Wrong Place, Right Time
Ch.37
Seek
Pov: Aaron
"Aaron! We got to go!"
"In a minute! This is Important!"
In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't.
I was in front of the speeder that was ruffed together at the last minute. It was looking fine, but we knew what was under the hood. Hidden behind the bright yellow (Anakin's signature color) hover car was a machine held together with figurative duct tape, and a dream. So if we were going down, I was going to make a mark of my own on it.
I had a can of black paint and drew some letters and numbers on the front plate of the vehicle with a thin brush.
Jed 11
It was my twist on a reference to an old movie, about a flying car that used to be a racing car.
"What does that even mean?! Come on, it's time to go!"
I put the finishing touch on and smacked the hood of the car signaling Anakin to start his ride. Proving our work to be a success, it started up smooth with a purr.
So far, so good…
"Alright! You're set! I'll go meet Sebulba at the pit! And good Luck!"
"I'll need it!"
The Padawan drove to the garage entrance, and I made my way to the others out the back door. Outside waiting for me were Subulba, and Artoo.
"Ready?"
"Yep, Anakin is raring to go."
"This way then."
We made our way to the pit and looked around. It was a setup of a monitor connected to a terminal that showed information that I didn't even begin to know what for. Near the front was a table with a couple of tablets (or data pads in this case, less sophisticated as ours back home).
The dug gave a good nod as he observed the set up and picked up a data pad to see Anakin riding up to his place on the track.
"Timea for a comm checki."
I put the ear piece I was giving earlier in my ear to hear the pep talk. By this point, I could make out more from what the dug was saying. It just took a lot of focus.
"Listen, Walker. As soon as they see who you are with, everyone will be gunning for you. So don't play nice."
["Copy."]
"Now, let's go over the system check before the final announcement…"
I remained silent as this went on, until a voice crept up behind me.
"You know when Cal said Skywalker was going to race, I didn't believe him."
I nearly jumped and my head quickly turned to see the manager of the garage, "Hey Aath. Yeah, hope you don't mind that we just took over that portion of the garage."
"Nah, it was rented out by the company you just helped. As long as you don't break anything I'm fine… Exciting though, wasn't it? Working your first time at the track?"
I smiled thinking about the days I worked as a welder and times when I worked on cars with my dad. "Yeah! Seems like work never leaves you wherever you go."
He laughed along, "You're telling me! We prepare all year for these races and we don't get a moment of rest. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy it. Nothing pleases me more than to do this. But that is as long as I get to watch it with my kids."
"Does your wife enjoy the races?"
Aath shook his head with a chuckle, "Nah, she decided to stay home today. She's not one for racing."
"Oh? Then what do you two like? Together I mean?"
"Well… It's a little embarrassing, but I like theater. Not doing them, but watching them. It's something my wife and I do often."
"Hey I'm not one to judge, I like theater myself… So it sounds like you got it pretty good."
"Yes, sir. And I wouldn't change it. How about yourself? Got a girl?"
I sighed in sadness, thinking about the failed High school or even college romance. Nothing.
"No, but I'm still looking."
"You're still young, it'll come."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
Hadn't heard that one before…
While I was in the middle of my sarcastic monologue. He glanced at his communicator and wrapped up our conversation, "Well, just wanted to check in with the new racer before we began. I'll probably see you two after the race with Cal. You're still VIPs after all."
With that, Aath was gone. Leaving me to hear the last of the checklist.
"All systems are green, Walker. Stay on standby."
["Understood. Any advice from the Great Sebulba?"]
"Keep your eyes on your front and back."
["Right… Oh! Before I forget. Aaron, you mind holding onto my communicator? Artoo has it right now. Just call Padmé Incase anything happens, alright?"]
The droid then opened a slot that showed a little claw holding the communicator, handing it to me. I sat down to look at the little monitor in Sebulba's hands.
"Alright, and what would you like me to do during the race? I mean, I'm not the biggest expert when it comes to this kind of racing."
["Hmmm. Well you could listen on the line just in case. More eyes on the screen wouldn't hurt."]
I sighed slightly disappointed, "Alright. Just remember to beat T.A.S.I."
Anakin chuckled over the line, "Of course."
As soon as he said this, the announcer came on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the race will soon begin momentarily."
Show time…
My boss new boss gave me a quick reminder.
"Be sure to watch out for any racers sneaking up on him. They are out for blood."
Don't have to tell me twice.
Before things started, I glanced at the other teams stations, and saw directly across from us was the T.A.S.I. owner, Rac Holland. He was currently looking at his monitor, scratching his nose where his scar was.
This man was also a potential murderer… And I had nothing to back it up. So I opted to think about Sebulba's story in the meantime. Before he had mentioned a camera caught the racer's fall into the planet below, and they never recovered a body…
That has to be something. Right?
"a" camera saw this, and no body was recovered…
No body…
"Hey Sebulba? If we have cameras to watch our racers, how come only one camera caught that accident?"
The old racer sighed, "Yes, well there are some places in the race that our droid cameras cannot go to. That footage was taken from a security camera there. It was fed directly into the screen."
"Ok, but wouldn't there be other security cameras there besides one?"
He turned to look at me with confusion, "Yes, but why do you ask?"
"Uhh, no reason."
The dug shrugged, "What's the point digging it up. Everyone saw it."
He then went back to checking his data pad. Meanwhile, it was time to send a friend on a little errand into enemy territory.
"Psst, Artoo. Come here."
He rolled up to my side as I whispered some commands to follow. After I finished telling him, he whistled around and drove off. Silently I prayed that meant that he agreed. For Sebulba's sake too.
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Cal's voice rang through the stadium.
