I opened my status screen and quickly reviewed the changes.
Over the last few days, most of my skills had gained only small amounts of experience.
Only one of them had reached another level.
Telekinesis – Level 3
(115/400 XP) → Level 4 (125/800 XP)
A slight smile appeared on my face.
Finally.
The fourth level didn’t significantly increase the strength of my telekinesis, but it unlocked something far more useful.
Acceleration of controlled objects.
Until now, I could mostly move objects, lift them into the air, or slowly pull them toward myself.
Now I could also give them additional speed.
Granted, they still weren’t faster than objects thrown by an average adult, but this was only Level 4.
At my current rate of growth, I could only imagine what would happen at Level 10, 20, or even 50.
For now, however, even such a small improvement was incredibly useful.
After all, there was a pretty significant difference between slowly moving a screwdriver and launching it across a workshop.
The droid auction was scheduled to take place in one of Mos Espa’s larger auction houses.
Throughout the entire day, I kept catching myself checking the communicator Vardis had given me every few minutes.
By evening, a message finally arrived.
I opened it immediately.
“Droid is available.
I’m buying it.
I managed to verify its technical condition and the authenticity of the documentation.
I cannot guarantee victory during the auction, but unless the price reaches an absurd level, you should be able to acquire it without much trouble.
We will meet after the auction in one of my warehouses.
— Vardis Dask”
I read the message once more.
A wide smile spread across my face.
For the past few days, my greatest fear had been that the rumors would turn out to be false or that the droid would be in much worse condition than described.
Apparently, luck had finally decided to cooperate.
I got dressed and, following a tradition that had somehow developed over the past week, slipped out of the house.
The streets of Mos Espa were covered in darkness.
Most residents were settling in for the night while a handful of pedestrians hurried toward their own nocturnal activities, paying little attention to their surroundings.
Even so, something felt wrong.
I couldn’t explain it.
An unpleasant chill ran down my spine.
With every step, the feeling grew stronger.
As if something unseen was watching me from the darkness.
I stopped.
My heart began beating faster.
For a brief moment, I tried convincing myself that it was simply stress caused by traveling alone at night.
Then I felt the Force.
More clearly than ever before.
It was a warning.
The same feeling that had appeared before dangerous events in the past.
Cold sweat instantly covered my back.
Slowly, I retreated into the shadow of a nearby building and leaned against the wall.
Calm down, Anakin.
Analyze.
Once again, I started going through the entire plan.
I frowned.
Was it possible that Vardis had betrayed me?
I immediately shook my head.
He had no reason to do so.
He had received technology worth many times more than the amount he paid.
More importantly, from the very beginning he had clearly been trying to build a long-term relationship rather than squeeze a one-time profit out of me.
A man like that wouldn’t risk his reputation for something so foolish.
So if it wasn’t Vardis…
Then where was this warning coming from?
The droid itself?
Unlikely.
The auction?
Possible, but the event alone shouldn’t provoke such a strong reaction from the Force.
Slowly, I felt my stomach tighten.
Unless the danger wasn’t aimed at me at all.
Vardis was a wealthy businessman with moisture farms, transports, and trade connections across the entire planet.
People like him lived in a world of sabotage, bribery, kidnappings, and murder.
If someone was planning to strike at him…
Then I could end up in exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time.
And the Force didn’t care whether I was the target.
It warned me about danger threatening me.
That made sense.
Unfortunately, it didn’t make me feel any better.
Quite the opposite.
It meant something far worse than losing an auction could happen tonight.
Now I had two choices.
I could ignore the meeting with Vardis, return home peacefully, and wait for Qui-Gon Jinn to arrive.
It was the safest option.
All I had to do was nothing.
Stay out of other people’s problems.
Sooner or later I would leave Tatooine with him anyway.
The second option was far more dangerous.
Warn Vardis.
Help him survive if he was truly in danger.
At the same time secure the surgical droid and earn the gratitude of a man who was already among the most powerful people I knew on Tatooine.
The longer I thought about it, the more obvious the answer became.
Vardis was not just a wealthy businessman.
He was the first person on this planet who had treated me like a partner rather than a slave or a child.
And loyal, competent, wealthy friends were among the most valuable assets in the galaxy.
Especially if one intended to change the future.
I pulled out the communicator and sent Vardis a short message.
“Call trusted reinforcements to our meeting place.
We’re going to have unpleasant company.”
Then I continued through the night streets of Mos Espa.
If something bad truly was going to happen tonight, I intended to be right in the center of it.
Especially since only a few minutes remained before our meeting.
[POV TRAITOR]
Several dozen minutes earlier…
In one of the houses surrounding the warehouse where Anakin and Vardis were supposed to exchange the droid after the auction, several figures sat around a single lamp placed on a table.
