by Jude Watson
"What do you think?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin as they headed to a nearby café for the midday meal. "Do they seem brainwashed to you?" He was always curious about Anakin's perceptions. Often he was startled to discover they were sharper than his own. Anakin saw things intuitively, while Obi-Wan knew he had a tendency to overanalyze.
"Not brainwashed," Anakin said. "Just sad, somehow."
"Sad?"
"Well, they gave up. That's always sad, isn't it? And leaving your family and friends behind makes you sad, too. They push it way down. But it's there. It's there in their dreams. Where else can it go?"
Intrigued, Obi-Wan mulled over Anakin's words. He would not have phrased it that way or perhaps even formed the same thoughts, but Anakin had put his finger on what was bothering him.
The only trouble was, they couldn't bring a charge of "instituting sadness" back to the Senate. They hadn't really found any evidence against Uni.
A group of security officers suddenly wheeled around the corner in lockstep. Obi-Wan watched them curiously at first. Then his instinct kicked in. The officers were coming for the Jedi.
The officers were armed with blasters (still in their holsters) and electro-jabbers (in their hands). Anakin had picked up on the disturbance in the Force a beat later than Obi-Wan. He tensed and glanced at his Master, uncertain of what to do. Obi-Wan didn't want to engage with security aboard the vessel. This was to be a peaceful investigation, nothing more.
The lead security officer brandished his electro-jabber. "You must come with us."
"On whose authority?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Uni's. Now move."
The officer raised his electro-jabber and moved toward Anakin. Obi-Wan saw that he meant to use it. Such a blow could paralyze Anakin's arm or leg for some time. The security officer didn't have a chance to blink. Obi-Wan's lightsaber was activated and moving before the electro-jabber had shifted even a few centimeters. The lightsaber neatly cleaved the jabber in two. The officer crashed to his knees from the strength of the blow. He was unhurt, but dazed.
Immediately the other security officers sprang forward. Anakin had already whirled away from the first officer and drawn his lightsaber. It was only a training lightsaber on loan from the Temple, but even its low power was effective.
"No harm, only disarm," Obi-Wan had a chance to murmur before he flipped backward to avoid a security officer who tried to come at him from his left. Obi-Wan turned, his lightsaber a blur of heat and energy, and turned the electro-jabber into a smoking heap on the floor.
Anakin's training lightsaber circled and whirled before an upward sweep sent the third officer's electro-jabber crashing to the floor in two molten piles. Obi-Wan and Anakin sprang forward to defend themselves against the last two officers, who stumbled backward, unnerved by the display of Jedi skill. One dropped his electro-jabber and fumbled for his blaster. Obi-Wan cleaved the other's electro-jabber in two and turned the blade of the lightsaber close to the last officer's face.
"Do you really want to draw that weapon?" he asked.
The security officer's eyes wobbled. He licked his lips. "Not-no."
"We will come with you voluntarily," Obi-Wan said, looking at each officer in turn. "Do you understand?"
The first officer stood. "We are well trained," he said to Obi-Wan. "We just never met Jedi before. If you'll follow us ..."
Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and motioned for Anakin to do the same.
The security officers formed a wary guard around them. The first officer marched toward the turbolift.
"What do you think this is about?" Anakin murmured.
"I have no idea," Obi-Wan answered. "Either we've violated some rule, or Uni has decided he's had enough investigation."
They proceeded to the upper level and were marched to Uni's quarters. The doors slid open. The security officers lined up against the back wall. Vox and Uni stood in the middle of the room, waiting for them. Obi-Wan could see that Vox was trembling with rage.
"As always, we see that we cannot trust the Jedi," Vox spat out. "We invited you to share our home, and you have betrayed us. Our confidential files have been broken into!"
Den, Obi-Wan thought in despair. He should have remembered that Den hadn't been the most accomplished thief, even when it had been his profession.
"You are accusing us?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Of course I am accusing you!" Vox almost screamed.
"We did not break into your files," Obi-Wan said honestly.
