“Mellora, don’t be foolish,” Omega warned.
But Mellora did not drop the lightsaber, and Anakin was more afraid that she would injure herself than he was of the blasters. He knew his usual control would be off, so he would have to compensate. He could not risk a complicated move. Simple was best.
Keeping the lightsaber in one hand, he struck out with a strong kick in order to dislodge Darra’s lightsaber from her hand. But Mellora surprised him by twirling away. She was still hampered by the lightsaber, but the combination of Anakin’s slowed reaction time and her own skill caused him to miss. Anakin stumbled, and to his surprise he could not recover easily.
He went down on one hand. Mellora smiled. She raised the lightsaber. Even she could probably manage a downward stroke.
He called on the Force. It surged through him. He balanced on one hand and swept his feet in an arc that hit Mellora on the ankles and took her down. Darra’s lightsaber went flying.
The others scattered, afraid of the lightsaber, and wildly fired their blasters. Granta Omega looked up, his mouth open, his hands outstretched for the lightsaber.
Desperately, Anakin threw himself at Granta Omega. He hit him broadside, and they both fell. The lightsaber clattered to the floor, deactivated.
The group saw Anakin on the floor with their leader and pointed their blasters at him. He raised his own lightsaber to deflect the fire, but he could see that he would not be able to hold out for long.
Then suddenly a blue blur appeared through the door. Metal peeled back and Obi-Wan leaped through the opening.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
For a moment, no one moved. Anakin felt as though he had used up his last reserve of strength. He was sprawled on the floor, looking up at his Master. Mellora lay frozen, her eyes moving from the lightsaber on the floor to the activated one in Obi-Wan’s hand.
Granta Omega laughed at the same moment that the blasters fired.
Obi-Wan stepped forward, his lightsaber constantly moving, deflecting the fire. Blaster bolts pinged off the walls. Obi-Wan came and stood over Anakin, who began to try to rise.
Granta Omega’s fingers closed over the fallen lightsaber’s hilt. With the other hand, he reached down and activated a switch on a device hanging on his belt. A door in a console opened and released five seekers into the air. They honed in on Obi-Wan and peppered him with blaster fire. Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber, deflecting the fire, and leaped in the air to slash the seekers one by one. He had his hands full. Anakin watched as Granta Omega, Mellora, and the rest of the group escaped through a window. Omega held Darra’s lightsaber.
Anakin saw it happening and felt responsible again. If his Master hadn’t needed to protect him, he would have captured them all. A last surge of strength helped him down one seeker with an awkward swing from the floor. Obi-Wan took out the last two.
He reached down and helped Anakin to his feet. “What happened?”
“They drugged me. The mug…”
Obi-Wan picked up the mug and shoved it in his tunic. “We’ll analyze it at the Temple.”
“They had a Sith artifact. A Holocron pyramid. Tic is Granta Omega - “
“I know.” Obi-Wan searched the room. “They must have taken it with them.” He crouched in front of the console. He reached in and rummaged through a travel kit. He threw aside several basic items, then held up a portable scanner. He studied it for a moment. “Now this is interesting.”
Anakin nodded. He felt as though it took him several long minutes to complete the nod. Obi-Wan noted this and jumped to his feet.
“We’d better get you back to the Temple.”
Obi-Wan stood in front of the assembled Jedi Council. In one hand he held the portable scanner. He stood respectfully as the Jedi Council sat, absorbing what he had told them.
“Certain you are of this,” Yoda said.
“Completely.”
“Ambitious, this Granta Omega is.”
“That is the danger. He infiltrated the Senate expedition because he knew it was going to examine the mineral rights of Haariden. It was the Senate’s secret plan to defuse the civil war. I read the expedition’s report. It was incomplete, but it shows one thing clearly - there is an active volcano on Haariden. The mountain Kaachtari will soon have a massive eruption, an eruption so powerful it will change the coastline nearby. The titanite that has been hidden in the planet’s core will spew out with the lava. A giant tidal wave will form and cover the landmass. Sano Sauro has buried the report, but it is in the Senate archives.” Obi-Wan held up the portable scanner. “This is an underwater scanner. He is planning to mine the titanite from the sea. He will be able to do so if we don’t stop him. I believe he wants to control the bacta market for the entire galaxy.”