Part 11: Falling in to the Shadow.
When Padmé returned to the landing dock, she saw Qui-Gon rise to his full height from a conversation with Anakin, while Obi-Wan was nowhere in sight. A momentary worry entered her head as she wondered if the Council had granted Master's Jinn's request to train Anakin, leaving Obi-Wan to fend for himself or perhaps under another Master, meaning that the last time she saw him was at the landing dock hours before when they had no chance to exchange a proper farewell. Then she caught sight of a brown cloak emerging briefly from the ship and she felt comforted that her other rescuer was also returning to Naboo.
"Your Highness," Qui-Gon said, bowing slightly as she neared him, "it will be our pleasure to continue to serve and protect you."
"I welcome your help," Padmé replied in a civil tone as he fell into place to walk beside her for a moment. "Senator Palpatine fears the Federation means to destroy me."
"I promise you, we will not let that happen," Qui-Gon replied with another bow, letting her and her handmaidens pass him.
The brown robes had disappeared by the time she entered the ship and with the Jedi Master close behind her escort, Padmé concluded that he and his Padawan must have had a quarrel before her shuttle arrived. After waiting Master Jinn to follow Anakin to the cockpit, she dismissed her handmaidens and Captain Panaka, then entered her chambers to find, as she had suspected, a pacing, preoccupied Padawan Kenobi.
"What happened?" She asked him as she walked towards him.
He looked up from where his gaze had been fixed on the floor, to freeze her form with a deep blue grey gaze, full of emotional turmoil. Slowly and in a concise a manner as was rendered possible by this conflict, he told her everything that occurred in the Council Chambers concerning Anakin and himself.
It was the first time she had ever seen Obi-Wan like this, even when he told her about Master Jinn's decision to take over the mission on Mos Espa, forcing a temporary separation between her and him. Now she realised the danger emotions held for the Jedi, along with the tremendous control Obi-Wan possessed over his, extremely careful as he was throughout the narrative to let his temper leak only as far as his tone and his eyes. His respect for her, Anakin, the Council members, even his Master, never wavered once, though it was clear that he held Qui-Gon's conduct in contempt.
Padmé held her silence until he reached the end, whereupon she reached out to tentatively touch him in a gesture of support, her hands fixing a grip on his brown cloak. Gently he pried the well worn material from her grasp, to take the slender fingers and palm in his callused own, hardened from years of lightsaber training. "Poor Ani," she murmured, her brown eyes seeking out his, which had become the shade of the ocean again. "And poor you."
"I knew what was coming," Obi-Wan replied. "Qui-Gon even had the courtesy to warn me of his actions." He bowed his head a little, the misplaced guilt rising within him. "It should not affect me like this."
"It's understandable that it does," Padmé reasoned. "The Council did not force him into doing this, he gave them no choice. How can you accept such a thing calmly, even as a Jedi?" She shook her head in frustration. "When I didn't see you on the platform I feared the worst. Then I caught sight of your brown cloak."
He smiled. "I sensed your concern. We had a quarrel over Anakin on the platform. I didn't mean to fight with him, especially in front of Ani, but...." he breathed in deeply, sighing. "I best go and find him, make amends."
"I'm afraid it will have to wait," Padmé uttered. "I need to speak with both of you, as well as Jar Jar and my escort, about what I intend to do when we land on Naboo."
"Of course," Obi-Wan said, inclining his head. "I'll go and summon them, your Highness." he added, performing a far more flamboyant bow.
"Thank you, Master Jedi," Padmé returned, along with the smile. She watched him go, then prepared herself for the briefing which was about to take place.
As it turned out, the apology had to wait until they arrived on Naboo, in brief moment of privacy while Jar Jar went to fetch his sovereign. Whether he sensed his Padawan's conflict or simply wished to avoid him, Obi-Wan could not tell, for aside from the meeting in the Queen chambers, Qui-Gon never purposefully sought him out, the two of them reserving any comment they made aboard the ship during hyperspace for others.
