Capítulo 4: Chapter 4
To no surprise at all, it didn't take long for Watto to bite the bate once Anakin told him that Qui-Gon wanted him to pilot his Pod for a portion of the winnings. Watto was as greedy as they came on Tatooine, and he jumped on the deal with hidden zeal of practiced predator.
"Huh, that was easier than I thought it would be; he didn't even hesitate, "Qui-Gon remarked as him and Anakin walked out of Watto's shop.
Anakin snorted in amusement. "Why would he? You practically gave him a deal with no downsides. My life is the only thing he could lose out of on the deal you made. By the way, are you sure it was a good idea to gamble your ship on me?"
"Yes," he said confidently, no hesitation in his voice. "I trust in you and your abilities. There is a reason the Force guided me to Mos Espa out of all the other cities on Tatooine; I know you won't fail."
No pressure at all, he thought, only the lives of an entire planet resting on my shoulders. It was one thing to risk his own life, or put himself in danger, but when the lives others or the people he cared about were on the line, it suddenly became a lot harder to control himself and stay calm.
Anakin let a long breath, easing some of his tension. "Thanks, I won't let you down. I promise," he said, uncharacteristically serious.
"I know you won't," Qui-Gon said warmly, ruffling up Anakin's long blonde hair with his hand. "Now show me to the fastest pod on Tatooine."
"Alright, follow me, it's on the out skirts of Mos Espa near my house," the boy said excitedly, before grabbing Qui-Gon's hand and leading him through the sandy streets of Mos Espa.
They were already pretty close to where Anakin kept the pod, so it only took a few minutes to walk there. Anakin was surprised to see his Pod racer already out in the open with the endless expanse of the desert behind it. Beside his pod racer was Padmé and Jar Jar along with Threepio who was standing near the entrance to the courtyard.
"Threepio, what are you and the others doing here?" Anakin asked once him and Qui-Gon reached the frail silver droid.
"Master Anakin, I was ordered to lead the your associates here by, Master Shmi, sometime after you left." somehow the droid's voice had a snobbish tint to it, like its exterior was actually made of silver. Anakin made a mental note to change it in the future, for some reason it just rubbed him the wrong way.
"Good job Threepio," Anakin said as he passed through the archway and made his way over to the pod with Qui-Gon following closely behind him.
The pod was sleek and aerodynamic, it had a silver coating with a blue design on top, and under it was connected by a cable to two 620C racing engines that were connected to each other by energy binders. The engines were narrow cylinders filled with compact machine parts and wires with an opening on either end, one where fire would blast out and the other to take in air through the turbines.
Anakin couldn't but reminisce of his time making the podracer, running a hander over its smooth but dusty surface, caused by months of neglect. He still remembered the day he salvaged the damaged engines from Watto when he was going to get rid of them. At the time, he hadn't really considered the reason why he was building the podracer, only that he had two damaged racing engines and it seemed like a worthy challenge.
Years were spent seeing the pod to completion, and it was his greatest passion and pride. It brought him small amount of pride to say that he not only fixed the the engines, but also drastically improved their efficiency and power. The project had stretched his ingenuity and knowledge to the limits, rewiring the thing was easy compared to creating new subsystems to inject fuel throughout the engine and make the most out of every single drop of fuel; it was his greatest accomplishment.
The pod may have been small compared to the other pods that would participate in the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace, but in terms of speed, efficiency, and weight it beat the all. Anakin had poured his very heart and soul into the machine for years and it would see him through the race.
"Huh, so this is the fastest podracer in Tatooine?" Qui-Gon said, as Jar Jar and Padmé started walking over to them from where they were inspecting the engine.
"Yeah, I know it doesn't look like much, but when it's all cleaned up and moving, you won't be able to look at it the same," Anakin said proudly as he jumped into the cockpit, checking that everything was in order.
Qui-Gon smiled at Anakin's unwavering confidence. "Then I'm eager to see it in action."
