CHAPTER THREE
Anakin led the two Jedi to his home, a rounded shaped dwelling that was designed mostly underground where it was cooler. "Well, this is it." He announced not at all proudly.
"Don't be ashamed, we have no home at all, other than the temple." Obi-Wan smiled. "This looks like a nice place to live."
Anakin turned and gave him an odd look with a raised eyebrow. "You might change your mind once you meet my brother."
Owen Skywalker came to the door, shaking his head negatively. "What have you drug home this time, idiot? Looks like those freaky Jedi types to me."
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were apprehensive to enter, sensing his hosility toward Jedi.
"It's all right, come on in." Anakin invited, staring down Owen without a word. "Their ship is crashed and broken, they need to contact their home base. I told them you could use our hologram transmitter and receiver."
"Over my dead body will those- things enter this house!" Owen growled.
"It's all right, young Anakin, we can walk into Mos Espa to find some means of communication. I don't want any trouble." Master Jinn said calmly.
"No, don't go, it's my home and you're my guests. My Mom will say it's okay."
"IF she were here!" Owen grunted.
Anakin's curly head turned fast. "Where is she?"
"When I told her you were gone, she went out looking for you."
Anakin was distressed. "Alone? You let her go, alone? But you know the danger, you know what happened to Father.."
"MY father. I don't know WHAT your father was, probably one of those freaky Jedi the weird way you turned out. Makes me ill to think of Mom...being touched by one."
"Mom said I didn't have a father!"
Owen laughed. "Oh come on now how is that possible?"
Qui-Gon's ears perked up like a dog's at this. "What did you say, Anakin has no human father?"
Owen laughed again. "Or so Mom says, but nobody believes her. He's a worthless bastard, by little brother. Mom's only mistake."
Anakin mouthed rude words to Owen, then turned to his Jedi friends. "Mom said she got pregnant with me for no reason. She didn't go with anyone, it just happened and here I was."
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan turned to stare at each other. They knew the prophecy said that the Chosen One would be born of the Force, and the older master had sensed this may be Anakin when they first met. Now that they had this information, it seemed more likely than ever. THIS must be what brought them here, it was for a reason! There was no way he was leaving without Anakin Skywalker. He took Obi-Wan aside and explained this to him, and a chill ran through both of them. At the very least, this boy must be tested to see how high his midichlorian count was. If it were very high, there was a good chance Qui-Gon's feeling might be true. He must be trained as a Jedi, before he had a chance to be found by the Sith. Since the death of Darth Maul at the hands of Obi-Wan, Sidious, the mysterious Sith Lord, had recruited lost Jedi Count Dooku for his new apprentice, but he was old. If he had a chance for a younger, more powerful apprentice, he would take him. He might find some way to trick him into joining the Sith even if he didn't want to. Though they appeared to be walking away, they weren't going anywhere.
"Hey, come back!" Anakin called and waved to them.
:"Those things ain't settin' foot in the same house I have to breathe in!" Owen yelled. Anakin shoved him, and when he tried to get back up, he was pushed again, this time by the force of Anakin's anger. The Jedi saw this and were amazed. He was using the force though he had never been trained. "FREAK!" Owen yelled as he got up again. Obi-Wan ran to Anakin's aid, and stood between him and his brother, folding his arms.
"Perhaps you'd like to take on a different 'freak' this time."
Owen backed down and waved them off. "Just get out of here."
Qui-Gon tried to settle things down. "Shouldn't we all be concentrating our efforts on finding your Mother? The suns will be setting soon, and she shoudn't be out there alone. Owen, did you see which way she went?"
He didn't speak but pointed to the southwest.
"Thank you." the master nodded to him kindly. "Anakin, I'm going to help you find her."
"I appreciate it." He said as he started walking away with the Jedi. "Aren't you coming too?" Anakin turned to ask Owen.
"Not a fat chance, not as long as you hang with scum like them!"
The Jedi didn't want trouble, they each put their hands on Anakin's shoulders and led him away. Owen kicked some rocks then went back inside and got a drink.
They had walked a long way across the sand, following her footprints until they faded where the dusty wind had blown them. There seemed to be evidence that someone other than her had been there, for after the spot where the sand was mussed, there were no more of her footprints, only bantha prints!
