The Way of the Apprentice Read online

  “How are things in the Isolation Sector?” Soara Antana asked.

  “Worse,” Galen said curtly. “Communication is erratic. The toxic cloud has apparently interfered with our comm systems. We—”

  Suddenly, they heard the roar of engines. They turned just in time to see their transport lift off the landing pad and zoom high above.

  Galen turned to them, his round, ruddy face suddenly pale. “The security officers stole your ship. I am so sorry. Things here are very bad. Even the officers are panicking. Why shouldn’t they? Everyone else is, and their own leader has fled. But don’t worry—I have a transport in a safe location. It is at your disposal.”

  “We accept your offer with thanks,” Siri said.

  “We can go there after you see the command post,” Galen said, beginning to walk again.

  “We can assure your people that the ships are on their way and there is room for all. What is your biggest problem at the moment?” Obi-Wan asked.

  “I have too many problems to single out one,” Galen said. “The government is practically nonexistent. The security officers—the ones who remain—are in danger of disbanding. You can see that loyalty has evaporated on Radnor.”

  They exited onto a boulevard and found themselves in the city center. The streets were eerily empty. Occasionally a Radnoran would pass, walking quickly. They saw a family go by, their bundles held tightly against their chests, darting glances testifying to their panic.

  They passed looted stores and houses. Doors were broken down and windows were smashed. Anyone they passed had at least one blaster prominently displayed on a hip or strapped across a chest.

  Anakin had never seen anything like it. He could almost smell the fear in the air.

  They walked by a small space cruiser, its interior bombed out and its engine looted.

  “Most of the transports that have remained have been fought over and destroyed,” Galen explained. “There have been frenzied crowds desperate to get off-planet.”

  “Tell us about the looters,” Soara said. “Do you have any clues as to who they are and where they are based?”

  “No,” Galen said. “I don’t have time to find out. At any rate, we don’t have a security force to control them. I can tell you that the raiders have somehow stolen a small army of prototype Battle Droids from a research laboratory. They use the droids to control the situation while they steal the goods.”

  Galen’s comlink signaled, and he answered it. After exchanging a few words, he turned to the Jedi. “It is my sister, Curi. I’d like you to see this.”

  A miniature hologram appeared of a small Radnoran female. They could just glimpse curly dark hair like Galen’s beneath the white bio-isolation suit she wore. Every inch of her body was covered, with the material stretching over her boots. A transparent mask fitted over her face and head. The hologram flickered, and some of the words were unclear.

  “…three deaths today of med personnel. There aren’t enough of us to take care of…We need the new medications as soon as possible. Please tell the Jedi…”

  The hologram sputtered and died.

  The message might have been garbled, but the controlled panic in her voice was clear.

  “We should head there immediately,” Soara said.

  “I can take you as far as the energy gate that divides the sectors,” Galen told them. “It’s not far. I can supply you with bio-isolation suits.”

  They came to a store guarded by several Radnorans with blasters. A sign in the window announced: BIO-ISO SUITS 5,000 KARSEMS.

  “Five thousand karsems is a full year’s salary,” Galen remarked. “We are lucky to have suits for you. They are hidden. I don’t keep them at the command center, because it’s already been attacked by looters looking for suits.”

  Suddenly, they heard the sound of screams coming from the street ahead.

  Galen looked nervous. “What now?”

  The Jedi did not stop to wonder. Masters and Padawans charged ahead, running toward the source of the sound.

  They rounded a corner. Ahead was a large, prosperous-looking house. Its windows had been hastily covered with durasteel panels. The door had been nailed shut with thick durasteel slabs crisscrossing it.

  None of the attempts to make the house a fortress had worked. The door had been kicked in. Two of the windows had the durasteel torn away. Raiders were throwing goods out of the windows.

  Twenty Battle Droids like none Anakin had ever seen were wheeling in formation. They had advanced repulsorlift systems, allowing them to move with astonishing speed above the surface of the ground. While they guarded a huddled group, Radnorans systematically loaded the looted goods onto gravsleds.

