The Fight for Truth

11

Davi, Obi-Wan, and Siri sat in a dark corner of the food hall.

“What are we waiting for?” Siri whispered to Davi.

“Lockdown,” Davi said. “The lights will go on and off three times. The Security Guides will change shifts. V-Tarz is on tonight. He’ll sit at the surveillance post in the admin center. If anyone steps foot out of the dorm quads, an alarm will sound.”

“So how will we escape?” Siri asked.

“V-Tarz waits five minutes after lockdown, then turns off security in Quad 7 and raids the kitchen,” Davi said with a grin. “I found this out the night I met Scurry.” He placed the ferbil on his palm and fed it a few seeds. “Scurry was in the food prep area. He must have gotten in somehow and couldn’t find his way out. I knew if they found him he’d be … gotten rid of. I was trying to figure out how to keep him when the lockdown warning came. I decided to spend the night where I was. It’s six punishment marks if you’re caught out after lockdown. V-Tarz came in for a snack, so I hid.”

“How do you know he does it every night?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Because you can see the security light blink off in the dorm,” Davi explained. “I come out here almost every night. Sometimes I’m … I’m afraid to be alone in the dark.”

“But you sleep in a room with twenty other boys,” Obi-Wan said.

“I’m still alone,” Davi said. Embarrassed, he looked down quickly to pet the ferbil.

“Listen, I know what you mean,” Siri said bluntly. “This place could give anyone the wild shivers.”

Davi looked up with a shy smile. Once again, Siri’s forthright manner had reassured him, Obi-Wan noted. He would never have imagined that Siri was capable of comforting anyone.

“Scurry helps,” Davi said. “And my other pets. I find them in the yard during rec period. Most of them are hungry or scared or hurt. I smuggle them in and keep them by my bed. At night I sneak in here to get food for them. Sometimes I sneak outside just to see the stars.”

“How do we get out?” Obi-Wan asked.

“Through the windows in the cleansing room of Quad 7,” Davi said. “You can use the shower heads to swing up. It’s an easy drop to the ground. Then you’ll have to steal a landspeeder. I can give you the coordinates of the city.”

The lights turned on and off three times. A soft signal sounded.

“In another five minutes, the floor will be alarmed,” Davi whispered. “But then V-Tarz will turn it off again. I’ll show you the way.”

“Why don’t you come with us, Davi?” Siri asked.

Davi shrank back. “Why would I do that?”

“Don’t you want to find out what’s really happening in the galaxy?” Siri asked. “Don’t you want a chance to do what you want to do?”

“But the galaxy is a dangerous place,” Davi said.

“Some of it is dangerous,” Obi-Wan said. “Not all.”

“There are places on Coruscant, where we live, that place orphan children with parents,” Siri told him. “You could have a family. You could keep pets and work with animals.”

“I have a family,” Davi said nervously. “The General Good is a family.”

“But Davi, The Learning is telling you lies,” Siri said. “Don’t you trust us?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Davi said worriedly. “But the power of evil that controls the galaxy might be telling you things that aren’t true. Misinformation is spread to confuse the people and keep them in line.”

“But that’s exactly what’s happening here,” Siri protested.

“If I leave, the Masked Soldiers will come and attack Kegan,” Davi said, shaking his head. “This is the vision of O-Vieve and V-Tan. No one must leave. The General Good will suffer, and invaders will come.”

Siri and Obi-Wan exchanged a frustrated glance. Davi had been trained in The Learning for too long. He could not accept what they told him as true.

They heard the heavy tread of V-Tarz. The massive Keganite moved through the food hall, heading for the kitchens. Obi-Wan stayed perfectly still. In only a few minutes, he and Siri would be free.

If everything went according to plan …

A voice suddenly split the silence. “V-Tarz!”

Another Security Guide stood in the doorway. “What are you doing?”

“Security alert in the kitchens,” V-Tarz said quickly. “Probably just a malfunction. Maybe the infrared alarm. I was just checking it out.”

“I’ll go with you. New orders are for two posted guards during the lockdown hours. We’d better get Quad 7 back online quickly.” The other Guide moved toward V-Tarz.

“There goes V-Tarz’s snack,” Siri murmured.

“We’d better get back to our dorm quarters,” Davi said nervously. “We won’t be able to escape tonight. I’m sorry. They’ve never put two guards on at night before.”

They waited until the Guides had turned the corner. Then Davi led them out of the food hall.

“We can get back to the dorms through the admin center,” Davi said. “Hurry, it won’t take them long to check out the kitchen security.”

They raced through the halls and entered the admin center, a round room that was in the center of the building. All the different quads spun off from this central location.

“Almost there,” Davi said as he hurried toward the door that led to the Quad 7 dorm, where they were all quartered.

But just then they heard familiar footsteps behind them. There wasn’t enough time to make it to the door. Quickly, Davi sprang behind a row of desks. Siri hurried after him. Obi-Wan was bringing up the rear. He slipped behind a wall of shelves that held data files. They could hear V-Tarz grumbling as he moved toward the security wall.

“Run the infrared check, he says,” he muttered. “There’s nothing wrong with the infrared. What’s wrong is that I’m starving.”

“V-Tarz? Are you there?” The voice came through the comlink on the console.

“I’m here.”

“Run check.”

“Running,” V-Tarz said. “You idiot.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Running check.” V-Tarz’s stomach rumbled. He sighed.

Obi-Wan leaned against the console to peer around it. Would they be able to slip past V-Tarz? Not if he didn’t move. V-Tarz had a perfect view of the door they needed to pass through.

As Obi-Wan retreated back behind the shelves, he brushed against a container that was overstuffed with data files. One of them slipped off the top. Obi-Wan’s reflexes were excellent, and he caught it soundlessly.

It was a file for someone named O-Uni. Obi-Wan leafed through it quietly. The girl had excellent reports from her teachers. A few visits to the med circle. Then a paper stamped reclassified to re-learning circle.

Obi-Wan carefully replaced the file. The Re-Learning Circle? What was that?

“Check complete,” V-Tarz said into the comlink. “No problems.”

“Copy that. Making one last check of kitchen and food hall before I get back.”

“I’ll give you a hand.”

“Don’t bother. I’ve got it covered.”

“Didn’t copy that. I’ll check the kitchen.” V-Tarz switched off the comlink. “Maybe I can sneak some veg patties when you’re not looking, killjoy.”

He lumbered off. Davi immediately poked his head out. “Let’s go,” he hissed.

They hurried toward the door, but Obi-Wan stopped Davi for a moment. “What’s the Re-Learning Circle?”

“I’m not sure,” Davi said. “But I know I don’t want to end up there. You get sent there if you have enough punishment marks. But then some kids who are never in trouble get sent there, too. Nobody knows why.” He shuddered. “But nobody ever comes back.”