Jedi Apprentice 13: The Dangerous Rescue (звёздные войны) Read online

  As they approached the pipes, Adi motioned to them to fight the current. Waving their arms to slow their pace, they managed to gently bump against the giant filter. Already Qui-Gon had reached for his vibrocutter.

  He and Adi went to work as their Padawans hung on to the grates.

  Quickly, they sliced a hole in the filters and motioned their Padawans through first. Immediately after entering the pipe, they were sucked along by the action of the water, bumping on the sides of the pipe, turning and tumbling until Qui-Gon did not know which way was up. His shoulder wound cried out at the twisting motion. By the time he spilled out into a giant tank, he was overcome with dizziness.

  He felt Obi-Wan touch his shoulder. His Padawan had noticed his distress. Qui-Gon nodded to let Obi-Wan know he was all right even as he fought his queasiness.

  They quickly swam to the side of the tank and swung themselves up and over the side. They were in a large viaduct made of stone. Banks of equipment surrounded the tank. Further on the water was treated, but here, machines took random samplings of its quality.

  Adi pointed to a tech console nearby. While Adi, Obi-Wan, and Siri kept watch, Qui-Gon pressed buttons and levers until a long panel slid open. A storage unit held vials of water samples, labeled by date.

  "We'll never get out the same way," Qui-Gon said to Adi as he tucked the samples into his tunic. "We'll have to find some tech jackets and pose as workers."

  She nodded. "There's got to be a supply closet."

  Suddenly, a red light on the console pulsed. A few seconds later, they heard the sound of approaching droids. "I think it's time to leave,"

  Qui-Gon said, reaching for his lightsaber. "Let's do this quickly, before the Belascan guards arrive."

  The guard droids wheeled around the corner, blasters held high. The Jedi charged as one spinning block, lightsabers in constant motion. Qui-Gon took out two droids with one stroke. Adi flipped over the group and attacked from behind. Siri went down on one knee and came up with a mighty swing that knocked one droid over and cut the other in two. Obi-Wan went for the droids on Qui-Gon's left side, slicing the top off of one droid and burying his lightsaber in the control panel of the other.

  In just seconds, it was over.

  "Belascan guards will be here soon," Qui-Gon said, breathing heavily.

  "Never mind getting out quietly. Let's just get out."

  Together, he and Adi cut a hole in the durasteel exit door with their lightsabers. A siren began to clang. With the noise ringing in their ears, the Jedi leaped through the hole in the door and raced for the high fence.

  Qui-Gon reached out for the Force. He needed it desperately if he were to make it over that fence. He heard blaster fire ping near his ear.

  Obi-Wan and Siri sailed over the fence, clearing it by several centimeters.

  He saw that Adi had slowed her pace to make sure that he would be able to clear it.

  With a mighty effort, Qui-Gon forced his tired muscles to cooperate.

  His feeling of the Force surged, helping his leap. Still, he slammed against the top of the fence and had to haul himself over by hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Adi sail over.

  Qui-Gon landed heavily and a little off balance. He raced for the treeline. He ignored the blaster fire behind him, counting on Adi to expertly divert any fire that came too close.

  He reached the safety of the trees and glanced back. "They are not following. They don't have to. They know who we are."

  Adi tucked her lightsaber back into her belt. "It won't take long before Min K'atel orders us off the planet. I think we just wore out our welcome."

  Chapter 18

  Qui-Gon leaned against the trunk of a tree, his eyes closed, as Adi ran the samples through an analyzer and then sent the data to Tahl.

  Obi-Wan approached him and sat down gingerly. He knew that Qui-Gon did not want him to speak. But he was worried.

  "You have not regained your strength, Master," he said quietly. "Are you sure that — " He stopped. Qui-Gon had opened one eye. That was enough to stop his voice in his throat.

  "Winna Di Uni told me it would take time," Qui-Gon said. "It is doing so." He closed his eyes. "Do not worry, Padawan. This will be over soon.

  Then I will rest."

  Obi-Wan nodded, even though Qui-Gon did not see him. He had observed his Master tired and in pain before, but never so diminished. It was a strange feeling. If Qui-Gon could weaken, any Jedi was vulnerable.

  Adi's comlink signaled, and she quickly pressed the holo function.

  Tahl appeared.

  "The bacteria have been bioengineered," she said without any preliminaries. "It has been cleverly done. The measures taken to restrain it actually caused it to grow."

  Qui-Gon sat up, alert. "Can you tell the scientists here how to control it?"

  "They already know," Tahl said. "A scientific research company on Belasco announced a discovery just a few hours ago. They now know how to neutralize the bacteria. They also have found a way to treat those who are already sick. They will make a fortune."

  "A fortune," Obi-Wan repeated softly. "And a piece of a fortune was offered to Ona Nobis if she came back."

  Adi leaned toward Tahl. "Can you trace the company back to — "

  "Zan Arbor Industries? I already have," Tahl said.

  Siri slapped a hand on her leg. "We've got her." "Now we have to find her," Adi said.

  "I'll be standing by," Tahl said, and her image faded.

