Shmi served dinner to everyone later that day. The storm was still going strong, but at least everyone was safe inside and they had enough to eat.

For a pair of slaves, Shmi and Anakin had surprisingly livable conditions, at least from what their visitors could see. According to Anakin, Watto was fair compared to how nasty of a master Gardulla the Hutt was. It was a lot harder for Shmi though, and not just because she'd been enslaved longer than her son.

Like any good mother, Shmi wanted the best possible future for her baby. But being a slave, that seemed impossible. When you're a slave, there are only two ways you get out of whatever cot you live in: either your master sets you free, or you get sold to someone else.

Some of you may be wondering, why don't they just escape in the middle of the night or something? Well, why don't we let Shmi explain that?

"All slaves have a transmitter placed inside their bodies somewhere." Shmi explained, pouring everyone a drink.

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

"Any attempt to escape-"

"And they blow you up! Boom!"

"How wude!" Jar Jar said.

No one could believe this was so, especially Padme.

"I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy." Padme said. "The Republic's anti-slavery laws-"

"The Republic doesn't exist out here," said Shmi. "We must survive on our own."

But Jar Jar interrupted by shooting his tongue at the fruit bowl, making everyone stare up at him.

Jar Jar gulped, embarrassed.

"Xcuse me."

Anakin looked at his plate and decided to change the subject.

"Has anybody ever seen a Podrace?"

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

"I'm the only human who can do it." Anakin said.

"You must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods."

Jar Jar shot out his tongue again, and this time, Qui-Gon grabbed it, showing off his reflexes.

"Don't do that again." Qui-Gon said sternly.

Qui-Gon gave Jar Jar's tongue a simple tug and let go, letting it snap back into the gungan's mouth like a rubber band. Jar Jar blubbered funny as he shook himself back to normal.

All was silent for a moment... until Anakin said...

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

Qui-Gon was a bit surprised, but he didn't show it on his face.

"What makes you think that?" he inquired.

"I saw your laser sword. Only Jedis carry that kind of weapon."

"Perhaps I killed a Jedi and took it from him."

Anakin shook his head.

"I don't think so. No one can kill a Jedi."

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

Anakin thought back and said, "I had a dream I was a Jedi. I came back here and freed all the slaves." Then he had a thought. "Have you come to free us?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Qui-Gon answered, though he wished he could've said yes.

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

Qui-Gon was just as impressed as Padme by the little boy's intelligence; Anakin was clearly a very observant child.

"I can see there's no fooling you, Anakin." said the Jedi. "We're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic, on a very important mission."

Anakin's curiosity grew.

"How did you end up here in the outer rim?"

"Our ship was damaged and we're stranded here until we can repair it." said Padme.

Anakin looked at Qui-Gon again and said confidently,

"I can help. I can fix anything."

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

"Wit no-nutten mula to trade." Jar Jar added.

"These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind." Padme said.

"Gambling." Shmi said, knowing all too well the habits of many dealers on Tatooine. "Everything here revolves around betting on those awful races."

"Podracing. Greed can be a powerful ally." Qui-Gon said.

"I built a racer," said Anakin. "It's the fastest ever. There's a big race tomorrow on Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod."

"Anakin!" Shmi exclaimed. "Watto won't let you."

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

But Shmi didn't want Anakin to race in that awful competition.

"I die every time Watto makes you do it."

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

"Anakin..."

"You're mother's right," said Qui-Gon in a rather fatherly tone. He tried to think of an alternate solution. "Is there anyone friendly to the Republic who can help us?"

Shmi sadly shook her head.

Anakin stayed silent for a moment before giving a pleading look to his mom.

"Mom, you say the biggest problem in this universe is nobody helps each other."

Shmi looked at her son and sighed. She did say that, but the last thing she wanted, like any good mother, was to place her baby in harm's way.

Padme spoke up then.

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

"No." Shmi said. "There is no other way. I may not like it, but he can help you."

Anakin looked up at his mother, surprised by what she said.

"He was meant to help you."

Qui-Gon looked at Anakin. It was a hard decision, but it was the only way.