"Alright everyone! This is the moment you've all been waiting for! The Final race of the day! Once more I'll explain the stakes! Through seven of the hundreds of districts on our world, they will have to endure the long stretch until the last district, where they will have to be quick on their toes. Now without further delay, Start up your Engines!"
With the flick of Cal's finger, all the hover cars started their roars and the sound of revving filled the air. I could hear the crowd cheering the racers on, shouting names and waving vigorously.
"On your marks!... Get set!... GOOO!"
Just like that, Anakin's speeder shot off with the mass of other cars racing for the prize. I could see from the monitor right away that Anakin had shot forward to seventh place.
Sebulba was impressed,
"Not bad, but he needs to get to at least third place by the last district, or he won't make it."
"I'm sure that- on his right!"
I saw to the right of the screen that a speeder was coming up on Anakin's side.
Sebulba called into his earpiece and relayed the instructions, "Veer right!"
Anakin did Veer, oh he did. Only to the left on our screen.
What! Why did he-?…
My jaw dropped at my revelation. I wasn't thinking in the mirrored perspective as the camera was facing Anakin's front. As I realized this, my head turned to an aggravated dug looking me dead in the eye. Moments later, a sigh escaped.
"Eighth is still good, and I can't be too mad at you because we wouldn't be doing this without your help."
A sigh of relief escaped my mouth, only to be brought back in as he continued, "But I think you should stay on standby for now. I'll take it from here."
I couldn't say anything to reject his demand. Both he and Anakin were racers after all.
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So I just watched the screen for about an hour and a half, seeing the progress he was making. It was good. He was four districts in and he was now in fifth. The last district was a turn in the path of the sky and he bypassed three of the hover cars at once. Making the crowd jeer at the development.
If they only knew who was behind the wheel… Well, I have no idea if they would know Skywalker.
And speaking of mystery drivers, there was still the "Red Baron" of T.A.S.I.
Like before, this driver was out of this world, or at least my world. Nobody has yet to come close. Even so I had faith Anakin could pull this off. Otherwise, Sebulba wouldn't have accepted Anakin's help. Or mine for that matter.
I was starting to enjoy the races when I got a chirp from Anakin's communicator.
Padmé?
I sat up from my spot, leaving the dug alone for a moment while activating it.
Instead, I was greeted by the sight of Mr. Holland and another person in a room somewhere. He was just out of visual range.
["Look! I paid you plenty to wipe away the evidence from the race last year! And extra for that little mishap! I'm willing to triple my offer, but you will need to make it go all together at the black out point. Only this time, it will be deadly."]
A creature in front of the man came into full view. It was an insect creature I had seen at the temple before.
A Rodan.
["I signed up for a clean up of security cams! Not murder! I need better compensation because last time was a fluke! How was I supposed to know that old Zebrak lived here! I"]
The man came up to the Rodan and covered his protruding mouth
["And you made it look like he had a fall. And that is all that happened. Understand?!"]
He shook his head yes, albeit hesitantly.
["Now, I will consider paying more. But I need results first. Besides, like it or not, you are in this just as much as I am. I go down, we both go down. Now get ready. I have a man with a rocket ready. And he needs the signal when it goes dark."]
With a rub over his scar, Mr. Holland walked out of view. Leaving the murderer to himself.
I knew it! But this just brings more questions. Evidence? What happened last year then?! Whatever it was, it was enough to kill a harmless old man over it. Either way, we got proof! Good work Artoo!
The gears in my head finally churned out one keynote.
Wait… Rocket?!
During the few moments as it processed in my mind, a noise was heard on the other end. A loud crash.
Followed by a tiny hushed voice,
["Quiet!"]
Fail.
["Who's there!"]
The Bug head walked off to the with a blaster now drawn and returned in view to reveal a kid being grabbed by the collar of his shirt. Probably no older than eight. Following that was an even younger boy rushing out to beat up the man's leg.
["Let my brother go!"]
In an instant, the communicator cut off! Panic set it for whatever was happening! I turned to the only person in our station.
"Hey, I gotta use the restroom!"
He grunted, "Alright be quick! We're nearing the second to last district!"
"I'll be back!"
I rushed to where I sent the droid to investigate, the T.A.S.I garage.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
On the way, I ran into an all too familiar face.
Aath, and he looked worried.
"Hey, have you seen a couple of kids run through here? My boys seemed to have sneaked off somewhere."
Oh no…
"Yeah, and I think they're in trouble! Come on!"
No questions asked, he matched my speed to the entrance of where I sent the little blue droid. The garage.
Upon entering, we could hear the struggle going on in one of the many workstations. Hidden by shelves of speeder bodies and parts. Our speed increased to investigate the situation and words could be now made out.
"Get off me, Droid!"
A loud whistle could be heard from Artoo and a little bit of buzzing along with it. And as we rounded the corner, a thud could be heard.
There on the ground was the rodan assailant, ragdolled on the floor with smoke rising from the clothes of the creature. Soon the droid did a little victory dance with a 360 spin in his spot, chirping as usual. Further past the pair were the two children who were in trouble not too long ago, holding each other in fear. As I looked at them more, I could see the resemblance between them and their father. Each had tiny horns sticking out on the side like a crown.
Aath was quick to call out for them, "Kids!"
The children cried out in union as they rushed to the arms of their father, "Daddy!"
Meanwhile I went up to the R2 unit, "Good job."
I took his whistle as a "Thank you."
After Aath was done comforting his kids, he asked the important question, "What were you two doing in here?"
Through a few whimpers the youngest went first, "We saw the droid move by our seats and wanted to know where it was going."
The eldest finished, "We hadn't seen one like it at the track before and we followed it to the garage, then we heard that badguy and that nose guy talking about killing someone!"
"What?! What do you mean."
This was the point I took over.
