"That the accident wasn't an accident," Curi finished.

They left Curi, who was about to return to her lab to investigate further. Obi-Wan looked at Siri.

"The ferry ships should have landed by now."

She nodded. "Let's go."

The Avoni fleet had landed on the outskirts of the Isolation Sector. Obi-Wan and Siri took Curi's airspeeder, which she'd made available for their use. They stopped the speeder a few hundred meters away from the ferry ships, hiding it behind a rocky outcropping.

The wind was strong here, driving the dust against their clothes. The bio-iso suits protected their eyes and skin from the peppery blasts.

The gleaming black ships had landed in formation. A few Avoni workers dressed in bio-iso suits were ferrying skiffs out the cargo loading doors.

"No doubt they're going to use the skiffs to ferry the Radnorans from Aubendo to the fleet," Obi-Wan murmured.

"There must be another ship on the other side of the energy gate for Tacto."

"Then why off-load them now?" Siri asked. "And why are they full of durasteel crates?"

"Good question," Obi-Wan said. "Let's get closer."

They moved from rock to rock, trying to get close enough to see what was inside the skiffs. As they lingered in the shadow of a ship's wing, the passenger ramp suddenly lowered. An Avoni officer strode down.

"Progress report!" he called out to the workers.

The worker quickly approached him with a datapad. Obi-Wan glanced at Siri, and after a wordless communication they both dashed up the passenger ramp.

The ship hallway was deserted. Quickly they made their way down it. Now they were in the cargo hold of the ship. There were no ground craft here. No guards or officers.

Obi-Wan accessed a door, keeping himself well out of sight as it slid open. He peered into the doorway. He found himself looking inside a large cargo bay. It was filled with Battle Droids that were ominously familiar.

"These are the Prototype Droids we fought in the Clear Sector," Siri said. "How did the Avoni get them?"

They stepped through the doorway. At that instant, a detector light turned red.

"Mistake," Obi-Wan muttered. "I think we just tripped a silent sensor."

Suddenly an alarm sounded. "Intruder," a pleasant voice announced. "Intruder."

"Not so silent," Siri said grimly. "Let's get out of here while we can."

But even as they turned, the first line of attack droids snapped to life. Behind them, the next line flipped into position. And blaster fire erupted around the Jedi.

Chapter Fourteen

Obi-Wan and Siri knew that they were no match for this many droids. And at any moment, Avoni troops could appear.

Blaster fire pinged around them. Behind them, the door began to slide shut.

Obi-Wan and Siri deflected blaster fire as they moved backward. The frequency of the fire was astonishing. The air filled with smoke. In their bio-iso suits, the Jedi could not move with their customary grace. Obi-Wan felt blaster fire uncomfortably close to his shoulder.

"Obi-Wan!" Siri called.

The doors were closing, and they were too far to make it.

Obi-Wan stepped forward and, with one smooth motion, sliced a droid in half. He took the severed trunk of the body and tossed it back just in time to land between the closing door and the wall. With a grating noise, the door closed on the droid. The metal began to compress with a terrible groaning sound as the door struggled to shut. The gap was just wide enough for Siri to fit through. Even as she squeezed past, the door was closing. Obi-Wan's lightsaber danced, a blade of light that deflected the ongoing blaster fire of the droids. He squeezed through the opening after Siri. A Prototype Droid tried to follow and smashed into the door. Obi-Wan tumbled into the hallway as another droid fired between the gap. Blaster fire zinged past their ears. The droid tried to barrel its way through the remains of the first droid and the closing door.

Obi-Wan and Siri didn't hesitate. As more droids thudded against the half-closed door, they ran for the ramp.

The Avoni officer was still busy with the workers. He must have received a shipboard communication through his headset, for he turned and scanned the area. "Intruders!" he snapped to the workers. "Leave the skiffs. Secure the ferry ships!

Lock down all cargo holds!"

The workers began to move. In their bio-iso suits, Obi-Wan and Siri were able to blend in. They made their way along the line of ships, looking busy. Then they ducked behind the rocks and doubled back to their speeder.

They jumped inside and took off.

"At least we weren't seen," Obi-Wan said. "The Avoni won't know we're on to them."

"They'll know someone was aboard when they find several smashed droids and a broken door," Siri said as she piloted the speeder.

"They could think that it was a droid malfunction," Obi- Wan said. "At least for a while."

"Well, that reminds me. What exactly are we on to?" Siri asked. "If all of those cargo holds are full of Battle Droids, we're in trouble. What I don't understand is how they're going to get the droids to Aubendo. It seems like they're using the skiffs for cargo."

"I don't know. But there's no doubt in my mind that the Avoni are planning an invasion," Obi-Wan said. "That much is clear. But we have a worse problem."

Siri nodded, her clear blue eyes suddenly clouded. "We might have to let them."

They found Ry-Gaul and Soara with Curi. Ry-Gaul and Soara were studying some results on Curl's data-pad. Everyone looked grave.

"Bad news?" Siri asked.

"No, it's actually good news," Curi said. "It's just puzzling news. We discovered why Wilk is immune to the toxin. He was never exposed at all."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked. "He sneaked back into the Isolation Sector."

"Exactly. And he didn't get infected," Curi said. "When none of the immunity tests checked out, I went back and checked the research. We ran more tests. The toxin has a short half-life. The poison is already benign. It doesn't threaten the Clear Sector at all."

"Are you absolutely certain of this?" Siri asked.

For her answer, Curi slowly removed her mask. Then she stepped out of her bio-isolation suit.