Seekers (by Cathy Pauline)
Chapter 6
"You are approaching Vandos3A. Please state your business so we can better direct you." The voice hailing them on the comm was that of an older female, brisk and matter-of-fact.
Tomas spoke as they had agreed. "We have come to speak with the head of Jakubek Mining. Our business is urgent and private."
"Then I will transfer this communication directly to Jakubek headquarters."
"Thank you."
"Transferring."
"Jakubek Mining Corporation Interplanetary. Please transmit your authorization codes."
"Transmitting."
The male voice on the comm took on a note of surprised interest. "Jakubek Mining welcomes the Jedi. My instructions are to direct you to the administration landing platform, where you will be greeted in person. Are you ready to receive the coordinates?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Transmitting."
The first impression they had of Vandos3A was that it was a cold, dry place. Its surface was gray, covered with gray buildings, as were its seas; even the sky looked gray. The great blue bulk of the gas giant that held its orbit dominated the sky. The buildings surrounding the small, open landing platform were long and low, with narrow windows. Settling to the ground on their repulsors, they saw a small party of two humans and a droid waiting for them at the end nearest the largest building, the humans warmly dressed in quilted coats and thick pants.
The air, when they opened the ramp, was chill and brisk. Together they walked quickly across the platform to their greeting party, their long robes billowing in the wind.
"Welcome," called the woman standing in front, loudly over the whine of the wind. "Please come inside, out in the cold is no place for a proper greeting."
They followed her gladly through an airlock into a quiet hall. The walls were smooth and white with colored trim, decorated with small framed canvases of what looked to be abstract art, all wavy lines and shapes and color. They entered a wide door on the left and found themselves in a large office, similarly furnished. The two humans pushed back their hoods and removed their gloves, revealing a tall, graying woman with a friendly smile and authoritative manner, and a nervous young man in his late teens with dark hair and eyes. The silver humanoid droid entered behind them.
The woman extended her hand to Qui-Gon, who stood closest. "I'm Jemma Jakubek, recently elected head of operations for Jakubek Mining. Call me Jemma. This is my assistant," she indicated the youth, "also my nephew, Zino."
"Hi," said the young man shyly. Ki-Erin, standing next to him, favored him with a gentle smile, which seemed to reassure him.
"Thank you for agreeing to see us on such short notice," said Qui-Gon. He introduced himself and Tomas and Ki-Erin.
"Will you join us in the conference room? We'll be more comfortable there, I think. VeeNineteen, bring a fresh carafe of haklaf please, and also one of water." The droid left them, its servomotors whirring quietly.
At the back of the office they entered a smaller room with an oval table and padded chairs, overlooking the landing pad. As everyone was taking a seat, and the droid returned to serve them drinks, Jemma Jakubek told them, "It was a great honor to be contacted by Master Windu. We've never hosted Jedi here before. Master Windu told me you're conducting an investigation and that we might be able to help you. What would you like to know?"
Qui-Gon sat straight in his chair, his hands folded on the table in front of him. "Thank you again for your kind welcome. We're looking for the head of the Offworld Mining Corporation, in connection with several outstanding warrants against him. We've come here because we have recently learned that Offworld is urgently seeking a source of nephrolite. Have you had any contact with Offworld in the past few years?"
"Oh, yes, one of their agents contacted me only a few weeks ago, just after I took over as head of operations here. I believe he contacted my predecessor only a few months before that. But we have never had a contract with Offworld: mainly because we have an exclusive long-term contract with Duros Innovation -- they take all the nephrolite we provide, for a premium."
"Could you tell us more about that contact, please?" asked Qui-Gon.
"He was a young man, rather charming, name of Xanatos. He offered quite a good rate, actually: better than what Melian is getting by a small percentage. He said the Melians had been giving them trouble, that they are unreliable. But... please consider this a private speculation..." Qui-Gon nodded. "I'm not inclined to trust Offworld -- I have heard that they're tight financially, and it seemed strange to me that they'd offer such a high price. Besides, as I said, we have a long-term contract already, quite a profitable one actually, and have no reason to drop it."
"Recently we've become even more profitable, because of Aunt Jemma," said the young man brightly. His aunt turned pink.
"How is that?" asked Ki-Erin.
"She's a talented engineer; she's devised ways to replace our human miners with human directed mining droids. She's also developed new methods of getting more usable nephrolite from our ore. It's tripled our production, and just in time, because Duros was just asking for a greater supply."
"Is that the reason behind your recent promotion?" Tomas asked Jemma.