  Qui-Gon stood. "Let's head back to the royal grounds. I'm certain the answer is there."

  The sun was lowering as the Jedi hurried through back streets toward the palace gates.

  Streams of Belascan citizens were heading there as well. They realized quickly that news had spread about the discovery. The people were gathering to celebrate. They would have plenty of cover.

  And so would Ona Nobis.

  They moved through the crowd on the palace lawns, searching for Astri.

  "I don't see her anywhere," Qui-Gon said. "She's supposed to be keeping an eye on Uta S'orn."

  "There she is," Obi-Wan said, pointing. "She's wearing a medic aide coverall."

  Dressed in white, Astri wheeled a young boy through the garden. She bent down to pull a blanket over his lap.

  "It's good cover," Qui-Gon said. "But what about Cholly, Weez, and Tup?"

  Tup burst out of one of the Med Wards at the head of a group of children, juggling three bright laserballs. Weez followed.

  "At least they are staying out of trouble," Qui-Gon said.

  Astri caught sight of them and hurried over, her face alight.

  "Have you heard the news? A cure has been found!"

  "We've heard," Adi said. "But we still have a problem."

  "I've been keeping track of Uta S'orn," Astri said. "I haven't seen anything suspicious. She's out in the open all the time. She's devoting herself to the children. She does everything, even helps with food service.

  " Qui-Gon tensed. "Do you have access to the palace kitchens?" he asked Astri.

  Astri nodded. "Food delivery is one place that they are shorthanded.

  Everyone can pitch in and help."

  "Do you think it's possible to track the meals that leave the kitchens? Can you count the meal trays?"

  "Yes," Astri said. "Cholly has been helping to prepare the trays."

  "How are the meals delivered?" Adi asked.

  "Through the tunnels, mostly," Astri said. "They were built about a century ago, during a war with a neighboring planet. It's the fastest way to get from the kitchens to the ward areas. They built the domes over the old entrances in the gardens, just for that reason."

  "When is the next meal?" Qui-Gon asked. Astri checked her timepiece.

  "Cholly should be preparing the trays right now."

  "Good," Qui-Gon said. "Obi-Wan, Siri, I want you to go with Astri to the kitchens. Compare the number of food trays with the number of sick children. If there are more trays than children, follow Uta S'orn. Mak
e sure she does not see you! Note where she delivers the trays. If Ona Nobis and Zan Arbor are on the grounds, they have to eat."

  Qui-Gon fixed Obi-Wan and Siri with his most serious glare. "If you see, or even sense, that Ona Nobis is near, do not engage with her. Come back for Adi and myself."

  Obi-Wan and Siri agreed and followed Astri to the palace kitchen. It was an enormous room filled with food stations and storage. Obi-Wan and Siri waited in the dim hallway while Astri went inside.

  Cholly was busy setting up trays with bowls of stew, bread, and a fruit tart. Other workers milled about, dishing up the stew and pushing the trays forward in a line to be loaded onto carts.

  Swiftly, Astri ran her eyes down the rows of trays, counting. She slipped outside to the hall.

  "There are sixty-four trays," she said. "Two extra. Qui-Gon was right. Now we have to wait for Uta S'orn."

  Moments later, the other workers began to fill the kitchen. They each took a cart and slid trays inside the warming element. Uta S'orn arrived and quickly worked to fill her own cart.

  "I'll take Ward Five, as usual," she said.

  She rolled the cart out into the hallway and headed for the tunnel.

  Obi-Wan and Siri pressed back against the wall. They moved silently behind Uta S'orn, keeping as close as they dared through the twisting maze.

  Uta S'orn delivered the meals to Ward Five first. They watched as she ascended the ramp into the ward. When she returned, she still had two trays on her cart. She made a sudden turn and came straight toward them.

  Obi-Wan and Siri threw themselves back into a side tunnel. They flattened themselves against a wall and tried not to breathe. If Uta S'orn came down this way, they would be discovered.

  They were lucky. She turned down an opposite tunnel. After a moment, they followed cautiously. The tunnel narrowed as it turned sharply to the left. Obi-Wan had been careful to keep track of how they were moving. He knew that they had turned away from the main wing of the palace and the wards and were heading toward Uta S'orn's private quarters.

  Suddenly, they heard the cart stop. Obi-Wan crept forward. He peered around the corner long enough to see Uta S'orn place the trays on the floor. Then she turned toward him.

  He ducked back and motioned to Siri. The two ran lightly down the tunnel, hearing S'orn behind them. She could not move as fast due to the cart. They reached the main tunnel and Obi-Wan headed left, guessing she was on her way back to the palace kitchens.

  After a few moments Uta S'orn emerged and took the route Obi-Wan had predicted. Obi-Wan and Siri headed back the way they had come. They waited at the curve of the tunnel.

  "What if Ona Nobis comes from behind us?" Siri whispered.

  "We run," Obi-Wan whispered back.

  To Obi-Wan's surprise, a small vent in the ceiling over the food trays opened. Ona Nobis slithered through, her Sorrusian skeletal system compressing to allow her to fit through the tiny space.

