The Real Rise of Skywalker IV (Patreon)

Be me. Tell myself not to forget to get the next chapter ready to post. Immediately forget to get the next chapter to post. Sorry :shy:

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As they got settled on the ship and the ship jumped to Hyperspace, Padmé whirled around to him and glared, “Was there a point to that?”

“Oh yes.” Satisfaction burned in him. “In fact, I got exactly what I wanted.”

“Exactly what-” Padmé stopped, and her eyes narrowed.

Obi-Wan groaned, “You wanted the Jedi Order banned from Naboo.”

“Guilty as charged.” Anakin said smugly. “And they dropped the opportunity oh so kindly into my lap. I could hardly resist!”

“But why?” Qui-Gon narrowed his eyes at him.

“So that I wouldn’t have to worry about you lot sniffing around my kids.” Anakin smirked as Padmé’s eyes widened. “Relax.”

Ahsoka, who was still in his arms, gasped, “YAY!” And then her Force presence slammed on Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan who jerked in shock. Aayla, Kali, and Ani all stopped shielding as well and Obi-Wan straight up staggered.

“By the Force!” Qui-Gon stared at them in awe. He snapped his gaze towards Anakin, “How is this possible?”

“I found and rescued three out of the four of them from slavery.” Anakin said, “And my little mini-me is almost as strong as I am.” He chuckled, thoroughly entertained by flabbergasting the Jedi. All the amusement vanished from his face as his Force presence pressed on their shoulders. “I’m showing the both of you a bit of faith by one, revealing this and two, convincing Padmé to allow you onto the ship. I sense you both are different from the rest of that herd of banthas.” He smirked slightly as the pressure on their shoulders intensified, “Don’t make me regret it.” And then the pressure vanished. He smirked at Padmé, “Feel free, love.”

Padmé relaxed as well. Qui-Gon choked, “Your Highness?!”

“It appears I fell through the cracks, Master Jinn. An equipment malfunction, perhaps.” She smirked just like Anakin, “Can’t say I’m not happy for it, after that debacle back on Coruscant. Anakin has been teaching me for over a year now.” She scowled at him.

Obi-Wan let out a somewhat hysterical bit of laughter, “Oh, sure. Any other big surprises you’d like to drop on us? You know so we can get them all out of the way.”

Anakin laughed, “Leave us some secrets.” He threw an arm around Padmé’s shoulder. “Kids, feel free to go practice with the droids. The Jedi and the rest of us have things to plan.”

“Thanks, Papa!” Ahsoka hugged him and then scrambled down.

“See you later, big brother!” Ani, Aayla, and Kali chorused as they collectively ran off to the practice room.

“…Droids?” Qui-Gon asked.

Anakin regarded him for a moment, before calling over his main PROXY. “Show off.” Proxy immediately turned into Obi-Wan and ignited a lightsaber. The two Jedi gaped. “They don’t have the Force, obviously.” Anakin snorted, “But they are stronger than humans and can sort of mimic the physicality enhancements we can use. And I can program them to fight quite well as those they are imitating. I can’t train everyone completely on my own, so these are fairly decent substitutes.”

“I see. Quite the… novel approach.” Qui-Gon said, eyeing his Padawan’s clone with interest.

“…You could have helped them find the Order. We would have taken care of them.” Obi-Wan looked at Anakin and saw the irritation in his eyes, “…Why do you disdain the Jedi so much?” He asked curiously.

“I told you before, Obi-Wan.” Anakin replied, “I disagree with what the Order has become. The Ruusan Reformations ruined you. You became nothing more than the Senate’s lapdogs.”

“Not that tired old argument.” Obi-Wan scoffed.

Anakin looked back at him, “Oh, so you’re saying the Jedi do not prioritize missions given to them by the Senate over missions from the people?” Obi-Wan opened his mouth to reply but Anakin cut him off, “How did you enjoy babysitting for Senator Mot-Not Rab?” Obi-Wan’s mouth snapped shut as shame crossed his features. That had been a gross misuse of the Jedi Order, and they hadn’t even known it until they had already been there.

Anakin continued, “But more important than being the Senate’s lapdogs is how you were forced to lock away your emotions like love out of fear that loss would become a path to the Dark Side. Have you never felt the pull, young Padawan? Have you never felt love for another?”

Obi-Wan cringed slightly. ‘…Satine…’

“It is natural to love. We were created for love.” Anakin declared, “And it is beautiful. It is the only thing that can center you when the Dark Side is battering your defenses. When it is threatening to overcome you. And the Jedi forbid it because they are afraid. And they are wrong for it.” He said resolutely. “I offer a different path.”

And all of a sudden, Qui-Gon felt like he understood Anakin Skywalker. This man, for he was now realizing that he was no boy, had something terrible happen in his past. Something that had led him to drown in the Dark Side, until a bright light had pulled him out and allowed him to find peace. He still wondered what exactly gave him these insights into the workings of the Jedi Order, but it was clear he had inside knowledge. There was still a mystery to unravel, but Qui-Gon now understood that he could trust Anakin.

It made him smile. “I see.” He said simply. “Well, I believe we have a counter-invasion to plan, if I am reading Her Highness’s intentions correctly.”

“You are.” Padmé said as they started making their way to the conference room. “Gather everyone but the kids.”

A few minutes later, the conference room was loaded with everyone, including, he was surprised to note, his mother. “Mom?” He asked in confusion.

Shmi smiled at her son, “Naboo is my home too. I will fight for her.”

Anakin smiled slightly but made a mental note to raise her Midichlorian count so that she would have a bit more safety during the fight. “Alright then. Before we get started, I have some information to share with you all.” He took out a data disk and inserted it into the table, which started to play his interview with former Chancellor Valorum.

Padmé was livid as she listened to everything and read through her Senator’s voting records. ‘He planned this.’ She realized, ‘Or at least took advantage of it if he didn’t. That son of a bantha!’ Much of what Anakin had shared with her about his disdain for democracy began to sink in. Her trust in democracy had already taken heavy blows on Coruscant, and it took heavier ones now.

She released her anger into the Force. She didn’t agree with the Jedi, but some of their teachings could be useful. She didn’t need anger clouding her vision right now. “I have some ideas.” She said regally, “But I am not a military commander. I do not know how to take my ideas and turn them into plans.”

Qui-Gon shook his head, “Neither are we, Your Highness. We can protect you. We can’t fight a war for you.”

“Luckily for us then, I am.” Anakin stated, “Speak, my Queen.”

