The Dangerous Rescue

11

Obi-Wan crawled back into the larger cave. He wiped the dust out of his eyes and reached for his comlink.

It didn’t work.

“Siri?”

She shook her head. “Mine doesn’t work, either.”

Astri ran her hands over the stubble that was beginning to grow back on her bare skull. “I’m sorry, Obi-Wan. She left us here to die, but she was hoping you’d find us. When you crawled through, you tripped a slow-acting lever that deposited all that debris.”

Obi-Wan nodded. He felt foolish for once again walking into a trap.

He had never told Qui-Gon about Ona Nobis’s hideout. There hadn’t been time. He had told Tahl, but he hadn’t given her coordinates. Everything had happened too fast. And now no one knew where they were.

Siri had freed Cholly, Weez, and Tup. Tup groaned as he stretched his legs. “I’m so hungry.”

“You won’t be for long,” Weez said.

Tup brightened. “There’s food?”

“No, idiot. Because soon we’ll be dead,” Weez snarled.

Tup paled. “You don’t have to be so negative. Woosh. We’re with Jedi. They can do anything.”

Cholly had crawled forward to peer through the opening to the cave-in. “They can’t tunnel through a rock,” he said.

“You’re not dead yet,” Siri told them. “Come on, Obi-Wan, let’s see if we can cut through those rocks with our lightsabers.”

Obi-Wan followed Siri back into the narrow portion of the cave. They crawled forward. There was just enough room to crouch side by side. They activated their lightsabers and sliced through the rocks.

The rocks crumbled into sand, which filled up the spaces, packing the landslide even tighter.

“This isn’t going to work,” Obi-Wan said. He sat back and deactivated his lightsaber. He wiped the dirt off his face with his sleeve. “Now you get to say ‘I told you so.’”

Siri sat down beside him. She dusted the sand off her tunic with her hands. “If you say that again,” she muttered, “I’ll hit you. There’s got to be another way. Maybe she has tools in the cave.”

“I’m sure she removed them. Ona Nobis plans for everything.”

With a grunt, Siri flipped over and began to crawl back to the cave.

“Maybe she doesn’t know it’s a tool.”

Intrigued, Obi-Wan crawled behind her. They stood upright as soon as they reached the big cave. Siri found two more glow rods and lit them. They prowled around the cave, pawing through the bins in which Ona Nobis kept survival gear and protein packs.

“Can I help?” Astri asked. “What are we looking for?”

“Tools,” Obi-Wan said. “Something to dig with.”

Astri sighed. “Ona Nobis hauled out a bin of tools when she left. She didn’t leave anything. Not food or water, either.”

Siri sat back on her haunches. “We can’t dig with our hands. We’ll never get out.”

A slight whimper from Tup ended in a howl as Cholly kicked him.

Siri’s eyes roamed over the cave. Suddenly, she raised her glow rod.

She rose to her feet in one quick motion and went over to study the wall of the cave.

“Obi-Wan, look.”

Obi-Wan stood at Siri’s shoulder. He saw that the cave walls were braced with slender metal poles.

“Do you think the cave would collapse if we cut a few of these down?” Siri asked.

Another moan from Tup. This time, Weez joined him.

Astri came closer. She gazed around the cave, noting the number of supports. “I’m no engineer, but I bet you can take some of these out.”

“You’d bet?” Tup asked. “Aren’t you sure?”

“I can’t be sure,” Astri said. “But if it’s our only chance, it’s worth the risk, isn’t it?”

“No,” Tup said in a small voice.

Astri turned to Siri. “What are you thinking of doing with them?”

“They’re shiny,” Siri said. “And they look pretty flexible. I’m thinking if we can get them through the rocks and sand, we can signal the outside.”

Cholly looked dumbfounded. “What outside? It’s just desert out there!”

“There’s a tribe nearby,” Astri said. “They scavenge for food. Someone might see it.”

“Or someone could come looking for us,” Obi-Wan said.

“Or the whole cave could collapse on our heads,” Tup suggested. His hands fluttered down as he mimicked the cave ceiling falling on them.

“Woosh.”

“I guess we should take a vote,” Obi-Wan said. He looked at Siri and Astri, who nodded immediately. Cholly followed with a nervous nod. Weez agreed with a shrug. Then he elbowed Tup.

“I guess it’s better than starving to death,” Tup said shakily.

Siri gritted her teeth. She activated her lightsaber and carefully began to slice through the slender metal pole. It peeled back from the wall and Obi-Wan stepped forward to grab it. A stream of dirt rained down on his head, and Tup fell to his knees and covered his head with his hands.

“Gibbertz and ham, we’re done for!”

The stream of dirt stopped. Obi-Wan scrutinized the ceiling above.

“It’s all right,” he said. “I think it will hold.”

“He thinks,” Tup repeated.

“Shut up, Tup!” Weez and Cholly yelled. Another stream of sand poured down.

“Come on, Obi-Wan,” Siri said. “Let’s see if we can push this through.”

They wiggled through the opening and crawled forward. It took trial and error, but first Obi-Wan, then Siri threaded the slender pole through crevices in the rocks. Siri hit a rock and wiggled the rod, trying to force it through. The rod snapped.

