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Anakin Skywalker is on the path to become one of the greatest figures on the galactic scene. If you want to read an original story of greatness, you can check my story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
Double post today in honor of releasing more than twenty chapters of Arrival : Ruptures, along with the pilot chapter.
—
Tatooine
Sanctum Sanctorum
It quickly became evident that Shmi was not used to staying idle. She tried to help with everything. Rather than deny her outright, he agreed to let her assist in tending to the small farm. Now that there were three of them, he wanted to expand the crops a bit.
An extra pair of hands would come in handy.
He would show her the ropes slowly while Anakin's training continued. With his mother safe, he wanted to become a full-time Master of the Mystical Arts for a different reason.
To free the slaves.
—
"I understand why you want to do this, but it will be a massive undertaking. You can't do it by yourself," Strange said, laying a hand on Anakin's small shoulders. He understood the boy's reasoning and his dreams of becoming a Jedi to free the slaves.
He could not bring himself to deny Anakin the chance to wipe slavery off the surface of this planet but knew he wasn't at the age to carry out a burden like this yet.
"He is right. But there are actually small resistance cells that try to free slaves," Shmi said. It was news to Strange and gave him hope that at least some people were battling against slavery.
"Are they successful?" he asked.
Shmi shook her head. "Not really from what I've heard. The Hutts, pirates, and slaver groups are too strong."
"But what if I help?" Anakin whined.
"Anakin, you are seven years old and too young to go on a galactic crusade," Strange said, his voice firm. This side of the galaxy was horrible enough. Child soldiers did not need to be in that mix.
"He is right, Ani. You are not going to war."
"What about when I am grown up?" he asked.
"Then that will be your choice. Until then, we need to find a medical droid and a deactivator wand. And a way to ensure that the droid works here," Strange said. It was years before Anakin would be old enough to decide his path in life.
"We can't leave the Sanctum without Watto knowing, can we?" his apprentice asked, raising a good point.
"Physically, no. Which is why we are going to have to steal them with portals," he said, smiling at the memories of the times he took books out of the library, right under Wong's nose.
"I don't know where to find any of these."
"Watch," Strange said, taking a meditative position.
Anakin leaned forward, watching as his teacher's eyes closed. A holographic Strange rose from the body, floating around with chains running all over his see-through body.
His eyes widened as the holographic Strange moved away from the real one, passing through objects and becoming briefly invisible. Shmi was watching with an open mouth. She was informed that sorcery could do a lot of things that would be impossible through science, but seeing it was another matter.
"This is my astral form. In the Astral Dimension your soul exists outside your body. Unless you want it, you can't be seen by the people. You also can't interact with the material world. Which makes it the perfect method for you to travel anywhere in the universe without leaving your body."
"I can find a droid and a deactivator wand," Anakin said with a cheerful cadence.
"You can, but first, you will have to finish your portal training."
—
With their lesson plans decided for the foreseeable future, they got to training. In the mornings, he would leave Anakin to train to perfect his portal and show Shmi the ropes on the farm. Each day she became more bold while working, deciding which section to work in and asserting herself as a person.
It was inevitable for an issue to arise quickly.
The galaxy out there was vast. The Galactic Republic had millions of worlds, and the total known galactic population was in the hundreds of quadrillions. The number was so incomparable, he didn't have any way of making it feel real.
That galaxy had hyperdrives, FTL drivers that allowed ships to cross thousands of light years a day. It had advanced sciences on all fronts and naturally a complex political system. They were things he could not teach Anakin. Since they also couldn't bring a teacher down to the Sanctum, an alternative was needed.
Which came in the form of Anakin's droid.
The half-completed robot just consisted of a torso and a head, but Anakin guaranteed it would work once completed. He could apparently add different modules on it, which would grant the robot additional capabilities. It could become a teacher for the subjects Stephen had no useful knowledge on.
Though, it was useless until they figured out a way to allow the droid to work without destroying the protections.
—
Stephen inspected the finished droid. It looked horrible on the outside. A mess of wires and servos that was constructed in the rough shape of a human. After two years of work in his free time while stealing parts from Watto's junkyard, the nine-year-old boy had finally finished the droid.
