Saga Remembering Anakin (ANH AU / C-3PO, R2-D2, Luke, OC) [8/3: completed]

Padmeshandmaiden: I figure that those memories are in the hidden memory core.

As the only person who knows just what exactly the secret memory unit contained, I think I'll keep my mouth shut and hum an infuriating tune for the time being.

Also, some of those memories are revealed later in some of the books.

DNT, I believe? Perhaps I should remove the question mark from the thread title since it's pretty much confirmed that this fic is an AU.


Mr_Dagobah: Well, this is shaping up to be an interesting story.

Thank you! I hope it doesn't become dull as the chapters progress.

I'm not sure if you have a PM list,

Er . . . *scratches head* I'm beginning to get the feeling that very few people read other people's replies in a story thread. It can be quite interesting, especially the longer ones.

but if you do then I'd appreciate being added to it.

Gotcha. You're on the list.


VaderLVR64: There was so much to love in this story, and Artoo steals my heart every time!

Hmm. Must be those broad shoulders and that oh-so-sexy eye. A virtual chick magnet, to be sure.

I could see Threepio doing this. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I remember speaking to you last year. A memory swipe? My apologies!"

It would be more disconcerting if this happened with a droid you were only talking to yesterday, methinks.

This is slightly off-topic, but a few years ago I was present when my mother hit her head and could form no new memories for about five minutes or so. She kept asking the same questions ("What just happened to me?" "And then what?") over and over again. One of the most frightening five minutes of my life, that was.


Thanks for reading, everyone! Next up will be the chapter I've been waiting for, in which Luke learns something of Anakin Skywalker. *evil laugh*

- lazy

 

I know it's a day early, but there's a good chance I won't be able to log in tomorrow. RL is wonderful, isn't it?

- lazy

---

Mandi hated moving. Or, to be precise, she hated having to pack up her things. No matter how careful she was, things always went missing going from here to there.

After an hour of carefully packing her equipment and half-finished projects into neatly organized packages, Mandi realized it would take her until the end of the world at this rate and started stuffing things any which way. When she was finally finished, she slapped herself mentally for not having prepared a repulsor sled.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid -"

Her search for an unused sled eventually took her to the hangar bay, where they promptly commandeered her for X-wing duty.

"Sorry, Mandi," a senior tech said. "We need you here."

She sighed. "All right, but could you send someone to get my stuff?"

"Sure thing. Don't worry about it."

[i]I'll believe it when I see it,[/i] Mandi thought sourly, but headed for the X-wings anyway.

"Is it ready to fly?" a voice asked a short while later.

"I've just started on this one," Mandi replied without bothering to see who it was.

"How long will it take, then?"

"Twice as long as when you're not bugging me with questions. Blast!" she added when a hydrospanner fell from her hand into the X-wing, just out of reach.

"Let me help. My arms are longer." The owner of the voice, who turned out to be Skywalker, invited himself up beside her and reached inside. After a few tries, he managed to extract the tool.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Besides, I don't want to be stranded here when the Imps come."

There was something about his grin that was familiar. At first Mandi thought it was just the [i]I'm king of the galaxy[/i] cockiness all pilots had, then decided against it.

"So, how come you had to fish around for the hydrospanner? Couldn't you just grab it with your Jedi powers?"

"I'm not a Jedi," Skywalker said. "I only started training. And then Ben died. I'm on my own right now."

"Ben?"

"His real name was Obi-Wan Kenobi. But we all called him old Ben."

"Kenobi? As in Jedi General Kenobi?"

"That's right. How did you know?"

Mandi ignored his question to ask one of her own. "You wouldn't be related to Anakin Skywalker, would you?"

"He's - he [i]was[/i] - my father. Why do you ask?"

Mandi felt her jaw drop. [i]No wonder he brought down the Death Star.[/i]

"Mandi? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, um - sure."

"It's just you're acting weird. And you didn't answer my question, by the way. Why'd you ask about my father? Did you know him, too?"

