by Джуд Уотсон
"This fighting is useless," Nania said. "We need to work together or we will accomplish nothing. Let's report to our work training spaces before we are missed. Then tonight we can meet as planned."
Some of the Freelies grumbled aloud, but the group slowly made its way out of the facility. There was little discussion, and Obi-Wan could feel the tension in the air.
He could also feel the knot in his stomach. The division in the group was not a good sign. lithe Freelies wanted to be taken seriously, they would have to come forward peacefully and talk to the adults as a cohesive group. It looked like the chances of that were getting slimmer by the minute.
Obi-Wan decided to find Grath and see what he was thinking. He circled a pile of rubble near where he had last seen him, but instead spotted Flip and a dark-haired girl he didn't recognize.
The two were clearly deep in conversation, and Obi-Wan tried to look casual as he tuned in to what they were saying.
"It's not enough," the girl said. "Grath is on their side."
He saw Flip nod slowly, and the girl leaned in closer. She spoke almost in a whisper.
"We have no choice but to take action on our own," she said. "And soon."
Obi-Wan took a step closer to the two Freelies. He wanted to hear every word. But his movement caught their attention, and they immediately split up. It was obvious they didn't want to be overheard. But he couldn't tell if they knew he'd been listening in.
Obi-Wan's mind reeled. He needed some time to clear his head. Exiting the refuse facility, he watched groups of kids make their way toward the work training space. He knew instinctively that work training was not a good place for him to think things through. So he turned in the other direction, heading toward the home-space.
Walking along, Obi-Wan now noticed the adult laborers who were still making their way to work. Some walked in pairs, talking. Others ambled along, gazing at the sky. None of them seemed desperate to get to work. And there was no audible droning. It was almost as if being forced out of their work environment gave them a new perspective.
Perhaps the adults are ready for change, Obi-Wan thought. He felt a small surge of hope. If he and Qui-Gon could just bring the kids and adults together, Vorzyd 4 might have a chance.
Chapter 14
"Vorzyd 5 must pay," Chairman Port said as he and Qui-Gon entered the Multycorp offices. "We shall contact them immediately."
Qui-Gon exhaled slowly. Although he'd expected the chairman to react in this way, he had not yet come up with a plan to stop the communication from going through.
He again questioned the wisdom of his decision to let Obi-Wan infiltrate the Freelies. He'd wanted to empower his Padawan. And he believed that Vorzyd 4 would have the best chance at a peaceful resolution if the kids came forward on their own. Unfortunately, that belief was of no help to him at the moment.
Time to think on your feet, he told himself wryly.
"I think it would be better to wait until we have the results from the shuttle inspection," Qui-Gon said rationally. Chairman Port had ordered an investigation of all the shuttles in the city, and they were waiting for the report. "The more information we have, the better."
"They are to blame!" Chairman Port railed. "They need to be punished!
" "Do we, now?" came a voice from behind them. Qui-Gon turned and saw Felana standing in the doorway. Two large Vorzydiaks flanked her on either side.
Chairman Port's face had lost all traces of anger. His expression was now a combination of confusion and fear. His large eyes were even wider than usual and his antennae twitched uncontrollably. It was obvious that he was not accustomed to unexpected political visitors — especially hostile ones.
"What are you — "
"I have come to set the record straight once and for all, Chairman,"
Felana said, striding into the room. She was remarkably tall for a Vorzydiak, and her upright stance made her even more so.
The chairman blinked in surprise. Qui-Gon sensed that he wanted to know how she had gotten all the way into his office without being noticed and stopped. He imagined that it probably wasn't too difficult in the chaotic aftermath of the shuttle explosions.
There were several long moments of awkward silence. Then Chairman Port straightened his jumpsuit and cleared his throat loudly. His expression shifted to one of self-righteous indignation.
"You have been sabotaging our production capabilities," he said evenly. "You resent our productivity. You wish to appear stronger to the rest of the Vorzyd system. Our computers and assembly lines are malfunctioning. It is the only explanation."
"Explanations are not my concern," Felana replied. "Your baseless accusations are. And we do not resent your productivity," she added, her eyes glinting. "On the contrary, we find your work customs to be rather tedious."
If it were not for the seriousness of the situation, Qui-Gon would have smiled at Felana's remark. The Vorzydiak kids obviously found the work customs to be tiresome as well.
"You see?" Chairman Port said, turning to Qui-Gon. "They resent us."
Qui-Gon was silent. Part of him wanted to tell Chairman Port everything. But his gut told him that this meeting was not going to bring about any kind of immediate or violent action. And he still hoped that the Freelies would come forward on their own. Besides, he had promised his Padawan that he would wait. If all went well, there would be a meeting of the minds — between those truly involved and responsible — very soon.
