Star Wars

Jedi Quest

Book 4

The Master of Disguise

by Jude Watson

source: IRC

uploaded: 09.I.2006

CHAPTER ONE

Civil war had raged on the planet Haariden for ten years, and even the

ground showed the scars. It was pockmarked with deep holes  left  by  laser

cannonfire and grenade mortars. Ion mines had blown hip-deep  craters  into

the roads. Along the sides of the pitted road, blackened fields burned down

to stubble.

The Jedi had heard  the  explosions  from  cannonfire  all  afternoon,

echoing off the bare hills. The battle was twenty kilometers away. The wind

tore across the fields and whipped up the dirt on the road. It brought  the

smell of smoke and burning. The gritty sand and ash settled in  the  Jedi's

hair and clothes. It was cold. A watery sun hid behind  clouds  stacked  in

thick, gray layers.

To Anakin Skywalker, it looked like something out of  his  nightmares.

Visions of a world of devastation, where a cold wind numbed  his  face  and

fingers, and he trudged endlessly without arriving at his  destination.  He

gave no outward sign of fatigue or discomfort, however. He was training  to

be a Jedi, and being a Jedi was all about focus. A Jedi did not notice  the

pelting grit, the razor-edge of the wind. A Jedi  did  not  flinch  when  a

proton torpedo's blast split the air. A Jedi focused on the mission.

But Anakin was not yet a Jedi Knight, merely a Padawan. So though  his

pace never flagged, his mind  kept  slipping  away  to  brood  on  his  own

discomfort. He was cold and hungry and there was a small pebble in his boot

that was driving him crazy.  The  sky  seemed  to  grow  lower  and  lower,

pressing on him. He would be glad when this mission was  over  and  he  was

back in space again, shooting past bright stars.

He could take the cold and the danger and the empty  stomach.  But  he

had grown up on the Outer Rim planet of Tatooine, and he hated the sand. He

hated swallowing and tasting it. He hated how it found every opening, every

gap in his tunic and leggings. He hated how a stray speck always managed to

lodge in his eye.

Ahead of him walked his Master,  Obi-Wan  Kenobi,  with  another  Jedi

Knight, Soara Antana. The two Jedi  kept  their  gazes  sweeping  the  road

ahead, alert for the telltale sheen of a life-form  sensor  half-buried  in

the dirt - a trigger for an ionite mine.

Next to Anakin trudged Darra Thel-Tanis, a fellow Padawan.

He glanced sideways at Darra. Her bright  copper  and  gold  hair  was

dulled with dust. He could no longer tell the color of the  bright  ribbons

she had woven through her slender Padawan braid. Her eyes were on the  road

ahead. Her pace hadn't lagged since they'd begun  this  mission.  They  had

been walking for three days. She did  not  seem  to  register  the  fatigue

Anakin was feeling.

She must have felt his eyes on her for she  leaned  closer  to  mutter

under her breath.

"What I would give for a bath."

"And a  cold  glass  of  juma  juice,"  Anakin  added.  Darra  sighed.

"Whatever you do, don't say that again."

Anakin would have grinned, but he didn't want to get sand between  his

teeth.

Ahead Obi-Wan and Soara walked at the same steady pace. The  focus  of

their concentration was complete. Not a stray pebble or slight  disturbance

in the dirt missed their notice. One wrong step and a mine could blow  them

into the leaden gray sky. Although  Anakin  and  Darra  had  received  some

training in mine-spotting at the Temple,  there  was  nothing  as  good  as

experience to alert the unwary to the danger.

The Jedi had been called to Haariden  on  a  mission  to  rescue  five

scientists who were on a Senate-sponsored mapping mission.  They  had  been

caught on the planet when hostilities suddenly erupted after a  cease-fire.

The scientists had been pinned down in the countryside. Unable  to  get  to

their space cruiser, they had sent an urgent distress signal to the Senate.

The two forces on Haariden had agreed three times to a cease-fire in  order

to give the scientists safe passage, only  to  erupt  into  violence  again

before the scientists could get to their vessel  and  leave.  Finally,  the

Senate had appealed to the Jedi for help.

It was feared that  the  scientists  would  be  held  as  hostages  or

bargaining chips in the battle. Outsiders had not been welcome on Haariden,

and the political climate was volatile. Each side thought the Senate was in

league with the other - and thus all visitors were  vulnerable  to  attack.

Afraid of being captured, the scientists had moved from deserted village to

deserted village, just ahead of the soldiers. The  last  communication  the

Jedi had received was three  days  ago.  They  could  only  hope  that  the

scientists were still somewhere in the area. Time was running  out.  Roving

patrols posed a constant danger. They  had  been  walking  since  daybreak,

searching one  abandoned  village  after  another.  Some  had  been  almost

completely  destroyed,  others  intact  but  eerily  empty  of  life.   The

population had moved beyond the mountains and  had  set  up  refugee  camps

there.

"Tenuuri is ahead," Soara said, consulting the  map  on  her  datapad.

"Let's hope we find them there." She scanned the  far  distance,  her  keen

gaze analyzing the puffs of smoke from the grenade mortars. "The battle  is

getting closer."

"It will be dark in an hour," Obi-Wan said. "That will be  better  for

us."

Soara grimaced. "Maybe. Haariden may be low  on  large-scale  weapons,

but they have plenty of night-scopes. They fight anywhere, anytime."

Through the wind and dust, Anakin saw shapes ahead.  Small  buildings,

built close to the ground. The village. On one side he saw trees stretching

to the hills. The trees looked strange, and with a jolt  he  realized  why.

The trees had leaves. All of  the  trees  he  had  seen  since  landing  on

Haariden had been bare, their branches blasted by battles fought  weeks  or

days ago.

"After we find them, we can double back  through  the  forest  to  the

transport," Obi-Wan said. "We'll cut three kilometers off our route."

"At least they  left  some  trees  standing,"  Darra  said.  "I  don't

understand how two forces can destroy everything beautiful  on  their  home

planet and just keep on fighting. What is left to fight for? Have you  ever

seen anything like this?" she  asked,  waving  at  the  ruined  fields  and

deserted village ahead.

"Yes," Obi-Wan and Soara said together. They exchanged a  glance  full

of a knowledge Anakin did not understand.

The shadows were long on the road now.  They  walked  into  the  empty

village. Heavy shelling had  taken  place  here.  None  of  the  houses  or

businesses were intact. The wood had burned and the  rocks  lay  in  piles,

some of them as tall as Obi-Wan.

If the scientists were here, they had hidden well. The  Jedi  did  not

want to call out. There was always a danger  of  snipers  in  this  area  -

snipers who did not distinguish between visitors and enemies.

They  searched  methodically  through  the  half-destroyed  buildings.

Anakin's heart grew heavy as he  kicked  through  the  debris  of  ordinary

lives. A pot, battered and black. A boot. A scorched  roll  of  bedding.  A

toy.

There's  not  much  to  a  life,  when  you  think  about  it,  Anakin

considered. As a boy on Tatooine he had longed for nice  things,  expensive

things, for his mother. Once a space merchant had come  through  the  slave

hovels with fabric for sale. He remembered how Shmi's hand had lingered  on

a rich piece of cloth. He  remembered  the  color,  a  luxurious  ruby.  He

remembered how it burned inside him that he was unable to buy it  for  her.

How he had vowed that someday he would...

I won't think of it. Focus.

Darra stood frozen. She gazed down at a tiny crib. A scorched piece of

linen trailed on the floor.

"Darra." Soara's usually brusque voice was soft. "Come along."

They moved through to the next house. It had suffered  a  direct  hit.

There was only rubble. Anakin could hear Darra's slow, even breaths  beside

him. He knew she was concentrating on her breath, slowing it  down,  trying

to focus. Anakin also felt disturbed. It was as though his  nightmare  went

on.

They walked back onto the street and stopped  in  front  of  the  next

building. Obi-Wan and Soara exchanged a glance. Anakin reached out  to  the

Force. It always took him just a beat slower than Obi-Wan to feel  it.  The

Living Force was here.

Obi-Wan headed left, Soara to the right. With a glance,  they  ordered

their Padawans to follow.

Soara went first, headed through the doorway like shimmersilk. She was

known for her grace and flowing movements.  Obi-Wan  followed,  keeping  to

Soara's left. Anakin and Darra stepped through.

The building had once been a caf©. A  long  counter  was  charred  and

blackened. Some tables and chairs remained, but most  had  been  splintered

and blown apart. A very large round oven sat in the middle of the room, the

size of a small landspeeder. It had been vented through the roof by a stone

chimney. The chimney lay in ruins around them.

A rusty metal door swung on one hinge on the oven. Soara  and  Obi-Wan

fanned out on either side, motioning to their Padawans to do the same.

Soara bent over and gently moved the oven door. There  was  a  muffled

gasp. A small rustle of movement.

"Don't be afraid," Soara said. "We are Jedi."

"Prove it." The voice was male and wobbled a bit,  fear  disguised  as

bravado.

In a movement so fast Anakin could have blinked and missed  it,  Soara

unsheathed her lightsaber, activated it, and held up the  glowing  beam  in

front of the open oven door.

"Thank the stars and galaxies," the voice breathed.

A face smeared with ashes poked out from the open door.  "Needless  to

say, it is good to see you. I am Dr. Fort Turan. Space geologist.  Head  of

the mission. Objective is the study of the effects of volcanic activity..."

A shoulder poked out, and then an arm.

".. on planetary atmospherics... oof.." Dr. Fort Turan tried to wiggle

his ample body through the small space. "... within a scale three  system."

The rest of Dr. Fort Turan popped out. Despite a torn  tunic  and  a  nasty

scrape on one cheek, he beamed at the Jedi. "Now, meet my team."

A blue-skinned arm poked out, followed by a face. "Joveh D'a Alin,  at

your service. Degree in tectonics with an emphasis on mineralogy."

Joveh D'a Alin slid out. Another face appeared. It was  another  human

male, this one smiling broadly. His hair was  caked  with  dirt  and  stuck

straight up, and his brown eyes  were  warm.  "Dr.  Tic  Verdun.  Practical

theorist, planetary origins. Very glad to make  your  acquaintance.  For  a

moment we feared we would be roasted alive."

The next scientist to emerge was a Bothan named Reug  Yucon,  "special

training in  atmospherics,  trans-system  and  galactic."  Then  a  slender

Alderaan female named Talie Heathe, an oceanic specialist.

Dr. Fort Turan rubbed his hands together. "So. Shall we retire to your

transport? The sooner we're off this planet the better."

"We can leave right away," Obi-Wan said. "We're about eight kilometers

away."

Dr. Fort Turan's face fell. "Eight  kilometers?  So  far?"  "You  have

speeders?" Reug Yucon asked.

"No," Obi-Wan said. "Speeders would attract  too  much  attention.  We

have to walk."

"That will take a long time," Joveh D'a Alin said, concerned. "We  had

hoped..."

Tic Verdun looked  at  his  fellow  scientists.  He  tried  to  appear

cheerful. "Not so far. And we have the protection of the Jedi now.  It's  a

fine night for a walk, I'd say."

Talie Heathe picked up on Tic Verdun's attempt to cheer them. "But let

the Jedi lead, Tic. You've done enough for us."

"Tic has saved our lives many times  over,"  Fort  Turan  said.  "He's

scouted ahead and kept us moving away from the soldiers."

"He did a good job," Obi-Wan said. "You stayed alive. But  the  battle

is close now. We'll be walking in the opposite direction. We should be able

to make good time."

"We have provisions for you," Soara said, reaching into  her  survival

pack.

Quickly, the Jedi shared water and protein cubes with the  scientists.

They looked a little better when they had finished.

A pale pink moon was rising as they left the village and  entered  the

forest. The shelling had stopped, and the area was eerily quiet. The  faint

hazy light of the moon barely penetrated the thick trees. They did not dare

risk a glow rod.

They walked for several hours. Soara kept track of their progress with

her datapad map.  "We're  making  good  time,"  she  murmured  to  Obi-Wan.

"Another kilometer and we can turn and head south."

Anakin smelled the battle before he sensed  it.  He  breathed  in  and

smelled smoke and fire and death. Ahead, Obi-Wan  and  Soara  had  stopped.

Darra drew a ragged breath.

The scientists had smelled and sensed nothing. They continued to  walk

until Obi-Wan held up a hand to stop them.

"Slowly," he murmured.

They walked, making no sound. In a few minutes Anakin could  see  that

the light through the trees ahead had changed slightly. The smell was worse

now. The wind brought it to him, and it smelled like something  in  a  dark

dream.

"The forest ahead," Soara said. "It's gone. Burned." "They  must  have

fought closer than we'd thought," Obi-Wan observed.

"Which means there could be patrols nearby."

They exchanged a glance. "We have no choice," Obi-Wan said.

"Padawans, we must surround the scientists," Soara said.  "Keep  close

and alert."

They left the shelter of the trees. Around them were blackened stumps.

A laser fight  had  taken  place  here.  They  hurried  through  the  eerie

landscape, the pink moon tinting the devastated forest with  a  rosy  light

that made everything seem even more dreamlike to Anakin.

There was no longer a path. They stumbled over  branches  and  stumps.

They kicked through spent shells. They were  losing  time.  The  scientists

were exhausted. Their footsteps lagged.

Then Anakin felt what he had hoped not to feel on this long night: the

dark side of the Force. It was around them, somewhere in the night. He knew

Obi-Wan and Soara felt it, too. It took another minute for Darra  to  frown

and place her hand on her lightsaber hilt.

"What - " she began, but the night suddenly exploded  into  spasms  of

light.

Anakin felt the impact of a shell hit him like a wall of air,  and  he

went flying.

CHAPTER TWO

Anakin landed and tasted blood in his mouth. He had bit his tongue. He

lay on his back, looking up at the black velvet sky and the pink moon.

"Everyone okay?" Obi-Wan shouted. The blast had knocked them all flat,

but Obi-Wan and Soara were already back on their feet.

"Stay low!" Soara directed as the soft wee-000sh of  another  airborne

weapon came toward them.

Anakin cleared his head, jumped  to  his  feet,  and  ran  toward  the

scientists. He and Obi-Wan herded them toward the  shelter  of  the  fallen

trees. They took cover as another shell exploded. Dirt fell like rain.

"Not again," Joveh moaned, her head in her hands. She was shaking.

Tic Verdun put a hand on her shoulder. "Just a few bombs. Nothing  too

scary."

She lifted her head and  tried  to  smile.  "Nothing  I  haven't  seen

before."

Soara and Darra were quickly taking readings. They hurried  to  crouch

next to Obi-Wan and Anakin.

"They're close," Soara said. "Maybe half  a  kilometer  away.  Heading

toward us. They must have a long-range bioscanner."

"I'm picking up coded communications," Darra  said,  pointing  to  her

comm sensor. "Lots of them. It's got to be a large force."

"Who are shooting first and asking  questions  later,"  Obi-Wan  said,

ducking as another blast shook the ground.

"Can you jam communications?" Obi-Wan asked her. "That's a start."

"I can try." Darra bent over her scanner and began pressing  keys.  In

addition to being a superb fighter, she was an expert at communications.

"Half a kilometer," Obi-Wan repeated, thinking. "And  closing,"  Soara

said.

"With this moon, they'll be using nightscopes and goggles."

"I agree," Soara said tersely.

Another explosion flashed. They felt the shock wave but it had  landed

clear of the area. The scientists exchanged concerned glances, but  no  one

spoke again. They watched the Jedi, knowing that the only way  out  was  to

follow their lead.

"A Padawan-Master team, or should we do it?" Obi-Wan asked Soara.

She thought for a moment. Anakin didn't know what the two Masters were

planning, but he knew one thing - he wanted to be in on the action.

"Got it," Darra said suddenly. "They're jammed for now,  anyway."  She

glanced up at them, her expression taut. "They'll override the  jam  pretty

soon."

Soara nodded, then turned to Obi-Wan. "We'll  need  all  of  us,"  she

said. "It's too large an area."

"Yes." Obi-Wan turned to the scientists. "You must stay undercover. If

we don't return in fifteen minutes, go back the way we came. Hide where you

were before."

"You're leaving us?" Fort Turan asked.

"Not for long." Obi-Wan grabbed one of the extra survival  packs  they

had brought on this mission. He motioned for Anakin to take one.

"What will happen to us if you don't come back?" Reug Yucon asked.

"We'll come back," Obi-Wan said.

"If you'll come back, why did you tell us what to do  if  you  don't?"

Joveh D'a Alin pointed out.

"Scientists. You're so logical," Obi-Wan said. "I said that  for  your

own reassurance. We will be back. Come, Anakin."

The four Jedi slipped off into the velvet night that was  so  suddenly

and spectacularly lit by flashes of deadly light.  Anakin  could  feel  the

Force gather around them. He did not often have the experience  of  feeling

the combined Force of two powerful Jedi Knights as well as their  Padawans.

It made  his  vision  sharper,  his  senses  clearer.  He  knew  where  the

explosions would come. He heard the faintest of sss-s000p noises  when  the

grenade launcher fired. He could tell the direction without  even  thinking

about it.

The Jedi headed straight into the advancing troops. Soara and  Obi-Wan

explained the plan. In the survival packs were luma  grenades,  projectiles

that released particles of intense light. They  would  fan  out  along  the

advancing line and toss the grenades straight  at  the  troops.  Since  the

troops would be wearing night-vision goggles, the  effect  of  the  grenade

would be doubled. A majority would be blinded for at least an hour.  Plenty

of time for the Jedi to lead the scientists to safety.

The difficulty would be to launch enough grenades amid what  would  no

doubt be heavy firepower. The  Jedi  would  have  to  work  fast  and  keep

continually on the move. They would also have to coordinate  their  efforts

so that a wide area was covered.

