Jude Watson - Jedi Quest 6 - The Shadow Trap

"And Feeana Tala?" Yaddle asked. "A native of Mawan, she is."

Rorq nodded. "She controls most of the goods and services that are sold to the citizens below. Small potatoes for the other crimelords."

"Still, they raid her when they feel like it," Swanny said. "They want to control as much of what happens on Mawan as they can. Decca wants Striker off-planet, and he wants the same for her. Feeana's edge is that she knows the tunnels below almost as well as we do."

Euraana looked at Yaddle. "So what is our first step?"

"Return and take back the city, the citizens must," Yaddle said. "So control of the power grid we must have."

"You'll have to guarantee their safety," Euraana said.

Yaddle turned to her and blinked in a gesture that was very much like Yoda's. "Guarantee, you say? Guarantees, there never are." She spread her hands. "Help them we will. Courage must they find themselves."

Euraana nodded. "If we can get the power grid back, we might be able to persuade them to leave the tunnels. And if there was at least some progress with the crimelords — "

"That is our job," Obi-Wan said, indicating himself and Anakin. "They must be told that if they don't voluntarily leave the planet, Senate security forces will make them go."

"If the Senate will send them," Euraana said worriedly. "They still have not agreed."

"Agree they will, if take back the city we can," Yaddle said.

"What if the crimelords don't listen to talk?" Swanny asked. "In my experience, they seldom do."

"We have to find a reason to make them listen," Obi-Wan said.

"Everyone is vulnerable somewhere. For now we just need to learn more about their operations."

"Swanny and Rorq can help you there," Euraana said. "Aboveground has been so destroyed that even the crimelords have bunkers belowground."

"Safer down there in case something bad happens," Swanny said. He grinned at Obi-Wan and Anakin. "We know just about everything that goes on down there."

"Take us below," Obi-Wan said. "We'll be in touch while you take care of the power grid," he said to Yaddle. Yaddle nodded good-bye.

"If you'll follow me." Swanny gave a bow to the Jedi that held a hint of mockery.

Obi-Wan and Anakin strode after the two. Obi-Wan's instincts were on alert. He had his doubts about the value of Swanny and Rorq's assistance.

They were scruffy, rude, and probably untrustworthy.

Qui-Gon would have befriended them instantly.

Anakin walked with Obi-Wan, following Swanny through the dark streets to an industrial part of Naatan, an area made even darker by the presence of the shells of unlighted buildings looming overhead. Swanny led them to a booth that was a tall cylinder made of opaque black glass in a passage between two former warehouses.

"This is a forced air tube," Swanny said. "We use them instead of turbolifts. If you've never been on one, it can feel a little strange. You step out on air, and the pressure lessens, dropping you below." He opened a control panel and punched in a level and a speed. "I'll keep it slow for your first time. Just don't ever turn the control to 'eject.' That's what we used to get rid of toxic substances — we'd just blast them into the atmosphere. The roof of the cylinder retracts, and you'd find yourself lost in the clouds."

"Are there many levels below?" Obi-Wan asked.

"About twenty," Rorq said. "And the tunnels extend over the entire area of Naatan. It's like another city down there. You'll see."

Rorq stepped into the air tube with no floor. He hung there for a second, grinning at them, then shot below. Swanny gestured. "After you."

Obi-Wan stepped out into what seemed to be a black void. Anakin heard the faint sound of rushing air. The next thing he knew, his Master had sunk down out of sight.

"Next," Swanny said.

Anakin stepped into the chamber. It felt strange to feel the air pressure against his boots. He descended, the air rushing against his ears.

The sensation felt oddly familiar, even though he'd never been in an airlift before. When he reached the bottom he felt the shock of the ground against his boots and almost stumbled as he stepped off.

Obi-Wan and Rorq were waiting. After a moment, Swanny joined them, stepping off the airlift with the ease of long practice.

"Ah," Swanny said, spreading his arms to take in the dim, dirty tunnel, "home, sweet home."

Anakin wrinkled his nose. The air was dank and heavy and smelled stale.

Swanny grinned. "The purification system is hooked into the power grid. Sometimes it's off, sometimes it's on. Lately it's been off."

Swanny activated a glow rod and they set off down the tunnel. It was wide and high, big enough for the four of them to walk side by side.

"This is one of the main transport tunnels," Swanny explained. "We used to have speeders operating along here. Now we motor the old-fashioned way."

Obi-Wan glanced around at the network of tunnels branching off from the one they were walking down. "I don't know how you keep from getting lost."

"There are map kiosks, but when the power's down, we can't access them," Rorq said. "Luckily, we could find our way around down here blindfolded. Patrol, Swanny."

Quickly, Swanny deactivated the glow rod. Rorq dived into a side tunnel and Swanny urged them through the opening. They pressed against the walls of the side tunnel as a speeder slowly made its way down the main tunnel. Two guards sat, blaster rifles at the ready.

"Better to avoid them," Swanny whispered. "Decca's crew."

"Does she run patrols frequently?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I'd say randomly," Swanny said. "She doesn't have enough fuel for regular patrols, so she counts on surprise. She's always looking to round up some of Striker's men if she can. They capture you and ask questions later. I'd rather avoid a rifle butt on the scalp, thank you."

They walked back into the main tunnel. "The substations are where the main computer relays used to be," Swanny said, holding the glow rod high so that they could pick their way down the tunnel. "Most of them have been destroyed in blaster shoot-'em-up battles. There are also docking bays for our once-gleaming fleet of transports. Decca controls most of the docking bays. And the rest of the crimelords have taken over most of the substations."

"Where do the Mawans live?" Anakin asked.

"They took over a half-dug-out area that was supposed to be another loading bay before the Purge. They set up a kind of tent village there. We subrats serve as scouts to protect them from raids. We also ferry food, water, and other supplies."

"For a fee," Obi-Wan said.

Swanny nodded. "A small fee, just to cover costs. We have to pay bribes to the crimelords."

"Who controls the power grid now?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Striker, at the moment," Swanny said. "That could change. The main generator is in a substation down here. Striker has it guarded."

"Can't you switch power from the main substation to another?" Anakin asked.

Swanny shrugged. "Technically, yes. But it's not easy. They'll need a lot of luck to boost the system from another source. Plus there's a relay substation that will shut the whole system down if procedure isn't followed. Nobody wants to do that, even the crimelords. Too much risk that the entire system would never restart. They all want to control the power grid. They don't want to destroy it."

"What did you do before the Purge, Swanny?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I'm a water rat," Swanny said cheerfully. "I programmed all the wastewater systems. I know every pipe down here, just about. Rorq here was on fuel transport tunnels."

"Barely got paid a living wage to keep the surface running," Rorq grumbled.

Swanny clapped an arm around Rorq's shoulders. "Ah, but it was a sweet life, wasn't it, my friend? Low life expectancy, no bonuses, the contempt of our fellow citizens — you've got to admit, you miss it."