Anakin continued his work on fixing the broken droid in front of him even as a group of people shuffled into the storefront. He was sure Watto would deal with them. It wasn't until a few minutes later when he felt eyes on him, did he turn to pay attention to who they were.

A girl wandered aimlessly around the store. Who was she? He didn't dare start a conversation until she started one first. Once she noticed him looking, she smiled, and said, "I like your bracelet. Where did you get it?"

"You must be from Lego," he replied, doing his best to hide his right wrist and keep his bracelet hidden from her sight.

Confused, she asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Because I heard some of the deep space pilots say that's where angels come from," he answered, walking into the main part of the store where she was.

She blushed, flattered. "You think I look like an angel?"

Anakin jumped up onto the counter in the main part of the store, so he'd be closer to her eye level. He asked, "Well, are you an angel?"

"No," she answered, smiling, "I'm from Naboo. My name is Padme. What's yours?"

"Anakin Skywalker."

"No credits, no generator!" Watto shouted as he reentered the store from the backyard, "No parts for you! Stop wasting my time!" He turned to Anakin. "Wenuchulla, Ani," he said in Huttese, "don't let these people back in here, they have no money."

Anakin turned to Padme and asked, "You don't have any money?"

Qui-gon explained, "We only came here with republic credits. Can you tell me where the closest money exchange is?"

He shook his head. "We don't have any of those on Tatooine," he explained, "the only way you can get our credits is to sell stuff you own. But if you don't have anything, you can sell your your services in exchange for food, shelter, and money until you have enough to pay off your debt and get the parts you need."

Padme gasped in shock. "You mean become slaves? There's no way the republic will allow that!"

"Padme," Qui-gon said gently, "Tatooine is under it's own jurisdiction outside of the republic's control, they have their own laws here we must respect as visitors."

Watto said hastily, "If you want to sell yourselves, do it someplace else! I'm not taking any more slaves."

Anakin jumped down from the counter and said in Huttese, "Master Watto, a sandstorm is headed this way, and it's a big one. It'll last at least half a day."

"Then shut down the store, Ani," he ordered, "and go rest until I call for you again."

"Okay!" he said. He turned to see Qui-gon, Padme, and Jar-Jar along with R2 still hadn't left the store. "A sandstorm is coming, and my master only allows paying customers to take shelter inside, sorry, but, you have to leave."

Padme asked, "Where are we supposed to go? Back to the ship?"

Anakin used the force to shut all shutters across the windows and doors of the store at once. He asked, "Did you park far away? If you did, you'll never make it all the way back there before the storm hits. You can come with me, if you want."

"Where would you take us?" Qui-gon asked as he marveled at Anakin's force strength. He knew a boy his age shouldn't be able to control so many doors and windows at the same time, even if he were a well-trained jedi youngling.

"Back to my house," he replied. He went to the back of the store and came out with goggles and a headscarf to navigate the impending storm. "Here, this will protect your hair so sand doesn't get in it." He helped Padme put it over her head and handed her his goggles as well.

She asked, "What about you, Anakin?"

"I'll be alright," he replied, "follow me." He opened the shuttered door and stepped out into the bright sunlight. "Everyone!" he shouted in Huttese, "A sandstorm is coming! Take shelter!" Everyone scattered in all directions, quickly covering their storefronts and homes as he walked by.

It didn't take long for the wind to pick up and grains of sand to attack them from what felt like every direction. Anakin reached out to hold Padme's hand to guide her through the thick storm. Padme held onto Qui-gon, and he held Jar-Jar. R2D2 rolled in behind them. As a long train, Anakin marched through the dust storm with determination and easily made it back home.

Inside, Shmi struggled to get one of the windows shuttered closed. She stood on a ladder and couldn't get it shut.

"Mom!" he called out, "Let me help you!" He ran over, closed the window with the force, and held her so she could climb down.

"Thank you, Ani," she replied, then turned to see strangers in her home, "oh, hello."

"Your son offered us a place to hide out from this storm," Qui-gon said, "if it isn't too much trouble."

