Star Wars Jedi Quest #2The Trail of the Jedi

By Jude Watson

Chapter One

From deep space, the planet Ragoon-6 lay concealed by a bluemist shimmering in the midst broke into sparkling particlesthat swirled around the viewscreen. The ship broke throughinto a planetary atmosphere so clear it seemed astransparent as water. Glinting below was a planet as greenas a flashing jewel.

Anakin Skywalker's breath caught as he leaned forward. Hehad never seen such a beautiful approach to a planet.

Obi-Wan Kenobi put a hand on Anakin's shoulder as he, too,leaned forward. "I had forgotten how beautiful it is."

Anakin glanced at his Master. Despite his beard, his face suddenly looked young, even younger than when Anakin had methim five years before, when Anakin was nine years old. Obi-Wan had been a Padawan then, just like Anakin was now. Nodoubt Obi-Wan was remembering his other trips to the planet,the ones he had taken with his own Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

Wren Honoran, their Jedi pilot, nodded. "I always forgetuntil next time I see it. It takes your breath away everytime."

"It's amazing that it hasn't been colonized," Anakin said.

"It was given in trust to the Senate by it own government,"Obi-Wan explained. "Only small tribes of natives stillinhabit it. A Senate committee handles request to visit.Only the Jedi and small groups of beings can visit at anyone time. Access is strictly controlled. That was Ragoon-6will remain unspoiled, as the government wanted. The are noair lanes, no factories, no cities."

"The Ragoons never allowed colonizers to settle," Wren said.Their own population sickened and dwindles until finallythere was only a handful left. They could no longer keepout all those who wanted to come.

They knew they would haveto give up what they loved most in order to save it."

"But if they'd just allowed colonizers to come, they couldhave kept their planet," Anakin pointed out.

"Yes, but they chose not to. The beauties of their worldwere too important to them," Obi-Wan explained. "To keepthe planet unspoiled was their first goal."

"They sound selfish to me," Anakin said. "They wanted tokeep their planet beautiful for themselves and a fewothers,"

"Or perhaps they were wise," Obi-Wan said. "It is not forus to say."

Anakin turned his gaze back to the planets surface andsighed under his breath. One of the hardest things he foundabout becoming a Jedi was suspending judgement. To Anakin,things were good or bad, smart or stupid.

Obi-Was had thismaddening way of not taking a stance on things.

"If I had a planet that was truly my homeworld, I wouldn'tgive it away. I'd want to be able to come back whenever Iwanted," Anakin said. He had spent his early years onTatooine, but he had been a slave. He did not feel asthought the planet was his home, even though his motherstill lived there.

"The Temple is your home," Obi-Wan said gently.

Anakin nodded, but he knew in his heart he did not feel that way.

He loved the Temple and was always glad to return there. He loved its order and its grace. He loved the beauty within it, the Room of a Thousand Fountains and the deep green lake. But it did not feel like home.

Unlike other Jedi students, Anakin had once had a home. Unlike them, he remembered his mother. He remembered running home through the heat and bursting through the door to be met with cool and shade and open arms. He remembered his warm cheek against her cool one. . . .

No, his home had not been a planet. It had been smaller, and humbler, and much more precious.

Life in that home had not been easy. There had been times of food shortages, times when they had shivered at night forwent of fuel.

The Temple was never short of food or fuel. The temperature was maintained at the optimum degree for the various beings who lived within.

It was warmer and safer than the slave quarters on Tatooine.

But it still didn't feel like home. Home will always be where Mom is. No matter how old I get. No matter how long it’s been since I've seen her.

"There are the Rost Mountains," Wren said. "We'll land and I’ll say goodbye there." He grinned over his shoulder at Anakin. "And then you'll try to catch me.” Wren was an older Jedi with a graying beard who had chosen to teach at the Temple rather than continue to go on missions.

Anakin had studied the politics of governments with Wren, and he knew the Jedi Master had a wide-ranging grasp of political philosophies in the galaxy. As part of his Jedi service, Wren also volunteered to take part in training missions for Jedi teams.

Anakin and Obi-Wan would try to track Wren through the wilderness.

The exercise was designed to strengthen the bond of trust between Master and Padawan. On Raqgoon-6, they would have only each other to depend on as they tracked Wren through rugged terrain.

Anakin's eyes danced as he bowed respectfully to Wren. "It will be my honor and pleasure to find you in a single day, Wren."

"Ah, in only one day, you say. You are almost as cocky as your Master used to be," Wren said. "I think my clues just got harder. I enjoy teaching lessons to over confident Padawans."

Anakin hid his grin. In his classes, Wren had been respected, but he'd also been teased behind his back by Jedi students for taking himself a little too seriously. Anakin would love to find him before a single day had passed. That would deflate his superior manner a bit!

Still, Anakin couldn't help wondering why Obi-Wan had decided to take him on this training exercise. He already trusted his Master with his life. They had been on difficult missions together. He had known him since he was a boy. Every mission brought them closer. Why did they have to take a detour for what seemed to be an elaborate game?

They skimmed over a meadow lush with wildflowers and tall green grass. Above the grassy field, snow-capped mountains hugged the tiny meadow. The sky was deep blue streaked with violet. Anakin could almost smell the fresh scent of flowers. He had never seen such a lush world with so many vivid colors.

Wren landed the craft expertly in a sheltered spot tucked into the rocky side of the mountain. He accessed the landing ramp and turned to them. "Remember, you must leave your comlinks aboard ship. No homing devices or droids can be used. You must rely on each other and the Force."

Anakin and Obi-Wan nodded. They both knew these things, but it was part of the ritual that Wren repeat them. They placed their comlinks in Wren's hand, and he stowed them in the secure storage bin.

"If you can't find me, we will meet back here in ten days. “Pausing only to sling a survival kit over his shoulder, Wren nodded a good-bye.

"May the Force be with you." His gray eyes twinkled. "You'll need it."

Wren ran lightly down the ramp. He swung himself up on a flat rock, then jumped to another. Within moments, he had disappeared.

"Wren is certainly looking forward to puzzling us," Obi-Wan observed.

"He really should get out more," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan turned to Anakin. "Do you think Wren is taking this too seriously?"

"No," Anakin said hesitantly. "But I don't understand why a Jedi Knight would want to spend his time this way when he could be on missions."

"Wren has been on hundreds of missions," Obi-Wan said with a frown.

"He has served for most of his life. Now he wishes to give back his knowledge to the Padawans. It is a noble gesture."

Noble, but boring, Anakin thought.

He thought it better not to share the thought with his Master. "How long do we give him?" he asked instead.

"Just a few hours," Obi-Wan answered. "Time enough for us to explore the surroundings a bit and have a meal, you'll be glad to hear.

We'll be on rations and protein cubes once we leave, but we can raid the ships galley now." Obi-Wan gave Anakin a piercing look. "This is designed to teach us, Anakin. But it is also supposed to be fun."

"Of course, Master." Anakin didn't want Obi-Wan to think he wasn’t looking forward to the exercise. He knew Obi-Wan had been here Twice with Qui-Gon and treasured the memories. Anakin wanted to have that same experience with his Master.

Obi-Wan heated up a meal for them, which they ate sitting in the meadow surrounded by flowers. The morning sun was brilliant yellow, casting its warmth on Anakin's skin. He ate quickly, anxious to start the day.

"Qui-Gon and I tracked a Jedi named Winso Bykart," Obi-Wan said, pushing aside his plate and leaning back on his elbows. "It was our second trip to Ragoon-6. On the first trip, we had to cut the exercise short. I didn't know why at the time, but Qui-Gon had just received a disturbing vision about Tahl."

"I have heard about her," Anakin said. "She was supposed to be brilliant."

"She was. Brilliant and funny and kind. She was unique. "Obi-Wan looked out over the meadow.”She was a great friend of Qui-Gon's. I don't know if he ever truly accepted her death.

"But a Jedi must accept death," Anakin said. "It is part of life."

"Yes," Obi-Wan said quietly, his gaze still far away. "That was the difficulty for Qui-Gon."

What do you mean? Anakin wanted to ask. But something stopped him.

Sometimes, when Obi-Wan spoke of his Master, he became distant. Anakin could tell by the expression on his face. He did not want to intrude by asking prying questions.

Silence fell between them. Anakin was used to that. Usually their silences felt comfortable. This one was not. Anakin watched Obi-Wan's face. He saw the quiet yearning there. Obi-Wan was missing Qui-Gon. And for the first time, it bothered Anakin.

He wasn't feeling jealous of Qui-Gon, Anakin told himself. It wasn't that. He had loved Qui-Gon, too. Something else was bothering him about his Master's preoccupation.

Maybe it was because he was still envious of their relationship.

Obi-Wan had taken Anakin on as his Padawan with reluctance. Anakin had always sensed that. Qui-Gon had believed in him, and Qui-Gon's belief had influenced Obi-Wan. How could Obi-Wan ignore his beloved Master's dying wish?

Anakin had thought himself lucky at the time. To arrive at the Temple already chosen by a Jedi Knight! It was unheard of.

Now that he was fourteen, he had seen his fellow Jedi students wait and hope to be chosen by a Jedi Knight. He had talked to his new friend, Tru Veld, about it. Tru had told him about how his Master, Ry-Gaul, had studied him. Tru had felt Ry-Gaul's eyes on him during lightsaber matches, during classes, even walking around the Temple. They had shared many conversations together. When Ry-Gaul had officially chosen Tru at last, he had felt honored.

Anakin too had always felt honored to be Obi-Wan's Padawan.

But why? Anakin suddenly wondered. Obi-Wan did not choose me.

Today, for the first time, Anakin saw the difference.

Then a new thought pierced his heart. Had Obi-Wan brought him here as a desperate act, to develop a closeness he did not feel?

Chapter Two

Obi-Wan didn't dwell on the past. It was not the Jedi way. But his Master was still a part of his life, more of a constant companion than a memory.

On Ragoon-6 it was hard not to drift back to the past. On his first visit here, Qui-Gon had received a vision that Tahl was in danger. He had not told Obi-Wan. They had left abruptly and had ended up going after Tahl against the wishes of the Council. In that dangerous mission, Qui-Gon's vision had come true. Tahl had died. But not before Qui-Gon had risked everything, including his way on the Jedi path, to declare his love for her.

These were all things Obi-Wan had not known at the time. Some of them Qui-Gon had told him later. Others Obi-Wan had realized himself.

Qui-Gon had never spoken of his love for Tahl. It was a place within him too deep for Obi-Wan to go. He was not invited there.

Now he had a Padawan, and he understood Qui-Gon's sense of privacy.

There were things it had been better for him not to know.

But how do you know what to share with your Padawan, and what to keep to yourself?

There were times when Qui-Gon's silence had annoyed or hurt him.

Yet in the end, it had not mattered. Nothing had mattered except the bond between them.

He wanted to have this bond with Anakin. He knew it would develop over time. Why was he in such hurry to make it happen? Something was driving him on, but he did not know what it was. It was as though Anakin would slip out of his grasp if he did not secure him. He had to do all the right things, the way Qui-Gon had done.

Obi-Wan thought back to his second visit to Ragoon-6. It had been close to the time he and Qui-Gon had left for Naboo on what would become their last mission together. But onRagoon-6 that ending was far away.

They had enjoyed the tracking exercise, the time together, the break from their missions.

