Part 5 of "New Beginnings". I tried to type this earlier, but my stupid comp went dead, so I'm doing it now. Hope you like it!
A/N: ~~ indicates private thoughts, and // indicates telepathy. This is where the sap actually starts. (i.e. layla+qui and casey+obi). Ok, on with the fic!
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Somehow we managed to slip into the hanger bay unnoticed. The doors leading to the generator pit were still closed. I sighed in relief as I realized that we'd made it there before the others. I quickly activated the doors and we took off again, taking care not to fall from the high catwalks. There was no way that either of us would ever be able to survive a fall like that.
Once we had reached the melting pit area, we concealed ourselves on a somewhat narrow ledge just above the place where the two Jedi and the Sith would soon appear. I could feel my heart pounding wildly in the silence as time just seemed to stretch itself out into an eternity.
"Are you all right?" Casey asked after a few minutes, nudging me lightly in the side with her elbow.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," I answered with more reassurance than I actually felt right then.
For a moment I thought for sure that she was going to say something more about it, but she didn't get the chance to do so. I gestured for her to be quiet as the Jedi and the Sith finally showed up, all three of them trapped behind the red shield walls. Casey and I pressed ourselves further back into the shadows, using the Force to shield ourselves, lest they would be able to sense our presences there.
I watched in morbid fascination as the shields opened again and Qui-Gon and Maul started fighting again and Obi-Wan raced towards them, finally getting stuck behind the last one. I found myself suddenly unable to move, frozen in place.
But I came back to reality a few moments later as I watched Maul try to knock Qui-Gon off guard with a well-placed blow with the hilt of his lightsaber. I screamed as Maul started to impale him.
"Hey you!" I yelled, startling Maul. He pulled the lightsaber out of Qui-Gon, the blade only having gone about half-way though him. "Yeah, that's right! I'm talking to you, tall, dark and stupid!"
With that I leapt down from my perch, screaming a shrill battle cry, and landed on top of Maul, pinning him to the floor beneath me and knocking his 'saber away.
Distantly I heard Obi-Wan's heart-wrenching outcry of anguished denial as Qui-Gon collapsed to the floor. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Casey, NOW!" I shrieked, quickly jumping out of the way as Maul called his 'saber back to him and stood up again.
I went into a roll and scrambled out of the 'line of fire'. A moment later, Maul and Casey were locked in a heated battle. There was an angry fire blazing in my friend's dark brown eyes that I'd never seen in her before, not even in the few times I'd managed to accidentally tick her off in the extreme. I shuddered once. Then I heard her yell defiantly as I rushed to Qui-Gon's side.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now, you stupid tattooed retard!" she shouted furiously.
//Keep him distracted until Obi-Wan can get there. I'll see to Qui-Gon. The wound looks like it's a little deep, but I don't think it's fatal. I should be able to heal it. At least, I hope so anyway// I sent to Casey through our fledgling bond.
She didn't speak, but I saw her nod her agreement out of the corner of my eye. Satisfied that she had been able to buy us at least a little bit of time, I turned my attention back to Qui-Gon. As gently as I could, I lifted his head into my lap, one hand resting lightly on his cheek, the other over the wound in his chest.
Behind us I heard the sounds of the battle intensify as Obi-Wan rushed into the fray. I tried to block it out, instead focusing on drawing on the Force to heal Qui-Gon.
Just then his eyes opened and he looked up at me in confusion. I felt myself starting to drown in those noble, mysterious sapphire blue eyes as our gazes locked.
"Who are you? Where's Obi-Wan?" he asked.
"Shhh, it's all right," I whispered. "He's fine. You're hurt, but you'll be oka I'm using the Force to heal your wound."
He nodded almost imperceptibly and I felt him relax. Finding my calm center, I let the Force flow through me and into him, even drawing on some of my own life force.
Through my own haze, I was vaguely aware at that moment of Casey shouting, "We did it! We did it!" over and over again triumphantly. I allowed the ghost of a smile to slowly creep onto my face and sighed in relief.
