Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When I woke on the ground, face-down with sand in my mouth, I was confused. For one, nothing around my house was sandy enough to be this sandy, unless you found a sandbox. Those are lacking, as well, I thought as I spat out sand. Quickly, I rolled onto my back and blinked at the sun. Something was wrong with this picture.

Excuse me. Suns, plural. What the hell.

I blinked stupidly once again and scrambled up. "What the actual hell?" I muttered to myself, spinning around in a circle. Nothing but fucking desert, for miles. Where in the hell was I? A part of me hoped this was some kind of bullshit dream. Unfortunately, the rest of me was assuring me it was in fact not a dream.

Probably.

Eventually, I pinched myself a few times and then picked a direction. After that, I began walking. I shrugged off my jacket and began using it as a shawl because if there was anything I knew about protecting oneself against UV radiation was to protect any bare skin. Anyway, getting off track here.

Walking was exceptionally boring, and as unfortunate as it was, I had no water, no food, and nothing to protect myself against any would-be predator and various other assholes.

If I was where I thought I was, I was fucked in the arse with no lube.

About eight hours later, I found myself stumbling towards a rock formation and curled behind some rocks in a little hidey-hole. I couldn't cry, mostly because I probably didn't have the energy and because I didn't want to waste water.

I caught myself praying for someone to find me before finally conking out.

When I woke up again, my mouth tasted horrible and I had a pounding headache bigger than Jupiter. I let out a soft groan and rolled over. For a brief second, I forgot where I was, and then the memories of yesterday came crashing down. Well, at least I wasn't dreaming; if I was, I was probably in a coma or a mental hospital. I wasn't sure which one was worse.

I stood, popping and cracking joints as I did so, and peeked outside. No one was around and the suns were barely up yet.

Suns. That was going to need some time getting used to.

I began walking in the same direction as before, trying to find water as I went, but no dice. I was probably going to die of dehydration tomorrow, and then no one would find my body. Like, ever.

That's nice to think of, I thought sarcastically, scowling at the sky.

I didn't find water or anything to eat. Any creatures ran off as soon as they saw or scented me, or were hiding from the sun. Another part of me wished I was better suited to live in a damn desert of all places.

Then, I found it.

The town. In the middle of the afternoon of the third day of walking in a desert with nothing but the clothes on my back and my own thoughts. After that, it felt like a savior.

I walked towards it in a half-daze, wondering vaguely if I was hallucinating. Nope, definitely not hallucinating.

There was a mix of humans and weird creatures I didn't want to name milling around the streets, and someone bumped rather rudely into me. I was nearly sent sprawling to the ground, but I managed to regain footing. The man, or male, whichever, with what looked like twin fleshy tails sprouting from his head spat at me in a foreign language, and I gave him a hollow glance, before continuing onwards.

My throat was so dry it felt like I'd been eating nothing but sand for three days. Not that there'd been much to eat in the desert.

I wandered to where I heard water sloshing, and found some camel-like creature drinking from a trough.

Eopies, my mind oh so helpfully supplied. I frowned as I trudged over and drank water by the handful. Eopie was familiar. Why?

The water was divine and tasted nothing like the metallic-tinted water from taps. If anything, it tasted almost minerally, and at this point, I didn't care, because when you've been in the desert for nearly three days, whatever liquid you get tastes like it was delivered from whatever deity you believed in.

After finally drinking so much I thought my stomach would burst, I tied my jacket (which was black, and that was kind of stupid, but it wasn't like I planned this godforsaken trip anyway) around my waist and began to watch.

I went to what looked like a bar, but I was almost sixteen, and fairly certain I could take care of myself. I didn't have money to buy anything anyway.

Many of them spoke different languages, some familiar, others not. I fell into the background as well as I could and began to listen.

Soon, I learned I was in a town called Mos Entha, on a planet called Tatooine. Mostly through offhand remarks, and it took five hours by itself to learn just that. I stumbled out of the bar, no, cantina, with shock imbued in every fiber of my being. Startled didn't even start to cover it.

I found a small hole between two buildings to hide in, wrapped my jacket around me, and watched the suns set. Any money would have to wait until tomorrow. I let my eyes close and took a few shaky breaths, suddenly feeling very out of my depth. You can do this, I told myself fiercely. You have survived three days in the desert, and you can survive much more.

Sleep soon found me.

When I woke for the fourth time with sand dusting my hair and whatever else I hadn't covered, I felt like I had passed a test for some reason. I found myself smiling as I stood and shook the sand out of every fold of clothing and out of my hair.

Today was going to be a good day. I could feel it.

Chapter Text

I began to scheme the moment I stood. First of all, I needed money; if I was really on Tatooine, which I probably was, I knew that wupiupi was the main currency. From what I remembered about The Phantom Menace, at least. Second, I had to ditch the 'off-worlder' clothes. Dozens of people probably already saw me, which didn't help at all. Third, try not to fuck up too badly, on anything.

I took a deep breath and began to survey anything and anyone that might be carrying money. People here would probably hold tighter onto their... whatever the hell currency because it bought their water.

Speaking of water, I couldn't drink from that trough all the time. I'd need money for that too. I sighed and crossed my arms.

Eventually, I found myself pickpocketing people. Before waking up the first time, I'd pickpocketed a couple of friends, mostly just to see if I could. Let's just say they didn't even notice me.

I was nearly caught twice and by the time the morning crowd had dissipated, I was fourteen wupiupi richer.

At least, I thought it was wupiupi. They were round, gold coins a little smaller than quarters, with imprints of something-or-other on each side.

I rubbed my face as a thought suddenly struck me. Why wasn't I sunburned? I frowned and looked at my arms and felt my neck. Nope, nothing.

Weird, I thought blankly. This is new. Typically, I couldn't be out in the sun longer than an hour. Otherwise, I'd look like an inflamed sausage. Not that I knew what an inflamed sausage looked like.

Eventually, I brushed it off and hunted down what looked like a clothes vendor. Shop. Whatever the heck it was called. Kiosk, maybe.

I bought a pair of medium brown pants and a light brown shirt that looked Asian to me and then wandered off. In total, it'd cost about four wupiupi. I kept my jacket and boots, as they were probably the least obvious. I found a guy who was selling snakes on sticks, bought one that cost about two of the stupid coins. It tasted rather spicy for my tastes, but it was food; I wasn't just going to turn my nose up at it.

I headed back down to the cantina and tried not to eye everyone in there shiftily. Not that they weren't eyeing me shiftily too. I managed to gather enough courage to order something; bantha milk. It seemed like the safest choice at the time. I eyed the blue liquid, swirling it in the glass, handed over one of the wupiupi coins after drinking it, and all but ran out of there. First time I'd talked to anyone here, and my current anxiety levels were not helping whatsoever.

"Fucking fucks of all fucks," I growled as I buried my face in my hands. I jumped when someone touched my shoulder, and spun on one foot to see a rather ordinary-looking human man. He had an amused expression on his face.

"Quite the mouth for one so young," he told me, mirth glinting in his eyes. I scowled at him and tried to walk away. "Wait," he called out to me and caught my shoulder. "Pretty much everyone here knows you're an off-worlder." I spun around to face him again, ready to defend myself.

"I'm trying to give you advice," he told me, rolling his eyes. I saw his brow twitch, and his hand fell from my shoulder. "I'm Ranik Manchu," the newly-dubbed Ranik stuck his hand out. I scrutinized his hand like it was about to shoot missiles at me. Hesitantly, I put my hand in his. "Who are you?" Ranik asked, blinking at me.

A panic tried hard to well up in me. "A-" I began to say, and then paused. Alice Cooper would not fit in here. "Talanis Farlander," I blurted, mashing random syllables for the first name and random words for the second. It was mostly the first thing that came to mind. Not the first time I'd done something like that.

"Nice to meet you, Talanis," Ranik replied. "Now, like I said, I wanted to give some advice..."

Turned out, Ranik's advice wasn't terrible, which I won't bore you too terribly with. He gave me a few tips on pickpocketing, stealing in general, and enough money to get off-planet then bid me a good day and left. That left me stumped and startled.

I blinked at the spot he'd once stood, then shook myself out of my stupor. Now really wasn't the time to stare stupidly at the ground. I meandered over to the spaceport and entered.

"Can I have a," I paused. "Ticket to... Naboo?"

The probably-female alien (Rodian, my mind whispered,) narrowed her eyes at me. "Thirty wupiupi," she grumbled to me in English. Basic, or whatever. I slowly looked down at my hands. Only twenty-eight wupiupi. I let out a quiet sigh. Manchu had lied. Wonderful.

"Where can I get with this?" I asked, showing it to her. She narrowed her eyes, then looked at her.. datapad. Thingy.

"Ten for Mos Espa," the female told me. "Your name?"

I paused again, sighed louder this time, and told her. "Talanis Farlander," I replied, handing her ten of the coins.

"Your transport is number oh-two-two, and you will be called in roughly an hour," she told me dryly, and then shooed me off after handing me a metal token. I sighed, plopped in a chair, and waited for to be called. After what felt like a century, I was finally on the ship, with half a dozen others.

I'd never been on a plane before, and taking off vaguely felt like being on an elevator, but it was relatively smooth flying. Not that I knew what smooth flying felt like.

When the transport landed, I realized I was gripping the seat entirely too hard, and sheepishly let go. I shuffled into a standing position and off the ship.

Mos Espa felt much like a city. I'd lived in Oklahoma, and I'd been to Tulsa and Oklahoma City only once or twice, but Mos Espa felt like one of those cities.

I wandered around for a little while, trying to read the signs. Some were hard to read; others not so much. I managed to read the sign of a liquor store, a cantina(though they usually had the same exact sign in general), and a junk shop. The junk shop was weirdly familiar for some reason, but I ignored it. Again. Probably against my better judgment.

It was almost noon when I found out I was lost, not that it was difficult to figure out. Great job, I told myself scathingly. Lost. Again. So, I looked for a hotel or something. I wasn't even sure they were called hotels. It didn't help that I could barely read anything, at all. To me, everything was gibberish.

I ended up wandering Mos Espa most of the night. Those who stayed up after dark giggled at me and a few followed after me for a few minutes. They soon left after figuring out I was just lost.

When it was nearly midnight, I found a mostly-safe, well-hidden spot to curl up in, and sleep.

When I woke the next morning, I had a terrible ache in my stomach, making me realize I'd not eaten in nearly two days. I sighed, stood, and headed out. I meandered for a good while, trying to read the signs. I bought a fruit that the seller had called a pallie and ate it as I wandered.

I wandered a lot, trying to read signs. Some of them were easier to understand because they had symbols. I found myself walking in an instrument shop of all places, staring at various string instruments. Then, something caught my eye. It looked almost exactly like a guitar, and I looked at the price tag.

Twelve wupiupi.

I smiled and grabbed the instrument. I definitely know how to play this, I thought, glad there was at least something I was familiar with. I walked briskly to the counter, handed over the wupiupi, and headed back out. Now, all I needed to do was play.

I was incredibly hesitant, but I headed back to the little alley I'd slept in, found a small, half-broken clay jar, and began to play outside the alley, only the melody. I went through the first few lyrics in my head, tempted to sing aloud. I closed my eyes and merely let the music flow.

This is gospel for the fallen ones
Locked away in permanent slumber
Assembling their philosophies
From pieces of broken memories

When I was done, a couple passersby were staring at me and talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers, and there were several wupiupi in the jar. Almost embarrassed, I collected myself, the coins, the guitar, and headed back into the alley in self-induced shame.

I didn't play again for the rest of the day, and a couple others hung around as if waiting for me to play some more, but self-hate was clawing at my psyche. When dusk came, I counted my wupiupi; thirteen total. I was startled anyone wanted to give me that much. As I settled down to sleep, a ghost ran amok in my head.

Am I really worth it? I mused just as the darkness of sleep crashed over my head.

Chapter Text

Three weeks passed. Well, Earth weeks, because I was fairly certain that this... universe used a different time scale than Earth did.

In three weeks, I named myself Talanis Farlander. I bought a guitar and became a musician in Mos Espa, on Tatooine, working odd jobs and generally trying not to fail horrendously at living on Tatooine. In three weeks, I bought myself what was probably the tiniest, dustiest house in the entirety of the city, and that was saying something. Also, the instrument was supposedly of Tusken origin, but no one could prove it.

Three weeks ago, if someone told me I'd find myself on Tatooine, I'd probably laugh in their face. Then tell them to fuck off, because my life was already too stressful. Which brings me to this moment.

I walked down the street, paying little attention to where I was going. Hopefully, I'd be able to sell my house soon and get the hell off this dustball. I'd had enough sand for a lifetime. I bumped rather abruptly into someone shorter than me by a good foot and sent us both sprawling.

I landed face-up, wondering why I was on the ground so suddenly. I sat up quickly, noticing the kid, maybe seven or eight, had gotten up faster than I had. I quickly rubbed my mouth as he began to jabber out an apology.

"Sorry, miss," he blurted, helping me stand. I blinked at him. Why the hell was he so familiar?

"It's alright, kid," I told him. "Who're you?" Curse me and my weakness for all things young and adorable.

"I'm Anakin," he replied, beaming at me. My heart froze. "You?"

Fuck, I thought, as I smiled, and answered what had become my name here. "Talanis Farlander, but you may call me Tala," I said, dipping my head in acknowledgment(It was reflex, after doing it to friends in hallways of schools I'd probably never see again)."Nice to meet you, Anakin." With that, I began to speed walk away before I had a premature heart attack. Unlikely, but still.

No wonder he was so damn familiar.

A week later, I found myself caught in a sandstorm, and nowhere near a public building or my home.

Naturally, my first thought was Fucking fuck, and then I wandered around until I found a hiding spot, which was harder than it seemed. As I wedged between two walls of two buildings, I soon realized I was pressed up against someone else.

Great, I thought, mind already jumping to the worst conclusion. Probably a creep or maybe a dead body. As I turned, however, the being jolted. I pulled the cowl off my eyes, squinting through stray sand. Goddamn it, I thought, pursing my lips. Anakin.

"Hello," I deadpanned. "Again."

"I couldn't get home quick enough," he mumbled, arms crossed and half his face in his shirt. I almost couldn't hear him and merely patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"When the storm's over, I can walk you there," I said, smiling behind the mouth cover. I saw him shrug, and then we waited in relative silence.

Minutes later, I heard him ask "So, um, what do you do?" rather shyly. I blinked.

"I'm a musician," I returned. "I work in cantinas sometimes." He stared at me, something akin to awe in his eyes, before returning to picking at one of the walls.

Finally, the storm broke, and the day continued. Well, nearly night, now. I walked side-by-side with Anakin as we weaved through streets to come to someplace I recognized. The Slave Quarter. I spotted a woman in plain, gray clothing waiting, and saw Anakin's face brighten nearly instantly.

"Mom!" He called, running up to her. "This's Tala, we got trapped in a sandstorm together-" I more-or-less gave a small wave to Anakin's mother, only half listening when the kid dragged me over. I nearly let out a yelp of surprise.

"Um," I said intelligibly. "I'm Talanis Farlander. Nice to meet you?" I saw vague amusement glinting in her eyes as I stuck my hand out for her to shake.

"I am Shmi Skywalker," Anakin's mother told me, grasping my hand in a worn grip. "It is nice to meet you as well." I quickly let our hands drop and gave a little salute.

"I should go," I told the two, then quickly spun around and all but ran away.

I didn't see either of the Skywalkers for nearly two weeks after that. I merely raised more money to leave Tatooine, and slowly worked through a dredge of stagnating mental illness. My anxiety was a mess, and depression I wasn't going to touch without some sort of therapist. I found myself watching a podrace of all things.

It was a minor one, unnamed and seemingly random. I was mostly just there because there was a human child in it. From what I could remember, Anakin had been in some podraces but had never even finished a race, much less won one, until about a year from now. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes as the announcer... well, announced the race beginning.

I tried to keep myself from turning into a ball of pure anxious energy when Anakin nearly crashed into the canyon wall. Please, I thought, half-panicked. Force, whatever else that's out there, please protect him from dying. I barely noticed I was leaning forwards in my seat and gripping the chair so hard it was a wonder my nails hadn't cracked. Soon, the race was finished, and I loitered around for Anakin to get back.

I let a sigh of relief as Anakin pulled up in a half-destroyed pod, covered in bruises, a dejected look on his face, and I watched him quietly climb out of his pod, and walk over to his mother. I saw them talk indistinctly, and then I turned away and walked back to town. I probably would be considered creepy if I just walked up and tried to talk to him.

I wandered around the town some more, playing in one cantina and then another. I quietly wondered if my birthday had passed as I walked home. I'd been born in October, but there was no October here. But when I'd left, it was mid-September. It had been six weeks since then; so it was maybe late October now. Definitely past my birthday.

I ducked my head as I walked into my house, observing the one-room space. A cot crowded in one corner, a small worktable at the foot of said cot, a small kitchenette and a table with a couple of chairs on one wall. Not much to speak of. I laid my instrument under the worktable and quickly ate whatever I had available. Flatbread, some kind of dry, spicy vegetable, and quickly drank a bit of water before heading over to the bed.