"Master Qui-Gon, how did the deal go?" Padmé asked as she walked up to him, a worried frown on her face.
"All according to plan. Now it is all up to Anakin." The Jedi gave the handmaiden a friendly pat of reassurance on the shoulder.
Padmé's initial smile of relief disappeared as Qui-Gon finish his sentence.
"Don't worry, Padmé," Anakin said, pointing his thumbs to himself, "I got this!"
"I know you do," she said, hiding her worry behind a reassuring smile.
Anakin wasn't as gullible as he looked, despite his seemingly kind and confident nature, so he knew she didn't believe he could do it.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to show off and prove how awesome he was. Taking a deep breath, Anakin outstretched his arms in front of him, closing his eyes in concentration. Mustering his control and will power over the Force inside him to envelop the entire podracer. It wasn't easy, but after years of practicing he had gotten pretty good at using the Force, when he first started it was like trying to control a breeze by blowing at it.
Superfluously, he raised both his arms up, and with it all the dirt, sand and dust that had been in and on the podracer flew into the air and drop to the ground a little ways away.
Exhaustion ran through Anakin, causing him to lean back slightly in his seat. He felt like he had been running for an hour.
"Wowza, hesa be doin magics too!" Jar Jar exclaimed.
During Anakin's spectacle he had been slacked jawed, his long tongue drooping out. Hearing Jar Jar's words and seeing his expression was too much and he couldn't contain his laughter anymore.
It was infectious, and soon, the others surprise was replaced by a small smile.
"That was quite impressive," the Jedi praised, "I didn't think you would be capable of such fine control of the Force so soon."
"Thank you." Anakin rarely got praise, and now he was getting it from a Jedi, so it meant a lot to him.
"Wait!" Padmé exclaimed, "He can use the force?" She asked, directing her question to Qui-Gon.
"Indeed, he is why I believe the Force guided us here." Qui-Gon looked at Anakin fondly.
Just as Anakin was about to speak, he suddenly sense his mother standing at the entrance to the courtyard, having been so concentrated that he missed it earlier. With a start, he stood up on the cockpit seat and looked at her, making everyone else turn their attention the mother son duo.
Anakin expected to see surprise or maybe even anger when looked at his mother, but unexpectedly, he was only met with a warm smile and eyes that conveyed her love and understanding, eyes that could only belong to her.
"You always knew, didn't you?" He asked, his mind still reeling from being caught red-handed.
"I knew you were special, now I just know why," Shmi said, chuckling slightly at his reaction.
"Anakin, I'll talk to your mother, you make sure the podracer is ready for the race tomorrow," after saying his piece, the master Jedi started walking over to Anakin's mother,
Anakin nodded to himself, trying ignore the urge to go question his mother.
There wasn't really anything that needed fixing in the cockpit, although he would be building a anti-gravity ejection seat to appease his mother's worries. Anakin got out of the cockpit and went over to the engines. After thoroughly checking both engines; he was relived to discover only a few loose screws and a few easily replaceable wires.
After getting all the tools and materials he would need from his house, Anakin and surprisingly Jar Jar got to work on fixing all the minor issues while Padmé kept them company. During his time working, Anakin started to like Jar Jar. His opinion of him wasn't very high to start, but after discovering that had some technological skill he had a level of respect for him.
By roughly and hour of working and double checking everything, Anakin learned that Jar Jar originated from the same planet as Padmé— Naboo. He also learned that Jar Jar was a Gungan, an amphibious species that usually lived near and in water. More importantly, Anakin came to learn from Padmé that the Trade Federation— a megacorporation— was the cause behind the Attack on Naboo.
"Now all we have to do is recalibrate everything, and then it should be ready for the race tomorrow," Anakin told Qui-Gon.
"Good work," The old man said, complementing Jar Jar and Anakin. "Don't take too long on the recalibration; it'll be dark soon.
