SCENE 6.

I would your spaceship see the moment this

Fast race hath been competed. Understand?

Pray, patience, bluish friend. Thy winnings shall

Be thine before the double sun hath set,

And we shall be far gone from this grim place.

Unless your ship doth then belong to me.

I warn you, ply no trickstery on me.

Thou thinkest Anakin shall not prevail?

WATTO Mistake me not: the boy is talented

And in him I’ve a wealth of conference.

The boy, indeed, is credit to your race.

[aside:] ’Tis e’er a double-sided compliment.

WATTO And yet, methinks, Sebulba shall be first.

O wherefore dost thou think it shall be so?

’Tis but the odds: Sebulba ever wins.

In expedition of his victory

I’ve wager’d all my riches. He’ll not fail.

Thy wager shall be mine, if thou dost wish

To wager more with assets than with words.

Eh?

—I shall wager my new racing pod

Against the boy and his kind mother, too.

If thou dost win, thou hast the podracer,

If I do win, their lives are in my hand.

WATTO Ha ha, you jest! No pod hath equal worth

As two hardworking, loyal human slaves.

Thou hast it right. Thus wager but the boy.

We shall let that old weaver, Fate, decide.

A chance cube doth reside within my pouch.

If blue appears, your sky is clear: the boy.

But if red shows, the other goes: his mother.

[Watto throws the chance cube.
Qui-Gon uses the Force to make it land on blue.

You have prevail’d in this, outlander, aye,

But shall not win the race. Thus, little doth

This wager make a whit of diffidence.

Enter ANAKIN SKYWALKER, PADMÉ, SHMI SKYWALKER, R2-D2, C-3PO, and KITSTER.

O, fie! [To Anakin:] Bonapa keesa pateeso.

Buki chanaga o wanna meetee

Chopodd, eh? Ha ha!

[Exit Watto.

—“Your friend here should cease

His betting lest anon I own him, too.”

What meaning’s in these enigmatic words?

I shall tell thee another time. [To Shmi:] Good morn!

Beep, meep, beep, squeak, beep, whistle, whistle, hoo!

Space travel soundeth perilous, indeed.

Meep, meep, beep, nee, ahh, squeak.

—I tell thee true,

They never shall convince me to embark

Upon a starship, nay! Were droids suppos’d

To fly, the maker surely would have giv’n

Us wings to do so. Nay, no flier I!

O Anakin, ’tis wondrous thou shalt race.

I’ve ev’ry confidence in thy success

And certain am thou shalt do it this time.

I pray, what feat shall Anakin perform?

To finish th’race.

[to Anakin:] —Thou ne’er hast won a race?

’Tis possible I ne’er have done so. Nay.

Yet finish’d e’en the course?

—Good Kitster hath

Foreseen aright, my lady: this shall be

The day I see the end of the podrace.

Aye, so fear I.

—Thou wilt have swift success.

Now go ye and prepare, the race begins!

[Exeunt Anakin, Padmé, Jar Jar, Shmi, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Kitster.

O Force, in battle steel this soldier’s heart.

Give unto Anakin the strength he doth

Require to make a goodly run today.

Our hopes all rest upon this worthy lad,

Who in a time but short hath made his mark

Upon our story—yea, upon our souls.

Whate’er befalls, our fate is now with his

One and the same, fast tether’d life to life.

Thus rise, O Force, and be his constant stay:

When he doth ride, make his reflexes swift,

When he meets obstacles, guide then his hand,

When he doth need quick thinking, be his mind,

When he is challeng’d, swell his bravery,

And in the end, grant him—and us—success.

If the Republic would have justice done,

This boy shall be the linchpin of that cause:

If he doth win today, we fix the ship,

The ship then being fix’d, we fly from here,

We fly and make our way to Coruscant,

In Coruscant we tell the crimes of trade,

The crimes then told, the Federation falls,

The Federation down, ’tis justice done.

It doth begin today with this contest:

This crucial podrace shall prove bust or best.

[Exit.