Jude Watson - Jedi Quest 1 - The Way of the Apprentice

"That's odd," Siri muttered. She glanced over her shoulder, then pushed the engines harder. "Can you get a fix on it?"

Obi-Wan aimed a macrolaser tracker at the ship. Within seconds, the airspeeder computer had mapped out the probable destination of the ship. The coordinates matched where they were heading.

"Either it's following us, or it's heading to the same canyon area," Obi-Wan told Siri. "Let's try an experiment."

Quickly, he entered new coordinates into the shipboard computer. Siri changed direction. After a few moments, the ship changed as well.

"It is following us," Siri said. "Why? What would an MTT want with two tiny airspeeders?"

"Unless they know the Jedi are aboard," Obi-Wan said.

Siri gave him a quick glance, the wind whipping her hair against her cheek. "Curi?"

"Maybe. Or we could have been under surveillance. Our only hope is to lose it in those canyons. Those ships are too big to maneuver the way we can."

"We'll have to get to the canyons first," Siri murmured.

The engines were on full, and the MTT was gaining.

Obi-Wan answered his comlink and heard Soara's clipped tone. "They must know we're Jedi."

"Yes. We can lose it in the canyons."

"Let's hope so. Those MTTs can carry a full platoon of droids."

Obi-Wan cut the communication. The ship was gaining on them. He wasn't concerned. The canyons were only a few kilometers away. They should make it. He had complete confidence in Siri's ability as a pilot. The bulky transport would not be able to follow them.

He wasn't concerned… so why am I concerned? Obi-Wan wondered, shaking his head at his lapse in logic.

"Something's wrong," he said.

"There you go again," Siri said. "Stating the obvious."

"So you feel it, too?"

"I do."

"They could be herding us toward the canyons because they know they could trap us there."

"They could. But we have no choice. We don't have another strategy," Siri said. "There's nothing between here and Tacto. No place for us to hide."

The canyons were ahead. They could see the odd zigzag tracing of them in the ground. It wasn't until they were on top of them that they could see that the lines on the ground were actually deep fissures. Siri aimed the airspeeder down into their depths. The sky went gray as the sun disappeared.

The fissure widened as they dropped, and they found themselves in a large underground canyon. There were offshoots to the sides, but they were too narrow even for an airspeeder.

Ry-Gaul hugged their rear. The MTT zoomed downward, still chasing them.

"They have a plan, all right," Siri said between her teeth as she dove down.

Obi-Wan wished they had a more nimble transport. The airspeeder was meant to travel on repulsorlift engines along the surface of a planet. It had a limited ability to dive and maneuver.

The MTT was almost on them now. Obi-Wan was uncomfortably aware that MTTs were often equipped with proton torpedos.

"What I wouldn't give for a deflector shield," Siri muttered.

Suddenly the canyon wall next to them exploded Rocks and debris slammed into the airspeeder. Siri had trouble hanging on to the controls.

Behind them, Ry-Gaul and Soara were also in trouble. A blast from the MTT had hit their rear. They were falling through the air, trailing black smoke. Ry-Gaul fought to regain power.

"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."

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.