The Death of Hope Page 3

  to make a preliminary search. If it can't pinpoint Balog in the city, it

  will be able to pinpoint his point of departure."

  Qui-Gon nodded and hooked the transmitter onto his utility belt. "Now

  let's see about those speeders."

  They followed another ramp down to a lower level. It was an

  identically sized space, this one filled with surface transport vehicles -

  swoops, landspeeders, gravsleds.

  "Our inventory is pretty full, so you can take your pick," Mota said.

  Qui-Gon quickly chose a landspeeder and a swoop. "We might need the

  agility for at least one of us," he told Obi-Wan. "The other will have room

  for Tahl." He turned to Mota. "These are guaranteed?"

  "They're a few years old, but they won't let you down," Mota said.

  "My merchandise is the best."

  "Glad to hear it," Qui-Gon said. "But we'll test them first."

  Mota accessed double durasteel doors at the end of the space. "Go

  through that door to the backyard. You can test them there. Just watch out

  for security patrols overhead."

  Obi-Wan slung his leg over the swoop and adjusted the seat so that he

  had easy access to the controls in the handlebars. He revved up the

  repulsorlift engine as Qui-Gon started his land-speeder. He followed Qui-

  Gon as he zoomed out the double doors. They passed into a short tunnel and

  then burst into the open air. They found themselves in an open yard with

  high security fencing surrounding it.

  Obi-Wan had ridden a swoop before and was used to the extra

  maneuverability. He pushed the swoop, making sharp turns and accelerating

  rapidly. He was glad to see that the vehicle handled well. Qui-Gon also

  seemed satisfied, and the two of them landed the transports and turned off

  the engines just as Irini and Lenz appeared in the yard.

  "If you find the list with Tahl, what will you do with it?" lrini

  asked them anxiously.

  "The list is not our first concern," Qui-Gon said.

  "You must realize how much power resides in that list," Lenz said.

  "It cannot fall into the wrong hands."

  "Do you promise to come to us first if you have it?" Irini asked.

  "I cannot make that promise," Qui-Gon said. "But I will promise that

  we will keep it safe. The Jedi will volunteer to hold the list as a neutral

  party until the government appoints a successor to Roan."

  Irini nodded reluctantly.

  Obi-Wan caught sight of a blur in the sky. "I think the probe droid

  is returning already."

  Qui-Gon looked up, his expression tense with expectation. The probe

  droid settled on the ground in front of him. He quickly bent to examine the

  readout.

  "Balog has left the city," Qui-Gon said. "He's struck out over open

  country."

  "That's strange," Lenz said. "Why would he leave his base of support?

  "

  "Maybe he knows the Jedi are on his trail," lrini said.

  Qui-Gon programmed the droid to continue tracking and sent it off

  again. Then he programmed the coordinates of Balog's last stop into his

  shipboard computer. He gave Obi-Wan the coordinates, and Obi-Wan did the

  same on his swoop.

  Mota emerged from a door concealed in the wall of the building.

  "How do you like the transports?" he asked. "They're fine. We have a

  deal," Qui-Gon said, counting out the additional credits.

  Mota placed the credits inside a pocket of his unisuit. Suddenly, the

  sensors on the wall began to glow. Mote watched as they beeped out a

  private code.

  "Patrols in the vicinity," Mote said. "I suggest you leave." Without

  another word, he swiftly made his way back to the hidden door and

  disappeared.

  "Don't worry, Mota, we'll be fine," Lenz muttered. "Irini, we'd

  better get out of here." He nodded at the Jedi. "You should take off. If

  the security patrol sees you with black market transports, you'll be

  detained, possibly even arrested."

  "Thank you for your help," Obi-Wan said hastily as he mounted his

  swoop.

  "Will you be all right?" Qui-Gon asked.

  "We know this area well," Lenz assured them. "There is an exit

  through that fence that will bring us safely home. If I were you I'd go out

  the back way and stick to the alleys."

  From a distance, they heard the sound of speeder engines.

  "We'll be in touch," Qui-Gon told them.

  The two transports lifted into the air. Qui-Gon led the way out. The

  narrow alley snaked out from the backyard of Mota's building, twisting and

  turning past the back sides of the crumbling buildings. They could hear

  security landspeeder engines nearby, but could not see them.

  Finally, they emerged on a deserted street. Qui-Gon headed east

  toward the outskirts of the city. He pushed his engine to maximum and Obi-

  Wan followed.

  With the security patrol well behind them, they reached the edge of

  the city and took off over open country. Obi-Wan felt his spirits rise as

  the wind blew in his face. He couldn't help but feel that Tahl was within

  their reach.

