Star Wars_ The Dark Lord Trilogy - James Luceno [69]
Pivoting on his left foot, the Falleen swung the vibro-ax at Obi-Wan’s head. Ducking the swing, Obi-Wan got underneath the blade and just managed to nick the Falleen in the left thigh.
The strike only fueled the humanoid’s rage. Raising the ax over his head, he rushed forward, intent on splitting Obi-Wan down the middle. A backflip carried Obi-Wan out of the blade’s path, but Fa’ale’s bedside table wasn’t as fortunate. Cleaved, each half table fell to the floor, launching the Twi’lek’s bottle of firewater clear across the room and square into the face of the larger of the two Trandoshans. Screaming in anger, the alien raised a clawed hand to his bleeding brow ridge, even while his other hand continued to trigger bolts at Anakin. As the bolts began to go wide, Anakin raised his left hand, pushing it through the air in the Trandoshan’s direction and blowing him backward through the room’s only window.
Determined to make the most of Anakin’s split attention, the reptiloid’s partner risked a lunge forward.
Obi-Wan tracked the flight of the alien’s head across the room, out the door, and into the hallway, where someone loosed a bloodcurdling screech. The Falleen, finding himself on his own with the two Jedi, extended the ax in front of him and began to whirl.
Anakin backed away from the circling blade, then dived forward, sliding across the wet floor on his belly with his lightsaber held out in front of him and amputating the Falleen’s legs at the knees. Shorter by half a meter but no less enraged, the humanoid sent the vibro-ax flying straight for Obi-Wan, then drew from his hip holster a large blaster and began firing.
In midflight from the vibrating blade, Obi-Wan watched Anakin rid the Falleen of blaster and hand, and thrust his lightsaber directly into the Falleen’s chest. Whatever torso armor the humanoid was wearing beneath his jacket gave the energy blade pause, but heat from the lightsaber set fire to the Falleen’s bandolier of explosive rounds.
Backing away from the lightsaber on the cauterized stumps of his legs, the Falleen began swatting at the growing flames in mounting panic, then turned and executed a perfect front dive out the window—only to explode short of the snowdrift that might have been his destination.
The room fell suddenly silent, except for the sizzle of huge snowflakes hitting the lightsabers.
Obi-Wan shouted: “Get her out of here!”
Deactivating his blade, Anakin pulled Fa’ale out from under the mattresses and bedding, and yanked her to her feet.
Wobbling drunkenly, she took in the ruined room.
“You two seem like decent folk—even for Jedi. Sorry you have to get mixed up in this.”
Catching sight of a bottle that had somehow survived the violence, she started for it. When Anakin tightened his hold on her, she balled her hands and hammered at his chest and upper arms.
“Stop trying to be a hero, kid! I’m tired of running. It’s over—for all of us.”
“Not till we say it is,” Anakin said.
She sagged in his grip. “That’s the problem. That’s why we’re in a war to begin with.”
Anakin began to drag her toward the door.
“Right on time,” Obi-Wan said from the window. “Six more that I can see.” A blaster bolt destroyed what was left of the window frame.
Anakin hauled Fa’ale to her feet once more and planted himself face-to-face with her. “You’ve outwitted assassins for ten years. You have a way out of here.” He shook her forcefully.
“Where?”
She remained still for a moment, then shut her eyes and nodded.
Obi-Wan and Anakin followed her out the door to a utility closet at the end of the hall. Concealed behind a false rear wall, two shiny poles dropped into darkness. Fa’ale took hold of one of the poles and vanished from sight. Anakin went next. Through the closed door, Obi-Wan could hear a crowd of beings race past the closet, heading