Table of Contents

COPYRIGHT

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

After Jar Jar Binks rescued Boss Nass’ niece Major Fassa from the jaws of a sando aqua monster, Fassa pledged a life debt to Jar Jar. Since Jar Jar was so clumsy, Boss Nass thought he was unworthy of Fassa’s pledge. Jar Jar had hoped to prove his strength and bravery in the Big Nasty Free-For-All, a grueling marathon in the Gungans’ annual Festival of Warriors. Much to his surprise, Fassa also entered the Big Nasty.

Just before the start of the competition, the Gungan Shore Patrol discovered mysterious tracks on a Lake Umberbool beach. The tracks appeared to have been made by droids from another world. In spite of this, Boss Nass ruled that the Big Nasty would go on as planned.

Major Fassa won the Big Nasty. Captain Tarpals came in second, and Jar Jar came in thirteenth place. During the course of the competition, Fassa prevented three droids from torpedoing the arena, then captured them and their sub. Much to the astonishment of the festival’s spectators, Fassa was at the controls of the defeated droids’ sub when she crossed the finish line.

Unbeknownst to the Gungans, the droids were the property of an alien invader named Captain Swagg. Swagg had wanted the droids to keep the Gungans busy at Lake Umberbool while he landed his starship near the Gungans’ sacred place. Hidden deep within a thick Naboo forest, the sacred place contained many ancient statues. Some beings might have seen the weathered statuary and carvings as mere ruins, but to Swagg, the Gungans’ sacred place was a treasure trove.

Captain Swagg was a pirate.

The sleek Rep heyblibber burst through the surface of the water and glided to the edge of the Naboo swamp. Recently, the same luxury submersible had been used by Rep Teers during the construction of the arena in Lake Umberbool. The vessel had required repairs after it had been attacked by a sando aqua monster, but it was once again in perfect running condition. It carried a single passenger: Rep Been, the Gungans’ most knowledgable historian.

After the heyblibber was anchored, Rep Been stepped out of the vehicle onto the swampy ground. He carried a spear in his right hand, just in case he was attacked by wild creatures. He crossed a narrow trail that led through high green grass to a nearby stream. The stream would lead him to the sacred place, which would be the location of the final ceremonies for the Festival of Warriors. As Rep Been made his way along the trail, he stepped carefully to avoid leaving any footprints that might lead an enemy to the sacred place.

Of the officers who made up Boss Nass’ Rep Council, Rep Been was the keeper of ancient records, and his duties included the preservation of the sacred place. Rep Been was one of the few Gungans who didn’t feel compelled to attend the competitions at Lake Umberbool. He was happy to be on his way to inspect the ruins of the ancient temple.

Like all Gungans, Rep Been was proud of his heritage. Whenever he visited the temple, he found himself thinking about the many generations of Gungans who had journeyed to gather among the tall stones. Despite the effects of weather and time itself, the ruins had survived for many centuries, and the place remained a cherished secret known only to Gungans. It was Rep Been’s very favorite place on Naboo.

He reached the stream that would guide him to the sacred place, and walked alongside it. Several minutes later, Rep Been climbed up a small hill and pushed through some dense foliage, but when he emerged from the thicket, his view of the ruins was blocked by something. Something very large.

A starship.

It was covered in green camouflage netting. Rep Been did not know the origin of the ship, but because its design was so angular, he was certain it did not belong to the humans of Naboo. Its covering made it clear that it belonged to beings who did not want to reveal themselves.

Rep Been’s keen eyes caught some movement near the ship. Six chrome-plated droids were loading a large statue onto a flatbed repulsorlift transport, which would take it up to an open hatch on the side of the ship. There wasn’t any doubt in Rep Been’s mind that the mechanical invaders were attempting to steal the statue from the Gungans’ sacred place. He was suddenly filled with anger.

Rep Been gripped his spear and prepared to approach the droids when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. If the droids were programmed to steal, they might also be programmed to kill. Although he was a cunning warrior, he was outnumbered. The best course of action was to alert the Gungan military. All he had to do was return to the Rep heyblibber and transmit a signal to Otoh Gunga.

Cautiously, Rep Been stepped backward. As he moved, he felt something snag his right ankle, and looked down to see his foot caught in a nooseshaped vine. There was a loud whipping sound, and the vine snapped up into the air, yanking Rep Been off the ground and causing him to release his spear. The other end of the vine was tied to a high branch on a tall tree, and Rep Been found himself dangling helpless and upside down over the forest floor.

Rep Been craned his neck to look at the ground below. The six droids left the repulsorlift cart and ran to Been’s position. One of the droids raised a comlink to the vocabulator set above its chin and said, “We caught a Gungan, sir.”

Seconds later, a humanoid emerged from the starship and walked down the ramp. He was blueskinned with red eyes, and clad in a red uniform and black leather boots.

“Well, well, well,” said the humanoid as he gazed up at Rep Been. “It appears one of our traps has snared a wandering native.”

“Yousa isa trespassin!” Rep Been snarled as he twisted at the edge of the vine. “Dis property belongs tada Gungans!”

“Not for long,” responded the humanoid. “My name is Captain Swagg, and I aim to give your statues a new home, far away from this wretched world.”

Rep Been couldn’t believe his ears. “Yousa nebber get away wit dis!” he said.

“Just watch me,” Swagg answered.

“Dare’s mure Gungans on dare way hair right now,” Rep Been bluffed. “Yousa best leave while yousa still breathin.”

Swagg smiled. “You’re wrong, my unfortunate friend. Except for you, the Gungans are all watching the Festival of Warriors. But don’t worry your head about me. I’ll be gone in an hour or so, along with the statues, of course.” Swagg turned to the droid with the comlink and said, “This Gungan’s clothes are dry, so I doubt he swam all the way from Otoh Gunga. Go with two other droids and find his vessel. If it fits in our ship, it can replace our lost sub. I’ll remain here and supervise the collection of the remaining statues.”

The droid kept its three photoreceptors on Swagg as it tilted its head toward Rep Been and asked, “What about him?”

“We’ll lock him up in the ship’s hold. If any of his friends come looking for him, we can use him as a hostage. Understood?”

“Yes, Captain,” the droid answered.

“Mesa no liken mackineeks,” snarled Boss Nass, ruler of the underwater city of Otoh Gunga. He stood inside an Otoh Gungan laboratory bubble, where the three deactivated droids were manacled to a metal cantilevered table. Even though the three chrome-plated droids had been switched off, they retained a menacing presence as they lay on the table. Each droid had a barrel chest, skeletal arms and legs, and three photoreceptors set into his head. All nine photoreceptors stared blankly up at the ceiling.

Following the Big Nasty Free-For-All, the three deactivated droids and their sub had been brought to Otoh Gunga. During the journey, Captain Tarpals and Major Fassa had worked together to remove the droids’ auto-destruct mechanisms and concealed weapons. Jar Jar Binks had also joined the group. Boss Nass wanted to make sure he’d stay out of trouble.

The lab bubble was maintained by a Gungan named Lob Dizz, an engineer who specialized in submersible transport engines and guidance systems. Lob Dizz was famous on Naboo for her work on high-speed bongos.

While Tarpals, Fassa, and Jar Jar stood near the lab’s main door, Boss Nass peered over Lob Dizz’s shoulder as she pried open a circuit panel on the back of the third droid’s head. She had already examined two of the droids, but she had not yet commented on her findings.

