The Death of Hope

3

Lenz and Irini led them deep into the Worker sector, near the outskirts of the city. The area had been abandoned by the Workers when better housing became available after the election of Ewane. Block after block of abandoned housing showed the effects of neglect and disorder.

Half-demolished buildings stood next to intact ones whose windows were shattered or blown out completely. Rubble lay in the street, and stacks of durasteel sheeting were piled up in vacant lots.

“The government is planning to tear these down,” Lenz said, gesturing at the devastated buildings. “The lawmakers can’t agree on what to build instead, so the project is left half finished. But it has become a good place to hide for those who don’t want to be found. Security sweeps are made frequently, so we must all be alert.”

“How will we program the droid to find Balog?” Qui-Gon asked. “We don’t have complete information on him. We know that vitals on Workers are stored somewhere. Who has access to them?”

“Everything you need you will be able to buy here,” Lenz said.

He stopped in front of a partially demolished building and took a laser signal from his tunic. He activated the laser point and blinked it several times in a pattern against the stone front of the building. A concealed sensor in the wall caught the signal and, after a moment, blinked twice.

“We can enter,” Lenz said.

Obi-Wan glanced at his Master. He was relieved to see that Qui-Gon seemed himself again. Most likely it was because they had taken action. He could sense the frustration inside Qui-Gon—as well as something else there, some desperation that Obi-Wan didn’t understand. At least Qui-Gon was back in control. He had found the calm he needed to proceed. Later, when Tahl was safe, Obi-Wan would ask his Master why he’d had such trouble focusing. Qui-Gon would not mind the question. He knew that Obi-Wan would only ask in order to learn.

Lenz pushed open the door to the building. Obi-Wan noted that although the building appeared to be a ruin, the door was armored. The arming devices must have been released when the sensor blinked back an okay.

A staircase led upward, but Lenz turned to the side and accessed a doorway flush to the wall. A ramp led down to a lower level.

Lenz and Irini went first, and the Jedi followed. The ramp was lit with one dim glow rod attached to the wall. Obi-Wan strode down the sloping ramp, ready for anything.

A figure stepped out of the dimness. “Lenz. We haven’t seen you here in a while.”

“Greetings, Mota. You know I have forbidden the Workers to use illegal means to achieve our ends,” Lenz said. “But my friends here need your help.”

The man stepped closer. He was dressed in the unisuit that Obi-Wan had seen many Workers wear. His gray hair was tied behind him, and his body looked strong. There were two blasters tucked into his utility belt.

“You must be Jedi,” he said, though Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were dressed in the garments of space travelers. “Never thought I’d see the day the Jedi would need my help.”

“We are grateful for anything you can provide us with,” Qui-Gon said.

“Don’t get me wrong. It will cost you. I’m in the business for one reason only. Credits. I’m the one who takes the risks. You can hitch rides around the galaxy, but my products aren’t free.”

“We are prepared to pay,” Qui-Gon replied impatiently. “The speed of the transaction is more important than price.”

“Then let’s get to it.”

Mota led the way down a long hallway into a large open space. Long metal tables stretched from one end of the space to the other. Isolated pieces of merchandise were laid out on the tables. There were some communication devices, some weaponry, and some pieces of tech equipment.

“As you can see, our stocks are low,” Mota said.

Lenz looked at him sharply. “I’ll say. Who is buying your weapons?”

Mota’s return gaze was neutral. “Whoever has the credits. I don’t ask questions.”

“We need probe droids,” Qui-Gon said.

“I only have one. Probe droids are hard to get.” Mota strode to a table and picked up a droid. “It’s in good shape, though. All ready for programming.”

“They need the vitals of a citizen,” Irini said. “Balog.”

“The Chief Security Controller?” At last an emotion flickered over Mota’s face: surprise.

But it smoothed out and became neutral again. “I have his stats. I can program the droid. The vitals will cost you more credits.”

“They’ll need swoops or landspeeders,” Lenz said.

“Down below.”

“Let’s program the droid first,” Qui-Gon said.

“Sure. Just let me see the credits.” Mota named a figure, and Qui-Gon counted out the currency.

Mota pocketed the credits without counting [hem and turned to a data screen. He began to access files.

“The vitals on every citizen were entered into the main files of the Absolutes in the old days,” Irini told them in a low voice. “It is illegal to access those files now, but that doesn’t stop Mota. Having exact information on Balog will help greatly in tracking.”

Mota downloaded the information in the datapad into the droid, then programmed it. The probe droid beeped and revolved.

“When would you like to release the droid?” Mota asked.

“Immediately,” Qui-Gon answered tersely.

