Obi-Wan quickly went into the cockpit. He sat for a moment, familiarizing himself with the controls. He had piloted cloud cars and air-speeders and once, a huge transport ship. This shouldn't be too hard.

He headed back into the stateroom again an opened a closet door. One held supplies, but he found what he was looking for in the next? a row headdresses similar to the one the Prince wore. Obi-Wan quickly slipped one on his head, then wrapped the deep purple cloak in a rich fabric around his shoulders.

He returned to the cockpit and sat in the pilot seat. He saw the pilot heading for the ship, along with three royal guards. Quickly, Obi-Wan deactivated the exit ramp and started the ion engines. The pilot looked up, startled.

Obi-Wan could see the puzzlement on his face. The Padawan had counted on the fact that the headdress and cloak would confuse the pilot and the guards. They would assume that Prince Beju was piloting the ship. Not for long, perhaps? but if Obi-Wan was lucky, he would have enough time to take off.

The comlink suddenly blared to life. "Two minutes are up!" Prince Beju barked. "Why are we not taking off?"

"Immediately, my Prince," Obi-Wan said crisply. He started preparations for takeoff. The ion engines revved. The pilot and the guards moved closer, trying to get a better look. Obi-Wan saw one guard's hand move to his blaster.

"Now," he muttered, and the ship blasted out of the atmosphere of Gala. He waited until they were in deep space. Then he tossed the headdress and cloak aside, for the moment.

A weapons cabinet was mounted on the wall of the cockpit. He selected a blaster. Then he made his way back to the Prince's stateroom.

The Prince was reclining on a sleep couch when he entered. "I said I didn't want to be disturbed!" he snapped, not looking up.

Obi-Wan walked closer. He placed the blaster under the Prince's chin. "So sorry."

The Prince twisted around to look at Obi-Wan. "Guards!" he screamed.

"They decided to stay on Gala," Obi-Wan said.

"Get off of my ship!" Prince Beju blustered. "I'll see you dead! Who are you? How dare you!"

"Don't bore me with questions," Obi-Wan said, hauling the Prince to his feet. "Just obey me."

Chapter 16

Qui-Gon, Paxxi, and Guerra found a place to hide behind a pile of repair equipment in the Syndicat hanger. They had found out from Duenna when the Prince was scheduled to arrive. Baftu and a troop of assassin droids and Syndicat guards waited on the landing platform.

The Derida brothers and Qui-Gon wore their stolen Syndicat armor coats. Even though the coats gave them some protection, it was better to keep out of sight.

Kaadi had entered enthusiastically into their plan. She, too, thought the Prince's visit would be a perfect time to strike. She had contacted her rebel operatives. All they would need was a signal from her when the warehouses were open. She had designated people to find weapons and distribute them, find good, find supplies. And when the bacta was loaded onto the Prince's ship, she would make sure that the Phindians saw it happen.

Qui-Gon couldn't imagine the fury of a people deprived so long of what they needed to live. Surely the capital would explode. That would give them plenty of diversion to break in and steal the treasury. Once the Syndicat was destroyed, peace could return to Phindar at last.

So why was he so uneasy? Qui-Gon wondered. Perhaps it was because the plan seemed so simple, yet was so dependent on their guesses. What if the Prince went to headquarters first? What if Baftu double-crossed him and withheld the bacta? What if Paxxi's anti-register device didn't work? Qui-Gon had tested it on a security lock of Kaadi's, but what if the warehouse locks were different? It would have been dangerous to test it first, but should they have tried?

Perhaps he was allowing his worry about Obi-Wan in interfere with his judgement. He was anxious to bring about the Syndicat collapse so that he could find his Padawan. But was he acting rashly?

"You are worrying, Jedi-Gon," Guerra whispered. "You should not. Everything will be smooth. Paxxi and I have always been lucky."

Qui-Gon had certainly not seen any evidence to support this. But Guerra was trying to be helpful, so he nodded in thanks.

"Yes so, we guarantee this," Paxxi added in a whisper. "The Syndicat will be weakened, maybe collapse, and Prince Beju will take off with no bacta and no alliance. Just so!"

"There is the ship!" Guerra hissed.

The Prince's ship came into view, sleek and white. It glided to a perfect landing. The ramp slowly lowered. Qui-Gon tensed. Now everything would begin.

The Prince slowly walked down the ramp alone. First, Qui-Gon was surprised. He had assumed the Prince would arrive with a royal guard.

Then he felt a rush of familiarity. But why? It took him several long seconds to realize that it was Obi-Wan in disguise.

Joy filled his heart. His Padawan was alive!

But quickly, joy was followed by confusion. Had Obi-Wan lost his memory and somehow become mixed up in affairs on Gala? That would be an incredible coincidence. How had he met Prince Beju?

"Look at him," Paxxi said in disgust. "You can tell the brute is evil."

"Look closer. The boy is Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon murmured.

Paxxi gasped. "Yes so, I thought he seemed handsome and brave," he added quickly. "And what royal bearing he has!"

"Obawan! I am overjoyed!" Guerra exulted, hid voice a whisper. Then his face fell. "But what can we do, wise Knight Jedi-Gon? We can't follow our plan now. If we alert the people that the Prince id taking the bacta, we will put Obi-Wan in great danger."

"Do you think Obawan had been memory-wiped?" Paxxi whispered. "What if the Syndicat is using him?"

"I don't know what to think," Qui-Gon said quietly, his eyes on Obi-Wan as the boy greeted Baftu.

There was only one thing he could do. Qui-Gon concentrated and reached out to the Force. He gathered it in, then directed it toward Obi-Wan like a cresting wave.

He waited, every muscle tense, every cell on alert. His heart cried out for his Padawan to hear him.

He felt Obi-Wan catch the Force and send it back to him. It broke over him like a glorious waterfall.

Qui-Gon closed his eyes in sweet relief. "It is all right," he told Paxxi and Guerra. "He has withstood the memory wipe."

Paxxi and Guerra exchanged stunned glances.

"No one has ever done this completely.' Paxxi said.