Jedi Apprentice 3: The Hidden Past
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"The Syndicat," Guerra answered. His amiable face grew grave. "Vast criminal organization who has gained control of Phindar. Things are very bad here, Jedi. I'm sure you saw, even in the short time you were here. They started the blockade. No one can leave, no one can land. But we thought even the Syndicat wouldn't oppose two Jedi in trouble. They would let you land, refuel, and take off again. Then my brother and I could sneak out and stay on Phindar. Easy plan!" Guerra congratulated himself. "Very smart! Not so," he amended with a look at Qui-Gon. "It didn't happen that way… "
"No, it didn't" Obi-Wan spoke up. "first of all, we were attacked by assassin droids. Now we're stuck on Phindar with no way to get off."
"A, I've thought of this!' Guerra exclaimed. "true, it seems you are stuck. But en though the main spaceport is tightly controlled by the Syndicat, there are ways to get people off-planet, if you have enough money."
"But we're Jedi," Obi-Wan said impatiently. "We don't have much money. Maybe you should pay, since it's your fault that were stranded."
"True, Obawan! We should pay! Do you hear this, Paxxi?" Guerra asked, amused. He and Paxxi held on to each other's shoulders and laughed loudly in each other's faces.
When they stopped, Guerra wiped tears from his eyes. "Good joke, Obawan. Very funny. We have no money. But no worry, please. We have a way to get money. Much money. We can do this easily. Well, not so? we might need a little help from Jedi."
"Ah," Qui-Gon said lightly. He fixed his penetrating blue stare on Guerra. "Now we finally get to the truth. Why don't you tell us the real reason you brought us here… and why you want us to stay?"
Chapter 6
Guerra smiled at Qui-Gon. "Wait, my friend. You seem to say that we deceived you, yes? Me, deceive my friend Obawan? How could such a thing be?"
Qui-Gon waited.
"Oh, my, perhaps I did so," Guerra said. "But for such a good reason!"
"What's the reason, Guerra?" Obi-Wan asked. "And this time, tell the whole truth."
"I always tell the whole truth to Obawan," Guerra assured him. "well, not so. But now, I will for you, Jedi men of honor. But where to begin?"
"Why don't you tell us why there is a death order on your head," Qui-Gon suggested. "That seems like a good place to start."
"True, it is so! Well, I suppose the Syndicat would call me a thief," Guerra said. "And others as well."
"Not a thief, brother!" Paxxi interrupted. "A freedom fighter who steals!"
"True, thank you, brother," Guerra said, bowing to Paxxi. "That is what I am. And my brother as well. You see, the Syndicat controls everything. Food and materials, med supplies, heat, everything Phindians need to survive. Naturally, in such a situation, one must find ways to buy and sell things the Syndicat does not control."
"A black market," Qui-Gon supplied.
"Yes, so, a black market, you could say," Guerra agreed, nodding. "We steal a little here, sell a little there. But all for the good of the people!"
"An your own profit," Qui-Gon added.
"Well, that too. Shall we suffer more than we are already?" Paxxi asked. "But the Syndicat doesn't like this. If we are to steal, we must steal for them. This, we refuse."
"Why should we give our talents to a gang of thieves?" Guerra asked, pounding the table. "Of course, we are thieves ourselves. But honest ones!"
"So, my brother!" Paxxi agreed. "And we are not murderers and dictators."
"So, my brother!" Guerra nodded. "that's why we must free our beloved planet from the grip of these monsters. The Syndicat leader is Baftu. He is a gangster without a conscience. He enjoys seeing the people suffer!" Guerra's orange eyes were mournful. "And his assistant Terra is no better, I am sorry to say. For all her beauty, her heart is black and cold."
"They must be the Phindians we saw in the gold landspeeder," Obi-Wan said.
"They were in gold coats?" Paxxi asked. "Yes, they are the ones."
Guerra and Paxxi shared a sad look. They shook their heads, their cheerfulness gone.
"What about the people we saw on the street?" Qui-Gon asked. "The ones with the blank faces."
Paxxi and Guerra shared another mournful look. Guerra sighed.
"The renewed," he said softly. "So sad."
"So," Paxxi agreed.
"It is the method of ultimate control," Guerra explained. "You know the memory wipe?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "it's used to reprogram droids. It removes all traces of their memory and training so they can be reprogrammed."
Guerra nodded. "The Syndicat has developed a device to do this to Phindians who they consider enemies or agitators. They memory wipe the person, then drop them on another world, somewhere terrible. The person has no memory of who they are or what they can do. It is a game for the Syndicat. They bet on how long the person will survive. A probe droid follows them and sends back holo-pictures of what happens. Most do not survive."
Qui-Gon's face went very still. Obi-Wan has seen that look before, a look that spoke of how deeply Qui-Gon was outraged at injustice and sheer cruelty.
"And some are not sent off-planet," Paxxi said softly. "That is saddest of all, maybe. Phindar is full of rootless people who do not remember their families, their loved ones. Or the things they could once do. They are helpless. Now Phindar is full of those who pass their fathers, their wives, their children on the street and do not recognize them."