"ᴊᴇᴅɪ ʟɪꜰᴇ ɪꜱ ꜱᴏ ɪɴᴛᴇɴꜱᴇ"

NEVEAH STARLING WAS USED TO ONLY FEELING PAIN AND SUFFERING ANYTIME SHE CLOSED HER EYES...

"Mommy!" a little girl screamed, waking up from her dream and shaking with fear.

Her mother immediately came running into her room and sat next to her, worry visible on her face. "What is it? Another nightmare?" she asked her little girl.

"Yeah, a very bad one." she stopped for a second to find the right words to express what she had just dreamed. "All I could feel was loneliness... and regret..."

The young girl didn't exactly know how to describe this dream. She started having them for a while, but she still couldn't understand what they meant. She couldn't see anything but darkness and only felt certain emotions, as if those were the only things left in her life.

"About what? What did you regret, Neve?" her mother insistently asked her daughter, as if she was scared of a certain answer.

"Everything..."

___

The mother and daughter found themselves looking at hundreds of spaceships that were heading toward the palace. "Guess we'll have to take the long way now." Neveah spoke, amazed at the number of machines that were coming for Queen Amidala.

After they both sensed a disturbance in the neutral state of the force, the grown woman noticed the strangest thing, all communications were cut off, which could only mean one thing: invasion. And, only to prove their theory, they waited until a whole lot of spaceships appeared through the sky and landed in the outskirts of the city, not far from where their house was.

"Come on, we have to go." Daphne rushed her daughter, heading towards the central square. "We have to find the Queen before they capture her and leave this planet."

"I don't think we'll make it to the palace before they do." the redhead spoke as she followed her mother, leaving behind the house they called home. "And we definitely won't be able to leave with all these droids everywhere."

Once the two got closer to the place where all the ships were heading, they were able to watch from behind a column two aliens getting out of the vehicle and stopping in front of a droid. "Viceroy, we've captured the Queen." it spoke, making Daphne sign "Great."

"Ahh, victory!" one of the creatures said as they were approaching the building.

At the sound of his words, Neveah tried to hide her disappointment and sighed, "I guess we really are too late..."

"Let's just go and see when an opportunity shows itself." the mother spoke quietly as she gestured to Neveah the way, thinking of a way to rescue the Queen from the trade federation which she's been watching for a while.

As the Starling girls were circling the palace, trying to find Queen Amidala, Neveah suddenly stopped once she felt something new.

The mother noticed her stopping and, when she saw her sudden change of expression, she knew something wasn't right. "What is it?"

"I don't really know." Neve said, hesitantly, "I suddenly feel something new, a different kind of energy around here. But not those creatures..."

"You mean my energy? Like a Jedi's power?"

"Yes, but more powerful. I think two or three Jedi just arrived in Naboo." she stated, making Daphne a little nervous. The woman hadn't used the force in a while, therefore, she wasn't ready to fight more than one Jedi. Ever since she gave birth to Neveah, the blonde only used the Force when it was really necessary, so no one could sense her and her daughter's whereabouts.

"Okay, stay close to me and concentrate, you might be able to feel when they are close. And, if you do, tell me immediately." she commanded in a motherly way, making her daughter approve.

Not long after, Daphne finally heard Sio Bibble's voice as he was shouting at the droids "This is scandalous! You have no right to do this!", and that is how the two girls managed to find the Queen and all her handmaidens being led away from the palace.

The Starling girls decided to go on the upper side of the street, allowing them to follow Queen Amidala without being seen by the droids. As they were heading away from the central square, Neveah slowly felt surrounded by more and more power, and, not long after, so did her mother. "I feel it too. They are close."

The redhead, who had a strong connection with the force, spoke quietly, "They're right there," and then pointed at a wall "behind that wall."

"Stay behind me." she whispered, knowing they could probably hear them since they were that close. "They probably sensed us just like we sensed them. So be careful, and if you see that something goes bad, run immediately and don't look back!" she commanded, clearly not accepting a denial. The girl agreed, even if she didn't like the idea of leaving her mother behind.

Daphne placed herself next to the wall pointed out by Neve and prepared herself for fighting, waiting for the force to tell her when to attack. Neveah watched her mother from a distance, scared about the possible outcome. She saw her take a deep breath before turning in a perfect synchronization to fight the other Jedi.

"Qui-Gon?" she suddenly stopped, facing the man without attacking him.

"Daphne?" the man spoke up, confused. Their reactions made Neve realize that they knew each other, somehow. They both looked at the other for a few seconds, before he asked "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Without hesitating to answer, he said, "We came from a diplomatic meeting, which was only a trap, to help the Queen escape before she is forced to sign the treaty."

