I walked besides Obi-Wan and Anakin through the halls of the Jedi Temple. I had already visited the Temple once earlier, to ask if I could set up a meeting with Anakin and Obi-Wan. But walking through its great arched hallways on the smooth marble floor, the place still filled me with a sense of wonder. I had always been jealous of Anakin for getting to live here, and being raised a Jedi, while I had to work ridiculously hard to earn my way out of slavery in Tattooine- although, I couldn't really be upset with him since the prize money he gave me and the others had really helped my situation.

Anakin seemed to be trying to give me a tour of the Temple.

"So this is where I was first trained as a young padawan," he said, pointing to a room where several young children were heading out of. "And that- that's the Jedi Library."

"You have a library?"

"Yeah, of course. You need to learn about more than the Force as a Jedi," he said smugly.

We arrived at the Jedi Masters' Council room, and Obi-Wan pushed ahead of us to open the sliding doors. It was a white, circular room that had been designed to look both simple and powerful. Out of the nine chairs sitting there, only six of them were occupied. I looked around at the Jedi masters already there. Some of them were instantly recognizable. The great Yoda, small wrinkled figure, was sitting on an elevated chair, scratching the tufts on his ears. Master of the Order Mace Windu was sitting on the left, a tall, dark-skinned man with a serious expression on his face. I also recognized Kit Fisto, who had talked with me earlier and helped me find where Anakin was staying on Coruscant.

As we walked in, all eyes turned to us.

Mace Windu spoke first. "Master Kenobi, Anakin, Ambassador," he said, acknowledging each of us. He narrowed his eyes at me, as if not sure what I was doing here. I too felt like I didn't really belong be in this room with all these powerful Jedi; it was unsettling.

"Good to see you, Masters," said Obi-Wan. "I have some interesting news."

"We have news for you too, Obi-Wan," said a Jedi master sitting on the right, who had a very large forehead. "Our scouts in the Western territories have found that the Separatist rebels have shot down two Star fighters and a civilian ship. They are gaining in strength."

Obi-Wan looked up, puzzled. "How could this happen? Master Sifo-Diyas, with all due respect, are you sure this information is correct? We vastly outnumber them on the Western territories…"

"They have someone powerful working for them on the inside," Mace Windu stated flatly.

"You think perhaps a member of the Senate?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"Perhaps," said Mace. He lowered his voice. "But there is someone else out there. Someone to fill the void left by Nute Gunray and Rune Haako. They've been outstrategizing us at every vantage point."

"Clouded, the Force is," said Yoda. All eyes turned to him. "There is a darkness, growing, hmmmhmm."

"I agree with Master Yoda," said Mace. "There's something not quite right here."

I decided to speak up. "Maybe I can be of help," I said. The masters looked at me curiously, and I removed the hologram disc from my pocket. "This hologram has a message concerning the Separatist movement."

Master Sifo-Diyas took the disc from me and inserted it into a hologram machine on the table. Everyone watched, frozen, as the figure flickered to life. He repeated his brief message, and then I watched him get shot for the fourth time.

There was a notable silence in the room.

"So this was why you were asking me about the Gungan," Obi-Wan said to me finally.

"The Gungan- could it possibly be the one you mentioned- Jar Jar Binks?" I asked.

Obi-Wan laughed. "It's not Jar Jar. Jar Jar's a good friend, who's saved my life multiple times."

"Besides, he isn't capable of evil plotting or whatever," Anakin added.

"Never a good thing, blind trust is," Yoda interjected, fixing Obi-Wan with his bulbous eyes.

"Obi-Wan's right," said Mace. "I have spent a good amount of time with Jar Jar Binks. There is no darkness in him."

"Okay." I held my hands up. "Probably not Jar Jar." I was still uncertain about the others' conviction for him, but I didn't want to irritate them. "Are there any other possible Gungans who could fit?"

"Well, you do plan to go with Anakin and Senator Amidala to Naboo," said Obi-Wan. "And that is the home of the Gungans. Maybe you can find out there."

"Senator Amidala wishes to go to Naboo?" Mace Windu asked.

Obi-Wan nodded.

"And you're sure Anakin is up to the task of protecting her?"

"Yes. I am," stated Obi-Wan. Anakin looked at his master, a mixture of surprise and gratefulness on his face.

