Thank you all for your well wishes. I am much better now. The rest has helped me clear my mind and I am happy to be back. I am glad to have readers like you with me. Enjoy the chapter.
—
Hello there,
If you enjoy this story, you can read 2 chapters in advance on my Patreon page / patreon.com/Samael61.
Anakin Skywalker is on the path to become one of the greatest figures on the galactic scene. If you want to read an original story of greatness, you can check my story, Arrival : Ruptures. Comments, likes and reviews are appreciated. Here are the links for : AO3, Spacebattles, Royal Road and Webnovel.
Double post today in honor of releasing more than twenty chapters of Arrival : Ruptures, along with the pilot chapter.
—
Tatooine
Mos Espa
Anakin held his mother's hand tightly. Mos Espa looked different for some reason. It was still the dust-covered brown and gray town that made your throat and soul feel dry like the deserts covering the planet.
But it was as if there was a new light in the town. One he had never seen before. There were even new colors on the buildings he had seen hundreds of times. A blue painting on the wall of a store selling water and tints of green and yellow on another building selling imported fruits and vegetables.
Mos Espa was livelier than he had ever seen it, even though he was sure it was the same place.
He shook his head.
They were here to sell water for peggats to buy fabric. Between his focus on perfecting his portals and the rest of his studies, Master Strange had helped him learn a spell to detect water. The spell had only given him a direction. He had to find the exact location in his astral form.
He grinned beneath his hood. All that water lay beneath the town, and no one had any idea. Especially Jabba and the rest of the Hutts.
Water wasn't all he found either. There were shipwrecks buried beneath the sand, some so old he never even heard of them. Most of it was rusted beyond any salvage, but there were still bits and pieces he could recover.
Right now, they had other things to worry about.
The hoverboard carried a medium-sized tank filled with clear drinking water. The amount wasn't much. The purity, however, raised the price, as his mother explained. Watto wasn't in the water business, but like everyone else, he preferred water that did not taste metallic, with plenty of sediment as texture.
Mother and son entered the store, waiting. Two IG series droids stood on the back corners of the main room, right in front of a glass tank filled with water. A brown PD series droid was standing behind the counter. Its head turned to them.
"Welcome to Palo's Hydro Emporium. How much do you want to buy?" the droid asked, preparing to present the options to them.
"We want to sell," Shmi said quickly.
"Please wait," it said, disappearing through the door. Minutes later, the droid came back with a middle-aged human.
"Welcome. How much do you wish to sell?" he asked, getting straight to business. The man did not
"Just this tank. The water is pure and clear."
"Let's see how clean it is, then we can do business," he said, approaching the tank with a scanner. A single flask of one liter of water usually went for two wupiupis. Of course the buying price was lower than the selling price in these stores. It would still get them plenty of wupiupis.
Palo held his scanner. A thin blue light washed over the tank, displaying the results on the small screen. He nodded, an eyebrow rising slowly. "Sixty wupiupis for all of it."
"You sell a liter for two. Ninety at least."
"That doesn't leave me much for profit. Seventy."
"Eighty. We also agree to only sell to you."
"Deal," he said, shaking Shmi's hand with a smile.
—
They walked out of the store fifty liters lighter and eighty wupiupis richer. Knowing better than to stay in the open, his mother took them through the busy streets. The only thing of value was the pouch containing the gold coins. She made sure to keep it well hidden.
She took them to a clothing store first. The Sanctum did not have clothing for children. Getting him dressed was her first priority. He frowned as his mother kept having him try set after set of clothing. Eventually, she bought five different sets for training, and they left.
He thought the worst part was over.
He was mistaken.
She bought three pairs of shoes, a better cloak to hide in, and clothes for daily wear. Then she shopped for herself and Master Strange. By the time she was done and they could buy droid parts, he felt tired. Even his training wasn't this bad.
He bought motivator systems, sensor packages, manipulator arms, brains, and plenty of historical knowledge at his master's request. Strange wanted to know more about the galaxy, especially the Jedi.
Power systems to store solar energy to use as electricity to charge the droids was his last purchase. It depleted most of their funds, leaving only ten wupiupis, enough to buy several chunks of meat.
"Ani, let's hurry," Shmi said, discretely glancing behind.
His brows furrowed and he almost turned back. His mother stopped him, pushing him forward as the hoverboard followed. "What is it, Mom?"