Obi-Wan and Soara gave their directions in low voices. The Jedi fanned

out. Anakin counted off the seconds, then lobbed his first grenade.

The night lit up like a flash from a nova. Anakin kept his  eyes  away

from the light. He hadn't expected so much illumination. Even with his Jedi

training, it was hard to see. His eyes adjusted, but he stumbled as he ran.

He threw another grenade. Then, taking another leap, he threw a third.

He could see the troops clearly now. The front  lines  were  kneeling,

their hands over their eyes. The others were shooting blindly.

He dodged the fire  and  threw  another  grenade.  He  dashed  to  the

rendezvous point, where Obi-Wan and Soara were waiting. Obi-Wan  and  Soara

scanned the field as Darra ran up.

"The right flank," Soara said.

The right flank was the area Anakin had been assigned.

"The lumas hit behind a wall. We need more cover there."

"I have grenades left," Darra said.

"Go."

Darra didn't pause. She ran off, already pulling the timer release  on

her luma grenades. The sky lit up in a series of flashes.

Anakin watched as Darra twisted, leaped,  and  rolled  as  she  lobbed

several grenades in a precise pattern designed to box in the troops. He saw

where his grenades had missed. He had never seen the wall.  He  had  become

disoriented.

"Darra has the benefit of seeing the wall from  this  angle,"  Obi-Wan

said. "It would have been impossible to spot it from your position."

Anakin's face burned. It was kind of his Master  to  point  that  out.

Still, he felt badly that another Padawan had to return to do his job.

"We're done here. Let's go." Soara spoke and motioned to Darra at  the

same time. Darra leaped the final few meters and caught up to them as  they

ran back toward the scientists. The night was dark again,  and  there  were

only a few random explosions, hitting the ground far from them.

The scientists were standing, waiting for them. Without  a  word  they

joined the group and they hurried through the rest of the blackened forest.

They jogged the first kilometer, then slowed to a fast walk. They  had

left the site of the battle behind, and the trees rose around them again.

"There's a village ahead," Soara said. "We should skirt it."

Obi-Wan nodded. "We need the cover of the forest for as long as.."  He

stopped.

The two Jedi Masters exchanged a glance. Anakin felt  the  disturbance

in the Force. It seemed to be coming from all around them.

"Down," Obi-Wan said crisply to the scientists.

The Jedi all activated their lightsabers at the same time. They made a

circle around the scientists and were ready as the patrol burst out of  the

trees.

The rebel Haaridens were armed with repeating blaster rifles. Some had

wrist rockets. Anakin could see at a glance that the Jedi were outnumbered.

And with the scientists to protect, it could get tricky.

The blaster fire was fast and it seemed  to  be  everywhere  at  once.

Anakin did not give another second of thought to the numbers against  them.

He focused so completely on the battle that everything else fell  away  but

the movement of his lightsaber and his attention to where the blaster  fire

would strike next.

Smoke rose around them. The leaves began to scorch. Obi-Wan leaped  to

destroy a rocket headed straight for them. The midair  explosion  sent  air

thudding against Anakin's eardrums.

The squad suddenly concentrated a third of their troops  to  the  left

and made a surprise strike close to Darra. Anakin saw it coming before  she

did. She was only a split second behind him, already turning to deflect the

blast of fire. She had to pivot on her left leg,  leaving  her  right  side

slightly exposed.

"I've  got  it!"  Anakin  shouted  to  her.  He  leaped  forward,  his

lightsaber moving in a constant arc.

But Darra had already compensated for her move. She  had  shifted  and

turned, and the two Padawans collided. Darra was thrown to the side.

Blaster fire ripped into her leg. She gave a cry  and  fell,  and  her

lightsaber went flying, lost in the confusion of bodies.

"Anakin, cover me!" Obi-Wan roared.

He leaped and scooped up Darra with one arm,  keeping  his  lightsaber

moving, deflecting the fire. Anakin jumped in front of them,  desperate  to

help his Master. Soara herded the scientists closer together  and,  with  a

heroic effort, charged straight at  the  troops.  Anakin  leaped  over  the

scientists to join her.

The fury of their attack caught the troops off guard as  blaster  fire

ricocheted back into their ranks. Their line began  to  waver.  Anakin  and

Soara pressed the advantage while Obi-Wan  and  Darra  retreated  with  the

scientists.

"They're going to regroup," Soara told Anakin. "Let's go."

They turned and ran after Obi-Wan and the scientists, who were dashing

through the trees.

"The village," Obi-Wan said to Soara. "We need cover now."

Darra said nothing. She slumped against Obi-Wan,  and  he  lifted  her

into his arms. Her eyes closed and her lips  parted.  Anakin  felt  a  deep

shudder go through him. She looked as though her life energy  was  draining

away. And it was his fault.

CHAPTER THREE,

Get in and get out. That was the goal of a rescue mission.

It never, in Obi-Wan's experience, worked out that way.

They had angered the Haariden patrol. Obviously the troops  knew  they

were Jedi, but the Haaridens did not care. They were after revenge now.

Obi-Wan carried Darra along the twisting trail. They were close to the

village and temporary safety. Every once in a  while  the  patrol  pursuing

them would set off a rocket. It always fell short of their small band.  But

it was not a comfortable distance.

Obi-Wan remembered another world,  another  day.  Qui-Gon  carrying  a

desperately weakened Jedi Knight - his close friend Tahl. He remembered how

Tahl's hand kept slipping off from around Qui-Gon's neck. It  is  too  late

for me, my friend, she had told him.

He had seen the refusal to accept the fact in Qui-Gon's eyes.  At  the

time, as a Padawan, Obi-Wan had thought it impossible that  a  Jedi  Knight

could die.

Perhaps the first moment of his adulthood was the moment he  had  seen

Qui-Gon's face when he realized that Tahl was dead.

Why am I thinking about death? Obi-Wan wondered.

It was this planet. Ever since he had landed on it he'd  felt  uneasy.

The darkness here was more than a result of cloud cover.  It  hung  in  the

air. The Force dimmed with it. He knew it had affected his Padawan.  Anakin

was sensitive to the dark side of the Force. He felt it sooner  and  deeper

than Obi-Wan had at his age.

Darra would be all right. A blaster wound to the leg was serious,  but

not life-threatening. Yet her limp body and her slip  into  unconsciousness

worried him. There was a disturbance in her Living Force. He could feel it.

"The village is ahead," Soara said. He could see in her face that she,

too, was worried about Darra. "They are not giving up."

"We must stop. Darra - "

"Yes. I must treat her."

The village had been large and prosperous. That was easy to see,  even

in the close darkness. Clouds covered the pale moon as they  filed  swiftly

through the streets, looking for the best shelter they could find.

Soara and Obi-Wan chose a building packed in the middle of  a  crowded

street. Thanks to a half-destroyed wall, they would have  lookouts  on  all

four sides. Yet there was enough shelter for Darra to stay warm.

They wrapped her in a thermal cape. Soara administered  bacta  to  her

wound.

"It doesn't look bad," Obi-Wan said.

A line appeared between Soara's eyebrows. "That is what  worries  me,"

she said in a low tone. "She should not be unconscious."

"Will you allow me?" Joveh D'a Alin spoke up gently. "I trained to  be

a medic before my scientific degree."

She came closer and bent  to  examine  Darra.  She  touched  her  with

gentle, expert hands.

"Without instruments it is hard to tell," she said. "It  appears  that

she is in shock. Is it possible that the blaster bolts carried  a  chemical

charge?"

"It is possible," Soara said. "It is what I feared."

Obi-Wan saw his Padawan swallow. Anakin's eyes looked dark in his pale

face. Obi-Wan knew that his Padawan felt  responsible.  Anakin  had  leaped

impulsively, not trusting Darra to evade the fire. As  usual,  his  Padawan

had thought that he was faster, stronger, than anyone else.

The problem was that it was often true. But not always

"She needs care that we cannot give," Joveh D'a Alin  said.  Her  gray

eyes were compassionate. "But her vitals are still good. The  bacta  should

help."

"We need to get her to the Temple," Soara said. She reached  out  and,

with one finger, touched the dusty fabric in Darra's braid.

"Master, I will go," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan turned, distracted. "Go where?"

"To the Haaridens. I will negotiate a truce so that we can continue to

the transport."

"What makes you think you will  get  within  a  hundred  meters  of  a

Haariden without being attacked?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin kept his gaze steady. "I am prepared to risk it." Obi-Wan shook

his head. "No. That is not the solution."

Soara joined them, closing her comlink. "I've  contacted  the  Temple.

They will pressure the Haaridens for a cease-fire. But it will  take  time.

No one is sure who is in charge on either side. They are sending a medic to

us, but it will take two days." She glanced at Darra.  "What  if  it's  too

late? Can we risk moving her? Can we carry her to the transport? It's still

kilometers away."

Obi-Wan had never seen Soara look so uncertain.  If  his  Padawan  had

been lying so still and pale, he would have felt the same way.

Tic Verdun spoke up. "We can all take turns. We aren't  as  strong  as

the Jedi, but we won't let you down." "Thank you," Soara said quietly.

"We have other options," Obi-Wan said. "I'll be back." Anakin  took  a

step toward him. "Do you need me, Master?"

"No." Obi-Wan hurried away. He regretted the brusqueness of his answer

immediately,  but  he  would  work  quicker  alone.  He  needed   his   own

perceptions. And, although he didn't like to admit it, he needed time alone

to think of a way out of this. When he'd told Soara they had options,  he'd

meant it. He was sure they existed - he just didn't know what they were. He

did not think that carrying Darra over kilometers of  rough  terrain  while

being pursued by an attacking force was the best idea.

Obi-Wan shifted  from  shadow  to  shadow.  He  explored  the  village

thoroughly. When he'd finished, he knew that the village had once had three

bakeries. He knew who the mayor had been and that she'd had three children.

He knew that the schoolteacher had driven a yellow speeder.

He just didn't know what to do next.

He saw a faint light through  the  forest.  He  climbed  to  a  higher

vantage point and trained his electrobinoculars toward it.

The patrol was camping outside the village.  No  doubt  they  did  not

relish a night battle. They would attack at daybreak,  he  was  sure.  They

knew that the small band was trapped.

Obi-Wan shook his head. He could hardly believe his  eyes.  It  seemed

such a short time ago that a world such as Haariden would respect the Jedi,

or at least fear the Senate enough not to attack a rescue mission. Had  the

Senate's power eroded this far? Had the galaxy ceased to respect  the  Jedi

as well?

You don't need speculations. Just answers.

He walked slowly back to the hiding place, hoping an answer would come

to him on the way. He had  hoped  to  find  a  small,  forgotten  cache  of

weapons. Some usable transport. But anything that had  not  been  destroyed

had been looted.

Obi-Wan stopped. Not looted, he suddenly realized. The village had not

been looted. It did not bear the scars. It had undergone a siege.  That  he

could tell. But the valuables hadn't been stolen. They had been removed.

He retraced his steps. He combed through the  buildings,  now  knowing

exactly what he was looking for. It didn't take  him  long.  He  found  the

first tunnel opening in the closet of a prosperous house  that  was  almost

empty of furnishings. The opening was set into the floor of patterned  wood

panels. If he hadn't been looking for the seam, he would have stepped right

over it. It was cleverly concealed in the design on the wood.

He lowered himself down into the tunnel. It had been clumsily dug, but

it was reinforced well with plastoid tubing. He kept  his  bearings  as  he

wandered through the underground walkways. There were  several  exits.  One

was in the back of the school. One in the clinic. And one opened  out  deep

in the forest, on the other side of the Haariden camp. They were  so  close

that Obi-Wan could clearly see the weariness in one soldier's  face  as  he

leaned over to unroll his bedding on the forest floor.

Obi-Wan returned to the others and beckoned  to  Soara.  He  explained

what he had found.

"Should we evacuate now?" Soara asked, glancing at  Darra.  "We'll  be

taking a great risk if we try to sneak by the Haariden camp."

"Too great a risk, I fear," Obi-Wan said. "If it were just the four of

us, it would be one thing. But we can't count on  the  scientists.  They've

been on the run for weeks. They're worn out. I think we need to  strike  an

offense first. Now. They are settling down to sleep. It's the best time. If

we can knock out their tracking devices and some weaponry, we'll be ahead."

Soara nodded. "You and I must go. We should leave Anakin here in case.

"

Obi-Wan nodded. He was glad Soara didn't  hold  Anakin's  rash  action

during the battle against him.

But when he told his Padawan their plan, Anakin seemed crestfallen  at

not being included in the attack.

Obi-Wan felt exasperated. Anakin's reaction  seemed  that  of  a  boy,

anxious to be in on the action. It wasn't worthy of his Padawan.  "This  is

important," he told him. "You need to protect  the  scientists  and  Darra.

Soara and I won't be long."

"But you might need me," Anakin said. "It's a large patrol."

"We have surprise on our side. No, Padawan. You must remain here."

"I would not fail you this time," Anakin promised.

Obi-Wan saw it then, the hunger on Anakin's face. It was not a  hunger

for action. It was the need to redeem himself.

Obi-Wan spoke gently. "The best thing you can do for Darra  is  remain

here to protect her."

Anakin looked down, struggling to accept  the  order.  "As  you  wish,

Master."

"You must keep your focus, young Padawan," Obi-Wan murmured,  so  that

the others wouldn't overhear. "This is not a judgment on you. This  is  the

best way to proceed."

Anakin nodded, keeping his eyes down. "All right," he muttered.

Obi-Wan hesitated.  Now  he  could  feel  the  shame  behind  Anakin's

questions. His Padawan's feelings ran deep. His shame was filling him  now,

and he thought that only action could relieve it. He was wrong, but Obi-Wan

would need time to explain why this was so.

He knew that his Padawan needed him. Yet he had to  go.  He  struggled

for words to leave behind, but he had none. The only thing left to  do  was

walk away.

CHAPTER FOUR,

Anakin watched his Master walk away from him. There was  no  doubt  or

hesitation in how Obi-Wan moved. Ever. Anakin wanted to  move  through  his

own life with the same assurance. Yet  time  and  again  he  found  himself

confronting miscalculation and error. Time  and  again  he  moved  when  he

shouldn't have moved, said what he shouldn't have said, or turned  when  he

should have stayed still.

It was times like this when his connection to the Force  felt  like  a

burden more than a gift. It pulsed around him so strongly and he could feel

it so easily that he used it to act instead of to strategize.  Obi-Wan  had

told him the Force must be used for caution and control as well as  action.

So far he had not learned that lesson. It was because he did not understand

it. During the battle he had seen which way the blaster fire would come. He

had exactly determined its movement and speed. But he had not  factored  in

the notion that Darra would be moving, too.

If it had been a Temple exercise, it  wouldn't  have  mattered.  Darra

would have perhaps received a bruise at most. She would have landed lightly

on her feet, the way she always did, and turned to him with a quick  retort

and a smile. Instead, she was wounded and in shock.

Nothing had gone right on this planet, Anakin  thought,  almost  angry

now. He felt lost in a dark world, spinning in a system he did not know.

The scientists had rolled themselves into thermal  blankets  and  were

trying to catch a few hours of sleep  in  the  corner.  Through  the  half-

demolished  roof  above,  Anakin  could  see  the  cold  night   sky.   The

constellations were not familiar to him and made him feel even farther away

from home.

He crossed the room and crouched by Darra. Her eyelashes cast  shadows

on her pale cheeks. There was a fine sheen of perspiration on her skin.  He

watched her breathe in and out.

I'm sorry, he spoke in his mind.

He felt a presence by his shoulder.  The  scientist  TicVerdun  looked

down at Darra. "It is hard to see a friend this way, I know."

"Yes," Anakin said. He did not want to discuss his feelings with  this

stranger.

"Yesterday I would have said that Jedi are used to pain and  suffering

and thus can bear it better than we do," Tic  Verdun  continued.  "Today  I

find I would be wrong. You seem to feel it more."

"Not more," Anakin said. "It's just that we put ourselves in  the  way

of danger. It is our path. We  see  one  another's  strength.  We  see  one

another at our best. So we know exactly how much we lose  when  one  of  us

goes down. And we feel... if only we could have been the one to fall."

He felt Tic Verdun's eyes on him. "I saw that you wanted  to  go  with

your Master and Soara Antana. If you wish  to  follow  them,  I  will  take

responsibility for Darra Thel-Tanis and the rest  of  us.  The  others  are

tired. I am still strong."

Anakin was impressed. No wonder Tic Verdun had been the group's scout.

He had great courage.

Anakin shook his head. "I can't go. But thank  you."  He  turned  away

again and sat down next to Darra. He didn't want to be rude, but he  wasn't

in the mood to talk.

But Tic Verdun didn't get the hint. He sat down, too. "The Force,"  he

said. "You have to see how it would be intriguing to a scientist. Something

that cannot be seen, cannot be measured. And it  can  only  be  felt  by  a

select few. Here I am with someone who can feel it and use  it.  I  saw  it

happen just a short while ago. Can you explain how it works to me? Can  you

tell me anything at all?" He added hastily, "Or is it forbidden to speak of

it?"

"It is not forbidden," Anakin said. "But it is not done."

Tic wrapped his arms around his knees. "I see."

Now Anakin was afraid he'd been rude. "It is hard to talk about it. It

is something I can feel around me. Something I can  gather  and  tap  into,

like a deep well. It sustains me and frustrates me - "

"Frustrates you?" Tic's dark eyes were alive, curious.  Anakin  leaned

back against the cold stone wall. He felt very tired. "Sometimes. It is  so

vast..."

"That you feel small." Tic gave a sad smile. "I study  the  galaxy.  I

know how that feels. How simple it is, and yet how intricate  and  complex.

It is all around you and you are at the center of it, yet you  are  nothing

compared to it."

"Yes," Anakin said. Tic had put into words what he had  been  feeling.

No one had ever done that before. Not even  Obi-Wan.  Sometimes  the  Force

made him feel... lonely.

"And you will never truly understand it," Tic added softly,  "yet  you

will spend your life trying. And sometimes you ask yourself,  is  it  worth

it? Is it foolish  of  you  to  devote  yourself  to  trying  to  know  the

unknowable?" He laughed. "All I know is, it can't be wise."

"Wisdom is not what we seek," Anakin said, repeating  a  Jedi  saying.

"Wisdom can only be found."

Tic shook his head, grinning. "Whatever that means. And I thought  the

scientific institute was hard."

When Tic smiled,  Anakin  realized  that  he  was  younger  than  he'd

thought. He wasn't much older than Obi-Wan. Tic had made him  feel  better,

and he didn't think anyone was capable of that.

Suddenly the sound of explosions split the  air.  The  scientists  all

jumped to their feet, fear on their faces. Darra stirred but did not wake.

"What is it?" Reug Yucon whispered the words harshly.

Anakin heard the sound of alarmed voices from the Haariden camp. Soara

and Obi-Wan had begun their attack. Every muscle seemed  to  contract  with

the effort of staying still. He wanted so badly to go.

"Should we leave?" Joveh  D'a  Alin  asked  anxiously.  "We  could  be

trapped here."

"No," Anakin said. "We'll wait here."

Waiting was the hardest thing. Like  him,  the  scientists  wanted  to

move. But they wanted to run from the source of the explosions.  He  wanted

to run toward them.

"We are lucky to  have  you  with  us,"  Tic  said  quietly.  A  small

consolation, Anakin thought. But he'd take it.

CHAPTER FIVE

If any of the Haaridens were trying to grab some sleep, they were  now

disappointed. The patrol troops had been so certain  that  they  were  safe

that they hadn't bothered to post guards. It was easy for Obi-Wan and Soara

to sneak into the camp. The Haaridens  had  left  the  small  arms  jumbled

together in a heap. Soara and Obi-Wan easily jammed the flechette launchers

and the missile tube, and pocketed all the thermal detonators.

Then they tossed a detonator into the brush in order to wake everybody

up. While the Haaridens scrambled for their blasters, the only weapons left

to them, the Jedi stood, waiting.

Before the quickest  Haariden  could  shoot,  Obi-Wan  called,  "Think

first. Surrender is your best option." The Haariden captain spoke  up,  his

blaster leveled at Obi-Wan's chest. "Why should we surrender? We are forty,

and you are only two."

"I can think of one good reason," Obi-Wan said, holding up the thermal

detonators. "We have ten of these. The blast  radius  is  five  meters  for

each. We can toss these accurately and quickly  and  demolish  this  entire

patrol in exactly five seconds."

"You'll blow yourself up," the Haariden captain sneered.

Obi-Wan smiled. "I don't think so."

The next thing the captain knew, Obi-Wan  had  somersaulted  over  his

head and landed on his other side. "Maybe I need to  remind  you,"  Obi-Wan

said. "We are Jedi."

The other  Haariden  soldiers  looked  nervous.  They  glared  at  one

another, then at their captain.

"I'm not inclined to  find  out  if  they  can  do  it,"  one  soldier

muttered.

"Why should we?" another said.

"This isn't even our fight," the first soldier added.  "Why  can't  we

just return to our unit?" another asked.

The captain eyed the thermal detonator in Soara's hand, her thumb over

the release.

"What happens to us?" he asked.

"We have no quarrel with you," Obi-Wan said. "As long as we have  safe

passage to our transport."

The captain paused. Then he slowly lowered his blaster.

Soara and Obi-Wan dropped the thermal detonators back into the pockets

of their tunics.

"What do you mean, it's not your fight?" Soara asked.

"We were paid to split off from our unit and attack you," the  captain

said, wiping a weary hand across his forehead.

Soara and Obi-Wan exchanged a glance. "Who paid you?" Soara asked.

The captain looked evasive. "No one we knew.  I  mean,  not  a  native

Haariden. An outlander."

"His name?"

"He didn't say."

"What did he look like?"

The captain was about to answer, but a blank look came over his  face.

He shook his head several times. "Isn't that strange," he said. "I honestly

don't remember."

A pulse began to beat inside Obi-Wan.  He  gripped  the  hilt  of  his

lightsaber.

"What is he to you?" Soara asked. "I would think you would rather have

the Jedi on your side."

The captain gave a  sad  smile.  "The  Jedi  can't  help  us.  We  are

perfectly capable of destroying ourselves. Yes, he gave me his name. It was

Granta Omega."

The name only confirmed what Obi-Wan had already suspected. He had met

Granta Omega before. Omega had hired a group of bounty hunters to hunt  him

down, as well as Anakin and another Jedi. Obi-Wan had still not  found  out

why. He knew that Omega was not a Sith, but he collected Sith artifacts.

Omega was also a void, a person with enough power to appear so neutral

as to fade from the memory of those who had met him.  He  did  not  have  a

Force-connection, but he had cunning. And for some reason, he despised  the

Jedi.

Obi-Wan was not surprised to run into  Granta  Omega  again.  But  why

here, and why now?

Suddenly the horizon lit up with a dull red glow.

"The battle has resumed," the captain said tiredly. "We should  return

to our unit." He hesitated. "Since you have spared our lives, I  will  also

tell you this - all units have been called to the battle on the other  edge

of the forest. You will have no trouble reaching your transport safely. Our

concerns now lie elsewhere."  He  bowed.  "Captain  Noq  Welflet,  at  your

service."

He looked at the soldiers, who had dropped back to the ground. Some of

them sat, their heads in their hands. Others looked numbly around.

"My soldiers are exhausted," he said. "I took the credits from  Granta

in order to feed and clothe them. I did not want to fight the  Jedi.  I  do

not want to fight at all, actually." He made an attempt  at  a  laugh,  but

began to cough. "My lungs are full of smoke and ashes," he murmured.

"Why do you continue?" Obi-Wan asked.

Captain Welflet's eyes  were  red-rimmed  above  his  straggly  beard.

"Because I must."

Soara raised a hand to  take  in  the  exhausted  patrol,  the  ruined

village, the blackened stumps. "And it's worth all this? Your land  ruined,

your people dead?"

The captain sighed. "I only know there is no alternative."

Obi-Wan and Soara headed back to the others. They were  both  saddened

by their experience on Haariden. There seemed little chance for peace.

They hurried back to the group and told the scientists the good  news.

They should reach the transport without incident.

"And the Haariden patrol?" Anakin asked.

"They've gone back to join the war," Obi-Wan said. "They won't  bother

us." He would tell Anakin about Granta Omega back at the Temple.  Now  they

needed to focus on getting off-planet.

Soara and Obi-Wan fashioned a body sling and tied Darra gently against

Obi-Wan's chest. They hiked to the transport, making good time now. The sky

lightened and a pale sun rose as they reached the ship.

The scientists boarded with weary relief.  Obi-Wan  gently  set  Darra

down on a sleep couch and covered her with a thermal  blanket.  Soara  slid

behind the controls. Obi-Wan contacted the Temple and  said  they  were  on

their way.

They shot up into the upper atmosphere  of  Haariden.  Obi-Wan  looked

down at  the  planet,  glad  to  be  leaving  it.  He  wondered  about  the

disturbance in the Force he had felt since he'd arrived. He had thought  it

was because of the dark side on this planet. There was so  much  death  and

bitterness. But what about his sense of foreboding? Could he  have  somehow

picked up on the fact that Granta Omega was here as well?

The fact that Omega had failed in his attempt to kill the Jedi  didn't

matter. If Darra had not  been  ill,  if  he  hadn't  pledged  to  get  the

scientists to safety, he would have stayed with his Padawan and hunted down

his attacker. Omega had tried to kill Jedi twice. He should be  brought  to

justice.

But Obi-Wan had his duties, and he had to leave. He had made the  same

decision on Ragoon-6. Justice would have to be sought another  time.  Could

it be that Omega only attacked when he knew the Jedi could not retaliate or

pursue him? Did he count on a Jedi's sense of priorities to protect himself

from reprisals?

Obi-Wan turned away from the planet and looked ahead  at  the  galaxy.

The ship shot into hyperspace, and a rush of  stars  seemed  to  crowd  the

windscreen. This time, Obi-Wan vowed, he would get to  the  bottom  of  the

mystery of Granta Omega.

CHAPTER SIX

Obi-Wan accessed the door to  the  Jedi  Temple  Archive  Library  and

stopped in the doorway. Usually it was a pristine space with not a holofile

out of place. Busts of great Jedi Masters lined one wall, and the soft glow

of computer panels created a hushed atmosphere. Today it was in chaos.

Holofiles hung in the air while datasheets littered the usually  empty

counters. Jedi archivist Madame Jocasta Nu stood in the center of the room,

two laser pointers stuck haphazardly in her  gray  wispy  bun.  Her  small,

nimble fingers flicked through one holofile after another.

She looked up at him, irritated. "In or out, young Jedi."

It never failed. Madame Jocasta Nu could make him feel like  a  fifth-

year student. She appeared frail but her authority was unquestionable.

She pulled out a laser pointer and frowned at it, then used it to make

a correction in a file. "Well?"

Obi-Wan stepped inside. "Am I interrupting?"

"Of course you are. Cleaning day. I have to  organize  once  a  month.

Retire old files, organize, send others to deep storage. Not a good day. It

always puts me in a bad mood."

"Ah," Obi-Wan said, "well..."

"Which doesn't mean I'm not available," she said crisply.  "Just  that

you won't get the benefit of my usual good humor."

"Ah," Obi-Wan said again. He had never enjoyed the benefit of  Jocasta

Nu's good humor. Perhaps  he'd  been  at  the  other  end  of  her  private

amusement at his failure to keep up with Senate subcommittee agendas.  That

was the only time he could remember her smiling at him. It  hadn't  been  a

very nice smile.

Jocasta Nu shook her head. "Oh, for star's sake, Master  Kenobi,  stop

repeating yourself. What do you need?"

"Some time ago I asked you to research someone  called  Granta  Omega.

You assembled a file - " "I remember."

"Which I need to review."

She sighed. "Today, I suppose?"

"I'm afraid so."

Jocasta Nu crossed the room and began to access a holofile  directory.

She hummed a tuneless melody while she tapped one finger  on  the  counter.

"Here we go. I can do a fresh search as well, if you like."

"That would be helpful."

She flipped through the file. "Though as I  remember,  this  subject's

problem was decentralization."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Scattered." Her slender fingers wiggled. "Spread out. Diluted."

"I understand what the word means, I just don't - "

"Sorry. One of my own classification terms. Some subjects  are  solid.

You can look them up, research, find out what you need. Some  are  diffuse.

They are spread out so far they almost disappear."  She  hummed  under  her

breath. "This Omega was like that. Enormously wealthy,  but  no  particular

home.  Many   companies   within   companies   within   companies...   many

acquaintances, no friends. His business  interests  are  galaxy-wide."  She

sent the holofile spinning through the air toward Obi-Wan. "You have a file

full of information that tells you nothing."

Just like his physical appearance, Obi-Wan thought, stopping the  file

with a raised hand. The man hid behind a blank wall he created himself.

He looked through the file again. Omega specialized in  ferreting  out

rare minerals and buying the whole source, then raising the price.  He  was

enormously wealthy yet kept his wealth diversified and hidden in any number

of secret accounts. There was no information that either Obi-Wan or Jocasta

Nu had been able to find on his beginnings. They  did  not  know  his  home

planet. He just suddenly appeared, a wealthy man.

Obi-Wan looked through the list of his known homes. There were fifteen

of them spread over the  galaxy.  Tracking  him  down  would  be  extremely

difficult and time-consuming.

He closed the file and sent it back to Jocasta  Nu.  "I  doubt  you'll

find anything, but if you could do a new search.."

She nodded. "I'll get back to you."

Just then Yoda appeared in the doorway.  "Find  you  here,  I  am  not

surprised. It is still Omega you seek?"

Obi-Wan walked out to join him in the hallway. "It seems he is  almost

impossible to find."

"Impossible, nothing is.  Difficult,  many  things  are.  To  you  the

question must be, why search?"

"I have a feeling," Obi-Wan said. "Maybe it is up  to  me  to  prevent

something before it happens. I don't want to wait for disaster to  overtake

me."

Yoda nodded, his gray-blue eyes revealing nothing. "But  an  immediate

threat Omega is not."

"The immediate threat is not always apparent."

"Argue with you I will not," Yoda said. "Your decision, this  is.  But

think I do that you need a better reason to spend time  on  this.  Heard  I

have that your Padawan needs you. Events on Haariden marked him, they have.

"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "He feels responsible for Darra's injury.  She'll

be fine, but she lost her lightsaber. He feels terrible about that.  And  I

was not happy with his actions during the battle."

"Lightsaber skills, important they are," Yoda said.  "How  to  use  as

well as how not to use.  When  to  move  as  well  as  when  not  to  move.

Restraint, your young Padawan needs, as well as direction."

"I've spoken to him," Obi-Wan said. "He listens. Yet I've come to  see

that Anakin really learns by doing. With every mission, he grows."

"Yet sometimes one Knight is not enough  to  teach  a  Padawan,"  Yoda

said. He paused. Obi-Wan knew he had more to say. They moved down the hall,

Yoda's gimer stick tapping as he walked.

Yoda spoke as they reached the lift tube.  "Hear  I  have  that  Soara

Antana will remain at the Temple until Darra is better."

"Yes, she will not leave her."

"Not much she has to do, I think," Yoda said. "Distraction, she needs.

" The lift tube opened and he stepped in. He nodded at Obi-Wan as the doors

slid closed.

Obi-Wan smiled. He saw what Yoda was suggesting. "I think I know a way

to keep her busy," he said to the closed doors.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Anakin sat in the map room. He had  activated  dozens  of  holographic

worlds at once. They swirled around  him  in  their  varied  systems  while

dozens of voices told him facts about their  climate,  geography,  species,

and culture. The voices blended into an indistinguishable babble.

It was an exercise he had invented to calm his mind. He drew the Force

around him to help him concentrate. Then he tried to find the thread of one

voice and follow it. As soon as he had, he would add another. He thought of

the voices as layers in his mind, and he tried to keep track of  what  each

voice was telling him, all at the same time.  It  was  difficult  and  took

tremendous concentration. But all the voices together filled up  the  space

in his head and drowned out his own voice, his own feelings.  So  he  would

not have to think, only concentrate.

Concentration is different from thinking, his  Master  had  told  him.

When you are concentrating hard enough, you shouldn't be thinking at all.

It was here in the map room that he had first understood what  Obi-Wan

had meant.

He was concentrating so intently on  separating  the  voices  that  he

didn't hear Obi-Wan come in. His  Master  could  move  without  making  the

smallest sound, but Anakin wanted to reach the point where he  always  knew

when Obi-Wan entered the room. He wasn't there yet.

Obi-Wan sat down beside him and waited for him to turn.

"A mission?" Anakin asked hopefully.

"No, we are at the Temple for a while," Obi-Wan said. "I haven't  told

you something I discovered on Haariden, something I told the Council about.

That patrol was paid to attack us by Granta Omega."

Anakin felt the nerves inside his body tighten.  He  realized  he  had

been waiting for this. He had wanted to pursue Omega after their experience

on Ragoon-6.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You had enough to think about."

Anakin knew that his Master  meant  his  concern  for  Darra.  He  had

haunted the med clinic until he knew she would fully recover.

"Are we going after him?" Anakin asked.

"Jocasta Nu is helping me do  some  research,"  Obi-Wan  said.  Anakin

realized this wasn't quite an answer. "In the meantime," Obi-Wan continued,

"I have something for you to do."

"I am ready, Master."

"I have arranged a private lightsaber  tutorial  for  you  with  Soara

Antana."

Anakin felt his  heart  fall.  Shame  filled  him.  "Because  of  what

happened on Haariden."

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "There is no blame, Padawan. Yet there are things

you need to learn. Things that I have not been able to teach you."

"There is nothing you can't teach me, Master," Anakin argued. But  the

real reason for Anakin's disquiet was a secret fear that Obi-Wan planned to

leave him behind while he went after Granta Omega.  Obi-Wan  would  do  the

real work while he remained behind like a schoolboy, taking lessons.

"This is not your decision, Padawan." Obi-Wan's tone was sharp.  "This

is a great honor for you. Soara rarely takes individual students. She would

not agree if she didn't think you had great potential."

Anakin fought with his feelings. He did not want  to  confess  to  his

Master that he was afraid Obi-Wan would leave him. "Yes, Master."

The stern lines of Obi-Wan's face relaxed into  a  smile  at  Anakin's

obedient tone. "You might have fun."

Anakin looked at him with such disbelief that Obi-Wan's  smile  turned

into a laugh.

Later that afternoon, Anakin tucked the training lightsaber  into  his

belt with distaste. He felt like a young student again.  He  found  himself

tugging at his tunic to straighten it before walking into the practice area

to meet Soara. Quickly he rumpled it again. He wasn't a student any longer.

He was a Padawan Learner.

Soara didn't notice his rumpled tunic or his lack of  enthusiasm.  She

nodded shortly at him. "Let's go."

"Go?" Anakin was puzzled. Lightsaber training had always  taken  place

in the practice room.

She lifted a corner of her mouth in a  small  smile.  "Do  you  expect

there to be a practice room to fight in on missions?"

Anakin grinned. "I guess not." Maybe he would enjoy this after all.

Soara took him to the  landing  platform,  where  he  jumped  into  an

airspeeder next to her. Her piloting was as aggressive and graceful as  her

battle form. She took him to a part of  Coruscant  he'd  never  visited,  a

hundred levels or so below the Temple. Here, an entire quarter of the  city

was being knocked down in order to build new construction.  Half-demolished

buildings were surrounded by blocks  of  duracrete,  bundles  of  durasteel

cables, and towers of polished stone blocks.

