legs as well. The Bartokk hissed and wobbled forward, moving like a massive,
armored worm in an effort to use its mandibles to take a bite out of Obi-Wan.
The Padawan raised a hand at the Bartokk and concentrated, using the Force to
push the murder - ous monster back. The dismembered assassin slid quickly
across the ground, leaving a slick traii in wake until it reached its final
destination in the chemical spill. An ear-piercing shriek sounded from above.
Obi-Wan glanced up in time to see a single Bartokk perched at the curved edge
of Docking Bay 28's roof. Although all Bartokks were nearly identical, Obi-Wan
was fairly certain it was the same Bartokk who threw the stun net. He imagined
the Bartokk was furious for what had happened to the other assassins. The
Bartokk pulled a broad-bladed gutting knife from his weapons belt and sprang
out into the air, descending headfirst toward Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan jumped aside, and the Bartokk reacted by coiling its insectoid
body in midair. The assassin hit the ground in a perfect dive-forward roll and
came up standing. Before Obi-Wan could attack, the Bartokk's upper right arm
snapped forward and aimed a crossbow at the figures in the stun net. With
another claw, the Bartokk motioned for Obi-Wan to drop his lightsaber. The
Padawan knew if he were to deactivate his lightsaber and drop it on the
ground, the Bartokk would probably shoot at the net anyway. Impatient for Obi-
Wan's response, the alien gnashed its mandibles and hissed. Obi-Wan threw his
lightsaber in a tight spiral at, the loathsome assassin. The lightsaber's
blade sliced through the Bartokk's right shoulder and evered the crossbow-
wielding arm. As the arm struck the ground, its claw tightened on the cross -
bow trigger and released two arrows directly into the assassin. The Bartokk's
legs buckled, then the creature toppled face first onto the ground. The
spiraling lightsaber looped back through the air and returned toward Obi-Wan.
The Padawan had used the Force to control his weapon's every move. He snatched
the lightsaber from the air and thumbed the switch to deactivate its lethal
blade. Obi-Wan went to the fallen Bartokk and removed the alien's vocabuiator.
Although he doubted the Bartokks would want to negotiate their surrender, Obi-
Wan thought he might need the translating device to communicate with the
assassins. On the Bartokk's weapon belt, Obi-Wan noticed what appeared to be a
remote control unit for the stun net. He grabbed the control unit and ran to
his unconscious allies. Suddenly, the nearly deafening roar of a large
repulsorlift engine filled the air again.
Obi-Wan looked up and saw the spike-covered Bartokk freighter as it rose
up and away from Docking Bay 28. The Bartokk freighter was a massive vessel,
nearly seventy meters long and twenty-five meters wide. To Obi-Wan, it
resembled a bloated, barb - encrusted sea creature. Even the large, triangular
sensor dish that jutted out from one side of the vessel seemed more like a fin
than a technical extension. On the freighter's other side, a six-winged
Bartokk starfighter was moored to the outer hull. Secured to the freighter,
the starfighter looked like a mutant offspring clinging to its gargantuan
mother. Obi-Wan guessed that the Bartokks had deiayed their liftoff in
anticipation of an easy victory on Esseles. The freighter's sudden departure
indicated they had given up this round.
It would take several minutes for the freighter to reach the upper
stratosphere of Esseles and enter space. Although Qui-Gon might have
criticized Obi-Wan for his decision, the Padawan took the time to free his
unconscious friends from the stun net. He would give chase to the freighter as
soon as possible. The stun net no longer released any electric power, but its
duracord strands were locked tightly around Qui-Gon, Bama, and Leeper. Obi-Wan
examined the Bartokk-designed remote control unit, then pressed a switch to
release the stun net. The net glowed suddenly, and Obi-Wan quickly threw the
switch off. He realized he had acciden - tally pressed the wrong switch and
caused an-, her shock to pass through Qui-Gon, Bama, and eper. Although it had
been a mild shock and Qui-Gon and the others were already unconscious, Obi-Wan
felt horrible for having caused them any more discomfort. Furthermore, they
more carefully, Trinkatta slithered out from under the parked landspeeder.
"Is it over?" asked the Kloodavian. "Are our friends ali right?"
"They'll be fine," Obi-Wan answered, then added, "no thanks to you."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Trinkatta snapped. "Can I help it if the
sight of Bartokks scares the stufting out of me?" Trinkatta leaned forward and
looked at the Bartokk-designed device clasped by Obi-Wan. lt had ten colored
buttons.
"What's this? A stun net remote control?"
"Oon't worry," Obi-Wan said as he lowered a finger toward a green button
on the device. "l think I've figured out how to use it." With his good arm,
Trinkatta lashed out and grabbed Obi-Wan's wrist.
"First of all, you're holding the remote upside down," warned Trinkatta.
"Second, that button you were about to push will kill everything within the
net. Now, if you'll allow me?"
Obi-Wan handed the remote control unit over to Trinkatta, who pressed two
yellow buttons at the same time. Instantly, the stun net fell away from the
three unconscious bodies. Trinkatta saw the look of concern in Obi-Wan's face
as the Padawan pulled his Master's limp body up from the ground.
