Chapter 88: The Phantom Menace (Part 3)

A FEW DAYS LATER, ABOVE NABOO:

A light cruiser-class starship exited the hyperspace. Alexander tried to sense through force, the new arrivals. Alexander sensed very weak force presences and was confused. Alexander turned to his four bodyguards and said, " I sense some very weak presences on that ship. What such weak people are doing here?"

Jerek replied, " It's not that they are weak, Your Majesty, it just that you are too strong. Please, try to sense us in the force, Your Majesty."

Alexander tried to sense his bodyguards and felt some weak presences in force. Alexander said, " I can sense you. You are stronger than them but still weak...I think that you are right Jerek, I am so strong that I feel that others are weak. It's a very dangerous notion to have. I am going into meditation. Follow the Queen of Naboo, till I wake up. I have to practice my sensing skill."

Alexander went into deep meditation and released himself completely in force. Due to that dark shroud, it took him some time to sense the normal population of the galaxy. The shroud was quite brilliant in it's working, the more the powerful someone was, the more difficulty they would have in sensing the force. The shroud was also capable of giving occasional false visions when someone fell too deeply in force. The shroud tried to give Alexander false visions but a slight tearing was all it took to warn the semi-sentient shroud that it would be a very bad idea to try to influence him. The shroud was like a leech and siphoned off small amount of force from it's controller or moderator, in order to strengthen itself. The shroud was not a tool of the sith lords but there was a somewhat symbiotic relationship between the two. The shroud wanted to change it's controller position from Darth Sidious' master to Alexander but Alexander told it to stay put for some more time. The shroud reluctantly agreed and didn't block Alexander's way.

Alexander was now able to sense everything like before. The shroud was only 200 years old so it was not there when Alexander had last done force sensing. As Alexander was the most powerful being in the galaxy, there was nothing that was hidden to him. Alexander was able to sense the whole galaxy at once but no one was able to sense him. Alexander saw as The Nabooian Royal Cruiser landed on Tatooine. Alexander thought, " So, it has been a week since I went into meditation." Alexander also sensed that THE MONARCH was now also above Naboo. Alexander was quite perplexed when he sensed a somewhat familiar presence on Naboo. Alexander turned to Captain Nemo and said, " Take us down."

THE MONARCH in slealth mode landed near Mos Espa and Alexander stepped out into the desert planet. Alexander was 90 percent dragon so the heat did not affect him and Ballastians were also unaffected. Alexander wanted to completely transform into dragon in a cultivation world so that he would be able to have maximum benefits from cultivation. Moreover, Alexander didn't know whether he would be able to transform back into human form or not after he fully transforms into a dragon. Alexander stopped at a distance of 100 metres from the location of the familiar presence. Alexander saw a run down shop called 'Watto Works' and saw a young boy hauling broken machine parts inside. The boy was the source of the presence. Alexander heard a blue skin alien yell 'Anakin' as the boy dropped a crate. Alexander realised that the boy was Anakin Skywalker, 'The Chosen One of Force' or in reality, the pawn of fate who was used to end both Jedi and Sith.

The Jedi and Sith had for many times interfered in the working of fate; creating needless wars, saving lives which were not meant to be saved in case of Jedi and reaping lives whose time had not come yet in case of Sith, and acting as general nuisance to the frustration of fate. Every universe has it's own fate and in powerful worlds, this fate takes material form like Norns in Norse universe, fate in Greek and Roman universe and so on. The Jedi and Sith were continuously changing the script set by the fate so the fate sought to eliminate them. Now, in most universes, the dying force managed to let out a fragment of itself from it's prison and that fragment entered Shmi Skywalker's womb to gain a material form but was ejected out of the material world before it could fully assimilate with the developing fetus by the laws of world. But, the fragment left some of it's energy behind, which gave Anakin Skywalker his enhanced senses, great midichlorian count and increased connection to the force. The Skywalker child and his descendents were used as a pawn by fate to completely eradicate both the Jedi and Sith from the galaxy. The fate of Luke Skywalker discouraged Rey in most universes, from trying to reestablish the Jedi order. In most universes, the people of the galaxy themselves were also not keen on seeing the rise of any type of force group as the astronomical amount of lives lost due to war between various force users in the past decades, had soured their attitude towards force wielders in general, so, in the end, both the Jedi and Sith were nearly extinct.

Alexander brought his attention back to the matter at hand and thought, " The force of this universe had submitted to me and was sent to afterlife for reincarnation so how does Anakin Skywalker had similar presence to the force. I will have to investigate this. Now, only one person can know the truth and that person is Anakin's mother. After the Jedi take Anakin with him, I will meet Shmi Skywalker."

Alexander returned back to his ship and entered his suite and settled down in jacuzzi for a long and relaxing session with mozard playing in the background. Alexander drifted to sleep in the tub. Alexander woke up to find himself in the tub and quickly dried himself and got dressed up. Alexander arrived in the control room and asked, " What is the status?"

