Sabé walked into Padmé's quarters later on, once the ship had landed on Tatooine. She had removed all the apparel of Queen Amidala and entered the quarters dressed as a handmaiden. Strictly speaking she was here to tell Padmé that they had arrived on Tatooine and that the Jedi was planning on leaving soon. She had sensed Travien in there with her though.

She walked through the doors and coughed lightly, unwilling to approach the bed, Travien had delivered a serious injury to one unlucky servant who had done that. She was correct as Travien somersaulted out of the bed, his lightsaber flying to his hand and activating. Sabé staggered back as his raw, unsuppressed power ran through the ship like a shockwave. It wasn't just the power that brought Sabé to her knees but the darkness within it. They knew that he was a Sith Lord, but they never truly grasped exactly what that meant. Suddenly she realized why the Jedi hunted these beings with such fervour. Sabé would never hand Travien over, but she understood why they were afraid of such power. She grinned internally, and to think, that's my teacher.

Travien looked at her as she knelt on the floor. Padmé was largely unaffected, having felt his unrestricted aura on an occasion or two when he gave her something to aspire to. She saw her friend on the floor and knew what had happened,

"You are brave handmaiden. To come here knowing that you face my anger, your dedication to your Queen is impressive." Sabé trembled; they had always dealt with Travien. Travien was calm, relaxed even if he had a somewhat Dark sense of humour. The language, the tone and the stance, despite the fact that he was in his boxers, all told her that this was Darth Shan. He looked at her as though he were judging her.

The two Jedi ran in to the room, lightsabers active and looked at the scene before them, not fully comprehending. They felt the Darkness coming from the man and charged at him, only to be thrown into the wall when Travien twitched his head. As they sank to the floor, Travien suppressed his aura and turned back to Sabé, catching her with his blind stare.

"Rise, friend of Padmé," Sabé stood up slowly as Travien deactivated his sabre. "You nearly betrayed my trust, however this was done out of ignorance, and can be forgiven. Once. I will continue your tuition as before. You will learn not to speak of that which you do not know. Padmé trusts you, and despite this incident I feel that she continues to trust you but you will not make this mistake again."

Sabé nodded, "I swear I won't."

Travien nodded, "Good." He turned to the Jedi, "Your presence is no longer required, Jedi. You have my gratitude for your quick response to what you deemed as a threat to the Queen. Whether you meant it as such I neither know nor care."

The two Jedi looked at each other stunned and walked out of the room slowly, dismissed. As they walked down the corridor Obi-Wan turned to his master,

"How the hell did he deal with the both of us so quickly? That level of power was beyond even master Yoda!"

Qui-Gon shook his head, "I'm not certain padawan. I would dearly like to know his midi-chlorian count, but I doubt he will part with such information. We had best be wary Obi-Wan. We now know that we cannot deal with this threat alone and we cannot inform the council. At least not until we reach Coruscant." Obi-Wan nodded and they headed off to inspect the hyperdrive,

Back in Padmé's quarters Sabé stood in front of the other two,

"I wanted to tell Padmé that we have arrived on Tatooine. I sensed you in here and decided I needed to apologize before anything else. I forgot about the Jedi. I had become so accustomed to the only Force users being you and us that they didn't even register. Between us they don't seem as powerful as they did when I was younger."

Travien sighed, "Look you are going to have to be more careful Sabé. You have no idea how grateful I am that you take this risk for Padmé, but slips like that could get her killed. I was planning on making you learn from the holocrons for a while, but I think that we can forgo that punishment, this time. I have to remember you are not Sith and the same rules don't apply to you three."

Padmé walked up and hugged him from behind, "Thank you."

They looked at Sabé, "So, how're we doing?" asked Padmé.

Sabé sighed, "The Jedi along with Captain Ollie are saying that the hyperdrive is gone. We either need some spare parts or a new one entirely. That's not going to be easy since we are on a practically uninhabited dust ball. It gets worse though. The Jedi want to head into the town to buy another one with Republic credits. I'm sure Travien knows what credits are worth here."

The man shook his head, "Absolutely nothing. This planet is beyond the borders of the Republic, and ruled by the Hutts. There is no chance of getting anything with credits."

Sabé nodded, "Exactly. I've tried telling him this but he says that I need to trust his judgment. I don't suppose we could say that the Hutts killed them, could we?"