“We’ll have to try another,” Siri said.

This time, Tup rolled into a ball and kept his eyes closed as Obi-Wan sliced through the second pole. He eased it away from the wall and had to jump back as a chunk of loose dirt and rocks cascaded down. They heard a rumble overhead.

“Don’t say a word, Tup,” Astri snapped.

Siri and Obi-Wan went back to the cave entrance and tried again. He tried to guide the rod through the tiniest of cracks. He pushed, pulled, prodded, and maneuvered but he got no further. Sweat streaked through the dust on his face. His gaze locked with Siri’s. An unspoken agreement passed between them. This time he closed his eyes as he gently moved the rod.

Together they called on the Force. He felt it gather power around him. The sand and rocks were part of him. They were connected to everything around him. He could feel the tiny rivers of space through the packed debris.

Obi-Wan maneuvered the rod carefully. He felt it poke through. He wiggled it. “I think it’s out in the air now.”

“Good. Push it out as far as you can,” Siri breathed.

Slowly, Obi-Wan pushed the rod through until he only held the very end. He wiggled it.

“Maybe if the wind dies down, the sun will glint on it,” Siri said.

Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if the wind ever died down in that canyon, but he didn’t tell Siri that.

For the next few hours they all took turns crawling through the narrow cave and holding the rod. They turned and twisted it carefully, in case it could catch a ray of sun.

The group split Obi-Wan and Siri’s survival rations, but it did little to assuage their hunger and thirst. The air grew close and hot. They barely spoke or moved in order to conserve what little oxygen they had left.

When Obi-Wan’s turn came again, he took the rod from a weary Tup. He lay flat and wiggled the metal. He was tired from the rescue of Qui-Gon and the battle with Ona Nobis. He could not remember the last time he had slept. But he would lie here and stay alert as long as he had to. As long as there was hope “Hello in there! Is anyone there?”

“Yes! We’re trapped!” Obi-Wan shouted. “I am Goq Cranna. Who is there?”

“Goq Cranna, it is Obi-Wan Kenobi! I am the Jedi who visited your tribe and asked for your help!”

“Ah, then it is good I stopped. Stay back, young Kenobi. We will dig you out.”

Obi-Wan crawled back into the cave. Siri, Astri, Cholly, Weez, and Tup sat propped against the cave wall, exhausted.

“Goq Cranna has found us!” Obi-Wan said. “He’s digging us out.”

“Thank the stars and planets,” Tup said fervently.

It seemed to take a long time for Goq to dig out the opening. At last light streamed in and they saw the smiling face of Goq’s son, Bhu.

They crawled out of the cave into the orange blaze of sunset.

“The wind dies down at dusk, or else we would not have seen the silver rod,” Goq said. “Even though we were searching. We saw the dead pilot and knew Ona Nobis had been here. We went into hiding. But then when we emerged we met a pilot who was supposed to pick up two passengers at the landing platform. They didn’t show up. Bhu said, what if the wonderful lady who saved our tribe is in danger? So I agreed to look. Bhu saved you.”

Bhu smiled shyly at Astri, who hugged him. “Thank you, Bhu.”

On their last trip, Astri had made a trade with Bhu for information about Ona Nobis. She had taught the desert tribe how to find food in the harsh environment. It was obvious that Bhu now worshiped her.

Siri combed her hair behind her ears with her fingers, shaking out the sand. “Did you actually see Ona Nobis?”

“Close enough to touch,” Goq told her. “I was nearby when she called someone on her corn-link. Someone was trying to persuade her to do something and offered her a cut of a potential fortune if she did so.”

“Did you hear if she accepted, or where she is headed?” Obi-Wan asked urgently.

“I merely heard stray words,” Goq said. A look of blankness had come over his face. Obi-Wan recognized it. It was the look of a Sorrusian who did not want to get mixed up in a stranger’s business. Obi-Wan shot a glance at Astri.

“Surely you picked up some indication of what she was up to,” Astri said gently, her hand still on Bhu’s shoulder.

Goq’s eyes warmed as he looked at Astri and his son. Astri had saved his tribe. For that, he would overcome his Sorrusian instinct for self-preservation at all costs.

“I do know where she is headed, wonderful lady. Belasco.”

Obi-Wan stood on the landing platform of Arra. The sunsets were long on Sorrus, and the sky was still ablaze with orange and yellow. He had just concluded a difficult conversation with Qui-Gon. It had not been easy to tell his Master that contrary to orders he had stopped in the desert before heading to Coruscant.

Now he waited out Qui-Gon’s silence.

At last the Jedi spoke. “You were told to come straight to Coruscant.”

“The stop, we felt, would have been quick. And I had a strong feeling that Astri was in danger.”

“The stop was not quick, and you put yourself and Siri in danger as well.”

“And now we know that Ona Nobis is headed to Belasco. It is the home planet of Senator Uta S’orn! She was Jenna Zan Arbor’s only friend. This can’t be a coincidence. Uta S’orn could be in great danger. We should go there immediately!”

Another long silence. “Adi and I are disappointed in both of you. We will discuss this later. For now, we will meet you on Belasco.”