"The one which turns Naboo into a controlled state by the Chancellor?"

" Yes..." he asked, getting more and more confused by the second. How do you -- ?" he stopped once he heard a voice from behind him.

A younger Jedi appeared quickly, which Neveah guessed was the man's apprentice. "Master, the Queen is near, in the alee right beneath us. We could jump from that bridge and attack. This way we would have the element of surprise."

"Good thinking, my young Padawan." said Qui-Gon, taking his mind from the latest interferences, focusing on the main concern, rescuing the Queen. Before the man could lead Obi-Wan and an odd creature which the little girl had never seen before away, Neveah suddenly yelled, "Wait, we are coming with you!"

Surprised by her statement, the trio turned to listen to what the girl had to say. "Instead of going separate ways, and having a lower chance of getting through the droids, we could all combine power for our mutual purpose, to help the Queen." she suggested, very maturely for someone her age.

Qui-Gon said, unable to hide a slight smirk from his face brought by the redhead's resemblance to her mother, "I take it she's your daughter...". Daphne smiled, looking proud of her girl.

Without saying anything else, they all headed to the Queen's whereabouts. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Daphne sneak across on a walkway above the plaza, but, before jumping, the mother told Neve "Jump only when we are done with them."

The three Jedi jumped from the balcony and began to attack the machines. Four battle droids are instantly cut down, and, in a matter of seconds, the rest were also left dysfunctional by the Jedi's flashing lightsabers. "Yousa guys bombad!" Jar Jar said, making Neveah laugh at his unique way of speaking before the two finally jumped.

As the redhead was looking around, she spotted between the Queen's servants a young handmaiden who was looking directly at her. Not knowing any other way to react, she slightly smiled at her, receiving a smile back from the unknown girl.

Qui-Gon, who always seemed in a rush, said "We should leave the streets, Your Highness". The Queen and her servants followed the Jedi's as the queen's guard rushed to collect the droid's weapons before coming after them.

They all gathered in a sheltered place where the Jedi master introduced himself. "We're ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor."

"Your negotiations seem to have failed, Ambassador." Sio Bibble spoke in an attacking way.

"The negotiations never took place. It's urgent that we make contact with the Republic." Qui-Gon explained, leaving concerned expressions on everyone's faces.

"They've shut down all our communications systems." an armed man who came from behind the Queen spoke.

"Do you have transport?" Daphne immediately asked, as that seemed to be the only way out of the planet.

"In the main hangar. This way." Captain Panaka said, pointing in the direction and everyone followed.

___

Neveah remained close to her mother as they got to the hangar. Captain Panaka looked inside the room filled with multiple spaceships and stated "There are too many of them."

"That's not gonna be a problem." Daphne said, looking at Qui-Gon, who immediately nodded in agreement before turning to the Queen.

"Your Highness, under the circumstances, I suggest you come to Coruscant with us."

"Thank you, Ambassador, but my place is with my people." Queen Amidala said, maintaining the same relaxed face she had since Neveah laid eyes on her.

Qui-Gon had a set expression while saying "They will kill you if you stay."

"They wouldn't dare!" Sio Bibble was quick to contradict him.

"They need her to sign a treaty to make this invasion of theirs legal. They can't afford to kill her!" the captain added.

Qui-Gon, who, in Neve's opinion, always had an argument or an explanation for everything, said "There's something else behind all this, Your Highness. There's no logic in the Federation's move here. My feelings tell me they will destroy you."

"Our only hope is for the Senate to side with us. Senator Palpatine will need your help." the Governor insisted. Daphne frowned, visibly taken back by the sound of his name.

The Queen seemed to not know which decision was the best to take at that moment, so she turned to her handmaids and said "Either choice presents great danger... to us all."

With no hesitation, Padme stated, "We are brave, Your Highness.", letting the Queen know they were up to follow the Jedi's advice.

"If you are to leave, Your Highness, it must be now." Daphne spoke, making it clear that it was the only opportunity they had to leave Naboo.

"Then I will plead our case to the Senate." Queen Amidala finally accepted. Before following the Jedi, who were already headed towards the spaceship, she turned to Sio and said "Be careful, Governor."

Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Daphne were the first ones of the group, followed by the Queen's guard, Queen Amidala and her servants. Neve, like always, remained behind her mother as Jar Jar was constantly changing his position, probably because he couldn't walk in a straight line.

"We'll need to free those pilots." Captain Panaka stated when he saw the battle droids guarding the men.

