by Jude Watson
He felt the dark side surge then, a warning so clear he heard it like a shout. A starfighter was streaking toward them. Obi-Wan recognized the red-and-silver starfighter of Magus. He was surrounded by five droid tri-fighters.
"Take cover!" Obi-Wan yelled.
The laser cannons tore up the ground as they scattered. "We can't hide behind fuel tanks," Siri said. "That's madness. We'll get blown up."
Magus came in for another assault. The fire hit the fuel tank, and it exploded in a whoosh that sent them flying through the air. The air was like a flaming wall that hit Obi-Wan like an obstacle. He felt himself falling, and it was like falling through pure fire.
They landed, bruised and shaken, but unhurt. Magus and the tri-fighters zoomed out and turned, heading for another strike.
"I think it's time we got out of here," Obi-Wan said.
CHAPTER 32
Siri and Padme were closest to Siri's ship. They began to run through the thick black smoke and burning fires. Obi-Wan grabbed Taly and hustled him toward his own ship.
This time Magus bypassed Siri and Padme, coming straight for Taly.
Obi-Wan noticed that a worker had left his servotool kit close by. He reached out a hand — a fusioncutter flew through the air toward him. It was a large one with a big tank, built for special jobs. He grabbed it and timed his response. At the last possible second, he activated the fusioncutter and flung it directly into the spilled fuel. The fuel ignited and the flame shot up just as Magus dived to strafe them again.
Magus had to climb to avoid the fire, and the smoke was good cover. Obi-Wan and Taly leaped into the ARC 170 starfighter and took off after Siri.
"He's after you," Obi-Wan said.
"No kidding," Taly answered.
Siri flew closer and made a gesture, her hand at her throat. Obi-Wan did the same.
"What does that mean?"
"Our comm units are out," Obi-Wan said. "They were damaged. We're on our own."
"More good news."
Siri signaled. Obi-Wan nodded.
"You two speak the same language without even talking," Taly said. "Not much has changed. What's the plan?"
"We're going to try to get the two of you out of harm's way, then return for the end of the battle," Obi-Wan said.
"The end of the battle? Considering that you're going to lose, that doesn't sound like such a wise idea."
"I can't leave my Padawan. Hang on."
They zoomed upward. But Magus was on their tail with his five fighters, keeping up a steady barrage of firepower. The starship shook. Siri dived under Magus and shot, clipping him just a fraction. He zoomed off.
They played cat-and-mouse games. Every time they got ahead, he found them. Siri destroyed one of the trifighters, and Obi-Wan scored a direct hit on another. Then, working in tandem, they squeezed two between them and blasted them into space debris.
Magus must have contacted the Separatist fleet for help, for two large attack missiles suddenly peeled off from the battle above and began to descend.
"This doesn't look good," Taly said.
No. It wasn't good.
Obi-Wan raced his craft toward Siri. When he was in her sightline, he indicated with his chin what he thought they should do. She nodded. He felt the connection surge between them. This was more than the Force. It was part of the Force, but it was part of them, part of the understanding that flashed between them so freely now. All barriers down, they had locked onto each other's every thought now.
They were over the deep trenches of the electrical conduits, where power flowed from the two gigantic fusion furnaces that supplied the energy to the spaceport. Siri dipped into the trench, and Obi-Wan followed. At least they were in a place where the large attack missiles could not follow. And if they were lucky, they could escape Magus in the maze.
The battle was lost. Anakin could see that. As much as he believed in his abilities, as much as he believed in the pilots around him, he could see that they were meeting an overwhelming force, and according to General Solomahal, Republic reinforcements were still an hour away.
At first he'd felt hopeful. The information the general was able to give the pilots gave them an edge they were able to exploit. They had taken down one starfighter after another and had managed to cripple a landing ship. But they could not fight this huge fleet.
He had lost track of Obi-Wan and Siri. But at least Padme was safe.
„. . . status report," came over the comm. "Report in, Leader One."
