PAIN!
Blinding, skull-splitting PAIN tore through my head.
"UGHHHH..."
I curled into myself.
What the fuck?!
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Okay. Think. Where was I?
More importantly—
How the fuck did I get here?
I slowly opened one eye then the other.
...
Huh. I was lying in the middle of an absolutely enormous bed.
Not just large. Humongous.
King-sized by human standards and practically an open field by mine.
The bedroom surrounding me looked equally expensive.
Polished floors. Huge windows. Elegant Naboo furniture.
I looked down.
Most of my clothes were gone.
I was wearing only my Jedi pants and Irken gloves.
My head snapped toward the rest of the room.
My robes were hanging neatly beside the door.
Freshly washed. Thank God.
There was also a cup sitting on the nightstand beside me.
Some kind of brightly colored fruit juice. I grabbed it. I took a long swig of it. The pain slightly lessening.
Eventually, I staggered toward the door and stepped outside.
...
Wow.
The lake stretched out beneath the house, sunlight glittering across perfectly blue water while green hills rolled into the distance. Mountains framed the horizon. Flowers covered the nearby gardens. This might genuinely have been the most beautiful lake I'd ever seen.
I stood there quietly taking it all in.
Then my eyes moved toward a grassy field farther away.
Two figures were down there.
Anakin and Padmé.
And they were...Rolling around in the grass together.
Wow.
I stared.
I slowly rubbed my temples.
For one brief moment, I genuinely considered going back to that bar. After all, the best cure for a hangover was another drink.
Or so I'd heard.
The thing was...
I knew this was supposed to happen. I'd seen the movie. I knew the broad sequence of events.
But there was a fundamental difference between watching Attack of the Clones on a screen and watching someone you'd known for nearly a decade roll around in the grass flirting with a woman you'd also spent several days around.
And now I was watching him romance Padmé in real time.
It felt... Deeply uncomfortable.
Still...
I wasn't about to cockblock the poor bastard.
So I retreated back into the bedroom, found something to write with, and left a note on the bed.
Went to meet another acquaintance. I'm nearby. Comlink me if anything happens.
In reality?
I was just going to find somewhere else to stay until this entire romance sequence blew over.
-----
It took another full day before Anakin finally contacted me.
His expression over the comlink was noticeably different. Serious.
He explained that he'd decided to travel to Tatooine. He needed to find his mother. I already knew what was coming.
Padmé had somehow secured us transportation almost immediately. And not just any transportation. A Naboo yacht. A polished luxury vessel covered in royal chromium, gleaming like someone had dipped the entire fucking ship in a mirror.
Then imagined it sitting in the middle of Mos Eisley.
...
We were absolutely begging to get robbed.
This was the Tatooine equivalent of landing in the worst neighborhood imaginable wearing diamond jewelry and waving cash over your head. But as far as I remembered, nobody attacked Padmé's ship in the movie.
And more importantly...
It wasn't my ship.
So fuck it.
Tatooine. I didn't get to experience the first time here but it was painfully hot and sand kept irritating the sensitive spots of my antennae so i was immediately over being here.
The moment we stepped off the ship, I had noticed something else.
Padmé had apparently selected another outfit. This woman was unbelievable. You're possibly going to meet this man's mothera and underneath the robe, you decided to wear another fucking thirst trap?
We made our way through the markets until Anakin suddenly stopped.
Ahead of us sat a familiar blue Toydarian. Watto. Still running his junk shop.
Anakin approached him.
Watto barely glanced up at first.
There was a brief exchange.
Then he froze.
His eyes narrowed.
"Ani?"
He stared harder.
"...Little Ani?"
Anakin said nothing.
Watto's expression transformed.
"You are Ani! It is you!"
There was genuine excitement in his voice as he fluttered upward.
I found myself staring at the wings.
Seriously.
How?
Those tiny things were flapping at roughly the speed of an enthusiastic desk fan.
There was no fucking way they should be supporting his weight.
