As I lay there, pondering the meaning of life, I noticed that both suns were slowly rising above the horizon.
I got up and looked at Padmé, who looked exceptionally peaceful, immersed in sleep.
She looked far too adorable to wake up, so I quietly left the room on tiptoe.
Qui-Gon Jinn’s condition had clearly not improved after the second sleep, but he seemed inspired, as if he had found the meaning of life.
Probably because he had found the Chosen One.
Whenever he looked at me, I could have sworn that his eyes shone with some kind of religious enthusiasm.
It did make me somewhat uncomfortable, but for the greater good, I was willing to endure it.
I noticed that Shmi was already awake and preparing breakfast for all of us.
So I joined her, intending to help.
Half an hour passed, and breakfast was ready.
I noticed that Padmé still hadn’t gotten up, so I returned to my room, walked over to her, and began gently shaking her.
When she showed no reaction at all, I had to shake her so hard that I was moving her entire body, which finally woke her up.
When she fixed those surprised and confused eyes on me, I simply sighed.
“Breakfast is ready.
Come on, or you’ll sleep right through it.”
“Alright, thanks for waking me up.
Give me a moment, I’m getting up.”
“Excellent, because we have to leave soon.
After all, today is an important day.
I’ll be risking my small but valuable life for all of you.”
The first race preparations begin in an hour, and we have to deliver the podracer to the pit on time so we won’t be disqualified.
Breakfast passed in a hurried atmosphere.
I felt an inner excitement at the thought of the race.
At last, I would get to fly a truly fast machine.
I also remembered that I had to deal with a certain cheater who, in the original story, tampered with my podracer.
I clearly had no intention of letting him damage it.
When we arrived at the venue, I couldn’t stop looking around.
There were podracers everywhere, and thanks to the knowledge I possessed, I could tell that every racer had invested a great deal of money into their vehicle.
Some had unique paint jobs, others had bizarre shapes.
Every single one was customized for its driver, especially for their species.
One looked like a giant wheel to accommodate its owner’s large body, while another had dozens of control switches, clearly designed for some kind of multi-armed species.
People were everywhere.
It seemed that spectators had come from all over the planet to watch the event.
As we approached the pits, Qui-Gon Jinn walked away together with Watto.
As I remembered from the movie, he was about to bet for my freedom.
I was really curious whether, after my increased productivity at work, Watto would still be willing to bet on me.
[QUI-GON JINN AND WATTO’S CONVERSATION]
“Just bring me your ship before sunset,” Watto reminded the Jedi.
“You don’t believe Anakin has a chance to win?”
“I believe Sebulba wins every race.
He always has a huge advantage over his opponents.”
Qui-Gon Jinn looked at him calmly.
“In that case, let’s wager my new podracer for the boy and his mother.”
Watto: “You can’t buy the freedom of two slaves.
One or none.
Besides, I’m still hesitating.
You have no idea how much this boy has increased my profits over the last two weeks.
It’s as if he has some kind of mission.
He repairs things like a madman.
Before that, all he knew how to do was avoid work.”
Qui-Gon: “The boy, then.
If you’re so sure of victory, why are you afraid?”
A sly smile appeared on Watto’s face.
He pulled out a special die whose sides had been deliberately weighted.
Watto: “Let fate decide.
Blue—the boy.
Red—the mother.
But besides the podracer, you’ll also give me him,” he said, pointing at Jar Jar.
Jar Jar froze and looked visibly stressed.
Watto threw the die.
Qui-Gon almost felt like losing the bet just to get rid of him, but after a moment he regained his composure and discreetly used the Force.
The die landed on blue.
Watto: “How is that possible?!” he shouted.
“The sides…” He quickly covered his mouth and glared angrily at the Jedi.
“Then instead of the boy, take the podracer and this Jar Jar.
He’s a very efficient slave.
I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with him.”
Qui-Gon Jinn said, holding back his laughter.
Watto spat on the ground, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome.
“You won the little gamble, you drifter, but you won’t win the main bet.
Everything you own will be mine.”
Clearly furious, he flew off toward the viewing platform.
And Jar Jar still couldn’t comprehend that he had just been wagered.
[BACK TO ANAKIN]
When Qui-Gon walked away, several armed men approached us.
Everyone immediately tensed up, but I simply nodded to them and let them take up their guard positions.
One of them walked over to me and discreetly handed me the communicator Vardis had mentioned yesterday.
He also informed me that everything was ready according to plan.
“Relax.
They’re my acquaintance’s bodyguards.
They’re here to make sure there’s no sabotage or any unfortunate accidents.
I told you about them.”
As I said that, I looked at Padmé, who simply nodded.
After seeing her calm reaction, everyone relaxed, and I carried out one final inspection of the podracer’s systems.
When we brought the podracers onto the starting grid and I said goodbye to my mother, I assured her that nothing would happen to me and that I would be careful.
I noticed a certain suspicious and all-too-familiar individual, whom I had been watching for, approaching my podracer.
I waved my hand to get one of the guards’ attention.
He immediately walked over at a quick pace and stepped directly into his path, almost pushing him back.
“How dare you stop me, you piece of trash?!” Sebulba shouted.
But the moment he noticed the blaster and the emblem on the guard’s clothing, all the confidence visibly drained from him.
