Star Wars_ The Dark Lord Trilogy - James Luceno [132]
Clever and subtle. He could whip any ten clever and subtle Jedi with his lightsaber tied behind his back.
But he knew better than to say so.
“Put yourself in the moment, Anakin. Focus.”
“Copy that, Master,” Anakin said dryly. “Focusing now.”
R2-D2 twittered, and Anakin checked his console readout. “We’ve got him, Master. The cruiser dead ahead. That’s Grievous’s flagship—Invisible Hand.”
“Anakin, there are dozens of cruisers dead ahead!”
“It’s the one crawling with vulture fighters.”
The vulture fighters clinging to the long curves of the Trade Federation cruiser indicated by Palpatine’s beacon gave it eerily life-like ripples, like some metallic marine predator bristling with Alderaanian walking barnacles.
“Oh. That one.” He could practically hear Obi-Wan’s stomach dropping. “Oh, this should be easy …”
Now some of them stripped themselves from the cruiser, ignited their drives, and came looping toward the two Jedi.
“Easy? No. But it might be fun.” Sometimes a little teasing was the only way to get Obi-Wan to loosen up. “Lunch at Dex’s says I’ll blast two for each of yours. Artoo can keep score.”
“Anakin—”
“All right, dinner. And I promise this time I won’t let Artoo cheat.”
“No games, Anakin. There’s too much at stake.” There, that was the tone Anakin had been looking for: a slightly scolding, schoolmasterish edge. Obi-Wan was back on form. “Have your droid tight-beam a report to the Temple. And send out a call for any Jedi in starfighters. We’ll come at it from all sides.”
“Way ahead of you.” But when he checked his comm readout, he shook his head. “There’s still too much ECM. Artoo can’t raise the Temple. I think the only reason we can even talk to each other is that we’re practically side by side.”
“And Jedi beacons?”
“No joy, Master.” Anakin’s stomach clenched, but he fought the tension out of his voice. “We may be the only two Jedi out here.”
“Then we will have to be enough. Switching to clone fighter channel.”
Anakin spun his comm dial to the new frequency in time to hear Obi-Wan say, “Oddball, do you copy? We need help.”
The clone captain’s helmet speaker flattened the humanity out of his voice. “Copy, Red Leader.”
“Mark my position and form your squad behind me. We’re going in.”
“On our way.”
The droid fighters had lost themselves against the background of the battle, but R2-D2 was tracking them on scan. Anakin shifted his grip on his starfighter’s control yoke. “Ten vultures inbound, high and left to my orientation. More on the way.”
“I have them. Anakin, wait—the cruiser’s bay shields have dropped! I’m reading four, no, six ships incoming.” Obi-Wan’s voice rose. “Tri-fighters! Coming in fast!”
Anakin’s smile tightened. This was about to get interesting.
“Tri-fighters first, Master. The vultures can wait.”
“Agreed. Slip back and right, swing behind me. We’ll take them on the slant.”
Let Obi-Wan go first? With a blown left control surface and a half-crippled R-unit? With Palpatine’s life at stake?
Not likely.
“Negative,” Anakin said. “I’m going head-to-head. See you on the far side.”
“Take it easy. Wait for Oddball and Squad Seven. Anakin—”
He could hear the frustration in Obi-Wan’s voice as he kicked his starfighter’s sublights and surged past; his former Master still hadn’t gotten used to not being able to order Anakin around.
Not that Anakin had ever been much for following orders. Obi-Wan’s, or anyone else’s.
“Sorry we’re late.” The digitized voice of the clone whose call sign was Oddball sounded as calm as if he were ordering dinner. “We’re on your right, Red Leader. Where’s Red Five?”
“Anakin, form up!”
But Anakin was already streaking to meet the Trade Federation fighters. “Incoming!”
Obi-Wan’s familiar sigh came clearly over the comm; Anakin knew exactly what the Jedi Master was thinking. The same thing he was always thinking.
He still has much