Force immunity I could accept. Toydarians were known to resist Jedi tricks.
That? That offended physics.
Watto circled Anakin.
"You sure sprouted, huh? A Jedi! What do you know!"
He laughed.
Then, because he was Watto—
"Hey! Maybe you could help me with some deadbeats who owe me a lot of money!"
Anakin's expression didn't change.
"My mother."
Watto immediately became less enthusiastic.
"Oh."
He scratched awkwardly at his neck.
"Yeah... Shmi."
Anakin stepped closer.
Watto avoided his eyes.
"She's not mine anymore. I sold her." The Force around Anakin shifted. Anger. Fear.
"You sold her?"
Watto immediately raised his hands.
"Years ago! Years!"
He gave a nervous laugh.
"Sorry, Ani, but you know—business is business."
...
I stared at him.
I don't think Watto had any idea how close that sentence brought him to getting physically assaulted by a Jedi.
"I sold her to a moisture farmer named Lars. Cliegg Lars, I think."
Then Watto brightened.
"Believe it or not, I heard he freed her!"
Anakin's emotions shifted. Just slightly.
"And married her!" relief cut through it.
"Do you know where they are?" Anakin asked.
Watto waved vaguely.
"Oh, somewhere past Mos Eisley, I think."
Anakin's expression hardened.
"I'd like to know." There it was again. That tone. Not quite Vader.
Watto immediately stopped fucking around.
"Sure! Absolutely! Let's look through my records, huh?"
He hurried into the shop.
I looked toward Padmé then R2. The three of us had contributed absolutely nothing to that conversation.
We followed them inside.
And for whatever reason...
Watto actually kept the addresses of people he'd done business with. That seemed like the kind of information a former slave owner should absolutely not be trusted with.
But whatever.
We returned to the ship almost immediately and flew directly to the Lars moisture farm.
---
"Stay with the ship, R2," Padmé instructed.
R2 chirped unhappily but remained behind while the three of us walked toward the homestead.
We wandered toward A familiar protocol droid.
"Oh! Hello. How might I be of service?"
I couldn't help smiling.
Holy shit. C-3PO. I'd known this moment was coming, but actually seeing him standing there was weirdly cool. Damn it I'm still gushing over star wars stuff after years.
"I am C—"
"3PO," Anakin interrupted.
The droid froze.
"Oh... um..."
Then recognition hit.
"The Maker!"
His entire demeanor lit up.
"Master Ani! I knew you would return. I knew it!"
He turned.
"And Miss Padmé!"
Padmé smiled.
I waited.
...
Nothing. Why the fuck does everyone ignore me? Motherfucker.
"Bless my circuits! I'm so pleased to see you!"
"I've come to see my mother," Anakin said.
That immediately killed the mood.
3PO hesitated.
Oh."
A pause.
"I think perhaps we'd better go indoors."
He began guiding us toward the stairs.
Anakin and Padmé followed. I started to. Then stopped.
Because off to one side of the homestead was a small rise overlooking the desert.
...
Opportunity.
I walked over.
Planted one foot in a a bent 90 degree knee.
Placed an arm dramatically across it.
And stared toward the horizon.
Two suns hung above the desert. But i pretended they were setting across the horizon.
I narrowed my eyes solemnly. Perfect.
A meta joke nobody in this universe would ever appreciate except me. I gave myself another few seconds before following everyone inside.
3PO introduced us to the Lars family.
Owen Lars.
His girlfriend, Beru.
Two people who would eventually suffer a horrifying death at the hands of Imperial stormtroopers.
Then there was Cliegg Lars.
An older man hovering in a chair, one leg missing.
The atmosphere changed quickly.
We gathered around the kitchen table.
Cliegg told us what happened. She'd been missing for nearly a month.
His voice had that exhausted finality of someone who had already accepted the inevitable.
Anakin hadn't.
I could feel his emotions moving in every direction. Fear. Anger. Guilt.
His fingers kept flexing.
He shifted in his seat.
Then I stood.
