| abstract
| - Early the next morning, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé waited for Queen Nalanda near her starship. Ric Olié was already inside prepping the ship, she was due soon. Qui-Gon watched Anakin and Padmé talking. She had let him hold her lightsaber and he was asking all sorts of questions about its construction. Seeing this reinforced Qui-Gon’s beliefs even further, but when he related this to Obi-Wan he met with blatant rejection. “It’s not disrespect, Master,” his Padawan said in a rather loud voice, “it’s the truth! Surely you are too close to the boy to view this objectively.” “Anakin has been tested once,” Qui-Gon reminded him, “no doubt he will prove himself again, and the Council will see what I do.” “The boy is dangerous,” Obi-Wan insisted, “they all sense it, why can’t you?” “That is your point of view, Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon quietly asserted. “It is not just my point of view,” Obi-Wan said. “His fate is uncertain, I’ll give you that,” Qui-Gon conceded. “But he is not dangerous. The Council will decide Anakin’s future and that should be enough for you. Now get on board,” he added curtly, nodding for Padmé to do the same. “Mister Qui-Gon sir,” said a small voice, “I don’t want to be a problem.” “You won’t be, Anakin,” Qui-Gon said, dropping to one knee so they could speak eye to eye. “But Obi-Wan is angry,” Anakin said with wide eyes. “You were fighting over me. I don’t think he likes me.” “Obi-Wan doesn’t know you like I do,” Qui-Gon ruffled the boy’s hair. “When he does, no doubt his opinion of you will change.” “I was wondering something,” Anakin said, wriggling where he stood. “Yes?” “What are midi-chlorians?” Anakin asked. “One of the Jedi Masters said I had a lot of them.” Qui-Gon smiled. “Midi-chlorians are microscopic lifeforms that live inside the cells of all living things.” “They live inside me?” “Yes, inside your cells.” “That sounds a bit weird,” Anakin said, pulling a face. “There’s nothing weird about it,” Qui-Gon said with a chuckle. “They allow us to communicate with the Force. We are all symbionts with midi-chlorians.” “Symbi-what?” “Symbionts,” Qui-Gon repeated, “lifeforms living together. For without them, life would not exist and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They whisper to us, telling us its will and nature.” “They talk to us?” This seemed a bit dubious to Anakin. “This is getting weirder.” “It’s perfectly natural,” Qui-Gon reassured him. “When you learn to quiet your mind, Annie, you will hear them speaking to you.” “I don’t understand,” Anakin murmured. “With time and training, Anakin, you will.” Then as an afterthought, he added. “The Council has not permitted me to train you, but I want you to watch what I do. Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” He tousled the boy’s hair again. “Stop it,” Anakin laughed, wiggling out of Qui-Gon’s reach. Qui-Gon rose to his feet as Queen Nalanda and her retinue arrived. Nalanda wore a mauve veil with a deep violet cloak as well as a sombre expression. “It is a pleasure to continue to serve you, Your Highness,” Qui-Gon said chivalrously. “Thankyou for your continued assistance, Master Jedi,” Nalanda replied. “Senator Palpatine is convinced that the Federation wish to kill me.” “I will do all in my power to stop that from happening,” the Jedi Master promised. They boarded the ship, Danta, Anakin and R2-D2 coming last of all. “Wesa goin home!” the Gungan said with relief. “Come on, Artoo,” Anakin said with a laugh, nudging the little droid up the ramp. Somewhere on Coruscant, Darth Sidious stood before a holocron, a moment later the figure of his apprentice appeared. Maxah had arrived on Naboo as per her Master’s instructions once Nalanda had reached Coruscant. Behind her was Viceroy Nute Gunray. “I am sending the Queen back to Naboo,” Sidious informed his apprentice and the Neimoidian. “She is no longer of any use to me. Make sure the treaty is signed. And Maxah,” he looked straight as his apprentice, “finish off the Jedi, including the girl.” “Yes, my Master,” Maxah intoned before the hologram dispersed. Nalanda sat with her handmaidens around here on the throne on board her starship. Before her was Captain Panaka, looking agitated as he had not been before. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Padmé stood calmly to one side, with Anakin close by Padmé, Danta stood in a corner by himself, wondering what he was doing there at all. “Your Highness, when we land the Federation will arrest you and force you to sign the treaty,” Panaka informed her. “Not if we act first, Captain,” Nalanda told him. “I’m going to take back what’s ours.” “There are not many of us, Your Highness,” Panaka reminded her. “And we have no army!” “I can only protect you, Your Highness,” Qui-Gon interjected, “I can’t fight a war for you.” Nalanda considered this, but she had an idea in the back of her mind since before they had left Coruscant. “Danta Pela,” she said in a clear voice. The Gungan looked startled. “Mesa?” “Yes,” she replied, “I need your help.” As Padmé had promised, she took Anakin into the cockpit for a closer look as they made their approach to Naboo. Qui-Gon was there too and seemed particularly interested when Anakin asked Ric Olié about the controls. “What are these?” the boy asked, pointing at some instruments. “Those are the forward stabilisers,” Ric told him. “And these control the pitch?” Anakin asked, pointing at something else. “You catch on pretty quick,” Ric said with a smile. The ship turned and Naboo glowed in the distance. Yet Padmé noticed something odd. “One droid control ship?” she asked. “That’s all the Trade Federation have? One ship?” “They need only one ship to control the droids,” Qui-Gon told her, “and you don’t really need a blockade if you control the port.”
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