Chapter Two

"Had you told me this an hour ago, I would not have believed you," Obi-Wan Kenobi whispered into his comlink, fearful of waking the others on the Naboo vessel. He had already given Captain Panaka a scare with his thrashing about only moments before, but he had assured the captain that it was just some dream that the Jedi had suffered, nothing more.

Of course, he was lying… but the captain didn't expect lies from a Jedi. He returned to his designated sleeping area and left Obi-Wan to sneak away with his comlink.

"I think I saw a similar vision," Obi-Wan whispered, holding the comlink close to his lips.

"Tell me what you saw," Qui-Gon's voice urged over the static.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes, remembering all the details. "There were colors, a lot of colors," he began.

"Yes, I saw that too."

"There were especially a lot of reds and orange… it kind of reminded me of fire," he continued.

Qui-Gon paused for a moment. "I hadn't noticed that, but I think you're right," he said softly. "Go on with what you heard."

"Not much that I made sense of. Something about the 'son of Skywalker.' Is that the boy you found?" he asked. "His name is Skywalker?"

"Yes," Qui-Gon murmured. "Anakin Skywalker."

There was a pause for a moment, when all that could be heard on either end of the comlink was static.

"We need to take him to the council," Obi-Wan said finally, regaining his old composure.

"I knew you were going to saw that," Qui-Gon said wearily, sighing. Obi-Wan could imagine him running a hand across his beard now, trying to plot ways to get out of involving a council that could easily tell him his thoughts were misled.

"Well, what else do you suggest we do?" Obi-Wan asked, frustrated by the lack of immediate answer. He remembered his master's lecture on patience, but at the moment he really didn't care if he was patient or not, just as long as the matter got resolved quickly.

"No, no, I agree with you," Qui-Gon said, sounding aged. "I'm just afraid they'll turn the boy away. But maybe if we can bring him to them, they'll see what I can see here."

"I thought you said he was a slave," Obi-Wan asked, confused.

"He is."

"Master, no. If the will of the Force is for this boy to bring balance, he'll find his own way out of there. We just need to tell the council so we can watch him."

"And what if it's the will of the Force to free him?" Qui-Gon asked, testily. "We've both been granted this vision for a reason, Obi-Wan… I think we should use it to the best of our abilities."

This time, Obi-Wan sighed and wrapped his Jedi cloak tighter around his body. "I have a bad feeling about this," he mumbled.

"You always have a bad feeling about everything," Qui-Gon pointed out.

"And at least sixty percent of the time I'm right," Obi-Wan retorted, smiling despite their situation. "But I trust your judgment, Master. I may not always agree with you… but I trust your judgment."

"Thank you, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said sincerely. "Now, as soon as this podrace is over tomorrow afternoon, I'll be back with the boy."

"How do you plan on freeing him?"

"I'll figure that out in the morning," Qui-Gon said. "For now, I am going back to meditate more. I think the handmaiden is disturbed that she found me after the vision earlier, and she just wants me to go back to sleep."

"Panaka was acting the same around me," Obi-Wan said, casting a glance over his shoulder. "Just get back here quickly so we can fix the ship and be gone. There's something I don't like about this place."

"Good night, Obi-Wan."

"Good night, Master."

The next morning, before Anakin's podrace, Qui-Gon went ahead of the group to speak with Watto, the owner of the Skywalkers. He entered with the confidence of a Jedi—knowing that he had the power and knowledge to free a poor slave boy from this life and launch him into his destiny.

The Jedi prohibit betting of any sort, but Qui-Gon was noted for disregarding many of the numerous rules of the Jedi. Casually entering a conversation about betting with Watto, Qui-Gon put forth his offer of racing pod to win the boy and his mother if Watto lost. Intrigued, and set on winning the bet, Watto accepted.

The race was terrifying to watch, but Qui-Gon never let his faith waver for a second, knowing that whatever it was that was so special about this boy would prevail. It was almost as if he were testing the Force, asking that if Anakin really was the Chosen One, he would win the race. If not, then Qui-Gon would take that answer and leave Tatooine forever.

And if nothing else, he desperately hoped the boy won simply because Qui-Gon had grown attached to him in the few days they had known each other already. Attachment was also forbidden to the Jedi, but Qui-Gon acknowledged that it wasn't a possessive attachment—instead, it was more of a certain feeling that their destinies were intertwined.

There were no sudden signs, no magic revelations or anything of the sort to indicated to Qui-Gon the Force's will other than Anakin winning the podrace. But as soon as the boy crossed the finish line in one piece, Qui-Gon allowed himself a satisfied smile, taking that as his answer that he was doing the right thing. He and Obi-Wan would deliver the Chosen One to the Jedi Temple, and then they would watch over him, helping him grow to meet his destiny.