Author's Note: If you skipped Chapter 9 you might want to go back and read it. It's my fault for posting two chapters back to back. As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows.

Previously: "In fact, after this current mission is done and everything is back to normal, I promise to do everything I can to free all of the slaves here. I swear–"

"Percy, no!" Annabeth interrupted.

"On the River Styx," I finished.

Chapter 11: Qui-Gon Finally Explains a Few Things

"Maybe it didn't work," Annabeth suggested hopefully, "Since we are so far from home, there is no way Styx's power can reach us." I frowned. I hadn't thought of that.

Qui-Gon looked puzzled as he stared at me. "No, I think it worked if Percy was trying to make a binding oath of some kind. I've never seen or heard of anything like this before, but the Force seems to have bound Percy to his promise. I don't know who or what this Styx is that you mentioned, but I do know the Force. Both you and Percy are Force-sensitives even if you are more unusual than most. You can manipulate it to some extent. It is possible that the Force responded to Percy's intent when he swore the oath. I'm not sure exactly what will happen if he breaks it, but I know the consequences will not be good."

"In most cases, to break an oath on the River Styx is to condemn yourself to a fate worse than death," Annabeth said dryly. "What were you even thinking Seaweed Brain, making a sacred oath for an impossible promise? But of course, you weren't thinking. You never do." Her voice had raised to the danger level. She turned her stormy glare to Qui-Gon, "And don't you think it would have been nice of you to actually tell us what this Force thing is or that it responds to us before we accidentally used it?"

"Hey," I said getting her glare back on me, "you're mad at me, so don't go taking it out on other people. And for your information, I did think, and I am perfectly aware of the consequences. I thought about Nico and how I failed to protect him or even realize he was hurting and not accepted at camp because I got busy and didn't think about it. I thought about all those broken promises that almost got us killed last summer, like my promise to visit Bob or free Calypso. If this galaxy is our second chance, then I am not going to make the same mistakes. These people are being denied their freedom, Annabeth. They deserve more than just another empty promise. They deserve the chance to live their lives, and if I can help them in any way, then I will."

"What about your life, Percy? After what happened to Luke, how could you? I can't lose another person I love to a fate worse than death." she said before storming out of the room muttering, "stupid fatal flaw, self-sacrificing, hero complex."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I did forget how fates worse than death might bother Annabeth after Luke literally became a puppet for the evil Titan Lord Kronos. I mentally shuddered. There really weren't many fates worse than that one. Once again, everyone at the table was staring at me. "Sorry about that. I probably should have handled it better. I promise Annabeth and I usually aren't so dramatic and angsty. It's been a rough few days. We thought we had finally found some peace and quiet, a normal life so to speak, only for our lives to just get uprooted, again. And, I guess with my oath, any hope of a normal life for the foreseeable future just went down the drain. It sort of brought up some old repressed feelings and memories. I should probably go find her and calm her down." I focused on Anakin and Shmi, "I guess after that explosion you kind of have an idea of what my oath actually meant and the stakes if I fail. I just want to let you know that no matter what happens, you are both worth it."

With that, I grabbed the rest of Annabeth's and my dinners, plus the remaining Oreos (I was going to need all the help I could get) and followed her up the stairs to the second-floor balcony. Whenever Annabeth was upset, she liked to be someplace where she could see the stars. Sure enough, she was there, sitting on the ledge looking up. "Hey, Wise Girl, I'm sorry." My mom always told me after a fight with Annabeth that I should apologize first because most likely Annabeth was right, at least to some extent.

I didn't get a response, so I placed her food next to her on the ledge. "I come bearing gifts, though warning you, I am Greek," I joked. That one did get a snort out of her.

"Did you just make a Trojan War reference, Seaweed Brain?" she asked.

"Yep, but I promise these gifts are really a peace offering." We ate the rest of our meal in a relaxed silence as we both thought about what we wanted to say to the other. When we were finished, I removed the dishes and held out an Oreo for her.

