Chapter 5 - Before the Fire
One Standard Year Later - Trade Federation Blockade, Naboo
Obi-wan Kenobi bounced on his heels as his Jedi mentor asked the pilot to contact the Trade Federation control ship and insist they be allowed to board. This was his first major mission to the Mid-Rim in his twenty-one years and he couldn't care less it was to settle a trade dispute. This was exciting!
Qui-Gon Jinn placed a hand on his shoulder, silently chiding him. Obi-wan calmed his movements and took a breath, releasing his pent-up emotions into the Force. Qui-Gon was right; it wouldn't be wise to charge into this without a clear head. The Nubian people were depending on them to resolve this dispute as quickly as possible. The Trade Federation Viceroy, Nute Gunray, appeared on the viewscreen and gave them permission to board his ship.
Obi-wan felt a ripple in the Force as they landed in the ship's hangar. He tried to grasp at it, but it slipped through his mental fingers before he could focus on it. Hmm, he'd ask Qui-Gon about it. A TC-14 droid met them at their ship and escorted them to a waiting room. As they advanced further into the control ship, the ripples came again, but their meaning still eluded Obi-wan's grasp. The corridors were curiously devoid of Neimoidians and droids and he could practically taste the tension in the air. As the doors closed, Obi-wan lowered his hood.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"I don't sense anything," Qui-Gon's calm and deep voice resonated throughout the room.
"It's not about the mission. It's something elsewhere, elusive."
Qui-Gon chided Obi-wan again, telling him to focus on the present. Obi-wan humbly agreed, but his unease grew as the ripples grew in intensity and the minutes passed without any appearance from a Trade Federation representative.
"How do you think the Trade Viceroy will deal with the Chancellor's demands?"
"These Federation types are cowards. The negotiations will be short."
Obi-wan hummed in agreement, but he had his own doubts. That the Trade Federation had even erected a blockade was a bold move. Would they have done it if they weren't confident they would be able to benefit from it? They eventually took a seat at the table and the TC-14 droid showed up again to serve them drinks.
"Is it in their nature to make us wait this long?" Obi-wan enquired, his blue-grey eyes flickering between Qui-Gon and the door. He took a sip of his drink and almost spit the sour liquid back out. He swallowed with difficulty and fought to keep a grimace of disgust at bay as the acrid taste lingered. Damn, that was nasty.
"No, it is not. You may be right about that bad feeling," Qui-Gon replied, taking a sip of his drink with barely a grimace before setting it down. "I sense an unusual amount of fear over something as trivial as this trade dispute."
Obi-wan leaped out of his seat and activated his blue lightsaber as he felt a harsh disturbance in the Force. Qui-Gon had also jumped up, his green lightsaber at the ready. They both ignored the droid who was panicking over spilled drinks. Their ship had just been destroyed and the lives of the crew had been snuffed out. Yellow gas hissed as it poured into the room.
"Dioxis," Qui-Gon warned and inhaled deeply.
Obi-wan sucked in a huge breath before the poisonous gas encased him. They reached for the aquata breathers in their utility belts. Qui-Gon was always insistent that they bring a set with them on missions. The breathers worked for filtering poisonous gases as well as providing oxygen in underwater environments. Obi-wan breathed in fresh air through the breather and closed his eyes as the toxic gas made them water.
After several long minutes, they sensed a contingent of Trade Federation battle droids waiting outside the doors. They inhaled some precious oxygen one last time and put the aquata breathers away as the door opened. Obi-wan followed Qui-Gon's lead as the older Jedi reignited his lightsaber and sliced a droid in half. They deflected blaster bolts and made their way to the main bridge, easily cutting down the droids in their way. The doors to the bridge proved to be more of a challenge than the battle droids, especially since the Trade Federation had erected blast doors. Qui-Gon was making progress by thrusting his lightsaber into the doors, melting them away. Obi-wan stood guard, fending off the attacking droids with ease.
A rattle of metal sounded as a pair of droidekas rolled down the corridor towards the Jedi.
"Master, destroyers!" Obi-wan hollered.
