hadriel | [Video]

Entry tags:

[Video]

[He is like a caged beast, moving restlessly indoors while the wind howls at his doors and windows. Anakin has never done well alone, but he's afraid to live with anyone.]

How can anyone stand this planet? [Gripping his mechno-hand into a tight fist, he breathes deeply, trying to calm the anger he feels almost constantly.] What needs to be done? I'm strong; I'm powerful - I can help.

[Anything is better than being stuck with his memories.]

I'm Anakin Skywalker, by the way, and I think I've been here before.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Can you teach him how to calm down?]

If that includes hunting and being physically active, I'm in.

[Sitting still hurts. Moving helps him forget.]

The memories feel like an old dream. They are becoming clearer; it's just taking time.

[she can try?]

It involves both. You can sign up with Nick Valentine, he'll get you sorted out with when you should patrol, when you should man the HQ, stuff like that.

[she knows the feeling]

That's got to be weird. [she thinks a moment] Confusion is the only alien here right now. She might be trying to keep you confused to get to your emotions.

Oh, and it's nice to meet you, Anakin. I'm Tinya.

Nick Valentine. Got it. [He finds a piece of paper and writes down the name.]

I don't feel any interference, but who knows? [Anakin is almost certain he would sense someone messing with his emotions.]

It's nice to meet you too. So you can really fight?

Okay, good. [a pause] How old are you?

You can feel when the aliens are messing with your emotions? Wow. Does it help you resist what they try to do? [she looks genuinely impressed]

Yeah, I can really fight. I know Lerdit, a martial art from my homeworld, and I'm learning how to use a katana.

Twenty-four. Why? [He feels one hundred and twenty-four inside and that won't change after he loses his limbs and falls in the lava.]

I expect I will be able to sense it. I am a trained Jedi and - [The apprentice of a Sith Lord.] These gods are part of the Force too.

Impressive. I prefer to rely on my lightsaber, but I wouldn't mind wielding a blaster.

They'll probably have me patrol with you. I'm fifteen, that's a grown-up where I'm from, but still a kid here. [and someday, that fact won't chafe, but today is not that day]

Really? Um. Mind if I ask what a Jedi is?

Thank you. Blasters--that's a gun, right?--and other guns are hard to come by. Most people who have them, brought them from home.

We'll be fine together if that's the case. I can keep you in one piece. [But not completely out of danger.]

A Force-user. [He grins infuriatingly.] It's better if I show you. Jedi are supposed to be the peace keepers of the galaxy.

[But they failed greatly in his opinion.]

They're basically laser guns. [He sighs.] I'll have to make do with antiquated weapons.

[she grins at him] I can keep me in one piece. But thank you for the reassurance. [she likes danger]

And what's the Force? [she doesn't find it infuriating in the least, she's just curious] All right, where are you? I'll come by and see. [and an eyebrow quirks slightly] "Supposed to be?" I take it things didn't exactly go according to plan.

We have those at home. [and she groans at the "antiquated weapons" part] Oh, I know! These phones are antiques where I'm from. And we're confined to only one planet! It's ridiculous.

I believe you! Age doesn't really tell me anything. It's not like you're a little kid. [Anakin, would you take a tiny child on guard duty? Sure why not!]

The power or energy that surrounds everything; that creates everything. Once we pass from this life, our spirits will enter the Force to complete the cycle.

[He loses all of his amusement.] They failed. Wretchedly. I couldn't let them continue.

[Anakin is quiet for a moment.]

We have communicators and holos, but nothing quite like these phones.

Thank you. I'm not a little kid and I have powers of my own, powers I was using back home for the past six months to help protect the United Planets.

Ohhh. I've never heard of that before.

[oooops?] ...that's too bad. I'm sorry it happened.

[and she doesn't break the silence]

Same here. The phones work well enough for what we have here, but I do miss 30th century technology.

We all have different experiences. I wasn't exactly a sheltered child either.

[Though poor Shmi tried.]

Me too. [His expression is tight and his lips are pale.] They could have done so much more, but they were controlled and blinded by their own biases.

Huh. Thirtieth century? What planet do you call home anyway?

[as did Winema Wazzo, but her idea of sheltering was more like smothering in practice.

and she grimaces] Sounds like the United Planets as a whole. They didn't take the White Triangle threat seriously until Earth was attacked directly. Not even the destruction of Trom--seven billion lives lost--was enough to get them to accept that there was a problem.

I'm originally from Bgztl, a planet in perfect orbital and rotational sync with Earth, but it's in another dimension. How about you?

[Shmi never smothered, bless her. She probably wanted to, but she refrained.

Anakin pales, angered that there are others like the Jedi out there.]

Seven billion? How can they live with themselves? They might as well have killed all of those people.

[He grits his teeth and forces himself to calm.]

Tatooine. It's a desert planet and I hated it. The best part of it was my mother.

[Winema Wazzo would have run every aspect of Tinya's life if she could. trying to get her royal-blooded daughter out of the stigma of having a Terran father.

she sighs] They kept telling themselves that there was inconclusive proof of who was involved, but there's only one race that's capable of frying a planet from space without using weapons and that's Daxamites.

[and she closes her eyes briefly to regain her composure]

I'm glad you at least had your mother.

Are you sure they don't have some...deal...with the Daxamites? [Anakin smells something fishy and underhanded. Why let so many die if it could be stopped?]

We were slaves, so it wasn't easy, but we had each other and a warm home. I built a droid and a podracer from parts I salvaged in my free time.

Daxam is a part of the United Planets. We were told that the Daxamite faction behind the attack, the White Triangle, was a fringe group, but I don't buy it. [and in all fairness, few people are willing to openly challenge a race that has super-strength, speed, flight, and heat vision while they're under a yellow sun.

she also delicately sidesteps the slavery thing] What's a droid? I can guess what a podracer does, but not a droid.

I don't either. If they're so powerful and important, they should know about what all of their people do. [But someone has to eventually. Anakin is crazy enough to set himself against them, too.]

A droid is like...a robot. But more intelligent. They can serve a wide variety of purposes and speak multiple languages.

They should at least know that some of their people are racist nassheads. You'd think that would stand out a little. [he could . . . try?]

Wow, really? We don't have anything like them back home. And you made it yourself?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Video]

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video

video