She gave me a small smile and took it. She played with it in her hand and said, "I understand why you did it, Percy. I really do. But does it make me a terrible person, if I say, I wish you hadn't?"

"No, of course not. I'm the one who just blurted it out like that. I should have talked to you about it first. I'm the Seaweed Brain who wishes for a normal life, gets us taken away from everything we know, and then foolishly throws that peaceful life away the first chance I get."

"You were right though, about slavery and broken promises," she sighed, "and even if you hadn't sworn on the River Styx. . . I know you Percy. We could have gone back to our life on Naboo after this crisis is over. But, with that fatal flaw of yours, you would not have been able to live a normal, peaceful life until at least Anakin and Shmi were free though your hero complex probably would have extended it to the whole planet if not the galaxy. I would like to think that my conscious wouldn't let me go back to my almost perfect life on Naboo either. That I wouldn't be able to ignore or forget about the slaves here." She slowly ate her Oreo while she thought. I could always tell when she was thinking because her eyes got this unfocused look while her mouth kind of pouted.

"All things considered though, your wording of the oath could have been a lot worse. Thankfully, you added the stipulation about working on this after Naboo is free, so I guess you did use that brain a little. You also promised to do everything you could as opposed to just promising to free the slaves, so maybe if you literally can't free everyone even if you try your best you will still be okay. And, you were a little vague on the location when you said you would free all the slaves here. Did you mean here as in Mos Espa or Tatooine? Please tell me you didn't mean the whole galaxy."

"Umm," I tried to think back. "When I made the oath, I was thinking about all the other slave families in these apartments, so I guess it technically might just be Mos Espa. But I feel like it would be wrong to at least not try to free all the slaves."

"Percy, when are you going to learn that you can't save everyone?" She glared at me. "Freeing all the slaves in the galaxy is impossible. Even back on Earth, slavery still existed, in various forms, in pockets all over the world. And, that was with it being illegal. Just freeing the slaves in Mos Espa though might be doable. However, it's not going to have the effect you think it will."

I frowned, "What do you mean? Thousands of people will have their freedom. It will affect them."

"Yes, but within two years max, thousands of people will lose their freedom, and there will be slaves here again."

"Oh, how do we make sure there won't be any more slaves then?"

"I'm not sure if ending slavery is even possible. We might have a chance if we just focus on the planet, but even then. . ." she trailed off. I gave her a confused look, so she went into explanation mode. "Freeing one or two slaves is relatively simple, but things get complicated if you try to free more, much less try to stop it all together. Slavery is an institution. It's not like the other enemies we've fought against. We can't just win a battle or slay a bad guy and end slavery. Even back home, it took four years of the deadliest war in the United States' history to officially end slavery, but we were still feeling the repercussions over a 150 years later. Although the Galactic Republic has pretty strict antislavery laws, there are reasons why they have turned a blind eye to it out here, probably a combination of needing the trade and hyperspace lanes the Hutts control, receiving bribes or kickbacks, and just not wanting to fight a war. So how are we going to end slavery on this planet without a huge army and several years of war?"

My heart clenched when I heard the word we. I sighed, "Annabeth, I was the one who swore the oath. You should stay on Naboo and become a famous architect. I don't want to take that away from you."

"No way, Seaweed Brain." She looked straight into my eyes. "Remember, we stay together even when one of us leaps into a pit without looking either literally or figuratively. Besides, it's the right thing to do, and there's no way you could do it without me."

"Well, you are defiantly right about that part. I couldn't do anything without my amazing Wise Girl, but together we can do the impossible. Gods, I love you so much." I pulled her close, and we kissed.

The next morning, it was Annabeth's turn to apologize for her behavior. "I'm sorry I stormed out last night. Percy and I talked it over, and I've realized that I want to help too. It may take a few years. We have to solve this current crisis on Naboo first and then figure out the most effective plan to hopefully end the practice of slavery on Tatooine. Plus, it would probably help if at least one of us learned to pilot a spaceship. But, we will come back. Percy's oath has guaranteed that."

