Bets and Pod Races

Connan and the others walked into Watto's shop the next day, set with a purpose.

"Did you break the news to Obi Wan that we're betting everything on a little boy?" Connan mused to Quai Gon. He smirked.

"Not yet. I'll tell him just at the point where he can't make us back out." The Jedi answered. Connan laughed.

"I'll have to see this."

Padmé stopped behind them.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked, her voice crisp and sharp. "Testing our fate to a boy we hardly know?"

Quai Gon looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. Connan crossed her arms. Padmé went on. "The Queen will not approve."

"Well, the Queen doesn't need to know." Connan chided. She felt a wave of anger wash over Padmé as she slumped down into a seat outside next to Jar Jar.

"Well, I don't approve." She pouted. Connan sheepishly shrugged, following Quai Gon inside the shop.

A bell rang as Connan stepped into the shop and Watto came to meet them.

"The boy tells me you want to sponsor him in the race." The Toydarian stated.

"You must have exceptional hearing skills." Connan murmured. Quai Gon elbowed her. Watto went on.

"How can you do this? Not on Republic credits, I hope, eh?" Watto chuckled. Quai Gon pulled out a round datapad and turned it on. Their Nubian ship appeared.

"My ship will be the entry fee." Quai Gon said plainly. Connan watched Anakin's face widen in shock as he studied the layout of the ship. Watto was impressed, too.

"Oh! Not bad! Huh? A Nubian, huh?" Watto rubbed his chin.

"It's in good order, except for the parts we need." Connan observed. Quai Gon put the datapad away.

"What would the boy ride, eh?" Watto asked, smirking. "He smashed up my pod in the last race. It will take some long time to fix it."

"It wasn't my fault, really. Sebulba flashed me with his vents." Anakin excused. Connan scowled. "I actually saved the pod….mostly." Connan chuckled.

"Ah, that you did, huh?" Watto waved a finger at the boy. "The boy's good, no doubts there, huh?"

"See, we happen to have come across a pod in a game of chance, the fastest ever built." Connan explained.

"I hope you didn't kill anyone I know to get it, huh?" Watto chided. Connan slapped her cheeks.

"Please, do I look like the blood-thirsty type? Don't answer that." She mused, grinning.

"So," Watto continued. "You supply the pod and the entry fee, I supply the boy. We split the winnings, um 50-50, I thin, uh?"

"If it's going to be 50-50, then I suggest you front the cash for the entry fee." Quai Gon stated, walking in circles around the Toydarian. "If we win, you keep all the winning, minus the cost for the parts we need. And if we lose, you keep my ship."

Connan blanched. She grabbed Quai Gon's arm and whispered in his ear.

"Now hold on, big-pockets!" She hissed. "What are you doing? We could be shipless! I don't know about you, but I think it's really hard to walk from here to Coruscant."

She was ignored. "Either way," Quai Gon finished. "You win." Connan fumed silently, turning red and crossing her arms.

Watto rubbed his chin, grumbling to himself. Connan, Quai Gon, and Anakin exchanged glances momentarily. The Toydarian smirked.

"Deal!" He slapped Quai Gon's outstretched hand. Connan groaned. Quai Gon flashed a grin at Anakin before leaving.

"Do you just love throwing away perfectly good money?" She moaned to Quai Gon outside. "The ship! That's one hell of a ship, and you're betting it on the races! Why don't you just turn into a Toydarian and open up a shop next to your good ol' buddy Watto's shop?"

"I'll take that last statement as a poke at sarcasm." Quai Gon stayed emotionless.

-----

"What if this plan fails, Master?" Obi Wan supposed. "We could be stuck here a very long time."

"It's not like we have a choice now," Connan griped back. "Watto slapped his hand. That's like signing a contract in these parts. If we don't pull through, he'll pull the Hutts."

"And it's far too dangerous to call for help," Quai Gon continued. "And a ship without a power supply isn't going to get us anywhere." He paused, glancing at Connan. "And…. There's something about this boy." Quai Gon clicked off the comm. link.

Shmi came walking outside as Connan turned to leave. Se smiled at the woman.

