Star Wars

Jedi Quest

Book 7

The Moment of Truth

by Jude Watson

source: IRC

uploaded: 09.I.2006

CHAPTER ONE

They hadn't spoken for many hours, not since  they'd  left  the  Core.

Anakin Skywalker kept his eyes on the  dashboard  indicators,  even  though

they  were  traveling  in  hyperspace  and  the  ship  was  flying  on  the

navcomputer. His Master, Obi-Wan  Kenobi,  pored  over  star  charts  on  a

datascreen. Every so often he would raise a chart  in  magnified  holo-mode

and walk through it, studying the planets more closely.

Anakin usually admired his Master's thoroughness, but  today  he  felt

irritated by it. Obi-Wan studied things. He made  logical  conclusions  and

plotted strategies. What did he know  about  leaps  in  intuition,  dreams,

risks, compulsions, knowing a  step  could  mean  disaster  but  taking  it

anyway? What did he know, Anakin thought bitterly, about guilt?

A Jedi Master was dead, and Anakin had seen her die. Master Yaddle had

hung above him in a night crowded with stars, held by the  Force.  She  had

saved a population by absorbing the destructive power of a  bomb  with  her

own body. She had become one with the Force. The great light had  sent  him

crashing to his knees. He'd thought he would never be able to get up again.

And he'd known that as soon as he could feel again, as  soon  as  he  could

think, he would feel responsible for her death.

Before that mission he had experienced a vision that had haunted  him.

The only thing about it that had been clear was  that  it  involved  Master

Yaddle. During the mission he had thought he  understood  what  the  vision

meant. Yet he had kept going forward, kept pushing. He had thought he could

change fate at any moment. And because he had thought those things,  Yaddle

had made a great sacrifice - a sacrifice he should have made - and she  had

died for it.

The Jedi had held a memorial service in the Great Hall of the  Temple.

Hundreds of Jedi had crowded the hall and  the  surrounding  balconies  and

levels. The glowlights had been turned out abruptly. Tiny white lights were

projected on the ceiling. Then, out of all the thousands of lights, one had

gone out. Using the Force to direct them, each Jedi had turned and  trained

their eyes on that empty space. The memory of Yaddle had pulsed through the

room. Anakin had felt the power of every mind  and  heart  focused  on  one

being. The absence of Yaddle grew until it filled the Great Hall.

And it is my fault she is gone.

The blank space had expanded in his mind until it had seemed  enormous

enough to swallow him. He could not turn away.  He  could  not  reveal  his

emotion to the Jedi who surrounded him. It took all of his discipline,  all

of his will, to remain with his eyes fixed  on  the  spot.  The  grief  had

coiled around his chest like a great serpent, squeezing the  air  from  his

lungs.

He couldn't forgive himself for the mistakes he had  made.  He  didn't

know how to get to a place where he could forgive himself.

He still carried that feeling. He could not find a way  to  live  with

grief comfortably, as Obi-Wan could. Anakin remembered the days immediately

following Qui-Gon's  death.  Anakin  knew  that  Obi-Wan  had  been  deeply

affected by his Master's death, yet  Obi-Wan  had  continued  on  the  same

steady path. How could he have felt so much, and yet not be changed?

He doesn't feel things as I do.

Was that it? Anakin wondered. Did he feel too much to be  a  Jedi?  He

hadn't yet managed to achieve the distance from the Living Force that other

Jedi could maintain. How could he learn to shut out his feelings, to  close

a door against them and keep on going?

Obi-Wan deactivated the maps he was studying and came to stand  behind

him.

"We are coming up on the Uziel system," Obi-Wan said.  "We  might  run

into Vanqor patrols when we come out of hyperspace." He leaned forward. The

instrument panel cast a green glow on his frown.

"You look worried, Master," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan straightened. "Not worried. Cautious." He paused. "Well, maybe

worried, too. I think the Council should have sent more than one Jedi  team

on this mission. It's a sign of how thin we are stretched."

Anakin nodded. It was a  source  of  discussion  among  all  the  Jedi

lately. Requests for peacekeeping missions were increasing, almost too many

for the Jedi to handle.

"Our best chance for success is slipping through undetected,"  Obi-Wan

said. "We'll have to rely on your talent for evasive flying."

"I'll do my best," Anakin said.

"You always do," Obi-Wan replied.

His Master's tone was light, but Anakin knew that  he  meant  a  great

deal more than he'd said. It was one of several ways that  his  Master  was

trying to help him. Obi-Wan knew that Yaddle's death haunted Anakin.  There

had been a time, Anakin reflected, when Obi-Wan's kindness would have  made

everything better. Now he appreciated it, but it did not make a dent in his

own guilt. Obi-Wan wanted to help him, but Anakin did not  want  his  help.

Anakin did not know why.

Focus on the mission. It will get you through.

He had been glad when Mace Windu had briefed them on this mission.  He

had wanted something difficult to lose himself in.

The planet of Typha-Dor had pleaded for the Senate's help.  They  were

the last holdout in the Uziel system against the  aggressive  invasions  of

the largest planet in the system, Vanqor.

An army of resistance fighters from the other planets  in  the  system

had found refuge on Typha-Dor and formed a coalition force to  protect  the

last free planet. So far Typha-Dor had managed to hold out against Vanqor's

colonization efforts. Yet they knew invasion was imminent.

One of the successful tools  the  Typha-Dor  forces  had  used  was  a

surveillance outpost on a remote moon. The outpost had been able  to  track

the secret movements of the Vanqor fleet. Recently  Typha-Dor  had  learned

that Vanqor was targeting the surveillance outpost for attack. The  outpost

was in a remote area of the moon, hidden by heavy cloud cover. The land was

packed with snow and ice for months, which also meant that  it  was  almost

impossible to get crews in and out.

Reliable information had come to the Typha-Dors that the Vanqors  were

close to pinpointing the location. It was imperative the news  get  through

to the crew to abandon the post. There hadn't been word from  the  crew  in

several weeks, and the fear was that the comm units were down, or the worst

had happened and the post had already been attacked. Anakin and Obi-Wan had

been sent to discover what was going on and, if they were still  there,  to

bring the crew back safely.

The ship eased out of hyperspace with barely a shudder. Instantly  the

surveillance equipment hummed to life.

"Nothing to worry about," Anakin said, setting his next course.

"Yet," Obi-Wan muttered.

Anakin plotted a course that would  keep  him  well  away  from  space

lanes. They traveled in watchful silence. The Typha-Dor moon, so obscure it

hadn't been named, loomed. It was known by its coordinates -  TY44.  Anakin

saw it on the radar and then received a visual sighting. He could  not  see

the moon itself, only the atmosphere  around  it.  The  clouds  offered  no

glimpse of the satellite's surface.

"There it is."

"Radar sighting," Obi-Wan said suddenly. "Looks like a large gunship."

Without slowing his speed, Anakin reversed and dived.  If  they  could

get out of radar range, they might not get spotted. The  Galan  starfighter

was small enough that it could be mistaken for space debris until the  ship

got closer.

"Hasn't noticed us," Obi-Wan said. "I think we dodged this one."

Anakin maintained speed, flying slightly erratically  to  mimic  space

debris.

The gunship suddenly changed course.

"He's got us," Obi-Wan said crisply. "Six quad laser cannons, three on

each side. Two concussion missile launch tubes. Four... no, six  turbolaser

cannons."

"In other words, we're a little outgunned," Anakin said.

"I suggest evasion as our best course," Obi-Wan agreed dryly.

Laser cannonfire exploded around them.

"Missile on the left!" Obi-Wan shouted.

"I see it!" Anakin streamed up, making  a  sharp  turn  to  evade  the

tracking device. The missile hugged their path. At the last second,  Anakin

veered off, and the missile passed them by a few meters.

"Close," Obi-Wan said. "They're speeding up.  We  can't  outrun  them,

Anakin."

"Just give me a chance."

"Too risky. Just get us down. We'll land on the Typha Dor moon."

"But we're far from the outpost," Anakin said.

"We stand a better chance down there." Another missile screamed  past.

The small ship was tossed by the  reverberations  of  cannonfire.  "They'll

send a landing ship, but we'll have a head start."

The explosion was close. Anakin gripped the controls and  gritted  his

teeth. His choice would be to keep flying, but he had to obey his Master.

He felt the response of the ship as he changed course.  It  shuddered,

as though it had sustained damage. He  glanced  at  the  indicator  lights.

Nothing blinked at him. There must be superficial damage on the wing. Not a

problem for an experienced pilot.

Anakin dipped the ship and dived into the heavy cloud cover below.

CHAPTER TWO

Obi-Wan glanced down at the surface as they dipped lower. He  squinted

against the glare. The thick clouds didn't diminish the effect. The  ground

was covered in snow and glaciers, and  the  light  bounced  and  refracted,

making it difficult to see. Anakin skimmed over the terrain, looking for  a

place to land.

"We'll need to engage the sensors," Anakin said. "No telling how  deep

that snow is."

Obi-Wan had already turned to the starship sensor array. "I'm  getting

a solid reading. The ice is meters thick. It will hold the  ship."  Obi-Wan

read out the coordinates. "By the lip of that rock outcropping there. We're

far enough away that we won't lead them to the outpost, but it  will  be  a

bit of a walk."

Anakin guided the ship to a smooth landing.  The  cockpit  hatch  slid

back. At first, the silence was overwhelming. The  cold  settled  into  the

cockpit slowly. At first, Obi-Wan felt it on the tips of his ears. Then his

fingers. Then the back of his neck. Soon every millimeter of  exposed  skin

felt numb.

"Cold," Anakin said.

"That's an understatement,"  Obi-Wan  said,  vaulting  over  the  seat

toward the supply locker. He grabbed the survival gear and tossed a set  to

Anakin. Then he pulled out a white tarp. "If we secure this over  the  ship

we might gain some time," he said. "At least they'll find it hard to get  a

visual sighting."

After donning survival gear and goggles,  they  spent  a  few  minutes

securing the tarp over the ship and strapping it down.

Anakin glanced at the sky. "How long do you think we have?"

"Depends on how good they are at tracking,"  Obi-Wan  said.  "And  how

lucky we are. However much time we have, it has to be enough."

They started out across the frozen landscape. Ice had formed in a thin

layer on the ground,  making  walking  treacherous.  In  their  thick-soled

boots, the Jedi had traction, but it took  concentration  to  move  quickly

without sliding over the ice. Obi-Wan felt his leg muscles  tense,  and  he

knew they would be tired at the end of this journey.  He  only  hoped  that

what lay at the end of it was a short rest, at least. There was no  telling

what they would find at the outpost.

After a few minutes Obi-Wan grew used to the rhythm of  their  journey

and the eerie sound of the wind ruffling  the  snow  on  top  of  the  ice,

creating a low whistle that dipped in and out of hearing. His mind  slipped

out of its focus on the mission. He brooded, as he often did these days, on

the tall, silent boy at his side.

When he had been Anakin's age, sixteen, the thought of the death of  a

Jedi Master had been inconceivable. He had been in tight spots with Qui-Gon

- his Master had even been captured by a deranged scientist named Jenna Zan

Arbor, who had imprisoned him in order to study the  Force  -  but  it  had

never occurred to him that Qui-Gon could be killed. He had assumed  that  a

being so strong in the Force could cheat death.

Now he knew better. He had seen Jedi Masters fall. He still remembered

the horror he felt as he saw the life drain from Qui-Gon's eyes  on  Naboo.

Recently the Jedi Order had lost another Master, Yarael Poof.

The galaxy was a rougher, harder place. Lawlessness was growing.  Obi-

Wan knew now that the Jedi were far from  invincible.  That  knowledge  had

made him more careful, perhaps a bit less willing to risk too  much.  Which

could be good, and bad, depending. As he settled into his life  as  a  Jedi

Master, Obi-Wan was very aware that his need to control situations, to look

at all sides of an issue, would conflict with the desires of his headstrong

apprentice. He saw conflict ahead but he also saw himself  unable  to  stop

his movement toward it.

Anakin was powerful. Anakin was young. These two facts  could  collide

with the power and heat of a fusion furnace.

Obi-Wan had gone over and over in his  mind  what  had  happened  with

Master Yaddle. He could not see any way that he could have prevented it.

His Padawan had relied on his command of the Force and on his absolute

conviction that he was taking  the  only  possible  path,  and  events  had

overtaken him. Obi-Wan had no doubt that Yaddle  had  seen  her  own  death

coming. She had decided it was necessary  that  she  become  one  with  the

Force. She had done it to save countless lives, and she must have seen that

Anakin's path was mapped out otherwise.

Obi-Wan didn't know how much Anakin blamed himself, but he  knew  that

his apprentice was brooding over what had gone wrong.  It  was  appropriate

that he do so, but not appropriate for him to blame himself.

Yet how can I stop him from doing so, if I blame him myself?

Blame was not something a Jedi was supposed to feel. Obi-Wan  knew  he

was wrong. He tried to look at what had happened in a measured way, but  he

kept circling back to the fact that in his heart, he believed  that  Anakin

could have somehow prevented Yaddle's death.

He told himself that if Anakin had made mistakes,  they  came  from  a

place that was pure. It was not in the Jedi code  to  second-guess  another

Jedi's decisions. But Obi-Wan knew his words of comfort had a hollow  core,

and he suspected that Anakin knew it, too.

The distance between  them  continued  to  grow.  Yaddle's  death  had

changed them both.

No, Obi-Wan corrected himself. The distance had  been  growing  before

that. Perhaps it has always been there. Perhaps I didn't want to see it.

Anakin's pure connection to the Force meant that in some ways  Obi-Wan

had little to teach him. At least it seemed that Anakin  was  beginning  to

think that. Yet Obi-Wan knew he still had so much to give him. Being a Jedi

involved more than commanding the Force - it involved  the  inner  serenity

needed to access that Force in the best way. Yaddle's death had shaken Obi-

Wan to the core. Was it possible that Anakin had too much power?

Obi-Wan would not give up on Anakin. It was his duty as  a  Master  to

teach his apprentice, to help him become a Jedi Knight.  All  he  knew  was

that he never seemed to have time to address the  problem  of  the  tension

between them. Every day was packed with things to  do,  with  travel,  with

missions or Council meetings. The galaxy teemed with  trouble.  The  Senate

was sometimes mired in procedures. The problems of an  apprentice  and  his

Master got lost in the chaos that surrounded them.

Obi-Wan was all too aware that guilt and  shame  could  percolate  and

turn into anger, and he was alert for the signs of it. So far, Anakin  just

seemed remote. This, he had to remind himself, was normal for a  young  man

of sixteen.

That is what you keep telling yourself. But is it true?

His mind had circled around to the beginning. Obi-Wan let out  a  puff

of exasperation, which he hoped Anakin did not hear. He concentrated on his

steps through the icy snow.

The kilometers passed in  silence.  The  outpost  was  tucked  into  a

mountain range that rose from the glaciers. Obi-Wan thought he  could  make

out its outline in the distance with the electrobinoculars, but it was hard

to be sure. Land and sky merged in a sea of white.  The  clouds  seemed  to

lower as they walked, and a few flakes separated  from  the  thick  blanket

above them and drifted lazily down. Soon the flakes thickened and the  wind

freshened, driving the snow against their faces.

Obi-Wan looked at the horizon. A silvery clump of snow  seemed  to  be

falling fast against the white sky. But he wasn't seeing snowflakes. It was

a cruiser.

"Surveillance," he said crisply to Anakin. "Drop down."

It was the only thing to do. There was no cover. They dropped  to  the

ground, their faces in the snow. From  above,  their  white  survival  gear

would blend with the landscape. They heard the whirr of the  engines  above

and stayed perfectly still. The ship was going  slowly,  tacking  over  the

area in a sweep. Obi-Wan slowed down his breathing and his life  processes,

a Jedi technique. He knew Anakin would  do  the  same.  It  would  make  it

difficult for a life-form sensor to pick up their traces.  The  cold  would

help them, too.

Obi-Wan didn't think of the cold, or the imminent danger. He  let  his

mind slow as his body processes had. He made himself a blank, just  another

piece of white against a white background.

The whirr of the engines softened and waned. They  waited  until  they

could hear nothing, concentrating so hard that Obi-Wan heard the tiny plink

plink of the icy snowflakes hitting the ground beside him.

Anakin rolled over. Ice had caked in his hair. He blinked the snow off

his eyelashes. "I feel like a frozen jujasickle."

"You look like one, too. But it's better than being shot at."

"If you say so." Anakin stood and dusted the snow off his legs.

"They'll be back. We'd better hurry." Obi-Wan consulted the map on his

datapad. "We're close. We have to be careful now. We don't want to lead the

Vanqors to the outpost."

"Let's hope they don't find the - "

A loud explosion suddenly sounded. Obi-Wan and Anakin turned back  the

way they had come. Obi-Wan put the electrobinoculars to his eyes. He saw  a

thin plume of smoke.