Qui-Gon withdrew his lightsaber from the door and turned about, just as the droidekas started firing. They deflected the blasts back towards the droidekas, but their shields held. These were of a different caliber than the B1 battle droids.
"It's a standoff, let's go," Qui-Gon said.
Obi-wan followed his lead as they fled from the droidekas and into a ventilation shaft. They followed the shaft, avoiding the side branches, and dropped into a hangar where they witnessed droids amassing within numerous landing crafts.
"Battle droids," Qui-Gon quietly stated. There were thousands of them.
"It's an invasion army," Obi-wan noted. What was the Federation thinking, invading the peaceful Nubians?
"This is an odd play for the Trade Federation. We've got to warn the Naboo and contact Chancellor Valorum," Qui-Gon's brow wrinkled. "Let's split up. Stow aboard separate ships and meet down on the planet."
Obi-wan nodded in agreement and then smiled as he thought of something his mentor had said earlier. "You were right about one thing. The negotiations were short."
Qui-Gon gave a small laugh at the cheeky comment and motioned for his Padawan to follow him.
-oOoOoOo-
Shit. Obi-wan cursed to himself as he jumped off the droid battle cruiser and slipped on the soft marsh grounds of the Naboo homeworld. He tried to recover his balance but failed and fell into the shallow pond the cruiser had landed next to. His lightsaber's Kyber crystal screeched in complaint. Luckily, the droid army wasn't alerted since he was the only one able to hear it. Obi-wan sprang up and tried to dry his lightsaber as quickly as possible. The Kyber crystal had always hated getting wet and refused to activate a beam when it came into contact with water. Cursing his stupidity, Obi-wan resigned himself to not being able to use his lightsaber for a while. He tucked it into a waterproof pouch he should have used beforehand and clipped it back onto his waist.
Thankfully, his clumsy exit from the droid battle cruiser hadn't been noticed. The droid commanders were too busy marshaling their troops. Obi-wan opened himself up to the Force to feel where Qui-Gon was. There! Obi-wan started running in the direction the Force was tugging at him. Minutes passed as Obi-wan ran through the foliage. The sounds of the droid army cutting down trees echoed throughout the forest.
"There's one!" A robotic voice sounded nearby.
Obi-wan looked over his shoulder and ran faster as he saw two droids equipped with blasters coming towards him on flying apparatuses. Shit, shit, shit! Blaster shots tore holes in the trees around him as he zigged and zagged to dodge the blasts. Again, he cursed himself for not having a weapon to defend himself with.
He rounded a dense grouping of trees and relaxed slightly as he saw Qui-Gon. He was talking to some amphibian creature, but he took out his lightsaber as he saw Obi-wan and the droids. He easily deflected the shots back to the droids, dispatching them quickly and sending the wreckages into the damp foliage.
"Thanks," Obi-wan said gratefully.
"Did your lightsaber get wet again?" Qui-Gon asked knowingly.
"Yes…" Obi-wan looked down guiltily. "I slipped into a pond."
"Obi-wan," Qui-Gon said, ignoring the effusive thanks of the amphibian, "Take care of your lightsaber. This weapon is your life. You must treat it as such."
"Yes, master. I'll do better," Obi-wan nodded humbly and stored those words in his memory.
"Moi, moi, I love you!" The amphibian creature said again… loudly.
"What's this?" Obi-wan questioned. The creature was quite bizarre and his yellow eyes were unusually bright.
"A local by the name of Jar-Jar Binks," Qui-Gon said curtly. "Let's keep moving."
The Jedi jogged off into the forest and were followed by the creature, who kept babbling.
"Ex-squeeze me. But the most-est safest place would be Gungan City. It's where I grew up. Tis a hidden city."
"A city," Qui-Gon considered as he halted. "Can you take us there?"
"Uhhh… on second thought, no, not really, no," Jar-Jar said. His yellow eyes slanted downwards and he shuffled his feet. "It's embarrassing. My afraid my been banished. The bosses would do terrible things to me. Terrrrrible things to me if me going back there."
Rumbles from the droid army filtered through the trees.
