XIX. WASTELAND
word count: 4222

               Truthfully, Oberyn thought he would never see Tatooine ever again. He was a long way from being that twelve year old boy. Fear no longer rose in him like the suns every morning. He wished he had been stronger. A Mandalorian of Tatooine, Oberyn should have been braver. Anakin was more fearless than him and there was a year between them. The starship they borrowed for the trip (Oberyn's own royal ship which he wasn't sure he was licensed to fly) provided a fleeting comfort, but in his reflection against the transparisteel, all Oberyn could see was a failure.

Anakin had been piloting the ship but disappeared from the cockpit with Artoo after the ship dropped out of hyperspace to contact Fallon. Oberyn did not know the full extent of the nature of Fallon's work, even though she worked under royal Nabooian decree, no one did. He also did not know how long Anakin had known Rhea Solarys and how much he trusted her (Oberyn could count on one hand how many times he had seen her, but she seemed sweet enough by their limited interactions), but precautions had to be taken. Precautions were always taken for Fallon Uttara — it was the only way to keep her and her children safe. For all the lives she touched, keeping her secrets were the least they could do for her.

Fallon was a gift to all who knew her, a shining glimmer of hope — a reminder to Oberyn that anything was possible. As a quiet, timid boy on Coruscant, Fallon had introduced him to the Naberrie family and gave him a home. She even showed him a path into politics, a world she had grown up in (like Padmé but on a greater and all-consuming level), and she provided guidance that few others could. Fallon Uttara had freed his family and given them all new lives and greater purposes. Aerrik, Fallon's husband, was one of the greatest men Obern knew: a true friend and confidant. Oberyn felt safe beside any Uttara, including their daughter. Oberyn had few interactions with Violet Uttara before she had been whisked away to become a Jedi like Anakin, she was a sweet soul with a fire in her eyes like her mother. Oberyn wished he knew the girl better — and her brother, who was hidden away across the stars. It broke Oberyn's heart knowing even he was powerless to help. He wished he could make Naboo a true haven for all the people who had ever helped him. (Fallon often said she was touched by his kindness. Then her eyes would grow glassy, and murmur about how her family being united was not written in the stars. It felt like a cruel joke.) She had saved him but he did not know how to save her.

Oberyn's heart soared when Anakin returned to the cockpit, reciting coordinates that Fallon had given him and setting them into the navicomputer. In nine years, she had never let the Skywalker boys down. Oberyn knew they were going to see their mother again.

***

Fallon's intel brought them to a small homestead belonging to a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars. He lived there with his son, Owen, and his girlfriend, Beru. And a few years ago, Cliegg had made Shmi Skywalker and they were married. Oberyn had a stepfather and a stepbrother, and he had no idea.

The first figure that emerged from the home as Oberyn, Anakin and Rhea descended from their ship was a thin, grey droid, weatherbeaten and familiar. Oberyn nudged his brother's arm, a smile edging onto his face. The droid Anakin had been making when they were children — C-3PO. Their mother had kept him, and finished him. Oberyn was never as great with tools as his mother and brother. (Shmi used to say Oberyn was like his father in that respect. It made the young boy sing with pride after his father's death, Luc Vizsla lived on in his son. Oberyn saw his parents in Anakin every time he looked at his brother, it made Oberyn happy to watch. And made him happier still to remember that he was still like his parents too.)

The old droid recognised the Skywalker boys immediately. "Oh my Maker! Master Anakin! Master Oberyn! I knew you would return. And who is this?"

Anakin was smiling, the familiarity lifting the shroud of his fear from his shoulders. (Oberyn wished he could shoulder his brother's burdens, wished he felt the Force so deeply, wished he understood his brother in the way Anakin deserved.) "This is my friend, Rhea."

"Marvellous!" the droid exclaimed. "I'm so pleased to see you all."

"We've come to see our mother," Anakin explained.

Uncertainty marked Threepio's movements. "Perhaps we should go indoors..."

Oberyn tried to read Anakin's expression, but shadow overcast his face. Fear squirmed in the pit of Oberyn's stomach. Dread clawed at his lungs. What had Anakin seen in his nightmares? What had he seen that Oberyn could never understand?

Threepio led them into the homestead. The droid introduced them to the Lars family, who had all heard a thousand stories about the Skywalker brothers.

"Is our mother here?" Anakin asked. His voice was growing desperate.

