A Force-Sensitive on Naboo/Story

A Force-Sensitive on Naboo an MI5 Chronicles story

A Delta-6 starfighter entered Naboo's atmosphere. The Jedi Master piloting it suddenly felt a presence in the Force. The gray-haired Human slanted the Jedi starfighter slightly as he looked down at the surface of the planet. He felt the presence but couldn't pinpoint exactly where it originated.

Jedi Master Mathis was landing on Naboo in search of a killer. Ard Zil, a male Gran, had murdered a Dug podracer named Morfit on Malastare. The reason was as of yet unknown, but Mathis was determined to find out. When Ard Zil realized Mathis was on to him, the Gran fled Malastare and Mathis pursued. The Jedi Master tracked him here, to nearby Naboo.

Mathis saw Ard Zil's beat-up old starfighter descend toward the planet's surface around this area. There was nothing in this region of Naboo but trees and swamps. A perfect place to hide, as opposed to Theed, which was massively populated and, at the moment, starting it's election season.

Mathis set the starfighter down next to Zil's. Hopping out, he began to examine the immediate area. The ground on which he stood was mushy. He must be near a swamp. Luckily, the mushy ground left the imprint of footsteps. Mathis found the footprints leading from the starfighter and deeper into the swampland. Apparently the Gran wasn't thinking about covering his tracks.

Mathis followed the footprints, the ground squishing under his boots with each step.

As he progressed through the swampland, he passed by two falumpasets that were eating some of the flora. Walking past them, he patted one of them on it's side. The animal didn't even flinch. It just continued to eat.

Then there was a scream and some yelling. The falumpasets took off running in the opposite direction and Mathis spun around to see what was happening. He began to run toward the noises. He came to a large open area of the swampland with a Gungan stone monument. There were about a dozen Gungans in the area, some of which were adult females, the rest children. The Gran, Ard Zil, was holding one of the young Gungan kids and had a blaster to her head.

Zil knew the Jedi was on to him, so he had grabbed a hostage.

Judging by the adult females and all the children, it looked to Mathis like some sort of playtime for the Gungan kids. Mothers and their children. And the Gran murderer had to ruin everything...

The Gungans turned when Mathis emerged from the foliage, green lightsaber lit. He looked over toward the frightened Gungans, then to the Gran.

Zil said to Mathis in Galactic Basic Standard, "Don't you come any closer! I'll kill these kids!"

Mathis, not wanting any of them to be harmed, deactivated the lightsaber. "It doesn't have to be this way," Mathis told him.

"Let me go," the Gran ordered, "and don't follow me."

"Being a Jedi, you know I can't do that."

The Gran didn't respond. All that was heard was a mother sobbing.

"Why did you kill that Dug? That's all I want to know," Mathis asked, hooking the lightsaber hilt back on his belt.

"Jabba hired me to kill him," Zil answered, still holding the blaster to the child's head.

Great... Jabba the Hutt. One of the beings the Jedi never liked to deal with. Mathis asked, "Why did Jabba want him dead?"

"Because the Dug had a string of recent wins, and Jabba had a lot of money bet on that Vulptereen. Naturally, he didn't want to lose that bet."

"Naturally..." Mathis repeated with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

The Gungans stood around them, watching, waiting. They were women and children. They didn't have any weapons on them. Mathis looked at the young Gungan girl being held hostage. He could see the fear in her eyes. The Gran still had the barrel of the blaster against her head.

Realizing something had to be done quickly, Mathis resorted to a Jedi mind trick. With a wave of his right hand, Mathis said, "You know what you did was wrong."

"I know what I did was wrong," Zil repeated mindlessly.

"You want to turn yourself in," Mathis added.

"I want to turn myself in."

The Gungans were in awe, watching a Jedi mind trick at work. One young Gungan boy in particular paid close attention. The 2-year-old boy was in his mothers arms, reaching out toward Mathis, almost as if he could feel the Force Mathis was manipulating.

"Set the blaster down and let the girl go."

Zil released his grip on the Gungan girl and squatted down to lay the blaster in the mud at his feet.

Mathis then walked over to the Gran. He pushed the young hostage away, letting her scamper to her mother. As she ran, the other young Gungan, the 2-year-old boy, struggled to escape his mother's grip. When she finally set him down, he walked over toward Mathis. Mathis turned to look down at him. When their eyes met, Mathis could sense the Force within the boy. Was this Gungan Force-sensitive? Was that the presence he felt upon his arrival on Naboo?

Mathis knelt down to the young Gungan's level. "Hello, little one," he said. "My name's Mathis. What's your name?"

"Gruu," the boy responded. The young Gruu Funkistann could sense something when Mathis used the Force a moment ago.

Mathis smiled. "Gruu. You seem to be a special little Gungan."

Suddenly, a few of the mothers gasped. Mathis looked up at them to see their startled faces. It was Zil. Mathis had been distracted with this Force-sensitive Gungan child which allowed Zil to grab his blaster again. Mathis quickly spun around, igniting his lightsaber and swiftly cut horizontally through the Grans belly before he could fire a blaster bolt.

The Gungans turned away and covered their children's eyes when the Gran fell over backward, lifeless.

Mathis turned back around to Gruu.

Gruu looked at the dead Gran. In his Gungan-speak he said, "Dat- Dat is a bad man."

"Yes, Gruu," Mathis responded. "He is a bad man."

Mathis took a moment and studied the young Gruu. This was no doubt a special Gungan.

- - - - - - - - - -

The Gungans thanked Mathis for protecting them and their children, and Mathis apologized for the horror they witnessed with the Gran's death. Soon after, during a meeting in Otoh Gunga deep under the ocean, Mathis asked to bring Gruu to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to be tested and possibly trained in the ways of the Jedi.

As an extension of the Gungan life debt, Otoh Gunga's Gungan High Council and the Boss heading it gave Mathis permission to take the young Gruu. After an emotional good-bye with Gruu's family and friends, Mathis and Gruu traveled back to the surface and climbed into the starfighter.

Gruu's testing would eventually prove that he had incredible intelligence for a Gungan. And with the Jedi Council's permission, joined the other Jedi Younglings in training. Mathis would act as a father to Gruu, raising him through his childhood and inevitibly taking him on as his Padawan.

The close relationship began on that fateful day on Naboo. But the Force presence Mathis felt upon his arrival was in fact not Gruu. What he was sensing was the teenage Palpatine in Theed who was on his way to a big political career. What would the future of the galaxy had been like if Mathis had followed the Force presence into Theed and found Palpatine instead?

End