by A. L. Singer
Palpatine. His election might break the deadlock. It would certainly be a boon for Naboo.
Queen Amidala gazed over Qui-Gon’s shoulder. “Your young charge seems to have regained his spirit.”
Qui-Gon turned. Anakin was standing behind Ric Olié, grilling him about the cockpit controls. “And... that one?” he asked.
“The forward stabilizer,” Olié replied.
“And those control the pitch?”
Olié chuckled. “You catch on pretty quick.”
“Come,” Queen Amidala said, turning toward her chamber. “It is time for our strategy meeting with Captain Panaka.”
Qui-Gon escorted her into the room. Two of the Queen’s handmaidens, Eirtaé and Sabé, were waiting, along with Panaka, Obi-Wan, and Jar Jar.
The captain spoke with great urgency. “Your Highness, the moment we land, the Trade Federation will arrest you and force you to sign the treaty.”
“I agree,” Qui-Gon said. “I’m not sure what you hope to accomplish by this.”
“I’m going to take back what is ours,” the Queen said resolutely.
“There are only twelve of us, Your Highness,” Captain Panaka pointed out. “We have no army.”
“I cannot fight a war for you, Your Highness,” Qui-Gon added, “only protect you.”
The Queen met his glance levelly, fearlessly. She said nothing for a long time, gazing slowly around the room.
She was young and energetic — but also smart, Qui-Gon knew. She would, in the end, take only the most prudent measures.
“Jar Jar Binks!” the Queen suddenly called out.
Jar Jar nearly jumped. “Mesa, Your Highness?”
“Yes,” Amidala said firmly. “I need your help.”
The Queen’s plan was a huge risk.
Involving the feckless Gungans in an insurgency? It would be an audacious move.
Qui-Gon fought the urge to judge. It was not his place. His job was to support and protect Amidala in whatever she decided for her people.
The Naboo citizens were prisoners now. And desperate circumstances required desperate measures.
From a distance, the green lushness of Naboo’s landscape gave no hint of an embattled, defeated civilization. Even the cluster of Trade Federation ships that had surrounded the planet was nowhere in evidence.
“I have one battleship on my scope,” Ric Olié announced.
“A droid control ship,” Obi-Wan said.
“They've probably spotted us,” Panaka guessed.
Obi-Wan nodded. “We haven’t much time.”
The cabin fell silent as Olié skillfully navigated around the battleship’s field of detection. He swept around to the opposite side of the planet, on the Queen’s strict orders to land near the swamp that contained Otoh Gunga.
The touchdown was peaceful and apparently unnoticed. While Jar Jar left to summon the Gungans to the Queen, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan waited.
The Padawan seemed particularly quiet and uneasy. “Do you think the Queen’s idea will work?” he finally asked.
“The Gungans will not be easily swayed,” Qui-Gon replied, “and we cannot use our power to help her.”
“I’m ... I’m sorry for my behavior, Master. It is not my place to disagree with you about the boy. I am grateful you think I am ready for the trials.”
“You have been a good apprentice. You are much wiser than I am, Obi-Wan. I foresee you will become a great Jedi Knight.”
Obi-Wan smiled. Qui-Gon put his arm around the young man’s shoulder and walked to the edge of the swamp, where the others were waiting — the Queen, her three handmaidens, Captain Panaka, Anakin, four pilots, eight guards, and R2-D2.
It seemed hours before Jar Jar finally emerged. But his rubbery face was glum. “Daresa nobody dare! All gone. Some kinda fight, mesa tinks.”
“Do you think they have been taken to camps?” Captain Panaka asked.
“More likely they were wiped out,” Obi-Wan guessed.
Jar Jar shook his head. “Mesa no tink so. When in trouble, Gungans go to sacred place. Come on, mesa show you.”
Jar Jar turned, walking briskly into the swampy jungle.
They all followed, trudging for miles. Jar Jar took turns where no paths existed, never breaking stride, moving in a tortuous route that seemed to cross over itself a hundred times.
Finally he stopped, in an area that looked no different than any other they had passed through. He began to sniff the air. “Dissen it,” he said with a confident nod.
