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| - The starting line was a mass of smoke, noise and dirt as all the podracers sprinted away, around the corner and into the distance. All except two, Anakin Skywalker and Ben Quadinaros. Anakin grit his teeth in frustration, wanting to punch the thruster bars through the control panel. Concentrate, Qui-Gon’s voice said in his head. He had simply fed the engines too much fuel from a dead start. They weren't used to that, he had to coax them. He set the thrusters into neutral and made a few more adjustments. Then pressed the ignition again, this time they stayed ignited and he was on his way. But as the announcer said as he was speeding away, he would be hard-pressed to catch up with the leaders. Anakin put the comments out of his mind and focused on what was ahead. He fed the engines more power, pushing them but saving some for later. It would never do to use everything up, he had seen what had happened to pods if that occurred. But then again, even if he did everything right there was no sure way of predicting what would happen. The sand people were known to shoot at them and had caused more than one crash, and then of course was the unexpected normally caused by one being in particular: Sebulba. He knew where all the cameras were, saving his dirty tricks for when he knew he would be unobserved to make it seem like an actual accident. There they were, the first of the racers and the last of the stragglers. He slowed down as he passed them then gunned his engines the moment he was clear. Up ahead was another racer—Gasgano—and beyond that was a large canyon, and he wanted to be alone before he passed through. Gasgano saw him before tried to cut him off. Anakin shifted right, Gasgano was there again. He feinted left, then went right again but Gasgano blocked him again. In a flash, Anakin remembered the sheer drop shortly preceding the canyon. Here was a chance; Anakin maintained his current speed intending Gasgano to think he was intending a drop-shift. Gasgano didn’t speed up, he dropped down the cliff face just as Anakin threw his thruster bars forward and soared over him to enter the canyon. Beggar’s Canyon, he’d heard it was called. Yet the name mattered little as he threaded his way through it. Some had pre-determined paths that they followed through the canyon, Anakin merely followed his instincts and allowed his hands to direct the course of his pod. He emerged from the canyon behind a group of a dozen pods, in the distance he could see Sebulba in the lead, but he paid more attention to what was at hand. What was ahead was not important, getting there, on the other hand, was. Up ahead Sebulba was exploiting the lack of cameras to his full advantage. He swang dangerously into the Malastarian pilot, Mawhonic, causing him to careen into a rock and dissolve in a ball of flame. When Xelbree tried to sneak past him, for a moment Sebulba pretended not to notice. Then, as the Dug was about to lose the lead he triggered the flame jet on the side of his left engine. Xelbree’s pod ignited and Sebulba sped on. His place in the race uncontested. Padmé leaned against the back of the box, grateful for the little shade it offered. She wished she was wearing her Jedi cloak, even though it would be no doubt heavier in the heat than the blue-grey one she wore. Danta and Shmi stood either side of her, intently watching a view screen. It was focused on Sebulba, speeding up the vast expanse of desert that pre-empted the entrance to the stadium. Shmi pressed a few buttons but there was no sign of Anakin anywhere. Qui-Gon stood completely still at the rim of the box, he appeared to be studying the sand around the racing track with some detail, but Padmé was not fooled. She knew he was immersed within the Force, focusing on Anakin as he made his progress through the race. Padmé had tried to find him in the Force, but the pods moved so quickly that it was virtually impossible. She turned her attention to the podracer still on the track, Ben Quadinaros was still there. After several engine misfires he had summoned several pit droids to sort out the problem. After a few minutes of tinkering his engines finally ignited, but he had progressed no further than a few metres from the starting line when the couplings on his engines broke and the engines flew off in different directions. Quadinaros’ cockpit crashed to the ground loudly, yet as soon as it did so the thunder of engines could be heard and before anyone could react Sebulba zoomed into vision—the crowd cheering loudly as he passed—his pod clipping Quadinaros’ and clattering it into the side of the stands. A racer followed him, and then another. “Where is he?” Danta asked, jabbing the buttons of the view screen before turning away from it in disgust. R2-D2, next to Threepio and Kitster, gave a piercing whistle. “Here he comes,” said Qui-Gon quietly. Sure enough, a moment after he finished speaking a familiar pod grew larger in the distance, drawing closer and finally roaring past them in a triumphant cheer from he crowd. Padmé smiled, Anakin was starting to catch up to the rest, but would it be enough? In sixth place, Anakin pummelled ahead, fishtailing through the Arch Canyon, past other racers until Sebulba’s pod was only four places ahead. Every fibre of Anakin’s being focused on catching him, his hands moving of their own accord, responding to the needs of his racer as it spoke to him. Yes, it spoke in a language without words, yet Anakin understood it for he was much, much more than the pilot. He was another part of the pod, working with it just as the thrusters or the air brakes, and the pod was a part of him. Through the canyon and around the next corner was the famously named Tusken Turn. Anakin swerved and barely missed being shot by the waiting sandpeople, yet Teemto Pagalies exploded in a fireball just behind him. Quickly Anakin passed two more racers until he was in third place behind Mars Guo and Sebulba. For a moment Guo looked as if he would sneak into first place, the Sebulba threw a hunk of metal from his cockpit. The metal embedded itself in Guo’s left engine causing the engine to smoke and splutter, soon Guo lost control of his pod and veered right into Anakin, loosing one of the boy’s couplings and leaving him spinning. Shmi’s heart was in her mouth as she watched Anakin’s pod, supported by only one engine, move like a pendulum over the rapidly moving rocky terrain. She clutched the viewscreen till her knuckles turned white, pleading silently. “Come on, Annie!” Danta shouted over her shoulder, the suspense too much for him. Qui-Gon observed Anakin was already on top of the situation, he had fished around in his cockpit for something and was reaching out to re-attach the cable. A magnet, Qui-Gon realised as the metal object Anakin was holding caught and he managed to secure it. His pod once more intact, he regained his speed. While this was going on Qui-Gon chanced a look at Padmé, he could see her face was as every bit as tense as Danta’s even more so. But there was something else, perhaps she had started to see what he now knew. Sebulba was dead ahead, Anakin punched his thrusters, if he didn’t gain the lead now he never would. The Dug knew he was catching him but wouldn’t do anything yet, the stands were coming into view for the end of the second lap. Anakin was barely conscious of the crowds—even though the compere shouted for all to hear that he was close on gaining the lead—all that mattered was Sebulba. He didn’t even wait until they were clear of the stands to make his move, when the lap finished they were neck and neck and he felt a thrill run through him. He could do this, he would do this! But Sebulba had other ideas, as Anakin started to creep around Sebulba’s right side he triggered the flame vent. But Anakin was too used to this trick to fall victim to it and he shifted back, be he was still behind Sebulba. Further on the track widened and Anakin drew alongside the Dug. For a moment Sebulba seemed to concede, then he noticed something ahead that made him almost slam on his brakes. The emergency ramp! It was too late to miss it, he would have to… Anakin gunned his engines, feeding them more power just as the spectators watching the race around the ramp’s gate scattered. He would have to clear it, and he did! The ramp gave him—if unconventional—amount of altitude as well as considerable speed on the way down. Anakin managed to cut his engines momentarily to avoid slamming into the ground but for the first time, he was in the lead. Behind him Sebulba swore.
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