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Our Battle Droids," she added, with a glance at Galen.
"How can we trust her?" Ferus asked the others in a low tone. "What if she and Galen are in league together? What if they're trying to get us out of the Clear Sector so they can take off?"
The Padawans looked at one another, confusion on their faces. Yes, Curi could be lying. Galen definitely was. Who could they trust?
Trust yourself. Breathe in your instinct. Then act.
Anakin closed his eyes for a moment. He touched the river stone in his pocket, sliding his fingers over its warmth. He reached out to the Force, to a place that he knew well. He felt a distant tug — Obi-Wan. Yes, his Master was in danger.
And Curi. . Curi was telling the truth.
Unease was still on his fellow Padawans' faces. But Anakin locked eyes with Ferus. "We can't take a chance with our Masters' lives."
Ferus hesitated only a fraction, surprised at the depth of Anakin's contact with the Force. "You're right. Let's go."
Chapter Eighteen
The Padawans commandeered Galen's airspeeder. The four of them squeezed inside. Curi gave them the coordinates of where she had last seen the Avoni transport and the Jedi.
"Look at all these Radnorans in bio-isolation suits,"
Darra observed. "I sure hope Curi is telling the truth, or we'll be in for a big surprise when the winds shift."
Darra spoke lightly, but no one felt entirely easy about their decision. Even Anakin was a little worried. He was betting everything on his intuition. If he was wrong, the consequences would be severe. He could die, along with the other Padawans.
I'm not wrong.
He could feel Ferus's eyes on him. He kept his gaze forward as he piloted the craft. He wasn't about to retreat now.
Ahead they saw the energy gate that led to the Isolation Sector. Curi had given them the coordinates to bypass it.
Anakin entered them into a signal beam and the energy gate opened. They zoomed through.
For a moment, they all held their breath. Then Ferus took a deep breath. Darra did the same.
"Well, there's no turning back now," she said.
Ferus accessed the mapping device on the shipboard computer. He studied the ground canyon site. "There are several access points," he said.
"We have to assume that they're probably still very close to where Curi saw them," Darra said. "She said their speeders were destroyed."
"She also said the transport following them was quite large," Tru added. "So if we take a narrow route through the canyons, we might have the element of surprise."
"We're going to need more than surprise if that transport was filled with Prototype Droids," Ferus remarked. "Not only that, the transport probably has some sort of blaster ca
"If you're trying to raise our confidence level, it's not working," Darra said.
"We're coming up on the ground canyons," Ferus warned.
Anakin slowed down slightly. Ahead he only saw what looked like scribble markings on the ground. Then he realized the markings revealed deep cracks in the ground surface.
Ferus read out a coordinate. "Take that route," he said.
"It will bring us close to where Curi saw our Masters."
Anakin zoomed down the canyon. He hugged the canyon walls, going as fast as he dared. By the look on Ferus's face, it was faster than the other Padawan would like. Anakin pushed the engines up a notch. He knew he was in complete control.
Ahead he saw the large, hulking shape of the Avoni transport ship. It was idling, its repulsorlift engines on low, keeping it a few meters off the ground. Dust rose around it in a filmy cloud. Anakin grew excited.
"I've seen that kind of transport before," he said. "It was years ago, in the Trade Federation battle for Naboo.
This is a slightly smaller version of an MTT — a Multi Troop Transport. They store Battle Droids and are usually piloted by two droids."
"They also have heavy frontal armor. The ship itself can be a weapon." Tru looked uneasy. "They can go through rock walls."
"It looks like this one already did," Darra said, swallowing hard.
A solid wall of rock had been splintered into fragments.
Droids littered the ground.
"Our Masters must have battled there," Ferus said in a hushed tone.
Anakin hovered near the sight, careful to keep out of sight of the MTT's bridge. They saw no evidence of their Masters.
"I hear blaster fire," Darra said suddenly. "We're close."
Then Anakin could hear it, too. He placed his hands back on the controls, ready to zoom ahead.
"Wait!" Ferus commanded.
A
"Yes," Ferus said steadily. "If we rush in there without a plan, we won't be much help to them."
"What kind of a plan do we need?" Anakin asked. "They're being attacked by droids! We go in and help them!"
Darra groaned. "I thought the worst thing about being on this mission was protein cubes for breakfast. Now I know it's you two. Ferus, what are you thinking?"
"How many droids did the MTT on Naboo hold?" Ferus asked Anakin.
"I don't remember," Anakin said. "Over a hundred, I think."
"One hundred and twelve," Tru said softly.
"And this is only a little smaller," Ferus said. "So let's say it holds about fifty to seventy droids, at least. What are the chances we can battle that many with our lightsabers?"
Darra swallowed. "I can't tell you how much I hate to hear the odds before a battle."
"So what are you saying?" Anakin asked. "We call for more Jedi?"
"Or more lightsabers," Darra said.
Ferus shook his head. "Of course not. We just need to think, that's all. We have a couple of advantages. One is surprise. The other is the fact that you and Tru seem to know a lot about that transport."
Anakin nodded. He had explored one on Naboo after the battle.
"The question is, how do we get aboard?" Ferus asked.
"Can you deactivate the droids from the MTT?" Darra asked.