Iris exited the junk shop and quickly followed after the others. The young boy (Anakin) had been nice, but Qui-Gon didn't have the parts they needed for the ship. What had happened? Did Watto not have the parts or did they not have enough money?
"Master Jinn," she said, catching up to the older Jedi Master. "What happened?"
Qui-Gon let out a small breath before his blue eyes went to the female. "Watto doesn't take Republic credits." The older Jedi explained once he realized he didn't explain what had taken place between him and the junk dealer.
"What?" Iris breathed, mouth falling open in shock. "But that's all we have."
Watto doesn't take republic credits.
That meant they didn't have any money on this desert planet of a wasteland.
No money equals no parts. No parts means they wouldn't be able to leave the planet.
"We'll figure something happened," Jinn promised.
"Master Jinn, the longer time we waste the longer the Naboo people will suffer," Iris stated. Which means the Queen would not like any of this.
"I know," he stated. "But we are trying our best. Your Master would understand."
Her master might have understood, but she didn't. The mission was the most important thing and time could not be wasted because The Trade Federation could end up finding them the longer the ship stayed on this desert planet.
The more time that ticked away the more the people of Naboo would suffer at the hands of The Trade Federation and the Battle Droids. The more time was wasted trying to find the right ships could mean the senate wouldn't be able to act in time to save the planet of Naboo.
Nothing was going as planned because of the credits they carried on them. A Jedi Mind trick wouldn't solve the problem either because Iris believed Jinn at least tried the ability on Watto and failed.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Iris asked the Jedi Master, keeping calm and relaxed.
"Let me report back to Obi-Wan," Jinn answered.
"Okay," she answered, brown eyes staring into his blue.
Qui-Gon Jinn outranked her. The older male was a Jedi Master and had more experience in the field when it came to problems according to missions.
0o0o0o0
It took a while to find a quiet spot between two buildings for the others to stay hidden behind. The busy street beyond is filled with dangerous looking creatures that could sell them out to the Hutts or other illegal activities that might place the mission in danger or the Trade Federation on their trail. Qui-Gon is talking on his com-link, while Jar Jar nervously watches the street. Iris kept her eyes on the streets but mostly kept a small connection within the Force to trace or find anyone that could cause the group any ill will.
Padmé looked at Iris with an eyebrow raised and whispered, "Nothing is going as planned."
Iris gave a small nod. "I'm afraid not."
"Why?" Padmé asked, brown eyes filled with concern.
The young Jedi Padawan let out a small breath into the hot air of the planet. Regardless of being in the shade between two buildings the heat seemed to only increase. She could feel warmth across her skin and could already tell that if the heat got any worse she'd end up sweating because Tatooine seemed to have a strange temper that only seemed to increase the longer a being was on the planet.
The weather was nothing like the planet of Naboo which was always a normal between cold and warm depending on the time of day. Even comparing the two planets made Iris worry about the mission and the people that were under threat by the Trade Federation. She already knew that explaining the situation to Padmé would maybe make everything worse because they couldn't get the parts to fix the ship to reach the senate to reveal what the Trade Federation was doing to the planet.
"Padmé," Iris stated. "You must understand that Master Jinn and I are trying to finger out a way to fix this."
"Fix what?" the Queen demands.
Iris looked down toward the sand that laid at her feet. "Watto doesn't take Republic credits."
"What?" Padmé breathed in shock, brown eyes wide because within her own mind almost every planet she's even been on takes Republic credits. "But that's all we have."
"I know," the Padawan answered. "Which is why we must find a way to solve it."
Padmé opened her mouth before closing it for a second. Her mind seemed to be in deep thought for a second and was debating about saying something to the young Jedi Padawan before asking; "What about a Jedi mind trick to get the parts?"
Iris was taken back by the words and let her mouth drop open that the young Queen of Naboo would've suggested such a thing. "It wouldn't work on Watto. He's one of the strong minded and maybe even of an Alien race that isn't affected by the Force."