For even then, they had known the galaxy was changing. Missions were more numerous. Trouble spots erupted constantly. The senate called for their help more often. It had often been difficult to find the time for the training exercise, but Qui-Gon had insisted on it. He had promised Obi-Wan that they would return to Ragoon-6. When Obi-Wan had pointed out that they had plenty of time, a fleeting look of deep sadness had crossed Qui-Gon's face.

"It seems there is always time when you are young," he’d said. "But you cannot hold a moment, Padawan. It runs out like water in you fist.

You must seize it when you can, even as it falls away."

Obi-Wan could have kicked himself. He thought at the time that he had reminded Qui-Gon of Tahl. He had, he supposed, but know he also knew that Qui-Gon was thinking of how fast time could pass, and how crowded a life could become.

Remembering this had spurred Obi-Wan on to slot the time for this visit with Anakin. It hadn't been easy. The Jedi Council needed Master-Padawan teams. Yet Yoda and the Council we always careful to grant a request for this training mission. They had seen how many times it had strengthened the ties between a Master and an apprentice.

Would it strengthen theirs? Obi-Wan hoped so. He knew Anakin wasn't looking forward to the exercise as he was. Anakin wanted to be doing serious things. He was anxious to prove himself on missions, anxious to see the galaxy. This time together would be a pause before a future Anakin was eager to meet. Obi-Wan hoped that the exercise would not be too tame for someone as gifted as Anakin.

That was why he had asked Wren to participate. Anakin might smile at how seriously Wren took his role, but he would soon appreciate how challenging Wren's cleverness could be.

Obi-Wan stood. "Come, Padawan. It is time to go."

They took off in the direction Wren had gone. At first the tracking was easy. Wren had not bothered to hide the clues that a Jedi would catch

- a disturbance of leaves on the forest floor, the slight indention of a heel. After two hours, they were momentarily stumped when they could not locate his direction, until Anakin plucked a silver-gray hair from a leaf and pointed.

"This way," he said self-satisfied.

Behind Anakin, Obi-Wan shook his head. Sometimes he felt there was so little he need to teach his Padawan. Even to Obi-Wan, who knew him so well, Anakin's command of the Force could be astonishing.

Wren had better come up with his most clever tricks, or Anakin would follow through on his promise and find him by nightfall.

* * * By midday, Anakin and Obi-Wan had to admit they were lost. Wren’s clues had grown increasingly difficult, and Anakin’s cocky confidence had hardened into dogged resolution.

Frustrated, Anakin suddenly stopped. With one smooth motion, he swiped a rock and tossed it into the woods. It hit a tree with a satisfying thud.

"Feel better?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No."

"I didn't think so. Frustration is part of the exercise, young Padawan."

"I know. I know," Anakin muttered. "Breathe in my impatience. Then let it go."

"Correct," Obi-Wan said serenely. He waited a moment. “Well?"

"Well, what?"

"I didn't see you breathe." Obi-Wan knew he was straining the patience of his Padawan. Yet these small tests were good lessons.

Obediently, Anakin shut his eyes. He took a breath and released it.

He opened one eye. "Can I stop now?"

"I suppose." Obi-Wan grinned. "If Wren could see us know, he’d be very happy."

A gleam of humor lit Anakin's eyes. "The day isn't over yet."

"Come on, let's backtrack," Obi-Wan suggested, heading back down the train. We must have taken a wrong turn."

Dappled sunlight streamed through the thick leaves overhead. They moved from pools of light into shadows and back again. The sun warmed their skin, then the shadows cooled it. The air smelled fresh and softly scented. It was a good day to be lost.

Anakin suddenly crouched down and examined the trail. "He stopped here." He pointed to the dirt on the trail.

Obi-Wan bent down. "Yes, I think so."

"Definitely." Anakin's voice rose in excitement. "And then he passed over the grass here. This way."

He led the way off the trail into the forest. Obi-Wan noted the clues and followed. After a morning of looking for tiny changes in the ground and leaves overhead, Wren had left a substantial clue to his progress. It must be part of his strategy to mix up his hard clues with some easier ones.

Anakin led the way through the dense forest. It was easier to track Wren now. The ground was soft and the leaves underfoot were still wet.

Obi-Wan allowed Anakin to take the lead, enjoying the fragrant walk through the trees.

Anakin stopped and turned. "There's a clearing ahead," he said in a hushed tone. "And some coves. Do you think we’ve caught up with him already? Those marks still look fresh."

"I doubt it," Obi-Wan said. "But proceed carefully. We have to get close in order to end the exercise."

"A lightsaber's length away," Anakin said. "But I think our only chance is to surprise him."

"Anakin -"

"Obi-Wan's call was swallowed in the shadows. Anakin ran silently ahead, and then dashed out into the clearing.

Obi-Wan followed, wishing he could teach his Padawan to curb his impatience.

He wished this even more when he realized where Wren had led them.

They had stumbled on a malia den.

He remembered the malia from his first trip to Ragoon-6.They were fast, agile, deadly creatures, fierce predators with triple rows of teeth.

Anakin stood frozen in the middle of the clearing. He had seen the malia spread out on the rocks. At first their blue-gray fur had melted into the shadows.

At least they hunt at night.

He had fought them with Qui-Gon. He remembered the gleam of fluorescent green eyes, the cunning of the creatures as they circled. He did not want to meet up with them again.

"What are they?" Anakin whispered.

"Just . . . back . . . up . . ." Obi-Wan murmured.

But even as they took two steps backward, Obi-Wan saw one creature stir. A long, tapered snout lifted. Two fierce eyes opened. A low rumble deep in the malia's throat told Obi-Wan that they were in trouble.

Chapter Three

The malia sprang at the same time as Obi-Wan. The creature was just a blue streak in the air. Obi-Wan slashed at it and it fell with a wounded howl.

The rest of the pack rose. Obi-Wan counted swiftly. Sixteen. But there could be more in the caves. They were lean rangy creatures. One malia stepped forward and lifted its snout. Its eyes flashed as it bared its triple row of yellow teeth.

"Attractive creatures," Anakin said, his lightsaber at the ready.

"Back up slowly. Perhaps they won't attack. But if they do, don't underestimate them," Obi-Wan said rapidly as he backed up a step. "I fought them with Qui-Gon. They have very quick reflexes. They will come at us from the trees. They will try to separate and surround us."

Anakin took a cautious step back. "How did you defeat them?"

"We didn't," Obi-Wan said. "A native tribe helped us."

"You needed help?" A flicker of nerves crossed Anakin’s face.

"Yes, Anakin. Even Jedi need help occasionally. So just keep backing up . . . very . . . very . . . slowly. Oh, and another thing.

Don't look them in the eye."

"Oops," Anakin said.

The snarling pack surged forward. Obi-Wan saw a streak of blue as two malia separated from the others and headed for the trees. Another dodged to come at Anakin from his left.

"Anakin -”

"I see it -" Anakin almost stumbled, surprised by the speed the malia took on as it pounced. He barely got his lightsaber lifted in time to slash at the creatures neck.

Obi-Wan made sure his Padawan has succeeded even as he tracked another malia that was circling toward him from the left. At the same time, he kept his gaze roaming in the trees, where two malia were jumping from branch to branch. “Whatever you do, don't let any of them get behind us," he said as he leaped toward the malia, brandishing his lightsaber.

The malia retreated, snarling, its eyes a flash in the shadows.

Anakin whirled to fend off two malia that were attempting to get behind him. At the same time, another malia dropped from the tree.

Obi-Wan leaped toward him to help his Padawan. Back-to-back, the two of them fought the snarling pack.

The air seemed to be full of flying fur and pointed yellow teeth.

The malia attacked in a fury. Obi-Wan and Anakin had to use their feet to kick, as well as their lightsabers. Anakin was not yet able to easily use the Force to move living objects, but Obi-Wan was able to send several malia flying with his outstretched left hand.

They continued to back away into the forest. Now they could use the trees as barriers. Anakin fought furiously. The rhythm of the battle took over his actions. His lightsaber was a red blur in the shadows, and his body became a weapon as well. He leaped, kicked, and whirled. He sent a malia flying with a well-timed chop of his hand to the animals windpipe.

A strangle snarl ended in a yelp as the malia flew backward and hit a tree.

There were now eight left, half the original pack. Two were limping from the battle. The others circled, snarling. They still bared their teeth and howled at the Jedi, but Obi-Wan could see that their attack had become less focused. They had not expected such resistance.

Next to him, Anakin was breathing hard. Hid lightsaber was held firmly in his hand. Not even the slightest tremble betrayed how hard he had been working.

"Let's keep backing up," Obi-Wan murmured. "Slowly. Do not look at them directly."

Anakin gritted his teeth. "Believe me, Master. I won’t make that mistake again."

The malia continued to follow them, but kept a few meters away as the Jedi retreated. Obi-Wan did not blame the malia for the attack. The Jedi had stumbled on their territory. He did not want to wipe out their entire pack.

The Jedi speeded up their pace a bit. The malia did not follow.

They huddled together and roared their anger as Obi-Wan and Anakin retreated. The shadows gradually swallowed them up, and soon all the Jedi heard were their angry snarls

Anakin shivered as he deactivated his lightsaber. "The sound alone is enough to scare you," he said. "Do you think they’ll follow us?"

"I doubt it. Despite their cunning, they are simple creatures,"

Obi-Wan said. "They were defending their home. We were lucky that it was daylight. They weren't in hunting mode."

"You mean they would have fought harder?" Anakin asked incredulously.

"And longer." Obi-Wan tucked his lightsaber back in his belt. "They would not have given up."

"And here I thought this was a peaceful planet," Anakin remarked.

"Why would Wren lead us into a malia den? That seems extreme, even for Wren."

"He wouldn't," Obi-Wan said. "We must have misread the clue. Let's return to the place on the trail where we saw it."

They quickly moved through the trees, retracing their steps. They bent over the clue once again.

"It was my fault," Anakin said. "I saw the flattened at the edge of the trail, and I assumed it was Wren." He carefully searched the surrounding ground as Obi-Wan continued to study the disturbance in the dirt.

Anakin was right - it was an impression of a heel... Wren had put too much weight on his foot, enough to leave a mark. It indicated that he had stopped here for a moment. It was an easy clue for the Jedi to follow. Wren had not bothered to conceal it or make it harder to read.

It wasn't like him. Then again, maybe it was. Wren enjoyed being inconsistent.

"Master - this way," Anakin called. "This time, I'm sure."

Obi-Wan crossed to the opposite side of the trail. Here, the level ground dropped sharply to a steep rocky hillside.

"Look, here. And here." Anakin left the trail and leaped down the slope from rock to rock. "He went this way."

Obi-Wan followed. It was important to let Anakin lead. That was part of the point of the exercise.

Anakin made his way down the steep slope, his footing sure and swift. They reached the bottom of the slope and immediately plunged into a forest so thick that the overhanging branches shut out all light. They paused for a short moment so that their eyes could adjust. The trees were tall, with long, flat leaves and vast trunks with thick, peeling bark.

Anakin began to study the ground again.

Obi-Wan searched without moving, his gaze traveling over the dirt, rocks, and surrounding trees.

Frustrated by his inability to find a clue, Anakin straightened and began to study the trees around them. He hurried forward to a tall trunk and leaned in to examine it.

"He rested here. He touched the trunk with his finger."

Obi-Wan saw the slight flaking of the bark near Anakin’s pointing finger. "How do you know? All the trees have peeling bark."

"There is sap running alongside. Here's a fingerprint. Smudged. But it's there."

