What If: Anakin DIDN'T Win the Pod Race...

Glad to see this story continued. It will be interesting how the Council treats Anakin. Anakin no longer has fear of losing his mother.

JediLady, great job with the Council scene. Keep up the good work!

 

And now for the next instalment in our ongoing saga....

Anakin Skywalker looked around the room, trying not to worry too much. He barely noticed the austere but graceful lines of the vaulted ceiling, or the spectacular setting sun now apparent through the windows. He stood in the middle of the floor, his gaze darting around the room as he tried to decide to whom he should be directing his attention. He was a little surprised by the Jedi Council. It was hard to believe that until recently he had never even seen a Jedi and now he was in the heart of the Temple, facing no less than a dozen of these mystical beings. Also they weren't all human! While non-humans were common on Tatooine and Anakin knew many, whenever he had dreamed of the Jedi he had always imagined them to be humans. Qui-Gon had seemed the epitome of what Anakin considered a Jedi to be, a tall, strong yet serene man and Obi-Wan had also seemed right in his role. Yet while they had been at the Temple he had seen beings of all ages, sizes and sexes, from small children to aged grandmothers and even a Wookie.

Anakin had been told that the Council was made up of the wisest and most powerful of the Jedi. He was amazed to see that these people ranged from a pretty woman and aliens of all kinds to a small wrinkled green alien who looked to reach no higher than his waist. However all of them exuded the same sort of aura that Qui-Gon did and Anakin felt like he could almost taste the power flowing round the room. He'd learned from watching Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan what it felt like when they used the Force and had begun to become more aware of its presence. However he'd never felt anything like this room. It felt so right to him. Anakin suddenly knew with clarity that there was nothing he wanted more than to share in this feeling, this power. He would be a Jedi. Nothing and no-one could stop him! Suddenly he raised his eyes to stare directly at the bald man with dark skin who sat on the right of the little green creature as realisation of who was in charge here came to him.

The Council murmured their appreciation as they saw Anakin focus on Mace Windu, their leader. Such insight was remarkable in one so young, never mind one untrained. Mace leaned forwards, his expression friendly but reserved. "Welcome to the Council, Anakin. I am Master Windu and I am the Head of the Council. Do you know why you are here?". Anakin straightened his back, and spoke as politely as he could. His mother had always impressed upon him the importance of good manners. "Yes, Master Windu. Sir." He paused "Qui-Gon, uhhh... Master Qui-Gon told me that you would want me to do some tests to see if I could become a Jedi Knight too.". One of the other Councillors spoke "Do you want to be a Jedi, Anakin?". Anakin nodded "Yes, ma'am. I dreamed that one day I would be a Jedi.". He looked around at the surprised faces. "But I never really believed it. Not until I met Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Jedi never come to Tatooine.".

"Do you often dream about things that happen?" This speaker was a less wrinkly version of the little green alien, obviously female. Anakin wondered what species they were. He'd never seen any being quite like them. Anakin shrugged. "Not all the time. Sometimes I have dreams that don't.". One of the humans, the pretty woman with an odd blue tinge to her skin stood up and handed him a brightly coloured ball. "Why don't you do this puzzle for us?" Anakin shrugged again and took it. It looked easy enough. It was the sort of toy he'd played with when he was very small. This was only the first of a number of similar tests, for dexterity, memory, problem-solving, logic and language. All the time Council members asked questions. After a while Anakin began to relax and even enjoy himself. He'd thought that this would be hard.

Yoda simply sat and observed the boy. Mace wondered about his uncharacteristic silence, but said nothing. Finally all the tests were completed and the Council lapsed into silence. Only now did Yoda speak. "How feel you?". Anakin stared at him, and then blinked as he

 

Summon yourself to the fanfic awards chamber, and collect your prize.

 

Great job, JediLady. Your writing dtyle is awesome! I'm so glad that someone is continuing this!

 

Yay! The story is continued!
Will Anakin be allowed to train? After all, if Shmi is right at the Temple with him, a lot of Anakin's fear will be resolved right there. Right?

 

Meanwhile.....

