Chapter 4

*Author's note: I will admit that I felt a little bit out of my element while writing about the race. I hope I didn't do to bad. The chapter's also a little longer than the previous ones, nothing to major. Hope you enjoy the chapter*

Mos Eisley Race track, Tatooine

The race was on the next day. Luke had to admit that he was kind of nervous. He had only driven one podracer before, an old beat up one that his friend Biggs Darklighter had owned. Although, Luke had become pretty good at driving it he still didn't know how this race was going to turn out. The group had come to the track searching for Watto. They passed many racers before the last one stopped them. It was the infamous Sebulba.

"Ahh look," the Dug spoke in his native language, "Fresh meat. You'll soon learn that Sebulba always wins. You'd do best to quit now and save yourself the trouble."

The Dug gave a smirk. Leia and Carth pushed Luke past the arrogant podracer. They found Watto soon after. He was gambling with some people over who would win the race. When he saw Luke approaching, he smiled and waved the people away.

"There's my secret weapon," Watto bellowed, "You are my key to victory!"

"If that is so, then why did you bet on Sebulba?" Carth questioned. "By doing that, I have been put in a win-win situation. If Sebulba wins, I gain credits from my bid. If the boy here wins, I gain my 75% of the winnings," Watto laughed confidently.

"Now let's get you in your speeder and ready to race," Watto flew over to Luke and guided him to his pits. The mechanical crew of droids was bustling around getting everything ready. They were a bit clumsy in their work and one even fell over.

"What a foolish group of droids," Threepio remarked to Luke. "They may not function on the same level as you but they serve their purpose better than you could," Luke replied. C-3PO did not care to say anything back as Luke had made a good point.

"Here is your ride," Watto presented the speeder to Luke. It was in better condition than Luke had imagined it would be. The paint looked fresh and Luke knew that it was a newer model as well. Luke couldn't hold back his appreciation of the vehicle. Watto noticed this and smiled along with Luke.

"This is one of the best speeders on all of Tatooine. I told ya it would be a good ride. It would take some effort to lose piloting such a great machine," Watto told Luke.

Time was running out, the race would start soon. Luke eagerly hopped into the driver's seat of the podracer. Watto then told him, "Don't let me down boy or you'll pay for it."

After that threatening statement, both Carth and Leia came over and wished him luck. Threepio just waited patiently. Lastly Ben, who'd been uncharacteristically silent so far, spoke with Luke.

"These races are very dirty, Luke, the other racers will do anything in order to win," Luke nodded in agreement with this comment, "But you have an advantage- the force. Use it to focus and enhance your skills. Feel it flow around and inside of you. If you do this, no one will beat you."

Luke thought on this. Could the force really help him win the race? "Just remember Luke, the force is always with you."

After his discussion with Ben, Luke was hauled out onto the race track. The other racers were lined up beside, in front of, and behind him. None looked to be too challenging outside of Sebulba. The Dug had a good record behind him and it intimidated Luke a little. Sebulba tried to grow off of this and came over to talk with Luke.

"So fresh meat decided to race any way?" the Dug spat out in his language, "You must think yourself brave but really you are just foolish and stupid. Sebulba will win and there is nothing you can do about it."

The wicked Dug walked away laughing or at least that's what Luke saw. What he didn't see was that Sebulba loosened a part on one of Luke's giant engines. Finally it came time to start the race. A man stepped out onto Jabba the Hutt's platform.

"My name is Milos Brejik or just Brejik. I am here in place of Jabba the Hutt who is on an important business trip. I would just like to wish all the racers luck and to make the race an exciting one," the man yelled throughout the stands. The crowd clapped as Brejik sat down.

