Lost in the Shadows

Chapter Ten: Retaking Naboo

The shiny spacecraft took off from the landing platform and angled towards the sky. Inside, the Queen and her entourage were heading back to the planet of Naboo, since the Senate meeting didn't go at all like she had hoped. However, they did perhaps have one saving grace. Jar Jar Binks had mentioned something about the Gungans having a grand army. If the Gungan's remained alive, then perhaps past differences could be put aside for the common good of retaking the planet. Along with the Queen, her handmaidens and Captain Panaka, the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi were ordered to accompany her back to Naboo in order to draw out Qui-Gon's Sith attacker. With them, the two boys Anakin and Henry went.

The council's final verdict on the matter was what Henry had expected all along. It was clear the council wasn't fond of Anakin; citing that he was too old, even though Henry knew that the reason they didn't want to train his brother was they sensed the fear and turmoil in him. With Henry, the verdict hadn't been as easy. While they had wanted him, they all had sensed that he was holding something back, and with him unwilling to tell what that something was, they all decided to deny him as well; citing that he too was too old.

Henry sat in the cabin that was supposed to belong to the Jedi. He wasn't too concerned for Anakin. The boy would prove himself to the Council; he would be trained as a Jedi before too long. Henry on the other hand? He wasn't sure how he could prove himself to the Council. Anakin would destroy the Federation's Droid Control ship that would be orbiting the planet of Naboo and he would do it with the assistance of the Force. Henry? Well...what could he do that would be of such significance that the Council might change their mind?

It was something he pondered throughout the rest of the flight to Naboo, and the subsequent tracking down of the Gungans who were hiding in their Sacred Place. The Naboo and the Gungans made peace and seeing Boss Nass slobber; it almost made Henry throw up. Boss Nass was never his favorite and the scenes where he was releasing his bodily fluid from his mouth always disgusted the lad.

The day wore on as Queen Amidala finally laid out her plan to retake the city of Theed. They would attack the palace and attempt to take the Viceroy. Meanwhile, the Gungans would be the diversion and would attack the main Droid troops far from the city, and to aid the Gungans, Naboo pilots would fly into space and attempt to knock out the Droid Control ship. If all went as planned then the droids would be neutralized and the Viceroy would be in custody, which would successfully end the occupation.

At roughly what Henry believed to be 4pm, it all began. The Jedi, the Queen, some troops and Captain Panaka stealthily made their way into the city of Theed. Henry and Anakin went with them because there was no other place for them to stay. At least with the Jedi nearby, they would remain safe. That was the theory anyway.

A hidden signal was given and thus the diversion began. An explosion rocked the open square as a droid transport was destroyed. This gave the Queen, her select troops, the Jedi and the two boys enough time to sneak into the main hanger bay where the single pilot vessels were. All they needed to do was clear it out so the pilots could take off. Easy, right?

Qui-Gon had instructed Ani and Henry to stay down and find cover. A simple task one would think, but with the blaster bolts sizzling everywhere, it was hard to find any place that was completely safe. Spying an open cockpit, Henry quickly sprung up the stairs and slipped in. He was small enough that the cockpit pretty much engulfed him; much as it did Anakin who took refuge in another transport vessel.

Eventually the droids were all taken care of and the pilots were allowed to launch their craft and head towards the Droid Control Ship. Henry heard Anakin stand up and cry out, "Hey! What about me?" Curious, he sat up and saw Qui-Gon point to Anakin and instruct him to stay in that cockpit. Obviously, he wasn't going to take any sass from the boy and another look in the blonde lad's direction was enough to make him settle back down in the cockpit. Just then everyone stopped when the double doors opened to admit a menace dressed all in black.

"Darth Maul..." Henry breathed out ever so softly, eying the dark menace. He didn't hear Qui-Gon say that they'd handle it. However he did see the two Jedi remove their cloaks and ignite their lightsabers, just as the Sith did. As they engaged the Sith, more droids and destroyers showed up. Anakin managed to get his ship moving and used the gun to take out the destroyers and most of the droids so Padme and her group could continue. After a few moments, Anakin's transport; which was on automatic pilot, left the hanger bay and headed for space, while the Queen and her guards made their way out of the hanger bay; Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and the Sith having already left.

