Title: Change of Fate
Summary: This is a story that explores what if it had been Obi-Wan stuck with Darth Maul behind the shield and the aftermath. Very AU.
Notes: TPM AU
Category: AU
Author: k9handler1969
Chapter 1
Jedi Apprentice Obi –Wan Kenobi and his Master Qui-Gon Jinn faced off with the tattooed Zabrak sith with a double bladed lightsaber on the other side of the hanger door. It was the same Sith that had attacked Qui-Gon on Tatooine.
"We'll handle this." Qui-Gon said calmly as he and Obi-Wan removed their robes, ignited their lightsabers and prepared themselves for the fight to come.
Queen Amidala took one look and stated, "We'll take the long way." She and the rest of the raiding party disappeared around the corner into another corridor in the hanger heading for the throne room.
After the queen left the battle between the Jedi and the Sith began in earnest. They battled their way through the Theed power station. Each combatant getting in his own licks on his foe. The battle looked more like a choreographed dance than a fateful duel to the death.
Together Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan made a very formidable pair. The both of them feeding off the others strength and each move and counter move a choreographed dance between them, linked by their mental bond. The sith warrior knew that he would not be able to defeat them while they were together. He had to split them apart and defeat them one by one and the most obvious choice to go after first was the younger Jedi apprentice because he would be the less experienced of the two men.
Obi-Wan managed to avoid a kick from the Sith that would have sent him off the catwalk several stories below and pursued the Sith closely. The Sith later tried the same move with Qui-Gon who didn't avoid it as Obi-Wan had and was he was sent over the ledge and fell four stories below. Qui-Gon looked up to see Obi-Wan still pursuing the Sith along the catwalk above him.
//Wait for me Obi-Wan. He wants to split us up, he knows that we are stronger together than apart.// Qui-Gon yelled at him through their bond.
Obi-Wan either didn't hear the cry in his mind from his master or was too single-minded on his goal to defeat the sith because Qui-Gon did not receive any acknowledgment back from his Padawan and that worried him because that was so unlike Obi-Wan not to respond.
Qui-Gon leaped to the catwalk above him and pursued the battle between his Padawan and the sith. He came to a sliding stop as he reached the force field doors as they closed before he could get through them.
Qui-Gon could see Obi-Wan and the sith ahead of him. They were also trapped between the shield doors. Obi-Wan on one side and the sith on the other. Qui-Gon knew that the doors near the other two combatants would cycle first and the one in front of him would cycle last. He knew that he would only have a small window of opportunity to make it through the last shield before it cycled and reengage into the battle.
//Obi-Wan, wait for me.//
Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan leapt up from his meditation a split second before the shield doors cycled open, helpless but to watch as his beloved apprentice battled the sith on his own. While watching the battle he also realized proudly that Obi-Wan was truly ready for the trials and this battle was a trial in and of itself.
When the shield door finally cycled open Qui-Gon ran full tilt down the corridor, trying to get back into the battle, only to be stopped at the last moment by the shield cycling back into place. He could now only watch as Obi-Wan still battled the sith alone.
Obi-Wan fought with a purpose. Not for his own life, but the lives of the others and his own master. He somehow knew that if Qui-Gon were in this room instead of him, he would not walk out of here and he was willing to give his life to make sure that his master did indeed walk away.
The battle between the two men went on until Maul saw his chance. Using both his inertia and the angle of his blade he managed to bring it around across the mid-section of the Jedi. Not cutting him in two, but very severely wounding him.
Qui-Gon watched this unbelievable moment happen to his beloved Obi-Wan. "NOOOOOOOOO!"
Darth Maul took a step back and lowered his guard as he thought that the Jedi was going down and looked over at Qui-Gon still behind the shield, grinning in triumph, but much to his surprise Obi-Wan managed to stay on his feet a little bit longer and bring his saber around Maul's midsection, cleaving him in half and both halves fell down the shaft as Obi-Wan also fell to the ground.
