by Jude Watson
"No time for pleasantries. Better get aboard. I hear we have to get to Typha-Dor." Clee Rhara grinned. "It's going to take some fancy flying. The Vanqor ships are everywhere. Something must be up."
"Something is definitely up," Anakin said. "An invasion."
"Then there's no time to waste, is there?"
Clee Rhara turned and strode back to her cruiser. The other Jedi also hurried on board. Obi-Wan beckoned to Anakin to board with him on Garen MuIn's ship. Anakin was disappointed to have to say good-bye to Tru. Not to mention ride with Ferus instead.
Garen settled into the pilot seat. With a glance at Obi-Wan, he tilted his head toward Anakin, and Obi-Wan nodded. Pleased, Anakin took his place in the copilot's seat. He felt honored. Garen was possibly the best Jedi pilot in the Order, as good as Clee Rhara.
Garen flipped on the comm unit to speak to Clee. "So, do we have a strategy? Those Vanqors aren't too keen on ships violating their airspace."
"Sure," Clee Rhara answered. "Go really, really fast."
The two cruisers rose and streaked into the upper atmosphere at top speed.
"Set course for Typha-Dor," Garen said.
Siri sat at the nav console. She entered the destination coordinates.
Anakin kept his eye on the radar.
"Ships approaching," he said, giving the coordinates. "They look like patrols."
Four fast starfighters streaked across the sky. "Piece of quinberry cake," Garen said.
Garen's hands were light on the controls. He climbed abruptly, the ship's nose straight up. Clee Rhara followed.
Garen headed straight for the two small red moons orbiting Vanqor.
They orbited in tandem, and he dove for the space between them. He and Clee Rhara played hide-and-seek with the starfighters, who were unable to get a fix on their position.
"They're going to call for backup," Clee Rhara said. "I say it's time to outrun them."
"I'm right behind you. Let's go."
The two Jedi cruisers suddenly zoomed out from the protection of the moons' orbits. They streaked into the upper atmosphere. The Vanqor starfighters gave chase. Cannonfire boomed behind them, but they were able to outrun it. Garen and Clee Rhara maintained a zigzagging course, avoiding the occasional proton torpedo.
"We've got some kind of military ship ahead," Siri called. "Ten escort starfighters."
"Just a piece of juja-cake," Garen said.
"Three minutes until we can make the jump to hyperspace," Siri said.
Ahead of them, Clee Rhara dived as the enemy ship's huge weapons began to pound. Garen peeled off to the left. For the next three minutes, Anakin watched in awe as Garen slid the cruiser through, in, and around cannonfire without disturbing the gleaming red paint of his ship or even firing his own weapons.
Garen noted Anakin's interest. "I always prefer evasion to confrontation," he said with a grin.
The ship shot into hyperspace in a shower of stars. Everyone settled back.
"Typha-Dor in two hours," Siri said.
"Piece of sweet cake," Garen said, satisfied.
They came out of hyperspace beyond Typha-Dor's atmosphere. Anakin immediately checked the radar. "No pursuit ships."
"I don't think Vanqor would risk violating Typha-Dor airspace," Obi- Wan said. "Not until the invasion, anyway."
"We'll be landing in a few minutes," Garen said. Garen guided the ship to a graceful slot in a large landing pad that lay at the space center midway between the two capital cities, Sarus-Dor and Ith-Dor. The Jedi were greeted by a security officer.
"May I ask your business — "
"We need to see the rulers of Typha-Dor immediately," Obi-Wan said.
"We have vital information."
"The rulers of Typha-Dor are not easily seen — "
"We are Jedi envoys on a diplomatic mission from the Galactic Senate.
We have information about an invasion," Obi-Wan rapped out impatiently.
"But… the invasion has already begun," the security officer said.
At first the officer refused to yield, but the combined insistence of eight Jedi was too much for him and his staff. The Jedi were ushered into the strategic planning meeting of the High Council at the space center.
The generals and the two rulers of Typha-Dor and their aides stood around a circular holomap. Blinking colored lights showed possible ship movements and attack points. Obi-Wan knew the two rulers as Talus, a young man, and Binalu, an older woman who had ruled Typha-Dor for many years.
They had called for the Jedi originally and nodded politely at them.
"Sorry you were delayed," Binalu said graciously. Binalu had stepped aside. Now Obi-Wan could see Mezdec in the middle of the group. When he saw Obi-Wan and Anakin, he paled.
"This is a high-security meeting," he said. "You have no clearance."
"Mezdec, these are Jedi," Binalu said. "We asked the Senate for help."
Obi-Wan gave Mezdec a cool glance, then ignored him. He glanced at the strategy map. He saw that the Typha-Dor had massed all their weaponry and their fleet to the south.
He and Anakin had studied the invasion plans during the flight.
Shalini had been right. Mezdec had given the generals false plans. They were massing troops and ships to meet an invasion that would not arrive.
Meanwhile, the Vanqors would take over the capital cities in one thrust, unopposed.
"I have met Mezdec before. We were the team that was sent to rescue the crew at the outpost," Obi-Wan said. "Have you moved your ships to attack?" he asked the generals.
"We are moving them now," one of the generals said grudgingly, as though she saw no reason to tell the Jedi. "The Vanqors will attack our factories in the south."
"Is it too late to recall them?"
"Why should we?" the general answered. "With all due respect to the Jedi, we did ask for your help, and we are grateful for your response. But we can handle this. We are going to surprise the Vanqors when they invade our airspace."
"You, generals, will be the ones who will be surprised," Obi-Wan said.
"That is not the true invasion plan," Anakin said. He set Shalini's holofile spinning. It unfolded in pulses of light, showing detail after detail of the Vanqor invasion. "This is the real invasion plan. If you mass your forces there, the Vanqors will simply sail in and take over without a fight."
"But the Vanqors have already sent their ships," Binalu said, indicating the map.
"I see evidence of only two destroyers in the south," Obi-Wan said.
"Mezdec explained that more are coming. The crew intercepted the Vanqor invasion plans," a general said. She was tall and imposing, with multicolored medals on her shoulders. "He came to me personally. I am the high general of Typha-Dor, General Bycha."
"That's right," Mezdec said. "We have the plans. I was the only one to make it out alive."
"On the contrary," Obi-Wan said. "The others made it out, too. You'll be sorry to hear that, Mezdec."
"Mezdec is a spy, General Bycha," Anakin said. "I suggest you give an order for his immediate arrest."
The generals exchanged glances. Talus and Binalu looked at the Jedi.
"This is a grave charge," Talus said.
"They are lying!" Mezdec cried.
"You must trust us," Obi-Wan said. "The fate of your world lies in your hands. The Vanqors are not going to attack your factories. They are moving to attack the twin capital cities. Can you move the fleet to these positions?" He took a laser pointer from a general and indicated the map.
"Look. The Vanqors are invading through this corridor. I've studied the star charts. Your moons will align to give them cover, but it will also create a window for you to attack. You can trap the majority of the fleet between the two moons. Even with a smaller force, you could defeat them.
They will be vulnerable right here."
The generals looked at the map. They looked at each other.
"Don't listen to them!" Mezdec cried again. "They are lying!"
; Slowly, General Bycha turned to him. "And what reason would the Jedi have for lying?" She held Mezdec's gaze. "I hereby issue an order for Mezdec's immediate arrest."
Then General Bycha turned back to the Jedi. "We don't have much time," she said.
Chapter Sixteen
Mezdec was taken away. The room exploded into activity. Obi-Wan was impressed with how quickly the generals grasped the situation and formulated a response. The fleet sped to the other side of Typha-Dor and lurked behind the string of moons, effectively concealing themselves and ready to attack.
General Bycha spoke to the Jedi. "We were unprepared for war. Our planet has no planetary defensive shield, and only one planetary turbolaser. It's all up to our fleet."
"You have the strategic advantage," Siri said.
"Which means there is another option," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Within seconds of the Vanqors invading your airspace, you will be able to surprise and surround them. They know their entire fleet can easily be destroyed. It is a perfect opportunity for you to force a surrender without losing lives.
" General Bycha looked interested. "Most generals are primed to fight. I will do so if necessary. But on Typha-Dor we always seek to avoid conflict if we can."
"A truce would make sense for Vanqor as well as Typha-Dor," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Typha-Dor has vast resources. Vanqor has factories and technical innovations. The other planets in your system each have something unique to contribute. If there was a strong alliance between your planets, you would all be interdependent. You would learn and profit from one another."
"You could become one of the strongest systems in the galaxy and a boon to the Republic," Siri said.
Binalu shook her head. "But we don't trust the Vanqors. How could we, after what they have done?"
"Alliances are rarely built on trust," Clee Rhara said. "They are built on mutual advantage."
"One of your conditions would have to be complete disarmament," Garen said. "Vanqor might choose that rather than complete annihilation."
"It all depends on you," Obi-Wan said. "You have the advantage of surprise. When you don't fire on the Vanqors, they might hesitate to fire on you. You'll need to speak to the ruler of Vanqor and explain that you have his fleet surrounded. The Vanqor fleet captains will confirm. You have a chance to win a war without a battle."
Binalu and Talus gazed at the blinking lights on the holomap, each representing a ship with hundreds of lives aboard. They had a wordless communication with each other, then nodded.
"Tell the fleet to get into position but not to fire a shot unless ordered," Talus said.
"We will talk to Van-Ith, the ruler of Vanqor," Binalu said.
It was a tense time in the operations room. The generals, the Jedi, and the rulers watched the blinking lights on the map. They saw the Vanqor fleet approach. At the last possible moment, General Bycha gave the order for the Typha-Dor coalition forces to surround the Vanqor fleet. The movement was executed perfectly.