The captain held up his blaster, ready to attack the machines, but Obi-Wan stopped him by saying "I'll deal with that." before walking towards the cornered pilots.

Qui-Gon and Daphne remained at the head of the group, in case they needed to protect anyone from the battle robots.

When they got to the droids who were blocking the entrance of the ship, they were immediately stopped by them. "I'm ambassador to the Supreme Chancellor. I'm taking these people to Coruscant."

"Where are you taking them?" a robotic voice asked.

"To Coruscant!" Daphne repeated for the thick droids.

"Coruscant? That doesn't compute. Oh, wait. You're under arrest." it declared, but, since the Jedi's were faster, Qui-Gon and Daphne took out their lightsabers and sliced two of them in half before they got to fire.

On one side, Obi-Wan was fighting droids to free the pilots, on another side, Qui-Gon and Daphne was getting robots out of the way when some other droids appeared from the left and started shooting in the Queen's direction, so the woman jumped in front of her right away to protect her.

Once the droids who were blocking the way into the ship were destroyed, the Jedi Master shouted "Come on, move!"

Nobody needed to be told twice. Queen Amidala and her servants immediately went on board, and so did Neve, but only once her mother cut off the remaining droids. The girl could never get herself to leave Daphne behind, despite whatever she was told.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were the last ones to go on the spaceship, since they waited for everyone to either come on board or to get to their aid. It didn't take long for new battle droids to come and start shooting in their direction, so the pilot took off, eventually exiting the planet.

Daphne, Neveah and Jar Jar found themselves in a room full of astro droids. "Hello, girlies." he said, receiving two confused looks from the Starling girls.

Suddenly, the ship was struck by a strong blast, making it tremble. "You two stay here. I'm gonna go see what's happening." Daphne said, gazing between both of them, "And keep out of trouble."

Not long after the woman left, Jar Jar spoke, "Disa wanna longo trip...hey?"

"I suppose." the redhead spoke as she was holding onto the doorway to keep herself from falling. She had never experienced such a sensation, since she'd never been on such a transport before.

The Gungan starts examining the astro droids, taping a bright red R2 unit on the head until its head popped up a bit. He lets out a gasp as he lifts the head. "Tis opens...?" he asked confusedly, catching the girl's attention. "Oooops!" the creature shouted as many springs and things came flying out.

"Don't break them!" she yelled as she watched the creature quickly close it again, very embarrassed. "Yoi! Awleady yoken!"

Suddenly, the alarms went off and all the astro droids were activated. They all rushed to the exterior air lock, except for the broken one, which ended up going into the wall.

One little blue droid let out a loud screech as he passed Jar Jar on his way to the air lock, causing the Gungan to jump. "How wude!" he complained.

"You were in his way!" Neve shouted, holding on for dear life to a piece of metal so she wouldn't be tossed around.

Meanwhile, Daphne, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were watching the droids trying to repair the generator, but, one by one, they were hit. "We're losing droids fast." the padawan said, concerned.

"If we can't get the shield generator fixed, we'll be sitting ducks." Captain Panaka informed them, as if it wasn't obvious.

"The shields are gone. There's no way we'll get the power back now." he said, noticing how the only droid left was the littlest one.

Seeing how the man seemed to have lost his hope, Daphne shouted at him, annoyed at his lack of fate "There's still one droid up there, so shut it and wait."

The blue astro droid connected some wires, causing sparks to fly. Suddenly, the board lit, making the pilot surprised. "The power's back! That little droid did it! He bypassed the main power drive. Deflector shields up at maximum." he said before the ship started flying so much faster and without budging.

After seeing the damage made, the pilot told them "There's not enough power to get us to Coruscant. The hyperdrive is leaking."

"We'll have to land somewhere to refuel and repair the ship." Qui-Gon said as he was thinking of a place to settle but nothing came to mind.

"Here, Master. Tatooine. Small, out of the way, poor. The Trade Federation has no presence there." Obi-Wan suggested after seeing a little planet on the radar.

"How can you be sure?" the captain asked.

"It's controlled by the Hutts." the Jedi master noticed, proud of his padawan's thinking.

Hearing that, Captain Panaka said, revolted "You can't take Her Royal Highness there. The Hutts are gangsters. If they discover her --"

"It would be no different than if we landed on a system controlled by the Federation." Qui-Gon interrupted him.

"The Hutts aren't even looking for her, unlike others. That is an advantage." Daphne pointed out, leaving the captain with no argument.

___

Neveah went to find her mother once the ship was fixed and she could finally stand without falling the next second. She was walking through a hall with multiple doors, but one caught her attention, since she could hear voices from behind it.