"Oh, no." Anakin looked very upset. "They got her. It's the sandpeople, they always ride single file."
Obi-Wan put his head down. "Oh, no. We can't stop now, let's keep going!"
"We have to find her! I sense danger!" Qui-Gon added.
"I have a very, very bad feeling about this!" Anakin almost cried as they all ran as fast as they could. It was twilight by the time they reached the Tusken camp, and barely enough light to see by. There were fires burning, flickering, that helped. They walked stealthily around its perimeter, trying to see, hear or sense something that might help. Suddenly, young Anakin's face became twisted with terror. "Oh, NO!" He declared.
"What is it?"
"You guys aren't gonna believe me, but a few nights ago, well more than just once, I had this nightmare where I saw this tent- that one, right here." He pointed. "I saw it as clearly as I see it right now. I didn't know why, but it came with this creepy feeling of impending doom- I knew, something terrible was going to happen and I couldn't stop it because I didn't know what it was! But now I do! Why, why did this happen?"
"You have dreams that foretell future events.?"
"It has happened before, but not with anything this bad."
The Jedi looked at each other, deep in thought. This was yet another trait of a strong force senstive person.
"You think your Mother is in there?" Obi-Wan asked, and Anakin whispered 'yes.' Carefully they advanced, the Jedi drawing but not igniting their lightsabers. There was a small slit in the back of the tent, and Anakin stuck his finger in it to make it big enough to peek through. His heart sank. "She's in there, they got her. She's all tied up."
In turn, the other two took looks and saw her.
"She's so beautiful, and so sad." Qui-Gon sighed. "I can tell she's a wonderful person."
"Yes, she is." Anakin said, fighting tears. "Let's bust in and save her!"
"We have to be careful, we don't want the Tuskens to attack, we are outnumbered to greatly."
Anakin peeked again and saw his mother gaap, moan and collapse to the ground, hanging by her shackles. All at once, he tore open the little hole in the tent and burst inside. Quietly, he walked over to her, and rolled her over. She opened her eyes.
"Ani? My little Ani, you're such a good boy."
"You're gonna be okay now, Mom, I brought help!"She smiled up at him as they all freed her from her bonds. She was unable to stand, she collapsed onto the ground. "I- can't, you- must go, save your-selves..."
"No, we're not leaving here without you!" Anakin cried, hushed by his companions.
"it's too late for me, son." She sighed, pulling down her dress to reveal a deep cut in her chest. Anakin's eyes were wide with fear and dread. The wound was so close to her heart, and she was bleeding badly. "I'm so glad I got to see you one more time...(cough)...I love you."
"Mom?" Anakin said as her eyes closed and her head turned. She couldn't be gone, not like this! He turned her head back around and tried to make her move, but she couldn't. She was unconscious, but not dead yet. The two Jedi tried to help, but realized her life force was fading too fast for them, and she'd be gone soon.
"We have to get her out of here! We must get help!" He cried, his tears falling on her head. He tried to pick her up, but she was so floppy, with no strength left at all.
"I"m sorry, Anakin." Qui-Gon tried to comfort him. Anakin got up in a rage and started thrashing around. "I'm going to kill them, I'm going to kill them all!" He grabbed Obi-Wan's lightsaber from his belt and ran out of the tent. He was trying to figure out how to turn it on when Obi-Wan used the force to call it back to him. Anakin looked shocked as the weapon returned to the hands of its owner. Qui-Gon wrapped both arms around him and carried him back inside the tent.
"They will all converge on us, and we have no means of escape. You mustn't do this."
"I don't care! I am not afraid, if I had one of those lightsticks like yours I'd kill them all!"
Qui-Gon could sense Anakin's rage, and knew that he would do it, but he felt it best not to draw the entire camp into a fight. It was too late. Some of the creatures confronted the three with spears, and the Jedi were forced to defend themselves. Several raiders died in the fight. Soon, it appeared all the adult hunter males in the group had been killed, nothing left but women and children. The Jedi regretted the incident, knowing not all of those who had been killed had been responsible, though they surely were a dangerous group of hunters who would have hurt other innocents. As they looked around and noticed human skulls and bones used for decorations, they felt a little less question in what they had been forced to do. They were cold blooded killers, and a threat to all area farmers.Even so, the Jedi would never have attacked them without provocation.
