[Jedi Quest] - 02(19)

Rage bloomed in his chest, Obi-Wan absorbed it and let itgo. He did not need rage to fight this. He need disciple.Calm.

He anticipated the attack before it came. He had knownTeleq was luring them on, but he did not care. He was readyto meet the bounty hunter.

He had just not expected the attack to come from above. Ashower of poisonous darts rained down from the trees.

“Flechette canisters,” Obi-Wan told Anakin. She shifted hisfocus to the branches over his head. Now he could seeTeleq. He was a long-limbed being with hooked fingers andtoes, making him adept at climbing and swinging throughtrees.

Perched on the branches we also flocks of birds. Theirfeathers were the same bright pink as the flowering trees,allowing them to blend into their surroundings. They werealmost as big as Anakin, with large wings folded backagainst their bodies.

As Teleq moved from branch to branch, the birds began tosquawk angrily. Obi-Wan leaped to catch a branch highoverhead, then swung himself up into the trees. A birdpecked his hand, drawing blood. He swung up to the nextbranch. The tree was easy to climb, since the branches werewide and flat. He could see Teleq trying to scamper away,firing another shower of darts at him over his shoulder.

Anakin swung himself into a tree close by. He climbed uponto another branch, then another. High above the groundthe branches were close together, and they would be able toleap from one tree to another to pursue Teleq.

But where was Teleq headed? Obi-Wan wondered as he climbed.He watched Teleq jump to another tree and realized what hewas doing.

Teleq was leading them closer to Wren. The closer Obi-Wangot to Teleq, the more he would bring Wren into the range offire of the darts. And wren would be unable to deflectthem.

What is his objective? Obi-Wan wondered. How was heplanning to catch the Jedi?

The possibilities flew through Obi-Wan’s mind, presentingthemselves so quickly it was as though they appeared all atonce.

Wren himself is booby-trapped.

There is another trap in Wren’s tree.

There is trap on the logical progression to Wren’s tree.

There is no trap. Teleq is planning a surprise move withthe flechette canister or another weapon.

The question is, how can I surprise him instead?

Anakin leaped from his tree to the next one, deflecting ashower of darts with a quick series of lightsaber moves.Obi-Wan leaped to another tree, still considering hisoptions. Suddenly his mind cleared, leaving a space withoutsound. He knew what would follow: Qui-Gon’s voice. Oftenit rose in his mind just when he was most confused oruncertain.

Use everything you have. Use the ground. Use the sky. Usewhat is around you.

Another bird suddenly squawked by his ear. Obi-Wan deftlymoved to the left as the bird struck out with a long,pointed beak. Another bird leaped closer on the thickbranch, screeching at Obi-Wan. He realized that he hadalmost stumbled into a nest. No wonder birds were sofurious. He quickly jumped to the branch of the next tree.

He didn’t like the setting of the battle. Teleq was adeptat navigating the trees. He had chosen his ground wisely.And Obi-Wan couldn’t help the nagging suspicion that somehowTeleq was luring them into a trap. They would have to gethim first. But how?

Another bird squawked overhead, its mate joining it tocircle above the nest.

Use everything you have…

While he deflected more darts from the flechette canister,Obi-Wan searched the branches near Wren’s tree. Obviously,Teleq was trying to drive them there. He was being cleverabout it - he was trying to make them think that he wasattempting to keep them away from the tree - but Obi-Wanknew better.

There - he saw it. A large nest near Teleq, guarded by twobirds. That would do.

He did not have time to communicate his plan to Anakin. Hewould have to trust that his Padawan would get the idea.

Obi-Wan jumped from his tree to the next, following theroute he felt sure Teleq wanted him to follow. He kept hislightsaber activated, swinging at the darts to clear hisway. He could hear Anakin behind him, jumping from tree totree.

When they were closer to Teleq, Obi-Wan swung off to anothertree to his right. Anakin hesitated, then moved in theopposite direction.

It was not the first time that Obi-Wan was grateful for hisPadawan’s excellent instincts. Time and again, Anakin wouldread Obi-Wan’s strategy faster than Obi-Wan ever expected.

Moving fast now, the two Jedi leaped from tree branch totree branch. Obi-Wan could not see Teleq’s face, but hecould tell by his movements and the frantic burst from theflechette canister that the bounty hunter was unnerved.

As Obi-Wan grew closer, Anakin swung out to the side, sothat Teleq was forced to move back, exactly where Obi-Wanwanted him.

Obi-Wan gathered the Force. It would be a difficult leap,bypassing one tree to land on another. But it was the onlyway to surprise Teleq enough to get him to leap to the nexttree.