Soara parked the speeder and slid out. Anakin jumped out after her and

looked around. The work had stopped for the day. The buildings  threw  deep

jagged shadows over the walkways. There had once been an  attempt  to  keep

the walkways clean of debris, but the sweeping had been half completed  and

footing was treacherous. He waited to see what Soara would do.

Soara did nothing. She picked her way over to a building and looked up

at the frame being erected. "Housing," she said.  "Coruscant  always  needs

more housing. Amazing that people keep immigrating here. Do you  know  that

building is the biggest industry on Coruscant?"

Was he here for an economics lesson? "I didn't know."

He tilted his head back to follow her gaze,  following  the  durasteel

frame of the building. Suddenly a shadow off  to  his  left  moved,  and  a

figure leaped through the air toward him. Anakin saw a blaze of  orange.  A

lightsaber!

He just had time to jump back and fumble for his  training  lightsaber

as he felt the sting of the blow against his forearm.

"Got ya," Tru Veld said, grinning. His friend had come at him from the

high steel doorway behind him. He bounced back on  his  flexible  legs  and

saluted Anakin with a lightsaber flourish. He, too, was  using  a  training

lightsaber - able to defend, but not to harm.

Confused, Anakin glanced at Soara, his lightsaber in his hand.

"Do you expect your attacker to announce himself?" she asked.

Tru came toward him  again.  Anakin  somersaulted  backward  and  then

twisted to come at Tru from the left. He sliced the hem of Tru's tunic.

"Missed me," Tru said, dancing backward. His silver eyes  gleamed.  He

was having fun.

Anakin reversed. His lightsaber hit  Tru's.  Smoke  rose,  and  Anakin

almost stumbled when Tru ducked and rushed at him, surprising him.

Tru might be having fun, but he was serious.

Anakin had barely missed being stung by Tru's  blow.  He  emptied  his

mind of his surprise at Tru's appearance. He had to concentrate in order to

gather in what he thought of as his battle mind. His attention expanded  to

include everything around him. And yet his focus was now entirely  on  Tru.

Everything he knew about Tru clicked in and  became  information  he  could

use.

Tru was a Teevan, and thus his limbs were more flexible than Anakin's.

Tru never played a game he wasn't certain he would win.

Tru's left hand was stronger than his right.

Tru liked to choose the rhythm of the battle.

Anakin  moved  to  confuse  and  unsettle  his   friend.   He   fought

aggressively, then stepped back to lure Tru forward. He landed  a  blow  on

Tru's arm.

Normally, a Jedi Master would announce points when blows were  struck.

The winning blow would be to the neck. Soara  did  not.  He  knew  she  was

watching, but he tried not to think about it. Still, he felt her  circling,

watching them from every angle.

Anakin used the ground. While he moved, he noticed  everything  -  the

cables, the blocks  of  stone,  the  tiniest  pebble  on  the  ground,  the

hydrospanner abandoned on the top of a block of duracrete. Someone's  lunch

bucket left on a  grassy  area  by  the  walkway.  He  drove  Tru  steadily

backward. Tru suddenly leaped high above and grabbed a pole with  only  his

legs. On his backward swing, he struck out at Anakin.

It was a surprising move, and Anakin  hadn't  expected  it.  His  eyes

gleamed as he leaped to avoid Tru. Tru swung around the  pole  twice  while

Anakin dodged, wedged between a half-built wall and a deep pit. He  slashed

at Tru, who suddenly leaped off the pole and landed behind Anakin.

Perfect. Anakin whirled and drove Tru back onto the grass. Tru's  foot

hit the lunch bucket and he stumbled. His lightsaber was in his  left  hand

from his twirl around the pole, and Anakin saw it wobble.

It was time for Anakin to move in with the killing blow, the sting  of

the training lightsaber. All he had to do  was  step  forward  and  lightly

touch Tru's neck.

But he hated to win the battle based on a  moment  of  awkwardness  on

Tru's part, even if he himself had engineered it. He  would  embarrass  his

friend in front of Soara Antana. Instead, he  hesitated  a  fraction  of  a

second, long enough for Tru to regain some  sense  of  balance.  Then  they

fought on.

The moon was rising and they were both drenched in  sweat  when  Soara

called a halt. "Let's call it a draw." Anakin slipped the  lightsaber  into

his belt, satisfied. He knew he had fought well. Tru brought out  the  best

in him.

"You can go, Tru," Soara said. "Thank you."

Tru grinned at Anakin. "Good fight. See you back at the Temple."

Soara did not move. Anakin stood, breathing heavily, waiting  for  her

critique. He knew a few places where he could have fought better. She would

not say anything that would surprise him.

"I called it a draw, but you lost," Soara said. "And you lost  in  the

worst sort of way."

Anakin looked at her with new attention, surprised. "What?"

"If you want to become great, you must fight without  emotion,"  Soara

said. "You obviously have not learned this. You must fight  without  anger,

without fear, without rage. Without ego."

"Without ego? But - "

"No buts. Listen. On Haariden, you made the same mistake. Because  you

know Darra, you rushed in to protect her.  Today  you  protected  Tru.  You

think you are doing this as a mark of friendship. But you're  really  doing

it to boost your own ego."

"My own ego?" Anakin was astonished.

Soara crossed her arms. "You know, Anakin, things will go a lot faster

if you don't repeat everything I say. Yes, your own ego. You think you're a

better fighter than your friends. You think you're faster.  You  think  you

need to go easy on them. Let me tell you something. You're not better. As a

matter of fact, you're a good deal worse."

The words stung. Anakin felt his face grow hot. The evening  wind  was

cool and drying his sweat.

Soara whirled and kicked backward at his hand. He did  not  even  feel

the blow, but his lightsaber was suddenly shooting  out  of  his  hand  and

clattering to the stone pavement.

"And another thing," she said. "Never let down your guard."

Anakin picked up the hilt of the lightsaber and stuck it in his  belt.

He vowed to himself that Soara Antana would not take him by surprise again.

He would use what she gave him. He would absorb  her  hard  words  and  her

lessons. By the end of this tutorial, he would  change  her  opinion  about

him. He would be the best Padawan she'd ever taught.

He slipped into the med clinic. The light tubes were powered down to a

soft glow. He walked as quietly as he could to  the  side  of  Darra's  med

couch. She looked  small  and  helpless,  still  hooked  up  to  monitoring

machines. Her eyes were closed.

Her mouth curved into a  smile.  "Hello,  Anakin,"  she  said  without

opening her eyes.

"I came to say good night. Are you feeling better?" "Yes.  Much."  She

opened her eyes and glanced at him. "Better than  you  look,  anyway.  What

have you been doing?"

"A private tutorial with your Master."

She gave a sympathetic groan. "Ooh. Sorry."

He crouched down so that they were at eye level. "She's very tough."

"The toughest."

"But I can learn."

"If you listen. She'll  push  you  hard,  and  then  she'll  tell  you

something strange, something you don't want to understand. That's what  she

wants. The more tired you are, the emptier you are. That's when she  really

starts to work."

"Lucky me," Anakin said with a grimace. "Look, I'm  sorry  about  what

happened on Haariden. She told me it was my ego. She was right."

"It's okay," Darra said. "Now I have something to impress the  younger

kids with. I was wounded in battle."

"I'm here to make you a promise," Anakin said.

"Don't," Darra said, rising on her elbows. "I know what  you're  going

to say, and you  can't  promise  such  a  thing.  Besides,  I  can  get  my

lightsaber back myself."

"But I'm the reason you lost it."

"I'm the reason I lost it,"  Darra  said  firmly.  "I'm  the  one  who

dropped it. Did you ever think it was your ego that wants to get it  back?"

Suddenly she slumped against the pillow. "Do me a favor. Don't  argue  with

me. I'm too tired."

Anakin saw the exhaustion in her face she had tried to hide. "Is there

anything I can do for you? Would you like some juice, or some food, or some

music?" Darra's eyelids fluttered closed. "Just one thing," she said. "Stay

with me until I fall asleep. It's lonely here."

"I will." Anakin shifted his weight so that  he  was  sitting  on  the

floor. He leaned against the sleep couch next to  her  head.  He  knew  she

could feel the pressure of his body, and that would make her feel safe.  He

sat there until her breathing slowed and he knew she was asleep.

"I promise you, Darra," he whispered. "I will return  your  lightsaber

to you. It is not my ego. It is my promise."

CHAPTER EIGHT

Obi-Wan hurried into the library. It had been restored  to  its  usual

pristine state. Jocasta Nu was at a datascreen, working.

"What is it?" she asked, looking up for a moment and then back down at

her screen.

"You sent for me," Obi-Wan said.

"Right." Jocasta clicked off the screen. "I have  good  news  and  bad

news. Good news - I  found  out  Granta  Omega's  listed  birthplace.  It's

Coruscant."

"Coruscant?" Obi-Wan grew excited. That meant he could  investigate  a

good deal of Omega's background  without  leaving  the  planet.  A  being's

records were always stored on his or her home  planet,  and  Coruscant  was

especially careful about storing every scrap of information. Thousands were

employed in record-keeping.

Then he remembered Jocasta had said there was bad news as well. "And?"

"I can find no record of his birth. Nothing. And you know Coruscant is

very organized about these things. So either he lied and was born somewhere

else, or he lives under an assumed name."

"In other words, we know nothing more," Obi-Wan said, sinking down  in

a chair. "Every time I think I have a lead, it disappears.  I'm  left  with

nothing."

Suddenly holofiles began to zoom from Jocasta's fingers toward him.

"What is this?" Obi-Wan said.

"You say you have nothing  on  Omega,"  she  said.  "I'm  showing  you

differently."

"But I've already seen these. They don't say anything!" "They say many

things,"  Jocasta  said,  exasperated.  "You  just  can't  put  the  pieces

together."

Obi-Wan almost smiled. Jocasta reminded him of Qui-Gon. What would his

Master say if he were here? Qui-Gon had always been better at research,  at

putting pieces together. He was always able to connect the dry  facts  with

the living person. That would lead him to motives and reasons, and soon  he

would have a picture of what he was looking for.

What is the emotion here? he would say. What does this being want more

than anything? What does he need?

How am 1 supposed to know that, Qui-Gon?

"Start with what you know for sure," Obi-Wan suddenly blurted. "That's

what Qui-Gon always said." Jocasta sniffed. "Exactly."

"I know he has a vendetta against the Jedi," Obi-Wan said.  "He  hates

us. I know he was on Haariden." Obi-Wan straightened. "I  know  he  was  on

Haariden!" he repeated. "And it couldn't have been because  the  Jedi  were

there. It would have been impossible for him to plan the attack beforehand.

"

"Not  impossible,"  Jocasta  corrected.  "There  is  little  that   is

impossible."

Now she sounded like Yoda. "But  we  received  the  summons  and  left

within one hour," Obi-Wan said. "Improbable, then. No, I think  he  was  on

Haariden for another reason. When he discovered the Jedi were there, he saw

a way to make trouble for us." He began  to  search  randomly  through  the

holofiles. "He made his fortune by buying up minerals on  different  worlds

and creating shortages," he said. "We know that, too."

"Let me get the file on Haariden," Jocasta said. Her eyes were  alight

with interest now. She quickly accessed a file and began  to  flip  through

it. "Interesting. Do you know why the two factions on  Haariden  have  been

fighting this time?"

"Land disputes," Obi-Wan said." Yes, but this isn't  about  territory.

It's about what is underneath the land. Traces of titanite have been found.

" "Titanite? I don't think I know it."

"That's because it's extremely rare," Jocasta said.  "Not  only  that,

it's very hard to mine. It's usually buried so deep near the core  that  it

costs more to extract it than it is worth."

"What is it used for?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Until recently, not much," Jocasta said. "But in the last  couple  of

years, it's been discovered that when titanite is synthesized, a  substance

is extracted that is one of the essential ingredients of bacta."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Bacta." He began to flip through the files in

front of him. "Here it is. One of Omega's vast  land  holdings  is  on  the

planet Thyferra. That's the only place where the alazhi plant grows. Alazhi

lotion is the main ingredient in bacta."

"So if he had alazhi lotion  and  the  titanite  substance.....Jocasta

said, her voice trailing off. Obi-Wan and Jocasta stared at each  other  as

the conclusion struck them.

"He could corner the galactic market on bacta," Obi-Wan said.

"This is getting very interesting," Jocasta murmured.  "When  was  the

titanite found on Haariden?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Only a few months ago," Jocasta said. "That's why the fighting  began

again. It's also one  of  the  reasons  the  scientists  were  sent  there.

Haariden was included on the mapping expedition for precisely that  reason.

The Senate felt that if it had a complete picture  of  where  the  titanite

deposits were, it could persuade the two sides to come to an agreement."

"Did the scientists make a final report?"

"Yes, but it was inconclusive. They couldn't conduct  the  tests  they

needed to because the fighting moved too close."

"Maybe Omega wanted that to happen," Obi-Wan said.  "Maybe  he  didn't

want the report to get back to the Senate."

"He would need to make his own tests, then," Jocasta said. "He'd  need

to have his own scientific team. That would be a hard thing to keep  secret

on Haariden."

"Maybe he didn't need a team," Obi-Wan said. "Maybe  he  could  do  it

himself." He waved at the holofiles surrounding them. "Think about it. Look

at what he's done over the years. Look at the fact that he  doesn't  employ

many people at all. It would have been impossible for Omega  to  have  done

what he did in his career without some serious scientific knowledge.  Which

means," he said, turning to Jocasta excitedly, "he would have to  have  had

some serious study. Can you search the records  of  the  finest  scientific

institutes in the galaxy?"

Jocasta raised an eyebrow. "All of them?"

Obi-Wan nodded.

"I'll start with the Core Worlds," she said with a sigh. "Maybe  we'll

get lucky."

Obi-Wan was sipping a cup of tea in the Room of a  Thousand  Fountains

and trying to calm his mind when his comlink signaled. It was Jocasta.

"He attended the All Science Research Academy on Yerphonia," she said.

"Can we contact them?" Obi-Wan asked eagerly.

"I already have. He was granted his degree only seven  years  ago.  He

was a star student. His home world is a small moon called Nierport Seven."

Obi-Wan knew  the  place.  It  was  less  than  a  day's  travel  from

Coruscant.

Within an hour, he was on his way.

CHAPTER NINE

"Again," Soara said.

Anakin ran at the wall again. He no longer knew how many times he  had

done so. Fifty? Seventy?  Two  hundred,  five  hundred?  His  brain  didn't

register numbers. There was just him and the wall.

He ran up the wall, flipped  over  into  a  backward  somersault,  and

landed on his feet again. It was a basic Temple exercise. He'd  learned  it

when he was nine. But with Soara he was discovering that it was a much more

complex maneuver than he'd imagined. Apparently his shoulders  were  wrong.

His landing was too hard. And the whole thing took  too  long  for  him  to

accomplish.

"Stop." Soara's voice cut through him like the cold wind  that  howled

down the deserted alley straight  to  the  secluded  lot  where  they  were

training. The building in front of him was sheer  durasteel,  slippery  now

with morning dew. The sun was just rising.

"Close your eyes," Soara said.

Anakin closed his eyes.

"Get rid of that impatience," Soara said. "Now." Anakin tried to obey.

"Nothing is solid," Soara said. "The hardest wall is just a connection

of particles. Find the spaces between the  particles,  and  the  wall  will

yield. It will push you off. Listen to the wall and hear the  wind  through

the gaps."

Listen to the wall? Anakin felt his impatience rise again.

He remembered Darra's words. She'll push you  hard,  and  then  she'll

tell you something strange, something you don't want to understand.  That's

what she wants. The more tired you are, the emptier you  are.  That's  when

she really starts to work.

He listened to the wall. And then the sound of the  wind  changed.  He

heard the howl of it, but he also heard the whisper. He  heard  it  stir  a

piece of trash on the street, disturb  a  pebble.  And  then  he  heard  it

whistle softly through the gaps. Nothing felt solid. Not the  ground  under

his feet, not the buildings around him.

He felt the Force move, even though he hadn't summoned it. He saw  the

wall in his mind, and this time, it shimmered. It wasn't a solid thing.  It

would yield to him

He ran at the wall. He ran easily, as if it were the  first  time.  He

felt the wall give against his boots. He pushed off  and  the  wall  sprang

against him, helping him propel. He somersaulted and flew backward, landing

lightly, gracefully, his lightsaber held at the ready.

He blinked. He had fought with the help of the Force before. But never

like that.

He looked at Soara, amazed.

She didn't smile or nod or show by even a flicker of an  eyelash  that

she was pleased. But she didn't correct  him,  and  that  meant  something.

Anakin made sure his own pleasure didn't show on his face.

"That's enough for today," she said crisply.

Anakin deactivated his lightsaber. For the first time, he felt that he

had glimpsed a future  in  which  his  connection  to  the  Force  and  his

lightsaber skills would be so meshed that he would truly  be  the  best  he

could be. He could also see how far he was from that goal,  but  it  didn't

bother him as it would have the day before. He would get there.

They had walked to the training site, and Soara had already  left  for

the Temple. She rarely said good-bye. Anakin looked down at his  tunic  and

made a face. There was a ragged tear down the side, and it was stained with

sweat and filth. He had already gone through five tunics since  he'd  begun

training with Soara.

He started to trudge toward the lift tube that would bring him to  the

Senatorial level. From there he could take a series of connecting  walkways

to the Temple. It would be good to walk and see the morning  bustle  begin.

He felt as though he had been facing nothing but a blank wall for hours.

Anakin grinned. He had.

Soara seemed to know every  hidden  corner  of  the  seamier  side  of

Coruscant. Over the past few days he'd climbed over junk heaps and  through

half-demolished buildings, crawled  through  tunnels,  and  even  fought  a

battle with training droids in an airspeeder garage. He'd fallen into a vat

of oil. That was a lesson he wouldn't forget.

