Snippets of Galaxy Far Far Away

by Berryjoy1945

Summary:

Short scenes in The Lyrics Change But the Song Remains the Same AU-verse

Chapter 1

 

“Sola, wake up. Psst!” A familiar little voice hissed into the hazy silence of her pleasant dreams.

Ugh. Sola stuffed her head beneath her pillow. If she didn’t respond, he might go away. An insistent tugging commenced on the hem of her Shaak wool nightdress. So much for that plan.

“Ani, go back to bed.” Sola instructed, wearily glaring over the lovable scamp’s head at the blissfully ignorant lump still lightly snoring away beneath the comforter of her sister’s bed.

Naturally, Anakin would never even contemplate disturbing the slumber of the girl he’d vowed to someday wed. Nor would he ever disrespect the sleep-cycles of the elders. Leaving Sola to be the confidante for Anakin’s midnight ramblings. Tsk, she clicked her tongue. Lucky her.

“Sola, something weird is going on, there’s sand falling from the sky.” Anakin tugged her foot out from under her warm down quilts.

“Huh?” Sola pushed herself into a sitting position slowly, rubbing the traces of her formerly deep sleep from her eyes.

“Sand. There’s sand falling out of the sky. There’s no sandstorm in sight. The sky’s dark though and there’s sand falling out of the sky!” Anakin whispered, urgently bouncing on the balls of his sock covered feet at the side of her bed.

“Sand? Sky?” Sola pondered his bizarre claims, mind addled still from her recent slumber. “Ah, you mean it’s snowing.” She concluded.

“Snow? What’s snow?” Anakin cocked his inquisitively.

Sola grinned, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and grabbing her nearby boots. “I’ll show you. Come on.” She held out her left hand.

Anakin stared from her face to her appendage and then clamped on to her waiting hand. He trudged along at her side as she guided him out of her and Padme’s bedroom and towards the side door leading onto the veranda. Wait. Sola paused, turning an assessing gaze on his nearly bare feet.

“Ani, go grab your boots Mama bought for you.” Sola said.

“My new boots?” Anakin was of the variety of individuals who believed in wearing only one pair of shoes, and wearing them until they were little more than strips of Bantha hide held together by the sheer willpower of their wearer. “Won’t my old ones be fine?” He protested.

Sola had seen his old boots, they were not fit for wet snow. “No, they won’t. Now scoot.” She waved him on his way.

“Fine.” Anakin grumbled, scurrying off and returning mere moments later with his new leather boots. “Got ‘em, ya happy?”

“Deliriously,” Sola tweaked his nose, enjoying his grumpy glower her tormenting prompted, “now, put them on, and let’s go introduce you to the joy’s of snow.” She proclaimed.

“Don’t know why you’re all excited over a bunch of sand.” Anakin huffed, stuffing his feet into his boots and stamping to make them less stiff.

“I’m excited because it’s snow, not sand.” Sola smirked and flung wide the double transparisteel doors.

Anakin shuddered, plowing into her side and gluing himself there with chattering teeth. “Why’s it so so c...c...cold?” He shivered.

“It’s snow.” Sola cheerfully supplied, dragging her left leg and it’s new growth through the doors onto the veranda and into the damp chill of Iroté’s first snowfall.

“It’s wet.” Anakin complained, as he detached himself and his legs plowed a small furrow through the generous dusting of snow over the stone veranda.

“Snow: solidified water droplets.” Sola explained laughing, packing a fistful in her rapidly numbing fingers.

“It’s water!” Anakin gaped, scooping a small handful of the powdery, sand-like substance. The lingering warmth of his hands soon held not the fluffy clump of snow but a small already re-solidifying puddle of liquid. His blue eyes sparkled, bulging as he turned to face Sola. “It’s water. You can drink it!”

“Oh, that’s only one it’s many uses, my dear.” Sola grinned, lobbing the snowball into his face.

“Hey! What the, Sola?” He protested, sputtering.

