Star Wars - Episode I Journal - Anakin Skywalker (4 page)

BOOK: Star Wars - Episode I Journal - Anakin Skywalker
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To be honest, I thought I was a goner. Flying a Podracer with a loose engine is like hitching a ride on a comet. I figured if I didn’t crash, I’d probably be pulled out into the upper atmosphere and freeze to death.

The other danger came from the loose steelton line. Flying free, it could snag a rock outcropping and swing me right into oblivion at any moment.

I kept fighting for control, working the stabilizer pedals with my feet—using the magnetic retriever to try and grab the loose line. But my Podracer was swinging wildly. It seemed hopeless until I remembered Qui-Gon’s advice:
Feel. Don’t think. Trust your instincts.

By then I figured I had nothing to lose…

I focused.
Stabilize. Catch the steelton line. Focus!

I stopped thinking about it and just reacted.

And then I did something I’d never done before. As the Podracer swung toward the loose line, I reached out with the magnetic retriever and managed to grab it. An instant later I rehooked the line to the left Radon-Ulzer.

Suddenly I was back in control.

But this was the last lap and I’d lost valuable time. Would I still be able to catch up?

I passed Elan Mak.

Ka-boom!
Ahead, Obitoki disappeared in flames and smoke. Sebulba had flashed him with his side vents, the same move he’d used on me in our last race, only I’d managed to crash-land and walk away.

Ka-boom!
Blinded by the bright blast of Obitoki’s racer, Habba Kee crashed.

That left Sebulba and me.

I came up on his side. Sebulba might have had a lot of dirty tricks, but he didn’t have a lot of imagination about using them. He knew flashing his side vents had worked once before on me. I had a feeling he’d try it again.

He did! My Podracer was forced onto the service ramp for a moment. Then I came right back. With a controlled thrust I ducked inside and took the lead!

Now Sebulba was behind me in second place! Boy, I wished I could have seen his face!

Crunk!
The jarring jolt from behind caught me by surprise. Sebulba was taking out his frustrations by butting me. Now he was tight on my tail. He knew I wouldn’t let him get past me, so instead he chose to crowd me and push, trying to send me out of control.

And that was a big problem, because it could work! It’s hard enough to maneuver those turns at top speed without having someone bumping you from behind.

Sebulba kept pushing me and I kept fighting him off. My control board flickered. Something had been knocked loose and was shorting out.

Poo doo!
It flickered again. I knew I’d have to switch to the auxiliary, but to do that meant backing off the RPMs. The electronics couldn’t handle the jolt of switching at flat-out thrust.

It took less than a second to make the switch. But that was all Sebulba needed to retake the lead.

Last lap. Last turn. Last chance. A Nubian spacecraft was a lot to lose, and I had a feeling that was only the beginning of Qui-Gon’s problems. I tried every move I knew to get past Sebulba. But either he’d gotten smarter during the race or he was just lucky, because he managed to keep me behind him.

Feel. Don’t think. Trust your instincts.
As we came out of the final turn, I put one last fake on him.

It worked! Suddenly we were side by side in the final stretch.

Crunk!
Sebulba slammed his racer sideways into mine, trying to knock me off course.

Crunk!
He did it again.

It took every bit of strength I had to keep my Podracer under control.

Crunk!
Again! He was crazy! Smashing our racers together like this could hurt him as much as it could hurt me.

Crunk!
This time when he slammed into me, we didn’t bounce apart. I looked over the side and saw why. Our steering rods had gotten caught on each other!

In his Pod, Sebulba was frowning at me. If we crossed the finish line together, we’d tie. Neither of us wanted that. We both wanted to win.

I had to get loose!

Leaning as hard as I could on my racer’s steering arm, I slammed my thruster bars back and forth, trying to break away from Sebulba’s racer. Meanwhile we were screaming down the final stretch at top speed.

I pushed the steering arm harder.

Harder!

HARDER!

Snap!
It broke!

Just before we burst apart, I caught a glimpse of incredible surprise on Sebulba’s face. Then I was spinning wildly and pumping my stabilizers to straighten out.

A few moments later my racer limped through a cloud of black smoke and crossed the finish line. The smoke was coming from Sebulba’s engines, which had exploded when his Podracer crashed into an ancient statue. I don’t know how he managed to survive that crash, but he did.

Only he didn’t win the Boonta Classic.

I did.

I slowed to a stop and just sat there in my racer, so tired that I couldn’t even reach up to undo my straps. My face was wet with gritty sweat. My ears were filled with the hiss of the cooling turbines and the roar of the cheering crowd. The twin suns glared down out of the cloudless sky, glinting off the Radon-Ulzers. My race… my win… my dream…

Kitster was reaching into the Pod and undoing my straps. I looked up into his proud, smiling face. His lips moved but I couldn’t hear his words over the roar. Hands were picking me up and the next thing I knew, I was being carried toward the royal box by a crowd of cheering fans.

I’d done it.

I’d won.

