Chapter Six
The soldiers had bound their hands behind them and pushed them aboard the starships. Anakin felt the disk burn against his skin. So far he had not been searched, but he would use the Force to divert attention. Shalini had entrusted the disk to him, and he wouldn't fail her.
She had spoken rapidly in his ear. 'Take this. It will be safest in the hands of the Jedi. For the safety of my people, please get it back to Typha-Dor.'
'I pledge my life on it,' Anakin had said.
The starships flew over the deep fissures of the Tomo Craters. On the lip of a crater, a small compound huddled. Out of the viewport, Anakin glimpsed gray buildings, energy fences, security towers, and a small landing pad.
'Welcome to paradise,' one of the soldiers snickered. 'The Tomo Camp.'
Dressed in his survival suit like the others, with his lightsaber safely hidden, Anakin was not identified as a Jedi. Shalini refused to give her name, along with the others. The admitting guard didn't seem to care.
They were searched, but Anakin was able to use the Force to confuse his guard, and his cable launcher, his lightsaber, and the disk were not taken.
They were stripped of their survival gear and given rough brown tunics to wear. Then they were herded out into a small yard surrounded by energy fencing. The wind was cold and tore at their clothes. Around them swirled other prisoners from other worlds in the Uziel system, planets already conquered by Vanqor.
Anakin looked around. The walls of the crater were sheer and hundreds of meters tall. It was clear that the only way into the camp was by air.
How would Obi-Wan rescue him? The ship had been destroyed in the crash.
The answer was that Obi-Wan most likely would not be able to get to him. It was all up to Anakin. Anakin did not mind this knowledge. He didn't mind depending on his own skill.
He had a time limit. Shalini had told them that the invasion was due in only three days. He would have to find a way to escape soon. The key to the survival of the entire planet of Typha-Dor lay hidden in his tunic pocket. He had managed to conceal the disk from the guards, but he didn't kid himself that he would be able to evade the heavy security measures by the Force alone.
He had made the mistake once of thinking he was more powerful than he was. He would never do it again. He would not make a move until he was sure.
An Uziel prisoner in a faded uniform drifted near them. 'What's the news? Have the Vanqors invaded Typha-Dor?'
Shalini's eyes glinted. 'No. And if they do, we will drive them back.'
The prisoner looked weary. 'That's what we said on Zilior.'
'Have there been any escape attempts here?' Shalini asked.
'One. He's dead. My advice is to accept your fate.' The prisoner drifted away.
'I make my own fate,' Shalini said to her cohorts. She looked at Anakin. 'Do you have any ideas?'
'Not yet,' Anakin said easily, sitting down on the cold ground.
'What are you doing?' Shalini asked. 'Aren't you going to do something?'
'I am,' Anakin said. Tuning out the others, he began to watch.
There was only one solution. Anakin had to get to the transport pool.
The question was when. There were four groups of guards on eight-hour shifts, so that overlap guaranteed that one group was always relatively fresh. In addition, sentry droids constantly buzzed the compound. It wasn't impossible. But it would take the right timing.
Anakin still had his lightsaber and his cable launcher. He could launch over the energy fence, but then he would have to cross thirty meters of open space to get to the transport pool. The transports were heavily guarded, but not the ones needing repair. If he made it to the repair shed, he could slip inside. He would just have to hope that he could fix a transport and take off before his absence was noted.
He couldn't take the others. He would have to escape alone, and hope to return for them.
There was no sense waiting. He would escape that night.
The gate door slid back. An officer entered, surrounded by guards and droids. He began to walk through the crowd as the prisoners shrank back.
'What's going on?' Shalini whispered.
'A sweep,' a prisoner muttered next to her. 'They come every few weeks and take several of us.'
'No one ever comes back,' someone else murmured. 'They take them to an unmarked building. There are rumors of medical experiments.'
The officer pointed a finger at one prisoner, then another. The guards surrounded them and herded them together.
Then the officer wheeled about and pointed directly at Anakin. 'Him.'
'No,' Shalini whispered.
Anakin considered resisting. With a glance at the others the guards had herded together, he decided he could not. He knew that if a battle ensued, others would die.
And there were reasons to submit. Security could be a bit more lax at the facility where they were taking him. Anakin fell into step behind the others.