"Someone is following us. Time to go; come on."
She dragged him to a dead-end street. He twirled his hands, visualizing the Sanctum. The golden sparks quickly spread into a wide circle. His mother pushed him inside first before she dragged the hoverboard inside.
By the time the Weequays entered the street, their targets were gone.
—
Sanctum Sanctorum
"Welcome back, you two," Strange greeted the pair, sitting in the training area, reading a book under the false sky.
"Thank you," Shmi said, taking off her robe. She put a hand over her heart, taking a deep breath.
Strange approached the hoverboard, seeing the objects peeking out of the tank. "This is quite the load you two brought. Did that much water really buy all this?"
"It did. We even bought bantha beef and spices," she said, holding out a plastic bag with strips of red meat in it and containers with different labels. Strange took the bag, inspecting the meat.
"Looks like cow meat from my world," he said, swallowing the saliva in his mouth. It had been ages since he last ate red meat. Even if it was alien cow meat, he couldn't wait to cook.
"Was there any trouble out there?" he asked as Shmi calmed down.
She nodded. "Some Weequays were trailing us after the butcher. We left quickly."
"I could have fought them off," Anakin scowled. He didn't learn all the sorcery just to run away.
His mother knelt to hug him. "I know. Doesn't mean I want you to get in danger."
Anakin hugged her back, still scowling.
"Why don't you two store these while I start on lunch?"
Shmi took the clothes, carrying them to the laundry room while he took the hoverboard to his shed, right outside the Sanctum's anti-technological defenses.
—
Anakin put the droid brain on the shelf. C-3PO's brain was an older model that he was keeping together with constant repairs. He would upload the personality matrix to this brain and then switch it up. That way, 3PO wouldn't screw up the farm work while helping his mom.
He looked at the powered-down droid. His battery had run out, and there was no electricity in the Sanctum to recharge him. The electromagnetic shield had to be replaced, but he had finally found suitable platings to cover the droid.
He reached for the droid's head, ready to disassemble it.
—
"Ani, come inside. Lunch is ready," Shmi said to her son, entering the shed with a knock.
He took his goggles off, dusting his hands. "Okay, Mom."
"Look at your face. Go and clean up first," she said with a frown. His face was covered in black lubricant.
"Sorry," he said with a sheepish grin, giving her a hug before bolting out of the shed. He climbed the stairs in a hurry, running for the second floor's bathroom. He washed the lubricant off his face first. Whatever his teacher had cooked smelled delicious.
He changed his clothes and made it down to the kitchen. His mother and teacher were already there, plates filled with juicy-looking bantha beef and a side of fried vegetables. He took his seat with a quick thank you for the meal. Following the adults, he cut the steak into long strips. The meat was really tender, easily divided into pieces.
He stuck his fork in a strip, taking a bite.
His eyes rolled to the back of his head.
"This is so good," he groaned, prompting his mother to cough very pointedly. He winced, closing his mouth, chewing slowly to savor the taste. He wanted to scarf it down, but both adults were watching him. And there was still plenty on his plate.
Strange swallowed his bite. "I'll admit, I wasn't sure how this would taste, but I really can't tell the difference."
"That is good. We can buy plenty with all the water down there."
"If that much water is enough to buy all this, it is best to make the trips only when you have to. Someone might get lucky and harm either of you."
"I know. That's why I am going to make guard droids," he said. If he wasn't allowed to fight, then he would make droids that could fight.
"I suppose a place like this planet wouldn't have any problems selling weapons to a child," Strange muttered, shaking his head.
"They wouldn't," Shmi said.
Strange put down his fork and knife, his plate almost spotless. "Right. Any weapons you want to buy will go through either of us. You will also have one of us present in the workshop while handling them."
"Fine," he said, dragging the word out.
—
Once done with the lunch, he changed into his work clothes again. Today was his day off from all kinds of learning.
He opened a portal, targeting the top of a large rock formation in the desert. It was a place no one would have any reason to climb. Which made it the perfect place to charge the solar-powered batteries for C-3PO.
He slammed his palms together, creating mandalas. Several tendrils lashed out, wrapping around the machine. Some of them dissipated as he lost focus. The remaining ones were enough to move the device through the portal.
Once the countdown started, he closed the portal.
