And now I was to go with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to the planet of Naboo, where they would attempt to protect the Queen against the mysterious and evil Sith Lord. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t frightened. But I was also excited to go.
To me, Coruscant had become a place where everyone treated me like a kid. I felt helpless there. I could only hope that it would be different on Naboo.
Coruscant at night is as amazing as it is by day. The whole planet is lit by the lights of its single, sprawling city. I stood on the windy landing platform with Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Artoo-Deetoo. Ever since the Council meeting, the two Jedi had been edgy and uncomfortable with each other. Now, on the platform, their feelings finally came out. I could see the strained looks on their faces as they spoke, but their words were whisked away with the wind.
I wished I could hear what they were saying. Then I remembered how, in the Jedi Temple, they told me to relax and open my mind, and how I’d been able to picture the images from Mace Windu’s viewing screen when I did.
I tried to do the same now. The Jedi were probably skilled at masking their thoughts if they suspected someone was listening. But I doubted they would expect that from me. And so I “listened” and learned that Obi-Wan thought the Council would be right in denying me Jedi training. He said the whole Council sensed that I was dangerous.
Dangerous? I had to stop myself from arguing. How could Obi-Wan say I was dangerous? He didn’t even know me! But that, I realized, was the whole point. Because Obi-Wan didn’t know me, he couldn’t be arguing about me personally. It was the idea of me—already nine years old, but with very high midi-chlorians—that he was talking about.
I was very glad when Qui-Gon said that while my fate might be uncertain, I was not dangerous. He reminded Obi-Wan that the Council had not made their final decision.
Then he told the younger Jedi to go on board the Naboo spacecraft. Obi-Wan went up the boarding ramp reluctantly.
I was glad he left because I wanted the chance to tell Qui-Gon what I was thinking. That even though I was eager to go to Naboo, maybe I shouldn’t. Because of the more serious problems they were facing—the Trade Federation blockade and the threat of the Sith Lord—I didn’t want to be in the way.
Qui-Gon assured me that I wouldn’t be a bother. He said he would not go against the Council by training me, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t watch him and learn. Above all, I was to stay close to him, because that way I would be safe.
It seemed he was waiting for the Queen and in no rush to board the ship, so I asked him about something else that was bothering me. What were midi-chlorians?
Qui-Gon explained that they were microscopic life-forms that lived in all body cells and communicated with the Force. In a way, the two life-forms depended on each other. The midi-chlorians needed us in order to live and we needed them in order to know the Force. He said it was the midi-chlorians that told us the will of the Force and that when I learned to quiet my mind, I would be able to hear them.
From my experience just a few moments before on the landing platform, I was beginning to have a sense of what he meant. I wanted to ask him more, but we were interrupted by the arrival of an air transport carrying the Queen.
Qui-Gon greeted Amidala, who seemed glad to see him. I overheard the Queen say that she was worried that the Trade Federation wanted to destroy her. The Jedi Knight promised her that wouldn’t happen.
The Queen had a small group with her, but before I could look for Padmé, Jar Jar burst out of the transport and hugged me. All he could talk about was how glad he was to be going home. By the time I managed to get out of his grasp, the Queen and her handmaidens had gone on board.
Later, on the ship, I went looking for Padmé and somehow found myself in the ship’s control center. This was by far the most advanced cockpit I’d ever seen. I wasn’t sure how the pilot, Ric Olié, would feel about me hanging around, but he didn’t mind at all. In fact, he went over all the controls with me.
The strange thing was that while the Nubian ship had many more controls than any ship I’d seen in Watto’s junkyard, the basics were the same. I could identify the thrusters, stabilizers, and repulsors. I don’t think Ric Olié would have been so impressed with my knowledge if he’d known how many junked cockpits I’d sat in.
I didn’t see Padmé until the very end of the flight. We’d entered the Naboo atmosphere and were starting to land. When I came out of the hydrolift, the Queen and her people were in the main hold waiting to disembark.
