Didi nodded. "Then come to the private office."
Obi-Wan followed Didi and Astri to a small, messy office behind the
long counter. Although the caf© had improved significantly since Astri had
taken over, the office was still a jumble of fading datasheets, mismatched
plates, stacks of fresh tablecloths, and half-filled teacups.
"What can we do for you, my friend?" Didi asked. "Inadequate as I am,
I am in your service."
"I'm searching for information only," Obi-Wan said. "Perhaps if you do
not have answers, you could direct me to the party who does. I am
investigating possible ties between a slave trader named Krayn and the
Colicoids."
Didi frowned, and Astri wrinkled her nose.
"I don't like the Colicoid senators," she said. "Nothing is ever good
enough for them."
"I have heard of Krayn," Didi said. "The galaxy would be well rid of
such a fiend. I know of no connection, but.."
Obi-Wan waited. He knew that Didi was running over his vast list of
contacts in his mind.
"Try Gogol at the Dor," Didi said at last. "I won't let him in this
place since I found out what he traffics in. He did some work for Krayn, I
heard."
"The Dor? I don't know it," Obi-Wan said.
"Of course you do," Astri said. "The Splendor. The readout letters
kept getting shot off by stray blaster fire, so they finally gave up
replacing them. Now everyone calls it the Dor." Astri shuddered. "Not that
I'd set foot in the place."
Didi looked anxious. "You must be careful of your person, Obi-Wan.
Gogol has mean bones."
He gave Obi-Wan a quick description, and Obi-Wan was treated to two
more fierce hugs from Didi and Astri. Promising to return for a meal, he
hurried from the caf©.
He had been to the Splendor with Qui-Gon several times. He had come to
know sections of the hidden city below the gleaming surface levels of
Coruscant, where sunlight did not reach. Here, the walkways were narrow and
littered, the twisting alleyways dangerous, and all of it barely lit by
glow lamps that were constantly shot out and not replaced. Here was where
one found the dregs of the galaxy, the worst criminals and lowlifes, where
one could bargain cheaply for a death mark on an enemy's head.
The sleazy Splendor hadn't changed. The metal roof sagged, and the
windows were ominously shuttered. The door was pockmarked with blaster
fire. The letters ID 0 R sputtered faintly in the dim light. Years ago as a
Padawan, Obi-Wan had entered it nervous and unsure. Now he strode in as if
he owned it.
It was not the same Imbat bartender at the bar, but it might well have
been. He projected the same indifference to his customers, the same
penchant for swatting his customers off their stools with a massive palm
for trying too vigorously to signal for a refill.
Obi-Wan stood at the corner of the bar and waited.
He knew better than to signal for the Imbat's attention. Eventually
the lmbat wandered over and bent his tall frame closer to hear Obi-Wan over
the noise of the music and the whirl of the jubilee wheel.
"Gogol," Obi-Wan told him.
The lmbat signaled a table with his eyes. Obi-Wan slid a few credits
across the bar.
Gogol was just as Didi had described him, a humanoid with a half-
shaved head and long hair that straggled down his back. He played a dice
game by himself, and bets were piled at both ends of his small table.
Obi-Wan sat across from him and said nothing. Gogol did not look up
from his game. "What do you want, chum?"
Obi-Wan slid a pack of credits across the table. "Information on
Krayn."
Gogol eyed the packet without touching it. "Then I'll need to see more
than that."
Gogol counted the two packets.
"I want to know what he's up to these days," Obi-Wan said.
"That's a tall order, chum." Gogol looked up. His beady eyes blinked
rapidly. "Nobody knows the whole answer to that question."
"Give me part of it, then. Does he have any dealings with the
Colicoids?"
"The table looks awfully empty," Gogol said. Obi-Wan peeled off a few
more credits.
Gogol licked his fingers in satisfaction as he counted the credits.
Obi-Wan profoundly hoped that he was trustworthy, at least as far as
information. Most types such as Gogol knew better than to lie. That would
only get them in more trouble than they no doubt were in already.
"Word is that the Colicoids are taking over the spice trade," Gogol
said. "They have secretly taken over the Kessel mines. Now they need a big
processing planet. The last piece is the moon of Nar Shaddaa. The only way
they can get it is to deal with Krayn. He controls the factories on Nar
Shaddaa. He can't get enough spice from the caverns there, so he imports it
from Kessel. It's a marriage made in paradise," Gogol cackled.
Obi-Wan knew Nar Shaddaa. Often called "smuggler's moon," it was a
haven for criminals of all sorts. It was also an important link in the
illegal spice trade. He had not known that Krayn was involved, however.
