Chapter 9

The Boonta Eve podrace arena was crowed and full of excitement. Every being in the arena were excided for the race to begin. The contestants and their racers were on the track getting ready.

Obi-Wan stood by Anakin's racer, looking around. The last time he was at a podrace was over five years ago. He and Qui-Gon were searching for the missing son of a senator. Their investigation led them to Malastare. It turned out that the son was a podracer and was killed in the race. He didn't like podracing then, he still doesn't like it now. Podracing was dangerous and greed.

Off the distance, he saw Padmé, Jar Jar, and Shmi walking over to the viewer's box. He knew Shmi was nervous. And there was Padmé. A shiver ran up his spine. Ever since they left the ship two days ago, the young handmaiden kept looking at him in adoring way. Like she was looking up to him. Obi-Wan hoped the young handmaiden wasn't falling for him. In a hero-worshipping short of a way. The last time something happed like that, he almost got married to a princess. He'll have to be careful he doesn't send any wrong signals. Or she'll have Anya to deal with.

Obi-Wan glanced down at Anakin. Did Qui-Gon truly believe this boy could win? Or was it because Anakin was the Chosen One? he thought.

A noise to his left pulled Obi-Wan from his thoughts. At the back of his mind, he senses were tingling. Something wasn't quite right. Then he saw the Doug, named Sebulba, walking away from the racer, whistling. He sensed deception from the Doug.

"A very dangerous Doug named Sebulba." Anakin's words echoed in his mind.

Obi-Wan started to walk over to check it out when the announcer announced the race will be starting soon and to clear the rack. He hesitated. He wanted to check out the racer but he had to get off the track. Abandoning the search, he stepped over to Anakin.

"You ready?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, sir."

Grabbing Anakin under the arms, he lifted the boy up into the pod. "Be careful. I'm going to tell you something, someone told me. Concentrate on the moment. Feel. Don't think. Trust your instincts. Remember that."

"Yes, sir. Who told you that?"

"A very wise man. My master. Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel. Don't think. Trust your instincts."

"I will." Anakin replied as he put his helmet on.

Obi-Wan doubled check to see if Anakin was settled and everything was okay. Once he was satisfied, he went to join the others in the private viewer's box. The box rose up to its perch, high above the racetrack. The race started.

The bright Tatooine sun beaten down on anything that got caught in it. A small caravan slowly made its way across the desert, from Mos Espa. The group was dragging a hyperdrive and supplies. Obi-Wan kept an eye out for any sign of the Sith warrior. Riding on the other eopie, Jar Jar finally got a handle on riding the creature. Padmé stared straight ahead. Obi-Wan could tell the young queen wanted to say something.

"Is there something you want to ask?" Obi-Wan asked.

Padmé, who was sitting in front of him, turned just enough to see his face. "I know it's none of my business, but are you in love?"

Obi-Wan was shocked by the question. He never expected it. "Yes, I am."

"Who?" Padmé asked. "I am sorry. I have no right asking. It's your privacy."

"It's alright. I don't mind. Is it that obviously?"

"At times. Is it another Jedi?" she asked.

"Its Anya." Obi-Wan said with a bright smile.

"She is very lucky. I didn't know Jedi were allowed to love."

Padmé's statement throw Obi-Wan for a loop. It dawned on him that Jedi weren't allowed to love. But that was what his mind and memories were telling him. But that's not what reality was saying. Everyone knew he and Anya were lovers. There were several other Jedi who were bonded to each other or married a non-Jedi.

A wobbling from Artoo broke into Obi-Wan's thoughts. He and Padmé looked down at the little droid. "What is it, Artoo?" Obi-Wan asked.

Artoo gave a short series of whistles. Obi-Wan looked up a head of them and saw the ship had come into view. And then he noticed the guards surrounding the ship.

"There's trouble," he murmured.

"Why?" Padmé looked and saw the scene before her.

"Big trouble." Jar Jar added.

As the group got closer, Anya and Panaka stepped away from the ship. A guard came over and helped Padmé down. Obi-Wan claimed down after her.

"Captain, what is going on?" Padmé asked.

"Its best you get inside, your highness." Panaka said quietly. The two head for the ship with JarJar following.

Anya stepped up to Obi-Wan. She knew what he was going to ask. "We were attacked last night."

"By who?" her lover asked.

"Darth Maul."

"What? That's impossible. He never attacked during the night. The first I seen him was when Qui-Gon was fighting him."

"Well, he was here."

"Was anyone hurt?" he asked.

"No. I was the only one who fought him." Anya replied.

"We'll talk later. Get the hyperdrive loaded. I'm going back to town." said Obi-Wan.

Anya knew why. "Anakin."

Obi-Wan nodded his head. "Keep an eye out for us incase Maul does appear."

Anya agreed and stepped back as Obi-Wan mounted the animal. He took the rains of the other eopie and headed back towards town.

Obi-Wan didn't realized how long the walk from town to the ship was. He didn't remember the first time Jar Jar, Artoo, Padmé and him went to Mos Espa. And the heat wasn't helping matters either.

