Part 31 (2/2)
”Never mind what you thought, ” said Obi-Wan, pus.h.i.+ng to his feet. ”Come on. There's not much time. ”
None of the villagers had noticed the tiny flutter in the s.h.i.+eld that meant its particle beam was losing integrity. And Durd's droids hadn't noticed, either; they were still merrily blasting away. But they would see it, any moment now, and then they'd bring all their blasterfire to bear on that one vulnerable section.
It didn't matter that running hurt, that they were gasping as much as breathing. Matching Obi-Wan stride for stride, Anakin heard his comlink crackle and dragged it out of his pocket.
”Anakin! Generator Four, it's...”
”I know, Devi!” he said, stumbling in the dark and the dirt, pounding the pitted ferrocrete as he and Obi-Wan raced down the road.
”We're on it. Nurse the power feed to that generator. Whatever you do, don't let it surge!”
”I'll try, ” she said, her voice frightened. ”Anakin, hurry. It'll go offline any minute!”
Every footstep drove a spear of pain through his spine. He felt his own pain, he felt Obi-Wan's. It couldn't matter. They had no hope of Force-sprinting, all they could do was run. So they ran, panting and desperate.
Reaching the generator, they staggered to a halt and clutched at each other to stop themselves from falling. To save time in an emergency, every s.h.i.+eld generator had its own hastily rigged tool kit. While Anakin wrenched open the s.h.i.+eld's housing, Obi-Wan opened the kit and upended it onto the gra.s.s.
Overhead, the faltering section of s.h.i.+eld began to hum a discordant tune, loud enough for the nearest droids to hear it.
”Oh, slang, ” Anakin said, the air rasping raw in his throat. ”Stay back, you barves. There's nothing to see here. ”
Too late. Programmed with their holoimages, with orders to capture, not kill, the droids had seen their quarry and the sparking agitation in the s.h.i.+eld.
He stared at Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan stared back.
”Master, do you trust me?”
Speechless, Obi-Wan nodded.
”Then do exactly what I tell you, when I tell you, no questions. On three. One-two-three...”
There was no time for explanations. There was barely time to breathe. Plunged into that otherplace where a machine was a living thing and it spoke to him in whispers, Anakin sank himself into the generator's mechanical heart and let it tell him what was wrong. What to do. Faster than thought, faster than feeling, fueled by the Force, he surrendered himself and became one with the machine. He felt his lips move, barking orders that Obi-Wan immediately obeyed, but he couldn't hear what he was saying. He couldn't see what he was doing. He was somebody- something-else. A fusion of man and machine.
131.
On the other side of the faltering s.h.i.+eld Durd's droids were tiring without pause. He could feel the blooming plasma like lava in his veins, scalding him and scorching him and melting his bones. It didn't matter. He wasn't flesh anymore, so he couldn't burn.
A shower of sparks. A surge of power. A shuddering in the Force. And then the generator stopped flickering and the storm s.h.i.+eld firmed.
Thwarted, Durd's droids lowered their blasters.
Someone was sobbing. After a moment, Anakin realized Oh. That's me. And then his knees were buckling and he was heading for the ground.
Obi-Wan caught him. ”It's all right. I've got you. ”
He let Obi-Wan take his full weight because he was too tired not to. Everything hurt, even his stub of an arm.
And then he cried out, and Obi-Wan cried out, because between labored heartbeats they felt a fresh surge through the Force.
There were Jedi high above them. Help had come, at last.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Standing on Indomitable's bridge, Mace Windu spat a string of curses, not one in a language Ahsoka could recognize or understand.
But that didn't matter-their meaning was perfectly clear. And if she'd been alone, or belowdecks with Rex and the others, and could still see what she was seeing, well...
I'd be cursing, too.
Lanteeb was blockaded, the entire planet belted by Separatist wars.h.i.+ps. And the buckle on that belt? General Grievous's ma.s.sive cruiser.
Admiral Yularen, hands clasped behind his back, frowned through his bridge's transparisteel viewport. ”Well. I certainly wasn't expecting that. ”
”No, ” said Master Windu, his voice very tight. ”Neither was I. ”
Yularen's stare slid sideways. ”They knew we were coming. Which means...”
”I know what it means, ” said Master Windu. ”I need a priority scrambled channel back to the Jedi Temple. ”
”Lieutenant Avrey, ” said the admiral, over his shoulder. ”You heard Master Windu. ”
”Coming right up, sir, ” she replied.
Tearing her gaze from the gut-punching sight of all those Sep wars.h.i.+ps just sitting there, waiting for them, Ahsoka looked around the bridge. This was such a fine crew-not one of their faces betrayed an inappropriate emotion. But she could feel their frustration and their alarm, shrill in the Force.
And who can blame them? We've got four s.h.i.+ps in this battle group and we're looking at more than twenty-five against us.
She turned back to the viewport and tried to see past the blockade to the planet Grievous and his ma.s.sive battle group were defending.
Lanteeb. It was a nothing place, drab and brown and devoid of interest. Well, almost devoid.
I can feel him. I can. It's not my imagination.
Master Windu glanced down at her. ”Padawan?”
He made her nervous in a way no other Jedi did, not even Master Yoda. His presence in the Force was breathtaking. Standing beside him was like being buffeted by a gale-and he wasn't even trying. He was just breathing, just being himself. What it felt like to be near Mace Windu when he exerted himself? That was something she wasn't sure she ever wanted to experience.
132.
”Master...” Her mouth was dry. She swallowed, trying to calm her thudding heart. ”He's down there. Master Skywalker. I can feel him.
Not strongly. It's just a whisper. But he's there. ”
”I know, ” said Master Windu. With his first blinding flash of fury controlled he was quiet again, completely self-contained. ”They're both there. Somewhere. And they're in trouble. ”
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