Woman of the Fallen: A Star Wars Fan-Fiction.

Seven.

~Seven. ~

Alexana helped Anakin with a few last-minute things as the announcers wandered out onto their balcony in the stands.

She'd helped Anakin perform a few checks and whatnot before she paused after the announcers had introduced him and she knelt, so she was his height. He looked at her curiously as the rest of the announcements were made and she gave him a small smile.

"You've got this, Anakin. I have faith you'll win...Even if you don't normally," she said to him and he gave her a grin before she chuckled and she stood up, ruffling his hair as Qui-Gon came over to speak with Anakin and to retrieve Alexana.

"Are you all set, Anakin?" Qui-Gon asked and as the boy nodded, Qui-Gon picked him up and helped him into the Pod.

"Whoa!" Anakin exclaimed and Alexana chuckled as she fixed a few small things on the outside of the Pod.

"Remember: concentrate on the moment. Feel. Don't think. Trust your instincts," Qui-Gon said, and Anakin nodded his head. Casting a sideways glance at Anakin and Qui-Gon, Alexana smiled at what Qui-Gon was doing. He was giving Anakin some tips and giving him a few small suggestions on what the Jedi were taught.

"May the Force be with you," Qui-Gon said, and Anakin nodded his head before putting on his helmet. As he did this, Qui-Gon walked over and gently began guiding Alexana away from the Pods and over to where everyone else was waiting for them near a platform that would rise into the air so that the spectators could watch from the air.

"Is he nervous?" Shmi asked as they came back over, and Alexana gently touched her arm.

"He's fine, Shmi. He's not even nervous," Alexana said to reassure her. She nodded her head as they all walked onto the platform and Alexana shut the door behind the last person.

"You Jedi are far too reckless. The Queen..." Padmé said in an unimpressed tone and Alexana sighed, shaking her head.

"The Queen trusts my judgement. You should too," Qui-Gon said, and Alexana looked towards her.

"You assume too much," Padmé said, and Alexana frowned as she looked at her before she gripped onto the railings of the platform as it rose into the air.

Seconds later, the announcer told the racers to start their engines and Shmi pulled up the screen they had been given to watch the race from in her hands. Turning it on, she did her best to focus on her son but when it wouldn't work, Alexana quickly grabbed it, tweaked a few wires, and then handed it back to her with the screen now showing Anakin only. Shmi gave her a grateful look and turned her attention to the screen, just in time for the gong to sound and the race to start.

However, Anakin didn't take off right away. In fact, his engines stalled, and Alexana swore under her breath in Huttese. Placing a hand down on the edge of the platform, Alexana sent a surge of energy through the electrical circuits of it and down though the ground towards Anakin's Pod. As he worked on getting it started once more, a single spark of electricity flew into it and after a few more clicks of the starter button, Anakin's Pod flared to life, and he took off. Panting a little as she gripped the railings hard enough for her knuckles to turn white, Alexana opened her eyes once more and turned her attention back to the screen Shmi was holding.

Alexana had never been so nervous for something in her life, and she had been in some dangerous situations. But watching Anakin fight his way through the other Podracers to win the race was the most nerve-wracking thing Alexana had ever experienced. As Anakin and the other Podracers flew through a clearing, Alexana flinched as a few Tusken Raiders took shots at the racers, her hands clenching into fists once more as a few bounced off Anakin's. She felt Qui-Gon move behind her and place his hands gently and reassuringly on Shmi's shoulders. Swallowing heavily, Alexana reached out and placed a hand on Shmi's arm as she looked around to see if she could spot the racers as they came whizzing back towards the starting point.