The Gift

AN – Thanks again for all the support you've given me! This is a chapter that also skirts the main story of Episode I, but I hope you like it. I wanted to explore what actually was happening on Naboo while the Jedi were away. Something a bit different!

Disclaimer – I don't own Buffy or Star Wars.

Chapter Fourteen – The Aid

"Buffy!" A shrill voice rent the air as Buffy helped the last passenger out of the heyblibber. The slayer just about had time to turn around before she was punched hard in the shoulder by a small fist.

"Captain Tarpals told me you actually got caught ON PURPOSE. Don't do that to me!" The fist came flying at Buffy's shoulder again but this time she caught it and held it gently.

"I'm sorry Dawn, but I had to find out where the Naboo were and what conditions they were in. It was the only thing I could think of."

Dawn's eyes were swimming with unshod tears. "But what if they had just killed you? You can't survive bullets! And you'd have left me here alone." Her quiet sniffle really hit home with Buffy, who pulled her sister in for a hug.

"I'm sorry Dawnee, I didn't think. But you get why I had to do it?"

"Yeah," the girl replied between sniffles. "You were being all hero Buffy again. Did it at least work?"

"Take a look," Buffy gestured to the huddled Naboo, who looked uncomfortable on the bank of the stream they had brought the heyblibber up in. Dawn squared her shoulders and walked up to the closest.

"Hey, it's Thaila right? And…um…" she looked at Erida, who smile tautly and supplied her name. "Oh yeah, I remember now. Well, it's good to see you here. This is the edge of the Gungan Sacred Place, which also happened to be a pretty defendable location in the mountains."

"Hello, sister of Slayer," Thaila replied, inclining her head slightly. "Thank you for your welcome."

"I guess, um… you probably wanna stay with the other humans, right?"

"There are other humans here?" Buffy asked curiously, her head snapping up from where she had been looking around the bank of the stream. Dawn nodded with a grin.

"Yeah, a bunch of people wearing tattoos that the gungans knew turned up almost as soon as we got here ourselves."

"Traders!" both Buffy and Fren spoke at the same time, her excitedly and him with scorn.

"The Traders are here!" Buffy repeated. "They didn't get caught!"

"I think some did," Dawn cautioned. "But the rest decided to get out of there and came to find the gungans."

"Where are they?" Buffy asked, eager to be reassured that the friends she had made were safe.

"I'll take these guys to them," Dawn gestured to the Naboo. "But Boss Nass wants to talk to you, he's over there." Dawn pointed to a prominent rock formation that gave a commanding view of the surrounding landscape.

Buffy felt a wave of disappointment crash into her, but she nodded to Dawn and promised the Naboo she'd be back to see them when she could before she went to find the Big Boss. Captain Tarpals caught up to her with a jog soon after.

"Hesa wants to know what yousa found," Tarpals explained. "Mesa not give proper description."

"We can't just leave the Naboo there." Buffy stated. "Those camps were…sinister. It just didn't feel right. We have to do something."

They approached the rocks to find Boss Nass sitting stiffly on a wooden chair, conversing with one of his other council members. As Buffy approached the second gungan bowed and departed, nodding respectfully to Buffy as he did so.

"Yousa back safe," Boss Nass called out in place of a greeting. "No thanks to yousa reckless plan, hmm?"

Buffy set her jaw stubbornly. "I wasn't going to just ignore what was happening to the Naboo."

"Mesa say to follow da Jedi, make sure dey safe so dey can deal with da Naboo, not unmask yousa to dem and den let yousa be caught by dem meccanicks." The large gungan was frowning severely at her, but Buffy stood her ground.

"I did what I had to do. The Jedi went off somewhere on a purpose, they weren't worrying about the actual people of the Naboo. Oh I'm sure they had an important thing to do," here Buffy waved off Captain Tarpals as he was about to interrupt. "And maybe in the end it will have helped, but I wanted to see if there was anything we could do to help the Naboo now."

"Hmm…" Boss Nass scrutinised her. He took a deep breath, clicking several times as he was prone to do when thinking. "And did yousa find something, hmm?"

"Yes! No… well, I don't know." Buffy slumped. "They are in these camps, hundreds if not thousands of them. The whole of Theed is in one, I don't know about the rest of the planet but there must be more. The rations are basic and those robots are just creepy… we can't just leave them in there."

