Джуд Уотсон - Jedi Apprentice 8 - The Day of Reckoning

Qui-Gon shot an amused look at Obi-Wan, which Obi-Wan answered with a frown. He didn't know why Qui-Gon always seemed to give his trust to the scoundrels they met. Yet when it came to Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon was strict and unbending.

Den eased open the slanted door overhead. They climbed up a short flight of stairs and slipped outside. They were surrounded by tall rows of a green-leafed plant.

Den jerked his head to indicate which way they should go. They could hear the security police kicking in the doors of the rooming house as they quickly made their way through the rustling plants, trying not to stir the leaves any more than the wind did.

When they reached the end of the field, Den hesitated.

"What do we do now?" Obi-Wan asked.

Suddenly, blaster fire ripped into the row of plants to their right.

"Um, let me think. Run?" Den suggested.

They took off, zigzagging through the remaining fields. Qui-Gon glanced back and saw the security police giving chase.

"We have a good lead," Den shouted. "We can outrun them. At least they're not on speeder bikes."

Just then, three speeder bikes took off after them.

"Oops," Den panted.

"Activate your lightsaber!" Qui-Gon called to Obi-Wan.

They did not slow their pace, keeping up with Den. The Force told them when to turn back and deflect the fire with their lightsabers.

Den zigzagged down a maze of alleys. The speeder bikes gained on them. "Just hang on, almost there," he called back.

They came to a field with a drainage pipe rising out of the grass. Den flattened himself and crawled in. Quickly, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon followed. The speeder bike engines buzzed angrily overhead. Blaster fire peppered the pipe but did not penetrate the metal.

"This goes underground and leads into a basement nearby," Den said. "They'll never find us."

"You said that before," Obi-Wan grunted.

"I said ten-to-one," Den corrected. "I'll give you better odds this time."

On their hands and knees, they crawled through rusty water with a skin of muck on top.

"Den, what used to drain through this pipe?"

Qui-Gon asked. The smell was worse than the garbage chute.

"Don't ask," Den said cheerfully.

At last they saw a faint beam of light. They spilled out onto a basement floor, their tunics stained with rust, garbage, and a substance Obi-Wan did not want to identify.

Den led them upstairs and out a side door into an alley. He looked both ways, then overhead. "You see? Saved."

"Will you be safe from here?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Joke, right? You can't leave me now!" Den protested. "I'm not finished saving your necks yet. Come on, I led you into trouble. Let me lead you out again. I have a safe place for you to stay."

"Safe like the last place?" Obi-Wan asked.

"This place is different," Den assured them. "It's a hideout of a friend of mine. Look, the security police will be everywhere. You need to lay low, even for a few hours."

"And why should we trust you?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Because you have no choice?" Den said.

"One always has a choice," Qui-Gon said. "But we'll follow."

Obi-Wan couldn't believe it. Den was obviously a criminal. Why was Qui-Gon trusting him with their lives?

When Den walked ahead, he posed the same question to Qui-Gon. The Jedi only sighed.

"Think about it, Obi-Wan. We are criminals, too, at least in the eyes of the security police. Who can hide us better than those who are already in hiding?"

Qui-Gon put his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Don't worry. The core of him is pure."

"Kill me now, because I can't feel it," Obi-Wan grumbled. Still he liked the comforting hand on his shoulder. It almost felt as though Qui-Gon and he were Master and apprentice again.

Den led them to another part of the city, well off the wide boulevards of the city's center. Here the buildings huddled together as if a cold wind had driven them closer for warmth and protection.

Den led them to a building in the middle of the block. Instead of entering, he slipped down an alley. A broken pipe hung down the side of the building, swinging free. Den pulled himself up and straddled it.

"It's easier than it looks," he said. He grinned at the exasperated expression on Obi-Wan's face. "Hey, kid. You've gone down a garbage chute and climbed through a drainpipe. I think you can do this."

With an irritated glance at Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan grabbed the pipe. From the street it had looked ready to fall on the first unsuspecting head, but he found that it was actually anchored firmly to the wall. There were small metal bolts screwed in the sides, undetectable from below but big enough to serve as handholds and footholds. Den was right? it was easier to climb than it looked.

Obi-Wan hoisted himself up and over the edge of the flat roof. A water tank rose in a corner, a rusting spiral staircase circling it up to a platform at the top.

"Don't tell me," Obi-Wan said. "We're going to jump in that water tank next."

"Joke!" Den said, chuckling. He crossed to the tank and knocked a rhythmic series of taps against it. A short rap answered him.

"She's in," he said. "Let's go."

Obi-Wan followed Den up the spiral staircase to the top of the tank. When he reached the platform, he saw that the ceiling was recessed. It was painted to look like dark water. Anyone from above would not be able to tell that this water tower was any different from the others that dotted the roofs nearby.

Den slid open a trap door and disappeared inside. Obi-Wan followed.

To his relief, he found himself on a staircase leading down into a cozy apartment. The walls were round and made of durasteel. A thick rug was on the floor, and there were comfortable places to sit. In the center of the space was a long table piled with tech equipment.

A slender young woman rose from her seat at the table. Her hair was dark chestnut, wound in several braids around her head. Her eyes were a warm honey-brown. Right now they were trained suspiciously on Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

"Who have you brought me this time, Den?" she asked.

"Friends," Den responded.

"They're always friends," she said warily. Her eyes flicked over their stained tunics. "And they're dressed so nicely, too."

"We had a little trouble getting here. But they might be able to help us." He turned to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. "This is Andra. She's the head of the POWER party? Preserve Our Wild Endangered Resources. Andra, this is Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, two Jedi visitors who seem to be wanted by the security police."

Her eyes narrowed. "Wanted? For what?"

Den took a piece of fruit from a bowl and tossed it to Obi-Wan. "Here, kid, you look hungry. What does it matter what they're wanted for, Andra? We need them. They want to know about UniFy."

Andra's suspicion changed to interest. She looked at them curiously.

"Maybe you could explain what it is you do," Qui-Gon suggested. "What is the POWER party?"

"We are a political party in opposition to those in control of the government," she answered. "Unfortunately, we're illegal right now. The government outlawed us. We were the first to raise the cry when the government gave the stewardship of our sacred places to UniFy. We asked why our land was turned over to private interests, why we were forced to trust the word of a corporation that they would preserve and protect the land. Most didn't listen. They were happy to have the tax burden taken away. But some did listen, and joined us. We're made up of former government officials, scientists, environmental workers, ordinary citizens who listened back when we were allowed to speak. Now we've gone into hiding and meet here when we can."

"Do you have proof that UniFy is mishandling your sacred spaces?" Qui-Gon asked.

She hesitated. "We had evidence that something is going on at the Sacred Pools. Three people went to the global park to gather images and evidence. They were killed in a speeder accident on the way back to Thani. They told me that they had hard evidence of something, but they didn't say what it was. I think their death was no accident. The evidence they were bringing back was destroyed. We are mobilizing to make another trip." She pushed impatiently at a stray hair that had escaped a braid. "It's difficult. Security is very tight at the global parks. They say they need to keep people away until the land is reclaimed. We think they are exploiting it, mapping it for further development."