Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

Chapter 7

Time skip . . . . .
    The royal Naboo spacecraft was the most luxurious ship Obi-Wan and Alea had traveled on in a long time, but at the moment, they had no time to appreciate it. Having sent the rescued pilot, Ric Olie, to the cockpit to take off, Obi-Wan made sure that the Queen and her handmaidens were safely in their chamber. Alea, who is also in the Queen's chambers to make sure that she is comfortable and with her is Kirara, Pikachu, Beau, Silvally, who evolved during the battle with the battle droids and Entei while Ah-Un, who she teleported, is sleeping in Alea's room. Then Obi-Wan stowed Jar Jar in a hold with the astromech droids, where the Gungan couldn't get into much trouble. As he hurried back up toward the cockpit, he felt the ship jolt. We're already in under fire from the blockade battleships! His stride lengthened.
   As he entered the control area, the ship jerked again, and alarms sounded. "We should abort, sir," Ric Olie said to Captain Panaka. "Our deflector shields can't withstand this."
     "Stay on course!" Captain Panaka snapped. The fat ball-within-a-circle battleships grew rapidly larger outside the cockpit windows. There seemed to be twice as many of them as Obi-Wan had seen when he arrived aboard the Republic cruiser. Of course, it always looks as if there are more of them when they're firing at you.
    The ship rocked as yet another bolt from a Trade Federation battleship exploded against the shields. "Do you have a cloaking device?" Qui-Gon asked. Panaka shook his head. "This is not a warship. We have no weapons. We're a nonviolent people." Which probably has a lot to do with why the Trade Federation attacked them, Obi-Wan thought. It's a lot safer to invade someone who isn't likely to fight back.
     Suddenly the ship rocked. Something must have made it through the shields, Obi-Wan thought as he straightened. "Shield generator's been hit," Ric Olie confirmed. A view screen lit up, showing astromech repair droids popping out of an air lock onto the damaged surface of the ship. "I hope they can fix it," the pilot muttered. Two Trade Federation fighters swept by, firing at the repair droids. One astromech exploded, then another. Obi-Wan frowned and checked the readout. Every repair droid on the ship was out there; they had no spares left. "We're losing droids fast," he said. "We won't make it," Olie said. "The shields are gone."         
     Another droid exploded. Now the view screen showed only one left, a small, blue-domed unit. It worked steadily, reconnecting wires despite renewed shots from the fighter droids. Laser blasts whizzed around the little astromech. Several shots missed by barely a hair's breadth. Suddenly, Obi-Wan saw a spray of sparks. For one horrible moment, he thought they had lost the last droid. Then the dazzle cleared from the view  screen, and he saw the blue unit heading back toward the air lock. Simultaneously, he heard a whoop of joy from the pilot. "Power's back!" Olie shouted. "That little droid did it! Deflector shields up, at maximum."
  And just in time, Obi-Wan and Alea thought. They were almost on top of the nearest battleship. For the next few minutes, the firing was intense, but no more shots penetrated the shields. "That's the worst of it," Obi-Wan said as the battleships shrank behind them. "Maybe not," Olie responded. He pointed at the readouts in front of him. "The hyperdrive is leaking. There's not enough power to get us to Coruscant."
      "Then we'll have to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship," Qui-Gon said calmly. He brought up a star chart on a monitor and stared at it. Obi-Wan leaned over and tapped the monitor. "Here, Master. Tatooine. The Trade Federation has no presence there." Alea nodded in agreement. "How can you be sure?" Captain Panaka asked. "It's controlled by Hutts," Qui-Gon replied in an absent tone as he studied the screen. "The Hutts?" The captain sounded shocked. "You can't take Her Royal Highness there! If the Hutts discovered her --------"
    "------- they'd treat her no differently than the Trade Federation would," Qui-Gon broke in. "Except that the Hutts aren't looking for her, which gives us an advantage." The captain took a deep, frustrated breath. Obi-Wan suppressed a smile. He'd been on the receiving end of Qui-Gon's relentless logic often enough to sympathize, but this time they really had no choice. Not if they wanted to stay out of the hands of the Trade Federation long enough to get to Coruscant.
Time skip
     As soon as the royal Naboo spacecraft was safely in hyperspace, Qui-Gon, Alea, Obi-Wan, and Captain Panaka were summoned to the Queen's chamber to bring her up to date. Panaka brought along the little blue-domed repair droid. When they arrived, Qui-Gon let Panaka describe the space battle and the droid's heroism. At the end if his report, the security captain presented the astromech droid to the Queen. "Without a doubt," Panaka said, "this droid saved the ship. As well as our lives." The Queen smiled at the little droid. "It is to be commended. What is its number?" The droid beeped. The captain leaned over. Brushing dirt from the droid's side, he read aloud, "R2-D2, Your Highness."
        "Thank you, Artoo-Detoo," the Queen said. "You have been proven to be very loyal. Padme!" The Queen's favorite handmaiden came forward and bowed. "Clean this droid up as best you can," the Queen told her. "It deserves our gratitude." She turned back to the captain. "Continue, Captain Panaka." Panaka glanced toward Qui-Gon and hesitated. Taking advantage of the captain's uncertainty,  Qui-Gon stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, we are heading for a remote planet called Tatooine. It's a system far beyond the reach of the Trade Federation. We'll make repairs there, then travel on to Coruscant." Alea nodded in agreement  with Qui-Gon and said, "We will make sure not to cause attention to our mission and get the part to our ship, Your Highness."
       "Who are you?" The Queen asked Alea. "My name is Alea Wayne and I am a Jedi Master, Your Highness," Alea said. "Your Highness," Captain Panaka put in, "Tatooine is very dangerous. It's controlled by an alliance of gangs called the Hutts. I do not agree with the Jedi on this." It's not the first time someone's disagreed with my plans, and I doubt it will be the last time, Qui-Gon thought, amused. But all he said was, "You must trust my judgement, Your Highness." The Queen exchanged a long look with Padme. Then she nodded. That handmaiden has too much influence on the Queen, Qui-Gon thought. It could mean trouble.