"No, she's not." Cliegg Lars's voice came gruffly from behind Owen and Beru. Bound to a hoverchair, one of Cliegg's legs was heavily bandaged, and the other was missing. They were recent injuries, blood still stained the off-white gauze. "We have a lot to talk about."

***

They gathered in the kitchen, snugly tucked around a table. "It was just before dawn," Cliegg was explaining.

"They came out of nowhere," Owen added.

"A band of Tusken Raiders." (Oberyn's heart was in his throat. His hands clenched into tight fists under the table, fingers scratching against the soft fabric of his trousers. Their mother had always warned the boys to stay far away from the Raiders — they were not all violent creatures, but Oberyn heard too many horrid stories growing up. Oberyn looked at his brother. This was what Anakin had seen in his nightmares.) "Your mother had gone out early, like she always did, to pick mushrooms that grow on vaporators. From the tracks, she was about halfway home when they took her. Those Tuskens walk like men, but they're vicious, mindless monsters."

"We'd seen many signs that they were about," Owen interjected. "She shouldn't have gone out."

"We cannot live huddled in fear," Cliegg scolded his son. He calmed quickly, turning back to Anakin and Oberyn. "All signs were that we'd chased the Tuskens away. We didn't know how strong this raiding band was — stronger than anything any of us have ever seen. Thirty of us went out after Shmi. Four of us came back." The pain in Cliegg's leg made him grimace. "I'd still be out there, only... after I lost my leg... I just can't ride anymore. Not until I heal.

"This isn't the way I wanted to meet you boys," Cliegg said after taking a moment to compose himself. "This isn't how your mother and I planned it. I don't want to give up on her, but she's been gone a month. There's little hope she's lasted this long."

Oberyn's quiet breaths grew ragged. This should never have happened. There had been too many times that he could have brought his mother far away from Tatooine. He should have ignored his mother's wishes and demanded that she come and live on Naboo with him. The fiery look in Anakin's eye as he stared at his brother told Oberyn that Anakin felt the same way. Anakin shot to his feet.

"Anakin," Oberyn warned, rising to meet his brother.

"No. I'm going to find my mother."

Anakin left the kitchen, his steps thunderous. Oberyn chased his younger brother out of the homestead to where the family's speeder bikes sat.

"I can feel her pain, Ryn. I have to go to her."

"I know. But let me come with you." Oberyn reached out.

Anakin shook his head. "No. It's dangerous — and you're still injured."

"I'm sorry I haven't been a good brother since–"

Anakin turned to him fully. Beneath the blazing suns, Oberyn felt cold. Anakin's voice came like venom. "You should have brought her away from this place! Fallon freed her, she's been here alone. She should have been living somewhere good. She is our mother!"

Oberyn had seen Shmi since he and Anakin left Tatooine, but never told his brother. (Perhaps that was where his mistakes began — or perhaps they began in Sundari, when he put down the wooden sword his father had made. When Oberyn decided he was not a warrior, did he surrender his strength to resist?) When Athena and Padmé's handmaiden, Sabé, found Shmi on Tatooine, Oberyn had tried to convince his mother to leave with him. But he had not convinced her hard enough. Shmi Skywalker was not steel like Oberyn's father, she had become part of the desert. She had a place here, a purpose. Oberyn hated leaving her behind, but Shmi was making changes that not even he could make on Naboo's throne. But Anakin did not know of their mother's work, how she was brought into Fallon's fold. Oberyn was not sure if Anakin would be allowed to see their mother again, with all the Jedi's rules on attachments and letting go of the past. Shmi's story was not Oberyn's to tell. (And that was where Oberyn had failed.)

"You let her stay here. If she dies, her blood is on your hands."

Anakin's words were a slap in the face. Worse. It would have been a mercy for Anakin to strike his brother. Oberyn had failed their family. He was not a Mandalorian like his father after all. He did not deserve to be his mother's son. Instead, Oberyn let his brother go.

***

There was a room in the homestead filled with tools and odd ends of projects that Oberyn could see his mother all across. He sat down at the workbench. He wished he was more like his brother. Fearless, his spirit indomitable, Anakin had always been the braver son. Some brother Oberyn was, he wasn't even there to see the signs that Anakin was struggling until it was too late and Shmi was in trouble. Another thought of his mother had Oberyn's chest tighten. (It's my fault. It's my fault.) Anakin's words echoed in his mind again — her blood is on your hands.

