Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

18.

Sol and Anakin returned to the star ship to head to where Lars the moisture farmer was located. Watto gave them rough coordinates and they realised that it was too far for them to walk and too dangerous to leave Padme in the ship any longer.

Padme asked questions but they went unanswered. She followed the two into the control room, trying to keep up with their frantic movements. Anakin jumped into the driver's seat and Sol took the passenger, already taking off before Padme had the time to buckle herself in. R2 whistled from the hallway and let out a scream as he slid away from the speed at which the ship took off at. A crash was heard, and they were airborne, heading for the moisture farm on the other side of Mos Espa.

Sol dared to glance at Anakin as he deployed the landing stands. His expression was hard, and his lips covered his teeth that were clenched judging by his sharp jaw. His eyes were focused on the hut in the desert, which was said to have housed his mother, Shmi Skywalker. Sol could feel the anticipation and anxiety that hung over Anakin's side of the ship. Padme remained silent after Sol took a moment to explain the simplicities of the situation, and R2 eventually made it into the control room as soon as they landed.

'How can he have sold his mother?' Padme mumbled from beside Sol, the two women following Anakin whose strides were long and quick. R2 attempted to follow the three but was told to stay with the ship by Padme. The droid let out a series of frustrated beeps, before watching Sol, Padme and Anakin descend into the sand.

'Business is business in Watto's eyes,' Sol answered in an equally as mumbled tone. They stepped into the blaring suns and from what they could see through their squints, a stiff-looking figure headed towards them from the right.

'Good evening. May I help you?' a robotic voice sounded. Sol was able to make out from the glare of the sun that it was a protocol droid that stopped next to them. With its circuits showing from the lack of coverings, the droid's arms sat in permanent bends and it's feet kicked up sand from the lack of mobility in its joints.

'Threepio?' Anakin said, his eyes washing with realisation.

'Oh, my... oh, my!' the protocol droid cheered and Padme smiled in the same recognition. 'Master Anakin! My goodness, I can hardly believe it! And this must be Miss Padme!'

'Hello, Threepio,' Padme greeted and gestered to Sol next to her. 'This is Sol.'

'A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sol. I am C3-PO, a protocol droid that was created by Master Anakin, here.'

Sol returned the droid's politeness and was surprised to hear that Anakin had created a droid; an etiquette droid at that. If the situation wasn't so serious, she would make a joke about how Anakin made a droid to teach him the manners he severely lacked. But the air was still dull, and the introduction of C3-PO had brought an anxious but new hope to Anakin. The presence of the droid he left with his mother made him hopeful that his mother was here.

'I've come to see my mother,' Anakin stated.

'Oh, dear,' the droid's voice turned low and laced with sorrow. 'I'm terribly sorry, Master Ani...'

'Threepio, what's happened?' Padme asked and C3-PO took a moment to search his programming for a sympathetic answer.

'I think we'd better go inside.'

---

C3-PO led them into the hut that opened into an underground home. The sand that would usually have caved in after being disturbed to build a home in its hold was hardened, allowing a tunnel to house Cleigg Lars, Owen Lars and his girlfriend, Beru. They had their homestead at the bottom of the tunnel, which held an eating area, bedrooms, a workshop and a kitchen.