“What we have is a Dejarik board where we’ve lost most of our pieces and the opposing side has most of theirs.” Padmé said, “But the pieces we do have are the most important ones, and our goal is the capture of the enemy leader. Our first move is to acquire means to make those leaders vulnerable. Jar Jar Binks has agreed to help me find an audience with the Gungan bosses. He tells me that our neighbors have a Grand Army. If they agree to help us fight, then we can draw the droids away from Theed in order to sneak our way back in. After that, it’s only a matter of taking control of Viceroy Gunray. If possible, we should aim to disable their droids as well.” She took a deep breath and turned nervously to Anakin, “…Is it possible?”

“It is.” Anakin stated firmly. He then pulled up schematics, “Lucrehulks come in many flavors, and the Trade Federation has introduced a rather stupid weakness for us to exploit. The Neimoidians are cowards and use droids for all of their fighting. Which means that if we can disable the droids, every single one of those battleships above our home will become utterly useless.” He smirked, “And every Trade Federation fleet only ever has one droid control ship.” Or at least that was how things were before the Invasion of Naboo. They had changed much after that humiliating defeat. “We take that bantha down and the whole herd goes quiet.”

“But that also means it will be the most well-defended ship they have, won’t it?” Obi-Wan asked.

“It does.” Anakin said, “And we’ve lost a great number of our fighters escaping in the first place. Which means we can’t come in, turbolasers blazing. We need to sneak onto the surface first to contact the Gungans and also to get more fighters in the air to join the forces we already have.”

“And how do we plan to do that?” Qui-Gon asked, “This ship doesn’t exactly scream ‘stealth,’ my young friend.”

Anakin smirked, “Oh, I have a little something for that. Our course isn’t set for Naboo right now.” Everyone twitched and looked at him in confusion. “And now here is the part of the plan I know none of you are going to like.” He said softly.

“Anakin?” Padmé asked, suddenly nervous.

“We’re outnumbered dozens of times over.” He said flatly, “And that means we need to use every asset we have in this fight. And that means that the kids are going to have to join the battle in the Silencers.”

The room exploded in noise. Shmi looked utterly aghast. Yané was one of the ones protesting the loudest, “Lord Skywalker, you trained all of us to fly and fight! That is our job! There’s no need to send children into battle!”

“I trained you to fly regular starfighters.” He said flatly. “Silencers are not regular ships. Even Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan would have difficulty simply dropping into them, and they have the Force to aid them. You all have basic Force abilities, but that is all they are. Basic.” He crossed his arms, “And it would take you at least a few weeks to even familiarize yourselves with the fighters. Time we do not have. The kids, on the other hand, are experienced with those fighters. The simulators I have back home are exact, one-to-one copies of the cockpits. I’ve trained all four of them extensively on them and have even allowed them to fly the fighters themselves once I felt confident that they could handle it. Every simulated battle we had also wasn’t against AI. It was against me.” He smirked, “Quite frankly, all four of those kids could fly circles around all of you.”

“But why can’t you pilot?!” Sabé blurted out.

“I will be needed on the ground.” Anakin said bluntly. “I’m not surprised none of you felt it. None of you have my range. A dark presence was headed for Naboo before we left.” Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s eyes widened. “If I’m not with the ground team, then we will lose people unnecessarily.”

He then walked over to his mother and put his hands on her shoulders. “They’ll all be fine, okay mom? They have the Force, and they have all the training I’ve given them. They’ll be fine.”

She desperately grasped his forearms, “You make sure they know to run if things aren’t going well. Do you hear me, Ani!?”

“Of course.” Anakin said, before kissing her forehead. “With that settled… let’s get our gameplan going.”

…

As they came out of Hyperspace, Padmé, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan all staggered. With what Anakin had told them during planning, all of them cast their senses towards Naboo to sense what he had told them about. It was something they were able to do with much more clarity than they had before they met Anakin, in the case of the two Jedi. “What is that?!” Padmé gasped, feeling some cold sweat drip down her back.

“It’s so dark.” Obi-Wan breathed, “And angry.”

“That-” Anakin said with a calm sigh, “-is a Sith.”

“The Sith are gone!” Qui-Gon exclaimed.

Anakin turned his head and smirked at Qui-Gon. “According to whom?”

Qui-Gon opened his mouth, before it clicked shut. He took a deep breath. “How have they returned?”

“That is the wrong question.” Anakin replied. Both of them furrowed their brows at him, “Returned implies they ever left.”

The simple statement struck the cockpit silent as the two Jedi stared at him in horror. They flew on, before Padmé glowered. “Where are we?” She asked with some frustration. “I thought we were headed for Naboo. We’re not currently even in a star system.” She said after checking the nav.

“We’re certainly close.” Anakin smirked lightly at her, “But like I said, I have a surprise for us.” He looked out the viewport, “In fact, there it is.” He said as he pointed into the darkness of empty space.

Qui-Gon was the one who saw it first. “…An asteroid?”

“Something like that.” Anakin replied as they got closer, and all of their eyes widened as they realized that there was a hangar built into the asteroid.

“Oh Anakin, what have you done now?” Padmé smiled sardonically. PROXY took them in, and Anakin entered a code on his console, forcing the hangar doors to open. They flew in carefully as the doors closed and they passed through a field keeping the atmosphere in. Padmé’s jaw dropped. “Did you steal a Nubian cruiser?!”

“Even better!” Anakin grinned, “I built something that very much looks like it could be a Nubian cruiser but has all the amenities one of those lacks. It’s got reclining seats, actual weapons and-” He reached out with the Force, “Cloaking systems.” The entire ship vanished before their eyes. “Meet the X-70B Phantom II-class.”

“No, seriously.” Obi-Wan said, “How do you keep coming up with these things?”

“I love starships.” Anakin chuckled, “And I love taking old designs and just making them better. This little beauty was actually a lost design I discovered in my travels of a covert operations craft made by the Reconstituted Sith Empire. I modernized it and made some changes to the engines and the power systems.”

“Oh sure.” Obi-Wan snarked, “The Reconstituted Sith Empire. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“In any case, we’re burning daylight. It’s time.” Anakin was suddenly all business, and he walked up to the kids. “This is a great responsibility we are trusting you with.” He kneeled before all of them and put a hand on Ahsoka’s shoulder as well as Kali’s. “And it’s dangerous. Very dangerous. Most of all, I need all four of you to be safe. You are the best pilots we have short of me, and I know you all are capable of great things. Trust the Force and we will win the day. And for kriff’s sake, if you feel you need to run, run. Don’t try to be heroes. You’re very important to all of us. You have Hyperdrives, so if you feel the battle has turned from us, then you RUN. Do you understand?!”

