by Джуд Уотсон
Obi-Wan frowned. He knew the Delacrix System. They'd passed it on the way to Kegan. Qui-Gon had said it was a thriving system of planets orbiting around three suns. All the worlds traded together in harmony. They had all recently joined the Galactic Senate.
"Who can tell me why the Delacrix System is dangerous?" the teacher asked. "0-lris?"
"The Delacrix System is dangerous because it is controlled by pirates," a small, red-haired girl said in an almost-whisper. "Its third sun is in perpetual nova, so it can melt the engines of passing craft. The pirates divert passing traffic into the outer edges of the exploding sun to force a landing."
Obi-Wan stared at the small girl in amazement. Everything she'd said was untrue.
Observation without interference, Qui-Gon had said. If he kept his mouth closed, he could learn.
Just as Obi-Wan resolved to stay silent no matter what, Siri spoke up.
"But that's not true!" she protested.
"I did not call on you, O-Siri," O-Bin said severely. "If you wish to ask a question, touch your data screen."
Siri touched her data screen.
0-Bin's lips were tight as she smiled and turned back to her. "Yes, O-Siri?"
"The Delacrix System is not overrun by pirates," Siri said.
"That is not a question," O-Bin said. Her cheeks flushed red. "Two marks."
"And its sun is not in perpetual nova," Siri added. "It's a peaceful system with a thriving trade."
"Three marks." 0-Bin's smile was forced. "That makes eleven marks all together. You have caught up to your stubborn companion."
"Come on, Obi-Wan," Siri muttered without moving her lips. "Give me a hand here."
Obi-Wan sighed. He touched his data screen.
"Question, V-Obi?"
"Delacrix is a safe, peaceful system," Obi-Wan said. "Travel is not dangerous. Caution is required, but — "
"Four marks for disobedience!" 0-Bin's voice screeched. She cleared her throat and smiled. "You are not contributing to the General Good. Now we turn to the next outlying system. Please consult your screens."
The words scrolled across Obi-Wan's screen.
THE PLANET STIEG PRESENTS MORE HAZZARDS.
"Can anyone say why?" O-Bin asked, facing the class. "V-Davi?"
The slender, sandy-haired boy spoke up. "Stieg has no organized government or ruling system. Tribes are locked in constant warfare."
Siri stood up on legs that still trembled from the effects of the electro-jabber. "Hold on. The Stieg-Fan are peaceful and fun-loving. And Stieg has a perfectly fine system of government!"
O-Bin's face grew flushed. "Thank you for your contribution, 0-Siri, but it is a lie."
"I don't lie!"
Obi-Wan wanted to tug on Siri's tunic to make her sit down. But he couldn't undo what she'd already said. He'd have to back her up.
"Siri is right. Stieg is peaceful," Obi-Wan said.
O-Bin seemed about to explode. She squeezed her hands together. Then, she smiled.
"You two make it difficult to keep up with how many punishment marks you have," she said in a tone that hit each word like a sharp rap against a tuneless bell. "I'm afraid greater punishment is called for. You will both clean up the food service area for the entire school after the evening meal."
The sandy-haired student called V-Davi looked at them sympathetically.
"Think again," Siri shot back. "I don't have to follow your rules. I'm not under your authority!"
"If you choose to refuse your punishment and hurt the General Good,"
O-Bin continued, "not one student will eat today."
Fifty pairs of angry eyes turned and stared at Obi-Wan and Siri.
"Now, do you still refuse?" O-Bin asked.
Under cover of his tunic, Obi-Wan nudged Siri to silence. He would not be responsible for depriving the students of food. When they didn't respond, O-Bin turned away, a smug smile of satisfaction on her face.
"Great," Siri whispered. "Not only are we trapped, we're trapped with dirty dishes."
O-Bin didn't turn. "Four punishment marks, 0-Siri," she said sweetly.
Qui-Gon and Adi stood in the middle of the Gathering Circle. Around them rose an open-air coliseum with stone slabs serving as benches.
"All Keganites participate in the governing of Kegan," V-Haad said proudly. "V-Tan and 0-Vieve bring problems to the people. They do not supply solutions, merely proposals. Every citizen gets a vote."
A low, circular building was built next to the coliseum. In one of the few examples of finery on Kegan, its dome was painted gold.
"Here is the Central Dwelling, where our Benevolent Guides reside,"
O-Rina said. "We will request an audience for you."
O-Rina and V-Haad brought them to a small room with whitewashed walls that contained benches for seating. "They will be with you shortly," O-Rina said. "We'll await you at the front entrance."
In moments the door opened and two elder Keganites in soft white robes appeared. The woman's silver hair was braided and hung down her back. The man's was silver as well. Their beaming smiles seemed more sincere than those of the Hospitality Guides.
"Welcome, Qui-Gon Jinn and Adi Gallia," the woman said. "I am O-Vieve, and this is V-Tan. It is our honor to greet you."
The two Jedi bowed.