"You should be very proud of your son." Quai Gon insisted. "He gives without any thought of reward."

"Well, he knows nothing of greed." Shmi answered, watching her son below as he fixed up the pod. "He has a—"

"He has special powers." Connan finished. Shmi nodded slightly, murmuring a "Yes." Connan went on. "He can see things before they happen."

"That's why he appears to have such quick reflexes. It's a Jedi trait." Quai Gon added.

"He deserves better than a slave's life." Shmi insisted.

"Why certainly." Quai Gon said. "Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early. The Force is unusually strong in him, that much is clear." He glanced uneasily between Connan and Shmi. "Who was his father?"

"Quai Gon!" Connan scolded, stamping his foot. "You don't go around asking questions like that!"

"It's alright," Shmi quickly stopped their quarrel. "I don't mind. There was no father."

Connan blanched, straightening and glancing at Anakin. Shmi went on.

"I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him." She said. "I can't explain what happened."

"But—that's—wow. Jolee would have a field day with this one." Connan slapped her forehead. "There was no father? At all? He just—appeared? Wow…." Quai Gon nervously chuckled.

"Can you help him?" Shmi asked hopefully. Connan nodded.

"I don't know," Quai Gon answered. "We really didn't come here to free slaves."

Connan grabbed Quai Gon's poncho and dragged him away from Shmi.

"Come on," She said. "You and I are going to check on that pod."

Five of Anakin's friends came running up to the pod as Connan approached. Connan knelt down to R2-D2 and knocked on his blue top.

"What are you doing just sitting there? Go fix something!" She ordered. R2-D2 beeped his response. One of the boys pointed to the droid.

"Wow, a real astro droid!" He exclaimed. "How did you get so lucky?"

"That isn't the half of it." Anakin boasted. "I'm in on the Boonta Race tomorrow."

"What?" Said the same boy. "With this?"

"You're such a joker, Ani." Another friend commented.

"You've been working on that thing for years." The first girl in the group called.

"It's never gonna run." Finished the second.

"Come on," The last friend in the group ordered. "Let's go and play ball. Keep racing, Ani. You're gonna be bug squash." The friends ran off, except for the first boy.

Connan pulled a pair of pliers and began fixing the wires for the engine as Jar Jar screwed a nut into place.

"Hey, Jar Jar." Anakin advised. Jar Jar was started, and dropped the tool he was using. "Keep away from those energy binders. If your hand gets caught in the beam, it'll go numb for hours."

Connan snorted. The thought of Jar Jar with a numb hand was hilarious. She watched Jar Jar nod, bend down to pick up his tool, and get his face caught in the energy binders. He sputtered, pulling his face away as Connan dropped to the floor in full-out laughter.

"My tongue is fat." Jar Jar's voice was muffled as his tongue stuck out of his mouth. "My tongue. Wrench." The wrench had been caught in the propeller part of the pod. Jar Jar saw it. "Where is da wrench? Oh, dare it is." He put his hand in the socket as the wrench fell from it, back onto the ground. Jar Jar pulled on his hand.

It was stuck.

"Uh-oh." Jar Jar muttered "Uh, Ani—I'm stuck. Ani?"

"You know," 3PO said as Connan stood straight. "I find that Jar Jar creature to be a little…odd." R2-D2 gurgled his agreements.

"Resuscitation: I, too, believe the Gungan slime to show a little more… ignorance than the other Gungans." HK stood straight, his blaster neatly in his hands.

"Good choice of words, there, HK." Connan slapped him on the shoulder. "Maybe we should go help him."

"Descriptive Suggestion: We could, Master. Or we could simply let the boy turn on the machine and watch the Gungan fly around in an orange whirl." Connan chuckled.

"Yes, that was descriptive." She chided. "But I don't think we'll be able to see that. I'm not that mean, you know."

"Temporary resignation: Yes, Master." HK sighed.

"What? Temporary?" Connan barked. "Lose the temporary act."

"Resignation: Very, well, Master."

"That's better."

