Jedi Voyage #6 - The Dark Ruse

Chapter Three

Anakin walked with Obi-Wan, following Swanny through the dark streets to an industrial part of Naatan, an area made even darker by the presence of the shells of unlighted buildings looking overhead. Swanny led them to a booth that was a tall cylinder made of opaque black glass in a passage between two former warehouses.
  A"This is a forced air tube," Swanny said. "We use them instead of turbolifts. If you've never been on one, it can feel a little strange. You step out on air, and the pressure lessens, dropping you below." He opened a control panel and punched in a level and a speed. "I'll keep it slow for your first time. Just don't ever turn the control to 'eject.' That's what we used to get rid of toxic substances - we'd blast them into the atmosphere. The roof of the cylinder retracts, and you'd find yourself lost in the clouds."
  "Are there many levels below?" Obi-Wan asked.
  "About twenty," Rorq said. "And the tunnels extend over the entire area of Naatan. It's like another city down there. You'll see."
  Rorq stepped into the air tube with no floor. He hung there for a second, grinning at them, then shot below.
  Swanny gestured. "After you."
  Obi-Wan stepped out into what seemed to be a black void. Anakin heard the faint sound of rushing air. The next thing he knew, his Master had sunk down out of sight.
  "Next," Swanny said.
  Anakin stepped into the chamber. It felt strange to feel the air pressure against his boots. He descended, the air rushing against his ears. The sensation felt oddly familiar, even though he'd never been in an airlift before. When he reached the bottom he felt the shock of the ground against his boots and almost stumbled as he stepped off.
  Obi-Wan and Rorq were waiting. After a moment, Swanny joined them, stepping off the airlift with the ease of long practice.
  "Ah," Swanny said, spreading his arms to take in the dim, dirty tunnel, "home, sweet home."
  Anakin wrinkled his nose. The air was dank and heavy and smelled stale.
  Swanny grinned. "The purification system is hooked into the power grid. Sometimes it's off, sometimes it's on. Lately it's been off."
  Swanny activated a glow rod and they set off down the tunnel. It was wide and high, big enough for the four of them to walk side by side.
  "This is one of the main transport tunnels," Swanny explained. "We used to have speeders operating along here. Now we motor the old-fashioned way."
  Obi-Wan glanced around at the network of tunnels branching off from the one they were walking down. "I don't know how you keep from getting lost."
  "There are map kiosks, but when the power's down, we can't access them," Rorq said. "Luckily, we could find our way around down here blindfolded. Patrol, Swanny."
  Quickly, Swanny deactivated the glow rod. Rorq dived into a side tunnel and Swanny urged them through the opening. They pressed against the walls of the side tunnel as a speeder slowly made its way down the main tunnels. Two guards sat, blaster rifles at the ready.
  "Better to avoid them," Swanny whispered. "Decca's crew."
  "Does she run patrols frequently?" Obi-Wan asked.
  "I'd say randomly," Swanny said. "She doesn't have enough fuel for regular patrols, so she counts on surprise. She's always looking to round up some of Striker's men if she can. They capture you and ask questions later. I'd rather avoid a rifle butt on the scalp, thank you."
  They walked back into the main tunnel. "The substations are where the main computer relays used to be," Swanny said, holding the glow rod high so that they could pick their way down the tunnel. "Most of them have been destroyed in blaster shoot-'em-up battles. There are also docking bays for our once-gleaming fleet of transports. Decca controls most of the docking bays. And the rest of the crimelords have taken over most of the substations."
  "Where do the Mawans live?" Anakin asked.
  "They took over a half-dug-out area that was supposed to be another loading bay before the Purge. They set up a kind of tent village there. We subrats serve as scouts to protect them from raids. We also ferry food, water, and other supplies."
  "For a fee," Obi-Wan said.
  Swanny nodded. "A small fee, just to cover costs. We have to pay bribes to the crimelords."
  "Who controls the power grid now?" Obi-Wan asked.
  "Striker, at the moment," Swanny said. "That could change. The main generator is in a substation down here. Striker has it guarded."
  "Can't you switch power from the main substation to another?" Anakin asked.
  Swanny shrugged. "Technically, yes. But it's not easy. They'll need a lot of luck to boost the system from another source. Plus there's a relay substation that will shut the whole system down if procedure isn't followed. Nobody wants to do that, even the crimelords. Too much risk that the entire system would never restart. They all want to control the power grid. They don't want to destroy it."
