Path to War (The Chosen Twins Book #2)

Chapter 14 - Across the Desert

Anakin Skywalker

At long last, the brown dust-covered ball of Tatooine comes into view. The same as it looked when we'd left.

A multitude of emotions stir inside of me. Excitement that we're seriously about to see Mom again after so many years, dread on what condition we might be finding her in, frustration that we were even put in a situation where we'd have to leave her and not come back until she could be in serious danger, and anger that I thought had long ago died away at the memories of this place. Most of all, I'm worried of what might have happened during our absence.

The spaceship finally lands in a spaceship parking area near the edge of Mos Espa. It's early in the afternoon, nearing the hottest time of day. A great place to be in dark clothes. Not. Perhaps we should have taken that into consideration before leaving.

"Home, sweet home," mumbles Aniya sarcastically as we disembark from the ship to see still somewhat familiar sights, even though it's been an entire decade. It doesn't seem like much has changed at all. We find a rickshaw and ride off down the streets of the town that was once our home. It's still so familiar, even after so long.

Finally, we turn onto the most familiar street of all. Straight ahead of us is Watto's shop. It looks pretty much exactly like it did when we left. I don't know why I almost expected something different. Anger surges in me as I remember back to the days of being a slave. More than that, though, I'm not quite sure how to react to the fact that we'll be seeing Mom again, very soon. I'm sure she's not going to be here anymore, but she was planning to stay around working for Watto after she was freed until she found a better place to go. At the very least, he should be able to give us a lead on where to find her.

"Wait, please," I tell the droid driver as we get off the rickshaw and approach the shop. Right outside, sitting on a stool is Watto, a scowl on his face as he works on a droid, trying to repair it with a screwdriver. Three other pit droids are right nearby, chattering non-stop in an attempt to help, but only seem to be increasing his frustration.

"No, not that one! That one!" he yells in Huttese, oblivious to our presence.

"Excuse me, Watto," I call above the commotion.

"What?" he yells above the noise, barely sparing a glance our direction.

"I said excuse me," I repeat, in Huttese this time. Maybe if we talk in that language, he'll pay us more attention. We don't have time to deal with him ignoring us.

"Shut down," Watto orders the pit droids, before flying up into the air and hovering in front of us, still holding the other droid in his hands. The droids promptly shut down and go into storage position.

"What?" he demands, "I don't know you. What can I do for you? You look like Jedi. Whatever it is, I didn't do it." The screwdriver slips out of his hand, falling to the ground. He starts cursing in Huttese. It's almost amusing that he seems a little nervous at our presence. How the roles have changed so much.

"Let me help you with that," I offer, taking the machinery from him and starting to tinker around with it, trying to fix it.

"We're looking for Shmi Skywalker," Aniya speaks up, "Does she still work here?"

Watto's eyes suddenly narrow suspiciously, and he looks back and forth between me and Aniya, then at Padme and Jaufre, before looking back to the two of us again.

"Ani?" he exclaims incredulously, "Little Ani?! Naaah!" The same moment, I finally finish fixing the machine, and it whirs to life.

"You are Ani! It is you! You little womp rats!" he explains excitedly as he looks at us. "You sure sprouted. Weehoo! Jedi! Waddya know? Hey, maybe you couldda help wit some deadbeats who owe –"