Just to remind everyone, Serna's age is 10, Obi-Wan is 17 and Qui-Gon is 40. Anakin is going to enter in this chapter and he is 11. I know he's supposed to be like 9 years old but it is my AU and if I want to change his age I will.

Last Time: " The Hyper drive generator is gone master. We will need a new one." Qui-Gon and Serena moved closer to Obi-Wan and speak quietly to him. 'Don't let them send any transmissions.' 'Yes master.' Qui-Gon turned to leave but stopped when he noticed Serena staring intently at Obi-Wan. 'Be wary...I sense a disturbance in the Force.' She whispered before falling into step behind Qui-Gon. They met up with Jar-Jar and R2 and together, the group made its way towards the distant spaceport.

Chapter 10: Chance Encounters of the Jedi Kind.

After crossing a seemingly endless stretch of desert, Serena was not the only member of the small group to let out a sigh of relief when the carpet of sand faded into a cobblestone path.

The group warily made their way down the main street of Mos Espa. Serena and Jar-Jar stared wide-eyed as they passed creatures of all shapes and sizes, bustling about the crowded town. Qui-Gon smiled at his padawan's fascination with the exotic scenery, but the smile didn't reach his eyes as he kept his senses alert for the smallest threat.

"...Moisture farms for the most part, but also a few indigenous tribes and scavengers. The few spaceports like this one are havens for those who do not wish to be found..." Serena nodded slowly. ".... Like us." Jar Jar sent fearful looks towards everyone (and thing) they passed. "Dissen berry berry bad." he muttered. For once, Qui-Gon had to agree with the clumsy Gungan.

The group halted as they entered a little plaza surrounded by several spaceship junk dealers. "We'll try one of the smaller dealers." Qui-Gon said before leading them towards a little junk shop that has a huge pile of broken spaceships stacked up behind it.

As they entered the dingy junk shop, they were greeted a pudgy blue alien who flies on short little wings. Serena and Qui-Gon thanked the force for small miracles when the alien began speaking in perfect English.

"What do you want?" the creature demanded. Qui-Gon wasn't at all fazed by the rudeness of the creature. "I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian." Serena noticed the immediate change in the alien's demeanor. Its eyes lit up and it pasted a fake smile on its face. "Ah yes, ah yes. Nubian. We have lots of that." It replied smoothly, then turning towards the back of the shop it yelled harshly. "Boy, get in here now!"

A disheveled boy runs in from the junkyard. He appeared to Serena to be a bit older then she was. He was very dirty, and dressed in rags. "What took you so long?" the blue alien demanded. "I was cleaning the bin like you..." the boy began, clearly afraid of how angry the creature might be."Never mind! Watch the store. I've got some selling to do here."

Turning back to Qui-Gon he once again plastered the smile on its face. "Soooo let me take you out back. You'll find what you need." Qui-Gon and R2 followed the alien toward the junkyard, leaving Serena with Jar Jar and the young boy. The Gungan immediately went to work picking up different gizmos, trying to figure out their purposes.

The boy sat on the counter, pretending to clean a part, staring at Serena. She immediately sensed his stare and she turned to look at him. With the Gungans and now this boy she felt like she had been stared at quite enough in the last 2 days. She really didn't like the attention of strangers.

"Are you an angel?" he asks timidly and Serena stared at him for a few moments before frowning slightly. "I've never heard of angels." She lied. She had indeed heard of angels, once when she was very small. Her mother had told her about them.

FLASHBACK:

"Mommy why does everyone treat me differently?" a curious Princess Serenity had asked her mother as she was being put to bed that night. Queen Selenity frowned as she thought about how best to answer the question. She knew of the lonely childhood a moon princess led. Everyone treated you with the utmost respect and indifference, but no one wanted to get to close. "Is it because they don't like me?" The surprised Queen put a reassuring hand on her daughter's shoulder. "No one could be mad at you my angel." "Mommy what's an angel?" The Queen smiled, glad to have the subject changed. "An angel is a being whose sole purpose is to bring light and happiness into the lives of others. They take care of us when we are frightened and need help. They watch over us." She felt her daughters breathing slow and looked down to be met with the sight that made her hard life all that much easier. 'You are definitely my angel.' She thought as she gently kissed her daughter goodnight.'

