Chapter 19 - The Battle of Naboo: Part 3
Voraté sighed as another battalion of droid starfighters joined the fight. Just when they'd decimated one fleet, another appeared!
"Voraté, it worked!" Anakin's jubilant voice cried out over the headset. "My shields are back up too!"
"Good work!" Voraté chuckled as Artoo also responded in thanks with Anakin. "Now the ship has two weapons, blasters and torpedoes. Press the round button on the joystick to fire the blasters and press the triangular button and pull out to fire the torpedoes. Launch the torpedoes at the main reactor and get out of there!"
Voraté commanded R5 to unmute her transmission to her fleet. She'd been listening to their comments and they were getting restless. Pilot Olié had kept the situation under control while Voraté conversed with Anakin, but morale was dropping with their lack of progress. They had only managed to destroy a few more surface cannons and surface components with their concentrated efforts.
"Attention, pilots! This is Bravo Leader. Pull away from the control ship. I repeat, pull away from the control ship. We have a pilot on the inside who is about the destroy the main reactor!"
Her fleet followed her lead as she drew back from the control ship, but they were voicing their doubts.
"How is that possible?"
"But nothing can get through their shields."
Their despairing comments were cut off as a section of the toroidal control ship blew up, causing a chain reaction in the other sections of the ship.
"It's true!" A pilot crowed with delight. "There, out of the main hangar. It's one of ours!"
A loud cheer sounded over the radio as Anakin flew out of the wreckage to join their formation.
"Good job, Anakin!" Voraté praised. "Mission accomplished. The Federation's droid army is useless. Let's go home!"
Voraté led her fleet back to Naboo as the droid control ship exploded and broke apart, leaving only useless hunks of metal in space.
-oOoOoOo-
Obi-wan stood impatiently behind the red energy barrier, waiting for it to come down so he could help Qui-Gon. As the green and red blades clashed, he gulped as Qui-Gon's movements lagged. This fight had dragged on too long and Qui-Gon was not a young man anymore. Obi-wan reached into himself and projected some of his strength and energy to Qui-Gon through their Master-Padawan bond. It seemed to help, but there was only so much the Force could do.
Obi-wan watched helplessly as his Master parried blow after blow, no longer on the offense. The Sith struck a hard blow and knocked Qui-Gon's chin up, momentarily stunning him. It was all the Sith needed and he thrust his lightsaber into Qui-Gon's stomach.
"NO!" Obi-wan screamed as Qui-Gon's lightsaber fell from his hands and he collapsed. His cry of despair echoed throughout the circular chamber.
Qui-Gon couldn't be gone. Obi-wan stared at his fallen Master, begging him to get up through the bond, telling him to be okay. But it was no use. He could already feel the bond breaking.
Obi-wan couldn't control the fear and sorrow welling up in him. The Sith warrior moved away from the fallen Jedi to stand in front of the barrier, watching Obi-wan with triumphant eyes and a sadistic smile.
Minutes passed and Obi-wan's chest heaved as he tried to control his emotions, but they wouldn't fade away. He activated his blue lightsaber as he felt the energy beam getting ready to deactivate. He would just have to use his emotions to fight this battle.
The energy barrier between them came down and Obi-wan leaped forward with renewed purpose and strongly slashed at the Sith warrior, letting the Force guide his movements. The Sith parried his blows, all the while grinning cruelly at him and taunting him with a high-pitched giggle. Obi-wan ignored all this and let his emotions flow through him, the anger, fear, and sorrow. It fueled his movements and he began to enjoy the challenge of the fight and was consumed by the need to win. The Sith frowned at that, moving his double-sided lightsaber faster.
As Obi-wan slashed upwards and the Sith moved to defend, he twitched his beam to strike at the lightsaber hilt. The blue beam cut through the hilt, severing the weapon. The Sith warrior hissed and tossed away the half no longer powered by the Kyber crystal. Obi-wan kicked at the Sith's stomach, sending the distracted man to the ground. Obi-wan Force-leaped over the man and sliced down at his head but the Sith leaped up and turned around, ready to fight again.
Obi-wan attacked him, slicing and slashing in quick strokes. The Sith twirled and spun as he defended against the blows. Their fight brought them back to the energy barriers and Obi-wan backed the Sith up to the red wall of energy, intending to ram him into it and daze him. Obi-wan struck powerfully and pushed, but the Sith strongly held his ground and glared at him through mean, cold eyes that were no longer amused. The Sith warrior thrust out a hand and Obi-wan was flung backward. He hit the ground hard and tumbled into the pit.
Obi-wan scrambled for purchase on the pit walls. He managed to grab an inactive warning light and held on tightly. He looked up and saw the Sith's yellow eyes grow wide with surprise and renewed amusement as he saw Obi-wan had survived the fall. He knelt down as far as he could and thrust his lightsaber down the hole. The hot red beam came dangerously close to Obi-wan's hands, much too close for comfort, but didn't touch him.
The Sith screeched in fury and stood up and slashed at the rim of the pit. Obi-wan ducked his head and shut his eyes as metal chips and sparks hit him. Silence fell and Obi-wan looked back up. The Sith had a truly terrifying expression on his face. He flicked his foot and Obi-wan's sorrow grew as he watched his lightsaber tumble into the pit. His Kyber crystal called out to him, panicked and afraid. Obi-wan could do nothing but watch as his trusty, high-tempered lightsaber disappeared into the shadows of the pit.
Another lightsaber tumbled down after it and Obi-wan looked back up with shock. The Sith was pouting as if hoping Obi-wan would have lost hope and fallen after seeing his lightsaber and then his Master's lightsaber, the only alternative weapon in the room, fall out of his reach.
