After another wild ride with Qui-Gon Jinn, we arrived at the landing platform where Padmé’s ship was waiting.
It looked spotless.
It had clearly undergone a series of repairs.
Its hull, previously scorched by the Trade Federation blockade ship’s turbolaser fire over Naboo, once again appeared perfectly clean and smooth in several places.
Unlike me.
I understood that we were in a hurry and didn’t have much time, but almost an entire day had passed since I arrived on Coruscant, and no one had even thought about giving me a medical examination.
I came from a planet where parasites, skin diseases, and nutritional deficiencies were completely normal.
They didn’t even check whether I was healthy.
As a former slave, I could have had an almost endless number of health problems.
Qui-Gon Jinn was busy.
First, he reported to the Council, then he tried to get me accepted into the Order.
But it never occurred to anyone around him, or even to a single member of the Queen’s entourage, that a nine-year-old boy might want to change his clothes or simply eat something.
I had meditated all night and then spent the entire day on Coruscant.
If I hadn’t stolen some food from the automatic kitchen in the Queen’s apartment, I would have been hungry for over twenty hours by now.
Whoever was responsible for organizing this whole mess probably deserved to be fired.
But what was I supposed to do?
Lie down in the middle of the corridor and start crying?
All I could do was be patient and wait until our visit to Naboo was over.
Once I finished feeling sorry for my miserable fate, I noticed R2-D2 out of the corner of my eye, waiting for departure.
I walked over to him and started poking him.
“Pipii…
pii…
piooo!” he began making furious sounds of protest at my antics.
Still teasing him, I watched Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn talking about me while making every effort to pretend I wasn’t eavesdropping on their little argument.
As I began wondering about the construction of the famous droid, a notification from my back pocket pulled me out of my thoughts.
I positioned myself slightly behind R2-D2 and discreetly took out the device.
The droid desperately tried to rotate his upper body toward me, but I anticipated his movements and kept changing my position.
Is Operation Liberator still underway?
A smile of relief appeared on my face, and I sent only a short reply.
Confirmed.
No changes.
Apparently, Vardis’s preparations had reached their final stage.
As I sank back into my thoughts, reviewing our plan once again and making sure everything was in place, carefully going through every step to make sure I hadn’t overlooked anything, I noticed another transport ship docking at the landing platform.
It was far more luxurious than the one we had arrived in.
Queen Padmé Amidala stepped out of it.
She was obviously in a great hurry because she hadn’t had time to switch clothes with her handmaiden and was still appearing as the Queen.
Apparently, she didn’t want to meet me and risk exposing her little trick, so her handmaidens hid their faces beneath their hoods and quickly boarded the ship, talking to Qui-Gon Jinn, who assured them that their safety was guaranteed.
As he boarded, he gave me a look that clearly said,
“What are you waiting for?
We’re leaving.”
I stopped tormenting R2-D2, who reluctantly followed me onto the ship.
In person, he seemed even cuter than he did in the movies.
I simply couldn’t resist teasing him.
Padmé disappeared into her room, so, having nothing else to do, I sat down on the couch in the ship’s lounge and began dozing off.
The Anakin from the movie constantly bombarded the crew with questions about piloting the ship, but I was far too exhausted for that.
My body wasn’t in the best condition, and the entire day of activity and trials had completely worn me out.
I don’t know how long I slept, but Qui-Gon Jinn woke me by firmly nudging my shoulder.
“Wake up, Anakin.”
“We’ll be approaching the planet soon.
It may start getting dangerous.
Remember to follow my instructions.”
“Yes, Master Jedi,” I replied automatically.
Seeing that everyone was busy and had no time for conversation as they planned our next steps on the planet, I slipped into the cockpit and, ignoring the curious glance of one of the crew members, watched the beautiful blue planet slowly grow larger in the front viewport with fascination.
I still couldn’t suppress my enthusiasm for space, its infinity, and its beauty.
I truly felt that I could spend the rest of my life traveling from planet to planet, admiring their beauty forever.
I don’t think I’ll ever recover from this love of space and new places.
We continued drawing closer to orbit, and only a dozen or so minutes remained before landing.
So I decided to tear myself away from the breathtaking view, which had greatly increased my enjoyment of this journey, and prepare for the landing.
I was walking down the corridor toward the boarding ramp when I met Padmé, already changed back into her handmaiden’s clothes.
“Hello, Ani.
I heard you said goodbye to the Queen.
It’s nice to know you think of me that way.”
I looked around and, seeing that no one was nearby, decided to do something.
I had truly had enough of her little acting performance, so a devilish smile appeared on my face.
“But you’re the Queen, Padmé.
When I came to say goodbye, I sensed that the Queen had your presence in the Force.
So when I saw you boarding the ship wearing her clothes, it only confirmed my suspicions.”
“I understand that you want to hide your identity for your own safety, but it’s a little unfair to hide it from me and pretend to be an ordinary handmaiden.
Do you really trust me that little?”
I put on the expression of a betrayed friend.
I watched the friendly smile instantly disappear from her face, replaced by a serious expression.
She quickly looked around to make sure no one was nearby.
Then she hurried closer so she could lower her voice.
“When did you start suspecting it, you little devil?” she asked with the clearly uneasy expression of an older sister who had just been caught sneaking out of the house at night.
“Come on, Padmé.
You know me.
From the very beginning, you showed far too much confidence and authority for an ordinary handmaiden.
