The Bartokk Assassins Read online

  speed. As soon as Obi-Wan saw the six-winged starfighter waver, he seized his

  opportunity and hit the Headhunter's intertial dampers. The Headhunter

  appeared to flip and roll, but it was a controlled maneuver that brought the

  Bartokk starfighter into Obi-Wan*s sights. He fired the Headhunter's laser

  cannons and drilled the Bartokk starfighter. The Bartokk tail - gunner trained

  his cannons on the Headhunter and ~ fired back. Obi-Wan felt his ship's

  shields buckle - as he targeted the tailgunner's viewport and released a

  concussion missile. The missile streaked away from the Headhunter and smashed

  through the Bartokk starfighter's cockpit, then detonated. The explosion sent

  starfighter fragments in all directions. Obi-Wan angled back toward the

  Bartokk freighter. During his battle with the six-winged starfighter, the

  freighter had neared the edge of an asteroid belt. Many of the asteroids were

  relatively small chunks of planetary debris, but some were much larger than

  the Headhunter. As Obi-Wan approached the spike-covered freighter, he saw a

  hatch open at the main cargo hold. From out of the hatch, three objects were

  realeased into space. At first, Obi-Wan thought the freighter was jettisoning

  a few long pieces of metal scrap. This wouldn't have surprised him, since

  unethical pilots routinely dumped their junk in space to lighten their load

  and increase speed. But when the released objects extended dartlike wings and

  began to move toward the Headhunter, Obi-Wan realized the Bartokks had

  deployed some - thing far more hazardous than space junk. The three objects

  were droid starfighters. The droid starfighters had been clearly programmed to

  attack Obi-Wan's ship, and would do so without fear or remorse. The three

  fighters assumed a triangulated assault formation and zoomed in for the kill.

  Obi-Wan knew his deflector shields would not hold for long against the three

  fighters. He yanked the controls to the side and aimed the Headhunter for the

  nearby asteroid belt. With one droid starfighter leading their forma - tion,

  all three fighters followed the Headhunter. The field of asteroids became

  increasingly dense and difficult to navigate, but Obi-Wan poured on the speed.

  The lead droid starfighter fired, unleashing a steady stream of red energy

  bolts after Obi-Wan. The Headhunter's shields absorbed the blasts, but Obi-Wan

  saw a warning light flash on his console. His ship wouldn't be able to take

  much more. Obi-Wan drove the keadhunter into a sickening dive toward a wide,

  gray asteroid. The droid starfighters pursued him without a trace of

  hesitation. When the gray asteroid was so close that it nearly filled Obi-

  Wan's range of vision, he pulled out of the dive. The trailing droid fighters

  broke away from the dive, but the lead fighter was not able to pull out in

  time. It smashed into the asteroid like a glass ornament striking a stone

  wall. For a moment, Obi-Wan thought he had also managed to lose the other two

  droid starfighters. Then he saw them soaring after him. They were gaining fast

  when he saw two oblong meteoroids suspended close to one another in space.

  Obi-Wan aimed his ship at the space between the meteoroids, as a hail of

  energy bolts pounded at his shields from behind. As Obi-Wan passed be - tween

  the two meteoroids, he flared his engines and pulled back on the controls. The

  backdraft from his engines caused the meteoroids to rotate on their axes and

  draw closer to one another. The nearest droid fighter was about to fire again

  at the Headhunter when it was crushed between the con - verging meteoroids.

  The remaining droid starfighter kept a safe distance behind Obi-Wan, and

  unleashed a barrage of firepower on the Headhunter's deflector shields. Obi-

  Wan flew fast and hard, but no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to shake

  the last fighter. Outside and beyond the asteroid field, Obi-Wan caught sight

  of the Bartokk freighter. Right then, he remembered an important fact about

  droid starfighters: instead of having individual electronic brains, each

  starfighter responded to commands transmitted by a remote central droid

  control unit. In this case, the control unit was probably located somewhere

  within the Bartokk freighter. Obi-Wan punched a series of commands into the

  Headhunter's communications system. If he could isolate the droid

  starfighter's operating frequency, he could jam its signal. And if he jammed

  the signal, the fighter would be defenseless. Despite his efforts, Obi-Wan

  could not manage to find the starfighter's operating frequency. However, he

  did not abandon the idea of knocking out the fighter's signal. He just decided

  to execute the idea in a more destructive manner. Obi-Wan steered the

  Headhunter out of the asteroid field and flew after the Bartokk freighter. It

  was a dangerous tactic, since he was now out in the open and no longer

  surrounded by the protective cover of so many meteoroids. The droid

  starfighter followed him out of the field and increased speed. The Bartokk

  freighter's outer hull was protected by the long metal spikes that protruded

  from its hull. Each spike was capable of releasing concentrated charges of

  energy. As the Headhunter drew within firing range, several spikes began to

  glow, then ejected deadly green charges at Obi-Wan's ship.