Obi-wan grunted as he adjusted his sweaty grasp on the metal extrusion. His grip was slipping and he would soon fall unless he managed to leap out of the pit. The Sith let out a vicious giggle as he got a new idea and smiled at Obi-wan before moving out of sight. Obi-wan heard the man's lightsaber hum as he moved it through the air. Wait a minute, that was the side Qui-Gon was on!
Obi-wan closed his eyes and concentrated hard. He had to get up there before the psychopath could touch Qui-Gon. He called on the Force, but for once, it did not respond. His emotions were too vibrant and present in his consciousness; they were messing with his concentration. So in desperation, Obi-wan did what no Jedi would do. He fully accepted the emotions into himself and let them flow unchecked throughout him. The anger he felt for the Sith warrior flooded him and multiplied. The Force flowed through him more powerfully than ever, so wild in its intensity that he had trouble wielding it. Obi-wan pulled himself up and leaped out of the pit. He landed solidly on the edge and forced the hate and anger to drain away before the emotions could overwhelm him completely. Its addictive power called to him like a siren. He looked to the Sith warrior, who had his lightsaber poised over Qui-Gon's face to slash and mutilate it.
Obi-wan stuck his hand out and called to the Sith's lightsaber as it swung down. It deactivated and flew out of the shocked Sith's grip and into Obi-wan's outstretched hand. Obi-wan reactivated the lightsaber and nearly keeled over as the Kyber crystal within shrieked in pain, anger, and confusion. The emotions reverberated strongly across his psyche, putting him off-kilter. Obi-wan pushed the horrible feelings away and focused on the present as the Sith advanced on him. The man was growling furiously, beyond enraged Obi-wan had stolen away his moment of triumph. Obi-wan slashed at the Sith, but the man easily dodged the blows as Obi-wan was blinded by the onslaught of emotion and feeling from the broken and corrupted Kyber crystal. He couldn't concentrate enough to use the Force and he could barely move amid the whirlwind of emotion.
The Sith warrior Force-shoved him again. This time, Obi-wan managed to steer clear of the pit but lost hold of the damaged lightsaber. Obi-wan's vision cleared as he lost contact with the lightsaber's hilt and the Force flowed freely within him again.
Obi-wan twisted and turned as he avoided the Sith, who had reclaimed his lightsaber and was swinging the deadly red beam at him without mercy. Obi-wan kept out of range of the beam and eyed the energy barriers. He'd have to run out and find a weapon as soon as they turned off. If he stayed in here, he was dead.
But as he looked down the corridor of energy barriers, he saw Terrikan running full tilt towards him on the other side of the beams. Hadn't the Zabrak been mortally wounded by the other Sith warrior?
The energy beams began to deactivate, starting from Obi-wan's side. New strength and relief flowed through Obi-wan and he dodged and leaped around the Sith faster. He just had to wait a few more seconds and then Terrikan would be here.
But the newfound hope lasted only a brief moment as the energy beams started to close just as Terrikan passed the fourth set. He wouldn't make it through.
"Obi-wan!" Terrikan hollered.
Obi-wan dodged a particularly strong blow from the Sith warrior and looked to Terrikan as the Sith tried to dislodge his lightsaber from the wall.
Terrikan drew back his hand and flung his lightsaber ahead of him before staggering to a halt as the sixth set of energy barriers sprang up. The lightsaber flew through the corridor, followed closely by the closing energy beams. Obi-wan thrust his hand out and called to it with all his might.
The lightsaber soared past the last set of energy barriers, barely escaping the beam, and thudded into Obi-wan's hand. The Sith pulled his lightsaber from the wall with a protesting screech. He rounded on Obi-wan, his streaky black and white face contorted with unbelievable hatred. Obi-wan activated his lightsaber and winced as the faint echoes of a broken Kyber crystal echoed across his senses. But where there had been splitting pain and horror, there was now contentment and peace.
The Sith charged at Obi-wan, backing him towards the pit. Obi-wan swung his lightsaber, blocking the flurry of strikes. The Sith warrior left an opening in his attack series and Obi-wan leaped over the man's head and slashed the white beam of his lightsaber through the man's waist as he landed, cutting him in half. The Sith warrior let out a quiet 'oof' and stared at Obi-wan with surprise, shocked the younger man had won their battle.
"I… never… lose."
The Sith spoke the words gratingly and with difficulty as though he wasn't used to speaking Galactic Basic, not because he was mortally wounded. He fell into the pit, giving one last weak, high-pitched giggle that echoed off the metal walls.
Obi-wan didn't wait to watch the two halves of the Sith drop out of sight before deactivating the lightsaber and running over to Qui-Gon. He gathered his beloved mentor into his arms and let his tears finally fall.
Qui-Gon took in a shallow breath and opened his eyes as he was jarred from his prone position. "It's… it's too late… Obi-wan."
"No," Obi-wan futilely insisted, clutching Qui-Gon close to him.
"Obi-wan," Qui-Gon said tiredly. "Please… promise me… you will train the boy."
"Okay," Obi-wan choked out. "I promise."
"He… is the Chosen One," Qui-Gon whispered. He lifted his hand and patted Obi-wan's cheek, showing him affection he'd never let show so openly before. "He will bring balance… you must be the one to train him and help him grow. No one else in the Order will understand him."
Obi-wan nodded his head repeatedly in agreement, rocking slightly in distress. His emotions were strangling him and he couldn't muster the willpower to control them. His mind raced as he tried to come up with a plan to save his mentor. He couldn't lose Qui-Gon, he just couldn't. But what could he do?
Nothing.
A/N: Obi-wan won his fight against the Sith warrior, but at what cost? Can anything save Qui-Gon from his fate?