"You don't even know if this thing's going to run." Anakin's friend told him. Quai Gon walked up to Anakin and put him into the seat.

"It will." Anakin assured his friend.

"I think it's time we found out." Quai Gon stated, handing Anakin a long chip. "Here, use this power charge."

"Yes, sir!" Anakin joked, saluting Quai Gon. Quai Gon took the friend's hand and pulled him away.

"Come on, Kitster, let's move away."

Jar Jar, on the other hand, was still stuck at the back.

"My—my mouth! Ani, I—" Padmé glanced at him and ran over. "Uh, hey. My tongue, is fat. Ani!"

"You're quite right." C-3PO stated. "He's very odd indeed."

Padmé succeeded in pulling the Gungan's hand loose from the pod. Jar Jar gave the thumb's up and moved away.

"Disappointed resolution: Oh, drat! It looks like we won't be able to see the Gungan fly around." HK sighed again.

"It's okay, HK. When we get back to Coruscant we'll be able to get some things out of your system." Connan assured him. The droid nodded.

The engine of the pod hummed to life as Anakin flipped the buttons up and down inside the cockpit. The propellers began moving and the wind picked up around them.

Connan beamed. She was so proud of the boy. He'd built the whole pod on his own—and it worked! She glanced at Quai Gon, who had his hands on his hips. He was sucking his teeth, and observing the pod as it rose into the air.

"It's working! It's working!" Anakin screamed over the pod. His mother stood on the balcony above and watched in silent admiration as the pod wound back down.

-----

On that same balcony that night, Connan sat next to Quai Gon who was cleaning a cut on Anakin's skin.

"Stay still, Ani. Let me clean this cut." He said. Anakin was staring out at the stars.

"There's so many! Do they all have a system of planets?" He asked.

"Most of them." Connan looked up, too. "Some are still inhabitable, I'd wager." She pointed to the east stars. "Over there is where I came from a few weeks ago."

"Do you plan on going back?" Quai Gon asked.

"If that's the way I can get home, then possibly, when this is all said and done." Connan shrugged.

"Has anyone ever been to all of the planets?" Anakin changed the subject back to its original topic. Connan chuckled.

"Not likely. There's way too many for one person to do." She answered.

"I want to be the first one to see 'em all." Anakin mused. Quai Gon chuckled.

"Ani! Time for bed!" Shmi called from inside the house. Quai Gon pricked Anakin, causing him to cry out.

"Ow!" The boy said. Quai Gon rubbed the skin.

"There we are, good as new." He said. Shmi walked by.

"Ani! I'm not going to tell you again." She said.

"What are you doing?" Anakin watched as Quai Gon put the blood sample taken into the datapad.

"Checking your blood for infections." Quai Gon patted Anakin on the shoulder.

"Go on, get some sleep. You have a big day tomorrow." Connan pushed the boy into the house.

Quai Gon turned on the comm. link.

"Obi-Wan?" He asked into the link.

"Yes, Master." Came the reply.

"I need an analysis of the blood sample I'm sending you."

"Wait a minute." Obi Wan said. Quai Gon went on.

"I need a midi-chlorian count."

There was a pause as Obi Wan gasped.

"The reading is off the charts. Over twenty-thousand. Even Master Yoda doesn't have a midi-chlorian count that high." He answered.

"Only one other person we've checked has." Quai Gon glanced at Connan.

"Me? I have a midi-chlorian count over twenty-thousand? What the hell is a midi-chlorian anyway?" She asked, pointing at herself.

"It's the thing that connects Jedi to the Force." Quai Gon stated.

"What does this mean, Master?" Obi Wan asked.

"I'm not sure." Quai Gon answered. He glanced at the doorway. Shmi was standing there. She sighed, and walked away.

"So he's got an impossible amount of midi-chlorogines in him." Connan shrugged.

"Midi-chlorian." Quai Gon corrected.

"And he's got no father." Connan deduced. "Could the midi-cloogites have created him?"

"It is possible. Who was your father?" Quai Gon asked.

"Why?" Connanthrew up a defense.

"Well, your count is over twenty-thousand as well. Perhaps we can find out what's going on by looking at your parents." Quai Gon shrugged.