"Yes," she told them. "Though it took the longest time to convince the older generation to let me test my ideas. They finally let me start a small-scale experiment two years ago now. As of a year ago it was stepped up to include more of the mines, and last month we finished our conversion to the new methods."
"How has that affected the local population?" asked Qui-Gon. "I understand the nephrolite mines are a major source of employment here."
"A major source of trouble for Vandos3A in the past, I'm sorry to say," said Jemma, "though please don't tell anyone I said so," she added quickly, her face reddening.
"This conversation will remain private," Qui-Gon assured her. "But would you mind explaining?"
"My forebears have been.. exploitative... of the planet's inhabitants in the past. They had an early advantage, owning this property. Vandos3A was for a long time a major source of other ores, and had a large mining population. But when those sources ran out, the remaining population was too poor to leave and too many to work the mines. When the market for nephrolite opened up, Jakubek Mining, it shames me to admit, took advantage of those conditions, and abused the local people. Too many have lost their lives in Mining. That's the reason I became an engineer. I couldn't see my old uncles changing their ways for any reason but better profit. Once my methods were proven, there was no reason to continue treating people like cheap slaves." Her voice sounded bitter on the last words.
"Jemma's mother, my grandmother, was one of the poor residents," added Zino. "Until Jered Jakubek married her. Now the people of Vandos have more jobs than ever, and better jobs, because we still need workers, only now it's to supervise the droids and run the machines, not to do the mining itself." He smiled happily.
"Is there anything else we can help you with?" asked Jemma. "I know you didn't come to hear my family history, I'm sorry."
"Would it be possible to see some of the mines, and hear about the uses of nephrolite? We're trying to understand why Offworld seems to be so desperate to acquire it."
Jemma looked genuinely pleased. "Of course! I'd be happy to give you a tour. There's a mine not far from here that just finished conversion to the new methods -- the last, actually, because of some complications with access -- would you like to visit that one? We could be there in ten minutes by speeder."
"If it's not too much trouble --"
"Oh no, not at all! I needed to go there today anyway, I try to visit each of the sites every week."
"We're in your debt, thank you," said Tomas. He looked to Qui-Gon as their host called for a speeder to be prepared for them, put a hand up beside his mouth and spoke in a low undertone. "She's sincere. They've ended slavery here."
Qui-Gon nodded. "I'm glad for the people," he returned softly. "But now what will we do?"
"Learn what we can."
Qui-Gon nodded once more.
A few minutes later they were headed to the end of the building to the transport garage. The people they passed on the way were friendly and curious. The speeder itself was an older model but well maintained; under the clear dome as they traveled Qui-Gon asked about security.
"We have ground emplacements and a small fleet of fighters. Mostly we worry about pirates stealing our shipments in transit. But because of our long-term relationship with Duros, we can rely on them to help protect us, and they have far more resources than we do."
"How do you protect yourselves from infiltration on the surface?" asked Ki-Erin.
"Our surface security is actually our best -- because of the historical situation I explained to you. My predecessors had to protect the mines from uprisings of workers and unemployed locals. The system they used -- a network of sensors, droids, and guard stations -- is still in place, and still functioning. I saw no reason to shut it down, now nephrolite is more valuable than ever."
The mine entrance was clean and uncluttered. Workers wore brightly colored unisuits and headgear. Jemma passed headgear from a bin near the wide main doors to Zino and the three Jedi, then put one of the helmets on herself.
"Safety rules," she told them. "Everyone must wear them."
A man and two women wearing bright green hailed them from behind a desk opposite the bin. Two more men in green stood one on each side of the main doors, standing at attention. They checked the I.D. of every worker that passed in or out; people passed, chatting, with an air of cheerful industry. Jemma led them to the desk.
"Hello, Triva, Devon. You're new?" She asked the second female, a golden-skinned woman with blue eyes.
"Yes, ma'am," she answered shyly. "Zeda Vincent."
"Welcome, Zeda" said Jemma. "Call me Jemma, or Master Jemma. I have three guests today, will you please give them temporary badges?"
The formalities were quickly completed. Inside the doors was a wide ramp spiraling downward; after about thirty meters it opened on one side to a large chamber. It continued to hug the wall, bordered on its open side by a steel mesh rail. At the bottom of the chamber they saw crates being stacked and loaded onto flat transports. Jemma drew frequent greetings and smiles from the people they passed; it was abundantly clear that she was popular here.