Now, as they stood side by side, a little distance from the Queen and her escorts, although Padmé had assumed the role of decoy once more, trusting in Sabé to perform the necessary overtures she intended to make with Boss Nass. She had been very mysterious in the briefing which she summoned the Jedi, handmaidens, security and Jar Jar for, only revealing that she wished to meet with the Gungans, and Jar Jar was to be her emissary.
Obi-Wan could sense the strong disapproval of her security captain, clearly concerned that his Queen had once more ignored his advice by travelling to a planet on which her life was at risk. He was standing with the decoy now, but his eyes were fixed on Padmé, watching her as she talked with Anakin. His gaze was also on her, even as his mind focused on making amends with his Master, observing her compassion for the small boy who had been thrust into this dangerous mission, who gazed up at her with a look of admiration.
Obi-Wan frowned. He could not blame Anakin for possessing such a feeling, he was guilty of such emotions too, but there was something which told him that this could prove dangerous in the future. That strange, elusive feeling which he had sensed from the very beginning of the mission, causing him to wonder if it was that which the Council used as their motive to reject Anakin, and if his Master was truly guided by the Force in continuing to champion his cause.
"I have been thinking," Qui-Gon said suddenly, breaking the silence between them. "We are treading on dangerous ground. If the Queen intends to fight a war, we cannot become involved. Not in her efforts to persuade the Gungans to join with the Naboo against the Federation, if that is what she intends by coming here. The Jedi have no authority to take sides."
"But we do have an authority to protect the Queen," Obi-Wan reasoned. "Even if our actions will be misconstrued by others."
"It is a fine line we walk, then," Qui-Gon added, facing him.
Obi-Wan knew now was the moment to speak. "Master, I behaved badly on Coruscant and I am embarrassed. I meant no disrespect to you. I do not wish to be difficult in the matter of Anakin."
"Nor have you been," Qui-Gon replied. "You have been honest with me. Honesty is never wrong. I did not lie when I told the Council you were ready. You are. I have taught you all I can. You will be a great Jedi, my young Padawan. You will make me proud." He held out his hand and Obi-Wan gripped it, bowing his head in gratitude at the praise which a part of him still felt he did not deserve.
With this brief shake their bond and friendship as Master and apprentice was restored to its previous intimacy once more, and he turned his eyes back to Padmé and Anakin with relief, which increased when he saw the boy walk away from the Queen to meet with the returning figure of Jar Jar, who emerged from the water to announce that the Gungan capital was deserted. For a brief moment they contemplated the possible capture of the species, only for Jar Jar to declare that his people must have retreated to their sacred place, which with a request from Qui-Gon, he led them to.
Obi-Wan kept his gaze on Padmé as her decoy tried to make the necessary overtures to convince the Gungans to form an alliance with them. Seeing the passage of emotions across her face, and knowing as he did of her real position upon this planet, he was not surprised when she emerged from the cadre of handmaidens to make her way to Sabé's side.
"You did well, Sabé," she murmured quietly to her handmaiden, who stepped back to allow her sovereign precedence. "But I will have to do this myself."
"Who dis?" Boss Nass snapped.
"I am Queen Amidala," Padmé announced. "Sabé serves from time to time as my decoy, my loyal bodyguard. I am sorry for the deception, but given the circumstances, I am sure you can understand. Although our people do not always agree, Your Honour, we have always lived in peace. Until now. The Trade Federation, with all its tanks and maccaneks has destroyed all that we have worked so hard to build. The Gungans are in hiding, and the Naboo have been imprisoned in camps. If we do not act quickly, all that we value will be lost forever. I ask you to help us, Your Honour." She paused before correcting herself. "No, I beg you to help us."
Before all assembled, Queen Amidala of the Naboo knelt on bended knee before the Gungans. "We are your humble servants, our fate is in your hands. Please help us."
Around her the handmaidens and security followed suit, as did Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, causing a shocked Anakin to do so too. Obi-Wan's gazed flicked from Padmé to the Gungans, trying to get a sense of their feelings as a general hush fell over the meeting.
