Chapter 8: Chapter 7: Green hurricane

Padmé runs into the corridor leading to the university astroport. Marble statues and other master paintings give a surrealist feeling to her escape. The light flashes. The ground shakes regularly. Behind, the girl can hear screams of horror. It is the droids. They record the cries of their victims to broadcast them to the survivors. An effective psychological warfare technique against the Hutts armies, mostly composed of slaves.

Whenever she can, Padmé closes a fire door to slow down her pursuers. She is aware that this strategy is increasingly locking her in. However, it's not as if there's any way back. This astroport actually belongs to the palace, which shares it with the Naboo Aerospace Club, the institute responsible for pilot training. Queen Amidala's natural talent allowed her to study a bit of flying. She could take her ship from point A to point B, as long as she was assisted by an astrodroid.

When a monarch is elected, the Green Star Corporation provides him with a yacht, so that he can travel to Coruscant in an emergency. They call it a « yacht », but it is actually a cruise ship, designed to serve as an ambassador for the brand. The Nubian sovereign thus becomes a sort of walking billboard. Every time he travels, sales explode. The queen finally arrives in front of the spaceport access. Its fire door is already locked. She triggers the opening.

That's odd. The place is full of panicked students. Shouldn't it be louder? When the heavy metal sheet has risen halfway up, the girl's face gets covered with horror: a federal transport vessel is docked. The civilians are all dead. Droids are patrolling. They have slaughtered everyone! The little girl falls to her knees. Its the only way out. The sole exit was the staircase she had just descended or by jumping off the cliff into the void. Padmé already hears her pursuers trying to open their way behind. The royal yacht is there, but guarded by dozens of red-eyed robots. 

The university dock is not designed to be defensible, but elegant. There is no cover, no service conduit, nothing. If you want to get into a ship, it's in full view of everyone. For the first time in her life, the little girl regrets that Naboo isn't as paranoid as Corellia. A Nubian who envies a Corellian, that's a first! The queen doesn't know what to do anymore. Her knowledge is useless in such a situation. Maybe by using... no. It's too well guarded. There is no solution. An arachnid has noticed the opening of the door, it approaches the corridor to check. The others follow. It's over...

Suddenly, a green glow passes in front of her eyes. A man is standing among the corpses. Where did he come from? The droids freeze. They turn towards the guy and yoke him. Something makes their programming hesitate: how did he get there? Who is he? The figure observes the bodies at his feet. All these faces are petrified in terror. We see young people, old people, gungans. Some have tried to defend their fellow. The man's face solidifies in a neutral expression. In a snap of the finger, all the robots are pulverized by a tornado of green flashes. The federation transport is cut up until there is nothing left. It's a Jedi! Padmé feels her courage returning. The knight stops in the center of the room. The droid pieces have not even had time to land. He turns off his lightsaber and puts it back on his belt.

Somebody pauses in front of the girl. It's a teenager. He is wearing the same outfit. A second Jedi?

« Are you all right? » He asks softly.

« Yes... I'm fine... we have to... we have to go, quickly! We have to get help! »

The first Jedi returns:

« Can this ship fly? » He asks, pointing to the yacht.

« Yes, normally she is ready to go. »

« Then let's get out of here! »

The knight disappears almost magically. Is he already inside the vessel?

« Excuse my master. This massacre upset him. » Justifies the younger one as he helps the girl to get up.

A gungan approaches, but stops in front of the mountain of corpses :

« They-sa monsters! They-sa will pay dearly! » He says as he ragefully hits the head of a droid.

« My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. My master's name is Qui-Gon Jinn and this is our gungan friend, Jar Jar Binks. » Continue the Jedi.

« I am the Queen of Naboo, Padmé Amidala. » She replies. 

The little girl sighs and ends with a dry:

« Let's go! »

They walk to the yacht, a magnificent silver-hulled craft. A work of art. Judging by the way its engines are positioned, it is probably this vehicle that inspired the famous NB-127, renowned as the fastest pleasure craft on the market. The queen gets on board and climbs up to the cockpit using the elevator. Qui-Gon is already at the controls but fails to start the engines. Something is blocking this machine on the ground. Padmé sits down without saying a word on the seat next to him and enters her password into the main computer. Several astrodroids emerge from the ground and position themselves at key positions. The vehicle starts:

« Diagnosis in progress. All systems are operational. Welcome aboard, Your Majesty! » Exclaims a robotic voice.

« Master, we have all boarded! We're ready for takeoff! » Shout Obi-Wan from the floor below.

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« You are? » Qui-Gon ask to the girl, surprised.

« Padmé Amidala, Queen of Naboo. »

The knight looks at her, thoughtful, then answers:

« I am sorry for what is happening to your planet, your highness. The federation is playing a dangerous game. Let's put an end to it. »

The girl's face is hard as iron. She refuses to think about what happened, otherwise the memory of her parents will rise back to the surface and her courage will be extinguished. She enters the coordinates into the astronavigator and pushes the throttle. An alert is triggered:

« Departure to Coruscant registered. »

The yacht takes off. There are no more fighters in the sky. Vehicles on the ground do not shoot. The path seems completely clear. How is this possible? Could it be thanks to the Jedis?

« Don't be afraid, your Majesty. I have cleared the way. » Confirm Qui-Gon Jinn.

« I wish you had come to our aid sooner. » She responds resentfully.

The knight remains silent. It is better not to say anything. Their yacht quickly enters orbit. The federation battleship notices their passage and moves into firing position. An alarm goes off:

« Warning, our ship is being targeted! » The computer speaks in a voice that is far too cheerful for this situation.

The gun batteries of the federal ship open fire. Qui-Gon grabs the helm in front of his chair:

« Switch the controls to manual, quickly! »

Padmé executes the command and takes some time to preheat the hyperdrive. The Jedi screams:

« Hang on, it's going to shake! »

He engages in an evasive maneuver and manages to avoid the majority of the beams. A few of them touch the deflectors, however, causing awful jolts. The gauge indicates that each impact costs them almost 30% of their shield. One hit in the wrong place and everything will be over. Qui-Gon pulls on the helm and puts the engines at full power in reverse: the yacht turns around and faces the battleship. The knight closes his fist and concentrates all the cosmic Force he can around his hand:

« The Force is with me, and I am one with the Force. » He whispers, again and again, before pointing his palm at the enemy.

A shock wave escapes and swallows the shots, which return to the Federal ship and hit its reactors. The impact is so violent that the hostile vessel flips over and shuts down. One of its engines explodes. Qui-Gon emptied himself of all stamina. It was too much, too fast. Just before his eyes close, he discovers with horror that a ray has escaped the wave. The yacht is hit hard! Artificial gravity switches off. A strident alarm rings out:

« Alert! Alert! Loss of deflector shields. Engines A and C, destroyed. Engines B and D, damaged. Artificial gravity, disconnected. Astronavigation, destroyed. Inertia converter, damaged. »

Padmé is alone. The knight has just fainted. Lights reappear on the battleship. It will not be long before it fires again. They must leave, immediately. Without astronavigation, it will be a blindfolded journey in the galaxy. It doesn't matter. It's either that or death. With some luck, they will be sucked up by a star's gravity and automatically exit hyperspace.

« May the Force be with us. » Quietly whisper the little girl, before she grabs the hyperdrive controller and pushes as hard as she can. 

The system activates. The light becomes bright.

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