  One Radnoran male lay on the ground in a spreading pool of blood. A female crouched over him. Children stood nearby, rooted to the spot, while another older female tried to herd them to safety.

  Anakin saw all this at once. His gaze took in the number of droids, the number of raiders, the Radnorans who must be protected, and the possible angles of attack. He knew every Jedi had observed the same. The droids had a fluid movement he’d never seen before. They did not maneuver in a jerky, programmed fashion. It was almost as though they had grace built into their sensors, and their blaster accuracy ratio was much higher than the usual Battle Droid.

  One of the Radnoran raiders spotted them. Anakin saw his fingers fly on a remote device clipped to his belt. Five of the droids moved to surround the raiders for protection. The rest wheeled and came straight toward the Jedi in attack formation.

  Chapter Five

  “Padawans, protection!” Siri ordered crisply. Her words floated behind her; Siri was already Force-jumping toward the front line of droids.

  Obi-Wan leaped as well, keeping to Siri’s left so they could surround the droids, who were deftly moving over the ground. With one sweep of her lightsaber, Siri sliced a droid neatly in half. Simultaneously, Obi-Wan did the same to the second. On his backswing, he took out a third.

  As quick and agile as Siri and Obi-Wan were, Soara Antana was even faster. Anakin watched in astonishment as her lightsaber cut through three droids with one clean stroke. Ry-Gaul handed the medication case to Tru to safeguard and joined her side.

  Anakin knew that Siri’s order was for the Padawans to surround the Radnoran family that had been victimized by the attackers. But he could see that the Jedi Masters would need help with the rest of the droids and the Radnoran raiders, who were already peppering them with blaster fire.

  Darra, Tru, and Ferus raced to surround the Radnoran family. Ferus took out a droid on his way in a quick detour, his red lightsaber flashing. Anakin knew the three Padawans could easily follow through on Siri’s order. That meant that on his way to obey Siri’s order, he could help the Jedi Masters.

  Anakin detoured toward Soara and Ry-Gaul. He held his lightsaber at the ready. The hilt he had built in a trance in the cave of Illum was perfectly balanced to his hand. He felt power surge through him.

  Anakin took out two droids with two quick thrusts. His palms felt hot, his body strong, his timing sharp. Still, he lagged behind Ry-Gaul and the amazing Soara, whose compact body now seemed to move like molten metal, gracefully sliding from one attack position to another. Each of Soara’s moves flowed into the next, with no beginning and no end. Her lightsaber was a blur as it sliced efficiently and continuously through one droid after another.

  The Radnoran raiders took one look at how quickly the Jedi had reduced most of their droid squad to a smoking heap. They ran.

  The rest of the droids closed in to protect the raider’s retreat. Anakin saw quickly that the Jedi Masters had the situation in hand. He double-flipped back to join the other Padawans, who had formed a tight circle, their backs to the Radnoran family as they fended off the last of the blaster fire from the retreating droids.

  Ferus moved aside so that Anakin could join the protective circle. Anakin kept his lightsaber moving, deflecting the fire as the family crouched behind him.

>   Four of the droids suddenly peeled off into one group and launched a frontal attack on Obi-Wan, taking him momentarily by surprise. Siri had to execute a reversal and come at them from behind. Anakin admired how well Obi-Wan and Siri seemed to anticipate each other’s strategy in combating the droids’ sudden maneuver.

  That was not the only surprise. While Obi-Wan and Siri battled the group of droids, three more separated from the rest and suddenly zoomed toward the Radnoran family.

  “Watch it!” Ferus called.

  “I see it,” Anakin muttered, his teeth clenched. Ferus spoke as though he’d been the only one to catch the surprise attack.

  Tru turned his body so that he was still protecting the Radnorans and the case in his left hand but could meet the droid attack head on. Darra switched her lightsaber from her right hand to her left. All Jedi were trained to use both hands while fighting, but Darra was especially skilled at not favoring one over the other.

  Ferus stepped forward, and Anakin did the same. The two Padawans fought the three droids side by side. It took all their powers to stay ahead of them.

