The wind was blowing hard as sand was thrown through the air and seemed to hit Iris' face at full force. The sandstorm was worse than being in a rainstorm on Naboo because rain was water that could be used for a bath while sand was irritating to the skin. She continued to follow Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, and Padmé as they followed Anakin down the street and toward a hovel.
These buildings were built by the old mining companies that originally settled on the desert planet. These small hovels within the slave quarter rows were designed to be cheap housing with piled arched, windowless, adobe chambers on top of each other. The only way to enter the top levels is to climb up the outside of the building on uneven stone steps.
Only Anakin lived on the ground leave and lend them into a slave hovel which Iris, Qui-Gon Jinn, Jar Jar, and Padmé entered a small living space.
"Mom!" Anakin shouts once he walked into the building. "Mom! I'm home."
"Dissen cozy," Jar Jar admits as he looked around the small house.
Then a woman, who Iris thought was Anakin's mother, a warm, friendly woman of forty, enters from her work area and is startled to see the room full of people.
"Oh, my!" the female, Shmi Skywalker said in surprise and wide eyes. Locking eyes with every person in the room with her blue eyes before they settled on her son, "Annie, what's this?"
Iris paled for a moment and turned her brown eyes to the young nine-year-old boy.
"These are my friends, Mom." Anakin admits to the older woman with glee. Then he pointed a finger toward a person and said their name; "This is Padmé, Iris and.." the young male paused as his blue eyes went wide. He gave a small scoff before saying with a frown on his lips; "Gee, I don't know any of your names."
"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is Jar Jar Binks."
Artoo lets out a little beep.
Padmé send the droid a kind smile before saying, "...and our droid, Artoo-Detoo."
"I'm Shmi Skywalker," the woman answers to the group.
"Nice to met you, Mrs. Skywalker," Iris said to the woman with a small bow.
Now that everyone's been introduced. The room seemed to be filled with silent which made the sandstorm outside be heard throughout the walls which seen to bang and rumble the small house. Iris bit her lip and wondered if the woman actually would turn them away.
Shmi didn't know any of them. Only Anakin did and he was a child which brought strangers into her home because of the sandstorm.
Iris waited for the tension to melt away only to hear the voice of young Anakin.
"Remember that droid I told you I was building?" the boy said.
His blue eyes were on iris which made the female look at him. She forced her brain to work for a moment as she remembered that he mentioned building a droid back at Watto's ship. "Yes." Iris answered as her eyes landed on the boys. "Why?'
"You wanna see it?" Anakin asked with a childish grin. His blue eyes were glittering with wonder and hope which made Iris feel uncomfortable.
The female padawan didn't understand why the looks that Anakin kept sending her always made the female Jedi wish that he laid those eyes elsewhere. Only she could see a strange emotion running within those childlike blue eyes. An emotion she was told to never act on in the Jedi Order.
Anakin had a crush on her.
That was why he called her an Padmé angels at the store.
Neither female must look like a normal citizen from the desert town he was used too.
Iris could never give into this kind of emotions. She shouldn't encourage a young nine-year-old boy to have a crush on her. She was Jedi. But Anakin was nine. Surely his feelings will disappear the moment she left and will move on to someone that would be able to return these feelings.
Hopefully on someone closer to his own age.
"Sure," Iris answered to the young boy.
The boy quickly grabbed onto Iris' arm and began to drag her toward a room on the far side of the home.
"Anakin!" Shmi called out to her son. "Why are they here?"
Anakin paused his moments before saying, "A sandstorm, Mom. Listen."
The wind continued to howl outside as the sand swirled around within the harsh winds that seemed to be shaking the small walls of the home. The banging noise had been to settle down but Iris doubts it would remain that way for the storm might end up continuing long into the night.
"Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter." Qui-Gon Jinn explained to Anakin's mother.
"Come on!" Anakin encouraged the group. "Let me show you Threepio! Padmé, come along, too."
The young boy took ahold of Iris' hand once again and leads the female Jedi and Padmé into the other room. Artoo follows, beeping all the way. Qui-Gon takes five small capsules from his utility belt and hands them to Shmi.