He threw back his head let out a strange chattering noise.
From deep in the woods, seven Gungan troops emerged. They carried electropoles and rode on native four-legged kaadus. Leading them was Captain Tarpals, who had taken Jar Jar prisoner during Qui-Gon’s visit to Otoh Gunga.
“Heyo-dalee, Captain Tarpals!” Jar Jar exclaimed. Tarpals looked disgusted. “Binks — noah gain!”
“Wesa comen to see da boss.”
“Ouch time, Binks,” Tarpals said, shaking his head. “Ouch time for all-n youse.”
He turned his kaadu back into the forest and gestured for the others to follow.
Before long they reached a clearing where hundreds of Gungans stood among the ruins of a great temple. Enormous carved heads lay toppled on the wet, marshy ground, their eyes staring at the intruders.
From behind one of the heads emerged a massive Gungan, wearing a robe and an angry scowl — Boss Nass.
Jar Jar flinched.
“Jar Jar Binks!” the Boss thundered, “Who’s da uss-en others?”
Queen Amidala stepped forward. “I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo. I come before you in peace.”
“Naboo biggen.” Boss Nass glared at her. “Yousa bringen da Mackineeks. Yousa all bombad. Yousa all die-n, mesa tink.”
At once the Gungan troops pointed their power poles toward the Queen, but she stood fast, saying only, “We wish to form an alliance.”
Suddenly one of her handmaidens stepped forward to speak. This too was part of the plan. On Tatooine, Padmé Naberrie had demonstrated bravery and cunning. Now she would need both.
“Your honor —” she began.
“Whosa dis?” Boss Nass demanded.
“I am Queen Amidala.”
The Boss stiffened with surprise. The Gungans fell into a stunned silence. Anakin’s jaw fell open.
Padmé — the real Queen — gestured toward the handmaiden who was dressed as Amidala. “This is my decoy — my protection, my loyal bodyguard. I am sorry for my deception, but under the circumstances it has become necessary to protect myself. Although we do not always agree, Your Honor, our two great societies have always lived in peace — until now. The Trade Federation has destroyed all that we have worked so hard to build. You are in hiding; my people are in camps. If we do not act quickly, all will be lost forever. I ask you to help us — no, I beg you to help us.”
As the Naboo people watched in shock, Queen Amidala slowly fell to her knees. “We are your humble servants. Our fate is in your hands.”
Captain Panaka strode forward. He too knelt before the Boss.
One by one, his troops joined him.
And Queen Amidala’s handmaidens.
And Anakin.
And finally, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Jar Jar.
Boss Nass chuckled. “Yousa no tinken yousa greater den da Gungans! Mesa like dis. Maybe wesa bein friends!”
At this point, you must decide whether to continue reading the adventure, or to play your own adventure in the Final Battle Game Book.
To play your own adventure, turn to the first page of the Game Book and follow the directions you find there.
To continue reading this Star Wars Adventure, turn the page!
Captain Panaka had been gone for hours to see if he could find any fugitive Naboo citizens hiding in the jungles. Queen Amidala had been discussing battle plans with the five Gungan generals for hours as well.
The Queen was young, the Gungans were fearless — but none had been tested in b
attle. Their words were brave and smart, but also reckless.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stayed quiet. Becoming involved in the affairs of the Naboo was a breach of the Jedi covenant. They could only discharge their duties — protecting the Queen — and nothing else.
Of course, if she asked their opinion, they were obliged to give it. So they never strayed far from her side.
Suddenly a lookout shouted, “Daza comin!”
“All riiight!” Anakin whooped. “They’re here!”
The Gungans murmured with excitement. Boss Nass was puffed up with the idea of war. He smiled at Jar Jar and put his arm solemnly around the smaller Gungan’s shoulder. “Yousa doen grand! Jar Jar bringen da Naboo together.”
“Oh, no, no, no, no ...” Jar Jar said modestly.
“So,” the Boss continued, “wesa maken yousa Bombad General.”
“GENERAL?” Jar Jar stiffened. His eyes rolled back and he flopped onto the ground in dead faint.
Qui-Gon heard the whoosh of approaching speeders — Naboo speeders.