"I'm glad someone will be able to devote themselves to this cause," Padmé added. "I wish I could do more, but my responsibility as a civil servant of Naboo is to always serve my home first. I'm sure when the time comes, the Queen will give you the resources you need to succeed."

"Thanks," Annabeth replied, "I have a feeling we are going to need all the help we can get." Then, she turned to Qui-Gon and asked, "Between Percy's and my immature temper tantrums last night, did you come up with a plan to get the hyperdrive generator?"

"Yes, apparently, Watto has a weakness for gambling in podraces," Qui-Gon explained. "So, we will offer him a wager that he cannot refuse. Anakin has built a very fast racer and is an excellent pilot. He has generously offered to give me his pod and to pilot it in a race tomorrow. All we need to do is convince Watto to let Anakin pilot in the race and to pay the entry fee for the race. To encourage Watto to agree, I will offer our ship as collateral for the entry fee. When Anakin wins tomorrow, Watto keeps the winnings, and we get our parts."

Wow, this was crazier than some of my plans. As a responsible almost adult, I probably should be worried about Anakin participating in a dangerous race. But, after years of seeing kids younger than him climb rock walls with spewing lava pits and racing around in chariots with lethal weapons and exploding Greek fire, my sense of danger for kids was a little skewed.

"And if Anakin loses, then Watto gets our ship?" Annabeth questioned. That didn't sound very good.

Qui-Gon nodded, "But, he will win." He gave Anakin a smile and a wink.

"I do not like this plan," Padmé stated. "It is far too risky. Surely, you agree with me, Annabeth."

"This plan is clearly not ideal," Annabeth speculated. "But, we don't have many options, and I do think that it will work. I trust your judgement when you say Anakin will win. I guess I just don't understand why you don't ask for more. No matter what happens it seems like Watto gets way more than we do, and it's not like he is exactly a nice person that I want to help get rich. If he really is addicted to gambling, we should use that to get more."

"Careful young one, greed is not a flattering trait and is highly discouraged by the Jedi. We will use these circumstances to achieve our goal and nothing more," Qui-Gon counseled.

"I did not mean more for ourselves, but perhaps we could use these circumstances to help others as well," she said coolly with a glance at Anakin and Shmi.

The Jedi frowned at that, "I wish we could do more, but we must stay focused on our current mission. Besides, with this wager, Watto has no reason to not accept it."

As we all walked to Watto's shop with Anakin running ahead of us, I asked Annabeth quietly, "And you really think this crazy, risky plan is better than using our drachmas?"

She shrugged, "Qui-Gon seems to think it will succeed. I think he might be using this Force sense, or whatever it is. If it doesn't work, we can still use the drachmas to hopefully get our group off this planet, somehow, though we might have to charter a ship. If it does work, maybe we can use the drachmas to help Shmi and Anakin."

"You would want to do that?" I asked hopefully.

She gave me a small smile, "Of course Seaweed Brain, though it might make going home harder, it would be worth it. Before, I figured Qui-Gon would come up with something to get the part, but we might be Shmi and Ani's only hope. I would rather them not have to wait years to be freed. Plus, I don't think we can go home until after you fulfilled your oath."

I winced, "Sorry again about that."

She shrugged. "Not much we can do about it now. Besides, I think I like knowing that when we do leave this galaxy, we will have left a lasting impact on it far greater than just a few cool buildings on Naboo."

It came as no surprise that the greedy, flying, blue Muppet agreed to Qui-Gon's wager since it really was a win-win for him no matter what happened. Watto even gave Anakin the rest of the day off to make final preparations on the podracer. I can't say I was particularly impressed with Anakin's pod at first glance. It didn't have the sleek, futuristic design I had come to expect from the high-tech transports I'd seen around Naboo. Instead, it was rusty with lots of wires and cables exposed and most of it looked like it had been wielded together. The basic design though wasn't too different than the chariots back home. The cockpit was like the chariot basket, and it was pulled by two engines as opposed to two horses.