Boss Nass was growing impatient. He wanted to resolve the situation with the droids so he could return to Lake Umberbool. Boss Nass leaned close to Lob Dizz and asked, “Any idea where dese mackineeks from?”

“No sir,” Lob Dizz answered. As she adjusted a liquid-lensed magnifier over the third droid’s exposed cranium, she added, “Mesa only sure of one ting: dese circuits is no like anyting on Naboo.”

Boss Nass was not surprised by this information. The droids, like their angular sub, did not look like anything that might have been produced by the humans of Naboo. Besides, the Naboo humans were diplomats, not warriors.

“Wesa gotta know why dese mackineeks isa on Naboo,” Boss Nass said. “Can yousa make dem talk?”

“Mesa let yousa know ina minute,” Lob Dizz replied.

Boss Nass frowned. Granted, he was proud that Fassa had captured three droids and won the Big Nasty Free-For-All, but he was more concerned about the fact that the droids were on Naboo in the first place. He wondered how the sub had been transported to Naboo, and why the droids had launched a torpedo at the arena.

The ruler of Otoh Gunga knew that droids seldom acted independently and usually were someone’s property. He guessed the droids’ owner was from another world, and that the owner knew a few things about Gungan traditions. That would explain the timing of the droids’ attack: if their owner was aware of the Festival of Warriors, such a villain would have known that this would be the perfect time to assault twenty thousand Gungans, all gathered as spectators within the arena.

Boss Nass also knew that droids, like subs, were expensive. So it was likely that the Gungans’ mysterious enemy was wealthy. A wealthy alien who knew about Gungan traditions, and who wanted to destroy the Gungans. Boss Nass believed he was on to something. But since the Gungans rarely dealt with outsiders, he didn’t have any idea of who might own the droids.

“Dis mackineek isa no use,” Lob Dizz said as she leaned back from the third droid’s head. “Its circuits isa complete-ly frazzed.” Lob Dizz nodded her head at the other motionless droids, and added, “Da otter two, dey showdabe able to spake, un dey no able to shut demselves off. Unfortunately, mesa not know how to make dem tell dare secrets. Dare memory circuits isa pitty fancy stuff.”

“Den wesa gotta figure outta way to make dem fess up,” Boss Nass said with determination. He wasn’t sure how to make a droid confess the truth. He didn’t think droids could be threatened, bribed, or frightened. He wondered how they might react if they knew they faced a horrible fate. “If mesa was a mackineek, what wouldabe mesa worst nightmare?” Boss Nass pondered aloud. As he looked at the droid with the ruined circuitry, he was struck by an idea. He turned to Lob Dizz and asked, “Yousa know howta wire comm talkie-speakers?”

“Sur, dat’s izzy job,” Lob Dizz replied. Indeed, she’d had a lot of experience with installing communication equipment and speaker systems into bongos and heyblibbers.

Boss Nass patted the ruined droid’s head and said, “Mabee dis mackineek cowdabe of some use after all. Boot wesa gonna need sumbotty whosa good at sounden dramatic.”

“Dramatic?” Lob Dizz echoed. “Like actin?”

“Dat’s right,” Boss Nass answered. “Sumbotty dat can sound disobediant, un also no too smarty.”

There was a very brief silence, then Boss Nass, Lob Dizz, Captain Tarpals, and Major Fassa all looked at Jar Jar Binks.

“Hey!” Jar Jar said with alarm in his voice. “Why’s everybody looken at mesa?”

Thirty minutes later, the two droids were reactivated.

As soon as the two chrome-plated droids were reactivated, they realized that they were manacled to a metal table. The table had been tilted so the droids had a wide view of their surroundings, which appeared to be some kind of windowless laboratory within a globular structure. There was a single oval door set into the curved wall, and the door hissed open to reveal a stout Gungan who wore heavy robes.

“Listen up, mackineeks!” the Gungan roared at the two manacled droids. “Mesa Boss Nass, da ruler of Otoh Gunga. Allow mesa to make meself berry, berry clear. Wesa got yousa sub, un wesa got yousa. Yousa bein trapp-ed”

One of the droids had a deep dent in its forehead, the result of its battle with Major Fassa. Both droids glanced at each other, then turned their heads and fixed their photoreceptors on Boss Nass. The droid with the dented forehead said, “You won’t learn anything from us. We are loyal to our master.”

“Isa dat so?” Boss Nass snorted. “Dat’s what da otter mackineek said too. No da one who set da mine, boot da one dat was wit yousa on da sub.”

The two droids exchanged another glance. Both droids knew that one of their fellow droids had been destroyed after it had set a mine near the first checkpoint of the Big Nasty Free-For-All. But they did not know what had happened to the other droid from their submarine.

“As my spake,” Boss Nass continued, “yousa friend isa inda hands of top Gungan engineer.”

“If your engineer attempts to retrieve information from us, we will shut down,” responded the droid with the dented forehead.

Boss Nass shook his head. “Yousa no can shut down by yousaselves. Mesa engineer say so. Yousa two gonna be wide awake longo time.” He shrugged his broad shoulders, then added, “Besides, mesa no interest-ed in hearen yousa information. Gungans no liken mackineeks, especially mackineeks dat set mines un fire torpedos. Wesa no have any use for yousa as is. So mesa tell our best engineer to make all-n yousa useful.”

“We will not obey your orders,” the droid said in defiance.

“Who say anyting about obeyen orders?” Boss Nass replied. “Yousa no gotta follow orders tabe useful. Mabee yousa understand better if mesa show yousa.” Boss Nass clapped his hands twice, signalling Lob Dizz to enter the lab. Lob Dizz stepped through the oval door, pushing a hovercart over the floor until she came to a stop in front of the two manacled droids. The hovercart supported a large, oddly-shaped object that was concealed by a white sheet. Boss Nass stepped over to the hovercart, reached for the sheet, and yanked it off the object.

The manacled droids’ photoreceptors went wide with surprise at the sight of the unveiled contraption. It appeared to have been hastily assembled from spare parts, all of which were chrome-plated. It looked something like a squat, armless throne, with a round seat and an elevated back that supported a box-shaped tank. On top of the tank rested the third captive droid’s bolted head.

The droid with the dented forehead looked at Boss Nass and said, “That is our comrade’s head. What have you done to his body?”

Boss Nass smiled and replied, “Wesa converted him into un garbage disposal.”

Boss Nass reached into one of his pockets, pulled out a triangular disposable handkerchief, held it up to his face and blew his nose with a loud honk. Then he balled up the handkerchief, tossed it into the disposal, and pushed a button on the side of the tank. From the inside of the disposal, there came a grinding sound.

“Now dat’s what mesa call useful!” Boss Nass commented as he turned to Lob Dizz. “Excellent job, Dizz. Yousa da best. Boot tell me, how comen yousa put da mackineek’s head on toppa da tank?"

Lob Dizz beamed with pride. “Isa special function, Boss. Dis disposal can spake! Mesa replace-ed da mackineeks vocabulator so now it spakes Gungan.”

From the top of the disposal’s container, the affixed droid’s head spoke in a digitized voice: “Yousa nebber make mesa tell yousa why mesa on Naboo!”

Boss Nass laughed. “A talken garbage disposal? Dat’s pitty funny, Dizz. Mabee after yousa turn da otter two inta disposals, wesa line all three of dem up inda same room so dey can talk to each otter.”

