And an interesting case: this is the first part, which was released fourth. The original Star Wars trilogy, the greatest of the science fiction film series, consisted of 4, 5 and 6 episodes. 22 years have passed, and Lucas finally got around to releasing the first episode. Whether it’s bad or good, we read the content.

The events in the film take place in the year 32 before the Battle of Yavin and ten years before the start of the Clone Wars, and are a kind of prelude to the rise of evil in the Galaxy, calling this period "The Rise of the Empire". The Galactic Republic is experiencing a major political crisis due to the growing influence of the Trade Federation, a Neimoidian commercial cartel that has come to dominate control of trade routes, forcing the Senate to decide to establish a new system of taxation of trade routes. In response, the Trade Federation blocked the peripheral planet Naboo with its fleet. Two Jedi Knights, master Qui-Gon Jinn and his student Obi-Wan Kenobi, are appointed by Chancellor Finis Valorum as ambassadors to resolve a trade dispute between the Trade Federation and Naboo. The negotiations are not destined to take place, since representatives of the Trade Federation, led by Viceroy Nute Gunray, following the instructions of their new master, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, try to kill the ambassadors and destroy the ship that delivered them, after which a full-scale invasion of the planet begins ahead of schedule. However, the Jedi manage to fight off the battle droids and flee to Naboo aboard Federation landing transport C-9979.

On the surface of the planet, the Jedi meet a local resident - the funny big-eared Gungan Jar Jar Binks, expelled by his fellow tribesmen for clumsiness. Jar Jar takes his new friends to the underwater Gungan city of Oto-Gunga, where they meet the Gungan ruler Boss Nass. Boss Nass refuses to take action against the battle droids landing on Naboo, but agrees to give the Jedi a submarine (locally called "Bongo"), on which they, accompanied by Jar Jar, reach the planet's capital through its core. At the same time, the Trade Federation occupies Naboo's capital, Theed, and captures 14-year-old Queen Padmé Amidala. The Jedi rescue Amidala and fly away with her from Naboo in the hope of reaching the capital of the Galactic Republic - Coruscant, still hoping for a peaceful solution to the problem, while Qui-Gon openly suspects the Federation that they intend to kill the queen. The Federation ships cause serious damage to Amidala's ship, but repairs carried out by the astroid droid R2-D2 allow it to escape, but the hyperdrive is damaged and its power is not enough to reach the capital. Meanwhile, Nute Gunray reports everything to Sidious, who decides to take matters into his own hands and sends his student Darth Maul to search.

Along the way, the ship is forced to stop for repairs on the remote desert planet Tatooine, which is outside the sphere of influence of the Trade Federation and the Republic due to the criminal cartel of Jabba the Hutt dominating the system. Because of this, the starship has to be kept far from the city, and Qui-Gon appears to be an ordinary smuggler. Here the Jedi meet Anakin Skywalker, a 9-year-old boy who, along with his mother Shmi Skywalker, is enslaved by the Toydarian Watto. Anakin has an unusually powerful connection with the Force, is well versed in technology and is the best pilot of a car, a special racing rocket. Feeling the Force, Qui-Gon Jinn decides that the boy is the Chosen One, known from ancient prophecies, called to restore the balance of the Force and destroy the Sith, and seeks to take him with him. Governor Theed Sio Bibble tries to contact the queen, saying that the Federation is starving the population of Naboo. Although Obi-Wan says that it is a trap, the ship is able to find a direction, and the Sith apprentice goes on the hunt.

Thanks to Anakin's victory in dangerous car races, the Jedi receive from Watto the necessary parts to repair the ship and free the boy from slavery, but his mother remains. Anakin leaves Tatooine with Padme, who makes an indelible impression on the boy, and the Jedi - Qui-Gon is going to introduce him to the Jedi Supreme Council and teach him how to use the Force. Arriving on the planet, Darth Maul finds the Jedi with the help of his spy probes and goes to intercept. Darth Maul and Qui-Gon first meet in a short fight just before they board the ship and a sandstorm begins. Qui-Gon states that his assumptions about the influence of the Federation from the outside were confirmed by the appearance of the Sith.

Arriving on Coruscant, Qui-Gon reports to the Council about mysterious events and introduces Anakin to the Jedi Masters. The Jedi come to the conclusion about the revival of the Sith order, but refuse to train the boy, despite Qui-Gon's arguments about the boy's strength, considering him too old to train, although in fact they were afraid of a powerful adept of the Force, who is permeated by fear - the first step on the path to The dark side. Qui-Gon decides to take Anakin as his student, saying that he has already taught his Padawan Obi-Wan everything he could, even though he is stubborn and still knows little about the Living Force.