"Mesa think yousa needs to talk to da Naboo dat are here, find out what dey know about where dem droids came from." Boss Nass said eventually. "Ask dem what dey think da people in da camps might need. Wesa can't break dem all out, but wesa can get supplies in." He paused, puffing on a large pipe and clicking for a few moments. "Mesa think da Naboo will talk to yousa more dan usen. Yousa can be usen liaison."

"Thank you!" Buffy launched at the gungan, enveloping in a hug. Boss Nass reacted by shaking his head and blowing his lips, pretending to be irritated but a small smile belying his thoughts.

"Be off, now. Usen need to talk about what da Gungan do next."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The Naboo had segregated themselves somewhat from the Gungan, an arrangement that seemed to suit both parties. Small groups of Gungan clustered around the craggy rocks and temple ruins set into the mountainside sent wary glances towards the Naboo, which were reciprocated in kind. Even the Traders, long-time friends with the Gungan, shifted uneasily as the actual amount of gungans in the Sacred Place far outstripped the amount they had believed there to be.

Buffy felt like knocking their respective heads together as she wound her way through the various groups, but she knew it would take more than her threats for both parties to put aside their long-held distrust and actually learned to get along. Still, there wasn't any harm in trying.

"Hey guys," she said perkily, dropping down to sit on the floor near the Naboo she had brought from the camp.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes," one of the Traders nearby spoke up from where they were sat by a different fire, and Buffy's expression lightened as she recognised them.

"Jakmé!" She cried, jumping and rushing over to hug the older lady. "I'm pleased to see you!" She looked around at the other faces but failed to see the one she was looking for. "No Jakan, then? Was he captured?"

"No," Jakmé reassured her. "He went off-world before the blockade began, hasn't been able to get back through but it means that he wasn't here when the Trade Federation invaded. Now they've cut communications we can't talk to him, but he's probably found somewhere to hunker down until it gets sorted out."

Buffy exhaled softly. "That's a relief. So there was a blockade before this invasion? Why are they doing it?"

"To line their own pockets." The man she had brought from the Naboo camps, Fren, grumbled loudly. His wife placed a hand on his arm.

"It doesn't make much sense," she said softly. "The blockade was in protest around the tariffs of the Galactic Senate. Why they chose Naboo is anyone's guess, but it's been going on for a month or more."

"I remember you telling me that there was beginning to be supply issues when we met at the coronation of the queen." Buffy said to Jakmé, who nodded in reply. "I know that the bosses were concerned."

"The bosses?" Erida asked. Buffy realised that their conversation was being listened to by not only the Naboo she had freed from the camps, but also some of the Traders and even the surrounding gungans.

"The bosses are the leaders of the Gungan." Buffy explained. "The Big Boss, Boss Nass, resides in Otoh Gunga usually, which is one of their biggest cities. There are four other bosses in Otoh Gunga that make up the High Council, but then there are others that lead some of the smaller Gungan clans."

"I hadn't realised that there were issues even at the coronation," Fren's wife, Dashi, mused. "But a month ago it began in earnest and no trade could get to or from Naboo. There were rumours that the Queen requested help directly from the Senate, but I don't know if anything came of it."

"I don't know much about politics, but how did a blockade go to an invasion?" Buffy asked. "It seems a big jump."

"I don't really know," came Dashi's reply. "It doesn't really make sense, what could they gain from it? A blockade is one thing, if they weren't getting enough notice maybe they would choose somewhere more prominent than Naboo, but what the Federation have done here… that is asking for an out and out war with the Republic. That is a war that the Federation cannot win."

Buffy's head was swirling from the barely understood politics. To her surprise, it was Dawn that spoke next. Buffy hadn't even realised that her sister had been sat amongst the Naboo, let alone paying avid attention.

"Could they be counting on the Galactic Senate not wanting to get involved for just a small planet like Naboo? I don't really understand much of this, but if Naboo is really so minor then maybe they hope it will be ignored. If they can gain Naboo as a territory because the Senate don't want a war then they gain a lot for very little effort."

Dashi's expression became troubled. "It is a possibility. The invasion happened so quickly – if the Queen had been able to get a message to the Senate she may have been able to sway them. But they have shut down all lines of communication."