"I have enough food for a meal," the male Jedi admits to the woman. Food was not a concern to him due to the capsules all Jedi must carry with them.
"Oh, thank you." Shmi answered with a kind smile. That had been one of her few worried with the large group of strangers. There wasn't enough food within the house for everyone and Shmi didn't want to be a bad host. "Thank you so much. I'm sorry if I was abrupt. I'll never get used to Anakin's surprises." Her son always found a way to surprise her every single day.
"He's a very special boy," Jinn conforms to the woman. The young boy had the force which the older Jedi noticed the longer he was around the boy. He had a feeling Iris had discovered the boy's power as well.
Shmi looks at him as if he's discovered a secret. A deep secret that she could never explained or found logical reason behind, but she had excepted Anakin with all her heart.
"Yes, I know."
Iris was led into a child's room. Regardless of it being small there was a bed in the far-off corner made of sheets that have been handmade by Shmi along with a rug in the middle of the room. A few toys lays on the floor that were homemade ships or parts put together to make an object. In the back of the room in the left hand corner was a workbench were a metal droid lays around with metal parts near a desk.
"Is that the droid?" Iris asked.
Anakin gave a small nod, "Yeah."
They moved closer to the workbench to shows off his Android. The female Jedi took not that the droid only had one eye in the head; the body, arms, and legs have no outer coverings.
"Isn't he great?" Anakin asked her with a pride filled smile on her face. Then he quickly frowns and stated; "He's not finished yet."
"He's wonderful!" Iris admits to the boy. "You've clearly worked hard on it."
The droid was impressive. Anakin showed how much he cared about the droid with how long it took to gather each and every part. This droid was a rare piece of work from a boy that wanted to build a droid on a desert planet.
"You really like him?" Anakin asked with delight dancing across hie blue eyes.
Iris sent the boy a small smile with a nod. "Yes."
"He's a protocol droid...to help Mom," the nine-year-old continued to explained.
"To help your mother," the female Jedi breathe as she started at the boy. Yes, Anakin was a very caring boy to build this droid for his mother.
"Yeah," the boy answered, smiling.
"You're sure a sweet boy," she responded.
Padmé looked at the young boy with surprise in her eyes. "He's a protocol droid."
"Yeah. He's going to speak every language in the galaxy," Anakin explained to the two females with a grin. "Watch!" He pushes a switch, and the droid sits up. Anakin rushes around, grabs an eye and puts it in one of the sockets.
The metal droid made of parts and wires began to speak in a well-mannered voice. "How do you do, I am See-Threepio, Human Cyborg Relations. How might I serve you?"
Padmé grinned at the child. "He's perfect."
"When the storm is over, you can see my racer. I'm building a Podracer!" Anakin explained to the everyone.
Padmé smiles at his enthusiasm.
Iris' brown eyes went wide at Anakin's words. "You're building a Podracer as well?"
Podracing. A popular sport in the less-developed regions of the galaxy and was one of the most dangerous sports ever invented. Iris wondered why a child like Anakin would be interested within such a dangerous sport.
Artoo lets out a flurry of beeps and whistles toward the other droid.
"I beg your pardon... what do you mean I'm naked?" See-Threepio said to the Astromech droid in confusion.
Artoo beeps again.
This time the golden droid looks down at his metal body before panicking, "My parts are showing? Oh, my goodness. How embarrassing!"
Iris smiled to herself as Anakin and Padmé laughs at the droid's enthusiasm.
0o0o0o0
Back on the Royal Naboo spacecraft on the outskirts on the sandy planet of Tatooine within the queens' chambers Amidala sat on a small throne with two handmaidens dressed in orange beside the young ruler as Panaka and Obi-Wan watch a very bad transmission of a Sio Bibble hologram.
"...cut off all food supplies until you return...the death toll is catastrophic...we must bow to their wishes, Your Highness...Please tell us what to do! If you can hear us, Your Highness, you must contact me..." Sio Bibble insisted within the message.
Many had a feeling he was being forced to say these words by the Trade Federation, but there could be some true within them.
