"A Padawan-Master team, or should we do it?" Obi-Wan asked Soara.
She thought for a moment. Anakin didn't know what the two Masters were planning, but he knew one thing he wanted to be in on the action.
"Got it," Darra said suddenly. "They're jammed for now, anyway." She glanced up at them, her expression taut. "They'll override the jam pretty soon."
Soara nodded, then turned to Obi-Wan. "We'll need all of us," she said. "It's too large an area."
"Yes." Obi-Wan turned to the scientists. "You must stay undercover. If we don't return in fifteen minutes, go back the way we came. Hide where you were before."
"You're leaving us?" Fort Turan asked.
"Not for long." Obi-Wan grabbed one of the extra survival packs they had brought on this mission. He motioned for Anakin to take one.
"What will happen to us if you don't come back?" Reug Yucon asked.
"We'll come back," Obi-Wan said.
"If you'll come back, why did you tell us what to do if you don't?"
Joveh D'a Alin pointed out.
"Scientists. You're so logical," Obi-Wan said. "I said that for your own reassurance. We will be back. Come, Anakin."
The four Jedi slipped off into the velvet night that was so suddenly and spectacularly lit by flashes of deadly light. Anakin could feel the Force gather around them. He did not often have the experience of feeling the combined Force of two powerful Jedi Knights as well as their Padawans.
It made his vision sharper, his senses clearer. He knew where the explosions would come. He heard the faintest of sss-s000p noises when the grenade launcher fired. He could tell the direction without even thinking about it.
The Jedi headed straight into the advancing troops. Soara and Obi-Wan explained the plan. In the survival packs were luma grenades, projectiles that released particles of intense light. They would fan out along the advancing line and toss the grenades straight at the troops. Since the troops would be wearing night-vision goggles, the effect of the grenade would be doubled. A majority would be blinded for at least an hour. Plenty of time for the Jedi to lead the scientists to safety.
The difficulty would be to launch enough grenades amid what would no doubt be heavy firepower. The Jedi would have to work fast and keep continually on the move. They would also have to coordinate their efforts so that a wide area was covered.
Obi-Wan and Soara gave their directions in low voices. The Jedi fanned out. Anakin counted off the seconds,
then lobbed his first grenade.
The night lit up like a flash from a nova. Anakin kept his eyes away from the light. He hadn't expected so much illumination. Even with his Jedi training, it was hard to see. His eyes adjusted, but he stumbled as he ran.
He threw another grenade. Then, taking another leap, he threw a third.
He could see the troops clearly now. The front lines were kneeling, their hands over their eyes. The others were shooting blindly.
He dodged the fire and threw another grenade. He dashed to the rendezvous point, where Obi-Wan and Soara were waiting. Obi-Wan and Soara scanned the field as Darra ran up.
"The right flank," Soara said.
The right flank was the area Anakin had been assigned.
"The lumas hit behind a wall. We need more cover there."
"I have grenades left," Darra said.
"Go."
Darra didn't pause. She ran off, already pulling the timer release on her luma grenades. The sky lit up in a series of flashes.
Anakin watched as Darra twisted, leaped, and rolled as she lobbed several grenades in a precise pattern designed to box in the troops. He saw where his grenades had missed. He had never seen the wall. He had become disoriented.
"Darra has the benefit of seeing the wall from this angle," Obi-Wan said. "It would have been impossible to spot it from your position."
Anakin's face burned. It was kind of his Master to point that out.
Still, he felt badly that another Padawan had to return to do his job.
"We're done here. Let's go." Soara spoke and motioned to Darra at the same time. Darra leaped the final few meters and caught up to them as they ran back toward the scientists. The night was dark again, and there were only a few random explosions, hitting the ground far from them.
The scientists were standing, waiting for them. Without a word they joined the group and they hurried through the rest of the blackened forest.
They jogged the first kilometer, then slowed to a fast walk. They had left the site of the battle behind, and the trees rose around them again.
"There's a village ahead," Soara said. "We should skirt it."
Obi-Wan nodded. "We need the cover of the forest for as long as.." He stopped.
The two Jedi Masters exchanged a glance. Anakin felt the disturbance in the Force. It seemed to be coming from all around them.
"Down," Obi-Wan said crisply to the scientists.
The Jedi all activated their lightsabers at the same time. They made a circle around the scientists and were ready as the patrol burst out of the trees.
The rebel Haaridens were armed with repeating blaster rifles. Some had wrist rockets. Anakin could see at a glance that the Jedi were outnumbered.