by Джуд Уотсон
Professor Lundi had almost lost his life on Kodai when he'd attempted to go after the Sith Holocron buried under the planet's vast sea. He'd survived, but his sanity was gone — eaten away by the ancient device lurking under the pounding waves.
Lundi writhed in his seat, trying to get free.
Since that fateful night on Kodai he'd been tried for the crime of attempting to bring a great evil into active existence in the galaxy. Not only was he trying to obtain the Holocron, there was significant evidence that he'd intended to use it for evil purposes.
This was not a crime the Republic took lightly.
Lundi himself had confessed to the crime. In fact, during the trial he'd boasted about momentarily having the Holocron in his hands. It wasn't easy to get his statement. His rants sometimes lasted days, ending only when the mad Quermian collapsed. Even then, after he'd been bound and put in a cell so that he couldn't hurt himself — or anyone else — he continued to twitch and mutter angrily in his sleep.
"Weak child," Lundi growled, glaring at Obi-Wan through the bars of his cell. "You are nothing. Nothing."
Obi-Wan stared back at the professor. His feelings for Murk Lundi had not changed in ten years. The professor's evil and insanity thoroughly repulsed him, and Obi-Wan would have liked to remain as far from Lundi as possible. But he could not defy the Council's decision. An assignment was an assignment.
Obi-Wan had been surprised when he and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, were summoned to the Temple earlier that day. Out of the blue, the mission they were on was taken over by another Jedi team. This had never happened to Obi-Wan before. Whenever he and his deceased Master Qui-Gon Jinn or he and Anakin were assigned to a mission, they always saw it through to completion. At least until now.
As they'd made their way through the Temple corridors, Obi-Wan had noted that Anakin was annoyed by the abrupt shift in plans. The thirteen- year-old apprentice had clearly been enjoying himself on the originally assigned mission — it allowed him to tinker with the weapons systems on a sleek ship.
"This better be good," he'd grumped.
Obi-Wan had counseled the boy, telling him that even if it wasn't "good," it would certainly be important. Anakin had merely rolled his eyes as they'd entered the Jedi Council Chambers.
Obi-Wan had momentarily marveled at this. As a Padawan learner, entering the Council Chambers always made his palms sweat, his heart race.
An incredibly important place to be, it never failed to make him slightly nervous. Anakin never showed signs of nervousness upon entering the Council Chambers. He simply walked right in, as if it were the home of an old friend.
As soon as he and Anakin had entered the Chambers, Obi-Wan knew that whatever had brought them there was serious. All of the Jedi Masters were present, and the expression on Yoda's face was unusually grave.
"Rumblings once again about the Sith Holocron on Kodai there are,"
Yoda said, not wasting any time. "Planning to recover it someone is."
Obi-Wan had felt a wave of fear go through him. He'd been having troubling dreams and visions for several nights. At first he hadn't been sure why. Then he'd realized that almost exactly ten years had passed since he and Qui-Gon had first followed Dr. Murk Lundi to the Sith Holocron. The moons of Kodai would soon be in synchronous orbit, once again causing an amazingly low tide. And that was when attempts were made to recover the Holocron.
"That is not all," Master Ki-Adi Mundi added. There was a moment of silence in the Chambers before he went on.
"Jedi all over the galaxy have been receiving threatening messages about the Sith gaining power. Some of these messages contain images of Jedi being brutally killed."
Mace Windu cleared his throat. "At first we believed these threats to be the work of trivial criminals out for attention," he said. "But given the dangerous nature of the information in the Holocron and the fact that the Sith have returned, we must treat these threats very seriously."
"Take action immediately, we must," Master Yoda said, nodding slightly. "Fall into the wrong hands, the Holocron must not. Give the Sith such a victory, we must not."
Standing before the semicircle of Jedi Masters, Obi-Wan had briefly closed his eyes. He could feel his body filling with dread and wanted to let it wash through him. Doing so had not been easy.
Obi-Wan knew that he and Anakin were the obvious Jedi team for this mission. After all, he was more familiar with Lundi, the Holocron, and Kodai than any other living Jedi. But it was not an assignment he looked forward to — or even felt comfortable with. Not only was he without the help and guidance of Qui-Gon, but his Master had died at the hand of an emergent Sith Lord.
"What's the matter, Jedi?" Lundi spat. "Lost in a memory?"
Obi-Wan was jolted back to the moment. Something wet splattered across his face. Lundi's saliva.
"You'd better wat — " Anakin started to shout protectively. But Obi- Wan quickly raised an arm to quiet his Padawan.
Calmly wiping his face with the sleeve of his robe, Obi-Wan gazed back at the professor. He would not show anger or frustration. Though he desperately wished he could go on this mission without this crazed, evil being, he knew he could not. Their best chance of stopping anyone seeking the Holocron was to have Lundi's wealth of knowledge — however garbled and menacing — with them.
Obi-Wan stared into the old Quermian's visible eye, searching for a glimmer of repentance or sanity. Either one would grant him a small sense of hope.
