The Threat Within Page 2

  Qui-Gon understood that after having been at the mercy of Vorzyd 4

  for some time, Vorzyd 5 might harbor resentment. But taking action against

  a neighboring planet seemed rash, especially if Vorzyd 5 was prospering in

  its own right.

  "We must stop Vorzyd 5," Chairman Port said, not acknowledging Qui-

  Gon's inquiries. "You will contact them?"

  Qui-Gon was about to reply when the chairman stood. He was obviously

  anxious for the meeting to be over. "To work then?" he said.

  Qui-Gon remained seated. He had many more questions and a strong

  feeling that all was not as it seemed. "Before we contact Vorzyd 5, I would

  like to inspect the sabotage sites. One should never be hasty in making

  accusations."

  Chairman Port seemed to hover over Qui-Gon, but he didn't say

  anything.

  Qui-Gon continued. "I would also like to spend at least one night

  here on Vorzyd 4, to get an idea of how you live... when you're not

  working."

  Chairman Port's antennae moved so furiously they looked as if they

  would tie themselves in knots. "Not working?" he asked, puzzled. "We eat.

  We sleep. Nothing more."

  The chairman was clearly frustrated with the Jedi's thought process.

  He wanted immediate action. "I will take you to the homespace when the

  workday is - "

  Chairman Port was cut off when a laborer rushed into the room.

  "Vorzyd 5!" she said. "Another attack!" Her high-pitched voice revealed her

  distress. "Productivity status monitors are registering erroneous data."

  Port rushed from the room and glanced at the nearest datascreen. "Six

  days behind schedule on hard goods distribution," he mumbled. "It cannot

  be."

  Everywhere laborers stood up from their stations and looked around,

  bewildered. Qui-Gon noticed that when their eyes rested on the Jedi in

  their flowing brown robes, their already vibrating antennae would wave even

  more wildly. In this environment even the subdued Jedi dress made them

  stick out like pulsating beacons.

  Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan followed Chairman Port to the turbolift. As they

  made their way through the maze, Qui-Gon noted a few of the laborers

  rocking back and forth. Others appeared to be physically ill, grasping

  their stomachs and leaning on their desks.

  As the turbolift doors closed, Qui-Gon heaved a deep sigh. Obviously

  the Vorzyd 4's were un‑ able to handle anything outside of their normal

  work routine. Only the chairman seemed to maintain relative calm, though he

  didn't look particularly well, either.

  This was going to be a very interesting mission.

  CHAPTER 3

  Obi-Wan sat in front of the mainframe computer. He had been there for

  almost an hour. The Vorzydiak technician assigned to the station paced

  behind him, stopping regularly to peer over Obi-Wan's shoulder.

  Occasionally the tech's antennae grazed the back of Obi-Wan's head and neck

  and he could be heard mumbling something about Vorzyd 5.

  Obi-Wan's Master had gone with Chairman Port to try to calm the

  laborers. The threat to the Vorzydiaks' physical and mental health was

  equal to their technical difficulties. If the chairman could not get the

  laborers to calm down, he would have a health crisis on his hands. Judging

  from the stress level Obi-Wan still felt in the building, he did not think

  Qui-Gon was having much luck.

  Obi-Wan wasn't having much luck, either. The problem with the

  computer system was not a simple one. Obi-Wan knew he couldn't clear it up

  quickly, but was hoping to learn something about who had started it while

  he tried.

  Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the anomaly was gone. All of the

  computers in the building were back on-line, running as if the bug had

  never been there. And there was no trace of what had happened on any of the

  machines.

  Obi-Wan motioned to the nervous tech, who nodded and spoke into a

  comlink on the wall. "Back on-line. Laborers to resume work immediately."

  A few of the techs nearby looked at Obi-Wan gratefully as they

  settled back into their workstations. They thought he had fixed the

  problem.

  The rest of the Vorzydiaks busied themselves, relieved to have things

  functioning normally once more. Even the very sick Vorzydiaks struggled to

  their data stations.

  Obi-Wan stayed where he was. He wanted to continue to search the

  systems, to see if he could determine what had caused the mysterious

  problem and maybe come to understand the Vorzydiaks. But the tech standing

  beside him clearly wanted Obi-Wan to move out of his spot.

  "To work, then?" the tech asked, agitated.

  Obi-Wan stood with a sigh. His curiosity was not reason enough to

  cause the Vorzydiak discomfort.

  On his way back to the twenty-fourth floor, Obi-Wan considered what

  he knew. Unfortunately, it wasn't much. The saboteur had been someone who

  knew the computer system as well as or better than the techs who ran it.

