Siri bristled at being called "little girl." "I don't like any of
these options."
"It will only mean a few hours delay," Obi-Wan said.
"Maybe less," Buc said, shrugging.
"We might as well get off here," Obi-Wan said to Siri. "We can look
for Astri while we wait. You've come this far."
Siri pressed her lips together. She gave a short, angry nod.
"All right, drop us here," he told Donny Buc. "We'll be at the
landing platform in two hours."
"Make it an hour and a half. I feel lucky."
Donny Buc swooped in for a bumpy landing. They scrambled off the
craft and he made a wobbly takeoff back to Yinn.
Siri and Obi-Wan were hit with a blast of hot wind.
"All I can say is, he'd better come back," Siri grumbled.
Obi-Wan led the way through the sand. He was grateful to Siri for
agreeing to stop. She may have been disdainful of him back at the Med
Center, she might be angry now, but one thing he could say about Siri - she
was loyal.
They struck out over the dunes. Obi-Wan saw no sign of the tribe or
Astri with her three companions. But up ahead, he caught the glint of
metal.
"Siri, look."
She shaded her eyes with her hand. "It's an air taxi," she said.
"Come on."
They ran ahead, the sand sucking at their footsteps.
The air taxi was settled into the sand, but did not appear to have
crashed. As they got closer, Obi-Wan saw a bundle of clothing in the front
seat.
His heartbeat tripped. It was not a bundle of clothes. It was a
pilot. He'd been strangled.
CHAPTER 10
Barely breathing, Obi-Wan walked closer to search the rest of the
ship. He braced himself for the sight of Astri's lifeless body. But how
could you brace yourself for something like that?
The air taxi was empty except for the pilot.
"What should we do, Obi-Wan?" Siri asked in a hushed voice. She
anxiously scanned the area around them. "Do you think Ona Nobis killed the
pilot?"
"I have no doubt of it."
"What do you think happened to Astri? Do you think..."
"I don't know," Obi-Wan said uneasily. "Maybe she's hiding. Is there
anywhere you can think to look?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan said. He tried to ignore the foreboding that was
gathering inside him.
"There is one place. When Astri and I were here, the local tribe led
us to the bounty hunter's hideout."
He led Siri along the sheer rock wall that circled the canyon. When
he got to a sharp turning, he stopped.
"Put your hood up," he advised. "The wind will get very strong after
we turn the corner. Whatever you do, don't lose sight of me."
Siri nodded, drawing her hood over her face. He did the same.
They turned the corner into a howling wind. Pellets of sand peppered
any exposed skin. Obi-Wan kept one hand on the wall so that he would not
get lost. He could only see a meter or two ahead.
He dropped to his knees, motioning to Siri to follow. His fingers
trailed along the rock, looking for the opening to the bounty hunter's
hideout.
It was a relief to enter the narrow opening of the cave. He could not
stand, but the cool sand under his fingers felt good. He shook out his
cloak and brushed the sand from his face and hair.
"The cave opens up just ahead. We'll be able to stand," he told Siri
in a whisper. He was fairly sure that Ona Nobis wasn't here, but he was
prepared to meet her if she was. This time, he would have Siri by his side.
He crawled along the cool, damp sand, feeling his way in the
darkness. He saw the small opening ahead and squeezed through. Immediately
the air felt different and he knew he was in a larger open space. The
blackness turned gray. He waited a moment, then lit his glow rod.
Astri sat against one wall with Cholly, Weez, and Tup. They were
tethered together, their wrists and ankles tightly bound. Gags were stuffed
in their mouths. Astri's eyes went wide.
"Don't worry, it's me," Obi-Wan called, in case they had trouble
seeing him.
"Mmmmfff!" Astri struggled against the gag. Cholly beat his feet on
the floor of the cave.
"All right, I'm coming," Obi-Wan said, hurrying toward them. He
reached toward Astri's gag even as she attempted to talk.
"Trap!" Astri exhaled the word as Obi-Wan removed the gag.
"Wh - " Obi-Wan's question was cut off as he heard a loud rushing
noise behind him.
He turned and ran past Siri to the opening. He dropped flat and
pushed forward, but it was too late. Sand and rocks were pouring down from
overhead, piling up against the cave entrance. There was nothing he could
do. Larger rocks spilled down, wedging in against one another tightly. In
only moments, the cave opening was sealed and they were buried alive.
