A long time ago, in a galaxy far,

far away…

STAR WARS

Episode I

THE DARKNESS REVIVED

A thousand-year era of peace in the galaxy has ended. With corruption and bureaucracy dominating the Senate, ruling body of the GALACTIC REPUBLIC, the complaints of the people go largely unheard. Frustrated by the state of the government, a rebel organization called the SEPARATIST MOVEMENT has emerged in the far reaches of the galaxy, seeking to tear entire systems away from the Republic's rule by force.

With the Senate's politicians locked in endless debate, the Separatists have launched a siege of the small planet of Naboo, hoping to claim it for their cause. Knowing young Queen Amidala may be forced into submission before a political solution is reached, Supreme Chancellor Valorum has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights to rescue her…

Part 1: The Welcome Party

Blaster bolts flew wildly as the small, unmarked courier-class starship sped toward the lush, green planet of Naboo. Battleship turrets fired from their stationary positions in the blockade that cut off the small world from the rest of the galaxy. The courier's pilot had an easy time of dodging the turret shots. It was the fighters that posed the biggest threat. Called "vulture droids" by most, the fighters were unmanned space-worthy drones. Devoid of human fear, these starfighter droids easily copied every maneuver the expert pilot could think of, no matter how daring or insane.

The courier was forced to veer away from its course when another squad of vulture droids appeared in front of it. The quick little starship turned harshly and headed straight toward one of the enormous battleships. Only meters away from colliding with the larger ship's shield, the courier suddenly pulled up and flew parallel with the battleship's hull. The closest of its vulture droid pursuers slammed into the energy shield behind it.

"You're going to get us killed!"

Master Qui-Gon Jinn, the older of the two Jedi aboard the courier turned his head away from the action to look at his padawan apprentice.

"Calm yourself, Obi-Wan," he said, "we are in good hands."

Qui-Gon was a sixty year old human male with long brown hair, partially tied up in a simple band. His beard and mustache were kept well-groomed. His watchful blue eyes were capable of conveying kindness and comfort just as easily as they could cause an unruly padawan to freeze in an instant, a fact his apprentice had learned very quickly.

Qui-Gon's padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, put his hand to his forehead and sighed, working to take control of his fear as he'd been taught. He'd enjoyed flying when he was younger, even managing to become one of the best pilots among the other padawans, but enduring the rapid motion of space combat was something he'd never had to do before. The droids chasing and shooting at them certainly didn't help. The Republic had experienced a thousand years of peace, not a single full-blown war since its creation. The thought of doing more with his Jedi training than simply policing the galaxy's star systems was enticing, but the excitement of spaceborne dogfights was more than he would have wished for.

"Why things had to start picking up again during my lifetime is beyond me," he murmured to himself.

Obi-Wan was a twenty-five year old man with his auburn hair cut short, aside from a small ponytail near the base of his skull and a slender braid that fell over his right shoulder. The style was a mark of his status as an apprentice, though few outside the Jedi Order knew it.

With the artificial gravity aboard the starship, Obi-Wan knew he wouldn't get motion sickness, but there was no feature to guarantee they wouldn't be killed in a fiery crash. It was an image that refused to leave his mind, despite the training he'd received in the area of controlling his fear. And yet, there was nothing he could do about the fighters chasing them. He knew he had to put his trust in the courier's skilled pilot. He looked up at Qui-Gon and nodded his apology.

His master returned his attention to the trajectory of the ship.

"These ships have assembled from all over the galaxy," he observed aloud, "I've never seen such a variety in one fleet before."

"The Republic really let this revolt get out of hand! They should've put this thing down a long time ago," the pilot cried.

Qui-Gon leaned forward in his seat and pointed.

"There, an opening," he said, his voice calm and controlled as ever. Obi-Wan aspired to achieve that level of emotional discipline.

The pilot grunted her acknowledgement.

"I see it," she muttered.

Ruta Vostana was a caramel-skinned young woman of twenty years with dark, almost black hair tied up in a short ponytail with a silver band. Her light brown eyes had a tinge of orange in them and were partially hidden by the green-lensed goggles that sat just under the visor of her navy blue cap.

