Jude Watson: Jedi Quest 8: The Changing of the Guard

Slow down. Breathe. The Force will help you.

"I always hated parties," Ferus said. "I never knew how to have fun at them."

Anakin felt his nerves tighten. He saw Obi-Wan approach the two guards at the corridor's entrance. He waved his hand, and even across the room, Anakin felt the power of the Force.

The guards nodded. Obi-Wan slipped around them and was gone.

"Only a few minutes to go," Anakin said.

Ferus and Anakin waited. When Obi-Wan appeared in the corridor, they were to approach the guards and use the Force to divert them. Then Obi-Wan could simply walk out with the security codes, and they would leave the party. Simple.

Except it wasn't. Two minutes later, the security alarm went off.

Obi-Wan couldn't believe it. Of course, he was no criminal mastermind, but he felt he was capable, with the help of the Force, of lifting a file of secure codes in a guarded office. He had missed a silent trigger somewhere, one that Joylin's spy hadn't known about.

Any moment the guards would come pounding in. Obi-Wan drove his impatience with himself out of his mind. It was a distraction. He was only halfway through his task. Alarm or no alarm, he had to complete it.

He entered the security code Joylin had given him. He opened the paneled drawer at the side of the ornate desk Teda used. To his surprise, it was a mess. Durasheets, holobooks, disks, wrappers from some sort of sweet. Some of the sweet had melted and pooled in a sticky mess, gluing the durasheets together.

"Nothing worse than a messy dictator," Obi-Wan murmured. He lifted a red slipcase with a disk inside. Joylin had told him that it was the security codes.

The alarm ringing in his ears, he felt the Force surge as the first sentry droids flew through the door. He vaulted over the desk, lightsaber already activated, and cut them down. Four more flew in, firing in a spinning arc that lit up the room with blaster fire. Obi-Wan deflected the fire and charged toward the door. But before he could reach it, a panel rattled down, blocking his exit. Another slid down over the only window.

Obviously the plan was to trap the intruder inside with the lethal droids.

Meanwhile, blaster fire continued to ping in transecting lines that were designed to pinpoint his location and blast him to smithereens. Obi- Wan launched himself at the droids, simultaneously taking out Siri's lightsaber and Force-jumping high overhead to cut them down. By the time the droids lay smoking at his feet, he heard the sound of guards outside the door and shuttered window.

Question. Should he cut a hole in the window or door sheeting and charge out, meeting the blasters head on? Or should he wait for them to enter?

Obi-Wan decided to wait. He would have a few seconds of surprise on his side. They would enter expecting to find him dead or badly wounded.

He backed up against a cabinet, out of immediate sightline of the window and doorway. He pressed back against the cabinet. To his surprise, it moved.

He jumped away as the cabinet wall slid back. Becka stood there. Obi- Wan quickly tucked the lightsabers out of sight.

Becka took in the sight of the smoking droids. "Stars and novas, you're good." He beckoned. "This way."

Obi-Wan hesitated.

"If you go out that window, you'll be met with half the security force. The other half is on the other side of that door. They're waiting for the droids to kill you before they open the panels. You've got about twelve seconds. Do you have the codes?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan leaped into the secret passageway. "I assume you're my spy."

"I work with Joylin. We're going to come out in the hallway near the kitchens. Just stay with me." "I have to find my gang."

"I'd say you have to get out of here, but all right. They might lock down the compound once they find the room is empty."

Becka led him through several turnings. They reached a panel outlined in yellow. He pressed a button and the panel slid open.

Obi-Wan found himself in a small closet, crowded with wraps and cloaks.

Becka opened the door slightly. "Go."

Obi-Wan eased out. Becka followed.

The crowd was nervous. Obi-Wan could smell the panic. No doubt a crowd of criminals did not feel secure when a security alarm was going off. Then it stopped abruptly, and the silence was worse.

"False alarm, folks!" Becka called. "Just enjoy yourselves!" He motioned to the musicians. "Great Leader Teda orders you to keep playing!"

The sight of someone in an official uniform had some effect. The musicians began to play, and the guests began to murmur.

"This way." Becka led Obi-Wan down a hallway and then into the great room from another door. He saw Anakin and Ferus, still monitoring the corridor where Obi-Wan had disappeared. Obi-Wan knew his apprentice was close to charging down the corridor after him.

He hurried over. "It's all right. Becka is going to help us. Where is Valadon?"

"She's outside, ready to cover you in case you come out the window."

Becka, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ferus hurried outside. Lights illuminated the wall. Droids buzzed overhead. They saw Siri on the side of the palace, standing just outside the ring of guards surrounding the window. The durasteel panel had risen, and some of the guards had leaped inside the room.

Obi-Wan sent out a call to Siri, using the Force. She turned and saw him. He saw the relief on her face. She started toward him.

Becka was watching the placement of the guards carefully. Suddenly, a group of them turned and started toward the gates. Lights began to blink rhythmically on the top of the wall.

"Not good," Becka said. "They're going into lock-down."

Obi-Wan looked around. "Any ideas?"

"I scouted out the back wall," Anakin said. "I think we can make it."

"I don't think you should try it," Becka said. "If they see you, it will just make things harder. Security will be looking for you until they catch you. Leave this to me. All we need is a little panic for cover."

The crowd was on the edge of panic already. They didn't know what was going on. Security guards were now storming through the place, checking ID docs. Flocks of sentry droids buzzed overhead. The sumptuous party had turned into a replica of a prison — a place nobody at the party was particularly interested in revisiting.

"Just wait here for a moment," Becka said.

He went from group to group, speaking quietly. As soon as he left them, the groups talked among themselves, and then to others. Soon, voices began to rise. "This is outrageous!"

"I will not be detained!"

"I came to this planet for security and peace…." Becka reappeared at Obi-Wan's side. "Just walk out with the others."

"No one is leaving."

"You lead the way. The guests will follow. I've told them that Teda is keeping them indefinitely for interrogation. They are furious and afraid.

Teda will have to let you leave. He depends on their bribes to survive. He won't stop them. You'll see. Go."

Siri looked at Obi-Wan and shrugged. "Worth a try." Obi-Wan drew his cloak around him. "I for one won't stand for this," he said loudly. "I'm leaving!"

"Yes, let's leave immediately," Siri agreed.

Heads turned. As Obi-Wan and Siri stalked off, followed by Anakin and Ferus, some of the braver guests followed. At first it was a trickle, then a wave.

Everything happened as Becka said it would. The crowd approached the nervous security guards at the gate. They drew their blasters but did not fire them as Obi-Wan and Siri continued to stride ahead. One officer spoke quickly into a comlink. Obviously, he was contacting Teda.

In just seconds, the security gates opened. Teda could not compromise his treasury by angering those who propped up his regime.

So Obi-Wan and the Jedi left the palace compound in a fashion they hadn't suspected when they'd arrived — leading a large group of angry criminals straight out the front gates.