by Jude Watson
He had excelled at everything he tried. Yet no student was jealous of him. They admired him and wanted to be like him.
He was also popular with the Jedi Council. Anakin knew they expected great things of him. There was no one at the Temple who did not speak the name Ferus without praise.
Except for Anakin. There was something about Ferus he did not like. That was not appropriate, of course. It was not up to Anakin to like or dislike a student. Judgment was forbidden in the Jedi Order.
He tried to control the feeling. He would control it. He knew well that he couldn't be a Jedi without doing so.
Siri expertly maneuvered the craft down to the landing site at Tacto. She came in fast and whipped the craft around, landing with a whisper-light touch that Anakin admired. All Jedi were excellent pilots, but it was rare to find someone who approached the task as artfully as Siri.
"Great landing," Anakin told her. Obi-Wan just sighed.
Siri activated the landing ramp, and they filed down onto the surface of the planet. Ry-Gaul carried the case holding the needed medications. Anakin reached out to the Force to feel what he could about the mission ahead. He exchanged a glance with Obi-Wan. The Force was dark here. Fear had gripped the population of both cities — and with fear came desperation, anger, and chaos.
Radnorans were a humanoid species, short in stature and sturdy in appearance. Several uniformed security officers waited at the transport desk. A Radnoran dressed in a white unicoat hurried forward.
"Welcome, Jedi. We are relieved to see you. The city of Tacto is under great stress." He passed a hand over, his head full of curly brown hair. "The people don't believe that there will be enough room on the ships."
"Who are you?" Soara Antana asked bluntly. She was known for her no-nonsense approach. Her powerful hands rested lightly on her belt.
"Excuse me. I should explain. I am Galen, the coordinator of the rescue effort. The officials have abandoned the planet, so I suppose I'm now in charge. Only a small security force remains. I inherited this job — I'm normally a scientist. Most of my colleagues have left. | volunteered to help with the evacuation. My sister Curi has gone to the Isolation Sector to help there." Galen turned to the security officers. "Remain here with the Jedi ship."
The lead officer nodded. "Affirmative."
"Let me take you to the emergency command post,"
Galen said.
Galen started across the landing pad, taking quick steps with his short, muscular legs. "Rumors come and go daily.
The ships are late. The ships are not coming. There will not be enough room. We try to keep information flowing, but it's difficult. So many have left, and those who remain are frightened."
"How are things in the Isolation Sector?" Soara Antana asked.
"Worse," Galen said curtly. "Communication is erratic. The toxic cloud has apparently interfered with our comm systems.
We — "
Suddenly, they heard the roar of engines. They turned just in time to see their transport lift off the landing pad and zoom high above.
Galen turned to them, his round, ruddy face suddenly pale.
"The security officers stole your ship. I am so sorry.
Things here are very bad. Even the officers are panicking.
Why shouldn't they? Everyone else is, and their own leader has fled. But don't worry — I have a transport in a safe location. It is at your disposal."
"We accept your offer with thanks," Siri said.
"We can go there after you see the command post," Galen said, beginning to walk again.
"We can assure your people that the ships are on their way and there is room for all. What is your biggest problem at the moment?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I have too many problems to single out one," Galen said.
"The government is practically nonexistent. The security officers — the ones who remain — are in danger of disbanding. You can see that loyalty has evaporated on Radnor."
They exited onto a boulevard and found themselves in the city center. The streets were eerily empty. Occasionally a Radnoran would pass, walking quickly. They saw a family go by, their bundles held tightly against their chests, darting glances testifying to their panic.
They passed looted stores and houses. Doors were broken down and windows were smashed. Anyone they passed had at least one blaster prominently displayed on a hip or strapped across a chest.
Anakin had never seen anything like it. He could almost smell the fear in the air.
They walked by a small space cruiser, its interior bombed out and its engine looted.
"Most of the transports that have remained have been fought over and destroyed," Galen explained. "There have been frenzied crowds desperate to get off-planet."
"Tell us about the looters," Soara said. "Do you have any clues as to who they are and where they are based?"
"No," Galen said. "I don't have time to find out. At any rate, we don't have a security force to control them. I can tell you that the raiders have somehow stolen a small army of prototype Battle Droids from a research laboratory. They use the droids to control the situation while they steal the goods."
Galen's comlink signaled, and he answered it. After exchanging a few words, he turned to the Jedi. "It is my sister, Curi. I'd like you to see this."
A miniature hologram appeared of a small Radnoran female.
They could just glimpse curly dark hair like Galen's beneath the white bio-isolation suit she wore. Every inch of her body was covered, with the material stretching over her boots. A transparent mask fitted over her face and head. The hologram flickered, and some of the words were unclear.