“That, Anakin, was for disturbing my sleep.” Sola informed him and launched a second projectile.

Anakin, still wiping snow from his eyes, never saw it coming. “What was that for?” He demanded.

“That? That was just for fun!” She stuck out her tongue.

“Oh, yeah?” Anakin grinned and threw snow into her face.

“Oh, you wish to challenge me, do you?” Sola laughed and dashed after him.

The spent the next week bundled up by the fireplace with a cold, a Sabacc deck and a data-pad shared between them on the sofa. The rest of the family -- sans Shmi who was not tempted to venture into the biting cold-- enjoyed the many pleasures of snow at a more reasonable hour. Anakin grinned and burrowed into his blankets, bumping shoulders with Sola. She grinned, sniffling and played her Pure Sabacc over his sputtered indignation. The student surpasses the master, her cheerful taunt swiftly morphed into a cough. Anakin rolled his eyes and slurped his hot cocoa.

Chapter 2

Summary:

Anakin's flying can lead to a crisis of faith!

Notes:

Just a quirky little snippet that came to mind while writing, enjoy!

“If we get in trouble for this, I’m telling ‘em I was under dress.” Ten year old Anakin Skywalker informed his Jedi Teacher.

“Duress, not dress, Anakin. Also, if you were under duress do you think you might could possibly fly a little bit smoother.” Qui-Gon Jinn asked through clenched teeth as his – too young to have an actual pilot’s license -- student wove his freshly built sky-car amongst the blooming pear trees.

Anakin shot him a slant eyed glare. “Nope.” He said, flipping the vehicle so they skimmed above the orchard, their heads mere inches from the tops of the trees.

Qui-Gon once again found himself rethinking his interpretation of the Force’s will for his life.

 

Chapter 3: Tonra's Induction

Summary:

In which Anakin Skywalker has his own standards for testing Padme's security and personal staff.

 

“Whoa!” Tonra yelped, clutching more tightly to the arms of his seat in the small atmospheric craft.

A small atmospheric craft piloted by a licensed child. Tonra found himself heavily questioning the Nubian’s cultural inclination to place great responsibility into the hands of an age bracket which as a whole was normally rather irresponsible. Anakin Skywalker, having recently turned thirteen had finally earned his official license to pilot upper atmospheric craft. The boy turned teenager already possessed licenses for water craft, land-speeders, hover skiffs, and had been piloting since he was four.

The mere thought sent a shudder crawling along Tonra’s spine, horror mingling with a righteous anger. He’d heard the Skywalkers story from Sabé, Queen Amidala’s longest serving hand-maiden. Anakin had not simply been a reckless child with insufficient supervision, he had been a slave. A child forced to work from an early age to perfect a craft, which in Anakin’s case had been piloting pod-racers. That slavery still existed in their galaxy was unfathomable, unconscionable, and disheartening. How many others ills had the Republic neglected, ignored, and willfully allowed a continuing, thriving, existence? The idea left Tonra with lead in his stomach and questioning how many times and ways the Republic had failed the people of the galaxy they claimed to represent?

His internal moral quandary was derailed by a far more urgent and primal instinct to survive to see another day. “Slow down, slow down, slow down!” He barked, barely restraining himself from reaching over and snagging the controls from Anakin as he wove their craft around the numerous sharp peaks surrounding the waterfalls in the northernmost quadrant of Theed.

“Ah, but where’s the fun in that?” Anakin whooped, and increased the craft’s velocity, racing towards the largest fall.

“Oh, preserve us.”Tonra involuntarily snapped his eyes closed, bracing from their inevitably wet and fiery demise.

“Come on, Captain of the Royal Guard, where’s your sense of adventure and courage?” Anakin’s smirking face met Tonra’s gaze as he chanced a look. Their craft hovered not a foot away from the thundering falls.

Tonra could not be bothered with chiding a smarmy teenager, his mind consumed by a singular thought. I’m alive? Thank Shiraya! I’m alive! His murmured, staring blanking over the rim of the open cockpit.