"I knew [i]of[/i] him." Mandi shrugged. "I mean, who didn't? He was a Holonet star during the Clone Wars - the Hero Without Fear, we called him. I never thought he had a son, though."

"Why not?"

"Jedi don't marry. It's a religious thing. 'Course, that didn't stop my sisters from dreaming."

"What was he like?"

"How should I know? I only saw him on the holovids."

"Oh," Skywalker said, deflated. Mandi could almost hear his heart drop with disappointment.

"He liked being the center of attention," she said after a while. "Or maybe he just wanted to be recognized. I don't think I ever saw him look unhappy. Then again, it would have hurt morale to see the Hero in a funk, so that might have been some selective journalism there. Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"

"Me? I don't know, really. Maybe it just hasn't sunk in yet. I mean, so much happened in the last few days."

Mandi nodded. "I know the feeling. But don't worry, you'll do okay. You're Anakin Skywalker's son, after all."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now, you mind handing me that flange? You might as well make yourself useful. And I think I can come up with a few more Clone Wars stories to make it worth your while."

 

They stuck Mandi with mech duty... Oh, well. At least Luke learned somehting about his father! When's Artoo gonna tell!?

^^^UP!!!

 

Ahhhhh, she remembered him, did she? Iiiinteresting.

Now Luke is wondering about his secret momma I bet....

 

I was worried that Mandi was going to remember bad stuff about Vader. I like that it was of Anakin the Hero and that Luke got to hear a bit about how his father was before going all dark side.

 

Mandi ignored his question to ask one of her own. "You wouldn't be related to Anakin Skywalker, would you?"

"He's - he was - my father. Why do you ask?"

Mandi felt her jaw drop. No wonder he brought down the Death Star.
Loved that last line!

"I knew of him." Mandi shrugged. "I mean, who didn't? He was a Holonet star during the Clone Wars - the Hero Without Fear, we called him. I never thought he had a son, though."

"Why not?"

"Jedi don't marry. It's a religious thing. 'Course, that didn't stop my sisters from dreaming."

Didn't stop Star wars fans from dreaming either!
It has only been about 19 yrs. you would think more people would put the two together since anakin was such a celebrity and was known as the best pilot.

"You're welcome. Now, you mind handing me that flange? You might as well make yourself useful. And I think I can come up with a few more Clone Wars stories to make it worth your while."

I think she has Luke's full attention with the promise of stories of his father.
Enjoyable post !

 

I love fics where Luke gets to know more about his father. I've always wondered why he wasn't recongized MORE in the EU! After all, we now know Anakin was a big time hero!

Mandi ignored his question to ask one of her own. "You wouldn't be related to Anakin Skywalker, would you?"

"He's - he was - my father. Why do you ask?"

Mandi felt her jaw drop. No wonder he brought down the Death Star.

"Mandi? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, um - sure."

"It's just you're acting weird. And you didn't answer my question, by the way. Why'd you ask about my father? Did you know him, too?"

"I knew of him." Mandi shrugged. "I mean, who didn't? He was a Holonet star during the Clone Wars - the Hero Without Fear, we called him. I never thought he had a son, though."

"Why not?"

"Jedi don't marry. It's a religious thing. 'Course, that didn't stop my sisters from dreaming."

"What was he like?"

"How should I know? I only saw him on the holovids."

"Oh," Skywalker said, deflated. Mandi could almost hear his heart drop with disappointment.

"He liked being the center of attention," she said after a while. "Or maybe he just wanted to be recognized. I don't think I ever saw him look unhappy. Then again, it would have hurt morale to see the Hero in a funk, so that might have been some selective journalism there. Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"

That's about right!

 

Dahlia_Santary: They stuck Mandi with mech duty...

Well, yes. It's her job, you know.

When's Artoo gonna tell!?

The next chapter will be from Luke's POV (3rd limited). The one after that from Artoo's. And it still won't be even halfway into the fic. Hee hee hee.


Arcalian: Ahhhhh, she remembered him, did she? Iiiinteresting.

