"Stay under cover!" Qui-Gon roared at Obi-Wan. Perhaps Obi-Wan had
risked too much to race to his Master's side, but he didn't care. The fire
came at them relentlessly from above as they zigzagged down the alley
together, keeping their lightsabers arcing above. Trapped in the narrow
space, they were easy targets.
"We have to get on the roof above," Qui-Gon said. "Activate your
cable launcher when you can."
Obi-Wan had to time his movement to the blasts from above. He needed
all his perceptions to keep up his defensive moves. He managed to activate
the cable launcher as he moved sideways toward the wall of the building. It
propelled him upward as blaster fire pinged around his head.
Obi-Wan leaped up on the roof. He realized that the blaster fire had
stopped only seconds before. His gaze whipped around the roof as Qui-Gon
jumped up behind him.
"There," Qui-Gon said.
They ran to one edge of the roof, where they could see a small pile
of objects. First they searched the area, looking down to see if their
attacker had returned to the alley. Then they scanned the roofs nearby to
see if he or she had jumped. There seemed to be no avenue of escape that
would allow for the attacker to disappear so quickly.
They returned to the pile. Qui-Gon crouched down and picked up a
small transmitter.
"For the probe droid. And here's an ammunition pack." He tossed it to
Obi-Wan. "Looks like it was only one person. But he or she had two
blasters, at least. That was a constant stream of fire."
Obi-Wan turned the pack over in his hands. It was made of leather.
Burned into one side was a small insignia. He crouched down to show it to
Qui-Gon.
"I recognize this. Irini wore a necklace with this same emblem."
"At last," Qui-Gon said. "We have somewhere to start."
CHAPTER 8
Dusk had fallen and the air had chilled as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan waited
outside the Museum of the Absolutes. They kept their hoods over their heads
and stayed in the shadow of a monument directly across from the building.
Soon they were rewarded as various people began to exit the building.
They spotted Irini's compact figure immediately. She, too, raised her hood
as she hurried down the broad steps and turned down the avenue.
The Jedi melted into the stream of people on the avenue, always
keeping Irini in sight. She boarded a repulsorlift-engined airbus and they
just managed to jump aboard on the rear platform. Luckily the airbus was
crowded. All the Workers were on their way home.
The airbus made no stops as it sped through the boulevards and
avenues of the Civilized Sector. It crossed into the Worker Sector and
began to make regular stops. Workers exited at various points. Irini stood,
her hand lightly resting on a pole, near the middle of the airbus. She
stared absently out at the dark streets.
Qui-Gon leaned in to speak to Obi-Wan. "We will have to get off soon,
even if Irini doesn't. We can't take the chance that she'll see us. We'll
have to follow the airbus on foot."
It would take some hard running through the crowded streets. Obi-Wan
nodded. Better to take the chance that they could lose Irini than be
spotted. They knew where she worked; they could always find her again.
Just then Irini began to move toward the exit. The airbus pulled over
at the next stop. Qui-Gon made sure Irini had exited before signaling Obi-
Wan to jump off the rear platform.
Irini moved quickly through the streets, occasionally exchanging a
smile or quick greeting as she walked. The population was busy gathering
food for the evening meal, or passing time in small cafes along the route.
Mothers and fathers herded children before them, and lights began to come
on in Worker housing. They could see families in the middle of their
evening routines, children bending over datapads, adults preparing a meal
or simply sitting at the window, watching the rest of New Apsolon find
their various ways home.
The streets began to narrow, and there were fewer Workers around.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan slowed down, giving Irini a longer lead. She was
beginning to use the reflections in darkened windows to look around her.
"Checking for surveillance," Qui-Gon murmured.
Irini crossed the street. With a deft touch to his elbow, Qui-Gon
directed Obi-Wan to melt back. They stood in the shadows as, under the
pretense of looking for traffic, Irini swept the street with her keen
glance. Satisfied that it was empty, she hurried into a plain stone
building. It was slated for demolition along with its partner next door. A
sign read BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL SITE OF NEW LUXURY WORKER
HOUSING
Qui-Gon did his own careful surveillance before starting across the
street, Obi-Wan at his heels. Obi-Wan started toward the door of the
building Irini had entered, but Qui-Gon stopped him. He had been studying
the building next door.