"Aath, they plan to stage another accident like last year. And before you ask, it's Rac Holland and whoever this guy is."
I gestured to the electrically fried man on the floor, while the said man groaned in pain.
"Another accident?... You mean-?"
"Yeah, T.A.S.I set up the whole thing last year to soil Belkar's reputation."
The garage owner looked appalled.
"I can imagine why! But how?! Everyone saw the driver plummet to his death when his seat belt came loose!"
My shoulders shrugged at the question, but I looked down at the rodan.
"I don't know either, but I'm sure our friend here would be glad to tell us…"
At this moment, the world was coming back to the criminal. His head lifted up as he groggily looked around.
"What happened?"
I did my best to keep my head and not lash out at the man. He was recently made into a barbeque moments ago. I settled for a hard grip on his shoulder.
"You're fine for now. Only if you answer a few questions."
"Wha- Oh no!"
"Oh yes. Now, how about we start at the beginning, hmmm? Did you destroy recordings of the accident last year?"
The rodan was in panic mode, which probably wasn't healthy for a guy who had electric current run through him. All it takes for a human is less than an amp to stop someone's heart. He may not be human, but I was sure the same rules apply. My hand shook him a bit to get his attention.
"Look, if you don't start talking. Aath here might get very angry…"
Actually, that will probably happen no matter what considering you killed Aath's mentor…
"W-wait! I'll talk! Yes! I wiped all but one of the cameras that saw the accident! Mr. Holland said I just needed to black out the cameras for the race! Then he said to check other racing logs in the server room here… Then 'he' walked in… It happened so fast, and I wasn't thinking!"
Oh boy…
Aath looked like he was processing what the reptilian said and rage came across his face. Through gritted teeth, he stated, "His neck was broken from a fall!"
"I-I broke it with a nearby wrench… And I tossed his body off the stairs in the back."
Probably should have left the toss part out.
The workshop manager couldn't contain himself any longer and leaped at the downed man, only for me to stand in his way.
"Aath, stop!"
"Out of my way!"
"Think about this-!"
"That monster killed my mentor, my friend! And nearly killed my kids!"
I tried my best to hold him back, but Aath was a tall man who clearly had hidden strength. Still, I did all I could to reason with him. His father's side was what I chose to appeal to.
"Listen! You're scaring 'your' kids!"
Like clockwork, his struggle stopped. He quickly moved away and he turned to the sight of his crying kids. Soon some tears of his own formed at the sudden realization of what he was doing.
"...I-I'm sorry… come here."
His arms reached out to them, and his sons obeyed. Hugging their father.
Taking advantage of this, I turned back to the cowering Rodan. Interrogation about the accident last year would have to be put on hold. Instead, my concern aimed towards the present.
"Alright, now, if you don't mind. Where is that launcher guy?…"
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Currently, I was running back to where I left Subulba! Time was of the essence!
As it turns out, the assassin was set up near the end of the second district! Security wouldn't be able to reach it in time, and I wasn't going to take my chances on the guy not shooting!
Meanwhile, Artoo went to let the guards know the situation, while Aath went to get Cal Bodan. But not before they secured the rodan.
In faster time than I ran before, I made it back to the pit and Sebulba looked at my heavy breathing with concern.
"I said be quick, but you didn't need to run."
It took me a moment to catch my breath before I quickly asked, "What district is Anakin in?!"
"Still in the second to last District. He pulled another miracle while you were gone by making it to second. He's made some distance from the other racers, but the first racer is still far ahead."
I was still catching my breath as he said this and walked up to the monitor.
Was that part of the plan too?! Isolating him for the attack!
"Is he close to the First Coruscant Bank building?!"
He held up his screen in his hands, "He's about to pass it up. What's the matter?"
I took a deep breath before explaining,
"T.A.S.I ordered a hit! I don't know if security will stop him in time! You need to warn Anakin!"
Fear ran through the former racer's face and he began shouting in a heavy huttiese accent to Skywalker.
I turned on my earpiece to listen.
"What?! Where?!"
Sebulba shouted,
"The Bank!"
The moment he said this was when the screen went dark, then it came back on. Only now, something about it was off… In fact the scenery looked the same, especially the building I saw a minute ago. Moments later I realized what happened, making a new panic ensue.
IT'S HAPPENING!
"It's on a loop!"
Realization also crossed the reptilian's face,
"SKYWALKER!"
Anakin was startled by the sudden yell and groaned in pain, ["What?! What now!"]
I pulled the mic up to the front of my mouth so that he didn't have to have his ear blasted again.
"The blackout must have been on a timer! Cause right now nobody can see you in real time! The hit is about to happen! Look for the building!"
["I'm looking… I see it!... And I see the rocket! It's a seeker!"]
We're too late!
"Ok don't panic!"
["I'm not! But I will if I don't get any suggestions!"]
Sebulba regained his composure.
"Is it close?!"
["Define close!"]
"Is it on your tail?!"
["No, but it will be!"]
Mmmmm! We need to freaking see this to help!... I mean if my computer acted like this I would just unplug it… Got it!
I took the monitor from the hands of Subulba, "Can we do a hard reset from here?!"
The amount of emotions running through our new boss made it to where he only said one word.
"Try!"
Handing back the pad, I rushed to the equipment to turn off the station we had, along with every monitoring we had. How did I know how to turn off sophisticated equipment? Easy, the off push buttons were red.
"Give us a second, Skywalker!"
I stopped Vehicle system analysis, the cameras, and last but not least, communicators. After a few moments, I pulled up the emergency stop buttons.
"Ok, now which one's the start up?"
"The hold the orange button followed by green! Hurry!"
I did just that, and the systems started again. First vehicle analysis, and audio and video return. Only now, the video was showing real time for us. And the rocket was right behind his speeder.