Henry sat alone in his transport, biting his bottom lip. He knew what was going to happen to Qui-Gon. Maul was going to run him through and the Master would die. It was the saddest moment in the story but it was something that had to happen...or did it? As he sat there, there was a tugging in his mind. A little voice that told him to get up and follow after the Jedi. It was almost quite foolish. What could an unarmed twelve year old do against a Sith? Henry wanted to stay but as the minutes ticked away, the compulsion to get up finally overpowered him. Rising, he climbed out of the transport and ran down the hallway he had seen the Jedi and Sith go down. Running as fast as he could, he saw many open doors but only one looked damaged, so this was the path he chose.

Remembering the huge power generator with all its long shafts, catwalks and those energy beams, Henry knew his path to the Jedi wouldn't be straight and simple. Instead of panicking, Henry closed his eyes for a moment, centered himself and then let the Force guide him. He started to move again, through several rooms that had several doors which would take him who knows where, and into another one that led in to the huge reactor chamber itself. Looking around the chamber, the first thing that came to Henry's mind was just how enormous the place was. The movie did not do it justice in any way, shape, or form. Lights, power conduits and walkways were everywhere at differing heights. From wall to wall it looked to be at least half a mile in length; of course, maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. Now, the only question that remained was: How the hell was he going to reach the Jedi in time? They were so far ahead and down at least several levels! While Henry couldn't see them, he just thought he could hear the clashing of their weapons over the hum of the generators. Spying a simple silver ladder attached to the side of one of the generators, Henry followed it with his eyes. It seemed to go down at least five levels. Maybe it was long enough!

Climbing down the ladder, Henry bit at his bottom lip. Just what the hell was he doing, honestly?! How was he supposed to stop a Sith with no weapon? Hearing some noise, Henry paused and looked down.

It was Qui-Gon and the Sith, battling like there was no tomorrow! Granted, yes it was difficult to recognize them given that the boy was still far enough above them, but the color of the lightsabers could not be mistaken. Quickening his pace, Henry climbed down as fast as his arms and legs could take him. He still wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to do, but whatever it was, by God he was going to do it!

Upon reaching the bottom, he looked to the left and saw nothing much of interest except for the massive energy conduits that ran the power generator. Looking to the right, his heart nearly jumped into his mouth as he saw that Qui-Gon and the Sith had already reached the laser barrier. Obi-Wan was already ahead of him as well which meant that he would have to book it if he had any hope of catching up. Henry didn't know what exactly he was going to do once he caught up to them but he couldn't ignore the feeling he had. It was like a magnet was dragging him along towards the Jedi. Starting to run in their general direction, Henry kept his gaze focused. He saw Qui-Gon and the Sith make it through the first few barriers before they were triggered. Obi-Wan hadn't even made it through one. While it was difficult to see, Henry imagined Qui-Gon kneeling down in meditation; his face covered with a fine sheen of sweat while the Sith was probably devising his evil plan on how to dispatch of the Jedi.

Finally the beams cut off and the fight continued. Qui-Gon and Maul battled through the rest of the barriers with Obi-Wan hot on their heels. Reaching the barriers, Henry gritted his teeth, his eyes on Obi-Wan. Running in, it wasn't six seconds later that Henry felt it: the warning through the Force. Giving a small cry he threw himself forward just making it past the second to last barrier to land next to Obi-Wan who was trapped in front of the final barrier.

"Henry!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, a look of surprise and horror on his face, "What are you doing here?!"

Coughing a few times, Henry picked himself up off of the ground, looking to the Jedi padawan. "I had to come!" the boy exclaimed; sweat beading his own forehead. "I had this feeling!" Glancing through the last barrier, Henry swallowed hard, watching Qui-Gon and Maul continue to battle. That final blow was sure to happen at any minute. Feeling Obi-Wan tense up even more, a powerful wave through the Force hit Henry like a shockwave. "NNNOOOO!" he yelled out, voice reverberating off of the walls.

In all honesty, the young lad had no idea what happened. One minute he was watching the battle, preparing for the strike which would end the Jedi Knight's life and in the next, Darth Maul had spun, intending to strike, but the double bladed saber just stayed where it was in the air for a brief moment before it seemed to hurtle itself towards Henry who had his right hand extended towards the barrier but not touching the powerful beam. The lightsaber hit the ground, blades shutting off while the handle itself skittered to a halt just in front of the red energy beams that separated the boy and Padawan from the Master and Sith.

In shock, three pairs of eyes looked directly at him and it seemed like time stood still, but, just like that the surprise was over. The Sith had jumped back and once again summoned the deadly saber back into his grip and the fight continued. Suddenly there was yet another warning through the Force and just as the last barrier disconnected, Qui-Gon was struck by Maul's saber. This time, no one had time to yell or do anything as Obi-Wan jumped in and began to battle the Sith, his blue blade moving this way and that as he not only blocked, but attacked the Sith as well.

