The Rising Force (7 page)

transport runs. Considering the crowd on this one, Obi-Wan wasn‘t

surprised.

Obi-Wan peered down through the vent. Si Treemba was chained to the wall by one ankle. He lay sprawled on the floor, his arms outstretched. Just out of his reach lay some yellow crystals of dactyl. Only a half- dozen paces away a Hutt and two Whiphid guards played cards at a massive carved metal table.

The Arconan boy looked beaten and bruised, but more seemed to be wrong with him than a mere beating. His color had gone from a healthy gray-green to muddy tan.

Obi-Wan could see that the life force in the Arconan was week, and fading. But why? Si Treemba had ingested his dactyl supply before they‘d begun the search.

Why had he weakened so fast?

The Hutt slithered over to Si Treemba and grinned as he stared down at the captive. Obi-Wan recognized him. It was the Hutt who had beaten him up the day before.

―Ready to talk yet?‖ the Hutt asked. ―Don‘t you want that dactyl? I

could push a few crystals over.

Si Treemba stared at him silently. Even from above, Obi-Wan could see that his friend‘s contempt for the Hutt could not mask his fear.

The Hutt leaned closer, his huge head bobbing in front of Si

Treemba. ―What were you doing in our vents? Who sent you to spy on us?‖

Weakly Si Treemba shook his head.

―You don‘t look so good,‖ the Hutt sneered. ―we gave you enough salt in the saline injection to deplete all of the dactyl in your body.‖ He leaned back again and chortled. ―So why don‘t you tell us what we want

to know? It beats dying. Someone was with you. Who was it? Arconans never

travel alone.‖

Si Treemba shook his head again. His head lolled back, and his cheek hit the floor.

Frustration filled Obi-Wan. He had to do something. He grasped the vent and pulled it out. He shoved himself into the opening, then somersaulted to the floor. In a heartbeat, his lightsaber was in his hand.

―Do you only pick on the weak and unarmed, Hutt?‖ he asked.

For a moment, the Hutt was so astonished that he could only blink at Obi-Wan.

The he began to laugh.

―Blast him,‖ he said offhandedly to the Whiphid guards.

Obi-Wan had counted on the slow reaction time of the Whiphids. They stared at him, their mouths open underneath their tusks.

Obi-Wan sprang forward, slashing at the heavy table. The lightsaber cut through the thick legs easily. With a crash, the table thudded down

on the Whiphids.

The flimsy stools they had been sitting on collapsed under the weight, pinning them to the floor. They howled in surprise and pain.

―Sorry to break up your game,‖ Obi-Wan said. Keeping his eye on the surprised Hutt, he reached over to the table and grabbed the key to Si Treemba‘s leg cuff.

The shackle was an ancient thing of metal, with a simple lock. Obi- Wan tossed the key to Si Treemba.

The Hutt slithered toward him. ―So, young Jedi, you have not yet learned your lesson? How dare you defy me, the mighty Grelb!‖

―Oh, but I did learn something,‖ Obi-Wan said. He held the lightsaber in readiness. ―You prey on the weak. Now I am prepared to fight you, coward.‖

Grelb eyed the lightsaber with contempt. ―With that?‖

Obi-Wan glanced behind the Hutt at Si Treemba. The Arconan had managed to free himself. He was quickly eating up all the dactyl on the floor. Already, his color was starting to brighten.

As the Hutt moved toward Obi-Wan, his enormous fist raised, Obi-Wan ducked and rolled in a classic Jedi defense maneuver. As he passed, he

delivered a lightsaber blow to the Hutt‘s flank. He heard the flesh

sizzle.

Grelb roared in fury as he staggered back. His enormous bulk made him clumsy, and he fell onto the table, crushing the Whiphids legs even more. They howled in pain and beat against him with their fists.

―Hurry, Si,‖ Obi-Wan urged. Keeping himself between Grelb and Si Treemba, he waited until the Arconan had reached the door. The he hurried after him as Grelb tried to struggle to rise. Hutts were powerful, but they were not exactly light on their feet.

―You won‘t get away with this, Jedi! Grelb bellowed. ―The Arconan is a spy!

This is war!‖

Obi-Wan ignored him. He half dragged Si Treemba down the hallway. Lucky for them, the lower level wasn‘t well-trafficked. They were able to reach the Arconan boundary without any more encounters.