"Oh, boy!"
"Walker, can you hear us!"
The mic was static before he responded, ["I can! And right now a little help would be nice!"]
I start lightly hitting the side of my head to think of something! Anything!
He's been doing this since he was a kid! He must have gotten some skill since… Oh!
"Anakin! You're a Jedi!"
Sebulba just looked at me dumbfounded.
"Tell him! He isn't using his Jedi line of thinking!"
He shook his head and finally relayed what I said. It didn't take long for a painful groan to be heard in the other end.
["Ooohh… Son of a Nerf-! Alright! Let's bring it in!"]
On screen, the rocket moved up to the side of his craft. And if I hadn't seen anything up to this point. I saw the man reach out and grab the rocket. It was secured, but a new problem arose.
"Ok! Now what?! This rocket isn't slowing down and I can't only drive with one hand for long!"
Uhhh didn't think that far ahead. It's not like he could toss it anywhere…
As these thoughts passed through my mind, Aath returned along with Artoo leading the way.
"Aaron! I brought Cal. And I have security on standby. They'll move in when we give the go ahead."
The race owner walked from behind the mechanic and cleared his throat.
"Yes, and what's this about a black out?"
I did exactly know how to start the explanation, but I noticed in the corner of my eye that the loop footage of Anakin was still playing in the stadium at this moment. Quickly, my hand pointed outside.
"Do you see Anakin on the screen out there?"
He glanced outside, "Yeah."
I handed him the small screen we had, "Now look."
As he looked, his eyes practically bugged out along with Aath. It wasn't everyday you see a guy holding an active missile while driving at high speeds.
"What in blazes?!"
"Not only did somebody mess with the cameras, but someone fired a rocket to make his ride blowup like an accident! Most likely they would make everyone assume it was an internal problem and leave it there. Belkar had the reputation for it now."
No thanks to T.A.S.I.
"Who?!"
The anger Cal had shown before leaked through as he asked his question. All I merely did to answer was point across the track opposite of us where the T.A.S.I crew was.
You could see Rac yelling at his team about something, but I'm sure it was about the rocket.
Cal himself had a fury of his own, almost making a break onto the track to face the criminal. Only Aath and myself held him back.
"Arrest him already!"
"Don't! It may cause a fight in the stadium! He may have more tricks up his sleeve for Anakin if security moves in now! All we can do now is to stop the rocket!"
He stopped struggling as we let go. Only now, he placed a hand up to his head in hopes it would alleviate him. It did not.
"Then what do we do? I don't think anyone here is a bomb expert! Have we called the police yet?!"
Aath sighed,
"Yes, but it would take too long for a bombsquad to be on the line given how busy the police are at this time. We need something in the next few minutes before that blows up or whatever! Does it blow up after a while?"
Nobody has an answer for that as concern for the young racer grew.
I tried thinking of anything or anyone that could help. Someone who was a weapon expert.
Good thing my list of people I knew in this galaxy was small. I knew who to call right away.
Taking out the communicator I was given, I turned to the astromech and asked quickly ,"Can you add another person to this comm?"
The droid gave a cherped yes as I handed him the device.
Everyone's curiosity peaked, making Aath ask, "You know someone who can help?"
"Maybe...Ok , if I remember correctly. Signal ID was Local: Theta, Nine, Two, Omega 375."
Seconds later, the call was sent. Hopefully, the man wasn't occupied with a customer. Turns out it wasn't the case as he picked up the signal, revealing Keta the Mandolorian Blacksmith. Getting his bearings, he looked at the groop that surrounded the hologram.
["Shepherd. I assume this isn't about your order?"]
"No, this is an emergency! We got a guy who is holding a live seeker rocket and we need a way to disarm it!"
The armored man did nothing but stare at me as I said it.
"Keta?"
["You're joking, right?"]
"No!"
["Alright then, settle down and let me get some facts! What does the rocket look like, what's the color?"]
"Silver, and it has three small fins on the back."
["Let me look through my database… Found three cross references, how are the fins aligned with the rocket?"]
My eyes glanced at the screen to still see the professional podracer holding on for his life to the rocket.
"In a spiral up to the middle."
["Ok. I found it. It's a Makar Round. It was banned a few decades ago, but people still find them on the black market. They start a flash fire across almost any surface after they detonate. In about a five meter range It will engulf you when it detonates. Whoever you are dealing with has an insane amount of money to buy it. I'm going to need you to flip the microswitch that leads to the tail of the rocket. It should stop the thing from flying."]
"Ok, one problem. He's not in front of us and his other hand is currently on speeder controls."
The tiny armored figure just crossed his arms, silent. I waited for him to say anything, after a couple more seconds I pleaded with him.
"Come on, work with me here!"
["I would like to, but I'm starting to think this is a prank, Shepherd."]
His hand looked like it was heading for an off switch, I knew I had to do my best to stop him.
"No! Wait! I'm calling you because we need to win this race to expose some criminals. He can't slow down, and he can't just let it go! If he does, we could lose some crucial evidence!"
["Alright! Then give me something to work with. Your asking for an impossible thing here."]
Sebulba came forward with help, "He's a Jedi."
["... Of course he is. Then I guess we can proceed with it if my knowledge of those mystic abilities my people say they have is correct. Can you get his comm link attached to this?"]
I turned to the only one who could, "Artoo?"
A whistle was all I got before a chirp was heard on the line.
["Please tell me you got something for me Sebulba! I can only drive one handed at this speed for so long!"]
"Anakin. This is Aaron. We got someone who knows how to disarm it."
["Anakin was it? Listen, I understand you need to do this with the Force. So I need you to listen very carefully."]
["Alright!"]
["In the back of the rocket, do you… 'see' with your power, a switch that's been capped? It would be no bigger than a tick."]
