❝𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓; 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆; 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖.❞ -- 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒅𝒂
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The Jedi Master and the two Padawans trudged across the sand dunes to their starship, which they had parked about a mile outside Mos Espa to avoid attention. The twin suns had long ago vanished beneath the horizon, so the stars now glittered in the sky, bringing the cold desert temperatures along with them.
The mood was somber and tense as everyone thought about the upcoming pod race, and Astrid wrapped her Jedi cloak tighter around herself as she shivered both at the cold and her sudden premonition.
The more Astrid thought about it, the more worried she became that Sebulba meant to kill Anakin in the podrace to be rid of him once and for all. Astrid was certain her apprehension was near palpable in the air. To add further injury, she was also certain her worry was being amplified by the Force.
In confirmation, Anakin sidled up beside her and whispered so Master Kenobi couldn't overhear, "Astrid, there's no need to worry. Obi Wan will never find out about what happened in the pub." He hesitated, and she heard the pain in his voice as he added, "If you want, we can forget it ever happened. We can go back--"
"Anakin," Astrid interrupted before he could go on, "I don't regret what happened." She paused, suddenly uncertain, herself, before she asked, raising a brow, "I mean, do--do you regret it?"
Anakin quickly shook his head. "Of course not. I-- I like you a lot, Astrid. More than I should probably, and I know that I shouldn't." He laughed uneasily.
She couldn't help but smile at his words, but then her smile waned when she remembered the real cause of her worry. "Anakin," she began softly, "are you sure Sebulba isn't going to try and kill you during the race?"
Anakin gave her a teasing smile. "He can try."
Astrid cast him an unamused look. "I'm serious. He's out for blood. I can sense it."
Anakin sobered up and nodded as he replied, "I sense it, too, but I don't have a choice." He brightened as he added, "I'll let him win before he can kill me, he'll give us the information, and then we'll be on our way to defeat the Sith Lord."
From in front of them, Master Kenobi spoke up, "We're not to defeat the Sith Lord, Anakin."
The two Padawans startled at the sound of the Jedi Master's voice, and they exchanged alarmed looks. Had he heard the beginning of their conversation?
But then Anakin demanded with a mixture of irritation and confusion, "What do you mean we're not to defeat him? What else are we to do?"
Obi Wan looked over his shoulder at them as he replied, "The Jedi Council only want us to identify the Sith Lord. We don't have the numbers-- or skill-- to defeat him with the three of us."
Astrid winced at the backhanded comment, but he was right. She and Anakin were still learning, after all. They were just Padawans with one Jedi Master for company.
But they had a Jedi Master who had already defeated a Sith Lord before. Anakin must've been thinking the same thing because he pointed out, "But, master, you've already defeated the Sith Lord Darth Maul! And that was by yourself!"
Master Kenobi only shook his head. "I had been fueled by anger and fear when I defeated Maul because he had just killed my own master. That had made me more powerful, but I will not be angry or fearful when I face this Sith Lord."
Astrid remembered that fear and anger were paths to the Dark Side, which made the Jedi-- or Sith, as they were called-- more powerful.
"How do you know you won't be angry or fearful?" Astrid asked.
Obi Wan Kenobi's chestnut brown cloak billowed behind him as a breeze blew down the sand dune, scattering sand with it. "Because," Obi Wan replied, "I will not allow myself. As long as I remain one with the Force, there is no fear, no anger, no hatred."
Was it just her or had he glanced at Anakin at this last part?
And was she not guilty of the same things? She was often angry, and had she not felt an inkling of hatred for Sebulba and his thugs in the alleyway? Her thoughts worried her.
Master Kenobi continued, "We are Jedi. We will not engage with this Sith unless provoked. And we will follow the Jedi Council's orders and simply identify the Sith so we may be better able to find him in the future and capture him then with the right amount of numbers."
Astrid sighed. She felt so useless.
They finally reached their starship, and R2D2 darted out to greet them with a series of beeps and boops. "Hey, Artoo," Anakin greeted with a small laugh as he patted the astromech's domed head. "No, we're going to Mos Espa again tomorrow."
Another round of beeps.
"Yes, you're going to stay behind with the ship."
A sarcastic sounding beep.
"Artoo!" Anakin exclaimed disapprovingly with a smile. "Somebody has to stay with the ship. And yes, that 'somebody' includes droids like you."
