Chapter Twenty-Eight
However she decided to spend her time during the short trip to Tatooine, I would allow it unless she chose to spend all of it alone. That, I wouldn't put up with. Not anymore. Not at least until her health had improved.
In other words, I was finding it necessary to entertain her, and I shared stories with her of my early Padawan years; of the bullying I'd had to endure, as well as the chance of not being chosen to be a Padawan at all and being sent to Agricorps. I told her everything I could think of and she appeared to be absorbing it all. After about an hour, she finally began to open up to me and share details of her own history I hadn't heard before; of the cruelty of her mother, the tenderness of Jobal, and the jealousy of the other maids. We discovered during this time that indeed we had a few things in common. We had been picked on as younglings, ignored, and overlooked, only to be able to rise above those past difficulties to become who we were today.
She laughed cynically at that comment and I couldn't ignore such a response. I spent the next several minutes reminding her how far she'd come and what she had accomplished. There was no denying that fact and although she scoffed a little, I did finally get her to agree – at least partially.
"You know," I said while responding to the warning that we would soon be entering the Tatooine atmosphere, "I'm not a fool."
"I never said you were," she quickly confirmed.
"True, but I wouldn't have chosen you to be my life partner and would have never considered offering you a token of my commitment if I believed for a second you weren't capable of overcoming each and every obstacle you come up against."
Her eyes scanned the approaching planet through the view portal while we approached the city of Mos Espa. The center-most part of the disturbance was located there and I was being drawn to it like a tracking beacon was implanted in my brain.
The wind was working against the ship, though I managed to land without incident just south of the city. I helped Padmé into an appropriate cloak that would protect her skin from the pelting sand, and lifted the hood of my own. It wasn't a storm, but the air was definitely filled with debris, and I could hear it spattering against the hull.
"Ready?" I asked.
"As I'll ever be," she said glumly, although she grinned afterward.
I could handle sarcasm as long as she kept smiling.
"Stay right beside me," I suggested. "If the wind picks up any more, visibility might be reduced and I don't want you to get lost. In fact," I added changing my mind, "just hold onto me."
Hand in hand, we left the ship behind and headed toward the main street running through town. It had been a few years since I'd visited Tatooine and this town had grown quite a bit since then. Jedi weren't typically welcome here, and I wouldn't be flashing my lightsaber around, but my guard was up all the same and my senses were alert.
The wind was now blowing in gusts that made it impossible to speak and I pulled Padmé into the closest open building. It was an inn and the owner didn't seem pleased we weren't interested in renting a room. I asked for his patience, however, due to the weather, which only made him growl at us in reply.
"Friendly, aren't they?" Padmé pointed out.
"I imagine the weather accounts for most of their grumpiness," I suggested, "although there are far worse things on Tatooine than that. This entire area is ruled by a ruthless gang called the Hutts."
"Yes, I've heard of them. They make their money through gambling, spice, and the slave trade. They're nothing but cowards and bullies and it's high time the Republic did something about them," Padmé replied.
I couldn't argue with that! "One of these days perhaps they will pay for their crimes," I added hopefully. "For now, all we can do is what the Force leads us to, and right now, it's telling me what we came here for is down the street toward the East."
"All right then," she stated before protecting her face once again. "What are we waiting for?"
I chuckled at her impatience and looked out a crack in the window shutter. The sand was still blowing, but the wind had died down a little. Once again, I grabbed her hand and we exited the inn, headed down the street, into an alley, and crossed over to a district with stacked housing. The cramped buildings had literally been built on top of one another with narrow stone ramps leading to each door. In the yard between them were residents busily working with tools on a variety of things. Each one was dressed in the same shabby clothing, their skin parched and dry from the heat of the double suns.
"They're all slaves," Padmé noticed with shock and disgust.
I didn't say anything because there wasn't anything positive to say. She'd been right. In every system within the Republic, the slave trade was illegal, but so far, the Hutts had avoided justice and I suspected they had invested in a few politicians with high positions and influence. Still, they shouldn't be allowed to get away with such atrocities. Maybe as a Senator herself, she could do something about it.
"This way," I prompted, pulling on her hand slightly as we walked further down the street. I stopped in front of a small hovel just like the rest, although from within I sensed multiple lifeforms.
"I guess we should knock," she suggested to spur me into action after I stood there dumbly.
A woman about Qui-Gon's age opened the door, and although her face was leathered and wrinkled, and she appeared to have lived a hard life, her dark eyes were kind and she smiled in a friendly and welcoming manner.
"Good day to you. How may I help you?"
I bowed my head respectfully first. "My name is Ben Kenobi. This is my wife…Kara. Someone told us that you could help us. May we come in and speak with you?"
Her kind expression turned to suspicion. "Concerning what?"
I realized my next words had to be carefully chosen, but I didn't have a chance to speak them before Padmé responded.
"Are those babies I hear?"
The woman, whose name we didn't yet know took on a proud glow and her smile broadened. "Why, yes."
Then Padmé did something remarkable. "Ben and are unable to have any children of our own and we were hoping you could help us."
I hadn't said a word about what the Force was telling me about this woman, so I had no idea why Padmé had said what she did, unless she was guessing, of course. Please, let her guess be correct, I prayed.
"My name is Shmi," she said with added tenderness and a touch onto Padmé's arm. "Please, step inside."
The small room was cluttered from floor to ceiling with everything needed to care for multiple infants. There were at least a dozen of them in the room. Some were sleeping on pallets on the floor, while others were being fed or played with. There were four more adults inside not counting Shmi, and each one was caring for at least three babies.
"How did you hear about us?" she asked. "I have to ask because we have to be very careful. If the Hutts find out what we're up to, they'll put a stop to it and these children will be subjected to the slave trade and sold at the highest price."
"I work for the Galactic Relief Society," Padmé told the woman, and I was astonished at how quickly and easily the lie came to her. "And Ben is a captain in the military. During a visit to Kothlis, we came across a couple who had heard about your work and thought it might be worth a shot to come all this way. We've traveled all the way from Yavin to see you and I hope we haven't wasted our time."
Shmi looked us over carefully and hopefully judged us fairly. "You seem like good people," she said, "and I have a good feeling about you. Follow me."
In an even smaller room past the kitchen were two more infants being cared for by an elderly man. They were both fairly small and appeared to be suffering from some type of sickness. I opened myself up to the Force then to try to see if there was anything I could do to help and was suddenly pulled toward the boy. Before I could even step in his direction, once again, Padmé beat me to it.
The infant had been crying with a small, weakened voice, only to stop as soon as he lay his eyes upon the young woman gazing down at him.
"There, there young one," she cooed. "It's all right. Everything's going to be all right."
As if she had done this every day of her life, Padmé lifted the blonde-headed boy up from his mat and cuddled him to her breast. He immediately fell asleep and seemed quite content.
"That's remarkable," I heard the old man utter. "He hasn't stopped crying in days. We really didn't think he was going to make it."
"What's his name?" she asked.
I turned to Shmi, who was still standing in the doorway, watching the scene with tears in her eyes. "Anakin," she told us. "He was left on our doorstep a little over a month ago and has been suffering from the croup."
"He's coming home with us," Padmé said as a matter-of-fact while caressing his head with her cheek. "He's going to be just fine."
I had never even hinted that this young one was the source of the Force fluctuations, that he was the one I was searching for. She had chosen him herself and it had all worked out, which was a good thing. From the look on Padmé's face, she had fallen in love with the infant and I couldn't pry him out of her arms if I wanted to.
"This one's special," Shmi explained proudly before walking over and caressing the downy head. "Take good care of him."
"We will," Padmé promised.
