"Wait." Qui-Gon quieted his mind, letting the Force fill him. He drew from Obi-Wan's power as well, concentrating on the broken circle. He envisioned the circle moving, meeting, becoming whole once more. The past would meet the future and create the present. That was what mattered. Xanatos was past. Obi-Wan was now.

Slowly, the separate strands moved, making a perfect circle.

The door slid open.

"I told you there was an easier way," he said to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan grinned in tired relief. Perspiration streaked his face from the heat and effort. "We'd better hurry."

They raced back up the tunnel, following the twists and curves to the main shaft. Qui-Gon remembered an emergency siren near the south lift tube. He activated it, and pulsating sound filled the tunnels.

"Evacuate," a voice said calmly. "Evacuate."

"That means us, too, Obi-Wan said, pressing the button for the lift tube.

But Qui-Gon hesitated. He glanced around the tunnel. They had been working down here to clear it. Boxes of explosives stood stacked against the walls. And one box rested on top.

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said. "Is that the box you saw?"

Obi-Wan turned. "Yes," he said. "but there's no time to find out what's in it." The lift tube arrived with a whoosh. "Let's go, Qui-Gon!"

Qui-Gon didn't answer. He walked over to the box. He unsheathed his lightsaber and, with great precision, cut the lock.

"He always had more than one trick," me murmured. "He always had a back door." He lifted the lid carefully. Just as he'd thought. It was an ion bomb, the most destructive explosive in the galaxy.

Obi-Wan stood by his shoulder. "He said he had mixed gases."

"He lied," Qui-Gon said. "This bomb is on a timer. And my guess is that all those boxes stored around Bandomeer are set to blow at the same moment." He turned to Obi-Wan. "The chain reaction will be enormous. The entire planet could blow."

Obi-Wan went pale. "Do you know how to dismantle it?"

"The Force won't work," Qui-Gon said, crouching. "This is a trigger so delicate that the Force itself might set it off. I can do it, but I need time. More time than I have." Qui-Gon bent closer. "This appears to be the master control. Xanatos must have set it when he left. That's the good news. If we can disarm this one, none of the others will blow."

Obi-Wan swallowed. "What's the bad news?"

"It's set to blow in three minutes," Qui-Gon said. "I need fifteen."

Obi-Wan felt seconds tick by, precious seconds, while he absorbed this. To have come this far and have Xanatos win! He could not let it happen.

"His hatred has led him to destroy a planet just to destroy me," Qui-Gon mused. "Not to mention a sizable fortune. VeerTa said the wealth of the ionite vein alone is immeasurable."

"Ionite?" Obi-Wan asked. "I though this was an azurite mine."

"They found a vein after the explosion," Qui-Gon said. "The force blew rocks upward from the core." He gestured down the tunnel.

"Does the bomb have a clock?" Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon nodded. "An ion clock. Precise to the second. Why?"

Obi-Wan didn't answer. He flew down the tunnel, toward the pile of debris. He picked up a rock and scraped a fingernail against it. He saw the glow of ionite. He picked up more rocks, stacking them in his tunic.

"One minute left," Qui-Gon called.

"We're not dead yet," Obi-Wan answered, running back to him. He placed the rocks carefully around the bomb.

"What are…?" Qui-Gon's question died on his lips. The digital readout had stopped functioning. "What — "

"Ionite," Obi-Wan said. "It has a neutral charge. Makes most instruments stop dead. Especially times. Miners fear it, but now, it will save them." He grinned. "You've got your fifteen minutes, Qui-Gon."

Qui-Gon blew out a long breath. "Then I'd better get started," he said.

Covered with grime, their tunics stiff with sweat, the Jedi wearily made their way to the governor's palace. There, they found SonTag in conference with VeerTa and Clat'Ha.

"There was an emergency evacuation at the mine," SonTag told them, frowning worriedly. "Yet our sensors show nothing wrong."

"We just replaced and double-checked them yesterday," Clat'Ha put in.

"And we received word that Offworld had a problem on their deepsea mining platform," VeerTa added. "The miners' electro-collars all malfunctioned. They revolted and abandoned the mine. Their leader — a Phindian named Guerra — said to tell you that he's okay."

Obi-Wan felt a glow of satisfaction. Guerra was free.

"Not that we sympathize with Offworld," Clat'Ha added. "It's a good thing. Those miners were slaves. But why are we all having sensor malfunction?"

"Equipment failure is not your problem," Qui-Gon told them. "I'm afraid I have a more painful failure to to reveal."

Quickly, Qui-Gon told them what had happened at the mine.

"So Xanatos was behind the first explosion," SonTag said, grief in her face. "if only we hadn't trusted him!"

"I knew we shouldn't have!" VeerTa announced, her eyes flashing.

Clat'Ha simply watched Qui-Gon. "What do you mean when you say you must reveal a more painful failure?" She asked.

Leave it to Clat'Ha to jump to the next step, Qui-Gon thought admiringly. "Someone close to you has betrayed you," he said. "Someone was in league with Xanatos. They betrayed Bandomeer for personal gain and told him about the ionite."

VeerTa went pale. "But who would do such a thing?"

Qui-Gon let his gaze remain on her. Slowly, her paleness was replaced with a flush of color.

Clat'Ha turned to her. "VeerTa?"

"It was for the good of Bandomeer!" VeerTa cried. "That's what he told me. If Offworld was secretly behind the Home Planet Mine, it would be sure to be profitable."

"Did you really think that he would allow us to own the mine?" Clat'Ha asked her furiously.

"There is something else," Qui-Gon said. "Xanatos had a back-up plan. He wanted to blow up most of Bandomeer. Those black boxes were planted next to explosive is all the Enrichment Zones, plus the mining platforms. Somebody helped him smuggle those boxes into the domes."