When Sith Beat Jedi To The Prize (Of The Chosen One)

[neverwantedtobesith]

Garth'zel had intended never to go to Tatooine again. The entire experience the first time he was there was hot and miserable. The only good point, so far as he was concerned, was meeting Andronikos. But as luck would have it, his ship ended up deciding to need minor repairs. Nothing too bad, but it did require him to land somewhere to get the parts he needed, because of course, the bit that went was something he didn't have spare parts for. The only planet within reasonable range? Tatooine.

It didn't take long for a Force-sensitive boy to catch his attention. One strong enough that he was surprised the Jedi didn't already find him. Well, their loss was his gain. ...Once he pried him loose from Watto, anyway. He suspects he actually had an easier time of it than a Jedi would, although he's not going to hang around and give one the chance to give it a shot. At least, unlike them, he's willing to come to Tatooine from time to time so Anakin could see his mother. Probably not more than a couple times a year or so, due to it being best to go there when they're at least vaguely in that part of the galaxy anyway, but it's far better than 'sorry kid, we're never bringing you back'.

Of course, there is one tiny problem with this whole thing. He's never had to raise children before and doesn't know what he's doing. With the ship safely in hyperspace and not due to come out of it for a good long while, enabling him to do things that didn't involve sitting in the pilot's seat of the ship, he's in the lounge area. Time to figure out what he's doing. "Have you managed to get any kind of schooling? Like from someone you know, sitting down with you for an hour here and there as time permitted to teach you things like how to write?"

May as well figure out what he needs to teach besides how to use the Force consciously instead of unconsciously drawing on it.

Comments

[imaperson]

Anakin hadn't been willing to leave, not really. He already missed his mother, and couldn't understand why she couldn't come too. He was sure he could have found something of worth to give Watto for her. Or the Zabrak could have.

He wasn't even sure what was happening. Sure his implant had been disabled. And he wasn't on Tatooine. But he was also mostly being ignored, and was feeling a little lost and very alone and also cold. No one had ever told him space was cold. He didn't even think he'd ever been cold before - and he didn't like it.

But once Garth'zel had come from the cockpit, Anakin had snapped to and watched him intensely. Even if he was staying just out of arm's reach. At the question, he shook his head 'no'. "I can't read. Or write. I know how to do some number. And fix stuff. I'm really good at fixing stuff."

[neverwantedtobesith]

Give him a break, he can only do just so many things at one time. The ship needed putting in hyperspace once he'd made the needed repairs, so he did that.

"All right, starting from the beginning with everything school-related then," Garth'zel says with a nod. "Although that'll mostly have to wait until I've had a chance to get what you'll need. We'll start with stuff that's intended for children younger than you are, but I'm sure it shouldn't take you too long to catch up to about where you should be, had you actually been able to go to school. Probably only a matter of months."

Just what the child wanted to hear, he's sure.

[imaperson]

He could have helped with the repairs! That at least, he understood what to do and wouldn't have left him feeling so lost.

Anakin mulled it over, thinking. He knew Huttese fluently, he knew Basic almost fluently - at least in speaking it. He could do basic math, it was needed for his work, but he really couldn't do it by working it out on a holodoc, he'd always had to do it in his head or scratched out in the dirt. So learning to read and such wasn't something he objected to. But..."I'm going to have to be sitting still a lot, aren't I?" Let's really focus on what he objected to.

[neverwantedtobesith]

Considering ship repairs were on a different scale than Anakin's usual, Garth'zel would rather not toss him at them right away, thank you.

"It does tend to be a little difficult to read and write when you're moving around," Garth'zel points out in an amused tone. "But yes, there's going to be enough of having to stay put while working on those things to result in getting bored."

At least he's honest.

[imaperson]

Excuse you he's been building a podracer and who do you THINK did all of Watto's repair work?

In truth Anakin could sit still. Sit still, be quiet, and do what he was told - and for far longer than a boy of his age should be able to do. But generally it was fixing or repairing something. Not working at a screen. And he did want to learn to read and write. But it didn't sound enjoyable. "Yes Sir." Anakin's voice couldn't be less enthused, but there's no fight in it either. "When do I start?"

