Jedi Quest: Path to Truth

by Jude Watson

Siri had been acutely intelligent and scrupulously mindful of Jedi rules.

  Her loyalty to Adi Gallia was unquestioned until they had fallen into

  a severe disagreement. Adi Gallia was known for her intuition, but not

  necessarily her warmth. She had taken the most severe path a Master could -

  she had cut loose her Padawan without recommending her for full Jedi

  status. Furious, Siri had left the Temple abruptly. Obi-Wan had tried to

  find her, but she had cut off any contact with the Temple. She had wandered

  the galaxy. Without her Jedi family, without any ties, she had fallen into

  bad company. And now she was using her skills to work with Krayn. It was an

  astonishing transformation, but Qui-Gon had taught Obi-Wan that he should

  not be surprised by the dark forces that battled within every being. Siri

  had battled her dark side and lost.

  Obi-Wan and Anakin felt the engines thrum underneath their feet. The

  ship slowly rose from its dockingport, then shot out into a space lane.

  Soon they would be far above Coruscant, engaging the hyperdrive.

  "Do you think Krayn will attack the ship?" Anakin asked, looking out

  at the sky through the small view-port.

  "The Colicoids don't seem to think so," Obi-Wan said. "Who knows?

  Krayn has a complicated, galaxy-wide operation. He might not want the

  trouble of tangling with Jedi."

  There was something like disappointment on Anakin's face. He wants to

  meet up with Krayn, Obi-Wan realized. It was probably the normal reaction

  of a young man longing for adventure. Or it could be something darker.

  "You seemed to react to Krayn's name during the briefing," Obi-Wan

  said. "Have you heard of him?" Anakin turned his gaze back to Obi-Wan.

  There was the trace of a shadow in his eyes, something that only Obi-Wan

  would notice, he felt sure. "I know his kind."

  He was holding something back. He had not really answered Obi-Wan's

  question. Anakin never lied to him. Obi-Wan realized with a deep sense of

  unease that he was lying now.

  CHAPTER 6

  "Don't touch that!" A Colicoid officer scurried forward, legs

  clicking. Anakin stepped back from the equipment console in the tech

  readout room. They were coming out of hyperspace too soon.

  "I wasn't touching it," Anakin said. "I was just looking at it. I've

  never seen a tech console like this before."

  "Well, go away," the officer said, blocking the tech console. "This is

  not a place for little boys."

  Anakin drew his power around him. He knew it was there, a combination

  of his own will and the Force, easily tapped, always reachable. He fixed

  his gaze on the officer. "I am not a little boy. I am a Jedi."

  The Colicoid was clearly unnerved as the young human boy before him

  gave him a gaze of such concentrated intensity. It took all of his will to

  stand his ground.

  "Well, go away anyway," he muttered, turning away from that unsettling

  look. "This is no place for you."

  Anakin decided instantly that the tech console was not interesting

  enough to risk a confrontation. He walked away with a dignity that masked

  his irritation. The Colicoids were certainly touchy about their ship. In

  his experience, most beings were happy to indulge in tech-talk and were

  proud of their ships. The Colicoids didn't seem to bond with their

  transports, just looked at them as a way to get them from one place to

  another. Normally he would fill his time poking into the ship's nooks and

  crannies, but the Colicoid crew was constantly breathing down his neck.

  He never knew a mission could be so boring. If only Krayn would

  attack!

  Anakin stopped, appalled at the thought that had risen so buoyantly

  into his mind. Jedi did not wish for confrontation, but met it squarely

  when it came. They looked for peaceful outcomes. He should not long for a

  pirate invasion to spice up a dull trip. It was as wrong as wrong could be.

  But to be fair, he didn't want Krayn to attack because he was bored.

  The thought of the pirate was like a fever in his blood. He wanted - needed

  - to see Krayn face-to-face. He wanted to know if the vision he'd had in

  the cave was true.

  He still felt guilty about lying to Obi-Wan. He could not tell Obi-Wan

  how memory had burst inside him, a burning memory full of details that were

  as fresh and painful as they'd been six years before.

  Well, he hadn't exactly lied - he simply hadn't given a full answer.

  Unfortunately, to the Jedi, that was the same as lying to a Master.

  Sometimes the strict Jedi scruples could be extremely annoying.

  He could not speak of Krayn. Not yet. If he spoke the memory aloud, it

  would choke him. He was afraid of the emptiness he felt whenever he

  remembered his mother. There were so many sleepless nights when he berated

  himself for the comfort of his sleep-couch at the Temple, for his plentiful

  meals, his excellent education, but mostly, for his happiness there. How

  could he continue to take even one more contented breath when his mother

  languished as a slave on a desolate planet?

