Jedi Apprentice 1: The Rising Force (звёздные войны)

by Дэйв Волвертон

  Obi-Wan wrinkled his nose. “How could anyone eat that stuff?”

  Si Treemba smiled. His faceted eyes glittered. “Some creatures wonder how Humans can drink water, yet you take delight in it. Dactyl is as necessary to us as water is to you.” Having said that, he took a couple of crunchy yellow stones and popped them into his mouth like candy.

  When Obi-Wan reached for salt, Si Treemba pulled his plate away in fear.

  “Salt increases our need for dactyl a hundredfold,” Si Treemba explained. “It is a very dangerous substance to Arconans.”

  Obi-Wan sprinkled the salt on his gorak bird. “We all have our own poisons, I guess,” he said cheerfully, taking a bite.

  Si Treemba grinned at him and crunched on his dactyl. It was almost like being back at the Temple eating with Bant or Reeft, Obi-Wan thought. He missed his friends, but he liked Si Treemba more and more as he spent time with him. The Arconan had courage and determination that impressed him. And Obi-Wan was aware that it took nerve for an Arconan to break off from the group and help a stranger.

  “You know,’ Obi-Wan remarked, “there’s one think I don’t understand. Jemba puts on a good show. But I sense he’s afraid of Clat’Ha and the Arconans.”

  Si Treemba swallowed a mouthful of dactyl and fungi. “We think you’re right, Obi-Wan. He fears us. Even though it is not or intent, he knows we will destroy him.”

  “How is that?” Obi-Wan asked.

  “In Offworld mining, the chiefs and overseers make fortunes, while the common workers make nothing. Many of them are slaves. But at Arcona Mineral Harvest, we have no chieftains, no overseers. Each worker shares in the profits. This did not bother Offworld until Clat’Ha began to expand our operations. So she contacts the better workers at Offworld. If they are slaves, she offers to buy them and set them free if they will work for us. If they have signed work contracts, she offers to buy the contracts.”

  “That sounds fair,” Obi-Wan said.

  “It is fair,” Si Treemba agreed. “That is exactly why Jemba fears us. Many good workers wish to join us, only the bad will stay at Offworld.”

  “I see,” Obi-Wan said. “So in a few years, Jemba will have only chiefs with no one to boss around. He’d hate that.”

  Si Treemba grinned, then turned serious. “But Jemba has stalled us. He has raised the price on labor contracts and slaves. We can no longer afford to hire Offworld workers.”

  Obi-Wan was beginning to see that the galaxy was a far more complicated place than he’d realized. The Temple had prepared him for so many things. But they had not prepared him for this. He had known that most worlds in the galaxy had outlawed slavery, and he had assumed that it was rare. But here were hundreds of workers locked in an illegal practice.

  Obi-Wan was horrified at the idea of slavery. Since Offworld had paid good money to buy and train slaves, the company wasn’t likely to sell them cheap — or to let them go without a fight. Clat’Ha had been right when she told Obi-Wan he had stepped into a war. This battle would probably wage through mining camps on hundreds of worlds.

  He wanted to race to the other side of the ship, lightsaber in hand, and right every wrong. But that wasn’t the way, he knew. He had to find those thermocoms. Exposure was the only way to fight Jemba.

  He pushed his plate away. “We’ve searched everywhere on this side of the ship, Si” he said. “The thermocoms must be in Offworld territory.”

  The Arconan boy took a deep breath, then released it slowly. “Good. We are pleased.”

  “Pleased?” Obi-Wan asked. “But now we have to invade Offworld territory. I thought you were terrified of Hutts.”

  “That we are,” Si Treemba agreed. “But still, we are pleased because if the thermocoms are not here, it means that we are innocent. Someone at Offworld Mining is really trying to kill us.”

  “Yes, I can see how that would be comforting,” Obi-Wan teased, though he did understand. The Arconans were hatched from eggs and raised in huge nest — with hundreds of brothers and sisters growing together at the same time. From their youth, they were trained to think of themselves as a group. The thought that any Arconan — any of Si’s brothers or sisters — would do something that might hurt or shame the groups must have filled the young Arconan with dread.