Travien laughed. He wasn't sure how or why the girls were getting Darker but he suspected that it was his influence. It was a strange kind of Darkness that contained a form of innocence as well, like they thought they wanted to be Dark but didn't understand what it meant,

"As much as I would love to, and believe me I would, we kind of need all the good will we can get."

Sabé sighed again, "Anyway, he insists on taking the Gungan as a cover, to make himself less conspicuous as a Jedi."

Travien snorted, "Alternatively he could tell people the truth, say what he's thinking and leave his lightsaber here."

The girls had a good laugh at that when Padmé looked thoughtful, "You know, I've never heard of Tatooine before this. I'd kind of like to look around, see what's here. I know you two have said there's nothing here, but it would be nice to see something different."

Travien shrugged, "If you've never heard of it, Padmé, there's probably a reason. But what the Lady wants the Lady gets."

Sabé nodded, "I'll let you two get dressed and have Captain Panaka inform Qui-Gon when you are ready to leave."

They nodded to Sabé as she left and they began to get dressed, not in the least uncomfortable with their lack of clothes around each other. Padmé smiled at him,

"Just out of curiosity, why are you sleeping in here? Not that I mind." She asked

Travien shrugged, "With the Jedi on board I don't actually have a room on this ship. If you remember it was commissioned before I turned up."

Padmé nodded in realization, "Oh god, I am so sorry!"

He shrugged and smiled at her, "That's okay. It means I can share your room. After putting all my credits in that bank you suggested I have a remarkably small amount of stuff. I'll probably have to get some spare clothes in the market or something though."

He just smiled, "I'll find a way somehow." Secretly he was wondering whether there were any swoop races on the planet.

They finally got dressed, Padmé wearing a moisture farmer outfit, while Travien stuck with his armour. They met Panaka at the exit ramp of the ship,

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Padmé nodded to him, "I want to know why we were drawn to this planet, just as much as the Jedi does. Besides, we might find something useful here."

The guard captain looked at Travien, "Oh no, don't look at me. My days of ruling are over for now; I do what I'm told now. If she wants to explore then it's my job to protect her. I might be having words with our Jedi friend if he does anything spectacularly stupid, but nothing more."

He sighed, "Fair enough, but I really don't like this."

Travien looked at him, "You know captain, the longer I know you the more we agree on. If this keeps up I might actually have to start liking you." Panaka barked a laugh and led them over to where Qui-Gon was gathering with R2 and Jar Jar,

"Master Jedi," he called.

Qui-Gon turned around and saw them. He almost groaned,

"The Queen commands that you take her handmaiden with you, she is curious about the planet."

Qui-Gon just shook his head, "No more commands from the Queen today, I think captain."

Travien jumped into the conversation, "You see Jedi, that's the wonderful thing about being an absolute ruler like a Queen or an Emperor, they really don't have to give a shit what people like you or I think."

Qui-Gon glared at him, he really didn't like this Sith. "This is a dangerous town, Mr. Shan; I would be remiss in my duty to protect these people if I allowed this."

Travien shook his head, "Firstly, your duty was to peacefully resolve the blockade. You fucked that in a spectacular fashion. I, along with the good captain here, actually get paid to protect these people. It's our job to protect them. If Padmé wishes to go, then Padmé gets to go."

Qui-Gon huffed, "Very well young handmaiden. Please keep you boyfriend under control, I will not be held accountable for a massacre."

Travien snorted as the Jedi turned away, "As if there are enough people here to actually massacre. It would be a slaughter at most. Besides, this is the only set of clothes I brought with me and blood is a bastard to get out."

Panaka shook his head as he walked away. He reflected that putting the Jedi together with the Sith Lord was one of the funniest things he had ever seen. Travien could get under that man's skin without even trying. Then again, Travien could get under anyone's skin without even trying, except Padmé, who seemed to like having him around.

Padmé grabbed Travien's hand and dragged him after the Jedi, "Do you have to wind him up so much. One day he's going to snap and attack you, you know." Padmé sighed, "And that's exactly what you want, isn't it?"

Travien grinned at her, "Me, my love? How could you accuse me of something as heinous as trying to corrupt our esteemed Jedi friends? I'm genuinely hurt."

