Chapter Four
Anakin and Padmé arrived at Mos Espa at the approach of a sandstorm. They headed for an eating establishment where they waited out the storm.
"It must be strange for you to be back here," Padmé commented as they sat eating a meal together.
Anakin looked up at her. "Strange?"
"Yes, well, it's been a while since you've been here," Padmé replied. "You're life is so different now than the last time you were here."
"You mean I am so different than the last time I was here," Anakin said. "That's what you want to say, isn't it?"
Padmé looked down at the soup that she was stirring, not wanting to meet the accusing eyes of her companion. "Well you are, aren't you?" she asked, looking up at him briefly.
"I suppose so," he admitted. He had thought a lot about his mother over the past twenty-six hours. She had not seen him in eleven years; what would she think of the man her little Ani had become? Would she be proud? Or would she look at him with the calm way she had, her dark eyes full of disappointment and sadness that her generous, kind boy had disappeared?
"The sand storm will pass soon," Anakin said at last, changing the subject.
Padmé nodded. "Good," she replied. "Do you know where to find her?"
"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "But I think I know where to ask." He stopped for a moment, and Padmé saw his face soften for a moment, reminding her suddenly of the boy she had known so long ago. "I've missed her," he said softly.
Padmé's heart went out to him. "We'll find her, Ani," she told him. "I know we will."
A rickshaw stopped outside of Watto's junk shop a few hours later. The proprietor of the shop, however, did not notice it, for he was busy trying to fix a recalcitrant droid. Nor did he notice when a tall man accompanied by a beautiful woman wearing a long hooded robe of pale blue approached him.
"Let me help you, Watto."
Hearing a deep voice speaking in Huttese, the Toydarian looked up. And then up again, into the steely blue eyes of a young man wearing a black hooded cloak. He had an intimidating air about him, and Watto simply allowed the mysterious stranger to take the droid from his hands. Watto frowned, puzzled by the strangeness of the situation, and by the unusual man before him. He looked at his attire and noticed that there was a lightsaber clipped to the stranger's belt. He watched in astonishment as the young man repaired the piece quickly and with decidedly little effort. There was only one person who could repair a droid that quickly, but that person had not been seen in these parts in at least ten years. Watto looked up at the face of the man, trying to see the little boy he once knew. "Ani?" he said at last. "Little Ani?" When the piece was handed back to him having been perfectly repaired, he knew for certain whom it was.
"Hey, it is you! It is Ani!" Watto shouted with delight. "You sure sprouted! Look at you!"
Anakin did not appreciate the miserly Toydarian's attempts to be congenial, and merely looked at him with an expressionless face. "Where is my mother?" he asked at last.
Watto soon realized that even though the young man before him was Anakin Skywalker, he was not the same person he had known all those years ago. He was dark, dangerous, cold…
"I asked you a question!" Anakin said angrily. "Where is she?"
"I…well, she's not mine no more, Ani," Watto replied nervously. "I sold her, long long time ago."
Anakin's face darkened. "You sold her?" he asked. "To whom? Where is she now?" he demanded.
"A…a man named Lars," was Watto's reply. "Yeah, Lars, that was it…he bought her and you know what I heard? He freed her! And then he married her! Can you beat that?"
"Where is she?" Anakin asked again, his frown deepening.
"Uh, let me see if I can find the information," Watto said, hoping desperately that he could. He had the distinct feeling that an angry Anakin Skywalker would be a dangerous Anakin Skywalker. "Let's go inside, I'll see what I can do."
Anakin and Padmé were directed by Watto to a small moisture farm far out in the Tatooine wilderness. A small round building could be seen rising from the sand. Anakin and Padmé headed for it as the hot desert winds brushed against their faces.
As they approached the homestead, they were greeted by a protocol droid who was working on a moisture vaporator. Anakin looked at the droid closely, feeling as though he had seen it before.
"May I help you?" the droid asked. "I am See…."
"Threepio?" Anakin finished, remembering the droid he had made in his childhood.
"Oh, my... oh, my! Master Anakin!" Threepio gushed. "My goodness, I can hardly believe it! And this must be Miss Padmé."
Padmé smiled at the droid, pleased that it remembered her. "Hello, Threepio."
"I've come to see my mother," Anakin told the droid.
"Oh, dear," Threepio replied. "I think we'd better go inside."
Threepio lead Anakin and Padmé to an open courtyard, where they were met by a young couple.
"Master Owen! Somebody to see you!" Threepio announced.
A young man of roughly the same age as Anakin stepped forward, looking at Anakin and Padmé with curiosity. A timid looking woman stood behind him.
"I'm Anakin Skywalker," Anakin began without preamble. "I'm here for my mother."
The young man nodded. "Owen Lars," he said, extending a hand to Anakin. "I guess I'm your step-brother. This is my girlfriend, Beru"
"Hello," the young woman said with a smile.