  But there was definitely no evidence that the Vorzyd 5's had planted the

  bug. Obi-Wan suspected that the culprit was an insider - or at least a spy.

  Before Obi-Wan could share his suspicions with Qui-Gon and the

  chairman, a long, dull tone sounded in the building. The Vorzydiak laborers

  groaned in unison, echoing the tone. It was a strange, disappointed sound

  that penetrated Obi-Wan's skin. Obi-Wan wasn't sure if the laborers were

  frustrated that their workday had been cut short due to the interruption,

  or if the sad sound was one they made every day when it was time to leave.

  Like the other laborers, Chairman Port seemed to struggle to tear

  himself away. At last he stood and motioned for the Jedi to follow him.

  Vorzydiaks poured en masse from buildings like slow-moving liquid.

  Though they stood very close to one another, they gave Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan

  a wide berth, even aboard the packed shuttles they all rode to the

  Vorzydiak home-space. Obi-Wan was sorry to see that his presence made the

  Vorzydiaks uncomfortable, but was grateful for the space just the same. It

  allowed him to look out the transparisteel sides of the shuttle.

  As they left the city workspace, Obi-Wan waited for the landscape to

  change. He'd assumed that the identical buildings would fall away and

  reveal the natural planet landscape, or at least some parks and open

  spaces. But he was wrong.

  On the outskirts of the city the workspace turned to homespace. But

  if Chairman Port had not announced that they were in Vorzydiak homespace,

  Obi-Wan would not have known. The homespace buildings were slightly smaller

  and stationed around hubs where automated shuttles and airbusses picked up

  and dropped off passengers. Otherwise it looked exactly like the workspace.

  There were no yards. No pads for private vehicles. No Vorzydiaks

  relaxing outside.

  In light of this, the Jedi were not surprised to see that the

  chairman's home, like his workstation and dress, did not differ from the

  rest of the population's. He lived on a single floor of one of the high-

  rises.

  "My wife, Bryn," the chairman said, introducing them to a slight


  Vorzydiak wearing a blandly colored jumpsuit. "The Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and

  Obi-Wan Kenobi," Port gestured.

  Bryn's antennae fidgeted as she looked the Jedi over.

  "We appreciate your hospitality." Qui-Gon offered a hand. "Chairman

  Port has kindly invited us to share a meal in your home."

  Bryn nodded again but did not take Qui-Gon's hand. Instead she turned

  toward the galley. After pressing a few buttons, she placed two more

  settings at the table that was already set for two.

  "Grath will not be eating," she said. Chairman Port nodded.

  "Will he be home later?" Obi-Wan asked. He was anxious to meet the

  Ports' fifteen-year-old son. Vorzyd 4 seemed so... boring. He couldn't

  imagine what life must be like for the teenagers on the planet, and was

  hoping that they would be easier to talk to than the Vorzydiaks he'd

  already met.

  "After mealtime. He is working," Bryn replied flatly.

  While they waited for the meal to be served, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon

  looked around the small residence. It was furnished and reasonably

  comfortable, but revealed nothing about the inhabitants. It reminded Obi-

  Wan of the sterile spaces travelers could rent on Coruscant. With so many

  different species coming through, the quarters were designed to be nothing

  more than clean and inoffensive.

  "Is Grath away from home often in the evenings?" Qui-Gon asked when

  they sat down to dine. "It must be disappointing when you cannot share your

  last meal of the day together."

  Obi-Wan knew that Qui-Gon was also looking for a sign of emotional

  connection in the family.

  "It is an honor to work," the chairman said tersely.

  His wife nodded. "May he be as productive tomorrow as he is today,"

  she said.

  Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan exchanged a look as the table fell silent.

  Obi-Wan chewed a particularly tough and flavorless bite of whatever

  food was in his bowl. "What do you do in the evenings, to entertain

  yourselves?" he asked, still hoping to spark some conversation. Though he

  was getting the feeling that the endeavor was useless, he felt he had to

  try.

  Bryn looked up from her food, a confused expression on her face. "We

  read instructuals to better our work," she replied, as if it were obvious.

  Suddenly, Obi-Wan wondered if Grath chose to work late to avoid the

  evening meal. He found it hard to imagine that the young people on Vorzyd 4

  were as work-driven as their parents. In some ways, he thought, it was

  similar to life at the Temple. There, children and adults were completely

  dedicated to learning the ways of the Force. The path of the Jedi was

  fascinating, of course. Far more fascinating than anything Obi-Wan had seen

  here. But Obi-Wan had to admit that sometimes, at the Temple, he just

  wanted some time off - to take a break.

  Looking up from his bowl, Obi-Wan noticed Qui-Gon staring at him. He

  felt his face redden. More than once Qui-Gon had seemed able to read his

  mind, and he hoped this was not one of those times.

