"Good, the landlord hasn't rented it yet," she said, swiping her key card through the lock. The door hissed open.

There was no power to the building, so Astri opened a shutter a crack to let in enough light to see. They sat at the long kitchen table. Obi-Wan carefully removed the contents of Ren's bin and spread them out on the table.

A utility pouch with one protein food capsule and a small servodriver. A few credits. A vibroshiv. A few crystals. A deck of cards for sabacc. A tunic with empty pockets. A thermal cape, folded neatly.

They were all items carried by the kind of being who owned little and ranged throughout the galaxy. Nothing special. And if there was a message here, he couldn't read it either. Disappointment thudded through him.

Astri slumped in the chair. "It's a dead end."

Obi-Wan felt a presence nearby. Out of the corner of his eye a fleeting shadow flickered. There was someone hovering outside the half- shuttered window. He did not turn and look. Instead, he signaled to Astri with a glance that something was amiss.

"Maybe there is something hidden in the lining of the tunic," he said in a normal voice. "I'll fetch something to slice it open."

"Try the office," Astri said. Under the cover of the table, she withdrew her vibroblade from its holster.

Obi-Wan left the kitchen at a normal pace but raced up the stairs to the private quarters above. He slid open a shutter noiselessly and looked down at the alley. Someone in a long, dusty tunic was peering in the kitchen window. The hood to the tunic was raised. He could not identify the person as Ona Nobis, but he knew such a disguise would be easy for her.

He eased out onto the ledge and paused for a moment, gathering the Force. He would need help if he was to meet this opponent again. Drawing his lightsaber in one smooth movement, he leaped toward the intruder below.

Chapter 16

"N0000000000!" the intruder cried.

Still in midair, Obi-Wan looked down at the surprised face of Cholly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Weez and Tup spring back out of the way.

Obi-Wan twisted his body in midair to avoid landing on Cholly. But a panicked Cholly moved as well, and Obi-Wan half-landed on him. He cushioned the fall with his hands, feeling the shock of the impact up to his armpits.

"Oof! You're a big one," Cholly puffed.

Obi-Wan rolled off and sprang to his feet. He gazed at the three incredulously as Astri burst through the kitchen window, vibroblade in hand. She took in the situation with one swift glance.

"What's going on?" she demanded. "What are the three of you doing here?"

Tup looked at Weez. "Uh. Sightseeing?" Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber but kept it in his hand. "You are interfering with a Jedi mission," he said sternly. "There are lives at stake. So answer me, now!"

"Gibbertz and ham, everyone is so touchy today," Tup said. He blew out a breath. "Woosh."

"We have just as much right to be here as you do," Cholly said.

"It's a free planet," Weez added. He frowned. "Isn't it?"

Astri brandished her vibroblade menacingly. "It's a big planet. And there's no one around. Haven't you noticed that?"

Cholly scampered backward. "Whoa, whoa, strong lady, okay, okay. We were following you because of Ren's box."

"What about Ren's box?" Obi-Wan asked.

"His personal effects, yes?" Cholly asked. "We requested them from his mother after he… left us."

"We said, for sentimental reasons. We were his best friends," Tup added.

"She said no, why should she give what's left of her son to his lowlife lizard friends?" Weez said. "Some people have no generosity."

"So true, wise friend," Cholly agreed sadly. "The universe is so often against us."

Astri rolled her eyes. "Cut the blather. Why do you really want the bin?"

Cholly, Weez, and Tup exchanged glances.

"Ah, if we tell you, you won't cut us out of the deal?" Cholly asked.

Obi-Wan and Astri exchanged a glance. Obi-Wan did not trust the three scoundrels, but they could give them a lead.

"We'll cut you in," Astri said.

Cholly, Weez, and Tup exchanged another glance. Then they all nodded simultaneously.

"The place where Ren was held," Cholly said. "He said the lab had stockpiled medicines. Vaccines, antitoxins, cures for many viruses."

Astri stiffened. "And?"

"Well. We thought, if such a place has such a stockpile, someone somewhere would want to buy it. And someone would have to sell it."

"So why shouldn't the someone be us?" Weez asked.

"But Ren said no," Tup volunteered.

"He, too, wanted to steal the medicines," Cholly said. "But he did not want to sell them. He wanted to turn them over to the Senate, or the Jedi. Some agency that would disperse them honestly. And get this scientist in trouble."

"We had a small disagreement about this," Weez said. "We would help him steal them, but only if we made a profit of some kind."

"So what happened?" Astri demanded. "Did he tell you where the lab was?"

"This disagreement was not resolved," Cholly said. "Instead, Ren was murdered. But he told us he had the location of the lab in a safe place. So if something happened to him, someone would know where to go."

"Then something happened to him," Tup added helpfully.

"And his mother would not release his belongings," Weez said.

"So we had nothing, just like before," Cholly added. "Until you came along. Then we thought, well, if you are on the trail of who killed Ren, perhaps we can find these medicines somehow."

"So we followed you," Weez said. "You see? No harm done. The end!"

"Unless, of course, you wish to steal the medicines as well," Cholly added. "There is great profit here for all."

Astri grabbed Obi-Wan's arm and pulled him away. "Now we know for sure that Zan Arbor didn't destroy the antitoxins she developed. She has them, Obi-Wan! We have to find that lab!"

"I know," Obi-Wan said. "But they don't know where the lab is."

"May I suggest something?" Cholly broke in. "Perhaps if we could look at Ren's effects, we would see something you did not. Because we knew him, you see. We would understand the message that you could not."