|
|
The predator continued to dog their trail as it had for some time now.
Obi-Wan slipped from one shadow to the next, skirting pools of light. Few pedestrians braved this dilapidated warehouse district in the middle of the night, and Obi-Wan had yet to meet anyone, though he had spotted three beings across the yawning chasm that was the street.
Padmé stirred in his arms. He held her close and picked up his pace. Urgency drove the Jedi forward. For a moment he thought their pursuer was letting them go; disappointment pricked his thoughts when he sensed the hunter also speeding up. And closing in.
Scanning ahead, Obi-Wan spotted a bridge connecting this extended block with the next. If he could get over the bridge, perhaps they would move out of this predator's territory.
Behind them, a low growl sounded. Obi-Wan threw himself sideways against a ferrocrete wall; his shoulder absorbing the blow and cushioning Padmé from harm. A flash of brown fur flew past Padmé's dangling feet. Obi-Wan quickly set her down on the sidewalk and positioned himself between her and their attacker.
A shaggy four-legged creature that easily stood chest-high to Obi-Wan, now stood between them and the bridge. Power fairly quivered through its limbs and over the large hump on its back. Froth dripped from pointed teeth as the creature seemed to grin at the Jedi's predicament. These normally gentle creatures, from the planet Gyndine, were sometimes tormented into insanity and used in dogfights for those who mixed a love of gambling with bloodlust, and Obi-Wan knew he now stared into the red gaze of a gynhound gone mad. Had it slain its owner and escaped? Surely no one would be crazy enough to release such a dangerous animal.
The gynhound took a step forward, pointed ears flat against its head, nostrils flaring in its wide snout. Obi-Wan stepped toward the hound and powered up his lightsaber. At the sight of the blue glow, the gynhound flattened itself to the ground; the low droning growl grew louder. It crept forward another meter. Obi-Wan also advanced, swinging the blade slowly back and forth. He tried to touch the creature's mind with a Force suggestion of fear, but that only seemed to make the madness in its eyes grow brighter.
Obi-Wan moved closer still, keeping eye contact with the hound. The second its gaze shifted, he knew it had wanted to draw him away from its intended prey. Padmé. He took a single step back, and the gynhound catapulted into the air, high over Obi-Wan's head.
The Jedi leapt to meet it. His lightsaber speared the hound, gutting it with a single sideways sweep. The hound yowled and twisted, its claws raking Obi-Wan's left forearm as it fell lifeless to the sidewalk. Obi-Wan landed beside the dead creature and dropped to one knee. He winced at the twin furrows of fire cutting into his arm.
As Obi-Wan drew on the Force to shunt aside the pain, the sense of urgency returned with alarming clarity. He stared at the limp form at his feet -- this creature had not been the source of his unease. They had to keep moving.
Scooting, in a crouch, to Padmé's side, Obi-Wan knelt beside her and met her unfocused gaze, which quickly cleared as it bounced from Obi-Wan to the gynhound and back. Caution crept into her eyes as she glanced up and down the street.
"There was only one," Obi-Wan said. "But we need to keep moving. How's the shoulder?"
"I can walk."
Obi-Wan nodded and helped Padmé to her feet. He kept her on his right and held his left arm tightly against his midsection, channeling the Force through the wound to stem the bleeding and minimize the fierce stinging, as they moved toward the bridge.
There was no point in telling Padmé that mere walking would do them no good; she'd know that soon enough if no solution presented itself. It was a small comfort to know she was perfectly capable of handling that blaster tucked under her sash, but worrisome that she might well be forced to fire it. Obi-Wan released his concern into the Force, along with his pain. He took a moment to bask in the warm sense of Padmé's presence at his side -- her friendship.
Obi-Wan's boots slapped the end of the bridge and his attention jumped upwards. A chill rushed down his spine. The hunter was up there somewhere. And he was on the move. Obi-Wan could feel it.
Astri's eyes fluttered open and she startled. A pair of intense green eyes were peering back at her. She glanced around the room, her gaze returning to settle on the green face of the diminutive Jedi master perched at her bedside. Slowly, the vague memories returned -- of Winna and the Jedi Knight whisking her and her baby back to the Jedi Temple for observation and rest. She had been far too exhausted to argue.
Yoda looked about to speak when Winna di Yuni swept into the room. She halted by the bed and focused her keen regard on the Jedi master. "It is the middle of the night. I'll not have you disturbing my patient," she clipped. "If you're here to try and drag information out of the poor child, you can think again."