"They blew up our ship," he said.

They didn't need to say out loud what they were thinking. If the  ship

at the outpost wasn't operable, they could be stuck on the  moon  for  some

time. If the outpost was destroyed, they would have no shelter.

They found the strength to move faster.  There  wasn't  much  daylight

left, and traveling in the darkness would be  difficult.  At  least  moving

faster kept them warmer. The snow continued to fall and then turned into  a

blizzard. The falling temperature transformed the flakes into  icy  pellets

that stung their cheeks. Despite his discomfort, Obi-Wan was  grateful  for

the storm. It would hamper the search effort by the Vanqors.

"The shortest route will be over the glaciers,"  he  yelled  over  the

noise of the storm to Anakin. "It's also the hardest."

"Let's do it," Anakin shouted back. They both  knew  that  the  sooner

they found shelter, the safer they would be.

The glaciers loomed ahead, tall  blocks  of  ice  hundreds  of  meters

thick, some rising up to create mountains  of  ice.  They  began  to  climb

upward, using their cable launchers to  haul  themselves  directly  up  the

sheer face of the ice. Despite their thermal  gloves,  their  fingers  felt

frozen. It was hard to grab the cable and find purchase on the ice. Obi-Wan

saw the effort and strain on his Padawan's face, and he felt it in his  own

body as he pushed forward, every meter a battle now.

After  several  hours  of  hard  climbing,  they  were  close  to  the

coordinates of the outpost. The climbing was more  gradual  now,  and  they

were able to move faster. The darkness grew around them.

Obi-Wan checked the coordinates. "The outpost should be right here."

He squinted ahead in the now-gloomy light. He saw  nothing,  just  the

same blank whiteness that they'd been traveling in  since  they'd  started.

Had his eyesight been affected? He checked the coordinates again.

"I know where it is," Anakin said suddenly, striding forward.

Obi-Wan followed him. He relied on coordinates. Anakin relied  on  his

perceptions. He couldn't see it, but he could feel it.

Ahead, what at first appeared to be a sheer ice cliff was  really  the

wall of the outpost. Obi-Wan could now see that ice had completely  covered

the structure, which was made of a thick white material able  to  withstand

extreme cold without cracking.

There seemed to be no entry, and no way to alert  anyone  inside  that

they were there. Anakin pounded on the wall. There was no response.

Now that they were standing still, the wind and cold  cut  into  them,

insinuating cold fingers inside their clothes.  Obi-Wan  wondered  if  they

would have to set up camp and try again in the morning.

Just then the ice began to groan. A door slowly  eased  open,  pushing

against the ice that caked it. It stopped halfway.

A slender human woman stood, her hands on a blaster pointed at them.

"We are Jedi, sent by Typha-Dor," Obi-Wan said. "You must be Shalini."

He had studied the text docs of the crew during the journey  from  the

Temple.  Shalini  was  the  crew  leader.  Her  husband,  Mezdec,  was  the

communications officer.

Slowly, the blaster lowered. Shalini's silvery eyes sent them a  sharp

glance. "So our leaders have remembered we exist."

"They could not reach you. Your comm unit is down."

"I'm aware of that. It's been down for over a month. Glad they decided

to check on us." She stood aside. "Come in."

Obi-Wan ducked his head to get through the doorway. They stood at  the

entrance to a small room. The lights were at half  power.  A  weapons  rack

stood to one side. On the other was a console with  surveillance  and  data

equipment. Another console was near the doorway. Obi-Wan noted that it  was

damaged, with scorch marks indicating close blaster fire. Positioned around

the room were four other crew members, all with  blasters  pointed  at  the

doorway.

"It's all right," Shalini said. "They've been sent by Typha-Dor."  She

tucked her blaster into her belt.

One man leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.  He  looked  weak

and pale. "About time."

A tall, muscular woman slipped her blaster into  a  shoulder  holster.

"Past time."

The welcome wasn't quite the friendly one Obi-Wan had imagined. Then a

tall man in a thick pullover strode forward. "Don't mind us.  It's  been  a

long haul. We're very glad to see you."

"This is Mezdec," Shalini said. "He's our first officer. I am Shalini,

the leader of the group. The others are Thik" - the weak-looking man nodded

at them - "Rajana, and Olanz." The muscular woman nodded  curtly  at  them,

and the other man, bald and as tall as Mezdec, raised a hand in greeting.

"But where are the rest?" Obi-Wan asked. "There are supposed to be ten

of you."

"Not anymore," Shalini said. "We had a saboteur in our  midst.  Samdew

was the communications officer. We discovered that he was  a  spy  for  the

Vanqors. He destroyed our comm system right after we were able to intercept

the Vanqor invasion plans."

"He also disabled our transport," Mezdec said. "So  we've  been  stuck

here. We're almost out of food, so we're especially glad to see you."

"In that case, let's begin with  a  meal."  Obi-Wan  reached  for  his

survival pack. "We brought extra rations in case."

He and Anakin doled out the protein packs.  The  group  sat  down  and

split up the food. While they ate, Obi-Wan scanned the equipment. He took a

second look at the damaged comm control console. "What happened?"

"It was the middle of the night," Mezdec said. He swallowed and pushed

the rest of his food away. "I was awake, and I heard  Samdew  at  the  comm

unit. I  thought  he  was  doing  a  sweep  -  we  monitored  the  channels

constantly, and I assumed he was checking to see if anything turned  up.  I

was awake anyway, so I got up to see if anything was happening."

"There was quite a bit of chatter on the system," Shalini  said.  "The

Vanqors knew we had been able to monitor their comm channels. In  order  to

confuse us, they'd flood us with information. That made  Samdew  a  crucial

member of our team. He was our senior information analyst."

"I stood in the doorway. He didn't hear me,"  Mezdec  said,  his  eyes

clouding at the memory. "And I saw that he wasn't monitoring transmissions.

He was transmitting to the Vanqor fleet. I realized he was a spy. I blasted

the console. I didn't know what else to do. It was the fastest way to  stop

him. I didn't want to kill him. But he turned and moved toward me, and  the

next shot hit him in the chest."

"It's all right, Mezdec," Shalini said quietly. She put  her  hand  on

his arm.

"I heard the blaster fire," Rajana said, taking  up  the  account,  as

Mezdec had fallen silent. "I heard Samdew fall, and I ran in. While he  was

on the ground, he tried to shoot Mezdec just as Thik came in after me. Thik

was hit in the knee and went down." Rajana looked at Mezdec. "I was the one

who fired the fatal blast. Not you."

"Samdew died," Shalini said. "What we didn't know was that  before  he

died, he activated the fire system in the sleeping quarters. The room  goes

into lockdown, and all the oxygen is sucked out."

"He had disabled the warning siren, but not the procedure. Four of our

crew were in there," Mezdec said. "They suffocated. By the time we realized

what had happened, they were dead."

"He meant for all of you to be in there," Anakin said.

"Yes," Shalini  said.  "We  imagine  that  he  was  sending  his  last

transmission. He didn't need to be  undercover  anymore,  and  the  easiest

thing to do was get rid of us."

"If the Vanqors know your location, why haven't they  attacked?"  Obi-

Wan asked.

Shalini shook her head. "We don't think they do. We think  Samdew  was

in deep cover. He never sent a transmission before that night,  and  Mezdec

stopped him before the transmission went through.  All  transmissions  were

coded and timed, so we would have known if he'd been in  contact  with  the

Vanqors. We assume that his mission was to remain until we had cracked  the

Vanqor code and learned something vital."

"Which we did," Rajana said.

"Yes, let's get back to that," Obi-Wan said. "What have you learned?"

"We have the details of the  Vanqor  invasion  plans,"  Shalini  said.

"Troop movements, coordinates, the invasion sites. We have it all on this."

Shalini held up a small disk. "It's crucial that we get the information  to

Typha-Dor."

"We'll have to leave from here,"  Obi-Wan  told  her.  "We  have  good

reason to believe that the Vanqors have destroyed our ship. I'm afraid it's

only a matter of time before they find this outpost."

"Samdew sabotaged the transport," Mezdec reminded  them.  "I  can  fix

anything, but I can't fix it." Anakin stood. "Let me try."

CHAPTER THREE

Anakin disappeared into the transport hangar.  Obi-Wan  had  no  doubt

that if anyone could fix the vehicle, it would be Anakin. He had  a  genius

for fixing the unfixable.

Shalini looked worried. "Mezdec has tried for weeks to fix  the  ship.

With all possible respect for your apprentice, he'll never be able  to  get

it up and running. Are you  certain  nothing  can  be  salvaged  from  your

transport? Maybe we should chance a walk there. We don't know for sure that

Vanqor has set an ambush. There might be parts we could use.  I'll  go,  if

you can give me the coordinates."

"Shalini, no," Mezdec protested. "It's too dangerous."

"No, it's not," Shalini said. "It's necessary."

"You'd never make it at night," Mezdec argued.  "Survival  gear  can't

protect you from that kind of cold. Besides, you know the rule. We only  go

in pairs." He touched her hand. "As you and I do,"  he  said  in  a  gentle

tone.

She smiled, but shook her head. "We should  try  every  avenue.  I  am

responsible for this disk." She touched her belt, where she had tucked  the

disk into a hidden slit. "I have another idea. We could return to the  Jedi

ship, expecting an ambush. A few of us could pretend to surrender. Then the

others could attack the Vanqor ship.  We  could  get  off-planet  in  their

transport."

"That's a highly unlikely scenario," Obi-Wan said. "And a last resort.

Let's give Anakin a chance before we make that decision."

Everyone ignored Obi-Wan. "Maybe we  should  split  the  team,"  Olanz

said. "A few of us could go with Shalini at first light. We could take  the

missile tube and some flechette launchers."

"Our strength is in our numbers," Rajana  argued.  "We  should  remain

together."

"Thik can't travel," Mezdec pointed out.

"I can travel," Thik said. "Just not very fast."

"And what of the ones who remain behind?" Rajana asked. "We're  almost

out of heating fuel. Whoever stayed would be facing death."

"We have faced death all along," Thik said.

"That doesn't mean we should invite it in," Mezdec said.

Thik smiled slightly. "Isn't this just like our home-world.  We  spend

so long arguing about what's the best way to do something that we never get

anything done."

"That doesn't mean we should be invaded," Rajana said sharply.

Shalini turned to Obi-Wan. "We've been  cooped  up  together  for  too

long," she said. She gave a tense smile. "When we haven't  been  trying  to

find a way to get off this moon, we've been arguing about the best  way  to

do it. Thik has a point."

"Typha-Dor is lucky," Thik said. "We are rich in  resources.  We  have

abundant sunshine and water. Our world is large and varied. We have a large

workforce. Yet we have never learned how to truly manage our resources  and

turn them into the wealth we need."

"Yes, yes," Rajana said impatiently. "And Vanqor  is  a  small,  dusty

planet. Yet they have learned how to get the most out of  what  they  have.

Their industries are booming. They are wealthier  than  us,  despite  their

small size. That does not mean they deserve to conquer our star system!"

"I am not defending Vanqor's aggression," Thik said. "You  know  that,

Rajana. Why am I here, if not to  sacrifice  my  life  if  I  must  for  my

homeworld? I am just saying that even Vanqor could have  lessons  to  teach

us."

"The Vanqors are greedy and ruthless," Mezdec said  darkly.  "If  they

have something to teach us, I have no desire to learn it."

"It is that attitude that sets us up for conflict in the first place,"

Thik said. "If we had been more willing to negotiate years  ago,  we  would

not be facing invasion now."

Mezdec stood. "I am beginning to wonder who the traitor is  here!"  he

bellowed.

Shalini put her hand on her husband's arm. "Sit," she said softly.

After a moment's deliberation, Mezdec sat  down.  "Would  anyone  like

another protein bar?" Obi-Wan tried. Everyone ignored him again.

The tension was thick in the room. It was no wonder, Obi-Wan  thought.

They had been together for over  a  year.  They  had  been  hunted  by  the

Vanqors. There had been a saboteur in their midst. They  were  afraid  they

would never make it off-planet.

He understood their testiness, but he wasn't too excited about  having

to listen to it.

"I think I'll check on Anakin," he said.

The hangar was located in the back, past the utility rooms. There  was

only one transport and a few speeder bikes that  had  been  dismantled  for

parts. All  Obi-Wan  could  see  were  Anakin's  legs,  sticking  out  from

underneath the transport. Obi-Wan leaned down.

"Any luck?"

Anakin's voice was muffled. "Maybe. But what I wouldn't give for a pit

droid."

"Consider me a pit droid," Obi-Wan said. "What can I do?"

Anakin slid out. "You need some servodrivers for hands  and  a  grease

pump instead of a nose." He said the words grumpily.

"Well, let me do something," Obi-Wan said. "Have  you  pinpointed  the

problem?"

"Sure," Anakin said. "That's the easy part. It's the power  generator.

The transfer wires from the sublight engine are fused together, which means

that the fusion system is completely blown."

"Can you replace the transfer wires?"

"Sure. But then the backup  from  the  power  feeds  would  trigger  a

response."

"And that response would be.. "

"The ship would blow up."

"Not optimum," Obi-Wan said.

"I can see where Mezdec tried to improvise. But he keeps running  into

the same problem." Anakin tapped his finger  on  the  shell  of  the  ship.

"Here's what I can't figure," he said. "Why would Samdew disable  the  ship

completely? If he killed all the crew here, how would he get off-planet?"

"Maybe he didn't need the ship," Obi-Wan said. "The Vanqors would pick

him up."

"Okay," Anakin said. "But if I were a spy stuck on a remote moon,  I'd

want a back door, just in case. I wouldn't assume that everything would  go

as planned."

"Things rarely do." Obi-Wan nodded thoughtfully. "Meaning  there  must

be a way to fix the ship."

"I just don't know what it is yet." Anakin ducked back under the ship.

"But I'll find it. Hand me that fuse-cutter, will you?"

Obi-Wan reached for the tool. For the next hour,  he  silently  helped

Anakin try one route, then another, to fix the ship.  He  admired  Anakin's

focus. It was as though the engine were an  ailing  organism  that  he  was

coaxing back to life.

Mezdec wandered out to help, and he and Anakin conferred. Obi-Wan lost

the  thread  of  the  conversation,  which  skimmed  over  fuse   switches,

overrides, and surges. He knew something about engines, but not  nearly  as

much as Anakin.

At last Anakin replaced the engine plate, entered the ship, and  eased

into the pilot seat. He hesitated before firing the engines.

"You might want to back up," he told Obi-Wan, who had also entered the

ship.

"How far?"

"To the next star system." Anakin grinned. "Only kidding." He  engaged

the throttle and the engine roared to life.

Mezdec yelled from the outside, "The kid knows his stuff."

"That he does," Obi-Wan agreed as he exited.

Anakin powered down the engines and leaped out of the ship. "I can get

it started, but I  can't  restore  full  power.  That  means  no  deflector

shields. We had to bypass the weapons  delivery  system  to  juice  up  the

generator, so we won't have turbolasers, either. In other words, we'll have

a slow ride, and we'll be exposed if the Vanqors track  us  on  radar.  And

then there's the fuel problem."

"Which is?"

"We don't have much. I ran our options through the computer. The  only

way to get to Typha-Dor is by the shortest route. That's going to bring  us

right into Vanqor airspace."

Obi-Wan grimaced. "This just keeps getting better." He looked back  at

the shelter, where the four crew members waited. "We'll have  to  risk  it.

Our only chance is to slip through their surveillance. Space is big."

"Space is big?" A flash of humor made Anakin's eyes  sparkle.  "That's

your strategy? I guess I can stop worrying."

The mischief in Anakin's eyes suddenly lightened Obi-Wan's  heart.  He

saw the flash of a boy he'd once known, a boy who liked to  fix  things,  a

boy who had yet to understand the great gifts he  had  been  given.  A  boy

untroubled by those gifts who believed the galaxy  would  unfold  for  him,

show him the promise of his dreams.

I can't let him lose that spirit. I can't let him lose the boy he was.

He grinned back. "Thanks," he said. "I just thought of it."

As they exchanged smiles, something changed. Something lightened,  and

the tension between them eased, just a bit.

But then, just as the moment passed, Obi-Wan saw sadness  in  Anakin's

eyes. He caught the same feeling. It was no longer possible to  fix  things

between them with a joke, a light moment. Things ran too deep for that now.

"I'll get the others," Obi-Wan said.

Shalini stood, her hands on her hips, surveying the main room.

"I sure hope you can make that thing take off," she said.

There was nothing left of the shelter. It was now an empty shell.  The

team's instructions were to destroy anything that could be of  use  to  the

Vanqors. Shalini and the rest had used soldering  equipment  and  tools  to

fuse and destroy the comm and surveillance suites. They had  destroyed  all

their files and everything they could not carry aboard ship.

Anakin sat behind the controls, with Mezdec next to him. "The  takeoff

could be bumpy," he told the others. "We don't  have  enough  power  for  a

smooth ride. Once we get into the upper atmosphere we should be okay."

Anakin started the engines. The retractable roof of  the  hangar  slid

back. Watching the instruments carefully, Anakin gave the engines power and

they rose, too slowly for  Obi-Wan's  comfort.  The  ship  shook  with  the

effort.

Anakin's face was completely calm, but  Obi-Wan  noted  the  sheen  of

perspiration on his skin. The controls shook in his hands.  The  shuddering

ship rose over the icy wasteland. It slid sideways,  dangerously  close  to

the side of the mountain. Obi-Wan saw Thik close his eyes. Shalini  touched

her belt, where the disk lay hidden.

Anakin gave another boost to the power, and the ship shot up into  the

upper atmosphere. "That was the hard part," he  announced  to  the  others.

"Next stop, Typha-Dor."

If we are lucky, Obi-Wan thought. If we are very, very lucky.

CHAPTER FOUR

Anakin glanced at the radar. There was no  traffic  in  the  vicinity.

Most transient ships stayed clear of the Uziel system, due to the  troubles

there. Now that Vanqor controlled the airspace, no one was eager to  tangle

with it.

Safe for the moment, Anakin let Rajana  take  over  the  piloting.  He

needed to keep a closer eye on the instruments.

Mezdec looked up from the navigation screen. "Everything all right?"

"I just want to take a look at the stabilizer controls," Anakin  said.

"Without full power, we'll be in trouble if something malfunctions.  I  had

to reroute the cables from the left stabilizer in order to get lift. I want

to make sure we didn't pull too much power on the takeoff. I'm going to run

a full status check."

He set the status check in motion and watched as the  computer  ticked

off the different indicators. Anakin decided to do  a  second  check,  this

time manually. He couldn't be too careful in a ship operating at less  than

full power. He scanned through the warning sensors.

"That's odd," he said to Mezdec. "I'm getting an  indicator  green  on

three power feeds on the escape pod. I'm showing two anti-gray generators."

"The pod does have two anti-gray generators,"  Mezdec  said.  "It  was

upgraded in case it had to be used as a primary transport to  get  all  the

way back to Typha-Dor. Samdew sabotaged the pod, too."

"I saw that," Anakin said. "But there was no console indicator for  an

extra generator and three power feeds."

"The feed indicators are in the pod itself," Mezdec said.

"I see. I'll check them there, then." Anakin went back to  the  escape

pod. He did a status check. Then he stopped by the small area where Obi-Wan

had settled himself in the rear of the craft.

Anakin eased into a seat next to him.  He  leaned  over  casually  and

spoke in a low tone. "The escape pod is double-boosted. Highly unusual  for

this model. The indicators don't run through the sensor array in  the  main

cabin. In other words, I found Samdew's back door. If I'd checked  the  pod

itself, I could have fixed the problem on the transport. All that needed to

be done was a rewiring job to suck power from the pod and bring it  to  the

transport. We could have taken off with full power."

"Can you do it now?"

Anakin shook his head. "Not while we're flying.  But  that's  not  the

issue. I have one question."

"Why didn't Mezdec figure it out?" Obi-Wan interjected in a low  tone.

"Could it be an oversight?"

Anakin shrugged. "Sure. If he's not very bright. But he seems to  know

his stuff. And he had a month to try to fix the transport."

Obi-Wan frowned. "Something has been nagging at me. There were  scorch

marks on the comm console. Mezdec said that he came  out  of  the  sleeping

quarters and saw Samdew at the comm unit. He saw that Sam-dew was sending a

communication to the Vanqors."

Anakin nodded. "So he blasted the comm console to stop him."

"A blast from that distance shouldn't have left scorch  marks  on  the

panel," Obi-Wan said.

"Not unless he shot from very close," Anakin  agreed.  "Maybe  he  was

mistaken about where he was standing."

"If he was close enough to blast the  panel  to  leave  scorch  marks,

wouldn't you think he'd be close enough to stop  Samdew  without  shooting?

Why did he have a blaster, anyway? He said he'd been sleeping, and  it  was

the middle of the night," Obi-Wan said. "Anyway, the point is that he lied.

"

"But the others came out and saw what  happened,"  Anakin  said.  "And

Samdew shot Thik."

"Think  back,  Padawan,"  Obi-Wan  said.  "You  are  telling  me   the

impression you got, not the words that were actually said."

Anakin thought back,  annoyed  at  himself.  He  had  spoken  quickly,

without reviewing the conversation in his mind. That wasn't consistent with

his training.

He focused, as a Jedi should. He remembered the  conversation  clearly

now, in the exact words and sequence the others had used. An  exact  memory

was one of the tools of a Jedi mind.

"Samdew was dying when he tried to shoot Mezdec," Anakin said. "That's

what Rajana and Thik saw. Thik just got in the way. So  Samdew  could  have

been shooting at Mezdec because Mezdec was the spy. But what  about  Samdew

activating the fire system?"

"We only have Mezdec's word for that, too,"  Obi-Wan  said.  "We  only

have Mezdec's word for everything, including the disabled transport."

"Do you think he's the spy?" Anakin asked.  "I  don't  know,"  Obi-Wan

said.

Shalini had seen them talking, and she slid into a seat next  to  Obi-

Wan. "Everything all right?"

Anakin glanced at his Master. Mezdec was  Shalini's  husband.  As  the

head of the group, she had a right to know what  they  were  thinking.  But

where would her loyalties lie?

"Fine," Obi-Wan said. "Tell us  something.  Did  you  have  any  other

evidence that Samdew was the saboteur?"

"What more evidence did we need?" Shalini said. "He killed four of us.

"

"What do you think his plan was before he  was  interrupted?"  Obi-Wan

asked.

"We knew he was beginning  his  transmission  to  the  Vanqor  fleet,"

Shalini said. "Luckily Mezdec intervened before they  got  a  lock  on  our

position. I imagine that his message would be  that  we  had  the  invasion

plans. Then he would kill us and take off."

"In the disabled transport?"

"The Vanqors would send a transport, I suppose," Shalini  said.  "What

are you suggesting?"

"It seems an inefficient way for a spy to behave," Obi-Wan said.  "Far

better to alert the Vanqors that their plans had been retrieved, then  stay

in place and hope for more chances to betray Typha-Dor."

"Maybe he was an inefficient spy," Shalini said.  "Maybe  his  mission

was over. Maybe he was tired of the cold." She eyed Obi-Wan curiously. "Why

don't you say what you mean?"

"There could be another spy," Obi-Wan said. "Or Samdew might have been

innocent. He did not get a chance to defend himself."

"He shot Thik!" Shalini said.

"He was aiming at Mezdec," Obi-Wan reminded her. "The only person  who

had identified him as a spy."

"What are you saying?" Hostility tinged Shalini's words now.

Shalini's voice had risen, and Thik and Olanz looked over. Rajana  and

Mezdec could not hear.

"We're just going over what happened," Obi-Wan said. "We want to  make

sure that what you think happened really happened."

"I know what happened," Shalini insisted.

"You know what Mezdec told you," Obi-Wan said. "There is a difference.

It could be a crucial one. Are you willing to gamble your planet's  freedom

on your faith in him?"

"Yes," Shalini said with complete certainty.

"I'm not," Olanz said quietly, coming up with Thik.  "The  Jedi  might

have a point, Shalini. We are relying on Mezdec for our proof."

Shalini looked at the two of them with disbelief.  "Mezdec  is  not  a

traitor. He is as loyal to Typha-Dor as I am, as committed to bringing  the

plans back as I am."

Anakin noticed that she touched her utility belt when she spoke.

"May we see the disk?" he asked.

Shalini looked at him angrily, but she reached into a hidden pocket on

her belt and handed Obi-Wan the disk.

Obi-Wan accessed it on his datapad. It was empty of information.

Shalini stared at the disk in shock. "I don't know how..."

"Was the disk ever out of your sight?" Obi-Wan asked urgently.

She bit her lip. "No, never. But Mezdec  checked  my  blaster  and  my

emergency supplies on my utility belt before we left. He said he wanted  to

do it, to make sure I would be safe...." Her voice trailed off. "I  have  a

second disk. I didn't tell Mezdec. The invasion plans are safe."

Rajana's voice rose. "I'm getting  radar  activity.  I  think  it's  a

destroyer."

"Where is Mezdec?" Shalini cried. Mezdec had disappeared.

Anakin and Obi-Wan sprang up. "Emergency pod," Obi-Wan said.

They raced to the rear of the ship. Mezdec was accessing the emergency

door. He ran inside.

The ship suddenly shook as laser cannonfire erupted.

"We're under attack!" Rajana shouted from the cockpit.  "I  need  help

here!"

Both Jedi leaped toward the closing door to the escape pod. It  locked

down before they could reach it. Obi-Wan swept his lightsaber down the door

and the metal peeled back. But he was too late.  Mezdec  blasted  out  into

space.

CHAPTER FIVE

"We should have been prepared for this," Obi-Wan said.

"He won't get very far very fast," Anakin said. "I disabled  half  the

power. I also cut the comm unit. I'd better get to the pilot seat."

Anakin whirled and charged back toward the cockpit. Obi-Wan  followed.

Their best chance of escaping the Vanqor bombardment lay with  his  Padawan

at the controls.

Their chances weren't good. At half-power, the ship could not possibly

outrun the Vanqor ship, and it would also be hard to maneuver.

Obi-Wan hurried back to the cockpit, where the others stood  nervously

around Anakin as he took over the controls.  The  Vanqor  ship  was  behind

them, a monster assault ship clad in black and silver. A  flash  came  from

the side of the ship.

"Torpedo," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin made a hard right. The ship shuddered as it turned. The torpedo

missed them.

Laser cannonfire began to boom. Anakin put the ship into a  dive,  but

Obi-Wan could feel how the ship trembled. He  exchanged  a  look  with  his

apprentice. Anakin's lips thinned. Obi-Wan knew he was  determined  to  get

them through. But even Anakin couldn't  work  miracles.  Obi-Wan  began  to

study the map charts, looking for a place to set the ship down.

Unfortunately, the closest planet was Vanqor itself. "Hang on!" Anakin

shouted.

The ship staggered from a direct hit. Blue lightning  skittered  along

the console.

"Ion blast," Anakin said. "We've lost most of our  computer  systems."

He turned the ship again, trying to stay a moving target. He threw a glance

at Obi-Wan. "We've got to get the ship down."

Obi-Wan looked at the others. "Our only choice is Vanqor."

The group exchanged  glances.  They  had  been  through  so  much  and

accomplished so much. Landing on Vanqor and being captured could  mean  the

end for all of them. But when they turned  to  Obi-Wan,  not  one  of  them

looked afraid.

"If it is our only choice, let us take it," Thik said.

Anakin dipped the ship into the planet's atmosphere. "Can you give  me

a coordinate?" he asked Obi-Wan. "I don't have much time to  maneuver,  but

I'll do what I can."

Obi-Wan didn't have time to consult the onboard references. He thought

back on the holomaps he had studied. "Our best chance of evading capture is

to land on the outskirts of  the  Tomo  Craters,"  he  said.  "It's  rugged

terrain. We might be able to lose them there, if you can guide us to a safe

landing." Obi-Wan quickly sat down at  the  computer  and  brought  up  the

coordinates.

Anakin nodded briefly, too intent on keeping the  ship  on  course  to

waste any movement. The ship rocked and shuddered under his hands. Suddenly

it began to list to one side.

"The left stabilizer is failing," he  muttered.  "Everyone  strap  in.

We're going to have to crash-land."

Vanqor loomed below, a large, multicolored planet. Obi-Wan  knew  from

his research that it was  primarily  made  up  of  deserts  and  dry,  high

plateaus. Cities were midsize and strung out along the few fertile valleys.

The Tomo Craters area was a remote section that thousands of years ago  had

been hit by a meteor shower. Deep craters and fissures marked the dry land.

Suddenly an alarm began to sound. Red lights flashed in  the  cockpit.

Another bank of lights lit up. Anakin didn't say a word. He didn't have to.

Everyone knew what it meant: The ship was failing.

Instead of slowing, Anakin pushed his speed. Obi-Wan admired his cool.

He knew what Anakin was counting on. The faster they got down, the  better.

He just wasn't sure what would happen when they got  closer.  Anakin  would

try to hug the surface, hiding from the ship above  until  he  could  land.

Normally, Anakin would relish this challenge and perform it flawlessly. But

with a wounded ship, he was taking big chances.

Obi-Wan prepared himself. They passed over a green valley, and  Anakin

brought the ship closer to the  surface.  The  entire  frame  was  shaking.

Sirens blared and red lights flashed. The surface loomed closer.  Red  dirt

was kicked up by their turbulence. It looked as though they were  about  to

crash into boulders as big as buildings.  The  ship  rolled  to  one  side,

nearly sending them into a massive rock  formation.  Anakin  corrected  it.

Sweat beaded his upper lip.

Obi-Wan saw a smooth plateau ahead. Anakin would try to land there. He

slowed his speed, and the ship wobbled, rolling from side to side. If  they

hadn't strapped in, they would have been flung against the walls.

"I've lost the left stabilizer completely!" Anakin shouted. "Hang on!"

The ship slammed into the unforgiving ground. Obi-Wan  felt  his  body

rise up as though it weighed nothing.  He  came  down,  jarring  teeth  and

bones. He tasted blood in his mouth. The ship careened  down  the  plateau,

tearing chunks of vegetation and knocking into small  boulders.  The  noise

was tremendous. The ship suddenly seemed a fragile thing, shaking  so  hard

Obi-Wan wondered if it would simply fall to pieces.

The end of the plateau was less than fifty meters away.  If  the  ship

didn't stop moving, they would careen  right  off  it,  straight  into  the

canyon bottom hundreds of  meters  below.  Anakin  frantically  worked  the

controls. Obi-Wan saw the lip of the plateau approach. Slowly, slowly,  the

ship began to slide. A  terrible  groaning  noise,  worse  than  the  harsh

grating of the crash, rose in the air around  them,  battering  their  ears

like a physical force. The ship suddenly tipped almost all the way  to  one

side, slamming Obi-Wan against the console.

Then the ship crashed against a boulder and stopped.

Obi-Wan looked around. Thik looked pale. No doubt  the  bumpy  landing

had been hard on his injury. Shalini's forehead  was  bleeding.  Olanz  and

Rajana looked shaken but all right.

"We've got to get out of here fast," Obi-Wan said.

He unbuckled himself and Anakin did the same. They helped  the  others

to quickly extricate themselves from their seats. The landing ramp wouldn't

engage, and the door had been mangled from the landing. Obi-Wan and  Anakin

set to work with their lightsabers to cut a hole through the hull.

Anakin suddenly stopped. He bent over to look  through  the  viewport.

"They must have  contacted  Vanqor  planetary  security.  Guard  ships  are

approaching," he said. "They've located us."

"Do you have any smoke grenades and air masks aboard?"  Obi-Wan  asked

Shalini.

"I'll get them," Rajana said. She hurried down the aisle of the  ship,

holding on to seat backs to stay upright.

Obi-Wan spoke even as they continued to peel back the hull with  their

lightsabers. "Our best chance is to launch  down  that  canyon  on  cables.

Anakin, you take Shalini and Olanz. I'll take Thik and  Rajana.  We'll  use

the smoke grenades for cover. Turn on your tracking device in case we  lose

each other."

The hole was big enough now. Obi-Wan tossed out  two  smoke  grenades.

The acrid smoke billowed out.

Without much wind, the smoke hung in the air, a perfect cover. One  by

one, wearing air masks to protect their lungs, they slid through the hole.

They were still out of range of the starship's weapons. They had  only

minutes now. They began to run toward the edge of the plateau.

Shaken from the landing, some of the group could not move fast.  Thik,

with his bad knee, was especially slow.  Obi-Wan  and  Anakin  helped  them

along, but within seconds, Obi-Wan did a  quick  calculation  and  realized

they couldn't make it. The starships could begin shooting through the smoke

at any moment. The Vanqors might not be able to  pinpoint  their  location,

but they certainly could figure out where they were headed. It was the only

avenue of escape.

Obi-Wan felt desperate. The question was, would the ships try to  kill

them or take them prisoner?

They couldn't see the starships, but the first fire tore up the ground

in front of them. They jumped back. The fire was constant, preventing  them

from reaching the edge of the plateau.

"Back to the ship!" Obi-Wan called.  It  would  at  least  offer  some

cover.

They ran, the fire behind them now. Shalini tripped, but Anakin picked

her up and dove underneath the belly of the ship. Thik was still moving too

slowly. He was not keeping up with the others and would be a  prime  target

when the smoke cleared. Obi-Wan grabbed him. He ran forward  to  push  Thik

into an empty space where crushed metal had created a cubbyhole.

