Sixth Entry
The Biggest Surprise
It wasn’t until I got back to the hangar that I saw Mom, Qui-Gon, Padmé, and the others. Everyone congratulated me, and Padmé gave me a hug. Even Mom was proud of me. I guess my winning the Boonta Classic gave the Tatooine slaves hope. Maybe not that they could win the race. But that they could achieve whatever they wanted if they really worked at it.
Qui-Gon had already used our winnings to buy the parts he needed for his ship. Now he borrowed some eopies and a repulsor sled to carry the parts back to the desert. Jar Jar and Artoo-Detoo left for the ship on foot. As Padmé climbed onto one of the eopies, I wondered if I’d ever see her again. I wanted to ask her, but there were too many people around.
Mom and I went home. For the rest of the day I should have basked in the glory of winning the race. All the kids in the neighborhood came by to congratulate me. They wanted to play and talk, but I was distracted. I had a project I needed to finish—fast.
You see, I was sad that Padmé was leaving and I hadn’t had a chance to say good-bye. I knew Qui-Gon would come back to return the eopies. When he did, I wanted to give him something to give to her. Something she would remember me by.
I had a piece of japor wood that I’d found in the desert and was saving. Japor was rare and valuable, and anything made of it was supposed to bring the wearer good luck. Now I started carving a pendant from it. My hope was that Padmé would wear it around her neck…
I finished the pendant and went out to find a leather lace to hang it on. Everywhere I went, people waved and smiled. I felt funny. I’d never been a hero before.
Not everyone was happy about my win. Out of nowhere a Rodian named Wald appeared in front of me, blocking my path. Wald was usually a friend of mine. But one look at him and I knew he was no friend today.
Maybe he’d lost money on the race. Or maybe he just didn’t like Humans. All I knew was that he wanted to fight because he said no Human could have won the Boonta Classic. Therefore, I must have cheated.
He got the fight he wanted.
But even as our fists flew, I wasn’t thinking about him or the race. I was thinking about Padmé.
We were rolling on the ground, flailing at each other and kicking up dust when I felt a shadow loom over me.
Looking up, I saw Qui-Gon gazing down at me with a frown on his face. I quickly stood up and dusted myself off. The Jedi Knight asked what had happened. I told him how Wald had accused me of cheating.
He turned to Wald and asked him if he thought I’d cheated. To my surprise, even though I’d just pounded him halfway into a pulp, Wald nodded. He still thought I’d cheated!
Qui-Gon nodded knowingly and turned once again to me. He explained that fighting had not changed Wald’s mind. I would have to be satisfied knowing the truth—that I didn’t cheat—even if I couldn’t convince everyone else.
I realized Qui-Gon was teaching me a lesson. I might have won the race, but all the fighting in the world wouldn’t convince an enemy to take my side.
Qui-Gon and I went back to my house. When we got inside, he told me something I never expected to hear. It made me forget almost everything else. Winning the Boonta Classic was nothing compared to this.
The Jedi Knight said I was no longer a slave! I was free! It seemed impossible that Watto would give me up, but all Qui-Gon would say was that Watto had learned an important lesson about gambling.
Mom was thrilled for me. She said now I could make my dreams come true. Then she asked Qui-Gon if I was to become a Jedi.
A Jedi?!
I was completely shocked! But Qui-Gon didn’t seem surprised by the question. Then I remembered the serious conversation I’d watched them have the day before. This had to be what they’d talked about!
But me, a Jedi Knight? That was always a dream. I never, ever dared to believe it could really come true.
Qui-Gon kneeled down so that we were face-to-face. He looked very serious and told me it was no coincidence that we’d met. He said that I was strong with the Force. But he warned me that I still might not be accepted by the Council. I wasn’t exactly sure how the Council worked, but I had a feeling it must have been made up of other Jedi Knights.
He also warned me that if I was accepted, there would be a long period of training. It would not be an easy life. He could have told me I’d have to shovel bantha poo for the rest of my days. It wouldn’t have mattered if it meant being a Jedi.
