Star Wars - Episode I Journal - Anakin Skywalker (2 page)

By the time Watto came back with the man and the astromech droid, I’d found out that the angel girl’s name was Padmé. She knew my name was Anakin Skywalker. I was sad that the man was in a hurry to leave. I knew we had a lot of parts, so that must have meant that the man and Watto couldn’t strike a deal.

Padmé and I said good-bye and she left with the others. Watto hovered around the shop complaining about how the outlanders always try to rip him off. His wings beat through the air so fast they were nothing more than a blue blur. But the good news was that all I had to do was clean some racks—then I could go home!

* * *

Of course, I didn’t go home right away. Padmé may have left Watto’s shop, but that didn’t mean she was gone for good. As long as she was on Tatooine, I would find her.

The outlanders weren’t hard to find, thanks to the frog man. You could tell he was a magnet for trouble. I found him in the market. He was lucky I did, because a Dug named Sebulba was about to squash him.

Sebulba was my archrival at Podracing. He’s mean and ugly, with big eyes, long arms, and braids hanging down the sides of his head. Frankly, I don’t care about looks. Once you’ve lived on Tatooine for a while, you’ve seen everything. But I do care about cheaters, and Sebulba was the worst.

Anything goes in Podracing. The only thing that matters is who crosses the finish line first. But some of us actually think it’s wrong to mess with each other’s Podracers. You should win by being the best and fastest pilot, not by knocking your opponent’s Pod into a canyon wall on purpose.

But like I said, when it comes to cheaters, Sebulba is the worst in the galaxy. I wouldn’t care that much except that in our last race I was winning… until he flashed me with his vent ports and practically got me killed.

Anyway, I found Sebulba standing over the frog man in the market. The frog man was squirming and trying to get away. But Sebulba wasn’t about to let him. I hate to think about what would have happened if I’d gotten there a minute later.

I warned the Dug to back off. He wanted to know why, and I told him that the frog man was connected to the Hutts. Dugs aren’t the smartest creatures in the universe, but they know that messing with anyone connected to the Hutts can mean instant death.

Sebulba was mad, but he turned away from the frog man. He told me that the next time we raced he’d make sure I didn’t live to see the finish line. I reminded
him
that if he killed me, he’d have to pay Watto for me.

Sebulba left, and I helped the frog man to his feet. That’s when Padmé arrived with the older guy and the astromech droid unit.

They asked what had happened. I told them that Sebulba had picked a fight with the frog man and that I’d broken it up.

I guess the older man was surprised that I’d done that, because he gave me a strange look. As if he thought he saw something, but wasn’t sure. It wouldn’t be the last time he’d look at me that way. But it would be a while until I knew what it meant.

We started to walk through the market. As usual, it was crowded with beings of every size and shape. Plus speeders, droids, and wagons pulled by eopies and giant, tame banthas. The man was still looking for the hyperdrive parts he needed for a J-type 327 Nubian. I was just glad to be with Padmé again. In a selfish way I hoped the man would have a lot of trouble finding the parts. Once he had that hyperdrive working, they’d all be going far, far away.

My friend Jira was up ahead. Her fruit stand was really just a ragged, sun-bleached awning stretched over a frame of poles. The awning provided shade for the fruit she sold. I thought since Padmé and the others were strangers here, they might like to try some local food. Tatooine doesn’t offer much, but we do have some interesting fruit.

Jira is old and bent, and has gray hair. Her clothes are patched and ragged, but they’re always clean. The heat of the twin suns is hard on her. When I told her about the cooling unit I’d found in Watto’s junk heap, she was really happy. Then I asked to buy four pallies. Pallies are sweet, juicy fruits grown at underground farms on Tatooine. I was pretty certain the strangers would like them.

As I took some truguts out of my pocket to pay for the fruit, one of the coins fell to the ground. The man bent down to pick it up, and I saw something amazing.

Under those farmer clothes was a
lightsaber
!

The kind only Jedi Knights carried.

I
knew
he wasn’t a moisture farmer!

Now it was my turn to give
him
a funny look. But I made sure he didn’t notice it. What would a Jedi Knight be doing here on Tatooine?

A gust of wind rippled the awning over Jira’s fruit stand, and the old lady said she could feel a storm coming. Sandstorms happen a lot on Tatooine. They arrive fast and don’t give much warning. They can be
very
dangerous. Already, sand and dust had begun to blow down the street, and some of the shop owners around us were starting to close their doors and take down their stands.

The Jedi Knight disguised as a farmer wanted to head back to his ship. But when I heard that they’d landed on the outskirts of Mos Espa, I knew they didn’t have enough time to make it back safely. They’d be better off coming to my house and waiting until the storm passed.

I was glad when they accepted my offer. Not only would it give me more time with Padmé, I might find out what they were doing out here on Tatooine. After all, Mos Espa was a spaceport. It usually had plenty of available hangar space.

So why did they land in the desert?

Mom was surprised when she saw all the strangers in our hovel. But once I explained about the sandstorm she welcomed them to dinner. I introduced her to the others and learned that the Jedi Knight’s name was Qui-Gon Jinn. The frog man’s name was Jar Jar Binks, and the astromech droid was Artoo-Detoo.

Our home had one main room, plus two smaller rooms, where Mom and I each slept. What made it special was that my room was also a workshop. That’s where I took Padmé as soon as everyone was introduced. I wanted to show her my latest project—a protocol droid to help Mom around the house.

