"Knock, knock."
"Who is it?"
"Knock, knock."
"Who's knocking?"
"Knock, knock."
"Coming, coming." Cliegg Lars pulled the front door open a crack. "Who—uh, a Jedi…"
"Shh." Max Vizsla raised a finger, signaling Cliegg Lars to keep quiet.
Cliegg Lars quietly opened the door wider, gesturing him in and lowering his voice. "Please, come in."
"Ms. Shmi Lars, Mr. Owen Lars, Miss Beru Whitesun." It was still early; the Lars family hadn't turned in yet. Once the door was shut, Max greeted each of them in turn.
"Jedi Master." The three of them bowed.
After arranging a seat for Max and offering him a hot drink, Shmi Lars asked, tense and uneasy, "Master… is Anni—has something happened to Anakin Skywalker?"
"Ma'am, please don't worry. Anakin is doing well. Obi-Wan Kenobi—the handsome young man you met before—has been promoted to a full Jedi Knight, and he's become Anakin's master. He's at the Jedi Temple now, guiding Anakin onto the Jedi path."
"That's good… that's good." Shmi Lars said, pressing a hand to her chest.
"But Anakin's future is not promising." Max set his cup aside. "That is why I'm here."
"Ah!" Shmi Lars clutched her chest. "Master…"
Sincerity was always the ultimate weapon. Max switched into spoiler mode and laid out the future of this world's original timeline in meticulous detail:
"Ma'am, when you conceived Anakin, it was a virgin conception, wasn't it? You should know that Anakin was different from the moment he was born."
"Y-yes. Master Qui-Gon Jinn once said Anakin might be the child of prophecy."
"Correct. Anakin is the Chosen One—the prophesied child who will bring balance to the Force. And in the future, he truly does bring balance to the Force." Max looked Shmi Lars straight in the eyes. "But do you know how he brings that balance?"
Shmi Lars went deathly pale. "I… I don't know."
"Anakin first falls to the dark side and nearly slaughters every light-side Force user in the galaxy—the Jedi…"
"Ah! H-how could that be?"
"Then, at the very end of his life, he awakens and kills the Sith Lord—the dark-side Force user. Light and dark alike are wiped out by Anakin, and the Force achieves a brief balance."
"H-how can it be like this?" Shmi Lars began to tremble uncontrollably. "Anni… Anni is kind. He's a good boy…"
"Mother, don't listen to him!" Owen Lars stepped forward, jabbing a finger at Max. "That's outrageous nonsense—what are you even talking about? Are you really a Jedi Master? You look more like some con artist!"
"Calm down, Mr. Owen. There is a strong connection between Ms. Shmi and Anakin." Max used the Force to press the young Lars back into his seat. Then he looked to Shmi Lars. "You can tell I'm telling the truth, can't you?"
"Owen, do not disrespect the Master." Shmi Lars had steadied herself somewhat, but her face remained strained. "But… but, Master, why would this happen?"
"Because of you."
"Me…?"
"In nine years, a group of Sand People—Tusken Raiders—will raid the farm and kidnap you." Max turned to Cliegg Lars. "Your husband will gather a group of moisture farmers to rescue you, but they'll be ambushed. Out of thirty farmers, only four will come back. You'll survive by sheer luck… but you'll lose your right foot."
Max looked back to Shmi Lars and continued, "Anakin and you share a powerful bond. He will sense your suffering and return to Tatooine to save you. But he will be too late. When he finds you, you'll be at death's door. He will hold you in his arms and watch you die—slowly—while he can do nothing."
"Anni…" Shmi Lars burst into tears.
"Anakin loves you, just as you love him. After witnessing your torment and death, pain and rage will take his reason. He will slaughter an entire Tusken camp—vengeance for you, and an outlet for his own anguish. That act plants the seed of darkness in his heart, giving the Sith Lord a way to lure him fully into the dark side. And that, indirectly, leads to the tragedies that follow—for him, and for the galaxy."
