by Jude Watson
Adi Gallia was a reserved and careful being. She did not ask for comfort and usually kept herself aloof. But Obi-Wan was moved by her distress and reacted spontaneously. He captured her hand and pressed it between his palms. "I will not fail you," he said.
Chapter 13
The siren blared, then clanged, announcing the start of another day. A day like yesterday. A day like tomorrow. If you survived it.
He had been here only five days, and it felt like a lifetime.
It could be far, far worse for us, Annie.
He understood Shmi's words now with every cell of his being. Compared to this, working for Watto on Tatooine had been a paradise.
The factories on Nar Shaddaa rose hundreds of stories and were spread out over hundreds of meters. The spice went through a multistep processing system. It could not be exposed to light, so the slaves lived in perpetual darkness. Much of the spice was off-loaded from ships that had made the Kessel Run. Other spice was cut in huge underground caverns. All of it was ferried up to the processing levels where the spice was dried or frozen, then processed into blocks.
Enormous power plants supplied energy for the endeavor. At the end of the long day, the workers filed out from the darkness, almost blinded, only to walk under a sky thick with toxic fumes. Taking a deep breath of the gray, particulate-laden air could lead to a long coughing fit.
Anakin already knew that the death rate among slaves was high.
Children and the elders were especially vulnerable. From what he could see, many were dying by degrees.
Security was constant. The slaves were guarded by patrolling natives of Nar Shaddaa as well as droids. Escape was impossible. Even if one could manage to elude the guards and security devices, there would be nowhere to hide. The native citizens of Nar Shaddaa benefited from the slave trade. If they dissented, they were either threatened or bought off with huge bribes.
The spaceports of this moon world were tightly controlled by Krayn. There was no way to break out and nowhere to go.
The whole operation ran incredibly smoothly, Anakin thought in disgust. Greed did not make Krayn sloppy.
Anakin had been assigned to gravsled duty. It was his job to transport the cut spice up to the processing levels. It was tedious, filthy work, much of it spent breathing in the dirt and dust from the caverns as he loaded the gravsled. Anakin was not aware of the fact that his job was considered lucky until he accidentally almost ran down a processing worker.
The slave, a female Twi'lek, had stepped back un-expectedly from her position at the loading dock, right into the path of his gravsled. Only Anakin's excellent reflexes prevented him from ramming her.
She whirled, her long head tails almost slapping Anakin in the face.
"Watch where you're going, schutta."
Anakin didn't know what a schutta was, but he knew when he was being insulted. "You're the one who stepped back," he pointed out. It was close to the end of a long day, and his mind and muscles were strained to the limit.
She advanced on him angrily, her blue skin flushed to a deeper hue.
"Don't tangle with me, soft boy. Your privileges don't count around here."
"Quiet!" A slave on the assembly line warned them in a hiss. "Guard droid."
Anakin saw a droid with an electrojabber wheeling down the aisle at a quick pace. A red beam shot out from the guard's chest and circled. This was how the droids kept track of each slave.
"It's looking for me," the Twi'lek said. "We can't leave the line, even for a moment." Her defiance was gone, and she sounded scared.
The slaves on the line immediately closed up so that the space where the Twi'lek had stood was gone. Anakin reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Hop on."
She did as he said, and he reversed the gravsled and took off down another aisle.
"Crouch down underneath those bins," he murmured. "I'll look busy until it goes away."
"We all look alike to those droids," the Twi'lek muttered. "If I can slip back in place before it starts a head count, I might get away with this. Otherwise it's a prod or two with the electrojabber."
"Don't worry." Anakin gritted his teeth. On his first day, he had seen such an assault, on a slave too exhausted to work quickly. The guard droids were programmed to be especially vicious. They did not use "a prod or two,"
but employed the jabber until the victim was stunned into unconsciousness.
Anakin sped down the narrow lanes, occasionally stopping to unload a bin of spice so that he wouldn't look suspicious. He didn't want to leave the floor. The head count could begin at anytime, and he needed to be able to sneak the Twi'lek back in. Soon he would be in trouble himself. He was allowed a strict amount of time for his rounds.
He circled around the processing floor and returned to where he had a good vantage point. The guard droid was beginning a head count.
He heard a soft moan from behind him. "I'm dead."
"No, you're not." Anakin was not yet adept at moving objects with his mind. Yet he knew the Force was around him, even here. He drew it up from the scarred ground below, from the living energy of the beings around him, from the toxic sky. The Force bound all the slaves together, and they were part of one another and the rest of the galaxy, no matter how isolated they might feel. He struggled to block out everything but the pure quality of the Force. Slowly, he felt the Force grow around him, and he gathered it in and then sent it out to a pile of unprocessed spice sitting on the end of the worker line. One block of spice trembled, then another. Anakin held out a hand, feeling the Force move through him. The pile tumbled over, along with a stack of durasteel bins.
