章節 2: Nubian
* Tatooine, Darth Maul. *
It took a great force of those damned Jedi to fly to the Hutt planet. Terrible heat, terrible inhabitants. A planet of crooks and thieves. It's chaos. It's even harder to find them here, though - after I landed, the droids flew off to look for someone who looked like Qui-Gon. But there were no results. I was desperate to find them, so I sat in a local diner. The locals didn't even look at me, though on other Republic planets they look at me like a ghost because of my facial tattoos. That's probably the only good thing about the whole planet. While I waited for the report from the droids, I took a look at the notice board. Yes, there seems to be a good thief here, if the ruler of the planet, or part of it - Jabba the Hutt offers fifty thousand for his capture. I'll look for the thief too! Money is never too much, and once I had the trust of the local chief, I could easily ask him about the Jedi. On top of the other notices there was a poster saying that the third race of the Bounta Eve Classic was about to start, and the bookies would be happy to take bets.
A bounta so bounta - an event like this is worth going to if only because Jedi will probably be there. After the glass was finally empty, I paid the bartender and headed out. The race was going to start soon, which is why everyone was running around!
I managed to get tickets in the parterre - close to the racers. Not like the beggarly Jedi - as I arrived I looked at the stands, especially the back row - the Jedi Order was not exactly beggarly, but preached contempt for personal values, so if the target bought a ticket, it was the cheapest.
Something's not right here. after a certain rider won, the stands all groaned like they'd lost everything. Yeah, it happens. The strongest man wins! Even if you don't know it. That's what the Sith will prove to the Jedi - the strongest wins, not the most famous. After the victory, a young boy in slave rags climbed out of the kara, and two women ran up to him... in Nabooan clothes. That's it! But the Jedi wasn't with them. We should wait and see where they go.
There was no Jedi, but they all came out of the garage, led by this Qui-Gon. After they came out, I carefully, trying not to create a disturbance in the force, began to sneak up behind them, instinctively treading carefully and on tiptoe. Yes, habit is an ineradicable thing. But no one turned round, but they all walked confidently out of the town. If I attacked them now, they'd be worried. Or the queen will fly away and I'll have to look for her again, unless they go to Coruscant, in which case my teacher will kill me! When I reached the edge of the city and looked behind the others, I found my speeder and got on it, following the Jedi. Fight on!
* Near Nubian *
The yacht, already repaired and ready for departure, stood under the hot stars of Tatooine. The chrome plating kept the hull warm, so the air conditioning inside easily kept the Naboans at an acceptable temperature. The crew, accustomed to the cool, tried not to go out into the Tatooine heat, even if it was the only fresh air - the air conditioners were still more familiar than dust and sand.
Qui-Gon, Shmi and Anakin Skywalker, the Gungan and the droids, and Padme Amidala Naberee had already approached the yacht. They were a dozen paces away when the speeder's repulsors whistled behind them. Anakin sighed heavily and prepared to fight, but the Jedi was ahead of them all - his sword was instantly in his hand and Qui-Gon was lightning towards the speeder, shouting into his comlink to Anakin as well:
- Anakin, get everyone out of here, Obi-Wan, open the hatch!
Anakin did not hesitate to obey the order - he grabbed Padme and his mother under the elbow and with a gentle push of force under their heels gave them acceleration in the direction of the hatch of the flying nubian, which had already opened. Anakin Skywalker nudged the ladies towards the hatch and then lifted the Gungan by force and threw him over the top. At the end, he jumped in himself, so that the cargo hold of the royal yacht was a mess - Padmé and Shmi were giving Obi-Wan a hard time, and a big-eared Gungan was mumbling at the top, clumsily trying to get down. When everyone unhooked, they saw Anakin lifting Qui-Gon, who was clutching the edge of the ramp, with his hands and strength. The sands of the planet were already out there, far away, and the boat was picking up speed. When Qui-Gon finally climbed into the yacht, Obi-Wan rushed to the console and closed the ship's hatch. Everyone looked battered, but they were alive and well, which was gratifying.
After a few seconds of silence, the arrivals looked at Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, adjusting their clothes. The Jedi took the floor.
- Obi-Wan... meet Anakin and Shmi Skywalker. Anakin, this is my apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi," Qui-Gon said. The yacht shook slightly at that moment as the Nubian travelled through the planet's atmosphere, entering a low orbit. After the shaking was over, Padawan held out his hand to Anakin.
- You can just call me Ben," Ben shook the child's palm. Skywalker returned the mutual courtesy:
- Anakin. Just Anakin.
- 'Oh, nice to meet you, Anakin,' Obi-Wan said, with a dash of sarcasm, and turned his gaze to his teacher with a smile.