I curled up in the bed and vaguely wondered how my family was doing at the moment. Looking for me? Had they already had my 'funeral', and buried an empty casket? I almost wanted to laugh at the thought - my family were a bunch of stubborn bastards, myself included.

I didn't know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I felt ...empty. Hollow. I stared at the wall blankly and pondered as to why I felt as such.

Ah, yes, I remembered. Depression. One of my worst enemies, both on Earth and here. Unpleasant, in most cases. But now, I felt mechanical, and even as I forced myself out of bed and to stand and to dress, I felt distant. What had my counselor called it? Disassociation.

I remained in my house for most of the day, trying to find a substitute for tea. Which was more difficult than it looked, admittedly. Eventually, I had to go to the market to find suitable replacement ingredients, but dammit they had no tea leaves. Like, at all. Nothing even resembling tea leaves. I nearly threw my hands in the air and wandered back home. It was a damn wonder I hadn't crashed from lacking sugar or caffeine. A part of me shouted Bullshit, I call bullshit! 

I plopped down on the bed and buried my head in the covers.

A week and a half later, I rounded a corner and nearly slammed face first into Shmi Skywalker. I came to a full halt before I could walk into her and nearly shouted in frustration. Why did me, of all people, have to be walking into either Skywalker left and right? I was partial to blame the Force on everything that was happening here. 

"Hello," I offered awkwardly. She gave me a smile. 

"Hello, Tala," Shmi replied. "We've not seen you for a while." I shrugged in response. 

"I keep to myself a lot," I told her dryly, stepping back. She gave me a look, and I shrugged again. "How's you and your son?" I inquired softly.

"Anakin is fine," the older woman returned. "As am I. What about you?" I frowned and looked at the ground.

"Getting along. Nice to see you again," I said, finally managing to back out of the conversation. I spun 'round and walked away, as quickly as possible without running. A random thought struck me across the face, as they usually do.

I haven't seen my reflection in... maybe months, now, I mused. There weren't many reflective things on Tatooine. Water, maybe, but that was rather rare in very large quantities. So, I spent a few days searching for a reflective surface.

Two days after bumping into Shmi, I found a piece of ancient, weathered glass in the sand that was the size of my entire hand. My reflection was a little hard to see, but from the right angle, I saw myself. I almost didn't recognize myself.

I was a few shades darker than I had been, though it wasn't surprising. I had been about as pale as a sheet of paper and looked like a vampire compared to most of my friends. My hair seemed to be the same shade of brown, and my eyes the same shade of blue. I had a few scars I hadn't had before on my brow, which was from the second day of being in the desert with nothing but myself. I'd tripped and busted my face open, but luckily it was at the very end, right between the eyebrow and temple, and didn't bleed into my eye.

As I shoved the glass into my pocket, I realized my body had also changed. Thinner, gaunt even, with worn skin and more muscle than I had than when I'd left. A band of dotted scars from a rather particularly bad sandstorm was across my right forearm and atop my right hand. It had burned painfully and took near to a week to heal properly.

I walked back to my house, wondering how I'd survived this long.

Chapter Text

When I woke up, my head was pounding, again. I rolled over, promptly falling facefirst onto the ground. A wonderful way to start the day, isn't it? I groaned in pain and peeled myself off the floor, spitting out grit. I stood quickly and shook myself off.

It had been nearly eight months since I'd first woken here, and I could feel something changing. Maybe it was the air shifting, or my gut instinct telling me so. I quickly ran a hand through my hair, shaking out sand, and pulling it back into a ponytail. A little hard to do with strips of cloth, but I managed well enough. I had given up trying to find a way home a few weeks ago. I wasn't going to find any magical portal or something on Tatooine. I went through my usual morning routine and hurried out.

For several hours, I walked around Mos Espa, before I noticed two humans, a... an amphibian-looking guy, and a droid entering Watto's Junk Shop. I pursed my lips and loitered, curious of these three. They looked incredibly familiar, but then it hit me like a sledgehammer to the head. I felt suddenly incredibly faint.

"Oh, hell," I whispered, leaning against the wall before I fell over. A little thought popped into my head. Maybe I could get off this planet.

After several minutes, the small group exited, followed by one Anakin Skywalker. I followed them at an even distance, even though Qui-Gon would probably be able to sense me. I tailed them to Jira's, creeping upon them and then Anakin whirled around after handing a pallie to the very, very tall man. The child blinked at me, and I gave an awkward wave.

"Hello, Anakin," I said brightly, as if I just hadn't been following them rather creepily. Anakin smiled in return and gave a small wave back.

"Hiya, Tala," he chirped, then dragged me over to the man, younger girl, and odd... guy. A Gungan, if memory served correctly. I spotted the white-and-blue droid and memories flooded back as if breaking through a dam. I quickly sculpted a mask so they wouldn't see the emotions on my face. "This is Mister Qui-Gon, and that's Padme, and that's Jar Jar, and that's R2-D2," Anakin started jabbering away and I blinked dumbly at the Jedi.

"Nice to meet you," I said sincerely to Qui-Gon, holding out my free hand. "I'm Talanis Farlander,"

The Master spared me a kind smile and shook my hand politely. "Qui-Gon Jinn, Jedi Master," he returned politely,

 I managed to find myself trapped inside Shmi's home with a Jedi, a Gungan, a couple of droids, an undercover Queen, and Anakin Skywalker himself. In the middle of a sandstorm, no less. I sat awkwardly away since the table could only seat so many. Anakin soon dragged Padme, Jar Jar, and myself off to show us the droid I already knew would be named C-3PO. I forced myself to keep calm, though it didn't work very well. I managed to occupy myself with Threepio and Artoo trying to teach me Aurebesh, the written form of English, or Basic, here. Some of it made sense, since I did read signs for like, seven months straight. I supposed I was fortunate that the alphabet was basically the same.

"Trill, aurek, trill, aurek, nern, isk, senth," I said slowly, spelling it on the sandy floor as Artoo showed me holograms of the symbols. My handwriting of Aurebesh was absolute garbage, and my heart ached for my normal handwriting. I quickly shook my head and spoke. "Thank you, both of you. I should probably go now," I dusted away the writing and walked out.

The Boonta Eve Classic was in a couple of days. I knew that it was incredibly important; Anakin would more-or-less win his freedom, and go with the Jedi to Coruscant. I pursed my lips as I quickly left; it was nearly sundown, and I needed to get home anyway. I quickly ate and sipped some water. I all but flung myself on the bed and dreamt of podracing, red lightsabers, and skyscrapers.

 A few days later, I was wedged between another human and a Rodian, waiting rather impatiently for the game to start. I half-listened to the announcer and tuned him as the race began. I held my breath as Anakin's speeder didn't start, although I already knew what would happen, for the most part.

Then, the kid was back in the race, among the other pods and quickly climbed the ladder. My heart began to thud hard in my chest when one of the motor stabilizer things on Anakin's pod broke loose. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding when he managed to reattach it. I peered at the handheld screen the Rodian was holding and said sentient (since 'alien' was apparently considered rude) swore softly when the blond pulled into first place at the very end of the race. I hid a grin behind a hand, disguising it as a cough. I quickly headed down and directly for Anakin, who was standing next to his mother and the others.

"Good job, Anakin," I told him proudly, putting a hand on his shoulder. His head snapped around and a little flush climbed up his neck.

"Thanks, Tala," he replied shyly. The others headed for Shmi's place, while I made a decision. I walked to my own house, gathered all the money I had; roughly a hundred wupiupi. I had saved it up to get to a Core world, like Coruscant.

I was going to help free Shmi Skywalker, even if it killed me.

 I headed to Shmi's residence at a brisk pace, a stony expression on my face. I had packed what little I had, sold my guitar back to the guy I'd bought it from nearly a year ago, and was ready to leave.

I saw Shmi, Anakin, and Qui-Gon standing outside. The others must've gone to the ship already. "Shmi!" I called to her. All three heads swiveled around to face me. I paced over to her and pressed the little bag into her hands. "This is for you," I said, smiling softly. I turned to Qui-Gon. I swallowed and licked my lips. Time to try to convince him to get me off Tatooine.

"Master Jinn," I began formally. "I know we've barely met, but if it's not any trouble," I paused, rearranging the words in my head. "I'd like you to take me off Tatooine, and take me to Coruscant. You don't have to do anything further than that," I added quickly, wringing my hands. The Jedi blinked at me.

"Very well," he returned. I started, blinked stupidly at him.

"Oh," I said awkwardly, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Okay," I followed after him and Anakin. It was a strangely surreal experience. Suddenly, a bad feeling came over me as Anakin and I hurried after Qui-Gon.

"Wait up!" Anakin called out to him. "I'm tired!" Qui-Gon turned around, and a pit formed in my stomach. I grabbed Anakin and spun around as a speeder nearly clipped us.

A flash of green and red, and Qui-Gon shouted, "Go! Tell them to take off," to us. I picked up the younger kid, my heart hammering in my chest in fear. Anakin yelped in slight shock

I ran towards the ship and up the ramp, placed Anakin down, and we beelined for the cockpit. Or what I thought was the cockpit.

"Qui-Gon's in trouble," Anakin blurted, as we passed an auburn haired man with a side braid, no, a Padawan braid. I already knew who he was, as Padme and another man made way for us.

"That way," Obi-Wan told the pilot. "Fly low." Soon, we were in the air, and moments later, Qui-Gon was on the ship. Tension drained the air ever so slightly, and I exhaled the third sigh of relief. Obi-Wan and Anakin pushed past me, followed by Padme, to talk to the older man.

I plopped down in the quietest corner of the room, and wondered how in God's name I'd managed to make it this far.

I mulled over the past several events; Maul (that was his name, right?), Anakin, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon... among others. I swallowed as a protective urge slammed into my chest(protectprotectprotect, it sang) and quietly pressed it away for now.

I fell asleep on the floor to the rumbling sound of engines and quiet breathing.

Chapter Text

The Force was furious. At itself, the future, the past, the present, and everything in between. So, in a moment most mortals would either call great stupidity or great genius, it turned back time.

Said Force bound the not just the galaxy in which it had been first found, but the entire Universe. It looked into a galaxy, far, far away, and picked up the first person it saw with memories of its own galaxy, and observed her for a few seconds. Alice Cooper, her mind whispered to the Force.

Pale skin, with dark circles under her eyes from constant nightmares. Behind moving lids were blue eyes as the Force yanked her forwards to the planet its Chosen lived on. Her hair was a shade of brown intermingled with gray and blonde, all natural and they blurred together nicely.

The Force placed her gently on the ground and kept watch on her, unconsciously or not. Not that the Force really had an unconscious. A figure of speech, if you will.

So the Force protected the girl, from the sun and sand, and from dying of thirst or starvation. A gentle nudge there, and she was heading to the closest civilization. Ranik Manchu was an anomaly it hadn't been expecting, so it let Alice choose her own name.

Talanis Farlander. Almost Tatooinian, and yet different. Unique. If the Force had lips, it would have smiled. So it watched her make her choices, and then she met Anakin Skywalker. The Force felt her panic and slight fear. This is the Chosen One, her mind thundered. He is a child, and then a flash of an image; a boy a little older than Anakin, with a sunny smile and big brown eyes.

Her little brother, Tyler, whom she loved and protected with her life. The Force very, very carefully guided the image away, and instead pushed her to meeting the boy again and again. The Chosen One thought Talanis was pretty, and like a friend, and enjoyed being with her, regardless of barely knowing her. The Force wanted to laugh, if it had the ability. Of course, it mused. She technically is Chosen, but she barely has enough midichlorians to register as living. To the Jedi, at least.

The Force was intensely amused when she met the Jedi and Queen. Oh, how things would change for the Jedi Order. Perhaps Ahsoka Tano will not leave, it wondered, as Talanis ran into the Nubian cruiser.

A wind rolled over the Jedi Temple, stirring holocrons, resting Jedi, and even non-sensitives around the building. The younglings and younger Initiates in the creche giggled, and older Jedi were left wondering what was going to happen next.

Chapter Text

Hyperspace was a new experience, though I'd been sleeping for a better part of it. On the other hand, Coruscant was loud; incredibly so, and it was annoying. I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair and shuffled off the ship. One of my feet somehow clipped the other, and I slammed face first into the back of Obi-Wan. He nearly collapsed as well, if it weren't for Qui-Gon.

"Shit, I am so sorry," I blurted as soon as I straightened myself. The ginger looked rather flustered but pulled himself together well enough as we met with Senator Sheev Palpatine and the Chancellor. All of us bowed politely, and the conversation more or less played out as it did in the movie; not that I remembered most of it. The Nubians went off with the Senator(and oh boy did I recognize him. I quietly tried not to slam down on the anger that threatened to bubble up), and I awkwardly followed as Qui-Gon shooed both Anakin and myself away. I patted the boy on the shoulder awkwardly as we sat in the... shuttle. No, it was a speeder.

I looked around in awe as the speeder zoomed past towering buildings I'd only seen in the films. I inhaled sharply, and glanced around, trying to remember what was going on. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were visiting the Jedi Council, for sure. However, there was little time to think about that, as the speeder stopped and let us pile out into the Senate building. Not the Dome, obviously, but that would come later.

When? I wondered, pressing myself to remember. We weaved through bright halls and I found myself sitting on the ground of a velvety room, waiting impatiently for the Queen and (motherfucking goddamn Sidious) Palpatine. I pursed my lips and fiddled with my hair, which dearly needed a cut. I probably needed to bathe, as well, considering the fact I'd been living in a desert near to nine months, where water was scarce and not used for bathing. I tried not to scowl as I saw said Senator-soon-Chancellor pacing in the room. Well, more like being a complete asshole just by existing but I was a vindictive bitch.

I saw Anakin eventually grab Jar Jar's hand and pull him towards something against the opposite wall, but I'd begun to stop paying attention. Anakin glanced at me as we began to walk out, and I returned the glance with a soft, reassuring smile. He broke off briefly and vanished down the hall for a few minutes. Then, the boy returned, a resigned but curious expression on his face.

I patted his back and sat next to him on what I assumed to be a Temple speeder; I'd probably be dropped off somewhere and be able to register as an official Republic citizen. Or something.

"Anakin," I started softly. "I want you to know that it is alright to be afraid and that it can mean two things," I smiled as he turned to me, blue eyes wide and bright and curious.

"What would they mean?" He asked quietly, almost a whisper as if we were indulging a secret of some kind. My smile widened slightly.

"Forget everything and run," I said solemnly. "Or face everything and rise," His face turned perplexed and his mouth opened to ask another question, but we had already arrived at the Temple.

"Miss," the driver said politely as he turned to me. "We can do medical tests here at the Temple and possibly get a Republic citizenship for you, or you can go to a standard naturalization office to do it," I pondered his question for a few seconds and quickly made my choice.

"At the Temple, please," I replied, all but scrambling out of the speeder. I didn't want to go to a governmental office. I barely interacted with people, and starting off with government officials was not exactly my plan. I gave a strained smile to Anakin as we were guided to a medicenter. Or medcenter. Or clinic. Whichever they called it here.

I had my blood extracted and carefully tested, then given vaccines, which were quicker and slightly less painful than the ones on Earth. The nurse, or healer, or whatever she was called, smiled calmly at me and pulled up a new medical file for me, which was going to be one of my papers. Well, not 'papers' here because paper was rare. I think.

"Age?" She asked, jarring me out of my stupor.

"Sixteen," I told her after a few moments.

"Biological gender?" I nearly rose a brow at that question, but answered "Female," anyway. Several more questions, including my name, home planet, and so on. "Tell me if this sounds right," she began softly. "Talanis Farlander, female, sixteen Galactic standard, home planet of Tatooine," I gave a short nod, before she smiled again, and continued. "Your blood type is B, you have two thousand, nine hundred midichlorians, and you cannot read nor write Aurebesh?" I looked at a point on the floor and gave a slight, shameful nod.

The young woman patted my shoulder gently. "It'll be alright. You'll learn it soon enough," she replied, pressed a small blue card in my hand, and smiled at me again once I looked up. "Welcome to Coruscant, Talanis," Then, the young woman spoke again. "I am Healer Jera Halen, I forgot to introduce myself earlier," she apologized.

I shrugged slightly. "It's alright, Healer Halen," I said, nearly tripping over the title. "Is there anywhere I can get a job? Or a house, for that matter?" The Healer chuckled.

"Your apartment is on the 3204th level, paid for the first three months, and we'll have a droid help you find your apartment, if it's not any trouble," I gave a small shrug. "For a job, I'm afraid you will have to find one yourself," Halen's voice was sympathetic, and I stood.

"It's alright. Where should I meet this droid?" I rolled my shoulders and shoved my card into my pocket.

This droid was a protocol droid with the designation E9-O2, where I met on a Temple platform. I found the latter two to be exceedingly hilarious.

