Until the Twin Suns Cease to Shine [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 2: Enemies and Plans

"Ooh, my bones are aching!" said Jira, the elderly owner of the fruit stand, and someone the two knew well. "Storm's coming up, you two. Better get home quick."

"Do you have shelter?" asked Anakin as they began to walk from the stand.

"We'll head back to our ship," the man said.

"Is it far?"

"It's on the outskirts," Padme replied. Sarah's mouth fell open in shock.

"But you'll never reach the outskirts in time!" she exclaimed, and Anakin nodded.

"She's right. Sandstorms are very, very dangerous. Come on, we'll take you to our place!" Without another word, the group set off for the Skywalker home, Anakin and Sarah leading the way.

The storm grew steadily worse as they fought their way through the crowded streets. Winds carrying stinging bursts of sand pushed at them, continually trying to drive them back. At last they reached the door to the Skywalkers' hovel. Sarah hurriedly opened the door and they all made their way inside.

Shaking the sand from her clothes and hair, she called out, "Mom! Mom, we're home!"

"Mm, dissen cozy," the Gungan murmured softly as Shmi walked into the room, her eyes widening when she caught sight of the strangers.

"These are our friends, Mom," Sarah said, gesturing to the strange group.

"Hello!" greeted the Gungan happily, and Shmi smiled in spite of herself.

 "I'm Qui-Gon Jinn," said the man as he stepped forward.

"I'm building a droid!" Anakin said to Padme. "Do you wanna see?" Then he and Sarah took her by the hand and left for the room they both shared.

"Your son and daughter were kind enough to offer us shelter," Qui-Gon explained to a confused Shmi, and she smiled again at the generosity of her son and her adopted daughter.

Meanwhile, Sarah and Anakin had taken Padme to their room and shown her the droid Anakin had created. "Isn't he great?" Sarah asked, still awestruck that he had been able to build this himself. "It's not finished, though."

"It's wonderful!" Padme said, and Anakin beamed.

"You really like him?" he asked. "He's a protocol droid to help Mom around the house. Watch." He leaned over and flipped on a switch, and the droid came to life, sitting up and looking around.

"Where is everyone?" it asked in a mechanical voice.

"Whoops!" said Anakin. He had forgotten the droid's eye! Embarrassed, he began to search for it, but he couldn't find it anywhere.

"Here," said Sarah, tossing him a small round piece she had found on the bed. Anakin caught it with ease and examined it before giving her a grateful smile. Then he pushed the eye back into place.

The droid looked around again, finally able to see. "Oh, hello! I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations. How may I serve you?"

"He's perfect!" said Padme, examining him with a thoroughly impressed look.

"When the storm's over, I can show you my racer," Anakin suggested as the droid began to walk. "I'm building a Podracer."

C-3PO, on the other hand, was having trouble getting used to walking. "I'm not sure this floor is entirely stable," he said doubtfully as he staggered along, trying to find his footing. He finally caught sight of the little R2 unit next to him and turned. "Oh! Hello! I don't believe we've been introduced."

The R2 unit beeped and whistled a reply that obviously made sense to the protocol droid, for he replied, "R2-D2, a pleasure to meet you. I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations."