by Jude Watson
They watched as the droid accessed a control panel hidden behind what appeared to be a sheer wall. A door slid open, and the droid disappeared inside.
Anakin leaped forward and shoved his lightsaber hilt between the closing door and its frame. The door stayed open a fraction. With Tru, Ferus, and Darra, he pushed it open the rest of the way. The Padawans slid inside.
It was a gloomy interior. At first they could see or hear little. Anakin concentrated. He detected the sound of voices. He motioned to the others. When their eyes had adjusted to the light a few moments later, they could see that the warehouse was full of items they could only assume were stolen. Rich tapestries and rugs were rolled and rested against the walls. Silver and intricate metalwork objects were stacked on shelves. Anakin saw gold peggats and aurodium ingots heaped in a corner. Durasteel bins were no doubt filled with more valuables.
The voices were coming from around the corner. It was the raiders.
The Padawans crept closer. Now they could make out words.
"The bloc between Evermore and Acadi is first. Then from Acadi to Montwin. We can easily clear out the two blocs using what we have."
"Sure we can clear them, but where will we put our stash?
We need more storage."
"That's one problem I'm happy to have."
The sound of soft laughter came to the Padawans.
"They'd better come through on their promise to move all this stuff — "
The voice broke off as an insistent beep began to sound.
It played through several coded sequences.
Anakin heard the sound of chairs scraping. "It's the droid," someone said in a low tone. "That's the activation signal for tampering. Someone might be here." The voices fell silent. Anakin could just make out a whisper of movement, and then stillness.
"Activation signal for tampering?" Darra whispered.
Anakin and Tru exchanged a look. "I guess it's in case the homing device is activated by someone other than the programmer," Anakin explained.
"Easy, you said," Darra whispered. "What should we do now?"
"Defend ourselves!" Anakin exclaimed as the raiders suddenly raced around the corner, blasters in hand.
Chapter Eight
They had been ordered to take no lives. Somehow they would have to deflect blaster fire and capture the raiders without harming them.
As Anakin swung his lightsaber in a blur, deflecting fire, he realized for the first time that they had over looked something.
If they caught the raiders, what would they do with them?
There weren't enough security officers to guard the criminals. The Jedi were now the backbone of the security force on the planet. If they watched the raiders, who would patrol the city?
The present moment is the crucial moment.
Yes, Master. Anakin gritted his teeth. He advanced toward the raiders. One thing at a time. The raiders were endangering the citizens and must be stopped. The Padawans would figure out what to do with them when the time came.
One of the raiders must have activated some droids, for suddenly they appeared. They wheeled into battle formation and came at the Padawans.
Anakin at first felt confident that he could defeat the droids. He had not fully realized how much he had depended earlier on the Jedi Masters. Within moments he saw that they would have a hard time winning this battle.
He hated to admit it. Ferus had been right. He and Tru could not have handled these droids by themselves.
The raiders maneuvered the droids to come between them and the Jedi. Then they disappeared. Too occupied with the attacking droids, the Padwans could not follow.
"We've got to say together," Ferus shouted. "Don't let them separate us."
Ferus was tight again. As one unit, they could defeat fifteen droids. The Padawans kept close together, attacking and retreating, trying to pick up on one another's unfamiliar rhythms. Anakin lost himself in the battle.
There was only the smell of the smoking droids, the blur of his lightsaber, the balance and heft of it in his hand. He saw everything at once — each Padawan, the attack pattern of each droid, the moves they would make next. His focus was complete. He sliced through one droid, then pivoted and buried his lightsaber in another droid's control panel.
Ferus dived and came up underneath a droid, halving it down the middle. Tru whirled and kicked one droid while cutting off the legs of another. Darra seemed to be everywhere, her lightsaber in constant motion as she took out one droid, then another. She always landed exactly where she'd planned, ready to launch another attack or defend her fellow Padawans. Her face never registered effort, only concentration. She had learned well from Soara Antana.
At lat the droids lay in heaps around them. The Padawans all slumped to the floor, exhausted. They missed their Masters.
"We still might be able to track the raiders," Anakin said, panting. He started to rise. "Let's go."
"Wait." Ferus put a hand on his sleeve. "If we run off we could lose a precious opportunity."
"For what, droid repair?" Anakin asked.
"Information. It's more important then the raiders themselves. What will we do with them when we get them, anyway?" Ferus asked. Better to head them off another way.
We have more important tasks. Once the evacuation starts, we'll be needed."
"That could be a waste of time," Anakin argued. "We could catch the raiders if we follow them now. I want to show Obi- Wan that I can handle a complicated mission."
