"Jedi Apprentice 3: The Hidden Past" - читать интересную книгу автора (Уотсон Джуд)

Chapter 5

Qui-Gon melted behind Pilot. Obi-wan followed. He had no idea how Qui-Gon had known that Pilot would find them, or why Qui-Gon trusted him to lead them.

Pilot loped through twisting alleys and narrow side streets. He moved quickly, often looking from right to left, or up above to the rooftops, as if her were afraid they were being followed. Obi-Wan was sure that they doubled back on their trail a few times. Finally, Pilot stopped before a small caf? with a window so streaked with dirt that Obi-Wan could not glimpse the interior.

Pilot opened the door and hurried them through. It took a moment for Obi-Wan's eyes to adjust. A few small halo-lamps were mounted on the wall, but they did little to chase away the gloom. A half-dozen empty tables were scattered around the space. A faded green curtain hung in the doorway.

Pilot pushed aside the curtain and led the Jedi down a hallway past a tiny, cluttered kitchen to a smaller room at the back. The room was empty except for one customer who sat, his back to the wall, in an alcove farthest from the door.

The customer stood and spread his long Phindian arms.

"Obawan!" he cried.

It was Obi-Wan's friend Guerra!

Guerra's orange eyes beamed at Obi-Wan. "You come at last, friend! How glad I am to see you, no lie!"

"I'm glad to see you, too, Guerra," Obi-wan answered. "and surprised."

"It is a surprise, ha!" Guerra chortled. "But I had nothing to do with it. Not so, I lie! I think you met my brother, Paxxi Derida."

Pilot smiled at them. "it is my honor to have brought you here. Good journey, yes?"

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at Obi-Wan. The cheerful Derida brothers were acting as though the Jedi had accepted an invitation for a friendly visit. Instead, they'd been hijacked, fired on, then abandoned.

Qui-Gon walked farther into the room. "So Pilot deliberately dumped the fuel, didn't he."

"Please do call me Paxxi, Jedi-Gon," Paxxi said amiably. "Of course I dumped fuel. We did not expect you to say yes to a Phindian journey."

"Did you know about this?" Obi-Wan asked Guerra.

"No, I was unaware," Guerra answered earnestly.

"Not so, you lie, brother!" Paxxi said, digging Guerra in the ribs.

"True, I lie, I do!" Guerra agreed. "I was on the ship, hidden in the cargo hold. After I escaped the mining platform, there were those who wanted to bring me back to work in the mines. But I longed for Phindar. So here I am!"

"But why did you hide?" Obi-Wan asked. "And since you are native Phindians, why didn't you just land?"

"Good question, very smart, Obawan," Guerra said earnestly. "First of all, there is a blockade. And second, criminals are especially not welcome, even if they're natives."

"You're a criminal?" Obi-Wan couldn't believe it.

"Oh, yes, but such a little one," Guerra said.

"No so, brother! You have price on your head!" Paxxi chortled. "As do I! Assassin droids are ordered to shoot on sight!"

"So, it is true, brother!" Guerra agreed. "You are right again, for the first time!"

"Who put a price on your head?" Qui-Gon asked. Obi-Wan could see that he was both irritated and amused by the Deridas. "And why?"

"The Syndicat," Guerra answered. His amiable face grew grave. "Vast criminal organization who has gained control of Phindar. Things are very bad here, Jedi. I'm sure you saw, even in the short time you were here. They started the blockade. No one can leave, no one can land. But we thought even the Syndicat wouldn't oppose two Jedi in trouble. They would let you land, refuel, and take off again. Then my brother and I could sneak out and stay on Phindar. Easy plan!" Guerra congratulated himself. "Very smart! Not so," he amended with a look at Qui-Gon. "It didn't happen that way… "

"No, it didn't" Obi-Wan spoke up. "first of all, we were attacked by assassin droids. Now we're stuck on Phindar with no way to get off."

"A, I've thought of this!' Guerra exclaimed. "true, it seems you are stuck. But en though the main spaceport is tightly controlled by the Syndicat, there are ways to get people off-planet, if you have enough money."

"But we're Jedi," Obi-Wan said impatiently. "We don't have much money. Maybe you should pay, since it's your fault that were stranded."

"True, Obawan! We should pay! Do you hear this, Paxxi?" Guerra asked, amused. He and Paxxi held on to each other's shoulders and laughed loudly in each other's faces.

When they stopped, Guerra wiped tears from his eyes. "Good joke, Obawan. Very funny. We have no money. But no worry, please. We have a way to get money. Much money. We can do this easily. Well, not so? we might need a little help from Jedi."

"Ah," Qui-Gon said lightly. He fixed his penetrating blue stare on Guerra. "Now we finally get to the truth. Why don't you tell us the real reason you brought us here… and why you want us to stay?"