Amidala looks upset...almost nervous. The young woman seems to be debating about messaging them back only for her eyes to land on the Jedi. She was waiting for his opinion on the situation. Surely the jedi padawan would have an answer.
"It's a trick." Kenobi insisted to everyone around him. "Send no reply... Send no transmission of any kind."
It was a trick for them to make connect and be found. The Trade Federation might know what planet they are, but on the area of the location. Sending a message to Bibble will make it possible for them to be traced to their current location on the planet.
Contact will ruin everything.
For now, they have to be smart and Obi-Wan had to tell Qui-Gon.
0o0o0o0
Back at Anakin's hovel, Qui-Gon had gotten the call on his comlink when he was helping Shmi with dinner and quickly went over to a quieter area to listen to Obi-Wan give him an update on the situation and it was not good news.
A transmission came from the planet of Naboo about people dying and the Trade Federation wanted the Queen to connect them and they were using Bibble to their location.
"...the Queen is upset..." Kenobi explained as he paused for a moment and continued, "but absolutely no reply was sent."
"It sounds like bait to establish a connection trace.
"What if it is true and the people are dying?" The padawan wondered to his master.
"Either way, we're running out of time," Qui-Gon said to his Padawan with a shake of his head.
If the people were dying, then they had to get to the senate fast. But they couldn't because their hyperdrive was broken and getting a new hyperdrive from Watto with Republic credits was impossible.
But here they were wasting time and trying to find a situation to solve the problems.
Only Qui-Gon didn't know how to solve them.
All he knew was they had found a nine year old boy, who was a slave, that had the force which was singing off him like a calm storm. Something about the boy was add and the kid seemed to have Iris' attention at the moment. The second think he knew was that Iris' mission was to protect the Queen of Naboo but the young girl left the ship with a handmaiden that had the Queen's ear.
No.
It was very possible that iris was protecting the real Queen of Naboo because the real ruler of the planet was Padmé.
If that was the case, then why hadn't Obi-Wan and him be told?
But the lesser than new the better. Until then he'll continue to treat Padmé as a spoiled handmaiden until Iris chose to talk about the information with him.
0o0o0o0
The night time on the planet of Coruscant was always peaceful with lights and traffic lighting up the darkened city landscape. Two hooded figures dressed in black were walking along a balcony that overlooked the city. These two figures were the ones behind the Trade Federation's invasion on the planet of Naboo for they were Sith, a master and a apprentice.
"Tatooine is sparsely populated. If the trace was correct, I will find them quickly, Master." Darth Maul explained to Darth Sidious. They would soon have the Queen of Naboo and the treaty signed.
"Move against the Jedi first," Darth Sidious ordered to apprentice. Maul couldn't be reckless against a Jedi Master and two padawans because all three were strong in the force regardless of age and training. "You will then have no difficulty taking the Queen back to Naboo, where she will sign the treaty.
Maul grinned darkly as he felt a thrill run through his body because it was finally time to end some Jedi. "At last, we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last, we will have revenge."
The revenge the Sith have dreamed about for a thousand years and almost coming true. The dark side rule the galaxy once more before the Jedi could even see the return of the Sith at their doorstep because the force was favoring Sidious. The only Sith whose force abilities can't be fault within the force and according to Darth Plagueis Sidious was the chosen Sith the dark side had been waiting for because the Jedi wouldn't be able to see a trace of his force power.
"You have been well trained, my young apprentice, they will be no match for you," Sidious explained with a grin on his face because Maul had been trained in the dark arts for many years and the Jedi hadn't been trained to combat a lightsaber like Maul's. "It is too late for them to stop us now. Everything is going as planned. The Republic will soon be in my command."
0o0o0o0
The giant sandstorm engulfs the town, including the Naboo spaceship on the outskirts of the city center, where Watto's ship is; and the slave quarters, where drifts of sand begin building up against Anakin's house.
Inside the slave hovel Qui-Gon, Anakin, Iris, Shmi, Jar Jar and Padmé are seated around a makeshift table, having dinner as the wind howls outside. Jar Jar slurps his soup rather loudly. Everyone looks at him because of the noise. He turns a little brighter red.