"Can you tell me you were not involved?" Vox sneered. He waved a hand. "Never mind. My son and I know firsthand how the Jedi order twists the truth--“
"We don't!" Anakin burst out. "Jedi don't lie."
Vox gave Anakin a contemptuous glance. "What do you know, boy? Has your Master told you how he killed another Jedi student and then lied about it? Ah, I thought not."
"That's not true," Anakin shot back.
"The past is not at issue here," Uni said, placing a hand on his father's arm. "We are speaking of right now. You have violated our trust, Obi-Wan Kenobi. We demand that you summon your transport to collect you. Until then, you are confined to your quarters." Uni spoke more calmly than his father, but Obi-Wan could see the hard fury in his eyes. He picked up a sense of triumph as well, as though Uni had been waiting for Obi-Wan to misstep. He was exhilarated to have an excuse to toss the Jedi off his ship. Things were still personal between them.
"I am here on the Senate's behalf," Obi-Wan tried. "If you order us to leave before our investigation is complete, a fuller investigation will follow. The Senate will not take kindly to this, especially since you have no evidence that we were involved."
A flicker of worry passed over Uni's face, but Vox waved his hand as if flapping away a pesky insect. "We are not worried about that," Vox said. "The Senate does not frighten us."
"Contact your return transport right now," Uni said. "We do not allow outsiders to dock on our ship, but we will make an exception. Then we must confiscate your comlink."
Obi-Wan considered his options. They could resist. Escape from this room would be easy. He was not threatened in the least by the security officers in the room, although no doubt Uni and Vox gained comfort from their presence.
But where would they go? They could hide on the ship. Den would help them. But what would that accomplish? He had not seen any evidence that beings aboard the BioCruiser were mistreated. There was no compelling reason for him to defy Uni and Vox at this point.
The veiled triumph in Uni's gaze now blazed into life. He had Obi-Wan cornered, and he knew it.
Obi-Wan reached for his comlink and activated it. He punched in Garen's frequency.
"We are done here," he said. "We need a pickup." He gave Garen the coordinates that Uni handed him.
"That was fast. You're lucky. I'm nearby, in the Tentrix system. I can be there in an hour," Garen replied.
They cut the communication. Uni nodded in satisfaction and held out his hand. Obi-Wan put his comlink into it. He then turned to Anakin. After a nod from Obi-Wan, Anakin placed his comlink in Uni's hand.
"These will be returned to you before your departure," Uni said.
"Unlike you, we are not thieves," Vox sneered.
"The security officers will escort you back to your quarters," Uni said. "I will not be seeing you again, Obi-Wan Kenobi." For the first time, he smiled. "I must admit I am glad of it."
CHAPTER 18
Obi-Wan requested that Anakin be allowed to remain with him in his quarters. After a second of hesitation, the first security officer agreed. The door hissed shut, and they were alone.
"Do we really have to leave?" Anakin asked.
"We have an hour," Obi-Wan said. "We should be able to find something out in that time. I wish Uni hadn't asked for our comlinks. We need to hear from Tnani about the background check on Kern."
"But what can we do locked in here?" Anakin asked.
"They didn't take our lightsabers," Obi-Wan pointed out. "I think they kne
w we would not give them up voluntarily. We can get out if we have to. But I don't think we'll need to cut our way out."
Anakin grinned. "Den?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm sure he'll be along. Now, what were your conclusions about the meeting?"
Anakin sat on a chair and focused his concentration. "Vox was afraid," he said at last.
Obi-Wan nodded. "Good."
"It is hard to separate fear from anger," Anakin went on slowly. "Yet I sensed the fear propelling the anger."
"We don't know if he can pinpoint that we were looking for information on Kern," Obi-Wan said. "I have to assume that Den was smart enough to cover his tracks in that area. But he knows we were searching the text-doc files. That was enough to unnerve him. It's a good sign. Den was right. Something is wrong here. Anything else?"
"The point where he should have been nervous, he wasn't," Anakin said. "Most beings in his situation would worry about the Senate's reaction to kicking two Jedi off the ship. After all, they had no evidence we were involved in the text-doc theft. Uni looked worried. But that seemed the least of Vox's concerns."