"I'm calling you Oxygen," I declared as I plopped myself in the rider's seat of the speeder. Luckily, Oxygen could drive, otherwise, I'd have to snag someone else to do it.

Oxygen let out a sputtering noise. Or as close as a droid could get. "Ma'am, you can just call me Ohtoo," it - no, he - told me.

"Definitely Oxygen," I said, nodding and crossing my arms as the droid drove off. Flew? No, drove.

We landed somewhere below and to the east (at least, I think it was east) of the Temple. I clambered out.

"Ma'am, your apartment is room 230," Oxygen called, and I paused, turning 'round, sensing that he had more to say. "I would also like to state that until you turn eighteen that you will be a ward of the Jedi Order," I let out a choking sound as he quickly pulled away.

"What the hell!" I shouted furiously, shaking my hand at the air. "You just now decided to tell me that?!" I let out a huff and turned back around and marched into the building. I pulled myself together and headed over to the main desk. "Sir," I began politely as possible. "I'm told I'm supposed to live in room two-thirty?"

For a second, the... man didn't reply. I was hesitant to call him a man because there were strange antennae coming from his head. Well, they looked like antennae, so they probably were. "Ah, sorry," he replied. "Two hundred and thirty, yes, I have that right here," he passed over a smaller card, a chip, really, that was yellow in color. "Take the elevator up one level, then it should be right in front of you,"

I gave him a smile and polite nod before he dissolved back into his book, and I moved over the elevator, stepped inside, and pressed a button on instinct. With a small lurch, it began to move, and I tried not to cling to the railing like a small child. I hated elevators. There was a quiet ding no more than a few heartbeats later, and I stepped out again.

Aurebesh numbers were the easiest thing to learn, in my experience, and they looked basically the same as English numbers, just as if someone had pinched a line from them. Or added a dot to the middle. I pushed the key into the small hole in the panel next to the door, and it whirred open. I quickly moved into the room and looked around.

Compared to the hut I'd lived in on Tatooine, this was practically heaven. More than one room and it was more spacious than the hut had ever been. I checked in the bedroom; a dresser, a bed to fit or maybe two if you crunched together, and a small mirror on the dresser. I headed back out to the fresher. What I'd come to learn as a sonic, and general bathroom toiletries. I stepped away, then glanced around the main room.

Fairly bare, and slightly dusty, as if it hadn't been lived in for a while. The furniture was bare and sparse; a table and two chairs, a small couch facing a large window, and a bookcase. Full of books I couldn't read. I let out a heavy sigh and headed into the bedroom. It was nearly sundown, anyway.

I changed out of the rough Tatooinian fabric, gently folding the worn and tattered cotton jacket and put it in a box I found under the bed. I placed my boots next to the foot of the bed and pulled on a pair of shorts and what was basically a t-shirt. It probably wasn't true cotton, but it sure as hell felt like it. I curled up under the covers and eventually fell asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the morning choking down a scream, feeling the pain and death and hate, because oh god Qui-Gon was dead, and I had done absolutely nothing to change it. I swallowed painfully as I put on relatively normal clothes; a pair of cargo pants, a t-shirt, then my boots and jacket. I wondered if that was just because I knew Qui-Gon would die soon... or if because he had already done so. I shoved my key and the blue card in my pocket, just in case.

I shivered as I slowly began to eat something. I recognized it as some kind of protein bar. Not that I knew foods very well here, but I tried well enough. I left the apartment, found the stairs, and began to look around for jobs. I found myself unsuccessful and returned to the apartments in a horrible mood.

"Hey," said the guy at the desk. "I noticed you're unemployed, and I know a guy who might be lookin' to hire," he commented. I lit up nearly immidately.

"As long as it's not illegal or immoral I can try to do it," I replied eagerly.

"Yeah, this friend of mine, he's named Dexter, he's lookin' to hire a waitress. You in?" Something in my chest flickered. Dex was familiar. Why? I gave a short nod to him and smiled.

Two days later, somehow managing to absolutely fuck up Dex's offer, I found myself as a part-time babysitter and a part-time mechanic. More of a babysitter than a mechanic, but working as a mechanic wasn't terribly hard. And I'd always been good with kids.

Suddenly, in the middle of a shower (well, a sonic shower), I found myself struck stupid because I just knew that Qui-Gon Jinn was dead. Little more than eight hours later, I had a holo in my hand that had been delievered to me. I pressed the button to play it, and tried my damn hardest not to burst into tears right there and then.

It was an invitation to Qui-Gon's funeral.

Chapter Text

The funeral was going to be at dusk the next day. I swallowed thickly and rooted around in the drawers for the darkest clothing I owned. A long-sleeved black shirt with a hood, a pair of black leggings, and just my boots. I hadn't gotten enough time to go shopping for anything except food, but I was going to remedy that soon. I gently laid out the two pieces of clothing atop the dresser and went hunting for scissors.

Which I didn't have, so I had to use a knife to cut my hair. I managed to even it out to roughly mid-neck length, and it wasn't too terribly choppy. Worse than if I had scissors, unfortunately. I quickly swept up the hair and shoved it in the trash chute. I padded around the apartment for a while, before sitting on the couch and looking out.

Coruscant was still big, still loud, and still very bright. The sun was slowly descending in the sky, and I could see two of the four moons, and found myself smiling like a loon. I'd grown used to the two suns and three moons of Tatooine, but four moons and one star was a bit of a change. Not an unwelcome one, though.

Then I remembered Qui-Gon's funeral and quickly sobered up. I stood and headed to the bedroom; I had a mechanic shift tomorrow and then babysat in the morning the day after. I curled up in bed and tried hard to sleep. Nightmares ravaged what little sleep I could get, a little voice shouting, save them savethemsavesavesave, while I watched Qui-Gon die over and over again. It was difficult not to wake screaming or in tears. Eventually, I gave up and wandered in the halls as quietly as possible. I pondered on what my family was doing and tried to remember what they looked like.

I remembered my dad had blue eyes. My younger brother had been ten when I'd left. My mother was a little shorter than me. My brother best friend who I called brother was named Daniel; he had heterochromia. What colors had his eyes been? I couldn't remember. I closed my eyes as I sat on the couch in my living room, and waited for the sun to rise.

I dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants, both tough enough for mechanical work, and I took a taxi to Jesper's Autoshop. Jesper Kiks was a Twi'lek male, with green skin and dark eyes, and maybe a decade older than me. I worked with another mechanic on my shift; a gender fluid Togruta named Alie Respin. Today, I saw that they wore a blue and gray bangle, showing off their male gender for the day. I gave Al a shy wave and walked over.

"Hey, Al," I offered awkwardly. I'd never met a gender fluid person until recently, and it was a new experience. Alie turned to look at me and flashed a grin at me.

"Hello, Tala," he replied, handing me a wrench. "I'm going to replace the ignition on this speeder here, and you have to replace the oil on that sky car over there," he gestured to his left, where I saw a big blue sky car with it's... hood popped open to display the engine, which I had mistakenly called a family speeder when I'd first gotten here. Not that you can blame me. "Easy enough, right?" I shrugged a little and nodded, before picking up what I knew was oil and heading over. I'd helped my dad a few times on our old car at home.

I took a quick scan of the parts, before finding the... carton thing, oil pan, I never learned the technical name for it, and popped open the lid. I carefully poured in the clearish-blue liquid in and closed it when it was full. I turned the ignition, or pressed, technically, and the sky car whirred into life. I quickly turned it back off again, and then Alie directed me back and forth in the shop, mostly to get him tools and whatnot, until noon. I calmly hailed another taxi and headed back home.

I had a bit of splattered oil from a small incident that made Alie break a pipe and spray oil all over us and the floor. Fortunately, the floor bore the brunt of said liquid. I sighed tiredly as I peeled out of the clothes that threatened to sick to my skin, and took a sonic. I stifled a giggle at the slight vibrations that danced over my skin and lifted away dirt and oil. I shook my head and began to dress again, and put the other clothes in the laundry chute. Then, I tried to read a child's book for the alphabet. Mostly fruitlessly, but it was a nice book. Considering I couldn't fucking read!

By the time dusk rolled around, I was dressed in all black and in a taxi going to the Jedi Temple. I soon found the room that would be Qui-Gon's grave by both word of mouth and by asking someone directions. I was standing in between an older man with silver streaks in his hair and Obi-Wan. I heard Obi-Wan say something to Anakin, but I was too busy staring into the fire and crying silent tears to pay attention.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I rasped softly, quietly, to both Obi-Wan and Anakin. The man to my right I abruptly recognized as Count Dooku. Or, would-be Count. He was still a Jedi at the moment if I remembered correctly. He'd leave soon. "I barely knew him, but he was a kind man." After saying my piece, I pulled up my hood and headed out. You should have saved him, the voice that commanded me to save them last night said scathingly. Should have said something. Done something. I sat on the floor, pressed my back against the wall, and wrapped my arms around my legs. I buried my face in my knees and let out a soft sob, and remembered my family.

Minutes, maybe hours later, someone nudged me. I glanced up from my wallowing in self-hatred and saw ginger hair and gray eyes. I blinked blurriness from my vision and saw Obi-Wan. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly. Anakin was a shadow behind him, hair done up with a Padawan braid and dressed in Jedi robes. The boy was looking at me with wide eyes.

"Are you?" I whispered, voice cracking. I swallowed painfully and continued. "I will be, but," I paused. "I was remembering my family. I ended up on Tatooine very abruptly separated from my family and friends, even people I hated," I paused again, struggling to get out the words. "I didn't get to say goodbye," I mumbled, finally standing. Obi-Wan's face was morose, and Anakin practically vibrated loss. I probably didn't look much better.

Obi-Wan made a soft sympathetic noise and patted my shoulder. "If anything happens," he murmured. "You can come to me," I gave him a small smile and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I extend the same offer to you," I replied.

The day after, I woke on my couch to the sound of my doorbell buzzing. I stood up and shuffled over, remembering that yes, I was working today. I answered the door, looking at a Mirialan woman with a child, perhaps six or seven, standing next to her. "I'm Resa Xin and this is my son, Wern Xin," she quickly introduced. "I'll be picking him up sometime after 1400 hours," I quickly ran that through my head; about two in the afternoon, then. I gave her a nod, smiled at the boy, and let him in. Miss Xin briskly turned and took the elevator down.

"Hello, Wern," I said quietly after the door closed. "I'm Talanis Farlander, I'm your babysitter, okay?" Wern shrugged and gave a small wave.

"'lo, Miss Farland'r," I patted his dark hair and showed him around. I'd definitely need to get some toys or something and nearly cursed myself out for forgetting.

No more than thirty minutes after settling the kid down and giving him a book to read, the doorbell rung again. This time, it was a young human male, with a three-year-old toddler in his arms. A girl, probably. "Farlander?" The man asked politely, and at my confirming nod, he continued. "I'm Samber Horan and this is my daughter, Olivia Horan. I should be able to pick her up at noon," Samber gave me a bright smile and handed the girl over to me.

The door closed, and I was left with two small children. "Hello, Olivia," I said quietly to the girl and she looked at me with wide eyes. I walked over and sat down on the sofa next to Wern. "Wern, this is Olivia, who I'll be sitting with you," I gave him a smile and sat the girl on the ground. She had a toy clutched in her hand, some kind of stuffed animal. Wern looked at Olivia curiously, his dark eyes wide.

"'Lo, Oli," he told the girl, and she let out a warble, turning blue-green eyes on him, giving him a wobbly grin. I could tell they'd be good friends, as long as they remained in contact. I smiled softly and sadly to myself and remembered Daniel. Swiftly, I pulled myself out of my reverie and began to put down a to-do list. Mentally, of course, mostly because I didn't have anything to write on.

1. Get toys, other kid things for babysitting.
2. Buy clothes and food.
3. Learn how to read and write for god's sake.
4. Buy a datapad. Or something.

Which reminded me that the books weren't actually books. They were actually kind of tablets that you scrolled with. That made me miss books from Earth. And libraries. Definitely libraries. Did they even have libraries here? I sighed softly and began to find something for the kids to eat.

Within several days, my apartment was fairly child-friendly, with whatever I could think of for children to have. I had a diaper bag, with, well, diapers and whatnot, formula and bottles, several kinds of toys, some blankets and more children's books. I smiled to myself as I finally began to brighten the apartment.

Maybe, I thought to myself. Maybe life on Coruscant won't be so bad.

Chapter Text

Three weeks after the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn and in the midst of babysitting, I heard the buzzer of someone wanting in. I placed Olivia on my hip, and she clambered up to my shoulder as I opened the door.

And came face to face with Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was surprisingly hard to keep my composure considering there was a small child attempting to eat my hair. Olivia promptly burped in my ear as I said, “Hello.”

The man seemed slightly amused. “Hello, Talanis,” He replied, and then I noticed that Anakin was in front of him, and Obi-Wan had his hands on his Padawan’s shoulders. “Anakin wanted to see you,” I saw the boy roll his eyes and elbow him. The Jedi sighed. “I did, too,”

I chuckled and stepped back. “Come in,” I said warmly, letting them in. Wern glanced up from his book, and then returned to it. A small part of me wondered what it was about to have him so interested in it.

I placed Olivia down on a blanket I’d placed on the ground and handed her a ball. I could feel the weight of the two Jedi’s stares on me, and I glanced up at them. Anakin looked away and Obi-Wan seemed to blink and give an awkward smile that for some reason reminded me of something.

“How’s life at the Temple going?” I asked casually, sitting on the couch. Anakin meandered over and plopped himself next to me.

“It’s great,” Anakin said the same time Obi-Wan spoke, “The usual,” I snorted and shook my head as they exchanged a look. A bit of a rocky relationship, then. Not unusual, considering the fact Anakin was Obi-Wan’s student primarily because it had been his teacher’s dying wish.

“How have you been?” Obi-Wan asked, curiosity inflecting his voice as he looked at the kids sitting in front of us. I gave a little shrug.

“I’ve been alright. My jobs keep me busy,” I gestured to Wern and Olivia, smiling. “I also work as a mechanic. I may or may not be terrible at it,”

Anakin snorted and clapped a hand over his mouth. I smirked and patted his head. Then, for a moment, everything was quiet, except for Wern tapping on his pad, and Oli trying her hardest to eat the toy I’d given her. Then, Anakin’s stomach growled. All eyes turned to him, and he flushed red.

I stood, wandered over to the kitchen, and looked for something for the kids to eat, while the two Jedi squabbled in the distance. I shook my head in amusement as I took a package of fruit gummies for Oli, the spiciest thing I had for Anakin(since Tatooinian food was notoriously spicy and I kind of felt bad for Anakin, so I gave him something that might remind him of home), and a fruit for Wern. I ended up making some tamales with replacement ingredients; I’d never been a fan of spicy food, but my family had loved it, and thus I’d learned how to make various spicy foods. It was mildly irritating.

I handed the pear-like fruit to Wern, who graciously began to eat it, and balanced a plate with just one tamale on it, in case Anakin didn’t like it. I handed the plate over to him and pulled Olivia into my lap.

I pulled open the package and gently put one in her grabbing hands. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Anakin gingerly poke at the tamale, and then finally taking a bite from it. Obi-Wan had a bemused look on his face as he sat on the very end of the sofa, squished between the arm rest and Anakin.

I gently steered a gummy to Olivia’s mouth, and she let out a warbling yell. I winced and patted her blonde head. “S’okay, Oli,” I murmured, threading my fingers through her hair. She sniffled and turned to cuddle me.

“This is really good,” Anakin chirped through a mouthful of food. Or, at least, that’s what I thought he said. I heard Obi-Wan sigh a little, and I glanced over.

“If you’re done, could you put your plate and silverware in the dishwasher?” I asked him politely, maneuvering the toddler in my hands back onto the ground. I saw the boy beam at me and practically flew out of his seat.

“So,” I began, glancing over at Obi-Wan. “He giving you much trouble?” He shrugged at me, eyes following Oli with a pensive expression on his face.

“Nothing I can’t handle,” he replied. “You seem good with children,” the Jedi offered awkwardly. I gave a strained smile.

“Something like that,” I responded. “That’s Wern, over in the corner, by the way,” At my words, the Mirialan glanced up and gave a small wave. “He’s quiet and reads a lot,”

A few minutes of silence after Anakin returned. Obi-Wan cleared his throat, rubbing a hand over new scruff. “We should leave now,” he said apologetically. “We have to leave Coruscant tomorrow morning,”

Anakin pouted but got up, and scurried out of the room after his teacher. I shook my head in amusement.

Three days later, I’d quit from Jesper’s Autoshop; both Jesper and Alie were sad to see me go, but I’d taken on babysitting full time. I babysat Wern and Olivia on Centaxday and Zhellday(a five day week and weird as hell names for the days, I know) and a six-months-old Zabrak girl named Vesa Curone on Benduday, so I had a couple days off to do… whatever it was I did.

I was babysitting Vesa when I noticed something rather curious. I peered at the girl, who was sitting on the ground. She had a hand extended, burbling as she… lifted a toy with the Force… and pulled it closer to her.