  “So are you ready to search in Hutt territory?” Obi-Wan asked. “We’ll have to find a way to sneak over.”

  Si Treemba pushed away his plate of fungi and dactyl. “as we said before, Obi-Wan, we will follow you.”

  Obi-Wan grinned. “You might be sorry you said that.”

  Chapter 10

  Obi-Wan and Si Treemba crawled forward through the airshaft and gazed through a grate down into a dark cabin. A huge Whiphid was lying asleep on a bunk, a ball of sour-smelling fur. The odor of cheap Dresselian beer filled the room.

  The cabin looked like a monument to filth, just like all the others Obi-Wan had seen today. The Whiphid wore dirty, half-cured hides from his homeworld of Toola. Piles of painted animal skulls were stacked in every corner, looking like hunting trophies. Worse that that, Obi-Wan could see that Hutts had been bunking in the same room: The floor was littered with the furry parts of half-eaten small animals.

  Obi-Wan studied the shadowy scene below for a long minute. The Whiphid was probably drunk. Otherwise he would have been out playing sabacc or some other card game with his friends.

  But something felt wrong. Maybe the Whiphid was only faking sleep. It could be a trap.

  Obi-Wan tried to peer farther into the room. It looked empty but for the lone Whiphid. He couldn’t see the corners of the room, however.

  His unease deepened. He could feel dark ripples in the force, but what did it mean? Evil streamed through this side of the ship like poisonous air. He’d searched several rooms already. He’d found illegal weapons — riot guns and biotic grenades. He’d found a small casket filled with credit chips that might have been stolen loot. But he hadn’t found any thermocoms.

  He studied the Whiphid again. He was lying on his cot. Beneath his head Obi-Wan could see a barely concealed weapon. Among such creatures, sleeping with a blaster was the norm.

  Obi-Wan watched the Whiphid breathe. He took shallow breaths, a bit too unevenly for Obi-Wan to be comfortable. If he was asleep at all, he was sleeping lightly.

  Too often in the past, Obi-Wan’s impatience had gotten him into trouble. This time he decoded to trust his instincts.

  Carefully, quietly, Obi-Wan scooted past this room. He glanced behind him in the cramped duct. Si Treemba was at his heels. The poor Arconan could hardly move his huge triangular head through the shaft.

  Then Si Treemba banged his head on the metal duct. It made a small thump. Obi-Wan cringed.

  Because Si Treemba’s people had evolved in the tunnels of Arcona, his marvelous faceted eyes gave off a faint bioluminescent light. Obviously, Arconans were not animal hunters. Obi-Wan only hoped that as they passed the cabin below, the Whiphid would not glance and see the Arconan.

  Obi-Wan held his breath and moved forward, inching along toward the air vent for the next cabin.

  The odor coming from the room ahead was horrible — a mixture of sour fat and greasy hair. Obi-Wan could hear voices, the booming laughter of Hutts, the animal growls of Whiphids.

  He brushed aside some dust and peered through the next vent. The cabin was full of Hutts and Whiphids, all crouched around the floor, playing dice.

  Si Treemba would never be able to sneak past them. They’d have to back up, as they had done so many times today. Obi-Wan feared they were completely lost.

  Glancing back down the air shaft, Obi-wan could see Si Treemba cautiously inching toward the previous air shaft. Obi-Wan waved a hand, trying to get the Arconan’s attention, when suddenly a blinding flash of light erupted through the shaft, and a deafening boom roared.

  Someone had shot a blaster through the vent!

  Smoke began to fill the air. They were trapped!

  Frantically, Obi-Wan signaled at Si Treemba
to hurry toward him. But even as he did, a huge furry paw pushed through the metal grate and grabbed Si Treemba by the throat.

  Si Treemba’s glittering eyes widened in terror. He let out a choked sound that might have been a call for help. The he was yanked through the grate. Obi-Wan heard the thump of his body hitting the ground.

