"They are trying to destroy the settlements," Sekot said, seeming to kneel beside him. "I can't let this go on much longer."
"What can you do?" Anakin asked in a low whisper.
"The Magister prepared for this, but we have never ..." Sekot seemed at a loss for words. "Practiced? We have never had a drill and tried everything all at once."
"Tried what?"
Sekot stared straight ahead. "The engines, the hyperdrive cores.
"What, you're all going to escape in big ships?"
"We will do what we need to survive. Do you know where you are?"
"In a sky-mine delivery ship. I'm a prisoner," Anakin said.
"You are in orbit around me. You are part of the fleet I may have to destroy soon. I would regret harming you."
"You can do that? Blow up all these ships?"
"It's possible. I'm trying not to be too destructive all at once, but the Magister never had time to teach me everything. I do not know what we are all capable of, the settlers and me, working together."
"Did you kill any Far Outsiders?"
"I must have," Sekot said.
"Would this be any different for you?" Somehow, that seemed important.
"I don't know. Every experience is new. I do not know myself very well. I am only now aware of how much death there is in my own parts, how they compete with each other and keep a balance of coming and going, being and ending. All across my surface there is death and birth, all the time. Do I feel bad about this? Do you know when the parts of your body kill invading organisms?"
"No," Anakin said. Some Masters were fully aware of all the minute living things within their bodies. Padawans were rarely taught such skills. They could be distracting.
A guard came over to check him out. "Who are you talking to?" the guard asked, glancing at the ship in her harness.
"The planet," Anakin said. "It's getting ready to blast you out of the sky."
The guard grinned. "It's a backwater, a jungle," he said. "Putting up a pretty good fight, I hear, but nothing we can't beat."
Anakin pressed his lips together. The guard could not face the boy's direct gaze. He backed away, then returned to his post, shaking his head.
Sekot returned. "I wish there was another way. I mean you no harm," it said.
"You have to defend yourself."
"I wish there was more time."
Anakin shivered. "So do I," he said. Time to calm his inner turmoil and prepare for the proper passage, for the death of a Jedi apprentice.
Chapter 60
Tarkin was beside himself with pride. "They thought they could keep their secrets from us," he said to Sienar as they emerged from the turbolift onto the bridge. The captain of the mine ship, a disheveled, scum-yellow-haired fellow well into old age, received a look of disdain from Tarkin and scuttled back into the recesses to get out of the way of the commander of the fleet.
"The Republic's forces need a manicure and a heavy trim," Tarkin confided to Sienar, a display both of good humor and determination. "And after this success, I'll be the barber, Raith."
"I shall sweep up after you," Raith said tonelessly.
Tarkin chuckled again. "My success will reflect well on all around me," he said. "Even that cuticle hiding from his superiors. I can't wait to get back to the Einem and finish our work."
"We could just leave them with this warning-as a resource for future investigation," Sienar suggested halfheartedly. "I doubt they'll be going anywhere."
Tarkin did not reply. He stared down through the captain's broad viewport at the cloud-shrouded southern hemisphere, and above the equator at the battle still being fought between the planet's defenses and droid starfighters. Flashes and sparkles of laser fire and blazing jungle illumined the night-bound planet beyond the orange and gray band of the terminator.
He was not pleased with what he saw. "Still not subdued."
"You're trouncing their defenses badly," Sienar said. Other lights glimmered in the darkness, as well, and Sienar, less arrogant and less pleased with himself, traced their outlines with interest. Longitudinally oriented rectangles hundreds of kilometers long were outlined by what looked like lightning. Some large change was disturbing the atmosphere.
He doubted starfighters could be blamed for that.
"How soon until we dock with the Einem?" Tarkin called back to the captain, still hidden in shadow.
"Fifteen minutes, Commander," the captain replied in a croak.
"Antiquated," Tarkin murmured in disgust. "Time for the new and for the young." He turned for the turbolift. "Let's interview the boy before we dock."