He saw too late that there was only room for one. Obi-Wan pushed  Thik

into the space and kept on going. The smoke was starting to clear.  Obi-Wan

dived for a boulder and took shelter behind it. He was  wedged  in  between

the boulder and a larger one behind him. There  was  barely  room,  but  he

doubted he could be seen from above.

The starships landed. The group huddled under their own ship.  Obi-Wan

saw Shalini move toward Anakin. She handed him something and spoke  rapidly

in his ear.

The disk. She had handed him the disk.

Obi-Wan realized that the Vanqors had decided on capture.  They  could

have easily blown up the ship by now if they'd wanted.

Dozens of troops exited their ship. A squad headed for the downed ship

while another peeled off to search the area.

Obi-Wan searched his hiding  place.  He  realized  that  if  he  could

squeeze a bit further behind  the  boulder,  it  opened  up  into  a  small

cavelike opening impossible to see unless you were right on top of  it.  It

offered a perfect place to hide.

He could not do them any good by being captured too. It tore at him to

leave his Padawan, but it was his only hope.

He squeezed back into the hole, then doubled over to fit himself  into

the space. From here he could see through a crevice in the rock out to  the

ship.

Soldiers rounded up the group and herded them  onto  their  starships.

Obi-Wan's heart ached. There was no way he and Anakin alone could fend  off

dozens of soldiers and well-armed enemy ships.

The starships took off and shot away into the distance.  Slowly,  Obi-

Wan hauled himself up. He panted out his exhaustion and his frustration.

Then he made himself stand and turned his thoughts toward rescue.

CHAPTER SIX

The soldiers had bound their hands behind them and pushed them  aboard

the starships. Anakin felt the disk burn against his skin. So  far  he  had

not been searched, but he would use the Force to divert attention.  Shalini

had entrusted the disk to him, and he wouldn't fail her.

She had spoken rapidly in his ear. "Take this. It will  be  safest  in

the hands of the Jedi. For the safety of my people, please get it  back  to

Typha-Dor."

"I pledge my life on it," Anakin had said.

The starships flew over the deep fissures of the Tomo Craters. On  the

lip of a crater, a small compound huddled.  Out  of  the  viewport,  Anakin

glimpsed gray buildings,  energy  fences,  security  towers,  and  a  small

landing pad.

"Welcome to paradise," one of the soldiers snickered. "The Tomo Camp."

Dressed in his survival suit like  the  others,  with  his  lightsaber

safely hidden, Anakin was not identified as a Jedi. Shalini refused to give

her name, along with the others. The admitting guard didn't seem  to  care.

They were searched, but Anakin was able to use the  Force  to  confuse  his

guard, and his cable launcher, his lightsaber, and the disk were not taken.

They were stripped of their survival gear and given rough brown  tunics  to

wear. Then they were herded out into a  small  yard  surrounded  by  energy

fencing. The wind was cold and tore at their clothes. Around  them  swirled

other prisoners from other worlds in  the  Uziel  system,  planets  already

conquered by Vanqor.

Anakin looked around. The walls of the crater were sheer and  hundreds

of meters tall. It was clear that the only way into the camp was by air.

How would Obi-Wan rescue him? The  ship  had  been  destroyed  in  the

crash.

The answer was that Obi-Wan most likely would not be able  to  get  to

him. It was all up to Anakin. Anakin did not mind this knowledge. He didn't

mind depending on his own skill.

He had a time limit. Shalini had told them that the invasion  was  due

in only three days. He would have to find a way to escape soon. The key  to

the survival of the entire planet of Typha-Dor  lay  hidden  in  his  tunic

pocket. He had managed to conceal the disk from the guards, but  he  didn't

kid himself that he would be able to evade the heavy security  measures  by

the Force alone.

He had made the mistake once of thinking he was more powerful than  he

was. He would never do it again. He would not make  a  move  until  he  was

sure.

An Uziel prisoner in a faded uniform drifted near  them.  "What's  the

news? Have the Vanqors invaded Typha-Dor?"

Shalini's eyes glinted. "No. And if they do, we will drive them back."

The prisoner looked weary. "That's what we said on Zilior."

"Have there been any escape attempts here?" Shalini asked.

"One. He's dead. My advice is  to  accept  your  fate."  The  prisoner

drifted away.

"I make my own fate," Shalini said  to  her  cohorts.  She  looked  at

Anakin. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Not yet," Anakin said easily, sitting down on the cold ground.

"What  are  you  doing?"  Shalini  asked.  "Aren't  you  going  to  do

something?"

"I am," Anakin said. Tuning out the others, he began to watch.

There was only one solution. Anakin had to get to the transport  pool.

The question was when. There were  four  groups  of  guards  on  eight-hour

shifts, so that overlap guaranteed that one  group  was  always  relatively

fresh. In addition, sentry droids constantly buzzed the compound. It wasn't

impossible. But it would take the right timing.

Anakin still had his lightsaber  and  his  cable  launcher.  He  could

launch over the energy fence, but then he would have to cross thirty meters

of open space to get to the transport pool.  The  transports  were  heavily

guarded, but not the ones needing repair. If he made it to the repair shed,

he could slip inside. He would just have  to  hope  that  he  could  fix  a

transport and take off before his absence was noted.

He couldn't take the others. He would have to escape alone,  and  hope

to return for them.

There was no sense waiting. He would escape that night.

The gate door slid back. An officer entered, surrounded by guards  and

droids. He began to walk through the crowd as the prisoners shrank back.

"What's going on?" Shalini whispered.

"A sweep," a prisoner muttered next to her. "They come every few weeks

and take several of us."

"No one ever comes back," someone else murmured. "They take them to an

unmarked building. There are rumors of medical experiments."

The officer pointed a finger at one prisoner, then another. The guards

surrounded them and herded them together.

Then the officer wheeled about and pointed directly at Anakin. "Him."

"No," Shalini whispered.

Anakin considered resisting. With a glance at the  others  the  guards

had herded together, he decided he could not. He  knew  that  if  a  battle

ensued, others would die.

And there were reasons to submit. Security could be a bit more lax  at

the facility where they were taking him. Anakin fell into step  behind  the

others.

They were led to a gray building with no sign outside. When they  were

ushered inside, Anakin's nose twitched. It smelled like chemicals.  So  the

rumors could be true. The prisoners exchanged uneasy glances.

They were prodded along the hallway and pushed into a bare white room.

There a holoscreen took up an entire wall. An image of a human male dressed

in a med coat appeared on the screen. He smiled gently.

"Do not fear. You will not be harmed. On the contrary, you  are  about

to enjoy the experience for which we have chosen you. Welcome to  the  Zone

of Self-Containment. A doctor will be with you shortly to explain.  In  the

meantime, relax."

"Relax," one of the prisoners snorted. "Good advice, med-head."

The holo image blinked off.

"What did he say?" another one of the imprisoned soldiers asked.  "The

Zone of Self-Containment? What are they going to do to us?" He pressed  his

fingers to his forehead. "I feel strange."

Anakin,  too,  felt  light-headed.  He  suddenly  realized   why   the

information had been given to them by  a  holo  image  instead  of  a  real

person.

"The room is filled with some kind of gas.  They've  drugged  us,"  he

said as his vision blurred. He felt his knees turn to  water.  One  of  the

prisoners slumped to the floor.

Anakin felt himself slipping downward. He fought the sensation of  the

gas. The others slipped into unconsciousness. He held himself in readiness.

He tried to move his legs and found that they were too heavy.

He was the only one conscious when the technicians entered the room in

masks. He saw, but he could not move a finger.  The  technicians  began  to

load the other prisoners onto repulsorlift stretchers.

"Look at this one, he's still awake," one  of  the  technicians  said,

drawing closer to Anakin. "Never seen that before."

"He's not too happy about being here, either," another said.

One of them leaned closer to Anakin. "Don't fight it, friend. We  just

want some cooperation in the beginning. I guarantee you'll like  your  stay

here."

Using every ounce  of  his  will  and  strength,  Anakin  grabbed  the

technician by the collar and brought his face even closer. "Don't... bet...

on it."

The technician yelped  and  struggled  to  free  himself.  "Help!  For

galaxy's sake!"

The other two rushed over. Anakin could not fight the three  of  them.

He was thrown onto the stretcher and strapped down. He dipped in and out of

consciousness as the stretcher was powered down the hall.  A  door  opened.

The light hurt his eyes.

They began to undress him. My lightsaber, Anakin thought. The disk. He

had retained his utility belt and concealed the disk inside a hidden  slit.

He had concealed his lightsaber by lodging it against his  body  underneath

the tunic, strapping the belt tight against the hilt.

He could not summon the Force enough to distract the technicians  from

finding it. He was helpless. Only luck could save him from  discovery.  The

belt was unstrapped and hit the tiled floor with a  soft  thud.  His  tunic

followed. The technician scooped up the bundle and tossed it in  a  storage

box with clothes from the other prisoners.

Anakin shut his eyes against the harsh light. He  felt  himself  being

lifted and slipped into water. He tried to fight, afraid he would drown.

"Relax, friend," the technician said. "It's just a bath."

The water was warm. He slid against the side. He was  strapped  in  so

that his head wouldn't slip beneath the surface. Anakin's mind  drifted  as

though he were floating off on a deep, dark lake.

He must have slept. When he woke, he was dry and was wearing  a  fresh

tunic, this one a soft material, in dark blue. He  was  lying  on  a  sleep

couch. The sleep had refreshed him.  He  felt  relaxed  and  energized.  He

stretched, marveling at how fluid  his  limbs  felt.  The  paralyzing  drug

effects had worn off, but strangely, had left him feeling limber.

He recognized the technician who handed him a  pillow.  "Feel  better?

Told you so. Almost time for the evening meal."

Anakin shook his head.

"They all refuse at first," the med technician said. "Don't worry, the

food isn't drugged. We all eat together, workers and patients."

Anakin shrugged. Maybe the man  was  telling  the  truth.  Maybe  not.

Oddly, Anakin didn't care. It was as though cool water had run through  his

veins, calming every impulse, every desire.

He walked to the dining hall. Tables were set up, and  other  patients

and med workers were eating. There was a long table  with  platters  heaped

with fruits and vegetables, pastries and meats. Anakin  saw  that  everyone

ate from the same plates, so he took some food and ate it.

He chewed, wondering what would come next. He supposed something would

happen soon. When it did, he would react.

The need to help Typha-Dor seemed so distant now. Someone  else  would

help the planet. There was always someone else  to  do  something,  if  you

waited. He would just pass the time here and see what the Vanqors  were  up

to. That could be valuable to the Typha-Dor, too. He  needn't  worry  about

the invasion right now.

He ate and followed some  other  prisoners  out  into  the  courtyard.

Warming lights had been set up, and the air was comfortable. Flowers  grew,

and large, leafy trees. Anakin found a bench and sat. He felt something  he

had not felt in a long, long time, not since he was a little boy nestled in

his mother's embrace: peace.

I'll fight it soon. When I need to escape, I will.  But  right  now...

right now, would it be so wrong to enjoy it?

CHAPTER SEVEN

Obi-Wan waited until the starships were out of sight. He couldn't risk

a long transmission to the Temple. But he would have  to  risk  a  distress

call. The calls would be coded and scrambled, and he would have to hope  it

could reach the Temple.

They could lock on his position and send help. It  would  take  almost

two days to arrive, but he had to risk it.

The tracking device tucked in Anakin's tunic beeped a  steady  signal.

Obi-Wan trudged back to the ship. He climbed through the hole and  went  to

the rear cargo hold. He had to cut  through  the  crunched  door  with  his

lightsaber. He remembered that they had loaded one swoop aboard.  They  had

to leave the rest behind because Anakin needed to lighten the  ship's  load

as much as possible.

The swoop was dented from slamming back and forth  between  the  cargo

hold's walls, but it still worked. Anakin had made sure of that before they

left the outpost. Now he had transportation. Obi-Wan only hoped that Anakin

was close enough to get to on a  swoop.  It  was  small,  built  for  short

distances, and it didn't hold much fuel.

He climbed aboard and took off. The tracking device led him  over  the

high plateaus and desert lands surrounding the Tomo Craters. He looked down

as he sped over the terrain, glad he wasn't on foot. The plateaus were high

and steep, and trails led to dead ends and switchbacks. It would have taken

days to traverse the distance. Obi-Wan stayed as close to the ground as  he

dared, trying to evade scanners and surveillance from above.  The  tracking

device led him on as the sun slid lower in the sky.

The fuel read EMPTY and the engine  began  to  sputter.  By  Obi-Wan's

reckoning he was still at least twenty kilometers from Anakin.  He  had  no

choice. He had to land.

He pulled the swoop into a  cave,  entering  the  coordinates  on  his

datapad. He might need it later, if he could find some fuel. He started  to

walk.

It was hard going. Obi-Wan hiked up and down steep slopes of thin rock

shale that occasionally broke into dangerous rockslides. At last he stopped

to rest when the source of the tracking device's transmission was in sight.

Obi-Wan studied the camp through his electrobinoculars. The good  news

was that the perimeter security wasn't heavy, most likely because the  camp

relied on its inaccessibility.

He had reached the heart of the Tomo Craters. A careful survey of  the

ground made Obi-Wan conclude that camp security was correct  not  to  worry

about escaping prisoners. If Obi-Wan could manage to scramble up  and  down

cliffs and hike through canyons without disturbing a nest  of  gundarks  or

getting attacked by various other horrifying creatures, he might make it to

the outskirts of the camp. Then he would have to scale a  sheer  rock  wall

two hundred meters high. He would be vulnerable with  every  centimeter  he

traveled. It would be better to go in by air.

Of course, he didn't have a transport. That could be a problem.

He sat on a high peak, underneath an outcropping of rocks. He  watched

the camp operations for the rest of the waning evening. Transports flew  in

and out in a regular  pattern,  ferrying  supplies  and  possibly  carrying

troops back and forth. Obi-Wan guessed that the camp must also be a base of

some sort.

He could wait for a few days to see if his  message  had  reached  the

Temple. But what if it hadn't?

Rescue was his first priority. He had to get that disk to Typha-Dor.

And if Anakin didn't have the disk, what would you do? If Shalini  had

given it to you, would you take it to Typha-Dor and abandon him?

The answer should have been easy. As a Jedi, his commitment was to the

galaxy. He would have had to go to Typha-Dor without Anakin. Would he  have

attempted a rescue anyway, knowing that Anakin would be waiting for him? He

was glad he didn't have to make that choice.

The flight pattern of the ships was always the same. They  dipped  low

as they came in, then landed close to the edge  of  the  plateau,  where  a

short landing pad was surrounded by energy fencing.

Obi-Wan surveyed the area carefully. He thought back on the  beginning

of the mission, when he'd been brooding about how careful  he  had  become,

how much he now weighed risks and thought things through.

Well, he had thought things through, and he had decided that this plan

was crazy. He could get pummeled by rocks. He could  crash  into  a  crater

hundreds of meters below. He could be spotted and blasted into thin air.

All of these scenarios were likely. It was a risky plan.  It  bordered

on stupid.

Which meant that perhaps he wasn't so careful after all.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Once, Anakin and Obi-Wan had taken a few weeks to travel  through  the

grasslands  of  the  planet  Belazura,  strictly  for   pleasure.   Obi-Wan

considered the planet to be among the most beautiful in the galaxy, and  he

wanted to show it to Anakin. Anakin remembered  Obi-Wan  telling  him  that

even the life of the Jedi must include  time  to  reflect  among  beautiful

surroundings. Anakin's only instructions during  the  trip  were  to  enjoy

himself. He had.

He had seen fields of grasses that ranged from light sunny yellows  to

deep greens. He had seen golden fields dotted with deep red  flowers.  Blue

skies had surrounded them like a halo of light. He remembered that  he  was

never hot, and never cold. That the breeze against his  skin  had  felt  as

soft as his mother's touch.

It had been a peaceful time he had returned to again and again in  his

daydreams. And now he was experiencing it once more.

To Anakin's surprise, he underwent no treatments. He was  not  drugged

again. He was not treated like a prisoner. His room was spare, with just  a

sleep couch and table, but he had access to a sunny  area  inside  and  the

courtyard outside. Anakin found that he wanted nothing  more  than  to  sit

there, his face tilted to the warming lights, watching the shadow  patterns

of the leaves on the wall. He found that it was  easy  to  contemplate  the

different greens of the leaves for hours. Yet it was not  the  mindlessness

of the meditation he had been taught. He did not leave his body. He did not

leave his cares. He could see them as though they were off at  a  distance.

They had nothing to do with him. He knew that everything would work out  as

it should.

He was not sure how much time had passed. Maybe no more than a day  or

two. Anakin occasionally thought about escaping. The  thought  would  drift

across his mind like a warm breeze, and then disappear.

