Let me tell you a story, a story of the constant battle between good and evil, of brave and wise Jedi and vicious and powerful Sith. Of soldiers, contrabandists, and separatists. Of Rebels and droids, bounty hunters and beasts. Of Friendships, Failures, Betrayals, Secrets, Sorcery, and Love. Of Evil Empires and Hope-filled Rebellions and A story of a continuous struggle between the Dark Side... and the Light. A story where villains lurk and scheme in the darkest of shadows and heroes come from the most unexpected of places. Let me tell you the story... of the Star Wars...
My name is Arno and my story began a long, long time ago... in a galaxy far, far away...
...
So you're like...super good at playing hide and seek then?" a young Anakin skywalker spoke to another kid in his group, around his age with a slightly annoyed expression.
"Basically... I'm really good at not getting caught," A kid with dark brown hair and hazel eyes replied with a cheeky grin as he had won their game of hide and seek. This caused the other kids in the group to look at him in awe.
Anakin huffed at his reply.
"ARNO! Dinner time!" an older voice called from one of the hovels along the slave quarters row. The kid who was smiling smugly wiped the grin off of his face as he said goodbye to the kids he had been playing with for the evening.
"I'll see you guys here tomorrow night and you can los- I mean we can play again!" Arno said with a small smirk as he ran back to his father.
The kids deadpanned at his slip-up before talking amongst themselves,
"What a pretentious kid, don't you think Kit?" Anakin asked with a slightly annoyed face. He had always been the best at hide and seek before this new kid had showed up.
"I don't know Ani, me and Wald think he'd be a good friend, he'll bring you back to reality..." Kitster Banai, a human child slave similar to Anikin, replied to him. Wald, a Rodian child slave, nodded his head in agreement with Kitster.
Anikin huffed again before waving them off and going home,
"Well, I'm getting hungry as well guys, let's just meet up again tomorrow..."
Kitster and Wald just shook their head at their best friend's antics,
"It's going to take time for him to realise that there's always someone better out there."
"...And that he's on the same level as everyone else..." Wald added.
.....
"So what did you observe today then, son?" A woman with dark skin smiled down at her son as she held the food in her hands, not yet putting it before Arno. Arno's eyes glistened as he began narrating his experience in this place,
"The local kid's group that I played with seemed to have an interesting dynamic. The eldest, Anakin Skywalker, seemed to hold the commanding position in the group, but this was only facilitated by another kid, Kitster Banai. He seemed to be the glue holding together the group. If it weren't for him, Anakin probably wouldn't have been able to convince Wald to join the group as he's an introverted kid who keeps to himself."
His mother's expression remained calm but internally she was grinning. From the other side of the room, his father, Trinto Duaba, fell into deep thought,
'His power of observation is incredibly developed for a child of his age... Have we been pushing him too much recently? Surely not... He seems to enjoy playing Informant.'
"It was even funnier though the reactions I got after learning their dynamic. See, Anakin isn't too bright, his few strong points being his tech skills and notable strength for our age range. Apart from that, if someone manages to mentally suppress him, and equal his strength, they could begin usurping his place," Arno continued speaking as he began digging into his food before pausing to finish his words, "All this being accomplished in one move, A simple game of Hide and Seek. It relatively negates his ability to use tech as Tattooine isn't known for having developed tech that he could use to hide behind some realistic hologram projector."
His mother seemed to pause for a second before looking back at her son in awe this time. Unable to resist, she ran over to her son and began smothering him in cuddles, doting on how smart and cunning her son was.
Trinto Duaba, however, noted that his son was going to turn into a terrifying individual when he grew up,
'If me and Trilla keep raising him like this... It gives me shivers of excitement to think of what he could become...'
"Okay, once you've finished up with dinner, don't forget to finish your chess and combat practice against CT-TD," his mother mentioned as she went back to cleaning the dishes.
His father simply glanced over at him from time to time whilst reading a paper on certain ancient species that used to inhabit the galaxy.
Meanwhile, Arno sighed internally at his greater amount of homework,
'Control and Tactical Training Droid, my ass...'
Finishing up his food, Arno looked towards the dark black droid that towered over everyone in the house in the corner and grinned at it. CT-TD was a re-constituted 3PO droid with parts from a JN-66 analysis droid, reprogrammed to include tactical and combative teaching potential. As Arno's father was a mechanic and technologically inclined man, TD was one of his proudest creations.
