elrhiarhodan

Title: From All The Spaces Between Times
Chapter: Chapter Three - My Scream Is Made of Strange Edges
Author:

elrhiarhodan /

elrhiarhodan
Fandom: Star Wars, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars - Obi Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars - Jedi Apprentice Books
Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Watto, Quinlan Vos, Padmé Amidala, Sabé, Darth Maul, Yoda, Mace Windu, Quinlan Vos, Original Characters, Other Characters To Be Added
Pairings: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn, eventual Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn (but not for a long while)
Word Count: ~4600 this chapter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: Author Chooses Not To Use Warning/Ratings
Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi has never known it, but he has always been the Force’s Champion, destined to suffer infinite sadness in defense of the Light. On his last turn on the wheel, responsibility for The Chosen One, the false child of prophecy, had been thrust upon him with no warning, and Darkness held the upper hand.

But this time, the Force has marshaled its power and will protect its Champion until the time is right, no matter how long Obi-Wan has to wait and how much he has to suffer.

Or,

Obi-Wan is reborn as a twelve-year old.

He wakes up on a slavers’ ship, with all of his prior life’s memories intact, and he’s bound for Tatooine with a Force-inhibitor collar around his neck, a bomb implanted in his spine, and no way of knowing what state of the Galaxy is in.

Just another day in the life of the Force’s Champion.

Chapter Summary: Shmi’s story is one of tragedy and hope, and the truth of it rocks Obi-Wan’s entire foundation.

CW: Extended mention of suicidal ideation.

From All The Spaces Between Times - Chapter Three: My Scream Is Made of Strange Edges (On AO3)

Meta - Chapter Three - My Scream Is Made of Strange Edges

Thank you for clicking on the link and coming to read. Once again, this week’s meta is a combination of Star Wars lore, mostly from the Legends era, some graphics I’ve found in my library of Star Wars books, and a bit of thought about the story thus far.

Shmi Skywalker

It’s often said that the fathers in the Star Wars franchise are terrible (there are a few notable exceptions, such as Bail Organa, Cham Syndulla, Plo Koon, and eventually, Din Djarin), but motherhood and Star Wars is pure tragedy.

Since this is a fix-it story, that was one thing I want to fix. Fridging Shmi was a cheap trick and one of the reasons why I lost interest in the Prequel trilogy. Shmi was an interesting woman with a complex story, but Lucas created her just to kill her off in the most horrific way, to accelerate Anakin’s Fall.

You know, George, Anakin could have been an orphan.

I say, hell no to fridging woman in my favorite franchise. It’s time to give her a better fate.

Her story, as told in Chapter One, that she and her parents had been colonists on some Outer Rim world, is mostly canon-compliant. But I give her a better outcome than what she’d experienced according to Wookieepedia. Shmi had been sold and re-sold as a child before she was purchased by Gardulla the Hutt. In this story, Shmi grew up as a slave in Gardulla’s court, spending time on both Nal Hutta and Tatooine. Her life was hard and bitter, but just not as horrible as in canon.

Although I have ratcheted up the angst with Watto, he has no kindness for her.

About those Outer-Rim colonies

Credit: Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy, © and ^™ 2016 Lucasfilm, Ltd., Text by Pablo Hidalgo, Artwork by Russell Walks

The text that accompanies this poster:

Deep space imagery meant to evoke adventurism and mystery was common in the Eleven Star Marketing’s campaign launched on behalf of the Republic Ministry of Economic Development. Even the most superficial digging into corporate relations will uncover that Eleven Star, based out of Cato Neimoidia, was also the public relations agency for the Trade Federation. The wanderlust-stricken souls stirred into action by these messages would be guided toward Trade Federation– controlled hyperspace routes with corresponding tariffs and registration fees. Such lucrative administrative overlap was frequently cited as “inevitable,” particularly by the Republic politicians who met with Federation lobbyists to ensure said inevitability would occur.

The Republic might have promoted the Outer Rim colonies, and the Trade Federation might have controlled the hyperspace routes, but certainly there were other corporate interests funding and profiting from those ventures… And shutting them down when the losses were too glaring on the balance sheets. (This is going to become relevant down the line.)

Of course, I can’t also help but think of the advertising blimps that populated the opening scenes of the original Bladerunner film, blaring out: "A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies, the
chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure. New climate, recreation facilities…". Sounds like someone borrowed a bit of imagery and text, hmmm?

The Midi-Chlorian Tester - Plot Hole Fixed

In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon transmits Anakin’s blood sample to Obi-Wan, who is waiting on the Queen’s ship. Honestly, this feels like a massive tech-fail, and the only reason why I think George did it this way is to give Obi-Wan a few lines in the story. He’d been absent for a good thirty minutes at this point.

And frankly, the very idea that the Nabooian ship has the tech to analyze the midi-chlorian count is just ridiculous. That’s a major Jedi secret, no?

So, the m-count tester is like a blood-glucose tester. Gives an automatic read and stores the data. Some of the older models might even store the actual blood sample. (Another thing that’s going to be important in upcoming chapters).

Plo Koon

On one hand, I can’t imagine there is anyone reading this story who doesn’t know who Plo Koon is. And on the other hand, there are many Star Wars fans who haven’t watched The Clone Wars, and focus solely on the cinematic properties, as he only appears via holo in TPM for a few brief moments, and from a distance in the arena scene in AofC, and just as briefly in RotS. He had no speaking lines in any of the prequel films.

So, I present to you, Jedi Master, Baran-Do sage, ace pilot, a father figure to his clone troopers (who murdered him in canon), the finder of Ahsoka Tano, Plo Koon:

Ironically, George Lucas had once said of Plo Koon that he is so weird looking, only someone with a diseased mind likes Plo Koon. (George, you make me so angry.)

Also, I’d like to take the opportunity to recommend one of the best crossovers I’ve ever read, Where Angels Fear to Tread, a Star Wars/Star Trek crossover that absolutely works. Rather than use a canon Star Trek character, the authors hae created an absolutely plausible OC (a Star Fleet commander during the height of the Dominion Wars) that gets dragged into the Star Wars galaxy (they ignore the “long time ago” and that’s fine). Plo Koon is the principal Jedi character and he is an absolute delight. The story is still in the works and publishes either every Friday or every other Friday depending on the chapter buffer. Don’t be put off by the fact that there are three authors. The writing and plotting are seamless.

That’s it for the meta for Chapter Three, I hope you’re enjoying this bit of a dive inside my brain. See you next week.