Part 24 (2/2)

Jacen's reflexes tried to jump him out of his skin, nearly sending him right off the platform. He had to shut his eyes for a second when he thought about how he could have gone right off the edge. He found he had the shakes, and he had to lie still for a moment before he settled down.

”h.e.l.lo, Q9,” he said. ”Thanks for almost scaring me to death,” he said, scooting back in toward the center of the platform before sitting himself up and getting to his feet.

”Were those thanks sincere, or was that more of this sarcasm business?” Q9 asked.

”Oh, sarcasm,” Jacen said. ”Very definitely sarcasm.

Did you come looking for us? Are the others looking, too, or just you?”

”Yes, I came looking for you,” he said. ”And no, none of the others are looking for you. At least they weren't when I left them.”

”Good,” said Jacen. ”Jaina, Anakin, we've got to get out of here.”

”But we just got here,” protested Anakin.

”I know, I know. I want to explore it, too. But the longer we're missing, the more likely they'll come looking for us-and find this place.

Do you want that General What's.h.i.+sname-”

”Yarar,” Q9 interjected.

”Right, Yarar. He's no nice guy, no matter how hard he smiles. Do you want his people finding this-this whatever it is? It's got to be what they're looking for. And it's got to be very big and important.”

Anakin thought for a moment and then shook his head violently no.

”Uh-uh,” he said. ”No. Can't let that general guy in here.”

”Then we have to leave,” Jacen said. ”Can you make the vault door and the panel hide themselves again?”

”Sure,” said Anakin. ”That's automatic when we go back out.”

”How do you know that?” Jaina demanded.

Anakin looked at her in blank surprise. ”I know, that's all. I feel it.”.

”But...” Jaina began.

Jacen cut her off. ”Later, Jaina. Later. Listen, both of you-and Q9, too. We don't say anything about this to anyone, okay? Not just yet.

There might be spy eyes or snoopers in the hovercar or back at the villa.

We wait until all of us can get together someplace safe and talk it over.

Then we decide. Okay?”

Jaina nodded her agreement, and Anakin a bit more slowly. The three children turned toward the droid. ”Oh, I quite agree,” he said.

”However, I do think it would be best if you allowed me to take as complete a scan as I can before we depart. We might well want a record of this place for future reference.”

”Okay,” Jaina said, ”do it, but do it quick. Jacen's right. We have to get out of here. Come on, Anakin.”

Anakin obediently took his big sister's left hand in his right, and offered his own left hand to his big brother. The three children hurried back down the silver corridor, Q9 hanging back for a few moments as he floated above the view platform and got as good a scan as he could. He could not get much closer to the edge than the human children had dared, for his repulsors were low-powered models that would not work more than a few meters above a surface.

If he had floated out over the platform edge, he would have dropped like a stone.

The three children waited for him at the entrance to the silver corridor, and at last he came zipping back down along it at high speed.

He came out into the dingy tunnel and floated back down it a few meters, to make sure he would be well clear of the vault door clo'ing.

Jacen stepped up to the purple keypad. ”What do I do, Anakin?” he askcd.

”Push the center one in, and hold it for three grimnals.”

”What the heck is a grimnal?”

”I don't know,” Anakin said, ”but that's how long you hold it in.”

Jacen sighed and shook his head. Maybe someone out there had a other. If so, he wanted to meet the guy. He stabbed his finger down onto the center b.u.t.ton of the five-by-five grid. All the b.u.t.tons instantly lit up green again. He held the b.u.t.ton down until the vault down began to swing shut, and then let it go and stepped back a pace or two.

The vault door swung to and latched itself shut. The section of tunnel wall slid back up out of the floor with a rumbling thud, and the cover over the keypad panel swung itself shut. The silver corridor and the huge conical chamber were as well hidden as they had ever been.

”Now all we have to do is get back there before they notice we're gone,” Jacen said.

”Wait a second!” Jaina objected. ”Q9-how did you find us?”

”Isn't it obvious?” he asked.

”If it was obvious, I wouldn't ask. Tell me.”

”Your footprints,” he said. ”I simply did the obviou thing and followed your footprints.”

”Oh, great,” Jaina said, looking down. ”Yarar's guys will follow them straight here and they'll know right where to look.”

”Maybe not,” said Jacen. ”All of you go back down the tunnel a bit. I want to try something.” The others obediently got out of the way, and Jacen turned his attention to the much-trampled dust of the corridor.

Uncle Luke could have smoothed it all down without even breaking a sweat.

He reached out with the Force and willed the dust to smooth itself out in front of the vault entrance. Nothing happened for a moment, but then the dust began to stir just a bit-and then, quite suddenly, all the footprints vanished, the dirt floor of the tunnel smoothing itself out.

Now that he had the hang of it, Jacen jogged back a bit farther and tried it on another section of tunnel, with equally satisfactory results.

His sister saw what he was doing and joined in. Working with the sort of unspoken coordination that was part of being twins, they took turns smoothing out the tunnel floors behind them as they retraced their steps.

The three children and the droid had made it back up to the upper level, and were well on their way back to where they had snuck away from the grown-ups when their mother came hurtling around a corner and spotted them. ”There you are,” she said, the relief in her voice obvious. ”I could sense you with the Force, but I couldn't find you. Where have you been?”

”Oh, we just sort of wandered off with Anakin,” Jacen said, hoping that he was managing to sound casual. ”Q9 found us and brought us back.”

<script>