"I'm Padmé," Padmé said simply.
"I had a feeling you might show up some day," Owen remarked.
"Is my mother here?" Anakin asked, growing impatient.
Beru and Owen looked at one another, and Anakin immediately grew alarmed. "Answer me!"
"Let's go inside," Owen said at last. "We have a lot to talk about."
The four of them sat down around a small table, where Beru had put out cold drinks for everyone. Anakin watched Owen in stony silence, waiting for him to speak, a cold feeling of dread filling him.
"It was just before dawn," Owen began. "A hunting party of Tusken Raiders came out of nowhere. Your mother had gone out early, like she always did, to pick mushrooms that grow on the vaporators. From the tracks, it looked like she was about halfway when they took her." Owen stopped, and it seemed to Anakin that he was angry, that he too was suffering. "Those Tusken bastards walk like men, but they're vicious, mindless monsters. My dad led a party of thirty and went out after her. Four of them came back. My dad wasn't one of them," he stopped as the still fresh grief filled him. Anakin watched him, not caring about the young man's pain; his mother was all that mattered to him, and he waited impatiently for Owen to continue.
"I'm so sorry, Owen," Padmé said, her heart going out to the young man.
"Thank you," Owen said quietly. He looked back at Anakin. "She's been gone a month. There's little hope she's lasted this long."
His words were met with silence. And then Anakin stood up.
"Where are you going?" Owen asked in surprise.
Anakin looked down at him contemptuously. "To find my mother," he replied simply, and then turned to leave them.
"She's dead, Anakin," Owen told him. "Accept it."
Anakin turned back and looked at him, his blue eyes full of pain, full of anger. "I can feel her pain, and I will find her," he replied. "I know she's alive." And then he turned and left the room.
Padmé waited for a moment, not knowing what to do. Anakin was hurting deeply; but in some ways she was still afraid of him. Animals were very dangerous when they were in pain; and in some ways the darkness in Anakin likened him to a wild animal. Still, she felt compelled to try to reach out to him. She stood up and walked outside. She found him at the top of the steps, looking across the desert. Anakin turned and looked at her, strangely comforted by her presence.
"You are going to have to stay here," he told her. "These are good people, Padmé. You'll be safe."
Padmé nodded, her own grief constricting her throat. Without thinking about what she was doing, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Anakin," she said softly, not knowing what else to say. Anakin was surprised by the gesture, and stood for a moment not knowing how to respond. He wrapped his arms around her briefly, and then released her. He looked down at her.
"I won't be long," he told her. He climbed onto Owen's speeder bike and took off as Padmé watched him disappear into the horizon.
Anakin raced over the Jundland Wastes, heading for the Tusken encampment. Darkness had almost fallen, and the cold desert wind whipped against his face. But he did not feel it; the anger that filled him at the thought of his mother did not allow him to feel anything but rage. They will pay …every last one of them will pay for what they have done to her... their blood will stain the desert sands when I am finished with them…
Darkness was upon the encampment when Anakin arrived. He left the speeder at the top of a tall outcropping and looked down at the small group of huts below. Camp fires dotted the area, and the strange language of the Tuskens floated up to Anakin high above in the cold, still night air. His eyes turned from sky blue to yellow as he watched his prey below, the darkness filling him utterly. In his mind the creatures were already dead, their bodies already mutilated and strewn about on the blood soaked sand.
Nimble as a predatory cat, Anakin leapt down, and then moved quickly and silently towards the camp, lightsaber in hand. The Tuskens did not even see him coming. The red blade flashed with blinding speed, decapitating creatures, slicing others into pieces. Anakin did not discriminate between men and women, adults and children; and in a matter of a few moments every living creature was dead.
Light years away the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic sensed the tremendous anger of his young apprentice and smiled. Senator Amidala will no longer be a thorn in my side, he reflected, his smile growing. You have done well, my young apprentice.
Anakin had no trouble finding his mother. With a tremendous effort she opened her eyes. "Ani?" she whispered.
Anakin felt his anger morphing into white rage when he saw her. She was tied to a stake that had been placed upright into the ground. Her face and body showed signs of tremendous abuse, even torture. At that moment he fervently wished that he could kill each and every Tusken a second time to make them suffer all the more for what they had done to her.
"I'm here, Mom," Anakin said, untying her bonds. He forced his rage deep inside of him as he gently released her.
"You're safe now, Mom," he told her, his vision blurring over with tears. "I have to get you help."
"I knew you would come," Shmi said softly before she lost consciousness again. Anakin lifted her easily into his arms and carried her out of the hut.
Padmé spent a sleepless night in the Lars homestead. She worried about what might happen to Anakin should he find his mother too late. It was Padmé's opinion that Shmi Skywalker was the only hope there was of ever bringing the real Anakin Skywalker back. The look in his eyes when he had spoken of her had given Padmé hope that that boy was still inside the dark man he had become; but should Shmi be lost, Anakin too would be lost forever.