Ruta leaned to the right as she spun the yoke hard. The ship rotated a full one hundred and eighty degrees to avoid colliding head-on with two of the fighters. The vulture droids sped past just over their heads.

Through the transparisteel of the cockpit's ceiling, Obi-Wan could see it was a close call. He had to reach for a place of calm trust once again and looked ahead toward the planet before them. The pilot's quick dodge had left nothing between them and the lush jungles and plains of Naboo. He would have thought they were in the clear if it weren't for the multiple blips behind them on the scanner. The courier shook violently and he grasped his seat's restraints, sensing things were about to get worse.

"That was a big one!" the pilot cried.

"That blast blew a hole through our rear shield," Qui-Gon warned her, observing the ship's diagnostic screen. He looked at her. "If we're hit there again, we may lose our left propulsion."

"Well, we'll just have to get hit everywhere else first, won't we?" she replied sarcastically.

Obi-Wan grimaced.

Ruta laughed nervously.

"Look, I know one fast ship was probably our best shot at getting through this blasted blockade, but no one ever said it was actually possible to get through, so don't blame me if we die. Deal?"

"I promise my charred remains will forgive you," Obi-Wan replied.

"Calm your fear and focus on the task at hand," Qui-Gon advised her.

"Fear?" Ruta laughed haughtily. "This isn't my first suicide mission, Master Jedi Sir."

"Denying your emotions doesn't help you to control them."

"Would it help if I started meditating?" Ruta asked, her voice getting a little higher in pitch, "Because I really hope the Force is with us."

The three braced themselves as the courier swerved after taking a particularly nasty hit.

"Blast!" the pilot cursed. She deftly pressed several buttons on the console and the ship leveled out. "R4, divert some of our engine power to the rear shields," she said. The astromech droid attached to the hull just outside the cockpit bleeped back at her and did as it was told. "Okay, we're going to be a bit slower now so just warn me if the droids start catching up with us."

"Veer left, quickly," Qui-Gon ordered.

Ruta complied and three large blaster bolts flew past them on the right.

"You see?" the Jedi master continued, "the Force is with us."

"Cool trick," the pilot exclaimed appreciatively.

"Try diverting all power to the engines."

Ruta took her eyes off their course briefly to give Qui-Gon an incredulous glance.

"I know some of the people who recommended me would say I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid."

"Our main priority should be to get out of range of those battleship turrets," the Jedi Master explained.

Ruta let out a long "oh".

"Right, now that we're out of the thick of it, we're an easier target," she observed aloud.

"Precisely."

Ruta relayed the order to the astromech droid and they began bearing down on the planet at an alarming rate. Obi-Wan let a long breath out through his nose and leaned back in his chair. Calming himself was easier the third time, he noted. Perhaps he was starting to get used to the danger. It was an amusing notion, he thought.

"We'll be out of range in a few seconds at this rate," Ruta announced. She gripped the yoke harder.

There was a crash from somewhere behind the cockpit and the diagnostic screen began blinking bright red-orange. Obi-Wan could hear metal moaning and creaking.

"What did we just lose?" he asked.

"Just a panel….and a chunk of our power lines," Ruta replied. She cleared her throat and adjusted her position in her seat. "The engines'll only be able to run for a few seconds before we're on our own up here. We're going to have to make this a crash landing."

Obi-Wan maintained his calm as the pilot rapidly manipulated the controls, extending the ship's drag panels. She slowed the engines gradually until they stopped humming. With the engines useless, she focused on leveling the ship out.

"Okay, we're entering the atmosphere now. Hold on!" Ruta shouted at them over the roar of the planet's air protesting against their high-speed intrusion. The ship began to quake turbulently. The edges of the drag panels started to glow orange, heated by the atmospheric resistance.

Obi-Wan leaned forward to see what they'd be crashing into. They were zooming over droopy trees and what looked to be moist wetlands. It was encouraging to know they had a chance at a soft crash, if such a thing existed. He looked ahead and noticed the wetlands thinned considerably before vanishing into grassy plains, complete with large, light-colored rocks to tear the courier to pieces. He also noticed Ruta was keeping the ship on a straight course past the softer swamplands.

