I don't know who. Now can I go?"
"How did you get access to the evacuation plans?" Anakin asked.
"I didn't. Nonce did. And I don't know how he got them.
Now can I go?"
"If you stayed around long enough to raid all those homes and businesses, how could you be sure to get a place for the evacuation?" Tru asked.
There was a subtle shift in Ruuin's gaze. He did look away. But something changed. Anakin knew he was about to lie.
"We would have been done in time."
"No, you wouldn't," Anakin said. "And you wouldn't endanger yourself and your new riches by taking a chance. So what was the plan? How were you going to get off-planet?"
"The same way everyone else is," Ruuin said. "Those ferry ships. Can I go now?"
Anakin didn't know what to do. It was obvious that Ruuin wasn't going to tell them the truth. He was more afraid of someone else than he was of the Padawans.
Suddenly, Tru reached over and snatched Ruuin's datapad from his belt. "Maybe this will tell us something."
"Hey! Hey! That's my property!"
Anakin glanced at the stolen plunder around them. "Do you really think you're in a position to complain?"
Tru was busily clicking keys. "Look," he said to Anakin, tilting the datapad toward him. "See these coordinates? This must be a landing site. And it doesn't match the ones we know for the ferry ships."
"You have an escape plan," Anakin told Ruuin. "Let me tell you something. You're not going to make it. You're not going to make it onto a ship at all. Let me tell you something else." He took a step closer to Ruuin. "You have much more to fear from the Jedi than you do from anyone else. Even the Avoni."
"The Avoni?" Ruuin's tongue darted out nervously. "I never mentioned the Avoni. Look, you've got to let me go, all right? You don't understand the penalty I'm facing. I could be imprisoned for treason." He stopped suddenly.
"Treason," Anakin said slowly. "That means there is another planetary government involved."
"Like the Avoni," Tru said.
Ruuin wiped his perspiring forehead. "All right. Yes, it was the Avoni. The coordinates are for another Avoni ship.
They're airlifting the raiders off-planet. They don't want us to get caught here. We need to leave before the Senate ships arrive. They promised us that no matter what happens, we'll get off. They backed our raids. They wanted as much disruption and panic to spread as possible. We're all supposed to get houses and money once we get to Avon."
"Didn't you ask yourself why the Avoni were doing all this?" Tru asked, disgusted. "Were you just going to allow them to invade your planet?"
"I don't ask questions," Ruuin said. "I'm a thief, not a philosopher."
"The panic would distract the population even further,"
Tru murmured to Anakin. "They wouldn't have time to figure out what the Avoni were planning."
Anakin nodded. He turned to Ruuin. "Who was Nonce's contact? How did you get those prototype droids? Who is the contact with the Avoni?" he rapped out.
"I don't know anything," Ruuin said desperately. "I'm just a thief. I'm nobody. There's no one left to talk to. Now can I go?"
Chapter Sixteen
Curi's courageous test to remove her bio-iso suit soon confirmed that there was no longer any danger from the toxin. Additional testing proved it.
All the Jedi removed their suits. It was a relief to Obi- Wan to breathe the air again. Without the constricting suit, the Jedi would be able to fight more effectively, should they need to.
"We need to head back to Clear Sector immediately," Obi- Wan said. "If we can stop the evacuation, we can stop any planned takeover by the Avoni. They're expecting an unpopulated planet."
"You know what this means about the comm systems, don't you?" Soara said. "The Avoni must be jamming the planet.
It's the only explanation."
The other Jedi nodded. They had all come to the same conclusion.
They could do no more in Isolation Sector. Curi had found two functioning speeders for them. They split into teams and took off through the empty city, heading for the outskirts and the fastest route to the Clear Sector Despite the danger of the coming invasion, Obi-Wan felt relief that he would get to see Anakin again at last. He was anxious to see how his Padawan had fared.
"You look relieved," Siri said, giving him a quick glance as she piloted the speeder. "I am, too."
"You didn't seem very worried."
"When do I ever seem worried?" Siri said with a short laugh. "I just hide things better than you do, that's all.
Sometimes I wonder if you expect me to have any feelings at all, Obi-Wan."
It was true. Obi-Wan did not often look beneath Siri's cool confidence. He should have known better.
As they reached the vast plain outside the city, Siri increased her speed. "Things always came easily to Ferus at the Temple," she remarked. "His gifts helped him sail through his classes. His good nature won him many friends.
But you and I know that the galaxy teaches us harder lessons."
"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "We know this to be true."
"So I worry about the day Ferus discovers this, too." Siri said. "Failure is part of being a Jedi, too. The one who does not have to work hard for his gifts will one day fail, as we all do. He will try his hardest, he will sacrifice everything he has to give, and still he will not win. I suspect his failure will be rougher than it needs to be. I wait for that day, and I worry."
Obi-Wan feared the same for Anakin. Siri had put into words a certain dread he carried in his heart.
And he had congratulated himself for overcoming his old rivalry with Siri! Obi-Wan shook his head, smiling.
Obviously traces of that rivalry remained. Otherwise he would have confided in her.
"What is it?" Siri asked, catching his smile.
"Remind me to stop underestimating you," he said.
She grinned. "Gladly."
"And thank you."
Siri turned her attention to the controls. She never acknowledged thanks or compliments. But Obi-Wan knew the moment had added to their friendship.
He saw a speck on the horizon, and his attention sharpened. The surge in the Force told Obi-Wan that the speck was not one of the native uizani birds of Radnor.
"To our right," he said to Siri over the noise of the airspeeder.
She nodded. Obi-Wan contacted Ry-Gaul on his comlink and alerted him to the speck, which was now growing into a black shape.
"Definitely some kind of transport," Siri said.
The dark presence in the Force was growing. Wan felt it like a wave against his skin.
"Strange," he said. "It looks like a smaller version of an MTT." He was familiar with the Multi Troop Transport ships from his dealings with the Trade Federation. Battle Droids could be compressed and loaded into the ship with no wasted space.
"An MTT? I think you might be right. Well, now we have the answer to my question," Siri said grimly. "We know how they are transporting Battle Droids. The MTT must have been in the cargo hold of one of the ferry ships."