["Uhh, yeah!"]
["Can you flip it forward?"]
Seconds later, the rocket's propulsion came to a halt. Bringing a wave of relief that hit the young racer.
["It stopped!"]
Anakin lowers his hand slightly until a new bit of info comes from the Mando.
["Now be careful, the payload is very much active."]
His arm rushed back up, ["Noted!"]
["Normally a specialized magnet would be used to move the internal pins in place, can you sense them?"]
He took a moment before responding, "Yes."
["Good, I need you to remove them."]
"Done."
["Now you need to twist the front section to the left."]
I butted in knowing where this could end up, "Right your way Anakin."
We waited for a response, instead we heard a clanking sound on his end. I glanced to the screen to see something fly out the back of his ride.
["Ok! The propulsion is gone, and the payload in my hand!"]
["Good, now there should be one more step. You need to pull out the modulator. Taking it out should disable the trigger."]
["Done! Am I good?!"]
"Yes!"
["GOOD!"]
On the monitor, we saw the man toss the disarmed explosive into his passenger seat and take full control of his ride before he made a right turn.
Relief rushed across everyone in the station, Subulba started muttering to himself while gripping his torso with his tiny feet.
The voice of the blacksmith filled the air, ["If that is all you need from me Shepherd, I'll be on my way."]
"Yep! Thanks again Keta! Is there anything I can do to make it up to you."
["Hmmm. Two things. You and Boba can show up to the meeting we have next weekend."]
"Consider it done. And the second thing?"
["Win."]
After that demand, the hologram disappeared.
An exasperated breath left everyone moments later. Aath being the first to speak.
"That was too close."
I was in full agreement with that.
"Yeah, and Anakin isn't done just yet! Holland may try something else."
"He might, but I have a question. How did you know a Mandalorian?!"
That question came out of left field for me
I suddenly noticed all eyes were wait for for a response,
"Well, I am one."
Yeah, it was only a month ago. But a Mando a Mando I guess
Everyone close by dropped their jaws at the revelation. It would be comical to me if we weren't in dire straits at the moment.
"What, never met one?"
Aath spoke up, "No! I just thought they were hardened warriors. Uh, no offense."
"None taken."
Subulba nodded, "But a Jedi and a Mando working together for this?! That's even more unfathomable."
Honestly, it was worse when you knew more about the situation. Now I was praying that they never did know, for their sanity's sake.
As we we're discussing this, Cal became distracted when a cheer came from the crowd and laughed when he looked outside.
"Looks like Skywalker has a chance!"
The rest of us looked from the pit we were in and saw the monitor (Now showing real time) outside. Anakin had finally caught up to the illusive "Red Baron".
Subulba was quick on the comm, "Walker!"
["I know! I'm on his tail! Only one problem!"]
What's that?
Anakin was quick to answer my internal question.
["We never went over the route into the tunnels! Do you have a map?!"]
The Dug raised a hand over his face in frustration, "No… The racers always learned it in the practice runs throughout the year… Can you use the Force to guide you through it?! Does it work like that?!"
["I… Don't think so, not it that way! Nothing so precise over a long period of time repeatedly! I saw the turns he made on the monitor, I counted at least one every three seconds until the final stretch. It was every second after that."]
Our Boss's face seemed to fall deeper into his palm. Seeing this made me think of anything that would help.
It was a good idea to use the Force… But maybe it just needs to be used differently…
Memories of impossible things done by impossible people came through my mind. Anything.
But all I could think about was racing, and the only thoughts that came to mind were speed racer and Initial D.
Speed racer because of that catchy tune, and Initial D because… Well honestly the catchy tunes. But I've only seen the first season and I remembered when the protagonist did a new track for the first time he just copied the driver's movements to win the game of cat and mouse. I remembered the thrills from seeing it for the first time with Eugene and… his brother.
My head shook off the sad memories to focus on the now… It was something at least. An idea.
Copying at this level of difficulty would be amazing at this point… Worth a shot!
"Anakin, can you copy him?"
He sounded mad, ["Didn't you hear me? I wouldn't be able to keep up with him, I would lose sight of him!"]
"No, not with your eyes! But with the Force. And not the car, the driver. Use it to copy his exact movements and rhythm until the last stretch."
["But our Speeders aren't the same!"]
"But the racers are! Trust in ourselves! Trust in Sebulba that he gave it his all, and made it the best ride there is!"
No sooner had I said those words had I felt embarrassed for yelling like that. I turned to the retired racer and was surprised to see a smile on his face.
After a few moments he laughed as he shouted into the comm once more, "Do it, Walker!"
["Yes, Sir!"]
All we could do now was watch the screen in irony as Anakin's eyes closed. A sharp turn was coming up and we were afraid he was about to hit it. The Baron waited until the last moment to turn and gained unfathomable speed ahead. But Anakin turned with the same ferocity as the baron ahead of him and did the same.
A gasp came from the other end, ["I did it! For a split moment! I think I can do it again!"]
I turned to the rest of the group, "How much more time does he have until the first district?"
Cal answered with concern, "At his speed, he has about a couple minutes. After that he'll have about twenty till the tunnels."
I called into the communicator, "You have about twenty minutes to master it. Think you're up for it?"
["Yes…. Yeah! Let's do this!"]
He had another opportunity as soon as he entered our district. The two speed demons speed past the other side of the building to enter the original circuit we had seen multiple times already.
And Anakin tried his ability every chance he got. They were good, but a problem soon arose. He was capped for only ten seconds at a time it seemed for the first five minutes. The worry washed away when he made it to twenty seconds ten minutes in.
The closer he got, the stronger it got. It wasn't a coincidence. I could feel it. This ability was ranged, and it depended on how close the guy was.