"Shouldn't we be aiming for the water down there?" he asked anxiously.

"If we angle down too drastically, we might end up diving nose-first into it," she shouted back, "besides, Theed is further up, after the plains. There's a lake next to the city, so we should be able to land safely if we make it that far."

"'If we make it that far' are definitely the words I wanted to hear."

The ship lurched when one of the drag panels ripped off the front of the hull and slammed into the R4 unit, tearing its upper half away with it. The droid's sad, panicked beeps became inaudible almost immediately as they left its head far behind them.

"Now we're really on our own," Ruta exclaimed through clenched teeth.

"We have confidence in your skill," Qui-Gon assured her, glancing back at Obi-Wan critically.

"Yes, more confidence than I'd have in my own," Obi-Wan contributed.

"Well, good," Ruta replied breathlessly, "at least that's two of us."

Obi-Wan raised an anxious eyebrow in his master's direction.

The courier sped over the plains. Ahead, there was a cliff that looked as if it were shimmering. Waterfalls, Obi-Wan guessed, or one very large waterfall. Although he knew it was impossible to continue indefinitely, the ship hadn't seemed to slow down since they'd entered the atmosphere. Even then, the grasslands were zipping past in a green blur. Their altitude had decreased to where they couldn't have been more than ten meters above the ground. He looked ahead again and saw the cliff rapidly approaching.

"See those waterfalls?" Ruta asked.

"Yes, and the cliff they're pouring over," Obi-Wan answered.

"Right, well, the city on top of that cliff is Theed, so we're almost there. Just be happy we didn't crash into the grass back there. The boulders would've shredded us."

Obi-Wan cleared his throat.

"Of course! I'm very glad."

The courier briefly touched the ground, causing a commotion of metallic groans and whines as the lower part of the outer hull was suddenly skimmed off and the empty cargo compartment flattened. The ship hopped ahead several more meters before skidding along the grass a second time. Just as Obi-Wan thought it'd be the end for them, the land gave way and the ship flew off the top of a hill, straight into the lake with a loud crash. The ship's aerodynamically-designed nose plowed through the water before it was finally forced to stop by the lake's resistance. For just a few seconds, the courier remained suspended underwater, but it soon started to sink further into the depths, which grew too dark to see the lake's bottom.

"We're not going to be able to open the cockpit under the water's pressure," Qui-Gon warned them as he undid his seat's restraints. He reached into his robes and produced a rebreather.

"Gotcha," Ruta replied. She pressed a button on the console, but nothing happened. She kicked the console. "Blast! There's no power to depressurize!"

Qui-Gon braced himself atop the arms of his chair and took his lightsaber from his belt. He ignited its glowing, blue blade and stabbed through the cockpit's metal wall. The water outside the window began to boil rapidly as it was exposed to the weapon's energy. Obi-Wan and the pilot secured their own rebreathers in their mouths and took off their restraints. Once they were both standing on their seats, Qui-Gon dragged the lightsaber to the side slowly, allowing water to begin pouring in behind it. He pulled the lightsaber out and quickly slashed at the wall, carving a square hole in the side of the ship. Water rushed in around them.

Despite the dekaliters of cool water filling the cockpit, it was still noticeably warm from its contact with the lightsaber's energy when it leaked into Obi-Wan's boots. Qui-Gon secured his lightsaber back on his belt and the three waited until the water level was above the top of the hole he'd carved. With the added weight of the water, the ship began to sink even faster. Qui-Gon submerged his head and took hold of the sides of the hole to push himself out of the ship and into the open water. The other two followed his example and they began swimming for the surface.

By the time they reached the lakeshore, all three were winded from the effort. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan began to wring out the bottoms of their tunics. Each Jedi had their own variation on the basic design of the Jedi robes, but it was easy to pick a member of the Order out of a crowd. Obi-Wan's robes were very simple, loose garments that closely resembled those of his master, but while the older Jedi wore dark brown pants, his were the same color of beige as his tunic and long vest. Both garments were cinched at the waist by a simple cloth belt with a brown leatheris one on top, which held the hook their lightsabers rested on. As was customary for members of the Order when they left the cloistered safety of the Jedi Temple, both wore a loose, dark brown hooded cloak over it all. They removed their cloaks and draped them over rocks on the lakeshore so they could dry in the balmy sunlight.