Chapter 61
I don't know what shape he's in," Obi-Wan told Charza Kwinn as the Star Sea Flower pulled up through the atmosphere. The sky darkened and the faint sound of rushing atmosphere diminished beyond the port. "I think he's shrunk inward, pulling all his signs with him."
"But he is still alive, you are certain?" Charza Kwinn asked.
"He was captured with the ship. They'll keep him alive to keep the ship alive."
"I can't believe the Republic would do such a thing, attack this planet," Charza said. The food-kin arrayed themselves on the instruments, eyes fully extended, alert and ready for action.
"I suspect there's confusion during the assimilation," Obi-Wan said. "Some ambitious and unscrupulous elements are taking advantage of it."
"You are sworn to protect the Republic," Charza said. "Can you fight against them?"
"I am sworn to protect my Padawan," Obi-Wan said. It was a deeper law, a more ancient tradition, but Charza's question still hit home. How did Obi-Wan know what had been decided back on Coruscant?
Charza anticipated his thoughts. "They would never allow the destruction of a helpless world," he said. "That is more like the Trade Federation of late. And if they know the boy is Jedi-"
"It doesn't matter," Obi-Wan said. "We are under illegal attack. We will rescue the boy." And the senate will have to sort it all out when we get back to Coruscant.
"I have already plotted a course," Charza said, and showed Obi-Wan the projected orbit and rendezvous. "The mine ship will be more vulnerable just before it docks. These big old control ships have poor eyesight from above and below. I will slip in through the lower blind spot, push up against the underside of the mine ship, where its hull is thinnest, and try out a new toy." Charza made a high, brushy, sloshy sound to show his amusement.
"What sort of toy?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Perfect toy for an age of pirates," Charza said. "I have to make plans, in case the Jedi no longer need my services, no?"
Obi-Wan folded his arms. He was still chilled by the memory of the Blood Carver, the manner in which he had died. Anakin has made his first kill in direct combat. I know it was in self-defense. He did it without a lightsaber, against a much stronger foe. Why then do I feel that something went badly wrong'?
Chapter 62
I'm very impressed," Tarkin said to Anakin Skywalker as the Sekotan ship was winched out over the closed bay doors, now serving as the bay's floor. Racks of empty sky-mine cradles overhead and on all four sides jangled with the vibration of the old ship. "You made this?"
Anakin stood still, head bowed, and said nothing. He could feel the ship's mind, quiet, waiting. Like him.
Raith Sienar climbed up on the harness and walked around the top of the ship, kneeling at one point to examine its hull with a special instrument. "Very healthy," he pronounced.
The taller one, Sienar, is smarter, Anakin thought. The shorter one is very powerful and resourceful. Ruthless as any man I've met. This was the older voice speaking once more. Anakin realized that in his present situation, with no real chance of rescue, he would have to listen to this voice very carefully in order to survive. And survive he would, at all costs. There was too much unfinished business in his life, even if his career as a Jedi was now at an end.
He did not believe they would return him to the Temple.
Believe nothing they say. You are j
ust a part of the ship to them.
"Are these ships as special as the rumors say?" Tarkin asked him in a conversational tone.
"I haven't had much chance to try her out," Anakin said. "You attacked the planet and nearly killed us all."
"I'm sorry you had to experience that," Tarkin said, focusing on the boy intently. "Strategy is a tough master at times, as any Jedi should understand. We protect the greater interests, sometimes at the expense of the smaller."
"Zonama Sekot did you no harm," Anakin said.
"It did not respond to our authority, and these are troubled times," Tarkin said. The boy was interesting. A very strong character, well beyond his years. "Did you kill the Blood Carver?"
"His name was Ke Daiv," Anakin said. "I killed him after he threatened Jabitha."
"I see. A clumsy misunderstanding of our orders. Well, you can never trust his kind, can you? I prefer dealing with humans, don't you?"
Anakin did not answer.
"Tell me about your ship. We shall let you command it, of course, and fly it, once we return to Coruscant."