She opened the doors, thinking her mother was on the other side, but, to her surprise, she was now standing in front of the Queen and her three handmaids. When she walked it, Queen Amidala was turned to Padme, talking about something that Neve didn't have time to understand, but, once Queen Amidala realized the girl came in, she quickly turned to her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Your Highness. I was just..." the redhead said, but she stopped at the sound of Her Majesty's voice.

"No apology necessary." the Queen assured her, slightly smiling at her. That made Neveah feel special, since she had never seen Queen Amidala smile before. "What is your name, little one?" she asked.

"Neve." she responded, but immediately regretted her answer and spoke again, trying to cover the mistake she made, "Neveah... S-Starling."

She stopped, realizing how silly she must've sounded, so she took a breath and answered again, firmly this time. "Neveah Starling."

A quiet laugh from the handmaids followed. "Nice to meet you, Miss. Starling." the Queen spoke.

Before Queen Amidala got to say anything else, Captain Panaka walked in next to a droid, followed by Daphne, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. "Captain Panaka, what happened?" Her Majesty asked, relaxing her face once again.

"An extremely well-put-together little droid, Your Highness. Without a doubt it saved the ship, as well as our lives." the captain explained as the little blue droid let out a series of bleeps.

"It is to be commended. What is its number?" she asked as Neveah made her way behind the man and the droid, next to her mom.

Captain Panaka leans over and scrapes some dirt off of the side of the droid and reads the number. "R2-D2, Your Highness." he responded as the machine started beeping.

"Thank you, R2-D2." the Queen said, receiving another beep from the droid. After a moment of silence, she spoke again "Padme. Clean this droid up as best as you can. It deserves our gratitude."

The girl bowed before Her Majesty and immediately went over to the droid, but the Queen's voice made her stop and listen.

"Continue, Captain." she said as she turned to him, but the man didn't say a word, he just looked at the Jedi and stayed quiet as Qui-Gon stepped forward.

"Your Highness, with your permission we are heading for a remote planet called Tatooine. It's in a system far beyond the reach of the Trade Federation." he explained.

"I do not agree with the Jedi on this." the captain admitted, not feeling frightened to speak his mind.

"You must trust my judgment, Your Highness." Qui-Gon spoke softly, awaiting for Her Majesty's response as Captain Panaka took a deep breath in frustration.

Neve saw how Queen Amidala quickly looked at Padme before she agreed.

___

Neveah and Daphne exited the room right after the two Jedi. The mother saw them heading towards the room where the pilot was, so she turned to her daughter and said "Do you mind if I leave you again, sweetie? I just want to know what they are planning next."

In all those ten years, the woman had never left her daughter's side, so that's probably why she felt the need to ask if she was okay with parting, again.

"Of course, don't worry about me." she answered. The girl looked behind her shoulder and saw Jar Jar not that far away and then said "I'll have him keep me company.", making Daphne smile before turning around.

Neve watched her mom leave the hall and then walked toward the creature. Seeing the girl coming, Jar Jar said "Hello! What is yousa name?"

"Neveah. Yours?" she asked, as the creature stood up straight.

"Misa name is Jar Jar Binks." he spoke in his unusual accent, which amused the redhead.

"Nice to meet you, Jar Jar Binks." she said, with a smile on her face.

Neveah started walking down the hall and so did Jar Jar. Curious about what kind of creature he was, she asked "I'm not trying to be rude, but what are you?"

"A Gungan. Mesa live under de sea. Well, lived." the creature said like he was hiding something, which, naturally, made Neve want to know.

"Why do you not live there anymore?"

"Well, 'tis a little embarrassing. My've been banished." he admitted.

"You were banished? For what?" the girl asked, surprised.

"Well, mesa tend to be a littl clumsy."

"You were banished because you are clumsy...?" she asked, not believing someone could be banished for that flaw.

"Mesa caused a tinnie accident..."

Before he got to continue what he was saying, the door before them opened, revealing Padme, who was cleaning the astro droid. The girl didn't expect to see someone there, so she was startled at the sight of them.

"Sorry." Neveah said once she realized they scared her.

"It's okay." Padme responded, looking at each of them at a time.

"Husa are yousa?" Jar Jar asked, curious as always.

"I'm Padme."

"Nice to meet you, Padme. I'm N--"

"Neveah Starling. Yeah, I remember." she said with a kind look that made Neve smile. She thought she made a fool of herself in front of the Queen and her handmaids, but maybe they didn't care about her stammering.