I stepped forward to get a closer look, but Annabeth said, "Uh-uh Seaweed Brain, that's close enough. We have a lot riding on this pod, and today is not the day to test your control on not destroying things."

"But that's so not fair. I want to take a closer look." Anakin flipped a switch and purple lightning connected the two engines. "Oh wow! Can't I at least see the purple lightning?" I pouted.

"Nope, you stay over there," Annabeth replied as she pulled out Daedalus 2.0.

"But, Annabeth, I want to help too."

"You are helping by not blowing up the pod. You could always be our water boy, I suppose, and get us some water when we are thirsty," she said with a smirk.

I responded with the very mature, time-tested comeback of sticking my tongue out at her.

Anakin just laughed at our bantering before telling me, "If you really want to help, Percy, you can fetch us tools." His attention then turned to Daedalus 2.0. "What's that, Annabeth?"

"This is a very advanced, one of a kind, computer from my home world," Annabeth told him as she pressed a few buttons and shrank it to tablet form.

"Wow, it's the size of a datapad now! That's so cool. How did it do that?" Anakin excitedly asked.

"Umm, it's kind of a combination of condensing the material and using certain energies to alter a small pocket of space. But, right now we should take a look at your pod." Annabeth held the tablet out towards the pod and walked around it, creating a 3-D scan. After a few more taps on the screen, she rested the tablet in her hand, parallel to the ground, and a 3-D hologram of the pod floated above the screen.

"Wow, since when could Daedalus 2.0 make holograms?" I asked.

Annabeth just shrugged as she focused on the hologram. She waved her hand, and the hologram showed the inside of one of the engines. "I've been making a few upgrades since we arrived in this galaxy. After all Daedalus 2.0 is primarily built to adapt. Hmm, I really like what you did with the fuel injection, Ani. It's quite ingenious actually."

"Thanks! It gives the pod extra thrust making it the fastest pod ever!" he replied with a big smile.

Annabeth made the hologram zoom back out and focused on the cockpit. Whatever she saw made her frown. "But, it seems like the pod's computer and the controls won't be able to keep up with the extra boost from the engines which will cause you to stall 70% of the time."

"Yeah, I know." Anakin said sounding dejected. "Unfortunately, the wiring slows everything down. I tried every trick I could think of just to stop it from completely over heating and melting the wires."

"If I gave you a material that is a better conductor and won't overheat, do you think you could rewire the central section in time?" she asked.

"If I have some help, I should be able to do it though it might mean we don't get to paint it." He frowned at that. "Though I guess if it means I won't stall, then it would be worth it."

"Good, that's a wise decision." Annabeth quickly returned Daedalus 2.0 to its full size and after a few keyboard strokes bronze wiring started coming out of an opening on the side of the laptop.

"Umm Annabeth, is that what I think it is?" I asked.

"Yep, and it's coming out pre-cut to the needed length," she replied. At my incredulous look, she just smiled, "You really think a bunch of Hephaestus kids wouldn't put in an obnoxious amount of extra Celestial bronze wire in something they helped build." She did have a good point. The Hephaestus cabin loved their Celestial bronze wire.

The pod was finished just as the second sun was setting. Anakin had managed to rewire the pod with help from Annabeth, Padmé, Qui-Gon, and even Jar-Jar, which was totally unfair. When I complained about the clumsy Gungan being allowed to help while I couldn't. Annabeth just replied, "Jar-Jar didn't manage to blow up a bus with an antique canon that should have been completely unusable." There was just enough time for a quick paint job. I demanded that I should pick out the accent colors as my great contribution, so naturally I chose blue.