  Siri's hand went to her lightsaber. She began to draw it out. In a swift move, Obi-Wan put his hand on her wrist to stop her. She glared at him, but he did not let go.

  Ona Nobis picked up the sweet fruit tart from one tray and popped it in her mouth. Quickly, she gobbled up the second tart, then wiped her fingers delicately on her tunic.

  "Sneak," Siri whispered in Obi-Wan's ear.

  Ona Nobis pushed the food trays through the vent overhead. Then she hoisted herself up and through.

  "We should have attacked," Siri whispered fiercely after Nobis disappeared.

  "Siri, Qui-Gon told us not to," Obi-Wan said irritably.

  "But we were so close! And she didn't have her whip," Siri argued.

  Her blue eyes glinted a challenge in the darkness of the tunnel, and she thrust her chin at Obi-Wan. "Or were you afraid to meet her again?"

  Chapter 19

  Adi and Qui-Gon listened to Siri and Obi-Wan's story. Adi gave a satisfied nod.

  "They're here. That means that Noor is here as well." Adi glanced at Qui-Gon. "We have enough to speak to the Leader. We must take the risk."

  "I agree," Qui-Gon said. "If we are lucky, we will avoid a battle.

  Whether Uta S'orn is being forced to hide Zan Arbor or not, he must be told."

  Around them, preparations for a celebration had begun. The Leader had decided to throw a grand party for the city of Senta. More and more of the population streamed into the royal grounds. The gardens glowed with candles and lights. Musicians were beginning to set up near the flower garden.

  Servants, officials, and townspeople milled about on the lawns, fragrant with evening dew.

  Min K'atel sat, beaming, with his wife. Their daughter sat between them, wrapped in a warm quilt. Uta S'orn sat to their right. As the Jedi walked toward him, Min K'atel's wide smile faded and he fixed them with a stony glance.

  "I have received a report that saboteurs broke into the water purification center, no doubt to reintroduce more deadly bacteria," he said. "My security chief tells me these saboteurs were Jedi. Either you are impersonating Jedi, or everything I know of your order is wrong. Which is it?"

  The Leader gave a signal, and the gleaming guard droids appeared, flanking the group of Jedi.

  "We are neither saboteurs nor impersonators," Adi said in her strong, commanding voice. "We are Jedi Knights, come to find one of our own and to investigate your troubles."

  "We do not need your help," Min K'atel said haughtily.

  "But you need to know what we discovered," Qui-Gon said. "The bacteria in your water supply was deliberately introduced."

  "You are strangers here," Min K'atel replied stonily. "You do not know that on Belasco, this bacteria arrives every seven years."

  "We do know this," Qui-Gon said. "As did the person who bioengineered the bacteria to reproduce. She knew that you would not suspect that it was artificially introduced into your system because it was something you had seen before. But this bacteria was different. It was meant to multiply in response to the attempt to contain it."

  Min K'atel stared at them. "And who would do this thing, and why?"

  "Someone who stood to profit by eliminating it," Adi replied. "A brilliant scientist named Jenna Zan Arbor. She is behind the scientific group who will cure it, and she will make a fortune, enough to help her escape justice and remain a fugitive."

  "She is not Belascan," Min K'atel guessed. "How could she do such a thing without help?"

  "She had the help of a prominent Belascan who had access to areas of the highest security," Adi responded. She fixed her commanding gaze on Uta S'orn.

  S'orn did not bluster or deny the charge. She raised an eyebrow and looked disdainfully at the Jedi.

  Min K'atel glanced at S'orn. "This is preposterous," he said. "You try to cover your own involvement by accusing one of Belasco's finest citizens! I will contact the Jedi Council. I will not let this accusation stand!"

  "Uta S'orn is hiding Jenna Zan Arbor and the Jedi Master she is holding hostage," Qui-Gon stated. "If you would give the order to search her quarters, you would find them."

  "I will not give such an order!"

  Adi and Qui-Gon activated their lightsabers in a split second. Obi- Wan and Siri quickly followed.

  "I'm afraid we must insist," Qui-Gon said. "A Jedi is being held captive on your grounds. That makes you responsible. If we must fight a battle to release him, know that we will."

  Min K'atel looked uncertain. "There is no other Jedi here. Only wards full of sick children and elders."

  "I saw a sick elder," Min K'atel's daughter, Joli, suddenly piped up.

  She shook the doll in her lap, moving its arms and legs. "He made this."

  "And how did he give it to you?" Adi asked gently.

  "He threw it down into the bushes," Joli said. "He threw down other toys to the children. Mine is the best." She smiled down at the doll in her lap. "It is the prettiest."

  "Mine is the prettiest!" a young girl said, running forward, waving a doll.

  "No, mine!" A boy shook a
toy in the air. Qui-Gon walked forward. He gently took the doll from Joli's hand. He held it against his robe. The color and texture of the threads matched exactly.

  "Do you still say a Jedi is not on your property?" he asked Min K'atel.

  Min K'atel's eyes traveled high above to the window where his daughter had seen the toy-maker. It was in Uta S'orn's quarters.

  He did not look at Uta S'orn. "Search her quarters," he said to the captain of the guard.