The Dangerous Rescue Page 8

  platform. "Why don't we each pick someone and see what we can find out."

  The group split off. Obi-Wan stayed where he was. He scanned the

  different workers on the platform. Some were checking text docs, some

  directing transport, and some refueling ships. He did not know how to

  choose.

  But then he noticed a young woman, dressed in the coveralls of a

  mechanic, who was working at the refueling bay. The young woman was busy

  doing her job, but as she worked she gazed at the different ships as they

  came in for landings. Something about the alertness on her face caught Obi-

  Wan's attention. This was someone who admired sleek airships. She would

  remember the V-wing cruiser.

  He walked over and nodded a hello.

  "If you need refueling, you have to signal the controller," the

  worker said. "Get a number and wait your turn. You can signal from your

  ship or go over there." She pointed to a booth a short distance away.

  "I don't need refueling," Obi-Wan said. "I'm looking for someone. She

  landed in a V-wing cruiser. Black with silver underside - "

  "I remember that ship," the young woman said, her eyes suddenly

  brightening. "She was a beauty. I'd love to get my hands on those controls.

  "

  "Do you remember the pilot and passengers?"

  She wiped her hands on her coveralls, thinking. "I remember I was

  surprised. I expected some hotshot pilot to come strutting out of that

  cockpit. Instead there was a petite human woman and a sick old man. Her

  father, she said. I refueled them."

  "How do you know he was sick?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Because he was taken out on a med-splint. I don't think he was

  conscious. A medic met them when they landed. A tall Belascan male."

  That could have been Ona Nobis in disguise.

  "Do you know where they went?" Obi-Wan asked.

  The worker shifted her feet. She was constantly moving as Obi-Wan

  asked her questions. And she seemed so nervous. "No, but they had to file a

  flight plan." Gazing at Obi-Wan, she wiggled her foot.

  Obi-Wan noticed the movement and looked down. A small hand was curled

  around the worker's ankle.

  "That's my boy, Ned," she said in a whisper. "Please don't report me.

  I had to bring him to work this week. My mother is ill and she's the one

  who takes care of him."

  Obi-Wan smiled down at the boy, who looked up at him. A small toy was

  clutched in his dirty fist. "I won't tell. Thank you for your help."

  He hurried over to Qui-Gon to tell him what he'd learned.

  "That sounds like a good lead," Qui-Gon said. "I'm sure the flight

  plan is false, however."

  But Adi was more skeptical. "I would like better confirmation," she

  said. "There are many ill elders on Belasco. I'm not sure if this will

  convince Uta S'orn."

  "I hate the thought of Noor being unconscious," Siri said worriedly.

  "She drugged him, most likely," Qui-Gon said. "If that was really

  Noor," Adi said.

  Obi-Wan caught Qui-Gon's irritation. Adi's instincts were renowned,

  but she did not abandon her need for absolute facts. They needed proof.

  Suddenly, Obi-Wan remembered something that had nagged at him.

  "Wait," he told the others. Then he hurried back over to the worker.

  She looked at him anxiously. "I'll lose my job if you tell my

  supervisor about Ned - "

  "Don't worry," Obi-Wan assured her. He crouched down and spoke to the

  boy. "That's a nice toy. Can I hold it for just a second?"

  The friendly boy nodded and handed it to Obi-Wan.

  It was a model of a tiny V-wing cruiser. It had been cleverly

  fashioned from slender threads tightly wrapped over bits of metal.

  Obi-Wan fingered the threads. They had come from a Jedi's robe. Noor

  had only pretended to be unconscious. He had left them a clue.

  CHAPTER 15

  Now that they knew for sure that Noor was on Belasco, they had to

  discover why Jenna Zan Arbor had traveled there. Adi and Qui-Gon set up two

  datapads on board the consular ship. They ran the Senate transcript on one

  datapad, and Uta S'orn's on the other. Obi-Wan and Siri sat, watching

  intently.

  "Look for the smallest difference," Qui-Gon advised. "There will be

  much talk, so listen carefully."

  The holocam had recorded a session in the Senate that dealt with

  regulations in the Mindemir system. Senators got up and spoke endlessly

  about complicated rules. They interrupted one another and heaped praise and

  scorn on one another. They spoke for long minutes and said nothing.

  Siri caught Obi-Wan's eye and faked a huge yawn. Adi saw the gesture.

  "Every task requires full attention," she told Siri sternly. Then she

  turned back to Qui-Gon and murmured, "But I'm having trouble myself."

  "I don't understand," Obi-Wan said. "Uta S'orn isn't even visible in

  the transmission." "Exactly," Qui-Gon said.