  Obi-Wan had felt frustrated lately, yes. But he did not wish to leave

  the Jedi path. He had done that once - and it had turned out to be the

  biggest mistake of his life. Still, there were times - especially when he

  felt he was not progressing - that he wondered where all of this hard work

  was leading him.

  CHAPTER 4

  Chairman Port led the Jedi into a building a short distance from his

  house. "This is our retirement complex. My mother lived here after she

  retired. Now she is dead. The room is empty," he said. His voice registered

  no feeling.

  "I'm sorry to hear of your mother's passing," Qui-Gon said gently.

  "Was it recent?"

  "One month ago," Port replied.

  Qui-Gon noticed that Chairman Port's antennae quivered slightly. "It

  is difficult to lose a parent."

  "Laborers do not last without work," Port replied steadily. But he

  stopped outside the retirement complex, as if he were reluctant to go in.

  "Second floor. Third door on the right," he said.

  Pressing a key pass with access codes into Qui-Gon's hand, he turned

  to go. "Tomorrow we will contact Vorzyd 5. Work must go on."

  As the door slid shut behind them, Qui-Gon heard a tapping in the

  corridor. Door lined halls stretched in all directions, and to the left a

  figure struggled toward them using a support. He waved to attract their

  attention. It was an elderly Vorzydiak.

  "To work," he called in a raspy voice. "Is the shuttle here? To work.

  " Obi-Wan started toward the nearly crippled being, but Qui-Gon put a hand

  on his shoulder to stop him. The Vorzydiak turned and walked in the other

  direction, still rambling. He had not been talking to them. He was raving

  to no one in particular, and Qui-Gon knew there was nothing they could do

  to help.

  Port's mother's room was as gloomy as the rest of the complex. But it

  held two sleep couches, and was certainly adequate for the Jedi. Obi-Wan

  paced the small space between the couches. Qui-Gon knew he had been waiting

  for a chance to speak. A year ago he would have shared his thoughts by now.

  But his Padawan was growing older, wiser. He was becoming a Jedi.

  "Master, I do not think that Vorzyd 5 is responsible for today's...

  mishap," Obi-Wan said. "I do not know who is responsible, but we must not

  contact Vorzyd 5 until we have a clearer sense of what is going on."

  "Of course." Qui-Gon nodded.

  "I feel... I feel that all is not right on Vorzyd 4," Obi-Wan

  continued. "There's something more here, there's some sort of... well,

  secret."

  Qui-Gon nodded again. He had sensed it, too, but had not realized it

  until Obi-Wan said it aloud. There was a secret on Vorzyd 4. They would

  have to proceed very carefully.

  Qui-Gon lay down and breathed deeply. Beside him, Obi-Wan did the

  same. It had been a strange day and Qui-Gon looked forward to meditation.

  But even after several minutes of trying to relax, the deep calm that

  usually filled him did not come.

  Instead his mind was filled with images of Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan as a boy

  in a practice duel with Jedi student Bruck Chun, letting his anger rather

  than his instincts direct him. Then an image of Obi-Wan when he had gone to

  help him on Melida/Daan, wounded, humble, and brave enough to face his

  mistakes - even if doing so meant never becoming a Jedi. The boy had grown

  so much in the last four years. More than getting stronger and taller, he

  was learning to trust himself, his instincts, and the Force.

  Another image of Obi-Wan flashed in Qui-Gon's mind. An older Obi-Wan,

  ready to begin the intensive path toward the trials. Soon he would be more

  man than boy. He would take the leap toward becoming a Jedi Knight.

  Pride and sadness flooded Qui-Gon as he pictured Jedi Master Obi-Wan

  Kenobi. He looked forward to the day that the two of them would work side

  by side as Jedi Knights, but with this thought no image came. Qui-Gon's

  chest tightened. He was so proud of Obi-Wan's path, of his achievements.

  Why couldn't he see him as a Knight? Perhaps I do not want to see the boy

  grow up, he thou
ght.

  The whir and click of the door forced the thought from Qui-Gon's

  mind. His eyes flew open. Immediately he saw that the room was empty. Obi-

  Wan was gone.

  CHAPTER 5

  Obi-Wan moved silently down the hall toward the exit. Unlike his

  Master, he had been too restless to meditate. Though he sometimes wished he

  had Qui-Gon's ability to calm his mind, he had learned when it was

  impossible and to simply accept it. There were times when it was best to

  put his energy to more active use.

  The corridor in the retirement complex was dim and quiet, and Obi-Wan

  was almost through the door when a sound broke the silence. Startled, he

  turned on his heels. Was that laughter?