Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Mechanical hostility

The air becomes wet. Anakin shoves the power coupling he was looking for into his backpack. The boy is finally free to leave this cursed place. Padmé hasn't moved even from a millimeter. She avoids turning her head for fear of seeing a droid. Jar Jar Binks quietly walks around the hangar, destroying any robot in sight. The humanoid suspects that they have become harmless, but his reason for doing so is quite distinct: he gets rid of all things that scare the little girl. The young boy remembers that he presents himself as a hunter. This reaction seems to be consistent with his job. Anyone who makes a living from hunting must be able to fight fear.

A pilot who cannot keep his cool is useless, so Wakko Wakko taught Anakin this attitude when he was six years old. The merchant locked him in a cage with a Drogg for days, despite Owen's pleas. After a while, thirst motivates to kill. His owner doesn't care about kindness, since only results matter. The kid has learned his lesson well: if you want to survive, you must act without hesitation or pity. In the face of despair, it is better to keep your feelings to yourself and make terror an ally rather than an adversary.

« I was wondering... » Speaks the little girl in a muted voice. She hesitates, still unable to speak to him without blushing, but forces herself to finish:

« What... will this component be used for? »

« I signed up for the race organized on Jabba's birthday, in a few days. I assembled a podracer. I needed that coupling to finish it. »

« Why participate? Did Wakko Wakko ask you to? »

Anakin puts on his bag and checks one last time to make sure everything stays attached.

« No, this is for myself. All winners get to claim the reward of their choosing from the Hutts. I want to ask Jabba something. »

« Does your master agree? »

« Yes, I'm going to have to pull an advertising banner so heavy that I had to throw away some equipment to stay competitive. That kind of marketing operation would cost him more than my life, to be honest. My owner is not interested in my health. I'm replaceable, Owen loves to remind me. »

« I see. »

The girl falls silent, having nothing more to add. She does notice, however, that Anakin says « owner » instead of « master ». An interesting reaction, which means that the boy is far from considering Wakko Wakko with respect and, above all, that he is hiding his rebellious spirit. Queen Amidala had the opportunity to meet many soldiers, politicians and intellectuals. So far, few have given to her such a sense of bravery. His eyes are those of someone who would not hesitate to run into a burning building just to save a life.

« Let's go! Obi-Wan must be out by now. » He exclaims.

The group heads back to the surface. Jar Jar Binks looks defensive. His ears perk up. The dorsal hangar is gloomy, but its exit allows a bright light to come in. Anakin stands still:

« Did you feel that? » He questions. 

Padmé remains mute. The gungan walks past and answers:

« Mesa bad vibe. Wesa leaving, right now! »

« I have a funny feeling. The pressure on my shoulders just disappeared, it's... I don't like it. »

Artificial light comes back on. Doors close. Ventilation makes a hellish noise, as if the ship were trying to restore its atmospheric balance. A screeching alarm goes off. Jar Jar Binks grabs his blaster pistol, the little girl reflexively follows suit. The boy pulls out a retractable electric baton from his belt. All three companions expect the worst as a voice comes down from a speaker:

« A hostile terraformation plan has just been authorized. Combat personnel are to report to their stations! May the Force be with us. Glory to the Republic! »

Elevators open, releasing military droids. The gungan fires before they can aim their blasters. Reinforcements follow shortly. The humanoid cries out:

« Wesa go! Move! »

An automatic turret drops from the ceiling. Jar Jar unlatches a plate from the floor and throws it so hard that it breaks the machine, before it can fire its beams. Anakin's eyes widen: it takes a monstrous strength to do such damage! The boy doesn't let himself be distracted for long and thrusts his baton into the eye of a nearby droid, destroying its control unit. He then dodges a shot before he has a chance to see its origin. It has always been this way: the young slave sees certain events slightly in advance.

« Get out! » Shouts the gungan as he knocks down his increasingly numerous assailants.

The girl tries to support her partners with her weapon, but the emaciated bodies coming out of the vents trigger a panic attack. The unfortunate little girl relives the Naboo invasion in her mind. Anakin snatches the blaster out of Padmé hand and opens fire for her, forcing the little one to follow him outside. A terrible rumbling rises from depths. The tremor becomes a detonation, as a gigantic metallic tentacle emerges from the golden sand. A second one joins it immediately, then a third one: these « legs » come back to the ground and sink.

