Chapter 10 is here! Everyone, all you dear readers, sorry it took so long. I had ideas in my head that needed to be worked out gradually, which created this chapter. Hope you like! Any errors, please PM me or review to tell me of them, 'kay?
Disclaimer: Too tired, why bother? You know it, I know it, blah blah blah...
I hate sand. For the past hour and a half, Master Mace Windu could hardly get the thought out of his head. I hate it. It gets in my boots, in my clothes, under my skin, and nearly everywhere where I don't want it to be. I especially hate the sand even more since I'm travelling in it with HIM. He glanced over at Qui-Gon, who suddenly appeared interested in the town that they were about to bump into. He grinned; he bet the Jedi Master was as uncomfortable as he was, and probably even more so.
He better be feeling remorse for not bringing Obi-Wan, if he doesn't when we meet the locals. I wish he wouldn't act as if it was all Obi-Wan's fault, which he is still doing, even after all these years. As they neared the town, and came from being in the almost-abandoned outskirts to being in the center of traffic, he had to shield his eyes – and not just from the twin suns' glare, either. Tiny sand hovels were scattered around in no particular order, and most were clustered with their backs all joined in the middle. No recognizable words of any kind were to be seen, just peculiar figures on the metal signs hanging, attached to the tops of the sand-and-mud huts.
As Mace looked closer, however, he discovered that it was the written form of Huttese – the language of the Hutts. A corner of his mouth lifted up; he knew he could read it, but could Qui-Gon do the same? Obviously not, he thought, smirking as his fellow Jedi squinted at the signs and turned every which way, his sweat-dampened hair flapping against his back. At the very least, he certainly acts like he's lost.
"Master Windu," the young woman shuffled her feet over to walk beside him, "how are we going to find a working hyperdrive for milady's ship in this dusty, hoodlum-filled place?" He smiled down at her.
"Don't worry," he whispered conspiratorially. "Trust me, Obi-Wan and I have visited a lot of these places – dusty, worn down, and filled with a motley collection of farmers, rough-looking drunkards with not a lick of sense in their brains, scheming gamblers who haven't a cent to their name, and of course, bounty hunters."
"Bounty hunters?!!" Padmé's face looked worried as she looked around behind and to the sides, trying to see if anyone was following them with a gun pointed at one of their heads. Master Windu gave her a comforting smile.
"Don't worry," he said. "Masters Jinn and I will protect you from any danger. After all, handmaiden, we are Jedi." She gave him one of the quirkiest grins he had ever seen.
"Well then, Master Jedi," she said, grinning brazenly up at him, "you should know better by now. As I told your apprentice earlier, my friends call me Padmé, and I would really appreciate if you did the same." He raised an eyebrow, but couldn't help the grin working at the corners of his mouth at her boldness.
"Well, Padmé, if I'm going to call you by your first name, then you should call me by mine." He smirked a little. "I am known by all friends, fellow Jedi Masters, and even my apprentice when he's acting all smart as 'Mace.'"
"Just 'Mace?'" He nodded. "Okay. Well, Mace, do you know where we're going?" He nodded.
"Yes; see that sign up above that little sand hut over there?" She squinted.
"To the left of the street ahead? The one with the sign with the weird squiggles on it?" He suppressed a smile.
"Yep. Now, those so-called squiggles mean, 'Watto's Junk Shop.' That, Padmé, is where we'll find your hyperdrive."
"You can read those streaks?" He nodded. "Wow! I wish I knew how to read…well, whatever kind of language is up there."
"That's Huttese," he said, pointing up to the sign. "It's not commonly used, so it's not unusual that you don't know it, or even haven't seen it before. It's commonly used by smugglers and thieves, however, not to mention the Hutts." He smirked again, this time wider. "In fact, Obi-Wan and I ended up having to learn it because our guides were giving us false information from Gardulla the Hutt, not to mention giving her the impression we were there to torture and kill her." His smile faded. "It ended up saving our hides, the Hutt's life, and we were able to stay on her good side." However, it seemed that, no matter how hard he tried to maintain a straight face and remain indifferent to the story he just told, Padmé still broke out into girlish giggling, something he expected to be from a regular schoolgirl rather than this grown woman. No matter how many times he gave her a stern look that said, 'Be quiet, and shut up so we don't cause a scene,' she still kept laughing, although she toned it down to a quiet chuckle after the ten stern glances she had received. He sighed again (he felt he was starting a new record for sighing in a day), and tapped Qui-Gon on the shoulder. The giant of a Jedi turned with a nonchalance Mace found himself wishing he had.
"We're going in there," he shouted over the noise, then pointed to make sure Qui-Gon knew where exactly 'it' was. The Jedi Master nodded and started heading for the building. Mace grabbed Jar Jar's arm with one hand and Padmé's with the other.
"Come on, Artoo," he called behind, craning his neck in order to see the little droid more clearly, and to see whether it was there or not. If it was, and wasn't following their tiny group, he'd personally reprogram the droid (better yet, I'll make Obi-Wan do it, he thought) once they returned to the ship, no matter how hard the others might complain. To his relief, he saw the little droid following close behind them, sending out an ear-piercing whistle to let them know he wasn't far behind. Mace gave him a grim smile.
