ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ𝔸𝕃 ➵ o. kenobi {my only hope; book 1}

【 TWENTY-THREE 】

     ᴏᴜᴛʟɪɴɪɴɢ ᴀ ʙᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ ꜱᴛʀᴀᴛᴇɢʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴜɴɢᴀɴꜱ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱᴜʀᴘʀɪꜱɪɴɢʟʏ ᴇᴀꜱʏ. With the help of Kera and Qui-Gon, Padmé and Sabé worked strategically with Boss Nass and his highest-ranking officials to come up with the best, strongest plan we could. Unfortunately, that plan consisted of some waiting, which meant we had to sit around and wait while the Gungans headed off with some speeders to gather their equipment, and while several of the Naboo captains traveled across the capital to determine the situation of the Trade Federation, and the citizens they were holding under their control. The entire forest was full of tense silence as we waited... at least until Anakin, who was the messenger, came running at us from the nearby field, yelling.

"They're here!" He called, waving his arms.

"Good. They made it," Padmé remarked.

As we all glanced over eagerly, we saw Boss Nass in the lead with Jar Jar, doing something we'd never thought we'd see... slinging his arm around the clumsy Gungan with a laugh. "Yousa doin grand," Nass praised Jar Jar, who shrunk down awkwardly. "Jar Jar bring ussen and da Naboo together."

Jar Jar waved a hand. "Oh, no," he replied modestly, shrugging.

"So," the boss went on, "wesa make you bombad General!"

Jar Jar straightened at once, his eyes full of alarm. "General?" He squeaked, in such a voice that made Obi-Wan and I glance at each other, then look away hastily before we could make each other laugh. Jar Jar seemed overwhelmed with the idea... so much so that he passed out on the spot. Boss Nass just laughed and walked off.

"Captain," Qui-Gon addressed Panaka as he approached with several Gungans, bowing to Padmé.

"Your Highness," Panaka greeted.

"What is the situation?" Padmé queried.

Panaka laid out the scene for us. "Almost everyone is in camps. A few hundred police and guards have formed an underground resistance movement. I brought back as many of the leaders as I could." Panaka glanced meaningfully at us Jedi. "The Federation army's also much larger than we thought... and much stronger." He turned to Padmé, his face clouded with worry. "Your Highness, this is a battle I do not think we can win."

Padmé, however, was sure. She held her ground. "The battle is a diversion," she said, reminding him of our plan. "The Gungans must draw the droid army away from the cities. R2," she indicated.

The little blue astromech droid projected an image of Theed onto the surface of the speeder we were standing around, and Padmé delved into details at once.

"We can enter the city using the secret passages on the waterfall side." R2 projected our path with a red line on the hologram. "Once we get to the main entrance, Captain Panaka will create a diversion. Then, we can enter the palace, and capture the Viceroy. Without the Viceroy, they will all be lost and confused." Padmé glanced over at Kera, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and I. "What do you think, Master Jedi?"

"The Viceroy will be well-guarded," Qui-Gon pointed out.

"The difficulty is getting into the throne room," Panaka said sharply. "Once we're inside, we shouldn't have a problem."

Qui-Gon nodded, but sighed deeply. "There is a possibility that with this diversion, many Gungans will be killed."

We all glanced over to where Boss Nass was watching, looking at us with an analytical look in his beady yellow eyes. "Wesa ready to do our-san part." He touched his chest powerfully, glancing around at all of us.