Chapter 18

Without saying another word Yoda began walking away, already expecting Cain to follow him.

Cain stood there surprised for a second until he quickly followed after, the surprisingly fast, little alien. As he jogged after the quick Jedi Grandmaster, Cain could see that he was moving towards an empty building that was connected to the palace. Entering the building Yoda swiftly hopped onto a chair and turned to watch Cain.

Sitting in front of the Grandmaster, Cain was unsure of what he should say. Although he knew that Yoda didn't have any bad intentions towards him, Cain was still slightly nervous about what Yoda wanted to discuss.

"So...what can I do for you?" Cain asked.

"Nervous, I sense you are, calm yourself, you must. Nothing to fear, you have." Yoda said softly, in his odd-Yoda speech.

Taking the Master Jedi's advice, Cain took a deep breath and calmed his nerves.

"Thank you," Cain replied while grinning.

"Still very young, you are. Much to learn, you still have." Yoda stated, with a smile.

"Ahh..I'm guessing that Qui-Gon told you about the fight with the Sith Lord." Cain voiced, finally bring up the most probable reason why Yoda wanted to talk.

"Told us about the battle with the Sith Lord, Master Jinn has. Yess." Yoda uttered while rubbing his chin, but then he suddenly lifted his tiny claws.

From behind Cain's back, his lightsaber shot forward and into the hand of the Grandmaster.

"Interesting weapon, have you," Yoda said while inspecting the blade.

"What will you do with me now?" Cain questioned wondering if he should start running, as Yoda inspected his lightsaber.

"Conduct the Force, you can. Young you may be, but the strong connection you have. Yes, hmmm. Neither Light nor Dark." Yoda mumbled.

"Does that mean we're good?" Cain asked hopefully.

"To be enemies with you, the Jedi wish not. Too old to join the Order, you are." Yoda said, relieving Cain of his worst fears.

"No offense, but I don't think I really want to be a Jedi. It seems a little too strict for me." Cain replied sheepishly.

"Hehe. For everyone, Jedi Order is not, but ways of the Force may not allude you." Yoda said while chuckling.

"Wait-you want to teach me how to use the Force?" Cain said in disbelief.

"Guide you in ways of the Force I can, but only you may find your path. Hmmmmmm. To Coruscant you shall come, learn when you are ready." Yoda announced as he tossed Cain back his lightsaber and made his way out of the building.

Watching the small Jedi Master walk away, Cain was still shocked by what he had just said and almost dropped his lightsaber.

Although the System did help greatly with upgrading skills, an actual teacher would be amazing to have. To actually practice using the Force not only offensively, but also passively would give Cain an edge in all of his battles.

Even just practicing lightsaber combat with someone else would help Cain greatly.

Deciding that he would definitely accept Yoda's proposal, Cain suddenly realized that his time on Naboo was coming to an end, much sooner than he thought.

After strapping his lightsaber to his back, Cain made a mental reminder to make the strap magnetic so no one could just Force pull it away, and then went to go find Padmé.

As he slowly made his way down the hallways of the palace Cain suddenly bumped into Shmi, Anakin, and Artoo.

"Cain! Where have you been?" Anakin asked while smiling.

Looking at the excited child, Cain noticed that Anakin seemed to be dressed as a mini Obi-Wan, he even had the same haircut.

"I see that they've allowed you to be a Jedi," Cain commented while looking at Anakin's new attire.

"Yep! Master Qui-Gon told me that he and Obi-Wan are going to help with my training. I'm going to be a Jedi!" Anakin exclaimed from excitement.

"Why don't you go ahead, Annie. Master Qui-Gon told you to met him in the courtyard." Shmi told Anakin as she nudged him forward.

"You must be proud," Cain told Shmi, as they watched Anakin and Artoo scamper away.

"My little boy is growing up. I just know he's going to change the Galaxy." Shmi said proudly.

"What are you going to do? You're free now, you can do whatever you want." Cain suddenly questioned Shmi.

"I-I never put much thought to it, but I did have a dream when I was younger." Shmi professed.

"Really?" Cain asked.

"I wanted to own my own mechanical shop. But under Watto, all I ever had to do was fix little trinkets. But I've always wanted to build and fix something bigger, better."

"You're a mechanic?" Cain questioned in disbelief.

