It is a time of turmoil in the Republic, as centuries of peace stand to be broken by the coming storm of war. The Republic Senate, for generations the protector of peace in the known galaxy, has seen its authority wither away to nothing.

With the loss of central authority, numerous dictatorial warlords have been able to secede from the Republic, so their systems will be held unaccountable for their actions. Many of these newly autonomous systems have waged wars to grow their nations, settle old grievances, or plunder their neighbors.

One such newly independent system, the Neimoidian Federation, has invaded and conquered the planet Naboo. They accomplished this with the aid of the planet's native Gungans and the backing of Hego Damask, the ruler of the Muun consortium. This new alliance among the Separatists has strained the galaxy to the breaking point.

Before the conquest of Naboo was complete, the planet's ruler, Queen Padme Amidala, sent out a message of distress to the Republic, appealing for help. While the sclerotic government has been unable to react, the Jedi Council has acted, getting approval to have two Jedi come to the planet.

...

A medium-sized ship emerges from hyperspace a substantial distance from Naboo and its surrounding blockade. It is a Republic transport that has been stripped of all markings identifying it as a Republic ship. This was done so the Federation warships would have no doubt the ship was there not to make war, it was merely there to deliver two observers, as had been agreed upon.

The pilot and co-pilot of the transport surveyed the scene before them, growing nervous. The planet was surrounded by warships, any one of which could have destroyed them before they even realized they were being attacked. While they knew an agreement had been made to give them safe passage, they also knew the agreement could be rescinded at any moment.

"Republic transport, state your mission and provide your authorization." The wheezy voice coming through the radio sounded unassuming and passive. They were just running through protocol, not looking to accuse the ship of being somewhere it shouldn't.

"We are here to deliver the Jedi envoys," the pilot said into his speaker as he keyed the comm. "They are to escort the queen to Coruscant, so that she may negotiate the armistice treaty to end this conflict." The pilot flinched as he said that last part, and his co-pilot noticed it. Once the comlink had been turned off the two were free to speak clearly. The co-pilot looked back to make sure the door to the passenger hold was closed.

"I noticed you had trouble getting out that last part." The co-pilot said to his superior.

"I'm just finding it hard to believe that everyone; the government, the Jedi, is simply going along with this. They're accepting this invasion. We're delivering these Jedi to facilitate the surrender of Naboo, all because everyone is too fearful to stand up to the authoritarian Muun dictator backing the Neimoidians."

The pilot looked back again to make sure the door to the passenger hold was closed. He didn't want the two Jedi back there to overhear what he was about to say, even though he wondered how much a closed door would prevent that. He knew they had the ability to read minds, although their code supposedly forbade them from using that power, save for certain circumstances. Of course, no one outside the ranks of the Jedi had any idea what those 'circumstances' were.

"You know, when I was young, I looked up to the Jedi, almost worshiped them. I believed all the stories I had been told. Granted, no one I knew had ever met one, but they all shared the stories. I heard all the time about the way they served the Republic and fought for peace." He glanced back at the passenger hold, figuring now that the two of them probably had an idea of what he was thinking and saying. "Now that I have met some and seen what they do myself, I am not impressed. They are nothing more than another cog in the corrupt power structure, just another group doing whatever it needs to in order to hold on to its own position."

The co-pilot shook his head as listened to the rant of his superior. He had never believed he was political, but the statement he made certainly revealed him to be someone who didn't care much for the Jedi. There seemed to be a lot of them lately. The citizens of the galaxy were not able to agree on much, but a growing hatred of the Jedi seemed to be one exception.

Having said his peace, the pilot stayed quiet as he guided the ship into the landing bay of the warship they had been directed to enter. He became extremely apprehensive as he saw all the guns surrounding the docking bay, knowing that at any moment one of them could open fire and destroy their ship. He had to remind himself that such slaughter of Jedi would not have been a wise act. The Neimoidians were known for being tentative and would never do something so bold. He breathed a sigh of relief once they were on the ground of the docking bay. He shut off the engines as they waited for the welcoming party, surprised to see it consisted of nothing more than a single protocol droid.

"There is a protocol droid here for the two of you," the pilot said into the intercom.

"Thank you, lower the landing ramp for it." The voice of the Jedi that replied sounded deep and authoritative. When the Jedi had entered his ship, the pilot had not gotten a very good look at them. They had been wearing their hoods over their faces. All he could tell was they were two human males, and one was noticeably older than the other. He guessed it was the older one who had given him the command, even though he had not heard either of their voices until now. They had said nothing to the two pilots when they met. From what he knew, this lack of communication was typical for the Jedi, given their arrogance. They didn't even introduce themselves, which was apparently normal behavior for them. The Jedi never told anyone their names as they practiced anonymity. Although the pilot had heard the reason for it, he never quite understood. It had something to do with all Jedi lacking individually and existing only as part of the Order. The council was afraid if individuals gave their names and became too well known, they would become too prideful.

The pilot did as he had been commanded and watched as the indicator light on his console showed the ramp fully descended. The protocol droid disappeared under the ship but emerged a short time later with the two Jedi following him. The pilot breathed another sigh of relief to see their portion of the mission was over; they had delivered the Jedi and could now fly back to Coruscant. The pilot had expected one of the Jedi to tell them they were free to leave, but neither one apparently felt the need to give him any such order.

"I am going to fire up my engines and exit," he said as he radioed the ship's bridge. He wanted to make sure there weren't any misunderstandings when he started the ship.

"Approved," came the reply. The pilot wasted no time in starting up the engines and exiting the ship. The calculations for hyperspace had already been made, and they disappeared into hyperspace the moment they were clear.

...

The two Jedi followed the protocol droid through the halls of the ship. It led them to a conference room and told them to wait. Before the droid disappeared, he told them he would return with some refreshments. The door slid shut after he left. The younger Jedi smiled over the thought the Neimoidians probably believed they were locking the Jedi in the room. They failed to understand there was little that could hold a Jedi.

Alone now, the two Jedi pulled back their hoods as they waited for the protocol droid to return. With a moment to rest, the younger Jedi felt a nagging sensation coming through the Force. It was a feeling he had experienced several times since they left Coruscant. He couldn't explain the source of it, and it bothered him to no end.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, Qui-gon" the younger Jedi said.

"About this mission?" Qui-Gon Jinn replied.

"No, it's not that. It's something else, something elusive."

"Would it have anything to do with the fact this is your first mission as a full-fledged Jedi knight, Obi-wan?"

"No, I can assure you it is definitely not that." Obi-wan did his best to sound confident. "I don't feel any different than on all the other missions we undertook as Padawan and Master."

Qui-Gon smirked and nodded his head as Obi-Wan had broached a subject he had hoped he would be able to discuss with him. "I hope you are not disappointed that you are still accompanying me, despite being a Jedi Knight now. I know how anxious you are to go out on a mission alone."

"That can wait," Obi-wan replied. "I am glad to be on this mission with you. I know how important it is to get the Naboo queen escorted to the capital."

"Yes, it is, and I thought the Neimodians would be ready for us. I was expecting us to be taken right to another ship in the dock, one that would take us to the surface to meet-up with the queen."

"I was expecting that too," Obi-wan replied. "Do you think it means anything?"

"I'm not sure," Qui-gon said with a sigh. "I'm tempted to say yes, but it may just be that with the invasion and occupation, the Neimoidians are very disorganized."

"It was very out of character for them to carry out a campaign such as this," Obi-wan pointed out. "The species is normally very cautious."