Thankfully, dinner was a lot less eventful then the previous night. We finished up the last of Annabeth's and my Earth food while Annabeth fired off endless questions about the Tatooine slave trade and the Hutts. Shmi and Anakin answered most of them, and Padmé and Qui-Gon occasionally chipped in what they knew. Afterwards, Shmi refused to let Annabeth and I clean up since we had helped her prepare the meal again, so we headed back up to the second-floor balcony to look at the stars.

I thought about everything we had learned regarding the Hutts. They were like a twisted combination of the mafia and the worst Roman emperors I could think of. These beings got a sick pleasure out of seeing the suffering of others and literally owned other people just because it made them feel powerful. These were the monsters Annabeth and I would have to go up against in order to fulfill my oath. Though the worst part was, they weren't the monsters we usually faced that would just poof into magical dust when killed and come back in a few years. No, I knew if I stabbed a Hutt with Riptide, it would just pass harmlessly through the giant slug's body because the Hutts were just mortal, though long-lived, sentient beings who chose to torture and terrify other people for fun. My stomach filled with dread as I realized something, "We are going to have to actually kill mortal people and other sentient beings, aren't we?"

"I'm afraid so, Percy." Annabeth responded. "I just don't see any way around it. These Hutts are just too powerful with too few morals and can send far too many assassins and bounty hunters after us. We won't survive to help anyone if we don't at least kill the people who try to kill us."

I sighed, "I really hated killing all those demigods in the Titan War. I had hoped that I would never have to spill actual blood again."

"I know Percy. It was hard for me too."

"Let's make a promise then. We have to make sure we don't lose ourselves to the bloodshed. We need to come up with a strict moral code, like we won't kill anyone unless we know for sure they are trying to kill us or harm others. And, if possible we will try to capture and send them to prison or something. I just don't want to become one of the monsters we are trying to stop. That time in Tartarus with Akhlys. . . that was too close. If it wasn't for you, I don't know if I could have stopped. I don't want to be like that, someone you would fear, and someone I would hate."

"That's a surprisingly good idea, Seaweed Brain. Together, we will help each other preserve our humanity." I wrapped my arm around her waist, and she rested her head on my shoulder as we thought about the future blood that would be on our hands.

Our gloomy thoughts were interrupted by Anakin's excited voice, "Hey, Percy, Annabeth, whatcha doing out here?" He walked over to us and looked at me expectantly.

"We were just looking at the stars though it's kind of sad because I don't recognize any of them. Back on our home planet, our astronomers formed constellations, and almost every group of stars had a story to go with them. So, whenever you looked up, it was like you got a bedtime story." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Qui-Gon observing us from inside with a thoughtful look on his face.

"That seems pretty silly. I mean they are just big balls of gas light-years away. I think a lot of them have their own planet systems, and one day when I'm free and become a pilot, I'm going to see them all" Anakin said matter-of-factly.

He was just so enthusiastic. I couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped me. "I'm sure you will, Ani."

"Percy, will you tell them to me, the stories about your stars?" he asked. He hoisted himself up, so he could sit on the balcony ledge next to me. I noticed him wince slightly and touch his arm. He turned back to me with a hopeful face.

"Maybe later, but right now, I want to know, did you hurt your arm?"

Anakin grimaced, "It's nothing."

"Ani let us see." Annabeth said softly. "You don't want to be a Seaweed Brain like Percy who tries to pretend that he's not hurt, especially since you have the big race tomorrow."

"Oh, fine." He held out his arm and pulled back his sleeve revealing a small scrape that was still bleeding.

"And when did this happen?" Annabeth asked sternly as she examined the cut.

"I think when we were working on the pod, but I didn't notice it till later."

"Hmm, it needs to be cleaned out and bandaged. Percy, could you get our first aid supplies."

Before I could head inside, Qui-Gon stepped out. "I think I could help with that," the old Jedi said as he walked toward us and pulled out some kind of disinfectant wipe from his pocket. As he cleaned, Anakin's cut, Anakin quizzed him about all the star systems he knew. Qui-Gon finished Anakin's first aid treatment by pricking his skin with something then putting a small bacta patch on the cut. Just as he finished, we heard Shmi call out from inside the apartment that it was Ani's bedtime. Qui-Gon pulled out his communicator, and the small object he pricked Anakin with.

