Phantom Menace stuff starts here folks
Chapter Eleven: Failed Negotiations
Harry made his way up to the Council chamber swearing mentally at the fact that they summoned him entirely too early in his opinion. It was 7 in the morning and the Knight hadn't had a very restful sleep so he was still tired. Releasing his annoyance into the Force, he composed himself before entering the chamber where the Jedi Council was waiting for him.
Upon entering he saw the full Council assembled, including Mace which wasn't surprising. His former mentor had rejoined the Council once Harry had been Knighted but Harry had yet to feel totally at ease with Mace Windu, Jedi Councillor. There seemed to be something that happened to Jedi Masters when they joined the Council – they became stuffy and officious and entirely too much like politicians. Harry didn't dare say that out loud though; he'd have been run out of the Order at lightspeed if he had.
Stopping in the middle of the circle, Harry bowed politely and then stepped back, noticing as he did so that Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were waiting beside him. He looked between them and the Council, puzzled for a minute until he realized that they must be being assigned to the same mission.
"Knight Potter, wake you up did we?" Yoda asked with a hint of amusement. Harry glared at the little troll and answered, "Yes Master Yoda you did. However, I'm awake now so may I know what I was called here for?"
There were chuckles from around the circle, it was well known that Harry wasn't a morning person so there had been secret amusement when they'd summoned him as to the fact that they knew that they'd wake him up. Once the chuckles had died down, Mace took over.
"You're familiar with the situation on Naboo Knight Potter?" he asked. Harry nodded. "Yes Master, the Trade Federation has blockaded it in order to resolve the trade dispute in the Senate."
"Yes that's right. The Chancellor has requested that we send some Jedi to resolve the dispute and end the blockade. If it continues much longer the Naboo people will starve" Adi Gallia said.
"We are sending you three because you work well as a team and that is what this mission requires. You have 3 hours until your transport leaves. May the Force be with you" Mace said, ending the briefing.
Qui-Gon, Harry and Obi-Wan bowed and left the chamber, before they split up to go and pack what they'd need for the trip. Exactly 3 hours later they were on the transport and on their way to Naboo.
As they drew closer to the blockade, Harry walked closer to the cockpit, accidentally overhearing a conversation between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
"But Master Yoda told me to be mindful of the future" Obi-Wan was saying. Whatever reply Qui-Gon had been going to give was stopped when he sensed Harry.
"Knight Potter, didn't your Master teach you that eavesdropping was rude?" the Jedi Master enquired. Harry met the hard look with an even stare of his own.
"Eavesdropping Master Jinn? I only heard Obi-Wan's reply. I was not eavesdropping; I was coming up to the cockpit to take a look at that ship we're going to be boarding soon. Kindly don't accuse me of things I haven't done, I don't like it very much."
Qui-Gon had the good grace to look slightly ashamed of himself; he knew very well why Harry loathed false accusations. Straightening up he replied, "I apologise Harry that was rude of me. Now that you're here though, maybe you can convince Obi-Wan to concentrate on the mission and not his anxieties."
Harry tilted his head to the side and asked, "What's the problem though? I can't help if I don't know what it is I'm supposed to be helping with." Both Master and Padawan looked at each other and Harry got the distinct sense that he was in the middle of an old argument. Finally Obi-Wan said,
"Harry, (ignoring the reprimanding look from Qui-Gon), I've been sensing something off, something dark for the past few hours, but I can't get a sense of where it is, it's elusive and wants to stay that way. Master Qui-Gon doesn't sense anything but I do."
Harry shook his head. "And you two want me to do what exactly?" This time it was Qui-Gon who answered. "I want you to tell Obi-Wan to stop centering on his anxieties and he wants you to validate his feeling."
Harry walked round them and looked out the window. "Naboo looks so peaceful from up here" he remarked. Turning round he fixed both of them with a stare that even Qui-Gon found hard to break. In a calm, even tone he said, "Like Obi-Wan I have sensed an elusive presence lately, one which isn't directly related to our mission here." As Obi-Wan gave a small triumphant smile, Harry continued, "but I do agree with you, Master Jinn in that our focus should be on our mission here and not on the future at the present time. So I agree with both of you and we really should be going now. I'm sure that Viceroy Gunray is waiting for us."
With that he turned and walked towards the cockpit once more, leaving Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan staring after him in shock before they snapped out of it and quickly joined him. The three watched as their ship landed in the docking bay of the flagship and they waited while the ramp was lowered before walking down it.
Upon disembarking, they were met by a silver protocol droid who led them to a large room and then left after informing them that its master would be with them shortly. After a 15 minute wait, Obi-Wan finally growled, "Is it in their nature to make us wait this long?" Qui-Gon shook his head. "No it's not. There is fear emanating from them, in an amount that is unusual for a trade dispute."
Harry shifted in his seat. "Maybe they're working out what to do with us" he commented. Qui-Gon shrugged. "Maybe. At any rate, the negotiations should be short and sweet. The beings that make up the Federation are cowards."
Harry and Obi-Wan nodded before Harry heard a faint hissing noise. "Uh, Master Jinn" he said. When Qui-Gon turned to look at him Harry nodded towards the floor. "I think the negotiations are going to be non-existent. Take a look."
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan spun to look at the floor near the door at the same time as an explosion from outside the room shook them. Harry closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. "Well, there goes our ride out of here" he remarked just as Qui-Gon ordered them to hold their breath as a noxious gas was rising swiftly around them.
After about 3 minutes the door hissed open and the three Jedi could hear the sound of several droids outside. As they heard one droid start to come in they burst into action. Three lightsabers came up and they leapt into the corridor, cutting through the droids like butter. Once the droids were destroyed Qui-Gon made his way to the main bridge doors and started cutting through them, with Obi-Wan and Harry defending him. Qui-Gon stopped as he felt the sensation of the heavy blast doors closing behind the main doors and pulled his lightsaber out. He considered the situation before thrusting his lightsaber straight into the middle and holding it there, letting the heat of the blade melt all three of the doors. It was at this point that things were interrupted.
Harry and Obi-Wan had been deflecting various blaster bolts back at the droids who shot them for several minutes before they heard an ominous sound, rolling metal, and two droidekas came into view. Harry grinned; he'd studied the design of these droids and thought he had an idea of how to defuse them. With a quick, "Stay here, keep defending Master Jinn" he did a forward roll towards the droidekas, rolling between them, and at the last second he held his lightstaff horizontally and ignited both blades simultaneously.
The silver blades buried themselves into the control panel of the droids and Harry disengaged them and stood up as the droids collapsed. He turned when Obi-Wan yelled, "Harry, there's four more of them coming from the left!" With barely a thought, Harry ran back to his friend.
"I can't do that again, they're almost upon us. Let's get out of here." Obi-Wan nodded before saying, "Master, we've got four destroyers here, we need you now." Qui-Gon abandoned his attempt to cut through the door and joined his apprentice and Harry in deflecting the blaster fire.
"Let's go" he said upon seeing that it was a futile exercise to keep standing there. The other two lost no time in following him down the corridor at a Force enhanced sprint. They stopped at the entrance to a ventilation shaft and went up it, reasoning that they were safe from droids. They crawled through the shaft until they reached a cargo bay, and dropped down from the shaft to see what was going on.
Sneaking round to hide behind some crates they observed the preparations. "This is very odd" Harry remarked. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon nodded before Obi-Wan replied softly, "It's an invasion army. I thought the Federation didn't go in for things like this."
"They don't, this is a very odd move for them" Qui-Gon said, before continuing, "We need to get down to the planet, our first objective is to warn the Naboo and then contact Chancellor Valorum, he needs to know what the Federation's up to."
Obi-Wan and Harry nodded before Harry smirked and said, "Looks like I was right about the non-existent negotiations. This move though, seems to suggest that something else is driving this blockade. What it is I don't know though." Qui-Gon looked at him before reluctantly nodding.
"We need to split up and stow aboard their ships. We'll meet down on Naboo; we can't stay together at the moment. May the Force be with you" he murmured quietly. With barely audible murmurs of "And with you" Harry and Obi-Wan quietly slipped aboard two landing craft that were side by side. Crouching behind boxes in the cargo holds they felt the ships take off and head down to the planet's surface.
Qui-Gon felt his ship land and swiftly jumped off it, landing softly thanks to the Force. He then heard the craft turn and begin moving towards him. Cursing in every language he knew, which was quite a lot, he started to run, hoping that Obi-Wan and Harry had had better luck.
Harry had indeed had better luck. He'd got off his ship and then hid in the trees near a small lake. He then heard curses and spluttering noises coming from the lake and looked towards it. Smirking, he stood up as a dripping wet Obi-Wan emerged from the water like a lake monster in the old stories. Obi-Wan soon spotted Harry and waded out of the water and towards him, growling several very colorful Huttese curses which had Harry thinking that it was a very good thing that Qui-Gon wasn't nearby right then. The reason behind the curses soon became very clear though.
"Harry" Obi-Wan growled, "do you have your backup lightsaber with you by any chance?" Harry raised an eyebrow, he had created another lightsaber, a single, ordinary lightsaber in case his lightstaff got damaged and he needed to fight, but he didn't see why Obi-Wan would be asking about it.
"Yes I do, why are you asking?" he replied. He then had to fight to hold back a snort of laughter when Obi-Wan held up his sparking lightsaber. "It short-circuited when I fell into that lake over there" the Padawan grumbled.
"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Harry asked innocently. Really, it wasn't his job to keep his friend out of trouble with his master and Obi-Wan was almost a Knight, he shouldn't be letting his lightsaber short-circuit on missions. Harry was tempted to just let his friend suffer the lecture that would be sure to come when Qui-Gon discovered this little lapse in judgement; however a burst of blaster fire to their left changed his mind.
"Here, take it and for goodness sake don't drop it into any ponds or puddles" Harry snapped as he drew his lightstaff and deflected the second burst of blaster fire right back where it came from. He and Obi-Wan then took off in the general direction of where Obi-Wan could sense that Qui-Gon was. Harry kept a look out for droids and deflected laser bolts back at the shooters whenever they came near, with devastating accuracy and efficiency. They soon met up with Qui-Gon and an odd looking creature who looked like a frog crossed with a lizard, and whose manner reminded Harry of Dobby the house elf.
Qui-Gon didn't miss the fact that Obi-Wan was carrying Harry's spare lightsaber and directed a sharp look towards his apprentice along with the statement, "You left the power switch on on your lightsaber didn't you." Obi-Wan nodded sheepishly, and Qui-Gon sighed before saying, "Recharge it later, for now use the one that Knight Potter lent you. I would have thought that you were too old to need reminding about such a basic principle of lightsaber safety though."
With that final comment, which had Obi-Wan hanging his head and Harry doing his best to pretend he hadn't heard it, the three Jedi set off after Jar Jar, who had introduced himself to Harry while Qui-Gon had been reprimanding Obi-Wan. They reached a lake where Jar Jar dived in and then resurfaced to check that his companions were following. Qui-Gon gave Obi-Wan a pointed look and the Padawan dutifully checked that the power switch on Harry's spare lightsaber was firmly set to off. Harry and Qui-Gon did the same for their weapons and they waded into the lake, their aquabreathers firmly in place.
After about a 10 minute swim they swam over a ridge and came upon the Gungan city. Jar Jar landed outside one of the bubbles and walked straight through, so the Jedi followed, surprised to feel that the bubble was drying them as they passed through. The result was that their uniforms were as dry as if they'd never got wet when they finished entering. There were a lot of surprised mutters from the other Gungans that were milling about and then a member of what Harry assumed was the Gungan military rode up on a creature that Harry hadn't seen before.
As the exchange between Jar Jar and the other Gungan continued, Harry moved over to Qui-Gon and murmured, "I get the distinct sense that we aren't welcome, and that our friend is in deep trouble."
Qui-Gon nodded and murmured, "I sense that too, however, Jar Jar now owes me a life debt so whatever else happens, he won't die here today. Thankyou for lending Obi-Wan your lightsaber."
Harry shrugged and replied, "It's ok, he needs to have some sort of weapon and it was pure chance that he landed in that pond. I imagine the first thing he'll do when we get back home is waterproof his lightsaber."
Qui-Gon chuckled before saying, "Yes I imagine so. I think they want us to follow them to their Council."
Harry, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan silently followed the Gungans to a chamber of sorts, where several large Gungans sat on chairs above the main floor. The chief one who Jar Jar addressed as Boss Nass didn't look happy to see them.
After an exchange of words, in which Qui-Gon tried to convince the Gungans that the Naboo needed help and the Gungans refused to even consider it, the Jedi were getting frustrated. Finally Harry spotted Qui-Gon mind-tricking Boss Nass in a subtle fashion. The end result was that they had a transport and Jar Jar was saved from death due to his life debt to Qui-Gon. After about 5 minutes they were sitting in a bongo, a type of Gungan submarine, and speeding towards the planet core on their way to Theed.
Harry and Qui-Gon sat in the back of the bongo as Obi-Wan was driving and Jar Jar was navigating, although Qui-Gon was doing more directing than he was. Obi-Wan finally distracted Jar Jar by asking why he was banished in the first place. The answer was that the poor Gungan had been banished because the others had finally got tired of his clumsiness. More specifically, he'd crashed into Boss Nass' personal vehicle and caused untold amounts of damage to it.
Numerous encounters with deep sea monsters later, and with Jar Jar being knocked out with the Force when he started panicking, they reached Theed, the capital of Naboo. They took a moment to admire it before Harry heard an odd sound of rushing water. He looked behind them and then stood up and fired his liquid cable grappling line into the stone at the edge of the river.
"Er, Harry, why are you doing that?" Qui-Gon asked. Harry merely replied tersely, "Look behind us." Three heads swiveled to look and then Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan took the same action as Harry. They then got out of the bongo and held onto the line while they half-waded, half swam to safety. Jar Jar was still in the bongo and, true to form, was yelling his head off. Harry rolled his eyes, and then levitated the Gungan onto dry land.
They then stood and watched as the bongo disappeared over the large waterfall that had almost claimed them as well, before turning and walking up the steps towards the main street of Theed, intent on finding the Queen and explaining what had happened.