"Aga Culpa is the ruler of Nar Shaddaa. Doesn't he control the
factories?" he asked.
"He might rule it, but he doesn't control it. Everyone on Nar Shaddaa
answers to Krayn. So Krayn promises not to attack the Colicoid ships, and
they promise to buy his slaves for the spice mines and use his factories. A
good deal, eh, chum?"
A very good deal, Obi-Wan thought heavily, if one overlooked the fact
that it involved cruelty, greed, and the selling of living beings for
profit.
He stood and quickly exited the Dor. He paused outside for a moment.
It had started to rain, and he welcomed the coolness on his cheeks.
The mention of the spice trade had immediately sparked a memory. He
knew that Adi Gallia and Siri's last mission together had involved the
smuggling activities on the Kessel Run. Spice was a legally controlled
substance, but it also held enormous profits on the black market. The Jedi
had been asked to try to break the back of the illegal trade once and for
all. Adi Gallia and Siri had not been successful. Something had happened on
the mission that had caused a deep rift between them.
Could this be connected to the Colicoids... and Krayn?
Obi-Wan began to walk in search of an air taxi. When he was unsure of
which direction to go in next, his thoughts always returned to his Master.
He remembered Qui-Gon's counsel, counsel Obi-Wan had passed on to Anakin
about trusting his instincts and not allowing anger to cloud judgment. He
should have listened to his heart.
Now his heart told him a simple truth. Siri would never betray the
Jedi.
CHAPTER 12
Once again, Obi-Wan stood before the Jedi Council. It was just about
the last place he wanted to be. He had lost his Padawan, who had been
captured by a slave trader. The Colicoids were furious at the Jedi and had
already raised objections in the Senate. He did not imagine that the Jedi
Council was pleased with the outcome of his mission.
He wasted no time in trying to explain what had gone wrong. Jedi
always focused on solutions.
"I have discovered that it is likely that the Colicoids are secretly
in league with Krayn," Obi-Wan said immediately after greeting the Council
members respectfully. "They wish to take over the spice trade, and Krayn
wishes to be the sole supplier of slaves for the spice mines, both in the
Kessel system and at Nar Shaddaa."
Some on the Council exchanged glances. If this were true, the illegal
spice trade would thrive and grow.
"Bad news this is for the galaxy," Yoda remarked.
"We have reason to investigate what is happening on Nar Shaddaa, both
to expose the Colicoids and bring down Krayn," Obi-Wan said. "And most
important, I believe Anakin is on Nar Shaddaa. My guess is that the
Colicoids were heading there after dropping us off at the original
location."
"What is it you want of us, Obi-Wan?" Mace Windu asked, his dark eyes
fixed on Obi-Wan's face.
"A very fast ship and permission to infiltrate Krayn's operation,"
Obi-Wan answered. "That is first of all. But second, and most important, I
wish to be let in on a secret." He turned to Adi Gallia. "I believe that
Siri has not turned to the dark side. I believe she is working undercover.
If I infiltrate Krayn's operation, I need to know her mission."
Adi Gallia's regal face was impassive. Then she flicked a quick glance
at Yoda and Mace Windu.
Slowly, Yoda nodded. "Correct you are, Obi-Wan."
"Siri is gathering information only," Adi Gallia said. "We discovered
that the layers of power and control between Krayn and various governments
are deep. We needed a full picture. Siri infiltrated the pirates and worked
her way up to a position of trust.
Krayn has no idea she is a Jedi. It is well known that he considers
all Jedi his enemies and all his crew are ordered to execute any captured
Jedi on the spot. It has taken Siri almost two years to gain this level of
power in the Krayn organization. We cannot jeopardize her safety."
"But Anakin is with her - "
"Then she will protect him," Adi Gallia said firmly. "I am not sure if
sending another Jedi is wise. It could compromise her identity."
"Perhaps," Mace Windu said. "But perhaps we have waited long enough.
If the Colicoids are involved, that intensifies the pressure to bring about
the collapse of the spice trade."
"I am worried about Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "There is only one way Siri
can protect him. She must make him a slave. I do not know how he will react
to that."
"Assume we do that he will act like a Jedi," Yoda said sharply, his
gray-blue eyes blinking at Obi-Wan. "Patience he will find."
Obi-Wan could not argue without it reflecting badly on Anakin. But he
knew that patience was not his Padawan's strong suit.
"Siri has sent us a coded message, Obi-Wan," Mace Windu said. "If you
had not come to us, we would have sent for you. Anakin is safe. He is
indeed a slave in a spice factory on Nar Shaddaa. She is keeping an eye on
him."
