MOS ESPA, TATOOINE

Anakin left Wattos shop and headed down the streets of Mos Espa. At times he stopped to talk to people or make a small purchase, unawares he was being followed. Qui-Gon made sure to keep his distance and out of sight. He followed the boy into a rundown part of town, drunks and addicts lying on the street, prostitutes eagerly trying to earn credits, gangs hanging at every street corner.

Qui-Gon followed the boy down a narrow alley that was littered with trash and junk. The jedi followed Anakin up on a large, flat rooftop with several boxes and crates scattered about around a large elongated object covered by a tarp. But there was no sign of the boy. Qui-Gon looked around but could find no trace of Anakin, although, he was by no means worried; the presence of the young boy vibrated in the very essence of the Force itself.

"I told you..." Qui-Gon turned around as the boy came into view and made himself known, knife in hand. "Don't bother. I'm not desperate for credits so nothing is going to happen."

Qui-Gon held up his hands defensively. "I am not here to harm you in any way. I only want to talk."

"Talk?" Anakin said. "Talk about what?"

"The fact that you are not like anyone else here" Qui-Gon said. "You're different. You have abilities that you can not explain."

"My only ability is being owned by Watto" the boy said. "That's all I'll ever be. A slave."

Qui-Gon lowered his hands. "I'm curious what you can do. Make people do as you say, make them follow your commands?"

Anakin chuckled. "You think I would be a slave if I could do that?"

"Jump great lengths? Perhaps you are the strongest amongst your friends? You did manage to hold your own against that dug. Not a small feat, even for an adult human."

Anakin shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I got lucky."

"In my experience there is no such thing as luck" Qui-Gon said. "Any other abilities? You're a skilled pilot, correct? I suspect your reflexes are extremely fast. They have to be, if you truly are the best pod-racer on the planet. Not many humans can make a career as pod-racers."

"So I'm told" Anakin said with a frown as he grew tired of the questions. "Kitster has hardly ever finished a race. So what?"

"What about your dreams?" Qui-Gon then asked and as he did, the young boy almost froze solid. "Ever had a dream that came true?"

Anakin decided to ignore the older man. "I think you've been out under the suns for too long."

"Alright" Qui-Gon nodded. "Let's talk about your reflexes. Your intuition. When you fly, when you reach top speed, have you ever experienced a sensation of knowing beforehand what will happen, how to take a turn, how to avoid a collision?"

Anakin took a moment to study the man. It was clear that the young boy found him not only creepy, but also interesting. "How did you know?"

Qui-Gon held out his hand and extended his will through the Force upon a harris-spanner, lying on a crate some feet away. The tool moved slowly through the air until it ended up in Qui-Gons grasp. Anakin could not believe his eyes and took several steps back in disbelief.

"I am like you, Anakin. You are what is called Force Sensitive, most likely to such an extent that I would guess you could even be called a Force Wielder. The Force does not only guide you, Anakin, but you can also use it. It controls your actions as well as obeys your commands."

"The Force? You mean... Like a Jedi Knight?"

Qui-Gon held out his hand and moved two crates at once, placing them atop of a third, before turning to look at Anakin once more. "Like a Jedi Knight" he said. "I would like for you to accompany me to Coruscant and be introduced to the Jedi Order. Something tells me they will be very interested in meeting you."

"You are a Jedi Knight?"

"You require more convincing than levitating tools and boxes?"

Anakin had trouble believing what was currently happening. "And you want me to come with you? On a starship?"

"Yes, to Coruscant" Qui-Gon said. "The central system of the Republic."

"But... I'm a slave. Watto owns me."

"I will secure your release, I promise you" the jedi assured the boy.

"And my mom? My sister?"

Qui-Gon had not expected such a turn of event. "Your mother and sister?"

"Yeah" Anakin said. "Will you take them with you as well?"

Qui-Gon had to give it some thought. He knew all too well what Jedi dogma had to say about it. "They would be a distraction for you" Qui-Gon eventually said. "It would cause conflict within you and that is something the Jedi Order does not allow."

Anakin did not understand why it would be an issue. "You can't expect me to leave them behind? What difference does it make if they come along with us?"

"A Jedi must not feel any distractions" Qui-Gon explained. "A Jedi can not be governed by his emotions. A Jedi can not have a life others would call ordinary."

"Then why should I come with you?" Anakin frowned. "What point is there?"

"I am offering you a chance to live a life of understanding and enlightenment. A life away from Watto and Mos Espa. You will reach your true full potential, you will explore the galaxy and you will be a guardian of peace and justice in the name of the Old Republic. A noble life. An honorable life. A life to be proud of."

