Star Wars - Episode I Adventures 006 - The Hunt for Anakin Skywalker by Dave Wolverton

Author:Dave Wolverton [Wolverton, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2000-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

Anakin raced into the Podrace hangar. The Pods and their engines were backed against the walls, stacked in storage.

The big Boonta Eve Race was still a week away, and only a couple of mechanic droids were working right now. Watto’s old blue Podracer was there, but it wasn’t in running shape. Anakin ran for it.

Down the line of racers, Kitster shouted, “Don’t take that! If you fly it, everyone will know it's you. Try this one!” He was at Sebulba’s racer.

Anakin stopped at Watto’s Podracer just long enough to grab his goggles.

He ran toward Kitster, worries nagging at him. Each Podracer in the hangar was built differently, customized for the driver. All of the racers but Watto’s were built for aliens, some of whom had more limbs than Anakin, or were twice his size. He needed a racer built for someone short, with two arms and two legs.

Kitster was probably right. Sebulba’s would be the best fit.

He ran to the orange racer. Kitster was sitting on the hood. He was already flipping buttons.

“Come on, Anakin, I’ve got the engines warm.”

Anakin climbed into the cockpit and found Sebulba’s goggles on the seat, along with some spanners. He threw them onto the floor. Kitster flipped on the controls. The telemetry and control console lit up. The Tradium power fluid levels were full; coolant levels looked to be within safety range. Stabilizers and altitude adjusters seemed functional.

Anakin flipped on the power to the repulsors. The repulsor-lift motors began to hum. The cockpit and engines all shuddered, then lifted into the air.

“Okay, get out of here,” Anakin told Kitster. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“No way,” Kitster argued, squeezing in tightly beside him. “I’m coming with you! We’re all in this together.”

Anakin fished into his pocket for the signal jammer. “Give this to Pala.”

“Not until we get rid of that seeker droid!” Kitster said.

Anakin flipped on the control power generator and the energy binders. A hot-pink flash, like lightning, erupted between the engines. The binders sent out powerful magnetic bursts that held the huge engines together.

“You’ve helped me enough,” Anakin argued.

“Don’t be stupid,” Kitster said. “You’re not out of this yet.”

Anakin didn’t have time to debate. He quickly studied Sebulba’s control panel. It didn’t make sense. There were too many buttons and switches. He didn’t know what all of them could do. He began playing with the air intake vents, making sure that they opened and closed properly on each engine. He wasn’t used to the huge Collor Pondrat Plug-F Mammoth racing engines and their odd air intake system.

He wasn’t done with his preflight check when the seeker droid appeared, whisking through the door.

The droid fired a stun dart that zipped over Anakin’s head.

Anakin and Kitster ducked into the cockpit.

The droid skewed to the left and emitted a shower of sparks. Anakin saw now that the droid was damaged. A thin trail of blue-gray smoke issued from the diabolical machine. And black liquid was dripping from it. Some of the liquid must have dribbled into its housing, shorting its electric circuits.

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