"That's exactly what I mean," she said.

Once they got to the prison, they were marched to a booking desk.

"Charge?" the desk clerk asked the two security police.

"Loitering," the tall female said. "Can we do this one quickly, Neece? It's the end of our shift."

The guard looked at his timepiece. "Almost the end of mine, too. Long day. Names?"

Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Drenna gave their names. They were subjected to a retinal scan. The security police left and two guards were called.

"Escort the prisoners to the holding cell."

The clerk activated the security door and they marched through. The door clanged behind them and the locks snapped in with a final sound.

They headed down the hall between the guards. They had to pass through a number of checkpoints. The sensors glowed red over the open doorways. When the guards approached, they shot at the sensor with a laser pointer located at the tip of an electro-jabber. They were expert at timing their pace with the swing of the jabber in order to make it through the checkpoint smoothly.

The guard on the left swung up his jabber and shot a beam of light at the sensor. It glowed green, but Drenna pretended to cough and brought her dart shooter to her mouth.

Her aim was perfect. The sensor went into a flashing mode, and an alarm sounded.

The guards looked around in surprise. The hallway was empty. The guard's comlink buzzed. "Guard seven, report in."

He spoke into the comlink. "Nothing here. Must be a malfunction. Check the system."

They continued walking. At the next sensor, Drenna set off the alarm before the guard could raise his jabber. The alarm sounded again.

"Guard seven, report in." This time the voice was annoyed.

"Again, it's nothing."

A groan came over the comlink. "Not another bird."

They passed through four sensors on the way to the holding cell. Drenna was so good at concealing the dart shooter that Qui-Gon did not even have to use the Force. The sensors went off, the alarm clanging.

The guards were clearly annoyed as they ushered the group into the holding cell. They led Drenna and the Jedi in and closed the durasteel door.

"Two minutes to shift change," Qui-Gon said softly.

Drenna put her eye to the small opening in the door. It was just big enough for her to aim the dart shooter. She aimed at the sensor across the hall.

The alarm clanged again.

"Why don't they shut it all down?" the guard outside complained, putting his hands over his ears. "All we need is to get the royal guard down here to investigate."

"Prince Leed is here," the other said. "The king will find out about this no matter what."

"Be quiet," the other muttered. "Here comes the warden. Let's head for our shift change before he tells us we have to stay."

They heard the guards' footsteps receding and then, Leed's voice.

"I don't understand this," Leed said angrily. "Your system must be too sensitive. This has happened before. My father will be furious."

"Yes," the warden said nervously. "Perhaps another bird, or some sort of small creature, is triggering the system."

"It must be shut down at once!" Leed thundered, sounding like his father.

"But —"

"At once!"

The warden and Leed hurried away. Qui-Gon kept his eye on his timepiece, Obi-Wan on the sensor.

"The sensor just went off," Obi-Wan said. "The system has been shut down."

"And the guards are changing shifts. Time to go." Qui-Gon activated his lightsaber. Obi-Wan followed. Quickly, they cut a hole in the durasteel door. Then the three of them climbed through.

The hallway was empty, but it wouldn't be for long. They raced down the hall. Leed had told them the location of the high security cell where Yaana would most likely be held.

The system was off, but there was now a guard outside Yaana's cell. His blaster was in his holster. No doubt he was not nervous about a ten-year-old girl making an escape attempt.

Drenna blew a paralyzing dart at the guard. It landed in his neck. He toppled over, a surprised look on his face.

Drenna leaned over. "You'll be able to move in twenty minutes," she told him in a friendly way. "Just relax and enjoy the chance to rest."

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon swiftly cut a hole in the door. The metal peeled back, and they climbed inside. A slender Senali girl with large dark eyes sat in a corner. She shrank back when she saw the Jedi.

"Yaana, don't be afraid. We have come to take you back to your father on Senali," Qui-Gon told her.

The apprehensive look faded. She raised her chin and nodded. "I am ready."

They ran down the hall. When they reached a turning, Qui-Gon held up a hand. He peered around the corner. Leed was shouting at the warden in a good imitation of his father. When he saw Qui-Gon, he quickly swiveled the warden around by the shoulder so that he would not see them. He made a quick hand motion behind the warden's back to indicate a door near him.

Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Drenna, and Yaana moved silently down the hall. Qui-Gon walked to the doorway that Leed had indicated. It led to another long gray hall. This one was lined with closed office doors. They were now in the administrative section of the prison.

A console desk was directly ahead of them. It was the checkpoint to leave the prison. Qui-Gon strode forward.

"We are authorized visitors with an exit pass signed by the warden," he said. He concentrated on the guard's mind. "We may go."

"You may go," the guard said, activating the door.

Walking casually, the four strolled past the checkpoint and out the door. They quickened their pace as they passed through the yard. When they hit the streets of Testa, Drenna began to hurry, but Qui-Gon stopped her.

"Do not attract attention," he said.

They were almost to the platform when Leed caught up to them.

"So far, so good," he said. "But I'm afraid the warden put in a call to my father to apologize for the disturbance when it first started. He could be here any minute."

"Now you can hurry," Qui-Gon told Drenna.