Katha breathed a sigh of relief as the lift door closed just before the patrol came around the corner. Now, which level do I go to? she thought, looking at the lift's buttons. She recalled that the man who freed her had said to go into the sublevels of the complex. So, she knew she needed to go down. According to the lift there were five sublevels and she was on the first. She decided to go somewhere in the middle and selected Sublevel 3. A few minutes later the lift opened, and Katha stepped quickly, but cautiously out. Then she darted to a corner of the room to get her bearings. After a few moments of trying Katha realized her connection to the Force was still severed by the ysalamiri. They must be getting close again, she thought with a frown. She was stepping out of the corner to move on when a blue stun bolt fired, just missing her.
Perin almost ran straight into Zevon and Xanin. Before they could react he spoke, "There you are! I thought I'd never find you. Hurry, Katha has escaped."
Zevon and Xanin exchanged a glance. "Yes, we know that Perin. We were just looking for you," Zevon commented.
"Sorry about sneaking in," Perin said, "I had to be certain he didn't do it, but it seems I was too late." He ran his hand through his hair nervously for effect.
"Too late? What are you talking about?" asked Zevon, staring worriedly at Perin.
Perin pretended to still be catching his breath before he continued. "Oridin became obsessed with getting Katha out. He said that he is going to take her back to the Alliance and have her punished for ratting out some mole the Alliance had among the Imperial governors. I arrived just as they broke out of the interrogation room but I couldn't stop them. A few of you men that I finally found went after her."
Again Xanin and Zevon exchanged a glance, but seemed to have no reason not to believe Perin. Xanin spoke up. "Well we better see if the men have been able to detain her." They all returned to the headquarters room and Xanin began giving out orders. Katha dove behind a nearby column as another stun bolt whizzed toward her. I'll never make it out of here on my own without a weapon, she thought. She backed slowly and silently into the shadows of the corridor, trying to think of a plan. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind. Fear gripped her heart as she thought, Oh no, I'm trapped. But the voice which spoke quietly to her, calmed her fears somewhat.
"Don't be afraid," the voice whispered, "I'm here to help you get out of here."
Katha nodded that she understood and the man let her go. She turned around to see who he was, but couldn't make out his face in the inky dark. "Who are you?" Katha asked in a whisper, "and why are you helping me?"
"The name's Oridin. You may remember me as that rude guy at the party. As for the rest I'll tell you when we aren't so pressed for time," he replied, indicating the growing noise coming from the area she had run from. "We better get going before they figure out where you are."
Katha nodded in agreement and they slipped silently down the dark corridor.
Xanin slammed his fist down on the table. "What happened?" he asked, gritting his teeth in anger. The men in the room shifted their feet nervously.
After a moment of tense silence, one slowly stepped forward. "Uh, well . . . sir, we don't really know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Zevon broke in.
"Well, w-we caught up with her on Sublevel Three. Then suddenly she disappeared. We searched the entire level, b-but found no sign of her. We returned to this floor thinking she might have gone back up," the man said, trying to look confident.
Xanin flexed his fingers, thinking. Suddenly he recalled his strange dream.
Sub 3. Sub 4.
"Why down?"
He sees nothing but . . .
"Xanin what's wrong?" Zevon asked, shaking him out of his thoughts.
"I think she went down instead of up," Xanin replied. Zevon looked at him for a moment as if he wasn't sure.
"Alright . . . where should we start?" Zevon inquired.
"First, seal all the upper level exits just in case she's slipped by." He pointed out several small groups of men. "Group A go to Sublevel Four, Group B, Sublevel Five. Take ysalamiri with you and watch out for Oridin. He may still be with Katha helping her. Zevon, you and Perin supervise the groups going into the sublevels. Tyker will go with me to help seal off the upper level exits. Now, let's go!"
All the groups gathered together, stun blasters in tow, and left to carry out their orders.
Perin led Group B down to Sublevel 5. I guess Xanin and Zevon trust me to help them recapture Katha. He felt carefully to see it the second and third blasters he had grabbed were safely concealed. Sorry, dear brother, he said silently, I'm on the right side this time.
"Sir," one of his men said suddenly, "there doesn't appear to be any sign of them. Should we turn back?"
Perin shook his head, "It may be a silly idea I've got, but it wouldn't hurt to check it out. Isn't there a pipe near here that is being serviced?"
"Yes, sir…" the man replied, his curiosity piqued.
"And that pipe leads out of the side of the hill to open ground not too far from the city," Perin informed his group. "I think it's possible they may had gone to this pipe to get out. We should investigate this pipe."
"Sounds like a good plan to me, but shouldn't we get permission from Xanin?" another member of Perin's group asked.
"No, there isn't time. We need to get in there now and find them. Then we can worry about informing Xanin."
The group hesitated, then nodded, unable to think of a better option.
"Sithspit!" Katha heard Oridin mutter. Katha looked up at him from where she was buckling her boots, completing the change of clothes Oridin had brought her. Before she could ask what was wrong or even glare at him for his comment, she understood. The ysalamiri had moved close enough to cut off their connection with the Force.
"How'd they find us?" Katha asked, frantically. But Oridin cut her off with a signal for her to get behind a crate sitting in the huge pipe. Katha heard footsteps rush into the area and found herself worrying for a moment about Oridin.
"I know you're here Oridin. Bring the girl and maybe I can convince Xanin not to shoot you on sight." Katha recognized the voice of the man who had freed her in the interrogation room.
Suddenly Oridin was behind her signaling for her not to protest. He hauled her to her feet rather roughly. "She needs to be punished, Perin. I must take her into the custody of the Alliance," Oridin replied to Katha's horror, "She will pay dearly for her betrayal of our Imperial infiltrator."
