Qui-Gon nodded grimly. 'When one's home is burning, one goes for the most valuable item.'
'He's heading for Tahl,' Obi-Wan agreed.
The two Jedi followed him. Obi-Wan expected Balog to turn toward the tunnel where Eritha was being held, but he kept going. Another explosion rocked the cave. This time it was followed by another, smaller boom.
'The fuel tanks of the vehicles,' Qui-Gon said.
They passed a side tunnel with a readout sign: UW BASE ENTRANCE. Obi- Wan took note of it as he passed. It had to be the entrance to the underwater part of the secret complex.
Balog abruptly turned into a small tunnel without security sensors.
They plunged into the tunnel behind him. The glow rods were not operational, and the darkness was almost complete. They could only see the gleam of a durasteel door just ahead.
Balog paused outside the door to access it. Obi-Wan hesitated, unsure of what to do. But beside him, Qui- Gon was already moving. His Master put on a burst of speed as Balog slipped through the door. With a mighty leap, Qui-Gon followed him, and the door slid shut.
Chapter 16
Qui-Gon landed with his lightsaber already activated. Behind him, he heard the door close.
Balog stood in the center of the room between Qui-Gon and Tahl. The sensory deprivation device was leaning against the cave wall with Tahl inside. He could only see her eyes through a small viewscreen. He knew she was alive. Her eyelids fluttered. She could still feel his presence, as she always had. A slight tremor in the Force told him that she was trying to reach out to him.
Obi-Wan began to cut through the durasteel with his lightsaber. Qui- Gon could smell the melting metal. He kept his gaze steady on Balog, who was smiling faintly.
Then Balog laughed.
'You think you can threaten me? You think that you and your young friend can frighten me? What you don't know is that I have all the power here.' He held up a small transmitter. 'I can take away her life.'
Obi-Wan burst through the hole in the door and stopped short, his lightsaber ready.
'Don't move, Obi-Wan,' Qui-Gon said steadily.
'Do you see this?' Balog asked, holding the transmitter aloft. 'I can give your friend a last, lethal dose. She is very weak. I wanted to keep her alive, but I've come to realize that there is no need.'
'What do you want?' Qui-Gon asked.
'Nothing from you,' Balog said contemptuously. 'You've done enough already. You found this place. Well, your Worker allies won't find anything here when they arrive. No records. Nothing to spy on, nothing to steal.'
'You set the weapons room to detonate,' Qui-Gon guessed.
'I'll be gone before that happens. We have plenty of support in the city. We don't need these followers to accomplish what we need to.'
'You don't care what lives are lost.'
'I care about Apsolon. My Apsolon,' Balog said fiercely. 'Not the Apsolon the Workers want. You Jedi are in my way.' He stepped back and accessed a door behind him. A tiny space contained a small transport with a bubble-shaped top. Another door was cut into the far wall. No doubt it was to allow the exit of the transport into the lake. The interior door would close, allowing the compartment to flood.
'Now I'm leaving. You may make it out of here when the explosives room goes, but I doubt it — especially when you have to drag your friend along.' Balog pointed to Tahl with his chin. 'And believe me, she's in no shape to walk. I made sure of that.'
Qui-Gon tensed, then relaxed. It took an effort of will to absorb his anger and continue to wait for his opening.
'I leave you to your fate,' Balog said, stepping back toward the transport. His small, dark eyes glinted. 'Don't move, either of you. You see my finger near this button? If you try to stop me and are a fraction off, if you stumble, if you give me only a split second, I can press it. If you move toward me, I could flinch and press it. If, in short, one of the thousand things that could go wrong does go wrong, Tahl will die.'
Qui-Gon sprang. He had never moved faster or more surely. He knew that Balog did not see him, that one moment he was standing meters away and the next he was in the air next to him. With careful precision, Qui-Gon brought his lightsaber down, neatly slicing off Balog's finger. The transmitter fell to the floor.
'I guess you didn't flinch,' Qui-Gon said. Howling with pain and rage, Balog backed up toward the transport as he fumbled for his blaster with his good hand. Obi-Wan sprang forward as Qui-Gon headed for Tahl.
Another explosion rocked the cave, this one larger than before. The force of the blast almost knocked Obi- Wan to the ground. The sensory deprivation device began to slide. Qui-Gon threw himself toward it and caught it in his arms. He laid it down gently.
Instead of attacking Obi-Wan, Balog aimed his fire at the sensory deprivation device. Qui-Gon ignored the ping of blaster fire around his head; he knew his Padawan would deflect it. A chain of explosions went off and dirt began to rain down from the cave ceiling. Obi-Wan sprang into the tiny holding room as Balog scrambled into the transport.
'Leave him, Obi-Wan!' Qui-Gon shouted. He put his lightsaber to work, cutting away at the deprivation device.
Balog accessed the exit. Water poured into the tiny room, knocking Obi-Wan off his feet. His lightsaber shorted out.
Qui-Gon had a bigger worry: Soon the room would be flooded.