Panaka was the first to come to a stop in the clearing. He was followed by his own troops — and some new ones, all Naboo citizens. As they exited the speeders, Panaka quickly dismounted and ran to the group.
“What is the situation?” the Queen asked.
“Almost everyone’s in camps,” Panaka replied. “A few hundred police and guards have formed an underground movement. I brought as many of the leaders as I could. The Trade Federation Army’s also much larger than we thought — and much stronger. Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think we can win.”
“The battle is a diversion,” the Queen asserted. “The Gungans must draw the droid army away from the cities. We can enter the city using the secret passages on the waterfall side. Once we get to the main entrance, Captain Panaka will create a diversion so that we can enter the palace and capture the viceroy. Without the viceroy, they will be lost and confused. What do you think, Master Jedi?”
“The viceroy will be well guarded,” Qui-Gon remarked.
Captain Panaka nodded. “The difficulty’s getting into the throne room. Once we’re inside, we shouldn’t have a problem.”
“There is a possibility with this diversion many Gungans will be killed,” Qui-Gon warned.
“Wesa ready to do oursa part!” Boss Nass declared.
“We have a plan that should immobilize the droid army,” the Queen said. “We will send what pilots we have to knock out the Droid Control Ship that is orbiting the planet. If we can get past their shields, we can sever communications, and their droids will be helpless.”
“A well conceived plan,” Qui-Gon said. “How ever, there’s great risk. The weapons on your fighters may not penetrate the shields.”
“And there’s an even bigger danger,” Obi-Wan spoke up. “If the viceroy escapes, Your Highness, he will return with another droid army.”
“That is why we must not fail to get the viceroy,” the Queen replied matter-of-factly. “Everything depends on it.”
The plaza was crawling with droids and tanks.
Qui-Gon pulled his head back behind the marble wall, where Obi-Wan and Queen Amidala stood tensely with Anakin, R2-D2, the handmaiden named Eirtaé, and about twenty Naboo guards.
The hangar door was close, maybe twenty yards away. Across the plaza, similarly hidden, were Captain Panaka and his team.
Queen Amidala took out a small laser device and signaled Panaka.
Qui-Gon leaned down to Anakin. “Once we get inside, Annie, you find a safe place to hide, and stay there.”
“Sure,” Anakin replied.
“And stay there,” Qui-Gon repeated pointedly.
DZZZZZZT! DZZZZZZZZT!
Blaster fire rang out. The droids instantly turned their backs, rushing toward the other side of the plaza.
The diversion cleared the plaza. Queen Amidala and her team raced across it and through the hangar door.
Inside, the droid force was smaller — but not nearly as small as Qui-Gon had hoped.
DZZZZZZZZT!
A blast screamed toward the Queen. Qui-Gon reached with his lightsaber and blocked it. The beam reversed back to the shooter, a droid who vaporized into a cloud of black smoke.
The team ran for cover. Blaster fire crisscrossed overhead, zinging off the hangar walls.
The Queen drew her blaster and returned fire. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stood by her, deflecting shots until her troops found cover. Anakin peeled off from the rest and hid behind one of the Naboo fighter ships.
As the Queen’s troops opened fire, the sound of exploding droids rang through the hangar.
“Get to your ships!” she shouted.
Behind her, the Naboo pilots raced for the fighter ships.
As they settled inside, one by one the ships levitated and took off. Out of the corner of his eye, Qui-Gon spotted Anakin hiding in the cockpit of an unused ship.
Good. The droids wouldn’t be firing there.
BOOOOOM!
Qui-Gon flinched. Outside, a Naboo Starfighter burst into flames, shot by a Trade Federation tank.
But the other ships had broken away and were soaring into the sky.
Captain Panaka’s troops stormed into the hangar door. The droid defense had been disabled.
Inside, they helped blast the few remaining droids into scrap metal.
In the smoky, metallic silence, the Queen called out, “My guess is the viceroy is in the throne room!”
The teams hurried across the hangar. As they neared the exit, Anakin’s head popped up from inside one the star fighters. “Hey, wait for me!" he called.
“No, Annie, you stay there,” Qui-Gon commanded. “Stay right where you are.”
