Star Wars 2.0
Episode 4: The Secret of Naboo
Chapter 3
The capital city of Theed on Naboo was everything Anakin had heard and more. It was said to be one of the most beautiful capitals in the galaxy, and it did not disappoint its visitors. Myriad rivers joined into massive lakes which fed into massive waterfalls that tumbled over and around golden domed buildings that stood at the precipice of giant cliffs. The mist rose from the bottomless base, forming light clouds whose diffused light gave the city an oil painting appearance. The fact that anyone lived here meant people truly lived in heaven.
The estate in which the governess resided and worked was the largest of all, arching above all other buildings in the middle of the city. A vast staircase climbed over a river of gondolas to double doors so enormous one could fly a space liner through. The Galactic Hall where they were to speak with the governess was equally oversized, with a high, arched ceiling above the line of chairs where Her Royal Highness and her advisors sat. All around them at the edges of the room stood the plethora of guards, enough even to overtake a Jedi.
What Anakin noticed first was how the sunlight, which beamed down from a wide window high above, shown down on Her Highness only. He guessed that this was where the light would land no matter what time of the day it was. She was younger than he expected, a couple years under his age, and he still considered himself a boy. It almost seemed as though the royal garments all over her were too large, and the white caked makeup and the red designs were painted on by her friends at a sleep-over. She certainly didn't feel comfortable in her vestments, and he could sense her insecurity immediately even without the use of the force. Though viewed merely as a governess of a sector of star systems, Padme Amidala was a queen to the subjects of her planet, and they expected her to be godlike.
Anakin had to tear his eyes away from her to study the others. His duty was to read their feelings and whatever thoughts he could discern while Qui-jin questioned the queen-governess. They all seemed genuinely baffled by the visit, though they were holding up a detached front. It didn't help that Qui-jin was being so diplomatic that he danced around the real issue. All Anakin could read from the advisors, and especially from the queen, was a desire for them to get on with it.
Qui-jin was asking questions about recent events and local politics; small matters that would hardly concern the Jedi. The conversation was going nowhere, and Anakin knew the assembly saw through it, so he stepped forward and interrupted his master. Addressing the queen directly, he said, "We have reason to believe that someone is building weapons, or even an army that could rival the republic."
Taken aback, and with an appearance of offense, (though Anakin recognized it as fear,) the queen-governess looked directly at him and asked, "Why is this relevant to us?"
"Parts that I have discovered being shipped originated from this planet, Your Highness. If this activity is not sanctioned by the government, it might be private citizens of this world that are involved in a dangerous plot."
Queen-Governess Amidala turned her head very purposefully toward Qui-jin and asked, "Is this true?"
Qui-jin sighed, eyeing his disobedient apprentice and said, "Yes, it is."
She turned her head back to the impudent boy, though Anakin recognized the emotion for what it really was, relief that someone was getting to the point. Nevertheless, she raised her voice defiantly and said, "You will find no citizen of Naboo attempting to overthrow the government. Certainly no one in the government, or within the borders of Theed." She then turned her attention back to Qui-jin and declared, "But, Jedi, you are welcome to investigate as you see fit."
With that, the meeting was adjourned, and all departed; Qui-jin less than satisfied with his padawan's performance. He made this fact known when they were out of earshot of the Naboo royalty. "There are reasons for the master-padawan relationship," he hissed, losing the temperate serenity he typically exuded. "You must keep a civil tongue in your head and trust in the force."
"I did trust to the force, master," Anakin said. "That's why I stepped forward."
"The force will not tell you to embarrass your master and the Jedi counsel."
"But we were embarrassing ourselves."
Qui-jin halted, insulted and angry. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, the frustration remained.
Anakin explained, "I sensed impatience in all of them; and no lies. They were confused by our presence. I don't think we should be lying to them."
"Sometimes the best intentions can still lead to the dark side, young padawan."
"But…"
Qui-jin stepped close and whispered very bluntly, "We did not come to learn anything from the royalty, only to stall them while Obi-Wan Kenobi does the real research. Your alerting them to this fact could put him in danger, and may cause a fight that these people don't need to be in."