"They could make many more for you if you just paid them and-"
"Enough," Tarkin said, his voice gathering a rough edge.
Sienar stood atop the Sekotan ship with his hands on his hips, listening. Anakin looked up at him. Sienar smiled and nodded, as if in agreement.
"Will you allow me aboard your ship?" Tarkin asked, recovering his calm tone. He stroked the long upper edge of the starboard lobe as he walked around the ship.
Anakin stood still, head lowered again.
Tarkin glanced over his shoulder and frowned at the boy's quiet concentration, thought of the condition of the Blood Carver's body, and shot a brief, commanding look at his personal guards, spaced around the bay. They touched their weapons.
"I say once more, will you-" Tarkin began again.
Anakin looked up suddenly and stared directly into Tarkin's eyes. "Do whatever you can," he said. "I will not help you." There it was again, the contrariness, the defiance that seemed completely illogical. The older, wiser self chafed within.
He could feel another part of the trial approaching. It was far from over. His hopelessness was a weakness and had to be banished, and if he cooperated with these men, or showed any signs of giving up, giving in, then all would be lost, wiser self or no.
Sienar shrugged and climbed over the hull to the upper hatch.
"We'll have to wait until we transfer it to the Einem," Tarkin said with a sigh. "The boy will see reason eventually."
Loader droids rolled across the deck, preparing for the docking. They beeped around Anakin's legs, warning him that he should move. The bay doors would be opening shortly.
"Come," Tarkin said, taking the boy by the shoulder. His hand burned, and he jerked it aside, waving it through the air in pain. A very impressive lad! He stopped himself from swatting the boy's face.
Anakin looked up at Tarkin, and his eyes seemed to lose all focus. Tarkin felt something twitch in his chest, in his abdomen.
Alarms rang out all around the ship. Sienar jerked his gaze away from Tarkin and the boy and squinted at the flashing red lights, the wailing of horns.
Anakin stepped back and pulled in his anger. I was going to do it again!
Something heavy clanged against the bay doors and the ship quivered. Hot spatters of metal spun outward from the seam where the doors met, and a vortex of hot gases and smoke spiraled up into the empty mine racks like a questing finger.
The personal guards escorted Tarkin out of the bay. Sienar jumped down from the Sekotan ship, glanced around wildly, felt the air pressure drop, and ran after the guards with barely a glance at Anakin.
Other guards remained, slapping pressure masks over their faces. They dropped to their knees and drew laser weapons.
Out of the twist of smoke and metal vapor, through a meter-wide hole in the doors, rose a hooded figure clutching a brilliant green lightsaber. Before he was completely inside the ship, laser fire surrounded him, and in a blur of motion, the lightsaber deflected each and every beam.
Anakin cried out for joy, and then felt a hot flash of shame. He had not believed in his master or in the near miracles a dedicated Jedi could work, and that shamed him.
But there was no time to waste. Obi-Wan stood at the hub of a dozen spokes of laser fire, and beams sizzled against the walls all around.
The boy stood by the ship, bent his legs, and leapt the three meters to land on top. The hatch opened at the touch of his boots. The ship instantly switched on her engines, and heated air blasted through the bay.
Obi-Wan, wielding his blade with supreme skill and blinding speed, stepped up on the bay doors and marched toward the Sekotan ship. Pieces of rack dropped around him, cut down by errant and deflected laser fire. Nine guards broke ranks and retreated.
"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted. "We're leaving now! Prepare our ship!"
The alarms within the bay grew more strident. Seeing they could do nothing more, the last three guards exited through the last open hatchway, firing as they fled. Obi-Wan jumped to the top of the ship and sliced the harness cables expertly with the lightsaber, working three on one side, three on the other, and then back again to finish the job. With the severing of the last three cables, the ship hovered on her own engines.
"We're almost out of fuel!" Anakin called from inside the ship.
Obi-Wan looked up through the smoking ruins of the racks, saw fuel hoses snugged up tight below the bulkhead. They had fittings to service droid starfighters as well as powered sky mines.
