by Jude Watson
"What we have will have to do," Obi-Wan said urgently. "It will be worse if we get caught. I promised Qui-Gon we wouldn't take chances." He yanked a protesting Andra back. The droids slowly turned and headed across the yard toward them. Obi-Wan and Andra picked up their pace.
"Hurry," he urged.
Within a moment, they had ducked around the hill and were out of sight of the droids. They began to run for the cavern.
"Intruders! Intruders!"
Blaster fire suddenly ripped into the ground next to them. Obi-Wan drew his lightsaber and whirled to deflect the next blast. They were almost at the cavern entrance.
Pingpingping! The blaster fire hit the cavern wall. Chips of stone flew out, cutting Andra on the cheek.
"Get inside!" Obi-Wan shouted.
Andra ducked inside the cavern. Deflecting one last round of fire, Obi-Wan hurried after her.
They could not move as fast inside the cavern. The floor was too slippery. When they reached the velvety darkness deep inside, Obi-Wan paused.
"I don't hear anything," he said.
"Maybe they've gone for reinforcements," Andra suggested. "Come on, the exit is close by."
Obi-Wan could hear the faint murmur of the creek as he carefully followed Andra. She made her way through the maze of turns, then stopped before the sheer wall. Obi-Wan saw her flatten herself against the wall, then slip between the fissure.
They stepped out into the creek and hopped from stone to stone. They had to hurry. No doubt a full-scale alert would send other surveillance teams after them.
Obi-Wan hurried behind Andra as she snaked through the tall trees of the glade. She hugged the rock wall, then emerged where they had left their swoops.
They tossed aside the branches they had used for camouflage. The swoops were gone.
They looked at each other, stunned. There was a crack of a twig behind them, and Obi-Wan spun around.
Surveillance droids surrounded them in a semicircle, blasters drawn.
Chapter 13
Obi-Wan knew he was in danger even as he was turning. His turn was deliberately off center, his hand already reaching for his lightsaber in a motion so fast it was undetectable. With the other hand, he reached out and pushed Andra aside.
The blaster fire ripped between them and left a pockmarked wall.
Andra had quick reflexes. She hit the ground and kept rolling until she had reached safety behind an enormous fallen tree trunk.
Obi-Wan was seriously outnumbered. Qui-Gon's lessons snapped through his mind in precision order.
Keep moving.
Use reversals - surprise them.
Change hands when you can.
Come at them from above and below.
Use your ground.
The ground was uneven. The droids would have more trouble maneuvering. Obi-Wan used the fallen logs and soft moss beds to give him height and spring. He flipped backward and dispatched one droid with a blow to the head. Using the momentum of the swing, he dived at the next one's legs.
Two down.
Andra rose, vibroblade in hand, as Obi-Wan slashed at the third droid. Andra deftly evaded blaster fire and smashed the droid from behind.
Three down.
The fourth droid swiveled to attack Andra. Obi-Wan deflected its blaster fire with his lightsaber, then kicked out at the droid who was coming at him from the right. Andra leaped and cleaved off the droid's arm. Off-balance, the droid wobbled, and Obi-Wan was able to cleanly slice it in half. It toppled.
A vine hung down from a tree overhead, and Obi-Wan, grabbing it with one hand, used it to swing himself forward to knock over the droid who was aiming at Andra. The blaster fire erupted a split second before he swiped horizontally, cutting the droid in half.
Andra gave a cry and lay still.
Obi-Wan whirled even faster now, beheading one droid and turning to knock another off its feet. He buried his lightsaber in the droid's control panel.
Obi-Wan rushed to Andra's side. He bent over her, feeling for her pulse.
Her hand came up, weakly swatting him away. "Don't worry, I'm not dead. I just had the wind knocked out of me."
Obi-Wan rocked back on his heels, relieved. "Are you sure?"
"The blaster fire hit my pack, I think." Gingerly, Andra slipped the pack off her shoulder. Blaster holes had shredded the material. She reached inside and took out the recorder. The case was pockmarked with blaster fire, and part of it looked melted.
"Oh, no!" she breathed. She accessed the playback mode, but the recorder merely buzzed and then went still.
