A more detailed version of my previously posted Prequel Rewrites. The idea is the same though; What if Disney allowed me to do a remake of the Prequel Trilogy? This is the basic plot and story for those movies. Hopefully, I will tell a story that is both more exciting and fun, but also more true to what we are told in the Original Trilogy about Luke and Leia's parents.

A Phantom Menace rewrite

Star Wars Episode 1

Forces of Corruption

For a thousand generations, the JEDI KNIGHTS have been the guardians of peace and justice throughout the Old Republic. It has been centuries since the last war was fought. But turmoil has arisen once again. A rogue Jedi, named DOOKU SERENNO, has abandoned the Jedi Order, who he feels are too passive in fighting the increasing corruption that is undermining the Senate. To prove his point, Dooku has for the past decade orchestrated piracy across the galaxy to force the Jedi to take a more active part.

The increase in piracy has forced the Senate into creating not only a REPUBLIC FLEET, but also a REPUBLIC ARMY, to protect shipping throughout the galaxy and to counter this growing threat. These fleets and armies are funded by a massive increase in taxes, taxes that has enraged many of the most powerful systems of the Republic, who feel that they are burdened by unjust demands.

Fearing that Dooku has turned to the DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE, the corrupt powers of the mysterious energy-field that is the source to all the extraordinary abilities possessed by the Jedi Knights, the Jedi Order has dispatched several knights to apprehend Dooku and bring him to justice. Two such Jedi are currently following a lead that has taken them to the small planet of Naboo.

Naboo:

An AA-9 Botajef freighter, the Lady Aurora, is in orbit of the planet. Its crew are a mixture of mercenaries and adventurers of various alien races. The captain, a large four-armed besalisk by the name of Dex, walks around the bridge and surveys the screens and displays at each station. He eventually walks past the pilot, a dug, and joins two passengers who are standing by the forward-facing viewports of the bridge. The two passengers are dressed in hoods and robes; they are Obi-Wan Kenobi, a bearded Jedi knight in his forties, and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, a tall youth in his early twenties.

"All is quiet" Dex tells the Jedi. "Only freighters on our scanners. Merchants and smugglers."

Anakin turns to Obi-Wan, hands resting against his belt ( as we see Vader doing in the Original Trilogy ). "Perhaps your contact on Takodana is not as reliable as you thought, master." ( Takodana is of course a reference to The Force Awakens )

"I have no reason not to trust her" Obi-Wan says. "Yet."

Dex chuckles. "I thought you Jedi would have more respect for the difference between knowledge and wisdom."

"Need I remind you of what happened on Subterrell?" Obi-Wan says.

Dex chuckles. "Be careful with this one, boy" he tells Anakin. "Your master has many dirty tricks up his sleeve." And Dex heads back to his crew.

Anakin eyes Dex and then looks back at Obi-Wan. "Should I tell him of the time you fell into a nest of gundarks?"

Obi-Wan sighs. "Again, it was not my fault. You really do need to re-evaluate the part you played in that…"

"Catastrophe?" Anakin cuts in with a smile.

Obi-Wan is a bit uncomfortable. "I wouldn't go as far as to call it that. I chose to view it as a learning experience for you, my young apprentice."

"You chose to view that disaster as beneficial?" Anakin is clearly surprised.

Obi-Wan nods. "Of course. How we chose to view life is essential to how we come to terms with the obstacles we face. From a certain point of view, even failure can be seen as success. You have much to learn, young one."

At a distance from Naboo, another ship appears out of hyperspace with four fighters as escort. The larger ship is the Bloody Rathtar ( very similar design to the Space Freighter WIP made by DanD over at ) and together with its escort it sets a course for the distant planet of Naboo.

On the bridge of Lady Aurora, Obi-Wan senses something through the Force and Anakin notices this.

"What is it, master?"

"I sense something" Obi-Wan says. "A presence in the Force. Dooku is here." Obi-Wan turns to Dex, "Has a ship just recently arrived in the system?"

Dex leans in over a crewmember and checks his station and nods. "The Bloody Rathtar just exited hyperspace" he says. "Bad news for us."

"How so?" Obi-Wan wonders.

Dex turns to the Jedi. "She's a well known marauder and privateer. A pirate-ship, captained by Mara Dendron, a woman as vicious as they come."

Obi-Wan nods. "That's the ship we are after. Anakin, get ready."

