Chapter 5: Chapter 4: Fight or die

Obi-Wan feels as if he weighs tons. His eyes refuse to open. What happened? Why is it so cold? The padawan has trouble remembering. The only thing he can recall is a lecture by Knight-Master Yoda in the great hall of study at the Temple of Coruscant. The weather was beautiful that day. The Battapotu was sleeping a little away in his box, while the novices were quietly chatting:

« The Force! What it is, does anyone know? » Yoda suddenly asked. A little boy raises his hand.

« It is a power that we have within us? »

« Correct, your intuition is! Incomplete, however. Missing, what is ? »

The other children stare at each other, but say nothing.

« Knowing what the Force is, you want to? »

The kids all nod, but more to please his adorable face than for any other reason. Obi-Wan doesn't remember ever seeing Yoda get angry. If a novice makes a mistake, the Knight-Master just has to stop smiling and it will be more than enough to understand that he does not approve. You will never hear him raise his voice.

« In each and around each one of us, the Force is! Life gives it substance, makes it grow. All things, it connects. Without the Force, there is no life. Without the Force, no movement. Every creature, to the Force is connected! »

« We can do what we want with the Force? » Questions a little girl.

« In all of us, the Force has put a potential! Using it freely, you can! Run faster, jump higher, all kinds of wonders this potential allows. However, if on the outside of yourself it is necessary to act, to the Force it will be required to ask for help. Generous, the Force is, yes. Your best friend, it will always be. But, to dress you every morning, do you ask your friends to do? To brush your teeth, do you wait that they take care? » Some kids giggle. The Knight-Master answers them with complicit eyes:

« Knowing when to ask the Force for help, you have to learn! Demanding for what we think is necessary, we can. To repay this generosity by acting for its good, we have the duty to do in return. »

« Is the Force really our friend? » Asks Obi-Wan. Yoda turns to him. His gaze is as intense as his smile.

« Yes! A true friend, the Force is! Always with us, it will be. Alone we never are, for in the Force we all live! »

This memory fades. The padawan manages to wake up, painfully. He is immersed in thick mud, in the middle of a gloomy forest. This is where the cold comes from. How long has he been lying there? Where has Qui-Gon disappeared to? The teenager notices traces on the ground, as well as recently made crevices. There has been a violent fight here. An unpleasant noise can be heard. Blaster shots? Explosions? Obi-Wan gets up in a hurry. He doesn't feel wounded. His training sword seems unharmed. Not that it's really useful, though. If he were to hit a tree with that thing, the weapon would be in more danger than the trunk! These things don't cut. It's primarily designed for learning how to use a lightsaber, but also because you never let a Jedi go without a saber. If something serious happens during a mission, the Order expects the actual knight to take care of it.

The lightsaber is a sacred symbol. It is an elegant weapon for a civilized age. Of course, it's used to destroy when necessity dictates, but above all, it serves to light the path that leads to knowledge and freedom. It is not for nothing that it also looks like a torch. So, in the end, it doesn't matter if your blade doesn't cut, because the first thing a Jedi must know to do is how to guide the innocent into the Force. A true knight can solve any problem without even pulling out his sword.

It's going to rain soon. Obi-Wan follows the tracks that weave through the mud before the rain washes everything away. It would be better not to wander off. Qui-Gon wouldn't have left him behind without a good reason, but this terrifying noise incites the young man to go and check if any danger is approaching. Caution is mother of safety. After a short walk, the padawan arrives at the top of a cliff overlooking an ocean of dense greenery. This forest stretches for kilometers! How to find someone in there? A city is burning on the horizon. Drop Pods keep falling in all directions.

Everyone knows that the trade federation uses droids as an assault force since centuries. They bring facilities directly on the ground and recycle available materials to make more units, fighters and vehicles. The federals specialize in attrition warfare. That's why a simple battleship is more than enough to conquer a continent, or even a planet if it is poorly defended. The only way to win, against these people, would be to take their headquarters. Officers of the federation are known to be paranoid and would rather destroy their robots than risk them being captured and reprogrammed by their enemies, which is inevitable without a headquarters. However, try to infiltrate a mobile HQ that buries itself below the soil and flees on its own as soon as it feels threatened. The Hutts never succeeded. Naboo is a peaceful planet. The local militia has not the slightest hope of defeating such a massive army.