I saw Padmé. From the way she carried herself, I could see that she was prepared to fight. I sensed that she was as well trained in warfare as in attending to the Queen.
That’s when my dream came back to me. Once again I saw Padmé leading that huge army, and I knew that she could do it.
Padmé seemed surprised to see me. But pleased, too. She told me the Queen had given her my message back on Coruscant. Then she asked what had happened at the Jedi Temple.
I told her the bad news. It appeared that the Council might not allow me to be trained as a Jedi. I could tell she was disappointed. And she looked worried, too. I asked her what was wrong and she said that the Queen had decided that her people had to go to war against the Trade Federation. I told Padmé that I might not be a Jedi, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t help.
Padmé smiled at me. It was a sad smile.
The ship landed with a slight jolt. When the hatch opened, I expected to see a landing pad and some sort of city, but I was in for a surprise.
Because all I saw was a swamp.
Eleventh Entry
Another Surprise
For a kid who grew up on the dry planet of Tatooine, seeing a lake for the first time was even more amazing than seeing the Queen. I couldn’t believe that there were places where water actually lay on the ground without being instantly evaporated!
I looked around in shock. Here plants could grow wild and out in the open, not in some carefully managed subterranean farm.
Here it was so moist that you could actually feel the dampness on your skin and breathe the heaviness of the water vapor in the air!
Clouds blanketed the sky above and the mist hanging over the lake was the gray of twilight. Surrounding the lake was a swamp. In the distance I could see vast, grassy hills. All in all, this seemed an even stranger sight than the vast city-world of Coruscant.
Suddenly I felt homesick and alone. Why couldn’t Mom be here to see this? And what about Kitster? Mom would look around in wonder. Kitster and I would be running around like crazy, touching the plants and splashing in the lake.
The lake may have been a strange and exotic place to me, but to Jar Jar it was home. With a giant splash he disappeared into the water. Someone said Jar Jar was Gungan. Gungans lived in a city deep below the surface. It seemed the Gungans and the Queen’s people had never been friendly. But now Jar Jar was going on behalf of the Queen to plead for help in the battle she was about to face.
It wasn’t long before Jar Jar returned to the surface. With lake water dripping off his ears and head, he gave us the bad news. He’d gone to the city, but it was deserted. I saw the worry in the faces around me. Obi-Wan feared that the Gungans had already been wiped out by the Trade Federation forces, but Jar Jar said it was more likely that his people had gone into hiding.
Jar Jar thought he knew where they were and began to lead us through the swamp. As we followed in a line behind him I kept my eyes on Padmé and Qui-Gon. I would have been glad to speak to either of them, but both seemed lost in thought.
Meanwhile, I could tell by the grumbling around me that not everyone believed that Jar Jar knew where he was going. After all, this was the creature who seemed incapable of staying out of trouble no matter where he went.
It wasn’t long before he stopped, sniffed the air, and said we’d arrived. I looked around, but to me it still looked like a swamp. Jar Jar made some strange chattering sounds and suddenly, out of the dense green undergrowth, half a dozen Gungans appeare
d wearing uniforms and riding two-legged creatures I later learned were named kaadu.
They were armed with spearlike weapons that looked like long stun guns or electropoles. I assumed they were on patrol. And they didn’t look pleased to find Jar Jar. I was starting to wonder if anyone was ever pleased to run into him. Even worse, when Jar Jar explained that we were there to speak to the boss of the Gungans, the leader of the patrol rolled his eyes and warned him that if we went to the boss Gungan, we would all be in serious trouble.
But Jar Jar insisted, and the leader of the patrol reluctantly agreed to lead us onward.
We followed the patrol leader to a place of ancient gray stone ruins, partly covered by green vines and brush. Jar Jar said this was a secret, sacred place for the Gungans. I looked around, amazed, as we passed groups of Gungans. They stared at us with their big eyes. Jar Jar whispered that they were refugees seeking shelter. They had been driven from their city at the bottom of the swamp by the forces of the Trade Federation.
