by Watson, Jude
Anakin shook his head. “I don’t want your brand of freedom.”
“Why not? I can do anything I want. Let me tell you, power is a good thing to have. It’s even fun. You could do anything you want. With my help, you could raise an army. You could return to the miserable planet of your birth and free your mother. Isn’t that your deepest wish? Why are the Jedi holding you back from it?”
Startled, Anakin remembered his vision. He had touched the cuffs on Shmi’s hands and they had fallen to the floor. It hadn’t been a vision of what would happen, he realized suddenly. It had been a vision of what could be.
What could be…
The thought flared up, searing him with promise. He thought of how he’d felt in the dream. So powerful, so sure. Closing his hands over the remembered texture of Shmi’s skin, seeing the light in her eyes when she saw him.
“Yes, Anakin Skywalker,” Omega said softly. “I can give you the means to do it. We could leave here tomorrow if that’s what you wished.”
“No,” Anakin said. I am not listening to this. I am not hearing this.
Omega pushed himself off the table. Anakin heard the slap of his boots on the floor, but he didn’t look at his face. “Well, think about it. You don’t have to leave the Jedi forever. You could give me a trial run. See how you like real freedom. You can always return to the Jedi. They’re pretty desperate these days. They’ll take you back.”
“I will never give you anything,” Anakin said.
“How about a deal? Something I want for something you want? I know the Jedi want me off-planet. I’m not sure if I’m ready to go, but if the Senate is going to get tangled up in Mawan politics, I’d be a fool to stay. Nevertheless, I have some demands. If you’ll contact Yaddle and get her to come to a meeting here, I’ll guarantee her safety.”
“Who will guarantee yours?” Anakin shot back.
Omega chuckled. “You will. The fact that I’m holding a Jedi means that whoever is in charge up there won’t send an army after me to ‘negotiate.’ I may be somewhat greedy, but I’m practical. I’m willing to move my operation. But Yaddle is the only one who can authorize my conditions. Set up the meeting. Then, while I make preparations to depart, you can decide whether you want to come with me.”
“I don’t have to make a decision. I know what I am. I know what I want.”
Omega sighed. “You Jedi. Always so resolute.” He shuddered. “All that self-righteousness gives me the spooks. Let me know if you’ll set up the meeting. I’ll arrange to bring your comlink to you.”
He accessed the door and strode out into the busy substation. Anakin turned and watched him move across the room. He noticed how Omega quickly checked and conferred with his assistants as he walked. He made decisions quickly and moved on. The room hummed with activity. For the first time he saw how this man had amassed such a fortune.
How did Omega know such things about the Temple? Had he corrupted a Jedi? Had he infiltrated the Temple? Such things were unthinkable, but there had to be an explanation.
Omega’s invitation for him to join his operation was laughable. Yet it had brought the vision freshly into his mind, and Anakin still felt the ache of it.
We could leave here tomorrow.…
He could see her again. He could free her, and make sure she was well and safe. And then he could return to the Jedi. Omega said he could do that.
But the Jedi would not take him back if he did such a thing. Anakin knew that. Most likely Omega did, too. His offer was hollow at the core.
But was there truth there, too? Were the Jedi holding him back from his deepest wish?
And was he strong enough to face the answer?
Chapter Ten
Yaddle looked around the tunnel with distaste. “Too much time underground, I have spent,” she murmured lightly. “Glad I will be to see the sky again.”
Obi-Wan smiled at her humorous tone, but he knew there was truth behind Yaddle’s words. He remembered the words from Anakin’s vision: The One Below remains below. Yoda had interpreted it as a warning, and Obi-Wan agreed. Now Yaddle was belowground. What if the attack on the substation failed and something happened to Yaddle?
“I can handle this,” he told her. “You should go back.”
Yaddle shook her head at him. “Know what you are thinking, I do, Obi-Wan. Worried about your Padawan’s vision, I am not. Think you that I should run away?”
“That’s not what I meant, Master Yaddle,” Obi-Wan said respectfully. “I was just suggesting that—”
“That run away I should,” Yaddle interrupted. “Wasting time, we are.”
Obi-Wan had been corrected, and he accepted Yaddle’s rebuke. If he had been in her position, he would not have retreated, either. He turned to Swanny. “Didn’t you tell me that you can boost the grid from another source, but only if the central relay substation is destroyed?”
“Right. Substation 32. That’s my point,” Swanny said patiently. “You might recall that I told you if you blow up the relay equipment, the whole power grid might blow. And that’s one sweet ka-boom. Kiss your lightsaber good-bye.”
Obi-Wan turned back to Yaddle. “If we hit substation 32, can your experts boost the grid right afterward? We can’t give Striker a chance to hit back.”
“Find out, we will.” Yaddle immediately got out her comlink.
Swanny looked at Obi-Wan curiously. “I don’t get it. How can two Jedi render an entire substation inoperable?”
“Well, we’ll need a hand,” Obi-Wan said. “That’s where you come in.”
“Me? You know I’d love to help, but I think you’ve seen my cowardice in action,” Swanny said.
“You won’t have to go near the substation,” Obi-Wan assured him.
Yaddle got off the comlink and nodded. “Do it, they can. Yet crucial, timing is. Destroy the relay substation we must within the hour. Impatient, Feeana is. Need her we do to patrol the city. Trust us, the Mawan citizens must. If we promise them that control of the power grid and the backing of Feeana and her gang will hold the city, aboveground they will come.” Yaddle paused. “An idea you have, Master Kenobi.”
It was a statement, not a question.
“We can’t blow it up,” Obi-Wan said. “But we could drown it.” He turned to Swanny. “Can you flood the substation from the wastewater pipes without getting inside the station? You said you knew every pipe belowground.”
Swanny thought for a full minute while Obi-Wan tried not to show his impatience. “There’s a small wash-up area in the substation for the workers,” he said finally. “If I divert the wastewater from tank 102C and gush it through system A-9 with enough force, it could conceivably break through a pipe joint—the pipes going into substation 32 are part of the old system, so they’re not in great shape—and then we’d have a pretty major flood in a matter of minutes. It would take me more than an hour to get there and figure out what circuits I need to use.”
“You have forty minutes,” Obi-Wan said. “We’d better get started.”
Swanny had been right about the firepower. As Obi-Wan and Yaddle skirted the substation’s perimeter, he could see two grenade mortars guarding the entrance. The operators sat on repulsorlift platforms, and the Jedi could see that the targeting computers were engaged. Attack droids stood in ready formation.
“We could use a diversion,” Obi-Wan murmured to Yaddle as they hid behind a utility box.
“Accomplish this we must, if the Provisional Committee is going to be successful,” Yaddle said. “The longer it takes, the more things can go wrong.”
“Look,” Obi-Wan said, pointing at a stream of water underneath the double durasteel doors of the substation. “Swanny must have been effective. The flood has begun.”
Yaddle opened her comlink to signal the power grid team that Euraana had arranged to stand by.
Up on their repulsorlift platforms, the guards didn’t notice the water streaming out from underneath the crack in the durasteel doors. Their gazes continued to rest on
the targeting computers that would show them attacking beings or airborne weapons.
“When it gets deep enough to endanger the equipment, the alarm should sound,” Obi-Wan murmured. “I’m betting the operators will leave their grenade mortars and let the droids guard the entrance. They’ll call for reinforcements.”
“One problem, there is,” Yaddle said. “Burst open, the doors might.”
“And that would release the flood into the tunnel.” Obi-Wan nodded. “In which case, the equipment might keep functioning.” He thought for a moment. “Can you use the Force to hold the doors?”
Yaddle nodded.
The water was now streaming down the tunnel and lapping at their boots. Because of the downward slope, it ran out from underneath the door. They could see that the water inside was rising, since the water was now leaking out of the seam between the double doors. The pressure of the water was causing the doors to vibrate from the strain.
Obi-Wan felt the Force surround them as Yaddle gathered it around her. The doors and the water stopped moving. It began to collect around the wheels of the grenade mortars and the legs of the droids.
