INCEPTION

05|The Plan

The sandstorm continued to rage outside as Jobal prepared the food Qui-Gon had given her into a meal. With Jar Jar and Anakin's help, Jobal was nearly finished with the food. Padme' was in a backroom, washing up while Qui-Gon stood in a corner talking to Obi-Wan.

"I'm certain that the transmission was a bait to establish a connection trace and reveal our whereabouts. You made the right decision, Obi-Wan."

"But what if the Governor was telling the truth. What if the Federation was destroying things and the people are dying, Master?" Came the voice of his apprentice.

"In either situation, we are running out of time, Padawan." Qui-Gon said. He ended the transmission as Jobal, Jar Jar, and Anakin began putting the food on the table in the middle of the main room. Padme' came back out then and started to help with the preparations as well.

After everything had been placed on the table, everyone sat down and began to eat. Qui-Gon and Anakin were occupying the ends of the table, while Jar Jar and Padme' sat beside each there and Jobal sat across from  her daughter. After a few moments of awkward silence, Padme', in the way of small girls, began talking about their life as slaves, trying to encourage some conversation at the table. Padme' was in no way embarrassed by her life. Her mother, though, was trying to make the others understand the severity of being a slave on a world controlled by non-humans.

"Each slave has a scanner placed inside their body somewhere, so their master knows where they are and if they are suppose to be there." Jobal stated.

"I'm trying to build a scanner to late them. I just haven't found the parts I need or the time to do it with my other projects I'm working on." Padme' continued.

"If there is any attempts to escape." Jobal trailed off, unwilling to finish what she was saying.

"They blow you up. Boom!" Padme' hit her hand on the table to emphasis her point.

Another silence engulfed the table, broken by Anakin after a few minutes. "That's horrible. I thought that slavery in the galaxy had been abolished. The Republic..." Anakin was cut off by Jobal's sad voice.

"The Republic! The Republic is no more than a myth out here. We must survive on our own. No one else out here would so much as turn backward glance at a slave." 

Anakin bowed his head, thinking of all the terrible hardships these two people had faced.

Padme' broke the silence that had developed with an innocent question, unfavorable by her mother. "Has anyone ever seen a pod race?" 

Jar Jar and Anakin shook their heads and Jobal lowered hers. But surprisingly Qui-Gon spoke up to the young girl. "They have pod racing on Malastare and Pixelito. On journeys there, I have seen some races. Very fast, very dangerous." 

"I'm the only human, as far as what the others say, who can race them," Padme' said with a little pride. 

"Padme'." Jobal scolded.

"It's true, Mom. Watto says he's never heard of any other human being able to do it. He said something about them not having the flexibility for it or something," the young girl went on.

In the middle of the conversation, Jar Jar had launched his tongue at a bowl of food and snatched a morsel, deftly pulling it into his mouth. This earned him a hard look from Qui-Gon and he bowed his head, swallowing the morsel quickly.

"You must have Jedi reflexes if you can race pods." Qui-Gon said. As Jar Jar launched his tongue out again, Qui-Gon caught it, making the Gungan drop the morsel and blanch at the feeling of being unable to retract his tongue. "Don't do that again," Qui-Gon spoke evenly to the Gungan.