Jedi Apprentice 8: The Day of Reckoning (звёздные войны)

by Джуд Уотсон

  Andra ignored him and turned back to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. "You can stay here if you like. Any enemy of UniFy is a friend of mine."

  "I didn't say I was an enemy of UniFy," Qui-Gon said with a smile.

  She studied him for a moment. "But you are, aren't you? Maybe Den is right. Maybe we can help each other. But you have to tell me why you're here. Not to mention why you're wanted by the security police."

  "I'm not sure what the charge is, but I'm sure it's serious," Qui-Gon admitted. "It's false, whatever it is. We have a powerful enemy on Telos. I believe he is using UniFy as a shell corporation for his own company."

  "Which is?" Andra asked.

  "Offworld."

  Andra let out a long breath. "Offworld… They are the largest mining concern in the galaxy." Two spots of color appeared on her cheeks. "But that means that UniFy could be mapping our lands for mining development! If we could prove the two companies are linked, we'd have proof of UniFy's plans!"

  "Andra hired me to break into the UniFy files," Den told them. "I worked there a few months ago, and I forgot to turn in my ID badge. I had to leave in a hurry."

  "You forgot?" Qui-Gon asked.

  Den grinned. "And then I mistakenly took a couple extra badges when I left. So I can get us in. The odds are totally in our favor."

  Qui-Gon hesitated. He turned to Andra. "You don't seem to trust him. Why should we?"

  "Because I won't let you down!" Den cried.

  "I did not ask you the question," Qui-Gon said sternly.

  Andra sighed. "What's in it for you, Den? Why would you take the risk of breaking in again?"

  "Because I didn't finish the job you paid me for," Den told her. "I feel badly about that. I have my integrity, you know."

  "You're a thief!" Andra cried in exasperation. "Exactly!" Den exclaimed. "So let me steal!' "Why don't I feel reassured?" Obi-Wan wondered aloud.

  Andra sighed. "I know exactly what you mean."

  Chapter 7

  Besides the identity cards, Den had managed to steal the gray unisuits that the lowest level of tech workers at UniFy wore. It was surprisingly easy to join the stream of workers entering the building at dawn the next day. The security guards swiped their cards and they simply walked through.

  Sure, we're in, Obi-Wan thought. But will it be as easy to get out again? For some reason, Qui-Gon had decided to trust this Den character. And the Jedi Council thought he was too impulsive.

  Den took the turbolift down to a lower level. "The main files are in a restricted area," he explained. "We'll have to walk down the utility staircase. Then there's a guard at the door. Can you wave those lightsabers of yours at him? We can lock him in a closet until we're done."

  "Just leave it to me," Qui-Gon said.

  They slipped down the utility staircase and entered a long white hallway lit with soothing glow lights. A security guard sat in front of a console at the end.

  "Passes," he said shortly.

  Qui-Gon handed him his identity card. He focused on the Telosian's mind. "This will do. Go on in."

  "This will do," the guard said. "Go on in." The door hissed open, and they walked through.

  "What was that?" Den asked wonderingly.

  "A Jedi tool," Qui-Gon answered. "The Force can easily be used on the weak-minded."

  "I am impressed," Den said, shaking his head in admiration. "Can you imagine what you could do with that, if you had a little larceny in you? Hey, do you think your Jedi Temple would take a guy like me?"

  "No," Qui-Gon said shortly, accessing the door marked SECURE FILES.

  The room was filled with computers and holographic files. Den crossed immediately to the main terminal.

  "I'll break into the system, and the two of you can search on the other monitors," he said, his fingers flying over the keys. "They changed the password, but I wrote a program that… there we go! Call me a genius and I won't argue with you."

  Qui-Gon sat at another terminal and motioned Obi-Wan to the next. It would be faster if they all searched independently.

  Files names and numbers flashed onscreen. There were many marked SACRED POOLS. "There are at least three hundred files here," Qui-Gon said after a moment. "Let's break it down. Den, you take the first hundred, Obi-Wan the next. I'll do the last. Scan as quickly as you can. Look for any mention of Offworld, mining, or mapping." He looked over at Den. "Don't try anything."

  Den blinked at him innocently. "Like what?"

  "I don't want to speculate," Qui-Gon said dryly. "Just do what I say."

  Obi-Wan accessed the first file and quickly scanned it. It was a record of correspondence between the manager of the Sacred Pools project and his superior at UniFy. As far as he could see, it was reporting fuel and food needs for the workers. Nothing. He accessed the next.

  And the next. And the next.. Obi-Wan waded through file after file. He never imagined that working for a large corporation could be so dull. Information was repeated over and over and double-checked. He saw nothing suspicious.

  "I wish Tahl were here," Qui-Gon muttered. "She would be able to figure out these financial records. They make everything so complicated…"

  Suddenly, Qui-Gon stopped talking. Obi-Wan noticed that his viewscreen had frozen. When he looked back at his own, he saw that it was frozen as well.

  "Den, what's happening?" he asked.