Anakin heads to leave the bridge, and passes the pilot. "Keep an eye out, Sebulba, you might learn a thing or two about flying today." And with a smile, he leaves.

Sebulba curses in huttese as the Jedi leaves the bridge and the doors slide shut.

Onboard the Bloody Rathtar, Dooku Serenno, a bearded man in his sixties, enters the bridge and walks up to the ships captain, Mara Dendron, a woman with an eyepatch attached over her one eye ( just as Captain Tycho in Episode 2 ).

Dooku asks, "Are there any suspicious ships close-by?"

"No" Mara tells him. "Only transports and cargo-ships. Nothing to worry about."

Dooku is not convinced and walks up to the view-ports and looks out into space.

"Is something wrong?" Mara asks him.

"I'm not sure" Dooku tells her.

The Lady Aurora slowly closes the distance to the Bloody Rathtar.

"Careful" Obi-Wan says. "We must not alert them of our intentions."

Dex, standing by Sebulba, turns to the dug pilot. "You heard the Jedi. Close the distance, but don't look like you're closing the distance."

Sebulba curses in huttese once more as he adjusts his controls.

Eventually, the ships are close enough for both crews to see each other in the view-ports.

Obi-Wan gives the command, "Now!"

Dex turns to his crew and gives the order. "Open gunports and fire!"

Along the hull of the Lady Aurora, several hatches slide open and reveal turbo-lasers turrets that immediately open fire on the Bloody Rathtar. From a hangarbay on the Lady Aurora a small fighter shoot out at full speed; it is piloted by Anakin Skywalker, together with the astromech-droid T7.

( the fighter is a wedge-shaped Jedi starfighter, but with pod-racer'ish engines attached to its sides, with the droid mounted behind the pilot in a classic fashion, giving it a W-style shape. The droid-class we recognize from The Knights of the Old Republic MMO )

Anakin, operating his fighter, says, "Alright, T7, full power to engines. We're gonna need it".

As the two larger vessels shoot at each other, the fighter-escort tries to engage Anakin, but he expertly avoids their fire and heads straight for the Bloody Rathtar. As Anakin closes with the Rathtar, he flips a couple of switches.

"Redirect all auxiliary power to shields!" Anakin tells T7 who responds with beeps and chirps.

Anakin avoids incoming fire with some fancy flying and then forces his way through the Rathtars shields. He struggles to keep his fighter under control as he is now dangerously close to the Rathtars hull. In his cockpit, red lights are flashing and alarms are sounding. T7 is obviously unhappy.

"I know, I know!" Anakin responds as he struggles to keep the fighter under control. "Ready torpedoes!"

T7 replies and Anakin fires two balls of light at point-blank-range that detonate against the Rathtar.

On the Rathtars bridge, everyone are thrown off balance as a result of the torpedoes striking the hull of the ship.

Anakin pulls away from the Rathtar, once more pushing through the shields and is instantly attacked by the four hostile fighters.

On the Bloody Rathtars bridge, a crewmember turns in his chair and informs everyone. "They've taken out the hyperdrive-motivator! We can't jump to hyperspace!"

Mara is furious. "How is that possible?! Our shields are still operational!"

The crew explains. "Their fighter managed to push through our shields and launched its torpedoes at point-blank-range!"

Dooku, watching the Lady Aurora from the viewports, turns around. "I suggest you prepare to be boarded."

Anakin guns down one of the enemy fighters. Another launches a pair of missiles and Anakin dives down to the top-layer of the planets atmosphere; his fighter begins to heat up from friction, and so does the two missiles that eventually overheat and explode, after which Anakin pulls away from the planet once more, chased by the three enemy fighters.

"T7" Anakin says, "On my mark, activate retro-rockets." T7 replies with beeps. "Now!"

The Jedi fighter almost comes to a sudden stop as the retro-rockets ignite, and the three hostile fighters flies past at high speed. Anakin launches a missile after one of the enemy fighters and then veers off to gun down another. The missile hits its target and destroys it. The last of the enemy fighters come up behind Anakin and blasts away with its cannons.

"Alright" Anakin says as he takes some hits. "Let's see what you can do."

