Obi-Wan didn't have much time to think. At that moment the doors whisked closed. He leaped off the platform and grabbed the railing. His fingers arched over the top, barely securing a grip.
This was not going to be fun.
The small shuttle gradually picked up speed and was soon roaring along. Obi-Wan tried to ignore his aching arms and fingers so he could focus on the conversation taking place inside the shuttle. It was difficult with the vehicle's noise and the wind in his ears. But one of the portals was open, and he was able to overhear occasional tidbits.
"The meeting…" "Our best one yet…" "Our parents' attention…"
As he listened, Obi-Wan felt sure that he'd discovered Vorzyd 4's secret. The kids on this planet were up to something; there was a lot more going on than the adult laborers knew. It was even possible that the kids themselves were responsible for the sabotage.
Obi-Wan was wondering what the kids' motives were — as well as what their next prank would be — when he looked off to his right. The shuttle was about to enter a narrow tunnel, and he wasn't going to fit!
Chapter 6
Obi-Wan squeezed himself tightly against the side of the shuttle as it zoomed into the tunnel. The hard duracrete surface grazed the back of his tunic, but didn't scrape his skin. A moment later the tunnel widened and the shuttle came to a screeching halt.
Obi-Wan nearly went flying. Using all of his resolve, he tightened his grip on the railing. His knuckles were white and the tips of his fingers throbbed with pain. But he couldn't fall and risk being discovered.
After what seemed like a long time, the shuttle came to a full stop. Obi- Wan let out a deep breath and slid carefully to the ground.
The shuttle doors opened again, and Grath exited along with the driver, who Obi-Wan now saw was female. The two chatted animatedly as they disappeared down a passageway.
Obi-Wan followed several paces behind. The passageway was dark, and he had to walk carefully because the floor was not entirely smooth.
Grath and the girl quickly made their way through a maze of hallways and up several flights of stairs. Obi-Wan noted that Vorzydiak kids walked rapidly, like the adults. For efficiency, he supposed. But their animated discussion was nothing like their parents' clipped method of communicating.
When they emerged at the top of the stairs they were in a deserted office building. Empty desks and dusty tables and chairs were scattered around the space, which had clearly not been used for a while. A small group of kids had already gathered in a large, empty office. Obi-Wan decided not to enter the room, and hid under a large desk just outside the door.
"What took you so long?" one of the kids asked as Grath and the girl entered the office.
"Shuttle hang-up," Grath replied slowly.
There was a pause, and for a moment Obi-Wan was worried that Grath was talking about him. But he couldn't imagine why Grath would pretend not to see him if he had.
"Nania was late," Grath added.
Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief.
"My parents were watching me like a pair of harks," Nania explained.
"I had to wait until they were asleep."
"Well, you're here now," a boy's voice said. "The Freelies meeting can officially begin."
There was a moment of silence while the kids all dropped their hands to their sides. Then everyone spoke at once. The words "It is to remain secret. It is to remain peaceful. It is to remain a surprise," echoed off the walls.
Obi-Wan was struck by how different this chanting was compared to the low drone the laborers made at the end of their workday. The kids' chant sounded alive and full of energy.
With the rules recited, the meeting began in earnest. From what Obi- Wan could gather, it centered around the youth reporting on their latest pranks and acts of sabotage. They took turns speaking, telling one another what they had done and how things had turned out. There was a lot of excitement in the voices, but the teens also waited patiently to speak. The meeting was energetic but orderly.
"We changed the traffic signals and the workers were an hour late for their posts," a boy reported.
"My father came home furious about that," a girl piped up. "But I think I saw my mother smile when he told her about it."
"Good," Grath said. "We want to get them thinking."
"The fake work orders we gave at the electronics factory really got everyone confused," someone else said. "They were actually putting the machines together the wrong way for half the morning."
"I heard those machines played music instead of giving off static,"
reported another voice.
"Did they know it was music?" a girl asked.
As Obi-Wan listened, he felt torn. He was not sure that what the kids were doing was right. He had seen firsthand that it was causing confusion and distress to the adults. And the accusations against Vorzyd 5 were unfair. But he had to admit that if he were a boy on Vorzyd 4, he would get pleasure out of pulling pranks such as these — especially if faced with the bleak, work-filled future that lay ahead. And the kids were working together, putting their minds to creative use. Not to mention that they clearly trusted, liked, and relied on one another. That was more than many of the laborers could say.
Besides, Obi-Wan reasoned, nobody was really getting hurt. The Freelies' own rules plainly stated that the pranks were to be peaceful. And though he couldn't be certain, he suspected that they had a good motive.
One Obi-Wan could believe in.
All of a sudden, images of Melida/Daan flashed in Obi-Wan's head.
Death, destruction..
Melida/Daan was a planet ravaged by generations of civil war, and a group there called the Young was trying to bring an end to the fighting.
Obi-Wan had felt strongly about the Young's cause, and had even left the Jedi path to join them.
The decision had been a mistake. While the ideas of the Young were just and good, the situation was complicated. There was fighting among the leaders, and deceit between the generations. Many of the Young were killed, and there was much bloodshed on the planet. Obi-Wan had been caught in the battle. When it was all over he felt as ravaged as the planet itself. He was grateful that the Jedi Council had agreed to take him back. He knew from experience that it was dangerous to believe too quickly in the causes of others.