The group stood in a large chamber. The Jedi were standing on a suspended platform while a Council of Gungans, all of who were wearing regal robes, surrounded them. In the center was a particularly large Gungan. His ears were tied back by a small beaded clasp, and his eyes were looking at the Jedi with a critical look. From his robes, Ayame identified him as the leader of Otah Gunga. His name, as she found out, was Boss Nass. He leaned back and made a clicking noise.

"Yousa cannot be here. This army of mechanics up there is you weesa," he said, his voice a deep rumbling bass.

"The droid army is about to attack the Naboo," Qui-Gon said slowly and clearly. "We must warn them."

"Ha! Da Naboo tink dey so smartie. Dey tink dey brains so big," Boss Nass spat.

"Once the droids take control of the surface, they will take control of you," Obi-Wan said, stepping forward.

"Meesa no tink so. Dey don't know about ussen," Nass replied. Ayame shook her head and stepped forward beside Obi-Wan

"You and the Naboo for a symbiant circle; what happens to one of you will affect the other, you must understand this," she said. But the Boss was unmoved.

"Weesa no carrrren about da Naboo," he said, rolling his r's. Qui-Gon sighed. He had hoped that it would not have to come to this. He had to use the Jedi Mind Technique.

"Then speed us on our way," he said, waving his hand, pushing the Gungan's mind with the Force.

"Weesa gonna speed yousa way," the Boss said. Both Padawans felt the push of the Force that Qui-Gon was using and looked at each other, grinning.

"We could use a transport," Qui-Gon continued, still waving his hand.

"Weesa give yousa una Bongo. Da speediest way to da Naboo tis going through…the planet core. Now, go," Nass said, waving his own hand. Qui-Gon smiled.

"Thank you for your help, we leave in peace," he said, bowing. The other two bowed and followed their master.

"Master, what's a Bongo?" Obi-Wan asked.

"A transport," Ayame replied, sure that Qui-Gon didn't know. As they walked up, they passed Jar Jar, who had been behind them, in chains, with two guards flanking him. He leaned out to them as they passed.

"Desa setting yousa up. Going through the planet core? Bad bombin! Umm, any help here would be hot," he added sheepishly.

"Master, we're short on time," Obi-Wan objected as he noticed his Master stop. But, Ayame saw the familiar look in Qui-Gon's eye and didn't say anything.

"We need a navigator to lead us through the planet's core. This Gungan may be of help," Qui-Gon said, and turned back to Boss Nass and the council. "What is to become of Jar Jar Binks here?" he asked.

"Heesen to be…pewnished," Nass said, smiling. Jar Jar groaned.

"I saved his life. He owes me what you call a 'life debt.' Your Gods demand that his life belongs to me now," Qui-Gon said. Boss Nass turned his gaze to Jar Jar.

"Binksss. Yousa have the life play with thissen hissen?" he asked. Jar Jar nodded sheepishly. Nass made a rumbling noise. "Be gone wit him!" he commanded. Qui-Gon smiled and bowed.

"Count me outta dis one. Better dead here, den deader in de Core," Jar Jar mumbled. "Ye Gods! Whatta meesa saying?" he yelled. The group was led to a dock where a strange looking craft sat waiting for them. Obi-Wan sat in the pilot seat with Jar Jar right beside him. In the passenger's seats were Qui-Gon and Ayame. Jar Jar was shaking before they even pushed off. When they did, they dove deep down into the depths of the watery core.
"Dis is nutsen," Jar Jar said. Then, he looked out the window. "Oh! Gooberfish!" he exclaimed, pointing to several colorful fish swimming by.

"Why were you banished, Jar Jar?" Obi-Wan asked.

"It's a longo tello, but a small part of it be meesa…uhh…clumsy," Jar Jar said.

"You were banished because you were clumsy?" Obi-Wan said, confused.


"Uhh, yousa might be sayin dat," Jar Jar replied. As they went on, Ayame thought that she felt a foreboding presence approaching behind them at a great speed. She was going to say something, but Jar Jar was still talking.

"You'd say, boom de gasser, den crash into bosses headlibber, den banished," he said, finishing his tale. Suddenly, the ship lurched to a stop. All four of them turned around. Jar Jar screamed, "BIG GOOBERFISH! HUGE OTEE!

"What is that thing?!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, trying to maneuver the ship.
\

"It's an Opee Sea Killer," Ayame replied. The fish started to swim away, but a humongous monster caught it. The monster bit down on the fish, causing the fish to let them go. Obi-Wan piloted the ship out of there in a snap. Meanwhile, Qui-Gon and Ayame were trying to calm Jar Jar down. They pulled through a cave, when suddenly the power was lost. The bite from the Sea Killer had caused considerable damage. Water was leaking slowly into the cabin. Jar Jar started to panic again.

"Relax," said Qui-Gon. "We're not in trouble yet."

"What yet? Monster's out there, leaking in here, all sinking and no power?! WHEN ARE YOUSA TINKING WEESA IN TROUBLE!?" Jar Jar exclaimed. Suddenly the power came back on.