"All slaves have transmitters placed inside their bodies somewhere." Shmi explained to the group as they ate.
"I've been working on a scanner to try and locate them," Anakin stated to everyone before frowning, "But no luck."
Iris frowned at the boy's sorrow. It would seem Anakin took his projects very seriously. The young man was a gifted mechanic because he managed to build was droid was basically spare parts laying across Watto's shop. Surely, he'll be able to complete the scanner soon.
"Any attempt to escape..."
"...and they blow you up," Anakin finished before slamming his hand onto the table and shouts." ...poof!"
Iris nearly jumped out of her chair the moment the young child hit the table to prove his point with noise. While Padmé and Jar Jar were horrified at the thought of Shmi and Anakin being blown to tiny pieces.
"How wude," Jar Jar stated.
Padmé shook her head with deep denial showing on her face. "I can't believe there is still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws..."
"The Republic doesn't exist out here...we must survive on our own." Shmi admits to the young female.
Iris had explained to Padmé back in town that the Republic didn't exist out here. Which was why Republic credits didn't mean anything to Watto because he couldn't use them on a planet on in Republic space. They didn't exist here.
The Hutts and criminals rule places in the Outer Rim. The Republic means nothing to them.
It was a shame that the Republic's laws couldn't reach everywhere in the galaxy. Not even the Jedi could enforce the laws on planets within Hutt space or anywhere within the Outer Rim. Iris frowned and kept her eyes on her half-eaten soup bowl.
An awkward silence began to fill the air as no one said anything.
Anakin attempts to end the embarrassment. "Have you ever seen a Podrace?"
Iris' frown deepened. The boy mention showing Padmé, Artoo, and her the racer he was building after the sandstorm was over. But she's never seen one before but always heard these races were dangerous and took place on Tatooine during Boonta Eve.
"No, never seen one," Iris admits to the boy.
Padmé shakes her head no and took notice of the concern Shmi had on her face at the meant of Podracing. Jar Jar snatches some food from a bowl at the other end of the table with his tongue. Qui-Gon gives him a dirty look.
"They have Podracing on Malastare," Qui-Gon Jinn explained to them. "Very fast, very dangerous."
And very deadly, Iris thought with a flinch.
"I'm the only human who can do it," Anakin exclaimed.
Shim stared at her son in shock at his behavior and said, "Anakin."
"Mom, what? I'm not bragging. It's true," Anakin stated to everyone in the room with his blue eyes on his mother. "Watto says he's never heard of a human doing it."
"You must have Jedi reflexes if you race Pods," Qui-Gon stated to the boy.
Iris looked at the Jedi master before her eyes went to Anakin who was smiling at the comment.
Both jedi in the room can agree that Anakin was strong in the force.
"I have to agree," Iris found herself saying, eye brown on her bowl of soap.
Jar Jar attempts to snare another bit of food from the bowl with his tongue, but Qui-Gon, in a flash, grabs it between his thumb and forefinger. Jar Jar is startled by the action.
"Don't do that again," the jedi Master ordered the Gungan with a glare.
Jar Jar tries to acknowledge with some silly mumbling. Iris would've laughed but chose not to. Qui-Gon lets go of the tongue, and it snaps back into Jar Jar's mouth a second later.
"I... I was wondering...something..." Anakin said with a stutter. His blue eyes went down toward the table for a moment.
Iris frowned at the boy. Anakin had lost all his confidence within only a few seconds. This question must be a personal one if the boy had gone silent before saying it.
"What?" Jinn asked, eyes on the boy.
"Well, ahhh..." Anakin trailed off for a moment before looking at Quinn and stated; "You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?"
Iris' brown eyes went wide. So, Anakin did figure it out.
But the boy didn't say anything to iris about her being a jedi. So, the only person he discovered was a jedi must have been Qui-Gon due to seeing his lightsaber and what had happened between Jar Jar and him a few seconds ago.
Iris was still in the clear. But she might have to tell the boy. But that depends on his reaction to Qui-Gon being a Jedi Knight.