CHAPTER 11
Obi-Wan crawled back into the larger cave. He wiped the dust out of
his eyes and reached for his comlink.
It didn't work.
"Siri?"
She shook her head. "Mine doesn't work, either."
Astri ran her hands over the stubble that was beginning to grow back
on her bare skull. "I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. She left us here to die, but she
was hoping you'd find us. When you crawled through, you tripped a slow-
acting lever that deposited all that debris."
Obi-Wan nodded. He felt foolish for once again walking into a trap.
He had never told Qui-Gon about Ona Nobis's hideout. There hadn't been
time. He had told Tahl, but he hadn't given her coordinates. Everything had
happened too fast. And now no one knew where they were.
Siri had freed Cholly, Weez, and Tup. Tup groaned as he stretched his
legs. "I'm so hungry."
"You won't be for long," Weez said.
Tup brightened. "There's food?"
"No, idiot. Because soon we'll be dead," Weez snarled.
Tup paled. "You don't have to be so negative. Woosh. We're with Jedi.
They can do anything."
Cholly had crawled forward to peer through the opening to the cave-
in. "They can't tunnel through a rock," he said.
"You're not dead yet," Siri told them. "Come on, Obi-Wan, let's see
if we can cut through those rocks with our lightsabers."
Obi-Wan followed Siri back into the narrow portion of the cave. They
crawled forward. There was just enough room to crouch side by side. They
activated their lightsabers and sliced through the rocks.
The rocks crumbled into sand, which filled up the spaces, packing the
landslide even tighter.
"This isn't going to work," Obi-Wan said. He sat back and deactivated
his lightsaber. He wiped the dirt off his face with his sleeve. "Now you
get to say 'I told you so."
Siri sat down beside him. She dusted the sand off her tunic with her
hands. "If you say that again," she muttered, "I'll hit you. There's got to
be another way. Maybe she has tools in the cave."
"I'm sure she removed them. Ona Nobis plans for everything."
With a grunt, Siri flipped over and began to crawl back to the cave.
"Maybe she doesn't know it's a tool."
Intrigued, Obi-Wan crawled
behind her. They stood upright as soon as
they reached the big cave. Siri found two more glow rods and lit them. They
prowled around the cave, pawing through the bins in which Ona Nobis kept
survival gear and protein packs.
"Can I help?" Astri asked. "What are we looking for?"
"Tools," Obi-Wan said. "Something to dig with."
Astri sighed. "Ona Nobis hauled out a bin of tools when she left. She
didn't leave anything. Not food or water, either."
Siri sat back on her haunches. "We can't dig with our hands. We'll
never get out."
A slight whimper from Tup ended in a howl as Cholly kicked him.
Siri's eyes roamed over the cave. Suddenly, she raised her glow rod.
She rose to her feet in one quick motion and went over to study the wall of
the cave.
"Obi-Wan, look."
Obi-Wan stood at Siri's shoulder. He saw that the cave walls were
braced with slender metal poles.
"Do you think the cave would collapse if we cut a few of these down?"
Siri asked.
Another moan from Tup. This time, Weez joined him.
Astri came closer. She gazed around the cave, noting the number of
supports. "I'm no engineer, but I bet you can take some of these out."
"You'd bet?" Tup asked. "Aren't you sure?"
"I can't be sure," Astri said. "But if it's our only chance, it's
worth the risk, isn't it?"
"No," Tup said in a small voice.
Astri turned to Siri. "What are you thinking of doing with them?"
"They're shiny," Siri said. "And they look pretty flexible. I'm
thinking if we can get them through the rocks and sand, we can signal the
outside."
Cholly looked dumbfounded. "What outside? It's just desert out there!
"
"There's a tribe nearby," Astri said. "They scavenge for food.
Someone might see it."
"Or someone could come looking for us," Obi-Wan said.
"Or the whole cave could collapse on our heads," Tup suggested. His
hands fluttered down as he mimicked the cave ceiling falling on them.
"Woosh."
"I guess we should take a vote," Obi-Wan said. He looked at Siri and
Astri, who nodded immediately. Cholly followed with a nervous nod. Weez
agreed with a shrug. Then he elbowed Tup.
"I guess it's better than starving to death," Tup said shakily.