Sixth Entry
The Biggest Surprise

It wasn’t until I got back to the hangar that I saw Mom, Qui-Gon, Padmé, and the others. Everyone congratulated me, and Padmé gave me a hug. Even Mom was proud of me. I guess my winning the Boonta Classic gave the Tatooine slaves hope. Maybe not that
they
could win the race. But that they could achieve whatever they wanted if they really worked at it.

Qui-Gon had already used our winnings to buy the parts he needed for his ship. Now he borrowed some eopies and a repulsor sled to carry the parts back to the desert. Jar Jar and Artoo-Detoo left for the ship on foot. As Padmé climbed onto one of the eopies, I wondered if I’d ever see her again. I wanted to ask her, but there were too many people around.

Mom and I went home. For the rest of the day I should have basked in the glory of winning the race. All the kids in the neighborhood came by to congratulate me. They wanted to play and talk, but I was distracted. I had a project I needed to finish—fast.

You see, I was sad that Padmé was leaving and I hadn’t had a chance to say good-bye. I knew Qui-Gon would come back to return the eopies. When he did, I wanted to give him something to give to her. Something she would remember me by.

I had a piece of japor wood that I’d found in the desert and was saving. Japor was rare and valuable, and anything made of it was supposed to bring the wearer good luck. Now I started carving a pendant from it. My hope was that Padmé would wear it around her neck…

I finished the pendant and went out to find a leather lace to hang it on. Everywhere I went, people waved and smiled. I felt funny. I’d never been a hero before.

Not everyone was happy about my win. Out of nowhere a Rodian named Wald appeared in front of me, blocking my path. Wald was usually a friend of mine. But one look at him and I knew he was no friend today.

Maybe he’d lost money on the race. Or maybe he just didn’t like Humans. All I knew was that he wanted to fight because he said no Human could have won the Boonta Classic. Therefore, I must have cheated.

He got the fight he wanted.

But even as our fists flew, I wasn’t thinking about him or the race. I was thinking about Padmé.

We were rolling on the ground, flailing at each other and kicking up dust when I felt a shadow loom over me.

Looking up, I saw Qui-Gon gazing down at me with a frown on his face. I quickly stood up and dusted myself off. The Jedi Knight asked what had happened. I told him how Wald had accused me of cheating.

He turned to Wald and asked him if he thought I’d cheated. To my surprise, even though I’d just pounded him halfway into a pulp, Wald nodded. He
still
thought I’d cheated!

Qui-Gon nodded knowingly and turned once again to me. He explained that fighting had not changed Wald’s mind. I would have to be satisfied knowing the truth—that I didn’t cheat—even if I couldn’t convince everyone else.

I realized Qui-Gon was teaching me a lesson. I might have won the race, but all the fighting in the world wouldn’t convince an enemy to take my side.

Qui-Gon and I went back to my house. When we got inside, he told me something I never expected to hear. It made me forget almost everything else. Winning the Boonta Classic was
nothing
compared to this.

The Jedi Knight said I was no longer a slave!
I was free!
It seemed impossible that Watto would give me up, but all Qui-Gon would say was that Watto had learned an important lesson about gambling.

Mom was thrilled for me. She said now I could make my dreams come true. Then she asked Qui-Gon if I was to become a Jedi.

A Jedi?!

I was completely shocked! But Qui-Gon didn’t seem surprised by the question. Then I remembered the serious conversation I’d watched them have the day before. This
had
to be what they’d talked about!

But me, a Jedi Knight? That was always a dream. I never, ever dared to believe it could really come true.

Qui-Gon kneeled down so that we were face-to-face. He looked very serious and told me it was no coincidence that we’d met. He said that I was strong with the Force. But he warned me that I still might not be accepted by the Council. I wasn’t exactly sure how the Council worked, but I had a feeling it must have been made up of other Jedi Knights.

He also warned me that if I was accepted, there would be a long period of training. It would not be an easy life. He could have told me I’d have to shovel bantha poo for the rest of my days. It wouldn’t have mattered if it meant being a Jedi.

Mom told me to hurry and get packed because I would have to go back to the ship with Qui-Gon and there wasn’t much time. I turned and started toward my room. But then I thought of something that made me stop in my tracks.

I looked back at them. Mom and Qui-Gon shared a knowing look. And suddenly I knew this wasn’t only good news after all.

Seventh Entry
A Difficult Decision

The bad news was that Mom couldn’t come with us. Qui-Gon had tried to free her too, but Watto refused. Even the money from selling my Podracer wasn’t enough.

Leave Mom on Tatooine? I couldn’t do it. Even if it meant not becoming a Jedi. I didn’t want to go without her. Coruscant was halfway across the galaxy—light-years away. It was too far. If I went there, there was a good chance I’d never see her again.

I tried to tell her, but she told me to listen to my feelings. I tried to pretend that my feelings wanted me to stay on Tatooine, but we both knew that wasn’t true. In my heart, I wanted to be a Jedi more than anything in the world. Finally, I went to my room and quickly packed.

It was hand to leave. Kitster and some of my other friends were playing outside, and when they saw me come out with Qui-Gon and my bag, they knew something unusual was going on. I told Kitster I was free and going off planet. Of course,

BOOK: Star Wars - Episode I Journal - Anakin Skywalker
5.14Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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