One Last Defiance
Only instinct saved Raven from becoming one with the Force in that moment. Her hand activated her own saber and moved to block his purple blade before she completely comprehended what had happened. Nat grimaced at her between the blades, his eyes glinting angrily. He shoved on his saber handle, forcing her back.
Raven shifted just far enough to regain her footing, parrying the next harsh blow he dealt her. The force of the hit sent tremors up her arm. She blocked the next few hits, mentally making calculations. Qui-Gon was about three steps behind her, and Raven didn't want Nat to get between her and him. From what she could quickly discern of his state, he would be conscious soon, although that vague term could range anywhere from ten to fifty minutes. Another blow brought her back to the fight. Regardless of the Jedi's state, it wouldn't matter if she didn't keep Nat at bay somehow.
Switching to the offensive, Raven tried to score her own hits. Nat seemed surprised, allowing himself to be driven back to the edge of the table, about six meters from Qui-Gon. However, Raven doubted the authenticity of that movement. That man never did anything without leaving himself a way out. He had been that way in the Temple, and Raven knew that he hadn't changed much since he'd left.
They came to another momentary deadlock, blades hissing against one another, when Nat applied abrupt, hard pressure against her hand. Raven stumbled backwards, tripping over a piece of furniture to slam painfully against the floor. Stars appeared in her eyes, but now she understood. Nat advanced, towering over her to finish the battle.
Raven kicked out, catching his ankles with her foot. Nathaniel came crashing down, his saber clattering away. He twisted, calling it back to his hand, but Raven had already leapt back to her feet and onto the table. The wood groaned against her weight but held firm.
"You can't win," Nat spat. Blood flecked his lip where he had landed, giving him a demonic look. He wiped at his mouth with cuff of his tunic sleeve, reactivating his saber. "I learned from our first spar. This will be your last."
"So you say," Raven replied. She moved towards him on the tabletop, her boots echoing on the wood. "But didn't you ever listen to Master Yoda? 'Always changing, the future is,' so there is a possibility that I may survive this encounter."
A slow smile crossed his face. "Then let us add another death to your conscious. Perhaps that will take the defiance from you. You can't win, Raven Suul, and I think you should suffer another loss." He moved away from the table, heading for Qui-Gon.
Raven took three long steps to the edge of the table and leapt, landing in a crouch between Nat and Qui-Gon. She whirled, her lightsaber in front of her, blocking Nathaniel's path. "I've put that behind me," she replied, "but I will not let you take the life of another to suit your whims. Not while there is still breath in my body."
"That's the idea."
The pair exchanged more blows, and Raven managed to score the first actual hit. Nat grimaced against the burn and withdrew a short distance. She followed, trading hard strike for hard strike. They were a short distance away when a flicker of movement on the periphery of her vision caught her attention. The other man, Nat's accomplice, was taking careful aim with his blaster, sights on Qui-Gon.
Raven kept her lightsaber in her right hand, fending off Nat as best she could. Bringing her left hand around in front of her, she withdrew her own blaster from its holster. Haphazardly, she aimed in the direction on the accomplice and shot, letting the Force do the fine tuning of her aim. The bolt caught the other man right as he shot, sending the blast from his blaster up into the ceiling, where it hit a light bank and sent sparks raining down on them. The man crumpled soundlessly to the floor.
One spark singed her shoulder, and she watched as another caught Nathaniel on his saber arm. He growled a menacing curse and drove towards her, his strength fueled by his anger. Raven struggled to keep up, the tension in her back suddenly becoming almost too much to bear.
Then she felt it. Qui-Gon's awareness was seeping back to him, and he was sending out tendrils into the Force, deducing the situation. Raven divided her attention, giving him her view of the room, as well as the current situation with Nat. She knew that it wouldn't be long before the pain overpowered her now, for her attention was too divided between the battle, Qui-Gon, and ignoring it.
Nat caught the blade of her saber, twisting it painfully from her hand. It clattered some distance away. Raven reached out her hand and tried to call it, but Nat held it in place, easily overpowering her divided attention. He then struck, and as Raven twisted painfully away, her back tightened, throwing her painfully to the floor. As tears sprang unbidden to her eyes, her blaster, which she hadn't realized she was still holding, skittered a short distance away, and she could feel wetness on her back where the wound had come open.
Nathaniel moved near as Raven rolled onto her back to look up at him. He smiled, a wicked, twisted expression. "'There is no death, there is only the Force,'" he intoned, sweeping his purple blade up for the kill.
***
As Nathaniel swung his blade down, it was blocked by another saber, this one green. The two hissed evilly over Raven. Qui-Gon ended the stalemate by deflecting the shot away, and he moved to stand over Raven. Calling Raven's saber to his hand, he clipped it to his belt as he moved towards Nat. The Dark Jedi moved backwards, warily sizing up his new opponent.