“You’ll fit right in.” Anakin snorted, veering the craft in a sharp arc, speeding farther from the falls, hastening their return to the Palace’s hangar.

____________

 

“Anakin, we’ve discussed this habit of yours,” Padmé left foot tapped, her hands balled and planted on her hips as her young friend and newest member of her security detail alighted from the borrowed cloud car.

“We have?” Anakin feigned shock, rubbing his right ear. “Gee, Padmé, I guess my hearing must be shot from blowing up that Federation ship.” He lifted his hands in an innocent shrug.

As if that tactic was going to work. She crossed her arms, arching one brow.

“Eh, worth a try.” Anakin said, levitating his pilfered helmet back to its place on the rack.

“So, how’d our boy do?” Rabé beaming, her eyes dancing, sashayed over winding an arm around Anakin’s narrow shoulders conspiratorially.

“Well, he’s got no chance of being a pilot,” Anakin assessed frankly as Tonra leaned against a nearby fuel canister while his body equilibrium adjusted to the solid ground, “so I guess he’ll make a decent Royal Guard.”

“Congratulations, Captain Tonra!” Eirtaé gushed, clapping her hands. “You’ve passed your final test!”

“Test?” Tonra lifted his head, wincing at the gathered group of hand-maidens and…. “Your Majesty!” He hurried to sketch a bow. Perhaps he hurried too much. He blinked at the hangar’s vaulted ceiling and the collection of concerned faces looming over him.

“Easy, Captain.” Dormé held up a hand, forestalling his movement. “Sit up slowly. I speak from personal experience, recovering from this test takes a few hours.” She patted his shoulder, helping him lean back against the fuel canister.

“Really, I felt just fine.” Rabé blinked.

“You went through the test?” Duja asked, she’d been under the assumption the original six hand-maidens had not suffered through Anakin Skywalker’s piloting.

“No.” Sabé shook her head. “She’s just crazy. She actually likes to go joyriding with him.”

“Hey, now!” Anakin and Rabé protested this slander against his skills and her mental stability.

Padmé Amidala, Queen of Naboo, simply shook her head and sighed, offering Tonra wan smile. The newly commissioned Captain of the Royal Guard had the sinking feeling this was to be his life. He glanced from the bemused monarch towards the bickering Anakin and hand-maidens, meeting Sabé's gaze. Queen Amidala chief body-double and senior hand-maiden winked. A new sensations crept over him, warming his face. Perhaps, it wouldn’t all be so bad. Tonra considered.

Chapter 4: Anakin's Gift / Rex's Nightmare

Summary:

Naturally the journey back to Kamino couldn't pass in peace.

The Slave 1 lurched to hyperspace. Jango sank into the blissful silence of the sealed cockpit.

“So when was the last time you gave this rust-bucket some quality TLC?” Anakin Skywalker’s inquisitive frame filled the 360 degree HUD of Jango’s helmet.

Jango gave in and groaned, unsurprised  the kid was able to pick locks with his weird Jetti powers. Unsurprised, yet irritated nonetheless. He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. The kid made himself to home in the co-pilot’s chair.

“If by TLC you mean maintenance, it’s been two months. I serviced the Ol’ gal after my last job.” Jango grunted, staring out of the corner of his eyes at the child.

“Hmm.” Anakin hummed distractedly, hunched over the Fire-Sprays control panel appraising its many possibilities with a gleam of his bright blue eyes.

Jango decided he’d circumvent blind experimentation, and wearily slumped forward in the pilot’s chair to carefully explain his ship’s controls and modifications. Anakin was fairly vibrating out of his chair, leaning near Jango’s shoulder, devouring the explanation of each controls’ function. Rex trudged into the cockpit--clearly Skywalker had been busy picking locks left and right Jango snorted-- and sank against the bulkhead, watching Prime and his vode. Alpha chose to hover in the cockpit’s doorway with his burly arms crossed over his chest, sharp eyes cataloging Prime’s every word and move. Anakin was lost to the mortal plane of existence, swept along in a whirlwind of mental schematics, diagrams, engine modifications, and endless possibilities.

“Not bad.” Anakin nodded. “Not a bad start at all.” He commended.

Jango swiveled his chair and whacked the child upside the head. “Don’t even think of laying a hydro-spanner on her, Ani’ika.” He said, pointing a finger menacingly into Anakin’s face.

“Okay first, ow,” Anakin pouted rubbing his head, “second, a guy can dream can’t he? Sheesh” He grumbled.

“Save your tinkering for your own toys.” Jango instructed.

Anakin sulked back into his seat for a moment. His forehead furrowed, his freckled nose scrunched in contemplation. Jango had his misgivings when the boy’s eyes sparked. “Hey,” Anakin grinned, pushing off the back of his chair once again, angling himself persuasively in Jango’s direction, “do you think I could borrow this kit a bit longer?” He wheedled, pointing at the cuirass he still wore.

Jango rolled his eyes in tandem with Alpha, not that the kid knew, seeing as Jango still wore his helmet.

“Oh, Kara,” Rex groaned, “Please, Prime, say no.” He pleaded.

Jango looked from his clone to Anakin, who was speculatively prodding the rocket-launcher controls on his wrist. Hm? He weighed both sides of this argument in his mind. Did he want the headache now, or deal with a far worse migraine later on when the child decided to pilfer one of the Cuy'val Dar’s sets of beskar’gam? Hm, choices, choices. Life was but a series of choices, Jas-Buir had liked to say. Jango sighed.

“Sorry, Rex’ika,” Jango shifted his helmet towards the blonde clone.

Anakin, zoning back in on the conversation now that things were swinging his way, pumped his fists, cheering even before Jango delivered his explicit consent. “You can keep the one you’re wearing.” Jango affirmed over Anakin’s manic spiel on the modifications he already had in mind for the buy’ce HUD alone. He shook his head.

“At least take the rockets and missiles away from him, Prime.” Rex moaned, massaging his temple.

Alpha smirked, enjoying the show. Anakin whipped back and forth from fussing at Rex to throwing counterarguments at Prime for why he should be allowed to keep the explosive ordinance which already came with his kit. “Ah, c’mon. Let your vod’ika keep his flamethrower at least.” Alpha poured fuel on this lively diversion from the otherwise dull monotony of space-travel.

“Absolutely not.” Rex and a swayed Jango declared with a furious shake of their heads.

“You guys do realize I have tons of experience in handling explosives, right?” Anakin said.

“You mean detonating explosives, don’t you?” Rex shot back.

“Hey! I know how to not blow things up,” Anakin jerked his index finger in Rex’s face, idly recalling he’d just channeled Jango’s mannerisms, “it’s just not nearly as much fun.” He finished.

“Sounds about right.” Jango drawled.

“That figures.” Alpha snorted.

“I knew he was a pyromaniac.” Rex bemoaned.

Anakin stuck out his tongue and elected to ignore the father and sons for the remainder of the trip. It would be far more productive and rewarding to begin mentally sketching out the schematics of his kit so he could redesign when they returned to Kamino Alpha snickered. Rex sighed in resigned defeat. Jango shook his helmeted head and turned back to eye the reversion timer

Chapter 5: A Study of Padawan Skywalker: by Initiate Tano

“Hey, Snips,” Anakin panted, sweaty and rancid, collapsing beside Ahsoka on the sidelines of Salle, “what cha doin'?” He nosed, leaning over her shoulder, ignoring her loud protests he stank to peer down at the text book and hen scratch in her notebook sprawled across her lap.

“Ah,” he hummed, “ quantum physics.”

Ahsoka’s paused in her efforts to remove him and his stench from her personal bubble. “You recognize this gobbly-gook?” She asked.

“Snips, I took advanced theoretical quantum physics when I was 12.” Anakin said. And he had. He’d taken it as an elective when he’d been taking correspondence courses from the Royal University of Aldera.