"You mean you want to help the planet," Ferus said pointedly.
Anakin felt his face grow hot. Of course Ferus was right.
Ferus gave the correct Jedi response. Anakin's first concern should be the people of Radnor, not his need to impress Obi-Wan. He had just expressed himself badly. He had blurted out what was in the back of his mind, not what was in the front of it. He whished he wouldn't keep running into the fact that Ferus took a more Jedi approach to action.
"What are you thinking, Ferus?" Darra asked curiously.
"We need to examine this hideout," Ferus said. "I have a feeling it has something to teach us."
"What can it teach us?" Anakin asked. "That the raiders like riches?"
Darra ignored Anakin. "Remember what we heard? Evermore and Acadi and Montwin are probably street names. They're not just striking randomly. They have a plan."
Ferus nodded. "If we cab figure out their plan, we can be ahead of them instead of behind them."
"There's got to be a datapad here somewhere," Tru said, rising. "They left too fast to destroy their records."
Anakin trailed after the others. His whole body itched to follow the raiders. He always felt more comfortable in physical activity. He always ached to move. But he hoped he was wise enough to realize when it was better to wait.
He just wasn't crazy about the fact that Ferus was the one to suggest it.
He knew what Obi-Wan would say. It didn't matter who suggested it. The outcome was the goal. Resentment was ego. He knew all this, but it did not chase the resentment away.
You can feel the emotion, Obi-Wan would say. Just let it go.
Anakin gritted his teeth. I'm trying, Master.
"Over here!" Darra called. "I found their holofiles."
The files had been concealed in a durasteel bin just like countless others that lined the walls.
"How did you find them," Anakin asked.
Darra was already accessing the files. "I figured that they had been consulting the files while they were talking.
The slight delay before they came to attack us meant they were concealing them. They had to be nearby."
"Good thinking," Tru said admiringly.
The Padawans bent over the files. Darra expertly accessed one after the other.
"These are lists of assets held by individual families,"
Anakin said. "How could they have gotten them?"
"Look at these notations," Tru said. "They're coded EcC."
"Emergency Command Cente
r," Darra murmured.
"These files were drawn us so that if the entire planet had to be evacuated, there would be records of what Radnorans left behind," Tru said. "That way they could recover everything later."
"So the raiders must have stolen these files," Ferus added.
"Or bribed someone on the evacuation team to hand them over," Darra said. "Look at this. This is what they were talking about. They have a list of how the evacuation is going to take place. The first group to be evacuated will be the bloc between Evermore and Acadi. As soon as those families evacuate, the raiders will move in and clean them out."
Tru gave a low whistle. "That's some organized system.
But why are they looting now?"
"Easy answer?" Darra shrugged. "Because they can."
Anakin nodded. "The city is falling apart and they see an opportunity. But are they counting on coming back to the planet for this stuff, or do they have plans to take it with them? It would be hard to smuggle it aboard the evacuation ship. The families are only allowed what they can carry.
Tru reached around his head with one flexible arm to scratch his ear thoughtfully. "The raiders said something about 'they' had better come through on their promise to move the stuff. Who's 'they'?"
"Maybe they have a contact who will help them smuggle it,"
Ferus said, frowning.
Darra looked up at the, her face tined blue by the light cast by the holofile. "The important thing is that they have access to all the evacuation orders. That means someone on the inside is helping them."
"Well, at least we know exactly what to do next," Anakin said. "We have to find out who."
He looked over at Ferus. He expected his fellow Padawan to argue, but Ferus nodded.
"And why," Ferus added. "That might be the most important question of all."
Chapter Nine
It wasn't hard work, Obi-Wan told himself. It was just heartbreaking.
He and Siri moved through a landscape that reminded him of a desert moon. Yes, there were buildings. Homes. Businesses.
Shops. But the eerie absence of lives being lived made the city a vast echo of sorrow.
They found the dead and they found the still-living. They brought the sick to the overcrowded med center, where medication only slowed the process of dying. Curi had had hopes that the medication could effect some cures, but so far it had not. The toxin did not respond.
Every so often Obi-Wan and Siri would see Ry-Gaul and Soara on their rounds. The four Jedi would simply nod at one another. There was nothing to say. No notes to compare.
There was only death and the dying.
On their last trip to the med center, Siri watched as Obi- Wan deactivated his comlink after another unsuccessful effort to contact Anakin. "You seem worried," she said.
Obi-Wan thought carefully how to reply. He didn't want Siri to think he didn't trust Anakin. How could she understand? Her Padawan was Ferus, who Obi-Wan knew as an assured, steady Jedi student. No one understood his brilliant, openhearted, complex Padawan like he did.
