The night was not entirely peaceful, but it was still much better than the morning, which began with a mad roar. It was Watto, raging at the sight of his mangled car. The third one in the last month.
"What is this? I'm asking you! What have you done again, you vile creature?" shouted the Teydorian, displaying his half-broken front teeth, one of which stuck out like the fang of a predatory beast. "How could you break it? How, I ask you??? You're just...! No, you're not even...! And you...! ...! ...!
Watto screamed and waved his wings indignantly, which looked even smaller on his fat body with a large beer belly. Contrary to his angry cries, Asoka, standing right next to him, was not afraid at all. On the contrary, looking at his helplessly fluttering wings, the girl mentally encouraged him:
"Come on, let's go! Fly up quickly! Come on, come on, Mr. Limp Wings! I know you can do it!"
And as if in response to her thoughts, Watto flapped his wings more intensely, but, of course, he couldn't get more than half a metre off the ground. His excess weight and poor coordination, always present when he was hungover, prevented him from flying. Asoka saw this and couldn't help but smile, biting her lip so he wouldn't hear her giggle, but it was too late:
"You Hutt freak! You dare laugh at me when I'm talking to you! I'll show you... — the Teydorian threatened menacingly and tore a long whip made of flexible branches from the wall of the bench, which he usually used to "teach a lesson" to bad workers. Asoka understood that now the role of the guilty party had fallen to her. Well, she was used to it; Watto had beaten her before, but for some reason, she didn't particularly want it now. It was as if her entire being, which had been meek and submissive until then, suddenly rebelled against it, and more out of impulse than conscious thought, Togruta stretched out her arms as if to shield herself and waved them slightly. Obviously, she remembered the incident in the canyon or the conversation with Ben that had kept her awake all night. She knew that she was unlikely to be able to stop the Teydorian, just as she had failed before, but this time she decided to at least try. And what happened next? The whip began to slowly but uncontrollably slip out of his hands and rise up somewhere. Watto tried in vain to grab it, but it had already flown out and suddenly landed...right into the palm of the little Togrutta. She was very surprised when the wooden rods touched her narrow but already calloused palm, and the girl did not yet understand what had happened. Watto understood, though, in his own way, and Asoka was not sure if he was right:
"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind? How dare you take my property? You've definitely gone mad! Hold on to it now!
These words made Tano even more cheerful and unexpectedly emboldened her.
"Sensitive to the Force, you say? Well, I'll prove it to you right now!" The term, often mentioned by old Ben, popped into her head at just the right moment.
"Take this junk! I don't need it!" Asoka smiled and pretended to throw the whip back at Watto, but at the last moment she lowered her hands and easily broke it over her knee, only then returning it to its owner. She promised she would give it back, so everything was fair, because honesty was clearly important to a Jedi. Yes, that's right, old Ben's stories about the Order did not diminish the girl's interest in it in the slightest. On the contrary, having learned the details about it, Asoka understood more clearly than ever that this was what she needed: to become a Jedi. It was in this capacity that she would be able to realise everything she had long dreamed of. To help the weak and oppressed, to see real life and get to know the entire galaxy, and not just as a simple slave, but as a respected member of society. Not like now. Ahsoka even grimaced in annoyance, wondering what the nasty Watto would come up with this time to ruin her life. She had no doubt that he would come up with something, as the Teydorian never forgave such humiliations, especially in front of other slaves, who were already laughing hysterically at how the little girl had "done" this tyrant. The pieces of the whip fell on his head, and one landed with a noticeable slap on his lower back. Nothing personal, just a simple joke by the Force. Although someone Asoka did not yet know was convinced that there were no accidents, that everything was predetermined by the Force. But Watto was unfamiliar with this theory and decided that it was nothing more than a cheeky taunt from a nasty girl, whom he took revenge on by making her clean up the mess she and Sebulba had made the day before while they were "slightly" drunk. Asoka sighed, picked up the bucket and went to the condenser to fetch some water. The sun wasn't so hot today, and it was quite possible to walk faster, which was better than yesterday because of the danger of heatstroke. Asoka took advantage of this and slowly walked across the square to the opposite end, where the condenser was located. However, the landing pad was also located there, and a ship had just landed. The girl stared at it. It was badly damaged and clearly in need of serious repairs. Green algae hung here and there, and among them, the fiery red symbol of the Republic was visible, stamped on the side. It didn't seem like anything special, she had seen better, but for some reason this ship caught the girl's attention, she just couldn't take her eyes off it.
"It must be because it's broken," Asoka decided, unable to think of anything better. "I could probably learn how to fix it."