"Yes, they are," Qui-gon agreed. "Recent events have shown that the abnormal is becoming the normal. For centuries, military conflicts were rare, but with the recent secessions, all that has changed. All the inter-system rivalries the Republic kept under wraps have flared up again. It seems every day brings word of a new conflict that has erupted."

"And every day also brings word of the Republic Senate unwilling to act to settle these conflicts," Obi-wan pointed out.

"A product of the Senate stripping itself of power to intervene in conflicts simply involving two systems," Qui-gon replied. "This conflict should have been different. While it is mostly an operation by the Neimodians, it is clear they would not have carried this out without the financial backing of the Muuns, who have also vowed to come to the aid of the Neimoidians militarily should anyone come to the aid of the Naboo."

"It is an alliance that is close to triggering laws in the Senate that should force the Republic to come to the aid of Naboo," Obi-wan said. "The law gives the Senate the duty to intervene in any multi-system wars. However, it appears this invasion is not quite technically there."

"Yes, it's clear Hego Damask is trying to push the Republic to act. He seems to want a large-scale war, as he has alliances with numerous other warlords to go to war against the Republic should any of them find themselves attacked by it. He is trying to trigger a war but doesn't want to be seen as the initiator."

"He never struck me as the kind of person worried about public opinion," Obi-wan said.

"I know, and that is why I get the sense something else is going on here." Qui-gon looked inquisitive as he spoke. He was speaking in a cryptic fashion again. It was something that Obi-wan had never quite gotten used to. He always wished the Jedi would be much more direct with what he was thinking and feeling.

"Is this something you felt in the Force?" Obi-wan asked.

"No, it's something I've assessed from trying to make sense of this invasion. I know the Neimoidians are thinking the queen will go to the Senate and sign away her planet, but I don't believe she will so easily acquiesce to their demands. I was here once twenty years ago, shortly after she was born. I got to know her parents well during that mission. They were very protective, and stubborn, especially concerning their daughter. They were just as devoted to their people as they were to their daughter. It is a trait you often don't see out of royals. The Neimoidians might be thinking the queen here will act like most royals and sign over anything for her own safety. This queen is not like that. She will look to fight, I can feel it. That is why I was surprised that the Neimoidians ever agreed to let us come here and escort her to Coruscant. If she reaches the capital, I think she will try and convince the Senate to invade and liberate her planet."

"Thus, triggering the large-scale war Hego Damask seems to want," Obi-wan pointed out. "It seems like the Neimoidians and the Muuns might be working at cross-purposes here."

"Yes, but I also get the feeling there is another power behind all these events." Qui-gon's cryptic words annoyed Obi-wan once again.

...

The hooded, scowling face of Darth Plagueis hovered in the middle of the communication room. The two Neimoidians were frightened as they conversed with their Sith partner. Things were not going as the Sith had planned, and yet, when they informed him of this, it was he who had gotten angry at them.

"Why did you even let the Jedi on your ship?" he yelled at them.

"We didn't know what else to do," Nute Gunray pleaded. "We had an agreement to let them aboard, so that was what we did."

"You had told us the mission was going to be canceled," Lott Dodd said as he tried to remind the Sith of what they had previously been promised.

"Yes, I know," Darth Plagueis said dismissively. "My apprentice assured me that he would be able to get the Council to call back the Jedi. Not only did he fail me, but he couldn't bring himself to inform me of his failure. I will deal with him. Right now, I need the two of you to kill the Jedi."

The two Neimoidians expected the Sith to give them instructions on how to do that. Instead, the frightening image of Darth Plagueis disappeared as he ended the transmission. Apparently, they were going to have to come up with their own plan.

"How do we kill a Jedi?" Lott asked Nute, trembling as he spoke.

"How am I supposed to know," Nute replied with a shrug.

...

When the protocol droid returned to the conference room with the promised refreshments, he found the two Jedi in the middle of a discussion about Naboo.

"I know you've been saying that you believe the Queen will resist the pressure to sign her planet over to the Federation," Obi-wan began. "You are basing that off what you know of her parents, when she may very well be nothing like them. She has gone through much in her life, and those events might have shaped her in ways neither one of us can truly understand. Her parents were assassinated by Gungan terrorists when she was eight. The mantle of leadership was thrust on her at a young age, even though most decisions were made by the appointed regents. She learned how to rule not from her obstinate parents, but from the cowardly and craven politicians that composed the ruling council. If she follows their lead, she will sign over her planet without a moment of hesitation."

"She will take after her parents, not the politicians," Qui-gon said. "People cannot escape who they were born as, and Queen Padme will be no different. I have followed how she takes after her parents in relation to her younger sister, Princess Soala. She has done her best to have her the girl raised off-planet. She has sent her to boarding schools and holidays on other systems in order to ensure she will not suffer the same fate their parents did. If she is like her parents in their protectiveness, she will be like her parents in other ways. She will fight for her planet just as they would have."

"In her sister's case, her protectiveness ended up not working. She was caught here for the invasion and is now imprisoned with her sister. I'm not sure she will be willing to fight for her planet when both her life and her sister's are on the line."

They took their drinks from the protocol droid. No longer needed, the droid turned to leave. The two Jedi both took large gulps from their drinks with no thought it might have been unsafe for them to do so.

Obi-wan picked up where he left off. "While I'm not sure if the queen is a fighter, she is quite remarkable. After her parent's assassination at the hands of a small number of Gungans, she could have easily held the entire populace responsible, but she refrained. Her treatment of the entire species has been rather remarkable, especially by colonists' standards. She even has a Gungan as head of her personal security. From what I heard, he was raised by humans on Naboo, but that is still a remarkable level of trust shown."

"And yet, her reward for such behavior was to have the entire Gungan populace join the Neimoidian forces in taking over her planet. The species always resented the humans for colonizing the surface and have finally taken their revenge."

"They might have gotten their revenge, but I wonder to what end helping the Neimoidians improves things for them," Obi-wan said. "The Neimodians are simply going to replace the humans, and probably end up extracting more resources from the planet and pushing the Gungans out of their homes."

Qui-gon didn't hear much of what Obi-wan said, as his attention was drawn to the protocol droid who was trying to leave. The door wasn't opening for him and he was throwing a hissy fit over its failure. The Jedi couldn't understand how the door could have broken in just a matter of seconds, it had opened fine for the droid to enter. Feeling something was wrong, he looked around the conference room, and that was when he noticed a bird in a cage, dead.

"Do you see that?" Obi-wan said as he pointed at the cage, noticing the same thing.

"Yes, they've released poison gas into the room."

"What should we do?"

"Take the opportunity to practice our hibernation techniques."

...

A platoon of battle droids stood outside the door to the conference room. They had been given instructions to enter after the poison gas killed the Jedi, but none of them knew how long that was supposed to take.

"Surely, they must be dead by now," droid 1138 said.

"Are you sure?" droid 1977 asked.

"No, but let's open the door anyway." No one moved to stop 1138 as he walked to the controls and opened the door. The other droids braced themselves for an attack that never came. The Jedi were both seated at the table, slumped over in their chairs, dead. If the droids possessed emotions, they would have been greatly pleased.

The entire platoon tentatively entered the room and walked over to where the Jedi were sitting. "How do we know if they're really dead?" droid 1999 asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" 1138 replied. Droid 1983 decided to take the initiative his droid companions were unwilling to take. He walked up to the younger looking Jedi to try and confirm he was completely dead. He reached out to touch him, to see if he was breathing, when the Jedi suddenly came to life. In one swift movement, the Jedi pulled out his lightsaber, activated it, and sliced through the droid.