Astri stared, dumbfounded, at the healer. She had the distinct feeling that no one usually dared speak in such a tone to Master Yoda. The healer and master glared at one another for a moment.
Clearing her throat, Astri said, "I'm okay, Winna. I won't faint under the force of a few questions."
The healer sternly assessed her charge. She pursed her lips. "Are you sure, child? I don't want you to get more worn out when you are supposed to be resting."
The concern in her voice was a soothing balm to Astri. She smiled warmly, and a web of fine wrinkles spread out from Winna's eyes as she returned the smile. Astri asked, "Is the baby still sleeping?"
Winna nodded and turned her attention back to Yoda. She scowled, "Five minutes. No more." With that, she spun and hurried out of the room.
Yoda harumphed gruffly. Astri stifled a chuckle. She should be sleeping, she knew, but her curiosity was piqued and she would never be able to sleep now anyway, not with her mind whirling like it was.
After 30 seconds of silence, Astri said, "I think Winna was very serious about her time limit. What did you want to talk to me about, Master Yoda?" As if I don't know.
"Sorry, I am, that you have gone through such a terrible time. And glad that the babe was safely delivered." Yoda paused. "Need to know all you can tell me about your attackers, I do."
Astri heaved a sigh. "They didn't really attack me. They used me for bait. Somehow they knew that Obi-Wan would contact me again. And when he did, and he told me where he was so that I could tell you, they left. I just know they were planning to trap Obi-Wan." She turned worried eyes to the master's solemn gaze. "Please tell me Obi-Wan is okay. I couldn't bear to think I had caused him harm."
"Escaped the trap, he did. But, know how he fares, I do not. Keeping shields up, he is, and his caution puzzles me."
Astri scowled as she thought. Her brow cleared and she shrugged. "He seems to care for this Padmé. Maybe he's just hiding his concern over their situation from her, and is doing this shield thing in the process."
Yoda's ears perked up. "Cares for her? Told you this, did he?"
How could one so wise, be so dense? Astri eyed the Jedi master skeptically. "No, he didn't tell me. But there was something between them. A tension." She snickered and quietly added, "The kind of tension that can easily lead ... wherever."
Yoda cleared his throat and squinted thoughtfully.
Astri turned an innocent expression to the frowning Jedi and asked, "Is that all you needed to know?"
"Need you to describe the beings involved, I do. Found, they must be."
As Astri detailed all that she remembered about her three captors, Yoda's frown grew more and more pronounced. She trailed to silence and eyed the Jedi master warily. Tension radiated out from him like heat from a flaring cooking element. His eyes were shuttered and his gaze withdrawn.
Yoda looked up suddenly. "Thank you. Get this information to Mace, I must, and hope I'm not too late." He slid from the chair and started around the bed.
Astri propped herself up on her elbows. "Mace Windu? The Jedi who almost died? How will telling him help Obi-Wan?"
Pausing, Yoda met her uncertain gaze. "Helping to search for Obi-Wan, Mace is. But the one who searches is also the hunter."
Astri stared after the small Jedi as his halting gait quickly carried him from the room. The door remained ajar and she heard a plaintive wail growing louder as it drew closer. Her baby was awake. Thoughts of Obi-Wan and Yoda's cryptic statement fled like the night shadows before the dawn.
"How many spy-bots have you deployed?" Mace leaned over Tem's chair and peered at the tracking beacons on the large monitor.
The swarthy C-Sec major shifted and drummed his armrest. "A few thousand maybe."
Mace's eyebrows shot up. "That's quite a few. Are you authorized to initiate actions that generate that kind of expense?"
"I wasn't aware the Jedi were conducting an audit of C-Sec financial affairs."
Mace eased himself into the empty chair to his right and sighed as he massaged his aching thigh. It had been a long night and it was barely past midnight. The major had been terse and highly uncooperative. Nothing Mace could finger, of course. Just little comments like that one that put him in his place as a passive observer. This was one C-Sec officer who was going to collaborate with the Jedi only so far as he had to, and not a micron farther. Mace wished he could pinpoint the source of Tem's animosity, but the man held himself in so tightly that no trace of emotion was leaking out.
And Mace wished with equal fervency that Obi-Wan would send out some kind of signal through the Force, but he was keeping to himself as tenaciously as Major Tem. All Mace could do was wait. This stalemate couldn't continue forever.
