by Джуд Уотсон
A moment later, Tahl's clear voice came through the comlink. "We've broken Zan Arbor's code at last. The Jedi are extremely concerned. We know that Zan Arbor is conducting experiments on the Force. We fear that she is holding Qui-Gon in order… in order to experiment on him." Tahl cleared her throat. "Her first experiment was on a subject with the initials RS."
"Ren S'orn?" Obi-Wan guessed. They had known that Senator S'orn's late son had been mixed up in the mystery of the attack on Didi. They had not known why.
"That is what we believe," Tahl confirmed. "There is a lab notation that further experiments would be done. Yet none were. The notation is dated a few days before Ren S'orn was found dead on Simpla-12."
Obi-Wan swallowed. Ren S'orn's body had been drained of blood. He had been an experimental subject of Jenna Zan Arbor's. But Qui-Gon was so strong, so clever. Surely he would not suffer the same fate.
"You know our fears, Obi-Wan," Tahl said, her voice low.
"Yes."
"I was hoping you had a lead on the bounty hunter. We are discussing how next to proceed."
"I think I do," Obi-Wan said. "We've found out the bounty hunter's real name. It is Ona Nobis. I believe her next job is to assassinate the governor of Cinnatar."
"We will warn him and send a team there to meet you immediately,"
Tahl said. "Send Astri back here. Contact me when you arrive on Cinnatar."
Tahl shut the communication. Obi-Wan stared at the datapad of Ona Nobis.
"Come on, Obi-Wan," Astri urged. "There's no time to lose. I'm not going back to the Temple. I'm coming with you."
"Wait," Obi-Wan said.
"Don't even try to argue," Astri said, her dark eyes burning. "I'm coming. Hurry. We don't want to miss the last transport back to the city."
He knew he should be hurrying to catch the transport. But something was wrong. Something inside was warning him.
Always listen to doubt. Even in times of great haste, take time to listen. Then trust it.
Qui-Gon's words. Obi-Wan thought about his hesitancy. Something was telling him that Cinnatar was not where he would find answers.
"Obi-Wan!" Astri called in frustration.
"Tell me something, Astri," he said. "The bounty hunter Ona Nobis is clever. Again and again she surprised us. She even outwitted Qui-Gon."
"Yes," Astri said impatiently.
"So why would she choose as an alias a name that we could trace to the place where she was from?"
"Because she didn't know you would trace it," Astri said.
"A part of cleverness is not underestimating the cleverness of your opponent," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. "She knows the resources of the Temple. Why would she take such a risk?"
Astri took a few steps toward Obi-Wan. "What are you saying? That she wanted us to find her?"
"No. She wanted us to find this." Obi-Wan gestured at the cave. "And this." He pointed to the datapad.
"But it was so hard to find. Bhu stumbled on the cave by accident…"
"It was only a matter of time before some member of the tribe found this place," Obi-Wan said. "They wander in search of food and water. She knows this."
He touched the datapad. "What if she wanted to send us on the wrong trail? What if she is still working for Jenna Zan Arbor?"
"You could be right, Obi-Wan," Astri said slowly. "But we need to be sure."
If he made the wrong choice, it could mean Qui-Gon's life. Yet a choice must be made.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He filtered out haste and worry. He breathed in his fear of making a wrong choice and let it go. He listened to his instinct. If it was wrong to go to Cinnatar, where was he to go?
After a long moment, he opened his eyes. "We are going to Simpla-12, where Ren S'orn was found," he told Astri.
Chapter 11
The next time Qui-Gon was released from the chamber, Jenna Zan Arbor was not in the lab. Nil pushed him forward roughly. This time, Qui-Gon did not fall. He had gained back some of the strength he had lost. The Force was helping him now, slowly, by degrees. He was learning now to use his captivity to reach out to the Force and let it trickle rather than flow.
Knowing that at least one other being was held here had helped him.
It had given him a purpose larger than himself.
"Where is she?" he asked Nil, trying to sound casual.
"None of your business," Nil growled. "Maybe she doesn't want to talk to you anymore."
Qui-Gon gave him a considering glance. "Maybe it's you who doesn't want me to talk to her."
"You mock her," Nil burst out. "You are not her friend. You don't realize her greatness."
"Well, you work with her, Nil. No doubt you see things that I do not.
You are the one who is valuable to her," Qui-Gon said.
"That's right!" Nil thumped his chest. "I am the one who protects Jenna! Don't forget that. If you try anything, I will shoot you down. I will not be the one to miss like Ona Nobis!"
Ona Nobis. That must be the bounty hunter.
"Yet if she only has you to talk to, she might get bored," Qui-Gon added.
"She was not bored before you came!" Nil snarled. "I was enough for her."
So Nil was the only guard.
Qui-Gon drew the Force around him. A sensor light began to glow on the console as his vital signs slowed, but Nil did not notice.