Owen looked at me.
"Where are you going?"
I looked toward Anakin.
"To find his mother."
Anakin's eyes met mine.
There wasn't even a discussion.
Cliegg looked between us.
Then settled his gaze on Anakin.
"Your mother's dead, son."
His voice was quiet.
Heavy.
"Accept it."
Anakin didn't answer.
Neither did I.
We just walked away.
Once we reached the surface, I opened my inventory.
Two stolen speeders materialized onto the sand.
I swung onto one while Anakin moved toward the other.
Then Padmé approached us.
And she had removed the outer robe for some reason.
I looked at her outfit. Unbelievable.
Anakin turned toward her.
"You're going to have to stay here. These are good people, Padmé. You'll be safe here."
"Anakin..."
Her voice became soft.
And then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.
A loving little embrace.
I watched.
Ugh.
Gag me.
There was a time and place.
His mother had been kidnapped by desert raiders and was probably being tortured somewhere.
Maybe save the romantic hug for later?
"I won't be long," Anakin whispered.
They separated.
Anakin climbed onto his speeder.
He didn't say anything to me.
VRRROOOOM!
He shot forward. I watched him disappear across the sand. A lets go would've been nice.
I tightened my grip on the handlebars. Then accelerated after him.
Anakin had become a man possessed.
We made only one stop. A Jawa caravan.
Anakin practically interrogated the little robed creatures about nearby Tusken settlements, and the second they pointed us toward the closest camp, he was back on his speeder.
Hours later, the two of us stopped atop a massive cliff overlooking a Tusken village nestled between the rocks below.
About a dozen primitive mud huts dotted the valley. Banthas rested nearby. Small fires burned throughout the camp.
Anakin stared down at it.
His entire body was rigid.
"We'll go in quietly."
His eyes closed.
"I feel her."
A pause. His expression tightened.
"...Faintly."
I nodded. We left the speeders behind.
Sneaking through the camp wasn't particularly difficult. Between the darkness, my own Sneaking skill, and two Force-sensitive Jedi actively trying not to be detected the Tuskens didn't stand much of a chance.
We moved between their mud huts. The Force pulling him through the camp. His breathing changed.
"She's here."
His lightsaber ignited.
VWOOM.
A quick slash through the wall created an opening large enough for us to slip inside.
Anakin entered first. I followed. And there she was.
Shmi Skywalker.
She was bound upright against a crude triangular frame, wrists tied above her, her body covered in bruises, cuts, dried blood, and weeks of mistreatment.
The relief that exploded through Anakin was almost powerful enough for me to physically feel.
"Mom..."
He rushed forward.
I immediately opened my inventory.
Health potion. I'd made dozens of the damn things for emergencies. Exactly this kind of situation.
A glass vial materialized into my palm.
My body froze.
...
What?
I tried moving my arm.
My fingers wouldn't respond.
My legs wouldn't move.
Even my breathing seemed to stop for a moment.
"Mo... Mom..."
Anakin's voice sounded distant.
My perspective began trembling. Not my eyes. Not my body.
Everything. The walls. The ground.
The entire world seemed to shake around me.
"A... Ani?"
Shmi's weak voice reached me.
Confused. Barely conscious.
Something pressed against me. Anger. Pressure. An overwhelming presence bearing down on every part of me.
Something was telling me—
STOP.
My vision blurred.
"Is it you?" Shmi asked.
Anakin's voice cracked.
"I'm here, Mom."
I could barely hear him.
"You're safe."
TURN AROUND! I screamed it internally. Anakin! LOOK AT ME!
Nothing came out. I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Couldn't blink.
Gravity seemed to multiply around my very soul. It was crushing me. My will. My thoughts. My consciousness. Something was suppressing my entire existence.
"Ani..."
Shmi lifted a trembling hand.
"You look so handsome."
Her fingers touched Anakin's cheek.
He leaned into her palm.
Kissed it.
"My son..."
Her voice faded farther away.
"My grown-up son."
