'I know in the main timeline Anakin hates sand…but I wonder how my Anakin would feel about making this place into a home?' I can't help but wonder as this place is starting to feel like a home.
The Rogue Shadow touches down silently and uncloaks revealing the beautiful ship.
Just in time for Ana, Shmi, Xena and Hinata Solo to run out of the Lancer Pursuit Craft.
"Should I put on a little show, Master Starkiller?" Juno's suggestive tone makes my lips twitch.
"If you want to…" suddenly the Imperial March starts playing from the Rogue Shadow. The ramp descends and two Phase 3 Dark Troopers march down the ramp.
Stop at the bottom of the ramp, stomp their feet and salute me, then turn to face each other.
While the remaining Phase 3 Dark Trooper on the ship stands at attention just inside of the ship standing abreast of the ramp.
Then Proxy walks down the ramp, comes to stand in front of me and kneels down. Then Juno struts down the ramp in full imperial dress. Posture firm and at full attention, she stops in front of me and salutes me.
"Lord Starkiller, Captain Juno Eclipse presenting herself and your vessel The Rogue Shadow for inspection, Sir!"
'Oh my God, look at their faces!' I can't help but internally gush at the rather adorable expressions of Shmi, Hinata and Anakin.
Which probably matches my own and Xena's underneath our helmets.
"At ease Captain Eclipse, Proxy… these two need immediate medical attention." I try my best to make my voice sound like Juno's but I'm pretty sure my amusement is clearly heard.
"Troopers take these two from your commander and get them to the medbay for treatment!" Juno barks out an order sounding very much like the military woman that she was…is?
The two dark troopers standing at attention at the bottom of the ramp make synthesized sounds and silently march over to me and take both Aayla and Quinlan Vos off of my shoulders then turn and march up into my ship.
Juno must feel my disbelief because her lips twitch into a smile for a fraction of a second, before her posture becomes relaxed and she moves in close.
Lifts my helmet off of my head, stands on her toes and lays one on me.
"I'm glad to see that you really haven't gotten yourself seriously injured for once, Starkiller." Juno murmurs and rests her head against my breast plate.
'Of course I'm fine it's not like I'm turning my vulnerable back to face the backstabbing Youngling Slayer 9,000.' I can't help the soft snort that leaves at that thought while rolling my eyes at the relief filled words and expression on Juno's face.
"I told you I was fine." A smile makes it's way onto my face while I rest my hands on Juno's hips.
"You said that even after you almost got yourself blown up and broke nearly every bone in your body. Our ideas of fine are two very different things Starkiller." Juno pouts and it is a very cute/sexy expression on her face.
"Who is the little one on the Speeder?" Juno suddenly asks, as she sees something…or rather someone over my shoulder.
"I don't actually know…she was a victim in a drug/rape den thing underneath a cantina. Then I gave her a blaster and she went to town killing a shit ton of rapists." At my answers Juno unconsciously hands me back my helmet.
"Oh…" Juno murmurs and starts to approach the Rodian girl only for the Rodian girl. Only for the girl to hiss at her, and run to me the Rodian girl hides on the side of me that is opposite of the one Juno stands on.
Gently I start petting the girls head, she flinches but looks up at me.
"She's a good person, Little One. You can trust her." At my words the Rodian girl tentatively steps away from me and walks over to Juno.
Juno kneels down and hugs the girl, and the girl starts crying and hugs Juno back.
Just as I'm about to turn to look at the group of women, Ana slams into me like a mini missile and hugs my waist tightly.
"Hey what's wrong, Ana?" At my question Ana just shakes her head and doesn't answer I look to Shmi but she shrugs her shoulders while silently expressing that she has no idea what is going on with her daughter.
But Hinata comes over and gently rubs Ana's back. "I told you he would come back safely with those who needed help. Little Ana." Hinata murmurs in a gentle voice. I move and scope Ana up with my right arm and Ana wraps her arms around my neck before laying her head on my shoulder and yawning.
"Come on, let's put you to bed, you've had a very long and intense day. Ladies, if you'll join us, my ship has enough room for all of you to sleep comfortably. We can make better arrangements later." If any of them have any thoughts about refusing the offer that sounded more like an order they don't voice it.
"Your ship is really pretty." Ana murmurs softly before I feel her falling asleep in my arms, her face snuggling against my neck.