  Anakin saw a droid come at Ferus’s left, and moved to foil its approach at the same time as Ferus. The two Padawans collided, sending Ferus off balance. He landed awkwardly, and Anakin quickly rushed in to bury his lightsaber in the droid’s control center. Ferus was up and fighting in another split second, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He sliced a droid in two as Darra dispatched the last one with a cool grace Anakin admired.

  Anakin glanced over at Obi-Wan. He was ready to join his Master, but he saw that Obi-Wan and Siri had finished off the rest of the droids. Soara and Ry-Gaul had completed their work as well.

  The Jedi simultaneously deactivated their lightsabers. Obi-Wan ran to the Radnoran family.

  “Is anyone badly hurt?” he asked.

  “My husband,” the Radnoran female said, her eyes wide with panic. “He needs help.”

  “We’ll get him to a medic,” Tru assured her.

  Ry-Gaul bent over the Radnoran to gently examine the wound. “He will be all right. He needs a bacta bath.” It was rare for Ry-Gaul to say so much at once.

  “My sister took a blow to the head,” the man’s wife said, pointing at the older Radnoran female.

  “And you,” Tru said gently. He touched her shoulder. “You have taken a blow yourself, I think.”

  “To the leg. It was nothing,” the wife said, kneeling by her husband.

  “They all need care,” Tru said to Ry-Gaul.

  “Yes,” Obi-Wan said. He scanned the streets. “There are no speeder transports. No emergency med vehicles.”

  As if he’d heard them, suddenly Galen appeared, piloting a large speeder. “I thought you might need this here.”

  “Yes. We must transport the wounded,” Soara said. “And then we must go to the Isolation Sector.”

  “I can take the wounded first, then return for you,” Galen said. “By the way, I only have four bio-isolation suits. You will have to choose who will go.”

  The four Masters exchanged glances. They did not have to confer. It would be better to leave the Padawans here temporarily and not expose them to the deadly toxin. The Masters were sure to be back in time to monitor the evacuations.

  “The Padawans will stay here and make sure the wounded get care,” Soara said, speaking for all the Masters. “We shall bring the medications to the Isolation Sector.”

  “Your instructions are to patrol the area and keep the people as calm as possible,” Obi-Wan told the Padawans. “Do not conceal your lightsabers. The Radnorans must know that the Jedi will protect them.”

  “Check in with Galen periodically,” Siri said. “He’ll keep up with the progress of the evacuation ships.”

  “We will not fail you,” Ferus said.

  Of course we won’t. You don’t need to say it, Anakin thought.

  Obi-Wan drew Anakin aside. “You fought well, my young Padawan,” he told him.

  “Thank you, Master.”

  “But you fought for yourself,” Obi-Wan continued. “First of all, you did not obey Siri’s order at once. And when Ferus stepped forward to engage the droids, he did so in the expectation that the two of you would work together. Instead, you fought as though you were fighting alone. You will never be a great Jedi warrior if you do not practice teamwork and dedicate yourself to the greater Jedi goal.”

  It was his Master’s most disapproving tone. Anakin knew better than to try to defend himself. Hadn’t Ferus fought for himself, too? Hadn’t he stepped forward without consulting Anakin, without a word as to his intentions? Why was Ferus right, and he wrong?

  “Yes, Master,” he said.

  Obi-Wan stepped back. He never said more than he needed to. He never added a reassurance after a correction.

  Anakin turned away. He caught Ferus’s eye, and the boy quickly looked away. Ferus had overheard Obi-Wan! Anakin’s face burned. Now Ferus knew that Anakin had been corrected by his Master. And Ferus was about the last Padawan in the Jedi Order that Anakin would want to know that.

  The others had loaded the wounded into the speeder. There was just enough room for the Padawans.

  “I’ll return for you,” Galen said to the Jedi Masters before taking off. Anakin watched as they receded behind him. He knew it was important for them to get the wounded to a medic. He also knew the Masters had left them here temporarily with important responsibilities. He still wished he were going off with his Master to see the Isolation Sector. Someday he would be a Jedi Master. Then he would be the one to make decisions, the one to make corrections. He could hardly wait.