NO!
My hearing disappeared.
Complete silence.
Then my vision.
Black.
Then touch.
Gone.
I couldn't feel the potion in my hand.
Couldn't feel the floor beneath my feet.
Couldn't feel my own body.
Even the Force vanished.
I reached for it desperately.
Nothing. I pushed harder.
MOVE.
Nothing.
MOVE!
The harder I fought...
The deeper I fell. Like something had grabbed my soul and was dragging it into a bottomless black ocean.
I couldn't sense Anakin.
Couldn't sense Shmi.
There was only me.
If I couldn't move—
Inventory. Please. I just needed a thought. I summoned all of them.
I couldn't see what happened. Couldn't hear it. Couldn't feel it.
But I imagined dozens of glass bottles suddenly pouring from my motionless palm.
Crashing onto the dirt.
Rolling across the hut.
Please.
Please notice.
Then—
BURN!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
Pain exploded through me. I'd experienced acid. This was worse.
It felt like every nerve in my body had been peeled open and submerged directly into fire.
PAIN.
DING. Skill Progression: Pain Resistance (Lv 5→6).
There was only pain. Hate. I was trapped in world that knew only pain and hatred.
DING. Skill Progression: Pain Resistance (Lv 6→7).
PAIN.
And HATE.
Then—
DING.Skill gained: VꙮrϞA⟁ƛx Resistance (Lv 1 / 10).
confused for only a moment as the agony continued.
It stopped.
Instantly.
My senses slammed back into me. Everything at once, I collapsed.
"AH—!"
My knees struck the dirt. I sucked in air.
My entire body trembled. Glass bottles covered the floor around me.
And directly ahead—
Anakin was holding Shmi.
One hand supported her head.
The other held one of my health potions against her lips.
He tipped it carefully.
She swallowed.
The deep cuts across her face began closing. Her breathing strengthened.
Anakin grabbed another.
Then another.
Two more potions disappeared down her throat.
Shmi visibly relaxed in his arms.
The tension disappeared from her face.
Her breathing steadied.
And then, with the faintest smile still on her lips...
She passed out. Alive.
His eyes closed.
Then his shoulders dropped.
"She's alive."
I remained on the floor.
Panting. My arms shook. The universe itself? Had i been punished?
Had reality just tried to fucking stop me from changing something?
Was that punishment? I hated that thought.
Anakin carefully lifted his mother into his arms.
"Dabo?"
I looked up.
His expression shifted the moment he actually noticed me.
"What happened to you?"
"I..."
"I don't know."
That was the only honest answer I had.
Anakin adjusted Shmi carefully.
"We have to go."
He looked toward the opening.
"Come on."
I nodded weakly.
He stepped through the hole we'd cut into the hut, carrying his mother.
I remained behind for another second.
My eyes drifted toward the village outside.
Women and children.
A dark thought slipped through my mind.
What about them?
In the original timeline...
Anakin slaughtered all of them.
Every single one.
But Shmi was alive now.
So what happened?
Did we just leave?
Was that it?
I looked down at the health potions scattered across the dirt.
With a thought, I returned the surviving bottles to my inventory.
Then I rose.
My legs were still shaking. I followed Anakin outside.
I looked toward Anakin carrying his unconscious mother through the darkness holding her carefully against his chest.
For the first time since coming to this universe, I wasn't excited about changing canon.
but i felt my own rage grow within me...
Whatever the fuck had happened to me inside that mud hut had pissed me off.
And then there was that other skill.
VꙮrϞA⟁ƛx Resistance.
Whatever the hell that meant.
My eyes drifted toward the Tusken village surrounding us.
"Anakin." He stopped.
His head turned slightly, though most of his attention remained on Shmi.
"If we don't deal with this village, they'll attack your mother again." He looked toward me.
"You heard Lars." I gestured back toward the camp. "They killed thirty men trying to rescue her."
Anakin's expression hardened. He looked toward the village. Then down at Shmi.