A/N: ~~ indicates private thoughts, and // indicates telepathy. This is where the sap actually starts. (i.e. layla+qui and casey+obi). Ok, on with the fic!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Somehow we managed to slip into the hanger bay unnoticed. The doors leading to the generator pit were still closed. I sighed in relief as I realized that we'd made it there before the others. I quickly activated the doors and we took off again, taking care not to fall from the high catwalks. There was no way that either of us would ever be able to survive a fall like that.
Once we had reached the melting pit area, we concealed ourselves on a somewhat narrow ledge just above the place where the two Jedi and the Sith would soon appear. I could feel my heart pounding wildly in the silence as time just seemed to stretch itself out into an eternity.
"Are you all right?" Casey asked after a few minutes, nudging me lightly in the side with her elbow.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," I answered with more reassurance than I actually felt right then.
For a moment I thought for sure that she was going to say something more about it, but she didn't get the chance to do so. I gestured for her to be quiet as the Jedi and the Sith finally showed up, all three of them trapped behind the red shield walls. Casey and I pressed ourselves further back into the shadows, using the Force to shield ourselves, lest they would be able to sense our presences there.
I watched in morbid fascination as the shields opened again and Qui-Gon and Maul started fighting again and Obi-Wan raced towards them, finally getting stuck behind the last one. I found myself suddenly unable to move, frozen in place.
But I came back to reality a few moments later as I watched Maul try to knock Qui-Gon off guard with a well-placed blow with the hilt of his lightsaber. I screamed as Maul started to impale him.
"Hey you!" I yelled, startling Maul. He pulled the lightsaber out of Qui-Gon, the blade only having gone about half-way though him. "Yeah, that's right! I'm talking to you, tall, dark and stupid!"
With that I leapt down from my perch, screaming a shrill battle cry, and landed on top of Maul, pinning him to the floor beneath me and knocking his 'saber away.
Distantly I heard Obi-Wan's heart-wrenching outcry of anguished denial as Qui-Gon collapsed to the floor. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Casey, NOW!" I shrieked, quickly jumping out of the way as Maul called his 'saber back to him and stood up again.
I went into a roll and scrambled out of the 'line of fire'. A moment later, Maul and Casey were locked in a heated battle. There was an angry fire blazing in my friend's dark brown eyes that I'd never seen in her before, not even in the few times I'd managed to accidentally tick her off in the extreme. I shuddered once. Then I heard her yell defiantly as I rushed to Qui-Gon's side.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now, you stupid tattooed retard!" she shouted furiously.
//Keep him distracted until Obi-Wan can get there. I'll see to Qui-Gon. The wound looks like it's a little deep, but I don't think it's fatal. I should be able to heal it. At least, I hope so anyway// I sent to Casey through our fledgling bond.
She didn't speak, but I saw her nod her agreement out of the corner of my eye. Satisfied that she had been able to buy us at least a little bit of time, I turned my attention back to Qui-Gon. As gently as I could, I lifted his head into my lap, one hand resting lightly on his cheek, the other over the wound in his chest.
Behind us I heard the sounds of the battle intensify as Obi-Wan rushed into the fray. I tried to block it out, instead focusing on drawing on the Force to heal Qui-Gon.
Just then his eyes opened and he looked up at me in confusion. I felt myself starting to drown in those noble, mysterious sapphire blue eyes as our gazes locked.
"Who are you? Where's Obi-Wan?" he asked.
"Shhh, it's all right," I whispered. "He's fine. You're hurt, but you'll be oka I'm using the Force to heal your wound."
He nodded almost imperceptibly and I felt him relax. Finding my calm center, I let the Force flow through me and into him, even drawing on some of my own life force.
Through my own haze, I was vaguely aware at that moment of Casey shouting, "We did it! We did it!" over and over again triumphantly. I allowed the ghost of a smile to slowly creep onto my face and sighed in relief.