"Thank you Ana…maybe you can join me on my personal mission to visit as many planets and systems as possible before I die."
"Can I fly her?" Ana asks sleepily a big yawn leaving her.
"Of course, Juno will teach you what you need to know." I of course agree to let the cute little munchkin fly the ship.
"She will?" At Ana's question Juno looks up from the small Rodian girl and gives a little glare that says "What do you think you're doing volunteering me to teach a girl how to fly a ship?"
"Yes Ana, I will but you'll have to study hard and get your level of education up to my standards first."
"Yippie!" Ana cheers happily against my neck.
Ana's response makes me chuckle softly. "Proxy, can you put my helmet in my quarters, please?"
"Certainly, once you divest yourself of the small organic expect lethal combat procedures from unknown angles!" Proxy days back as he takes my helmet from my hand while I arch an eyebrow at him.
"Are you functioning properly, you rusty piece of scrap? You don't usually give warnings."
"My warning is for your future reproductive partners and the little organics." Proxy replies and moves like a predatory animal into the ship.
"Janky ass fucking droids." My muttered words seem to draw the attention of my Phase 3 Dark Troopers, who salute me.
'That was weird…'
"Keep up the good work Soldiers." The Phase 3 Dark Trooper droids optics all glow a sinister red but somehow I can feel that they appreciate the compliment.
~- — — — — — — — — — — -~
Moving to the guest quarters that are right next to mine, carrying the softly snoozing Anakin inside.
Not wanting to set her down or jostle her to move the blanket, I use the force to pull back the comforter then lay her down on the bed and tuck her in.
My efforts are for not though as Ana blinks her big beautiful blue eyes up at me.
"St-Starkiller?" Ana asks me with a touch of nervousness in her voice.
"Is something wrong Ana?" At my question Ana shakes her head no and looks away from me for a moment before turning her head back to face me.
"W-will you be my dad?" I'm left stunned at her innocent and adorable question. Anakin must seem to take my silence for anger as she starts to curl into a ball with tears in her eyes.
Sitting down on the bed beside her I reach up and start to pet her head though she flinches at the initial contact. 'Expecting to be beaten for asking an innocent question.' At this moment if there was a way for me summon and torture Watto's soul I would.
"I'm not quite old enough for you to be my daughter Anakin." My gentle reply makes Ana's face make an O face. Before she develops a very sad expression.
"I always used to pretend that my dad would someday come back for me and mom. He'd free us and he and mom would get married and I'd get a little brother." Ana sniffles as she tells me one of her very childish but expected fantasies.
"We'd go somewhere, where there wasn't any sand. He'd make a pod racer with me and we'd race it together. He'd teach me how to fly a spaceship while I sat on his lap. He'd make Mom smile and laugh. They'd go dancing and do gross parent stuff that other kids would pick on me about. But I'd secretly love it because we were a family." I hear sniffles from the hallway but I don't acknowledge them as I lay down on the bed and pull Anakin to my side.
"You know we're kinda similar. My dad, he wasn't around when I was little. I used to make up stories about him. Like he was a spy saving the galaxy…or a famous racer, you know dumb stuff like that." Ana gasped softly in surprise as she hung on every word.
"Though when I learned the truth about him not being any of those things I wasn't disappointed to learn that he was a simple working man. Though I was later disappointed because his business and his drinking were more important than…me. The only time he wanted to spend time with me. Was when he needed someone to work for him for free doing dangerous things. And when a relative of my dad's hurt me really badly, my dad defended him and all but abandoned me again." I could feel Ana was crying for me and holding my arm tightly.
While there were more than a few sad sounds coming from outside of the room. "What I'm trying to say Ana…is that the family you choose is sometimes better than the one you were born to. I'm not ready to be a Dad, quite yet. But maybe I could be your big brother?"
"Big brother…that means I'll be your little sister?" Anakin asks softly with a bit of excitement leaking into her voice.
"Mmm." I hum in agreement.
"As your little sister I demand a bed time story!" Anakin proclaims rather adorably as a big yawn tears out of her.
I can't help the deep full laugh that leaves me at the little brat manipulating me so easily.
'Oh…oh this is such a horrible idea!' My thoughts are a jumbled mess as I decide to tell her the main timeline Anakin's story.