  CHAPTER 4

  By the time they reached the coordinates that the probe droid had

  given them, the droid had not returned with Balog's next position.

  Qui-Gon halted his speeder, which hovered over the ground. Obi-Wan

  pulled up next to him. They were well outside the city in an unpopulated

  area. It was flat and dry, with only a few trees clumped here and there. In

  the far distance, they could see hills.

  "We could wait here for the droid," Qui-Gon said to Obi-Wan. "Or we

  could track ourselves. If we're wrong, we'd have to double back. It could

  waste time."

  Obi-Wan nodded. "Then we can't be wrong."

  By the look on his Master's face, Obi-Wan knew it was the answer he'd

  wanted to hear.

  Leaving the engines idling, the two Jedi jumped from their transports

  and examined the ground. Obi-Wan had been taught tracking at the Temple,

  but he'd also recently been on a tracking exercise with Qui-Gon on Ragoon-

  6. He was glad he'd had a chance to brush up on his skills.

  "The probe droid has told us that Balog is traveling in an armored

  hoverscout," Qui-Gon said. "We know he was last heading roughly east. If we

  can find some evidence of scorch marks from the engine, we can track him. A

  vehicle of that weight takes a bigger power drive. There's a predictable

  pattern of acceleration and release of excess exhaust."

  Obi-Wan examined the ground as he'd been taught, dividing it into

  sections and noticing each pebble, each disturbance of sand. He crouched

  down to examine a rock.

  "Here," he said. He moved a step on. "And here."

  Qui-Gon leaned over to examine the trail. "Yes. See how deeply the

  rocks have been marked. He accelerated here. Let's go."

  They jumped back onto their transports and took off. Every so often

  they stopped to examine the surrounding ground. True to the pattern, they

  found evidence of exhaust on the rocks and ground. They knew they were

  still on Balog's trail.

  The suns began to slip down into the sky. Obi-Wan scanned the horizon

  ahead. He saw a black shape heading their way. He didn't say anything for a<
br />
  moment. He hoped it was the droid but wasn't certain.

  Qui-Gon's gaze was slightly sharper. "Here it comes," he called,

  relief in his voice. He halted the speeder and Obi-Wan pulled up beside

  him. In just minutes, the droid returned.

  Qui-Gon consulted the readout. "He's stopped. Good. We might be able

  to catch up to him by dawn."

  Qui-Gon released the probe droid again, then zoomed off to the next

  destination. Obi-Wan pushed his engine to follow. Balog was within their

  grasp.

  They rode all night. It was Obi-Wan's second night without sleep. The

  three moons rose high in the purple sky, and the calls of night creatures

  came to him faintly. When weariness overcame him, he reached out to the

  Force to help him maintain a meditative state. He was alert enough to

  drive, yet was able to allow his body to rest even as he sped over the

  rocky ground. Qui-Gon did not appear tired in the least.

  Dawn broke quickly on this world. The horizon turned red-orange, and

  the blazing color spread into the dark purple of the sky as the suns rose

  higher. The flat landscape had changed to foothills that grew larger and

  steeper as they rode. Trees were thick, and the Jedi had to use caution to

  keep up their speed.

  "We are close, Padawan. Let's slow down a bit. Balog could be

  breaking camp." Qui-Gon slowed his engine, and Obi-Wan followed suit.

  "We should go on foot from here. He should be over that next hill."

  Obi-Wan jumped off his swoop gratefully. His legs felt stiff. The air

  was cold, and he moved quickly to warm his muscles.

  They climbed the hill silently. Their footing had to be assured, for

  if they slipped, they could cause a small rock slide that would alert Balog

  of their presence.

  They neared the top of the hill and Qui-Gon dropped to his hands and

  knees. Obi-Wan did the same. He slithered up to the top and peered over.

  All he saw was an empty plain. There was no sign of Balog, even in

  the distance. He must have left long ago.

  Qui-Gon dropped his head into his hands. He did not speak for a

  moment. Obi-Wan was disappointed, but he could see that his Master was

  distraught.

  Obi-Wan was tired and hungry and cold. There was nothing he would

  like better right now than to set up the condenser unit for warmth, eat

  some rations, and settle on the ground for a good sleep of at least a few

  hours.

  Instead, he put his hand on Qui-Gon's shoulder. He spoke softly.

  "Let's keep going."

  "Yes," Qui-Gon said, his expression fierce. "Let's move on."

  CHAPTER 5

  Before the morning had passed, the probe droid returned with new

  coordinates. Balog was traveling quickly, with barely any stops. Obi-Wan

  could see Qui-Gon's frustration harden into cold resolve. He would not rest

  until they caught up with Balog. He would drive his body to the limit.