The guard droid immediately wheeled about. "Violation! Violation!"
"Go!" Anakin hissed.
The Twi'lek paused for one instant. Her eyes met his, and he saw a kind of forgiveness there. "My name is Mazie." Offering her name was a kind of apology, a gesture of friendship, he knew.
"Anakin."
She scooted out of the gravsled. The other slaves bunched up, shielding her for the few seconds it took her to slip back in line.
Anakin turned the gravsled. The guard droid could blame no one for the accident, since no one had been near. It circled, aiming its red laser light randomly, but the slaves continued to work. After a few seconds it went back to the head count. Mazie was safe.
Anakin was grateful for the hard physical training he'd been put through at the Temple. The slaves were rationed two scanty meals a day. He felt constant hunger like a beast inside him. He was not yet at Obi-Wan's level, capable of forgetting about food for long periods of time. He had to use meditation to allow his hunger to exist without weakening him.
As he parked his gravsled at the end of the day and headed for the lift tubes with the other slaves, he felt a deep weariness in his bones. He knew it had to do with a weariness of spirit as well.
Obi-Wan was looking for him. That he knew. He was also confident that his Master would find him. But how long would it take? How much of him would be chipped away before it happened? Swallowing rage and fear did not fill up his empty belly, but it made him worry about losing his Jedi detachment.
He kept his eyes on the slave in front of him as they trudged to their quarters. A rain was falling, and it tasted bitter and metallic on Anakin's lips. He felt it soak his hair and unisuit.
Suddenly he felt a surge in the Force. Startled and hopeful, he lifted his head. Was his Master near? He searched the platforms high above. The factories and slave quarters were on the surface of Nar Shaddaa, but the city was built above. He did not see his Master. Instead, he saw Krayn.
The pirate stood on a platform a hundred meters high. Standing next to him was a nervous human man who Anakin did not know. Siri stood on Krayn's other side. Strange, but Siri's gaze seemed to focus right in on Anakin. He felt the Force gather, and he did not understand it. Did he have a connection to Siri? He didn't know. Was she demonstrating that she still could utilize her Jedi abilities? Maybe it was a warning. He did
n't care.
He was about to drop his gaze when another being joined the others on the platform. Anakin was surprised to see the Colicoid captain, Anf Dec.
What was he doing there? Weren't Krayn and the Colicoids bitter enemies?
After all, Krayn had attacked Anf Dec's ship!
Krayn pointed below and made a sweeping gesture. Anf Dec nodded. Siri stared serenely ahead, no longer focused on Anakin.
He didn't know what it all meant. But somehow, he resolved to find out.
Chapter 14
Obi-Wan adjusted his blast pads and helmet. Then he checked to make sure his lightsaber was hidden among the jumble of weapons on his belt. He was disguised as a slave trader named Bakleeda, and he hoped he would pass.
When he had gathered his concentration, he strode down the deserted corridor toward Security Room A.
It had taken careful planning to get him this far. He was on the space station Rorak 5, a half day's journey from Nar Shaddaa. It existed as a fuel stop for traveling freighters and was also well known for having a suite of security rooms available for meetings, clandestine or otherwise.
The security rooms were outfitted with the highest defenses, and it was possible for all parties to leave their ships and travel there without being seen. As soon as Obi-Wan landed, a moving corridor attached to his landing ramp. He exited his ship and followed a set of verbal directions from overhead speakers to his destination.
Security Room A was where Krayn and the Colicoids were secretly meeting to discuss their takeover of the spice trade.
Every day it had taken to lay the groundwork for this meeting had cost him. His patience had been worn to shreds. Anakin had now been on Nar Shaddaa for two weeks. Enough time for him to be beaten. Imprisoned.
Killed.
Obi-Wan did not dwell on it, but it was in his mind all the same. He knew that if he simply appeared on Nar Shaddaa as a Jedi he would risk Anakin's life as well as Siri's. The Council had warned him that his plan must be careful and perfect. He had given his word to Adi Gallia that this would be so.
Didi had helped him establish an identity as Bakleeda and introduced him to the right contacts. Didi had taken a great personal risk doing so, for Obi-Wan had told him that he would have to reveal himself as a Jedi eventually. He could not prevent that. It might become known that Didi had helped smuggle a Jedi into the Krayn organization. There were many in the criminal underworld who would not appreciate that. But Didi had only swallowed twice rapidly and paled a bit before assuring Obi-Wan that he would take any risk for Obi-Wan and the memory of Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan opened the door. The Colicoids were waiting, and he was relieved to see that he didn't know any of them. His face was hidden by his helmet, which came down over his eyes and nose, but it was better that no one could recognize him if something happened to dislodge it.
The three Colicoids gave him a brief glance but did not greet him.