On top of that, your knowledge and behavior pointed not to an ordinary person, but to an elite upbringing.
And then there were your suspiciously calm conversations with the Jedi.
What ordinary servant would dare behave like that?”
“Enough,” she interrupted my list of mistakes, clearly annoyed that she hadn’t managed to fool a nine-year-old.
“But remember this, Anakin.
My identity must not be revealed.
It could endanger my life or my health.”
Her voice became far more serious than it had ever been before.
“Relax.
Your secret is safe with me.
I just couldn’t stand your acting anymore.”
“What’s wrong with my acting skills?
I was trained by the finest teachers on Naboo.”
Clearly puffed up with pride, she shot me an offended look.
“I’m not talking about ordinary people.
But any Jedi who actually paid attention would notice what you’re doing.
The only reason Master Qui-Gon hasn’t noticed your disguise—or simply doesn’t care—is because he’s occupied with the possibility that I’m the Chosen One and with the problem of a possible Force user who could be hunting you.”
My explanation clearly left her unable to decide whether she should be angry or offended.
“Just…
don’t tell anyone,” she added in a defeated voice.
“Of course, my Queen Amidala.
This humble servant shall obey your every command, my lady.”
At the same time, I bowed like a loyal subject, as if showing that her word was law to me.
“Pffft…”
She covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a burst of laughter.
“But we don’t have time for this now.
I have to save my people, and the Gungans may be my only hope.”
“Please, I won’t keep you any longer, my great Queen,” I replied with light sarcasm, barely holding back my laughter.
She threw me one more annoyed look before quickly walking toward the Queen’s entourage, which was already preparing to meet the leader of the Gungans.
It really felt good to blow off some steam after the disappointment I had experienced because of how the orphans on Coruscant were being managed.
Teasing Padmé turned out to be quite an effective way to relax.
I took out my communicator and sent a short message.
Be ready.
We’re approaching the planet.
As soon as you receive the signal, begin.
We’ll only have one chance.
If anything goes wrong, evacuate immediately and proceed with Plan B.
We entered Naboo’s atmosphere, and one of the pilots warned us that, considering our position, we had most likely been detected by the sensors of the Lucrehulk stationed in orbit around the planet.
“So we have to hurry.
The droids will reach us soon.”
I calmly returned to the lounge.
Padmé gave me a brief warning glance.
For some reason, I pretended not to notice it.
Qui-Gon once again explained to Sabé, her decoy, that they could not intervene because they were guardians of peace and could only ensure her safety.
So, at the end of the day, everything depended on them.
Our ship landed in a dense forest near the Gungan settlement.
The Queen’s Royal Guard immediately spread out to secure the area.
I walked over to Padmé and behaved like an ordinary child because there was very little I could do with my current body.
Rather than getting in the professionals’ way, I simply waited calmly.
Jar Jar headed toward the Gungan city beneath the lake.
I knew from the movie that they had already been driven out by the droids.
But if they hadn’t needed my help in the movie, I believed they would manage just fine now as well.
Let Jar Jar have a swim.
It’ll do him good after traveling across so many different worlds.
A little exercise in familiar surroundings won’t hurt him.
When he returned and informed us that the city was empty, he remembered a possible Gungan evacuation site, so we headed in the direction he indicated.
After only a few minutes of walking through the forest, the Gungan scouts spotted us.
We weren’t exactly a small group, so I wasn’t particularly surprised.
We were escorted directly before their leader.
Sabé (dressed as the Queen):
“Your Excellency, Gungans.
We have come to ask for your help.”
Boss Nass:
“Who do wesa have here?
Naboo!
Wesa no like Naboo!
Yousa think yousa better than us!”
Padmé:
“Your Excellency…
She is my decoy, my protector, my disguise.
I am Queen Amidala.”
After Padmé knelt, we all followed her example.
At the very least, we could show them our respect.
After all, it would be their people dying in battle against the droids before long, using weapons straight out of the sixteenth century, like catapults and slings.
Boss Nass:
“Yousa Queen Amidala?!”
Padmé:
“Our peoples have not always agreed.
But our destinies are bound together.
The Trade Federation has destroyed everything we built.
If we do not stand together, they will destroy us both.
I beg you…
help us.”
I could see that the whole situation had backed Padmé into a corner because the fate of her planet depended on the Gungan leader’s decision.
Even though she tried to appear calm, she was a bundle of nerves.
Boss Nass:
“Yousa no think yousa better than Gungans?
Mesa like that.
Maybe wesa be friends.”
But when their leader, after wildly spitting all around him, began talking about friendship, I noticed all the tension that had accompanied Padmé ever since she left the ship leave her small body.
Her clenched fists finally relaxed, and a smile of relief appeared on her face.
Padmé:
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Boss Nass:
“Hahaha!
Wesa help you!”
….
Author note
This chapter took me longer than I planned, and I’m still not entirely happy with it, but I’m not going to waste any more time on it.
I hope you enjoyed it .
below are a few
interesting facts about Naboo.
Ancient Naboo legends speak of mysterious ruins hidden beneath the planet’s lakes and swamps.
The Battle of Naboo was one of the first major conflicts where B1 battle droids were deployed on a planetary scale.
Long before the Empire, Naboo was considered one of the Republic’s most cultured and artistic worlds.
Naboo’s plasma reserves made the planet strategically valuable long before the Trade Federation invasion.
Naboo’s core is largely hollow and filled with vast underwater caverns instead of solid rock.