Star Wars: Heir of the Force

Episode 1: Chapter 1

***I own no part of anything Star Wars related***

A/N: So, this is going to be my very first Star Wars fic, just a few minor changes to canon in the first chapter and then… well butterfly effect away!

Warnings: Shouldn't be much here, Anakin will be a little overpowered but considering he should have been anyway according to Lore… meh whatever.

***HotF***

"Ani, come here."

The boy quickly made his way over to the bedside where his mother was laying underneath a thin blanket. Each day she became sicker and it was clear that the child was worried. A small smile formed on her face as she brushed the hair from his face, "It's okay… I don't want you to be sad. I need you to be a brave boy."

In her heart Shmi Skywalker knew she was dying, and that her son would be left alone afterwards. What could she do? They barely had enough money to escape slavery and Tatooine was a harsh, unforgiving planet even for adults, much less children.

She would never wish slavery upon anyone, but what other option was there for her child? She would figure it out in the morning, write down a will and try to find him a home with some nearby moisture farmers. Surely there was someone on the desert planet that would care enough to take in an orphan.

Unfortunately for the mother she would never see her son again, passing away peacefully in her sleep during the night and leaving him alone in the galaxy.

Or so it would seem.

Instead a voice whispered to the child, telling him that his mother was healthy again and that he should not mourn for her but celebrate her life. It spoke of guiding him, of caring for him, and of helping him to achieve a greater peace throughout the galaxy as its heir.

After spending a day digging a hole and laying his mother's body to rest the voice once more reached out to him, telling him to make his way to the nearby spaceport, that once there he could find a way to leave Tatooine. Thus, five-year-old Anakin Skywalker journeyed out into the Galaxy, managing to stow away on a freighter and achieving one of his dreams, to travel the stars.

***HotF***

The Force called to him, spoke to him, and guided him.

In return Anakin Skywalker heeded its commands and followed its will. It spoke of a growing darkness, of events that would be set in motion bringing forth untold death and destruction. While death was a part of life suffering should not be, nor murder.

When he inquired about his own role in such a grand thing like the Galaxy the boy was informed that he had no 'destiny' that such things were not preordained. Instead he was to be an agent of The Force itself, given the training and power to intervene as he saw fit and instructed on how best to use these gifts.

In the end though, it was his own choice. He could walk the path of a conqueror or that of a savior. For the time being the child was merely a student, and eagerly soaked in all that was shown to him. He learned of different life forms, of the balance between all things, of the connection between all things, learned of the power that existed in the universe and how to control and wield it.

Along with his skill in The Force Anakin also learned that 'living off the land' is easier said than done, especially when he finds some of the creatures that he needs to eat rather cute. Still, he needed to survive, and animals ate other animals all the time, so was it truly that bad?

***HotF***

Anakin took a deep breath and gathered his courage before approaching the man currently harassing the waitress of the small restaurant he had been guided to.

"Ey whosa are yousa thinkin you…"

The boy ignored the threatening posture and reached out into the Force, "You will pay for your meal." He replied, with a wave of his hand, dimming the man's eyes, "Then you will give a very generous tip, leave, and never come back. You will stop hurting people and rethink your life."

Nodding, the aggressive creature pulled out a large pile of currency, dropped it onto the table, and left without so much as uttering another word. Anakin merely grinned at the, slowly calming, girl before turning to leave.

He stopped short, however, as she called out to him, "Wait! I mean… he paid way more than he should have so why don't we get you something to eat?"

Turning the blonde-haired boy flashed a grin and nodded in excitement, earning a giggle in response from the young woman. As she gestured for him to take a seat at an empty table his guide reached out to him once more, telling him that good deeds were rewarded in kind.

***HotF***

The Rodian stared down at the diagnostic readout, checking it again for what felt to be the tenth time in the past few hours. It just… didn't make any sense. He knew what it should be displaying, but for some reason it was showing something completely different.

