Anakin's pace quickened with everyone else.
Anakin ran alongside Padme, Sabe, Obi-Wan, Qui Gon, and the Naboo guards they freed from the droids of the Trade Federation.
The party scrambled through the palace, trying to make their way to the hangar to free the pilots and send them to destroy the Federation ships. But that plan was easier said than done.
Droids impeded their path at every turn.
The Jedi and guards would, in turn, cut them down, but it would only delay their plan and prolong the battle between the Gungans and the droids.
'Gungans'
Anakin repeated the word in his head. An unlikely ally was only gained by the honest truth and ass-kissing of the true Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala.
Memory pulled at the edges of the present.
///
Water rippled above them like glass.
The Gungan city glowed in soft blues and greens, domes pulsing gently with life. Strange creatures drifted beyond the energy barriers, shadows passing across the luminous walls.
Anakin stood beside Padmé—still cloaked as a handmaiden then—taking in the alien world.
"Feels like we're underwater," he muttered.
Jar Jar beamed proudly.
"Dis be Otoh Gunga! Home of da Gungans!"
They were led forward into the grand chamber.
Boss Nass loomed ahead, massive and imposing, surrounded by his guards. His wide eyes narrowed at the sight of humans entering his domain.
"Yousa back!" Nass bellowed. "And yous bringin' outsiders!"
Jar Jar bowed quickly.
"Deysa needin' help, Boss Nass! Big trouble on da surface!"
Padmé stepped forward.
Still in disguise.
"We are requesting your aid—"
Nass waved a dismissive hand.
"Naboo tink dey betta den Gungans! Yousa always do!"
The chamber shifted.
Tension.
Anakin felt it immediately.
Padmé hesitated.
Then—
She stepped forward.
Removed the outer layer of her disguise.
And dropped to one knee.
"I am Queen Amidala."
The chamber froze.
Qui-Gon's eyes flicked sharply toward her.
Obi-Wan's brows lifted in surprise.
Anakin tilted his head slightly.
He had already known.
He had felt her.
Padmé bowed her head.
"My people are dying," she said quietly. "I was wrong to think we could face this alone."
She looked up at Nass.
"I ask for your help."
Silence stretched.
Then—
Nass leaned forward slowly.
Studying her.
Not her crown.
Not her guards.
Her humility.
"You bowin' to us?" Nass said, almost disbelieving.
Padmé nodded.
"Yes."
Nass's expression shifted.
Something old.
Something proud.
Something equal.
He slammed his staff once.
"Yousa not tink you betta den us no more."
Padmé met his gaze.
"I never should have."
A long pause.
Then—
Nass grinned.
"Wesa gonna help."
Jar Jar practically jumped.
"YIPPIE!"
The chamber erupted into movement.
Plans formed quickly.
The Gungans would march.
They would draw the droid army away.
And the Naboo would strike at the heart.
///
By the time Anakin Skywalker reached the Theed hangar, blaster fire echoed through marble corridors and smoke curled along the ceiling like slow-moving ghosts.
Padmé moved with purpose now, no disguise left to hide behind. Her guards formed a tight diamond around her, handmaidens close, faces set with resolve. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan flanked the group, sabers unlit but hands ready.
Anakin stayed near the center, Revan's helmet reflecting burning lights.
HK-47 strode ahead like a creature unleashed.
K2-S0 remained glued to Anakin's side, weapon raised, sensors sweeping.
They burst into the hangar in a rush of boots and shouting.
Battle droids turned in unison.
HK reacted instantly.
"Joyful declaration: Commencing recreational slaughter!"
Blaster fire erupted.
HK sprinted straight into the droid line, bolts snapping past him as he returned fire with manic precision. Limbs flew. Torsos collapsed. He laughed through his speaker as he wove between targets, picking them apart like puzzles.
K2-S0 moved differently.
No theatrics.
No wasted motion.
He planted himself just ahead of Anakin, rifle barking in controlled bursts, each shot dropping a droid cleanly. He advanced step by step, methodical, shielding Anakin with his bulk.
Anakin pointed sharply.
"K2, left flank!"
The droid pivoted instantly and erased a cluster of advancing units.
HK vaulted over a fallen droid and fired point-blank into another.
"Statement: These opponents lack imagination!"
Anakin scanned the hangar.
Pilots were already scrambling into starfighters. Naboo crews ran fuel lines. Engines whined to life. R2-D2 rolled past Anakin's feet, chirping urgently as he headed toward a waiting N-1.
Qui-Gon grabbed Anakin's shoulder.
"Find somewhere safe!"
Anakin shook his head.
"I can help!"
"Now," Qui-Gon said firmly.
