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When they were closer to Teleq, Obi-Wan swung off to another tree to his right. Anakin hesitated, then moved in the opposite direction.
It was not the first time that Obi-Wan was grateful for his Padawan's excellent instincts. Time and again, Anakin would read Obi-Wan's strategy faster than Obi-Wan ever expected.
Moving fast now, the two Jedi leaped from tree branch to tree branch. Obi-Wan could not see Teleq's face, but he could tell by his movements and the frantic burst from the flechette canister that the bounty hunter was u
As Obi-Wan grew closer, Anakin swung out to the side, so that Teleq was forced to move back, exactly where Obi-Wan wanted him.
Obi-Wan gathered the Force. It would be a difficult leap, bypassing one tree to land on another. But it was the only way to surprise Teleq enough to get him to leap to the next tree.
Obi-Wan jumped. The speed and power of the move surprised Teleq. Obi-Wan saw the shock on his face as he stumbled on the wide branch, then awkwardly leaped to the next tree. At the same time, Obi-Wan changed direction in midair. He collided with Teleq, sending the bounty hunter sailing straight into a bird's nest.
Screeee! Screeee! Screeee! Screeee! The birds erupted in wild, furious calls. Two small baby birds lifted their heads and tried to flap their wings at the intruder.
The two large birds guarding the nest suddenly rose in the air. Together, they extended their powerful claws and snatched Teleq from the nest. Beating their wings, they carried a struggling Teleq away.
Anakin leaped onto the branch next to Obi-Wan. "Good plan, Master."
"We need to get Wren down from that tree. It can't be as easy as it looks." Obi-Wan leaped from branch to branch. When he got onto the tree next to Wren's, he examined the area carefully. Wren could not move his eyes, yet Obi-Wan felt the Force roll out from him in strong waves. Wren was warning him.
"I know, Wren," he called out to him. "We will take our time, but we'll get you out."
The ground at the bottom of the tree was thickly carpeted with blooms, just like very other tree. But here the blooms were massed a little too thickly. The pattern was not random enough.
"Anakin, swing down and examine the ground under the tree," Obi-Wan instructed. Be careful. Don't get too close."
Anakin eased down to the ground. He circled the tree, gazing carefully down. "These blossoms have been placed here."
"That's what I thought."
"Something is underneath." Before Obi-Wan could stop him, Anakin tossed a rock into the mass of flowers. It disappeared.
"There's a trench down there," Anakin called up.
"You're lucky there wasn't explosive," Obi-Wan said disapprovingly. Sometimes Anakin acted rashly. If he could teach the boy one thing, it would be too wait.
He began to study the three branches. He noticed seams ru
"I think I get it," he called down to Anakin. "These branches have been cut through, then resealed. They won't take our wait. We would have crashed through, right into the trench."
"And then he could have hit us with some paralyzing darts," Anakin finished. "Pretty simple plan."
"Simple is sometimes best," Obi-Wan said. "Lucky for us, it was not in this case. We'll have to use our cable launchers to get Wren."
Activating their launchers, the Jedi swung close to Wren and managed to cut him free. Obi-Wan supported him as he released his cable launcher and they dropped to the ground.
He carefully lay Wren down and examined him. There was a long gash on one leg and his arm looked bruised. He had a blaster wound to his shoulder. He must have been in pain.
Obi-Wan reached for the bacta in his kit and administered it.
"You will be fine, but you need better care than we can find you here," he told Wren. "We must get you back to the Temple."
"That means we need a ship," Anakin said.
"Teleq's must be nearby," Obi-Wan said, rising to his feet.
Anakin looked around. "Where are Floria and Dane? They were supposed to wait by the hill."
"I think I know where I can find them, too" Obi-Wan said.
Chapter 12
Floria and Dane sat by Teleq's ship at the end of the meadow. They jumped up when they saw Obi-Wan and Anakin.
"We saw the battle," Floria said. "I'll never underestimate the Jedi again. The way you strategized! The way you moved!"
"Nice star cruiser," Anakin said, circling around Teleq's ship. "We could get to Coruscant on this."
"Don't bother going inside yet," Obi-Wan said. "The engine's been disabled."
Anakin poked his head around the side of the ship and looked at Obi-Wan quizzically. Obi-Wan looked at Floria and Dane.
"Well?' he said sternly.
Dane opened his hand. A sensor lay in it. "Just a little part," he said. "And the engine is easily fixed. It's an activation sensor for the sublight drive."
"So Teleq wouldn't be able to leave the atmosphere," Anakin said. "He'd have to rely on repulsorlift engines."
"And a warning light would tell him so," Obi-Wan finished. "He'd know he wouldn't be able to take off without work on the engine. And while he was working on it, you'd disable him. And take off with us for a prize."
"Wait a second," Anakin said. "This means that you expected Teleq to capture us."
"No offense," Dane said. "What kind of bounty hunters would we be if we didn't explore all of the alternatives?"
Glaring at Dane, Anakin strode forward and snatched the part from his hand. "Don't worry, Master, I can fix the engine in no time at all."
Anakin accessed the engine panel on the exterior of the ship. He withdrew a small hydrospa
Finally Anakin emerged, his face streaked with grease. "You shorted out the sunlight engine fuses and deactivated the power converter! I can't six this!"
"I did?" Dane looked surprised. "I didn't mean to. I don't know that much about engines," he confided to Obi-Wan.
Floria smacked her brother on the arm. "I told you to be careful! Now how are we supposed to get out of here?"
"You're the one who told me to disable it!" Dane protested.