"Then what do we do?" the fourteen year old asked.
The Jedi Padawan shrugged her shoulders, "Trust Master Jinn."
That was all Iris could say about everything that was going on. She'd been trained by Master Zeref to trust the Force and to trust others, especially thoughts that were older and wiser than she was because Qui-Gon Jinn had more experience.
But her concern about the mission made Iris listen in on what Jinn was saying to Obi-Wan.
"Obi-Wan, you're sure there isn't anything of value left on board?"
Iris paled at the words and decided not to tell Padmé. The fourteen year old Queen was stressed enough about her people and the need to reach the senate to save them to be given more bad news.
"A few containers of supplies, the Queen's wardrobe, maybe. Not enough for you to barter with. Not in the amounts you're talking about." Kenobi explained to the older Jedi Master.
"All right," Jinn breathed. "Another solution will present itself. I'll check back."
Qui-Gon puts his comlink away and starts out into the main street. Jar Jar grabs his arm.
"Noah gain...da beings hereabouts cawazy. Wesa be robbed uncrunched." The Gungan said to the Jedi.
"Not likely." Jinn explained to the creature. "We have nothing of value, that's our problem."
Then Iris, Qui-Gon, Padmé, Jar Jar, and Artoo move out into the street. Jar Jar is walking behind the group which causes Iris to turn around and watch him as she walks backwards. Even as the group continued to walk by an outdoor cafe filled with a rough gang of aliens, one of which is especially ugly, Sebulba, a spider-like creature. Jar Jar stops for a moment in front of a stall selling dead frogs hanging on a wire. He looks around to see if anyone is looking, then sticks out his tongue, and gets hold of one, pulling it into his mouth.
Iris got ready to open her mouth to yell at the Gungan, but stopped once she realized that Jar jar had made a mistake when it came to the frog.
Unfortunately, the frog is tied tightly to the wire.
The vendor suddenly appears from behind the corner and shouts; "Hey, that will be seven truguts!"
Jar Jar opens his mouth in surprise, and the frog snaps away, ricochets around the market, and lands in Sebulba's soup, splashing him. As Jar Jar moves away from the vendor, Sebulba jumps up on the table and grabs the helpless Gungan by the throat.
"You!" he snarled in the Hutt language.
"Who, mesa?" Jar Jar asked, playing dumb.
"Is this yours?" ask Sebulba as he holds the frog up to the Gungan threateningly.
Several other creatures that had been seated or walking by the area began to gather around the two aliens in the middle of the desert street. Sebulba shoves the Jar Jar into the sandy ground. The Gungan desperately tries to scramble to safety.
"Why mesa always da one?" he wondered out loud.
Iris started to move forward, but she was uncertain about what to do. She couldn't use the force or try a Jedi mind trick in the middle of all the creatures gathering around the area. That would only lead to news about a Jedi being on the planet.
What if that information reached the Trade Federation?
"Because you're afraid," a young voice said to Jar Jar.
Iris' brown eyes went wide the moment she saw the young boy from Watto's shop. Anakin was pushing his way from the crowd to stand next to the Gungan. The boy stands in front of Sebulba in a very self-assured way.
"Careful, Sebulba," Anakin warned in Huttese. "This one's very connected."
The young Padawan watched the young boy with an eyebrow raised. Jar Jar didn't have any connections except to Jinn and being a Gungan from Naboo-he didn't have any connections to the Hutts. It took her a second to realize that the nine year old boy was trying to make Sebulba believe in a lie.
If you had connections to the huts on Tatooine, then no one messed with you because of the fear of Jabba the Hutts rage.
Sebulba stops his assault on Jar Jar and turns to Anakin, glowering at the young human. "Connected? Whada you mean, slave?"
"As in Hutt," Anakin explained to the alien, hiding any anger at being called a slave. "Big time outlander, this one... I'd hate to see you diced before we race again."
