Foreword (June 13/2015):
Welcome to the Synergy 'Verse.

My Star Wars knowledge consists of the movies, the currently canon television series (The Clone Wars and Rebels) and general exposure to fandom. Given that the bulk of this story, as I imagine it now, will take place in-between movies, I'm more or less tossing out EU (Legends) events of this story's timeframe and working the plot from scratch. I am, however, filling in character-related, setting-related, and universe-related blanks through EU material as learned in Wookiepedia research. Please, if I've got anything wrong in that regard beyond reasonable allowances, feel free to tell me so I can fix what's fixable and not make the same mistake again.

A quick word about potential ships: I'm not sure exactly where this will end up. I rarely go into a plot with full intention of shipping— Anakin is nine right now, so it's not really my biggest concern— but I will eventually lean in whatever direction comes naturally. Of course I'll likely be dealing with Anakin/Padmé at some point, but nobody be surprised by Anakin/Obi-Wan slashy undertones in the (far-off) future? I doubt there will be any pairings in this installation of this series, but when I commit to anything, I'll add a list to this note.

Huge thanks to my lovely beta, BeautyOnFyre from AO3. You're a wonderful help with both catching my flubs and bouncing ideas off. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

So, now that we're through the housekeeping… this is definitely inspired by my unquenchable, gnawing desire for Anakin to be happy in some universe. I want our heroes to earn it, and despite the fact that Anakin's the one directly at fault for Anakin's fall, Obi-Wan and Padmé definitely weren't much help with it in canon. Mostly I think all three of them were trying to ignore the signs and pretend there will never be a problem. I'm going about that with a clean canon divergence (as in a single-point that changes the course of the galaxy): Obi-Wan meeting Anakin just a bit earlier in a different situation leading to him really, truly wanting to be Anakin's teacher right from the start and actually understanding Anakin's background a bit better. From there, comes change. Let's see where that goes?

Chapter One: Switching Tracks

The Force tingled uncomfortably. Obi-Wan couldn't brush off the wrongness of the feeling. It started niggling in the back of his mind as they landed on Tatooine, and at first he thought it was just the filth of greed and hate that clung to backwater, gangster-controlled, crime-infested planets, but no. It was growing stronger by the minute. Something was going to happen, and it wasn't going to be good.

Obi-Wan poked at the wiring before him once again, as if that would fix the problem. He knew it wouldn't. The pilots already put their combined mechanical ability to the task of figuring out what was wrong and explained to the Jedi exactly why they weren't getting out of the problem without requisitioning a completely new generator.

His master was approaching. Obi-Wan wasn't quite sure why. The astromech droid already took a readout of what they'd need for him, so he had no reason to return to the engine room. Nobody did at that point, which was exactly why Obi-Wan was there, pretending to be checking out the broken hyper-drive. He was hiding.

When Qui-Gon entered the room, Obi-Wan straightened up. "The hyperdrive generator is gone, Master," Obi-Wan reminded him. "We'll need a new one."

Qui-Gon grimaced. "That will complicate things." Before Obi-Wan could respond, he continued. "Be wary." Oh. So that was what brought his Master down. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, "I sense a disturbance in the Force."

"I feel it also, Master," said Obi-Wan.

"Don't let them send any transmissions," said Qui-Gon, and he hurried away.

Obi-Wan wasn't quite sure why he did it, but dropped his tool and followed after Qui-Gon, just slow enough to not seem deliberate, though he doubted he was fooling his master. Something in the Force told him he should be out there.

He waved off the small party, not quite sure what the Force wanted him to see. It took only a minute or two before he figured it out: Captain Panaka trudged through the door, trailed by Her Highness's Royal Handmaiden, Padmé. Obi-Wan, of course, wasn't stupid. He and his master had decided to split up so that at least one of them could put their attention towards protecting the Queen. That would be for naught if the Queen took off with Qui-Gon.

He said to the pilots in the doorway, "Under no circumstances send any transmissions. If anyone even considers it, call me or Master Qui-Gon instead. This is a matter of security," and then caught up to Captain Panaka and the Queen.

As the three reached Qui-Gon, R2-D2, and Jar-Jar— why was Master Qui-Gon taking Jar-Jar with him?— Panaka yelled out, "Wait."

Jar-Jar turned quickly in surprise, but Qui-Gon moved as if he'd been expecting the shout to come.

"Wait," Panaka repeated, his voice completely unenthusiastic. When they were close enough to properly talk, he said mechanically, "Her Highness commands you to take her handmaiden with you." Clearly, Captain Panaka didn't think it was any better an idea than Obi-Wan did.

Qui-Gon caught Obi-Wan's eye for a quick moment before turning to Panaka. "No more commands from her Highness today, Captain." To Queen Amidala, he added, "The spaceport is not going to be pleasant."

"The Queen wishes it." Panaka's voice was stronger. If Obi-Wan didn't know better, he'd say that based on that, it sounded like he was actually in support of her Highness' crazy wish. Which he wasn't, so perhaps it was just because he didn't like Qui-Gon dismissing her? "She's curious about the planet."