Oh dear, I thought blankly. I am babysitting a Force-sensitive child. Do her parents even know? I wondered, moving closer to her. If they didn’t, they would learn soon enough.

The infant looked up at me and smiled wobbly. My heart nearly melted right there and then. I quietly remembered the steps to being in a fandom.

1. Don’t get attached.
2. Absolutely fail step 1.

I crouched next to Vesa and patted her head, careful of her horns. If I was thinking correctly, Order 66 was going to happen in thirteen or fourteen years. Vera… if Vera became a Jedi, she would die as a teenager.

It took all my strength not to cry. Then, I found my resolve. I am going to change what is going to happen, I thought. Even if I have to die doing it.

Obi-Wan came visiting with Anakin on a Primeday. Luckily, it was my off day, and I had virtually nothing to do.

“Obi-Wan,” I said hesitantly, doubt flickering up in my chest. “I need to speak with you. Alone,” I added after Anakin perked up slightly. We moved over to the window.

“What is it?” The man asked, looking me with curiosity and slight worry. I took a deep breath.

“I need to speak with the Jedi Council,” I replied seriously. “It concerns the universe as a whole,” Obi-Wan blinked at me, shock glittering in his eyes.

“I can try-” He began, but I interrupted him.

“Do or do not,” I spoke softly, watching him carefully. “There is no try.” The Jedi looked startled, to say the least.

“I’ll do my best, then,” Obi-Wan offered. “If I’m able to get you an audience with the Council, then I’ll let you know,” He blinked at me. “Also, we should probably go,”

I watched them leave and sat on the sofa with a heavy sigh. Now what? I wondered. So I found myself asking the Force for help.

Um, I thought, directing the thought outwards. I know that I probably sound crazy, but I kind of need… your help? To prove that I’m not actually crazy. So, if you could give me a sign. Or something? That’d be nice. For a few moments, nothing happened.

Then a breeze coasted over my skin, and I shivered as a headache slammed full force into my head. I cupped my forehead and curled up on the couch, squeezing my eyes closed.

Sleep would probably help.

When I woke up, I was mildly startled as to being able to sense people above and below me in the apartment building, and as well as on my own floor. It was kind of like an itchy feeling you get when something’s too close to your forehead.

I ended up putting a blanket on my head and trying not to cry from frustration. This is not exactly the kind of help I wanted. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, though. I was going to do whatever I could to change things; if the Force wanted me to be sensitive to it, fine.

It was time to stop saying “Why me?” and start saying “Try me.”

Chapter Text

It had been a whole, fucking, year since I'd woke up on Tatooine. Two weeks since asking Obi-Wan for an audience with the Jedi Council and no Jedi had come calling. I was this close to just marching to the Temple and asking for one myself. On the other hand, I was busy babysitting. It was my job, after all.

It was three days after Life Day(which was kind of Christmas, New Years' Eve and New Years' Day all in one) when I noticed mottled bruises across one side of Wern's neck. I pursed my lips but paid no mind to it. For now, at least. However, it was the next time I babysat him was when I noticed dark bruises across his yellow skin climbing up his right forearm. It looked like fingers.

"Wern," I said softly, balancing Olivia in one arm and reaching over to him. "Are you okay?" He blinked up at me, eyes round and big. And hollow. I grit my teeth silently as I waited for him to respond.

"Yeah," he mumbled. I gently touched his shoulder and he winced.

"Are you really?" I replied, raising a brow. The kid flinched and looked down. "I won't hurt you, or something," I told him gently. He swallowed and looked up at me.

"Promise?" Wern asked shyly. I nodded and set Oli on my lap. He rolled up his sleeves and showed off his arms. I nearly saw red; dark green-yellow marks, some random, others seemingly deliberate. "It's my new stepdad," he whispered, as if we sharing high-security information. "He seemed really nice at first," he paused, looking as if he was about to cry. "But then he started beating me when Mama wasn't around, and, and," I gently put a hand on his shoulder and Olivia crawled over to his lap. "It's worse when he's drunk," the kid finished quietly, sniffling and wiping away tears. Olivia patted his cheek.

"No cry," she said softly, eyes round and bright. "Wern strong," Then, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Wern choked on a sob and put his arms around here. I realized I probably looked furious and made an effort to smooth out my face.

"Where does your stepfather live?" I asked calmly, folding my hands in my lap and trying not to break someone in half. I probably could if I tried hard enough. Wern paused and blinked at me.

"He lives with us," he murmured softly. I blinked. That was not too far away; I'd been given that information when Wern's mother had signed up for me to babysit her son. I pursed my lips again and looked Wern in the eye.

"I will make sure you will be safe," I stated. "If you feel afraid, or if you need someone to talk to, do not hesitate to come to me," I said seriously. I quickly commed the guy at the desk, whose name was Fyn Orik, and was apparently was a Balosar, and said, "Hey, I need you to watch Wern and Olivia for a moment. Something's come up,"

"Sure thing, Tala," Fyn chirped. "I'll get someone to man the desk and I'll come up," I nodded to myself and clicked it off.

"I'm going to have a little chat with your stepdad, alright?" I said softly, petting his head and heading out. I passed Fyn in the hallway, but I was mostly too angry to pay attention to him. I quickly took a taxi to Wern's apartment, took an elevator to the fourth floor, and all but marched to room 409. I nearly pounded on the door, seething quietly.

The door creaked open, and I saw an older man, human probably, on the verge of being overweight too large peer at me. "May I help you?" He asked. His voice was baritone, but had a squeaky undertone to it. I reined in my anger very briefly, before punching him in the face. My anger felt like acid in my veins; nobody, nobody, abused my kids and got away with it.

The man was sent sprawling on the ground. He opened his bloody mouth to speak but I stood over him and crouched down, fisting his shirt in one hand. "Do not speak," I said, tone grave. "You do not deserve to speak. Wern Xin is your stepson, yes?" He gave a shaky nod, eyes wide with panic. "You will get a divorce with Resa Xin, and you will vanish; never talk to, about, or even think about Wern or Resa," I nearly growled in his face. It was so tempting just to beat him until he died, right here and now. "Or I will hunt you down, and I will kill you. Am I understood?"

He choked down a panicked shout and nodded. I punched him again for good measure, cracking his nose this time. A tendril of pleasure hissed across my mind, and I forced it down. I got up and away from the pitiful excuse of a sentient, and ghosted out of the room. I took a few calming breaths on the way back to my apartment.

When I got there, with blood on my fist and anger in my eyes, there was a Jedi waiting with the others. I felt him, bright like a star and as deep as a river, before I even entered the room.

"Tala!" Wern blurted, scrambling over the couch and flinging himself at me. "Will he be gone?" He whispered, voice suddenly hushed.

"I hope so," I said, voice flat. I scanned the Jedi - it was Obi-Wan. "Otherwise, I'll do something terrible to him," I gently ran a hand through his dark hair. My eyes connected with Fyn's. "Please get Olivia back to her father," I told him softly. "Stay with Wern for a little while, if you can. He'll need the support,"

I let the Mirialan go, ever mindful of the Jedi's eyes on me. I turned and bowed slightly. "You want to speak with me?" I asked politely, crossing my arms.

"Yes," he replied quietly. "You need to come to the Jedi Temple with me. The Council wishes to speak with you,"

The Temple was a bit different from when I'd last been there. Maybe it was the Force-sensitivity; I could feel each life like a flickering candle. Some were roaring hearths and others bonfires. Each held promise and light. I let out a shaky exhale as we walked to the Council chamber. I readied myself as quickly as possible, pulling my emotions under wraps for the moment.

We entered the chamber and I looked around. Yoda, Mace Windu, and Ki-Adi-Mundi were the only ones I recognized, and Ki-Adi was only from The Clone Wars cartoon. I straightened my shirt and held my chin high, though it did not stop me from remembering their deaths.

Yoda; fading into the Force on Dagobah. Mace Windu; falling from a window, purple lightning, with one hand. Ki-Adi-Mundi; betrayed by his troopers. I swallowed as Order 66 returned fresh to my mind, and I felt an ache of betrayal.

"Wished to see us, you did," Yoda's voice broke me from my reverie, and I opened my eyes I hadn't realized I'd closed.

"Yes," I replied. "I would also like to request for Obi-Wan Kenobi to remain present," I felt his shock flare up behind me. "Because I have many things to tell you, and most of them are... terrible," I looked around. "I am not a Jedi, and I will probably never be," I said solemnly. "But I know what may come to pass, and I..." I swallowed painfully and fiddled with the hem of my shirt. "I believe I was brought here for a reason, and I must tell you why,"

I felt the heavy stares of the Jedi around me as I felt my emotions swell. "I think... I think I can show you," I said. I had given them little time to speak, I briefly realized, and quickly fell silent. I saw Mace steeple his fingers and narrow his eyes at me.

"Show us, then?" The dark-skinned Jedi offered quietly, although it felt more like a demand. The air in the room crackled, and some voice in the back of my head I vaguely realized was the actual fucking Force whispered, Yesyes show them yes.

I took a deep breath as the air curled around my skin, and imagined the Star Wars universe as how I'd seen them; a story, laced with such feeling, because I connected with characters entirely too well, and was both a curse and a blessing. I imagined shoving it out, not unlike giving a book to a friend for them to read. My breath hitched as I felt tears form in my eyes; half-forgotten memories resurfaced. AnakinPadmeObi-WanQui-GonLukeLeiaHan and somanyothers as I remembered Qui-Gon's death, and Order 66, and Ahsoka Tano forced from the Order because she thought she couldn't trust the Jedi again, and Satine's death(vaguely I heard Obi-Wan let out a soft cry), then Padme's, and I quickly cut off Anakin's Fall, showing the birth of the twins, because the ground was swaying beneath me.

I felt sick, and I was shaking. I felt something drip from my nose as I opened my eyes, and lifted a hand to wipe away blood. Shit, I thought blankly, wiping it on my dark pants. "I don't feel so good," I rasped. "I... I'm gonna faint," Before I dropped to the floor, unconscious, I was surprised to see tears in many of the Council members' eyes, and Yoda looked pale, and had dropped his gimer stick.

I came to in the Halls of Healing. Healing Halls? Something like that. I glanced around, noticing I'd been more or less cocooned in blankets, and I saw Anakin slumped over in a seat. "Hey," I tried to say, but all came out was a croak. He jerked awake anyway, and turned huge eyes to me.

"You're awake!" The kid said. I rolled my eyes, as if saying Obviously, and he smiled widely at me. "You've been out for nearly two days now. The Healer said you had a fever of 40.5 degrees!" I blinked. Wasn't that like, a hundred or some- wait, two days?! Anakin seemed to sense my confusion and panic, because he grimaced. "Your clients have temporary babysitters at the moment," he said apologetically. "I have to get the Healer now," With that, he scurried out of the room, leaving me alone.

I wrestled myself out of the blankets and blinked dumbly as a Healer came in, quickly followed by Anakin. "You've had some Force drain," the Healer told me softly, his blue skin catching the light. "It's a miracle you're still alive. I need you to stay still, now, so I can check you over,"

I carefully laid flat on the cot, twitching slightly as the scanner waved over me. It almost tickled, and soon I was cleared to go, with a warning not to use the Force extensively, and to take some pain reliever. "Hey," Anakin chirped, all but hanging off my elbow. "You're really good with kids, y'know?" He chattered. "I heard the creche needs volunteers, if you want," I blinked and patted his head, cautiously extending my mind and brushing his with a hint of I'll keep it in mind. 

As I walked out of the Temple and was helped back to my apartment, I thought, Hey, maybe working in the creche wouldn't be too bad.

Chapter Text

I babysat Olivia and Wern for two more weeks before deciding to try and get a job at the Temple creché. Vesa, the Zabrak girl I'd briefly babysat(and oh boy hadn't that been strenuous), had been taken to the Temple sometime in the first week after the Council incident, which was still on my mind. Had they taken my advice? Or ignored me?

On the other hand, my throat healed rather nicely, and I didn't to deal with Wern's stepfather again. He'd apparently hightailed it off of Coruscant off to some Outer Rim world; Dantooine, last I heard. I guess I put some nasty fear in him.

I patted Wern's head as I passed. "Kid, happy birthday," I told him, kneeling to his height. Oli was holding his hand and sucking on her thumb. Wern looked at me, blinking, then recognition flared to life in his eyes, and he flushed.

"Thanks, Tala," he mumbled as I handed over the gift I'd gotten him. Hesitantly, he tore the wrapping open, and his eyes went huge. "This must'a cost you a thousand credits!" Wern sputtered, waving the handheld game in my face. I chuckled quietly.

"Only about five hundred credits," I said cheekily. I received a monthly stipend from being a Ward, about two hundred credits, which was roughly just enough to buy food for the month. I got a combined six hundred from babysitting Wern and Olivia, so I saved my money as often as possible.

I watched Olivia shout, "Happy birfday, Wern!" at the Mirialan, and I leaned back in my chair. I hoped it could always be like this.

When I arrived at the Temple to sign up for the creché job the next day, I noticed something different in the air. Like the entire building was shielded or something, and that there were several more flickering lights within it as I stepped inside.

'Weird,' I mused, having a Padawan show me where to sign up. I was fortunate enough to know I was fluent enough in Aurebesh to read and write; most words, at least. I quickly wrote my information down and handed the 'pad over to the young Jedi at the desk. 'This is so weird,' I thought to myself.

"Thank you," she said brightly. "Have a nice day," I shook my head and turned around, heading back for the landing pad. I still didn't know how to drive, sadly. Hopefully, I could learn soon.

I promptly turned a corner and someone, a very short someone, ran into my legs. Surprised, I looked down and saw a small Togruta child hide behind my legs. "Um," I said hesitantly, seeing two other children - younglings, really - barrel towards me. 'Crap,' I thought, slight panic drifting through me.

"'Soka!" One shouted exuberantly, a little older than the toddler behind me, maybe by a year or two, and a human boy. A Twi'lek girl ghosted after him, about the same age as the boy. "That's cheating!"

I saw the Togruta lean out from behind my legs and blow a raspberry at him. Why in the nine circles of Hell was she so familiar? Then, it hit me like a freight train. Ahsoka Tano, I thought blankly. This is Ahsoka fucking Tano, wrapped around my legs,

"Might I ask what's going on?" I asked, amusement in my voice. The Twi'lek looked at me and narrowed gray eyes at me before speaking.

"Tag," she said, voice soft and musical, even. Not that I was a poet of any sort. "We're playing tag, miss," I chuckled and shook my head.

"I'm Talanis Farlander," I offered after a few moments. The boy and Ahsoka weaved around my legs. "Who're you?" The Twi'lek glanced at her... friends, I suppose.

"I'm Kana Relon," she replied politely. "That's Ahsoka Tano and Etan Eltin," the girl continued, pointing to the Togruta and the human respectively. I nodded and quickly untangled the two younglings from my legs to make my escape.

Several days later, I was notified that I was going to be an aide for crechémasters whose youngling clans were on the larger side, or just generally helping out if a crechémaster was absent and there was no one to assist.

Such as this day. I'd been temporarily assigned to the Clawmouse Clan, which was small enough on its own, but the crechémaster for it, a Miraluka woman named Yina Ulpan, was too ill to watch over the clan.

Said clan was about ten strong, give or take, and I looked over the small group. I saw Ahsoka, Etan, and Kana in one corner with another young girl; a Rodian with teal skin.

"Hello," I said awkwardly. "I'm Talanis Farlander. Master Ulpan won't be here today, so I'm going to do my best to... um..." I mentally flailed for a minute to find the words. "Supervise? you," I gave an awkward smile.

"Hello, Miss Farlander," the group echoed, more or less. I saw Etan give an exuberant wave.

The next several hours were a whirlwind of activity; various games were played, and several of the youngest kids, including Ahsoka and two others, took naps after lunch. I was run ragged by the time the sun went down, and my braid had been chewed on by a rather enthusiastic child.

I sighed tiredly and rubbed my hand over my face. A youngling, a Nautolan boy named Eio, was sprawled across my legs. Ahsoka was snuggled up to my side, and the Rodian girl, whose name was Yinna, was curled up on my feet. In other words, I was covered with small children.

I blinked as someone quietly opened the door and slipped inside. It was Anakin, and he gave me a small wave as he saw that I was awake.

"I was sent here to help you," he whispered as he crouched down next to me. "But it seems like you don't really need it," I gestured with my free arm for him to come over. I saw the Padawan blush as he moved over and wedged himself under my arm.

I fell asleep soon after.

I woke with a crick in my neck and to soft snoring. I creaked my eyes open to see Obi-Wan standing in front of me, looking rather bemused to see his Padawan sleeping like a baby in my arms. Master Ulpan was standing next to him with Eio in one arm and Kinna in the other.

Ahsoka was still pressed against my side, and snoring rather loudly. I blinked and sighed, before nudging Anakin awake. The kid jerked and blinked blue eyes at me. I gestured to his teacher and smiled amusedly when he reddened and scrambled up. I shifted Ahsoka to my chest, stilling when she stirred for a moment, but then calmed again.

