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.
They were led to a gray building with no sign outside. When they were ushered inside, Anakin's nose twitched. It smelled like chemicals. So the rumors could be true. The prisoners exchanged uneasy glances.
They were prodded along the hallway and pushed into a bare white room.
There a holoscreen
to the Typha-Dor, too. He needn't worry about the invasion right now.
He ate and followed some other prisoners out into the courtyard.
Warming lights had been set up, and the air was comfortable. Flowers grew, and large, leafy trees. Anakin found a bench and sat. He felt something he had not felt in a long, long time, not since he was a little boy nestled in his mother's embrace: peace.
I'll fight it soon. When I need to escape, I will. But right now
right now, would it be so wrong to enjoy it?
Chapter Seven
They could lock on his position and send help. It would take almost two days to arrive, but he had to risk it.
The tracking device tucked in Anakin's tunic beeped a steady signal.
Obi-Wan trudged back to the ship. He climbed through the hole and went to the rear cargo hold. He had to cut through the crunched door with his lightsaber. He remembered that they had loaded one swoop aboard. They had to leave the rest behind because Anakin needed to lighten the ship's load as much as possible.