Anakin Same Age as Padme (Patreon)

What if Anakin was the same age as Padmé? (And both a bit aged up)

Or the one where Padmé folds like laundry.

Sorry this is late guys! Got distracted!

-]|[-

“Wait!” Qui-Gon, Jar Jar Binks, and R2D2 turned around at the sound of Captain Panaka’s voice. The man was walking towards them, and to their surprise, a young woman was with him. One of the Queen’s handmaidens. As they approached, Panaka stated, “Her Highness commands you to take her handmaiden with you.”

Qui-Gon fought the urge to roll his eyes. Did the Queen think this was going to be a picnic? “No more commands from Her Highness today, Captain.” Panaka turned to him, discontent. “The spaceport is not going to be pleasant.” He said as he began to walk away.

“The Queen wishes it.” Panaka reiterated. “She’s curious about the planet.”

Qui-Gon fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, “This is not a good idea. Stay close to me.”

The handmaiden followed after him as he walked away, and Panaka clenched his jaw slightly, wishing heavily that the Jedi had continued to refuse. He wasn’t the only one who thought this was an awful idea.

…

All three of the sentients were cursing the twin suns as they finally reached Mos Espa. There were no roads of any sort, the heat was unbearable, and beings of every species walked freely between the streets. Qui-Gon gave some information to Padmé and Jar Jar. “Moisture Farmers, for the most part. Some indigenous tribes and scavengers…” He continued to look around. “The few spaceports like this one are havens for those that don’t wish to be found.”

“Like us.” Padmé said quietly. Neither of them noticed the Gungan behind them stepping in a pile of crap in the middle of the street. Padmé’s nose wrinkled when she saw it and was already feeling some mild regret for wanting to join Qui-Gon. The smell in Mos Espa was… pretty rank.

After a few minutes of walking, Qui-Gon picked their first target, “We’ll try one of the smaller dealers.” He said as he walked into the shop.

When they walked in, a bell rang, drawing the attention of the Toydarian owner of the store. He was a short, squat, and fat alien with a nose that hung all the way past his lips. He also had wings and tiny, spindly limbs. “Good day to you.” He said in Huttese, a language Padmé had never heard before, as he flew up to them. “What do ya want?”

Qui-Gon had no such issues as Padmé, who was looking around curiously. “I need parts for a J-Type 327 Nubian.”

The proprietor switched to Basic, “Ah yeees! Nubian! We have lots of that!” He then called over his shoulder in Huttese again, “Ani, get over here!”

Qui-Gon nodded over to R2D2, “My droid has a readout of what I need.”

Someone came from the back, and Padmé flushed slightly as she laid eyes on him. He was about her age with blue eyes and blond hair. ‘Oh, he’s so handsome.’ The hidden Queen couldn’t help but think as she took him in.

The Toydarian asked in Huttese, “What took you so long?”

The boy raised an eyebrow, “Did you want that speeder fixed or not, Watto?”

“Don’t backsass me.” Watto grumbled. “Just watch the store. We have guests.”

“I can see that. I’m Anakin Skywalker.” Anakin gave Padmé a friendly smile, before nodding to Qui-Gon. Moments later, Watto and Qui-Gon were gone, and Anakin said to Padmé, “Never thought I’d meet a real angel.”

The compliment caught Padmé completely off guard and she flushed completely red, “A-Angel?!” She squeaked out.

Anakin grinned and she felt her stomach do flip flops. “You’re certainly pretty enough to be one!”

Oh, her face was so hot. Why did he have to be so kriffing handsome? She needed to get off the subject. “You and the owner didn’t seem to like each other much.” She very purposefully changed the subject, something he noticed immediately.

Anakin chuckled, “Ah, we don’t hate each other if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s rather difficult to actually like your former master, though. I just work with him because I like fixing things and didn’t want to open my own shop. Always wanted to get off this dust bowl… just never felt it was the right time.”

“What?!” Padmé blurted, having been unable to get past one single word. “What do you mean by ‘master?’”

He took a seat on the counter and patted the space next to him. She quickly sat as well, “You must be from the Republic.” Anakin said, leaning back and resting his arms on the counter, “We get them here occasionally. They all seem dumbfounded when they find out about slavery.”

“Sl- but!” Padmé sputtered, “But the Republic outlawed slavery centuries ago!”

“The Republic doesn’t exist here.” Anakin said softly. “In fact, if you are from the Republic and you have no Outer Rim currency, in a few minutes your friend is going to come back out here empty-handed.”

Padmé felt a chill descend on her. “What do you mean?”

“Republic Credits are worthless here.” Anakin said with a commiserating look. “No one takes them. Not even for trade.”

Kriff a chill. Padmé felt like she had ice drop down her spine. “Please tell me you’re kidding.” She said softly, some of her color vanishing.

“Afraid not.” Anakin said sadly. “You have somewhere important to be?”

Padmé nodded, shakily. “Very important.” She said softly. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she could trust Anakin. “And the quicker we can be there, the better.” She licked her dry lips, “Our ship was damaged… We weren’t going to be able to make it to our destination. We came here for repairs only.”

“What kind of ship?” Anakin asked, suddenly all business, “And what parts?”

“A J-Type 327 Nubian.” Padmé replied, “And our Hyperdrive is shot.”

Anakin stared at her for a few moments. “Well…” He said, before trailing off lamely, “Kriff, that sucks for you guys. Nubians are rare around here. Only reason Watto has a generator is that some bounty hunter stole one a few months back and I was able to win it for us at auction so we could strip it for parts. I really doubt anyone else on the planet would have one.”

Oh, this could not be happening. Despair rippled through Padmé. “There has to be something we can do!”

“You’d have better luck ripping yourselves off.” Anakin said sadly, “Sell your ship here, and pick up the first half-decent junker with a fast Hyperdrive that you can find.” A crash drew their attention, and they watched Jar Jar fight with a small droid. Anakin chuckled and even Padmé smiled weakly at the sight. “Hit the nose.” Anakin called out.

Jar Jar did so, and the droid tucked into itself and fell on the floor. Padmé tried her best to take her mind off the awful news Anakin had given her, “Y-you said he used to be your master.” She said softly, “Did he set you free?”

Anakin snorted, “No, if he had his way I’d be a slave until I died. He wouldn’t have to pay me that way.”

“Then how? You’re… pretty young. Like me.” She mumbled the last bit, averting her gaze.

“Young, but good at a lot of things.” He grinned, “Like Podracing.”

“Podracing?” Padmé asked curiously.

“Oh yeah, it’s quite popular here on the Rim.” Anakin replied, “Practically the one real source of entertainment here. Imagine taking two or more blazing fast engines with Repulsorlifts built in, strapping a loose cockpit behind them, and sending them flying across the desert.” Anakin grinned at her look of horrified interest, “It’s insanely dangerous and if half the contestants manage to reach the finish line, it’s considered a quiet day.”

“That’s awful.” She gaped at him.

“Yup… but for those who have the skills and the senses to survive, it’s insanely fun and very rewarding. I won my first one when I was nine.” He grinned, “Watto sure regretted that. Not only did he enter me in the race I won my freedom in, but he bet against me and lost almost everything. If it wasn’t for the fact that practically everyone was in the same boat, he probably would have lost everything. In the end, I was able to buy my freedom, though I had to wait until the following year to free mom too. Plus, our deal was that she’d be a slave in name only, so she didn’t have to worry anymore.”

“Wow.” Padmé had never actually watched a Podrace, so she wasn’t sure how impressive that actually was, but winning when he was nine had to have been something incredible.

Qui-Gon walked in again and saw the two talking. He looked grumpy. “We’re leaving.” He said shortly and walked out.

“I’m glad to have met you, Anakin.” She smiled at him before hopping off the bench.

“Hold on. I’ll go with you.” Anakin said, “No one will mess with you guys if I’m with you.”

Her eyes widened, “Meaning they might if you’re not?” Anakin raised an eyebrow and looked over at Jar Jar. Despite having been told by Qui-Gon that he shouldn’t touch anything, the idiot Gungan had half a dozen items in his arms. He was losing control over all of them and tripping over himself. He fell, landing with a loud crash. Anakin turned back to Padmé. “…I take your point.” She mumbled, blushing again.

…

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow as he saw that Anakin had joined them. He turned his gaze to Padmé. “He’s offered to guide us.” She said softly, cheeks pinkening again. “And he already gave me a lot of information… such as the fact that you weren’t going to be able to buy the parts.”

‘Great. The girl has a crush.’ Qui-Gon thought to himself. This was the last thing they needed, “Then would you happen to know where we could find the parts we need, young one?”

“Off world.” Anakin said bluntly. “Watto’s the only one with a T-14 in Mos Espa. I know that for a fact. Nubians don’t show up around here very often.”

“There has to be something we could do.” Padmé pleaded.

“Oh, there is.” Anakin said, “But you’ll be stuck here for a few days, minimum. The Boonta Eve Podrace is happening soon. I could buy it for you guys with the prize money.”

Padmé’s jaw dropped, “N-we couldn’t possibly ask that of you.” She protested.

Anakin smiled, “You didn’t. I’m offering.”

“Surely you have other uses for money like that. What’s in it for you?” Qui-Gon said, despite not really feeling suspicious. Anakin seemed like a good boy to him. He was getting no warnings in the Force.

“Well, if mom and I could hitch a ride with you out of here, I’d consider that a fair trade.” Anakin replied with a shrug.

“You could buy your own ship with the money.” Qui-Gon pressed more.

“Sure.” Anakin chuckled, “If I wanted an overpriced hunk of junk I’d have to resell somewhere else for less than I bought it for. The only ones on this planet that have even half-decent ships are the Hutts, and I’m pretty sure Jabba would try to feed me to his Rancor if I wasted his time trying to buy one off him.” Padmé looked horrified by the nonchalance regarding a Hutt feeding a person to some animal she had never heard of.

Qui-Gon finally smiled back. “…Something tells me that’s not the full story, young one. But if you really could do this for us, you would have our gratitude.”

Padmé gently took one of his hands with both of hers, “Yes… we’d be forever grateful.” She said softly. “We’d be in your debt.” She said. ‘I’d be in your debt.’ She thought to herself. Anakin merely smiled back at her, and Qui-Gon had to suppress a chuckle.

‘Never mind. Thank the Force for teenage crushes.’

They resumed walking through the streets, and Qui-Gon took note of the fact that Padmé had yet to release Anakin’s hand. No, they actually had laced their fingers together. The blushing girl seemed a bit out of her element, but not uncomfortable. She laughed at something Anakin said, and the two continued to chat.

And then to Qui-Gon’s shock, Anakin’s loose hand flashed like lightning and grabbed Jar Jar’s tongue out of midair. Padmé’s eyes went wide. He’d moved so fast that she hadn’t even realized he had moved until he was already holding Jar Jar’s tongue. “Are you brainless?” He asked the Gungan with a deadpan look on his face.

“I sowwy-” Jar Jar managed to say, and winced as Anakin pulled his tongue further, before letting go. Jar Jar’s tongue snapped back into his mouth, and he blubbered for a moment while shaking his head. “I spake!”

“The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.” Anakin replied blankly, and Qui-Gon had the strongest feeling of Deja-vu for a moment. “I just got done explaining that your money is no good here so your friends wouldn’t be able to get you out of trouble, and you try to steal food from a vendor? A Besalisk at that? Are you trying to get yourself squashed?”

“Mesa haten crunchen! Das da las ting mesa want!” Jar Jar protested, like he was innocent.

Anakin rolled his eyes, “Then don’t do that again.” Jar Jar nodded unhappily.

“Sorry about him.” Padmé murmured in embarrassment.

Anakin chuckled as he began walking again. “Not your fault.”

“That was quite the fast reaction, young one.” Qui-Gon said softly as he fell into step beside them. “Too fast for a regular human. You saw it before it happened, didn’t you?”

“Something I feel you have quite a bit of experience with, don’t you, Mr. Jedi?” Anakin replied with a cheeky grin.

And now both Qui-Gon and Padmé felt shocked. She even gasped. Qui-Gon’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you say that?”

“I can feel your lightsaber.” Anakin murmured, “Or at least I think it’s your lightsaber. Something hanging off your belt is… singing to me.”

Qui-Gon couldn’t believe his ears. Anakin clearly had experience with the Force if he could sense that much. And his connection with the Force must be something else. Very, very few Masters he’d ever heard of could sense the Kyber Crystal within another Jedi’s lightsaber. And there was no way the boy had formal training. Not on Tatooine. Which meant that Anakin had to have somehow trained himself. It was… unbelievable. It was the kind of thing that simply didn’t happen. How had the Jedi missed him, even here on Tatooine? Realizing he needed to respond, Qui-Gon said, “You’re feeling the Kyber crystal within it, Anakin.” He murmured softly, “You can think of it as crystalized Force.”

“Wizard!” Anakin sounded awed.

“Wait, you have the Force?” Padmé looked shocked and excited, “That’s incredible! What does it feel like?”

“It’s… hard to describe.” Anakin replied, and it was something Qui-Gon agreed with.

“Especially if you’re not sensitive.” Qui-Gon told her.

“The best I can say is that it felt like I…” Anakin paused and pursed his lips a bit, “Like I was born again when I first used it. Like the time before it was gray and dull and immediately after the world had filled with color.”

“Something I believe is an entirely different experience from most Jedi. We’re taught how to use it since before we can really walk.” Qui-Gon told him as Padmé listened intently.

They continued to talk as they progressed through the city, stopping at a few stalls here and there. They watched, with Padmé’s admiration for Anakin growing as practically everyone knew him. He had a kind word for almost everyone and many shopkeepers greeted him warmly. He bought a few things for dinner later on and introduced them to some of the delicacies of the planet… few of which there were. Finally, he turned to them. “Do you guys have shelter?”

