Kern aimed his blaster at Kad as he dove backward into the pod. Anakin sprang forward to deflect fire as Obi-Wan lunged for the closing escape pod doors. He was too late. Kern jumped inside, and the escape pod blasted off. Kad raced to his father’s side and fell to his knees. Garen checked Vox’s vital signs and shook his head at Obi-Wan. Vox was dying.
The ship reeled from another blast. Tech workers began to rush into the landing bay, trying to ready escape ships. Kad did not notice. He gathered up his dying father in his arms.
Vox’s lips were white. “Forgive me, son.” Tears fell like soft rain from Kad’s cheeks onto his father’s uplifted face. He wiped them away from his father’s face with great gentleness.
“Yes, Father,” he said. “I forgive you.” Vox barely managed a nod. Then, his gaze still on his son, he died.
Kad bowed his head over his father. Obi-Wan motioned to the others to step back.
“We have to get everyone off the ship,” he said. “I’ve no doubt that if Kern really double-crossed Vox and stole thetreasury, he has rigged the ship to explode.”
Just then Andra burst in, running toward them at full tilt. Her eyes took in the scene of Kad cradling his father’s body. Another explosion sent the ship trembling.
“What’s happening?” sheasked, her gaze wide and fearful.
“We must evacuate the ship,” Den told her. “Kern has sabotaged it.”
“We are also under attack,” Andra told them. “Those ships that arrived due to a false distress call are now shooting at us. The defensive shield has been sabotaged.”
Anakin stepped forward. “We need to fight them from the air.”
Obi-Wan knew his Padawan was right. He also knew that Anakin wanted to be a part of that fight. His need to protect Anakin and the knowledge of Anakin’s extraordinary skills as a pilot battled inside him. Anakin kept his gaze on Obi-Wan. There was no pleading in it. It was the steady gaze of a Jedi, not a boy.
Obi-Wan turned to Andra. “Do you have a fast attack ship?”
She nodded. “We are peaceful, not stupid.”
“Anakin will pilot it.”
“I’ll use my starship,” Garen said. “Come on, Anakin.”
“I’ll organize the evacuation with Andra,” Den said. “There’s no time to lose.”
Kad rose from the floor. “I’m needed on the bridge. We’ll have to find the closest port.”
Kad’s comlinksignaled, and a panicked voice boomed out. “An attack droid team has boarded the ship! They’re-“
A burst of blaster fire sounded over the comlink, and the voice was cut off.
CHAPTER 22
“I’ll handle the droids,” Obi-Wan said. He tucked his lightsaber back into his belt and took off.
He raced down the corridors of the lurching ship. While he ran, his mind clicked over the facts that he knew, searching for what didn’t fit. He had learned from Qui-Gon that even in the midst of battle, he must not stop thinking.
Vox had accused Kern of stealing the treasury. If Offworld knew that Kern would steal the treasury before leaving the ship, why would they send droids to board it? The only answer was that Offworld did not know that the treasury was missing. Either Kern had double-crossed Offworld, or he had been a double agent and had never really worked for them at all.
That was a concern for another time. Obi-Wan guessed that the droids were following the original plan and heading for the tech readout controls, and then for the treasury. He hoped he was right. He raced into the tech readout room. Two tech workers lay on the floor, stunned from blaster bolts. One remaining worker had taken cover behind a console. The droids marched forward, keeping up a stream of blaster bolts from their chests and hands.
Obi-Wanwas on them in a flash. His lightsaber was in constant motion. With attack droids, he did not have to worry about the fine points of strategy. They did not have the split-second timing of a living being. They were relentless, and their firepower was rapid and fierce.
Obi-Wan could have relied on someone to cover his flank, but he took the natural defense of the pillars and consoles of the room for cover. He used long strokes to down two droids at a time. He somersaulted through the air, too fast for a droid to track. He slashed through the head of one droid and wiped out the front control panel of another. He turned and kicked, sending one droid flying, but another had sneaked up on his flank. Blaster fire burned his arm, but he kept moving, slicing the droid in two. He was hit, but he didn’t know how badly. His left arm was on fire, and useless. Obi-Wan switched his attack to ground level, bending and then using a fast combination of upward strokes to vanquish the rest of the droids.