Qui-Gon sighed deeply, but in resignation.

"Master," Obi-Wan piped up, "I could watch the civilians while you search for the parts we need." Maybe a little nudge could remind her Highness that she'd just be a burden on such a trip?

For a moment, Qui-Gon opened his mouth to protest, but glancing at Queen Amidala again, he closed it. He had to know as well as Obi-Wan that Padmé was the real Queen and they needed to ensure her protection above all else, wherever she may be.

"This is not a good idea," said Qui-Gon. "Stick close to my Padawan." After a moment's pause, he added, "Jar-Jar, that goes for you, as well."

As they walked off, Obi-Wan had to wonder who her Highness thought she was fooling with that disguise.

The small group travelled in silence. Qui-Gon, with his long legs and even longer strides, took the lead, setting their hasty pace. Obi-Wan matched it only a few steps behind, with Jar-Jar moving comfortably on his left and Queen Amidala lightly jogging at his right. At the tail end of their line, R2-D2 rolled along.

The buildings of Mos Espa had roofs shaped vaguely like domes, and were the same colour of the sand. Even some of the outdoor machinery was painted to match. A few doors were almost orange, but besides that, only the locals had colour distinguishable from the Tatooine landscape. Not all the locals— many wore tan and brown colours like Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon dressed in— but others wore dull purples or blues or blacks. Or they, themselves, were coloured different from the landscape— Obi-Wan spotted quite a few green species almost immediately, and they passed some blues and oranges as well.

Queen Amidala watched them. "Who would live here?" she wondered quietly.

Qui-Gon slowed. "Moisture farmers, for the most part," he answered carefully. "Some indigenous tribes and scavengers. A few spaceports like this one are havens for those that don't wish to be found."

"Like us," intoned the Queen.

Jar-Jar said, "Disem very very bad," from quite farther behind them than Obi-Wan had realized Jar-Jar was. He and Qui-Gon exchanged a glance that communicated his intentions before he left the Queen with his master and walked a few meters back to grab Jar-Jar's wrist and drag him along and make sure that R2-D2 didn't get lost in the crowds.

All six came to stop just past an intersection. Qui-Gon looked down the street to the left, and then the one to the right. Queen Amidala watched him, and then she followed his gaze, though didn't seem to know what he was looking for. "We'll try one of the smaller dealers," Qui-Gon announced.

Queen Amidala followed at his heels, and Obi-Wan, still dragging Jar-Jar with him, moved to her side. "Remember you two," he mumbled, "don't stray." It was more to Jar-Jar than to the Queen, but still, she seemed to be quite eager to walk with his master rather than him.

A bell dinged as they walked into a shop. A Toydarian quickly flew up from the desk to greet them. "Hi chuba da naga?"

Obi-Wan wasn't quite familiar with that language, but it certainly didn't sound like a polite hello to him.

"I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian," said Qui-Gon.

"Ah yes." Oh good, he spook Standard. "Nubian! We have lots of that." He spun around to yell back, "Peedenkel! Naba dee unko."

When the Toydarian faced them again, Qui-Gon continued, "My droid here has a readout of what I need."

A short moment passed, and the sound of small feet running across soft sand approached from the junk heap behind the shop.

"Coona tee-tocky malia?" The Toydarian raised his hand in the air, threateningly, like he was about to swing at the child, who flinched at the moment.

"Mel tassa cho-passa..."

"Chut-Chut!" he interrupted. "Ganda doe wallya. Me dwana no bata." As the boy obediently climbed onto the counter, the Toydarian turned to Qui-Gon once again. "Soooo, let me take a thee out back. Ni you'll find what you need." He chuckled.

Qui-Gon and R2-D2 followed him through the back door.

Obi-Wan looked away from his retreating master to find Jar-Jar messing with… something. Obi-Wan yanked it out of his hand and put it down on the shelf next to him. "Don't touch anything."

Jar-Jar made a dissatisfied noise, stalked across the store, and began staring into the eye of a deactivated droid.

Obi-Wan moved back over to Queen Amidala, but kept his eye on Jar-Jar. It wouldn't be long before he found more trouble, Obi-Wan was sure.

"Are you angels?" the boy said, suddenly.

The Queen and Obi-Wan both turned to stare at him, and he stared back at them, continuing to clean the gizmo in his hands.

"What?" she said.

"Angels," the boy repeated. "I've heard the deep-space pilots talk about them. They're the most beautiful creatures in the entire universe."

The Queen took a few steps closer to him. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, took a few steps back, but his lips twitched, holding back a smile. Younglings said the silliest things at that age.

"They live on the moons of Iago, I think."

"You're a funny little boy," the Queen finally responded. "How do you know so much?"

"I listen to all the traders and the starpilots who come through here." His face brightened considerably, as if he's stumbled onto a subject he particularly liked. "I'm a pilot. And someday, I'm going to fly away from this place."

Oh. Obi-Wan could make a guess about what he was doing in that shop, and it wasn't a pleasant thought.

"You're a pilot?" asked the Queen, her voice amused.

"Mhm," said the boy. "All my life."

"How long have you been here?"