“We’ll head back to our ship.” Qui-Gon replied, “Just because it can’t fly doesn’t mean it’s useless.” He smiled at the teenager.

“Is it far?” Anakin asked, his countenance changing.

“It’s on the outskirts.” Padmé told him and watched as his eyes went wide.

“You’ll never make it.” Anakin shook his head, before taking her hand again and gently leading her to the edge of the city. Thankfully, it wasn’t far from where they already were. “Look!” He pointed, and Padmé gasped, the color draining from her face again.

“What is that?” She asked, feeling a bit of fear.

“Sandstorm.” Qui-Gon let out a heavy sigh. “He’s right. All they’d find of us is our bones.” Jar Jar shook his head, blubbering.

“Come on.” Anakin said, “You can shelter at my place.”

“Thank you, Ani.” Padmé said softly. Just another thing to owe him for.

…

By the time they reached Anakin’s house, the sands were already whipping at them. Padme was extremely uncomfortable, feeling sand in places that she definitely didn’t want any. She was having to shield her face with her hands, and hugged Anakin the moment they were safely sealed inside his dwelling. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” He chuckled. “Mom, I’m home! I have guests!” He called out, and his mother came out of the kitchen.

“Oh! Welcome!” She said, “I’m Shmi Skywalker.” She greeted them with a smile. “Ani, why didn’t you comm ahead? I could have made more food.”

“It was last minute.” Anakin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Their ship was on the outskirts, and I only found out a few minutes ago. It was too late for them to go.”

“Ah, the sandstorm.” Shmi chuckled, “Well, no matter. We’ll just have to cook some more.”

Anakin introduced them, “This is Padmé Naberrie, Qui-Gon Jinn, Jar Jar Binks, and R2D2.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Padmé greeted Shmi, feeling nervous for reasons she didn’t understand.

“Your son has been very kind to us. You must be proud of him.” Qui-Gon’s words made Anakin blush.

“Of course.” Shmi smiled warmly at her son.

“Would you like some help with the food?” Qui-Gon asked her.

“If you would like.” Shmi responded, and he followed her into the kitchen.

“It’s a bit cramped here.” Anakin apologized to Padmé as he led her to his room, “We never saw the need to get a bigger place.”

“I don’t mind.” Padmé responded warmly, “But I am a little confused. You said you won the Boonta Eve five times…” She trailed off.

“What do I do with the money?” Anakin asked her. She nodded sheepishly. “Well, other than repairing and improving my Podracer… At first, I freed more slaves.” He replied and her eyes widened in shock, “But it was just fueling the system and even if it was cheaper than buying myself and mom from Watto, it was still expensive. The slaves didn’t really… have the means to support themselves. I tried giving the money to the needy, but it didn’t help either. Last year when I won it, I did something different. I created a device I could use to steal slaves from the masters directly.” He smirked, “And started doing so, freeing them, and helping them off world with the money instead.”

“Oh, Anakin!” Padmé wanted to cry, “You’re doing so much good here. How could we possibly-?”

“Don’t.” Anakin shook his head. “I like helping people in need. And I know you’re in desperate need.” He said softly, and she bit her lip in shame. “And it’s a drop in the bucket. I can do more. I know it. But not from here. Not anymore.” He walked closer and took her hands. “I want to help you. It’s not entirely selfless since I want to leave with you as well. I just… why is it so important to you?” He asked quietly. “You want to get out of here as fast as possible. I can feel it.”

Padmé squeezed his hands, “The Trade Federation invaded my world.” She said softly, “Even as we speak, they’re rounding my people up and putting them in camps. Hurting them. The Queen…” She trailed off, “The Queen is desperate to get to Coruscant to beg the Senate for aid.”

“I’m sorry.” Anakin said, his face compassionate. He reached up and gently brushed a tear from her eye. “I guess even outside of the Rim, things aren’t great, huh?” Padmé looked down. “You know, when I first freed mom, I wanted to get out of here immediately. Just find us the first ship I could and race off for the stars. Anywhere had to be better than here.” He said, looking away.

“Why didn’t you?” She asked him curiously.

He smiled at her again, “By then, I had already realized I had the Force. It had already guided me many times. It was how I won my first Podrace, though I hadn’t known it at the time. I learned to listen to it. To let it guide me. And every time I tried to make plans to leave, the Force almost screamed at me not to. To be patient. That I was still here for a reason.” Padmé’s eyes widened. “I know what that reason was now.” Padmé’s breath caught, “Our meeting was destiny, Padmé.” He said softly.

She felt something in her chest squeeze, and before she knew what she was doing, she had closed the distance between them. She pressed her lips to his and felt his arms wrap around her back. She reached up, gently holding his cheeks as they kissed. He was taller than her, so she was having to step on her tip-toes to do what she wanted. One of his hands went up to the back of her neck, gently caressing it. Finally, they broke apart and breathed heavily, smiling and letting out surprised laughs with one another. They kissed again before she rested her head against his chest, hugging him. “I… I need to apologize… and tell you something….” It didn’t even occur to her that admitting what she wanted to was a bad idea ninety-nine percent of the time. That they were moving too fast. But she couldn’t start a relationship under false pretenses. “Maybe several things.” She whispered.

Anakin chuckled, “You are the Queen, aren’t you?” She gasped and looked up at him, wide-eyed. He pecked her once more in response. “You didn’t feel entirely truthful in the Force when you told me that the Queen was desperate. It felt too personal.” Padmé closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his chest. He hugged her, “Hey, it’s okay.”

“How can it be?” Padmé scrunched up her fists with his tunic, “I don’t even know for sure if the Senate will help us. Especially now that I know they can’t even uphold their anti-slavery laws everywhere! This… this could be a giant waste of time.” She teared up and tried valiantly to hold them in.

He kissed the top of her head. “There’s more than one way to skin a loth-cat.” She shuddered at the mental image, “But it might mean having to fight for your people’s freedom.”

“I don’t know how to fight.” She said quietly.

“I do.” Anakin replied, “Once we get off world… I can try to get a hold of a few contacts.” She backed away and looked at him with hope, “I can’t promise anything… My best contact isn’t exactly someone who works for free… but it isn’t like the Outer Rim likes the Trade Federation.”

She closed her eyes and pressed herself against him again, breathing in his scent. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I could never repay you for any of this.” She whispered.

“And you’ll never have to.” Anakin whispered back. She turned her face back to his and they were kissing again a moment later.

-]|[-

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Anakin so smitten.” Shmi had a small smile on her face as she and Qui-Gon bustled about the kitchen.

“I’m surprised you’re letting them share his room.” Qui-Gon muttered as Anakin and Padmé vanished. Shmi hadn’t muttered a word of protest.

Shmi let out a dry little laugh, “This is Tatooine, mister Jinn. We grow up fast here.” She muttered, “Anakin has never had an actual chance to be a child. Gardulla and then Watto saw fit to that.” Qui-Gon pursed his lips at that. While Padmé had known he had been a slave, he had not been privy to that discussion. “He’s more than old enough to make his own mistakes and deal with the consequences if there are any.”

Qui-Gon kept his thoughts to himself. It wasn’t as if he were any more equipped for deciding right or wrong in that field. Instead, he changed the subject, “Might I ask how he discovered that he’s Force Sensitive?”

Shmi started and turned her gaze to him. “…You’re a Jedi.” She murmured in realization.

“I see nothing gets past you either.” Qui-Gon let out a small chuckle.

“Anakin wouldn’t share that part of himself with many people.” Shmi replied, “Not here. Not on Tatooine.”

“I see… yes, the Hutts would love to have a Force Sensitive under their yoke.” Qui-Gon realized what it was all about. Shmi nodded, “…I imagine that learning of his gift was not a pleasant experience then.”

“No.” Shmi said solemnly. “It was right after his first Podracing victory. The one that freed him.” She looked down at the cutting board and clutched her knife in a strong grip. “I almost died when Watto told us that Anakin was going to race. I begged, I pleaded, and Watto almost got violent to silence me. In the end… I was forced to watch my boy get into that awful machine… and then he won.” She said, her voice light, “It had been… a miracle I thought to myself. He was uninjured. He was fine. And now he was free!”

“But you weren’t.” Qui-Gon said.

“But I wasn’t.” She agreed, “And Anakin refused to leave me. Refused to leave Tatooine and instead worked out a bargain with Watto. He gave all of the prize money to Watto, who had bet far too much on one of the losers. It was the only way he could stay afloat. In return, Anakin kept his Podracer and his freedom. He began to work with Watto instead of for him. And Anakin and I were free to head home.”

“And then what happened?” Qui-Gon asked gently when she stopped talking.

“One of the losers was a Dug.” Shmi said, again clenching her fists, “A violent maniac named Sebulba. He was furious that he lost to a human. A human child at that. He came after us as we made our way home.” If she had been holding a glass, it would have shattered in her hand. “He knocked me into a wall and started to beat Anakin to death.” Qui-Gon felt disgust and anger well up inside of him. “Anakin used the Force for the first time to save himself. He pushed the Dug off him… so powerfully he turned into a blood splatter against one of the buildings.” She swallowed and reached up, wiping her eyes, “Do you have any idea what it feels like to comfort a nine-year-old who had to take his first life? And in so brutal a manner?”

Qui-Gon let out a sad sigh, “Never so young. Padawans are never taken on such high-risk missions at that age. But yes.” He said heavily. “I do. A lightsaber is not a toy… and neither is the Force.” She looked away, wiping her eyes once more. “Despite such… troubled beginnings… you and his father must be quite proud of him.”

“I am.” Shmi said, finally smiling again. “But there was no father. Not by blood, anyway.” Qui-Gon turned a confused glance at her. “I carried him. I gave birth to him. I raised him. I love him and I always will.” She sighed, “But as to how that actually happened… I couldn’t tell you. I never wanted to bring a child into this world. Not as a slave. Not as more meat for the Hutts.”

Qui-Gon swallowed and said nothing, his mind whirling.

-]|[-

The next day, Anakin was confused when he woke up with a small weight on his chest. As he took in Padmé’s form, a happy smile crossed his face. “You’re real.”

She blushed slightly. “Did you think I wasn’t?”

“Oh, I’ve dreamed of the day I’d get to leave Tatooine before.” Anakin chuckled, before winking at her, “Never with anyone so pretty though, Angel.”

She smiled and lightly slapped his chest. “Oh you.” She blushed some more. “Did you sleep well?” She asked softly.

“Never better.” He said softly. “But you look tired…”

She nodded, not bothering to hide it. “I’ve just been… so worried. I…” She looked deep into his eyes. “Is this okay? Is… should I be here? Happy? In your arms… while my people-”

“Padmé.” Anakin said softly, “Everything you’ve told me about Naboo tells me one thing: You quite literally have done the best you possibly could. The only thing you could have done differently was militarize the second your reign started and magically constructed a bunch of battleships to defend yourselves in a few months.” She made a face at that. “You’ve done everything you can so far. But you can’t save everyone, Padmé. No one can. Not even with the Force.” It was something he whispered, remembering a short Rodian named Wald who had been killed years ago.

She sniffled, “Thank you.” She whispered, before kissing him again. Stars, how she loved feeling his lips on hers. “You’re confident?” She asked when she pulled away.

“Of course.” He smiled, “Oh, it’ll be difficult, sure, but I’ve been through difficult.”

Yes, he had, she mused to herself. He had told her the same story Shmi had told Qui-Gon, and her heart bled for him and his awful life. She just couldn’t understand how this hadn’t been stamped out before. “I’m glad you’re confident.” She said softly, “I… I don’t know what we could possibly do… what we could have had to do if we hadn’t met you.”

Anakin knew. And it wasn’t something to be contemplated. It certainly would have involved considerably less clothes than she was wearing right now, and just the murmur of a thought of her or her friends being subjected to such degradation made him abominably angry.

She wanted to take her mind off of it, so she curiously asked, “What kinds of things can you do with the Force?” She chuckled, “I know the Jedi can predict and reflect blaster fire and move things without touching them.”

Anakin chuckled, “Like this?” She yelped as the entire bed started to float.

“…That’s incredible!” She giggled. “Yes! But, like I said… I already know about that.”

He grinned and moved her off of him. She looked at him in confusion as he got up before he stepped through the door. She gaped at the still-definitely-closed door in disbelief. And then he walked right back through. “Caf?” He asked, holding up two cup.

“Bwuh!?”

Anakin burst into laughter. “I can also teleport.” He handed her the cup.

“Teleport.” She said blankly.

“Yeah, anywhere on Tatooine I’ve been on before, or that I at least have line-of-sight with. I kinda just… I don’t know… step into the Force and pull myself along? It’s hard to describe.” She continued to stare. “And no, I have no idea if I could just pop us over to Coruscant. I’ve never been there.” He said, “Or if I could bring anyone along with me. I never dared try it with Mom or my trainer.”

She continued to stare at him. She looked like she was wondering if he was real or not. Finally, she took a sip of her caf. “You.” She said, “Are impossible.”

“No, I’m Anakin!” He replied cheekily.

She rolled her eyes, “Who was your trainer?” She asked.

“One of the people I’m hoping to contact once we get to Coruscant.” Anakin replied, “Winning the Boonta Eve for the first time caught his attention. Turning Sebulba into a…” He coughed uncomfortably, “wall decoration-” She grimaced, the caf suddenly very bitter, “turned attention into interest. He adopted me.”

“Who was he?” She asked again, still curious.

“His name is Jango Fett.” Anakin replied, “He’s a Mandalorian bounty hunter.”

Her eyes went wide, “Mandalorian? The warriors?” He nodded, “Wow, and he trained you?”