During this time all of us could see Rac lose his mind at the possibility of defeat. Seeing this, Cal sat up to leave the pit for a few minutes before returning to watch. He had a grim smile on his face.
Back with the race, things got really interesting about fifteen more minutes in. Anakin made it to thirty seconds with his ability and was able to be caught up side by side. The crowd roared with cheering at the growing tension on the track. We saw both Anakin and the T.A.S.I. Racer turned to look at each other on the final stretch of straight road before the tunnels. The audience only saw them talking, but we heard the conversation.
["About time someone caught up!"]
Anakin did a hardy fake laugh over the line.
["Yeah! No thanks to your boss!"]
Genuine laughter to match could be heard from the racer.
["I know! He's a pain! Yelling in my ear telling me to sabotage you! After this race, I'm done with him!"]
If the man was truthful, then it was a good thing for Anakin! He may make for a witness and make the whole assassination thing blow up in his face.
Just then, an announcement came on the speakers in the stadium and the comms.
"The racers in front are nearing the home stretch! Can they pass through the maze?! Or will they crack under pressure!"
Anakin quickly turned back to the red twin tailed man.
["You're not backing out, are you?!"]
["No way! I'm going to see this through, Newbie! Try to keep up!"]
On screen, the other speeder accelerated a ways ahead of Anakin as they entered the narrow tunnel.
This is it, it's all up to you, Anakin…
All within a span of two minutes it was settled. Everyone saw Anakin in his state, keeping his eyes closed, and now he was in full sink. Only even more than just his hand movements… Breathing, he was breathing now. Any shift in the seat was mirrored by the boy. Again the only difference was that Anakin had his eyes closed.
Every turn and every spiral was answered by Anakin in full swing. It was mesmerizing, almost an art form. Everyone held their breath as it all happened with an untraceable speed. Untraceable at least to me.
In the back of my mind I allowed a little voice to sing, now that we were in the finale. The song of the speed racer.
Only this demon wasn't on wheels, he was flying in the air.
But like everything that starts, it has an end. And it was decided in two turns. Anakin's eyes shot open and he made his move. He sped ahead of the racer by gracefully doing a corkscrew around the red Baron's speeder and took a hard left and launched out the tunnel to cross the finish line.
The crowd cheered in both cheers and booing. Either way all crews (save a few) rushed to the track to congratulate the winner. The excitement from the race demanded it. We were among the first to reach Anakin, Cal Bodan rushed to hug the teen while crying allowed.
"Well done my boy! I only wish my son were here to see this!"
Behind Cal was his assistant Maddien. She had in her hand a bouquet of exotic flowers, which were soon placed in the Padawan's hand.
"LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR THE WINNER OF THIS YEAR'S RACES! ANAKIN SKYWALKER OF BELKAR SPEEDERS!"
The booing was then silenced and replaced with disbelief. I could hear some nearby crew men talking.
"Skywalker?! No way! He's lying!"
"But he beat T.A.S.I's racer! How did Lubab find him?!"
From out of the crowd came the red twi'lek who earned second, and he was smiling a wide grin at the victor.
"Skywalker huh? I was wrong about what I said before, you're no rookie."
The man's hand reached out for him for a hand shake, "You're an inspiration!"
"What? Oh I'm not that well known-."
"Nonsense! I mean I was there when you-. I mean you won against the odds at that race! Just like you did today! The very reason I took up racing!"
"Well I don't-!"
Cal patted the boy on the back, "He's right, you inspired most of what we have here right now!"
Anakin gave up trying to challenge their view and just accepted it. He looked around for a moment to see the cheering crowds and applause. As did I, only I smiled for Anakin.
To think that one little victory could spark something as big as this. I couldn't imagine what Anakin was exactly feeling at that moment. Only I was glad it wasn't me.
"And I should be thanking you Shepherd."
The voice of the dug next to me drew my thoughts away from the cheering. I gave him a raised eyebrow that basically told him I would need an explanation.
"If you hadn't stumbled into that garage, I would have been on the streets. Or jail."
"I'm glad I took a look too. And speaking of jail…"
Rac Holland walked out of the crowd and got up to his racer, "I should have expected you fraternizing with the enemy! Figure you would try to get a place with them?!"
I looked at Cal to see a face with hidden contempt towards the man. He was about to say something but was stopped by the runner up.
The ace sighed, clearly tired of the man, "No Rac, this is called good sportsmanship and making friends."
"Well if that's how you want to play I think I'll finally pull the plug on our contract."
"I couldn't agree more."
The Speedster walked up to his boss and placed his red hand on the shoulder of the man, "Rac, you're fired."
All of us had abbatied any thoughts we had, and listened to the conversation that followed.
Rac shuffled out of the Twi' lek's grasp clumsily and brushed his command off with anger.
"W-what? No! You're~ fired! Don't try to pull a fast one!"
The Baron removed his red scarf and stared down at the man who was but a foot smaller than him.
"I'm afraid you didn't understand the contract I gave 'you', Mr. Holland. I told you that you could have my resources and play owner for the company as you saw fit. As long as you didn't sully the name of the company, and let whom I choose to race to race!"
The red man wagged an accusing finger at the man whose eye were now fearful.
"You've managed to break both of these terms! Paying off the other racers to pick on Skywalker here is beyond just wrong! The last man before him you sent to the hospital!"
Holland began to look increasingly pale as the man spoke.
"O-oh! Mr. Nored?! I-... had no idea that you… What I mean to say is… If I had known-."
"You'd what?! Sneak around my back more?! I kept my identity a secret for a reason…"
The now revealed secret owner sighed depressed.
"I thought I could trust you… But you're not the same man I gambled on. So this is goodbye."