“You can trust us, papa!” Ahsoka said eagerly.

“We won’t let you down, big brother.” Ani said, before hugging him. The other three joined in for a group hug.

“I know you won’t.” He said, smiling. He kissed all of them on the tops of their heads, “Listen to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. They’ll be here to guide you and help you in the battle from the Revenant.” They all nodded, and then Padmé and Shmi swooped in to begin cuddling them.

“Are you sure you don’t want us on the ground?” Qui-Gon asked, “With that presence we felt…”

“I can handle him.” Anakin said simply, “We need you here. It’s your job to not only help defend the kids but also to find which ship is the control ship.”

“Understood.” Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan bowed, “May the Force be with you.”

“And you as well. Wait for my command.” Anakin replied, before walking down the ramp with most of the human forces of the ship. They all loaded into the Phantom II, which quickly rocketed out of the asteroid. Qui-Gon led his Padawan and the younglings in a meditation session. They would all need to be at their best for the upcoming struggle.

-]|[-

“So why didn’t we just use this ship to escape?” Sabé-as-Amidala asked as they casually went right by the blockade. Unlike in the previous timeline, there were still just over a dozen Lucrehulks floating about the planet.

“The cloaking doesn’t work very well in the atmosphere.” Anakin replied, “We’re going to lose it once we descend. And the armor on this ship isn’t anywhere near as good as on the Revenant. Nor are the shields. We’re more heavily armed than the Nubian but that’s not saying much. And finally, the design of the ship kind of precludes having a hangar for the Silencers.”

“Does that mean that they’ll spot us?” Yané asked in alarm.

“Maybe.” Anakin replied, “They won’t be able to start shooting at us, but I doubt we’ll have a whole lot of time. Hopefully the cloaking will last long enough for them to think it was just a sensor malfunction.” They descended and landed in the forests. They quickly left the ship and Anakin clapped Jar Jar on the shoulder, “You’re up.”

Jar Jar nodded and quickly leapt into the lake. They waited for about ten minutes when Jar Jar surfaced. “Dare-sa nobody dare. Da Gungan city deserted! Some kinda fight, mesa tinks.”

Anakin had forgotten about this, but it wasn’t like they could have gone straight for the Gungan’s sacred place, so he supposed it didn’t matter. “Where will they have gone?”

“Gungans hidden. When in trouble, go to sacred place. Mackineeks no find them dare.” Jar Jar said, “Mesa show you!” He waved for them to follow, and they traveled for about twenty minutes before a mass of Gungans showed up riding Kaadus. “H-Heyo, Captain Tarpals.” He said nervously.

“Binks! Noah gain!” Tarpals looked utterly exasperated.

“Wesa comen to see da boss.”

The other Gungan rolled his eyes. “Ouch time, Binks. Ouch time for all-n youse. Follow!”

…

They were led into a clearing full of Gungan refugees. The Gungan boss and several others of their council members were there to greet them. “Jar Jar!” Boss Nass sounded infuriated. “Yousa payen dis time. Who’s da uss-en others??”

Sabé stepped forward, “I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo. I come before you in peace.”

Nass sneered, “Ah, Naboo biggen. Yousa bringen da Mackineeks. Yousa all bombad.”

Sabé swallowed nervously, “We have searched you out because we wish to form an allianc-”

Padmé, dressed in a much more combat-ready set of clothes than her decoy, stepped forward. “Thank you, Sabé, but I believe it’s best if I take over now.”

Boss Nass recoiled. “Whosa dis?”

“Your Honor. I am Queen Amidala.” She turned to Sabé, “This is my decoy. My loyal bodyguard and best friend. My apologies for the deception, but it was necessary to protect myself.” She looked regally up at him, “Our people haven’t always gotten along, I know. It’s something I’ve always regretted. But even with our disagreements, we’ve always lived in peace. The Trade Federation does not care for that peace. They’ve come here as conquerors, and once they finish with us, they will come for you.” Murmurs rang through the clearing. “They already have. I know your cities are empty now. If we do not act quickly, they will come to ruin all of our lives. I come before you now to ask for your hand in friendship, so that we might remove this blight from our world.”

“Friendship?” Boss Nass started to make a clicking noise, “Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans?”

“I do not.” Padmé replied, “We’re different, yes, but being different isn’t an evil. We are and always have been neighbors. Building closer ties between our people has always been a goal of mine.”

Nass began to laugh from his belly. It echoed through the clearing, “Mesa like dis. Maybe wesa bein friends.” Relief filled the group of Nabooans. It was time to hash out the battle plan.

…

“She has already arrived?” Sidious was surprised as he looked at Nute Gunray, his aides, and his apprentice Maul.

“Yes, my lord.” Nute Gunray looked nervous. “We do not know how she got past the blockade. Our sensors detected nothing.”

“Grrr…” Sidious growled lowly, “How very…unexpected of her. Once this is over, you must locate their ship. Perhaps it will have technology that will be of my interest.” He shook his head lightly, “But this is an unexpected move for her. It’s too aggressive. How do you even know she is there?”

“Well… it appears she’s gathered an army, my lord.” Gunray replied.

And for once, Sidious was rather speechless. “An army.” He said flatly.

“Yes, my lord. They appear to be primitives.” Gunray replied.

Sidious almost laughed. “She is more foolish than I thought.” He scoffed.

“We are sending all available troops to meet this army of hers assembling near the swamp. We do not expect much resistance.” Gunray said with satisfaction.

“…” Sidious was silent for a moment, “No, something tells me that greater care should be taken. That pet Force wielder of hers-” And by the Sith ancestors that boy had been strong in the Force. And utterly uncaring about the divide between the Light and the Dark. No, he relished in it. It had taken every ounce of Sidious’s patience not to begin showing him the true power of the Dark Side when he had seen him. That boy had to be his. “-is a wild card. Lord Maul, be patient. Let them make the first move.”

Gunray looked confused, “Then I should pull the troops back?”

Sidious rolled his eyes behind his hood, ‘Force save me from these fools.’ He looked to Gunray, “No, that much will work to our advantage. Wipe them out. All of them.”

…

A loud horn rang through the misty morning air as the Gungan Army marched towards Theed. Tens of thousands of Gungans, Fambaas carrying deflector shield generators, and Falumpasets dragging heavy carts filled with their large boombas. Captain Tarpals called for a halt, “Energize the shields!” Blue energy shot out of the large dishes and rose into the air, forming a large bubble that slowly surrounded them. Over a dozen bubbles formed to encompass the army.

