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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘

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Queen Amidala sat on her throne along with her advisors, guards, and handmaidens as they waited for their transmission to go through. Silence surrounded them as they stared at the place where the hologram should be, no one daring to take their eyes off the object in the center of the room. Another moment passed before the one they were trying to call finally appeared in front of them, making everyone sit up slightly straighter as their queen began speaking.

"Again, you come before us, Your Highness," the man cloaked in red greeted the young ruler of Naboo, who stared at the hologram before her with an unamused expression on her face.

"You will not be pleased when you hear what I have to say, Viceroy," Queen Amidala responded while the man continued to stare back at her, completely unphased by her words, "your trade boycott of our planet has ended."

"I was not aware of such failure," the Viceroy replied after exchanging a look with his associate before looking back toward the screen in front of him.

"I have word that the Chancellor's ambassadors are with you now...and that you have been commanded to reach a settlement," the young ruler of Naboo said while keeping the blank expression glued onto her face.

"I know nothing of any ambassadors. You must be mistaken," the man in red told her, trying to ignore the fact that two Jedi were running around the corridors of his ship.

"Beware, Viceroy. The Federation has gone too far this time."

"We would never do anything without the approval of the Senate. You assume too much."

"We will see."

As soon as she ended the transmission with the Trade Federation, Queen Amidala sent a call out to Naboo's senator. Just like before, silence filled every inch of the room as they waited for the man to appear in front of them. It wasn't long after that when the familiar face of Senator Palpatine appeared in the center of the room. Queen Amidala didn't waste a second explaining the situation to her planet's senator, making sure not to leave out a single detail of what had just occurred. Once her story concluded, Senator Palpatine stared back at her with a slightly confused look on his face.

"Negotiations haven't started because the ambassadors aren't there? How could that be true? I have assurances from the Chancellor his ambassadors did arrive," the white-haired man stated before his image glitched and became distorted, "it must- handiwork- negotiate- ambassadors- nobody would-"

"Senator Palpatine," Queen Amidala called out to her ally after his picture disappeared completely before her attention turned toward Captain Panaka, "what's happening?"

"Check the transmission generator," the man ordered the guard standing on the other side of the room, who took the communicator off his belt and began speaking into it.

"A communications disruption can mean only one thing: invasion," Naboo's governor, Sio Bibble, announced as he turned his attention away from the Captain of the Guard to look at the Queen.

"The Federation would not dare go that far," Queen Amidala declared then she looked over at Captain Panaka.

"The Senate would revoke their trade franchise and they'd be finished," the man added to his ruler's words before he turned his gaze back to the Queen when she began speaking.

"We must continue to rely on negotiation."

"Negotiation? We've lost all communications. And where are the Chancellor's ambassadors?" Bibble retaliated as he looked between the Queen of Naboo and the Captain of the Royal Guard.

"This is a dangerous situation, Your Highness," Captain Panaka stated in a tone just above a whisper so only Queen Amidala could hear him, "our security volunteers will be no match against a battle-hardened Federation army."

"I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war," the young Ruler of Naboo declared, earning a small sigh from the Captain of her Royal Guard.

"Then at least allow me to send out scouts to see if the Trade Federation has taken action," the raven-haired man pleaded, hoping to at least get an idea of what is to come.

"Aurora is already out exploring the forests. If she finds anything, she'll find a way to let me know."

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The wind blew through her hair as Aurora ran through the forests of Naboo. A smile that she hadn't worn in ages spread across her face as she got closer and closer to her destination. The trees seemed to get greener and the air fresher as the brunette girl approached the clearing she hadn't set been to in years. Not since she became one of Queen Amidala's personal guards. Luckily, she finally gained enough courage to journey back to one of her favorite places after being granted a rare day off by the Queen herself.

As soon as she set foot in the familiar clearing, the smile on Aurora's face did nothing but grow. Her eyes scanned around at the various trees and flowers she helped her parents plant when she was a child. Then they landed on a small hut on the other side of the clearing. The brunette woman just stood there for a long moment before she forced herself to walk toward it. After letting out a small sigh, Aurora slowly pushed open the decaying wooden door and walked inside. A wave of sorrow washed over her as she looked around at the place she called home until she was fifteen.

Aurora and her parents tended to the wildlife and greenery that surrounded their small shelter and made sure everything stayed balanced. It was as if they were part of the ecosystem...but the forest moved on and thrived without Car-Ana and Langston Tinsley just like the rest of the world. Even the Naberries, who were supposed to be close friends of her parents, forgot them. The only one who seemed to remember that they ever existed was Aurora.

The Tinsley girl continued to think back to all the moments she shared with her parents until her eyes landed on a box she was told never to touch. Aurora studied it for a moment before she picked up the small container and ran her fingers over the top of it. Everything within her was telling her to put it back, even her parents' voices telling her not to go near it went through her head. But there was a small part of her that was drawn to it as if she was supposed to open it.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a strange sound that came from somewhere nearby. Aurora's instincts quickly took over as she placed the box into her bag and pulled her blaster out of her holster. As soon as she set foot back out into the forest of Naboo, she spotted exactly what was making the odd noise and her blood instantly ran cold. High above her, Trade Federation ships flew across the sky and landed in the forest somewhere behind her. After trying and failing to get in contact with Queen Amidala or anyone else in the palace, Aurora let out an irritated sigh and returned her communicator to her belt. The Tinsley girl just stood there for a long moment before cautiously making her way to where she saw the ships land.