A vague unsettling sensation was burrowing into his thoughts, and Mace was beginning to hope that the vast resources of the Coruscant Security Forces would not be enough to discover Obi-Wan's whereabouts.
"You don't have a better plan, and you know it," Padmé whispered from the side of her mouth. She smiled sweetly into Obi-Wan's scowling visage.
Turning her attention to the street ahead, Padmé bit back a sigh. Halfway down the block, light spilled from a tavern's windows to illuminate a row of swoops huddled together like a herd of banthas in a sandstorm. Obi-Wan had admitted that swoop gangs would have any tracking devices on the swoops disabled. It you had to borrow a vehicle, better one that was harder to trace.
Obi-Wan laid his arm across her shoulders. She smiled inwardly at this silent acceptance of her declaration. She curled her arm around his back and found his left hand resting against his spine, right beside his lightsaber. She clasped the hand gently, not wishing to irritate his wound. It was wise he chose to hide both the weapon and the wound from sight. They were promoting the illusion of being a couple, yes, but his touch gave solace that Padmé relished just now.
Finally, Padmé's visual search discovered the being whose presence Obi-Wan had detected. A human, lanky and dark. As they drew closer, Padmé amended her judgment to include stringy and ... greasy. She fought a grimace and swung away from Obi-Wan to sashay towards the first swoop in the line-up. She affected a throaty laugh and tickled her fingers over the seat of the powerful machine. A glance told her what they'd hoped was the case: that with a guard watching over the vehicles, the swoops weren't locked down.
Padmé swung her leg over the machine and settled on the seat, running her hands up and over the curved handlebars. She met the gaze of the guard as he strode toward her. His beady scrutiny revolted her, inspiring the breathlessness lacing her words. "Is this your machine? It's so incredibly ... powerful." Padmé twitched her eyebrows and refused to allow herself to flinch as lewd speculation entered the guard's eyes.
He leaned over and trapped her hands on the control grips. "Down doing a little slumming? You could ditch the stiff and I'll show you how a real man parties."
Padmé peered over the man's shoulder and almost giggled at the sight of Obi-Wan glowering at her -- his irritation looked very realistic. She turned an assessing eye back to the man leering at her. Sweet Naboo, he needed a dip in the refresher. She whispered, "Would you promise to take me for a nice, long ride? I just love the feel of so much power between my legs."
The guard's lip curled into a twisted smile and Padmé swallowed a rising nausea. He leaned closer. Before he could reply, a quiet thud sounded and he slumped unconscious over the swoop's front end. Padmé met Obi-Wan's dark gaze. "What took you so long? I thought you were going to stand there and let him maul me." She suppressed a shudder.
"You were getting into the part a little too completely for my liking," Obi-Wan whispered as he hauled the man off the swoop. "It must have shocked me into inaction."
She lifted her chin. "Would you rather I did a bad job of acting and had him sound the alarm? Then you could have had a nice little fight with the whole gang."
Obi-Wan sent her another dark glance as he dragged the limp, unconscious guard into the shadows. Padmé narrowed her eyes. She was not going to be intimidated by his Jedi glare. A few seconds later he dashed back to the machine and hopped onto it behind Padmé. He reached around her and gripped the controls.
"I can sit behind you," Padmé said.
"No. This is more secure."
The engine thrummed to life, barely noticeable above the raucous noise issuing from the tavern. Padmé doubted any alarm would be sounded before the guard awoke.
Padmé found herself wedged between the rising hump of metal before her and the firm wall of flesh behind. Obi-Wan's thighs lay snug against hers, and his chest pressed against her back. The heat from his body wrapped around her and enveloped her in a sense of well-being. Even riding a swoop, full throttle, Obi-Wan was still and calm. Padmé felt safe. Untouchable.
The swoop swung sharply to the left.
"What?" Padmé said, her voice rising over the revving engine.
"It's nothing," replied Obi-Wan. "I just feel like I should avoid the main thoroughfares. We're taking the scenic route."
Padmé glanced around dubiously. Forbidding and grimy walls rose on either side of them. She tilted her head and studied the heavier traffic with its alluring streams of light high above them.
Obi-Wan seemed to sense what she was thinking. "Up is too dangerous," he whispered in her ear. "We'll be fine. I promise. Get some rest."
