"Not going to find the hanger now." The sand let her see the lights of the nearby hovels and she felt a presence behind one of them. It felt as if it came from the boy she had met earlier. Perhaps they might let her in. She knocked lightly on the door and felt another inside show concern at her knocking. She knocked a bit louder before the person inside was now afraid as she felt Anakin rushing to the door. She moved close enough to cover the door with her shield as the boy opened the door covered in rags around his head and some tool in his hand. He blinked seeing the sand was staying out side.

"Wizard?"

"Anakin this is not that easy holding back nature's wrath. Can I come in?" He gets out of the way and shuts the door behind me.

"Sorry, I just never seen something so wizard."

"I know what a wizard is, but not what is wizard?"

"It is something fascinating, exciting."

"Annie, who is there in this storm?"

"Mom, she is one of the Jedi I saw today."

"The Jedi would not come out this way and definitely not come to our home."

"I do apologize for my intrusion. I was given little choice once I reached the city as the storm over took me. I will not bother you if I make you uncomfortable. I can protect myself from the storm."

"You will die out there. Tatooine dust storms can strip the skin off of you."

"It is used to punish slaves. Not a nice way to die."

"Slaves oh right. So he was correct. He did meet a Jedi today."

"You are one right? You feel like him."

"What if I am not?"

"Then you would not be able to hold back the sand like you did."

"There are many that can use the Force not just the Jedi."

"Who else can do that?"

"Sith for one."

"You're not Sith. They have tentacles and they are all covered in sores and smell like death."

"Something you heard from spacers?"

"Uh huh yup I did."

"What if I said I was Sith?"

"I would not believe it."

"But I am. You have a nice little home. It is so warm." Anakin had nearly froze as I walked further into the house. I winked at his mother just before I turned back to Anakin.

"No way. You are pretty."

"Prettier than Padme?" Anakin stiffened again as he turned red.

"I um..."

"Who is Padme?"

"Oh a girl maybe fourteen. She is as pretty as an Angel. Anakin is going to marry her one day."

"Shut up, that's not funny." Anakin lashed out and I caught his right arm and then left.

"Annie! What has gotten into you."

"He is mad, I revealed his secret. Though you told her that and that strange big eared being. See I told you I am Sith. I revealed your fear and anger. Be careful or you will turn into a Sith like me or worse like one of those rotten ones."

"You need to apologize she is a guest."

"Sorry, but she is a Sith."

"No, Anakin I am not. Well not that I think I am though I have some of their traits. Red or pink skin, golden eyes, red hair. Just give me some dangle like things on my face and I would look very much like one, but they died out."

"So the Sith looked like normal people once? They are not monsters?"

"They were monsters and slavers. They ruled Dromund Kaas with an iron fist for more than a thousand years until they were all wiped out."

"What happened?"

"Um, ah, Oh my I should introduce myself. I am Jenica Lour."

"I am Shmi and you know Anakin. We were about to eat will you join us?"

"Tea will be fine. I do not eat in the evening." Shmi went back to her stove to put some water on. "To answer your question to what happened to the Sith is because the Jedi came."

"The Jedi came?"

"The Sith fought the Jedi and the Sith lost their war. The Jedi came and killed most of the Sith then left our planet. My ancestors killed the rest or tried to. I come from former slaves and some current slaves, but I think we treat slaves differently."

"Anyone who owns a slave is not very nice."

"In my tribe if you are a slave you help the one who claimed you as you are from another tribe. The master protects the slave and at some point becomes family or is given to another to form their own family."

"They are not beaten or abused?"

"My people are tribal. Without slaves or trading with another tribe I might have to marry a cousin or a brother. That would weaken our children. Make our tribe weak. We fight to show our strength, remove the weak as they die and mix our blood to make our children stronger."

"So being a Sith is not bad?"

"Anything that turns to evil is bad. Those who use the Force and allow their negative emotions to influence their actions or to even focus on their hate can use the dark side of the Force. You learn that only power matters. The rest of you rots."

"Oh."

"Annie, let's not talk about such things. Not while we are having dinner." It got quiet while Shmi set the table. She put a plate in front of me, but I only took the tea. It was rich and had a similar tang to it like the very sand, but also of wood and fruit which made it pleasant.

"I am building a droid do you want to see later?"

"Perhaps."

"It is going to help my mom so she doesn't have to work so hard."

"Are you truly slaves?"

"Yes we are. Watto is one of the better master to have. The Hutts are the worst. We have known both." This gave me something to think about as I took several sips of tea.

"What is stopping you from leaving?"

"All slaves have transmitters placed inside their bodies somewhere."

"I've been working on a scanner to try and locate them, but no luck."

"Any attempt to escape..."

"...and they blow you up, poof!"