They sat and waited as hundreds of tanks and MTTs came into sight and floated closer. A droid with a yellow stripe called for a halt and looked through its binoculars. “Open fire!” It called out. The tanks rocked back as they did exactly that, sending laser cannon bolts at the shields. The screaming masses of energy hit with dull thuds against the deflector shields. The lightish-purple bubble rippled but didn’t falter even as fiery explosions detonated again and again.

…

“They’ve started.” Anakin said as soon as he felt it. He sent off their signal to the Revenant. He got an answer in seconds, “They’re on their way.”

“Then it’s time we do our part.” Padmé said, before shining a red laser over at Yané on the other side of the street.

Her handmaiden shone a blue one back at her and then waved for a speeder carrying a turret atop it to move forward. Dozens of their men followed it as it fired a shot, destroying a tank instantly. The droids all sprang to life, “Enemy contacts! Blast them!” They all started firing back at the decoys and completely ignoring Padmé and her group as they swung around and went straight for the palace. Anakin casually decapitated a droid with a flick of his wrist as they scrambled for the building. Padmé proved her mettle instantly, firing two shots in the time it took the droids to raise their blasters, destroying them instantly.

…

Inside the palace, Gunray twitched in sudden fear. “I thought the battle was supposed to take place far from here! This is too close.”

…

Padmé and Anakin led the group to the hangars and immediately started blasting before the droids could turn around. She didn’t know why the Neimoidians were stupid enough to leave starfighters fueled and armed in the Theed Palace hangar, but she wasn’t about to complain. “Get to your ships!” She declared, flicking her arm and revealing something she had borrowed from the Gungans. A personal energy shield that covered most of her body. Sabé and the rest of her handmaidens did the same, and the group of young women led the charge, blocking fire from the droids while nailing pinpoint shots, taking out a droid with every single blaster bolt.

The pilots made a run for them, slipping into their cockpits as the ground troops laid down a heavy stream of fire on the droids. Anakin himself dashed forward, slicing the B1s apart as he passed, before throwing one near the hangar entry out of the building. He leapt after it, using the droid as a surfboard. He whirled around and reached out with the Force, grabbing the one tank that they had watching the hangar from the outside and pulling it off the side of the cliff and sending it screaming down to the floodplains below.

Anakin leapt off the droid and sent it to the depths as well as he landed back in the hangar. As the fighters were taking off, he swore one of the pilots yelled, “SHOWOFF!” at him as they passed one another. The N-1s made their way to space unmolested, where a squadron of Vulture-Class starfighters were screaming towards them. The two fleets met, and it was immediately chaos as laser cannons flashed.

The Naboo fighters were much better equipped, but there were far fewer of them. “Locate that control ship!” The squad leader yelled as explosions from destroyed Vultures began to illuminate space.

…

Down on the ground, the tanks were futilely firing on the bubble shields of the Gungan army. “Lesse if Skywalker’s plan works!” Tarpals called out. They had deployed in a different formation than they normally did. First, they took the high ground, so that the tanks and droids would have to come UP to them. Second, the bubbles were arrayed with one in the front, two to each side and slightly behind, and then one each at the ends behind that. It was a wedge shape of sorts, protecting a center that had no shield at all. “FIRE!”

In that center, dozens of catapults were loaded with fat boombas. The glowing neon balls filled with plasma were flung through the air, flying towards the tanks and MTTs. “Uh oh.” The leading droid said, right before a boomba landed on it. It burst, splashing plasma in every direction and knocking out a tank’s systems. It crashed to the floor with a thud. Another boomba landed squarely in the middle of an MTT, destroying it in a flash of electricity. It too crashed down and actually started sliding backwards down the hill.

A new droid took command, one with a red stripe, “Send out the infantry!” Its mechanized voice still somehow had a note of panic as the MTTs all opened and started disgorging their soldiers. Boombas continued to rain down, splashing all over droids before they could even be activated. Up in space, several Neimoidians were growing panicked as swaths of their infantries were being taken out before they could even be activated.

…

In the palace, Anakin took out a device from his bag. He activated and rolled it down the hangar floor. It activated in a huge blue pulse which knocked out all communications in the palace, hidden and otherwise. Only their shielded communicators survived. “My guess is the Viceroy is in the throne room.” Padmé said as he linked back up with them. They started to quickly make their way into the palace proper, only for the blast doors to open of their own accord. They all stopped abruptly except for Anakin, who continued to walk forward. ‘Force, he’s so cold!’ Padmé bit her lip as she sensed Maul’s presence. “Stay safe, Ani. We’ll take the long way.”

Anakin smirked as he simply stopped in front of Maul. “So, you’re the Sith that’s been skulking around.”

Maul sneered at him, “I’ll take great pleasure in rending you to bits, Jedi.”

“I’m not a Jedi.” Anakin replied as he drew his sabers and ignited them both. Maul spun his once and ignited one blade, before igniting another.

Padmé sensed what was coming before she saw it. She raised her blaster as Droidekas rolled into the hangar. A single shot from her took one out before it could unfurl itself. A second shot from Sabé took out the second of the rolling droids. Unfortunately, Eirtaé was a hair too slow and just smashed against the final one’s shield as it managed to get onto its feet. “Shield wall!” Padmé called out and the other handmaidens layered their shields with hers. They walked forward as the Droideka began blasting, but the bolts couldn’t penetrate the Gungan’s excellent shields. Especially not with Anakin replacing their power sources with the miniature power cores Ani had created. The girls all advanced towards it, watching as the droid’s blaster fire started getting reflected back at it as they got closer. Yané broke away and simply walked around the slow machine. She stuck her arm and blaster into the shield and pulled the trigger. Instantly the shield faltered, and she backed away from it as blaster fire peppered it and turned it into Swiss cheese. “Let’s go!” They went through the door, leaving only Anakin and Maul in the Hangar.

Anakin smirked over at Maul as the Zabrak attacked him. “The Dark Side won’t help you here.” He clashed his two blades against Maul’s saberstaff. He was focused but was putting on a show of being lazy in his movements.

“You underestimate the power of the Dark Side.” Maul sneered, “Even though I can sense it within you.” He spun his saberstaff and tried to take out Anakin’s legs. Anakin blocked with his black blade and swung for the Sith’s head with the white.