So yes, I'm worried, Obi-Wan thought. But I will only admit that to myself. I don't worry that Anakin will fail.
Or that he will let down the Order. But that he will try too hard. That he will go too far. That he will assume he can do what he cannot.
"I'd rather he was by my side," he said. "That's all."
Siri nodded, her clear blue eyes holding a hint of skepticism. She knew he was not telling her the complete truth. Obi-Wan turned away. Sometimes old friends were hard to have around.
Suddenly, Curi hailed them from the steps of the med center. Her eyes were red-rimmed behind her bio-iso mask.
"The ambassador from Avon wishes to speak with you," she said. "His name is Dol Heep. He was trapped here when he entered shortly before the toxin release He wore a bio-iso suit so hasn't been affected, but he can't leave. He has a proposal."
"Avon is a planet in your system," Obi-Wan said. He remembered that the planet was only a day's journey away.
Curi nodded. "He is waiting for you. You can use my office."
They followed Curi's directions to a small, cluttered office. Sleep mats were rolled up and stacked in the corners. Containers of food were scattered on a long table.
Obviously the medics used the office to snatch quick meals and some rest when they could.
Dol Heep rose when they entered. He was a tall being with a large, domed head. He was dressed in a bio-iso suit, though for some reason he had attached his ornate septsilk cloak to it, which gave him a slightly ridiculous air.
He bowed. "A great honor to meet Jedi." His voice boomed out, sounding too loud in the hushed setting.
Siri and Obi-Wan returned the bow.
"Unfortunate that it is under such circumstances," Dol Heep continued. "No one in the government is available for us to speak with. Jedi are the only officials we can approach with this offer."
"Yes?" Siri asked, inclining her head politely.
"Avon grieves at the tragic accident that has befallen our neighbor," Dol Heep said in a slightly lowered tone, his prominent eyes staring at them from behind his mask. "We heard that there might not be enough room on the evacuation ships for everyone here."
"That is a rumor," Obi-Wan said. "It is false."
"So you say. In case of some failure, Avon wishes to send an entire fleet to Radnor to airlift more sick off-planet.
We took the liberty of sending the fleet already. Once in orbit, we'll await orders. Of course, we'll need Jedi help here on the ground to coordinate the rescue effort."
"That is a kind and generous offer," Obi-Wan said. "But there is no need for Avon to commit a fleet of vessels.
There is enough space on the ships being sent by the Senate."
"This information does not seem to have been accepted by the citizens of Radnor," Dol Heep said. "Appearance is often reality. If more ships are said to be arriving, the people will be more calm."
Dol Heep had a point. Even the rumor of another rescue fleet could calm the population. But Obi-Wan felt uneasy. He wasn't about to accept the offer until he knew more. He gave a quick glance to Siri. He could see the same doubt in her eyes.
"We will get back to you," he said.
"My planet appreciates your consideration," Dol Heep said.
With another bow, he left the room.
Obi-Wan turned to Siri. "What do you think?"
"There's something about this that isn't right," Siri said. "I just have a feeling about it." Her blue eyes gleamed at him in a way he hadn't seen since they'd arrived on Radnor. There hadn't been much call for Siri's quick wit.
"I trust my instincts, but you know how I occasionally like to back them up with facts."
"Until we have facts, let's hold off, then," Obi-Wan agreed. "We should investigate the offer further."
Curi poked her head in the room. "Are you finished? I have some medics who need to eat or they'll collapse."
"Tell them to come in," Siri said. "What do you know about Dol Heep, Curi?"
Curi tried to scratch her scalp through her bio-iso suit.
"Not much. But what I know I don't trust. Radnorans don't trust the Avoni. They are aggressive colonizers. I made it a rule not to do business with them. I wouldn't sell them weapons. Of course, there are many others, even on Radnor, who will." Her face changed. "There were many others," she added softly.
"Avon has offered a fleet of evacuation ships for Radnor,"
Obi-Wan told her. "I don't feel we should take the offer at face value."
Curi looked puzzled. "What are you getting at?"
"For one thing, the offer could be a smokescreen for a planned takeover," Siri said.
Curi frowned. "Why would Avon want to take over a planet where you can't breathe the air?"
"A good point," Obi-Wan said. "Maybe Avon doesn't want to colonize Radnor. But they might be planning a temporary occupation. There are many tech labs on Radnor that can be plundered for data. Sometimes data can be more i
mportant than land."
Curi just looked tired. "I can't worry about this. I have sick people to take care of."
Siri put a gloved hand on her shoulder. "We will handle it."