The Master of Disguise

  They looked at each other. They hadn't given up hope. There was a way

  out. There always was.

  They just didn't have much time to figure it out.

  Lava was now spewing out of the top of the mountain. Whole kilometers

  of dirt and rocks mixed with hot lava would soon be barreling down the

  steep slope.

  Obi-Wan pushed his lightsaber through the door. He began to move it

  downward, straining with the effort. Anakin joined him, the sweat rolling

  down his face.

  Suddenly and violently, molten lava poured out of the volcano at

  frightening speed. The avalanche of rock and lava smashed against the ship.

  The jolt threw them across the cockpit and slammed them against the

  opposite wall. The craft tilted onto one side, sending them crashing onto

  the floor. The ship jolted downhill at incredible speed, carried by the

  force of the landslide.

  Anakin hung on to the wall. Looking straight up, he could see through

  the cockpit windscreen. All he saw was rocks and lava obscuring his view of

  the sky. He knew where they were being carried. The rock slide would drop

  them into the sea. They would sink. Or else they would be caught in the

  giant tidal wave that was forming even now.

  His head slammed against the side of the ship. He held on as his teeth

  rattled. Death was near. Anakin could feel it. Now he understood why he had

  felt so uneasy on this planet. Here death had waited for him.

  Obi-Wan suddenly pounded against the ship's wall with his lightsaber

  hilt as they bounced down the mountain, swept along by the lava flow.

  Anakin had never seen his Master give way to his anger before.

  "That's it," Obi-Wan shouted over the awful roaring noise. "It's a

  ship within a ship. That's why the walls are so thick. Anakin, help me find

  it."

  "Find what?" he shouted.

  "The cockpit. The real cockpit!" Obi-Wan scrambled along the wall,

  knocking on it with the hilt of his light-saber. "Listen for something

  hollow."

  The lurching of the ship made it hard to maneuver, but Anakin followed

  his Master. He knocked against the wall with his lightsaber hilt.

  "Here!" Obi-Wan shouted suddenly. He activated his lightsaber and

  began to cut through the wall.

  Anakin grabbed handholds and fought his way toward his Master. He

  worked alongside him. Obi-Wan was right. The metal was thinner here. It

  peeled back in strips. They were being pounded by the landslide and it was

  hard to cut, but they struggled to finish.

  At last there was an opening large enough to crawl inside. To Anakin's

  surprise, he found a complete cockpit with engine controls.

  "Can you fly it?" Obi-Wan asked.

  Anakin nodded. He strapped himself into the seat. The ship was on its

  side. He pushed the left engine and the ship rose straight up.

  He kept pushing the engine and the ship revolved. Then he accelerated,

  and they shot through the lava and the pummeling rocks into the clear air

  above.

  Obi-Wan sank back into the seat next to him. "That was close," he

  panted.

  "I wouldn't want it any closer," Anakin admitted. "Where to, Master?"

  "They'll be watching from a safe distance," Obi-Wan said. "Along the

  coast, but out of range of the wave." He bent over the scanner, comparing

  its readings to the map on the shipboard computer. "Let's try these

  coordinates." He pointed them out to Anakin.

  He nodded and piloted the ship back toward the eruption. He would

  skirt the worst of it, but they would have a bumpy flight. Rocks hammered

  down on the shell of the ship, and the air pockets were deep. The ship kept

  slamming into them.

  "Master, look!" Anakin pointed ahead. The Haariden captain and the

  soldiers were trapped on the plain as the landslide headed toward them.

  They had turned to face it. There was nowhere to run.

  "See if we can make it!" Obi-Wan ordered. "Push the engines!"

  Anakin accelerated till the engines screamed, piloting the ship

  straight into the spew of lava and rocks. The ship shook as a boulder

  struck it. Then another.

  Captain Welflet saw them approaching and lifted a hand. Anakin did not

  know if it was in thanks or farewell. In the next instant the landslide had

  swept him and his soldiers to their deaths. They were buried under the land

  they had fought over so desperately.

  Shaken, Anakin pushed the engines to rise above the eruption again. He

  felt a sickness in his stomach.

  His Master said nothing, but closed his eyes for a moment.

  "I wish I hadn't seen that," Anakin said.

  Obi-Wan opened his eyes. "Such is the life of a Jedi." The cockpit

  indicators began to swing wildly. The ship lurched to one side.

  "I think the power cells were hit," Anakin said. "We've got to land.

  The power is draining fast."

  "We're almost out of range of the eruption," Obi-Wan said, his eyes on

  the monitor. "Keep going..."

  Anakin held onto the controls as the ship lurched again. He heard the

  whine of the power cells as they powered down. "Master, I'm losing the

  ship."

  "All right. Land it where you can."

