Star Wars_ Legacy Of The Jedi Part 12

Obi-Wan launched himself over a desk, striking out at one droid with a carefully aimed kick that sent it crashing against the wall, splitting it into pieces. At the same time he swiped through another.

Qui-Gon took out two droids with one swift stroke and moved to get Stephin as Cilia and Aeran took out two new droids buzzing through the doorway.

"There they are!" the security officer shouted, pointing at Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.

"Time to go, Padawan," Qui-Gon said. He pushed Stephin in front of him, turning to deflect a new spray of blaster fire from behind.

Obi-Wan moved to take out a droid and landed in the doorway, lightsaber slashing. The security officer stepped back, unwilling to engage. He expected the droids to do his fighting for him.

With a Force push, Qui-Gon sent the officer flying. The man slumped on the floor, dazed and unwilling to get up.

"There's an emergency exit this way," Cilia said, jerking her chin toward a side corridor. "It should be open, since we're in the middle of a drill."

Workers were beginning to stream back into the building. They took advantage of the confusion by separating and melting into the crowd. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan followed Cilia as her slight figure weaved through the crowd, heading purposefully toward the exit.

They stepped out. The sky had darkened and was threatening a hard rain. A few drops pattered against the building.

Ahead in the dark sky Qui-Gon saw a light. It was moving fast, traveling far beneath the clouds.

"Security vehicle," he said tersely. "We'd better get to our ship."

Because of the rain, many pedestrians had moved to the sheltered walkways that hugged the buildings and shops. A large canopy overhead blocked out the downpour as it began. Qui-Gon and the others hurried along this path.

The overhang protected him from the ship above. The crowds acted as further camouflage. Their ship wasn't far. They climbed inside and Cilia started up the engines. They shot into the dark sky, streaking toward Junction 5.

Cilia let out a whoop of triumph. "We did it. We did it!"

Stephin shook his head. "I still can't believe there is no Annihilator."

"This is all we need to end this reign of terror," Cilia said. "We can go straight to Minister Ciran Ern and tell him that the Annihilator is a hoax. He'll disband the Guardians."

"We can free our citizens from fear and terror," Aeran said. "It is almost too much to believe."

"I suggest that before you do anything, you ask a most important question," Qui-Gon said. "Rumors don't arise out of the air. If the Annihilator is a fabrication, who made it up?"

The others paused.

"Does it matter who made it up?" Aeran asked.

"I'm afraid it matters very much," Qui-Gon said softly. "Let me ask another question. When did Lorian Nod come to power?"

"Eight years ago," Cilia answered.

"And the memos dated back - "

Cilia's face changed. The happy flush drained away, and she grew pale. "Nine years," she said.

"And who benefited the most from the Annihilator?"

Cilia's face hardened. "The Guardians. They seized control." She looked at him shrewdly. "So you think Lorian Nod created the rumor."

Qui-Gon nodded. "I do. It is a bloodless grab for power. Create something the population fears enough, and they will hand over control to whoever appears with a solution."

"Yes, at first Lorian appeared to be our protector," Aeran said.

"Ciran Ern is said to be a puppet of Lorian Nod's," Cilia said.

"What makes you think that he would allow the truth to get out?"

Qui-Gon asked. "He has much to fear from Lorian, and Lorian will certainly find out. I guarantee that you will be denounced as crazy or as a spy, and be thrown into prison again."

"So what can we do?" Stephin asked.

"You must bypa.s.s the rulers and tell the people," Qui-Gon said.

"Impossible," Aeran said. "The Guardians control all communications."

"That is what makes it possible," Qui-Gon replied after a moment's pause. "We must get control of that system. We must discover how it works and where it is."

"I already know how it works," Stephin said. "I was part of the original design team. The central control is within the Guardians compound. It's impossible to break in."

Cilia nodded. "The Guardian compound is way out of my league. The security is flawless."

"No security is flawless," Qui-Gon said. "I can guarantee one way to get inside."

The others looked at him. Obi-Wan smiled. He already knew the answer.

"We must get arrested," Qui-Gon said.

CHAPTER No. 18.

With Guardians swarming all over the city, it was not hard for Cilia, Stephin, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan to get arrested. They were all wanted. Aeran had no outstanding warrant, but as a weapons specialist, her skills were no longer needed. Promising to alert the resistance to be on the lookout for a big announcement, she left them.

Qui-Gon suggested that in order to conserve time, they simply do what Lorian expected them to do. Cilia pretended to try to see her husband. She and Stephin tried to sneak into Jaren's apartment by going over rooftops. Within moments they were surrounded by undercover Guardians. As Jaren watched, white-faced, his wife was once again led away to prison.

Once they were sure that Cilia and Stephin had been captured, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan headed to the part of the city known to be a meeting ground for the resistance. They were picked up almost immediately.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were led to the Guardian compound, where they were ushered into a holding cell. Cilia and Stephin were already there.

"Guardian Nod will be informed of your capture after the planet-wide address," the officer said, engaging the security lock. The durasteel door clanged shut.

"What planet-wide address?" Obi-Wan asked Cilia and Stephin.

"Nod gives them from time to time," Cilia said. "It usually has to do with some new alert about the Annihilator that requires stricter security measures. Now we know what a fake that is."

"How is the address broadcast?" Qui-Gon asked.