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Mmm, you have a few days. I do need to get the things you need, after all, and that won't be until we make planetfall." In the meantime, they'll spend those few days in hyperspace. And working on other things.

"Did you get around to exploring the ship to find your way around while I was busy?" Or does he need to give Anakin a walk-through so he could see what was where?

[imaperson]

Anakin nods, playing with his fingers a bit as he considers, wondering what chores and work he'd have in the meantime. But he doesn't voice those questions or worries.

"I looked around a little. I found the 'fresher and the galley. The door to the cargo bay, I think. I didn't go in. And quarters." So he'd found a far bit, but mostly due to his own familiarity with ships in general and how they were laid out.

[neverwantedtobesith]

"On the note of the 'fresher, don't worry about how much water gets used. The ship has systems that will clean it and make it usable again." Then he grins slightly. "I would rather you not take so long I wonder if you managed to drown in the shower, though."

[imaperson]

He hadn't actually thought the ship's refresher would have water instead of just sonics, and he almost wants to just run off and play in the shower. And he glances in the direction of the 'fresher, before snapping back to Garth'zel.

"Can you drown in the shower Sir?" He wouldn't have thought about that.

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Only if you make a deliberate effort to do so," he says dryly. Seriously, he was kidding about the drowning in the shower thing.

[imaperson]

"Ok. Good." Anakin's shoulders relaxed, and he exhaled slowly, quietly.

"Did I miss anything important?" Places he needed to see, places he needed to stay away from.

[neverwantedtobesith]

Garth'zel needs a moment to mentally backtrack in the conversation to try to find the context for the latest. "It sounds like you've found most of the important places. Seems the only place you've missed is the medbay."

[imaperson]

Really the only actual medical care he'd ever received was from the midwife who assisted his mother in his birth. So the medbay as a thing that existed and would be for use by him. Well it just didn't factor.

"Could-could you show me where it is?"

timeskip!

[bittykin]

Several days had passed, Anakin having settled in some. It wasn't uncommon for him to get lost in whatever project he got into but he was much better than he had been the first time. He also was less jumpy around Garth'zel although there were still times of wariness, sleep shifts of ill sleep and nightmares, and Anakin generally finding ways to be completely underfoot or invisible in turns.

Mostly underfoot now, as they are approaching the planet Garth'zel had planned to stop at. Which meant he wasn't quite within striking range of his elbow, but it was a close call. Mostly because the boy was watching not the viewport but the controls as well, memorizing what they did in order to bring the ship into queue to land.

Re: timeskip!

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Get much closer and you risk an uncomfortable encounter with my elbow," Garth'zel says absently. "Not to mention complicate landing."

In other words, stop breathing down his neck and sit down somewhere out of the way.

"Huh. They've actually put in a proper spaceport, rather than people just landing wherever their ships could fit." Which is convenient, given the place seems to have become a proper city instead of the jury-rigged one it had been back in his time.

Re: timeskip!

[bittykin]

Anakin made a dismissive sound at the mention of taking an elbow it the head, it wouldn't be the first time and it wouldn't be that hard, not enough to even bother with, probably. "I just want to see what you're doing. I can't see from over there."

"Have you been here a lo..." The view of the water caused him to trail off, inhaling in surprise and disbelief.

Re: timeskip!

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Just the one time. But it was something of a memorable visit. Given what had been going on, resulting in my getting Darth Marr and Grandmaster Shan to agree to a truce so a problem for all of us that was more important than the usual Jedi and Sith conflict." Not that he's sure how much of that registered. He'll just be quiet now as he works on getting them in the docking bay he'd been directed to in order to set the ship down.

Re: timeskip!

[bittykin]

How much registered? Not much. Oh Anakin heard him and he would be able to recall the words later if asked. But did he listen? No. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the planet's surface, eyes large and round as krayt pearls, staring. Excitement and disbelief thrummed in his body, breath coming in quick, short bursts. He'd never even dreamed there could be so much water combined. Much less in one place. Oh sure, he'd been told planets were made of water, but what did that really MEAN to a child who only remembered the planet Tatooine?

