"Five seconds, contestants..."
A lightweight weapon emerged out of the platform floor in front of Obi-Wan. He grabbed it. At the tip was a green laser. Obi-Wan guessed that in order to score points, he would have to hit the laser on the hologram with the laser tip of his weapon. He wished he had seen a holographic obstacle course before. He had no idea what was in store.
"Yes, Obi-Wan. Something will go wrong and you will die in this stadium. You won"t know when it will come, or how to fight it." Maxo Vista smiled. "May the best man win. Which means me, of course."
"Begin!" the announcer said.
The treton rushed forward. Maxo Vista was prepared. He charged ahead and slashed at the Treton even as it zoomed upward and around in a crazy evasive dance that no bulky treton would ever accomplish. Vista hit the creature precisely on the ear and a loud joyful clang clang!
resounded through the stadium.
"Point, Vista," the voice announced. The stadium erupted in cheers for the favorite.
Obi-Wan"s laser tip now glowed pink. The edge of the platform elongated into a ramp that rose almost straight upward. Vista began to bound ahead.
After a second of hesitation, Obi-Wan followed. He had no choice.
He would have to hope that somewhere in the course he would be able to break free.
Obi-Wan gained on Vista easily. At the top of the ramp six snarling holographic neks sat guard. At the center of their collars, a laser glowed like a pink jewel.
Now Obi-Wan knew that he had to hit each of the creatures precisely with the tip of his weapon, laser to laser, in order to progress.
Vista sprang forward as the nek on the far left lunged, teeth bared. Vista twisted, but the holographic teeth grazed his ankle. A harsh buzzer sounded.
"Minus point five," the announcer said.
Obi-Wan somersaulted, avoiding the two neks who flew at him. He used the weapon like a lightsaber, touching the collars lightly. Two loud clang clang! clang clang! noises sounded, and he whirled and touched the other collars just as delicately, even as Vista was moving toward them.
Clang clang! The neks dissolved in a shower of light.
"Six points, Visitor." This time the cheers were not nearly as deafening.
The laser shifted to blue. Ahead was a cliff face with shallow ledges forming a pathway upward. At the top were three multi-clawed ravenscreechers, large birds from the Outer Rim planet Wxtm. Each had a large wing span and six legs with claws half a meter long. Instead of an eye, a bright blue laser spot winked at Obi-Wan from each bird.
Vista hurled himself at the cliff and began to climb. Obi-Wan followed. Vista reached out a leg and tried to kick him. The crowd hissed disapproval. No doubt Vista was risking the displeasure of the crowd in order to vent his anger at Obi-Wan defeating all the neks.
Yes, you are a record-holder, Obi-Wan thought. But you"ve never competed against a Jedi.
Accessing the Force, he vaulted into the air, bypa.s.sing Vista and landing on a ledge close to the edge. The ravenscreechers took off, diving toward him.
While the crowd roared and cheered, Obi-Wan held on with only one hand. He slashed at one holographic bird, touching its eye and gaining a point, then hit the next one on a backswing without even turning. Using the momentum, he swung himself up to the top of the cliff and hit the third one as it rose to attack him.
Clang clang! The points rang up on the screen. His laser tip flashed yellow. Now more of the crowd was on his side, and Maxo Vista was furious. His face was bright red as he scrambled from ledge to ledge, racing to catch Obi-Wan.
On top of the ledge sat two swoops. Obi-Wan was about to spring forward when a tentacle bush appeared, its branches reaching out for him.
It took him a moment to locate the tiny glowing tip of the yellow laser in the heart of the bush. If one of the other branches. .h.i.t him, he would lose points.
He could feel Vista behind him and was not surprised when the man launched himself at the bush. He knew Vista was furious, and anger would make him careless. He would give Vista the first chance at the bush, but he would not allow him to beat him to the swoops.
The branches moved like the arms of dancers, fluid and graceful, yet lethal in their striking motions. In his fury, Vista tried to attack the bush with stabbing motions, but the waving branches kept him just out of reach. His movements were as fluid as that of the branches, and the crowd began to chant his name.
Obi-Wan leaped. He somersaulted in midair, keeping his legs tucked close to his body to avoid the waving branches. When he was dead center over the bush, he reached down amid the cl.u.s.ter of wildly waving branches and touched the glowing laser with his weapon. Then he landed precisely on one of the swoops, legs astride, and took off. The whole operation had taken less than three seconds.
The crowd was stunned into silence. The noise of the announcer echoed through the nearly silent stadium.
"Point, Visitor."
The crowd went wild.
Obi-Wan did not think about what was behind him. Only what was ahead. The minutes were ticking away, and he had to contact Anakin. The worry ticked away inside him, but his movements did not betray him.
Vista"s warning that something would occur on the course didn"t worry him. He trusted in the Force to warn him.
Ahead were glowing circles of light. Holographic humming peepers twittered overhead. Each held a tiny violet laser in its beak. Obi-Wan saw that he would have to navigate through the spinning circles without touching the edges of each one, hitting as many humming peepers as he could. This obstacle did not require strength, but agility and precision.