He wasn't idle either, helping his apprentice to modify the droid.
Anakin had an intuitive gift for understanding machines. Whether it was tied to his equally unnatural talent in drawing energy from other dimensions, he did not know. He also was quick to come up with an idea to build an electromagnetic shield on the droid. Engineering wasn't his field of study, so he let his apprentice do as he wished.
Anakin had already found a deactivator wand, the medical supplies necessary for the procedure, and the medical modules for the droid. With the claws and thin, agile limbs added to the droid, his apprentice was certain it would function properly.
Not that he would let the droid conduct surgery without appropriate tests.
—
"Better than nothing," he shrugged. A synthetic replica of a human body laid on the table. The gelatinous skin was transparent, making the organs clearly visible. It looked and felt truly close to the real deal. There was even a small device inside the replica, stuck to the collarbone.
It definitely would have been useful back in his days as a student.
"Alright, Anakin, is the droid ready?"
"Come on, C-3PO."
"Yes, Master Anakin," the plateless droid said, following the boy along. Its movements were stiff, a far cry from what he had seen Stark's suits were capable of. Still, for a nine-year-old child to build this, it was truly impressive.
The droid stood next to him, waiting for instructions. Anakin and Shmi had their tracking devices placed in the same place, below the left side of their collarbone. "Let's start with a lateral incision here." He gestured, drawing a small line on the body with a marker.
C-3PO followed along, bringing its upper arms close. It laid the vibroscalpel over the left end of the line and pulled. The incision was flawless with a precision only a machine could achieve.
A mechanical tendril entered through the small opening. Its twin prongs had a smaller tendril, thinner than hair, that vibrated to separate the device from the bone. He watched as the prongs clamped on the device and the secondary tendril did its job. Slowly to not leave any internal wounds, it pulled the device out.
C-3PO placed it inside the tray filled with a sterilizing fluid.
His third arm descended, placing a patch that pulled the two sides of the replica flesh together. Usually it would carry bacta, a substance with highly regenerative properties. Since they didn't have much on hand, the patch was bereft of it.
Overall, the surgery was short and extremely successful.
"Can we do it now?"
"Not yet. I want to run some more tests," he said. Since the droid was the only one that could use the deactivator wand due to its EM shielding, he wanted everything to be perfect.
Anakin's face scrunched.
—
"Mom, are you sure about this?" he asked, holding his mother's hand.
"Ani, you are the only one that can fix C-3PO if something goes wrong. I won't let you go through this until I am sure it is safe," she replied, pinching her son's cheek.
"Okay," Anakin grumbled, moving back to let 3PO administer a local anesthetic. Strange watched the procedure, ready to intervene. The tests on the synthetic body were successful, but it still paid to be vigilant.
3PO brought the small cylindrical tool over where the tracking device was on Shmi's collar bone. A small, blue pulse surged out. The small screen on the deactivator wand displayed a green checkmark, showing that the device was neutralized.
The small surgery played exactly the same, lasting less than two minutes.
When 3PO placed the device inside the tray, Strange was quick to teleport it outside just in case. The droid applied the bacta patch next, and it was over.
Anakin rushed to his mom's side, ignoring the droid's protests to let her lie down until the wound closed.
"Master Anakin, should we remove your tracking device now as well?" 3PO asked once he realized the warnings were not heeded.
"He is right, Anakin. Lay down and let's finish this."
His apprentice nodded. Shmi gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and he walked to the bed on the opposite side, lying down. He was more nervous than his mother was, fiddling with his fingers.
Before he even understood what was happening, the clink of the device being dropped in the tray was heard. 3PO applied another bacta patch, launching into a tirade over the importance of proper rest and nutrition for the healing process.
Strange knew the droid was correct. It didn't stop him from shutting the machine down. He didn't know if one existed, but a know-how-much-to-talk module would be useful for the droid to have.
"How do you feel?" he asked. For the first time in his life, he was not under the threat of death should he disobey an order.
He looked at the ceiling, counting the spots. "I… I don't know."