They stood at the round table, talking together in their own language.
Words were interspersed with clicks and humming noises from their antennae and jointed legs. The Colicoids had been the ones who had put out word that they were looking for a slave trader with intelligence to represent them in a meeting. It had taken all of Obi-Wan's skill to convince their representative that he was the one they wanted.
One of the Colicoids turned to him. "I am Nor Fik. Do not speak unless asked a question."
Obi-Wan nodded.
They waited long minutes. Obi-Wan had been over the galaxy many times and had been present at scores of high-level meetings. On every world, no matter how different, one thing was always the same: The party with the most power was the last to arrive.
The door burst open and slammed against the wall. Krayn stood there, his bulk filling the doorway. "My friends!"
The Colicoids nodded coolly at Krayn.
"An ion storm delayed me. A trifle." Krayn waved a hand. "I would travel through worse to get here."
The Colicoids pointedly ignored this obvious lie. Krayn strode into the room and a Wookiee with a scarred face and an eye patch crowded in. It was Krayn's associate, Rashtah. If Krayn meant to intimidate the Colicoids, it worked. The Wookiee was a fierce companion.
Krayn's sharp eyes traveled over Obi-Wan before returning to the Colicoids with a beam of friendship. "So this is your observer. Hardly necessary but I accept it as I do anything among friends. You see how conciliatory I am?"
"And we see that you have brought an observer as well," Nor Fik said, indicating Rashtah.
Krayn grinned as he sat, placing a long vibroblade on the table before him. "It was a long journey. I needed company."
Rashtah remained standing but let out a growl of amusement.
"This is a waste of time," Nor Fik snapped. "Let us get down to business."
Krayn's grin faded. "That is why I am here."
"We have control of the spice trade," Nor Fik said, seating himself opposite Krayn. The other two Colicoids seated themselves next to him. "We want you — "
Krayn held up a meaty hand. "Ah. Excuse me. I suggest that no lies be spoken here, in the interest of our continued good fellowship."
"Lies?" Nor Fik asked in disbelief.
Krayn leaned forward. "You do not control the spice trade. Not yet.
You are still having trouble along the Kessel Run."
"That is because your pirates are still attacking our ships!" Nor Fik said angrily. "Despite your assurances to the contrary. And you yourself attacked our ship without warning when our highest level officer Anf Dec was aboard — "
"A regrettable mistake," Krayn said.
The Colicoid clicked its antennae together. "Now who is lying."
Krayn looked pained. "Trust. Trust — it's so necessary to have it between partners, Nor. I trust you. I see I have to work harder to make you trust me."
Obi-Wan was surprised at Krayn's methods. He had expected Krayn to be as much of a bully in the conference room as he was in the rest of the galaxy. Instead, he was holding back.
"Let's talk about Nar Shaddaa," Nor Fik said, not bothering to respond to Krayn. "You need more capital to keep those factories going. We will supply it. Once we have the entire spice trade firmly in our grasp, you will have the exclusive contract to process the spice in your Nar Shaddaa plants. It is in our best interest that you remain there as a cover, as we are members of the Senate now and should not be linked to a criminal organization. Naturally we will continue to support your slave raids."
Krayn smiled. "I admire your methods, Nor. I agree to step up attacks on other ships along the Kessel Run. That should allow you to close the noose on the trade there. I assume that the capital I need will be transferred into my accounts by this afternoon?"
"Perhaps. If we get some things clear."
For the first time, Krayn looked unnerved. He covered it with a smile.
"Of course."
"My superiors demand an inspection of the factories on Nar Shaddaa,"
Nor Fik said. "After all, if we are giving you the contract, we have a right to a complete inspection. We are worried about your productivity — slaves have been dying in great numbers."
"It is unfortunate that lately there has been some increase in mortality.."
"Yes, it cuts into profits. It is harder and harder for you to conduct massive raids, thanks to the Senate cracking down on the slave trade," Nor Fik said. "If you don't keep your slaves healthy, you will have trouble replacing them."
"A healthy slave is a slave who dreams of escape," Krayn said.
"That is what security is for," Nor Fik said. "I am not suggesting that you pamper them. Feed them enough to keep going. When your ship is struggling, you must conserve your fuel, but reach your destination."
Obi-Wan felt revulsion rise deep within him. Krayn and Nor Fik were talking about living beings as if they were machines to be maintained.
You're the one who doesn't understand!
Anakin's tortured words filled his brain. His Padawa
n had been right.
He hadn't understood. He couldn't understand the depths of Anakin's feeling. As a child, Anakin had lived every day with the knowledge that his life meant nothing. That he was a possession, not a living being.
Obi-Wan struggled to maintain his calm. His heart cried out to move, to get on a ship and go to Nar Shaddaa.
"There is nothing wrong with the treatment of slaves on Nar Shaddaa,"