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chapter four

"What if this plan fails, master?" Obi-Wan asked from the ship.  "We could be stuck here a very long time."

"Well, it's too dangerous to call for help, and a ship without a power supply isn't going to get us anywhere." Qui-Gon replied, looking off to where Anakin and Ryha were toying around in the battered pod.  "And... there's something about this boy."

Qui-Gon sighed and tucked the device back into his tunic, just in time for Shmi to come out and join him.

"You should be very proud of your son," he began.  "He gives generously, without thought of personal reward."

"Well, he knows nothing of greed." Shmi chuckled lightly.  "He has a—"

"He has special powers." Qui-Gon interrupted, earning a nod from the boy's mother.  "He can see things before they happen.  That's why he appears to have such quick reflexes — it's a Jedi trait."

"He deserves better than a slave's life." Shmi spoke.

"Why, certainly.  Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early.  The force is unusually strong with him, that much is clear." the Jedi explained, looking down at the woman.  "Who was his father?"

Shmi looked off to the distance for a moment, trying hard to formulate her next words in a way that they'd make sense.

"There was no father," she confessed.  "I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him.  I can't explain what happened... Can you help him?"

"I don't know.  I didn't actually come here to free slaves."

Meanwhile, over where Anakin and Ryha were finishing the last touches on his pod, some of the other local Tatooine kids that Anakin was friends with decided to join them.

"Hey, Ani!" they all clamored, rushing over to him.

Anakin responded weakly, too preoccupied by his work to really take notice in anyone that wasn't Ryha.  He knew how she got around other people — especially ones that she didn't know all that well — and did his best to make sure that she wasn't uncomfortable in any way.  He couldn't explain how he knew, but he could always just... feel when something was off with her.

"Wow!  A real astro droid!" one of them enthused, looking towards R2-D2.  "How did you get so lucky?"

"That isn't even the half of it." Ani brushed off nonchalantly.  "I'm in the Boonta race tomorrow."

"What?!" the same one exclaimed.  "With this?!"

"You're such a joker, Ani!" another laughed.  "You've been working on that thing for years!  It's never gonna run."

"Come on, let's go play ball." one decided.  "Keep racing, Ani.  You're gonna be bug squash."

As the kids all left, Padmé and Jar Jar arrived, watching them as they left.

"Don't listen to them, Ani," Ryha spoke quietly.  "They couldn't fly half as good as you can even if they were in the fastest racer in the world."

At her words, Anakin's concentrated face turned into that of a smiling one, turning to face his best friend.

"Thanks, Ry," he grinned cockily.  "At least someone acknowledges my talent."

The pair laughed, but it was short lived, as Anakin took notice of what Jar Jar was doing.

"Hey, Jar Jar!  Keep away from those energy binders.  If your hand gets caught in the beam, it's gonna go numb for hours."

And, just like everyone knew would happen, Ryha watched as Jar Jar managed to get his head stuck in the energy binder and his hand stuck in one of the pod's fans, causing the girl to roll her eyes.  Sighing, she hopped out of the driver's seat and walked over to the alien, reaching into the fan belt and retrieving his hand.