Ahsoka blinked, considering the troublesome equations scrawled on her flimsi. She’d not been able to wrap her mind around the figures no matter how hard to tried to tackle each of the equations assigned for her week’s homework. Mace Windu glanced up from his water break staring at his Vaapad pupil. Anakin was transfixed by the magic of quantum physics. He snorted and incited Master Kenobi to a friendly duel.

“Once you’ve caught your breath, Padawan Skywalker, we’ll continue.” He stated.

“Yeah sounds good.” Anakin waved the Senior Jedi Master off, snagging Ahsoka’s textbook and notebook , tongue poking from the corner of his mouth in concentration. “Aha, here’s where you’re going wrong.” He said.

Ahsoka sat and listened. Anakin carefully walked her through each step of the equation and had her repeat the process with a few he threw at her. Then he patiently tackled every irksome problem of her assignment, stepping in to break down the equations before Ahsoka had one when the solutions eluded her understanding. Thirty migraine inducing menaces later, Ahsoka slammed her textbook shut with a wide grin. Finished in well under half the time it normally took her to throw in the towel and suffer a partial grade.

“Thanks, Anakin.” She said.

“Eh, no problem.” He shrugged off the padded floor, loosening his stiff body a second before launching himself into a spiraling assault, recommencing his Vaapad Lesson. “Breath’s caught, Teach!” He grinned.

Mace batted his lightsaber away, striking into his own offensive, easily taking the advantage. Obi-Wan bowed out of the way, taking Anakin’s previous place at Ahsoka’s side. “Good evening, Initiate Tano.” He greeted.

“Master Kenobi.” She bowed her head, quickly reverting her attention to Anakin and Master Windu.

“I trust Anakin was able to be of some assistance?” Obi-Wan’s fingers tapped across the cover of her textbook.

Ahsoka wondered if she was about to receive one of his purportedly – by Anakin-- infamous lectures. She couldn’t think of any Jedi Code she had violated in accepting help with her coursework. “Yes, Master Kenobi, he was a great help.” Ahsoka admitted, drawing her knees to her chest.

“I am glad to hear it,” he smiled, “the boy certainly has the mind for this sort of subject. Like a Nautolan to water.” He informed her.

Ahsoka was inclined to agree, even as she wondered where Skyguy had learned all this stuff. According to the Temple’s rumor mill Padawan Skywalker had been discovered on a long mission by Master Kenobi. Discovered on a back-water skug hole of reputed barbarity. A locale Ahsoka imagined which was not known for its quality educational system.

Obi-Wan chuckled. No doubt he’d sensed the flow of her thoughts. “What Anakin knows might surprise you.” He winked and pushed to his feet, moving to collect his student supine on the Salle’s mat “Another marvelous lesson, Master Windu.” He beamed.

Anakin grumbled something, wearily peeling himself from the floor to follow Obi-Wan and Mace to the showers. “See ya around, Snips.” He waved.

Master Kenobi’s words continued to cycle through her mind. Ahsoka wondered. She had personally seen Anakin snoring through his general anatomy and physiology course. At no time had she seen the spark of studious interest he had shown that evening in the Salle. Hmm, still. She eyed her notebook. He’d known what he was talking about, more so than Master Selka.

Inevitably, Ahsoka’s curiosity won. She attended every future session of Anakin’s vaapad lessons with all her courses assignments in tow. Without fail, Anakin ducked out of his lesson at the two hour mark feigning exhaustion to pry into and assist her with her homework.

Just as Master Kenobi’s cryptic words predicted, Ahsoka was surprised by the range and depth of Anakin’s knowledge. How could he know so much about Galactic politics and Republic laws of governance and yet? Ahsoka shook her head, shutting down the data-terminal with its most recent announcement of an interplanetary incident brought about by Kenobi and Skywalker.

Anakin Skywalker was a study in contradictions. Ahsoka decided. That’s probably what made him so much fun!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of The Lyrics Change