"In more ways than one Mr. Nored."
Just then, two security personnel walked in the small clearing through the mumbling crowd of onlookers. They quickly laid hold of the criminal as he tried to resist arrest. Behind those two came the chancellor with two guards of his own to help restrain Holland. Only these guards were packing heat and had blue armor similar to the clone armor.
The chancellor made his way to the front.
"Cal, I got your message. The police captured the hitman and detained the hacker. A transport is on the way for this one."
Mr. Nored, was now confused and turned to face the owner of the races.
"What's this about, Cal?"
The host sighed gravely, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but paying off racers is the least of his crimes. Go ahead, Shepherd."
Me?!
All eyes were on me, expecting that I would explain what happened.
Breath… You have nothing to hide.
"Rac here not only has messed with the race, but has potentially killed not one, but two people for his company. Starting with the man who raced for Belkar Speeders last year."
Rac became worried, "No. No! You have no proof of that!"
"Not for that one yet, but we have proof of the second murder. Play it Artoo."
The droid wasted no time and showed a display I saw not an hour ago. The conversation between Holland and the Hacker.
As it played, for both Cal and Nored, anger didn't even begin to describe it.
But for everyone's relief, a guard spoke up for them.
"You may as well come clean Mr. Holland, did you kill the racer last year?"
"..."
"..."
"...No… He… He's not even dead."
That… wasn't what I was expecting, but Rac wasn't done as tears started to leak from his eyes
"He's… Off world on a mid region tropical planet… I convinced him with a large sum of money to fake his death. The hacker I hired helped set up the camera angle and location of the drop, and a speeder picked him up. He had rocket boots with enough power to slow himself down. The mechanic was there at the wrong place, the wrong time…"
It was Sebulba's turn to be enraged after all that happened, shouting at himself something in his dialect that I didn't understand.
Anakin' jaw dropped slightly at his cursing, but he didn't dare translate.
The guard took the lead again in the interrogation, "We expect you to give us his coordinates to confirm this."
"I didn't mean for it to happen… That hacker, when he told me he killed Reen… I lost sight of everything… I haven't been… I just wanted to make Mr. Nored's company grow…"
Anakin looked to his astromech and queued him a command and asked Rac his own question, "Ok, but are you gonna come clean about the seeker rocket that almost blew me up?!"
The mumbling around us increased in volume as on the stadium screen was Anakin's Speeder being chased by a missile. Artoo had connected to a nearby camera terminal to show the true footage from before. Rac didn't resist this time.
"Yes… I constructed that plot…"
And Just like that, everything came out into the open, everyone in the crowd heard everything said and now became silent. Guilt washed through many who cheered the destruction of Belkar Speeders over the last year. Even the joy they felt hours before from the speeder racer who nearly lost his life previously became sour.
Security spoke once more for all of us to hear, "We'll compile the evidence and show our findings in the court hearing."
Then Rac Holland was taken away, and Cal made one more official statement to the crowd, "That's all for the events, I'm sorry that one of our contestant companies had hidden those things. The prizes this time will be handed out at a later date. But don't let this deferment distract you. Despite all that happened, Skywalker won against the odds of both racers and weapons! Let's give it up for the lad!"
And for the last time, the stadium erupted in cheer before things started to wrap up. Party goers loitered the seats as those with kids started to leave.
Over? just like that?
Cal motioned for us to come over, along with some of the other racers and crew members.
"Thank you again for coming out here, Maddien and Aath will assist in any questions you have in regards to cleaning up and updates on your current contracts."
Most of the groups started to walk off, a few stayed around Aath. His two kids ran through the smaller crowd to him, and the father took both of them in each of his arms and still was able to coordinate everyone. Maddien started talking with the other owners, keeping a dada pad out to take notes.
Sebulba didn't follow, he started to walk off towards the pit.
I followed close behind him, imagining what was going through the dug's mind. After all that struggle, he was free. But he didn't seem to care on the outside. He sat down in his seat from before.
"You need any help cleaning up here?"
"No…"
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Sebulba sighed tired, knowing that I was just going to badger him until he talked.
"Why am I not happy?"
"What do you mean?"
He didn't shout, but he sounded frustrated about something.
"I should be celebrating! I was happy for a moment! My company was saved after I lost hope! We won the race and found out that last year's struggles were a deception from that man… And that a racer I trusted just betrayed me on the whim of money… He didn't even try to ask me for some more…"
"Would you have given him more if he asked?"
"I want to believe that… But I don't know now… I thought I had changed over ten years…"
"You have."
Anakin's voice broke into the room. Behind him, was The Chancellor, Cal, The Red Baron, Artoo, and Maddien.
"The Sebulba I know didn't put trust in anyone but himself. Especially someone who was a slave."
The dug stared intensely at Anakin before chuckling, "I suppose I should trust the words of the winner. Thank you for that."
"Sebulba? You mean the same Sebulba that won the boonta eve three years running?!"
It was Cal who spoke up and rushed to the retired racer.
"After all these years! I didn't know we hosted such an icon! This is such an honor. You and Skywalker were my son's favorite racers! And now-! Oh let me get a picture of the two of you!"
Most of us couldn't help but chuckle at the older man's excitement. It reminded me almost like a kid on Christmas morning.
All the same, both Sebulba and Anakin felt embarrassed about something that happened ten years ago. To them it was a lifetime ago, to Cal it was yesterday.
"Last I remembered, I was a laughing stock."
"Far from it! Some of my old colleagues still talk about your victories."
Sebulba couldn't help but tiredly smile at the complements he received from a man he had known for years. Only I'm the light he had kept hidden because of shame.
"To think there were two legends here."
Mr. Nored walked forward and slightly bowed to the dug, "Sebulba, I'm sorry for what my stand-in did to your company and reputation."
