ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ𝔸𝕃 ➵ o. kenobi {my only hope; book 1}

【 SIXTEEN 】

     ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴀᴄᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ɴᴏᴏɴ. We were still in the main hangar with the rest of the racers when the announcers got on the PA system and started talking about today's race and the odds, hyping up all of the many members of the crowd. Even from here we could hear the echo of the crowd's roar, and the projected sound of the two announcers' voices, speaking in both Huttese and Basic.

"That's absolutely right," I heard the Basic announcer say as our group started to lug Anakin's drifting pod out onto the track. "And a big turnout here from all corners of the outer-rim territories. I see the contestants are starting to make their way out onto the starting grid."

I tuned out the loud voices of the announcers calling out all of the notable racers at the starting line and instead focused my energy on helping Anakin push the racer and get it set into place. We rushed around, getting all of the pieces on the pod put into their final places--Anakin only stopping to wave to the audience as his name was called by the announcers.

When the flags of the racers began to move out onto the track, we took that as our cue to finish up. I adjusted the last knob on the dashboard before standing back for Shmi, allowing her to talk to her son in private before he raced.

"Be safe," I heard her mumble to her son.

"I will, Mom," Anakin insisted, for once sounding deadly serious. "I promise."

Shmi smiled at her son, then stood from her crouching position, making her way over to where Padmé, Jar Jar and I were waiting. Qui-Gon was the last to say something to Anakin as the rest of us watched; he lifted Anakin into the pod and told him something none of us could hear at the distance we were.

As soon as Qui-Gon stood, ready, he patted Anakin on the shoulder one more time before walking over to our group so we could make our way over to the viewing platform.

"Is he nervous?" Shmi asked anxiously as we began to jog off of the track.

"He's fine," Qui-Gon remarked sharply. I could tell even the Jedi Knight was getting a little tense.

Thankfully, our viewing platform wasn't very far away. As we all filed onto the circular platform, Shmi grabbed a tablet from a little shelf as the door hissed shut behind us. As the platform began to rise, Shmi tapped the tablet and it flickered to life, showing us a close-up shot of Anakin in his pod.

"You Jedi are far too reckless," Padmé murmured, eyeing the screen anxiously.

Over the PA system, we heard the announcer's voice, loud and clear. "Start your engines!"

I glanced over at the starting grid as several pilots flipped their switches, and powerful energy binders hissed to life in each of the pods, giving them the power required for their immense speed. A loud roaring filled the air as all of the engines spluttered to life. I watched on Shmi's screen as Anakin grabbed the pod's gauges, ready to take off.

"Oh, disen gonna be messy!" Jar Jar groaned, bouncing up and down anxiously. "Me no watchen!" He covered his eyes.

I rolled my eyes and turned my gaze down toward the starting line to get a good look at everyone before the race started. Anakin was near the back as a late sign up, which made me a little nervous, but as long as he got off to a good start, he'd have a good chance. Obviously Sebulba was going to be big competition, but Ani was a good pilot--he'd do better than the narcissistic Dug. At least, that was what I was choosing to hope.

On the sideline near the starting line, I could see a couple of Anakin's friends alongside R2, cheering Anakin on. On Shmi's screen, I saw Anakin smile positively. Then, a gong sounded, and the air was full of high-pitched screams as the pods' engines swelled. All of the pods took off at once--well, all of the pods except for two. One pod didn't move at all, and the other, Anakin's, lurched forward slightly before coming to a stop.