"This is our shipping clearinghouse," explained Jemma. As you'll see when we go to look at processing, nephrolite is a fragile mineral, growing in long strands. The longer the strands, the more valuable it is."
"Which is how you were able to increase your profit? By improving the process to harvest longer strands?" guessed Ki-Erin.
"Exactly," said Jemma happily. Zino smiled at the girl, and Qui-Gon saw that he was quite taken with the young Padawan. He looked at Tomas, standing beside him several steps back from the others, one brow cocked.
Tomas grinned, and said in a low voice not meant to carry, "she's pretty and vivacious, and he's only human. What did you expect?"
Qui-Gon shook his head, amused.
From the shipping floor they entered one of several doors, behind which was a bank of repulsorlift tubes.
The lift tube they entered descended swiftly into the earth, marking the distance they dropped on a display above the door. When they were several kilometers below the surface, they exited to a brightly lit tunnel. A repulsorlift track hugged the side of the tunnel, beside a narrow walkway. Jemma led them into a small open repulsorlift car, and the five of them squeezed in and took seats on the two benches. Behind them a car rolled in, carrying six workers, who climbed out as the car rolled to a stop, chatting amiably.
"This is our new access line, for transporting workers. We use the old line to transport the minerals," Jemma explained. "This will take us most of the way into the deepest mines, where the best ore is found. I thought you might appreciate seeing the process beginning to end." The car began rolling down the track, smoothly and quickly, descending rapidly.
"What are the industrial uses of nephrolite, Jemma?" asked Tomas.
"It's necessary for processing Bodrite into a key element in the structure of droid motivators and memory units. Also Duros is investigating new uses for it, and I think they've made some progress, but so far their work is still a trade secret."
Qui-Gon was about to ask more, but just then the character of the stone around them changed, and he grew aware of a strange resonance in the Force. He saw Ki-Erin staring at Tomas across from her and knew they both felt it as well.
"When do we enter the levels where nephrolite is found?" Qui-Gon asked, guessing at the answer already.
"We just did, about half a minute ago. Of course, there's not much left in these upper levels, not in quantities worth harvesting."
Qui-Gon nodded, his suspicions confirmed.
The effect is growing. What will it be like when we reach the end? Qui-Gon looked sharply at Tomas in surprise that his friend's mental sending, tinged with worry, had come through so clearly. Qui-Gon silently agreed with Tomas's sentiment: he felt like he was standing in a swift river, full of rapids tugging him in all directions, with the current and depth increasing all the time, threatening to sweep him off his feet.
Ki-Erin turned to Jemma. "Could we walk for a while?" she asked.
Jemma looked surprised. "Well, it's a long walk -- of course we could. We can always call another car when we're ready to continue." She looked for confirmation to Qui-Gon, who nodded; then she popped open a panel on the side of the car and keyed in a command. The car slowed to a halt. Qui-Gon looked gratefully at Ki-Erin. Standing still in the tunnel, the effect was not so overwhelming.
They gathered on the path by the side of the track. Jemma watched, seeming to sense that something had changed for them, as they looked around at the rough walls, trying to come to equilibrium with their sense of the Force.
"Could you show us some nephrolite?" asked Tomas.
"It's easiest to see down one of the newer side shafts, the areas around the transport tunnel have been pretty well cleared out already. There's a shaft about ten minutes ahead of us." She looked at Ki-Erin, who was brushing the wall with her fingers, her eyes distant. "Is something wrong?"
Ki-Erin glanced at Tomas, who answered for her. "The sense we're getting from the Force here is... different than we've felt before. We'll be able to focus on it better if we walk."
Jemma's eyes grew wide. "Of course."
As they walked, Qui-Gon opened his awareness, drawing gently on the Force. It came rich and strong to him, more powerful than he had ever felt it.
Like power cells. Or... an amplifier. No, neither of those really, but elements of them both. It holds the Force... in vast quantities. By her quick glance at her Master, Qui-Gon saw that Tomas' thought had been directed to them both, and he included her in his reply. He was surprised by how easy it was to link with her thoughts: almost effortless.
This is why Xanatos wants nephrolite, he told them.
Ki-Erin shuddered as she silently answered, the prospect frightens me!
Qui-Gon agreed wholeheartedly.
They turned the corner into a side tunnel. A few meters from the entrance a room had been hollowed from the earth; it was filled with equipment and busy technicians. Two men in yellow with red sleeves left their stations to intercept them when they entered. "Master Jemma," smiled the elder, a small gray-haired man. "it's an honor to have you join us."