She looked them over. "Not at all," she said, holding her left shoulder in pain from getting whipped earlier, "you'd have to excuse our home. I can't afford a proper table or more chairs. Would you like to take the chair?" She gestured to the lone chair in the kitchen and the blanket set out on the floor for Anakin and herself to eat at.

"It's your home, your chair," Qui-gon said, "I'm alright on the floor." He motioned for Jar-Jar to sit beside him around the blanket.

As Padme sat down, she remarked, "You have the same bracelet as Anakin."

Shmi explained, "This isn't simple jewelry. It's a shackle." She extended her arm to show her it had her enslaver's name engraved in it and an electrified field around it made to hurt her if she ever attempted to break it.

"A shackle?" Padme asked, completely confused, "Does that mean you're slaves?"

"No, dear," she corrected, "we are people who are enslaved. Not only do we wear these to denote ourselves from the free, but we have tracking chips placed inside our bodies and if we try to run away or even leave town without permission, we explode."

"I don't believe it," she said, horrified, "the republic should be notified at once! I didn't know slavery was still alive and well. This can't go on."

Shmi explained, "The republic has no hold here. If you have a problem, take it up with Jabba the Hutt, he's the one in charge. Although, he'll only kill you for thinking you could negotiate such a thing with him."

"As I said earlier, Padme," Qui-gon repeated, "we're visitors here. If we make a scene we'll never get off this planet, and we're in enough trouble as it is because we don't have any Tatooine credits."

Shmi said, "If you appeal to Jabba the Hutt, he may lone you money in exchange for your services, although you'll likely stay here for months before he'll allow you to leave."

Padme insisted, "We're not turning ourselves into slaves."

"If you get desperate enough you may have no other choice," Shmi replied calmly and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Mom, he's a jedi knight," Anakin said, pointing to Qui-gon, "he'll come up with with an awesome plan, I can tell!"

He asked, "What makes you think I'm a jedi?"

"I saw your laser sword," he answered, "and I know only jedi have that kind of weapon."

"I could have killed a jedi and stolen his."

"I don't think so," he explained, "no one can kill a jedi."

Qui-gon smiled gently and said, "I wish that were true, but no one lives forever. That includes us jedi."

Anakin asked, hopeful, "Did you come here to free us?"

"I'm sorry to tell you I did not."

"Then why did you come here?" he asked.

Qui-gon said, "We were leaving Naboo, heading back to Coruscant, when our ship was damaged. It appears we'll be stranded here until we can get it fixed, and without credits I'm not sure how we'll ever leave."

Anakin asked, "Have you ever heard of pod racing?"

"Ani," his mother scolded.

"They have pod racing on Malastare," Qui-gon answered, "it's a very fast and dangerous game."

"You can gamble on the upcoming pod race tomorrow and win some money," Anakin explained, "maybe even the exact parts you need. Watto does it all the time. And you're in luck! I've built my own racer! You can bet on me!"

His mother cringed in fear. She said, "Watto would never allow it."

He said, "He doesn't know I have it. You guys can say it's yours and get him to let me pilot it."

"I don't want you to race," his mother said, "you could get seriously hurt."

Anakin said, "But it's so much fun! I'll be okay, Mom, I promise! If I actually win they'll get so much prize money they can buy a whole new ship if they want! I know I can do it. You have to at least let me try."

Padme interjected, "I don't want him to get hurt. We'll think of another way."

Qui-gon asked, "Are their any republic allies or someone friendly here who could help us?"

Shmi shook her head and answered, "Out here Jabba is in charge, and if you go against him, he has you killed, so no one ever dares defy him."

"Mom, it's either this or they get enslaved like us," he said.

Shmi hesitated. She didn't want her son to get hurt, but she couldn't condemn these strangers a possible lifetime of slavery and she knew it. "Alright," she said, "you'll race tomorrow, and hopefully you'll win without getting hurt."


After he won the pod race and secured his freedom, Anakin got rid of his slave shackle and left his mother behind to travel to the ship with Qui-gon. As he left town, he waved and said goodbye to everyone as they walked through the town. He was well known throughout community as the boy who knew what was going to happen next. They were all going to miss him.

As he got to the edge of town he hesitated. Even with his slave shackle gone, he had been told his entire life if he ran away the tracker inside his body would blow him up. He still didn't want to risk it.