Mom told me to hurry and get packed because I would have to go back to the ship with Qui-Gon and there wasn’t much time. I turned and started toward my room. But then I thought of something that made me stop in my tracks.
I looked back at them. Mom and Qui-Gon shared a knowing look. And suddenly I knew this wasn’t only good news after all.
Seventh Entry
A Difficult Decision
The bad news was that Mom couldn’t come with us. Qui-Gon had tried to free her too, but Watto refused. Even the money from selling my Podracer wasn’t enough.
Leave Mom on Tatooine? I couldn’t do it. Even if it meant not becoming a Jedi. I didn’t want to go without her. Coruscant was halfway across the galaxy—light-years away. It was too far. If I went there, there was a good chance I’d never see her again.
I tried to tell her, but she told me to listen to my feelings. I tried to pretend that my feelings wanted me to stay on Tatooine, but we both knew that wasn’t true. In my heart, I wanted to be a Jedi more than anything in the world. Finally, I went to my room and quickly packed.
It was hand to leave. Kitster and some of my other friends were playing outside, and when they saw me come out with Qui-Gon and my bag, they knew something unusual was going on. I told Kitster I was free and going off planet. Of course,
I couldn’t tell him why. He told me everyone wanted me to stay because I was a hero. That made me feel a little bad.
Then he told me I was the best friend he’d ever had, and that made me feel good.
A little way down the street, Qui-Gon was waiting for me. I started toward him, but when I looked back I saw Mom standing in the doorway of our hovel. That was the only place I remembered living. And she was the only person in my family. I felt a lump in my throat and a big sadness inside me. I went back to her and told her I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t go off and leave her.
Mom reminded me of the time I climbed the Great Dune to chase the banthas away before the hunters could shoot them. It was a broiling hot day and I never thought I’d make it to the top, but I knew I had to try. I even collapsed a couple of times. But somehow I’d made it.
And because of that, a small herd of banthas had lived.
Mom said this was one of those times when I had to surprise myself. I had to do something I didn’t think I could do. Because, like saving those banthas, something good would come of it.
I had to let go.
When I asked her if I would ever see her again, she gazed back at me and nodded. I’ll never forget what she said: “What does your heart tell you?”
It was strange, but right then my dream came back to me. I could see now how it might all indeed come true. I would come back. I would become a Jedi, then someday return and free all the slaves.
“Yes, I think so,” I said.
Mom smiled and nodded. “Then we will see each other again.”
Knowing that gave me the strength to go forward.
I joined Qui-Gon. We had to go to Watto’s shop first. I would have preferred to never see my former master again, but there were forms to fill out that guaranteed my freedom. And the transmitter hidden in my body had to be deactivated.
Watto grumbled once or twice about how unfairly he felt he’d been treated, but when Qui-Gon shot him a stern look, he got quiet—fast.
Qui-Gon wanted me to hurry back to the ship, but there was one last stop I had to make before I left Tatooine. I had to go back to the market and find Jira.
I found her at her stand and told her I’d been freed and that I wa
s going away. Then I gave her some of the credits from the sale of my Podracer and told her to get herself that cooling unit I’d promised her.
She gave me a hug and said she’d miss me.
I turned and started away with Qui-Gon. We hurried through the hot, sun-blasted streets of Mos Espa. I was surprised by the feeling of homesickness growing inside me. Miss this hot, barren place? I couldn’t believe it. And yet I knew I would.
Suddenly Qui-Gon swung around. The glowing blade of his lightsaber sliced through something hovering in the air near us. I was amazed. I thought my fakes were good, but they were nothing compared to the way Qui-Gon reacted.
The thing he’d cut out of the air was about the size of a loaf of bread. Now sliced in two, its parts lay sparking and fizzing on the ground. Qui-Gon kneeled down and studied it carefully. I asked him what it was. A probe droid, he said, but unlike any he’d seen before.
He looked around quickly. The droid was a bad sign. A moment later we were running as fast as we could toward the ship.