Er, yes. The same way I remember Madonna and OJ Simpson. It's not like the Empire went door to door brainwashing people to make them forget about the Clone Wars.

Now Luke is wondering about his secret momma I bet....

Huh? . . . oh, Padmé. Forgot all about her. (This, BTW, is the cue for the ladies to roll their eyes and go "Men!" in an exasperated voice.)


Healer_Leona: I was worried that Mandi was going to remember bad stuff about Vader.

Um . . . I think you're confusing things the average GFFA citizen would know with things SW fans know. At this point, Mandi doesn't even suspect that Vader and Anakin are the same person.

I like that it was of Anakin the Hero and that Luke got to hear a bit about how his father was before going all dark side.

Because, as mentioned above, she doesn't know about post-fall Ani. Or his teetering over the edge. Palpatine probably had a team of PR specialists to spin Anakin's public image as a Hero, too . . .

*looks down to see what the pain is about and notices yet another new rabbit*


obsessedwithSW: Didn't stop Star wars fans from dreaming either!

Female fans, anyway. I know I didn't.

you would think more people would put the two together since anakin was such a celebrity and was known as the best pilot.

Mandi is - how should I put it - a little slow when it comes to things like that. The next chapter will expand a bit on 2+2.

I think she has Luke's full attention with the promise of stories of his father.

And I fear I might have done the same with my readers. Oh dear . . .


VaderLVR64: I love fics where Luke gets to know more about his father.

*gets evil plot bunny about Luke learning about Ani's life as documented by anti-Jedi Imperial propaganda. Muahahaha.*

I've always wondered why he wasn't recongized MORE in the EU! After all, we now know Anakin was a big time hero!

Ah, the perils of nonlinear storytelling. I wonder how LFL's retcon guys handled this. The in-universe explanation probably has to do with Palpatine and his PR department, who took everything Jedi and thoroughly vilified it.


Thanks for reading, everyone!

- lazy

 

I'm glad Mandi had something nice to say about Anakin. Luke will need all the good things he can hold onto once he discovers the truth.

 

Too bad Mandi doesn't have any old files of footage from the Clone Wars in storage somewhere. I'm sure Luke would of like to have seen his father and Obi-wan in action.

 

jedi_princess18: Luke will need all the good things he can hold onto once he discovers the truth.

Which, as we all know, depend on our point of view. And there are four of them in this fic.

Off topic: I find it interesting that most of the replies I've gotten for this story are feeding one specific plot bunny. I hope the whole lot of you aren't socks.


HandmaidenVeme: Too bad Mandi doesn't have any old files of footage from the Clone Wars in storage somewhere.

Er . . . dang. I forgot to mention she was just six or seven during the Clone Wars, didn't I. One of these days I'm going to have to start describing OCs with more than a few sentences.

- lazy

 

obsessedwithSW: Didn't stop Star wars fans from dreaming either!

Female fans, anyway. I know I didn't. _________________________________________________________________________

Hey I hear rumors that some men think Hayden Cristensen is hot too!

I know us women follow the same line of thought when we zero in on a plot line. I think its the hormones.

 

obsessedwithSW: Hey I hear rumors that some men think Hayden Cristensen is hot too!

Alec Guinness, maybe. Liam Neeson, definitely. But Hayden just isn't my type.

I know us women follow the same line of thought when we zero in on a plot line. I think its the hormones.

Oh. Ah. Um . . . really? Should I be worried about this?

- lazy

 

The Incom T-65 starfighter, commonly known as the X-wing, boasts a hyperdrive unit that can cross the galaxy in less than a month. Because this requires more computational power than the average starfighter can handle, an astromech droid is necessary if one is to make the jump past light speed.

Depending on the pilot's temperament, the droid can also serve another function: a conversation partner. After all, there's a limit to the numbers of times you can listen to your favorite songs without going insane.

"Artoo? Are you awake?"

The droid's reply scrolled across the X-wing's monitor. "Droids don't sleep."

"Oh. Right."

"What's on your mind?"

"You've been to a lot of places, right? What do you know about the Clone Wars?"

