MOS ESPA
The suns had set and darkness had settled over Mos Espa. Anakin had fallen asleep in his bunkbed with a Skyhopper model in his lap and a datapad in his hands. His mother was repairing her dance-costume with needle and thread, sitting in a chair by the dinner-table. Qui-Gon stood by a window and watched the storm harass Mos Espa, a most depressing view as a handfull of bodies could be seen out on the street, partially buried by sand. Qui-Gon left the window and went over to join the woman by the table.
"I am greatful for your shelter this evening" he said.
Shmi never took her eyes from her stitching. "There are too few people in this town that would take in strangers. I'm not one of those few."
"And your son?" Qui-Gon wondered.
Anakins mother sighed and looked up at the man. "No... Usually, that is. Too many thieves, murderers and worse running around in a spaceport like this. We simply can't afford to be kind to strangers, or to trust them."
Qui-Gon nodded, fully understanding the womans point of view and where she came from. "I would be glad to help you locate your daughter once the storm settles."
Shmi was reluctantly greatful for the offer. "Thank you."
"May I ask who the father is?" Qui-Gon said as he sat down.
Shmi hesitated at first, but then began stitching as she decided to reply to the question. "Which one?" she then said.
"The boy" Qui-Gon explained.
"A space-pirate looking for a good time, and payed for the company, sixteen years ago" Shmi explained. "But I haven't done that kind of work in ten years. Now all I do is dance. I don't want Beru to end up doing jobs like that."
"Beru, is she also owned by Watto?" Qui-Gon wondered.
Shmi nodded. "Beru's father was a moisture-farmer from Fort Tusken. When I got pregnant a second time, Gardulla became so furious that he sold me and Beru at a bargain. Watto figured he got three slaves at half price. When Anakin was born, Watto leased me back to Gardulla in trade for that droid working in his shop. The fat hutt always did have a weakness for my dancing. It's not that bad, my sister still works for Gardulla so we help each other out as best we can."
"Hardly the life you would want for you son, I suspect."
Shmi aimed dark eyes at Qui-Gon. "There are worse fates on Tatooine" she said. "But thankfully Anakin ended up a profitable resource. Must take after his father, flying those awefull pods."
"I hear he is the best pod-racer on the planet" Qui-Gon said.
"So I hear" the woman said and placed her stitching to the side. "Don't know if its true or not, but I do know that he is good enough for Watto to refuse selling him because of his piloting skills."
"I intend to buy him" Qui-Gon admitted and completely took the woman off guard. "I intend to buy him and set him free."
"What?! Why?"
"The boys skills and talents, his intuition, they are all signs of him being very sensitive of the Force. He sees things before they happen, and I suspect that at times his dreams have even come true" the jedi explained. "His potential should not be wasted here."
"But... Where would you take him?" Shmi wondered.
"To Coruscant" Qui-Gon said. "To the Jedi Order."
"Jedi?" Shmi could barely grasp it. "He can become a Jedi Knight?"
"I believe it is his destiny" Qui-Gon admitted.
"And Beru? Will you take her as well?"
Qui-Gon sighed as he considered his options. He decided to tell the truth. "The Jedi Carta allows a jedi to collect any child who is Force Sensitive, such is Republic law. If your daughter is not able to feel the Force, then I can not take her with me."
"But you don't know that until you've met her" Shmi said, almost desperately.
Qui-Gon sighed anew. "I sense no connection between yourself and the Force, Shmi. That means that Anakin inherited his Sensitivity from his father. I am sorry, but I can not bring his sister with me."
Shmi slowly rubbed her forehead with her fingers as she closed her eyes to keep her emotions in check. She had no wish to burst into tears infront of the stranger. "But you will take Anakin away from here?" she eventually said. "You will release him?" She looked at Qui-Gon. "Set him free?"
"I am on a very important mission" Qui-Gon explained. "My presence must not be known. If I simply collected Anakin, the hutts would know a jedi was on Tatooine and they would sell that information in a heartbeat. Most likely to my enemies." He paused to consider his options. "But I will find a way to free your son, Shmi. Anakin will become a Jedi."