"Very good, Padawan," Obi-Wan congratulated him. "I could not ask for a more perceptive reading of the situation."
Anakin gave him a sidelong look. "If I am so perceptive, why don't you trust me?"
Surprised at the blunt question, Obi-Wan sat opposite from Anakin. Memory flooded back. Qui-Gon had kept things from him, too. Now Obi-Wan understood his Master's caution. But he also remembered how Qui-Gon's decision to share his past had deepened their connection. It was what he wanted for himself and Anakin.
It was time to tell his Padawan about Bruck.
He took his time, explaining the Temple sabotage, his history with Bruck, and the agony of seeing a boy he'd known die. He explained the hearing but did not tell Anakin of the guilt he felt. Anakin did not have to know every detail.
Anakin shook his head in disbelief when Obi-Wan had finished. "How could they suspect you?"
Obi-Wan's gaze grew cloudy. "Bruck and I had never gotten along. After his death I wondered if I had been the best Jedi I could have been. Instead of meeting his anger with my own, could I have absorbed it without complaint? Could I have tried to understand the source of it? Would that have changed the course of Bruck's life?"
Obi-Wan's gaze cleared, and he looked at Anakin with his usual keenness. "You see why the Jedi Masters at the Temple often speak to you of anger and fear, Anakin. They have seen what it can do. So have I."
"I have, too," Anakin volunteered. "I was a slave, remember, and the son of a slave? I was not brought up in the Temple surrounded by fountains and peace and gentleness. I think I know better than anyone what fear and anger can do." Anakin's voice was suddenly harsh.
Obi-Wan paused, letting the tone remain in the air between them. "I have not forgotten that, Anakin," he said quietly. "Nor should you. It is part of what shapes you. But if that memory always brings you back to your anger, you must find a way to think of it differently."
A soft knock came at the door. "Are you in there?" Den called softly.
Obi-Wan quickly crossed to the door. "We've been locked in. Can you get us out?"
Den chuckled. "Does a dinko bite? Does a howl runner howl? Does a nightcrawler--“
"All right, Den," Obi-Wan said through the door. "But first we need a comlink. I have to contact the Temple."
"No problem," Den murmured. "I'll be back before you notice I'm gone. Don't go anywhere."
They heard his footsteps recede.
"Let's get back to Vox Chun," Obi-Wan said. "If we both picked up that it was odd he wasn't nervous about the Senate reaction, we should wonder why."
"I don't know," Anakin confessed.
"There are two possible answers," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. "One, that Vox has a powerful ally in the Senate who will smooth over any difficulties for the BioCruiser. Or two--and this is more disturbing--that Vox is allied with an organization that is even more powerful than the Senate." Obi-Wan stood up and began to wander around the room. "The galaxy has changed. It's full of criminal organizations. Some of them are enormously powerful. With the Senate mired in debate, there is little they have done to control this. Even Chancellor Palpatine is powerless to stop their growth."
"If the second guess is true, do you think this powerful organization is interested in the BioCruiser?" Anakin asked.
"Well, it does have a large treasury," Obi-Wan mused. "But attacking a ship this large has logistical problems. They wouldn't want to destroy the ship--they'd lose the treasury. There could be another reason, something else we don't know yet."
They heard a series of beeps at the door, and it slid open. Den jumped inside quickly and the door hissed shut behind him. He tossed Obi-Wan a comlink.
"You see? I can always get you out of trouble," he beamed.
"You got us into trouble," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Vox and Uni figured out that someone had broken into the text-doc files."
"Kill me now!" Den said, his hand over his heart. "I did my very best. Nobody's perfect."
Obi-Wan signaled Tnani at the Temple. A moment later his voice came through. "Obi-Wan, I have been trying to signal you. Someone answered but they did not use the coded frequency."
"My comlink was confiscated," Obi-Wan explained. "What do you have?"
"The text-doc for Kern checks out on all the normal channels for deep background," Tnani said. "But a little further digging tells me that Kern is actually a fabricated identity. This being called Kern died eight years ago. Here is the odd thing--he was a Senate operative."