"I came here today," Max said solemnly as he rose to his feet, "to take you somewhere safer. To cut this chain of cause and effect at the source. To stop Anakin from falling. To stop the galaxy's tragedy."
"Master, thank you." Shmi Lars wiped her tears and sniffed hard. "I believe you. But… our family can't leave right now. We have a reason we absolutely can't go…"
BiuBiuBiuBiu
Max struck without warning. He drew his Westar-35 blaster pistol and fired with both hands, dropping the entire Lars family unconscious in an instant.
"Then I'm sorry." Max holstered his weapon. "Wenban, start the shuttle. Chris, Kalden—get in here and carry them."
…
Aboard the Vast Silence, the Lars family woke one after another.
"Sir, was that really necessary?" Shmi Lars looked helpless. "We truly can't leave Mos Espa right now. Let me explain properly."
"Ms. Shmi, there's one thing I need to make absolutely clear—I'm not a Jedi Master."
"Son of a bantha!" Owen Lars exploded up, charging at Max in fury. "You damn fraud! I'll shove you so far up your loose ass you—"
XIU—hum—XIU
Max ignited his yellow lightsaber and shut it off again, casually using the Force to fling Owen away. "The lightsaber is real. The Force is real. And what I told you is real. I never said I was a Jedi Master."
Shmi Lars hurried over and shielded Owen. "I'm terribly sorry. Please forgive this rude, reckless child."
"It's fine. Young people are devoted and hate injustice—he's just impulsive." Max waved it off. "Ms. Shmi, please continue. Why can't your family leave Mos Espa?"
"It's not that we can't leave Mos Espa. It's that we can't leave right now…"
Shmi Lars explained their predicament. During her long years as a slave, she had helped many slaves—and had also been helped by many in return. Among those wretched people, deep bonds had formed.
Before Cliegg Lars bought her freedom, she had already become deeply involved in the slave liberation movement in Mos Espa. After marrying, she discovered by chance that her stepson's girlfriend, Beru Whitesun—despite being free—was also a key member of a liberation organization. And the two men in the household, likewise, were full of sympathy for Mos Espa's slaves.
And so the entire Lars family became part of a rapidly growing movement—one that was becoming increasingly difficult to suppress. Now they were close to open action. At such a critical moment, the Lars family was unwilling to abandon their cause and the comrades who had struggled alongside them.
So, in the original timeline, that raid nine years later… might have had slave owners behind it. Max thought.
"Master—ah, sir. The moment is close. We truly can't leave Mos Espa right now," Shmi Lars pleaded earnestly. "Anakin has his responsibility to the galaxy. We have our responsibility to Mos Espa's slaves. Once this is done, our family can relocate—there's no way it takes nine years."
To the Max Vizsla who was now obsessed with planning ahead and setting up a grand board, her words quickly took on a different flavor.
Tatooine sat at the junction of the Corellian Run and the Triellus Trade Route—its strategic value could not be dismissed. If you could take this place, you could exert influence over Hutt Space and parts of the Outer Rim. But Tatooine was too far away; at this stage, the Bespin Mandalorian Armed Forces simply couldn't reach that far.
But what if he cultivated an agent?
"Ms. Shmi, the future has already begun to change. For you, I don't want you to take any risks. I hope you can understand that." Max bowed solemnly. "But as for the slave liberation cause you and your family are pursuing—I deeply admire it."
"And I hope I can contribute, however modestly, to this great cause." Max bowed again.
…
PS: Owen Lars is the son of Cliegg Lars and his first wife, Shmi Skywalker's stepson, and Luke Skywalker's adoptive father. Beru Whitesun is currently Owen Lars's girlfriend, and later becomes his wife.
PPS: Many human surnames on Tatooine are meaningful compound words—Skywalker, Whitesun, Darklighter, Starkiller, Fardreamer, Goldenfield, Windtide, Sandskimmer, Moordriver, and so on—so they are usually translated by meaning.
PPPS: There's not enough space for author's notes anymore, so I can't thank everyone one by one—thanks again for all the support!!!
Also, tonight, I suggest you don't wait…
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