé rolled her eyes in amusement and shook her head, leaving the two alone.
She grabbed her cousin's dish and washed it, putting them on the rack.
"You ready to go flying, Ani?"
"Obviously, wanting to fly runs in the family," they both grinned at the statement, knowing how true it was.
"Grandma, Grandpa, we're heading out now."
Just as they turned to leave, Han called them back to the living room.
"Just a minute, Leia, go grab them, you know where you hid it."
The older woman stood up and went into her and Han's room, the two younger girls shared a confused look.
"Uncle, what is it?"
"While we know you're just out flying, we still want you to be safe, and well…"
Leia came back, holding a box that was crafted using Naboo's style.
"Here are your lightsabers, use it only in an emergency," she opened the box, two lightsabers lay there next to a severed braid and a Japor snippet, along with a few letters and other small trinkets.
"Wow," Allana gasped softly. Animé glanced at the other contents.
"What is that, Aunt Leia?"
Leia looked pained, "according to the research I did all those years ago, this braid belonged to my father, and the necklace was given to my mother, a gift also from my father…it was rescued after she was burned at the pyre on Naboo," she heaved a large sigh, Han had a look of sympathy at his wife's sadness, "this made me believe Anakin Skywalker was more human before he turned, that he loved Padmé Amidala truly."
Leia gave Allana her lightsaber, "I hope you don't lose it, don't follow the old Skywalker tradition of misplacing one's lightsaber, your Uncle Anakin, father and Uncle Luke tended to do this." Allana gave a small smile and nodded, promising she wouldn't. She scooted back, wanting to get reacquainted with her weapon.
The woman turned to her niece, "I know you haven't built your lightsaber yet, so I decided to keep this tradition," she pulled out the other lightsaber, while it was clean, Animé knew it saw many battles, "this was your father's, before that it was your Grandma Mara's, before that, it was your Grandpa Luke's…and before that, it was your great grandfather's," Animé took it hesitantly, not sure if she was ready to continue the Skywalker legacy, she felt Allana sending her comfort through the Force, promising her that will continue it together.
Han came over and gave the Japor snippet to Animé, while he gave a small silver headpiece to Allana.
"This headpiece signified the Goddess of freedom on Naboo, or whatever hokey-pokey they believed in–" Han was cut off when Leia punched him, causing the two girls to set off in fits of laughter. Animé put on the Japor snippet and helped Allana redo her hair, styling it into a half-up half-down as well, they gingerly fit the headpiece on.
They grinned, they had something connected to their great grandparents.
"While we love these gifts, we're just going out for a ride, it's not like we're leaving the planet or whatever," Allana ended up saying after a few minutes of silence.
"We wanted to give this to you long ago, but we felt that now was the time," Leia explained, closing the box and putting it on the table, Han came over and gave her a hug. Animé and Allana saw how old and weary they looked. They saw many tragedies, and they vowed to set things right…however they were going to do it.
"We love you, now go off on your adventure, but be back before sundown," Han kicked them out with a laugh. The girls clipped their sabers to their belt, gave them a hug and waved goodbye, running out the door and into the garage.
"Anji, Sari, let's go, it's time for our trip," Allana whistled, the big beasts following the sound.
"WAHOOOO!" Allana yelled out in pure excitement. It was Animé's turn to fly and she did a series of twists, turns, and other near-death tricks.
"I can't believe he let us fly!"
"The Force works in mysterious ways," Allana said wisely, nodding her head slowly, as if she was an old wisened Jedi Master. Animé laughed when her cousin let out a startled gasp.
"Ani! Look!" She pointed to a large blue hole, swirling in the sky.
The two slowly looked at each other and slow grins formed into smirks.
A Skywalker smirk.
Animé suddenly caused the ship to move forward and fly faster in the hole's direction. They gaped, the Falcon stopping a few hundred feet away. The hole was blue on the rim and pitch black in the center. Purple dust fell continuously as it slowly rotated in a slow motion.
"What is this…" Animé whispered. Allana shook her head slowly.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good, we have to go." Animé nodded in agreement, and set the course back home.
But they didn't move after she punched in the coordinates.
The ship started to slowly glide forward, up into the portal's center.
"Mé…?"
Animé had a terrified look on her face, "The ship is moving on its own, Lana!"
Soon the girls were pressing every button, trying to stop the ship. They screamed when they finally entered the hole. A white light blinded them for a moment. When suddenly a different world seemed to exist in front of their eyes.
Luminescent purple trees, blue grass that lit the way for anyone who walked across it, five moons were shown. Animé and Allana's jaws dropped in sheer wonder.
Stars twinkled in the night sky, crystal butterflies danced with wind.
"What is this place?" Anime gasped once again.
"This is the home world, the afterlife, the Force." A voice answered, making the girls jump up in surprise.
"You will make things right, my children. You must not delay."
"What do you mean? What's going on?" Allana said.
"I believe in you, save my son and the galaxy, show my son back to the path of the light."
"W-wait! No! Don't go!" They shouted in unison.
But, the world around them started to blur, the ship beeped and sirens were making themselves known to the girls who broke out of their stupor.
"Animé, help me with this!"
"I'm trying to stop the ship from breaking, Allana!"
The Falcon gave a violent shake, causing the girls to be thrown out the cockpit, hitting their heads against the wall.
Their eyes slowly closed.
Falling into a dreamless sleep, they could only hear one thing:
"Save him."
Then all was pitch black.
