"The Force. Let me show you how strong it is."

GIFTOBER 2024 ▪︎ DAY 31: FREE CHOICE

The Sith- The Sith took everything from me. Ripped me from my mother's arms, murdered my brother, used me as a weapon, and then cast me aside. Abandoned me. Once, I had power; now I have nothing. Nothing.

Anakin Skywalker could not take his eyes off the girl. He noticed her the moment he entered Watto's shop, even before Watto said anything, and he hadn't been able to stop looking at her since. He barely heard what Watto said to him about watching the shop. He barely noticed the strange-looking creature that had come in with her and was poking around in the shelves and bins. Even after she noticed he was staring at her, he could not help himself. He moved now to an open space on the counter, hoisted himself up, and sat watching her while pretending to clean a transmitter cell. She was looking back at him now, embarrassment turning to curiosity. She was small and slender, with long braided brown hair, brown eyes, and a face he found so beautiful that he had nothing to which he could compare it. She was dressed in rough peasant's clothing, but she seemed very self-possessed. She gave him an amused smile, and he felt himself melting in confusion and wonder. He took a deep breath. "Are you an angel?" he asked quietly. The girl stared. "What?" "An angel." Anakin straightened a bit. "They live on the moons of Iego, I think. They are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They are good and kind, and so pretty they make even the most hardened space pirates cry like small children." She gave him a confused look. "I've never heard of angels," she said. "You must be one of them," Anakin insisted. "Maybe you just don't know it."

You did run, didn't you? NO! But that's what your people believe, isn't it? You ran from the Empire, you ran from your family! LIES! So what's the truth? The truth… is that… I left to save everyone. My mother! My father! My brother! Everything I did was for family, for Mandalore! I built weapons, terrible weapons, but the Empire used them on Mandalore; on friends; on family; people that I knew. They controlled us through fear. Mandalore! Fear of weapons I helped create! I helped enslave my people! I wanted to stop it, I had to stop it. I spoke out. I spoke out to save them, to save everyone! But when I did, my family didn't stand with me. They chose the Empire. They left me. Gave me no choice. The Empire wanted to destroy worlds, and they did. They destroyed mine. The Empire rules with fear, and not everyone can be as strong as you've been. Your family is in a prison, one of their own making. And it is up to you to help them out of it.

He saw the Twi'lek's cloak nearby, pinned beneath a heavy girder. She did leave me a souvenir, after all. With great effort, he pulled the metal aside. He took the garment into his hands and held it up. It was a good find, he thought, as he turned to stagger out of the alley. Because he was starting to believe she had never been there.

He stopped thinking that when he stepped out into the street—and found himself looking into her eyes.

"Ah," she said, seeing her cloak.

"Ah," he repeated. Kanan stood frozen, studying her under the bright light of the moon. She was shorter than he was, with deep green skin, full lips, and a chin that came to a pleasing point. She wore a gray pilot's hat that allowed exit for two head-tails that hung at a little more than shoulder-length. She wore a brown vest, gold-colored slacks with utility pockets, and black gloves that matched the cloak in her hands.

"I knew I'd forgotten something," she said, removing the garment from his hands so deftly he barely noticed she'd done it. Then she looked at him with concern. "You okay there?"

Kanan nodded.

"You speak Basic?"

"Words fail me."

She smiled. "So they do."

All those years helping the Rebellion. And for what? Oh, come on, Loi'e. What we do here will change the tides for the whole galaxy. I'm not a stargazer, Jon. I just want to move on. Hang in there, little dancer. Soon, we'll all be free.