Jedi Quest 1: The Way of the Apprentice (star wars)

by Jude Watson

  "They're going down!" Obi-Wan shouted.

  Obi-Wan reached out with the Force, knowing it was useless. He could not stop an airspeeder from crashing.

  Helplessly, he watched it begin to spiral.

  "Hang on!" Siri shouted. She put their airspeeder into a steep dive. Underneath her hands, the controls vibrated and the whole craft shook. She was pushing the craft to its maximum — and beyond.

  Siri turned sharply to the left, slipping under the other airspeeder. At the exact moment they were underneath, Ry- Gaul and Soara leaped.

  They landed on the rear of the speeder, sending it tilting crazily. Ry-Gaul and Soara released their cable hooks, fastening themselves to the craft as it bucked and rolled.

  Siri's face was set with determination as she battled with the out-of-control speeder.

  Ground loomed up at them. Canyon walls rushed past. Ahead was a sheer cliff. Siri tried to slow the craft, but the engines were stuck.

  "Cut the power!" Obi-Wan shouted.

  Siri shut down the engines. With a piercing whine, they cut out. The speeder bounced off the ground, then spun wildly. Soara and Ry-Gaul desperately hung onto their cables. Obi-Wan was thrown from his door against Siri. His head slammed back against the seat.

  The speeder suddenly smashed against the canyon wall, then came to a stop.

  Obi-Wan tasted blood in his mouth, but he knew he was unhurt. He looked over at Siri. She winced, but she nodded to let him know she was all right. Soara was trying to pick herself up, but her leg was at an awkward angle. Ry-Gaul supported her and helped her rise.

  The Jedi did not hesitate. They did not even have time to wait until their heads were clear. The MTT was zooming down toward them, laser cannons firing.

  Obi-Wan and Siri leaped off the speeder and ran for cover.

  Ry-Gaul supported Soara and hustled her toward shelter. Obi- Wan found a small passageway between sheer canyon walls. He darted inside and the others followed.

  Ry-Gaul leaned down to examine Soara's leg. "Not broken."

  Soara tried to smile. "At last some good news."

  "Can you walk?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Yes," Soara said, her face white with pain.

  "No," Ry-Gaul said gently. "But I will help you."

  They followed the twisting trail, moving as fast as they could despite Soara's injury.

  "I doubt they'll unload the droids here," Siri said.

  "If this is an invasion, they'll want to get on with it,"

  Soara said through clenched teeth. "Why waste time on four Jedi? Maybe they'll just give up and go away."

  "This trail is doubling back on itself," Obi-Wan said suddenly. "It's going to bring us back to where we started."

  "Great," Siri said. "I missed that MTT."

  Obi-Wan inched close to the edge of the wall. He looked out.

  The MTT had landed in a clear space a few hundred meters away. The ramp lowered. As Obi-Wan watched, troop after troop of Prototype Droids marched down.

  "They are unloading the droids," he said. "They aren't giving up."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Anakin and Tru managed to find one of the few security officers left on the planet. They left Ruuin in his care.

  "I wouldn't be surprised if he bribes or talks his way out of custody," Anakin said, watching as Ruuin walked away with the officer, talking quickly and gesturing with his short, stubby arms.

  "It doesn't matter," Tru answered. "We have proof that Radnor is being invaded. We'd better talk to the others."

  "Sure, so Ferus can tell us what to do," Anakin grumbled.

  "Well, what do you think we should do?" Tru asked as they hurried toward the checkpoint Ferus and Darra were guarding.

  "I think Galen is behind this, and we should confront him," Anakin said. "He can tell us exactly what the Avoni are planning. Then we can figure out how to foil it."

  "Somehow I doubt it will be that easy," Tru said.

  "I do, too," Anakin agreed. "But I can't think of anything else."

  They reached Darra and Ferus and quickly told them what they had found.

  "We don't know for sure that it's Galen," Ferus said.

  "We don't have time to come up with another suspect,"

  Anakin insisted. "We have to move now. We don't know what's going on in the Isolation Sector. Our Masters could be in danger."

  "Anakin is right," Darra agreed. "We won't lose anything by confronting Galen."

  "Let's go," Ferus declared.

  As if it was his idea, Anakin thought.

  The four Padawans hurried to the command center. Galen was just tossing a small survival kit into his airspeeder.

  "Going somewhere?" Anakin asked.

  "Of course I am," Galen answered. "As soon as everyone is safely off the planet."

  "You seem to be in a special hurry," Darra observed.

  Galen gave an exasperated sigh. "What are you getting at now?"

  "We have solid information that the planet Avon was behind the raids and also the theft of those Prototype Droids,"

  Anakin said. "And we think you know something about it."

  Galen chuckled, shaking his head. "You kids sure come up with some incredible theories. I've been trying to help the citizens of Radnor!"