“Goen ahead, turn mesa fellow mackineeks inta disposals too,” taunted the disposal droid. “Dey isa plenty tough, just liken mesa. No believe mesa? Turn ussens inta bathtubs! Turn ussens inta spi-toons! Turn ussens inta toilets! Wesa no scareed.”

The two manacled droids were unaware that their comrade was already ruined beyond repair when they arrived at Otoh Gunga. They also didn’t know that Lob Dizz had removed the ruined droid’s vocabulator and installed a small comlink. They had no idea that the voice that came from the disposal droid’s head belonged to Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar was with Major Fassa and Captain Tarpals in the hall just outside the laboratory, and Jar Jar smiled after he’d delivered his lines.

Boss Nass hoped the two manacled droids were concerned about their own immediate future, which was the entire purpose of his ruse with the third droid’s head. Boss Nass had a hunch that the two droids would rather tell him about their mission to Naboo than be converted into disposals. The manacled droids turned their heads to face each other. One of them whispered, and the other nodded.

The two droids turned their photoreceptors to Boss Nass, and the droid with the dented forehead said, “In exchange for our cooperation and information, will you guarantee that we will not be altered?”

Before Boss Nass could answer, Jar Jar — by way of the disposal droid’s head — exclaimed, “What’s dis? Yousa two isa cupple-a traitors!”

“Silence!” Boss Nass said to the disposal droid’s head. He studied the manacled droids, and asked, “What’s wrongo? Yous no like da idea of bein a disposal?”

“We’re not afraid of being turned into appliances,” responded the droid with the dented head. “Just keep your hands off our vocabulators. We don’t want to wind up talking like you.”

Boss Nass stroked his broad chin as he contemplated a deal. “What sorta information you got?”

“Our master is named Captain Swagg,” answered the droid. “His crew includes fourteen droids. Swagg sent four of us in a sub to Lake Umberbool as decoys to distract you. Obviously, we have failed. Ten droids remain with Swagg.”

Boss Nass grimaced and asked, “Why dis Swagg usen yousa to make distraction? Why hisen on Naboo?”

“He plans to loot the statues from your sacred place.”

Boss Nass’ eyes bulged in their sockets. “WHAT?!” he bellowed. “Pirates from beyond da sea taken our sacred artifacts? Call da militia! Da Grand Army gotta go tooda sacred place at once!”

“Moto of da militia is at Lake Umberbool,” Lob Dizz reminded Boss Nass. “Wesa can senda message tooda militia, boot wesa get tooda sacred place faster dan anyone else. Be dare in less dan half un hour.”

Boss Nass gestured at the two manacled droids and asked, “What about dese mackineeks?”

“Daza secure-ed, so mesa just switch dem off,” Lob Dizz replied. She held up a palm-sized remote control device, aimed it at the droid with the dented head, and pushed a red button. The moment the button clicked, the droid deactivated and his photoreceptors went dim. She repeated the process with the second droid, who slumped back against the metal table. “Mesa goen wit yousa, Boss,” Lob Dizz added. “If wesa run inta mure mackineeks, mabee mesa could hep switchen dem off.”

Boss Nass and Lob Dizz exited the lab and found Captain Tarpals, Major Fassa, and Jar Jar Binks. “Get moven, yousa three!” Boss Nass said. “Wesa taken da Rep heyblibber tooda sacred place. Wesa senda message to Lake Umberbool onda way, un wesa summon da troops.”

The five Gungans ran through a transport tube to the nearby sub pen. Inside the pen, they found Commander Wollod, who was tuning the engine of Boss Nass’s heyblibber. Commander Wollod snapped to attention at the sight of Boss Nass, who demanded, “Where’s da Rep heyblibber?”

“Rep Been took it tooda sacred place,” Commander Wollod answered.

Boss Nass scowled. “Rep Been cowdabe in maxibig danger. Wesa take annutter sub. Wesa gotta speed tooda sacred place un stop da pirates immidyit-ly.”

“Pirates?” Commander Wollod inquired with surprise.

“Wesa tell yousa onda way,” Boss Nass said. “Now let’s get goen!”

At this point, you must decide whether to continue reading this adventure, or to play your own adventure in the Pirates From Beyond the Sea Game Book.

To play your own adventure, turn to the first page of the Game Book and follow the directions you find there. To continue reading this Gungan adventure, turn the page!

“Mesa wundrin sumptin,” Jar Jar muttered as Commander Wollod steered Boss Nass’s private heyblibber out of the Gungan sub pen. Jar Jar was seated in the luxury submersible's aft cabin with Captain Tarpals, Major Fassa, and Lob Dizz. Boss Nass and Commander Wollod were in the forward cabin, seated behind the heyblibber’s controls.

Captain Tarpals ignored Jar Jar’s comment. Given Jar Jar’s tendency for trouble, Tarpals couldn’t believe Boss Nass allowed Jar Jar onto the heyblibber. Tarpals could easily imagine Jar Jar causing some sort of accident that would disable the ship. Or worse. Actually, Tarpals could hardly believe that Boss Nass had decided to use his prized heyblibber at all, since Boss Nass seemed to spend more time having it polished and tuned than piloting it through the sea. In any event, Tarpals knew better than to engage in any conversation that might encourage Jar Jar’s antics.

Fassa turned to Jar Jar and asked, “What yousa wundrin?”

Tarpals closed his eyes. He fought the urge to squirm in his seat and tried to ignore Fassa’s words too. Every time she spoke to Jar Jar, Tarpals became very uncomfortable. He couldn’t understand how Fassa could have ever pledged a life debt to Jar Jar, even if Jar Jar had risked his own life to save her from a sando aqua monster. Tarpals knew that Jar Jar was more lucky than he was brave. Unlike Jar Jar, Fassa was strong, graceful, intelligent, beautiful...

Beautiful?! The moment the word entered Captain Tarpals’s mind, his eyes popped open and his purplish-brown face flushed red. Fassa was not only a major in the Grand Army, but the niece of Boss Nass, and Tarpals hadn’t allowed himself to think of her as anything but a fellow soldier. At least, he had tried to think of her only as a fellow soldier. Since Fassa was a major, she outranked him, so any thoughts of romance were...

Romance?! Tarpals’s face flushed a deeper shade of crimson. Hoping no one would notice his complexion, he tried to look casual as he turned his head and peered through an oval viewport to the water outside the sub.

Jar Jar turned to Fassa and answered, “Mesa wundrin about what da droids spake of dis Captain Swagg fella. How would da pirates know about da sacred place? Isa well guarded secret, tis.”

“Dat's a berry good wundrin, Jar Jar,” Lob Dizz said. “Mesa wundring da same ting. My suspect dat da pirates gotta sophisticated sensors on dare ship. Usen da sensors, dey mighta scanned for architectural formations. Dare’s only una way we ganna find out for certain.”

“How’s dat?” Jar Jar inquired.

“Dat’s simple,” Lob Dizz said. “Wesa ganna have to seize da pirate ship un inspict it wit our own eyes.”

“Dat no sound simple to mesa,” Jar Jar protested.

Without warning, the heyblibber veered hard to port. Major Fassa leaned over so she could look out the oval viewport next to Captain Tarpals’s seat. “Is wesa headen into da Paonga Strait?” Fassa asked.