Astrid gave R2D2 an affectionate smile and patted his domed head as she brushed past him and entered the dim-lit starship. Her feet were sore from walking all day, and her ribs still ached dully from the Tusken Raiders.
All she wanted to do was lay down and sleep for hours and hours. "I'm headed to bed," she told Obi Wan as she walked past him and into the hallway in search of a bed.
"I suppose I'll take first watch," Astrid heard Anakin's voice from the bay door of the ship behind her, and then Master Kenobi as he replied, "Alright then. Wake me up in three hours for the second shift."
But Astrid was too dead on her feet to really care. She found an empty room with a bed, and she collapsed onto the cot with a relieved sigh. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.
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Astrid was nudged awake by a hand, and her eyes drifted open to see Master Kenobi standing beside her bed. She quickly sat up, and the first words out of her mouth were, "Where's Anakin?"
Obi Wan's mouth curled upwards into a lopsided smile as he said, "He's asleep. He took both of our shifts."
Astrid frowned as she peeked out the window and saw that the twin suns were beginning to rise. Why had Anakin taken their shifts? He needed sleep, too. Master Kenobi shifted aside as Astrid stood up from her cot, and he explained, "I figured we could secure his pod racer for him while he sleeps."
Astrid nodded and replied, "That's a great idea, but, uh, do you know where to go? We're not exactly natives of Tatooine-- or Mos Espa-- like Anakin is."
Master Kenobi shrugged and replied evenly, "I've been here a couple of times. I think I know my way around by this point."
Astrid nodded and allowed Master Kenobi to lead the way. She followed him out of the starship and out onto the sand dunes. From here, Astrid could see Mos Espa in the distance. The buildings were blurred from the heat waves in the dry air.
From behind her came a shrill noise, and Astrid whirled around to see Artoo zooming towards them. "Artoo," Astrid greeted with a smile.
R2D2 made a series of beeping that Astrid was able to vaguely decipher as meaning, Do I have to stay and watch the ship if Anakin is here to watch it?
Astrid rose a brow and answered, "Artoo, you need to stay to watch the ship and Anakin now that he's asleep. He won't be able to protect himself as readily if someone shows up." Artoo made a low whirring noise that sounds like glum acceptance.
Astrid smiled sympathetically and said, "We'll be back within the hour."
As she jogged down the sand dune after Obi Wan, who had kept walking when Artoo appeared, he remarked with a smile, "I think Artoo likes you as much as he likes Anakin."
By the time the pair of them reached the capital city, the twin suns were halfway up the sky. The temperature was rising fast, and Astrid wiped at her sweat-beaded brow with the back of her hand.
Several shopkeepers shouted their fares from their street-side carts and storefronts in the hot suns, and Astrid examined their goods as they passed, a hand held over her eyes to shield her face from the strong, bright sunlight.
Master Kenobi stopped before one particular sandstone shop, and a small, pudgy, insect-like creature with yellow eyes, a mini elephant-like trunk for a nose, and two small wings protruding from its back flew up to them from behind the counter.
"'Ey!" he greeted with a craggy smile as he stopped before them. "What can I get ya?"
Astrid scanned the room absently and realized they were in a mechanic's shop. Ship parts littered the store in all corners of the front room. "I want to buy a pod racer," Obi Wan told him, placing a hand on the beige counter.
The creature scratched his large belly with a hand as he replied, "Eh, I'm sorry, but I don't have anythin' for ya." His small wings flapped as he flew back to the table behind the counter. "Can I get ya anythin' else?" he asked over his shoulder
Master Kenobi shook his head and bartered, "I will pay you ten thousand silver credits for a pod racer."
The creature swung back towards Master Kenobi with narrowed eyes. "I don't trust Republic credits."
Astrid frowned at the creature. What else could he possibly want?
Astrid grabbed Master Kenobi's arm and pulled him over to the side out of earshot of the mechanic. She sidled close to him and suggested, "It's obvious he won't accept the money. Why don't we go somewhere else?"
Obi Wan only shook his head. "This is the best place in Mos Espa."
Astrid peeked at the creature with a glower before turning back to Obi Wan. "Then, why don't we try a Jedi mind trick on him? We'll make him take the money."
