Jedi Apprentice 12: The Evil Experiment (звёздные войны)

by Джуд Уотсон

  "News I have of one Jedi team," Yoda told them. "Dispatched they were to Zan Arbor's lab on her home planet of Ventrux. Find we did that the lab has been closed down. Dismissed the workers were, and paid off."

  A spark lit Tahl's eyes. "Well, at least that's something. Jenna Zan Arbor has to be involved. We've got to crack that code!"

  Yoda nodded. "Think we do that she has another base of operations,"

  he said. "Searching for it, we are." He turned to Obi-Wan. "A difficult time for calm it is. Yet calm you must find. When news comes, go with a steady heart you must. Direction you need. Direction we will find."

  Obi-Wan's heart was far from steady. But Yoda was right. He must be resolute, and resolution only came with calm.

  The door to the inner chamber slid open. Winna came forward quickly.

  "Didi's infection has been identified. The blaster fire must have been tainted with a solution to trigger infection."

  "Do you have a cure?" Obi-Wan asked.

  Winna nodded. "The treatment has been discovered. It is an antitoxin.

  But I have bad news. The lab that sells it has been shut down. There are no stockpiles that we can find. This lab was the only source in the galaxy."

  Obi-Wan glanced at Tahl. By the look on her face, he knew she was thinking the same thing. Yoda nodded slowly.

  "What's the name of the lab?" Obi-Wan asked. "Arbor Industries,"

  Winna replied.

  It was the answer Obi-Wan had expected to hear.

  Chapter 3

  He was getting weaker, not stronger. Qui-Gon felt his body float. He wanted to give himself up to the sensation, bob in the oddly pleasant vapor, let it lull him into long sleeps. Even in his worst illness, he had never felt so weak.

  Was she doing something to keep him weak? Blood was extracted regularly, but that still did not account for his fatigue.

  Isolated from the world, from other living creatures, he knew the Force still worked around him. He closed his eyes and reached out to it. He would gather it around him like a shield. Qui-Gon felt the Force move inside the chamber. He concentrated harder…

  Through the veil of vapor, indicator lights outside his chamber glowed. Dimly, he heard a sensor ring shrilly and the sound of hurrying footsteps. Then Zan Arbor's amplified voice again: "You just accessed the Force. Good. Don't be afraid to do so."

  "How did you know?" Qui-Gon asked. The question was out of his mouth before he had a chance to think. His surprise had triggered it.

  "I am monitoring your body functions. When you access the Force, your body temperature drops. Your heartbeat slows. So strange. Once I thought the Force would have the opposite effect. But it works mysteriously. That's why it is so interesting to study."

  So she was studying the Force. Qui-Gon turned this new fact over in his mind. The Force could not be measured or manufactured. But if a scientist of Jenna Zan Arbor's brilliance was studying it, it was possible she could discover things she should not know. He must not underestimate her intelligence.

  Which meant he could not use the Force to heal himself.

  "Why are you so interested in the Force?" he asked.

  "Ah, we are full of questions today," she murmured.

  "There is not much else to do in here," Qui-Gon pointed out.

  "What about your famous Jedi meditation? That should pass the time."

  "Even meditation has its limits," Qui-Gon said dryly.

  He heard a low laugh. "Why shouldn't I study the Force? Why should the Jedi be the only ones to study it?"

  Qui-Gon thought before answering. He needed to keep her talking. He needed to appear to be interested in her studies.

  "That is a good point," he said. "We believe the Force connects us all."

  "That is exactly my point!" Zan Arbor said excitedly. "The Jedi should welcome my interest."

  "How do you know they do not?" Qui-Gon asked. "You haven't asked us."

  "I don't need your permission," she snapped.

  He was losing her. "I didn't mean that," he said. "You are a brilliant researcher. You might want to share your findings with the galaxy."

  "When I am ready," she said. "But not until then."

  "And what are you looking for?"

  She did not answer for a moment, and he was afraid the conversation was over. Then she said, "My colleagues are fools."

  Qui-Gon waited. He did not want to seem too eager. Something told him that Jenna Zan Arbor wanted to talk.

  "You've traveled. You must have seen that the galaxy is full of fools."

  "I have seen that many beings do not trust their eyes, their minds, or their hearts," Qui-Gon said.

  "Exactly! So you see what I have to deal with," Jenna Zan Arbor said, her voice warming. "I have just come from a conference at the Senate. My colleagues are chasing dreams, not ideas. New ways to make starships go faster. New engines, new fuels, new hyperdrives. They try to find ways to make weapons more powerful, more effective. They look for new sources of power. Faster. Bigger. Better. That is what they chase. They ignore the most powerful energy in the galaxy. The Force is far more important than any of these. With the Force, you can move minds. That is much more important than ships!"

  "I would agree with that," Qui-Gon said.

  "How ironic," Zan Arbor said. "Only a Jedi would understand. And yet only the Jedi can be my best subjects. The others… even those who had the Force, who were, as you call them, Force-sensitive… they did not know what they had. They could not control it. It is hard to measure something that will not be controlled. That was the flaw in my experiments."