  Obi-Wan was mystified. He returned his attention to both

  transmissions, but it was hard to know what he was looking for.

  At last a list of regulations was passed. The holocam hovered above

  as Senators rose to the front of their boxes to vote. The regulations were

  passed by a majority. Then, the screen went black.

  "Shall we play it again?" Adi asked.

  "Do we have to?" Siri muttered.

  "Wait," Qui-Gon said. He scanned backward as the vote was called. "I

  think I know what is different. Here." He pointed to the screen on the

  left, which was the official Senate transmission.

  "Look at the delegate from Hino-111," he said. He pressed the zoom

  function on the transmission for a closer view. "He is not pressing the

  'yes' button. He is voting against the measure. Yet in the audio he is

  voting for it." Qui-Gon pressed the zoom function on the second datapad.

  "And here, he has recorded a 'no' vote. This is Uta S'orn's version."

  Adi leaned closer. "She altered the official Senate record?"

  "I'm sure if we study this we will find other votes that have been

  changed. The Senate recorder uses the official transcript to record votes.

  These regulations were never passed. Senators vote on thousands of

  regulations. Mindemir is a small system. It is a risky move, but this

  transcript is from eight months ago. Obviously, she got away with it."

  "But why would she care about a regulation on Mindemir?" Obi-Wan

  asked.

  "I'm sure she does not care for herself. She was paid to do this,"

  Qui-Gon said. "Paid in credits or influence. The question is, who paid her?

  "

  "Jenna Zan Arbor?" Siri guessed.

  "That is what we need to know." Qui-Gon was already reaching for his

  comlink. "This is a job for Tahl." He walked away a few paces to speak

  quietly.

  "Why would she keep the real transcript?" Siri asked. "It could

  incriminate her."

  "For blackmail," Adi said. "She could always threaten to expose the

  person who engineered this. She could send it anonymously to the Senate.

  Perhaps she's covered her tracks so well that they could not tie the

  deception to her."

  Qui-Gon returned with the news that Tahl would get back to them as

  quickly as possible. They reviewed the ot
her transcripts. It was easier now

  that they knew what they were looking for. In each case, the votes had been

  altered.

  By the time they finished, Tahl had signaled Qui-Gon.

  "You are right," she said. "Jenna Zan Arbor conducted a series of

  experiments on the water supply of Mindemir. She needed a large planetary

  system to prove her theory, apparently. Endangering a whole system was of

  course against Senate regulations. But Senator S'orn introduced legislation

  that would allow this, if the planet's legislative body agreed to the

  experiment. The measure passed in the Galactic Senate and a few weeks later

  the government of Mindemir voted to allow the experiment."

  "Easier to bribe a politician on a small planet to push through

  legislation," Adi said shrewdly. "But she needed someone powerful in the

  Galactic Senate."

  "So we've linked Jenna Zan Arbor and Uta S'orn at last," Qui-Gon said

  quietly. "Zan Arbor said S'orn had been helpful to her. I did not think she

  meant S'orn had acted illegally."

  "It is hard to believe," Adi said. "She has a reputation for great

  integrity."

  "Eight months ago, Ren S'orn was still alive," Obi-Wan said. "Jenna

  Zan Arbor was conducting her experiments on the Force as well. What if

  Senator S'orn knew this? What if Jenna Zan Arbor was blackmailing her?"

  "So S'orn knew that Zan Arbor was holding her son, and she did what

  Zan Arbor asked?" Qui-Gon frowned thoughtfully. "It's possible."

  "All the more reason to help Uta S'orn now," Adi said. "Whether she

  wants us to or not."

  CHAPTER 16

  Faced with the evidence, Uta S'orn crumbled.

  "Yes," she said. "I altered the record."

  She sat on a bench, her hands dangling between her knees. The grounds

  were quiet now, with most of the patients back in the Ward Domes.

  "I had to," Uta S'orn said. "She had my son." "So you altered the

  Senate record in order to save him," Adi prodded gently.

  S'orn nodded. "And then she released him. But something went wrong.

  He was found dead. She told me that he had tried to break back into the

  lab, and Ona Nobis had killed him. I don't know whether to believe her, but

  what can I do? I broke Senate laws. My son is dead. The only thing left for

  me is to devote myself to the people of Belasco, the only way I can. I

  cannot imagine why Jenna would contact me again. She must be here for

  another purpose. Surely she will leave me alone now, after all she's done."

  Usually, Uta S'orn's manner was brusque and impatient. Now Obi-Wan

  saw how deeply her grief ran. Her voice trembled, and her eyes were full of

  tears.

