"There are patrols everywhere," Anakin told him. "I can't find Krayn."
"Our best chance to destroy this operation is to leave this ship at once," Obi-Wan told him urgently.
"But he's here, now!" Anakin argued. "We can destroy him."
"Marking a being for death is not the Jedi way," Obi-Wan told him severely.
"Even when that being enslaves others, kills them as if they were nothing, imprisons them against their will?" Anakin argued. "I heard the slaves beg you to help them. I saw you turn your back on them. How can you abandon them to such misery? Every day for a slave is another chance to die. Killing Krayn will free them. How can you do this?"
"Anakin, you must be logical," Obi-Wan said, struggling to hold on to his composure. "How can I help them? If we want to bring down Krayn's empire, we must have a plan. We can't just sneak aboard his ship and hope to run into him."
"It seems as good a plan as any."
"It's not. And it could result in our deaths, and the deaths of many.
If one miscalculation or mistake on our part occurs, Krayn will take his revenge on those he controls — the slaves. Our best plan is to leave now and get the Council to pledge their resources to bring down Krayn. There will be no more arguments here. Time is running out. Guards are most likely searching for us now, and I don't think the Colicoids will wait for our return much longer. Now come. You must understand that this is the best way."
"You're the one who doesn't understand!" Anakin shouted.
Obi-Wan was startled at Anakin's vehemence, but he kept his gaze on him, willing him to obey.
Anakin hesitated. He cast his eyes down sullenly. He would not disobey a direct order. Reluctantly, he nodded. Obi-Wan could tell that fury and frustration boiled within him.
They would need time to sort this out. Time they would have back aboard the Colicoid ship.
Obi-Wan did not have to turn and check to make sure that Anakin was behind him. He felt his furious resentment all the way back to the central power core. They did not meet any droid patrols and were able to sneak inside the power core once again. They hurried down the catwalk, running now.
Obi-Wan ducked under their transport, released the hatch, and climbed inside. He strapped himself into the pilot seat and signaled Anakin through the view port to follow.
Anakin began to duck underneath the rim of the ship. Suddenly, blaster fire peppered the side of the ship near his head. Anakin ducked to the ground.
A pirate leaped off the catwalk, blasters in both hands. He looked human, and Obi-Wan fleetingly wondered how he could jump such a distance.
The pirate landed just a few feet from Anakin. He kept his blasters level but did not shoot again. His short hair was braided and studded with sharp glittering objects woven through the twisted strands. Various lethal weapons hung from his thick utility belt. He looked strong, but he wasn't very large.
Suddenly Obi-Wan realized that the pirate was a woman. Then familiar blue eyes flashed, and shock shimmered inside him.
This wasn't just a woman. The pirate was Siri.
Chapter 9
Siri no longer looked like a Jedi. She was dressed in a tunic and leggings fashioned from various skins. Blast padding covered her shoulders and chest. On her pale cheeks were red scars that on closer inspection he realized were facial markings designed to give her a fierce appearance. Her bright blond hair was darkened with some kind of grease. Obi-Wan was shocked by her savage appearance.
Yet he had to trust that she would not fire on Anakin.
"Anakin, get in," he called.
Anakin eyed Siri's blasters.
"You won't shoot him, Siri," Obi-Wan said.
"I am Siri no longer," Siri answered. "I am Zora."
"There is still Jedi in you," Obi-Wan said, "even though you have betrayed every part of our code."
"There are so many things I do not miss about the Jedi," Siri said thoughtfully, blocking Anakin from the ship. "One is their self- righteousness. It's so boring."
Anakin gazed from Obi-Wan back to Siri, amazement on his face.
"Zora!" A huge, bellowing voice filled the space. "Did you find the intruders?"
"Krayn," Anakin said, even though no one was in sight yet.
"Get in!" Obi-Wan hissed.
"Zora!" The bellow was loud and close.
Siri sprang forward. With one sweeping motion, she closed the hatch, separating Anakin from Obi-Wan. Then she spun sideways toward the giant turbines. She accessed the control panel and pressed several buttons. The giant turbines began to spin faster.
Obi-Wan guessed her strategy a few seconds too late. He just had time to grab the controls when the turbines roared to life at three times their normal speed. A gust of wind picked the craft up like a feather and hurled it toward the shaft.
Fighting for control, Obi-Wan struggled to hold the ship steady. It crashed against one wall of the shaft, then smashed against the other side.
He quickly opened the side wings slightly for more control. It wasn't easy to prevent the ship from crashing and burning in the narrow shaft, but he managed to keep it heading down the middle as it lurched.
The turning propellers ahead reminded him that he could be cut to bits. Obi-Wan drew on the Force, concentrating all his will on the task ahead. Time seemed to slow as he gauged his own speed and the speed of the powerful rotors. At the last possible second, he activated the wings fully and flipped sideways. As the ship slipped through the rotors, one of them clipped a wing. Spiraling crazily, the ship shot out into space.
Obi-Wan fought for control. He activated the third wing to take up some of the control he had lost. The ship slowly steadied beneath his hands. He cut back the engines and spun the craft around. Should he follow the ship, or attempt another landing inside the exhaust shaft? He asked himself the question, but he knew the ship did not have the control necessary to navigate that shaft again.
He couldn't leave Anakin to be captured by Siri and Krayn. He could not allow his Padawan to become a slave once again.
Then as he watched, Krayn's ship blasted into hyperspace in a shower of light energy.
He could not follow. His Padawan was gone.
Chapter 10
Everything had happened so fast. It was rare for Anakin to be caught by surprise. One moment he had been furious at Obi-Wan but ready to board the ship, and the next moment his Master was being blasted down the shaft.
His Jedi reflexes still needed honing. Siri-Zora had completely turned the situation around while he was still absorbing what was happening.
Krayn appeared on the catwalk above.
Krayn was humanoid, but had the size and heft of a natural formation, a boulder, a tree. His body seemed carved out of rock. His shaved head glinted in the dim light. As he drew closer Anakin could see various items hanging from the double utility belt he had slung around his waist. They swung with the motion of his walk. He clutched a vibro-ax in one meaty fist, and his small, glittering eyes swept the scene before him with shrewdness.