He was powerless. He was a King but he had nothing as soon as he left Nabooian soil.

With his left hand, Oberyn picked up a wrench that sat in front of him, the metal cold against his fingers. Thoughtlessly, he threw it across the room. It made a horrid clatter, sending a wave of things to the floor with it. Crippling pain seized his left shoulder. He swore loudly, a long string of curses leaving his lips in both Huttese and Mando'a. His right hand pressed against his shoulder wound, bitterly disappointed in himself. That was a stupid move, and it had not helped his anger and helplessness.

Oberyn abandoned the stool he had been sitting at, instead taking refuge under the workbench like a child — like the child he had once been. He had never been as useful to Watto as a kid, but the Toydarian could not get rid of him either, so Oberyn had found many places to hide in that workshop. He hid away with Anakin too, in every possible moment, pressed closely together like they were the only ones in the world. Oberyn's only tools had ever been his voice and his mind, he was even better at bartering than Watto — but none of that was helpful in a fight.

A coolness set across the room as the twin suns set, casting the world in darkness. Anakin was alone. Shmi was alone. (And Oberyn was doing nothing.) He was that twelve year old boy, who he had tried to shed like a winter cloak. The boy's whose fear did not fade with the fire on the horizon. Then a new sun approached Oberyn.

"Are you alright in here?" The voice was honey sweet.

Bashful, Oberyn emerged from under the workbench with as much dignity as he could muster. He found Rhea Solarys in the doorway — her blonde hair was tied back loosely and her cream robes were damp around the sleeves where she had helped Beru clean up after dinner.

"Sorry," Rhea apologised. "I heard crashes and thought you might be hurt. I don't want to intrude but..."

Oberyn shook his head. He retreated back to the stool he had sat on at first. The workshop was a mess now, he'd be lucky if nothing was broken now. His eyes began to sting and he cursed under his breath — this was really not the time. "It's fine. I'm fine. I'm sorry I disturbed you."

Rhea looked unconvinced. Her eyes widened, fixing on his shoulder. "You're bleeding!"

There were small spots of blood on Oberyn's white shirt. (Why did he wear white on Tatooine of all places?) "Oh. It's nothing. It'll wash out."

"I saw you get shot at the wedding. If it's serious, let me help." She came closer to him.

Oberyn stood, crossing the workbench in the opposite direction Rhea was approaching him from. "I can fix it myself. It's no problem–"

She gave him a frighteningly stern frown. "I'm a healer. Please let me help."

Begrudgingly, Oberyn returned to the stool. Rhea motioned for him to remove his shirt and Oberyn obliged. There were red blotches across the bandages. Nothing hurt until Rhea, with gentle hands, peeled the gauze away and she dabbed at the fresh blood.

"Don't you need medical supplies?" Oberyn asked, glancing around the room.

Rhea shook her head. "This will hurt a little, but it won't last long."

Oberyn gave her a puzzled expression. Then Rhea pressed her hands tightly around his left shoulder. Oberyn tried not to flinch or tense his body, instead he grasped at the edge of the workbench and gritted his teeth. A strange warmth inflamed his shoulder, leaving stabbing tingles across his skin. He watched Rhea, her features scrunched in concentration. Oberyn wished he understood Jedi better.

Rhea let him go and wiped the smears of blood from her hands. "How does that feel?"

Oberyn stared at his shoulder — his wound was gone. All gone. There wasn't even a trace of a scar. "What? How did you–"

"It's a blessing from our Saint, Ashla. On my homeworld, Hemera, a lot of us are natural healers. A rare few of us have the Force too, which makes the process a little quicker," Rhea explained. There was a deflation to her figure, as though she had taken something from herself to heal him.

"Wow. That's... that's incredible. Thank you."

"It's no problem." Rhea flashed him a smile. "You should probably find a spare shirt."

Oberyn nodded, taking his blood-spotted shirt in his hands. "We should stick together for next time I get shot by accident," he joked. They both laughed.

They slipped into silence for a moment. Oberyn could see thoughts turning on Rhea's face as if she was debating whether to say something.

"Anakin never talks about this place," she said slowly. "He mentions Mandalore, but rarely your parents. Forgive me, but sometimes I forget he has a brother."

Oberyn shuffled in his seat. He raked a hand through his brown curls. "We didn't have a good life here. No one here does. Anakin and I were lucky. Sometimes it's easier to forget." (He never talked about Tatooine either, like it was a memory to blur, a face to forget. But the memories were like iron, they did not leave — they only broke him harder. The desert planet was the ghost that haunted him.)

