It is a little-known fact outside the planet of Naboo that there is no
creature in the entire universe as incredibly annoying as a baby
Gungan.

Gungans themselves were somewhat odd creatures-- they looked like
someone had tried to combine a horse, a rabbit and an iguana without
having any solid concept of any of the three. Their offspring were
worse.

It was not that baby Gungans were not cute, which they weren't. It wasn't their slightly tuna-like odor. It was the high-pitched squealing they made. The high-pitched squealing that seemed to fill the entire underwater city. The high-pitched squealing that could only be described as "indescribably painful." The high-pitched squealing that, like any other parents in the galaxy, the Gungans themselves found adorably precious.

"If one more o' those ugly little tadpoles makes that damn noise, I'm
gonna convert my Fighter into a sub and blast this whole city to--"

"Shut up, you fool! I'm sorry, my Queen."

Queen Amidala, ever-proper and elegant ruler of Naboo nearly had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Ric Olie, commander of Naboo's Royal Air and Space Force and Captain Panaka, leader of the Royal Guard
had been at it all night. This was supposed to be some sort of diplomatic
function, but so far, it seemed more like some sort of Gungan pot-luck
dinner.

"Hi-dey, hey-dey, Queen Amy-dala!" called out a nasal Gungan voice.

Amidala recognized it instantly. "Greetings, General Binks."

Jar-Jar Binks blushed as only a Gungan can. "Don't yousa call me dat. Jar-Jar do jus' fine."

"All right, Jar-Jar."

"Big doin's, here, no?"

"Very impressive."

"Big Boss Nass bring out all de wives an' kiddies, too."

Ahh. That explained all the babies. Now, if she could only figure out which Gungans were female...

"How are you doing, Jar-Jar?"

"Meesa doin' okeyday. Dis 'General' stuff too much, t'ough. Meesa jus' glad to be back in Otoh Gunga."

"Good."

"So, you hear from de big, important Jedi, anymore? Meesa be t'inkin', Ani be gettin' too big in de head an' forgettin' 'bout his little friends on Naboo."

Amidala smiled. "For your information, Jar-Jar, Anakin has written on several occasions. In fact, he's even convinced Obi-Wan to let him come visit."

"Really? Dat'sa fan-TAS-tic! When dey'sa comin'?"

"They're scheduled to arrive tomorrow evening."

"Well, you tell Ani he needsa come visit his ol' friend Jar-Jar. He can leave big Mistah Jedi Kenobi at home, t'ough."

Amidala smiled again. According to Anakin, Obi-Wan felt the same way about the cheerful Gungan-- vaguely disgusted. Fortunately, the stolid
Jedi was too polite to mention it.

"'Scuse me, General Binks," said a slightly deeper voice interrupted.

Amidala turned to see an older Gungan with drooping whiskers. Captain
Tarpals, she believed his name was. "M'lady, Boss Nass wishes t'spake
wit' you."

"Thank you, Captain," she said smoothly. "It was a pleasure, as always, Jar-Jar."

"See ya, Queen Amy-dala. Yousa gonna tell Ani, right?"

"Of course."

Amidala followed Tarpals across the room. Old friends could wait;
it was time for diplomacy.



"Come ON, Obi-Wan! I'm an awesome pilot!"

"I know. You inform me of that fact daily."

"I blew up that Trade Federation base, all by myself!"

"Which is exactly why I am piloting right now."

"Obi-WAN!"

"I'm not listening to you..."

"Obi-Wan..." Anakin managed to stretch the name out into at least six syllables.

"La-la-laaa..." I've certainly gotten less mature since taking Anakin as a Padawan, Obi-Wan thought glumly to himself.

"Fine." Anakin slumped in his seat in standard Anakin-Skywalker- Sulk-Position #6. "Are we almost there yet?"

"Don't start."

"What?"

It was going to be a long trip.



Queen Amidala stretched out as best she could on the narrow seat of the transport. The reception had gone late, and all she could think about was her own bed. It was a long ride home-- the trip through the core was too dangerous, so they traveled to the surface via bongo and then took a surface transport back to Theed. She smoothed the volumous skirts of her lavish cerulean gown. She didn't wear blue often, but it seemed
appropriate for visiting a lovely underwater city. Amidala sighed--she
understood that ostentacious gowns and face paint were part and parcel
of her role as queen, but there certainly were times she wished to be back in handmaiden's garb.

"Y'okay back there, m'lady?" Olie called.