  Chapter Six

  Galen picked up the Jedi Masters and brought them to the boundary line of the Clear Sector. An energy gate was ahead.

  “I’ll enter the code, and you’ll be able to pass through,” Galen said. “I’m sorry I can’t give you the transport, but no vehicle can pass through the energy gate. You’ll have to put on your bio-iso suits. I’ve managed to get a message through to Curi. You should be met on the other side for transport to Aubendo.”

  “Thank you for all your help,” Obi-Wan said. He gave a last look back at Tacto. Obi-Wan didn’t second-guess decisions, but he suddenly wished Anakin were with him.

  The Jedi donned the bio-iso suits. The energy gate blinked green, and they walked through. They stood on a vast plain. There was only a smudge of gray on the horizon, an indication of the city ahead.

  After a few moments they saw a transport approaching. They recognized Galen’s sister as the Radnoran female who was piloting the craft.

  She halted the craft near them, the repulsorlift engines keeping it slightly aloft. “You’ve brought the medication?”

  Ry-Gaul indicated the case at his side. “Here.”

  “Thank the stars. Oh, I’m so sorry. What a way to greet you. I am Curi. I extend so many thanks to the Jedi for coming. Please board the craft.”

  The Jedi swung themselves into the airspeeder. As Curi took off, they introduced themselves.

  “I’m in charge of the rescue operation here, such as it is,” Curi said. “We are fighting a battle we cannot win.”

  “You have many fatalities?” Obi-Wan asked.

  Curi gave him a bleak look, full of exhaustion and suffering. “Everyone in this sector is dead or dying. Only those who came in from the Clear Sector with bio-iso suits are healthy.”

  The gray towers of the city rose before them. “We’re almost there,” Curi said. “We are passing over the underground canyons now.”

  Below them, the ground was fissured with deep cracks that Obi-Wan could see led to a maze of canyons.

  “Radnorans are city dwellers,” Curi explained. “We do not like open spaces. Perhaps some of us could have escaped the toxin if we weren’t all in the same place.”

  They reached the outskirts of the city. Curi slowed down as they went down a wide boulevard. It was deserted. Abandoned air taxis littered the street in haphazard groups. Cafes and businesses were
shuttered and empty.

  There was no one on the streets. It was as though the Radnorans of this city had vanished. Obi-Wan had expected to see signs of panic, but the buildings and surroundings were intact.

  Everything would have seemed almost normal, except for the fact that there wasn’t any sign of a living thing. Even the vegetation was dead. Flower beds were full of twisted stalks. A massive tree was bare of leaves, the spiky branches reaching out like pleading arms. They could see that once-flowering bushes meters tall had run down the center strip of the wide boulevard. Now dry leaves and blooms were kicked up by the wind.

  The Jedi were silent as they viewed the eerie sight. Obi-Wan had seen civil war and environmental disaster, but this felt worse. Even in his bio-iso suit, he imagined he could smell death in the air he breathed.

  Ahead they saw the large med center. Here, at least, there were signs of activity. They could see medics in bio-iso suits inside the courtyard.

  Curi pulled up the speeder, and they got out. The sound of his footsteps was unsettling to Obi-Wan. Encased in the white suit, his audio perception was muffled, making everything seem not quite real.

  Curi hurried over to a medic and handed over the medications. “We don’t know if these will help,” she said to the Jedi. “We are trying anything. Thank you for bringing them.”

  She leaned against the wall, exhaustion showing in every line of her body.

  “You need rest,” Soara said. Beneath her usual bluntness, Obi-Wan sensed real concern. He could see why. Curi looked ready to collapse.

  Yet somehow Curi reached down and called up a reserve of strength. She straightened and shook her head. “There can be no rest for me. Don’t you know that? Not when I’m responsible for this.” She looked over the city again. “For all of this horror,” she whispered.

  “What do you mean?” Siri asked.

  “Didn’t Galen tell you?” Curi sighed. “We own a research laboratory here. I run the financial side. Galen is the scientist. The toxic emission came from our lab. We still don’t understand how it happened, though that doesn’t make us any less responsible. Galen has been working day and night on the evacuation effort. He could have left long ago.”