The ship turned slightly and I tried to watch the battle through the window. Meanwhile, the pilot was steering the ship toward them. The hatch was still open. I quickly understood the plan. They weren"t leaving Qui-Gon - they were going to pick him up! I just hoped they"d figured out how to do it without picking up that dark warrior, too.
We were higher now. Maybe a half dozen meters from the ground. Suddenly Qui-Gon appeared out of the cloud of chaos beneath us! He"d jumped up to the ramp!
But an instant later, the dark warrior appeared on the ramp, too!
Qui-Gon swung his lightsaber as hard as he could at his attacker.
Crack! The whole ship shuddered from the impact.
I watched in amazement as the warrior fell back to the ground. He landed on his feet and glared up at us with the most evil yellow eyes I"d ever seen. Just the sight of them made me shiver.
The hatch snapped shut. I barely had time to grab a handhold before the ship rocketed upward.
I caught my breath and watched the sky change. Below us, Mos Espa was no larger than a sandbox and getting smaller all the time.
Then the sky turned from blue to black and I was staring down at a bare, sand-colored planet. Beyond it glowed my familiar twin suns. Everywhere else, the sky was awash with sparkling stars.
For the first time in my life, I was in s.p.a.ce.
Eight Entry
The Queen
I could have stayed at that window staring the stars for a long time. But I was worried about Qui-Gon. The Jedi Knight had collapsed on the floor inside the hatch. Artoo-Detoo was already there. A young man I hadn"t seen before was there, too. One look at his clothes and lightsaber and I knew he was also a Jedi.
Qui-Gon was breathing hard. His face was wet with sweat and streaked with dust and dirt. I asked if he was all right and he said he thought so, but I could see that he was shaken. The dark warrior had come as a complete surprise.
The younger Jedi asked Qui-Gon what he thought the warrior was. Qui-Gon said he wasn"t sure, but that the warrior was well trained in the Jedi arts.
That puzzled me. How could you be well trained in the Jedi arts and not be a Jedi? But even more confusing was what Qui-Gon said next - that he thought the warrior had come after the Queen.
I asked Qui-Gon if he thought the dark warrior would follow our ship. He answered that we would be safe once we entered hypers.p.a.ce, but that he had no doubt the warrior knew our final destination.
The thought of meeting up with the dark warrior again made me shiver. I asked what we could do about him.
Before Qui-Gon could answer, the other Jedi gave me a puzzled look.
"Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi, " Qui-Gon said.
I held out my hand to shake his.
But when we shook, the new Jedi stared at me with one eyebrow raised.
I didn"t think he liked me.
We were in hypers.p.a.ce. The parts Qui-Gon had purchased from Watto had done the trick and we were now moving faster than the speed of light. Hypers.p.a.ce is a silent vacuum, and the only sounds in the ship were the hums of the navigational and life-support systems. Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi had taken Qui-Gon to his quarters to rest after his battle.
Obi-Wan was shorter than Qui-Gon. Except for the braided pigtail that hung over his right shoulder and a small ponytail, he had short hair. I figured that he was an apprentice to the older Jedi.
With Qui-Gon in another part of the ship, I was alone, and cold.
In fact, I was shivering. The Naboo s.p.a.cecraft was freezing.
I sat down in a corner and pulled my knees under my chin to try and stay warm. Now that it was quiet, I felt very lonely. I"d left my home with strangers to go to a place on the other side of the galaxy. Coruscant was so far away that I might never be able to go home. I knew Qui-Gon wanted to take care of me, but after his battle with the dark warrior he had his own problems. It was still hard to believe that there were warriors in the galaxy who might be equal to, or even greater than, a Jedi Knight. But now I knew there were. And if something happened to Qui-Gon, who would present me to the Council? Who would train me in the ways of the Jedi?
Who would believe that I even had what it took to become a Jedi?
I felt someone watching me and looked up. It was Padme. She asked if I was cold and I admitted that I was. She gave me her jacket and teased me about being from a hot planet like Tatooine. She said s.p.a.ce was cold. I told her that I"d already figured that out.
Padme looked worried, so I asked her what was wrong. She told me the Queen had problems. The people on Naboo were suffering. Some were even dying.
I was sitting there wishing I had a way to cheer her up when I remembered the j.a.por pendant. I took it out of my pocket and gave it to her. I told her that it would always remind her of me and bring her good luck.
I have to admit that I was more than a little nervous. Not only was Padme beautiful, but I could tell by her delicate clothes and her gentle manner that she was used to very fine things. I wasn"t sure how she"d feel about wearing a wooden pendant carved by a boy.
