Left in the Shadows (Star Wars AU)

Aravis Kenobi

New member
You're probably thinking, "What in the world is this?" Well, let me start off by defining AU. It's an abbreviation for "alternate universe". Think Star Trek's "Mirror Mirror" timeline. It's basically the same characters, but events are altered. Even the characters, while retaining their same basic features and names, are different, and things aren't exactly what they are in the "regular" universe.

So as you might expect, a Star Wars AU will follow those guidelines. In summary, this AU will follow Shmi Skywalker as she deals with being left behind on Tatooine after Anakin leaves. However, the AU part comes from a character addition: Petra Skywalker. She is the adopted daughter of Shmi, the older sister of Anakin. Since this story basically spoils the related story Not Quite a Shadow (which is almost exclusively Petra's story), she marries Obi-Wan and they have several children together. But back to Shmi: she's a character I love, and it's such a shame we don't see her much in the films. In fact, we don't really know much about her or her background at all. Why in the world was SHE chosen to be Anakin's mother? What was her relationship like with Cliegg Lars? With Owen and Beru? These are answers I wanted to theorize on, so I wrote this fan fiction. It's not perfect, and at the moment I'm not currently editing it (it's been finished for over two years), but constructive criticism/beta editing is always welcome so I can refine my writing. Pointing out inconsistencies are welcome as well, sometimes I forget what I've written and I contradict myself. Also, I will not follow the Disney canon. I *might* mention something from the Disney Canon at times, but generally I'll follow the expanded universe (EU).

Updates will be fairly regular, probably once a day or so.

Hope you enjoy!
-AK

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TlDvJaG0cuLggscg2

(Cover was custom made for me. Please do NOT steal without permission! You'll have to click the link to see-I can't get the photo to show up in my post because photo bucket doesn't like you third party sharing without paying their $100/year fee. :rolleyes: )
 
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Prologue: Leia's Discovery (21 ABY)

Leia was tired. No, exhausted was the better word for it. She, Han, Chewbacca, and Jaina had been on this planet for several days, unable to leave because of severe sand storms and because they were waiting for pirates to give up on finding them here. Han, being the ever confident (or ever arrogant?) person that he was, suggested they leave as soon as the sand storms lifted. That plan, however, was put in serious jeopardy when they were nearly discovered by one pirate that was particularly bent on finding them. By “persuading” one of the bartenders they found out that the four pirates looking for them were all in Mos Eisley, and it would be several days before they would leave since they were picking up cargo and payment from the Hutts (“persuading” is the term Han used, though Leia thought it more akin to “bribing”). Late one night, the foursome was sitting around a table in the back corner of a cantina, trying to decide what to do next. It had been an extremely long day, and Han was extremely testy this evening.

“I say we make a run for it” Han said, casually reclining against the booth’s cushion. “The Falcon can outrun them.”

“As I recall, that’s exactly what you said when we were being chased here” Jaina said.

Leia smirked. “That’s what I was thinking, Jaina. Give them a few more days, and they’ll give up on us.”

Han straightened up. “What is this, ‘gang up on Han day’? I say we try to get away; I’d rather be in space than be stuck here on this sand-covered rock.” Leia began to respond, but fell silent. Han’s tone instantly softened as he said, “Something wrong princess?”

Leia sighed as Han reached across the table for her hand. “I’m sorry; maybe we should return to the ship and try to get some sleep.”

“It’s not that” Leia said as she pulled her hand away. “You know my grandmother used to live here in Mos Eisley.”

Jaina turned to her mother. “You had a grandmother on Tattoine?”

Leia nodded as she said, “yes, Shmi Skywalker. Anakin’s mother and my aunt’s adopted mother.”

Han returned to his reclined position. “This is all very fascinating, but why are you all of a sudden thinking of this?”

“I’ve wanted to visit where she lived; Luke said she lived at his homestead, but died long before he came along. And I’d like to visit her grave” Leia said quietly. Han arched his eyebrow, rolled his eyes, and said, “You didn’t answer my question; why now? You’ve had over 20 years to visit this place and you haven’t.”

