was raised, almost as if he were waving a greeting. Then Anakin and Tahiri
reached the floor, bouncing slightly on the cushion of air. A moment later
Tionne and Ikrit touched down behind them with a soft thump-thump. Uldir
faced them all. His amber eyes blazed with anger.
"Why are you here?"
"For one thing," Tionne answered, "we're here to get back some objects
that belong to us." She advanced toward one of Orloc's pirate droids that
held the Holocron in its mechanical grip.
Anakin noticed that Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber hung from Orloc's
belt. The droid retreated and raised its blaster arm to point at Tionne.
From the corner of the room Artoo-Detoo shrilled a warning. Tionne paused
to assess the situation.
"We also came for you, Uldir," Anakin said.
"Come back to the Jedi academy with us," Tahiri pleaded. "You don't
belong here."
Uldir's lip curled in a sneer. "So, you want to stop me just when I
have real power within my reach? Just when I'm beginning to use the powers
I always knew I could have? I thought you were my friends. I thought that
you would be happy for me." His voice broke and sounded as if it might
change, but Uldir stopped to clear his throat. When he continued, his voice
came out strong and deep. "Surely you must have seen the storm I called up
just a few minutes ago."
"You mean you really believe that you did all that?" Tahiri asked,
confused.
"Yes," the broad-shouldered teenager said proudly. "I made the thunder
and the lightning and the rain."
"But that's not real power," Tahiri said. "It was just glowpanels
flickering-and the ceiling speakers made the thunder."
"She's right," Anakin said. "None of those things happened because of
any power you called forth. Your `rain' came out of the emergency
sprinklers up above. It was just a trick that Orloc played on you."
Uldir's face clouded with doubt. He looked at the Mage. Orloc shrugged
eloquently.
"These children hope to trick you out of the power that's rightfully
yours, my boy. Of course the glowpanels flickered. The lightning you made
caused an electrical disturbance. And as for the emergency sprinklers? Why,
I assure you those haven't worked in centuries."
While Uldir and Orloc were distracted, Anakin reached out with the
Force and tried to loosen Artoo-Detoo's restraining bolt. The Mage clucked
and shook his head sadly.
"I did my best to keep these meddlers from interfering, but you must
know that we can't just give them my lightsaber and my Holocron. Why, your
training has just begun, my boy. I'm afraid there's no other choice. We'll
have to eliminate them."
Anakin gasped, unwilling to believe their friend would really hurt
them.
Uldir shook his head.
"No. I used the Force to keep them safe when they were falling. I
can't just let you kill them now."
Anakin and Tahiri exchanged surprised glances. Uldir thought he had
saved them from falling? Anakin nudged with the Force at Artoo's
restraining bolt again.
"Just let them go," Uldir urged. His voice was ragged with emotion.
"Please. I'll make sure they don't come back."
"Sentimental fool," Orloc scoffed. "Why, I know of only one way to be
sure they won't return." The Mage reached for the lightsaber at his belt
and held it high.
But before he could turn it on, the lightsaber sprang from Orloc's
hand as if drawn by a magnet and flew into Ikrit's grasp. At the same
moment Tionne also used the Force to yank the Holocron away from the pirate
droid. She caught it in midair. Orloc's face flushed with rage.
"Get them!" he roared, clutching his purple cloak. Smoke billowed
behind him. Thunder exploded from the speakers.
"No-don't hurt my friends!" Uldir shouted.
One of the Ranats dove toward Ikrit, but the Jedi Master easily jumped
over its head to land safely on the other side. Three more Ranats in purple
sashes tackled him and wrested the lightsaber from Ikrit's grip, but they
could not hold on to the spry Jedi Master. Just then Anakin succeeded in
popping free the restraining bolt that held Artoo-Detoo in place. The
little droid gave a defiant squeal and rolled forward to help defend his
friends. Glowpanels flickered. Water showered from the sprinklers overhead.
"Run," Tionne yelled.
Anakin and Tahiri needed no further encouragement. They ran.
"Come with us, Uldir," Tahiri shouted over her shoulder as they headed
for the door.
Uldir did not answer, and there was no time to wait.
Tionne and Ikrit were right behind them, but so were the Ranats and
the droids. The children were soaked by the time they reached the corridor.
Still running, they headed left, but stopped when a blaster bolt zinged off
the wall just in front of them.
"Turn!" Ikrit warned. Anakin and Tahiri spun and pelted the other
direction down the hallway. The deck was smooth metal. As they rounded a
curve, one of Anakin's feet slipped out from under him. He fell to the
deckplates. At the same instant an energy bolt sang through the air in the
exact place where his head had been a moment earlier. Before Tahiri or the
others could help, Anakin rolled, bounced back to his feet, and kept
running.