  Qui-Gon had a sudden notion that chilled him. Was Zan Arbor keeping him in a condition of weakness so that he would use the Force to heal himself?

  He could do nothing in this chamber. He would never escape if he didn't get out, even for a short time.

  Perhaps he could form some sort of bond with his captor.

  "I will make a deal with you," he said.

  "I hardly think you are in a position to offer deals," Jenne Zan Arbor said, amused.

  "I think I am," Qui-Gon returned quietly. "I have something you want.

  That puts me exactly in that position."

  There was a pause. "What do you want?"

  "I want to be let out of this chamber for two hours a day," Qui-Gon said. "If you do this, I will use the Force to heal myself. If you do not, I will not access it."

  "You will die," she warned.

  "Yes," Qui-Gon replied calmly. "As a Jedi, I am prepared for death.

  It does not frighten me."

  "I do not make deals!" Zan Arbor cried shrilly. "I am the leader here! I make the decisions!"

  He did not answer. He closed his eyes. He was gambling that she would not refuse him. He sensed the fever in her, the compulsion to follow through on her experiments. She would give in.

  "All right," she snapped. "But not two hours. One hour. That's all.

  Do we have a deal?"

  "We have a deal," Qui-Gon answered. He had expected her to counter with one hour. It was not a problem. One hour would have to be enough.

  Chapter 4

  Yoda, Tahl, and Obi-Wan were silent for a long moment. The news that Jenna Zan Arbor controlled access to Didi's antitoxin disturbed them.

  "It's very strange," Winna continued. "Not only is Arbor Industries closed, but there is no other source we can find anywhere. There must be some mistake, something we haven't thought to check. This infection is very rare, but still, Arbor Industries should have allowed other labs to stock the antitoxin. This is an astonishing breach of ethics. They left no word when they'll reopen, or where — "

  "Something you should know, there is," Yoda interrupted. "Under suspicion by the Jedi, Jenna Zan Arbor is."

  "She could be involved in Qui-Gon Jinn's disappearance," Tahl said.

  "Not to mention murder," Obi-Wan added.

  Winna's frown grew deeper as shock slowly registered on her face.

  "You mean that Zan Arbor has deliber
ately deprived the galaxy of her medicines?"

  "I think it a very great possibility," Tahl said. Winna's expression was grim. "My patient will die without that antitoxin."

  "I don't understand." Astri had come up behind them so quietly they had not heard her. "You say that Jenna Zan Arbor has the medicine that my father needs, and you can't find her?"

  "I am afraid that is the case," Winna said.

  Obi-Wan went to Astri. He hovered by her side, uncertain of what to say or do. "You mustn't lose hope," he said.

  She nodded, her mouth tightening. He saw her shoulders shaking. She was trying not to cry aloud.

  "Obi-Wan is right," Winna said. "The antitoxin must be held somewhere in the galaxy. We will find it, Astri."

  "I know you will do everything you can." "Our good friend Didi is, Astri," Yoda told her. "Take good care of him, we will."

  "You are very kind." Astri turned and walked toward the window. She stared out blankly. "She has lost hope," Tahl murmured.

  "Bad news, it was," Yoda said. "Hard to absorb."

  "I'd better get back," Winna said tersely, and hurried off.

  "Go to Astri, you should," Yoda told Obi-Wan. "Her friend you are.

  Console her, you must. Hope must not die while Didi lives."

  But Astri wasn't really his friend. He'd just met her. And he wasn't very good at consolation. If only Qui-Gon were here!

  Yoda and Tahl left, and Obi-Wan went to stand awkwardly by Astri's side.

  "He's going to die," she said. "And I will be alone."

  "We cannot lose hope," Obi-Wan said. "The Jedi are capable of extraordinary things. We will find the antitoxin or Jenna Zan Arbor."

  "I am certain that you will," Astri said. "But will Didi still be alive? He looks so small, Obi-Wan. His spirit filled him. Now he's so weak.

  .."

  "He is not weak," Obi-Wan said. "He had one of the strongest spirits I've ever seen. It is still there, his strength."

  "I thought I had troubles once," Astri said slowly. "Running a business wasn't easy. But now I know despair for the first time. Even if Didi survives, we have lost everything. The cafc has been closed by our landlord. We owe him credits we cannot pay. Even as I sit by Didi's bedside, begging him to live, I wonder what he will return to. And it's my fault. I spent all our savings on improvements for the cafc. We have nothing."

  Obi-Wan did not have to wonder what Qui-Gon would say. "You have each other."

  "You're right, Obi-Wan. I'm feeling sorry for myself." Astri rubbed her forehead. "It's just that I'm so tired."

  "Why don't you rest here?" Obi-Wan suggested, indicating the seating area. "You wouldn't have to go to the sleeping quarters. I will make sure you won't be disturbed, unless… unless Didi awakens."

  Astri sank onto the cushions and laid her head down. "Maybe just an hour," she said as her eyes closed.

