The journey back to Naboo was silent and tense. The royal ship, still scarred from its escape and with a half-melted engine bay, felt like a ghost gliding through hyperspace. Kaelen spent most of his time in the engine room, not repairing the mess he'd created, but cannibalizing its remnants. With his newfound knowledge in chemistry and the salvaged components, he was fabricating "surprises."
Padmé visited him often. They no longer spoke of the weather or trivial politics. They spoke of strategy, of probabilities. She had ceased to be a queen playing a handmaiden, and he had ceased to be a mere engineer. They had become what Naboo needed: a leader and her tactical genius.
"What we saw in the occupation holovideos was just Federation propaganda," she said, looking at a datapad with grim reports. "The reality on the ground will be much worse."
"Reality is always worse," Kaelen replied without looking up from a metal cylinder he was filling with a volatile blue gel. "But that also applies to them. They think they're facing a frightened queen and a palace guard. They don't know they're facing you. And, of course, me."
They landed in the swamps, far from the droid patrols. The air was humid and smelled of life, a stark contrast to Coruscant's sterile air and Tatooine's stench of death. It was good to be home, even if home was about to become a battlefield.
An Unlikely Alliance
The situation was as dire as they had feared. Theed was under tight control. People were being rounded up into detention camps. Resistance was impossible without an army. And on Naboo, that could only mean one thing: the Gungans.
Led by a nervous but determined Jar Jar Binks, they ventured into the misty forest to the Gungan Sacred Place, a collection of moss-covered stone ruins that served as their refuge. The reception was frosty. Boss Nass, an imposing figure with an even larger ego, looked down at them from his stone throne.
The decoy queen, Sabé, tried to reason with him, speaking of treaties and shared history, but Nass was unmoved. "Weesa take care of oursa! Naboo don't think of us until yousa need somethin'!"
That's when Padmé stepped forward, to the surprise of her own guard. "Boss Nass, it is I, Padmé Amidala, the elected Queen of Naboo."
She removed her handmaiden's hood. The sudden reveal silenced the Gungan crowd.
"I have come to you in person to plead for your help," she continued, her voice resonating with a humility and strength that no threat could match. "Our people are dying, Boss Nass. We must fight together or die together. Your world is under attack as much as mine."
Padmé's speech, laden with emotion and truth, moved the proud leader. There was respect in his eyes. But there was still doubt. It was at that precise moment that Kaelen stepped forward.
Alright, she's reached their hearts. My turn to reach their heads.
Kaelen's Pitch
I stop beside Padmé, inclining my head respectfully to the big amphibian. "Boss Nass," I say, my voice calm and clear. "The Queen speaks from the heart, and she is right. Allow me to speak with numbers, which are far colder."
I open my datapad. "You have approximately three thousand battle-ready warriors. The Federation has over one hundred thousand battle droids on the plain alone. Your personal energy shields are impressive, but the frequency can be neutralized by concentrated cannon fire. In a direct pitched battle, your losses would be... catastrophic. You would buy time, but you would lose the war."
A murmur ripples through the Gungans. Boss Nass frowns. He doesn't like what he hears, but he knows it's true.
"BUT," I continue, raising my voice. "That calculation assumes you fight as you always have. I offer you an upgrade." I pull out one of the blue cylinders I've been fabricating. "I call this a 'Boom-ba-soda.' It's not an explosive. It's a localized electromagnetic pulse generator. One warrior can throw it into the middle of a droid squad, and it'll shut them all down for ten crucial seconds. I'll give you the schematics. You can produce hundreds of them with your own tech."
I pull out another device. "I can modify your massive shield generators. Not to make them stronger, but to constantly rotate their frequencies. The Federation tank cannons won't be able to lock onto them. They'll be virtually invulnerable."
I look directly into Boss Nass's eyes. "The Queen asks for your help. I offer you the chance to turn your Grand Army into the most lethal, efficient fighting force this planet has ever seen. Help us, and you won't just save your home. You'll humiliate the Trade Federation."
The word "humiliate" worked its magic. A slow, wide grin spread across Boss Nass's face. He leaped to his feet. "Yousa right! Weesa make 'em sorry! Weesa Gungans will fight!"
The War Council
The alliance was forged. In Theed's now-reclaimed throne room, the war council convened. The plan was audacious and unfolded on three fronts.
The Gungan Grand Army would engage the droid army on the plain to draw them out of the city.
A squadron of Naboo pilots, led by Ric Olié, would attack the Droid Control Ship in orbit to deactivate the army.
A small assault team, led by Padmé, would infiltrate the palace to capture Viceroy Nute Gunray.
It was a good plan, but Kaelen made it brilliant.
"The attack on the Control Ship is our key," he told the gathered pilots. "But don't aim for the main reactor. It's an obvious target and too well-protected. I downloaded the full schematics of that ship when we were on Coruscant." He projected a hologram of the Lucrehulk ship. "There's a design flaw. The secondary deflector shield regulation station is here," he pointed to a small spot on the outside of the massive ring. "It's not covered by the main shield. Destroy that, and the overload will create a chain reaction that will fry the ship from the inside out. I've uploaded the exact coordinates to your targeting computers. It won't be a lucky shot; it will be a surgical execution."
Then he turned to Padmé and her team. "The infiltration. The doors will be sealed. I'll handle it." He held up a small, flat, disc-shaped device. "Fast-acting chemical solvent and electronic bypass. No door in this palace can stop us for more than three seconds."
The plan was set. Hope, which had been a dying ember, was now a roaring fire. Everyone had their missions, their objectives.
Padmé approached Kaelen as the others dispersed to prepare. "Are you sure about all this, Kaelen?"
He gave her a confident smile, the same one he'd shown her on the royal ship what felt like an eternity ago.
"The theory is perfect," he said. His smile faded a little, and his gaze became intense. "Now we just have to survive the practice."