"Since I was very little. Three, I think." Oh, Force. And how long before the Toydarian started…? That instinctual flinch had to come from somewhere, and it certainly wasn't from before the age of three. "My mom and I were sold to Gardulla the Hutt, but she lost us betting on the podraces."

The Queen seemed taken aback. "You're a slave?" Clearly, she hadn't caught on as quickly as Obi-Wan would have expected. Of course, he'd actually encountered slavery and the like in his work as a Jedi, while it was just some distant issue that the Republic had outlawed to people who never saw into the Outer Rim.

"I'm a person," said the child, defiantly, "and my name is Anakin."

Obi-Wan couldn't hide his smile at that. He quite liked the boy, actually. Anakin.

"I'm sorry," said the Queen, quickly, averting her eyes to inspect the ceiling as if it had the answers. "I don't fully understand; this is a strange place to me."

A clang across the room caught Obi-Wan's attention. He, Queen Amidala, and Anakin turned to its source: Jar-Jar. Somehow, he'd activated the droid that he had been staring at. It bounced away from him and began running across the room. Jar-Jar pursued, tripping on junk and knocking over merchandise almost immediately. The droid began to cackle at him.

"Hey!" Anakin said loudly. Jar-Jar picked up the droid by its neck, and it kicked him in response. "Hit the nose."

The Queen was smiling at Jar-Jar's antics, but Obi-Wan was not. Qui-Gon's pet lifeforms could be such menaces sometimes. The poor slave boy would likely get into huge trouble if his master returned to find a mess in the shop. Obi-Wan yanked the droid out of Jar-Jar's hands and tapped the nose, deactivating the droid. "What did I say about not touching anything?"

Jar-Jar had the decency to look ashamed of his actions.

"Stay there," said Obi-Wan. "In that spot. Don't even move unless you suddenly learn how to deal with other's possessions. Or, more precisely, how not to." He turned away from Jar-Jar and back to Anakin and the Queen. He really did not have the patience to babysit Jar-Jar when he had to be watching the reckless Queen of Naboo.

Anakin shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"We apologize for our friend here. He doesn't mean any harm." Jar-Jar was just oblivious.

He heard Jar-Jar shuffling behind him. Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "Anakin," he said, "will you be in much trouble if the shop is a mess when your master returns?"

Jar-Jar stopped moving. He was oblivious, sure, but not completely braindead.

Anakin opened his mouth to respond, but Jar-Jar cut him off. "Mesa sorry, Ani," he said quietly. "Mesa didn't realize…"

With a small smile, Anakin said, "Don't worry about it. It would take a bit more of a mess than this to get Watto angry."

"I'd rather not risk that either way," Obi-Wan said, pointedly glancing at Jar-Jar, who nodded sheepishly. "You're a sweet boy, Anakin."

Anakin turned red and fidgeted awkwardly. "You're pretty wizard too," he said. "Not many people around here care what happens to the slaves. But Watto's a much better master than most. Though, I probably wouldn't have lasted long anyways if I wasn't so good at building things."

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Qui-Gon striding past. "We're leaving," he said, and was already through the door by the time he'd finished speaking.

"Jar-Jar?" Obi-Wan said. "Padmé?"

Jar-Jar quickly jumped to attention and began hurrying after Qui-Gon, giving Anakin a quick wave as he exited.

Queen Amidala nodded to Obi-Wan as they left and, to Anakin, said, "I'm glad to have met you."

"I'm glad to meet you too," Anakin called after her.

Qui-Gon led the group through the streets and into a shaded alcove, where he came to a stop. They crowded together out of the sun and Qui-Gon finally spoke. "He doesn't take republic credits."

Obi-Wan sighed. "We should have figured that, I suppose."

Queen Amidala crossed her arms. "Republic credits are supposed to be good everywhere. They're valid currency—"

"Not out here," said Qui-Gon. "They need something more real. Nothing I said could convince him."

"Well, then there must be someone else—"

"He said there was no one else. And seeing as how I have nothing he wants, I suspect he was being honest."

Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. "There's no reason to keep you from going to the competition when you've got no money either way."

Qui-Gon glanced to Queen Amidala. "Is there anything on the ship we can barter with?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, I suspect, that would be worth anything to anyone here."

"The ship itself," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, "though that would defeat the purpose of getting the parts we need. We're down to one astromech, so that's out. The Queen's wardrobe, maybe. But unless we decide to start selling the pilots or the handmaidens, nothing to barter in the amounts you're thinking."

The Queen scowled at Obi-Wan.

"Which of course isn't even an option," he mumbled. Could her Highness not take a joke?

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow.

"The boy in the shop," said Queen Amidala. "He's a slave."

"Oh," said Qui-Gon. "I expected as much."

"Aren't you going to do anything?"

He shook his head. "What would you have us do? Steal him? They've got things to prevent that. Go on a crusade? That would endanger her Highness and our mission. Purchase him? With what."

She crossed her arms.

"We need to deal with the problem before us," said Obi-Wan. "We could try shopping around, just in case Watto was lying about being the only one. Maybe someone else might take Republic credits."