  A tall man dressed in rich robes approached, followed by royal droid

  guards. Although his hair was silver, his face was youthful.

  "Uta, are you all right? Do I need to eject these people?"

  She hurriedly wiped her eyes. "No. This is our Leader, Min K'atel,"

  she said to the others.

  Qui-Gon and Adi bowed. "We are Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Adi

  Gallia, and these are our Padawans, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Siri."

  The Leader gave a short nod. "I don't care if you are Jedi, you are

  not to disturb Uta S'orn."

  "They speak of things I'd rather forget," Uta S'orn said. "I don't

  mean to blame them, but - "

  "Your distress is enough," Min K'atel said. He turned to the Jedi. "I

  must request that you leave the royal grounds. You have upset Belasco's

  greatest Senator."

  "We are just leaving," Qui-Gon said politely. The Jedi bowed and made

  their way out of the glade. As they struck out across the lawn,

  Obi-Wan said, "I have never seen Uta S'orn so affected before."

  "Yes, she seemed so," Qui-Gon said. "But you noticed she manipulated

  the Leader so that he would throw us out."

  "She is lying," Adi said.

  Qui-Gon shot Adi a quick glance. "You are certain?"

  Adi nodded. "I don't know why. Something in her words is false." Her

  steps slowed, and she stopped. "I feel that he is here. Somewhere near."

  "Moor is on the royal grounds?" Qui-Gon asked. "Let's return to Min

  K'atel and demand that he search."

  Adi shook her head. "It's only a feeling." "That is all we have! What

  good are your instincts, Adi, if you do not trust them?"

  Adi met his gaze sternly. "I trust them. But I do not expect them to

  sway others. We cannot involve a government in our investigation without

  proof. You know that as well as I do."

  Qui-Gon struggled with his impatience. His mind was tired, his body

  spent. He was not connecting to the Force as Adi was. His ragged nerves

  screamed for an end to this.

  Adi had spoken to him of cooperation and loyalty. He would have to

  submit to her wishes now. She had just as much right to choose a direction

  as he did.

  "What, then?" he asked. "What do you suggest?"

  "Let us follow our suspicions to the logical next step," Adi said.

  "We must have permission to search those grounds. Min K'atel is not likely

  to give it to us as things stand. We will have to convince him. There is

  one last place to go."

  Qui-Gon nodded. "The water purification plant. But we'll never get

  permission to enter."

  "Then we'll just have to break in," Adi said grimly. "Yes, sometimes

  I do act on my instincts, Qui-Gon. The answer lies there."

  CHAPTER 17

  The plant was gated and heavily guarded. No doubt the security had

  been increased because of the bacterial invasion. The Jedi hovered in a

  heavily forested area on the fenced perimeter. Qui-Gon swept the area with

  macrobinoculars.

  "There are none of the usual ways to breach security," he noted.

  "Anyone entering must go through a retinal scan. There are guard droids

  posted at every entrance. Even after we took care of the guards, we would

  have to break in with our lightsabers. And that would most likely trigger a

  full-scale security alert."

  "We want to get in and out without being seen," Adi said.

  "Not to mention without any loss of life," Qui-Gon added. He stared

  at the plant, thinking. Then, suddenly, he saw a way. "Of course," he said.

  "We can't walk in. But we can swim."

  The Great Sea narrowed to a fast-moving river downstream from the

  plant. The water foamed around boulders and formed mini-falls in the center

  of the river.

  "The current is very strong." Adi glanced at Qui-Gon. He saw the

  concern on her face. "Maybe it would be better if only one team goes in."

  "We have a better chance if we all do." Qui-Gon took out his

  breathing tube and was the first to wade into the shockingly cold water.

  "When we get to the in-draw pipes, there will most likely be a filter

  covering the opening," Qui-Gon said. "We can't use our lightsabers, so

  we'll have to use vibrocutters. Stay close to us, Padawans. Do not be

  afraid to ask for our help if you tire."

  And you, Qui-Gon? Will you ask for help if you need it?

  Adi's dark gaze asked the question. He ignored it.

  The Jedi slipped underwater. Qui-Gon felt the current pull him along.

  It was carrying him in the right direction, but he had to take care not to


  bump against the boulders or get caught in the swirling eddys. It took all

  of his strength.

  The current swept them toward the pipes. As they got closer, they

  felt themselves being sucked along even faster. Now the danger would lie in

  being slammed up against the filters.

  As they approached the pipes, Adi motioned to them to fight the

  current. Waving their arms to slow their pace, they managed to gently bump