His comm unit sounded fuzzy. Another thing going wrong. "Five more starfighters down, "Anakin said. "I'm trying to slow down the second landing ship. None of our ships lost on this end."
"Two of our defense starfighters down, plus the three civilian ships and the Republic cruiser . . ."
The interference made the words come in and out.
"What?" Anakin barked. "What Republic cruiser?" "Senator Amidala ... Under fire . . . Distress . . ." "Repeat," Anakin said desperately. "Repeat. Survivors?" "No survivors . . ."
Anakin felt the galaxy collapse. He could not see or think or feel.
"Jedi went in search . . . Possible . . . escape pod sighting . . ."
Anakin went into a dive that nearly plastered him to the ceiling. He would find her. She would be alive. She had to be.
Obi-Wan wished that Anakin were flying this ship. He needed Anakin's nerves, his split-second timing, his instinctive knowledge of exactly how far to push a craft.
The attack ships hovered overhead. The last of the droid tri-fighters had crashed into a wall and flamed out.
But Magus was on their tails, keeping up steady fire. The trench was narrow, and opened wider and narrowed again.
Huge pipes and conduits presented barriers that had to be snaked around or dived under.
Up ahead, Siri suddenly slowed her speed. He shot ahead but she didn't follow. She flew up, almost to the edge of the trench.
Siri, what are you doing? Whatever it is, Obi-Wan thought with a sudden, sharp pain, don't do it!
"Siri, don't do it," Padmê said. "There's still a chance —"
"This is our chance. Can you hold it steady?" Padme nodded.
"When I tell you to cut back, cut back."
"You'll fall —"
Siri grinned. "No, I won't. I'll jump."
"No —"
But Siri was already opening the hatch and climbing out. This was a model that had room for an astromech droid, if the pilot wanted. The space was empty. She felt the wind whip through her hair. She saw Obi-Wan's ship in the near distance. No doubt he was wondering what she was up to.
She knew this was crazy, but it just might work.
Magus dove through the last of a series of pipes. She could see the exact moment when he realized she'd cut her speed. He cut his, too, to avoid running into her. He didn't want to get ahead of her. That would make him vulnerable to her fire.
"Cut your speed!" Siri yelled, and she felt the ship slow and come close to stopping.
Magus shot underneath and slowed again, not wanting to get ahead of the Jedi ship. Summoning the Force, Siri leaped.
The starfighters had slowed, but they were still moving. Jumping from one to another was not easy. To say the least. Siri used the Force to slow her perception of time. She had never felt so in tune with it. She felt her body turning, but it was turning just as she wanted it to, not propelled by the speed of her descent or the turbulent air, but moving exactly so.
She hit the ship. Her knees buckled and her hands slapped against the top of the hull. The fall had knocked the wind out of her and for a moment all she could do was try to hold on. She clamped a cable from her belt to the ship.
He still didn't know she was there. She was light enough and he was moving fast enough, firing at Padmê now, who had immediately increased speed. He did not hear or feel her.
Time to let him know he had an extra passenger.
She activated her lightsaber and began to cut through the top of the starfighter.
&n
bsp; It lurched violently to the left.
Siri grimaced as she held on with one hand. Magus knew she was here.
Obi-Wan realized too late that this trench was a dead end. He should have taken one of the branches, but he was distracted at the sight of Siri on top of a starfighter. She had to be crazy. What she was doing was impossible. But she was doing it.
He would have to pull up in a few short minutes. The attack cruisers were waiting to blow him out of the sky. He would have to double back somehow. There was barely enough room to maneuver, let alone turn around.
Behind him, Magus was flying erratically, zooming from one edge of the trench to the other, trying to knock Siri off. Obi-Wan couldn't believe how she was managing to continue to cut through the ship's shell as she was slammed repeatedly against the metal.
He had to do something.
"Any ideas?" Taly asked.
"Yes. Hang on," Obi-Wan said as he flipped the ship upside down.
It was a maneuver he'd seen Anakin do, fly backward and upside down. Though I wouldn't recommend it, Anakin had said with a grin.