  Obi-Wan neatly evaded the explosive charges and fired his laser cannons

  at the Bartokk freighter's triangular sensor dish. The dish was heavily

  reinforced, but Obi-Wan kept his finger on the trigger until the entire sensor

  array ruptured and exploded. Behind the Headhunter, the last.droid star -

  fighter was suddenly cut off from its controlling brain. Flying without any

  guidance, the starfighter maintained its high velocity as it headed straight

  for the freighter. Obi-Wan wanted to board the freighter before it released

  any more starfighters, so he angled back toward the large ship. The Bartokks'

  deflector - shield generator was located within a small dome on top of their

  freighter. The ship's protective spikes began to glow, preparing to fire again

  at Obi-Wan, but as the out-of-control droid fighter raced closer, the

  freighter's defense system tar - geted the droid fighter instead. While the

  freighter's spikes hurled energy charges at the in - coming fighter, Obi-Wan

  targeted the Bartokk ship's deflector-shield generator. There were

  simultaneous explosions as both the Trade Federation droid fighter and Bartokk

  shield generator blew. The freighter's shields dropped and Obi-Wan raced for

  the docking port that had been previously occupied by the six-winged

  starfighter. Before the freighter's spikes could recharge, Obi-Wan had docked

  the Headhunter. He knew the Bartokks would not fire at his ship when it was

  directly linked to their own freighter. He scrambled out of his ship and into

  the freighter's docking port tube. An eight-sided metal hatch was built within

  a thick plastoid frame at the end of the tube. Obi-Wan pushed against the

  hatch and found that it was locked. Obi-Wan passed his hand over an

  illuminated control panel to open the hatch.

  Suddenly, he heard a hissing sound. He realized he must have activated an

  anti-intruder security system and triggered the releas
e of poison gas into the

  dock - ing port tube. Obi-Wan drew his breather to his face with one hand

  while he activated his lightsaber with the other. With a quick twist, he

  jabbed the lightsaber through the hatch and carved a large 0 through the thick

  metal. He took a step back then threw all his weight against the hatch,

  knocking it clear out of its plastoid frame and into the next chamber. A great

  whooshing sound burst from the docking port tube, and Obi-Wan felt the air

  whip by him as if he had suddenly been caught in a strong wind. An automatic

  safety feature had kicked in, and it suctioned the gas out of the docking tube

  and into space. Obi-Wan removed his breather and returned it to his belt. Then

  he deactivated his lightsaber, but kept the weapon within his grip. Obi-Wan

  moved forward into the Bartokk freighter. He found himself in a dark corridor

  that ran the length of the ship. He looked to his left and right and tried to

  get his bearings. From ventilation slats in the metal floor, steam rose and

  created a damp, wispy haze that impaired his ability to see either end of the

  corridor. He guessed that the Bar - tokks' bulbous, insectoid eyes did not

  require much light to find their way around on the ship. Besides the darkness,

  there was an unusual sense of quiet within the corridor. The only thing Obi-

  Wan could hear was the steady, mechanical hum of the sublight engines, a sound

  that emanated from the main engine room at the left end of the corridor. Since

  Obi-Wan had breached the Bartokks' security system in the docking port tube,

  he knew they must have been aware of his presence on their freighter. He was

  considering where to begin his search for the captured Chup-Chup when he saw a

  shadowy figure move toward him from the engine room area. The figure was

  clinging to the corridor's ceiling. A flash of metal indicated the figure

  carried a sharp knife. Obi-Wan heard the sound of a crossbow being cocked. A

  quick glance to his right revealed that a second figure was moving toward him.

  lt crawled along the grilled floor from the other end of the cor - ridor. Obi-

  Wan realized he was trapped between two Bartokk assassins.

  Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber and the weapon illuminated the dank

  corridor. The Bar - tokks pounced. The Bartokk who jumped from the ceiling was

  the first to meet Obi-Wan's lightsaber. The glowing blade swung through the

  assassin. The second Bartokk fired its crossbow. Obi-Wan flung himself against

  the wall, narrowly avoiding instant death by two poison-tipped arrows that

  tore past him and embedded in the ceiling. Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber hard

  and defeated the second Bartokk. By cutting down the two Bartokks, Obi-Wan's

  battle had only begun. Since the aliens' intelligence was distributed

  throughout their bodies, they continued to fight even after being cut in half.