The leader of the Gungans laughed deeply, before replying, "Me like dis! Dis good! Yous no think yous greater den da Gungans!" He walked towards the Queen, his hand held out to her in friendship, causing Obi-Wan to smile. "Yous stand, Queen Amidoll. Yous talk wit me, okay? Mebbe we gonna be friends after all!"
"They're back!" Anakin called out, as Captain Panaka and his security were first sighted upon their return from Theed, their sovereign having sent them out to the city on a reconnaissance mission. Since Boss Nass' decision to form an alliance with the Queen, she had been locked in a strategy sessions with the Jedi and the Gungan Generals, as they discussed the best way to overcome the forces of the Trade Federation. R2 provided a holo map of the capital city, but until the security forces returned from their information gathering, the allies had no true idea concerning the weight of the forces ready to oppose them.
"I think we got through without being detected, Your Highness," Panaka reported to his Queen when he had reached the meeting.
"What is the situation?" Padmé asked him.
"Most of our people are in the detention caps. A few hundred officers and guards have formed an underground movement to resist the invasion. I've brought back as many of the leaders as I could find."
"Good," Padmé replied. "The Gungans have a larger army than we imagined."
"We'll need it," Panaka remarked. "The Federation army is much larger than we thought too. And stronger. In my opinion, this isn't a battle we can win, Your Highness."
"I don't intend to win it, Captain," Padmé informed him. "The battle is a diversion. We need the Gungans to draw the droid army away from the Theed, so we can infiltrate the palace through the secret passages and capture the Neimoidian Viceroy. Neimoidians don't think for themselves. Without the Viceroy to command them, they will cease to be a threat." She turned to her silent protectors. "What do you think, Master Jedi?"
"A well conceived plan, Your Highness," Qui-Gon complimented. "It appears to be your best possible move, although there is great risk. Even with the droid army in the field, the viceroy will be well guarded. And many of the Gungans may be killed."
Boss Nass shrugged unconcernedly. "They bombad guns no get through our shields! We ready to fight!"
"The difficulty's getting into the throne room," Panaka informed them. "Once we're inside, we shouldn't have a problem."
"We will reduce the Gungan causalities by securing the main hanger and sending our pilots to knock out their orbiting control ship," Padmé revealed. "Without the control ship to signal them, the droid army cannot function."
"But if the Viceroy should escape, Your Highness, he will return with another droid army and you'll be no better off than you are now," Obi-Wan added. "Whatever else happens you must capture him. If he is allowed to escape I'm certain he'll show no mercy a second time."
"And we will, Obi-Wan," Padmé assured him. "I have no doubt of that."
It was not a long or hard journey from the sacred swamps where the strategy session was ended, but a slow one, the pace set by the need for stealth and to add the element of surprise to their three pronged attack. The Gungans went to secure their battleground, and the Naboo travelled to their capital, using the secret passages in the waterfalls, coming to a brief halt directly across from the hanger entrance. Panaka, along with a contingent of fighters set himself up in a position opposite Padmé and her forces, preparing to catch the droid squads and tanks between them in a crossfire.
"Once we get inside, Ani," Qui-Gon uttered to the boy as he took his place by the Jedi, who were beside the young Queen, lightsabers at the ready, "you find a safe place to hide until this is all over."
"Sure," Anakin promised, a little too easily in Obi-Wan's opinion.
"And stay there," Qui-Gon added, his own sense detecting enough to produce the same suspicion as well.
In front of them Padmé activated her glow rod, sending the prearranged precoded signal to Panaka, whereupon a reclaimed hover tank moved into direct view of the droids and with her forces on both sides of the plaza unleashed it's weapons and opened fire on one of the Trade Federation squad vehicles in the courtyard beside them. The explosion was enough to cause the tank to drop to the ground, flatting the droids nearest, and making the rest turn in the presumed direction of the threat.
When enough droids fell uselessly to the floor, the Queen and her escort rose from their hiding place and ran across the plaza, the two Jedi providing projection throughout, as Qui-Gon deflected blaster fire from the Naboo and Obi-Wan dismembered a still active droid before joining the Queen at the entrance to the Hanger bay. The doors opened on her keyed in command, and with the Jedi infront and pilots following, they stormed the area.