"I'm fine, Commander."

Honestly, if it wasn't Panaka, it was Ric, or Sabe, or one of the other handmaidens. Someone or another was constantly fretting over her.I lived through an invasion of my planet and a romp across half the galaxy, but they don't think I can sit still without hurting myself, she thought.

Again, just more price of royalty. She settled back in her seat and closed
her eyes.

Suddenly, there something shook, and Amidala was jolted awake.

In the cockpit, Ric and Panaka murmured worriedly together. Amidala rose quickly, and glided into the cockpit. "What's going on?" she demanded.

"It seems," Olie said tersely. "That we're under attack."

"Attack? By whom?"

"Unknown, your Highness," Panaka replied.

Another blast rocked the ship, and Amidala had to grip the back of Panaka's chair to keep her footing.

"They hit the power supplies. We're not going anywhere," Olie grimly reported. Something beeped. "They want to talk."

"Go ahead," the Queen said measuredly.

Olie pressed the button, and a gravelly voice came over the commlink.

"Your transport is crippled. You will let us board, or we will destroy you."

"We will not surrender," Amidala announced.

"M'lady, they have the weaponry to make good on their threat," Olie said softly.

"I do not care."

"M'lady," Panaka said. "Forgive us, but it is our duty to protect you at all costs." He pressed another button. "We accept your conditions."



"And don't touch the hyperdrive," Obi-Wan warned.

"Yessir," the repair droid said mechanically.

Obi-Wan hated Repair and Refueling Stations more than just about any other place in the galaxy, with the possible exception of the swamps of
Dagobah. They were dirty, smelly, and tended to attract disreputable
characters. Anakin, of course, was having the time of his life. He'd run off twenty minutes ago while Obi-Wan oversaw the ship's repairs. Obi-Wan
was almost certain that letting Anakin out on his own was not exactly the
wisest thing he'd ever done, but after ten hours in a ship with the little brat,
he almost hoped the kid ran afoul of some crusty bounty hunter. Better
go save him, he sighed to himself. I don't think Yoda would be too happy
if I lost my Padawan at an R&R.

"--and then BAM! Sebulba's Podracer exploded an' then I won!"

"Ye're awful small t'be Podracing, kid."

"I'm the only human that can do it!"

"Sure, kid."

Obi-Wan walked up his Padawan and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come along, Anakin. I'm sure he doesn't want to hear your
Podracing stories."

"Kid's really a Podracer?" the old spacer asked, raising one eyebrow.

He used to be," Obi-Wan said.

"Now I'm gonna be a Jedi," Anakin announced.

"Uh-huh," the spacer mumbled, concentrating back on his drink.

"See ya, Mister!" Anakin called, waving happily.

"What have you been eating?" Obi-Wan asked, noting the red stain around Anakin's mouth.

"Nothin'."

"Anakin?"

"I didn't! I had somethin' to drink..."

"You haven't been drinking ruby bliels again, have you?"

"Just two."

Obi-Wan groaned inwardly. He had no idea what was in the super-sweet drinks, but he knew that what ever it was tended to make Anakin hyperactive and incoherent for the rest of the day. He led the boy back to
the landing bay where the mainentance droids were hard at work reassembling his hyperdrive. Obi-Wan sighed again. It was definitely going to be a long trip.


Space pirates. It just had to be space pirates.

Amidala sat on the floor of some space cruiser, tied back to back to Ric, gagged with something that tasted positively horrible.

You won't get away with this, she wanted to say. My Royal Guard will hunt you down. The Senate won't let you get away with this. The Gungans will come save us. Instead, she could only glare at her captors.

"I know what you're thinking," one said, in his own language. He was a large Rodian, wearing the clothes of an experienced spacer. "And you're wrong. The galaxy is huge. You think your army or your alliences can hunt down one little ship about which they know nothing?"

Amidala just glared. He was right, of course. But she wasn't ready to stop being angry.

"Give it up, your Highness. You can stare at me all day. Won't do any good."

Maybe not, Amidala thought. But I don't have anything better to do.



Naboo. The planet was lush and green, and thank the Force they had actually made good time. Obi-Wan looked over at his sleeping apprentice, and contemplated waking the boy. He'd been bouncing off the bulkheads for the better part of the trip, but eventually, the excessive
energy use had just burned him out. Obi-Wan decided against it-- he'd
let the boy sleep as long as possible.