Anakin nodded, “Uh, huh!” He smiled brightly, “He wanted to take me off this dust ball. Me and mom. But he also admired me for wanting to free mom myself. He also didn’t have Force powers, so he instead trained me in combat and helped me discover how to actually channel the Force. There was only one Mandalorian Jedi in the past, but he was a legend and well-studied on Mandalore, so Jango was able to help me a little bit. Not the same way actual Jedi training would have, but it was more than I probably could have figured out completely on my own.” He smiled smugly at her, “Told you no one would mess with you if I was near you.”

She giggled at his mock confidence. “Do you have your own armor?”

“Yes.” Anakin replied, “Though I keep having to remake the damn thing. I keep outgrowing it.” He chuckled.

“No.” She said in a mocking tone, “I can’t imagine why.” They shared a laugh. After a moment, she asked, “Do you think he’ll help?”

Anakin nodded, “I think he will… I just don’t know if he’ll do it for free. We’re family per Mandalorian culture, but…”

“I see.” Padmé said softly. “…Do you really think it will come to that?”

Anakin’s face drooped slightly. “Diplomacy is all well and good.” He replied, “But it works better when you have a big stick. The Trade Federation was able to do this to you because you were defenseless, and from what you’ve told me, they even have their own representation in your Senate.” He wrinkled his nose, “Which I think is disgusting, by the way.”

She also looked severe, “You’re not alone in thinking that.”

“Yeah. So I think they’re going to try to make you look like a liar.” Anakin said solemnly, “And I think it’s going to be a situation like here on Tatooine. Everyone decent wants the Hutts out of power… but the greedy bastards who benefit from their rule work hard to make sure they keep it. They never have to do their own dirty work. They just send any of the thousands of thugs they have on their payroll to do it for them. The Trade Federation will be the same in the Senate. They probably will have other Senators lining up for a cut.”

“…Do you think we’re weak?” Padmé asked him soulfully. “That our ideals are weak?”

“Padmé…” He paused, calculating his words, “Wanting peace is admirable. But diplomacy doesn’t work unless both parties are like-minded. Unless both parties are reasonable. You can’t argue with a slave master if you’re the slave. And it’s the same for you. They’re already flaunting the fact that rules and laws don’t matter to them. They have power over you and are using it to force your compliance. Talk won’t help. Only action.”

She bit her lips so hard she drew blood.

-]|[-

Anakin took her and Qui-Gon outside and opened up the garage. After such an ideological blow, Padmé needed to get her mind off of the ongoing disaster. “Well, there she is.” He grinned at his gleaming Podracer.

“It’s certainly an impressive machine.” Qui-Gon smiled slightly.

“Oh my stars, when you said it was a ‘loose cockpit’ hanging behind it I didn’t think you were serious!” Padmé sounded terrified now that she glanced at it for the first time.

Anakin chuckled, “I did warn you.” He hugged her gently. “I keep souping it up every year. Kinda started an arms race after I beat Sebulba that first time. Everyone wants to be the one that beats me now.” The racer in question was a mechanical wonder and it gleamed like it was new. Anakin had purchased the Radon-Ulzer 1240C racing engines for propulsion and had heavily modified them. They were even faster than the 620C engines on his first Podracer. His third race had been a bit closer than he’d hoped, so he had upgraded. They were a bit bigger and had more aggressive styling, as well as fewer exposed parts that could be sabotaged. With all of his modifications and improvements, this baby could go 1,183 KPH. Just under twenty-five percent faster than his old Podracer.

“Any illegal mods?” Qui-Gon asked in amusement.

Padmé balked as Anakin chuckled, “Nope. If someone is going to cheat against me, I just use the Force to retaliate.”

“The Force is not a toy, young one.” Qui-Gon chided him half-heartedly.

Anakin shrugged, “Well, if someone’s going to install an illegal flamethrower in their engines to try to fry mine, I’d say it’s perfectly reasonable to… plug the hole.” Ah, the fireworks had been a thing of beauty! He’d even ensured the racer was safe, little as he deserved it.

“Wait, flamethrower?!” Padmé gaped at him.

“Yup. Some Gran tried that on me in my second race. BOOM!” Anakin snickered. “Who knows, maybe they’ll get a clue this time and we’ll have a nice, clean race.”

Padmé ground her teeth, “Somehow, I doubt that.”

…

Night had fallen and he and Padmé were sitting up on one of the stone railings next to his house, staring at the two moons. She was sitting between his legs with her back on his chest as they just enjoyed each-other’s company after the day of double-and-triple-checking Anakin’s Podracer. “Anakin.” Qui-Gon came up to the couple with a small smile, “Not heading to bed?”

“Soon.” Anakin said, “It’s a nice night. Pretty cool for this time of the year.”

Padmé almost gagged, “If you think this is cool, then I have some bad news for you, Ani.” She was fanning herself due to the heat.

“Oof.” Anakin muttered, earning a laugh from the two Republic citizens. “Need anything in particular, Qui-Gon?”

“This may be a strange request, but I was hoping to get a small blood sample from you.” Qui-Gon replied.

Anakin blinked several times at him while Padmé just looked weirded out. “Uhhhhhh…”

“If you’re wondering why, I was hoping to get a formal count of your Midichlorians.” Qui-Gon smiled slightly at their reactions.

“Midiwhatnow?” Anakin asked him.

“Oh good, something about the Force you don’t already know.” Qui-Gon laughed, “Essentially, Midichlorians are symbionts that exist within each and every cell in our bodies. Without the Midichlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force.”

“Like the mitochondria.” Padmé muttered, “Powerhouse of the cell.” She droned, earning a laugh from the two.

“Huh.” Anakin muttered, “Does that mean they essentially act as… transceivers for the Force?”

“Nothing quite so exact, but yes, something like that.” Qui-Gon replied, “And essentially, the higher your Midichlorian count, the better you can perceive the Force. It’s not quite about strength as even an average Jedi can perform incredible feats. It’s more…ease.” He said softly. “How easily you can perform more difficult feats. How quickly you learn. How accurately you can sense the Force guiding you.”

Padmé had a feeling that Anakin was probably off the charts. “How about you?” She asked curiously.

“I myself am only about average at around thirteen-thousand per cell. Grand Master Yoda has the highest we’ve recorded in several dozen generations: about nineteen-thousand.” Qui-Gon responded.

“Well, what the hell.” Anakin laughed as he held up an arm. “Bleed me.” He said, his voice turning dark and rumbly.

Padmé snorted in laugher as Qui-Gon cracked a smile as well. “I’m curious as well. I know I’m not Force Sensitive but…”

Qui-Gon nodded in agreement, “Ladies first then.” He took a small device from his pocket and used it to prick her finger. Even that small amount was good enough. “Obi-Wan, can you examine these blood samples?” He said into his communicator, “I need a Midichlorian count.”

“One second.” Obi-Wan’s voice came through, “Hmm, about eight-thousand.”

Qui-Gon’s eyes widened, “My, that’s more than triple the average for a Force Blind.” He informed Padmé, who gasped lightly. “Not enough for Jedi training, but certainly enough that you could learn some small…tricks, for lack of a better word.” Padmé smiled brightly and beamed at Anakin. He responded with a quick kiss. Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, ‘Well, that was fast. I really hope I’m wrong because the Council will not be agreeable to training him. Especially with displays like that.’ He looked at Anakin, “And now you.” He pricked Anakin’s finger and sent the sample for analysis. A few moments passed, “Obi-Wan? Is everything alright?”

“Master…” Obi-Wan’s voice crackled through. “What in the Sith Hells did you just send me? I only saw a flash as it passed twenty-four-thousand and then it shorted out the reader!” Qui-Gon’s eyebrows flew towards his hairline, “The entire device is fried now! I had to reroute power away from it!”

Anakin was making a valiant effort to keep a straight face. Padmé pinched him and made him jump.

…

Qui-Gon had left them shortly after, and it hadn’t taken long before he and Padmé made their way back to his room. “Well, that was something.” Padmé said, more to fill the air than anything.

He chuckled, “I… guess I’m not really surprised.” He said, “No normal nine-year-old could have won the Boonta Eve.”

“I’ve never heard of a Jedi who could teleport.” She said bluntly. She then smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I… I’m so glad I met you. We could have landed on any planet in the area…”

“I’m glad you came here too.” He said softly, before they kissed gently. The two fell onto his bed, and she surprised him when she got…grabby. “Padmé?” He asked in surprise.

“For luck.” She gave him a surprisingly saucy smirk as she crawled down and unbuttoned his pants. Seconds later, he let out a guttural groan as she got to work.

-]|[-

“Ani!” Shmi banged on his door. “You’ve got a race to win, don’t you? Get up!” She banged one more time, before leaving for the kitchen.

Several minutes later, he and Padmé shuffled in, bleary-eyed and looking exhausted. Qui-Gon gave Padmé a look best described as ‘Really?’ causing her to flush, and Shmi chuckled dryly. “Actions and consequences, Ani.”

Padmé couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze. ‘I really hadn’t expected the endless stamina.’ Her cheeks reddened even more as she thought back to the previous night. ‘The Force is a hell of a drug.’

“Meesa no get it.” Jar Jar commented, looking confused.

“Let’s keep it that way.” Anakin grumbled.

“Will you be good to race?” Qui-Gon questioned, “Because if not, I could certainly try.”

“I’ll be fine.” Anakin said, before reaching for the second pot of caf Shmi had prepared. And then they deadpanned as Anakin chugged the damn thing from the pot itself. “Blech!” He gagged when he was finished.

“That is not a good habit.” Padmé muttered.

“Trust me, it won’t happen often.” Anakin muttered. “Kriff, I hate doing that.” He shook his head.

If nothing else, he earned a giggle from Padmé.

…

An hour later, they were at the Mos Espa Grand Arena and Anakin was scoping out the competition. He could see most of the usual faces like Ben Quadinaros, Dud Bolt, Gasgano, and the daredevil Ody Mandrell. There were some faces he didn’t recognize though, and the most important one was Krrsantan, a black-furred Wookiee. He had apparently disgraced himself on Kashyyyk and exiled himself. He was sitting against a very evil-looking machine. His engines were from the same manufacturer that Sebulba had gotten his from, years ago. They looked pretty improved from where Anakin was standing.

“Be safe.” Padmé said to him as she hugged him tightly. “I just got you. I’m not losing you.”

“I promise.” He smiled, hugging her back. He then hugged his mom as well and shared a nod with Qui-Gon, “Hey, if anyone stalls out in the arena, keep a careful eye on it. If the power couplings fail, the engines will go flying.” He muttered to the older man. Qui-Gon nodded before they made their way to the spectator’s stands. Thankfully, they were alone in their own pod and didn’t have to worry about any of the surrounding scum.

Several minutes later, Anakin was sitting and meditating on top of his cockpit when he sensed something. “Step away from that.” Anakin said, opening his eyes and glaring at another Dug. This wasn’t Sebulba, but he still kind of hated him on sight. The Dug had been reaching for a power coupling on his left engine, and his blue skin curdled at the glare Anakin turned on him. With the Force, his death glare had some actual weight behind it, and the Dug spooked, running away.

Krrsantan roared out, both laughter and a greeting. Anakin smiled, though his thoughts were racing. He could sense the violence that this Wookiee enjoyed and had little doubt he was the type to actually try and pull arms out of sockets. He was going to be a Sebulba and Anakin would need to keep an eye on him.

Soon enough, he was firmly in his cockpit and activating his Podracer. The power couplings fired like chronowork, and his engines were purring. He didn’t really pay attention to the announcers, keeping his attention on the Force itself and the scum around him. As the previous winner five years running, he had a handicap and was in the very last position. A nice little trick from Jabba this time, seeing as the fat tub of lard had gotten a bit bored of watching him win so easily.

He sharpened his senses, allowing the Force to flow through him, and he watched the starting lights. A mere instant after they had turned green and gotten launch authorization, Anakin had been off like a shot. He immediately shot past half the field in mere moments, making his engines go vertical as he did so.

He straightened out, his engines screaming as he raced after the leaders. They rounded the first bend, and he had to deal with his first bout of interference. One of the racers with huge engines tried to ram him. He smirked and threw his Podracer left, leading the idiot on. And then with a controlled thrust and burn, he climbed one of the jagged desert rocks and threw himself into a corkscrew through the air. The person who had been so desperate to knock him off course hit the rock hard. His right engine was instantly destroyed, and the other engine whiplashed him across another of the rocks he could no longer evade. His cockpit was crushed into slag.

Anakin landed softly and gunned it down the open field. He knew this part coming up was sparse in cameras, and he was right to be concerned. Aldar Beedo apparently had accepted a hit on him for this race. The Glymphid assassin had just been waiting for his moment. He released some small sonic mines from his cockpit.

Anakin’s eyes went wide as he hit his reverse thrusters, before raising a palm. The mines all collected together and exploded, throwing a cacophonous wave around that destroyed part of the terrain. Mawhonic had used the opportunity to get past him and was instantly shredded by the waves.

Anakin felt his terror in the Force before he was snuffed out, and Anakin grew very angry. He raced forward, catching up to Beedo and passing him in an instant. The angry but amused Glymphid only had a moment to regret his decisions before Anakin used a Force Push on his engines. He careened at full speed into the Beggar’s Canyon wall as Anakin sped into the small entrance.

They didn’t have a whole lot of space to maneuver inside the canyon, at least not in the earliest parts of it. Krrsantan took advantage of it, using a small fléchette launcher to try to shred Anakin’s engines. Anakin’s small Podracer was built for this kind of thing, and he actually started to ride on the wall to avoid them. He sped past the Wookiee who roared angrily and flashed him with an exhaust burn.

The Wookiee howled in fury as his fur was singed but didn’t have much more damage than that as Anakin sped away. Dud Bolt was desperate to keep second place in front of Anakin, and he really should have been paying more attention to himself when they entered Laguna Cave. He misjudged a turn and clipped a stalactite. His left engine went sideways and then the two raced apart. The terrified Vulptereen stayed alive as the cave exploded but had to beg for mercy as he slid to a stop and then the other racers passed overhead. None of them would even have seen him in the darkness.