___________________________________

Once the storm was over, Qui-Gon, Padme, and Jar Jar returned to Watto's junk shop. People still appeared a bit shaken up from the sudden earthquake earlier. There were stands and signs knocked over, vehicles buried in debris, even cracks in some of the ground.

Fortunately, there was a clear enough path for the travelers to pass through to Watto's shop.

"Are you sure about this?" Padme said. "Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know? The queen will not approve."

"The queen doesn't need to know." Qui-Gon said.

And then he entered the shop, while Padme sat down outside.

"Well, I don't approve."

Qui-Gon met with Watto and Anakin inside the shop.

"The boy tells me you want to sponsor him in the race." Watto said. "How can you do this? Not on the Republic credits, I think, huh?"

Qui-Gon took out a small device and pulled up a hologram of the ship.

"My ship will be the entry fee." he explained.

Watto looked at the hologram and liked what he saw; the ship was very beautiful and likely expensive too.

"It's in good order, except for the parts I need." Qui-Gon said.

But there was another matter Watto inquired about.

"What would the boy ride? He smashed up my pod in the last race. It will take some long time to fix it."

"It wasn't my fault, really." Anakin defended. "Sebulba flashed me with his vents. I actually saved the pod, mostly."

"Mmm. That you did, huh." Watto chuckled. "The boy's good. No doubts there, huh?"

"Well, I have acquired a pod in a game of chance, the fastest ever built." Qui-Gon said.

"I hope you didn't kill anyone I know for it, huh? So, you supply the pod and the entry fee, and I supply the boy, we split the winnings, um, 50-50, I think, huh?"

Qui-Gon approached Watto more closely.

"If it's going to be 50-50, I suggest you front the cash for the entry. If we win, you keep all the winnings, minus the cost of the parts I need. And if we lose, you keep my ship."

Anakin looked surprised at Qui-Gon; he'd heard people take huge risks, but this was big even for Qui-Gon, who looked like a giant to a kid Anakin's current size.

"Either way, you win." Qui-Gon finished.

Watto grumbled as he took some time to think about it, and he declared a deal. With that settled, Qui-Gon left.

"Your friend is a foolish one, methinks." Watto chuckled in Huttese.

Anakin crossed his arms in response to that.

__________________________________

Qui-Gon contacted Obi-Wan and let him know of his plan, but the latter thought his master was crazy to make such a bet.

"What if this plan fails, Master?" Obi-Wan asked. "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. And... there's something about this boy."

Qui-Gon hung up and looked down as Shmi came out through a door and they watched Anakin as he was working on his pod.

"You should be very proud of your son." Qui-Gon said. "He gives without any thought of reward."

"Well, he knows nothing of greed. He has a-" Shmi said, sounding uncertain.

"He has special powers." Qui-Gon looked at Shmi again with a particularly warm look in his eyes.

"Yes." Shmi had the same look in her eyes when she looked at Qui-Gon.

"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."

Qui-Gon and Shmi both agreed that Anakin deserved so much better than a slave's life. Both he and his mother did.

"Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early." Qui-Gon said, but then he had a look of guilt on his face, which he shook off. "The Force is unusually strong with him. That much is clear."

Then, Qui-Gon had something else on his mind.

"Does he know about his father?" he asked Shmi.

"As far as he knows, I told him that his father never meant to leave us, and that he loved both of us very much and only ever wanted a better life for his family."

Qui-Gon could feel tears threatening to fall. He believed what Shmi was saying to be true. And he took Shmi's hands into his to comfort her.

"Can you help him?" Shmi said.

"I hope so." Qui-Gon said, sounding unsure. "I didn't actually come here to free slaves... but I can try."

Qui-Gon wrapped his arms around Shmi since no one was looking.

_____________________________________

While Anakin was working more on the pod, some of the other kids came to see him and to play. One of the human boys, whose name was Kitster, was astonished when he caught sight of R2.

"Wow, a real astro droid. How did you get so lucky?"

"That isn't the half of it. I'm in the Boonta race tomorrow." Anakin said.

"What?" said Kitster. "With this?"

"You're such a joker, Ani." said a Rodian child.