"Is this what freedom feels like? Like I am about to grow wings and fly?" he asked after a couple of minutes of silence.
"Close enough. Good job, kid," Strange said, ruffling the boy's hair with a smile.
"We can finally visit Mos Espa to buy whatever else we need," Anakin said. They could sell fresh vegetables and use the pigments to buy different foods and mechanical parts. Stealing from Watto was becoming dangerous with each attempt.
"Maybe wait until you can defend yourself and your mother," he said. With his portal and astral projection training complete, Anakin was left to focus on C-3PO. He could afford to start teaching his apprentice how to fight long enough to escape in case of danger.
He was still too young to consider staying back to fight.
In the hands of a proper master, the mystical arts would be deadly. In the hands of a nine-year-old with a deep-seated hatred against slavers, it would end with a trauma for the boy.
—
To celebrate Anakin and Shmi's freedom, Strange baked a cake. Sugar and chocolate were some of the few commodities he couldn't grow on the farm and made sure to use them sparingly. The occasion deserved something special, though, and once up there, perhaps Anakin and Shmi could buy them.
That is if chocolate existed in the galaxy.
Shmi helped, always delighted to learn a new recipe. The cake was a simple, single-layer one with plenty of fruit decorations. Between that and juices, the evening was spent in a state of newfound peace.
The following morning, Anakin was in the training field earlier than Strange, waiting. They started with Tao Mandalas and basic fighting techniques. His body wasn't grown enough yet for more strenuous work.
For now, the training would continue without pushing the boy too much.
—
On the other side of the galaxy, a crisis reared its head. Naboo had come under the invasion of the Trade Federation. The young queen of the peaceful world, Padmé Amidala, had managed to escape with a Jedi Master and his apprentice, eventually reaching Tatooine to find a replacement hyperdrive.
Through a stroke of fortune, or something more that most citizens of the galaxy did not understand, they were able to earn the part they needed in a wager.
Upon returning to the capital of the Galactic Republic, the city-planet Coruscant, Queen Amidala pleaded with the senate to assist Naboo in repelling this invasion. Due to the corruption within, her pleas fell on deaf ears.
Advised by her planet's ambassador to the Galactic Senate, she called for a vote of no confidence against the current chancellor, presenting the very same ambassador as the new Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.
The vote went through, but it would be too late by the time assistance was rendered to Naboo.
Leaving the capital, Queen Amidala decided on a radical plan to take the Viceroy Nute Gunray hostage to force him to end the occupation. The small armed forces of Naboo, in a surprise alliance with their disgruntled neighbors, the Gungans, launched a counterattack.
The element of surprise did not last long against the superior numbers of the Trade Federations.
Legions of droids, supplanted by hovertanks, bombers, and ships in orbit, could not be defeated by the paltry force. Queen Amidala was aware of this, however. She used the opportunity provided by the chaos to achieve her purpose, taking Nute Gunray hostage at gunpoint.
Fearing for his life and fearing what would happen if he displeased his master, Nute Gunray made an uncharacteristic gamble. He wagered the peace-loving queen would not dare shoot an unarmed being, especially not when he was more valuable as a hostage.
His decision proved to be correct at first.
As her forces were being slaughtered, Queen Amidala made a choice that no one thought she was capable of. Her daring action scared the remaining members of the Trade Federation into backing off, eventually abandoning the planet.
Her victory came at a personal cost.
A Zabrak assassin, who had slain the Jedi Master assigned to guard her, managed to escape from the apprentice long enough to find her. His blood red lightsaber carved through her guards and several of her handmaidens, leaving her as the sole target.
She managed to dodge the first and second attacks, earning a scar over her left eye from the third and losing her left hand to the fourth strike. Before the finishing blow ended her life, the young Jedi arrived, pushing the assassin back and decapitating him after a grueling duel.
Queen Amidala was rushed to the nearest hospital. The lightsaber had cauterized the wound, preventing bleeding. She was still in shock over losing a limb to a plasma sword, which extended her treatment.
When the battered Queen of Naboo emerged, it wasn't with the reassuring smiles the citizens were used to, but with the gaze of a woman who had lost too much.