by Jude Watson
"Why should we help you?" Ferus asked.
"Because you are thieves, and we will pay you," Joylin said impatiently. "And if you wish to remain on Romin, it would be a good idea to be on the winning side."
"The winning side? Are you going up against Teda and expecting to win?
" Ferus looked around at the decaying structure. He was playing the game well, Anakin saw. A member of the Slams would naturally be incredulous and disdainful.
He decided to give Ferus the lead. In contrast, he would be the sympathetic one. They needed to find out as much as they could about this group.
"We will win because we have to win." Joylin spoke without anger, without bravado. "What never fails to amuse me is when beings underestimate the power of desperation."
Ferus said nothing. Anakin waited.
Joylin spread his arms. "This is how we live on the other side of the wall. This is a typical dwelling. The only difference is, two or three families are usually crowded within its walls. Disease is rampant. Many of our children die before their second birthday. The ones who survive have no hope of getting better than a menial position, of traveling to the city once a day to rake a lawn, clean a sewer, fix a dataport."
"We have nothing to do with your troubles," Ferus said.
"Ah, of course not. You just take advantage of them. You accept the offer of a tyrant for a hideout."
Anakin broke in. "Are you going to insult us or offer us a job?"
A strained smile creased Joylin's face. "Right. Okay, here is the offer. We'll pay double your going rate for stealing a certain piece of information at Teda's villa. We've been waiting for the right events to coincide, and at last they have. Teda is giving a big reception, and thieves with special skills have arrived on Romin."
"You want us to steal from Teda?" Ferus blustered. "Forget it!"
"What do you want us to steal?" Anakin asked quickly.
"A small item from his private office," Joylin said. "It contains information that will guarantee our success. Within a short time we will be able to take over the government. Which means you will be the only group of criminals allowed to stay on Romin. Each member of your gang will be given lifetime citizenship. As long as you don't break Romin's laws, you'll be welcome here."
"Keep talking," Anakin said. "We need more to take back to our boss."
"We happen to know that in Teda's study there is a list of codes that control the security gates to all official government offices and residences, as well as the sheltered criminals."
"Wait a minute." Anakin pretended not to understand. "Are you telling us that Teda has access to everyone's personal security?"
Joylin nodded. "It's not a secret. Most of them accept it as the price for staying on Romin. He says he needs to be able to lock down the palace neighborhood in case of unrest."
"How do you know he has the codes in his residence?" Ferus asked.
"You will have to trust that our information is accurate," Joylin said. "We have someone on the inside."
"Can that someone help us get into the palace?" Anakin asked.
"No," Joylin said. "We can't compromise our agents. Besides, you don't need help. You have an invitation to a reception, don't you? That is the night we want you to steal the codes."
"How do you know we've been invited?" Ferus challenged.
"We know," Joylin said. "I told you, there are many of us. Enough to ensure success, if we strike quickly and decisively."
Anakin looked at Ferus. It was strange. He didn't even like Ferus, but now that they were together in this situation, he could read him without speaking. They were in tune. They needed to get more information. To do that, they had to draw Joylin out. They would do it in tandem.
Ferus shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we have to refuse."
Joylin's face tightened. "Can you tell me your objections?"
"Delighted," Ferus said. "You're asking us to stake our future on a bet. That normally wouldn't be a problem. We risk our future all the time.
But the reason we're successful is that we're careful. You're asking us to make a powerful man our enemy, just when he's offered us safe refuge."
"This is not a safe refuge," Joylin argued. "I assure you, your protection will disappear. Unless you throw your support to the ultimate winners."
"But if we don't steal the codes, you have no chance," Ferus argued back.
"There will still be a revolt," Joylin said. "It just won't be bloodless. You will be in more danger the other way, because I won't protect you."
Ferus started to say something, but Anakin broke in. It was time to draw Joylin in. Sometimes Anakin wasn't sure if it was the Force or his instincts, but he was getting better at seeing inside beings, sensing their fears and motivations. Joylin might be sitting casually, but Anakin could feel his urgency. And underneath the urgency, fear. The Slams could be his last chance.
"We still need more information," Anakin said carefully. "Surely you can see that we can't simply take your word for what you say."
"I'm hardly about to compromise the safety of those in the resistance just to reassure you," Joylin said.
"We're not asking you to reveal identities or secrets," Anakin told him. "But what makes you think you can overthrow Teda so easily? When are you going to do it? What will happen when you do? You are asking us to trust you. You must trust us. We are taking a risk for you. You must do the same."
Joylin hesitated. He looked at both of them. He did not glance behind at the watching, shadowy group.
It's his decision, Anakin thought. He's the boss.
"The revolt is to be the night of the reception," Joylin said.