"Well?" A voice gruffed out from behind, causing the green-skinned man to jump just enough to bump his head against the overhead panel, earning a hiss of pain. Ignoring his companions reaction, the man impatiently began tapping his foot, "Are we ready to get off this useless rock or not?"

"I just don't understand…" was the response in the alien language, "the engines have never run this well before."

The growl from the other occupant startled him, "Is that why we are still hanging around on this middle-of-nowhere spaceport? Because the ship is working too well!? How about you just pray to whatever God your people believe in and start the ignition systems, we are getting the hell out of here."

During the argument neither noticed the small stowaway slip up the entrance ramp and into a storage compartment near the back of the ship, nodding in understanding at the lesson spoken to him months prior.

Never take advantage of others without giving something in return.

***HotF***

A child stood before a large pile of rocks, his eyes closing as he reached out with his feelings,

Focusing, he felt the presence all around him, that existed between all living things.

Anakin nodded, knowing what was to come next and reached out towards the large group of rocks nearby, the lesson instilled on him hours prior repeating in his mind.

Clear your mind, do not be angry at the stones, for it is not their fault they landed where they did. Do not hate their inability to move, for not all things have been given such a gift. Instead, merely float them elsewhere, they do not mind.

The boulders shook, and then floated out of the path of the rushing water that surged forward a moment later, the river they had been all but dammed up, but upon being released it gave life to the nearby settlements in the area.

The Force was life and life was it. It does not matter what form life took, what it believed in, or its actions. All was under its care.

***HotF***

Anakin took a deep breath of the cool air. It was an unexplored cave deep within a sparsely populated mining colony. Those who lived here made a decent living extracting ores and precious minerals, he wondered how much that would change if they knew what else existed deeper in the small planet.

Shaking his head, he set down the box of parts he had slowly acquired over the course of several months. Everything he would need, according to The Force, to construct his very first lightsaber. At first, he had been hesitant, every time he had seen weapons in use they had been for destruction and death, two things he wanted no part of. Eventually, however, he had been given a handful of visions of those who had used such tools for protection for themselves and others.

It was possible to find peaceful solutions even with a weapon on his belt, The Force had informed him, and there would certainly be times in which just the sight of such an object would be enough to stop the escalation of a situation any further than need be.

Hours later and the gray beam of energy hummed to life, illuminating the area in ways that the few small lights the boy had brought failed to do. "Should I be worried?" He gently inquired, moving the handle about, feeling the flow of energy in his hand. "You said that the Jedi and Sith made weapons from these crystals as well, will they be upset with me?"

He felt, more than heard the answer. The Jedi and Sith thought themselves too knowledgeable to be unaware of such a cavern's existence. That they focused on politics and their own positions rather than the Galaxy as a whole.

"How sad, to ignore others for yourself and 'politics'." He wasn't a hundred percent sure what the last word meant but The Force had never seemed very happy with the term. "So uhm… what does that mean?" He had time, while he continued to move through various motions that seemed to flow into his mind, why not learn a bit about the rest of the galaxy along with training.

Once more, the information seemed to just flow into his mind, It was supposed to be how the few could help the many but instead often became the few taking advantage of the many. It was a way of giving power and control over others.

Anakin spun around, the glowing blade more of an extension of himself rather than a separate object or tool. "That sounds awful. Is it only bad people who do this?"

Images appeared in his mind, of those who started off trying to help, hoping to better others and the society they lived in only to fall into the temptation of power and corruption. It was easy to take advantage of others when the power was given to you without thought or consequence.

***HotF***

Anakin, and it is just Anakin at this point as it has been so many years that he no longer recalled any other name, stared down at the lifeless body. He had been guided by The Force to this man, and then ended his life the moment a weapon had been drawn. The victim was bad, evil even. He had been planning an attack on innocent people, intending to sew chaos and destruction.

The monster deserved to die.

Regardless of the facts, the child turned, ran to a nearby dumpster, and emptied the contents of his stomach into it. He had taken a life, no matter what the voice soothingly whispered to him about all the death he had prevented, despite having acted in self-defense the fact remained that the man would never draw breath again. He would never be able to change, never be given a chance at redemption or to save lives, would never continue to grow with The Force and those still among the mortal world.

