Panaka could barely contain himself, his dark face tight with anger. 'When we land, Your Highness, the Trade Federation will arrest you and force you to sign their treaty!'
Qui-Gon nodded thoughtfully, curious as to the Queen's thinking. 'I agree. I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish by this.'
Amidala might have been carved from stone. 'The Naboo are going to take back what is ours.'
'There are only twelve of us!' Panaka snapped, unable to keep silent. 'Your Highness,' he added belatedly. 'We have no army!'
Her eyes shifted to Qui-Gon. 'The Jedi cannot fight a war for you, Your Highness,' he advised. 'We can only protect you.'
She let her gaze drift from them to setde on Jar Jar. The Gungan was studying his toes. 'Jar Jar Binks!' she called.
Jar Jar, clearly caught off guard, stiffened. 'Me, Your Highness?'
'Yes,' Amidala of the Naboo affirmed. 'I have need of your help.'
Deep in the Naboo swamps, at the edge of the lake that bored downward to the Gungan capital city of Otoh Gunga, the fugitives from the Queen's transport were grouped at the water's edge, waiting for the return of Jar Jar Binks. Amidala and her handmaidens, the J edi Knights, Captain Panaka, Anakin, R2-D2, Ric Olie and several other pilots, and a handful ofNaboo guards clustered uneasily in the misty silence. It was safe to say that even now no one but the Queen knew exactly what it was she was attempting to do. All she had been willing to reveal to those in a position to inquire was that she wished to make contact with the Gungan people and Jar Jar would be her emissary. She had insisted on landing in the swamp, even after both Panaka and the Jedi had advised against it.
A single battleship orbited the planet, all that remained of the Trade Federation blockade. Housed within was the control station responsible for directing the droid army that occupied Naboo. When Panaka wondered aloud at the absence of the other battleships, Qui-Gon pointed out rather dryly that you don't need a blockade once you control the port.
Anakin, standing apart from the others with R2-D2, studied the group surreptitiously. Jar Jar had been gone a long time, and everyone but the Queen was growing restless. She stood wrapped in her soft robes, silent and implacable in the midst of her handmaidens. Padme, Eirtae, and Rabe had changed from their crimson hooded cloaks into more functional trousers, tunics, boots, and long- waisted overcoats, and there were blasters strapped to their waists. The boy had never seen Padme like this, and he found himself wondering how good a fighter she was.
As if realizing he was thinking of her, Padme broke away from the others and came over to him.
'How are you, Annie?' she asked quiedy, her kind eyes locking on his.
He shrugged. 'Okay. I've missed you.'
'It's good to see you again. I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to talk with you before, but I've been very busy.'
They hadn't spoken more than a few words to each other since leaving Tatooine, and Anakin hadn't even seen Padme since their departure from Coruscant. It had bothered him, but he'd kept it to himself.
'I didn't-I-' he stuttered, looking down at his boots. 'They decided not to make me a J edi.'
He recounted the story for her, detailing the events surrounding his appearance before the Jedi Council. Padme listened intendy, then touched his cheek with her cool fingers. 'They can change their minds, Annie. Don't give up hope.'
She bent close then. 'I have something to tell you. The Queen has made a painful, difficult decision-a decision that will change everything for the Naboo. We are a peaceful people, and we do not believe in war. But sometimes there is no choice. Either you adapt or you die. The Queen understands this. She has decided to take an aggressive posture with the Trade Federation army. The Naboo are going to fight to regain their freedom. '
'Will there be a batde?' he asked quickly, trying unsuccessfully to hide his excitement.
She nodded. 'I'm afraid so.'
'Will you be involved?' he pressed.
She smiled sadly. 'Annie, I don't have a choice.'
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stood together some distance away. The Jedi still weren't speaking to each other, or only barely so. Their words on the journey out from Coruscant had been reserved almost exclusively for others. The hard feelings caused by Qui-Gon's bid to train Anakin did not soften. The boy had tried to talk to Obi-Wan once aboard the Queen's ship, just to say he was sorry this had happened, but the younger Jedi had brushed him off.
Now, though, Obi-Wan was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the situation. He had been close with Qui- Gon for too long to let a momentary disagreement put an end to twenty-odd years offriendship. Qui-Gon was like a father to him, the only father he knew. He was angry that the Jedi Master would dismiss him so abruptly in favor of the boy, but he realized, too, the depth of Qui-Gon's passion when he believed in something. Training this boy to be a Jedi was a cause Qui-Gon championed as he had championed no other in Obi-Wan's memory. He did not do so to slight his protege. He did so because he believed in the boy's destiny.
Obi-Wan understood. Who could say? Perhaps this time Qui-Gon was right. Perhaps Anakin Skywalker's training was a cause worth fighting for.
'I've been thinking,' Qui-Gon announced suddenly, keeping his voice low, his eyes directed toward the others. 'We are treading on dangerous ground. If the Queen intends to fight a war, we cannot become involved. Not even in her efforts to persuade the Gungans to join with the Naboo against the Federation, if that is what she intends by coming here. The Jedi have no authority to take sides.'
'But we do have authority to protect the Queen,' Obi-Wan pointed out.
Qui-Gon's eyes shifted to find his. 'It is a fine line we walk, then.'
