Part 14 (1/2)

”I do, ” he said. ”Now let's go. ”

They retrieved the glow lamps, left the cottage in darkness and went outside. Torbel's storm s.h.i.+elds arced overhead in an enormous bluish dome. Beyond that pale barrier the theta storm raged, a writhing soup of supercharged, reddish orange poison.

”It almost seems alive, ” Anakin murmured, fascinated. ”Like it's trying to get in. ”

Obi-Wan gave him a look. ”Less imagination and more focus, Anakin. ”

”Sorry. ”

They went their separate ways, Anakin heading for the nearest storm-s.h.i.+eld generator while he continued down the narrow street, the thin beam from his glow lamp bouncing with every stride. The power plant was on the far side of the village, distant from the mine and the refinery and anything else that could be damaged if there was an accident. Jogging across the square. Obi-Wan resisted the urge to Force-sprint. The streets might be empty now but that could change at any moment. He looked over at the charter house. The front windows were dimly lit with glow lamps, and he could sense the presence of some four-no, five-worried people.

Overhead, beyond the storm s.h.i.+eld, the theta particles thrashed and swirled. Lanteeb's atmosphere must be soaked in the stuff, bloated with it. What a way to live; every day waiting for this madness to erupt. Frantically hoping that the warning system worked, that the storm s.h.i.+elds would hold, that the worst of nature's impersonal cruelty would pa.s.s them by. Lanteeb might be a backworld but in its own way it, too, was living through a war.

When this is over, I'll ask Bail to use his influence to make a difference here. These people deserve better.

60.He found Devi alone in the small, antiquated power plant's monitoring station. Strapped into an antigravity support harness, she awkwardly prowled the banks of circuitry and gauges, her worried gaze reading off every tiny fluctuation in core temp, energy flow, and backfill status.

”Teeb Yavid?” she said, surprised. ”What are you doing here?”

”I have some experience with machinery, ” he said, letting his senses touch the power plant's atmosphere. Not using the Force, not precisely... just letting it whisper in his ear. ”Teeba Jaklin thought you might like a helping hand. ”

Devi glared at the ceiling. ”Blasted theta storms. On top of everything else. Yavid, when you say you've machine experience... ”

Something wasn't right with the generator's central flux capacitor. A rough note, a hum of warning. Something out of place. Alerted, Obi-Wan began to wander down the bank of monitors, reaching out with his senses to pinpoint the problem.

I have a bad feeling.

”Markl and I didn't just work lumber on Alderaan, ” he said, ”we worked for nearly a whole season in a power generation plant. It was Alderaan so their equipment was much more sophisticated than yours-ours-but...” He glanced back at her. ”I picked up a few tricks. So if I can be of use to you...”

”All the help you can give me I'll take, ” Devi said fervently. ”Now, what are you looking for?”

He trailed his fingertips above the surface of the monitors. Not here... not here... not here...

Yes. Here.

Putting aside his glow lamp, he took a closer look at the monitor's flickering gauges. Intrigued, Devi joined him, the servomotors in her antigrav harness grinding. It didn't fit her properly; he could sense the dull pain in her damaged back and legs.

”What's this do?” he said, tapping the bank of equipment.

”That's the readout for the conversion chamber mix valve, ” she said, alarmed. ”It's the feed valve for the liquid damot.i.te. ”

Obi-Wan stared at her. Damot.i.te? n.o.body mentioned damot.i.te is being used as fuel. Surely that wasn't a good idea.

Devi was rapping her knuckles to her forehead, as though trying to encourage rapid thought. ”Conversion chamber- conversion chamber, ” she muttered. ”What can cause a problem with the con...”

”Impurities in the prime fuel source?” he said, feeling the Force's warning sharpen. ”If they've clogged one or more of the feed valves...”

”Stang, ” she said softly. ”Yavid, you're right. How did I not-stang. ”

Turning so fast that she almost overbalanced, she clumped her way across the monitoring station to a bank of equipment heavily featuring levers, manual valves, and dials.

”I need to do a system flush, ” she said. ”Look at the readout again would you, Yavid? Which specific valves are affected?”

He looked. Eighteen valves in total, red warning lights flas.h.i.+ng on four. ”Numbers two, eight, eleven, and seventeen. ”

Her face screwed tight in concentration, Devi slammed down levers in the order he'd called. Then she activated the valve flush and stood back, eyes narrowed, as the dim, almost subliminal sound of the nearly obsolete hydraulic system kicked into play.

”Come on-come on ...” she murmured, singsong. ”Yavid, what's the board reading now?”

He looked again. ”No change, I'm-no, no, strike that. Seventeen is green. ”

”Oh come on...” Devi implored. ”Pathetic it is, one out of four!”

61.”Two is green, ” he said, as another red light morphed into a cooler, kinder color. ”And so is eleven. ”

Her head snapped around to stare, her eyes intent. ”Not eight?”

One last stubborn red light flashed. Flashed faster. Stopped flas.h.i.+ng altogether and became a single glaring red eye. Obi-Wan felt a tremor of alarm. ”I believe eight has gone critical. ”

”Slang!” Devi shouted, and hit the valve flush again. ”You blasted-I'm going to smash Arrad, the arrogant little barve, I told him...”

With an effort she got herself back under control. ”Yavid, is it working?”

A shrill alarm buzzer answered for him.

”Devi, can the valve be flushed manually?”

”Yes, yes, it can, but...”

She looked down at herself, at the bulky, ungainly antigrav support harness that kept her on her feet but made her slow and clumsy.

On the monitoring station's opposite wall a status board started to light up.

Obi-Wan followed her anguished stare. ” That's not good, is it?”

”No, Yavid, ” she whispered. ”It's very, very bad. ”

”The system's overloading?”

She nodded, her pale face sweaty with fear.

He pointed to the closed door at the back of the monitoring station. ”The plant proper's through there?”

”Yes, ” she said, breathless. ”Yavid, have you ever done a manual forced...”

”No. ” He managed a quick smile. ”But there's a first time for everything. And I'm a quick learner. ”

Devi tried, but she couldn't answer his smile. ”You're sure? It's not easy, and it's dangerous. ”