She sighed and settled against the Jedi's chest. His heartbeat vibrated softly through her ribs around to her own chest where it joined with her heartbeat so she could no longer tell them apart. The feeling of complete safety returned and lured her toward sleep. As her head lolled to the side, Padmé's final thought was that she could never feel secure enough to sleep in Anakin's arms barreling through the night on a swoop.
Astri jerked awake. Her heart pounded in her ears. She glanced at the bedside chrono. 3 a.m. What had woken her?
Something banged. Astri flinched. That's what she'd heard in her dream. Far down the corridor Astri heard muffled voices. She stared at the door for a few seconds, then suddenly realized those voices had to be very loud -- out there. Someone was very upset.
The volume increased. As did the stridency.
Anxiety seized Astri's mind. She glanced to the bassinet tucked in the corner where her baby slept undisturbed. That voice. That awful voice rang through her mind. Threatening her that he'd be back if she told. Astri's hand clamped over her mouth. She'd told Yoda everything. Stars alive, he was back. He'd come to kill her baby.
Breathing ragged, Astri scanned the room. No exit except the door to the corridor. Think. There was no time. She ground the heels of her hand into her eyes. Think. What would Obi-Wan do? Astri's head snapped up. She had to fight. That monster was not going to touch her baby.
Astri swung her feet to the floor and stood. She swayed as vertigo assailed her. Clutching the edge of the bed, she stumbled to the end and paused to marshal her balance.
The voices were growing louder.
Taking a deep breath, Astri lunged across the two meter distance from bed to corner. She slammed into the wall beside the bassinet and rolled to press her back against the ferrocrete. Her breathing was coming in short gasps.
Footsteps. Loud. Cracking against the tile floor.
Astri pushed herself away from the wall and stood between her baby and the door. Dizziness blurred her vision. Her knees wobbled. She felt the blood draining toward her feet. I feel ... I never faint. I can't ...
The door crashed open just as Astri's legs buckled. The floor sped toward her. But I never faint.
Yoda paced the floor. "Again. Again. Try again."
The bleary-eyed knight manning the comm station shook his head. "I'm sorry, Master Yoda. Something must be jamming Master Windu's transmission. We've been trying for over an hour. It might be faster to just send someone to wherever Master Windu is."
"Know where he is, I do not," snapped Yoda. He stopped. "My apologies. Worried, I am. Your fault, this is not. Try the command center again, please. Perhaps, find out where they are, we can."
A moment passed, during which Yoda stood frozen, hands capping his gimer stick.
The knight shook his head. "I don't understand. They aren't responding, or acknowledging our communication in any way, but everything indicates the signal is getting through."
Yoda closed his eyes. Now there were two to worry about. Obi-Wan and Mace. It wasn't always an easy thing, releasing your worry to the Force.
"Should I keep trying?" the knight asked.
Yoda nodded and sank into a crouch. Obi-Wan might be out of touch, but he could try to warn Mace of the danger, even if he couldn't pass on the details. Yoda's consciousness skated along tendrils of the Force as he sought Mace's signature. Pulsing warmth and a kaleidoscope of light enveloped the ancient Jedi; worry blew away like dust on the wind.
Warm air whipped out of the sultry darkness, streaming over the swoop's windscreen to whisper seductive promises of rest in Obi-Wan's ears. Their roundabout course had added hours to their journey, ensuring they would arrive at the Temple in daylight. And if that was the case, Obi-Wan knew he needed to be rested and alert.
The detour had given rise to a sense of security, and so they rode the slightly busier lanes a little higher up. Obi-Wan no longer felt urgency thrumming through his veins; he had no sense of looming peril at all. And as his danger sense had waned, his awareness of Padme had risen. She was snuggled between his arms, head resting against his shoulder, sound asleep. The smell of her hair filled his nostrils. One of Padmé's hand had drifted down and loosely clasped his thigh. That innocent touch was ... disconcerting. It reminded him of holding Luminara, wanting so desperately to ease her pain, wanting to ... to step beyond the bounds of friendship. Knowing it was impossible.
Silver flashed. Obi-Wan swerved. A large transport, crash whistle squealing, missed the nose of the swoop by centimeters as the hulking vehicle pulled into the line of traffic. Padmé jerked upright and Obi-Wan swung to the right, into an exit lane. His hands were shaking as he slowed the swoop.
They were moving through an office district. Obi-Wan spotted a parkade and eased under the overhang protecting the entrance. He zipped the swoop between ineffectual barriers and coasted to the back corner of the deserted parkade, stopping behind a broad pillar that offered partial concealment from the street.
