Chapter Text
Sonali wiped her hands off on a fairly dirty work towel as she came into Watto’s shop from the outside portion. “Anakin is finishing up cleaning the fan switches. I just finished looking over those new parts you got yesterday. Mostly everything seems to be in working order,” she explained in huttese.
“Mostly?” He inquired harshly. She took a step back from him.
“Yeah. One of the parts is somewhat rusted on the inside, it’s going to need a thorough cleaning before I’ll be able to tell if it’s the least bit functional or not.”
“Stupid girl! You let me buy-”
“Excuse me.” Both their attentions snapped toward the doorway. Neither of them heard the bell ring. “Everything alright here?” A man in a large tan cloak asked. He was accompanied by a man about Sonali’s age wearing similar clothing, a girl who appeared to be a few years younger than her, an orange alien, and a droid. She blinked back a few tears.
“Good day to you,” Watto greeted. He completely ignored the man’s question.
“Is she alright?” He asked in basic. He kept his eyes trained on Watto, but the younger man’s eyes met hers. They were accompanied by a soft concerned smile. She mustered a small smile to give back.
“Do not worry about her. She is just my help. What do you want?”
“I need parts for a J-type 327 Nubian,” the man replied. He was clearly annoyed that Watto was brushing off how he treated Sonali, but Watto pretended not to notice.
“Ah, yes! Nubian. We have lots of that.” Watto turned his head toward the outside part of the shop. “Boy, get in here now!”
“My droid has a readout of what I need,” the stranger said. Sonali could feel the younger man’s eyes still on her even though she was no longer looking at him. She quickly wiped her finger under her eye to keep a tear from becoming noticeable. Watto hated when customers saw her cry and the last thing she wanted to do was make him more upset than he already was with her.
Sonali’s little brother Anakin came bounding down the steps and stood next to her as Watto grunted. “What took you so long?”
“I was cleaning the fan switches,” Anakin answered before climbing up on the counter to sit.
“You and your sister watch the store. I’ve got some selling to do,” Watto turned his attention back to the older of the two men. “So… let me take thee outback, huh? Ni you’ll find what you need.” The man told the orange alien not to touch anything before he followed Watto outback.
Anakin began to speak with the younger girl that had come in, but Sonali wasn’t paying attention to what they were discussing. She was on the verge of tears for probably the fourth time that week. Working for Watto wasn’t the worst job she could have on Tatooine, but it certainly wasn’t the best. Her and Watto just didn’t work as well together as Anakin and Watto did, though that’s not saying much. She had moved behind the counter to organize a few things when a pleasant voice grabbed her attention. “Pardon, but are you alright?”
Sonali looked up to see the younger man standing across the counter from her. “Yes of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
He clearly wasn’t convinced. “I saw you wipe a tear away from your eye. What was the shop owner yelling at you about when we came in?”
Sonali let out a sigh. “He traded for these parts yesterday. He had me look at them before he made the deal to see if I thought I could fix them up. They looked dirty and a little beat up, but what doesn’t that comes through here? I said I could probably fix them up enough to sell and he took the trade. This morning I found that one of the pieces is older and more rusted than I originally thought. Watto wasn’t too happy to hear that.”
“There are plenty of jobs on Tatooine, I’m sure with your craftsmanship skills you could find another,” he suggested lightly.
The comment made her laugh. A smile made its way onto his face when he heard the sound, but it soon faded. “I’m a slave and I have no hope of ever making enough money to buy my own way out so unless Watto decides to sell me or trade me, this is the rest of my life.”
“I’m-” the stranger was about to speak, but he was interrupted by something he never expected.
The orange alien knocked something over, but it never hit the ground. The girl standing in front of him used the force to stop it and gently set it back in place. “Please don’t break anything, Watto will have my head, Mister.”
“You- You have the Force!” The young man exclaimed, drawing her attention back to him.
“What? I-”
“What’s your name?” He asked. He has this bright, genuine smile on his face like Sonali had never seen.
“I’m Sonali. The boy is my younger brother Anakin,” she replied honestly, but she tried to draw the attention away from herself. The man’s charming smile and sapphire blue eyes were too much for her.
“I’m Obi-Wan. It’s nice to meet you Sonali.”