"Don't worry," Obi-Wan said, patting his tunic. "That's why we brought a backup." His mind was already moving to the next step, as Qui-Gon had taught him. Do not reflect on mishaps unless they have lessons to give.
"Now we have another problem," he said. "Do you know any place nearby where we could get a fast transport?"
Andra paled. "No. We'd have to hike for hours. We don't have time. Katharsis is to start in an hour. We'll never make it!"
"Let's contact Qui-Gon and see if Den was able to rig the lottery," Obi-Wan suggested. He activated the comlink. Qui-Gon answered it immediately.
"I'm glad to hear from you, Obi-Wan," he said, relief in his voice. "Did you get the evidence?"
"Not as much as we'd hoped," Obi-Wan said. "The park is definitely being developed for mining, but we have no proof that Offworld is responsible."
Qui-Gon's sigh came through the comlink. "It will have to do. I don't want to put you and Andra in any more danger." "Was Den able to rig the lottery?"
"Yes," Qui-Gon answered. "He'll be one of the three citizens allowed to bet on the final game. He's tapped into the system and knows who the winner will be. Xanatos is delivering the grand prize."
There was a short pause. Obi-Wan felt disappointment thud through him. If only they could connect what they'd found to Offworld! They could expose Xanatos in front of the citizens he had hoodwinked.
Qui-Gon picked up on his thoughts. "Obi-Wan, you did your best. It's time to come back.
At least the global parks of Telos will be saved. Head back now."
Obi-Wan hesitated. If he told Qui-Gon that they had no transport, there was nothing Qui-Gon could do. He wouldn't have time to head out to get them and return in time for Katharsis. Telling him what had happened would only add needless worry.
"Soon," he answered instead. "We have one last thing to take care of."
"All right," Qui-Gon answered. "I'll see you at the dome. And be careful, both of you."
Andra winced. Obi-Wan signed off.
"What are you thinking?" she asked. "How can we get back to Thani?"
"We have one option," Obi-Wan said grimly. "We probably have a few minutes until they miss the droids. We have to sneak back inside and steal a transport."
Andra looked nervous, but she nodded. "It's our only chance. Let's go."
They followed the route back through the cavern. They hovered inside in the shadows of the opening, carefully waiting until a surveillance team walked through. As soon as they were gone, they slipped outside and dodged the steaming pools. They crouched behind a mole miner near the malab pile.
"What now?" Andra asked.
"I have an idea," Obi-Wan told her. "When was plowing through those memos back at UniFy, many of them dealt with Tech Dome D. They were building a landing pad there. But I don't see one, do you? It has to be concealed inside, so it wouldn't be visible to anyone in the air. Considering the size of this operation, I'd say they were planning to bring in maintenance haulers."
Andra nodded. "Good guess." "That means Offworld," Obi-Wan said. "They have a fleet of haulers. And they need other air transport for smaller jobs. If we can get into Tech Dome D, we can find evidence of Offworld and escape at the same time."
"So all we have to do is find Tech Dome D, then figure out how to get inside, record evidence, steal transport, and make it back to Than! before Katharsis is over," Andra said. "As Den would say, kill me now."
/> Obi-Wan grinned. "We can do it."
Keeping to the shadow of the malab hill and ducking out of sight when surveillance teams marched into view, Obi-Wan and Andra made their way to where they had glimpsed tech domes in the distance. Obi-Wan focused his macrobinoculars on each dome until he found Tech Dome D. He focused on its bay doors. Workers busily walked in and out, some piloting gravsleds, some carrying durasteel bins.
When you want to leave someplace unobserved, pick the busiest spot.
"That's where we'll find transport," he told Andra.
"But the place is crawling with workers. And surveillance has been stepped up," Andra murmured. "The droids are everywhere."
"They're looking for intruders," Obi-Wan said. "Not workers."
Obi-Wan pointed to a worker exiting a small shed near them. He was fastening up his gray unisuit.
"Wait here," Obi-Wan instructed Andra.
He hugged the side of the hill of malab stone. There were only a few meters between him and the shed. He would have to chance it.
Quickly, he began to walk across the space. He gained the shelter of the door and slipped inside. A weary worker sat on a bench in front of a row of lockers. He looked up, surprised.
Obi-Wan nodded a hello. "I came for my unisuit. I'm new. Late for my shift," he added, trying to forestall any conversation.
The worker looked at him suspiciously. "The shift doesn't start for ten minutes. And you look awfully young."
Obi-Wan summoned up the Force. He directed his glance at the worker.
"But you wouldn't mind getting me a couple of suits," he said.
"Why don't I get you a couple of suits?" the worker said.
Obi-Wan took two suits from the pile the worker offered and held them up. The smaller one would fit Andra.
"See you around," he said.
"See you," the worker repeated.
Obi-Wan quickly donned the suit before exiting. He tucked the other under his arm and walked back to where Andra stood in the shadows. He handed her the unisuit and she slipped into it.
They headed for Tech Dome D. Once they got closer, Obi-Wan saw that it was three times the size of the other domes, extending back for hundreds of meters. He and Andra headed for the big double doors and strolled inside. They walked purposefully down a long aisle stacked with supply bins.
"Here, pick this up," he directed to Andra, pointing at a durasteel bin.
"Now what?" she muttered.
"Look busy." Obi-Wan scanned the area. There were several skyhoppers parked near the spaceport door. The hangar itself was big enough to park a good-sized hauler. Offworld had to be involved here.
Obi-Wan scanned the supply bins. Apparently they stored the explosive devices here. He saw a case of thermal detonators.
"Wait a second." Obi-Wan bent down to read the side of the box. Burned into the durasteel case was a broken circle.
"Offworld," he said. "We've got them!"
Andra watched for trouble while he turned the recording rod toward the cases.
They heard a noise overhead, and the roof began to retract. For a moment, the sun blazed down, then was blocked out as a huge maintenance hauler appeared. The massive ship maneuvered through the open roof and slowly lowered onto the landing bay. A moment later, a ramp slid down and workers hurriedly began unloading mole miners.
"I think we just got all the evidence we need," Obi-Wan murmured to Andra.
"Why?" she asked.
He pointed to the side of the ship. Written in laser-pulse letters along the side was offworld.
Obi-Wan panned the letters and widened his shot to take in the unloading of the mole miners. The ramps retracted. The maintenance hauler had never cut its engines. Now it fired its repulsors and began to lift off again.
"You there! Can you give us a hand?"
Two workers were busily loading supplies onto a gravsled. One of them waved a hand at Obi-Wan and Andra.
"Time to head for those skyhoppers," Obi-Wan murmured.
Obi-Wan waved back, as if he couldn't hear over the noise of the maintenance hauler's departure. Then he and Andra headed off in the other direction.
"Don't hurry," he told Andra, whose pace kept quickening, showing her anxiety.
They strolled to the skyhoppers. They had just reached them when the alarm sounded.
"Intruders," a voice intoned. "Intruders."
"Okay, now hurry," Obi-Wan said.
He leaped inside and Andra followed. He settled himself behind the controls as the roof began to close overhead. Obi-Wan fired up the engines. The craft rose in the air. The doors above continued to close, the opening narrowing. Obi-Wan pushed the engines to full power.
"We can't make it!" Andra screamed.
Obi-Wan yanked the controls so that the sky-hopper flew sideways. He aimed for the small opening and cleared it by a centimeter on either side.
"Are we through?" Andra asked, her eyes closed. Sweat beaded her forehead, and her hands clutched the seat.
"We're through," Obi-Wan answered. He wiped the sweat off his own forehead with his sleeve. "Next stop, Thani."
Chapter 14
Qui-Gon paced impatiently near the central ring of the dome. He was careful to keep his hood forward to conceal his face. The mid-game break was taking place, and much of the crowd had headed for the food stalls, but he couldn't take a chance of being spotted. His picture was on every information kiosk in Thani.
Obi-Wan and Andra should have been back by now. What if something had happened to Obi-Wan? This was the second time the boy had been in great danger. Again, Qui-Gon had allowed it to happen.