As they crossed onto the Arconan side of the ship, Obi-Wan saw two

Arconan border guards hurry away. He knew they were going to alert

Clat‘Ha that the two had returned – and had come from Offworld territory.

That meant, of course, that Qui-Gon would discover that Obi-Wan has disobeyed his order.

Si Treemba stopped. He turned to Obi-Wan, his luminous eyes glittering once again with the same warm light. ―We thank you, Obi-Wan. We owe our lives to you.‖

―You owe your capture to me, too,‖ Obi-Wan answered ruefully. ―I‘m sorry Si Treemba.‖

―But once again your courage saved us,‖ Si Treemba said, grasping

his shoulder.

―What about your courage?‖ Obi-Wan countered. ―Think about it Si Treemba. You were dying, and you still would not betray me. You just faced down a Hutt!‖

A slow smile spread over Si Treemba‘s face. ―So we did,‖ he said, pleased ―So we did.‖

―Don‘t get too cocky,‖ Obi-Wan said with a sigh. ―We still have to face Clat‘Ha and Qui-Gon. They aren‘t going to be happy about this.‖

As soon as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Si Treemba were gone, Grelb slithered to Jemba and told him everything.

The giant grey Hutt loomed over Grelb, gasping in rage. Jemba was hundreds of years older than Grelb, and also much larger. ―SO,‖ Jemba growled looking around his stateroom in a rage. ―I knew it. The Jedi Knight and his young pupil have joined with the Arconans against me!‖

―It was inevitable, O Great One,‖ Grelb said. ―They do not like our kind.‖

―It‘s your fault!‖ Jemba said. ―I should chop off your tail for

this and have it for dinner.‖

Grelb‘s hearts began racing in fear, and he immediately coiled his

tail up near his body.

Jemba continued, ―If you were going to sabotage the tunnelers, you

should have waited until we got to Bandomeer.‖

Grelb tried to look hurt by the accusation, but Jemba did not fall for it. The huge slapped Grelb‘s face hard enough so that Grelb felt as if his brains had turned to jelly.

After picking himself up off the floor, Grelb said, ―You‘ve never complained about my methods before!‖ Theft, sabotage, and murder were Grelb‘s methods, but he made sure that Offworld Mining always profited by

them.

―But this time there are Jedi around!‖ Jemba roared.

―I did not know that the boy was a Jedi when I gave him his first beating,‖ Grelb apologized. ―If I had, he‘d be dead by now. I promise, next time –―

Jemba pointed a huge finger at Grelb. ―The boy is onto our schemes. There won‘t be a next time. Let me handle this!‖

―As you please,‖ Grelb said. He turned away and slithered from the room. As the door hissed closed behind him, Grelb clenched his fists, imagining that he was squeezing the throat of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Of course there will be a next time, Grelb promised himself. Chapter 12

Obi-Wan considered retiring to his cabin, but he knew he would rather face Qui-Gon sooner than later. He suggested that Si Treemba get some rest, but the Arconan refused.

―We will face them together,‖ Si Treemba said. drawing himself up

to his full height.

They found the Jedi and Clat‘Ha in the Arconans‘ lounge, were the lights were always turned low to simulated night and the music doids softly played Arconan flutes. Few Arconans were in the lounge so late.

The few that we had their eyes closed, and stood as still as statues –

the Arconan equivalent of sleep.

Qui-Gon stood at the bar, drinking some bluish juice. Clat‘Ha stood near him, an untouched glass of juice sat in front of her on the bar. One look at them and Obi-Wan knew they both were aware of what had happened

on the Offworld side of the ship.

―At least you‘re still in one piece this time,‖ Qui-Gon said, eyeing him coldly.

―Well, did you discover anything?‖

―No,‖ Obi-Wan admitted. ―Si Treemba was captured before we could

find the thermocoms.‖

―Obi-Wan rescued us,‖ Si Treemba praised. ―we were shackled to the

floor, and he stood up to Grelb the Hutt himself—―

―A man who puts himself in the path of danger deserves to face it alone,‖ Qui-Gon said sternly.

Obviously, Obi-Wan‘s bravery did not impress him. Si Treemba

quieted, shooting a look at Obi-Wan that said we tried.

―You deliberately disobeyed my order,‖ Qui-Gon said evenly.

―With respect, I am not under your charge, Qui-Gon Jinn,‖ Obi-Wan said quietly.

