Blaster fire pinged behind them. They heard the sound of exploding crates peppering the wall.

"They mean business," Qui-Gon said. "We'd better go up."

The security police were still out of sight, but they'd round the corner in a few seconds. Qui-Gon reached for the liquid-cable launcher on his belt. He activated the device, and the dual-strand cord shot upward and hooked around the lip of a rooftop overhead. Obi-Wan activated his own liquid-cable. They held on and let the device carry them up to the rooftop, leaping up and landing on their feet. Quickly, they retracted the cords.

Qui-Gon watched as the security police ran down the alley. They ran past the rooftop, turned a corner, and disappeared.

"That's a relief," Obi-Wan said.

But Qui-Gon did not move. A few seconds later, the security police returned. One of them took out a pair of electrobinoculars and began sweeping the rooftops.

"They're not giving up, I'm afraid," Qui-Gon remarked mildly.

The two Jedi moved backward quickly on their hands and knees until they were out of range. Then they jumped from the opposite side of the roof down to the pavement. They ran down a short stretch of the alley and spilled out into the crowded street again.

"We'll never lose them this way," Qui-Gon said.

Obi-Wan craned his neck and looked over the heads of the surging crowd. "Everyone is heading toward that dome," he said to Qui-Gon. "Maybe we can lose them inside."

They joined the crowd, weaving through it in order to make it to the entrance quickly. A giant sign flashed in letters a hundred meters high: KATHARSIS.

"I guess we're about to find out what it is," Obi-Wan said curiously.

There were several entrances, and Qui-Gon joined the line at the most crowded. The stream of people pushed through an opening that was big enough to fly a starfighter through.