As I approached Geonosis,I hid behind the asteroid ring to conceal the Naboo starship from the lurking Trade Federation fleet. Then I immediately realized what a danger this Republic fleet posed.

I broke through the atmosphere with the ship and pulled it down, flying over the surface, weaving through valleys and around towering rock formations, circling plateaus. Padme was standing next to me, looking for a place to land.

"See those columns of steam straight ahead?" Padme said, pointing to the smoke that smoked in the distance. "They're exhaust vents of some type." "That'll do."I commented, pulling the ship into a wide turn and toward the distant columns of rising white steam.

 I landed the ship directly in one of those columns of smoke. Padme stood up while I shut down the engines, and put on her white coat. "Timothee, look, whatever happens out there, follow my lead." She said as I stood up as well.

 "I'm not interested in getting into a war here. As a member of the Senate, maybe I can find a diplomatic solution to this mess." She left the ship before she could detect my amused grin. "Don't worry about it." I replied calmly, shrugging my shoulders as I followed her. "I've given up trying to argue with you."

We both walked down a path until we came to what looked like a door. I spotted a switch and flipped it, causing the door to open. We took a step back as it flipped up before entering the hallway that hid behind it.

 It grew dark and cold. We looked around, but all we saw were strange walls. When Padme heard a noise,she looked at me, who slowed his gait, which Padme then did to me. "Wait. " I whispered when I sensed something, and we both stopped.

 I continued to listen, not with my ears, but with my Force senses. Something was here, close by. My lightsaber flashed. Quickly, following my instincts and reflexes, I turned and struck,cutting off part of the wing of one of the native creatures.

The creature staggered past me and fell to the ground, but then another came, and then another, and they all pounced on me. I stabbed to the right and immediately pulled the blade back out of the smoking flesh. Then I jerked it high over my head,striking to the left. Two more native creatures fell down.

"Run!" I shouted to Padme, but she had already started moving down the hall and toward a distant door. I used the lightsaber to hold back more winged creatures, and then I fled as well. I hurried behind her through the door, and then almost fell off a small ramp that led to a deep chasm.

What I saw shocked me. Machines were everywhere, working on more machines, there seemed to be no end to it. Sparks were falling in the distance and I spotted some Geonosians.  "A droid factory."  I muttered to no one but myself. The door suddenly clanged shut and the ramp moved as well.

Padme slipped and with a scream she fell down onto one of the conveyor belts. "Padme!" I shouted, startled. Then I jumped too and landed on the moving belt. And then there were winged Geonosians everywhere,charging at me,and I had to desperately lashout with my lightsaber to keep them at bay.

Another Geonosian then fired at me,but I rolled to avoid the blaster shots. When I stood again, the Geonosian flew right in front of me. He was about to fire at me again, but I cut him in two with my lightsaber.

But then I must fight again against a swarm of Geonosians and at the same time I tried to escape the machines. Still, I had noticed Padme being pushed into one of the large tanks by a Geonosian. "Padme!" I shouted as I dodged another punching head.

There was no way I could reach her in time, I saw that immediately, and the container she was pushed into rolled rapidly out toward an opening from which molten metal flowed."Padme!" And then I struggled again, striking at another Geonosian, watching in horror as my beloved rolled toward certain death.

I fought like a madman, knocking aside the winged creatures,desperately trying to get to Padme. And screamed her name. I leapt over another conveyor belt, using the Force to hurl droid parts at the creatures, which were hurled away. Then I jumped over the next conveyor belt and got closer and closer to Padme.

Looking up, I used the Force to jump up onto the belt above me to reach her, but then I passed too close to another machine, and a vise closed around my arm,positioning me in front of another programmed cutting machine.

I struggled against the machine's unyielding grip and was able to twist away just far enough to avoid one machine. I flinched when another machine appeared behind it and quickly backed away to avoid being crushed.

 Behind the machine turned out to be another similar one that was also stomping and I dodged it. So it went on for a while,pounding machines, sparking and grabbing at me. When the machine caught the vise, I was finally able to roll out of it.

As I stood up,I was about to activate my lightsaber, but then I noticed   that the machine had cut it in half. So now I was defenseless.  "Not again."  I sighed in horror and looked around. "Obi Wan is gonna kill me."

 A group of heavy droidekas suddenly rolled in and got into position all around me. And then an armored rocket man sank down in front of me,blaster pointed at me. "Do not move Jedi." The man ordered me before he turned to the droidekas. "Take him away."

I was taken to a carriage in a dark tunnel and just thrown in, like Padme, and then we were both handcuffed. Outside, I heard thousands of Geonosians clicking and screeching as if they were excited to see the carnage to come.  Presumably, however, they were doing just that. A small crackof Geonosis' hot sun shone in through the door.

One of the creatures yanked on the strap of Padme's handcuffs and her head snapped up with a painful hiss. The creature snorted derisively before turning to its pathetic dog to pull the cart where Padme and I stood.