"Yes. So he went - which way?" Obi-Wan enjoyed the keen look in Anakin's eyes.

With the trunk of the tree to guide him, Anakin eagerly searched the ground again. "This way!" he called triumphantly. "We'll catch him yet!"

Smiling, Obi-Wan followed Anakin through the forest. This was what he'd hoped for. Anakin had forgotten him impatience with the exercise and what he'd thought was his secret feeling that it was a waste of time. He was now filled with the excitement of the chase.

They moved through a thick curtain of needles and bark. They could no longer see the mountain looming over them. It was as though they were tucked away in a fragrant green cave.

Then the trees stopped abruptly and they came upon a sheer rock wall. The wall curved around them and rose on three sides. There was no way to go except back the way they’d come.

"It's a dead end," Anakin said, disappointed. "But I was so sure Wren came this way!"

"Hold on," Obi-Wan said, "Look around you. You might be missing something. Remember your temple exercise to explore the present moment?

Close your eyes."

Anakin closed his eyes. Obi-Wan waited until he was sure his Padawan had focused. What did you see?"

"Bark and leaves under my feet. Sheer wall ten meters ahead with insufficient handholds for climbing. Small plant growing in a crevice thirty meters up. Snow dusting at top of cliff. Bird circling twenty degrees to my right. At the base of the rock wall, what appears to be a small opening -a den of a small animal, or -" Anakin's eyes popped open.

“A cave."

Obi-Wan smiled. He had seen the entrance to the cave minutes before. "Let's see what it is."

Anakin and Obi-Wan examined the small opening. "It's not as small as it looks," Obi-Wan said. "It could be the nest or den of an animal."

"It looks like it opens up," Anakin said, peering inside. “Let me go in."

Obi-Wan hesitated. He would rather be first. But part of this exercise was also for the Master. He had to learn to let go, to allow his Padawan to test his skills. He knew Anakin was well trained and could handle what lay beyond.

"All right, Padawan."

Without a glow rod, Anakin would have to feel his way. He eased inside the hole carefully, one hand on his lightsaber hilt.

Obi-Wan heard Anakin's voice echo hollowly. "It's a cavern! It’s beautiful!"

Obi-Wan squeezed inside the hole. It was a bit more difficult for him to make it. He wondered how the tall, stocky Wren had managed.

He was able to straighten after crawling just a few meters. Anakin stood ahead of him, scanning the cavern.

It truly was beautiful. The walls shimmered with phosphorescence, lighting the space. The cliff face outside had been gray, but this stone was pink with veins of bright gold and silver. Cone-shaped deposits of the stone hung from the ceiling and rose from the floor.

The smooth floor sloped steeply downward. Anakin hurried ahead, running his hand along the wall. "Hell never expect us to find him here."

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, testing the air. It smelled fresh.

There was most likely another opening in the direction they were headed.

Wren had probably left the cavern by now.

The air smelled damp as well. That was normal in a cavern. Pools of water sat in the depressions of the stone floor. Some of them were quite deep . . .

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan snapped Padawan's name. His voice echoed, but Anakin had run ahead, around a corner, and hadn’t heard. Obi-Wan picked up his pace.

He rounded the corner. Anakin had paused before another opening in the cavern. This one was larger and began above Obi-Wan's shoulders.

Through it they could see only a patch of blue-and-violet sky. Against the shimmering pink and gold of the walls it was a breathtaking sight.

"Anakin, we should get out of here," Obi-Wan called as he quickly made his way toward his Padawan. "I think this cavern may flood periodically."

Anakin nodded and waited for his Master to catch up. Just then Obi-Wan heard a noise. A slight whoosh sound. He moved faster. Anakin turned back to the opening.

"It's so beautiful," he said in a hushed tone.

The whoosh grew louder. Now it was a roar.

"Hang on!" Obi-Wan shouted as a wall of water suddenly blocked out the sky and headed straight toward them.

Chapter Four

Anakin desperately clung to a ledge as the water rushed into the cavern the force of it battered him against the cavern wall. Another wave entered, and the water went over his head. The shock of its coldness almost made him lose his grip.

He fumbled for his breather with one hand while he hung on with the other. He began to feel light-headed as he struggled to attach his breather with one hand. Spots swam before his eyes.

He managed to insert his breather and inhaled deeply. He felt strength flow back into his muscles. Still, his body was being pummeled by the furiously rushing water and battered against the domes and the wall of the cave. He had to get out or he would drown.

He glanced back. He could barely see his Master, who was clinging to a rock hanging from the ceiling. As Anakin watched, Obi-Wan transferred his grip to the next cone. Fighting the rushing water he pulled himself forward.

Anakin grabbed the ledge a short distance away. He pulled himself forward, too, every muscle straining with his effort. He reached for the next handhold. Then the next. He fought for every centimeter.

At last he felt the smooth curve of the cavern entrance. He paused there, holding on against the violent water, waiting for his Master.

After a few moments, Obi-Wan pulled himself up next to Anakin. He pointed up. They would let go now and try to get to the surface. Anakin nodded.

Anakin rolled his body into a ball and rested his feet against the cavern wall. He closed his eyes, gathering his strength and the Force.

When he felt the enter him, he pushed himself off the cavern wall.

The power of the water almost battered him back against the wall and swept him inside the cavern, but Anakin fought it with all his strength, swimming up, trusting that air and sunlight were above.

After a few meters, the pull of the water lessened. He was able to make headway against it. He saw a lightening above. Sunlight. He swam toward it eagerly. The dappled patterns seemed to beckon him.

He burst above the surface of the water. Ahead he saw a booming waterfall, spilling down from a cliff above. That was the source of the powerful current both above and below the surface. Anakin waited until his Master broke the surface and then struck out toward the bank.

He pulled himself up onto dry land. He ripped the breather from his mouth and gasped for breath. Water streamed off his clothes and the ends of his hair as he bent over; gathering strength. Beside him, Obi-Wan was doing the same.

"The malia dean, and now this," Anakin said when he could speak. He shook his head, sending water droplets flying. “Did I misinterpret the clues, Master? They seemed so clear."

"No, I think we went the right way off the trail," Obi-Wan said.

"But we shouldn't have gone through the cavern. Jedi clues a designed to be difficult, not life-threatening."

Anakin flushed. It was his fault. In his impatience to impress his Master, he had rushed into the malia den and into the cavern.

Obi-Wan wouldn't say anything. That was the problem. It was worse for Anakin to have to wonder what his master was thinking.

Obi-Wan scanned the surrounding area. "No doubt Wren used a cable launcher to vault the cliff face."

"But I didn't see any marks above," Anakin said. "Wouldn’t the launcher have scarred the rock face?"

"Let's return and examine the cliff again," Obi-Wan decided.

"I'd rather not take another dip," Anakin said with a shiver.

"We can climb the hill here," Obi-Wan said scanning the steep incline that rose from the bank. "That will bring us on top of the cliff overlooking the cavern."

They climbed up the steep incline, occasionally using their cable launchers. The sunlight dried their clothes and hair and warmed them as they climbed high above the water. At last they reached the top of the cliff.

Anakin stood at the top. From here he had a commanding view of the waterfall below and, in the distance, the valley. Still more mountains rose behind him.

He turned and found the overlook to the forest's edge below. It didn't take him long to find where Wren had been.

"Look, Master. He was here," he said, pointing to a place where the grass was flattened. "He could have been watching from above while we stood there."

"Possibly," Obi-Wan said. "There was no way for him to know that cavern would flood, I suppose."

"At least we know for sure that we have him," Anakin said. His Master still looked uncertain. "Don't we?"

"Let's follow the trail," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin moved to track Wren's progress over the top of the cliff. A trail led into the mountains, and he began to trudge up it.

He could sense that his Master was uneasy. Something was bothering him. But Obi-Wan did not confide.

He never does, Anakin thought. Hoe can we get closer of he keeps all of his thoughts to himself?

He had to speak or he would burst. Anakin stopped and turned around. "You never tell me what you're thinking," he said.

Obi-Wan stopped. "You should be careful when you use words like

'never' and 'always,' Padawan," he said. "Things are rarely so absolute.

You should be more precise. Clarity of mind is important for a Jedi."

Another lesson. Must there be so many? "Yes, Master.” Anakin turned and continued up the mountain. He had gone only a few meters when he realized that Obi-Wan had never addressed what he'd said.

That's because he knows it's true. He had perfect communication with Qui-Gon, and he knows he can never achieve that with me.

He had been right all the along, this exercise was a waste of time.

The trail rose higher, and the temperature began to drop. The sun stilled warmed them, so they did not need their thermal capes. But above, Anakin could see the snowy peaks, and he knew that if they kept climbing at the rate, they would encounter snow by dusk.

Anakin felt shivers on the back of his neck. But it wasn’t the temperature. Something was wrong. He trusted the feeling. The Force was like a net, closing around him. The trees seemed to hang over the trail, menacing them. The sky seemed lower.

We're being watched.

And whoever it was, it wasn't another Jedi.

Anakin glanced at Obi-Wan. He did not move his head, only his eyes, so that if someone were watching they would not see the wordless communication. Obi-Wan's gaze told him everything he need to know. He to felt the presence of someone.

Obi-Wan stopped, and Anakin did the same. "We should split up," he said in a tone loud enough to carry but not to loud to be obvious. "We're getting nowhere. I'll head back, and you continue ahead."

"Yes, Master." Anakin knew that Obi-Wan moved back down the trail, and Anakin continued on. He did not feel fear or alarm. He felt ready for whatever would come.

He reached out to the Force beyond the trail, beyond his immediate surroundings. He took in the planet in a way he was learning to do.

There was darkness here, but the feeling was confused. He could not pinpoint why or how the force was affected. That was the trouble, Anakin thought ruefully. He could access the Force easily. Interpreting it was another matter. At such times he fully realized why he was still a Padawan, and not a Jedi.

He was on a switchback trail now that hugged the mountain as it rose. As Anakin turned a corner, the trail behind him would disappear.

The rocks rose steeply on his left and a sheer drop was on his right. It he met whoever was following him, the battle would be tricky. And how would Obi-Wan manage to set up ambush on this kind of terrain?

Anakin was busy thinking these thoughts when he turned the next corner and saw the flash of a weapon. It was held by a young woman in a gray cloak that blended with the rocks.

"Don't come any farther," she said in a clear voice. "I promise you, I know how to use this. And it's aimed straight at your hear."

Chapter Five

Anakin waited. The Force was around him, rising up from the ground beneath his feet and the forest below. It was not strong in the girl.

Anakin guessed she was close to his age. She was afraid, he suddenly knew. He felt her fear ripple out and touch him, as clearly as if she had pout out a hand.

And he felt something else - his Master was near. Obi-Wan was above him. He needed to keep the girl's attention on him.

"Why do you want to shoot me?" he asked in a reasonable tone.

"Do not try to trick me," she said. "I know you've been following me. I know you killed my friends and my teacher.” Now her voice wobbled slightly. "I won't let you kill me too."

Anakin saw a blur above. It was his Master, leaping down from the sheer cliff above.

Obi-Wan dropped behind the girl and disarmed her in a move so fast she did not have time to turn or even take a breath.

Obi-Wan tossed the weapon to Anakin.

"You know how to use a hydrospanner?" Anakin asked in disbelief.

"I didn't have a real weapon," she said in a small voice.

"Were you threatening to kill me, or fix my speeder?" Anakin asked.