We ran across the hot sands on the outskirts of Mos Espa. I wanted to ask Qui-Gon why we were running, but I was too busy trying to keep up with him. Soon I could see the Nubian spacecraft ahead, standing on its landing struts. She was a beauty. Sleek with swept-back wings, she was as fine as any spacecraft I’d ever seen.
Without warning Qui-Gon wheeled around and yelled at me to drop. I did what I was told, and not a second too soon. A dark-cloaked figure on a speeder bike shot over me. If I’d been standing I would have been skewered. In a flash the dark figure jumped to the ground and ignited a lightsaber. A split second later he and Qui-Gon were exchanging earthshaking lightsaber blows.
Even the worst Podrace was less scary and dangerous than this. I didn’t know who that dark warrior was, but he attacked Qui-Gon so viciously that the Jedi Knight could barely fend off the blows.
This warrior was strange and evil-looking. Shaped like a Human’s, his face was covered with red and black markings. Short, pointed horns grew out of his head.
Qui-Gon looked as if he was in trouble, but I knew there was no way I could help. He yelled at me to go to the ship and tell the others to take off.
That I could do. I pushed myself off the sand and started to run. Right up the boarding ramp and through the Nubian’s hatch. Padmé and a man in a captain’s uniform were inside. I blurted out what was going on and what Qui-Gon had said.
They hurried away toward the flight deck. I stayed near the hatch and watched the battle outside. Not that I could see much. Just the cloud of dust and the brilliant flashes of the lightsabers.
As terrifying as it was, it also gave me a moment to wonder. I’d heard from the spacers who passed through Mos Espa that Jedi were the most powerful fighters in the galaxy. But that thing in the dark cloak seemed at least as strong as Qui-Gon. What could it possibly be?
With a slight jolt, the Naboo spacecraft lifted off the ground. For a second I thought we were going to take off without Qui-Gon. But the ship rose only a few meters and then started to move… straight toward the battle.
The ship turned slightly and I tried to watch the battle through the window. Meanwhile, the pilot was steering the ship toward them. The hatch was still open. I quickly understood the plan. They weren’t leaving Qui-Gon—they were going to pick him up! I just hoped they’d figured out how to do it without picking up that dark warrior, too.
We were higher now. Maybe a half dozen meters from the ground. Suddenly Qui-Gon appeared out of the cloud of chaos beneath us! He’d jumped up to the ramp!
But an instant later, the dark warrior appeared on the ramp, too!
Qui-Gon swung his lightsaber as hard as he could at his attacker.
Crack! The whole ship shuddered from the impact.
I watched in amazement as the warrior fell back to the ground. He landed on his feet and glared up at us with the most evil yellow eyes I’d ever seen. Just the sight of them made me shiver.
The hatch snapped shut. I barely had time to grab a handhold before the ship rocketed upward.
I caught my breath and watched the sky change. Below us, Mos Espa was no larger than a sandbox and getting smaller all the time.
Then the sky turned from blue to black and I was staring down at a bare, sand-colored planet. Beyond it glowed my familiar twin suns. Everywhere else, the sky was awash with sparkling stars.
For the first time in my life, I was in space.
Eighth Entry
The Queen
I could have stayed at that window staring out at the stars for a long time. But I was worried about Qui-Gon. The Jedi Knight had collapsed on the floor inside the hatch. Artoo-Detoo was already there. A young man I hadn’t seen before was there, too. One look at his clothes and lightsaber and I knew he was also a Jedi.
Qui-Gon was breathing hard. His face was wet with sweat and streaked with dust and dirt. I asked if he was all right and he said he thought so, but I could see that he was shaken. The dark warrior had come as a complete surprise.
The younger Jedi asked Qui-Gon what he thought the warrior was. Qui-Gon said he wasn’t sure, but that the warrior was well trained in the Jedi arts.
That puzzled me. How could you be well trained in the Jedi arts and not be a Jedi? But even more confusing was what Qui-Gon said next—that he thought the warrior had come after the Queen.
I asked Qui-Gon if he thought the dark warrior would follow our ship. He answered that we would be safe once we entered hyperspace, but that he had no doubt the warrior knew our final destination.
