TATOOINE

The royal sloop of Naboo entered orbit of the desert-planet, and Qui-Gon and Panaka joined Ric in the cockpit. Off in the distance the twin suns were bright against the starlit backdrop of space. The odd spacefreighter moved to and from the planet, the kind of ships that did not enjoy the authorities and did not list all cargo on a manifest. Even from space, Tatooine seemed like a desolate place, sparsely populated and void of civilization.

"There are three reasonably large settlements down there" the pilot said and pointed at a screen displaying information about the planet. "Bestine, Anchorhead and Mos Eisley. Almost all traffic head for those three spaceports. That's our best bet if we want to find the parts we need to repair the hyperdrive."

"Any towns with little traffic?" Qui-Gon asked. "Preferably remote, but still a spaceport."

Ric searched through the files. "Here. Mos Espa. Small, out of the way, poor. Far away from anything resembling civilization, even on this desolate rock."

"Perfect" Qui-Gon nodded. "Take us in."

"You better be sure about this, jedi" Panaka said, showing all too well his mindset.

"The Force will guide us" was the jedi masters only response.

XXX XXX

The sloop landed a mile outside of the town, surrounded by dunes and sand. The twin suns in the sky blinding and not a cloud could be seen. The air, hot and dry, stung the skin as the boarding-ramp was lowered and instantly sand was carried onto the ship by the wind. Qui-Gon leaned out and took a look around, the desert extending to every horizon. Joining him by the open ramp was Obi-Wan and Jar-Jar.

"Jar-Jar will accompany me to the town" Qui-Gon said. "You, Obi-Wan, will stay behind and guard the queen and the ship."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, master."

"And be careful" Qui-Gon added. "I sense a disturbance in the Force."

"I sense it also, master."

Jar-Jar and Qui-Gon dared the elements and headed for Mos Espa on foot, joined by the astrodroid R2D2. The heat and scorching suns murder to their skin, and the intense light and sand-particles filling the air ever stinging at their eyes.

"Why people settle this place?" Jar-Jar wondered, not at all comfortable walking through the desert. "Stupid place to live! No water, no trees, no nothing!"

"It is out of the way from most authorities" Qui-Gon explained. "That has an appeal to some. You included, I believe."

"Maybe" Jar-Jar reluctantly admitted. "Still stupid place."

They came to a stop when Qui-Gons comlink came to life as Obi-Wan asked them to wait. Turning to the ship, they saw Panaka and a young woman heading after them. Qui-Gon was not pleased as he sensed what was going to happen.

Panaka almost seemed reluctant as he walked over to the jedi knight. "This is Cordé, one of the queens handmaidens" he explained as he introduced the young woman, now void of any make-up to hide her features and her black and gold gown replaced by simple attire. "The queen would like her to accompany you. Her majesty is interested about the planet."

Qui-Gon was not interested however in acting escort. "The spaceport is a dangerous place. I can not guarantee her safety."

"The queen incists, I'm afraid" Panaka explained.

Qui-Gon sighed. "This is a bad idea. Keep close."

Obi-Wan looked out through the cockpit viewport as his master headed off towards the town located in the distance, joined by the gungan, the astromech-droid and one of the queens handmaidens. Panaka was on his way back to the ship. Ric came back to the cockpit after having spent some time in the engine-compartment, his face and hands, not to mention his clothes, covered in grease and oil.

"Worse than I thought" the pilot said. "We have to replace the entire unit."

"Is that possible in a remote place like this?" Obi-Wan asked.

Ric didn't seem too bothered. "I'm not worried. It's a Nuubian hyperdrive, fairly common in this part of the galaxy."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Good. Atleast that's something in our favor."

As Panaka returned to the ship, he closed the ramp behind him and was relieved to shut out the terrible heat and all the sand. As the sloop was sealed from the outside world, the gold-plated protocol-droid walked over to the bodyguard captain.

"Captain Panaka, might I have a word?"

"What is is, 3PO?"

"Sir, I am fluent in over six million forms of communication. I believe I could prove most useful in the queens search for a new hyperdrive, in this community she intends to visit. My memory-banks clearly state, that Hutt controlled spaceports have on average two hundred different languages spoken by its denizens, and more than half speak Huttese rather than Republic Basic. An interpreter would be an excellent companion."

"You know what?" Panaka said. "If she calls for help, we will both go."

"Splendid!" the protocol-droid said cheerfully.

XXX XXX

Mos Espa was a small community with too many cantinas for its own good. The locals were a mixture of privateers, freighter-captains, bantha hunters, moisture-farmers and merchants. Species and races from all over the galaxy seemed to be represented in the small town, and many were unknown even to the well-travelled jedi knight. Qui-Gon glanced at the handmaiden, her eyes betrayed her emotions as she was appalled by the poverty, the missery and the harsh life of Mos Espa and Tatooine.

"It is a hard life" Qui-Gon said as they walked down the streets of the desert-settlement. "There is most likely a mine closeby, or an abandoned one, since there is a spaceport out here in the wilderness. Moisture-farmers make a living from selling water. The spaceport is kept alive thanks to smuggling and a black-market. It is well out of the way, small and insignificant, a perfect place to sell illegal and stolen goods without being bothered by the authorities."

"What about the Hutts?" the handmaiden asked. "Are they not in control here?"

"Oh, they are in control" Qui-Gon assured her. "They are in control of every deal and bargain made on this planet, taking a percentage from every deal. As long as the Hutts are payed, people may do as they please, more or less."

"Why doesn't the Republic put a stop to it?" the handmaiden asked just as they walked past a slave-auction.

