Star Wars_ Darth Maul 02_ Shadow Hunter - Michael Reaves [81]
Which was fortunate, because after the effort of climbing the long silken rope to the top of the underground chasm, the two humans were exhausted. But they couldn’t afford to rest, or even slow down. They had to assume that the Sith was still somewhere behind them, still pursuing them.
Which was the worst of their problems, but by no means the only one. Lorn figured that in all likelihood the bank’s security personnel were after him and I-Five by now, as well. The transaction fraud they had committed would probably have also attracted the notice of the planetary police, and very possibly a few Republic treasury agents.
It had also occurred to Lorn that Black Sun might have a few questions for him, depending on what kind of records Yanth had left of his business dealings and what the eyewitnesses at the Tusken Oasis had pieced together. In short, probably just about every organized power on the planet was looking for him and I-Five.
Of course, the only pursuit he knew of for certain was the Sith’s. The rest I-Five would probably characterize as paranoia. So what? Lorn told himself. Downlevels, paranoia wasn’t a disorder; it was a lifestyle.
Darsha spoke. “My people will no doubt have sent out searchers by now. If we can get to a comm station, all we have to do is alert them to come pick us up.”
Right—the Jedi. He’d forgotten about them. That made one more at the party.
I-Five said, “We are in an area with very few operating public comm stations. It’s likely there will be a higher quantity of functional ones some levels up.”
Sharp, Lorn thought. There were stations to be found if you knew where to look, but he didn’t want to give Darsha a chance to drag them back to the Temple just yet. Back there in the tunnels, during the endless search for a way out, he’d managed to whisper a few instructions to the droid without Darsha hearing him. I-Five knew Lorn wanted to get to Tuden Sal as quickly as possible—without the Jedi Padawan.
“So we’re back to the question of the day: How do we get uplevels?” Darsha asked. “Climbing is risky. I had a bad experience earlier with some hawk-bats. I found my way up a monad, but I don’t see any of those nearby.”
It was true: Without some kind of transportation, the problem of getting uplevels in this area was a sticky one. Of course, if he could contact Tuden Sal, the man would send a transport—but the problem was circular. First he had to get to a comm station.
It was extremely frustrating. They had never been more than half a kilometer from one of the most cosmopolitan areas in the galaxy. The only problem was, it was half a kilometer straight up. The possibility of freedom lay only a score of levels over their heads, and yet it might as well be on one of the orbiting space stations for all that they could reach it. All things considered, Lorn thought, it was hard to see how things could get any worse.
“We are being watched,” the droid said.
Even as the droid spoke, Darsha could feel them—more than one, of different species, and with unmistakably malign intent.
“Why am I not surprised?” Lorn said. “Any way to tell exactly who is watching us?”
Darsha reached out with her senses and felt familiar signatures. She was sure she had come across them before recently.
“It’s not the Sith,” she said, and saw the broker relax. And then she recognized the vibration in the Force. “It’s—”
“Hey, lady—still slumming?”
It was Green Hair, the leader of the Raptor gang that had attacked her when she first touched down in the Corridor. Three of his cronies—the Trandoshan, a Saurin, and a Devaronian—were with him. Darsha almost smiled in relief. Compared to the creatures she’d faced under the surface, these punks were nothing.
Lorn seemed to feel the