Anakin hesitated—then obeyed, sprinting toward one of the open cockpits as K2 backed him up, firing over his shoulder.
HK peeled off, charging deeper into the hangar.
Anakin climbed into the starfighter just as R2 locked into the astromech socket behind him.
"Hey," Anakin muttered. "Didn't expect to see you again so soon."
R2 whistled cheerfully.
They watched from the cockpit as the last droids in their section went down.
Smoke hung heavy.
Blaster scorch marked the floor.
Anakin unbuckled, preparing to jump back out—
"Stay there."
Qui-Gon's voice cut through his comm.
Anakin froze.
"I can still fight—"
"Stay in the ship."
Anakin clenched his jaw.
"…okay."
He settled back reluctantly.
Padmé regrouped her guards.
"This way," she ordered. "We go for the throne room."
They began moving toward the far exit.
Then—
The massive hangar doors groaned open.
Cold air rushed in.
Light spilled across the floor.
And standing in the doorway was the same figure from Tatooine.
Black robes.
Horned crown.
Red blade igniting with a vicious snap-hiss.
The Sith.
The temperature of the room seemed to drop.
Anakin felt it even from inside the cockpit—a crushing pressure in his chest, a familiar echo of that first ambush.
Qui-Gon stepped forward immediately.
"Padmé," he said calmly, never taking his eyes off the Sith. "Find another route."
Padmé hesitated.
"Qui-Gon—"
"Go."
Obi-Wan moved beside his master, blue blade flaring to life.
Padmé nodded sharply.
"Move!"
Her guards formed up, pulling her away toward a side corridor.
Anakin's hands tightened on the cockpit rim.
"No," he whispered.
HK skidded back toward Anakin's position, smoking slightly, optics blazing.
K2 returned to Anakin's side, planting himself between the cockpit and the Sith.
Anakin keyed his comm.
"HK. K2. Stay close."
HK turned, clearly disappointed.
"Clarification: I was hoping to engage the red one."
"Protect Padmé if they double back," Anakin ordered. "And don't let them die."
K2 replied immediately.
"Acknowledged."
HK sighed theatrically.
"Resigned acceptance: Very well."
The Sith moved first.
He blurred forward, red blade carving through the air.
Qui-Gon met him head-on.
Green and red clashed in a violent explosion of light.
Obi-Wan flanked immediately, attacking from the side.
The hangar filled with the scream of sabers.
Anakin watched from the cockpit, heart pounding.
The Sith was fast.
Faster than anything he'd seen.
He pressed Qui-Gon hard, forcing him back step by step, then spun and drove Obi-Wan away with a savage kick.
Qui-Gon recovered instantly, blade weaving in tight defensive arcs.
Obi-Wan rejoined, striking in coordinated patterns.
Master and Padawan moved as one.
Still, the Sith dominated the center of the hangar like a storm.
Anakin felt something dark inside him stir.
Not fear.
Recognition.
His fingers curled.
He wanted to be down there.
Wanted to help.
Wanted to tear into that black-clad figure with everything he had.
K2 noticed his tension.
"Master Anakin," the droid said quietly. "Heart rate elevated."
"I know."
HK leaned against the cockpit frame, watching the duel with interest.
"Observation: This opponent exhibits impressive aggression."
Anakin didn't reply.
He could feel Qui-Gon through the Force—steady, focused.
He could feel Obi-Wan—sharp, anxious.
And he could feel the Sith—
a blade wrapped in hunger.
The duel surged across the hangar floor, sparks flying as saber met saber, energy shields bursting nearby as stray strikes hit machinery.
Padmé and her team vanished into the corridors.
Starfighters continued launching overhead.
The battle for Naboo raged on outside.
But here—
There was something older.
Jedi versus Sith.
Light against dark.
And Anakin Skywalker sat trapped in a cockpit, watching two men fight for their lives while something ancient coiled inside his chest, whispering that he could end this if he were allowed to try.
The Force vibrated around him.
Not calm.
Not balanced.
Waiting.
And as the Sith drove Qui-Gon back toward the hangar's energy barriers, Anakin leaned forward in his seat, every instinct screaming—
This wasn't over.
Not even close.
///
The hangar shook.
Heavy footsteps echoed across polished stone as destroyer droids rolled in through the far entrance, shields already flaring to life. Their cannons powered up with a rising whine that made Anakin's teeth ache.
From inside the cockpit, he saw them immediately.
"Uh—Qui-Gon?" Anakin said over comms. "You've got droidekas incoming."
Too late.
The destroyers unfolded into firing stance, shield domes snapping on as they began advancing toward the duel.
HK-47 swore colorfully.