"She doesn't need Ona. She doesn't need you. She has me," Nil muttered. "All this talk distracts her."
Qui-Gon intensified his effort. He knew that when the Force was strong, the sensor would make a shrill sound. He needed a split second of distraction, no more.
The piercing sound of the sensor split the silence. Nil turned, startled.
In that moment, Qui-Gon moved, quicker than the eye could see. He had gathered his strength for just this moment. He twisted Nil's arm behind his back and disarmed him of one blaster before Nil could blink. He tried to remove the other blaster from Nil's belt as Nil twisted. Nil put his hand over Qui-Gon's, squeezing, and the blaster went off. The pulse of blaster fire pinged past Nil's ear. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fainted.
Qui-Gon dragged Nil to the door. He remembered the tones of the security code and plugged it in. Then he pressed Nil's thumb against the register. The door opened. He dragged Nil back, but as he did a red light suddenly shone on the console and the door began to close. There must have been an extra security precaution he didn't know about.
Qui-Gon threw Nil down and lurched forward. He got his arm inside the door before it closed.
Pain ripped through him, but he did not extract his arm. He maneuvered his body so that his other arm was free. He reached over to the lab table. A long, steel instrument lay on the table, just out of his reach. Concentrating the Force, Qui-Gon caused it to fly into his hand.
Using all his strength, he pushed the door farther open. It opened, centimeter by agonizing centimeter. When the opening was big enough for him to squeeze through, he wedged the steel instrument against the door to hold it. Then he eased through.
He raced down the hallway, every sense alert. He did not want to run into Zan Arbor. Three doors led off the hallway. One to the left, one to the right. One straight ahead. Qui-Gon paused.
He listened with the Force. He sent out as much of his energy as he could. The effort was exhausting.
He felt an answering burst.
Qui-Gon turned right. He accessed the door and found himself in another hallway. Qui-Gon took the first door to his right. To his disappointment, he saw he had merely accessed a storage area. Shelves ran from floor to ceiling and were filled with durasteel containers and medical bins. He glanced at the labels. There were enough antitoxins and medicines here to cure whole worlds…
There was a disturbance in the Force. Qui-Gon began to turn, but he felt a pain in his back. His legs went numb. He fell.
"That's enough!" Jenna Zan Arbor barked.
Qui-Gon saw her approach along with Nil. Nil was carrying a harness.
He strapped it onto Qui-Gon, who was now paralyzed.
"Drag him back to the lab," Zan Arbor said. "Thank you, Qui-Gon, for that magnificent demonstration of the Force. I will have some readings to analyze now. Thank my stars I can always count on Nil to be outsmarted."
Nil leaned down. Fury twisted his face.
"We should kill him," he said to Jenna Zan Arbor.
"All in good time," she said coolly.
Chapter 12
In a galaxy full of notorious planets, Simpla-12 was one of the most notorious of all. Once, it had been rich in minerals, but held little life and no native beings. The planet had been mined and abandoned. Then gradually it became a landing spot for trawlers and a haven for space pirates. A small colony sprang up, and an economy of sorts developed, based on gambling and the sale of black market goods. Violence was common.
There was only one colony on Simpla-12, called, in a burst of optimism, Sim-First. No other colonies had followed. Instead Sim-First had spread like mold over the planet's surface. The outpost was a sprawling, snaking growth of buildings with a maze of narrow walkways made of metal ties sunk into the dirt. Mud oozed from the cracks between the ties. Many of the buildings had fallen into disrepair and had been patched with scrap metal and odd bits of plastoid materials.
Simpla-12's sun was weak. The planet was known for its heavy cloud cover, which made for a constant drizzling rain that dripped from a sky of lead.
"You take me to the nicest places," Astri murmured as they slogged through the mud.
"It's perfect for someone who wants to hide," Obi-Wan said. Was that why his instinct told him to come here? Was Jenna Zan Arbor's secret lab on Simpla-12? When he had contacted Tahl to tell her his destination, he could tell by her tone that she thought he was on the wrong trail. She did not try to stop him, however. She had sounded distracted, as though she was concerned with more important leads. No doubt she was relieved that Obi-Wan and Astri were pursuing what she felt would be a fruitless mission. It would keep them safe and out of trouble.
Obi-Wan had to agree that he was following the slenderest of threads.
He tried to call Qui-Gon, reaching out to the Force. He felt nothing. He touched the stone inside his tunic and felt its reassuring warmth. He could not shake the feeling that every step he took brought him closer to his Master.
It did not take them long to discover the names of Ren's associates on Simpla-12. On a world such as this, information could be bought for a few credits. Ren's associates-Cholly, Weez, and Tup-could be found at the 12 Tavern.
They were directed down an even narrower, dirtier lane. The metal ties that formed the walkway were completely covered in mud and garbage.
