Thal-ion nodded to her own comments about what they needed to do, and he took a slow steadying breath before continuing to eat the meal she had prepared for them.  They had to move carefully, because one false step was all it would take to ruin everything they knew back home.  There was the slight possibility of them never getting to see home again.  After all, what had brought them to this moment in Time was now destroyed, and the vortex was closed.  If there was a way home; he certainly didn't have any clue where or how.<br/><br/>Yet, Thal-ion couldn't help suddenly smiling at Alethea.  "Despite all that is happening; I would not change our time together, Dearheart," he whispered to her with warmth and affection.  He was truly in love with his Jedi companion, and it did not feel wrong to love her.  Indeed, it felt like the most correct thing in his universe.<br/><br/>Breakfast was quiet and enjoyable, and it wasn't long before Thal-ion stood up and collected a small satchel containing a few items:  two bottles of icy cold water in their enviormental containers, a small bag of gems which might help, and a med-kit.  The soft brown satchel was soon crossed over his chest after he put it on, and reflectively his hand slipped down to his lightsaber as if to reassure himself.  Trouble was coming again, and he had no intentions of being negligent.  The Force was with him...was with her...with them, and together they would face whatever darkness came their way.  He was not afraid - fear was of the Dark Side, but he was concerned.  Their nemesis was on the way - he had to be.  The Force had showed him as much, and what he had seen had not been nice for the woman he loved.  Even as they quietly departed the ship and sealed it; Thal-ion reminded himself firmly that the future was always in motion.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center;">*****</div><br/><br/>Despite the day of traveling through the miserable heat of Tatooine; Thal-ion remained fairly well energized.  It showed some measure of control he had obtained over the Force as such a journey in his early days of training would have wiped him out.  He was no fan of the sun, and less of the desert heat such as Tatooine had.  Yet, between the all-tempature cloak, the water he had carried for himself and Alethea, and the Force - the young Sentinel found himself in much better shape as they reached the outskirts of Mos Espa.  He did not wear his lightsaber openly.  Such would likely have caused quite the stir in a place where the law was whatever Jabba, the Hutt decided...or the Black Sun operatives who worked the streets.  There was no sense in announcing their presence as Jedi to those who had no love for such people.  Things were going to be bad and soon enough without them looking for trouble.<br/><br/>"I believe Qui-gon had said something about a shop owner named Watto.  Today is suppose to be the day of the race.  It shouldn't be hard to find out where that is being held," Thal-ion noted even he realized the majority of the street was empty.<br/><br/>Indeed, in the distance, he could hear the sounds of crowds, and figured this was where the race was about to be held.  Banners lined the streets as if they were guides to the upcoming event.  It had taken them a couple of hours to get to the outskirts of Mos Espa, but there still seemed to be plenty of time before the podrace began.  Nodding towards the direction the flags were indicating; Thal-ion moved cautiously down the street wondering at what would soon greet them.<br/><br/>"I have never been to Tatooine, Love.  Have you?" he said to his companion as he remained ever vigilant in the Force.  A group of people registered swiftly in his senses:  Qui-gon being the easiest to detect, but he was not the only one.  Three others came to his mind:  a young boy - no doubt the one to be racing soon named Anakin, an older woman he believed must be Shimi, and a younger woman - one they had saved recently from assassination:  Queen Amidala.  Yet, he was sure the Queen had remained aboard her transport, but the sense of her was quite unmistakable.  "It would appear the young Queen of Naboo is playing hide-and-seek," he chuckled as he shared with Alethea what he had discovered.  "Even if her transport is found and attacked; they would not find her.  Must be disguised as one of the Handmaidens."<br/><br/>The walk to the arena was not a long one, and it did not take the two young Jedi to find their way to where even now two of the larger beasts were bringing in a group Thal-ion recognized.  One of them was undoubtedly the Queen in disguise with a boy, the Gungun:  Jar-Jar Binks, and the older woman, Shimi Skywalker.  In the distance ahead at the hanger stood Qui-gon facing a fluttering Toydarian that could only be Watto.  He wondered what the Jedi Master was up to, but merely shrugged at Alethea.  Perhaps she understood what the legendary Master was doing.  A chance cube seemed to be involved, and Watto seemed irritated.<br/><br/>"Any idea what that is all about," he nodded towards the Jedi Master and the junkshop dealer.