I could feel the conflict inside him. His anger was still there.
"You take your mom back." I summoned my lightsaber.
"I'll take care of these..."
The word came out before I could stop it.
"...savages." There was something distinctly Irken in the way I said it. Anakin looked at me. Concern flashed across his face. Then Shmi shifted weakly in his arms. His attention immediately snapped back to her. He nodded. Then continued toward the speeders.
I watched him disappear then slowly turned around.
My thumb pressed the ignition.
VWOOM.
Amethyst light flooded the darkness.
I dashed back into the village.
The first two Tuskens didn't even understand what was happening.
One turned at the sound of my footsteps.
My blade passed right through him
The second barely managed to raise his gaderffii(their sticks) before I cut him down as well.
Their animals began howling. That did it. The village erupted. Tusken warriors rushed from huts. Shouts filled the night.
VWOOM—SHHK!
Weapon and body came apart in the same swing. For the next hour, I moved through the village. Hut by hut. By the time I returned to my speeder, the camp had gone silent.
I mounted the speeder.
Then rode back toward the Lars homestead.
---
The atmosphere inside the Lars home couldn't have been more different. When I arrived, the entire family was gathered around the kitchen table.
Shmi. Sitting upright. The joy in the room was almost overwhelming. She was slowly eating her first real meal in nearly a month, taking tiny bites while everyone watched her.
Padmé stood beside her, refilling her water.
She was wearing a loose blue dress. Only slightly less thirst-trappy than the rest of her wardrobe.
Shmi was in the middle of telling Anakin how hard Cliegg had worked to impress her when they'd first met. Apparently the man had been relentless. Anakin was laughing.
I didn't want to interrupt so I stood off to the side which made me somewhat conspicuous. Green skin, bright red Irken eyes, four-foot-five and antennae. I didn't exactly blend naturally into a room full of humans.
He wouldn't stop asking his mother questions. What had happened after he left. How she'd met Cliegg. Question after question after question. Shmi tried answering all of them despite the exhaustion still clinging to her.
Eventually, some of the attention shifted toward me. Anakin introduced us.
"This is Dabo."
Shmi smiled weakly. I ended up telling her a few stories myself.
Anakin sneaking out of the Temple. Anakin gambling. Anakin tried interrupting several times.
Shmi loved it. The happy atmosphere continued for nearly an hour.
Then R2 arrived.
Anakin immediately stood.
"What is it, R2?"
A holoprojector activated.
Obi-Wan appeared. His transmission was distorted. Urgent.
We retransmitted everything to Coruscant.
A few moments later, Master Windu appeared.
"Anakin. Dabo."
We both straightened.
"The Council will deal with Count Dooku."
His expression became serious.
"The most important thing for you two is to remain where you are and protect Senator Amidala."
A pause.
"That is your first priority."
"Understood, Master," Anakin and I said in perfect sync.
The transmission ended.
Padmé stared toward the inactive projector.
"They'll never get there in time to save him."
She looked at us.
"They'd have to travel across half the galaxy."
...
I glanced toward Anakin.
Then smiled.
"Then let's go."
Padmé immediately looked relieved.
Anakin didn't even hesitate.
He was still riding the emotional high of getting his mother back.
Today, apparently, everybody got saved.
"He's like my father."
Anakin looked toward the door.
"Let's go save him too."
Decision made.
We left almost immediately. Anakin loaded 3PO onto the ship while promising his mother he'd return as soon as possible. Shmi hugged him. Then me.
"Take care of him," she whispered.
No guarantees.
--------
"See those columns of steam straight ahead?"
Padmé pointed through the cockpit window.
"They're exhaust vents of some kind."
Anakin leaned forward.
"That'll do."
Apparently, that was enough reconnaissance for him.
He flew the ship directly toward the vents.
Some genius had apparently constructed a landing platform right in the middle of the exhaust system.
We touched down.
Padmé immediately turned toward us.
"Look, whatever happens out there, follow my lead."
Oh boy.