Pulling out the holo-chess board, Arno went over and sat next to TD, powering him on...
"Well, Hello There Master. What Rank would you like to play today's match on? 5,600?" TD Spoke with a firm yet calm voice.
"Let's shoot for 5,800, I.C.F.," Arno thought before confirming what rank he'd like to play at.
"Very well sir, Intergalactic Chess Federation Ranks will be applied..."
(Now think about it like this, as an average of ALL the species in the galaxy, Arno is at the peak compared to most species. Although certain species do have higher Elo.)
"Shooting for 5,800 Arno? You'd do well starting Grand Master Tournaments at this point..." his father spoke up as he watched Arno play against the droid he configured to go up to the max ICF rank, 7,100. As Arno played, his father simply watched his moves and looked out the window, wondering what was to come for his family.
....
The next morning,
"Arno, Me and your mother are going out, we're going to see an important guest who could get us the fuel we need to get off of Tattooine. You can go out and play around with your friends. Make sure not to cause any trouble," Trinto spoke as his wife finished sorting his collar out, trying to make him look presentable.
"Ahh, Sylva, what would I do without you?" He sighed as he gave her a kiss. Sylva rolled her eyes at her husband's antics before prompting everyone to leave the house. Arno's mother gave him a rub on the head as she biometrically locked the door,
"and if you do get in trouble Arno... run away. If that goes to crap, go easy on them please," Sylva smiled at him before asking him to run along.
Arno smiled as he began running towards an area known for kids to hang out. After getting out of his parent's sight he activated an ability he knew his species had, which he dubbed,
"Silence."
In the eyes of a few individuals in the crowd of the streets of Mos Espa, a child suddenly disappeared from their view, leaving them gobsmacked,
"I coulda sworn..."
(Alien language noises) "Mal JAH KABEREE?!"
"You're seeing ghosts darling, it might be time we go home."
With a burst of energy, Arno sprinted down the narrow alleyways of Mos Espa, his footsteps a staccato rhythm against the worn duracrete pavement.
As he approached the first building, he leapt effortlessly, using the wall as a launchpad. His fingers grazed the rooftop's edge, and with a powerful pull, he hoisted himself up.
Balancing on the rooftop's edge, Arno surveyed the landscape before him. The harsh Tatooine sun cast long shadows over the sandstone buildings, creating a maze of light and dark. It was a treacherous playground for anyone uninitiated, but Arno, he was initiated.
He crouched, muscles coiled like springs and launched himself across a gap between buildings. Mid-air, he executed a perfect somersault, twisting his body to land gracefully on the neighbouring rooftop. His landing was as silent as a whisper, and he continued his fluid momentum without breaking stride.
'This is what it's all about...'
The next obstacle was a series of low parapets, each a stepping stone on his journey. Arno moved like a shadow, leaping from parapet to parapet with the grace of a seasoned acrobat. His senses were finely tuned, every movement a calculated dance between instinct and precision.
As he reached a wider gap between structures, Arno's powerful legs propelled him into a soaring leap. He stretched out his arms, fingers grazing the edge of the distant rooftop. With a final burst of effort, he pulled himself up, landing in a crouch like a predatory cat.
The play area was now in sight, and Arno's heart raced with anticipation. He vaulted over a towering chimney, flipping in mid-air for style, before gracefully landing near his destination.
Arno descended from the rooftop, blending seamlessly into the group of kids as if he had been there all along. As he said hello to the other children, he knew that today's adventure was just the beginning of many more to come.
....
"Where the hell did you come from?" Kitster stared at Arno with a suspicious gaze.
"From the shadows, the wind's embrace, and the whispers of the cosmos" Arno replied with a cheeky grin on his face. Getting tapped on the shoulder, Kitster ignored what Arno had just said as he remembered that Arno still hadn't met every kid in the area,
"Arno, this is Amee, Amee this is Arno."
Pointing at the other two in the corner, he asked about their names. Kitster sighed and replied,
"Our red-headed friend is called Seek and the smaller girl is Melee."
Arno nodded, understanding that this group was very loose, simply playing together and calling each other 'friends' because they all had the same circumstances.