All used high-grade fuel, just like the Sekotan ship.
"Three minutes!" Obi-Wan shouted, and climbed up a precariously swaying rack to bring down a fuel hose. Anakin lifted the ship above the floor another meter to ease his master's task.
What Obi-Wan did not tell his Padawan was that the Star Sea Flower was even now setting a delayed charge on the bay doors of the mine ship.
They had just seconds more than three minutes before it blew.
Chapter 63
Tarkin was beside himself with cold rage, his face almost purple. He hunkered beside Sienar in the escape pod as the elderly mine ship captain sealed them in with a sad, fatalistic nod.
"Two minutes from docking!" Tarkin shrilled, pounding the thin bulkhead with his fists. "We were that close!"
"Careful," Sienar said. "These interiors are none too sturdy."
Tarkin froze, quivering with anger, and stared very hard at Sienar.
"Lowest bidder, you know. I designed them for lightness, not strength," Sienar said.
Tarkin grabbed for a comlink and yanked it from the wall. He was connected directly with the Einem. "Captain, whatever you do," he shouted, "destroy that damned cargo ship, and destroy all that remains on the planet!"
Chapter 64
Charza Kwinn pulled the Star Sea Flower away from the mine ship and retracted the boarding tunnel. He had left a plug in the hole, and attached to the plug, a charge sufficient to blow the bay doors wide open.
He surveyed with many sharp eyes the ever-changing network of defensive fire spreading out from the Rim Merchant Einem. The mine ship was drifting dangerously close to the hull of the control ship.
An escape pod shot out from the port side of the mine ship and was instantly snared by tractor fields from the Einem.
Obi-Wan and his Padawan had only a few seconds remaining before the charge went off, and it was time for Charza to make his own escape.
Chapter 65
Obi-Wan kicked aside the high-pressure hose and ducked a spray of corrosive fuel. Smoke billowed within the bay. Gravitation within the bay was failing; Charza's bore must have severed grid cables in the doors. Debris drifted up from the floor.
He jumped through the hatch and closed it tight behind. Anakin waggled their ship back and forth to free her from two fallen mine racks. He clasped his master's hand firmly as Obi-Wan settled into his couch.
"Ready?" Obi-Wan asked.
 
; Anakin had never been more ready to leave a place in his life.
"Brace," Obi-Wan warned.
The charge blew and the doors drew up and ripped aside in less than the blink of an eye. Racks and smoke and debris shot out into space, and the extra nudge pushed the mine ship against the hull of the Einem. The control ship shields braced its hull against the intrusion, but the sm aller mine ship did not have a chance. Older, built to be expendable, it cracked along its main structural elements like an egg, and all its fuel-and three defective mines kept in storage-exploded.
The shock wave propelled the Sekotan ship through the breach in the doors. A rack punctured one lobe, and in Anakin's mind the ship gave a small cry of pain, then sealed the wound. He could not control her motion yet; the turbulence was too extreme. He felt more punctures and then a rip across her stern, and again the ship made healing repairs, but her pain was intense.
As the brilliant light of the explosion faded, Obi-Wan saw they were tumbling end over end away from the control ship and the expanding wreckage and plasma ball of the old mine ship.
Anakin brought them up and around, through bursts of aimless laser fire, and directly into a swarm of starfighters. The fast, deadly droid ships seemed to flock out of nowhere, two nearly solid walls flanking the Einem. Anakin had no choice but to reverse course, swoop into the control ship's shadow, and make a desperate run down toward Zonama's atmosphere.
Every other route was blocked.
"She's intact," Anakin told Obi-Wan. He gave his master a quick smile. "She's brave and she's beautiful. She'll go anywhere we tell her to."
Obi-Wan gripped his Padawan's shoulder. "Shall we live to fight another day?"
"You bet!"
Anakin buried his arms in the control panel, and the ship told him everything that she knew about the planet, where they could fly, and how they might escape.