  Anakin found a smooth area of sand. They were near the coast of the

  sea here. He set the ship down bumpily. He had just enough energy to land.

  The ship settled into the sand and the engines cut out.

  "Good thing we still have the swoops," Obi-Wan said.

  They climbed out of the concealed cockpit. The swoop bikes were

  smashed from the rough journey, but still functioned. Anakin activated the

  landing ramp from the interior cockpit. It squealed as the metal rubbed

  against metal, but it opened far enough for them to slide out with the

  swoops.

  The air was thick with ash. A strange smell was in the air. It was

  like burning, but it wasn't born of flame or smoke.

  "It is the core," Obi-Wan said. "Metals and molten rock

  They piloted the swoops away from the ship and began to search for

  Omega and Mellora. At last they came upon them on a plateau that overlooked

  the sea. There they would be protected from the tidal wave.

  Granta Omega saw them coming. There was no way to surprise them.

  Anakin saw him bend down. He settled something against his shoulder. A

  missile launcher.

  "Master - "

  "I see it. Dive, Padawan."

  They dived as the first missile headed their way. Its target was Obi-

  Wan. His Master leaned to one side and the missile missed him by a meter.

  Another missile was launched. Anakin dived, but the missile was

  targeted at Obi-Wan again. His Master practiced evasive action, and this

  time, the missile missed him by mere centimeters.

  Another missile was launched. This one, too, was headed for Obi-Wan.

  "He's only aiming at me," Obi-Wan called. "Get closer, Anakin!"

  Anakin zoomed past the missile. He saw Omega smile and target a

  slowing Obi-Wan again, but Mellora had vanished. He pushed the swoop

  engines past maximum.

  He jumped the last few meters just as Omega launched another missile.

  Anakin glanced back in time to see his Master barely evade it. His swoop

  seemed damaged b
y the action.

  Omega had anticipated Anakin. He held the missile launcher against his

  shoulder, his finger hovering over the activation button. "Your Master's

  swoop is overheating. He doesn't have good maneuverability anymore. This

  one might get him. I've always thought that to be personally responsible

  for the death of a Jedi would truly help me make my mark. Would you really

  miss him so much, Anakin?" He grinned at Anakin, the ash-filled wind

  whipping his dark hair across his face.

  "Don't," Anakin said. "You will regret it."

  "I knew you'd get out of that ship!" Omega cried. "You will make a

  great Jedi Knight one day, Anakin Sky-walker. But you will be even greater

  if you listen to me!"

  Anakin took a step toward him. "My Master and I request that you

  return to Coruscant with us for questioning by the authorities."

  Omega sighed. "What a kind invitation. I'm afraid I'll have to refuse.

  I'm busy, you see." He inched backward toward his swoop, his finger still

  hovering over the launch button.

  Anakin leaped feet first. But instead of going for Omega, he kicked

  the swoop. Omega's eyes widened in shock as the swoop was knocked over the

  edge of the plateau. At the same time, Anakin's arm flew out and came down

  on the missile launcher, dislodging it from Omega's shoulder. With dismay,

  Anakin saw that the readied missile was launched as the launcher hit the

  ground.

  Omega fumbled inside his tunic. Anakin heard the whine of a swoop

  engine behind him. He whirled in time to sidestep Mellora, who headed

  toward them at top speed. Omega tossed a thermal detonator as he clumsily

  leaped aboard Mellora's swoop.

  Anakin caught the detonator and tossed it as far as he could. The

  explosion sent shock waves through the air. He raced back to his own swoop

  and leaped aboard.

  Omega released seeker droids into the air. There were at least ten,

  heading toward Obi-Wan like a flock of deadly attack birds. Obi-Wan now had

  to contend with the droids and the tracking missile.

  Anakin swung at the droids with his lightsaber as his swoop lurched

  crazily. He was trying to corner Omega and Mellora against the sheer face

  of the ridge, but the two zoomed below him, heading for the sandy plain.

  It was a tactical error. Now they were heading toward the sea.

  Obi-Wan turned his swoop at the last possible moment and the missile

  impacted on a seeker droid. He joined Anakin. They zoomed after Mellora and

  Omega.

  The seekers were as thick in the air as the ash. Obi-Wan and Anakin

  swung their lightsabers constantly, sending them smashing down to the

  ground below.

  Obi-Wan's speeder engine was smoking badly. "I'm overheating," he

  called to Anakin. "Some shrapnel pierced the engine."

  Anakin maneuvered his swoop close to his Master. "Hop aboard."

  Obi-Wan balanced on the seat and leaped onto Anakin's swoop. The swoop

  rocked from side to side, but Anakin straightened it and kept on flying.