A huge sphere bursts from the wreckage, a federation collector. Anakin recognizes this design. It's a museum piece... and a dangerous sight. That kind of machine was created to convert all resources it can find into droids. One would be enough to build an entire army in a week. Worse than that: if someone has disabled their morality protocols, the device will go so far as to devour the living to produce new machines.

« Where is Obi-Wan? » Anakin wonders, looking around.

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A second collector emerges. Some droids arise from the dunes, as if they had just swum to the surface, and shoot at the children. They can no longer escape to the landspeeder! Jar Jar arrives just now. The boy points to a clay house:

« This way! »

It takes only a short sprint to reach said building. The gaping maw of the ship spews out robots by the hundreds. A legion is forming between their shelter and the vehicle. An unbearable noise floods the outside: the collectors have begun their work. They are swallowing the cliffs and producing reinforcements at a frightening speed.

« We can't stay here! »

Anakin is getting restless. He seeks for an idea to reach their only chance to escape.

« Where is Obi-Wan? » Jar Jar demands.

« He wasn't... » The girl can't finish her sentence.

Most likely the padawan is still inside the federal battleship, which must have turned into a literal purgatory. Droids are firing at the house. They laugh. The cheerful exclamation sends a shiver of dread down Anakin's spine. Jar Jar Binks is shaking, but manages to take out a dozen of robots. Those that aren't destroyed crawl away with a beautiful smile. The Trade Federation has mastered all techniques of psychological warfare. It's effective against an Hutt army. Very few people have the willpower to stand up to a synthetic soldier who moves relentlessly forward, laughing like a toddler. Anakin puts his baton away, then strokes Padmé's hair, reassuring her:

« Just breathe. Everything will be fine. »

The little girl is delirious: she sees her father's face instead of the boy's! Tears come to her eyes:

« Dad? » She asks, obviously in a state of confusion.

Anakin prepares himself mentally to defend her until his last breath, if necessary. He trembles as hard as a little child can tremble. The boy doesn't want to be a hero, but it's the right thing to do. This misfortunate girl is in shock, helpless! Jar Jar suddenly shouts out a question:

« Yousa be able to run to landspeeder? »

« We should be, yes! »

The gungan looks at the poor girl, who probably doesn't even know where she is anymore. The hunter breathes and calmly says:

« Mesa will create a diversion. Yousa... tell mesa people Jar Jar Binks died with pride. »

The kid does not understand what the guy is trying to say. He only realizes the sinister significance of these words when the gungan is already outside. The humanoid runs screaming at the droids, blaster and improvised shield in hand. Anakin doesn't have the luxury to hesitate: he lifts Padmé up and carries her away. An adrenaline rush gives him tremendous power. They quickly reach the landspeeder. He puts the girl on a seat and climbs in. However, their vehicle remains unresponsive. Its controls refuse to react.

« Damn it, not now! » The boy growls.

He crawls under the dashboard to access the engine. On his side, Jar Jar fights bravely. He repels shots with his shield and fires back. Within seconds, forty droids lie on the ground. But it's hopeless: they're coming back en masse! The gungan refuses to give up. He couldn't help his people against the ones invading in the forest, but this time he must not retreat. Jar Jar will fight to death, even in front of impossible odds. Beams of energy turn his shield to shreds, but that doesn't stop him. The children are not safe. This fight must go on. He shouts with a smile:

« Yousa want to knock mesa down? Yousa come closer, then! »

Droids surround him as he laughs with glee. The gungan knows his demise has come. He would have preferred to fall after a feast, but this death does not shame him. It is the only one that a true hunter deserves. His little fellows are still there, but the droids seem to have forgotten all about them. That's good. They can still make it. He finally falls to his knees. His shield just shattered and the blaster has flown away. Jar Jar Binks closes his eyes and thinks back to the best moments of his life. When he finally opens them again, it's with a defiant smile... as all droids collapse in a blue flash! A human figure stands before him.

« Obi-Wan? » He asks, surprised.

The blinding light of the suns prevents from seeing him clearly, but it has to be Obi-Wan. The young man pulls down his hood and puts Jar Jar on his feet:

« Mesa glad to see yousa! »

The padawan moves into a fighting stance without a word. He carries a blue lightsaber in his right hand and a strange sword in his left. Black smoke pours from it. The teenager's eyes are full of anger. A fury the gungan had never seen in him before. He could almost swear his pupils are turning yellow!

« My master has asked me to no longer hold back my blows... and I fully intend to respect his wishes. »

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