“We are leaving,” the older man came back into the shop, looking annoyed.
“Leaving so soon?” Sonali mumbled under her breath, but Obi-Wan heard it.
“I have something to discuss with you. It-”
“Can wait, Obi-Wan. Jar Jar,” the older man motioned to the orange alien as he walked briskly through the little shop.
Obi-Wan disheartened, but he gave Sonali a soft smile as he backed away from the counter. “I’m sure we will meet again, Sonali. The Force wills it.”
“Outlanders. They think we know nothing,” Watto grumbled in Huttese.
“They seemed nice to me,” Anakin replied.
“I agree,” Sonali said with a small smile. She stared down at the palm of her hand. She didn’t fully understand the powers that she had, but she knew they could do great things.
“Clean the racks… Then you both can go home. You better come in early for your next shift to clean those parts girl.”
“Yippee!”
“Okay, Watto.”
《\/》/\《\/》
“He’s asking for something other than Republic credits and mind tricks do not work on him. Is there anything of value left on the ship we could trade?” Qui-Gon asked Obi-Wan after the group was all outside.
“A few containers of supplies. The Queen’s wardrobe maybe, but not enough for us to barter with, not in the amounts you’re talking about,” Obi-Wan answered, but he wasn’t done talking. “Master I have to talk to you about something.”
“What is it Obi-Wan?”
“The girl in the shop,” he started.
“Yes? What about her?”
“She can use the Force. Well, I might add.”
“She can!” Jar Jar cut in, “Mesa was gonna make messa, but she stopped everyting from a falling over.”
Qui-Gon pondered the information for a moment. “Do you think she’s had training?”
Obi-Wan shook his head, “she’s been a slave most or all of her life. I believe her to be self-taught, as much as one can be self-taught when it comes to the ways of the Force.”
“We must go back to that dealer for parts. We shall see her again and possibly I can get a glimpse of her abilities.”
“Looks like you might not have to wait, Master,” Obi-Wan said. Qui-Gon followed his eyes to the girl, her brother, and Jar Jar a little ways away.
“Careful Sebulba,” Anakin said in Huttese. Sonali stood behind him. She looked taller and more confident away from Watto. “He’s a bigtime outlander. I’d hate to see you diced before we race again.”
“Next time we race, boy, it will be the end of you. If you weren’t a slave I would squash you now,” Sebulba threatened.
Sonali’s jaw clenched. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan watched her carefully as she lightly fluttered her fingers. “I think you have better things to do than threaten my brother Sebulba,” she snapped gesturing back toward his stuff. His food and supplies were everywhere like it had been blown around by a large gust of wind. The Jedi knew it wasn’t the wind.
“Damn you Skywalkers,” Sebulba muttered as he headed back to his space.
“Hi,” Anakin said as the Jedi came over.
Sonali smiled at them as she set her hands on her brother’s shoulders. “Lovely to see you again.”
“Nice to see you again too,” Obi-Wan replied. His master eyed him.
“Hi there,” Qui-Gon said to Anakin.
“Your friend should really be more careful while you are here on Tatooine. Not everyone is forgiving,” Sonali warned.
“Yeah, he picked a fight with a Dug, an especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba,” Anakin explained.
“Mesa haten crunchen. Das da las ting mesa want,” Jar Jar answered.
“Nevertheless, the boy is right. You were headed into trouble,” Qui-Gon scolded. He turned his attention back to the siblings. “Thanks, my young friend.” After looking at Anakin he made eye contact with Sonali for a short time, but she quickly looked away. Her eyes suddenly found the sand incredibly interesting. “Excuse me, what’s your name?” Sonali knew he was talking to her, but she didn’t feel like she could answer him.
“I’m Anakin and that’s my older sister Sonali. You’ll have to give her a break, she’s shy around most new people.”
“That’s alright. I just want to ask her a question,” Qui-Gon looked back at her shrinking form. It was almost as if she was trying to hide behind her little brother. “Where did you learn to do that?”
Her eyebrows furrowed as she slowly looked up at him. “D-Do what?”
Qui-Gon looked over his shoulder at Sebulba briefly, “That Dug’s property. You used the force to move it. How did you learn to do that?”