As they walked, a heavy weight was settling on Obi-Wan's heart. He didn't want to leave Shmi behind. He knew Anakin would miss her. He had wanted to free her. But Watto wouldn't allow it. Maybe there was something the council or Qui-Gon or even Luke could do. Several times Obi-Wan looked down at Anakin to see how the boy was handling things. A couple of times, he had to stop and wait for the boy to catch up.

"You okay, Ani? Do you need to stop and rest?" Obi-Wan asked when he looked back and saw Anakin having trouble keeping up.

"Can we stop for a minute?" Anakin asked breathless.

"Sure. All you have to do is say something." Obi-Wan said stepping over to him. He saw something in the boy's face. "Anakin, you can change your mind."

"I know. But I want to do it. I've always dreamt of becoming a Jedi." the boy said.

"You miss her, don't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"I tried to free her, Ani."

"I know." Sadness was in the boy's voice.

It broke Obi-Wan's heart to see Anakin hurting. "I promise when we get back I'll see what I can do about freeing your mom." He laid a gentle hand on Anakin's shoulder.

They stood there for several minutes while Anakin rested. A tingling at the back of his mind put Obi-Wan on alert. The tingle grew. At first, he acted liked nothing was wrong. Then, that tingle exploded to full danger. He became fully alert. In a blink of an eye, Obi-Wan had his lightsaber out and scanning the area for danger. Anakin glanced around. He didn't know what was going on.

"Obi-Wan, sir, what is the problem?"

"Danger." Obi-Wan said.

Off in the distance, Obi-Wan could hear a humming. At first, he couldn't tell where it was coming from. The sound grew louder. In the direction of Mos Espa, there was three black spots and heading towards them. Anakin sees the approaching objects.

"What are those?"

Using the Force, Obi-Wan enhanced his vision to see what it was. "Probe droids."

"Probe what?"

"Probe droids. Someone is searching for us. Go hide behind those rocks and stay there until I tell you so."

Anakin did as he was told. Obi-Wan went on the defense. As soon as the probe droids were in range, two of the droids started to shot. Obi-Wan blocked the blaster bolts. The third droid buzzed off in a different direction.

Probably to tell Maul where we're at. Obi-Wan thought.

The droids moved to either side of Obi-Wan. The padawan was having trouble blocking the blots. The droid behind him fired. Using a backhand parry, Obi-Wan blocked the bolt and sent it back to the droid. The bolt hit the probe droid square in the center. In a shower of sparks, the droid crashed to the desert floor, just centimeters away form Anakin.

Anakin peeked above the rock to watch Obi-Wan fight. He stared on in awe. He has never seen a Jedi fight before.

Obi-Wan somersaulted up in the air. The droid had trouble keeping track of the Jedi. As he came down, the blue blade stabbed the probe droid right in the center. Sparks flew everywhere and fell to the ground. Anakin came out from behind the rock and ran over to the young Jedi.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Ani." Obi-Wan said being down to exam the ruined probe droid.

"What are we going to do?"

"Get to the ship. He knows we're here." Obi-Wan said standing up.

"He? Who is he?" Anakin asked as they started to run.

"Someone named Darth Maul."

"Who is he?"

"A Sith. A dark Jedi. The last time we met, he killed someone very dear to me." Obi-Wan answered as he went into a full run.

Obi-Wan was running full speed towards the ship. He noticed there were no guards outside the ship. He only hoped Anya got the hyperdrive installed. Anakin was falling behind with every step. The boy's legs couldn't keep up with the Jedi.

"Obi-Wan, sir, wait!"

Obi-Wan turned and saw a black object heading towards them. The object was Darth Maul. The speeder bike was heading straight towards Anakin.

"Anakin, drop!"

Anakin dived to the ground. Maul missed hitting him and flipped off the bike and had his lightsaber sweeping towards Obi-Wan's head. Obi-Wan barely blocked the blow.

"Tell them to take off!" Obi-Wan yelled as Anakin picked himself off the ground. A noise filled the air. Obi-Wan knew it was the ship. And knew who was responsible.

Anakin ran to the ship as it was lifting off. He saw a person appear in the hatchway, wearing a brown robe. He can feel himself being lifted up onto the ramp. Once his feet hit the ramp, Anakin ran up into the ship. He noticed the person was a female. She gave him a quick glance before turning back to the battle.

The boy stood off to the side. Anya couldn't pay attention to him. Her focus was on Obi-Wan and Maul. Obi-Wan jumped up onto the ramp. To her surprised, Maul jumped up behind him. Using every ounce of strength of the Force, she force pushed Maul off the edge of the ramp. Anya hit the switch and the ramp closed.

Obi-Wan bent down, catching his breathe. Anakin was beside him before Anya could take a step.

"You all right?" Anya asked bending down beside her lover.

"Just got the wind knocked out of me." Obi-Wan replied breathless.

"What was it?" Anakin asked.

Anya looked up at the boy and her breath stuck in her throat. //Please tell me that's not him.//

"A Sith." Obi-Wan stated.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"We must be patient." Anya said.

"Anakin Skywalker, meet Anya." Obi-Wan introduced the two.

"Please to met you." Anakin said as he and Anya shook hands. "You're a Jedi too?"