"I think our story teller told us of these collars that would cause you much pain if you were bad. I think they blew up too. Oh wait maybe Zerdy knows or Arnine." I pulled my comlink to my face.

"Who are they?"

"My droids. Zerdy, Arnine?" There was a bit of static as Arnine replied.

"Yes, Jenica'ari."

"The slave collars that were in your time what did they do to cause pain?"

"An unusual question. To answer it, they caused electrical shocks that are applied directly to the neck and they could also cause enough damage to kill or blow up. It is nice to hear that you are safe."

"Yes, so do we have anything on the ship that would detect these devices?"

"The medical bay is fully equipped to perform surgery. Detecting a, I assume, subdermal implant is easy."

"Thank you that is all."

"You want to free us?" I looked from Anakin to Shmi and felt his hope and her fear.

"You would be hunted by the Hutts, bounty hunters. We would be too. No where would be safe."

"No not free, but I could bargain for you."

"Oh. Um, have you ever seen a Podrace?"

"No I don't think so." I noticed Shmi is not very fond of whatever a pod race is. She feels afraid and a bit proud for some reason.

"I am the only human who can do it. I nearly have a new pod built."

"Then you must be Force sensitive and a mechanic."

"Force sensitive? No way."

"Okay you need only change your belief." I picked up a spoon and let go of it in mid air and the spoon stayed. I then made it slowly spin before turning it faster and faster until it was starting to make noise with the speed before putting it down in front of Anakin.

"Your focus is your reality. If you focus and believe then you can will the spoon to rise up in the air."

"Okay." He stared intently at the spoon an it did not even move.

"Focus breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, there you go keep going now feel the spoon and make it lighter." He kept breathing slow and steady and the spoon wiggled and then shot to the ceiling sticking their. I began to giggled as he looked horrified. His mother was quietly shocked as she stared at the spoon. I took hold of it and gently pulled it back out letting a bit of dust fall, but stopping it before it landed on any of the food.

"Very good."

"That was hard. How can you do it so easily?"

"Practice, watch." Everything lifted off the table and I raised even Anakin in the air and he was the one now giggling. I made them rotate and fly around before putting them back where they started from.

"That is so wizard!"

"I spent a long time learning. From about your age until now. Come finish your dinner."

"Okay." He dug into his food as I watched. It was not until the dishes were done that I followed Anakin into his room to see his droid, but only from the door way.

"You can sleep in my bed. I'll take the floor."

"Shmi this is your house and I am intruding. On top of that I really do not need to sleep. I will be fine as I meditate."

"I do not know what to say. I have a feeling that something has passed Anakin by."

"Nothing has passed him by. It has just begun."

"Just begun."

"Yes I would like to train him."

"You're a Jedi."

"No, I am a Force Adept like a Jedi or a Sith. There are other ways to follow the Force I am sure."

"Could you provide him a good life?"

"I can train him. I am not sure if I could give him a good life any more than you can."

"So long as we are slaves he will never have a good life. What would I have to do to get you free?"

"Buy us from Watto, but he will not give up Anakin. He is too valuable to Watto shop by everything he fixes. Winning a bet against Watto would be the only way to gain his freedom."

"Greed is a powerful tool against the obsessed. Is Watto obsessed with betting?"

"Yes he has won a lot of funds from the podracing. Enough to get Anakin to race after he won a racer from another."

"I have a pod, but it is not finished."

"Could you finish it before the next race?"

"

I could get it running in a day. Just need a power source, and Tradium power fluid with injectrine, no additives."

"Okay then in the morning I will get the fuel and a power source and you can enter into the race."

"Wouldn't matter Watto would just claim the Pod."

"Is it in his yard?"

"No."

"Good. I'll collect it before I go back to my ship and my droids can clean and paint it. We can then fuel it up and power it up. Watto gets you to pilot my pod, which is actually you pod. When you get off working with Watto you are both invited to my ship to for dinner."

"Okay."

"Anakin I do not want you to race. It is too dangerous."

"It is for your freedom and his. I do not have the funds to buy both of you with a price Watto can not refuse. Plus it is better you earned your freedom. That way you will not feel obligated in staying with me."

"Mom, we can be free."

"I'll think about it."

"Then sleep well in the morning you can decide." Shmi nodded as Anakin cheered. He already believed he would race. Through the night the storm raged until nearly dawn. By then it was as if it rained as the smell in the air was different. I had meditated throughout the night and felt really good about helping them earn their freedom. I freed my speeder and sled from the sand surprised it fired right up. It was the noise of my speeder that got Anakin to run out of the house.

"Have you broken you fast?"

"Not yet. Wanted to show you my speeder."