She knew she couldn’t lie, so she shrugged. “I figured out I could move things around with my mind when I was quite young, I’ve been practicing at it ever since. The only things I do outside of work are help Anakin with his projects and meditate.”
“Yeah! She’s spent whole days off in her room, sitting on her floor with her eyes closed. I banged pots in front of her face once. She didn’t move a muscle,” Anakin giggled.
“You did what?!”
“It obviously didn’t bother you, what’s the big deal?”
Sonali rolled her eyes, she was about to reply to him when Qui-Gon spoke again. “You had no idea he was in the room with you?”
She shook her head. “None at all. When I meditate long enough it’s like I’m in another world.” Qui-Gon started to walk the group he was with and the Skywalkers started to follow. The elder Jedi was deep in thought as they traveled. Obi-Wan found his way to walk next to Sonali after Anakin had abandoned her for Padme.
“Did I say something wrong?” She asked.
“What? No. Don’t worry about my Master, it's just not every day that we come across someone with force abilities like yours who's never had proper training.” His voice was too smooth for Sonali to handle. She gulped as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
“Really? I thought there must be someone else out there like me.”
“If there is, we haven’t found them,” Obi-Wan responded.
Sonali nodded, “what’s his name?”
“Qui-Gon Jinn. Curious one aren’t you?”
“Always. I find that curiosity helps me to learn a lot about the universe.”
Obi-Wan smiled at that, “Have you ever been anywhere, but Tatooine?”
“Not that I can remember well. Before Anakin was born, my mother and I were on a different planet, but I don’t remember much of it, I’m not even sure what planet was.” Pain was written on Sonali’s face.
“One day you will leave this planet again I’m sure.”
She looked toward him with a confused glint in her eyes. “What makes you so sure?”
“I can feel it. I can tell you’re going to do great things.”
She blushed and looked away. “Can all Jedi feel that sort of thing?”
“What gave away-”
“All the talk of the force and ‘master’ are kind of dead giveaways Obi.”
Obi-Wan chuckled at the nickname. “So much for disguises.”
Sonali looked out into the distance as Anakin and Qui-Gon bought something from a sweet older woman. “It’s going to storm,” Sonali said, “I can feel it.”
“I think so too Sonali. Always smart as a whip you are. My bones are aching. Storm’s coming, you all better get home quick.” she replied.
Sonali turned her attention back to Obi-Wan, “do you all have shelter.”
“We can go back to our ship,” he replied, though his eyes said that he didn’t want to.
“Is it far?” Anakin asked.
“It’s on the outskirts,” Qui-Gon responded.
“Oh, you won’t make it that far before the storm hits. Please come stay with us, I’ll feel better knowing you’re all safe when it gets here,” Sonali offered.
“That’s very kind of you,” Qui-Gon answered. “If it’s really alright we will take you up on that offer.”
“Of course! Our home is this way.” She started to walk toward their home, the group tailing behind her.
Sonali found her anxiety picking up as the wind did. Anakin took over leading the group, but she started to fall slightly behind everyone. Obi-Wan fell back and gently placed his hand over hers. “Anakin said we are almost there.”
“We are. Sorry, storms and I don’t really agree.”
“It’s alright. I’m not going to let anything happen to you Sonali. We’ll be safe and out of the storm soon.” Obi-Wan’s soft words made her whole face go red. She hoped the sand blocked it out and he didn’t notice how warm her hand felt.
It was only a few minutes before they reached her family’s home and he let go of her hand as they walked through the door into safety. Her hand had been burning, but without his, on it, the skin felt icy. She let out a sigh of relief nonetheless, they were all safe for now from the storm. “Mom!” Anakin shouted. “Mom we’re home!”
“Ahh dissen cozy,” Jar Jar said as he looked around.
Obi-Wan kept standing near Sonali as they stood in the small entryway, though a glare from his master made him take a step away. “These people needed shelter from the storm. They were kind to us so we offered to return the favor.”
Anakin dragged Padme to go look at one of his projects. Sonali giggled at the sight. “I don’t have any droids, but I can show you my room if you would like Obi.”
“I would enjoy that if you don’t mind my being in your space,” Obi-Wan replied.