Someone behind him gasped. Someone else said, "No!"
Joylin only half turned. "We must tell them! Once they know, they will help us." He turned back to Anakin and Ferus. "We'll start by disrupting communication systems — just some low-level interference at first. We have already infiltrated Teda's Security Management Control. We have one chance to sabotage the CIP controls for the droid army that Teda uses to control the city and guard the wall. If we strike that blow simultaneously with the capture of all government officials and Teda himself, we can win without bloodshed. We'll simply lock the officials and their personal troops inside their houses. Without the officials, without the droid army, we can take over."
Ferus and Anakin didn't say anything for a moment. "You can assure us that the droid army will be in your control?" Ferus asked.
"Yes."
"You will pay us double the rate?" Anakin asked. He named the figure.
"We have it. It has taken years," Joylin said. "Every family, every individual, has gone without in order to feed our treasury."
"We're not interested in how you got it," Ferus said with a wave of his hand. "But we need to assure for ourselves that you do have it. Half before, half after the revolt."
"Agreed," Joylin said.
"We need more detailed information on where we can find the codes,"
Anakin said, all business now.
"All you have to do is get beyond the guards. I understand that you are somewhat expert at that."
Anakin and Ferus nodded. "We must take this back to Slam and Valadon,"
Anakin said. "We will need a way to contact you."
"We will be contacting you tomorrow morning," Joylin said. "Don't look for us. We'll be there. Now, I'll escort you as far as the wall. I'm sure you were told it is planted with cloudflower vines. It may not surprise you to find that isn't the case. Like peace and justice on Romin, the name of the wall is just an illusion."
Anakin and Ferus stood. "Just one more thing," Anakin said.
Joylin looked at him. With a deal so close to being made, his anxiety had increased. Anakin could feel it humming like a charge in the air.
"We are interested in one of the residents here," Anakin continued casually. "A scientist named Jenna Zan Arbor. You must guarantee safe passage for her off-planet. We will arrange transportation."
Feru
s's eyes flickered with surprise at Anakin's proposal. What if Joylin backed out? Anakin knew he wouldn't. Joylin was good at concealment.
It was most likely a way of life for him. But Anakin could feel his hunger.
If the coup went through as planned, Zan Arbor would be desperate to get away. The Slams could offer her a way out. With the collapse of Teda, her security would crumble. She would need help.
"That is not a problem," Joylin said. "As long as you are in."
Chapter Eight
"He tells us there is no risk, but of course there is risk," Ferus said later that evening. Obi-Wan, Siri, Anakin, and Ferus had eaten a meal around a tiled table in a small, lovely room overlooking the garden. They were careful to speak of nothing of consequence during the meal. They had to assume that the villa had listening devices. But afterward they had gone into the garden. Then they had continued the discussion that had begun when Anakin and Ferus had first returned to the villa and beckoned to Obi-Wan and Siri to come outside.
"It's a risk worth taking," Anakin said. Obi-Wan was glad to hear that there was not the usual edge in his voice. Anakin was disagreeing with Ferus. That was usual. But he was doing it without resentment. That was good.
Their adventure together had brought Anakin and Ferus closer. Obi-Wan didn't delude himself that they were friends. But he did think something had changed.
He kept only half his attention on the argument, letting the words of the others wash over him. With the other half of his mind, he was flipping through the holofile he'd copied at Zan Arbor's. He had read every word of the uncoded files, enough to tell that she was planning a new operation, this time with partners. Everything depends upon secrecy and speed.
The rest of the files were coded, and he had tried the most difficult formulas he knew to break the code. He had called for help from the Temple and had worked with one of their codebreakers. No luck.
Siri was hanging back, letting the two apprentices discuss the situation. It was good for them to do so, and they were doing it well.
"If we help them, we will be actively supporting an overthrow of power on a planet," Ferus said. "We have no Senate authorization to do so."
"We are not the ones overthrowing Teda," Anakin objected. "And the citizens of Romin are suffering. If we can help them and achieve our mission, why shouldn't we?"
"Because it can get out of control," Ferus argued.
"Joylin can surprise us. We don't know anything about this resistance movement. We don't know who they are or what they want, apart from overthrowing Teda."
"They are an established resistance group," Siri broke in. "I contacted Jocasta Nu to ask about them. They have been put down in brutal reprisals, but the movement has been growing steadily in response to Teda's crackdowns. Madame Nu believes there may be support within Teda's government as well. They, too, are tired of living in fear. Teda's prisons are notorious and overcrowded, and you earn a harsh sentence if you displease him. She would not be surprised if many in the army desert. Many of them have families who live outside the wall. They know firsthand the misery and poverty there."