"Announcement: New hostile units detected. Recommendation: Extreme violence."
K2-S0 stepped forward instinctively, rifle raised—but their shields absorbed the first burst of fire without so much as a flicker.
Anakin cursed under his breath.
He slapped at the starfighter controls.
"I can take them out from here—"
He hit the ignition sequence.
The engines roared.
The fighter lurched violently.
Anakin barely had time to shout before inertial dampeners kicked in and the N-1 tore forward, blasting out of the hangar and straight into Naboo's sky.
"What—NO—!"
R2 shrieked in alarm.
The city vanished beneath them.
Stars exploded into view.
Anakin had accidentally launched himself into orbit.
His last transmission crackled through to the hangar:
"HK—K2—protect Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan! Don't let them die!"
Then he was gone.
///
Back on the palace floor, Qui-Gon felt the absence like a sudden vacuum.
But there was no time to dwell.
The Sith came at him again.
Red blade slashed low.
Qui-Gon parried, twisted, countered.
Obi-Wan moved to flank—
and the laser gates snapped down between them.
A wall of blazing energy separated Master from Padawan.
"Master!"
Qui-Gon didn't look back.
"Stay focused!"
The Sith smiled.
This was what he wanted.
He pressed Qui-Gon hard now, driving him backward through the narrowing corridor between energy barriers and destroyer fire. Qui-Gon's movements remained precise, economical, but fatigue was beginning to creep into his limbs.
The Sith sensed it.
He feinted left.
Spun.
And struck.
Qui-Gon blocked the first blow—
missed the second.
Red light flashed.
Pain exploded through his right side.
His arm fell to the floor.
Not slowly.
Not ceremoniously.
Just severed.
Qui-Gon staggered, shock flooding his system, his lightsaber clattering from numb fingers.
He dropped to one knee.
The Sith raised his blade for the killing strike.
Obi-Wan screamed his master's name, pounding uselessly against the energy field.
Then—
something crashed down from above.
A maintenance vent burst open.
Metal debris rained down.
HK-47 dropped from the ceiling like an avenging machine god.
He landed squarely on the Sith's shoulders.
"Delayed declaration: Surprise!"
HK fired point-blank.
The Sith reeled, stumbling backward under the sudden assault.
HK kicked off him, rolled, and opened fire again, forcing the red-bladed warrior to retreat several steps.
The laser field flickered.
Shorted.
Collapsed.
Obi-Wan exploded forward with a raw, furious cry.
Blue blade met red.
The duel resumed—faster now, angrier, Obi-Wan attacking with everything he had left.
K2-S0 was already beside Qui-Gon.
He knelt, massive hands surprisingly gentle.
"Master Qui-Gon," K2 said calmly. "Severe trauma detected."
Qui-Gon was pale, breathing hard.
"I… I'm alive," he managed.
HK skidded in beside them, optics blazing.
"Statement: That was unsatisfactory timing for dramatic sacrifice."
K2 ignored him, sealing Qui-Gon's wound with emergency field gel, applying a pressure clamp and injecting pain suppressants with mechanical precision.
Qui-Gon hissed through clenched teeth.
"Obi-Wan…"
"He's engaged," K2 replied. "Probability of Padawan survival currently sixty-eight percent."
HK glanced toward the duel.
"Optimistic."
///
Obi-Wan fought like someone who had already lost something.
The Sith circled him, spinning his saberstaff in a blur of crimson.
Obi-Wan adapted.
He remembered Qui-Gon's lessons.
Patience.
Timing.
Footwork.
He let the Sith press him, baited the overextension—
and then drove forward with everything he had.
The Sith leapt.
Obi-Wan followed.
They clashed atop the narrow reactor pit, blades screaming.
The Sith sneered.
Obi-Wan saw it.
And used it.
He let himself fall.
Caught the ledge.
Sprang upward in one fluid motion—
And struck.
The blue blade cut clean through.
The Sith's body separated at the waist.
The upper half tumbled into the abyss below.
Silence fell.
Obi-Wan stood there shaking, chest heaving.
It was over.
He rushed back to Qui-Gon.
HK and K2 were already stabilizing him, droid hands moving with clinical efficiency.
Qui-Gon looked up weakly.
"You did well," he whispered.
Obi-Wan swallowed hard.
"I almost lost you."
Qui-Gon managed the faintest smile.
"Not today."
K2 finished applying the last seal.
"Master Qui-Gon's condition is stabilized. He will live."
HK folded his arms.
"Statement: You are welcome."
Qui-Gon let out a shaky breath.
"Thank you… both of you."
HK preened slightly.
"Gracious acknowledgment accepted."