"We did not resent you," Felana insisted. "Until you began to accuse us of crimes we did not commit." She glared at Chairman Port. "I want all of these baseless lies to stop at once, or we will be taking action against you in response."
Chairman Port's antennae began to twitch again. "What kind of action?
" he asked nervously.
Felana leveled her gaze at the Vorzyd 4 leader. "A kind much worse than the sabotage you've wrongly accused us of."
Chapter 15
That night, Obi-Wan met up with Grath on the shuttle platform. He looked tired, but his eyes were clear. Obi-Wan sensed that the boy had found a new sense of direction.
"Some of the adults looked content as they made their way to work today," Obi-Wan told him. "I think they enjoyed their time off."
Grath nodded. "It can work without violence," he said confidently.
"People just need a little time to see how it could be."
Obi-Wan was glad to see Grath back to his old self. He didn't want to dampen his spirits by telling him about the conversation he'd overheard between Flip and the dark-haired girl. But he couldn't keep that kind of information to himself, either.
"I overheard — "
Obi-Wan was cut short by the shuttle pulling up to the platform.
Nania was driving, and she greeted Obi-Wan with a smile. Obi-Wan was grateful as he took a comfortable seat. A ride inside Nania's shuttle could be a nail-biter, but it was better than clinging to the outside of the craft.
When they arrived at the usual office building meeting place, Obi-Wan spotted Flip right away. He was standing in a corner next to the same dark- haired girl, scowling.
Grath walked right up to them. "Hi, Flip," he said in a friendly voice.
Flip didn't say anything, and his scowl deepened. It was clear that he was still angry about the reprimand he'd received earlier in the day.
The girl next to him was silent as well. Watching them, Obi-Wan suddenly realized that he'd seen the girl before, away from the Freelies. She'd been visiting her grandmother at the retiree complex the first night he'd been on the planet. But she seemed totally different now — there was no trace of the warm, affectionate young girl he'd enjoyed watching and listening to.
Grath stood in front of Flip for a moment, trying to get the boy to soften. When it was clear that he wouldn't, the leader's focus shifted to the meeting at hand. He stood up on one of the desks and called everyone's attention.
"If we can show the laborers that there is more to life than productivity without hurt
ing them, they will help us," he said calmly.
"The laborers are too far gone," the dark-haired girl replied hotly.
"Fear is the only thing that will keep them from stopping us."
Grath frowned. "That's not true, Tray," he said. "And you know it."
It didn't take long for the disagreement and anger from the earlier meeting to overtake the group. Everyone shouted to be heard. Antennae twitched and stabbed the air, punctuating shouts. Hands were balled into fists. The two groups began to separate — Grath and his followers on one side of the office and Flip and his on the other.
"We need to make ourselves known," someone yelled. "The laborers have no idea that we're pulling the pranks. They don't even think we're capable.
" "We're not getting any credit," a different voice called out.
"Or blame," someone on the other side shouted.
The shouts were getting louder and louder. It was almost impossible to hear what was being said. Obi-Wan looked from one side of the room to the other, not sure what to do. He felt that some action was necessary, but he didn't want to blow his cover.
Suddenly the lights outside the office blinked on. Voices echoed outside, and footsteps thundered up the stairs.
Grath looked up, alarmed. The kids were suddenly silent.
The Freelies had been discovered.
Chapter 16
The footsteps and voices got louder as they came closer. The Freelies began to look worriedly at one another, their antennae twitching in fear.
Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw Flip toss a small capsule to the ground. A thick, green smoke immediately began to billow into the room. Interestingly, the smoke did not seem to irritate the Freelies'
lungs. There was no coughing or sputtering among the group.
"This way," Flip said calmly. He led the kids out of the office through a secret exit, down a tunnel, and up several flights of stairs.
When they emerged through a heavy durasteel doorway, they were standing on the roof of a neighboring workspace building. It was dark, but the stars in the sky gave off a dim light.
All was quiet below. The kids were safe.
No sooner were the Freelies on the roof than Flip turned toward Obi- Wan. "There's something you don't know!" he shouted to the group. "Grath has been keeping it from you. This boy has been sent here to stop us. He is a Jedi — and a traitor!"
There was an audible gasp as the Freelies gaped at Obi-Wan. For a moment Obi-Wan sensed that the group wasn't sure this was the truth — and thought he might be safe.
The moment passed quickly.
"it's true!" the dark-haired girl shouted. "I've seen him at the retirement complex. My grandmother is there, and he was spying on us!"
"Yes, Tray, he is a Jedi." Grath lowered his head in defeat.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment. He'd had no idea that Grath knew he was a Jedi. Taking a deep breath, he tried to gather strength. He was not looking forward to what was coming. Someone pulled at his hood, exposing his antennae-less head.
"Traitor!" someone shouted.
"Grath is a liar, not a leader!" Flip yelled.