"Don't be afraid." I whispered to her as I turned to face her. My voice filled with a mixture of concern and resolve. She looked up at me with a soft, bitter smile. "I'm not afraid to die." She almost whispered.

 "I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life." She said, and her eyes found my. The fear that danced in them before had been replaced with purel ove, understanding and adoration.

My heart leapt as thousands of feelings flooded through me. The urge to protect her and love her. "What are you talking about?" I couldn't think of anything better to say. I couldn't believe my ears, believed she was lying to me. I had to ask, to make sure.

"I love you." She spoke those three words that sounded sincere and loving. Something new appeared in my gaze, but I couldn't really tell what it was.  All I knew, all I wanted, and all that felt real at that moment was the love between us.

 " You love me?" Finally I was able to say something. The words seemed stupid, made no sense, but I couldn't think of anything better. But then reality dawned on me. "I thought that we had decided not to fall in love." I said and briefly averted my gaze. "That we would be forced to live a lie." I said, looking back to her. "And that it would destroy our lives."

"I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway." She said, but she didn't mean it in a bad way. "Timothee." My name came to her lips like a prayer. "I truly, deeply love you." Tears she had probably been suppressing for months settled in Padme's eyes.

Hesitantly, she took a step closer, lifted her head and turned her body as far as the handcuffs would allow. "And before we die, I want you to know." "We will not die, Padme."I assured her and also began to lean in her direction, coming closer and closer to her lips.

"Shut up and kiss me, Timothee Skywalker. " She ordered me and immediately I put my lips on hers. It was a passionate kiss, expressing all that we should have said long ago. But this sweet moment was nothing more than that-a moment.

 A whip crack sounded, then with cheers from the audience and the mocking look of the Geonosians, the carriage drove out. The crowd clapped and cheered as Padme and I were wheeled in.

Five pillars were placed in the center of the arena, all with chains. Tied to three pillars were three familiar figures. They were Obi Wan,Maven and Anakin. Obi Wan looked at me disappointed, his blue-grey eyes  boring into my green ones.

"Guys!" I shouted as two Geonosians pulled me off the wagon, dragged me to the pillar next to my twin  brother. "We were beginning to wonder if you'd got our message." Obi Wan then said to me in his highly reprimanding yet sassy tone. I gave him the same look I had received. 

"I retransmitted it just as you had requested,Master." I quickly defended myself as I was tied to the pillar. The Geonosian made a high pitched noise; as if he was annoyed and wanted both of us to finally shut up. "Then we decided to come and rescue you three." I then  explained more quietly and sheepishly,  and looked down at the ground. 

Maven raised his eyebrows and turned his head first up at his hands chained to the pole, then back on me. "Good job!" He then said to me. A touch of sarcasm seeped through his voice.

"Fools." Anakin muttered under his breath. I rolled my eyes and looked to the ground as the Geonosian clicked his tongue. The roar of the crowd grew louder as four people appeared in a loge. 

I looked up to see the figures; my eyes scanned over the red I saw with a white head. My eyes literally fell out. Of course. I thought, Count Dooku, who else. I furrowed my brows as the Geonosian next to him, who seemed like the host, announced something I didn't understand.

My eyes went over to the other people standing in the loge. Among them were Nute Gunray and his wretched twin and Jango Fett and his son, I guessed. The crowd screeched after the Geonosian finished his little speech. In the arena, several other creatures were strutting around on animal sholding things that looked like spears.

 "What did he say?" Anakin asked Maven, because he was the only one of the five of us who understood that language. "I'd like to know that, too." I said to him and was really interested in what he had to say. "He opened the execution." He replied us, and looked at the cell doors. At that moment, Anakin and I were already regretting asking. "Great." We both sighed at the same time. "That sounds bad." I heard Obi Wan whisper to Maven.

Suddenly, five gates opened and wild animals emerged from them. In the first one was a Reek. I thad red and gray skin speckled with black. On its head sat a large yellow horn, and two smaller ones framed its mouth. With the ring in its nose, it puffed. Then it whirled its head around and roared loudly, making the crowd clap.

An Acklay, green as the corrupted grass of Naboo, came out of the second gate and to my surprise another Acklay came out of the third gate. They screeched loudly as one of the Geonosians hacked at them with his electronic spear. The Acklays snapped at him and the beast the Geonosian was riding backed away.

 A Nexu jumped out of the fourth gate and opened its mouth, it had so many teeth I couldn't count them. Its tail swung back and forth. The Geonosian riding next to it on its creature electrocuted it with its spear and the Nexu jumped up, taking the Geonosian with it as it landed on the ground.

Out of the last gate came a Rancor. Drool dripped from the creature's open mouth onto the Geonosian sand. It growled and flailed its long arms in the air. The Rancor's green-brown skin stood out, and the long claws on its hands scraped across the ground. I swallowed hard.

 "I have got a bad feeling about this." I heard Anakin say from next me. I just nodded slowly in agreement. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with you." I said and looked at Anakin before I gulped down the lump that had appeared in my throat and looked forward again. "That's not so good..." Maven muttered under his breath.