"Okay I think I have the perfect story for you. Long ago in a Galaxy Far Far away, there was a boy born on the planet of Earth. His name was Heineken Bear-fighter, most people called him Ken though.
Anakin wasn't like the other children. Not only did he start off life as a slave, but he was born to a mother who did not lay with a male to make him.
Him and his mother lived together in one of the desert regions of the planet Earth, a planet that has many varying biomes. But the story I'm going to tell you starts when he is nine years old." I hear a very soft gasp of surprise from who I believe to be Shmi.
"You see, Anakin…he was a kind boy, with a good loving heart and a heroic spirit. He rebelled against his master and got beaten for it many times. The only reason his master kept him around was because he was incredibly good at not only fixing machines but driving at high speeds too."
"Come on, get to the story!" Ana demanded softly but there was already a light of adoration shining in her eyes for Heineken Bear-fighter.
"Okay okay…so on a day like any other day for Heineken he was working in a piece of machinery, when a strange assortment of people walked into his master's pod racing supplies store.
One of the visitors was a strange creature who looked like he belonged in water and not on land let alone in the desert.
Another of these visitors was an older man in humble brown and tan clothing with a strange cylinder on his belt."
"He's a Jedi isn't he?!" Ana interrupts me again.
"Ana, if you keep interrupting me I won't be able to tell the story." Ana gives me a bashful look and snuggles into my side, with an expectant look on her face.
"Then there was a girl…well a young woman really. She was dressed as a simple servant but anyone who saw her could tell she was in disguise. She was just too beautiful to be a servant and her hands held no callouses that any servant would have.
The final visitor was an astromech, you see this strange assortment of people were from another planet called Booboo." Ana giggles at the word booboo.
"You see planet Boo-boo was being blockaded by an evil corporation…that was being controlled by an even eviler villain who hid in the shadows. How did our strange assortment of visitors arrive on planet earth, you may ask. While it's simple they stole a ship from the Queen of Booboo's royal castle and fled the planet.
But during their escape the ship was damaged and could not take them to their destination where they hoped to get help.
But as luck would have it they met Ken after making an emergency landing to try and find parts to fix their stolen ship.
Now only having stolen the ship from the Queen of Booboo's hanger, this strange group of would-be heroes obviously didn't have any money to buy parts.
Upon learning this Ken's evil master threw them out of his shop and surprisingly he had found the off-worlders so amusing he gave Ken the rest of the day off.
As fate would have it Ken ended up saving the visitor who looks like he belongs in an ocean…let's call him Dodo Dinky. So you see Ken saves Dodo Dinky from a rather nasty tempered Tetramand a large four armed red skinned bipedal humanoid with rippling muscles and a height of nearly ten feet tall."
"H-how did Ken save Dodo Dinky, from such a big and strong alien?" Ana asks me softly, her voice filled with wonder.
"He used his words and wit to get the, Tetramand to leave Dodo Binky alone."
"Wow, he sounds really smart and brave!" Ana gushes and I can't help but wonder for a second if her developing a little crush on herself is incredibly narcissistic or cute.
"There's a saying: it's easy to be seen as brave when you're stupid and have a kind heart. But it's much harder to be brave, when you are smart and have a jaded heart." At my words Ana blinks at me with a frown starting to form on her face, before she nods seriously.
"I get it…someone who is really brave understands the risks yet chooses to act anyways. While someone like Ken is just reckless and puts himself in unnecessary danger and could get more people hurt than if he just left things alone." Ana expresses a very high intelligence and understanding that I doubt her male counterpart would ever have.
I don't give her an outright answer, I just smile at her proudly. Which makes Ana practically glow in happiness.
After saving Dodo Dinky, everyone, even the little Astromech, thanked Ken.
As the group say goodbye to him a very harsh storm comes out of nowhere…now stand storms on earth are very very dangerous as the sand gets moving so fast it can put holes in starship armored plating.
So Ken invites the group to stay with him and his mother." I continue to tell the original timeline Anakin's story to Ana all the way to him destroying the evil masterminds blockade and getting a kiss from the Queen of Booboo who was the servant girl in disguise all along.
Looking at Ana seeing her struggling to stay awake while climbing to my side.
"I'll stay until you fall asleep, Ana."
"I love you big brother." Ana murmurs sleepily and kisses my shoulder before she starts snoring adorably.