"You hear that?" Qui-Gon asked. "That is the sound of a thousand terrible things coming this way."
"If they find us, they will crush us, grind us into tiny pieces, and blast us into oblivion," Obi-wan said with relish, emphasizing the gravity of their situation. If this native's people in the Gungan City could help them, he wasn't above manipulating the Gungan a little.
"Ah. Yousa point is well seen," Jar-Jar bobbed his head. "This way, hurry!"
Obi-wan ducked as Jar-Jar whirled, almost slapping him with his fin-like ears. Qui-Gon and Obi-wan shared a look before turning to run after the Gungan. Their feet sank slightly into the mossy ground as they followed Jar-Jar through the trees. The Gungan was quick-footed; if the men hadn't been Jedi, they would have fallen behind. The sounds of the Trade Federation army crashing through the forests faded into the distance. The air grew thick with moisture and the canopy of trees became dense, casting a shade over their path. Jar-Jar slowed down as they approached a large body of water.
"Wesa going underwater now, okie-day?" Jar-Jar told them as he approached the edge of the lake. He paused and turned back to them. "I'm warning you. Gungans no like outsiders. So don't expect a warm welcome."
Obi-wan could have laughed at that. "Don't worry. It hasn't been our day for warm welcomes."
The Gungan smirked before letting out a loud holler. With skills similar to that of a Jedi, he leaped into the air and performed a couple of acrobatic twists before diving into the water. Obi-wan and Qui-Gon chose the more sedate method of wading into the water as they pulled out their aquata breathers again. Who would have thought they'd need them twice in one day? After fixing them in place, they sunk into the lake and waded after Jar-Jar, who was already a ways ahead.
Obi-wan's brown cloak was constricting his movement, but he chose not to discard it. It wasn't too bad and the water was rather cold. He and Qui-Gon followed Jar-Jar deeper into the depths of the lake. Fish of all varieties swam in groups around them, getting larger and less colorful as they descended. Finally, a dim light sparked into being in the distance. If Obi-wan could have sighed in relief, he would have; they were getting close. The Gungan City came into sight as they rounded a large group of rocks. Obi-wan's vision was blurry due to being underwater, but he could tell the city was a sight to behold. Domes of light spread out far into the distance and they seem to be interconnected by cylindrical corridors. He marveled at the Gungan's technology. It was incredible that they were able to create and maintain a city for their entire people at the bottom of the lake.
Qui-Gon tugged his sleeve – pulling him from his examination of the city – and pointed towards Jar-Jar. The Gungan was swimming for the largest bubble dome. They swam forward and caught up with him at what seemed to be the entrance. Obi-wan grunted with shock as he was gently pulled down to rocks adorning the bottom of the entranceway. Did they have some sort of artificial gravity? His amazement intensified as he walked through a bubble into the dome and his clothes instantly dried. He glanced back at the bubble as he took out his aquata breather. The Gungan people were geniuses!
"Sooo good being home!" Jar-Jar exclaimed, jumping up and down.
The Gungans in the area didn't seem too glad to see them. They were nervously muttering to each other, their brown and golden eyes alight with shock. Their murmurs grew into a dull roar, attracting a lot of attention. The local guards ran up and encircled them, pointing sparking spears at them.
"Yousa not welcome here," growled the lead Gungan in Common tongue, jabbing his spear at them.
Qui-Gon calmly stepped around Jar-Jar and gave a slight bow.
"We apologize for trespassing in your domain. We would not do so unless our need was dire," Qui-Gon said earnestly. "The Trade Federation has invaded your planet and is marching on Theed. My companion and I need to make it there before their armies arrive."
"Yousa on the wrong side of da planet, outsider. Yousa will find no help here. Wesa no friend to da Naboo," He chuckled harshly and spat on the ground. "Yousa leave now."
"Hey-o Captain Tarpals," Jar-Jar brightly said, peeking around Qui-Gon and giving the guard a cheeky wave. "Desa bombad. We should listen to dem."
"No, Jar-Jar," Tarpals shook his head in disbelief. "Wesa no longer going to tolerate your antics. Leave."