- We're done here, so we're going to Coruscant," the Jedi turned his attention to Jar-Jar, who had started to annoy the droids with his chatter. Erdwa had managed to avoid the Gungan's attention for obvious reasons, but the Sitripio, who spoke the Gungan dialect, was already trying to understand the meaning of the Gungan's pestering. Qui-Gon smiled, thinking that the fidgety Jar-Jar now had an interlocutor, and went to the bridge. By the way, his presence was not required there and after visiting the bridge, the Jedi, along with the head of the Queen's guard, went to report to the fake Amidala. The real one, meanwhile, decided she had to accommodate her guests and assigned the only available quarters to Shmi and Anakin. Anakin thanked the "maid" profusely and accompanied her to make arrangements for the droids. His own, at least Tripio's, he had to check on.
* Hyperspace. Anakin Skywalker
It was... cold. After Tatooine, which was in the true stellar heat of the two stars Tatoo-1 and Tatoo-2, a planet of endless sands and cliffs where even at night it was nothing more than chilly, it was very cold on the yacht. Apparently, I was getting used to Tatooine by now.
The Nubian was a saloon yacht - one large lounge for the queen and several cabins for the servants. The inside was the same as the outside - a celebration of high-tech. It wasn't much different from what I'd seen in the film, except that the yacht was small, a couple of compartments - cargo and technical for droids, a corridor between them and the rest of the compartments, and the queen's apartments themselves. That was all, in general, except for the bridge, which looked like the bridge of the Normandy from a well-known game, or like a greatly enlarged cabin of a passenger plane. There I visited with Kwai-Gon, who introduced me to the crew - the chief of security - a Negro named Panaka, who looked at me kindly and shook my hand. I also met the pilot - a young man with curly hair. And, at the end of the tour, I was introduced to the queen's four maids in orange-yellow robes that reminded me of the sky at sunset. The maids looked like Padme, by the way, so it was impossible to recognise their faces. They giggled on the sidelines, throwing brief glances at me. Not the kind I was used to on Earth, of course, but not the kind that the inhabitants of Tatooine would throw at slaves, so I waved my hand at them shyly, eliciting another wave of hee-haws. Captain Panaka smirked and led me off the bridge. The maids, apparently sent by the 'queen', also left the control post and went to the main chambers of the yacht.
After I got the droids settled, I sat in the lotus position in the technical bay next to my iron friends and began to meditate. I looked inside myself, into the force. Nothing strange or dangerous - the power in me was as calm as water in a high-mountain lake, in this state it was as pliable to influence as possible, but if I opened my eyes, this smoothness would ripple, which, in general, is what happens in a normal state. As I looked around at myself and then at the nearest droid with the help of my power, adjusting its defects a little, the idea of working with a sword popped into my head, and I had it with me - I carried the blank behind my back. I took it out, put it on my lap, and again, as I had hundreds, thousands of times before, I looked inside. Inside were parts so precisely polished that it was a pleasure to look at them. They looked like a car engine after being rebuilt by a good mechanic. The other thing was that Qui-Gon said I lacked experience. It was understandable - without a teacher, it was strange that I'd been able to build a sword at all, even if it took me almost half a Tatooine year.
Speaking of time, a year on Tatooine lasted three hundred and two days, and there were twenty-three hours in a day. So the truest comparison is that twelve years on Tatooine is ten years on Coruscant, whose parameters are considered standard. So I was a little wrong about the time, and if you take into account the difference between standard Coruscant time and time on Earth, the difference is again not in Earth's favour, so I'm not ten years old now, but eight and a half, judging by the amount of time I've lived on Earth. But I'm not much of a child - not only do I have some adult consciousness, but I've been through the hard school of life as a slave on the dirtiest and most criminal planet in the galaxy.
(Perhaps the force decided that the "standard" scenario wasn't the best and gave it to Lucas, and put me here accordingly.... like this. And to Lucas, so that I, as a fall guy, would have an idea of what's going on and what's leading to what. After all, no one can still explain why the usual screen space opera has become almost a cult on earth. At least, this theory has become my main theory).
I was never a child. Unless I had to pretend to be one on purpose, and so - both consciousnesses were quite developed, and who was more developed was still an open question. Anakin wasn't a mama's boy, and he was a cunning boy. The second consciousness, however, was also not distinguished by a tendency to bad thoughts, and was not devoid of faith in goodness and justice, even if for the sake of justice it is necessary to carry the light of goodness with a lightsaber.
The sword was disassembled and I started working with the wires - the metal inside had to be cleaned at the molecular level, so that the energy loss from the resistance of the conductor would be minimal. Actually, it was already done, so all I had to do was run around a bit for defects inside the conductor.
