Stars and Skies | Anakin Skywalker fanfic | Episode I

Chapter 3 | The pod race

Zilla's nerves were highest Anakin got ready for the pod race, of course she believed in him but she also knew that the other racers had a tendency to play it dirty, and although Anakin had an almost larger than life personality, he was still a young boy of just nine years. Force help her, no, help him. He needed to win this, there was no other way. Zilla wasn't very religious but in that moment she started praying, it was an old prayer, it was not one familiar with the people on tatoinne and Anakin seemed to be confused as he looked over at her. Her mother had taught Nitra this prayer, it was one commonly used in Aargonar, the planet she grew up on. It was a prayer for wishes, and for good fortune, her sister had used this prayer for her younger sister, for Zilla's safety, not her own.

The prayer was, 'Guím I som kan tu mi saol skenk met jyid fortuna, tá mi taknemmelig vir benedizioni in mi saol, begge Dēkhi'ā dhe Aṇadēkhē, dhe har muinín I de leiding divina do mi leid tujah fat të mirë groter, dhe tá mi fanacht do cumplimiento u mi auguri, gee mi gave u Dhīraja.' It was simple and she wasn't sure it would work, but she couldn't pilot a pod racer so there wasn't much else to do.

She looked over at Padmé and Qui-Gon talking, she tried to listen but she couldn't tune out her nervous thoughts, it was like she had no control over them, almost like they weren't even her own.

°•~♡~•°

The pod race began at Jabba's command, she could see her sister behind him, perched on a stool beside his brother, wearing only a flimsy bikini. She began to feel her blood boil with anger, how dare they turn her young, joyful and intelligent sister into, into some sort of object of desire. She wouldn't stand for it, she would free herself and her sister from slavery, from this horrible life of cruelty, if it was the last thing she did.

The whirr of the pod racers engines broke her our of her thoughts, she could see Anakins pod as the commentator counted down from for them to begin. The pods began to make louder noises as they got closer to the start of the race.

The pods then started to race off, except for one, Zilla gasped when she realized, that was Anakins pod, she was filled with anxiety and the need to sort this problem, to fix it. Her heart raced as she tried to calm herself and forced herself to think clearly. Then with a whirr Anakin and his pod racer started, and he was fast, Anakins pod quickly fired away in a bid to catch up to the others, as his pod rounded the corner, I looked at tye data pad shmi had in her hand to see how he was doing. In front of him two pod racers were smashing into each other and with a burst of flames one of them exploded.

I began to get nervous for him, what if he was next, what if his pod racer broke down, what if, what if? I bit my lip, full of anxiety as I watched him race, tensions were high and I could hardly even hear the crowd cheering as the next racer came round for the second lap. Padmé leaned her head over the railing and gestured towards a pod coming towards them,"I think that's him." Zilla squinted her eyes and nodded, it was Anakin all right, he quickly crossed over into the second lap and rounded the corner again.

Zilla felt her faith in grow, 'he can do this,' she told herself repeatedly, hoping somehow that would give him luck. As she looked over at the datapad footage of Anakins pod she saw some thing strange. The driver tanta had crossed the finishline first, she thought his name was Sebulba from the chanting, had used a hidden device, probably a flamethrower to roast the engines of Clegg Holdfast, another driver who was participating, causing Holdfast to lose control and crash into the canyon wall.

Meanwhile, Anakin was behind another pilot, and when he tried to go around him, he went in the same direction, blocking him. This happened again twice until they came to a ramp, where Anakin seized the chance and boosted in mid-air, getting past his opponent. He also avoided being destroyed by a different enemy pilot when a bug flew into his eye, and he lost control of his podracer. After passing another pod racer, Anakin moved up to third place, behind Mars Guo, the phuii. Sebulba tossed a piece of metal in Guo's colossal engine, destroying it. Guo crashed, and a piece of wreckage took out one of Anakin's cables. Anakin was overtaken by three other pod racers, much to Zilla's dismay, while he fixed the cable. He then raced by the three that had overtaken him. Now behind Sebulba, Anakin sped through the Canyon Dune Turn, where his pod took another shot from the Tuskens. A different racer, a veknoid who went by the name Teemto Pagalies, wasn't so lucky, as his pod's fuel tank took a hit, causing him to crash. The Tusken Raiders shot Jawas that were picking up some parts from Pagalie's podracer. Sebulba attempted to use his flamethrower on Anakin, that dirty kriffing cheater, but he avoided it. A different pilot wandered off course in the second lap in Hutt Flats, never to be seen again. Anakin and Sebulba were on eachothers tails as the raced to to finish line to start the third and final lap.

As they started the third lap, Anakin and Sebulba were racing side-by-side and Zilla began to feel anxiety rise up in her that Sebulba would play the same dirty tricks on Anakin, they were next to each other for nearly the entire lap. Sebulba gave Anakins pod a little bumping in Beggar's Canyon which forced Anakin onto a service ramp where he fell a little behind. But a quick control thrust allowed Anakin to leap over Sebulba to take the lead heading into Arch Canyon. The lead was short-lived as Anakin was forced to deal with a malfunctioning engine due to Sebulba's sabotage prior to the race and unfortunately he fell behind as he made on-the-fly repairs. Some other racers crashed during the third lap, like Dud Bolt and Ark Roose, who collided with each other, destroying both pods, Wan Sandage lost control and crashed into a wayward Sandcrawler.

After getting his engine running, Anakin sped forward and caught Sebulba before entering the Hutt Flats at the Devil's Doorknob. At the end of the lap, Anakin and Sebulba's cockpits became entangled. Zilla let a gasp slip out while watching and saw Qui-Gon's kindly concerned eyes flick over to her before settling back on an anxious Shmi.

Anakin broke loose and raced forward, Zilla could hardly breath as she watched him, would this be his moment? Would he finally win? Because of the boost Anakin used to brake loose, Sebulba's engines detached and he crashed. Anakin's pod raced forward and soared over the finish line in a glorious moment of sweet victory.

Zilla thought that this might be the happiest moment of her life so far.