"Desa need to see da big boss!" Jar-Jar insisted.
Tarpals growled in frustration. "Yousa should not have brought dem here. Yousa going in front of da bosses for this. Yousa in big doodoo this time! Seize them!"
Guards lunged forward to hold the Jedi securely and roughly march them further into the dome. They weren't as kind to Jar-Jar, who was zapped by a spear and dragged after them. They were taken to a chamber in the center of the bubble dome. Golden light from the other domes illuminated the gigantic aquatic life swimming past the dome's windows. Opulently dressed Gungans were sitting in a semi-circle and conversing with each other but fell silent as the Jedi were brought in.
"Outsiders, Boss Nass," Tarpals said with a bow.
The Gungan guards shoved Qui-Gon and Obi-wan forward into the circle before the council.
"Yousa not supposed to be here," Nass clicked his tongue. "Otoh Gunga is a place for Gungans only."
"We understand and we apologize for our intrusion," Qui-Gon said humbly. "Please give us aid and we will be on our way. A droid army has invaded Naboo and is marching on Theed and we must arrive there first."
"Wesa don't care about da Naboo," Nass gargled ferociously. "Da army of mackaneeks can destroy dem with our blessing!"
"You cannot mean that," Obi-wan said as the councilmembers murmured in agreement with their leader. He was incredulous that the Gungans felt this way about the people they shared a planet with. "What happens to the Naboo affects you and your people in turn. If the Federation gains control of the surface, it's only a matter of time before they discover this city and attack."
Boss Nass chuckled, tilting his head at an arrogant slant.
"Mesa no think so. Otah Gunga is well hidden. No one could attack it and even if de Federation tried, dey would fail."
Obi-wan sighed inwardly. They were getting nowhere with this argument and they couldn't afford to lose any more time. Every second they spent here increased the likelihood they wouldn't make it to the Nubian capital in time.
"Wesa will not help da Naboo," Boss Nass huffed with a superior nod of conviction.
"Then speed us on our way," Qui-Gon said with a small wave of his hand. It seemed like planting an idea in the boss's mind was their only option to get the help they needed. "We would appreciate a transport to take us to our destination."
He would have continued, but there was an immediate uproar. The Gungans seated on the council shouted at them in a cacophony of noise. Among the insults, there were even calls to throw them into the abyss. The Gungan guards snapped from their prone positions into a defensive stance. Obi-wan couldn't help but sidle towards Qui-Gon a bit to gain some distance from the electric spears. Boss Nass was shaking with fury as he pointed an accusatory finger at them.
"Yousa dare attempt a mind trick on me?" he shouted, spittle flying everywhere. "Such practices are forbidden here!"
Shit. Obi-wan looked to Qui-Gon for guidance. How were they going to defuse the situation? They needed the Gungans' help.
"We mean no disrespect, Boss Nass," Qui-Gon humbly said. "But we do need to reach Theed. We have orders from the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic to dispel the Trade Federation's boycott of this planet. Unfortunately, the situation has escalated and we are now dealing with an invasion force. If we do not act quickly, all will be lost, including your way of life. One of your own, Jar-Jar Binks, suggested using transports located here in Otah Gunga. If we had other ways of reaching Theed, we would have pursued those avenues first."
"Binks!" Nass hissed in surprise, his eyes widening as he clocked the Gungan held securely by the guards behind them. "Yousa led dem here?" He focused his glare at Tarpals. "Yousa let dem in?!"
The Gungan guard paled as he realized his blunder and immediately started spouting hasty apologies in his native tongue. After a while, Nass impatiently cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Da Naboo, yousa said?" The Gungan leader calmly asked Qui-Gon.
"Yes, we require safe transport to the Naboo capital," Qui-Gon affirmed.
Obi-wan could tell his mentor was a little perplexed by Nass's sudden switch from outraged to tranquil. This change of temperament was indeed odd.
