![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: To Begin Again
Fandom: Star Wars
Pairing: Depa/Shmi
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Star Wars. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After Order 66 Depa wakes up in the past, on Tatooine, with the most beautiful woman she's ever seen looking down at her.
A/N: Written for phantomlistener for the![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
rarepairsexchange.
To Begin Again:
She's dead. Depa remembers dying. She's not dead. She can feel herself breathing. She can feel the warm dry air entering her lungs. This isn't Kaller! How did she get off Kaller? Where's Caleb? She keeps still. She breathes in and breathes out. There’s a kind presence near her, one that's full of concern.
"You're safe."
Depa opens her eyes. The most beautiful woman she’s ever seen is smiling down at her warmly. There’s something familiar about her features, but Depa doesn’t know her.
“I’ll get Master Vos,” she tells Depa.
Depa catches her hands and says, “Wait. Where am I? Who are you?”
“I’m Shmi Skywalker,” Shmi informs her. “You’re on the Whitesun’s moisture farm on Tatooine.”
Depa sits up abruptly. “That doesn’t make any sense. I was on Kaller.”
She almost tells Shmi she’s supposed to be dead. Depa remembers Anakin’s grief over losing his mother. They’re both supposed to be dead: Shmi on Tatooine and her on Kaller.
“You’re awake,” Quinlan says in the doorway. Depa turns. He’s grinning. He’s younger than the last time she saw him, some of the roundness of youth hasn’t entirely left his face. He’s also lighter. He’d been so burdened towards the end of the war, struggling not to fall.
Something happened that she doesn’t understand yet. Depa takes a slow breath, then sits up on the side of the bed. Shmi sits down next to her, placing an arm behind her. Shmi’s setting herself to brace her if she can’t sit up on her own, Depa realizes. She gives Shmi a grateful smile, then turns back to Quinlan. “Was there a padawan with me?”
“No,” Quinlan shakes his head. “Just you near death. When I touched you I saw men in armor attacking you, who were they?”
“What’s a padawan?” Shmi asks. “Should we try to find them?”
“It was just Depa,” Quinlan reassures. “I’d have sensed a padawan in distress.”
“A padawan is a student that gets one on one instruction with a Jedi Knight or Master,” Depa explains. Quinlan’s right, she can’t sense Caleb. He’s not here. Depa shudders. How did she get here and leave Caleb behind?
Children’s laughter drifts in through the window.
“Should we look, just in case?” Shmi stresses. “Tatooine isn’t the safest place to be alone.”
“He’s not here,” Depa says. “I should be able to sense him. I can’t.”
"Where would he be?" Shmi asks.
Depa looks at Shmi and then Quinlan before pushing herself to her feet. She steps over to the window carefully, bracing herself against it, before she looks out. There are several children playing with a ball, trying to keep it aloft as they pass it back and forth. One of those laughing children is Anakin, looking about as old as he did when Qui-Gon showed up with him. Somehow she manages to find her voice and ask, "Have you seen Master Jinn?"
"No," Quinlan answers. "I haven't."
She can feel Quinlan’s concern, he's practically bubbling with questions. She takes a deep calming breath. She can change things, but does she know enough to fix things?
“Can you sense a Sith?” she ventures.
Quinlan frowns, tilting his head. “Those men, in the armor, you trusted them and they turned on you. Did a Sith do that?”
Depa exhales. Her knees suddenly feel weak as she thinks about the moment that should’ve been her death. “There was a call from the Chancellor and suddenly their minds felt so horribly muted, almost blank, but there wasn’t time to process that before they were filled with hate and they started firing.”
She doesn’t mention that she could feel other Jedi dying as well.
“Your padawan looked young,” Quinlan says. He’s not looking at her anymore and she wonders how much he saw. She wants to cross the room, reach out and offer comfort, but she’s still too raw and doesn’t want to hurt him further.
“He’d just turned fourteen,” Depa says, answering Quinlan’s unasked question.
Shmi makes a gutted sound that is all indrawn breath and worry.
“This is the past,” Depa says. “Or to me it’s the past.”
Quinlan looks up at her slowly, wearily. Depa lets herself glance at Shmi, lets herself take in the warmth of Shmi’s presence and the hope dawning in her dark brown eyes. Maybe she can believe in that hope too? There has to be a reason the Force sent her here? Still, a part of wants to rush to the temple on Coruscant and see for herself that Caleb is alive and well. No, if the Force sent her to the past than she needs to try and prevent the war and the clones turning on the Jedi. There’s a thought there, something she needs to remember. Depa frowns.
She needs to figure out how close to the Naboo crisis they are, which means Kynachi is also in danger. She needs to figure out if the clones are already being made and what happened to them. Is there a way to prevent Maul from killing Qui-Gon? Is there a way to bring him from the dark into the light? Could he tell them who the Sith Lord is? Is there a way to prevent Dooku from falling? Could they save Ventress as well?
Depa feels her breath catch. She’s suddenly overwhelmed with possibilities. She tries to remind herself that Quinlan is here, he can help, but she’s already hurt him. They'll need help. She wonders how close Mace is. Who else would be in the area? It's been more than a decade!
Quinlan says something, his voice low and full of worry, but Depa doesn’t catch his words. She's too caught up in her own worry.
Shmi draws nears. She takes Depa's hands then presses their foreheads together. The men, clones, she's been fight with would call this a kiss. The thought breaks through her worry.
"Good," Shmi praises. "Can you concentrate on me?"
Depa squeezes Shmi’s hands. She lets herself stare into Shmi’s eyes. She takes a deep breath in through her noses, holds it in for a brief moment, then exhales slowly through her mouth. They'll figure this out. Together they'll figure out how to save everyone.