Ahead a sign with the number 12 roughly painted in red swung in the drizzling rain.
They were almost to the building when suddenly a body came flying out of the tavern's front door. With a thump, the body landed face first in the street, sending mud flying. A second body followed, landing with a squeal and a curse.
The first body stirred. "Weez! That's my foot!" Astri started forward. Obi-Wan put a hand on her arm. "I think we'd better wait."
A third body flew through the air, landing a short distance from the other two.
"Don't be so touchy!" the third being yelled back at the tavern.
A huge Devaronian stepped out onto the front porch of the tavern.
Quickly, the three beings scampered backward on their hands and knees. Obi- Wan could not tell their species, but they were all humanoid.
"And don't come back again!" the Devaronian boomed. He turned and thumped back into the tavern. The door slammed shut behind him.
"That was your fault, Tup," the first being said. He was the tallest of the three, with hair that straggled down his back.
"Was not," Tup said, wiping mud off his round face. "Gibbertz and ham, who knew he had no sense of humor?"
The one called Weez wiped mud out of his eyes. "Most beings don't like having their mothers called Kowakian monkey lizards."
"I thought his mother was a Kowakian monkey lizard," Tup said.
The first being, who Obi-Wan assumed was Cholly, stood and tried to wipe the mud off his face with the end of his tunic. He only succeeded in grinding more mud on. "What are we going to do now? We've been thrown out of every tavern in Sim-First."
Obi-Wan walked forward. "Maybe a few credits would get you back inside one of them."
Tup puffed out childish plump cheeks and blew out a short, explosive breath. "Woosh. Great idea, stranger. Thanks for the tip. Only, guess what?
We don't have any credits."
"Maybe there's a way you can earn some," Astri said.
"You have work?" Weez asked. He stood next to Cholly. He was a few inches shorter. "Sorry. We have a back injury."
"I can see why, if you keep getting thrown out of places," Astri said.
"The galaxy," Cholly said sadly, "conspires against us."
Tup struggled to his feet. "We are merely victims of its violent tendencies."
"Innocents must suffer," Weez sighed. "Such is fate."
The three stood next to one another. Covered in mud, they were like three descending steps. This ridiculous trio was his best lead to Qui-Gon?
Patience, young Padawan. Suspend your judgment, and every being has something to teach you.
Obi-Wan sighed. "We're not offering you a job. We want information and we're willing to pay for it."
Cholly attempted to look shrewd. "What kind of information? We don't squeal on friends."
"Unless they get on our nerves," Weez said quickly.
"This friend is dead," Obi-Wan said.
"In that case, let's see the credits," Cholly said, as Weez and Tup looked more cheerful. Astri held out a few credits.
"That's all?" Tup asked in dismay.
"We haven't heard anything worth paying for yet," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"What do you want to know?" Cholly asked. He reached out for the credits, but Astri closed her fist before Cholly could grab the currency.
"It's about Ren S'orn," Obi-Wan said. "Can you tell us about his last days?"
At the name, the three friends traded sad glances.
"Ren." Tup took a deep breath, then let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"Poor Ren. He told us about this offer he got. He was going to get paid a lot of credits. We're always talking about the big score. Something to get us out of here. Ren said he found it."
"Did he say what it was?" Astri asked.
"He was going to be part of this big experiment," Weez said. "Some scientist thought his brain was really special or something. Wanted to study him. Ren said he'd do it for awhile, but she was going to end up paying bigger than she thought."
"Obviously, Ren ended up paying bigger than he'd thought," Cholly said. The three friends bowed their heads.
"Did he tell you where the lab was?" Obi-Wan asked.
The three of them shook their heads. "When he got back, he wouldn't say."
"What was he like when he came back?" Astri asked.
"Different," Tup said.
"Weak," Weez said. "He shook all the time." "He was scared," Cholly said flatly.
"And then he was killed," Tup said. "Woosh. It was sad."
Again, the three bowed their heads.
"Why was he scared?" Astri demanded. "Don't know. He wouldn't say."
"Maybe Tino would know," Weez said.
"Who's Tino?" Obi-Wan asked. Asking this trio questions was like pulling the fur off a Wookiee one hair at a time.
"Ren's roommate. He took him in when he got back from that experiment," Cholly said.
"Ren said he needed to hide out for awhile," Weez added. "Tino used to hang around with us, but he got a job. Works over in that big warehouse near the landing platform."
"Can we have the credits now?" Cholly asked. He held out a hand.
Astri counted out a few credits.
"Hey, that's not very much," Weez complained.
"
You didn't give us very much," Obi-Wan said. He had a feeling the three knew more. He was anxious to talk to Tino.
Obi-Wan and Astri left the three squabbling about how to divide up the credits and hurried back the way they'd come. Obi-Wan had noticed the big warehouse by the landing platform.