by Jude Watson
Qui-Gon exchanged a glance with Obi-Wan. "Xanatos," he said quietly. The plan had a simple elegance to its evil that was pure Xanatos.
But Qui-Gon wasn't finished with Den. "Why were you looking up Katharsis again, Den?" he asked. "If you knew this already, there wasn't much more to discover."
They all turned to Den. He met their gaze with steady innocence. That meant he was no doubt about to lie, Qui-Gon guessed.
"I was just hoping to help Andra and the POWER party -" he started.
Andra interrupted him. "Don't con me. Den. Not now. This is too important."
He looked at her a long moment. Qui-Gon noticed the vulnerability in the look. He cares for her, he realized.
"Okay," he said. "I was hoping to help you. But I was also looking for a way to rig the lottery."
"Always looking out for yourself, aren't you?" Andra said bitterly.
"No," Den said quietly. "I look out for you, too. But you won't see that."
"So did you find out how to rig it?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Not exactly," Den hedged.
"Did you find out anything?" Obi-Wan asked impatiently.
"Yes, I found out something," Den admitted. "The lottery already is rigged."
Chapter 11
"Things are happening too fast here," Andra said weakly. "Let me pour the tea."
They sat around the table, warm mugs of tea in their hands. The enormity of the plan stunned Andra. She had expected conspiracies and corruption, but not on such a vast scale. It was obvious that they had stumbled on a scheme to take over the resources of an entire planet. The question was how the pieces fit together, and what they could do about it.
Qui-Gon drained his mug. "I suggest a two-part plan," he said. "First, Den will infiltrate the lottery system."
"Whoa, hold on," Den said. "What do you mean, I'll infiltrate the lottery system? What makes you think I can do that?"
"I have a feeling you already know how," Qui-Gon said coolly. "Why else would you risk so much to get back inside UniFy? Why else did the security get triggered? You were able to invade the system."
Den took a gulp of tea, then coughed. No one moved to help him.
"Okay, okay," he croaked. "I think I can rig it. I mean, I think I can rig the part that's already rigged."
"And you know how to ensure that you'll win the prize," Qui-Gon said.
Den nodded reluctantly. "I can rig it so that I win the lottery. One winner is always someone selected by UniFy in advance. As the games go on, some contestants are given faulty equipment - not anything they would notice, but something slightly off that decreases their chances of winning. One of the contestants has been selected in advance and bribed. He or she agrees to pass half the fortune back under the table to the company. I can just put my name in the next winner's place."
Andra shook her head. "I knew you had an ulterior motive to helping me. You were going to take that fortune and run."
"Joke, right?" Den said. "Because I can't believe you would really think such a thing. After I won my fortune, I would have shared it. Some of it."
"I don't want any part of a fortune built on destroying our sacred spaces," Andra said fiercely. "And you shouldn't either!"
"It's not my fault they're being exploited!" Den protested. "And a fortune is a fortune."
"That's your trouble," Andra said. "You really believe that."
"Does anyone want to hear the second part of my plan?" Qui-Gon interrupted mildly. "Second, we should follow through on Andra's original plan to visit the Sacred Pools. We'll need to gather the evidence all over again."
"It won't be easy," Andra said. "The security is extremely tight."
"Just use some of that Jedi mind-altering-voice-bending stuff," Den suggested.
"I'm afraid we'll need more than that," Qui-Gon said. "Andra, can you call in your supporters? I think the best plan is to infiltrate at several points so that we don't rely on only one team."
Andra looked down at her mug. She smoothed the wood of the table with her hand.
"Andra?" Qui-Gon prodded.
She looked up. "I can't do that," she said. "I haven't been completely honest with you all. I have no supporters. I am the POWER party."
"There's no party?" Obi-Wan asked in disbelief.
She shrugged and gave a small smile. "Just me. I had a few supporters, but they all fell away when the investigative team was killed. No one will listen to me anymore. They all think I'm crazy because I see a bleak future no one wants to face, let alone prevent."
Suddenly, Den burst out laughing. "So Captain Integrity has been lying all along!" he chortled. "This is the best news I've heard in a millennium!"