“You’re not a bother at all.” Sonali had a small smile on her face as she said those words. Obi-Wan couldn’t pretend that his heart didn’t skip a beat at the sight.
Her room was simple. A plain bed rested in the far corner, the walls were the same barren stone as the rest of the house, and there was a shelf filled with old books and art supplies. Next to the shelf, there was a small desk with a notebook closed on it. A small rust-colored rug sat on the floor. There was a lighter spot in the middle of it where Sonali clearly sat a lot.“It’s not much, but it’s a nice place to come back to at the end of the day.”
“I think it’s quite nice.” Obi-Wan wanted to absorb everything he could at this moment. This was the best way to learn about her without asking a million questions. “Do you meditate on that rug?”
“Yes. I spend a lot of time on that spot.” She giggled as Obi-Wan planted himself on the rug. “What on Tatooine are you doing?”
“I am trying to understand what it is like to be you Sonali.”
“There is not a lot to understand.”
“You should give yourself more credit. I can tell you are a much deeper person than you let on.”
“I think you give me too much credit. I’m just-”
“Dinner’s ready if you two want to join us. It didn’t take long to set up since it was almost ready when you all came in.”
“Thanks, mom. We’re coming.” Her mom nodded and left to head back to the kitchen.
“It’s so interesting,” she said to Qui-Gon.
“What is?”
“How well they get along. Poor girl has a really hard time connecting with the people here,” Shmee explained.
“Quite interesting,” Qui-Gon replied.
“Yeah, Sonali doesn’t have her own friends. She just kinda looks after me and my friends.”
“Which I’m thankful for so I don’t have to watch them all the time and can get some housework done while I have time off.”
“Yeah but… This is kinda nice.”
“What’s nice Ani?” Sonali asked as she and Obi-Wan came into the room.
“Nothing sweetheart. Why don’t you and your friend sit down,” Shmee cut in.
Obi-Wan and Sonali looked at each other in confusion before they took their seats next to each other. Qui-Gon watched them very closely as they started dinner. He was all for breaking rules when necessary. This was not necessary. It was just about the farthest thing from it.
Sonali was zoned out for the first part of dinner. Nothing special happened after her mother left, but just having this type of connection was so new to her, it was all she could think about. It was starting to lead her to her mediative state. “Has anybody ever seen a podrace?” Anakin asked. The word podrace snapped her back to reality. She hated the podraces. Loud noises, crowds, her brother in harm’s way. It was a cocktail for her worst nightmare.
“They have podracing on Malastare. Very fast, very dangerous.”
“Incredibly dangerous,” Sonali mumbled.
“I’m the only human who can do it,” Anakin said.
“You must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods.” Qui-Gon stopped Jar Jar’s tongue from stealing food. “Don’t do that again.”
“You and Obi-Wan are Jedi knights aren’t you?” Anakin asked.
“What makes you think that?” Qui-Gon questioned. He played it so calmly.
“I saw your laser sword. Only Jedis carry that type of weapon. Plus Obi-wan told Sonali earlier. She guessed it without the laser sword.”
She laughed, “what can I say? I’m magic like that.”
“I had a dream I was a Jedi. I came back here and freed all the slaves. Have you come to free us?”
“No, I’m afraid not.” With that, Sonali tuned out again. She often was in her own world. Somewhere between daydreaming and another plane of existence. This time she was so far gone that she didn’t hear the mentions of her brother and another podrace. She traveled so deep into her other world she started to hear the whispers again. She had yet to get to a point she could make them out completely, but she could tell they were there and trying to tell her something.
“Sonali? Sonali are you alright?” Obi-Wan’s soft voice pulled her back to reality.
“Hmm? Oh yes. I’m fine.”
“She does that sometimes. She tunes out so much she meditates,” Anakin explained.
She chuckled awkwardly, “Yeah. I guess you could say I spend too much time in my own head.” The concerned look in Obi-Wan’s eyes made her feel guilty. “I’m alright, really. Happens sometimes.”
Obi-Wan nodded before turning his attention back to his food. This girl was so odd, but at the same time… The force was telling him she was important. Important in what way? He wasn’t sure. He did know one thing though, he wasn’t leaving this planet without her.