Jedi Quest 6: The Shadow Trap

Chapter Eight

"You want us to bring you to Striker's hideout?" Swanny asked. "But no one knows where that is."

"You said you knew where everyone was, and everything that went on,"

Obi-Wan said.

"A slight exaggeration can often seal a deal," Swanny said. "Note the word 'hideout,' however. That implies that something is hidden, doesn't it?

" "Then we're just going to have to find it," Obi-Wan said.

"We?" Rorq asked. "What do we have to do with it?"

"Anakin came close to that thermal detonator because of the two of you," Obi-Wan said. "He saved your lives."

"And we're sure he wouldn't want us to lose them, after all the trouble he went to," Rorq said earnestly.

"Look, Master Obi," Swanny said. "The reason Striker is so effective is because nobody knows anything about him. They don't know where he came from. They don't know his name. They don't know where he lives. They don't know when he'll strike again. There are kilometers and kilometers of tunnels, some of them half finished, and empty substations on the perimeters. He could be anywhere. And it's not like we ever wanted to look very hard."

"Then we'll smoke him out," Obi-Wan said.

"I think I've had enough smoke for one night," Swanny said, rubbing his fingers along his smoke-blackened face.

"Not real smoke," Obi-Wan said. "I mean provoke him so that he'll come out into the open."

"Provoke him?" Rorq moaned. "That doesn't sound good."

Obi-Wan was feeling on the edge of his patience. He should have stayed with Anakin when they were under attack. Now he did not know if Anakin was badly wounded or worse.

He remembered feeling so angry on Andara. thought you'd be proud of me, Anakin had said. And he had wanted to reply that he was proud, that Anakin's progress astonished him, that there was so much about Anakin that he admired. Instead he had held his tongue, thinking there would be a better time. He did not want to praise Anakin when his apprentice had made such an error.

But maybe he should have. That better time had not arrived.

"Where is Striker most vulnerable?" he asked Swanny.

"I have no idea," Swanny said. "Nowhere, if I had to guess. He's got personal guards that surround him at all times. Plus surveillance, weapons, assassins, a huge army… can I stop now?"

Obi-Wan's comlink signaled. He snatched it up eagerly.

"Speak with you, I must," Yaddle said. "At the airlift, meet we will."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said. "But I was just about to contact you.

Anakin is missing. I think Striker has taken him."

Yaddle hesitated for only a beat. He could feel her concern. Then she said slowly, "Your problem, my problem — fix each other, they might."

Swanny and Rorq seemed relieved at the diversion. They were happy to lead him to the airlift.

Yaddle stepped off the airlift with the graceful, gliding step that never seemed to abandon her, even when she was tired or impatient.

"In addition to the mainframe substation of the power grid, taken over another crucial station, Striker has," she said. "Substation 32, a central relay station. Crucial it is as a network point for restarting the grid."

Swanny nodded. "That's right. He can override the power surge you need for start up from that substation."

"Retake it, we must," Yaddle confirmed.

"I was looking for a way to provoke Striker," Obi-Wan said.

"That will do it," Swanny muttered. "He just got that substation back from Decca tonight. I imagine he feels pretty good about it."

"If we attack the substation, he'll have to send reinforcements," Obi- Wan said to Yaddle. "We can tail them back to the hideout."

"Can I say something here?" Swanny asked. "Taking the substation is impossible. Just wanted to mention that."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He has his best men protecting the power grid," Swanny said. "His most explosive weapons. I've seen the Jedi in action and it's a sweet sight, don't get me wrong. But can two Jedi go up against grenade launchers and missile tubes?"

Obi-Wan exchanged a glance with Yaddle.

"There's only one entrance to substation 32," Swanny went on. "It's the only way in. And you won't go more than two meters before you're blasted to pieces."

"I guess that's that, then," Rorq said. "There's no other way."

Yaddle smiled. Obi-Wan turned to Swanny and Rorq. "For the Jedi, there is always another way," he said.