  Obi-Wan decided he would stay until he was sure she was asleep. His nerves were jumping. He was anxious to check with Tahl and the Jedi code breakers. He wanted to be present when they cracked the datapad.

  He reached into his tunic to remove the Force-sensitive river stone that Qui-Gon had given him. He often found comfort in turning the smooth stone around in his hand. It made him feel closer to Qui-Gon.

  A crackle alerted him that there was something else in his inner pocket. Obi-Wan took it out. It was a durasheet. On it, Jenna Zan Arbor had written the names of the guests she had invited to Didi's Cafc. The names were already beginning to fade.

  Obi-Wan thought back to only a few days before. Qui-Gon had asked her to write out the information when they'd visited her at her hotel.

  Qui-Gon never did anything without a reason. Obi-Wan frowned, thinking hard. They had gone to see Zan Arbor because they had discovered that she had learned about Didi's Cafc from Didi's friend Fligh. Fligh had stolen the datapad of both Senator S'orn and Zan Arbor. Later he had been found dead, his body drained of blood. At that point, they did not know if Zan Arbor was involved. They were just following a thread.

  In other words, Zan Arbor hadn't been a suspect. So why had Qui-Gon asked for this list?

  Back then, Obi-Wan thought that the Outlaw Tech gang had hired the bounty hunter. But Qui-Gon must have had his doubts. Had he been trying to link the bounty hunter to Zan Arbor?

  They had never solved the mystery of how the bounty hunter had been able to break into Didi's Cafc after Zan Arbor's guests had left. They knew the cafc had been locked up tight, every door and window bolted.

  Could Qui-Gon have wondered if one of the guests had stayed behind?

  Astri might not have noticed in the confusion of departure.

  And the bounty hunter was a master of disguise…

  Obi-Wan looked over at Astri. She was sleeping peacefully. He could leave her for a short time.

  He crossed to a small desk in the corner. Quickly, he copied the fading names onto a fresh durasheet and tossed the old one in the trash container.

  He headed out the door. It wasn't much to go on, but it was a direction.

  Chapter 5

  Yamele Polidor Nontal Quincu Aleck W'a Ni Odus Dobei Eranusite B'Zun Mai Reesa On Von Taub Obi-Wan took an air taxi to the Official Committee Liaison Office at the Senate. This office handled the transportation and residence needs of the many committees from around the galaxy that came to petition the Senate. Since it was a Jedi request, he was given the home-worlds and contact information of each being on the list.

  Quickly, Obi-Wan scanned it. Only three of the guests were still staying on Coruscant. The others had returned to their homeworlds. He would start here. If he found nothing, he would move on. If he had to travel to the Outer Rim for a clue, he would do it.

  Yamele Polidor and Von Taub still had business with the Senate and were staying in a guesthouse nearby. Obi-Wan went there first. He found them together in the sitting room, going over the record of the meeting they had attended that day.

  Obi-Wan explained that he was on a Jedi mission to discover who had broken into Didi's Cafc after their group had left.

  Yamele Polidor was a petite Rindian with pointed ears and two eight- fingered hands. She nodded politely at Obi-Wan. "Of course I will be glad to help."

  The Corweillian Von Taub nodded. "As will I." "Did anyone come into the cafc while you were there?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Just the members of our own party," Yamele Polidor answered in the low, singsong manner of a Rindian.

  "Did you notice anyone on the street outside?"

  Von Taub shook his head. "We left, and the owner of the cafc, a young woman, locked the door after us. Jenna Zan Arbor was very upset with the service and food. I didn't think it was that bad, myself." He smiled.

  "Maybe I'm more used to disorganization. But Jenna is a scientist who can't tolerate disorder."

  "Do you know the other names on this list well?" Obi-Wan asked. He handed the list to them.

  Yamele Polidor ran one of her long fingers down the list. "I know all of these scientists personally, except for Dobei Eranusite and Reesa On."

  "I know Dobei quite well," Von Taub said. "Reesa On was a stranger to me as well."

  "Did anyone know her?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Jenna Zan Arbor," Yamele Polidor answered.

  "Yes, they worked on a research project together," Von Taub added.

  "Jenna was very complimentary about her skills as a scientist. None of the rest of us knew her."

  Obi-Wan kept his voice steady despite his rising excitement. "Do you remember what she looked like?"

  "Not really," Yamele Polidor said with a shrug. "Tall, maybe? She was humanoid. That, I remember."

  "Very striking," Von Taub said. "She wore a silk turban and a lovely septsilk robe."

  Obi-Wan realized he had seen her himself. He had a vague memory of a woman in a jeweled turban. He pushed his urgency away and left his mind open, let the memory come as it would, as he had been taught. The information he sought would come to him.

  He and Qui-Gon ha
d been talking to Astri when the guests arrived. He remembered the look of distaste on Jenna Zan Arbor's face. And one tall woman had gathered her rich robe around her as if it would get dirty from touching a chair or the floor. She had very strong hands…