"I guess it's better than starving to death," Tup said shakily.
Siri gritted her teeth. She activated her lightsaber and carefully began to slice through the slender metal pole. It peeled back from the wall and Obi-Wan stepped forward to grab it. A stream of dirt rained down on his head, and Tup fell to his knees and covered his head with his hands.
"Gibbertz and ham, we're done for!"
The stream of dirt stopped. Obi-Wan scrutinized the ceiling above.
"It's all right," he said. "I think it will hold."
"He thinks," Tup repeated.
"Shut up, Tup!" Weez and Cholly yelled. Another stream of sand poured down.
"Come on, Obi-Wan," Siri said. "Let's see if we can push this through."
They wiggled through the opening and crawled forward. It took trial and error, but first Obi-Wan, then Siri threaded the slender pole through crevices in the rocks. Siri hit a rock and wiggled the rod, trying to force it through. The rod snapped.
"We'll have to try another," Siri said.
This time, Tup rolled into a ball and kept his eyes closed as Obi-Wan sliced through the second pole. He eased it away from the wall and had to jump back as a chunk of loose dirt and rocks cascaded down. They heard a rumble overhead.
"Don't say a word, Tup," Astri snapped.
Siri and Obi-Wan went back to the cave entrance and tried again. He tried to guide the rod through the tiniest of cracks. He pushed, pulled, prodded, and maneuvered but he got no further. Sweat streaked through the dust on his face. His gaze locked with Siri's. An unspoken agreement passed between them. This time he closed his eyes as he gently moved the rod.
Together they called on the Force. He felt it gather power around him. The sand and rocks were part of him. They were connected to everything around him. He could feel the tiny rivers of space through the packed debris.
Obi-Wan maneuvered the rod carefully. He felt it poke through. He wiggled it.
"I think it's out in the air now."
"Good. Push it out as far as you can," Siri breathed.
Slowly, Obi-Wan pushed the rod through until he only held the very end. He wiggled it.
"Maybe if the wind dies down, the sun will glint on it," Siri said.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure if the wind ever died down in that canyon, but he didn't tell Siri that.
For the next few hours they all took turns crawling through the narrow cave and holding the rod. They turned and twisted it carefully, in case it could catch a ray of sun.
The group split Obi-Wan and Siri's survival rations, but it did little to assuage their hunger and thirst. The air grew close and hot. They barely spoke or moved in order to conserve what little oxygen they had left.
When Obi-Wan's turn came again, he took the rod from a weary Tup. He lay flat and wiggled the metal. He was tired from the rescue of Qui-Gon and the battle with Ona Nobis. He could not remember the last time he had slept. But he would lie here and stay alert as long as he had to. As long as there was hope "Hello in there! Is anyone there?"
"Yes! We're trapped!" Obi-Wan shouted. "I am Goq Cranna. Who is there?"
"Goq Cranna, it is Obi-Wan Kenobi! I am the Jedi who visited your tribe and asked for your help!"
"Ah, then it is good I stopped. Stay back, young Kenobi. We will dig you out."
Obi-Wan crawled back into the cave. Siri, Astri, Cholly, Weez, and Tup sat propped against the cave wall, exhausted.
"Goq Cranna has found us!" Obi-Wan said. "He's digging us out."
"Thank the stars and planets," Tup said fervently.
It seemed to take a long time for Goq to dig out the opening. At last light streamed in and they saw the smiling face of Goq's son, Bhu.
They crawled out of the cave into the orange blaze of sunset.
"The wind dies down at dusk, or else we would not have seen the silver rod," Goq said. "Even though we were searching. We saw the dead pilot and knew Ona Nobis had been here. We went into hiding. But then when we emerged we met a pilot who was supposed to pick up two passengers at the landing platform. They didn't show up. Bhu said, what if the wonderful lady who saved our tribe is in danger? So I agreed to look. Bhu saved you."
Bhu smiled shyly at Astri, who hugged him. "Thank you, Bhu."
On their last trip, Astri had made a trade with Bhu for information about Ona Nobis. She had taught the desert tribe how to find food in the harsh environment. It was obvious that Bhu now worshiped her.
Siri combed her hair behind her ears with her fingers, shaking out the sand. "Did you actually see Ona Nobis?"
"Close enough to touch," Goq told her. "I was nearby when she called someone on her corn-link. Someone was trying to persuade her to do something and offered her a cut of a potential fortune if she did so."
"Did you hear if she accepted, or where she is headed?" Obi-Wan asked urgently.
"I merely heard stray words," Goq said. A look of blankness had come over his face. Obi-Wan recognized it. It was the look of a Sorrusian who did not want to get mixed up in a stranger's business. Obi-Wan shot a glance at Astri.
"Surely you picked up some indication of what she was up to," Astri said gently, her hand still on Bhu's shoulder.
Goq's eyes warmed as he looked at Astri and his son. Astri had saved his tribe. For that, he would overcome his Sorrusian instinct for self- preservation at all costs.
"I do know where she is headed, wonderful lady. Belasco."
Obi-Wan stood on the landing platform of Arra. The sunsets were long on Sorrus, and the sky was still ablaze with orange and yellow. He had just concluded a difficult conversation with Qui-Gon. It had not been easy to tell his Master that contrary to orders he had stopped in the desert before heading to Coruscant.
Now he waited out Qui-Gon's silence.
At last the Jedi spoke. "You were told to come straight to Coruscant.
" "The stop, we felt, would have been quick. And I had a strong feeling that Astri was in danger."