"Ani, take cover," Qui-Gon ordered, his voice somehow still distinguishable amid the sharp noise of blaster fire.
"Get to your ships," Padmé commanded her pilots, who bravely dodged shots to obey their Queen.
The droid army guards continued to fire at them as the ships collected pilots and droids before taking off in steady formation, heading out of the hanger towards the atmosphere and the control craft which orbited the planet overseeing the blockade and invasion. One ship did not make it, blaster fire catching one of the wing propellers, sending it crashing into the streams outside the hanger.
Captain Panaka and the other contingents of Naboo joined the battle for full control of the hanger bay, and quickly they achieved that objective. He ran to his sovereign's side as soon as the blaster fire had ceased to be a threat.
"My guess is the Viceroy is still in the throne room," Padmé said to him.
Panaka nodded. "Red group, blue group," he called, causing Naboo to look to him, "everyone this way," he directed, his arm waving ahead towards the passages which would ultimately lead them to that destination.
"Hey, wait for me," Anakin cried as he emerged from his sanctuary, one of the remaining ships left in the bay, R2 D2 behind him.
"Anakin, stay where you are," Qui-Gon ordered as he and Obi-Wan joined the advancing Naboo.
The boy started to protest. "But I...."
Qui-Gon sent him a hard look, and Obi-Wan backed it up with one of his own. "Stay in that cockpit."
Ahead of them the doors opened, revealing a dark cloaked figure. Padmé stilled as it lifted his cowled head, the Queen recognising him for the Sith Lord who had fought Qui-Gon on Tatooine. She remembered seeing the tattooed creature on the viewscreen in the cockpit of her cruiser, but it was nothing compared to the threatening flesh so close to her now. His eyes were a myriad of shades, narrow bands of yellow darkening to red, as if they had been bleached by the sun. The cowl framed his red and black face, falling in folds over the rest of his body, hiding nothing of the deadly strength which seemed to stretch out before him like an aura. She sensed the same powerful ability from the Jedi, but this was their nemesis, turning the Force into a tool of death far more frightening.
"We'll handle this," Qui-Gon declared, stepping forward through the Naboo to face the creature.
Padmé encountered his Padawan's steady gaze, Obi-Wan's blue eyes sending a silently eloquent look to assuage her fears concerning his safety. "We'll take the long way," she ordered her forces, who turned to the left of the Jedi, moving quickly out of their way.
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon dropped their cloaks and fired up their lightsabers, the green and blue blades swooping into their chosen methods of defence, waiting as they always did for their enemy to make the first move.
The Sith disrobed of his dark cloak in sync, before activating his lightsaber, revealing not one, but two red blades, emerging from both ends of the hilt. He presented the weapon horizontally to the Jedi, waiting for them.
Obi-Wan called upon the Force and somersaulted over the Sith, his blue blade moving to block his enemy's moves as he landed behind him. His mind was focused on this battle, knowing his Master could not fight and defeat the Sith alone, as the first encounter warned him on Tatooine.
He did not notice the destroyer droids which rolled out of hiding to confront Padmé and the Naboo, nor Anakin's actions to take care of that threat, activating the craft he had sheltered in, firing on the droids before the autopilot took over and flew him out of the hanger to join the rest of the fleet. Later he would be able to deduce from his memory Anakin's heroic actions, but now only the Sith commanded his attention, as he moved his blade in the styles he had been trained; Ataru, Soresu, Shii-Cho, Sokan, Niman.
Every Padawan learned the basics of each form of combat, specialising in their preferred form once they became a knight, some times even before. Obi-Wan had a certain advantage however, for his Master had trained under one of the finest warriors in the Order, Master Dooku.
A pupil of Yoda, Dooku was unsurpassed for his technique with the lightsaber, even designing his own unique hilt and form of combat. He had taught Qui-Gon everything he could, and in turn Qui-Gon had passed those lessons to Obi-Wan. Still, before this, rarely had he been called to use his lightsaber in such a battle, even when they had fought Xanatos and Bruck to protect Master Yoda.