  "I don't know," Den said worriedly. He tried to turn his viewscreen off, but the switch didn't work. "Odds are it's a temporary glitch." He sprang up from his chair and started toward the door. "Just lay low."

  "Where are you going?" Qui-Gon asked.

  "I'm just going to nose around, see what's going on. You can rely on me."

  Den slipped out the door. Qui-Gon slowly rose.

  "We have to get out of here now," he said.

  Obi-Wan looked at him, surprised. "But we can't abandon Den."

  Qui-Gon looked grim. "He has already abandoned us."

  Obi-Wan heard the sound of pounding feet. The door hissed open.

  "Don't draw your lightsaber," Qui-Gon quickly ordered, just before the security forces rushed in.

  Obi-Wan knew why. Qui-Gon was hoping to escape detection as a wanted criminal. If they were lucky, they would be held at UniFy as trespassers.

  But that fleeting hope was dashed immediately when the burly head of security stepped forward.

  "You are wanted as violators of Telosian law under the Galactic Criminals Act," he told them. "You are under arrest."

  Chapter 8

  Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were swiftly transported to the Central Booking Station, where they were recognized as escaped galactic criminals and thrown into prison. Qui-Gon asked that the Temple be contacted, but the request was ignored.

  "Telosian justice used to be fair," he said to Obi-Wan as he stood in the dank underground cell. "They should allow us the opportunity to clear ourselves."

  "We're not even sure what the charges are," Obi-Wan said. "Do you think they'll discover that the whole thing has been faked?"

  "There is always that hope," Qui-Gon said. "They can't hold us for long if they can't prove we did something wrong. At least they didn't find our lightsabers."

  Using the Force, Qui-Gon had managed to prevent the guards from giving them a thorough search.

  "Why don't we just cut through the door?" Obi-Wan asked, placing his hands against the fortified durasteel.

  "Because there will be fifty guards on us before we can move very far," Qui-Gon said. "Let's bide our time. We'll find an opportunity to escape."

  "I can't believe Den left us in the lurch like that," Obi-Wan said, disgusted. "He must have known there was a security alert as soon as the viewscreens froze."

  "Yes, I think he did," Qui-Gon agreed calmly. "But it is better to focus on what we can do now."

  "What can we do?" Obi-Wan asked. "We're locked up."

  "We can think of our next step," Qui-Gon said. "It's a waste of time to blame Den. What did we learn while we were at UniFy?"

&
nbsp; "I didn't learn anything except that people who work for companies send too many memos," Obi-Wan said, discouraged.

  "There were many, it's true," Qui-Gon agreed. "And most of them were trivial. Many of them merely confirmed a conversation over a comlink. Did you notice that? This makes me think that so many files could be a way to stop examiners later should the company be investigated. It's hard to find the truth when it's buried under data. Does that remind you of anything?" Obi-Wan thought for a long moment. "Offworld," he said at last. "The company conceals its true intentions and even its headquarters behind other companies. It uses confusion to hide."

  "Exactly," Qui-Gon said. "And there was something else I learned at UniFy. When the screens froze, I got to see what Den was doing. He was not looking up files on Offworld or the Sacred Pools. He was looking up Katharsis."

  "Why?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "I don't know the answer to that, but the question is interesting," Qui-Gon said. "UniFy administers the funds from the lottery, so I suppose it should have Katharsis files. But why is Den so interested? Think about his character."

  Obi-Wan remembered Andra's words. "He must think he can profit in some way."

  "Exactly," Qui-Gon agreed. "My guess is that's the reason he agreed to help us in the first place. So you see when we get out, we'll have another path to investigate."

  "When we get out?" Obi-Wan asked, looking at the fortified durasteel door.

  "We'll get out," Qui-Gon said in the same calm tone.

  Obi-Wan wished he could feel as certain. He had a feeling that now that Xanatos had them where he wanted them, he would not be so foolish as to let them go.

  They spent a cold night in the cell. Obi-Wan awoke before dawn. He lay on a sleep mat, his eyes open. There were no windows in the cell, so he could not distinguish the walls from the floor. He was surrounded by black, as though he were floating in a void. Perhaps this disorienting feeling was part of the punishment.

  The only indication of morning was when the cell lights blazed on. They were given some hard bread and weak tea for breakfast.

  The day passed slowly. Qui-Gon asked repeatedly to speak to someone in authority. The request was refused.

  Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan did a series of muscle stretches to stay limber. Then they meditated. In captivity, a Jedi organized the mind, calmed the spirit, and kept the body strong.

  Qui-Gon sat meditating on the hard stone floor. Suddenly, he sighed and raised his head.

  "I'm sorry, Obi-Wan."

  Obi-Wan was surprised by this statement. "Sorry?" he asked.

  "You should be back at the Temple. I should not have let you accompany me. It was an error in judgment."

  "The decision was mine to make," Obi-Wan said. "I'm not sorry to be here."

  Qui-Gon's smile was as dim as the light. "Even though you are cold and hungry?"

  "I am where I should be," Obi-Wan responded. "By your side."

  Qui-Gon stood. "I was harsh to you after what happened on Melida/Daan."