"Ok, I'll get on it right now." While working, Anakin lost track of time like usual, so he forgot that the day was almost over.
Excitedly, Anakin got back into the cockpit and with a moment of trepidation, he flipped the switch and ignited the machine. The engines came to life with a low smooth hum, eager to be in action again.
Once Anakin started working on Threepio, he had less time to play around in the podracer, plus fuel was pretty expensive so he hadn't driven it in a while.
Meticulously, Anakin checked that everything was in order and running smoothly, making a few minor corrections that were of little importance.
Confirming that everything was in order, he put on his helmet to protect him from the wind and grabbed the both levers on either side of him, each able to control the engine on their respective side.
Barely, he pushed both handles forward slightly. With a sudden jerk, fire burst from the engines end openings, and the vehicle started to move foreword. Despite the barely noticeable push on the gas, the speed of the pod racer was already quite fast.
After a couple seconds he felt that he was safe amount of distance from the courtyard and far out enough into the desert; with a big smile and adrenalin coursing through him he put his head back to prepare for the whiplash and pushed the levers down as hard as he could.
The engines practically roared as the Podracer shot forward as fast a bullet from a blaster. Wind screamed into Anakin's ears as practically flew over the dunes of Tatooine, leaving behind two streams of fire in his wake that vanished just as fast as they appeared.
He imagined that what he felt now was the feeling of freedom.
After having his fun for a minute or two to enjoy the thrill of the speed; he decided to get serious and actually prepare for the race tomorrow. With the swiftness and skill of a master pilot, he navigated the podracer expertly between the giant dunes that surrounded Mos Espa, which was impressive considering the ludicrous speed he was going at and his abhorrent turn rate of the vehicle at that speed.
Even so, with his quick reflexes and the intuitive knowledge or where to be and what to do given to him by the Force, he was able to flawlessly execute impossible maneuvers that held the chance of death like he had been doing it all his life.
After what felt like hours but could only have been minutes, he slowly decreased his speed as he traveled back to the courtyard, laughing all the while as the adrenalin left him feeling tired.
Slowly, he pulled into the courtyard, which was harder than it looked.
Anakin could sense the various emotions of shock, relief, happiness, and pride come from his mother, Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, and Anakin's only friend, Kitster.
Kitster, like Anakin, was only nine years old, he had black hair and brown, tan skin.
Once the vehicle had come to a complete stop Anakin turned off the ignition, the others crowded around the cockpit as they talked amongst themselves.
As Anakin was getting out, he felt Qui-Gon's strong arms lift him like he weighed nothing and set him on the ground. If not for Kitster holding him up with his arms, Anakin would have fallen to the ground, drunk on his previous adrenalin and excitement.
"That'll never get old!" He yelled with conviction.
"Yeah, because you'll die before then," Kitster said jokingly. "You drive like a madman, Anakin."
"There's some truth to that, Anakin, you drive like it's your last day to live." Qui-Gon rubbed his beard, casting a slightly worried gaze.
"You'd understand if you tried it out," Anakin said exasperatedly.
Anakin understood their concern, but he didn't worry. If there was anything he had confidence in it was his piloting skills.
"I'm never going to get into that death machine," Padmé said gesturing to the podracer, an uneasy look on her face.
Sure, the pod might be fast, but wasn't a little bit too excessive to call it a death machine? Anakin thought. Besides, he had been driving it for years and never gotten hurt; if he was going to crash it would have happened by now.
"Dinner's going to be ready soon, let's go home," Shmi said calmly, far more used Anakin's piloting that the others.
Good.
Piloting gave him an appetite, and the their comments were starting to irritate him.
It was dark out by the time the group finished refueling the podracer and put everything away. Upon entering the Skywalker residence, they were greeted with the nice aroma of food.
The group enjoyed a nice meal together, despite being tired from the long day, they spoke enthusiastically, telling jokes and stories, knowing that for some of them, this night would be their last on Tatooine.
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder