"Ow!" he cried, rubbing his forehead.
Obi-Wan hurried forward. "What is it?"
Den craned his neck to see into the compartment. He let out a low whistle. "Somebody's not turning over his own wealth to the ship treasury, that's for sure," he said. "Look at all this crystalline vertex. Tradable throughout the galaxy." Den held up his cupped hands, displaying the currency. "Can you imagine his face if he found all this gone?" Den made an approximation of Vox's long, thin face, then added an expression of horror.
"Put it back," Obi-Wan told him sternly.
"Joke, right?" Den asked hopefully.
"May I remind you that you're a former thief?" Obi-Wan pointed out.
Den sighed and let the vertex run through his fingers back into the drawer. "Let's try the next button. This time I'll keep my distance." Den jumped up on the sleep-couch for safety this time. He pressed the next button, and another concealed compartment slid out.
Obi-Wan hurried forward. "There's a holoprojector here, too. Now we're getting somewhere." Obi-Wan quickly activated the device, accessing the file directory.
"Let's see," Obi-Wan murmured. "Here's an itinerary of stops the BioCruiser will make over the next six months."
"That's odd," Den said. "I didn't think stops were planned in advance. We just cruise until we have a problem, then find the nearest planet. Or at least we're supposed to think so."
"Here's an evacuation plan for the ship." Obi-Wan accessed the file. "It looks prettyroutine. But why would Vox be so interested in safety procedures?"
"Beats me. I was on the original committee that drafted the plan. He never came to the meetings. What's that?" Den pointed to an icon at the bottom of the plan. Obi-Wan touched it, and another file opened. It was titled "Broken Circle," but it was blank.
"This could be coded," Den said. "Holofiles can appear blank if you don't know the password. Not to worry, my friends. I never met a code I couldn't crack. I just need a little time." He looked over at a chrono on Vox's table. "We'd better get back. The meeting is over. But let's take this before we go." Den reached down and swept up the tiny holoprojector unit. He stuffed it inside his shirt.
"But Vox will notice that it's missing," Anakin said.
"So what?" Den grinned. "By the time he figures it out, you two will be halfway to Coruscant."
They had started toward the door when Obi-Wan noticed a light flashing on Vox's main control panel. "What's that?"
Den went forward to examine it. "There's a ship approaching the docking bay. Could it be your pickup?"
"If it is, we'd better get back to our quarters," Anakin said… just as they heard footsteps outside the door.
Chapter 19
Obi-Wan signaled them to retreat toward the closet. He would rather avoid confrontation. It was imperative that they get the holoprojector out so that Den could break the code of that file. They squeezed inside Vox's huge closet, pressed up against his many fine tunics and robes. Obi-Wan left the door open a tiny crack.
Vox entered the room. He immediately crossed to his sleep-couch. He accessed the hidden drawer with the crystalline vertex. Obi-Wan heard Den let out a muffled groan as Vox scooped it out into a drawstring pouch. Vox tucked the pouch inside his tunic. He looked around the room for a moment, his eyes taking in the comfortable quarters. Then he hurried out, the door closing behind him.
They eased out of the closet.
"If he's takingall his vertex, something's up," Den said.
"Can you get us to the docking bay to meet Garen without being seen?" Obi-Wan asked. "Another Jedi might come in handy."
"Does a nightcrawler crawl?" Den grinned.
Den knew the unused corridors of the ship, where food and supplies were moved from one area to another. He was able to get them to the docking bay without being seen. They lingered near the outflow pipes. Garen's sleek starship had landed, and he was checking in with the BioCruiser's technicians.
"If they don't know we're missing, they will soon," Obi-Wan said. "We have to get Garen's attention."
Anakin focused inward. He drew in the Force from all the elements around him. He motioned to Garen and saw the tall young man look up. His gaze roamed around the docking bay and then focused on where they were hiding.
"He knows we're here," Anakin said.
Den gazed at him, baffled. "How did you do that?" He shook his head. "Is it really too late for me to become a Jedi? I could use some of those skills. Not to mention those lightsabers."
"Yes, it's too late," Obi-Wansaid, his eyes on Garen.
Garen was now talking in a friendly way with the BioCruiser tech worker, gesturing around the giant hangar. Obi-Wan knew that his old friend was complimenting the ship and the design. The tech worker nodded, gesturing at the space, and walked off. Garen began to casually stroll around the hangar, seeming to admire its design.
He came closer and lingered near them. "What's up?"
Obi-Wan spoke in a low voice. "Things have changed. We need you to sneak away and come with us."
"Be happy to." Garen glanced around at the tech workers. They were busy at the console, so he quickly melted back in the shadow of the outflow pipes.
Obi-Wan quickly explained the situation. "We need to investigate what Vox Chun is doing before we leave the ship," he concluded. "I have a feeling the people aboard the BioCruiser could be in danger."
Gravely, Garen nodded.
"I've got a place where we can hole up until I break this code," Den told them. "It's not far."
They sneaked back the way they had come. As they reached the utility corridor they had used to enter, suddenly Den sprang back and motioned to them to do the same. "It's Kern," he whispered. "Why is he heading to the docking bay?"
They pressed back into the shadows of the columns supporting the bay. Kern passed them, looking harried.
Garen frowned. "Who is that?"
"We think he might be in league with Vox," Obi-Wan told him. "We don't have proof yet."
Garen nodded, but his expression still seemed absentminded."He looks… familiar."