William Shakespeare's The Phantom Menace by Ian Doescher Read Free Book Online

handmaiden—may object.
    A queen—aye, too, her handmaiden—must balk
    At this idea that hath no merit to’t.
    So shall this maiden play her hand as ’twere
    The queen herself who doth her wishes speak.
    Enter Q UI -G ON J INN .
    Are you convinc’d ’tis wise to trust this fate
    That weaves for us a boy we hardly know?
    The queen would not approve, if she were here.
    QUI-GON
    â€™Tis fortunate for us she shall not know.
    PADMÉ
    Yet neither doth my maiden’s heart approve.
    [Exit Padmé .
    Enter W ATTO and A NAKIN S KYWALKER .
    WATTO
    The boy doth say that you would speckle him
    To race? How can you do this thing? Say how!
    Methinks not with Republic credits, ha!
    QUI-GON
    My ship—the Nubian—shall be my fee.
    WATTO
    â€™Tis well, ’tis well.
    QUI-GON
    â€”The ship is well attir’d,
    But for the parts of which I have a need.
    WATTO
    In what do you propose the boy would ride?
    For he did smash my pod in his last race.
    Methinks he hath not time to make repair.
    ANAKIN
    In troth, ’twas not my fault. Sebulba flash’d
    Me with his vents. I sav’d the pod—well, most.
    WATTO Aye, this is true; the boy is deeply skill’d.
    QUI-GON
    Within a rough cantina close nearby,
    I gain’d a pod a’playing games of chance.
    It is the fastest ever built, they say.
    WATTO I hope you kill’d no one I know for it:
    Toydarians treat homophones with care.
    Yet if you do speak true, you here propose
    To offer up the pod and entry fee,
    Whilst I supply the boy. If then we win,
    You shall have half and I the other, yea?
    QUI-GON
    If I supply two things and thou but one,
    And still we split the winnings by their halves,
    I must have some assurance: you, my friend,
    Shall first provide the entry fee in cash.
    Then if we win, you keep the money but
    For those few parts I need. And should we lose,
    You keep my ship. In either case, you win.
    WATTO
    The deal is yours—and may we have success!
    [Exit Qui-Gon .
    [ To Anakin: ] Yo bana pee ho-tah, meendee ya, eh?
    [Exeunt Watto and Anakin .
    Enter Q UI -G ON J INN speaking into communicator to O BI -W AN K ENOBI , who enters above, on balcony .
    OBI-WAN
    What if this plan doth not succeed aright?
    It may be eons till we leave this place.
    QUI-GON
    To call for help is far too dangerous,
    And yet, a ship sans pow’r shall not release
    Us from this barren planet, Tatooine.
    Moreover, there is something in this boy
    I would discover ere we do depart.
    [Exit Obi-Wan from balcony .
    Enter S HMI S KYWALKER .
    SHMI
    Good e’en.
    QUI-GON
    â€”Good e’en. Thou shouldst be proud of thy
    Young son. He gives no thought of a reward.
    SHMI
    He knows no greed. He hath—how shall I say’t?
    QUI-GON
    He hath a power most profound, ’tis true?
    SHMI
    Aye.
    QUI-GON
    â€”He doth see things ere they do transpire.
    â€™Tis why the speed of his reflexes seems
    So swift—it is a Jedi quality.
    SHMI
    He doth deserve more than a slaving life.
    QUI-GON
    Had he been born under Republic skies,
    He would have been identified when young
    And then become a Jedi. Yea, the Force
    Is strong with him indeed, ’tis passing strong.
    Who, prithee, was the father to the boy?
    SHMI
    Alas, I do not know. Mistake me not:
    View not this tale of mine with a mistrust
    Ere you have heard it all: there was no father.
    My boy is mine—I carried him until
    Arriv’d the very moment of his birth,
    Rais’d I the babe into the lad and yet,
    I still cannot explain how he did come.
    And now I shall ask you: can you help him?
    QUI-GON
    I do not know. In troth, I did not come
    To Tatooine to liberate its slaves.
    Enter A NAKIN S KYWALKER , P ADMÉ , J AR J AR B INKS , R2-D2, C-3PO, K ITSTER , S EEK , A MEE , and W ALD , working on Anakin’s podracer .
    KITSTER
    A veritable astro droid! How art
    Thou e’er so fortunate, O Anakin?
    ANAKIN
    There’s better still shall come: the Boonta race
    Shall be my playground