"You've been working on that thing for years," said a taller girl.

"It's never gonna run," said a smaller girl.

"Come on, let's go play ball." said a redheaded boy. "Keep racing, Ani. You're gonna be bug squash."

The kids all laughed as they left. All except Kitster, who stayed with Anakin.

Jar Jar worked on the engines.

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

"Sorry. Okay."

But then Jar Jar dropped his tool, so he bent down to get it, only to get his nose caught in the beam, which made his tongue go numb too.

"My tongue is fat." Jar Jar said, muffled. "My tongue- wrench. Where is da wrench. Oh, dare it is."

But then Jar Jar got his hand caught in the engine when he tried to grab his wrench again.

"You know, I find that Jar Jar creature to be a little odd." Threepio said.

R2 beeped, seeming to agree with the protocol droid.

Kitster didn't tease Anakin like the others, but even he had to agree it seemed risky.

"You don't even know if this thing's gonna run." Kitster said.

"It will," said Anakin.

"I think it's time we found out." Qui-Gon said, entering the scene. He gave Anakin a charge. "Here, use this power charge."

"Yes, sir!"

Anakin immediately got to work adding the power charge.

"Come on, Kitster. Let's move away." Qui-Gon said, getting the other boy and himself out of the way.

Threepio and R2 started to move too. But Jar Jar was still stuck and he couldn't speak clearly with his numb tongue.

"You're quite right. He's very odd indeed."

Padme started to pull Jar Jar until he was free, and the latter signalled Anakin to start the pod... once he and Padme moved out of the way too.

Anakin added the charge, and the engine started humming. The whole pod sounded powerful. Anakin could already feel the wind in his hair as he got the feel of his now refurbished and ready-to-race pod.

________________________________

Now that the pod was ready, all that was left to do was wait for the race to start tomorrow and hope for the best.

For now, it was nighttime.

Qui-Gon sat with Anakin, who'd accidentally cut his arm while doing some final adjustments to the pod. He started to do a little medical care to it, like a parent would do.

"Stay still, Ani. Let me clean this cut."

Anakin looked at the stars while Qui-Gon cleaned the cut.

"There's so many," said the boy. "Do they all have a system of planets?"

"Most of them." Qui-Gon smiled.

"Has anyone been to 'em all?"

Qui-Gon chuckled and said, "Not likely."

"I wanna be the first one to see 'em all."

"Ani, bedtime!" Shmi called from inside, just as Qui-Gon was patching up the cut.

"Ow!"

"There we are. Good as new." Qui-Gon said.

"Ani, I'm not gonna tell you again."

Then, Qui-Gon took out a device to place a drop of Anakin's blood into.

"What are you doing?" Anakin asked.

"Checking your blood for infections." Qui-Gon replied. "Go on. You have a big day tomorrow. Sleep well, Ani."

So, Anakin went inside to get to bed so he would be rested for tomorrow.

Qui-Gon, on the other hand, contacted Obi-Wan and told him he needed Anakin's blood sample analyzed. Obi-Wan got right to it and, according to Qui-Gon's instructions, performed a midi-chlorian count.

"The reading is off the chart!" Obi-Wan said, shocked. "Over 20,000. Even Master Yoda doesn't have a midi-chlorian count that high."

"No Jedi has," said Qui-Gon.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure. But... has your scan picked up anything else in the blood sample?"

Obi-Wan checked again, and confirmed nothing else was in Anakin's blood sample aside from midi-chlorians and normal red blood cells.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just making sure he has no infections." Qui-Gon said, and then he saw Shmi in the doorway, looking at him. "I will check in again later."

Qui-Gon hung up and approached Shmi, the two of them holding hands as they walked inside together.

______________________________

Qui-Gon held Shmi closely and looked into her eyes.

"After all this time..." Shmi sighed, resting her head on Qui-Gon's shoulder. "I can't believe it's really you."

"Shmi... you'll never fully know how long I've dreamed I'd find you again." Qui-Gon sighed, caressing her cheek.

Neither of the two knew what more they could say, for words alone couldn't describe how they felt in the moment. So, they moved on to actions.

