Chapter 10
Anakin looked around wonderingly as he dashed through the swamp after the three girls.
'It's so wet!' he thought. The patches of open water were even stranger than the grass-covered knolls and ancient trees all around. He'd never seen so much water in his life. Even the air was like breathing soup. Very cold soup.
Finally, Selah, Lonespirit, and Afton stopped under a stand of trees that looked to Anakin just like every other stand of trees they had gone by.
"Dissen it," Selah declared.
Gungan guards suddenly materialized out of the mist, riding creatures that looked like huge, wingless birds. Wordlessly they led the group further intothe swamp to the ruins of a large building. Massive stone heads were strewn about the ground though the whole thing was weed-choked and sunk in the muck.
More Gungans surrounded them. Several were standing on top of one of the heads. Their clothes told Anakin that they were important. Beside them stood a dark man in a navy blue uniform and a girl with dark hair in a burgundy uniform. "Who are you?" the girl asked.
Qui-Gon and the other Jedi bowed. Anakin and the girls quickly followed suit. "We are the negotiators from Supreme Chancellor Vallorum," Qui-Gon said.
"Your negotiations were apparently unsuccessful," the girl replied.
"The negotiations never took place," Nejaa sounded apologetic. "We have come in the hopes we can help you."
The girl nodded. "I am Queen Amidala of the Naboo. This," she gestured to the large Gungan on her left, "is Boss Nass, the leader of the Gungans."
0000
Some time later, the plans for the attack to free Theed were in place. The Gungan army started off on its march before dawn. The Jedi, listians, and
Anakin would accompany Amidala and her small group of her bodyguard-handmaidens, fighter pilots, Naboo guards, and repair droids.
"Something about this mission worries me," Nejaa said to Afton as they sat on one of the stone heads. He stared off at a distant stand of trees, his green eyes clouded with worry.
"What's got you worried about it?"
How was he supposed to tell her it was her he was worried over? Tell her he didn't want her or her friends going? "Nothing, just a bad feeling. That's all."
"Well, I imagine everyone has that feeling right before running headlong into battle," Afton said quietly. Without really meaning to, Nejaa put an arm around her shoulders. He smiled as she leaned her head against him.
0000
Selah cast a sympathetic glance at the queen as they entered the silent and empty city. 'The city belongs to the people of Naboo, and the Trade Federation had no right to cause this wondrous city to be deserted. But we'll win. We have to…' she stopped the train of thought there and focused herself on the silent signals flying between the members of their party.
Outside the main hangar, the group split up. The queen's loyal helper, Captain Panaka of the Naboo Guards, took most of his men and slipped around to the far side of the plaza. Amidala, the Jedi, the listians, and the pilots slipped closer to the hangar door.
Afton looked over as Qui-Gon whispered something to Anakin. She couldn't entirely repress a grin as Anakin's too casual response elicited a very stern look from the Jedi Master. 'It has to have been a while since he last tried to baby-sit a nine-year-old,' she thought. And she knew he wouldn't listen- and this time for the best.
The tanks and battle droids headed for the plaza's far side, leaving the main hangar door clear. The Queen and her forces ran into the hangar and began firing at the battle droids inside.
Keeping true to their orders, the three Jedi Knights only used their lightsabers to deflect the laser bolts aimed at Amidala. Selah, Afton, and
Lonespirit had no such inhibition. But, as Selah noticed, every deflected bolt hit a droid.
She spun and brought her lightsaber down, cutting one droid in half and deflecting a bolt, frying another droid.
"Get to your ships!" Amidala commanded.
Afton looked around and smiled catching a glimpse of Anakin in the cockpit of one of the fighters. She quickly turned her attention back to deflecting a bolt aimed at her right leg. If she got hurt, she was never going to explain it to her dance teacher… The bolt exploded a droid, and it knocked another one out on its way down.
0000
Qui-Gon had just finished ordering Anakin to stay in the fighter when five dark, hooded figures appeared in the doorway. The Queen's troops scattered.
Nejaa, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon stepped forward to face them.
Nejaa shook his head slightly as Afton, Lonespirit, and Selah also came forward. "We'll handle-" Afton cut him off.
"It's our fight too, Nejaa."
As they ignited their lightsabers, the newcomers did as well. Five red bars of light came into being. They threw off their cloaks. The listians gasped as they saw Rhonda, Nicole, Silver Songstress, and Jeanna, standing around Jareth. But Jareth was not the Goblin King they knew. His hair was gone and his face covered in a red and black tattoo. Only his mismatched eyes revealed him.
With ferocious battle cries, they attacked the Jedi and listians.
0000
"I'm not doing anything!" Anakin cried back at Artoo as the ship left the city far behind and arrowed into space.
Disclaimer: Star Wars and all its trappings belong to Master Lucas. I promise I'll put them back when I'm done. (well, most of them...)
The listians are their own.
Also: The Labyrinth Listians are/were the members of the Labyrinth Fan-Fiction Mailing List. Try Amethyst's Labyrinth Fan Fiction Archive for more info. Google ought to find it. It's the main Labyrinth fan fic site. We used to write stories involving ourselves tormenting Jareth. Many of us even had characters we used for labyrinth role play or simply for self-insertions etc. To the best of my knowledge the list is still active, but there are several laby lists now, so happy hunting. :)