Port rushed from the room and glanced at the nearest datascreen. "Six days behind schedule on hard goods distribution," he mumbled. "It cannot be."

Everywhere laborers stood up from their stations and looked around, bewildered. Qui-Gon noticed that when their eyes rested on the Jedi in their flowing brown robes, their already vibrating antennae would wave even more wildly. In this environment even the subdued Jedi dress made them stick out like pulsating beacons.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan followed Chairman Port to the turbolift. As they made their way through the maze, Qui-Gon noted a few of the laborers rocking back and forth. Others appeared to be physically ill, grasping their stomachs and leaning on their desks.

As the turbolift doors closed, Qui-Gon heaved a deep sigh. Obviously the Vorzyd 4's were un? able to handle anything outside of their normal work routine. Only the chairman seemed to maintain relative calm, though he didn't look particularly well, either.

This was going to be a very interesting mission.

Chapter 3

Obi-Wan sat in front of the mainframe computer. He had been there for almost an hour. The Vorzydiak technician assigned to the station paced behind him, stopping regularly to peer over Obi-Wan's shoulder.

Occasionally the tech's antennae grazed the back of Obi-Wan's head and neck and he could be heard mumbling something about Vorzyd 5.

Obi-Wan's Master had gone with Chairman Port to try to calm the laborers. The threat to the Vorzydiaks' physical and mental health was equal to their technical difficulties. If the chairman could not get the laborers to calm down, he would have a health crisis on his hands. Judging from the stress level Obi-Wan still felt in the building, he did not think Qui-Gon was having much luck.