My name is Anakin, Anakin Organa. I was born on the planet of Tatooine in the Outer Rim. The twin suns shine sixteen hours of the day, scorching everything in its sight. There is little enough water produced from the cooling condensers to drink, but the shade of the homestead is often more refreshing than lukewarm drinks. It is here that I live with my mother.

Suri Organa, my mother, has had many titles over her life. Once, it was daughter to an Old Republic Senator. Later, it was captain of the Imperial Army under the Emperor Palpatine and close confidante to the Lord Vader. In the later stages of her life, it was Healer and mother. She preferred to stay in the present, deigning not to dwell on the past; according to her, it was painful for her to remember the horrible acts she had done in the name of the Empire.

The only source that I had to peer into her history was the holographic memoirs that she had written during her service, telling of her actions and deeds. Without her knowing, I smuggled the data pad out of her room while she was sleeping and hid it underneath my mattress. Through her life, maybe I can find meaning in my own.

My life has been one of terror, of fear, and of hope. My memory is photographical, but I wish that it would dull over time. I have committed numerous atrocities in the name of the one who befriended me in a time of dire straits. Maybe one day that debt will be repaid; until then, I will follow him to the end of the galaxy and onwards, waiting to fulfill the payment.

I was never always this serious. Once, I was carefree; I wanted nothing more than to be a fighter pilot. I wanted to serve my planet to the best of my abilities, to be able to save that I was part of the Clone Wars and that I helped to end them. I wonder now what would have happened instead if I followed my mother's will.

When I was seventeen, I began to seek out ways to make my innermost wish come true. That was the impossibility of my station; growing up the only child of Bail Organa, Senator of Alderaan definitely had its set of limitations. In my younger years, all that a noblewoman on Alderaan was expected to do was look after the house, take care of the family, and look their most beautiful at all times. When I was even still a young girl, I daydreamed of flying among the stars, while others around talked about the latest fashion statements, cosmetic techniques, and hair styles. I knew that I was different from the others; I always yearned for more. But the Starship Academy wouldn't accept people below the age of seventeen, and so I forced myself to wait.

On a late afternoon a long time ago, I reclined on the banister outside of my sleeping quarters against one of the massive marble columns that our residence was made of; I swung my leg over the balustrade, watching the sunset sink down below the horizon. My mother, Breha Organa, came up to me, her silken slippers making little noise against the floor. She tapped me on the shoulder, asking me a question that would brighten my day exponentially.

"Suri, what is this?" I turned around at the sound of her willow-soft voice. She held out a holo-transmitter of a letter. I reached out and took it from her hands. Reading over it quickly, I realized that this was the answer to my prayers. Earlier in the year, I had sent in an application to the Starship Academy; I had waited patiently for an answer. In my hands was a letter of acceptance to the Academy. This meant that I was now eligible to come to the Academy within the next five months.

"Suri, what is this?" My mother repeated her question, this time with more bite in her voice.

"It's a reply to a letter I wrote earlier this year. So what?"

"So what? This is addressed from the Starship Academy. You were not trying to apply there, were you?" Mother's amber coloured eyes shone with unknown recesses of anger.

"Yes, I did. I've always wanted to be a fighter pilot, you know that. In the market three months ago, a recruiter came by to talk to me and gave me an application form. Now I've been accepted to the Starship Academy, starting in three months.

"The recruiter was impressed with the qualities that I programmed in the holo-disk. Calm under pressure; not easily distracted from the present; obeys orders quickly and efficiently; can handle stress well; lithe, vigorous, nimble, and athletic; has a higher level of education; not married. They want these in trainee pilots." I stood up off the balcony and stared my mother in the eyes.

Without stopping, I continued. "If you read further, Mother, you will find that they also believe that my oddities will benefit me as a trainee pilot. I can pick up the quietest of sounds and details from great distances. My heightened senses can pick up even the slightest of feelings. I am ambidextrous, both in writing and in fighting. Plus, I'm muscled. In their eyes, I'm a perfect candidate for a trainee pilot."

She came forward and slapped me across the face. The burning handprint against my face only served to focus my anger. "You dare to do this without my approval?! You dare demand my consent for you to perform this lifestyle without my approval?! No daughter of mine, no daughter of Alderaan is going to be a fighter pilot!"

"Your approval? I don't need your approval to do anything anymore! I'm fourteen years old, Mother! I'm not a child!"