Siri gritted her teeth. She activated her lightsaber and carefully
began to slice through the slender metal pole. It peeled back from the wall
and Obi-Wan stepped forward to grab it. A stream of dirt rained down on his
head, and Tup fell to his knees and covered his head with his hands.
"Gibbertz and ham, we're done for!"
The stream of dirt stopped. Obi-Wan scrutinized the ceiling above.
"It's all right," he said. "I think it will hold."
"He thinks," Tup repeated.
"Shut up, Tup!" Weez and Cholly yelled. Another stream of sand poured
down.
"Come on, Obi-Wan," Siri said. "Let's see if we can push this
through."
They wiggled through the opening and crawled forward. It took trial
and error, but first Obi-Wan, then Siri threaded the slender pole through
crevices in the rocks. Siri hit a rock and wiggled the rod, trying to force
it through. The rod snapped.
"We'll have to try another," Siri said.
This time, Tup rolled into a ball and kept his eyes closed as Obi-Wan
sliced through the second pole. He eased it away from the wall and had to
jump back as a chunk of loose dirt and rocks cascaded down. They heard a
rumble overhead.
"Don't say a word, Tup," Astri snapped.
Siri and Obi-Wan went back to the cave entrance and tried again. He
tried to guide the rod through the tiniest of cracks. He pushed, pulled,
prodded, and maneuvered but he got no further. Sweat streaked through the
dust on his face. His gaze locked with Siri's. An unspoken agreement passed
between them. This time he closed his eyes as he gently moved the rod.
Together they called on the Force. He felt it gather power around him. The
sand and rocks were part of him. They were connected to everything around
him. He could feel the tiny rivers of space through the packed debris.
Obi-Wan maneuvered the rod carefully. He felt it poke through. He
wiggled it.
"I think it's out in the air now."
"Good. Push it out as far as you can," Siri breathed.
Slowly, Obi-Wan pushed the rod through until he only held the very
end. He wiggled it.
"Maybe if the wind dies down, the sun will glint on it," Siri said.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure if the wind ever died down in that canyon, but he
didn't tell Siri that.
For the next few hours they all took turns crawling through the
narrow cave and holding the rod. They turned and twisted it carefully, in
case it could catch a ray of sun.
The group split Obi-Wan and Siri's survival rations, but it did
little to assuage their hunger and thirst. The air grew close and hot. They
barely spoke or moved in order to conserve what little oxygen they had
left.
When Obi-Wan's turn came again, he took the rod from a weary Tup. He
lay flat and wiggled the metal. He was tired from the rescue of Qui-Gon and
the battle with Ona Nobis. He could not remember the last time he had
slept. But he would lie here and stay alert as long as he had to. As long
as there was hope
"Hello in there! Is anyone there?"
"Yes! We're trapped!" Obi-Wan shouted. "I am Goq Cranna. Who is
there?"
"Goq Cranna, it is Obi-Wan Kenobi! I am the Jedi who visited your
tribe and asked for your help!"
"Ah, then it is good I stopped. Stay back, young Kenobi. We will dig
you out."
Obi-Wan crawled back into the cave. Siri, Astri, Cholly, Weez, and
Tup sat propped against the cave wall, exhausted.
"Goq Cranna has found us!" Obi-Wan said. "He's digging us out."
"Thank the stars and planets," Tup said fervently.
It seemed to take a long time for Goq to dig out the opening. At last
light streamed in and they saw the smiling face of Goq's son, Bhu.
They crawled out of the cave into the orange blaze of sunset.
"The wind dies down at dusk, or else we would not have seen the
silver rod," Goq said. "Even though we were searching. We saw the dead
pilot and knew Ona Nobis had been here. We went into hiding. But then when
we emerged we met a pilot who was supposed to pick up two passengers at the
landing platform. They didn't show up. Bhu said, what if the wonderful lady
who saved our tribe is in danger? So I agreed to look. Bhu saved you."
Bhu smiled shyly at Astri, who hugged him. "Thank you, Bhu."
On their last trip, Astri had made a trade with
Bhu for information about Ona Nobis. She had taught the desert tribe
how to find food in the harsh environment. It was obvious that Bhu now
worshiped her.
Siri combed her hair behind her ears with her fingers, shaking out
the sand. "Did you actually see Ona Nobis?"
"Close enough to touch," Goq told her. "I was nearby when she called
someone on her corn-link. Someone was trying to persuade her to do
something and offered her a
cut of a potential fortune if she did so."