Qui-Gon was first to lean forward, Shmi not hesitating to lean in as well until... they were kissing!

________________________

During the night, however, no one was aware that another ship had entered Tatooine's atmosphere, and it was certainly not a rescue ship.

Out from the ship came Darth Maul. He brought out his binoculars and searched the area until he spotted the town. In that direction, he sent out some scouting probes.

__________________________________

The next morning, everyone was super excited for the Boonta Eve race.

All of the racers were getting their pods ready in the garage before the big race. Qui-Gon and Jar Jar met there with Watto.

"I wanna see your ship the moment the race is over." Watto said.

"Patience, my blue friend. You'll hand your winnings before the suns set. And we'll be far away from here."

"Not if your ship belongs to me, I think, huh?" Watto laughed. "I warn you, no funny business."

Qui-Gon held a look of disgust in Watto's apparent lack of faith.

"You don't think Anakin can win?" Qui-Gon said.

"Don't get me wrong, no. I have great faith in the boy. He's a credit to your race, but, uh, Sebulba there is going to win, I think."

Sebulba sat not too far from the trio, getting massaged by a pair of blue Twi'lek girls.

Jar Jar panicked when he recognized the dug. Qui-Gon, however, wasn't afraid. But he questioned Watto on his lack of confidence in Anakin.

"He always wins!" Watto laughed. "I am betting heavily on Sebulba."

"I'll take that bet," said Qui-Gon.

"You what?"

Watto was filled with disbelief at what the human male said.

"I'll wager my new racing pod against say, the boy and his mother."

"No pod is worth two slaves, not by a long shot."

But Qui-Gon was prepared for this.

"What if I threw in an additional something valuable?"

Before Watto could speak, Qui-Gon took something from around his neck and revealed it to be a necklace. It had a heart shaped charm with a big shiny diamond on it as blue as the sky on a chain of pure gold. You can bet Watto liked the sight of such a valuable trinket.

"This amulet is an ancient relic which holds great power within it to a holder and is very valuable. Allow me to wager for both the boy and his mother, and if we lose, you get the ship, the pod, and this amulet."

Qui-Gon placed his amulet back on and hid it under his robes again while Watto took a moment to decide on it. It sounded like a great deal, but he was hesitant.

"We'll just have to let fate decide, huh? I just happen to have a chance cube here."

Watto took out a little cube, some of its sides red, and some of them blue. He wagered that if it landed on blue, he would accept Qui-Gon's offer. But if landed on red, then he would have to wager for just one.

Watto tossed the cube, and Qui-Gon discreetly waved his hand to make sure the cube landed on blue. The Toyardian growled at what happened.

Qui-Gon shrugged a 'better luck next time'.

Watto flew to look Qui-Gon in the eye and said, "You won this small toss, outlander, but you won't win the race! So it makes little difference!"

Qui-Gon was tempted to roll his eyes at Watto as he left.

Soon, Anakin arrived with his mother, Padme, and Kitster, riding on some creatures called eopies.

Watto approached the group and said in Huttese to Anakin,

"Better stop your friend's betting or I'll end up owning him too." And he laughed as he left.

"What's he mean by that?" Anakin wondered out loud.

"I'll tell you later," said Qui-Gon, helping Shmi down from the creatures. "Good morning."

Meanwhile, R2 told Threepio about space travel, the latter thinking it sounded rather perilous.

R2 beeped to reassure Threepio it wasn't that bad.

"I can assure you, they will never get me onto one of those dreaded starships."

Kitster looked at the pod race once again and thought it looked amazing.

"This is so wizard, Ani." Kitster said. "I'm sure you'll do it this time."

"Do what?" Padme asked.

"Finish the race, of course."

If Padme wasn't worried about this race before, she definitely was now.

"You've never won a race?"

Anakin felt his face flush when Padme asked that.

"Well, not exactly."

"Not even finished?"

Anakin wrapped an arm around his best friend.

"Kitster's right. I will this time."

Qui-Gon held Anakin's shoulders and said, "You will do wonderfully, Ani. I believe in you."

And so, Anakin got ready to race, and he was determined to finish and win.