3PO's personality matrix was almost ready to be transferred into the new brain. He plugged one end of the cortical transmitter on the old brain and the other on the new brain, activating the process. All of 3PO's accumulated memories and personality were quickly transmitted to the new brain.
He unplugged the cords. He gently took the brain, placing it inside the head, connecting all the ports and securing it to its place with bolts. A controlled electrical shock spread through the brain to the rest of the body, confirming it was working without an issue.
"Yes," he said, pumping his fist with a grin.
Motivator systems in the droid's legs and left arm were replaced in quick order. Once the plates were bolted, he stepped back to admire his job.
Gold-colored, shiny, and with no exposed parts, he looked factory new.
The solar battery had two more hours before it was fully charged. With nothing else to do, he started to clean up his workshop. Last time he had left the shop messy, his mother had given him an earful. Then his teacher had given him that disapproving look, and he had to spend an entire afternoon cleaning.
It was easier to clean after he was done working for the day.
He needed more parts for the guard droids. With nothing else to do, he sat down to meditate, entering the Astral Dimension. He dove down to explore the caves more. The ship wrecks were rare to find. Salvageable parts even more so.
However, he was simply after the thrill of discovering things that were forgotten by history.
If he was lucky.
He traveled through sand and stone, often blindly, sometimes stumbling on more caverns. He came across crystals that pulsated weirdly with his soul in several places. They all went inert as he approached, and he decided against taking some. He wasn't lucky today, finding nothing interesting.
Eventually, he decided to return empty-handed.
At the last second, something called out to him. It was akin to a voice whispering to him or a hand pulling him physically closer. He considered turning around to investigate but had to retrieve the solar battery. Once the sun began to set, the temperature difference would cause issues.
He pulled himself back to his body, speeding up as everything turned to streaks of multicolored lights. He opened his eyes, finding himself in the confines of his workshop again. He got up, shaking his arms and legs.
One portal and several tendrils later, he plugged the charging cord into 3PO's battery, leaving the droid to recharge. He would activate him tomorrow since it was getting close to dinner and bedtime.
—
"You seem happy," Strange said as Shmi filled their plates with breakfast eggs.
"Yeah," he said with a bright voice. "I finished 3PO yesterday. I am going to activate him. He can help you with whatever you need."
"Are you sure he isn't going to malfunction like the last time?" Strange asked, gesturing at the fresh paint on the wall. Not only had the droid almost set the kitchen on fire, he had ruined plenty of ingredients when he started to glitch.
He winced, scratching the back of his head. "He won't. I replaced his brain with a new one."
"Let's just test him with something less destructive to be sure," he said. With plenty of company around, he didn't have to keep himself occupied all the time anymore. If Anakin could get the holovision set working, he could start to learn more about this galaxy. By all descriptions, it was basically holographic television. With millions of inhabited planets, there were bound to be plenty of great shows and movies to watch.
It would also perhaps convince Shmi to take more time to rest.
—
"Oh goodness. Master Ani, this is wonderful," 3PO said, inspecting himself in the mirror. He looked like a proper droid now, especially with the platings.
"Glad you like it, 3PO. Now you can start helping mom and Doctor Strange without setting the Sanctum on fire."
"Once again, I am terribly sorry for it. I can not apologize enough…" the droid began, and he could feel another tirade of apologies coming.
"It's fine. Start by cleaning the workshop first. Arrange the parts and sweep the floor for a start."
"I understand Master Anakin. "I won't let you down," 3PO said, reaching for the broom. Anakin left the droid be, returning to his lesson. He was certain that the replacements would work and didn't see a reason to stay to watch him.
—
The subject of today's lesson was combat. Strange, after Shmi had given her permission, she agreed to teach him basic fighting stances and movements. Combat using sorcery would come later.
Naturally the boy was almost jumping in joy.
"Here," Strange said, handing his apprentice a stick. "Your first lesson is to defend yourself. I will keep my strikes slow so you have time to catch up. Are you ready?"
"Yes, Master," he said, holding the stick as Strange did.
He nodded, bringing the staff down in an arc.
—
In the next chapter:
Anakin raised the staff horizontally, blocking the hit. Strange pulled back, going for his right side and then left. He blocked each strike. Strange continued with attacks from random directions, speeding up gradually. Anakin's reaction times were slow, and he aimed to increase them.
The exercise was a bonus.
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