- Anakin? - The voice of the intruder broke my concentration, and his power created interference, so I had to leave my occupation and open my eyes. I squinted at the light and saw who it was, Ben Kenobi. By the way, the lighting in here reminded me of the underground - big white glowing panels on the ceiling. Curved in a way that gave it a definitive high-tech look.
- Ben? - I asked, recognising Kenobi's voice.
Ben walked over, squinting at the droids, and asked:
- What are you doing?
- I'm meditating, trying to figure out the sword. - I said, stating the obvious.
- Sword? Can I see it? - Kenobi asked excitedly, stepping closer.
- Yes, please," I held out my billet to him. Ben accepted it and sat down across from me in my pseudolothos pose.
After a minute of studying my creation, the padawan said:
- Very good. I could do that, but it would take time....
- It took me six months to make it," I admitted. Ben exclaimed back in surprise:
- Six months? You're a stubborn guy. Our Padawans take a month and a half to make a sword, and even then they complain that they get bored with it.
- I don't spend all day and night with my sword. Qui-Gon bought me out of slavery, and my master was a junk dealer. Not bad for a slave, by the way - I'd been in his workshop all day, so I was used to making things. By the way, I built this droid myself! From old droids! - I pointed to Threepio, who was standing off to the side in sleep mode.
- Wow," Ben said, looking at the droid in surprise. Not every technician can put together such a complex thing as a droid.....
- Yeah, I was lucky. Well, I had to force some tweaks, so I was able to give it some decent performance," I admitted.
- Yeah, you're pretty cool. Anything else you can do?
- Besides working with metal, I can move things," I lowered my head, expressing my sadness at being so useless.
- Not every youngling in our temple can do that! - Ben encouraged me, at the same time pulling out a couple of boxes with words from somewhere behind his back. - Here, sharpen these, because you missed dinner while you were sitting here.
I took one box in my hands. Yeah, it's familiar from the good old RZD dry rations.
- Thank you, Ben," I smiled, and I ploughed into the food. Kenobi didn't lag behind, and opened his own portion and began to eat, too. In five minutes we had opened our drinks in those familiar aluminium cans, and as we drank I asked the Jedi:
- Listen, where can I get a crystal for my sword? Because I couldn't buy it, and on Tatooine....
- Hehehe... - Ben chuckled and, having finished the rest of his drink, answered me, crumpling the jar in his hand, "Crystal. Yeah, it's not so easy to get on Tatooine, but if you want it, I can give you mine...
- You have one? - I was surprised. Strange that he has extra crystals.
- Yeah, I'm in the process of making my sword. So far I have the sword my teacher gave me, but I'm working on my own, so I have about five crystals.
- Why so many? - I wondered again, remembering that the number of crystals varies from one to three.
- Well, usually there are less - about two or three per sword, but I wanted to experiment with different combinations, so I took five pieces at once, because they were free. One crystal is enough for a blade for your height, so I can share it, especially since one of them doesn't go well with the others....
- Then why did you take it? - I asked, though it was understandable - freebies are like that.... Obi-Wan, like me, turned the jar into a small metal ball with the help of the force, for such a simple action does not require trance, and explained to me:
- You see, Anakin, every crystal is unique, and picking one is a challenge. And to make a normal and effective combination....
- Understood, you don't have to go on. Then let's go, hand it over," I smiled, getting to my feet. My legs were a little stiff, but not as stiff as they had been before - I could tell I was getting used to meditating in the pseudolotos position.
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon lived in one of the servants' quarters, as indicated by the two bunks that were tucked in. The cabin itself was a copy of the one they'd given Mum - ascetic, uncluttered, spartanly simple - clean walls, neat beds. Ben reached into the drawer of a small nightstand and pulled out a black box. He opened it. There were several coloured crystals in the box, and Ben looked at my curious face and handed me one of them, a dark purple one. I took the crystal from his hands and immediately raised my sword.
- Wait, Anakin, you're not going to mount it right away, are you?
- Why not? I've had the sword assembled for a month now and I've only been waiting for the crystal. It's been ready for a while now, so we can add the final element.
- Well, suit yourself," I raised the sword to eye level after his words and opened the 'sealed area' inside. The crystal could not be lifted by force - it easily absorbed the surrounding streams, and after saturation began to create vibrations in the force, which made it difficult to hold it, so I had to use my hands. And then by force and clean it from fingerprints. After the crystal was inserted into the special grips, I soldered the sword back on and walked out into the droid bay. Ben followed me, speaking as I walked:
- It is believed that the crystal is the most important part of the sword and a Jedi puts his soul into the sword along with the crystal...