"He'll be okay," the Kloodavian assured. "They'li all be fine. They just
need some time to recover."
Obi-Wan carefully lifted Qui-Gon and carried him to the parked
landspeeder. After Obi-Wan placed his Master within the vehicle, he turned for
Bama Vook.
"Help me with this guy, Trinkatta. He's pretty heavy."
Without argument, the Kloodavian helped carry both Bama and Leeper to the
landspeeder. After the three unconscious figures were secured, Trinkatta
asked, "So what's your plan, kid?"
"You should take this speeder back to your factory," Obi-Wan answered.
"Until they wake up, our friends here need someone to watch over and protect
them. They need you, Trinkatta."
"But... why can't you watch them?" Trinkatta asked nervously. "That
Bartokk freighter's carrying the Trade Federation's starfighters and
hyperdrive engine."
"I'm going after it."
"By yourself?" Trinkatta gasped. "Is that a good idea?"
"It's the only idea I have," Obi-Wan admitted. he Bartokks have a
hostage, and right now I'm e only one who can pursue them. Unless the Barfokks
did something to Bama's starships, there should be a Corellian freighter and a
Z-95 Headhunter in Docking Bay 28. I'll take a ship to fly after the
freighter."
"But think of the odds you'll be up against," Trinkatta warned.
"Let's see, fifteen Bartokks to a hive, minus the first two at the
factory, then the three who jumped us, and the one with the net..." He wagged
the fingers on his left hand as he counted.
"Why, there are still nine Bartokks left in this gang of assassins!"
"Then wish me luck," Obi-Wan said as he picked up Trinkatta and dropped
him onto the speeder's driver seat.
"Now get moving"
Trinkatta started the speeder. As he zoomed down the street with his
three passengers, Obi-Wan noticed two hooded figures lurking across the
street. He was not certain, but they looked like two Neimoidians, possibly the
same pair that Bama had described earlier. Obi-Wan wondered whether the
Neimoidians had overheard his conversation with Trinkatta about the
freighter's cargo, but he did not have time to deal with them. He ran for the
lift tube to Docking Bay 28. Obi-Wan pressed a switch but the lift did not de
- scend. Something was wrong with the lift mecha - nism. The headstrong
Padawan did not waste time with any thoughts of repairing the damaged lift.
Instead, he reached for his lightsaber, activated the blade, and carved a neat
hole in the lift's metal fl oor. The ruined metal grating fell away, tumbling
down until it crashed at the bottom of the tube. Obi-Wan jumped down through
the hole he had cre - ated and caught the edge of the broken grating. Clinging
to the bottom of the lift, he dangled in the air. He realized the drop to the
floor was farther than he had expected. A wall-mounted energy cable offered a
solution.
Obi-Wan reached out and grabbed the cable. He quickly scrambled down the
cabie to the floor of the docking bay. Just as Bama had claimed, there were
two star - ships. Obi-Wan recognized the different models. The larger ship was
a bulky Corellian YT-1300 Transport with a starboard-mounted cockpit. The
smaller ship was a dart-shaped, twin-engined Incom Z-95 Headhunter.
According to Bama, the Headhunter had been modified to carry a second
passenger and was capable of space travel. Although the YT-1300 had a greater
carrying capacity, Obi-Wan did not expect to retrieve much from the Bartokk
freighter. The modified Headhunter offered enough room for both Bama's son and
the Neimoidian prototype hyperdrive engine. Because Obi-Wan suspected the
Headhunter was probably much faster, he decided against the Corellian
transport and went for the Headhunter. Obi-Wan preferred speed over bulk any
day. Obi-Wan raised the Headhunter's canopy and slipped into the cockpit's
front seat. He scanned the instrument panel and found himself impressed by the
many modifications made by Bama and Leeper. Most remarkable was the way they
had ex - panded the cockpit interior to accommodate a second seat behind the
cockpit. There was even a tairly sophisticated autopilot system.
Setting the controls on manual, Obi-Wan pre - pared for liftoff. He
reached up and lowered the canopy, but as it locked into position, he heard an
odd beeping noise. It was a bomb.
There wasn't any doubt in Obi-Wan's mind that the bomb had been placed in
the Headhunter by the Bartokks. Anyone else might have simply disabled the
starship's engine to prevent it from launching. Rigging the ship to blow up
and kill anyone on board was more the Bartokks' style. Closing the
transparisteel canopy had triggered the bomb's timer. The beeping timer was
also in - dicative of the Bartokks' flair for booby traps. They didn't just
want their victims to be blown to pieces; they wanted them to know they were
about to die. Fortunately, Obi-Wan had studied bomb disposal on Coruscant and
knew what to do. He located the trigger-wire that ran down from the timer in
the canopy and traced it to the bomb's location. It was directly under the
seat. He reached down and let his fingers hover over the bomb, using the Force
to trace the weapon's subtle contours. The bomb was a canister-shaped proton
grenade, and Obi-Wan was familiar with the design. He pressed the twist
plunger release and the grenade was instantly disarmed. Obi-Wan removed the
deactivated proton grenade from under his seat and gave it a quick study, then
he secured it to his own weapons belt. He had a feeling the explosive device
would come in handy later on, and he could hardly wait to return it to the
Bartokks.