Anakin zoomed up on the turbolift with a crowd of workers. At least he

was too tired to dwell on his disappointment  that  Obi-Wan  had  left  for

Nierport Seven without him. His Master had assured him that  he  was  going

only for research purposes. When and if Obi-Wan decided  to  pursue  Granta

Omega, he would bring his Padawan with him. Obi-Wan had promised that.

Yet Anakin knew that Obi-Wan might  run  into  surprises  on  Nierport

Seven. He might find a clue he had to pursue immediately. He might not have

time to send for Anakin. He could be left behind after all.

There was nothing he could do about it, however. The  turbolift  doors

opened and Anakin stepped out, carried along with the crowd for a few steps

until he broke away. The sun was rising now, the pink rays flashing on  the

cruisers in the space lanes and the buildings surrounding him.

He chose the least crowded walkway, the one that would bring him  down

the center of the fountains that lined one quadrant of the Senate  complex.

The coolness of the water freshened the air. He felt the droplets  hit  his

skin. His weariness lifted, and he began to think about  the  morning  meal

ahead of him at the Temple.

A man sat on the edge of the fountain,  his  face  lifted  toward  the

spray. Then he turned and saw Anakin and waved.

For a moment, Anakin couldn't place him. Then he realized it  was  Tic

Verdun, one of the scientists from Haariden. Verdun was now  dressed  in  a

cloak made of deep blue veda cloth. He looked completely different from the

weary scientist he had met on Haariden.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Tic said, hurrying toward Anakin.  "At  this

exact moment I was thinking of you. I didn't want to be forward, but I  was

wishing I could go to the Temple and inquire about the young girl."

"Darra will be fine,"  Anakin  said.  "The  blaster  bolts  carried  a

chemical compound, but the medics were able to find the antidote."

"That's good news," Tic said warmly. "I will see  the  others  at  the

hearing, and they'll be happy to hear it, too. We've  submitted  our  final

report and now we have to answer questions from the committee." He  sighed.

"Too bad the expedition ended badly. We didn't get to do the experiments on

Haariden that we hoped. We could have put a stop to that bloody  civil  war

if we had."

"How?" Anakin asked.

"The two tribes are fighting over  possible  titanite  deposits,"  Tic

explained. "If we had found exactly where the titanite  was  and  how  much

there was, the Senate might have been able to come up with a plan to divide

it equally. Instead, the two tribes are fighting over something that  might

not even exist."

"That's too bad," Anakin said.

Tic nodded, discouraged. "The worst part of it is, there  was  another

scientist on Haariden who was also conducting experiments. If we could talk

to him, maybe he had found out more. But nobody can seem to locate him."

"Another scientist? Who?" Anakin asked.

"Granta Omega," Tic Verdun said. "We ran into him on Haariden."

"You mean you know him?" Anakin asked, amazed.

Tic nodded. "Not well. But I've met him several times." He  noted  the

interest on Anakin's face. "Why do you ask?"

"Because we're looking for him," Anakin said. "The Jedi would like  to

talk to him, too."

"Popular fellow." Tic frowned. "You know, I'm here on Coruscant with a

group of friends. Some of them are scientists, some involved  in  business.

We're having a kind of reunion. Most of them know Omega,  too.  Or  they've

met him, at least. Maybe if we put our heads together,  we  could  come  up

with a lead for you. There's a chance we could know things you don't know."

"That wouldn't be hard," Anakin said ruefully. "We don't know much."

"I'll talk to them and see if I can come up with anything," Tic  said.

"They would be happy to help the Jedi, I am sure."

Anakin agreed enthusiastically. He said good-bye to  Tic  and  hurried

toward the Temple. He wouldn't contact Obi-Wan about this, he decided.  Not

yet. First he would compile information.

Wouldn't it be amazing if he were to be the one to find Granta Omega?

CHAPTER TEN

Nierport Seven was within the Core, but its desolation  reminded  Obi-

Wan of an Outer Rim planet. It was a cold, barren moon with only one  small

settlement. Nierport's meager vegetation appeared to be a  wild  bush  with

red thorns well over a meter long. It was  said  the  bushes  bloomed  with

beautiful violet flowers in the summer, but the summer only lasted a month.

The rest of the year was numbingly cold and bleak. The buildings were built

with thick blocks of stone designed to keep out the cold wind.

Nierport Seven was one of seven moons  in  a  small  system  that  was

notable only because it was a convenient  refueling  stop  on  the  way  to

Coruscant. Most of the intragalactic  travelers  chose  to  refuel  on  the

planet Eeropha, which at least had several small cities. But Nierport Seven

was able  to  support  a  refueling  stop  of  its  own  and  a  few  small

guesthouses, all serving the  kind  of  pilots  who  could  not  afford  to

scrounge up even the low prices Eeropha charged.

At least the moon was small, Obi-Wan told himself. The population  was

clustered around the refueling station. It did not take him long to  locate

several people who had known Granta Omega.

That was the good news. The bad news was that no one  knew  very  much

about him.

There was only one caf© on Nierport Seven, and  it  was  next  to  the

refueling station. The caf© was called Food and Drink, and the owner turned

out to be as cut and dry as the title of his establishment.

"Never knew him personally. Heard of him. He left." That was  all  the

owner had to say.

"Is there anyone else who would know him?" Obi-Wan asked. "Anybody who

still lives here? He left seven years ago."

"Most folks leave in three years," the owner  said.  "Can't  take  any

more."

Obi-Wan waited. He had learned this from Qui-Gon.  Most  beings  would

come up with additional information if you just stayed quiet.

"Might try that trio in the corner," the owner said gruffly.  "They've

stuck around. They were born here and they'll die here."

The three natives of Nierport sat around the table. They were  wearing

grease-stained clothes that told Obi-Wan they had just finished a shift  at

the refueling station.

Obi-Wan nodded a hello. They looked at him warily. "Jedi?" one of them

said. "Never seen your kind here."

Obi-Wan eyed their empty glasses. "Anyone for a refill?"

Their empty glasses were pushed away and they looked at him hopefully.

Obi-Wan signaled for another round. "And I'll have the same," he  told  the

bartender.

The drinks arrived. They clinked the smeared glasses.

Obi-Wan peered at the red liquid. "What is this?"

"Claing juice," one of the men said. "It's native to  the  system.  We

extract the juice from the thorns of the native bush."

Obi-Wan took a small sip. The juice seared his  lips  and  tongue  and

then burned like blazing fire going down. He managed not to cough, but  his

eyes streamed tears.

The three men laughed uproariously.

"Claing can even bring a Jedi to his knees," one of them chortled.

"I'll say," Obi-Wan choked out.

His streaming eyes and burning throat were worth it. He had  passed  a

test. The trio decided to befriend him. He asked about  Granta  Omega,  and

they nodded.

"He was a boy when he left," one said. "Went  to  study  somewhere,  I

think. His mother Tura died two years later. He never came back to see her.

"

"Not even for the funeral," someone else said. "What about his father?

" Obi-Wan asked.

"Never knew him," the first man said. "Tura Omega showed up  one  day,

got a job at the refueling station, had  this  three-year-old  boy.  Nobody

asks questions on Nierport Seven."

"Except for Jedi," another  one  said,  and  this  caused  them  great

amusement.

"I could show you his house," the first man  offered.  He  licked  his

lips. "I could use another claing, though." "I'll buy you  one  afterward,"

Obi-Wan said.

They walked out into the numbing cold. The  ground  was  brittle  with

frost. They walked through the main street and then turned down  a  smaller

road. It wasn't far to the outskirts of the settlement. The man pointed  to

a small house. It looked no different from the others. It  was  built  with

rounded walls and seemed to hunch against the wind.

"That there is his house. A space  pilot  owns  it  now.  Uses  it  on

stopovers. Lots of pilots do that here. It's cheap and convenient."

Obi-Wan peered into the window. The house was empty except for a stove

and a bedroll. The room was small and low-ceilinged. Even with furniture it

would look bleak. There was nothing to  see  here.  There  was  nothing  to

learn. It was typical of his search for Granta Omega.

"You said his mother worked at the refueling station?" Obi-Wan  asked.

"Did she have a good job?"

The man laughed. "If you call hauling lubricant hoses around  all  day

for no money a good job."

"So how did she manage to send her son to study  off-planet?"  Obi-Wan

wondered.

"She had  nothing  to  do  with  it,"  the  man  said.  "The  boy  had

brilliance. Everybody knew that. She found him a  sponsor  on  Eeropha.  He

sent him to a scientific institute."

"Do you know who the sponsor was?" Obi-Wan asked. "Does he still  live

on Eeropha?"

"He lives on Coruscant now. Big fancy person  now.  He's  the  Senator

from Eeropha. Name is Sano Sauro," the man said.

Obi-Wan felt a chill. He knew Sano Sauro. He was  once  a  prosecutor.

Ten years before, Obi-Wan had to undergo an  investigation  into  a  fellow

Padawan's death.

Sauro had grilled him mercilessly about Bruck Chun's fall.

Obi-Wan had since found peace  about  Bruck's  death,  but  he  wasn't

looking forward to meeting up with Sauro again.

He pressed some credits in  the  man's  hand.  "Thank  you.  Buy  your

friends another claing."

The man grinned. "Sure you don't want to join us?"

Obi-Wan winced. "I don't think I'd survive."

The man took off. Obi-Wan looked down  the  street,  then  across  the

frozen wasteland. He could understand a boy wanting to leave this place. He

could understand how poverty might mark him. But why  Granta  Omega  wished

harm on the Jedi, he still didn't know. He had a feeling that if he  solved

that mystery, he would find the man.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Anakin had expected that after  his  breakthrough  his  next  practice

session with Soara would bring him to the next level. Instead, she had  him

do more simple drills. At least this time he did  not  have  to  leave  the

Temple.

He had to activate his lightsaber from different positions, again  and

again. He had to practice a midair thrust. He  had  to  practice  a  double

reversal. He had to practice moves he had done a thousand times before.

Not  once  did  Soara  mention  the  spaces  between   particles,   or

concentration, or the Force. She just  repeated,  "Again,"  over  and  over

until he thought he would break his lightsaber hilt in two.

And then the session was finished. Anakin leaned over, trying to catch

his breath. Disappointment swelled in him and he felt  as  though  he  were

choking on it.

After getting a glimpse of the fighter he could be, he was reduced  to

being a student again.

He slammed his training lightsaber back in his belt.  What  he  needed

was something to eat and a fresh tunic. He took the long way  back  to  his

quarters in order to compose himself.

The illumination banks were mimicking dusk as he passed by  the  lake.

The green water looked inviting. The splash of the waterfall  in  the  deep

pool was tinted pink. He thought about taking a quick swim, but he was  too

hungry. Soara had kept him a long time, and he had missed the midday  meal.

He had a feeling she had kept him deliberately.  She  wanted  him  to  feel

hungry and empty. She wanted to see how far he could push himself. He hoped

he had passed the test.

Then he realized that his test was yet to come.

He was tired. So tired that he almost missed the blur at the corner of

his vision. A lightsaber had been activated and someone hurled at him  from

a tree branch above. It was another one of Soara's sudden attacks. She  had

enlisted another Padawan to surprise him

Anakin forgot his fatigue and jumped back just in time. To his dismay,

he saw that his attacker was Ferus Olin.

If only it had been anyone else! Anakin didn't like to see Ferus under

the best of circumstances. He certainly didn't want to fight  him  when  he

was tired and hungry.

Soara appeared on top of the waterfall where she could watch. He  knew

he had no choice. As Ferus came  at  him  with  a  somersaulting  reversal,

Anakin kicked into fight mode. She had sent the best Padawan fighter in the

Temple against him. She wanted to see what he would do.

He would win.

What Soara could not know was that this  time,  friendship  would  not

gentle him. Not with Ferus.

Ferus was starting out slowly. He would fight smart. He would save his

energy and pace himself. Anakin decided to surprise him.

He launched an assault so fierce that he saw Ferus's eyes  flare  with

astonishment. Ferus retreated fast, needing to collect himself. Anakin came

after him, swinging  his  training  lightsaber  without  pause.  He  almost

touched him, but Ferus twisted away just in time, turning the movement into

a twisting leap.  He  surprised  Anakin  by  immediately  swinging  back  a

backward blow. Anakin ducked, feeling the whistle of  air  created  by  the

power of Ferus's swipe.

Ferus was tall and solid, but he was also  agile.  He  was  expert  at

using the ground.

Unlike Tru, he used both hands equally well.  The  rocky  terrain  was

perfect for his style.

He jumped, spun, and leaped, keeping Anakin  off  guard.  Now  he  was

driving the battle. Anakin did not know how Ferus had  regained  the  upper

hand, but he wasn't happy about  it.  He  was  reacting  to  Ferus's  moves

instead of the other way around. What was Soara thinking?

Anakin feinted to his left and then  leaped  straight  ahead.  To  his

dismay, Ferus dropped to the  floor  and  rolled  underneath  Anakin,  then

sprang up in one smooth movement. He was behind him now. Anakin had only  a

split second before he felt the touch of the lightsaber on his shoulder. It

only just missed his neck. When he  twisted  away,  he  saw  the  gleam  of

triumph in Ferus's eyes.

Fury roared through him. Ferus wanted to humiliate  him  in  front  of

Soara!

He did something Ferus would never expect him to do. He copied Ferus's

move, dropping to his knees and rolling underneath him as he made his  next

leap. He flipped up onto his feet and then charged at the rock wall.

The Force entered him. He felt it. He saw the rock wall as a  shifting

shape, ready to receive him. He sprang  off  the  wall  and  straight  over

Ferus's head. It seemed the easiest thing in the galaxy to simply lean down

and touch the side of Ferus's neck with his lightsaber.

He landed and looked up. Soara  had  seen  everything.  He  had  never

fought so well.

She called down from the cliff, "Thank you, Ferus. Stay there, Anakin.

"

"Good fight," Ferus said, sticking  the  training  lightsaber  in  his

belt. "Except for one thing."

"What one thing?" Anakin asked, irritated. He wiped the sweat off  his

forehead with his sleeve.

Ferus only smiled. Then he walked off.

Anakin jammed the lightsaber hilt into his belt. No one could  get  to

him like Ferus could.

Soara walked toward him. "That was your last lesson," she said.

Anakin was surprised and pleased. She must have seen how seamlessly he

had connected with the Force.

"Before this, I had been impressed with your gifts,"  Soara  said.  "I

had thought you had the potential to be one of the great Jedi  fighters  of

all time. I thought I could teach you. Now I have grave doubts  about  you,

Anakin."

Anakin couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What did I do wrong?"

"That question is the problem," Soara said, shaking her head. "That is

what is wrong. You don't know what you did. Didn't  you  feel  your  anger,

Anakin? Didn't you realize it was fueling the battle?"

"Obi-Wan told you that Ferus and I do  not  get  along,"  Anakin  said

sullenly.

"Obi-Wan didn't need to tell me," Soara snapped. "I saw it.  Not  from

Ferus. From you."

"He wanted to win," Anakin said. "I saw triumph in his  eyes  when  he

surprised me."

"And it made you angry." Soara sighed. "Ferus did not fight  from  his

emotion, Anakin. If you saw triumph in his eyes, he absorbed  it  and  went

on. That is the lesson you must learn. You will feel the emotion. You  must

let it go."

To his surprise, she suddenly strode forward and grabbed  him  by  the

shoulders. "You must do this, Anakin. You must learn this lesson. It is the

most important one of all."

He didn't know what to say. He could promise her that he  would  learn

it, but his promise would mean nothing. He knew that as  a  Jedi  only  his

actions would convince her.

"Thank you for the time you devoted to teaching me," he said.

She dropped her hands. Now sadness was in her eyes. That was the worst

thing of all. "Go get something to eat."

Soara left, heading for the turbolift. Anakin walked over to the lake.

He knelt by the deep pool created by the waterfall. He ducked his head into

the cold water and came up spraying droplets that shined like  bright  gems

in the light created by the illumination banks overhead.

He would not let this bother him, he told  himself  fiercely.  He  had

made a mistake. Soara should have understood that. He was a Padawan, not  a

Jedi. Of course he would make mistakes. It wasn't fair.

She said she had her doubts that he would make a great Jedi.  Yet  she

had seen the potential for it. He would surprise  her.  He  would  surprise

them all.

He rose and headed away from the lake. He would  start  by  surprising

Obi-Wan. Thanks to Tic Verdun, he would locate Granta Omega.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Upon his return to Coruscant, Obi-Wan didn't stop at the  Temple,  but

went right to the Senate. He paused  inside  the  massive  grand  hall  and

accessed the directional system. He entered Sano Sauro's  name  and  a  map

instantly appeared, highlighting the quickest route to his office. He would

have to snake through several wings of the Senate complex. The system would

print out a map on a durasheet, but Obi-Wan didn't need  it.  He  memorized

the route and took off.

Ever since he'd come here as a Jedi student,  he  had  seen  a  Senate

bustling with beings from all over the galaxy, but  lately  the  halls  had

seemed even more crowded. The Senators' staffs were bloated with  consorts,

advisors, clerks,  secretaries,  assistants,  and  droids.  Committees  and

subcommittees were tied up in hearings that stretched on  for  months,  and

sometimes years. Obi-Wan had always found  Senators  to  admire  for  their

dedication, but it was getting harder. The Senate continued  to  legislate,

but it took more and more effort and time to get the smallest things  done.

Coalitions were formed, favors traded, credits  amassed.  Betrayals  caused

grudges that resulted in deep  rifts  that  lasted  for  years.  It  was  a

different place than he had known.

Yet he continued to serve it. He did not think it was possible to have

peace in the galaxy without it.