The last encounter to which this bore the most resemblance was the final round of the Padawan combat competition, which he had participated in, along with Bruck, a deadly rival during his days in the temple clan.
He had been so desperate during that fight to gain Qui-Gon's approval that his aggressive methods and emotions turned against him, forcing him to achieve a hollow victory, as he won the bout, but lost the chance of becoming a Padawan. Now however, there was only the question of how long his Master could fight before succumbing to the ravages of the disease inside him. Obi-Wan would have to reserve his aggression, store his energy, bide his time in preparation for taking on the Sith alone.
Their enemy gave ground now, moving towards two doors behind him, motioning with his free hand at a droid part, using the Force to make it leap to the command panel and open them. He continued attacking, seemingly retreating into the power station, but in reality leading the Jedi to the battleground of his own choosing. Around him were narrow catwalks, the pathways between generators and shields to the reactors which managed the power of the Palace, criss-crossing roads akin to the transparent traffic routes of Coruscant, calling for close quarter fights, forcing his enemy to split their focus between countering his blade and keeping their balance.
The Sith seemed to sense through the dark side of the Force that Obi-Wan was trying to protect his Master, as he raised his leg during one move to send him to the floor with a kick to his side. Obi-Wan rolled up almost immediately, moving his lightsaber out of the way of his body, darting back to take the lead into the duel once more, only allowing a grunt to escape from his Jedi demeanour. With his Master they forced the Sith to the edge of the main platform in the reactor room, but the Sith anticipated the manoeuvre, jumping away from them on to one of the catwalks.
Calling upon the Force, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon followed him.
Padmé and her forces came to a temporary halt in one of the wide ceremonial corridors enroute to the throne room, stealing behind marble pillars due to the heavy blaster fire from the droids. As she settled into the pattern of deflection and return, she knew that this would only delay their attack, and perhaps cause the Viceroy to escape.
"We don't have time for this, Captain!" she cried to Panaka, raising her voice under the sharp noise of blaster fire.
"Let's try outside!" He suggested. Judging his moment, he turned his blaster away from the droids to fire at one of the large windows across from them. "Go!"
Dodging shots, they ran to the opening, Panaka calling for Ascension guns. Handing one to his Queen after they had climbed over the ledge, in unison they raised the weapons and fired the ropes inside, fastening them to the beam above the highest window, before using the retractor to lift them to the last corridor before the throne room.
Padmé moved carefully on the ledge to one side and aimed her weapon at the glass in front of them. After the broken shards settled on the floor, she and her forces leapt inside.
With a kick to the jaw, the Sith sent Obi-Wan flying off the catwalk into oblivion, causing the Padawan to call on the Force to save himself. His lightsaber flew away from his hand, and he reached out and clutched the ledge of a walkway just above him, his weapon landing on top of it.
By the time he had raised himself to stand on that platform, Obi-Wan saw his Master and the Sith fighting on the main route that led to the service corridor for the melting pit. Designed to store the energy residue from the power station, it was protected by five shields which partitioned the corridor into small sections. The Sith had reached the last of these before the melting pit, Qui-Gon was caught between four and five. And due to the fall, Obi-Wan had only reached the first.
He gathered his breath and energy reserves, watching as the Sith deactivated his lightsaber and settled into an alert stance, his red eyes glancing between both himself and his Master, who had dropped to his knees in a temporary meditation. Obi-Wan powered off his saber, but he did not follow his Master's lead. He knew Qui-Gon needed it, for so far the duel would have taken a tremendous toll on his resources, split as they often were between sustaining his body from the fight, and from the disease inside him, and although it would probably prove beneficial to him also, Obi-Wan knew he had not the time for one.
If, or rather when his Master tired, he would have to take on the Sith single-handedly, which meant conquering the distance between himself and the creature as quickly as possible. He needed to time when the shields powered down, measuring how long he would have to call on the Force to aid his running to his Master's side. And he needed to find where the control panel for the shields was located in the room, for if he failed to reach his Master in time, he would need to shut them down via the Force.