Across the table, his master came to life as well, leaping across the table to start slicing through the droids gathered around them. Together, the two Jedi were able to take out the entire platoon in a matter of seconds.

"What do we do now?" Obi-wan asked his master once all the droids were lying in pieces.

"We get out of here," Qui-gon replied. "Those droids have an automatic distress signal that would have activated immediately. Reinforcements should be on their way."

"They're already here," Obi-wan yelled. He was looking out the door and could see the droidekas rolling right toward them. The two Jedi ran out to meet them in combat and made it out the door just as the droideka's unfolded. The droids raised their shields as they started firing furiously at the two Jedi.

The Jedi were able to deflect all the blaster bolts with their lightsabers. While they were successfully defending themselves, neither one saw any options for taking the offense and destroying the droids.

"We're going to have to go around them," Obi-wan yelled.

"I agree," Qui-gon yelled back. He glanced over at the hallway on their right flank. "Follow me and run." With the wind of the Force behind them, the two Jedi took off running at super speed. They ran through the ship without stopping until they reached the hangar, where inactive battle droids were being loaded into the troop transports.

...

"Where did they go?" Nute Gunray yelled to no one in particular. All the Neimodians in the bridge were watching the video feed from the droidekas. They were watching, expecting to see the death of the two Jedi, instead, they watched as they vanished.

Lott Dodd was not stunned and was able to give commands to all the battle droids in the ship. He dictated a command that was sent out to all the battle droids. THE JEDI HAVE ESCAPED. WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN. SEARCH THE ENTIRE SHIP FOR THEM.

...

Qui-gon and Obi-wan crouched behind a crate, hidden, as they watched the battle droids being loaded into their transports. "We need to get on one of the transports and head to the surface," Qui-gon said. "We were given a mission that must be completed. We must make it to the surface, find the queen, and escape with her to Coruscant.

"So, you think we should stow away on one of those transports?" Obi-wan asked.

"Yes."

"But those transports could be headed to any place on the surface, and we need to go to the capital, Theed."

Qui-Gon closed his eyes as he entered a trance. Obi-wan had seen him do this countless times before. He was calling on the Force to tell them which transport, if any, were going to be landing close to the Naboo capital. While his master called on the Force often, Obi-wan had never copied it, despite being the man's Padawan for over a decade. Under master Yoda he had learned to rely on the Force, but not quite that much. He only called on it when his normal instincts and observations left him no other choice. In moments such as these, he would have preferred to find a way to hack in the computer system to learn the destination of the transports.

"That one over there," Qui-Gon said when he broke out of his trance. Obi-wan looked at the ship he was pointing to, it was the one they were closest to.

"How convenient," Obi-wan exclaimed. "It's the ship we just happened to end up closest to."

"The Force is with us," Qui-gon exclaimed. He gave his former Padawan a warm smile. One thing the younger Jedi found both endearing and infuriating about his master was the way he kept a sunny disposition no matter the situation. During their time together, his warm demeanor had done much to calm him during times of danger. There were some other moments, however, where his jovial nature made Obi-wan wonder if he understood the serious and dire nature of some of the predicaments they found themselves in. This was one such time. They were two lone Jedi in the middle of a planetary invasion force. Death could come from any corner at any moment. This was no time to be smiling.

"Follow me," Qui-Gon commanded. With a sigh, Obi-wan followed the elder Jedi and onto the ship of deactivated battle droids. While he wondered what they were going to face on the planet's surface, going down there was much preferable to staying on the ship. The planet's surface would contain many more places to hide as they figured out what their next step should be.

...

Obi-wan followed Qui-gon through the swamp bordering the city of Theed. To Obi-wan's surprise, the Force had done it, it had led them to the proper transport. He felt safe on the surface of the planet now. They were headed for a city full of Neimodian forces, but at least they weren't trapped on all sides like they were on the ship. Their presence was unknown to the battle droids, and that gave them a fighting chance.

"Do you have any idea where we should be headed?" Obi-wan asked Qui-gon.

"If Theed is anything like any other capital city in the galaxy, there should be a couple military bases on the city's outskirts. They'll just be hangars full of spaceships, but the Neimodian forces will have occupied them all the same. We just need to make our way to a computer terminal to find out where they are holding the queen. Then once we find her, we just need to find a ship to get us off the planet and through the blockade."

Finding and rescuing the queen didn't sound so difficult, in their decade together, the two Jedi had gone up against large armies all by themselves numerous times. Getting off the planet and past the blockade, however, that was an entirely different story. Obi-wan never cared for space battles. His Jedi instincts and Force powers never seemed to do him as much good in a space ship as they did with a lightsaber in his hand.

"Relax my young Pada-" Qui-gon turned red with embarrassment over his slip-up. "Relax, partner. The Force has led us down here. That is a sign it wants us to find the queen and escape. It will see us through, I am sure of it. I can feel it."

Obi-wan didn't share his master's optimism, but he didn't have much choice. He knew they couldn't just abandon their mission. They were being hunted, and no one else was coming to save them. They either fought their way off the planet or died.

The sun was beginning to set. Instead of setting up camp for the night, they decided to circle the city, looking for a military base under the cover of darkness. They found one shortly after it turned dark. It was a base for the Naboo space force the droids had overrun. With all the Naboo forces defeated, the Neimoidians hadn't left too many battle droids behind. The ones that had been left there were not keeping up much of a patrol. They were just wondering around aimlessly. Still, the force was large enough to put up a good fight if the Jedi attacked. As the base was nothing more than a couple hangars dispersed around a large landing pad, the battle droids had a lot of open space to fire at the Jedi if they spotted them. Qui-gon and Obi-wan knew they were going to have to plan out their attack if it were to have any chance of succeeding.

"Any of those hangars should have a computer that we should be able to tap into," Qui-gon said. "The only thing is, we need to find a droid to do that for us."

The sound of a beep behind Obi-wan startled him greatly. When he heard it, his instincts immediately kicked in and in one motion he activated his lightsaber as he swung it around. When he got a glimpse of the blue-white astromech droid, he realized it posed no threat. With the aid of the Force, he was able to stop his swing a mere microsecond before the blade hit the droid. With the sizzling lightsaber being held just a millimeter from its body, the droid let out a horrified squeal.

"What is it?" Qui-gon asked as he turned his head around.

"Apparently, it's the droid we're looking for," Obi-wan replied as he deactivated his lightsaber.

"Can we be sure it's friendly?" Qui-gon asked.

Before answering, Obi-wan looked over to the battle droids, still milling around the military base. "If it was on their side, it would have radioed those droids by now and they would be heading over here to attack us."

Qui-gon looked at the battle droids to see what Obi-wan was saying was true. For his part, the astromech droid started beeping and shaking, trying to emphatically let them know he was on their side.

"I don't speak droid, but I think he is trying to tell us he's on our side." The droid calmed down and let out a beep of affirmation. Just then, Obi-wan noticed something on the droid's body. "He's got an insignia sticker on his body. Looks like he's part of the Naboo navy."

"He must be one of the droids from the base," Qui-gon said as he glanced over at it one more time. "When the invasion force came, he escaped and hid out here." Qui-gon stared down at the droid with a skeptical expression on his face. "I've never heard of a droid having that kind of devotion before. Droids only do what the nearest sentient tells them to do. They just run as programmed."

"He's brave, and bold," Obi-wan said with a smirk. "Just my kind of droid." The droid gave an affirmative beep that made Obi-wan smile.