Jaina placed her hand over her dad’s. “I think we should try to find where the homestead is. I’d like to see it too. Besides, it’s not like we can do much else, and I’d rather be doing something interesting rather than just sitting here waiting for them to find us.”

Han sighed, crossed his arms, and said a moment later, “Fine. We’ll try to find this homestead of yours, but we’re leaving as soon as you’ve finished reminiscing, all right?”

Leia’s eyes narrowed at him, and Han knew he had just crossed the line. Chewbacca chuckled, and Han resigned himself to the fact that he was very outvoted and outnumbered. They returned to the Falcon that night, but not without finding out where the homestead was and how to get there. Leia and Han argued about whether or not to take the Falcon, with Leia winning in the end and deciding that riding eopies would be the best and least suspicious way to travel to the homestead. Once packed with water and food, along with weapons and the navigating equipment to help them get there, they set off around midday the following day.

After the murder of Owen and Beru Lars, Luke had been unable to sell the homestead, and had eventually decided to simply keep it in the family. It was still standing, along with all of the outbuildings, though they were in sore need of repair and upkeep. The family secured the eopies and ventured down into the courtyard of the homestead, taking a moment to look around. “So, this is what you wanted to see?” Han said, his hands on his hips. “Doesn’t look like much.”

“No, but doesn’t it make you sad?” Leia asked, turning to him.

Han looked around once more before locking eyes with her. “I guess it doesn’t hold a lot of emotion for me; you’re the one connected to this place not me.”

Leia went to the door on her left, but it wouldn’t budge. “Guess it’s been here too long.”

Chewbacca gently moved her aside, and pulled open the door enough for them to enter. Leia entered first, followed by Han, Jaina, and finally Chewbacca (though he had more difficulty getting inside than the other three). “It’s rather dusty in here” Han said, observing the interior of the main living quarters.

“Well, this is a desert planet; it’s bound to get a bit of settled dust” Leia replied, moving towards the one of the doors. She opened it with some difficult, but once inside, she realized she was in one of the bedrooms. Nothing that she could see indicated who this bedroom belonged to, so she began to search the room out of curiosity. She thought she spotted something on the dust-covered desk, an irregularity in the uniformity of the sand. Picking it up, she realized it was a holoframe, which held holographic images and could be changed with the push of a button. Dusting it off, she attempted to turn it on, and surprisingly, it still worked. The first image was one of Anakin standing with Petra; Leia recognized her father and adopted aunt by the old images that Luke had retrieved from the Jedi Temple database. Anakin and Petra were considerably younger in this photo than in the one from the database, but it was easy to see where Luke got his looks from. Leia clicked through the photos, finding more of Anakin, Petra and Shmi together. She even found one photo of Cliegg and Shmi, then Cliegg, Shmi, Owen, and Beru as a family. Turning it off, she tucked the frame into the satchel she carried at her side before shoving the dirt off the desk and searching the drawers. She found little of interest: a few hair tools, extra clothing, etc. One item pricked her interest, and it was a book. No, more than a book; after dusting it off, she found that it was a diary or journal of some kind. It had no lock on it, and the inscription on the inside read: “To Mom, from your children Petra and Anakin.” Shmi’s journal! Leia thought. Amazing that the pages are still in good condition, even after all these years!

“Are you ready to leave yet? This place is making it difficult to breathe” Han said in his usual, gruff tone, poking his head into the bedroom. “What is that?”

Leia could barely contain her excitement over her discovery. “Shmi’s journal.”
 
Ch. 1: After Effects

^^Thank you!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I realized when going through this fan fiction to post it on Underlined, the glaring inconsistencies between it and its sister story, Not Quite a Shadow. Because Not Quite a Shadow is still a WIP, I'm currently having a friend beta read that as I write. Then, if/when time allows, I will come back and do the same with this story. I just can't focus on two stories at once, especially with how busy I am right now.
 
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