She jumped over fallen logs and wove between trees until she finally reached another much larger clearing. What Aurora saw next made her eyes widen to the size of Naboo. Dozens of Trade Federation ships filled the area as far as the eye could see and each of the ships carried more droids than Aurora could count. The army in front of her was much larger than Naboo could ever handle and no one other than Aurora had any idea it was even on their planet. After taking one last look at the army in front of her, the Tinsley girl turned around and began running back in the direction she came from to warn her people of what was to come.

Aurora barely made it into the next clearing when her ears picked up on the sound of approaching footsteps quickly approaching her. That caused the Royal Guard to stop in her tracks and aim her blaster in the direction the sound was coming from. It wasn't long before the maker of the noise made themselves known and skidded to a halt in front of the Tinsley girl. The brunette girl would be the first to admit that she was surprised to see a boy standing in front of her, and it seemed like he felt the same way as he stared back at her with wide eyes.

"And who might you be?" the newcomer questioned while he continued to study the girl in front of him.

"I could ask you the same thing," Aurora retaliated as the grip around the blaster in her hand tightened.

It didn't take long after he appeared for Aurora to realize what he was. He looked just like her parents described his kind. With his pristine robes and slightly oversized cloak, a look finished off with a leather belt. He was a Jedi, a Padawan by the looks of his hair. And as she stared at the boy, the last words her parents' told her filled her head. Avoid the Jedi at all costs.

Before their conversation could continue, their ears picked up on the sound of approaching speeders. While the unknown boy began running in the opposite direction, Aurora stayed in her place and listened to the unnatural noise. What felt like an eternity passed until she was able to locate one of the approaching speeders and aimed her blaster. After firing in what seemed to be a random direction to the boy watching her from the other side of the clearing, a loud bang cut through the air. He just stood there and stared at the girl in front of him for a long moment before he grabbed her wrist and dragged her toward what he hoped was safety.

Aurora tried and failed to break free of the boy's grasp as he continued to pull her through the forest and away from the approaching enemy. It wasn't until they reached the next clearing that she spotted two individuals standing on the other side. Before a thought could go through Aurora's head, the droids pursuing them began blasting. The boy instantly picked up his pace, causing the Tinsley girl to almost trip. Because of this, she almost missed him unsheathing a lightsaber and blocking the droids' attacks. That resulted in one of the blasts hitting the speeder and taking out the enemy.

As soon as he knew they were safe, the boy released his grip around Aurora's wrist. The Tinsley girl didn't move from her place a short distance away from them as she watched him approach the two individuals. It didn't take her long before she realized that not all three of them were complete strangers and a small wave of happiness washed over her.

"You saved my again!" the Gungan exclaimed as he stared at the man with shoulder-length hair and a graying beard.

"What's this?" the brunette boy questioned after studying the Gungan before looking over at the man in front of him.

"A local," the man responded before his attention fell on Aurora, who continued to stand a few yards away from him. He hesitated for a moment as he studied the girl in front of him then opened his mouth to speak. "And who's this?"

"She didn't care to share that information with me," the boy said in a slightly irritated tone as the Gungan turned to see who they were looking at.

"Rora? Rora!" he exclaimed before he rushed over and pulled the brunette girl in for a tight hug, "mesa haven't seen yousa in years!"

"You know her?" the boy questioned while the man next to him continued to stare at the girl with an indescribable look in his eyes.

"Oh, wesa met years ago," Jar Jar explained as he forced Aurora to walk closer to the two men, "Rora helped da Gungans all da timen!"

A silent moment passed as everyone just stared at each other. That was until the man cleared his throat and looked in the opposite direction of where the droids were coming from. "Let's get out of here before more droids show up."

"More? 'More' did you spake?" Jar Jar questioned as the two men began to walk deeper into the forest. Aurora let out a small laugh and followed after them. It wasn't long before she heard the Gungan rushing to catch up with them. "Ex-squeeze-me, but de mostest safest place would be Gunga City. Is where I grew up. 'Tis a hidden city."

As soon as the Gungan finished speaking, the two men halted and exchanged a look. Aurora and Jar Jar soon stopped a few feet away from them before they both looked over at the Gunga City native.

"A city?" the man said, earning a small nod from Jar Jar in response before he continued speaking, "can you take us there?"

The Tinsley girl watched as Jar Jar hesitated for a moment then quickly shook his head. "Uh, on second thought, no. Not really, no."

"Why not, Jar Jar?" Aurora questioned, making everyone look over at her as if they just remembered she was there before she continued speaking, "sure, the Gungans aren't fond of strangers. But I'm sure once we explain what happened, they'll help us."

"'Tis embarrassing, but, uh, my afraid my've been...banished. My forgotten," the Gungan explained, causing a wave of sympathy to wash over the Tinsley girl while the two Jedi exchanged annoyed looks, "da bosses would do terrible tings to me. Terrible tings to me if me goen back dare."

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud rumbling sound cut through the air. Aurora's hand immediately went to the blaster on her belt at the same moment the Jedi exchanged another look. It wasn't long after that when the long-haired man took a step closer to Jar Jar before pointing in the direction of the noise.

"You hear that?" he questioned, earning a quick "yeah" from Jar Jar before the former turned to face the Gungan, "that is the sound of a thousand terrible things heading this way."

"If they find us, they will crush us, grind us into tiny pieces, and blast us into oblivion," the younger of the two added while walking closer to Jar Jar, making the former take a few steps back.

"Way to be dramatic," the Tinsley girl muttered under her breath, earning an annoyed look from the younger Jedi while his master attempted to hide his small smile.

"Oh. Yousa point is well seen," the Gungan said before he glanced over at Aurora and let out a long sigh, "this way. Hurry!"

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