They watched as the water deepened, held back by the Force. Soon it was lapping at the repulsorlift platforms, but the guards still did not notice, intent on their computers.
Suddenly a light flashed red over the doors. The alarm began to beep insistently. The two operators sat up in their chairs and swiveled to check behind them. They saw the water.
“What’s going on?” one of them shouted.
The other spoke into a comlink. “They’re sending reinforcements. Just stay calm.”
“I am calm!” the second guard shouted. “I just can’t swim!”
The other guard began to enter a code into a handheld sensor.
“They’d better boost the grid now,” Obi-Wan said.
Yaddle listened intently to the comlink.
“Bypassed the station, they have,” she told Obi-Wan. “Wait we must to see if the power surge will restore the grid.…”
Suddenly the attack droids snapped into formation, splashing in the water.
“They must have engaged a life-form sensor sweep,” Obi-Wan said.
“A few minutes more, they need.”
“We just ran out of time.” Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber. “Let’s go.”
He charged out into the tunnel, moving quickly through the water and heading straight for the mortar operators. They saw the Jedi charging and scrambled to jump back on their mortar platforms. Yaddle released her hold on the doors, which burst open, releasing a wave of water. Obi-Wan was prepared, but the power of the water almost knocked him down. He reached out a hand, using the Force to push one guard off his feet. His head hit the durasteel doors and he slumped to the floor as the water flowed down the tunnel.
Right behind Obi-Wan, Yaddle took out an attack droid with a flick of her lightsaber while she sent the other guard flying against the tunnel wall. The last guard took one look at the Jedi charging toward him with a lightsaber and took off, splashing down the tunnel.
Attack droids cannot be intimidated, however. The line wheeled toward the Jedi. Obi-Wan had never fought beside Yaddle before. She was all grace and flowing movement, her lightsaber a blur, the Force growing and charging the air around them until Obi-Wan could feel it humming in him and around him. Charged with Yaddle’s energy, he sliced through four droids with one swift blow. The blaster fire was heavy but he had no problem deflecting it. It felt easy and natural with the Force so strong. Yaddle took out ten attack droids in what seemed like no time and then buried her lightsaber in the two grenade mortar controls. Within minutes, all of the droids were sizzling in the puddles of water.
“Reinforcements should be here soon,” Obi-Wan said.
“Feel them near, I can,” Yaddle said. She listened to the comlink and then nodded. “Success,” she said to Obi-Wan. “Up, the power grid is, and in our hands. The city of Naatan is lit once more. Go now to the Mawans, I must. Time to return to their homes, it is.”
Obi-Wan nodded. “I’ll wait for the reinforcements. They’ll most likely return to brief Striker.”
“As soon as I can return to help find Anakin I will,” Yaddle said.
Yaddle moved down the tunnel quickly, her robe swinging. Obi-Wan stepped back behind the utility box and waited. The tramp of running feet announced the arrival of the reinforcements.
They took one look at the spreading water, the still-sizzling droid parts, and the absence of the guards. The superior officer activated his comlink and spoke into it. Then he signaled to the others.
“Nothing we can do here,” the officer said.
“Aren’t you going to search the tunnels?” another one asked.
“Do I look crazy? Back to headquarters.”
They tramped off. After a moment, Obi-Wan emerged from behind the utility box and followed.
Chapter Eleven
He was grateful, at least, for the food. Anakin had considered rejecting the plate of vegetable turnovers with harima sauce, but what good would that do? He’d finished the plate and downed a carafe of water when suddenly Granta Omega strode out of his private room and the hideout exploded in movement.
He couldn’t hear the orders Omega rapped out but suddenly everyone was busy. Computers were shut down. Bins were closed and locked. Weapons were gathered. Gravsleds appeared and gang members began loading them.
Obi-Wan, Anakin thought. He smiled.
Within minutes, the substation was cleared.
Still cuffed, Anakin was hustled into a speeder with the same Imbat guard. He zoomed down the tunnel at a fast clip. Anakin kept his mind focused so he could remember the many turns.
