Birth of the Jedi

Chapter 7

During the chaos the shuttle lands, and, as Raun looks about for safe passage, its forward guns swing around and spew a thick arc of cover fire across the forest's edge, knocking down trees and starting several small fires.

"Son of a gun," Raun says, pushing himself to standing as he admires the way the Sneats had been temporarily neutralized. "If I didn't know better I'd think that little pacifist knows military tactics." He hops up and looks over at Sahria, who is waiting to see if he is unharmed. Racing forward, he grabs her arm and pulls her toward the shuttle's open hatch. The fire behind them resumes as they near the entrance.

The hatch starts to rise as they dive forward onto it, and several blasts ricochet off the hull around them. As the hatch seals, the shuttle lifts off the ground. Without hesitating, Raun jumps up and hurries to the cockpit. Just as he arrives, the Sith landing craft appears overhead and slows down to take aim.

"Gun it," Raun screams at KP-3.

"But we don't have a course. We might hit . . . "

"Gun it!" He lurches at the panel and thrusts the throttle forward. The shuttle shoots toward the tree line as a concentrated blast from the Sith landing craft envelops the spot they had been moments before. Raun pulls back hard on the controls and the shuttle rattles the tops of the trees as it passes overhead. He smiles to himself, hoping that when they bumped the trees, it sent a torrent of those nasty serpents raining down on the Sneats below.

As their ship speeds toward the horizon, Padawan gives up his seat to Raun. The landing craft swiftly changes course and follows them. Behind it, two more craft appear on the radar. "Sure wish this thing was equipped for fighting," he mutters. A diplomatic shuttle rarely travels without an escort, so the medium-range forward guns were the only real weaponry it was equipped with.

Fire from the pursuing ships lights up the sky around them, shaking the small shuttle when it gets within range. "Why don't you leave the atmosphere?" Sahria asks as Raun jerks them from side to side in an attempt to keep their pursuers from locking onto them. "Those are just landing craft. They'll be useless in open space."

"Yeah, but the Destroyer that dropped them off is probably right overhead and expecting us to do just that. I'd rather take my chances with these guys. If we can make it to the dark side of the planet, maybe we'll have a little cover for our escape."

Everyone falls quiet as they aim toward the dark horizon. Raun's erratic maneuvers succeed in frustrating the Sith's attempts to lock in their fire, but in turn slows them down. Several shots glance off the hull, rattling the shuttle and forcing them to strap in. As the ship melts into dusk, Raun abandons his evasive flight pattern and shoots straight for cover. Avoiding the fire of their pursuers was becoming impossible as they closed in.

A shot glances off the starboard engine, sending smoke pouring into the back of the ship and rattling items off the tidily stored shelves around them. "Grab something and take a deep breath," Raun says as they disappear into night. "This is gonna hurt, if it doesn't melt the hull and kill us altogether."

Raun jerks up suddenly on the throttle and sends the shuttle straight into the air, perpendicular to the planet's surface. Such rocket ascents had long ago been abandoned as they were as hard on a ship as they were the human body, but there was no time for a gradual approach into space.

Sahria and Padawan grunt in sudden, intense pain, their faces distorted as though a heavy boulder were being lowered onto their chests. Even KP-3's metal body begins to pop at the sudden change in pressure. Raun bites down on his tongue to concentrate on the pain so that he won't lose consciousness. Sweat pours down their faces as the temperature inside the shuttle peaks sharply and the walls begin to faintly glow with heat. Padawan blacks out momentarily and Raun feels himself slipping; only Sahria is able to keep her mind clear by mediating on the Force. Just as the monitor begins to swim before Raun's eyes, the shuttle breaks from the atmosphere and he pushes forward on the controls, shot-putting the ship out of the planet's orbit.