Next came the count down. By now Luck was shaking in his boots. He was not only nervous but terrified by what would happen if he lost. They would not be able to receive Artoo, Leia and Carth would be stuck on Tantooine, and Ben would owe Watto a lot of credits. No, Luke had no choice but to win. There would be no losing today. The announcers called out the final number then started his commentary as the race began. It a sudden rush, Luke forgot all of his fears and simply piloted. A calm came over him that only occurred when he piloted anything. He steadily flew by other competitors, gaining positions. Sebulba led the way.

Unlike most podraces, this one would only have two laps but the course is one of the most dangerous on the planet. The racers navigated their way through miles of canyons and caverns. Luke eased into the thrusters allowing him to bank sharply to the right, over taking another racer. He then boosted his power and shot forward to gain distance from the racer. The first lap was coming to a close and Luke was in fourth place. He passed the starting line and heard the roar of the crowd who was being thoroughly entertained. Among these fans were Leia, Carth, Threepio, and Ben.

"I don't know if Luke is going to be able to pull this off," Carth said dejectedly, "These racers have been doing this for a while. Plus he's only a kid."

"Well I have faith in him. He'll find a way to win this, I'm sure of it," Leia trusted. Ben didn't say anything but rather nodded in agreement with Leia. He also gave Leia a peculiar look when she had turned back to watch the race. He was interested in why she had felt so confidently in Luke.

Meanwhile, Luke was attempting to catch up to Sebulba. He passed another racer when his speeder slowed down substantially. Must have run out of fuel Luke thought. As he continued on, he watched the other racer try to overtake Sebulba. He increased his speed by turning up his boosters and started to inch past Sebulba. Sebulba was agitated at his attempt to pass him. The Dug rammed into the side of the other podracer. It swerved a bit before straightening back out. The racer then tried to once again overtake Sebulba. He made a mistake. When the racer went off to Sebulba's left side, he smashed right into a tall rock column. The column began to shake violently and started to fall. Luke realized that this was going to have an impact on him. With the rocks falling from above, Luke put as much as he could into his thrusters and rocketed forward. He quickly cut the distance between him and Sebulba. He was closing in on the rotten Dug. Sebulba must have noticed because he grabbed a wrench he had in his cockpit and hurled it back at Luke.

Luke ducked and the wrench narrowly missed his head. When Luke looked back up, he saw a wall of rock in front of him. Luke immediately pulled up. The belly of the podracer skidded up the cliff until Luke was able to flat back out on top of the canyon. Sebulba was still done below, speeding through the chasm. Luke knew he now had the advantage. He could navigate much easier along the bare canyon top while Sebulba would have to steer his way through the chasm. Luke increased his speed. He shot past Sebulba with ease. He then decided to bring the speeder down in front of Sebulba. He took a deep breath and slowed down a bit, time up the jump. finally he turned the speeder to the left and felt it rattle as it flew towards the ground. He pulled up just before hitting the solid surface and found himself in first place with only a quarter of a mile to go.

Sebulba was furious. He threw a tiny temper tantrum in his cockpit and said a few choice words in his Dug language. Luke was cruising towards victory until something went wrong. Luke sensed it just before it happened and grabbed the steering controls. The piece that Sebulba had sabotaged had finally fallen off. THe one engine rapidly lost energy. Luke was racing with just one engine! He didn't panic as he knew it wouldn't help. He simply thought up some solutions. None came to mind. Sebulba noticed the drop in speed and took the opportunity to try and reach Luke.

The race was slipping through Luke's fingers. Leia and Carth sat breathless in concern. Luke could only think of one thing that could help him- the force. He didn't know much about it but Ben had said to trust and believe in it. There seemed to be no other choice either. Luke had guessed that he had unknowingly been using the force to race. That's what he expected was the feeling he felt. Luke calmed his mind and closed his eyes. He focused on the blackness of his eye lids. It was like a flood gate opened. A feeling flooded into Luke. He opened his eyes with determination. He was going to win this race. With the force on his side, the speeder glided along without much use of the energy. Sebulba soon drifted farther back again. Luke's speeder was the first to cross the finish line.