Джуд Уотсон - Secrets Of The Jedi

She whirled to face him. "Did we do the right thing? Not in loving each other — we couldn't help that — but in marrying? I've put a wedge between you and the Jedi."

"No, you haven't."

"But your first loyalty is to me," Padme said. "That makes your path confused. I know enough about the Jedi to know how wrong that is."

"It is they who are wrong." Ana kin insisted. "I am strong enough to do both, and they can't see it."

The comm unit crackled, and they sprang apart instinctively. They heard Obi-Wan's voice. "Anakin, are you there? Come to the cockpit immediately."

They hurried down the corridor into the cockpit. Taly was standing with the codebreaker. There was a mixture of awe and trepidation on Obi-Wan's face.

"It works," Obi-Wan said. "We've been listening to coded Separatist communications. It really works."

"There's too much space interference here," Taly said. "We have to get to the spaceport. Clearing devices can be used with it But we were able to hear something."

"What did you hear?" Anakin asked.

"They are moving ships and troops," Obi-Wan said. "A massive battle is planned. But we can't seem to pinpoint the location. Originally, it seemed to be planned for Nativum, which we suspected. But that changed to a new target recently."

"If we find out in time, we could score a great victory," Padme said.

Obi-Wan nodded. "We could destroy most of their fleet."

Padme gripped the console. "If General Grievous is with it, we could win the war," she said.

Azure was a tiny planet with no strategic importance. It was a blue dot in a vast expanse of space. It stood alone, not part of a system, and had no satellites. It boasted a spaceport that took up a good portion of its land. A convenient way station for those traveling through the Mid-Rim, but not a draw in itself. It had no industry, no minerals, and no great wealth.

In other words, it had no reason to exist in the minds of the Separatists, and made a perfect secret base for the Republic, one of many in the galaxy.

They landed without incident. It seemed impossible that they had come so far, had made the journey without trouble. The crucial piece of equipment that could turn the tide of the war was now in Republic hands.

Taly handed it over to the tech experts with regret on his face. "It is my greatest invention," he said. "Now I must lead the life of a fugitive."

The cluster of tech experts hurriedly transported the codebreaker off to the command post. They were followed closely by General Solomahal. Recently promoted to the post, the Lutrillian could hardly contain his satisfaction at having the codebreaker arrive at his base. He had assured the Jedi that the name of Azure would live on in the chronicles of the war.

"This is the day the war will be won," he said, the large furrows in his head deepening.

Anakin didn't approve of such talk. The war had not been won yet. Even if they found out where the Separatist fleet was heading, it remained to be seen whether they could get enough Republic ships organized for a surprise attack.

Still, it was hard to concentrate on the matters at hand when Padme was leaving. He had tried to contrive a way to say good-bye to her alone, but it would attract too much suspicion. They would have to bid farewell to each other in public. He hated that. She told him with her eyes that she hated it, too.

"Good-bye, Senator Amidala," Obi-Wan said, bowing. "Have a safe journey, and may the Force be with you."

He stood there, not moving, waiting for Anakin to say good-bye. Anakin swallowed his resentment. It wasn't his Master's fault that he did not give him privacy.

Anakin bowed. When he lifted his head, he told her with his gaze how much he would miss her. "Safe journey, Senator. I'm sure we'll meet again soon."

"I'm sure we shall." Soon, she mouthed to him.

"Taly, you have done a great service to the galaxy," Obi-Wan said.

"We are grateful," Siri said.

"I hope the war ends quickly," Taly said. "Even though it's good for business."

His eyes twinkled when he said it. Was he really as cynical as he appeared? Anakin didn't think so.

Under the cover of her robes, Padme placed her hand in Anakin's, squeezed it for a moment, then dropped it. The touch was so quick that he barely had time to register it.

She had mentioned regrets. He had never had a chance to ask her what she meant. Now she was going and he didn't know when he'd see her again.

Padme walked up the ramp of the cruiser. General Solomahal could not spare a pilot so Padme would guide the ship to Coruscant, with a few clone troopers accompanying her for protection. She sat close to the windscreen so that she could see Anakin. She didn't lift a hand or smile but she kept her gaze on his as she fired the engines. Then the silver ship lifted and streaked into the sky.

Anakin kept his eyes on it. Was this his fate, he wondered, to know that something was his, but yet never be able to truly possess it?

He heard the stamp of boots behind him, but he didn't turn. He wanted to watch the silver ship.

"We have a problem," General Solomahal's voice boomed out.

Anakin turned reluctantly.

"There was a tracer imbedded in the codebreaker," General Solomahal said.

"Helina Dow," Siri said. "She must have put them in both prototypes."

"So the Separtists might know it's here on Azure," Obi-Wan said.

"I think that's a fair assumption," General Solomahal said. "The reason you could not pinpoint the site of the Separatist attack was because there was not yet a target. Not then. They were waiting to see where the codebreaker would end up." The General paused. "The target is here. The Separatist fleet is heading to Azure spaceport."

The Jedi rushed to the command center. Countermeasures had already been ordered. Every available ship in the Republic fleet was streaming toward Azure.

But they were hours away.

"How many battle cruisers do you have in the spaceport?" Anakin asked the general.

"Not enough," he said grimly. "A small fleet. Here." He called up the list on the datascreen. Anakin leaned over to study the specifications.

"Let's divide the fleet into two divisions," Anakin decided crisply. "Hold off the second for spaceport defense. I'll lead the first to try to draw off some of the Separatist fleet. Our strongest chance is to keep them busy until the bulk of the Republic ships arrive. I'll need your best pilots."

The general blinked his heavy-lidded eyes at Anakin, as if he needed time to process that a commander was giving orders to the general in charge. Luckily, General Solomahal was a practical sort, a soldier who did not care where the best tactical ideas came from, as long as they came.

"Lieutenant Banno," General Solomahal said, turning to a tall Bothan at his side. "Take Jedi Commander Skywalker to the fleet. He'll be in charge."

The lieutenant nodded. Anakin started away, but Obi-Wan put a hand on his arm. "Anakin, take care. May the Force be with you."

Anakin nodded, but Obi-Wan could see that his mind was already moving on to the battle ahead. They could have no better air commander than Anakin for this battle.

The lieutenant and Anakin hurried off. Obi-Wan and Siri turned to the large, circular monitor in the center of the command room. The Separatist fleet was close enough now to be tracked.

Obi-Wan could see instantly by the size of the fleet that the spaceport was extremely vulnerable. Siri frowned at the monitor.

"Here," she said, grabbing a laser pointer. "And here. That's where they are vulnerable. If Anakin can get to the rear — "

Obi-Wan nodded. "We don't have to defeat them. We just have to slow them down."

"They don't know that we have the codebreaker working, so it's possible they're expecting to launch a surprise attack," Siri said. "That could be an advantage for us. Do you see this small cloud nebula? If Anakin could get his ships to lurk there until the last possible second, when the fleet has already passed him…"