"Yes, I am." Anya had a small smile on her face.

The door to the hallway opened and Padmé and Captain Panaka hurried over to them. Panaka gave Anakin a "who are you" look. 

"Was that our visitor from last night?" Panaka asked.

"Yes." Anya answered.

"What did he want?" the boy asked.

"The queen." Padmé stated.

They all looked at each other. The ship shuttered as they left the Tatooine atmosphere. Anya helped Obi-Wan stand up. Padmé introduced Panaka to Anakin.

"Lets get to the bridge and see if this hyperdrive works. If not. . ." Obi-Wan's voice trailed off.

"That's when we use the back up plan." Padmé said staring at Anya.

"What back up plan?" Anakin asked as the group head to the bridge.

"Tell you later, Anakin." Anya said as the door to the bridge opened.

Maul watched as the ship disappeared into the shy. Hatred and anger filled every inch of him. The Jedi had escaped!

Turning, he went to retrieve his speederbike. Maul knew he would find the Jedi difficult. Especially Skywalker. The brief battle last night had proven Sidious' theory. Skywalker was indeed powerful. During the battle, he felt a tingling in the Force. He had never felt that way when he fought other Jedi. Could it be she was the Chosen One? The old prophecy his master talked about. But his master talked of another prophecy: The Child of Light, Child of Dark.

Sidious believes Skywalker was one of the prophecies. He wanted her alive at all costs. He already had plans for her.

Mounting his speederbike, Maul sped back to his ship. Sidious would need to know. And he knew his master wasn't going to be pleased.

When he got back to the ship, he contacted his master. Maul was raised hating the Jedi. He killed several Jedi before. None were as formidable as Skywalker and Kenobi. Not even the Padawan he killed a month ago. There was something about them. What if it was true about Skywalker being one of the prophecies? A grin spread across his face. He would enjoy turning her to the Dark Side.

What about Kenobi? Maul knew of the legendary master/padawan team. He made it appoint to read up on them. Master Qui-Gon Jinn, one of the best negotiators in the order. Jinn lost his last padawan to the Dark Side. Who in turn tried to kill Kenobi, Jinn, and tried to blow up the Jedi Temple. He had watched them fight before, from a distance, of course. In time, he would have the thrill of killing them. He thought that way about the entire order.

"Well?" Sidious asked.

"They escaped, my master."

Maul couldn't read his master's face because it was covered by his hood. But he knew, his master was angry.

"What happened?" Maul quickly explained what happened. Sidious was silent. "I'll take care of the queen here. As for the Jedi, they'll come to you." Sidious must had picked something up from Maul. "There's more. What is it?"

"Skywalker is very strong in the Force. As I was fighting her, I felt an electric charge coming from her."

His master smiled. A rare occasion. "Good. I knew she was on of the prophecies. Which one, I don't know. What about Kenobi?"

"I felt the same electric charge from him as well. Could it be that both of them are the prophecies?" Maul replied.

"Possible. This is something I need to look into. Lord Maul, stay on Tatooine for the time being. Look into Kenobi's past. See what you can learn."

"Yes, my master."

The commlink shut down. Maul did as his master ordered. He didn't like the desert planet very much. But he will stay. Flipping several switches and entering several codes, Maul brought up the Jedi Temple's personal records. He was able to get into the records without any trouble. He typed Obi-Wan Kenobi. A few seconds later, Obi-Wan's record appeared before the Sith warrior. As he read through the information, Maul noticed that Obi-Wan's midi-chlorian wasn't listen. Instead, there was a note that Yoda had requested that count not be listed. Maul thought this was odd.

Why would Skywalker and Kenobi's midi-chlorian counts not be listed? Unless it was true and they are the prophecies. Maul thought. Master Sidious must know of this.

The ship was quite as it made it's way to Coruscant. It was in the night cycle, so everyone was mostly sleeping. Before retiring to his shared quarters with Anya, Obi-Wan made sure Anakin was settled in. When he got back, he found Anya sitting on the bed, staring at nothing. He sat down beside her and rubbed her back gently.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked

"That little boy is my grandfather." Anya said not looking at him. "He grows up to be Vader?"

"Yes, he does."

"I never thought I would meet him, not as a spirit. I knew when I asked the council to send me, there would be a great possibility I would meet him. But now that I did, I don't know what to think or say."

"I think I know what you're going through." Obi-Wan said. Anya turned to look at him for the first time. She was puzzled by his statement. "I'm reliving this mission. I just hope Qui-Gon doesn't try to take Anakin on as his padawan."

They just sat there. Anya leaned back and rested her head under his chin. He wrapped his arms around her. So much had changed on this mission, not only was Anakin not The Chosen One, his father was another slave, and Darth Maul attacked the ship at night. Something was definitely wrong here.

"What happened last night?" he asked braking the silence.

Anya explained everything. Obi-Wan told her he felt danger and darkness when he reached out to her through the Force. What was going on? Something is happening to the time line. It seems like the changes started when Anya and Taraya first appeared. So, could Luke, Jaina, Microft, Valin, and Anya be effecting the time line?