Ruta stowed her rebreather in one of the pockets on her dark gray cargo pants. She removed her goggles, placing them atop her cap, just above the visor, and took a seat in the grass. She wore an off-white gray shirt and black boots which showed obvious signs of having been used for many years on end. Over the shirt, she wore a brown jacket. Additional pockets had been sewn into the inner lining of the jacket, providing many places to hide small objects from view.

Once she'd caught her breath, Ruta sighed in relief.

"I'm not sure what I thought I was signing up for when I took this job, but it definitely wasn't that," she said.

Obi-Wan looked over at her.

"Out of curiosity, why did you take it?" he asked. He shrugged. "It's a dangerous job. The Chancellor must have offered you a fortune, but it's not as if you can enjoy the credits when you're dead."

"Well, I don't have much else going for me right now," Ruta admitted dejectedly, "I mean, after I lost my ship betting on the Keren raceway, the only thing I could really do was offer to fly other people's ships until I made enough to buy it back. The payment for this would mean that and then some so, it was kind of hard to refuse. Plus, I like to know it's for a good cause, right?"

"You care about the cause, do you?"

"If it means it'll get me a little favor with the big boys in the Galactic Senate, then yes," Ruta replied with a cheeky grin.

Obi-Wan kept himself from rolling his eyes. Qui-Gon cleared his throat and Ruta got to her feet.

"Not that I don't care about the queen's life or anything," she added quickly. "It's a tough job, ruling a planet with as many stuck up nobles as there are down here. Especially when you're only fourteen. Happy to help, you know?" She nodded at herself and brushed the grass off her pants.

"I'm sorry, fourteen?" Obi-Wan asked in disbelief, "the queen is only fourteen years old?"

"Yes?" Ruta replied.

Obi-Wan shrugged.

"How does a fourteen-year-old girl get elected queen of a planet?"

"That would be a question for the people of Naboo," Qui-Gon answered, "but as I hear, she has quite the talent for it. Chancellor Valorum described her as a child prodigy." He shook his head and gestured toward the cliff towering above them. "But it's something we can discuss later. Now, we should be focusing on getting her out of harm's way."

"Yes, Master."

Ruta nodded.

"Right, we should probably split up. If I go into the city alone, I won't attract as much attention. I'll be able to sneak in and get us another ship."

"Good thinking," Qui-Gon replied. He looked at his padawan. "We should be on our way to the palace."

Obi-Wan nodded and strained his neck to look up to the top of the enormous cliff. It was hard to see much beneath the layer of mist surrounding the waterfalls' bases, but he thought he caught a glimpse of the bottom of one watchtower.

"Is that the palace, directly above us?" he asked.

Qui-Gon looked up as well, using his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun reflecting off the droplets of water around them.

"Yes, unfortunately," he replied. He pointed toward the top of the cliff and began to trace a path downward. "If we're careful, we may be able to scale the cliff. The Separatists would not expect that."

"Because it's impossible?" Ruta muttered.

Qui-Gon lowered his arm and looked at her.

"Difficult, but not impossible," he corrected her.

"Because the Force is with you?" she guessed.

Qui-Gon smiled patiently.

"Exactly."

Ruta nodded and took a deep breath through her nose, looking over the wall of rock above them.

"You, uh…if you think you can make it to the top before the end of the week, I wish you good luck. I'm going to head that way," she pointed to her left, "and climb up from the hill side."

"That'll take you further away from the hangar and you're unarmed," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"What?" Ruta looked down at her belt and noticed there was nothing in her holster. "My blaster!" she shrieked. She turned toward the lake and kicked sand at it. "I can't believe this!"

"There are alternatives to fighting," Qui-Gon reminded them both.

"Sure, but if these Separatists could be reasoned with, they wouldn't have ignored our hails and started shooting at us up there," Ruta grumbled.

"We were told to expect resistance."

Ruta shook her head and sighed dejectedly.

