The lurching of the ship made it hard to maneuver, but Anakin followed his Master. He knocked against the wall with his lightsaber hilt.
“Here!” Obi-Wan shouted suddenly. He activated his lightsaber and began to cut through the wall.
Anakin grabbed handholds and fought his way toward his Master. He worked alongside him. Obi-Wan was right. The metal was thinner here. It peeled back in strips. They were being pounded by the landslide and it was hard to cut, but they struggled to finish.
At last there was an opening large enough to crawl inside. To Anakin’s surprise, he found a complete cockpit with engine controls.
“Can you fly it?” Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin nodded. He strapped himself into the seat. The ship was on its side. He pushed the left engine and the ship rose straight up.
He kept pushing the engine and the ship revolved. Then he accelerated, and they shot through the lava and the pummeling rocks into the clear air above.
Obi-Wan sank back into the seat next to him. “That was close,” he panted.
“I wouldn’t want it any closer,” Anakin admitted. “Where to, Master?”
“They’ll be watching from a safe distance,” Obi-Wan said. “Along the coast, but out of range of the wave.” He bent over the scanner, comparing its readings to the map on the shipboard computer. “Let’s try these coordinates.” He pointed them out to Anakin.
He nodded and piloted the ship back toward the eruption. He would skirt the worst of it, but they would have a bumpy flight. Rocks hammered down on the shell of the ship, and the air pockets were deep. The ship kept slamming into them.
“Master, look!” Anakin pointed ahead. The Haariden captain and the soldiers were trapped on the plain as the landslide headed toward them. They had turned to face it. There was nowhere to run.
“See if we can make it!” Obi-Wan ordered. “Push the engines!”
Anakin accelerated till the engines screamed, piloting the ship straight into the spew of lava and rocks. The ship shook as a boulder struck it. Then another.
Captain Welflet saw them approaching and lifted a hand. Anakin did not know if it was in thanks or farewell. In the next instant the landslide had swept him and his soldiers to their deaths. They were buried under the land they had fought over so desperately.
Shaken, Anakin pushed the engines to rise above the eruption again. He felt a sickness in his stomach.
His Master said nothing, but closed his eyes for a moment.
“I wish I hadn’t seen that,” Anakin said.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes. “Such is the life of a Jedi.” The cockpit indicators began to swing wildly. The ship lurched to one side.
“I think the power cells were hit,” Anakin said. “We’ve got to land. The power is draining fast.”
“We’re almost out of range of the eruption,” Obi-Wan said, his eyes on the monitor. “Keep going…”
Anakin held onto the controls as the ship lurched again. He heard the whine of the power cells as they powered down. “Master, I’m losing the ship.”
“All right. Land it where you can.”
Anakin found a smooth area of sand. They were near the coast of the sea here. He set the ship down bumpily. He had just enough energy to land.
The ship settled into the sand and the engines cut out.
“Good thing we still have the swoops,” Obi-Wan said.
They climbed out of the concealed cockpit. The swoop bikes were smashed from the rough journey, but still functioned. Anakin activated the landing ramp from the interior cockpit. It squealed as the metal rubbed against metal, but it opened far enough for them to slide out with the swoops.
The air was thick with ash. A strange smell was in the air. It was like burning, but it wasn’t born of flame or smoke.
“It is the core,” Obi-Wan said. “Metals and molten rock
They piloted the swoops away from the ship and began to search for Omega and Mellora. At last they came upon them on a plateau that overlooked the sea. There they would be protected from the tidal wave.
Granta Omega saw them coming. There was no way to surprise them. Anakin saw him bend down. He settled something against his shoulder. A missile launcher.
“Master - “
“I see it. Dive, Padawan.”
They dived as the first missile headed their way. Its target was Obi-Wan. His Master leaned to one side and the missile missed him by a meter.
Another missile was launched. Anakin dived, but the missile was targeted at Obi-Wan again. His Master practiced evasive action, and this time, the missile missed him by mere centimeters.
Another missile was launched. This one, too, was headed for Obi-Wan.
“He’s only aiming at me,” Obi-Wan called. “Get closer, Anakin!”