"Now that we have the droid we need, we can carry out our attack." As Qui-gon spoke, he surveyed the battle droids milling around the base.

"Do you have a plan?" Obi-wan asked.

"I was thinking we could do exactly what we did on Ord Mantell, when we had to face all those assassin droids."

Obi-wan winced as that was not exactly a pleasant memory for him. "Okay, we can do that." He took several deep breaths as he pulled out his lightsaber. The assassin droids had almost killed him that day, and while these battle droids didn't seem as powerful, there were more of them. They had been fortunate on that day, as they were able to get him to a bacta tank right away. He knew they weren't going to have that luxury this time, and it scared him.

Qui-gon was picking up on the fear of his former Padawan, as it was something he had anticipated. "I was thinking we could change things up just a bit," he said as he looked at Obi-wan with a warm smile on his face. "This time, I'll be the bait."

"Thank you, Master." Obi-wan's initial feeling of relief quickly gave way to feelings of dread. If anything happened to Qui-gon, he was going to be completely on his own. The responsibility for getting the queen to Coruscant would fall on his shoulders, and he didn't think he could do it alone. He probably should have objected and told Qui-gon he would be the bait again, but he couldn't summon the courage to do so.

Obi-wan could feel the confidence in his master as he activated his lightsaber and walked out from the cover of the forest. "Hey! Over here." Along with the shouts, we waved his lightsaber around to try and get the attention of the battle droids. The droids looked at each other, confused by the sight of a Jedi trying to get their attention. They soon figured out it would be best if they took the opportunity to attack first.

The battle droids nearest Qui-gon started firing at him. All the other battle droids converged on his spot. As the droids ran to join the others, they started firing at the Jedi as well. Qui-gon moved his lightsaber furiously in order to deflect all the blaster bolts.

Obi-wan watched everything from his perch in the foliage. He was anxious to go out and help his master, as he didn't think he would be able to block all those shots much longer. When he looked around to see the droids were still dispersed around the base, his heart sank as he knew he was going to have to wait until they were all in one spot. Only then could he spring to attack. It killed him to have to watch Qui-gon with dread, wondering how much longer he could hold out. Back on Ord Mantell, he had been furious with Qui-gon for waiting so long to carry out his attack. Only now, did he truly understand why he had needed to wait. It would do neither of them any good for Obi-wan to attack when the droids were still dispersed. He suddenly felt bad for feeling the way he had. He now realized it must have been horrific for Qui-gon to watch his student suffering the attack he did, knowing he had to wait to save him.

Pleasantly, to Obi-wan's surprise, his master was having no trouble deflecting everything that came his way. He had always been especially adroit at channeling the Force, and it was keeping him alive right now. Finally, all the battle droids converged in one place. Taking a deep breath, Obi-wan knelt before he launched himself into the air, flipping around several times before he landed behind all the droids. They were all so focused on the Jedi in front of them, they never noticed the one landing behind them. Obi-wan made quick work of all the droids who had their back turned to him. In less than a minute, the whole thing was over.

"That worked well," Qui-gon said as he deactivated his lightsaber. "You did well, Obi-wan."

"Not as good as you did." There was a heaviness in his voice as he remembered what happened before. Qui-gon picked up on this and tried to give the young Jedi some reassurance.

"I know you are thinking about what happened before. You did a great job then. You faced a very difficult situation, and you came through. I know you thought you failed then, but nothing could be further from the truth. You actually showed yourself to be a powerful Jedi that day, one who I realized was destined to accomplish great things."

Obi-wan was filled with pride over the compliment paid to him. He wanted to take a moment to soak up the adulation, but the beeping astromech droid reminded him of the task at hand.

"Looks like we should go and find a terminal," Qui-gon said. He led the way to the nearest hangar, which had a computer terminal right inside the door. "See if you can find out where the queen is being held."

The two Jedi watched as the droid plugged into the terminal and went to work. The droid used the monitor on the terminal to write out what he found. Qui-gon looked at it and read the results.

"He says he is unable to find any information on where the queen is being held. They are being secretive."

"If we can't find her, what about someone close to her?" Obi-wan suggested. "Someone who might have been captured with her, and thus would know what the Neimoidians might have done with her."

"That's a good idea," Qui-gon said. "Did you get that?" he said to the droid.

The droid gave an affirmative beep as it attempted to find the information. After just a few seconds, it started squealing in glee. Qui-gon was joyous too as he read off the monitor.

"He said he found information on Lieutenant Tarsals and Captain Olie, the head of the queen's security forces and her personal pilot." He paused as he read off the next part of what that droid was saying. "They were holding them in a camp with several other prisoners, but now they are moving them. They're taking them to a rail station to get them out of the city."

"They must have figured out we are down here and realized we would might try and get in contact with them. Lucky for us, they didn't think to keep this information off the computer system."

"They're traveling not far from here." The image on the monitor changed to a map, showing the two Jedi the route the prisoners were going to be taking. "We can intercept them here." Qui-gon pointed at an area along the route where he figured they could wait to ambush the droid escort. "You can come along little droid." He patted the top of the droid as he spoke. "We might need you."

Qui-gon started to walk away, but saw the droid was writing something else out on the monitor. He chuckled after reading it. "He is telling us we don't have to simply call him droid. His designation is R2-D2, but he often likes to go by Artoo."

"Come on, Artoo," Qui-gon said to R2-D2. The droid followed the Jedi as they ran to the intercept point to try and save the queen's companions.

...

The small party of three made their way through the streets of Theed. The streets were deserted as it was night and the Neimoidians had the citizens under curfew. As the Jedi walked, they saw numerous people looking at them through their windows. They had confidence they had the trust of the people and would not be betrayed.

When they reached the alleyway Qui-gon had selected for their ambush, they did their best to hide. With time to plan, the two Jedi surveyed the area, trying to determine the best way to carry out their attack.

"If we just jump out and attack, we run the risk of the prisoners being hit in the crossfire," Obi-wan pointed out.

"That's why we'll need a distraction to divert their attention away from us." Qui-gon looked at Artoo as he talked. "Perhaps our little droid could hide in the next alley up the street. Then jump out and start beeping in order to attract the attention of the droids. Once they are all turned in his direction, we can come out of hiding and destroy them."

Artoo beeped something neither Jedi could understand. They did understand he was willing to do his part when he rolled out and took his position in the alleyway up the street from them. Once they saw he was in place, they hugged the wall of their alley, standing with their backs pressed against it. For a short while, they had a moment of respite.

"So, what do we do if these two aren't able to tell us where the queen is being held?" Obi-wan asked his master.

"Simple, we tear this city apart looking for them." Obi-wan thought the man was joking, something he almost never did. When he looked at him, he saw he was once again trying to tune himself to the Force. He guessed he was trying to sense if the prisoners were coming.

"They're almost here," he said as he snapped out of his Force trance. Obi-wan kept his ears peeled. He could hear the metal feet of the droids hitting the stone pavement of the street as they walked. He started getting antsy as he heard the droids approaching. They seemed to be so close, that he figured Artoo should have made his move by now. He was beginning to fear the droid was not willing to play his part.

To his great relief, he heard Artoo beeping as he finally emerged from his hiding spot. "What do you want?" one of the battle droids asked the astromech.

"Now," Qui-gon ordered, keeping his voice low so the droids wouldn't hear. The two had been together long enough that Obi-wan reflexively obeyed his command. He hoped the Jedi had at least a hint it was okay for them to attack, although knowing Qui-gon, he was probably just guessing that everything was going to go according to plan.