"Mesa name is Jar Jar Binks." the creature said, making himself noticed by his accent. Neveah couldn't help but laugh at how funny he sounded when he said his whole name.

"You're a Gungan, aren't you?" Padme asked and received a positive answer. "How did you end up here with us?" she asked.

"My no know... Mesa day starten pitty okeyday witda brisky morning munchen. Den boom! Getten berry skeered, un grabben dat Jedi, and before mesa knowen it...pow! Mesa here. Mesa getten berry berry skeered." Jar Jar explained, making both girls smile.

Neveah sat next to Padme, looking at the droid. "Do you want some help?" the redhead asked while smiling softly.

"Sure, thanks. Here." she said, handing her a wipe to use.

"Can I ask you something?" the little girl questioned, receiving a nod from the brunette, "On a scale from one to ten, how foolish does the queen see me as?"

Padme laughed before answering,"Trust me, you're fine. It didn't look that bad."

"Oh, yes it did." Neve was quick to contradict her, knowing there was no way her introduction wasn't embarrassing.

"Okay, maybe a little..." she joked, leaving them both in laughter before they felt the ship ground.

"I think we finally landed." Neveah spoke.

___

Obi-Wan was hoisting the hyperdrive out of a floor panel. "The hyperactive generator's gone, Master. We'll need a new one." he said when Qui-Gon and Daphne entered the room.

"Well that will complicate things... I guess the Force isn't with us today." Daphne commented, annoyed by the situation.

"We'll just have to get a new one. Daphne and I will search on this planet for a new hyperactive generator, meanwhile, you stay here, Obi-Wan. But be wary. I sense a disturbance in the Force." the Jedi Master said.

"I feel it also, Master." the padawan admitted.

Apparently, Daphne was the only one not to feel anything related to the Force, and that concerned her. She knew she didn't have a strong connection, but not sensing a disturbance was a big problem. She learned to do that at the age of four.

"Don't let them send any transmission!" Qui-Gon added before leaving the room with Daphne.

As they were heading to the exit, Qui-Gon saw Jar Jar and told him "Come on. You're coming with us."

"Mesa? Why?" the Gungan asked, not understanding of what help he could've been to the two Jedi's.

"You'll make things less obvious with your... foolishness." Daphne said, leaving a slight smirk on Qui-Gon's face.

The Gungan hurried next to them, accepting his fate without commenting. Seeing how her daughter wasn't with him like she left her, the woman asked Jar Jar, "Where's Neveah?"

Before he got to answer, a voice was suddenly heard from the end of the hall. "I'm here!" the little girl yelled so the blonde could see her. She quickly came and hugged her mother, happy they finally got away from the Trade Federation and landed safely. "What are we gonna do now?"

"Come on." the woman smiled, reaching for Neve's hand. "We have another mission."

___

Qui-Gon, Daphne, Neveah, Jar Jar and R2-D2 were walking in a desert, toward the city of Mos Espa. The mother insisted on bringing her daughter with her, since this way she could keep an eye on Neve and make sure she was safe.

"This sun doen murder to mesa skin." Jar Jar complained.

"At least I'm not the only one." Neveah added, annoyed by how strongly the sun felt on that planet.

"Wait!" somebody suddenly screamed from behind them. It was Captain Panaka, who was walking towards them with Padme next to him. "Her Highness commands you to take her handmaiden with you."

"No more commands from Her Highness today, captain. The spaceport is not going to be pleasant." Qui-Gon stated.

"The Queen wishes it!" Captain Panaka insisted, clearly not taking a no as the answer. "She's curious about the planet."

The Jedi Master sighed heavily. "This is not a good idea." he said, not wanting another burden besides Neveah.

"If Her Highness wishes it, then she shall come with us." Daphne spoke, making him give her a stern look. She knew he didn't like to take orders or follow the rules, he never did, but today he had to.

Qui-Gon stayed silent for a few seconds before finally giving in. "Stay close to me." he commanded Padme before heading to the small village up ahead.

"Jedi life is so intense." Neveah spoke as they continued their path.

(4,485 words)

AUTHOR'S NOTE

First chapter out!!!
I'm so excited that I finally published it. I've had my mind on this book for so long and I finally got the motivation to start it.
I have so many ideas for this SW fanfic, and I can't wait to finish writing this act, so I can move on to Attack of the Clones, which will be so fun to write. Also, Neveah's storyline will be so interesting, but also sooo painful. It hurts me to do this to my baby Neve:((.
Anyway, in chapter two we're meeting Ani🥳🥳, and I just can't wait to write Neve and Ani's relationship development.🫶

~elenaswanwp