"About twenty," Rorq said. "And the tunnels extend over the entire area of Naatan. It's like another city down there. You'll see."

Rorq stepped into the air tube with no floor. He hung there for a second, grinning at them, then shot below. Swanny gestured. "After you."

Obi-Wan stepped out into what seemed to be a black void. Anakin heard the faint sound of rushing air. The next thing he knew, his Master had sunk down out of sight.

"Next," Swanny said.

Anakin stepped into the chamber. It felt strange to feel the air pressure against his boots. He descended, the air rushing against his ears.

The sensation felt oddly familiar, even though he'd never been in an airlift before. When he reached the bottom he felt the shock of the ground against his boots and almost stumbled as he stepped off.

Obi-Wan and Rorq were waiting. After a moment, Swanny joined them, stepping off the airlift with the ease of long practice.

"Ah," Swanny said, spreading his arms to take in the dim, dirty tunnel, "home, sweet home."

Anakin wrinkled his nose. The air was dank and heavy and smelled stale.

Swanny grinned. "The purification system is hooked into the power grid. Sometimes it's off, sometimes it's on. Lately it's been off."

Swanny activated a glow rod and they set off down the tunnel. It was wide and high, big enough for the four of them to walk side by side.

"This is one of the main transport tunnels," Swanny explained. "We used to have speeders operating along here. Now we motor the old-fashioned way."

Obi-Wan glanced around at the network of tunnels branching off from the one they were walking down. "I don't know how you keep from getting lost."

"There are map kiosks, but when the power's down, we can't access them," Rorq said. "Luckily, we could find our way around down here blindfolded. Patrol, Swanny."