"Icek, Hyam. I see your crew is hard at work."
"The droids just found a new vein," the second man explained. "They're working close to it now."
"Don't let me distract you, then," said Jemma. "My guests and I will try to keep out of your way." She turned back to the Jedi as the two men gave slight bows and went back to work. "Watch the screens, and you'll see the diggers working." Sure enough, in the screens they saw long metal limbs with various digging attachments being wielded against walls of rock. In one screen they saw a digger blowing air at a wall with long horizontal stripes; that, Jemma explained, was exposed nephrolite. "There are cleared passages to the raw nephrolite all around here," she explained. "The work goes more efficiently when the digger droids clear a path to the mineral first, and then we send in the gathering crew afterwards." She led them back to the tunnel where it led away from the control room and handed everyone a glow rod from a box by the wall. "We don't waste power on lights where there isn't regular human traffic," she explained. "Our hats light up, but we always bring glow rods for looking at details." She made some notes at a datascreen, and Zino explained, "Everyone must check in and out when traveling the side tunnels past the control rooms. For safety reasons."
Past the control room the tunnel quickly grew dark, and they switched on their lights. The swinging lights, bright as they were, made the shadows dance eerily. Jemma pulled a datapad from her pocket, showing a map of their surroundings. Qui-Gon counted one side passage on their left and two on their right before Jemma indicated a left-hand passage. "This is one of the longer passages," she told them, "with a rich strike at the end. If you look at the walls, you'll soon see the strands of nephrolite: they're a silver-gray color here, like long thick threads, a bit fuzzy. With the digger droids, we're able to follow the strands much better than when we mined by hand. That's why the tunnel is such an odd shape." And indeed the tunnel bent and twisted oddly so that they had to duck around and step over projections: it was never so narrow that it was uncomfortable to pass through, but they could only walk single-file. Most of the way cut through solid rock, but occasionally they passed through areas that were predominantly tunneled through dirt, held up by plasteel beams and small glowing force fields that gave the tunnels an otherworldly cast.
"Where does the material that you remove go, Master Jemma?" asked Ki-Erin.
"The diggers take it out through another tunnel, not meant for human passage. That is, they take it to other droids, the remover droids, whose function is to, well, remove the unused material. The best of the rock is taken to the surface and sold -- we do a brisk side business in gravel and fill -- and the rest is taken to the empty tunnels, the ones we don't plan to use any longer, and packed in tightly. It's quite a challenge to coordinate, so that no crew disturbs the work of any other."
She continued explaining to the girl, who walked just ahead of her, following Zino. As Jemma spoke Qui-Gon began to see long strands along the walls. He didn't need his light to find them: they shone with the Force. The passage of living beings so near to them set the Force swirling in a powerful current. Soon the strands ran around them on nearly every side, and Qui-Gon wondered that their guides could not feel the current of the Force moving through their bodies. He himself was staggered with the immensity of it. Jemma's gracious nature lit this place like a lantern; Zino's youthful joy and quiet pride less forceful in his immaturity but promising strength to come. Ki-Erin burned before him: Force-sensitives were always more apparent to his senses than others, attracting the Force like bees to a flower, but with the Force so strong here he felt the fierce power of her nature, the quick intensity of her temperament, like a sun scorching him. Tomas just in front of him was cooler, gentler, but he sensed in his friend the immensity of his strength, all the more awesome for the control and balance with which he carried it. It occurred to Qui-Gon that Obi-Wan was much like Tomas in his nature, though immature as yet, and wondered what he would see in the boy if he were here with them, now. The thought filled him with sorrow: he missed his young Padawan.
And then he heard the boy's voice.
Qui-Gon! I am here, Master!
Frozen with shock he cast through the Force, seeking the boy, calling to him. Where are you? Where, Obi-Wan? He had allowed his awareness to spread over the whole of the planet before he realized what was happening.
"What is it, Qui-Gon?" Tomas was standing before him, concern lining his face. The others were some ways ahead, stopped, looking back at them. Qui-Gon had stopped without realizing. He drew breath to calm and center himself.
"I heard him, Tomas. I heard Obi-Wan calling me."
"He's near?" Tomas' voice was sharp with surprise.
"Nowhere on the planet -- I already checked. But I think I can find him --"
"Be careful, Qui-Gon. There's danger here for us -- we can get lost in so much power, I think."
Qui-Gon nodded slowly. "Will you anchor me?"
