In•hale

Near But Far

We didn't have much time.

Our ship had successfully landed back in the swamps of Naboo, but it wouldn't take very long for the droid army that now occupied the city, to find the Queen and force her to sign a treaty to make the invasion legal.

None of it made sense.

The Federation's invasion was so random, but there must be a reason for it all. Someone behind the scenes that was pulling the strings. I was so sure that that person was the Sith dawned in red and black. He had to be on the planet somewhere.

The Queen along with her handmaidens and guards stood nearby, ready to take back their planet. Anakin stood by them as well, talking to Padmé. It was not ideal to bring him along, but there was nowhere for him to stay at the Jedi temple because he was our responsibility.

Obi-Wan was having another conversation with his master, and I was standing off to the side alone. We were all waiting for Jar Jar to come back from his hidden city. He was down there to recruit Gungan warriors to help the Queen fight off the droid army because she couldn't do it on her own. He came back up a few minutes later.

"Dare-sa nobody dare. Da Gungan city is deserted. Some kinda fight, mesa thinks." he said.

An uneasy feeling seemed to settle in everyone's stomach. There was no way we would succeed without the Gungans' help.

Obi-Wan looked thoughtful. "Do you think they have been taken to camps?"

Panaka shook his head. "More likely they were wiped out."

"Mesa no think so." Jar Jar told him.

Qui-Gon took a step forward. "Do you know where they are, Jar Jar?"

"When in trouble, Gungans go to sacred place. Mesa show you! C'mon! Mesa show you." Jar Jar beckoned, walking through the group towards his sacred place. Everyone followed behind him full of hope and eagerness.

***

I felt a strange pulling at my mind. Someone or something was trying to enter it. Their fight was so strong that my head began throbbing in pain. Whoever it was, they weren't giving up. Persistence.

We were on our way to the palace to capture the Viceroy, sneaking around droids and behind walls. The Gungans had agreed to help fight. They would serve as a distraction for the droids on another front while we captured the Viceroy.

A wave of nausea rushed through my body, forcing me to sit down behind the wall we were currently crouching behind. The guards traveling behind me looked at me strangely. We're on the move. Why has she stopped?

I gave them a weak hand movement, a signal that said 'just give me a second'. I quickly gathered the Force around my body, and then delicately removed the resistant probe from my mind. And then it was gone.

I'll admit, I was a bit spooked. Who in the galaxy was trying to get in my head? Instead of investigating further however, I just shook off the feeling and kept moving. We were on a time sensitive mission, so I decided against my better judgment not to concern myself with it then.

I should've trusted my better judgement.

We finally arrived at the hangar of the palace. There were quite a few battle droids in there. "Get to your ships!" Padmé yelled to the guards. We found out earlier that he was actually Queen Amidala. Her decoy had us fooled.

The droids opened fire as the pilots struggled to get to their fighter ships, but with three Jedi and nearly twenty guards and handmaidens who were armed, the droids didn't really stand a chance. They were gone in a matter of seconds.

Once the pilots were off to destroy the station that controlled the droids in space, our group would continue on our way to the Viceroy. Padmé spoke once our group came together. "My guess is the Viceroy is in the throne room."

"Everybody this way." Panaka ordered. We all followed him towards the exit of the hangar.

Anakin, who I had temporarily forgotten about, suddenly popped out of the cockpit in one of the remaining fighter ships. He was frowning. "Hey wait for me!" he shouted.

Qui-Gon shook his head. "Anakin, stay where you are. You'll be safe there."

"But I..."

"Stay in that cockpit." Qui-Gon warned, giving him a stern look. Anakin deflated back into his seat.

I turned my attention back to the task at hand. Obi-Wan was to my left, Qui-Gon to his left, and everyone else in front of us when it happened. The hangar door opened, revealing someone I didn't expect to see until later. The dark Sith himself stood, his black cloak covering his face. The air became cold as everyone halted. My breath hitched in my throat.

"We'll handle this." I heard Qui-Gon say. My focus was so attached to the sinister figure, I barely noticed. The guards, handmaidens, and the Queen scurried off in a different direction, but I didn't look at them. My eyes were locked with the yellow irises belonging to the dark lord.

I felt it.

That probing feeling in my mind. It was him! He was the one trying to enter! Resulting in our closeness, the clawing at my brain was so strong, I cried out. He just looked at me and smiled as I dropped painfully to my knees. The Force, it wasn't strong enough to keep him out. I wasn't strong enough. "Get out of my head!" I screamed, pulling desperately at the roots of my hair.

I hardly head the menacing laugh of the Sith, the sound of Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan's lightsabers coming to life. My eyes slowly rolled behind my head at the sheer pressure of the irresistible probe.

But just before I slumped to the ground, just before I blacked out, I heard a voice vibrating against my skull. His voice.

You are now mine.