The hole was big enough now. Obi-Wan tossed out two smoke grenades. The acrid smoke billowed out.
Without much wind, the smoke hung in the air, a perfect cover. One by one, wearing air masks to protect their lungs, they slid through the hole.
They were still out of range of the starship’s weapons. They had only minutes now. They began to run toward the edge of the plateau.
Shaken from the landing, some of the group could not move fast. Thik, with his bad knee, was especially slow. Obi-Wan and Anakin helped them along, but within seconds, Obi-Wan did a quick calculation and realized they couldn’t make it. The starships could begin shooting through the smoke at any moment. The Vanqors might not be able to pinpoint their location, but they certainly could figure out where they were headed. It was the only avenue of escape.
Obi-Wan felt desperate. The question was, would the ships try to kill them or take them prisoner?
They couldn’t see the starships, but the first fire tore up the ground in front of them. They jumped back. The fire was constant, preventing them from reaching the edge of the plateau.
“Back to the ship!” Obi-Wan called. It would at least offer some cover.
They ran, the fire behind them now. Shalini tripped, but Anakin picked her up and dove underneath the belly of the ship. Thik was still moving too slowly. He was not keeping up with the others and would be a prime target when the smoke cleared. Obi-Wan grabbed him. He ran forward to push Thik into an empty space where crushed metal had created a cubbyhole.
He saw too late that there was only room for one. Obi-Wan pushed Thik into the space and kept on going. The smoke was starting to clear. Obi-Wan dived for a boulder and took shelter behind it. He was wedged in between the boulder and a larger one behind him. There was barely room, but he doubted he could be seen from above.
The starships landed. The group huddled under their own ship. Obi-Wan saw Shalini move toward Anakin. She handed him something and spoke rapidly in his ear.
The disk. She had handed him the disk.
Obi-Wan realized that the Vanqors had decided on capture. They could have easily blown up the ship by now if they’d wanted.
Dozens of troops exited their ship. A squad headed for the downed ship while another peeled off to search the area.
Obi-Wan searched his hiding place. He realized that if he could squeeze a bit further behind the boulder, it opened up into a small cavelike opening impossible to see unless you were right on top of it. It offered a perfect place to hide.
He could not do them any good by being captured too. It tore at him to leave his Padawan, but it was his only hope.
He squeezed back into the hole, then doubled over to fit himself into the space. From here he could see through a crevice in the rock out to the ship.
Soldiers rounded up the group and herded them onto their starships. Obi-Wan’s heart ached. There was no way he and Anakin alone could fend off dozens of soldiers and well-armed enemy ships.
The starships took off and shot away into the distance. Slowly, Obi-Wan hauled himself up. He panted out his exhaustion and his frustration.
Then he made himself stand and turned his thoughts toward rescue.
CHAPTER SIX
The soldiers had bound their hands behind them and pushed them aboard the starships. Anakin felt the disk burn against his skin. So far he had not been searched, but he would use the Force to divert attention. Shalini had entrusted the disk to him, and he wouldn’t fail her.
She had spoken rapidly in his ear. “Take this. It will be safest in the hands of the Jedi. For the safety of my people, please get it back to TyphaDor.”
“I pledge my life on it,” Anakin had said.
The starships flew over the deep fissures of the Tomo Craters. On the lip of a crater, a small compound huddled. Out of the viewport, Anakin glimpsed gray buildings, energy fences, security towers, and a small landing pad.
“Welcome to paradise,” one of the soldiers snickered. “The Tomo Camp.”
Dressed in his survival suit like the others, with his lightsaber safely hidden, Anakin was not identified as a Jedi. Shalini refused to give her name, along with the others. The admitting guard didn’t seem to care. They were searched, but Anakin was able to use the Force to confuse his guard, and his cable launcher, his lightsaber, and the disk were not taken. They were stripped of their survival gear and given rough brown tunics to wear. Then they were herded out into a small yard surrounded by energy fencing. The wind was cold and tore at their clothes. Around them swirled other prisoners from other worlds in the Uziel system, planets already conquered by Vanqor.
Anakin looked around. The walls of the crater were sheer and hundreds of meters tall. It was clear that the only way into the camp was by air.