“Dat’s what it lookie like,” Tarpals answered. With Fassa so close to him, he couldn’t help but notice that she smelled like fresh seaweed. He tried to clear his mind and concentrate on the mission. He turned to Fassa and said, “Da Paonga Strait tunnel is da moto speedest way tooda swamp. Boss Nass must tink isa good shortcut tooda sacred place.”

“Boot dare’s monstairs in da Paonga Strait!” Jar Jar exclaimed. “If my was da Boss, my go round da Ostrad Peninsula tooda swamp. Dat route is moto safe, tis.”

“Yousa ’fraid,” Tarpals muttered as the heyblibber entered the underwater tunnel. It was the first thing he’d said to Jar Jar since the heyblibber had left the sub pen in Otoh Gunga, and the words stung Jar Jar like a slap in the face. Any Gungan took offense at being called afraid, let alone being called a ’fraidee-frog.

Fassa glared at Tarpals and asked, “Are yousa afraid of anyting, Captain Tarpals?”

Staring into Fassa’s eyes, Tarpals felt his throat go dry but he managed to keep his voice even as he replied, “Right now, nutten scares mesa mure dan bean inda same sub wit Jar Jar Binks.”

Before Jar Jar or Fassa could respond, Commander Wollod called out from the control cockpit, “Better buckellup back dare! Wesa got trouble comen.”

“No be silly,” Boss Nass said. “Isa just un opee sea killer.”

“Opee sea killer?!” Jar Jar exclaimed. He looked out the oval viewport and found himself staring right into the large yellow eye of the giant creature.

Boss Nass pushed the throttle, and the heyblibber rapidly accelerated, leaving the opee far behind. “Mesa always race dat opee when mesa taken da tunnel route,” Boss Nass claimed. “Mesa always win too.”

Seconds later, the heyblibber exited the tunnel and Boss Nass steered it up to the shore of an immense swamp. The vessel broke through the surface and Boss Nass brought it alongside a marshy bank of high grass. Commander Wollod dropped the anchor, then followed the other Gungans out of the sub and into the swamp.

Jar Jar was the first to spot the Rep heyblibber, moored a short distance from Boss Nass’s vessel. “Lookie dare!” Jar Jar said in a hushed tone. The Rep heyblibber rocked slightly in the water, even though the water itself was quite still.

Boss Nass turned to Captain Tarpals and said, “Tink Rep Been cowdabe on board?”

Tarpals shook his head and answered, “Moto doubtful. If Rep Been was on board, he woulda signalled uss-ens.”

“Den mabee dare-sa pirates on board,” Boss Nass said. “Wesa better chekkit out. Jar Jar, yousa gonna be da scout.”

“Mesa?” Jar Jar gasped.

“Yes. Yousa da most expendable. Dis is yousa chance to be brave. Now go.”

Jar Jar didn’t see that there was any way he could say no. Fassa tried to take his place, but Boss Nass wouldn’t allow it.

After Jar Jar left, the rest of them watched him scrambling through the high grass toward the moored heyblibber. Jar Jar’s only weapon was a long spear called a cesta.

“Wesa gotta stop him!” Fassa said. “If daresa pirates on board, Jar Jar could get maxibusted!” Boss Nass grabbed Fassa’s arm and held her back. “Yousa no go runnen inta trouble too, Fassa,” he said. “If Jar Jar is so determine-ed to prove hisself as a warrior, wesa ganna let him do it his way.”

“Hisen made it onto da sub,” Lob Dizz observed.

While everyone else watched Jar Jar’s progress, Fassa fixed her gaze on Boss Nass and said, “Mesa know what yousa tinken, Uncle. Yousa hopen Jar Jar is ganna get pasted.”

“Now, rilly, Fassa,” Boss Nass replied. “Whatever gives you dat idea?”

Jar Jar tried to push the fear from his mind as he edged his way over to one of the heyblibber’s viewports and peered inside. He looked for movement within the vessel, but saw nothing.

He went carefully to the main hatch and opened the door to the passenger cabin. The lights were off, and he let his eyes adjust to the darkness. As he passed through the hatch, he was thinking that maybe it had just been a small wave that had caused the heyblibber to rock in the water. But a second later something reached out from the shadows and clamped down around his neck!

Gasping, Jar Jar dropped his cesta. He was gripped by a chrome-plated droid that had been hiding behind the cabin door. As the droid held him tight against its chest, Jar Jar’s right hand brushed against an exposed cable on its hip. Jar Jar wrapped his fingers around the cable and tugged as hard as he could.

Incredibly, the droid lost its balance, opened its arms, and released Jar Jar. The droid stumbled and fell backward onto a communications console. There was a great burst of bright blue light as the droid smashed into the console, causing a powerful electrical surge. The droid’s body twitched, then slumped to the deck in a heap.

Jar Jar was picking up his cesta when two more droids leaped into the passenger cabin from the aft hold. Both droids wielded blaster pistols. Startied, Jar Jar leaped for the main hatch, hoping to escape into the swamp, but he tripped over the fallen droid and his cesta struck the opening mechanism of a stowage hatch. The stowage hatch door flew open just as the two droids fired at Jar Jar.

Jar Jar shouted as he fell against the deck, believing he must have been shot. He heard a loud crash, and looked over to see both blaster-wielding droids sprawled on the deck. The droids were motionless, but smoke rose from their chests. Jar Jar wasn’t certain of what had just happened, but it appeared as though the droids had shot each other at point-blank range.

Then he saw the stowage hatch door, and noticed two deep dents in its surface. Jar Jar was not a natural detective, but he quickly guessed that the droids’ bolts had struck the stowage hatch and ricocheted back, striking them in their chests. Jar Jar could hardly believe his good luck.

Suddenly, Major Fassa came leaping through the main hatch and landed on the deck. “Jar Jar!” she said. “Wesa heard da blasten, un I thought—” Fassa stopped talking when her eyes fell on the three droids that lay like so much litter in the heyblibber’s cabin. She looked up at Jar Jar and asked, “Yousa do dis?”

Jar Jar grinned nervously and answered, “Uh... yeah.”

Captain Tarpals entered the cabin after Fassa. When he saw the droids on the deck, he rolled his eyes. Since Jar Jar wasn’t skilled in the art of warfare, Tarpals knew immediately that Jar Jar had probably been saved by his only defense: his notorious clumsiness. Without a word, the three Gungans quickly inspected each cabin on the heyblibber. When they didn’t find any sign of Rep Been, they exited the vessel and stepped onto the swampy shore, where Lob Dizz and Boss Nass waited.

“Jar Jar pasted three mackineeks in dare,” Fassa reported.

Before Boss Nass could respond, Captain Tarpals added, “Rep Been no onda sub. Mabee hisen hiden, or mabee hisen prisoner of da pirates.”

Boss Nass did not seem impressed with Jar Jar. Instead, he pointed to some tracks on the ground and said, “Da mackineeks walked hair. Probably left dare ship near da sacred place. From da depth of dese tracks, metinks da mackineeks like da ones back in Lob Dizz’s lab: no so heavy or bombad.”

Jar Jar looked at the ground, but wasn’t really paying attention or studying the tracks. He had just survived a skirmish with three droids, but Boss Nass didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

“Wesa should split up, un approach da sacred place from different directions,” Tarpals suggested. “We gotta better chance of finden Rep Been dat way.”