Anakin only had one more person in front of him, and he was amused to find it was Quadinaros. The former rookie had improved greatly since his first Boonta where his quad-engines stalled out completely. As they raced out of the cave with the explosions from Bolt’s engines following them, they looked at one another. Anakin smirked in amusement and jerked his head. Quadinaros had that ‘oh, not this shit again’ look on his face as Anakin sped past him, laughing. “GET BACK HERE, SKYWALKER!” The Toong yelled after him, shaking his fist angrily.

Anakin kept his senses sharp. The Tuskens were here and were firing at the racers. He actually had to deflect a slug that had come right for his head with the Force, but that was the only incident. Behind him, the others weren’t so lucky. A slug landed directly in the blades of Mandrell’s right engine, and the entire machine went up in flames. He careened to a stop and didn’t even have a moment to hide before another slug blew his brains out.

Anakin was the first into the stadium at the end of the first lap, and he waved at Padmé as he passed. She looked so pale, having just watched the fate of Mandrell live. He winced and hoped his mom would be able to calm her down.

At the very least, the race was now a forgone conclusion and everyone in the stadium knew it. Several of the bystanders, Watto included, were cheering him to go even faster because they had money on him lapping at least one person.

Anakin chuckled as he left the stadium again and pushed even harder. Watto made a whole lot of money by the time the race ended, but not for the reason he thought. Krrsantan apparently was really upset about the singed fur, and when he realized how far ahead Anakin was, slowed down to try to knock him out of the race.

Anakin tried to just pass him again, but the black Wookiee was relentless for some reason, chasing him all over the place and trying to knock him into the canyon walls. Anakin was starting to get really irritated because he was costing him some of his well-earned lead, and he could not fail Padmé and his new friends. As soon as they hit Laguna cave again and Krrsantan tried to ram him, Anakin again lashed out with the Force. He grabbed Krrsantan’s left engine and jerked it down. The engine went up in a ball of flames, and it was only the fact that he was a Wookiee that allowed him to survive the devastating crash. He even had to leap out of his pod and smashed into a stalactite, roaring in agony as at least a few ribs broke. He crashed to the ground and had to crawl to safety.

The rest of the race passed quickly, as not one person had engines as good as his modded ones, and no one had reflexes as good as his. At the end of the third lap, he raised his fist as he slowed to a stop in the arena.

He had barely gotten out of his cockpit when Padmé barreled into his arms. “That was TERRIFYING!” She yelled, almost crying. “I was so scared! They were trying to kill you!”

“Yeah, at least two of them were.” Anakin grimaced, “But I’m okay. I promise.”

“We’re leaving immediately.” Padmé said, “I don’t want to be on this kriffing planet a moment longer than necessary.”

“No arguments from me.” He smiled as the rest of the group joined them. “You ready to get off this dust ball, mom?”

Shmi smiled in relief, “I’ve been packed since last night.”

“Good.” Anakin grinned, “Let’s go find Watto before he gets too lost in the sauce.”

Several minutes later, Watto cheerfully called out, “ANI! You made a me a lot’s a money today!”

“Well, time to make you some more.” Anakin said, “I’ll be taking the Nubian parts to repair their ship, so don’t be surprised that it’s missing. I’ll leave the money in the safe.”

“Hahaha!” Watto laughed, “Well, good fortune for you, my friend!” Watto laughed over at Qui-Gon, “Lucky you that Ani is so nice! I’ll see you’se at the shop later.” The Toydarian flew off.

“Indeed.” Qui-Gon inclined his head.

“Not telling him that he won’t be seeing you again?” Padmé asked curiously.

Anakin snorted, “He’ll figure it out. I do owe him at least a little for being a slaving sleemo.” He smiled as they got into their speeder and flew back home.

-]|[-

It took little time for them to get back to the Nubian vessel. Anakin whistled at the sight of it. “That’s what my ship wants to be like when it grows up.” He was riding an Eopie with Padmé, leading a procession of the creatures with all the items Anakin and Shmi wanted to bring with them, as well as all of the parts they needed to get the ship running.

Padmé was sitting in front of him, and she let out a giggle. “You sure? It has no weapons.” She had a knowing grin on her face.

Anakin blinked, “She could use some work.” He muttered diplomatically.

She laughed again, “I’m sure she can.” She replied, before sighing eagerly. “Oh, I can’t wait to have a bath!” She said wistfully.

He raised an eyebrow, “What, was the shower at our old home not good enough?” He asked, mock-archly.

“I meant a real bath.” She made sure to turn to see his face. “With water.” She had a smug grin on her pretty face.

She got exactly what she wanted as his eyes bulged, “Water?! You use water to bathe?”

“Most planets aren’t like this.” She said after she got her laughter under control. She waved at the endless sand. “Honestly, it makes me feel bad, but just one of Naboo’s lakes probably has more water than this planet can generate in six months. Most planets you can’t even sell water.”

Anakin looked utterly stunned. “T-that-” He stammered.

The Eopie slowed down as they finally arrived and knelt down so they could dismount. “Welcome back, Master Jedi.” Panaka bowed to Qui-Gon. “And thank you for bringing the Queen’s Handmaiden back safely.”

“It is my duty.” Qui-Gon nodded back to him.

‘Ah, so they’re fooling even the Jedi.’ Anakin mused to himself, glad to get his brain away from the speeder crash that was the last conversation.

“Who are these two?” Panaka asked, looking at Anakin and Shmi.

“The reason we’re getting out of here, Captain.” Padmé said, “Anakin Skywalker won the money for us to buy these parts out of the goodness of his own heart. In return, we are taking them with us to Coruscant and beyond. This is his mother, Shmi.”

“I see.” Panaka looked at Anakin especially somewhat suspiciously. “Thank you for your generous aid, young Skywalker.”

“You’re welcome.” Anakin nodded back to him.

“Come on. Let’s get you settled.” Padmé said, grabbing his hand and guiding him up the ramp.

“If it’s all the same, I’d rather get off this dust ball as soon as possible.” Anakin denied her, “If you could point me to the Hyperdrive, I can get started on the repairs. Maybe squeeze out a little more performance so we can get the Queen to her destination faster.”

Padmé nodded and smiled at him, “Okay. Thank you, Ani.” She said, leaning up and kissing him. Panaka’s jaw clenched at the sight and turned a glare on Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon merely shrugged his shoulders. “Come find me when you get settled.” She said once they broke apart. She leaned in and whispered, “I want to introduce you to the girls.” She had a… look on her face when she said that. Anakin wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “You’ll love them.”

“You got it.” Anakin went with the flow and pecked her one more time, before she disappeared into the ship. Panaka went to tell him off for that display, incensed that his Queen had apparently gotten into a relationship with some desert rat and intending to scare him off… but Anakin had other ideas. “Now.” He said, raising his arm. And then Panaka abruptly shut his mouth in astonished awe as the Hyperdrive lifted up off the sled like it weighed nothing and floated over to Anakin. “Where’s that damaged Hyperdrive?”

“Right this way.” Nope. He was not getting into a fight with a Force user. No way.

…

It took no time at all for Anakin to install the new T-14 and, with some careful engineering magic following a few nudges from the Force, improved the Hyperdrive Rating from a Class 1.8 to a Class 1.4. They’d make it to their destination quite a bit faster than they had originally thought. “Well done.” Qui-Gon clapped him on the shoulder.

“Thanks.” Anakin wiped off some of the sweat. “Looks like we’re ready to go.”

“You certainly did that faster than I could.” Obi-Wan, who had been helping him alongside Qui-Gon and R2D2, chuckled good-naturedly.

“I’ll go tell the pilot to take off. Obi-Wan, show Anakin the freshers, please.” Qui-Gon told his Padawan.

“Of course, Master.” Obi-Wan replied and waved into the ship.

“Why do you call him that?” Anakin asked, now that Qui-Gon was away. He quite obviously did not have good experiences with that word.

“Master?” Obi-Wan questioned, getting a nod. “Well, it is part of the hierarchy of the Jedi Order. It starts with Jedi Initiates, which are the younglings we find with Force potential. Jedi Knights and Masters select from these Initiates a personal apprentice, called a Padawan. As a sign of respect, Padawans refer to them as Masters regardless of if they’ve officially been promoted yet. If a Padawan succeeds in learning from their Master and becomes a Knight themselves, then the Knight is promoted to Master. The wisest masters can then become members of the High Council, though only one or two members get an additional title: either Master of the Order for the leader of the Council, or Grand Master for the recognized leader of the entire Order.”

“I see.” Anakin muttered, “I have a… very different interpretation of that word.”

“Ah.” Obi-Wan said. On a planet like Tatooine, that said enough. Neither of them brought it up again and Obi-Wan led him to the fresher. “Now, I imagine you’ve never used one of these,” Obi-Wan had a light smirk on his face, “So use this knob to activate the water and to control its temperature. You don’t want to scald yourself.”

Anakin mumbled a string of curses under his breath. “The ship isn’t that big.” He muttered, “How is there enough water in here to bathe?”

“Well, it’s recycled, of course.” Obi-Wan chuckled. “The dirty water is loaded into a machine that cleans and sterilizes it completely.” Anakin made a face, “Think of it like the evaporators on Tatooine. Despite being on such a sandy planet, the water once collected doesn’t taste salty.”

“Ah. That makes sense.” Anakin muttered. “Do all starships have these?”

“No.” Obi-Wan shook his head. “This one only does because it is a luxury vessel. Most ships use the usual sonic showers.” He pointed, “Now, this one is shampoo to clean your hair, and this one is soap to clean your body. Enjoy, and don’t take too long.” And despite being quite abrupt, he bowed slightly to Anakin and left him in the room.

Anakin looked dubiously at the handle before yanking on it and watching as water immediately sprayed out. “Sithspit, it’s really true.” He quickly got rid of his clothes and got in so as to not waste water. As he was showering, he felt the ship shudder. ‘Guess we just jumped to Hyperspace.’ He thought to himself.

No one on the ship had any idea of the trouble they had just dodged on Tatooine.

…

A few minutes later, Anakin was wearing clean clothes brought to him by C3PO, his and his mom’s personal protocol droid. The droid was a bit neurotic, but he had built him when he was ten…

Anakin could now totally understand why they wasted water like that. He felt better than he ever had. He didn’t know why. It was slower and took longer than any shower he had ever taken. Yet he also felt just so relaxed, and he actually smelled nice!

He was also freezing and wrapped his arms around himself, “Is this cold?! I hate it!” He said to himself, before hearing Padmé’s melodic laugh.

“Space is cold.” She said, wearing a new outfit that immediately made Anakin feel hot under the collar. She was wearing a thin dress that started orange at the hood and gradually shifted to yellow near her feet. A red sash around her waist kept the outfit together, and despite being quite loose on her, still managed to be somewhat form-fitting. A tantalizing display just teasing at the treasure beneath. “Tatooine is way too hot, so it’s natural you feel a bit uncomfortable. You’ll get used to it.” She said as she embraced him, sharing her body heat.  “Mhmmmm…” She smirked at him, “So, how was your first real shower?”

“Hush you.” Anakin flushed a little.

“Don’t worry, they get a lot better on planet. That was just a quick shower with limited resources.” Padmé taunted him good-naturedly. Anakin wasn’t sure he could handle better. She giggled, “Come on,” She said, taking his hand and leading him up to the second level. Panaka was stone-faced as she led him into the Queen’s royal quarters. “I have returned, My Queen.” Padmé said to her body double. Anakin’s eyes widened slightly as he took in the ‘Queen’ and her other handmaidens. They were all wearing the same dress as Padmé.

“Thank you, Padmé.” The ‘Queen’ replied.

‘Holy kriff, even their voices sound the same.’ Anakin mused to himself, ‘If they were both in makeup I’m not sure I could tell them apart without cheating with the Force.’

“Padmé tells me we have you to thank for our quick exit from Tatooine.” Sabé (Padmé’s double) said to him. “Thank you, Anakin Skywalker. We will not forget this.”

“You are welcome, Queen Amidala.” Anakin played along. “I’m glad I was able to help.”

Sabé nodded to him, before turning to Panaka, “You may leave us.”

“Your Majesty-” Panaka immediately protested, but Sabé overruled him.

“We will be quite safe with Lord Skywalker here.” She said, and Anakin felt like he suffered another mental speeder crash, “Padmé seems quite sure of his character, and I trust her judgement.”

Panaka’s jaw clenched. “Yes, My Queen.” He ground out before exiting from the royal quarters.

Padmé quickly locked the doors so that they could not be opened from the outside. “Finally!” She smiled and took off her shawl. “Ani, meet my handmaidens.”

“I can’t believe you told him!” Sabé looked like she wanted to squeeze the bridge of her nose. “That was so risky, Padmé!” She had also dropped the ‘royal’ tone and accent.

“She didn’t.” Anakin cut in, amused. “I sensed she wasn’t being entirely truthful with the Force and sniffed out the truth.”

“Ah, well that’s cheating.” One of the handmaidens laughed. They all had taken off their hoods as well, revealing she was a blonde.

Padmé giggled, “This is Eirtaé,” She introduced the blonde first. “Rabé,” She pointed to the young lady with black hair and darker skin. “Saché,” She had fair skin like Padmé and, other than the false Queen, looked most like the actual monarch. “Yané,” she was the palest of the handmaidens, with green eyes and red hair. A color Anakin had never seen before, “And Sabé.” She finally introduced her body double.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all!” Anakin bowed to each of them, smiling.

“The pleasure is all ours.” Yané… purred?

‘…why do I suddenly feel like a bantha steak?’ The thought ran through his mind. The Force wasn’t warning him about anything…

“They’re my best friends in the galaxy. I love each of them dearly.” Padmé continued, smiling at all of them. “We grew up together and even supported each other’s campaigns when Naboo’s elections rolled around. No matter which of us won, we decided to stay together and share our victory, just as we always did everything else.”