"What are you doing?" Anakin asked.

"I am checking your blood for infections," the Jedi replied casually, "You should go to bed now and try to get lots of rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

Anakin headed back inside with a quick, "Night Percy, Night Annabeth, Night Master Qui-Gon sir! And thanks for the help with the pod."

After he left, Annabeth look suspiciously at Qui-Gon. "What are you really doing with his blood? I think it's something more than just checking for infections."

Qui-Gon did his signature, annoying smile. "Very perceptive, again, young one. You are wise beyond your years. I'm going to have Obi-Wan use the ship's computer to analyze Anakin's blood sample through the comlink for a midi-chlorian count."

Annabeth immediately opened her mouth no doubt to ask what in the world these middle chlorine things were, but before she could ask, Qui-Gon chuckled, "Always so eager for answers, yet unwilling to give any yourself. How about we finally have this talk we've been dancing around these last few days? An even exchange of information, I'll answer all of your questions truthfully if you will return the favor for my own questions."

Annabeth and I looked at each other and had one of our silent conversations with facial expressions. Annabeth asked, "What do you think?" with a look.

I replied with a shrug and a raised eyebrow, "What do we have to lose at this point? He already knows we're different, and I think he could help us."

Annabeth ended our discussion with a nod and turned back to Qui-Gon. "Sounds like a deal. Usually back home both, parties would swear on the River Styx, but I think we've had enough sacred oaths for now. Plus, we don't know if it will work on you, and I guess we trust you. You remind us of our old mentor from home."

"Very well, I will try to be worthy of your trust," Qui-Gon stated. "As a show of good faith, I will answer a few of your questions first. Midi-chlorians are microscopic life forms that reside within the cells of all living organisms. They are sentient and connected to the Force. Therefore, they form a symbiotic relationship with their living hosts and act as a link between the living being and the Force. Those with a greater number of midi-chlorians in their cells tend to be more sensitive to the Force. In fact, it is how the Jedi Order measures Force potential to determine whether a youngling will be trained as a Jedi or not. They must have a count of at least 7,000 to be accepted."

I frowned at that, "Wait your telling me you decide whether or not to let a kid join your mystic space police club based on how many of these microbe things he has? That just seems–"

"Percy," Annabeth's tone warned me to be polite and watch my language.

I tried to come up with a polite way to say stupid, "I mean it seems so Roman." Now, I'm not saying Romans were stupid. They were far from stupid, but they did have a lot of stupid laws.

"I am not familiar with that term," Qui-Gon said with a frown.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at me before translating Percy speak, "He means it seems like a rather rigid method to use. Like how can a microbe predict what a child will be like when they are older? Perhaps a being with fewer midi-chlorians is rejected, but she is a harder worker and kinder individual than another being who you accept into the Jedi Order just because she had more midi-chlorians in her cells but later turns out to be a terrible person who doesn't reach her full potential."

"I admit that it is not a perfect system, and there are occasional exceptions of course," Qui-Gon replied. "But, it has been rather effective for almost a millennium, and Jedi training starts very young, so we can hopefully prevent younglings from becoming terrible people most of the time"

"Just because you have done something for a long time doesn't mean it's right," I said thinking about the god's treatment of demigods before their promise to me after the Second Titan War.

Annabeth just sighed, "Now is not the time to be a rebel Percy, especially when we don't understand everything or even know what this Force is."