He found the one at his end first, and with a hard glare directed towards the Sith, turned part of his vision on the panel, memorising its controls. He could not use this one, for Qui-Gon was still meditating. Deactivating the shields now would give the Sith just as much advantage as him, while his Master would be vulnerable to the former's attack. Logic and practicality dictated however that the panel at the other end of the corridor would have been designed with the same principles, allowing him to call on that one if he had to.
His task done, Obi-Wan followed his Master's tactic, but remained standing, as he sank into the embrace of the Force.
In the corridor Padmé and her forces reached the entrance to the throne room, only to be prevented from entering by Destroyer droids. As the machines surrounded them, she knew that they had little hope of retreating to the window, and even if they could, the manoeuvre would rid them of their goal to capture the Viceroy. Whereas..... she hid her smile as the solution to their plans formed in her mind.
"Throw down your weapons," she ordered her forces. "They win this round."
"But, Your Majesty, we can't!" Panaka objected, glancing at her in shock.
"Captain," Padmé broke in, her dark brown eyes fixing on his, "I said, throw down your weapons."
Panaka let his blaster drop to the floor, never taking his eyes from his sovereign. As the droids came to seize the weapons, he saw her hand move to the comlink sewn into her clothes, her slender fingers sending an encoded transmission.
"Have faith, Captain," she remarked quietly, and it was time for him too to hide a smile, as he realised her plans.
Obi-Wan heard the signal from the Force and activated his lightsaber. A second later the shields dropped, Qui-Gon and the Sith powered up their weapons and resumed the duel. He waited for the barriers to complete their cascade collapse, then summoned the Force and ran through the corridor to join them.
He wasn't fast enough. Reaching the last of the shields, Obi-Wan heard the quiet click of capacitors as they turned to raise the barriers once more, forcing him to a halt. Leaning his body away from the forward pace of his booted legs, he blinked as the laser came down, the red glow clouding his vision for a moment. Frustrated his tore his gaze from his Master and the Sith to locate the control panel knowing he needed to join in the duel before Qui-Gon's reserves gave out.
But luck was not with him. The search rendered in vain, he turned helplessly towards the duel, forced to watch as Qui-Gon seemed to gain an advantage, keeping the Sith on the defensive, until the creature realised and darted away. Worry, fear and anger threatened to overwhelm him but he pushed them away into the Force, knowing what was coming next, knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Ever since his Master was diagnosed with the disease, he had prepared for this eventuality, intensifying his training in the hope that if the worst occurred, he would have time to try and save him.
Then the moment came. The Sith feinted a blind reserve lunge, which Qui-Gon caught too late, his green blade missing the chance to protect his body from the wound which the Sith dealt to the midsection. Due to the width of the laser blade, the deep burn through flesh, organs and bone was narrow, but it was enough. Qui-Gon stiffened under the impact, then dropped to his knees, his lightsaber clattering to the ground as his hands instinctively went to the wound.
Obi-Wan was not aware at first that it was his own voice which cried out the howl of angry despair that echoed through the shield to encompass the entire power station. Preparation was no substitute for the horror of reality. Control over his emotions died the moment he saw his Master, whom he loved like a father, fall to the floor, sinking into unconscious oblivion. In a rage he tore his gaze from Qui-Gon to the Sith who stood waiting for him, the enemy appearing gleefully smug at the victory, confident that defeating the Padawan would prove even less of a challenge.
The shield separating them powered down and Obi-Wan sprinted into the fray, determined to prove the creature wrong.
Escorted into the throne room, Padmé fixed her expression into one of feigned frustrated defeat, as her eyes caught sight of the Viceroy and his underling standing a short distance from the throne itself. Their fractured red monochrome eyes turned on her, seeing through the simple understated mask of the decoy to power which lay behind her, revealing her true identity as leader of the Naboo.