"Okay." I followed him the short distance to the corner have piled with junk and covered in sand. A few tugs and several pushes with the Force freed the two engines and the pod from the tarps protecting it.

"This is very nice." I made to look as if I was turning things on as one of the engine rose up in the air.

"Help me get it to the sled." He did and he was in awe once everything was on the sled.

"How will I know you just won't steal it?"

"Anakin I have this speeder and a space freighter what would I do with a podracer that does not work. Sure I could get it working and sell it, but then you would still be a slave."

"So I have to trust you?"

"No you come with me. You will see where my ship is and you can have my BoSS datapad. Can't go anywhere without that. It would be like you owned my ship."

"I can do that."

"Great get in." He got in the speeder and I got in behind him. In no time we had the pod sitting in my hold and he had a very big breakfast to hold him over until he got off. I dropped him off at the shop and then brought in the container of food for Shmi before heading back to my ship. In an hour I had the T5 cleaned and running with even a blaster reinstalled while both Zerdy and Arnine worked on the engines of Anakin's pod. I lost track of time as Anakin walked through the ship seeing his engine floating in the hold with Watto right behind him.

"Anakin here tells me you got a pod and you want him to race it."

"Right here. Fastest pod on this planet. Oh and here I will need these parts after the race is finished. I looked up the fees and I have enough to cover about half."

"So I provide the pilot and we split everything fifty fifty."

"Yes, that is the plan, but can this boy really win?"

"I have confidence in the boy. He is good, really good."

"Then let us go register in a bit. Anakin want to check out the racer?"

"Sure." Anakin scrambled in as my droids moved tools out of the way.

"Zerdy we locked down?"

"Yes Mistress." Anakin hit a switch and the beam jumped between the engines as they rose up in the air. A few second later both engines fired to life.

"They are working!" Zerdy and Arnine's fingers flashed over their screens and soon both engines smoothed out and purred like a fat Loth Cat before Anakin shut the engines down.

"I can race this. I can feel it."

"Good keep that thought. Fastest racer ever built."

"Ya."

"Okay now was go register you will need a thousand Wupiupi."

"I have that let's go." We registered an hour before the registration ended and Watto went off to bet. I followed making everyone ignore me. He bet heavily on Sebulba. I pulled out the bag with all my Peggat and went up to the window.

"Who do you want to bet on?"

"Anakin Skywalker 1250 Peggat."

"That is a large bet are you sure? He is the lowest ranking pilot. His odds of winning are very low. Better to bet on him finishing than winning."

"I am sure plus, I can always make more." The Sullustan female took the coin counted it and gave me a chip with my bet listed on it. The Force was calm as I walked away. Even if Anakin didn't win it would not be too hard to take him. As I got back to the ship Shmi had joined Anakin. Anakin was working on his racer as his mother watched. Zerdy was gone and by the smell he was cooking something really good.

"Shmi can you come with me?"

"Where?"

"Just around the corner. I want to see if I can locate the implants." She looked surprised but followed behind quickly. I pointed to a circle on the floor and she went over to stand there.

"Okay this is going to feel weird but when it is finished we get you look at all you organs." Twenty minutes later we had her implant located. You could feel it under the skin and I had just the device to disable it. I picked it up set it to the right setting and activated it right against her neck. Ten seconds later it beeped, signaling the power cell in the implant was drained.

"I could take it out now, but the bandage would need to stay on for at least a full day and night. Too obvious. Shmi began to cry which got Anakin to find us.

"Mom, what is wrong?"

"Nothing just stand over here." I set the scanner to just scan his head and found his right away. I placed another device on his neck and set it. Several minutes later a very confused Anakin screamed right after the device beeped.

"What did you do?!" Shmi held him as he cried.

"I took his chip out."

"But it won't heal in time."

"He will not even have a scar in ten minutes. All he has to do is stop crying." I sent the Force to Anakin and he nearly stopped crying.

"Feel it then feel smaller feel each damaged cell and then focus on them imagine them to be whole." It took fifteen minutes and I did about sixty percent of the healing. The little red pucker was easily concealed by his hair and would be gone by morning.

"Why not remove mine?"

"Unless you are Force Sensitive I doubt I could fully heal you. You have to do as much work as I do. Otherwise it will still take a day even with a bacta kolto patch."

"Mom what did she do?"

"She took your implant out."

"But won't Watto notice."

"Master Anakin the implant is simple in design and only works on range. If you went out of that range then it would have blown, but he would not know it is not working unless he tried to blow it himself. Even if he does notice he will not have enough time with the race going on tomorrow and everything else my mistress plans."

"What do you plan?"

"I'll tell you after you win tomorrow. Come it is time for dinner is it not." They followed and they both were amazed at what Zerdy had made. The last was pally baked pie which was something not even Shmi had heard of and it was delicious.