Without saying a word, he turned around and walked back without sparing me a single glance.
I watched his disappointed return to his own podracer.
I had absolutely no intention of wasting either time or energy on that vermin.
Earlier, I had still hoped that maybe the movie had exaggerated, but he really had intended to sabotage my podracer before the race, which, on the dangerous track we were about to race on, could easily have resulted in death or permanent injury.
So I had no intention of showing him any mercy.
Qui-Gon Jinn walked over to me.
“Ani, how are you holding up?”
“Good.
I’ll definitely win.”
He lifted me up and placed me into the cockpit.
For a moment I tensed up when he picked me up, but after a moment I calmed down.
“I’m fine, Master Jedi.”
“Just remember.
Focus on your instincts.
Don’t think.
Let the Force guide you.”
“Yes, sir.
I’ll remember.”
I replied with the perfect smile of a happy child.
As they began to walk away, I heard Padmé say that they shouldn’t be putting me in so much danger.
After all, I was still a child, and the Queen wouldn’t approve of it.
That made me feel warm and happy.
After all, when a beautiful girl worries about you, what more could you ask for?
When I finally knew that everything was going in the right direction, I looked around the starting grid.
The enormous valley was teeming with life.
Dozens of podracers stood lined up side by side.
The air was filled with the roar of turbines, the hiss of overheated conduits, and the characteristic smell of hot metal, fuel, and sand carried by the desert wind.
The makeshift stands were already filling with tens of thousands of spectators.
Some had come to cheer, others hoped to win money through betting, and for many it was simply another day of watching people risk their lives for entertainment.
Only then did it truly sink in that I was really about to race in this event.
The countdown to the start began.
I calmly put on my goggles and prepared for the start.
Suddenly, Jabba struck the gong, and we were off.
I felt a powerful force pressing me into the seat as the podracer accelerated violently, while the air rushed across my face.
In one of the small rear cameras, I noticed that, just like in the original, poor Ben Quadinaros was having trouble with his podracer and remained at the starting line.
After only a few seconds, I shot past the first few podracers.
Clearly, my modifications and Anakin’s work were on an entirely different level compared to the speed of my opponents’ machines.
As we sped through the canyon, I noticed that the podracer in front of me suddenly slowed down, and a moment later one of its engines burst into flames and exploded, completely blocking the path ahead.
I had only a fraction of a second to react.
I felt the Force naturally guiding me, so I followed its will and swerved sharply, launching off a low rock and leaping over the wreckage blocking the track.
Then I heard the commentator’s booming voice echoing across the entire course.
“Ladies and gentlemen!
We have just witnessed an incredible evasive maneuver by young Skywalker!
Almost inhuman precision and reaction time!
All we can do is admire these incredible skills!”
I tried to ignore his rambling and focus on my instincts.
I could feel my heart pumping blood through my entire body at an incredible speed.
I could barely perceive anything beyond the track.
It felt as though I was no longer a separate person, but the entire podracer itself.
Every part of it felt like a part of my own body.
It responded to the slightest movement of my controls.
I slipped past another podracer whose pilot tried to stop me by ramming me from the side just before I overtook him.
I truly felt free as I raced forward at such incredible speed that I could barely distinguish any objects along the side of the track.
Once we had left the starting area and the crowds behind, the race suddenly became anything but fair.
One podracer would throw small objects to damage its opponents’ vehicles, while someone else tried to hurl a wrench at you.
As we rounded one of the sharper turns, I noticed that the racer beside me was shot directly in the chest by some sniper.
I had a front-row view as his podracer crashed into the rocks.
It truly was a deadly extreme sport.
Slowly but steadily, I climbed through the field.
When we entered the cave, my eyes could no longer register anything.
I completely surrendered myself to my instincts.
By the time we approached the end of the first lap, I was already in fourth place.
Along the way, I watched Sebulba murder two other racers by either forcing them off the track or smashing into their podracers.
My dislike for that ape-like freak only grew stronger.
As we crossed the start line for the first time, I noticed that Ben was still standing there.
I also managed to catch sight of Watto’s badly twisted expression.
His face looked as if he had just eaten an exceptionally bitter bug.
Meanwhile, my people cheered as I passed them, seeing how close I was getting to the front despite my starting position.
When we began the second lap, I was surprisingly able to overtake the racer in third place and move onto the podium.
During our second pass through the cave, the racer in second place unexpectedly slowed down.
Apparently, he didn’t trust himself on that section.
I seized the opportunity to overtake him as well and moved in right behind Sebulba.
I could see that my final opponent was becoming more and more astonished by my abilities.
He was clearly planning to attack me as soon as I got close to his podracer.
Suddenly, he slammed on the brakes.
I barely managed to avoid him, but it forced me off the track.
I quickly made up the lost ground, but the racer in second place took advantage of my brief weakness and reclaimed his position.
It turned out not to be the wisest decision.
A few seconds later, Sebulba released some tangle devices that flew straight into his turbines, turning his podracer into one enormous ball of fire.
Autor note:
I will post chapters on this time every day
Stone moreeeee
I’m thinking about using longer paragraphs let me know if it reads better.
For now, I’ve changed Chapter 1.
stone(: