Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic as the taxation of trade routes is in dispute. The greedy Trade Federation hopes to settle the dispute by invading the planet of Naboo. After failing to secure aid from the Republic Senate on the planet Coruscant, Queen Padmé Amidala returns to Naboo and forms an alliance with the Gungan people in a final bid to save her home. As the Gungans march on the Trade Federation's droid army, Padmé storms Theed, the Naboo capital, with her guard, her Jedi companions, and a boy who one of the Jedi believes to be the Chosen One, a powerful individual prophesied to bring balance to the Force…
The sound of blaster-fire echoed through the hangar bay as the Queen's guards fired upon the intruding battle droids. Young Anakin Skywalker watched in awe as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi led the charge, effortlessly blocking the droids' shots with their lightsabers. With the Jedi fighting against them, the droids quickly lost ground and the Naboo pilots were able to make a break for their starfighters. As the pilots revved up their engines and began to take off, Anakin noticed that one of the starfighters was unmanned. Thinking it would provide safer cover from the droids' blaster-fire, Anakin sprinted toward the vessel and climbed into the cockpit. From his new perch he was given an excellent view of the battle as it came to its swift conclusion with the remaining droids being destroyed. The last of the starfighters took off, leaving the planet in hopes of destroying the droid command ship.
"My guess is the Viceroy is in the throne room," said Padmé.
"Red group, blue group, everybody this way!" Captain Panaka motioned toward the main doors out of the hangar bay.
As everyone ran past him, Anakin leapt from his seat and exclaimed, "Hey! Wait for me!"
Master Qui-Gon turned toward Anakin and commanded, "Anakin, stay where you are."
"But I…" Anakin protested.
"Stay in that cockpit," Qui-Gon interrupted.
It was well that Qui-Gon had given Anakin this command, because when the main doors opened, the group was confronted by a hooded figure dressed in black robes. A familiar chill ran down Anakin's spine. He could feel that it was the same dark warrior who had attacked him and Qui-Gon on Tatooine a few days ago. Apparently Qui-Gon recognized the warrior too, because immediately upon seeing him he said, "We'll handle this."
Without any protest, Padmé and Panaka turned aside to lead their people out of the hangar by a different way. Once they were out of the way, the dark warrior removed his cloak, exposing the red and black pattern on his face and the horns around his head. Anakin had never seen any creature that was more horrible in his life. He wanted to watch what would happen next as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan also removed their cloaks and prepared to duel with the monster, but his attention was drawn away by the sound of blaster-fire. Anakin looked to where the sound was coming from and saw that Padmé and her men had been blocked off from their next exit by three droidekas. To Anakin's dismay, the men's blaster-fire was useless against the droidekas' force fields. R2-D2, who had entered the starfighter's astromech droid station prior to Anakin entering the cockpit, gave a distressed beep.
"We gotta do something, R2!" Anakin exclaimed.
R2 beeped urgently in response.
"I'm trying to! I don't know where the trigger is," Anakin replied as he pushed a button on the console in front of him.
As the ship's engine engaged and the ship started to move, Anakin looked around hurriedly. "Oops, wrong one! Maybe it's this one," Anakin said as he pulled a lever. "Nope," he quickly added as the canopy slid over the cockpit and sealed shut.
At that moment, Anakin noticed the actual trigger. "Wait, here it is!" he exclaimed as he grabbed hold of the trigger and opened fire on the droidekas.
Anakin was able to quickly destroy two of the droidekas, but the remaining one changed its aim and fired at Anakin's starfighter. The droideka's aim was true and one of its shots critically damaged one of the starfighter's key systems. Anakin lost control of the starfighter as it hit the ground and skidded across the hangar, colliding with the droideka in the process and destroying it. Anakin was unaware that this had happened, however, for he had struck his head upon the console in front of him when the ship hit the ground and had blacked out.
When Anakin regained consciousness, the hangar was completely deserted. He pushed open the canopy and gingerly crawled out of the cockpit. He sat down next to the downed starfighter and waited for the dizziness to wear off. R2 rolled up next to him and beeped worriedly.
"I'm alright, R2," Anakin reassured the droid.
He was not alright for long, for almost immediately he felt a great disturbance, as though a voice suddenly cried out in horror and grief. Anakin recognized that voice. It was Obi-Wan.
Anakin leapt to his feet and ran. He did not know where he was going, but he remembered Qui-Gon's instruction to him before his first victory in a podrace: "Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts." So Anakin continued running, never once stopping to question whether he was going the right way.
Moments later, he entered a large room with a deep chasm in the middle of the floor. On the ledge of the chasm, he saw Obi-Wan sitting with Qui-Gon lying in his arms. "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon struggled to whisper.
That was all Anakin needed to confirm his fear. Qui-Gon, the man who had saved him from slavery and promised to train him to become a Jedi, was dying. Anakin rushed to Qui-Gon's side and knelt beside him. "Anakin," Qui-Gon murmured when he saw Anakin.
Anakin wished more than anything that he could save Qui-Gon, perhaps even trade his life for Qui-Gon's if he had to. He placed his hand by the hole in Qui-Gon's abdomen where he had been stabbed by the dark warrior's lightsaber. Anakin wanted desperately to make that hole disappear. To make Master Qui-Gon all better.
Then he felt something. It was unlike anything Anakin had ever felt before. He was not sure what it was, but it was warm and it seemed as though it was swirling inside of him. He concentrated on that feeling and instinctively brought his hand over Qui-Gon's wound. Somehow he knew that if he could just transfer whatever it was he was feeling to Qui-Gon, everything would be alright. He concentrated even more on that feeling and pushed it toward Qui-Gon. He began to feel his energy diminish, but he kept pushing as long as he could. Finally, he could not hold on any longer and released his concentration.
Anakin crumbled into Qui-Gon's lap and tried to regain his breath. Just as he was beginning to recover, he felt a hand on his head. Anakin sat up and looked. It was Qui-Gon. The hole in his abdomen was now completely gone, replaced by undamaged flesh. Qui-Gon's breathing had returned to normal, and he looked less pale than he had a moment ago. Both he and Obi-Wan were staring at Anakin in astonishment. "How… how did you do that?" Obi-Wan mused.
At this, something in Qui-Gon's face changed, as though he had suddenly grown more certain of something. "He IS the Chosen One," he said.
Meanwhile, Padmé and her men were in the throne room concluding negotiations with the Trade Federation to end their occupation of Naboo. "Now, order your droids to be shut down," Padmé insisted as she held a blaster to Viceroy Nute Gunray's head.
"Yes, yes of course," Gunray grumbled as he sent the communique to the droid command ship orbiting the planet.
Padmé turned to Panaka and said, "We're finished here."
Panaka nodded and motioned to his men to take the Viceroy out of the throne room. "Captain," Padmé said as the guards took hold of Gunray and led him away, "gather some men and go assist the Gungans. Make sure those battle droids were actually shut down."
"What about you, Your Highness?" Panaka asked.
"We'll watch over her," Qui-Gon answered as he, Obi-Wan, and Anakin entered the room.
Panaka glanced at Padmé, who gave him an affirming nod. Panaka bowed and signaled his men to follow him. Once they were gone, Padmé turned her attention toward the Jedi. "Thank you for your aid in this matter, Master Jedi," she said.
Qui-Gon smiled and said, "I trust the Viceroy has been dealt with then?"
"Yes," Padmé replied. "We have just signed a new treaty ending his occupation. And what of the dark warrior we encountered in the hangar?"
"Obi-Wan struck him down," Qui-Gon explained. "Although…"
Qui-Gon's voice trailed off as he went deep into thought. "What?" Padmé asked.
"Nothing," Qui-Gon shook his head.
"I saved Master Qui-Gon's life," Anakin chimed in.
"You did?" Padmé smiled.
"He did," Qui-Gon nodded as he gave Anakin a pat on the shoulder. "The boy was very brave."
"Well thank goodness for that," Padmé said. "The Jedi Order would have lost a great Jedi today."
Qui-Gon gave a slight bow in response while Anakin let out a beaming smile. A stern glance from Obi-Wan quickly erased that smile, however, and replaced it with a more subdued grin. Qui-Gon noted the interaction between Obi-Wan and Anakin, but said nothing.
As for Panaka and his men, when they arrived at the field where the Gungans had made their stand against the Trade Federation's battle droids, they all became much more somber. All of the battle droids had indeed been deactivated, but Padmé had been too late in making the Viceroy give the order to shut them down. As Panaka walked the field and came upon the corpse of Jar Jar Binks, the horrible truth set in: the Gungans had all been slaughtered by the droid army. The Naboo's victory had come at the expense of the lives of their new allies.
A few days later, Padmé, the Jedi, and Anakin stood before the Chancellor's transport as it completed its landing cycle. As Panaka led Viceroy Gunray toward the ship, Padmé glanced at Anakin. His head was bowed and he was struggling to maintain a straight face. She knew he had taken Jar Jar's death hard, and she felt sorry for him. She wanted to help him, but did not know how.
Her attention was forced away from Anakin as the doors of the transport opened and the newly elected Chancellor Palpatine disembarked, a train of guards and Jedi following him. Padmé approached Palpatine and greeted him with a bow. "Congratulations on your election, Chancellor," she said.
"Your boldness has saved our people, it is you who should be congratulated," Palpatine replied.
"I fear the cost may have been too high," Padmé shook her head.
"The Gungans' sacrifice is a tragedy, to be sure," Palpatine smiled sympathetically. "We must seek to bring peace and prosperity to the Republic to ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain."
While Padmé and Palpatine spoke, Qui-Gon approached the group of Jedi who had arrived with the Chancellor and found Master Yoda. "Master," Qui-Gon bowed, "I must speak with you in private. It's about the boy."
"Very well," Yoda replied. "Come, come."
As Yoda led Qui-Gon away, Palpatine watched them leave and then eyed young Anakin, noting the sad look on his face. Palpatine took a step toward the boy, but the other Jedi reached Anakin and Obi-Wan first, leading them away.
Meanwhile, Yoda and Qui-Gon entered a room where they could talk undisturbed. Yoda turned to Qui-Gon and asked, "What to say, have you?"
"Master, I now believe more than ever that the boy is indeed the Chosen One," Qui-Gon replied. "When Obi-Wan and I were dueling the Sith, I was mortally wounded. I can't explain what happened, but Anakin somehow used the Force to heal my wound and save my life."
"Hm," Yoda rubbed his chin. "Certain are you, that the boy did this?"
"Yes, Master," Qui-Gon nodded. "I could feel a connection between him and me as I was being healed. He has a power unlike anything I've ever encountered. I must train him."
"Approve of your training this boy, I do not," Yoda replied, "but agree with you, the Council does. A Jedi, the boy will be."
Qui-Gon gave a small bow. "Thank you."
Yoda tilted his head. "More to say, have you?"
"Yes," Qui-Gon nodded. "The boy's ability to use the Force to heal, I've never heard of anything like it. Do any other Jedi have this ability?"
"No," Yoda shook his head. "Most unusual, the boy's power is. Only in legend do such powers exist."
"Master, are you saying there are powers which the Jedi have lost?"
"There may be, yes," Yoda nodded. "To train the boy, learn about them you must."
"I will go to the Jedi Archives and see what I can find."
"The answers you seek, in the Jedi Archives you will not find."
"Then where?"
"Of a lost planet called Ahch-To, legend speaks. The birthplace of the Jedi Order, it is. Find Ahch-To, and find answers you will."
"Yes, Master," Qui-Gon bowed.