Now Qui-Gon could see his mistakes. He had been blind to Xanatos' faults. He indulged the boy. He gave without seeing. He was a failure as a Master, because he trusted his apprentice too much. He let his fondness blind him to what he should have seen all along.

After some reflection, Qui-Gon decided to ask SonTag and VeerTa if they had seen a box like the one Obi-Wan described. They had both visited the Agri-Corps Enrichment Zones many times. Perhaps there was a simple explanation for what Obi-Wan had found.

Qui-Gon described the box, and VeerTa nodded. "I've seen a box like that."

"So have I," SonTag agreed, thinking. "In the Western Enrichment zone. I was there just recently."

"I think I saw one in the Northern Zone," VeerTa added. "It was with the other equipment. I'm sure it contains Agri-Corps instrument."

It was exactly the response Qui-Gon had been hoping for. The box must not be significant. In the other zones, it had been in plain view.

So why was he worried?

Maybe because it had been placed with Offworld mining equipment. Obi-Wan couldn't have been wrong about that.

Back in his quarters, he jacked into his data pad to investigate Offworld. He was curious about what position Xanatos held. His former apprentice had been uncharacteristically silent on that subject. If he was a high official, wouldn't he have boasted of his title?

Qui-Gon searched Offworld company records. He could fin no mention of the name Xanatos. Which meant what? Either Xanatos had been lying about his involvement, or his position was a secret within his own company. But why?

Qui-Gon clicked a few more keys. The head of the company was anonymous, but a board of directors was listed. Qui-Gon recognized most of the names, rulers of worlds that were virtually controlled by Offworld. Figureheads.

There were no answers… yet. But he had an idea where to look for them.

It was time to pay a visit to Offworld Headquarters.

Offworld did not try to beautify their Bandomeer office. The building, a black, windowless block, echoed the grim mines that surrounded it.

Qui-Gon entered the center hall with its azurite-studded walls. The mineral was its only decoration. A Hutt security guard sat behind a black cube that served as a desk. His body rolled past the confines of the desk. He turned flat, dead eyes toward Qui-Gon.

"I have come to see Xanatos," Qui-Gon said.

"Move, wretch," the Hutt replied, bored. "Take your petty complaints to you immediate supervisor. There's no one here anyway. Xanatos is on an exploration trip to the northern mine quadrant." The Hutt reached for a blaster. So much for corporate hospitality.

Qui-Gon didn't move a muscle. He concentrated on the Hutt's greasy mind, pulling in energy from the Force.

"Perhaps I should wait in his private office," he said.

"You should wait in his private office." The Hutt repeated tonelessly. "Take the restricted tube to Horizontal Thirty."

"Security controls should be lifted," Qui-Gon said.

"All security controls shall be lifted."

Qui-Gon entered the tube marked RESTRICTED. There was only one indicator light, for Horizontal Thirty. The lift tube reached the floor in seconds. He stepped off into a reception area. The chairs were made of stone. The cubelike desk was empty. He could see no door to another room, just a blank, empty wall.

A blank wall…

He placed a hand against the wall. When he took it away, he saw a brief flicker of transparency.

Obi-Wan's description togged at Qui-Gon's memory. He'd read about the technological advances on Telos, the home planter of Xanatos. Recently they had been able to cover transparisteel with a special coating the rendered it opaque. When a thermoelectrical was generated, the wall returned to normal transparency.

He pressed his whole body against the wall and it turned transparent. He could see the inner office. Still, where was the door?

Qui-Gon drew the Force in and Felt it move within him like a cresting wave. The entire wall became transparent. The hidden door swung open. As soon as he was inside, the wall was once more opaque.

It was a clever system, Qui-Gon thought, walking toward the enormous stone desk. Xanatos could control the transparency from the reception area. He would be able to see inside the office before he entered. If someone managed to slip past security checks, the intruder would be unable to hide in the office.

How like Xanatos. Concealing and revealing. He'd forgotten how clever his apprentice was about secrets. He would reveal something, leading you to think he had told you everything. But what he revealed was always trifle. He kept the most important secrets under his control.

The only piece of furniture in the office was the stone desk. Qui-Gon pressed a button, and a data pad rose from the top of it. He accessed the filing system. Just as he suspected, it was holographic.

The files rose before him. He flipped through the directory. There was a file on the Home Planet Mine, and he accessed it. It wasn't very helpful, just a list of money and droids that had been loaned after the explosion. He closed it.

Then he saw a file directory with no name. An icon hovered where the label should have been. Two broken golden circles that overlapped. Qui-Gon's heard beat faster. The two broken circles could be read as letters, too. O and C.

Offworld Corporation.

Qui-Gon accessed the directory, but a warning red light pulsed.

"Password, please," a voice said.

Qui-Gon hesitated. Knowing Xanatos, he had only one chance to get it right. And if he didn't, Xanatos had surely rigged the hologram to alert him that someone had tried to break in.

It was a risk. But he had to take it.

"Crion," he said, using Xanatos' father's name.

The directory flipped open. He scanned the list of files. To his dismay, they were all written in code. He would never have time to break it. And if he removed a file, Xanatos would know he'd been there.

But he'd gotten what he'd come for, anyway. Qui-Gon closed the filing system thoughtfully. Two broken circles had formed the initials of Offworld Corporation. Perhaps others would see that as a coincidence. But he knew that nothing was casual to Xanatos. Qui-Gon's instinct told him that he had found the person who controlled Offworld. Perhaps Xanatos had even founded it. But why would he keep it secret? So he could maneuver more easily, Qui-Gon guessed. Xanatos had always preferred stealth and trickery to achieve his ends. The question was: what was Xanatos after?