"Sounds like you're asking me to swap living by Wattos rules and instead live by yours. Doesn't sound like freedom to me. Why should I do something as stupid as that?"

Qui-Gon merely studied the boy. "If you don't" he eventually said, "you will be a slave for the rest of your life. Nothing else."

That alone did make the young boy stop and think. Silence settled as Anakin took a moment to reflect upon it all.

"I have this dream" the boy eventually said. "I've had it for as long as I can remember. In it, I am a Jedi Knight." He almost sounded embarrased. "I fight in a great war all over the galaxy."

"It is my experience that wars are seldom great" Qui-Gon said, and walked over to the tarp and placed his hand on it to get a feel of the construct underneath it. "I take it you come here in secret, to work on what ever is beneath this canvas?" the jedi said, waking Anakin from his thoughts.

"What? Yeah... I try to sneak off with parts and tools from Wattos shop every now and then." Anakin then grabbed the tarp and pulled it to the side, revealing the vehicle beneath its protection.

"A swoop if I'm not mistaken" Qui-Gon said, recognizing the typical design of the super fast racing speeder.

"Yeah" the boy nodded. "Built it myself from scratch. Well, built it around an old abandoned speeder-chassi I found out in the desert."

"Watto doesn't know, I take it."

Anakin nodded once more. "He doesn't think his pilots are good enough to fly a swoop-race and make it profitable. Watto says we will either crash and destroy his investment, or we will crash and die, destroying his investment. So he sticks by the safe income, the pod-races."

"What about you?" Qui-Gon inquired. "What do you think? Are you good enough to fly a swoop and actually survive?"

Anakin could not hold back his smile. "Good enough to win a race or two."

A strong wind swept in over Mos Espa out of nowhere and it did not take long for Anakin and Qui-Gon to notice a giant cloud of sand, almost like a wall, growing on the horizon.

"Sandstorm" Anakin said as the wind intensified. "If you get caught in it, it could strip your body clean, down to the bone. I've seen it before." The boy hurried to secure the tarp over his homemade swoop.

"Don't worry, I have a ship outside of town."

"You'll never make it. That storm will be here in a few minutes, trust me. If you're interested, you can wait out the storm at my place."

"I would prefer that over being reduced to a skeleton."

XXX XXX

Anakin took Qui-Gon through Mos Espa, the settlement preparing to sit out the incoming storm. Qui-Gon reported in to his padawan that he would wait out the storm in town. They soon enough reached a neighbourhood of hundreds of smaller housing-modules, cheap and far from including all the comforts in life. Anakin lived on the third level and it required a climb up a ladder to reach the entrance. Already, the storm had become close to intolerable. Even Qui-Gon had to admit it was a relief to get inside, as Anakin shut the hatch behind him.

"Mom, I'm home" Anakin shouted as he tossed is bag up onto a bunk situated above some closets. Qui-Gon followed the boy through a short and narrow corridor into a combined kitchen and living-room, small by any standards. There, a woman in her early forties was preparing dinner with the most rudamentory of kitchen aids.

"Mom, this is Qui-Gon. He needed a place to get out of the storm."

Qui-Gon offered his hand and the woman shook it somewhat suspiciously. Qui-Gon noticed the woman wearing the same slave-collar as the boy.

"I'm Shmi" she said. "Welcome. I'm afraid I don't have anything to offer you, our rations are only enough for me and my children."

"It's alright. I'm fine, thanks" Qui-Gon assured the woman.

Anakin sat down by the dinner table with a glas of water, murky with particles. "You're lucky, mom" the boy said as he took a sip of the water. "Now you don't have to work tonight."

Shmi did not seem too pleased by it as she placed a plate with goo and ooze on the table infront of the boy. "Eat up" she simply said. "When the dust settles you will go look for your sister. She's not home yet."

Qui-Gon took a step back so that he would not get in the way. Anakin started eating his dinner with the help of a wooden spoon.

"As soon as the storm passes, I will be on my way" Qui-Gon said, hoping to ease the womans discomfort of having a stranger in her home.

"Then we hope the storm will go on for a while, don't we mom?" Anakin said between bites and then turned to the jedi. "Mom's a dancer. As is Beru, my sister. They work over at Gardullas cantina, on Krayt street" as he spoke he positively sounded proud over this.

"It increases our rations" Shmi said, obviously not as proud as her son of her proffession. "And earns us a hab with running water." She turned to look at the stranger her son had brought home. "Water is the difference between life and death on Tatooine, if it wasn't obvious."

Anakin had not finished swallowing as he continued. "Krayt street is where all bigshots hang out. All the posh freighter-captains, all the important smugglers. Cac, I even heard that Jabba visited Gardulla there once."