But Padme smiled and immediately put it on. She said she loved it. And she said she wouldn"t need anything to remind her of me. She promised she would never forget me.
I was in the c.o.c.kpit of the s.p.a.ceship when the pilot brought us out of hypers.p.a.ce. We were at the inner core of the galaxy. The sky was dense with brightly twinkling stars and systems.
Directly below us was Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic. I"d dreamed of visiting Coruscant, but it was even better than I"d imagined. The entire planet was covered by a huge sprawling city with every imaginable size and shape building. Some were so tall their metallic spires pierced the clouds.
We started to drop down toward the planet. The endless city had canyons like Tatooine, but they were the canyons between buildings. The airs.p.a.ce was clogged with hundreds of different vehicles - from small messenger speeders to huge, slow-moving transports.
We moved into a traffic lane and then onto a floating landing platform. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi joined Jar Jar and me near the hatch.
An important-looking group of people was waiting on the landing platform. Before the hatch opened, Qui-Gon instructed Jar Jar and me on how to bow and show respect. He told us to stay out of the way and take our cues from him and Obi-Wan.
When the hatch opened, we did as we were told and moved off to the edge of the platform to get a closer look at the huge city surrounding us. I think Jar Jar was even more amazed than I was. He just stared and stared with his big frog eyes.
Meanwhile, I kept one eye on what was happening behind us. I was glad I did or I would have missed what came next. Several royal guards stepped down the ramp, and then came Queen Amidala!
I could hardly believe I was standing so close to royalty. It was obvious that she was powerful. You could tell by her powdery-white face, and black-and-gold royal garb. On her head was a headpiece made of large black feathers. The important men I"d just bowed to were now bowing to her!
After the Queen came three handmaidens wearing fiery-colored cloaks. Padme was one of them.
Padme gave me a quick smile while the Queen spoke in a hushed voice to the important-looking men who"d come to greet her. You could see that this wasn"t just a friendly welcoming party. Their faces were serious and their whispering sounded urgent.
Then the Queen and her guards and handmaidens moved off toward a waiting air shuttle.
She motioned for us to follow.
Jar Jar and I were taken to a large building. We were sent to a waiting room and told to stay put. Padme had to go somewhere, and I watched through a doorway as Queen Amidala sat on a throne and had more meetings with important-looking men in uniforms. Their faces were very grim and there was a lot of head shaking.
Something was seriously wrong. From the bits and pieces I was able to overhear on the air shuttle, I knew that a group called the Trade Federation had surrounded the planet Naboo with huge battleships. No supplies were being allowed in or out of Naboo, and that was why the Queen"s people were suffering.
But what did that have to do with the dark warrior? That was the part I still didn"t understand. He was only one being. I decided that he might have been part of the problem, but there had to be more to it. Something even more serious was happening.
Jar Jar and I waited. I felt bad for him because he looked as lonely and lost as me. At least I had a reason for coming to Coruscant. Qui-Gon had brought me to see if I could become a Jedi. Jar Jar seemed to be here because he had no place else to go.
I asked him why he wasn"t with his people. In his strange language, Jar Jar explained he had been banished for wrecking his leader"s favorite vehicle. The rest had all happened by accident. He"d been sitting in a Naboo swamp one day enjoying a meal when he got caught in an invasion! He was saved by Qui-Gon, and had been with the Jedi Knight ever since.
A messenger arrived saying that in a little while I would be picked up by taxi and taken to the Jedi Temple. Qui-Gon"s words came back to me. I remembered that if I was accepted for Jedi training, I would be busy for a long time. I realized this might be my last chance to see Padme. I wanted to find her.
I left the waiting room and started down a hall. Of course, I had no idea where anything was, or where I might find Padme. So I watched for clues. Finally I found what I was looking for. A handmaiden came past me carrying a bowl of fruit. There was a chance she was taking it to the Queen"s quarters, where I hoped to find Padme.
The handmaiden turned down several halls and then went through a door watched over by two guards. That looked promising, but I hesitated anyway. I felt nervous. I didn"t know what the guards would do when they saw me. What if this was a restricted area and I wasn"t supposed to be in the hall?
It took more courage to walk down that hall and face those guards than it did to get in my Pod and race against Sebulba. But I did it. For Padme.
Lucky for me, the guards were friendly. I guess being nine years old has its advantages. I told them I was looking for Padme. One of them spoke into a comlink and then told me to go through the door they were guarding.
I went into a small room. At the other end a door was open and I could see into a larger room. Another of the Queen"s handmaidens greeted me. I had seen her come off the ship with Padme. I didn"t know her name, but she knew mine. From the smile on her face I could see that she already knew why I had come.