"I know, I know. I'll manage." She straightened her posture and grinned. "Besides, they're not looking for one little lady like me." She held up her comlink. "Call me when you're ready for a pickup," she said as she turned her back on them.

Obi-Wan looked to his master and raised both eyebrows.

"It's vital that we remain unnoticed," Qui-Gon told him, turning toward the cliff. "The Separatists don't know who we are or what we're capable of. With luck, they will assume we were killed in the crash, or are still trapped in our ship at the bottom of the lake. As long as they believe that, they have no reason to move the queen to a more secure location." He pulled his cloak back over his telltale Jedi robes and raised the hood over his head. "Keep to the rocks. We don't want to leave footprints if they decide to look for us down here." He began to skirt the lakeshore, heading toward the cliff side.

Obi-Wan put his cloak on and followed him.

"Where do you think they'll be keeping her now?" he asked.

"The most defensible location would be the palace, which is why it's the first place to look."

"Yes, well, that would make it too obvious, wouldn't it? They'd expect a rescue party to look there."

Qui-Gon stepped up on one of the larger rocks and used it to leap to a higher one.

"The Separatists wouldn't expect a rescue party," he said, "not this soon, anyway. The Chancellor did not consult the Senate before sending us here."

Obi-Wan climbed after him.

"Does that make this illegal?" he grunted.

"Valorum may be a politician, but he is not so out of touch as to think his career is more important than an entire planet's safety."

Obi-Wan laughed quietly to himself as he worked to keep up with his master. Qui-Gon climbed quickly, despite his apparent age. The speed and agility of a fully-trained Jedi were difficult to match. Luckily, Obi-Wan was nearing the end of his apprenticeship.

"It makes sense, then, that he would send you, Master," he shouted as he jumped over a gap between two ledges.

"I hope you mean because of my skill and reliability," Qui-Gon replied over the roar of the nearby falls.

"There is that," Obi-Wan agreed. He paused to hoist himself onto the next rock. "And there is what Master Yoda calls your 'defiance'," he concluded.

Qui-Gon chuckled.

"It may not be sanctioned by the Council, but it serves me well."

"Even if it keeps you from being chosen for a seat on the Council?"

"There are always sacrifices, regardless of which path you choose to follow."

Obi-Wan nodded to himself and decided to save his breath for the rest of the trek ahead of them. He looked toward the top of the cliff again to see they'd made more progress than he would've expected in the time they'd been climbing. Still, there was plenty of rock left to scale. It'd be arduous work, but he could easily see why his master thought the Separatists wouldn't be expecting them. It was a good idea, if they could keep up the pace.

[NEXT]

Finally above the fog, Obi-Wan could see what he'd spotted before. It was a slender, cylindrical tower made of light beige bricks with a gray-green rounded roof. It'd been built on a ledge just below the top of the cliff, where another tower and the base of the palace wall sat. He wondered if there'd be Separatist lookouts stationed in those watchtowers. They might've seen the crash, but the cliff was too steep for anyone inside to see if they'd survived. At least, that was his hope.

The sun was beginning to set when Qui-Gon stopped hiking a few meters ahead of him, just above the ledge he was standing on. Obi-Wan estimated they'd been hiking up the cliff for at least two hours. Once atop the ledge, he stopped to look back. Several meters to his right, the wide waterfall was pouring down into the thick mist. Most of the lake was hidden by the mist, but he could see where the far end of it turned into the great expanse of green that was the grasslands. He spotted the scar of exposed dirt where the ship had skidded into the water. It was just a dark line from that distance. He turned back around to watch his master, who seemed fixated on the cliff side next to him.

"Master, is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yes, better than alright," Qui-Gon replied, "come over here, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan did as he was told, climbing up onto the next ledge so he could stand beside his master. There was an opening in the cliff, barely big enough for a man to walk through. It was dark inside, too dark see where or how far the tunnel went.

"I don't understand," Obi-Wan said, "does this lead into the city somehow?"

Qui-Gon pointed at the opening.

"What can you sense?"

Obi-Wan reached within his mind to touch the ever-present entity of the Force. He could sense it at all times, but not as strongly as he did when he focused on it. He'd always admired Jedi Master Yoda, who could sense even the faintest ripple in the Force at any given time.