  Through the vent behind him, Obi-Wan heard a Hutt laugh cruelly. “And you said there were womp rats in the air shaft! I told you I smelled an Arconan!”

  Obi-Wan’s heart pounded. In seconds he knew that someone would stick his head up through the grill, blaster in hand, looking for more like Si Treemba.

  Moving quickly as he dared, he scooted silently toward a corner twenty meters ahead. He pulled himself around it, sweat streaming down his face. Behind him, he heard the faint sound of Si Treemba screaming. A Whiphid roared in anger. Obi-Wan bit his lip. He wanted to block out the sounds of Si Treemba’s screams, but he deserved to hear them. He had gotten the Arconan into this mess.

  Through the air shaft, he heard someone growl, “I don’t see anyone else up here.”

  He didn’t dare return for Si Treemba. Instead, Obi-Wan crawled forward blindly, turning several corners and moving quickly through the ducts. He had to get help!

  At last he stopped, panting. There was no help on this side of the ship.

  Qui-Gon had warned him to stay out of Offworld territory. Now Obi-Wan realized he had to go back. The Hutts and Whiphids would think Si Treemba was a spy. They might try to torture a confession from him. They might even kill him. And they wouldn’t wait long.

  He had been so foolish! He should have realized how difficult it would be to penetrate this side of the ship. He had led Si Treemba straight into danger. He had taken advantage of Si Treemba’s loyalty to him.

  Maybe Qui-Gon’s hesitation about him had been right all along. Maybe he didn’t deserve to be a Jedi.

  Obi-Wan wiped the sweat from his eyes with the hem of his tunic. He made sure his lightsaber was holstered securely.

  Then he turned back to help his friend.

  Chapter 11

  Qui-Gon swung his legs over his sleep-couch. He felt his heart pound in his chest, every muscle on alert. But why?

  He had been resting when he sensed it. It felt as though danger was near, but Qui-Gon was not in danger…

  Suddenly, he recognized the feeling. He had experienced it before. Jedi sometimes sense when another Jedi, close to them, is in trouble. At times, they can even see a vague picture of what that trouble might be. Qui-Gon searched his mind, but did not see anything clear. Only haze.

  “Obi-Wan,” he murmured. It had to be the boy. Qui-Gon fought against the feeling. It was ridiculous, absurd. The boy was not his Padawan. Why would there be such a strong connection between them?

  Yet there it was. Yoda would be pleased.

  Qui-Gon groaned. He was not.

  Wherever he turned, the boy appeared. He was happy to treat Obi-Wan’s injuries, but he refused to be responsible for his welfare. If the boy had gotten himself into some sort of mess, he would just have to find his own way out of it.

  Qui-Gon stretched out on the sleep-couch again. But this time, although he could quiet his body, he could not quiet his mind.

  Time seemed to crawl as Obi-Wan desperately searched for Si Treemba. He had to drag himself through the air shaft, sneaking past miner cabins and peering through grates, holding his breath. Grime covered his hands and grit flew into his eyes as he stirred up years of dust.

  At last he found Si Treemba, four floors down near the belly of the ship. A small cabin had been made into a make shift prison cell. Apparently, the Monument had need of a temporary jail during its transport runs. Considering the crowd on this one, Obi-Wan wasn’t surprised.

  Obi-Wan peered down through the vent. Si Treemba was chained to the wall by one ankle. He lay sprawled on the floor, his arms outstretched. Just out of his reach lay some yellow crystals of dactyl. Only a half-dozen paces away a Hutt and two Whiphid guards played cards at a massive carved metal table.

  The Arconan boy looked beaten and bruised, but more seemed to be wrong with him than a mere beating. His color had gone from a healthy gray-green to muddy tan. Obi-Wan could see that the life force in the Arconan was week, and fading. But why? Si Treemba had ingested his dactyl supply before they’d begun the search. Why had he weakened so fast?

  The Hutt slithered over to Si Treemba and grinned as he stared down at the captive. Obi-Wan recognized him. It was the Hutt who had beaten him up the day before.

