The Phantom Menace (AU)/Chapter 5

“I don’t think I like this,” Nalanda said to Padmé.

The Naboo Queen was seated on her throne surrounded by her handmaidens. Standing before her were Panaka and Padmé, they were all being thrown around by the jolting of the ship.

Yet Padmé knew that Nalanda was not referring to the motion of the ship—which was starting to make her feel slightly queasy—but the fact that if the ship was destroyed they would all be lost and the Trade Federation would continue their occupation unimpeded.

“This is not your fault, Your Highness,” Padmé said earnestly, “none of us would be in this position without the Trade Federation,” she turned to Panaka. “Doesn’t this ship have a cloaking device?”

“This is not a warship!” Panaka snapped. “We have no weapons! We are a peaceful people!”

He inclined his head respectfully to Nalanda, “Your Highness, if you’ll excuse me.” Nalanda dismissed him with the wave of a hand and Panaka left for the cockpit.

But even a peaceful people, Padmé thought as she watched him leave, should know how and when to fight back.



“Spin the ship,” Qui-Gon suggested, “they won’t be able to get a reading on us.”

Ric Olié compiled, but as he did so the ship shuddered violently knocking even the Jedi off-balance and causing a show of sparks to emit from one of the control panels.

“Assess damage,” he was fighting the controls now, the blasts kept knocking them off-course.

“Critical,” the co-pilot replied, “it hit our shield generator and drive.”

“Sending out the repair droids.” Ric flipped a lever then glanced at Qui-Gon. “We should abort; we can’t take much more of this.”

“No,” Qui-Gon said gently but firmly.

“Master,” Obi-Wan whispered and pointed to Ric’s datascreen. “Vulture droids.”



In a small room where several squat astromech droids stood silent sentry Danta sat in one corner. One foot was planted firmly on the floor so he wouldn’t move about with the shaking ship. Obi-Wan had left him here with the stern command to stay, Danta was unperturbed and sat sharpening his spear tip with a smooth blue stone. For now he was willing to go where the Jedi would take him, it might be interesting.

With the murmur of beeps and chirps the droids were activated and trundled over to a small airlock. Danta ignored this, only wondering if they would help stop the ship from rocking back and forward like a bayu tree in a storm.



A swarm of droid starfighters amassed on the starship just as the troop of astro droids headed across the chromium hull. One of the droids was felled immediately from blaster fire, but the remaining five kept on. The ship veered closer to one of the Trade Federation ships, knocking several starfighters away.

The starship span again, yet the droids were magnetised and stopped near the damaged shield generator. Huddled around it they quickly made their repairs, reconnecting the unprotected wires then welding the damaged hull back into place.

One by one all the other droids were blown up, except for one blue and white droid who worked with what could be described grim determination.



From the cockpit the little droid could be seen from one of the datascreens, then just as it finished several panels lit up and Ric Olié smiled with relief.

“The shields are up! That little droid did it!” He flipped switches anxiously as they cleared the last of the blockade. “Re-route all power to the thrusters.”

When this was done he threw the thrusters all the way forward and Naboo and the Trade Federation were well behind them.



In the Throne Room on Theed, Nute Gunray sat somewhat uncomfortably on Nalanda’s throne before a hologram of Darth Sidious, a human figure in a hooded robe with only his mouth and nose visible. To the side stood Maxah, secretly relishing in the Neimoidian’s palpable fear.

“We control all cities in the northern and western part of Naboo territory,” Gunray said quickly, “and we are currently searching for any pockets of resistance including the rumoured underwater cities—”

“Yes, yes,” Darth Sidious interrupted impatiently. “You’ve done well, Viceroy. What of Queen Nalanda? Has she signed the treaty?”

“She has…disappeared, my lord,” Gunray said in a shaking voice, “there was an escape—”

“Escape?” Sidious snarled and Maxah smiled. “One Naboo cruiser got past the blockade—”

“How did she escape Viceroy?” “The…the Jedi my lord,” Gunray replied, “the young female managed to overpower her guards then two other Jedi joined her and—”

The Sith Lord’s fury, veiled at first, was now fully visible. Gunray shifted apprehensively as Sidious said his next words. “Do you mean to tell me,” Sidious said slowly and deliberately, “that a mere child managed to escape you and disrupt your invasion right without your knowledge?”

“But…but these are Jedi, my lord Sidious!” Gunray protested.

“Silence!” the Sith thundered and Gunray flinched painfully. “I want her found and that treaty signed!”

“But their ship is out of our range, my lord!” He was begging now, but Sidious paid him no heed.

“Maxah,” the single use of her name made her step forward before Sidious. “Yes, my Master,” Maxah’s face was unreadable. “You may use whatever means necessary, my young apprentice” Sidious said.

“I will not fail, my Master,” Maxah said, and she meant every word of it. When the hologram had dissolved and Maxah had left the room Gunray slumped in his seat, visibly shaken.

“This is getting out of hand,” Gunray said to his counterpart Rune Haako. He knew the price to be paid if Nalanda managed to elude Maxah, and it would be landed on his head completely.

“We should never have made this bargain,” Rune declared.

“What will happen when the Jedi become aware that we are doing business with the Sith?” Gunray shuddered apprehensively but did not answer.