Mandalorian Menace

Chapter 8 - Paths

Author's Note: In which Qui-Gon makes a proposition. :) Also, nothing is a foregone conclusion. I'm using TPM as a reference, but nothing more. ^-^

PS. There is Mando'a in here, and I put all the translations at the end. Let me know if I missed anything! ^-^

~ Amina Gila

Shmi awakens early, the way she does every morning, but this time, it's especially early since she has to prepare breakfast for everyone. She's so grateful that they now have more credits so they can afford proper food. Ani really needed it, she knows, and it always killed her to see her son starving and hungry. He'll eat anything he's given, regardless of how unappealing or unappetizing it is.

She's slightly surprised to see that the Jedi, Qui-Gon, is already awake, sitting in the middle of the floor. He opens his eyes and rises when he sees her. They regard one another in silence for a moment before Shmi enters the kitchen-area, remaining as quiet as possible so she doesn't make any noise which might disturb the others in their home. She doesn't know what to say about the Jedi, because she, unlike Anakin, recognized that the Jedi are, like them, sentient beings, and are therefore flawed.

While she fully understands Mando's anger, she isn't sure if she shares it. Qui-Gon, in his hastiness, made a mistake, though she does dislike how he went about doing it. Using his abilities to force someone to do something which would hurt them is morally reprehensible.

Qui-Gon moves closer after a few moments. "Your son is special."

Shmi stills, turning to look at him, keeping her face blank. She should have realized that the Jedi would notice, but it takes her by surprise, nevertheless. She hopes that he didn't also notice Grogu's abilities. Mando seemed unusually stressed at the prospect, almost as if he feared that they would take the child from him, but she didn't pry.

"He tries to help people without thought of reward," the Jedi continues, "He has... special powers, does he not?"

"Yes," she nods. There's no reason to hide this. "He can see things before they happen sometimes. His reflexes are remarkable for humans. He used to race pods when – when we were still slaves, before Mando freed us."

"I'm sorry," Qui-Gon says simply, pausing for a moment. "Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early. The Force is unusually strong with him. That much is clear. Who was his father?"

"There was no father," she answers quietly. She had thought, wondered, initially, if this was a blessing for her. Her family was religious, very much so, but she was so young when she was taken that she remembers very little. But her parents were raising her as a good person, and she always did her best to help other slaves whenever she could, much like Anakin does now. When she realized that she was pregnant with no natural explanation, she had wondered if it was a gift... Or a curse. Having a child born into slavery is the worst nightmare of every slave.

"I don't know what happened, but Mando is his father now," she states firmly.

"I know," the Jedi assures her. "I can see their bond, but I think Anakin should be trained as a Jedi. It is his choice, of course. His, yours, and the Mandalorian's." There's another moment of silence before Qui-Gon clears his throat. "I'll go contact my apprentice. The Queen needs to be updated as to the situation." With those words, he exits from the home, leaving Shmi to her thoughts. Truthfully, she doesn't care what Anakin decides as long as he's happy and safe and able to fulfill his dreams of helping people.

***

When Din wakes up, he realizes that he's rather pinned in place, even though he would really like to move his limbs before they begin getting sore from not moving in so long. Anakin is still sleeping, breathing evenly, leaning against him the way he was last night. And Grogu is curled in Din's other arm, resting against his beskar'gam. He doesn't move and simply watches his kids sleeping until they awaken on their own.