The Slave

Prologue

CLASH. The two lightsabers, so alike in their vivid blue hue, yet so different in their wielders, connected again. Over and over again, their wielders struck at each other, both so evenly matched that neither could gain an advantage. Soon, however, the two combatants were at a faceoff – one standing on a droid that hovered above a river of fire, and the other standing on the black ash of the shoreline.

The one on the shore yelled over the roar of the burning falls: "It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!"

The eyes of the one standing on the droid seemed to glow a sulfuric yellow, but it could have just been a reflection of the fiery flow beneath. He yelled back, hatred infusing his voice, "You underestimate my power!"

The first man said warningly, with a sudden and inexplicable fear for the other in his eyes, "Don't try it."

The second man sneered and with an enormous burst of power, leapt at the first man. Time seemed to slow down. The man standing on the ashy ground readied his lightsaber, timing his swing in order to make contact with the leaping man's legs. Forward…forward the second man shot. Down…down came the first man's lightsaber. It was almost to the man's legs…

Then, with faster-than-superhuman speed, the second man ignited his lightsaber and blocked the first man's swing. He landed on his feet, and the duel continued up the hill. The farther the two went, the more furious the fight became. They were at the steepest part of the hill when the first man tripped and fell backward with a cry. The second man's eyes glowed with triumph, and he raised his lightsaber up. But as his lightsaber plunged down, the first man was already rolling out of the way. The force of the second man's stab sent him bending almost to the blackened ground. Not even thinking, the first man disengaged his lightsaber and threw the hilt at the second man's head. It connected with a dull thud. He collapsed without a sound. The first man pushed himself up off the ground and ran over to the second man, checking quickly for breathing and a pulse. The man was alive, but unconscious. The first man grabbed his lightsaber and stood up. After a moment of thought, he summoned the other man's lightsaber to his hand. As he strode away, he looked back once and whispered, "I'm sorry, Anakin."

"Don't give up, Padme." The reassuring voice of the man who, hours before, had been battling for his life on the black-as-death slopes of Mustafar, seemed to get through to the screaming woman on the table in front of him. She let loose a yell of pain and relief.

"It's a boy," the medical droid said in its tinny voice.

The woman began breathing harder. Sweat began streaming down her face once again. She cried out in pain, then gave a moan of exhaustion before the medical droid spoke up again: "It's a girl."

Obi-Wan – Obi-Wan Kenobi, the famed Negotiator, a General of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the best friend of her once-husband – brought the twins over to their mother.

Tears still streaming down her face, she touched the boy's face, cradling the curve of his cheek in her hand. "Luke," she said, joy and pride shining amidst the pain in her eyes. She reached over to the girl, stroking the contours of her nose and her lips. "Leia," she said, a tremulous smile on her lips. Her eyes reached up and imprisoned Obi-Wan's. "There's still good in him," she whispered. Her trembling hand reached up and gripped his with surprising strength. "There's good in him…there's good…still…" Her now-limp hand fell to the table. The eyes that had captivated a lonely slave from Tatooine lost their shine and closed for the final time.

Tears in his own eyes, Obi-Wan Kenobi carried the twins out of the operating room. Bail Organa and Jedi Master Yoda, who had been waiting outside, fell in step with him. Once the three were onboard Bail's ship and the wailing twins put to bed in a cushioned basket, they sat down together. For a long time, silence reigned, each absorbed in his own thoughts – about the fate of the galaxy, about the fate of the Jedi, about the fate of a brother left for dead.

Finally, Yoda cleared his throat and said, "Pregnant, she must still appear. Hidden, safe, the children must be kept, but together they must not be."

Obi-Wan, his face tight with tiredness and a deep, unspeakable sorrow, said softly, "They must go somewhere the Sith will not sense their presence."

"My wife and I can take them," Bail Organa said hesitantly. "We've always longed for children. Alderran is close to Coruscant, but we can weave lies so dense around them that no one would think twice about their origins."

"Together they must not be," Yoda said firmly. "So alike in the Force are they, a towering beacon they make."

"Only one, then," Bail Organa said, a little sadly.

Yoda nodded in agreement, and Obi-Wan felt him extend his mind out over the infants.

"Searching them, I am," Yoda responded to Obi-Wan's unspoken question. "An infant's mind so unclouded is, read the tendencies they will develop later I can." He went back to his work, then pulled out. "The girl," he said, pointing, "far away from Vader should be kept. Sense stubbornness, I do. Future tendrils I see – anger, hatred, a hunger for power. Lay hold of her, powerful emotions will. Tempt her, if not seduce her, the Dark Side might. To Alderran she must not go." He turned to her brother, slumbering peacefully beside her. "Already, better at concealing his emotions and muting his connection to the Force the boy is," Yoda said. "Safer, it would be, for him to be near Vader."

Bail nodded in relief and joy. "We'll take the boy. He will be loved with us."

"And the girl?" Obi-Wan asked tentatively.

"To Tatooine," Yoda responded. "To her family, her aunt and uncle, send her."

"I will take the child and watch over her," Obi-Wan said quietly, gazing at the baby girl. He was silent for a few moments, lost in his thoughts. "Master Yoda, do you think Anakin's twins will be able to defeat Darth Sidious?"

"Strong the Force runs, in the Skywalker line," the diminutive Jedi responded. "Hope, we can . . . Done, it is. Until the time is right, disappear we will."

Obi-Wan nodded sadly and cradled the sleeping infant in his arms. "Hope indeed…" he murmured.

VVV

I'm back! I admit it, I've totally been procrastinating on publishing this story. Top psychologists call it 'the summer effect'; who am I to argue?

Now, a bit of overview: there will for sure be five Parts, maybe more (depending on where this story decides to go), with individual Chapters within each. Each Part has 1-2 quotes that I think highlight the big themes within. I'm going to put them at the top of each Chapter so you don't forget them ;)

I probably should have said this long ago, but if anyone's interested in making a profile picture for this story (or Lady of Shadows while we're on the topic), I am ready, willing, and able to look at what you come up with.

As always, giving me a review is the best thing you can do for me. They help me hone my technique, and they keep me inspired. So….please? :)