Anuvuin: episode #28 The Midi-Cholorian Count, The Bet, and the Start of the Race
Part 2
Previously: Anakin showed Padm� his pod racer & C-3PO. Anakin found out Qui-Gon was a Jedi, and Qui-Gon realizes that Anakin has the force, Anakin convinced his mother to let him raise money so that Qui-Gon and Padm� could have enough money to buy the hyperdrive.
�I don�t want to talk about it. He had a father, but he hasn�t done anything for Anakin, so he basically doesn�t have a father.� Qui-Gon nods, and now it�s getting dark. Just at the end of working on the pod that night, Anakin accidentally cut his finger on something. �Ow�� Qui-Gon had since come down, and Shmi had already gone inside to do some cleaning. Qui-Gon stood next to Anakin. �It�s not bad, come over here and I�ll fix you up.� So Anakin came over to a bench, and Anakin and Qui-Gon sad down. Qui-Gon took out a special kind of test paper just for blood and wiped off Anakin�s cut. He them put the test thing in his comlink. �What are you doing?� Anakin asks. �Checking your blood for infection.� �Oh�� he then cleans out the cut and puts a patch on the area. �There you go. You�d better go to bed now, Ani. It�s getting late and you have that big race tomorrow.� �Oh, all right�� Anakin goes inside. As soon as Qui-Gon is sure that Anakin is out of hearing range, he calls Obi-Wan on the comlink��Obi-Wan, I need a midi-cholrian count on the sample I�m sending you.� �Got it, Master.� Then he uses a little machine. �That�s strange�there must be a mistake�� �Just tell me what it is.� �Over 20 thousand�� �Thanks.� Obi-wan then says, �but even Master Yoda doesn�t have a midi-chororian count that high.� �No Jedi has until now. It�s the boy, Obi-Wan. I�ll tell you about it later. I have a way of getting us out of her.� �Good because it�s getting harder to keep the Queen and her handmaidens from sending a transmission.� Qui-Gon closed connection. He sat by himself for a little longer, thinking. �All these years I�ve searched for the chosen One. And I�m almost certain it�s this boy. I wonder�� and Qui-Gon makes up his mind to bet on Anakin�and to free both him and his mother. Early the next morning Qui-Gon went to Watto�s shop. �I�d like to enter Anakin in the race today. I have acquired a pod, the fastest one ever.� (That�s what Anakin had told him.) Watto says, �I hope you didn�t kill anyone I know for it. And you need any entry fee.� �My ship will be the fee.� Qui-Gon laughs. Then Watto continues, �I supply the boy, you supply the pod�but I think we�ll split the winnings 50-50.� �If it�s going to be 50-50, I think there should be a bet. I�ll take that bet. If the boy wins, I�ll give you the pod in exchange for�say the boy and his mother.� �No pod is worth 2 slaves�not by a long shot.� �All right, just the boy then.� �We�ll let this decide. It just so happens that I have a chance cube. Blue it�s the boy and ret its� his mother.� 3 sides of the cue were red. And the one remaining side was blue. Watto throws it. Qui-Gon uses the force to move it so that the side up would be blue. Qui-Gon smiles. �Well, the boy�s not going to win anyway,� Watto says angrily, �so it doesn't matter.� Why do you say that?� �Because Sebulba going to win. He always does.� Qui-Gon thinks to himself, �We�ll see. By this time Anakin, Kitster, C-3PO, R2-D2, Padm�, and Shmi arrive. Anakin rides with Padm� while his mother rides with Kitster. Watto comes flying over. �You�d better stop your friend�s betting or I�ll end up owning him, too.� �What?� asks Anakin. �I�ll tell you later,� says Qui-Gon. Now the officials of the race say, �Well�moves on out, contestants. The race is about o start.� Anakin along with his helpers move his pod to the starting position. Jabba the Hutt (the Hutt in charge of the planet, if you�ll remember) says, �Welcome,� in Huttese. Then he starts reading off the names of all the contestants. �And little Anakin Skywalk form Tatooine.� People cheer for him as they did for everyone. Must after Anakin climbs in, Qui-Gon says, �Remember, Ani, use your instincts. Feel don�t think. Trust your feelings.� �I will,� says Anakin. But something no one had seen was Sebulba�he had cut something on Anakin�s pod�he laughs, but a bantha fats right in his face so it doesn�t last long. Anyway, the gun goes off and the racers start�but Anakin is left in the dust.
Until next time!
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