Star Wars - Episode I Journal - Queen Amidala

  The battle droid sergeant was the only one left standing. He hesitated, then turned and began to run.

  The powerful man lifted a hand. The droid stumbled backward as if pulled by an invisible hand. Then, almost casually, the man dispatched him with the lightsaber.

  This was all done in the space of two heartbeats.

  “Wowsa,” the Gungan breathed.

  The tall man introduced himself as Qui-Gon Jinn and his companion as Obi-Wan Kenobi. I’d already guessed who they were—the Jedi ambassadors.

  It was quickly decided that someone must go and alert the Senate. First, we had to find transport. Battle droids were everywhere, but Captain Panaka led us toward the hangar by a route of twisting back alleys.

  At least fifty battle droids were guarding the ship, but Qui-Gon said it wouldn’t be a problem.

  Captain Panaka threw him a look, somewhere between respect and disbelief. I had heard of Jedi, of course, but I had never met one. Qui-Gon’s calmness in the face of great odds sent a jolt of hope through me.

  Unless he was crazy, of course.

  I had expected that the Jedi would leave Naboo alone to contact the Senate. But to my surprise, Qui-Gon told the Queen that she should go to Coruscant with them. Of course, Sabé refused.

  “They will kill you if you stay,” Qui-Gon said. I could see in his eyes that he was not trying to scare the Queen. He was stating something he knew as fact.

  “They wouldn’t dare!” Sio Bibble protested.

  “They need her to sign a treaty to make the invasion legal,” Captain Panaka added.

  I heard the opinions of my advisors, but I kept my eyes on Qui-Gon. He registered what they said, but his gaze remained steady on the Queen.

  “There is something behind all this, Your Highness,” he told Sabé. “I’m troubled by the illogic of the invasion.”

  So am I, I thought.

  “My feelings tell me that they will destroy you. Then they can appoint another ruler who will sign the treaty.”

  I was taken aback. Sabé hesitated.

  Sio Bibble told the Queen that she must go. Captain Panaka insisted that it was too dangerous. Sabé turned to her handmaidens. Her gaze rested on me for a beat longer. Command me, she pleaded.

  Captain Panaka was brave and wise. I had often depended on his advice. But the Jedi’s words rang true.

  If I left, it would look as though I was running away. The Federation could use that. They’d say that I was a coward who abandoned my people for the sake of my own safety.

  But if I stayed, what could I do? Fight a hopeless battle against great odds?

  No. I will have to leave behind everyone I love. I will have to travel far, even as they are herded into camps like animals. My friends, my parents…

  I will have to find a way to bear that pain.

  I met Sabé’s gaze. “We are brave, Your Highness,” I said, which told her, Go! I felt a stab of anguish, as if my heart had cracked in two.

  LATER

  To continue: I saw my first real battle in the hangar.

  Battle droids were guarding the Naboo pilots. We would need one of them to fly the transport. Without a flicker of concern, Obi-Wan quietly said he would free them.

  I signaled Sabé with my eyes, and she chose Eirtaé, Rabé, and me to leave Naboo with her. Yané and Saché are to stay behind. They are the youngest and newest in my service. I pray they’ll be safe with Governor Bibble.

  Qui-Gon told us to keep on walking, no matter what. We strode purposefully toward the Queen’s transport. At first, our boldness confused the guards. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan headed for the captured pilots and crew.

  I couldn’t imagine how we would be able to escape this number of battle droids, but I kept on walking. Heart pounding, eyes front.

  Then we were challenged by a battle droid. Qui-Gon answered him politely, but never stopped walking. The droid announced that we were under arrest and drew his blaster.

  I didn’t get a chance to take a breath. The battle droid was suddenly a heap of metal and parts on the floor. Qui-Gon never broke his stride.

  But the other droids were alerted now, and they rushed at him. Qui-Gon’s lightsaber was a blur of light and motion. One after another, the droids were dismembered and dismantled. We ran toward the transport while Qui-Gon deflected battle fire.

  Meanwhile, Obi-Wan cleared the guards from around the pilots, his saber cutting through them, slashing, attacking. The pilots ran for the ship.

