The Final Showdown

  untrue one."

  "I've got news for you," Anakin said. "You won't be the one to find

  Omega. I will. I'd bet on it." The remark seemed to burst out of him

  without his directing it.

  Darra sucked in a breath through her teeth. Tru shook his head.

  Ferus turned away. "I'm not going to bet on a mission."

  "Because you have too much riding on it? If you lose, you might lose

  the Council's favor," Anakin said. "No wonder you won't take me up on it."

  Anakin had gotten to Ferus at last. He could see it. Suddenly Ferus

  spun around and came within centimeters of Anakin.

  "Okay, sure, I'll take the bet," he said. "Whatever you say, Anakin. I

  wouldn't want to stand in the way of you and your ego."

  "Ego? You're the one who spends all his time showing off!"

  But if Anakin was heat, Ferus was ice. He buckled his utility belt.

  "Someone has to teach you that you are not as powerful as you think you

  are."

  Anakin saw the Masters looking over. He bent over and pretended to

  tighten the same tight strap so that Obi-Wan could not read his face. He

  had to control himself. He had gone farther than he'd meant to, but he

  didn't care. Now it was out in the open.

  They followed their Masters out onto the main thoroughfare of

  Dreshdae, a narrow unpaved street. A light gray rain was falling, and it

  had an acid taste. Anakin felt foreboding settle on his shoulders.

  Dreshdae was a hodgepodge, a drab spaceport that had grown and shrank

  without regard for utility or beauty. Until recently it had been a

  collection of temporary buildings made of plastoid blocks or cheaper metals

  that rusted with age. The Jedi could see these buildings in various states

  of disrepair. Sprung up around them was a collection of newer buildings,

  most of them clustered near the Commerce Guild's Dreshdae Headquarters. The

  Guild had spared no expense, building a multistoried edifice with durasteel

  facing in a multicolored iridescence that was supposed to sparkle in

  sunlight but instead looked cheerless in the drip of rain

  Although Dreshdae tried to present itself as a typical new, brash city

  struggling to grow, the strain showed. There was no disguising what the

  spaceport had been and would slide back into again - a dark, dangerous,

  lawless place. Undercurrents of its evil past bubbled up through the cracks

  in the stone facings and the hastily erected walkways. Beings hurried

  through the streets as if anxious to find shelter. No one lingered in the

  caf©s. Anakin didn't hear one snatch of conversation, or one burst of

  laughter.

  "Our contact is a businessman named Teluron Thacker," Obi-Wan said.

  "He's done favors for the Jedi in the past, and he agreed to help us if he

  could. The meeting place isn't far."

  Anakin felt a touch on his shoulder and turned. No one was behind him.

  Perhaps it had been a leaf brushing his shoulder - but he knew, of course,

  that there were no trees on Korriban.

  Another touch - Anakin whipped around. He looked at Ferus, wondering

  if he was trying to play a trick on him, but Ferus was several meters back,

  talking to Soara.

  He began to pick up a whisper. Then another. He couldn't make out the

  words, only the intent. Someone was baiting him, cajoling him, laughing at

  him... or was it his imagination? Was it just the wind whispering through

  the stones?

  They crossed the street and he thought he saw a flash of something -

  blood coursing down a stone wall. When he blinked, it was gone.

  "Master... "

  "It is the dark side of the Force, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "I'm picking

  it up, too. Ignore it."

  But Anakin couldn't ignore it. There was something insistent about the

  voices. Something that urged him to answer. Although the feeling made him

  anxious, he also wanted to face it. He wanted to get to the root of this

  dark power... to match himself against it... to prove, once and for all,

  that he was as strong as it was.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Obi-Wan stopped outside the small caf©. It fit the coordinates he was

  given, but still he hesitated. Was it even open? The caf© was small, dingy,

  and in serious disrepair. Half of the roof was caving in. It was a wonder

  anyone would go inside at all.

  "What is it, Master?" Anakin asked.

  "Teluron Thacker is a prosperous businessman," Obi-Wan said. "Why

  would he frequent this kind of place?"

  "You think it's a trap?"

  "I'm not getting a warning. But still..." Obi-Wan shook his head. The

  problem was the energy on this planet. Dark waves buffeted him from every

  side. It was like swimming in an evil sea. All that darkness made it hard

  to distinguish what was a true threat.

  "It could just be a case of not wanting to be seen with us," Siri

  pointed out. "One of us should go in first to check it out."

  "I'll go." Anakin and Ferus spoke the words together.

  "I will." The words came from Ry-Gaul. He strode forward, pushed open

  the rusty metal door, and disappeared inside. No doubt Ry-Gaul's height and

  size would serve to deter anyone who wanted to challenge him.

