The Captive Temple(26)

“What you revere can destroy you.” His voice was soft, yet Qui-Gon caught every word. “Haven’t you learned that yet?”

Above him, Qui-Gon saw the lights of the Council room flicker. After the lights, Miro would power up the communications system. Then the repulsorlift engines for the turbolifts

throughout the complex. The air circulation would be last.

Qui-Gon calculated that he had only three minutes before the explosion. Maybe four. If Xanatos was telling the truth…

“You can’t be sure, can you, Qui-Gon?” Xanatos sneered. “Will you allow your precious Padawan to die just to kill me? He tried to get away from you once. Why don’t you get rid of him for good?”

Qui-Gon hesitated, his lightsaber held in attack position. He knew he could defeat Xanatos. But how long would it take?

In that split second, Xanatos glanced below. An air taxi flew twenty meters underneath the ledge. Qui-Gon sprang forward, but Xanatos stepped off the ledge. He landed on the air taxi. Qui-Gon saw the surprised driver’s look of panic as Xanatos calmly lifted him out of the seat and pushed him out into midair.

Qui-Gon had less than a second to decide. He could make the jump. He could land on the taxi. He could grapple with Xanatos. He could end this once and for all.

The second passed. Xanatos roared away. Helpless rage surged in Qui-Gon even as he deactivated his lightsaber and raced for the opening in the window.

Qui-Gon jumped inside and ran, accessing his comlink as he moved. He tried to reach Miro, but the communication fields weren’t fully functioning.

He was halfway to the turbolift before he realized that it wouldn’t be operating. Qui-Gon’s frustration was turning to panic. How could he reach the tech center in time?

Suddenly, Obi-Wan burst into the hallway from the stairs.

“He’s rigged the Temple to implode,” Qui-Gon told him. “We have to get to the tech center.”

Obi-Wan was already moving. “Follow me.”

As they raced down the hall, Qui-Gon asked tersely, “Bant?”

“She’s fine,” Obi-Wan said shortly. “Bruck is dead.”

A pall had settled over Obi-Wan’s face. He would need to talk about this later, Qui-Gon knew.

“I studied the diagrams,” Obi-Wan told him, changing the subject as they turned the corner. “I can get us there

faster

through

the infrastructure of the building.”

Obi-Wan leaped and kicked open a duct overhead. Qui-Gon noticed that he was barefoot. “Garen’s boots slowed me down,” he explained as he swung himself in. Qui-Gon followed. They crawled down a short length of an air circulation shaft and came to a service panel. Obi-Wan accessed it. It slid open and he climbed in.

It was a tight fit, but Qui-Gon made it. Here he

could stand upright. They were on a catwalk, surrounded by machinery.

Qui-Gon heard a slow whining noise. “The repulsorlift engines are starting up,” he said.

“This way.” Obi-Wan ran down the catwalk. He came to a vertical ladder and began to scramble down. Quickly, Qui-Gon followed.

The ladder left them at a service door. Obi-Wan pushed through. They were now ten levels down.

“There’s a back stairway to the right,” Obi-Wan said as he raced down the hallway with Qui-Gon beside him. “It will bring us to the horizontal tube that is used to transport food from the dining hall to the med unit.”

They came to the tube. Obi-Wan gestured for Qui-Gon to go inside. Qui-Gon crammed himself into the small space. Obi-Wan squeezed in next to him. Then he hurriedly set the controls. In seconds, they were sucked down the tube on a moving ramp. At the end, Obi-Wan kicked open the door.

They spilled out in one of the resting rooms in the med unit. Qui-Gon knew it was on the same level as the tech center. But he also knew that a shaft separated the two wings.

Qui-Gon checked his chrono. “We have about one minute,” he told Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan’s face was streaked with sweat. “The gas duct.” He turned and ran.

Qui-Gon followed. Out the window he could see that across the shaft ran an air-systems duct. “Where does it come out?”

“Right where we want it to,” Obi-Wan said, locking his fingers in the grate and prying it off. He kicked it aside and scrambled inside the duct. “It’s the gas transport system for the freezer containers used to store med supplies.”

Qui-Gon squeezed into the opening. The duct wasn’t high enough for him to stand. He followed closely behind Obi-Wan as they crawled rapidly down the tunnel.

“Obi-Wan, what happens if Miro tests the gas transport system when he powers up the air ducts?” Qui-Gon asked.

There was a pause. “I’m not sure,” Obi-Wan answered.