  "What did you do before the Purge, Swanny?" Obi-Wan asked.
  "I'm a water rat," Swanny said cheerfully. "I programmed all the wastewater systems. I know every pipe down here, just about. Rorq here was on fuel transport tunnels."
  "Barely got paid a living wage to keep the surface running," Rorq grumbled.
  Swanny clapped an arm around Rorq's shoulders. "Ah, but it was a sweet life, wasn't it, my friend? Low life expectancy, no bonuses, the contempt of our fellow citizens – you've got to admit, you miss it."
  Rorq shook his head. "You're crazy."
  "That's why I'm happy," Swanny said with a twisted grin. "How else do I stay sane?"
  "Why are you working with us?" Obi-Wan asked curiously. "If the citizens take back Naatan, there's every chance you could end up underground again."
  "True words," Swanny said. "Most of the tunnel workers are hanging back. They won't give their support. They like the power they have, even if they're operating under a corrupt system that could get them killed at any moment. Call me crazy, but I want to live long enough to see the sun again. Naatan will be returned to the Mawans one day. I'm sure of that. If I help the right people, I'll be rewarded." He grinned. "Just call me a visionary with a deep interest in my own well-being."
  "If you like," Obi-Wan said.
  Anakin could see by the expression on Obi-Wan's face that his Master was amused by Swanny. It never failed to surprise him when his proper Master loosened up with some sort of odd character.
  "Now, where would you Jedi like to start?" Swanny asked. "Naturally, Rorq and myself would prefer to keep ourselves out of any extremely dangerous scenarios, but we're ready for almost anything."
  "We need to observe the systems they've set up, how they operate," Obi-Wan said. "I don't want them to know the Jedi are here, not yet. It doesn't pay to present a deal until you know what's important to your adversary."
  Rorq looked nervous. "You mean infiltrate their hideouts?"
  "Unless you can think of another way," Obi-Wan said.
  "Down, boy," Swanny said absently to Rorq. His eyes narrowed as he thought, and he stopped walking. "We arrange temporary markets for Feeana. Set up a time and place for the Mawans to buy and trade. There's one tonight. She's the one who deals with us most often. Doesn't cheat the Mawans quite as much as the others. If you keep your hoods over your faces and don't attract attention to yourselves, you could pass for the Mawans. Feeana will probably be there. She likes to keep an eye on things."
  Obi-Wan nodded. "Let's go."
  Swanny and Rorq led them through the maze of tunnels, walking fast and purposefully now. They descended several levels and twisted through a small network of tunnels that suddenly opened out into a large space.
  It had once been used for storage, that was clear. Open shelving was built into the curving durasteel wall frames. Plastoid bins lined one wall. Everything was empty. Instead, blankets were spread out on the scuffed floor of the space, and a ragtag assortment of items were spread out. Fruit that was past its prime, flour, some battered kitchen items, a broken warming unit. Folded thermal capes, their edges ragged and torn. An old pair of boots.
  The Mawans wandered among the goods. Anakin saw how their eyes lingered hungrily on the different items, how their hands dangled uselessly by their sides or how they fingered empty purses hung on belts. The last time he had seen such a hopelessness had been in the slave quarters on Tatooine.
  "They can't afford anything, but they come anyway," Swanny said.
  Bored gang members, blaster rifles in their hands, stood against the walls, some leaning and trying not to doze.
  Across the space a Mawan female sat astride a battered durasteel box, her hand resting lightly on her blaster holster. She was younger than Anakin had imagined, about Obi-Wan's age, he guessed, and she looked wiry and tough. She wore a comlink headset and spoke rapidly into it while her eyes scanned the room. Anakin kept his hood forward to conceal his face. Without the telltale blue veins of a Mawan, he would be identified immediately as an outsider.
  He and Obi-Wan kept their heads down and shuffled along with the others. Anakin knew his Master was trying to get closer, hoping to overhear whatever directions Feeana was giving on her headset.
  He looked at her with a sidelong glance and saw how sharply she was watching the crowd. Her gaze slowly dropped, and suddenly, she stood and leaped. The strength and power of the leap surprised him. She landed only centimeters away from him and Obi-Wan.
  "Spies!" she cried, her blaster leveled at Obi-Wan's chest. "Surround them!"