Anakin lures the enemy fighter in between the two larger ships that are firing at each other and continues the dogfight there, something that T7 is not comfortable with. After a brief chase, the enemy pilot has lost Anakin and looks around for him; unaware that Anakin is actually flying beneath him. Anakin looks up at the enemy fighter with a cocky smile and then barrel-rolls around the other fighter and waves at the pilot. The enemy pilot freaks out and begins evasive maneuvers, but in the end Anakin manage to shoot him down.

"Fighter-escort has been taken care of, master" Anakin says over the com-link. "You're cleared to move in."

On the bridge of the Lady Aurora, Obi-Wan responds over his handheld com-unit. "Good work, Anakin. But next time, less showing off and more effective flying, if you wouldn't mind."

Anakin smiles. "I'll try to keep it in mind, master" and turns back to the two fighting larger vessels.

The Lady Aurora moves up next to the Bloody Rathtar and both ships exchange salvos. Docking-ramps extend from the Aurora and latch onto the Rathtar. On the Aurora, the crew prepares to board the other ship and Dex and Obi-Wan have joined them. Dex, having four arms, is equipped with two blaster-pistols and a larger blaster-rifle at once. Obi-Wan unhooks his lightsaber-hilt.

"Remember" Obi-Wan says, "We need Dooku alive."

Dex response is, "What we need, and what we get, are two very different things."

"How very true" Obi-Wan agrees.

And at that moment, Dex's crew begin to cut their way through the Rathtars airlock. They are all tense as the cutting continues and nears completion. Having cut the airlock open, an explosive is placed on the door.

"Fire in the hole!"

The explosive detonates and blasts open the airlock. Dex's crew begins the boarding attempt and the firefight is extreme as they face the Rathtars crew in defensive positions.

( what you basically have here is a reverse scene of what we begin A New Hope with; here, we follow the crew that intend to board the other vessel, as opposed to following the crew being boarded, in A New Hope )

Obi-Wan joins the fray and blocks multiple blaster-shots, allowing Dex's crew to advance behind him. They eventually reach a junction where they fortify and engage the enemy down three corridors.

Obi-Wan turns to Dex. "The bridge should be down that way!" and points down one of the corridors defended by the enemy crew.

"Well then" Dex says, "Why are we sitting around here for?!" and steps out to fire all of his guns down the corridor.

Obi-Wan takes the lead and Dex and the crew follow him down the corridor that will take them to the bridge. Eventually, they have to stop and regroup, at which point Sebulba catches up to them and joins in on the fighting. A gungan on Dex's crew steps out of cover to fire his blaster but is gunned down by the enemy, and as he hits the ground, Sebulba shoots the body. Dex looks at Sebulba with confusion.

"I never did like him" Sebulba says in broken English.

Mara Dendron, Dooku Serenno and two pirates enter a hangar on the Bloody Rathtar, echoes of the fighting filling the ship. They head for a shuttle.

"I'm not used to running from a fight" Mara says, a bit annoyed.

"You are up against Jedi" Dooku explains. "I assure you, there is no use in fighting. You are better off escaping."

They enter the shuttle and leave, with Mara behind the controls and Dooku in a passengers-seat. As the shuttle exits the hangarbay and leaves the Bloody Rathtar behind, they almost instantly come under fire from Anakins fighter, who in turn is fired upon by the shuttles gun-turret.

Anakin reports over the com-link. "Master, I have one shuttle trying to escape the Rathtar. I am in pursuit."

On the Rathtar itself, Obi-Wan responds. "Good work, Anakin. Try not to destroy them. Dooku might be on that shuttlecraft."

"Copy that" Anakin says.

On the Rathtar the doors to the bridge are forced open and Obi-Wan, Dex and Sebulba, along with other crewmembers, enter the bridge and manage to capture some of the enemy crew. They hurry to secure the ship. Dex checks some of the controls on the bridge.

"We are in control" Dex says. "No escape pods have been launched."

Sebulba listens to his com-unit and then turns to Dex and speaks in huttese.

Dex translates for Obi-Wan. "There is no sign of Dooku or of captain Dendron."

Obi-Wan contacts Anakin. "Anakin, we have been unable to locate Dooku or the ships captain. They have most likely escaped."

Anakin understands. "Which means they are most likely onboard this shuttle."

"Exactly" Obi-Wan says. "You must not let it escape."

"Understood, master."

Anakin follows the shuttle and both ships shoot at each other.

On the Rathtar, Sebulba searches the ship for people hiding or for valuables. He comes across several escape-pods and looks through the viewport of the airlock, realizing that many of them are overloaded with explosives.