The Galactic Senate, mired in bureaucracy and corruption, cannot solve the problem with Naboo due to the indecisiveness of Chancellor Finis Velorum, who is accustomed to acting within the framework of the laws of the Republic. Therefore, at the call of Queen Amidala, who succumbed to the persuasion of Naboo's representative in the Senate, Senator Palpatine, the Chancellor was given a vote of no confidence and removed from office, after which Palpatine himself was elected in his place. Queen Amidala can wait no longer and decides to take on the Trade Federation herself, intending to ask the Gungans for help. The Jedi accompany the queen as she returns to Naboo to help her deal with the Federation and find out more about the Sith warrior from Tatooine.

On Naboo, Padmé Amidala seeks help from the Gungans, who agree to field an army to help drive the Trade Federation droids out of the capital. While the Gungan army fights Federation droids and tanks outside the city, the Jedi, along with Amidala, recapture the palace. At this time, young Skywalker, accidentally finding himself in a fighter starship, finds himself in the thick of a space battle, where he blows up the main command center of the Trade Federation, immobilizing its army.

When it seems that victory is close, the Sith Lord's apprentice, Darth Maul, appears, and the Jedi are forced to fight him. In a difficult battle, Qui-Gon dies, but Obi-Wan, almost defeated, still defeats the Sith. Before his death, Obi-Wan's teacher manages to ask him to make Anakin a Jedi.

Nute Gunray and his supporters are arrested, and Chancellor Palpatine flies to Naboo. Obi-Wan, now a Jedi Knight, speaks with Master Yoda about Qui-Gon's final request. Yoda senses a danger to the order in training the boy, but agrees to give him training to Obi-Wan, since he is ready to train him without the consent of the Council. That evening, the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn is held, whose body is cremated according to Jedi customs. Yoda and Mace Windu discuss how a shadowy shadow looms over the galaxy with the return of the dark lords. Yoda recalls the Sith "Rule of Two", according to which only two Sith could exist at a time - a teacher and a student, and Windu wonders who Darth Maul was: a teacher or a student? Palpatine is also present at the funeral. A day later, the Gungans and Naboo held a celebration with a parade in Theed, and Amidala and Boss Nass shared the Peace Ball as a sign of the end of the hostility between the races of the same planet.

Terry Brooks “Star wars Episode I. The phantom menace”

The armor panels of the Republic space shuttle glowed a clear scarlet. Next to the bulk of the battle station, he seemed like a careless insect that had flown into a bright light.

“If they decide to open fire, there won’t be a wet spot left of us,” muttered the co-pilot.

The captain just shrugged. The Trade Federation ships that surrounded the planet looked like anything but trade ships. They bristled with the muzzles of laser cannons, ready to open fire on any intruder. Now the embassy shuttle was going to act as an intruder. Unsurprisingly, his crew was more than excited. Although from the glances that the pilots occasionally threw over their shoulders, looking up from the control panel, one would think that they were more worried about the tall figure of a man wrapped in a cloak who stood behind them in the shadows.

Federation Governor Nute Gunray was looking at the pilots from the communication screen. The captain saw him only once, but they say correctly, once you see a Neimoidian, you will never forget his sour face. A sour gray-green glossy face, the captain added silently. As if I ate something wrong... - Captain...

She glanced again at the man in the cloak standing behind her chair. His voice was calm and deep. Like the ocean, the captain thought. Like a vast ocean on a windless day. And she didn’t want to see what a storm looked like in this ocean. If the Great Cosmos is favorable to her, then she won’t have to...

- Tell him we want to come on board. “The hood of the cloak, lowered over his face, swung barely noticeably towards the station. - I obey...

The co-pilot looked at her expressively, the captain shrugged her shoulders again: what can I do if I’m afraid of them? Only a mentally ill person would want to interfere with the Order. Although her subordinate seemed to mean something completely different. But if we really have to communicate with the federation, let them at least have their strength on our side.

“The Supreme Chancellor’s ambassadors request permission to come on board immediately,” she said into the microphone.

Nute Gunray blinked a couple of times before answering.

“Please,” he rasped, carefully pronouncing the sounds. – As you know, the establishment of the blockade was absolutely legal. And we will gladly receive the distinguished ambassadors. With joy, yes.

The screen went dark. The captain looked back at the ambassador for the umpteenth time during the voyage. He nodded - if desired, this movement could be mistaken for a bow - and left the control room. He had to bend down to avoid hitting his head on the hatch coaming.