"I must go there," Obi-Wan said.
"Patience you must have as well, Obi-Wan," Yoda said. "Confer with Adi
Gallia we must."
"Please wait outside, Obi-Wan," Mace Windu said firmly.
Reluctantly, Obi-Wan left the room. He was too restless to sit in the
waiting area outside the Council Room so he stood facing the door.
He had spoken bitterly to Siri aboard Krayn's ship. He regretted it
now. He should have paid attention to what he had come to know about her
over the years. He should have remembered how impressed he'd always been
with her integrity and courage, her fierce commitment to the Jedi path.
Instead he had spoken words of anger and betrayal.
And now Siri was the only thing standing between Anakin and survival.
He did not have long to wait. In just a few minutes, Adi Gallia
slipped out of the Council Room.
"We have decided to grant your request. You can join Siri on Nar
Shaddaa," Adi Gallia told him. He saw a rare crack in her regal bearing as
she hesitantly put out a hand toward him, then withdrew it. "I know you
will be careful, Obi-Wan, so I should not say it. But I must. Siri is in
great danger. She has risked much. Please..."
Adi Gallia was a reserved and careful being. She did not ask for
comfort and usually kept herself aloof. But Obi-Wan was moved by her
distress and reacted spontaneously. He captured her hand and pressed it
between his palms. "I will not fail you," he said.
CHAPTER 13
The siren blared, then clanged, announcing the start of another day. A
day like yesterday. A day like tomorrow. If you survived it.
He had been here only five days, and it felt like a lifetime.
It could be far, far worse for us, Annie.
He understood Shmi's words now with every cell of his being. Compared
to this, working for Watto on Tatooine had been a paradise.
The factories on Nar Shaddaa rose hundreds of stories and were spread
out over hundreds of meters. The spice went through a multistep processing
system. It could not be exposed to light, so the slaves lived in perpetual
darkness. Much of the spice was off-loaded from ships that had made the
Kessel Run. Other spice was cut in huge underground caverns. All of it was
ferried up to the processing levels where the spice was dried or frozen,
then processed into blocks.
Enormous power plants supplied energy for the endeavor. At the end of
the long day, the workers filed out from the darkness, almost blinded, only
to walk under a sky thick with toxic fumes. Taking a deep breath of the
gray, particulate-laden air could lead to a long coughing fit.
Anakin already knew that the death rate among slaves was high.
Children and the elders were especially vulnerable. From what he could see,
many were dying by degrees.
Security was constant. The slaves were guarded by patrolling natives
of Nar Shaddaa as well as droids. Escape was impossible. Even if one could
manage to elude the guards and security devices, there would be nowhere to
hide. The native citizens of Nar Shaddaa benefited from the slave trade. If
they dissented, they were either threatened or bought off with huge bribes.
The spaceports of this moon world were tightly controlled by Krayn. There
was no way to break out and nowhere to go.
The whole operation ran incredibly smoothly, Anakin thought in
disgust. Greed did not make Krayn sloppy.
Anakin had been assigned to gravsled duty. It was his job to transport
the cut spice up to the processing levels. It was tedious, filthy work,
much of it spent breathing in the dirt and dust from the caverns as he
loaded the gravsled. Anakin was not aware of the fact that his job was
considered lucky until he accidentally almost ran down a processing worker.
The slave, a female Twi'lek, had stepped back un-expectedly from her
position at the loading dock, right into the path of his gravsled. Only
Anakin's excellent reflexes prevented him from ramming her.
She whirled, her long head tails almost slapping Anakin in the face.
"Watch where you're going, schutta."
Anakin didn't know what a schutta was, but he knew when he was being
insulted. "You're the one who stepped back," he pointed out. It was close
to the end of a long day, and his mind and muscles were strained to the
limit.
She advanced on him angrily, her blue skin flushed to a deeper hue.
"Don't tangle with me, soft boy. Your privileges don't count around here."
"Quiet!" A slave on the assembly line warned them in a hiss. "Guard
droid."
Anakin saw a droid with an electrojabber wheeling down the aisle at a
quick pace. A red beam shot out from the guard's chest and circled. This
was how the droids kept track of each slave.
"It's looking for me," the Twi'lek said. "We can't leave the line,
even for a moment." Her defiance was gone, and she sounded scared.
The slaves on the line immediately closed up so that the space where
the Twi'lek had stood was gone. Anakin reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Hop on."
She did as he said, and he reversed the gravsled and took off down
another aisle.
"Crouch down underneath those bins," he murmured. "I'll look busy