章 5: 5. Arrival of the Ambassadors
===Maximus===
It seems the Federation had decided to increase their attempts to overtake the city, though Maximus had thwarted every attempt until now.
Thousands of droids poured into the city, trying to capture Queen Amidala, who Maximus had come to know as one of the handmaids that sat around a decoy.
That handmaid now stood by him as they looked out across the city, watching as tanks, droids, and ships all invaded.
Things he would come to know as Single Trooper Aerial Platforms, or STAPs for short, flew around the city as they invaded.
"What are we going to do?" Padmé asked as she looked at her city in despair. She watched as some of her citizens were rounded up, and forced to walk to somewhere she didn't know.
"We fight." Maximus' deep voice said. He held his helmet with his left hand, and as he turned away from the window they were looking out of, he placed it atop his head.
He started walking away from the Queen of this planet, but stopped and looked back at her as she called out to him. She tore her eyes away from the city behind the window, and looked into his blood red optics.
"Please, help my city. You're our only hope." She said.
"The Emperor protects." He said before turning and walking away.
She felt power in those words. She didn't know who this… Emperor was, but if this man said he would protect… who was she to protest?
She watched him go, then turned back towards the window to watch what he did.
Maximus stopped at his crate, and made sure he had everything he needed to protect the soon to be Imperium subjects, and once he was sure he had everything, he walked to the front of the palace.
His heavy footsteps stopped at the top of the stairs leading to the Palace, and in his deep robotic sounding voice, issued one simple statement.
"IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR, NONE SHALL STEP FOOT PAST ME!"
And with that, he ran forward.
His blistering speed and strength shattered the stone beneath him as he ran full speed towards one of the tanks. The droids inside lowered its cannon towards him, but by the time it was ready to fire, he had already hit it full force.
He threw his right shoulder into the tank with all his strength, and it crumpled around him as if it were aluminum.
He twisted, using his left arm to rip through the rest of the tank in one stride before moving to the next one.
As he did he threw what he tore apart to the sides, ripping through the droids that stood there.
One tank after another fell to his brutal march onwards, but he started to slow once he reached the fifth one.
Ripping off a chunk of the metal plating, he spun and threw it at the next tank, hitting the hull. It stopped moving, unlike Maximus, who ran at the droids in the street.
He swung his chainsword, and ripped the droids apart as blaster bolts bounced off his armor.
Ripping and tearing through the droids as if they were nothing, he grabbed one before pulling its arms in opposite directions.
As he did, he looked through the gaps formed in the droid, and saw one of the tanks level its main cannon at him.
He dashed to the side, but was thrown from his feet as the heavy laser cannon nicked his left shoulder pauldron.
He was thrown backwards into one of the surrounding buildings, which promptly collapsed on top of him.
With a grunt, he ripped himself from the rubble, and stood up.
He looked to his left pauldron and saw that the shot had ripped right through it, though it had only touched the surface of the metal.
"So," He said for all the droids around him to hear.
"You're not as weak and useless as I initially thought. Good, I was hoping for a challenge!" He roared before blitzing forward.
===
Padmé watched through the window as Maximus was shot by the tank and thrown backwards. Her breath hitching in her throat as she assumed all hope had been lost.
Now who would protect her city and citizens while they waited for the republic?
But she watched as he stood up, and simply brushed himself off before throwing himself straight back into the battle, using his strange weapons and his own bare hands to rip through the Federation droids.
Hours passed, but she didn't move from her position as she watched him dismantle the would be oppressors of her city.
===Qui-Gon Jinn===
Qui-Gon and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi had been dispatched to the planet Naboo for negotiations.
The two hadn't wanted to go, as they wanted to stay and help the recovering Jedi at the Temple after the attack by the unknown Juggernaut class droid. Or that was what they were calling it at least.
The two had reluctantly left the Temple after the attack, though now they had bigger problems.
The federation had welcomed them aboard their Lucrehulk-class Battleship, but once aboard, sought to kill them.
They had fled, and through a misadventure where they had met a gungan named Jar Jar Binks, who was as stupid as he was clumsy, they finally reached the city of Theed.
The two Jedi and Gungan cautiously walked the streets of Theed towards the Palace, and were surprised at the amount of droids they saw littering the surrounding areas.
"I thought Naboo didn't have an army of their own, only a light guard?" Obi-Wan asked his master.
"They don't have an army. Something else did this." Qui-Gon said as they walked, being sure to stay mostly out of sight.
The trio walked until they got to the Palace, and were pleasantly surprised to find that no droids had gotten in.
They were escorted towards the Throne room, and found Queen Amidala speaking with some of her counselors.
Her face brightened as she saw the three, and stood up to greet them.
"I presume you're the ambassadors the republic has sent to help us!?" She asked, looking around the room for her handmaids.
"We are." Qui-Gon said before asking what could be done at this exact moment to help.