Qui-Gon nodded. "You're right. Another solution will present itself." He turned and began into the streets once more.

Jar-Jar grabbed his arm. "Noah gain... da beings hereabouts cawazy. Wesa be robbed un crunched."

"Not likely," said Qui-Gon. "We have nothing of value. That's our problem."

They'd wandered into a small market, with a few outdoor eateries of sorts and vendors lining the streets. Obi-Wan kept his eye on the Queen, and it took him a moment to realize that Jar-Jar had fallen behind. He was even harder to deal with than excited younglings with their first proper lightsabers— which, yes, included potential for limb loss.

He turned around to find Jar-Jar on the ground, a strange alien's hand— foot?— around his neck. Before Obi-Wan could rush to his rescue, though, the little slave from the shop— Anakin— had approached.

"Chess ko, Sebulba. Cha porko ootman geesa." Anakin grinned mischievously. "Me teesa rodda co pana pee choppa chawa."

The alien replied, his voice deep and threatening, "Neek me chowa, wermo, mo killee ma klounkee. Una noto wo shag, me wompity du pom pom." He began stalking away.

"Eh, chee bana do mullee ra," Anakin said to the alien's retreating back.

Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Queen Amidala, with R2-D2 on their tail, approached him.

"Hi!" said Anakin.

"Hi there," said Qui-Gon, watching the boy carefully.

Anakin squirmed. "Your buddy here was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with a Dug. An especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba."

"Mesa hate crunchen. Dat's da last ting mesa wanten."

"Then stay where I can keep an eye on you," said Obi-Wan. "You're going to get into trouble if you don't." He turned to Anakin. "Thank you."

Anakin smiled at him.

As Qui-Gon began to walk, again, Jar-Jar protested, "Mesa doen nutten!"

Obi-Wan shook his head in defeat. He'd just have to keep a closer eye on Jar-Jar. The Queen could probably take care of herself. The group, including Anakin, continued forward.

"Mesa only wanten to eaten," Jar-Jar said.

"I can get you something to eat," Anakin replied. "C'mon." He hurried into the lead.

Qui-Gon glanced back to Obi-Wan, who shrugged in response and made a gesture to indicate why not?

They followed Anakin to a fruit vendor at the edges of the market. Qui-Gon began eyeing up the dunes in the distance as Anakin exchanged pleasantries with her. He was sensing something; Obi-Wan extended his awareness and closed his eyes.

"How are you feeling today, Jira?"

Obi-Wan could sense it too. The entire planet felt of menace and hate, not to mention that tingling feeling of an oncoming malice that they'd been sensing since landing…

"The heat's never been kind to me, you know, Ani."

This was the feeling of a more immediate danger.

"Guess what? I've found that cooling unit I've been searching for."

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and followed his master's gaze across the desert.

"It's pretty beat up, but I'll have it fixed up for you in no time, I promise."

What was Qui-Gon looking for? Sure, it was a feeling of immediate danger, but Obi-Wan took that to mean he needed to be more alert, not staring into the distance.

"You're a fine boy, Ani."

What did Qui-Gon feel that Obi-Wan didn't?

"Here." Anakin tugged on Obi-Wan's tunic. "You'll like these pallies." He tugged again, and Obi-Wan looked down. "Here."

Obi-Wan took the three small fruits. "Thank you," he said. He passed one to Jar-Jar, who popped it into his mouth immediately, and one to Queen Amidala, who inspected it curiously before taking a small bite, and one to Qui-Gon, who lifted his poncho to slip it into a pocket on his belt.

"My bones are aching," said the woman, Jira. "Storm's coming up, Ani." She reached across her stand to give Anakin a quick pat on the shoulder. "You'd better get home quick."

A storm? Was that what Qui-Gon was sensing? Obi-Wan thought he'd have been able to identify a storm himself, but, then again, it was a strange planet.

Anakin looked up to Qui-Gon. "Do you have shelter?" he asked as they began walking again. All the shops were closing their doors and people in stalls were packing up— apparently, everyone knew a storm was coming except for Obi-Wan.

"We'll head back to our ship."

"Is it far?" His voice was worried.

"It's on the outskirts," said Obi-Wan.

"You'll never reach the outskirts in time! Sandstorms are very, very dangerous. C'mon. I'll take you to my place"

By the time they reached Anakin's apartment— located in what was probably some sort of slave quarter— the wind had picked up and sand battered their faces. Jar-Jar looked particularly uncomfortable; whose idea was it in the first place to take an aquatic being on an adventure on a desert planet?

Anakin hit the button to open the door and the group stepped inside, ducking to get through the door, out of the blowing sand.

"Mom! Mom! I'm home," Anakin yelled.

Quite like the shop, the inside of the building felt a little like a man-made cave. Obi-Wan had encountered a few civilizations that chiselled out their homes into rock, and the more of Mos Espa's architecture he saw, the more he felt they'd done the same: chiselled their homes into sandstone.

"Dissen cozy."

Quite.

A woman walked into the entranceway at Anakin's call. She wore her hair back in a braided bun and ragged clothes not unlike Anakins, coloured as brown as most things in Mos Espa.