He couldn't believe he had been fooled by a hydrospanner. What kind of Jedi was he?

In answer, the girl suddenly whirled and tried to throw herself down the sheer drop. Obi-Wan had anticipated the move and simply reached out with one hand and stopped her.

"That's not a solution," he said. "We're not going to hurt you.

Maybe we can even help you."

Anakin took a few steps closer. "What happened? What do you mean, somebody killed your friends?"

The girl pulled her cloak around her. Her hood fell back, and waves of long blond hair spilled down her back.

"My name is Floria," she said. "I'm from the planet Aaeton, only half-day's journey from here. Young people from my plantet often go on survival camping trips on Ragoon-6 when we reach fourteen years of age.

We have a special allowance from the Senate because we gave the elders of Ragoon refuge when they handed the planet over to the senate. My group arrived yesterday. I was separated from them. We were on a hike and I got lost." Floria's eyes suddenly filled with tears. "When I returned . . . I

. . . the ship . . ."

"Go on," Obi-Wan prompted.

She swallowed. "Was completely burned," she said in a whisper. "I knew we were supposed too meet back there for evening meal. I am afraid my friends and my teacher were init. Someone blew it up."

"You're sure they were inside?"

She twisted her hands together. "How can I be sure of anything?

Everything was smoke and ash and fire. Maybe they escaped. Maybe they are lost. I've been searching ever since. But lately I am positive that someone has been following me. They were keeping just out of sight."

"More than one being?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I - I'm not sure," Floria stammered. "I don't know what’s wrong. I just know that something is. And I'm all alone!"

So I was right about the darkness in the Force, Anakin thought.

Something is wrong on this planet.

"Dry your tears," Anakin said gently. "You're not alone. We will help you."

"Who are you?" she asked. "And why would you help me?"

"Because we can," Obi-Wan said. "Now, the first thing we do is examine your ship."

The ship was just as Floria had described it - a charred hulk.

"Stay her with her," Obi-Wan told Anakin. He disappeared inside the remains of the ship.

He emerged a few minutes later, his face streaked with ash. “There are no remains of beings aboard," he said.

Floria closed her eyes in relief for a moment. "Thank you for looking."

"This is a small cruiser," Anakin said, looking at the ship. “It’s for travel within a planetary atmosphere. How did you get here from Aaeton?"

"We have a space cruiser in orbit," Floria explained. “We’re supposed to rendezvous with then in three hours. But I have no way to contact them to tell them we won't be there." She brightened. "Can you take me? I can tell them what happened, and they'll send a rescue party down."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said. "We'll have to hike to out cruiser, but it's not far."

"Thank you," Floria said. "I feel certain now that my friends are alive. But they could be in danger. We must find them."

Obi-Wan drew Anakin aside. "Something dark is present on this planet. Can you feel it?"

Anakin nodded. "Yes, Master. But it is unclear."

"There seems to be different energies operating," Obi-Wan said. "It is unclear to me, too. We must be on guard." He frowned. "I have been thinking about Wren."

"What about him?" Anakin asked.

"The clues we have been following . . . something is wrong. They are too easy, and they lead us to danger. Maybe Wren isn’t the one leaving them." Obi-Wan gazed up at the mountain. "Something might have happened to him."

Chapter Six

You never tell me what you're thinking.

Why hadn't he answered his Padawan? Instead, he had corrected him.

Obi-Wan's mind churned, and his heart felt heavy. He did not know why he had deflected Anakin’s feelings, but he knew he had been deeply unfair to his Padawan.

Anakin could speak so easily of his feelings. He often spoke without thinking, often spilled out exactly what was in his heart. It was behavior that was not like a Jedi.

And I correct him. Is that right?

Obi-Wan knew why Anakin was this way. It was because of Shmi.

Anakin's mother had given him a great gift. She had given him an open heart. His feelings were deep and spontaneous. That was a good thing. But they sometimes led him to act too fast, the make quick judgments.

He is the opposite of me, Obi-Wan thought. It has always been difficult for me to speak what is in my heart.

Anakin had been wrong to say he never told him anything. Obi-Wan only held back what he thought Anakin did not need to know, just as Qui-Gon had done with him. Obi-Wan had begun to suspect that Wren's clues were not right, but he felt it was better for Anakin to discover this on his own. He could see that Anakin's eagerness the find Wren was clouding his judgment. Perhaps Anakin was being less careful because he was not on a mission, but an exercise.

These were things it was not proper for a Master to share with his Padawan. Yet Anakin wanted Obi-Wan to share everything.

Sighing, Obi-Wan led the way back to their ship. He would have to think of a way to bring up what had happened. He knew he had hurt Anakin's feelings.

Obi-Wan knew the terrain by now and led them down the mountain and across rocky hills and meadows so they wouldn’t have to double back, which would have cost them time. Within two hours, they were hiking across the meadow toward the cliff face where Wren had docked the ship.

"Don't worry," Anakin said reassuringly to Floria. "We have a comm unit aboard the ship, so - Master! Look at that. It's beautiful . . . "

Anakin frowned, sensing something was wrong.

Obi-Wan saw the fine blue mist heading for them. "Anakin, move!"

Anakin's reflexes were perfect. Without thinking, he leaped to one side as Obi-Wan vaulted toward Floria. He grabbed her and jumped, accessing the Force.

The spray hit the ground where Anakin and Floria had been standing.

"Stokhli spray stick," Obi-Wan said. "Keep moving."

"A what?" Floria asked.

Another burst of spray headed their way. Obi-Wan jumped again, still holding Floria against his side, as he tried to pinpoint the location of their attacker.

"It's a weapon," Anakin explained as they ran toward cover. “It sends out a spray net mist with a stun current. You don’t want it to hit you."

"I guess not," Floria muttered as Obi-Wan gained the shelter of some boulders and pushed her behind them.

"We have to circle around and stop whoever is doing this,” Obi-Wan said to Anakin. "Stay here, Floria."

She gazed at him with wide, frightened eyes, "Don't worry. Just come back again."

"If you head for those tress, I'll circle around the boulders and see if I can surprise the attacker," Obi-Wan told Anakin. "Remember the Stokhli stick has a range of two hundred meters."

"Makes it hard to get close enough with a lightsaber," Anakin said.

"Exactly," Obi-Wan murmured. "Just leave that to me. Keep the attacker busy. And don't take chances!"

"Yes, Master."

Anakin ran out from the shelter of the boulders. Obi-Wan waited for a moment until he saw the spray of the Stokhli stick spew into the air.

Anakin Force-jumped, and Obi-Wan could see that the spray would miss him by centimeters.

His Padawan's timing and reflexes were extraordinary. Anakin had timed his move so that the spray would miss him, but by so small a margin that the attacker would be diverted and want to attack again. His concentration would stay on Anakin.

Obi-Wan bent over so that he could keep the shelter of the boulders as far as possible. He ran around them, then times his move to the second attack on Anakin. He dashed across the open meadow toward the screen of trees.

He made the trees without an attack. Now the rest would be tricky.

Anakin would keep himself just out of range of the Stokhli - he hoped -

but Obi-Wan's objective was to get close enough to disarm the attacker.

That meant he would have to be squarely in the stick's range.

Obi-Wan took off through the trees, heading toward where he had last pinpointed the attacker. No doubt the attacker would keep moving, especially when he or she realized Obi-Wan was gone. He would count on Anakin's skill to prevent the attacker from moving too far too fast.

Soon Obi-Wan stopped. He concentrated, accessing the Force to become one with the environment around him. The sounds of the forest dropped away. He did not hear the rustle of leaves in the wind, the occasional scurry of a small animal, the rub of a branch against another.

He heard only the slight ssiiing sound of the spray stick.

Thirty degrees to his right. Obi-Wan moved carefully now, moving behind tree trunk to tree trunk. He barely touched the ground as he moved, making no sound.

Ssing! Another attack from the Stokhli stick. Coming from a few meters to the right of where he'd pinpointed the attacker.

Now Obi-Wan moved quickly, running over the soft ground, his boots silent, his breathing so controlled he made no sound.

He saw the attacker ahead. It was a male Tursha. Obi-Wan saw the distinctive head tails and the eleven-fingered hands lightly holding the Stokhli stick. The Tursha was just behind the tree line.

Obi-Wan drew his lightsaber and jumped. The Tursha turned, his Stokhli stick spewing mist. Instead of leaping to the side, Obi-Wan jumped high. He anticipated that the Tursha would move the stick in a sweeping motion to cover as much air as possible, and he did. Obi-Wan sailed over the mist, his lightsaber high.

The Tursha had fast reflexes. He moved back, putting himself in the open, past the tree line. Obi-Wan saw Anakin leap toward him.

Obi-Wan came down. He kept his lightsaber away from the Tursha. He did not want to kill or injure him. He wanted answers.

Anakin's lightsaber was drawn as well. The Tursha moved a fraction, enough so that the spray from the stick would put Anakin securely in range. Obi-Wan moved fast. He leaped again, this time adding momentum in midair. In a Jedi method that never failed to surprise opponents. He kickedout with one foot at the handle of the stick. He gave hisblow topspin, and the stick flew out of the surprisedTursha's hand and then twisted in midair. Though Obi-Wandidn't plan it this way, the spray hit the Tursha full inthe face.

He fell to his knees. He gazed out in shock at Anakin andthe meadow beyond.

"They . . . were . . . mine," he managed to gasp out, beforethe spray paralyzed him completely. He slumped against atree trunk, his face frozen in a surprised expression.

Chapter Seven

"Who is he?" Floria asked in a hushed voice. She tiptoedcloser, keeping behind Anakin.

Obi-Wan bent over the inert form. He examined the Tursha'sutility belt and searched the hidden pockets in his cloak.

"I'd guess he's a bounty hunter," he said to Anakin. "Hehas a variety of weapons and what looks to be some false IDdocs." He took a restraining device from the bountyhunter's belt and secured him to the tree.

"You'll recover from the stun in about five hours," he toldthe Tursha, who could do nothing but stare straight ahead."But I guess you know that. We'll return for you."

"Can't you ask him what happened to my friends?" Floriaasked.

"He can't speak. Not yet. If he did attack your friends,we'll escort him to your home planet for trial," Obi-Wansaid.

Suddenly tears spilled down Floria's cheeks. "He killedthem," she said. "I know it. Did you hear what he said?'They were mine.' He did it."

"You don't know that," Anakin told her soothingly. He couldhave meant any number of things. We don't know anythingabout him. You can't jump to conclusions that way. Youcan't imagine the worst."

Anakin patted Floria's back as she used the hem of her cloakto dry her tears. Despite his reassurances, he was worried.He had felt the growing darkness on the planet. Floriacould be right. Her friend could have been attacked.

Obi-Wan stared out at the meadow, thinking. He did notacknowledge Floria's tears, or try to sooth her on any way.Anakin couldn't believe it. How could Obi-Wan be so cold?

Obi-Wan signaled to Anakin and drew him aside. "What is abounty hunter doing on an underpopulated planet?" he asked."Why would he attack us? Is he her for another purpose?Why would he attack a grroup of young students on a campingtrip? It doesn't make sense."

"But they've disappeared," Anakin said. "Somethinghappened."

Obi-Wan eyed the Tursha. "I wish I could ask him somequestions. I'd like to know if he's operating alone."

"We're running out of time," Anakin said. "Floria's groupis supposed to rendezvous with the space cruiser in lessthan an hour."