"Should we climb to the air ducts again?" Tahiri gasped.
A blaster bolt hit the ceiling above them, spraying sparks and molten
plasteel in all directions.
"No time," Anakin said. "They're too close."
"There's a doorway up ahead," Tionne said, clutching the Holocron to
her with one hand. "Maybe if we get inside we can secure the room and hold
them off." Ikrit bounded ahead and unsealed the door.
The companions ran headlong through the opening, and the door slid
shut behind them. Anakin turned toward the controls, hoping to lock the
door against their attackers. Tionne, however, had already ignited her
lightsaber and slashed at the control panel. The door would not open to the
enemy anytime soon.
"Uh-oh," Anakin heard Tahiri say behind him. "I'm not sure this is the
best place for us to hide."
Instantly wary, Anakin looked around the room. What he saw filled him
with dismay. The chamber they had entered was barrel - shaped, like the
inside of a hollow drum. Its polished metal walls and floors were covered
with lights, nozzles, hologram projectors, speakers, half - assembled
droids, and all sorts of gadgets that Anakin didn't recognize. The room's
ceiling was three stories high, and a catwalk ran all the way around the
wall above their heads. Two huge ancient-looking statues as high as the
catwalk faced each other across the thirty-meter width of the chamber. A
complicated control panel was set back into the wall beside the far statue.
Anakin's alert mind put together all the pieces and came to a quick
conclusion.
"I think we stumbled into Orloc's main laboratory or workshop... his
headquarters. This must be where he manufactures all that high-tech `magic'
we've been seeing."
"I knew all along he wasn't a
real magician," Tahiri said. "Uldir will
have to believe us now."
Suddenly the Mage's laughter boomed from above them-amplified by
speakers in the ceiling. A doorway appeared in the far wall beside the
control panel in a place where there had been no doorway visible a moment
before. Behind it stood Orloc with several of his droids and Ranats.
"I'll take back that Holocron now," the Mage's voice thundered. "You
won't be needing it anymore."
Keeping her eyes on the Mage, Tahiri took a deep calming breath. She
was certain that Orloc would try to kill them now, and she was amazed to
realize that she felt pity for the Mage mixed with her fear of him. She
sensed that he wasn't nearly as sure of himself as he pretended to be.
Suddenly Orloc's voice boomed out again and Tahiri knew he must have
speakers hidden in the walls to amplify his words.
"Why not save yourselves a lot of trouble and give up now? You cannot
hope to defeat me. My followers and I have you outnumbered by at least ten
to one."
Tahiri felt Tionne place a hand on her shoulder. Her other hand, still
holding the Holocron, rested on Anakin's shoulder. Strength and
encouragement flowed through her touch.
"But our power comes from the Force," the silvery-haired instructor
said, "so don't assume that the odds are in your favor."
Orloc's hollow laugh echoed around and around the curved walls of the
large room.
"Why then, we must put your confidence in the Force to the test-and we
will see whose power is the greater."
"Wait. Where's Uldir?" Tahiri asked.
The Mage raised his purple-robed arms in a shrug.
"I left him behind with your little droid. He knows nothing of my
secret passageways into this room. Unfortunately, his friendship with you
makes him weak and sentimental. This fight need not concern him. Now give
me back my Holocron." Orloc made a motion with one hand, and a dozen Ranats
in purple sashes appeared on the circular walkway five meters above the
floor. Each Ranat held a blaster.
"We don't want to hurt you," Anakin said.
The Mage only laughed again.
"Why, isn't that a pity!" He folded his arms across his chest.
Tahiri noticed that Orloc's fingers still played with the silver
spangles that edged his robe. Thunder echoed through the chamber. The sharp
lightning - storm smell of ozone filled the air. Mist began to seep outward
from the walls, hiding the armed rodent creatures up on the catwalk.
"Now defend yourselves-if you're able," Orloc scoffed.
A blaster bolt ricocheted off the floor directly in front of Tahiri.
"I will take care of the Ranats," Ikrit said to his companions. "May
the Force be with you."
Then the Jedi Master bounded toward the closest wall and swarmed up
one of the metal ladders toward the catwalk. More energy bolts whizzed
toward the companions.
Trust the Force, Tahiri reminded herself as Ikrit's furry white form
disappeared into the mist above. The next moment she and Anakin dropped to
the floor and rolled in opposite directions. Blaster shots missed them by a
few centimeters and spanged harmlessly off the floor. Tionne's lightsaber
was in her hand now. With her blade she caught the energy bolts that came
at her, deflecting them toward the ceiling. Tahiri jumped back to her feet,
grabbed Anakin's hand, and pulled him toward one of the tall statues.