"We hope that you will be able to assist us," Qui-Gon said. "We arrived with our Padawans, Siri and Obi-Wan. They wandered off and we have been unable to find them."
V-Tan folded his hands. "The Hospitality Guides have informed us of this. We are concerned."
"We have decided to launch a search," O-Vieve said. "We will inform our citizens that the children are missing. We should have results very soon."
"We should like to join in the search," Qui-Gon said.
O-Vieve nodded at him sympathetically. "I feel your concern, yet you do not know our world. We can search quicker and more efficiently. V-Tan and I would be grateful if you would accept our hospitality during this short time. We have guest quarters prepared here in the Central Dwelling. I am certain you need food and rest. We will bring your Padawans to you."
Qui-Gon was about to protest, but Adi nodded. "Thank you," she said.
V-Tan and O-Vieve murmured that it was no trouble at all, and they were happy to be able to meet the gracious and kind Jedi. The Hospitality Guides would be waiting in the front reception hallway to show them the way to their rooms.
Qui-Gon and Adi strode into the hallway. As soon as they were out of earshot, Qui-Gon murmured, "We can't rely on them to search."
"Of course not," Adi agreed. "But if we had continued to protest, it wouldn't have done any good. They wouldn't have given in. They are not afraid of us the way O-Rina and V-Haad are."
"Afraid of us?" Qui-Gon asked, startled. "Nervous, perhaps. But why would they be afraid of us?"
"That is something I do not know," Adi said. "Yet."
Qui-Gon paused. The reception area was just ahead, and he did not want the Hospitality Guides to see them. "We need to go back to the beginning. We need to talk to V-Nen and 0-Melie. Perhaps Obi-Wan and Siri's failure to come back is linked to O-Lana's disappearance."
Adi nodded. "How can we avoid 0-Rina and V-Haad?"
"This way," Qui-Gon said, turning and heading back down the hallway. He turned to the left, then the right.
"How do you know where to go?" Adi asked.
Qui-Gon smiled. "While I was at the Temple, I took sensory lessons from Jedi Master Tahl. When she was blinded, she learned to improve her other senses. I'm following my sense of smell."
Adi concentrated. "Food. Something is cooking."
"And where there is food, there is waste. Where there is waste, there is usually an exit," Qui-Gon explained.
"And I always look for a window," Adi said, hurrying beside him.
The kitchen was empty except for a cook who was grinding a vegetable into a paste, his back to the door. Qui-Gon and Adi Gallia moved swiftly and silently past him and slipped out the door into a
small area with waste bins. They skirted them and headed back in the direction they had come.
The distance wasn't far, and soon they stood at V-Nen and O-Melie's door. Qui-Gon knocked softly.
V-Nen opened it. The hopeful expression on his face faded when he saw the Jedi.
"I thought there was word of Lana," he said.
"You must trust us," Adi told him. "We can help you protect your daughter."
O-Melie joined her husband at the door.
"We have nothing more to say," V-Nen said. "I must head for work at the Communications Circle now."
"We are late and must be going," 0-Melie said. "Please do not follow us."
O-Melie's words were cool, but her eyes pleaded with them. What was she asking?
Before they could react, she shut the door in their faces.
Adi looked at Qui-Gon. The glance they exchanged was full of meaning.
They did not speak for a moment as a skyhopper buzzed overhead.
"I suppose we should head back," Adi said.
"Yes," Qui-Gon agreed. "We can do no good here."
They turned and left the Dwelling Circle. But hope rose in Qui-Gon's heart. At last he was beginning to understand.
Siri heaved another tub of dirty dishes into the sink. Sudsy water slopped on the floor.
"What slab-brain decided that turbo dish-cleaners were bad for the General Good?" she asked, picking up a cleaning rag.
"Menial labor attentively completed adds to the General Good," Obi-Wan said.
She shot him a sidelong look. "You sound like one of them."
"It's starting to sink in." Obi-Wan dried the last dish from the enormous rack and placed it on a pile.
Siri gazed out at the narrow band of windows that ran along the top of the wall. All the windows at the Learning Circle were set high in the walls.
They allowed light in, but restricted a view of outside. They had been told that afternoon that contemplation of the outdoors was a waste of time they should be devoting to The Learning.
"It's getting dark," Siri said. "I say we break out tonight. We still have our lightsabers."
"I think we should wait," Obi-Wan said.
"For what?" Siri asked, rinsing off a plate. "The breakfast dishes?"
Obi-Wan spoke calmly. "For several things. One, we don't know what kind of security the Learning Circle has. We should discover that before we try.
Remember that Qui-Gon and Adi told us not to cause disruption."
"But that was before we were captured," Siri argued.
"I know," Obi-Wan said. "No doubt they are worried by now. But that's still not a reason to try a risky escape. If we plan it, we might be able to avoid a fight."
Siri gazed at him in disbelief. "Is that all you care about? Avoiding a fight?"