"I'm glad you killed them. I'm only sorry it wasn't me. Gimme that lightsaber, I'm going to go finish the rest of those things off!"
"Anakin, NO!" Qui-Gon settled him with his hand, using the force to help. "Those women and children are just as innocent as your mother, and Owen's father were."
"I don't care, I want them all to DIE!"
The Jedi were stunned at the hatred in the young man's eyes. They knew, he not only had the force, but was prone to its dark side too. Even more reason to take him back to the temple for training, so he could use his power the right way. The remaining sandpeople at the camp did not challenge the Jedi as they picked up Shmi's body and carried it back to the Skywalker farm. Under the stars, Anakin cradled his mother's head in his lap, and cried. "I'm so sorry, I wish I could have saved you." His sobs turned to deep, long crying, which brought Owen out of the residence.
"She's dead? They killed her, and it's all your fault!"
"How could you say such a thing to me at a time like this?" Anakin cried, seeming more gentle than tough.
"She went looking for you, you know, so, because you got mad and ran off, and didn't do your work, she's dead, you killed her same as if you shot her with a blaster!"
Anakin got up and attacked Owen. "You take that back!"
"Why? It's true!"
"You know I loved her and I'd never have hurt her or brought her any pain on purpose. It's your fault too, you didn't go looking for her, if you had gone you could have found her before they did! So it's your fault too!"
"Don't try to blame me, you know it was you, freak!"
"I hate you!"
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon broke up the fight, and tried to calm the brothers, but nothing could heal their heartbreak and grief, or anger and contempt for each other. They dug a grave, next to her husband's, and covered her up as Anakin cried hard and couldn't stand to watch as the dirt covered her shrouded body. He fell to his knees on her grave, then layed his head on it, and cried again. Owen was sobbing too, but would not speak to or console his brother. Owen finally went back into the house, making it clear none of the others were welcome inside. They all slept on the ground.
The rising of the twin suns hurt their eyes, and woke them up. For Anakin, the pain of what had just happened sunk in again and he started crying.
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon understood his attachment and let him cry it out. They looked at the house, realizing Owen wasn't going to let them ever use the hologram device anyway, so it was time to move on. "We're going, Anakin. We have to find a way to get our ship repaired."
"Don't go, not now."
They thought about their mission and how they needed to complete it, yet they knew, they sensed strongly, that their greatest mission was right here, to take this boy back with them for testing and training. "Anakin, would you like to come with us?"
"You mean, become a Jedi like you?"
They nodded.
"I don't know if I can. But, there's nothing for me here now. I might as well come with you and learn the ways of the force."
The Jedi smiled and clasped his hands. "We are most pleased to hear this. We must leave immediately."
"Let me get my things from inside."
"You won't be needing them."
:"Oh, yeah, Jedi can't have stuff, that's right. There's something in there I sure would like though, and it's not very big. I could carry it in my pocket." He was thinking of his picture of young Queen Amidala, who he had a huge crush on.
"Okay, be quick about it." Qui-Gon smiled as Anakin ran inside. They heard things crashing around, and ran to see through the doorway that the brothers were fighting once again, and Owen was refusing to allow him to enter his own room!
"You mean, I can't even have my own stuff?"
"Not if you're leaving with those freaks on some damn fool idealistic crusade instead of staying here to help me after you KILLED our mother?"
"Damn you, it's your fault, too! She never had anything good in her life and now it's too late! I'm not going to stay here and be your slave. Get that poor girl Beru to marry you if she's such a sucker to fall for a jerk like you, and raise a bunch of kids you can push around, poor things! I'm leaving! " Anakin turned sharply and ran back outside.
"Let's go." He said, tears still in his eyes, not looking back at the house or the grave. They walked away.
Over the next hill, Qui-Gon said something to him. "Anakin, I heard you say your mother never had any good in her life. You were wrong. She did. It was you."
This only made him cry again. They left him to his pain and didn't speak again until they reached town, where they were able to arrange to have the ship repaired. When it was finished, they flew away for Coruscant. Anakin took one last look out the viewport window, thinking how he'd never want to come back there, ever again.