"Ani," Qui-gon said gently, sensing his fear, "it's alright. I won't let you get hurt."

Anakin nodded and followed him out of town and around the sand dunes. He did it, he actually left, and he didn't need permission from anyone! Just when he was excited, blasts rained down from above.

"A probe droid!" Qui-gon exclaimed, "Run!" He jumped to quickly cut it down.

Anakin ran to his ship without looking back. Through the force he sensed someone chasing them, someone with evil intent. He got onto the ship in time to turn around see a dark lord of the sith fighting Qui-gon.

After a quick battle, Qui-gon barely make it on board in time to leave the planet. "That was close," he whispered, sitting up.

Obi-wan ran to his side first. "Master, what was that?" he asked.

"Someone engulfed in the dark side, a sith lord for sure," he answered, "Obi-wan Kenobi, meet our newest member of our group, Anakin Skywalker."

"Hello there."

"Hi," Anakin replied, "it's a pleasure to meet you. Can I service you with anything?"

Obi-wan hesitated before he answered, "What do you mean?"

Qui-gon stood up and said, "Anakin, you're no longer enslaved. There is no need for you to cater to anyone anymore. Do you understand?"

"Oh," he said awkwardly.

Qui-gon said, "It's alright, young one, you'll learn in due time."


Later that same evening on the way to Coruscant, Qui-gon prepared a bed for Anakin to sleep in on the ship. "There," he said, "you can spend the night here."

"Really?" he asked, "I get a real bed just for me?"

"You've never had one before?" he asked.

Anakin shook his head, "Not by myself. A long time ago we shared housing with a bunch of other slaves, but when we finally got enough money, my mom got us that house I showed you. There I share a sleeping pad with her on the ground."

Qui-gon said, "From now on you'll get to sleep in your own bed." He helped Anakin climb into it.

"Do you need anything else before I go to sleep, Master?" Anakin asked.

"Ani," he said gently, "what would Watto say to you to relieve you of your duties for the day?"

He answered, "Bolla ree samair je hukmata chuba wei."

Qui-gon gave him a soft patient smile and asked, "What does that mean?"

"Go rest until I call for you again," he said.

"Well Ani," he said, "go rest. I can promise you no one will ever call for you again, do you understand? You get to make your own choices from now on." He saw confusion on Anakin's face as he struggled to understand what he was telling him. "It's alright, we can discuss it more in the morning."

He asked, "You'll be here in the morning?"

Qui-gon stopped tucking him in and said, "Of course."

"Sometimes slave trades happen at night," he explained, "I'll make friends with people in our slave house or in the shop, but then they'll be gone in the morning. You're not going anywhere overnight, are you?"

"I'm not," he insisted, "you'll see me first thing in the morning, Anakin. I promise." He stood up. "See you then."

As Qui-gon left the room, Obi-wan stopped him and said, "Master, he's already 9 years old. You know the council isn't going to allow him to train."

"He'll be one of the best jedi masters among us one day," he insisted, "the council will only have to give him a chance."


Unfortunately, Obi-wan was correct. The council did not approve of Anakin being trained and were angry Qui-gon would even suggest such a thing. They considered him to be too old and didn't even want him inside the temple.

But they had more pressing matters. Naboo was still in trouble. Qui-gon brought the queen, her handmaidens, his padawan, and Anakin back to Naboo with him.

On the ship, he brought Obi-wan and Anakin together and sat on the floor in a small room. "What are we doing, Master?" Anakin asked.

"We are meditating," he answered.

"What is that?"

"It's where we sit, close our eyes, and focus on our breaths, and exercise our patience by emptying our minds of any pressing thoughts." He motioned for Anakin to sit down beside him.

"But you're not exercising," he said, sitting down, "you're not doing anything."

"We're relaxing."

Anakin copied the cross-legged position Qui-gon and Obi-wan were sitting in, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he got scared the two of them would disappear. He opened them immediately. "Master?" he asked, "Padawan Obi-wan? Can I service you two with anything?"

Qui-gon said, "We're sitting here meditating, Anakin, that is all."

"Right," he replied awkwardly, "meditating." He tried again, but he was too antsy to sit still.