Qui-Gon Jinn sat in silent meditation on a balcony overlooking the City. He had been born and brought up here on Coruscant in the Temple and it always felt comforting to return. The unique combination of a planet's gravity, atmosphere, temperature and biology gave each a distinct signature, and to him this place felt like home. He always felt at peace during his increasingly infrequent visits to the Temple. Beside him Obi-Wan fidgeted slightly and Qui-Gon stifled a smile. The younger man had never fully mastered patience and Qui-Gon knew that Obi-Wan thought Coruscant downright chilly, especially after dark and would not be best pleased with his Master sitting out in the draught. Qui-Gon was certain that Obi-Wan would one day find the calm centre of his being that would make meditation a joy rather than a trial to him, but his apprentice was still young and this was a lesson he had yet to learn.

After leaving Anakin with the Council the two Jedi had not returned to their guests, but instead waited on the pleasure of the Council in one of the chambers in the Tower. Qui-Gon sensed Obi-Wan's unease, and although this triggered a warning in his mind, he set it aside for the moment, dismissing it as nerves from standing before the Council. Instead he decided to meditate over the events of the last few weeks on one of the high balconies overlooking the city.

He was looking forward to a time of peace and recuperation; a chance to revive himself after the stress of the mission. The journey from Tatooine had been difficult for everyone and while Qui-Gon liked his companions, dealing with an excited small boy, a precocious teenage girl, a Gungan oaf and a bloody-minded apprentice cooped up in a small ship had tried the patience of even a Jedi Master. Everyone had avoided Jar Jar, except Anakin and Artoo. Anakin had followed people around like a puppy, getting underfoot everywhere and annoying them with his incessant cheerful questioning. He was hurt whenever anyone snapped at him, which meant that their pent-up aggression got transferred elsewhere. Amidala fluctuated between queenly dignity and childish arrogance with alarming regularity as she had time to feel her loss and yet was still unable to grieve properly. Obi-Wan had been acting rather oddly, as if he didn't know how to deal with the situation. Qui-Gon recalled with some amusement being called by the transport's crew to intervene in an argument that none of them had dared interrupt. After all, it wasn't every day that you saw a queen screeching like a paheka at an equally vocal Jedi. He was quite impressed with Amidala's ability to needle Obi-Wan as well as disappointed that both were behaving so badly. It was obvious that Obi-Wan was giving as good as he got though, since as Qui-Gon had been about to enter the galley he was almost bowled over by Amidala running away in angry tears, while the Padawan retreated to sulk with the engines. He hadn't needed to reprimand either; a few hours later both had been mortified over their conduct and both had had to suffer the ill-disguised amusement of the crew. Qui-Gon and Shmi had been hard pressed to keep a straight face at their reactions when at the next meal the crew had been overheard making bets over whether they'd kill or kiss each other. The Jedi Master wasn't too concerned about either of them; both were headstrong, stubborn and sensitive of their dignity. Jedi and queens alike are used to being treated with respect and deference and both had to learn a lesson about reciprocating in kind. Anakin had been a cooling influence, he was hurt by the conflict between his two friends and tried to mediate. Qui-Gon had approved of his efforts, although personally he suspected that the pair thrived on the friction. The boy's mother, Shmi had been a surprising source of strength, always calm and supportive. She had soothed frayed nerves, listened to tales of woe and deflated egos with surprising skill. Her quiet dignity, insight and warm smile had impressed the elder Jedi. Reluctantly, Qui-Gon forced his mind a

 

Excellent, excellent stuff. Wonderful work, JediLady! Now, as you bring the characters to Naboo (you will have to, won't you?), we can see how one significant change (Anakin's losing the podrace) affects the entire plot.*

*Do I detect a hint of an Amidala-Obi-Wan attraction here? How is Anakin going to take it?

 

Oh, come on. Post!

 

Up!

 

A Jedi must learn, patience, my friend!

So here it is, the next post for my loyal (and apparently only!) fan, the Butler.

Meanwhile...