Quiet voices filled the room as the men leaned over a map displayed before them.
If Anakin had been present, he would have immediately recognized one of Vardis’s guards the same man who had given him an unpleasant look at the estate gate.
The man who had enjoyed Vardis’s trust for years had apparently turned out to be a traitor.
“Are you sure he’ll be in that warehouse with minimal security?” one of the men asked.
The guard rolled his eyes.
“How many times do I have to repeat this?
I’ve already discussed everything with your boss.
He’ll be there with no more than five people.
He’s meeting some kid to sell him a droid.”
He pointed toward a building marked on the map.
“Knowing his habits, he’ll also have the documentation your boss wants so badly.”
At those words, the man sitting opposite immediately straightened up.
“How dare you speak of the great Gamata like that?!”
There was genuine offense in his voice.
The traitor raised both hands in a calming gesture.
“Alright, alright.
Relax.”
He let out a heavy sigh.
“What I mean is that your boss desperately wants that technology.
Vardis is starting to push competitors out of the market, and this new project could increase his advantage even further.”
For a moment, silence filled the room.
“And that’s why he paid me handsomely for this information,” he added after a moment.
“Believe me, I wouldn’t risk my life insulting two men that influential.”
For a brief moment, his expression became more serious.
“It’s enough that I’m already risking it by betraying Vardis.”
[POV ANAKIN]
A few minutes after sending the message, I arrived at my new friend’s warehouse.
I carefully scanned the area but noticed nothing suspicious.
Only then did I slip inside.
Vardis was waiting for me in the center of the warehouse.
For a moment, I felt like I was participating in some kind of spy movie.
The sight of a wealthy businessman standing alone in a dimly lit warehouse was so stereotypical that I barely managed to suppress a laugh.
“Welcome, Anakin,” he said.
“I assume you once again possess some highly valuable information that an ordinary slave belonging to Watto shouldn’t know?”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Apparently, he had done his homework and learned everything about me that could reasonably be discovered.
“Out of curiosity, why did you want me to come here personally?” I asked.
“Wouldn’t it have been enough to send one of your people with the droid?”
“Precisely because I learned so much about you, I decided to do you a favor.”
I frowned.
“A favor?
What kind?”
“I learned more than just the basic details about you.
I also discovered what model slave chip you’re carrying inside your body.”
I immediately stiffened.
“And believe me,” he continued calmly, “I wouldn’t want to lose such an extraordinary little friend.”
For a moment, he looked directly into my eyes.
“When I discovered you had one of the newer models, everything became clear.
This isn’t an ordinary chip.
In the event of unauthorized removal, it can not only detonate an explosive charge but also automatically notify its owner.”
I felt my stomach tighten unpleasantly.
“So I immediately realized you’d need help removing it.
And since I happened to have a free afternoon…”
A playful smile appeared on his face.
Meanwhile, I was unable to say a single word for several seconds.
My brain practically short-circuited.
Cold sweat drenched me.
Only now did I realize how close to death I might have been.
This entire time I had been planning to buy a surgical droid, analyzing medical procedures, and preparing various solutions.
Yet it had never once occurred to me that the chip might contain anti-removal safeguards.
“Alright,” Vardis said, slipping the datapad he had been reading from into his coat pocket.
“Now that I’ve shocked you enough, it’s your turn.”
I frowned.
“My turn?”
“Exactly.”
He glanced at his chronometer.
“A few minutes ago I mobilized most of my security personnel.
They’ll be here in a few minutes with heavy equipment.”
His gaze returned to me.
“And maintaining people, vehicles, and weapons isn’t cheap.”
A slight smile appeared on his face.
“So I hope you have a really good explanation.”
I remained silent for a moment.
“I’m not sure you’ll consider it a good one.”
“Try me.”
I let out a heavy sigh.
How exactly was I supposed to explain that the Force was warning me about something bad?
“Let’s just say I have a very bad feeling about tonight.”
One of his eyebrows immediately shot upward.
“A feeling?”
“A very bad one.”
“Anakin, I just mobilized men who are about to race across half of Mos Espa.
I need something more convincing than a feeling.”
“If it were just an ordinary feeling, I wouldn’t have come here personally.”
That made him grow serious.
“You truly think something is going to happen?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly?”
“I don’t know.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
“How many people?”
“I don’t know that either.”
For several seconds, he simply stared at me.
“That’s an exceptionally vague warning.”
“I know.”
“And despite that, you came here, risking your own life.”
His gaze became noticeably more attentive.
“I’m becoming increasingly curious about who you really are, Anakin Skywalker.”
“That’s funny.”
“Why?”
You wouldn’t understand.
Because I find myself asking that exact same question more and more often.
These actions are definitely not my style.
Maybe some influence from Anakin still remains inside me…
a little bit of his madness.