[Junior Jedi Knights] - 01(13)

“And we might not need him,” Tahiri said with a scowl. “I thought we weren’t going to follow our dreams without question,” she added.

“Better safe than sorry?” Anakin asked his friend.

“That’s true,” Tahiri sullenly admitted. “Well, how are we going to get him to sneak away with us?”

“Leave that up to me,” Anakin said with a little smile.

It was hard to concentrate on schoolwork that morning. Both Anakin and Tahiri kept looking at their wrist-chronometers. They were excited, nervous, and scared. It seemed like years before class was over. When the other students had filed out of the room, Anakin sauntered over to ArtooDetoo.

“Hey, Artoo, want to show me around the rest of the Great Temple during my free time?”

The droid bleeped several times.

“I take it that means yes,” Anakin muttered. “Good. There’s just one thing. We need to develop a way to understand each other. Let’s start with one beep for yes and two beeps for no, okay?”

Artoo beeped once.

“Let’s go, buddy,” Anakin said with a smile. Anakin and Artoo headed away from the group down one of the hallways. Tahiri quickly caught up to them. The three rounded a corner and Anakin checked to make sure no one was behind them. Once he was sure they were alone he and Tahiri began to race down the hallway. Artoo whistled in surprise, then scooted to follow them. Anakin knew that his uncle Luke had probably asked the droid to keep an eye on him. He’d banked on Artoo’s following him once he and Tahiri started running. Tahiri’s bare feet slapped on the stone floor as they tore down the stairs that led to the hangar bay.

She didn’t see Anakin stopped in front of her until she’d crashed into his back. He didn’t have to warn her to be quiet. She immediately spotted Luke Skywalker and Tionne. They were walking down a hallway on a lower level. A door opened to their left and the two Jedi disappeared inside. Anakin and Tahiri both sighed in relief and then began to run again. By the time they reached the hangar both were out of breath, and Artoo had stopped beeping. Anakin and Tahiri opened a large wooden door and slid into darkness. Artoo followed behind them. They began running their hands along the stone walls, seeking the exit door.

“I can’t find it,” Tahiri said in a desperate voice. Then a thought struck her. “Anakin, the lower level of the Temple is partially underground. How can there be a door?” Tahiri cried.

“There has to be some kind of exit to the jungle,” Anakin whispered in the darkness. “The voice said so. We must be doing something wrong.” Anakin dropped to his knees and began searching the floor of the storage room. There was a chance that they were looking for the door in the wrong place. His fingers ran along the smooth surface. All of a sudden his left thumb caught on something. It was a thick crack. He traced the crack with his fingers. It was in the shape of a large square. “Tahiri, I think I’ve found it,” he called.

Tahiri ran over to Anakin and saw the outline of a trapdoor on the floor beneath her.

“How do we open it?” she asked. Artoo began to beep-beep. “Quiet, you silly droid,”

Tahiri whispered angrily. Artoo kept double-beeping.

“He’s saying no,” Anakin said under his breath. Anakin looked up and saw the droid standing by a large wooden handle in the wall.

“You’re trying to tell us that we’re doing this all wrong, aren’t you, ” Anakin whispered to the droid. “Give it a try your way, Artoo,” he said. The droid reached up and pulled down the handle with his metal arm. Instantly the doorway in the floor opened. Anakin looked down. A narrow passage of stone blocks led away from the trapdoor.

“This must be the way,” Anakin said as he slid into the passage. “Come on, you two,” he called from the darkness.

“You first,” Tahiri said to the droid. Artoo beeped once and moved forward to the trapdoor. He tipped slightly backward, then rolled into the passageway and out of sight.

“My turn,” Tahiri whispered. Then she, too, dropped out of sight. A few minutes

later, hot, moist air hit the three as they entered the jungles of Yavin 4.

“Follow me,” Anakin called as he raced toward the river. Artoo beeped several times.

“I think he knows where he’s going, buddy,” Tahiri said to the droid.

They began to follow Anakin. Tahiri had to stop a few times to help Artoo, who kept getting tangled in the blueleaf shrubs. Anakin was already by the long silver raft when Tahiri and Artoo got to the edge of the river.

“Told you the raft would be here,” he said with a shy smile. Tahiri hopped in and they lifted Artoo over the rounded sides of the raft, then pushed it off from the bank. Anakin jumped in at the last second.