He steered the ship down towards the capitol city of Theed. The first time he'd been to Naboo, he'd stowed aboard a Trade Federation invasion ship, and ended up in a swamp with a fried lightsaber. At least this time, he knew where he was going. He still wasn't sure how he'd let Anakin talk him into this. He barely knew the planet's young Queen-- in the entire time of their acquantaince, he'd exchanged possibly ten words with her, and some of those were probably with her double. But Anakin thought she was the most wonderful person in the galaxy, and had begged until Obi-Wan gave in. The whole trip had been "I can't wait to see Amidala!" and "Do you think Amidala...?" and "Amidala said..."

Besides, the boy had been good lately...

Obi-Wan was snapped out of his reverie by a sudden jolt-- he felt as though all the hairs on his arms were standing up. Anakin blinked blearily
and sat up.

"Whut was that?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"A disturbance in the Force," Obi-Wan said grimly.
Anakin snapped awake. "Y'think Amidala's okay?"
"I don't know. It could have been anything."
"Obi-Wan?"
"Yes, Anakin?"
"I have a really bad feeling about this."



Obi-Wan and Anakin had been sitting in the antechamber for almost three hours. Obi-Wan was meditating. Anakin was supposed to be meditating. He was actually fidgeting. Obi-Wan wasn't really meditating,
either-- he was watching Anakin fidget. It was difficult to meditate while
sitting next to a fidgeting 10-year-old. Obi-Wan had no idea how Qui-Gon
had managed all those years.

Finally, the door opened, and one of the Queen's handmaidens walked through. Anakin scowled.

"Thank you gentlemen for waiting, but the Queen is unavailable right now. She is very busy this time of year and--"

"She invited us," Anakin protested. "I've got her letter, if you want to see it."

"I'm sure she did, sir, but she is unavailable right now. If you'd please be on your way..."

Anakin started to protest again, but he didn't get a chance. Obi-Wan opened his eyes slowly and looked at the handmaiden. "The Queen is
expecting us."

"Yes. The Queen is expecting you," she echoed blandly.

"She will be angry if you keep her waiting."

"She will be very angry if I keep her waiting."

"You will take us to the Queen, now."

"I will take-- but the Queen is not here!"

"The Queen is not here?"

"No. She is missing."

Anakin's eyes widened. Obi-Wan set his jaw.

"Who is in charge in her absence?"

"Sabe has taken her place," the handmaiden replied in the same blank tone. "But Governor Bibble is in charge."

"You will take us to Governor Bibble."

"Right this way, gentlemen."


Governor Sio Bibble was not happy. The Queen and her guard had
disappeared. The Gungans knew nothing about it-- they had even offered
their services. Sabe was doing the best she could, but she was meant
only for extreme situations-- she could act like the Queen, but could not be depended on for decisions and leadership. Currently, Bibble was
ranting and raving to the pilots of the Royal Air and Space Force.

"--I want you to scour the planet's surface! Find the Queen, quickly, or--"

"Perhaps we may be of service," a soft voice interrupted.

Bibble turned to see a handmaiden with a young man dressed in brown robes, accompanied by a similarly-dressed boy. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"We are Jedi Knights. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker."

"Jedi? What are you doing here? Who else knows about this?"

"We are friends of the Queen. She invited us here. It was merely a case of being in the right place at the wrong time."

"Thank you very much, but we have this situation under con--"

"Amidala is not on this planet."

"WHAT? What are you talking about?"

"I can feel it. She is not here. Anakin?"

Anakin shook his head sadly.

"Where is she, then?"

"I do not know. What possible motive could one have for kidnapping her?"

"She is a Queen! Her ransom would--"

"No. She is not the just a Queen. She is the Queen of Naboo. The Supreme Chancellor of the Republic Senate is of Naboo. It is obviously
an attempt at him."

"We must contact Palpatine at once!"

"It will do you no good. If they are blackmailing him, he will certainly not tell you about it."

"What do you want us to do, then? Sit around on our thumbs?"

"Do what you please-- it will not get the Queen back."

"Do you actually have a plan, or are you just here to destroy all of our hope?"

"I have a plan," Obi-Wan said measuredly.

Anakin looked at him, as if to say "What plan?"

If you only knew, Obi-Wan thought to himself.



This was the worst plan Obi-Wan Kenobi had ever come up with in his life.

"Do you actually have a plan, Obi-Wan?"

