Author's Notes: During TPM. This is my explanation for where Qui-Gon got that power source for Anakin.
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Qui-Gon ran his hand over the Podracer's sleek hull, avoiding the carefully painted blue marks on its silver skin. R2-D2 prodded him gently in the leg with a maintenance arm, beeping in warning. Qui-Gon stepped aside as the tiny droid rolled to the side and began tweaking the insides of the racer, making blue sparks fly.
Anakin was continuing his work on the left engine, but the tension radiated from him. Finally he dropped his tool, disengaged something from the engine, and walked over to Qui-Gon. In his small hand was a boxy battery.
"I can't start the racer," he said with rising panic in his voice. "The power source was old when I got it, and now it's burned out."
Qui-Gon took the power source and sighed. It was battered from years of use. In a way, he was glad that it had burned out when it did: he did NOT want Ani racing with something that might die on the track.
"Don't worry," he said. "I'll get you a new one."
"How?" Ani asked, still looking confused. But the fear was ebbing away with Qui-Gon's comment.
Qui-Gon glanced back at the town, frowning. Then he tucked the burned-out power source under his poncho and began walking toward the end of Mos Espa.
Qui-Gon stood near Watto's shop, thinking. He could hear the Toydarian humming and fluttering around the shop.
He knew PRECISELY what Obi-Wan would think if he knew what he was going to try. He could almost see the younger man standing in front of him, wry half-smile on his face. *How can you possibly justify this, Master? What if it doesn't work?* Qui-Gon smiled a little at the admonitions he had received from Obi-Wan in the past. My walking conscience, he thought.
He frowned and ducked into an alley as Watto fluttered to the door, sighing in the morning air. He couldn't use the mind-trick, and he had felt pretty stupid last time he had tried.
It was a challenge, and Qui-Gon loved challenges.
Qui-Gon took a deep breath and walked over to Watto, folding his arms to hide the power source under his poncho. "I’m looking for a part to my podracer," he announced calmly. His eye fell on a small boxy power source sitting on a shelf, next to a deactivated pit droid. Perfect. All he needed was to get Watto out of the shop.
Watto's blue snout wiggled a little. After the little talk they had had earlier that day, he was feeling fairly confident. "Weellll," he said expansively in his gravelly voice. "I'm sure I got it. Whatta do you need?"
Qui-Gon thought fast and plucked a random term from his memory. "Control linkage brace," he said, wincing inwardly at the flat tone of his voice.
Watto's snout wrinkled a little. "Wellll..." he said slowly. "That's a leetle hard to find... I'll..."
Qui-Gon reached out with the Force. He saw a huge pile of scrap in the yard outside, precariously balanced over a couple of straggling pit droids. He smiled a little. That would do. He nudged the pile in a few places.
CRASH! The scrap fell to the ground, crushing one of the pit droids while the other fluttered around, waving its spindly arms.
Watto whizzed in a circle, glaring outside. "Those STUPID droids!" he growled, flying out.
Qui-Gon quickly went to the shelf and pulled the power source off it, tucking it under the poncho as he slipped the burned out one on the shelf. He carefully positioned it, then jerked away as Watto flew back in. "Sooo," Watto growled. "What kinda brace you need, outlander?"
"Twi'lek," Qui-Gon said, then winced at the idiocy of his lie.
Watto's protruding eyes widened a little. "I... Uh, didn't know Twi'leks raced," he said uncertainly, looking suspiciously at Qui-Gon.
Qui-Gon shrugged. "Well, I'll have to muddle along with the brace that I have. It might make things a little more difficult, though..." He pretended to look worried.
Watto snickered noticeably as Qui-Gon left the shop, trying very hard to repress a smile.