"Settle down, Qui-Gon," Den said. "You're making me nervous." But Qui-Gon noted that Den's face was taut with nerves, and he continually scanned the aisles around them.
"You're worried about Andra, too," Qui-Gon said.
"Who, me?" Den said, turning away. "I don't worry about other people. Only myself. I'm the one who's about to bet his life savings."
Once Den had rigged the results so that he could win the lottery, he had to come up with the resources to make a credible bet. Den had added all the credits he had to one of the many easy loans available on Telos. If he lost, he would be liable for a heavy debt.
"Are you certain you interpreted the game correctly?" Qui-Gon asked. "You're sure you know who will win?"
"I'll get my legs broken if I'm wrong," Den said. "It's Kama Elias. Relax."
"Remember, after you win, I'll be right here," Qui-Gon advised him. "Don't even entertain the possibility of taking off with that prize. That money is going straight back into the treasury of Telos."
"Of course it is," Den said. "Kill me now if you think I'd double-cross my friends."
"Don't tempt me," Qui-Gon said dryly.
The dais in the central ring began to rise, signaling the start of the next round of games. Qui-Gon and Den took their seats. Qui-Gon kept an eye out for Obi-Wan. After the lottery winners bet on the final contest, Xanatos would present the prize. Then scenes of what Katharsis funded would flash on the giant screens. Instead of images of pristine beauty, the crowd would see scenes of devastation. But only if Obi-Wan returned in time.
The second round of games began. The battered contestants now played a round of shock ball. Roars from the crowd encouraged the most savage play.
Qui-Gon's worry intensified. Where was Obi-Wan?
He remembered the circumstances of their leaving the Temple. They had stood together on the landing platform, ready to take a shuttle to the spaceliner port. They had already said good-bye to their friends, to Tahl and Bant and Garen. They had said good-bye to a disapproving Yoda.
"It is not too late, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon had said. "There will be no shame if you remain here. It will not interfere with what happens with us later. I promise you that. It is better for you if you stay."
He remembered the clear resolution in Obi-Wan's gaze. "I can't say that you need me, Qui-Gon. I know you can do this on your own. But I will help."
Now Qui-Gon admonished himself. He had thought then that he could not prevent Obi-Wan from coming. He had taken the resolution in the boy's gaze to mean that even if he insisted, Obi-Wan would not walk back into the Temple and remain.
But was that true? Was his own quiet gratitude what had been most important at that moment? Again, it was his own emotion that had swayed him. Should he have taken a firm stance and insisted Obi-Wan remain? Had he been selfish?
Qui-Gon nearly groaned aloud. Obi-Wan was not officially his Padawan again, yet he kept coming up against the many ways he could fail him. He had been reluctant to shoulder the responsibility of a new Padawan in the first place. Then he had come to accept it. Soon he had taken pleasure from that responsibility. And now he was at sea with it. Adrift with his feelings, wanting to do the right thing and not quite sure how. All too aware of his own failings, all too aware of what could go wrong.
Yet Obi-Wan was so sure. The boy still had things to teach him about certainty. About trust.
If only he would show up.
Qui-Gon caught a glimpse of a familiar form moving quickly through the crowd. Obi-Wan! Andra hurried by his side, taking quick steps to keep up with Obi-Wan's stride. He knew with a glance at Obi-Wan's face that his mission had been successful.
Obi-Wan and Andra slipped past a row of protesting onlookers to reach Den and Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan handed the recording rod to Qui-Gon.
"We got it all," he said.
Qui-Gon immediately rose and hurried off. He had already discovered the booth where the technician who transmitted the visual images to the crowd during the breaks was located.
The technician sat at a console, eating a greasy meat pie. Around him were tiny screens that showed what was currently playing to the crowd. One camera was on each contestant, one took in a full view, several took partial views, and the rest scanned the faces in the crowd. During the break, all of these would be replaced with the global park images.
The technician looked up. "Who're you?"
Qui-Gon placed the recording rod on the console. "These images are to be shown after Xanatos' speech. Governor's orders."
The technician licked a drop of sauce off his thumb. "I didn't hear anything about this."