"I would hope so."
"So I would like to make a proposition, if you'll allow it."
One of the reptilian's smaller hands gestured to him to continue.
"I propose we merge our companies."
Nobody said a word, so the twilek continued, "At this point, both our companies' reputations have been ruined by Mr. Holland. I am ashamed of my lack of eyes on the man and see that I need to put forth more of an effort if I want to make a difference. I thought I could live as a racer and have someone else run my company."
He cleared his throat.
"So to make this right, I want to enter a partnership with you. My assets would be yours, and everything I have at disposal would be yours. And I would be working side by side with you. Only now, I think you would have been a better choice than Rac was. Rac was just a businessman. You are a businessman, and a racer at heart! But I've learned from my mistake and won't put it solely in one person's hand… It's only at your call."
The old racer put a small hand to his face, scratching it in contemplation. Building an air of suspense. And before we knew it, the dug went up to the man and shook his hand.
"Deal!"
Relief washed over our little group. None of us saw the true significance then, but I knew it was the start of something great.
Maddien gestured to Cal at ear level and whispered something in his ear. He smiled and gave a hardy laugh.
"It seems we've forgotten one more tradition of the race. With all that's happened, I nearly called it a day. But the victor of the race gets to pick a place for the after party for the crews, friends and family. Any place that comes to mind?"
Anakin thought for a moment and had a devious smile, "Do you know where Dexter's dinner is?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Fifteen minutes later, we were heading out the parking lot. I rode with Anakin again to our new destination with Artoo strapped in the back. It felt nostalgic even though it was just hours ago that we'd arrived.
I sat down in my seat with a smile.
"This will be my first time going to a dinner on another world. What kind of food do they have?"
I received no answer, his concentration was out in the distance. Like a thousand yard stare.
"Anakin?"
Once more, nothing… It was a thousand yard stare.
I put a hand on his shoulder to nudge him. Enough to bring him back to the real world.
"Wha-. Oh.. sorry about that."
"You alright?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired all of a sudden. I think using that ability too much has worn me out."
Nobody walks on their first day…
"Do you need a doctor?"
He quickly regained vigor.
"What?! No, I'm fine. I can walk it off. Let's head out? Did you get your stuff?"
"Sure did."
"Then let's ride."
The speeder sparked to life and we were off into the distance like before. Only we were going at a speed slower than before.
I knew right then that Anakin was hiding more than he let on. It was a small concern of mine, but as long as he truly felt alright, it was nothing to worry about.
As we were soaring along the airway, a cherp came from the communicator. I looked to Anakin keeping his eyes on the road and took out the divorce and held it so as to not distract him. It turned on to reveal Padmé.
"Aaron? Why do you have Anakin's holocommunicator? Did something happen?!"
Oh where to start?
As I explained what transpired the last four hours, a dark side of the galaxy was gathering. One that disturbs me, even to this day.
End Chapter
A/N: It's not over yet… And on a side note, I'm looking for a new co-author to help. The previous one just had a baby and won't be able to write for a long while. PM me if you are interested and we can work something out. Cause quite frankly, this stuff I had planned out for this story wasn't intended to be done alone. That wasn't how it started.
Bonus chapter:
Gathering Stones
Pov: Rando
We never got to finish the race. Instead, Dred relayed the orders that we were to gather the other members of our branch at our base. Bland was mopping in a corner about it.
"Unbelievable, we were so close to being done. Now we have to have the other teams with us."
"Hey, it's not my fault the human bumped into me."
He sighed, "I get you don't like humans, but maybe you could just brush off your rage every now and then? One day it may kill you."
I growled, "I won't let that happen, especially if a human tried."
Dred just finished up a call and walked over,
"Is everyone here? Because I want to only say this once."
The only human I tolerated answered, "Yes. And personally I think this may be overkill. It's just one man, and a bunch of people taking someone of a high standing in public may put eyes on our organization."
Dred only laughs, as usual, "The Doctor doesn't see it that way, it will just seem like a random gang did it. Currently there are over ten thousand known different gangs in the world. Whereas we are not known and have the resources to lead authorities to look everywhere but here."
Dred walked past us to the room full of people, a hundred I'd say, the most I had seen of our group in one time.
"Listen up! The Doctor knows that most of you have come to him to fix something that was broken! And as any good doctor would do, he fixed it!
"As payment for this, he took each one of you under his wing. Only asking that you work for him and give up your past lives. Because of that, your lives became richer, and the workflow never dried up."
We knew this, everyone did. My mind was bored by his theatrics and wished that he would just get to the point. Couldn't say the same for the rest of the crowd, they ate it up.
"That being said, someone wants to put a stop to this! They know too much and have potentially hidden some incriminating data somewhere. So we are going to take him in one fell swoop! And once we get what we want!… The Doctor can make use of him however he pleases."
The group erupted into laughter, I could only roll my eyes at his enthusiasm. After they quieted down, one asked allowed,
"Where is he?"
"He's going to be at a place called Dexter's dinner. So I want everyone to pack up everything we need. Blasters, medications if you need them, and gas masks. We're using the usual anesthesia in case things go wrong. Any questions before we begin?...No? Good. Now move out!"
As the meeting was over, everyone went to prep and Dred turned to the two of us.
"The Doctor told me the three of us should double the dose just in case things go wrong. If we need to run or fight, the effects will wear out quicker."
I sighed, "For my pain killers? Or for the drops?"
"Both in your case. And Blane, I want the usual blackout of security. We don't want anyone to spoil our fun."
"Understood."
Dred shuffled his coat grins once more,
"Order whatever you want, the Doctor's treat."
If I didn't owe so much to the Doctor, I would have shut this maniac up long ago.
End Bonus Chapter