"You're my child! Besides," she said, calming down. "I have other plans for you. You are going to marry young Marcus Gegvanus, of a high standing merchant family. He has told me that he finds all of you attractive: your darkly tanned skin, your slender figure, your almond-shaped eyes that can change colour depending on your mood, your perfect white teeth, your small elfin ears, your hair that shines with the color of chestnuts. The only wish that he has in order to make the contract complete is that you are to stop being so rebellious and headstrong, but that can be easily arranged." A foxy grin split her face; I could only imagine what she wanted to do to me to break me into the mould of the exemplar Alderaan bride.

"No! I'm not marrying an overly pompous sweaty little toad!" With that, I tore the transmitter from her hand and ran back into my room, locking the door behind me.

Away in the privacy of my room, I began to calm down from my outburst on the balcony. When I had finally relaxed, I began to get ready to leave home and go to the Academy. Nothing Mother could say would stop me from fulfilling my dreams. I took off my rich clothing and donned white pants, a tight white breast band, and a loose white short-sleeved tunic under a loose white jacket. All of my rich trinkets, I carefully took off and placed back into my jewellery box. I removed my richly decorated slippers in favour for plain leather sandals. I took my chestnut brown hair from its golden and jewelled coronet, and braided it tightly down my back.

When I was done that, I pulled out a cloth shoulder bag from under my bed and began to pack. Into the satchel, went most of my belongings: a small hygienic kit; my data pad about the galactic star systems; the amber hilted knife which I had "borrowed" from one of my friends; two leather pouches of water capsules and nutrient tablets; some Republic credits. I also packed in some of my favourite pieces of small jewellery, and my sketch book and my dry paint sticks; it was an indulgence of ancient hobbies, but I had a knack for drawing portraits of people and plants. After I was finished packing, I went to talk to Father.

Bail Organa, my father, was hardly at home, being a Senator of the Galactic Alliance. On this day, he was at his desk, working on a report that summarized a recent demographical census of the Alderaan population. I entered his office without making a sound, dropping my satchel outside the doorway. In his own way of acknowledging me, he looked up and saw me waiting by his door. He finished writing the report, placed his writing utensil on the papers at the top of his desk, and waited for me to speak, as was his way.

"I'm going to the Starship Academy, Papa," I told him determinedly, without any form of introduction or reason to explain my unannounced visit. I grasped my wrists behind my back and stood with my feet at shoulder's width, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"Is this what you want to do with your life, Suri?" he asked me back. He rose from his desk, and began to walk towards the window at the far wall. He ran his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. I was surprised; I thought that he would begin another tirade about the propriety of women in his family and the standing of women in Alderaan society, just like what Mother had done earlier. Father knew that I had been thoroughly educated. I considered this to be another part of my education.

"Papa, this is what I have always wanted. This is all I have ever wanted since I was a child on your knees. You know this." I replied quietly. I approached him and knelt onto one knee at his feet. Gazing down at the black and white marbled floor, I hoped that Father would understand my lifelong dreams.

"Then you can go, with my blessing," Father decided. He stopped pacing in front of me, and lifted up my chin so that he could see my reaction at the news.

I lifted my head with Father's hand to guide me, sheer delight making my skin glow. My breathing quickened and my chest began to swell with happiness. Before I could stand up, Papa placed his hand on the top of my head and intoned the traditional blessing when a father lets go of his eldest child into society and the galaxy. His blessing was brief; inside of my heart, I knew that the one thing that I would truly miss from Alderaan was my father.

"I will make you proud, Father. I promise," I assured him. I stood up and gave him a tight hug before I left.

Outside of Father's office, I grabbed the satchel of my things, and made for the entrance of the palace. I walked outside of the ornate fortress and started down the path that took me from my home of my seventeen years.

Tears shimmered on my eyes; I could not make myself look back at my home. I felt kind of afraid. But as I approached the local spaceport, I swallowed my fear. I purchased a charter ticket to the Academy, and boarded my flight. It was going to be a cold and dank ninety-six hour journey to the Starship Academy from Alderaan, since this charter cruiser had no hyper-drive generator to speed up our journey. I found a one-man cell with nobody in it, and made myself comfortable. I pulled out my data pad, and began to read the monotonous list of planets and star systems while nibbling on some of the nutrient tablets that I packed.

I soon felt myself becoming drowsy, so I placed the tablets and data pad back in my satchel, and put my head on the bench for a light nap. Unbeknownst to me, my adventure was just about to begin…