Obi-Wan struggled to hold on to his temper. "I've learned on missions with Qui-Gon that it is always best to avoid a fight if you can. You should have learned that at the Temple."
Siri flushed pink. She knew that Obi-Wan was right. A Jedi always sought to avoid a conflict. Infinitely more ways there are to reach a goal, Yoda had said many times. Try them all you should.
"You seem to forget that we're Jedi," she said. "If we just reveal that we are, they'd let us go. They'd know that we aren't Keganites then."
"But we don't know that they'd let us go," Obi-Wan countered. "It's an option, but I still think we should wait. Qui-Gon told us not to reveal that we are Jedi. And Yoda told us to avoid disruption at all costs. Until we absolutely have to, I say we stay undercover. What if we're really being held because we are Jedi? Or what if we get Qui-Gon and Adi Gallia in trouble by proving that we're Jedi? We don't know what our Masters are up to right now." Obi-Wan shook his head. "There are too many questions. Unless we can find a way to leave quietly, we should remain for the time being. Think of it this way — we can learn about Kegan society here. This is like an indoctrination camp."
"Are you always so cautious?" Siri asked him.
"I wasn't always," Obi-Wan answered. "But now I am."
He met her gaze steadily. She knew what he was referring to. He had acted impulsively once, and almost lost his way. Now he knew: It was always tempting to act. It was often wiser to wait.
Frustrated, Siri threw the cleaning rag into the sink. It slapped against the water and sent another shower of suds onto the floor. Obi-Wan sighed. After the dish cleaning, there would be plenty of mopping to do, too.
"So we have to stay and listen to lies while we clean up after the whole school?" Siri asked, disgusted.
"We wouldn't have been forced to clean up if you didn't keep correcting O-Bin," Obi-Wan observed mildly.
"And let that teacher fill the students' minds with lies?" Siri asked in disbelief. "How can we do that, Obi-Wan? You know that everything they teach here is wrong."
"What you said didn't make a difference," Obi-Wan argued. "No one believed us, and we got stuck with cleaning detail."
"So this is all my fault," Siri said.
"It's not up to me to assign blame," Obi-Wan said testily. "But if you insist, yes!"
"You're the one who didn't want to break out when we could!" Siri exploded. "We should have made a run for it."
Obi-Wan opened his mouth to refute her, but a hesitant voice came from behind him.
"That wouldn't have been a good idea."
They turned. V-Davi, the slight boy from class, stood in the doorway.
His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his tunic.
"The Security Guides have great power here," he said. "It's not wise to oppose them. And be sides, it's against the General Good."
"Thanks for the tip," Obi-Wan said.
Sir! picked up a mop and began to clean up the water and suds she'd spilled. "Why are you here, V-Davi?" she asked in a kindly way. "You don't have punishment marks too, do you?"
"No. I have food preparation duty tomorrow. I thought I would get a head start tonight." V-Davi headed for a bin of vegetables. He started up a grinding machine and began to toss them in.
"You mean they actually prepare the stuff they serve?" Siri grumbled.
"I thought they just scooped it out of the trash bin."
Obi-Wan grinned. It was true; the food at the Learning Circle was terrible. All vegetables and meats were ground into a paste and then formed into round disks and cooked. The disks were so tasteless and tough that they could be used for shockball. He glanced at V-Davi to see if he had taken offense.
V-Davi's face was frozen in surprise, as if he'd never heard a joke before. Then he laughed. "The food is bad, yes. But it's not my fault. They tell me how to cook it."
"I wasn't blaming you, V-Davi," Siri told him. "You'd have to be a genius to come up with food this bad."
"At least I can help you finish cleaning up," V-Davi offered. "I don't mind."
"Don't worry about it," Siri told him as she finished mopping. "I got us into this. But you can tell us more about yourself while we work."
"How old were you when you came to the Learning Circle?" Obi-Wan asked.
"It was seven years ago. I was two years old," V-Davi said as he ran more vegetables through the grinder. "My parents died during the great Toli-X outbreak. I was sent here. Most children on Kegan don't start The Learning until they are four years old."
Siri exchanged a glance with Obi-Wan. Toli-X had been a deadly mutated virus that traveled through asteroid molds from world to world ten years before. A vaccine had been developed shortly after it had appeared. In other words, if Kegan had been in touch with other worlds in the galaxy, no one need have died.
Between them, a silent message was passed: Don't tell him. Not if we don't have to.
"Do you like living here?" Siri asked, turning to dry the dishes on the rack.
"Of course," V-Davi responded. "Thanks to The Learning, I am preparing how to best serve the General Good."
It sounded like one of the rote responses they had listened to in class. Obi-Wan helped Siri dry the tall stack of di
shes. "Do you ever get to leave the Learning Circle?"
"When your course of study is complete," V-Davi said. "Usually around sixteen. But you know this."
"We aren't from here, V-Davi," Siri said. "O-Bin doesn't believe us, but it's true. Where do you go when you leave the Learning Circle?"