"You see?" Anakin said. "Joylin and his group are fighting for justice. As we are. We can help them and bring Zan Arbor back to the prison world. You're making this complicated, Ferus. It isn't."
I'm making this too complicated, Obi-Wan thought. It isn't.
He thought for a moment, remembering Zan Arbor's primary obsession. He keyed it in as a password: The Force.
The files opened like the motion-sensor doors at the Warm Welcome Inn on Coruscant. One after the other they flashed code accepted. Obi-Wan accessed the first file. The voices of the others faded as he began to scroll through the information.
A chill ran over him, even though the night was warm. The letters pulsed before his eyes. A name he hadn't expected to see. Yet shouldn't he have been prepared for it? Wouldn't Zan Arbor naturally gravitate toward the most powerful criminal in the galaxy, one with the wealth and organization to help her with any scheme she might devise? Or had he contacted her, the one scientist brilliant and amoral enough to join with him? Didn't they share the obsession with the Force and how it worked?
Granta Omega.
A copy of a message, a profuse thank you from Zan Arbor for Omega's hosting of their first meeting.
A quick message saying she had to evacuate the Vanqor system and would be in touch.
A confirmation of their next meeting, in which she alluded to their shared interest in the Force.
Another letter, promising to destroy all written records of their correspondence, a promise that of course she had not kept, possibly as security.
Obi-Wan flipped through the next file. The two of them were careful.
They never said exactly what they were planning. Yet it was clear the operation would take place on a large planet in the Core. It would net them not only wealth, but influence.
Siri's voice broke through his thoughts.
"I've listened to you both very carefully, as has Obi-Wan," she said, shooting him a chastising look, for it was clear to her that he hadn't been paying attention in the least. "You both make valid points. We must make a decision, however. I think we should go ahead and help Joylin's group. Obi- Wan?"
"There is another factor we must consider," Obi-Wan said. "These files indicate that Zan Arbor is in league with Granta Omega."
"Omega!" Anakin exclaimed in surprise.
Siri and Ferus suddenly became grave. They all knew that these two powerful criminal minds could do more than double the damage if they became partners.
Obi-Wan met Siri's eyes. She nodded.
"We are going to help the resistance," Obi-Wan said. "We will take the risk. We need to get Zan Arbor off this planet. We only have tomorrow before our cover could be blown. The best chance we have is if she thinks her safety here is compromised. We will offer her a way out. She will have to take it. There is only one thing."
Siri cocked an eyebrow at him. He noted that she looked her old self, in her tunic and leggings. It was as if the sight of her in her drifting shimmersilk had been an apparition.
"We might not want to take her to the prison planet," he continued.
"If we do it right, she could lead us to Omega himself."
"We would have to contact Mace," Siri said.
Obi-Wan nodded. "I think he would agree. I'll contact him tonight. It will help us if he can start working on Senate approval for us to help the revolt. But it won't come in time."
Suddenly, their mission had grown in importance. Granta Omega could be within their grasp again. This time, Obi-Wan would not lose him.
"We can decide where to take Zan Arbor another time," Obi-Wan said.
"But we should all agree that if we can track Omega through her, we will."
"I agree," Siri said quietly.
"I do, too," Anakin said.
Ferus nodded.
"Now let's all get some sleep," Obi-Wan said. Nevertheless, he knew he would not.
Romin had only one moon, but it was a large, luminous satellite. That night its light seemed enormous to Obi-Wan. It kept him from the sleep he tried vainly to reach.
At last he gave up. He rose from his sleep couch, opened the double doors to the stone patio outside, and walked into the fragrant garden. The air felt heavy. The heat from the day had lingered. Obi-Wan moved among the flowering shrubs. He found the play of moonlight on the glossy leaves more calming than lying on his sleep couch, waiting to feel drowsy. He would let the sights and sounds around him lull him into a kind of relaxation that he hoped would be as restorative as sleep.
He followed a path crowded with bushes that suddenly opened into a small grassy clearing. Ferus sat cross-legged in the middle of the clearing, his eyes closed. Obi-Wan stopped, not wishing to disturb him.
He was turning to go back to the house when Ferus spoke.
"You couldn't sleep either, Master Kenobi?"
Obi-Wan moved forward. He sat on the grass next to Ferus. It was
slightly damp and smelled sweet.
"There are many questions on my mind," Obi-Wan said. "Sleep won't come."
"We face a great enemy," Ferus said. "And now we find that she's met with a greater one."
"Exactly."
"And that is why you and my Master made your decision this evening,"
Ferus said.
"You don't agree." Obi-Wan spoke carefully.
"I don't disagree," Ferus said. "I recognize that I don't have the experience to refute what you say."
