The Dangerous Games by Jude Watson
"I'm afraid so. Siri is taking him to the Ruling Power," Obi-Wan said.
Astri handed him a small viewscreen. Obi-Wan could see the three
Podracers roaring through the streets of Eusebus.
"They are selling these on the streets," she said. "Anakin seemed to
have trouble, but he's in second place now."
Obi-Wan nodded, taking the viewscreen and jumping into the speeder.
She put her hand on the speeder for a moment. "Vista used Bog. Bog
admired him."
Obi-Wan nodded. "Bog will be all right. He just needs to tell the
truth."
Biting her lip, she nodded.
Obi-Wan took off. His comlink signaled, and he answered it.
"I have information for you on those Senators," Jocasta Nu said. "They
aren't on a committee together. But they have all taken the same position
on the same issue. The Commerce Guild is proposing legislation that would
give them control of banking practices in the Core Worlds. It is an
enormously profitable contract."
"Do the Senators oppose it?"
"Of course. It's a terrible idea to consolidate power that way,"
Jocasta Nu answered. "Rumor has it that many have been bribed to support
it. The vote will be close. But the list of Senators you gave me have sworn
to block it."
"Are the Ruling Power of Euceron involved?"
"No. But don't you want to know who is a member of the Commerce Guild?
"
"Maxo Vista?"
"Indeed," Jocasta Nu said, sounding disappointed that Obi-Wan had
guessed. "He was recently invited to join. Do you know who proposed his
candidacy?"
"No, and I don't have time to guess - "
"Liviani Sarno."
Obi-Wan let out a breath. So his worst suspicions were true. The
treachery had begun at the top. The Commerce Guild would do anything to
ensure that the legislation would pass. As head of the Games Council,
Liviani Sarno was in the perfect position to concoct a scheme to discredit
the Senators who opposed it. Eager to join the Guild, no doubt Maxo Visto
had agreed to take part.
No wonder Liviani Sarno had been so concerned about the theft of Bog's
speeder. She knew the information on Bog's datapad could be traced back to
her once the bats were discovered.
He ended the communication and concentrated on getting to the finish
line as fast as he could. He would not feel easy until he saw Anakin cross
the line, safe.
He contacted Siri. "Don't let Liviani Sarno interfere," he told her.
"She may have been the one behind everything."
"I haven't seen her," Siri said. "But Vista seems pleased about
something. That must be it. He must think Sarno will save him."
Obi-Wan returned to his piloting. He was almost at the caves now. It
was strange how he had pulled a thread, and the plot had come undone.
Didi's bet had led to a web of treachery. It never failed to surprise him,
just a little, how far beings would go to advance their interests, how much
they would risk for an easy gain. Together Liviani Sarno and Maxo Vista had
wealth and prestige, yet it was not enough. And poor Aarno Dering, just a
petty criminal with nothing to lose except his life. Obi-Wan thought back
on his few possessions, his neat quarters. Dering was probably hoping to
have enough credits to support himself for the rest of his life. No doubt
he had taken pride in what he did. Obi-Wan thought back on the two chronos,
set for morning. Dering must have been good at his job. He knew the
importance of backup.
He knew the importance of backup.
Obi-Wan grabbed the screen and peered at it as he drove. Anakin was
staying close to the rear of Hekula's Podracer. He tried to contact him on
his comlink, but Anakin did not answer.
Answer it, Padawan. You know it is me.
Obi-Wan contacted Ry-Gaul. "Something else is going to happen to
Anakin's Podracer," he said.
"The Force is still disturbed," Ry-Gaul agreed. "Where are the most
spectators?"
"At the finish line. I am there."
"That's where it will happen. I'll be there soon."
Obi-Wan pushed the engines to maximum. The boulevard ended and he
zoomed along a dusty road, then over to the rolling hills. He remembered
exactly where the cave entrance was and barely reduced speed as he crashed
through the branches and slid' into the tunnel.
He halted the speeder in the pit hangar. Groups of Pit Droids,
mechanics, and members of the Podracing teams were crowded well clear of
the finish line, view-screens in hand. He spotted Doby and Deland.
"He's still second," Doby fretted. "He's not going to win. And it
looked like he almost crashed. I don't understand this!"
"All we can do is wait," Deland said, with a glance at his sister.
Sebulba had already called to Djulla to break out the food and drink
for the celebration. He leaned over, watching his viewscreen avidly.
"That's my boy!" he cackled. "Smash them all!"
Ry-Gaul, Tru, and Ferus approached Obi-Wan. "We can do nothing now,"
Ry-Gaul said.