Shmi slapped the boy over the head. "What have I told you about minding your words."

Anakin rubbed his head while he went on. "Anyway, mom's a dancer and a damned good one too."

"That's enough Anakin" Shmi said harshly as she herself sat down to eat.

Qui-Gon moved over to the table and joined the mother and her son.

"You'll have to excuse my son" Shmi said. "He has lacked a father-figure his entire life, and the result is his mouth not knowing when to be quiet."

Qui-Gon nodded. "It's quite alright" he said with a smile.

THE NABOO SLOOP

The sandstorm engulfed the sloop and battered it with hard winds and endless showers of sand. The gungan was asleep, its tongue hanging limp from the corner of its mouth with drool dripping in long tendrils to the floor. Ric Olié and the other naboo guards were busy installing the new hyperdrive and had been working nonstop since its delivery from Mos Espa. Queen Amidala and her handmaidens tried their best to pass the time, telling stories, singing and playing games.

Panaka joined Obi-Wan in the cockpit, followed by C-3PO and R2D2.

"I brought the droids" Panaka said, cleaning oil from his hands with a rag. "What is going on?"

"We've picked up a signal" Obi-Wan explained, sitting at the ships communication-console. "It's a coded Naboo frequency."

"Naboo?!" Panaka almost didn't believe it. "What does it say?"

"I don't know" the padawan said. "I fear it might be a trick to establish a connection-trace. To locate our whereabouts. I need the droids to scan for any hidden data-codes in the transmission."

"Why certainly" C-3PO was overjoyed to be of assistance. "It would be my pleasure."

The protocol-droid walked over to the console and extended his arm until he could insert his index-finger in a socket, hooking up to the computer and ship.

Panaka studied the gold-plated droid as it decoded the signal. "Thank you, master jedi" he then said. "I did not consider that it could have been bait to lure us to bite. To reveal our position."

"We'll know soon enough" Obi-Wan said.

The protocol-droid disconnected from the socket and turned to face the two humans. "There is indeed a hidden code within the holographic matrix. I believe it is a code most frequently used by the Chiss Alliance, the Trade Federation and the Golan Hegemony."

"What of the message itself?" Panaka wondered.

"The message says that Chancellor Valorum has arrived at Naboo and forced the Federation to end the occupation" the protocol-droid explained. "Most refreshing news, I must say."

"Seems too good to be true, doesn't it" Panaka said as he turned to the jedi.

Obi-Wan simply nodded. "It does not fit with my experience of politicians" he said. "We should ignore this all together. If it is true, we will find out once we reach Coruscant. In the meantime, we should deactivate our holocom transponder."

"Agreed" Panaka nodded. "R2D2, see to it."

The little astromech-droid beeped and chirped as it confirmed the orders given. As the two droids left the cock-pit, Obi-Wan noticed something beyond the viewports.

"What's wrong?" Panaka asked of the padawan.

"People" he said, pointing out into the desert and the gathering storm. "Two of them."

Panaka needed a few seconds to spot the people Obi-Wan was referring to, but once he did see them, he realized it was a boy and a girl, wrapped in a blanket or tarp to shield them both from the blowing sands. They both tripped and fell over, struggling to get back on their feet.

"They're in trouble" Panaka concluded.

"They are not our concern" Obi-Wan pointed out.

Panaka was not happy with that assessment. "They will never make it town in this weather."

"Our priority is to keept the queen safe and hidden" the padawan reminded the captain.

"Not at the expense of innocent lives outside of our airlock" Panaka argued and left the cock-pit.

"Captain!"

It was useless gesture of Obi-Wan, as the door shut behind Panaka. Silently he cursed his missfortune to be on this mission. The jedi apprentice hurried after the naboo officer and caught up with him in the cargohold as he guided the two strangers onboard and sealed the vessel behind them to keep out the storm. The floor was covered with a thin layer of sand, despite the short moment the innards of the ship had been exposed to the elements of Tatooine.

Panaka allowed the two to catch their breath, as it had been a real struggle to make any headway in the shifting sands. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah" the young man of the pair said and brushed a ton of sand out of his hair. "Thanks, I owe you. We had no clue where we were going."

"We're truly greatful" the girl said, a few years younger and in her late teens.

The boy held out his hand at Panaka. "Owen" he said. "Owen Lars."

The girl managed a smile at her saviors. "I'm Beru."

While Panaka introduced himself, Obi-Wan stood silent and unable to speak. The girl was the most beautiful creature he had ever seenand her very presence forced the padawan into conflict with his beliefs and his convictions. For the first time since he had been a young boy, a youngling in training, he felt something in his core that his focus could not control. And he knew he had to subdue it.