  "No more than I deserved." Obi-Wan was surprised to see the emotion on Qui-Gon's face. This was the first time his former Master had brought up the rift between them with sorrow more than anger. He seemed to be struggling for words.

  "No, Obi-Wan, it was much more than you deserved," Qui-Gon corrected. "I have come to see that my reaction was due to my own failings, not yours. I haven't had a chance to tell you that. I?" Qui-Gon stopped suddenly. "He's here," he murmured.

  Then Obi-Wan felt it, too. The disturbance in the Force was like a whisper of poison gas that snaked under a crack in the door and then filled the room. He stood and turned toward the door.

  The durasteel door suddenly hissed open. Xanatos stood in the doorway. His black cloak was thrown back, his legs casually apart, his hands on his hips.

  "Enjoying yourselves?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at them and smiling.

  Qui-Gon faced him, not speaking.

  "Ah, the silent treatment," Xanatos said with a sigh. "And here I was hoping that we could have a chat. There's not much time. Your punishment has been decided."

  "But we didn't have a trial," Qui-Gon said quietly.

  "Oh, but you did," Xanatos answered. "You were both considered too dangerous to attend."

  "We have the right to attend our own trial! That isn't fair!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

  Xanatos shook his head. "Ah, I remember being that young. Back when I thought that life would treat me fairly. Before I met you, Qui-Gon Jinn."

  "Life does not treat you fairly or unfairly," Qui-Gon said. "It merely is. It is up to each of us to be fair, or unfair."

  "It's never too late for some great Jedi wisdom," Xanatos said scornfully. "And it is always the same? nothing but riddles. Well, figure this out, Jedi? since you did not appear at your trial, I showed up in your place. I was the star witness against you. I had evidence of your crimes, records of the many worlds that brought charges against you, tales of the times you had escaped justice throughout the galaxy. And at last justice found you on Telos. It also helped that a grieving father was in the courtroom, distraught at the death of his son at the hands of your accomplice." Xanatos gave a heavy sigh. "Poor Bruck. I always thought he just needed a little push to succeed. How was I to know that Obi-Wan Kenobi would deliver it?"

  Xanatos raised one hand and then slapped it into his palm with a sharp crack. It was eerily close to the crack of Bruck's head hitting the rocks below the waterfall. Obi-Wan tried not to wince. He would not give Xanatos that satisfaction. But inside, he felt the shock of it. Helplessness and guilt swept over him as he recalled Bruck's lifeless, unseeing gaze, the arm flung out as if in a last, desperate cry for help.

  "The court may have listened to your lies," Qui-Gon said quickly, sensing Obi-Wan's distress and trying to deflect Xanatos. "But when the Temple learns?"

  Xanatos laughed. "By the time the Temple learns of your fate, you will already be dead. That is your punishment, Jedi. You have been sentenced to death."

  Suddenly Xanatos leaned forward. His blue eyes burned like the hottest part of a flame. His pale skin seemed to tighten over his bones. His face looked like a skull with eyes of fire.

  "And I will be there to watch you die," he hissed in Qui-Gon's face.

  Chapter 9

  They did not get a chance to say another word, or call for help. Xanatos made sure that an entire troop of guards surrounded them. They were led through the prison corridors to the courtyard in front.

  The sun was low in the sky. The two adjacent prison towers cast two long ominous shadows across the courtyard. A crowd filled the yard and spilled out into the street. When they saw the prisoners, they erupted in catcalls and jeers.

  "They love the executions," one of the guards murmured to the other.

  Qui-Gon felt a sinister energy emanating from the crowd. Telos had never had public executions. Such displays were limited to more primitive worlds. What had happened to peaceful Telos? It only took one man to corrupt it, if that man was as sly and powerful as Xanatos.

  Qui-Gon felt reassured by the presence of his lightsaber underneath his cloak. Still, he did not know when he would get a chance to use it.

  A scaffold slowly rose on repulsorlifts until it floated high above the crowd. Two burly guards stood next to two durasteel hinged slabs. A chute ran from the slabs to the edge of the platform. Vibro-axes were leaning against the slabs. Qui-Gon saw in an instant how the execution would take place. He and Obi-Wan would be forced to lie on the slabs. They would be beheaded by the vibro-axes, the hinges would drop, and their heads would roll down the chute and come to rest facing the crowd.

  It was gruesome, but quick.

  Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan swallow. For the first time, he was seriously worried. He had thought that at any moment an opportunity would come for them to escape. But how could they make their way through the crowd? Even if they could deal with the guards and Xanatos, the crowd would rise against them.

  They were placed in an energy cage that was hoisted up above th
e mass of people. The angry crowd shouted for their deaths to be painful and slow. Xanatos stood at the top of the stairs, watching the cage rise with avid eyes.

  It was the duty of every Jedi to accept death when it came. Yet Qui-Gon could not be calm. It not his time. It was not Obi-Wan's. He saw that Obi-Wan was struggling to contain his fear.

  "Kill them! Kill the murderers!" the crowd shouted.