He activated the Headhunter's repulsorlift. Dust kicked out from under
the Headhunter as its engines fired, and Obi-Wan steered the fighter up and
out of Docking Bay 28. He accelerated and zoomed away from Calamar. The
Headhunter rock - eted into the sky with great speed as Obi-Wan ctenched his
teeth and gripped the controts. Less than a minute later, the fighter had
ascended through Esseies' atmosphere and entered space. Obi-Wan gazed outside
the cockpit canopy and searched for the Bartokk freighter, but he only saw a
field of stars. Even without a hyperdrive en - gine, the freighter was already
well beyond visual range of Esseles. Among Bama's many mocfifications to the
Head - hunter was a powerful scan-mode sensor. Obi-Wan activated the unit and
two distant blips appeared on the scanner grid. Uncertain of which blip repre
- sented the Bartokk freighter, the Padawan closed his eyes and reached out
with the Force. From across space, he sensed a traii of fear leading directly
to the nearest blip on the grid. Obi-Wan was certain the trait was emanating
from the young Talz hostage. Although he was reassured to know Bama's son was
still alive, it disturbed him to know the youth was in such a frightened
state. Because of Obi-Wan's upbringing among the Jedi, fear was not something
he easily understood, but he felt sorry for Chup-Chup and was eager to rescue
him from the Bartokks. Obi-Wan opened his eyes and shook his head.
"Perhaps some of Qui-Gon's compassion has been rubbing off on me after
all," he muttered to himself. He entered the nearest blip's coordinates into
the Headhunter's nav computer and activated the drive system. The Headhunter's
speed increased so rapidly that he found himself suddenly pressed back into
his seat. He fought the pressure and reached for the acceleration compensator.
After he quickly stabilized the artificial gravity within the starship, Obi-
Wan wondered if the Head - hunter's modifications held any more surprises. Two
minutes later, the Bartokk freighter came into view. The Bartokks had ignored
spacer proto - col and switched off their running lights; their freighter
appeared as a dark blot against the vast starfield. Except for the distinctive
silhouette of the triangular sensor dish, Obi-Wan almost mis - took the
freighter for a large meteor. An alarm sounded and a red light flashed within
the Headhunter's cockpit. Obi-Wan had acciden - tally flown within the Bartokk
freighter's sensor range. The freighter's running lights suddenly illuminated.
The Bartokks knew the Headhunter had arrived.
As Obi-Wan pondered his next move, he saw a small engine flare at the
side of the freighter. The flare was from the engine exhausts of the six -
winged Bartokk fighter craft. The fighter broke away from the larger ship and
swung out in a wide approach toward the Headhunter. Obi-Wan had once seen a
diagram of a Bartokk starfighter. tf he remembered correctly, such a fighter
required a crew of three: a pilot, a gunner, and a tailgunner. The three
Bartokks wouid be po - sitioned with their
backs to one another, and each
assassin had a view through a triangular viewport. Because the Bartokks
communicated telepathi - cally and shared a hive mind, they functioned as a
single twelve-armecf piiot. The Bartokk fighter fired a proton torpedo. As the
explosive warhead streaked toward the Head - hunter, Obi-Wan tried to avoid a
direct hit by bank - ing hard and away from its path. But instead of
exptoding, the torpedo curved back and continued to pursue the Headhunter.
Obi-M/an realized the torpedo had a built-in homing sensor, and decided to
take a more evasive action against his attack - ers. With the torpedo hot on
the Headhunter's tail, Obi-Wan pulled back on the controls and navigated his
fighter through an insanely tight loop. The Headhunter rolled out of the loop
and onto a straight course for the Bartokk freighter.
The Bartokks must not have anticipated Obi-Wan's daring maneuver, for the
proton torpedo suddenly veered out of the Headhunter's trail and soared away
from the freighter. Its retreating flightpath confirmed Obi-Wan's suspicion
that the torpedo had been equipped with a remote destruct mechanism as well as
a homing sensor. When the torpedo was a safe distance from the Bartokk ships,
it detonated in a wild explosion. The Bartokk starfighter zoomed so close to
the Headhunter that Obi-Wan could see the three assassins in the craft's
cockpit. The Bartokks pulled their fighter back in a tight loop and circled
back to attack from the rear. Obi-Wan's hands flew over his controls to
channel energy from his engines to his deflector shields. The Bartokk gunner
fired, and a hail of crimson energy bolts spat out from the laser can - nons
mounted to each of the fighter's six wings. The energy bolts hammered at the
Headhunter's shields, and Obi-Wan's ship shuddered at the assault. He knew the
shields wouldn't hold up much longer, so he threw the Headhunter hard to the
left, then right, then down into an outside loop. The Bartokk starfighter
tried to follow Obi-Wan's zigzag path. Their ship seemed to wobble at high