The Gungans did not appear terribly receptive to Jar Jar bringing a party of Nubians and Jedi into their midst. As the billed warriors herded the humans together, they formed a perimeter, daring the guards with their electropoles and energy spears.
Pressed onward, the canopy of the forest seemed to engulf them and the clear blue sky was stolen from view. Statues and ruins began to appear, rising from the ground higher the more they walked into the foliage.
Then, they arrived. A Gungan refugee camp. The captain led the group past huddles of biped amphibians to where Boss Nass appeared. He plodded from the shadows, standing high above them. Amidala approached, but the Boss addressed Jar Jar first, scathingly. His fleshy head swiveled and turned, spittle spewing from his mouth as he yelled at the outcast until the Queen stepped forward, announcing herself.
The Boss was having none of it, cutting her off and blaming the destruction of their homes on her. The perimeter guard closed in and Obi-Wan and Yareah noticed the nervousness of the Naboo fighters. Captain Panaka's hand wavered close to his blaster. Obi-Wan noticed Yareah look pointedly at a handmaiden as he and his master moved to her side to flank the Queen.
"We wish to form an alliance with you," Amidala tried again.
"We no for nutten wit da Naboo!" Boss Nass roared angrily. Amidala's breath caught in her throat.
Suddenly Padme removed herself from the group, stepping in front of the Queen. "You did well, Sabe. But I will have to do this myself," she said quietly, and turned to face the confused Boss Nass.
R2 beeped softly in recognition and Yareah released a breath. The droid and the knight had figured it out first.
"I am Queen Amidala," Padme announced, clearly, strongly. She explained their purposes of a decoy and Obi-Wan shifted to see Padme glance momentarily at Anakin before looked at them all. "Gentlemen, I apologize for misleading you."
She snapped around to the head of the Gungans, getting directly to the point. "Our people have always lived in peace, despite our disagreements, Your Honor. Now the Trade Federation has destroyed our homes and ways of life. The Gungans are in hiding and the Naboo are imprisoned. If we do not act swiftly, all that we hold dear will be lost and gone forever."
She stretched out her hands before abruptly dropping to her knees. "I beg you to help us, Your Honor. Our fate is in your hands. Please help us."
One by one, her handmaidens knelt before the Gungans. Captain Panaka motioned for the guards to do the same. Anakin and the Jedi slowly knelt last.
Worried that talking would ruin the Queen's objective; Obi-Wan chanced a glance at his master, then at Yareah. Qui-Gon looked impassive, but he could feel a small sense of shock lying underneath the exterior. Yareah, however, looked completely calm, as though she had known from the beginning. That would make this awkward. If he and his master had not been able to tell the difference between the Queen and her decoy, it would prove that they had not done a very good job of paying attention to detail. They had not fulfilled their mandate.
Obi-Wan was pulled back to the matter at hand by a deep rumbling laughter that reverberated throughout the ruins. The head Gungan came forward, laughing, and took Amidala's hand.