  The two Bartokks had now been divided into four dismembered parts, all of

  which scurried across the corridor floor and prepared to attack again. Obi-Wan

  reached up to the ceiling and retrieved the two poison-tipped arrows. With

  expert skill, he flung both arrows at two of the insectoid frag - ments that

  clawed at him from the floor. The arrows drove through the black-armored

  exoskele - ton and the two body parts flinched sharply before dying. As the

  two dismembered figures lurched forward on their hacked torsos and aimed their

  claws at Obi-Wan, he brought his lightsaber down again and again, reducing the

  assassins to an unsightly pile of parts too small to be threatening. Obi-Wan

  stepped away from the bits that lay strewn across the corridor floor. Even

  though he was without fear, Obi-Wan could not help but feel some revulsion for

  the violence that had just taken place. He wondered how Qui-Gon would have han

  - dled the Bartokks, and if his Master would have been in any way disappointed

  with his use of the lightsaber against such fierce opponents. Obi-Wan pushed

  the thoughts from his mind. No matter what anyone thought, the facts remained

  the same: Bama Vook's son had been taken hostage by the Bartokks, and Obi-Wan

  was the young Talz's only hope for rescue. By Obi-Wan's own calculation, only

  four Bartokks remained in this hive. If the two assassins in the corridor had

  managed to telepathically alert their comrades of his location before they

  died, he would still have to deal with four very angry Bar - tokks. As he

  prepared to exit the corridor, Obi-Wan nearly tripped over one of the

  assassins' weapons belts. By the glow of his lightsaber, he examined the items

  on the belt. He found a pistol that packed a stun net charge, and also a

  slaving collar control device. Slaving collars were crude mechanisms used to

  make prisoners behave themselves. If a collar-wearing captive tried to escape,

  the collar would release an ugly shock.

  Obi-Wan knew that the control device could also be used to track a

  captive. If such a collar had been used on Chup-Chup, Obi-Wan now had the

  resource to locate him. Obi-Wan switched on the device and aimed it up and

  down the corridor. According to the illuminated panel, a captive was indeed

  wearing a collar, and was located in the main cargo hold. Obi-Wan pocketed the

  control device and secured the stun net pistol to his belt. He walked up the

  corridor and cautiously entered the main cargo hold. Although he could not

  immediately see Chup-Chup, the starships had at least located the Trade

  Federation droid starfighters. Like cave-dwelling winged rodents, the droid

  starfighters dangled upside down from a rack secured to the ceiling. The

  fighters had their wings folded up in transport mode. Even at rest, the

  starfighters were a menacing sight to behold. But the hold was hardly filled

  to capacity. A quick count confirmed there were only twenty-two droid

  starfighters in the hold. Because Obi-Wan had destroyed only three droid

  starfighters in com - bat, he wondered what had happened to the re - maining

  twenty-five Federation fighters. Searching for Chup-Chup, Obi-Wan edged around

  a corner to find the hold's docking port. A magnetic field filled the

  rectangular port and separated the hold from outer space. Obi-Wan remembered

  his view of the freighter from outside and realized the three droid

  starfighters must have been deployed through this transparent port. A clanking

  sound caused Obi-Wan to turn to his left, and he quickly spied two Bartokks.

  Holding tools, they were working on what looked like the Neimoidian prototype

  hyperdrive engine.

  The engine was clamped in place to a worktable that was set near the

  hold's docking port. Since Obi - Wan had never actually seen the prototype

  engine, he was not certain that this was indeed it. But from the engine's size

  and design, he knew it was highly probable. Seeing Obi-Wan out of the corners

  of their bul - bous eyes, the two assassins turned their monstrous heads in

  his direction. They dropped their tools and reached for their crossbows. Obi-

  Wan's alert mind kicked into high gear, and everything appeared to slow down.

  His eyes scanned the hold and he saw an opportunity to eliminate this pair

  without touching his lightsaber. He was relieved, since he had no desire to

  repeat the battle in the corridor
that had resulted in such carnage. As the

  two Bartokks raised their weapons, Obi - Wan found a handgrip on the wall

  while he set his concentration on a switch near the worktable. The switch

  controlled the magnetic field that protected the hold from the vacuum of

  space.

  Obi-Wan grabbed hold of the grip on the wall, held his breath, and

  reached out with the Force to throw the switch. The magnetic field dropped and

  a massive wind blasted through the port. The two Bartokks and several tools

  were torn out of the hold and into space. As soon as they were outside of the

  ship, Obi-Wan used the Force to throw the switch back into place. The magnetic

  field instantly raised, and the hold's air pressure returned to normal. Obi-

  Wan ran to examine the prototype engine that remained secured to the

  worktable. Fortu - nately, it was still intact. A desperate pounding came from

  the starboard airlock on the other side of the cargo hold. The circular

  airlock hatch was built into the thick plastoid wall. Airlocks were used to

  help spacers reacclimate to different environments, but in the wrong hands,

  the pressurized cabin could also be a death chamber. Obi-Wan ran to the

  airlock. He peered through a bubble-shaped transparisteel viewport that

  offered a distorted view of the pressurized cabin's interior. He saw the Talz,

  weirdly magnified through the bubble-shaped viewport. The hair-covered alien

  ap - peared taller than Obi-Wan had envisioned. The young creature was gasping

  for air and hammering his hairy fists-against the walls.

  To the left of the airlock, a gauge indicated the sealed chamber was

  depressurizing. Obi-Wan knew he would have to do something fast or the Talz

  would die. However, he was reluctant to use any of his weapons to open the

  airlock because the sudden pressure change might accidentally kill the child.

  There were ten buttons on the airlock control board. Obi-Wan was unfamiliar

  with the functions of each button, but he knew a button was the best option to

  open the airlock. Although he never would have admitted it to anyone, he

  wished he had Trinkatta's technical expertise.

  Trinkatta! As soon as he thought of the Kloodavian, Obi-Wan remembered

  how he had deactivated the Bartokk stun net by pressing two yellow buttons on