Obi-Wan scanned the crowd. Each being was staring intently at a
viewscreen. Some crowded around one small screen, others shared with one or
two friends. He had to be right. There had to be someone who would activate
the backup system by hand.
One being sat alone. A plain brown robe swept down to the floor. A
hood hid a face bent intently over a viewscreen. Then a hand moved to reach
inside the robe toward a pocket. A datapad appeared. In that brief movement
Obi-Wan glimpsed a robe underneath the plain brown cloak. The color was
brilliant scarlet and the thick veda cloth was embroidered with orange
septsilk thread.
Obi-Wan took off. He hurdled over some Pit Droids coiling a
lubrication hose and avoided a disabled Pod-racer being wheeled into a
transport. Startled gazes followed him as he rushed toward the seats.
The noise of the Podracers suddenly echoed through the caves. They
were close. The spectators stood.
He knew, even as he ran, that he was too late. His throat constricted
with pain.
Liviani Sarno touched the screen on her datapad, then slipped it back
into a pocket. She quickly rose and jumped to the floor, hurrying away from
the stands. She kept the viewscreen in front of her so she could keep her
eye on the Podracers.
Obi-Wan took a quick look at his own viewscreen. They were close,
racing now down a straightaway. There was one sharp turn right before the
spectator stands, and then a short distance to the finish line.
He strode forward and put his hand on Sarno's arm. She looked up at
him, surprised and, for a moment, frightened.
"I'll take that datapad," he said.
"What are you doing?" Liviani hissed. "I am here undercover. I am
observing. Go away."
"What did you just do?"
"Nothing," she said, her eyes on the screen as the Podracers raced
down the last straightaway. She struggled to get away. "Let me go!"
"If you did nothing, why are you so afraid?" Obi-Wan asked. The
Podracers approached the last curve. He kept his hand on her wrist.
"Let me go!" Liviani screamed, her eyes wide with fear.
It is up to you now, Anakin. I failed to stop her. I cannot help you.
There is only the Living Force.
Anakin was on a straightaway, but he knew his steering had failed
completely as soon as it happened. He knew his braking system had shorted
as well. The warning lights stayed green. No red lights flashed. The
Podracer did not wobble or shift. But the Force had gathered like a sudden
storm cloud and filled his vision. He could see clearly and yet he knew the
cloud was there.
This time the problem would not be easy to fix. It had not happened
through the nav computer. He flipped switch after switch, but some kind of
override had been programmed into his Podracer.
The turn was ahead. He was still hugging Hekula's tail. He had been
preparing to make his move and pass him just before the turn. Now he knew
he'd never make it. Instead, the Podracer would not turn. It would go out
of control and crash into the stands.
He felt the Force around him and in him. In moments like this, Anakin
felt capable of anything. The Force was like a gifted companion, a far-
seeing guide, a power that gave his muscles strength and his mind and heart
vision and will. He felt at the center of the moving Force. Ready.
There was only one thing to do, and he knew it. He saw the steps ahead
that he needed to take. He saw the difficulties and the odds. He even saw
the possibility of his own death. It did not matter.
He made his move. He slammed himself against the side of the Podracer
and pushed the engine so that he maneuvered close to the left side of the
tunnel wall.
Then he accelerated and came up neck and neck with Hekula on his
right. Engines screaming, he was less than a centimeter from being smashed
against the cave wall.
Hekula shot him an incredulous glance. It was as though Anakin was
inside his mind. Hekula could take the opportunity to make one quick swipe,
forcing him against the cave wall, and Anakin would be a fireball in
seconds. But if Hekula did that, Neluenf, who was close behind them, would
swing out to the right and no doubt win the race.
Revenge or victory? Anakin had bet on the answer.
Hekula did not turn his Podracer to sideswipe Ana-kin. Instead, he
began the turn. Victory was too close for him to take the chance. Anakin's
Podracer was so snug against Hekula's that it was forced to turn left as
well. Sparks flew as his Podracer scraped along the wall.
The shell of the Podracer began to smoke. Anakin tasted smoke and fire
in his mouth. He did not let up on his speed. If he did, he would be dead.
The spectators gasped as the two Podracers rounded the left curve,
seemingly one connected beast. The flat straightaway was ahead, the finish
line crowded with the Podracer teams and spectators who had risked the
anger of Podracer security and jumped out of the stands.
And there was his Master, looking straight at him. The Podracer was
barreling toward him at 600 kilometers an hour. And he had no brakes.
Anakin pushed the speed, passing Hekula. Then he cut the power and
slammed all his weight to one side.