  The rest of them waited, every second wearing on their nerves. Finally

  Ry-Gaul emerged and said, "He's there. All clear."

  They followed Ry-Gaul into the caf©. Apparently the sagging roof

  scared off customers, for only one man sat inside, at a table near the

  door. He hugged a mug with one hand and kept his eyes darting from the door

  to the roof, as if expecting it to crash down at any moment.

  Teluron Thacker was a tall humanoid with pale skin and the soft look

  of a being used to spending time indoors, sitting down. He greeted the Jedi

  with a nervous nod and drew his red cape around his body.

  "Thank you for seeing us," Obi-Wan said.

  "The Jedi helped my home world of Eeyyon," Thacker said. "I pledged to

  help whenever I could."

  "How do you find yourself on Korriban?" Siri asked.

  "Just lucky I guess," Thacker groaned. "I angered my boss. Such a

  little thing, but she was so touchy. So I didn't check references and the

  deal went bad. What's a few million credits? The next thing I know, I get

  handed an assignment to open an office on Korriban." Thacker shuddered. "I

  haven't slept through the night since."

  Obi-Wan signaled to the bartender to bring a round of drinks. In such

  a place, it was better to place an order, even though he wouldn't touch

  anything they were pouring. He waited until the bartender slammed down a

  pot of grog that slopped over the rim, then dropped a pile of not-too clean

  mugs onto the table.

  Thacker leaned over and whispered. "I wouldn't drink that if I were

  you."

  "Thanks for the tip," Siri said. "What can you tell us about the two

  beings we're pursuing?"

  "Only that they are here," Thacker said. "A human man and woman have

  been seen. They match the descriptions perfectly. I checked the one hotel

  and several guest houses, and they aren't registered."

  "They wouldn't use their real names," Obi-Wan said. "Did you give

  descriptions?"

  "Well, I said a man and a woman, travel
ing together," Thacker said.

  "Did you try anything else? Is there a database for arrivals and

  departures?"

  Thacker shook his head. "Nobody really keeps track."

  "Have you looked into whether any businesses here are a cover for

  Omega's enterprises?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Well, no," Thacker said. "Naturally I want to help the Jedi. But it

  is not wise to ask too many questions on Korriban."

  "Why?" This question came from Ry-Gaul, and it stopped Thacker in his

  tracks.

  "Uh, because." Thacker shrugged. "Because that's what everyone says."

  Obi-Wan exchanged an exasperated glance with Siri. It was clear that

  Thacker wasn't going to be much help. He was too intimidated by even the

  rumor of possible problems.

  "I should warn you about something. You know that the Commerce Guild

  has its own army? Well, there's a division here," Thacker said. "They say

  it's out of necessity, to protect the business workers from petty crime.

  But spider and surveillance droids are everywhere. If Omega and Zan Arbor

  have any contacts in the Commerce Guild, they could have access to all the

  surveillance information. Which means they could see everything."

  At last, a piece of information they could use. But what else could

  Thacker tell them? Obi-Wan didn't want to leave the caf© without a solid

  lead. Then a thought occurred to him.

  "Zan Arbor has expensive tastes," he said. "She is most likely not too

  thrilled to be here. There doesn't seem to be much luxury in Dreshdae."

  "It's a stinking rot," Thacker agreed.

  "Yet there are business executives here, creatures used to having the

  best of everything," Obi-Wan said. "There must be something for them. If

  you're looking to buy special items, where would you go?"

  "There's a loose kind of black market," Thacker told them. "Run by

  thieves, of course. Supplies are low, there are no stores, and it's hard to

  even find essentials, like blankets or thermal capes, even though this dump

  of a rotting death-hole freezes your bones. They rob when they can - from

  the better buildings, the offices. No hotel room in the spaceport is safe.

  They've made some hits on ships coming in with supplies for the Commerce

  Guild executives."

  "So how do you get in touch with this black market?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "It's on the outskirts, in a plaza that's in ruins - that is, if you

  can tell ruins from the rest of these crumbling, cracked-up excuses for

  buildings." Thacker's darting gaze flicked to the ceiling. "I can give you

  the coordinates. If you want something, go at dusk. Ask for Auben. She's

  the best of a bad lot - she won't cheat you and she knows everything that's

  going on. I've bought a few things from her myself. But watch out for the

  army - the executives in the Commerce Guild are tired of buying back their

  own items. They want to smash the black market."

  The Jedi stood.

  "One more thing," Thacker said. "The army isn't your only concern.

  Auben might be less than cooperative. She won't trust you. And she's

  heavily armed."

