Джуд Уотсон - Jedi Apprentice 13 - The Dangerous Rescue

Siri gave him a stony glance. "Adi did not want to. She went along with Qui-Gon out of loyalty."

"Then you should do the same for me."

Siri said nothing for a long moment. She squinted into the distance, as if counting the tall buildings in Yinn La Hi. "All right," she said finally. "But we must not delay more than a few hours."

Obi-Wan quickly made a deal with the pilot.

"All right. It's only a little out of my way," the pilot said. "I wouldn't want your friend to get herself in trouble."

They boarded the transport and took off. Obi-Wan's impatience made the flight seem to last forever. As the pilot slowed the engines and began landing procedures, a blinking warning light suddenly lit on the panel.

"Well, eclipse my moon, there's that same problem," he said, hitting the panel with an angry fist. "That mechanic didn't fix my problem after all. Maybe I shouldn't have bought that discount part. I'm going to have to drop you and head back to Yinn."

"But we have to get to Coruscant!" Siri exclaimed.

"Well, you can come back with me, if you want," Donny Buc said genially, slowing the engines further. "Don't worry, we'll make it back to the landing platform. Should be a couple of hours, that's all."

Siri groaned in frustration. "I don't believe this! We could have been halfway to Coruscant by now."

"Sorry, little girl," Buc said cheerfully. "The hyperdrive's busted.

Lucky we made this detour so I can get back to the mechanic. You could hitch another ride from Yinn, I guess. But nobody else was making a run near Coruscant today."

Siri bristled at being called "little girl." "I don't like any of these options."

"It will only mean a few hours delay," Obi-Wan said.

"Maybe less," Buc said, shrugging.

"We might as well get off here," Obi-Wan said to Siri. "We can look for Astri while we wait. You've come this far."

Siri pressed her lips together. She gave a short, angry nod.

"All right, drop us here," he told Donny Buc. "We'll be at the landing platform in two hours."

"Make it an hour and a half. I feel lucky."

Donny Buc swooped in for a bumpy landing. They scrambled off the craft and he made a wobbly takeoff back to Yinn.

Siri and Obi-Wan were hit with a blast of hot wind.

"All I can say is, he'd better come back," Siri grumbled.

Obi-Wan led the way through the sand. He was grateful to Siri for agreeing to stop. She may have been disdainful of him back at the Med Center, she might be angry now, but one thing he could say about Siri — she was loyal.

They struck out over the dunes. Obi-Wan saw no sign of the tribe or Astri with her three companions. But up ahead, he caught the glint of metal.

"Siri, look."

She shaded her eyes with her hand. "It's an air taxi," she said.

"Come on."

They ran ahead, the sand sucking at their footsteps.

The air taxi was settled into the sand, but did not appear to have crashed. As they got closer, Obi-Wan saw a bundle of clothing in the front seat.

His heartbeat tripped. It was not a bundle of clothes. It was a pilot. He'd been strangled.

Barely breathing, Obi-Wan walked closer to search the rest of the ship. He braced himself for the sight of Astri's lifeless body. But how could you brace yourself for something like that?

The air taxi was empty except for the pilot.

"What should we do, Obi-Wan?" Siri asked in a hushed voice. She anxiously scanned the area around them. "Do you think Ona Nobis killed the pilot?"

"I have no doubt of it."

"What do you think happened to Astri? Do you think…"

"I don't know," Obi-Wan said uneasily. "Maybe she's hiding. Is there anywhere you can think to look?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. He tried to ignore the foreboding that was gathering inside him.

"There is one place. When Astri and I were here, the local tribe led us to the bounty hunter's hideout."

He led Siri along the sheer rock wall that circled the canyon. When he got to a sharp turning, he stopped.

"Put your hood up," he advised. "The wind will get very strong after we turn the corner. Whatever you do, don't lose sight of me."

Siri nodded, drawing her hood over her face. He did the same.

They turned the corner into a howling wind. Pellets of sand peppered any exposed skin. Obi-Wan kept one hand on the wall so that he would not get lost. He could only see a meter or two ahead.

He dropped to his knees, motioning to Siri to follow. His fingers trailed along the rock, looking for the opening to the bounty hunter's hideout.

It was a relief to enter the narrow opening of the cave. He could not stand, but the cool sand under his fingers felt good. He shook out his cloak and brushed the sand from his face and hair.

"The cave opens up just ahead. We'll be able to stand," he told Siri in a whisper. He was fairly sure that Ona Nobis wasn't here, but he was prepared to meet her if she was. This time, he would have Siri by his side.

He crawled along the cool, damp sand, feeling his way in the darkness. He saw the small opening ahead and squeezed through. Immediately the air felt different and he knew he was in a larger open space. The blackness turned gray. He waited a moment, then lit his glow rod.

Astri sat against one wall with Cholly, Weez, and Tup. They were tethered together, their wrists and ankles tightly bound. Gags were stuffed in their mouths. Astri's eyes went wide.

"Don't worry, it's me," Obi-Wan called, in case they had trouble seeing him.

"Mmmmfff!" Astri struggled against the gag. Cholly beat his feet on the floor of the cave.

"All right, I'm coming," Obi-Wan said, hurrying toward them. He reached toward Astri's gag even as she attempted to talk.

"Trap!" Astri exhaled the word as Obi-Wan removed the gag.

"Wh — " Obi-Wan's question was cut off as he heard a loud rushing noise behind him.

He turned and ran past Siri to the opening. He dropped flat and pushed forward, but it was too late. Sand and rocks were pouring down from overhead, piling up against the cave entrance. There was nothing he could do. Larger rocks spilled down, wedging in against one another tightly. In only moments, the cave opening was sealed and they were buried alive.

Obi-Wan crawled back into the larger cave. He wiped the dust out of his eyes and reached for his comlink.

It didn't work.

"Siri?"

She shook her head. "Mine doesn't work, either."

Astri ran her hands over the stubble that was beginning to grow back on her bare skull. "I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. She left us here to die, but she was hoping you'd find us. When you crawled through, you tripped a slow- acting lever that deposited all that debris."

Obi-Wan nodded. He felt foolish for once again walking into a trap.

He had never told Qui-Gon about Ona Nobis's hideout. There hadn't been time. He had told Tahl, but he hadn't given her coordinates. Everything had happened too fast. And now no one knew where they were.

Siri had freed Cholly, Weez, and Tup. Tup groaned as he stretched his legs. "I'm so hungry."

"You won't be for long," Weez said.

Tup brightened. "There's food?"

"No, idiot. Because soon we'll be dead," Weez snarled.

Tup paled. "You don't have to be so negative. Woosh. We're with Jedi.

They can do anything."

Cholly had crawled forward to peer through the opening to the cave- in. "They can't tunnel through a rock," he said.

"You're not dead yet," Siri told them. "Come on, Obi-Wan, let's see if we can cut through those rocks with our lightsabers."

Obi-Wan followed Siri back into the narrow portion of the cave. They crawled forward. There was just enough room to crouch side by side. They activated their lightsabers and sliced through the rocks.