“Agreed,” Boss Nass nodded. “Wesa meetin at da sacred place in twenty minutes. Just one mure ting before wesa go.” Boss Nass stepped close to Jar Jar, and said, “Yousa lucky fellow, Binks. Luckiest fellow mesa know. Mabee even mure brave dan mesa thought, boot mesa thought yousa no brave at all.”

“Tanks, Boss,” Jar Jar brightened. He was pretty sure that Boss Nass had just paid him a compliment.

“Boot just remimber sumptin,” Boss Nass added. He leaned so close to Jar Jar that their noses touched, then said, “Yousa still on probation.”

After the six Gungans split up, Jar Jar headed for a nearby stream that would bring him to the sacred place. Boss Nass had ordered Jar Jar to take this particular route because it was the most direct. Jar Jar was still nervous about the possiblity of running into more droids, but he knew it would have been a bad idea to volunteer to guard the heyblibbers. He didn’t want Fassa to think he was a coward.

Jar Jar dove into the stream and began swimming long, broad strokes. A large-mouthed eel spotted Jar Jar and tried to coil around one of his legs, but he kicked it off and kept swimming. Several minutes later, he reached the edge of the forest and swam to the stream’s bank.

The sun was shining, and Jar Jar was soaking wet. Before entering the dark forest, he stood with his arms out at his sides, letting the sun and warm air dry his clothes and skin. He was momentarily distracted by the beauty of his surroundings. If it weren’t for the fact that Naboo had been invaded by pirates, Jar Jar would have been happy to lie down on the marshy bank and take a nap. But he reminded himself that Rep Been’s life was in danger, and proceeded into the forest.

The trees rose up like organic pillars that supported a great canopy of thick green leaves. Sunlight shafted down between the leaves and upper branches, and cast golden beams across the forest floor. Jar Jar imagined there was a droid invader behind every tree, and he had to bite down hard to keep his teeth from chattering.

The forest became increasingly dense, and Jar Jar did his best to maintain silence as he stepped through a cluster of young trees. He reached a clearing, and saw a lone, heavy-footed jaboon standing in the shade of a tall tree while it chewed on the broad leaves of a tentacle fern. The fern’s leaves stretched out over the forest floor, spreading out in ail directions from the plant’s roots. The keen-eared jaboon heard Jar Jar’s approach and raised its head.

Keeping his eyes on the jaboon, Jar Jar stepped over one of the tentacle fern’s leaves. Suddenly, the forest floor gave out from underneath his feet, and he plunged into a deep pit.

Before Gungans learned the art of gasser cooking, they often baked food in pits that they covered with heavy leaves and dirt. Depending on how much food was prepared, some baking pits were quite deep. After the food was cooked, most pits were filled with soil to prevent anyone from accidentally falling into the hole. Jar Jar had fallen into an old, unfilled pit that had been obscured by the overgrown tentacle fern.

He looked up and tried to determine whether he could jump out of the pit. It was a high jump, but he decided to try it. He bent his knees, then sprang up into the air. His head hit something hard, and he fell back into the pit.

Slightly dazed, Jar Jar looked up to see the jaboon peering over the edge of the pit. It also looked slightly stunned — Jar Jar realized his head had smacked against one of the jaboon’s tusks.

Looking at the tusk, Jar Jar had an idea. He motioned with his hands for the jaboon to lower its head into the pit and coaxed, “Nice jaboon! Lookie down hair. No, down hair, jaboon. Dat’s right, lower yousa head.”

Despite having been accidentally struck by Jar Jar, the jaboon complied and lowered its head down into the pit. Jar Jar seized its left tusk, and the creature raised its head, lifting him up to the surface. Jar Jar released the tusk and patted the side of the jaboon’s belly. “Tanks, pal,” Jar Jar said. Then he continued through the forest.

Jar Jar scrambled up a hill and arrived upon a stratified shelf of rocks on top of a steep cliff that loomed over a shimmering pond. He wasn’t sure where he was, and he was afraid he’d taken a wrong turn somewhere. A mammoth tree rose from the edge of the precipice, and some of the tree’s roots trailed down the cliffs face. Jar Jar looked for a way down, but he saw only one narrow ledge below his position.

The pond’s still surface was broken by two big dorsal spines. Jar Jar recognized the spines, and realized the pond must have become the temporary home to a pair of migrating fanbacks. The long-toothed amphibious carnivores raised their green heads from the water and gazed at the Gungan, then opened their wide jaws.

They were hungry.

Suddenly, Jar Jar heard a grunting sound behind him, and he turned to find he had been followed by the jaboon. As Jar Jar turned, the loose rocks slid out from underneath his feet and he accidentally tumbled from the cliff.

Hoping to stop his fall, Jar Jar desperately reached for one of the tree’s roots. The dried root snapped off in his hands, and he fell past the ledge and plunged into the pond.

“No!” he screamed.

The male fanback did not hesitate. It plowed through the water with its teeth bared. Jar Jar yelped and swam for the base of the cliff. As he pulled himself onto the ledge, one of his feet whacked the attacking fanback hard in the nose. The beast jerked away, retreating to his mate.

Jar Jar rolled his body onto the ledge and tried to catch his breath. As soon as he had recovered, he noticed a cave set into the face of the cliff. Jar Jar became very excited. As a child, he had heard Rep Been tell the young Gungans that there were numerous secret passages to the sacred place. If the cave was such a secret passage, it might allow him to reach the sacred place faster than if he were to travel through the dense forest.

He entered the cave and moved forward. Phosphorescent plants illuminated the cave with a dim light, allowing him to maneuver around stalagmites that had formed on the cavern floor. Much to his surprise, he saw what appeared to be primitive paintings on the cave walls. The paintings depicted a group of Gungan warriors in battle against a long forgotten alien enemy. Jar Jar wondered if Rep Been was aware of the cave paintings, and if he knew the story behind the illustrated battle.

Jar Jar moved on through the cave, eager to find the exit and rendezvous with his allies at the sacred place. As he walked around a stalagmite, he found a pile of bones. Since some of the bones on top of the pile still had meat on them, Jar Jar was left with an unsettling conclusion.

He was not alone in the cave.

A low growl rumbled in the darkness. Just beyond the pile of nuna bones was the shadowy form of a large animal against the cavern wall. It stepped forward, revealing itself in the dim light of the phosphorescent plants.

It was a veermok. The carnivorous primate snarled, displaying its sharp teeth. Jar Jar realized he had intruded upon the veermok’s lair. The creature hunched its hairy shoulders as it prepared to attack.

Jar Jar recalled legends of Gungans who were able to defeat veermoks by singing lullabies to the beasts, but he didn’t know if the legends were true. It didn’t really matter. Jar Jar was too scared to even think of a song, much less sing one.

He raised his cesta and leveled it at the veermok. The beast swung one of its massive arms and swatted the cesta out of Jar Jar’s hands. Jar Jar bolted, running back to the mouth of the cave. He heard the veermok’s feet and hands padding on the cave floor as the creature raced after him.

Jar Jar ran out of the cave and slipped to the side. A split second later, the veermok came roaring out of the cave and sailed over the ledge, landing in the water with a loud splash. Suddenly, the fanbacks surfaced and moved toward the veermok, who struggled to stay afloat in the pond. The veermok reached up and grabbed a limb that dangled over the pond, then pulled itself up out of the water. The fanbacks tried to bite the veermok’s legs, and the veermok tried to kick the fanbacks. Although Jar Jar was naturally curious about which creature would be the victor in the confrontation, he didn’t wait to find out. He ran back into the cave.