  The temperature rose, and the combined power of the blazing suns bore

  down on Obi-Wan. He took a swallow of water from his rations. He felt

  light-headed from the heat and lack of sleep.

  "Do you think Balog doesn't stop because he knows we're behind him?"

  he asked Qui-Gon.

  "Or he has a destination in mind and knows he will be safe there,"

  Qui-Gon responded. "It would be best for us to catch up to him before he

  reaches it."

  Obi-Wan wanted to ask Qui-Gon more questions, but he stilled his

  curiosity. He sensed that talk would disrupt his Master's concentration.

  They were using the probe droid, but they also needed their own tracking

  skills to keep moving. Time and time again they needed to exit their

  transports and make their way over the ground. Obi-Wan now realized how

  different a training exercise was from reality. He had to make absolutely

  sure that he didn't miss a thing, and that what he did read from the ground

  was correct. Tahl's life depended on it.

  As the first sun began to set, the probe droid returned. Qui-Gon

  consulted the readout and turned to Obi-Wan. His face was streaked with

  dust, his tunic stained and filthy. Obi-Wan knew he must look just the

  same.

  "We must travel through the night again, Padawan. Can you do it?"

  Obi-Wan had reached a place where his body did not feel fatigue. He

  knew it was there, deep in his muscles and bones, and that he would feel it

  once this pursuit was over. Until then, he would not allow himself.

  "I can do it," he said.

  Qui-Gon nodded and sped off. Again, they rode through the dark night.

  The cold air revived Obi-Wan and he took deep breaths of it to restore

  himself. The night streamed past in a blur of landscape and rising and

  setting moons.

  The sky was just beginning to lighten when the probe droid returned.

  It had taken less time for its reconnaissance. That could be a good sign.

  Obi-Wan kept his eyes on Qui-Gon as he quickly accessed the readout. When

  Qui-Gon turned, his eyes gleamed in satisfaction.

  "He has stopped. The droid has just left him, so he'll be there this

  time. We've got him." He leaped off his speeder. "We must proceed

  carefully, Padawan. There is a small canyon just ahead. Balog is there."

  They proceeded silently toward a rocky outcropping. Qui-Gon signaled,

  indicating that they would find Balog around the rocks.

  They moved silently but speedily. The darkness was starting to lift,

  but there were still deep shadows cast by the rocks and cliffs around them.

  They moved into the shadows of the cliff. It would give them cover.

  They climbed over some rocks and entered the canyon. Ahead they saw a

  small fire burning. There was no sign of Balog's hoverscout, but a figure

  lay near the fire, wrapped in a thermal quilt. Perhaps the hoverscout was

  parked nearby, deep in the shadows. Obi-Wan focused on the figure near the

  fire. Was it Balog? Or could it be Tahl?

  Qui-Gon's steps slowed. He peered ahead through the dimness at the

  figure on the ground. He put out a hand to slow Obi-Wan down.

  "Something is wrong," he muttered. "Can you feel it?"

  Before Obi-Wan could respond, two dark shapes in the sky swooped down

  toward them. Probe droids.

  And then Obi-Wan saw their own probe droid dart to the left, circling

  the canyon. He pointed it out to Qui-Gon, who looked up at it, puzzled,

  just as blaster fire ripped into the rocks behind them.

  "It's a trap!" Qui-Gon shouted.

  CHAPTER 6

  Balog had fooled them. He was gone, but he had left two attack

  droids.

  One of these droids peeled off and went after the Jedi's probe droid.

  The other headed for the Jedi.

  Their droid shifted into attack mode from the threat. Blaster fire

  pinged overhead as the two droids found each other's positions and battled.

  "We can't lose that droid," Qui-Gon said urgently. He activated his

  lightsaber and jumped behind a boulder for cover. "Obi-Wan, get back to

  your swoop. One of us needs to fight the droids from the air."

  Obi-Wan hated to leave his Master, but he saw the wisdom of Qui-Gon's

  strategy. He sprinted toward his swoop. He could hear blaster fire erupt

  behind him, and had to di
scipline himself not to turn and check on Qui-

  Gon's safety. He had to trust his Master to handle the situation until his

  return.

  The wind whistled past his ears as he raced across the terrain. He

  leaped onto his swoop and pushed the engines to maximum. He zoomed back

  toward the canyon.

  Qui-Gon had jumped or climbed to a narrow ledge above the canyon

  floor. As the probe droid circled and dived, peppering Qui-Gon with blaster