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

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.

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Garth'zel lets out a soft snort. "It was far more of a concern when I lived in an Empire full of Sith trying to kill each other, yes. Not that we were supposed to. And not that that stopped us; we just had to make sure not to get caught."

Things you weren't supposed to do just meant to had to not get caught unless you had enough money or social status for people to not care. "But you don't now, so you'll be fine." Besides people with lightsabers wherec really hard to kill right? "You were good at not getting killed then."

Garth'zel can't help but laugh at that. "Lana would have some things to say about that. Some of them likely profane. Probably along with an observation that my survival was in despite of myself at times."

The laugh made Anakin laugh, mostly because despite not knowing who Lana is, he can hear some of that from people talking about him. "Who's Lana?"

"She was another Sith. One I could actually trust. As you learn more about the Sith, you'll know how rare it is to be able to say that about one of us."

He smiles wryly. "I don't think I would have needed to worry about her trying to poach you from me; she's never shown any interest in having apprentices in all the time I've known her and she'd probably be at a loss as to what to do with a child, anyway."

Not that he doesn't have some of that going on, himself.

"So she's your friend?" That was how Anakin understood it - he was able to trust her, so she was a friend. "

"Did that happen a lot? Sith trying to steal other Siths apprentices? Is that what I am?" It was nice being able to put labels to his place, those where important.

"She was, yes," Garth'zel says with a nod. "Luring his apprentice away from him and over to me was actually one of my moves when things with Thanaton came to a head.

"You're an apprentice, yes, but considering the way Sith are, I'm going to try to not turn you into one."

"Why did you do that?" That seemd like it would make things worse, which made him think Garth'zel was looking for a fight.

"I still don't understand why that's bad, to be what you are." Garth'zel seems the pretty decent sort, so he is just confusing Anakin.

"It was one of my opening moves in our Kaggath; that is, a duel between two Sith and their power-bases. It was a way of chipping away at his own support," Garth'zel explains patiently.

"Oh." He's quiet a moment - repeating the work 'Kaggath' to commit it to memory - before continuing. "Then why'd you stop at one? Wouldn't more be better?"

"He only had the one apprentice," Garth'zel says with a shrug. "Not to mention, I had to work to counter the things he was doing in order to protect my people."

"How many did you have?" Anakin is fidgetting, for no otherv resin than to move. He likes to move. "You won, right? What was he doing? How did you counter him?"

"Just one, and yes, I won. As seen by my being alive. I had to kill Republic troops who had gone after the Moff I was allied with who was helping me and I also had to save the fuel stores that his ships were going to need if they were to leave the system. Both those things made Moff Pyron angry, because they had put the war effort with the Republic at risk." He shakes his head.

"Enough. You're supposed to be watching something about the wildlife of Rishi."

All of this was noted, filed away. More than he truly understood, but Anakin understood enough to read 'ruthless when needed' in the actions and politically savy.

He hasn't actually forgotten the holo, but they'd gotten sidetracked, Anakin leading the questions. Still made it was better if he had forgotten the holo? "Oh. Right. I'll do that." Just don't expect him to sit still. Or to simply watch it - there sure lots of pausing and replaying, so that he can understand what's being said or what he's seeing. Or simply because that was wizard.

So long as Anakin finished it sometime before they had to eat, Garth'zel doesn't care how long it takes him to watch it.

Still, before he does go off to start the food when he's ready to do so, he sends a questioning feeling in Anakin's direction. Best to find out if he was going to need to drag the kid away from the holovid to eat.

He not only finishes but watches it a second and third time, pausing andc replaying different parts. A new planet is interesting, as he can't really remember where they were before Tatooine.

The feeling is answered with one of surity. He's good, just studying. But that's something questioning in his reply, wondering if he's needed somewhere else.

There's a feeling of negation from Garth'zel; he was just checking up on him. Reassured that Anakin had probably watched the whole thing at least once, he starts working on the food. Time to get them both fed within a reasonable amount of time.

Satisified he's not being summoned, Anakin unpauses the holo and continues watching. There are things he has questions about but nothing he can't and won't ask later.

He simply takes the check to mean he's to continue studying.

Edited 2019-09-09 02:29 (UTC)

Garth'zel plans to quasi-quiz him later over their food, so Anakin will get his chance to ask his questions then. But until then, he may as well glean as much information as he can.

Even so, the smell of food will probably summon him before Garth'zel's Force summons does.

Anakin exploits the holo for what he can, rewatching things from different angles so he can get a better understanding of the wildlife. It's part of the reason he's pausing and replaying parts.

But he does notice the smell of food. It'll have to grow stronger but he's stopped the holo and starts heading towards the galley only a few moments before there is a summons, and it's more his water is empty and it's the roughly the time of shift they eat than feeling hunger. So his feeling is acknowledgment and he puts some hustle in his step.

"I'm here."

Edited 2019-09-09 05:53 (UTC)

"So you are," he says agreeably. "How was the holovid? I tried to make sure to pick one that wouldn't have too many words you wouldn't know."

The names of the various creatures aside, which, being new to Anakin, obviously weren't going to be known to him.

There's a fresh piece of fruit on Anakin's side of the table to supplement the main food, since he needs what the fruit has rather more than Garth'zel does. This time, the main meat is a small roast, the majority of which goes to the carnivorous one of the two, and some vegetables that were cooked in with it.

"It was neat." Anakin pucks up the fruit, turning it over in his hands. He knows it's fruit, believes he's seen it before. But he hasn't the faintest idea how to go about eating it. "I liked that they showed the animals in motion, rather than still."

Anakin puts the fruit down, saving the puzzle for later, eating the vegetables first. "There was one that flew," Anakin names it, then continue his comment, mostly that it looked oddly built for flight.

"You'll find that a lot of animals and insects look strangely designed for what they do. But it apparently works for them, given they evolved to be that way and are alive instead of extinct," Garth'zel says with a slight shrug as he eats his own food.

One eats the fruit by biting into it, that's how.

Anakin eats for a moment, then asks, "It said they molt, and can't fly au that time. But once their new feather grew in they could. Is that like losing teeth?"

He's never eaten fresh fruit before Garth'zel took him on!

"Mmm, not really. Most mammalian species only have a couple sets of teeth. First the baby ones, then the adult versions that replace the original set later. At which point, it's best for the owner of said teeth to not lose them, because they won't grow new ones.

"New feathers, on the other hand, grow in to replace damaged ones all the time. With said molting also featuring at times, like when the babies lose their original feathers to grow in the adult ones that will help them fly in the first place."

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