Jude Watson: Jedi Quest 4: The Master of Disguise

There was only rubble. Anakin could hear Darra's slow, even breaths beside him. He knew she was concentrating on her breath, slowing it down, trying to focus. Anakin also felt disturbed. It was as though his nightmare went on.

They walked back onto the street and stopped in front of the next building. Obi-Wan and Soara exchanged a glance. Anakin reached out to the Force. It always took him just a beat slower than Obi-Wan to feel it. The Living Force was here.

Obi-Wan headed left, Soara to the right. With a glance, they ordered their Padawans to follow.

Soara went first, headed through the doorway like shimmersilk. She was known for her grace and flowing movements. Obi-Wan followed, keeping to Soara's left. Anakin and Darra stepped through.

The building had once been a cafc. A long counter was charred and blackened. Some tables and chairs remained, but most had been splintered and blown apart. A very large round oven sat in the middle of the room, the size of a small landspeeder. It had been vented through the roof by a stone chimney. The chimney lay in ruins around them.

A rusty metal door swung on one hinge on the oven. Soara and Obi-Wan fanned out on either side, motioning to their Padawans to do the same.

Soara bent over and gently moved the oven door. There was a muffled gasp. A small rustle of movement.

"Don't be afraid," Soara said. "We are Jedi."

"Prove it." The voice was male and wobbled a bit, fear disguised as bravado.

In a movement so fast Anakin could have blinked and missed it, Soara unsheathed her lightsaber, activated it, and held up the glowing beam in front of the open oven door.

"Thank the stars and galaxies," the voice breathed.

A face smeared with ashes poked out from the open door. "Needless to say, it is good to see you. I am Dr. Fort Turan. Space geologist. Head of the mission. Objective is the study of the effects of volcanic activity…"

A shoulder poked out, and then an arm.

".. on planetary atmospherics… oof.." Dr. Fort Turan tried to wiggle his ample body through the small space."… within a scale three system."

The rest of Dr. Fort Turan popped out. Despite a torn tunic and a nasty scrape on one cheek, he beamed at the Jedi. "Now, meet my team."

A blue-skinned arm poked out, followed by a face. "Joveh D'a Alin, at your service. Degree in tectonics with an emphasis on mineralogy."

Joveh D'a Alin slid out. Another face appeared. It was another human male, this one smiling broadly. His hair was caked with dirt and stuck straight up, and his brown eyes were warm. "Dr. Tic Verdun. Practical theorist, planetary origins. Very glad to make your acquaintance. For a moment we feared we would be roasted alive."

The next scientist to emerge was a Bothan named Reug Yucon, "special training in atmospherics, trans-system and galactic." Then a slender Alderaan female named Talie Heathe, an oceanic specialist.

Dr. Fort Turan rubbed his hands together. "So. Shall we retire to your transport? The sooner we're off this planet the better."

"We can leave right away," Obi-Wan said. "We're about eight kilometers away."

Dr. Fort Turan's face fell. "Eight kilometers? So far?" "You have speeders?" Reug Yucon asked.

"No," Obi-Wan said. "Speeders would attract too much attention. We have to walk."

"That will take a long time," Joveh D'a Alin said, concerned. "We had hoped…"

Tic Verdun looked at his fellow scientists. He tried to appear cheerful. "Not so far. And we have the protection of the Jedi now. It's a fine night for a walk, I'd say."

Talie Heathe picked up on Tic Verdun's attempt to cheer them. "But let the Jedi lead, Tic. You've done enough for us."

"Tic has saved our lives many times over," Fort Turan said. "He's scouted ahead and kept us moving away from the soldiers."

"He did a good job," Obi-Wan said. "You stayed alive. But the battle is close now. We'll be walking in the opposite direction. We should be able to make good time."

"We have provisions for you," Soara said, reaching into her survival pack.

Quickly, the Jedi shared water and protein cubes with the scientists.

They looked a little better when they had finished.

A pale pink moon was rising as they left the village and entered the forest. The shelling had stopped, and the area was eerily quiet. The faint hazy light of the moon barely penetrated the thick trees. They did not dare risk a glow rod.

They walked for several hours. Soara kept track of their progress with her datapad map. "We're making good time," she murmured to Obi-Wan.

"Another kilometer and we can turn and head south."

Anakin smelled the battle before he sensed it. He breathed in and smelled smoke and fire and death. Ahead, Obi-Wan and Soara had stopped.

Darra drew a ragged breath.

The scientists had smelled and sensed nothing. They continued to walk until Obi-Wan held up a hand to stop them.

"Slowly," he murmured.

They walked, making no sound. In a few minutes Anakin could see that the light through the trees ahead had changed slightly. The smell was worse now. The wind brought it to him, and it smelled like something in a dark dream.

"The forest ahead," Soara said. "It's gone. Burned." "They must have fought closer than we'd thought," Obi-Wan observed.

"Which means there could be patrols nearby."

They exchanged a glance. "We have no choice," Obi-Wan said.

"Padawans, we must surround the scientists," Soara said. "Keep close and alert."

They left the shelter of the trees. Around them were blackened stumps.

A laser fight had taken place here. They hurried through the eerie landscape, the pink moon tinting the devastated forest with a rosy light that made everything seem even more dreamlike to Anakin.

There was no longer a path. They stumbled over branches and stumps.

They kicked through spent shells. They were losing time. The scientists were exhausted. Their footsteps lagged.

Then Anakin felt what he had hoped not to feel on this long night: the dark side of the Force. It was around them, somewhere in the night. He knew Obi-Wan and Soara felt it, too. It took another minute for Darra to frown and place her hand on her lightsaber hilt.

"What — " she began, but the night suddenly exploded into spasms of light.

Anakin felt the impact of a shell hit him like a wall of air, and he went flying.

Anakin landed and tasted blood in his mouth. He had bit his tongue. He lay on his back, looking up at the black velvet sky and the pink moon.

"Everyone okay?" Obi-Wan shouted. The blast had knocked them all flat, but Obi-Wan and Soara were already back on their feet.

"Stay low!" Soara directed as the soft wee-000sh of another airborne weapon came toward them.

Anakin cleared his head, jumped to his feet, and ran toward the scientists. He and Obi-Wan herded them toward the shelter of the fallen trees. They took cover as another shell exploded. Dirt fell like rain.

"Not again," Joveh moaned, her head in her hands. She was shaking.

Tic Verdun put a hand on her shoulder. "Just a few bombs. Nothing too scary."

She lifted her head and tried to smile. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

Soara and Darra were quickly taking readings. They hurried to crouch next to Obi-Wan and Anakin.

"They're close," Soara said. "Maybe half a kilometer away. Heading toward us. They must have a long-range bioscanner."

"I'm picking up coded communications," Darra said, pointing to her comm sensor. "Lots of them. It's got to be a large force."

"Who are shooting first and asking questions later," Obi-Wan said, ducking as another blast shook the ground.

"Can you jam communications?" Obi-Wan asked her. "That's a start."

"I can try." Darra bent over her scanner and began pressing keys. In addition to being a superb fighter, she was an expert at communications.