Birth of the Jedi

Chapter 7

VII

"There it is," Padawan says, sitting up in his chair. He points to the monitor where a brilliant burst of color surges up above the tree line. "Let's go."

"Wait!" KP-3 cries, reaching for the controls. He is too late. Padawan grabs the throttle and hurtles the shuttle into the air, sending the droid crashing to the floor with a flurry of curses.

"You impetuous child," KP grumbles, pulling himself back into the seat as the shuttle glides across the tree tops. "You don't even know how to fly this thing yet."

"Then you better strap yourself in before I set it down in there." Padawan points to a small opening in the trees ahead where the last traces of the flare are fading away.

KP grabs the throttle, continuing his reprimands while he assumes control of the ship. As they reach the clearing and start to slow down, another ship rises from the forest behind them.

"Great," KP-3 mumbles, looking at the new craft on the radar. "Now the whole galaxy knows we're here." The strange vessel fires several shots that fly harmlessly past them.

"They're too far off to get an accurate shot off," Padawan says with a grin.

"It will only take a few seconds for them to close on us, you imbecile."

"Then we'll have to be quicker." The ship drops into the gap in the tree line.

Sahria and Raun hunker behind a fallen tree and wait. "I sure hope they saw that," Raun says, scanning the sky. "'Cause I'm sure one of those crazy Sith did."

"They're coming," Sahria responds with a certainty that Raun finds just a little creepy. "Don't worry."

Behind them, the frantic bustling of enraged Sneats grows steadily louder as they tear through the forest in pursuit. A flock of fleeing birds had been the first sign that their pursuers were on the move again, and soon they could hear the sound of the Sneats fanning out through the forest, ripping up brush and limbs along their way. They wouldn't have to search much harder now, though, for if they were in contact with an orbiting Destroyer, which they most certainly were, then Raun's flare had been a dead give-away.

Raun draws a deep breath and tries to stay calm as his thoughts turn to the possibility that the Sith could be the first to respond to his call. Just as he starts to give up hope, a white and gold shuttle with sharp angles appears overhead.

"Padawan," Raun blurts in relief. He and Sahria abandon their cover, the sound of pursuit behind them now dangerously close. As the shuttle slows for descent, several rounds of laser fire buzz by it and the rumble of a pursuing ship can be heard in the distance. The Sith had definitely been watching.

Raun and Sahria run across the field, waving their arms to hail the ship. Before they can reach safety, Raun is overwhelmed by a sudden deafening boom. An invisible force pushes him forward and sends him toppling to the ground as his ears ring with white noise. He lies there motionless for a minute, temporarily stunned and deafened by the explosion. The Sneats had found them. As his senses fade back into commission, he realizes that blaster fire is raining down around him. Up ahead he hears the muffled shouts of Sahria urging him to get up.

He looks up to see her huddled behind a hollowed out tree stump, unable to make progress against the blanket of fire coming from the Sneats who have appeared at the edge of the forest. He tries to stand, but is pinned back down by several close laser blasts. Fortunately, the explosion that had sent him hurtling to the ground had also created a crater that provides him cover as long as he lies flat. Several other explosions erupt around him. They were tossing some sort of portable explosive. Maybe they're Zsi-Ti Detonators, he thinks wryly.