One afternoon two med technicians  came  into  the  garden  and  stood

before him. "Someone would like to see you, Prisoner 42601."

Anakin rose and followed them. He felt a slight curiosity. They walked

on either side of him, not touching him or  restraining  him  in  any  way.

There was no need to.

Anakin was led into an office. The technicians left, shutting the door

quietly behind them. Unlike the rest of the complex, which was  comfortable

but spare, this office was full of color and  luxury.  A  thick,  patterned

carpet was on the floor and septsilk curtains in  deep  blue  hung  at  the

windows. He thought he could smell a pleasant perfume. He  sat  down  in  a

soft chair and leaned back against a rose-colored pillow.

A human woman walked into the room. Her blond hair was  threaded  with

silver and coiled at the nape of her neck. She was older, he sensed, but he

could not tell by her face, which was unlined and  smooth.  Her  eyes  were

penetrating but warm.

Instead of sitting behind the desk, she perched on  the  edge  of  it.

"Thank you for coming."

Anakin nodded. He could hear a ghost in his  head,  a  murmur  of  the

person he had been. That person would have said, Did I have a  choice?  But

now he did not feel like challenging  this  person,  this  woman  with  the

pretty hair and the warm smile.

"I asked to see you," she said. "I am the doctor who invented the Zone

of Self-Containment. You have seen  that  we  haven't  lied  to  you.  Your

experience is about pleasure, not pain. I have a theory  that  if  you  are

surrounded by pleasant things and no worries, your  mind  will  elevate  to

that level. Are you happy here?"

Anakin considered the question. Happy? Suddenly he felt confused. What

did the word mean? Had he ever been happy? He remembered a flash of a young

boy, running home through narrow streets. He remembered laughing  with  his

friend Tru Veld, a fellow Padawan who he had not seen in a year.  He  could

locate the memory, but not the feeling.

For some reason, his confusion made her smile. "Wrong question. Let me

rephrase. Are you content?" That he could answer. "Yes."

"Good. That is our goal. Now. The reason I asked for you is  that  the

technicians tell me that you were able to fight  the  paralyzing  agent  we

used when you first arrived. I should explain that the agent is  used  only

to allay any anxiety you might feel. Naturally  as  prisoners  of  war  you

would suspect that something terrible might happen to you.  The  agent  was

only used to make the experience more comfortable for you. You needed to be

bathed and dressed, and the paralyzer allowed us to do that without you  or

the technicians getting hurt. It was for everyone's benefit, you see."

That seemed reasonable, but  Anakin  said  nothing.  Although  he  was

perfectly content to talk to this doctor, and was enjoying  this  wonderful

peace he felt, being here had not completely erased the memory of  being  a

Jedi. He did not necessarily trust what this doctor had to say.

"It is impossible to resist that paralyzing gas, yet you  assaulted  a

technician."

"I grabbed his collar," Anakin corrected pleasantly. "And you spoke to

him."

"It seemed appropriate under the circumstances."

She nodded in appreciation. "I see that though you are  in  the  zone,

you still have your wits about you."

"I don't like to abandon them completely, no," Anakin offered.

She studied him now. Anakin could feel sunlight touch  his  face.  His

skin warmed, and he wanted to close his eyes to enjoy the sensation, but he

didn't.

"I feel something in you," she said. "There is a mastery of your body,

of your mind. I've seen it before. Have you ever heard of the Force?"

Anakin did not show by  a  flick  of  muscle  that  the  question  had

startled him. His Jedi training ran deeper than anything else. He  felt  it

stir, and he leaned into it for support. "No."

She nodded again, slightly. "That may be true, and it may not. If  you

don't know it already, you might be Force-sensitive. That means  you  could

have special abilities."

Wary now, Anakin shrugged. He didn't want to discuss  the  Force  with

this woman. He wanted to go back to the garden.  The  quickest  way  to  do

this, he knew, was to seem bored by her questions.

"Did you ever see something happen before it actually  happened?"  she

asked.

He made himself look blank. "I don't think so."

"Are your reaction times unusually fast?  Do  you  have  an  unusually

strong focus?"

He took a long pause that stretched for a moment. She  leaned  forward

in anticipation.

"Uh, what was the question?"

She made an impatient gesture. "Were  your  reaction  times  unusually

fast? Before you came here."

"I was always the first to reach the table for a meal."

She leaned back, disappointed. Her eyes went blank. It was  as  though

now that she was bored with him, he didn't exist.

"You can go back to the garden now."

Anakin stood and left the room. He walked back to the  courtyard.  The

doctor was working for the Vanqors. She wasn't  a  native  Vanqor.  Vanqors

were humans, but they all dressed in gray tunics  and  didn't  adorn  their

clothing. She was an outlander, no question.

There was a time he would have been on fire to discover  who  she  was

and why she was here. But today the sun shone,  and  it  was  warm  in  the

courtyard. And it was almost time for the midday meal.

CHAPTER NINE

Even with the help of the cable launcher, it  took  Obi-Wan  hours  to

scale the peak. The sun was setting as he reached the top and sat  down  to

rest under a rock outcropping that had created a small cave. He would  need

all his strength for his task.

Over the wide chasm below, he saw the camp. He was close enough to see

without electrobinoculars beings  moving  about.  He  watched  as  a  small

transport came toward him. He knew he could not be seen, so he was able  to

study the flight line of the ship. It buzzed overhead, seeming close enough

to touch, then zoomed down to land at the camp landing platform.

Obi-Wan fingered his cable launcher. If he timed it exactly right,  he

should be able to hook onto the underside of a low-flying  transport.  They

wouldn't be able to feel the drag for that short a distance. He  would  let

himself be towed by the transport and then drop to the  ground  during  the

landing. If everything went right.

If something went wrong, he'd be squashed like a bug against the  side

of a crater.

He rolled himself up into his thermal cape and told himself to  go  to

sleep. Worrying about Anakin would only interfere with the rest he  needed.

Yet the sky turned black and many stars had appeared before he  felt  sleep

overtake him.

He smelled the dawn in his sleep before he woke. The freshness of  the

air infiltrated his dreams, and when he opened his eyes he felt hopeful.

He stretched in the chill, trying to warm his muscles. He munched on a

protein cube as he made his  preparations.  He  tested  the  cable  several

times. His life depended on its strength.

Trust your materials, but test them twice.

Yes, Qui-Gon.

The first transport came in too high. The second,  too  fast.  Obi-Wan

crouched in the shadow of the rocks. Patience was  necessary.  He  couldn't

make a mistake.

The next transport came in low and  kept  reducing  speed.  It  was  a

midsize cruiser, big enough that it would not feel the jolt of the launcher

or the drag of his body - he hoped. He  didn't  think  he'd  get  a  better

opportunity.

As the shadow of the cruiser touched the peak, Obi-Wan aimed and  sent

the cable flying. It latched onto the underbelly of the ship. He was yanked

upward with such force he nearly lost consciousness. He had expected a  bad

jolt, but not this bad. With the wind whistling past his ears and his  body

whirling and flopping, he tried to get his hands around the cable.  He  had

to steady himself if this was going to work.

His arms were nearly wrenched from their sockets as he held  onto  the

cable. He tucked his knees up and his chin down. He kept his finger on  the

cable control. He brought himself up  closer  to  the  body  of  the  ship,

knowing he couldn't get too close or he'd be burned by the exhausts as  the

ship began to land.

A boulder loomed ahead. He activated the launcher to get closer to the

ship. He zoomed up as the rock approached,  passing  under  him  by  a  few

meters. He activated the launcher to drop him again, out of  reach  of  the

rocket exhaust. He couldn't be this close when the ship began  to  land  or

he'd be burned to a cinder.

A large rock formation appeared out of nowhere. Obi-Wan quickly tucked

his legs up, but the ship bumped on an air current and his shoulder slammed

against the rock. Pain shot through him.  He  held  on.  The  ship  banked,

nearly slamming him into a cliff wall.

Maybe this wasn't such a smart idea.

The muscles in his arms and legs  began  to  shake,  and  his  fingers

clenched in the effort to hold on to the cable.

Obi-Wan called on the Force to help him. He was part of the ship, part

of the air, part of the cable itself. He would move when he needed to move,

he would allow the grace of the ship to pull him to a safe landing....

The pilot of the transport apparently liked to show off. He dipped the

transport sideways and wagged its wings. Obi-Wan was whipped from  side  to

side.

Safe landing? I'll be lucky if I make it without being squashed.

The landing platform was ahead. He would have  to  drop  off  quickly,

very close to the perimeter wall. If not, he could be spotted.

The ship slowed and dipped. Obi-Wan counted out the  seconds.  At  the

last possible moment, he disengaged the cable.  Bracing  himself,  he  fell

through the air, landing hard. He felt the jolt  up  to  his  eyebrows.  He

rolled and ducked behind a parked ship.

He caught his breath as the ship he had hitched a ride on  came  to  a

stop. Droids began to unload cargo. He saw a small utility shed nearby  and

quickly headed for it.

The shed held tools and equipment. Obi-Wan searched and  was  glad  to

find what he was looking for, a bin full of greasy coveralls. He  pulled  a

pair on. Then he quickly darted out of the shed. His  surveillance  through

his electrobinoculars had given him a rough outline of the  camp.  He  knew

the prisoners filed out into the yard at this time. There was  always  some

confusion as they poured out of the buildings. He couldn't have arrived  at

a better time.

He walked briskly across the landing pad as if he belonged there. Then

he struck out toward the fenced yard. He had tucked a  servodriver  in  his

pocket, and he pretended to be checking the energy fence as he moved  down,

searching the crowd for Anakin.

He saw Shalini. She sat, removed from the others, close to the  fence.

Her head was bowed and her hands were clasped in front of her. He made  his

way down the length of the fence toward her.

She lifted her head as he came near. At first she didn't see him.  Her

gaze passed over him, just another one of her captors, as  she  sought  the

sky. Then she jerked her gaze back to him. Obi-Wan admired her  discipline.

She gave no sign that she had recognized him.

Instead she casually scooted back until she was closer to  the  fence.

She absently drew in the dirt with a finger, looking casual.

"Is  everyone  all  right?"  Obi-Wan  asked,  bending  over  with  the

servodriver.

"Yes. But Anakin has been taken away. No one knows why."

"Where?"

"There is a gray building across the compound. Unmarked. He was  taken

there. Listen, they don't know who we are yet. They don't know he's a Jedi.

Which makes me think."

He was anxious to find Anakin, but Obi-Wan bent closer  to  hear  what

Shalini would say. "If Mezdec had gone straight  to  Vanqor,  he  would  be

there by now. He would have told them we were traveling in Vanqor  airspace

and they would have figured out who we are.  Which  tells  me  that  Mezdec

didn't go to Vanqor."

"Where do you think he went?"

"I think he went to Typha-Dor. He would assume that either we had been

captured or we were still making our way there."

"But why would he go to Typha-Dor?"

"To deliver the invasion plans. But not the real ones."

Obi-Wan let out a breath. "Of course. They would  accept  whatever  he

would bring as real."

"He will destroy us single-handedly," Shalini  said,  her  voice  raw.

"All is lost."

"No," Obi-Wan said. "If we can make it in time -  "  "Anakin  has  the

disk. You must get it - "

"You there!" An angry voice cut through Shalini's  words.  "Attendance

check!"

"Find him and go. Don't worry about us. Save Typha Dor."

Shalini rose and walked off, unwilling to risk exposing Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan tucked the servodriver in his pocket and went off in search of

the building Shalini had indicated. He knew from  experience  that  wearing

dirty coveralls and affecting a purposeful stride would render him close to

invisible.

He found the building and decided his best course was  to  walk  right

in. He was making up his plans now  as  he  went  along,  counting  on  his

connection to the  Force  to  guide  him.  He  found  himself  in  a  small

vestibule. A security checkpoint was just inside the plain durasteel door.

"Checking on those valves in the air handlers," Obi-Wan said.

The officer looked down at his datascreen. "I didn't get an alert."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "I'll come back. They probably won't blow."

The officer nodded, then did a double take. "Hold on. Probably?"

Obi-Wan shrugged again.

The officer sighed. "I'm not going to get blamed for this one. Come on

in." He  pressed  a  button,  deactivating  the  security  shield.  Obi-Wan

strolled in, as though he had all the time in the world.

As soon as he was out of sight, he walked rapidly down the  corridors,

looking in open doors and observation  windows.  Many  of  the  rooms  were

empty. He rounded a corner and saw a pair of double doors. Through a window

he saw a courtyard dappled with sunlight.

He drew closer to the window. Anakin sat on a bench, his hands in  his

lap. He didn't appear to have been abused. He wasn't in pain. Nothing about

him had altered, and yet... he looked different somehow.

Something was wrong. Something was off. And Obi-Wan didn't  have  time

to analyze it. He had to get Anakin out of here.

CHAPTER TEN

Anakin was  thinking  about  detachment.  It  was  the  goal  of  Jedi

training. It was a discipline that took years to learn. It  was  not  about

controlling emotion, but allowing it to flow through you.

Well, he certainly felt detached. He knew somehow he had been drugged,

his brain chemistry altered, even though he wasn't sure  how  it  had  been

done. Was this how it felt, he wondered, to be truly one with the Force? It

was a peaceful place to be, so unlike the battles he usually fought in  his

mind and heart. Was it so terrible to reach this  place  through  a  simple

procedure, rather than through years of study and  trial?  He  had  admired

Obi-Wan's serenity, had envied it. Now he had it. Why did he feel that Obi-

Wan would not value it?

The flash of irritation - he felt at his Master was gone in a  moment,

almost before he had felt it. Anakin smiled. That was  certainly  something

he was unable to do on his own.  Being  able  to  think  about  his  Master

without emotion was an interesting experience.

Sunlight flashed on the double doors. Someone was entering the garden.

At first the sun was in his eyes. Then he  saw  that  it  was  his  Master,

dressed in coveralls. No doubt he had come to rescue him. Anakin noted that

he should feel glad. Yet he did not. Did he feel disappointed? He  couldn't

locate an actual feeling.

"Anakin? Are you all right?" Obi-Wan's voice was low.

"I'm fine," he said.

"We have to get out of here. I have a way out."

"That's good." It was good that Obi-Wan had a way out.  Anakin  stood.

He moved  with  the  same  alertness  he  always  had,  but  something  was

different. It was as though he was watching himself from above.

Yet how good it was to fall into step beside Obi-Wan. Good because  he

felt so peaceful. How pleasant it was to be Obi-Wan's companion and yet not

worry about the emotion connected with that.

Obi-Wan peered into his face. "What did they do to you?"

Anakin decided at that moment that he must not tell  his  Master  what

had been done to him. There was no reason to. No  doubt  the  effect  would

wear off soon, and until then he wanted to spin out the  peace  he'd  found

without Obi-Wan judging how he'd found it.

"Nothing." Technically, this was true. He'd received no drugs that  he

knew about. "I suppose they had plans for us."

Obi-Wan gave him a quick look, as though he didn't  believe  him.  But

they didn't have time to stop.

Obi-Wan led him to a utility closet. There, he gave Anakin  a  medic's

pale blue coat. "Do you still have the disk?"

The disk. How odd that he hadn't thought of it. But  Obi-Wan  had,  of

course. Was that why his Master had come? For the disk. Not for him.  There

had been a time when he would have pondered on this, and the thought  would

have given him pain.

Anakin wrenched his mind back to Obi-Wan's question. It seemed to take

more effort than it should to remember what had happened to the disk.

"I know where it is. It's with my lightsaber."

Obi-Wan gave him an odd look. "And where is that?"  "Where  we  bathe.

There are storage bins."

"Show me."

Obi-Wan followed behind Anakin so that it would  not  seem  that  they

were together. Anakin led him into the room with the  large  tubs.  It  was

empty. He walked to the storage bin, which was jumbled with the same tunics

and belts.

"In here."

With a sound of exasperation, Obi-Wan plunged his hands into the  bin.

He sorted through the tunics and belts. Anakin bent over to help. He  found

his belt and removed the disk. Obi-Wan handed Anakin his light-saber.  Then

he took the disk from Anakin and slipped it inside his tunic.

"Once we get out of here, we'll head straight for  the  landing  pad,"

Obi-Wan said crisply. "We're going to have to steal a transport. Can you do

that?"

Why was Obi-Wan talking  to  him  as  though  he  were  a  fourth-year

student? "Of course."

"Follow me then."

Obi-Wan led the way. As they approached  the  security  desk,  Obi-Wan

began talking loudly.

"If I say that the valve shutoff is broken, then it's broken.  There's

no need to talk to my superior." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes  at  the  security

officer. "He's going to tell you the  same  thing  I  said.  I  said,  it's

broken, you have to shut down the system. If you want to know about a bacta

bath, go to a medic. If  you  want  to  know  about  valves,  come  to  me.

