Episode I curiosities.

Post by **Coyote** » 2007-09-18 11:30am

Darth Wong wrote:...even if Anakin loses the race, at worst, they can go look for a smuggler pilot who will take Republic credits and ferry them to Coruscant. They obviously wanted to avoid dealing with more people than they had to, or even going through a spaceport at all (no surprise, since people might be watching the spaceports). But under your scheme, they have to go that route right away. At least this way, they get a chance to get off the planet without ever having stepped foot in a spaceport.

Okay, that's something I hadn't though of. Entering Anakin in the race allows them to have a 'Plan A' so that if he loses, the more dangerous (to the group) 'Plan B' still exists as an option, where they get on a smuggler ship and head out.

Presumably Qui-Gon can convince a smuggler that Republic dactariis will be useful once they cross the border, or if necessary use the Force on him ("Republic credits will be fine")... or, at least, be able to detect whether or not the pilot will simply deliver them to the Trade Fed in hopes of a reward. Even then, there's 'Plan C'-- if the pilot tries to take them to the Trade Fed, the Jedi and the Naboo troops sieze control of the ship and continue on to Coruscant.

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2007-09-18 04:08pm

Howedar wrote:Nonsense. You don't think you can order a part from a supplier in the GFFA? The problem was one of time, not one of the part not existing anywhere else. I'm sure that there's a company that would deliver an item to Tatooine, even if it didn't come cheap. The problem is that it would an indeterminate amount of time to get the part.

GFFA? It was a Republic then, and a Republic that didn't have much by way of influence at that corner of the Galaxy. Also, the Nubians are a relatively small company and you'd probably have to pay insurance costs and other transport fees to ship the drive to Tantooine, which isn't exactly the safest corner of the galaxy.

Darth Yoshi · Post by **Darth Yoshi** » 2007-09-18 04:22pm

He meant "Galaxy Far, Far Away," not "Galactic Federation of Free Alliances" or whatever shit it is that they decided to name the new New Republic.

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2007-09-18 04:24pm

Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:
Howedar wrote:Nonsense. You don't think you can order a part from a supplier in the GFFA? The problem was one of time, not one of the part not existing anywhere else. I'm sure that there's a company that would deliver an item to Tatooine, even if it didn't come cheap. The problem is that it would an indeterminate amount of time to get the part.
GFFA? It was a Republic then, and a Republic that didn't have much by way of influence at that corner of the Galaxy. Also, the Nubians are a relatively small company and you'd probably have to pay insurance costs and other transport fees to ship the drive to Tantooine, which isn't exactly the safest corner of the galaxy.

Not only that if you were to try and order the part where would you order it from if not Naboo? Wouldn't an order for a Nubian Hyperdrive Unit to a noplace like Tattooine simply throw up all kinds of red flags?

Baal · Post by **Baal** » 2007-09-18 05:26pm

Coyote wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:...even if Anakin loses the race, at worst, they can go look for a smuggler pilot who will take Republic credits and ferry them to Coruscant. They obviously wanted to avoid dealing with more people than they had to, or even going through a spaceport at all (no surprise, since people might be watching the spaceports). But under your scheme, they have to go that route right away. At least this way, they get a chance to get off the planet without ever having stepped foot in a spaceport.
Okay, that's something I hadn't though of. Entering Anakin in the race allows them to have a 'Plan A' so that if he loses, the more dangerous (to the group) 'Plan B' still exists as an option, where they get on a smuggler ship and head out.

Presumably Qui-Gon can convince a smuggler that Republic dactariis will be useful once they cross the border, or if necessary use the Force on him ("Republic credits will be fine")... or, at least, be able to detect whether or not the pilot will simply deliver them to the Trade Fed in hopes of a reward. Even then, there's 'Plan C'-- if the pilot tries to take them to the Trade Fed, the Jedi and the Naboo troops sieze control of the ship and continue on to Coruscant.

Wouldnt a simple Plan B be just "steal the damn unit from Watoo". I mean what is the little flying dweeb going to do if you subdue him. Tie him up, leave him the credits (I am sure he can get them converted somewhere) and haul ass back to the ship to leave.

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2007-09-18 05:42pm

Baal wrote:Wouldnt a simple Plan B be just "steal the damn unit from Watoo". I mean what is the little flying dweeb going to do if you subdue him. Tie him up, leave him the credits (I am sure he can get them converted somewhere) and haul ass back to the ship to leave.

I think for a Jedi That would the last possible option

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2007-09-18 05:55pm

Isolder74 wrote:
Baal wrote:Wouldnt a simple Plan B be just "steal the damn unit from Watoo". I mean what is the little flying dweeb going to do if you subdue him. Tie him up, leave him the credits (I am sure he can get them converted somewhere) and haul ass back to the ship to leave.
I think for a Jedi That would the last possible option

If nothing else, they have a certain reputation to uphold. It's hard to play the role of the policemen of the galaxy if you're willing to rob someone of his property.

(I know the argument could be made that the Republic credits were valuable, and, if left in exchange for the part, would mitigate this crime. If they were really of value on Tattooine, though, Watto probably would have accepted them, or the protagonists would have attempted an exchange elsewhere.)

DogsOfWar · Post by **DogsOfWar** » 2007-09-18 08:49pm

Robbing Watto was the first thing Qui-Gon tried. Remember the mind trick? No different than taking the parts and leaving him the credits.