Suddenly, the air turned cold. As if the suns had died.

"Something is... wrong."

Rhea held no such hesitation. "It's Anakin, I can feel it. Come on."

Tugging his shirt back on, Oberyn followed the young Jedi out of the workshop and into the night.

***

Sat across two speeders, Oberyn and Rhea tore across the late night sands. The air was still dry and hot despite the loss of light. Oberyn knew he would need to shower three times before he got rid of the feel of the sand against his skin again. He followed after Rhea, who let the Force guide her forward. Icy writhing fear had sunken into Oberyn's bones and would not leave. He had no idea what they were racing towards. His brother and mother could both be dead.

After what felt like an age, Oberyn saw smoke rising on the distant horizon. And, far closer to them, Oberyn noticed an abandoned speeder bike, identical to the one he was on. Two figures were next to the empty bike: one in the sand, the other leaning over them.

Oberyn almost slipped from his bike in his haste to park and cross the sands to Anakin and Shmi. He collapsed by his brother's side, numbness overtaking his body as he looked at his mother. Shmi's skin was bruised and covered in fresh and old blood from too many cuts. Her eyes were half open, breaths shallow. She was dying.

"Mum." Oberyn's voice was almost silent next to the rippling sands.

Shmi found new strength as her gaze found her eldest son. "Oberyn." She reached for him, Oberyn took his mother's hand tightly. "We have done good work here," she murmured through swollen lips. "Do not blame yourself."

Oberyn felt Anakin's eyes on him like daggers.

"My boys... I'm so proud of you. Now I am complete."

Shmi's hand fell limp in Oberyn's hand. Anakin cried out for her, begging her not to go.

Oberyn turned to Rhea, who stood away from the Skywalkers in their grief. "Help her, please. You have to help her."

Anakin looked to his friend, his eyes wet with sorrow, as Rhea came closer. She knelt down across from the boys. Rhea surveyed Shmi's broken body and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "I've never..." She paused. "I cannot heal her fully, but I can keep her alive."

"Please try," Oberyn's voice wavering.

Oberyn drew Anakin away to give Rhea room to work. Pulling Anakin back was like bending steel, but eventually Anakin submitted to his brother's grasp. Rhea set her hands against the worst of Shmi's surface injuries. Oberyn looked back at the smoky horizon, wondering what Anakin had left behind — but Anakin would not look away from their mother.

Finally, Shmi drew breath. Anakin knocked Rhea into a fierce hug. Oberyn saw the exhaustion in the girl's eyes that she tried to hide behind her smile. Shmi was still unconscious as Oberyn brought her into his arms. Her skin was unblemished, the rise and fall of her chest was strong. Shmi Skywalker was alive — and Oberyn was never going to let her go again.

***

It was dawn when they arrived back at the homestead. The family shared their intense relief, and the day passed with slow recovery. Anakin met no one's gaze and avoided his brother, instead he hid away in his mother's room. Shmi slept the whole day, as did Rhea — Anakin would never be able to repay her for this — and Anakin did not leave his mother's side. In the small hours when Anakin slept himself, he felt the first stillness to his dreams in months. His mother was safe, and Tatooine would not gain another ghost to haunt him with.

The following day, Shmi had regained enough of her strength to sit with her sons. The homestead was quiet when the Skywalkers sat around the dining table: Shmi at the head, Anakin and Oberyn facing each other. And Shmi told her sons about the last nine years of her life.

Anakin had always hoped to the stars that his mother found a good life after they were set free from their shackles. His ideas had always taken Shmi far away from Tatooine. And even though his mother had been stuck on this horrible world, she had been living a true life.

"Fallon stayed in contact with me after you left," Shmi explained. "She told me all about how you boys were settling in and growing up. Six years ago, I met two friends of Padmé Amidala: Athena Palpatine and Sabé. Their Queen — senator by this point — had sent them on a mission to Tatooine to help free slaves here, a mission which Fallon also had a stake in. And I helped them develop technology to deactivate and remove the chips that were kept inside us. Then Oberyn was able to visit, and use his position as one of Naboo's royal advisors to find places for the freed slaves to go, where they could be safe."