All that remained was to wait for the commotion associated with the ships approaching each other, landing at the station to end - or, to be precise, flying into the station and then landing on the inner deck. The Ambassador of the Republic and his companion waited in the cabin assigned to them, looking through the porthole at the approaching station. The station's globe, surrounded by a semicircle of workrooms and hangars, seemed flat and black against the background of the greenish-blue planet that filled almost the entire space.

It’s unclear, the ambassador thought. Yes, the Republic has taxed trade routes, yes, taxes are high, and the Federation has a great reason to complain. But that’s usually what she limited herself to. Yes, their battle droids and spaceships could be a serious argument if it came to war. But Neimoidians are traders, not warriors. As soon as they smell something fried, they go weak in the knees or whatever they have. But now they have found some way to strengthen them. So things have finally come to war... Or it’s about to come.

Terry Brooks

Star Wars

Hidden threat

Dedicated to Lisa, Jill. Amanda and Alex, the children who grew up with the story, and Hunter, the first of a generation

A long time ago in a Galaxy far, far away...

The suns blazed in a blue, cloudless sky, bathing the vast, uninhabited wastelands of the planet in white light. The reflected glow rose from the flat sandy surface in waves of shimmering heat that filled the gaps between massive rock fractures and the rare patches of exposed rock in the mountains. These rough giants, the only noticeable objects in the monotonous landscape, towered in the haze like sentinels. When fireballs roared past - swiftly and uncontrollably - the heat and radiance dissipated, and the mountains themselves seemed to tremble.

Anakin Skywalker drove the car under the stone arch from which Beggar's Canyon began, and pressed the levers, pumping fuel into the engines. The wedge-shaped rockets were filled with power - the right one was slightly stronger than the left one, causing the car to tilt, especially since the pilot himself shifted to the left to better fit into the turn. Anakin immediately leveled his flight, increased the gas and rushed through the arch.

Sand kicked up behind them and filled the air with a grainy shimmer, swirling and dancing in the rising heat. The car rushed into the canyon. Anakin's hands held the steering levers tightly, and his fingers fingered the control buttons.

Everything happened at lightning speed. One mistake, one wrong decision, and he will fly off the track - fortunately, if he does not die. This was the attraction of the race. Limitless power, extreme speed - iodine at the tips of his fingers, and there is no room for error. Two huge turbines carried the flimsy car over sandy expanses, around jagged mountain peaks, along shadowed ravines and over air pockets, writing out rapid turns that made the heart sink into the heels. Control cables ran from the cabin to the engines, and the engines themselves connected the energy circuits. If even one of the three components hits something solid, the entire structure will collapse in a heap of metal and a fiery eruption of rocket fuel. If anything comes off, the race is over.

The young pilot's face lit up with a smile, and he stepped on the gas.

The canyon narrowed ahead and the shadows became thicker. Anakin directed the fireball towards a strip of light, beyond which the sandy wastelands opened up again. He stayed closer to the surface, where the rocky opening widened. It was risky not to drop the height in this place - otherwise he risked hitting the walls of the opening. Last month, Regga failed at this, and his remains were still being collected across the desert.

But that won't happen to Anakin.

The boy moved the control levers forward and, accompanied by the howl of the engines, burst out of the canyon into the open air.

Sitting in the cockpit of the car, he felt the vibration of the engines passing through the control cables and, like a melody, reverberating through his body. Clad in a rough-cut overalls, racing helmet, goggles and gloves, the boy held his seat so tightly that he felt every gust of wind hitting the bottom of the car. In the heat of the race, he was not just a helmsman, not just an additional element of the structure. He was the structure itself - its engines, its cabin. He was connected with them in a way incomprehensible even to himself. Every tilt, the smallest push, every jerk and turn of the frame and joints was transmitted to the pilot, and his senses continuously recorded everything that happened to the car. It was as if the car spoke to him in a special language - a mixture of sounds and sensations - and, although there were no words in this language, the boy understood everything that the car told him.

It seemed to him that sometimes he even knew what was going to be discussed before it was “spoken.”

To the right, an orange spark struck with a metallic sheen, and a recognizable silhouette in the form of a torn cross loomed ahead - Sebulba ousted Anakin from the leading position, which he managed to occupy thanks to his rapid start. The boy wrinkled his forehead, angry with himself for a moment's inattention and hostility towards his opponent, which prevented him from concentrating on the race. Clumsy and bow-legged, Sebulba had a disgusting soul; He was a dangerous opponent, he won often and for this he did not hesitate to expose others. Last year alone, more than a dozen riders were injured in accidents because of this dag, and every time he told his friends on the dusty streets of Mos Espa tales of his “exploits,” his eyes lit up with perverse pleasure. Anakin knew Sebulba well and understood perfectly well that it was better not to mess with him.