  "That won't be a problem," Obi-Wan assured him.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Dusk on Korriban lasted for hours, beginning in midafternoon as the

  weak sun slowly made its descent. The shadows cast by the buildings on

  Dreshdae seemed thick and full of menace. There had been an attempt to

  install glow lights on the streets, but they were staggered in odd

  patterns. As the Jedi walked toward the plaza, they moved from light to

  shadow. They knew it was dusk only because the light was failing. There was

  so much cloud cover that they could not see the sun. The clouds just

  deepened to a dark red.

  "I have a suggestion, Master," Anakin said. "This Auben might feel

  less threatened if she's approached by one person. Especially someone

  young."

  Obi-Wan nodded. "That's not a bad idea."

  "We can't surround her, we'll spook her for sure," Siri said. "Why

  don't Anakin and Ferus go?"

  Obi-Wan nodded. "You can say that you're brothers, and you've been

  stranded here. Sounds plausible."

  Brothers! Anakin swallowed his groan. Being teamed with Ferus was bad

  enough.

  They approached the plaza. It was surrounded by pillars that had once

  held up some sort of roof over the plaza. Part of the roof still hung over

  the space. Behind the pillars were the ruins of a building. There were

  plenty of places to hide, which was no doubt why it was chosen as the spot

  to conduct illegal business.

  "We'll stay here," Obi-Wan said, stopping a good distance away from

  the plaza. "Whatever you do, don't reveal that you are Jedi. That's

  information that can be sold. We know Omega is expecting us, but he doesn't

  know when we'll arrive."

  Anakin and Ferus took off for the marketplace in silence. The tension

  hadn't lessened between them. Anakin had hoped to gain information about

  Omega before Ferus did. He wished he were meeting Auben alone. It wasn't

  that he would jeopardize the mission in any way, but he wouldn't mind being

  one half-step ahead.

  They didn't say a word as they walked. They didn't make a plan. Anakin

  wanted to complete the assignment as quickly as possible and return to the

  others.

  They cruised once around the plaza. They could see a few beings in the

  shadows. It wasn't until they'd made one circuit of the area that they were

  approached.

  A young woman dressed in a tight-fitting gray tunic and leggings came

  to them. She wore a leather headpiece that fitted snugly over her ears, and

  she carried an enormous satchel on her back without strain.

  "Looking for something, friends?"

  "Are you Auben?" Anakin asked.

  Her eyes flicked over them. "Who wants to know?"

  "Thacker sent us. He said you had things for sale."

  "I've got it or I can get it. What's your need, friend?"

  "Blankets and handwarmers," Anakin said.

  She dumped the satchel on the ground and held up two handwarmers. As

  she crouched, Anakin saw two blasters in her belt. "Let me see the credits

  first," she said.

  Anakin held out his hand. She took the credits from it, then tossed

  the handwarmers to Ferus. "No blankets today, but I've got a tip on some

  plush thermal capes. You can meet me here same time tomorrow and I'll have

  them."

  "How much?" Ferus asked.

  Auben named the price. Ferus raised his eyebrows. "I said they were

  plush. Top quality. I'll have some other luxury stuff, too." She shrugged.

  "If you don't want them, someone else will."

  "You have a lot of customers?" Ferus's gaze roamed the empty plaza,

  pretending skepticism.

  "I've got the whole spaceport as customers, friend." Auben shrugged

  the pack back onto her shoulders.

  It was clear she was about to take off. Anakin spoke quickly. "Our

  parents marooned us here on Dreshdae. They said they'd be back, but it's

  been a few weeks now, and we don't know where - "

  Auben's face was expressionless. "I don't need your story, just your

  credits."

  "We heard that a couple landed at the spaceport re
cently," Anakin

  continued. "A human man and woman. Maybe you've seen them - "

  Auben's eyes grew hard. "I don't discuss my customers."

  "But I just - "

  " Ever."

  Anakin knew they were at a dead end.

  "So you only find things, not beings?" Ferus asked. "Seems to me that

  there's not much difference. You need the same skills. Contacts and

  discretion."

  She stopped in her tracks. "What do you mean?"

  "It seems to me that for the right price, you could help us with more

  than handwarmers."

  Auben hesitated. She gave them an appraising look, as if wondering how

  much they could pay.

  But before she could speak, a blast of artillery fire shattered a

  column behind her. The explosion of rocks sent her flying toward Anakin and

  Ferus. All three landed on the ground.

  "Commerce Guild droids," she panted. "Run!"

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Auben took off. Anakin dashed after her. She had placed herself in an

  exposed position, her back to the blaster fire, thinking she could outrun

  it. She was wrong. Anakin had no choice. The Force slowed down time, and he