"The Hutts are powerful and influential" Qui-Gon explained while he was on the lookout for someone that could help them. "And the Republic rarely interferes with its members domestic politics. There is little to no evidence that the Hutts are, in any way, directly involved with smuggling or piracy across the galaxy, so there is little the Republic can do."

"And the jedi?" Cordé asked.

"The Hutts are careful not to become a threat to the Republic, or the Jedi, that would warrant interference" Qui-Gon explained.

"Sound like smart bosses" Jar-Jar said, sharing his view on the Hutts based on Qui-Gons description.

Qui-Gon came to a halt and the other two soon realized why, standing infront of a large dealers shop located not far from the towns dockingbays. Stepping inside, they were greeted by the stores owner, a Rodian by the name of Heegra. It did not take long to conclude that Heegra had the required parts, seeing as he was on the Hutt payroll, and as a consequence, was the most well stocked dealer in Mos Espa and this region of Tatooine in general.

The rodian began his usual salespitch, but Qui-Gon had little patience and made Heegra agree to trade the hyperdrive for a jewel, with a little help from the Force. Once the deal was made, Qui-Gon, Jar-Jar, R2 and the handmaiden left the store. They decided to rest and found a place to eat and have some water.

"So" Cordé said, placing her mug of water on the table. "Am I to understand that you intend to pay for the parts with one of the queens jewels?"

Qui-Gon nodded. "Only one. She has several others, so Im sure she can dispense with one in her collection."

"Not likely" Jar-Jar said, mouth full of food. "Naboo love their glitter-stones big time."

Qui-Gon drank some water. "What is important is to secure the parts we need, don't you think?"

The handmaiden shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose. Though I do think it would have been prudent to consult with the queen first, before using her jewelry as bargaining chips."

"I will keep it in mind for future reference" the jedi said, all too obviously not being serious about it. He then fished out his comlink and made contact with Obi-Wan, asking his apprentice to bring one of the queens gems to town, in order to trade it for the parts needed.

Jar-Jar turned to order in some more food from a passing waitress, but in doing so he accidentally made another costumer, a dug as it were, spill his beverage all over himself. Jar-Jar was grabbed by the neck and thrown out onto the street. Qui-Gon pushed the handmaiden back into her chair as she was about to get involved, which gave the dug time to jump after the gungan and even managed to land some blows across the gungans face.

"Stay here and don't move!" Qui-Gon told Cordé and then turned to help Jar-Jar.

But Qui-Gon didn't have time to act, as a young teenaged boy draged the dug away from the gungan and threw the dug into the sand. The dug came up on its feet and spat insults at the boy in Huttese almost instantly. Clearly they had a history as the boy replied in kind, speaking Huttese fluently. Within seconds, the two were engaged in a serious fistfight and landed punches left and right. It was not allowed to be finished though, as Qui-Gon stepped between them and used his knowledge of the Force to make the dug leave for home to rest.

Qui-Gon turned around just as the boy got back on his feet, bleeding from a cut on his lip and eyebrow. The handmaiden was helping Jar-Jar back out of the dirt, the gungan still groggy and confused from the sudden beating.

"Thanks for the help" the jedi said. "Though, I think we would have managed."

The teenaged boy cleaned blood from his face using his hand. "I just saw a reason to throw a punch at Sebulba" the boy said. "Had nothing to do with you."

Qui-Gon simply nodded. "Long time enemies I take it?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"My name is Qui-Gon, what's yours?"

The boy became uneasy. "Look, I'm not desperate for cedits, so don't bother."

"You have nothing to fear from me" Qui-Gon assured the boy.

"Thank you" the handmaiden said to the boy once Jar-Jar was capable of standing on his own two feet. "That was very brave of you."

"Yeah, well..." the boy blushed and shrugged his shoulders. "Sebulba has always been a jerk so he sort of deserved it."

"Well, we are very greatful for your help" the handmaiden smiled.

Qui-Gon noticed what the boy wore around his neck, partially hidden underneath a wrapped piece of cloth used as a scarf. He reached over and fished out the heavy necklace, more a chain than anything else. The boy flinched but did not move away, as if used to the treatment.

"You're a slave?" Qui-Gon sounded a bit surprised. "Anakin, human male, owned by Watto Ossiki, the toydarian of Mos Espa" the jedi translated the huttese glyphs. "It's a legal Hutt contract" he said after releasing the grip on the boys necklace.

"Yeah" the boy said, ashamed and defensive. "Half of Mos Espa are slaves, so what of it?"

"Nothing" Qui-Gon said. "Nothing at all."

"Good. If you excuse me, I have work to do" the boy said and then left the offworlders in a hurry.

"A slave?" the handmaiden said with disbelief. "I can't believe it."

"Not everyone can afford a droid" Qui-Gon said, his eyes tracking the boy for as long as possible.

"By comparison, slaves are cheap and can perform adequately. Especially a boy like him, who was born a slave and has worked hard his entire life."

"It is wrong!" Cordé said, filled with anger. "Sentient beings shouldn't be held captive against their will. I can't believe the Republic allows such barbaric practices."

Qui-Gon moved the handmaiden and the gungan back to their table, out of view from where they had been standing out in the open on the street.

"The Republic" Qui-Gon said as he pushed the handmaiden back into her chair, "relies on the cooperation of twenty thousand homeworlds, and twice as many independent planets. In the interest of peace, in order to ensure stability, the Republic is forced to accept a wide range of... cultural differences. It is the only thing that keeps the Republic together."

"So in other words" Cordé said, "the only thing that actually means something in the Republic, is keeping the bullies happy and content."

Qui-Gon did not agree with the assessment. "What matters is keeping the peace."

"Not work too well with naboo, did it" Jar-Jar said and earned a stern look from the jedi.