SCRawl · Post by **SCRawl** » 2007-09-18 09:15pm

DogsOfWar wrote:Robbing Watto was the first thing Qui-Gon tried. Remember the mind trick? No different than taking the parts and leaving him the credits.

Ethically, what QG tried was no different from hog-tying Watto and walking off with his goods in exchange for (probably) useless Republic credits. The Jedi Mind Trick probably doesn't leave a lot of evidence behind. It could also be argued that the ends -- getting the queen and her party back to Coruscant, for the purpose of ending an illegal occupation of Naboo -- was worth the means, i.e. shafting one small-time merchant. Sucks to be Watto in that case, but no one ever said that life was fair.

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » 2007-09-19 04:02pm

SCRawl wrote: If nothing else, they have a certain reputation to uphold. It's hard to play the role of the policemen of the galaxy if you're willing to rob someone of his property.

Policemen of the Republic. Tattoine is a nowhere at the ass end of the galaxy, probably in Hutt space, and thus outside of Republic jurisdiction and Republc law.

Lord Relvenous · Post by **Lord Relvenous** » 2007-09-20 01:43am

Darwin wrote:
SCRawl wrote: If nothing else, they have a certain reputation to uphold. It's hard to play the role of the policemen of the galaxy if you're willing to rob someone of his property.
Policemen of the Republic. Tattoine is a nowhere at the ass end of the galaxy, probably in Hutt space, and thus outside of Republic jurisdiction and Republc law.

If a American police officer robs a citizen in Austrailia, does it make the crime any less heinous in the eyes of the public? No. If word got out of a Jedi stealing from parts dealers, it wouldn't matter where it happened, it would still damamge their reputation.

DogsOfWar · Post by **DogsOfWar** » 2007-09-20 01:55am

The major news media probably wouldn't pay much attention to some nobody shop owner from the hind end of the galaxy while the huge Naboo/Federation conflict was going on. Watto probably wouldn't do anything about it either, since he can't take it up with his local Republic representative.

Lord Relvenous · Post by **Lord Relvenous** » 2007-09-20 02:44am

Somebody's always willing to sell dirt to someone about anyone. Its canon that the Star Wars universe has its own version of tabloids. (See Starfighters of Adumar)

Darwin · Post by **Darwin** » 2007-09-20 02:58am

Lord Relvenous wrote: If a American police officer robs a citizen in Austrailia, does it make the crime any less heinous in the eyes of the public? No. If word got out of a Jedi stealing from parts dealers, it wouldn't matter where it happened, it would still damamge their reputation.

Austrailia isn't an utter nowhere in the middle of an even bigger nowhere.

Tatooine isn't even a part of the galactic community. It's barely even populated.

Anyway, your comparison just doesn't work here.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-09-20 03:12am

Lord Relvenous wrote:Somebody's always willing to sell dirt to someone about anyone. Its canon that the Star Wars universe has its own version of tabloids. (See Starfighters of Adumar)

And nobody will care unless it sounds credible. If you're a Republic citizen and you read in some tabloid that some junk dealer on an outlaw planet you've never heard of claims that a Jedi broke into his store and robbed him for a couple of spare parts, what would you think?

Lord Relvenous · Post by **Lord Relvenous** » 2007-09-20 03:24am

Darth Wong wrote:
Lord Relvenous wrote:Somebody's always willing to sell dirt to someone about anyone. Its canon that the Star Wars universe has its own version of tabloids. (See Starfighters of Adumar)
And nobody will care unless it sounds credible. If you're a Republic citizen and you read in some tabloid that some junk dealer on an outlaw planet you've never heard of claims that a Jedi broke into his store and robbed him for a couple of spare parts, what would you think?

Conceded. I'm just trying to make the point that just because the crime happens outside the Republic's jurisdiction does not mean it will be consequence free.

Tychu · Post by **Tychu** » 2007-09-30 10:46am

Howedar wrote:
PeZook wrote:It's quite possible that nobody had a ship for sale.

It's the asshole of the galaxy. People come there to get lost, and if they have ships, they will keep them to themselves, just in case.There's obviously starports and people selling parts, but it doesn't mean anybody will sell a ship.
Well, Luke did comment that they could "almost buy [a] ship" for seventeen thousand on Tatooine. Presumably he wouldn't make such a comment if it really weren't possible to find a ship there.

That also took place 32 years after. In that time the Empire took over Tatooine and built a garrison on the planet. There is probally a hell of a lot more ships going in and out of Tatooine during ANH then in TPM

Isolder74 · Post by **Isolder74** » 2007-09-30 11:21am

Tychu wrote:
Howedar wrote:
PeZook wrote:It's quite possible that nobody had a ship for sale.

It's the asshole of the galaxy. People come there to get lost, and if they have ships, they will keep them to themselves, just in case.There's obviously starports and people selling parts, but it doesn't mean anybody will sell a ship.
Well, Luke did comment that they could "almost buy [a] ship" for seventeen thousand on Tatooine. Presumably he wouldn't make such a comment if it really weren't possible to find a ship there.
That also took place 32 years after. In that time the Empire took over Tatooine and built a garrison on the planet. There is probally a hell of a lot more ships going in and out of Tatooine during ANH then in TPM

Also for Luke 10,000 Imperial Credits was actually worth something. To Watto 20,000 Republic Credits were worth nothing to him. Its obvious that to Watto they might as well have been offering sand for the parts. When told how they were going to pay Watto cuts things off and we never learn how much the parts were going to cost.