Chapter 2: Money is Power

She had tailed the boy home that night, the wave of confirmation from the Force upon seeing his mother greet him at the door to their hovel with a kiss had her rushing back towards the junk shop.

A wave of her hand and the cheap mechanical lock popped and she walked inside, much to the Toydarian's surprise.

"What-a you doing in here? We closed!" He angrily snapped at her.

She placed an Auridium ingot on the counter before him.

"Look at that! Now we open! How can we be being of assistance?"

"Have you ever considered a nice cozy retirement, Toydarian?" Her raspy voice let out as she started stacking more ingots out onto the counter.

"Uh...you retire when you are dying out here," He replied back in confusion as he watched her continue stacking ingots. She was currently at six.

"How about you take enough of these to set you up anywhere else in the Arkanis Sector and sign your shop and slaves over to me? With a small bonus for no questions asked?"

Fifteen Auridium ingots sat in front of Watto. He licked his snout and looked up at the Vima nervously.

"Shady old woman walk in here, try and buy me out, how I know you not enemy of the Hutts? That get old Watto killed anywhere in the quadrant!"

She chuckled darkly, "Oh I am no active enemy of the Hutts. I believe that for all they bought slaves from them that they benefited quite nicely from the fall of the Ottethan Empire?"

The being nodded cautiously, "Yes...Hutts swooped in on systems like flies on dead bantha. Or live bantha."

"Then as a...former enemy of that warlord I am sure I will be welcome to keep a shop open with my head down out here while you go enjoy yourself wherever you can stretch those funds!"

The ridges upon his brow raised, "Ah...we see, we see. Looking to lay low and Mos Espa is as low as it gets! What make you pick our humble shop?"

"I've seen some of your goods, the repair work is good enough that I could tell you have quality assistants that can keep things going without you."

"Eh...suppose the boy is decent enough. Hard hand keeps him on task though! Only free advice I give! Enjoy shop!" He began scooping the ingots into a pouch he had nearby.

"Gonna buy a yacht, follow the races maybe! Maybe buy a race!" The Toydarian muttered under his breath as he cleared out his miniscule personal effects from the shop.

"Control rod for slaves under counter!" With a thought he tossed an electronic key fob back to her, "That gets into safe, safe has ownership paperwork."

He buzzed out of the shop as fast as he could.

"Well I would be quick getting out of Mos Espa too, I suppose." She wrinkled her nose up, "Even were I a disgusting creature such as that."

Looking up at the stairs leading above the shop she sighed, "Time for some cleaning I suppose…"

Just as she was examining the unused above shop living area that appeared to be being used as extra storage she remembered a few droids she had seen downstairs.

Walking back down she activated a host of repaired cleaning and maintenance droids and with the control rod that also worked with their restraining bolts commanded them to get to work.

She left them with their commands and walked back to the hangar with her ship.

She'd make sure she got to the shop early before the boy would arrive, then she could recruit him to help her move in.

After whatever shock he had from being freed by his great-grandmother wore off at least.

Anakin Skywalker let himself into the shop just after daybreak the next morning, just like he usually did.

The first thing he noted as he entered was that Watto had left some of the maintenance droids on and they'd gone into some kind of cleaning protocol. Anakin had even suggested that once and Watto had called it a waste of power cells.

That meant either Watto did it on purpose because a big client was coming by...or Anakin was going to get blamed for a malfunction. Again.

He frantically moved over to attempt and depower the droids, but as he did the hairs on the back of his neck pricked up and he without really knowing why picked up a hydrospanner and whirled around to face a pile of rags in the corner.

With a chuckle the pile of rags stood up and revealed itself to be an elderly human woman wearing robes and some rags she had laid over her garment to hide herself.

"I was merely using mundane methods to hide myself, but good instincts nonetheless, young Anakin."

"H-how do you know my name? Where's Watto?" He attempted to hide his fear but was unsuccessful.

"You need not fear me, I know your name because I have been searching for you and your mother for a very long time." With that she held up a device that Anakin quickly recognized as the control rod Watto used for the droids and slaves.

"Shmi is my granddaughter, and I have purchased the both of you to free you." And with that she clicked a button and Anakin felt an electric hum inside his chest and realized that his bomb was no longer active.

"So that...makes you my...great-grandmother? We're...free? We're free!" He jumped for joy as the realization crossed his face and made its way deep into his soul, shredding away a heaviness he rarely recognized he carried.

The old woman smirked, "Indeed, my name is Vima, though you may call me grandmother. Why don't we keep the shop closed today and go see your mother?"

The trip to the Skywalker hovel was a quick one, Watto had made sure his slaves stayed close enough to be convenient, though far enough that the property prices were low.

The boy did not stop babbling at Vima for the entire trip, and though many may have found it an annoyance, she felt much of the darkness and unease of the past decades begin to melt away.

She had her family back, at least what was left of it.

Shmi froze when she heard a knock on the door less than an hour after Anakin had left for the shop. Usually such visits did not bode well, Anakin having gotten into a scuffle or something of the like.

Her fears were not assuaged when she opened the door and found a robed older woman with scowl lines on her face with her son in tow. Though oddly enough the boy was beaming.

"Shmi, darling!" The woman croaked out, "I never thought I'd see this day, I have been searching for you for so long. I am so sorry I was not there when your mother passed."

Shmi took a step back, the familiarity with which the woman was speaking confusing her.

"I took care of your ownership by that atrocious Watto creature," The woman explained, "My name is Vima Da-Boda. My daughter was named Neema Da-Boda...and she in turn was your mother, though you were sent away from her before you could remember."

Shmi's mouth dried out, "That...that means?"

The woman held up Watto's control rod, "Indeed, it means grandmother is here to rescue you, darling." She flicked a switch and deactivated Shmi's bomb.

And with the relief and hope surging past her caution, Shmi rushed in to hug the old woman. Her grandmother. And her son gleefully joined in.