All things die.

Anakin knew this, spending years being tutored by the literal embodiment of all life in the Universe. Travelling from planet to planet, seeing species after species, he was aware of the cycle that all things move through. Knowing this and taking a life are still two completely different things.

"I'm sorry…" he muttered, pushing back from the heavy metal container and slipping away into the cool night air of the nearby street.

There is nothing to be sorry for. Taking a life is different than wanting to take a life. You are not like him.

He nodded, another lesson being soaked into his memory, a difficult one, but a lesson, nonetheless.

***HotF***

Spotting the duo nearby Anakin longed to reach out to them, to speak with those who also had a natural talent in The Force and heard its will clearer than others. Instead, he remained hidden, his presence unnoticed as the two Jedi continued on their path, oblivious to the being that watched them.

The Force had spoken about revealing himself, especially before he had grown and matured. True, he was not in nearly as much danger as he would be if approaching a member of the Sith but the followers of 'the Light Side' were still zealous and fanatical.

Their own principles spoke as much. They had nearly wiped out those of an opposing ideology and were so focused on their own beliefs that they refused to acknowledge a large portion of the very energy they drew their power from.

To the Jedi, The Force was a tool only to be used by those they trained, that only their beliefs were correct.

It was arrogance, pure and simple.

For now, he would wait and continue to train in his own way, to seek his own path. The time would come that he would reveal himself to them, and at that point determine whether they had changed for the better or the worse.

He could only hope that they would see the error in their ways before it was too late.

***HotF***

Padme Amidala stood by the massive window of the palace, watching as the column of mechanical soldiers marched down the street of Theed.

Her head slowly lowered in defeat. She had failed her people, failed to prevent what could escalate into a war and suffering. She was a queen, not a military commander. Her role was to guide in peace, not lead through conflict. What did she do now? What could she do now?

The answer was given to her an hour later. Upon refusing to sign the 'treaty' she, and her handmaidens along with several other high-ranking officials, were led out of the castle to what had been classified as an 'internment camp'.

On the way there, however, the group had been intercepted by a pair of Jedi and soon a plan had been hatched to escape the planet to plead her case to the Senate in hopes of their intervention. Upon reaching the hangar, and freeing a group of pilots, the royal ship was off, narrowly avoiding fire from the blockade ships and making the jump to light speed.

***HotF***

Naboo, that was the beginning, he could feel it. Anakin watched the information scroll across the large screen. It spoke of a blockade around the planet, that all travel to and from was canceled until further notice, that no one was permitted to enter the system unless authorized by the Trade Federation.

The only problem now was how to reach the planet that so desperately needed help. His normal means of travel, as a stowaway, would be a bit more difficult considering the few ships able, and willing, to make the voyage. He could implant the idea into a mind of someone, but that would likely be putting them into danger as well, something that did not quite feel right to him.

Instead, he reached out and felt the intentions of those nearby until he came to two in particular. They, like him, were planning on going to Naboo.

Just not for the same reasons.

Whereas the boy wanted to help people they were motivated by greed, a blockade meant that trade could not take place, meant that certain goods needed to be smuggled onto the surface by less than legal means.

This meant profit for those willing to take a risk, and although he did not agree with it Anakin could use the situation to his advantage. He could help guide them in safely and avoid detection, and in return he would be able to arrive with far less hassle than any alternative means.

His plan set the child waited until the men left for their ship and slipped onto it as he had so many others. The Millennium Falcon's engines roared to life as the ship floated out of the hanger and disappeared into the night sky, taking with it the hopes and dreams of not only those onboard, but of an entire galaxy with it.

***HotF***

A/N: I chose to remove the ship being damaged like in Phantom Menace because… well no Anakin to bail them out on Tatooine and all.

Shorter chapter for the first one but I wanted to end on a bit of a cliffhanger and couldn't think of much else to put in.