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

"Anakin will reach us." Obi-Wan's voice was steady.

"Through sheer rock?" Soara asked.

The droids poured into the clearing. The Jedi stood, ready to face them. Ready to face death. Whatever came, they were ready. Darra's hand trembled slightly as she held her lightsaber, but she moved resolutely to cover Soara's injured side.

A tremendous noise shook the canyon. The huge boulders on the side of the canyon began to tremble. Suddenly the battered MTT burst through the wall, scattering boulders like pebbles as it mowed through the canyon and headed straight for the droids. The front of the MTT was almost completely bashed in. The engines belched smoke. But the lumbering craft still moved with lurching power as it mowed down most of the entire droid platoon. What it didn't cut down immediately was reduced to scrap by blasting proton cannons. Obi-Wan had no doubt who was at the controls.

A loud banging rang through the canyon. The battered and bent hatch on top of the bridge popped open, and Anakin emerged. He waved.

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "He will get through sheer rock. If he has to."

The Avoni had planned a bloodless invasion. Once the Jedi returned to Aubendo in the captured MTT and confronted Dol Heep, their plans were foiled. They did not have enough firepower to defeat a roused population.

"A complete misunderstanding," Dol Heep boomed. "Invasion?

Hardly. We came to help Radnor. The Battle Droids were merely here for crowd control. So sorry about the malfunction." He eyed Soara's injured leg and Ry-Gaul's blaster wound. "However, I can see why you are so testy.

Since there is no danger from the toxin, the Avoni will be happy to leave."

"We will be happy to escort you," Obi-Wan said firmly.

"But first, restore all communications to the planet,"

Siri added.

"We had nothing to do with the communication breakdown,"

Dol Heep said in the same hearty tone. "But out of the charity in my heart for the Radnoran people, I will speak to our tech experts and see if we can help."

Within minutes, communications were restored. While Ry- Gaul and Soara had their wounds tended, Siri contacted the Temple. The Senate ships were ordered to return to Coruscant. They suspected that there had been a sabotage of the engines, but there was no way to prove it.

The Radnorans would file a protest with the Senate, which would most likely get mired in debate and details. The Avoni would not pay for their plans for some time.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan contacted the remaining security officers on the planet and ordered them to quickly spread the word about the safety of the planet. Radnorans could return to their homes.

"And put Galen into custody immediately," Obi-Wan added.

"He already is," the officer replied.

* * *

The Jedi arrived at the Tacto prison and were shown to a holding cell. There, Curi faced her brother across a battered metal table.

"She held a blaster on him for two hours," the security officer murmured to them. "She told him she would kill him if he tried to escape, and I guess he knew she meant it."

The Jedi stood in the doorway. Curi looked ravaged by pain and exhaustion.

"You have been a traitor to your planet," she said in a flat voice to her brother. "And you have broken my heart."

"I had no choice!" Galen said. "Don't you see I had to do what I did?"

"No," Curi said, shaking her head.

"You refused to deal with the Avoni. That made no sense!

We dealt with anyone with the credits to pay. And so they threatened me."

"You could have told me."

"They told me that if I told you what they wanted — if I told anyone — they would destroy our business," Galen went on rapidly. "I had to agree to show Dol Heep the weapons plan we were developing. That's when the toxin was released.

He did it before I could stop him. I got us both back to the Clear Sector before it took hold."

"So you could have brought the toxin back and endangered Tacto as well," Curi said. "It is just luck that you did not."

Galen ignored this. "Dol Heep contacted his superiors. He told me that if I kept my mouth shut about the half-life of the toxin, they would pay us money and relocate us — "

"Don't say us!" Curi shouted suddenly. "This is about you, Galen!"

"I did it for us," Galen pleaded. "They said that if I didn't do what they wanted, they would say that 1 was the one who released the cloud deliberately. I didn't know what to do. They asked me for the research records and for the access code to our prototype Battle Droids — "

"And they paid you money for this," Curi said bitterly.

"They paid you a small fortune to betray me and yourself and your planet."

"I didn't know they were planning an invasion!"

"A child would have known they were planning an invasion!"

Curi shouted. She stood and leaned over the table. "It is all excuses and lies. It always has been. I've never seen you so clearly. You brought me into this business. You made my life what it is. I made weapons to destroy beings and planets. I found money to fund your research into the terrible, cunning ways beings can kill other beings. I sold these weapons and put the credits in my pocket. I helped bring these things into the galaxy and I will never get the smell of death out of my nostrils. No matter what I do now, no matter where I go."

"Curi, don't. I need you! They're going to imprison me for years — "

"You are lucky they don't kill you."

Curi turned and walked out the door.

Galen turned furious eyes on the Jedi. "You see what you've done? You've poisoned her against me!"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Your planet is in ruins. Your family is destroyed. Thousands are dead. And still you blame others. You have not learned anything."

"There is nothing to learn!" Galen shouted.

The echo of his words followed them as the Masters and Padawans walked down the hall.

They walked out into a bright morning. The devastation of the city of Tacto was revealed. The mobs had burned and rioted. Businesses were destroyed. Houses were barricaded.

All air transports had been destroyed and looted for parts.

But now the Radnorans were busy returning to their homes and businesses. The sick were being cared for. The dead were being mourned.

"The Radnorans of Tacto are refusing to help any in the Isolation Sector who have survived," Ferus said.

"And they blame the Avoni for everything," Tru said. "They do not look to themselves for blame."

"Just like Galen," Darra said. "Tell me something. Are all missions this hard?"

"No," Soara said. "Some are harder."

"Neighbor turned on neighbor when the disaster occurred,"

Obi-Wan said. "This could have been an opportunity for generosity and sacrifice. Cowardice and violence erupted instead. This city was destroyed by greed and fear, not by a toxin."

"Not a good sign for the future of Radnor," Siri said.

"Yes, I won't be surprised if we are called here again someday," Ry-Gaul said.

The Jedi moved through the devastated streets toward their Senate transport. Obi-Wan swung into step beside Anakin.

"I am proud of you," he told him. "Not only did you act bravely, you worked well with the other Padawans. I heard how you all collaborated on the final plan to rescue us. You have learned a valuable Jedi lesson. You submitted your own will to listen to others. As a result, you gained strength."

"I was ready to rush after you to fight the droids,"

Anakin admitted. "It was Ferus who stopped me. He was right." He was a/so lucky, Anakin thought. The plan had almost gone awry. If Anakin had not managed to blast through the rock slide, four Jedi Masters and two Padawans would be dead.

But no one was bringing that up. Was Anakin the only one thinking it?