What kind of Senator was Sano Sauro? He did not want to make judgments

before meeting him again. He had not seen him in ten years. Beings  changed

with time. He had known an ambitious lawyer who had attacked the  Jedi  and

mocked the Force. Perhaps Sauro had found peace in a life of service.  Obi-

Wan would not expect trouble. He would hope for the best.

Still, he was  uncomfortably  aware  of  how  deeply  Sano  Sauro  had

unnerved him as a young Padawan. The man's reserve had been icy. He did not

seem to be able to speak without a sneer. Obi-Wan had felt that whatever he

said to the prosecutor was wrong or foolish. He was a Jedi Knight now,  and

not easily intimidated. It would be interesting to see what  the  encounter

would be like if Sano Sauro had not changed.

Obi-Wan reached the offices of Sano Sauro and strode inside. A team of

assistants worked busily at their desks. An ornate carved door  led  to  an

inner office. Obi-Wan told the receptionist his name and  requested  a  few

minutes of the Senator's time. He wondered if  Sano  Sauro  would  remember

him.

He did not have to wonder long. The door hissed open and  Sauro  stood

in the doorway. He looked oddly the same. He still  had  the  same  unlined

face, the skin smooth and stretched tightly over the bones.  His  hair  was

still jet black. He could even have been dressed in  the  same  clothes,  a

long black tunic and trousers. Obi-Wan could see small evidence  of  vanity

in his brightly shined expensive boots.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said through tight lips. "Don't  tell  me  you've

killed another Padawan."

He had not changed at all.

Obi-Wan was glad to note that Sano Sauro's words had not made even the

slightest impression on him. He did not feel stung. He did  not  care  what

such a man thought of him. The opinion of a cruel man was worth  less  than

nothing.

"I come on another matter and would welcome your help," Obi-Wan said.

Sano Sauro stepped aside. Obi-Wan took this as an invitation to  enter

the office. The door hissed shut behind him.

Sano Sauro sat behind a long, low desk built of stone. Two massive red

thorns marked the corners. Obi-Wan recognized them from the claing bush.

Sauro said nothing but waited for him  to  begin.  Obi-Wan  remembered

that, too. The prosecutor had never wasted time on pleasantries.

"I am trying to locate a prot©g© of yours called Granta  Omega,"  Obi-

Wan said. He waited to see if Sano Sauro would react to the  name,  but  he

did not. "Do you still know him?"

"He is a personal friend," Sano Sauro said. "Can you  tell  me  how  I

could contact him?" "Why?"

"In connection with a Jedi matter," Obi-Wan said. "Why  would  I  give

you any information?" Sano Sauro asked.

Now it was Obi-Wan's  turn  to  say  nothing.  The  rudeness  was  not

unexpected.

"Because you ask?" Sauro said, folding his  hands  in  front  of  him.

"Because you are a Jedi?"

"Because there is no reason not to," Obi-Wan said. "And if there is, I

would be interested in uncovering it. I would expect that an  investigation

into the reason would not please you."

"How interesting it must be to be a Jedi," Sano Sauro said.  "You  can

bully and threaten and yet hide behind your robes and your talk of  justice

and the Force. Very convenient."

"I am not threatening you,"  Obi-Wan  said  evenly.  "I  asked  you  a

legitimate question, which you refused to answer. I am interested in why."

"In that case, let me save you time. I am refusing to answer because I

do not help the Jedi. It is as simple as that. The Senate in its collective

delusion thinks we need you. I do not."

The door hissed open behind Obi-Wan. Sauro rose. "I think I have  come

to the end of my patience," he said. "Good-bye."

The hatred in his gaze was no longer surprising to Obi-Wan. Sano Sauro

had hated the Jedi ten years before and still hated them.

He could go over Sano Sauro's head. He  could  get  the  Jedi  Council

involved. They could go to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. It  was  something

to consider. If Granta Omega was planning to corner the  market  on  bacta,

the Chancellor would want to know.

Obi-Wan walked out of the inner office. The door  hissed  shut  behind

him. The assistants did not even glance at him. They sat hunched over their

data-screens or talking on comlinks.

The  assistant  closest  to  Sauro's  inner  office  was  distractedly

speaking on a comlink while entering data into a datapad.  "No,  we're  not

releasing copies," he said. "The expedition was cut short  and  the  report

was inconclusive. Senator Sauro has been thoroughly briefed.  No,  I  won't

put you through. Check with the Senate archivist, the Senator doesn't  have

time." The assistant cut the connection. "Journalists," he muttered.

"Was  Senator  Sauro  on  the  committee  that  oversaw  the   mapping

expedition that ended on Haariden?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Senator Sauro headed the committee," the assistant said haughtily.

Obi-Wan hurried from the  room.  He  headed  straight  to  the  Senate

archives, where committee records were kept. He filled out  a  request  and

waited impatiently until the information flashed onto his screen.

Obi-Wan's least favorite thing to do was wade through the  minutes  of

Senatorial committee meetings. But he leaned forward, quickly scanning  the

report with interest. The decision to  fund  the  mapping  expedition  took

endless debate. Then names of scientists were  submitted  and  debated.  At

last the team was decided on. Obi-Wan read the  names  and  qualifications.

Dr. Fort Turan. Joveh D'a Alin. Reug Yucon. Talie Heathe. And finally,  Tic

Verdun. He had been added at the last  minute  on  the  suggestion  of  the

committee head, Senator Sauro...

Obi-Wan remembered something Talie Heathe had said  on  Haariden.  Tic

had been the scout. That meant he had been able to get away from the  group

for hours at a time.

Obi-Wan scanned Verdun's qualifications. He  had  graduated  from  the

same scientific institute in the same year as Granta Omega.

He activated his comlink and contacted Jocasta Nu at the Temple.

"Please run a text doc identification search on Tic Verdun," he said.

He switched off the screen and hurried out of  the  archive  room.  He

knew Jocasta Nu would not take long to answer him. He started  back  toward

the Temple. By the time he reached the front doors, Jocasta Nu had signaled

him.

"Interesting," Jocasta Nu said. "I just did a preliminary search,  you

understand. But the only information I can find is that he recently  served

on a Senatorial expedition to Haariden - "

"I know that. I met him there, remember?"

"And his credentials don't check out at all. If I had  to  guess,  I'd

say this was an alias. Strange that the Senate committee didn't pick it up.

"

"Not if the head of the Senate committee was his sponsor."

"Ah. Yes. There's a strange  coincidence,  though.  He  is  listed  as

having a degree from the same school that - "

" - Granta Omega attended," Obi-Wan interrupted. Jocasta had told  him

everything he needed to know, which was nothing.

And now he knew that Tic Verdun was Granta Omega. He had met Omega  on

Ragoon-6. He had met a man whose face was disfigured with synth-flesh.  His

eyes had been gray. Obi-Wan could not connect that memory with Tic  Verdun,

with his shock of dark hair and his youthful face. Yet he was positive  the

two men were the same.

He stepped onto the lift tube and went straight to Anakin's  quarters,

but Anakin wasn't  there.  Obi-Wan  tracked  down  Soara  Antana,  who  was

visiting Darra in the med center.

"Do you know where Anakin is?" he asked her.

"We had our practice session this morning," she said. "Then he  headed

off for an appointment. Do you remember Tic Verdun?  Anakin  went  to  meet

him."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Anakin was starting to feel better. He had tried to tell himself  that

Soara had not been fair to him, but in truth, her words had shaken him.  He

had looked into her eyes and seen great disappointment there. He could tell

himself that he would prove her wrong, but the loss of her  respect  was  a

blow. And what would she tell his Master?

He had worried about these things all the way to the meeting with  Tic

Verdun, but now they had shrunk to vague feelings at the back of his  mind.

He was too caught up in meeting Tic's friends and hearing what they had  to

say about Granta Omega. Already he had collected a number  of  facts  about

the elusive businessman. If he could manage to put the pieces together,  he

and Obi-Wan would have a place to start.

Tic's friends were all funny and smart. They had welcomed  Anakin  and

seemed impressed at meeting "our first Jedi!" They poured him tea  and  sat

around trying to prod their memories for facts  about  Granta  Omega.  They

interrupted one another and corrected one another. But  nobody  interrupted

Tic, Anakin noted. They all deferred to him, but in a way that Anakin could

see was out of great respect.

Anakin was especially impressed with a young scientist  named  Mellora

Falon. She had just graduated from an  elite  scientific  institution  even

though she was only a few years older than Anakin. She had met Granta Omega

on an expedition to the planet Uriek, and gave the most detailed account of

him.

"He had a weakness for pastry," she said, smiling. "The really  sweet,

sticky kind. He ate an entire plate of sweesonberry rolls."

Tic Verdun shook his head.  "Glad  to  see  you  noted  the  important

things."

But everything was important. Anakin knew that.  He  could  take  that

information back to Jocasta Nu and in about thirty seconds she  could  tell

him every planet where the sweesonberries grew, and could give him  a  list

of the best pastry makers in the Core Worlds.

"I just remembered something," Mellora said. "That  morning,  he  said

his favorite house was surrounded by sweesonberry bushes. He goes there for

vacations. It's near the sea, too."

More information for Jocasta  Nu.  Anakin  took  another  sip  of  the

excellent tea Mellora had brewed. He felt warm and comfortable.  Night  had

fallen, and the stars twinkled like hard points outside in the cold  night.

He thought about reaching for another piece of fruit, but he felt too lazy.

Just at the very moment he settled into his  contentment,  he  felt  a

warning. There was a disturbance in the Force here. He realized that it had

been there for some time. Anakin felt slow surprise trickle through him.

Here? But he was among friends. Perhaps he was  confused.  Perhaps  he

was wrong. Soara had showed him that his connection to the Force was not as

clear as he'd once supposed.

He tried to focus on his feelings, but they seemed to run off his body

like water. He blinked several times and realized he was sleepy. He had  to

struggle to stay awake. Mellora was speaking again, and he had to focus  in

order to hear her. Had his fight with Ferus tired him out so?

".. more tea? No, I don't think you should." She laughed, her red lips

parting. Her dark hair was as sleek as the pelt of a water animal.

"Anakin?" Tic's face seemed  to  loom  in  front  of  him.  He  patted

Anakin's arm gently. "Are you all right? I have to tell you something.  Are

you listening?"

Anakin focused on Tic. "Yes?"

"Everything we told you about Granta Omega is a lie," Tic said,  still

smiling.

Anakin struggled to understand his meaning. "I... don't... understand.

"

"Oh, don't worry. You will."

"But we do have something to show you," Mellora  said.  "Something  he

owns." From beneath the folds of her white tunic she brought  out  a  small

pyramid. "Omega gave me this."

It was a Sith artifact. Now Anakin knew the origin of the  disturbance

he had detected. It grew stronger, and he felt nausea rise in  his  throat.

He tried to sit up, but the chair now seemed to hold him down.

Mellora turned the cube in her hands. "At first  I  found  the  images

disturbing. But Granta talked to me about them. Power  can  be  disturbing.

That's where its beauty lies. Do you understand?"

Anakin's  tongue  felt  thick.  "No."  He  had  been  so  foolish.  So

incredibly foolish and na¯ve. He saw the mug on the table in front of  him.

He had drained every drop. He wasn't tired. He was drugged.

"Don't worry, we didn't poison you," Tic said. "It's because  we  have

respect for the Jedi that we did this. We know it's the only  way  to  slow

you down."

Tic's voice had not changed.  He  still  sounded  friendly  and  warm.

"We've immobilized you in order to talk to you. We don't wish to harm you."

"We only wish to discuss the Force," Mellora said.

The other faces turned to him. Now their bright interest, he saw,  was

not interest at all. It was not so simple. It was greed. They were ravenous

for information about him. He had thought he was learning  from  them,  but

all the time, they were studying him.

"Mellora and I are the only scientists here," Tic said. "I'm afraid  I

lied to you about my friends. We are simply a group of ordinary beings  who

are interested in the extraordinary. We  have  a  common  interest  in  the

Force."

"We wanted to find a Force-sensitive  being  to  talk  to  about  it,"

Mellora said.

In other words, Anakin thought, they were a Sith cult. No  matter  how

friendly they seemed. No matter how much they wanted him to think they were

harmless. He had tangled with a Sith cult  before.  Although  they  weren't

Force-sensitive, they were drawn  to  the  dark  side  and  they  could  be

dangerous.

But why Tic Verdun? He was a respected scientist.

And how do you know that? You don't know  anything  about  him  except

that you liked him.

Anakin thought back to the mission  on  Haariden.  He  had  liked  Tic

because Tic had seemed to understand him. He had been the  bravest  of  the

scientists, too. He had been the one to go off and scout  for  patrols.  He

had risked his life, they said..

He had been gone for hours, they said..

"Do you understand?" Tic asked him softly. "Do you, Anakin Skywalker?"

"You are Granta Omega," he said.

"Very good." Tic turned to the others, pleased. "You see how his  mind

continues to work? On an ordinary being, that  drug  would  immobilize  his

thoughts as well as his legs."

Anakin thought about trying to rise. He thought he would  have  enough

strength to reach the door. He had not begun to tap into the Force yet.

Wait. That's what Obi-Wan would say. He had enough  strength  for  one

try. He knew that. And if he had enough strength  for  only  that,  he  had

better plan it.

"Back on Haariden, you said the Force frustrates you," Tic said.

No. l spoke hastily. It was because of what happened with  Darra.  But

Anakin said nothing. He did not want  to  have  a  conversation  with  Tic.

Omega. He found it unnerving to see the same friendly look  in  his  bright

eyes, the good humor on his face.

"That interested me," Omega said. "I thought, this Jedi is  different.

He recognizes not only what power is, but what it isn't. What  it  can  be.

Power is... protection. It is what stands between you and losing  what  you

have. I'm not talking about material things, either. I'm  talking  about...

everything."

Anakin didn't understand. But then, he didn't want to.

Tic leaned forward. His warm eyes met Anakin's.

Not Tic. Granta Omega. He is not your friend.

The words Tic and Omega blurred in  his  mind.  He  remembered  a  man

sitting on a snowy mountainside, his  skin  knitted  together  with  synth-

flesh. He could not reconcile the two images, the two men.  It  all  seemed

unreal.

"I've asked about you," Omega said. "I know you. I know you because  I

grew up like you. I wasn't a slave, but I might well have been.  My  mother

worked at things she should not have, harder than she should  have,  longer

than she should have - just for me."

My mother did the same.

"My mother worked herself to death for me," Omega said.

I can only hope that Shmi is well and safe.

"What is the Force for, if not to protect what you  have?  Why  should

you give that up because you are a Jedi? The Force can bring  you  all  the

power you need. Yet the Jedi tell you that you must have  nothing.  Why  is

that?"

"Ours is a path of service," Anakin said.

"And who do you serve? The Senate?" Omega laughed softly. "A group  of

fools who can be bought?" "We serve justice."

"Whose?"

"Justice does not have a master."

"Shouldn't it?" Omega leaned back again, resting against the  pillows.

"I am just a seeker, as you are. You have been told that the Sith belong to

the dark side. Yet the Jedi know little of the Sith. What  you  don't  know

could fill galaxies. Well, you do know one thing - that there is  one  Sith

still alive. I know this, too. I wanted to be  rich  enough  to  find  that

Sith. Then one day I realized that was wrong. The only way I would  find  a

Sith is if I was rich enough, powerful enough, so that he  wanted  to  find

me. I am not rich enough yet. But I will be."

Omega paused. "I'm not Force-sensitive. I can never be a Sith. I  have

found something at last that I cannot buy. But  I  can  be  close  to  that

power. I can sit at his side, as I am sitting by your side."

"That's why you attack the Jedi," Anakin said. "You  want  to  impress

him."

"Yes, you see? It's nothing personal." Omega  leaned  closer  to  him.

"Don't you think I could have killed you if I wanted?"

"No," Anakin said. "I know you think you could have."

"I like you," Omega said. "I liked what I saw on Haariden. Your Master

you can keep. Typical Jedi." He waved a hand. "But you... you I like."

"I'm honored," Anakin said.

"Sarcasm from a Jedi? I knew I liked you." Omega leaned  back  against

the cushions and  crossed  an  ankle  over  his  leg  comfortably.  "You're

different because you didn't grow up in that Temple.  You  know  how  power

works because you were ground down beneath it. You know how  the  powerless

have only their dignity to comfort them, and how, some days,  that  is  not

enough. Not nearly enough."

Shmi. He had left her with nothing  but  her  dignity.  Mellora  stood

restlessly. "Let me show him." No.

"Yes."  Mellora  reached  into  her  pocket   and   withdrew   Darra's

lightsaber. "I've been learning how to use it. One day I will fight a Jedi.

"

The Force he had kept  at  bay  shot  through  him,  revitalizing  his

muscles. The sight of Darra's lightsaber in Mellora's hand had done it.  He

felt strength move through him. He knew he could rise now.

Even Omega looked amazed when he shot to his feet.  He  activated  his

lightsaber in a motion so fast they could not follow it with their eyes.

"How about today?" he taunted, taking a  step  toward  her.  "Are  you

ready to fight a Jedi today?" His voice was thick and it was an  effort  to

get the words out. He could feel his leg muscles trembling but he knew they

couldn't see it.

"Well, well," Omega breathed. "Impressive."

But the others were not so calm. They drew blasters.

"Shoot him!" Mellora shrilled. She activated the lightsaber clumsily.

Anakin took a step. He felt unsteady but in control. Mellora began  to

wave the lightsaber. She tried to execute  an  offensive  thrust,  but  the

lightsaber swung crazily. She was not able to balance it.

"Mellora, don't be foolish," Omega warned.

But Mellora did not drop the lightsaber, and Anakin  was  more  afraid

that she would injure herself than he was of  the  blasters.  He  knew  his

usual control would be off, so he would have to compensate.  He  could  not

risk a complicated move. Simple was best.

