Qui-Gon watched for a few extra seconds in order to grasp Adi’s strategy. Even while she mowed down droids, she protected Obi-Wan from the worst of the fire. She was using a series of short, fast combinations designed to obscure the fact that she was steadily making progress toward Jenna Zan Arbor and the hallway to the rest of the lab.
Obi-Wan was using the vibroblade effectively, but it was no match for blaster fire. Qui-Gon decided, even as he leaped, that his job would be to protect his Padawan, leaving Adi free to go after Zan Arbor.
A flash of joyful relief lit Obi-Wan’s face as he saw Qui-Gon sail toward him. His moment of distraction was smoothly covered by Adi, who in a lightning strike took out a droid who aimed a blaster at Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon came down, knocking out two droids as he landed and whirling to deflect fire from a third. He was surprised to find that although he had succeeded, his reaction times were slow. He could not trust his body to move quickly. The days of captivity had taken a worse toll on him than he’d thought.
Qui-Gon received a sense of satisfaction when he saw Zan Arbor’s expression turn from smugness to alarm. She knew now that the tide would turn against her. With a sharp command, she ordered four droids to surround her. Her back was to the wall.
Qui-Gon accessed the Force to help him overcome his body’s weakness. He deftly attacked, slashing through the metal bodies of the droids while Siri whirled and dived, her lightsaber a blur. The young girl’s footwork was impeccable. Obi-Wan was hampered by his vibroblade but kept up a steady attack, sweat pouring down his face.
There were only five droids left, excluding the guard around Zan Arbor. Qui-Gon did not need to look at Adi for confirmation as he drove the droids toward her. They would catch them in
a
pincer
movement. Understanding his intent, both Siri and Obi-Wan moved to flank him.
The plan would have worked perfectly if Tup hadn’t chosen that moment to make a break for safety. Hearing a slight lull in blaster fire, he scrambled out from underneath the hovering gravsled arid dashed toward the hallway.
Unfortunately, he crashed into two droids, driving them back toward Obi-Wan. The droids wheeled and raised their arms toward Tup, prepared to blast him.
“G-giberbtz and h-ham!” Tup screamed.
Obi-Wan was closest. He accessed the Force and leaped, coming down with both feet hitting the two droids squarely. The droids wobbled and the blaster fire went awry. Obi-Wan landed and swung his vibroblade at the first droid. It raised its blaster toward Obi-Wan.
Qui-Gon reached out a hand to use the Force to send the droid flying. Nothing happened. Adi reversed direction to neatly slice the second droid in two.
“Zan Arbor,” Siri said tersely.
Jenna Zan Arbor had taken advantage of the distraction to slip out from behind the droids that were guarding her and dash down the hall. She was just disappearing into a turbolift.
“There are stairs,” Qui-Gon told Adi. “Second door on the left.”
“Siri and I will follow,” Adi told him, already starting off.
“We’ll see to the prisoner,” Qui-Gon said, signaling to Obi-Wan.
He raced down the hallway, his Padawan by his side. They burst into the lab. Qui-Gon strode to the cloud-filled chamber and cut through the material with Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. The transparent material peeled back and gas escaped in a vaporous cloud.
The chamber was empty.
“We have been fooled,” Qui-Gon said quietly. “Maybe Noor R’aya is in the other lab,” Obi-Wan suggested.
Qui-Gon looked startled. “Noor R’aya? The prisoner was a Jedi?”
“Adi thinks so.”
“She said I did not know him, but I was close to him,” Qui-Gon murmured. “Of course that is so. Every Jedi shares a bond.”
“We should head for the launching pad,” Obi-Wan said. “Zan Arbor said it is on sublevel one.
“In that case,” Qui-Gon said, “I am sure it is not. Come, Padawan.”
He did not know for certain if he was right, but he had come to know the turnings of Zan Arbor’s mind, the way she strategized. She would enjoy flipping the situation so that the Jedi were in the opposite place of where they should be when she made her escape.
So instead of heading for sublevel one, Qui-Gon headed for the roof.
He did not trust the turbolift. No doubt she would have sabotaged it. He took the stairs, Obi-Wan at his heels.
They burst out onto the roof just in time to see Jenna Zan Arbor’s craft rise in the air. They saw the body of Noor R’aya in the seat next to her. He was slumped over as if he were too weak to raise his head. She smiled and waved a split second before the craft shot into the upper atmosphere.
They had lost her again.