The interesting thing to Obi-Wan was that supervision was light. A tier ran around the upper level of the vast space, where managers were supposed to monitor the workers below. But he noted that the managers rarely looked down. They were more concerned with eating, drinking tea, and joking with one another. There seemed to be no central authority making sure everything was getting done.
This worried Obi-Wan. It wasn't like either Omega or Zan Arbor to run a slipshod organization. Was he in the wrong place?
He confided his doubts to Anakin at the break. Anakin nodded.
"I've noticed the same thing, Master. My work partner said the managers all changed two weeks ago. The workers haven't had to work as hard. They're all relieved."
But Obi-Wan wasn't. He was uneasy.
"We're wasting time if this factory isn't preparing the Zone for use,"
Obi-Wan said.
"We'll find out tonight," Anakin said.
But would it be too late? Obi-Wan couldn't shake his uneasiness.
The rest of the day passed in repetition and drudgery. The workers were bored and worked at half speed, and none of the managers cared.
Before the end of the workday, Obi-Wan reported to the manager in order to clean the factory floor. Together with Anakin, they swept and mopped. There was no one to oversee them or make certain they did a good job. When the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the workday, Obi-Wan and Anakin headed to a utility closet. They placed the repulsorbroom and hyrdomop inside. With a quick glance to make sure no one was watching, they ducked inside the closet, too.
The noises of the departing workers faded. They heard a lone security guard make his rounds. Then everything shut down at once. They heard the locks slam home on the doors outside. The tiny light in the closet shut off.
They waited a few minutes, listening intently for any movement outside the door. Then Obi-Wan opened the door carefully. They quickly moved down the hallway and peeked out on to the factory floor. The machines looked like sleeping creatures in the dim light.
"We have about eleven minutes before the droid sweep," Obi-Wan murmured. "Let's head for the wing."
They ran down the aisle, keeping an eye out for the security guard.
They hurried to the door that led to the restricted wing.
Now they were faced with a double-coded lock.
"Our swipe card will work if we can override the code," Obi-Wan said.
"We don't want to tip anyone off that we were here."
He worked at the keypad for several minutes. "Master, the droid sweep.
" Frustrated, Obi-Wan tried another combination. He had studied codes at the Temple with the great Jedi Master Nan Latourain, but this code was proving too difficult for him.
"Master!"
Obi-Wan jumped away as he heard the whirr of the droids. He and Anakin hid behind a gravsled as the droids swept by, their surveillance unit revolving steadily. As soon as they were gone, the Jedi re-emerged.
Obi-Wan attacked the keypad again.
"Let me try," Anakin suggested.
Obi-Wan stepped aside. He watched Anakin work. He felt Anakin call upon the Force. The Force grew around them, pulsing and shimmering, but the Force could not unlock keypads.
"We're stuck," Anakin said. "There has to be another way."
Obi-Wan felt the same uneasiness, the same sense of urgency, he had felt earlier today.
Suddenly in his mind, he saw Qui-Gon Jinn's easy smile.
You know the answer. Why don't you trust it?
Obi-Wan withdrew his lightsaber and slashed through the lock in one motion. The door swung open.
"Well, that's one way," Anakin commented.
They found themselves in a short hallway with another security door.
Obi-Wan didn't hesitate this time, but buried his lightsaber in the durasteel. It peeled away in a glowing arc of light and smoke.
They hurried through. They were now in a large room that served as a laboratory. Anakin quickly headed to the console, where he thought the files might be kept. Obi-Wan made a survey of the room.
"There are valves here that go to tunnels," he told Anakin. "Big enough to walk in. I suspect that despite the laws, they experimented on the workers themselves."
"They did," Anakin said, reading from the files. "Different levels of the Zone. The four worker deaths were from overexposure. They were trying to calibrate exact amounts for large crowds. Thousands at once. This factory is definitely Omega's. Zan Arbor can't be far off."
Obi-Wan strode over to read over Anakin's shoulder.
"Zan Arbor had already perfected one-on-one transmission," Obi-Wan said. "But this indicates she's searching for a way to infect a whole city.
" "So we were right," Anakin said. "The proof is in these files."
Obi-Wan pointed to the bottom of the file.
TRACK A EXPERIMENT VOIDED.
TRACK B EXPERIMENT BEGUN.
"Track A and Track B? I wonder what that means," he said.
"This science is over my head," Anakin said, flipping through the holofile. "We'll have to get inspectors in."
"We have enough evidence to go straight to the Supreme Chancellor,"
Obi-Wan said. "That's the only way things get done, these days."
Anakin looked at his chrono. "We have another six minutes before the next droid sweep."
"Let's check out the tunnel."
Quickly they opened the valve and stepped inside the tunnel. They walked down, using their glow rods for illumination. Vents were spaced evenly on the tunnel walls, and the plastoid sides were smooth.
Obi-Wan stepped over to the side and peered into a vent. "I see some ducts and hoses. This must be how the Zone is administered," he said. He stepped away to study a schematic drawing that was light-lasered onto the wall. Tunnels branched out from the main tunnel, and it appeared to be an extensive system.
"The tunnels go on for whole kilometers," Obi-Wan said, surprised.
"Enough to approximate an entire small city, right here in the factory.
This tunnel dips underground and joins the main system. It connects to other smaller tunnels…"
Anakin cocked his head. "Master…"
"It's so detailed. I wonder if it's based on an actual city system….
" "Master." Anakin's voice was urgent now.
Obi-Wan turned. "The droids? I doubt they sweep the tunnels."
"Not droids," Anakin said. "Water."
Obi-Wan whipped around just as a wall of water rushed down the tunnel.
His feet were swept out from under him and he was propelled forward, smashing against the side of the tunnel and then somersaulting out of control against the power of the water. He fought his way to the surface, kicking and stroking. Once his head cleared, he saw Anakin nearby. They were careening down the tunnel with the force of the current.
"Aqua breathers!" Obi-Wan shouted.
He drew his out of his utility belt. Anakin did the same. At least they would not drown. But it would be impossible to fight their way back up the tunnel against the water. On the drawing, the tunnel seemed simply to end in bedrock. They would be smashed against it at this rate.