"What kind of leader doesn't trust his team enough to tell them the simple truth?" came a quieter voice.
Kids on both sides of the violence issue were coming out against Grath and Obi-Wan. Only a few stood by Grath.
"Grath has to make difficult decisions for all of us," Nania said reasonably. "We may not like each and every one, but he makes them for the good of the group. He has never led us astray."
"The Jedi should still leave us," Tray spoke out. "Immediately."
There was silence as the group nodded — almost unanimously. Only Grath's head remained still.
Obi-Wan looked to Grath for support, hoping he would say something to the group. Grath looked distraught, but he kept quiet.
Obi-Wan felt defeated, but knew he could not just walk away.
"Peace is the only way to true victory," he told the Freelies. "If you continue down this path you'll build a permanent wall between yourselves and the workers. There will be no chance for dialogue, or a new way of life." Obi-Wan looked beseechingly at the group, his eyes moving from one face to another. None of their expressions had changed. There was no way for him to convince them.
Obi-Wan dropped his head and turned toward the stairs. The last thing he saw before the door slid closed behind him was the smiles on Tray's and Flip's faces.
Obi-Wan's mind was spinning as he left the rooftop. He felt like a fool. Why didn't he suspect that Grath knew he was a Jedi all along? The infiltration had been too easy, he now realized. Obi-Wan felt ashamed for not figuring it out earlier. He had wanted his plan to work so badly that he assumed everything was going just fine. Only it wasn't.
Obi-Wan made his way through the streets to the homespace. In the back of his mind was a voice that reminded him that he hadn't been entirely honest with the Freelies, either. He hadn't told them he was a Jedi.
But I was acting for the good of the planet, he told himself. I was trying to bring everyone to a peaceful solution.
This all felt much like the situation on Melida/ Daan, Obi-Wan realized. When Obi-Wan had joined the Young, he was certain that he was doing the right thing. But in the end he was not sure that the Young were on the right path. And it had not taken him long to know that leaving the Jedi order was not the right path for him.
At first glance, the situation here on Vorzyd 4 seemed totally different from the one on Melida/Daan. Harmless, really. But now Obi-Wan could not see many differences. And the similarities were screaming in his ears.
The arguing Freelies. The explosions. The inability of the generations to talk openly together.
Worst of all, Obi-Wan knew, he was no longer in a position to help.
The kids didn't trust him. And why should the adults believe someone who had been keeping secrets from them all along?
Not sure what else to do, Obi-Wan headed back to his room at the retirement complex. He had not been there long when Qui-Gon arrived.
Obi-Wan knew his Master was concerned about him — and probably the situation as well. With a sigh, he began to tell him all that had happened.
"Someone must have tipped off the adults," Obi-Wan began.
Qui-Gon nodded. "I did not say anything, as I promised I would not,"
he said. "But I did overhear the building maintenance team reporting a disturbance to Chairman Port. They were acting on a tip."
Obi-Wan had not suspected that Qui-Gon was responsible for the intrusion, but was glad to hear his Master confirm that he was not.
"A group of adults stormed the secret meeting," Obi-Wan said. "But ore of the kids, Flip, dropped a smoke capsule and led everyone to safety."
"He was well prepared for just such an invasion," Qui-Gon said pointedly.
Obi-Wan nodded. "I thought that at the time," he said. "Perhaps he was the informer. It seemed too simple. But much more has happened since then…."
Obi-Wan trailed off. It was getting difficult to look his Master in the eye. He felt responsible for the state of the situation between the kids and adults. Once again he had the feeling that his instincts had been all wrong.
"Go on," Qui-Gon said gently. His eyes were full of empathy. But somehow that didn't make Obi-Wan feel any better. In fact, it made him feel worse. He didn't deserve understanding right now. Things on Vorzyd 4 were worse than when they'd arrived.
And it was all his fault.
Chapter 17
Qui-Gon could see that his Padawan was struggling. He was tempted to push him further to see if he would open up, but knew that was not the right choice. What Obi-Wan needed was a bit of time, just as Qui-Gon himself did on occasion.
The room in the retirement complex was quiet for several minutes.
Then Qui-Gon spoke.
"I think we should go outside and spar," he said. "It has been too long since we did lightsaber training together."
Qui-Gon was hoping that the
physical activity would help his Padawan release some tension — and piece things together in his mind. Regardless, focusing on something entirely different would be a good change of pace.
Obi-Wan seemed reluctant as they exited the building. But once he was outside and facing his Master, his eyes flashed with an intensity that surprised Qui-Gon. The young Jedi ignited his lightsaber, and Qui-Gon did the same.
The two Jedi circled each other slowly with their lightsabers raised, as if in a dance. Obi-Wan moved gracefully, his eyes locked on Qui-Gon's.