"Let's try this one first," he said.
The door was bolted with a strong durasteel lock, but Obi-Wan swiped
through it easily with his lightsaber. They pushed the door open and stood
for a moment in the dark vestibule.
"I don't want to take a chance with the glow rod," Qui-Gon said.
"Wait a moment until your eyes adjust."
Obi-Wan didn't understand how the light of a glow rod would be
visible to the next building, but he followed Qui-Gon's lead. In only
moments, his eyes had adjusted to the pitch-black interior. He saw that
they were in a small foyer. There had once been a datapad station here,
most likely for messages and mail for the inhabitants. It had been ripped
out, the console parts thrown on the floor. There was a turbolift, but no
doubt it was no longer working. A staircase cluttered with debris led
above.
Qui-Gon began to climb. "I saw evidence from the outside that some
floors here had been enlarged into the adjoining building, probably to
expand apartments," he murmured to Obi-Wan. "We might be able to get close
enough to Irini to hear what's going on."
Qui-Gon stopped on the first landing, listening intently. Obi-Wan did
the same, but heard nothing. They continued upward, stopping at each floor.
They climbed five flights before they heard something. It was a soft
murmur, nothing more. They moved toward the sound.
It was so faint that they lost its direction a few times. They stood,
blocking out the slight noises of the building - the rush of night air
through an opening, the skitter of dust along the floor. Then they would
pick up the murmur again, and move on.
They walked through abandoned rooms and found evidence of the lives
that had been lived there. Narrow sleep-couches, torn and stained. A
battered pan on the floor. One boot. A palm-sized datapad that appeared to
have melted into the floor. Room after room opened up into the next like a
maze. Once, Obi-Wan realized, there had been too many people crowded into
these too-small rooms.
Qui-Gon stopped. "We are now in the other building," he murmured to
Obi-Wan. "They are
very close."
Obi-Wan could feel the presence of others as well as hear them. But
the sound quality was muffled and disorienting. He paused to focus. When
they moved, they moved as one. They had both discovered the source of the
sound. It was behind a closet. Qui-Gon eased open the door. They saw a
crack of light running from the floor to the ceiling. Squeezing inside the
closet, they both put their eyes to the crack.
The room next door was lit only by a glow rod set at low power. Yet
they could clearly pick out Irini, who sat in a semicircle of other men and
women. They were dressed similarly in dark coveralls or tunics.
Now Irini's words came to them clearly.
"I have seen them myself, and I am telling you, they were brought by
Roan," she said.
"They admitted to this?" one of the group asked.
"Why should they? They are his tool. The Jedi are sent here to ensure
that the government stands. If the government stands as it is, none of the
remaining Absolutes will be brought to justice. Therefore they are our
enemy."
"With all respect to my fellow Worker lrini, the Jedi were neutral
parties six years ago," a quiet-voiced woman said. "They supported the will
of the people, whatever that might turn out to be."
"Their role was as peacekeepers only," a man chimed in. "Why are they
now our enemy?"
"Because peace is not what we seek," lrini said fiercely. "Justice
is. We must overthrow the murderer of Ewane."
Another woman spoke up. "We have agreed that before we plot the
overthrowing of Roan we must have evidence of his guilt. We do not have
this yet."
"We will," someone else said. "I think lrini is right. The Absolutes
have re-formed. We know this. Every day they gain power. Roan must be
behind it. And if he has sent for the Jedi, they must know it."
"What do you think, Lenz?" the quiet-voiced woman asked.
The man she addressed had not spoken, but Obi-Wan had noticed him. He
watched the others with grave, intent eyes. There was a kind of power to
him, even though he was hunched over, his hands dangling in his lap. His
face was thin, thinner than lrini's. Obi-Wan did not know how he knew this,
but he sensed that Lenz had suffered greatly at one time in his life, no
doubt at the hands of the Absolutes.
"I have new information," Lenz said. "A new group of leaders have
risen in the new Absolute order. No one knows their identity. They are
taking pains to conceal them. All we know is that these leaders are clever.
Harassment of our movement has begun. Some report an increase in
surveillance. We must be careful."
"What does this have to do with Jedi?" someone asked.
"Maybe nothing. Yet both might point to Roan's desperation. First, he
backs new leadership within the Absolutes to keep a lid on any opposition.