'I think we're going to be here for a while anyway, so maybe it might be better to make this group tighter whilst I'm here,' Arno thought.
"By the way, why are you here in the slave quarters when you said your family were free?" Amee questioned.
'Seems like Either Kit or the Rodian told the girl about my circumstances,' Arno concluded before asking the redhead if he knew about it as well.
Shaking his head, Seek confirmed one of Arno's thoughts.
'Someone's got a crush,' he laughed internally as he conjured an interesting image in his mind of either Wald or Kit shyly telling Amee about his circumstances.
"My parents are merchants and our host was gracious enough to give us lodging whilst we restocked," Arno said, keeping it brief. The other kids nodded before inviting him to play some games, of which, he won most of them.
Soon enough though, Anakin came along with something he wanted to show off,
"Guys...meet C3PO, he's a protocol droid that I'm building," Anakin said with a slightly smug, childish expression. Everyone seemed to be excited about that as Arno asked a question,
"Wait so can it help us learn stuff?"
Anakin shook his head,
"I only programmed him to speak the different languages, not teach them...but that's a good idea, I'll add that in future. Go on C3PO, introduce yourself to them."
"Tralá-ma! Yaso See-Threepio, Huram-Cybom Ristans. Kobi ra bosa!"
Arno laughed at C3PO introducing himself as Human-Cyborg Relations. Arno replied in Huttese,
"Kobi Na La Koka."
Anakin seemed to be impressed with Arno's fluent Huttese, "You speak Huttese too, Arno?!"
"Not only that, but I could also help you program him?" Arno offered before they began talking about the specifics of Arno's ability to help him out. Arno was confident that his software and programming capability was higher than Anakin's, even if he may be a bit weaker in salvaging/putting together hardware for the droid.
Saying goodbye to the group, Anakin's previous petty competitive spirit seemed to disappear as his passion for perfecting his droid overtook him.
Getting home, Anakin went to get his mother.
After a minute of looking around Anakin's home, he noted the interior. The hovel was sparsely furnished, reflecting the humble life of its inhabitants. The main living area was a single, open space serving multiple purposes. It contained a simple cooking area with a compact food preparation station, a basic dining table with a few mismatched chairs, and a sleeping area with an unassuming bed and a few blankets. The sand-coloured walls are adorned with a few personal items, including Anakin's podracing trophies and tools from his various mechanical projects.
"Ani, of course, your friend is welcome here," his mother replied to the boy as she came round the corner. She had a gentle and dignified appearance with medium-length brown hair, which she kept neatly tied or partially covered. She wore simple desert attire that reflected the hot and arid climate of Tatooine. Her eyes convey a sense of wisdom and inner strength, and her features are weathered by the harsh conditions of her homeworld.
"Hi there, little one, what's your name?" Anakin's mother spoke with a kind tone.
"It's Arno miss..."
"Skywalker, Shmi Skywalker. What a polite young friend you've brought back Ani," Shmi complimented her son before leaving them to their devices. Anakin began pulling Arno's sleeve towards his workshop.
The small alcove adjacent to the living area served as a makeshift workshop for him, Arno noted. Here, he understood that Anakin tinkered with and repaired droids and machinery, surrounded by an assortment of tools and spare parts. The workbench bears the scars of countless projects and modifications. Case in point, C3PO was lying on it right now.
"So this is where your magic is worked..." Arno voiced as he thought about the implications of Anakin's talent, ' he'd be a valuable ally if I were to start a company...'
"Make yourself familiar with the stuff in here as you like, I was aiming to finish the language protocols in C3PO by the end of the week though. I believe he currently has around 750,000 forms of communication coded for currently. Still far away from my goal though," Anakin told Arno of his progress. Arno put his hand on his chin before thinking that Anakin was making good progress with the language protocol,
"Maybe I should work on etiquette instead? It seems that you have the Language progress down to a t. and you know what you're doing with it."
Anakin thought about it for a while as it was true that he had benchmarks for his progress. It took him a while to think about whether he should trust another individual starting a program from scratch. Before long, however, Anakin nodded.
Cracking his knuckles Arno sat down at Anakin's desk and opened his programming device,
"Yeesh, this is an old computer. Actually, the first I ever practised with...Welp, here goes nothing."
.....
A/N: So that's that. Arno is definitely not a normal kid, with especially notable parents too.