Jar Jar passed the pile of nuna bones and moved deeper into the cavern. It was dark, so he walked carefully, dragging his fingers along the walls to maintain his balance. His right foot struck an object, and Jar Jar nearly tripped. Reaching down, he picked up an ancient spear. It was a long, heavy weapon, meant for close-quarters fighting. Since Jar Jar had already retrieved his own cesta, he left the old weapon and moved on.

He edged down a slope, but his path was soon interrupted by an underground chasm. Jar Jar couldn’t see the bottom of the chasm and he didn’t know how deep it went, but the gap at the top was only three meters wide. Under normal circumstances, three meters would have been an easy jump for a Gungan with a good running start, but Jar Jar realized the slope behind him didn’t allow for an easy run. If he attempted to jump over the chasm, he’d have to do it from a standing position, which would make getting across difficult.

Then Jar Jar remembered the ancient spear he’d left behind. Although the sloping approach to the chasm discouraged running to make a jump, Jar Jar thought it might serve him well if he used the long spear to vault over the chasm.

Jar Jar threw his own cesta to the other side of the chasm, then went back up the slope to pick up the heavy old spear. “Hair goes nutten,” he muttered as he turned and ran back down the slope. When he neared the chasm, he tightened his grip on the spear, drove the spear’s tip into the ground, and jumped. He didn’t look down, and kept his eyes trained forward.

The Gungan flew over the chasm and landed on the other side. As his feet hit the ground, he involuntarily let go of the old spear and it slipped over the ledge and down into the dark abyss.

“Whew!” Jar Jar said with relief.

He picked up his own cesta and proceeded along the underground trail. Finally, he arrived at an airshaft that ran up a high, rocky wall. Light was visible at the top of the airshaft, and Jar Jar believed he had found the only way out of the cave. Ancient chains dangled down from a series of pulleys that were secured to the cavern ceiling, and linked to a metal platform on the dirt floor. Jar Jar figured these were the components of an ancient lift system that Gungans would have used to hoist themselves up and down an elevated area.

Jar Jar didn’t know whether the old lift was still operational, but the chains appeared to be strong. Looking up the airshaft, he saw numerous rocks jutting out from the wall. He thought he might be able to climb the wall, but he was counting on the lift to work. He was tired enough already, and the lift would save him the effort of climbing.

He stepped onto the lift platform and tugged at one of the chains. With barely any effort, he succeeded in tearing the ceiling-mounted pulleys right out of the ceiling. The chains and pulleys crashed down around Jar Jar, who threw his arms up over his head and ducked. Miraculously, he was unharmed by the debris. He looked up again at the wall and said, “Aw, mesa needed da exercise anyway.”

Slinging his cesta on his back, Jar Jar scaled the wall until he reached the cavern ceiling, then poked his head up through the hole. Pulling himself through the opening, he was glad to be outside and standing on grass again.

The hole was surrounded by a cluster of boulders. Jar Jar carefully crawled through a gap between two leaning stones. Incredibly, the cavernous route had brought him to the side of a high hill just behind the ancient temple. From this postion, Jar Jar was able to get his bearings. He realized he was close to the statue that the Gungans called Dobbis. Although a wide-trunked tree blocked his view of the statue, he knew the statue rested on a broad stone shelf alongside a rapid stream, overlooking a waterfall that plunged down to the river below. He had spent several afternoons sleeping next to that statue. Beyond the statue, a path led directly to the temple’s east entrance.

Jar Jar walked around the wide-trunked tree and nearly stumbled into a tall stone obelisk which showed some signs of decay.

Then he spotted two chrome-plated droids. They were at the bottom of the hill, loading the statue of Dobbis onto a heavy industrial repulsorlift cart. The automated fiends heard Jar Jar’s approach and turned their photoreceptors to look up at him. Both droids stepped away from the cart and reached for their holstered blasters.

The droids fired, and Jar Jar dove behind the obelisk. He’d only meant to hide behind the tall stone, but he accidentally threw most of his weight against it as he pressed close to its protective surface. Just as the two droids ran up the hill, the obelisk began to tilt forward. Jar Jar fell back from the decayed obelisk as it uprooted and toppled to the ground.

Jar Jar watched with amazement as the obelisk smashed down onto the two droids, virtually nailing them into the ground. The incredible impact caused one of the droids to explode. Its right arm blasted out of its shoulder socket and hurtled through the air, smashing against the directional controls of the industrial repulsorlift cart. Suddenly, the cart lurched forward, and carried the statue of Dobbis over the rocky shelf. The cart was headed straight for the waterfall!

Jar Jar ran and jumped for the cart. He caught hold of the side and hauled himself onto the gliding repulsorlift, then slapped a red button on the cart’s controls. The cart came to a stop mere millimeters from the edge of the high rocky shelf.

Jar Jar inspected the statue of Dobbis. Except for the natural signs of the stone’s age — cracks and vine trails — the statue appeared to be undamaged. He carefully switched on the repulsorlift cart’s controls and steered it behind the widetrunked tree. Jar Jar hoped the cart and statue would remain hidden there.

He left the statue, retrieved his cesta, and proceeded to the trail that led to the ruins. Covered in dark vines and thick green moss, the ruins blended in with their lush surroundings. But Jar Jar noticed something was missing. Three gigantic carved effigies had sat in the ruins for generations. Now the only indication of their existence was the deep impressions in the soil where they once stood.

A series of tracks was also embedded in the soil. The tracks appeared to have been left by three droids. Jar Jar assumed that the trio was responsible for stealing the statues.

Jar Jar didn’t own a chronometer, and had no precise idea of how much time had passed since he’d last seen his allies in the swamp. He wondered if they were still on their way to the ruins or if they’d already come and gone. He then wondered if they’d been captured by the invading droids. He tried not to panic. He briefly contemplated waiting for his allies, but he worried that if he didn’t pursue the thieving droids, they might escape with the three large statues. Despite his better judgment, he decided to pursue the droids.

He followed the tracks around the ruins and into a clearing, where they ended at a pile of fallen leaves. Hoping to pick up the trail beyond the clearing, Jar Jar stepped over the leaves.

A mere three steps later, his right foot plummeted down through the leaves and he felt something clamp tight at his ankle. Jar Jar had stepped into a snare! He was yanked off his feet as a hidden vine whipped back from a flexible tree and lifted him up high above the forest floor. His cesta slipped from his grasp and he watched it fall away. He realized too late that the tracks had probably been carefully placed to lure unsuspecting Gungans into this trap.

Dangling upside down over the fallen leaves, he heard the sound of running footsteps: clank-clank-clank.

The droids were coming.

“Hep!” Jar Jar shouted. “Sumbotty hep me!”

Captain Tarpals had just arrived at the ruins when he heard Jar Jar’s cry for help. None of the other Gungans had yet arrived at the rendevous point, so Tarpals was all too aware that he was on his own as he raced toward Jar Jar’s shouts.

Tarpals ran through a thicket of trees until he neared a clearing. He saw Jar Jar suspended in the air, dangling upside down with one foot snared by a long vine. Jar Jar hadn’t spotted Tarpals, and he yelled again: “Hep!” Tarpals was about to step into the clearing when Jar Jar added, “Mackineeks comen!”