The normally calm Jedi master ran to Obi-Wan as soon as the shields opened and cradled the young mans head in his lap. His emotions were very near the surface as Qui-Gon stroked the ginger-colored hair of his apprentice. He was trying to keep his eyes averted from the horrendous injury the young man had suffered. His mind kept telling him that there was no way that Obi-Wan would survive this injury, but his heart was telling him that he would. He picked up Obi-Wan's hand and held it, giving him as much of his healing force energy as he could and hoping that Obi-Wan could hold on.
Obi-Wan opened his pain-filled eyes and looked up at his master. He was in so much pain, but was glad that Qui-Gon was alive and unhurt.
"Why didn't you wait for me, young one?"
"Wanted you to live." He whispered. "I had a feeling that one of us was going to die and I would rather it be me than you. "
Qui-Gon looked at the young man that over the year that he came to consider as his son. His selfless and self-sacrificing son. He just sat there holding his beloved child, hoping that help would arrive soon.
Within a couple of minutes, several people came running into the room, including Queen Amadala and several others, including two healers. She had seen on the security monitors that the Jedi were down. They quickly scooped up the injured apprentice and raced him to the medical ward in the palace.
Several hours later the already exhausted Qui-Gon's patience had worn thin. He had taken a few minutes after arriving at the medical wing to contact the Jedi council on the recent events. The report didn't go well. Yoda had been very concerned about Obi-Wan. He had always been one of Yoda's favorites. Qui-Gon at first sat down to wait. He could still feel his apprentice through their bond. but it was very weak.
When he could stand sitting no longer he began to pace. The queen was waiting with him and tried to get him to sit down, but he continued to pace the floor back and forth. His worry about Obi-Wan riding all of his thoughts. When he though he could stand it no longer he walked over the doors of the surgical area. He was going to see Obi-Wan come hell or high water. As he was about to push the doors open, one of the healers attending to Obi-Wan came out and was face to face with Qui-Gon.
The small healer looked up at the much taller and larger man, knowing that even though Obi-Wan was still alive, Qui-Gon was not going to like the news."He's still alive, Master Jinn, but just barely. He's very, very weak right now and in a bacta tank. Even though it is helping to keep him alive, the bacta will not entirely heal him. He's in a great deal of pain and is going to need many more surgeries to repair the damage done by the lightsaber to his abdomen and back and even if he lives he probably will never walk right again or be the way he was before."
Qui-Gon looked at the doctor relieved that Obi-Wan was still alive, but soon to be heart-broken that his dream of being a Jedi was probably over. He knew that Obi-Wan was a fighter and would fight to his last breath for what he wanted if he had too.
The healer spoke again, "Master Jinn. We do not have the facilities to attend fully to his injuries here. The best we can do is keep him alive and try to make him as comfortable as we can. There is a hospital on Corellia that specializes in injuries such as these. They also have a rehabilitation wing that well help him once all the surgeries are done." The doctor paused, not wanting to give Qui-Gon false hope. "That is if he makes it through the night and the bacta treatment. Once he is stable enough to be moved I would recommend that he be transferred there."
Qui-Gon nodded. He knew that that kind of prolonged treatment would be very expensive and he hoped that the order would approprate the money for Obi-Wan's care. If they didn't he didn't know how he would pay for it, but would find a way. The furlong look on the healers face told him that the possibly that Obi-Wan may not make it was a very good one. "Can I see him?"
"Yes. But, he's still in the bacta tank."
Qui-Gon nodded to the queen in respect and then followed the healer through the doors. The sight that greeted him broke his heart even further once he saw Obi-Wan floating in the tank completely naked. The wound on the young mans abdomen was massive. Looking at it now it was a wonder that Obi-Wan was even still alive. Qui-Gon stood with his hand to the cool glass of the tank, reaching out to his apprentice through their bond. It was weak, but still there.
Obi-Wan was fighting to live with everything that he had. The true hidden strength that made him who he was through the many trials he had already endured while Qui-Gon's apprentice and those he had to come making itself known. This one was going to be Obi-Wan's greatest trial yet.