Padmé chuckled, "Only because you got caught."

Travien grinned and nodded. Padmé huffed a sigh and leaned into him, his arm wrapping around her as they walked into the town of Mos Espa. They looked around at the dingy sandstone shanties and badly made huts. Travien knew that they would find what they were looking for here, it simply depressed him.

They gathered in the corner, "We need to find a junk dealership or something." said Qui-Gon.

Travien rolled his eyes at the obvious statement, "Well, as you've decided that you're in charge, would you care to suggest where we might start looking?"

Qui-Gon glared at him, "As of yet, no I don't. The Force will provide."

Travien nodded, "Okay, well while you meditate on it, I'm going to ask the old lady over there who actually lives here. She probably knows where to find stuff as people her age don't travel alone, unless they're Jedi and then it's for a reason. Feel free to catch heat stroke while you're waiting for inspiration."

Travien walked over to the old lady, leaving the rest of the group staring at him in shock.

"Excuse me ma'am, I was wondering if I could impose upon your time?" he asked.

She looked up at him, "Such a polite young man. What can I do for you?"

He smiled ingratiatingly, "Well, I was flying my ship a little way out of the city and accidentally crashed. I suppose I should have listened when my parent's told me that a blind man can't be a pilot."

"Oh you poor dear, do you need a doctor?" she asked sympathetically, making Travien cringe inside.

"No ma'am, I'm uninjured, but I did damage a very expensive Nubian vessel. Do you know anyone in these parts who might deal in that kind of equipment?" he asked.

The old lady thought for a second, "Well, the only one I know of is Watto down the street. He's a Toydarian. He's not the fairest of dealers but better than some on this planet. Do you need a guide?"

He smiled, "Thank you for your offer, but my girlfriend is waiting for me. She is more than kind and frequently assists me."

She nodded, "Good for you young man."

Travien bowed slightly, "Thank you madam. Is there anything I can do to repay such kindness?"

The old lady laughed slightly, "No, you run along now."

Travien smiled once more and returned to the group. Qui-Gon looked at him in shock, "How did you do that?"

"Simple Jedi, I told her the truth, or close to it. Most don't know about the Force and take my blindness as a disability. I told her it was my fault and she was eager to help. Now, we are looking for a Toydarian by the name of Watto who is just down the street, whatever that means to a local hereabouts. His reputation states him as less than fair, but slightly better than most."

Qui-Gon nodded, "Very well, shall we go?"

The others agreed and Travien looped his arm back around Padmé's waist. He pulled her towards him as she complied happily. They walked off behind Qui-Gon and were checking multiple shops until they found the right one.

They walked in and were greeted by a grim looking blue Toydarian in a waistcoat,

"What do you want?" he asked.

Travien leaned into Padmé and whispered, "Wonderful service here isn't it?"

She giggled as Qui-Gon spoke to Watto,

"We're looking for parts to a J-type Nubian. We were told that you were the person to talk to."

Watto stroked his chin as he hovered, "Hmm…Nubian. Difficult. What parts do you need, that's a pretty rare ship."

Travien nodded, "Should be, it was practically custom built."

Qui-Gon ignored him, "We are looking for parts for a T-14 hyperdrive."

Watto nodded, "I got what you're looking for, I'm the only one who does around here though. Let me call in the boy and we'll go have a look."

He called out in Huttese, "Boy, get in here!"

It took a moment, but a small boy ran in from the back wiping his hands on a rag. He flinched as Watto moved to hit him but the blur Toydarian found he couldn't move. Padmé looked nervous and Qui-Gon looked over at him as he felt Travien use the Force to hold him in place,

Watto shook himself after Travien let go, with a nudge from Padmé, "What took you so long?" he continued in Huttese, "Ah, never mind. Watch the store while I attend to our customer."

They watched as the Jedi followed him out into the yard after telling Jar Jar not to touch anything. Travien wasn't even slightly amused when he made faces behind the Jedi's back and Padmé held him still,

"C'mon Padmé, let me kill the bastard."

Padmé held firm and didn't notice the young boy staring at her, "No." He sagged as the boy spoke up,

"Are you an angel?"

They both turned to the now blushing young boy, "Pardon?" asked Padmé,

"An angel. I've heard the spacers talk about them. They come from the moons of Iego, I think. They're supposed to be the most beautiful creatures in the galaxy."