  The battle was over before it had begun. Two Jedi against that many droids! I still can’t believe it, and I was there.

  Alarms began to sound. We managed to board as more droids entered the hangar. We took off amid heavy fire. I just had time to see Sio Bibble being captured as the transport rose and fired out of the hangar with Ric Olié at the controls.

  But we weren’t safe yet. There was still the blockade to deal with. We had a spinning, dodging, whirling ride through heavy fire. Stuck in the Queen’s quarters, I couldn’t monitor what was going on in the cockpit. It was maddening. Once, the power flickered, and we thought we were lost. But apparently one of the droids saved us by reactivating the defense shields.

  The ship is on a steady course now. We’re outside the Naboo system. I have to stop myself from running to the cockpit and ordering them to take me back. When I close my eyes, I see battle droids bursting into my parents’ home. I see tanks in the city of Theed. I see blood in the fountains, and children wearing stunned, blank looks.

  But there’s no going back. I have to live with this decision. The consequences are mine.

  I’ve received intensive training. I’ve studied galactic history and culture, governmental philosophy, and military strategy. Sometimes my eyes burned and my head felt as though it would explode. And I thought, with all that training, I was prepared to be Queen.

  But nothing has prepared me for this.

  So I open my eyes. I swallow against the sickness inside. I take that helpless, blinding fury and I turn it into resolve. I will defeat them. I will see my enemies surrender.

  Next stop, Coruscant. I must think of strategies and plans now, because—

  LATER

  I spoke too soon. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Captain Panaka, and Ric Olié have informed us that our hyperdrive is leaking. We don’t have enough power to reach Coruscant. We must land on a planet called Tatooine for repairs.

  Sabé nodded in agreement. I wanted to scream. A delay now could cost many lives!

  We don’t have a choice, they say. Tatooine is apparently our best bet. It is remote, beyond the reach of the Trade Federation. But it is ruled by gangsters and thieves.

  Naturally, Captain Panaka is worried. He thinks that we should find another planet to land on. But Qui-Gon wants me to trust him. Again.

  Nothing against Qui-Gon. But from now on, I won’t even trust a Jedi. If a landing party leaves this ship on Tatooine, I’m going with them.

  Now that I am Padmé, the Queen can command me to perform tasks. I told Sabé she must do this, or it will look suspicious. But does Sabé get just a little pleasure out of telling me to clean up an astromech droid?

  Maybe. She’s only human. Actually, once I began, I didn’t mind the task. I like working with my hands. It takes my mind off the impatience. And after all, the droid saved my life.

  Its number is R2-D2. Apparently it stayed outside on the ship’s hull, working to fix the deflector shields under heavy fire. I cleaned off the soot and fire residue, then went to work with a polisher. The R2 unit hummed under my hands.

  “You deserve a good buffing,” I told him. “Good work.”

  He beeped happily at me.

  Suddenly, we heard a loud “Hidoe!” The noise scared us, and we both jumped.

  It was the Gungan, Jar Jar. He’s the first Gungan I’ve seen up close. It’s so strange that we share a world. I suppose since the Gungans are swamp dwellers they need amphibian features to survive. The Gungan has a billed mouth like a duck and long, drooping ears. He has a l
ong tongue he’s fond of slurping outside his mouth, as if he’s testing the air.

  He handed me the oilcan and introduced himself—a friendly gesture. “Wesa almost to Tatooine planet,” he told me. He leaned closer. His hooded eyes were sympathetic and sorrowful. “Mesa berry skeered.”

  I was taken aback. We were taught to think of Gungans as barbarians. But this one was as gentle as a child. I patted his cool, rubbery hand. I told him I was sure that everything would be all right.

  “Mesa notso,” he said with a sigh.

  I hid my smile. Although we share a world, the Naboo and Gungans do not mix. Most Naboo think the Gungan race is beneath them. So it interested me to be face-to-face with one. Or should I say face-to-snout?

  If I’d met a Gungan as Queen, I might have drawn my most imposing manner around me like a shimmering robe. But as Padmé, I was charmed.

  I can’t help it. I like him.

