Obi-Wan stood at Siri's shoulder. He saw that the cave walls were braced with slender metal poles.
'Do you think the cave would collapse if we cut a few of these down?'
Siri asked.
Another moan from Tup. This time, Weez joined him.
Astri came closer. She gazed around the cave, noting the number of supports. 'I'm no engineer, but I bet you can take some of these out.'
'You'd bet?' Tup asked. 'Aren't you sure?'
'I can't be sure,' Astri said. 'But if it's our only chance, it's worth the risk, isn't it?'
'No,' Tup said in a small voice.
Astri turned to Siri. 'What are you thinking of doing with them?'
'They're shiny,' Siri said. 'And they look pretty flexible. I'm thinking if we can get them through the rocks and sand, we can signal the outside.'
Cholly looked dumbfounded. 'What outside? It's just desert out there!
' 'There's a tribe nearby,' Astri said. 'They scavenge for food.
Someone might see it.'
'Or someone could come looking for us,' Obi-Wan said.
'Or the whole cave could collapse on our heads,' Tup suggested. His hands fluttered down as he mimicked the cave ceiling falling on them.
'Woosh.'
'I guess we should take a vote,' Obi-Wan said. He looked at Siri and Astri, who nodded immediately. Cholly followed with a nervous nod. Weez agreed with a shrug. Then he elbowed Tup.
'I guess it's better than starving to death,' Tup said shakily.
Siri gritted her teeth. She activated her lightsaber and carefully began to slice through the slender metal pole. It peeled back from the wall and Obi-Wan stepped forward to grab it. A stream of dirt rained down on his head, and Tup fell to his knees and covered his head with his hands.
'Gibbertz and ham, we're done for!'
The stream of dirt stopped. Obi-Wan scrutinized the ceiling above.
'It's all right,' he said. 'I think it will hold.'
'He thinks,' Tup repeated.
'Shut up, Tup!' Weez and Cholly yelled. Another stream of sand poured down.
'Come on, Obi-Wan,' Siri said. 'Let's see if we can push this through.'
They wiggled through the opening and crawled forward. It took trial and error, but first Obi-Wan, then Siri threaded the slender pole through crevices in the rocks. Siri hit a rock and wiggled the rod, trying to force it through. The rod snapped.
'We'll have to try another,' Siri said.
This time, Tup rolled into a ball and kept his eyes closed as Obi-Wan sliced through the second pole. He eased it away from the wall and had to jump back as a chunk of loose dirt and rocks cascaded down. They heard a rumble overhead.
'Don't say a word, Tup,' Astri snapped.
Siri and Obi-Wan went back to the cave entrance and tried again. He tried to guide the rod through the tiniest of cracks. He pushed, pulled, prodded, and maneuvered but he got no further. Sweat streaked through the dust on his face. His gaze locked with Siri's. An unspoken agreement passed between them. This time he closed his eyes as he gently moved the rod.
Together they called on the Force. He felt it gather power around him. The sand and rocks were part of him. They were connected to everything around him. He could feel the tiny rivers of space through the packed debris.
Obi-Wan maneuvered the rod carefully. He felt it poke through. He wiggled it.
'I think it's out in the air now.'
'Good. Push it out as far as you can,' Siri breathed.
Slowly, Obi-Wan pushed the rod through until he only held the very end. He wiggled it.
'Maybe if the wind dies down, the sun will glint on it,' Siri said.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure if the wind ever died down in that canyon, but he didn't tell Siri that.
For the next few hours they all took turns crawling through the narrow cave and holding the rod. They turned and twisted it carefully, in case it could catch a ray of sun.
The group split Obi-Wan and Siri's survival rations, but it did little to assuage their hunger and thirst. The air grew close and hot. They barely spoke or moved in order to conserve what little oxygen they had left.
When Obi-Wan's turn came again, he took the rod from a weary Tup. He lay flat and wiggled the metal. He was tired from the rescue of Qui-Gon and the battle with Ona Nobis. He could not remember the last time he had slept. But he would lie here and stay alert as long as he had to. As long as there was hope 'Hello in there! Is