"I don't look like my father at all. He seemed to hate me for some reason." She glanced at Quai Gon's sullen look. "Yes, I'm one of those dreary people with the dark, secretive pasts. Do I look like it? Probably not."

"So what if you were made of midi-chlorians too?" Quai Gon suggested.

"It would certainly be better than thinking I came from that beat-up drunk." Connan snarled. She shrugged. "Well, thanks to you, we've got a hugely important event tomorrow, so I'd better go to sleep. Good night." She bowed her head. Quai Gon followed suit.

"Good night, Connan."

-----

"I wanna see your spaceship the moment the race is over." Watto ordered Connan the next day.

"Patience, my ugly friend. You'll have your winnings before the suns set." Connan answered him. Quai Gon stood beside her.

"And we'll be far away from here." He finished.

"Not if your ship belongs to me, I think, huh?" The Toydarian laughed. "I warn you, no funny business."

"You don't think little Ani can win?" Connan crossed her arms.

"Don't get me wrong, no. I have great faith in the boy. He's a credit to your race, but, uh, Sebulba there is going to win, I think." Watto pointed to the obnoxious Dug being pampered by cantina dancers.

"Oh, no!" Jar Jar cried.

"Why would you think that?" Quai Gon asked.

"Well, he always wins." Watto shrugged. He pushed Jar Jar out of the way and circled Connan and Quai Gon. "I'm betting heavily on Sebulba." Connan fumed.

"I'll take that bet." She snarled.

"You what?" Watto asked.

"You what?" Quai Gon gawked. She winked at him.

"I'll wager our new racing pod against, say, the boy and his mother." She was now circling him.

"No pod is worth two slaves, not by a long shot." Watto slapped his finger into Connan's chest. She bristled.

"The boy, then." Quai Gon changed.

"Hmmm, well, uhh—" The Toydarian smirked. "We'll let fate decide, huh? I just happed to have a chance cube here. Blue, it's the boy. Red, his mother." Watto held up the cube to Connan, showing her all six sides. Three were blue and three were red. He threw it on the ground.

Connan saw Quai Gon hold his hand out as it stopped rolling. It landed on a blue. Connan chuckled, shrugging.

"Ain't that the way fate deals 'em?" She asked. Watto got in her face.

"You won this small toss, outlander, but you won't win the race! So it makes little difference." Connan held her hand at her side and brought it up to her shoulder. The cube on the floor flew to life, shooting to Watto and hitting him in the face. The Toydarian growled, rubbing his temples. He flew off in a rage toward Anakin.

"Hey there, boy." He chuckled. "You'd better stop your friend's betting. Or I'll end up owning them, too." Watto flew away, leaving a bewildered Anakin. He watched Connan and Quai Gon come up to him.

"What did he mean by that?" The boy asked. Connan waved it off.

"I'll tell you later. Let's get going."

"Oh, my. Space travel sounds quite perilous." C-3PO told R2-D2. The droid beeped. "I can assure you, they will never get me onto one of those dreadful starships."

Somehow, Connan thought so.

-----

"This is so wizard, Ani. I'm sure you'll do it this time." Kitster encouraged.

"Do what?" Padmé asked. Connan walked up behind the girl.

"Finish the race, of course." Connan snorted before she could stop herself.

"You've never won a race?" Padmé asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Well, not exactly." Anakin hesitated.

"Not even finished?" Padmé gawked. Anakin threw his arm around Kitster.

"Kitster's right, I will this time." He grinned.

"Of course you will." Quai Gon laid his hands on the boy's shoulders. Padmé glanced from Connan, to Quai Gon, her mouth slightly open from shock.

-----

The two show hosts in the main box of the arena began giving a play-by-play of the opening ceremony, one in Huttese and the other in Basic.

"That's absolutely right. And a big turnout here from all corners of the Outer Rim territories." Said the Basic host. "I see the contestants are making their way onto the starting grid." The first speaker translated to Huttese. "I see Ben Quadinaros from the Tund system, two-time winner, Boles Roor," The first announcer began talking again, ending the announcements with the name, "Sebulba".