  LATER

  MOS ESPA SPACEPORT, TATOOINE

  They left without me! I should have foreseen this. Why should they alert a handmaiden when they were ready to leave? I had to run to fetch Captain Panaka and have him take me to them.

  We caught up with them a short distance from the ship. Panaka told them that the Queen had personally asked if I could go along. I could see that Qui-Gon was annoyed, but he nodded. I knew he would accept it. I am good cover for him. With Jar Jar, Artoo, and me, he won’t look threatening.

  The planet of Tatooine is totally unlike Naboo. My planet is full of green vegetation and blooming flowers. Our rivers and streams run clear and sweet, tumbling into waterfalls as delicate as lace.

  Tatooine is dust. Dust, and blinding heat from the two suns overhead. There is no vegetation to speak of, only rocks. The rocks form deep canyons, which rise around you and sometimes block the sky.

  Who would choose such a planet to live on?

  I got my answer when we reached Mos Espa: criminals and renegades. Strange creatures from all over the galaxies sat in the cafes lining the streets, gambling and shouting. The noise, combined with the heat, made me feel dazed. The streets were narrow and crammed with braying banthas and various other life-forms. None of which, I should add, I had any inclination to get to know better.

  Jar Jar was terrified. He stuck close to Qui-Gon, practically walking on his heels. I was nervous myself. But I was also interested. I haven’t seen many of the worlds away from my own. This one is so different. Noisy, dusty, dangerous—it is all those things. But it is also crammed full of life.

  Qui-Gon told me the planet is controlled by Jabba the Hutt, probably one of the nastier characters in the galaxy. The deserts are notorious for scavengers, mostly Jawas. The permanent dwellers are moisture farmers. They are the ones with a hard life, because they’re honest.

  “The few spaceports like this one are full of people who don’t want to be found,” he said.

  “Like us,” I pointed out.

  Qui-Gon gave me a fleeting look of respect. “I suppose.” Then his eyes returned to sweeping the street. He’s a man who gives off an aura of deep calm. Yet his is the most alert presence I’ve ever experienced. I feel safe with him.

  We stopped in a small plaza. A group of shabby junk dealers huddled around us. A few of the larger shops made an attempt to be presentable. At least it looked as though you wouldn’t take your life in your hands by walking through the door.

  Qui-Gon pointed to a smaller, more disreputable-looking shop.

  I bit my lip to stop myself from rapping out, “No.” Amidala would have argued with him. But Padmé lets the little things go.

  This isn’t the first time it’s occurred to me that Padmé is sometimes smarter than the Queen.

  We ducked through the doorway and found ourselves in a dusty, cluttered shop. Scrap metal, circuits, speeder parts, droid’ parts, control panels, compressors, and tools crammed every shelf and spilled onto the floor.

  Suddenly, a fat little blue creature with buzzing wings flew at us. He demanded something in a grating language I didn’t recognize.

  Qui-Gon told him that he needed parts for a J-type 327 Nubian. At the prospect of a sale, the blue creature immediately became polite and offered any help he could.

  He called out harshly in his strange language, and a boy appeared. The boy was slight and dressed in rough garments. He also looked as though he could use a bath. But his piercing dark eyes beamed a fierce curiosity, giving him a look of intelligence.

  Qui-Gon and the shop owner spoke for a moment. Then the blue creature took Qui-Gon and Artoo out back to look at parts. I was left in the store with the boy and Jar Jar.

  I wandered around, looking at the goods. I couldn’t imagine what someone would want with such junk. The boy sat on the counter. He took out a rag and began to clean a metal object. I saw that he was sneaking glances at me at every opportunity. Perhaps the stout blue creature had told him to watch out for shoplifting. His stare was unnerving, more like a man’s than a boy’s.

  “Are you an angel?” he asked me suddenly.

  I turned, surprised, and asked him what he meant.

  “Deep-space pilots talk about them,” he said. “They live on the moons of Iego, and they’re the most beautiful creatures in the universe.”

  Beautiful? I spend so much time trying to appear dignified. I don’t think too much about beauty. To tell the truth, when people refer to me as beautiful, I am usually dressed as Queen Amidala. And you can’t take a compliment seriously if you’re a queen. Everyone flatters you. Everyone wants something. Only a fool would listen.