He did not look behind him, but he knew Maxo Vista was pushing his swoop to maximum speed. Obi-Wan only saw the glowing obstacles and the tiny birds. He dived through the first hoop and delicately touched the tiny bird with his weapon. The clanging noise sounded, then sounded again a second later. Vista, too, had scored a point.
Vista piloted the swoop as if it were part of his body. He leaned over and scored another point, then flipped the swoop to quickly zoom through a circle. The crowd kept up a steady roar now. Vista pushed his swoop, aiming for the back of Obi-Wan"s. He b.u.mped Obi-Wan"s swoop but it appeared he was only attempting to get through the next loop. Obi-Wan knew better. He dived, engines screaming, then came at the next loop from an extreme right angle. He zoomed through the loop with a centimeter to spare. Taken off guard, Maxo Vista brushed against the side of the loop and lost five points.
Obi-Wan zigzagged through the air of the stadium, sailing through the loops and hitting the laser targets. Vista gave up trying to unseat him and concentrated on gaining points. Soon the humming peepers had all been hit. The glowing hoops dissolved into particles of light.
The stadium went black. Obi-Wan immediately pulled back on the swoop"s power and hovered in the air, waiting. Below, on the mid-level landing platform, a group of holographic Gladiator Droids appeared.
Bright orange erupted from flame projectors in their fists. A bright red laser winked in the center of their foreheads.
Obi-Wan flew down to the landing platform and leaped off the swoop.
The Gladiator Droids shot blaster fire at him, just harmless points of light. The flames licked close to him but there was no heat. He could not use the race weapon or his lightsaber against light, so he had to dodge the flames and blaster bolts.
This obstacle was similar to an exercise called Art of Movement at the Temple, introduced to him when he was just a student, even younger than Anakin. The students were required to keep moving, dodging both lines of light that zigzagged the room and points that scampered randomly. The objective was simply to get from the door to the opposite wall. The exercise required split-second timing and an agile body. Some students were better than others at compressing their limbs, jumping, and flattening themselves against the floor. As a human, Obi-Wan was hampered by his solid skeletal frame, but he had practiced for hours until he could judge the best way to move with a minimum of effort. He had even had private tutorials with the Jedi Knight Fy-Tor-Ana, known for her grace.
All of the lessons came back to him in a rush. He had not trained for this specifically, as Maxo Vista had. He hadn"t practiced the Art of Movement in years. But he could feel his body respond and move even as the laser points skittered around him. Using the Force, he was able to gauge where the pinpoints of light would hit.
Maxo Vista had trained for this. He was adept at movement. The crowd gasped at the flexible grace of the two opponents. Obi-Wan got close enough to one Gladiator Droid to score a point. Vista scored another. In the dim light, the shimmering outlines of the Droids melted against the velvet darkness.
Obi-Wan could feel the Force around him and feel the ripples of disturbance. Maxo Vista"s surprise was near. Even as he dodged the light and moved in to strike another blow at a Gladiator Droid, he knew what was coming.
One of the Droids was real.
Obi-Wan had to use the Force. It was too dark to be absolutely sure. The lights exploding around him could be lethal or not. He noted now that Maxo Vista was pretending to be slow, keeping Obi-Wan between him and the fire.
He saw a Gladiator Droid well behind the others, its blasters firing. That was the one.
He unsheathed his lightsaber. With his lightsaber in one hand and his event weapon in the other, he leaped. With one hand, he hit each laser target on each droid, twisting and hanging in midair. With the other, he deflected the real blaster fire.
He ended with a midair somersault and sank his lightsaber into the real droid"s control panel.
The counter rang furiously. The scoreboard lit up. The crowd was on its feet now, stamping its approval.
The lights in the stadium came up. Maxo Vista raised his head from his position crouching on the floor. He blinked, surprised to hear the boos directed at him.
The crowd screamed for the Jedi. But Obi-Wan had disappeared.
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
Doby and Deland paced nervously by the Podracer. "Maybe we should check the intake valves again," Doby said.
"We"ve checked them three times," Anakin said. "Everything is fine.
We"re ready to go."
He was strapped into his seat, his goggles pushed up on his head.
The official starter stood talking to the Podrace organizer. Hekula was receiving last-minute instructions from Sebulba.
It all felt so familiar. He could be back in the Mos Espa Grand Arena again. His mother was watching. Qui-Gon and Padm were there. He wanted to do his best for them.
Anakin swallowed against the emotion that swelled in him. He was older now. Things were more complicated. His emotions would never be so simple again. But here in the c.o.c.kpit doubt fell away and uncertainty had no place. Left behind was only one goal: winning. "All right, then,"
Deland said. He held his arm carefully against his side, and his face was pale. "Good luck, Anakin. We won"t forget this. Neither will Djulla."
"We shouldn"t have let you, but we had to." Doby leaned in to speak to him earnestly. "Don"t worry. You"re going to win. Just don"t crash."
Anakin grinned. "Right."
"Come on, Doby, you"re making him nervous." Deland yanked his brother away.
Ry-Gaul approached Anakin. He stood by the Pod-racer, his gray eyes scanning the spectators who had gathered on the stands near the finish line. "You must use the Force to stay ahead. There is darkness here, but I cannot locate it."