"I will keep watch." Without turning Tomas sent an explanation to his Padawan, who began speaking softly to their two guides. That worry eased, Qui-Gon settled to the floor, legs crossed and hands on his knees, and sank his awareness into the immensity of the Force.
Instead of searching now, he let his bond with Obi-Wan draw his awareness to the boy. Some indefinable time later -- time felt stretched and distorted in a way he had never experienced -- he grew aware of warmth, and a spicy scent, and the clear light of stars through the atmosphere of a planet -- and there was his Padawan.
He was dancing, all but naked, inside a circle of blue light -- or so it seemed to him at first. The boy's attention was fully taken by -- what? A silvery cable snapped inside the circle, barely touching him, and leaving a short bloody cut in the skin of his arm. Obi-Wan stepped back, then flipped neatly over as the whip came at him again. Qui-Gon watched for a time, slowly growing aware of the tall figure not far off who was wielding the whip -- not Xanatos, but a being who was cold and dangerous nonetheless. He dared not distract his Padawan, for fear he would be badly hurt. The man was trying to hurt him, trying with considerable skill, though he did not move closer, and he seemed pleased at Obi-Wan's skill at avoiding him. Qui-Gon, too, admired the boy's calm grace under pressure. It reminded him of a certainty he had felt several times before, a certainty that he had suppressed, in anger, when Obi-Wan had deserted him on Melida/Daan: that his young Padawan was extraordinary even for a Jedi, that he was destined for greatness.
The vision receded; he was returned to awareness of his own body, cold, sitting on the floor of the dark tunnel. Tomas crouched before him; he could not see the others. He stretched his legs and stood. Tomas stood with him.
"I didn't dare leave you longer. You were gone for an hour. The others will be back soon: they went ahead to see the end of the tunnel and some of the equipment being set up there." In his eyes was the unasked question: Did you find him?
"He's on another planet, far from here: somewhere hot, a desert of red rock and hard soil. I don't know what the place is called, but I could point to it." He had that much awareness still: like a thread linking their souls.
"Could you use your transponder and positioner to get a Temple- relative location?" Tomas asked him. Qui-Gon blinked. It was an excellent idea. His transponder was specially made to find and link with the Temple; if he connected it with his positioner, meant to show relative position with respect to a planet's magnetic poles, he would be able to use it to get a fix on Obi-Wan's position with respect to the Temple. He pulled the instruments from his belt, and with Tomas' help, soon had the positioner gutted and reset to work with the transponder. Then he linked to the Temple.
Tahl answered, sleepy; he had asked that all his communications be routed to her.
"I'm using the transponder to set my positioner, Tahl. I'm sorry to disturb you."
Her voice became instantly alert and interested. "I don't mind at all, as long as you promise to explain what you're doing."
"I will. Could you take a reading on my position right now?"
"Done."
She fell silent; he let his consciousness expand with the Force, and sensed, sharp and strong, Obi-Wan's strong young self. He faced in that direction and pointed the positioner, taking a reading from it when he was certain he had gotten as close to the right direction as he could.
"That's it. I don't know how far it is, but I'm sure he's in that direction."
"You know where Obi-Wan is?" Tahl's voice sounded incredulous. Qui-Gon couldn't blame her.
"I can't explain now, Tahl." He could see the light from Jemma and the others returning to them, and sensed Ki-Erin's bright presence in the Force. "I can contact you again in a few hours."
"Send me the reading," Tahl told him. "I can use the computers here to do the calculations. Can you get another reading somewhere else? If so, I can do a rough triangulation."
"I doubt it," said Tomas. "Not easily."
"This is probably enough. I'll talk to you soon."
"Thank you, Tahl," Qui-Gon told her. He returned his transponder to his belt and gathered up the pieces of his positioner. By the time he had finished, their guides and Ki-Erin had caught up with them.
"Were you able to reach your missing apprentice, Master Jinn?" Jemma asked with concern and obvious fascination. Ki-Erin had explained some of the situation on their walk.
"In a sense, yes," Qui-Gon told her. "And we believe we can find him from what we learned." Ki-Erin's eyes lit up, but she kept her questions to herself, letting their guide speak.
"Incredible. I never knew that nephrolite had such properties."
"Neither did we," said Tomas. "And I hope you don't take it amiss -- you and Zino both -- if we ask you to be very discreet with this discovery. In the wrong hands it could be disastrous. We would appreciate if you would confer with the Temple before exploring it further, or disclosing it to anyone."