―As you keep reminding me.‖

Qui-Gon turned to him and stared for a moment. Obi-Wan couldn‘t read what was behind that keen blue gaze. At last, he spoke. ―Your meddling has only made things worse.‖

―I made matters worse?‖ Obi-Wan asked. ―What do you mean?‖

―Yes, you have.‖ Qui-Gon said. His face remained impassive, his tone neutral.

But now Obi-wan could sense his deep irritation. He had hoped to win the Jedi‘s respect. Instead, he was looked at as a pest, not even worth of great anger.

―You sneaked into Offworld territory, invaded their privacy, got caught, and had to fight your way out again. They will surely retaliate.‖

―But it was worth the risk,‖ Obi-Wan tried. ―If we had found the

thermocoms –―

Clat‘Ha interrupted him. ―The thermocoms were found on hour ago, hidden in a barrel of lubricant. Whoever dropped them in there didn‘t expect them to be found.‖

Obi-Wan‘s mouth snapped shut. Qui-Gon was right. He had risked the fragile peace on the ship for nothing.

―Can‘t you see that this isn‘t about thermocoms?‖ Qui-Gon said, trying to keep his voice even. ―A Jedi must look at the larger picture. The reason for my order was because I wanted tensions to cool. I wanted

to engender trust. How can the Offworlders trust the Jedi, if they find you sneaking around their territory? How can –―

The room suddenly shook, and there was a rumbling boom. Qui-Gon‘s drink went sliding from the bar, and the cup crashed to the floor. Si Treemba pitched onto his belly. Warning sirens began to wail.

―What hit us?‖ Clat‘Ha shouted.

But Obi-Wan knew that if they‘d collided with another ship, or an asteroids, in hyperspace, it would have torn the ship apart. Distantly, Obi-Wan heard the whunk whunk whunk of the ship‘s guns firing.

Qui-Gon strode to the window. His hand rested on his lightsaber.

―Pirates,‖ he announced.

Qui-Gon raced for the bridge, down the main corridors. Obi-Wan, Si Treemba, and Clat‘Ha followed at a dead run. All around the ship, Arconans were whining in terror – making the strange hissing sound of

their kind. They backed into their rooms and locked their doors.

Through the grates under the floor Qui-Gon could hear the grind of the generators charging the ships shields. Meanwhile, the steady whunk whunk sound continued as blasters fired.

He thought he knew what had happened. Pirates sometimes mined the shipping lanes. When the ship hit a mine, the hyperdrive blew, and the ship would drop back out of hyperspace.

As it did, the pirates would open fire, destroying the ship‘s weapons and engines so swiftly that unwary travelers seldom had time to react.

Then the pirates would send boarding parties out to strip anything they could from their victims.

A miner transport like the Monument didn‘t have much worth stealing, but the pirates wouldn‘t know that – not until they‘d blown it to pieces and searched through the rubble.

The floor shuddered under the impact of another explosion. As the ship twisted to its side, Qui-Gon rounded a corner. Ahead was a transparisteel view port.

Through it, he could see five Togorian warships, all shaped like red birds of prey. Two screamed past his port. Green bolts of blaster fire erupted from the warships, slamming into the Monument. Metal shrieked in protest. The corridors filled with greasy smoke.

The Monument‘s guns had gone silent. Now, Qui-Gon could see why – the gun turrets had been blown away. Buts of burning slag lit up like glowing stars where the turrets had once stood.

The Monument floated dead in space. Though fire alarms sounded, no one on the bridge was shouting orders. Now a Togorian cruiser raced toward the ship.

Qui-Gon stood, watching helplessly as the cruiser approached. There were times when he wished that he was not alone, times when he wished he had not lost his last Padawan, Xanatos.

―Obi-Wan,‖ Qui-Gon called. Even though he did not fully trust the boy, he didn‘t see any other choice. They need some kind of plan, and they all had to work together if they hoped to survive. ―The pirates are getting ready to board,‖ he said crisply. ―I‘ll try to stop them. Go to

the bridge and see if the crew is alive. If they are not, I want you to

pilot this ship out of here.‖

Qui-Gon stared hard at the boy. He was asking a lot, he knew. He knew that as a Jedi student, Obi-Wan had flown a few ships in simulation,

and most likely piloted some cloud cars around Coruscant. But he‘s never

piloted a ship like this, and he‘d never been in battle.