Alex Rider: Mission Jedi
Jedi Goat
Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or Star Wars.
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Chapter 10: Into the Line of Fire
A while later, the bongo surfaced on a river. Obi-Wan pressed a button and the bubble hatch evaporated. He stood up, looking around.
Alex glanced around. Bordering the river on both sides were pathways lined with statues, and beyond that rose the antique white stone buildings of Theed. Alex grinned in spite of himself. We made it!
His joy was only momentary. "Oh, oh," Jar Jar mumbled as the comatose ship began to slip backward. Alex turned back and his heart leapt.
The water went on for about a mile before tumbling over a massive, rushing waterfall.
"Weesa doomed!" screamed the Gungan, diving to the floor and covering his head with his hands.
Alex thought quickly, looking around the ship. He remembered that the emergency supplies kit was kept in the back of the bongo. He raced back, pushed Jar Jar out of the way, and fumbled around in the kit. He found a length of thick rope and pulled it out.
Alex removed the pen from his pocket. He tied one end of the rope around a seat and held the other in front of the pen. He aimed carefully for the bank and twisted the shaft.
A dart shot out silently, hooking on the rope and carrying it along on its course. The dart embedded itself in the path on the shore.
Alex tugged at the rope. It held firm. "Come on!" he yelled over the roar of the approaching waterfall, grabbing hold of the rope. He waited for the Jedi to join him before plunging into the water. Alex strained against the current to keep hold of the rope as he edged slowly toward the shoreline, his head barely above the water.
Alex heard a splash and knew someone had jumped into the water. He continued onward without looking back; otherwise, he would lose his grip.
Gasping, Alex dragged himself the last few meters to the shore. He crawled out of the water, dripping wet. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the clear blue sky as he regained his breath.
Obi-Wan crawled out and sat nearby, squeezing the water out of his braid. Soon Qui-Gon arrived as well. Only Jar Jar was missing.
"Where is that idiot?" Alex growled, sitting up and looking around. He spotted the Gungan cowering on the bongo.
"Jar Jar!" Qui-Gon called.
Jar Jar raised his head. He noticed the others waiting on the bank and groaned. "Oh, oh."
"Jump!" supplied Obi-Wan helpfully.
"Oh...meesa coming...meesa coming..." Jar Jar stepped up on the smooth hood of the ship. He gazed down nervously at the water.
"Jar Jar!" Now Obi-Wan's voice was tinged with annoyance.
"Meesa..." Jar Jar didn't finish his sentence, as a wave bobbed the bongo up and down. The Gungan pin wheeled his arms frantically as he lost his balance. "Aaaaah!" He tumbled into the water.
A moment later, he surfaced, screaming in terror. Qui-Gon stepped up and waved him toward the bank. He and Obi-Wan pulled Jar Jar ashore.
"Oh...meesa thankful!" Jar Jar declared, flailing his ears dry. Obi-Wan ducked to avoid being hit.
Alex bent down and tugged the dart out of the ground. He quickly released it as it flew out over the water, attached to the bongo. Freed, the ship drifted away with the current. The bongo rattled over the edge of the waterfall, never to be seen again.
The Jedi and Jar Jar headed into Theed.
They sneaked between the ornate buildings as they searched the city. Theed seemed eerily deserted.
"Where dey go?" Jar Jar wondered.
"The Trade Federation must have already taken control," noted Obi-Wan.
Qui-Gon peered around the next corner and held up a hand for them to stop. "Droids." He silently drew his lightsaber.
A moment later, a troop of battle droids marched around the corner, surrounding a group of fancily dressed people. Qui-Gon stepped in the droids' way.
The soldiers lifted their blasters in warning. The Jedi Master paid them no heed, igniting his green blade and swinging it forward. On cue, Obi-Wan charged forward, kicking down a droid. Alex quickly dispatched two opponents with his blaster.
He swung around, rapidly shooting the droids as Qui-Gon took up a defensive position near the captives. Soon the whole army was defeated.
Qui-Gon flicked off his weapon and approached the young woman in the front of the group. She wore a black dress and an elaborate headdress as well as pale makeup, clearly showing her status as Queen. "Your Highness. We are the ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor."
"Your negotiations seem to have failed, Ambassador," an older man, the advisor Sio Bibble, commented coldly.
"The negotiations never took place." Qui-Gon turned back to the Queen. "Your Highness, we must contact the Republic."
"We can't," Captain Panaka, the dark-skinned head of security, piped up. "The Trade Federation knocked out our communications."
Alex suddenly had an idea. Stepping up, he offered, "We could commandeer a ship."
Sio Bibble looked shocked. "Steal a ship?"
"Yeah. We could take a Federation ship to get through the blockade unnoticed. Then we could fly to the Republic to speak with the chancellor in person," Alex explained eagerly.
"Why should we take advice from a boy?" scoffed Bibble.
Before Alex could snap a reply, Obi-Wan put in, "That's a good idea. We should fly to Coruscant."
"The Queen would be safer there." Captain Panaka was nodding.
Qui-Gon glanced around the street, eyes sharp. "Whatever we do, we have to move quickly. More droids could come at any moment."
Bibble turned to the Queen. "Your Highness, I must object to this plan."
The Queen glanced at her fiery orange-robed handmaidens. "Going would present a danger...to all of us."
"We are brave, Your Highness." One handmaiden spoke for the group.
The Queen turned back to the Jedi. "Very well. We will go to Coruscant."
"The Federation ships will be in the main hangar," announced Captain Panaka. He set off in the lead, closely followed by the Jedi and the others.
To be continued...
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