Katha was completely confused. Who was her ally and who wasn't? Did she even have anyone to trust? Before she could try to answer her thoughts, laser blasts were flying. She was suddenly shoved to the pipe floor. A moment later the sound of fire ceased and Katha attempted to get up.
"We'd better get going," Perin said, glancing at the men lying on the floor, out cold from stun blasts. Oridin nodded an agreement and reached out to guide Katha on down the pipe. She backed away and in an instant had her saber in hand, its purple glow lighting up a large portion of the area.
"What are you doing Katha?" We're trying to get you out of here. Come on now, put that away. They'll be able to find us in an instant," Oridin said, looking slightly surprised at Katha's reaction.
"No, I think I'll continue from here on my own. I don't fancy being imprisoned by a rebel anymore than by Xanin," Katha spat back at him, her lightsaber poised in readiness.
Oridin almost laughed, realizing why she was suddenly on edge. "Katha, we aren't taking you to be punished. We know Xanin was the one who informed the Imps of Governor Ansant's double life. Now, please put your saber away or else we won't be able to escape."
Katha looked back and forth between them trying to decide her options. Relaxing her stance just a little she asked, "How do I know I can trust you?"
Perin immediately had an answer. "I found some of the chemical Xanin used to knock you out. We'll use it on the ysalamiri and then you'll have your Force powers back."
Katha thought on this for a moment and finally decided this was her best option. If they turn on me, at least I'll have the power to fight back, she thought. She disengaged her defensive stance and clipped her saber back on the belt of the tunic she now wore.
Perin moved to keep watch while Oridin and Katha took care of the ysalamiri. As Oridin poured the liquid on some cloth he explained the process to Katha. "Luckily for us this only works effectively if inhaled deeply and closely. This should work for a few hours, but we'll need to leave immediately after just in case."
Katha nodded, taking a drenched piece of cloth from him and carefully approaching one of the caged ysalamiri from behind.
The drug worked surprisingly well despite their difficulty in getting the ysalamiri to stay still long enough to administer it.
As they proceeded down the pipe, light began to grow more prominent. Perin took out an additional blaster and shoved it into Katha's hands. Before Katha could protest Perin had turned and was approaching the opening of the pipe. Oridin assured her that she shouldn't have to use it, but said one could never be too cautious.
"The ysalamiri appear to be dead, Xanin," Zevon's voice reported over the comlink.
"What?!" Xanin said, glancing at Tyker who was listening beside him. "Are you certain?"
The comlink crackled. "Yes I - wait … there's a piece of cloth next to one of the nutrient frames. Looks like part of Katha's dress. And . . . and it's wet," Xanin heard Zevon cough as if he was choking, but before he could inquire if Zevon was ok he spoke again. "It's drenched with some of the chemical we used to . . . but how could she . . ." Xanin heard a muttered curse from Zevon and a name which sounded like Perin. "We're doomed you know Xanin. Tyker is going to kill us both," Zevon said, apparently not realizing Tyker was there with Xanin.
"That is not yet determined, Zevon," Tyker cut in, pulling the comlink towards him with Xanin still holding on.
"Oh . . . sorry sir, I didn't realize . . ." Zevon stuttered.
An evil smile lit Tyker's face at the joy of his intimidation. "I know. Just keep in mind I hear, see, and know all. Now get back on her tracks," Tyker commanded, cutting off the transmission. He turned back to Xanin. "You told me this would not be a problem. I need land now or else I'll take Offworld's base of operations somewhere other than Balmorra. Then you will be cut completely from our deal. Completely," Tyker said, emphasizing his last word.
Xanin fought back the chill that tried to climb up his spine. Swallowing hard, he replied, "Yes sir."
Tyker watched as Xanin hurried off to make a desperate attempt at recapturing Katha. This has got to work for Offworld to make it off the drawing board again, he thought. I need a new plan just in case Xanin's proves to be a failure. He made his way back to Sublevel One, where he slipped into the data room he had set up for Offworld's personnel. Before his specially placed assistants could ask if he needed help he moved to a research dataterminal. From here he could seek out a new place to operate his mining corporation. Offworld will rise again, I swore to my father it would. Then our family will praise us and Xanatos' honor will be restored, Tyker thought. He cast a determined gaze on the dataterminal's screen. Entering a coded password, Tyker accessed top-level secured files pertaining to Offworld's rooting project on Balmorra. He started to select a file entitled Potential Planetary Bases to see what planets other than Balmorra he might consider. However, he stopped as something caught his eye. In the corner there was a file on Katha, apparently recently added, as she was now an important part of their plans on Balmorra. Tyker selected this file instead and studied it carefully trying to understand why he had a forceful urge to look at it. The file covered everything that Offworld's operatives had been able to find on Katha and her background. There was also a report written by Xanin himself divulging all he knew about the girl including documents and pictures. Curious, Tyker selected a picture of her family. In addition to Katha and her parents there was another girl, looking a few years older than Katha. Tyker selected another picture of the girl by herself causing a box of information to pop up. The girl, apparently named Corinna was Katha's sister, older by five years. According to Xanin's knowledge she too was Force-sensitive. The info box told that Corinna was the original inheritor of Quinn Sagara's factory lands, but had forfeited her claim to them by renouncing her Eponian heritage. Only in the event of Katha's death would she be given the lands. Tyker looked back at Corinna's picture. She had inky black hair and angled green eyes just like her younger sister. But unlike Katha, Corinna's hair was chopped very short, barely coming to her jaw line. If she is anything like Katha she'll be hard to sway, but I've got to try. Offworld needs this land, he thought. Still staring at the picture Tyker spoke aloud even though he knew no one could hear. "I will show you exactly what you've been missing, Corinna. And then you'll want to keep it so much you'll do anything . . . even kill." A sly smirk spread across Tyker's face.
