"The readings are off the scale," Obi-Wan replied, his voice awed.  "Over 20,000." Over 20,000? That was unheard of. "Master, what does that mean?"

"I don't know." He clicked the communicator off and looked up to see Schmi standing in the doorway, looking at him worriedly. And with good reason. He fully intended to take her son with him when he left this godforsaken planet. He knew the mitichlorine count had alarmed Obi-Wan, but he felt deep within him that the boy's power was too great to leave neglected on a dusty little planet.

"He's always been a special boy," she started, her voice shaky. "I always knew there was something special about him." For the first time, Qui Gon felt a ripple in the Force that centered around Schmi. Could she, perhaps, have had Jedi tendencies, neglected since birth? An ignored Jedi potential that finally manifested inself in Anakin? As Anakin? "Mr. Jinn,"  she started.

"Qui Gon, please," he interrupted her, gently. "I would be insulted if you thought of me as a perfect stranger."

"I only met you today," she pointed out, rationally.

"That is true. Please excuse my indiscretion."

"But I would prefer to call you Qui Gon." She stepped closer to him. "If you would prefer to call me Schmi."

"I would like that very much. It takes a very special woman to raise such a special little boy." She glanced back toward the lighted rooms of the small dwelling. Qui Jon admired the way the light framed her face.  She must have been quite a beauty in her youth. She was still an attractive woman, though the years had been long and hard on her. Her tender, yet lined face reminded Qui Jon of the hard-worked woman who tended his needs as a child. He had been separated from his parents soon after birth, as Obi-Wan, as all Jedi children had been, so he never knew his birth mother. He had no memories of her at all, unlike Obi-Wan who confessed to dreaming of his mother's face rocking him to sleep. Considering Obi-Wan had only known his mother for six months before the Jedi became his family, the Force must echo strongly in him. A shame he did not have a better grasp on his talent.

"Sometimes I wonder if Anakin does not raise himself. He certainly does not spend much time listening to me. Do you have children, Qui Gon?" Qui Gon stared out over the desert and thought of Obi Wan.

13-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi gripped his lightsaber and scowled at his Master, Qui Gon Jinn. Qui Gon simply sighed and called upon a second remote. Obi-Wan slashed it quickly from the air.

"Master, why can we not move on? I can kill any remote you send at me. All you are gaining is a pile of broken remotes."

"Good against remotes is one thing, Obi-Wan. Good against people, now that's something else."

"So why not fight me yourself? Are you afraid of me?" Qui Gon hid a smile. His prowess with the lightsaber was respected greatly among the Jedi. It was his strongest trait.

"I am afraid for you, young Padawan."

"Haven't I proven myself strong in the Force?"

"You have proven yourself an adequate swordsman. You aren't even using the Force."

Obi-Wan stared at him in shock. Qui Gon had a feeling he was about to do something stupid. Obi-Wan did not disappoint him. The young Padawan rushed him, brandishing his lightsaber. Qui Gon met him easily, parrying his thrusts, and blocking his slashes. He wondered if he should attempt to teach Obi-Wan a lesson by humiliating him with an overwhelming show of superiority, or simply allow the boy to exhaust himself. He decided that to embarass Obi-Wan would be petty and counterproductive. The boy had enough insecurity and impatience to make him a risk, though his desire to learn the Jedi ways and become a
protector of peace and justice was admirable. Besides, he wanted the boy
to see him as a teacher, a father figure, an example.

He saw it happen before it happened. Obi-Wan would switch up his swing in midair, bringing his lightsaber downward. He would block upward, and Obi-Wan would be sliced stomach to neck by his own mentor's sword. Qui Gon switched off his lightsaber. Obi-Wan's lightsaber embedded itself in the chair next to Qui Gon's leg. Part of his leg was on the other side. Obi-Wan's face grew wide and scared. Qui Gon reached over calmly and switched off the lightsaber. A medic droid rolled in, chattering nervously and brandishing gauze.

"Master, I--" And Qui Gon heard no more.

When he came to, he was lying in a bed in the hospital, Obi-Wan hovering by his side.

"Well, young Padawan, perhaps you are better with the lightsaber than I anticipated." His voice was mild.

"Master, I could have killed you. I nearly killed you."

"No, though you did nearly relieve me from the possibility of having children."

"Master..." Qui Gon waited for the question to be asked. "You turned off your lightsaber. Why?"

"Did you not see it?" he asked, mildly. "In blocking that move, I would have killed you, at worst. At best, you would be in my place with a two foot scar on your chest."

"But to not defend yourself..."

"I can't train a Padawan if you are dead, now, can I?"

"No, Master, I suppose not." Obi-Wan looked down. "I was too headstrong. It was not my place to challenge you."

"No, it was not. Let us remember this as a lesson for the future."

"To keep my head and to not attack my master?"

"That you are more important to me than my own life. Remember that, young one. I am here for your benefit. I have nothing to gain by restraining your progress, nor would I ever want to."

