Jedi Apprentice – Skywalker's Rescue
Chapter 12
"Do you know the way?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Of course!" Anakin said, and took off. Obi-Wan walked quickly to follow him out of the space port and into the streets of Mos Eisley.
Obi-Wan didn't say anything when Anakin paused, frowning as he looked around to get his bearings and then headed off in the opposite direction. He was still shaken from Anakin's suggestion that he was sending the boy back home. Abandoning him, after everything they'd been through. But he supposed it was his fault for not explaining everything to Anakin sooner.
They walked through the dusty streets without talking until they got to a busy area near an outdoor market and Anakin was forced to slow down.
He looked up at Obi-Wan, "We're going to free my mom, aren't we?" It was more of an exclamation than a question.
"Yes. My plan is to buy her freedom," Obi-Wan said.
"And then we'll bring her with us back to Coruscant!"
Obi-Wan hesitated. Anakin stared at him, "We're bringing her back with us."
"Anakin," Obi-Wan said his name like an apology, "She can't live with us in the Temple. You know she can't."
"But then where…" Obi-Wan could practically see the thoughts spinning around in Anakin's mind. Again he regretted not explaining everything sooner.
"Not to worry, Anakin," He smiled, put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, "I have a plan."
Before he could explain further, they rounded a corner and Anakin exclaimed, "This is my street!" and took off at a run. By the time Obi-Wan caught up, Anakin was standing at the door of one of the sand worn houses, entering a series of numbers into the small security panel. The door clicked open and Anakin pushed inside. He ran into the kitchen, shouting "Mom!", then through the bedrooms, calling out again.
Obi-Wan stood awkwardly inside the entrance. He'd never actually met Anakin's mother and he suddenly realized he had no idea how she might take this sudden intrusion in her life, no matter how well intended. For a brief moment he was reminded of being at the start of a new mission with Qui-Gon, how he sometimes had a strong premonition that things were going to become much more complicated than they expected. Then Qui-Gon would admonish him to focus on the present. The whole exchange was almost a tradition for them, it happened so often.
This time it was Anakin who brought him back to the present.
"She's not home," he said. Obi-Wan had already sensed that the house was empty, but he didn't say it. Anakin continued, "It's almost midday. She always comes home for lunch."
Obi-Wan nodded, "We'll wait here for her then." It was a little disconcerting to hear his apprentice talking like this was his home, like he'd never left, as if he ate lunch with his mother every day instead of Obi-Wan.
"Come on," Anakin grabbed his hand and pulled him along, "I'll show you my room! Mom didn't change anything. All my stuff is still here!"
Anakin's room was small, the walls covered with faded podracing posters, a desk and several shelves covered with spaceship models and bit and pieces of electronics. Everything, Obi-Wan noticed, was tidy and clean, not what he would have expected from a room that hadn't been used in almost a year. Anakin's mother had clearly been dusting it.
"And this is C3P0, but I don't know why it's like this…" Anakin was saying.
Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. He'd almost missed the full body of a protocol droid, albeit missing most of the external paneling, in one corner of the room. "A protocol droid?"
"Yes, I built it to help my mom around the house…used spare parts I took, uh, borrowed from the junkyard," Anakin was bent over, fiddling with something. He sighed in frustration, "The battery is completely empty! She hasn't been using it at all! And this wiring is all wrong…"
Obi-Wan watched Anakin tinkering for a while, keeping one eye on the front of the house.
…..
TBC!
Preview: Next chapter will be longer! Expect an emotional reunion and an only slightly awkward introduction!