He pressed the steering levers, and the car, feeling an influx of fresh energy, rushed in pursuit.

The fact that Anakin was a human - or, more precisely, the only human who had ever participated in these races - did not help his chances. Racing was considered on Tatooine the highest test of skill and courage, and besides, it was a favorite spectacle for the inhabitants of Mos Espa. For a person to drive a car at such speeds was beyond the realm of possibility. Other races were given an advantage by additional limbs with many joints and heads that rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, eyestalks and flexible, as if boneless, bodies - all that was not originally given to humans. The most famous racers, the best representatives of their race, invariably had a strange appearance and complex structure, and their appetite for risk bordered on madness.

Possessing none of the above, Anakin Skywalker, however, intuitively sensed what skills the sport would require of him, and did not give in to these demands, which is why it seemed as if he did not need any distinctive features. This gave him a certain mystery in the eyes of those around him, and Sebulba was increasingly infuriated every day.

During the race a month earlier, the treacherous Doug tried to grind Anakin's car into the chute. The idea failed only because Anakin sensed the approach of Sebulba, who was trying to cut his right Stilton cable with a forbidden sharpening saw. The pilot took the car up in advance and lost the race, but saved his life. And he was still angry that he was given such a choice.

The rivals rushed between ancient sculptures and found themselves in an arena built on the outskirts of Mos Espa. They ducked under the finish arch, past the cheering spectators crowding into the stands, past the pit droids, service stations and luxury boxes in which the Hutts elevated themselves above the common people. In the center of the arena there was a tower with a commentary booth, from which a two-headed troig announced the names and results of the racers to the crowd.

Setting out for a new circle, Anakin risked a glance at the blurry silhouettes, which immediately disappeared from sight, like a mirage. Somewhere among them was his mother Shmi, who, as always, was worried about her son. They had never discussed anything like this, but it seemed to Anakin that she believed that her presence in the stands could protect him from misfortune. So far, this faith has not failed her. The boy had accidents twice, and once did not even reach the finish line, but was not injured in any of the more than half a dozen races. And Anakin liked having his mother around. He experienced inspiration, the essence of which he did not bother to think about.

And he had nowhere to go. He raced because he was good at it, and Watto knew how good he was. Watto ordered - he carried out. Such is the fate of a slave, and Anakin Skywalker was a slave from birth.

Ahead stood the wide and long Arch Canyon, a rocky break that led to the winding Sharp Rocks Gorge that riders would have to negotiate on the way to the mesas. Sebulba walked ahead, kept low, almost close to the surface, and kept trying to break away from Anakin. Behind them, three more were rapidly approaching from the horizon. With a quick glance, the boy determined that it was Mahonik, Gazgano and Rimcar in their awkward bubble car. All three were closing the gap to the race leaders. Anakin started to give in, but then slowed down. The race was already approaching the gorge. If you overdo it, remember your name. In a gorge, the reaction speed must be lightning fast. Better to wait it out.

Mahonic and Gazgano seemed to be of the same opinion and lined up behind Anakin as they approached the rift. But Rimkar decided not to waste time on trifles, cut off the boy a split second before the entrance to the canyon and disappeared in the darkness.

Anakin leveled the car and lifted it higher, away from the rock-strewn canyon floor. Making his way along the winding canal, he trusted his memory and instincts. During the race, everything seemed to slow down for the boy. The feeling was like nothing else. Rocks, sand and shadows floated past in an unpredictable kaleidoscope of patterns and shades, but he could still see them clearly. The details did not blend into the surroundings, but... on the contrary, they stood out against its background. Anakin thought he could drive the car with his eyes closed. After all, he was on the same wavelength with everything that surrounded him, and had a great feel for the area in which he was.

Anakin slid effortlessly down the canyon. Red flashes flashed in the shadows ahead - the exhaust of Rimkar's engines, and high overhead the sky was visible - a bright blue stripe in the middle of a rocky canopy. Only a thin ray of light entered the rift, losing its strength with every meter, so that when it reached Anakin and his rivals, it barely dispelled the darkness. However, the pilot was calm, immersed in his thoughts and drove the car, merging with its engines, with the vibration and hum of the mechanism and the soft velvet darkness around.