THE NABOO SLOOP
Beru slowly woke from her sleep. The ship was quiet and silent, only a slight humming sound was heard vibrating through the bulkheads. Owen was asleep over in a lounge-chair, next to that strange creature with the oversized ears, its tongue hanging like a thick, pink tendril out of the corner of its mouth. Yawning, she got out of her own chair, acting bed, and then with her blanket wrapped around her for warmth, headed for the water-dispenser. The water was fresh, clear and cool; so unlike anything she had ever encountered on Tatooine. Not even in Gardullas bar did they serve such water. It was almost unreal to drink it, and that alone was reason enough for Beru to drink four more cups of water.
A noise caught her interest from down a corridor and she slowly, almost cautiosly, headed down it. She found a small room and in it, sitting on the floor, was the young and strange monk. Infront of him was a device, taken apart into a dozen pieces, but as she noted a flourescent gem of sparkling blue hovering in midair, she gasped at the sight. The young monk took the gem in hand before he turned to face the young woman.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm sorry" Beru said. "I didn't mean to disturb you. Please forgive me."
"It's alright" the young monk said and collected the pieces of the disassembled device, making sure to keep the gem out of sight. "No harm done."
"That was very beatiful" Beru took a step into the room. "What was it? I've never seen anything like it."
"That doesn't surprise me" the monk replied. "This world lies far from civilization, after all."
She sat down, blanket ever wrapped around her. "I suppose" she then admitted.
"Beru was it?"
She nodded. "Yes. And you were?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi" the young man said to reintroduce himself and extended his hand and the two shook.
"Nice to meet you" Beru smiled.
Obi-Wan simply nodded and smiled like a boy. There was a brief moment of silence, the uncomfortable kind where things seemed awkward and strange.
"So why where you out here, so far from town?" Obi-Wan then wondered, merely to disrupt the awkward situation.
"Owen took me to look at the abandoned mine" Beru admitted. "The storm caught us off-guard."
"The mine?" Kenobi asked, clearly puzzled.
Beru nodded and hummed. "To watch the glowbats leave their nest. They swarm in the thousands, it's really quite beautiful."
Obi-Wan found the whole thing quite odd. Then, it hit him. "Oh, he took you there to win your affection" he said, almost proud to have figured it out.
Beru laughed, a heartwarming laughter that made Obi-Wans stomach tickle. "Yeah, I guess you could say that" she nodded, almost giggling.
"So... Are you married?" the padawan then inquired.
"No!" Beru blushed and turned bright red. "No, no, no. Mom would never allow it. And Gardulla would kill us both."
Obi-Wan sensed that Beru was serious when she mentioned the threatening situation. "Who is Gardulla?" he then asked.
"Gardulla is the hutt lord who controls Mos Espa" Beru explained and pulled the blanket a bit tighter around her. "He owns me" she added, clearly embarrassed.
"Owns you?" Obi-Wan sounded a bit puzzled, but quickly enough he understood the situation. "You're a slave then. I'm sorry, I did not mean to offend you."
"It's alright" she said, a bit surprised at being treated with such gentle kindness. "It's what it is."
Obi-Wan found his next question to be a truly awkward one. "And... Owen? He hasn't... payed... for your... services?"
"No, no, no!" Beru made it quite clear. "It's not like that at all. No, not at all. Nothing like that." She sighed. "We snuck away to watch the glowbats. I was supposed to work, but Owen wanted to show me the bats, so I went with him. Against better judgment, I might add" she added with a smile.
Obi-Wan nodded and smiled as well, finding the story to be a bit endearing.
"And you?"
"What?" Obi-Wan was not prepared for the question at all.
"You have no girl somewhere out in the galaxy, waiting for you?"
Her sparkling eyes, her warm smile, it pierced straight through years of jedi doctrine and struck something hidden deep in Kenobis soul.
"No" he eventually admitted. "No, I have no-one."
"Oh" Beru said with a sad face. "How come?"
"It is not my destiny" Obi-Wan explained, and as he did, he could not help but find the answer in itself depressing. "I am sworn to help and protect those in need" he then continued. "There simply is no time in my life for such common foolishness."
"Foolishness?" Beru could not help but fill the word with a good dose of amazement. "Are you saying you have no time in your life for love?"
"Love is in its essence nothing more than greed" Obi-Wan explained to the young girl, a girl who clearly could not believe what she was hearing. "And greed" he continued, "is the seed from which corruption grows. And out of corruption comes nothing but suffering."