Padmé looked between them, "I've never heard of them."

Travien nodded, "I have. I met a diathim once. What you," he nodded to Anakin, "call an angel. I have to say, I wasn't quite taken with them, but then, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It might be that they didn't take to me."

Everyone looked at him, "Alright so I travelled a lot when I was younger."

Padmé turned back to the boy, "You're a funny little boy, how do you know so much?"

He thought for a moment, "Since I was, three, I think. My mom and I were sold to Gardulla the Hutt. She lost us in a game to Watto, I've been here ever since and the spacers all talk."

Padmé looked surprised, "You're a slave?"

He glared slightly, "I'm a person, and my name is Anakin!" he was cut off when half the droids and machines in the room began compacting in on themselves. They began sparking as Jar Jar jumped away from the one he was inspecting. Padmé wheeled around on Travien to see a look of barely controlled rage on his face. Anakin was panicking, "What's happening?!" he shouted as Qui-Gon came rushing into the shop. Watto followed the Jedi and saw the carnage.

"What did you do to my shop?!" he exclaimed,

Travien glared at him, "Quiet, slaver." He snarled and turned to Qui-Gon, "You bought the parts yet?"

Qui-Gon shook his head, he was fully aware of what had Travien so angry and decided now was not the time to argue, "Our friend here refuses to accept credits,"

Watto jumped in, "Right, no money no parts."

Travien nodded, "Fine, kill him and take them anyway. Next time listen to the goddamn briefing before you decide that the universe is how you think it should be."

Padmé just wrapped her arms around him, trying to calm him down as Watto went back a foot, "What d'ya mean, kill me?"

Qui-Gon turned to Travien as he stepped in front of Watto, "That is not the Jedi way. We cannot simply kill him and take what we want."

Anakin looked star struck when Qui-Gon said Jedi, he was shaken out of it when the other man replied, "Yeah, well I'm not a Jedi. Step aside and let me kill the fracking slaver." He said, activating his lightsaber.

Padmé released him and stepped aside, much to everyone's surprise, "If you need to kill him then do so. But you know that the instant you do, Qui-Gon will try to arrest you and take you from me. If you kill him then the entire Order will hunt you down." Travien took a deep breath and stepped back, switching his sabre off,

"It looks like you survive this day, scum. Know this, should I find that you've hurt the boy or his mother I will return." The scared Toydarian nodded. Travien looked to the Jedi, "If you'd listened to anything but the voices in your own head you would have known that he wouldn't be interested in credits, if you listened to your master, whoever that unfortunate bastard may be, you'd also know that Toydarians are remarkably resistant to mind tricks, especially greedy ones. I suggest we go and find something with which to trade, yes?"

Travien turned to Anakin, "By the way, lad. What's your full name?"

The boy gulped, "Anakin Skywalker, sir."

Travien nodded, "Good name, good name. I suspect I shall see you soon, Anakin Skywalker." With that he turned and left the shop, Padmé and the other's hurrying after him. Padmé caught up with him out on the street,

"What the hell happened in there Travien?" she asked as Qui-Gon was about to arrive and lay into him,

He turned slightly, "When I was eight years old I was kidnapped by a rival Sith with designs on my parent's throne. He realized that having me was a death sentence and sold me into slavery before vanishing into the Republic. It was six months before my parents found me by which time I had already been marked as a slave. I took the tattoo off with a lightsaber as soon as I could get hold of one. My sight wasn't as accurate back then, so I missed a couple of times. That's all there is to it." He said shortly.

Padmé shook her head, "No it isn't, but I won't push you."

Qui-Gon was not as willing to let it go as he caught up with them, missing their last exchange, "What the hell was that. Yes, slavery is a bad thing, but you may have just ruined our only chance to get off of this planet!"

Travien just began walking away, "I have no interest in your self important chatter Jedi, remain silent or be silenced. You choose." Padmé walked up beside Travien with R2 and Jar Jar following them.

"Is yousa okay?" asked Jar Jar. Travien smiled, he had taken a liking to the quirky Gungan, "Not exactly Jar Jar, but I will be. Thank you for asking." The Gungan nodded and stepped back.

Padmé looked around, "How are we going to find something to trade?"