The Jedi Knight looked at Anakin for a second before asking, "What makes you think that?"
"I saw your laser sword. Only Jedi carry that kind of weapon."
Qui-Gon leans back in his seat and slowly smiles.
Iris stared at Qui-Gon's reaction because they weren't supposed to draw attention to themselves when on the planet, but she doubted Anakin would tell anyone.
"Perhaps I killed a Jedi and stole it from him." Qui-Gon answered to the young nine-year-old boy. It was a rather blunt answer but a true one.
Sometimes Jedi die and their weapons get stolen away and kept as trophy's.
"I don't think so..." Anakin answered in a positive told and seemed to catch Jinn's lie. "No one can kill a Jedi Knight."
Iris looked down toward the floor at the comment.
Jedi could die. They could die as easy as the humans, aliens and droids within the galaxy. They weren't immortal beings and could bleed like a normal person.
The young female could still remember her master slipping away from with the Force. How he had died within moments after the battle droids gained up on him. The laser fire had ended him within minutes because he was overwhelmed.
It was all to buy Iris and the others time to switch out Padmé with a handmaiden and to hide Iris among the handmaidens to keep the real Queen of Naboo safe.
She could do nothing but feel Zeref die.
Iris shook her head at Anakin's words.
An expression of sadness danced across Qui-Gon's face as his eyes landed on Iris for a moment before saying, "I wish that were so..."
"I had a dream I was a Jedi." Anakin continued to speak.
Iris' brown eyes grew wide as she picked her head up from the floor to stare at the boy. She already knew he had the force which seems to dance around him like music and now it was talking about dreams.
It could've been a vision of his future. As a Jedi.
But Anakin was too old for the training. Unless Yoda makes an exception.
"A dream," Iris breathed.
Anakin gave Iris a small nod. "Yeah. I came back here and freed all the slaves." Then he paused and looked at Jinn and asked with his eyes glittering with childlike wonder," Have you come to free us?"
Qui-Gon shook his head as he gave his answer to the boy, "No, I'm afraid not..."
"I think you have...why else would you be here?" Anakin asked as he looked at all of the strangers that had became his friends.
Iris frowned at the boy's imagination. They were Jedi but they didn't come here to free the slaves. She quickly looked at Qui-Gon and wondered what the Jedi Master was going to say. It was either tell Anakin the truth or come up with a lie.
Qui-Gon thought for a long moment before saying, "I can see there's no fooling you..." he quickly leans forward on the table and continues to speak about the events that led them to the planet, "You mustn't let anyone know about us...we're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic, on a very important mission, and it must be kept secret."
"Coruscant...wow," Anakin said, aware stuck by the news of one of the planets near the galaxies core. But then confusion entered his face and asked, "How did you end up here in the outer rim?"
Padmé chose to answer, "Our ship was damaged, and we're stranded here until we can repair it."
"I can help! I can fix anything!" Anakin stated to everyone.
Iris frowned at the boys' words because what they needed couldn't be fixed without the right parts. "You're a very clever boy but…" she stopped talking and looked at her soup. She felt sad at having to explain to the boy that his skills couldn't help them.
Qui-Gon quickly finished her sentence. "But our first job is to acquire the parts we need..."
"Wit no-nutten mula to trade," Jar Jar admits with a frown on his face and a sad look in his eyes.
"These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind," Padmé stated to everyone gathered in the room.
Shmi gave a nod before scoffing out the word, "Gambling." Then the woman looked at Anakin for a moment before shaking her head. "Everything here revolves around betting on those awful races." Something she clearly disliked.
Qui-Gon caught on to what Shmi was talking about. "Podracing... Greed can be a powerful ally... if it's used properly."
They might need to use greed at their weapon against Watto. The Podrace might be their way to the parts and the way off the planet. But they didn't have anything to bet on the race. That was where the plan failed.
"I've built a racer! It's the fastest ever," Anakin exclaimed to everyone at the table. "There's a big race in two days, on Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod." Iris stared at the boy because he mentioned he was building one. "It's all but finished..."