Forcing his fear down in to the depths of his mind, Henry took one look at the combatants before he ran over to the fallen Jedi Master.

"O...Obi-Wan...?" the dying Master grunted out.

"N...no sir, it's me...Henry!" the boy replied, voice trembling with sorrow. He looked over Qui-Gon's body, seeing the entry point of the Sith's lightsaber. While Henry hadn't gotten too terribly close to the Jedi; not like his brother Anakin, he had seen Qui-Gon's death multiple times in the film and as such, witnessing it now brought tears to the lad's eyes. No! He couldn't witness it again! Fighting back tears, Henry put both hands on Qui-Gon's chest, right where his injury was. He knew that for most injuries, one needed to apply pressure to it, but with a lightsaber injury, he didn't know if pressure was needed or not. Well, better safe than sorry, right? "I'm not going to let you die...!" he declared, bottom lip trembling.

"All...all things must come to an end..." Qui-Gon grunted.

Maybe the Jedi was correct, but was this one of those times? Closing brown eyes, Henry concentrated; not on a single physical thing but on the Force itself. He imagined Qui-Gon's injuries in his mind, and he pictured them stabilizing; organs continuing to function, the blood continuing to flow, the pain even easing a little. A clinking sound off in the distance was enough for Henry to open his eyes. He first looked down at Qui-Gon, who was staring up at him with an unreadable expression. However, he didn't look like he was in pain and the Jedi's life force that Henry had felt flooding away was growing stronger. Letting out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding, Henry was in complete shock, not understanding how he had done it at all. In his eyes, all he had done was wish that the Jedi could live and not die. So, how was this possible?!

Feeling a sharp pain in his head, Henry grimaced but he didn't say anything or remove his hands from the Jedi.

"Henry," Qui-Gon weakly whispered, "You must stop this. Y-you aren't strong enough to contain it for long..."

Henry however shook his head. "I will not let you die...!" he reiterated through gritted teeth even while the pain in his head continued to get worse. Movement off to the side caught his attention. Fixing his eyes on Qui-Gon's lightsaber, he watched it jump from the ground and sail towards the pit, just as Obi-Wan had jumped up as well. The lightsaber ignited and landed in the padawan's hand and just like that the Sith was sliced in half; both halves of the dark warrior falling down into the pit.

Footsteps approached and just as smoothly, Obi-Wan was there, lifting his Master's head up off the ground to cradle it in his lap. "Master...!" he cried out ever so softly.

"Obi-Wan..." Qui-Gon called, his own voice soft but not as weak, "Tell Henry to stop and let me go. He is using his strength in the Force to keep me alive but he is quickly losing strength...and...you must promise me that you will train Anakin..."

While the master was speaking, Henry was gritting his teeth in pain. No! Qui-Gon couldn't say his goodbyes! Not yet! "With all due respect!" Henry declared, raising his voice, "Be quiet!" He knew his strength wouldn't last, but he just knew that he had enough strength for this! "Obi-Wan! I can do this but we have to find a doctor or a med bay...or someone! Please!"

He watched the young Jedi hesitate for a few brief moments before a decision was made. Even though the Jedi was tired, Obi-Wan stood up and picked up his Master's shoulders, while Henry stood up and gripped Qui-Gon's legs. Together, the two of them headed for the exit from the power generator.

…

The pain in his head and the sheer exhaustion in his whole entire body was nearing the breaking point when they entered the Queen's personal medical bay. When they had gone to the palace they had met the Queen's double; still all dolled up in the white makeup, and a few of her bodyguards. It took only one glance at the injured Jedi before they were personally escorted to the medical bay where a 21-B surgical droid was always on standby.

Immediately upon entry, the droid got to work, taking Qui-Gon from Obi-Wan and Henry. In all honesty however, Henry didn't notice much of that or of anything else really. His head felt like someone was bashing it in with a baseball bat and his entire body felt like jello. Moaning a little, Henry closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his head. He couldn't understand why it still hurt like hell. Qui-Gon was still alive, he was with the surgical droid right now so...

"Henry? Are you alright?"

Henry barely recognized Obi-Wan's voice and he barely noticed the slight pressure on his arm; perhaps the padawan touching him? "I think..." Henry moaned, "I think I'm gonna..." His lips parted and seconds later he lost the contents of his stomach; which was mostly bile at that time. Dropping to his knees, the boy went completely limp and hit the deck; out like a light.