Obi-wan followed Qui-gon out of the alley, and his spirits soared when he saw all the droids had their backs turned to him. The two wasted no time in igniting their lightsabers as they charged at the droids. As they did so, Obi-wan took a quick glance at the two prisoners, the human Ric Ollie and the Gungan Lieutenant Tarsals. He was expecting them to be overjoyed to see they were being rescued. Instead, their faces looked stolid, which he assumed they were doing to try and hide from the droids what they were seeing.

Obi-wan and Qui-gon sliced through the battle droids so quickly none of them had any time to react. It was over in a matter of seconds. Once it was over, the two Jedi deactivated their lightsabers as Qui-gon commanded everyone to hide in the nearby alley. Obi-wan noticed that Olllie and Tarsals gave each other looks of consternation as they followed the two Jedi.

"You must be the Jedi who came to escort the queen to Coruscant," Tarsals said to them.

"I'm surprised you knew we were coming," Qui-gon said.

"The droids told us they were moving us because they were afraid the two of you were going to find us," Tarsals replied.

"We had no idea what they were talking to us about, but when we asked them, they revealed everything," Ric Olie replied. "They have no filter, and will answer almost any question, even those coming from a prisoner."

"Did you manage to ask them where they are holding the queen?" Qui-gon asked with a smirk. "It would be nice if they would have just simply revealed that information."

"We didn't need to ask," Olie replied. "We were with the queen and the princess in the palace for the surrender. When the battle droids came to take us to the camp, they told us the girls would be held in the palace."

"If it is just the two royals at the palace, then there might be just a minimal guard there," Qui-gon pointed out. "If so, the four of us together stand a good chance of getting them out and to Coruscant."

There was a clear look of displeasure across the face of Ric Olie. "Tarsals and I know of a secret way into the palace. We can go in, get the girls ourselves, and get them off this planet. We don't need the two of you."

"May I ask why you are trying to toss us aside." Obi-wan was indignant with his words. He couldn't understand why they wouldn't want the help. "You don't exactly seem to be in a situation where you should be declining help."

"I didn't say we were necessarily declining your help." Olie gave them a sly smile as spoke. "If you want to go off and fight the battle droids and tie a bunch of them up to ease our escape, that would really help us out."

"We should be doing more than that." Obi-wan was getting angry now and raising his voice. "We were sent here to escort the queen to Coruscant, and despite everything that has happened, we intend to see that through."

"That is the problem we have," Tarsals told them. Obi-wan could tell the Gungan was trying to sound much more diplomatic then his partner. "Given the current circumstances, we do not think we should be taking the queen to Coruscant." The two Jedi were both incredulous over what they were hearing. "We are afraid the Federation has forces on Coruscant that would be gunning for her if we were to take her there."

"You don't have anything to worry about," Qui-gon pointed out. "There are more than enough Jedi in the capital to protect her."

"While Tarsals is worried about what will happen on the planet, I am fearful that we will never be able to land on it," Olie said. "The Federation probably has forces there that would blow us out of the sky."

"You're being paranoid!" Obi-wan yelled. Qui-gon gave him a look he had seen a million times in all their years together. He was not pleased with the way he was talking. Obi-wan continued, trying to sound more diplomatic. "It is unlikely the Federation will be able to do what you fear. I don't know if you have been to Coruscant before or not, but the traffic there is immense. They are not going to be able to pick out our ship before we land and blow it out of the sky."

"For your information, I have been to Coruscant before." Olie was not happy with Obi-wan patronizing him the way he was. "Recently, I might add, when security to get in was tight, just as it is now. I know every ship needs a pre-approved call sign, so they know exactly who is coming and going."

"And we have a call sign to give them." From Qui-gon's tone, Obi-wan knew he didn't understand what problem they were having.

"One that has likely been compromised," Ric Olie finally revealed. The two Jedi looked at each confused over what they had just heard.

"After we were captured, some of the Neimoidian commanders came to talk with us," Tarsals explained. "One of them accidentally said something we believe he did not intend to. He referred to something we revealed to Chancellor Valorum when we had a conference call with him and several Senators before the invasion. We believe that transmission had been intercepted and decrypted. We don't know how they deciphered our codes, but they either did that, or they had a spy on the other end."

"We have decided that we must act with the assumption that we have been compromised on everything," Olie pointed out. "And that includes any call signs you have. We don't know how deep this potential source of information goes."

"That is why we are going to rescue the royals and flee to a backwater world," Olie said. "One with no association with either the Republic or the Separatists. Once there, we will lay low, and try to find a way to smuggle the queen to Coruscant."

Obi-wan was incredulous while listening to the two. He was not going to hold back in letting them know exactly what he thought. "That is ridiculous," he began. "We can get her to Coruscant safely, as Qui-gon just explained a moment ago. The planet is full of Jedi and other security forces who can protect her. We have a flight clearance that comes from the Jedi Council itself, that was told to us personally, and was never transmitted. It was not compromised, I assure you." From the looks on the faces of the two of them, he could tell they were not believing him.

"It would have had to have been transmitted to the planetary security forces, so they would know what it is," Olie pointed out.

"Going to Coruscant is going to be much safer than picking a random backwater where you know of no one who can help you." Obi-wan had to control himself to refrain from screaming.

"And where no one knows us," Tarsals pointed out. "That will give us an advantage."

"The two of them are right," Qui-gon said. Obi-wan gave his master a piercing glare. He couldn't believe he was agreeing with them. Qui-gon returned Obi-wan's piercing gaze as he spoke. "They are the queen's closest associates. They have the best interest of her and the princess at heart. We will defer to them on this issue, and follow them, young Jedi."

Finished explaining himself to Obi-wan, Qui-gon turned his attention back to Tarsals and Olie. "I take it you didn't want us to come with you as you were afraid we would try and take command and convince the queen to go directly to Coruscant. I assure you, we will not do that. I pledge to follow your orders. Please, let us help you."

Tarsals and Olie looked at each other. With a nod of his head, Olie appeared to decide they would trust the Jedi's word. "Okay, you can come with us. We have prepared for a situation such as this. There is a secret entrance we can use to get into the palace. Once we rescue the royals, we can exit by the same secret passageway, then head to the panic ship we have prepared for just this circumstance."

"What exactly is a panic ship?" While Obi-wan could figure out what it was, he wanted to hear the details from them.

"It's a ship designed to allow the queen to escape this planet and live for as long as she needs away from it. It's everything, a command center, a military fighter, a mobile diplomatic center, and most important, a fast blockade runner."

"That's good, considering we are going to have to break one to get out of here." Obi-wan was skeptical the ship was as good as they were describing, but they had no choice but to try and take it.

"If there is nothing more to discuss, then we should be on our way," Qui-gon said. "They will be expecting you at the new camp, and when you don't show up, they will comb the city looking for you. It will be good for us to reach the palace before that occurs."

...

When the small rescue party reached the vicinity of the palace, Tarsals and Olie led them to a house that was a couple blocks away from it. They entered the combination at the door, and it slid open for them. It appeared to be just a normal residential house. Tarsals and Olie excused themselves to go upstairs, where they had some weapons stashed.

Qui-gon was happy to have a moment alone with Obi-wan, as he wanted to have a private talk with him. "I don't have to sense your feelings with the Force to know you are not happy with this arrangement."

"I didn't see any need to hide it," Obi-wan countered. "Their plan for where to go after getting off this planet is reckless and dangerous. They intend to go someplace unknown instead of familiar."

"You have to remember, that for them, Coruscant is not a familiar place."

"That may be, but there are still allies to be found there."