"Anakin, settle down." Shmi told her son with a scold. "Watto won't let you..."
The young child looked at his mother for a moment before saying; "Watto doesn't know I've built it." He turned his attention Qui-Gon. "You could make him think it's yours, and you could get him to let me pilot it for you."
Iris looks to Shmi, who was very upset at her son's words. Even Qui-Gon turned his attention to the boy's mother.
"I don't want you to race, Annie...It's awful." Shmi explained with sadness clean on her face as she worried for her son's safety. "I die every time Watto makes you do it."
"But Mom, I love it...and they need help...they're in trouble," Anakin explained to his mother with a sharp look because he clearly understood what he was getting into by offering his help to them. "The prize money would more than pay for the parts they need."
"Wesa ina pitty bad goo," Jar Jar admits.
"It might work," Iris admits to the boy. "But your mother is right. We can't ask you to do this." It was dangerous to get Anakin involved.
This boy had care for others within his heart. He built a droid to help his mother. He bought them fruit in the market with his own money. This kind heart of his…Iris couldn't bring herself to use the boy because of his kind nature.
He was young and should live his life for himself. Not for others.
Getting a young nine-year-old boy involved would only bring danger to him. Iris wanted him to live his life. Not risk it for their sake.
"But I want to help," the boy told her.
Iris shook her head before looking down once again. We're they really going to do this.
Qui-Gon looked to Shmi and asked, "Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who might be able to help us?"
Shmi shakes her head no.
"We have to help them, Mom," Anakin encouraged his mother before adding; "You said that the biggest problem in the universe is no one helps each other...'
Now iris could see where the boy got his cleverness from. Shmi was a very smart woman that understood kindness.
"Anakin, don't..." Shmi told her son with a sad look.
Jar Jar belches. There is silence for a moment.
Padmé looked at the worried Shmi and explained, "I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger. We will find another way..."
Find another way would take time, Iris thought before shaking her head. The people of Naboo don't have time. But using a young boy to complete the mission is also…insane.
Iris stared at Shmi and could feel the worry and fear rolling off the woman. This was Shmi's son that they were asking to help them in a dangerous Podrace. The mother had a final say in the decision. Not Qui-Gon, Anakin, or any of them.
It was up to Shmi.
"No, Annie's right, there is no other way..." Shmi admits to the group with a small frown on her face before she shook her head and continued; "I may not like it, but he can help you..." She encourages even though her choice would put her only child endanger. Her eyes landed on the group and exclaimed, "He was meant to help you."
He was meant to help them. Iris' brown eyes landed on the young boys' blue eyes.
The force echoed off the boy. She became aware of this the longer she spent time with him. This could be what the force was telling them.
Trust the boy. Put fate in Anakin.
"Is that a, yes?" Anakin asked with a small smile begins to break onto his young face. His mind had caught up to his mother's words and exclaimed in a cheer; "That is a yes!"
Iris smiled to herself at the young boy's excitement. But her smile quickly faded off her lips because Anakin was going to put himself endanger to help their mission. To help complete Iris' mission in protecting Padmé and getting the young woman to the senate to plead her case.
They had to stop the Trade Federation. Had to make sure her master didn't die for nothing.
As the storm continues to rage outside the slave hovel Iris wonder if they were going to cause an upcoming storm on the planet that might lead to discovery before the mission can be completed.
.
.
.
Chapter six is complete.
Yeah, Iris is very aware of Anakin's feelings toward her and Padmé. She's just not sure how to handle a child having a crush on her when she is a Jedi that shouldn't encourage it.
Yes, Qui-Gon knows. But as the Padmé being called a spoiled handmaiden was something in the books that Master Jinn called her because he was very aware that Padmé had the Queen's ear. But he didn't know that she was the real Queen. (But in this story, he does because Iris' assignment was to protect the Queen.)
I change the race from tomorrow to two days because of how the timeline seems to be within the movie. But also, for a story.
And yes, Palpatine can't be found within the force by Jedi or other beings that have the force. It keeps his force abilities secret to many so he can hide within plain sight. It was an ability he was born with and was consider the Sith that would bring down the Jedi.