At last they arrived at their destination, a smaller space that had once been a refueling center. Anakin was tossed out of the speeder by the Imbat, but this time he was able to land on his feet. He watched while the gang members busily began to set up the hideout again. He could see that they had done this many times.
Granta Omega strode toward him, his boot heels clicking on the floor. He looked grim. “It’s time to contact Yaddle.”
“As long as I can tell her who you are and I can speak freely.” He had nothing to lose by contacting Yaddle. He had complete confidence that she’d be able to handle Granta Omega. And Yaddle would be able to tell Obi-Wan that he was still alive.
Omega waved a hand. “Of course. I’m not trying to trick you, Anakin. I’m a businessman. I want to make a deal.”
“I’ll need my comlink.”
Omega tossed it to him.
“As long as I have it, I’d like to contact my Master, too,” Anakin said. It was worth a try.
“Do you think he’s worried about you?” Omega barked a laugh. “What you don’t know about your Master could fill your precious archives. Kenobi doesn’t have a heart. Beings are just a means to get what he needs to be—the great Jedi in his own mind.”
Anakin suddenly grasped a feeling that had floated in his mind, something he could not put words to. Now it formed into a belief.
“This is personal for you, isn’t it?” he accused Omega. “You hate Obi-Wan.”
Omega flushed. “No calls to your Master. I deal with Yaddle only. I only have so much hospitality to offer.”
Anakin contacted Yaddle. There was nothing else to do. He quickly explained that Striker was actually Granta Omega, and that he was his prisoner, which was hard to get out. He still felt ashamed that he had allowed himself to be captured.
“Omega has requested a meeting,” he finished. “He will only meet with you.”
“Hold you hostage, he did not need to do,” Yaddle said. “Talk to him, I would have done, if he had asked.”
“I guess he feels he needs some insurance that you will come alone,” Anakin said. “He’s afraid that if he sets up a meeting he will be betrayed.”
“I’m not afraid,” Omega hissed to Anakin. “Just careful.”
“I can’t tell you where I am, becau
se I’m not sure,” Anakin said. “We just moved to a new hideout. And I don’t know how sincere Omega is about making a deal. He says he is, but I don’t trust him.” Omega grinned at Anakin, not bothered in the least. “It is up to you to decide, Master Yaddle. All I ask is that you do not come because of me. I am fine here.”
“So far,” Omega said so that Yaddle could hear.
“Come, I will,” Yaddle said. “But inform Obi-Wan first, I must.”
“I have a list of coordinates,” Omega said to Anakin. “I’ll release them one at a time. If at any point it seems that Yaddle is not alone, I will disappear…with you.”
“Understood,” Yaddle said, after Anakin had conveyed this information.
Anakin clutched his comlink. He hoped they both had made the right decision. “May the Force be with you,” he told Yaddle.
Omega rolled his eyes. “Oh, please,” he said.
“Striker is Granta Omega?” Obi-Wan hissed into his comlink. He had concealed himself in the near-empty substation to watch the activity. The gang he had followed had come directly here, but it was obvious the main hideout had been moved. Now they were occupied in gathering up the last weapons and equipment and loading them onto speeders with cargo holds.
“Going to meet him, I am,” Yaddle said.
“I’m coming with you.”
“Best you do not,” Yaddle said.
“He is my Padawan—”
“And trust me with his security you do not?”
Obi-Wan held the comlink away and sighed. He rested his head against the smooth surface of the tunnel wall. It was hard being matched up with an esteemed Jedi Master like Yaddle. He would not win any argument.
“Moved his hideout, Omega has. It would take us too long to find it. A shortcut, this is.” Yaddle’s voice softened slightly. “Watch out for him, I will, Obi-Wan. But need you I do, to help with the Mawans. Agreed they have to go aboveground. The exodus is proceeding. A Jedi presence is needed here.”
Obi-Wan took a moment to accept this. It went against everything he wanted. He needed to see Anakin with his own eyes, to make sure he was safe and well. But Yaddle had told him that Anakin said he was fine, and his voice had sounded strong.