"Where do you think Anakin got all of his skills from. I've been fixing his pod whenever he needed help, even if he didn't know it." Shmi announced while grinning.

"What if I say I could help you open your own shop," Cain mentioned after seeing how passionate Shmi was about being a mechanic.

"I can't ask you to do that. You've already done so much." Shmi declared firmly while shaking her head.

"Don't think of it as me just giving it to you. Think of it as an investment for the future. We'll be partners, but the business will ultimately be in your hands." Cain commented with a smile.

"That's..I don't even know how to thank you for everything you've done." Shmi stuttered, while almost crying tears of joy.

"All I ask for you is to build whatever you can imagine, and I'll supply you the materials, Partner," Cain said while sticking his hand out towards Shmi.

"Partners!" Shmi agreed, firmly grabbing Cain's hand and cupped them happily while smiling.

After bouncing a few ideas off each other, Cain agreed with Shmi that they would set up their shop on Coruscant.

It was a planet bursting with fresh customers, and it was on the same planet as the Jedi Temple. Although Anakin wasn't allowed to see his Mother, Shmi still wanted to be as close to her son as possible.

After promising to finish hashing out the terms of their partnership later, Cain went to go find Padmé and resign from his post as a guard.

Walking through the halls of the palace, Cain remembered all of the good memories. Although only here for a short time, Cain still had some of the best times of his new life in these halls.

Once he opened the doors of the throne room, Padmé was shown sitting on her throne while discussing something with her advisors. Waiting until they were done, Cain silently waited until Padmé noticed his presence.

"What may I do for you, Cain?" Padmé asked after dismissing her advisors.

"I don't really know how to say this, but-" Cain started but was interrupted.

"You have to resign from your post and go to Coruscant." Padmé finished for Cain

"Umm..yeah. How did you know?" Cain questioned the amused Queen.

"I've known that you weren't going to be staying since the day you started working here. Although you've thought yourself secretive, there are monitors all over the palace. We recorded whenever you practice your 'special skills.'" Padmé admitted while laughing at Cain's befuddled expression.

"Oh yeah, forgot about those. But you're just okay with me leaving?" Cain asked sheepishly.

"I cannot stop you from living your life, no matter how much I would like for you to stay," Padmé said sadly.

"It's not like I won't come back to visit or anything." Cain insisted quickly, trying to lift Padmé's spirit.

"I know you will."

Standing from her throne, Padmé walked towards Cain and brought him into a hug. Cain returned the hug and was surprised by how sad he felt from choosing to leave Naboo. This planet was so peaceful and beautiful, Cain was almost second-guessing his choice of leaving.

But after shaking his head, Cain strength his will and refocused on his goal of becoming the greatest Bounty Hunter in the Galaxy.

....

Standing next to his newly claimed spaceship, Cain watched as Shmi said her final goodbye to Anakin, even though they were heading to the same planet.

For Cain, he had already said goodbye to both Sabé and Captain Panaka. It was hard for him, but Cain knew that his stay on Naboo was only temporary. Sabé still made him promise to send her a message every now and again, while Panaka simply told him to bring the Galaxy hell.

As Shmi said her final few words to her son because once Anakin begins his training as a Jedi he'll have to let go of all attachments, specifically to his mother.

"I'll always love you," Shmi said one final time as she kissed Anakin on his head.

"Bye, Mom," Anakin said as Obi-Wan led him towards their ship.

Already standing on the ship's platform, Qui-Gon seemed conflicted as he watched the interaction between Anakin and his mother. He knew that Anakin will have a hard time letting go of his attachments to his mother, especially since he's already so old.

After watching Anakin enter the Jedi's ship, Cain entered his own and fired up the ion engine. Imputing the coordinates to Coruscant into the hyperdrive, Cain then went to make sure Shmi was aboard the ship and ready to go.

Standing outside still, Shmi was staring up at the Jedi's ship as it left the atmosphere and into hyperspace.

"Are you ready?" Cain asked Shmi as she was still staring up at the sky sadly.

Shmi didn't vocalize her answer, but only nodded her head and silently walked onto the ship.

Cain could sense her sadness and sorrow as she walked away, but he also felt a small amount of happiness for Anakin. He was finally getting the life she's always wanted for him.

With Shmi on the ship, Cain made sure everything was functioning correctly and then lift off the ground. Steering the ship into the atmosphere, Cain took one last look at Naboo then shot off into space and beyond.