Qui-Gon stepped forward, "We shall have to look around this town. I will signal Obi-Wan to have check what we have onboard the ship." The other two nodded, and walked around the town. Padmé leaned in to Travien,

"Did you feel how powerful that boy was? He was almost as strong as you!"

He nodded, "I know. If he's a first generation Force user then that is impressive. I wonder if I can convince him to learn with us, rather than go with the Jedi."

Padmé looks at him, "You think he would make a good Sith?"

Travien nods slowly, "Oh definitely. The bitterness I hold from my slavery fuels the Dark Side like you wouldn't believe, and that was only six months. I would worry that his would consume him, though. No, I was planning on teaching him as a neutral, like you."

Padmé nodded, "Well, we need to free him first, don't we?"

Travien smiled, "I'm fairly certain that the Jedi is already trying that. I will take whatever plan he makes and improve upon it to bring the boy's mother with us."

Padmé gaped at him, "That's manipulative!"

Travien smirked and wrapped his arms around her, "Why thank you my love." Padmé giggled as Qui-Gon attracted their attention,

"I'm getting a call from Obi-Wan; do you want to join us?"

Padmé nodded and they wandered over to the alcove that Qui-Gon currently inhabited.

"Obi-Wan, how goes the search?"

They heard the disappointed voice over the communicator in the Jedi's hand, "I'm sorry master but we can't find anything. A few containers of supplies, the Queen's wardrobes maybe, but nothing to barter with, not in the amounts you're talking about. Not unless you can separate Lord Shan from his armour."

Qui-Gon sighed, "Very Well. I'm certain another solution will present itself. I'll check back with you later."

Qui-Gon clicked off the communicator, "He has a point though. That armour would be very valuable, it is clearly custom made."

Travien nodded, "And under normal circumstances I'd agree in an instant, but until we get to Coruscant this is the only item of clothing I have. Why else would I wear black armour in a desert?"

Qui-Gon nodded, "Let us see what the Force brings us, then." He walked onto the main street again,

"Oh no. No' again. Weesa bein robbed and crunched out dere!" cried Jar Jar.

Qui-Gon turned to him, "That s the problem, we have nothing worth stealing in the first place."

They wandered out into the market place, Travien keeping his arm around Padmé as if to protect her from the locals. The discovery of slavery on the planet had significantly soured his view of this world, not that it needed it. The hot climate of the planet was doing no good for his disposition. He would normally have killed something by now. He wondered whether that was a good thing. Travien suddenly looked around and saw that Jar Jar was gone.

"Guys, where's Jar Jar?"

They all whipped around and Qui-Gon groaned, "Oh no. He's over there, about to put something in his mouth."

They watched as Jar Jar wandered up to a stand that had a set of dead amphibian creatures hanging in a display. Travien almost closed his eyes as the idiotic Gungan snaked his tongue out and drew one of the creatures into his mouth, just as the owner of the store came out,

"Hey, you gonna pay for that?!"

"Huh?" was the only sound that the confused Gungan could have made as he currently had his mouth full.

The owner nodded, "Wupiupi."

Jar Jar let go of the amphibian that was still attached to the line, causing it to go flying off in the other direction, "Wupiupi?"

Travien just pinched the bridge of his nose as he saw the amphibian land in the drink of a particularly nasty looking dug. The dug wandered over to Jar Jar, the creature in his…appendage…and knocked him to the floor,

Like many of the natives he spoke in Huttese, "Is this yours?" he asked.

Jar Jar shook his head rapidly, "No, is not mine, is not mine!" he pleaded. Travien was already walking over to deal with the dug when they heard a younger voice call over to him in the same language.

"Watch it Sebulba. This one's connected. His friend trashed half of Watto's store 'cause he was upset, didn't even move."

The dug, apparently Sebulba snorted, "Why should I believe that?"

Travien smirked from behind him, "Maybe seeing is believing? This man is my friend, whatever happened was without a doubt an accident. I think an apology will suffice, both for his mistake and your brutality."

Anakin smirked as well, "Careful, wouldn't want you messed up before our next race, Sebulba." Sebulba snarled at them both and turned to Anakin,

"If you weren't a slave I'd crush you right now."

Anakin smirked at him, "Yeah, it'd be a pity if you had to pay me."