Anakin smiled, “You’re quite a tight-knit group, huh? I’m happy for you.” He couldn’t really say that about anyone himself. Any friends he happened to have were fleeting and gone all too quickly back on Tatooine… especially after he and his mom left slave’s row for a real home. He then turned to Padmé and murmured into her ear, “I hardly think it was necessary to lock us in here for just some introductions, though. What are you up to?”

She smirked at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. She had that look on her face, “You were my first everything, Ani.” She stood on tiptoes to murmur into his ear, “First boy that is.”

Anakin went as stiff as a board. “W-What?!” He whisper-screamed at her.

“I told you…” She grinned evilly, “We share everything.” She traced her finger on the front of his pants.

Anakin couldn’t believe his ears, “Are you serious right now?” He gaped. The girls he had fooled around with on Tatooine had gotten into a huge fight over it a year ago!

“Mhm…” Padmé kissed his neck, “Like I said… I love each of them dearly… and frankly-” Her voice became a little bit sardonic, “I need reinforcements, you beast.” Her squeeze told him exactly what she meant. She then kissed him deeply before pulling away, “Have fun… we’ll need some time to get Sabé out of that dress and makeup.” She said evilly as she walked away.

Anakin swallowed heavily as Yané and Saché molded themselves to his sides. “Padmé found us such a handsome boy.” Saché cooed at him before giving him a small kiss on his jawline.

“You’ll be gentle with us, won’t you, Anakin?” Yané looked like she wanted him to be the exact opposite of gentle with her. The two girls giggled as they pulled him to another door, which opened and revealed the absolute biggest bed Anakin had ever seen.

What in the Sith Hells had his life just turned into?

Well, if Padmé, his angel, was really going to be this amazing, he could hardly say no. The two girls squealed and giggled as he lifted them both into his arms effortlessly and walked to the bed.

-]|[-

“Really, Ani?” Shmi had the dryest look on her face as he joined her for breakfast the next day. While the Queen’s quarters was completely soundproof and the crew had literally zero evidence of what had occurred in there… everyone knew. There wasn’t much else that could happen in a locked bedroom with one boy and six girls, with none of them so much as being seen for a full twelve hours.

Granted, most of that time was spent sleeping like the dead, but the desert rat shouldn’t have been in the Queen’s quarters unsupervised for even a quarter that long. Most of the Nabooan crew was glaring at him in the mess, and Panaka himself looked like he wanted to strangle him.

He could feel the negative emotions pouring at him from all of them, and it was really throwing his morning off. His mother got his attention again, “Was one not enough?” She deadpanned.

“I was happy with just Padmé.” He flushed and muttered, “It was their idea.” He grinned, “…Wouldn’t change a thing.”

“I don’t think I need to know.” Shmi said, before putting food in front of him. “Now eat. Evidently you’ll need your strength.” She teased him.

Anakin did so and felt the glares intensify with the distinct flavor of envy. (Though with their ages the envy was towards his apparent prowess. He didn’t know that, however.) He looked back and saw the ‘Queen’ and her handmaidens walking in. Well, walking. All six of them looked bleary eyed and exhausted. Padmé sat next to him and dropped her head on his shoulder. “Caf…” She begged, looking at him soulfully as the rest of the girls joined them at the table.

Shmi stared at the sight with a raised eyebrow and a bemused smile. ‘Well, at least I’ll have plenty of grandchildren.’

…

The rest of the trip passed in much the same way. Anakin was getting a bit annoyed at the negative feelings that the crew projected. Thankfully, the girls were more than happy to keep his mind off of the Nerf herders on the ship. Finally, they arrived on Coruscant and Anakin stepped onto another world for the first time. ‘…Yuck.’ He very much did not like it. ‘The Force feels so nasty on this planet. What the kriff is this?!’

He watched the proceedings as Sabé greeted Senator Palpatine in her royal guise, before she was introduced to Chancellor Valorum. The older man stood with quiet dignity, though Anakin could feel a sense of exhaustion from him. He told Sabé that a special session of the Senate had been called. Sabé thanked him before getting onto a barge with Palpatine. He and his mother went with them, and Padmé sat up front with Sabé while Yané and Saché kept him and his mother company. “Everyone have their blasters?” He murmured to them.

“Yes.” Yané said softly.

“Good… something feels off.” He muttered back, though he couldn’t pinpoint what. The two girls straightened up and looked around alertly. He was now wishing Padmé hadn’t talked him out of wearing his full Mandalorian armor.

…

“There is no civility, only politics. The Republic is not what it once was.” Senator Palpatine’s real thoughts did not show on his face as he paced in front of Padmé, who had resumed her real role as Queen and was wearing a white outfit to match it.

Palpatine was furious to see the girl here on Coruscant. He had half a mind to tear his apprentice’s legs off and beat him to death with them. Maul had completely missed them on Tatooine despite his assurances that they would soon be located. The Jedi hadn’t even been alerted to the Sith’s existence yet because of Maul’s incompetence!

Palpatine was glad he had just so much experience hiding his emotions. “The Senate is full of greedy, squabbling delegates. There is no interest in the common good. I must be frank, Your Majesty. There is little chance the Senate will act on the invasion.”

“Chancellor Valorum seems to think there is hope.” Padmé replied solemnly.

Palpatine seemed to age before them, “If I may say so, Your Majesty, the Chancellor has little real power. He is mired by baseless accusations of corruption. The bureaucrats are in charge now.”

“What options do we have?” Padmé asked him.

“Our best choice would be to push for the election of a stronger Supreme Chancellor. One who could control the bureaucrats and give us justice.” He paused for a moment to let that sink in and continued with visible hesitation, “You could call for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum.”

“He has been our strongest supporter.” Padmé refuted softly.

“Our only other choice would be to submit a plea to the courts.” Palpatine responded.

Padmé felt her heart sink, “The courts take even longer to decide things than the Senate. Our people are dying, Senator. We must do something to stop the Federation quickly.”

Palpatine looked rather defeated as he resumed his pacing, “To be realistic, Your Majesty… I think we’re going to have to accept Federation control for the time being.” He turned to look at her solemnly.

“That is something I cannot do.” She replied before sighing, “I will consider your words.”

“By your leave then, Your Majesty.” Palpatine bowed before walking from the room.

The handmaidens and Anakin immediately relaxed and sat around her, “This is what I was afraid of.” Anakin said softly.

Padmé grimaced, “I can’t believe it… betray Chancellor Valorum? How will that help?”

“I don’t think it will.” Sabé said softly. “Honestly, what is he thinking? What would we do if someone from the Trade Federation gets elected? Or even someone on their payroll?”

“Yeah, something stinks here.” Anakin agreed, “Even the Force itself feels… off.”

“But what other options do we have?” Padmé asked in frustration. “Even with your help Ani… can we really kick the Trade Federation off Naboo?”

“I don’t know.” Anakin said honestly. “I’ve yet to speak with buir…”

“Buir?” Rabé asked, looking confused.

“Father in Mando’a.” He replied, before shaking his head, “In any case, Sabé is right. You could end up making things worse for us if you do call for the vote.”

“Maybe you could make a plea not to the Senate in its entirety, but individual members?” Yané rubbed her chin.

“You mean… ask for help from, I don’t know, Corellia?” Padmé grimaced, “That could just lead to favors being owed. We’d trade one collar for another.”

“No, Yané is on to something.” Saché said, “Call out the Trade Federation. Call out how they only came after us because we were defenseless.”

Rabé cottoned on, “Make other Systems like ours fear them.” She said, smirking slightly.

Eirtaé smirked, “Don’t make a plea. Not directly. Tug on their heart strings. Make them nervous. Afraid that the Federation will come for them next.”

They were silent for a moment, before Padmé nodded slowly. “It…could work.” She said softly, “I hope it does. As of this moment, we don’t have many other options…”

Anakin and the girls joined her in a group hug.

-]|[-

“…and that concludes the official portion of my report.” Qui-Gon finished informing the Jedi Council of all of the official mission details, from when he had first landed on the command Lucrehulk to now.

“Hmmm, more to say, have you?” Grand Master Yoda asked.

“I do.” Qui-Gon nodded, “This whole mission felt off. We all know the Neimoidians are cowards. They shouldn’t have dared to do anything as audacious as even the blockade, much less attempting to assassinate official Republic ambassadors. I have no proof, obviously, but something about the situation feels sinister. They even made us wait for over an hour before they tried to gas us.”

“It is certainly suspicious.” Master of the Order Mace Windu nodded slowly, “As though they were contacting another party for instructions.”

“Exactly.” Qui-Gon agreed with him. “If they intended to kill us from the start, it would have been when our ship landed and powered down. We would have been completely incapable of defending ourselves in that scenario.”

Depa Billaba agreed with what he was saying. “I believe it would be wise for you and your Padawan to continue protecting Queen Amidala. Something tells me this situation has yet to be resolved.”

“Agreed.” Windu said, “Consider your mission incomplete until this crisis has been resolved. May the Force be with you.”

Obi-Wan bowed deeply and started to walk away, though Qui-Gon barely inclined his head. Master Yaddle, a younger, female version of Yoda’s species, chuckled, “Master Qui-Gon, even more to say, you have?”

“With your permission, my Masters,” He folded his arms within his robes. “I have encountered a Vergence in the Force.”

“A Vergence, you say?” Yoda leaned forward.

Windu scrunched up his eyebrows slightly, “Located around a…person?”

“A young man.” Qui-Gon nodded, “I asked Obi-Wan to check his Midichlorian levels, and the device shorted itself out as it sped past twenty-four thousand. It is the highest number I’ve ever heard of in a single lifeform.” His gaze unfocused slightly, “And after speaking with his mother, I believe it’s possible he was conceived by the Force itself.” Several masters looked at one another and murmured.

“You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force.” Windu looked at him intently, “You believe it’s this boy?”

“I do.” Qui-Gon said firmly. “I not only believe it to be the case, I’m completely sure of it. Without a single lesson from a Jedi, he proved capable of lifting a Hyperdrive with the Force. I’ve also seen him display an ability only the Dark Woman is known to possess. He can phase through walls. He’s figured it all out on his own, with just a small amount of aid from a father figure who was not Force sensitive himself. He even sensed the Kyber Crystal within my lightsaber and guessed I was a Jedi because of it.” As he spoke, he watched incredulity fill the faces of the Jedi Masters around him. Even Obi-Wan was staring at him with some shock.

“This is impossible.” Ki-Adi Mundi stated, “We couldn’t possibly have missed a child on this! Not even on such a remote world!”

“And yet we did.” Qui-Gon retorted calmly. “I request that he be tested.”

“How old is this boy?” Oppo Rancis asked.

Qui-Gon visibly looked to be holding back a sigh, “A little older than Queen Amidala.”

“Impossible.” Eeth Koth said, “He is far too old to be admitted into the Order.”

Qui-Gon frowned, “I want to be clear, Masters. He straight up told us that the only reason he was even still on Tatooine was that the Force warned him against leaving until our arrival. Finding him was the will of the Force.”

Windu sighed and looked exasperated. “Bring him before us, then.”

Qui-Gon finally bowed and left with his Padawan. Yoda and Mace simply shared a look.

…

Anakin had been kicked out of the Queen’s chambers before Qui-Gon arrived. Padmé was getting ready to address the Senate and he would just be in the way as her handmaidens bustled about. “Qui-Gon.” Anakin looked up and waved at the Jedi Master. Shmi looked back over her shoulder and greeted the man as well. “What’s up?”

Qui-Gon smiled at him, “Good afternoon, Anakin, Shmi.” He bowed, “I was hoping you would accompany me to the Jedi Temple.”

Anakin raised an eyebrow, “What for?”

“I wish to introduce you to the Jedi Council and hopefully secure a position in the Order for you.” Qui-Gon replied.

His other eyebrow joined the first. “You want me to be a Jedi?” he chuckled dryly, “Master Qui-Gon, I know a fair bit about your Order. Secondhand sources, to be sure, but still enough to form a decent enough picture. I would not be a good fit.”

Now it was Qui-Gon’s turn to raise an eyebrow, “You do not wish to learn about the Force?”

“I didn’t say that.” Anakin replied, “But the way I see it, the only way I could join your Order would be to either make several sacrifices I have no interest in making, or to be given special treatment, which I also have no interest in.”

Qui-Gon looked at him in confusion. He was certain that Anakin was the Chosen One. How could he not want to be a Jedi? “Hmmm, your situation is a strange one.” He agreed, though it was mostly to fill the air. “Though I appreciate your maturity, Anakin. Perhaps a compromise of some sort can be reached? You’ve done well in learning of the Force on your own, but there are several aspects of it which you should avoid touching. Even if you do not wish to join the Order, I would still appreciate if you met the Council.”

Anakin chuckled, “Alright. I suppose I have nothing else to do. Give me a minute.” He agreed and stood up. He pecked Shmi on the cheek, “I’ll see you later, Mom.” He then walked over to Padmé’s room and knocked.

Rabé was the one who opened it. “Ani.” She smiled, and he leaned in to kiss her gently. She flushed slightly as they pulled back, “What is it?” She allowed him in. “We’re almost finished.”

“It appears I won’t be joining you in the Senate.” Anakin replied.

“What?” Padmé walked out from behind a dressing screen, and his eyebrows nearly shot off his forehead as he took in the sight of her hair. “…What?” She asked, somewhat self-consciously.

Anakin cleared his throat, trying not to laugh. “N-Nothing.” He said, unconvincingly. She glared, and he shook his head. “A-Anyway. Master Qui-Gon has requested that I accompany him to the Jedi Temple. Apparently he informed the Council of me and wishes for me to become a Jedi.”