- Yeah? That's an interesting thought. Well, considering that the crystal is mostly the power placed there by the creator of the sword, and the crystal itself is processed by the creator's power, it's not so wrong. I'll switch it on, shall I?
- Just don't swing it. Actually, if you accidentally touch something with the sword, it will burn instantly, it's a very dangerous weapon!
- Yeah, yeah. I agree. Well. - I put my hand out in front of me and watched with admiration as the purple blade grew. If I slowed down the process, it would look mesmerising - first a small flash, then the light or rather - the beam from the emitter wrapped in an arc, entering the special entrance hole, and then the beam began to grow, taking shape. Half a second later the sword assumed its normal 'on' position - just under a metre in length, I would even say seventy to eighty centimetres. The blade hummed beautifully from the contact between the air and the arch, which created a unique sound. When I moved the sword, the amount of air that hit the arch increased and the blade made a higher sound.
- Yeah... - Ben stretched out, looking at the light of the sword.
- It feels strange," I said, waving the violet ray through the air, "when I hold it, there's no weight on the blade, but when I move it, it feels like I'm swinging an iron bar, even if it's only a little, but even those small movements make the hilt pull in my hand, and if I swing it hard, it will pull out.
- Yes, the arch creates a strong gyroscopic effect. It was hard to get used to it at first..... - Ben ruffled the hair on the back of his neck," but that was only at first. You should have a training sword, but I don't have one, and neither does the teacher.
I couldn't help but recognise his point by saying:
- Yes, you're right, a training sword in my hands is much more useful than a battle sword, but don't be in a hurry - we'll fly to Coruscant, and there are enough different swords in the temple.
- Oh, yes, I keep forgetting you're going to the temple. I wonder how your master is going to introduce you to the council... - Ben nodded thoughtfully.
- I bought you a hyperdrive.... a new one. Not for free, by the way. One of the conditions was that Qui-Gon would teach me.
- But he can't. You can't take two Padawans!
- No, you can't. So Qui-Gon is going to train you to be a knight, one way or another. So, Ben, you're in for some hard training. Or better yet, don't wait and start training yourself.
- Yes?" Ben Kenobi, the sixteen-year-old Padawan, looked thoughtfully at the row of droids and answered me after a short silence:
- You mean, thanks to you, I could be a knight soon?
- Well, leaving out the detail that you're already studying with Qui-Gon and would have become a knight anyway, yes. I liked Qui-Gon, so I'd be happy to have him as my teacher. Also, he's a pretty experienced knight - the council wouldn't send just anyone on a responsible mission with the Queen of Naboo. Hopefully Qui-Gon will continue to be popular with the council and we'll have some interesting missions ahead of us. But before you become a knight, I'll try to get a job somewhere in the temple. They won't take me as a youngling, so I can't say anything definite right now.
As I spoke, Ben listened thoughtfully and nodded. After I finished and went back to looking at the sword through the force, he said:
- Well, fine then, but... - he even got a little confused. I see.
- Are you afraid that you won't be able to do it? That Qui-Gon won't listen to you? That you won't become a Jedi?
- Well.
- Don't worry. I'm sure you can become a regular knight, if not the best. And then, in time, you'll rise to the level of master. Qui-Gon must have become a knight when he didn't know much more than you do now.
- I guess you're right," Ben said, rubbing his chin and sitting down on the floor again in a pseudolotos pose, apparently trying to calm down. Yeah, right, he'd been told the news - "dude, you're going to be a Jedi soon." I understand him, a little confused and scared.
I didn't stop Kenobi from regaining his composure and, switching the sword on and off once more, hung my new toy on my belt, sitting down on the floor. The floors here are surprisingly clean - if on Earth the cleaning is done by robot hoovers, which can be considered primitive droids, then here our iron friends are constantly scrubbing the deck. There was silence for a while longer. A silence which I, tired of the silence, broke:
- Ben, how long will it take us to get to Coruscant?
- Well, until about tomorrow morning. That's another ten hours by ship's time.
- Is that so? Hmm. wonderful. Then with your permission, I'll get some rest," I sat down in the same pseudolotos pose.
- You know, Anakin. my master sent me. To tell you that he can't bring you to the council right away because we're on a mission and we have to complete it first.
- Yeah? Great.
- He's arranged with the queen's servants for you to stay with and depend on Amidala for the time being. We'll have to wait until the mission is complete. As you rightly said, it's too late for you to become a youngling.
- Don't worry, Ben, and you can tell your teacher that I know how to wait," I mentally recalled the image of my sword. The purple crystal didn't suit it, the style was still white and silver, deliberately showing that I was on the light side of the force, so I had to find something more suitable.
***
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