  Obi-Wan stood on the seat behind him, balancing easily. His lightsaber was

  a blur as he swung it at the attack droids.

  "Master, the water!" Anakin called.

  Far out on the sea, they could see a wave. It was as tall as a

  Coruscant skyscraper. It was a wall of water moving at more than a hundred

  kilometers an hour.

  Omega and Mellora had gone too far in order to escape. Now they were

  trapped between the oncoming wave and the Jedi. They hovered in the air,

  staring at the wave. Omega looked back at the approaching Jedi defiantly.

  Mellora only looked afraid.

  Anakin pulled up the swoop close to Omega. They could hear the eerie

  sound of the wave now, a sound like no other Anakin had ever heard.

  "You must come with us now," Obi-Wan said, his lightsaber raised.

  "Granta, it's over," Mellora said, her eyes on the approaching wave.

  "We must - "

  In answer, Omega wrenched the controls from Mellora. He shot the swoop

  straight toward the wall of water. They could see Mellora's mouth forming a

  scream before its sound was snatched away by the roar of the titanic wave.

  Grimly, Anakin headed after them. He stayed below Omega's swoop,

  hoping to force them upward. He didn't know if they would be able to clear

  the wave in time.

  Omega swerved up, trying to clear the wave. Mellora had Darra's

  lightsaber and was trying to activate it. Anakin didn't know why. There was

  little she could do with it. Perhaps she wanted to force Omega to

  surrender.

  Omega suddenly reached out and casually put his foot against Mellora.

  With a push, he shoved her off the swoop.

  She fell toward the wave, shrieking.

  Anakin gunned the motor and dove under her. Obi-Wan caught her in his

  arms. The lightsaber fell from her fingers, and Anakin lurched to the side

  in order to snatch it from the air. Then he zoomed above as the water

  curled over their heads.

  They couldn't make it. He took a deep breath as they went straight

  into the top of the wave. He felt the power of the water drive them

  backward. The controls shook in his hand. He heard the engine whine. He

  could only see water, and he was confused now. Were they heading up or

  down?

  Then the Force entered him, and he did not see the water as a wall. He

  saw it for what it was. Full of particles, full of gaps, honeycombed with

  light. He headed for the gaps, willing the swoop engine to obey him.

  They broke through the water into the air. Mellora clung to Obi-Wan,

  gasping.

  Omega was a speck in the distance, heading away from them.

  "He would have killed me!" Mellora choked.

  Anakin hovered in the air, watching the speck disappear. They had lost

  him again.

  "Head for our ship, Padawan," Obi-Wan said.

  Anakin turned back toward safety. He did not believe that Omega wanted

  to kill Mellora. He had pushed her off knowing that the Jedi would save

  her. He just wanted to get away.

  But it was better that Mellora not know that.

  "I know where he is going," she told the Jedi. "I know where he goes

  when he loses. I can take you there."

  "You don't have to," Obi-Wan said. "I know where he is going, too."

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Because of the eruption, hostilities had ceased temporarily on

  Haariden. They left Mellora with the authorities there with instructions to

  hold her until the Senate could send a ship for her. But they could not be

  certain how long she would be held. It was clear that she was prepared to

  lie her way out of trouble.

  "She hates him now," Obi-Wan said as they hurried to their ship. "I

  only hope she sees what he really is. He would sacrifice her young life to

  save his own."

  "But he knew we would catch her," Anakin said.

  Obi-Wan shot his Padawan a curious look. "Are you certain of that?"

  Anakin said nothing. Disquiet settled inside Obi-Wan as they both

  jumped into their craft. He plugged in the coordinates for Nierport Seven.

  They were so close behind Granta Omega. They just might catch him.

  "How do you know where he is going, Master?" Anakin asked as they s
hot

  into hyperspace.

  "It was the ship within a ship that told me," Obi-Wan explained. "I

  remembered his boyhood home. The walls were thicker than the other houses,

  but not too thick that they didn't blend in. But when I thought about it, I

  realized that the proportions were slightly off. I think there is a hidden

  room there. A room in the walls themselves."

  Dusk was settling on Nierport Seven when they arrived. They landed on

  the outskirts of the settlement and hurried to the house.

  There were no lights inside. Obi-Wan took out his lightsaber and cut a

  hole in the door.

  The house was empty. Even the bedroll and stove were gone.

  "We are too late," Anakin said.

  "Yes," Obi-Wan said. "He must have assumed that Mellora would tell us

  what she knew."

  He felt along the walls, knocking them with his lightsaber hilt. When

  he found what he was looking for, he cut through the walls with his

  lightsaber. Here the stone was only centimeters thick, bound to durasteel

  walls.

  Beyond the wall was a room filled with datascreens. Obi-Wan and Anakin