“No way!” Yané latched on to his side. “You’re not going anywhere, mister!” The fiery redhead glared, daring him to defy her.

Anakin laughed and grabbed a handful of her and Rabé’s asses, pulling the darker-skinned maiden close as well. He was rewarded with two moans. “I have no interest in giving this up.” He said, giving them some firm squeezes. “But I also don’t wish to make Qui-Gon look like a fool. I will at least meet the Council and see if they are willing to teach me anything. If not?” He shrugged.

“Don’t scare us like that.” Padmé sighed, “Alright. I suppose there wouldn’t be much you could do in the Senate anyway, even if you did come. We’ll see you later then. Is your… buir…?” Anakin smiled at her and nodded “On his way?”

“He’ll be here tomorrow.” Anakin informed her.

“That’s a relief.” Sabé said, “If this goes wrong, then at least we can head back to Naboo quickly.”

“Exactly.” Padmé agreed, “We’ll see you later, then.” She smirked, “Don’t break the Jedi, Ani.”

He chuckled and spanked the two girls in his arms, before throwing an, “I’ll see you girls tonight!” over his shoulder and leaving the room for them to finish dressing up Padmé.

…

“Welcome, young Skywalker.” Master Yoda greeted him, and Anakin bowed his head in respect. Living almost nine-hundred years was an accomplishment in and of itself.

“Thank you for having me here, sir.” Anakin replied with an easy smile.

“You know why you’re here?” Windu was as no-nonsense as usual.

Anakin chuckled lightly, “I imagine you all, Qui-Gon, and I have very different ideas of why I’m here.”

“Hmm…” Yoda looked at him. “Bemusement, I sense in you.”

“You’re not wrong.” Anakin replied. “Qui-Gon did not ask me before he made his request to you. He caught me entirely by surprise, I’ll admit.”

“Of course he did.” Windu groused, wanting to rub his forehead. The number of Shatterpoints congregating around Anakin were nearly uncountable. He was getting a headache just looking at the boy. “So then let me ask you: Do you even wish to be trained as a Jedi?”

“I wish to learn more about the Force, of course.” Anakin replied, “And learning from the experts would certainly make that easier. Learning how to make a lightsaber would also be pretty wizard.” He chuckled. “But as I told Qui-Gon, I have no interest in being given special treatment, nor in making the sacrifices I would need to make to be admitted to your Order.” He smiled at Windu, “So if you decide that it is okay to give me a few lessons here and there to ensure I’m on the right path, I would be happy.” He shrugged, “But I’m not exactly going to go crying about how outrageous and unfair it is if you decide to send me on my way. I’ve made it this far on my own, after all. The Force will guide me as it always has.”

The Council murmured and Windu sighed in relief as some of the Shatterpoints vanished. “A mature outlook, young Skywalker.”

Master Yaddle smiled at the young man, “Show us some of your abilities, you may. A decision reached, we have not.” Anakin took a moment to parse her grammar, before smiling slightly. And then he blinked out of existence.

The Masters all instantly realized that he wasn’t even in the room any longer. Less experienced Jedi might have mistaken it for Invisibility combined with Force Cloak, but they were all too learned to fall for that. “What in the Force-” Ki-Adi Mundi rose to his feet.

And then Anakin popped back in, holding a bowl in his hand. “I have to say.” He took a bite, “These noodles from Naboo are way better than the ones we made on Tatooine. This pesto stuff is great.”

More than half of the Council could now understand why Qui-Gon was so sure this boy was the Chosen One. “Impressive.” Plo Koon said softly. The Kel Dor needed to breathe with a mask as oxygen was poisonous to his species.

Anakin smiled sheepishly, “That one’s the most impressive power I’ve discovered, I think. I can also do this.” He held up the bowl and it seemed to refract in his hands, before vanishing into itself.

“Where did it go?” Even Windu looked stumped, “I’m not sure what you did.”

Anakin was a little surprised. “I folded space into itself.” He replied, before unfolding it and taking the bowl back out. “You can use it two ways: one is to store items like I just did. The other is to transport items from one place to another. That’s a lot harder though.”

Depa Billaba let out an amused chuckle, “I think we could learn as much from young Skywalker as he could learn from us.”

Windu hated to admit it, but his former Padawan was right. Anakin’s strength and presence in the Force was unrefined by their standards, but he was powerful and knowledgeable despite his lack of training. His future was clouded, and Windu very much did not wish to admit him as a Jedi but clearly leaving him to his own devices wouldn’t help. It might even be worse. He was going to learn the ways of the Force regardless of what decision the Council came to. Frankly, even he didn’t have a real opinion yet.

“Our thanks for coming, you have.” Master Yoda said to Anakin, clearly in tune with Windu’s thoughts, “Much to deliberate on, we have. Difficult it is, to come to a decision. An unusual situation, this is. Much nuance, there is to consider.”

Windu nodded, “Yes, I think we need more time, young Skywalker.”

Anakin inclined his head in acknowledgement, “Take all the time you need, though I will likely not be on planet anymore after tomorrow.” He told them.

“Hmm, intend on helping Naboo, you do?” Yoda sensed it from him.

“Of course.” Anakin smiled, “I waited fifteen years on Tatooine for Padmé Naberrie to walk into my life. I intend to help her get her planet back.”

That statement almost made several of the councilmembers snort. Clearly Anakin and Qui-Gon had two entirely different ideas on the will of the Force. It was also interesting to hear that the Queen might intend to use violence rather than diplomacy to end this crisis. “Very well.” Windu stated, “I can sense this will not be our last meeting, young Skywalker. May the Force be with you.”

“And you.” Anakin bowed again, before walking out the door.

“How did it go?” Qui-Gon asked, smiling at him.

“They’re deliberating.” Anakin replied, “We likely won’t know for sure any time soon.”

Qui-Gon chuckled, “The fact that they’re deliberating at all is a positive sign.”

-]|[-

Despite what Anakin had warned her about, Padmé remained optimistic. She was joined on Naboo’s senate pod by Palpatine himself as well as Sabé and two more handmaidens. Chancellor Valorum declared, “The chair recognizes the Senator from the sovereign system of Naboo!”

Palpatine took control of their pod and flew it down to float in front of the center spire. “Supreme Chancellor, delegates of the Senate… A tragedy has occurred on our peaceful planet of Naboo. We have become caught in a dispute you’re all well aware of, which began right here with the taxation of trade routes, and has now engulfed our entire planet in the oppression of the Trade Federation.”

A second pod illegally descended. “This is outrageous! I object to the Senator’s statements!” This was Lott Dod of the Trade Federation.

Valorum’s face was stone-cold as he looked at Dod, “The Chair does not recognize the Senator from the Trade Federation at this time.”

After a moment, Palpatine spoke again, “To state our allegations, I present Queen Amidala, recently elected ruler of the Naboo, who speaks on our behalf.”

Murmurs rang through the Senate chambers as Padmé stood and walked to the podium. “Honorable representatives of the Republic, I come to you under the gravest of circumstances. The Naboo system has been invaded by force. Invaded...against all the laws of the Republic by the Droid Armies of the Trade-”

Again, Dod broke the rules. “I object! There is no proof!” The slimy Neimoidian declared, “This is incredible. We recommend a commission be sent to Naboo to ascertain the truth.”

“The Congress of Malastare concurs with the honorable delegate from the Trade Federation. A commission must be appointed!” This was Aks Moe, a corrupt Gran from the subjugated world of Malastare.

“Overruled.” Valorum said immediately. But immediately, Mas Amedda, the Vice-Chancellor of the Senate began to whisper.

“Enter the bureaucrat.” Palpatine murmured to Padmé. “The true rulers of the Republic. And on the payroll of the Trade Federation I might add. This is where Chancellor Valorum’s strength will disappear.”

And like chronowork, a tired Valorum sighed, “The point is conceded. Will you defer your motion to allow a commission to explore the validity of your accusations?”

Padmé’s face hardened, “Is it common for petitions to be interrupted like this, Chancellor Valorum?” She glared at him. “I have yet to even finish laying out our plea due to the rudeness of the Senators from Malastare and the Trade Federation.”

Valorum’s face hardened slightly. “My apologies, Queen Amidala. You are, of course, correct.” He looked to Dod and Moe, “You both will return to your stations, and if you speak out of turn again, I will be forced to censure you.” Dod threw his hands in the air and made his way back up to the Trade Federation’s post, seething.

“Thank you, Chancellor.” Padmé said, “As for deferring our motion…” She glared at him, “I refuse. There is no need for a committee. Think, Senators, about what we are doing here. Why would I come before you with a claim that could be demonstrably proven false with little effort? It would be a complete waste of time, and you could then censure us for it!” Several Senators nodded in agreement. “We have not come before you to ask that you intercede in the trade dispute between us. We have not even asked for reparations for the blockade. We have come before you because our sovereignty has been attacked, and all that we are requesting is that the Trade Federation’s illegal occupation of Naboo be terminated. And you expect us to wait months for some committee to ascertain that we have, in fact, been invaded before acting? Millions of my people will be dead from starvation by then!”

She looked up at the rotunda, glaring at hundreds of pods, “Should the Senate fail to act, then all they will be doing is enabling the Trade Federation’s actions. They will see that their tactics work and that no amount of bluster from the Senate will matter. How many other peaceful worlds will they attack before the Senate decides to do something about it? Will it be Denon next? Eriadu? Milagro? Or will they grow daring enough to invade Alderaan next? Chandrila? Think, Senators, before our fate becomes your own!”

The Senate chambers exploded with noise, and to her side, Palpatine was grudgingly impressed. Queen Amidala was a wonderful orator when allowed to speak. She had incited the Senate up masterfully, and worryingly, she had not called for the vote as he had recommended. He had to hide a scowl. Such a thing would be far more powerful coming from her than someone else, but if needs must…

Slowly, the Senate divided itself. Many worlds were siding with her. Many were calling her an opportunistic, lying whore. Sabé, Saché, and Rabé were glaring daggers at each and every one of the Senators who did so. They were taking faces if not names to memory.

After half an hour, the rotunda was still in chaos, and Valorum was trying in vain to corral the Senators. Palpatine had again suggested the vote after fifteen minutes, but Padmé seemed content to wait it out and see what happened. She and her handmaidens were taking note of who seemed sympathetic.

Palpatine, however, had enough. He surreptitiously reached out to one of the moderates on his payroll with the Force and activated a compulsion he had planted there. The Senator from Kuat, Safiya Shesh allowed her pod to descend. “This is ridiculous!” She called out, silencing the rotunda. “We have been arguing without end for half an hour! Chancellor Valorum has failed to bring this body to order, and he has failed in his duties! I side with Queen Amidala and the Naboo, but it is clear we will not be able to do anything under the current leadership! I call for a vote of no confidence on Chancellor Valorum!”

Immediately, the noise had erupted, this time calling for Valorum’s head. The man looked defeated and tried once, in vain, to bring the body to order. But calls of, “Vote now! Vote now!” started to rain down, and it was clear that the Chancellor’s fate was sealed.

-]|[-

“You’re kidding!” Anakin exclaimed when Padmé told him what had happened.

She shook her head, “Honestly, it was…” She paused, “Kind of sad. They looked more like squabbling children than a Senate.” She sighed and dropped her head onto his arm. He immediately wrapped her up in a side hug, “And Naboo and I were quickly forgotten in the nonsense.”

“It was ridiculous.” Saché growled. She and Yané were accompanying Padmé and Anakin in nondescript clothing. All of them had their weapons close at hand.

“Well, we’re off to meet buir now,” Anakin soothed them. “One way or another, we’ll resolve this, girls.”

“I hope you’re right.” Padmé said morosely as they all got off the barge and walked into a restaurant.

Anakin’s face lit up in a smile, “Buir!” He clapped a hand on a sitting man’s shoulder.

He was a grizzled veteran with lightly tanned skin and several scars on his face. “Ad.” He responded, standing and grasping his shoulders. “Su cuy’gar.” He smiled at his adopted son. Something he had told the girls was the Mandalorian ‘hello…’ except it literally translated as ‘You’re still alive.’ The girls had cracked up at that.

Anakin chuckled, “Can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Finally off that useless rock.” He chuckled lightly, “And in the company of some pretty ladies, I see.”

Anakin chuckled back and introduced the girls, “This is Padmé, Yané, and Saché. Girls, this is Jango Fett.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Jango nodded to them, which they returned. He nodded over to the table, and they all took a seat, Anakin next to his father and the girls in front of them. “So… what mess have you ended up in this time?” He asked Anakin.

“I don’t get in trouble that often!” Anakin protested indignantly.

“Oh? Then what about that time with the-”

“Th-that time doesn’t count!” Anakin protested, reddening.

“Oooh, this I’ve got to hear.” Yané had an evil grin on her face.

“Maybe later.” Anakin coughed, shooting Jango a glare and earning an unrepentant smirk in return. They all ordered food and chatted mindlessly for a few minutes before Jango took a device from his pocket and stuck it under the table. A shrill activation sound was barely audible before vanishing. He focused up and Jango dropped the lighthearted smirk. “You hear about the Naboo Invasion?”

Jango deadpanned, “I can’t fight an army by myself. Not even with you on my side, Ad.” He said immediately. “Also, last I heard it was a blockade.” The food arrived and they began to chow down.

“Not so.” Padmé shook her head, “They tried to kill the Chancellor’s ambassadors and landed their army on the planet when that failed.”

“Ah.” Jango shifted, “You’re from Naboo then, I take it?”

“Yes.” Padmé nodded, “The three of us are handmaidens for Queen Amidala.”

“And you finally got off Tatooine for them?” Jango side-eyed Anakin, “Still overachieving, I see.” The three girls blushed, making him raise an eyebrow.

“I’d say he’s achieving perfectly.” Saché muttered under her breath.