"Do you have anything specific in mind?"

"Well, yes. I want to know if you heard anything about my father, Anakin Skywalker."

There was a slight pause before Artoo responded. "He was a good pilot. Good with machines, too."

"With machines? I didn't know that. What else do you know?"

There was a longer silence. Then: "I'm sorry. I think my memory wasn't completely restored."

"It's all right," Luke said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "I was just curious, that's all."

"Do you want me to run a search on Clone Wars era material later? The Empire deleted most records of the Jedi, but I'm sure I can find something."

Luke smiled. "Thanks, Artoo. But don't trouble yourself. We'll have plenty to do without looking up ancient history."

He settled back in his set and closed his eyes. It would be an hour until their destination, an insignificant world chosen for being of little importance to anyone. From there they would make two more jumps to throw off any pursuit. Unless an interdictor cruiser or a planetary mass pulled them out of hyperspace, Luke was looking at several hours of nothing to do but watch the bluish quasi-scenery go by. Most X-wing pilots passed the time by watching recorded holodramas, listening to music, or, when they got tired of options one and two, sleeping. The first two were unavailable to Luke, who had left Tatooine with nothing but the clothes on his back and the credits in his pockets. This left sleep as his only way of killing time.

But he couldn't. No matter what he tried - breathing exercises, counting banthas, even a Jedi meditation technique Ben had taught him on the Millennium Falcon - his mind, far from finding peace, kept returning to Anakin Skywalker.

Everyone needed a hero in times of difficulty. He didn't even have to be close at hand, ready to pull them out of trouble at a moment's notice. All a hero had to do was exist, to inspire ordinary people to try just a little harder.

According to Mandi's tale, Anakin Skywalker had been such a hero during the Clone Wars. He might have been discredited with the rest of the Jedi afterwards, but he had been a hero nevertheless.

And now it was Luke's turn. Whether he liked it or not, the Rebels were turning him into the hero who won the Battle of Yavin. The other pilots who flew - and, in most cases, died - to give him that one chance at the Death Star were also heroes in their own right. But it was Luke who fired the torpedoes. People remembered that more than anything else.

Luke was uncomfortable about being turned into a propaganda weapon. He much preferred a battle with enemies he could see. But he'd had it explained to him by Mon Mothma, the Rebel Alliance's leader herself, shortly after the awards ceremony.

"We need allies," she had said. "News of our victory here will convince some systems to join - or at least, aid us. But it will take more to bring the Empire down."

"We need more victories, then?"

"That, too. But most of all we need to give people hope. To do that, we need concrete symbols of our cause. Heroes - and like it or not, you're one of them now. Not only were you directly responsible for the destruction of the Death Star, you're a Jedi Knight as well."

"But I'm not! I can feel

 

Interesting how well Luke sees the Rebellion is using him as propaganda, though he really is a hero in every sense of the word.

"Did you know him? No, let me rephrase that. Did he know you?"

It felt like an eternity before the droid finally answered yes.


That really opens up all sorts of questions for poor Luke. Now why did it take so long for R2 to answer. Searching memory banks or trying to dinf some way around the question???

Arrrgh, we need more answers now lazy!!!!

 

Healer_Leona: Interesting how well Luke sees the Rebellion is using him as propaganda, though he really is a hero in every sense of the word.

I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. After all, the Rebels wouldn't be using Luke as propaganda if he wasn't a hero. It's just that he doesn't see himself that way yet.

That really opens up all sorts of questions for poor Luke.

Yes - it does, doesn't it? I would much rather have the characters interpret the data by themselves (and perhaps get things wrong) than download the truth directly into their brains.

I may have mentioned this already, but the original plot bunny was to have people tell Luke contradicting stories about Anakin. I think I wanted to show him keeping the ones he liked and discarding the rest, regardless of whether they were true or not.

Now why did it take so long for R2 to answer. Searching memory banks or trying to find some way around the question?

A third possibility: it only felt like it took forever. 3rd POV limited can be wonderfully vague at times. (And a fourth possibility: all of the above.)

we need more answers now lazy!

