The Boy in the Stars

The haze began to clear and two figures emerged slowly from the veil of smoke and fire.

Qui-Gon's robes were tattered and scorched, edges still smoldering from recent contact with blaster fire and the duel with Maul. His beard was damp with sweat, and the lines around his eyes expressed a little fatigue. But even so, he kept his stride calm and measured. His green lightsaber hummed low at his side, casting a faint shimmer.

Beside him, Obi-Wan Kenobi walked with stiff resolve. His face was pale, jaw clenched tight with pain. The stump of his left wrist was crudely bound in cloth, a patchwork effort from before. The saber in his remaining hand, his right, was lowered slightly, its blue glow reflecting in his narrowed eyes.

They looked like men coming back from war, beaten but unbowed. Warriors forged by fire and tempered by clarity.

Behind them, the hallway told its own tale. 

Over fifty battle droids lay in pieces, some cut in half cleanly, others had blaster holes from deflections. The walls and ground were scorched with redirected blaster fire.

A low whirring rolled from deeper in the corridor.

Qui-Gon stiffened slightly. "Droidekas."

The sound grew louder.

Two of the deadly rolling machines unfurled in synchronized motion, kinetic shields blooming around them in brilliant curves of energy. Their arms leveled and targeted the two Jedi.

Obi-Wan didn't need prompting. Even with one hand and waves of pain radiating through his body, he stepped forward with a grimace and flicked his saber up. 

"I've got the left."

"Don't overdo it Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon warned.

Blasterfire burst from the Droidekas, multiple streams of red light aimed at them.

Obi-Wan moved, his right hand a blur of motion. He caught the first volley, deflecting one bolt into a wall, another high into the ceiling, and then at the perfect angle.

Ping

The last bolt deflected straight into one Droideka's shield.

Qui-Gon flanked to the opposite side, avoiding the firestorm with fluid, lateral movement as he vaulted into the air. His saber plunged downward, piercing the core of the central Droideka's shield generator.

As the shield collapsed, Obi-Wan didn't hesitate and stepped in, pain forgotten, and with one brutal stroke, sliced the machine in half.

The last droid pivoted toward Qui-Gon, unleashing another barrage.

It was too slow.

Qui-Gon twisted, using the momentum of his retreat to redirect a bolt, then closed the distance before the machine could do any more.

His saber flared, one, two, three strikes, and the Droideka crashed to the ground in pieces.

Silence fell.

Only the hum of lightsabers remained.

The two Jedi stood still for a heartbeat, chests heaving in tandem. Obi-Wan finally powered down his saber, letting his hand fall to his side, trembling from exertion and blood loss. Qui-Gon took a single step to steady him.

Padmé stepped forward cautiously, lowering her blaster. Her face was streaked with grim determination.

"Master Jinn," she said, almost disbelieving. "You made it."

Qui-Gon gave her a quick nod, as she noticed the Jedi master's battled robes, and his streak of dried blood along his temple.

"We came as soon as we could. The palace was thick with resistance."

She nodded, glancing back toward the Viceroy, who cowered behind a pair of guards. 

"We have captured the Viceroy."

Qui-Gon's eyes flicked to Gunray, but he didn't give him more than a second's thought. 

"Is everyone here alright?"

"We should be the ones asking you that." She stated while stepping forward. 

"Obi-Wan… your hand."

Obi-Wan gave her a strained but composed nod. 

"Thank you for your worry Senator, I'll live."

"We've done what we could," Qui-Gon added grimly, lowering his saber at last. 

"It may be possible to reattach it. But for now, he will have to make do."

Behind them, Shmi Skywalker moved through the scattered bodies with a distant look in her eyes. She barely registered the remains of the droids or the burn marks scored into the walls. 

Her focus was on the silence, the one voice she hadn't heard yet.

"Where is Anakin?" she asked.

Qui-Gon paused. 

"Where is my son?" Shmi said again, more sharply this time.

"He was in the starfighter," Obi-Wan said quickly. "Before we left, we thought he was going to stay put."

Shmi's heart dropped into her stomach. Her voice was a whisper. "Please… where is my Ani?"

Qui-Gon's mouth tightened.

Just minutes ago.

After the duel with the Sith, both Jedi regrouped and headed towards the hangar. They only found a few damaged starfighters sitting lifeless.

No sign of Anakin.

"Anakin?" Qui-Gon called out.

No reply.

Obi-Wan scanned the room. "There's no N-1 left here. That yellow one… it's gone."

Qui-Gon froze. "No. He wouldn't…"

But his gut said otherwise. 

He should've known.

From behind a crate came a faint metallic sound.

Click, click, whirr, click.

The two Jedi turned sharply.

There sat a familiar protocol droid, arms folded, silver plated, and nervously twiddling his mechanical thumbs.

"Oh. Hello, Masters!" C-3PO said. 

"It has been quite a chaotic few minutes, I must say. I've taken the liberty of—"

"Where's Anakin?" Qui-Gon cut in.