Jango leaned back, “I’m going to assume the Queen’s petition to the Senate failed if you’re meeting with me.”

“It did.” Padmé growled, “The Senate preferred to act more like children than some of them accused Queen Amidala of being. The session ended with the Senator from Kuat calling for a vote of no confidence on Chancellor Valorum.”

“Ah, yes, because that would surely help Naboo in a timely manner.” Jango muttered sarcastically. “I take it the Queen has other ideas than waiting months for a new Chancellor to do something about it.”

“She does.” Anakin nodded, “We’ve managed to acquire intel about the current state of Naboo. Only one of the Lucrehulks is still in orbit: the droid control ship itself. We take that one out and their entire army goes dead.”

“Easy.” Jango deadpanned again. “Have you seen one of those things?” He shook his head, “I have. That thing’s no more a carrier than the Slave I is a regular patrol ship. It’s got forty-two quad turbolaser batteries and over a thousand starfighters.”

“Turbolasers are slow and meant to fight capital ships.” Anakin countered, “And the specs on the Naboo N-1s… they’re better than Fangs. By a lot. Faster. More maneuverable. Better armed…”

“Great, and how many of those do you have to face the over a thousand droid fighters they’ll have?” Jango asked, and they all grimaced. He shook his head, “Look, I’m good, but even I’m not that good. I can’t guarantee a victory here.”

Anakin sighed, “We do have another option. We could capture the Viceroy and force the coward to surrender.”

“More doable, I’d say.” Jango nodded after a moment, “But then you’re dealing with thousands of battle droids instead.” He snorted, “They’re crap droids, sure, but quantity is a quality all on its own. Without an army, there’s no way.” Not without his clan. Damn Jetti. Damn Death Watch.

Padmé spoke up for the first time in a while. “That I’m… reasonably confident we can acquire.” She told him, making a look of surprise cross Jango’s face. “I even have a plan already.”

“…Alright, let’s hear it.” Jango focused on her.

“There’s another species we live together with on Naboo; an aquatic one. A member of their species accompanied us on this journey, and after Anakin made me start thinking about a need for a second plan in case the Senate refused to help, I talked with him. The Gungans have an army and weapons that should work well against droids.” She shifted, “Not enough to win, but they have a big enough army that the Neimoidian cowards would have to respond. Have them muster far outside of Theed and the cowards would send most of their forces out to meet them, leaving the city relatively undefended for a sneak attack by a smaller squad.”

Jango looked at her for a moment. He then turned to Anakin, “Good job.” Padmé and Anakin both flushed and Saché and Yané giggled. “Alright, so you at least have an idea of what you want to do.” He said softly, “But what if these Gungans refuse?”

“I suppose that’s where I come in.” Anakin shrugged weakly, “Last resort, of course.”

“Anakin.” Jango said in exasperation.

“This is happening, buir.” Anakin said firmly, “Your help would be appreciated, of course, but we’re going with or without you.”

Jango sighed. He hoped he wouldn’t regret this. He smirked, “I hope you still know how to fight.”

The girl’s faces lit up as Anakin smirked back, “Just point me at ‘em.”

…

As they ironed out the details, Padmé received a surprise comm. “Padmé, come back here immediately.”

“Sabé? What’s wrong?” She asked in concern.

“Senator Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia is here to see you.” Sabé replied, “Please, hurry! We can only delay for so long.”

“Ha!” Jango figured it out immediately and barked out a laugh. He nudged Anakin as he watched the girls pale. “Nice trick. Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Kriff.” Padmé cursed before turning her eyes to Anakin. “Ani, can you-”

“I don’t know if I can-” Anakin immediately protested.

“Then we need to risk it.” Padmé said firmly and grasped his hand, “This could be massive for us.”

Anakin cursed, “If this goes wrong, I’ll haunt you.” He immediately started using the Force to try and make sure no one would notice them.

She giggled nervously, “Other way around, probably.”

And then they vanished. Jango blinked and looked around. Thankfully, Anakin’s broad Mind Trick had worked. “That was new.” He said blandly.

…

“Oh, holy kriff.” Padmé’s knees wobbled in relief as they landed in her bedroom. Despite her determination and bravado, she had been terrified. The girls let out surprised shrieks and Sabé even dropped her hair comb. Padmé was instantly super glad the room was pretty well soundproofed.

“Oh, thank the Force that worked.” He hurriedly kissed Padmé, “You’re okay?”

She nodded shakily, “I think so.” She kissed back and he felt a hot wave of relief crash on him. “Thank you, Ani.” She said, before turning to the girls. “Let’s go.” She sat down and her handmaidens immediately set out to get her makeup done.

…

Anakin popped back outside the restaurant and made his way back in, just in case. Jango and the girls were already on their way out. “Oh, perfect. We’ll make our way back the slow way.”

“Padmé was okay?” Saché asked quickly.

“Just fine.” He said, still feeling relief. “Come on. I already hailed a speeder.”

Once within, Jango smirked at him again, “So, a Queen, huh?”

Anakin didn’t even have a chance to reply as Saché and Yané each leaned in and hugged an arm for themselves. “And her handmaidens.” They said smugly.

And Anakin witnessed the glorious sight of Jango Fett’s jaw dropping.

…

“Who is he?” Panaka glared at the newcomer. ‘This damn boy is taking too many liberties.’

“My father.” Anakin said as he brushed past the security Captain, “Is Queen Amidala still in her meeting?”

“It just ended.” Panaka sorely wished he could deny entry to the very dangerous-looking man accompanying Anakin and the handmaidens. How was he supposed to do his job like this?! “And the Senators just left.”

Anakin nodded, “Give me a moment, then.” He said and entered the meeting room. “How did it go?” He asked Padmé, smirking as he saw that she had chosen a much more modest hairstyle than the ridiculous doo she had used for the Senate meeting. Her face was still caked up in white makeup.

“Oh Ani, it’s wonderful!” She ran up to him and hugged him. He grinned and lifted her, spinning her around once. She beamed, “Garm Bel Iblis offered to contact some friends-” She smirked lightly at that, “-to supply us with some security forces to bolster ours for the attack. He gave me their comm numbers and told me to call in before we’re ready to get underway. He said he could get us at least three CR90 Corvettes and a Starbolt-class Assault Carrier. We really will have a chance!”

“Perfect.” He said happily, “I told you that we’d do this, one way or another.”

“Thank you. Without you making me think about what the Senate could get up to, I would have just gone with Senator Palpatine’s suggestions.” She murmured. “It wouldn’t have helped at all.”

He smiled down at her, “There’s no time to waste then.”

She nodded. They exited the room, and she turned to everyone waiting on them, “Let’s be off. Captain, is our ship ready to fly?”

“Ready to-” Panaka’s eyes widened, “My Queen, what do you mean? Where do you intend to go?”

“Back to Naboo.” She said flatly, “We’re taking our planet back.”

His eyes bulged, “Your Highness, we haven’t even heard who will be elected Chancellor yet! Senator Palpatine has been nominated!”

“We don’t need to.” She replied flatly, “I don’t intend to wait for some Trade Federation patsy to get put in the big chair. Get ready to leave.”

Panaka’s jaw clenched. “Very well.” He bowed and hurried out of the room. He needed to leave Senator Palpatine a message.

Jango smiled slightly, “Well, this daring of yours might bear some fruit after all.” He said to Padmé, earning a smile in return.

-]|[-

The entire time they flew back to Naboo, they were ironing out the plans. Jango was in his Slave I, and they were able to get in contact with the Corellians as well to send them the details. The friendly ships were massing right outside of Naboo’s borders in dark space, just waiting for the signal. A discreet call through some less reputable channels from Jango had drawn some mercenaries. Not really for Naboo, but instead to be able to stick it to the Trade Federation. They were quite unpopular. They were still vastly outmatched by the enemy fighters (a more concrete number had been provided by those who were better aware of the Lucrehulks configuration. They had fifteen-hundred of the damn things.) but their optimism was rising.

They made it back to Naboo’s surface and Jar Jar had descended into the Gungan city he lived in. It took very little time for him to come back up. “Dare-sa nobody dare. Da Gungan city is deserted! Some kinda fight, mesa tinks.”

“Do you think they’ve been taken to the camps?” Obi-Wan asked Qui-Gon.

Panaka had a dry look on his face, “More likely they were wiped out.” He was one of the few who had no hope in the Queen’s plans and had argued vehemently against it.

“Mesa no tink so.” Jar Jar shook his head.

“Do you know where they would be, Jar Jar?” Qui-Gon asked the Gungan.

“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.” Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon slowly turned and looked at one another. The sheer ‘really? She got us with that?’ on their faces would have been something Anakin would have cackled over if he had seen it. Padmé 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 has destroyed all that we have worked so hard to build. If we do not act quickly, all will be lost forever. I ask you to help us.” Murmurs rang through the clearing as Padmé kneeled to Boss Nass. “No, I beg you to help us.” The rest of their group did the same. “Our fate is in your hands.”

There was silence for a few moments, before Boss Nass let out a loud laugh. And then a louder laugh. He laughed for several moments before saying, “Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans? Mesa lika dis! Maybe… wesa… being friends.” He then started to blubber and salivate over everything, which amused and relieved Padmé in equal measure.

They all stood, and Anakin took her hand. “We have a chance.” She whispered.

“All thanks to you. You’re an amazing leader.” Anakin told her. They shared a quick kiss.

“Not much of one for kneeling. To anyone.” Jango groused in a low tone, “But it served its purpose, I suppose.” Anakin just rolled his eyes.

-]|[-

Now that they had secured the one unknown, the plan took shape quickly. The Naboo security forces were quick to go to Theed clandestinely just to see what they even had for assets. One man was able to sneak into the Palace undetected and discovered that the Trade Federation idiots had left all the N-1s in flyable condition. They were also able to get some of their people out of Theed.

Everyone got into their positions, and the Trade Federation responded exactly as they had hoped they would.

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.

…

“We’re starting. Good hunting, Buir.” Anakin said into the comms, and Jango received it on the Slave I. He transmitted the message to their allies waiting just outside the Naboo system using his strong signal booster.

Padmé shone a red laser over at Panaka on the other side of the street.

Her head of security 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.

The two Jedi with them ignited their lightsabers and started cutting droids up. Anakin was wearing his full Mandalorian armor, though it looked halfway between that and some Jedi robes. His helmet looked not unlike the Mask of Mandalore itself, though of a silver metal instead of bronzium. His ‘T’ shaped visor was slightly upswept and thinned out near the edges, and much of the mask was covered by a light hood. He had dark robes on with smaller armored plates than his father wore that overlapped for higher mobility.

Anakin had a pair of blasters in his hands as he took out droid after droid with single shots each. Padmé and the girls were firing as well, though their priority was getting into the palace. He sped to Padmé’s side as the door opened, surprising Obi-Wan with just how fast he was even in comparison to them. A Droideka was waiting for them, and he absorbed a blaster bolt with his armor before moving like lightning and kicking the droid. It went flying and shattered as it hit the wall.

They continued to storm the palace, making for the hangar. Blaster bolts sped in every direction as the minimal number of guard droids were handled. Anakin leapt into the air with his jetpack and literally rained down fire with his flamethrowers. “Get in those ships!” Padmé ordered.

“Stay safe!” Anakin hollered as he leapt into one himself. R2D2 quickly entered the Astromech port, and he was the first one out of the hangar. With a warning from the Force, he dodged a laser cannon from the one watching tank, banked around, and blew it to hell, allowing the other N-1s to make it into the sky unscathed.

He quickly formed up and they raced into space, where they were met with a wall of droids. Anakin smirked as he immediately started racking up kills. They had a lot of enemies to deal with, but droid fighters were quite poor enemies in truth. They were pretty stupid, which was why the Trade Federation had so damn many of them. Anakin put his N-1 through its paces, performing maneuvers that were making the other pilots dizzy just looking at them.

…

On the ground, the droid commander called out, “Cease fire.” The Multi-Troop Transports opened up, allowing a long frame to extend out from its belly carrying 112 B1-Series Battle Droids. Each.

“Ouch time.” Captain Tarpals called out to his men.

And it was indeed ouch time. The Slave I raced out from the forests behind the transports and the tanks. They didn’t have enough time to react as he flew above them, dropping four seismic charges as he went. “…Uh oh.” The droid commander said as the explosives started to glow blue right beside it.

And then with massive, cacophonous BANGS, energy radiated outwards, shredding roughly a quarter of the droid army in an instant. The blue waves of energy were so powerful that they crushed metal like it was paper. Jango chuckled as he saw the Gungans cheering. He directed the ship into space, his job on the ground done. He only had four more of those charges and he had a feeling they would need them in the space battle. Hopefully the Gungans would be able to do the rest.

…

“My guess is the Viceroy is in the throne room.” Padmé said after they cleared the hangar entirely. “This way.” They walked over to one of the heavy blast doors, only for it to open of its own accord.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stiffened as a single man stood before them, radiating darkness like they had never felt before. Qui-Gon grabbed Padmé’s shoulder and forced her behind him, “Who are you?” He asked the mysterious figure as he palmed his lightsaber.

The Zabrak raised his head and pulled back his hood. He smirked. His eyes were mad and yellow, and he was covered in what Qui-Gon recognized as Sith tattoos based on his history lessons. And the sheer darkness he could feel radiating from him… “Get back.” He said to the Nabooans. “…This creature is more dangerous than all the droids in the palace.”

“We’ll take the long way.” Padmé said, swallowing heavily as she could sense something was wrong.

The two Jedi shucked off their long robes, as did the red-skinned Zabrak. The two Jedi drew and ignited their lightsabers, while the Dark Sider did so as well… except a blade sprang out from both sides of his.

Padmé and her retinue encountered trouble immediately. “Droidekas!” She ground her teeth as they were forced to get behind pillars.

