Jedi Quest 4: The Master of Disguise (звёздные войны)

by Jude Watson

  "We'll follow them to the ship," Obi-Wan said. "We can commandeer it and return them to Coruscant." "It can't be that easy," Anakin said.

  "It won't be," Obi-Wan said.

  Granta and Mellora did not attempt to lose the Jedi. No doubt they knew they could not. The Jedi gained on them, but Mellora and Omega managed to reach their SoroSuub at the foot of the volcano. Omega activated the landing ramp and they flew inside.

  "We can make it!" Obi-Wan shouted as the landing ramp began to close.

  Anakin zoomed alongside his Master. They angled their swoops as the ramp slid closed. They slid inside, feeling the whoosh of air as the ramp slid into place.

  The cockpit of the ship was empty.

  Obi-Wan leaped off the swoop and activated his lightsaber in one motion. He ran through the SoroSuub. It took only a few seconds to discover what had happened.

  "They flew out the cargo door as we came in through the landing ramp,"

  Obi-Wan said, disgusted. "He planned it."

  He ran to the cockpit controls. He stabbed at the activation key for the landing ramp, then the cargo doors.

  "He's locked them." He tried the engines. Nothing happened. "The ship is in complete lockdown."

  Obi-Wan's face was dark with anger. Anakin watched, fascinated, as his Master absorbed his anger and then released it.

  "So here we are," Obi-Wan said in a measured tone. "Locked in." He crossed to the cockpit windscreen. Granta Omega and Mellora were nowhere in sight. But the mountain was. It filled their vision as it belched rocks and steam.

  As they watched, the ship suddenly shook with the tremor of a huge groundquake. The scene in front of them vibrated. Anakin couldn't believe what he was seeing. The peak was now disintegrating. Huge chunks of the mountain were falling away. The entire side of the volcano was collapsing in a tremendous landside.

  And they were in its path.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Obi-Wan tried the engines again. "I don't know how to override this."

  "Let me try." There was nothing Anakin couldn't do with engines. He slid open the panel to the engine and slithered inside. "This will take me about twenty minutes."

  "We don't have twenty," Obi-Wan said. He had already calculated the speed of the landslide. "We have maybe five before the lava pours out. If we're lucky. We'll have to cut our way out."

  Anakin scrambled out and followed Obi-Wan to the opening to the ramp.

  Obi-Wan began to try to cut the durasteel away.

  "Something's wrong," he muttered as Anakin joined him. "The ship's hull should be thin here. We should be able to cut through in minutes."

  "It's going to take us longer than that," Anakin said.

  The minutes ticked by as they worked at the metal. Obi-Wan looked out the windscreen to check the progress of the eruption. The noise was now like the roar of a fleet of engines. "We're not going to make it."

  They looked at each other. They hadn't given up hope. There was a way out. There always was.

  They just didn't have much time to figure it out.

  Lava was now spewing out of the top of the mountain. Whole kilometers of dirt and rocks mixed with hot lava would soon be barreling down the steep slope.

  Obi-Wan pushed his lightsaber through the door. He began to move it downward, straining with the effort. Anakin joined him, the sweat rolling down his face.

  Suddenly and violently, molten lava poured out of the volcano at frightening speed. The avalanche of rock and lava smashed against the ship.

  The jolt threw them across the cockpit and slammed them against the opposite wall. The craft tilted onto one side, sending them crashing onto the floor. The ship jolted downhill at incredible speed, carried by the force of the landslide.

  Anakin hung on to the wall. Looking straight up, he could see through the cockpit windscreen. All he saw was rocks and lava obscuring his view of the sky. He knew where they were being carried. The rock slide would drop them into the sea. They would sink. Or else they would be caught in the giant tidal wave that was forming even now.

  His head slammed against the side of the ship. He held on as his teeth rattled. Death was near. Anakin could feel it. Now he understood why he had felt so uneasy on this planet. Here death had waited for him.

  Obi-Wan suddenly pounded against the ship's wall with his lightsaber hilt as they bounced down the mountain, swept along by the lava flow.

  Anakin had never seen his Master give way to his anger before.

  "That's it," Obi-Wan shouted over the awful roaring noise. "It's a ship within a ship. That's why the walls are so thick. Anakin, help me find it."

  "Find what?" he shouted.

  "The cockpit. The real cockpit!" Obi-Wan scrambled along the wall, knocking on it with the hilt of his light-saber. "Listen for something hollow."

  The lurching of the ship made it hard to maneuver, but Anakin followed his Master. He knocked against the wall with his lightsaber hilt.

  "Here!" Obi-Wan shouted suddenly. He activated his lightsaber and began to cut through the wall.

  Anakin grabbed handholds and fought his way toward his Master. He worked alongside him. Obi-Wan was right. The metal was thinner here. It peeled back in strips. They were being pounded by the landslide and it was hard to cut, but they struggled to finish.

  At last there was an opening large enough to crawl inside. To Anakin's surprise, he found a complete cockpit with engine controls.