"You are too focused on Floria's problem," Obi-Wan rebukedhim.

"There is a larger issue here, and possibly moreimportant things at stake. What is happening on thisplanet? We won't find out if we leave."

"We have to leave," Anakin said. "We promised Floria."

"We promised to help her," Obi-Wan said. "I'm not sure whatthat will entail. Not yet. Have you given no thought toyour fellow Jedi? What if something happened to Wren?"

"We don't know that," Anakin argued. "And we do know thatsomething happened to Floria's friends. So I say we go withwhat we know. Aren't I supposed to be true to my feelings?"

An odd look passed over his Master's face. "Your feelingsare important, Padawan," he said kindly. "And they areimportant to me. But you are being swayed by emotion. Thatis different than following your feelings. You should knowthe difference by now. Gather the Force around you. Seewhat it tells you."

Annoyed at Obi-Wan's rebuke, Anakin turned away. He gazedat the trees, letting the tones of green invade him, lettingthe noise of the rustling leaves calm him. He gathered inthe Force.

Once again, he felt the darkness rise. Once again, itseemed to be coming from several sources. Yet there was onepowerful darkness here as well.

Surprised, he turned to Obi-Wan. "It is confusing. Thereseem to be several sources of darkness, and at the sametime, only one."

Obi-Wan nodded. "That is what I sense, too."

"But I don't get any feeling about Wren. Perhaps he is indanger,"

Anakin said reluctantly. He didn't want Obi-Wan tobe right.

"Let's go to the ship," Obi-Wan suggested. "We'll try toraise Wren on his comlink. Then we will make the decisionabout Floria. "He put his hand on Anakin's shoulder."Together."

Anakin nodded. He realized that Obi-Wan had just given hima kind of apology. It was just like Obi-Wan to veil it inlessons.

They returned to the girl, who had slumped on the ground agood distance away from the bounty hunter.

"Good." She rose with a shiver. "I can't wait to get offthis planet."

"One moment. We can't leave the Tursha like this," Obi-Wansaid.

"When dusk comes, the malia will be roaming." Hewithdrew a flexible tarp from his survival pack. Heunfurled it and created a free-form tent around the seatedbounty hunter. The color of the tarp took on the color ofits surroundings, camouflaging the Tursha. "This shouldprotect you somewhat,"

Obi-Wan told him. "We will returnfor you before the paralyzer wears off."

They left the trees and struck out across the meadow.Anakin hoped they would be able to raise Wren on thecomlink. He was anxious to bring Floria to safety.Suddenly their training exercise had turned into a mission.He didn't mind the shift. He would rather face danger andsave lives than track an elder Jedi up the mountain any day.

They were relieved to see the ship was just as they'd leftit. They hurried toward it.

Suddenly, the ground in front of them exploded, sending ashower of dirt and rocks into the air. Another explosioncame to the right of them.

They were being fired on - from all directions at once. Theblaster bolts pinged and whistled, sending up a shower ofdirt around them.

Anakin and Obi-Wan both activated their lightsabers in onefluid motion.

"Get Floria to the ship!" Obi-Wan yelled deflecting fire.

Anakin tucked Floria against his side, away from the worstof the fire. He ran quickly, deflecting fire as he moved.

Obi-Wan stayed in front of him, taking the brunt of the fireand clearing a path to the ship. Anakin activated thelanding ramp and quickly ran up with Floria. After amoment, Obi-Wan followed.

Anakin slid into the pilots seat. "We don't have time tocontact Wren. We'd better get out of here."

"Yes, hurry!" Floria's face was white with fear. "What ifthey come after this ship, too?

Obi-wan peered outside at the blaster fire that was stillerupting.

Bolts peppered the ship. Smoke filled the airoutside.

Anakin reached for the engine controls.

"Wait." Obi-Wan's voice was a command.

"Wait?" Floria's voice rose. "For what? To get killed?"

"I feel a surge in the Force," Obi-wan said.

"You feel a what in the what?" Floria's head whipped fromObi-Wan to Anakin.

An explosion outside almost threw Obi-Wan to the floor.Floria screamed and gripped her chair. "Please, let's takeoff!"

Obi-Wan gripped the console, concentrating, as though therewere no blasters, no explosions outside. And now Anakincould feel it. Too. The dark side surged. He had been toointent on leaving, on Floria's panic, on the blaster fire.This was something he had to learn. His connection to theForce was strong, but sometimes it got crowded out by morimmediate things. Obi-Wan was able to hold everything inhis mind at once.

Obi-Wan dropped to his knees. Floria looked down at him asthough he were crazy.

"Is he afraid?" she whispered to Anakin. "I don't blamehim! Let's take off!"

"Wait." Anakin watched Obi-Wan. He knew now that thedarkness was inside the ship, not outside it.

"I found it." Obi-Wan's voice was muffled, and Anakin hasto strain to hear over the sound of the blaster fire.

Obi-Wan raise his head , then stood. He held a black box inhis hand, "A sleeper bomb. If we had taken off, we wouldhave been blown out of the sky."

Chapter Eight

Floria looked as though she might faint. "A bomb? Can youd-defuse it?"

"I'm afraid not," Obi-Wan said. "It could go off at anytime. So lets go."

"The comlinks -" Anakin said.

"No time. Go!" Obi-Wan ordered, leaning forward to accessthe landing ramp.

Floria was already out of her chair and running to the exit.Obi-Wan pushed Anakin ahead of him and they hurried afterher, leaving the bomb behind.

As they raced down the ramp, Obi-Wan caught a glimpse of afigure dressed in black at the cargo door. He was trying tosneak aboard.

Floria screamed, and the bomb went off. Obi-Wan was blownoff his feet. The figure in black went flying as well.Smoke rolled over them.

Obi-Wan raised his head, trying tosee. Coughing against the acrid smoke in his mouth, hestruggled to his knees.

Obi-Wan peered through the rolling smoke to make sure Anakinand Floria were all right. Anakin was already standing andbending down to help a coughing Floria to rise.

"Anakin, check the area!" Obi-Wan shouted as he headed forthe figure in black.

The figure rose shakily. Stumbling and falling, heattempted to run away. Obi-Wan raced towards him.

He had almost reached him when he felt something heavy landon his back. Hands covered his eyes. Hair brushed againsthis face.

Obi-Wan tried to twist away. "Floria?"

Suddenly the slender young girl had the moves of anassassin. She used a variety of intricate holds to slowdown Obi-Wan while he struggled to move toward the figure inblack. He tried to shake her off, but he didn't want toharm her.

Hands covered his eyes, and he carefully pried them off.

"I don't want to hurt you. . . ." he said.

She didn't answer, just wound one leg around his, trying totrip him, while she grabbed his ear.

"That's enough." Obi-Wan grabbed her wrists and expertlyflipped her over and down onto the ground. Her breath lefther as she landed hard.

The figure in black hesitated. It was easy for Obi-Wan tostride forward and grab him by the scruff of the neck.

"All right, you two. What's going on?" he asked sternly.

Anakin ran back to him. "The blaster fire and explosionswere set off by timed devices." He looked at Floria, whogazed up at Obi-Wan furiously from the ground. Then helooked at the squirming figure in Obi-Wan's grip. "What'sgoing on?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Obi-Wan the back thefigure's black hood. Close-cropped blond hair and wide eyesthe same brilliant blue as Floria's met his. The boy wasonly a few years older than Floria.

Obi-Wan looked back Floria. "Your brother, I presume."

The boy shot Floria a look clearly intended to keep hersilent. Obi-Wan sighed. "Anakin check his pack."

Anakin picked up a small pack the boy had worm on his back.He opened it and went through it. "Just some basic survivalgear. A tarp and some rations."

Obi-Wan gave the boy a little shake. "I'm losing patience."

"Dane, we've been double-crossed," Floria said, risinggingerly and rubbing her elbow. "Why shouldn't we tellthem? I'm getting a bad feeling about this planet. Therewas a sleeper bomb aboard that ship! That's totally againstthe rules!"

Dane said nothing.

"What rules?" Anakin asked.

"Now we're stuck here with the Jedi with no way to get offthe planet," Floria continued. "we destroyed that ship fornothing. You and you're big ideas!"

"You destroyed your own ship?" Anakin asked in disbelief.

"Cooperation doesn't seem like such a bad idea, consideringthe circumstances," Floria said, still speaking to herbrother.

Dane shrugged. "So things didn't work out. They couldhave."

"But they didn't," Floria said.

"But they could have," Dane shoot back.

"Who are you two?" Obi-Wan asked angrily, his patienceexhausted.

"Bounty hunter," Floria said.

Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged an incredulous look. These twoyoung people, bounty hunters?

"Who are you hunting?" Anakin asked.

"You," Floria told him. "We're supposed to find the Jediand bring you back, dead or alive."

"Bring us back where?" Obi-Wan asked. "Who hired you?"

"Let me point out that we weren't going to kill you," Floriasaid quickly, not answering Obi-Wan's question. "We weren'tthe ones that planted the sleeper bomb, obviously."

"What about the blaster fire?" Anakin asked.

"We knew you could handle that. We just wanted to add alittle urgency to the situation," Dan said. "You'd take offif you thought you were under attack."

"We didn't to kill you," Floria assured them. "We don'tkill beings.

We just trick them. Just like we tricked you.It would have worked if there hadn't been that bomb.Listen, tricking is much safer."

"Are you actually successful at this?" Anakin asked.

Floria and Dane exchanged a look. Floria sighed. "Nobodyever believes we're bounty hunters. It's so insulting.Yes, we're successful.

Take our last case. We - "

"Who hired you?" Obi-Wan asked in frustration, interruptingher brusquely.

"If you're going to confess to everything, you might try tobe organized about it," Dane said to Floria. "You alwaysget off the subject."

"I don't," Floria protested.

"You do, too. Always."

"You shouldn't say always," Anakin broke in. "Absolutes arerarely true."

"Enough!" Obi-Wan roared. "Who hired you> I want answersand I want them now."

Obi-Wan's thunderous look cowed Floria and Dane.

"Granta Omega," Floria said. "Do you know him? He's on hisship, orbiting the planet. Our plan was to lure you ontoyour own ship and get you to pilot it to what you'd thinkwas my rendezvous ship but was actually Omega's transport.Then we'd leave you there, collect our reward, and take off.Easy right?"

"Obviously not, since your standing here with us now," Obi-Wan said. "So who put the sleeper bomb on the ship?"

"I don't know," Floria admitted.

"It could be anyone." Dane said. "Omega hired four otherbounty hunters besides us. The first one to succeed winsthe prize - an enormous fortune. The only rule is that thebounty hunters aren't allowed the harm one another."

"Obviously, someone broke the rules," Floria saiddisapprovingly. "I could have died aboard that ship."

"Not to mention us," Anakin said.

What about the other Jedi?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He's not part of the deal," Dane said. "We're supposed toga after the Master-Padawan team. That was it."

"What information were you given about us?" Obi-Wan asked."How did you know where to find us?"

"We knew you were on a training mission to Ragoon-6," Floriasaid.

"That's all."

That's all? That's too much. Obi-Wan couldn't believe it.The training missions weren't secret. But Jedi did notspeak of them to outsiders. Of course, there were those inthe Senate who knew about them.

And Senators, Obi-Wan knewtoo well, could be bribed.

"Tell me about the other bounty hunters," Obi-Wan said. "Doyou know them?"