After he'd concentrated on the Force in him, he could sense it all around him, in the rock of the cliff face, in his master beside him, and in the cave before him. He focused on the cave. It continued ahead of him for several meters, before breaking off into four different forks, each leading to even more forks, which led to more forks. The tangled span of the cave system was overwhelming. He blocked it out. He knew they needed to proceed ahead, then up. Any path that didn't lead in that direction was irrelevant. He quickly reached with his enhanced senses toward the paths that met his requirements. There were five different tunnels that possibly went to the surface close by. He withdrew himself from the cave system and turned his head to look at Qui-Gon.

"There are so many," he murmured.

Qui-Gon nodded.

"Focus your senses on what we need," he advised.

Obi-Wan nodded back.

"Yes, I sensed several paths we could use to enter the city," he said, "but I don't see why they wouldn't be blocked off. It makes the city vulnerable, doesn't it?"

"Mapping every tunnel would take a very long time," Qui-Gon pointed out, "Naboo is a porous planet, covered in natural caves like this one. I'm sure the royal guard has mapped out several sections of it, but they would never be able to locate them all. Hopefully, we'll come across one of the tunnels they marked as an escape route."

Qui-Gon ducked slightly to avoid a low-hanging rock as he entered the cave. Obi-Wan was dubious about the success of his chosen approach, but he'd learned a long time ago to trust in his master's judgment. He put his concerns aside and followed him into the darkness of the tunnel.

"Keep alert," Qui-Gon told him, "this isn't a smooth surface to walk on."

"Yes, Master."

As he walked, Obi-Wan focused most of his attention on the cave's floor, relying on the Force to guide his steps. He could hear his master was making quicker progress than he was, but didn't allow it to distract him. Several minutes in, he was comfortable enough to split his focus between choosing his steps and keeping up with Qui-Gon. Once he was able to match his speed, the two Jedi hiked through the cave system quickly.

After about twenty minutes, Obi-Wan heard his master stop. His senses aided by the Force, he could almost see Qui-Gon take a tentative step forward into a tunnel that intersected the one they stood in. As the sole of his boot touched the ground, the tunnel slowly lit up. Obi-Wan blinked in the unexpected light, then looked where the light was coming from to see a small glowing bar installed in the wall at about waist-height.

"We're on the right track," Qui-Gon murmured.

Obi-Wan moved forward to peek into the intersecting tunnel. It continued upward at a sharp angle in one direction, and gradually dribbled downward in the other. The walls and floors had been ground down to create a smooth, uniformly wide tunnel. The ground had several patterns carved into it for traction while a metal bar lined the steep incline for support.

"One of the escape tunnels you mentioned, Master?" he asked.

"Most likely, yes." Qui-Gon proceeded upward. "Keep close."

Obi-Wan complied as they rushed up the tunnel's ascent. When they walked near them, more lights would flicker on to light their way. They passed many tunnels that branched off of the lit path, leading away into other sections of the cave system. The shaft opened up once into a large cavern that couldn't be completely lit by the tiny bars, but the designated path ignored it completely, leading them across it and back into another tunnel.

"You could hide an entire civilization in these tunnels," Obi-Wan mused.

Qui-Gon looked around them at the great expanse of still darkness.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was one somewhere down here," he agreed.

Obi-Wan chose not to think about his master being right. The last thing they needed at that time was to be swarmed by mole people.

The two Jedi sped along until they were finally forced to stop in front of a plain metal door. Qui-Gon stepped to the side and placed his hand on the wall next to the door. Obi-Wan felt along the other side of the door until he located a small, unmarked button, but didn't press it. He glanced over at his master, who had his eyes closed. After waiting a few seconds, Qui-Gon opened his eyes and nodded at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan pressed the button.

Three droids armed with blasters looked up when Qui-Gon emerged from the hole in the wall. They were beige in color, with red markings, and shaped like incredibly scrawny humanoids with long, angular heads. Obi-Wan rushed through the open door behind him and swung his green-bladed lightsaber downward, slicing one through its head. Qui-Gon cut the barrel off a second droid's carbine. The third droid raised its blaster and fired. With a flick of his wrist, Obi-Wan deflected the bolt off the blade of his lightsaber and back into the droid's metal chest.

