Cindar blundered backwards into the same strut.
Evading Obi-Wan's follow-up blows with bobs and twists, he squatted and made a sudden grab for Obi-Wan's right ankle. But Obi — Wan distanced himself by executing another back flip.
The momentary lapse in the fighting was all Cindar needed. From an ankle holster he drew a hold-out blaster.
The first bolt nicked Obi-Wan's right leg and sent him down on one knee.
Qui-Gon appeared out of nowhere to drive him out of the path of the next bolt.
Compact packets of energized light ripped through the docking bay, glancing off the walls and ceiling.
Cindar tried to track the Jedi, but they moved too quickly for him. His next blasts caromed from the underside of the HawkBat and recoiled crazily from the floor.
Then the firing ceased.
Standing rigidly in front of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, Cindar's gaze was unfocused and his mouth a rictus of surprise. When he toppled facedown, they saw the burn of a blaster bolt that had ricocheted into the center of his back.
Qui-Gon went to him and checked for signs of life. "He's told us all he can." Obi-Wan picked himself up from the floor, favoring his sound leg. "What now, Master?" he asked.
Qui-Gon nodded to the Hawk-Bat.
"We race Captain Cohl to Eriadu." "Karfeddion?" Yoda said in puzzlement.
"Off on another quest, is he?" Saesee Tiin glanced at Yaddle before replying.
"None other than the quest that has preoccupied him for the past month."
Yoda touched his forefinger to his lips, closed his eyes, and shook his head in dismay. "Again, Captain Cohl." Eleven of the twelve members of the Jedi Council were gathered in their high tower, with the sun disappearing around the western curve of Coruscant in an eruption of color. Adi Gallia's chair was empty.
"It's not like Qui-Gon to defy the express wishes of the Council and the Supreme Chancellor," Plo Koon said.
Yoda's eyes snapped opened and he raised his cane. "No.
Like Qui-Gon, this is. Always forward, the Living Force. Adjust to Qui- Gon's actions, the future will." He shook his head again.
"The only real danger is if he does anything to further a rift between the Republic and the Senex sector," Oppo Rancisis said. "I fear that the events on Asmeru have already placed Supreme Chancellor Valorum in an awkward position." "At a critical time," Even Piell added.
"Vandron and the other Senex noble houses could point to Asmeru as an example of the Republic's disregard for self-governing sectors. Valorum's goal of fostering trust in the Republic among the outlying systems would be subverted." Mace Windu had his mouth open to reply when KiAdiMundi emerged from the turbolift.
"I'm sorry to intrude, Master Windu," the Cerean said. "But we have received an urgent communication from Qui-Gon Jinn." "What is the transmission?" Mace Windu asked.
"He and Obi-Wan are bound for Eriadu in the Hawk-Bat." Yoda made his eyes wide in theatrical surprise.
"Become Captain Cohl, Qui-Gon has!" As a trading port, Eriadu was accustomed to seeing its polluted skies filled with vessels. The trade summit, however, set a new record for traffic, both below and high in orbit.
Among the thousands of ships anchored above the planet's bright side was a run-down Corellian freighter, the current object of interest of a heavily armed picket ship bearing the emblem of Eriadu Customs and Immigration.
Between the picket and the freighter moved a small single-winged craft, twice the size of a standard starfighter.
Rella and Boiny watched the craft approach from one of the freighter's starboard viewports. Dressed alike in knee-high boots, bloused trousers, vests, and soft caps with short brims, they might have been veteran spacers.
"We'll play this by the numbers," Rella said.
"Customs officials aren't trained to be nasty, they're born that way."
She glanced at Boiny.
"Want to go over any of it again?" The Rodian shook his head. "I'll follow your lead." They went to the starboard airlock and waited for it to cycle. Shortly, three humans in flashy uniforms came aboard, accompanied by a mean-tempered saurian quadruped fitted with an electronic collar. The beast's tongue flicked from its slash of mouth, licking the air.
Nearly as tall as Rella, the chief inspector was a slender, light — complexioned woman. Her blond hair was pulled severely back and woven into a long braid behind her head.
"Take Chack aft and work your way forward," she ordered her two companions. "Let him take his time. Tag anything that gets his attention, and we'll deal with it separately." The two customs agents and their sniffer headed for the rear of the ship. The chief watched them go, then followed Rella and Boiny into the freighter's forward cabin.
"Your shipping manifest," she demanded, extending her right hand to Rella.
Rella prized a data card from the breast pocket of her vest and slapped it into the woman's palm. The chief inserted the card into a portable reader and studied the device's small display screen.
From aft came a sudden growling sound. The chief looked over her shoulder.
"Your sniffer must have gotten a whiff of our galley," Boiny said jocularly.
The woman's stern expression didn't waver. "I can't make sense of this,"
she said after a moment, motioning to the reader's display screen with the backs of her fingertips. She eyed Rella with suspicion.
"What, exactly, is your cargo, Captain?" Rella leveled a blaster at her.
"Trouble." The woman's eyes widened. Noises behind her prompted her to glance over her shoulder once more. Two robust humans and a Gotal answered her obvious surprise with pernicious grins.
"We're holding the other two aft," Lope said. "The animal's dead." "Good work," Rella said, deftly disarming the chief.
Pressing the blaster to the woman's ribs, she steered her toward the freighter's communication suite.
"I want you to raise your ship," Rella said while they walked. "Tell whoever's in charge that you've discovered a load of contraband, and that you need the entire inspection crew over here on the quick." The woman tried to turn out of Rella's grip, but Rella only tightened her hold and shoved her down into the chair at the control console.
"Do it," Rella warned.
The woman hesitated, then complied, resignedly.
"The entire crew?" someone on the picket ship asked in disbelief. "Is it that bad?" "It's that bad," the chief said toward the console pickup.