Star Wars: Balance of the Force (Anakin Skywalker Redemption)

17 - Reunification

Felucia. They were on Felucia.

He had seen them this time. The little white shirts and dark pants, the belts at their waists. Eyes closed as they reached out to him through the Force.

This time, he had been ready. When he felt their eyes on him, he had latched on, following their trail all the way back to where they sat in a small room. The windows revealed the strange flora outside, unique to Felucia, and he had known at once where they were.

They would not escape him this time.

***

The ship touched down gently a few clicks away from the farmstead they were staying on. His scanner's had identified no less than ten people staying there, many of whom carried blasters or lightsaber hilts. It didn't matter, nothing would stand in his way tonight.

All around him the trees rustled in the wind as he stepped outside his ship and made his way forward in his slightly ruined gear. His suit had been repaired as best he could manage during his trip, though his cape still looked worse for wear.

The moon was high in the sky and there was little movement around them. Constant updates on his surroundings flickered in the top-left corner of his vision, reporting that there was nothing unusual or threatening anywhere nearby. It had been upgraded multiple times in the past, as his abilities grew, the possible threats to him diminished.

The farmstead drew closer, and he ducked down behind the low stone fence, for once, not wanting to raise the alarm. He had thought over this mission a thousand times by now, and he knew exactly how it would go.

He also knew that he didn't want his reunification with his children to be violent or dangerous, or to give them any reason to be afraid of him.

There was a pair of guards on patrol at the front of the house, their uniforms and haphazard armour making them look like...clones? Voices that had once surrounded him on the battlefields now drifted towards him as they laughed over mugs of tea.

He did not wait, he raised a hand and their bodies went limp as they passed out. He waited, but no one came to check on them.

He scanned the farmstead, locating the room he had seen in his vision of the children, noting that nothing awaited him inside. Confused, he reached out, feeling for their presence around the farmstead when he located them, sitting together on the back veranda of the house. Inside, other life forms slept soundly, and there was no one else around the twins.

Slowly, he made his way over the fence and into the yard, inching around the house to where they sat together.

The light hit him first, the sheer blinding purity of it. He felt them before he saw them, their little bodies still so tiny, but so much larger than he remembered. Pain struck him, as he realised how much time he had lost.

They sat side by side, looking up into the night sky, wrapped in a blanket that they shared. Perhaps unable to sleep?

'No,' the girl huffed. 'That is Urkanis Major. You were pointing at Urkanis Minor.'

'Well it's stupid to have a major and minor constellation anyway,' the boy sulked. Then his annoyance was forgotten, 'There's Tucania.'

'That's Pykis,' she said with a satisfied smirk. 'That makes ten for me, and eight for you. I win.'

'There's still time to find more,' he replied and then he felt the shift. They shared glance, a silent conversation passing between them as they felt him arrive. He wasn't sure if they could see him yet, hidden in the shadows of the house, but he knew they could feel him.