What Could Have Been Part 2: Anakin's Trials

Cloned

Leia

The Alliance Base wasn't what Leia expected.

She and Blast reached the base just as morning broke through Felucia's night sky. The wall around the camp was tall and appeared thick. Leia placed a hand against the cold metal and used the Force to estimate just how thick the barrier was. At least a couple feet.

Blast lead her around front proudly, "We have grade A security here. No one can get in or out without consent of The Master." Leia looked quizzingly at him, "Wow. Is Master Obi-wan really that strict?" she asked. A look of puzzlement crossed the young boy's face. "Who?"

Leia continued following him around the corner, "Isn't Master Obi-wan Kenobi one of your leaders? He's the one who assigned me to come here," she added. Blast didn't give the information a second thought as he turned another corner of the perimeter and punched in a code at the entrance. "Never heard of any Obi- Tuantuan Kenobi or whoever he is. I was talking about The Master. He founded the base and is our commander," he informed Leia. The door slid open with a hiss and she followed her new friend into the base. Shaking the concern away as if it were nothing but a pesky bug buzzing in her ear, Leia studied her surroundings in admiration.

Sleek chrome panels covered rows and rows of domed buildings. Each structure was a stout half-sphere with antennas and dishes decorating the top. Figures in stark white armor jogged by in suits of about twenty or so but they moved in such unison that Leia watched them as one large body. Blast caught her impressed gawking and chuckled, "Something tells me you haven't been to many state of the art training bases. I thought you were a diplomatic prodigy?" he asked lightly. Leia felt her face grow hot, "I- I just finished my basic training. This is my first mission," she fibbed. Blast put his arm around her shoulder, "Don't worry Babe. Stick with me and I'll make sure the fellas don't go blasting holes through you."

Leia smiled questionably, "Um, thanks?" She suddenly noticed how unfamiliar Blast's accent was. There was something about him that made her spine tingle.

They journeyed deeper into the base and the tingling grew into a building shiver in her brain. Something in the Force was telling her to stop. But what was wrong about this? Leia, quickly got her answer.

Blast opened up a door to a wide open, glowing white room. Boys in pressed navy tunics like Blast's ran wildly back and forth shooting holographic targets that danced on the far end of the room. Each boy wore a silver helmet that covered their face with glossy black masks. Leia stepped back in the doorway. "Is it safe to go in?" Blast shrugged and grabbed a helmet off a rqck on the wall, "You can watch if you want." Taking his gun in his right hand, he joined the other boys in the training exercise.

Leia could tell that when Blast claimed he was the best, he was right. Within seconds, he was engaged in combat with the digital enemies. With the helmet covering his face, Leia could only tell him apart by his graceful moves. He summer-saulted past the others and landed in a squat. Without pause, he fired his gun and one of the targets de-pixelated into blue dust beforr fading away. When Leia looked back, Blast was firing multiple shots across the room. Each one connected with a target while the other boys fired less accurately. He was clearly the best,

Moments later, a buzzer sounded throughout the room and the targets froze mid-motion, then collapsed like sand castles. The boys stood at attention and replaced their weapons to their belts. A metallic voice echoed through the room, "Stimulation over. All units please report to barracks for further assignment."

The boys walked in a cluster and Leia lost sight of Blast. She followed them to the helmet rack and searched for her friend. As the boys removed their headgear, Leia saw a sea of black hair scramble for the doorway. Why did they all have the same hair?

Finally Leia caught sight of Blast. She tapped his shoulder and he turned in surprise. "Who are you?" he asked with a strange flicker of irritation in his steel eyes. Leia smiled, "What do you mean? It's me, Blast," she chuckled. The boy turned away plainly and began walking, "I'm not Blast," he snapped. Leia followed at his heels with growing unease. "Of course you-" Leia started but her voice caught as she looked around her. The boy beside her pushed by. His features made her freeze; Black hair. Jet black hair. Steel grey eyes.

He looked like Blast too.

They all did.

Leia realized that she was danger.

Anakin

Anakin pounced across the treetops in breathtaking speed. He moved as silently as a shadow with his mind centered on every living being around him. The air whipped past him like needles stabbing at his nerves as he followed traces of Leia's presence. But the closer he got to his daughter, the more he sensed dark presence. Wherever she was, something else was nearby. That was why he had to find her.

Anakin shook his head in hopes to clear the clouding evil that enclosed his senses. He couldn't allow whatever this darkness was to interfere with what he had to do. But the Dark Side wasn't the only thing bothering him. He remembered his son's final sobs before he left.

I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!

If he closed his eyes he could still see Luke's tears begin to trickle down his face. Anakin felt his chest tighten with the thought of his son. He had failed both his son and daughter. Now he had to make it up to them.

The gray clouds hung in overcast across the sky. The dullness of the world was so immense that Felucia could have been in gloom forever. Anakin replenished his lungs with a breath of the thin air. The oxygen filled his nose with the exotic scent of endless varieties of bizarre plants as he jumped across them. The air faintly cleared his mind just long enough to hear a tiny whisper in his mind. It cut into the darkness like a knife. Anakin froze on top of a knarled purple-brown tree when he heard it and fear wrapped around his heart. It was Leia.

Luke, Dad, help!