Anakin laughed as Maul jerked and blocked it too, “It’s not the Dark Side’s power I doubt. It’s you. You’re weak, little Sith.” He stabbed forward using a Force Dash. Maul dodged to the side with the same ability and stabbed for his back. Anakin leapt over it and lashed out for Maul’s head again.

Maul ducked under it and rolled, getting back to his feet and whirling around. His eyes widened as a spinning death blade came for him. “Fool!” He reached out with the Force to catch the blade, only for Anakin’s much more powerful telekinesis to batter his own aside. The blade continued to spin and almost took off Maul’s head. He had to block with some desperation, and then a kick from Anakin thundered directly into the center of the shaft of his saberstaff.

It broke from the stress, leaving Maul with two sabers rather than one, and in poor condition at that. “Did your master even bother teaching you anything?” Anakin mocked, “Such shoddy construction.” Maul snarled at his partially ruined weapon, attacking with ferocity. Streaks of red light shone through the air as Maul moved with a blur. Anakin perfectly countered each attack with just enough force to turn the blow away safely. If he moved at his full speed, he could have already removed one of Maul’s legs.

But that wasn’t what Anakin was after. No, he wanted this man to suffer before he died. This was the man who had killed Qui-Gon and robbed him of a father figure. Losing Qui-Gon had led him to find someone else to fill that role in at least a small capacity: Palpatine. And Palpatine had never had Anakin’s best interests in mind. In essence, Anakin’s fall could at least partially be laid at this creature’s feet. And that wasn’t even getting into how the red-skinned Zabrak had tormented Obi-Wan. How he had killed Satine and destroyed a part of his master’s heart with it.

Anakin smirked at Maul as he backed up slightly. “Not even some Phrik or Beskar used in its construction. Tsk tsk.” Anakin smirked, “Could your master not even be bothered to get you any of the good stuff?” Maul snarled again as his anger began to build even more. “Mine has all that and more.” He switched one blade to reverse-grip and slammed his hilts together. Using the Force, they connected, and he swung his saberstaff lazily. “Mine certainly won’t be destroyed as easily as your hunk of poodoo.”

Maul snarled, throwing a hand at Anakin and unleashing quite the powerful blast of the Force. Anakin sent his own Force Push at Maul, with the two blasts meeting in the middle and unleashing a shockwave not unlike his sonic mines and torpedoes. The floor in between them cracked and sent dust up between them.

Maul butterfly twisted away from it and used the Force to pick up some debris. He flung it at the control panel and opened a large blast door, intending on leading Anakin into the plasma processing facility. “And where do you think you’re going?” Anakin asked with a raised eyebrow. He reached out and seized the door controls, forcibly grinding them to a halt and sealing them shut. “This area is good enough for your grave.”

“I’ll make sure to keep your skull to piss in once I fling the rest of you off this cliff.” Maul’s teeth were bared in his fury.

…

Up in the air, the space battle wasn’t going so well. The numbers they were dealing with were overwhelming even if you only considered the starfighters. With the dozen Lucrehulks, they were going to be in big trouble fast. They were losing more and more of their wing mates every minute that passed. ‘Come on, come on, where are the Jedi?!’ One of the pilots thought to themselves.

And lo and behold, when you speak of the Sith they will appear. Four TIE Silencers did the exact opposite and screamed into the battlefield. Their rotary autocannons were raining down hellish amounts of fire on the enemy droid starfighters. “Now THIS is podracing!” Ani yelled gleefully as he and the rest of the kids started racking up kills. They all used their starfighter lightsabers to spin through a cloud of Vulture droids, slicing them to bits as they joined up with the cheering N-1s.

The Revenant appeared with its turbolasers taking out droids with each flash of the cannons, “The droid control ship is this one.” PROXY transmitted the data Qui-Gon had given him to the rest of the starfighters.

Aayla launched her first seismic torpedo. It raced forward into a large group of droids and detonated, shredding the entire air wing at once. “We need to clear a path. Those two big ones are protecting it!”

Kali was nervous but wasn’t letting any of it show on her face. “A third of you form up with me and Ahsoka for a bombing run! Another third form up with the Revenant, and the last third form up with Ani and Aayla.” She then noticed something, “‘Soka, on your six!”

Ahsoka was taking fire from behind. “Let’s make Papa proud!” The youngest person there by a decent amount had a brilliant smile on her face as she threw her fighter in a complicated maneuver that would have killed most pilots attempting it. But she had the Force, and the Force was with her. She protected herself from the insane G-Forces and ended up behind the Vulture droid. A quick blast of her medium cannons turned it into slag that she raced past.

“Let’s GO!” Anakin yelled as he and Aayla sped up. They dodged turbolaser bolts with ease, despite the fact that they were losing some of their air wing. They reached the Lucrehulk quickly and started raining down with the heavy cannons as well as their proton torpedoes. They each managed to take out a turbolaser battery and the torpedoes were making the ship crackle with electricity. Their N-1s fired as well, disabling the weapons providing cover for the droid control ship. Anakin did another pass with Aayla and, with the shields disabled from their squad’s focused fire, dove down on either side of the ‘neck’ holding the control module to the rest of the ship. Their continuous lasers cut straight through the massive machine, severing it from the rest of the ship. “WHOOOOO!” He and Aayla cheered as they joined up with the rest of their squad.

Off on the other end, the Revenant was proving its mettle. Its shields were powerful enough to tank some blows from the turbolasers. Its ion cannons peppered the surface of the Lucrehulk and its own turbolasers were blowing holes all over the ship. Kali and Ahsoka raced past it, and Kali grinned as she fired her first seismic torpedo into one of those holes. The hole glowed blue, before the concussive wave ripped the battleship apart from the inside. The Lucrehulk’s entire ‘arm’ was sheared off. It was catastrophic damage, and the laser cannons had no problems piercing the central ball of the ship. Inside, Neimoidians yelped in panic before the vacuum of space created a huge suction effect and sucked them out of their battleship. Ahsoka and Kali’s concussion missiles pierced the ship and exploded, destroying the entire vessel with the loss of the control room.

Both of them were cheering at being able to help Padmé take back her planet as the Lucrehulk violently detonated behind them. “Alright kids.” Qui-Gon’s voice came through the comms. “Let’s take down that droid control ship.” The N-1’s, Silencers, and Defender II raced for the control ship, followed by an increasingly desperate horde of Vulture droids. And then the Revenant started dropping Seismic Mines behind them.