"… three deaths today of med personnel. There aren't enough of us to take care of… We need the new medications as soon as possible. Please tell the Jedi. ."
The hologram sputtered and died.
The message might have been garbled, but the controlled panic in her voice was clear.
"We should head there immediately," Soara said.
"I can take you as far as the energy gate that divides the sectors," Galen told them. "It's not far. I can supply you with bio-isolation suits."
They came to a store guarded by several Radnorans with blasters. A sign in the window announced: bio-iso suits 5,000 karsems.
"Five thousand karsems is a full year's salary," Galen remarked. "We are lucky to have suits for you. They are hidden. I don't keep them at the command center, because it's already been attacked by looters looking for suits."
Suddenly, they heard the sound of screams coming from the street ahead.
Galen looked nervous. "What now?"
The Jedi did not stop to wonder. Masters and Padawans charged ahead, running toward the source of the sound.
They rounded a corner. Ahead was a large, prosperous- looking house. Its windows had been hastily covered with durasteel panels. The door had been nailed shut with thick durasteel slabs crisscrossing it.
None of the attempts to make the house a fortress had worked. The door had been kicked in. Two of the windows had the durasteel torn away. Raiders were throwing goods out of the windows.
Twenty Battle Droids like none Anakin had ever seen were wheeling in formation. They had advanced repulsorlift systems, allowing them to move with astonishing speed above the surface of the ground. While they guarded a huddled group, Radnorans systematically loaded the looted goods onto gravsleds.
One Radnoran male lay on the ground in a spreading pool of blood. A female crouched over him. Children stood nearby, rooted to the spot, while another older female tried to herd them to safety.
Anakin saw all this at once. His gaze took in the number of droids, the number of raiders, the Radnorans who must be protected, and the possible angles of attack. He knew every Jedi had observed the same. The droids had a fluid movement he'd never seen be fore. They did not maneuver in a jerky, programmed fashion. It was almost as though they had grace built into their sensors, and their blaster accuracy ratio was much higher than the usual Bat
tle Droid.
One of the Radnoran raiders spotted them. Anakin saw his fingers fly on a remote device clipped to his belt. Five of the droids moved to surround the raiders for protection. The rest wheeled and came straight toward the Jedi in attack formation.
Chapter Five
"Padawans, protection!" Siri ordered crisply. Her words floated behind her; Siri was already Force-jumping toward the front line of droids.
Obi-Wan leaped as well, keeping to Siri's left so they could surround the droids, who were deftly moving over the ground. With one sweep of her lightsaber, Siri sliced a droid neatly in half. Simultaneously, Obi-Wan did the same to the second. On his backswing, he took out a third.
As quick and agile as Siri and Obi-Wan were, Soara Antana was even faster. Anakin watched in astonishment as her lightsaber cut through three droids with one clean stroke.
Ry-Gaul handed the medication case to Tru to safeguard and joined her side.
Anakin knew that Siri's order was for the Padawans to surround the Radnoran family that had been victimized by the attackers. But he could see that the Jedi Masters would need help with the rest of the droids and the Radnoran raiders, who were already peppering them with blaster fire.
Darra, Tru, and Ferus raced to surround the Radnoran family. Ferus took out a droid on his way in a quick detour, his red lightsaber flashing. Anakin knew the three Padawans could easily follow through on Siri's order. That meant that on his way to obey Siri's order, he could help the Jedi Masters.
Anakin detoured toward Soara and Ry-Gaul. He held his lightsaber at the ready. The hilt he had built in a trance in the cave of Ilium was perfectly balanced to his hand. He felt power surge through him.
Anakin took out two droids with two quick thrusts. His palms felt hot, his body strong, his timing sharp. Still, he lagged behind Ry-Gaul and the amazing Soara, whose compact body now seemed to move like molten metal, gracefully sliding from one attack position to another. Each of Soara's moves flowed into the next, with no beginning and no end.
Her lightsaber was a blur as it sliced efficiently and continuously through one droid after another.
The Radnoran raiders took one look at how quickly the Jedi had reduced most of their droid squad to a smoking heap.
They ran.
The rest of the droids closed in to protect the raider's retreat. Anakin saw quickly that the Jedi Masters had the situation in hand. He double-flipped back to join the other Padawans, who had formed a tight circle, their backs to the Radnoran family as they fended off the last of the blaster fire from the retreating droids.
Ferus moved aside so that Anakin could join the protective circle. Anakin kept his lightsaber moving, deflecting the fire as the family crouched behind him.
Four of the droids suddenly peeled off into one group and launched a frontal attack on Obi-Wan, taking him momentarily by surprise. Siri had to execute a reversal and come at them from behind. Anakin admired how well Obi-Wan and Siri seemed to anticipate each other's strategy in combating the droids'
sudden maneuver.