But as Murk Lundi glared back at him, Obi-Wan saw neither.
Chapter 14
Anakin took a small step forward, trying to see into the Quermian's eye. It was a difficult task, since his head bobbed and weaved like a bird's. Anakin knew this to be a symptom of insanity. As a boy on Tatooine, he'd seen some of the street dwellers do the same thing.
But this was different. Standing in front of Lundi's cell in the mental hospital, Anakin felt intrigued. There was something strong here — something powerful.
Anakin noted how Lundi's uncovered eye narrowed to a dark slit as he glared at Obi-Wan. It burned with a fiery hatred. He'd never seen anyone look at Obi-Wan like that. It was a little unsettling. Of course, Anakin would have chosen unsettling and interesting over boring any day. Today someone had chosen it for him.
Suddenly Lundi lunged forward, thrusting his head and long Quermian neck between the bars. Anakin leaned back as Lundi began to rant about the Holocron yet again.
"Moons are moving. Tides are turning," he rambled. A few of his gangly arms waved in the air. "I knew you would not stay away. None have.
They all come to me. Crying. Begging. Screaming. 'Teach me, professor. Show me the way.' They think I have failed. But we know different, don't we?" He stared Obi-Wan down, then went on, almost as if he were talking to himself.
"Yes, of course we know different. We know I did not fail. I could not fail. I held the power. In my hands I held the power. That is different from failure. But then I was robbed! Robbed by robed thieves on a mission of peace. Here, Jedi. Have a piece of this!"
Lundi's many shackled arms awkwardly thrust his food out of his cell, striking Obi-Wan in the face.
Anakin looked at his Master, expecting to see some sort of reaction.
But Obi-Wan didn't flinch. He simply stood before Lundi's cell with a stoic calm.
"We need your help, professor," he said quietly, "to recover the Holocron."
Professor Lundi looked up, clearly surprised. His eye widened and a smile stretched across his face, revealing two rows of decaying teeth. He put his face up to the bars again, and Anakin could smell his rancid breath.
"At last you Jedi have found the right path," he cackled.
Chapter 15
It did not take long for Obi-Wan to arrange to have Lundi released into his custody. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and the professor were on a ship bound for Kodai by late afternoon.
Once they had settled in, Obi-Wan tried again to talk to Lundi.
Though the Jedi knew the Holocro
n had last been seen on Kodai, they were not sure if it was still there. And Obi-Wan felt certain that Lundi had additional information that would prove vital to finding the ancient artifact. Even if Lundi did not intend to help the Jedi, it was possible that there would exist unintentional clues in his torrent of words and abuse.
Though he was hardly joyful, Lundi seemed glad to be out of solitary confinement. Rocking back and forth in his restraining cage, he gazed around the hold of the ship like a curious child.
Obi-Wan hoped the change of scenery would help make Lundi more cooperative. He also hoped that the Quermian was lucid enough to provide accurate information.
"The Jedi are not interested in using the Holocron to promote evil,"
he said, facing Lundi directly. "Rather, we wish to have it recovered so that it can be permanently housed in a safe place."
Lundi's eye glinted, and then he laughed. "You are nothing but a scared weakling — a cowardly boy," he cackled. "You haven't changed at all, and neither have the Jedi. I should have known that the Jedi would not want to tame the Holocron. They do not even have the strength to try."
Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw Anakin leap to his feet.
"Do not insult my Master!" he shouted. "He knows courage far better than you."
"It is all right, Anakin," Obi-Wan said calmly, placing a reassuring hand on his Padawan's shoulder. "I am not vulnerable to insults."
Obi-Wan watched Anakin turn away and sit down in the copilot's seat.
Next to him, the pilot was nervously fiddling with the ship's controls. He was obviously agitated by the professor's ravings. But Lundi was now uncharacteristically silent. Glaring at the Jedi from behind durasteel bars, he did not say a word.
Obi-Wan fitfully rolled over on his sleep couch. It had been more than a day since they'd boarded the ship, and nearly as long since Lundi had spoken. Obi-Wan was now almost certain that Lundi knew who was after the Holocron — and how to get to it before they did. But the Jedi's attempts to pry information out of the professor had proved fruitless. He was locked in a battle of wills with a deranged lunatic, and the deranged lunatic had the upper hand.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and willed himself to relax. Across the room Anakin was sound asleep, the rhythm of his breathing echoing softly in the small space. Obi-Wan cleared his mind. If he didn't get some rest he would be at a disadvantage when they arrived on Kodai.
Just as he was drifting off, a familiar voice came into Obi-Wan's head.
There were others, Padawan, it said. Obi-Wan let out a long breath.
The voice was Qui-Gon's. His deceased Master had always been there to help him, and still was — even in death.
Others were involved in Lundi's search for the Holocron. Contact them. Perhaps Lundi told them something that would be of help to you now.
Obi-Wan opened his eyes. Thank you, Master, he thought as he sat up.