Understand?" Obi-Wan kept  talking  as  the  security  guard  released  the

security shield. Obi-Wan activated the door and waited for Anakin  to  walk

through. "He's going to say the same thing.  You  have  to  shut  down  the

system...."

The door hissed closed behind them.  Obi-Wan  headed  down  the  path.

Anakin strode next to him. He was content to follow his Master's plan.

No one stopped them as they walked across the compound and moved  onto

the landing pad.

"This looks fast." Obi-Wan climbed up on a small  starship.  "We  need

something that can get us to TyphaDor." He accessed the cockpit and  jumped

in. "Let's go, Anakin."

Anakin leaped up on the starship and slid into the cockpit next to his

Master. He looked at the controls. "I'm going to have to hot-wire  it,"  he

said.

"That's the idea," Obi-Wan answered.

Anakin opened the sensor panel. Even though he still  existed  in  the

bubble of his calm, he remembered exactly what to do. He switched wires and

juiced the ignition. Then he closed  the  panel  and  slid  back  into  the

pilot's seat. The engine started on the first try.

"Great," Obi-Wan said with relief. "Let's get out of  here.  Now,"  he

added urgently, as a security officer began to wave frantically at them. No

doubt he assumed they'd forgotten the departure check proceedings.

Anakin eased the throttle. The graceful ship rose, and  he  shot  away

from the camp.

Obi-Wan let out an audible sigh. "Things aren't usually that easy."

Anakin glanced at the cockpit  indicators.  "They  aren't  this  time,

either. Apparently by hot-wiring the ship, we skipped an essential step  in

the procedure."

A red light was blinking  on  the  console.  Obi-Wan  leaned  forward.

"What's that?"

"We should have entered a code on the ground. It's a system to prevent

escapes, I guess."

"And what is it?" Obi-Wan asked impatiently.

"The ship is programmed to self-destruct," Anakin answered.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"I'd guess we have about four seconds," Anakin said  as  he  increased

the ship's speed, heading toward the surface.

"You guess?"

Anakin cut back on the speed, almost throwing Obi-Wan to the floor. He

leveled out the ship. "We'd better jump."

Anakin's calm was getting to Obi-Wan. "Excellent notion."  Considering

that the ship is about to explode.

Anakin raised the cockpit dome. They jumped to the top of their seats.

Obi-Wan knew he had about two seconds to pick a place to land.  Anakin  had

plotted the course well. They weren't over  rocks,  but  a  gradual  slope.

Still, landing would be tricky.

"Jump!" Anakin shouted as the siren began to sound.

They jumped. The Force pulsed around them. Obi-Wan looked down at  the

hard ground below. It became less than solid in his mind,  an  accumulation

of particles and pebbles. It would yield to him. He would fall  as  lightly

as a leaf.

He landed hard for the second time  that  day.  Obi-Wan  groaned.  The

Force was with him, yes, but the ground was still hard. He landed more like

a tree trunk than a leaf. He fell onto his shoulder. He felt his tunic  rip

and a rock scrape his cheek.

Anakin landed more gracefully, seemingly without effort, and went into

a roll to absorb the shock. Above them, the ship exploded.

Now the danger was from the sheets of falling, flaming metal.  Obi-Wan

and Anakin kept rolling down the slope, gaining speed now.  Obi-Wan  saw  a

cluster of boulders ahead and simply rolled right up to it. Anakin did  the

same. They huddled in the shelter of  the  largest  boulder,  watching  the

metal fall to the surface and burn out.

Obi-Wan leaned against the boulder. "That was fun." "Sorry, Master.  I

didn't realize."

"Not your fault. There was no way to know." Obi-Wan  sighed.  "Without

transport, we've got a problem,"  he  said.  "We're  in  the  middle  of  a

wilderness infested with gundarks."

"We've got another problem," Anakin said. He pointed  to  the  sky.  A

fleet of STAPs and two security transports with mounted laser cannons  were

headed toward them.

"No doubt the self-destruct sensor sends a signal  back  to  the  camp

that an escape is in progress," Anakin said.

"No doubt," Obi-Wan said dryly. He scanned the  area  for  cover.  The

only good cover lay in the deep craters.  "Here's  a  question.  Would  you

rather take your chances with a fleet of STAPs or a nest of gundarks?"

The first laser cannonfire thundered. Obi-Wan and Anakin  exchanged  a

glance, then began to run. They would take their chances in the craters and

hope to avoid the gundarks.

The cannonfire ripped the ground behind them  as  they  ran.  The  air

rolled into them with the shock of the blast. It was hard to stay on  their

feet as they dashed toward the deeper craters.

"Not that one!" Obi-Wan shouted as blaster cannon-fire thundered  past

his ears. He recognized the prints of gundarks outside the crater.

Anakin veered. He was running fast, moving and  weaving,  but  Obi-Wan

picked up no communion with him, no Force connection. It was as  though  he

were running with a stranger.

Anakin had lied to him. He knew that. Something had happened to him in

that medical building. Did whatever it  was  somehow  prevent  Anakin  from

telling Obi-Wan about it? Or was it Anakin's  decision  to  hide  something

from him?

I don't know the answer to that. And that means I don't trust him. Not

completely. Not anymore.

One of the security transports dived toward him.  Dual  laser  cannons

blasted. Obi-Wan jumped, but the impact of the explosion against the  rocks

threw him further into the air. The next thing  he  knew  he  was  falling,

blasted headlong, deep into the black hole of a  crater...  and  a  gundark

nest.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Obi-Wan landed on his sore shoulder inside the wall of the crater  and

ricocheted into midair again. He called  on  the  Force  to  help  him.  He

pictured a nest of gun-darks at the end of his  fall.  He  felt  time  slow

down. He was able to pick out a clear landing site below.

He landed on a smooth stone floor and crashed up  against  a  boulder,

slamming his head. Relief coursed through him as well as pain. At least  he

had stopped in relative safety. There was no  way  to  judge  how  big  the

crater was. He was more than a hundred meters into a pit left by an astroid

thousands of years ago. He couldn't see through the black gloom.  He  could

smell the gundarks, however, and hear them. They found the  craters  to  be

ideal nesting grounds, safe from other predators, and good bases from which

to launch lethal attacks on their prey.

It was said that the cry of a gundark could freeze  a  being's  blood.

Obi-Wan didn't know about that, but the sound of them didn't make him  feel

very comfortable.

Gundarks had keen eyesight and good hearing. Their sense of smell  was

excellent. So far they had not realized an intruder was in their nest,  but

it was only a matter of time. He would have to use his cable launcher,  and

it would be a huge risk. The launcher would not reach high  enough  to  get

him completely out of danger. The sides of  the  crater  were  hundreds  of

meters high. Climbing out would be a long process, and would bring him into

close proximity with the creatures.

He looked around cautiously. Through the gray gloom he could  see  now

that tucked into the sides of the crater were  deep  caves.  That  was  the

source of the gun-darks' noise. They were nesting there.

He peered above. He wondered how Anakin was doing with those  security

droids. Had he found shelter?

The roar of gundarks suddenly echoed in the crater. Obi-Wan  began  to

quietly move away from the sound. He knew that if  he  was  discovered,  he

could not fight the gundarks alone, even with his lightsaber and the Force.

There would be too many of them. He would need Anakin.

He couldn't risk a glowrod. He felt his way forward cautiously. If  he

could find some footholds in the wall, he could climb it. Climbing would be

slower, but it would attract less attention. He  would  have  to  risk  the

journey.

A roar and the sound of a gundark rolling over  made  him  freeze.  He

could smell the creature. Surely the  creature  could  smell  him.  Obi-Wan

didn't move. He tried not to sweat. The gundark snorted, then  rolled  over

again. Obi-Wan realized it was asleep.

He moved carefully away. The ground  was  more  uneven  here.  Several

centimeters of fine dust covered some kind of rock shale. It  was  slippery

and the rocks shifted under his weight. When a rock slithered and  cracked,

he held his breath.

Nothing. The gundarks roared again, but their roars had covered up the

sound of his movement. And the one in  the  cave  to  his  left  was  still

sleeping.

Obi-Wan felt the side of the crater at last. He ran his hand along it.

It was pockmarked with holes. Good. He should be able to climb  it  without

the launcher.

He put one foot in a cavity and tested it. Then he  cautiously  lifted

himself up. So far, so good. He climbed up a few more meters.

He was balanced to take his next step  when  he  felt  a  soft  breath

tickle his ear. Now he knew what it meant to have his blood freeze. He felt

as though his veins were clogged with ice.

A baby gundark had snuggled into a deep cavity in  the  wall.  It  was

sleeping only centimeters from him. Just... don't... wake... it up...

He could not have been faced with a worse prospect. It was disaster to

fall into a nest of treacherous beasts. It was  a  catastrophe  to  blunder

into one of their young.

Holding his breath, Obi-Wan began to ease his way past.

RRRRAAAAWWWWKKK!

The roar split the  air.  The  crater  shook  with  the  impact  of  a

gundark's running footsteps. The young gun-dark awoke. Rrrraaaaawwww!

Obi-Wan dropped the distance he'd traveled back to the floor. He  ran.

The gundark let out a scream and leaped up, heading straight to  its  young

to ensure it was safe. Then it leaped down to deal with Obi-Wan.

The creature wasn't tall, but  the  strength  of  its  four  arms  was

immense. A common tactic was to grab prey by the claws of the massive  arms

that rose from the gundark's  shoulders.  Then  the  creature  crushed  the

captured prey to death with the two slender  arms  that  rose  out  of  the

muscled chest. The long, sharp claws could also rip a being to  shreds.  Of

course, a gundark was also capable of simply tearing off the  head  of  its

prey with the large teeth that jutted  out  of  its  lower  jaw.  Once  its

bloodlust had been awakened, rare was the gundark that did not achieve  its

objective of rendering its victim into pieces of flesh and bone.

Obi-Wan was completely exposed, and he knew that caves were all around

him. He couldn't hide. He drew his lightsaber even as he backed up but held

it by his side, trying to show the creature he did not mean it harm.

But gundarks were not known to be reasonable.

The attack was ferocious. The gundark made  for  him,  all  four  arms

reaching, trying to claw him. Huge teeth snapped  and  saliva  poured  out.

Obi-Wan smelled heat and anger. He was forced to slash at the gundark as it

came at him relentlessly, its howl filling the cavity of the crater.

He heard the thump of footsteps. More gundarks were approaching.  Obi-

Wan fumbled for his cable launcher. He'd have to risk it. He sent it flying

above. It hit something. He tested the line. He activated the  launch,  but

the gundark grabbed him with one claw and threw him back down on the floor.

He felt the jolt in every bone. He rolled away as the creature  swung  down

to finish him off. The gundark missed, scoring the rock with deep grooves.

Four more gundarks thundered into the space, snarling, ready  for  the

kill. Obi-Wan felt his back hit the wall of  the  crater.  Desperately,  he

looked above. He reached out to the Force even as he sent  up  a  shout  he

knew had little chance of being heard.

"Anakin! Anakin, I need you!"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

If Anakin had  felt  that  there  was  a  veil  between  him  and  his

surroundings before, he was now beginning to  feel  breaks  in  that  veil.

There were moments of clarity, brief flashes,  in  which  he  knew  he  was

seeing reality. During those moments he felt  something  deep  within  him,

like a hook lodged in his heart, and he was glad to slip  behind  the  veil

again.

It was odd that he was able to achieve battle-mind, but  he  had.  The

movements were so ingrained in him that  he  leaped  and  twisted  and  ran

without feeling the effort, much as he did when the Force was with him.  He

had taken down at least five security droids on STAPs,  and  maneuvered  so

that another two fired at each other. He still  had  three  more  STAPs  to

contend with, as well as the Vanqor guards on swoops. He  was  fighting  as

well as he ever had.

When Obi-Wan had been blasted into the crater, Anakin hadn't had  more

than a second to react. He assumed that his Master  could  handle  whatever

was down there. Obi-Wan could get out by himself.

Somewhere inside, Anakin knew this was a curious decision for  him  to

make, one that he wouldn't have made normally. But it seemed logical,  too.

Obi-Wan was a Jedi, used to getting out of tight spots.

Besides, Obi-Wan had always told him not to jump into things, to  take

his time. So why shouldn't he? His first priority was to take care  of  the

droids and get the disk to Typha-Dor.

Anakin felt the veil slip again. It was happening more frequently now.

He missed his calm. He wanted to be back in the garden. He didn't  want  to

feel fear, or apprehension, or pain. He wanted to feel  serene,  as  though

nothing could touch him. He wanted it so badly.

Gundarks in the crater suddenly  roared.  Anakin  fended  off  blaster

rifle fire and drew closer to the  crater.  He  thought  he  heard  Obi-Wan

calling him. The call came from within him, as though he heard  it  in  his

heart.

Something tugged at him. The hook that was  buried  so  deep  that  he

could barely feel it. He did not want to reach for it. He wanted it to  lay

buried.

Obi-Wan needed him.

But I needed him. And when he came, he asked for the disk. He did  not

come for me.

The pain this thought caused him to grab the remains of the  veil.  He

wanted to wrap himself into its brand of unconsciousness.

I don't want to feel anymore!

Anakin leaped up and severed a droid in two that had the misfortune to

pilot his STAP too close to the ground. Hunks of smoking metal clattered to

the rocks below.

He realized what was wrong, what the  essential  conflict  within  him

was. To be a Jedi was to follow his feelings. But if his feelings  tortured

him, what was he to do with them?

Grief.

Guilt.

Resentment.

Shame.

He had felt all of  these  things.  Because  of  leaving  his  mother,

because of Yaddle, because of Obi-Wan. I don't want to feel!

He struck out savagely at a STAP that had come in low, its lone  droid

pilot firing dual blaster rifles. He cut the droid's head off.

"Anakin!" He could hear Obi-Wan clearly now, his  voice  strained  and

desperate.

I don't want to feel!

The hook in his heart seared him, and he knew its name. It was love.

The love he felt for his Master was lodged firmly within him. It was a

connection that had grown from the first moment Obi-Wan had told  him  that

he would take him and train him.

He had learned one thing about love: It  was  besides  the  point.  It

didn't make anything smoother,  or  better.  Most  of  the  time,  it  just

complicated things.

Why would he want to feel again, when feeling hurt so much?

Why would he want to remember Shmi with guilt as well as pleasure?

Why would he want to revisit his torment over the death of Yaddle?

Why would he want to take up the burden of caring what Obi-Wan thought

or felt about him?

Because it's right.

Anakin groaned aloud.  The  thing  he  couldn't  get  away  from,  the

certainty within him, the essential truth he had learned  through  all  his

training at the Temple, that was what he could see now. He  knew  what  was

right.

He ripped the veil and felt the Force flood in with all its power.  He

realized that the Zone of Self-Containment had not allowed  him  to  access

the Force except at the most basic level, and he hadn't even known it.  Now

he felt it grow.

Along with the Force he felt his emotions again. They came at him in a

rush, as if they'd been held back and  now  were  free  to  overflow.  They

bombarded him as cruelly as the laser cannons shooting above. He wanted  to

sink to his knees from the tide washing over him, all the  emotion  he  had

suppressed and hoped never to feel again.

"Anakin!"

His Master's cry filled him.

He stood, drawing the fire of the droids and guards. He began to  run.

Explosives shattered the rocks behind  him.  Two  droids  on  STAPs  dived,

shooting both blaster rifles at him, trying to catch him between them.

Accessing the Force, he tumbled through the gap between them, allowing

the power of the blast to catapult him in the  direction  of  his  Master's

voice, straight into the dark pit of the gundark nest.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

One gundark had raked Obi-Wan's  back  with  its  claws.  Another  had

thrown him against the wall. His left leg was going numb. He had killed one

gundark, mortally wounded another... but would more come? He was weakening.

He was losing. He was trapped  in  the  dark  with  the  roaring,  ravenous

beasts, and he had no doubt he would be torn limb from limb. They knew they

had wounded him, and they were circling in for the kill.

If this was where he would become one with the Force, so be it. Yet he

would fight to his last breath to  prevent  it.  He  would  prefer  a  less

gruesome end than this.

Obi-Wan thrust his lightsaber into a gundark's  vulnerable  neck.  The

blow made the gundark scream in agony  and  retreat.  Obi-Wan  whirled  and

retreated in turn as another bounded forward, its red eyes blazing with the

scent of the kill.

Suddenly he felt the Force fill the cavernous space. A flash of  light

appeared overhead, and Obi-Wan heard a  whistling  noise.  It  was  Anakin,

leaping straight into the circle of gundarks, his lightsaber held in attack

position.

When Obi-Wan had wondered if  Anakin  had  abandoned  him,  he  hadn't

blamed him. He knew their mission demanded that Anakin  get  to  Typha-Dor.

But it had hurt him to think his Padawan could leave him.