That was not the only surprise. While Obi-Wan and Siri battled the group of droids, three more separated from the rest and suddenly zoomed toward the Radnoran family.
"Watch it!" Ferus called.
"I see it," Anakin muttered, his teeth clenched. Ferus spoke as though he'd been the only one to catch the surprise attack.
Tru turned his body so that he was still protecting the Radnorans and the case in his left hand but could meet the droid attack head on. Darra switched her lightsaber from her right hand to her left. All Jedi were trained to use both hands while fighting, but Darra was especially skilled at not favoring one over the other.
Ferus stepped forward, and Anakin did the same. The two Padawans fought the three droids side by side. It took all their powers to stay ahead of them.
Anakin saw a droid come at Ferus's left, and moved to foil its approach at the same time as Ferus. The two Padawans collided, sending Ferus off balance. He landed awkwardly, and Anakin quickly rushed in to bury his lightsaber in the droid's control center. Ferus was up and fighting in another split second, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He sliced a droid in two as Darra dispatched the last one with a cool grace Anakin admired.
Anakin glanced over at Obi-Wan. He was ready to join his Master, but he saw that Obi-Wan and Siri had finished off the rest of the droids. Soara and Ry-Gaul had completed their work as well.
The Jedi simultaneously deactivated their lightsabers. Obi- Wan ran to the Radnoran family.
"Is anyone badly hurt?" he asked.
"My husband," the Radnoran female said, her eyes wide with panic. "He needs help."
"We'll get him to a medic," Tru assured her.
Ry-Gaul bent over the Radnoran to gently examine the wound. "He will be all right. He needs a bacta bath." It was rare for Ry-Gaul to say so much at once.
"My sister took a blow to the head," the man's wife said, pointing at the older Radnoran female.
"And you," Tru said gently. He touched her shoulder. "You have taken a blow yourself, I think."
"To the leg. It was nothing," the wife said, kneeling by her husband.
"They all need care," Tru said to Ry-Gaul.
"Yes," Obi-Wan said. He scanned the streets. "There are no speeder transports. No emergency med vehicles."
As if he'd heard them, suddenly Galen appeared, piloting a large speeder. "I thought you might need this here."
"Yes. We must transport the wounded," Soara said. "And then we must go to the Isolation Sector."
"I can take the wounded first, then return for you," Galen said. "By the way, I only have four bio-isolation suits. You will have to choose who will go."
The four Masters exchanged glances. They did not have to confer. It would be better to leave the Padawans here temporarily and not expose them to the deadly toxin. The Masters were sure to be back in time to monitor the evacuations.
"The Padawans will stay here and make sure the wounded get care," Soara said, speaking for all the Masters. "We shall bring the medications to the Isolation Sector."
"Your instructions are to patrol the area and keep the people as calm as possible," Obi-Wan told the Padawans. "Do not conceal your lightsabers. The Radnorans must know that the Jedi will protect them."
"Check in with Galen periodically," Siri said. "He'll keep up with the progress of the evacuation ships."
"We will not fail you," Ferus said.
Of course we won't. You don't need to say it, Anakin thought.
Obi-Wan drew Anakin aside. "You fought well, my young Padawan," he told him.
"Thank you, Master."
"But you fought for yourself," Obi-Wan continued. "First of all, you did not obey Siri's order at once. And when Ferus stepped forward to engage the droids, he did so in the expectation that the two of you would work together.
Instead, you fought as though you were fighting alone. You will never be a great Jedi warrior if you do not practice teamwork and dedicate yourself to the greater Jedi goal."
It was his Master's most disapproving tone. Anakin knew better than to try to defend himself. Hadn't Ferus fought for himself, too? Hadn't he stepped forward without consulting Anakin, without a word as to his intentions? Why was Ferus right, and he wrong?
"Yes, Master," he said.
Obi-Wan stepped back. He never said more than he needed to. He never added a reassurance after a correction.
Anakin turned away. He caught Ferus's eye, and the boy quickly looked away. Ferus had overheard Obi-Wan! Anakin's face burned. Now Ferus knew that Anakin had been corrected by his Master. And Ferus was about the last Padawan in the Jedi Order that Anakin would want to know that.
The others had loaded the wounded into the speeder. There was just enough room for the Padawans.
"I'll return for you," Galen said to the Jedi Masters before taking off. Anakin watched as they receded behind him. He knew it was important for them to get the wounded to a medic. He also knew the Maste
rs had left them here temporarily with important responsibilities. He still wished he were going off with his Master to see the Isolation Sector. Someday he would be a Jedi Master. Then he would be the one to make decisions, the one to make corrections. He could hardly wait