An uneasy silence fell across the Naboo while they considered her words.

"Yousa know a lot about da politics." One of the gungan commented, looking intently at Dashi. The woman shifted uneasily under the scrutiny.

"I…well, I worked as a clerk under the Minister for Trade and Interplanetary relations." She explained. "I was fairly low down, but I used to type a lot of his correspondence. With the blockade over the last month and the food shortages… I have been privy to some of the discussions between the Minister and the Queen."

"Food shortages?" Buffy asked. The Traders were also listening intently – they operated on the edge of Naboo society and were often not subject to most of its edicts.

"The Queen apparently ordered that the harvest be turned to fertiliser to replenish the nutrients in the soil." Dashi continued. "I don't know much about it, but it wouldn't have been a problem as Naboo had enough supply coming to more than compensate. But the blockade stopped the food coming through and yet it was too late to rescue the harvest."

Jakmé snapped her fingers. "That explains a lot! For the past month we have not been able to trade with Naboo settlements for food, we've had to turn to the Gungan instead."

"There was rationing," Erida chipped in. "We all had an allocated amount. It wasn't lots, but we didn't go hungry."

The nearby gungans had crept closer during the discussion. One of them now spoke up. "But da gungans had da plenty, yousa could have traded with usen."

An older gungan shushed him. "Da Naboo no like to trade with da gungans." She said solemnly to the youngster. "Dey not like da gungan food, mesa think."

Jakmé snorted. "It wouldn't have even occurred to them. Most Naboo forget that the Gungan exist, except in a distant way. The concept that you may have independent food sources that you could have shared would not have registered."

Dashi looked thoughtful. "That is true, at no point was there a mention of the Gungan at all." She looked apologetically at the gungans who had spoken. "I am beginning to realise that I know next to nothing about you or your culture, and I have supposedly been working in the department that trades with you."

The older gungan snorted. "Wesa not trade with da Naboo, except da Traders. Dey not see da value in much of da gungan stuff, we not see da value in much Naboo stuff."

"This is a mess." Buffy moaned, massaging her forehead. "So this invasion thing has been going on for ages, and no one told the gungans except the Traders who in turn didn't know much, but yesterday it got loads worse and robots forced all the Naboo citizens into camps."

"Droids." Fren spoke up. "They are called droids."

"Oh yeah, droids. I remember Roos saying. What's the difference?"

"A droid has some level of sentience." Fren explained with a huff. "It isn't just a mindless machine."

"It isn't?" Buffy asked in surprise. "They came across that way. All taking orders and everything."

Fren impatiently shook his head. "There will be a control somewhere for the droids from which they will be receiving commands, but built into their system is an ability to think independently. This separates them from mere robots."

"So what now?" Dawn asked. "We know that we could help the Naboo with food, but the Naboo are in camps. Could we help them escape?"

"There are too many," Thaila spoke for the first time, her voice quiet but carrying the weight of authority. "You would never be able to hide them all and the Federation has droids to spare. Even with as few as we are, it was risky to help us escape. Luckily, the droids were so busy rounding up the populace that they did not do a headcount and they should not notice that we are not there."

"If wesa no take people out, den maybe wesa could take things in." The young gungan who spoke before piped up again, ducking his head bashfully when he realised he was the centre of attention. But he was determined to get his point across. "D-dey may needs healing stuff, food for younglings."

One of the older gungan shushed him again, but Thaila's daughter Hana was looking at him thoughtfully. "I work in one of the hospitals in Theed." She said softly. "I was at work when the droids came, they took us all – even the patients that should not be moved. The only reason I am not still with the patients is that I was worried about mother." She looked at Thaila, who patted her hand. "The patients will be desperate for medicine, even just something to ease their pain."

"Then that's what we do." Buffy stated firmly. "We try to slip under the notice of these droids by sneaking supplies into the camps. We can use the waterways to get around, try to get into as many camps as possible. Then we hand out medical supplies and food if needed. We will need people who can pass as one of the Naboo to do it." She looked at the groups clustered around her.

"I'll help you." Jakmé flicked some dirt away from her leg and rolled her shoulders. "I might not fit in properly amongst the Naboo but I don't think a droid would be able to tell the difference."