How could he have  held  such  a  thought?  Anakin  would  never  have

abandoned him. Anakin would never betray him.

Anakin landed on a gundark's back. He plunged his lightsaber into  the

soft tissue at its neck. As the gun-dark thrashed, Anakin leaped down  and,

twisting to avoid a descending claw, slashed at the next  gundark,  cutting

off two of its arms.

Anakin had given Obi-Wan time to take a breath. He was hampered by his

leg and shoulder, but he was able to join Anakin, forcing the gundarks back

toward the deep cave that had formed under the curve of  the  crater  wall.

Anakin took the  lead,  fighting  brilliantly,  his  lightsaber  moving  to

deflect as well as attack, his footwork always pressing the  gundarks  back

while protecting Obi-Wan from another assault.

From another cave, three gundarks tried to outflank the  Jedi.  Anakin

sensed them moments before Obi-Wan. The  Padawan  somersaulted  into  them,

taking them off guard. While Obi-Wan dodged to draw the  attention  of  the

first group, he watched Anakin spring up amid the second group. One gundark

lost a leg, another its sight. A third recoiled as Anakin  slashed  at  its

chest.

The gundarks piled back into the  cave,  howling  and  screaming  from

their wounds.

"Thanks for coming!" Obi-Wan shouted over the noise.

"Any time."

There was a flash to Anakin's gaze that he knew well.  His  eyes  were

bright.

Something has changed, Obi-Wan thought. Anakin is back.

"They haven't given up," Obi-Wan said. "They're waiting." He indicated

his leg. "I can't climb very well."

Anakin activated his cable launcher. "Then let's go the easy way."

"There are gundarks nesting in the cave walls."

"I saw them on my way down." Anakin wasn't troubled by the  knowledge,

that was clear. He grabbed Obi-Wan as if he weighed nothing  and  activated

the cable.

They landed on a ledge that was free of a nest. Anakin  activated  the

cable again.

"You planned the journey back as you came down," Obi-Wan said.

They landed again, and Anakin activated the other cable line. "Yes."

Obi-Wan marveled at that. It was what made Anakin a  great  Jedi.  His

battle mind was total  and  went  everywhere.  He  saw  every  possibility,

planned every move, and had even planned his escape.

They reached the surface and climbed over the lip of the crater.  Obi-

Wan took a deep breath, relieved to have left the horrifying nest.

He prepared to take cover when they emerged, but the sky was empty. He

could see twisted metal and decimated droids scattered about.

"Did you get them all?"

"No, there were three STAPs left, plus two guards on  swoops,"  Anakin

said, tucking his cable launcher back into his belt. "I thought it was time

to get you. I made it look as though a blast sent me  into  the  crater.  I

imagine that when they saw me fall into the gundark nest,  they  thought  I

was done for."

"Most likely. No one survives a gundark nest." Obi-Wan looked  around.

"Now what? The only place to steal a transport is the  camp.  And  I  don't

think breaking in will be as easy the next time." He  looked  over  at  the

scattered remains of the exploded STAPs. "Can you  make  something  out  of

those that will fly?"

Anakin surveyed the scraps of metal on the ground. "Are you serious? I

couldn't even make a helmet out of it."

"How about fuel?"

"Possibly, but as you know, STAPs don't carry much."

"I left the swoop about twenty-five kilometers  from  here.  We  could

refuel it"

"We won't get far," Anakin said. "I say we  head  back  to  the  camp.

Maybe I can figure out the departure code so we don't get blown up. How did

you get into the camp, anyway?"

"You don't want to know." Obi-Wan groaned. He certainly  wasn't  eager

to hook himself onto a flying transport again.

Obi-Wan's comlink signaled and, surprised, he answered it.

A familiar voice rang dryly in his ear. "Well, I'm here to rescue your

sorry self once again. Honestly, I don't know what you'd do without me."

Obi-Wan grinned. "I think we found a ride," he told Anakin.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

They had only minutes to wait until two red-and  white  Jedi  cruisers

landed a few meters away. Siri was the first to appear, striding  down  the

landing ramp, her short blond hair glinting in the sun. "Need a lift?"

"If you insist," Obi-Wan responded.

Obi-Wan and Siri had won their friendship  through  trials.  They  had

always bantered and bickered. A deep respect  lay  underneath  their  light

words, but it had taken some time for Anakin to see it.

Anakin was glad to see Siri, but seeing her meant he would have to see

her Padawan, Ferus Olin. He wished that someone else - anyone  else  -  had

turned up to rescue them. The two of  them  had  never  gotten  along,  and

things were worse between them since their mission on  Andara,  when  Ferus

had been abducted and Anakin  had  withheld  the  knowledge  from  Obi-Wan.

Anakin felt he'd had  good  reasons,  but  neither  Obi-Wan  or  Ferus  had

understood them.

Ferus emerged from the starship. Tall and erect,  he  greeted  Obi-Wan

and Anakin with a proper nod. "Master Kenobi. Anakin."

"We're on another mission to the Xanlanner system," Siri said. "We got

your distress signal. A couple of old friends of  yours  are  ferrying  me,

Ferus, Ry-Gaul, and Tru Veld."

Anakin brightened. "Tru is here?" Tru Veld was his best  friend.  That

would lighten the burden of seeing Ferus again.

He wondered if he would have felt this much pleasure if he  had  still

been in the Zone of  Self-Containment.  He  realized  that  the  zone  also

blocked out feelings of intense happiness as well. He had paid a price  for

his serenity.

Obi-Wan suddenly moved toward the starship that Siri had emerged from.

"I should have known!" he called. "That was such a wobbly landing!"

Anakin smiled. The landing had been perfect. But Obi-Wan  was  allowed

to tease his oldest friend,  Garen  MuIn.  They  had  gone  through  Temple

training together, just as Anakin and Tru had.

"You're one to talk about  wobbling,"  Garen  said,  noting  Obi-Wan's

slight limp. There was concern underneath his words.  "You  look  like  you

could use a medic."

"Maybe a touch of bacta," Obi-Wan admitted. "I tangled with a  gundark

or two."

"Ouch," Garen said. He laid a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Let's  find

the medpac."

Tru Veld bounded down the ramp of the other star-ship. His Master, Ry-

Gaul, followed more slowly, his keen gray eyes surveying the landscape. Tru

hurried up to Anakin, his silver eyes glinting. He was a  Teevan,  and  had

long, many-jointed arms and legs that caused him to  walk  like  a  rolling

wave of water.

"Our paths cross, and it makes me glad," he said to Anakin.

"We're certainly glad to see you," Anakin said. "We  have  to  get  to

Typha-Dor immediately."

Tru nodded. "That's why we're here."

"Who is that?" Anakin asked. He indicated a Jedi, a human  woman  with

bright orange hair. She was compact and fit, and stood talking to  Obi-Wan,

Ry-Gaul, and Siri as Garen administered bacta to Obi-Wan's wound.

"That's Clee Rhara. She's an amazing pilot. She  -  "  "Once  ran  the

pilot program for Jedi students," Anakin said. "She's a legend."

Clee Rhara walked over. "Anakin  Skywalker.  We  meet  at  last."  Her

shrewd eyes studied him. "I  was  a  good  friend  of  Qui-Gon's.  We  were

students together."

"I'm honored to meet you, Master Rhara," Anakin said.

"No time for pleasantries. Better get aboard. I hear we have to get to

Typha-Dor." Clee Rhara grinned. "It's going to take some fancy flying.  The

Vanqor ships are everywhere. Something must be up."

"Something is definitely up," Anakin said. "An invasion."

"Then there's no time to waste, is there?"

Clee Rhara turned and strode back to her cruiser. The other Jedi  also

hurried on board. Obi-Wan beckoned to Anakin to board  with  him  on  Garen

MuIn's ship. Anakin was disappointed to have to say good-bye to Tru. Not to

mention ride with Ferus instead.

Garen settled into the pilot seat. With a glance at Obi-Wan, he tilted

his head toward Anakin, and Obi-Wan nodded. Pleased, Anakin took his  place

in the copilot's seat. He felt honored. Garen was possibly  the  best  Jedi

pilot in the Order, as good as Clee Rhara.

Garen flipped on the comm unit to speak to Clee. "So,  do  we  have  a

strategy? Those Vanqors aren't too keen on ships violating their airspace."

"Sure," Clee Rhara answered. "Go really, really fast."

The two cruisers rose and streaked into the upper  atmosphere  at  top

speed.

"Set course for Typha-Dor," Garen said.

Siri sat at the nav console. She entered the destination  coordinates.

Anakin kept his eye on the radar.

"Ships approaching," he said, giving the coordinates. "They look  like

patrols."

Four fast starfighters streaked across the sky.  "Piece  of  quinberry

cake," Garen said.

Garen's hands were light on the controls.  He  climbed  abruptly,  the

ship's nose straight up. Clee Rhara followed.

Garen headed straight for the two small  red  moons  orbiting  Vanqor.

They orbited in tandem, and he dove for the space between them. He and Clee

Rhara played hide-and-seek with the starfighters, who were unable to get  a

fix on their position.

"They're going to call for backup," Clee Rhara said. "I say it's  time

to outrun them."

"I'm right behind you. Let's go."

The two Jedi cruisers suddenly zoomed out from the protection  of  the

moons'  orbits.  They  streaked  into  the  upper  atmosphere.  The  Vanqor

starfighters gave chase. Cannonfire boomed behind them, but they were  able

to outrun it. Garen and Clee Rhara maintained a zigzagging course, avoiding

the occasional proton torpedo.

"We've got some kind of military ship ahead," Siri called. "Ten escort

starfighters."

"Just a piece of juja-cake," Garen said.

"Three minutes until we can make the jump to hyperspace," Siri said.

Ahead of them, Clee Rhara dived as the enemy ship's huge weapons began

to pound. Garen peeled off to the left. For the next three minutes,  Anakin

watched in awe as Garen slid the cruiser through, in, and around cannonfire

without disturbing the gleaming red paint of his ship or  even  firing  his

own weapons.

Garen  noted  Anakin's  interest.  "I   always   prefer   evasion   to

confrontation," he said with a grin.

The ship shot into hyperspace in a shower of stars.  Everyone  settled

back.

"Typha-Dor in two hours," Siri said.

"Piece of sweet cake," Garen said, satisfied.

They came out of  hyperspace  beyond  Typha-Dor's  atmosphere.  Anakin

immediately checked the radar. "No pursuit ships."

"I don't think Vanqor would risk violating Typha-Dor  airspace,"  Obi-

Wan said. "Not until the invasion, anyway."

"We'll be landing in a few minutes," Garen said. Garen guided the ship

to a graceful slot in a large landing pad that  lay  at  the  space  center

midway between the two capital cities, Sarus-Dor and Ith-Dor. The Jedi were

greeted by a security officer.

"May I ask your business - "

"We need to see the rulers of Typha-Dor  immediately,"  Obi-Wan  said.

"We have vital information."

"The rulers of Typha-Dor are not easily seen - "

"We are Jedi envoys on a diplomatic mission from the Galactic  Senate.

We have information about an invasion," Obi-Wan rapped out impatiently.

"But... the invasion has already begun," the security officer said.

At first the officer refused to yield, but the combined insistence  of

eight Jedi was too much for him and his staff. The Jedi were  ushered  into

the strategic planning meeting of the High Council at the space center.

The generals and the two rulers of Typha-Dor  and  their  aides  stood

around a circular holomap. Blinking colored  lights  showed  possible  ship

movements and attack points. Obi-Wan knew the two rulers as Talus, a  young

man, and Binalu, an older woman who had ruled  Typha-Dor  for  many  years.

They had called for the Jedi originally and nodded politely at them.

"Sorry you were delayed," Binalu said graciously. Binalu  had  stepped

aside. Now Obi-Wan could see Mezdec in the middle of the group. When he saw

Obi-Wan and Anakin, he paled.

"This is a high-security meeting," he said. "You have no clearance."

"Mezdec, these are Jedi," Binalu said. "We asked the Senate for help."

Obi-Wan gave Mezdec a cool glance, then ignored him. He glanced at the

strategy map. He saw that the Typha-Dor had massed all their  weaponry  and

their fleet to the south.

He and Anakin had  studied  the  invasion  plans  during  the  flight.

Shalini had been right. Mezdec had given the  generals  false  plans.  They

were massing troops and ships to meet an invasion that  would  not  arrive.

Meanwhile, the Vanqors would take over the capital cities  in  one  thrust,

unopposed.

"I have met Mezdec before. We were the team that was  sent  to  rescue

the crew at the outpost," Obi-Wan said.  "Have  you  moved  your  ships  to

attack?" he asked the generals.

"We are moving them now," one of  the  generals  said  grudgingly,  as

though she saw no reason to tell the Jedi. "The  Vanqors  will  attack  our

factories in the south."

"Is it too late to recall them?"

"Why should we?" the general answered. "With all due  respect  to  the

Jedi, we did ask for your help, and we are grateful for your response.  But

we can handle this. We are going to surprise the Vanqors when  they  invade

our airspace."

"You, generals, will be the ones who will be surprised," Obi-Wan said.

"That is not the true invasion plan," Anakin said.  He  set  Shalini's

holofile spinning. It unfolded in pulses of  light,  showing  detail  after

detail of the Vanqor invasion. "This is the real invasion plan. If you mass

your forces there, the Vanqors will simply sail in and take over without  a

fight."

"But  the  Vanqors  have  already  sent  their  ships,"  Binalu  said,

indicating the map.

"I see evidence of only two destroyers in the south," Obi-Wan said.

"Mezdec explained that more  are  coming.  The  crew  intercepted  the

Vanqor invasion plans," a general said. She was  tall  and  imposing,  with

multicolored medals on her shoulders. "He came to me personally. I  am  the

high general of Typha-Dor, General Bycha."

"That's right," Mezdec said. "We have the plans. I was the only one to

make it out alive."

"On the contrary," Obi-Wan said. "The others made it out, too.  You'll

be sorry to hear that, Mezdec."

"Mezdec is a spy, General Bycha," Anakin said. "I suggest you give  an

order for his immediate arrest."

The generals exchanged glances. Talus and Binalu looked at the Jedi.

"This is a grave charge," Talus said.

"They are lying!" Mezdec cried.

"You must trust us," Obi-Wan said. "The fate of  your  world  lies  in

your hands. The Vanqors are not going to attack your  factories.  They  are

moving to attack the twin capital cities. Can you move the fleet  to  these

positions?" He took a laser pointer from a general and indicated  the  map.

"Look. The Vanqors are invading through this  corridor.  I've  studied  the

star charts. Your moons will align to give them cover,  but  it  will  also

create a window for you to attack. You can trap the majority of  the  fleet

between the two moons. Even with a smaller force, you  could  defeat  them.

They will be vulnerable right here."

The generals looked at the map. They looked at each other.

"Don't listen to them!" Mezdec cried again. "They are lying!"

Slowly, General Bycha turned to him. "And what reason would  the  Jedi

have for lying?" She held Mezdec's gaze.  "I  hereby  issue  an  order  for

Mezdec's immediate arrest."

Then General Bycha turned back to the Jedi. "We don't have much time,"

she said.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mezdec was taken away. The room exploded into  activity.  Obi-Wan  was

impressed  with  how  quickly  the  generals  grasped  the  situation   and

formulated a response. The fleet sped to the other side  of  Typha-Dor  and

lurked behind the string of moons, effectively  concealing  themselves  and

ready to attack.

General Bycha spoke to the Jedi. "We  were  unprepared  for  war.  Our

planet  has  no  planetary  defensive  shield,  and  only   one   planetary

turbolaser. It's all up to our fleet."

"You have the strategic advantage," Siri said.

"Which means there is another option," Obi-Wan  pointed  out.  "Within

seconds of the Vanqors invading your airspace, you will be able to surprise

and surround them. They know their entire fleet can easily be destroyed. It

is a perfect opportunity for you to force a surrender without losing lives.

"

General Bycha looked interested. "Most generals are primed to fight. I

will do so if necessary. But on Typha-Dor we always seek to avoid  conflict

if we can."

"A truce would make sense for Vanqor as well  as  Typha-Dor,"  Obi-Wan

pointed out. "Typha-Dor  has  vast  resources.  Vanqor  has  factories  and

technical innovations. The other planets in your system each have something

unique to contribute. If there was a strong alliance between your  planets,

you would all be interdependent.  You  would  learn  and  profit  from  one

another."

"You could become one of the strongest systems in  the  galaxy  and  a

boon to the Republic," Siri said.

Binalu shook her head. "But we don't trust the Vanqors. How could  we,

after what they have done?"

"Alliances are rarely built on trust,"  Clee  Rhara  said.  "They  are

built on mutual advantage."

"One of your conditions would have to be complete disarmament,"  Garen

said. "Vanqor might choose that rather than complete annihilation."

