The Naboo Plasma War : Episode VI

The war was, in my opinion, going fairly well. True, most would consider having a hostile army being in control of the majority of your planet to be less than ideal but compared to my memories of how this was supposed to play out... the fact of the matter was, there were plenty of places Gunray's forces simply could not dig the resistance out of, and with my ship in orbit, watching everything, they dared not bomb the resistance bases from orbit. Not that I was 100% certain that the option had even occurred to Gunray, I would just be surprised if he hadn't considered it.

Furthermore, the prolonged fighting, rather than the rapid and overwhelming occupation that had been intended, seemed to had done some serious damage to the Naboo's pacifism. According to both my droids and my mercenaries, while initially reluctant to cast aside their ideology, they were equally unwilling to let others die on their behalf. I suppose in the original timeline, as I'd come to think of it, that the Naboo had never truly gotten over the idea that the CIS had legitimate complaints against the Republic.

The baseline Trade Federation battledroids proved far more intelligent than I remembered from my past life. There was no neat and orderly rank and file here, no lining up to be shot down. They spread out, found cover, and skirmished. Their tactics left much to be desired, but they were not to be underestimated. Furthermore, while their targeting computers were relatively low quality, they were still computers. Inaccurate for a droid was trained law enforcement for an organic.

The Naboo, once they overcame their ideological hurdles, proved effective fighters. The tall grasses of the Naboo plains let them hide simply by laying down. So long as you had someone with a clear line of sight to spot for them, tell them where they were going, they could and would crawl their way through miles of grass to ambush patrols and checkpoints. The Trade Federation responded by attempting to clear out the plains and leave nowhere for them to hide, but the aquatic core of Naboo came into play: Damn near everything was fireproof. Near everything on the planet soaked up insane amounts of water, nothing was ever really dry, so the Trade Federation couldn't simply burn the fields. This forced them to try and use agricultural equipment to cut down all the grass, except the moisture tended to cause the grasses to clump up and clog up any machinery they used after extensive use.

Incidentally, this also explained why Naboo of all places was dependent on imported foods, a mystery that had been frustrating me for a very long time. They couldn't grow grains. Well, they could, but the moisture prevented them from using industrial harvesters. They couldn't import foreign crops, because Naboo's ecosystem was insanely hostile to foreign flora. Any field would rapidly be overrun and strangled by the native grass. Naboo was too fertile, imported crops simply lacked the ability to take advantage of Naboo's absurdly nutrient-rich soil, they grew too damn slow. Assuming the mudlike consistency of Naboo's soil didn't drown them first, they'd be outcompeted by the native flora, adapted to grow to full size with hours in some cases.

With the native grains too tough to harvest mechanically, imported crops rapidly have overtaken within a week of being planted at best, which left Naboo's fruit-bearing plants. Anything they grew had to be harvested by hand. While there were a few orchards and wineries in rural areas, expanding them to feed the entire planet would require clearing massive amounts of grasslands. Not only that, but while these trees were able to survive the grass attempting to strangle their roots once matured - and they matured fast - they were still vulnerable for a few weeks. Each new sapling would have to be constantly protected from the encroaching grass until matured. Overcoming those hurdles would have been far more expensive, both short term and long term, than simply importing food.

Of course, even when the plains were cleared, the Naboo had no problem getting into long-range firefights. And they were good at that. Where the Trade Federation programming was forcing the B1 droids to close range to engage, the Naboo were perfectly comfortable firing on targets hundreds of meters away.

Naboo's swamps proved equally deadly for my former employers. The people of the houseboats had long histories with the Gungans, not all of it friendly. They knew how to lose pursuers in the swamps, ones far more talented than any offworlder could ever hope to be. It was simple enough to turn that knowledge into ambushing pursuers. Droids went into the swamp.

They didn't come out.

My musings were interrupted by a sensor contact. A Republic consular-class cruiser, exiting hyperspace accompanied by several N1 starfighters. To my surprise and growing horror, the ships exited hyperspace at maximum speed, heading straight for the planet in an attempt to run the blockade. It was a horrifically dangerous maneuver I had been warned my entire life to never attempt at every stage in my schooling. Assuming the ship didn't simply rip itself apart upon exiting due to one of the many slight miscalculations even the best navigation systems made when dealing with hyperspace, you were liable to end up exploding because you hit the atmosphere too fast.

And yet, somehow, these ships pulled it off. Their ships burned as the atmosphere ignited around them, flaming fury trying to rip apart those madmen. The blockade never even had a chance to fire.

-----

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn contemplated the hologram of the Neimoidian in front of him. He had been surprised to learn that the man had turned on the Viceroy after he, in Montoo's words, "betrayed the guiding principles of the Trade Federation in the foulest of ways." It was a pleasant surprise, but a surprise none the less.

Captain Montoo was a figure of some controversy for the Jedi Order. The man's actions in finally ending the bitter feud between the Wookies and Trandoshans were worthy of respect, none doubted that. However, his methods were... unorthodox. Personally, Qui-Gon didn't see the problem. While achieving peace by encouraging a desire for selfish profit on both sides might be problematic for a Jedi, Montoo was not a Jedi. He did not have to concern himself with the Dark Side. Both sides were satisfied, peace was achieved, and wealth was had. Unusually, both Masters Yoda and Windu held similar opinions. Yoda on the basis that simply because the Jedi should not hold such attachments did not mean that one could not play on another's attachments to achieve peace, and Windu because he felt that being able to settle such a dispute without having to involve the Jedi could only strengthen the Republic.

Still, he hadn't expected the self-motivated peacemaker to side with the Naboo. The Neimoidian was a hardcore believer in the Trade Federation as an organization, that Gunray had managed to cause him to break off was a sign something very bad had happened.

"Your highness, I truly must recommend against this course of action. The campaign is well in hand, while I understand your desire for a quick resolution to this conflict, history shows us time and time again that such attempts to win a war in one grand stroke rarely end well."

Unfortunately for Qui-Gon, Queen Amidala did not like Captain Montoo.

"And so you expect me to put my people through the horrors of war simply because we might fail?"

The man was silent for a moment, seeming to slump a bit. "Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won... your highness, even if this succeeds-"

"You do not decide what is best for my people. We are a peaceful people, Captain. If we are to be forced into a war, I will not prolong it unnecessarily."

Montoo's lips tightened, and he nodded stiffly. "Very well then. I wish you luck."

Qui-Gon shook his head slightly. "There is no luck, there is only the will of the force."

The defector glanced at Qui-Gon with a smirk. "What is luck, Master Jedi, but the Force's guidance for the layman?" he challenged, before cutting the comm.