Qui-Gon struck, sending tremors up Nat's arm. Despite the flesh wound on his leg, he moved fluidly and swiftly. His strength evenly matched Nat's, and they moved across the floor in the deadly dance of saber fighting. Qui-Gon shifted Nat away from Raven, forcing him to give ground towards the door. The battle seemed like it would be easy.
Then, Nat deactivated his saber. "It's about the power, you know," he commented. He launched himself from the ground in a neat flip over Qui-Gon's head. "If Valorum managed to convince those idiots in the Senate that they ought to hunt out and discredit corrupt politicians, I would lose my influence." Younam was now retreating, an expression of fear on his face.
Qui-Gon pursued warily, uncomfortable with the fact that Nat was now between himself and Raven. His sense were alert, and Raven was still feeding him strength through the Force, although from what he could see of her, she'd gone pale and closed her eyes.
"The Jedi don't understand the potential they have, if they would only tap into it," Nat added, his voice hedging on desperation. He gestured with his lightsaber, looking wild. "I could teach you to wield power you can't imagine!" Nat was almost to Raven.
"The power over other people," the Dark Jedi added, and he activated his saber, making a low cut towards Raven. Her eyes opened, and she revealed her blaster. Nat tried to maneuver his saber to block her shot, but he only succeed in grazing Raven's chest, leaving a scorch mark in its wave. Raven shot him, catching him square in the chest. Nat fell heavily onto her, his eyes already lifeless, as his saber clattered away.
Qui-Gon let out a cry and ran the short distance to Raven and Nat. He moved Nat's body away from Raven and looked at the serious burn mark on her chest. It had revealed her ribs through the burnt fabric, and scored them. Raven blinked slowly, her eyes filled with tears and incomprehensible pain. Her mouth worked for a moment as she tried to say something. Then, she stopped and closed her eyes, tears spilling onto her cheeks. A Jedi burial, her voice within the Force reverberated in Qui-Gon's mind, please give me a Jedi burial.
Shaking his head, Qui-Gon took off his cloak and gently wrapped her in it. "You're not dead yet. Just hold on," he told her. He grabbed his commlink from his belt and began yelling into it. "I've got an emergency here, send a med team quickly!" He gave the location of the building.
Raven lay on the floor without moving, her face and lips pale against the soft, dark fabric of Qui-Gon's cloak. "Just hold on," he whispered painfully.
Only instinct saved Raven from becoming one with the Force in that moment. Her hand activated her own saber and moved to block his purple blade before she completely comprehended what had happened. Nat grimaced at her between the blades, his eyes glinting angrily. He shoved on his saber handle, forcing her back.
Raven shifted just far enough to regain her footing, parrying the next harsh blow he dealt her. The force of the hit sent tremors up her arm. She blocked the next few hits, mentally making calculations. Qui-Gon was about three steps behind her, and Raven didn't want Nat to get between her and him. From what she could quickly discern of his state, he would be conscious soon, although that vague term could range anywhere from ten to fifty minutes. Another blow brought her back to the fight. Regardless of the Jedi's state, it wouldn't matter if she didn't keep Nat at bay somehow.
Switching to the offensive, Raven tried to score her own hits. Nat seemed surprised, allowing himself to be driven back to the edge of the table, about six meters from Qui-Gon. However, Raven doubted the authenticity of that movement. That man never did anything without leaving himself a way out. He had been that way in the Temple, and Raven knew that he hadn't changed much since he'd left.
They came to another momentary deadlock, blades hissing against one another, when Nat applied abrupt, hard pressure against her hand. Raven stumbled backwards, tripping over a piece of furniture to slam painfully against the floor. Stars appeared in her eyes, but now she understood. Nat advanced, towering over her to finish the battle.
Raven kicked out, catching his ankles with her foot. Nathaniel came crashing down, his saber clattering away. He twisted, calling it back to his hand, but Raven had already leapt back to her feet and onto the table. The wood groaned against her weight but held firm.
"You can't win," Nat spat. Blood flecked his lip where he had landed, giving him a demonic look. He wiped at his mouth with cuff of his tunic sleeve, reactivating his saber. "I learned from our first spar. This will be your last."
"So you say," Raven replied. She moved towards him on the tabletop, her boots echoing on the wood. "But didn't you ever listen to Master Yoda? 'Always changing, the future is,' so there is a possibility that I may survive this encounter."
A slow smile crossed his face. "Then let us add another death to your conscious. Perhaps that will take the defiance from you. You can't win, Raven Suul, and I think you should suffer another loss." He moved away from the table, heading for Qui-Gon.
Raven took three long steps to the edge of the table and leapt, landing in a crouch between Nat and Qui-Gon. She whirled, her lightsaber in front of her, blocking Nathaniel's path. "I've put that behind me," she replied, "but I will not let you take the life of another to suit your whims. Not while there is still breath in my body."