"These are my friends, Mom."

"Herro," said Jar-Jar.

"I'm Qui-Gon Jinn," he nodded to Anakin's mother. "This is Padmé, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jar-Jar Binks, and R2-D2. Your son was kind enough to offer us shelter."

"I'm Shmi Skywalker. It's very nice to—"

Anakin turned away from the adults and to Queen Amidala. "I'm building a droid!" he said. "Do you wanna see?"

Obi-Wan exchanged a quick glance with Qui-Gon, and directed his eyes pointedly towards Amidala. Someone had to stay with the Queen.

Qui-Gon returned a small nod, and when Anakin grabbed onto Queen Amidala's hand and began leading her away— "C'mon, I'll show you Threepio"— Obi-Wan followed.

The door to the room Anakin led them to was almost comically small: just tall enough for Anakin to get through without ducking. If it were much smaller, R2-D2 would've had to stay in the hall. The ceiling wasn't much better— Obi-Wan had to keep slouching down to prevent himself from hitting his head on it.

It was likely a workroom of some sort. Mechanical bits were scattered across it, shoved onto tables and shelves and hanging from the ceiling. On an alcove under a tiny window, something was covered by a large piece of heavy, brown material. Anakin led them over to it and pulled it off to reveal a mess of wires and metal in a vaguely humanoid shape: an unfinished droid.

"Isn't he great?" said Anakin.

"He's wonderful," said the Queen.

"Impressive," said Obi-Wan.

R2-D2 made a few beeps.

"You really like him?" Anakin grinned. "He's a protocol droid to help Mom. Watch." He reached over a pressed a button on the droid's chest. Its properly connected eye immediately lit up.

"Oh!" said the droid. "Oh. Where is everybody?"

"Oops." Anakin reached to a nearby shelf, grabbed the other eye, and popped it into place.

"Oh. Hello." The droid moved somewhat erratically, but his speech was smooth. "I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations. How might I serve you?"

"He's perfect." Queen Amidala smiled widely.

"When the storm's over, I'll show you my racer. I'm building a podracer."

As Anakin spoke, C-3PO stood up and wobbled across the room. "I'm not sure this floor is entirely stable," he said.

R2-D2 beeped.

"Oh. Hello. I don't believe we have been introduced."

R2-D2 made a few more beeps.

"R2-D2. Oh, pleasure to meet you. I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations."

In response, R2-D2 made a variety of beeps. C-3PO seemed to understand him just fine. Perhaps Obi-Wan would benefit from having a protocol droid around to translate all the languages he didn't speak, including binary.

"I beg your pardon, but what do you mean, naked?"

Beeps again.

"My parts are showing? My goodness!"

R2-D2 made a sound that Obi-Wan suspected was a laugh.

Anakin finally stopped grinning at his creation and hurried over. "I think that's enough for today, Threepio." He grabbed C-3PO's wired hand and led him back to the workbench. "Goodnight." Before C-3PO could respond, Anakin pressed his power button. The lights behind his eyes went out, and he fell limp.

Another beeping noise filled the room, but this time not from R2-D2. Obi-Wan's communicator was lighting up and making the noise. He glanced to the Queen. She'd be fine for a few minutes. "Excuse me, Anakin, I must take this."

"Alright," said Anakin, and Obi-Wan slipped out of the room.

He held the communicator to his lips. "Kenobi."

"Kenobi, this is Panaka," said Captain Panaka's voice. "Are you someplace secure?"

Obi-Wan glanced around him. Anakin was quite loudly explaining something to Queen Amidala in the workroom, so he doubted that Anakin would hear anything Captain Panaka shared with him, if it would even matter anyway if a slave child heard them speak. "More or less."

It took a moment for Captain Panaka to respond to that. "We received a transmission. From Governor Bibble."

"Send no response," Obi-Wan said quickly.

"But, Padawan Kenobi, he said—"

"No response," Obi-Wan repeated.

"The death toll is catastrophic!" Panaka finally exclaimed.

"So that's what this is about?" Obi-Wan let out a long sigh. "It's a trick. Send no transmissions. Of any kind."

Captain Panaka was silent for a long minute. "But what if it's true, even if it is a trick? Our people could be dying. The Queen—"

What the Queen didn't know wouldn't hurt her. But Obi-Wan was pretending he didn't know that Padmé-the-Queen's-Handmaiden was actually the Queen herself, so he couldn't reveal he'd called that bluff.

"It sounds like bait to establish a connection trace." Obi-Wan wasn't sure how he could stress the problem any more. He'd go back to the ship, if that was what it took to prevent the security forces, handmaidens, and pilots from bringing down the Trade Federation on them. "I will speak to Master Qui-Gon about it, but I assure you he'll say the same."

"Obi-Wan, I sure hope you've found that part we need."

Well, they'd found them alright. Finding them wasn't exactly the problem. "We're running out of time, yes, I realize." Obi-Wan cut the communication and hoped they heeded his advice.

He glanced back into the workroom; Anakin and Queen Amidala were still engrossed in Anakin's droid. He could easily slip away without them realizing, if they even remembered he was outside the room in the first place. He returned to the front of the home and pulled Qui-Gon from the kitchen.