The Queen told them to wait a few moments while she gathered her entourage, and after about five minutes, people started entering the Throne room.
Theed officials and more handmaids including Padmé entered the room while the two Jedi stood in front of the throne.
The discussion began in earnest, the officials grilling the two men about their late arrival, and why they hadn't pushed for peace during the negotiations.
Qui-Gon defended him and his Padawan, telling of their journey here, and how they had escaped from the Federation.
"This… is not what we had hoped." One of the officials said, stroking his long beard.
"I believe the Queen should go plead our case in front of the senate in person." Another official said, drawing the Queen's ire.
"And leave my people?" She asked scornfully.
"I must agree with him, your Majesty. Getting you off-world to safety should be our number one priority. If you yourself stand before the senate, it would make our case much more substantial." Another official said, agreeing with the first.
"We should send the Ultramarine with you as well. If there is a bigger plot against you as we have speculated, he might be the only one capable of protecting you." A third said.
A hum of agreement sounded through the chamber before the Queen once more spoke.
"What of our people? Maximus has been the only one strong enough to stand up and protect our city. You would send him away?" She asked.
"You're Majesty. With all due respect, you are Theed. Without you, we would be in ruin. We have evacuated most of the citizens from the city, and they are safe. Now only we remain." Lyra said, gripping Padmé's arm as she sat to her right, while looking at the decoy Queen.
"If the Federation wants to hold an empty city, let them. But first, we need you off-world, and on your way to the senate." The first man said.
Heavy footsteps rang through the halls as an armored giant approached from the front doors of the Palace. His red optics were all they could see before he walked from the shadowy hallway behind him into the chamber.
Qui-Gon reacted in an instant, drawing his lightsaber and getting in a defensive stance while Obi-Wan did the same.
"Everyone, out NOW!" Qui-Gon shouted at the surrounding entourage.
They all stood, but not for the reasons he had expected.
"Master Qui-Gon, put your weapon away this instant!" Queen Amidala commanded.
"A duplicate of this droid was responsible for the massacre at the Jedi temple, you must leave, now!" He said once more, not understanding why no one was moving.
"Lieutenant Maximus is not a droid. He is a soldier from another Galaxy!" The Queen said to the ambassadors.
"You said there was a duplicate of me at this temple of yours. Elaborate, now." Maximus demanded, his deep voice reverberating through the chamber of the throne room.
The younger of the Jedi looked to his master who had frozen, not out of fear, but out of indecision.
"A droid, in the same armor type as you appeared in our temple on the planet of coruscant. He slaughtered many of our brothers and sisters. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this would you?" Qui-Gon said, lowering his lightsaber to his waist, though he didn't deactivate it.
"What did the colors of his armor look like?" Maximus asked, unwilling to describe his brothers any farther to these strangers.
"You tell us. You clearly have something to hide." Obi-Wan said hotly.
Maximus' fingers slowly clenched themself, and with one stride, reached out and gripped the older man by his robes before lifted him up towards his helmeted face.
The man controlled himself well, holding his hands to either side of him as if to make himself less threatening, wishing to talk now more than fight as he had gotten his emotions under control.
The younger man however, wasn't as seasoned as his master, and lashed out with his lightsaber, only to be shocked as Maximus reached out and gripped the blade with a gauntleted hand.
His armored fingers started to super heat, but Maximus didn't pay it any attention as his eyes were fixed on the older man.
"Speak." He commanded, finally looking at the younger man before releasing his weapon.
His fingers started to cool, and his armor registered no deformation in his armored fingers.
"He was cased in armor as you are, though his was black and white, while he wielded a sword and shield. He kept calling any who got in his way "Xeno Scum", or "Warp tainted abominations." he slaughtered anyone who got in his way." Qui-Gon said before being released. He landed on his feet, and started straightening his robes.
"I'm not alone." Maximus said, reaching up and removing his helmet from his head. He placed his helmet under his left arm, and looked at the Queen. The actual Queen.
"I must find my Brother. What have you decided." He asked.
"We have decided that the Queen will be taken off world and sent to the senate of coruscant to plead our case. We would respectfully ask that you go with her." One of the council members said.
Maximus looked down at the Jedi, who seemed to be contemplating what was happening, before looking to the younger one.
"If you ever point your weapon at me again, be assured. Ill rip your arm from your socket." He said threateningly.
"Master, you can't be serious. If what he says is true then his brother is responsible for the slaughter at the temple! We cannot take him anywhere near Coruscant!" The younger man practically shouted in protest.
"Maximus is Theeds savior. I will go nowhere unless he is with me!" Queen Amidala said as she stood from her Throne.
Qui-Gon said nothing as he thought on the words said, though his emotions were in disarray once more.
"Enough Obi-Wan. We will discuss this in private." He said as he turned from his Padawan.
"We will await you in the hangars. Please, take all the time you need to prepare yourselves for departure." He said, motioning for Obi-Wan to follow him as he walked away.
===
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