The next chapter will replay this conversation from Artoo's (3rd limited) POV. Until then, the truth shall be like Schrodinger's cat.

[random thought] I wonder if you get limited truths from limited points of view . . . ? [/random thought]

- lazy

 

Artoo's long silences are telling. Good chapter, lazykbys. Thanks for the PM and update soon.

 

Before I read this story, I knew that the Rebellion considered Luke a hero but I had not considered the thought of the general population viewing him as such. I would imagine the Empire would repress all such Media to try to avoid this. Propaganda for the Rebellion would be as important as the actual fighting because it is the perception of a situation that motivates people to action.

"Did you know him? No, let me rephrase that. Did he know you?"

It felt like an eternity before the droid finally answered yes.



I really like this last line. It is filled with tension, expectation and huge possibilities. It is a great hook.

Good job. I love your story!(I may have said that before and I probably say it may times again!)

 

Artoo will spill the goods now, right?

Great update!

 

You know, this is all good, but another side of this story occurs to me. Something about the convo bringing up Obi-Wan.

I wonder what the Rebel Alliance leadership made of old Obi-Wan meeting Luke, leading him and Solo to the Death Star, etc etc. Somebody who remembers the Republic days is sure to cotton on to the fact that Obi-Wan was surely waiting on Tattoine for Luke to grow up....

 

Real life has been very busy lately and I've been doing a lot of lurking. I just wanted to let you know I am reading even if my replies are less than stellar or non existant.

 

"I'm sorry. I think my memory wasn't completely restored."

Artoo's turning out to be quite the devious droid...

It looks like he may be ready to dish out some dirt on Obi-Wan!

 

If the Republic makes Luke their posterboy they better be ready for the original posterboy to pay a visit.

 

Mr_Dagobah: Artoo's long silences are telling.

I just thought of a fifth explanation (see my reply to Moddess_Leona) for those silences: Artoo's OS crashed and is rebooting.


obsessedwithSW: Propaganda for the Rebellion would be as important as the actual fighting because it is the perception of a situation that motivates people to action.

So true. I wonder if the Rebellion had a PR department?

I really like this last line. It is filled with tension, expectation and huge possibilities. It is a great hook.

The problem being, of course, that I'll probably get blacklisted if I don't deliver. Hooks are so much easier . . . *sigh*


Dahlia_Santary: Artoo will spill the goods now, right?

Calm down, please. This is only chapter 6 of 18.


Arcalian: I wonder what the Rebel Alliance leadership made of old Obi-Wan meeting Luke, leading him and Solo to the Death Star, etc etc. Somebody who remembers the Republic days is sure to cotton on to the fact that Obi-Wan was surely waiting on Tattoine for Luke to grow up....

This is going on a bit of a tangent, but - I wonder how Leia handled Obi's death as the Falcon headed towards Yavin. He was her "only hope" and he died to let them escape. I think I feel a plot bunny nibbling my shins.


RebelMom: Real life has been very busy lately and I've been doing a lot of lurking. I just wanted to let you know I am reading even if my replies are less than stellar or non existant.

Don't worry about it. I tend to lurk even when I'm not very busy. Thanks for letting me know you're still there, though.


jedi_princess18: It looks like he may be ready to dish out some dirt on Obi-Wan!

Hmm . . . maybe he's still sore at Obi for letting whatshisname, R4-something, die in RotS.

*checks SW Wiki* Hey, R4-P17 was a girl! By Deus, the possibilities . . .


HandmaidenVeme: If the Republic makes Luke their posterboy they better be ready for the original posterboy to pay a visit.

He's already on their tails, y'know. *evil laugh*


Thanks for reading, everyone!

- lazy

 

really like this last line. It is filled with tension, expectation and huge possibilities. It is a great hook.

The problem being, of course, that I'll probably get blacklisted if I don't deliver. Hooks are so much easier . . . *sigh*

I know! LOL. This is my BIGGEST FEAR about writing.
I have faith in you lazybys. You can do it!