"Next time we race, wermo, it will be the end of you!" Sebulba threatened with a snarl. "If you weren't a slave, I'd squash you right now." He finished saying before turning away from the boy and the Gungan, heading off into the crowd.
"Yeah," Anakin muttered bitterly as Sebulba left his sight. "It'd be a pity if you had to pay for me."
The crowd of aliens that had gathered began to leave once they realized a fight was not going to be taking place in the middle of town. It would seem Tatooine had strange sources of entertainment around the desert; over fifty aliens had gathered to watch a fight happen in the street.
Iris quickly moved forward with Qui-Gon, Artoo, and Padmé to get their Gungan friend.
"Hi!" Anakin greeted with a friendly grin.
Iris gave the boy a small smile in return. "Hello again, Anakin."
The boy's blue eyes seemed to glitter with surprise when it came to Iris remembering his name. "You remembered me," he mumbled before turning his attention back to the Gungan. "Iris, your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug. An especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba."
"Nosir, nosir," Jar Jar said as he stood up from the sandy ground, dusting himself off. "Mesa hate crunchen. Dat's da last ting mesa wanten."
Nevertheless, the boy is right," Jinn stated to the Gungan. "You were heading for trouble. " Then the Jedi Master turned to the boy and said, "Thank you, my young friend."
Padmé looks at Anakin and smiles; he smiles back. They start walking down the crowded street.
"Mesa doen nutten!" Jar Jar admits.
"Fear attracts the fearful," Anakin explained to the group.
Iris paled at the words. That had sounded like Master Yoda because the wise green alien once explained those very words to every young Jedi he trained. It made her wonder how this nine year old boy was so wise to know this. She couldn't understand it even as she felt the small sing of force energy dance around the young Skywalker boy like a supernova wanting to burst.
She'd felt it briefly back at Watto's shop, but she didn't realize it was this strong until now. She blamed it on her mind being focused on the mission and not full on the boy until now.
Anakin was strong within the Force.
But he was already nine years old and could be considered too old for Jedi training because most of the younglings taken to become Jedi were always around the ages three, four, and sometimes five. The kids were always taken before they could understand fear and attachment.
Anakin is a slave and most likely already saw how horrible that galaxy had been to him and too many other creatures. He most likely has formed bonds with other beings and would be upset with dark side rage at their deaths.
The young boy was wise, but could he actually become a Jedi.
She didn't know.
"You're a clever boy, Anakin," Iris stated to the young male. "Not many would be aware of that."
"Thank you," the young boy said before turning his attention back to Jar Jar. "He was trying to overcome his fear by squashing you...be less afraid."
"And that works for you?" Iris asked the young boy.
Anakin grinned, "To a point."
0o0o0o0
Obi-Wan stands in front of the Naboo spacecraft as the wind picks up and begins to whip at his robe. Sand was being blown around within the air and across the giant sand dunes. Even though the Padawan's blue eyes were watching for a sight of Jinn, iris, jar Jar, and the handmaiden, he still could barely see any human shapes making their way across the sand toward the ship. Captain Panaka exited the ship and walked toward him.
"This storm's going to slow them down." Kenobi explained.
"It looks pretty bad." Panaka advised. "We'd better seal the ship." Then his comlink sounds off which made him answer, concern was showing across his face because it had to be important. "Yes?" The reply was not something the male was expecting to hear. "We'll be right there."
Obi-Wan quickly followed Panaka back inside the ship.
Something very important must have happened to make both Obi-Wan and Panaka be needed.
0o0o0o0
Iris couldn't explain how this happened. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't understand it because Anakin had been leading Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, Padmé, Artoo and her around town to several places as he talked about the planet, the Hutts, Podraces, and many other things on Tatooine. They had stopped at a fruit stand run by a jolly, but very poor, old lady named Jira.
"How are you feeling today, Jira?" Anakin asked the older woman.
Iris' brown eyes landed on the old and kina woman whose hair was gray and turning white in places. The woman had lived on the planet for a long time. Yet, she sounded very kind if a young boy like Anakin was friends with the woman and showed care toward her.