"It goes out simultaneously on all data and vid screens all over the planet," Stephin explained. "There's a studio right here in the Guardian compound."

"Could you patch into the feed with this?" Qui-Gon asked, holding up the disk that contained the information they'd seen on Delaluna.

Stephin nodded. "Absolutely. But we'd have to get out of here and into a secure area. All the studio feed lines run though the central information console."

"Speaking of which, how are we going to get out of here?" Cilia asked.

"That won't be hard," Qui-Gon said, pulling aside his tunic and revealing his lightsaber.

"But weren't you searched?" Stephin asked.

"We have ways of diverting attention," Obi-Wan told them. He and Qui-Gon had used the Force to distract the guards from their lightsabers during the search.

The Jedi ignited their lightsabers and sank them into the durasteel door. The metal melted and peeled back, glowing orange, and they stepped through the hole. The corridor was empty, but they could see by a blinking light that a silent alarm had been tripped.

Qui-Gon looked back at the gaping hole. "You lose the element of surprise, but it's a quick escape."

"We'll have to move fast," Cilia said.

They ran down the corridor. Cilia and Stephin both knew the complex well, and they led them through a maze of back hallways to the central computer station. It was empty, but a high-security lock was on the door.

Through the gla.s.s, they could see a row of vidscreens. Lorian Nod had already begun his address.

"How long will it take you to bypa.s.s the circuits and patch through into the feed?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Hard to say," Stephin answered. "Three minutes. Maybe four."

"The alarm will go off as soon as we break in," Qui-Gon said.

"They'll be able to pinpoint our location then. Just do the best you can.

We'll take care of whatever comes along."

Cilia and Stephin nodded to tell them they were ready. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan used their lightsabers to break through the door. Immediately, a red light began to pulse. As they walked through the doorway, another indicator light began to blink.

Now they could hear Lorian Nod's voice. "... And it is with great reluctance that I stand before you now. Yet even with bad news we can gain comfort from the fact that we are strong and able to protect ourselves from the great threat...."

Stephin hurried to the console. His fingers began to fly. Qui-Gon gave him the disk and turned to face the doorway, lightsaber at the ready.

It took only seconds before the droids came. Qui-Gon had no doubt that they would be followed by armed guards. Obi-Wan sprang forward, his lightsaber flashing. They moved in the same rhythm, ready to cover each other, knowing when the other would go on the offense. It was a flow Qui-Gon remembered, when he knew what his apprentice would do before Obi-Wan did it. The Force surged around them, gathering so that it felt like heat and light, making every move easy.

Within seconds, battered and smoking droids littered the floor.

"Stars and galaxies," Cilia breathed. She had not had time to draw her own blaster.

"Three more minutes," Stephin muttered.

".. We are tracking a group of spies who are planning to undermine our society, striking at our security itself. Thanks to the Guardians, we will be safe from them and their plans...."

"I'm entering the disk codes now," Stephin said.

"The information will come onscreen," Cilia said. "But will the citizens believe it?"

"Leave on the audio feed," Obi-Wan told Stephin. Obi-Wan spoke the words crisply, like an order. He did not glance at Qui-Gon. He was totally focused on the moment, on the problem at hand.

Qui-Gon felt a surge of satisfaction. It was as though Obi-Wan had taken a step on a journey back to him. Puzzled, Stephin nodded.

Qui-Gon heard the sound of boots thudding in the hallway. "Take no lives," he told Obi-Wan. If they could accomplish this without loss of life, it would be a good day.

".. that a new blast potential of the Annihilator has been discovered. ."

The security officers thundered in, blasters pinging, electrojabbers swinging.

"Stay behind us!" Qui-Gon shouted to Cilia, who now was ready to fight and had stepped forward.

The blaster fire was furious. Qui-Gon jumped and twisted, trying to be everywhere at once. Obi-Wan moved to protect Stephin. The guards were well trained for battle. They kept constantly on the move, using sophisticated flanking maneuvers. Qui-Gon realized that Lorian's Temple training had come in handy.

Still, the security officers were not Jedi. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan could keep them at bay. He heard more boots thundering down the hallway and the distinctive whirr of oncoming droids.

Yes, they could keep the attackers at bay, but if more and more arrived, how long would it be before blaster fire got through?

Qui-Gon could see that the same thought had occurred to Obi-Wan.

His Padawan did not flag, but a renewed burst of energy sent him in a spinning arc. He deflected blaster fire at the same time he destroyed two oncoming droids with a well-placed kick.

Then the moment Qui-Gon was waiting for occurred. The image of Lorian Nod fuzzed and broke into shattered pieces. A memo flashed onscreen.

Stephin had been able to keep the audio feed open. The voice of Lorian Nod boomed out.

"What is that? What is happening? Get that off the screen!"

MISINFORMATION REGARDING "ANNIHILATOR".

The memo t.i.tle could be read clearly. More information streamed across the stream as the holofile unfolded.

WE KNOW NOT HOW OR WHY THIS RUMOR BEGAN..

"Get that off the screen!" Lorian shouted. "Don't you see what it is, you fools? It's a lie!"

The focus of the security officers wavered. Qui-Gon saw their eyes drift to the screen. They tried to keep fighting and keep track of what was flashing.

Another voice came through the feed. "This says that there is no Annihilator!"

It must have been another officer in the studio who had blurted it out.