Adam replied, " The Jedi and their escorts have left for Coruscant approximately an hour ago. Watto had tried to r**e Shmi to relieve his anger but Jerek arrived in time and killed Watto. Jerek also deactivated the slave chip and Shmi is currently packing her meager belongings. Captain and Serek are also there. We are thinking of moving her to Corellia. What's your opinion on this, Your Majesty? We are sorry if you feel that we moved without your permission."

Alexander patted Adam's shoulder and said, " You did good. We cannot stop every crime from happening in the unconquered regions but we can stop the crimes happening in front of our eyes. Bring Shmi Skywalker on MONARCH. I want to meet her."

Adam nodded and contacted Jerek. About Half an hour later, a black haired woman appearing to be in her 30s, with an expression full of fear, stepped inside Monarch, after Jerek.

SHMI SKYWALKER's P.OV. :

I watched as Anakin was taken away by the Jedi. I was happy to see that my baby boy was going away from this cresspool but sad that this was probably the last time, I would be seeing him. Anakin had promised that he would return to free me but even I knew that the Jedi were not allowed to return to their families. It was hard to send the light of my life away but for his better future, I was willing to wallow in despair for the rest of my life. Even if he was not admitted in the Jedi Order, he would not become a slave. As I was recalling the moments of joy, I had with my sweet Anakin, I felt a blinding pain course through my body. I fell down on the hard floor and with great difficulty managed to look up. I saw Watto standing before me with the slave controller in his hand with an expression of anger and leer on his face. I realised that he had something bad for me in his mind. I wanted to get away but couldn't. I prayed for whatever help I could get but my life till now, had taught me that prayers didn't work in the outer rim.

As I was wallowing in despair at the thought of my possible fate, I saw Watto being lifted up from the ground by a huge purple coloured humanoid being and thrown to the other side of the room. A loud crash echoed in the room and the being said in a kind tone, " Child!! You are safe now." I was relieved that at least I was safe for now as no one helped anyone in the Outer Rim without a hidden motive. Before I could think further, I lost my conciousness.

I woke to find two more purple humanoids in my shack. I observed them and found that they were very tall and highly muscular. Their clothes were strange but of high quality and standard. I was sure that there was no one in the Outer Rim owned such clothes. I looked around for Watto but didn't find him anywhere. I tried to listen to their conversation but was able to understand only one word ' Corellia'. I guessed that they were from Corellia or going there and were discussing something about their business. As I shifted in my seat, they all turned towards me and the being who had saved me stepped forward. I was able to tell them apart by their eyes and height, in all the other cases, they looked the same.

The being spoke up in Huttesse, " Hello Child!!! My name is Jerek and I have an offer for you."

I was perplexed at what kind of offer, he could have for me, an insignificant slave from Outer Rim and asked him, " What kind of offer?"

Jerek, which was the name he had given to himself replied, " We need a cook for our ship. As that flying insect is now dead, you don't have much prospects in front of you. If you are afraid that we are going after you for carnal desires than be assured, nothing will happen to you as we don't have sexual organs, our species reproduce asexually."

I was quite shocked and asked, " Watto is dead?"

The being nodded and said, " Yes, the insect was quite weak, he didn't survive when I thrown him across the room. Now, pack up we have to leave before someone finds us. I don't want more bloodbath occuring here."

I could simply follow his instructions as I had no other options. The death of slave owner saw the slave to be transferred to Jabaa The Hutt and Jabaa was lot worse than Watto can ever be. I just hoped that I was trading one hell for another. I packed my meager belongings and saw as the being called Jerek received some message. I saw a huge smile appear on his face and he turned to me and said, " Hurry Up!! Someone very important wants to meet you. If you manage to put a good impression on him, your entire life would change."

I was curious and asked, " Who is he?"

The being said, " It's not my place to tell you. Now, hurry up!!" I quickly packed my belongings and followed them out. We reached beyond the outskirts of the city and reached a place which was hidden behind sand dunes. I watched as a pitch black ship suddenly appeared before me. The ship was quite big and gave of a feeling of danger. I was quite afraid as the ship looked quite expensive and intimidating. The being spoke up and said, " Don't be afraid and come with us." The being stepped forward and simply passed through the side wall of the ship. I steeled myself and stepped inside the ship. I was quite shocked as I saw the expensive interior of the ship and that shock gave into fear when I realised that owner of such ship didn't need a cook and I was brought here by being lied to. I heard a strong voice saying, " So, you are the new cook. Our previous cook died in a pirate attack. I hope that you will be able to fulfill his job." I turned towards the voice and saw a human male in his 20s staring at me in interest.

Alexander watched as Shmi Skywalker was preparing to bolt so he had read her mind and came up with a reasonable lie. Alexander turned to Jerek and said, " Jerek, settle this lady in the cook's room and tell her about the various machines in the kitchen, I don't want to eat burned food." Alexander watched as Jerek led Shmi down the corridor and then, turned towards Captain Nemo and said, " We are going to Corellia next." Alexander returned to his suite and thought, " The secret behind Anakin's father can be solved on a later date. The poor woman has suffered much in her life. But, there are people who are undergoing much worse treatment in the Galaxy. Those three had condemned thousands of people to bad endings by not eradicating the slavers and pirates to the last man. I have a suitable punishment planned for them that will serve as a warning to all those who will follow them as their successors."

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