Alex Rider: Mission Jedi
Jedi Goat
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Alex Rider, never will.
Author's Note: Okay, it's been a while since I've posted something. I apologize; the rest of this story should be posted reaaaally fast, because I'm finished writing it anyway.
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Chapter 11: Dangerous Escape
The group arrived at the hangar. Alex peered inside through a crack in the door. The hangar was a wide, clean chamber filled with an array of space ships, ranging from the bulky droid ships to sleek, dark transports. An army of droids was scattered around the ships, all on guard.
Alex gripped the Coke can in his pocket. "We need to gather all the droids in one place. Then I'll take care of them."
"I'll do it." Obi-Wan approached the door.
Qui-Gon handed Obi-Wan his lightsaber. "Use this if you need it."
"Thanks, Master." Obi-Wan glanced back at the group. "Stay hidden. We'll signal when we're ready."
The Queen and her entourage backed up into the shadows of the surrounding buildings. Obi-Wan checked that no one was visible and then he pushed open the hangar doors. He strode inside, Alex at his side.
The droids whirled around, weapons ready. The Jedi stopped in the middle of the chamber. Obi-Wan grinned casually at the droids. "Hey."
"Halt." A droid pointed a blaster at his chest. More droids were gathering around, blasters cocked and held ready.
Alex pulled the can of Coke out of his pocket. He glimpsed a pair of droids guarding the doors. Aside from those two, all the battle droids were surrounding them. Quietly, he opened the can.
Ten, nine, eight... Alex dropped the can, grabbed Obi-Wan by the arm, and Force-leaped over the droids. He hit the ground, stumbled, and raced for the hangar door. Obi-Wan was right behind him.
Three, two, one... Alex dived to the ground and rolled the last few feet. He covered his head with his hands as the droids exploded with a loud boom!
Alex waited until he heard the clang of metal hitting the ground, and then everything was silent. He stood up shakily, looking around. There was a large crater in the center of the hangar, strewn with droid parts. One or two ships had been hit in the explosion, but for the most part, they were unaffected.
Alex pushed open the door and waved to the others, signaling for them to come in. At that moment, a blaster bolt slammed into the floor a few inches away. Alex spun around to see the remaining two droids approaching. He'd forgotten about them.
In an instant Obi-Wan attacked. He lashed out with Qui-Gon's lightsaber, chopping up the droids in seconds. The droids clattered to the ground and Obi-Wan nodded at Alex to let the group in.
Alex gestured to the others. Captain Panaka entered first, swept the room with a blaster, deemed the premises safe, and allowed the Queen, Qui-Gon and the Queen's associates to step inside.
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan was observing the Trade Federation's array of ships. He was particularly interested in the transport partly hidden behind the larger droid ships. It was a lithe, shiny black starship, with swept-back wings and a triangular cockpit at its head, like the point of an arrow.
As Qui-Gon and Alex approached, Obi-Wan spoke up. "I think we should take this ship, Master." He strode up the landing ramp into the ship's dusky interior. There was a flurry of blaster bolts, a hum, and then silence. Obi-Wan stuck his head out. "There's droids. I'll go look for any more."
The Queen stopped in front of Qui-Gon, surrounded by her ever-protective followers. "We have chosen who will come to Coruscant and who will stay behind," she stated in a clipped tone.
The Jedi Master inclined his head slightly. "Good. We will be leaving as soon as we deal with some – ah – technical difficulties."
At that moment, a clang could be heard on the ship. Alex stifled a grin at Bibble's shocked expression.
Obi-Wan appeared in the doorway of the ship and gave the Naboo a thumbs-up. "All clear!"
The Queen, Captain Panaka, a security guard and three handmaidens broke away from the group. Backing the Queen, the group followed their leader as she strode regally up the ramp. Qui-Gon and Alex went next. Below, the other handmaidens were weeping as they were led away by the Naboo guards and Bibble.
Alex stopped beside Obi-Wan as the Jedi Padawan raised the ramp. "You seem cheerful," Alex noted dryly.
Obi-Wan grinned at him. "Whatever it takes to get through the mission."
Captain Panaka turned to the Jedi, who he seemed to reluctantly give charge to. "We don't have a pilot."
"I could pilot." Alex blurted the words without thinking. A ship can't be much harder to pilot than a bongo, right? he added to himself.
Captain Panaka looked horrified, but he was taking the matter slightly better than Bibble had. "Shouldn't we have a professional?"
Obi-Wan placed a hand on Alex's shoulder. "I'll help him." He glanced hopefully at Qui-Gon. "It will be good training for him."
Qui-Gon nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, you two can pilot."
