Chapter 18

"Shhh! Someone's coming!" Obi-Wan held out his hand for Cort to stop. His voice lowered to a whisper. "Shut down your saber."

Cort complied and then stretched out his senses, trying to feel out the situation ahead. "Two, no three men."

Obi-Wan turned around and smiled. "Good. See, you're not as out of practice as you thought." A slight noise caused the Knight to look down the dark tunnel. "Here they come."

The two men flattened themselves against the wall as the trio approached.

"Hey, Reo, what did the boss say to do if we caught those guys?"

"Well, da boss said its alright to kill that Jedi," the reply echoed, thick with an accent. "An' if we come across dat coward of a prince, den we're supposed ta capture 'im."

"Ha! You sure got the coward part right, Reo," a third voice joined in.

Cort bristled at the insult. How dare they! They have no idea what I've been going through! He began to walk out to confront the men when Obi-Wan grabbed onto his arm.

Hey, take it easy, big boy! You're going to get yourself killed if you're not careful!

Sorry.

The voices grew louder as the men drew nearer. As they rounded the corner, Obi-Wan whispered to Cort to get ready.

"Where exactly are these two supposed ta be, Nab?"

"Right here!" Obi-Wan shouted. He jumped out from the wall and hit the man called Reo over the head with the pummel of his lightsaber. The man quickly slumped to the ground.

Cort leapt out in front of one of the other men. "Coward, huh? How's this for a coward?" He reeled back and punched the large man in the face.

"Ahhh!" the man howled, grabbing hold of his face. "You broke my nose! Why you little . . ." He quickly fell to the ground when Cort punched him again.

The Jedi and the prince then turned to the remaining man. He looked at them nervously and said, "Um, if you don't mind, I'll be going now."

"I don't think so." Cort reached out and grabbed hold of the fleeing man.

Obi-Wan stepped in front of the scared soldier. "Which way to Daruc Spion?"

A shaky finger pointed down a corridor to the left.

"You're sure?"

The head shook in an emphatic yes.

Obi-Wan gave the man a disappointed look. "You know what I hate more than Sith Lords?" A perplexed look from the man came back. "Liars. I hate liars. Goodnight, Nab." Obi-Wan gave a quick smile and then efficiently knocked the man out.

Cort let Nab drop to the ground. "Did he tell you the wrong way to go?"

"The stupid fellow sure did. Come on. We're going down the passage to the right."

Cort illuminated his lightsaber and took the lead. They hurried ahead to find Daruc's headquarters.

* * *

Daruc had witnessed via the security cameras how quickly the pair had stopped the three of his men. He was thinking rapidly and modifying the plan he had previously worked out in his mind.

Turning around to his generals who were in the room with him, he began describing his new plan. "We're going to have to separate the two of them. The prince is obviously tired. If we can get him away from the Jedi, then we stand a much better chance of bending him to our will. When you find him, lead him to the storage area." Daruc pointed to three of his generals. "I want you to take your men and split them up. Nor, Smitty, I want your groups to then go after the prince." Daruc turned to look at the remaining men. "You're job will be to drive the Jedi away from here and back to the palace. You will then commence that attack on Jidora."

"Tonight will be our moment of triumph, men! If your fail here then you are failing everything that we have ever worked for. Don't disappoint me."

The men all cheered their leader, and then headed out the door to find their prey.

* * *

Obi-Wan and Cort were walking down the hallway, when they both felt the presence of the approaching men. They simultaneously extinguished their sabers and flattened themselves against the stone.

The group of approaching men was a large group. About twenty-five men were rapidly coming closer. Also, unlike their three previous friends, they were expecting the attack from the walls. They pulled their blasters out of their holsters and opened fire on the darkest spot of the stone.

The prince and Jedi dove from their hiding place as the stone wall around them erupted. They activated their lightsabers. Obi-Wan rapidly began deflecting shots while Cort somersaulted over the heads of the men to land behind them.

Unfortunately for Cort, that was exactly what the men had wanted him to do. Nor and Smitty's men poured out of the passageways that Cort had not seen and began forcing him down the tunnel towards the storage room. He deflected their shots fairly well, but couldn't help backing away from the men as he did so.

Ben! They're trying to separate us!

I know! Hang in there! I'll meet up with you again as soon as I can get away from them.

A shot from a blaster carbon whined by Obi-Wan's shoulder, burning away part of his cloak. The Jedi immediately launched into a midair spin that sent a spray of the soldiers' shots right back at them. A few stumbled as the deflected shots hit them, but they pressed on and began driving the Knight back towards the palace.

* * *

The yellow blade of Cort's lightsaber slashed out at one man who came too close. That man quickly fell, but others rapidly stood up to take his place. They just keep coming!

Cort looked over his shoulder and saw a door not too far away. Seeing an opportunity to block of his attackers, he turned and sprinted for the door. He quickly pulled it open and jumped through, slamming it closed behind him. He let out a sigh of relief and rested his forehead against the cool metal of the door. He began to slump down to the floor to rest for a moment when he heard the very distinctive clicks of multiple blasters being trained on him. He slowly turned around.

Standing in the middle of the room was Daruc Spion. Cort recognized him immediately. Standing behind him and popping up from behind the multiple crates and machines that cluttered the room were members of his militia.

"Give it up, Raifen. There is no Jedi here to help you now and you certainly can't get out of this predicament on your own."

Too tired to argue with the man, Cort turned his lightsaber off and raised his arms behind his head.