  In the beginning, when he'd first arrived at the Temple, he could call

  up her voice and smile so easily. He could repeat her soft words to him:

  The greatest gift you can give me, Annie, is to take your freedom.

  But her voice was growing fainter, and her smile growing dim.

  Sometimes he had to struggle to recall the living reality of her face, the

  texture of her skin. He had not seen her in four years. He had been so

  young when he left. His greatest fear was that one day she would leave him

  completely. That he would lose her like a dream. Then he would be hollow

  inside.

  Obi-Wan Kenobi had been raised in the Temple since he was a baby. He

  could not truly know how a childhood could be one of terror and shame mixed

  with comfort and love. He only knew this through his intellect, not his

  experience. It is one thing to see the effects of a terrible childhood. It

  is another to live them every day. So when his beloved Master told him he

  must accept his anger and let it move through him, a small, mean voice in

  Anakin whispered that his Master did not know what he was talking about. He

  did not truly know anger.

  How could he let such rage move through him? Obi-Wan could never

  understand how it beat inside him, threatening never to leave. It had the

  power to consume him. It frightened him, and Anakin did not want to accept

  fear, either. Did this mean he could never be a Jedi Knight?

  When he thought of his fears, his thoughts circled in just this way,

  bringing a spark of panic deep in his belly. It was better to pretend the

  anger wasn't there. Wasn't being a Jedi all about control? He had to find

  his own way to control his feelings. That would be the best way.

  Suddenly, Anakin felt a tremor in the ship. It caused him to stumble

  slightly. The tremor was followed by a blast that sent him flying into the

  corridor wall. Alarm signals began to sound.

  Anakin took off through the maze of twisting corridors toward his

  quarters to find Obi-Wan. The ship was hit again by another blast, and

  began to practice defensive maneuvers. Anakin knew the sh
ip was too large

  to outmaneuver most crafts.

  He was halfway there when he saw Obi-Wan running toward him.

  "We're under attack. It's Krayn," Obi-Wan said tersely. "Let's head

  for the bridge."

  CHAPTER 7

  The two raced into the gloom of the bridge. The crew sat tensely at

  the controls while a few officers raced from one station to another.

  Outside the view-port, they could see vapor trails of proton torpedoes and

  showers of explosives. The ship shook with every nearby blast. It was an

  ambush - Krayn must have known where they would appear.

  Captain Anf Dec stood, his hands gripping the arms of his control

  chair. "Where is the ship?" he screamed. "Where is the ship?"

  "It dived below us, Captain," one of the crew members shouted.

  "Full speed ahead! Full speed! No, left engines full!" Captain Anf Dec

  shouted, his voice on the edge of hysteria. "Where is the ship now?"

  The ship lurched to one side as the crew struggled to reconcile the

  captain's contradictory orders. This lurch was followed by another blast

  that sent everyone on the bridge staggering.

  "Krayn is off to our port, sir," one of the crew members said. "We've

  taken a blow to the fuel driver."

  "What is he doing!" Captain Anf Dec shouted. "Doesn't he know who we

  are?"

  "Yes, Captain. We informed the ship that we were a Colicoid ship with

  a Jedi observation team aboard. As per your instructions," the crew member

  added pointedly.

  "Port-side deflector shield is down," another crew member shouted.

  "What?" the captain asked, scuttling over to stare at the readout.

  "How could that be?"

  "We didn't get it fully operational in time - "

  "Idiots!" Captain Anf Dec nearly fell over as another blast shook the

  ship. "It's an ambush - they must have reset the coordinates of our nav

  computer."

  Anakin and Obi-Wan stared out the view port as the pirate ship shot

  into view. It was smaller than the Colicoid transport, but highly

  maneuverable. By the look of the orbital gun platforms and laser cannons,

  they were also vastly outgunned.

  Because of his acute connection to the Force, Anakin knew his ability

  to read situations was far-ranging. He didn't need the Force now to tell

  him that with a failing ship and a panicked captain, they were in trouble.

  If they couldn't outmaneuver Krayn or outrun him, what options were left?

  He looked at his Master. When it came to strategic thinking, he depended on

  Obi-Wan. His Master could not only process all aspects of difficult

  situations, he could come up with several strategies and hone in on the

  best one - all within seconds.

  "Our only hope is to get a small transport off this ship and

  infiltrate Krayn's ship," Obi-Wan said. "If we can get aboard, we could

  disable the weapons system."

  "What's that?" The Colicoid captain turned his long head. "What did

  you say?"

  "Will you authorize release of one of your transports to us?" Obi-Wan

  asked.

  "What for?"

  "To infiltrate Krayn's ship," Obi-Wan repeated. "It's the only way

  we'll escape destruction or capture."

  "Do what you want. I don't care." Captain Anf Dec clutched the arms of

  his chair as the ship lurched from another blow. "Just do something!"

