Delusions of Grandeur

This puts a damper on getting back to my own time, being stuck here. I need a new ship but not just any ship will do, I think. Vader had mentioned once that only his ships were made to handle going through wormholes.

He could have lying. Vader DOES like to brag.

So, when my head finally stop spinning, I got back in the fighter and began pulled out the memory system of Nav computer. I was going to need that later.

I had company.

“This thing is awesome!” Anakin kept saying.

“Yes, yes, it’s a wonderful piece of junk,” I muttered, under the console.

“Where did you get it?”

“From someone I’m going kill later,” I mumbled.

Anakin leaned over, hanging upside from the seat. He looked at what I was doing. “What did you say? And you know, you are about it damage that thing.”

I looked up, knocking my head again. “Frack!”

He laughed as I pulled myself out from under the console, rubbing my head. “How many more lumps you want?”

“I was going for four, but I don’t think I can take it.”

“Move over. I’ll get your thing-a-ma-jigger,” he told me and dived under the console like a Whomp rat. Five minutes later, he popped out and handed it to me. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” I said. “For everything.”

“Sure. What kinda guy would I be if I left a damsel in distress?”

I smiled. Now I know I’m still knocked out and dreaming. That was so Anakin.

“You never told me your name,” he said.

“Kriss.”

Anakin titles his head. “You don’t look like a Kriss.”

“It’s short for Kristilen.”

“What?”

“I’m kidding.”

“Oh.”

He looked up. “There is a sand storming coming. We aren’t far from my home, you better come with me.”

“And we get there how?”

He pointed. “Speeder. It’s Watto’s but he lets me use it. I was supposed to be back by now, he going to be mad, but he’s always mad.”

Watto, now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. Anakin was slave in this time. Then it hit me. Shmi. I could actually meet Anakin’s mother.

I have to tread carefully here. I could really change events that I don’t want changed but I really liked the idea of meeting her.

“Ok, let’s go.”

When I came too, I was under the wing in the shade. The little boy had pulled me under it. I sat up and looked to my left and he was sitting next to me.

“Hi,” he said.

My mouth dropped open again.

I didn’t make it to my own time. Oh, no! I went passed it. Way passed it… about fourteen years. And I was on Tatooine. And this little boy was…

“Anakin?” I said.

He titled his head. “How do you know my name?”

I closed my mouth. “I don’t.”

He laughed. “You just called me Anakin.”

I played it off. “Did I?”

“Yeah, you did. Are you Jedi?”

That is debatable. “Uh. Well… “

He lifted my light sabers. “These were in the sand. Are they yours?” I nodded. “Then you must be a Jedi.”

“Like I said, that is debatable.”

“You never said that. You said, 'Uh, well'.”

What the frack went wrong? How did I get blasted back this far? And how did I crash here?

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Anakin said, confused.

I had said that out loud?

“Yes, you did,” he said shaking his head. “You’re funny.”

I shook my head. My inter-monologue must not be working, I thought. Anakin started to really laugh at me and fell over in the sand.

“You are REALLY funny!”

I started to laugh, too. This was crazy! I had tears I laughed so hard.

I have the worst luck.

Luck it would seem is not with me. As I hit the wormhole, something happened. Everything in the ship went nuts. I don’t remember that happing when Vader had brought us through before. Traveling though a wormhole is like light speed you can feel and see. There are no gravity stabilizers. That I was expecting, but the force in which it sucked me through…

I knew I was trouble.

The time between when I went through the hole and when the fighter crashed, I can’t remember any of it. All I remember is waking with a mouth of sand, feeling hot, and not a hundred percent myself. I was outside the ship and the ship itself was smoking. I rolled over only to be blindsided by the sun.

“Ohhh,” I moaned covering my head and eyes.

There was a sniffle off feet. “You ok, lady?” a little voice asked.

I peeked. Two little feet were next to my head. “No, I’m not.”

“Your ship is wizard! I’ve never seen one like it before!” the little male voice told me, all excited.

“Hmmmm.”

“You took a good pop. Your head has a lump.”

“Move to the left and block the sun, it’s killing me,” I said.

He did and leaned over me. “You going to live?”

His face came into plain view. My eyes went wide. I gasped and jumped up, only to crack my head on the wing of the fighter. I fell over like a bag of rocks.

I blacked out.

Space is a really empty place and I really hate this fighter. It feels like Vader. I remember I just stopped in dead space and stared for along time at nothing, thinking, in shock.