“But I —”
“Stay in that cockpit!”
As the team reached the door, they suddenly stopped, falling back into defensive positions.
Qui-Gon grabbed his lightsaber, preparing for another assault.
But no droid army was entering, no battalion of warriors. Only one man blocked the door.
And he was more than enough.
On the Tatooine desert the warrior had been a predatory blur, but now Qui-Gon had a clear look. The face was hideous, tattooed in a jagged death-mask pattern of red and black. A ring of horns surrounded his head, and his yellow, soulless eyes glared only at Qui-Gon.
A Jedi felt no fear. That was part of the training, the creed. As a Jedi, Qui-Gon had long ago put aside fear in the service of his duty.
But as a human, he knew no feeling was ever truly forgotten.
The Sith Lord raised a lightsaber.
The Queen and Captain Panaka looked uncertainly at the two Jedi.
“We’ll handle this,” Qui-Gon murmured.
The Sith Lord snapped his wrists, holding his weapon sideways. Two columns of light shot out, left and right.
A double lightsaber. Twice as deadly.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan drew their weapons.
The Sith Lord lunged. Qui-Gon blocked one thrust, which nearly knocked him off his feet.
Obi-Wan struck hard, but the Sith Lord’s reflexes were astonishing. He blocked the thrust and sent Obi-Wan flying.
The Jedi sprang to their feet and swung at him from either side. But the Sith Lord moved as if defying the laws of physics, deflecting and attacking them both.
Soon he was not alone. Through the hangar door rolled three enormous metal wheels that unfolded to become destroyer droids.
They skittered forward, firing on the Naboo troops. Qui-Gon did not notice them. He could not take his eyes from the Sith Lord.
A sudden explosion rocked the hangar. Three destroyer droids blasted apart, attacked by —
Anakin’s starfighter!
The boy had taken the controls, and the vehicle rolled down the runway, picking off the destroyers one by one.
The Sith Lord swung hard and Qui-Gon nearly got it in the head. He could not afford to worry about the boy.
As the Naboo troops escaped through the h
angar door, the two Jedi stepped up their assault on the Sith Lord. But he was like a mirror, taking their energy and reflecting it back magnified.
He drove Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan forward through the hangar. They backed into a doorway that swung open, leading onto a narrow catwalk.
They were in the heart of the Theed power generator now, a cavernous pit crisscrossed by beams and walkways around the planet’s main generator. Below them the bottom dropped into a black void.
Downthrust. Uppercut. Sideswipe. The Sith Lord whirled as if the catwalk held no danger.
As he turned toward Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon lunged. He brought his lightsaber down hard toward the Sith Lord’s shoulder.
The evil warrior spun. With a deft block he deflected the blow, then followed through with a kick to Obi-Wan’s arm. The Padawan’s lightsaber went flying over the edge of the catwalk.
And so did Obi-Wan.
He fell fast, unfolding his body gracefully and reaching out.
His fingers grabbed onto the edge of a catwalk, several levels down. He held tight, hanging for his life.
Qui-Gon let loose a kick that sent the Sith Lord flying. His fall was broken by a catwalk two levels below.
Qui-Gon leaped after him. But the Sith Lord jumped to his feet and ran.
Just below them, Obi-Wan climbed to safety. Summoning the Force, he sprang upward, high above his own level, and landed on the catwalk behind Qui-Gon.
The Sith Lord raced through a small door and into a long hallway. Qui-Gon was close behind him, and Obi-Wan took pursuit.
With a sudden sharp hum, solid vertical walls of energy appeared, blocking the hallway. Qui-Gon stopped short, inches away from being vaporized.
On the other side of the energy wall, the Sith Lord mocked Qui-Gon with taunting facial expressions.
Nothing could happen now until the walls parted.
Be in the moment, Qui-Gon told himself.
The Sith Lord had shaken him. He would need to regain his balance.
Qui-Gon sat. Closing his eyes, he meditated and waited.
When the hum stopped and the wall disappeared, he charged.
The Sith Lord was at the end of the corridor now. It had become a walkway again, suspended over a new chamber, a deep melting pit.