I sat up slowly and began to stand. Most of the other kids had crawled off to their beds in the middle of the night. The younger ones had clung to me like leeches. I let out a soft sigh of relief when Ahsoka didn't wake up.

"Thank you for watching over my clan yesterday," the Miraluka Jedi said softly as Kinna and Eio began to wake. "I'm now cleared for duty," I smiled at her, even though she couldn't see it.

"It was my pleasure," I murmured, as Obi-Wan and Anakin left. "I'm told I'm good with kids," I handed Ahsoka to her as she set the other two on the ground.

"Why don't you wake your crechémates up?" Ulpan said to the older two, mischief tinging her voice. Kinna giggled softly and tiptoed over to the others, followed by Eio. I shook my head and looked back at the Master.

"I should probably get going," I said apologetically. I quickly headed back out, smiling softly. It had been a good day, in my opinion.

The next few days, I was struck by homesickness. I nearly burst into tears when Wern showed up, and nearly dropped two plates. I found myself hiding in my room and crying after Olivia and Wern went home.

"I want to go home," I whispered under my breath. "I want to see my family again, my friends," I inhaled shakily and wiped my tears away. "I want to go back to Earth,"

I stared out at the setting sun, which illuminated the Coruscant skyline. I curled up into a ball and licked my lips, which were dry and aching. I want to go home, I thought, pulling the blanket over my head.

I eventually found sleep, leaving my aches and worries in the waking world.

Chapter Text

Yina Ulpan was a Jedi Master; a crèchemaster at that. So when she heard that a non-Jedi was signing up to help out with the younglings(which was rare), she was naturally surprised. And intrigued.

When the Master fell ill with influenza that would take a day, maybe less, to clear up, Yina politely requested this 'Talanis Farlander' to watch over Clawmouse Clan. Well, not by name, but still requested her specifically.

Now, as the Jedi stood in the room next to young Knight Kenobi, she could both sense and See the young woman's fiery light. It was strong, and seemed to blanket the room itself, giving a feeling of safe here it is safe here you are safe and you can rest to the room. If Yina had eyes, she would blink in astonishment. She had never felt anything like this before, except from experienced crèchemasters. Not even Yina could do it.

"Should we wake them up?" Kenobi murmured next to her. The crèchemaster shook her head quietly, rocking Eio quietly. Kinna was in the other arm, her own arms wrapped around the Miraluka's.

"They will wake up soon," the Master replied softly. As if on cue, Farlander stirred. Under one arm, she had Padawan Skywalker; they came from the same planet if Yina remembered correctly. Against her other side was Ahsoka Tano, who had been just young enough to come to the Temple, almost over a year ago now.

Yina sensed Farlander blink at the two, heard her sigh, and nudge the Padawan awake. Skywalker jerked, and slowly eased away from Farlander, scuttling over to Kenobi. The Master sensed the two exit the crèche, and Farlander picked up Ahsoka before moving over to her.

The two younglings in her arms were beginning to wake. "Thank you for watching over my clan yesterday," Yina murmured to the woman. Girl, really. "I'm cleared for duty,"

Farlander's core light seemed to brighten, and handed the Togruta toddler over, just as the Jedi sat down Eio and Kinna. "It was my pleasure," Farlander said shyly. "I'm told I'm good with kids," The feeling of safety and warmth began to recede back into the girl, and Yina found herself missing it.

"Why don't you go wake your crèchemates up?" The Master asked Kinna and Eio cheekily as Farlander all but fled the room. A part of her was sad because Farlander would have made an amazing crèchemaster herself if she had been a Jedi.

Change is coming, Yina thought to herself. We can only hope that it is a good sort of change,

Chapter Text

Days turned to weeks, then to months. Before I knew it, it had been three months since I signed up at the Temple. Balancing my regular kids and the crèche was actually incredibly easy, given the randomness factor with the Temple job. Other than starting to learn how to drive, my life had been rather uneventful.

I woke on my couch to someone relentlessly buzzing at the door. I shuffled up, ran a hand through my hair, and stumbled over. I quickly checked the clock - wait no it's called a chrono here - and sighed quietly. Why was someone calling at three in the morning?

I opened to door to find Anakin Skywalker in all of his preteen glory. I blinked in slight confusion. "Can I come in?" He asked as I flicked on the light.

"Make yourself at home," I croaked sleepily. It'd be rude of me to turn away someone who was both a friend and a kid. "Like somethin' to drink?" I asked, wandering over to the kitchen.

"Water is okay," he replied, sitting at the table. Weird, considering the kid usually sat on the couch. Anakin was a little sullen, too, which made me wonder why exactly was he was in my apartment at three in the morning.

I made tea for myself and handed him the water. I sat in the chair opposite of him, and for a few moments, we sat in silence. "So," I began nonchalantly, breaking the quiet. "What're you doing up and about at this ungodly hour?"

The kid gave me an awkward smile, turning big blue eyes to me. His hair was considerably darker now, and if one didn't look too closely, we could look related. Brother and sister, maybe.

"I know you weren't born on Tatooine, even though your files say you were," Anakin confessed quietly. "You didn't really act or look like a native Tatooinian to me when we met," I blinked.

Oh god, I thought wildly. Do I have to make up a backstory for myself?  The kid looked at me, eyes wide.

"I mean if you don't mind me asking, but where are you from? You said at Master Jinn's funeral that you were separated from your family very suddenly," he blurted, turning shy at the end. I hoped he would always be like this; he'd grown arrogant in canon.

So, for a moment, I thought. The first planet that came to mind that was even remotely Earth-like fell from my mouth. "I was born on a planet called Tython," I replied. A part of me hated lying to him, but Earth... probably wasn't even in this galaxy. "Or, at least, my mother told me it was named Tython,"

The Padawan's mouth gaped open. "Tython?" He sputtered. "I thought it was a myth," I snorted and shrugged slightly.

"If I remember the story right," I continued. "My family, and a handful of others, narrowly escaped the destruction of our home planet maybe a hundred years ago. Our two moons had gotten increasingly closer to the planet, and some survivors had just been able to get on a ship and get away, before the moons crashed into it," I rambled, hoping it didn't sound like utter bullshit, but I'd managed to entrance Anakin.

"What happened after that?" He asked curiously, blinking at me and sipping his water.

"The survivors became nomads, and named the ship..." I paused, thinking. "They named the ship Terra, after the planet they lost," I went on, swallowing, imagining these people. It reminded me of Alderaan. "I'm fourth generation Terran," I said softly, clasping my hands around the mug and taking a deep sip. "I grew up on both the ship and various different planets. I don't remember many of the planets," I murmured.

"What about your parents?" Anakin asked after a few beats. I closed my eyes and struggled not to cry.

"They were named Miriam and Wissian," I said, not remembering their names for a moment. "They were the best parents anyone could ask for, and my brother and I loved them very much," I let out a soft sigh. Both the lie and remembering my parents hurt. "But about three weeks before I met you," I continued. "The Terra was attacked and destroyed. By who or what, we didn't know. Before I knew it, I'd been shoved into an escape pod by my... my friend, and I was on Tatooine. In the desert, alone, with nothing but the clothes on my back,"

"Oh," the kid mumbled quietly. "Um, thank you for sharing that," Anakin said shyly, looking up at me. "Do you remember my mom?"

"How could I forget her?" I asked, a slight smirk playing on my lips. "She reminded me of my own mother," The Padawan gave me a wide smile.

"Do you think," he paused. "Do you think I can go back one day and help free her and everyone else?" I blinked at him, slightly startled. He was a little older than ten, and already thinking of freeing the slaves? Then again, it was /Anakin Skywalker/ here.

"Of course," I replied. "I'd even help you, if you let me," I said, steel growing in my chest. "In any way I can," I saw the kid straighten and his smile grow wider if that was even possible. "We'll need a name for whatever it is we're doing," I said.

"How about Operation: Free the Slaves?" He offered. I snorted and shook my head slightly.

"Kid," I said. "The purpose of a codename is to keep it secret. How about Project Emancipation Proclamation," Anakin wrinkled his nose.

"I don't even know what that means. What about Project Tatooine?" He suggested, leaning in. I shook my head.

"There are more planets that have slavery than just Tatooine," I replied, thinking of Zygerria. "Why not Operation: Freedom, instead?" I watched him ponder the name, then nod.

"Operation: Freedom it is," he said, beaming at me. "This is the prep-preparatory phase, right?" Anakin asked, stumbling. I nodded, lacing my fingers together on the table.

"Phase Zero is prep," I agreed. "Including getting funds for it, allies, finding slaves, and so on," The Padawan nodded exuberantly.

"Phase One would be getting the slaves, right?" He asked, practically vibrating in his chair. I smiled.

"And getting out their... transmitters, I think? Getting them away from slavery," I reiterated. "Phase Two is setting them up with homes and jobs and whatnot," I continued.

"Phase Three should be getting help from the government," Anakin suggested. "Or maybe even getting rid of the slavers?" He looked at me with wide, hopeful eyes. I reached across the table, ruffled his hair, and smiled.

We ended up talking until seven in the morning, working out Phase Zero; thinking of planets that probably had slavery, and thinking of who we could bring into our little plot. We already knew of two; Zygerria(which had only tried to rebuild their Slave Empire during the Clone Wars, but slaves probably still lived there) and Tatooine. Anakin managed to convince me to recruit Obi-Wan, who commed the boy just as the words left his mouth.

"Anakin," the man asked, sounding rather frazzled. "Where are you?" The kid sent me a guilty look before replying.

"With Tala," he mumbled, just loud enough to hear. Obi-Wan sighed, rather loudly at that. "I've got something to tell you," Anakin tacked on, eyes lighting up.

"Not over comm, though," I added. I heard the Jedi sigh again and then speak.

"Alright," he said. "But we've got a mission today, so you should probably come back to the Temple," I shooed Anakin out the door as soon as Obi-Wan closed the transmission.

"Come back anytime!" I shouted to Anakin as the door began to close. I heard him shout something back but couldn't make out the words, unfortunately.

---

I flicked through my to-do list on a datapad, which had both grown and shrunk across the half-year I'd been here. I'd learned how to read and write, mostly self-taught(though Fyn helped out a bit). I quickly added help Anakin with Operation: Freedom and learn how to pilot a ship, which, from what Fyn told me(he also was teaching me how to drive) wasn't much different from a speeder. Just a bit more complicated and a lot more buttons and switches.

I also placed find information for Freedom after a few moments of thinking. It couldn't hurt to look in the Temple Archives, could it? If not, I could try looking in a public archive, which was basically a library here.

So, I began my hunt with that. I went to the Temple, asking very politely for planets with current or former slave trading going on.

Let's just say it was sparse, at best. I did learn that Orvax IV was suspected to be associated with the slave trade, and I marked it down. Anything was good, really. Then, I headed to a public archive, which gave me little more than the history of slavery. I quickly marked down pretty much the entirety of the Outer Rim, because slavery was rife there.

I took a taxi back home, wrapped the 'pad with the notes in my jacket, and shoved it under the bed. It would be a long, hard job, but it would be worth it.

At least, that's what I hoped.

Chapter Text

Time seemed to pass to quick for me to acknowledge, and suddenly it had been four years since I'd woken up on Tatooine. Nineteen years old, and soon reaching twenty(and that made me miss my family, even more, because they wouldn't be able to see me grow up). In that time, I'd learned how to pilot a speeder and a ship, and how to shoot a blaster. I'd collected resources for the Operation, while Obi-Wan and Anakin looked high and low for signs of slavery anywhere in the galaxy. I felt sick, remembering the clones and those fucking chips.

On the other hand, Olivia and her father moved off-planet, to Naboo, which was her father's home planet. It made me quite sad, seeing them go. I still had Wern, though he was soon approaching the age he could babysit himself. So, I turned most of my time to the Temple whenever possible. A few younglings had taken it upon themselves to teach me meditation and whatnot, though I insisted it wasn't needed.

I sat in front of a semicircle of Initiates from the Clawmouse Clan, beginning to tell a story. Master Ulpan was lurking somewhere against the wall, listening. I calmly and quietly sorted through what stories I did have. Most of them were not child-friendly, but I was creative enough.

"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," I began, voice wistful. I could feel the buzzing of excitement in the kids around me. "There lived two brothers, who lived in a big, black ship named the Impala," and thus I began to weave the story of Sam and Dean Winchester; different names with strange worlds and creatures. It probably wasn't the best story to tell Jedi younglings, but beggars couldn't be choosers. I managed to shorten it into a fifty-minute telling, up to when Castiel 'Fell' and realized that most of his brothers and sisters were, in fact, assholes.

"Another story!" Ahsoka begged when I was done. I chuckled and shook my head. "Please?"

"I have to go, actually," I told her, gently. "I have things to do off of Coruscant," I gave a nod to Master Ulpan and quickly vacated the room, trailed after by whining and pouting of please another! and Master Ulpan's slightly exasperated but kind voice. It was true, I was going off-planet. To Tatooine, in fact; I wanted to help Shmi Skywalker get off that dustball. She deserved to see her son again, and Anakin deserved to see his mother.

I immediately went to buy an astromech; a dinky little thing from the R2 series, R2-J6, or just Jaysix. He followed me 'round, beeping exuberantly as I loaded him onto a taxi and took him to the equivalent of a car dealership. Well, it sold speeders and ships, instead. Not cars.

I had enough credits to buy a ship by now, so I hesitantly searched for a dealer. It was not that difficult, surprisingly. I scanned the available ships in the yard before my eyes were drawn to a rather familiar ship. I felt a grin form on my face. It probably wasn't the same exact ship, but I remembered from the Clone Wars movie and several of its early seasons; the Twilight. The ship wasn't in exact prime condition but wasn't completely trashed either. I looked on the 'pad, searching the list for it. Apparently, it was a G9 Rigger-class light freighter, which was a mouthful if you asked me. It hadn't been sold with a name and its previous owner was one Ranik Manchu.

You have got to be kidding me, I thought wildly. Ranik Manchu?! Well, at least the asshole was being convenient for once. I headed back into... the office, I suppose. I handed the 'pad over to the Togruta woman and began to speak. "I'd like to buy the G9 Rigger-class freighter," I told her. She flashed me a smile, white teeth playing against her yellow skin.

"That'll be sixty-thousand credits," she chirped. I winced as I made the transaction; I tended to spend as little as possibly, and sixty-thousand was... expensive. Cheap, as far as ships go, but still expensive for my tastes. "You'll need to register the ship under your name,"

"Talanis Farlander," I replied. Alice Cooper seemed to no longer exist anymore. "If I can, I'd like for it to be registered under the name Terra II," I added shyly as she began to tap a different datapad.

"All done," the Togruta responded vibrantly. "Would you like to fly it to a public hanger or have a pilot do it?" I considered for a moment.

"I'll do it myself," I said, before heading to the hanger. I started it and began to fly to my apartments' private hanger. Well, technically it was public, but privately owned as far as anyone was concerned. I pulled into a vacant spot and headed out, setting it to run a system diagnostic as I went. I probably needed to calibrate it somehow, and I needed to pack anyway.

I packed the bare essentials for myself and then quickly took a speeder to the store, which sold spacecraft consumables. I'd assumed that when the ship had been sold, they'd removed all said consumables; didn't want them to rot, after all. A bit rude not to give them back, but I'd gotten out of there pretty quickly.

I swiftly returned, barely passing Fyn a wave as I passed him from my apartment(after leaving a pre-recorded holomessage, of course), vibrating with excitement. I barely had to fix up the ship and shoved the two cargo boxes of supplies onto the ship, followed by Jaysix. I was going to Tatooine.

Two days later, I was sitting in in the Terra II in orbit above Tatooine. I shook myself out of my memories and directed the ship down towards the planet. Finding Mos Espa wasn't difficult, as it was the biggest city. I landed at the outskirts of the city and began to head out.

"Jaysix, say here," I called. "Make sure no one steals the ship, okay?" I got the binary equivalent of sure. He was eager to please and even taught me a little bit of binary during the journey from Coruscant to Tatooine; just simple things like yes, no, Tala, danger and so on. I looked for a currency exchange station; one which gave wupiupi for Republic credits. It was dingy, rusty, and dirty, but still gave me the right amount.

Afterward, I hunted down Watto. Which wasn't particularly hard, considering that he had a sign on his shop, proclaiming Watto's Junk Shop in both Basic and Huttese. Or at least, what I thought was Huttese. I headed inside, breathing in musty air and looked around. I heard buzzing of wings as someone began to approach from behind a stack of droids. I took a deep breath.

"Where is Shmi Skywalker?" I asked politely. The Toydarian scowled at me.

"Who wants to know?" He all but snarled. I blinked. How rude. Then again, this was the Outer Rim.

"A friend," I bit back. "Where is she?" Watto paused, looking at me.