Keeping the lightsaber in one hand, he struck out with a  strong  kick

in order  to  dislodge  Darra's  lightsaber  from  her  hand.  But  Mellora

surprised him by twirling away. She was still hampered by  the  lightsaber,

but the combination of Anakin's slowed reaction  time  and  her  own  skill

caused him to miss. Anakin stumbled, and  to  his  surprise  he  could  not

recover easily.

He went down on one hand. Mellora smiled. She raised  the  lightsaber.

Even she could probably manage a downward stroke.

He called on the Force. It surged through him. He balanced on one hand

and swept his feet in an arc that hit Mellora on the ankles  and  took  her

down. Darra's lightsaber went flying.

The others scattered, afraid of the lightsaber, and wildly fired their

blasters. Granta Omega looked up, his mouth open,  his  hands  outstretched

for the lightsaber.

Desperately,  Anakin  threw  himself  at  Granta  Omega.  He  hit  him

broadside, and they both fell.  The  lightsaber  clattered  to  the  floor,

deactivated.

The group saw Anakin on the floor with their leader and pointed  their

blasters at him. He raised his own lightsaber to deflect the fire,  but  he

could see that he would not be able to hold out for long.

Then suddenly a blue blur appeared through the door. Metal peeled back

and Obi-Wan leaped through the opening.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

For a moment, no one moved. Anakin felt as though he had used  up  his

last reserve of strength. He was sprawled on the floor, looking up  at  his

Master. Mellora lay frozen, her eyes moving  from  the  lightsaber  on  the

floor to the activated one in Obi-Wan's hand.

Granta Omega laughed at the same moment that the blasters fired.

Obi-Wan stepped forward, his lightsaber constantly moving,  deflecting

the fire. Blaster bolts pinged off the walls. Obi-Wan came and  stood  over

Anakin, who began to try to rise.

Granta Omega's fingers closed over the fallen lightsaber's hilt.  With

the other hand, he reached down and activated a switch on a device  hanging

on his belt. A door in a console opened and released five seekers into  the

air. They honed in on Obi-Wan and peppered him with blaster  fire.  Obi-Wan

swung his lightsaber, deflecting the fire, and leaped in the air  to  slash

the seekers one by one. He had his hands full.  Anakin  watched  as  Granta

Omega, Mellora, and the rest of the group escaped through a  window.  Omega

held Darra's light-saber.

Anakin saw it happening and felt  responsible  again.  If  his  Master

hadn't needed to protect him, he would have captured them all. A last surge

of strength helped him down one seeker  with  an  awkward  swing  from  the

floor. Obi-Wan took out the last two.

He reached down and helped Anakin to his feet. "What happened?"

"They drugged me. The mug..."

Obi-Wan picked up the mug and shoved it in his tunic.  "We'll  analyze

it at the Temple."

"They had a Sith artifact. A Holocron pyramid. Tic is Granta Omega - "

"I know." Obi-Wan searched the room. "They must  have  taken  it  with

them." He crouched in front of the console.  He  reached  in  and  rummaged

through a travel kit. He threw aside several basic items, then  held  up  a

portable scanner. He studied it for a moment. "Now this is interesting."

Anakin nodded. He felt as though it took him several long  minutes  to

complete the nod. Obi-Wan noted this and jumped to his feet.

"We'd better get you back to the Temple."

Obi-Wan stood in front of the assembled Jedi Council. In one  hand  he

held the portable scanner. He stood respectfully as the Jedi  Council  sat,

absorbing what he had told them.

"Certain you are of this," Yoda said.

"Completely."

"Ambitious, this Granta Omega is."

"That is the danger. He infiltrated the Senate expedition  because  he

knew it was going to examine the mineral rights of  Haariden.  It  was  the

Senate's secret plan to defuse the  civil  war.  I  read  the  expedition's

report. It was incomplete, but it shows one thing clearly  -  there  is  an

active volcano on Haariden. The mountain Kaachtari will soon have a massive

eruption, an eruption so powerful it will change the coastline nearby.  The

titanite that has been hidden in the planet's core will spew out  with  the

lava. A giant tidal wave will form and cover the landmass. Sano  Sauro  has

buried the report, but it is in the Senate archives." Obi-Wan held  up  the

portable scanner. "This is an underwater scanner. He is  planning  to  mine

the titanite from the sea. He will be able to do so if we don't stop him. I

believe he wants to control the bacta market for the entire galaxy."

"What do you wish to do, Master Kenobi?" Ki-Adi Mundi asked.  "He  has

not committed a crime."

"Not for the bacta, no, not yet," Obi-Wan said. "Although he  did  use

an alias to get on a Senate expedition, and that would lead to censure,  at

least. He has committed serious crimes against the Jedi,  however.  He  has

paid bounty hunters and soldiers to attack us on two occasions. He  drugged

my Padawan."

"This is something you know, but you must  also  prove,"  Ki-Adi-Mundi

said. His second heart pulsed in his high skull. "That is the difficulty."

"I can bring him back to Coruscant for  questioning  by  the  Senate,"

Obi-Wan said. "At least we can prevent what he plans. He wants to gain even

greater power and wealth in order to  attract  the  hidden  Sith  Lord.  He

admitted this to Anakin."

"Perhaps he would attract him," Mace Windu said. "If we let him, if we

stood back and watched, we would be able to track the Sith Lord  ourselves.

He would be flushed out of hiding before he is ready."

"Are you saying we should not stop Omega?" Obi-Wan asked in disbelief.

Mace Windu looked at him sharply. "We are not drawing conclusions.  We

are speculating."

"All sides of the issue we must examine," Yoda said.

Mace Windu swiveled in his chair to look out over the twinkling lights

of Coruscant. "Darkness lies ahead. We can all feel it.  Is  this  a  place

where we can turn? Where we can flush out our enemy and expose him?"

"But if we don't go after Omega, he will control the market on bacta,"

Obi-Wan said. "He could do anything.  Raise  the  price  too  high.  Create

shortages. I have no doubt he would do these things. Millions would suffer.

"

"More millions suffer in our visions of the future," Mace said. He was

still looking out at the lights. He seemed to be speaking to  himself.  "We

see much pain."

"Visions can only show us what may be," Obi-Wan  said.  "Granta  Omega

can do great harm now."

A buzz of conversation began among the  Council  Members.  Mace  Windu

consulted with Yoda. Adi Gallia leaned over to speak with  Even  Piell.  It

was highly unusual for the Council to break into private consultations. The

gravity of the issue caused it. There were  too  many  important  questions

connected with it.

"Go, Obi-Wan must." Yaddle's soft voice stopped the  Council  Members.

Everyone turned to her with great courtesy. Yaddle rarely spoke,  but  when

she did, she always seemed to  sum  up  the  conclusions  they  would  have

reached eventually.

She blinked her light gray-blue  eyes,  which  were  so  like  Yoda's.

"Suffering we cannot allow in order to prevent what we  fear.  Stop  it  we

must when we can."

Yoda leaned forward on his gimer stick. "Correct, Yaddle is. Has  your

Padawan recovered, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "I have arranged transport. I can be  on  Haariden  by

sunrise."

"Dangerous it is," Yoda said. "Soon, the  eruption  will  occur.  Take

chances you must not."

"May the Force be with you," Mace Windu said, concluding the  meeting.

He still looked troubled.

Obi-Wan bowed. He left the Council chamber and hurried directly to the

med clinic. Every moment counted.

Anakin was sitting up on the med couch,  swinging  his  legs.  He  was

pale, but he looked up at Obi-Wan expectantly.

"I hear you are cleared for duty," Obi-Wan said. "Are you sure you are

fully recovered?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes. Where are we going?"

"Back to Haariden," Obi-Wan said. "We're  going  to  watch  a  volcano

erupt."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

As the Galan starfighter shot through hyperspace, Anakin had some time

to rest and think.

The rest he needed. He did not want to tell Obi-Wan that  even  though

the drug had worn off, his senses still felt blurred, as if  there  were  a

veil between him and everything else. But he knew the veil would  lift.  He

could feel clarity returning with every passing minute.

What he did not know was how to sort out  his  feelings  about  Granta

Omega. He was not na¯ve enough to  think  that  evil  announced  itself  by

knocking on one's door with an iron fist. But he had not expected  evil  to

come cloaked in quite so much charm.

He had enjoyed the earlier time he'd spent  with  Granta  Omega.  When

he'd known him as Tic Verdun, he had laughed at the things he said and felt

warmed by his friendship. They had not known each other  long,  but  Anakin

had to admit it: He'd felt kinship with Tic. On Haariden,  he  had  offered

him friendship. He had made him feel a little less alone.

How could he reconcile his feelings with the  knowledge  that  Omega's

one desire was to worship at the heart of evil? An evil that  had  murdered

the one being who had saved Anakin from a life of slavery: Qui-Gon Jinn.

Obi-Wan had been in the small ship's library, checking the  geological

reports on Haariden. He came to sit by Anakin. "Not  too  much  longer.  Is

there something you want to discuss with me, Padawan?"

He  wasn't  ready  to  talk  about  it.  "No,"  Anakin  said.  Obi-Wan

hesitated. "Before I arrived, did you talk much to the others?"

Anakin nodded. "They fed me false information about Granta Omega. They

were making things up to tease me even as he sat right in front  of  me.  I

see that now. I feel foolish."

"It is not something to feel foolish  about.  Those  who  set  out  to

deceive are the true fools." Obi-Wan paused. "And Omega himself?  What  did

you think of him?"

The gentleness in his Master's tone undid Anakin's reserve.  "I  liked

him," he burst out. "How could I like such a being?"

"I would guess that is because he is likable," Obi-Wan said dryly.

His Master's calmness made Anakin feel better.  "Shouldn't  the  Force

have alerted me to the dark side in him?"

"Not necessarily," Obi-Wan said. "The Force is not  a  truth-detector.

We can rely on it, but we  can't  expect  it  to  save  us.  We  must  save

ourselves. We must use  our  own  intuition,  our  own  intelligence.  Your

feelings about Granta Omega don't have anything to do with the Force.  They

have everything to do with experience."

"Meaning I don't have enough?"

"Maybe," Obi-Wan said. "Perhaps I wouldn't have picked up  on  Omega's

true character, either. But I have seen enough to know that evil can wear a

charming face, my young Padawan. Charisma is not a virtue. It's a trait. It

is not good or bad. Evil people can possess it. They often  do  and  it  is

what makes them dangerous."

"He says he is a seeker, just as the Jedi are," Anakin said. "He  says

the Jedi fear the Sith, but they know nothing of them."

"He is wrong," Obi-Wan said. "The Jedi  have  deep  knowledge  of  the

Sith. Have you forgotten that one of them killed Qui-Gon?"

"That knowledge is with me every day," Anakin said quietly. "But it is

also part of the problem. When I think of evil,  I  see  that  Sith  Lord's

face. I do not see Granta Omega's."

"Evil has many  faces,"  Obi-Wan  responded.  "It  can  masquerade  as

vision. One must look beneath the words, beneath the mask."

An indicator  light  flashed.  Obi-Wan  sprang  to  his  feet.  "We've

arrived."

Obi-Wan slid into the pilot's  seat.  Anakin  sat  next  to  him.  The

starfighter shuddered slightly as they came out of hyperspace.  The  planet

of Haariden lay ahead.

Obi-Wan entered the coordinates for landing. He shot  Anakin  a  quick

questioning look. "Are you ready to face him again?"

He was not sure, but he knew he had to be. "I am ready, Master."

He felt the dark side of the Force gather as they entered the planet's

atmosphere. As they drew closer they could see the large areas of land that

had been laid to waste by war.

"I am not happy to see this place again," Obi-Wan murmured.

The craft skimmed over the foothills. Obi-Wan landed in a valley  near

an outcropping of trees.

"We need to keep clear of the eruption site," he  said.  "We'll  track

Omega on swoop bikes. According to Jocasta Nu, we have about an hour before

the volcano begins to erupt."

"Not much time," Anakin said as they hurried toward the stowed swoops.

"It will have to be enough."

Anakin swung his leg over  the  swoop.  He  was  feeling  better,  but

heaviness still seemed to hang on him, clouding his mind. The med staff had

assured him that the drug was completely out of his system. He was not sure

why he wasn't feeling himself yet. He suspected it had something to do with

the dark feeling of doom he received from this planet.

They took off on their swoops, gliding over the hills and heading  for

the rugged mountains ahead.  One  mountain  pushed  high  above  the  rest,

seeming to thrust itself out of the planet's core. It was topped with snow,

its peak hidden in the clouds.

"That's it," Obi-Wan said. "That's Kaachtari."

They pushed the swoops to maximum speed. The air turned colder as they

rose to higher elevations. Suddenly, Anakin saw a  column  of  steam  spurt

from the ground below. He swerved the swoop just in  time  to  avoid  being

scalded.

"We're in the danger zone now," Obi-Wan said. "Be careful."

As they rode on, Anakin saw that deep fissures had cracked  the  earth

and split gigantic boulders in two. The steam rose hundreds of meters  high

in some places. He heard a  muffled  sound,  like  a  faraway  star-fighter

engine roaring.

"Groundquakes," Obi-Wan said. "Small ones, so far."

Anakin looked ahead. He  saw  a  line  of  soldiers  hiking  down  the

mountain. He pointed them out to Obi-Wan.

His Master frowned. "This area was supposed to  have  been  evacuated.

Let's get a little closer."

They descended. Hearing the noise, the soldiers  looked  up.  Some  of

them raised blasters.

"Master?"

"Don't worry." Obi-Wan suddenly zoomed down, landing directly in front

of them. Anakin followed his Master to the head of the line to stand before

a gaunt soldier with a grimy face and a beard gray with ash.

"I see we meet again, Captain Welflet," Obi-Wan said.

The  captain  nodded  a  greeting.  "I  thought  you   evacuated."   A

groundquake shook the area, and the captain staggered. "You should have."

"We did. We came back. We're looking for Granta Omega," Obi-Wan  said.

"Have you seen him?"

"No," the captain said. "I have enough worries."

He stared at Obi-Wan when he said this, but Anakin knew he was lying.

"This area was evacuated," Obi-Wan said.  "The  volcano  is  about  to

erupt."

"I know," Captain Welflet said. "But we had word of enemy  patrols  in

the area. They are using the eruption to gain land."

"But you will all die," Obi-Wan said. "The  eruption  will  cover  all

this." He swung an arm out. "The scientists know this. The sensors indicate

it."

Captain Welflet snorted. "Scientists and sensors. This is our land. We

are not going to lose it."

"I see you have some new weaponry  since  I  saw  you  last,"  Obi-Wan

remarked.

The captain shifted his gaze.  "Is  the  Jedi  so  interested  in  our

weaponry?"

The mountain rumbled. A steam column suddenly split the  rocky  ground

and spewed into the air.

"We don't have much time," Obi-Wan said.  "Let  me  tell  you  what  I

think, and what you don't know. I think you accepted payment in weapons for

land that will be useless to you. But you were tricked."

"That is an interesting supposition," the captain said cautiously.

"Granta Omega paid you for the rights to the new sea,"  Obi-Wan  said.

"What you don't know is that he wants it for a  reason.  The  volcano  will

deposit titanite on the land before the wave brings the water. He will mine

it and make a fortune. And you will lose out."

"He said he wanted it for a fish farm," the captain muttered. "And  we

believed him! He had us meet him here to do the deal." He  looked  down  at

the plains below. "It belongs to him now."

"Tell me where he is, and I might be able to help you," Obi-Wan said.

"He does not deserve our loyalty," the captain said. "He is above,  on

the ridge, conducting experiments. Here are the coordinates."  The  captain

gave them to Obi-Wan.

"You must get down the mountain as quickly as you can," Obi-Wan said.

"We have air transport below. But we are on the lookout for the enemy.

"

"Forget the enemy," Obi-Wan said. "If you don't, you will die."

"Then we will die," Captain Welflet said. "But  we  will  die  on  our

land."

Obi-Wan swung his leg back over the swoop and motioned to  Anakin.  He

plugged the coordinates into the onboard computer.

"We must hurry, Padawan," he said. "I don't  like  the  look  of  this

scanner. The groundquakes are intensifying."

"But the captain and his men," Anakin said. "How can we leave them?"

Obi-Wan shook his head sadly. "I cannot change his mind, Padawan. They

must do what they will do, and we must do the same."

They took off to the spot where the captain  had  left  Granta  Omega.

Flying was difficult now, as  the  steam  hissed  suddenly  into  the  air,

sometimes followed by showers of large  rocks.  Anakin  felt  dread  rising

within him. He did not want to see Granta Omega again. Yet he had to.

They saw him high on a snowy ridge. He was  with  Mellora.  They  were

both dressed in white thermal gear to protect them from the cold. They were

packing up their equipment and heading for their swoops. They  clearly  did

not trust anyone else to pinpoint the titanite before the eruption.

Obi-Wan leaned over his swoop, urging the machine to go faster. Granta

Omega looked up and saw them. Even from that distance, Anakin could tell he

was dismayed. He spoke a quick word to Mellora and they took off.

"We'll follow them to the ship," Obi-Wan said. "We can  commandeer  it

and return them to Coruscant." "It can't be that easy," Anakin said.

"It won't be," Obi-Wan said.

Granta and Mellora did not attempt to lose the  Jedi.  No  doubt  they

knew they could not. The Jedi gained on them, but Mellora and Omega managed

to reach their SoroSuub at the foot of the  volcano.  Omega  activated  the

landing ramp and they flew inside.

"We can make it!" Obi-Wan shouted as the landing ramp began to close.

Anakin zoomed alongside his Master. They angled their  swoops  as  the

ramp slid closed. They slid inside, feeling the whoosh of air as  the  ramp

slid into place.

