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

Chapter 6

Guerra smiled at Qui-Gon. "Wait, my friend. You seem to say that we deceived you, yes? Me, deceive my friend Obawan? How could such a thing be?"

Qui-Gon waited.

"Oh, my, perhaps I did so," Guerra said. "But for such a good reason!"

"What's the reason, Guerra?" Obi-Wan asked. "And this time, tell the whole truth."

"I always tell the whole truth to Obawan," Guerra assured him. "well, not so. But now, I will for you, Jedi men of honor. But where to begin?"

"Why don't you tell us why there is a death order on your head," Qui-Gon suggested. "That seems like a good place to start."

"True, it is so! Well, I suppose the Syndicat would call me a thief," Guerra said. "And others as well."

"Not a thief, brother!" Paxxi interrupted. "A freedom fighter who steals!"

"True, thank you, brother," Guerra said, bowing to Paxxi. "That is what I am. And my brother as well. You see, the Syndicat controls everything. Food and materials, med supplies, heat, everything Phindians need to survive. Naturally, in such a situation, one must find ways to buy and sell things the Syndicat does not control."

"A black market," Qui-Gon supplied.

"Yes, so, a black market, you could say," Guerra agreed, nodding. "We steal a little here, sell a little there. But all for the good of the people!"

"An your own profit," Qui-Gon added.

"Well, that too. Shall we suffer more than we are already?" Paxxi asked. "But the Syndicat doesn't like this. If we are to steal, we must steal for them. This, we refuse."

"Why should we give our talents to a gang of thieves?" Guerra asked, pounding the table. "Of course, we are thieves ourselves. But honest ones!"

"So, my brother!" Paxxi agreed. "And we are not murderers and dictators."

"So, my brother!" Guerra nodded. "that's why we must free our beloved planet from the grip of these monsters. The Syndicat leader is Baftu. He is a gangster without a conscience. He enjoys seeing the people suffer!" Guerra's orange eyes were mournful. "And his assistant Terra is no better, I am sorry to say. For all her beauty, her heart is black and cold."

"They must be the Phindians we saw in the gold landspeeder," Obi-Wan said.

"They were in gold coats?" Paxxi asked. "Yes, they are the ones."

Guerra and Paxxi shared a sad look. They shook their heads, their cheerfulness gone.

"What about the people we saw on the street?" Qui-Gon asked. "The ones with the blank faces."

Paxxi and Guerra shared another mournful look. Guerra sighed.

"The renewed," he said softly. "So sad."

"So," Paxxi agreed.

"It is the method of ultimate control," Guerra explained. "You know the memory wipe?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "it's used to reprogram droids. It removes all traces of their memory and training so they can be reprogrammed."

Guerra nodded. "The Syndicat has developed a device to do this to Phindians who they consider enemies or agitators. They memory wipe the person, then drop them on another world, somewhere terrible. The person has no memory of who they are or what they can do. It is a game for the Syndicat. They bet on how long the person will survive. A probe droid follows them and sends back holo-pictures of what happens. Most do not survive."

Qui-Gon's face went very still. Obi-Wan has seen that look before, a look that spoke of how deeply Qui-Gon was outraged at injustice and sheer cruelty.

"And some are not sent off-planet," Paxxi said softly. "That is saddest of all, maybe. Phindar is full of rootless people who do not remember their families, their loved ones. Or the things they could once do. They are helpless. Now Phindar is full of those who pass their fathers, their wives, their children on the street and do not recognize them."

"So you seem" Guerra said, "the Syndicat will stop at nothing. Which brings us to how you can help."

"If the wise Jedi would be so kind," Paxxi added.

"You saw the signs in the shops, the market place," Guerra went on. "The Syndicat controls all the shortages. It is a method of time control, just as renewal is mind control. The shortages are fake. If the people are waiting in line all day just to feed their families, they don't have time to revolt you see. Do you ever get enough? Not so. Supplies are doles out carefully so that you have to wait in line the next day as well."

"The Syndicat has stored everything we need," Paxxi continued. "Food, med supplies, building supplies, everything. It is all hidden in warehouses. We know this."

"And some of it is held in giant storage rooms underneath their headquarter here in Laressa," Guerra said. "So you see our plan? If we can liberate the goods, we can show the people that the Syndicat has been depriving them of food and medical supplies. They will rise in revolt! All we need is your help. I saw the Jedi mind control on the mining platform. Obawan convinced the guards to let him into storage. You see, he can do the same here!"

"Stop," Qui-Gon said flatly. "First of all, Jedi Knights aren't thieves. Second, we have our own mission. We are not here to interfere in another planet's problems. And, just for argument's sake, how are you two planning to get all those goods out of the building without a fight? And why do you think this will break the back of such a powerful criminal organization? Surely the Syndicat has enormous sums at their disposal. Why would breaking into one storage area change anything?"

"Aha! Good, Jedi-Gon. So smart, just like Obawan!" Guerra said, nudging Qui-Gon with a friendly shoulder. "Let's discuss. First I must tell you that the storage area must have another entrance. How else could they sneak goods in and out? So all we have to do id get inside, find the other entrance, and so easy! We take everything out!"

"Not so east," Qui-Gon said.

"But worth the risk, I think," Guerra insisted. "Another point I must make? along with food, medical supplies, and weapons, Paxxi and I know there's a vault, too. All the Syndicate treasury is there!"

"A vault," Qui-Gon repeated. "That implies high security."

"Yes, so!" Guerra agreed happily. "But Paxxi and I have the key!"

"How did you get a key?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Ha! He asks how!" Guerra said to Paxxi.

"Ha!" Paxxi agreed. "Long story!"

"We have a way to get in the building, too," Guerra said. "You see? Easy. So? You will go?"

"Let me get this straight," Qui-Gon interrupted in disbelief. "You want two Jedi to help two common thieves steal a treasure from a bunch of gangsters?"

Obi-Wan was silent. He agreed with Qui-Gon. It was not a Jedi-style mission. Yoda would never approve. As much as he liked Guerra, he was glad the qui-Gon had raised the objection.

"Yes, exactly!" Guerra said, still cheerful in the face of Qui-Gon's irritation.

"Wait, brother, we should explain further," Paxxi said. "We should assure the Jedi that we are far more interested in liberating our people than in stealing treasure."

"So, of course!" Guerra agreed. "Not that a little treasure wouldn't help?"

Guerra was interrupted by a commotion coming from the caf?. Quickly, Paxxi slipped out of the room to investigate. Within moments, he was back.

"So sorry," he announced. "I'm afraid it's time to go. Assassin droids searching for us all, I fear!"