Realizing that she meant to use the statue as a shield, Anakin ran with
her. As they dashed for shelter, several blasters - twisted and warped
beyond all hope of repair - clanged to the deckplates beneath the catwalk.
Dodging between the statue and the wall, Anakin grinned at Tahiri.
"Good for Ikrit," he said. "I don't think we'll have to worry about
those Ranats anymore."
Tahiri peeked out from behind the statue.
"Yipes!" she said. "Maybe we don't have Ranats to worry about, but
here come the droids. I wonder where Master Ikrit went."
She looked around the side of the statue again. The Mage himself still
stood near the opposite wall. Fog hovered behind him and a dramatic purple
spotlight shone down from above, so that it looked as if he was surrounded
by a bright purple haze. Tahiri knew he must be directing the attack, but
she wasn't sure how.
"Are the droids coming this way?" Anakin asked, tapping the statue
experimentally. It gave a hollow thunk, like a bell made of pottery.
"Yes," Tahiri said. "Uh-oh! They're halfway across the room! Tionne is
trying to draw their attention. She's under the catwalk."
"Good," Anakin said. "Remember how we've used the Force together
before? One of us thinks an object light and the other one lifts or pushes
it?"
"Of course I remember," Tahiri whispered. "We're a team."
Suddenly she understood what he wanted to do.
"Okay... now!" Anakin said.
Tahiri let her eyes fall closed and imagined the statue being light,
as light as a soap bubble floating on the air. Beside her she heard
Anakin's quick indrawn breath. Then, just a few seconds later, a colossal
crash reverberated through the room as the statue toppled and broke against
the hard deckplates. Tahiri opened her eyes to survey their handiwork.
Statue rubble lay scattered everywhere. In the wreckage she counted at
least five ruined droids. One of the still-intact pirate droids turned and
fired at them. They ducked and separated.
"Fools," Orloc's voice snarled. "Why, I can defeat you without my
Ranats or my droids, if need be." He toyed with the spangled sleeve of his
cloak. An ominous clanking, chugging sound rumbled from beneath the floor.
Before Tahiri could figure out what the sound meant, a door slid open
in the curved wall. All of the droids in the room swiveled their blasters
to point at it. Still crouched and ready to dodge blaster fire, Tahiri saw
Uldir's broad shoulders and shaggy chestnut hair framed in the doorway.
Beside him, riding on Artoo-Detoo's domed head, was Ikrit.
"So this is the chamber of wonders you've told me about," Uldir said
in a voice that was deeper and steadier than Tahiri had ever heard from him
before. Orloc looked surprised and confused for a moment. The ominous
clanking, chugging sound grew louder. His eyes blinked furiously. Then he
recovered.
"Why, yes, my boy," he said pleasantly. "As long as you're here, stay
where you are-and watch true power in action."
Uldir watched as the Mage, his teacher, spread his arms wide. For some
reason, Orloc held tightly to the silver edges of his purple cloak. Uldir
soon saw why. A powerful wind roared through the room. The purple robe
flapped madly about the Mage. Uldir's shaggy hair whipped around his face.
Across the room Tionne, Anakin, and Tahiri looked as though they might be
blown backward by the gale. Beside Uldir, Ikrit's snowy fur rippled like a
field of grain in a storm.
"Mmmm. Watch carefully, young man," the little Jedi Master said to
Uldir, "and see the magician's tricks for what they are. The Force is not
with him. His magic is not real."
Uldir shoo
k his head stubbornly.
"No, furball. I can't ignore what I've seen with my own eyes. How can
you deny his power when he's showing it right here in front of you? I've
used that power myself."
"Tricks," Ikrit's raspy voice replied. "Only tricks. The man's one
true power is the power to deceive. He has lied to you, and you believe. It
is because you believe him that his magic appears so strong."
"I can't close my eyes to what's right in front of me," Uldir said.
"No," Ikrit answered. "Keep your eyes open. But let yourself see what
is truly before you."
Anakin held an arm in front of his face to block the wind that stung
his eyes. He couldn't hear anything above the roar of the gale, except for
the deep thrumming and chugging of machinery beneath the floor. Then a
bright, bright light began to pulse overhead. On-off. On-off On-off. The
strobing light made it harder to see the approaching droids. But one thing
Anakin could see: Orloc was now holding Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber in one
hand.
The blade flamed bright blue. Staring at the lightsaber, Anakin took a
step forward. Tahiri's hand grabbed his arm and yanked him back. A split
second later, a jet of superhot steam shot up from the floor right in front
of them.
Kenobi's Blade Page 7