Yané growled, “Cover me!” She ran for an N-1 and hopped into the cockpit. She turned the machine on and disabled the autopilot, putting the thrusters as low as they would go. She turned the small fighter and then blasted the Droidekas with the weapons, before disabling the N-1 and hopping out. “Easy as pie!” She said cheerfully.

The rest of the girls alternated between rolling their eyes and smirking. “Let’s go!” Padmé declared.

…

The space battle wasn’t going anywhere near as well as the ground fights, Anakin could admit. ‘These droids are kriffing stupid as sin, but there’s so damn many of them!’ He thought to himself as he threw his fighter into another roll. He almost crashed into one of the damn Vultures as he did so.

“Watch it, Ad.” Jango chimed in as he joined the fight. His rotary laser cannons carved up numerous droid ships and got a small squadron off of Anakin’s tail. “I told you this was going to be a mess.”

“We’ve lost few friendlies.” Anakin shot back as he took out another two Vultures, “We’re making a dent, but there are too damn many of them. Where’s our support?”

And as if summoned, the help arrived. “Time to crack some Federation skulls, boys!” Commander Gus Antilles roared out as five CR90 Corvettes exploded into the fight. Their fighters [WHAT ARE YOU] joined the battle and started shredding the Vultures along with them, giving them some very needed breathing room. One ship, the Starbolt, made its way past the space battle and disgorged its complement of troop carriers close to Naboo, allowing them to go assist the Gungans.

The Lucrehulk refocused on the Corvettes and immediately it became clear why they had been lucky their starfighters were so hard to hit. One blast hit one of the CR90s and made its shields flash ominously. None of them would be able to take more than one or two hits before they became vulnerable themselves.

“Focus a bombing run on the turbolaser batteries on the port side!” The bombers that they brought with them made nuisances of themselves, joining the N-1s and the Slave I for an actual assault on their main target. Hundreds of proton bombs and ion torpedoes smashed into the massive, repurposed cargo carrier. The ion torpedoes exploded with flashes of electricity, draining the Lucrehulk’s shields. They flashed dangerously and they even managed to knock out a couple of their targets. The quad turbolaser batteries went up in cataclysmic explosions, but the ship itself was barely affected by them.

Still, it gave the CR90’s a bit more breathing room. They were still being swarmed by the Vultures, but they had the firepower to take them out, usually with single shots each. Anakin led the bombers and the N-1s on another bombing run, dropping nearly the rest of their ion torpedoes and proton bombs. They took out another few sets of turbolaser batteries, and the massive ship began to spin to bring the starboard batteries to bare. “Keep on her port side! She’s hurt bad!” He called out.

“We’re not doing enough damage!” One of the Corellian pilots called out, “We’re already running low on bombs!”

The CR90’s were hitting the ship with their heaviest batteries, but they couldn’t bring all of their power to bear because of all of the vultures. “Tsk.” Jango clicked his teeth and threw his ship’s emissions to maximum as he started to make it look like he was fleeing from the battlefield.

“What the hell is he doing?!” Gus called out as one of the CR90’s took a direct hit and exploded into a glowing mass of slag. “Viera!” He called out in horror as one of his friends from the academy vanished. “Damn the Federation!” He punched the console as his CR90 had to take evasive action. “Don’t let her death be in vain! Take that damn Lucrehulk down!”

Meanwhile, the droid starfighters had proved how dumb they were and had swarmed after Jango, mistaking his emissions for a much larger and therefore more important vessel. This took some of the heat off of the fighters and the corvettes, causing him to smirk. “Here’s a little surprise for you.” He launched a single seismic charge backwards at the swarm. When it detonated, it took over half of them out in one go. His special munitions had laid waste to over twenty Vultures. He then maneuvered his ship and shot back towards them, passing the panicking swarm and dropping another charge. “Two left.” He grunted as it detonated, shredding the rest of the confused pack.

At this point, they’d cut down half of the droid starfighters, which was frankly leagues better than Jango had thought they’d manage. But all of them were low on ordinance and they were probably getting low on fuel as well. The CR90’s had all lost weapons already and the fighters were all battered. They’d lost a quarter of their bombers too.

A third bombing run yielded similar results. Jango even dropped his last two seismic charges, but the Lucrehulk’s shields and sheer bulk were just too strong. They took out some weapons and even left a huge gash in the massive machine, but the damn Lucrehulk still had plenty of weapons to spare. And they were almost out of ordinance now. “Damn it!”

“We can’t let Queen Amidala down!” One of the Naboo pilots cursed.

“We’ll have to trust her and the Jetti to handle business on the ground.” Jango frowned as he barely dodged bolts from a pair of vultures, “This thing is just too well armored to take down from outside. At least with the forces we have.” His ship had already gotten really banged up and his shields were starting to make warning sounds.

But his words and a nudge from the Force had Anakin’s eyes widening. A smirk crossed his face, “COVER ME!” He yelled as he threw his fighter into a dive. The answering yelps as the pilots hurried to cover him were ignored. Even the deaths as many of them exploded were ignored. Anakin flew straight for one of the open hangar bays and entered at speed. He trusted the Force to guide him as he dodged around the numerous C-9979 landing crafts and grinned when he saw his target. He fired his last two proton bombs and abruptly threw his fighter into such a sharp turn that anyone without the Force would probably have been turned to jelly even with the inertial dampeners. He shot back out towards the hangar doors just as his torpedoes smashed into the main reactor for the enemy vessel.

Immediately, things started exploding from within. Fiery bursts of energy lit up the arms of the carrier as Anakin raced out. The arm blew itself off entirely and the Neimoidians within the control center only had a moment to panic before the entire center section began erupting. “YEAH!” All of them started to cheer as the Vulture droids abruptly shut off and simply floated aimlessly through space. Several of them were captured in Naboo’s gravity well and raced for the planet, burning up in its atmosphere.

“Why didn’t we lead with that?!” Gus Antilles roared with laughter despite the sorrow in his heart. “Good job kid. You’re one hell of a pilot!”

“Thanks, Commander!” Anakin called out, smirking, “Now let’s-” He choked as a pulse from the Force drew his attention. “Shit!” He called out before vanishing from his N-1’s seat.

“Ad?” Jango called out, feeling ice in his spine when he didn’t get a response. “Anakin!” He called out again as he maneuvered the Slave I to get a view on his son’s ship. He even used the tractor beam to pull it in, only the growl when he saw the empty seat. “What the hell happened?”

…

The battle against the Sith had not been going well, that was what happened. The tattooed Zabrak was utterly vicious and just so much more powerful than either of them. More mobile than Obi-Wan, more experienced than Qui-Gon, and utterly unafraid to bring his full power to bear. In fact, the Sith had been toying with them. Both he and Qui-Gon were covered in the tiniest of burns from near misses from that deadly saberstaff and their robes were shredded and partially hanging from their bodies. Obi-Wan even had the ultimate insult delivered to him: the Zabrak had cut off his Padawan braid.

They had been completely unprepared for this fight. If they had met him on Tatooine they would have at least been prepared for a fight of this caliber, but they hadn’t. And that led to where they were now: with Obi-Wan stuck behind laser shields as he watched his master fight this monster.

And then he saw Qui-Gon make a mistake and the Zabrak practically punched him in the nose with the shaft of his saberstaff, throwing him off balance and rendering him defenseless. The Zabrak whirled to stab Qui-Gon in the stomach, wanting to ensure he’d suffer but not die so he could watch him kill Obi-Wan.

And then a pair of boots crashed into the side of his head, flinging him away over the gaping pit they were fighting near and into the wall. The Sith’s lightsaber flailed in his grip and burned a hole straight into Qui-Gon’s side and cut down slightly but otherwise avoided anything important. The Zabrak hit the wall with a crunch and dropped down, shaking his head and focusing on the damn shrimp of a Mandalorian that had just blindsided him.

“Anakin!” Qui-Gon gasped as he realized the young man had just saved his life. He had fallen to his knees, holding his side in agony.

Anakin growled and held his hands out. His greatest gifts from his father appeared in his hands: two short swords made entirely of Beskar. The only pieces of Beskar he had. The Sith leapt across the hole towards Anakin, who moved Qui-Gon back with a Force Push and also stuck out his other arm. His flamethrower erupted, catching the dark being with it square in the chest.

The Sith howled in agony and fury and unleashed a Force Scream, making Anakin stagger back and also blowing the flames away. He looked utterly furious as he ripped off his burning robes, revealing that his tattoos probably went all the way down. He dashed forward and brought his saberstaff down on Anakin, who batted it away with his right blade and stabbed forward with his left. The Zabrak dodged with a tilt of his head and swung the other blade up at Anakin, who used a Force Push to keep it away from him. “Who are you, whelp?” The Zabrak snarled at him.

“Your death.” Anakin replied as he lunged forward, before jetting above the Sith with his jetpack. The angry, red lightsaber missed him by a hair, and he plunged his blade down on the crown of the Sith’s skull.

The Zabrak dodged by rolling forward, and Obi-Wan was released from the laser shields. He immediately turned the fight back into a two-on-one, moving faster and hitting harder due to his anger at what would have been his Master’s fate had Anakin not appeared.

He swung high while Anakin went low, but the skilled Sith blocked both and then unleashed an angry cry. The Zabrak thrust his hand forward and unleashed a stream of red lightning at Obi-Wan, who caught it on his lightsaber with a grunt of exertion, sinking to his knees as he tried to hold back the electric onslaught.

Anakin took the opportunity to try to crush the enemy with a Force Push, but the Sith countered it with his own. It did take the pressure off Obi-Wan though, which was what Anakin wanted. The Jedi Padawan panted in exhaustion as Anakin raced forward and started to swipe and stab with his dual blades, trying all the angles and fighting more like an assassin than a warrior. The red-skinned being countered well, except for when Anakin again used his flamethrower and hit him point-blank in the face.

A devastating kick landed in Anakin’s ribs even as the Zabrak howled. Anakin grunted as he was forced back and whipped out his blasters, firing bolt after bolt at the menace while he was distracted. The Zabrak was still able to deflect the bolts everywhere despite the fact that half of his face was melting off.

Obi-Wan caught his second wind and attacked, trying furiously to take down the Zabrak. But Anakin’s attacks and his injuries had only succeeded in infuriating the Sith, and like the Sith tend to do, he started to use his fury to fuel the Dark Side. He retaliated nearly blindly but with such power that Obi-Wan was nearly knocked back from that one blow. The Zabrak then followed up with another burst of Force Lightning that actually connected with Obi-Wan and started to fry him.

He was abruptly forced to cut off his attack as silver lightning crashed into him. It was just a short burst, but he screamed in agony as he was forced back into the wall. “What?!” He cried out and got to his feet, snarling at where he thought Anakin was. His eyes were still seared, leaving him blind. “How does a poorly-trained whelp like you know how to do that!?” It was a question Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, both still in agony, very much wanted an answer to.

Anakin smirked behind his helmet, “You taught me.” He shot back, “After seeing it so many times, even a Kowakian Monkey Lizard would figure it out.”

‘NO!’ Both Jedi and even the Sith wanted to yell. ‘THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS AT ALL!’

But they didn’t get the chance, because Anakin flung both of his swords at the Sith. They both has blue glows surrounding them as they spun like buzzsaws through the air, aiming directly for the Sith’s nose. The Sith lifted his lightsaber and blocked the first blade but had drastically underestimated Anakin’s strength. He staggered back, barely holding onto the saberstaff before the second blade, aimed perfectly and not wildly as Obi-Wan had thought, knocked it into the air.

Anakin then proved just how fast he could be if he poured everything into his Force Speed. He crossed the distance between him and the Sith in the blink of an eye. He was a literal flash, before, gritting his teeth behind his helmet, he started launching punch after punch into the Zabrak’s chest and abdomen. Each and every blow shattered a rib or injured an organ, before the final blow hammered him into the back wall and off his feet.

The two Beskar short swords, still flying through the air, adjusted course and raced forward like blaster bolts. They stabbed the Sith in the joints between his torso and his arms, stapling him to the wall. And then the saberstaff came down into Anakin’s hand and he swiped. The Sith screamed in agony one last time as Anakin cut off his legs at the upper thighs.

The Sith fell unconscious, and Anakin sagged, falling back on his butt and then just… laying back. “…I’m just going… to take a… nap now…” The exhausted boy mumbled in between heaving breaths.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, pain still clear on their faces, just looked at each other.

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In the end, it was a complete and total victory for Padmé, Anakin, and the Jedi. They had lost many of their defenders, but they had succeeded. Padmé had been able to capture Viceroy Gunray even before the droids had all fallen dead, and with some coaching from Anakin and Jango (and with the Senate’s total lack of action fresh in her memory) had demanded reparations from the Trade Federation. Naboo made it out of this debacle significantly richer than they had been, along with the full ownership rights of their plasma mines.

The Jedi had captured the Sith, and no amount of trying from newly-elected Chancellor Palpatine would get him remanded into Republic’s custody. Darth Maul would then proceed to sing like a songbird, and Naboo was horrified to find their own Senator had orchestrated the entire invasion. Palpatine was killed, though not without casualties from the Jedi Council as he attempted to escape justice, howling his fury over centuries of Sith scheming coming to nothing. And with him actually killing his Master right after being elected, he had brought the line of Bane to ruin.

The Republic received a real wake-up call, and the Jedi were forced to act to try to cut out the corruption from the Senate. Their efforts were far too late, however, and over a decade later, the Republic would fracture as parts of the Outer Rim and even the Mid Rim would peacefully break away into their own government. The Jedi would leave Coruscant behind, unable to choose to help one side over the other. They were keepers of the peace, not the Republic’s peace.

As for Anakin? He woke up from his impromptu twelve-hour nap to the sight of his girlfriends in some nearly-inappropriate nurse outfits.

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Again, sorry this is late! My dumbass lost track of time. Next week will be Not So Solo Leveling 7.