His Podracer began to spin. He crossed the finish line, spinning so
wildly that neither Hekula or Neluenf could pass him.
The Podracer came to a slow stop. At first Anakin could not hear the
cheers over the ringing in his ears. He had won. And no one was dead.
Suddenly, he felt very tired. He saw the faces as a blur. Liviani
Sarno, looking strangely pale. His Master, looking grave but relieved. And
Sebulba, snarling at him, waving his arms and crying "Foul!"
Hot anger spilled through Anakin. He threw off his goggles and vaulted
out of the Podracer.
"You!" he thundered at Hekula and Sebulba. "You're the cheats!"
Because of them, countless innocent beings might have been killed.
Anakin had no doubt that Sebulba had been the one behind the sabotage of
Deland's Pod-racer. They could not completely rely on getting the track
information first. They had to destroy their closest rival. It was just
like Sebulba to go that one, cruel step further.
The red mist he had come to recognize as rage filled his vision,
driving out the memory of the clarity of the Force. He could see nothing
but his rage against Sebulba, at anyone who would risk so many lives just
to win.
"Slave boy! You have to cheat to win! There's no mother watching this
time to disapprove!"
The taunting words filled his head and the red mist grew dense and
hot.
He reached down for his lightsaber, but a strong hand closed over his.
"No, Padawan."
Obi-Wan's voice reached him as if from a long distance.
"He did it." Anakin struggled to keep the rage away. He pictured the
red mist leaving him, floating over a distant hill. "He deserves to be
punished."
"No." Obi-Wan's voice was stronger still. He drew Anakin away. "Listen
to me, Padawan. Sebulba did not cheat. It was Doby and Deland."
Anakin blinked. He could not absorb the words. "It was...
"They made a deal with Maxo Vista. They would have advance knowledge
of the Podrace track. What they didn't know was that Vista was going to
sabotage the Podracer. He wanted a fireball, a tremendous accident to
occur."
"That means that... 1 was getting advance track information, not
Hekula," Anakin said slowly. "It wasn't just the Force." That explained
Hekula's sometimes puzzling failure to get ahead. He looked around. "Where
are they?"
"They've disappeared with Djulla," Obi-Wan said. "I am sure they did
it to save their sister. She has been freed, and they are gone. They most
likely hid a transport nearby."
Sebulba was still watching him. Hekula sat slumped in his Podracer,
too stunned to emerge. "You'll pay for this, slave boy!" Sebulba snarled.
Anakin took a step toward him but again his Master stopped him.
"He is my enemy," Anakin said.
"You are a Jedi," Obi-Wan told him. His voice was low and pitched only
for Anakin. "You are a Jedi," he repeated.
The mist in Anakin's head cleared. He took a breath and looked around.
Ferus Olin was watching him, as he always was, his dark eyes gleaming with
secret knowledge, as if he had glimpsed the red mist that was Anakin's
rage. Tru nodded at him, his expression showing only loyalty and affection.
Ry-Gaul appeared to be guarding Liviani Sarno.
Nothing was as he thought it would be. He felt his legs trembling. He
had almost lost control in front of his fellow Padawans and two Jedi
Masters. He had come so close.
Obi-Wan's voice was gentle. "Come, Padawan. There is a mission to
complete."
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The hearing was presided over by Ruler Three, Ruler Six, and Ruler
Seven. The entire Games Council was allowed to attend.
Obi-Wan was not allowed to hear the testimony before his. It was how
hearings were conducted on Euceron. He watched Maxo Vista emerge, then
Liviani Sarno, then Bog. At last he was called.
Obi-Wan laid
Liviani Sarno and Maxo Vista of conspiring to disgrace the Senators in
order for the Commerce Guild to pass legislation that would earn them
fortunes beyond measure. He accused Maxo Vista specifically of the murder
of Aarno Dering.
"Have you evidence of this?" Ruler Three asked.
"The files on Liviani Sarno's and Maxo Vista's datapads were timed to
erase themselves," Obi-Wan admitted. "And no one saw Maxo Vista run away
from Dering but me."
"Did you see his face?"
"No," Obi-Wan said. "He wore a concealing helmet. Yet I knew it was
him."
"So we have only your word that the hero of Euceron and the
illustrious head of the Games are guilty," Ruler Three said.
"My word is all you need," Obi-Wan answered.
"Perhaps on Coruscant," Ruler Three said coolly. "But not on Euceron.
You claim that the Podracer was programmed to crash into a crowd. But it
did not crash."
"Only thanks to the skill of my Padawan."
"You claim Aarno Dering fixed three events, yet Aarno Dering is dead.