Securing the ship once night had fallen, Obi-Wan secretly exited the vehicle and headed toward Mos Espa. Under the cover of darkness, as well as judicious application of the Force used for concealment, he made his way unnoticed to the slave district, where he began his search for the location of the home of young Anakin Skywalker.
If he couldn't stop Qui-Gon from meeting the boy, then perhaps he couild stop them from leaving the planet. Not that he wanted to stay on Tatooine, but keeping the boy stranded on the planetseemed like the best idea.
As he walked along the rows of modest buildings, he chuckled at the irony of the entire situation. It seemed that no matter what he did, fate always banished him to this horrible place.
Obi-Wan stealthily crept down an alley and made his way behind a row of dwellings, stopping suddenly when he spied the shadow of what appeared to be a racing pod parked behind one of the homes.
Unsure of whether this was the correct location or not, he decided to wait, hiding in the shadows in order to spy upon the inhabitants of the building. He did not have to wait long. Qui-Gon soon made his appearance along with Anakin himself.
His Master picked the child up and placed him the broad porch wall. Qui-Gon was talking to the boy, but Obi-Wan couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Whatever it was, he had Anakin's full attention. Now was the time.
Obi-Wan crouched down and crept along a low wall, finally reaching the pod and quickly located its engine. Removing the thruster mechanism should do the trick with minimal effort, he decided.
He was just about to do that very thing when he heard his name come across his comlink.
"Sith!" Obi-Wan hissed in a whisper. He had completely forgotten about Qui-Gon contacting him to do that damn midichlorian count!
Grabbing his comlink in order to muffle its sound, he could hear his Master continuing to repeat his name as he moved away as quickly as he could. Once he deemed he had moved far enough, he responded to Qui-Gon's call.
"Yes Master?"
"Where have you been Obi-Wan? I've been hailing you." Qui-Gon asked with a bit of impatience.
"Just…uhm….taking a walk Master. It's such a beautiful night." Obi-Wan's face crinkled in worry. He was sure that his Master would not accept such a lame excuse.
"You left the queen alone?"
"No! No Master. I'm right outside the ship. I…uhm..I was meditating and I didn't hear your call. Sorry."
Even though Obi-Wan could not see him, he just knew that Qui-Gon was wearing his suspicious face. The one that always said 'I'm not quite sure I believe you, padawan.'
"Well, get back on board." His Master answered somewhat irritatedly. "I'm sending you a blood sample to be analyzed."
Obi-Wan stamped his boot into the sand out of frustration for yet another of his plans foiled, and prepared to gather the Force in order to obtain his best possible enhanced running speed.
"Give me a minute."
And then he took off.
Less than a minute later, he sat in front of the science station terminal on board the Nubian vessel, out of breath, and commed Qui-Gon.
"Go ahead Master."
After giving Qui-Gon the information regarding Anakin's midichlorian count, Obi-Wan leaned back in the hard plastic seat and rubbed the sand out of his face and hair.
There was only one thing left that he could do and he hated the thought of it. It was underhanded and if his Master ever found out, he would never forgive him. But it wasn't like he had a choice. It was too risky to leave the ship again tonight.
He would have to wait until the podrace was over and Anakin had received his winnings.
Then he would make his move. He would go back into town and meet Anakin's mother for the very first time.