…

Padmé and her retinue entered a long hallway lined with pillars. They used them for cover as they shot back at the firing droids. Padmé was by far the best shot they had, and every retort from her blaster equaled a kill. Sabé wasn’t too far behind, letting her meager Force abilities guide her hand. Droids fell in droves even as more of them marched down the stairs at the end of the hallway. “We don’t have time for this.” Padmé snarled as she turned and blasted the window open. “Handmaidens, Shmi, follow me! Security Forces keep distracting them.” She yelled as she climbed out the window onto the ledge outside. It was quite the drop down if they fell, and she had to steady Eirtaé who was most certainly afraid of heights. “Grapple guns!” She called out as she fired into the ledge above them. The Queen and her handmaidens all ascended.

…

The droid army had lost about half of their strength before they managed to get enough soldiers on the ground and start marching for the bubble shields. The simple change to the Gungan battle plan from Anakin had utterly devastated their enemies. The Gungans were running out of the large boombas now, but the actual army was fresh and waiting. “Ouch time.” Tobler Ceel, the general in charge of the entire operation declared.

All of them knew it was directed at the droids. As the machines entered the bubbles and began blasting, the shield wall advanced, deflecting fire back at the droids while the Gungans, mounted and otherwise, began throwing smaller boombas at individual droids. Each hit was a kill, with the powerful weapons a match for the blasters in killing power but not speed and precision. Luckily for them, the droids were marching in step and making it quite easy to take out dozens.

But that didn’t mean that they weren’t taking losses. As soon as the droids were able to start actually firing at them, Gungans started to die in droves. They were still fighting the good fight and taking out swaths of their enemies, but they were now starting to take equal losses.

Honestly, the biggest problem for the Gungans was Jar Jar, who boss Nass had very stupidly made into a Bombad General. The poor simpleton had never trained with the army and didn’t know how much of anything the army used worked. He even almost hit a fellow Gungan with a boomba when he tried to throw one with an Atlatl.

Eventually, Tarpals got fed up with him, shoved a personal shield onto his arm, and told him to just deflect the blaster fire. To his credit, Jar Jar managed to follow instructions and even took out a Droideka with it.

…

Padmé landed first and opened the windows quietly with the Force now that she didn’t have to worry about the security forces seeing it. They all climbed inside the massive hallways. “Padmé.” Sabé said, before jerking her head over at the staircase.

Padmé smirked, “I love the way you think, Sabé.” She reached out with a hand, focusing as Anakin had taught her. She gripped the ornate staircase with the Force and mentally whispered an apology to her predecessors, before clenching a fist. The staircase crunched and began to collapse downwards, cutting this floor off from the others and simultaneously taking out dozens of droids.

With their backs covered, they continued on to the throne room. As they walked, they passed by a hallway. Without even glancing in that direction, Padmé raised her blaster and fired a bolt at a sentry Droideka before it could react and activate its shields. The smoking machine slumped over, smoking as they continued to walk on, eager to finish this.

…

The Sith was beyond frustration at this point. He was furious. He could not touch Anakin. It didn’t matter what he did, the much younger boy would simply match it. When Maul used his most savage Juyo maneuvers, Anakin would match it. Their lightsabers would clash with screeching noises and when they held against each other, those screeches would be ear-piercing. Sparks would fly every time they destroyed something, and the hangar floor was marred by still-glowing slash-marks everywhere.

Maul had even picked up an N-1 with the Force and activated it, firing its laser cannons at Anakin. Anakin didn’t even have the decency to die then, instead freezing the cannon bolts in midair and overwhelming Maul’s hold on the Force before slinging the starfighter at him. “Now look what you made me do.” Anakin chided him as if he were a child as he leapt over the machine and sliced it in half.

Maul roared and dropped one of the halves of his destroyed saberstaff. He flung his hand forward and red Sith Lightning screamed towards Anakin. Maul let out a guttural roar as he blasted wave after wave of electrifying energy at his opponent.

Anakin simply laughed as he used Tutaminis to capture and absorb the lightning. “I mean, I have to assume that you’re the problem here, you know. I hardly think a Sith master would waste his time training such a weak apprentice.”

“I! AM NOT! WEAK!” Maul howled in fury as he dropped his other saber and threw everything he had into his Force Lightning. Every agony he experienced, every memory of being held under it by his master, all the rage he felt through his entire life… he poured every single bit of it into his technique. The Dark Side churned around him as the red lightning intensified, melting parts of the hangar into slag as he did so.

“Oooh, that’s a little better!” Anakin called back out, his voice rising above the screeching. “So maybe you’re only a disappointment to your master rather than entirely useless.”

“RAGGHHHHH!!!!!!!” Maul roared, trying to force more and more power into the technique.

“Why don’t I show you what real Force Lightning looks like?” Anakin asked with a smirk as black lightning tinged with gold erupted towards Maul, overwhelming the red instantly.

Maul knew that if it touched him, he would be dead. The utter terror cut through the blood-red haze of rage, and he leapt with all his might out of the way. He watched with complete dread as the lightning touched the fallen N-1 and melted it. Its ordinance exploded violently, flinging Maul away to land near the open hangar. Maul desperately grasped for his lightsabers, before abruptly realizing he’d dropped both hilts. He was weaponless.

Making an abrupt decision, Maul turned and dove out of the hangar, trusting he had a better chance of surviving the fall than he did Anakin. And then the Force seized his body, and he was forcibly dragged back into the hangar. The Dark Side roiled around him as he tried to turn his terror into rage and power. But no matter what he did, he could not break the hold on him.

“Ah, I was wondering what would break first!” Anakin had a large grin on his face as he barely stretched his hand out. It was as if he was exerting the same amount of effort required for a casual mind trick. Anakin squeezed his fist. Maul, floating in the air, let out a howl of pain as it felt like his entire body was being squeezed in a vice, “Your spirit?” The Zabrak hacked as he felt his ribs break. “Or your body!” Anakin jerked and Maul slammed into the hangar floor with a crack that heralded broken marble.

Maul lay there with his face almost embedded into concrete, gasping for breath. Then, he heard a clatter and something touched his hand. Fighting the agony, he looked up, only to see one of his own lightsaber hilts touching his skin. And Anakin stood there, not pressing his advantage. He just stood there… with the other half of Maul’s saberstaff in his hand. Fury erupted anew as he fought his way to his feet, igniting his red blade and rushing forward with all his ferocity.

He swung wildly, using every bit of strength he had to try to wipe that smug grin off Anakin’s face. Anakin didn’t even move his feet, blocking Maul with his own red lightsaber with a calmness and grace that Jedi Masters would have applauded over. And Maul knew what Anakin was doing. Every Kyber crystal had a connection with their wielders. A bond, no matter how perverted and painful in the case of a Sith, that meant no one else would be able to use it with the same skill as its proper owner. The Kyber itself would fight against a hand it didn’t belong in. Anakin had clipped his own lightsabers back to his belt and was wielding Maul’s. He was telling Maul that he was going to beat him with a handicap.