Obi-Wan suprised him, then, by hugging him briefly across the chest. The boy had never been demonstrative in any way, and had even shrugged off Qui Gon's comforting hand at times. Qui Gon patted his back, gently, loving the boy as much as he ever could love a child of his own blood.

At that moment, the formerly headstrong pupil was sitting cross-legged in a small, empty room aboard the Queen's transport ship, attempting to meditate. Meditation had never been one of his stronger suits, and tonight the peace did not come easily to him. He was restless and he yearned for action. Though the ship was large, the passageways were small and cramped, there were too many people in too small a space, and the recycled air was stale. Obi-Wan left the ship and gazed about the open desert. His master, that annoying creature, the droid, and that handmaiden, Padme, her name was, were out there, somewhere, with a small boy possessing an astronomical mitichlorine count, while he was stuck on a broken ship with a dozen out-of-work pilots, a hyperactive captain of the guard, and an adolescent queen possessing altogether too many clothes. He took a deep breath of the hot desert air and sighed. He
was grateful that Qui Gon thought enough of him to entrust the safety of
the ship and the queen to him. Then again, who else was he going to trust?
Jar Jar Binks? At least Qui Gon had taken him on the expedition. Obi-Wan was in no mood to deal with the talkative clutz.

"Rather nice out here, isn't it?" Obi-Wan had felt the presence for the previous five minutes and had been awaiting a comment.

"That it is." He turned, expecting to see one of the queen's handmaidens, and instead facing the queen herself. He quickly dropped to one knee. "Good evening, your Majesty."

"Rise. Thank you." Obi-Wan stood again, glancing back at the city. "I feel quite useless sitting here while my people are under attack."

"I doubt your people are in the trouble your governor believes, your Majesty," Obi-Wan offered. "The Trade Federation knows it cannot cover its actions if they leave evidence of an attack."

"But my governor said that the people were dying."

"Have you and the governor worked long together?"

"Since my people elected me." Obi-Wan frowned to himself.

There was something wrong about this conversation, and he did not know what.

"Have you decided what you will say to the Senate?" She looked uneasy. "Surely Chancellor Velorum will support you." He had never seen the queen look uneasy. Angry, indignant, serious...never like this. "I have not yet decided. I do not know what Chancellor Velorum will do." She turned to look at the city. Obi-Wan carefully reached out with the Force, to determine why he was feeling so uncomfortable with this conversation.

"Yes," Qui Gon told Schmi. "I raised a boy from the age of 13. I have always thought of him as my own."

"You love him very much. I can tell."

"As you love Anakin."

"You want to take him away, don't you?" She was very direct.

"I want to take you both away."

"He doesn't need to grow up in this place."

"He has great power which should not be wasted."

"How? The chip--he will die if you try to take him away."

"Not if I can convince Watto to free him."

"How will you do that?" Schmi looked at him, skeptically.

"Why, gamble with him, of course."

"You already have a plan, don't you?"

"He wants to make money. He expects Sebulba to win. If I bet against Sebulba, your freedom against the pod racer, either you will both be free, or the Watto will be the owner of a broken pod racer."

"That's an awful big chance."

"Just an addition to the original bet."

"You're frightening me."

"That was not my intention." Qui Gon laid a hand on her shoulder, and she turned into his arms.

Queen Amidala swallowed and held very still as the pulsing blue glow the lightsaber held under her chin cast a sickly cast on her painted features.

"You are not Queen Amidala," Obi-Wan Kenobi spoke quietly in her ear. "Why don't you tell me who you are, why you're impersonating the queen, and why I shouldn't slit your throat from ear to ear?" "I am the queen's bodyguard, her double," she choked out, trying not to move her head.

"So the queen's asleep on the ship?"

"The queen's down in the city," the double muttered. "She disguised herself as one of us because she wanted to see the planet." "What?" Obi-Wan deactivated the lightsaber. The handmaiden sighed in relief and turned to face him.

"She's with your friend, the Gungan and the droid. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I must tell Qui Gon."

"No!" The handmaiden put a hand on his arm. "If your friend knows she is the queen, he will not be able to pretend otherwise, and any special treatment he offers her will immediately set her apart and make the locals suspicious. The queen knows how to defend herself. She will not be injured." Obi-Wan eyed her suspiciously. "Besides, you do not want your transmission to be picked up by anyone else." There, she had a point. Obi-Wan cast his troubled gaze over Mos Espa and sighed. No doubt Qui Gon had already realized he was escorting a queen. He would have to wait until they were safely back on the ship. If they made it safely back to the ship.

Qui Gon held Schmi gently in the circle of his arms as she rested her head against his broad chest. He stroked her hair gently with one hand. She raised one hand to touch his cheek, and raised her face to look him in the eye. No words were needed.

Miles away, Obi-Wan Kenobi watched the lights die in the city. The duplicate
queen had gone back to the ship. The day was over. Obi-Wan turned to enter the ship.

Tomorrow was to be a big day for them all.