"Last I knew," he grumbled. "She was bought by a man by the name of Lars sometime last year, but I don't know where,"

"What if I gave you this?" I said nonchalantly, pulling out a small pouch of the golden coins. It was roughly half of what I had; so about five hundred or so. I saw the Toydarian's eyes widen minutely and felt the mild conflict in him. Then, Watto snatched it from my hand.

"Their homestead is somewhere west of Anchorhead," he told me, opening the bag and scrutinizing the money inside. I gave a firm nod.

"Pleasure doing business with you," I said brightly, then turned around and headed back out into the heat of the late afternoon sun. At least it wasn't noon. That would be bad. I wandered back to the ship and ran a hand over Jaysix's dome head as I plopped in the pilot's chair. 

"We're going to Anchorhead, Jay," I commented. I heard him let out a warbling beep that made little sense to me as I pulled up a holographic map of Tatooine. Anchorhead was to the far southeast of Mos Espa, and as I turned west as soon as I hit Anchorhead, began to monitor the ground. I remembered a pit next to the house and soon spotted it. A few moments later, and I was sitting in the chair with nervous butterflies in my gut as I landed a good several hundred yards away. It was nearing sunset as I clambered out of the ship and walked over to the house.

I swallowed as an older man came out, and I stopped, watching him nervously. "Who're you?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Talanis Farlander," I called back. "I want to talk to Shmi Skywalker," He watched me for several moments before gesturing me to come closer.

"I'm Cliegg Lars," he said. "I recently freed Shmi," We headed inside, and I blinked as I saw a younger man, a young woman, and Shmi sitting around a table in what I assumed to be the dining room. The older woman looked up at our arrival, and her dark eyes widened.

"Tala?" Shmi asked softly, standing. I flashed her a smile and inched closer anxiously. "It's nice to see you!" The woman smiled back and approached. I offered a hug, and she laughed, embracing me. "How's Ani?" The brunette whispered in my ear.

"He's fine," I replied, pulling my head back. "He'll be a fine Jedi one day, and is about yay high," I said, half-jokingly, putting a hand to about the level of my armpit. He'd grown like a weed once he'd gotten access to appropriate food. Shmi smiled softly and sadly. My heart ached for her. "His birthday's also coming up," I tacked on nervously as we separated. "So I wanted to bring you to Coruscant to see him,"

Her eyes went wide once again. "Really?" She whispered. I nodded.

"I'll even bring these three if you like," I added after a brief moment. "I'm sure they'd love him," Shmi's eyes softened.

"They would, and... I accept your offer," she told me. "They can come if they want," Shmi glanced over at the Lars family, contemplating expression on her face.

"I have to stay," Cliegg said apologetically. "Someone has to watch the farm,"

"I'd like to meet him," the young man - Owen, if I remembered right - offered, smiling at me. His friend, or girlfriend, glanced at him.

"I'll come too," she finally surrendered. "So Owen doesn't get himself killed," she added slyly. Owen flushed.

"Beru!" He protested. I merely shook my head and gestured.

Two more days later, we were back at Coruscant. I left the Terra II at the apartments and took a speeder to the Temple. I hid a grin as I handed Shmi a shawl to hide her face. It was a surprise, after all. I quickly asked for Padawan Skywalker and Knight Kenobi to come to us.

Anakin looked at me with slight worry when he and Obi-Wan arrived. Owen and Beru seemed to be playing some kind of game, and Shmi was wringing her hands. "What is it?" Anakin asked, turning blue eyes to me.

"I have someone you'd like to meet," I replied, turning to look at Shmi. Taking her cue, she whipped off the cloth over her head. For a few moments, they simply stared at each other.

"Mom?" Anakin croaked, eyes wide. Shmi smiled at her son and moved over to hold him.

"Ani," she whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead. The Padawan promptly burst into tears, throwing his arms around his mother. I stood next to Obi-Wan and watched them with sorrow a fist in my chest. I wouldn't be able to reunite with my own mother like that. My eyes burned, and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I glanced over to see Obi-Wan, who I could sense vague sadness and loss radiating from him, with his hand on my shoulder. He wouldn't be able to reunite with Qui-Gon, either.

We mourned together in silence while the other two rejoiced.

Chapter Text

Beru and Owen could only stay a week before I had to ferry them back to Tatooine, but they'd already hit it off with Anakin and Obi-Wan. By the time I came back, I had to bring Shmi to Tatooine, as well. Anakin was devastated when he learned that and gave his personal comm frequency to her after failing to convince her to stay.

On the other hand, I soon figured out that Operation: Freedom would get nowhere without someone in the field. So, I was working up to quit the Temple job, while Wern's mother agreed to find another babysitter for the duration I was gone. Which might be a few years.

I found myself awkwardly sitting in front of Master Ulpan, two months after bringing Shmi and the others back to Tatooine, during the kids' naptime. "Master Ulpan," I began, voice feather-light. "I'd like to quit working at the crèche," I paused. "I have something to do off-planet that might take some time,"

"All I can do is spread the word," the Miraluka Jedi murmured. "Technically, this hasn't been a career available to non-Jedi, so one can't exactly quit, but I'm certain you can have off time for a while,"

"Alright," I replied softly. "I have to go now. I'll see you... later," I stood and quickly exited the room as quietly as I could manage. I tiptoed down the hallway and headed to the speeder pad. I started up my own speeder, a plain brown one, and headed home.

"Heya, Tala," Fyn said cheerfully, the Balosar waving at me. I gave a smile and wave back.

"Fyn," I called as I approached the desk. "I'm probably going to be away from Coruscant for a while. Mind watching over the apartment for me?" I asked, handing over the little keycard. I already had everything packed on the Terra II, which I'd done before I'd even gone to the Temple.

"Sure," Fyn replied, taking the chip from my hand. "How long do you think you'll be gone, if you don't mind me askin'?"

I shrugged. "Over a year, probably," I told him. "Maybe more, if I'm unlucky," The male snorted and waved me away.

"Go save the universe or whatever it is you're doing," he said jokingly, smirking. I shook my head in amusement as I turned and headed to the hanger. R2-J6 gave me a warbling beeping sound as I hopped aboard. I smiled at the purple-edged(which was new paint, I did it myself) astromech as he started the ship.

I piloted Terra II to orbit and spoke aloud to the droid. "Jaysix, set hyperspace coordinates to Zygerria,"

Zygerria was a beautiful planet, reminding me of pictures of Peru I'd seen on Earth. I stared at it in awe for a few moments before Jaysix nudged me.

"Sorry, buddy," I said sheepishly. "It reminded me of something, that's all," I quickly began to head planetside, vibrating with excitement and tension. Air traffic control quickly directed me to a public hanger, where I landed rather happily.

I shoved a blaster into the back of my belt and hid a butterfly knife in my boot. A little uncomfortable, but one could never be too careful. I locked up the ship, took a deep breath, and headed into the city, Jaysix at my heels.

The Capital City of Zygerria, otherwise known as Eria to the natives, was teeming. I did see people in chains, and slaves being bought and sold in more or less broad daylight which nearly made me cringe from pure disgust. At least Earth had mostly moved past that.

I noticed that while most of it happened on shaded areas of side streets, even alleys, there was little of it on the two main streets. I assumed that it was because if they just did it while the Republic was watching... well, it would be bad for the trade.

I got a general sense of unrest and distrust rippling through the Force every time I was caught staring at the slave 'kiosks' without buying. So, I let Jaysix look instead, while I pretended to browse fruit.

Abruptly, the tension from a small group of slaves skyrocketed. I tilted my head and turned it ever so slightly so the spot came into my vision. A Zygerrian, male, perhaps in his mid to late twenties, with reddish fur, flanked by two others. He was strikingly familiar, and I felt my lips pull into a frown as I backpedaled and searched my memories.

...Zygerria, I thought to myself. When did they go to Zygerria? Then, I remembered; the Queen, Mija or something, had a male Zygerrian named... Ati? Ata? Atai! who was more or less her... advisor? or general. I wasn't sure; it had been over four years since I watched it last.

I couldn't hear what was being said from here, so I inched ever closer. I saw Atai grab one slave's chin with a sneer on his face. I struggled to keep my anger under wraps as I moved nearer.

"I'll take this one," he harrumphed to the seller. The slave, a Twi'lek woman, looked fearfully at her friends and mouthed something to a female human, who was on the older side. Late middle-aged, probably.

I watched Atai all but drag the Twi'lek away. I swaggered up to the Zygerrian man that was selling with all of my inner Han Solo. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that out of this small group, there were only three left. The older human woman, a male Togruta teenager, and another Twi'lek girl, maybe twelve years old.

"Lookin' to buy?" The Zygerrian rumbled. I flashed him my most charming smile and widened my eyes, trying to appear as innocent as possible.

"Sure," I said vibrantly, forcing disgust and fury down and away, focusing on this moment. "How 'bout those three, over there?" I probably had enough credits to buy all of them. The dealer gave me a shifty look as if saying why would you need three slaves? but I sharpened my smile and let my eyes turn hard. I was taking no shit from anyone today.

"Five thousand Republic credits," he finally grumbled. "Each," I nearly raised a brow. That was... cheaper than I expected.

"Done," I replied crisply, going through the transaction with a worrying amount of ease. I led the three to my rented house on the outskirts of town, near the spaceport where my ship was docked. The more or less followed like 'proper' slaves, but I sensed confusion and worry from the Twi'lek, genuine docileness from the Togruta, and maternal protectiveness and a fire inside the human female.

I entered first and gestured for the three to sit. "I did not buy you three for you to be slaves," I said softly. I held up my hand as the woman nearly began to speak. "A good friend of mine was once a slave, and he wants for every slave to be free," I told them firmly. "I believe in his goal, and you three will be the first on Zygerria,"

I saw dawning realization on their faces. Excitement threaded into the three, and I smiled. "Who are you?" The Twi'lek girl asked shyly, voice thick with an unfamiliar accent.

"I'm Talanis Farlander," I replied. "You can call me Tala, though," she smiled so wide I thought her face would break in two.

"I'm Hanna Kiran," the human announced with a smile. "I had been enslaved when I was ten, and I want to be free," she glanced at the other two.

"I'm Ren Oton," the Togruta offered slowly, vacantness in his eyes flaring to life, slowly but surely. "I was born into slavery. I want my children to be free,"

"I'm Una Tisani," the Twi'lek whispered. "My momma and I were caught on Ryloth and separated. I want to be free," Then, Una promptly burst into tears.

I smiled again, sorrow climbing up behind my eyes. "Everyone on this planet will be free," I said strongly, holding back tears. "Even if I have to die to do it,"

I held Una and Ren as they sobbed in my arms. Hanna moved towards the group hug, embracing all of us. Her eyes, dark and warm, met mine. I instantly understood what she was trying to say, and nodded. She wanted to help.

No more than seventy-two hours later, all three of them were free. I quickly called Obi-Wan to send someone he trusted to pick up two passengers and a Republican citizenship application or three. In disguise, of course.

I was rather startled to come face-to-face with Master Plo Koon of all people, wearing a poncho. He seemed to be surprised as well, though it was hard to tell from his shielding and the fact he had a mask over his face.

"I didn't expect you, Mas- Mister Koon," I said awkwardly. "But I digress. This is Una and Ren. They are recently freed slaves," I stressed. "Be careful," I handed over the three little chips that had the applications for their citizenship.

"I was not expecting you, either, Miss Farlander," he responded, voice deep and surprisingly pleasant. "I'll take these two and see what I can do," I sensed the flicker-flash of unsettledness about them being slaves and heard just the faintest of I'm going to have a talk with Obi-Wan in his voice. I nearly winced, poor guy.

I turned to Hanna, who watched Una and Ren be led onto the small freighter. "We best get to work," I said brightly. "We've got things to do and people to free," I heard the older woman laugh as I headed into the house.

I quickly began to set up a map of Eria and began to mark where I knew there was slave dealing. I rested my chin in one palm and supported my elbow with the other. Operation: Freedom, I thought. Phase One begun,

Chapter Text

I soon set up a cover for myself, as a young person looking for a job. Which was surprisingly easy, considering I'd bought three slaves for fifteen thousand credits(and set them free). I found a down-and-out restaurant owner, who was nearing bankruptcy because he didn't get enough customers. All of his staff left the poor man, leaving him to tend to a mostly-forgotten store.

He ended up hiring me to be one of his waitstaff and introduced himself as Kai Nels, a native Zygerrian, just shy of middle-aged. Hanna was posing as my slave(which made me feel terrible) and was to help spread the word of the restaurant, which was known as The Lotus Cafe, through her... fellows? friends? Something like that.

I scrunched my nose as I looked at myself in the mirror. I had pretty much my normal clothes underneath a neat brown apron with a lotus flower sewn onto the breast. Mister Nels had been exceedingly lax with the uniform, so I just decided to wear normal clothes. I shook my head and waited for the store to open. Hanna checked the chrono, then moved over to the door, and flipped over the sign so it read 'Open'.

I let out a little breath, worry snapping through me as the former slave pushed behind the counter. Then, the little bell signifying someone opening the door made my head snap up. A Zygerrian woman, followed after by a young male human, tall and with no slave collar. With that, the day began to buzz.

It kind of felt like those restaurant games I used to play back home; people coming in, ordering, then eating, paying, and leaving. It was a little awkward, however, as I'd never been a waitress before. However, the customers cared little, and I prayed that was a good thing.

I took careful note that most of the free people here were Zygerrian, and I silently watched who had slaves and who didn't. Slavery, it seemed, was a mark of high status, or showed wealth. The more slaves... well, you get the picture.

At the end of the day, twenty of twenty-five customers had slaves. The others had either brought none with them or didn't own any. I glanced out of the corner of my eye as I watched Hanna wiping off the tiny tables. I felt Kai buzzing around in the kitchen and all but burst out into the main room. He rushed up to embrace me, shocking me quite well.

"Thank you, girl!" He laughed, green eyes glimmering with pride. "Ya brought me back from certain death," I felt my face redden as he sat me back down. I ran my hand over the scar on my right arm, dancing fingers over tiny pit marks.

"It was nothing," I insisted. "I had to help!" Mister Nels shook his head and chuckled. Hanna made a sign I could see that generally translated to /We need to talk when we get home,

"Anyway," Kai continued. "Ya girls probably wanna get home. Some unsavory types come out after dark," I dipped my head politely and gestured for the older woman to follow. She fell in like any other slave, and once we got inside the door, I popped open the shock collar around her neck.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked as she rubbed her neck and looked over at me.

"I think I'm going to be able to build a... a web? An information web?" Hanna said, turning the sentence into a question, dark eyes wide with excitement. I paused, furrowing my brow.

"Like, a spy network?" I asked. She nodded exuberantly, beaming. "That'd actually be a good idea," I mused aloud, moving over to the board and removed the painting that covered it. "How many... agents," I said, almost cheekily. "Do we have?"

Hanna came up beside me with crossed arms. "Eight, including myself," she replied. "Should we give them code names? Just in case," I considered it.

"Sure," I decided. "I can't know their names, and they can't know mine either because I'd rather not have to deal with torture and whatnot," I saw Hanna grimace and nod. An idea began to form in my mind. "I'll be called Terra," I blurted, randomly pulling a word from a hat. "You can be... Brezak," She blinked at me, confusion ringing out in her energy before realization rushed through her.

"I see," she replied, smirking. "I'll get to work, then,"

---

Within the next two months, the network grew from eight slaves to twelve slaves, two smugglers, and three business owners. The smugglers were mostly doing it for whatever I could pay them in, but I suspected there was something more. The business owners, including Kai, had seen first hand how slaves could and would be treated, and wanted to change that. The slaves wanted hope.

"I have a report from Zion," Hanna said, slipping into the room. She handed over a datapad, which I took graciously. I was sitting at a rather tiny desk in a spare room with 'pads and flimsiplasts.

I flicked through it, having memorized the codewords we'd come up with. I nearly broke the 'pad with the Force as I finished reading through it. "Brezak," I called, voice featherlight. She paused, half-way out the doorway. "At the spaceport, bay Cresh 12. A shipment is going out, bring Lightfoot and Scout with you," I told her. Lightfoot and Scout were the two smugglers, the only two of our little spy group that interacted with each other except for Hanna.

I pursed my lips and stood, moving over to the board. Of the estimated two thousand slaves in Eria, we had collectively freed about fifty. I'd personally freed twelve and took five off-planet. Jaysix warbled at me as I passed him in the hallway. I gave him a little smile and a pat on his head dome.

I crossed my arms and waited for the others to return. When Hanna came back, she was with about six or so slaves, all younger than her. The older woman was carrying who seemed to be the youngest and she had a renewed fire and steel in her eyes.

"Are they alright?" I asked softly, gently, as I herded them in. The oldest was perhaps fifteen and had two children in his arms. I glanced at Hanna and frowned ever so slightly.

"Physically, for the most part," the older woman paused, eyes darkening. "Mentally, not really. A couple of the girls have been... touched," I tried hard not to scowl at the implication as I gently felt the Force signatures of the children. Bright, wavering flames, brightening ever so slightly. Hanna handed the baby over to me.

