the next generation of athletes.'
The broad grin still on his face, Vista suddenly vaulted off the platform. The crowd gasped, but a cable launcher hidden in Vista's belt let out a long line, and he bounced at the end of it, only centimeters away from the ground. With a powerful thrust, he flipped his body upward, then twisted, flew through the air, and landed on his feet. His movements were so graceful it was more like a dance than an athletic feat.
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause. The cheers went on and on.
The cheers fell away for Obi-Wan. He heard only the absence of sound, the silence of concentration and revelation.
The lines of Vista's body were suddenly familiar, the fluid, powerful way he moved. The way he made something that took great effort look effortless.
Maxo Vista was the air-taxi pilot who had tried to kill them. And he was the speeder driver who had run down Aarno Dering.
Which meant that the great hero of Euceron was the insider who was behind fixing the Games.
Chapter Eighteen
It was his fault. If he hadn't been so irritated at not knowing who Maxo Vista was, he would have looked closer at him. He had made a mistake worthy of a Jedi Temple student, not an experienced Jedi Knight. He had allowed his own perspective, his own emotion, to color his perception.
Perception comes from not one but all angles at once.
Yes, Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan raced down the moving walkway that circled the stadium. He had to make it down to Level Twenty, where Maxo Vista would enter the VIP box.
He could not risk losing Maxo Vista the way he had lost Aarno Dering.
He was almost at the door of the box when Astri dashed toward him, curls bouncing and robe swirling. 'Obi-Wan!'
'Later,' he said tersely, striding toward the door.
She grabbed his arm. 'You must know this! The Podrace! Something terrible is going to happen!'
He half-turned and searched her dark eyes. 'How do you know this?'
'Bog,' she said. 'He went to Maxo Vista to tell him what you had discovered — '
Obi-Wan almost groaned aloud.
' — Vista wasn't there, and so Bog accessed his data-pad. He thought as a fellow Council member he could do this — ' Her hand to her throat, Astri got the words out fast, between her panting breaths. ' — and discovered that the Podrace is not only fixed, but booby-trapped. The nav computer will lead the Podracers close to the city's hub. The lead Podracer will get taken over by the nav computer. It will be made to crash into the crowd! We don't know if Vista himself is aware of this, it could have been sent to his dataport without his knowing. We cannot believe that Maxo Vista would be involved. Bog replaced the datapad and told me what he'd seen. He is going to tell Liviani Sarno. But I came to you.'
'Does Vista know about this?' Anakin is in danger. Obi-Wan reached for his comlink as he asked the question.
'I didn't. But now I do.' Vista's voice came from behind him. He smiled as Obi-Wan turned. 'I promise you, I can explain everything. This way, Obi-Wan.'
Obi-Wan hesitated.
'Trust me.' Maxo Vista had a blaster pointed at Astri, but the friendly grin was still on his face. Astri could not see the blaster, which was on his other side.
'This way,' he repeated meaningfully to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan stepped inside. He would follow Maxo Vista's instructions, but only for a few seconds. He had to make sure Vista would not hit anyone with blaster fire.
The floor moved under his feet. He realized that he had not stepped out into the VIP box, but onto a moving podium. It suddenly zoomed to the center of the stadium. Vista's hand dropped and the blaster was lost in the folds of his cloak.
'It is a long-range model, and it is still pointed at Astri,' he said pleasantly.
Obi-Wan tried to signal Astri to move, but she stood watching him from afar, not knowing the blaster was pointed at her. He could reach for his lightsaber, but he wasn't sure if even he could be fast enough to block the shot.
Light suddenly hit his eyes, dazzling him for a moment. 'Welcome to the exhibition match!' Maxo Vista's voice was amplified throughout the stadium. 'Jedi against athlete! Let the event begin!'
The crowd roared. A cube of white light settled over Obi-Wan. Another flashed over Maxo Vista. A holo — graphic image of a treton, a wild creature from the planet Aesolian, appeared in front of them. On the tip of one pointed ear a green laser glowed. His snarl was amplified and echoed through the stadium. There was a collective 00000hh of fear. Even though the spectators knew the treton was holographic, its fierce battle cry struck terror into their hearts.
An announcer's steady voice boomed over the stadium. 'Ten seconds.
Contestants, prepare….'
Obi-Wan reached for his comlink to contact Anakin, but it was dead.