"Ahhhhh," Boss Nass said. An inspired glint lit up his eyes. "Da speediest way to da Naboo is through da planet core. Wesa give yousa una bongo," He pointed at Jar-Jar. "He will guide you through da abyss. Yousa saved his life; it belongs to yousa. Binks is your problem now."
Nass gargled in a ceremonious fashion, seemingly proclaiming this the end of their audience. Jar-Jar's yellow eyes blinked in shock and his mouth gaped open.
"Mesa? Go into da core where da gooberfish and clawfish live?" Jar-Jar protested. "Count me out of dis one."
"Yousa have broken yousa promise to no comebackie. Not only have yousa returned, but yousa brought outsiders with you," Boss Nass sternly looked down upon the reluctant Gungan. "Stay and yousa will be punished… pounded unto death."
Jar-Jar grumbled to himself but remained silent.
"Go now, before mesa mind is changed," Boss Nass beckoned the guards forward. "Make sure dey leave in da bongo."
"Thank you for your assistance," Qui-Gon bowed slightly to the Gungan council. "It will not be forgotten."
"Hmph," Boss Nass shooed them away.
They weren't dragged away this time, but the guards stayed close with their spears raised as Tarpals led the way out of the chamber. Jar-Jar sprang ahead to reason with him.
"All things considering, that went well," Obi-wan muttered to the older Jedi.
"I'm not sure it did," Qui-Gon frowned. "The atmosphere in that room was oddly charged. They weren't miffed we had intruded, they were petrified. And for a species which has isolated itself from the rest of the planet, it's rather peculiar they've encountered Jedi mind tricks before."
"Perhaps other Jedi have visited their city before us?" Obi-wan asked uncertainly. Historically, the Jedi's presence on Naboo had been minimal, but it was a possibility.
"I don't know," Qui-Gon shook his head. "But they aren't happy with us, that's for certain. Nass's sudden decision to provide us with a bongo to travel through the planet's core proves that. Who knows what lifeforms live down there?"
"Perhaps they're hoping we'll be eaten," Obi-wan shrugged. "And what's a bongo?"
"A transport," Qui-Gon supplied readily. "I hope."
The guards led them into a smaller dome filled with tiny crafts floating in a makeshift lake. These must be bongos. They were triangular-shaped and looked to seat three or four people. Tarpals gestured for them to step into the nearest craft.
"Mesa don't know about dis," Jar-Jar shook his head vigorously. He glanced back at the Jedi, rubbing his hands nervously. "Wesa better take da kaadus."
"We need to arrive at Theed before the invasion force," Qui-Gon disagreed as he got into the back seat. "Don't worry. We'll be in good hands."
Obi-wan blinked. His mentor wanted him to drive? He'd almost crashed their speeder into a building during a routine flight last week when a reckless driver had come racing around a corner. "Qui-Gon, are you sure you want me to pilot this vessel? This is a rather important mission. Perhaps you should–"
"I'm sure, Obi-wan," Qui-Gon gently cut in.
Obi-wan shook off his self-doubts and climbed into the pilot's chair. It wasn't like he would have to worry about irresponsible drivers in the middle of a planet. He quickly acquainted himself with the vehicle's controls. It was similar enough to the speeders back on Coruscant. Jar-Jar grumbled as he thumped down into the passenger seat next to him.
"Press da red button to close da bongo. It will not disengage until yousa reach air again. Da entrance to da passageways are straight ahead, beyond de edge of da city," Tarpals said, pointing into the distance. "Watch out for da big-un sando monsters."
"Dis is nuts-en," Jar-Jar shifted uncomfortably as Obi-wan pressed the blinking red button.
A transparent bubble sprang into being. With wonder, Obi-wan reached out to touch it. It was as solid as glass, yet it clearly was made of a different material. He took the oddly shaped controls and looked about. How was he supposed to exit this chamber? Tarpals was waving his hands around and pointing downwards. Obi-wan gently pressed the controls downward and the bongo sank. As they were submerged in water, the bongo's headlights flickered on and a tunnel came into view that led out of the city structure. He pressed the controls forward and their vehicle smoothly shot forward. They passed through a bubble protecting the dome from the rest of the lake and he could immediately feel some resistance on the vessel. Obi-wan headed straight, following Tarpal's directions.