Once Obi-Wan had quickly briefed him on the situation, Qui-Gon thoughtfully stoked his fingers on his beard. "Once this storm lets out, you should return to the ship."

"I don't think they'd do anything to endanger the Queen," Obi-Wan whispered back. "Not unless it was her decision, and she's not there to make it."

Qui-Gon shook his head. "Nonetheless, I would prefer if we could be certain."

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan bowed respectfully.

Qui-Gon smiled. "Now run along and get the kids, Padawan. Dinner is almost ready."

When Obi-Wan returned to the workroom, Anakin and hurried over to him. "Where'd you go? I was going to show you—"

"I went to see how your mother was coming along with dinner," Obi-Wan interrupted Anakin. "It should be ready any moment, so we should probably head to the table."

"Wizard!" Anakin exclaimed, and hurried out of the room.

Queen Amidala smiled. To Obi-Wan, she said, "He is quite a sweet boy, isn't he?"

Obi-Wan shrugged in response. Anakin's enthusiasm was endearing, and his presence in the force was bright and kind, but there was no point getting attached. They'd be leaving as soon as they could, and leaving Anakin in slavery on a horrible gangster-run planet. Attachment would just lead to guilt. The Queen's smile was definitely one of growing attachment, and Obi-Wan would regret to see her crushed when they inevitably left Anakin to his fate. That would just be an added difficulty they didn't need.

They followed Anakin to the kitchen, where Qui-Gon was helping him find more chairs to set around the table. While Obi-Wan grabbed the plates and utensils from Shmi to set the table, Queen Amidala took a seat at one end of it. When Jar-Jar attempted to help pour a cup of water and tripped over Anakin, spilling the liquid all over the floor, the Queen ordered him to sit down as well.

Shmi and Anakin both stopped in their tracks to stare at the spill.

Jar-Jar mumbled, "Mesa sorry."

Obi-Wan shot him a glare. Shmi and Anakin were slaves on a desert planet. Water would be a commodity more precious than gold, and sharing it with them at all was probably a sacrifice in itself. Spilling it was beyond rude, not to mention—

Qui-Gon snatched the pitcher from Jar-Jar and handed it to Shmi. "I'll clean that up," he said, and bent over the spill with a rag. Obi-Wan could feel his master reaching with the Force to collect every last drop of water, and, covering his ball of floating water from view of their hosts with his rag, he brought it over to an empty bucket. He dropped the water into it when Shmi and Anakin returned to their tasks, and left the dry rag hanging on the edge of the container.

Qui-Gon sat down across from Queen Amidala, and Obi-Wan took a seat beside him. Shmi began pouring water into cups on the table. As she began tipping the pitcher into Qui-Gon's glass, he shook his head. "Don't worry about me, I'm not thirsty."

Before she could reach for Obi-Wan's glass, he said, "I'm fine as well." He was parched, actually, but he'd be returning to the ship after the storm, and there was plenty of water there.

Anakin leaned over the table to look at Obi-Wan. "So, what are you doing on Tatooine?"

Obi-Wan evaded the question. "Nothing important. I'm more interesting in hearing about what it's like for you, here."

"Yes," Queen Amidala agreed. "I've never encountered slavery before. How do they— I mean, what do they— what keeps you… well—"

For a Queen, Obi-Wan would expect her to be able to have more tact when asking about such a sensitive topic, but he supposed there probably was no tactful way of saying what she was trying to say.

"What my companion here is saying," Qui-Gon said carefully, "is that she's curious as to how it works."

Shmi smiled softly, as if expecting the question. "All slaves have a transmitter placed inside their bodies somewhere."

R2-D2 made an indiscernible series of beeps.

Anakin said, "I've been working on a scanner to try and locate mine."

"Any attempt to escape—"

"And they blow you up!" He slammed his hand against the table. "Boom!"

"How wude," said Jar-Jar.

Queen Amidala let out a soft gasp of horror. "I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws are—"

"The Republic doesn't exist out here." Shmi took a seat beside the Queen. "We must survive on our own."

The moment was interrupted by Jar-Jar's tongue jumping out like a frog's and grabbing a fruit from the bowl in the middle of the table. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan glared at him. "'Squse me." He smiled nervously.

The Queen looked back to her plate and poked her food with her fork.

Anakin watched Jar-Jar uncomfortably, and then down to his food. To break the awkward silence, Anakin looked back up and said, "Has anyone ever seen a podrace?"

Queen Amidala shook her head.

"They have podracing on Malastare," Qui-Gon said. "Very fast. Very dangerous."

Anakin tapped the table as he spoke. "I'm the only human that can do it."

Qui-Gon smiled. "You must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods." Jar-Jar's tongue shot out of his mouth again, and Qui-Gon grabbed onto it. "Don't do that again."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. Qui-Gon might as well have announced he was a Jedi with that move.

"You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?"

Ding, ding, ding. Point for Anakin for realizing the obvious.

Padmé eyed Qui-Gon uncomfortably.