"Knock it off, Den," Andra growled. "I had to pretend to have support. I needed you to help me."
"Right," Den said, nodding. "Of course. You're allowed to trick someone because you're saving the planet. I get it. As long as you have pure motive, you can do whatever you want."
"That's not what I'm saying," Andra shot back angrily. "If you cared about anything other than yourself, you'd understand."
"I understand that you'd do anything to get what you want," Den said. "We're more alike than you want to admit, Andra."
Andra glared at him. "I'd rather be compared to a dinko."
"Sure, I can do that," Den said promptly. "A dinko is a creature with fangs and a nasty disposition. The problem is, how are you different? Let me see your teeth."
"Just keep it up. Den," Andra warned.
"Okay, enough," Qui-Gon snapped. "We have a problem. Who's going to invade the Sacred Pools?"
"I will," Andra said, with a furious glance at Den.
"I'll go with you," Obi-Wan said.
Qui-Gon shook his head. "No."
"But it makes sense," Obi-Wan argued. "A boy traveling with a woman won't attract as much attention. We'd look like a brother and sister on an excursion. If we get caught, Andra and I can claim we got lost."
"And you should stay here and watch Den," Andra said to Qui-Gon. "If he rigs the lottery, he could take the fortune and leave the planet."
"Thanks for your support," Den said sarcastically.
"Have you given me any reason to trust you lately?" Andra asked coolly.
"Dinko," Den shot at her.
"Thief," she shot back.
Qui-Gon ignored their bickering for the moment. He felt exasperated and worried. He didn't want Obi-Wan to travel without him. Xanatos was on the loose, on his home planet, and he was enraged at their escape. But the boy's logic was sound. They had to take a risk in order to bring Xanatos down. But was this risk more than he was willing to take?
He saw Obi-Wan watching him. The boy was wondering why he didn't want him to go. For Obi-Wan, it would be a question of trust. Qui-Gon had to allow it.
"All right," he said. "Obi-Wan and Andra will gather the evidence. Den and I will remain here. Now let's make our preparations."
Chapter 12
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon stood by the swoops that would carry Obi-Wan and Andra to the Sacred Pools. Andra stood nearby with Den, checking her survival pack.
Obi-Wan had only slept for a few hours, but he felt alert and clear. A scattering of stars twinkled in the dark sky. Dawn was still an hour away. Andra felt their best chance was to invade the park in the early morning, gather pictures and evidence, and leave. They would have to be b ack in Thani by midday, before the end of the last round of Katharsis.
"If there is a sign of trouble, just go," Qui-Gon instructed him quietly. "If you think you cannot evade security, don't even attempt to enter the area. Survey it first."
"I've studied the maps," Obi-Wan said. "Andra knows of a way to enter without being noticed. She used it when she was a girl. She thinks it will still be there."
"Studying the map is not the same as knowing the area," Qui-Gon said. "Do not trust it completely. Make sure your entrance can be your exit."
"I know all these things," Obi-Wan said. He felt frustrated and disappointed. Qui-Gon was treating
him like a fourth-year student at the Temple. He knew if Qui-Gon took him back that they would have to start over as a Master-Padawan team, but did Obi-Wan have to turn back into a child?
Qui-Gon nodded. "I know you do. It is my own unease that makes me repeat these things. I trust you, Obi-Wan."
The words trickled through Obi-Wan and filled him with warmth.
"I will not fail," he said.
"Just be safe," Qui-Gon responded.
Andra lifted her hood over her dark braids as she strode forward. "Ready, Obi-Wan?"
He swung his leg over the swoop. Qui-Gon had given him a quick lesson earlier. He wasn't used to such maneuverable transport. A slight touch could cause it to lean and dive. Obi-Wan was a fast learner, but it had taken him time before Qui-Gon was satisfied with his skill.
Andra gunned her motor and took off. Obi-Wan followed.
"Don't take any chances!" Den called after them.
"He sounds worried," Obi-Wan called over to Andra.
She gritted her teeth. "He's just trying to pretend to be a good person. It's a strain."
