The Evil Experiment

  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 co
vered 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.

  "Maybe Tino will have more answers than that bunch," he told Astri.

  "Let's hope so," she agreed.

  By the time they reached the warehouse they were almost as muddy as

  Cholly, Weez, and Tup. Huge loading doors stood open and inside they could

  see a multilayered structure of catwalks, ladders, ramps, and chutes.

  Small, compact tech droids rolled through the aisles, pushing graysleds

  filled with durasteel crates and boxes. Obi-Wan scanned the area until he

  glimpsed the person in charge, a woman of middle years in a gray unisuit

  with a headset, who was barking orders at the droids.

  Obi-Wan approached her.

  "We're looking for Tino," Obi-Wan said.

  She didn't take her eyes off the droids. "He's unloading in Sector

  Two. Through that door there. Tell him to get a move on and get back here,"

  she said. "I need those droids!"

  Obi-Wan and Astri followed the woman's directions and hurried through

  the door into the Sector One portion of the huge warehouse.

  There was no one on the ground floor, but one level up they saw a

  sandy-haired young man in a unisuit. Droids on the next level were pushing

  crates onto a chute. The crates slid down and the young man hefted them and

  loaded them one at a time onto a gravsled.

  Obi-Wan glanced around for the ladder that would take them up one

  level. He paused as he felt a sudden disturbance in the Force.

  Quickly, he scanned the warehouse. The droids moved in orderly rows,

  the crates rolled down. Th
ere was no movement on the catwalks above...

  Then he saw her one level above Tino. At first she was just a shadow.