  “Ready to talk yet?” the Hutt asked. “Don’t you want that dactyl? I could push a few crystals over.

  Si Treemba stared at him silently. Even from above, Obi-Wan could see that his friend’s contempt for the Hutt could not mask his fear.

  The Hutt leaned closer, his huge head bobbing in front of Si Treemba. “What were you doing in our vents? Who sent you to spy on us?”

  Weakly Si Treemba shook his head.

  “You don’t look so good,” the Hutt sneered. “we gave you enough salt in the saline injection to deplete all of the dactyl in your body.” He leaned back again and chortled. “So why don’t you tell us what we want to know? It beats dying. Someone was with you. Who was it? Arconans never travel alone.”

  Si Treemba shook his head again. His head lolled back, and his cheek hit the floor.

  Frustration filled Obi-Wan. He had to do something. He grasped the vent and pulled it out. He shoved himself into the opening, then somersaulted to the floor. In a heartbeat, his lightsaber was in his hand.

  “Do you only pick on the weak and unarmed, Hutt?” he asked.

  For a moment, the Hutt was so astonished that he could only blink at Obi-Wan. The he began to laugh.

  “Blast him,” he said offhandedly to the Whiphid guards.

  Obi-Wan had counted on the slow reaction time of the Whiphids. They stared at him, their mouths open underneath their tusks.

  Obi-Wan sprang forward, slashing at the heavy table. The lightsaber cut through the thick legs easily. With a crash, the table thudded down on the Whiphids. The flimsy stools they had been sitting on collapsed under the weight, pinning them to the floor. They howled in surprise and pain.

  “Sorry to break up your game,” Obi-Wan said. Keeping his eye on the surprised Hutt, he reached over to the table and grabbed the key to Si Treemba’s leg cuff. The shackle was an ancient thing of metal, with a simple lock. Obi-Wan tossed the key to Si Treemba.

  The Hutt slithered toward him. “So, young Jedi, you have not yet learned your lesson? How dare you defy me, the mighty Grelb!”

  “Oh, but I did learn something,” Obi-Wan said. He held the lightsaber in readiness. “You prey on the weak. Now I am prepared to fight you, coward.”

  Grelb eyed the lightsaber with contempt. “With that?”

  Obi-Wan glanced behind the Hutt at Si Treemba. The Arconan had managed to free himself. He was quickly eating up all the dactyl on the floor. Already, his color was starting to brighten.

  As the Hutt moved toward Obi-Wan, his enormous fist raised, Obi-Wan ducked and rolled in a classic Jedi defense maneuver. As he passed, he delivered a lightsaber blow to the Hutt’s flank. He heard the flesh sizzle.

  Grelb roared in fury as he staggered back. His enormous bulk made him clumsy, and he fell onto the table, crushing the Whiphids legs even more. They howled in pain and beat against him with their fists.

  “Hurry, Si,” Obi-Wan urged. Keeping himself between Grelb and Si Treemba, he waited until the Arconan had reached the door. The he hurried after him as Grelb tried to struggle to rise. Hutts were powerful, but they were not exactly light on their feet.

  “You won’t get away with this, Jedi! Grelb bellowed. “The Arconan is a spy! This is war!”

  Obi-Wan ignored him. He half dragged Si Treemba down the hallway. Lucky for them, the lower level wasn’t well-trafficked. They were able to reach the Arconan boundary without any more encounters.

  As they crossed onto the Arconan
side of the ship, Obi-Wan saw two Arconan border guards hurry away. He knew they were going to alert Clat’Ha that the two had returned — and had come from Offworld territory.

  That meant, of course, that Qui-Gon would discover that Obi-Wan has disobeyed his order.

  Si Treemba stopped. He turned to Obi-Wan, his luminous eyes glittering once again with the same warm light. “We thank you, Obi-Wan. We owe our lives to you.”

  “You owe your capture to me, too,” Obi-Wan answered ruefully. “I’m sorry Si Treemba.”

  “But once again your courage saved us,” Si Treemba said, grasping his shoulder.