  "What about the original toxic accident?" Ferus asked.

  "And the theft of the droids? Both things happened at your facilities."

  "It's called bad luck," Galen said. "I'm one of the top scientists on Radnor. Maybe someone targeted me. And as soon as all this is over, we'll be going over our safety procedures very carefully. But I'm not responsible. I've been risking my life by staying here. I could have left long ago. I had the money. My sister and I decided to stay to help our fellow citizens. Why are you accusing me?"

  Now Galen looked hurt, not angry. Anakin did not pick up anything amiss. He wished Obi-Wan were here. He was not yet adept at reading the true motives of other beings.

  Anakin remembered Ruuin's anxiousness to get away. No doubt he had a rendezvous time with the Avoni as well as a rendezvous point. Maybe Galen had the same problem.

  "I say we just hold him until the Avoni ships take off,"

  Anakin told the others. "He can wait here with us for the Senate ships."

  Tru's silver eyes flickered as he understood Anakin's strategy. "I agree."

  "This is ridiculous!" Galen exploded. Finally they had cracked his wounded composure. "I refuse, after all I've done, to subject myself to these suspicions."

  He jumped inside the airspeeder and revved the engine. But he hadn't counted on the quick reflexes of the Padawans.

  Anakin reached over and shut off the engine as Tru jumped in and accessed the onboard computer. He read out the coordinates that flashed on the screen. They were the same as Ruuin's.

  "I'm sorry, Galen," Anakin said. "We now have proof. Those are the coordinates of an Avoni landing site. You are going to be airlifted off-planet."

  "Yes, so what?" Galen bellowed. "Along with everyone else!"

  "I don't think so. I think you cut a special deal with the invaders. You and your conspirators would have had new lives on Avon — thanks to your betrayal of your planet."

  A small, shocked voice came from behind them. "No."

  Anakin turned. A small woman with features similar to Galen's stood in the doorway. He recognized Galen's sister Curi from the hologram Galen had received the day they'd arrived. "It can't be true. Galen? Is it true?"

  "Of course not, Curi," Galen said. "These Jedi are children. What do they know?"

  Darra ignored Galen's comment. "Did you leave our Masters in the Isolation Sector?" she asked urgently.

  Curi tore her sorrowful gaze from her brother and faced the Padawans. "They were on their way here. The toxin is no longer dangerous. It has a short half-life, we've just discovered. The winds will bring no danger to Tacto."

  "And our Masters?" Darra asked. "Where are they, now?"

  "They are in great danger," Curi said. "They are pinned
down by the Avoni invaders outside the city of Aubendo in the ground canyon fields. Dol Heep had them under surveillance. I discovered that he had placed tracking devices in my transports. When I found out I went after them. I was just in time to see a large vessel force them down. They are under attack from a platoon of Battle Droids.

  Our Battle Droids," she added, with a glance at Galen.

  "How can we trust her?" Ferus asked the others in a low tone. "What if she and Galen are in league together? What if they're trying to get us out of the Clear Sector so they can take off?"

  The Padawans looked at one another, confusion on their faces. Yes, Curi could be lying. Galen definitely was. Who could they trust?

  Trust yourself. Breathe in your instinct. Then act.

  Anakin closed his eyes for a moment. He touched the river stone in his pocket, sliding his fingers over its warmth. He reached out to the Force, to a place that he knew well. He felt a distant tug — Obi-Wan. Yes, his Master was in danger.

  And Curi. . Curi was telling the truth.

  Unease was still on his fellow Padawans' faces. But Anakin locked eyes with Ferus. "We can't take a chance with our Masters' lives."

  Ferus hesitated only a fraction, surprised at the depth of Anakin's contact with the Force. "You're right. Let's go."

  Chapter Eighteen

  The Padawans commandeered Galen's airspeeder. The four of them squeezed inside. Curi gave them the coordinates of where she had last seen the Avoni transport and the Jedi.

  "Look at all these Radnorans in bio-isolation suits,"

  Darra observed. "I sure hope Curi is telling the truth, or we'll be in for a big surprise when the winds shift."

  Darra spoke lightly, but no one felt entirely easy about their decision. Even Anakin was a little worried. He was betting everything on his intuition. If he was wrong, the consequences would be severe. He could die, along with the other Padawans.

  I'm not wrong.

  He could feel Ferus's eyes on him. He kept his gaze forward as he piloted the craft. He wasn't about to retreat now.

  Ahead they saw the energy gate that led to the Isolation Sector. Curi had given them the coordinates to bypass it.

  Anakin entered them into a signal beam and the energy gate opened. They zoomed through.

  For a moment, they all held their breath. Then Ferus took a deep breath. Darra did the same.

  "Well, there's no turning back now," she said.

  Ferus accessed the mapping device on the shipboard computer. He studied the ground canyon site. "There are several access points," he said.