"A no-name," Obi-Wan said.
"Yes, that is the term. Those names are retired, but someone has resurrected this one."
"Thank you, Tnani." Obi-Wan turned to the others. "If Kern is in league with Vox, they must be planning something. And if they suspect that we are close to exposing them, that might step up their timetable."
"Right now there is a General Meeting taking place in the great hall two levels down," Den told them. "Everyone is required to attend, except for skeleton staff. Vox's quarters are empty." He held up the small device he had used to circumvent the door's security system. "I can break in."
Anakin jumped up. "What are we waiting for?"
They met no one as they hurried to Vox's quarters. It only took Den three seconds to break into the room. Vox had plush, comfortable quarters twice the size of Uni's. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Den searched the room and went through Vox's holofiles. They found nothing suspicious.
"Well, of course he wouldn't leave anything incriminating out in the open," Den said, his gaze roaming the room. "Let's see. Beings usually hide things according to their natures. Vox is vain, lazy--never seen him volunteer to help a soul on this ship--and frail." Den crossed to Vox's sleep-couch and lay down on it experimentally. "You see? Everything is right here, so he doesn't have to get up. Comlink, monitor, light, mirror--I told you he was vain ..." Den flipped over in order to examine the buttons on a console. "Why are there so many buttons on this thing?"
Den pressed a button, and the closet doors opened. Another, and the light over the washbasin came on. He pressed buttons and levers and dials, activating various doors and lighting controls. He pressed one button and loud music suddenly blared. Anakin covered his ears.
"Glad to see you're keeping this low profile," Obi-Wan shouted over the music as Den fell off the sleep-couch in an attempt to turn the music off.
The music ended abruptly. The silence was complete. Den remained on the floor.
"Den?"
"Well, kill me now. What's this? Another control panel." Den reached out an arm and pressed a button just below the slat of the sleep-couch, where someone lying down could easily reach it. The thick railing of the sleep-couch support slid out, knocking Den in the head. It revealed a secret drawer cleverly concealed in the bottom of the sleep-couch.
"Ow!" he cried, rubbing his forehead.
Obi-Wan hurried forward. "What is it?"
Den cra
ned his neck to see into the compartment. He let out a low whistle. "Somebody's not turning over his own wealth to the ship treasury, that's for sure," he said. "Look at all this crystalline vertex. Tradable throughout the galaxy." Den held up his cupped hands, displaying the currency. "Can you imagine his face if he found all this gone?" Den made an approximation of Vox's long, thin face, then added an expression of horror.
"Put it back," Obi-Wan told him sternly.
"Joke, right?" Den asked hopefully.
"May I remind you that you're a former thief?" Obi-Wan pointed out.
Den sighed and let the vertex run through his fingers back into the drawer. "Let's try the next button. This time I'll keep my distance." Den jumped up on the sleep-couch for safety this time. He pressed the next button, and another concealed compartment slid out.
Obi-Wan hurried forward. "There's a holoprojector here, too. Now we're getting somewhere." Obi-Wan quickly activated the device, accessing the file directory.
"Let's see," Obi-Wan murmured. "Here's an itinerary of stops the BioCruiser will make over the next six months."
"That's odd," Den said. "I didn't think stops were planned in advance. We just cruise until we have a problem, then find the nearest planet. Or at least we're supposed to think so."
"Here's an evacuation plan for the ship." Obi-Wan accessed the file. "It looks pretty routine. But why would Vox be so interested in safety procedures?"
"Beats me. I was on the original committee that drafted the plan. He never came to the meetings. What's that?" Den pointed to an icon at the bottom of the plan. Obi-Wan touched it, and another file opened. It was titled "Broken Circle
," but it was blank.
"This could be coded," Den said. "Holofiles can appear blank if you don't know the password. Not to worry, my friends. I never met a code I couldn't crack. I just need a little time." He looked over at a chrono on Vox's table. "We'd better get back. The meeting is over. But let's take this before we go." Den reached down and swept up the tiny holoprojector unit. He stuffed it inside his shirt.