Oblivious to her trip down memory lane, the boy continued to speak to her. "I've heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They live on the Moons of Iego I think. They are the most beautiful creatures in the universe. They are good and kind, and so pretty. You must be one...maybe you just don't know it." Serena rewarded him with a small smile before frowning again.

When she looked at him she shuddered and got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. He seemed very nice, but she couldn't help but feel as though being around him would cause nothing but trouble. She was brought out of her reverie when she heard an indignant voice. "EXCUSE ME!!!" She realized she'd been staring at him blankly for a few minutes and he was looking at her with a mix of annoyance and curiosity.

She blushed slightly and averted her eyes. "How long have you lived hear?" she asked trying to change the subject as the boy continued to stare at her irritably. "Since I was very little, three, I think. My Mom and I were sold to Gardulla the Hutt, but she lost us, betting on the Podraces, to Watto, who's a lot better master than Gardulla, I think." Her silver eyes widened in surprise as she heard this.

"You're...a slave?" She watched horrified as a dark aura flared up momentarily around him before disappearing, leaving behind that ominous feeling she had ever since she had begun talking to him. "I am a person! My name is Anakin!" he shouted angrily. "I'm sorry." She whimpered, terrified by the intense anger she felt radiating off him.

As he saw how frightened she was he immediately felt ashamed for yelling at her. "It's alright." He muttered quietly. Her face immediately brightened a bit and she relaxed and smiled slightly, masking the slight discomfort she still felt. They sat there in silence for a few moments, both lost in thought when the calm was suddenly shattered in a most EXPECTED way.

Jar Jar who has been silent up until now, pushes the nose on what appears to be a droid, and it instantly comes to life, grows legs and arms, and starts marching around, knocking over everything. He desperately tries to stop it. "Hit the nose!" Anakin orders, his eyes shining in amusement. The Gungan obediently hits the nose, and the droid collapses back into its original state. The whole incident sends Serena into a fit of giggles and Anakin quickly joins in.

The atmosphere had lightened a bit but Serena was still feeling uncomfortable around the boy and she sat silently waiting for Qui-Gon to return. He hurried into the shop followed closely by R2. "We're leaving." Jar Jar followed him immediately and Serena moved to follow her master out the door when the boy's voice stopped her. "Wait, you never told me your name!" She hesitated a moment before responding. "Serenity." She called back softly before completely exiting the shop.

After a short walk, the small group found a quiet spot between two buildings. The busy street beyond is filled with dangerous looking creatures. Qui-Gon was talking on his com-link, while Jar Jar and Serena watch the street. "...Obi-Wan, you're sure there isn't anything of value left on board?" "A few containers of supplies, not enough for you to barter with. Not in the amounts you're talking about." came the static reply.

Qui-Gon let out a long-suffering sigh followed by a string of silent curses that Serena heard over their bond. Serena smiled and burst into a fit of giggles, as muffled laughter on the other end of the com-link indicated Obi-Wan had heard them too. "All right. Another solution will present itself. I'll check back." Qui-Gon said in a clipped tone while glaring at Serena who immediately ceased her giggles. 'I sense another force sized lecture coming along.' Serena muttered so only Obi-Wan could hear and she was rewarded by a wave of sympathy tinged with amusement.

Qui-Gon put his com-link away and started out into the main street. Jar Jar grabbed his arm. " Noah gain...da beings hereabouts cawazy. Wesa be robbed un crunched." Qui-Gon only rolled his eyes skyward and Serena grinned and leaned towards Jar Jar. "Not likely. We have nothing of value, that's our problem." She grinned.

