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The speeders were gone, and the starfighter. Boba's jaw clenched.

Glynn-Beti doesn't even care that her Padawan is under fire. She's too concerned that her own attempt to attack Wat Tambor's citadel will be affected!

Typical Jedi arrogance, thought Boba angrily. He looked out to where Ulu Ulix's swoop swung dizzily around the top of Mazariyan. With a sudden BOOM, the three-eyed alien's vehicle was engulfed in blacksmoke.

Sparks flew from it. There was a terrified cry.

And Boba watched in horror as a small figure tumbled into the air -

and plummeted straight toward the waiting spines of Mazariyan!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Boba had no time to think. He yanked back on the throttle. At the same time he opened the stop to feed it as much fuel as possible. With a garbled roar, the swoop shot forward. Laser fire and explosion's rocked the air around Boba. Below him, the spines waited.

"Master... help...!"

A cry echoed above the sound of laser fire. Boba leaned forward as far as he could, arms outstretched. His swoop raced toward the shining black pinnacle of Mazariyan. One huge, curved spine thrust upward. It positioned itself to impale the small form falling like a stone.

Boba's swoop dipped as he reached out. With a groan, something heavy crashed onto the front of the swoop. Boba swerved away from Mazariyan.

"Th-thanks!" Ulu Ulix blinked. He kept a tight hold on the swoop's fuel tank. His three large eyes stared gratefully at Boba. "I thought I was dead back there!"

"Well, there's still a chance you might be!" Boba shouted over the thunder of crossfire. "Keep your head low - "

BLAM!

Laser fire ripped past them. Boba wrestled his blaster from his belt. He turned and fired in the general direction of the sentry droids.

Then he glanced down. Battle droids were everywhere now. Some were still firing up at Boba. But most had bigger targets in their sights.

With a deafening rumble, the first of the AT-TEs had drawn up at the edge of the clearing. Its hold opened, and a wide gangway swung down.

More than a dozen clone troopers came running out, blasters firing. There was the whoosh and roar of battle droids rushing from hidden entrances in the citadel. They marched in formation toward the Republic's troops.

Bolts of pure energy zoomed toward the clones. Wat Tambor's fortress glowed like the sun as laser fire rippled up and down its sides.

Ulu Ulix's three eyes widened as he stared at the carnage below.

"Wow," he breathed.

The attack on Mazariyan had begun.

"Keep your head down!" Boba commanded. He abruptly swung the swoop to the left.

A blinding burst of energy exploded behind them. Boba cut back on the throttle. The swoop dropped sickeningly before he pulled it out of the dive.

He yelled, "We've got to get out of here, fast!"

"There!" gasped Ulu. He pointed to where another AT-TE waited. It was surrounded by a squad of heavily armed clone sentries. "General Glynn-Beti! "

Boba squinted through the thick smoke. "Where?"

"She's standing by the transport - see? She should be in her speeder, keeping track of the battle. I guess she was worried about me.

Boy, she looks really, really mad."

Ulu Ulix gulped. Boba looked at him. He couldn't help grinning inside his helmet. "Mad?"

"Yeah... the siege was ready to begin, anyway, but..."

The three-eyed alien looked back to where his swoop lay. It was now a heap of smoldering wreckage. It was surrounded by battle droids who were busy firing on the Republic's troops.

"But maybe the siege started a little earlier than scheduled?" Boba finished Ulu's sentence for him.

The alien nodded miserably. "Yeah. Something like that."

Boba steered the swoop to where Glynn-Beti stood. He glanced at Ulu Ulix. It was weird to think that the horned alien didn't recognize him in his helmet and body armor. Weird, but good.

I was more of a kid back then, Boba thought proudly. But now I'm a real bounty hunter.

The swoop approached the edge of the forest.