"And what do you plan to do, Master Kenobi?" asked Mace.

"I plan to go investigate who was trying to kill Senator Amidala. I have a friend in the Outer Rim who can help me find out who made this dart," he said, holding up the poison dart in his hand. "I'll work from there."

"Very well," said Mace.

Obi-Wan bowed once, and then turned to exit. Anakin followed him out, and I got up to do the same.

"Wait." Master Yoda's voice stopped me. I turned around. The sliding doors closed behind Anakin and Obi-Wan.

"Come, walk with me," Yoda said. He waved his walking stick and the doors re-opened. He floated through them slowly on his hoverpad, and I followed him out.

"It is in you," said Yoda, as I walked next to him in the hallway.

"What?" I asked, confused. I was not sure if Master Yoda was entirely sane.

"The Force, it is in you," he croaked. "Faint, it is. But feel it, I do."

I stared at him, shocked. The Force was in me? How? "I don't understand," I said weakly. "How would I not have known… How- I've never felt anything…." I had never felt anything like what I thought the Force was in my life. I had no special skill or anything like Anakin with flying…

"The Force flows through all living things," Yoda said. "In some, more than others. No Jedi, you are, but still you can use it."

"Use it? How?"

"Go now, I must," Yoda replied happily. "My padawans need me. Mmmmhhhhmm." He floated over to a group of children who were laughing in the corner. I was left standing there.

Anakin was waiting for me outside the temple. "What took you so long?" he demanded.

"Oh, Master Yoda just wanted to warn me about the trip," I lied.

Anakin nodded. He put his hand on my shoulder, his eyes filled with false concern. "Are you really sure you want to come along?"

I shook him off, grinning. "I can handle myself. Nice to see you so concerned about an old friend though." Truthfully, I felt sort of bad about not letting Anakin go on a trip alone with Padme, since he was clearly head over heels for her. But I really wanted to get to the bottom of this Gungan mystery, and Naboo was the best place for that.

We reached the ship, a lightly-built Star Skiff. It was perched on a landing platform upon a layer of sandy ground. There was someone already inside, the figure showing through the clear windows.

"Hey!" yelled Anakin, and we ran toward the ship. He opened the latch. There was a tall, gangly creature with warty skin and a long neck in the cockpit, fiddling with the controls.

A Gungan. I drew my blaster.

"Stop," said Anakin, covering my blaster. "What are you doing here, Jar Jar?"

I blinked. So this ridiculous-looking creature was Jar Jar Binks?

"Ohhhh," squealed Jar Jar, swinging his long neck wildly. "Master Ani, meesa just look for something nocomebackie."

"You lost something?" Anakin asked. "But why would it be on my ship?"

"Meesa thought yousa might has taken it," said Jar Jar, and he nodded his head vigorously several times.

"Okay," said Anakin uncertainly. "Well it's not here, Jar Jar."

"Okeeday," said Jar Jar, hopping out of the ship. "Byesa Master Ani!" He left, swinging awkwardly away on his big legs.

"Well, that was strange," I said.

I caught sight of Padme Amidala in the distance. She was talking with several of her handmaidens. She hugged one of them tightly, and then walked towards us.

"What was Jar Jar doing here?" asked Padme, reaching the ship.

"Looking for something, apparently," said Anakin, shrugging. He gazed at Padme intensely. "You look beautiful even in casual clothes, Padme." She had changed into unassuming brown cotton robes to avoid being noticed as she left.

There he goes with the creepiness again, I thought. I changed my mind. I didn't feel bad about not leaving them alone.

Padme giggled uncomfortably. "Well, I can't be wearing royal outfits all the time. Anyway, let's get going."

She opened the latch, and we climbed into the ship. Anakin immediately got into the driver seat, ready to start piloting. Padme took a seat next to him and I sat down behind them.

"You sure you want to fly it?" I asked.

"I'm a great pilot," replied Anakin. "Trust me."

"I know you're great at flying," I said, remembering his podracing victory back in Tattooine. "But you're reckless, as well as overconfident."

Anakin snorted as he ignited the engines. "You sound like Obi-Wan." The aircraft started to hover off the ground.

"Sounding like Obi-Wan isn't a bad thing," Padme pointed out.

The ship took rose up into the air. I lurched backwards as Anakin pressed down the accelerator, and it zoomed off into space.