Beru, wide eyed, sat in disbelief. "That is the most coldhearted thing I have ever heard."
"It is the truth" Obi-Wan countered. "Love urges you to possess someone else, and that by its very deffinition, is greed."
"I just can't agree with you" the girl said, shaking hear head. "Love makes life worth living. If I did not love my family, my mother and brother, I would have nothing to live for."
"I live for duty and justice" Kenobi then explained. "Can love be rational? Can it be objective and tell the truth from a lie? No, love clouds the mind and does not allow you to see reality. By rejecting love and placing my focus on duty, only then can I uphold the peace."
Beru was astounded at the reasoning, and curious about the young man aswell. He was handsome, a small ponytail at the back of his head, and dressed in brown robes that were truly worn and used, over white attire that also had seen many years of use. She noticed scars on his hands, on his face, small cuts that had healed over time. The edges of his brown robe showed signs of burnmarks, poorly mended.
"You uphold the law?" she then asked, curious and intrigued. "Here on Tatooine?" that sounded farfetched, since he did not look like the usual thugs the hutts preffered to hire to maintain order.
"I uphold it where ever I go" Obi-Wan answered. "I have said too much" he added, knowing in his heart he had only tried to impress the girl. "Ignore what I have said, it has no meaning."
Beru nodded and leaned back up against the bulkhead. "So if you do not love" she began, "what do you dream of?"
Obi-Wan glanced at her, gave no reply, and sat in silence. It was obvious he was holding back.
"Surely, you must dream of something?"
"I do" the young man admitted in the end, nodding as he did. "Once, my people were great warriors. We defeated the enemies of the Republic and brought them to justice. We saved the lives of millions and asked for nothing in return. We were proud and respected. But now, we negotiate trading agreements, discuss treaties of industry, escort tycoons and watch as politicans undermine the Republic with each new bill discussed in the Senate." Obi-Wan sighed and leaned his head back, shook his head and then offered the girl a glance. "There are times when I dream of the adventures of the past, events that took place centuries ago. The victory over the Mandalorians, the siege of Gamorr, the defeat of Darth Revan. Even the battle at Whills" he added the last battle with another sigh, knowing fully well that his own master had taken part in that decisive action, and it was an itch he could not scratch.
"So you dream of old wars, rather than a person to love?" Beru concluded, and not without some disdain.
Obi-Wan Kenobi looked at the girl, saw her objection radiating in her eyes, and it stung his heart. "I dream of a time when my actions would matter" he countered quickly enough, mostly to shield himself from the sting deep in his chest. "When I would do more than simply bring one corrupt politican from one planet to another, only so they can hold on to their insane wealth."
"I don't know" Beru replied. "If you ask me, dreaming of love sounds a lot better."
"Dreams pass in time" Obi-Wan said, shrugging his shoulders. But even though he tried to convince himself with his own logic based on Jedi doctrine, Obi-Wan knew that his dreams would be much different from now on. The longing for excitement would be replaced, replaced by something far more softer, gentler and kinder; this simple slave sitting infront of him would find her way into his dreams, and most certainly lure him away from duty and doctrine.
He knew this day would come, eventually, all Jedi would face it at one time or the other; it was known as The Great Trial, even though it was an informal title given to the experience of coming into contact with something so overwhelming as love. Obi-Wan remembered when his master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had spoken about it a couple of weeks after Obi-Wan had becomome his apprenntice and padawan; Qui-Gon had told him of his own Great Trial, falling for a corellian delegate who was a charming, elegant and handsome rogue, and also a complete scoundrel. Qui-Gon had relied on his training, remembered doctrine and had managed in the end to overcome the urges that had woken within him. In the end, Qui-Gon had ensured that the corellian delegate was sentenced to several years in prison for his crimes against the Republic, and he had ever since found peace in knowing that justice had prevailed over his brief emotional struggle.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was determined to succeed, just as his master had done. The Great Trial would not sway him to abandon the path set. Obi-Wan would subdue his emotions and find peace in his beliefs and in Jedi doctrine; through the Force he would find clarity and follow the path determined by the Jedi Order. It was his destiny, of that he was certain.