It was the longest speech Anakin had ever heard Ry-Gaul give.
Anakin nodded. "I feel it, too." But along with the darkness, he felt the excitement of the race to come.
Tru waved at him from the sidelines. Anakin gave him a thumbs-up, just as he had to his best friend Kitster so many years ago.
"Start your engines," the race official called.
Anakin engaged his engines. They roared to life. Ry-Gaul"s mouth moved, but he couldn"t hear the words. It didn"t matter. He knew what Ry-Gaul had said. May the Force be with you.
The noise of the powerful engines of eight Podracers was deafening.
It bounced off the high cave walls. The floor shook like a groundquake.
Besides himself, Hekula, and Aldar Beedo, Anakin recognized Gasgano, Elan Mak, and Ody Mandrell. The last two Podracers were Scorch Za.n.a.les, a Daimlo, and Will Neluenf, heir to the first great Tatooine Podracer, Ben Neluenf.
Anakin felt the power of the engines under his hands. He felt warm and liquid, alert and calm. His senses were hyperaware. The shimmer of the air, the dull red of the cave walls, the smell of the fuel - it filled his head and sharpened his focus. He was ready.
He kept his eye on the starting light. It turned from red to yellow...
Green! Anakin pushed the throttle and the engines roared in response. He had always believed in a quick start. His old Podracer had been tweaked to allow for maximum fuel flow. Deland"s Podracer surged forward in a pack with the others, but slightly ahead. He allowed himself one glance over at Hekula. Sebulba"s son bared his teeth at Anakin.
Anakin checked the nav computer. In a glance he saw the route ahead. Down a long underground canyon, then through a series of dips and rolls. Then he needed to take a sharp left down a narrow pa.s.sage. After that he would receive the next stage of the course.
The cave walls were a blur of dusty red and the screaming engines were just a backdrop of constant sound as Anakin raced through the canyon. Hekula pulled ahead, the double engines of Anakin"s old pod bobbing on the air current created by his speed. Anakin stayed close on Hekula"s tail, avoiding the flying engines. The other Podracers were reluctant to get too close. Anakin knew from experience how the engines would move as Hekula maneuvered. He dared to race snug against the back of Hekula"s Podracer, knowing he was making Hekula angry and nervous.
The dips were ahead. Anakin pulled back suddenly, and Hekula shot in front. Anakin dived, timing his movement so that he was able to barely scoot underneath Hekula"s Podracer and then rise up before the dip rose into a small hill.
He was in the lead. But Hekula had the next part of the course by now. He was most likely already planning his strategy for the next round of challenges. Anakin would have to rely on his instincts to keep him in the lead Behind him, Ody Mandrell couldn"t make the sharp turn into the pa.s.sage. Anakin heard the shriek of metal and the crash. Smoke rolled toward him and he pushed the engines as hard as he dared, trying to outrun the smoke before it blinded him.
Hekula was pulling slightly to the left. Anakin didn"t know why but guessed he was preparing to pa.s.s him on the next segment... whatever it was. Just then the nav computer blinked, showing him the next part of the course. He just had time to register the details, but it was as though he had already seen the track.
He turned sharply on the first corner, then turned again to the left, then the right. Hekula kept up with his every move. Anakin could see his face when he glanced behind, could almost hear Hekula"s cackling laugh.
Behind them, Elan and Aldar Beedo collided, after Elan made a move to cut off Aldar. The others had to scramble to avoid hitting them or the drivers, who had crawled from the wreckage to accuse each other. The sight was gone in a moment as Anakin whipped around another corner.
The controls shook in his hand at the constant turns. Hekula was gaining. He needed all his concentration for the next segment...
His comlink signaled.
Anakin considered not answering it, but he knew he must. It could be his Master.
He released the control for an instant and pressed the activation key. He strained to hear his Master over the noise.
"... nav computer... accident... prepare for..."
Anakin kept one hand on the controls and s.n.a.t.c.hed the comlink. He held it tight against his ear. "Repeat!" he shouted into the comlink.
Now Obi-Wan"s voice was clearer, but he still lost some words over the noise rebounding off the cave walls. "One of the Podracers is b.o.o.by-trapped... nav computer will lead... Eusebus... the lead Podracer"s steering mechanism will blow. It will be made to crash into a crowd...
hear me, Anakin?"
"Copy that!" Anakin shouted. He threw the comlink back down.
The lapse in concentration had cost him. As his Podracer burst out of the maze, Hekula pa.s.sed him on the inside and took the lead.
His nav computer flashed. The course now would wind through a series of turns, then open out into a large tunnel. Then the five remaining Podracers would burst out of the tunnel onto the city streets.
So Obi-Wan"s prediction was right.
Anakin quickly turned to the left before the cave wall curved. He was able to pa.s.s Hekula easily. Obviously, Hekula was not as adept a racer as his father. With advance knowledge of that turn, he should have hugged the wall to prevent Anakin"s maneuver. Hekula tried to b.u.mp him from behind, but Anakin pulled ahead.