'We must be very careful here, Padawan. When so much volatile emotion is packed into a place, it is hard to keep your distance. Remember you are a Jedi. You are here to observe and to help where you can. Our mission is to return Tahl to theTemple.'
'Yes, Master.'
The underbrush was thick and leafy, and it was easy to drag large branches and cover the starfighter. It would not be visible from the air.
Shouldering their survival packs, the two Jedi headed toward the outskirts of Zehava. They had been instructed to approach from the west, where Wehutti would meet them at a Melida-controlled gate.
It was a dusty hike through hills and canyons. At last the towers and buildings of the walled city were before them. They had kept off the main road, keepingto open country, and now they looked down at the city from a nearby cliff.
Keeping low to the ground, Obi-Wan scanned the desolate outskirts of the city. He saw no people on the streets. There was only one entrance to the city on the main road. At the break in the thick wall a guardhouse stood, bristling with laser cannons trained on the road. Two tall deflection towers flanked the guardhouse. Behind the wall they could glimpse the buildings perched on the steep hills of the city. Close to the wall was a long, low building of black stone, with no windows or doors.
'It's a smaller version of those square buildings we saw from the air,' Obi-Wan observed.
Qui-Gon nodded. 'It could be a military building of some kind. And those deflection towers mean that there is a particle shield in place. If we attempt to enter without permission, we'll be blasted with laser fire.'
'What should we do?' Obi-Wan asked. 'We don't want to approach unless we're sure Wehutti is there.'
Qui-Gon dug in his survival pack for a pair of electrobinoculars. He trained them on the guardhouse. 'I've got worse news,' he said. 'I see a Daan flag. That means either the whole city is now controlled by the Daan, or the entrance is.'
'And Wehutti is a Melida.' Obi-Wan groaned. 'So there's no way in.'
Qui-Gon scuttled back to remove himself from sight. He slid the electrobinoculars back into his pack. 'There is always a way, Padawan,' he said. 'Wehutti told us to approach from the west. If we follow the perimeter, we might find an unguarded area. Perhaps he's on the lookout. Once we're away from that guard tower, we can get closer.'
Keeping to the cover of the shadow of the cliffs, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon made their painstaking way around the city's walls. When they were out of the guardhouse's sight, they moved closer. Qui-Gon's keen eyes swept every meter of the wall, searching for a break. Obi-Wan knew he was using the Force to test the way ahead, hoping to sense a break in the particle shield. Obi-Wan tried to do the same, but he could only feel glimmers of resistance.
'Wait,' Qui-Gon said suddenly. He stopped and held up a hand. 'Here. There's a break in the shield.'
'There's another one of those black buildings,' Obi-Wan pointed out. The long, low building sat next to the wall on the city side.
'I still don't know what they are, but I suggest we avoid them,' Qui-Gon remarked. 'We'll scale the wall near those trees.'
'We'll need the Force,' Obi-Wan said, eyeing the high wall.
'Yes, but a carbon rope would help, too,' Qui-Gon said, smiling. He put his pack down, then leaned over to root through it. 'We'll need yours, too, Padawan.'
Obi-Wan stepped closer to Qui-Gon, swinging his pack off his shoulder to the ground. His boots suddenly hit something with a clang. He looked down and saw he had displaced some dirt on top of a metal plate. 'Look, Master,' he said. 'I wonder what this-'
He didn't get a chance to finish. Energy bars suddenly rose from the ground, trapping them. Before they could move, the metal plate slid open, and they fell into an abyss below.
Obi-Wanwas falling through some sort of metal tube. He tried to slow his descent with his heels, but they only clattered against the rough metal surface. His speed increased, and he tumbled forward, hitting his head on the edge of the tube and then spilling out onto a dirt floor.
He lay for a moment, stunned. Qui-Gon picked himself up immediately, his lightsaber in hand. He stood over Obi-Wan in case he needed protection.
'I'm all right,' Obi-Wan said, his head clear ing. He struggled to his feet, grabbing his lightsaber as he did so. 'Where are we?'
'In some sort of holding cell,' Qui-Gon answered. Smooth durasteel walls surrounded them. There was no crack or openingthat Obi-Wan could see.
'We're trapped,' he said. His voice bounced off the walls, sounding hollow.
'No, Padawan,' Qui-Gon said quietly.'There is more than one entrance to this cell.'
'How do you know?'
'Because we are not the first to fall into it.' Qui-Gon explored the tiny space, using his lightsaber for illumination. 'The tube we fell down is battered, and the dirt is disturbed by other footprints. The others have been taken out somehow, and it would be impossible to do so from the way we came in. This trap is engineered to capture, not kill. There must be another door. Besides,' he added, 'there are no bones or remains. That means that whoever set the trap removes who they capture.'
'Eventually,' Obi-Wan muttered. His stomach was empty, and he wished he'd had time to eat before he'd left the starfighter. 'I lost my survival pack,' he told Qui-Gon. 'It's on the surface.'
'Mine is as well. We'll have to use our lightsabers,' Qui-Gon replied.
Obi-Wan had food in mind more than illumination, but he followed Qui-Gon's example and activated his lightsaber. He held it close to the walls surrounding him, examining them. As he worked, he felt the Force begin to move between them, filling the space.
