"You podrace?" asks Qui-Gon. Even granting that she clearly was attuned to the Force, podracing should be impossible for humans, especially a child... who was she?

"No, she doesn't," growls Watto. "I only have half my pod left after the last time she tried to fly it."

"I'm pretty sure that battle damage is an expected challenge when podracing, because I certainly don't see how certain crowd favorites haven't been summarily ejected from the circuit otherwise!"

'Sebulba did this, Watto, and you're betting on him, so you can't blame him for what he did to your stuff if you put it up against him, now can you?  I mean, you can, but that's wrong.  You created this incentive structure, I'm just acting on it!', she doesn't say.

"Bolla neechu!" barks Watto, before turning back to Qui-Gon. "The brat talks too much, but with the prices of slaves these days, that's the best you can get, eh?"

A flash of rage courses through him, before being silenced, pushed away, a motion that was nearly reflexive by now. There is no emotion, there is peace. "I wouldn't say I'm too familiar with that business," he says, calmly. "But I suspect she has more talent than you think."

Qui-Gon Jinn gets her best Innocent Hopeful Smile™.

'C'mon, c'mon, think about it, you've got stuff you can gamble on the races and a racer, I already told the nice lady Watto loves to gamble...'

(Do not touch your gun. Do not touch your gun. You are the Queen of Naboo and you have to act diplomatically towards everyone EVEN IF THEY DESERVE TO BE EATEN BY A RANCOR.)

"Excuse me, but would you consider taking part in a wager?"

"Ooooh, this is one of those deals," says Watto, clapping his hands. "What are we betting on?"

"We enter Kina into the podrace," says Padmé. "We'll put up our ship. Fully functional Nubian transport, save for the hyperdrive, which you have."

"Oh, and if she wins, I give you the hyperdrive? Deal!"

"Not quite. If she wins, you give us the hyperdrive and set her free."

"...set my mom free."

She can make her own way out, whether through this gamble or through guile and technical skill.  Her mother, who doesn't have her skills...She can't.  And if her mom was here, and she wasn't...She'd still be chained to Tatooine.  Because they could hurt her mom.

Oh, hopefully they'll settle on the mother, she isn't as valuable. "Bah, the hyperdrive's the only thing that makes the ship worth anything. A ship won't make up for the drive and a slave."

It actually would, but they likely won't know that.

"It's a J-327..." she 'accidentally' mumbles.

Her mom. Not just the girl, they even have her mom. "No one said it had to be even odds. I assume there are more than two racers in a podrace? Even if we aren't putting up as much, you'll get the ship as long as anyone other than her wins the race."

"Well, suppose I were to accept this deal... the ship against the hyperdrive and the mother, mind you, not the girl. Who's paying the entry fee, you with your Republic credits?" He snorts.

No, no, don't go lower on the offer!  Bah...You could've pushed him more!  He's not even a little bit grumpy now!

"We can't leave the girl without her mother," says Qui-Gon, stepping in. "There's a pretty large prize for the race, yes? We have no need for money. You put up the entry fee, we'll give you the entire prize if she wins - in exchange for the hyperdrive, and freedom for both of them. If she loses, you get the ship. She wins, you'll get enough money to cover all your losses. It's a guaranteed win for you."

Yes, it is, but he's not going to stop lying now, is he. "That prize money's not going to cover a hyperdrive, and the entry fee, and two slaves. The mother or nothing."

"But..."  Oh well, she's given them all the help she can and pointed out Watto's lying through his teeth besides; if this doesn't work she'll have to go with plan besh.

"Schutta!" Watto hisses, assuming that the girl is trying to get herself freed instead of her mother, because he would be doing the same thing. "We have a deal, or no?"

And she schuttas, but she also gives the nice lady a firm nod, even if she has a bit of a frown on her face at the time.

<Query: Have message to communicate? Unable?> R2 whistles, because the girl seems to keep starting to say things, before nervously glancing at Watto and stopping.

<Report of value below design parameters, parts insufficient for task.> she hums, rocking back and forth.  <Report false; value above expected parameters.>  (He's lying about whether the winnings would cover his costs.)

Qui-Gon is about to ask for the girl instead of her mother, hoping that he can use the Force to sway Watto, when he hears a high squeal from R2. He doesn't understand the meaning, but he kneels down next to the droid, who spins and displays a monitor for him to read.

"Oh," says Qui-Gon. "Thank you," his eyes flick to the girl, "Artoo." He stands and turns back to Watto. "It seems you've been misleading us. According to my droid, the market price for my ship is over three times that of the hyperdrive and two slaves."