  "Can you fly it?" Obi-Wan asked.

  Anakin nodded. He strapped himself into the seat. The ship was on its side. He pushed the left engine and the ship rose straight up.

  He kept pushing the engine and the ship revolved. Then he accelerated, and they shot through the lava and the pummeling rocks into the clear air above.

  Obi-Wan sank back into the seat next to him. "That was close," he panted.

  "I wouldn't want it any closer," Anakin admitted. "Where to, Master?"

  "They'll be watching from a safe distance," Obi-Wan said. "Along the coast, but out of range of the wave." He bent over the scanner, comparing its readings to the map on the shipboard computer. "Let's try these coordinates." He pointed them out to Anakin.

  He nodded and piloted the ship back toward the eruption. He would skirt the worst of it, but they would have a bumpy flight. Rocks hammered down on the shell of the ship, and the air pockets were deep. The ship kept slamming into them.

  "Master, look!" Anakin pointed ahead. The Haariden captain and the soldiers were trapped on the plain as the landslide headed toward them.

  They had turned to face it. There was nowhere to run.

  "See if we can make it!" Obi-Wan ordered. "Push the engines!"

  Anakin accelerated till the engines screamed, piloting the ship straight into the spew of lava and rocks. The ship shook as a boulder struck it. Then another.

  Captain Welflet saw them approaching and lifted a hand. Anakin did not know if it was in thanks or farewell. In the next instant the landslide had swept him and his soldiers to their deaths. They were buried under the land they had fought over so desperately.

  Shaken, Anakin pushed the engines to rise above the eruption again. He felt a sickness in his stomach.

  His Master said nothing, but closed his eyes for a moment.

  "I wish I hadn't seen that," Anakin said.

  Obi-Wan opened his eyes. "Such is the life of a Jedi." The cockpit indicators began to swing wildly. The ship lurched to one side.

  "I think the power cells were hit," Anakin said. "We've got to land.

  The power is draining fast."

  "We're almost out of range of the eruption," Obi-Wan said, his eyes on the monitor. "Keep going…"

  Anakin held onto the controls as the ship lurched again. He heard the whine of the power cells as they powered down. "Master, I'm losing the ship."

  "All right. Land it where you can."

  Anakin found a smooth area of sand. They were near the coast of the sea here. He set the ship down bumpily. He had just enough energ
y to land.

  The ship settled into the sand and the engines cut out.

  "Good thing we still have the swoops," Obi-Wan said.

  They climbed out of the concealed cockpit. The swoop bikes were smashed from the rough journey, but still functioned. Anakin activated the landing ramp from the interior cockpit. It squealed as the metal rubbed against metal, but it opened far enough for them to slide out with the swoops.

  The air was thick with ash. A strange smell was in the air. It was like burning, but it wasn't born of flame or smoke.

  "It is the core," Obi-Wan said. "Metals and molten rock They piloted the swoops away from the ship and began to search for Omega and Mellora. At last they came upon them on a plateau that overlooked the sea. There they would be protected from the tidal wave.

  Granta Omega saw them coming. There was no way to surprise them.

  Anakin saw him bend down. He settled something against his shoulder. A missile launcher.

  "Master — "

  "I see it. Dive, Padawan."

  They dived as the first missile headed their way. Its target was Obi- Wan. His Master leaned to one side and the missile missed him by a meter.

  Another missile was launched. Anakin dived, but the missile was targeted at Obi-Wan again. His Master practiced evasive action, and this time, the missile missed him by mere centimeters.

  Another missile was launched. This one, too, was headed for Obi-Wan.

  "He's only aiming at me," Obi-Wan called. "Get closer, Anakin!"

  Anakin zoomed past the missile. He saw Omega smile and target a slowing Obi-Wan again, but Mellora had vanished. He pushed the swoop engines past maximum.

  He jumped the last few meters just as Omega launched another missile.

  Anakin glanced back in time to see his Master barely evade it. His swoop seemed damaged by the action.

  Omega had anticipated Anakin. He held the missile launcher against his shoulder, his finger hovering over the activation button. "Your Master's swoop is overheating. He doesn't have good maneuverability anymore. This one might get him. I've always thought that to be personally responsible for the death of a Jedi would truly help me make my mark. Would you really miss him so much, Anakin?" He grinned at Anakin, the ash-filled wind whipping his dark hair across his face.

  "Don't," Anakin said. "You will regret it."

  "I knew you'd get out of that ship!" Omega cried. "You will make a great Jedi Knight one day, Anakin Sky-walker. But you will be even greater if you listen to me!"

  Anakin took a step toward him. "My Master and I request that you return to Coruscant with us for questioning by the authorities."

  Omega sighed. "What a kind invitation. I'm afraid I'll have to refuse.

  I'm busy, you see." He inched backward toward his swoop, his finger still hovering over the launch button.

