I Hate Sand…

Background: After leaving Tattooine as a child in the company of Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin was convinced that he was going to become a Jedi warrior, fight for justice, and free his mother and friends from sl.avery. He was naïve, believing everything that Jinn told him. All the legends and prophesies, the readings of his midichlorians. They weren’t lies, necessarily. Qui Gon wasn’t a liar, nor was he so devious as to manipulate a child. They were simply…unrealistic. The council rejected him because of his age, despite the Jedi Master’s pleading, and that was a blow to his confidence. Then came the battle on Naboo. The day all of Anakin’s illusions of grandeur were shattered for good. Instead of staying hidden like was told, he and R2-D2 had stolen a ship (sort of) and taken to the guns.

One thing led to another.

They fought valiantly, and returned victorious, having successfully thwarted the Trade Federation’s blockade. Upon landing, however, Anakin saw the destruction and devastation that had been wrought. He learned of Qui Gon’s death at the hands of Darth Maul, and of the kind Jedi’s last wish: to have him trained by the Order.

He didn’t know how to feel about that. Obviously, he cared deeply for Qui Gon, and mourned him the way any child would mourn the death of a friend and mentor. He cried. A lot. And could not for the life of him understand why Obi-Wan didn’t. Were Jedi not allowed to cry, or did he simply care that little about his master? It was a source of contention between the two in the days between the battle on Naboo and their trip back to Coruscant, eventually leading to a loud argument where Obi-Wan lectured that Anakin would have to get his emotions in check if he ever wanted to become the Jedi that Qui Gon wanted him to be. By the time they met with Yoda and the council again, Anakin wasn’t sure if he even wanted that for himself anymore. He’d already been rejected once. Why should he want to be accepted into a place where he wasn’t wanted?

He said as much to the Jedi Council with as much vitriol and bitterness as a nine-year-old could muster, much to the ire of young Kenobi, and stormed out. As much as he adored and wanted to honor Qui Gon, his grief was already too great to allow for what he perceived to be more bullying from the adults in his life. He wanted to go home to his mother, but he couldn’t. He wanted to go back to Naboo with Padme, but that wasn’t an option, either. Distraught, and devoid of any sort of solution, Anakin did the next thing his kid brain came up with: running away.

He…didn’t get very far. Chancellor Palpatine intercepted him not long after he exited the temple, shocked to learn of Anakin’s decision, and consoled the boy, who was completely oblivious to his darker nature. Deciding to be generous in order to win the boy over, he took Anakin in as his ward, providing both necessities and luxury. He wasn’t even offended by the boy’s request to find a mechanic shop that he could work in, since it was clearly something he enjoyed and was already skilled at. Thus, Anakin began an apprenticeship at a shop frequented by Coruscant’s political and social elite, working under the salty and gruff (but fair) Lucien Harlo, a purple trans masc Twi’lek.

Harlo taught him well, and often reminded him of Wotto with his rough-and-tumble attitude and cunning mind, but he was also much kinder and more protective. He didn’t treat people like property. The only people he conned were customers who could afford it and were too stupid to notice.

By the time he was sixteen, Anakin was practically running the shop by Harlo’s side. He was an expert mechanic, and despite his eccentricities, was far better with customer service than Harlo could ever hope to be. He’d also managed to find an apartment and move out on his own, though his relationship with Palpatine remained amicable. It took a while for Anakin and Obi-Wan to make amends, but they eventually did, and became much closer friends throughout Anakin’s teen years.

Shortly after Anakin turned sixteen, however, Harlo ran into a spot of trouble. He’d run up a large debt with his gambling habit, his bookie had finally come to collect, and he needed credits fast. Anakin, eager to help, offered to buy the shop, citing that he had friends in high places who would be happy to back him. Harlo accepted, squaring his debt and galavanting off to some other part of the galaxy to retire, and leaving Anakin to run the shop by himself.

At nineteen, Anakin began to have horrible nightmares. Visions of his mother back on Tattooine. She was in pain and crying out. For him. She needed him. Despite not having proper training, Anakin was a scrappy fighter, and knew his way around a blaster and a vibroblade. He knew he had to go to her, and made plans immediately….only to have them foiled quickly by the arrival of one Senator Padme Amidala, flanked by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his brand new Padawan, Ashoka Tano. Padme was apparently under their protection in the wake of multiple assassination attempts, and was in need of a nondescript ship and trustworthy pilot to make safe passage back to Naboo. Driven as he was to go back to his mother, Anakin was also ecstatic to see Padme again, and thus could not refuse her.