We came to the remains of a huge stone temple that was covered with vines and moss. All that was left of it was crumbling columns and steps. Everywhere you looked were giant Gungan heads carved out of stone. Again, I wished Mom was there. It was all so strange and different.
We stopped before a heavy, sour-looking Gungan seated on a stone. Jar Jar whispered that this was Boss Nass, the chief Gungan. When Boss Nass saw Jar Jar and the rest of us, his broad forehead wrinkled, and his mouth frowned. After all, he was the guy who had banished Jar Jar.
Even when Queen Amidala stepped forward to say that we’d come in peace, Boss Nass shook his head. He warned Jar Jar that he’d made a mistake by bringing us to him, and that he was considering putting us all to death.
In a flash we were surrounded by Gungan guards. They lowered their electropoles at us. I heard the sharp intake of breath among those with the Queen. Realizing we were outnumbered, the Queen’s guards looked around nervously. For a moment I went stiff, wondering if I’d come all this way just to die. But I was surprised to see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan watching calmly, seemingly unbothered by the threat. If they weren’t worried, I knew I could relax.
The biggest surprise was still to come. Queen Amidala began to say something about forming an alliance with the Gungans. But Padmé stepped forward, cutting her Queen short.
When the Gungan chief asked who she was, Padmé said she was the Queen!
For a moment I didn’t understand what was happening. Padmé, the Queen? It didn’t make sense.
But then she explained that the girl dressed as the Queen was actually one of her handmaidens. They had traded places for protection.
I’m glad Padmé wasn’t looking in my direction because she would have seen my mouth hanging wide open!
I didn’t know what to think! Ever since the day Padmé and Qui-Gon stepped into Watto’s shop, my life had been changing in ways I would have never dared to imagine.
In some strange and secret way, I was connected to the Queen! That made me feel sort of important. It made me wonder.
Who was I?
Who was I destined to become?
Padmé went on to explain to Boss Nass why she had come. It was pretty obvious that even though the Naboo people and the Gungans had lived together on this planet for a long time in peace, they weren’t exactly friendly.
Now, Padmé explained, they were both threatened by the Trade Federation. Unless the two groups banded together, they would both be destroyed.
Boss Nass listened to her with a frown on his face. You could see that he wasn’t sure he believed her.
Suddenly Padmé dropped to her knees before the Gungan chief. She begged him. She said the Naboo people were his humble servants and their fate was in his hands.
From the gasps of her handmaidens and the Naboo guards, I knew that this was the last thing they had expected her to do. But then, slowly, the guards bowed, too. And then the handmaidens and the Jedi.
Boss Nass began to laugh. He seemed very pleased. He’d felt the Naboo people had thought they were better than his swamp-dwelling Gungans. Having the Naboo Queen on her knees begging him finally equaled things out.
He was starting to think that maybe the Gungans and Naboos might be allies after all. Once again I saw Padmé in a new light. Not only was she brave, she was also a skilled leader.
To me, she was even more than an angel.
After Boss Nass accepted the Queen’s plea, he and his generals began to form a plan with Padme and the Jedi Knights. I was still having trouble believing that Padmé was the real Naboo Queen. How could I call her Amidala? She would always be Padmé to me. She would always be that person I first felt a special connection to.
I wanted to talk to her in private, but she was busy saving her planet.
The leader of the Naboo guards and some of his men were sent to scout the activities of the Trade Federation troops. A Gungan sentry was stationed high up in the ancient temple to watch for their return.
When the lookout yelled that the guards were coming back, I let Padmé and the others know. Everyone was eager to hear what was happening between the Naboo people and the Trade Federation troops.
The news was bad. Most of the Naboo people had been thrown into prison camps. There was a small resistance movement made up of Naboo police officers and palace guards. But it was insignificant compared to the size of the Federation forces. They had a droid army that was larger than Padmé’s advisors had expected.
From the grim expressions around me, I began to understand what we were up against. We would be totally outnumbered in battle. What could I do to help?
