“Friendly place,” Astri said. “I can see where Reesa On gets her sparkling personality.”
Ahead Obi-Wan glimpsed a transport center. There, a clerk behind an information desk directed them to a public air transport that made one stop at an outpost in the desert of Arra.
Although it was customary throughout the galaxy for Jedi to hitch rides on public transport without payment, here on Sorrus there was no such courtesy extended. Astri and Obi-Wan paid for their seats with their few credits.
It was a journey of several hours to the desert. The cities thinned out and the landscape became rugged. They flew over a mountain range. On one side were green fields, on the other desert. Dunes stretched as far as the eyes could see, with not a green plant growing. All Obi-Wan could see were rocks.
The transport pulled up to a desolate landing platform. Obi-Wan and Astri were the only ones to exit.
The air transport rose and disappeared. They stood on the platform and gazed at the sea of sand. The wind blew pellets into their faces, and they pulled up their hoods.
“What now?” Astri asked.
“I have the coordinates of the last-known camp of the tribe,” Obi-Wan said. “Let’s start walking.”
“I’m beginning to worry that this might be a waste of time,” Astri said as she trudged beside him. “We might not find the tribe at all.”
“It’s too soon to worry,” Obi-Wan answered. But he, too, felt uncertain. There wasn’t a sign of life anywhere, not even vegetation. Who could survive in such a harsh land? Perhaps the tribe had moved on.
They hiked to a sheltered canyon near the foothills of the mountain range. The coordinates matched what Tahl had given him, but there was no sign of a tribe. Obi-Wan slogged through the sand, looking for a clue.
“If they were here, they aren’t now,” Obi-Wan said. He kicked at a rock. “I don’t know how any living being could survive here. There’s no food, no water.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Astri bent down and showed him the underside of the rock. It was covered in a greenish substance. She grinned. “Hungry?”
Obi-Wan smiled and turned to scan the walls of the canyon. “I think there might be caves in the canyon wall.”
Astri squinted. “Perhaps they take shelter there during the hot part of the day.”
“It’s worth a look,” Obi-Wan agreed.
Suddenly, an eerie, high-pitched sound split the air. Obi-Wan could not tell if it was the wind, or some strange being.
“What was that?” Astri asked fearfully.
He glanced around, searching for movement. His hand went to his lightsaber. He sensed danger, but he did not know where it was located.
The Force whirled around him, pulsating with the rhythm of the moving sand. He saw a flicker of movement high above. Something was flying down toward him from the canyon wall. Then, more and more shapes filled the air.
Not shapes. Sorrusians. Obi-Wan and Astri were under attack!
Obi-Wan leaped backward as one Sorrusian nearly landed on top of him. They were armed with weapons Obi-Wan had never seen before. They were carved from bone and sharpened on each end. His attackers whirled them in a circle so fast that the sharpened ends were just a deadly blur. There were ten, eleven, twelve of them. He was vastly outnumbered.
Unused to battle, Astri stumbled backward, panic on her face at the numbers of Sorrusians. She fumbled for her vibroblade.
Obi-Wan needed to move fast to cover Astri. He leaped and spun, neatly cleaving his opponent’s weapon in two.
“Stay behind me, Astri!” he called. She moved a few steps backward, already slashing with her vibroblade at an attacker from her right.
Obi-Wan cleanly sliced another Sorrusian’s weapon in two, and sprang to protect Astri from three Sorrusians advancing from different directions.
Astri’s vibroblade came down on the sharp blade of the Sorrusian weapon, slicing it to a dull end. Lightsaber pulsing, Obi-Wan whirled and dispatched two opponents with a sky-to-ground sweep followed by a quick reversal. He dropped to one knee and sliced the weapon of the third.
The others had seen what the lightsaber could do and began to retreat. Obi-Wan saw this with relief. He did not want to harm any members of this tribe. Any chance he had of cooperation would be lost.
One of the robed members of the tribe raised a hand and emitted a harsh, cawing sound. Simultaneously, the rest of the tribe dropped their weapons.
“We do not bring trouble to your people,” Obi-Wan said to the Sorrusian who had raised his hand. “We come for help.”
“We do not help strangers.”
There was a gasp when Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and it disappeared with a buzzing sound.
The Sorrusian leader circled around Obi-Wan and Astri. He said something in a dialect Obi-Wan didn’t understand. His gestures indicated that they had hoped to find something worth stealing and were disappointed.