The Tragic Jedi | Anakin Skywalker

𝓢𝓬𝓮𝓷𝓮 𝟏𝟖

❝𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔... 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒓❞ -- 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒌𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓

❈✱❉✤❈✱❉

Sebulba was waiting at the starting line set before the empty stands of the grand arena when they arrived. His two lackeys from the alleyway stood on either side of him, and behind Sebulba sat his podracer. 

Anakin felt a flare of anger as he realized it was the same model as the podracer he had raced when he had won against Sebulba. The cheating Dug creature had built an exact replica of Anakin's podracer after their last race caused Sebulba's podracer to crash at the finish line.

From beside him, Astrid shifted uneasily, and Anakin dared a glance at her. Her face was livid as she stared at Sebulba. Their trio stopped before Sebulba and his lackeys about six feet away. 

Obi Wan and Astrid's skippers and Anakin's podracer sat waiting twenty yards behind them. 

Sebulba smiled with satisfaction as he told them, "To make this short and sweet, we will be doing only two laps instead of three around the Ben's Messa."

Anakin crossed his arms and nodded as he asked, "Are we ready to start then?" 

Sebulba eyed Anakin's podracer before nodding. "Let the games begin," he announced with a vicious smile. He glanced to Astrid and Obi Wan and suggested, "I think it would be best if you wait in the stands with my two friends here." 

His two friends didn't wait for a response from Astrid or Obi Wan before they jostled forward and grabbed the two Jedi. To Anakin's surprise, Obi Wan didn't resist as the one holding his hands behind his back snatched his lightsaber from his belt. 

From beside Obi Wan, the other lackey did the same to Astrid, who seemed to be looking to Obi Wan for guidance, and therefore, was simply copying his example. 

Anakin's eyes flicked towards Sebulba, and he inclined his head to the creature before he walked back towards his podracer. He was hyperaware of how vulnerable his backside was to attack as he walked to his podracer. 

When he reached his podracer, he quickly swung himself into the cockpit, and a sense of calm washed over him as his hands curled around the yoke. In the pilot's seat, there was no uncertainty, only surety and confidence. Here, in the cockpit, he knew what he was doing. 

He was the greatest expert. 

 Anakin pushed the throttle forward just slightly, and his podracer began to ease forward until he was right beside Sebulba and his podracer. Anakin slung his pilot's goggles over his eyes and looked to the left at Sebulba. 

He was already looking at Anakin, his narrowed eyes visible through his pilot's goggles. Anakin gave him a mocking salute. 

The horn sounded. 

Anakin instantly pushed the throttle down as far as it could go, and he shot forward with blurringly fast speed. His back pressed against his seat at the force of the pod racer's speed. 

Within a few seconds, Anakin was shooting across the Starlite Flats, and he could see the small opening of the skinny canyon looming closer up ahead. Anakin needed to get ahead of Sebulba so that when they had to move single-file through the canyon, he was first.