Obi-Wan notices a movement at the bottom of the cliff. Shadows. They are running away from something. The teenager jumps and goes to meet them. As he approaches, he realizes that they are a family of long-eared humanoids. A blaster shot! The oldest of their children is hit. He stumbles. The mother goes to help, but is hit as well. The poor creature collapses, throwing the boy in her arms on the ground. The father freezes and returns to save his wife. The injured child stands up, lifts his little brother and tries to help his mother. A huge spider droid comes out of the vegetation and steps forward. Its blasters are about to fire! Obi-Wan throws himself thoughtlessly between the machine and these unfortunate people, lights his blue-bladed lightsaber and repels the shot with a simple flick of his wrist. The mother is dead, but they can still make it. The padawan shouts:

« Take your children and leave! »

The humanoid hesitates, but finally takes his cubs and runs away, abandoning the corpse of his mate. His kids scream. They want their mother. Impossible to explain that it is too late. The young man is now alone to face this monstrosity. And now? His sword is useless to do any damage. He will only be able to repel blaster attacks. The machine gives a kick. It obviously understood that it is not wise to fire. Obi-Wan uses the Force to speed up his reflexes. Time goes a little slower. Strikes follow one after the other. This droid has infinite stamina. He could play that game for months. If only the young man could use all his power! A solution, fast!

The teenager is trying to concentrate. The Force inside his body must become one with the Force outside. He points his palm at the droid, which is lifted off the ground. His idea works. It's incr... no! The machine reacts immediately by throwing cables that dig deep into the floor, holding it firmly. The droid then casts another rope, this time tying Obi-Wan's leg against a stone. His sword is extinguished. He is trapped and disarmed!

As the arachnid prepares to deliver its decisive blow, a spear is stuck in one of its limbs. Someone jumps on the machine, grabs the weapon and manages to cut off one of its legs. It is another one of those humanoids. He wears a camouflage garment and some sort of homemade wooden repulsive shield. The droid diverts its attention on this new assailant, giving Obi-Wan a chance to free himself. It's a plasteel cable, so breaking this thing without a tool is going to be difficult! The warrior notices Obi-Wan and the corpse behind him. He breaks his shackle in a single gesture then hits the mechanical monster to lure it:

« Yousa run! »

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The arachnid opens fire relentlessly. Blaster shots are repelled by the shield, but you can feel that it won't hold for long. The teenager grabs his lightsaber, turns it back on and throws himself into the battle to ward off the attacks. The unknown fighter is surprised for a moment, then exclaims, swinging his aegis away:

« Mesa attack, yousa defend! »

He grabs his spear with both hands and lunges at the droid, cutting off another leg. Obi-Wan follows him and deflects each retaliatory shot. The warrior grabs a bottle from his belt and throws it. It explodes on the floor, releasing an opaque cloud of smoke. He jumps inside and cuts the cables that hold the monstrosity on the ground. The teenager reacts by using the Force to turn the robot upside down. The fighter then sticks his weapon in the control unit. The machine shuts down. It's over. The padawan falls backwards and sighs. His partner rushes towards the corpse, but understands that there is nothing more to be done:

« Damn metal swarm! » He grunts before turning to Obi-Wan, looking for answers:

« Yousa knows why they-sa attacks gungans? »

« They want to conquer Naboo, apparently. »

« Who they-sa are? »

« The trade federation... it's... »

« The trade federation that Nubians are always talking about? Why did they-sa attack the gungans? Gungans not Nubians! Gungans not concerned! »

« I don't think they care. They want all of Naboo, which must certainly include you. »

« They-sa pay! Wesa destroy metal swarm! »

« That's brave, but I doubt the power of your people is enough to defeat a federal droid army. »

« What wesa do, then? Wesa give up? Wesa die? Mesa not giving up! Mesa not dying! Mesa fighting until mesa fell from exhaustion! »

« No, we must not give up. I'm a Jedi padawan. My master is certainly not far away. If you help me look for him, we'll fight together! »

« Yousa Jedi? » He watches the young man attentively, then passes his gaze towards the corpse.

« Only a padawan... »

« Yousa tried to save gungan. Mesa help yousa! »

« Thank you. »

Obi-Wan gets up. His sword took a blow. A little more to the left and it would have been broken in half. The teenager approaches his new companion and holds out his palm for him, saying:

« I am Obi-Wan Kenobi. »

The gungan fighter shakes his hand firmly and answers:

« Mesa Jar Jar Binks. »

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