"And also, enemies."

"We were given a mission by the Council," Obi-wan pointed out. "That mission was to escort the queen to Coruscant. We should be fighting to get her there."

"No, we should not." Qui-gon was adamant in his reply. "This is not about us. The queen has no obligation to follow the Council. We should be deferential to the desires of the Naboo and let them make the decisions they need to bring peace to their world."

Obi-wan would have liked to argue some points more, but Tarsals and Olie returned. They both were wearing vests loaded with weapons, overloaded in Obi-wan's opinion. He tried to hide his feelings, but it appeared Tarsals picked up on them. "The queen and the princess are probably going to need some weapons. We picked up extra for them."

"Can they handle them?" Obi-wan was skeptical.

"After the assassination of their parents, I personally trained the girls in use of any and all weapons. I can personally assure you, they can handle them."

"Good to know."

"Now that that's settled, let's go," Olie said. He and Tarsals led the way with the two Jedi falling in step behind them. Artoo rolled behind them all. The secret passageway was hidden behind a bookcase that swung open. After the five of them entered the passageway, they closed it behind them.

Obi-wan pulled out his lightsaber to illuminate the passageway. Feeling Qui-gon's hand on his arm, he refrained from lighting it as he knew his master wanted them to defer to Tarsals and Olie. A second later, Tarsals turned on a lantern and led them through the passageway.

It didn't take them long to reach the end of it. Olie crouched next to the door to open it and nodded to Tarsals as the Gungan crouched with his gun pointed at the door. He was ready to run through it and attack if the situation arose.

Obi-wan was using the Force to sense the area outside, and he could tell it was deserted. He knew Qui-gon was feeling the same thing, and he looked at his master to see if they should tell them that. From his facial expression, he knew his master wanted them to defer to Tarsals and Olie once again. Because there was no danger facing them, it didn't hurt in this instance, so Obi-wan was willing to follow Qui-gon's wishes. He made the decision then and there, that he was not going to defer to them again if he thought their lives were in danger.

"Hey Jedi." Obi-wan almost jumped in surprise over the fact that Olie was calling to them. It might not have been the most respectful way to address them, but he was happy they were talking to them. "Can you sense what is out there?"

Obi-wan almost smirked. He knew it pained Olie to have to ask them for assistance, and for at least a second, he couldn't help but gloat. "The area just outside is deserted."

Olie breathed a sigh of relief to know they were safe for at least a moment. When he opened the door, he was still cautious. He opened it slightly and peaked out before he opened it all the way. They filed into the hallway and looked around to make sure they were alone.

"I feel this place is lightly guarded," Qui-gon said to them. "At least, it is on the inside."

Obi-wan and Tarsals ran to the windows and looked outside. The outside courtyards were overflowing with Gungans and battle droids.

"It looks like they planned on us making a frontal assault to rescue the royals," Obi-wan said.

"And if most of their forces are out there-" Tarsals began.

"-then the palace should be clear," Obi-wan finished.

"While I don't have the ability to sense battle droids, I feel the presence of just two Gungans," Qui-gon said.

"Are they four stories directly above us?"

"Yes, that is what I feel."

"They are guarding the royal suite, and nothing more." Olie was overjoyed that their rescue was appearing to be much easier than they had suspected. "The Neimoidians scare easily, and when they suspected we were coming here, they freaked out and emptied out the palace to try and stop us outside."

"Let's just hope it takes them a little longer to realize their errors," Obi-wan said.

The small group followed Olie to the stairs that led to the fourth floor. Artoo needed help up the stairs, so the two Jedi just used the Force to float him up each flight. When they reached the top floor, Tarsals signaled for them to all be quiet. He looked around to make sure they were alone, then turned back to talk to them. "I'll go out and scout the floor, then report back."

Obi-wan was tense the entire time Tarsals was gone. He wished he had spoken up and insisted on being the scout. While he didn't know the layout like Tarsals did, he figured that his Jedi abilities would more than make up for that. He was deathly afraid Tarsals was going to make some error that would give them away.

Obi-wan thought he was the only one tense, but when Tarsals returned to the group, they all breathed a sigh of relief. "You were right," he said as he looked directly at Qui-gon. "There are just the two Gungans standing guard outside the suite. All we have to do is get rid of the two of them, and we can get the royals out."

"Shouldn't be much problem given there is just two," Olie began. "You and I each have a blaster, just shoot them, and that's it."

Obi-wan noticed Tarsals flinch and could tell he didn't like the plan. He wasn't sure if it was because he didn't like wanton killing in general, or because he just didn't want to kill two fellow members of his species like that. Obi-wan agreed that they shouldn't just shoot them. The Jedi order didn't approve of senseless killing, and he knew Qui-gon would not allow Olie to carry out his plan.

"While I have agreed to sit back and let the two of you take the lead, I can't do that here. We should not be senselessly killing the two Gungan guards like that. There must be another way."

"Have you thought of one?" Olie asked, challenging Qui-gon.

"Actually, I have," Qui-gon replied. "I think Tarsals here should pretend to be a guard that has come to relieve the other two Gungans. With everyone else in the palace heading outside so they can wait for us to come, he shouldn't have much trouble convincing the other two that he and he alone has come to relieve them."

While Obi-wan thought Tarsals would jump at any plan which kept them from having to kill the other Gungans, he was surprised to see him unenthusiastic about the plan. "Do you think you could do that?"

"I'm not sure," Tarsals replied sheepishly. "Not having been raised by the Gungans, I don't exactly talk like them."

The two Jedi were completely confused by what he meant. Obi-wan noticed that Olie was grinning from ear-to-ear, and wondered why.

"What are you worried about," Olie said. "Its-a not-a hard-a to-a talk-a like-a Gungan-a." When Olie did his imitation, he talked in an extremely annoying and child-like high pitched voice. Tarsals did not seem pleased at all with the imitation.

"Okay, I'll do it," Tarsals said, a hint of disgust in his voice. He led the way through the halls as the others silently fell in line behind him.

Obi-wan reached out with the Force to feel where the two Gungans were, thus he knew when they were almost right on top of them. When they reached the last turn in the hallway before the end of the suite, Tarsals stopped and crouched. The others copied him.

He motioned to the others to stay where they were as he stood. He took off his weapon vest and handed it to Captain Olie. Obi-wan could see Tarsal's mouth moving, as if he was rehearsing what he was going to say. After that, he shook himself to loosen himself up. When he finally stepped out, he did so with a much different gait then before. He walked with a limp body, swinging his arms wildly, like an over enthused child.

"Wha ah yoo doin heer." The voice of the Gungan guard speaking to Tarsals was incredibly high pitched. And the manner of speaking: Obi-wan found it incredible. He had thought that Olie had been exagerating, but his Gungan imitation appeared to be spot on.

"I'm-a, uh, here-a, to-a, uh, releeeeeeeve yoo, ah." Obi-wan winced at the difficulty Tarsals appeared to be having repeating the Gungan's speech pattern. For a moment, he was worried that Tarsals was going to be found out.

"Relieve-a us?" The voice of the second Gungan was distinct from the first.

"Ah, yes, ah. Our gen-e-ral wants the two-a yoo outside, ah. The-a Jedi might be-a comin."

"Okaya," one of the guards said.

Obi-wan connected to the Gungans and could feel they were walking right towards them. He was about to motion to the others to flee, when Tarsals spoke up.

"No. Uh, wrong way. Go-a that-a way."