Anakin suddenly saw the logic in what Qui-jin was saying, and the shame washed over him. All he could say was, "Yes, Master." As they continued toward their ship, Anakin felt numb, considering the danger he might have caused his friend, and knowing he might be responsible of Obi-Wan did not come out alive.
Obi-Wan was almost halfway around the planet flying low above the ocean waves. After re-entry, he had piloted his small craft as quickly to the floor as he could get, sliding below all local radar. From above he had detected a power source far out in this ocean, so he had targeted a point far away from it so no one there would think that was his goal. He then pointed his craft at the destination and B-lined toward it.
R2D2, Obi-Wan's droid that seemed a little too sentient for a robot some days, was sending messages into the cockpit warning that they were flying frighteningly close to the waves. Obi-Wan ignored him, recognizing the risk, but trusting in the force to get him through. It was important that he not be detected.
Soon, his efforts paid off as he spotted dots of light ahead from a platform. They were so far away from any landmass, it was clear this location was not meant to be found by those who lived on Naboo. Obi-Wan made certain the ECM jammers were on in the ship and he pushed forward. It took longer than he expected to get close. At a distance its appearance was misleading; it looked like a regular fuel platform. But getting closer it became evident that this was the size of a small town. How this had remained undetected by satellites was surprising to Obi-Wan, and he credited the constant overcasting clouds, and the persistent raging storms. Additionally, they had their own ECM jammers which were keeping him from getting an accurate reading even now, only a couple miles out.
When at last he arrived, he wasted no time flying over the domed buildings where he would certainly be detected. Instead he checked the pylons below for a place to latch his ship. There were hundreds of them in a long maze too close to one another for him to fly his ship through. So he chose a support beam on the outer edge where he stuck the nose up and scooted his landing gear against. The whip latched on with mechanical claws, holding it in place.
Obi-Wan waited for a minute to see if anyone would come. He didn't know what sort of guards would be near. He saw no one and sensed nothing, so he opened the hatch and climbed out, ordering R2D2 to wait with the ship. The droid gladly responded affirmative. After all, it was stuck where it was; it couldn't fly out and it needed a solid surface on which to scoot.
Obi-Wan peered into the darkness at the support beam. He found notches on it that were either crafted originally or had worn into the metal over time. He leaped to it and grabbed on. He turned on his flashlight and shone it deeper into darkness. He saw the maze of pylons, some with the same sort of notches that he could hold onto when he needed to stop. Further in, he spotted walls where the buildings from above dropped down below the surface of the ocean. He used an energy scanner and found a large amount emanating from below the surface of the waves. The majority of the structure was probably down there.
Obi-Wan had to see it. So he put everything away in his belt, locked his eyes onto the pylons, then hopped from one to the next, the soles of his feet knocking against the metal and propelling him to the next. In this way he zigzagged across until he reached one of the walls he had spotted. Here he grasped onto one of the notches in the wall to hold himself steady. With his other hand he pulled out a device he could use to detect energy sources. He was not looking to find one, but rather to locate a point of the wall which had none, because next he pulled out his light saber and flicked it on, then sliced it into the wall. The blue beam of the Jedi's electro-sword bit into the wall with a mechanical scream, and he pulled his hand slowly toward him, cutting a gap. He pushed down, then across, creating a hole through the wall until it was just large enough to get through.
Peeking in his head, he found a large chamber that was the polar opposite of outside. A sterile environment of white walls, glass floors and black trim greeted him. A strange, hexagonal symbol sat on everything; something he had never seen before. The symbol was white on a black background, and was a circle with six lines protruding evenly on all sides, like the drawing of a sun. Many of these sat on long, enclosed beds with glass tops. The glass was darkened, but he could just make out the features of faces inside. That drew his attention to a room on the next level up that he could just see through the glass floor. Body parts were mounted on pedestals with testing equipment set up all around them. Down a hallway in a distant room he could hear the cries of babies as though they were being born. But as his ears adjusted to the acoustics of the place, he could make out the voices much better. They were adults; young adult men. And in fact they all had close to the same voices.
This sound gave him a thought, and he climbed inside the chamber. After glancing around and seeing no one within sight, he stepped up to one of the enclosed beds. He could see better through the glass now, and a man's face was easily visible. He looked through another and saw the same face; both were peacefully asleep.