"Power's back," Obi-Wan reported. The headlights blinked on to reveal another monster fish. And, yet again, Jar Jar started panicking. Obi-Wan whirled the ship around and headed for the outside of the cave. Just as they neared the entrance, the same monster from before showed up. It opened its huge mouth to swallow the Bongo and everyone in it, but Obi-Wan pulled up and pulled the sub over the monster. Sighing, they were soon out of danger and on their way to the Capital city of Theed. Soon, the sub came up in a river in the middle of the city. The Jedi stood up and looked around. The city was quiet. Ayame sighed. They were too late; the Trade Federation had invaded. They parked the Bongo and got out, running quietly to find Queen Amidala, the young queen of the Naboo. As they ran through the streets, they caught sight of a beautiful young girl who had her face painted white with two red dots, one on each cheek, and her top lip painted red with her bottom lip painted in just one spot, and dressed in a magnificent gown. Six or seven women in flame-colored robes and hoods and several other people in royal robes surrounded her. They had found the queen. The sad thing was that she was surrounded by battle droids. They had to do something. Together, the Jedi ran to an arch under which the group was to pass. In a second, the three warriors jumped down from the arch, ignited their sabers, and destroyed the battle droids. When the work was done, Qui-Gon turned to the Queen.

"We should leave the streets your Highness," he said. A man with dark skin and dressed in a security uniform ran around.

"Get their weapons," he said to the other security guards. Once they were out of sight, Ayame turned to the royal party.

"We are ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor," she said.

"Your negotiations seem to have failed, ambassador," said an old man. Ayame shook her head.

"The negotiations never took place," she replied. "We need to find a way to contact the Chancellor." The security Captain, whose name was Panaka, turned to her.

"They've knocked out all of our communications," he said. Qui-Gon stepped in.

"Do you have a transport?" he asked.

"In the main hanger. This way," Captain Panaka replied, leading the way. As they stepped into a huge hanger bay, Ayame saw a silver cruiser sitting there, waiting for them. Also, all over the hanger were yellow starfighters that were the same model as the cruiser. In the corner, a group of pilots were being held captive.
"We'll need to free those pilots," she heard Panaka say.

"We'll deal with that," Obi-Wan said, pulling Ayame along. Together, they were able to free all of the pilots in no time.

"Go!" Ayame shouted when they were free. Three of them went onto the cruiser while the rest just ran. Obi-Wan boarded the ship with Ayame close behind. They took off from the hanger, only to be shot at from a land fighter on the ground. Once they cleared the atmosphere, Ayame took Jar Jar to another room full of R2 droids.

"Now stay here and keep out of trouble," she said, and left him. As she made her way to the cockpit, she bumped into a girl in the flame colored robes. Ayame figured that she was a handmaiden.

"Oh, excuse me Master Jedi," the girl said, bowing.

"No, it was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. Oh, and I'm not a Jedi just yet. I'm still a Padawan," Ayame replied, bowing back.

"By the way, I'm Ayame."

"My name is Padme," the girl said. Suddenly, the ship lurched. Ayame heard Padme say something about the queen and ran off. Ayame ran to the cockpit to find Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan already there.

"The shield generator's been hit," she heard the captain say as she entered the cockpit. On a little screen, she saw a small group of R2 units trying to repair the damaged generator. However, with the blasts coming from the droid control ship that they were flying by, the little droids were being picked off one by one.

"We're losing droids fast," Obi-Wan said. Soon, there was only one little droid left. Desperate, Ayame closed her eyes and prepared herself to protect that little droid with the Force. She strained as she created a small shield around the droid, protecting him from any more blasts. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were staring at the screen, praying that the little droid would be safe. Suddenly, they felt a huge surge in the Force. It was coming from right behind them. The turned around and could almost see the Force radiating from her. As they turned back to the screen, still wondering what she was doing, they saw a laser blast bounce right off of the droid. Behind them, Ayame cried out in pain. The other two realized what she was doing and whirled around. "Ayame stop! It's too dangerous!" Obi-Wan yelled, going to shake her out of it. But he couldn't even get near her. There was too much power coming from her. Suddenly, the alarm that was going off for the shields stopped.

"Power's back! That little droid did it!" the captain said. Obi-Wan heard that and looked at Ayame, waiting for her to relax. But she didn't relax until that little R2 unit was back on board the ship. Once she could tell that he was safe, she let go. Doing something like that took most her energy, so she collapsed the moment she let the shield go. Obi-Wan was there waiting. As she collapsed, he caught her, picked her up, and took her to the medical center. He put her on a bed and got some of the medical supplies from a container. As he dabbed her head with a wet cloth, her eyes fluttered open.

"Obi-Wan..." she said weakly. He shook his head and placed a finger on her lips.

"Shh. Don't try to talk, Ayame," he said, shushing her gently. She just smiled. But his expression remained worried. "What were you thinking? You could have died," he said.

"I was doing it so that we had a chance," she replied, and closed her eyes. "I was worried about the queen...and you." There was silence after that as the ship flew away from the droid control ship and Naboo.