"Yes, I have a plan. Here, put this on." They were back in the ship, orbiting Naboo, but this time Anakin was in the pilot's seat.

Obi-Wan plunked a helmet on his young apprentice's head.

"Um, Obi-Wan. The blast shield's down. I can't see anything."

"Exactly. Okay, Anakin, think of Amidala."

"Okay."

"Think about her. Think about the sound of her voice, her movements, the way she affects your emotions."

"Padme..." Anakin mumbled.

"Reach out to her. Reach out through the Force." He grabbed Anakin's hands, and placed them on the controls. This had better work, he thought to himself.

"I can feel her, Obi-Wan. She's frightened... angry..."

"Go to her, Anakin."

"Mm-hmm..." Anakin began to move the controls.

Obi-Wan was almost knocked into his own seat as the ship lurched.

He gripped the armrests, white-knuckled. The fact that Anakin was using
the Force as a sense of direction in no way affected his piloting abilities.

Obi-Wan definitely would have done it himself, but he doubted he could
connect with Amidala the way the boy could. Of course, the boy might
also kill them both before they got there...



"Stand here."

Amidala stood. She was no longer tied to Ric, but now she was blindfolded. She felt hands around her head, untying the gag.

"You speak when I tell you. Not before. Understand?"

She nodded slowly. There was the sound of some sort of transmitting device being turned on.

"Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. We have the Queen of your planet.

She is safe-- for now. You will meet our demands, or she may not remain
in her present condition. You will do everything we say. Amidala?"

"Do nothing he says. Do not listen to him."

She felt a slightly damp hand clasp over her mouth.

"See? It really is your Queen. Don't delay, Palpy, or she will pay the price."

Amidala considered biting the hand, but decided it would probably taste worse than the gag. Whoever it was turned the transmitter off. "You'd better hope the Chancellor doesn't listen to you, your Worship."

Amidala remained silent. There was no point in stupid retorts.

Besides... deep down, she was hoping that very thing.



Obi-Wan Kenobi prided himself on being in control as much as possible. Ever since taking on Anakin Skywalker as a Padawan, he was finding that those occasions were growing farther and farther apart.

As Anakin flew through the black void, the Force guiding his fingers, Obi-Wan had to resist the urge to chat with the boy, or at least ask if he knew where he was going. This is absurd, Obi-Wan thought to himself. I hate chatting with the boy. Why would I want to now?

Instead, he reached out with the Force, trying to grasp onto whatever Anakin was following. He could feel people, lifeforms, everywhere, but he couldn't distinguish them. He could feel Anakin, of course, but not Amidala. He relaxed, or at least tried to. For right now, it was entirely up to the boy.



"Keep moving. C'mon, your Worship, keep going."

Amidala hated walking while blindfolded. She hated being blindfolded, period. She didn't even see the point to it-- she had no weapons, and she certainly wasn't going anywhere, blindfold or not. The ship had landed somewhere-- probably on a planet. That was good-- it would be easier for someone to rescue them if they weren't on a tiny little spaceship. Of course, who was going to find them? Surely Governor Bibble was at least looking, but she doubted he was even intelligent enough to realize they were no longer on Naboo.

"Hands off me, kaadu poodoo! I can walk by myself." Ric was putting up a fuss again. Amidala wanted desperately to do the same--to kick and scream and whine, but she knew it would do no good. All the same, she let Ric go ahead. She hoped it made him feel better.

She stepped off the plank, and was hit in the face with a blast of warm, humid air. Hands grabbed at her blindfold, and suddenly, she found herself in a jungle. She looked at her captor for the first time, and was surprised-- he was human. He leered at her, and glanced out into the
jungle.

"Welcome to Kashyyyk, your Grace."



Obi-Wan Kenobi had a problem. His butt was asleep. A friend (well friend-of-a-friend) had been kidnapped, and he was in a ship being driven by a 10-year-old Podracer who couldn't see. So technically, he had
several problems. But right now, the butt thing was the most pressing.

Suddenly, there was a clatter. He turned to his apprentice, who had just thrown his helmet to the ground.

"Anakin?"

"She's down there," Anakin said. His voice sounded almost mechanical.

Obi-Wan didn't know whether to try and snap him out of it, or to let him immerse himself in the Force until they located Amidala. He decided on the latter, and pulled up all the information the computer had on the lush, green planet they were currently orbiting. 

"Kashyyyk. The... oh, no..."

"What is it?" Anakin asked. He seemed to have shaken off part of the trance by himself.