Obi-Wan suddenly became aware of the sound of feet hurrying toward him. They were still a few rooms away, but they were unmistakable in his enhanced hearing through the force. He hurried to the hole he had made and leaped through grabbing the edge with one hand to make sure he didn't fall into the ocean depths below. He could hear the voices and the people running into the room he had just occupied, and for the moment he had given them the slip. But he would not be able to return as they would soon find the hole.
He then heard another noise, this time coming from outside. It sounded like a small jet engine… tiny thrusters… perhaps a jet pack. It was racing through the maze of pylons and the sound was echoing so much that it seemed to come from everywhere. His senses warned him of sudden danger, so he flicked on his lightsaber, and just in time. His wrist instinctively turned to block a pair of blaster shots that came right at him. He looked in the direction from where they had come just in time to see a thruster trail disappear behind some pylons. The shape of a man in armor appeared around the opposite side and fired again. This time he leaped for a different pylon and the blaster shots flew into the room.
Obi-Wan kicked his feet against one support shaft after another, zigzagging his way in a whatever direction he was pointed. He was at present just trying to get away. He could hear the armored man pursuing him, and Obi-Wan felt something he had rarely felt since becoming a Jedi; fear. He always had his master with him, one of the most powerful of all Jedi, to pick up the slack when he dropped the ball. He was also used to being able to use all of his powers, but in this situation, his opponent had the advantage.
Obi-Wan remembered what his master had taught him. He closed his eyes and allowed the force to take over. When he opened them again, he found that he had maneuvered around to the side of the armored man, and his silence had tricked him into looking the wrong way. Obi-Wan pushed off with both feet against the pylon he was at, and as he passed the man, he kicked him across the face, and the man went spinning away. A moment later, Obi-Wan regretted not having used his lightsaber on him, but then considered the fact that this was likely a guard just doing his job, and may not deserve to die for this.
Instead, Obi-Wan used his lightsaber to dig into a pylon and hold on. Here, he got his bearings and figured out where the ship was. Flashes of lightning from one direction guided him, and he began hopping along the pylons in that direction.
Soon, the armored figure rose again and began firing at him. Obi-Wan sliced away the shots in the air, successfully defending himself at the moment, but he didn't know how long he could keep this up. He wanted to send the shots back at the guard, but everything was moving too fast. So when he rounded a support beam, Obi-Wan flung his lightsaber at the armored man. The guard thrusted out of the way in time, which Obi-Wan was partially counting on, as the beam behind the man was sliced in half by the saber, and the top portion cracked down on top of his helmet.
The guard was again disoriented, but only for a moment. He saw Obi-Wan getting away. He was almost clear of the platform and at his ship. His hand was reaching out for something, so the armored man fired his wrist grappling hook, which wrapped around the Jedi's arm. This caused the Jedi to fling around one of the pylon's and knock his head. Now the guard had him stationary, and he flew in for the kill.
Obi-Wan lost his senses for a moment, but quickly got them back. He knew he was in trouble. One of his hands was bound and he was wrapped around the support beam. He remembered his lightsaber. The last thing he had been doing before his hand was grabbed was using the force to telekinetically bring it back to him. The saber was in the air and heading for him, so he held out his other hand, caught it, and sliced the grappling wire, disconnecting himself from it, and kicking off from the pylon.
The guard saw his prey getting away, but now he was closer, and he couldn't miss. He fired two shots from his blaster right into the chest of the Jedi. But miraculously, even as his prey was flying backward through the air, he deflected both shots, sending one of them right back into the guard's own chest. He stumbled backward and crashed against the support beam. The blast had not gone through his armor; there were few handheld weapons that could. But it had been enough to slow him down, and by the time he got his bearings, the Jedi warrior was hopping onto his ship.
The hatch was already open when Obi-Wan got to it, and he thanked R2D2 for thinking ahead. His droid had also powered up the ship, and as soon as Obi-Wan was inside, the ship unlatched and was taking off. Obi-Wan would have to remember this forward thinking robot and ask for it in the future when he needed to requisition another ship. In the meantime, he pushed the thrusters full gear to get away from the oncoming blasts of the guard's gun trying to find a weak point to bring the ship down before he got away.