"Forgive me, but I don't understand -- how --"
"Not everyone who is Force-sensitive is Jedi," Tomas continued. "The head of Offworld is Force-sensitive, and it worries me that he made this discovery before us. We don't think he would have told anyone else at this point, but --"
Jemma had grown pale. "He wants nephrolite. And it somehow amplifies a Jedi's powers?"
"In a way. And it would do so for anyone who is Force-sensitive," said Qui-Gon.
"This is why you were asking me about security earlier."
"We didn't know until we came down here why Xanatos was so desperate to acquire nephrolite. But I guessed -- because he has done so before -- that he might try to acquire a mine by force, if he couldn't simply buy what he wanted."
"Xanatos. The gracious young man who called me -- but he seemed so likable!"
"Yet he is the head of Offworld, though he rarely admits it, and not many people know it."
Jemma nodded slowly. "We will do as you ask," she said, and turned to Zino, who nodded briskly and solemnly. "And increase our security as well. I am fascinated to explore this aspect of nephrolite further, but of course I can't on my own in any case, as I'm not Force-sensitive myself."
"I am certain there are Jedi engineers who would be just as interested, and happy to work with you," said Tomas.
Her eyes lit up. "Now that would be an adventure," she said.
"We will be pleased to be of service, after all the help you've given us today," said Tomas with a smile.
"Would you like to have the rest of the tour, now?" asked Zino.
"Please," said Qui-Gon.
Zino flashed his light directly on one wall as he moved to squeeze past Qui-Gon, and stopped, suddenly astonished.
"Aunt Jemma, look!"
The youth played his light along the surface of a web of strands that ran like a skein of wool in the rock. The strands were a bright silver, glimmering iridescent blue and red and gold in the glowrod's beam: much brighter and more colorful than Qui-Gon remembered.
"This is the brightest I've ever seen it," murmured Jemma.
"Because of what Master Qui-Gon did here, I'm sure of it," said Ki-Erin. She turned to the two elder Jedi. "Jemma was explaining to me that the grade of nephrolite doesn't just depend on the length of the strands. It also depends on its color and luster. It is found in shades of black to light gray, and lustres from dull and earthy to shiny metallic. Strands with a metallic lustre are rare and valuable." Ki-Erin turned back to Jemma. "I bet activity in the Force affects its lustre. Look." And she backed up several meters down the tunnel, finding a duller gray patch of the mineral. The others followed her, watching as she put her hand to it and closed her eyes. Only a minute later the patch had brightened considerably: they watched the effect spread along the length of strands much more quickly than it did across strands.
"Incredible," Jemma said, touching one of the strands. She laughed. "Well, with what you've done here you've well paid me for the pleasure of guiding you today! This grade of nephrolite will fetch a high price! But forgive me, please, I'm giddy with discovery right now. Here." And with two deft twists of her wrist she snapped the bright threads from the wall, then coiled them and wrapped them in a sheet of soft synthplas that she took from her belt pouch. She handed the package to Ki-Erin. "Perhaps you can use them somehow in your search. You're welcome to more if you think it would help," she added, turning to Tomas.
"Thank you again," said Tomas, and Qui-Gon felt himself warm to her for her generosity, and wholeheartedly agreed.
Together they returned to the main corridor by the repulsorlift transport, leaving their glowrods and signing out at the control room as they passed. A repulsorlift car filled with workers sped past them as they stepped out into the path.
"I know you asked to walk, but it is quite a ways to the next area I'd like to show you, where they're currently harvesting."
"Unfortunately, the rapid movement through the caverns was affecting us quite strongly..." said Tomas.
"We could have the car travel more slowly," put in Zino
"Wouldn't that affect your traffic?" Ki-Erin asked.
Jemma checked her chrono. "Another five minutes, the shift change will be over -- there will be less traffic then."
Tomas and Qui-Gon glanced at each other. "All right, then," Qui-Gon said.
They walked slowly along, Zino explaining more about the workers they saw, the colors on their unisuits, and how they were organized into work crews. Qui-Gon enjoyed his animated way of speaking -- he seemed to have lost much of his shyness in the time he spent with Ki-Erin and Jemma alone, and frequently glanced at the girl, obviously encouraged by her interest. Soon an empty car rolled up to them and stopped a short way ahead near another side tunnel entrance; Jemma explained that she had called it to that station. They climbed in and watched as Jemma slowly increased the speed, looking to Tomas for confirmation; when they were going about half of the regular speed he let her know that was enough for them.