Dane nodded. "They are well known to those who know aboutthese things. Teleq is one. We know him by reputationonly. He's known for his cunning use of technology. Thenthere is Mol Arcasite. She is ruthless.

She will takeinnocent lives to get what she wants. And she doesn't careif she brings her prey back dead. Most bounty huntersprefer to catch beings alive. It saves them a possiblesecurity arrest themselves. You never know who iswatching."

"Mol gives us all a bad name," Floria said. "Come to thinkof it, she could have planted that sleeper bomb. It's justher style."

"What about the bounty hunter with the Stokhli stick?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Don't know him," Floria said. "he was awfully good. Buthe almost blew my cover when he saw me. I couldn't believeit when he said 'They were mine.'"

"So he was talking about us," Anakin said, indicatinghimself and Obi-Wan. "And you made us think you wereconcerned about your friends!"

Floria's eyes shone. "Wasn't I good?"

"She can cry on cue," Dane confided.

"Who is the last bounty hunter?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Hunti Pereg," Dane answered. "He has the most awesomereputation of all. he has never failed to capture his prey.Not once."

"Of course, he has never met the Jedi," Floria rushed toassure them.

Obi-Wan gave her an exasperated look. "Neither have you.If you had, you'd know we can see through flattery. Youthink Hunti Pereg can catch us."

"Well, he is very good," Floria said.

Obi-Wan stood, thinking a moment. Now that he knew thosevague feelings had a source, after all. He knew one thingfor sure: Wren had not left those clues. One of the bountyhunters had.

It was time to contact the Temple. A Jedi was in danger.He could feel it. But their comlinks had been blown up withthe ship.

"We were deliberately led into the malia den," he toldAnakin. "And the cavern. Someone left those clues for ustp follow."

"which mean that Wren . . ." Anakin began.

"Has been captured or possibly even killed," Obi-Wanfinished gravely. "But why? Why is this Granta Omega afterus? What else do you know about him?"

"Not much. We've never seen him. We've communicatedthrough comm channels. The only thing that we know is therichest being in the galaxy,"

Floria said.

"Not the richest," Dane corrected. "You always exaggerate."

"Okay, one of the richest," Floria said.

"Why has he targeted the Jedi?" Anakin asked.

Floria and Dane shook their heads. "We don't know," Floriasaid. "In this business, you don't ask too many questions.It's better not to get too involved."

"Speaking of which, hanging around with you too might bedangerous to our health," Dane said. "So if you don't mind,Floria and I will take our chances on Ragoon." He grabbedFloria's hand and began to edge away.

Obi-Wan blocked their path. "Not a chance," he said firmly."You're not going anywhere until we find out exactly what'sgoing on. We might need your help."

"What help could we possible be?" Floria asked. "We toldyou everything we know."

"I'm sure you did not," Obi-Wan said. "You know the bountyhunter who are after us. You're not going anywhere until weknow mare about who is after us . . . and why."

Chapter Nine

"So what now?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan.

"When you are the hunter, the best thing to do is turn thetables,"

Obi-Wan said. "You must become the hunter."

"Track the bounty hunters," Anakin said.

Obi-Wan nodded. "We can start with the sleep bomb. It needa nearby power source, which won't be far."

"Whoa, wait a second," Floria said. "I didn't sign on forthis. If you're going to chase down the rest of the bountyhunters, you've got to let us go. This could be dangerous."

"Bounty hunting isn't dangerous?" Anakin asked.

"We minimize our risk," Dane said. He hooked his fingersinto his thick black utility belt. "Which doesn't seem tobe a consideration for Jedi."

"When it comes down to it, we just aren't very brave.,"Floria confessed.

"Speak for yourself, Floria," Dane said scowling.

Floria ignored him. "So it's in your best interests to letus go. I tend to scream when trouble happens. And afterall, it isn't fair. Bounty hunters are chasing you, not us.Why put us in harms way?"

"Let me ask you something," Obi-Wan said. "Don't you thinkthe bounty hunter knew you were aboard our ship beforeactivating the signal?"

Floria bit her lip. "You mean we're a target, too?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "Think about it. After all, the fewerbounty hunters there are, the easier it is to win theprize."

"But there are rules!" Floria protested. "Bounty huntersare forbidden to attack one another."

"In my experience, the larger the reward, the greater thechance that the rules will be broken," Obi-Wan said.

"Granta Omega wouldn't stand for it," Floria said, but shesounded less certain.

"Would you bet your life on the ethics of a being who isusing bounty hunters to trap Jedi on a training exercise?"Obi-Wan asked mildly.

Floria was silent.

Obi-Wan waited while the sister and brother exchanged aglance. He was not about to let Floria and Dane go.Despite their assurances that they weren't dangerous, thereward would still tempt them to make trouble for the Jedi.Obi-Wan had no doubt that he and Anakin could handle anyattack the bounty hunting team could launch at them, buthe'd rather not have to deal with it at all so that he couldfocus on rescuing Wren and getting to the bottom of who wasbehind this.

He wanted them close. But it was better that they think itwas in their best interests to stay with the Jedi.

"I think you've got us there," Dane told him. "Lead on."

With Floria and Dane in tow, Obi-Wan and Anakin began asystematic search. They walked outward from their ship inwidening circles.

"The power source for that size sleeper bomb has to be agenerator that's fairly large," Obi-Wan said. "I'm guessingit's on a cruiser of some kind."

"If the power source in on a cruiser, the bounty huntercould be long gone," Floria called to them as she brought upthe rear.

"Not if the prize is as big as you say," Obi-Wan answered.

Their route took the over a rocky hill and down into anotherlow-lying meadow. The ground was mushy beneath their feet.Ahead lay a boggy field full of shoulder-high bushes withbright yellow flowers.

Floria reached out to pick one. "Ow!" She sucked herfinger.

Now they could see that red thorns surrounded the brightflowers.

"I guess we have to turn back," Floria said hopefully."We'll be torn to shreds if we try to make it through thesebushes."

Obi-Wan hesitated. Floria was right. But their only chanceof finding the power source lay in examining the surroundingarea.

"Master," Anakin said quietly.

Obi-Wan heard it, too. The faint whine of a cruiser engine.He searched the sky and saw nothing.

"Everyone get down low," he said.

They crouched underneath the bushes in a hollowed out spotwhile Obi-Wan and Anakin scanned the sky.

The cruiser darted into view, a flash of silver against theblue.

"Fast, agile," Anakin reported, squinting at it. "Lasercannon mounted on either side of the bridge."

"It's Mol Arcasite's cruiser," Dane said. "I recognize it.She had it techno-tweaked by Sienar's Advanced Projects. Uh-oh."

The cruiser had made a sharp turn and now headed straighttoward them.

Dane looked around. "what are we going to do? There's noplace to hide. And if we go back we'll be caught in theopen."

Obi-Wan withdrew his lightsaber and activated it. He leanedforward and expertly sliced through the thorny bush. Thebush melted away.

"Those things sure come in handy," Floria said admiringly.

The cruiser darted lower. The laser cannons suddenly burstinto a clatter of rapid fire.

"Move!" Obi-Wan urged as the fire scorched the bushes behindthem.

He darted through the hole he'd created with thelightsaber, swinging it in a short arc in order to clear theway farther into the brush.

Anakin pushed Floria through and waited for Dane to dart inbefore following. Obi-Wan used his lightsaber with fine-honed precision, cutting a hole in the bush just below thesurface so that the bushes would seem intact from the air.There would be no telltale path to advertise their progress.

Obi-Wan moved fast, but in a wide zigzag over the length ofthe field. They grew tired and sweaty and were scratched bylong, sharp thorns. Still, Obi-Wan pushed on, making MolArcasite dive again and again over the thorny field. Attimes the cannon fire was so close Obi-Wan could feel theheat from the blaster bolts.

"Is this a plan?" Dane asked. A long scratch went from hisear to his nose. "Because it doesn't seem like a plan. Areyou trying to tire out a cruiser?"

Obi-Wan didn't answer. He had brought them to the edge ofthe field.

Ahead was another rocky hill, the beginnings ofthe foothill to the mountains.

"Sty here," Obi-Wan told Floria and Dane. "Anakin followme."

He stepped out into the open. He held his lightsaber high.

She's had to fly low and buzz us continuously," he toldAnakin. "I see some slight smoke from the forward lasercannon."

"She could be overheating," Anakin said. "That's why youkept her moving."

"Exactly. Now lets keep going."

It was a challenge, but the Jedi moved fast, using thenatural formation of the steep hill and the surroundingboulders for cover. Again and again, Mol Arcasite divedtoward them, laser cannons blasting, but thy used deep rockyoverhangs for cover.

"I'm going to try something," Obi-Wan told Anakin. "Keepher occupied down here."

As soon as the cruiser banked and turned for anotherapproach, Obi-Wan leaped up to an overhang, then jumped tothe next, and the next. Now he was above the low-flyingcruiser, which was angling on to attack Anakin.

Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber. The bright blue glowattracted Mol Arcasite's attention. She reversed course andcame at him, cannons blazing. Obi-Wan leaped toward theground, bypassing the ledges he'd used to climb up. Cannonfire shattered the rock as the cruiser dived to follow him.An avalanche of rocks rained down on the body of thecruiser.Obi-Wan landed lightly next to Anakin. "Good work, Master,"Anakin said, watching the cruiser. "More smoke coming fromthe left side. That cannon might overheat."

"Good. Now for the final blow. Follow me." Obi-Wan jumpedback up the hill. Anakin followed, moving from ledge toledge until they reached the top. Below them. Shadows castby an overhang concealed a thick fall of snow. In theshelter of the rock, the snow had not melted with themorning sun.

"When the cruiser returns, activates your cable launcher andjump,"

Obi-Wan told Anakin.

Anakin nodded, guessing his Master's plan.

"If it doesn't work, we'll be hanging there, perfecttargets," Obi-Wan said. "So keep a free hand for yourlightsaber." He kept his eyes on the cruiser. "Ready -go!"

The Master and Padawan swung off the mountain on their cablelaunchers. The sudden move caught Mol Arcasite by surprise.The cruiser dived after them, firing rapidly.

The noise and heat of the blaster bolts released anavalanche of snow and chunks of ice. The large blanket felldirectly on the cruiser, binding Mol Arcasite momentarily.Obi-Wan and Anakin hung on their cable launchers as the snowshowered down past them. The cruiser wobbled crazily,heading straight for the stone side of the mountain.

At the last moment before the cruiser hit, a cargo dooropened and a swoop zoomed out. They could see that MolArcasite was astride it.

The cruiser crashed into the mountain with a whoosh and roarof fuel. Obi-Wan and Anakin kept under the shelter of aledge as flaming metal rained down below.

The swoop took off into the distance, became a black speck,and disappeared.

Obi-Wan and Anakin lowed themselves to the ground. Floriaand Dane rushed toward them.

"That was incredible," Floria said. "You defeated MolArcasite! I'm not betting on Hunti Pereg anymore."

"You're rid of Mol Arcasite for good," Dane told them."She's good, but she's known for not sticking around if herfirst strike fails badly.

She just lost a ship. Her ownsurvival is her first priority."

"That doesn't sound like good business for a bounty hunter,"Anakin said.

"She seldom fails," Dane said. "So it doesn't matter. Nodoubt she has a backup plan. She'll be on to her nextassignment by nightfall."

"So we've paralyzed one bounty hunter, and another one tookoff,"

Obi-Wan said. "That leaves two."

