“At first I just hid. But then I saw that they were carrying Obi-wan. He was under my charge! I was responsible for him. So I followed them to the sea landing.”
Qui-Gon frowned. “They left by sea?”
He nodded. “Two of the men, with Obi-Wan.”
Where could they be going? Qui-Gon wondered. The sea was vast, and there were no islands or reefs. “Did they say anything?” he asked.
“Nothing of significance,” RonTha said. “Something curious, though. One of them said to Obi-Wan that he would see him in five years, if he survived.
Obi-wan didn’t answer, of course. He was still unconscious.”
“Five years?” Qui-Gon repeated.
“The deep sea mines!” Si Treemba exclaimed.
Of course, Qui-Gon thought. Where better to hide Obi-Wan than on a deepsea mining platform?
“Find me an Agri-Corps boat,” Qui-Gon ordered RonTha.
“But it is against proto -” RonTha’s voice faltered under the impact of Qui-Gon’s icy glare. “Yes, immediately,” he agreed.
*
Qui-Gon pushed the motor of the hydrocraft as high as it would go. He rocketed across the gray sea just inches above the waves. RonTha had been able to give him the precise coordinates of the mining platform, and he’d entered it into the boat’s onboard computer. Besides, RonTha assured him, the platform would be too big to miss.
It began as a darker gray smudge on the gray horizon line of the sea. As Qui-Gon drew closer. The smudge formed into towers and buildings, a small city in the middle of the sea.
Qui-Gon focused a pair of electrobinoculars on the platform. He scanned it for any sign of Obi-Wan. Suddenly, he saw movement on the very edge. A group of men were pushing something …
Qui-Gon’s grip tightened as he zoomed in on the sight. It was Obi-Wan! Guards were jabbing him with the dull ends of electro-jabbers, pushing him toward the edge of the platform. They were going to push him off!
Qui-Gon gunned the motor. It was already at top speed. In despair, he realized that he was too far away. His only hope was that Obi-Wan would survive the fall, and he’d be able to pick him ip.
H raced across the flat sea, closer and closer. Obi-Wan was at the very edge.
Qui-Gon’s heart contracted with pain. To loose him this way! He would never forgive himself.
But as he raced toward Obi-Wan, a movement caught his eye from a lower level of the platform. Someone had fashioned a kind sling out of a spun carbon tarp. He was tying it to the struts that supported the main platform. As Qui-Gon watched, two long, flexible arms shot out, positioning the sling in midair.
Obi-Wan fell. Qui-Gon watched the fall through the electrobinoculars.
Obi-Wan’s face was grim but composed, free of terror. Determined to fight to the last, but accepting death if it came.
Like a Jedi.
Then Obi-Wan saw the sling below. Across the distance, Qui-Gon felt ripples of the Force originating in Obi-Wan. He focused his own will to meet it, concentrating the Force, willing Obi-Wan’s body to twist toward the tarp.
Obi-Wan seemed to grab on to thin air and pull himself to the left, shifting in mid-fall. He bounced onto the middle of the sling. In another second, those long arms shot out and pulled Obi-Wan to safety.
Qui-Gon was almost to the platform now. He heard the furious cries of the guards as they saw what had happened. They turned away, racing toward the lift tube to the lower floor.
Qui-Gon pulled up, bobbing in the sea as he quickly threw carbon-rope over one of the struts and tied the craft securely. The he threw another rope on the platform where Obi-Wan had disappeared. He tested it, then climbed up.
Obi-Wan was racing down the hallway with the long-armed creature. Suddenly, he stopped, as if Qui-Gon had called his name, though he’d said nothing. Obi-Wan turned to see Qui-Gon leap over the railing.
“I hoped you would come,” he said.
Qui-Gon nodded. “Almost too late. Hurry.”
“This is Guerra,” Obi-Wan said, pointing to his rescuer.
“Bring him. The guards are coming,” Qui-Gon said urgently. “They saw what happened.”
Guerra’s hands flew to his collar. “I can’t leave. Neither can you, Obawan.”
Obi-Wan looked at Qui-Gon. “It’s an electro-collar. It will blow us up if we leave.”
Qui-Gon nodded. He concentrated the Force on Obi-Wan’s collar first. He sent neutral energy to the transmitter.
Obi-Wan touched the collar. “The buzzing is gone.”
“We’ll have to find a way to remove it on the mainland,” Qui-Gon said.
“That’s where the transmission signal is,” Guerra explained. “The guards in the security office on the Bandor loading dock carry the transmitter.”