The Dangerous Rescue

  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."