Sebulba growled and left. Travien walked over to Jar Jar and helped him stand up, brushing him off at the same time,

He looked to Travien, "Whys it allays mesa?"

"These beings, like that dug, can sense your fear my friend. They are predators in a world of people. Think nothing of it; you didn't need to be stronger than everyone to make friends Jar Jar. As soon as their strength fades, so will their friends, old age will be a bitter companion for them."

Qui-Gon stepped up, "Thank you young Anakin. Our friend would have been in serious trouble if you had not intervened."

The blonde boy shrugged, "Your friend was about to be turned into orange goo. That dug was a particularly nasty one by the name of Sebulba. He's got a bad temper and the money to match it, especially in these parts. Your friend was going to get hurt badly."

Jar Jar shook his head, "Meesa sorry. Meesa no likin' crunchin'"

Qui-Gon looked at him, "Nevertheless, the boy is right, you were heading into trouble." He turned to Anakin, "Thank you for helping him, Anakin, we are most grateful."

As they were walking Jar Jar shook his head, "But mesa done nothin', what did mesa do?"

Anakin looked at him, "You were afraid."

"Huh?"

Travien smiled at them, "He was aware of his own weakness, Jar Jar and sought someone he perceived to be weaker than himself. It is the only relief he can ever find from his own doubts."

Anakin nodded, "I just need to pop over to that fruit stand, okay?"

Travien nodded and the group followed him as he spoke to the old lady. She turned her eyes to him after helping Anakin, "Well hello young man, did you find Watto?"

"Indeed madam." Travien bowed slightly and Anakin was surprised to see his demeanour change so rapidly, "I found a great deal more than I was looking for, and only slightly more than I wanted. Thank you for the directions." The old lady looked around for a second and turns to Anakin,

"You'll want to rush off home, Ani. There's a storm brewing up." She said as she began to pack up her stall. Anakin looked around at the others.

"Do you have a shelter?" he asked them,

Qui-Gon nodded, "Yes, we'll head back to our ship."

Anakin stopped for a second, "Where is it?"

"On the outskirts." Answered Padmé

Anakin shook his head, "You'll never get there in time. Sandstorms are very fast and very dangerous, you'll get lost in seconds. Come with me, we have to hurry." He smiled at Padmé, who smiled back uncertainly.

Travien leaned in while grinning, "I think he has a crush on you." Padmé slapped his arm and followed the others. After a short walk they were in the slave quarters of Mos Espa and Anakin hurried up to a weatherworn door and rushed through.

"Mom, I'm home!"

Jar Jar followed them in and looked around, "Hmm, thisem loverly." He said. Travien was glad that Anakin had left them in the hall. Slaves could be awful sensitive about their homes. He rushed back in with his mother,

"Oh Anakin, who are these people?"

Anakin stopped and looked sheepish, "Uh, I'm sorry, I don't know your names."

Travien stepped forward with a smiled, "Not a problem young man. My name is Travien Shan, the lovely lady here is Padmé, the man in the dressing gown beside me is Qui-Gon Jinn," for which he got glared at by the Jedi, "and my friend here is Jar Jar Binks." He turned to Shmi, "I apologize for our unwitting imposition, ma'am but we were unaware of the severity of sandstorms on Tatooine and your son kindly offered us shelter."

She smiled affectionately at the boy, "That's my Ani, always trying to help people." He squirmed slightly at the praise as any boy of that age does in front of guests. Anakin dragged Padmé off to his room as she sent Travien a last despairing glance, he grinned at her and waved. He remained with the others, letting Anakin show Padmé whatever it was he wanted her to see.

Travien turned to his mother, "Again, thank you for letting us remain in your home."

She ducked her head, "It's not much I know but…"

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I understand," she looked puzzled and he took of the armour plating at the front of his uniform and unzipped the suit, pointing out a large patch of scar tissue on his chest. He put his armour back on,

"Where I come from they marked us with tattoos, to show they we were no longer our own."

Shmi looked at him, "You were a slave?"

He nodded, "Briefly when I was your son's age, but sufficient that I still have nightmares."

She nodded, "It's good to know that someone understands, my name is Shmi Skywalker, by the way." He extended a hand which Travien shook,

"Travien Shan, pleasure to meet you."