My droid was named See-Threepio. He wasn’t quite finished, but most of the circuitry and mechanics were done. He had arms, legs, and a head like a Human, but I didn’t have the money or the parts for his outer shell. One day I hoped to cover him in gold chromium plating.

The funny thing was that the little blue dome droid Artoo-Detoo had followed us into my room. When he saw See-Threepio he started to beep and whistle.

See-Threepio blinked and spoke, “I beg your pardon… what do you mean I’m naked?” Artoo-Detoo beeped again. I started to laugh. “Oh, my goodness!” See-Threepio gasped. “How embarrassing! Am I really naked?”

Padmé grinned. I quickly explained to my protocol droid that he was only “sort of” naked and that I’d fix that problem soon.

I wanted to show Padmé the Podracer I was building, but it was outside in the storm, covered by a tarp. We went back into the main room instead.

We started to eat and talk. Padmé asked why, if we were slaves, we didn’t go to a planet where we could be free? I had to explain about the transmitters that were hidden in our bodies and how we could be blown up if we tried to escape.

Padmé looked shocked. I knew then that she’d never encountered anything like life on Tatooine before. And it made me wonder. Where in the galaxy had
she
come from?

No one seemed to know what to say next. I figured Padmé was feeling sorry for Mom and me. And I don’t like
anyone
feeling sorry for me. So I started talking about Podracing and how I was the only Human on Tatooine who could do it.

I could tell that Mom thought I was bragging, but I was just stating a well-known fact.

Qui-Gon said they had Podracing on Malastare. He knew it was very fast and dangerous.

And then he said that if I raced Pods, I must have Jedi reflexes.

I felt a chill.
Jedi reflexes?
I knew I was fast. But here was a real, live Jedi Knight hinting that I might be one of his kind! All of a sudden I felt the urge to tell him that I knew his secret.

But I hesitated. After all, he was dressed like a farmer. What if he didn’t want anyone to know?

Everyone has secrets. Sometimes, if you spend enough time with someone, you can figure them out. That’s how I knew Qui-Gon wasn’t a moisture farmer and Padmé wasn’t a farm girl.

I also had a secret. But mine was private. It had to do with the dreams I had. My dreams were different from the dreams of other kids I knew. Take my friends Kitster and Seek, for instance. They both wanted to be pilots like me. But they dreamed of leaving Tatooine forever and never coming back.

I dreamed about leaving, too. But I
would
come back. As a Jedi Knight. I dreamed about leading a slave rebellion here on Tatooine. I dreamed of holding a lightsaber, and of driving every last Hutt, criminal, and bounty hunter off this planet.

But I had another secret as well. A dark secret. It was about the way my dreams always ended. It was a secret that frightened me, one I could never tell.

I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. I wasn’t sure if I should say this, but I had to know.

“Qui-Gon,” I said, “you must know what you’re talking about, because you
are
a Jedi.”

My mother gasped. The others around the table went silent.

Qui-Gon was quiet for a moment. Then he raised an eyebrow and asked why I thought that.

I said it was because I’d seen his laser sword.

“Maybe I killed a Jedi and took his lightsaber,” he said.

I shook my head and said that couldn’t be true. Everyone knew that Jedi Knights couldn’t be killed.

Qui-Gon sighed. He gave me a look that would come back to haunt me.

“I wish that were so,” he said.

I know now that I should have paid more attention to his words. But I was eager to tell him about my dream of becoming a Jedi and freeing the slaves on Tatooine.

Surely he, a Jedi Knight, would understand. I asked him if maybe that was why he’d come to our planet.

Qui-Gon slowly shook his head. And then he said that in fact they hadn’t meant to come here at all.

For a moment I felt disappointed… until Qui-Gon explained that they were on their way to Coruscant.

Of all the places in the galaxy I wanted to visit, Coruscant was at the top of my list. From what I’d heard from spice pirates and deep-space pilots, it sounded like the exact opposite of Tatooine. Tatooine was a forgotten wasteland on the Outer Rim. Coruscant was the center of the galaxy. Tatooine was a near-empty desert. Coruscant was covered by an unending multileveled city. It was the capital of the Galactic Republic, and the home of the Jedi.

Qui-Gon explained that they were on a secret mission. But their ship was damaged and they’d had to land on Tatooine while they searched for parts. They would stay only as long as it took to repair the ship.

The problem was they didn’t have the money to get the parts. Qui-Gon had plenty of Republic credits. But those were useless to Watto.

All of a sudden I had a great idea. The Boonta Eve Classic Podrace was in two days, and I knew I could win it. If Qui-Gon would enter me in the race, the prize money would pay for the parts they needed—and more!

Mom got upset because she hated when I raced Pods. And Padmé and Qui-Gon both agreed that they would try to find another way to get the money—one that didn’t involve me having to risk my life.

But I wouldn’t give up that easily. I reminded Mom of what she’d said so many times: that of all the problems in the universe, the biggest one was that people didn’t help each other.

Mom started to shake her head, but then stopped. Our eyes locked. Without words, just using thoughts, I tried to tell her how important this was to me. That somehow, deep inside, I
knew
I had to race.

And then the most amazing thing happened. Mom turned to Padmé and Qui-Gon and said I was right. There was no other way to get the kind of money they needed. The only way was to let me race. She said she didn’t like it, but that this was what I was meant to do.