Tarpals ducked behind a tree for cover. Sure enough, a chrome-plated droid had entered the clearing. The droid looked up at Jar Jar, raised a blaster, and said, “Silence, or I fire.”

Tarpals was about to reach for his cesta when he heard footsteps. Two more droids pushed their way through some brambles and approached the clearing. Not surprisingly, Jar Jar had stopped shouting.

Keeping low, Tarpals moved around the tree’s trunk so he could stay out of the droids’ visual range. From the other side of the tree, he saw a nearby pool of quicksand and wondered if he could lure the droids there. Unexpectedly, his left foot touched down on something that made a clicking sound.

Tarpals had stepped on a landmine. He realized the droids must have planted the mine earlier, when they’d set the snare trap. If he lifted his foot off the disk-shaped mine, it would explode. Still, Tarpals considered himself lucky. If the droids had planted a mine with a motion sensor, he would have been pasted.

Gungans believed that only cowards used mines, and such weapons were not within the arsenals of Otoh Gunga. Fortunately, Tarpals had been trained to disarm mines and other explosives. He hunkered down low to the ground and carefully ran his fingers along the edge of the mine, feeling for some kind of switch. He found one, took a deep breath, and pushed it slightly forward.

Tarpals exhaled. The mine was deactived. He lifted his foot off the mine and picked up the disarmed weapon. Just then, the droid in the clearing saw Tarpals behind the tree and exclaimed, “You there! Surrender immediately!”

Still hanging upside down, Jar Jar craned his neck to follow the droid’s gaze and said, “Tarpals? Is dat yousa?”

Tarpals had no intention of surrendering to the three droids. The one in the clearing was his immediate concern. Tarpals brought his arm back, then flung the landmine at the droid’s head.

The disk-shaped mine cleaved through the droid’s neck, severing its head from its shoulders. Both the droid and the mine fell to the ground. Tarpals dove into the clearing and grabbed the fallen droid’s blaster. He fired a blast in the direction of the two approaching droids, then ran out of the clearing.

“Hey!” Jar Jar yelled from above. “Hey, Tarpals, where yousa goen?!”

The two other droids ran after Tarpals. They were running so fast, they didn’t notice him leap over the quicksand — they followed his path without attempting to leap. Both droids plunged down into the quicksand, vanishing below the surface.

As Tarpals reentered the clearing, Jar Jar looked down and said, “Nice goen, Tarpals! Yousa sur showed dem. Now howsa bout yousa given a pal a hand and letten me down?”

Tarpals shook his head and said, “Metinks yousa no get inta any mure trouble if yousa stayen where you is.”

“Boot Tarpals!” Jar Jar pleaded as he swayed from the vine.

“Keep yousa voice down,” Tarpals suggested. “Yousa no wanten to attract any mure droids, do yous?”

Jar Jar closed his mouth and watched Tarpals run away. He couldn’t blame Tarpals for leaving him strung up in the air. The truth was. Jar Jar knew he was clumsy and often goofed things up. As Jar Jar felt the blood rush to his head, he hoped that Tarpals would come back.

Soon.

Captain Tarpals ran to the ruins. There was still no sign of his allies, and he wondered if they, like Jar Jar, had fallen victim to traps laid by the droids.

He climbed up an old set of worn stone steps and scanned the surrounding area from his elevated position. His gaze traveled the length of the swamp. Something was missing from the view. The statue known as Big Maxiboss Gurunda had been taken from the site! As he edged around a tall stone column for a better view, he suddenly spied the pirates’ starship.

The starship was an angular vessel, covered with green camouflage netting. Two large flatbed repulsorlift transports were parked next to it, and each transport supported several large statues. Two droids and a blue-skinned humanoid were visible — Tarpals guessed that the humanoid was Captain Swagg. Swagg appeared to be directing the two droids, waving them on to hurry loading the transports onto the ship.

“As soon as those statues are on board, raise the ramp and seal the hatch,” Swagg loudly ordered. “We’re leaving immediately.”

“What about the captured Gungan?” asked one of the droids.

“We’ll take him with us,” replied the pirate captain. “Maybe I can sell him.”

Swagg stepped back into the ship, and the droids angled the statue-laden transports up the ramp. Tarpals didn’t know for certain, but he suspected the captured Gungan was Rep Been. He knew he had to board the ship and stop it from leaving Naboo.

The two droids brought the transports onto the ramp, which began to rise. Tarpals ran down the temple steps and sprinted for the starship, keeping close to the trees and hoping the droids wouldn’t see his approach. Precious seconds later, he reached the ship and jumped onto the loading ramp.

Tarpals rolled down the ramp, smacking into the bottom of a large storage container. Inside the starship’s main hold, he saw that the high-ceilinged chamber was filled with artifacts looted from the sacred place. The two droids were unloading statues from the repulsorlift transports when their photoreceptors locked onto Tarpals. The droids turned away from the statues and reached for their weapons.

The controls of one repulsorlift transport were within Tarpals’s reach. He slapped the transport’s reverse button, and the transport zoomed backward, crushing the droids against the hold’s reinforced wall. Tarpals was glad that the droids had been immobilized, but he was afraid the loud noise of the impact might have alerted Swagg to trouble in the hold.

Tarpals’s concern about the noise ended as soon as he heard the roar of the starship’s repulsorlift engines being activated. He clung to the side of a heavy crate as the ship lifted off. He tried to figure out the way to the ship’s bridge. To stop the pirate ship from leaving Naboo, Tarpals would have to deal with Captain Swagg.

Tarpals made his way through the cluttered main hold, then stepped through an open hatch to the next chamber. There he found Rep Been chained to the wall. He was awake and alert — and startled to see Tarpals inside the starship.

“How yousa get onda ship?” Rep Been shouted over the thundering engines.

“Mesa fill yousa in later!” Tarpals shouted in return. Hoping to release Rep Been from his shackles, Tarpals reached for the heavy lock that was secured to his chains, but Rep Been shook his head.

“Forget about mesa,” he said. “Yousa gotta go un stop da pirate captain!”

Tarpals didn’t want to leave Rep Been, but he knew the Rep was right. There weren’t any viewports in the chamber, but Tarpals had a feeling that the ship was already many kilometers above Naboo’s surface. It wouldn’t be long before it reached space.

Tarpals ran out of the chamber and ducked through an open hexagonal hatch to enter the bridge. The blue-skinned Captain Swagg stood with his back to Tarpals and his hands on the ship’s navigational controls. Swagg’s head whipped around and he gazed at Tarpals through his red eyes. Without removing his hands from the controls, Swagg commented, “I thought I sensed something foul on the bridge.”

Swagg reached for a blaster pistol holstered at his left hip, but he wasn’t fast enough. Tarpals leaped across the bridge, tackling the pirate captain and slamming him hard to the deck. Swagg’s right shoulder dislocated, and he winced at the intense pain while Tarpals yanked Swagg’s blaster from its holster.

Tarpals held the blaster in his left hand and kept it aimed at the stunned pirate as he turned to study the ship’s navigational controls. The Gungan officer was not familiar with the design of the controls, and wondered if he could convince Swagg to turn the ship back to Naboo.

“Mesa no can make guaran-tees,” Tarpals said, “boot da Gungan Rep Council might no pound yousa if yousa agreein to hep return da statues.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” Swagg sneered.

“Have it yousa way, den,” Tarpals said as his right hand grabbed a control stick and gave it an experimental twist. The starship lurched hard to port and Swagg slid across the deck, slamming his head against a ventilation screen.

