Guerra paused in the doorway. His yellow eyes went wide. 'I hear footsteps,' he whispered. 'they're running. It's the guards! Must be a silent alarm on the door.'
'Come in and close the door!' Obi-Wan hissed.
But instead, Guerra began to shout. 'He's in here! I found him!' He turned to Obi-Wan sadly. 'Even though I'm in danger, I would never betray a friend. So — '
'Not so,' Obi-Wan finished for him as the guards rushed in.
Guerra pointed, and the guard brought his electro-jabber down on Obi-Wan. Pain sent him crashing to his knees. He felt himself being carried to the lockup and thrown in.
Penalty for stealing is being thrown overboard,' he heard a guard say.
'My shift is over,' the other one replied with a yawn. 'Tomorrow morning is soon enough.'
Chapter 14
The trip to Telos should have been uneventful. Yoda had found someone willing to transport them, a pilot ferrying a shipment of droids to the Telos system. From the first, tension sparked between the pilot and Xanatos. Stieg Wa was young, brash, and confident. He'd been on his own since he was a child and had prospered in treacherous adventures. /he good-naturedly needled Xanatos about being sheltered in the Jedi Temple and knowing nothing of real life.
Perhaps Yoda had foreseen the clash of personalities. Perhaps this was another test. Qui-Gon warned Xanatos to keep his temper, to not let the pilot's genial barbs affect him. Smiling, Xanatos assured Qui-Gon that he would.
The danger of the journey was crossing the Landor star system, known to be overrun with pirates. Stieg Wa was confident that they could slip through; he'd done it countless times. But when three pirate ships ringed the transport and warned Stieg Wa to surrender, he discovered that a crucial indicator light was faulty. The transport's cloaking system had malfunctioned.
Stieg Was, refusing to surrender, pushed the small transport, evading blaster fire in a stunning display of skill. After they lost the ships, Stieg Wa announced that the cloaking system had been sabotaged. He blamed Xanatos. Qui-Gon, of course, believed Xanatos when he swore he had nothing to do with it. Why would he risk pirates attacking a ship he was on?
Stieg Wa was out on the dorsal platform fixing the device when the pirates returned. He was hit by blaster fire and captured.
Xanatos led Qui-Gon to the escape pod. He had already programmed the coordinates for Telos. When Qui- Gon asked him why he'd taken such a precaution, he smiled.
'I always make sure I have a back door,' he said.
Dawn was still an hour away when Qui-Gon strode off the transport toward the Enrichment Dome. The Meerian sent to meet him hurried forward. 'I am RonTha. I'm happy to welcome — '
'Where is Si Treemba?' Qui-Gon interrupted crisply, striding toward the main building.
'H-he is in the dome, waiting for you,' RonTha said, running to catch up to Qui-Gon's long stride. 'But protocol must be followed. You must register with — '
'Show me to him,' Qui-Gon demanded.
'But protocol — '
Qui-Gon fixed his gaze on RonTha. He didn't need to use the Force. The Meerian crumpled under the force of his irritation.
'This way,' he said, scurrying forward.
A rustled of grain announced Si Treemba's presence. He sprang out of the field when he saw Qui- Gon..
'We've been watching since Obi-Wan was kidnapped,' he said. 'No one has been in or out.'
Qui-Gon looked compassionately at Si Treemba. The young Arconan looked so tired Qui-Gon wouldn't have been surprised if he fell asleep on his feet.
'We shouldn't have fallen asleep that night.,' Si Treemba said. 'Obi-Wan said he'd take the first watch. We should have stayed awake….'
'Now is not the time to rethink the past,' Qui-Gon said gently. 'We have only the now. We must find Obi- Wan. What did you see?'
'Not much,' Si Treemba admitted. 'A group of men in Offworld uniforms carried him away. We followed them, but we lost them in the dome.' Si Treemba hung his head.
Qui-Gon tried not to show his frustration. Si Treemba felt bad enough as it was. But how could he find Obi-Wan on such scant information?
Suddenly, Qui-Gon noticed that RonTha looked very nervous. The Meerian was perspiring and looked as if he wanted to escape.
Qui-Gon turned his full attention on him. 'Did you see anything, RonTha?'
'Me? But we're forbidden to be in the dome at night,' RonTha protested. 'Against all protocol.'
'You didn't answer my question,' Qui-Gon said politely.
'I try to follow the rules,' RonTha said.
'And do you always succeed?' Qui-Gon asked kindly. He tamped down his impatience. 'Anyone can be