Ten minutes later they were traveling mostly up again instead of mostly down; they had curved around in a long loop and were heading roughly back in the direction from which they had come. Five minutes after that they pulled to a stop and climbed out. "The tunnel we want is still ahead of us," Jemma explained, "but another car was coming up behind, and I thought you wouldn't mind walking again." Indeed, only minutes after their car took off empty, another sped by, full of workers in bright orange.
Qui-Gon looked around, curious. The rock tunnel ahead of them was rougher overhead and around the path. Even stranger, Qui-Gon was feeling a definite shift in the Force. He felt the oiliness of the Dark Side underlying the power that still shimmered all around them; the feeling of it was insidious and oppressive to his senses.
"Something is different about this area," he said to Jemma, not asking.
Jemma explained, "We just entered the limits of the old mine, the area that was the mine before it was converted from human to droid exploration and mining."
"Is the nephrolite here dark?" asked Qui-Gon on a guess.
"Why, yes, actually," said Jemma. "I suppose I should stop being surprised at your questions. It has always been a mystery to us, how our mines had always produced black nephrolite, until we discovered the first gray veins when we started using droids. We wondered if it had something to do with the digger droids. That was part of the reason the new droids were such a success: lighter veins are somewhat more valuable than the darker ones. How did you guess?"
Tomas tried to explain. "The Force living in the nephrolite here is... negative. Dark, we call it. It happens when a place has been filled with negative feeling: hurt, fear, anger..."
"This area is strong in the Dark Side," said Ki-Erin, her expression subdued.
"Ah," said Jemma finally, at a loss.
"I would guess it has to do with the mine's history, before you switched to using droids," said Tomas. "The workers were not so satisfied with their work then, were they? I remember you telling us so in the administration building."
"No," said Jemma. "No, they were not." They were silent a while, walking. "The crews still don't like to work in the old mines. They say it's creepy, haunted. I let the crews rotate, sometimes in the new area, sometimes in the old one. I had thought it was psychological -- I'm sure everyone has family with bad memories of the way our company used to... run its business."
"I'm sure that's part of it," said Qui-Gon neutrally.
They turned down a side tunnel as before, taking glow lamps and signing in at the newly hollowed control room. The workers they saw this time wore orange, which Zino had explained was the uniform of the gathering crew. They heard the whine of droid servomotors ahead of them as they walked. Jemma explained that the droids gathered from the back of the tunnels first.
They turned off at the second tunnel on their right. Unlike the tunnel in the newly mined area, this tunnel had been opened by hand. It was wider and straighter, frequently cutting into the veins of nephrolite on either side. The strands here were black. Qui-Gon touched one, then drew back, repulsed.
"I think we've seen enough," said Tomas quietly. "But could we take a small sample of this, as well, to show the Jedi Council?" he asked Jemma.
She nodded, then pulled three strands from the wall and coiled and wrapped them as before, this time handing the package to Tomas. He tucked it into one of his belt pouches.
The rest of their tour was interesting but uneventful. They saw some packing and processing rooms, and looked at some of the droids and processing machines up close. Qui-Gon was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate; he was growing anxious to continue with their journey, and his thoughts turned frequently to Obi-Wan and what he had seen. Several hours later they returned to the surface. Qui-Gon was grateful for the stir of air in the garage where they returned to the speeder, even if it was cold. Though well ventilated for a mine, the air below had still been dry and stale. On the ride back to the administration center and landing pad, Jemma asked them what they planned next. "You're welcome to stay, of course, if you like. You've given me more to think about in one day than I've had in a long time."
"Thank you, but we need to continue with our search," said Qui-Gon.
"Surely you'll stay for dinner at least? I have about an hour of work to do beforehand, but perhaps you'd like to talk alone for that time? I can have my people refuel your ship, you needn't go to the public spaceport."
This time they accepted gratefully: Jemma's offer of fuel would save them several hours. They were left to wait in a small private dining room, like the conference room they had talked in first. It had windows onto the landing pad, and they could see their ship being fueled by droids and workers in warm quilted coats. Ki-Erin turned to Qui-Gon, bursting with questions. She still had not heard about his experience in the gray nephrolite tunnel. He put up a hand to forestall her.
"I'd like to try to reach Obi-Wan again, try to contact him this time. Will you watch for me, again, Tomas?"
Tomas looked for a long moment like he might not agree. Then he sighed. "All right, Qui-Gon."
Qui-Gon settled himself on the floor in meditation position. Ki-Erin handed him the bundle of silver nephrolite. "Perhaps it will help," she said. He nodded and held it loosely in cupped hands on his lap. Through it he could feel the power of masses of nephrolite in the ground below him; he let the Force flow through him and extended his awareness into the world around him.