Mota accessed a shuttered window, and the probe droid flew out. Mota handed the transmitter to Qui-Gon.

“Keep this on at all times, and the probe droid will find you. If the droid is destroyed, it will tell you that, too. I’ve programmed the droid to make a preliminary search. If it can’t pinpoint Balog in the city, it will be able to pinpoint his point of departure.”

Qui-Gon nodded and hooked the transmitter onto his utility belt. “Now let’s see about those speeders.”

They followed another ramp down to a lower level. It was an identically sized space, this one filled with surface transport vehicles—swoops, landspeeders, gravsleds.

“Our inventory is pretty full, so you can take your pick,” Mota said.

Qui-Gon quickly chose a landspeeder and a swoop. “We might need the agility for at least one of us,” he told Obi-Wan. “The other will have room for Tahl.” He turned to Mota. “These are guaranteed?”

“They’re a few years old, but they won’t let you down,” Mota said.

“My merchandise is the best.”

“Glad to hear it,” Qui-Gon said. “But we’ll test them first.”

Mota accessed double durasteel doors at the end of the space. “Go through that door to the backyard. You can test them there. Just watch out for security patrols overhead.”

Obi-Wan slung his leg over the swoop and adjusted the seat so that he had easy access to the controls in the handlebars. He revved up the repulsorlift engine as Qui-Gon started his landspeeder. He followed Qui-Gon as he zoomed out the double doors. They passed into a short tunnel and then burst into the open air. They found themselves in an open yard with high security fencing surrounding it.

Obi-Wan had ridden a swoop before and was used to the extra maneuverability. He pushed the swoop, making sharp turns and accelerating rapidly. He was glad to see that the vehicle handled well. Qui-Gon also seemed satisfied, and the two of them landed the transports and turned off the engines just as Irini and Lenz appeared in the yard.

“If you find the list with Tahl, what will you do with it?” Irini asked them anxiously.

“The list is not our first concern,” Qui-Gon said.

“You must realize how much power resides in that list,” Lenz said.

“It cannot fall into the wrong hands.”

“Do you promise to come to us first if you have it?” Irini asked.

“I cannot make that promise,” Qui-Gon said. “But I will promise that we will keep it safe. The Jedi will volunteer to hold the list as a neutral party until the government appoints a successor to Roan.”

Irini nodded reluctantly.

Obi-Wan caught sight of a blur in the sky. “I think the probe droid is returning already.”

Qui-Gon looked up, his expression tense with expectation. The probe droid settled on the ground in front of him. He quickly bent to examine the readout.

“Balog has left the city,” Qui-Gon said. “He’s struck out over open country.”

“That’s strange,” Lenz said. “Why would he leave his base of support?”

“Maybe he knows the Jedi are on his trail,” Irini said.

Qui-Gon programmed the droid to continue tracking and sent it off again. Then he programmed the coordinates of Balog’s last stop into his shipboard computer. He gave Obi-Wan the coordinates, and Obi-Wan did the same on his swoop.

Mota emerged from a door concealed in the wall of the building.

“How do you like the transports?” he asked. “They’re fine. We have a deal,” Qui-Gon said, counting out the additional credits.

Mota placed the credits inside a pocket of his unisuit. Suddenly, the sensors on the wall began to glow. Mote watched as they beeped out a private code.

“Patrols in the vicinity,” Mote said. “I suggest you leave.” Without another word, he swiftly made his way back to the hidden door and disappeared.

“Don’t worry, Mota, we’ll be fine,” Lenz muttered. “Irini, we’d better get out of here.” He nodded at the Jedi. “You should take off. If the security patrol sees you with black market transports, you’ll be detained, possibly even arrested.”

“Thank you for your help,” Obi-Wan said hastily as he mounted his swoop.

“Will you be all right?” Qui-Gon asked.

“We know this area well,” Lenz assured them. “There is an exit through that fence that will bring us safely home. If I were you I’d go out the back way and stick to the alleys.”

From a distance, they heard the sound of speeder engines.

“We’ll be in touch,” Qui-Gon told them.

The two transports lifted into the air. Qui-Gon led the way out. The narrow alley snaked out from the backyard of Mota’s building, twisting and turning past the back sides of the crumbling buildings. They could hear security landspeeder engines nearby, but could not see them.

Finally, they emerged on a deserted street. Qui-Gon headed east toward the outskirts of the city. He pushed his engine to maximum and Obi-Wan followed.

With the security patrol well behind them, they reached the edge of the city and took off over open country. Obi-Wan felt his spirits rise as the wind blew in his face. He couldn’t help but feel that Tahl was within their reach.