Queen Amidala of the Naboo listened with half-an-ear as Senator Palpatine drilled her in Senate protocol. She stood as still as she could on a chair as a dressmaking droid scanned her for measurements. She'd been surprised by the efficiency with which Palpatine had managed to organise the preparations for her visit to the chamber. When she'd turned up on Coruscant with none of the usual accoutrements of a royal visit, one of her concerns was how she would present herself. Ever conscious of her age and position she didn't want to do her people an injustice by turning up dressed like a beggar. As if reading her worries the Senator had summoned a hairdresser, make-up artist and dressmaker for her before they reached his quarters. There was no time to prepare one of the elaborate Naboo styles, but the dressmaker had helped her choose an elegant gown with accessories that made her look more mature.

Amidala was intrigued by Palpatine. He appeared to be an unobtrusive and quietly efficient man. Although he had been the Senator for Naboo for a number of years, Amidala had had little contact with him personally until the crisis had forced her into a more active relationship with the Senate. Normally interplanetary policy was handled by her ministers. Now she had an opportunity to observe him, she was impressed with his ability to convey to her the information she would need to sound convincing and well-informed; even if she were disappointed with his rather pessimistic outlook for the success of her mission. The queen was feeling frustrated. Her mission had been unavoidably delayed, though now she realised that Qui-Gon's assessment had most likely been correct - she would not have survived the occupation of her planet long. She was also beginning to realise what an uphill struggle she would face to bring the Senate to action. As the head of state of Naboo, she was accustomed to having broad executive power - what she decreed was law. Many tasks were delegated to her ministers and she consulted her advisers before making any decision, but the ultimate authority was hers. She was not used to the strange mix of consensus and confrontation that was politics of galactic administration. As Palpatine had told her, when she had expressed surprise at his assessment of the situation. "Your Majesty, the Senate does not act for the common good. It is a game, a game where the object is to take as much as possible while giving nothing away." Amidala failed to see how the Republic could ever pursue a controversial policy or react swiftly to a crisis. Negotiation requires concession on both sides, and in this political climate that seemed impossible.

Palpatine finished his summing up. "I believe, your Majesty that our best course of action would be to submit an action before the courts - to challenge the legal basis of the occupation.". Amidala stared at him in disbelief. "The courts? The courts take even longer to decide than the Senate!". Palpatine nodded gravely, "Yes, but they are less consumed with protecting their own interests. No planet wants to offend the Trade Federation - it would be disastrous for all except the most powerful economies.", he sighed, a trifle theatrically, "And, frankly the most powerful states either don't care or would be only too anxious to bring us under their sphere of influence.". The queen clenched her fists in anger. "So you're saying that we should be content to be occupied by the Trade Federation or become an annexe of someone like the Hapans?". Palpatine looked away, towards the Senate building in the distance. "We must accept Federation control as a fait accompli.". He raised his hand as Amidala started to protest. "I don't like it either, your majesty, but unless someone can galvanise the Senate into unilateral action, we have no choice.". Bitterness crept into the young queen's voice. "I thought that was the job of the Supreme Chancellor.". The Senator nodded

 

(Ears perk up)
Bodyguard? Hmm...will we be introduced to a new character, or do we get to see our favorite Jedi Knights again? (Thinks about it.)

JediLady, I'm sure you have fans out there who are just too lazy to post. I'm like that occasionally; I constantly check the threads I like, but seldom post on them.

Oh, yeah. More story! You're doing wonderfully!

 

I recently downloaded the "opening crawl" tutorial used in Adobe After Effects and reconstructing it to meet my needs, does any one have any idea how to make the STAR WARS logo come out straight? It comes out a little from the left.

 

Same problem. My solution, steal it from one of the movies Then edit it to precede your letter crawl. Worked wonders for me. To do this though, I had to capture a single frame when the SW pullback stopped and before the letters crawled...to match the background. It works pretty good.

 

Same problem. My solution, steal it from one of the movies Then edit it to precede your letter crawl. Worked wonders for me. To do this though, I had to capture a single frame when the SW pullback stopped and before the letters crawled...to match the background. It works pretty good.

 

Just figured I'd bring an old favorite back to the top.

 

This thread was restarted in a new post. Now, I have to find it!

 

This thread continues in
Forum16/HTML/000178.html Forum16/HTML/000178.html

 

The address of the continuation of this thread is at: http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=181750


I'm bringing this up in order to give me time to archive it. I fully intend to save this beauty of a story.