Pride filled Anakin's chest. His mother was helping people, slaves like they were. Because of people like Fallon and Shmi, the galaxy could become a brighter and better place. But conflict tugged at him. Oberyn had seen their mother — knew she was alive, happy even — and had told him nothing. Anakin still talked to Fallon often, and Athena was supposed to be his closest friend. And yet he had been kept in the dark by them all. Shmi was his mother too. Did Anakin not deserve to know what was happening?

"Come home with us," Anakin pleaded. "Please."

Shmi brought her youngest son closer to cup his face. "This is my home. And I cannot leave while people still need help."

I need you too, Anakin thought.

The moment was pierced by a series of urgent beeps and whistles. Anakin looked up, reluctantly pulling from his mother's touch. Elia's droid, R2-D2, was rolling their way.

"Artoo, what are you doing here?" Oberyn asked.

The droid beeped and Anakin rose suddenly to his feet. "You have a message from Obi-Wan?" His blood ran cold. "Why is Athena with him? What is going on?"

Artoo beeped again with urgency. Anakin turned to Oberyn. "I'm going to wake Rhea. Meet me on the ship, something is wrong."

***

Back aboard Oberyn's ship, Artoo shone a hologram before them, depicting Obi-Wan and Athena.

"Anakin," the Jedi Knight explained, "my long-range transmitter has been knocked out. Retransmit this message to Coruscant."

Anakin glanced at Rhea, who was already working to patch them through to the Jedi Council. When the signal connected, Artoo began to play the rest of Obi-Wan's message.

"I have tracked the bounty hunter Jango Fett to the droid foundries of Geonosis. The Trade Federation is to take delivery of a droid army here and it is clear that Viceroy Gunray is behind the assassination attempts on Senators Amidala and Sitara."

Anakin glanced at his brother — Oberyn had curled his hands into tight fists. Naboo had spent too many years in conflict with the Trade Federation.

Obi-Wan continued, "The Commerce Guild and Corporate Alliance have both pledged their armies to Count Dooku and are forming an–" He cut off as he and Athena became surrounded by battle droids. They ignited their lightsabers ready to fight, but the droids had them trapped, their own weapons raised against Athena and OBi-Wan. The hologram flickered and cut off.

"We should go back to Aphelion," Oberyn said slowly, breaking the silence that had grown. "Padmé and Elia could still be in danger–"

Anakin shook his head. "I will abandon Athena and Obi-Wan to die! They are in more trouble than Padmé and Elia could be right now." He had already abandoned his assignment to come after his mother, and they had saved her. Now Obi-Wan and Athena needed him too — Anakin had to go to them, without hesitation. "If we can stop the Viceroy and Count Dooku then the Senators and the Princess will be safe regardless."

Rhea was looking at flight maps. "Geonosis is only a parsec away. We would get there far sooner than the Council could."

"We're going," Anakin announced. He stood and looked at Oberyn. "We need to say goodbye to Mom."

Oberyn nodded. He followed Anakin out of the cockpit. But before they could leave the ship, Oberyn caught his brother's arm. Anakin turned to face him.

"So what did you say to her?"

Anakin looked puzzled. "What did I say to who?"

Oberyn furrowed his brow. "To El when she..." He trailed off as he noticed Anakin's confusion. "Did she not find you before you came to me?"

"No. What did she need to tell me?"

Oberyn resumed his walk down the ship. "That's a conversation you need to have with Elia."

Anakin stumbled as he tried to find the words to say. "Hey, that's not fair! You can't say something like that and not explain!" (With one mention of her name, Elia was back to being stuck in his head — like tree roots laying claim to a garden it should not belong to.)

Oberyn gave a small smirk, which only made Anakin more frustrated over what Elia could possibly want him for. "Come on, Mum is waiting for us."

Anakin followed after his brother for them to bid farewell to their mother, and promise that they would return soon. Then they returned to the ship to leave for Geonosis, and war.

✶

AUTHOR'S NOTE

penultimate chapter of attack of the clones i'm sooooo ready to be done!!! sorry this took literally forever. but i love this chapter sm 🤍

all canon scenes have lifted from the attack of the clones novelisation! i've tried to rewrite some of the descriptions, but a lot is still the same. and the dialogue in canon scenes is not mine.

also i have not seen anyone else have shmi survive in their fic besides me and archivereid so if there's an influx of fics where shmi survives, i know where you came from ;)

did anakin kill the tusken raiders? that's an unsolved mystery!

thank you for reading, i hope you enjoyed 🤍