"It all depends on you," Obi-Wan said.  "You  have  the  advantage  of

surprise. When you don't fire on the Vanqors, they might hesitate  to  fire

on you. You'll need to speak to the ruler of Vanqor and  explain  that  you

have his fleet surrounded. The Vanqor fleet captains will confirm. You have

a chance to win a war without a battle."

Binalu and Talus gazed at the blinking lights  on  the  holomap,  each

representing a ship with hundreds of lives  aboard.  They  had  a  wordless

communication with each other, then nodded.

"Tell the fleet to get into position but not to  fire  a  shot  unless

ordered," Talus said.

"We will talk to Van-Ith, the ruler of Vanqor," Binalu said.

It was a tense time in the operations room. The  generals,  the  Jedi,

and the rulers watched the blinking lights on the map. They saw the  Vanqor

fleet approach. At the last possible moment, General Bycha gave  the  order

for the Typha-Dor coalition  forces  to  surround  the  Vanqor  fleet.  The

movement was executed perfectly.

"Arrange for a comm transmission to the head of  the  fleet,"  General

Bycha ordered.

While General Bycha spoke to the Vanqor  captains,  Binalu  and  Talus

spoke to the Vanqor leader. The Jedi  watched  and  waited.  After  a  long

negotiation, the Vanqors agreed to surrender and enter peace talks.

The Vanqor fleet slowly followed the Typha-Dor escorts to the  surface

of Typha-Dor, where they would remain for the duration of the talks.

"This will take some time to accomplish,"  Talus  said  to  the  Jedi.

"Thank you for your help. We are in your debt."

"Shalini and her crew were  responsible  for  obtaining  the  invasion

plans," Obi-Wan told them. "They risked their  lives.  They  entrusted  the

disk to us while they were interred in a prisoner-of-war camp."

"Are they in danger?" General Bycha asked.

"Anakin was also a prisoner," Obi-Wan said. "There's  a  camp  in  the

Tomo Crater region on Vanqor."

General Bycha focused her intense gaze on Anakin. "We've heard of this

camp. Rumors have reached us of  medical  experiments  being  performed  on

prisoners. This is against Republic law. If we knew this  for  certain,  it

would help us in negotiations with the Vanqors. Did you see  anything  like

that?"

Obi-Wan saw Anakin hesitate. Why? What had happened to him? Why hadn't

he told Obi-Wan? He'd had plenty of opportunity aboard Garen's ship.

"I underwent the procedure," Anakin said. "It is called  the  Zone  of

Self-Containment."

He saw the Jedi turn and look at him. Ferus's gaze was sharp.  He  had

seen that Obi-Wan hadn't known this.

"What happens to you?" General Bycha asked. "You  become...  content,"

Anakin said. "You have complete mobility and  your  thought  processes  are

sharp. It doesn't feel as  though  you're  drugged.  But  the  things  that

normally torment you don't bother you at all."

"Crowd  control,"  General  Bycha  said.  "It's  a   way   to   subdue

populations. I can't believe we must form  a  partnership  with  those  who

would do this."

"The partnership will ensure that they won't," Clee Rhara said.

"How was the substance administered?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I don't know," Anakin said. "That was the strange thing.  We  weren't

injected. And we ate with the med care workers and personnel,  fed  from  a

communal pot. Our water source was the same as theirs, too."

"It is possible they were all drugged," General Bycha said.

"I don't think so," Anakin said. "I felt that they were... envious  of

the prisoners."

"When did you first feel the effects?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin thought back. "They gave us a paralyzing drug, but that  didn't

make a difference to my mind. It was after a bath."

"It was transmitted through water," Obi-Wan  said.  "That  is  a  very

difficult way to transmit a drug," General Bycha said. "Water  transmission

hasn't been perfected." He frowned. "These are dark  days.  There  are  too

many scientists with no scruples, willing to poison bodies and minds."

Obi-Wan suddenly leaned forward toward Anakin. "Did you ever  see  the

doctor in charge?"

"Yes," Anakin said. "I was brought to her because in the  beginning  I

was able to resist the paralyzing drug  somewhat,  with  the  help  of  the

Force."

"Do you know her name?"

Anakin thought back. "She never told me." Odd. He hadn't noticed  that

at the time.

"Do you remember what she looked like?"

"A  woman  in  late  mid-life,"  Anakin  said.  "Light-colored   hair.

Distinctive green eyes. She had a  strong  face."  He  thought  back.  "The

strange thing was that she guessed that I was Force-sensitive.  She  seemed

to know a great deal about the Force."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. "Jenny Zan Arbor," he said.

Clee Rhara, Ry-Gaul, and Garen looked at him in surprise.

"She is on a prison planet," Clee Rhara said. "So we thought," Obi-Wan

said.

"Who is she, Master?" Anakin asked.

"Someone who has hurt the Jedi and the Republic in the past,"  Obi-Wan

said. "She kept Qui-Gon prisoner in order to study the  Force.  She  was  a

brilliant scientist who began her career after she found cures  to  several

plagues and saved whole planets. But then she grew corrupt.  She  began  to

introduce plagues or viruses so  that  she  would  be  hired  to  cure  the

populations. She was adept at using water systems or air systems. She  made

a great fortune. But the Jedi caught her in the  end."  Obi-Wan  turned  to

General Bycha. "May I use your database?"

General Bycha showed him to the console. Obi-Wan did a quick check  of

the prison world he knew Zan Arbor had been exiled to.

He whirled around  in  his  chair.  "Escaped.  She  is  now  a  wanted

criminal." He stood. "We must get to the Tomo Crater Camp right away."

"You will meet resistance," General Bycha warned him.  "The  surrender

is not complete."

Obi-Wan looked at Clee Rhara, Garen, Siri, and Ry-Gaul, a question  in

his eyes.

Ry-Gaul nodded. "We are at your service, Obi-Wan."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

After receiving clearance from the Senate for  their  operation,  they

flew to Vanqor. They met no resistance from  the  Vanqor  ships.  The  Jedi

cruiser flew over the rugged landscape of the Tomo Craters,  and  then  the

camp appeared ahead.  Then  resistance  exploded  in  the  form  of  laser-

cannonfire. Apparently General Bycha had not underestimated the  resistance

they would meet on the ground.

Garen dived and twisted, piloting the ship expertly through the  fire,

never wavering from his destination.

They landed amid heavy fire and charged out, lightsabers at the ready.

The security droids were taken care of with quick  thrusts  and  backhanded

swipes. The Vanqor guards were armed with blaster  rifles,  wrist  rockets,

and stun batons. The Jedi advanced as a solid  flank  that  broke  and  re-

formed as they leaped and twisted, using their lightsabers and occasionally

Force-pushing a Vanqor guard who decided today was his day to  seek  glory.

Instead he ended up with a throbbing skull as he was thrown against a wall.

It was at times such as these that Anakin felt something close to what

he'd felt in the Zone of Self-Containment.  It  was  not  that  he  enjoyed

battle. Battle was a necessity to an end. It was  that  battle  filled  his

mind in a way that other things could not. Focus was absolute. He  felt  in

the midst of the Force. With the other  Jedi  around  him,  the  Force  was

especially powerful. It made every decision easy, every move fluid.

He even felt a kinship with Ferus. He  did  not  want  to  be  Ferus's

friend, but he was glad to have him at his side during a battle. Ferus  was

known for his strength and agility. His moves were flawless. Yet he did not

fight only for himself, but cast his battle  mind  like  a  net,  ready  to

respond to the others if they needed him. When four sentry droids bore down

on Anakin, it was Ferus who leaped, smashing two of them to the ground with

one stroke.

Soon the droids had been  reduced  to  scrap  and  the  Vanqor  guards

decided that facing a squad of Jedi had not been in their job descriptions.

They threw down their weapons and surrendered.

"Zan Arbor," Obi-Wan said to Anakin.

"We'll free the prisoners," Siri said. "You might meet more resistance

there. Ferus, go with them."

The three Jedi raced to the medical building  where  Anakin  had  been

held. No ships had taken off since they arrived. No  doubt  Zan  Arbor  had

heard the battle. She could be hiding. Or she could decide to make  a  last

stand. Anakin was prepared for anything.

The halls were empty. Doors were flung open, and there were  signs  of

disarray in the trailing linens on the sleep couches and the discarded food

on trays. The warming lights in the courtyard had been turned off, and  the

leaves looked shrunken and yellowed. It appeared that the entire  operation

had been hastily abandoned.

Anakin led the way to Zan Arbor's office. They did not need  to  break

in. The door was wide open. Drawers hung open, empty.  Her  desk  had  been

cleared. Even her septsilk curtains had been taken down.

Anakin felt relief move through him. But why? He wasn't sure. He  only

knew that he did not want to face Zan Arbor again. Especially not in  front

of his Master. It was as though she held a secret to a part of him  he  did

not want to share.

When he turned, he saw that Ferus had seen his relief. Anakin hid  his

exasperation. No matter where he turned, Ferus was there, eager to see what

Anakin wanted to conceal. Ferus's ability to tune in  to  his  fellow  Jedi

might have been helpful in battle, but Anakin found it deeply  annoying  at

other times.

"Too late," Anakin said to Obi-Wan. "She must  have  heard  about  the

thwarted invasion."

"She couldn't have hidden all the evidence," Obi-Wan said. "We'll need

to back up what happened here. It will add to her crimes."

Obi-Wan surveyed the hastily  departed  office.  "I  know  one  thing,

Padawan. We have just discovered our next mission. We have  to  find  Jenna

Zan Arbor."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The Jedi stood on the landing platform in the capital city  of  Sarus-

Dor. The Typha-Dors had loaned a gleaming Gen-6  starship  to  Obi-Wan  and

Anakin, who were heading out on the trail of  Zan  Arbor.  Garen  and  Clee

Rhara had readied their transports to resume their interrupted mission.

Anakin leaned against the wall with Tru. He felt weariness deep in his

bones, but he was anxious to get moving, eager to leave this mission behind

as a memory.

If only he weren't heading to find  Jenna  Zan  Arbor.  Anakin  wasn't

afraid of the scientist, but he wasn't eager to tangle again  with  someone

who could put him in the Zone of Self-Containment.

"It's got to be draining, no matter what the medic  said,"  Tru  said.

"That's probably why."

Anakin smiled faintly. "Why what?" Tru had a  habit  of  speaking  his

thoughts out loud, usually right in the middle of them.

"Why you look tired. The medic said he found no  side  effects,  so  I

wouldn't worry about that." Tru peered at him sympathetically.

"I'm not worried," Anakin said. He paused. "Do you ever  wonder  about

detachment, Tru?"

One of the reasons Tru was his friend  was  that  he  didn't  have  to

explain things to him. "Of course. It is  the  hardest  Jedi  lesson,"  Tru

said. "I wonder about it all the time. How can we follow our  feelings  and

yet be detached? Master Ry-Gaul says that feeling deeply is  necessary  for

all living beings. It is how we use those feelings that is crucial.  If  we

let them determine our actions, we can go astray."

"I guess I still don't know how to free myself," Anakin said.

"Me neither. I guess that's why we're Padawans, and they're  Masters,"

Tru said. "The thing is not to worry."  "Yes,"  Anakin  said.  "That's  the

thing." He noticed Ferus looking over at them. Ferus quickly  looked  away.

"What's the matter with Ferus?" Anakin  asked.  Tru  looked  uncomfortable.

"Nothing."

"Tell me. He's barely said a word to me. Not that I mind."

Tru shifted his weight. "He said... well. He wondered why  you  didn't

tell your Master that you'd undergone that treatment. It was clear that you

hadn't. We all wondered. After all, it is strange."

Anakin looked over at Ferus, who had joined Siri, who was saying good-

bye to Obi-Wan. "He always gets in my business."

"He only said out loud what we all thought," Tru said with  his  usual

honesty. "I bet Obi-Wan is thinking it, too."

"I'm not sure why I didn't tell him," Anakin said.  "I  was  going  to

tell him. Did something ever happen to you that you wanted to  think  about

first, before you told anyone?"

"No," Tru said. "I guess I like to talk."

Anakin laughed. Tru was always truthful. Anakin could see through  him

like water. That was how clear he was.  And  the  only  thing  he  saw  was

goodness.

Ferus came up. "It's time to board," he told Tru.

"I hear you're wondering why I didn't tell Obi-Wan about what happened

at the prison camp," Anakin said in a challenging tone.

Ferus gazed at him. "Yes, I did wonder," he said. "But then I  figured

it out."

"Oh, really? Why don't you enlighten us?" Anakin suggested.

"You were afraid to tell Obi-Wan because you  enjoyed  it,"  he  said.

"You enjoyed feeling nothing. It even overcame your loyalty."

"Nothing overcomes Anakin's loyalty to his Master,  Ferus,"  Tru  said

sharply. "And it is none of your business, anyway. You weren't  there.  You

don't know what happened. You have no right to judge."

Ferus seemed to struggle against Tru's words for  a  moment.  Then  he

inclined his head. "You're right, Tru, as always. I  apologize,  Anakin.  I

shouldn't have said it."

That's right, Ferus. You stepped over the line. But maybe Anakin  owed

him one, after their mission on Andara.

"All right," Anakin said. He noted  that  Ferus  hadn't  said  he  was

wrong. Just that he shouldn't have said it.

"Good-bye," Ferus said. "May the Force be with you."

Anakin merely nodded a cool farewell.

"Ferus is the perfect Padawan, remember?" Tru said  as  Ferus  boarded

the ship, trying to make Anakin feel better.  "He  feels  like  he  has  to

correct all of us."

"Thank you for defending me," Anakin said. "I will miss you, friend."

"Take care, Anakin," Tru said. "Take care."

Tru walked away. Anakin felt a tiny sting at Tru's  words.  He  hadn't

meant them as an affectionate farewell. He'd meant them as a warning.

Obi-Wan waited as Garen and Siri walked up the  ramp.  It  slid  shut.

Obi-Wan backed up a few steps to watch the two  ships  take  off.  Then  he

walked slowly to Anakin's side. They watched until the two ships were  just

red slivers in the sky, bits of light. Then they shot to maximum speed  and

disappeared.

"You said torment," Obi-Wan remarked, still looking at the sky.

"Excuse me?" Anakin pretended confusion, but he knew exactly what Obi-

Wan was referring to.

"You said, The things that normally torment you don't  bother  you  at

all.' Not the things that trouble you, but torment you." Obi-Wan turned  to

face him. "It was a strong word. What torments you, Anakin?"

He looked at the ground. "Perhaps I spoke more strongly than  I  meant

to!'

"That is not an answer."

"Sometimes I don't want to be the Chosen One," Anakin said. The  words

broke free. They felt like stones in his mouth.

"That's not surprising," Obi-Wan said. "Many gifts can be burdens."

"The Force is so strong. I can feel it so much.  I  feel  so  much.  I

don't want to feel so much!" Anakin hardly recognized his voice, choked and

aching. Obi-Wan looked startled at his vehemence. "Why am I chosen? Why  is

it me? Can't I refuse it? Can't you let me refuse it?  Can't  you  take  it

away?"

"Anakin - "

"Take it from me. Please, Master." Anakin wanted to fall to his knees.

A deep tide of feeling, of dread, had risen up within him and  choked  him.

He felt tears in the back of his throat. Even his friend Tru was afraid for

him. Just as Ferus was. Just as his own Master was, the person who knew him

the best.

What do they see that I cannot?

The sudden panic shocked him. It had sprung up so abruptly. He  hadn't

meant to say what he had said. He hadn't even known he had been feeling it.

Now it felt like the truest thing he had ever said. The  dread  was  always

there. He lived with it, but he didn't understand it. He just wanted it  to

go away.

The depth of Obi-Wan's shock and compassion showed in his eyes, in the

way he gently placed his hands on Anakin's shoulders. "My Padawan. I  would

do anything for you. I would bear your burdens for you if I  could.  But  I

cannot."

Anakin bowed his head. The panic and fear whirled inside him,  and  he

was ashamed.

Obi-Wan bent closer to speak softly. He did not release  his  grip  on

Anakin's shoulders. "But I will help you. I will always help  you.  I  will

not leave you."

The words reverberated like a bell.  Obi-Wan's  touch  brought  Anakin

back to himself. He raised his head.

"Things between us have not run smoothly lately," Obi-Wan  said.  "But

you must never doubt my commitment to you."

"And mine to you," Anakin said.

The breeze rose and stirred their robes. It smelled fresh  and  clean.

It was morning, and they had things to accomplish, a journey to make.

They turned, and together, they walked  to  the  ship.  Anakin  looked

ahead to the next mission, and the fear returned. Obi-Wan was bringing  him

straight to the creator of the process that had caused him  so  much  doubt

and panic. His  fear  suddenly  freshened  and  sharpened.  Now  it  was  a

certainty that this next mission would bring him too close to  a  truth  he

didn't want to face.