Obi-Wan just leaned back in his chair and grinned.

"What was your first clue?" asked Obi-Wan.

Anakin looked from Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon. "I saw your laser sword," he said. "Only Jedi carry that kind of weapon."

"Perhaps I killed a Jedi and took it from him," Qui-Gon said casually.

"I don't think so." So surely, Anakin said, "No one can kill a Jedi."

Qui-Gon chuckled. "I wish that were so."

Anakin began fiddling with his utensils. "I had a dream I was a Jedi. I came back here and freed all the slaves." He looked up to Qui-Gon, his eyes full of hope. "Have you come to free us?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"I think you have. Why else would you be here?"

Anakin looked to Queen Amidala, who couldn't bear to match his expectant gaze, and then Obi-Wan, who just shrugged apologetically.

Qui-Gon leaned over the table. "I can see there's no fooling you, Anakin. We're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic, on a very important mission."

Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. Qui-Gon was a great liar and certainly could have fooled Anakin if he wanted to.

"How did you end up out here in the Outer Rim?"

Queen Amidala jumped in. "Our ship was damaged and we're stranded out here until we can repair it."

"I can help!" said Anakin, which Obi-Wan was certain Qui-Gon had been hoping for. "I can fix anything!" That wasn't the help that they needed, though. They needed ideas on how to make some money.

"I believe you can." Qui-Gon laughed. "But first we must acquire the parts we need."

"Wit no-nutten mula to trade."

Queen Amidala sighed. "These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind."

"Gambling," said Shmi. "Everything here revolves around betting on those awful races."

"Podracing..." Obi-Wan said thoughtfully.

Qui-Gon glanced to him. "Greed can be a powerful ally."

"I've built a racer! It's the fastest ever. There's a big race tomorrow, on Boonta Eve." Obi-Wan didn't like where this was going… "You could enter my pod."

"Anakin, Watto won't let you."

"Watto doesn't know I've built it." Anakin turned to Qui-Gon. "You could make him think it was your's and get him to let me pilot it for you."

Shmi's presence oozed worry. "I don't want you to race. It's awful. I die every time Watto makes you do it."

"But Mom, I love it," Anakin begged. "The prize money would more than pay for the parts they need."

"Anakin—"

"Your mother's right." Well, Obi-Wan was certainly glad his master wasn't actually willing to endanger a child for their own purposes. For a moment, he was worried Qui-Gon would actually let it go too far. "Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who might be able to help us?"

Shmi shook her head. "No."

Obi-Wan sighed. Maybe too far was the only way to go after all.

She looked away from them.

"Mom, you say that the biggest problem in this universe is no one helps each other."

Queen Amidala sighed. "I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger. We'll find some other way."

Shmi took a deep breath. "No, there is no other way. I may not like it, but… he can help you. He was meant to help you."

Anakin smiled widely, but Qui-Gon and Queen Amidala looked quite downtrodden at that turn of events.

Obi-Wan took another bite of his meal. "The Force does work in mysterious ways."

Qui-Gon nodded. "You are right about that, my young apprentice."

They all returned to their meals and continued to eat in silence. The sound of sand and wind battering against the building had quieted during their argument, and Obi-Wan realized that it was almost difficult to hear it. He turned to Shmi. "Do you think it sounds like it's safe to travel yet?"

Shmi turned her ear up and listened for a long moment. "Almost. Is there somewhere you need to be?"

Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders. "I'll just be returning to the ship, that's all."

"Why?" asked Anakin.

"Just to keep an eye on the others." Unlike Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan didn't really want to air all their dirty laundry to a child.

Anakin looked downtrodden. "But I want to show you my pod."

"I'm sure the others will tell me all about it, Anakin."

Anakin poked his food. "I don't want you to go."

Great. So quickly, Anakin had grown attached to him. He'd hate to be around when they all left for good. It was better if Obi-Wan made a quick departure, then, and allow Anakin to get over it. He had to admit, in the short time they'd known each other, he was beginning to like Anakin, too. It took a selfless soul to risk one's life for others who had nothing to offer him in return.

/

The uncomfortable tingling feeling in the Force that Obi-Wan had been feeling since they landed on Tatooine intensified by tenfold, at least, since Qui-Gon had returned to Mos Espa to pick up their new tagalong, Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan didn't quite know why, but he knew they needed to get off that planet, and quickly. Something was going to happen, something—

The door to the cockpit slid open. "Qui-Gon's in trouble," said Captain Panaka.

Obi-Wan reacted immediately, turning from his display to the window, catching sight of Anakin and Queen Amidala in the corner of his eye. "Take off," he told the pilot. It was easy to spot trouble against the desert backdrop. Trouble was wearing a black set of robes, and had a red lightsaber clashing against Qui-Gon's green one. "Over there," he pointed, as if the pilot couldn't see the battle before them. "Fly low."

He felt Anakin leaning over his shoulder, worrying deeply. But mostly he felt evil, and it was coming from the black-robed man with the red lightsaber. He'd never felt so much hatred in the Force, and it was making him sick to his stomach.