I cradled his head, and slowly extended a brush of mind-to-mind. Sad, scared at first, then whoareyou? whereamI? safe, happy. I smiled slightly and moved over to the others. "You're safe now," I told them softly as they began to crowd around me.

I felt a sense of hope fill the room and fire fill their eyes. It was one of best damn feelings I'd ever felt.

Chapter Text

Five months later, I sat in the chair in front of Hanna as she told me what was going on in the slave community. "...they think you're a savior," she said calmly. "A goddess, even,"

"What," I deadpanned, narrowing my eyes. "Why?" Hanna looked chagrined at my words and begun to wring her hands.

"Well," she began hesitantly. "We've had hundreds of years to form a culture, with our own gods and everything," the woman paused. "There's this tale, on Zygerria, about a woman who comes from the stars to save everyone," Hanna paused again. "Sound familiar?"

I buried my face in my hands. "And they think I'm this... savior?" I asked voice muffled. Her Force signature flickered slightly as if she was cringing.

"Yes," she replied. "I think they believe that I'm your student, and they want to see you for themselves," I lifted my head and squinted at her.

"Why me?" I mumbled. "Why does the weird shit always happen to me?" Hanna shrugged.

"If I hear the anything else, I'll let you know," she replied dryly, before turning with a flourish. "We have people to free," Hanna said joking, quoting me from nearly eight months before.

I wondered to myself why I decided to do this again and sighed awkwardly.

I glanced down at the comm unit, rolling it from hand to hand. To call him, or not to call him? Screw it, I thought and called up Anakin.

"Hello?" He asked, voice foggy. I smirked.

"Heya, kid," I said brightly. I heard cloth rustling and him nearly falling out of bed.

"Tala!" He all but screeched in my ear. "How's your vacation?" I nearly snorted.

"Well enough," I replied. "I've gotten at least eighty shipments out of the shop, though," More rustling on the other end.

"That's good!" Anakin chirped. "I was gonna call you as soon as I woke up, but you beat me to it," I chuckled.

"Great minds think alike," I told him. "You might think you can go to your vacation spot? Or mine?"

"I dunno," he responded. "I'd have to ask Obi-Wan," I smiled and shook my head.

"Bye, kiddo," I said. "Seeya soon," With that, I clicked off. I turned to look at Hanna who merely sat with a mostly impassive expression.

"You should probably show yourself more," she suggested calmly. "No offense, but the people like to actually who it is that is leading 'em,"

"They think I'm a magical savior from the sky," I reminded dryly. "I don't know if we should play into that or not,"

She shrugged lightly and glanced up at me. "I think it's a good idea," the older woman told me.

That's how I ended up sitting in a building in the slums of Eria, waiting for my.. ahem.. agents. I picked at the cuff of my black sleeve and looked down at my black pants. And black boots. Hanna had insisted on it, for reasons I didn't know.

I was sat in a chair around a rectangular table. Behind me and to my left stood Hanna, dressed entirely in black as well, with white trimming. I swallowed thickly and waited.

Then people filed in; some I recognized from pictures or from Hanna's descriptions, others I knew, and others I didn't. Lightfoot and Scout, male and female respectively. Witness, who was a human clothier. Thunder, a female Twi'lek slave. Zion, who was actually Kai. A handful of others. Over a dozen, a little less than twenty. I sucked in a deep breath and looked around at them. Kai sat in a chair, as did Scout and a male human I did not recognize.

For a moment, I remained silent. Then, I rose with a surprising amount of grace. "Most of you know me as Terra. Some as the savior from the stars," I distantly heard someone whisper Tabna and guessed it was her... my? name. Weird. "Others would know me by my true name," I glanced at Kai slightly. He graced me with a slight smirk.

I turned the words in my head around. "I am not infallible, but I am your leader," I admitted finally. "You all have put your lives in my hands, and I want you to know that I will make mistakes," I paused, trying to make eye contact with all of them. "I am honored by your loyalty, and only hope I can help all of you," I let my left hand dance over the scar on my right arm through the sleeve. "If you have anything you need to talk about, do not hesitate to talk to me," I told them all seriously.

I gestured to Hanna and she fell in line next to me as we left the room. I let out a small, trembling exhale. I hated being the center of attention. "Hanna," I said softly. "If I leave anytime soon, and this project isn't completed, would you take over my role? As the leader?" I felt her hesitate and wondered what she was thinking about.

"It would be a great task," she replied solemnly. "But I think I would be able to," I felt a smile grow across my face.

"Thank you, my friend," I replied. "Now let's get home. I'm tired," She chuckled and shook her head as I began to race ahead.

Within the next Life Day, I found that we had gotten at least twenty other more inside agents and that they'd begun to work at wearing away the Zygerrian slave trade infrastructure from the inside out. I watched and worked on it from the outside; disrupting trade routes with Lightfoot and Scout, stealing 'shipments', and so on. We'd gotten nearly five hundred people free and away from the Outer Rim. On the other hand, we got another smuggler and a gun-for-hire.

I also heard that someone was trying to get help from the Jedi, and found Jedi Master Depa Billaba at my door, dressed in a commoner's clothes. I blinked in slight worry as something nagged in the back of my head. She was familiar and important, but I couldn't remember why.

"Can I help you?" I asked slowly, tempted to narrow my eyes at her. She merely gave me a smile and slight nod.

"I'm told you need help in a mission of some sort?" She responded with another question. I gestured for her to come in. Hanna sat straight up and watched the Jedi like a hawk. "I am Jedi Master Depa Billaba," the woman said formally, bowing slightly. "I am to assist you to get rid of the situation here,"

She turned her eyes to me, dark eyes piercing. I shrugged. "Hanna can brief you," I replied. Hanna crooked a brow at me, at Billaba's back. "She can word it better," I murmured, slinking to retrieve the board. I saw her sit at the table at Hanna's insistence as I set the board down.

I half-listened to Hanna explain as I watched Master Billaba's expression. It was tightly controlled for the most part, but I felt a shimmer of surprise from her.

"I... I did not expect it to be so bad," she admitted. "Master Koon did say at one point that he'd come to this planet, and he could see the suffering in the slaves, but none of us had seen it for ourselves," The Jedi looked at me in despair and I suddenly saw recognition in her eyes.

Oh shit, I realized. She was on the council, and she saw my memories, I felt the blood drain from my cheeks, leaving them cold.

"You knew," she murmured. "I saw just the briefest flash of a Zygerrian with a whip during that... debacle, but you knew," Billaba's eyes tightened. "I am going to help you," she decided. "I feel the Jedi are starting to lose their way, and I believe this may help us find it again, even if I am the only Jedi here,"

I dipped my head respectfully and saw Hanna give her a nod of appreciation. A smile curled at my lip as she stood and bowed slightly. I quickly stood as well and made to leave, but the Jedi put a hand on my shoulder and stopped me.

"You've grown from a shy teenager to a strong, respectable woman," Billaba told me gently. "You've come a long way," I gave her a shy smile, and escaped into my bedroom. I'd have to go back to Coruscant within the next few years. If Palpatine got in Anakin's head... I didn't know what I would do. I could only pray I changed enough so he would also trust in Obi-Wan and myself. If not... Well, I'd be resigning to the Empire, and all my work on Zygerria would be for naught.

I curled up on my bed after dressing in the loose linen nightclothes and begun to dream of my family for the twelfth day in a row; not my one from Earth, but the one I'd gotten here. Obi-Wan, Anakin, Wern, and Fyn were my brothers. Master Ulpan like a mother, and the younglings in the crèche like my little sisters and brothers, too.

I woke in the middle of the night and wept for what I had to lose. They were no longer characters here, but real, living people. And I was going to try my damned hardest to fix this universe, even if I had to end up dead doing it.

Chapter Text

Another year passed with little notice, and that was including tearing the Zygerrian economy apart. I ended up seeing that instead of the slave trade, which was choked and shriveled compared to its former self, that there were more farms and more employment rates at stores. Unfortunately, there was also more violence, especially in those who owned slaves. My twenty-first birthday came and went; had I been on Earth or Coruscant, I would have gotten an ID for the first time and went drinking. Probably, at least.

I stood at the edge of the mesa that overlooked Eria but was rather far away. We'd moved our 'base' out here so there'd be less chance of people just waltzing up to our door and sticking their nose in our business. Hanna came up beside me, gazing at the city.

"I should probably go back to Coruscant," I said randomly, crossing my arms. "I know you can lead here, and I have things to do there," Hanna glanced over at me, and I imagined her with a raised brow.

"You've been here for nearly two years now, and have helped so many people," she replied softly. "I may not want you to leave, but I know you. If we tell you not to leave, you'll leave anyway," I felt a smirk quirk at my lips.

"True," I responded, letting out a chuckle. I turned away for a moment, heading for the little hanger we'd hollowed out. "By the way," I added. "May the Force be with you," Then, I continued to the door and down winding halls to said hanger, and began to prime the ship. Jaysix, who had taken up residence in the hanger, warbled at me as he rolled up the ramp.

Terra II had begun to feel a little like home, a reminder of what I should do here. I had to change something. I didn't know what just yet.

A week later, I had placed the Terra II on a public landing pad and took a speeder to the Temple. I was greeted by a rather exuberant teenager flinging his arms around me as I moved into a surprisingly empty hallway. "Hello, Anakin," I wheezed. "Nice to see you, too," Obi-Wan was behind him with what looked like the beginnings of a beard, looking terribly amused.

"You get to join the hug pile, too," I told the ginger. I felt Anakin wobble slightly in my arms as I detached and flung myself at Obi-Wan. His eyes widened and he moved back a millisecond too late. We tumbled to the ground as I slung my arms around his neck.

Anakin let out a snort and plopped on top of me and Obi-Wan. The older Jedi let out a groan and I winced as my shoulder began to grind into Obi-Wan's ribs. "Get off me," he grumped, looking like he was trying not to pout. "You both are two heavy,"

"Are you saying I'm /fat/?!" Anakin squawked as I muffled a giggle in Obi-Wan's chest.

"Yes," the other Jedi deadpanned, before shoving both of us off. I laughed into my hand as we all just began to giggle on the floor. Or, Anakin and I giggled. Obi-Wan wheezed.

"Ah! Look what's happening here," I glanced up to see one Master Yina Ulpan, surrounded by a gaggle of younglings. I spotted Ahsoka, Kana, Kinna, and Etan grouped together. I saw Eio with a human girl and a Mirialan boy. "It seems Talanis has come back!"

Crap, I thought, half panicked, as Anakin and Obi-Wan scrambled away from me as Ahsoka broke away from the group and flung herself onto me. Etan and Kinna followed after her, with Kana following at a more sedate speed. "Hi, kids," I managed to get out. "Mind letting me stand?" The group giggled and let me get up before Eio, now about six began to cling to my legs.

"Anakin," I said brightly, grabbing Ahsoka by the back of the shirt, and she was only a little taller than she had been at eight, so it was a little hard to reach. "Think fast!" I picked up the Togruta youngling and she flung herself at the teenager as I gave her momentum. He shrieked with surprise and went down.

"No!" He mock-shouted. "I am vanquished!" I snorted and detached Eio from my legs as Ahsoka began to tickle the Padawan. Eventually, Obi-Wan plucked the teenager from under a pile of children and evacuated. Master Ulpan gathered her kids and went off to the Archives.

I tracked Anakin down again and noticed something was different than I last remembered from the movies. Instead of mostly dark brown, he was wearing the traditional cream-colored Jedi robes. Then again, there were about four or five years until the Clone Wars would begin, and things could change.

"Anakin," I said carefully. "You trust me, right?" He turned over at me and blinked.

"Yeah," he replied slowly. "Why wouldn't I?" I took a deep breath and let it out.

"The Supreme Chancellor," I said. "I have a bad feeling about him," I continued in a low tone. He looked at me, startled.

"I don't know him very well," the teenager confessed. "I never really met him, to be honest," I nodded slowly, trying not to stare at him in shock as a feeling of joy leaped through my bones. I /had/ changed something; just by being here? or had it been because I met Anakin early on... and he felt like he could come to me?

I smiled at him and ruffled his hair. The serious atmosphere was evaporated, and I could only pray I'd done enough to make the future better.

Two weeks later, I woke up in a cold sweat. I looked around the bedroom and took several deep breaths. I didn't remember what I was dreaming about, but it felt like I should have remembered. It had left a rather ominous feeling.

I took a deep breath again and got out of bed, shuffling into the living room. I glanced around the dark room, and let out a soft sigh. Four years, I told myself. Four years from now and that's when things truly begin, I sat down on the couch and closed my eyes. Just by being here I had changed history.

For better or worse, I didn't know. I would know when Padme and Anakin met again. ...If they did. I closed my eyes and prayed I hadn't screwed up to the point of making canon nonexistent.

Chapter Text

Ten years, I thought blankly as I looked through my window at Coruscant. It's been ten years since I came here, I closed my eyes and rubbed my face, pulling my hand through my hair. I had things to do.

If I remembered correctly, and by Anakin's appearance, Obi-Wan and Anakin would be assigned to protect Senator Padme Amidala. In a few months, maybe less. I paced quietly as possible as I ran through what I remembered in my head. Then there'd be an assassination attempt, with weird slugs. An imagine of Obi-Wan jumping out a window and Anakin(in dark clothing, from the movie) driving a yellow speeder. A... Changeling? Jango Fett, and killing the Changeling with a dart. Kamino.

Kamino, the word drilled into my head and I faltered. The clones. The Clone War. Chips in their heads, I thought, my lips thinning into a grim line. Then I remembered something else. Shmi, I panicked momentarily, all but running out of the apartment and sprinting down the hall to the stairs. Couldn't wait for the elevator.

I vaulted over a table, scattering flimisiplasts everywhere as I headed to the hanger. I had to save Shmi. I didn't care how, but I had to. I booted up R2-J6 as I turned on Terra II and began to exit the hanger. I heard him beeping worriedly, and I took several deep breaths before speaking.

"Someone I know may be in danger," I said calmly. "We're going to Tatooine, Jaysix," He warbled at me as I set the coordinates. "I know a lot, Jay," I told him. "I can't let Shmi get hurt,"

He paused, and then beeped again, this time with recognition in his tone. I smiled softly as I pulled out of the atmosphere and then jumped into hyperspace.

Three hyperspace days later, I was on the surface of Tatooine, sprinting towards the Lars homestead, panic a bright flair in my chest. What if I had gotten here too late? My fear dissipated when I saw Shmi come out to greet me.

"I knew I recognized your ship, Tala," she said softly, smiling wryly at me. "I was just about to go get the mushrooms on the vaporators," I blinked, slightly startled. I had literally just one month before the War, and came, what, an hour? before Shmi was captured by Tuskens.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked awkwardly. The woman gave me a chuckle and a nod, before gesturing with one hand for me to follow her. I reassured myself that my blaster and knives were still on my person before following her.

In the shade of one of the vaporators, I helped the older woman gently peel tiny fungi growths away from the machines. Sometime before noon, I could feel them and hear them. The Tuskens were dots of bright red on my senses, throbbing with a steady beat. I saw Shmi pale and stiffen, and I felt my lips thin into a line.

I stood, helping Shmi up and handed her a blade. "Just in case," I whispered as I felt the Tuskens getting closer and closer. They were going fast... maybe on a speeder? I sucked in a breath as they came into view, and whipped out the weapon. It was set to kill, but I did not want to murder anyone today.

I let out a sharp exhale as the Tuskens seemed to appear from nowhere and pressed back-to-back with Shmi. I pulled out another knife, longer than the one I'd given the older woman and readied to fight.

They attacked without mercy, whacking at the two of us as I spotted out of the corner of my eye Owen and Cliegg, with their own blasters. Panic fired through my veins, and then I felt the Force wind around my arms and explode from my hands as I Force pushed three of the five away a good three meters. An ache began in my nostrils as I shot one in the shoulder and another in the leg. The third let out a battle cry when my nose began to bleed and struck me across the shoulder, ripping through cloth and skin.

I screamed, pain lancing up my arm as I wildly struck with my other arm, the blade of the dagger sinking through the Tusken's robes and into their ribs. The injured ones had vanished back into the desert, as Cliegg fired a shot after one, making it collapse.

I sucked in a breath and pressed my face into the sand. I hadn't realized I'd fallen to the ground as Owen moved over to me and helped me stand. "Fuck," I mumbled. I saw blood dripping from the wound, staining my white shirt red and my jacket black. "We should probably fix that,"

Shmi gave me a smile, but it was weak. She had a cut on her forehead and another across the back of her hand. I sucked in a breath as I was sat in a chair inside. I felt cool hands peel off my jacket and shirt, agony lighting across my shoulder. Another pair of hands held me steady and I attempted hard not to writhe as someone steadily stitched the wound closed. I managed to pass out half-way during the procedure. I was glad for it.

I woke in a bed, surrounded by sand, and for a brief moment, I was confused. I looked around as good as I could, though an ache began to throb when I tried to turn my head too far.