"It's the Wookiee homeworld."

"What's a Wookiee?"

"You don't want to know, Anakin. Believe me, you don't want to know."



Something in the trees wasn't too happy.

"What the hell are those things?" Ric muttered.

"Wookiees," Panaka supplied.

Amidala shuddered. As Queen, she was familar with many of the species of the Republic. She'd even met a few Wookiee diplomats before.

But Wookiees in the wild were an entirely different matter. Most of the stories were probably exaggerated-- she sincerely doubted that even a
Wookiee could eat a whole bantha. Nevertheless, she had absolutely no
desire to meet one. Ever.

"Damn beasts," the Rodian muttered, gripping his blaster.

"Don't shoot," the human warned. "It'll only attract their attention.

They never come down to the forest floor unless they have to. Let's not make them have to."


After several miles of trekking through the wilderness, Amidala was definitely regretting her choice of clothing. Her costumes might be ceremonial and impressive, but they definitely weren't made for running around in the woods. Her skirt was ripped in several places, and a few strands of hair had worked their way loose of her elaborate braids to plaster themselves sweatily to her forehead. Branches tore at her loose
sleeves. She would have given just about anything to be back in her old Padme disguise.

Suddenly, a small metal bunker loomed out of the woods.

"Home sweet home," one of the pirates-- a short Bactian mumbled.

The human keyed something into the control panel on the door, and it swished open with a cool blast of air.

"In," the Rodian grunted pushing her harshly. Amidala almost stumbled into the bunker. In the cooled interior, the sweat gelled on her body. The place was just a few degrees too cold to be comfortable, and smelled like a machine shop. The Rodian dragged her into another room, which looked like some sort of workshop. Spare parts lay around, and the floor was spotted with oil. He forced her into a sitting position on the floor, and tied her hands to a pole that seemed to be holding up the ceiling.

Panaka was tied to the other side, and Ric was tied to another one nearby.

Most of the pirates disappeared into some other part of the bunker, but the Bactian remained on guard duty. He slumped in a chair, and stared
at the Queen in a manner that made her feel positively disgusting. She
tried to tried to concentrate on other things. Like her situation.

There were five kidnappers-- the human, the Rodian, the Bactian, a Silari, and a smaller fellow dressed in some sort of armor.

There were three of them. One overdressed Queen, one smart-assed pilot and one brooding Royal Guardsman.

They were trapped on an unfamiliar planet filled with hostile lifeforms.

There was no hope of rescue from anyone on Naboo. That much was certain.

The Chancellor might give in. Possibly. If he did, there was one of two possibilties: either the pirates would keep their word, or they would kill them. Either way, the Chancellor may have sacrificed something important.

Amidala set her jaw. Somehow, she was going to have to free herself. It was her only hope.

Amidala ran her fingers over the ropes that bound her wrists to the pipe. They were some sort of fiber-- that was good. Too thick to be frayed apart with fingernails or pulled apart with brute strength.

She'd need something to cut. No good. The Rodian had searched all of them, and taken her and Panaka's blasters and Olie's boot knife. She scooted closer to the pipe, hoping to gain a little more wrist movement. The rusty pipe scraped against her wrist, and she winced. Hmm... She probed the rust with her fingers, and pushed. Some of the rust gave way, leaving a small, sharp-edged hole in the metal pipe.  Around her gag, Amidala grinned. Bingo.



"My head hurts, Obi-Wan."

"I know, Anakin."

Up until now, the boy had been almost unbelievably stoic. He'd flown across the half the galaxy, and had been trekking through the jungle for almost an hour with nary a complaint.

"Do you want to stop and rest?"

"No..." Anakin mumbled. "I want to find her."

"I know, Anakin, but if you exhaust yourself in the search, you will be no use when it is time for the rescue."

"Oh. Um, I guess we could stop for a few minutes."

Obi-Wan leaned against a tree and rummaged through his pack.

"Have a ration stick."

Anakin took the proffered chunk of supposed nutrition and gnawed on it pensively. He looked up into the endless canopy of trees. "Can you feel them, too, Obi-Wan?"

"Yes."

"Are they the Wookiees?"

"I suppose so. I've never seen one, myself."

"You don't think they eat people, do you?"

"Oh, I'm sure they don't. I've heard they like to maim and dismember people, but I've never heard of a Wookiee eating anyone."

Somehow, Anakin wasn't quite reassured.

To Part II -the conclusion