He moved forward, still keeping in the shadow of the overhang, to watch the ship land. The ramp lowered, and the pilot got out. Someone moved forward to greet him. It was young man dressed in a long cloak and a wrapped headdress.
"I have been waiting for three minutes," the boy snapped as the pilot approached him.
"My apologies, my Prince. Equipment check took a bit longer than usual. But we are ready to fly."
Obi-Wan stiffened. It must be Prince Beju!
"Don't bore me with the Obvious," the Prince snapped. "are my supplies loaded?"
"Yes, my Prince. Is your royal guard ready to board?"
"Don't bore me with questions? just obey me!" Prince Beju ordered. "I expect takeoff in two minutes. I will be resting during the flight, so do not disturb me."
Prince Beju flung his cloak behind a shoulder and stalked off. It was clear to Obi-Wan that the Prince must be heading to Phindar for the meeting with the Syndicat. Should he prevent the Prince from leaving?
No, Obi-Wan thought. He would just end up in prison, this time on Gala, if he interfered here. Better to show aboard and see if he could get back to Phindar.
Obi-Wan watched as Prince Beju disappeared up the exit ramp. He was surprised to see that Beju wasn't much older than he was. He was the same height as Obi-Wan as well, and had the same sturdy frame…
The idea flashed into Obi-Wan's mind like a powered-up lightsaber. Was it too risky? Should he attempt it?
He had only minutes to decide. Cautiously, he slipped onto thew ship. Prince Beju was nowhere in sight. Obi-Wan realized that the Prince was nowhere in sight. Obi-Wan realized that the Prince's transport that had been converted for his royal use. It was fitted with every luxury. Prince Beju was probably in his stateroom, behind the gilded door immediately to Obi-Wan right.
Obi-Wan quickly went into the cockpit. He sat for a moment, familiarizing himself with the controls. He had piloted cloud cars and air-speeders and once, a huge transport ship. This shouldn't be too hard.
He headed back into the stateroom again an opened a closet door. One held supplies, but he found what he was looking for in the next? a row headdresses similar to the one the Prince wore. Obi-Wan quickly slipped one on his head, then wrapped the deep purple cloak in a rich fabric around his shoulders.
He returned to the cockpit and sat in the pilot seat. He saw the pilot heading for the ship, along with three royal guards. Quickly, Obi-Wan deactivated the exit ramp and started the ion engines. The pilot looked up, startled.
Obi-Wan could see the puzzlement on his face. The Padawan had counted on the fact that the headdress and cloak would confuse the pilot and the guards. They would assume that Prince Beju was piloting the ship. Not for long, perhaps? but if Obi-Wan was lucky, he would have enough time to take off.
The comlink suddenly blared to life. "Two minutes are up!" Prince Beju barked. "Why are we not taking off?"
"Immediately, my Prince," Obi-Wan said crisply. He started preparations for takeoff. The ion engines revved. The pilot and the guards moved closer, trying to get a better look. Obi-Wan saw one guard's hand move to his blaster.
"Now," he muttered, and the ship blasted out of the atmosphere of Gala. He waited until they were in deep space. Then he tossed the headdress and cloak aside, for the moment.
A weapons cabinet was mounted on the wall of the cockpit. He selected a blaster. Then he made his way back to the Prince's stateroom.
The Prince was reclining on a sleep couch when he entered. "I said I didn't want to be disturbed!" he snapped, not looking up.
Obi-Wan walked closer. He placed the blaster under the Prince's chin. "So sorry."
The Prince twisted around to look at Obi-Wan. "Guards!" he screamed.
"They decided to stay on Gala," Obi-Wan said.
"Get off of my ship!" Prince Beju blustered. "I'll see you dead! Who are you? How dare you!"
"Don't bore me with questions," Obi-Wan said, hauling the Prince to his feet. "Just obey me."
Chapter 16
Qui-Gon, Paxxi, and Guerra found a place to hide behind a pile of repair equipment in the Syndicat hanger. They had found out from Duenna when the Prince was scheduled to arrive. Baftu and a troop of assassin droids and Syndicat guards waited on the landing platform.
The Derida brothers and Qui-Gon wore their stolen Syndicat armor coats. Even though the coats gave them some protection, it was better to keep out of sight.
Kaadi had entered enthusiastically into their plan. She, too, thought the Prince's visit would be a perfect time to strike. She had contacted her rebel operatives. All they would need was a signal from her when the warehouses were open. She had designated people to find weapons and distribute them, find good, find supplies. And when the bacta was loaded onto the Prince's ship, she would make sure that the Phindians saw it happen.
Qui-Gon couldn't imagine the fury of a people deprived so long of what they needed to live. Surely the capital would explode. That would give them plenty of diversion to break in and steal the treasury. Once the Syndicat was destroyed, peace could return to Phindar at last.
So why was he so uneasy? Qui-Gon wondered. Perhaps it was because the plan seemed so simple, yet was so dependent on their guesses. What if the Prince went to headquarters first? What if Baftu double-crossed him and withheld the bacta? What if Paxxi's anti-register device didn't work? Qui-Gon had tested it on a security lock of Kaadi's, but what if the warehouse locks were different? It would have been dangerous to test it first, but should they have tried?
Perhaps he was allowing his worry about Obi-Wan in interfere with his judgement. He was anxious to bring about the Syndicat collapse so that he could find his Padawan. But was he acting rashly?
"You are worrying, Jedi-Gon," Guerra whispered. "You should not. Everything will be smooth. Paxxi and I have always been lucky."
Qui-Gon had certainly not seen any evidence to support this. But Guerra was trying to be helpful, so he nodded in thanks.
"Yes so, we guarantee this," Paxxi added in a whisper. "The Syndicat will be weakened, maybe collapse, and Prince Beju will take off with no bacta and no alliance. Just so!"
"There is the ship!" Guerra hissed.
The Prince's ship came into view, sleek and white. It glided to a perfect landing. The ramp slowly lowered. Qui-Gon tensed. Now everything would begin.
The Prince slowly walked down the ramp alone. First, Qui-Gon was surprised. He had assumed the Prince would arrive with a royal guard.