"There's the entrance," Qui-Gon said as they passed the last glowing dome of the Gungan city and the water turned dark blue.
"I see it," Obi-wan confirmed and gently guided the craft into the small entrance.
The tunnel was large, enough to fit five bongos side-by-side, but stalactites and stalagmites stood as obstacles in their way. As they zoomed through, tiny orange crustacean creatures jumped out of their crevices, alarmed by the bright lights invading their space. Obi-wan smoothly guided the bongo through the pitch-black water, not speeding as he didn't want to crash.
"So why were you banished, Jar-Jar?" Obi-wan asked, a little curious about their passenger. What did he do to warrant such a harsh punishment for breaking his vow not to return to the city?
"Tis a longo tale-o, but basically mesa… aaa… clumsy."
"They banished you because you were clumsy?" Obi-wan found that a little unbelievable. That was an incredibly harsh reaction. He was clumsy as he was still growing. Sometimes, he couldn't keep up with his growing legs; he tripped over stuff all the time at the Temple when he wasn't paying attention.
"Mesa maybe caused one or two little bitty accidents," Jar-Jar shrugged. "Boom da gasser and crash-en into de bosses' heyblibber, den banished."
The crunch of metal filled the air and their watercraft came to an abrupt halt, throwing them all forward in their seats. As one, they all looked behind them to see what had caused their sudden stop. The culprit was a large and extremely ugly fish, maybe three times larger than their bongo. Its long, pinkish tongue had latched onto their ship and was pulling them towards its mouth.
"Wuh-oh!" Jar-Jar screamed in panic. "Big gooberfish! Huge-o teeth!"
He grabbed the controls and tried to propel them forward, but sent them in reverse instead. The bongo jammed itself into the creature's mouth. Teeth descended onto the craft as the creature prepared to eat them. Obi-wan wrestled the controls back from Jar-Jar and not-so-gently shoved him back into his seat. He didn't want the Gungan who had crashed his own version of a speeder into his leaders to pilot this bongo. Jar-Jar could probably survive the intense pressure and dangerous creatures that lurked down here if the bongo broke, but he and Qui-Gon couldn't. Obi-wan twisted the ship to angle their propellers towards the roof of the creature's mouth. The weird sensation startled the aquatic creature and it spit them out.
Obi-wan sent the bongo forward. He zig-zagged through the columns of rocks, trying to lose the creature. Despite its bulky physique, the creature was surprisingly agile. It stayed on their tail, snapping its beak at them. A slight gleam in front of the ship was the only warning Obi-wan got. He managed to swerve out of the way of the jagged teeth belonging to an even larger creature. The gooberfish wasn't so lucky; blood exploded into the water as it was caught and eaten.
"There's always a bigger fish," Qui-Gon said wisely, acting as if they hadn't almost been eaten.
Obi-wan admired his control. He was sort of freaking out. They hadn't even reached the core yet. What other creatures lurked down here? But that was the least of their concerns at the moment. Sparks were flying from the dashboard and the back of the ship as water dripped in through the damaged hull. Obi-wan didn't like the sound the power-drive was making. It sounded like it was draining.
"Keep going," Qui-Gon said reassuringly.
He pressed a hand to the wet hull above his head. The water stopped leaking into the ship and the power-drive sounded more lively. Obi-wan sent the bongo forward, letting the Force guide him. Hours passed as he dove through dark passages, flew past dense forests of algae, and evaded more fish who saw them as a food source. According to the readouts of the dashboard, the pressure around them was still increasing, indicating they were still headed towards the center of the planet. The bongo creaked around them, protesting the harsh treatment from its surroundings. Obi-wan gulped as the lights flickered and the power-drive whined.
"We're losing power," Obi-wan reported as an alarm blared.
Qui-Gon was using the Force to help with their power supply, so there must be something wrong with the wire connections. He guided the ship into an alcove and unhooked the panels under the controls. The wiring looked familiar to speeders he'd hotwired before. He gently pulled the wiring out to examine them as Jar-Jar panicked beside him.
