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"Are you sure about this?" Padme asks, "Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know? The Queen would not approve."
"The Queen doesn't need to know," I say, following Qui-Gon into Watto's shop.
"So, the boy tells me you want to sponsor him in the race," Watto says, "And how do you plan on doing this? Not on Republic credits, I think, hmm?"
"My ship will be the entry fee," Qui-Gon says, bringing up a hologram of his ship.
"Oh, not bad, not bad," Watto says, "A Nubian, huh?"
"It's in good order, except for the parts I need," Qui-Gon explains.
"And what will the boy race in, hmm?" Watto questions, "He destroyed my pod in the last race, and it will take a long time to fix."
"It wasn't Ani's fault," I speak up, "Sebulba flashed him with his vents, he honestly saved most of the pod."
"Mmmmm, that he did," Watto chuckles, "The boy's good, no doubt about that, huh?"
"I have acquired a pod in a game of chance, fastest ever built," Qui-Gon says.
"I hope you didn't kill anyone I know for it, huh?" Watto says, "So, you supply the pod and entry fee, I supply the boy, we split the winnings 50-50 I think."
"If it's going to be 50-50, I suggest you front the cash for the entry," Qui-Gon says, taking a step toward Watto, "If we win, you keep all the winnings, minus the cost of the parts I need and if we lose, you get to keep my ship."
"Either way, you win," I say, shrugging.
"Deal!" Watto says, shaking Qui-Gon's hand.
"Your friend is a fool, I think," Watto tells Anakin and me in Huttese.
"You'll be surprised," I say, following Qui-Gon out of the shop.
"Where do you think you're going, Kavra?" Watto yells after me.
"Oh, Watto," I sigh, "I quit."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ani!"
"Hi, Ani!"
"Hey, Kavra!"
A few young children run up to us and I smile as they all wave hello at me. I go back to working on Anakin's pod racer and ignore the children's gossip, they have nothing to really worry about, they have no clue about the wars raging around them. R2-D2 hands me a screwdriver and I pat his head, "Thanks bud."
He warbles happily and rolls off.
"You know, I find that Jar Jar creature very odd," C-3PO says, looking down at me.
"It's just how his race is," I say, shrugging.
"You know about the people of Naboo?" Padme asks, obviously interested.
"Yeah, I'm originally from Naboo, but my brother and I were taken to the Jedi temple when we were only a few years old," I explain.
"Your brother is a Jedi as well?"
"Yes," I say, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Anakin isn't listening, "He was Count Dooku's Padawan."
"You both had such amazing Masters," Padme smiles.
"Thank you," I smile, "But Anakin cannot know that I'm a Jedi, I'm still trying to stay undercover here."
"Of course," Padme nods.
I stand up and take a step back, watching as Anakin goes to turn on his pod. He hits the switch and the pod rumbles to life, I let out a long sigh of relief and watch as Anakin grins over at Qui-Gon and me.
"It's working!"
I give him a thumb up and he turns the pod racer off, hopping out and running to me. Anakin jumps into my arms and I hug him, "I'm so proud of you!"
"You helped though!" he says, "I couldn't have done it without your help."
"Come on, kiddo," I say, "It's getting dark out here."
We all walk into Shmi's home and I walk to my room. I open a drawer and push all my clothes out of the way. The familiar silver shine catches my eye and I smile fondly at my lightsaber, picking it up. I clip it to my belt and push my cape over it, making sure it's hidden. It feels so good to have my weapon back next to me, I finally feel whole.
I see Qui-Gon and Anakin sitting out on the balcony and watch from the doorway as they interact. Qui-Gon was such an amazing teacher, he was patient with my mistakes and continued to make sure I stayed patient with myself. He taught me, no matter how bad the situation is, there's always a way around it, you don't always have to go straight through the middle of the problem. He is very father like to me and I still consider him part of my family. I hope that he is teaching his new Padawan this as well.
"Ani, time for bed!" Shmi says, jolting me from my thoughts, "Ani, I'm not going to tell you again!"
"Sleep well, Ani," I say, "You have a big day tomorrow."
Anakin goes to bed and I walk out next to Master Jinn.
"Obi-Wan?" he asks.
"Yes, Master?"
"I need an analysis of the blood sample I'm sending you," Qui-Gon tells his Padawan.
"Wait a minute," Obi-Wan says.
Qui-Gon places the blood sample in his transmitter and I watch with mild interest.
"I need a midi-chlorian count."
"You sense it too?" I ask.
"The readings are off the chart!" Obi-Wan exclaims, "Over 22,000, even Master Yoda doesn't have them that high."
"Only one person I know has a midi-chlorian that high," Qui-Gon says, "And I'm looking at her right now."
"What does this mean?" Obi-Wan asks.
"It means Kavra has finally found her match, in a 10-year-old child."
"I told you he was special," I say matter of factly.
"What is her count?" Obi-Wan asks.
"21,500," I answer, "I can't believe he only beat me by 500."
My body tenses and I turn to the vast open expanse of Tattooine, a dark feeling is creeping over my body, a feeling of dread and anger.