She stared at it, but time was passing, and Watto would be furious if his employee disappeared for long, although the condenser was public, and no one knew how long the queue might be. Let him think she was a big shot today. Satisfied with that, Asoka continued to examine the ship, from which its passengers, three very strange individuals, had meanwhile emerged. The first to descend the gangway was a tall Kel Dor man. Asoka knew this race, but had never seen one in person. His loose brown robe was ruffled by a light breeze, slightly lifting the hem above a beige belt with sewn-on pockets, just like Ben's. At one point, his clothes rose high enough to reveal a shiny, oblong object on his right side, previously hidden by the hem of his cloak, but indistinguishable due to the glare of the sun. The second was a young man of the human race, about ten years older than Asoka, dressed much like the first, only his robe was lighter in colour. And the last one did not even step off the gangway, but literally jumped down, a tall and noisy gungans who, as soon as he set foot on the sand, immediately began to loudly and emotionally express his impressions of the new surroundings. He jumped around and ran around, grabbing everything he could reach. Next to the landing pad was a market where merchants offered a wide variety of export and imported goods: vegetables, fruits, fresh and dried, meat, interior items, tableware, clothing... but clearly not what the strange guests had come here for. Asoka came to this conclusion from the way the eldest of them, the same Kel-Dor, decisively pulled the Gungan back and ordered him to stand quietly beside him. The gunungan reluctantly obeyed, and as soon as the commander turned away, he stuck his long, thin tongue out at his back, as if teasing him. However, not noticing this, the senior companion began to ask the airfield worker about something, waving his hands strangely. The Gungan, taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking at him, darted towards the market stalls and grabbed some fruit from the counter, skilfully wrapping it in his protruding tongue and immediately devouring it with gusto, almost knocking over a stall with dishes and breaking a good part of the assortment. Immediately, a dissatisfied salesman from the Churi race jumped out and began to protest loudly. They had to pay him a certain amount of credits to calm his frayed nerves. They had to scold the Gungan again and punish him for behaving himself, otherwise he would be returned to his home country. He immediately calmed down and followed his companions. Fragments of their words reached the girl through the noise of the shopping row. And then everyone left, and she finally went to get some water. The queue for the condenser was very short, just her and two Twi'leeks giggling to each other. Asoke desperately wanted to see where the strange guests were going, but she wanted even more to avoid another reprimand from Watto, so she picked up a rather heavy bucket by its thin metal handle and slowly made her way to the shop, where she immediately grabbed a brush and some detergent and set to work. She was once again surprised at how different her life principles were from those of her father and master. Watto cared about only one thing in life — making as much money as possible with as little effort as possible and spending it all in the cantina so he could come back and destroy the shop. Asoka was exhausted from sorting out the scattered items, washing the floor and the counters.
"What on earth did he do to them?" she thought with disgust, remembering how once, when she came here after hours, she caught a drunk Watto, panting with exertion, pushing a pretty Twi-girl sitting on the counter into the display case (how did he even attract her, the toothless freak?), who was moaning with a smile, wrapping her legs wide around him. Asoka almost threw up then, but luckily Watt didn't notice her, otherwise he would have beaten her with a cane, if not worse.
"Yes, may he get an ulcer, then at least he won't be able to drink so much," muttered the Togruta, splashing the water over the threshold and going out for a walk, as it was time for lunch. She usually had lunch at home, and today she went there too, but decided to take a different route, hoping to see the amazing guests again. And she saw them, or rather, they saw her, or to be more precise, they noticed her because Jar Jar jumped right in front of her, raising a suffocating cloud of dust. Asoka was outraged by such impudence and gave him a whole tirade of curses. To her credit, she cursed in pure Tatooine, without mispronouncing a single word. When the dust settled, Ahsoka saw the others and glanced at the sky, which a minute ago had been clear but was now slowly turning a heavy crimson. This was a bad sign; she had to hurry home, otherwise the sandstorm would catch her on the way. But before she could finish this thought, she realised that she had also been noticed by the two men, as indicated by the voice of the older one, a Kel Dor, who asked:
"Hello, child, can you help us find the shop of a man named Watto?
Asoka almost jumped for joy. Could she have hoped for better luck?
"Of course, I work there and will be happy to take you to him," the Togruta exclaimed enthusiastically. "But..." She hesitated slightly, afraid of being refused, and finally finished her sentence. "A sandstorm is about to start, and it would be better to wait it out and then go to Watto. You can wait it out at our place. My father and I live very close by.
"Well, we would be grateful for your hospitality," replied Master Plo, and it was indeed him.
"Yes! Mine is very tired too! My legs can't walk anymore!" Binks cried out immediately and, contrary to his own convictions, happily jumped up.