Obi-Wan sat, eyes closed, hands still gripping the controls, and focused on breathing. In and out. Slow and even. He groped for his suddenly elusive center.
Padmé shifted and eased one leg over the swoop. "What's wrong?" she whispered.
Eyes still closed, Obi-Wan replied, "I wasn't concentrating and almost got us killed."
"You're tired. You need to rest."
"Don't make excuses for me."
Her hand found his face in the dark and framed it with her small hands. "I'll do as I please, Obi-Wan Kenobi. If I say you're tired, then it is so."
"You are a very bossy senator, aren't you?" He smiled, though she couldn't see it.
"Terribly bossy. I always get my way. And don't you forget it."
Obi-Wan swallowed a groan.
Padmé straightened and rested her palms on his chest. Concern filled her voice. "Something's wrong. Tell me."
"Nothing's wrong, Padmé."
"You're a lousy liar, Obi-Wan."
"A Jedi trait. It's why we don't do it."
"What had you been thinking about that was so distracting?"
Obi-Wan peered into the darkness. "You were sleeping in my arms and it made me remember. The last time I saw Luminara she was deep in mourning. I couldn't ... take away her pain. All I could do was hold her."
"That's what she needed you to do, Obi-Wan."
"I wanted to do more than hold her."
"Jedi confession time, is it?" Padmé chuckled. "I've created a monster. Your secret is safe with me, oh Jedi Master of Stuffiness."
Through clenched teeth, Obi-Wan said, "I am not stuffy."
"I was just teasing, Obi-Wan."
"Well I am not stuffy. Just because I strive to act in a manner befitting a Jedi and don't give in to every nerf-brained impulse--"
Padmé clamped her hand over his mouth. "Quiet, Obi-Wan. If you're referring to Anakin, I have no desire to argue with you right now. Just tell me the plan."
Obi-Wan released his irritation. "Sleep. I need to be alert when we arrive at the Temple."
"Sleep where?"
"On the ferrocrete floor. Not the best accommodations, I'm afraid."
"I'm sure I've had worse. I just can't think of any right now."
Obi-Wan dismounted from the swoop and helped Padmé get settled in the dark. She stretched out by the pillar and Obi-Wan laid down beside her so they were back to back. They shared what little warmth they could.
A moment later Padmé whispered, "Are you at all comfortable?"
"No," Obi-Wan replied.
"Good. I'd hate to be alone in that."
The Jedi snorted quietly. "Good night, Padmé."
"Sweet dreams, Obi-Wan. May they be filled with a certain dear friend."
Obi-Wan shook his head. How long would it take before she told Anakin and he was teasing him about the same thing? "And who will you be dreaming of, Padmé?"
A long pause. "Good night, Obi-Wan."
Fear gripped her throat as she rose toward consciousness. My baby. I have to save my baby. Astri moaned and tried to struggle free. Someone was holding her. A familiar voice was murmuring softly. Not words; indistinct sounds of comfort.
Astri forced her eyes open. She blinked as she strained to bring the room into focus. Eyes as blue as a cloudless day stared back at her. She gasped, then started to cry. What's wrong with me? I never cry.
"Shhh. It's okay, Astri. Everything will be fine." The deep rasping voice of her husband caressed her ears. She hid her face against his chest as the stream of tears turned into a torrent.
When her roiling emotions finally subsided and her crying was reduced to the odd hiccup, Astri said, "You're home early."
Gelff's arms tightened around her. "I'm sorry, Astri. I'm so sorry. You needed me and I wasn't there. When I walked into our apartment and saw the mess, saw that you were gone, I have never felt such anguish. Thank the stars that the Jedi had left a message telling where to find you. But I got here and some overzealous healer wasn't going to let me see you. Said you were resting."
"Oh, Gelff. That was you yelling? I thought ..."
"Yes, it was me. Nothing was going to keep me from getting to your side, Astri. They didn't even tell me ... I didn't even know you had had our baby until ..." Gelff drew a deep breath. "Until I walked in here just in time to see you crumple to the floor. I thought ..."
Astri sighed. "It doesn't matter. You're here now."
Gelff lifted her off the floor and carried her to the bed. He gently laid her down and then stretched out beside her. Astri smiled and rubbed the heavy stubble on his jaw. "You should go introduce yourself to your newborn."