  "We'll need you to create a diversion."

  "Fine!"

  Without another word, Obi-Wan turned and ran off the bridge. Anakin

  followed, his heart racing. He admired how his Master had sized up the

  situation and chosen a course of action within seconds. It was a daring

  move, but it could be their only hope.

  They reached the cargo bay doors, where a number of small transports

  sat. They were used to ferry passengers or cargo to and from the surface

  while the large ship orbited a planet.

  Obi-Wan stopped and turned to Anakin. "Choose."

  Gratified by his Master's trust, Anakin turned to the ships. He

  surveyed them with a pilot's eye, but also drew in the Force to help with

  the decision. He needed to go on instinct now. He trusted that it would

  tell him the right ship to choose.

  "The G-class shuttle," he said to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan hesitated. "The

  lighter could be faster." Anakin grinned. "Not the way I fly."

  Obi-Wan nodded. They ran toward the three-winged shuttle. Anakin

  activated the hatch and swung himself up into the cockpit. Obi-Wan

  followed.

  Quickly, Anakin familiarized himself with the controls. There wasn't a

  ship made that he couldn't fly. He contacted the crew who operated the bay

  doors and quickly instructed them that they had Captain Anf Dec's

  permission to leave. After a moment, the doors opened slightly, and Anakin

  activated the two lower wings, which lifted into flight mode. They blasted

  off into space.

  "There," Obi-Wan said after only a few seconds. "If you can keep near

  his exhaust, I think our ship is small enough to escape detection. Not to

  mention that Krayn has other things on his mind." The Colicoid had kept his

  promise to create a diversion, flying erratically and letting off enough

  fire to keep Krayn occupied.

  "And what should I do then?" Anakin asked.

  "I'm open to suggestions," Obi-Wan answered.

  But Anakin's mind was already working as soon as Obi-Wan said

  "exhaust." If they could hug the rear of the pirate ship, they might be

  able to slip into the exhaust system. The steam would overheat the craft,

  but if Anakin could push the ship fast enough, they might be able to make

  it into the interior.

  Quickly, he described his plan to Obi-Wan.

  Obi-Wan nodded. "It's possible. But the exhaust tunnels narrow as they

  travel inside the ship. We could be trapped."

  "That's why this shuttle will come in handy," Anakin said. "I can

  retract the wings by degrees and use the third wing to fly."

  Obi-Wan frowned. "That will give you less control."

  Anakin nodded. "I know."

  "And the heat will be intense in that shaft. The ship could overheat."

  "Not if I speed." Anakin knew what Obi-Wan was thinking. He would have

  to pilot the ship fast enough to escape overheating, yet not so fast that

  he'd lose his maneuverability. "I think I can manage it."

  "You think?"

  "I know."

  "Fine. Let's do it."

  Krayn's ship had not spotted them, and Anakin was able to precisely

  mirror the pirate ship's quick attack maneuvers. By hugging Krayn's stern,

  he was able to escape detection. He anticipated which way the ship would

  move as it attacked again and again at the vulnerable parts of the Colicoid

  ship. He followed the ship like a shadow, all the time easing closer to the

  great exhaust valve at the stern.

  The exhaust valve contained a huge whirring propeller. Anakin hung in

  the air, his fingers on the controls, timing the propeller's turn. Obi-Wan

  remained silent, allowing Anakin to gather his concentration. The tiniest

  miscalculation could send them into the twirling blades.

  Anakin knew the seconds were ticking away, and he appreciated Obi-

  Wan's silence. He waited until the Force gathered and united with
his

  instincts and perceptions. He fixed his gaze on the spinning blades. They

  seemed to slow with the level of his concentration. As soon as he felt sure

  that he had fully absorbed the rhythm, he pushed the engines and felt the

  craft zoom toward the exhaust port. He flipped the shuttle sideways to slip

  through the blades.

  The small craft shuddered from the wind created by the powerful

  blades, but it zoomed through an opening with only centimeters to spare.

  Anakin kept his hands tight on the controls. Suddenly there was a blast of

  energy from the powerful exhaust. He was being pushed back into the blades

  again!

  "Hold on!" he shouted.

  He pushed the throttle forward, giving it all he had. A simple touch

  of the blade would send the ship spiraling out of control.

  The engines kicked in. Anakin had to struggle to keep the ship steady.

  They were speeding now - too fast. Within seconds, he saw that Obi-Wan

  had been correct. The shaft was narrowing. Soon there were only a few

  meters between the wings and the sides of the tunnel. Anakin quickly

  activated the wing controls so that the two side wings folded up toward the

  body of the ship. He felt the controls jump in his hands, but he held the

  ship firmly, slowing it down.

  "I see light ahead," Obi-Wan murmured. Although Anakin knew there