way his former apprentice did Flying is for droids he muttered As the fireball cleared Obi Wan saw movement against the stars Look out he said into his comm Four droids inbound He swerved as he spoke to avoid the oncoming tri fighters Off to one side Anakin's Interceptor made the same move in perfect unison They swept around one side of the droid formation then swooped unexpectedly unexpectedly close to the two nearest ships One droid saw them and followed but the ship behind it kept to its original course and the two fighters collided Two down two to go But the remaining droids wouldn't fall for the same trick We've got to split them up he said into the comm Break left Anakin's voice said in his ear Fly through the guns on that tower Easy for you to say Obi Wan grumbled as he sent his fighter hurtling toward the gun towers of the nearest cruiser Why am I always the bait Don't worry Anakin said soothingly I'm coming coming around behind you Obi Wan would have snorted but he was too busy with the controls Flying this close to a large starship was tricky even with the Force to help The droids weren't having much trouble though Both of them had stuck with him and they were gaining 6
Laser fire flashed barely missing the Jedi fighter Anakin they're all over me Obi Wan complained Dead ahead Anakin's voice said happily Move to the right so I can get a clear shot at them Closing Lock onto him Artoo Obi Wan heard a faint beep in the background from Anakin's astrodroid R2 D2 A moment later one of the tri fighters behind him exploded Obi-Wan Obi-Wan would have been better pleased if the second fighter hadn't kept on firing Its aim was improving too That was the trouble with droids you couldn't distract them I'm running out of tricks here Obi-Wan Obi-Wan said to Anakin The cruiser dropped away behind them Out in open space he was a sitting duck He needed something something else to dodge behind A Separatist battleship loomed not the best idea perhaps but the only one available at the moment I'm going down on the deck he told Anakin He swung his fighter narrowly narrowly avoiding another barrage of laser fire Good idea Anakin sounded cheerful I need some room to maneuver What space isn't big enough But once again Obi Wan was too busy skimming the surface of a battleship to speak And this one was firing at him right along with the droid fighter on his tail This may not have been such a good idea he thought as he dodged blasts coming from all directions 7
Cut right Anakin said and for the first time his voice sounded a little strained Do you hear me Cut right Don't let him get a handle on you The comm crackled but did not cut off Come on Artoo lock on Anakin said Lock on Hurry up Obi Wan said I don't like this A laser blast struck one of his wings The ship bucked and twisted Obi Wan's hands flickered from one control to another Behind him his astrodroid beeped emphatically Don't even try to fix it Arfour Obi-Wan Obi-Wan told it I've shut it down So dodging the droids would be even harder If Anakin didn't hurry As if he could hear Obi Wan's thoughts Anakin said We're locked on We've got him and an instant later the droid tri fighter exploded Good going Artoo Obi Wan blew out a quiet sigh of relief Next time you're the bait he told Anakin He could picture his former Padawan's answering grin and added firmly Now let's find the command ship and get on with it Straight ahead Anakin responded The one crawling with vulture droids I see them They were hard to miss dozens of the broad half flattened shapes crouched ominously behind the blue force field that shielded the open hangar Oh this should be easy Obi Wan said sarcastically 8
Come on Master Anakin said This is where the fun begins Obi Wan shook his head though Anakin couldn't see him They'd taken on similar odds before and won barely If this had been an ordinary battle Obi-Wan Obi-Wan might have joined Anakin Though I wouldn't have been happy about it But a mistake now might cost the Chancellor's life Not this time Obi Wan said There's too much at stake We need help He changed the comm's settings and called in the nearest squad of clone fighters A moment later he was glad he had The droids lifted off rising from the hangar in a dark cloud They headed straight for Anakin and Obi Wan The clone squad of ARC 170 starfighters swung into formation behind them Obi Wan just had time to acknowledge their arrival before the Separatist droids were on them He blasted one then swung to back up Anakin More droid fighters appeared from behind the cruiser Obi Wan fired at one droid dodged a series of laser blasts from two others and called a warning Anakin you I have four on your tail I know I know And four more closing from your left I know I know Anakin's ship swung wildly from side to side dodging laser fire I'm going to pull them through the needle 9