"We know that Wren didn't leave the clues for us to follow,"Obi-Wan said. "The question is, who did?"

"I'm betting on Teleq," Dane said. "It's just his style.He's clever, and he's fond of traps."

"Whoever it is doesn't know that we know we're beinghunted," Obi-Wan pointed out. "As a matter of fact, he'sprobably still leaving clues for us to follow."

"So what should we do?" Floria leaned forward eagerly.

Obi-Wan noted her eagerness. Now Floria was on their side.Or else she was hoping that once the Jedi eliminated all theother bounty hunters, she and Dan would find a way to takethe prize.

One way or another, it didn't matter. He wanted to keepFloria and Dane close.

"We give him exactly what he wants. We follow them, ofcourse," Obi-Wan said.

Chapter Ten

Obi-Wan and Anakin retraced their steps, climbing themountain again. Floria and Dane trudged behind them, unusedto the quick pace the Jedi set.

"I'm beginning to think I'd rather take my chances with thebounty hunters," Floria grumbled.

Anakin stopped in order to fall into pace next to her. "Howdid you and Dane get into this line of work?" he asked."Where are your parents?"

"Where are yours?" Floria snapped. Suddenly her face shutdown and became defensive and angry.

"My mother lives on Tatooine," Anakin said. "She is aslave."

Floria's face softened slightly. "Oh. I'm sorry. Ourparents are dead. I don't come from Aaeton. That was alie. Dane and I are from the Inner Core world of Thracior.We grew up in peaceful times, but five years ago thewarlords of Thracior began to argue over territory. Raidsbegan between the different tribes. My mother was Hnsi, myfather a Tantt. They were killed because they intermarried.The Hnsis burned our house down and killed our baby sister.Dan and I escaped."

Floria told the story in a monotone, her eyes on themountain trail.

Ahead of them, Dane did not turn oracknowledge he was listening, but Anakin saw his neck flushred.

"Dane and I had to make our way as best we could," Floriasaid. "We had lost everything, so we had to work. We foundjobs in a caf© at a space station, washing up and servingfood. Our boss we a very cruel man. We discovered he waswanted by the security forces of a nearby planet.

Wetricked him into getting caught. We got the reward, but wehad to leave the planet. So we kind of fell into bountyhunting. We've been moving around the galaxy ever since."

"When you find something you're good at, you stick to it,"Dane said with a cocky assurance Anakin did not quitebelieve.

"It sounds like a hard life," Anakin remarked.

Floria cocked an eyebrow. "And is yours so easy, Jedi?"

Anakin took the question seriously. "In a way, it is," hesaid slowly. "I know I am being of service. That makes thepath easy to walk."

"Well, I'd rather go down my path in a nice, techno-maxedcruiser,"

Floria said. "So I guess I'm stuck with bountyhunting."

"Here we are," Obi-Wan called from a short distance ahead."We left the path here, when we thought someone wasfollowing us."

"That was me," Floria said.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Let's find the next clue, Anakin."

Anakin left Floria's side. He pushed their conversation outof his mind. Earlier, finding clues had been fun. Now, itwould be serious.

It didn't take long to find the next clue. After a fork inthe path, they found a few crumbs from a blumfruit muffinleft near flat rock alongside the trail.

"He is clever," Obi-Wan told Anakin, squatting by the clue."He is leading us on without tipping us off. But we knowthat Wren would never have left this clue."

Anakin briefly tasted the crumbs. He looked up at hisMaster, his face grave. "These are from the Temple."

"Are you sure?" Obi-Wan asked.

Anakin nodded. "I'd know Jedi Knight Alicka's muffinsanywhere. This must mean that - "

"The bounty hunter definitely has Wren. He has raided hissurvival pack."

They hurried on. They had lost a good deal of time, andAnakin could tell that his Master was worried about Wren'sfate.

They followed the path until it curved along a ridge thatoverlooked a meadow full of tall, slender, flowering trees.From above, the flowering branches formed a solid carpet ofpink. Anakin stopped and examined a large boulder on theside of the trail. He hopped from one boulder to the next.

"This way," he called to Obi-Wan. "He went down from hereto the meadow."

He looked back up at his Master. Obi-Wan's gaze swept thetrees below. "wren is near. I can feel it. Let's proceedcarefully."

Then they made their way carefully down the slope, jumpingfrom rock to rock. Floria and Dane followed at a distance.When they reached a meadow, the perfume of the floweringtrees hit their nostrils. Under any other circumstances,Anakin would have paused to drink in the beauty of the spot.After growing up on desert world, he was often overwhelmedby simple things such as flowers and grasses.

The trees had slender triangular trunks, but the brancheswere thick and wide. The flowers were so large and densethat the top of each tree was a waving mass of frothy pink.

Anakin scanned the meadow, alert for trouble. But instead,he saw Wren sleeping under a tree.

"Master -"

"I see him." Obi-Wan paused. "Something is . . . notright," he murmured. "I get no sense of the Force fromWren."

Anakin frowned. His Master was right.

Obi-Wan took a step forward. But it was not in thedirection Anakin had been looking.

"Master?"

Anakin saw that his Master had headed toward Wren. But thiswas a different Wren, sleeping under a different tree.

And then Anakin saw another Wren, and another, and another.None of them was the real Jedi. They were merelyprojections of his image.

"Holograms," Obi-Wan said.

"All of them?" Anakin asked.

He looked at his Master. There was no way to know.

Chapter Eleven

"Stay here and don't try anything," Obi-Wan warned Floriaand Dane.

"We will handle this."

"Be my guest," Dane answered, his eyes darting to the manyWrens.

"Teleq wants us to run into the meadow," Obi-Wan murmured toAnakin.

"He wants us to race from one Wren to another. Sowe won't."

They didn't need too. They would use the Force.

Obi-Wan and Anakin reached out and gathered it around them.A fellow Jedi was in danger. That made their connection tothe Force even stronger, made their ability to gather itmore urgent.

Obi-Wan felt the power of Anakin's grasp of the Force. Asalways, it staggered him.

He scanned the meadow once more, and this time he knew whichof the images was not an image. Which one was Wren. Whenhe looked directly at Wren, he felt the answering surge.Anakin had also honed in on the real Wren.

The sound of Obi-Wan lightsaber leaving his belt was no morethan a whisper. His leaving his spot was no more than adisturbance in the air.

Yet he was gone, across the meadow,racing toward Wren. He could feel rather than hear Anakinbehind him.

Suddenly Wren's body snapped into the air. Obi-Wan watched,his heart in his mouth, as Wren was hoisted up into thetrees. There was no question in Obi-Wan's mind that Wrenmust have been given a paralyzing drug of some kind. Hecould tell by the boneless way Wren's legs and arms floppedas if he were a puppet.

Rage bloomed in his chest, Obi-Wan absorbed it and let itgo. He did not need rage to fight this. He need disciple.Calm.

He anticipated the attack before it came. He had knownTeleq was luring them on, but he did not care. He was readyto meet the bounty hunter.

He had just not expected the attack to come from above. Ashower of poisonous darts rained down from the trees.

"Flechette canisters," Obi-Wan told Anakin. She shifted hisfocus to the branches over his head. Now he could seeTeleq. He was a long-limbed being with hooked fingers andtoes, making him adept at climbing and swinging throughtrees.

Perched on the branches we also flocks of birds. Theirfeathers were the same bright pink as the flowering trees,allowing them to blend into their surroundings. They werealmost as big as Anakin, with large wings folded backagainst their bodies.

As Teleq moved from branch to branch, the birds began tosquawk angrily. Obi-Wan leaped to catch a branch highoverhead, then swung himself up into the trees. A birdpecked his hand, drawing blood. He swung up to the nextbranch. The tree was easy to climb, since the branches werewide and flat. He could see Teleq trying to scamper away,firing another shower of darts at him over his shoulder.

Anakin swung himself into a tree close by. He climbed uponto another branch, then another. High above the groundthe branches were close together, and they would be able toleap from one tree to another to pursue Teleq.

But where was Teleq headed? Obi-Wan wondered as he climbed.He watched Teleq jump to another tree and realized what hewas doing.

Teleq was leading them closer to Wren. The closer Obi-Wangot to Teleq, the more he would bring Wren into the range offire of the darts.

And wren would be unable to deflectthem.

What is his objective? Obi-Wan wondered. How was heplanning to catch the Jedi?

The possibilities flew through Obi-Wan's mind, presentingthemselves so quickly it was as though they appeared all atonce.

Wren himself is booby-trapped.

There is another trap in Wren's tree.

There is trap on the logical progression to Wren's tree.

There is no trap. Teleq is planning a surprise move withthe flechette canister or another weapon.

The question is, how can I surprise him instead?

Anakin leaped from his tree to the next one, deflecting ashower of darts with a quick series of lightsaber moves.Obi-Wan leaped to another tree, still considering hisoptions. Suddenly his mind cleared, leaving a space withoutsound. He knew what would follow: Qui-Gon's voice. Oftenit rose in his mind just when he was most confused oruncertain.

Use everything you have. Use the ground. Use the sky. Usewhat is around you.

Another bird suddenly squawked by his ear. Obi-Wan deftlymoved to the left as the bird struck out with a long,pointed beak. Another bird leaped closer on the thickbranch, screeching at Obi-Wan. He realized that he hadalmost stumbled into a nest. No wonder birds were sofurious. He quickly jumped to the branch of the next tree.

He didn't like the setting of the battle. Teleq was adeptat navigating the trees. He had chosen his ground wisely.And Obi-Wan couldn't help the nagging suspicion that somehowTeleq was luring them into a trap. They would have to gethim first. But how?

Another bird squawked overhead, its mate joining it tocircle above the nest.

Use everything you have. . .

While he deflected more darts from the flechette canister,Obi-Wan searched the branches near Wren's tree. Obviously,Teleq was trying to drive them there. He was being cleverabout it - he was trying to make them think that he wasattempting to keep them away from the tree - but Obi-Wanknew better.

There - he saw it. A large nest near Teleq, guarded by twobirds.

That would do.

He did not have time to communicate his plan to Anakin. Hewould have to trust that his Padawan would get the idea.

Obi-Wan jumped from his tree to the next, following theroute he felt sure Teleq wanted him to follow. He kept hislightsaber activated, swinging at the darts to clear hisway. He could hear Anakin behind him, jumping from tree totree.

When they were closer to Teleq, Obi-Wan swung off to anothertree to his right. Anakin hesitated, then moved in theopposite direction.

It was not the first time that Obi-Wan was grateful for hisPadawan's excellent instincts. Time and again, Anakin wouldread Obi-Wan's strategy faster than Obi-Wan ever expected.

Moving fast now, the two Jedi leaped from tree branch totree branch. Obi-Wan could not see Teleq's face, but hecould tell by his movements and the frantic burst from theflechette canister that the bounty hunter was unnerved.

As Obi-Wan grew closer, Anakin swung out to the side, sothat Teleq was forced to move back, exactly where Obi-Wanwanted him.

Obi-Wan gathered the Force. It would be a difficult leap,bypassing one tree to land on another. But it was the onlyway to surprise Teleq enough to get him to leap to the nexttree.

Obi-Wan jumped. The speed and power of the move surprisedTeleq.

Obi-Wan saw the shock on his face as he stumbled onthe wide branch, then awkwardly leaped to the next tree. Atthe same time, Obi-Wan changed direction in midair. Hecollided with Teleq, sending the bounty hunter sailingstraight into a bird's nest.