"Come on, you two," he said to the two beings he was escorting to the junkshop. "We have to catch up to Qui-Gon in order to find the hyperdrive. And don't tug away; if we don't stick together, you two could very well get lost in this seedy place." Jar Jar tried to pull an innocent face.
"Whosa gitten lost? Not mesa, Master Wendu. Mesa issen a good Gungan, a spwendid tracker en wunnerful memory. Mesa would never get lost, Master Wendu." Master Windu tried hard not to smile as he led the two through the small doorway of the shop, hunkering down in order to make it through.
"Perhaps, Jar Jar, but we wouldn't want to lose a translator, now would we? After all, if you get lost, I'll be the only one left to translate what they're saying. Now hurry up." With that, he yanked the Gungan through by the waist and set him up straight. However, that didn't do much for the little spots in Jar Jar's vision, nor for his faltering, uneasy balance.
"Ooh, mesa seesen stars, Master Wendu. Pwetty stars, thesem are. Can mesa go and catchsen zem?"
"Not now, Jar Jar," Mace replied, helping Padmé through the tiny opening, and using the Force to guide the droid. "We're here, and I need you to stay with us." He grabbed Jar Jar's shoulder to steady the Gungan. "Definitely both physically and mentally." He looked up in time to see a wrinkled, blue-skinned creature flying towards them, its wings going faster than the average rate for a hyperdrive. A Toydarian, he thought, straightening as it greeted them with, "Hi chuba da naga?" Qui-Gon blinked.
"Wha-?" he started before Mace cut him off.
"Gooddé da lodia," he said formally, spreading his hands out in a gesture of peace. The Toydarian's mouth hung wide open; he had to shake himself before continuing with the conversation, which Qui-Gon was now officially excluded from.
"Chowbaso," he replied, nodding towards Mace with an air reserved for only those who were influential, or seemed influential in his opinion. "Dolpee kikyuna. Kee chai chai cun kuta?"
"Mi bosco de pawa che bota," Mace replied, waving Artoo forward to join their conversation. "/My droid has the parts we need here in his databanks. Let's go further in your shop so that you may get the list/"
"/Okay/" As they walked to the back of the shop with Artoo following them (or, in the creature's case, flew), they continued to converse in Huttese as Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, and Padmé looked on, the former amazed by his friend's talent.
"/I am called Mace by those who know me. What is your name? /"
"/I'm Watto. I own this yard, and have a greater collection of spare parts than anywhere else in this city. You could even ask around if you wanted to. /"
"/No, thank you; I'm more interested in what you have to offer me here, Watto. /"
"/Well, if you will have your, um, droid come here and plug itself into the wall, we will soon see what you need. I am quite confident that I will have what you need. /"
"/I hope so, Watto, for your sake at least. /"
"/If my boy was here, he could be doing this for me, however as he is not… /" As the conversation moved on to the back of the shop and out of sight (but not hearing), Qui-Gon inhaled deeply. He looked over at both Padmé and Jar Jar, who looked at each other, then at him with both eyebrows raised.
"Perhaps we should remain here and wait for Master Windu to return," he answered, in response to their unasked questions. The human female and the Gungan nodded; she sat cross-legged on the floor while he grabbed a chair. They sat in silence, each occupied within the adventures of their own mind, until a very loud and attention-wrenching squeak caught their attentions. All three leapt to their feet.
"What was that?" Padmé asked cautiously, looking around for any possible intruder. Qui-Gon reached out with the Force, trying to locate the spot where the noise had been heard from. As he searched, he spotted the Force-signature of a child, crouching near the doorway behind and beside. At first, he merely looked it over, but was soon forced to recognize it as it flared more openly and more brightly than any other Jedi's signature. Even Master Yoda's, he thought. Not to mention Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Hello," he said, not bothering to turn around. The boy, he sensed, jumped in fright, but recovered quickly and retorted, "Hello." Then, with a bit more curiosity, "Are you here for spare parts?"
"Yes, we are," Padmé replied, turning around to face him boldly, and nearly got the shock of her life. His pale face, nearly overshadowed by the shaggy blondness hanging there, was merely inches from hers. As she looked closer, she saw that he had light blue eyes and freckles spattering the area underneath his eyes. Wow. The kid's adorable, she thought after a little more reflection. Wonder what his name is? Can't be more than eight years old.
"What are your names," he asked, staring at each of them with such intensity that Padmé blushed. Qui-Gon smiled down at him.
"I am Master Qui-Gon, and these are my travelling companions: Jar Jar Binks, a Gungan, and Padmé, handmaiden." The little boy held out his hand for her to shake, then Jar Jar, and finally Qui-Gon, who looked at him curiously when he shook the child's hand.
"Pleased to meet you," the boy commented, shuffling the shaggy sand-blond hair out of his eyes. "My name is Anakin. Anakin Skywalker."
Well, hope it was nice and long-like enough for you. Please review, and hope you enjoyed it. J.A.U.