Getting to his feet, he quietly left the room. He wanted to contact Jocasta Nu as soon as possible. They had a couple of days before the low tide on Kodai. There was no time to lose.
It did not take Jocasta long to locate two of the three students who had been closest to Lundi. Both Omal and Dedra were living on the same planet. Obi-Wan directed the pilot to change course. They reached Omal's apartment the next day.
"Omal was one of Dr. Lundi's brightest students," Obi-Wan explained to Anakin after they made sure Lundi was secure and headed down various streets and alleys. "One of the most devoted followers. I'm hopeful he can give us information we can use to move forward."
The two Jedi walked up a flight of rickety steps to a dingy-looking door. Before knocking Obi-Wan looked around and made mental note of the quickest retreat. Lundi's fame had diminished but there was no guarantee that his former followers would be friendly toward Jedi.
When Omal opened the door, Obi-Wan knew immediately that he was no threat nor would he be able to help them. His clothing was dirty and disheveled. His shoulders drooped, and his eyes were constantly darting about, as if looking at any one thing for too long was incredibly painful.
But most of all, it appeared as if Omal's mind was nearly as scrambled as Lundi's. Obi-Wan could almost feel his thoughts bouncing around in his head, bumping into one another and tangling themselves up in knots.
"What do you want?" Omal asked. He glanced at the Jedi's robes, and his hands began to shake.
Sadness and dread washed over Obi-Wan. What had happened to the bright-eyed boy he'd seen at Dr. Lundi's lecture ten years before? What had Lundi — and possibly the Sith Holocron — done to him? And what did that mean to the mission?
"We just want to talk with you, Omal," Obi-Wan said softly. "May we come in?"
Omal didn't reply, but turned away from the door. He meandered into a small living room, and the Jedi followed. Garbage was strewn across the floor and the furniture looked as if it would collapse at any moment. The air was stale and rank. Anakin briefly waved a hand in front of his nose, but Obi-Wan shot him a look that made the boy drop both hands to his sides.
Obi-Wan quickly took in his surroundings, then turned toward Omal, who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the filthy room. He would have to be gentle with him.
"We are Jedi on an important mission," he began. "We are trying to recover the Sith Holocron so that it can be kept safely. Did Professor Lundi ever mention the artifact to you?"
At the mention of the Holocron Omal began to moan softly, rocking back and forth on his heels. Obi-Wan was about to ask something else when the front door opened and Dedra — the second student of Lundi's — came in with a bag of groceries.
Obi-Wan was relieved to see that for the most part Dedra looked like herself. She was older and had a tired look in her eyes, but had retained her sanity. Resting the bag of food on her hip, she gestured to Obi-Wan for the Jedi to come into the kitchen.
"We'll be right back," Obi-Wan said, excusing himself and Anakin. The two Jedi followed Dedra into the kitchen.
"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan said, "and this is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker." Though he had seen Dedra at a lecture of Professor Lundi's, they had never actually been introduced.
"Your name is not important," Dedra replied.
"I know that you are a Jedi, and suspect that you are looking for the Sith Holocron."
Obi-Wan nodded. "We wish to put it safely away — for good," he explained.
A look of sadness spread across Dedra's face. "That would be nice,"
she said. "It has already done so much damage to so many." She glanced toward the living room. Obi-Wan knew she was not talking about the ancient tyranny of the Sith.
"Omal's mental state is fragile," she explained. "It is best not to mention Lundi or the Holocron in his presence."
"I gathered that," Obi-Wan said, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Do you know what happened?"
Dedra turned away and began to unpack some of the groceries. It looked as though she was going to feed Omal a meal. "I only know that he hasn't been the same since Professor Lundi's sabbatical ten years ago," she said.
Dedra pulled some vegetables out of a bag and began to wash them.
Obi-Wan noticed that her hands were shaking slightly, and she kept her eyes on what she was doing.
"And that is all you know?" Obi-Wan asked, looking at her pointedly.
Dedra sighed and her hands dropped into the water basin. "No, not all," she admitted.
Obi-Wan waited patiently for Dedra to continue.
"Ten years ago Omal followed Norval, another of Professor Lundi's star pupils, to Kodai. Norval was fixated on the Holocron, and had secretly joined one of the sects obsessed with obtaining it. He figured out that Lundi was going after it, and decided the professor needed his help. Omal wanted to stop Norval from interfering with Dr. Lundi's attempt. He thought that the kind of power Lundi was talking about would be too much for Norval to handle."
Dedra switched off the water and turned toward Obi-Wan. "I don't know what happened, but it was obviou
sly too much for Omal, too," she said in a whisper. "And since Professor Lundi has been institutionalized ever since, I guess it was too much for him, too."
Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment, thinking. "What happened to Norval?"
he finally asked.
A tortured look came into Dedra's eyes. "I don't know," she said mournfully. "But the best I can hope for is that he is dead."
Chapter 16
Anakin's eyes widened. That was a terrible thing to say. Even when he was a slave as a young boy on Tatooine, he never wished that his life would end. Death seemed so permanent, so final.