Herald of the Force

Author Notes: This chapter as been beta by LimerickChaos

Chapter 04: Diamond in the Rough

Harry opens the comlink and speaks to Sabé who has been posing as the Queen. Harry told Sabé the plan and she agreed knowing Padmé was in with the plan. Even if the odds were against them.

"The boy tells me you want to sponsor him for the Boonta Eve Classic. How can you do this?! Not on Republic credits I think."

"There seems to be a misunderstanding Watto. We don't want to sponsor Anakin for the race." Harry said given Anakin a hard look. He pouted looking upset but knew better than to say anything.

"Awe, so you are here for business." Watto said in basic.

"You see, we learned of the Boonta Eve Classic and wish to enter. The problem as you know is that we don't have the credits to enter. So we're looking for a sponsor." Harry said as Qui-Gon and Padmé stood behind him both given him their silent support.

"What will you ride? The boy smash up my pod in the last race." Watto said.

"It wasn't my fault, really. Sebulla smashed me with his vents. I actually saved the pod… mostly."

"Well as it happens, I have a pod of my own, the fastest that's ever been built."

"I hope you didn't kill anyone I know to get it. So you supply the pod and the entry fee, I supply the boy to ride it. We split the winnings, fifty-fifty I think."

"No deal. How about this. If we win, you can keep all of the winnings in return for all the parts we need to repair the ship. If we lose, we'll run errands for a year for you with our ship." Harry said in a calm tone.

"Either way, it's your win." Qui-Gon added.

"Deal."

[Your new friends are fools I think.] Watto said the moment the trio left the store.

"What if this plan fails master, we could be stuck here for another year and we can't wait that long."

"Well it's too dangerous to send out a call for help. A ship without a power supply isn't going to get us anywhere. And… there is something unusual about this boy."

Harry was examining Anakin's podracer seeing what was wrong. It took all his experience with working mechanics and his knowledge the Force gave him to see the many flaws in Anakin's Pod.

Anakin of course did not take this well and was pouting and trying to correct Harry saying he didn't know anything about Podracing.

This only made Padmé talk to Harry about Podracing and was she attempting to learn some new engineering skills. Harry was more than happy to show her as this was the first time she's allowed herself to be herself.

Anakin of course, was trying to impress Padmé with his knowledge of mechanics and would interrupt Harry when he was showing Padmé how to fix R2-D2.

The little sideshow finally ended when Shmi called Anakin saying Watto need him at the store.

"Do you think we can get some of the ship parts to increase the performance of the podracer?" Harry asks the moment Anakin was gone.

"Will it matter?" Padmé asks.

"Even a one percent increase improves our odds. It will increase our chances to get off this rock. Besides, it won't be long before someone figures out what we are hiding. Or who we are hiding. The Hutt's take an interest if one lingers in a spaceport too long."

Padmé nods her head in agreement. She knew it wasn't wise to linger in the spaceport for too long. They needed to get off planet and the only hope was winning the Podracing Boonta Eve Classic to get them away.

Everything was going well until a week before the race.

"Yeah." Harry said into his comlink.

"Panaka here. We're getting a message from home, the Queen has asked everyone to come see it before we do anything." Captain Panaka said.

"We're on our way back" Harry said.

Qui-Gon, Padmé, Jar Jar and R2-D2 all got in the speeder and headed back to the ship.

"… the Death Toll is catastrophic. We must bow to their wishes, you must contact me."

"It's a trick. Send no reply, don't send a reply of any kind."

"Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon said in a gentle but with a hint of a warning in his voice.

"Thane Potter, what do you think." Sabé asks.

Harry leans back and frowns as he reviewed what he heard.

"Sounds like the Trade Federation is using the Governor as bait to establish a connection trace."

"What if it's true?" Captain Panaka said.

"Not much we can do about it here. If we contract Governor Bibble, the Trade Federation will immediately get a location on our location. No, we're better off…"

"Thane Potter?" Sabé asks in a worried tone.

"What's wrong?" Qui-Gon asks.

"We need to get rid of the ship." Harry says in a slow tone of voice.

"What?" Captain Panaka said.

"We've gone through a lot of trouble just to get the parts we need. Why do we need to get rid of the ship?" Qui-Gon asks.

"The Trade Federation has our holofrequency. It will be only a matter of time before they can trace us here. No, we're no longer safe. We'll sell this ship, use the money to either buy passage to Coruscant or buy a new ship." Harry said.

"I think that's for the best your majesty. If they can trace us, they can stop us from getting to Coruscant." Padmé said.