As the small group made their way out into the street, Jar Jar trailed behind the others. They walked by an outdoor cafe filled with a rough gang of aliens, one of which is especially ugly, spider-like creature. Jar Jar stopped for a moment in front of a stall selling some sort of food hanging on a wire. He looks around to see if anyone is looking, then sticks out his tongue, and gets hold of one, pulling it into his mouth. Unfortunately, the frog is tied tightly to the wire. The vendor suddenly appears. "Hey, you gunna pay for that!!"

An extremely surprised Jar Jar opens his mouth, and the food snaps away, ricochets around the market, and lands in the spider like creature's soup, splashing him. Jar Jar immediately tried to innocently move away from the scene but the creature jumps up on the table and grabs the helpless Gungan. "You!!" it yelled glaring at the flailing Gungan. "Who, mesa??" "Is this yours??" it demanded, holding the food up to the Gungan threateningly. Jar Jar desperately tries to scramble to safety. "Why do thessa always pickin on meesa?"

Simultaneously three voices answered him. "Because you're afraid." Serena and Qui-Gon turned to see who else had spoken. Serena was the first to recognize Anakin pushing his way through the crowd until he stood glaring defiantly at Jar Jar's attacker. "Careful, Sebulba..." This only served to make the creature madder as it turned its furious wrath on the boy. "Why is that slave boy?" Serena once again saw the darkness flare up around Anakin but a quick glance towards her master told her he hadn't noticed it.

"Because this one has friends. I'd hate to see you diced before we race again." Anakin smirked triumphantly. Sebulba glared at him before releasing Jar Jar. "Next time we race, it will be the end of you! If you weren't a slave, I'd squash you right now." He yelled before turning and stalking away. 'Yeah, it'd be a pity if you had to pay for me.' Serena was shocked when she heard this last sentence. Partially because he was making jokes about his slavery but mostly because she had been watching him very closely and although she was sure she had heard him say it, his lips hadn't moved.

A quick glance at her master confirmed her suspicion. Qui-Gon hadn't heard it at all. In fact she was willing to bet that no one else had heard it. 'That is because he is of dark' she thought she heard someone say, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

She was brought out of her thoughts when her master led R2 towards Anakin. She quickly followed a frown marring her features. Qui-Gon pulled Jar Jar up off the ground before turning to look at the boy who had saved the Gungan. Anakin eyed him warily but his eyes lit up when Serena appeared behind her master.

"Hi! Your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug. An especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba." Qui-Gon turned to face Jar-Jar reproachfully. Serena groaned, she could hear the lecture now. "Tis not meesa fault. Crunched is da last ting mesa wanten." The Gungan stuttered under the jedi master's intense glare. "Nevertheless, the boy is right...you were heading for trouble." "Master, I'm sure Jar-Jar will be more careful in the future. I'll even keep an eye on him." Serena interrupted softly, smiling brilliantly at her master. It seemed to have the desired affect as Qui-Gon let out a resigned sigh before turning to address Anakin. "Thank you, my young friend." Serena let a look of relief cross her face and smiled in response to the thankful look she was receiving from Jar Jar.

She understood him. After all when she was on the moon she had had her share of clumsy moments. Thinking of the moon for the second time that day caused more painful memories to resurface and a tear made its way down her cheek. She hastily wiped it away but not before she'd received a concerned glance from her master.

The group started walking down the crowded street. "Meesa doen nutten!" Jar Jar exclaimed referring once again to the incident. "Fear attracts the fearful." Anakin and Serena said in stereo. They exchanged a surprised look before Anakin continued. "He was trying to overcome his fear by squashing you." Serena and Qui-Gon both nodded surprised by the wisdom in the young boys' words. "Be less afraid." Serena said turning to smile at Jar Jar.

Note to all readers: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember flames will be used to roast my marshmallows! Read and Review! Sincerely, Moon Kitty