Then, in a show of good faith to the galaxy, he asks for Jedi help. His
best interest is to keep things as they are while he consolidates his
power."
Even lrini listened to Lenz with respect. "So what should we do?"
"First we should change our meeting place. Every week a new site.
Winati, you are in charge of finding a place. Mohn, you are in charge of
notifying the others."
Lenz stopped abruptly and picked up his com-link. It must have
vibrated, signaling an incoming communication. He listened for a moment,
then clicked off.
"The Absolutes. It's a raid."
Lenz's voice held no urgency, but the group rose immediately and
moved like a shadow. No one reacted, no one gasped or showed confusion.
Obviously, they had trained for this.
Winati quickly accessed a recessed door in the wall. A staircase led
upward. She waited while the others hurried across the floor and
disappeared inside, then slipped inside herself. The door slid shut.
"Probably goes to the roof," Qui-Gon murmured. "Let's wait and see
who is raiding them."
Moments later, the door burst open. A squad of black-clothed men
stood in the doorway, blasters held at their hips. The leader strode
forward.
"Too late." He accessed a device on his utility belt.
"Trouble," Qui-Gon murmured, backing up.
The device was a heat sensor. It beamed on the wall they were hiding
behind. The wall began to glow.
Obi-Wan scrambled backward, but the close quarters made it difficult
for them to move quickly. A moment later a cutting tool swiftly sawed an
opening in the wall and a boot followed. The wall splintered, and the
leader stepped through.
Obi-Wan had his hand on his lightsaber hilt, but he looked quickly at
his Master.
"Submit," Qui-Gon said quietly, and in moments, they were surrounded.
CHAPTER 9
Qui-Gon allowed himself to be hustled down the stairs. Their captors
said nothing, and he saw no need to volunteer any questions or comments. He
was not sure if they knew that he and Obi-Wan were Jedi. He assumed that
they were thought to be Workers.
In the cramped vestibule, thick strips of fabric were wound around
their eyes to blindfold them. They were bound in energy manacles. Then they
were pushed out the door. Qui-Gon felt himself being guided into a
landspeeder. Obi-Wan was shoved next to him.
He concentrated, trying to gauge distance by calculating speed and
time. He knew Obi-Wan was doing the same. The journey was short, and at the
end they were roughly hauled out of the speeder and marched down a
corridor. The speeder had been parked in an interior landing area.
Listening for echoes, Qui-Gon estimated its size. For a landing area of
this proportion, the building would have to be fairly large.
He heard a door accessed, and he was pushed inside a smaller area. He
heard Obi-Wan stumble as he followed.
"This is where you belong, Jedi," a voice hissed.
So they knew their prisoners were Jedi. "Where are we and why are we
being held? Who are you?" Qui-Gon asked.
"'None of your business' is the answer to your first question, and
'because you are enemies of the state' should answer your second. As for
who we are, we are the saviors of Apsolon."
"You don't say," Qui-Gon remarked dryly. "Tell me, why are we your
enemy?"
"We remember what the Jedi did six years before. Because of your
interference, our true government was lost. It is up to us to recapture the
glory we surrendered."
"New Apsolon did hold elections open to all - "
"We do not recognize New Apsolon, only Apsolon. And not every citizen
deserves to vote."
"You are entitled to your opinion," Qui-Gon said. "Yet a government
was legally elected by the laws of your world, so therefore - "
"Do you think I have time to argue with you?" The voice rose angrily.
The door slid shut.
"Well, that was an interesting conversation," Qui-Gon said. "We can
see that the Absolutes are just as they appear. They are fanatics."
"Not good news for us," Obi-Wan said.
"I'm sure we'll have an interesting dialogue."
"Do you think they'll torture us?" Obi-Wan asked the question
in a
firm voice. He did not want Qui-Gon to think he was afraid. But when he
remembered back to the different methods they had seen earlier that day, he
couldn't say he felt comfortable with the notion.
"I have no idea what they are planning," Qui-Gon said.
They did not say any more. There was a good chance they were under
surveillance. Qui-Gon moved closer to Obi-Wan and gently indicated his
lightsaber with his fingers. It was to let his Padawan know that if torture
lay ahead, they would not submit. Obi-Wan nodded.
They did not have long to wait. Less than an hour passed before they