Chapter 0: Opening Crawl
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
STAR WARS DIVERGENCE
EPISODE I: SURVIVAL
It is a time of political turmoil. The evil TRADE FEDERATION has invaded the peaceful planet of NABOO, forcing the inhabitants to unite against their greedy and tyrannical bid for political and military power.
In this desperate struggle for freedom, the Naboo are aided by the Jedi QUI-GON JINN, his Padawan OBI-WAN KENOBI, and a Tatooine boy rescued from slavery named ANAKIN SKYWALKER. These heroes have provided essential help to the Naboo by attacking the Droid Control ship and diverting the attention of the Sith Lord DARTH MAUL from the natives' brave gambit to capture the Federation's leaders.
The plan has proven successful. The droid army is disabled, and Naboo has been liberated from Federation control. However, the Sith Maul still lives, and has managed to trap Master Qui-Gon alone, with his Padawan unable to help. As Qui-Gon makes his final stand against a seemingly unstoppable Sith Lord, The Fates move to intervene in this deadly Duel...
Chapter 1: Twist of the Fates
Qui-Gon breathed slowly as he stared up at his opponent. The blood-red Zabrak paced in front of the energy shield separating the two combatants. He seemed anxious to continue their melee. Qui-Gon was not.
Qui-Gon closed his eyes and began to meditate and weigh his options. The Zabrak Sith was faster, more powerful, and possibly more skilled than he. While Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had together driven the Zabrak back to the recesses of the Theed power generator, the tide of the duel had shifted towards the Sith warrior's favor when the Sith had successfully separated Master from Apprentice.
Qui-Gon could sense Obi-Wan some 30 yards behind him, separated by almost 8 more ray-shield barriers. He was standing, and his breathing was more tense than that of Qui-Gon. Like the Sith Lord, Obi-Wan was ready and eager to continue the fight.
The room in front of them was circular, with a large pit in the middle. Qui-Gon reasoned that it must be another conduit for transferring energy to the Theed grid, and vaguely considered its use in weakening or disabling Maul. He rejected this as unlikely, suspecting that the same safety measures that had activated the ray shields separating the combatants would prevent the room from activating again.
Qui-Gon realized another downside to the adjoining room's layout: there was no room to maneuver. The central pit was surrounded by a walking area two yards wide at the most, with nothing in the way of elevated platforms or unstable objects that could turn the tide of the fight. This meant that the impending fight would be decided solely by the combatants' skills with a lightsaber in close quarters. With this in mind, the advantage to the Sith's apparent mastery of Jar'Kai, far more effective in one-on-one saber combat than Qui-Gon's preferred Ataru.
The prospects did not seem to be in Qui-Gon's favor.
Suddenly, the ray shield receded, and Qui-Gon and the Sith moved simultaneously. Qui-Gon leapt to his feet while activating his lightsaber to block the Sith's blow. The Sith stepped back, stepped forward and struck again, Qui-Gon again blocking his blow. As Qui-Gon was driven around the room, the weakness of his Ataru form against Jar'Kai became more and more apparent. But then a strange thought struck the Jedi Master: if Ataru was so ineffective here, why use it?
The Sith continued to attack, while Qui-Gon continued to block and think.
The answer seemed obvious at first. After all, Qui-Gon was a master of Ataru, but not exceptionally skilled in other forms of saber combat.
Obi-Wan was standing where Qui-Gon had been kneeling not forty-five seconds ago, separated from the duelists by the ray shield.
If Qui-Gon attempted to change forms in the middle of the fight, he would lose the one advantage that had allowed him to survive despite using a form vulnerable to that of his opponent. He would lose his familiarity with his style and his intimate knowledge of how to adapt to the inherent weaknesses of his form.
The Sith's saber crashed and crashed again and again against Qui-Gon's saber, each blow fueled by the ferocity and power of the Dark Side.
But if Qui-Gon took the risk, if he took the leap of faith and used a style that his opponent did not expect, what could happen? The Sith would be caught off guard. Qui-Gon would be able to press his advantage and gain the upper hand.
As the Sith drove Qui-Gon farther and farther from the exit, Qui-Gon made his choice. While the Sith recoiled from another attack, Qui-Gon leaped backwards, landing in the best Soresu stance he could muster. He stood firm, reaching outward with his arm while keeping his lightsaber in a defensive position.
The Sith, as Qui-Gon had predicted, was taken aback at this abrupt change in tactics. Qui-Gon sensed a brief flash of surprise from the direction of the exit, telling him that Obi-Wan felt the same as the dark warrior. But this surprise was replaced by comprehension in another flash, as Obi-Wan realized the prudence of this changed approach.
The Sith recovered from his confusion and attacked. Qui-Gon blocked another blow, but this time he held his position for another second, pushing his opponent away in the next. The Sith staggered backwards, and Qui-Gon pressed his advantage, going on the offensive while keeping with his Soresu stance.
The Sith tried to regain his footing in the duel, but could not adjust to the change in pace. The duel continued as Qui-Gon began to attack, driving the Sith back towards the doorway. As the Sith staggered back from another blow, Qui-Gon acted upon a Force-given impulse and lunged forward, aiming for the Sith's saber.
The blood-red doubled-bladed saber split cleanly in half, much to the shock of its wielder.
The next half-second, the Sith himself split cleanly in half, although unlike the saber, the cut was horizontal.
The Sith's face registered only shock as he staggered for moment. His knees gave way and he fell to the floor face-down, his upper half grotesquely sliding forward across the surface of the floor as Qui-Gon sidestepped it.
The ray shield receded again, and Obi-Wan rushed to his Master's side, surveying the dead warrior with surprise and trepidation. He then looked up at his Master, who nodded and deactivated his lightsaber.
"It is finished, my young Padawan."