"I'm not interested in getting into a war here."
Very politician of her.
"As a member of the Senate, perhaps I can find a diplomatic solution to this."
Anakin sighed.
"Don't worry. I've given up trying to argue with you."
I waved toward 3PO and R2 as we walked off the ships ramp.
A maintenance entrance sat nearby. We entered. The tunnels beyond were dark.
Cool air flowed past us and almost immediately—
My antennae twitched.
Huh. They moved again.
Left.
Right.
Then both began whipping excitedly through the air.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
Anakin looked at me.
"I've never seen you do that before."
My antennae twitched harder.
"There's a weird smell."
Padmé glanced back.
"A bad smell?"
I sniffed.
"No."
Another twitch.
"Just... weird."
We continued deeper.
My antennae refused to calm down.
They swept through the air like excited little whips.
Something about this place was making them go insane.
Then I noticed movement along the walls.
I stopped.
...
Geonosians.
Several of them.
Nestled into recesses in the tunnel.
Watching us.
Perfectly still.
Maybe human night vision sucked.
Because Anakin and Padmé walked straight through the group like there was nothing there.
Meanwhile...
I could see them clear as fucking day.
And every single Geonosian was staring at me.
Not Padmé.
Not Anakin.
Me.
Their heads tracked my movement.
Compound eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness.
My hand slowly moved toward my lightsaber.
I stayed close to the other two.
Very close.
"Wait."
Anakin finally stopped.
I looked at him.
"So now you notice."
His lightsaber ignited.
Mine followed.
VWOOM.
That was apparently the signal.
Several Geonosians launched themselves from the walls. They came straight at us trying to grab us.
My blade swept upward.
One fell.
Anakin cut down another.
A third lunged.
Gone.
Dozens immediately fled deeper into the tunnels.
But several remained behind.
Not attacking.
Just staring at me. Clicking. Talking to one another.
"What?"
Click-click-click.
"What are you looking at?"
Padmé opened a door farther ahead.
"Come on!"
Anakin took off.
I gave the remaining Geonosians one last suspicious look.
Then ran after them.
The door opened and on the other side—
The droid factory.
FINALLY!
My eyes widened. Conveyor belts stretched through the massive industrial chamber. Mechanical arms assembled limbs.
Heads. Weapons. Bodies.
Fresh B1 battle droids moved down production lines by the hundreds. Thousands.
Then the floor vanished underneath us.
"WHAT—"
We dropped.
I landed hard on a moving assembly line.
Padmé landed farther ahead.
Anakin immediately chased after her.
Flying Geonosians poured down from above.
Several attacked Padmé and Anakin.
But most...
Came after me.
"Why the fuck do you people hate me?!"
One fired a weapon.
A glowing sphere of compressed sonic energy tore through the air.
Dodging
I threw out my hand. Telekinesis seized the weapon.
YANK!
The blaster ripped free from the Geonosian's grip and flew into my palm. I stared at it.
Sonic weapon. These things were insane. They didn't burn through you like a blaster. They transmitted a massive burst of sonic energy through the target. One good hit could turn everything inside you into soup. My lightsaber disappeared into my inventory.
I aimed.
BWOOOM!
The sphere struck the Geonosian square in the chest.
His entire body convulsed. Gooey fluid burst from his mouth and eyes and he flew backward off the conveyor.
Holy shit.
I ran. Anakin and Padmé disappeared farther down the assembly system. They'd probably be fine.
I made headway toward an assembly line of completed B1s. Sprint and vaulting over, using the force to enhance my jumps. I ended up on a conveyor of freshly made droids. I began tapping each one as i passed along. dozens disappearing into my inventory. I was a kid in candy store!
I sprinted along the production line.
Geonosians occasionally interrupted me.
BWOOOM!
One disappeared into the next life.
Hundreds of droids got stored away, this was the greatest factory tour of my life.
Then—
I stopped. Geonosians surrounded me. All carrying sonic blasters.
Ah.
I slowly looked down at my stolen weapon.