"The heat's never been kind to me, you know, Annie!" Jira answered the boy.
"Guess what? I've found that cooling unit I've been searching for," Anakin explained to the woman with a grin as Iris' heart melted to pieces. "It's pretty beat up, but I'll have it fixed up for you in no time, I promise."
Anakin didn't seem to know any greed within his life. He'd been kind to an old woman that was struggling with money and would willingly help her. The way the young nine year old was acting made Iris' realize the kid was a very nice person.
"You're a fine boy, Annie."
"I'll take five pallies today," the young boy admits to Jira. Then he turned his head toward iris and Padmé and said, "You'll like these..."He reaches into his pocket and comes up with four coins. He drops one. Qui-Gon picks it up, revealing for a moment, his lightsaber hidden beneath his clock.
Iris paled at the slight. Anakin already knew they weren't from here, but now the young boy might know they are Jedi. Only the nine year old didn't say anything about the lightsaber. Maybe Anakin didn't know what the weapon was supposed to be.
The Jedi were always spoken within stories that spread across the galaxy. Only not many planets have ever been visited by the Jedi or seen one in action because the Jedi mostly stayed at the Jedi Temple when not on a mission. So maybe the boy didn't know that Jedi existed and what their weapons looked like in real life.
But the nine year old mentioned he listened to traders and deep space pirates when Iris first met him at Watto's shop. So maybe the boy did hear about a Jedi before. Only he wasn't aware he was in the presence of a Padawan and a Jedi Knight.
Anakin looked down at the coins and whispered, "Whoops, I thought I had more...Make that four I'm not hungry."
"We'll split it," Iris insisted to the kid. She didn't mind sharing the fruit with him.
"Okay," he answered with a nod, smiling.
The wind began to blow harder as the sand around the dunes began to blow around the town. Iris turned her head to look around the market and realized that the shop owners are starting to close up their shops as Jira gives them their pallies.
"Gracious, my bones are aching," Jira explained as she grabbed ahold of Anakin's hands within her own. "Storm's coming on, Annie. You'd better get home quick."
Annie? Iris thought. Is that Anakin's nickname? Is that what he likes being called?
"Do you have shelter?" Anakin wondered to Jinn.
"We'll head back to our ship," Jinn explained to the boy.
The young boy seemed to hesitate for a second before asking, "Is it far?"
"On the outskirts," Padmé told the boy.
Iris watched as Anakin's blue eyes went wide. "Is something wrong?" she asked the young nine year old.
"You'll never reach the outskirts in time," Anakin stated to the group. "Sandstorms are very, very dangerous. Come with me. Hurry!"
The boy started to walk down the road.
Iris watched Anakin walk down the sandy road as the wind began to blow even harder and the sand began to flow around the area like a small drizzle of rain. She quickly moved forward to follow after him, only to feel Master Jinn grab her hand to prevent her from following the boy.
"Iris," Master Jinn said.
She turned and gave the Jedi Master an annoyed look which was dancing across her eyes. "The boy is right. You and I both know that we wouldn't make it back in time to the ship before the sandstorm hits. So we must follow him and find a safe place from the storm."
It didn't matter how quickly they ran back to the ship. They'll get lost along the way. Surely master Jinn must see that.
Jinn gave a small nod. "Of course, Young Padawan."
With no more words being spoken on the matter Iris, Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, Artoo and Padmé followed after Anakin as he rushed down the windy street.
.
.
.
Chapter 5 is done.
Iris' nickname for Anakin is going to be; Clever Boy. (Yeah. It's based off what Clara called the Doctor in Doctor Who) There is a reason why I'm having Anakin and Iris split a fruit (pallie) because of the scene within Attack of the Clones. Plus, Iris is worried about the mission and finally gets to know somethings about Anakin and can tell the boy is nice to many people on the planet.
Next chapter Iris will met Shmi and C-3PO.