  But I have to admit I was pleased by the compliment of this funny boy.

  He told me he listened to the talk around him. Space pilots and pirates and traders visited the shop. He kept his ears open.

  “And someday,” he said with great conviction, “I’ll fly away from here, too.”

  I asked him if he was a pilot. He seemed very young to fly.

  He told me that he’d been a pilot all his life. I tried to hide my smile. I wanted to tease him, to ask if he piloted a speeder when he was a baby, but he was serious. I would hurt his feelings, I thought. So I asked him how long he’d lived on Tatooine.

  He had lived here since he was three years old. He and his mother had been sold to Watto, the blue creature.

  I was so surprised that I blurted out the question. “A slave?”

  And I hurt his feelings, after all.

  “I’m a person!” he exclaimed. “My name is Anakin.”

  What a strange place Tatooine is. Farmers who cultivate water. Pirates and thieves. And boys who are slaves.

  Behind me, Jar Jar mistakenly activated a droid. It lurched about, knocking items off shelves. Then it slammed straight into a pile of parts, which clattered to the floor. Anakin called out to Jar Jar to hit the droid’s nose.

  Jar Jar did so, but looked so scared and comical that Anakin and I burst out laughing. The sound of it was strange to me. It has been so long since I’ve laughed.

  Qui-Gon strode back in the shop and beckoned to me. I hurried after him.

  “Did he have the part we need?” I asked anxiously.

  Qui-Gon nodded as he withdrew his comlink. “And the Toydarian is charging a fortune for it,” he said.

  He raised Obi-Wan on the comlink. Was there anything on board we could sell or trade? I could have told him the answer. Only my wardrobe, which would be useless. I never kept anything of real value on the transport. We would load what we needed for travel. But of course we didn’t have time to think of such things when we left Naboo.

  Another thing I should have seen coming. Another preparation I didn’t make.

  Qui-Gon slipped the comlink back in his pocket. He must have seen the worry in my eyes.

  “Another solution will present itself,” he said matter-of-factly. “We will see.”

  I wish I had his patience. Now we are stuck on Tatooine. No doubt the Trade Federation has sent troops to track me down. Every second we are here puts us in danger, a
nd Naboo remains in chains.

  We’ve got to find a way. I must get to Coruscant, and soon.

  Qui-Gon led us back to the market at Mos Espa. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He scanned the groups of gamblers and arguing pilots. What was he looking for?

  When I asked him, he only said tersely, “A way.”

  Meanwhile, Jar Jar fell behind. We lost sight of him, and it was a mistake. We learned later that Jar Jar was tempted by a display of frogs in a stall. His long tongue snaked out and captured one. What he didn’t notice was that the frog was still attached to a wire in order to prevent such thefts.

  When the shopkeeper bounded out of the shop, demanding payment, Jar Jar opened his mouth and the frog snapped away. The tension of the wire sent the frog zinging into a bowl of soup, splashing the creature eating it. This creature happened to be one of the more unsavory types in Mos Espa, which is saying plenty. Jar Jar seems to attract bad luck.

  The creature attacked Jar Jar. By this time, Qui-Gon and I had heard the commotion. We turned just in time to see Anakin step between the huge, spiderlike creature and the Gungan.

  Instead of speeding up to help, Qui-Gon slowed. His expression grew keen as he watched Anakin defuse the situation. By the time Qui-Gon, Artoo, and I caught up to them, the creature—a Dug called Sebulba—had moved away in a huff.

  Qui-Gon thanked Anakin and gave Jar Jar a warning look.

  “Mesa doen nutten!” Jar Jar protested.

  “Fear attracts the fearful,” Anakin explained. “He was trying to overcome his fear by squashing you. Be less afraid.”

  I asked Anakin if that worked for him, and he said it did—to a point.

  It was a mature view for a boy. Again, I was struck by Anakin’s clear mind. Fear attracts the fearful.

  The wind suddenly picked up. The abruptness and ferocity of it surprised us. Dust flew into my eyes, making them sting.

  Anakin asked us if we had shelter, and Qui-Gon explained quickly that we did, on the outskirts of the city.