I dropped it.
CLANG.
"We can discuss this." I smiled awkwardly.
The Geonosians began screeching and clicking at one another.
Two flew behind me.
Before I could react, they grabbed both my arms.
"Hey!"
They lifted me slightly off the conveyor.
Another approached from the front.
It leaned toward me.
Then—
Sniff.
I stared.
...
It sniffed again. Longer.
Several others began clicking rapidly.
I looked between them.
"What?"
More Geonosians gathered.
Then the two holding me took flight.
"Whoa—"
My feet left the ground. Several dozen guards followed.
At first, I assumed they were taking me to wherever Padmé and Anakin had been captured.
Except...
We kept flying. And flying. And flying.
The tunnels got narrower. Then deeper. More tunnels. More turns. Minutes passed.
This was not where Anakin and Padmé went.
We were going down.
Deep underground. Very deep.
Eventually, the tunnel opened.
And I forgot how to breathe.
A colossal underground chamber stretched before me. Thousands of Geonosians moved throughout it.
my attention immediately locked onto one thing. An enormous bulbous egg sac. It dominated the center of the chamber. Veins pulsed across its surface. The whole thing looked disturbing.
And sitting atop it—
A Geonosian Queen. Shriveled. Small. About the size of a normal Geonosian. Her abdomen merged into the gigantic egg sac beneath her.
Warriors surrounded her.
Dozens. Then dozens more landed behind us.
The two carrying me flew forward.
Toward the Queen.
"Nope, nope, nope."
They stopped directly in front of her.
The Queen leaned down.
Then grabbed my cheeks.
Her chitinous fingers turned my head left.
Then right.
She examined my eyes.
Antennae.
Teeth.
Face.
Several male Geonosians flew closer.
They looked different.
Larger crests.
More elaborate clothing.
Noble variants.
Like Poggle the Lesser.
They exchanged rapid clicks and clacks with the Queen.
Then she sniffed me.
Deeply.
My antennae immediately stood straight up.
"Okay."
Then the warriors began pulling at my Jedi robes.
"HEY!"
Fabric came away.
More.
Until most of my upper body was exposed.
The Queen's claws moved across my skin. Chest. Arms. Sides. She inspected me like livestock.
Finally...
She stopped.
Her head tilted.
A thought seemed to settle.
More clicking.
Then—
"CLICK... IMMATURE... CLICKCLACKCLICK... MALE... CLICK."
...
What? Immature?
More instructions followed.
The warriors holding me flew toward the side of the chamber.
They forced me down onto my knees.
"Okay..."
Several guards approached.
Each carried large pottery jars.
I leaned forward slightly.
"What is that?"
One removed the lid.
I tried to look inside.
Didn't get the chance.
A Geonosian plunged its hand into the jar.
Pulled out a fistful of thick, red-tinted goo.
And shoved it directly into my mouth.
SHLOP.
My eyes bulged.
"MMMPH?!"
Before I could swallow—
Another handful.
SHLOP.
Then another.
"MMMGH!"
They started taking turns.
Handful after handful of sticky red paste forced into my mouth.
I tried pulling away.
The warriors holding my arms tightened their grip.
My PAK suddenly raised an ALARM.
A bright warning flashed across my vision.
WARNING!
DEFECT DETECTED!
REPORT TO CONTROL BRAINS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
WHAT?!
DING. Trait gained: Growth Phase I of IV-Look at you, finally growing up.
WHAT?!
My thoughts became sluggish.
Heavy. Sleepy.
My organs felt...Wrong. Not painful.
My entire body suddenly wanted to curl up. Find somewhere dark. A hole. I wanted a hole. I wanted to crawl inside it.
My eyelids drooped.
The Geonosians kept feeding me. Another glob. Another. Another. The strange paste slid down my throat. My PAK kept screaming warnings.
And somewhere deep inside my increasingly foggy brain, one terrifying realization surfaced.
...
Oh no.
The bugs thought I was a child.