Obi-Wan headed straight for Magus. Padme zoomed out of his way, then up out of the trench for a moment. Evading fire, she managed to zoom past Magus and start back along the trench, marking time. Good move, Padmê.
Obi-Wan did some quick calculations. His fingers flew on the weapons-system control board. It was hard to fly at the same time.
"What are you doing?" Taly asked.
"Disarming a concussion missile by half."
"Let me do it." Taly worked over the keyboard, fingers flying. "Done."
Obi-Wan slowed his speed. He didn't want to get too close — he had to be far enough away, past the top end of the missile's range, so that he didn't severely damage the ship. All he needed was shock waves. That, and Siri's command of the Force to know what was coming before Magus did.
He fired. The concussion missile flew and exploded.
The shock wave jolted Siri, but she recovered quickly.
Magus went flying. Obi-Wan saw him bounce out of the seat. At that instant, Siri dropped through the hole she had created.
The ship was careening crazily now. Siri was fighting for control. Obi-Wan reversed again. He thought he saw a dark shape move across the cockpit.
"They're fighting," Taly said.
The ship listed to one side. It spun out of control and clipped a gigantic pipe. Smoke began to pour out of the exhausts.
"The hydraulics are failing," Taly said anxiously.
Obi-Wan began to follow the route of the dying ship. He pushed the engines, but he watched in horror as the ship crashed into the trench. Sparks as big as fireballs flew in the air as it bounced against one wall, then another, then smashed into the side and stopped. Something flew out of the hole on the top, bounced and lay still. Magus.
Obi-Wan screamed down to the trench bottom. He activated the cockpit cover and leaped out. Magus was unmoving but he wasn't dead. Obi-Wan scrambled on top of the cruiser and dropped inside.
Was it now, or was it twenty years ago?
She lay on the floor of the cockpit in a crashed ship. Her blond head was pillowed in her arms.
He landed on his knees by her side.
He touched her hair. He could not bear to touch the pulse on her neck. He could not bear not to feel life there. "Siri."
"Blasterfire." She groaned as she turned slightly so she could look up at him. "Magus."
Obi-Wan glanced out of the cockpit window where Padmê now stood, holding the rifle at the unconscious Magus. She was taking no chances. Taly stood next to her, a blaster in his hand, also pointed at Magus. Obi-Wan could see something working in Taly's face, a temptation to fire. He had, at his feet, the being who had killed his parents.
Above, in the sky, he saw Anakin diving around the attack cruisers, pummeling them with fire.
"Padme has him covered. We're safe for the moment."
"Everything is so gray."
"That was such a risky move," Obi-Wan said.
"It worked, didn't it?"
His relief at her sharp tone was erased when she winced, and he saw she was in great pain.
"I'll get the bacta . . ."
"Don't leave me." Siri's hand dropped on his. "I wanted to say —"
"Siri, I must get the med kit —"
"For star's sake, Obi-Wan, I'm dying. Do you have to interrupt me now?"
Tears sprang to his eyes. "You're not dying."
Her fingers plucked at her belt. "I can't . . . Get it for me."
Get what? he almost asked, but then he knew. He slipped her crystal out of her belt and pressed it into her hand.
"No . . . yours." She let it fall into his palm. "Now I will never leave you."
"You will never leave me," he repeated.
She touched his cheek, and her hand fell. "Don't worry so much," she said.
Her eyes closed, and she was gone.
He lay his head on the cockpit floor and held her hand. He did not know, at that moment, what living was for, if he had to carry this pain.
Anakin had been out of his mind with the frenzy to find her. He had attacked the ships again and again, determined to slip through.
When he saw that a ship had crashed, he had thought Padmê was dead, and his heart had become a fist. Revenge was all he wanted.
And then as he swooped down he had seen her, blaster rifle in her hand, her face turned up toward him. He held her to him only seconds later.
"I'm afraid for Siri," she whispered.
Obi-Wan climbed out of the ruined ship. He came toward them. Something in his face, his walk was different.