"Anakin," Qui-gon asked, "have you ever been allowed to sit quietly with just your mind to occupy yourself?"

He shook his head. "No," he answered sadly, "sometimes I daydream about flying through space in a fighter or a speeder like the deep space pilots I meet sometimes, but if Watto catches me, he lashes me with an electro-whip." He shivered at the memory of electricity painfully coursing through his body.

"I'm sorry he hurt you," he said, "I see sitting and meditating is going to be difficult for you, so stand up, close your eyes, and walk around using the force to guide you. Go on and try it. Focus on the back of your eyelids and keeping your mind at ease. No matter what, keep your eyes closed."

"Yes, Master." Anakin stood up, outstretched his arms, and began walking around the room. He used the force to feel his way around, the walls, where they were sitting, any other furniture. Although it felt odd for him at first, he quickly found it relaxing. Keeping his body moving made keeping his mind quiet much easier. With the force on his side, he knew exactly where to walk to avoid hitting a single thing.

It wasn't long before they were interrupted by the sounds of explosions and the ship shaking violently with the reprecussions. Anakin nearly fell off his feet but managed to stay upright.

"What was that, Master?" Obi-wan asked, jumping to his feet.

"We're under attack," he said, getting up, "Anakin, keep meditating. R2, look after him." They scurried out of the room, leaving Anakin and R2 behind.

As soon as they were gone, Anakin said, "R2 we can't just stay here. Let's so figure out what's going on." Keeping his eyes closed, with his hands outstretched, he used the force and remembered where the door buttons were to leave. R2 beeped away behind him. He heard everyone scurrying around throughout the ship, careful to avoid him.

He felt someone land the ship. He had no idea where they were, did they make it to Naboo or not? As much as he wanted to open his eyes and see, he was given orders not to, so he didn't. Instead he stumbled on and out of the ship and felt the hard floor. With the sounds echoing around him he knew he was indoors, and likely inside some sort of hanger.

Anakin made his way around the space, careful not to get caught in any crossfire as a battle was clearly waging on. He felt fuel lines leading to a ship and wondered if it was ready to take off. R2 beeped at him.

"I have to do something to help, R2," he said, "I'm still meditating like my master told me to, I promise."

Anakin unhooked the fuel lines and immediately recognized the type of fighter the flyer was, but he still had no experience actually flying one. He fumbled around with the buttons and levers as explosions went off all around him. R2 helped him out and enclosed the cockpit for him.

After eventually hitting the right levers, they were off. Anakin steered them out the door and blasted away at the droids firing at him. R2 beeped in worry as they headed out into the active battlefield.

With closed eyes, he rocked his way through the crossfire with ease. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! He felt and heard the concussions as he made solid hit after hit. He wasn't even sure why they were fighting, or who they were fighting, but it was fun to feel the concussions of the explosions against his body. It wasn't hard for him to imagine what they looked like, despite keeping his eyes closed the entire time.

R2 helped guide him back to the hanger on Naboo once everything in space was destroyed. Obi-wan and Qui-gon ran up to him in shock.

"Anakin!" Qui-gon exclaimed, "Where have you been?"

"I helped in the fight, Master," he replied happily, "but I didn't do all the work, R2 helped out too. I think we won, but it's hard to tell with my eyes closed."

Shocked, Qui-gon asked, "Did you keep your eyes closed the entire time, Anakin?" He glanced at Obi-wan in disbelief.

He said, "Of course, Master, you told me to keep meditating no matter what."

"Okay I'm actually impressed," Obi-wan remarked in awe, "he managed to completely follow your orders, and completely defy them both at the same time, Master."

"I knew he had a rebellious spirit in him yet," Qui-gon said, "Anakin, open your eyes and come out of there. You did great today, but your first lessons are going to be what it actually means to properly meditate."

Anakin opened his eyes and jumped out of the fighter. "Did we win?" he asked.

Qui-gon explained, "We won the battle, but the war has only begun. The queen is safe again, but the sith lord managed to get away."

He asked, "Will I ever see the queen again once we leave?"

"If it's the will of the force," Qui-gon answered, "you'll see her again, Ani. If not, this may be goodbye for good."