Following the thread to Obi-Wan was easier this time. He soon sensed the desert landscape once more. But something was different this time: his Padawan was lying on the hard dirt, unable to move, in obvious pain. Qui-Gon tried to reach him, but the boy was struggling to cope, and had no attention to spare. Instead Qui-Gon tried to find the source of the pain: a current of power, similar to that discharged by an electro-jabber, he saw. He found its origin in a metal collar securely fastened around Obi-Wan's neck.
Feeling like a ghost, Qui-Gon tried to sense the fastenings in the collar, to will it open or shut it down. He had no success, whether because he was not truly present or because it was too complex, he did not know. His efforts to lessen the current were unsuccessful as well. Finally he sensed that the man he had seen earlier wielding a whip was approaching.
The man wore nothing but a length of cloth wrapped around his groin and waist: the same as what Obi-Wan was wearing. His skin was dark, but his short hair was fair. He stood over Obi-Wan for a silent moment, then made a quick movement with one hand, and the current from the collar stopped. A long minute later Obi-Wan stirred.
"You had to test the limits," said the tall man, in his tone mingled exasperation and admiration. "I hope your curiosity is satisfied, now, or it may yet be the death of you."
"Why am I here?" asked Obi-Wan in a soft, tired voice.
"I believe Xanatos informed you of the prohibitions before bringing you here: you are not to speak unless directed to, nor seek nor hold the gaze of free people." The man's voice was full of warning. But Obi-Wan was angry, Qui-Gon saw; he pushed himself to his knees and pinned the man with a challenging glare. Not for long. A burst of current from the collar and he collapsed on the ground once more. Qui-Gon reached out to the boy in anguish. Patience, he told him, patience, willing him to calm. Obi-Wan grew quiet and subdued, whether because he had heard him, Qui-Gon could not have said.
"Up, now," the man told him. "You have five minutes to run to the privy and back."
Qui-Gon watched in pained admiration as Obi-Wan struggled to his feet, pushed himself to a run. His Padawan was subject to beatings and humiliation, but still he held himself with pride and strength. Qui-Gon's heart ached for the boy. Soon, he called to him. I'm coming for you, Obi-Wan. He watched for a while, watched as Obi-Wan stepped into the shrunken blue circle and began again his dance to avoid the snapping whip. Then, feeling Tomas calling him, he felt his way back to his own present.
Tomas was again kneeling before him, watching his face carefully, looking concerned. "I can't seem to reach him, Tomas," Qui-Gon said wearily. "I don't think he could hear me. But I could see him. And help, a little, I hope," he ended quietly.
"What did you see?" asked Ki-Erin. She was sitting to one side.
"The first time as well as the second," added Tomas.
Qui-Gon handed the packet of nephrolite to Ki-Erin, then stood and stretched and sat at the table. The others joined him.
"He's alive and in good health. Xanatos isn't with him now; he's in the custody of some sort of trainer --" he explained the circle and the whip, and the collar, and the trainer's words.
"You were right about him being enslaved," said Ki-Erin sadly.
"That collar is going to complicate things," mused Tomas.
The door opened at that point, and their hosts returned. The three Jedi silently agreed to continue their talk after they left Vandos3A; conversation at dinner was of places they had been and things they had seen. Qui-Gon reflected that like any good engineer Jemma Jakubek was fascinated with exploration and new ideas. He was glad to have had the chance to meet the woman and her young nephew. Still Qui-Gon let their hosts and Tomas and Ki-Erin do most of the talking; his mind was on his Padawan: on what he had seen of him, on what he must be enduring now.
*****
Three hours later, they left the atmosphere of Vandos3A. Qui-Gon was content to sit behind the other two as they piloted the ship up and away from the satellite planet. Their plan was to contact Tahl as soon as they were beyond the gravitational field of giant Vandos3.
A strange feeling was growing in Qui-Gon as they left, however. He felt it first as a tugging at his consciousness, as of something he'd forgotten. But it quickly grew stronger, the farther they went from the planet: he felt stretched -- as if part of him were left behind, tied there to the planet's surface.
"Tomas --"
He saw Tomas turn toward him, then call his name, but a rushing sound was growing in his ears, and his sight was dimming. He saw Tomas jump to his feet, concern in every line of his face. At the same time, he saw Obi-Wan lying half-unconscious on the red ground of the desert. The two scenes hovered before him, strangely overlaid. Then everything went black.