"I will wait until the babe awakes," Gelff whispered. "Then you can introduce us. Right now I just want to be with you and know you are okay. You are so incredible. The Jedi who met me at the main entrance and escorted me here apparently helped break into the apartment with a healer. He told me what he knew of what you went through."
"Hush," Astri said. "I don't want to talk about it right now. I just want to be with you and know you are really here."
Gelff's smile lit his eyes, turning them a sparkling azure. He enfolded Astri in his arms. A throat cleared, but Astri didn't even look. "Hello, Winna. Were you the unfortunate healer trying to keep my husband from my side?"
"Indeed I was," the elderly Jedi replied from the doorway. "And for good reason. Look at the two of you. How will you get any rest like that?"
"I will rest better like this," Astri replied. "Within these arms I will have no bad dreams of men coming to hurt me, or my baby."
"Well, he certainly is big enough to scare most beings away," Winna commented.
"Actually, Gelff is smaller than his father." Astri stifled a yawn.
"Get some sleep," Winna clipped. "The baby will be awake and hungry soon enough. And Gelff, you will bring the baby to your wife, when the time comes. I do not want her out of bed and on her feet for any reason."
"What if I need to use the refresher?" Astri asked.
"He's big enough. He can carry you."
With that the healer closed the door, leaving the new family alone. Gelff chuckled. "Is she always that overbearing?"
"I think so. She even bossed Master Yoda, and I don't think anyone does that."
"Then we'd better do as she says. You need to sleep."
"Will you be here when I wake up?"
"Wild nerf couldn't drag me away. Never again, Astri. As of now, my traveling-for-work days are done."
Astri's eyes drooped closed. She whispered, "I love you, Gelff. And I'm glad you'll be staying close to home. But I think we need to talk about which one of us has the next baby." She fell asleep with her husband's low chuckle chiming in her ears.
Mace Windu propped his boot on the low parapet and absently massaged his sore leg as he stared across the wide canyon to the Jedi Temple, silhouetted against the rising sun. Major Tem had finally come to the conclusion that Obi-Wan had escaped their net, and had ordered the mobile command unit moved to this plaza across from the Temple. The C-Sec search had become a wait, with all the searchers strung out to form -- Tem hoped -- an impenetrable perimeter around the Temple. Every approach was under surveillance by spy-bots. Every available officer was in position.
With a grimace, Mace silently conceded that Tem could well be successful in his attempt to capture Obi-Wan, if the young knight insisted on trying to reach the Temple. The prospect didn't sit well with the Jedi Master, not when he considered that Tem would probably prefer to kill Obi-Wan over simply arresting him. The major claimed his attitude arose from Obi-Wan having downed five C-Sec officers, but Mace felt something else was at work. Unfortunately, that something else was proving elusive to pinpoint. Tem could teach some Jedi a thing or two about shielding their emotions.
A buzzing noise intruded upon his awareness. Mace glanced over his shoulder. In the early morning light, six beings -- four human males and two Twilek -- had started a game of clipdisc on the almost-deserted plaza. Each being was balanced on a hoverboard, right hand gripping the control handle atop the single post rising up from the nose of the board. Mace scowled as he watched the riders swoop and dodge, clipping the padded hoverdisc with their boards. Each pass and interception was met with hoots and hollers by the other players. Why didn't Tem shoo them away? Mace decided letting the game continue was the major's way of lending normalcy to the scene, and he turned away.
As he continued to study the Temple, Mace considered the warning Yoda had sent him through the Force. Grave danger. But from where, or who? Since his comlink was dead and C-Sec units were off limits, Mace was sorely tempted to make the short trek to the Temple and find out what Yoda knew. But his instincts bade him stay. He couldn't risk being away when Obi-Wan arrived. He might be the knight's only hope for survival.
Once again, Mace stretched out through the Force, seeking for some sign of Obi-Wan. Even though he didn't expect to succeed, the Force's warmth was a balm in the chilly morning. It soothed his senses and calmed his thoughts.
His knee buckled when the hoverdisc bounced off the back of his leg. Mace twisted in time to see two hoverboard riders bearing down on him. One clipped the disc and it ricocheted back at Mace. The other swung to intercept. His board skidded sideways, catching Mace on the shin. Mace jumped sideways. His sore leg bumped against the parapet and he lost his balance. The second rider came at him, holding out his hand. At the last second, the rider jerked his board and knocked Mace's knee.
Thrown backwards by the blow, Mace grabbed for the ledge and got a handful of air.