Qui-Gon looked at me with that x-ray gaze of his. "You are quick to judge Percy, but your statement is true. I do feel that some of the Jedi's traditions hold back the Order and that it has become stagnant. However, I am considered a maverick of sorts among the Jedi. As for the Force, it is an energy field generated by all living things in the universe. It flows through everything, binding the universe together. Force-users can feel the Force flowing through them and other beings providing them with wisdom, protection, strength, and the ability to manipulate matter and to some extent minds. As I mentioned earlier, it also can provide glimpses of the future to help guide you to the will of the Force. I am sorry that I was hesitant to explain this to you earlier, but once Force-sensitives become aware of the Force, their presence is usually easier to sense by other Force-users which could attract unwanted attention. Also, awareness can unlock your Force abilities. Both of these potential consequences would have been disastrous for our current mission. However, I have started to suspect that you are already aware, to some extent, of your powers as Force-sensitives though perhaps you do not credit the Force for these special abilities. Take your time to think about what I have said while I ask Obi-Wan to run this blood sample."

I could have thought about what he said for years, and I doubt it would make any more sense. Weird little microbes in us connecting us to some energy field that gave people super powers. Yeah, that's a little hard to swallow even after all the crazy stuff I had to accept as my reality over the years. Though the strangest and most confusing part was that these Force abilities sounded similar to demigod powers. I mean we were all naturally faster and stronger than mortals though some more so than others. Jason and I could manipulate specific matter around us. Annabeth and her siblings had an extra dose of wisdom, and Piper could basically manipulate people's minds. Plus, what Qui-Gon described happening to Force-sensitives when they found out about the Force was exactly what happened to demigods. As soon as we started to become aware of our godly heritage, our special demigod scent got stronger, attracting even more monsters and the attention of other gods. Both of which were usually very bad.

My thoughts were interrupted by Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon discussing the results from the midi-chlorian scan. Apparently, Anakin's midi-chlorian count was off the charts, the highest Qui-Gon had ever heard of. "Does this mean that Anakin can become a powerful Jedi?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes, it does though it also brings up many other questions for me to ponder," the Jedi replied with a frown. "In the meantime, may I scan your blood for midi-chlorians? I am curious what the count will reveal for both you and Percy."

I could tell Annabeth was conflicted, "I'm not going to deny that I'm burning with curiosity to know what your scan will reveal about us, but you have to promise to destroy our blood as soon as the scan is done." Qui-Gon looked confused, so she clarified, "Let's just say the last time someone got a hold of Percy's and my blood they did something really bad with it. Our blood can have strange effects on things, so it's better to not leave any of it lying around."

I snorted at that. Yeah, enemies using our blood to raise a powerful primordial bent on destroying the world was really bad.

Qui-Gon nodded. "I suppose that's an understandable concern if a little strange, but you have my word that after the analysis your blood will be destroyed." He then pricked both Annabeth and my arms with some sort of blood collector and inserted Annabeth's into the comlink. "Obi-Wan, here is a sample of Annabeth's blood, could you scan for midi-chlorians please?"

After only a short pause, we heard Obi-Wan's voice over the comlink, "Master, there must be some mistake. . . The reading is showing no midi-chlorians. That's impossible!"

Qui-Gon frowned, "Yes, it is. Perhaps, it was just a bad sample." He removed Annabeth's blood from the comlink and replaced it with mine. "This is Percy's. Try a full analysis on this one."

We waited a full minute before Obi-Wan replied, "Master, I do not understand these results. Once again, there is no midi-chlorians. How is this possible? We both can feel their presence in the Force even if it is a bit unusual. They both seem to be powerful Force-sensitives, yet both have zero midi-chlorians. Also, the DNA for this blood sample. . . only 50% of it is human. The rest is composed of some unidentifiable matter. Even if he was a hybrid, the computer would be able to recognize the DNA of any species that can interbreed with humans. I don't mean to be rude, Percy, but what are you?"

Author's Note: Honestly I didn't want to end this chapter here, but it had gotten too long. Plus, I know the next part is going to be very controversial, and I need to mentally build up courage before I post it. I promise lots of action in the next chapter.

Also, for anyone wondering about my choice for a legal adulthood age on Naboo, I found it in the "Legend" side of the Naboo (people) Wookipedia page in the politics section.