"She has joined the Force." He spoke the words to them, but he was looking down at Magus. The bounty hunter was beginning to stir. Taly gripped the blaster tighter. Anakin saw strain and anguish in his face.
He wants to shoot, Anakin thought.
For the first time since he'd known Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin was afraid for his Master. He saw the way he looked at Magus. His eyes were dead, as if now there was nothing at his feet, not a living being, just clothes and hair and skin.
Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber.
Padmê looked at Anakin, her eyes wide. Say something, her face pleaded. Stop him.
Anakin recognized that there was something here he could not stop.
Taly's breath caught. He did not take his eyes off Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan crouched down and held the glowing lightsaber to Magus's neck. He locked eyes with Magus. Anakin saw the flare of fear in the bounty hunter's eyes.
"You kill without thought or feeling," Obi-Wan said. "But I am not you."
He stood.
"Take him aboard," Obi-Wan said. "He is now a prisoner of war."
CHAPTER 33
The codebreaker was lost in the Battle of Azure Spaceport. The fusion furnace blew, an explosion that came close to leveling the spaceport itself. The smoke that rose served as cover for the evacuation of Republic ships. General Solomahal was captured with the codebreaker as he attempted to escape with it. He blew it up instead of handing it over. Two days later, he managed to escape and was given another command.
The Separatist forces bombed Taly's laboratory. All his notes and documents were lost. It could take him years to reinvent what he had discovered ... if he could reproduce it at all. In the meantime, he was taken in secrecy and transported to a Republic outpost.
On Coruscant, Anakin and Padme met before dawn in her apartment on her veranda. It was their favorite time to meet, under cover of darkness, but with the beginnings of morning freshness in the air. Even in the darkest of times, it made them feel hopeful.
"I am being sent away again," he told her. "Obi-Wan and I leave this morning."
"There is a vote I must attend this morning," Padmê said. "So we must say good-bye here."
"A vote is so important?"
"They are all important now. Senator Organa needs my support."
Anakin made an impatient gesture, but he did not
want to fight. He was still struck with the horror of almost losing her. But he did not understand these Senate votes, useless during a time of war when only battles won mattered.
"I will wait for you to return," Padme said. "I will wait as long as I must."
Anakin's eyes lifted to the Jedi Temple. What did they know, Yoda and Obi-Wan and Mace, of this? Of this moment of agony, being torn from his wife. He fought for them and alongside them, but they no longer had his heart. They no longer understood him.
He had thought for a moment on Azure that Obi-Wan had loved Siri. He thought he'd seen it in his Master's eyes after she had died. But Obi-Wan had stood over the man who had killed her and spared him. If he had loved Siri, could he have done that? Of course, it was what a Jedi should do. But the way Obi-Wan had spoken had been so measured. With a temperament like that, it was impossible to love, Anakin was sure.
With Padme, he had passion, and he was whole. The stars began to disappear above, and a thin line of orange indicated the sun was beginning to rise. They would lose the cover of darkness. They would once again be Jedi and Senator.
He would once again be split in two.
For several nights now, Obi-Wan had not been able to sleep. He lay on his sleep couch. He closed his eyes. He hoped to dream. He could not.
So he walked. Through the Temple, the glow lights a faint blue. He did not seek the places that reminded him of Siri. He couldn't do that, not yet.
Oddly, he thought of Qui-Gon on these walks. He remembered, as he had not remembered in years, how he had known that Qui-Gon had walked the Temple halls at night. He had taken him sapir tea, he remembered. He had tried to comfort him, even though he knew there was no comfort for him.
If Anakin knew of his grief, he didn't mention it. He, too, had risen early — Obi-Wan had seen him heading toward the exit. Anakin had always been restless, had always needed to escape the Temple to think. Something was between him and Padmê. Obi-Wan would not ask. In some ways, he envied it. Let Anakin make his own decisions.
He found it extraordinary that at the time of this grief, when he had lost Siri forever, he did not question that their parting twenty years ago had been the right thing. He saw that clearly now, more clearly than he had ever seen it. Love was different from possession. He had loved her. That was enough.