Again, the Jedi Master shook his head. "That has been tried before. Watto is a Toydarian, so Jedi mind tricks don't work on him." He huffed a laugh as he added, "You sound just like my master. Qui Gon Jinn tried the same thing on Watto."
Wait, Master Kenobi has met this Watto before? And Obi Wan had been with his master when he'd met the Toydarian mechanic?
Wait.
Watto was a mechanic who sold ship parts, and Anakin had pod raced in the past to win ship parts from his old master for Obi Wan and his master, and--
"Watto is Anakin's old master," Astrid whispered in disbelief, and a sad look flashed across the Jedi Master's face as he nodded.
"I didn't want Anakin to visit his past again," Obi Wan explained. "It's already hard enough for him to be here on Tatooine." He cast a glance around the room as he mused, "I just can't figure out where Anakin's mother is. Last I checked she was still Watto's slave, but I don't sense her presence anywhere here, not even an old trace."
Astrid's stomach dropped at Master Kenobi's words. This was bad. Could Anakin's mother be... dead? Surely, Anakin would've known by now if she was dead.
Master Kenobi shook his head as if to clear his mind before he said, "Never mind that. Our priority is to find a pod racer for Anakin."
"Anakin?" Watto voiced, and Astrid and Obi Wan whirled around to see the creature four feet away, a shocked look in his widened eyes. "Are you talking about Anakin Skywalker? Little Ani?"
Master Kenobi's face was calm and expressionless as he regarded Watto before replying evenly, "Perhaps."
Watto's eyes narrowed as he studied the Jedi Master, and then he began laughing, small bursts of snorts and chortles escaping from his mouth. He slapped a hand to his small, thin, dangling legs as he exclaimed, "You're the Jedi Padawan who took little Ani from me! I remember you!"
Master Kenobi took a step forward towards Watto, and there was a threatening sense to the movement. "I am a Jedi Knight now. A Jedi Master."
Watto's eyes bulged, and he quickly fluttered behind his counter as if to protect himself from the powerful Jedi. "Look," he grumbled worriedly. "I don't want any trouble or anythin', ok?"
Obi Wan smiled slightly as he replied smoothly, "Well, there won't be any trouble as long as you provide us with that pod racer that I know you have. I'm even offering to pay ten thousand credits for it."
Master Kenobi reached into his beige Jedi cloak with a hand and pulled out a large bag that jingled with credit coins when the bag moved ever so slightly. Obi Wan slung the pouch onto the counter, and it landed with a solid thud. Watto eyed the pouch greedily before his gaze lifted to Master Kenobi.
"I want fifteen thousand credits," he bargained.
Astrid sighed.
Obi Wan merely tossed another pouch onto the counter that, added with the other pouch, amassed to more than fifteen thousand credits. Watto didn't hesitate before he swept up both bags of money with his thin, reedy arms.
"The pod racer is out back," he told them. "I'll have my worker show it to you." He snapped his fingers, and a small girl emerged from the next room.
She jerked her head towards the back door, and Astrid and Obi Wan followed after her as she led them out back. Astrid felt a pang of sorrow for the girl as she followed after her. The girl had to be a slave, judging by the mark on her arm.
It was unbelievable that the Senate hadn't outlawed slavery in every planet, every galaxy yet.
They emerged into a courtyard behind the store, and it was full of starships and pod racers, fully built and half finished alike. The young girl led them over to a corner of the courtyard, and Astrid spotted the pod racer the girl was leading them towards.
It was red colored, and the pod racer consisted of a one-man cockpit hung suspended between two engines that were attached to the cockpit by cable cords. Astrid's first impression was that the pod racer looked very... unstable.
The thing was only held together by two cables! Two!
Astrid could only imagine that when the pod racer was moving, the cockpit in the middle wildly shuddered and lurched. How could someone pilot a thing like that?
Master Kenobi smiled at the girl and said gently, "Thank you, young one."
The girl nodded before scampering off into the store, and the two Jedi moved towards the pod racer simultaneously. "So, how are we going to both get back to the starship?" Astrid asked. "This pod racer only houses one person."
Master Kenobi offered her an amused look, a teasing twinkle in his caramel eyes as he replied, "We'll have to fit."
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Sorry, if this chapter was a little boring. It was a sort of set up chapter :) As always, thank you so much for the reads, votes, and comments!! <3
--Paradise_Palms