The thought of meeting up with the dark warrior again made me shiver. I asked what we could do about him.
Before Qui-Gon could answer, the other Jedi gave me a puzzled look.
“Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Qui-Gon said.
I held out my hand to shake his.
But when we shook, the new Jedi stared at me with one eyebrow raised.
I didn’t think he liked me.
We were in hyperspace. The parts Qui-Gon had purchased from Watto had done the trick and we were now moving faster than the speed of light. Hyperspace is a silent vacuum, and the only sounds in the ship were the hums of the navigational and life-support systems. Obi-Wan Kenobi had taken Qui-Gon to his quarters to rest after his battle.
Obi-Wan was shorter than Qui-Gon. Except for the braided pigtail that hung over his right shoulder and a small ponytail, he had short hair. I figured that he was an apprentice to the older Jedi.
With Qui-Gon in another part of the ship, I was alone, and cold.
In fact, I was shivering. The Naboo spacecraft was freezing.
I sat down in a corner and pulled my knees under my chin to try and stay warm. Now that it was quiet, I felt very lonely. I’d left my home with strangers to go to a place on the other side of the galaxy. Coruscant was so far away that I might never be able to go home. I knew Qui-Gon wanted to take care of me, but after his battle with the dark warrior he had his own problems. It was still hard to believe that there were warriors in the galaxy who might be equal to, or even greater than, a Jedi Knight. But now I knew there were. And if something happened to Qui-Gon, who would present me to the Council? Who would train me in the ways of the Jedi?
Who would believe that I even had what it took to become a Jedi?
I felt someone watching me and looked up. It was Padmé. She asked if I was cold and I admitted that I was. She gave me her jacket and teased me about being from a hot planet like Tatooine. She said space was cold. I told her that I’d already figured that out.
Padmé looked worried, so I asked her what was wrong. She told me the Queen had problems. The people on Naboo were suffering. Some were even dying.
I was sitting there wishing I had a way to cheer her up when I remembered the japor pendant. I took it out of my pocket and gave it to her. I told her that it would always remind her of me and bring her good luck.
I have to admit that I was more than a little nervous. Not only was Padmé beautiful, but I co
uld tell by her delicate clothes and her gentle manner that she was used to very fine things. I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about wearing a wooden pendant carved by a boy.
But Padmé smiled and immediately put it on. She said she loved it. And she said she wouldn’t need anything to remind her of me. She promised she would never forget me.
I was in the cockpit of the spaceship when the pilot brought us out of hyperspace. We were at the inner core of the galaxy. The sky was dense with brightly twinkling stars and systems.
Directly below us was Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic. I’d dreamed of visiting Coruscant, but it was even better than I’d imagined. The entire planet was covered by a huge sprawling city with every imaginable size and shape building. Some were so tall their metallic spires pierced the clouds.
We started to drop down toward the planet. The endless city had canyons like Tatooine, but they were the canyons between buildings. The airspace was clogged with hundreds of different vehicles—from small messenger speeders to huge, slow-moving transports.
We moved into a traffic lane and then onto a floating landing platform. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi joined Jar Jar and me near the hatch.
An important-looking group of people was waiting on the landing platform. Before the hatch opened, Qui-Gon instructed Jar Jar and me on how to bow and show respect. He told us to stay out of the way and take our cues from him and Obi-Wan.
When the hatch opened, we did as we were told and moved off to the edge of the platform to get a closer look at the huge city surrounding us.
I think Jar Jar was even more amazed than I was. He just stared and stared with his big frog eyes.
Meanwhile, I kept one eye on what was happening behind us. I was glad I did or I would have missed what came next. Several royal guards stepped down the ramp, and then came Queen Amidala!
I could hardly believe I was standing so close to royalty. It was obvious that she was powerful. You could tell by her powdery-white face, and black-and-gold royal garb. On her head was a headpiece made of large black feathers. The important men I’d just bowed to were now bowing to her!
Star Wars - Episode I Journal - Anakin Skywalker Page 3
