Alliances (Star Wars: Thrawn, #2)(109)

“Anakin!”

The voice seemed to come from the bottom of a well. He half turned, handing his defense fully over to the Force.

And to his amazement found that, while he’d been focused on the freighter and the B2s, another, smaller freighter had landed in the courtyard behind him. The ramp was open, and two men were lying dead or stunned on the ground beside it where they’d apparently fallen off. Padmé was waving to him from the top of the ramp; she caught his eye, nodded, and disappeared inside. Thrawn was standing beside the ramp, using it for protection as he fired Padmé’s S-5 at the droids. “Inside, General,” he called.

Once again, the Chiss had somehow pulled off some magic. Turning back to the droids, Anakin backed toward their new transport, continuing to block their attacks as he walked. He reached the ramp, waited for Thrawn to slip around behind him and into the ship, started to back up himself—

“Hold it!” a voice called.

Anakin risked a glance to the side. Padmé’s friend LebJau was staggering toward him, R2-D2 clutched in his arms. “He got tangled in some broken plastoid,” he called.

Anakin winced. “Take him inside,” he said. “Sorry, Artoo.”

He waited until LebJau and the little droid were safely through the hatchway, then backed up the ramp himself and stepped inside. He slapped the hatch control—“Go!” he shouted.

And grabbed for a handhold as Padmé rocketed the ship up and out, driving away at full power, twisting and jinking to avoid the B2s’ fire. He waited until she’d straightened out, then headed forward.

Thrawn was already seated in the copilot seat when he arrived. “I give up,” Anakin said as he got a grip on the back of Padmé’s chair. “What hat did you pull this one out of?”

“Don’t you recognize it?” Thrawn asked. “It was one of the other ships at the Black Spire landing area.”

Anakin frowned. “So…? Ah. The Separatists we left on Batuu helped themselves?”

“Exactly,” Thrawn said. “You may recall my comment that as long as they were a few hours behind us all would be well.”

“So you expected them to come.”

“Of course,” Thrawn said, his tone the kind Obi-Wan used when he thought Anakin wasn’t catching on fast enough. “They’re soldiers. They wouldn’t simply abandon their duty.”

“Of course not,” Anakin said sourly. “And you knew they would land right where you and Padmé could shoot up at them from beneath the ramp because…?”

“It was the nearest spot in the courtyard where they would be able to attack you from behind without risking a crossfire from their own droids.”

“Speaking of droids, was that LebJau who just came in with Artoo?” Padmé asked.

Anakin nodded. “Artoo was in trouble, and LebJau got him out. There—up ahead—is that the cortosis mining area?”

“I don’t know,” Padmé said. “Seems to be in the right place, though.”

“It is,” Thrawn confirmed.

“Take us over there, Padmé,” Anakin ordered. “We’ve got one more job to do.”

“I’d urge you to reconsider,” Thrawn said. “The presence of outsiders has already damaged this world enough.”

“Hey, we weren’t the ones who did this to them,” Anakin countered. “We didn’t start it. But we need to finish it.”

“What are you talking about?” Padmé asked, sounding puzzled.

“General Skywalker plans to destroy the mine,” Thrawn said quietly. “Again, I urge you—”

“There,” Anakin interrupted, pointing past Padmé’s shoulder at a tall, angled structure in the middle of the darkness, its lights off, apparently deserted. “That must be the main shaft.”

“Anakin, are you sure this is a good idea?” Padmé asked carefully.

Anakin looked down at the top of her head, a flash of anger rippling through him. “You taking his side now?” he demanded.

“I’m not taking anyone’s side,” she protested. “I’m just trying to figure out if it’s the smart thing to do. We’ve got the droids reprogrammed, remember? Why not let them waste the cortosis?”

“And what if they figure it out?” Anakin shot back. “Just because Thrawn said cortosis is rare doesn’t mean they won’t find another stash of it somewhere. Besides, we can’t risk them making more clone armor.”

“There’ll be miners down below,” LebJau murmured from the hatchway behind them.

Anakin turned. LebJau’s face was set in hard lines, his throat working. “We’ll get them out first,” he promised. “Thrawn and I can do that. Or maybe you and Thrawn—I need to find and set some explosives.”

For a long moment, LebJau gazed in silence at the building coming up on them. He looked down at the lightsaber on Anakin’s belt, and sighed. “Sure,” he said. “Not like we have a choice. Like we ever have any choice, really.”

“Good,” Anakin said, turning back around. “Looks like the main door’s there on the south. Put us down beside it.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Padmé murmured.