The black sky turned to gray as they traveled through the quiet outskirts of the city. Buildings grew farther apart. Land began to be cultivated. Then after the sun rose there were barely any dwellings at all, just occasional villages tucked into deep valleys.
Obi-Wan marveled at the beauty of the countryside. Fields of lavender and blue flowers swayed in a gentle breeze. Every few kilometers they came upon another deep blue lake glittering in the folds of the golden hills.
"This is beautiful country," he called over to Andra as they flew.
"I was born here," she said. "There's a proposal to turn much of this into another global park. But now I wonder why. Will they develop this, too?"
That reminded Obi-Wan why he was here. He hunched over the swoop handlebars, determined to foil whatever terrible scheme Xanatos had for Telos.
The land began to climb, the hills growing higher and steeper. Rock formations towered above them as they followed a road cut into the stone mountains. Snow began to appear on the crags. Although Obi-Wan had felt too warm earlier, now he was glad he had followed Andra's advice and worn his thermal gear.
"Almost there," Andra called back.
Obi-Wan followed Andra as she left the road, entering a forest glade so thick with tall trees that it blocked out the sky. Andra wove expertly through the trunks. Obi-Wan had to concentrate to keep up. At last she pulled over and waited for him to stop next to her.
"I think we should leave the swoops here," she said. "This glade adjoins the park. I know a way into the Mirror Caverns. Once we're through them, we'll be in the Park of Sacred Pools."
They covered the swoops with branches. Their footsteps made soft sounds on the carpet of leaves as they hurried through the glade. They came to a craggy wall of stone, and Andra followed it down a small hill to a fast-moving creek. She hopped from rock to rock in the creek, Obi-Wan following. The creek suddenly stopped at a sheer wall of gray stone.
"I think you can make it," Andra said, glancing back at him. "But you might have to wriggle a bit."
Obi-Wan saw that there was a slight fissure in the rock wall, almost invisible to the naked eye. It ran from the creek up the wall, as tall as he was. First, Andra pushed her survival pack through, then slipped inside. Andra was slender and was easily able to pass through, but Obi-Wan had a bit more trouble. He made himself as thin as possible and popped out, almost falling. He threw out a hand to steady himself and felt a smooth, polished surface.
Andra activated a glow rod. Obi-Wan saw that he was in a cavern with walls that arched over his head. The stone was deep black and so highly polished that he could see his reflection. Here the creek was just a trickle of silver snaking through the black floor. The beam of the glow rod bounced from wall to wall, multiplying its light. Obi-Wan felt dizzy, as though he were standing underneath a thousand stars.
"It's incredible," he said.
"Yes," Andra said quietly. "It's beautiful, isn't it? The stone is called malab. It's highly prized in the galaxy since it's so rare. Come on, the exit is this way. Watch your step, it's slippery."
She led him through twists and turns until they joined the main cave. At the entrance, the cavern widened and some light from outside illuminated the walls. Andra let out a small cry. She lifted the glow rod to examine the wall. Stone had been chipped away, leaving deep gouges in the smooth surface. The samples were piled on the floor next to scan grids. Splinters of the stone surrounded a jagged hole in the polished floor.
"They're going to mine it," she whispered to Obi-Wan, her eyes burning. "This is a sacred place for all Telosians. Look what they've done!"
With trembling hands, she removed the holographic recorder from her pack. She trained the lens on the piles of stone, panning back and forth to the scan grids and the jagged holes. Obi-Wan took a recording rod from his pack and shot the same images. Now they would have a backup, just in case. He could conceal the recording rod in his clothing.
"Come on," Obi-Wan urged.
Carefully, they edged out of the cavern. The morning sun was strong, warming the cool rocks and lighting up golden sand that surrounded deep pools of steaming black water. A black hill rose in front of them. It glittered in the rays of the sun.
"That hill is made of malab," Andra said in disbelief. "They must be harvesting it from the caverns."
Obi-Wan looked at the heavy equipment and gravsleds surrounding the pools. He had spent time on the mining planet of Bandomeer and was familiar with mining machinery.