On the shuttle, piloted by Mara Dendron, Mara retrieves a remote detonator from her jacket and presses the trigger.

Sebulba jumps as suddenly, many of the escape-pods are launched automatically. The pods race towards the Lady Aurora, and being packed with explosives, act like cheap torpedoes that detonate at point-blank-range. The dozen or so explosions begin to rupture both ships and tear them apart. Onboard the Rathtar, Obi-Wan struggles as the ship is heaving and shaking, but climbs into an escape-pod and launches.

T7 beeps and Anakin turns to look over his shoulder and witnesses as the Aurora and the Rathtar explode violently.

Obi-Wans escape-pod take a beating from the explosion and is damaged, and Obi-Wan is thrown around inside of it because of this.

Anakin activates his com-link. "Master?! Master, are you alright?!"

In the escape-pod, Obi-Wan retrieves his com-unit. "I'm alive, Anakin. But my escape-pod is damaged. But that is not important. You must capture Dooku."

Anakin manages his controls and spots Obi-Wans pod. "Master, you're out of control. You wont be able to make a controlled landing. You need my help."

Obi-Wan is not interested. "Anakin! Capturing Dooku has priority here. I order you to keep up the pursuit."

"Sorry, master" Anakin says. "You're breaking up, I can't here you."

"Damn it Anakin, do not let Dooku escape!"

Anakin abandons the pursuit of the shuttle and heads after Obi-Wans escape-pod. Dookus shuttle heads for the planet. Obi-Wans pod hits atmosphere and begins to burn up, with Anakin in pursuit of the ball of flame. Obi-Wan is trying to gain control of the pod but the controls are barely responding. As they get closer to the ground, they realize things are looking really bad.

"Pull up!" Anakin says over the com-link. "Obi-Wan, pull up!"

Obi-Wan quickly straps himself in and moments later the pod crashes into the Naboo swamps with a massive splash, frightening a myriad of local animals that flee in panic. Anakin circles, opens the cockpit canopy and jumps down to the ground and begins to hurry on over to the crash-site. In the pod, Obi-Wan wakes up and realizes that the pod is leaking and water is slowly filling the compartment. He gets out of the pilots-seat and tries to open the hatch, but it is stuck.

"This is a fine mess" Obi-Wan tells himself.

Anakin reaches the crash-site, spotting the thrusters of the escape-pod sticking up out of the swamp. Anakin reaches out with a hand, closes his eyes, and slowly but surely lifts the pod out of the swamp and onto dry land. The hatch is forced open and Obi-Wan climbs out, and Anakin rushes over to help his drenched master.

"Well, that went better than expected" Obi-Wan says as he catches his breath.

"You know, master" Anakin says, "I find your lack of confidence in me a bit disturbing."

"Not at all, my young apprentice" Obi-Wan says with a smile, placing a hand on Anakins shoulder. "It is I that finds your confidence disturbing." They begin to walk towards Anakins fighter that T7 is settling down on the ground a bit of a walk away from them. "You do know it is highly irregular for an apprentice to disobey a direct order from his tutor? I ordered you to capture Dooku at all cost."

"I am sorry, master" Anakin says. "Your communications-device must have suffered some interference."

Obi-Wan is clearly not convinced. "No matter" he then says. "He came to this planet for a reason, and we will find that reason. We still have hope of apprehending Dooku and foiling his plans."

At that point, three skiffs ( the smaller flying vehicles accompanying Jabbas Sail Barge in Return of the Jedi ) fly in overhead and circle them, eventually hovering in place and unloading a dozen Naboo soldiers each that all aim their blasters at the two Jedi.

"Calm down, Anakin" Obi-Wan says and raises his arms to surrender. "This is not a set-back. All is as the Force wills it."

Reluctantly, Anakin raises his arms to surrender as well. "It may be the will of the Force, master, but I would still call it a set-back."

An officer in command steps forward and eyes both Jedi with stern eyes. "I am captain Panaka of Her majesty's royal household guard. Lay down your weapons and surrender, in the name of Her majesty, Queen Amidala of Naboo."

"I fully intend to comply, captain" Obi-Wan says, "but may I ask on what charges I am being arrested?"

Panaka looks stern as he looks Obi-Wan in the eyes. "Piracy."

Anakin sighs. "Not a set-back, huh?"

To be continued…