"Oh," the remaining droid said in its robotic voice.

Qui-Gon finished it off by slicing it in half. The two Jedi flicked their lightsabers off and placed them back on their belts.

"Only three?" Obi-Wan asked no one in particular, looking over the scrap metal.

Qui-Gon twisted back and closed the escape tunnel door, which vanished seamlessly into the beige wall of the palace hallway.

"Do you notice anything strange about these droids?" he asked.

Obi-Wan nudged one of the droids' arms with the toe of his boot.

"They're unusual," he said, "they look like Trade Federation security droids, just painted a little differently. Their weapons are those of soldiers, like they've been converted for battle."

Qui-Gon nodded and proceeded down the hall.

"Curious," Obi-Wan continued while following his master, "why would there be Trade Federation droids on Naboo? Are they helping the Separatists?"

"A logical conclusion," Qui-Gon commented. "Logical, but dangerous. The Trade Federation is a powerful economic force in the Republic. If they lent their funds and, in this case, droids to the Separatists' cause, it would mean this uprising could be bigger than anyone in the Senate is aware. The Jedi Council, as well."

"If the Trade Federation is involved in this invasion, we should find proof of it," Obi-Wan suggested, "once they're dealt with, it will discourage anyone else from trying to benefit from treason."

"If we can, we will," Qui-Gon replied, "but our primary concern is rescuing the queen and we can't risk her safety by putting off our escape to gather more information."

"Yes, of course, Master."

The two Jedi stopped abruptly when they heard the clacking of droid feet on the stone floor of the hallway that intersected the one they were traversing, only a few meters ahead of where they stood. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon quickly dashed forward to the wall to their left and pressed their backs against it. Obi-Wan put his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber while Qui-Gon inched forward until he was at the corner.

"I heard talking that way," a droid voice announced.

"Ahead or in your head?" another droid replied in a slightly lower tone.

"I'm not programmed to be crazy."

"There's a patrol in that hall. They can hear us talking too."

Qui-Gon glanced back at Obi-Wan, who raised one eyebrow.

"We should take a look," the higher-pitched voice stated.

"Negative!" the second droid declared, "Our orders are to guard the throne room. You are programmed to follow your orders."

"Fine."

Qui-Gon glanced back again and gestured for his apprentice to come closer.

"I guess we know where the throne room is," Obi-Wan whispered once he'd complied.

Qui-Gon took a peek around the corner, then looked back at Obi-Wan.

"Stay close," he whispered, "we can't risk raising an alarm now."

The Jedi Master dashed around the corner, into the intersecting hall with Obi-Wan close on his heels. He zipped over to the hallway's right wall and pointed ahead. Obi-Wan could see the hall continued for several meters before a pair of wide, round columns marked the location of an enormous set of double doors in an alcove against the wall they were standing beside. Two droids were standing by the columns, but had yet to notice the quick Jedi. Another three-droid squad was patrolling the hall, walking away from where the two Jedi stood. The electric hum of an energy field suggested there was a shield active nearby.

Qui-Gon slowly crept forward, keeping a distance of five meters between himself and the droid patrol as they made their way toward the columns. Once the three droids of the patrol were directly in front of the two guarding the alcove, Qui-Gon sprang into action, igniting his lightsaber as he leapt up behind the closest of the droids. He sliced it in half horizontally, then cut another down before it could react. Close behind him, Obi-Wan destroyed a third by stabbing it through its droid brain. The remaining two droids brought their blasters up.

From their position, Obi-Wan could see into the alcove, which had been mostly hidden by the enormous columns before. A different kind of droid with three stubby legs, an arched body, and two arms equipped with rapid-fire blasters awaited them. The energized hum was louder there and Obi-Wan could see why: a shimmering bubble of light blue surrounded the new droid, an obvious energy shield. It also trained its weapons on the Jedi.

"Master, a droideka!" he exclaimed.