I was disappointed when she told me Padme wasn"t there. I expected to leave then, but suddenly a voice called from the other room, asking who it was. The handmaiden called back that it was Anakin Skywalker, here to see Padme.
What happened next took me by complete surprise: Queen Amidala herself came to the doorway. Remembering Qui-Gon"s instructions, I instantly bowed, then peeked up at her.
The Queen was now wearing a fancy gown and a fan-shaped crown of beads and ta.s.sels. A single red mark had been painted on each of her cheeks. She said she"d sent Padme on an errand.
I apologized for bothering her and explained that I had been called to the Jedi Temple where I hoped to start my training. I was worried that I might not see Padme again. I had come to say good-bye.
The Queen said she would give Padme my message. Padme must have told her about me because the Queen said she was sure Padme"s heart would go with me.
I felt bad that I wouldn"t get to see Padme. But I thanked the Queen, and left to find the cab that would take me to the Jedi Temple.
Where my future was to be decided.
Ninth Entry
The Future Is Uncertain
Even on the vast city-planet of Coruscant, you could spot the Jedi Temple right away. Not only was it huge, its flat-topped pyramid shape was unlike any other building around it.
Once again I had to wait in a room outside a main chamber. And again it was cold. Unlike the dual star system Tatooine revolved around, Coruscant circled a single star.
As I waited in the room, I noticed something written above the door: There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge There is no pa.s.sion; there is serenity.
There is no death; there is the Force.
The words were stark and bare. All of a sudden I felt a little afraid.
Emotion? Up till now, pretty much all of my life had involved emotions like anger, and fear, and even hatred. How could you grow up a slave on Tatooine and not know those emotions?
Ignorance? I didn"t have to spend much time with learned people like Qui-Gon and Padme to realize that I had grown up surrounded by ignorance. Slave children received no schooling or training. What we learned, we learned on our own. And even though my mother taught me everything she knew, I realize now how much I still have to learn.
Death? Even at my young age, I had seen plenty of it.
It was sunset when Qui-Gon finally came for me. He apologized for making me wait so long and explained that the Council had had several unusually serious matters to deal with that day. I didn"t ask what those matters were. Qui-Gon would have told me if he"d wanted me to know. But I had a feeling the dark warrior was one of them.
Qui-Gon led me into the Council chamber. The room was circular, its ceiling domed, its walls lined with large windows looking out upon the city. I found myself standing with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, surrounded by the twelve members of the Jedi Council. Men, women, Humans, and other beings, they were seated in a circle. But the strangest was the one who appeared to be the most important. He was as unlike a Jedi as I could have imagined.
They called him Yoda and he was no bigger than a Jawa. But unlike a Jawa, whose face is always hidden by a hood, Yoda"s almost bare, wrinkled head was uncovered. His complexion was light green. He had a broad forehead, bulging eyes, and long, pointed ears that stretched away from either side of his skull. Had I come across him on the streets of Tatooine, I probably would not have looked twice. But I admit I was surprised to find such a creature at the head of the Jedi Council.
I wish I could say that I was greeted with welcoming smiles and open arms. But the Jedi Council gave me grave looks. Only Yoda"s face revealed an open, warm expression.
In a low, gravelly voice, Yoda told me that I should relax and empty my mind. I would be asked some questions. Everyone went silent. Another important-looking Jedi, whose name was Mace Windu, picked up a small viewing screen, but I couldn"t tell what was on it.
He asked what I saw in my mind and I told him: a Republic Cruiser. A Rodian cup. A Hutt speeder....
Mace Windu nodded and turned off the viewing screen. Yoda asked me how I felt and I told him the truth. I felt cold. Then he asked me if I was afraid and I said I wasn"t.
Mace Windu asked if I was afraid to give up my life.
I suppose I hesitated there for a moment. I thought of Mom. Of how I missed her and how unhappy she"d be if I died.
Then I realized what I"d done. But it was too late. They"d seen my thoughts. They knew I missed Mom. I think it made me a little mad. They"d read my thoughts so clearly and they knew something about me that I didn"t want them to. When Yoda asked if I was afraid to lose her, I snapped and asked what that had to do with anything.
"Everything, " Yoda calmly replied. "Fear is the path to the dark side... fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate... hate leads to suffering. "
I panicked. I was failing the test! And that made me really mad. To come this close to my dream... I couldn"t fail. I just couldn"t! I insisted that I wasn"t afraid.
The Council members glanced at Yoda, who nodded knowingly.
"A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind, " he said slowly. "I sense much fear in you. "
I fought back the impulse to argue. Instead I knew I had to answer calmly and firmly. And without anger. I remembered what was written outside - there is no pa.s.sion; there is serenity.