"Very well. Find a dealer willing to buy this ship. Be quick too, for I do not need to tell you what's at stake." Sabé said, Harry was please to see how well she was impersonating Padmé.

Entering Watto's shop was never a pleasant feeling.

"Awe, the young podracer comes back. I'm looking forward to see my new ship the moment the race is over."

"That won't be necessary. You can see today if you like. We just need a hangar."

"I see… what? Why do you need a hangar?" Watto asks in a question tone of voice.

"You see it has occurred to me that our deal seems to have you at a disadvantage. I also realize I'm going through a lot of trouble to repair my ship when as you say, I can just get a new one. So I propose a new deal. You help me sell my ship to a good buyer, and I will help cover all expenses needed to repair the ship plus give you a five percent broker's deal for helping me sell it. As for the race, my proposal is simple. If I win, I don't have to pay you back anything. We also split the winning's forty-sixty. If I lose, I pay you back with interest of thirty percent."

"Interesting, why should I accept this deal instead?" Watto asks as he leans back and puts his three fingers together.

"Because you'll get more money this way either way the deal goes."

"Alright, I'll get you a hangar. I know a couple of people who will buy a ship of your class for a hefty price."

Harry stuck his hand out and Watto slaps it to seal the deal.

Harry watched as his ship was piloted into the hangar Watto provided. Harry walks in to see a buyer looking at the ship from stern to bow.

[This ship is indeed beautiful. Luxury class isn't it?] A twi'lek said as he approached Harry who was standing by the ship with Padmé.

"Yes, she makes point 1 in hyperspace. Comes with a navicomputer and a holoterminal. It wasn't cheap mind you." Harry said.

"My master prizes luxury ships. It shows his greatness.] The twi'lek says as he starts to eye Padmé. Harry was ready to kill the Twi'lek if he so much lays a finger on her.

[How about five hundred thousand credits for the ship and the girl?]

"Not on your life." Harry said.

[Jabba will be most pleased with a new dancer. I'm merely making a new offer that will benefit us both.]

"She's not for sale." Harry said in a stern tone of voice.

[I see you will not budge. Perhaps I ask to low. Six hundred thousand credits.]

"No. The ship is the only thing I'm selling, my crew and all my personal are off limits." Harry said.

[It would be wise to be in Jabba's good grace.] Bib Fortuna said.

"It would also be wise not to anger a customer." Padmé said in a strong tone of voice. She of course knew what the Twi'lek was asking for and she felt both disgusted and violated.

[Why does your slave speak for you?] The Twi'lek said in a harsh and demanded tone of voice.

"Let's walk to cool our tongues." Harry suggested before they got into a fight. Harry didn't want the Hutt Cartel on him just because he beat up one of Jabba's lieutenants. Harry felt it was time to use his power of persuasion.

"I see you are very loyal to Jabba the Hutt and expect to be rewarded for your loyalty. However the way to get into Jabba's good grace is to present him with a marvelous gift. This ship would make Jabba very happy." Harry said. Bib Fortuna was hanging on Harry's every word. "This isn't just some outer rim luxury ship. This is a Nubian A-Class Cruiser. Do you know what the market price for one of these is? Twenty million credits. But I will be generous, I have no need of the credits so I will offer it to you for half. Ten million credits. This way, Jabba can use it for himself, or sell it higher and make more money."

[I see. Your words are very true. Very well, ten million credits. I will have the credits ready tonight before the sun goes down, you have the ship ready to go to Jabba's.]

"Agreed."

"Tell Watto I've sold the ship for two hundred thousand and will give him his extra ten thousand before he closes his shop." Harry said to Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon bows his head and leaves. Though Harry could see confusion on his face.

Harry stood over the transaction and was pleased everything went smoothly. While Watto was stupid and greedy enough to believe Harry only sold his ship for two hundred thousand credits, he took the money not even caring to see what happen during the buy. Harry knew it was wrong to cheat them, but they were scum and deserved it. Besides, by the time anyone figured out what happened, they would be long gone. Harry however couldn't help but feel a sense of dread rising up inside of him as if there was some sort of darkness on the planet that was seeking them. Qui-Gon himself seemed on edge, more than usual.

"Here we go, I can't believe Watto has one of these ships. Harry said as he pays Watto twenty thousand credits for a light corvette. It stood 29 meters high, and was ninety-four meters long and stretched seventy-one meters wide. The Defender-Class Light Corvette that was once used by the Jedi Order during the Galactic War stood there in one piece. Despite it's parts being outdated, it was still a good ship in good condition.

Now all that was left was to win the Boonta Eve Classic.

Author Notes: Another chapter ends. Hope you guys like it and i'm going to lean further from the canon set and work on my own.