Obi-Wan nodded to Alex and the two of them entered the cockpit. For a moment the zillions of controls overwhelmed the young boy. Alex sat down slowly in the pilot's chair, eyes flicking over the buttons and switches.
Obi-Wan seated himself in the co-pilot's chair. Seeing Alex's wonderment at the amount of controls, he said tensely, "Don't touch anything unless I tell you to."
"O-okay," muttered Alex distractedly.
Obi-Wan indicated a nearby screen. "That's the coordinates. We won't set in the coordinates to Coruscant until we're past the blockade. That will be the real challenge."
Alex swallowed hard, remembering approaching the Trade Federation blockade for the first time. "Right."
The door swished open and Qui-Gon stepped inside, tailed by the hard-nosed Captain Panaka. The rest of the Naboo had presumably settled in for the trip. Alex tried not to look at the Naboo head of security; he didn't want to hear any more comments about how incompatible he was for this, especially since he needed all the focus and help he could get.
Obi-Wan had been checking a systems report on one of the screens. He turned to Alex. "All systems ready. Let's fly."
Alex pulled the lever Obi-Wan pointed out and he heard the whine of the engines. The sound grew in volume until it burst into a powerful rumble.
The ship inched forward, out of the hangar and into the sunlight. It started upward, into the sky. Clouds blew past as the ship increased its speed.
Panaka leaned forward, clenching the back of Alex's seat. "Let's hope we make it through the blockade, or this is gonna be one short trip."
Alex nodded bitterly. He gripped the joystick in front of him that would maneuver the craft. His palms were sweaty. He hurriedly wiped them on his jeans.
Very suddenly, the ship shot into space. For a moment Alex could see stars and wide, black space, and then the blockade appeared, like ugly rocks floating in an otherwise beautiful stream.
"Here we go," Obi-Wan stated grimly. Alex realized the Jedi Padawan was now at the weapons station, holding the trigger for the ship's guns.
Qui-Gon stood beside Captain Panaka, his eyes taking in the scene calmly. "Fly casual."
I'll try. Alex eased the ship forward, trying not to look like he was in a hurry. The first two Trade Federation ships drifted past. Now they were in the midst of the blockade. If they discover us, it'll be all too easy for them to blow us up. Alex took a calming deep breath and forced that thought from his mind.
Another group of ships passed. Up ahead loomed the control ship, with a sphere for a center and a ring floating around it, like a mini Saturn. We're halfway there. We're going to make it.
A ship with a different form than the Trade Federation ships edged out from behind the control ship. It was small, dark and menacing, like a powerful tiger crouching in wait for its prey. Watching the ship draw near out of the corner of his eye, Alex had a very bad feeling. He was about to warn the others when suddenly, two red bolts shot out form the ship. They flew through space and rattled the side of the Naboo's ship.
"Get us out of here," Obi-Wan called to Alex as another pair of shots buffeted their ship. "Now!"
Alex twisted the joystick and the ship arced upward. He turned the ship a sharp right and swooped just out of the way of a Trade Federation cruiser.
Glancing at the blinking screens, Obi-Wan exclaimed, "The ship's still following us!"
"Get out of the blockade." Qui-Gon was still calm in the intense situation.
Alex swung the ship right again and then plunged the ship underneath a Federation ship. The small black ship grazed the underbelly of its bigger relative. Alex jerked the joystick farther down, but the damage had been done. A screen flashed red and Alex asked, wincing, "What happened?"
Qui-Gon peered over his shoulder. "We lost one of our guns."
"So we've got one left?" Alex guessed, pushing the ship toward an expanse of space he saw just past the next cruiser.
"Yes."
Flying fast, he zoomed around the ship, almost to freedom. A cruiser suddenly lifted up, directly into his path. Alex felt the warning in the Force and turned left just as twin blaster bolts whizzed past. The red blasts hit the other cruiser and a fire burst into life on the Trade Federation ship's side.
"So much for going silently," Captain Panaka muttered as two more Federation ships neared. Their pursuer shot around one of them, hanging back. In a moment, Alex found out why.
"Torpedoes!" yelled Obi-Wan, as two proton torpedoes whistled toward the ship like rockets. Alex yanked the ship into a spiraling dive. One of the torpedoes flew by, off into space. The second was a lucky shot. It hit something on the back of the ship before Alex could complete the ship's acrobatics. There was a loud clunk, and then the torpedo exploded into a massive fireball. Suddenly the spiral wasn't so intentional.
The ship spun out of control, gyrating endlessly as it shot downward.
"This – is – why – I – hate – flying," Obi-Wan shouted. Alex had the controls in a death grip in an effort to right the ship, but to no avail.
The ship spun through space, unknowingly headed for the dusty, unbearably hot, red-orange planet below: Tatooine. The ship responsible was in pursuit.
To be continued...
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