Fandom: Star Wars
Pairing: Depa/Shmi
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Star Wars. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After Order 66 Depa wakes up in the past, on Tatooine, with the most beautiful woman she's ever seen looking down at her.
A/N: Written for phantomlistener for the
rarepairsexchange.To Begin Again:
She's dead. Depa remembers dying. She's not dead. She can feel herself breathing. She can feel the warm dry air entering her lungs. This isn't Kaller! How did she get off Kaller? Where's Caleb? She keeps still. She breathes in and breathes out. There’s a kind presence near her, one that's full of concern.
"You're safe."
Depa opens her eyes. The most beautiful woman she’s ever seen is smiling down at her warmly. There’s something familiar about her features, but Depa doesn’t know her.
“I’ll get Master Vos,” she tells Depa.
Depa catches her hands and says, “Wait. Where am I? Who are you?”
“I’m Shmi Skywalker,” Shmi informs her. “You’re on the Whitesun’s moisture farm on Tatooine.”
Depa sits up abruptly. “That doesn’t make any sense. I was on Kaller.”
She almost tells Shmi she’s supposed to be dead. Depa remembers Anakin’s grief over losing his mother. They’re both supposed to be dead: Shmi on Tatooine and her on Kaller.
“You’re awake,” Quinlan says in the doorway. Depa turns. He’s grinning. He’s younger than the last time she saw him, some of the roundness of youth hasn’t entirely left his face. He’s also lighter. He’d been so burdened towards the end of the war, struggling not to fall.
Something happened that she doesn’t understand yet. Depa takes a slow breath, then sits up on the side of the bed. Shmi sits down next to her, placing an arm behind her. Shmi’s setting herself to brace her if she can’t sit up on her own, Depa realizes. She gives Shmi a grateful smile, then turns back to Quinlan. “Was there a padawan with me?”
“No,” Quinlan shakes his head. “Just you near death. When I touched you I saw men in armor attacking you, who were they?”
“What’s a padawan?” Shmi asks. “Should we try to find them?”
“It was just Depa,” Quinlan reassures. “I’d have sensed a padawan in distress.”
“A padawan is a student that gets one on one instruction with a Jedi Knight or Master,” Depa explains. Quinlan’s right, she can’t sense Caleb. He’s not here. Depa shudders. How did she get here and leave Caleb behind?
Children’s laughter drifts in through the window.
“Should we look, just in case?” Shmi stresses. “Tatooine isn’t the safest place to be alone.”
“He’s not here,” Depa says. “I should be able to sense him. I can’t.”
"Where would he be?" Shmi asks.
Depa looks at Shmi and then Quinlan before pushing herself to her feet. She steps over to the window carefully, bracing herself against it, before she looks out. There are several children playing with a ball, trying to keep it aloft as they pass it back and forth. One of those laughing children is Anakin, looking about as old as he did when Qui-Gon showed up with him. Somehow she manages to find her voice and ask, "Have you seen Master Jinn?"
"No," Quinlan answers. "I haven't."
She can feel Quinlan’s concern, he's practically bubbling with questions. She takes a deep calming breath. She can change things, but does she know enough to fix things?
“Can you sense a Sith?” she ventures.
Quinlan frowns, tilting his head. “Those men, in the armor, you trusted them and they turned on you. Did a Sith do that?”
Depa exhales. Her knees suddenly feel weak as she thinks about the moment that should’ve been her death. “There was a call from the Chancellor and suddenly their minds felt so horribly muted, almost blank, but there wasn’t time to process that before they were filled with hate and they started firing.”
She doesn’t mention that she could feel other Jedi dying as well.
“Your padawan looked young,” Quinlan says. He’s not looking at her anymore and she wonders how much he saw. She wants to cross the room, reach out and offer comfort, but she’s still too raw and doesn’t want to hurt him further.
“He’d just turned fourteen,” Depa says, answering Quinlan’s unasked question.
Shmi makes a gutted sound that is all indrawn breath and worry.
“This is the past,” Depa says. “Or to me it’s the past.”
Quinlan looks up at her slowly, wearily. Depa lets herself glance at Shmi, lets herself take in the warmth of Shmi’s presence and the hope dawning in her dark brown eyes. Maybe she can believe in that hope too? There has to be a reason the Force sent her here? Still, a part of wants to rush to the temple on Coruscant and see for herself that Caleb is alive and well. No, if the Force sent her to the past than she needs to try and prevent the war and the clones turning on the Jedi. There’s a thought there, something she needs to remember. Depa frowns.
She needs to figure out how close to the Naboo crisis they are, which means Kynachi is also in danger. She needs to figure out if the clones are already being made and what happened to them. Is there a way to prevent Maul from killing Qui-Gon? Is there a way to bring him from the dark into the light? Could he tell them who the Sith Lord is? Is there a way to prevent Dooku from falling? Could they save Ventress as well?
Depa feels her breath catch. She’s suddenly overwhelmed with possibilities. She tries to remind herself that Quinlan is here, he can help, but she’s already hurt him. They'll need help. She wonders how close Mace is. Who else would be in the area? It's been more than a decade!
Quinlan says something, his voice low and full of worry, but Depa doesn’t catch his words. She's too caught up in her own worry.
Shmi draws nears. She takes Depa's hands then presses their foreheads together. The men, clones, she's been fight with would call this a kiss. The thought breaks through her worry.
"Good," Shmi praises. "Can you concentrate on me?"
Depa squeezes Shmi’s hands. She lets herself stare into Shmi’s eyes. She takes a deep breath in through her noses, holds it in for a brief moment, then exhales slowly through her mouth. They'll figure this out. Together they'll figure out how to save everyone.