It at least had him moving just out of the way, even if holding onto Garth'zel's chair so he could see more and stare.

[neverwantedtobesith]

"There's some little creeks here and there that's shallow enough to be safe for you so long as you don't decide that laying facedown in them's a good idea. We'll just need to keep an eye out for the local predators." Needless to say, he'll deal with them.

He also doesn't know if any of that was absorbed. Once the ship's parked and turned off, he unstraps himself from his seat and stands. "Come on. I need to get things like the refueling handled and then we can head out into the city.

[bittykin]

To be fair, once again, Anakin heard every word and would be capable of spitting it back like a dictation droid. Absorbing? He got 'you get to play in water' and given how he'd temporarily ended up owning a gaffi stick (until Watto took it away because no slave deserved something that valuable and sold it off), he wasn't even that concerned when the phrase 'local predator' penetrated the excitement.

Not to mention he'd not been strapped in at all once Garth'zel had started landing procedures and wasn't available to shove Anakin into one. But then...the boy loved racing pods. Anakin's sense of self-preservation may, just MAY, be too loosely calibrated.

But he did follow Garth'zel, sticking close to his heels but not so close as to be a tripping hazard. He was, at least, used to space docks and comfortable enough to know how to watch and how to stay out of the way. "How long are we going to stay here?"

[neverwantedtobesith]

"At least a couple of days, I think. Probably not as long as a week. Some of what we'll be doing is getting you clothes that are suitable for non-desert planets." Not to mention traveling in the ship, since the kid needs something warmer than what he's got. "Not to mention things for your schooling so we can get started on that."

Now hush child, so he can focus on his negotiations with the dock master. Once that's done, he starts heading out into the city. "Time to find out how the place has changed since the last time I was here."

Beyond the addition of the spaceport and there being plenty more people around.

[bittykin]

He wasn't asking for a schedule! Just how long they were going to be here. Given they had to dock the ship, that was just...the basic thing.

However, the relative isolation of the planet both worked in their favor and also made the pair stand out. While Zabraks and humans could interbred, Anakin looked nothing at all like what one would expect a hybrid child to look like, especially against Garth'zel and there was the matter of the very clear difference in their conditioning. Sure, Anakin was being fed much better than he ever had been, and getting proper physical training, but he was still underfed looking, hair cut cheaply and very very sun-bleached. And his clothing wasn't just suited for the desert but old, worn, patched, and stained - mostly because they's had to leave quickly and that hadn't left time to get him the higher quality clothing. Compared to his guardian...well.

One could almost suspect him of being a stowaway or a pickpocket. He felt the looks and glances and chewed on his lip for a moment before sliding sideways and reaching up to take Garth'zel's free hand. Making it clear they were together and that the Zabrak was his guardian - and Anakin wasn't just baggage.

He hoped. He'd apologize later.

[neverwantedtobesith]

One of them being very dark-skinned while one's light-skinned does rather make it obvious there isn't any sort of genetic relationship there, yes.

Garth'zel blinks down at him and shrugs. Okay then. He can ask about it later. Moving on. "Do you happen to know what your clothing sizes are? In the interest in not having to have you try on a bunch of things to find what fits."

He's pretty sure the kid would get tired of that very quickly despite the novelty of genuinely new clothes rather than just 'new to him'.

[bittykin]

Vastly different eye color and bone structure as well. But Anakin would hardly have been the first child bought at market for the purpose of securing an heir. And him being unable to hide his expressions at everything being so new to him probably lent more than a little weight to that idea.

"No. Normally Mom traded for clothes and they all started out too big." Removable pleats and smocking were just a fact. "One of the old ladies at the market would measure me with a string sometimes, but she just had it marketed with knots. I know my boot size?" Because those were better fitted and well marked.

[neverwantedtobesith]

"Well, at least the people at whatever clothing store we end up at should be able to work out your clothing size fairly easily," he says philosophically. On the bright side, at least boot size won't be a thing that needs to be figured out.