"Okaya." Obi-wan could feel the Gungans obeying Tarsals with no hint of anything wrong. He waited until he could feel them reach the nearest staircase. With the coast now clear, he went ahead and stood. Qui-gon, Olie, and Artoo followed his lead as they emerged from their hiding spot.

When they came around the corner, Obi-wan was able to see Tarsals keying in the code to the door. He walked through it while it was still sliding open, and Obi-wan heard the squeal of a teen girl coming from inside.

"Tarsals! You came to rescue us!" Fear gripped Obi-wan as he was afraid the voice had been so loud that the Gungans might have heard it. He reached out with the Force and could feel they were still heading down the stairs.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Obi-wan walked inside the room to see a young teen embracing Tarsals with a tight bear hug. He could guess this was Princess Soala, and he was surprised to see she appeared younger than her age of sixteen. She was much shorter than the Gungan, and had her cheek pressed up against his chest. Her long black hair had fallen over her face, but despite that, Obi-wan could see the tears of joy streaming out of her closed eyes. He connected with her and was able to sense both her current emotional state, as well as the previous feelings she had which were still lingering. Just a moment ago, she had been terrified over what she thought the Neimoidians might do to her and her sister. They had not let them go to sleep, as they had wanted them to stay awake in case they had to move them. Soala had been scared they were going to be taken someplace to be killed. Now that Tarsals, Olie, and the Jedi had come, it was all over, and she was feeling joyous.

Soala was sniffling as the tears fell down her cheeks. Between the sound of the sniffles, Obi-wan could make out the sound of nervous breathing. He followed the sound to see Queen Padme Amidala sitting on the edge of the bed. Obi-wan found her remarkably beautiful: soft facial features and long blonde hair that was currently pulled back into a pigtail. The pigtail made her look young, sweet, and innocent. She looked like a young woman who should have been attending college, not leading her planet through a military invasion. The situation she found herself in showed in her facial expression and body language, which conveyed the heaviness and weariness she was experiencing.

For the moment, Padme was sitting with her head held high, trying to put on a brave face for everyone. The reality was she was feeling just as much fear as her sister. She realized the presence of a couple Jedi wasn't enough to erase the fact they were on a planet occupied by a hostile force.

The queen swallowed hard before she stood to greet her rescuers. "You must be the Jedi that have been sent to escort me to Coruscant," she said as she stood. She was so nervous; her legs almost gave out as she tried to stand. She righted herself before she bowed to the Jedi. Now that she was standing, Obi-wan could make out her outfit. It was a riding outfit the rich wore for their equestrian shows.

"I am Queen Padme Nabierre Amidala. I wish I was welcoming you to my planet under different circumstances." When she was done with her bow, she stood up straight and looked between Obi-wan and Qui-gon. "I am aware you were attacked on your ship, and I am unbelievably grateful you fought your way here to rescue me. I take it you came to complete your mission, so that I may make my way to Coruscant. It is vital that I reach the capital, so that I may speak to the Senate and try to win support to expel the Federation from my planet."

Obi-wan smirked over her choice of words. Qui-gon had been correct, she was more defiant than Obi-wan had expected. He figured the Neimoidians knew this and that was why they were willing to kill two Jedi in order to keep her from reaching the planet.

Qui-gon did not waste any time in reveling over being right as he stepped in front of Obi-wan to reply to the queen. "I appreciate the thanks, your highness, but my partner and I do not deserve all the credit for your rescue. We would not be here if not for the actions of Lieutenant Tarsals and Captain Olie. They led us to you. We are merely following their commands. And as part of that, I regret to inform you that we will not be heading directly to Coruscant once we escape this planet. Tarsals and Olie believe the Federation has spies that have compromised our communications. They are afraid they have gathered enough information to assassinate you should you travel directly to Coruscant."

"You don't want me to go to Coruscant?" The anger in the voice of the queen as she yelled at Olie was palpable. He looked sheepish as he stepped ahead of Qui-gon to try and explain his reasoning.

"While it is important for you to get to Coruscant promptly, you would not be doing your people any favors by dying before you can speak to the Senate. Tarsals and I believe the best way to get you there safely is to find a system outside the control of the both the Republic and the Separatists. Once there, we can hire a smuggler to get us into Coruscant, under the radar so that no one will even know you are there until you show up at the Senate. The decision is up to you, your highness. We will do whatever you command."

Through the Force, Obi-wan was reading the queen's emotions, and he could feel the indecisiveness in her. Qui-gon was noticing it too and offered a suggestion. "We do not have to decide where to go at right this moment," he pointed out. "We should concentrate on simply getting off the planet and through the blockade. Once we are safely away, we can decide where we want to go."

"That is a good idea, master Jedi." Padme seemed relieved she did not have to decide at just that moment. She turned her attention back to Captain Olie. "I take it you intend on escaping in the panic ship."

"Yes, your highness. When we picked up our weapons, I checked the surveillance we had around the ship. It was clear, as it has not been discovered. I also think our path there should be undisturbed. All the forces of the Federation in the city have congregated right outside this palace in anticipation of us attempting a frontal assault. We will be bypassing them through the secret tunnel. Then, we can head there directly."

"I hope you are right, but we should not be traveling with our guard down." As the queen spoke, she was looking at all the blasters Olie had hanging from his vest and belt.

"I know, that is why I brought a set of your favorite blasters." He took two and handed them to the queen. She went to her dresser and pulled out two holsters. Tying one around her thigh before connecting the other to her belt. Once she was done, she took out another two and threw them to Soala, who tied them around her thighs before loading them each with a blaster.

Once the girls had their weapons, the small party made their escape. The palace was still empty, and they made it back to the secret passageway without anyone spotting them. They traveled through the tunnel back to the safe house. Once there, they went to the computer to check all the surveillance sensors they could in the city. They were able to map the location of the Federation forces and plan a route to avoid them.

The panic ship was in a hangar that had been cut into a hillside. From the outside, it appeared to be just a normal hill. It was on the city's outskirts, meaning they would have to make a long trip through the capital to get there.

As it was still dark out, the city was still under curfew, and the streets were deserted. Having memorized the map, Obi-wan knew when they were getting close to the hill with the secret hangar. When they were just one block away, he let himself breathe a sigh of relief, as he figured they had at least made it safely to the ship.

The area of the city they were in was dense, with buildings extending all the way to the hill itself that housed the ship. The sun was beginning to rise, appearing just above the hilltops. The small party stayed crouched inside an alley as Tarsals took out a communicator and activated it. A pair of camouflaged hangar doors started opening. As they did, Obi-wan was able to get a good look at the hangar and the ship. The hangar itself was small, just large enough to hold the rather large ship. The ship looked impressive, long and sleek.

Once the hangar was all the way open, Olie peaked his head out of the alley and looked around. "The coast looks clear," he said.

"Let's go," the queen commanded. Everyone followed her orders and began to run towards the hangar. As soon as they stepped out, they were attacked. Droidekas rolled out from an alley to the north of them. Everyone stopped when they saw them, stunned that the Federation forces had known of the hangar and were waiting for them.

Qui-gon was the lone member of the group who did not freeze at the sight of the droids. He activated his lightsaber as he stepped forward, placing himself between the rest of the party and the droids. "We'll take care of this," he shouted. "Get to the ship."

When Obi-wan heard Qui-gon say "We'll take care of this," he knew he was talking about him. Having been the Jedi's Padawan for over a decade, his master's words roused him to action. He activated his lightsaber and stepped up to join Qui-gon as the others ran past him and into the hangar.