The cockpit of the ship was empty.

Obi-Wan leaped off the swoop  and  activated  his  lightsaber  in  one

motion. He ran through the SoroSuub. It took only a few seconds to discover

what had happened.

"They flew out the cargo door as we came in through the landing ramp,"

Obi-Wan said, disgusted. "He planned it."

He ran to the cockpit controls. He stabbed at the activation  key  for

the landing ramp, then the cargo doors.

"He's locked them." He tried the engines. Nothing happened. "The  ship

is in complete lockdown."

Obi-Wan's face was dark with anger. Anakin watched, fascinated, as his

Master absorbed his anger and then released it.

"So here we are," Obi-Wan said in a measured  tone.  "Locked  in."  He

crossed to the cockpit windscreen. Granta Omega and Mellora were nowhere in

sight. But the mountain was. It filled their vision as it belched rocks and

steam.

As they watched, the ship suddenly shook with the  tremor  of  a  huge

groundquake. The scene in front of them vibrated. Anakin  couldn't  believe

what he was seeing. The peak was now disintegrating.  Huge  chunks  of  the

mountain were falling away. The entire side of the volcano  was  collapsing

in a tremendous landside.

And they were in its path.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Obi-Wan tried the engines again. "I don't know how to override this."

"Let me try." There was nothing Anakin couldn't do  with  engines.  He

slid open the panel to the engine and slithered inside. "This will take  me

about twenty minutes."

"We don't have twenty," Obi-Wan said. He had  already  calculated  the

speed of the landslide. "We have maybe five before the lava pours  out.  If

we're lucky. We'll have to cut our way out."

Anakin scrambled out and followed Obi-Wan to the opening to the  ramp.

Obi-Wan began to try to cut the durasteel away.

"Something's wrong," he muttered as Anakin  joined  him.  "The  ship's

hull should be thin here. We should be able to cut through in minutes."

"It's going to take us longer than that," Anakin said.

The minutes ticked by as they worked at the metal. Obi-Wan looked  out

the windscreen to check the progress of the eruption.  The  noise  was  now

like the roar of a fleet of engines. "We're not going to make it."

They looked at each other. They hadn't given up hope. There was a  way

out. There always was.

They just didn't have much time to figure it out.

Lava was now spewing out of the top of the mountain. Whole  kilometers

of dirt and rocks mixed with hot lava would  soon  be  barreling  down  the

steep slope.

Obi-Wan pushed his lightsaber through the door. He began  to  move  it

downward, straining with the effort. Anakin joined him, the  sweat  rolling

down his face.

Suddenly and violently, molten lava  poured  out  of  the  volcano  at

frightening speed. The avalanche of rock and lava smashed against the ship.

The jolt threw them  across  the  cockpit  and  slammed  them  against  the

opposite wall. The craft tilted onto one side, sending them  crashing  onto

the floor. The ship jolted downhill at incredible  speed,  carried  by  the

force of the landslide.

Anakin hung on to the wall. Looking straight up, he could see  through

the cockpit windscreen. All he saw was rocks and lava obscuring his view of

the sky. He knew where they were being carried. The rock slide  would  drop

them into the sea. They would sink. Or else they would  be  caught  in  the

giant tidal wave that was forming even now.

His head slammed against the side of the ship. He held on as his teeth

rattled. Death was near. Anakin could feel it. Now he understood why he had

felt so uneasy on this planet. Here death had waited for him.

Obi-Wan suddenly pounded against the ship's wall with  his  lightsaber

hilt as they bounced down the mountain,  swept  along  by  the  lava  flow.

Anakin had never seen his Master give way to his anger before.

"That's it," Obi-Wan shouted over the awful  roaring  noise.  "It's  a

ship within a ship. That's why the walls are so thick. Anakin, help me find

it."

"Find what?" he shouted.

"The cockpit. The real cockpit!" Obi-Wan  scrambled  along  the  wall,

knocking on it with the hilt of  his  light-saber.  "Listen  for  something

hollow."

The lurching of the ship made it hard to maneuver, but Anakin followed

his Master. He knocked against the wall with his lightsaber hilt.

"Here!" Obi-Wan shouted suddenly.  He  activated  his  lightsaber  and

began to cut through the wall.

Anakin grabbed handholds and fought his  way  toward  his  Master.  He

worked alongside him. Obi-Wan was right. The metal  was  thinner  here.  It

peeled back in strips. They were being pounded by the landslide and it  was

hard to cut, but they struggled to finish.

At last there was an opening large enough to crawl inside. To Anakin's

surprise, he found a complete cockpit with engine controls.

"Can you fly it?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin nodded. He strapped himself into the seat. The ship was on  its

side. He pushed the left engine and the ship rose straight up.

He kept pushing the engine and the ship revolved. Then he accelerated,

and they shot through the lava and the pummeling rocks into the  clear  air

above.

Obi-Wan sank back into the seat next to  him.  "That  was  close,"  he

panted.

"I wouldn't want it any closer," Anakin admitted. "Where to, Master?"

"They'll be watching from a safe distance," Obi-Wan said.  "Along  the

coast, but out of range of the wave." He bent over the  scanner,  comparing

its readings to the  map  on  the  shipboard  computer.  "Let's  try  these

coordinates." He pointed them out to Anakin.

He nodded and piloted the ship back  toward  the  eruption.  He  would

skirt the worst of it, but they would have a bumpy flight.  Rocks  hammered

down on the shell of the ship, and the air pockets were deep. The ship kept

slamming into them.

"Master, look!" Anakin pointed ahead. The  Haariden  captain  and  the

soldiers were trapped on the plain as the  landslide  headed  toward  them.

They had turned to face it. There was nowhere to run.

"See if we can make it!" Obi-Wan ordered. "Push the engines!"

Anakin accelerated  till  the  engines  screamed,  piloting  the  ship

straight into the spew of lava and rocks.  The  ship  shook  as  a  boulder

struck it. Then another.

Captain Welflet saw them approaching and lifted a hand. Anakin did not

know if it was in thanks or farewell. In the next instant the landslide had

swept him and his soldiers to their deaths. They were buried under the land

they had fought over so desperately.

Shaken, Anakin pushed the engines to rise above the eruption again. He

felt a sickness in his stomach.

His Master said nothing, but closed his eyes for a moment.

"I wish I hadn't seen that," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes. "Such is the life of  a  Jedi."  The  cockpit

indicators began to swing wildly. The ship lurched to one side.

"I think the power cells were hit," Anakin said. "We've got  to  land.

The power is draining fast."

"We're almost out of range of the eruption," Obi-Wan said, his eyes on

the monitor. "Keep going..."

Anakin held onto the controls as the ship lurched again. He heard  the

whine of the power cells as they powered  down.  "Master,  I'm  losing  the

ship."

"All right. Land it where you can."

Anakin found a smooth area of sand. They were near the  coast  of  the

sea here. He set the ship down bumpily. He had just enough energy to land.

The ship settled into the sand and the engines cut out.

"Good thing we still have the swoops," Obi-Wan said.

They climbed out of  the  concealed  cockpit.  The  swoop  bikes  were

smashed from the rough journey, but still functioned. Anakin activated  the

landing ramp from the interior cockpit. It squealed  as  the  metal  rubbed

against metal, but it opened far enough for them  to  slide  out  with  the

swoops.

The air was thick with ash. A strange smell was in  the  air.  It  was

like burning, but it wasn't born of flame or smoke.

"It is the core," Obi-Wan said. "Metals and molten rock

They piloted the swoops away from the ship and  began  to  search  for

Omega and Mellora. At last they came upon them on a plateau that overlooked

the sea. There they would be protected from the tidal wave.

Granta Omega saw them coming. There  was  no  way  to  surprise  them.

Anakin saw him bend down. He settled  something  against  his  shoulder.  A

missile launcher.

"Master - "

"I see it. Dive, Padawan."

They dived as the first missile headed their way. Its target was  Obi-

Wan. His Master leaned to one side and the missile missed him by a meter.

Another missile was  launched.  Anakin  dived,  but  the  missile  was

targeted at Obi-Wan again. His Master practiced evasive  action,  and  this

time, the missile missed him by mere centimeters.

Another missile was launched. This one, too, was headed for Obi-Wan.

"He's only aiming at me," Obi-Wan called. "Get closer, Anakin!"

Anakin zoomed past the missile.  He  saw  Omega  smile  and  target  a

slowing Obi-Wan again, but  Mellora  had  vanished.  He  pushed  the  swoop

engines past maximum.

He jumped the last few meters just as Omega launched another  missile.

Anakin glanced back in time to see his Master barely evade  it.  His  swoop

seemed damaged by the action.

Omega had anticipated Anakin. He held the missile launcher against his

shoulder, his finger hovering over the activation  button.  "Your  Master's

swoop is overheating. He doesn't have good  maneuverability  anymore.  This

one might get him. I've always thought that to  be  personally  responsible

for the death of a Jedi would truly help me make my mark. Would you  really

miss him so much, Anakin?"  He  grinned  at  Anakin,  the  ash-filled  wind

whipping his dark hair across his face.

"Don't," Anakin said. "You will regret it."

"I knew you'd get out of that ship!" Omega cried.  "You  will  make  a

great Jedi Knight one day, Anakin Sky-walker. But you will be even  greater

if you listen to me!"

Anakin took a step toward him. "My  Master  and  I  request  that  you

return to Coruscant with us for questioning by the authorities."

Omega sighed. "What a kind invitation. I'm afraid I'll have to refuse.

I'm busy, you see." He inched backward toward his swoop, his  finger  still

hovering over the launch button.

Anakin leaped feet first. But instead of going for  Omega,  he  kicked

the swoop. Omega's eyes widened in shock as the swoop was knocked over  the

edge of the plateau.    At the same time, Anakin's arm flew out and came down

on the missile launcher, dislodging it from Omega's shoulder. With  dismay,

Anakin saw that the readied missile was launched as the  launcher  hit  the

ground.

Omega fumbled inside his tunic. Anakin heard  the  whine  of  a  swoop

engine behind him. He whirled in  time  to  sidestep  Mellora,  who  headed

toward them at top speed. Omega tossed a thermal detonator as  he  clumsily

leaped aboard Mellora's swoop.

Anakin caught the detonator and tossed it as  far  as  he  could.  The

explosion sent shock waves through the air. He raced back to his own  swoop

and leaped aboard.

Omega released seeker droids into the air. There were  at  least  ten,

heading toward Obi-Wan like a flock of deadly attack birds. Obi-Wan now had

to contend with the droids and the tracking missile.

Anakin swung at the droids with his lightsaber as  his  swoop  lurched

crazily. He was trying to corner Omega and Mellora against the  sheer  face

of the ridge, but the two zoomed below him, heading for the sandy plain.

It was a tactical error. Now they were heading toward the sea.

Obi-Wan turned his swoop at the last possible moment and  the  missile

impacted on a seeker droid. He joined Anakin. They zoomed after Mellora and

Omega.

The seekers were as thick in the air as the ash.  Obi-Wan  and  Anakin

swung their lightsabers constantly,  sending  them  smashing  down  to  the

ground below.

Obi-Wan's speeder engine was  smoking  badly.  "I'm  overheating,"  he

called to Anakin. "Some shrapnel pierced the engine."

Anakin maneuvered his swoop close to his Master. "Hop aboard."

Obi-Wan balanced on the seat and leaped onto Anakin's swoop. The swoop

rocked from side to side, but Anakin straightened it and  kept  on  flying.

Obi-Wan stood on the seat behind him, balancing easily. His lightsaber  was

a blur as he swung it at the attack droids.

"Master, the water!" Anakin called.

Far out on the sea, they could see  a  wave.  It  was  as  tall  as  a

Coruscant skyscraper. It was a wall of water moving at more than a  hundred

kilometers an hour.

Omega and Mellora had gone too far in order to escape. Now  they  were

trapped between the oncoming wave and the Jedi. They hovered  in  the  air,

staring at the wave. Omega looked back at the approaching  Jedi  defiantly.

Mellora only looked afraid.

Anakin pulled up the swoop close to Omega. They could hear  the  eerie

sound of the wave now, a sound like no other Anakin had ever heard.

"You must come with us now," Obi-Wan said, his lightsaber raised.

"Granta, it's over," Mellora said, her eyes on the  approaching  wave.

"We must - "

In answer, Omega wrenched the controls from Mellora. He shot the swoop

straight toward the wall of water. They could see Mellora's mouth forming a

scream before its sound was snatched away by the roar of the titanic wave.

Grimly, Anakin headed after  them.  He  stayed  below  Omega's  swoop,

hoping to force them upward. He didn't know if they would be able to  clear

the wave in time.

Omega swerved up, trying  to  clear  the  wave.  Mellora  had  Darra's

lightsaber and was trying to activate it. Anakin didn't know why. There was

little she could  do  with  it.  Perhaps  she  wanted  to  force  Omega  to

surrender.

Omega suddenly reached out and casually put his foot against  Mellora.

With a push, he shoved her off the swoop.

She fell toward the wave, shrieking.

Anakin gunned the motor and dove under her. Obi-Wan caught her in  his

arms. The lightsaber fell from her fingers, and Anakin lurched to the  side

in order to snatch it from the air. Then  he  zoomed  above  as  the  water

curled over their heads.

They couldn't make it. He took a deep breath  as  they  went  straight

into the top of the wave. He  felt  the  power  of  the  water  drive  them

backward. The controls shook in his hand. He heard  the  engine  whine.  He

could only see water, and he was confused now.  Were  they  heading  up  or

down?

Then the Force entered him, and he did not see the water as a wall. He

saw it for what it was. Full of particles, full of gaps,  honeycombed  with

light. He headed for the gaps, willing the swoop engine to obey him.

They broke through the water into the air. Mellora clung  to  Obi-Wan,

gasping.

Omega was a speck in the distance, heading away from them.

"He would have killed me!" Mellora choked.

Anakin hovered in the air, watching the speck disappear. They had lost

him again.

"Head for our ship, Padawan," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin turned back toward safety. He did not believe that Omega wanted

to kill Mellora. He had pushed her off knowing that  the  Jedi  would  save

her. He just wanted to get away.

But it was better that Mellora not know that.

"I know where he is going," she told the Jedi. "I know where  he  goes

when he loses. I can take you there."

"You don't have to," Obi-Wan said. "I know where he is going, too."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Because  of  the  eruption,  hostilities  had  ceased  temporarily  on

Haariden. They left Mellora with the authorities there with instructions to

hold her until the Senate could send a ship for her. But they could not  be

certain how long she would be held. It was clear that she was  prepared  to

lie her way out of trouble.

"She hates him now," Obi-Wan said as they hurried to  their  ship.  "I

only hope she sees what he really is. He would sacrifice her young life  to

save his own."

"But he knew we would catch her," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan shot his Padawan a curious look. "Are you certain of that?"

Anakin said nothing. Disquiet settled  inside  Obi-Wan  as  they  both

jumped into their craft. He plugged in the coordinates for Nierport  Seven.

They were so close behind Granta Omega. They just might catch him.

"How do you know where he is going, Master?" Anakin asked as they shot

into hyperspace.

"It was the ship within a ship that told me,"  Obi-Wan  explained.  "I

remembered his boyhood home. The walls were thicker than the other  houses,

but not too thick that they didn't blend in. But when I thought about it, I

realized that the proportions were slightly off. I think there is a  hidden

room there. A room in the walls themselves."

Dusk was settling on Nierport Seven when they arrived. They landed  on

the outskirts of the settlement and hurried to the house.

There were no lights inside. Obi-Wan took out his lightsaber and cut a

hole in the door.

The house was empty. Even the bedroll and stove were gone.

"We are too late," Anakin said.

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "He must have assumed that Mellora would tell  us

what she knew."

He felt along the walls, knocking them with his lightsaber hilt.  When

he found what he was looking  for,  he  cut  through  the  walls  with  his

lightsaber. Here the stone was only centimeters thick, bound  to  durasteel

walls.

Beyond the wall was a room filled with datascreens. Obi-Wan and Anakin

climbed through the hole.

Obi-Wan began to access the files. One after another he called up  the

holofiles. They were coded, but he was confident that the Jedi could  crack

them. He would take them back to the Temple.

"These must be his companies," he said. "His aliases  are  here,  text

docs, his other homes, bases of operations... it's all here. We've got him.

All his secrets are now ours."

"It looks like he has an entire fleet of starships on some  planet  in

the Outer Rim," Anakin said. "The planet's name is coded."

As he read the file, the letters began to fade. "Master - "

"The files are disappearing," Obi-Wan said. He quickly hit  the  keys,

tapping furiously. "I can't stop it."

They watched as the information disappeared into fragments  of  light.

The light dissolved into particles.

"He instituted a wipe from wherever he is," Obi-Wan said. "Now  it  is

as though he never existed. He truly is a void."

They stared at the empty air. It was as if Granta Omega  were  mocking

them from wherever he was. "Now he has no past," Anakin said.

"And he's just become more dangerous than ever," Obi-Wan said. "He has

nothing to lose."

Obi-Wan watched the emotion flit over his  Padawan's  face.  Confusion

was there, and wonderment. Granta Omega had  touched  something  in  Anakin

that Obi-Wan could only guess at. Perhaps it was their similar origins, the

desolation of the places they'd known as children. Perhaps it was  the  way

they had left their pasts behind. Perhaps it was simply that for the  first

time, Anakin had seen evil coupled with charisma,  and  was  struggling  to

understand it.

He wasn't sure what it was. But it worried him.

Yes, the Jedi had a dangerous enemy. It wasn't Omega's cleverness that

concerned Obi-Wan. It wasn't his desire to impress a Sith Lord he had never

met. It was the strange pull he had for his  Padawan.  Granta  Omega  might

turn out to be the most dangerous enemy they would ever have to face.