The droid straightened. 

"Oh. Master Anakin? He left in one of those yellow ships. Not very polite about it either and said something about fixing the entire problem from above."

"Before I could object, he activated the engines and, well, he took off."

"You just missed him."

Qui-Gon's jaw clenched.

Obi-Wan blinked. "He's in the battle?"

"I gave that boy one order…" Qui-Gon muttered, turning sharply toward the corridor. 

"To stay in the ship."

"Well, he is still in the ship." Obi-Wan jokingly said, readjusting the tourniquet slightly while catching up.

Stopping in his tracks he turned away to his Padawan.

"You BOTH know what I meant!"

Now, back in the throne room, Shmi's voice rose again. "Where is he, Qui-Gon?"

The Jedi Master looked at her, eyes steady but shadowed.

"He's in the air. In the middle of the fight."

Her knees nearly gave. 

"He's just a child…"

Shmi turned away from him, pacing, hands clenching at her sides. Her breath came in tight pulls. She didn't weep but the weight behind her silence was heavier than any tears.

Qui-Gon hesitated and was going to comfort her until the throne room crackled faintly with static. 

A sudden beep flared to life on Panaka's wrist comm. He snapped to attention, pressing the receiver. 

"This is Captain Panaka."

The voice came through, thick with tension, layered under the static of a strained signal.

"—Bravo Leader to ground command. Repeat, Bravo Leader to ground. Do you read?"

Panaka's eyes widened.

"Reading you. Go ahead, Bravo Leader."

In the background, the whine of engines and distant explosions could be heard. Blasterfire thundered faintly through the channel.

"We're under heavy pressure out here and their numbers are endless. We've lost twelve of our own already." 

"We couldn't even punch through the deflector shields on the control ship until..."

Hearing the transmission Padmé moved closer, her face tight. "Until what?"

There was a pause, a short crackle.

"Ma'am… something's changed. Just moments ago, a lone N-1 starfighter flew right past our outer formation—no call sign, and no response to hails."

"Bright yellow markings. They swiftly engaged with the vulture droids and destroyed dozens of them—"

"They just broke through and accelerated straight toward the main hangar of the control ship."

Shmi was on her feet now, crossing the floor to stand beside Padmé. Her face was pale, lips tight.

Padmé exchanged a glance with Qui-Gon, whose brow furrowed deeply.

The voice on the comm continued, disbelief bleeding through. 

"We thought it was a malfunction. But that ship—it's dodging everything. The droid fighters can't hit it. I've never seen flying like this, ma'am."

"Do you have a visual?" Padmé asked quickly. "Can you see who's flying it?"

"Negative. They are moving too fast— Whoever's piloting it… it's like they've flown in wars a hundred times already."

Qui-Gon said nothing. Neither did Obi-Wan. But both stood still, sensing, listening, piecing it together in their minds even as the Force seemed to ripple faintly with confirmation.

Panaka asked, "You said it flew into the control ship?"

"Affirmative," Bravo Leader replied. "We saw it maneuver straight into one of the landing bays. No hesitation, no backup. 

"And… I think it got in clean. No damage. It's… it's inside."

The throne room was silent.

Padmé's breath caught. Shmi's eyes widened.

Shmi stepped forward, her voice just above a whisper. "Is he… don't tell me…"

Qui-Gon's voice was a quiet murmur. "Of course he is."

Panaka gave her a look, half honest uncertainty, half dawning realization. 

Turning to Padmé he reports, "My Queen… if that pilot takes out the ship from the inside… that'll end the battle."

Bravo Leader's voice returned with growing clarity, more frantic now. 

"Something's happening. I repeat, something is happening! The control ship—it's destabilizing. Secondary explosions. Their formation's breaking apart!"

The comm sputtered again, then erupted into bursts of excitement and confusion from Bravo Squadron's side.

"They're falling back! The droid fighters are… they're shutting down!"

"I repeat—the droids are shutting down! They're crashing! The whole fleet's losing control!"

Another voice broke in on the channel.

"My Queen, the droids on the ground… they stopped moving and all of them fell to the ground!"

Padmé turned toward Shmi, stunned.

And Shmi, in a voice no louder than the wind, whispered, "Ani…"

The Viceroy, still bound and backed into a corner, watched with growing dread as the pieces fell into place. 

Nute Gunray's composure cracked, his voice dry and rasping.

"What is happening? What is going on up there?!"

She turned back to the console, heart pounding. The tide had turned, against all odds, it had turned.

Obi-Wan, watching through the smoke-smeared windows as plumes of fire bloomed in the upper sky, gave a slow nod. 

"Skywalker."

Qui-Gon looked to the heavens, then to Shmi breathing a sign of relief.

"There's something special about him."

Shmi didn't answer. Her eyes had already turned upwards.

Through the fractured windows, she searched the sky where her son had vanished.

Her little Ani… flying alone in the fire of battle.

And as the sky rumbled with distant light, Shmi felt it…

The Force was with her son.

And he was changing everything.