Then I heard some of what Padmé and the others had been planning. The Gungan troops would go to battle against the Federation droid army. It was doubtful that they could actually defeat the army, but hopefully they could draw them away from the city.
Meanwhile, a handful of Naboo troops would get into the city through secret passageways. They would attempt to enter the Royal Palace and capture the Trade Federation viceroy. He was the leader, and without him, the Trade Federation wouldn’t know what to do.
Qui-Gon warned Padmé that the Trade Federation viceroy would be well protected and difficult to capture. He was also worried about the Gungan battle with the Trade Federation droids. Even though it was nothing more than a diversion, he feared that many Gungans might be killed.
Boss Nass bravely insisted that his people were ready to do their part to save the planet. Padmé pointed out that the enemy troops were controlled from a Trade Federation command center orbiting the planet. While entering Naboo airspace earlier, they had spotted a lone Trade Federation battleship: the Droid Control Ship. Part of the plan would be to also send Naboo fighter pilots to knock out the Control Ship. Then the droids on the surface would be helpless.
Qui-Gon agreed that it was a good plan, but again warned that it would not be easy. The Trade Federation Droid Control Ship was undoubtedly protected by deflector shields. If the Naboo pilots were unable to get through those shields, they wouldn’t be able to disable the droid army below.
Then Obi-Wan pointed out an even greater danger. Everything depended on capturing the Trade Federation viceroy. If their plan failed and he escaped, he would no doubt return with an even bigger droid army—one that the meager Naboo and Gungan forces would have no hope of defeating.
Padmé nodded slowly and said she was aware of that risk. That was why the plan must not fail. The fate of all the beings on Naboo depended on capturing the viceroy.
With a risky plan and a thin thread of hope, we were going to war.
Twelfth Entry
A Greater Enemy Appears
There can be nothing more serious than going into battle. Especially a battle where many might be killed. But at the same time it is hard to imagine anything more exciting. The Gungans may have been an odd and peculiar-looking people, but watching their soldiers rise dripping wet out of the swamp dressed in metal and leather body armor and riding powerful kaadu was really so
mething.
Even more amazing were the Gungan soldiers atop the fambaas. I’d never seen creatures like these before. They were huge and looked like giant scaly salamanders. Each fambaa was outfitted with a shield generator that would (hopefully!) protect the Gungans from the battle droids’ weapons.
While the Gungans marched bravely off toward the grassy hills beyond the swamp, Padmé, the Jedis, a small number of Naboo troops and fighter pilots, and I headed for the city. I knew Qui-Gon didn’t want me to go, but with the whole planet about to go to war, there was no safe place to leave me.
We quietly entered the main city of Theed through secret passageways. For a moment I was struck by the beauty of the domed buildings and towers, but one look at the central plaza sent a shiver down my spine. Among the rubble of a recent battle, there were Trade Federation tanks and battle droids everywhere!
The sight of the enemy and the destruction it had already done made my throat grow tight. This wasn’t a game. It wasn’t a fight that could be settled with fists, or even a Podrace where someone wanted you dead. This was much, much bigger—an enemy of hundreds, maybe thousands of killing machines. And in the blink of an eye each one could vaporize a creature into a small heap of smoking ash.
My feet felt like they’d turned into lead. Suddenly my heart was pounding and I was having trouble breathing. What was I doing here? I’d gone along with Qui-Gon in the hope of learning to become a Jedi. I was nine years old! I didn’t want to die.
As if he’d read my mind (maybe he had!) Qui-Gon turned and gave me an encouraging nod. I think he understood what I was feeling. But the look in his eyes said it was too late. There was no going back.
Our immediate destination was the central hangar complex, where the Naboo starfighters were kept. The hangar was connected to the Royal Palace. We had to get the Naboo pilots into those fighters and send them up to disable the Trade Federation Droid Control Ship. The lives of hundreds of Gungan soldiers depended on it.
Star Wars - Episode I Journal - Anakin Skywalker Page 5