"That's the idea."
The pair exchanged more blows, and Raven managed to score the first actual hit. Nat grimaced against the burn and withdrew a short distance. She followed, trading hard strike for hard strike. They were a short distance away when a flicker of movement on the periphery of her vision caught her attention. The other man, Nat's accomplice, was taking careful aim with his blaster, sights on Qui-Gon.
Raven kept her lightsaber in her right hand, fending off Nat as best she could. Bringing her left hand around in front of her, she withdrew her own blaster from its holster. Haphazardly, she aimed in the direction on the accomplice and shot, letting the Force do the fine tuning of her aim. The bolt caught the other man right as he shot, sending the blast from his blaster up into the ceiling, where it hit a light bank and sent sparks raining down on them. The man crumpled soundlessly to the floor.
One spark singed her shoulder, and she watched as another caught Nathaniel on his saber arm. He growled a menacing curse and drove towards her, his strength fueled by his anger. Raven struggled to keep up, the tension in her back suddenly becoming almost too much to bear.
Then she felt it. Qui-Gon's awareness was seeping back to him, and he was sending out tendrils into the Force, deducing the situation. Raven divided her attention, giving him her view of the room, as well as the current situation with Nat. She knew that it wouldn't be long before the pain overpowered her now, for her attention was too divided between the battle, Qui-Gon, and ignoring it.
Nat caught the blade of her saber, twisting it painfully from her hand. It clattered some distance away. Raven reached out her hand and tried to call it, but Nat held it in place, easily overpowering her divided attention. He then struck, and as Raven twisted painfully away, her back tightened, throwing her painfully to the floor. As tears sprang unbidden to her eyes, her blaster, which she hadn't realized she was still holding, skittered a short distance away, and she could feel wetness on her back where the wound had come open.
Nathaniel moved near as Raven rolled onto her back to look up at him. He smiled, a wicked, twisted expression. "'There is no death, there is only the Force,'" he intoned, sweeping his purple blade up for the kill.
***
As Nathaniel swung his blade down, it was blocked by another saber, this one green. The two hissed evilly over Raven. Qui-Gon ended the stalemate by deflecting the shot away, and he moved to stand over Raven. Calling Raven's saber to his hand, he clipped it to his belt as he moved towards Nat. The Dark Jedi moved backwards, warily sizing up his new opponent.
Qui-Gon struck, sending tremors up Nat's arm. Despite the flesh wound on his leg, he moved fluidly and swiftly. His strength evenly matched Nat's, and they moved across the floor in the deadly dance of saber fighting. Qui-Gon shifted Nat away from Raven, forcing him to give ground towards the door. The battle seemed like it would be easy.
Then, Nat deactivated his saber. "It's about the power, you know," he commented. He launched himself from the ground in a neat flip over Qui-Gon's head. "If Valorum managed to convince those idiots in the Senate that they ought to hunt out and discredit corrupt politicians, I would lose my influence." Younam was now retreating, an expression of fear on his face.
Qui-Gon pursued warily, uncomfortable with the fact that Nat was now between himself and Raven. His sense were alert, and Raven was still feeding him strength through the Force, although from what he could see of her, she'd gone pale and closed her eyes.
"The Jedi don't understand the potential they have, if they would only tap into it," Nat added, his voice hedging on desperation. He gestured with his lightsaber, looking wild. "I could teach you to wield power you can't imagine!" Nat was almost to Raven.
"The power over other people," the Dark Jedi added, and he activated his saber, making a low cut towards Raven. Her eyes opened, and she revealed her blaster. Nat tried to maneuver his saber to block her shot, but he only succeed in grazing Raven's chest, leaving a scorch mark in its wave. Raven shot him, catching him square in the chest. Nat fell heavily onto her, his eyes already lifeless, as his saber clattered away.
Qui-Gon let out a cry and ran the short distance to Raven and Nat. He moved Nat's body away from Raven and looked at the serious burn mark on her chest. It had revealed her ribs through the burnt fabric, and scored them. Raven blinked slowly, her eyes filled with tears and incomprehensible pain. Her mouth worked for a moment as she tried to say something. Then, she stopped and closed her eyes, tears spilling onto her cheeks. A Jedi burial, her voice within the Force reverberated in Qui-Gon's mind, please give me a Jedi burial.
Shaking his head, Qui-Gon took off his cloak and gently wrapped her in it. "You're not dead yet. Just hold on," he told her. He grabbed his commlink from his belt and began yelling into it. "I've got an emergency here, send a med team quickly!" He gave the location of the building.
Raven lay on the floor without moving, her face and lips pale against the soft, dark fabric of Qui-Gon's cloak. "Just hold on," he whispered painfully.
