Whispers of Menace
A Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Alternate Universe
Chapter Seventeen:
Battle Plans
and
Retaking the Palace
By morning, Panaka and a few of the guards had left to infiltrate one of the camps, hoping to find other Naboo who were willing to fight for their freedom.
I'd tried again to teach Anakin, but he was just too hyper to pay attention to me. And given the situation, I could forgive it this time. So I sent him up a tree to join the Gungan who was watching for the security detachment's return. That way he had something to do and someone else to pelt with inane questions.
I drew Padmé aside as soon as I could.
"Are you planning on sending fighters to attack the control ship?" Her brows furrowed in mild surprise at my query.
"If we have enough pilots, yes. It's the quickest way to neutralize the droids. Why? Do you want to lead that part?"
"Oh, Force, no," I said, holding up my hands. "I don't touch the controls of any vehicle; that's a disaster waiting to happen." She giggled. "No. It's just… he wants to help so badly. But he wouldn't even be an appetizer for that Sith creature, and a running lightfight would be almost as bad. Fighters, though?" I paused. "You'd be pouring liquid luck into those pilots' tanks if you asked him to help them."
"He's so young, though…"
"Slavery is far from kind to anyone, Padmé. In some ways, Ani is older than you; he's seen so many of the terrible things people can do to each other, things that would make you sick, at best. But his mother also taught him about some of the best parts, which makes him work even harder to get good results." I sighed. "I couldn't ask him to hide while the 'grown-ups' fight, either, because that would be cowardice, something no slave can afford."
She stalked away for a moment, clearly upset. I let her pace until she regained control.
"The morning of the race, I was the one who woke him up." I nodded, remembering. "He told me that he'd dreamed of me leading a huge army into battle. He dreamed he would be a Jedi. And now, both of those dreams are happening. But…" Her breath caught on a near-sob as she bit her lip. "But what says that either of us will survive this fight? He's barely lived; I couldn't bear it if he died."
"Padmé, listen to me." I gently took her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "Yes, Anakin has prophetic dreams, and they are just as valid as my Master's visions ever were. Ani's seen beyond this conflict, many years beyond, and you were both there. This is not going to kill us." Her shoulders slumped, and she let me pull her into a hug.
"He'll need a good astromech to look after him, if he's going up," she finally said, pulling away. "Do you think Artoo…?"
"I'm sure Artoo would be delighted. You should have seen them on the landing platform before we left Coruscant." Fortunately, by the time my Padawan slid down the tree to inform me that Panaka's speeder was in sight, I'd been able to cheer up the courageous young Queen. Sometimes, it was easy to forget that she was only fourteen.
The captain had brought back guests who were gladly received: guards and pilots from the palace who'd been able to keep their heads down, avoiding drawing attention to themselves while gathering information that could be vital to planning our attack. Jar Jar didn't join the discussion, because he had fainted for some reason. Boss Nass' devious smirk probably had something to do with it.
"What is the situation?" Padmé asked as soon as we all gathered. I made sure Ani had a good view of the tactical holo-diagrams that Artoo was projecting.
"Almost everyone's in the camps," Panaka reported. "A few hundred police and guards have formed an underground movement. I brought as many of the leaders as we could transport." He heaved a weary sigh. "The Federation army is also much larger than we thought, and much stronger."
~That probably means that a significant percentage of the droids are those rolling destroyers.~
"Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think we can win."
"The battle is a diversion," she countered. "The Gungans must draw the droid army away from the cities. We can enter Theed using the secret passages on the waterfall side. Once we get to the main entrance, Captain Panaka will create another diversion so that the main force can enter the palace and capture the Viceroy." With every sentence, Artoo changed his images to fit the topic. "Without the Viceroy, they will be lost and confused." She turned to face our 'corner' of the gathering. "What do you think, Master Jedi?"
"The Viceroy will undoubtedly be well-guarded." Qui-Gon sounded worried, stroking his short beard in thought. With Padmé throwing herself into danger in such a manner, our task of protecting her would be more difficult.
"The real difficulty will be getting into the throne room," the captain corrected. "Once we're inside, we shouldn't have a problem."
"There is a possibility that many Gungans will be killed in this diversion," I warned.
"Weesa bein' ready ta do our-sa part." I was beginning to think that the odd-looking race might actually need some sort of competition in order to be right in the head. That could be part of Jar Jar's problem, given his fear of physical confrontations.
"We have another facet of the plan that should immobilize the droid army," the Queen added. "We'll send what pilots we have to knock out the control ship in orbit. If we can get past their ray shields, we can sever communications, and the droids will be helpless." She looked at Ani for a few seconds, then sighed. "Padawan Skywalker and Artoo-Deetoo will be part of that attack. I would appreciate it if some of you would give him a crash course on the N-1's controls." A few of the pilots nodded slowly, evaluating him with their eyes.
"A well-conceived plan," Qui-Gon admitted. "There is a great risk, though; your weapons may not penetrate the control ship's shields."
"If anyone can do it, it'd be Anakin," I reminded the older Jedi.
"There's an even bigger danger," Obi-Wan pointed out. "If the Viceroy escapes, he will return with another, larger droid army." Nemoidians held grudges until they died of old age, then had them stuffed and mounted.
"That is why we must not fail to capture the Viceroy. Everything depends on it."
We spent a while going over parts of the plan in greater detail, then set it in motion, heading for the capital.
Shadows helped as we crept through the streets of Theed, already split into two groups. Captain Panaka had one of the handmaidens to help take charge of twenty members of the palace guard. They were our diversion.
Our group included all of the Jedi, Padmé, the handmaiden in the royal facepaint, Artoo, nine pilots, and half a dozen guards. Two of the N-1 starfighters had been destroyed during our escape, leaving just enough for the remaining pilots and Anakin.
Once we reached our position, Padmé used a high-focus lightpen to signal our readiness. A flash from the other group's spot answered.
"Remember what I said before the race?" I whispered to Ani. He gave me a slightly confused look. "Concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Use your instincts." His mouth set into a determined line as he nodded once.
Blaster fire erupted at the other end of the plaza as the diversion began. We dashed the last fifty meters to the hangar, Qui-Gon opening the door with the Force so that we didn't need to stop. When the last of our twenty-two-person team had passed through, I used the Force to make the components of the latch freeze up; no one would be able to use it until I released it, unless they took it off by the hinges.
That took only a moment, and then we were all charging into the hangar. The pilots, including Anakin and Artoo, ran for their fighters, while those with blasters provided cover fire against the droids reacting to the alarms. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and I wove an emerald-and-sapphire barrier with our lightsabers, protecting the remaining eight non-sensitives. Nine fighters left right away, but Ani only powered up his weapons systems. Grim determination hummed along our training bond.
The only explanation I could come up with was that something was coming, something blasters and lightsabers could not easily dispose of. Kriffing destroyer droids.
The group slowly backed toward the doors into the palace. We'd reached the huge columns when the other set of doors, the ones leading to the power generators, slid open. One figure, clad in black, stood there, glaring at us all with a profound hatred. The droids in the hangar had scattered, and all blaster fire had ceased. My comrades and I stepped forward as one.
"We'll take care of this."