  "We have to assume that they're probably still very close to where Curi saw them," Darra said. "She said their speeders were destroyed."

  "She also said the transport following them was quite large," Tru added. "So if we take a narrow route through the canyons, we might have the element of surprise."

  "We're going to need more than surprise if that transport was filled with Prototype Droids," Ferus remarked. "Not only that, the transport probably has some sort of blaster cannons."

  "If you're trying to raise our confidence level, it's not working," Darra said.

  "We're coming up on the ground canyons," Ferus warned.

  Anakin slowed down slightly. Ahead he only saw what looked like scribble markings on the ground. Then he realized the markings revealed deep cracks in the ground surface.

  Ferus read out a coordinate. "Take that route," he said.

  "It will bring us close to where Curi saw our Masters."

  Anakin zoomed down the canyon. He hugged the canyon walls, going as fast as he dared. By the look on Ferus's face, it was faster than the other Padawan would like. Anakin pushed the engines up a notch. He knew he was in complete control.

  Ahead he saw the large, hulking shape of the Avoni transport ship. It was idling, its repulsorlift engines on low, keeping it a few meters off the ground. Dust rose around it in a filmy cloud. Anakin grew excited.

  "I've seen that kind of transport before," he said. "It was years ago, in the Trade Federation battle for Naboo.

  This is a slightly smaller version of an MTT — a Multi Troop Transport. They store Battle Droids and are usually piloted by two droids."

  "They also have heavy frontal armor. The ship itself can be a weapon." Tru looked uneasy. "They can go through rock walls."

  "It looks like this one already did," Darra said, swallowing hard.

  A solid wall of rock had been splintered into fragments.

  Droids littered the ground.

  "Our Masters must have battled there," Ferus said in a hushed tone.

  Anakin hovered near the sight, careful to keep out of sight of the MTT's bridge. They saw no evidence of their Masters.

  "I hear blaster fire," Darra said suddenly. "We're close."

  Then Anakin could hear it, too. He placed his hands back on the controls, ready to zoom ahead.

  "Wait!" Ferus commanded.

  Annoyed, Anakin turned to him. "What now? More planning?"

  "Yes," Ferus said steadily. "If we rush in there without a plan, we won't be much help to them."

  "What kind of a plan do we need?" Anakin asked. "They're being attacked by droids! We go in and help them!"

  Darra groaned. "I thought the worst thing about being on this mission was protein cubes for breakfast. Now I know it's you two. Ferus, what are you thinking?"

  "How many droids did the MTT on Naboo hold?" Ferus asked Anakin.

  "I don't remember," Anakin said. "Over a hundred, I think."

  "One hundred and twelve," Tru said softly.

  "And this is only a little smaller," Ferus said. "So let's say it holds about fifty to seventy droids, at least. What are the chances we can battle that many with our lightsabers?"

  Darra swallowed. "I can't tell you how much I hate to hear the odds before a battle."

  "So what are you saying?" Anakin asked. "We call for more Jedi?"

  "Or more lightsabers," Darra said.

  Ferus shook his head. "Of course not. We just need to think, that's all. We have a couple of advantages. One is surprise. The other is the fact that you and Tru seem to know a lot about that transport."

  Anakin nodded. He had explored one on Naboo after the battle.

  "The question is, how do we get aboard?" Ferus asked.

  "Can you deactivate the droids from the MTT?" Darra asked.

  Anakin shook his head. "No, they're controlled from either the landing ship or from orbit."

  "No stress with that," Ferus said. "If you get aboard, can you pilot the ship?"

  "I can pilot anything," Anakin said flatly.

  "Didn't you say that the ship is also a weapon?" Ferus asked.

  The four Padawans looked at one another.

  "Of course," Anakin said. "If we control the ship, we control the battle."

  "There's the deployment hatch," Tru said. "But the release valve is on the bridge."

  "I think the only way is — " Anakin began.

  "You're right," Tru said. "But we'd have to do it — "

  "Exactly. But the venting system — "

  "So we don't have to worry about being seen." Tru nodded rapidly. "Okay, that's it, then."

  "That's what?" Darra cried. "Are you two speaking some weird language from the Outer Rim?"

  Anakin turned to her. "The MTT is designed by the Baktoid workshop. The Trade Federation buys most of their ships, but they rotate out the old ones and sell them off to various planets. I'm betting that's what this transport is. Which means that its exhaust and cooling system is vented straight down toward the ground. There's some unusually large vents on the bottom. That's why you see all that dust around it.

  It's kicked up by the wind coming out of the ship."

  "So the dust will give us cover," Tru said. "And the vents are big enough. We can just climb up them to get aboard."

  "Won't the wind blow you back?" Ferus asked.

  "If the ship was moving, it would," Anakin said. "But the engines are idling. The s
hip is in passive mode. We shouldn't have too much trouble."