Vader was Anakin. How’s that for a nasty surprise? Part of me was hurt, part mad as Fell. I had to keep reminding myself that none of this had happened yet.

But it would.

Not on my watch. I WILL stop it.

“Where do you think you are going?” a voice said over the commutation terminal.

Vader!

“How’s yours face?” I asked smartly.

“Sticky. You know I can bring you back. I can control the fighter from here,” he told me.

I glared. “Try it and I’ll kill you.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Stop saying that, you over-grown Wookie!”

The engines powered back up on their own. The fighter-changed course, back the way I had just came. Nothing I did could break the hold Vader had over the Fighter. I cussed, slammed my hand in the controls. Then I had a Kenobi moment. I tried a different approach.

“Vader?”

“What?”

“You said couldn’t change what happens, but maybe I can change enough and you might not end up in that suit,” I said slowly. “Have you considered that?” Clever, no? “Wouldn’t you like to be free of it?” I asked, going on. “Free of the constant pain?”

There was heavy breathing for ten minutes. I waited; I knew I had hit a tender spot.

The engines powered down.

“Go.” Was a he said.

Like he had to say it twice!

I headed for the wormhole.

I had to quickly find away to get a ship and get out of here. Things was I didn’t know where the wormhole was. But if I could get Vader’s Tie Fighter, the Nav computer would have a record of it. I just had to get by Tarkin.

He jumped in my way as I stepped in the hanger. I side stepped him and reared back my fist, landing a hard right in Mr. Sourpuss’ face. He went soaring back. Man, that felt good. Pretty sight, too.

I marched up to Tak, who was blocking my way to the fighter. “Move,” I said.

“I can’t. I have to stop you,” Tak tells me. “What did you do tick off the big man?”

“I tell you what I’m going to do if you don’t move your clone backside out my way…”

“Whoa! Don’t beat the clone!”

I walked up and tapped his helmet. “Move then.”

“Vader will kill me if I do.”

“I’ll kill you if you don’t. Up to you, Tak.”

He moved. “I’m a dead clone.”

“Open the bay doors!” I shouted jumping in the fighter.

“A very dead clone,” he muttered.

I decided to make it look like he had nothing to do with this. He was a good guy. I grabbed a blaster off the floor of the fighter and when the doors came open, I shot his foot.

“OWWWWWWWWW! WTF!”

“Sorry!” I closed the hatch and fired the engines. I was just about to take off when Vader charged in the hanger. I moved the guns so they were pointed his way. Ok, so he could use the Force to repeal the shots, but I wasn’t going to let him get close to the fighter.

I wasn’t staying.

There is a certain Jedi Knight in my time I need to have a SERIOUS conversation with.

I fired once at him before I gunned the engines and took off. I missed, of course, but I got out of that hanger.

My saber was in my hands and when I landed I was swinging at his head. There was a flash of red, Vader had his saber up and my blade was locked with his. I glared him.

“Now you know,” he said matter of fact like.

“I’m going to rip out your heart and make you eat it!” I spat.

He pushed my blade down. My arms shook from the power behind it.

“No you’re not,” he told me.

I gave him a hot smile. “What makes you think that?”

He pushed a bit hard and my saber dipped low. I could feel the heat of it.

“Because you care for Anakin.”

I laughed coldly. “I think the coffee went to your head!”

“You think?” he asked and shoved his saber. I went back a few centimeters. I was about to charge again but paused.

Vader flipped his saber off. “Go ahead. Kill me,” he taunted.

“Gladly,” I spat. I took a running leap and started to swing… And froze.

Okay, I failed myself or maybe I didn’t. I don’t know. My arms were shaking with the rage. Anakin had killed me in a frenzy and here I was about to do the same thing. The world suddenly went very calm and me with it. I lowered my blade.

“See?” he said softly.

I kicked him in the face as hard as the Force let me. He went flying back and hit hard on the desk. I added a push to send him sliding over into the small table on the other side. The large coffee pot fell over, crashing in his mask. It shattered and hot coffee went everywhere.

I took a deep breath. “I hope you fry,” I said calmly.

I didn’t wait around. Turning my back I left him, running out of the office and not looking back. But not before I grabbed the holo out of the console and pocketed it.

I think Vader screamed my name.

I hoped that coffee hurt.

Maybe I should have dumped the sugar on him too.