The Dug jumped onto his pod and threw his front legs into the air. The crowds went crazy, screaming his name and praise to him. He drank it all in greedily. Connan rolled her eyes. The second announcer went on.

"And in the front row, nearside pole position, Mawhonic!" The alien took a bow. "A hearty hello to Clegg Holdfast and his Voltec KT9 Wasp!" This alien mumbled dejectedly to himself as he received minimal applause. "And back again, it's the might Dud Bolt, with that incredible racing machine, the Vulptereen 327!" The alien paid no attention. "And hoping for a big win today, Ody Mandrell, with his record-setting pit droid team." The three "pit droids" began fighting.

"And a late entry, young Anakin Skywalker, a local boy." The crowds almost went as crazy as they did with Sebulba. Anakin stopped fixing his pod long enough to wave then kept going.

"I see the flags are moving down onto the track." Said the announcer. Connan knelt down beside Anakin as his mother took his shoulders.

"Be safe." She told him.

"I will Mom, I promise." Anakin answered. Connan laid a hand on his elbow.

"I'll be watching out for him, don't you worry." She winked at Shmi. "He'll do alright."

Anakin began plugging parts into each other as Sebulba walked up to him.

"You won't walk away from this one, you slave scum." He chided.

"Don't count on it, slime ball." Anakin answered.

"You're bantha fodder!" Sebulba shouted, walking away. Connan watched Quai Gon approach.

"You all set, Ani?" Quai Gon asked.

"Yep." Answered the boy.

"Right," Quai Gon picked up the boy and placed him in the pod. "Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Use your instincts." Anakin glanced from him to the inside of the pod.

"I will."

"May the Force be with you." Quai Gon handed Anakin the helmet, then walked away.

"Now, little Ani." Connan said, leaning onto the pod. "If you end up needing any help at all, don't be afraid to ask."

"I don't." Anakin shrugged. Connan chuckled.

"I don't mean now. I mean during the race." She said, brushing his hair behind him.

"What? How can—" Anakin frowned.

"Just think about what you need help in fixing." Connan guided. She patted his head. "And have fun."

-----

"Begin the race!" The pods started up. People went running out of the way. Anakin started his pod and checked for any miscalculations.

Connan, Jar Jar, and Quai Gon stepped onto the rising platform while it was safely on the ground.

"Is he nervous?" Shmi asked.

"He's fine." Quai Gon answered.

"You Jedi are far too reckless." Padmé snarled. "The Queen is not—"

"The Queen trusts my judgment, young handmaiden. You should too." Quai Gon smirked. Connan rolled her eyes. She shrugged at Padmé.

"Sorry," She mouthed.

"You assume too much." Padmé said, a sense of pride coming over her. Connan snapped her fingers.

"Of course! You're—" She was cut off. Padmé whirled around and placed a finger over her lips. Connan nodded. "You're going to tell me about this later, though." Padmé nodded.

"Start your engines." The announcer called. Jar Jar began his hyperventilating.

"Oh, dissen goina be messy! Me no watch'n!" He covered his eyes.

The Hutt banged the gong and the first light shone across the arena. The race had started. All of the drivers took off…

Save two.

Anakin's pod went three feet and jerked to a halt. Connan felt him panic. She stared at him.

"Don't panic, Ani. Take a deep breath and find what's wrong." She thought.

"Come on, Ani!" Jar Jar called.

Anakin flicked a few buttons and hit the speed stick. The engine spurred to life once more. Anakin's hands went to the controls and he pressed down.

He was off.

-----

Okay, I ended it here because I didn't want to go through the whole pod race. In the next chapter it comes out after he's finished. It's just too long for my liking. Sorry if anyone feels differently.

And I'm also sorry for not updating last week! I was going to but a virus went through my computer. It took me a few days to get it out. And I'm updating on a Saturday because tomorrow is Easter and I have to go to Hico for the day. So sorry people! It will definitely be on time next week! And next week I'll star at chapter 23 and be one hour, ten minutes and three seconds into it. Please review!