Qui-Gon saw it as well and turned so all three droids were in front of him. The droideka opened fire on him. Aided by the Force, he was able to deflect the blaster bolts off his lightsaber, but Obi-Wan could see it wasn't easy. The blasters the droideka wielded allowed it to send a constant shower of bolts at his master and the deflected bolts were absorbed harmlessly in the droideka's shield.

Obi-Wan glanced at the remaining two droids and saw they were prepared to focus on Qui-Gon as well. Had his master been holding two lightsabers, he might've been able to handle it, but no Jedi, no matter how in touch with the Force he was, could block attacks from three directions at once with a single lightsaber. Obi-Wan trusted his master to keep the droideka at bay while he ran out from behind him and sliced through both arms of one of the droids. Its blaster carbine fell to the floor and Obi-Wan used the Force to shove the droid away from it while swiping his lightsaber's blade out to decapitate the second droid.

"Obi-Wan!" he heard his master shout.

Obi-Wan spun around just in time to deflect a shower of blaster bolts meant for his torso. With the droideka's two blasters focused on separate targets, the onslaught was definitely less ferocious, but it was enough to keep both Jedi on the defensive.

From the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan spotted the disabled droid getting back on its feet. It may have been unable to pick up a blaster, but it could alert the Separatists to their presence. He focused on one of the incoming blaster bolts in particular and angled his lightsaber with a quick flick of the wrist. The bolt ricocheted off the energized blade of the lightsaber and nailed the disabled droid in its chest.

"Good!" Qui-Gon shouted over the noise of the droideka's fire.

"What about the shield?" Obi-Wan replied through clenched teeth as he worked hard to keep from getting shot.

"The columns!"

Obi-Wan blocked one last blaster bolt before ducking behind the closest column, the one to the doors' left. Qui-Gon jumped behind the other. Obi-Wan heard the droideka's metal feet clack on the floor as it advanced out of the alcove. He peeked around the column to see it turn toward where Qui-Gon had taken cover. He waited until it had the Jedi Master in its sights to leap out from behind it and bring his lightsaber down on its shield. The Jedi weapon swiped through the energy shield with little resistance before slicing the droideka's shield generator in two. The droideka began to turn around, but it was incredibly slow on its nubby legs. Obi-Wan had no trouble cutting its upper half off. Qui-Gon switched his lightsaber off as he came to stand beside his apprentice and the fallen droideka.

"Very good, Obi-Wan," he said.

Obi-Wan let out a sigh of relief.

"We're lucky there weren't two of them," he said.

Qui-Gon nodded his agreement.

"Personal shield generators are ridiculously expensive," he said, "the Separatists would not have been able to afford them without the help of the Trade Federation."

"With these droidekas on Naboo, the Senate will find all the proof they need of the viceroy's treachery," Obi-Wan commented.

"If the Senate is able to stop its arguing long enough to approve military action against the blockade, yes. Still, I'm sure the viceroy is confident they won't for a very long time."

Obi-Wan sighed again and turned to face the double doors.

"Well," Qui-Gon began, starting toward the door, "at least we'll have the queen safe soon. The Separatists will never get this planet to surrender without her consent."

"How could one person keep the whole planet from surrendering?" Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon touched the door and briefly sized it up.

"It's the power of a people's love and loyalty," he replied, "not all rulers are capable of earning that in such a short time."

He reached over and touched the door's control panel. The panel bleeped obnoxiously and flashed red.

"Worth a try," Obi-Wan stated.

Qui-Gon switched his weapon on again and jabbed the blue beam of energy into the door. As he twisted, molten metal began to plop onto the floor in clumps. Obi-Wan turned to face the hall, his lightsaber still in hand. He slid into a defensive stance and waited. Qui-Gon slowly dragged his lightsaber through the door. He stopped and looked at what he'd cut so far.

"These blast doors are much thicker than I thought," he muttered for Obi-Wan's benefit before starting again. He worked slower, taking long enough for the lightsaber's heat to melt through the layers of metal it wasn't long enough to cut directly.

Obi-Wan continued to wait, but nothing came after them. He guessed the Separatists still didn't know they'd made it as far as they had. Once Qui-Gon cut enough of the door for them to get through, he proceeded inside. Obi-Wan followed him, careful to avoid the molten metal of the hole's rough edges.