[Jedi Quest] - 03(37)

He knew the importance of backup.

Obi-Wan grabbed the screen and peered at it as he drove. Anakin was staying close to the rear of Hekula’s Podracer. He tried to contact him on his comlink, but Anakin did not answer.

Answer it, Padawan. You know it is me.

Obi-Wan contacted Ry-Gaul. “Something else is going to happen to Anakin’s Podracer,” he said.

“The Force is still disturbed,” Ry-Gaul agreed. “Where are the most spectators?”

“At the finish line. I am there.”

“That’s where it will happen. I’ll be there soon.”

Obi-Wan pushed the engines to maximum. The boulevard ended and he zoomed along a dusty road, then over to the rolling hills. He remembered exactly where the cave entrance was and barely reduced speed as he crashed through the branches and slid’ into the tunnel.

He halted the speeder in the pit hangar. Groups of Pit Droids, mechanics, and members of the Podracing teams were crowded well clear of the finish line, viewscreens in hand. He spotted Doby and Deland.

“He’s still second,” Doby fretted. “He’s not going to win. And it looked like he almost crashed. I don’t understand this!”

“All we can do is wait,” Deland said, with a glance at his sister.

Sebulba had already called to Djulla to break out the food and drink for the celebration. He leaned over, watching his viewscreen avidly. “That’s my boy!” he cackled. “Smash them all!”

Ry-Gaul, Tru, and Ferus approached Obi-Wan. “We can do nothing now,” Ry-Gaul said.

Obi-Wan scanned the crowd. Each being was staring intently at a viewscreen. Some crowded around one small screen, others shared with one or two friends. He had to be right. There had to be someone who would activate the backup system by hand.

One being sat alone. A plain brown robe swept down to the floor. A hood hid a face bent intently over a viewscreen. Then a hand moved to reach inside the robe toward a pocket. A datapad appeared. In that brief movement Obi-Wan glimpsed a robe underneath the plain brown cloak. The color was brilliant scarlet and the thick veda cloth was embroidered with orange septsilk thread.

Obi-Wan took off. He hurdled over some Pit Droids coiling a lubrication hose and avoided a disabled Podracer being wheeled into a transport. Startled gazes followed him as he rushed toward the seats.

The noise of the Podracers suddenly echoed through the caves. They were close. The spectators stood.

He knew, even as he ran, that he was too late. His throat constricted with pain.

Liviani Sarno touched the screen on her datapad, then slipped it back into a pocket. She quickly rose and jumped to the floor, hurrying away from the stands. She kept the viewscreen in front of her so she could keep her eye on the Podracers.

Obi-Wan took a quick look at his own viewscreen. They were close, racing now down a straightaway. There was one sharp turn right before the spectator stands, and then a short distance to the finish line.

He strode forward and put his hand on Sarno’s arm. She looked up at him, surprised and, for a moment, frightened.

“I’ll take that datapad,” he said.

“What are you doing?” Liviani hissed. “I am here undercover. I am observing. Go away.”

“What did you just do?”

“Nothing,” she said, her eyes on the screen as the Podracers raced down the last straightaway. She struggled to get away. “Let me go!”

“If you did nothing, why are you so afraid?” Obi-Wan asked. The Podracers approached the last curve. He kept his hand on her wrist.

“Let me go!” Liviani screamed, her eyes wide with fear.

It is up to you now, Anakin. I failed to stop her. I cannot help you. There is only the Living Force.

Anakin was on a straightaway, but he knew his steering had failed completely as soon as it happened. He knew his braking system had shorted as well. The warning lights stayed green. No red lights flashed. The Podracer did not wobble or shift. But the Force had gathered like a sudden storm cloud and filled his vision. He could see clearly and yet he knew the cloud was there.

This time the problem would not be easy to fix. It had not happened through the nav computer. He flipped switch after switch, but some kind of override had been programmed into his Podracer.

The turn was ahead. He was still hugging Hekula’s tail. He had been preparing to make his move and pass him just before the turn. Now he knew he’d never make it. Instead, the Podracer would not turn. It would go out of control and crash into the stands.

He felt the Force around him and in him. In moments like this, Anakin felt capable of anything. The Force was like a gifted companion, a far-seeing guide, a power that gave his muscles strength and his mind and heart vision and will. He felt at the center of the moving Force. Ready.