"You would do nothing except destroy the planet! " Caiza Quill sputtered. Only minutes earlier Duris had deposed him as head of the council. His rage and surrender pheromones still spiced the air. "Destroy Cestus Cybernetics, and you destroy our economy! "

Kosta’s expression bristled with naked contempt for Quill’s transparent half-truths. "The hive was here before Cestus Cybernetics. It is not the hive that will suffer if this company changes hands . .

. or even if it dies. It will be those who have sold themselves to offworlders for a promise of power. "

"But my lords, " Duris said, drawing their attention back to her once again. "I have obligations to the offworlders, people who came to Cestus with skills and heart, wanting only to build a life here. We cannot use this opportunity to destroy. We must use it to build, and heal. "

The X’Ting hive council members nodded, perhaps pleased by her empathy. Although she was new to their ranks, they seemed satisfied with her grasp of the responsibilities.

But Quill was in no way mollified by her words. His stubby wings quivered with rage. "You have won nothing, Duris! I will block you, I swear. Regardless of what you think you have, what you think you know . . . this isn’t over yet. " He stormed out, humiliated and enraged.

Obi-Wan had watched the proceedings, withholding comment, but now he had to speak. "Can he do that? "

"Perhaps, " Kosta replied. "Any member of the Families can veto any specific business deal. " She was referring to the Five Families, who ran the mines and factories that fed the droid works. Once there had only been four, but Quill had wormed his way into their midst by delivering labor contracts and quelling dissent, selling out his own people in the process. "If he believes it is in his best interest, or just for the sake of hatred, he will try. " An alarming thought seemed to occur to her. "He might try to keep you from sending the Supreme Chancellor this information. Perhaps you should send it immediately. "

Reluctantly, Obi-Wan shook his head. "The Chancellor will use it as legal pretext to shut down Cestus Cybernetics. In that case, no one wins. Your best bet is to use this information as emergency leverage. "

Only days before, Obi-Wan had arrived on Cestus to stop the planet from selling its deadly bio-droids to the Confederacy. By means of a unique "living circuit" design, the droid works had created a machine that could actually anticipate an attacker’s moves.

Understanding their potential, Count Dooku had ordered thousands of the devices-originally designed for small-scale security work-with every intention of converting them to battle droids.

The thought of such an army, marching in the thousands, chilled Obi-Wan’s blood. In the face of such a juggernaut, both the Jedi and the Grand Army of the Republic might fall.

The spread of such lethal devices must be stopped at all costs!