  Anakin leaped feet first. But instead of going for Omega, he kicked the swoop. Omega's eyes widened in shock as the swoop was knocked over the edge of the plateau. At the same time, Anakin's arm flew out and came down on the missile launcher, dislodging it from Omega's shoulder. With dismay, Anakin saw that the readied missile was launched as the launcher hit the ground.

  Omega fumbled inside his tunic. Anakin heard the whine of a swoop engine behind him. He whirled in time to sidestep Mellora, who headed toward them at top speed. Omega tossed a thermal detonator as he clumsily leaped aboard Mellora's swoop.

  Anakin caught the detonator and tossed it as far as he could. The explosion sent shock waves through the air. He raced back to his own swoop and leaped aboard.

  Omega released seeker droids into the air. There were at least ten, heading toward Obi-Wan like a flock of deadly attack birds. Obi-Wan now had to contend with the droids and the tracking missile.

  Anakin swung at the droids with his lightsaber as his swoop lurched crazily. He was trying to corner Omega and Mellora against the sheer face of the ridge, but the two zoomed below him, heading for the sandy plain.

  It was a tactical error. Now they were heading toward the sea.

  Obi-Wan turned his swoop at the last possible moment and the missile impacted on a seeker droid. He joined Anakin. They zoomed after Mellora and Omega.

  The seekers were as thick in the air as the ash. Obi-Wan and Anakin swung their lightsabers constantly, sending them smashing down to the ground below.

  Obi-Wan's speeder engine was smoking badly. "I'm overheating," he called to Anakin. "Some shrapnel pierced the engine."

  Anakin maneuvered his swoop close to his Master. "Hop aboard."

  Obi-Wan balanced on the seat and leaped onto Anakin's swoop. The swoop rocked from side to side, but Anakin straightened it and kept on flying.

  Obi-Wan stood on the seat behind him, balancing easily. His lightsaber was a blur as he swung it at the attack droids.

  "Master, the water!" Anakin called.

  Far out on the sea, they could see a wave. It was as tall as a Coruscant skyscraper. It was a wall of water moving at more than a hundred kilometers an hour.

  Omega and Mellora had gone too far in order to escape. Now they were trapped between the oncoming wave and the Jedi. They hovered in the air, staring at the wave. Omega looked back at the approaching Jedi defiantly.

  Mellora only looked afraid.

  Anakin pulled up the swoop close to Omega. They could hear the eerie sound of the wave now, a sound like no other Anakin had ever heard.

  "You must come with us now," Obi-Wan said, his lightsaber raised.

  "Granta, it's over," Mellora said, her eyes on the approaching wave.

  "We must — "

  In answer, Omega wrenched the controls from Mellora. He shot the swoop straight toward the wall of water. They could see Mellora's mouth forming a scream before its sound was snatched away by the roar of the titanic wave.

  Grimly, Anakin headed after them. He stayed below Omega's swoop, hoping to force them upward. He didn't know if they would be able to clear the wave in time.

  Omega swerved up, trying to clear the wave. Mellora had Darra's lightsaber and was trying to activate it. Anakin didn't know why. There was little she could do with it. Perhaps she wanted to force Omega to surrender.

  Omega suddenly reached out and casually put his foot against Mellora.

  With a push, he shoved her off the swoop.

  She fell toward the wave, shrieking.

  Anakin gunned the motor and dove under her. Obi-Wan caught her in his arms. The lightsaber fell from her fingers, and Anakin lurched to the side in order to snatch it from the air. Then he zoomed above as the water curled over their heads.

  They couldn't make it. He took a deep breath as they went straight into the top of the wave. He felt the power of the water drive them backward. The controls shook in his hand. He heard the engine whine. He could only see water, and he was confused now. Were they heading up or down?

  Then the Force entered him, and he did not see the water as a wall. He saw it for what it was. Full of particles, full of gaps, honeycombed with light. He headed for the gaps, willing the swoop engine to obey him.

  They broke through the water into the air. Mellora clung to Obi-Wan, gasping.

  Omega was a speck in the distance, heading away from them.

  "He would have killed me!" Mellora choked.

  Anakin hovered in the air, watching the speck disappear. They had lost him again.

  "Head for our ship, Padawan," Obi-Wan said.

  Anakin turned back toward safety. He did not believe that Omega wanted to kill Mellora. He had pushed her off knowing that the Jedi would save her. He just wanted to get away.

  But it was better that Mellora not know that.

  "I know where he is going," she told the Jedi. "I know where he goes when he loses. I can take you there."

  "You don't have to," Obi-Wan said. "I know where he is going, too."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Because of the eruption, hostilities had ceased temporarily on Haariden. They left Mellora with the authorities there with inst
ructions to hold her until the Senate could send a ship for her. But they could not be certain how long she would be held. It was clear that she was prepared to lie her way out of trouble.

  "She hates him now," Obi-Wan said as they hurried to their ship. "I only hope she sees what he really is. He would sacrifice her young life to save his own."

  "But he knew we would catch her," Anakin said.