The suns had just passed the horizon when Anakin returned to the homestead. He was alone and as Padmé watched him she looked at his face, trying to read what was he was feeling. Was he unable to find her? What had happened?
"Padmé, we're going," he told her simply.
"Anakin, what happened?" she asked.
"I found her," he replied. "She's in the ship; we must to get her to a medical center as soon as possible."
"I'm so sorry," she replied. "Is she…"
"Padmé, let's go," he said, interjecting impatiently. "We have no time to waste!"
Padmé nodded, and followed him. She looked back at Owen and Beru, who were simply watching in astonishment as Anakin left without a second look in their direction. Padmé waved to them as Anakin took her hand, and brought her along. She hurried along to the ship with him, leaving Owen and Beru behind.
"Master Ani! Wait!"
Anakin and Padmé looked back to see Threepio shuffling out in their direction.
"What is he doing?" Anakin asked.
"I think he wants to be with his maker," Padmé suggested with a slight smile.
Anakin rolled his eyes as they waited for the droid to catch up to them.
"Okay, let's move," Anakin said as Threepio joined them.
"Where are we going, Master Ani?" Threepio queried. "I've never flown before, this is rather exciting!"
Padmé could tell that Anakin was about to lose his temper so she intervened. "We're taking Ani's mother to get medical help," she told the droid.
"Oh my," Threepio said as they boarded the ship. "I do hope we're not too late," he said.
Anakin turned on the droid at this point. "Listen to me," he said angrily. "Either shut the hell up, or get off this ship now. Do you compute??"
Threepio was too shocked to reply and merely nodded.
"Good," Anakin snapped. "Let's go."
Padmé patted Threepio on the arm affectionately. "He's worried about his mother, Threepio," she explained. "It's probably best to stay out of his way."
"I heartily agree, Miss Padmé," Threepio replied in a hurt tone.
Padmé let Anakin go to the cockpit while she and Threepio headed for the back of the ship where a small cabin with a bed was located. Padmé entered the cabin and had to fight to hide her shock when she beheld Shmi lying on the small cot. She went to her at once and knelt beside the bed, taking Shmi's hand gently in her own.
"How could this have happened, to her, Threepio?" she said softly.
"It is my understanding that the Tusken Raiders captured her while…" he began.
"Never mind," Padmé interjected, realizing that a rhetorical question was beyond Threepio's programming to comprehend. "Fetch me a basin of water and a clean cloth," she instructed the droid. "And a glass of water as well."
"Of course, Miss Padmé," Threepio replied, happy to have something to do. He hurried away and returned quickly with the items she had requested.
"Thank you," Padmé said, gently cleaning Shmi's face. She frowned when she saw the deep lacerations and bruises, realizing that the poor woman must have suffered tremendously at the hands of her captors. Shmi's eyes fluttered for a moment and then she opened her eyes.
"You're going to be fine, Shmi," Padmé assured her softly. "Anakin is taking us to a hospital right now."
"Padmé?" Shmi asked, not understanding why the young woman would be here at this time. "Is it you?"
Padmé nodded, taking Shmi's hand. "Yes it's me," she said. She forced herself to smile. "Here, have a drink," she said. She helped Shmi to sit up slightly and held the cup to her mouth. "Slowly now," she said. Shmi sipped at the cold water, grateful for it.
"Thank you," Shmi said, and then lay back down on the cot. She closed her eyes briefly to gather her strength, and then looked back up at Padmé. "Ani…is he here?"
"Yes, he's here," she replied. "He is flying the ship. He's been so worried; I know he will do everything he can to get us there quickly."
Shmi nodded and then closed her eyes again. Padmé pulled the blanket up over her. She stood up; feeling exhausted suddenly, the effects of two sleepless nights catching up with her. Turning around to look for a place to sit, she was startled to see Anakin standing in the doorway looking at her. He had watched her minister to his mother, her kindness and compassion surprising him, and acting as a balm upon his shattered spirit.
"How is she?" he asked.
"She's resting," Padmé replied. "She has been through so much," she added sadly, shaking her head.
Anakin frowned. "The monsters that did this to her won't hurt anyone every again," he stated. "I made sure of that."
Padmé felt a shiver go up her spine at the coldness of his words, and she was reminded very definitively that Anakin was very much a Sith.
"Where are we going?" she asked, changing the subject, sitting down at last.
"Naboo," he replied. "It has the best medical facilities around. We should be there in less than twelve hours."
Padmé nodded her understanding. "Maybe we should contact them and let them know we're coming," she said.
"Good idea," he replied. "I'll do that now."
Padmé watched him leave, and then did her best to get comfortable in the chair she was sitting on.