"Relax," a familiar voice murmured. "You've been out for nearly two days now," I blinked as Shmi came into my vision, worry in her dark eyes.

"I-" I struggled, voice cracking. "What's up?" I managed as she placed a hand on my forehead. My mother had used to do that, I remembered with a sharp stab of loss. The woman merely gave me a smile.

"Your wound will scar," she told me. A brief pause and Shmi moved away briefly. "You save my life," I blinked dumbly.

"You're welcome," I croaked. "Say, are you and Cliegg married?" I heard her chuckle as I felt her peel away what seemed to be bandaged on my arm and shoulder. The stitches pulled my shoulder gently, making me wince slightly.

"Yes," she replied, voice slightly impressed. She began to wrap bandages around my arm. "Anakin has a stepbrother and stepfather for about five years now. How'd you know?" I blanked for a moment. Couldn't exactly say /Oh ya know I come from a universe where all of this is fictional/, so I gave a half-truth.

"A lucky guess," I replied. "You two looked at each other like my parents did, 'bout six years ago when I took you to Coruscant," The older Skywalker blinked, looking quite shocked.

"I see," she murmured. "I'll bring you something to eat, alright? Don't stress yourself," With that, Shmi stood and I was left alone to my thoughts. I've changed actual history, I thought to myself. Maybe Shmi would still die, but at least I'd saved her from the Tuskens.

I managed to sit up and lean against the wall, pressing my enslinged arm against my chest. I had a little less than a month until the First Battle of Geonosis. I let out a shaky breath and decided to bide my time.

I stayed with the Larses for three weeks, leaving me with roughly four weeks until the War began. Including the hyperspace time, only two or three.

My arm was no longer in a sling, but still needed bandages. The ship had a basic medkit which helped some, considering it had better supplies than the Larses did. The Terra II was soon docked on a 24-hour public clinic's landing pad at four am, two and a half hyperspace days later. No more than a mile away, at the Senate building, there was a muffled explosion on a landing pad that made people looking up.

And so it begins, I mused as I strolled into the clinic, my astromech at my heels.

Chapter Text

The medic at the clinic numbed my arm before ripping out the stitches and gluing it shut with some kind of dissolving stitch. I rubbed feeling back into my arm as I glanced at Jaysix. The swirling purple paint on his chassis was chipped and worn away by various materials. He'd gotten himself into enough trouble on Zygerria to match Clone Wars Ahsoka, Anakin, and Obi-Wan combined.

I quickly piloted the ship back to my apartment building and thought carefully about what I might do next. Sometime tomorrow night, there'd be the assassination attempt. Where had the assassin gone again? I rubbed my chin, pursuing my lips.

Outlander Club, I suddenly remembered my younger brother, who was a bit of a nerd about it and wanted to research it every moment, jabbering about it when we had gotten to that scene. I nearly snorted at how similar Outlander was to Farlander; coincidence? Probably. Now, all I had to do was wait.

Several hours into the night, almost midnight, I found myself snooping around the Uscru Entertainment District. I found the Outlander Gambling Club easily enough and loitered around for a while. I slouched at a table in the corner and extended my senses as far as they would go. Faintly, I could feel Obi-Wan and Anakin, Padme as well, just close enough to sense.

I let out a sigh and waited.

---

Only a couple of hours later did I feel Obi-Wan and Anakin approaching, quicker and quicker. I swallowed and prayed that this was the same bar that the assassin was going to walk into.

I was nearly about to walk out of the bar and look around myself when I felt a presence run into the bar with panic swirling in it. I took a shaky breath and began to lean against the bar, ordering my second drink.

Within moments, I lost said presence, but I could feel Anakin and Obi-Wan. The Jedi's presences were beacons of light in the club and I rubbed my temple as Obi-Wan sidled up to me. He either didn't see me or recognize me at the moment.

"So," I said casually. "What brings you to a place like this?" I felt him jolt ever so slightly as he himself ordered a drink as well. The Jedi gave me a little shrug.

"Oh you know, a bit of this, a bit of that," he replied, taking a sip. A Balosaur passed us by and I distantly remembered him as being a deathstick dealer. A jolt of electricity shuddered through me as I smirked into the purple liquid.

"Check the booths," I leaned over and whispered. "I think that's where you'll find who you're looking for," Obi-Wan tipped me a nod, and then his lightsaber was out, bright blue blade blazing as he cut off an arm of the assassin. Zam something, if I remembered right.

"Jedi business," I heard Anakin say. "Go back to your drinks," With that, the Padawan shuffled over and helped the Changeling out of the club. I tiptoed behind them, eyeing the rooftops with worry and anticipation. I half-listened to the Jedi and the Changeling converse before the bounty hunter seemingly appeared out of nowhere and shot the assassin before vanishing again, using his jetpack to get away.

I swore softly and rubbed my forehead. I probably shouldn't have gone drinking; I was a lightweight as it was. "Hey," I began carefully as I stumbled over to Anakin. "Can onevya take me home... real quick?" I smiled at the Padawan, who reddened considerably.

Ooh, pretty colors.

---

I woke up on my couch with a headache to rival Tatooine's twin suns and a mouth that tasted like garbage. I closed my eyes against the midmorning light and shuffled into a sitting position. I managed to stand and move to the kitchen without tripping over things, so that was nice.

I eventually made tea and took a couple of aspirin before finding a note in some flimsiplast on my table. I squinted at it, cursing my entire existence. Anakin was now with Padme, somewhere. Maybe Naboo, already. Obi-Wan, by estimation, was probably at Dex's Diner by now. If he retraced his route by the movies... he'd go to the Jedi Temple and look for Kamino.

Only, Kamino had been erased from the Archives, by Dooku, if I remembered right. I wasn't sure if I'd changed that or if he'd already left, nearly ten years ago. I rubbed my face and tried not to sigh.

After that, he'd go to Kamino, have a tangle with Jango Fett, before tracking him to Geonosis. I stilled abruptly; Geonosis. That's where the Clone War would begin. I rubbed my chin and tried to remember harder, but my head twinged in protest and I sighed, holding my temples.

I really hated hangovers, and I'd only ever had this one.

By estimation, I had a whole hyperspace week before Obi-Wan arrived on Kamino, and a couple days before Anakin and Padme went after him on Geonosis. So, I had a little time to prepare.

I helped calibrate Jaysix, though he could do it all by himself. I bought some more medical supplies and clambered onto the ship four days later. I'd be a day or two late behind Obi-Wan, but I'd be getting to Geonosis roughly the same time as the other two.

I let out a half-panicked sob. I could die today, but damn it, I was going to try.

It seriously didn't help that I was probably going to die, though. Happy thoughts, I told myself as I maneuvered Terra II into orbit. "Jaysix, could you set the hyperspace coordinates for Geonosis?" I asked lightly. He gave me a warbling beep of affirmation and I felt a smile on my lips.

"I'm coming, Obi-Wan," I murmured under my breath as I pulled the lever down.

Chapter Text

It took four hyperspace days to arrive on Geonosis. The Terra II held up remarkably as I set the ship down as delicately as I could. It had been through a lot of shit the past few years. I patted Jaysix's head dome.

"Buddy, if I'm not back here in a standard month, assume the worst," I told him calmly. The astromech responded in his normal chirping warbling voice as I smiled at him. "Stay safe, Jay," I said affectionately, before heading out.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It took a few moments to focus, but then I extended my senses, and then I simply became one with the ground, the air, the sand. Obi-Wan was about a mile to the north... from what I could tell, he was already captured. At least that was the same.

Then I felt a ship coming into the atmosphere. With a jolt, I recognized Anakin and Padme, and I hesitantly extended my mind to the Jedi's. Worry, and fear for Obi-Wan, and surprise at me.

Come here, I gave the general sensation of pulling the ship in my direction. Anakin returned the feeling of Okay, and in moments, I was watching a Nubian yacht land. I watched the two younger adults pile out of the ship and walk over to me, followed by C-3PO and R2-D2.

"Hello, Tala," Anakin said solemnly as I dipped my head to them. "This is Padme Amidala, Senator-"

"Of Naboo. We met, remember?" I interrupted as the Padawan flushed. I smirked lightly at him as Padme gave me a smile and hand to shake. I quickly shook it.

"I don't think I know your name, though," the young woman returned, brown eyes holding a fire I knew was for Obi-Wan.

"Talanis Farlander, at your service," I gave a little bow. "I assume you probably don't know what I'm doing here, correct?" At their nods, I continued. "A few months ago, I had a dream about this," I confessed. It was not entirely a lie; I did have dreams of what happened in the movies, and sometimes there were only words in my dreams. "So, I came here,"

Padme nodded firmly and gestured to the north. "Well, we should get going then," she said, putting a hand on her blaster.

The walk north was exceedingly boring and tiring. We managed to find the equivalent of a back door to what I assumed to be some kind of sleeping quarters. I took a deep breath and tried to step lightly as the Geonosians began to stir. Anakin whipped out his lightsaber, cutting off an arm of one insect and pushing another back. Padme ran for the door as I yanked out my blaster and fired once, then twice.

As I expected, the walkway drew back into the wall as the door slammed shut behind us. Padme and I fell onto the conveyor belt. "Padme!" The Padawan shouted. "Tala!" I managed to scramble off of the belt as Anakin dropped to follow after us.

I landed on another section of conveyor belt below. In moments, I saw Padme and Anakin separated and I was dodging machinery left and right. I heard the senator shout as she was unceremoniously shoved into a smelter pot. Or whatever the hell it was. I spotted the bottom of the pot, and a flare of panic and adrenaline snapped through me.

I focused as hard as I could, and jumped. I was flung a good ten feet into the air with a panicked yelp. I grabbed onto the little bars on the bottom just as it was picked up and taken away. I dropped my blaster as I did so and it fell down into a pot of boiling metal. I winced as I held on for dear life. I heard R2's jets cut off as he landed. A few moments later and a couple of other vats filled with molten lava before I heard the click-click of something turning.

Fear lanced through my entire being as I let go, flinging myself at the ground twenty feet below. I landed hard on my chest ten feet away from where Padme was promptly dropped. Unfortunately, we were also surrounded by Geonosians.

Merely a half hour later, we were all in the arena. I had studiously been looking in another direction when Anakin and Padme were whispering to each other. I took a deep breath and hoped that the monster they had for me wasn't too bad.

I, of course, was completely fucking wrong. As usual. I stared in horror as a group of Geonosians poked out a fucking gundark. "Why me?" I moaned as I began to make a plan in my head. I still had a blade in my boot, which they hadn't checked for some reason.

A lightbulb exploded to the forefront of my mind as I watched Padme clamber onto the top of her pillar. I closed my eyes and focused so hard for the Force I felt blood begin to dribble from my nose, down my lip. You have to make a connection, some voice whispered in my ear, and lightning snapped to life in my head as I reached out mentally.

The Geonosian I vaguely knew to be some sort of ruler said something in its native tongue. The nexu cat and other two creatures I still didn't remember the names of began to attack. I furrowed my brow as my mind and the gundark's pulled together.

It was an interesting sensation as I merely thought in a certain direction. I felt and sort of... saw? the creature turn around and begin to attack the Geonosians. Through the creature's eyes, I saw lightsabers flare into being in the crowd. I opened my eyes and went to climbing the pillar like Padme had done to pull out the blade. I managed to break the chain from the cuffs.

I stood and surveyed the arena. It was in chaos; lightsabers and sonic pulses and blaster fire all around the place. I pointed the gundark in the direction of the droid army when it began to come out, and it moved. My head began to ache and I calmly wiped the blood on the back of my hand. I jumped down on the sand, ankles jarring but not breaking. A nearby Jedi I didn't recognize cut my cuffs and I picked up a blaster from a fallen droid.

The Jedi, looking to be on the older side, helped deflect blaster bolts while I fired in the shade of the pillar. The connection with the gundark withered within minutes, leaving it disorientated and confused. It began to fight wildly, knocking droids and organics alike away as it raced to get away.

I let out a soft curse as the pillar I'd been attached to was knocked over. The Jedi jumped out of the way and I began to run in his direction, but I was too late. I tripped, and fell onto my back, managing to curl my left leg close to me.

Pain lanced up the other leg and the only thing I knew was pure agony before my vision darkened.

When I next woke, I was in a hospital bed. I saw the Jedi who was with me in a chair against the wall. Anakin was in a chair beside me, his right arm covered with a glove. Obi-Wan was staring at the ground and I saw Padme on the other side of the bed, hands folded in her lap as she looked at me.

"Hi," I croaked, and then looked at my legs. I nearly, nearly let out a scream as Padme's eyes widened and she said something I didn't hear.

My right lower leg was gone below the knee.

Chapter Text

I furrowed my brow as I used one crutch to stand in for my ...now missing leg. It was strange trying to get used to the empty space where I could still feel a phantom of my leg. Not to mention the phantom pains - that was annoying and painful.

It had been a couple of weeks, nearly three, since the Battle of Geonosis. Anakin and Obi-Wan had been shipped out on what I believed to be the front lines, and Padme was swamped with work in the Senate, so I didn't have any of their company. The Jedi who had been with me when my leg had been smashed, Ron Bension, had also been whisked off to the front lines.

Which left me on a medical station in the Middle Rim, recuperating. In a few hours, I'd be able to try on another prosthetic, get it grafted to my stub and hopefully go back to Coruscant with a new leg. But you never know. There could be complications or something.

I sighed and sat down, my fingers subconsciously dancing over the lone thigh and tried not to cry. Phantom pain slithered in the empty spot where my leg used to be. I gently rubbed my knee, three or four inches above the stub, to try and force the leg to relax.

I just wanted to sleep, but I was a stubborn bastard. I'd lived eight months on Tatooine and ten years away from home; I wasn't just going to give up. I refused to.

"Miss Farlander?" I lifted my head at the call of a droid. "The doctor will see you now," I shuffled off the seat, leaning heavily on the crutches as I began the tedious journey down the short hall.

The temporary prosthetics I'd tried on for the last few days had been constantly itchy or simply didn't work. However, when I walked into the office, the leg the doctor had on display was a work of art, but also functional.

The leg was designed to look like a calf and foot, so if you had it covered you couldn't really tell the difference. The joint at the ankle and the piece that connected to the stub were purple, and the main body and foot were a dark silver, decorated with curling violet shades in what I could only describe as a tsunami. It wasn't painted, though, almost like there was a second layer of metal underneath the silver, and the maker had carved the pattern.

I was more or less in awe as Docter Hasol picked it up and gestured for me to sit on the patient's table. "I had a good friend of mine who works in prosthetics create this and it's new tech," he told me as I pulled myself onto the table. "We made it especially for you," he continued. "It'll be grafted to your skin if it's comfortable,"

I nodded in silence, not trusting my voice at the beauty of the thing. It almost made me miss my leg a little less. The doctor helped me pull on the weird sock to cover the stump and slipped on the leg. Hasol grabbed my hand to steady me as I stood.

"Is it supposed to feel longer than my other leg?" I asked shakily, almost ready to cry. The doctor chuckled and nodded. It felt like it belonged there like I'd never lost anything in the first place.

Almost. I was still missing a leg, and I couldn't get it back, not really. "Is this one good?" The doctor questioned, and I nodded again. He gave me a smile and we went to get it grafted.

No more than three weeks later, I was back on Coruscant. The leg had taken some getting used to, but I managed. I rubbed my aching shoulders and pushed open the door to my apartment. R2-J6 was powered down in the corner, most likely charging.

I moved over to the droid and rubbed light fingers over the purple decoration on his head dome. We'd been through quite a bit together, and perhaps more if I was able to somehow get into the war somehow.

I let a smile tease my lips as Jaysix jolted to life, chirping worriedly at me. I chuckled as he bumped gently into me. "It's okay, buddy," I murmured softly. "I'm okay. Or, I will be,"

I got what sounded like "I'll watch over you," from him. Erm, I think. I sat down on the couch and propped my fake leg on the coffee table, sliding off the boot and rolling up my pant leg. When Jaysix rolled over to look at it, he just stared in silence.

"We match now," I said half-jokingly, smiling sardonically. The astromech remained quiet which made me slightly concerned. "You alright, Jay?" I mumbled, reaching to rake my hands over the top of his dome.

He let out a series of warbling beeps which I didn't understand, but got the general feeling of frustration and sadness. I wasn't entirely sure how droids were able to feel but many passed a sentience test, including Jaysix, so I wouldn't know.

"Woah," I chuckled. "It's alright," I continued gently, pulling my leg from the table and letting my pant leg fall back down. The astromech fell quiet again. I curled my fingers across the side of his leg. "I am fine,"

He let out a soft sound as I pulled off the other boot and stood. I moved over to the window, clasping my hands behind my back. Jay rolled up next to me as I stared out into the dusk and smiled.

"I think our future will be very bright," I murmured, and remembered Tatooine, thought about what I'd managed to change here. I'd be able to bring more good changes, if I tried.

And damn if I wasn't going to at least try, curse 'do or do not' for Pete's sake, because I was going to try, and do.