"I will too," Hana replied in her soft voice. "I will be able to work out where medical help is best directed."

Once they had volunteered, many of the other Traders and Naboo followed suit. Dawn looked up at Buffy eagerly.

"I could-"

"No." Buffy interrupted immediately. Dawn's expression turned mulish.

"Why not? Everyone else gets to help. I should do my bit."

Buffy looked at her younger sister and realised, not for the first time, how much Dawn had grown since they had arrived on Naboo. "It's not that I don't want you to help," she explained gently. "It's that I think you would be of more use helping to bridge the gap between Hana and the Gungan healers, as you have spent time training under them."

"Oh." Dawn's grumpy expression dropped away as she considered Buffy's words, before brightening considerably. "Oh! I can totally do that! Let's go." She leapt to her feet and dragged Hana off to speak with the healers. Buffy spoke to the various groups of Naboo, helping to decide who would do what task. The Traders were particularly helpful, as before they had turned to the Gungan for help they had tried to find out as much as they could about the camps the Federation were putting in place.

Getting Boss Nass to agree to their plan wasn't as difficult as Buffy had thought it would be. For starters, most of the leg work wouldn't be done by gungans but Naboo, which meant that very few of his own people were getting involved. On top of that, his main concern was in pulling together the Gungan Grand Army, which required different equipment and supplies to those Buffy was proposing sending to the Naboo. He acceded to her request for heyblibbers, even going as far as providing skilled navigators and helmsmen to help them quickly negotiate the tunnels around the planet.

It went remarkably smoothly. In all, they managed to get supplies into six different camps. The Naboo entered first and made contact with the inhabitants, with the gungans then providing the supplies they needed. The increased Gungan movement did not go unnoticed and the Federation started sending droids to investigate the underwater cities it had heard rumours of. But they didn't look deeply enough at the dark tunnels to realise quite how interconnected they were, and by this time almost all the Gungan had relocated to the Sacred Place and out of harm's way. The Federation droids took to destroying the empty Gungan cities in annoyance but very few Gungan lives were lost.

All in all, 'help the Naboo' was a successful operation. Buffy should have known it was going too well.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jar Jar Binks looked at young Anakin Skywalker, fidgeting next to him in the main room on the Royal Starship. It was still a couple of hours before they were due to arrive at Coruscant, but Anakin could barely keep himself still. They were the only two people in the room, the Queen was with her retinue in her quarters and the Jedi were talking with the pilots. Anakin was obviously bored of the waiting around.

"Whatsa yousa doing, Ani?"

"I'm going to train to be a Jedi knight, Jar Jar! Won't that be amazing? I've always wanted to be a Jedi. Haven't you?"

"Mesa?"" Jar Jar's voice got even higher, if that was possible. "No sirree! Mesa not made for da fighting." He shook his head emphatically, his long ears flopping and making Anakin laugh.

"Sorry Jar Jar, I'm just excited." The boy's face fell. "It feels… wrong, to be so excited when mom can't come and share it with me."

"Shesa always wid you Ani, in yousa heart." Jar Jar told him solemnly. He was rewarded with a small smile.

"Thanks Jar Jar. So, you've really never wanted to be able to go around the universe saving people with a cool lightsaber?" Anakin posed as though he held a light stick out in front of him.

"Nope! Na uh, not mesa. Mesa not made to be a warrior."

"Is that something to do with your people not being warriors?"

"No! Gungans can be warriors, wesa gots a grand army. But mesa, mesa waaay to clumsy." Jar Jar grinned conspiratorially at Anakin. "If mesa needs a warrior, mesa call da Slayer!"

"A Slayer? What's a slayer?"

"Da Slayer is da great Gungan warrior. Da Slayer protects and saves da gungans when dey in trouble!"

"Wow! I wonder if I'll ever get to meet him?" Anakin wondered. Jar Jar was about to correct his pronoun when Qui-Gon walked in.

"Are you filling his head with stories from your homeland, Jar Jar? Come, we approach Coruscant. I thought you might like to watch the approach from the cockpit." The Jedi placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder and led him away. Jar Jar shrugged and rolled his neck, he supposed that for now he would be sticking with the Naboo Queen and her entourage.