Fury like nothing he had ever felt surged through Maul to the point he legitimately thought he went blind. He was no longer speaking, merely howling incoherently as he swung his lightsaber at his mortal enemy. Sidious’s orders, his master’s desires, his master’s agonizing training… all of it washed away. With every swing of his blade, Maul poured every bit of power into concussive Force Waves and Force Lightning. The lightning was turned away by Anakin’s own, and the Chosen One’s mastery of the Force parried the blasts of crushing force as well. All around them, pieces of the hangar shattered and crumpled under Maul’s savage, reckless attacks.

But Anakin was untouched. As Maul swung for him, he brutally kicked the Zabrak in the chest, sending him rolling back. And then he flung the Sith lightsaber at the man, who deflected it and raced forward to cut off Anakin’s head. He caught the Sith’s wrist, taking his saber and kicking him again, before the other half flew right back into his hand.

Maul slumped to his knees in exhaustion, all the fight leaving him. And then Anakin raised his hand and blinding white light engulfed Maul. The Sith howled in agony as the Light Side attacked him. He felt like he was burning from the inside, and he desperately tried to summon the Dark Side to combat it. But the Dark Side was abandoning him. He could feel it slipping from his fingers. And when the agony was finally over, he gasped for breath on the cold, hard hangar floor. He glared up at Anakin, hatred still engulfing him as Anakin stood above him, smirking. Not a care in the world. Maul snarled and lashed out with one last Force Push… only for nothing to happen. “What?” Maul froze, jerking his hand forward, again and again, but the Dark Side would not come. The Force would not come. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!”

Anakin’s eyes shone in satisfaction. “All you Dark Siders.” He chuckled, “Always thinking the Light Side is so weak.” He kneeled and physically grabbed Maul by the throat, hauling him to his knees once more. “And yet the Dark Side isn’t the one capable of robbing a Jedi of his powers.”

Maul’s eyes widened in panic. “You-You!”

“Robbed you of the Force? Permanently?” Anakin smiled even as his lie robbed the Zabrak of all fight. Sever Force did exactly that, but it was temporary. “And now you die, weak, alone, and just as pathetic as your master made you.”

Maul opened his mouth to curse him, but Anakin merely swiped the two red blades across his throat. He slumped, his body crumbling to the ground and his head rolling forward a moment later.

“So ends Darth Maul, terror of Mandalore.” Anakin said blandly as he focused the Light Side once more with Golden Flash. The technique built in his hand not unlike Force Lightning, but with fiery passion rather than burning hatred. He pointed and a ray of golden light shot from his hands, burning Maul’s corpse to ash within seconds. There would be no surprise survivals this time. Anakin disassembled the hilts of Maul’s saberstaff with the Force, taking the Kyber crystals. He slipped them into a pocket and let the rest of the weapon parts clatter to the floor. And with that, he leisurely made his way to Padmé.

…

Far up above, the space battle was in a lull. The Neimoidians seemed to have found a semblance of strategy as the control ship’s Vultures were hanging around it like a cloud to defend it. Turbolasers and laser cannons were screaming at them on their approach, and they were having to take evasive maneuvers. All of them had taken at least superficial damage. They dodged the turbolasers as even a single hit would be deadly, but the laser cannons were faster and less powerful. Even the four Silencers had their shields battered, though they recovered and recharged much faster than the N-1s.

The N-1 leader called out, “There’s hundreds of them. We need to thin the herd.”

“Okay!” Ani called out, “Fire all of the seismic torpedoes we have left!” He said, before the Silencers unleashed their hellfire. The torpedoes raced forward, crisscrossing one another as they raced through the blackness of space. The Droids and Lucrehulk desperately shot at them, trying to take them down, but their awkward flight paths, speed, and small size meant all of them reached the cloud of droid fighters.

Blue rings of energy erupted outwards through space, causing a cacophonous, destructive resonance that rattled the Lucrehulk and its droid protectors alike. The shearing forces battered everything in the area and left it a mass graveyard of shredded ships. The Lucrehulk’s shields held strong with the waves not proving strong enough to penetrate from the outside.

But they had softened up their real target, and that was enough. The pilots attacked the Lucrehulk with gusto, N-1’s loosing their entire payloads on it before being taken out by cannon fire. Explosions and electrical bursts roared along the hulking vessels, followed quickly by turbolaser fire and ion cannon blasts from the Revenant. Shields flickered all around the vessel before real explosions started destroying the ship’s batteries. With their defenses disrupted, the kids all slowed to a near stop in front of the large control sphere. They were now only moving evasively on one plane as they rained hell on the Lucrehulk.

Their heavy and medium ion cannons as well as their rotary blasters cannons quickly took care of the shields. Their remaining non-seismic missiles raced out and battered the ship, damaging and then destroying the Durasteel. The Neimoidians inside shrieked in horror as the atmosphere vented, sucking them all out into the blackness of space. The N-1s and the Revenant covered them, some of them dying to take hits that would otherwise have hit the kids. Ani, Aayla, Kali, and Ahsoka continued to fire until the entire command sphere erupted in a fiery blaze, engulfing the entire ship.

And with that, every droid in the sky with them went dead, and everyone cheered as they raced away from the erupting vessel. All around them, the other, still-battle-worthy Lucrehulks went dead, not from their own destruction, but from the loss of all of their droid hands. Only a few Neimoidians in each vessel remained, and none of them actually knew how to fire a damn thing. Only how to command droids to do so for them.

With their droids disabled, ten Lucrehulks floated aimlessly in space.

…

Padmé continued to lead her girls on a warpath. More droids had raced out for them, but Padmé was done with them. The Force roared with powerful pushes, the air churning in front of her and sending droids and Droidekas flying before they could even begin fighting back. Her shield deflected blaster fire and her own blaster’s sharp retorts decimated the droid forces. Beside her, Sabé was taking heads with terrifying precision as the other handmaidens shielded them. Shmi was also headshotting droids with a precision that told Padmé that, even if he wasn’t training her as a Jedi, he was training his mother.

A droid threw a thermal detonator at them, but Padmé grabbed it with the Force and slung it right back at the enemies, throwing their smoldering bodies everywhere.