"Your little insurrection is at an end, Your Highness," he said confidently. "The rabble army you sent against us south of the city has been crushed. The Jedi are being dealt with elsewhere. You are my captive. It time for you to put an end to the pointless debate you instigated in the Republic Senate. Sign the treaty now."
Just at that moment, the plan she had time to transmit via her comlink arrived, in the form of Sabé and her contingent of forces coming down the corridor she had just been escorted through. Her decoy was still attired in the elaborate hairstyle and makeup which went with Queen Amidala, fooling the Neimoidians completely.
"I will not be signing any treaty, Viceroy!" Sabé called out in a tone of voice similar to the formal one Padmé used as sovereign. "Your occupation of our planet has ended!"
"After her!" the Viceroy ordered his droids, emptying the throne room of some his security forces. "This one's a decoy!"
Her escort distracted, Padmé made her way to the throne, pressing upon the release button to a secret compartment where several blasters were stored. She reached in and tossed one to Captain Panaka, before retrieving one for herself. Together they quickly disabled the rest of the droids in the throne room.
"Jam the doors," Panaka ordered to their freed fighters.
Padmé came before the Viceroy once more, who seemed bewildered by the reversal of fortunes which he had undergone so rapidly. "Now, Viceroy, we will discuss a new treaty."
Fortunately for Obi-Wan, his anger fuelled him into a formidable opponent to the Sith lord, who despite using such power himself was caught unprepared by the violence of the Padawan's attack. Stroke for stroke the duel rose in intensity as Obi-Wan pressed forward that advantage, before darting away in an effort to make the battleground his own.
The manoeuvre worked, calling the Sith to come forward, allowing Obi-Wan to call on the Force and his natural talents, anticipating where the blade would strike, and into what position his weapon could direct it. Choosing his moment, he struck his lightsaber at the double hilt of the Sith's, parting one from the other, sending the now useless half skittering down the service corridor.
His opponent however was just as capable with one blade as with two. Slowly the advantage slipped away. Energy reserved fuelled by anger and despair, negative emotions which the Jedi were never trained into using, gradually dried up too, forcing Obi-Wan to combat his feelings concerning the unconscious figure of his Master, lying motionless on the ground across from the duel.
As he sent them out into the Force, he saw the Sith attempt the same move he had used to send him off the catwalks earlier, and turned so the kick sent him into an Ataru somersault, the result giving no ground.
The Sith turned his back on the service corridor which they had ran through. Obi-Wan pressed forward, hoping to send the creature back down there. But suddenly his opponent let go of his weapon, using one gloved hand to send the Padawan forward. Caught unprepared, he fell backwards into the melting pit.
Obi-Wan summoned the Force and reached out, catching one of the oval metal pods which supported the vast shaft. He hung there helplessly, watching as the Sith kicked his deactivated lightsaber, sending the weapon down into the bottom of the pit, rendering him defenceless.
At least it appeared so. Obi-Wan however, knew of another weapon within reach. As the Sith attacked the edge of the shaft with his red blade, trying to use the sparks in an effort to make him fall, he was summoning the Force within himself, showing the Light what he intended to do.
And the Light answered him. He leapt upwards, his hand reaching out for Qui-Gon's saber, activating the green blade as the hilt fell into his grip. Somersaulting over his opponent's head, he struck out with the weapon.
The Sith threw him a stunned incredulous look of disbelief, before his body surrendered to the mortal injury, falling down the melting shaft in half.
Obi-Wan stood there for a moment, watching the body fall, then he thumbed off the saber and ran to his Master's side.
Falling into a crouch he cradled Qui-Gon's head. "Master."
"Too late," Qui-Gon breathed out. "Promise me you will train the boy."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan cried, even as he shook his head in disagreement to the first judgement.
"He is the Chosen One," Qui-Gon uttered, more it seemed for himself than for his Padawan. With a shaking hand he reached out and touched Obi-Wan's cheek in a fatherly caress. "He will bring balance."
Qui-Gon's eyes closed and a last breath escaped his lips. Tears fell down Obi-Wan's face as he gathered his father into his embrace.