"Come on, I'll walk you there. You must be from the Outer Ring," Asoka asked, and all four quickened their pace. The wind was already picking up, gathering sand from the surface and whipping it into whirlwinds more than a metre high. A storm was brewing. The men raised the hoods of their cloaks, and Asoka hid her face in the wide hem of her shirt.
"It seems that no one here has any intention of abolishing slavery," muttered Eleot, then asked louder, "Are you a slave too, girl?
Hearing these words, Asoka blushed deeply and narrowed her eyes in a fit of hurt pride.
"I am an honest citizen of the Republic! And my name is Asoka Tano!" in a harsh and confident voice, which, however, clearly betrayed her hurt feelings, and she looked up at the Padawan with a bold and daring gaze. Plo Koon looked sternly at his student, but Philu was already ashamed:
"I'm sorry, I'm new here and don't know the local customs or how people talk here," he said remorsefully, and Asoka stopped being offended.
It wasn't far to go, and soon, when the storm had almost blown over, they found themselves at a small house on the outskirts of the village.
"Dad, it's me!" Asoka shouted, entering the small porch where the cart usually stood, but now it was empty, with only brooms made of dry branches and frying pans hanging on the walls. "There are people from the Republic with me, they need to wait out the storm." Sean came out to meet his daughter and her guests, and within a second he shook everyone's hands and invited them into the kitchen to have something to eat. The house had only two small rooms and the kitchen, where all its inhabitants were now gathered. The furnishings were poor but cosy, and the father and daughter had done their best to make the house as comfortable as possible. The grey clay walls were painted in different ways. For example, in Asoka's room, they resembled a starry sky, where each star was special, like all the planets of the Republic. In her father's room, she had painted green fields and lakes, which were the pride of their home planet, which Sean secretly missed. But the most remarkable thing was a robot, very similar in shape to a human being, except that it was unfinished, its body had not yet been covered, and all the parts were exposed. However, it already functioned remarkably well, which it demonstrated to the guests during dinner. It seemed to easily understand any speech and could translate it into hundreds of thousands of languages of the galaxy in a fraction of a second.
"Who's naked here? You think I'm naked? You're no better yourself! They just haven't had time to put the body on yet," the robot replied instantly, hearing Phil's comment about its appearance.
"This is C-3PO," Asoka explained to the guests. "He's a robot secretary and domestic servant. I made him to help my dad, because he's been very tired lately."
"She always wants to help others," said Sean, touched, and patted his daughter on the head after drying his hands with a towel. Meanwhile, they both set the table, placing a dish of boiled potatoes, another with salad, and a third with fruit. Then the tea was ready. The hosts sat down with their guests, and only then did Sean decide to ask:
"You arrived from Coruscant? I guessed from your accent. Asoka said your ship broke down and you need spare parts.
"That's right," replied Master Plo calmly. "Ahsoka even showed us where to get these spare parts, but as we understand it, there's one problem — our credits aren't accepted here.
"That's right, my friends, everything here revolves around betting. Our ruler only allows us to earn a little money sometimes," explained Sean regretfully, pouring tea for his guests. "Every six months, he organises races, with a very large sum of money as the prize for the winner.
Asoka did not participate in the conversation, only occasionally shaking her head, hiding her mysteriously sparkling eyes from the others. A plan was slowly forming in the girl's mind, which she decided to put on hold for the time being. Until her father left.
"That amount would be enough to repair and buy parts," Eleot voiced the general opinion, and Sean unexpectedly added:
"Asoka always takes part in them and has never had any luck, and I always get so nervous when she goes there.
"Dad, it always ended well, and it wasn't my fault that I lost," Asoka couldn't help but say, rushing to defend her wounded pride. And Jar Jar, taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking at him, glanced around furtively, stuck out his tongue, and deftly pulled a large piece of fruit from the plate and rubbed his hands together with satisfaction. But he rejoiced prematurely, because in the next second, the tip of his tongue was caught between strong, clinging fingers.
"Don't do that again!" Plo said instructively, looking expectantly at the gungan and letting go only when he got a nod of agreement; he was simply incapable of anything more.
Asoka laughed when she saw this incident and immediately became serious, rising from the table and saying in a loud voice:
"The races are scheduled for tomorrow. I've signed up to participate, and if I win, I'll get the money you need.
Sean gasped as usual, but said nothing. He knew it was useless to argue with his girl; he couldn't stop her anyway. All he could do was worry, watching from the stands as her repaired car raced along the track. How could he have known that Asoka had her own interest in the matter, which was due to the identity of the visitors, who left no room for doubt.
***
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