Tarpals threw a second stick and the starship and began to decelerate. “How ’bout dat?” Tarpals said as he steered the ship back to the planet. “Dis is izzy, tis.”

As the starship zoomed back toward Naboo, the blue-skinned pirate declared, “You’ll never bring Captain Swagg to a court of law!” Suddenly, he made a desperate dash for the bridge’s escape pod hatch. Before Tarpals could stop Swagg, the escape pod blasted away from the starship.

Tarpals consulted the ship’s sensors and saw that Swagg had managed to launch the pod away from Naboo. The pirate was heading into space, and Tarpals hoped it was the last he would ever see of the criminal.

The starship soared down over the Naboo forest, and Tarpals landed near the Gungan sacred place. As he exited the bridge, he found a key hanging on a steel peg next to the hexagonal hatch. He took the key and entered the chamber that contained the manacled Rep Been.

“Wesa back on Naboo?” Rep Been asked.

“Yup,” Tarpals answered as he inspected the heavy lock that anchored the chains that bound Rep Been.

Tarpals inserted the key into the lock, turned it, and heard a satisfying click. Instantly, the chains fell away from Rep Been.

“What happen-ed to da pirate captain?” Rep Been asked as he massaged his wrists.

“Hisen escape-ed ina pod to space,” Tarpals answered.

“Too bad,” Rep Been frowned. “Hisen showdabe pune-ished. Boot da moto important ting is dat wesa got da statues back... tanks to yousa!”

Tarpals was grateful for Rep Been’s praise, and he bowed his head.

“Boot our work is no over yet,” Rep Been added. “Now wesa gotta put all da statues back where dey belong. Mesa hopen yousa back is strong enough for da job.”

Tarpals considered the combined weight of all the statues. “Mabee wesa can get some hep?”

At this point, readers who chose to follow the adventure in the Star Wars Adventures Game Book can return to Pirates From Beyond the Sea.

Captain Tarpals was surprised by the greeting he received when he stepped out of the pirate’s starship with Rep Been. Not only were Boss Nass, Lob Dizz, and Major Fassa present, but also thirty platoons from the Gungan Grand Army. The gathered soldiers cheered as Tarpals and Rep Been descended the landing ramp.

“Yousa done berry well, Captain Tarpals,” Boss Nass said as he clapped Tarpals on the back. “Good ting yousa got hair in time. Yousa make uss-ens all berry proud, bringin back da stolen statues.”

“My afraid dat Captain Swagg escaped into space,” Tarpals admitted.

“Better dat hisen off Naboo dan on it!” Boss Nass professed.

“Ex-squeeze, me. Boss,” Lob Dizz interrupted, “boot is okeyday if mesa look over da pirate ship? Mabee mesa find some useful technology.”

Boss Nass nodded and Lob Dizz happily jumped up to the ramp and entered the pirate vessel. After she’d left, Captain Tarpals turned back to Boss Nass and gestured at the assembled platoons. “Dey got da message in Lake Umberbool?” Tarpals asked.

“Dat’s correct,” Boss Nass said. “Un dey came as speedest as dey could.”

Rep Been surveyed the troops and suggested, “Unloaden da statues from da pirate ship will keep da troops plenty busy.”

Boss Nass agreed, and soon the Gungans were all following Rep Been’s instructions to move the statues back into their proper positions at the sacred place. Tarpals was about to join in when Major Fassa stepped up to him and said, “Mesa getten concern-ed about Master Binks. He never arrive-ed at da sacred place.”

Jar Jar! Tarpals had completely forgotten about him, and he suddenly felt bad, thinking of how he’d left Jar Jar in the forest.

“Isa sumptin wrong, Captain?” Fassa asked.

“No,” Tarpals said as he backed away from Fassa. “Mesa just... remimber mesa gotta go do sumptin.”

Fassa watched Tarpals as he ran away from the Temple and into the woods. She didn’t know what Tarpals had to do, but it was obvious that he was in a big hurry.

Captain Tarpals raced through the forest, feeling more dread with each and every step. He’d never intended to leave Jar Jar for so long, since he’d had no idea that he’d wind up on the pirate ship. He’d only wanted Jar Jar out of the way, but instead he’d left him defenseless for a long period in the forest.

With his heart pounding, Tarpals found Jar Jar Binks exactly where he’d left him, hanging upside down from a vine over the clearing. Jar Jar’s eyes were closed, and his arms hung limply down from his inverted body.

“Jar Jar!” Tarpals called. Jar Jar didn’t answer. Tarpals quickly located the end of the vine trap and cut the vine, then carefully lowered Jar Jar to the ground.

“Jar Jar!” Tarpals repeated as he crouched down next to the motionless figure. “Yousa okeyday?”

Jar Jar’s eyelids opened slowly, and then his lips trembled. “T-Tarpals?” he said in a hoarse whisper. “Is... is dat Captain Tarpals?”

“Yes, Jar Jar!” Tarpals answered. “Dat’s right! My sorrybad for leaven yousa.”

“Did... did yousa stop da pirates?” Jar Jar asked.

“Yup,” Tarpals answered. “Got da statues back too.”

“My... my afraid... my no see so good,” Jar Jar mumbled. “Hangen upside down for such a longo time... my tink mesa musta passed out.”

“No worry, friend,” Tarpals assured. “Yousa ganna be just fine.”

“My no know,” Jar Jar mumbled, sounding like he was about to lose consciousness. “Unnnnh... my tink mesa no ganna make it.”

“No talken like dat, Jar Jar,” Tarpals said.

Jar Jar grabbed Tarpals’s arm and moaned. “Oh, da pain. Mesa tinken mesa ganna die. Listen... my got a last riquest. Promise... promise mesa yousa make me last wish come true.”

Tarpals felt terrible. He had no idea that hanging upside down could cause so much suffering to a Gungan. “Mesa promise, Jar Jar. Yousa got me word. What’s yousa wish?”

“If... if mesa live through da night...” Jar Jar gasped. “...My want... da last ting my wanten to see is...” Before he could finish his sentence, his eyes closed.

Tarpals gripped Jar Jar by the shoulders and shook him hard, trying to revive him. “No go to sleep, Jar Jar!” Tarpals commanded. “Yousa might gotta concuh-shun. Keep talken! What’s it yousa wanten to see?”

Jar Jar’s eyes reopened, and he said, “Tomorrow... at da Festival of Warriors...”

“Yes?” Tarpals asked, urging Jar Jar to continue. “Mesa rilly, rilly wanten to see... da bongo rally.”

Tarpals thought that watching a bongo race was an odd request for a dying Gungan. Then he remembered he wasn’t dealing with any ordinary Gungan. Casting a skeptical gaze at Jar Jar, Tarpals asked, “Anyting else?”

“Well...” Jar Jar replied. “Firstest row seats wowdabe nice.”

“Firstest row, huh?” Tarpals commented. “Mabee wit free munches too?”

Jar Jar licked his lips. “Free munches wowdabe berry berry nice.”

“Nice try, Binks,” Tarpals said as he got up, leaving the very-much-alive Jar Jar lying on the ground.

Jar Jar sat up and watched Captain Tarpals walk out of the clearing. “Just remimber!” Jar Jar called out. “Yousa promised!”

NEXT ADVENTURE:

Race

THE BONGO RALLY

11.6.18.15.14.5-1