"Stay calm," Qui-Gon spoke to the worried Gungan. "We're not in trouble yet."
"What yet?" Jar-Jar said incredulously, his yellow eyes sparking with indignation. "Monsters out there, leaking in here. All sinking and no power!"
Obi-wan grabbed yellow and green wires that were connected to the power core and a red wire that led to the controller and stripped them. He wound the yellow and green wires together and prepared to touch the red wire to them. Here goes nothing. He tapped the red wire to the conjoined yellow and green wires as Jar-Jar finished his tirade.
"When is yousa thinkin wesa in trouble?" Jar-Jar huffed at Qui-Gon.
Sparks flew and the bongo's headlights flickered back on, putting a monstrous eel-like creature on display. Its bulbous gray eyes blinked open and its mouth opened, revealing sharp yellow teeth. An electric, deep blue light spread through the creature's body as it fully woke up. Jar-Jar babbled in panic as Obi-wan twisted the bongo around and fled the area. The creature gave chase, snapping its jaws at them. Obi-wan tried to lose it in the dense maze of rocks, but the creature stayed on them. He rounded a large pillar and almost jumped in fright at the sight of an enormous aquatic creature opening its maw.
"Sando aqua monster!" Jar-Jar screamed in terror, covering his eyes.
Both Obi-wan and the eel-like creature tried to backtrack, but the sando aqua monster was much quicker. It snapped its jaws closed over them, thankfully missing them but chopping the eel-like creature in half.
"This is not good," Obi-wan muttered as he looked around the sando aqua monster's mouth, past the floating chunks of eel. Its teeth were firmly clamped shut and Obi-wan doubted the bongo could ram through them without losing structural integrity.
"Wesa gonna die in here!" Jar-Jar bemoaned, flailing his arms about.
Obi-wan couldn't help but agree with him for a second. The situation was indeed dire.
"Relax," Qui-Gon put his hand on Jar-Jar's shoulder.
The Gungan slumped in his seat and his eyes closed as he was lulled into a deep sleep.
"You overdid it," Obi-wan muttered.
"I needed a moment to think," Qui-Gon said, leaning forward and curiously looking out at their surroundings. "Well, I can say without a doubt that I've never been in a situation like this before."
"Never?" Obi-wan grinned, feeling a bit better. His mentor's calm demeanor was giving him hope that maybe all was not lost.
"We may have gotten close a few times," Qui-Gon smirked nostalgically. "Can you keep the leaks at bay while I get us out of here?"
He closed his eyes in concentration and leaks sprang out from the ceiling. Obi-wan reached out and encompassed the bongo with his energy, creating a force-field of sorts. The power-drive sputtered a little and he quickly diverted some energy towards that too. With that taken care of, he turned his attention back to Qui-Gon. His mentor was in a deep trance and breathing deeply.
After a few minutes, a dull roar echoed around them. The bongo was jostled as the creature moved. The cage of interlocked teeth opened and Obi-wan spared no time in propelling the bongo out. He looked behind them and saw the sando aqua monster shaking its head and opening its mouth again.
"Is it… yawning?" Obi-wan asked, impressed.
"A basic function all creatures share. I merely gave it a nudge," Qui-Gon smiled. He raised a hand to the ceiling of the bongo once more and took over supplying power to keep the craft going. He nodded towards an extension of rocks in the distance. "Head for that outcropping."
Obi-wan drove the bongo into the passageway underneath the protrusion of rocks. It was a very tight corridor; the bongo barely fit, but that worked in their favor. The large carnivorous fish couldn't follow them in here. Minutes later, the bongo exited the passage into a wide-open space.
"Kriffing Sith hells," Obi-wan gasped at the sight before him.
Aquatic creatures of all shapes and sizes were present in every direction, equipped with sharp teeth, fangs, or claws. Most of them were larger than the sando aqua monster. And they were all turning towards the small vessel. Well, shit.
A/N: There's always a bigger fish. (⌐■_■)
What do you think about their journey through the planet's core?