The pilot reached for a lever that Obi-Wan knew controlled the door platform. "Don't," he said quickly, brushing the pilot's hand away and gripping it himself.

They hovered above the battle and lost sight of it, but Obi-Wan knew the exact moment that Qui-Gon jumped into the ship. The Force yelled for them to go, and Obi-Wan pulled the lever. Before anyone could react, he hurried out of the cockpit, Anakin at his heels.

The pair of them found Qui-Gon laying on the floor across from the door, beside R2-D2.

"Are you alright?" asked Anakin as they knelt beside him.

"I think so." Qui-Gon sat up.

"What was that?" asked Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon took a few heavy breaths. Sweat trailed down his face, and he continued to pant as he spoke. "I'm not sure, but it was well-trained in the Jedi arts." It had to be, to work Qui-Gon Jinn into such a state. "My guess is, it was after the Queen."

"What are we gonna do about it?"

"We should be patient."

No surprise there. "First lesson about the Jedi, Anakin. Every solution to a problem begins with being patient." Anakin laughed lightly, and Obi-Wan smiled at him. "Let's find a place to get your settled until we reach Coruscant, hm? I'm sure it's been a long day for you."

Anakin's face lit up. "You should've seen me, Obi-Wan! For a while there, I really thought Sebulba was going to have me, but I—"

He gave an entire play-by-play of the race as Obi-Wan collected blankets and settled Anakin into his and Qui-Gon's corner of the ship. It was a big ship, but the Queen's yacht— whoops, he'd meant, the Naboo Royal Starship— certainly wasn't built for a group of their size. The pilots somehow managed in the space put aside for a single pilot and his copilot, and the Queen shared with her handmaidens to make space for the extra security forces. Jar-Jar had slept on a chair during the night he was onboard before they'd gone searching for parts on Tatooine, and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had taken a set of well-cushioned benches in one of the living areas.

He piled a bunch of blankets onto the floor, and then he plucked the pillow from his bench and added it to the pile. It was a bit of a mess, but it would make for a comfortable nest in absence of a bed. He supposed there were a few nice benches in other rooms, but, on the floor, Anakin would be in the presence of people with whom he was comfortable. Obi-Wan couldn't begin to understand what it was like for Anakin to be leaving his mother behind, but he guessed that being near others would help.

"—it was amazing!"

Obi-Wan wrapped a one of the blankets around Anakin's arms. "You should get some sleep, young one."

"I can't," said Anakin. "I'm too excited."

Obi-Wan picked up Anakin from the floor and sat him down on the bench. "I'm sorry I had to miss your race. I would've loved to have watched, if it was really as exciting as you say it was."

Anakin grinned. "Well, I'm sure you'll see me fly sometime. We'll probably see each other all the time if I'm going to become a Jedi!"

"You're going to become a Jedi, hm?" He wasn't surprised, after seeing Anakin's midi-chlorian count, that Qui-Gon would plan on taking the boy before the Council, but it was different actually hearing it spoken. "The Jedi temple is a big place. And I'm sure you'll be too busy with your training to have time for boring old Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Anakin scoffed. "We're friends," he said. "Of course I'll have time for you. I'll make time. You can show me all sorts of things, I bet."

"Yes, I suppose we are friends." He had to admit, Anakin was growing on him.

Notes (June 13/2015)

On Alien Language: It's all grabbed straight from a version of the script I found online. I'm not bothering with a long list of translations here because it's literally just the movie dialogue. The POV character doesn't know what's being said, and you should already know the gist of what's going on anyways. Jar-Jar's dialogue is practically an alien language, too, and is also ripped from the script. Standard dialogue from the movie, for the record, was partially from the script but corrected by ear so it matches the movie a bit better.

"Are you angels?": We get to see an angel in The Clone Wars, and I'd think the first descriptor anyone would use would be "bright." Wookiepedia says they "gave off an aura of kindness". Considering Anakin's extreme force sensitivity, I headcanon that he was reacting to Padmé's force presence— shining with kindness and goodness and selflessness and all that, something I'm sure he doesn't run into much in Mos Espa— rather than just her looks. Considering Obi-Wan is pretty powerful in the force and also a selfless person, I extended that reaction to include him as well. The first thing I wrote for this fic was actually that little scene from Anakin's POV.

"[Obi-Wan] and Qui-Gon's corner of the ship": Did anyone else find it strange that Anakin seemed to be camping in a random corner and Jar-Jar sleeping on a chair? Clearly, they don't have enough room on the ship for the amount of bodies that they have aboard, and you'd think Qui-Gon would offer his (and Obi-Wan's, probably) room to his two pathetic lifeforms, because Qui-Gon strikes me as someone who would be a polite host, so I don't think he and Obi-Wan got a room, either.

The whole movie-dialogue: It won't persist. The next chapter picks up with the last few short scenes and is mostly focused on the in-betweens, and it'll be a long way before we reach Attack of the Clones. This chapter is also a bit long compared to the others because I wanted the bulk of the Phantom Menace out of the way quickly and grouped together for ease.

That's all for now, folks. Hope to see you next time, when we pick up with Obi-Wan and Anakin on Naboo.