"Attack the droids the moment they stop," Qui-gon yelled to Obi-wan. Having seen them in action before, they now knew what to expect and how to counter the powerful droids. They needed to take the droids out before they could transform and activate their shields.

The two Jedi rushed forward the moment the droids stopped rolling. They each sliced two in half the moment they unfolded. In a mere second, the four droidekas were no more.

The two Jedi did not get a moment of rest as the droidekas were followed by an army of battle droids. Blaster fire rained down at the Jedi, who blocked everything with their sabers as they charged forward and started slicing the droids apart.

When they were finished with the droids, they saw their situation had become even more dire. As they were fighting the droids, two tanks emerged from hiding. Each tank had their guns pointed at one of the Jedi.

The Jedi knew they had just seconds to do something about the tanks before they fired. Obi-wan concentrated on the tank facing him and tried to use the Force to push it away. He succeeded in pushing it, but his push merely thrust it backwards. Its guns were still aimed at him, leaving him a sitting duck.

Qui-gon saw his former apprentice failing and concentrated on that tank as well. He used the Force to turn it, so its guns were pointed away from both of them. Concentrating on that tank left him unable to do anything about the tank pointing its guns at him. Qui-gon knew he stood no chance of surviving. He felt no fear over the knowledge he was going to die, as he was ready to go home and rejoin the Force.

"Run to the ship, Obi-wan!" Qui-gon shouted to his former apprentice. Obi-wan knew his master was going to sacrifice himself. He didn't want to leave him, but all his training had beat into him the mission was paramount. It was his task to get the queen to Coruscant safely, and he was going to have to leave his master to die in order to do it.

The tank fired its gun. Obi-wan was too frozen to move. He expected to see an exploding corpse, but to his astonishment, Qui-gon disappeared the moment the blaster bolts hit him. He had never heard of a Jedi disappearing in death like that. He had no time to contemplate how Qui-gon had accomplished the feat. He called his former master's lightsaber to him as he ran into the hangar. That was one thing he did not want to leave behind. The lightsaber caught up with him right as he reached the landing ramp of the ship.

"Take off!" he yelled once he was in the ship. Before he had even pressed the button to close the ramp, he could feel the ship floating up off the ground and surging forward.

Just as he had suspected, the ship was fast; way too fast for the tanks as they flew by them. He could hear the tanks fire at them, but they failed to hit the ship.

Unfamiliar with the layout, it took him a while to make it to the cockpit. When he reached it, he was able to see out the window that they were already at the edge of the planet's atmosphere. The blackness of space was taking over the view.

"Where's your master?" he heard Padme ask him. Her voice was authoritative and calm, but when he looked at her, he could see the fear in her eyes.

"He is dead," Obi-wan said bluntly. The queen did her best to keep her composure, but she trembled briefly, indicating she was shaken by the loss of the elder Jedi.

"There is nothing my master could do that I cannot," he said to her. What he said wasn't exactly true, but he felt circumstances called for a certain stretching of it. "It is my mission to get you to Coruscant, and I will do so, I promise you."

He didn't get a chance to say any more to the queen, as to his surprise, Olie was yelling to him and asking for information. "Jedi, would you be able to tell us what we're facing? What did the blockade look like when you arrived here?"

"There is a solid covering of capital ships around the planet," he said. "The good news is that from what my master and I saw, all the fighters have been stored away from the hangars. The Federation was concentrating on landing troops; thus the hangars were filled with transports and battle droids."

The ship exited the planet's atmosphere, allowing everyone in the cockpit to see the capital ships surrounding them. "Let's hope your right about those fighters," Olie said. As they approached the capital ships, they started taking fire from them, but no small fighters attacked. It began to appear the fighters would not be needed as the blasts of the capital ships rattled their ship. The shields held, but they wouldn't last forever. The entire cockpit grew tense as everyone knew they had no choice other than to fly straight ahead and hope the shields could sustain the damage.

"It looks like you were right about those fighters," Olie said. "The sensors aren't picking up anything other than the capital ships."

"How are the shields holding up?" the queen asked.

"Not as well as I was expecting," Olie answered truthfully. His reply was too much for Princess Soala, who burst into tears over the news. The queen embraced her sister and let her cry on her shoulder to comfort her. Despite that, she kept her attention on the situation at hand.

"How long until we can jump to hyperspace?" she asked.

"We will have to wait until we escape the planet's gravity well," Olie explained. "The Federation lined up their ships right at the edge of the line we need to reach. I'm calculating a micro-jump so we will be able to get away the moment we're past them."

Obi-wan was watching the monitors that showed the shield strength. They were depleting rapidly. With Qui-gon dead, it was on him to make sure they made it through alive. His master had given his life so they could escape, and he wanted to make sure he did not die in vain. He had an idea of what he could do, but he wasn't sure if he possessed the strength in the Force to do it. He glanced at the monitor once again and saw the shield probably wouldn't hold much longer. He knew he had to try something.

"You see that ship straight ahead?" he said to Olie.

"Yes."

"Fly directly at it once you see it start to move."

"What are you talking about?" Olie turned around to see Obi-wan leaning against the wall to brace himself. He had his hand stretched out as if he was trying to reach out and grab the ship. His eyes were closed, as he was concentrating hard.

Olie knew what the Jedi was trying to do. He had heard numerous stories about the power of the Jedi, but he hadn't quite heard about them being able to push around warships at will. From the way he was grunting, it was apparent he was exerting himself as much as he could, and yet, the warship wasn't budging.

Obi-wan let out a wail, and with that, the warship finally moved. Its front end shifted down and away from their ship. With its guns no longer pointed at them, Olie knew it was perfectly safe for them to fly directly at it, and that was what he did.

He heard and felt the Jedi collapse behind him. He could hear him convulsing and turned to see him shaking as if he was having a seizure. The Jedi's distress roused Soala, and she knelt down to take care of the man.

No longer needing to comfort her sister, Padme could give her full attention to the battle. "When are we jumping to hyperspace?" she yelled.

Captain Olie was watching the monitor, showing a diagram of the ship against the planet's gravity well. "We can jump in one second." The moment the monitor showed they were clear, he hit the lever to send them to hyperspace.

...

The two Neimoidians trembled in their chairs as they waited for the holo of Darth Plagueis to appear. They were seated at a long table, with the head chair empty. After sending along a message that their captives had escaped, they had been expecting Plagueis to contact them with an angry message. They were both running through the excuses they were going to give him.

The holo image of the Sith appeared in the chair in front of them suddenly, causing them to nearly jump out of their own chairs.

Nute Gunray nervously started talking to the Sith lord. "Darth Plagueis, we are-"

"Silence," Plagueis commanded. The Neimoidian was more than happy to obey. "I am in no mood to discuss anything with you. I know you are probably glad you don't have to speak at all." The sound of his voice had risen to a fever pitch. "I have reviewed everything you have sent me about the escape of your captives. I paid attention to the trajectory of the escaping ship. They did not jump towards Coruscant. I do not think they are headed there at all. I believe the queen thinks she would be in danger if she tried to go directly to the capital. I would expect her to try and travel to an unaffiliated system, where she could then find transport to Coruscant so that she might arrive incognito. I have put together a list of the unaffiliated systems where I think she might be heading. I want you to send ships to all of them. Do your best to capture her alive."

He reached as if he was going to stop the message but refrained to say one more thing. "I was very pleased to learn you managed to kill at least one of the Jedi. That is impressive. I know your species is extremely fearful of them, and it seems you were able to overcome that to some extent. I feel that your dealings with the Jedi are not done, and they will be back. Be ready for them."