"Arrange for a comm transmission to the head of the fleet," General Bycha ordered.
While General Bycha spoke to the Vanqor captains, Binalu and Talus spoke to the Vanqor leader. The Jedi watched and waited. After a long negotiation, the Vanqors agreed to surrender and enter peace talks.
The Vanqor fleet slowly followed the Typha-Dor escorts to the surface of Typha-Dor, where they would remain for the duration of the talks.
"This will take some time to accomplish," Talus said to the Jedi.
"Thank you for your help. We are in your debt."
"Shalini and her crew were responsible for obtaining the invasion plans," Obi-Wan told them. "They risked their lives. They entrusted the disk to us while they were interred in a prisoner-of-war camp."
"Are they in danger?" General Bycha asked.
"Anakin was also a prisoner," Obi-Wan said. "There's a camp in the Tomo Crater region on Vanqor."
General Bycha focused her intense gaze on Anakin. "We've heard of this camp. Rumors have reached us of medical experiments being performed on prisoners. This is against Republic law. If we knew this for certain, it would help us in negotiations with the Vanqors. Did you see anything like that?"
Obi-Wan saw Anakin hesitate. Why? What had happened to him? Why hadn't he told Obi-Wan? He'd had plenty of opportunity aboard Garen's ship.
"I underwent the procedure," Anakin said. "It is called the Zone of Self-Containment."
He saw the Jedi turn and look at him. Ferus's gaze was sharp. He had seen that Obi-Wan hadn't known this.
"What happens to you?" General Bycha asked. "You become… content,"
Anakin said. "You have complete mobility and your thought processes are sharp. It doesn't feel as though you're drugged. But the things that normally torment you don't bother you at all."
"Crowd control," General Bycha said. "It's a way to subdue populations. I can't believe we must form a partnership with those who would do this."
"The partnership will ensure that they won't," Clee Rhara said.
"How was the substance administered?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I don't know," Anakin said. "That was the strange thing. We weren't injected. And we ate with the med care workers and personnel, fed from a communal pot. Our water source was the same as theirs, too."
"It is possible they were all drugged," General Bycha said.
"I don't think so," Anakin said. "I felt that they were… envious of the prisoners."
"When did you first feel the effects?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin thought back. "They gave us a paralyzing drug, but that didn't make a difference to my mind. It was after a bath."
"It was transmitted through water," Obi-Wan said. "That is a very difficult way to transmit a drug," General Bycha said. "Water transmission hasn't been perfected." He frowned. "These are dark days. There are too many scientists with no scruples, willing to poison bodies and minds."
Obi-Wan suddenly leaned forward toward Anakin. "Did you ever see the doctor in charge?"
"Yes," Anakin said. "I was brought to her because in the beginning I was able to resist the paralyzing drug somewhat, with the help of the Force."
"Do you know her name?"
Anakin thought back. "She never told me." Odd. He hadn't noticed that at the time.
"Do you remember what she looked like?"
"A woman in late mid-life," Anakin said. "Light-colored hair.
Distinctive green eyes. She had a strong face." He thought back. "The strange thing was that she guessed that I was Force-sensitive. She seemed to know a great deal about the Force."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes. "Jenny Zan Arbor," he said.
Clee Rhara, Ry-Gaul, and Garen looked at him in surprise.
"She is on a prison planet," Clee Rhara said. "So we thought," Obi-Wan said.
"Who is she, Master?" Anakin asked.
"Someone who has hurt the Jedi and the Republic in the past," Obi-Wan said. "She kept Qui-Gon prisoner in order to study the Force. She was a brilliant scientist who began her career after she found cures to several plagues and saved whole planets. But then she grew corrupt. She began to introduce plagues or viruses so that she would be hired to cure the populations. She was adept at using water systems or air systems. She made a great fortune. But the Jedi caught her in the end." Obi-Wan turned to General Bycha. "May I use your database?"
General Bycha showed him to the console. Obi-Wan did a quick check of the prison world he knew Zan Arbor had been exiled to.
He whirled around in his chair. "Escaped. She is now a wanted criminal." He stood. "We must get to the Tomo Crater Camp right away."
"You will meet resistance," General Bycha warned him. "The surrender is not complete."
Obi-Wan looked at Clee Rhara, Garen, Siri, and Ry-Gaul, a question in his eyes.
Ry-Gaul nodded. "We are at your service, Obi-Wan."
Chapter Seventeen
After receiving clearance from the Senate for their operation, they flew to Vanqor. They met no resistance from the Vanqor ships. T
he Jedi cruiser flew over the rugged landscape of the Tomo Craters, and then the camp appeared ahead. Then resistance exploded in the form of laser- cannonfire. Apparently General Bycha had not underestimated the resistance they would meet on the ground.
Garen dived and twisted, piloting the ship expertly through the fire, never wavering from his destination.
They landed amid heavy fire and charged out, lightsabers at the ready.