"Those are mole miners," he said, pointing. "They can dig hundreds of kilometers deep. If there are mole miners, there has to be a base where they unload. Those vehicles are TNTs."
"TNTs?" Andra asked.
"Treaded neutron torches," Obi-Wan explained. "They have fireball-shooting cannons that blast through rock. That's how mine shafts are created. I'd say we've got a full-scale operation going here."
He felt Andra stiffen beside him. "The pools ..." she said. "The water used to be crystal clear."
Obi-Wan walked closer to examine a pool. As he leaned over, the cord on his survival pack dropped into the water. Steam rose in a hiss, and he pulled up the pack quickly. The cord had dissolved.
He looked up at Andra. "What happened?"
"I don't know," she said. "The pool must be contaminated. Let's look at the others."
They gathered a few long sticks and walked to the rest of the pools. When they submerged a stick in the black water, it was stripped of bark immediately. If they held it under longer, the stick itself dissolved.
"The underground spring that fed the pools must be contaminated with chemicals," Andra said. Her voice was thick. "My father used to take me here as a girl. We hiked every inch of the park and bathed in the steam pools. After he died, this was the only place where I could find comfort."
When she looked up, Andra's honey-colored eyes glittered with unshed tears. Obi-Wan didn't know how to comfort her. What would Qui-Gon do?
He remembered an incident back at the Temple. Jedi Knight Tahl had only recently lost her sight. She was feeling helpless and angry. He remembered how Qui-Gon had quietly acknowledged her pain, then given her something to focus on.
"I'm sorry, Andra," he told her. "If we expose them, we will stop them. It's not too late."
She nodded, biting on her lip to stop the tears from falling. "Let's do it."
Her mouth set in determination, Andra turned the holographic recorder toward the pools. Obi-Wan used his recording rod to sweep the area and record the equipment. He tried to find a logo or name on various items to indicate they were owned by Offworld, but he found nothing.
Obi-Wan frowned worriedly. "We can bring this back and show it to the citizens of Thani, but we need to connect it to Xanatos. The government can claim they knew nothing about it. They can blame UniFy, and UniFy will just close its doors. Those who are truly responsible will escape."
"We can't let that
happen," Andra said.
Just then they heard a noise. Someone was heading toward them. Obi-Wan gestured to Andra, and they quickly pressed themselves behind a gravsled.
Two surveillance droids rolled into view. Blasters were built into their hands. Their heads rotated constantly, infrared sensors glowing.
"All clear," one of them reported into a comlink. "Commence. Repeat, commence."
A loud noise suddenly pierced the air. The ground shook.
"What is it?" Andra asked, her hands against her ears.
"Let's take a look," Obi-Wan said. The droids had disappeared around the side of the malab slag hill.
Staying in the shadow of the hill, Obi-Wan and Andra followed. The droids were no longer in surveillance mode, so their heads no longer swiveled. As they followed, the noise grew louder.
When they rounded the pile of malab, another devastated landscape met their eyes. A mound of sand rose in front of them. A huge pit had been dug in the ground. The source of the noise was the golden sand being sucked into giant machines. Workers dressed in unisuits tended the operation. The droids headed toward a ring of tech domes in the distance.
"There are trace minerals in the sand," Andra yelled over the noise of the machine. "They must be mining it."
The workers were intent on operating the machinery and did not turn. Andra turned on her holograph recorder and Obi-Wan his recording rod.
Another team of surveillance droids exited the first tech dome and began to make their way across the yard.
"Hurry," Obi-Wan urged. "They might switch to surveillance mode again." He lowered the recording rod and slipped it back into his tunic.
"I want to make sure the image is clear," Andra muttered.
Obi-Wan saw the infrared sensors click on. "Stop recording!" he whispered. "They might pick it up on a sensor."
"Just one more second . . ." Andra switched off the holographic recorder just as the droids' sensors began to blink.
"Don't move," Obi-Wan muttered between his teeth.
The droids' heads slowly revolved as the sensors took in every quadrant.
"This doesn't look good," Obi-Wan murmured. "Something has alerted them. We'd better get out of here."