The resistance was thinning as their plan had worked. Most of the droid armies were far from Theed, fighting the Gungans. Even now, she was getting angrier and angrier as she felt more and more Gungans die, sacrificing themselves for peace. In the city, she could feel the black cloud of fear on her people. The utter despair over the tragedies they’d experienced. Down below, she could feel Anakin kill the Sith. It was the one happy emotion she felt at that moment: a surge of relief that he was completely fine.

She raised a hand and started using Force Push with more and more power. Every wave of her hand shattered metal and made dust rain on them from above. Pillars cracked and crumbled as they moved forward, an unstoppable unit. The droids thinned out as she grabbed a Droideka and turned it around with the Force, making it fire on its own comrades. It put up its shield, but Padmé already had a hold on it, and she crushed the emitter, making the shield fizzle out. Its cannons roared as it took out dozens of its comrades. Finally, they reached the throne room, and she jerked her hand to the side, flinging the Droideka out of a window. The door was locked, so she pushed with the Force, making it slam open.

Blaster fire erupted towards them as the final droid holdouts desperately tried to protect the Neimoidians within. Only Viceroy Nute Gunray and Lieutenant Rune Haako remained. And Padmé was angry. Angry that this had been necessary. Angry that so many of her people had already died. Angry that so many Gungans were having to sacrifice themselves for peace.

Her hand raised and a blaster bolt burned between Haako’s eyes. Gunray let out a shriek of terror as his Lieutenant fell dead, “I SURRENDER! I SURRENDER!” He shrieked, even as they continued to kill the last few droids. He should NEVER have taken up with Darth Sidious! It was going to cost him EVERYTHING! Finally, the sounds of blaster fire went silent as their enemies were eliminated.

The rest of her handmaidens went to work sealing the room with the blast doors as she stared at Haako’s body. She knew she would regret that later, but right now, as she dropped her blaster to her side, an uncharacteristically vicious smile crossed her face. “Viceroy Gunray.” She hissed, “It’s time you and I sign a treaty.”

…

The battle against the droids had taken a turn for the worse. Their shield generators had been disabled, and that meant that the tanks were able to get in on the action once more. More and more of them were dying as the droid army started raining laser cannons on the battlefield. They couldn’t all die, and they had done their part. They surrendered… only for the droids to drop dead before them. A few short, confused cheers rang out, before the entire army erupted with them as the droids failed to rise.

…

“What?” Gunray looked confused, “But you’re just a handmaiden!” He protested as he looked over at Sabé.

“De-coy!” Sabé sang, sticking her tongue out at him and making a very rude gesture at the Neimoidian.

“I am Queen Amidala.” Padmé smiled in satisfaction as she felt celebrations erupt all around the city. The droids were disabled, and Padmé could feel the triumph from their pilots up above. With their victory secured, she taunted the Viceroy. “Oh, and don’t think anyone is coming to help you, Viceroy. Our fighters just took out your precious droid control ship. This is your complete loss, Viceroy.”

Gunray swallowed heavily and felt dread engulf him. “Your demands?” He asked in defeat.

Padmé pulled out a pad from her pocket. She tossed it negligently at him. “Every Lucrehulk still in Naboo’s airspace now belongs to us.” Gunray choked, “Every droid too. You will relinquish all rights to our plasma and the Chommell Sector’s trade routes.” She leaned forward as Gunray looked like he was about to pass out. “And you will pay us ten percent of the Trade Federations profits this last year as reparations.”

That was too much. Too much by far. “THIS IS AN OUTRAG-” Gunray started to yell, before he actually choked and raised a hand to his throat. Padmé was holding a hand up in front of him like she was squeezing something. Gunray started to cough as she raised her hand higher and he actually lifted off the ground, his legs kicking out. ‘What?! She can use the Force?! Sidious! No one told me about this!’

Padmé dropped her hand down and Gunray slammed into the floor of the throne room, gasping for breath while on his knees. “OUTRAGE?” Padmé snarled at him, grasping his face with the Force and making him look at her, “You sniveling, little worm! YOU are the reason a hundred thousand of my people-” Because of the Lucrehulks that they had destroyed on their way out, the Neimoidians had been angry. They had been much more vicious in terrorizing her people because of it, and the death toll was much higher than it had been in the original timeline, “-and an uncounted number of Gungans are dead! You trampled our forests and our crops, destroyed CENTURIES of our cultural heritage, and brought war to a planet that hasn’t seen it in hundreds of years!” She raised her blaster and actually stuck the barrel into his mouth. “You will sign this treaty, Viceroy, otherwise we’ll take the Lucrehulks and droids anyway and you’ll be an unfortunate casualty of the battle to retake the throne room.”

Gunray should have done something. Should have blurted that Sidious was really at fault. That she wanted to hurt him in not poor Nute Gunray. But the terror he was feeling was so encompassing that he just blurted, “I’LL SIGN! I’LL SIGN!” as best he could through his improvised gag.

“Good.” She said and removed the blaster from his mouth. She looked at it in disgust and tossed it into a waste receptacle. “Then let’s get started.” She said as she took her throne. She could tell that her handmaidens, even her best friend, were shocked at how vicious she had been. And yet in each and every one of them, she could feel satisfaction burning within.

…

When Anakin saw the collapsed stairs, he raised an eyebrow, “Having fun are we, my angel?” He muttered, smiling as he stepped onto the rubble and turned. Bending his knees, he leapt several stories up to the top floor. “That’s not going to be fun for anyone without the Force.” It was also going to cost a pretty penny to get them rebuilt. He hoped he wasn’t too late to make some suggestions to Padmé for the new treaty. He quickly made his way to the throne room, smiling in approval as he saw the hundreds of droids they had fought through to make it there.

As he reached the locked room, he simply opened the blast doors with the Force. The handmaidens instantly whirled around as he walked through, blasters pointed at him. He smiled approvingly, “Good reflexes, ladies.”

“Lord Skywalker.” Sabé curtsied to him, “We’re all done over here. Did your battle go well?”

“He wasn’t as strong as he thought he was.” Anakin gave her a smile as he walked by and towards Padmé. “I see we’ve already signed a treaty.” He said, feeling the utter misery that Nute Gunray was feeling. He hoped that meant Padmé had gotten a good deal out of the Viceroy’s capitulation.

“We have.” Padmé smiled in satisfaction as she handed him the datapad.

Anakin’s eyebrows practically leapt off his face with every line he read. By the time he got to the monetary compensation with the signatures of the two leaders at the bottom, he wanted to leap across the table, pick Padmé up, and twirl her around. He was sooooooo proud!

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