Screeee! Screeee! Screeee! Screeee! The birds erupted inwild, furious calls. Two small baby birds lifted theirheads and tried to flap their wings at the intruder.

The two large birds guarding the nest suddenly rose in theair.

Together, they extended their powerful claws andsnatched Teleq from the nest. Beating their wings, theycarried a struggling Teleq away.

Anakin leaped onto the branch next to Obi-Wan. "Good plan,Master."

"We need to get Wren down from that tree. It can't be aseasy as it looks." Obi-Wan leaped from branch to branch.When he got onto the tree next to Wren's, he examined thearea carefully. Wren could not move his eyes, yet Obi-Wanfelt the Force roll out from him in strong waves. Wren waswarning him.

"I know, Wren," he called out to him. "We will take ourtime, but we'll get you out."

The ground at the bottom of the tree was thickly carpetedwith blooms, just like very other tree. But here the bloomswere massed a little too thickly. The pattern was notrandom enough.

"Anakin, swing down and examine the ground under the tree,"Obi-Wan instructed. Be careful. Don't get too close."

Anakin eased down to the ground. He circled the tree,gazing carefully down. "These blossoms have been placedhere."

"That's what I thought."

"Something is underneath." Before Obi-Wan could stop him,Anakin tossed a rock into the mass of flowers. Itdisappeared.

"There's a trench down there," Anakin called up.

"You're lucky there wasn't explosive," Obi-Wan saiddisapprovingly.

Sometimes Anakin acted rashly. If he couldteach the boy one thing, it would be too wait.

He began to study the three branches. He noticed seamsrunning through several branches.

"I think I get it," he called down to Anakin. "Thesebranches have been cut through, then resealed. They won'ttake our wait. We would have crashed through, right intothe trench."

"And then he could have hit us with some paralyzing darts,"Anakin finished. "Pretty simple plan."

"Simple is sometimes best," Obi-Wan said. "Lucky for us, itwas not in this case. We'll have to use our cable launchersto get Wren."

Activating their launchers, the Jedi swung close to Wren andmanaged to cut him free. Obi-Wan supported him as hereleased his cable launcher and they dropped to the ground.

He carefully lay Wren down and examined him. There was along gash on one leg and his arm looked bruised. He had ablaster wound to his shoulder. He must have been in pain.

Obi-Wan reached for the bacta in his kit and administeredit.

"You will be fine, but you need better care than we can findyou here," he told Wren. "We must get you back to theTemple."

"That means we need a ship," Anakin said.

"Teleq's must be nearby," Obi-Wan said, rising to his feet.

Anakin looked around. "Where are Floria and Dane? Theywere supposed to wait by the hill."

"I think I know where I can find them, too" Obi-Wan said.

Chapter 12

Floria and Dane sat by Teleq's ship at the end of themeadow. They jumped up when they saw Obi-Wan and Anakin.

"We saw the battle," Floria said. "I'll never underestimatethe Jedi again. The way you strategized! The way youmoved!"

"Nice star cruiser," Anakin said, circling around Teleq'sship. "We could get to Coruscant on this."

"Don't bother going inside yet," Obi-Wan said. "Theengine's been disabled."

Anakin poked his head around the side of the ship and lookedat Obi-Wan quizzically. Obi-Wan looked at Floria and Dane.

"Well?' he said sternly.

Dane opened his hand. A sensor lay in it. "Just a littlepart," he said. "And the engine is easily fixed. It's anactivation sensor for the sublight drive."

"So Teleq wouldn't be able to leave the atmosphere," Anakinsaid.

"He'd have to rely on repulsorlift engines."

"And a warning light would tell him so," Obi-Wan finished."He'd know he wouldn't be able to take off without work onthe engine. And while he was working on it, you'd disablehim. And take off with us for a prize."

"Wait a second," Anakin said. "This means that you expectedTeleq to capture us."

"No offense," Dane said. "What kind of bounty hunters wouldwe be if we didn't explore all of the alternatives?"

Glaring at Dane, Anakin strode forward and snatched the partfrom his hand. "Don't worry, Master, I can fix the enginein no time at all."

Anakin accessed the engine panel on the exterior of theship. He withdrew a small hydrospanner from his utility kitand his head disappeared inside. Muffled exclamationsfloated out to the others.

Finally Anakin emerged, his face streaked with grease. "Youshorted out the sunlight engine fuses and deactivated thepower converter! I can't six this!"

"I did?" Dane looked surprised. "I didn't mean to. Idon't know that much about engines," he confided to Obi-Wan.

Floria smacked her brother on the arm. "I told you to becareful!

Now how are we supposed to get out of here?"

"You're the one who told me to disable it!" Dane protested.

"You said it was a good idea! If I'd known you didn't knowhow, I wouldn't have suggested it!"

Obi-Wan heaved an exasperated breath. If he could leavethese two behind, he would. But something told him that hestill needed them. "Stop squabbling, you two. We have totake Wren back to the Temple. We'll have to return and findthe other bounty hunter's ship."

"Go back down the mountain?" Floria asked in dismay.

"I'mexhausted!"

"And dusk will be here soon," Dane added.

Obi-Wan shouldered his pack. Then we'd better get started."

They left Wren wrapped in a blanket inside Teleq's ship.Anakin was able to reconfigure the ship's security code sothat Wren would be protected inside. Even if Teleq somehowmanaged to get free of those birds, he would not be able toboard his ship. At least Wren would have warmth andshelter. Promising to return soon, they set off down themountain again.

"It's been almost five hours," Obi-Wan told Anakin. "Withluck the bounty hunter will be just getting over hisparalysis. He'll have no choice but the cooperate."

"We certainly are developing a collection of bountyhunters," Anakin remarked.

"Unfortunately they're not all as harmless as Floria andDane," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin looked at him curiously. "You knew Floria wasn'ttelling the truth from the beginning, didn't you?"

"I suspected as much," Obi-Wan admitted. "But I had no wayof knowing what she was concealing."

"I believed her story," Anakin said, frowning. "Why didn'tthe Force warn me?"

Obi-Wan smiled. "The Force is not a truth serum, Padawan.The ability to read a beings true motives comes withexperience and patience.

I was once very bad at it. Qui-Gon taught me how to look and listen.

Floria betrayedherself by playing on our sympathies just a bit too much."

"And you knew they would find Teleq's ship and try todisable it."

"Experience," Obi-Wan said. "It tells me the beings followtheir best interests. Floria and Dane have had to fighttheir way through the galaxy. They are used to looking outfor themselves. Naturally they would still try to foilanother bounty hunter winning the prize."

Obi-Wan put a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Do not troubleyourself, Padawan. You have an open heart. This is a goodthing. With time you will learn the balance you need in agalaxy where all beings do not tell the truth. Yourimpulsiveness is a source of energy and power for you. Butit can lead to trouble. You will learn to be more careful.Sometimes it is better to walk than to run."

"I got us into trouble with the malia, and then in thecavern"

Anakin admitted. "I'm sorry, Master."

"Danger finds us on every mission," Obi-Wan said. "Let uslook forward."

They followed the winding path down the mountain once again.When they reached the site of their battle with the Tursha,they hurried through the meadow. Ahead they could see thecamouflaged tent. As they walked forward, they coulddistinguish the Tursha still slumped against the tree.

"He's still paralyzed," Anakin said, starting forward.

Obi-Wan stopped him. "No, Padawan. He is dead."

Chapter Thirteen

Obi-Wan crouched over the body. "Poisoned," he said.

Anakin leaned forward curiously. "Flechette canister?"

"No. See the flecks in his lips? It was a fast poison,injected in the neck." Obi-Wan moved the Tursha's head."Here." Obi-Wan stood. "Do you have your tarp?"

Anakin withdrew the tarp from his survival pack. Gently,Obi-Wan wrapped the body. "We will come back for him," hemurmured. "We must take him to Coruscant. He might havehad family." He stood, his eyes roaming the area. "Now wemust return to our problem. We must find his ship."

They spit up and searched the area thoroughly, but theycould not find the ship the bounty hunter had used.

"One of the other bounty hunters must have stolen it," Obi-Wan said. "Mol Arcasite, perhaps."

"Do you think she killed him?"

"Possibly," Obi-Wan said. "But one of the others could havedone it.

We have no way to know."

"What now?" Anakin wondered. "We're stuck on the planetwith no comm unit."

"We have one last sabaac card to play," Obi-Wan said. Heturned to Floria and Dane.

"What?" Floria shifted nervously. "We told you everythingwe know."

"I don't think so," Obi-Wan answered. "If you had capturedus, where would you have taken us?"

"To Granta Omega, of course," Dane answered.

"How would you have contacted him?" Obi-Wan asked. "Youmust have some sort of prearranged loine of communication."

Floria and Dane gave each other a nervous look.

"Because you're going to use it. You're going to contacthim and tell him that you've captured us," Obi-Wan said."And you're going to ask him to meet you on Ragoon-6."

"What if we do?" Floria asked. "Do you think we're crazyenough to contact Granta Omega and lie to him?"

Obi-Wan merely look at them. It was enough.

"All right, all right," Floria muttered. "We'll contactGranta Omega and lie to him. Just arrange a really nicefuneral for us, will you?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No funerals. But the game isover. We're not chasing any more bounty hunters. GrantaOmega will come to us."

Floria agreed grudgingly. "I guess we'll cooperate. I'mtired of trying to outthink you, anyway. Obviously, we'reoutmatched. Besides, I'm starting to like you. And I betDane is, too."

Dane groaned. "Guilty. Some bounty hunter we are. Webefriend our prey instead of betraying them. Okay." Hegazed seriously at Obi-Wan. "If we do this, will youprotect us?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "You have my word."

Slowly, Dane withdrew a comlink from a hidden pocket in hiscloak.

"It's only got one channel," he said. "It's adirect line to Omega." Dane activated it and inputted acode.

"We have the Jedi," he said. "But lost our transport. Youmust come to us."

He listened for a moment, then shut off the comlink. "He'sagreed to meet us. He sounded surprised that Floria and Iwere the ones to catch you. Kind of insulting, actually.But he's coming." Dane looked at his sister."Unfortunately, he wants to meet us at the top of themountain."

Floria groaned. "Not again."

"Don't worry," Obi-Wan said. "We'll get up a faster way."

This time, they did not follow the trail. They used thecable launchers to vault straight up the cliffs. From thatspot, they were able to hike above the tree line. The airwas thin and cold here, and Obi-Wan and Anakin paused to dontheir thermal capes. The snow was ankle-deep on the trail.

"There's a good chance he'll be wary," Obi-Wan told Anakin."We must pretend to be Dan and Floria's prisoners until thelast possible moment. I don't have to tell you that we needto take Granta Omega alive. Perhaps more important thancatching him will be finding out why and how he targetedus."

Floria and Dane slipped laser cuffs over Anakin and Obi-Wan's wrists but did not seal them. It would appear thatthe two were prisoners.

They marched ahead of Floria andDane.

"Wasn't it your idea to become bounty hunters?" Floriagrumbled to her brother as she pushed her way through thesnow. "Floria, we can see that galaxy. Floria, it will befun. Floria, it's an easy way to make a fortune -"

"Floria, you're driving me crazy," Dane interrupted.

"We're getting closer, you two," Obi-Wan warned from behindthem.

"Try to act like professionals. We could be undersurveillance."

"Master, there is someone ahead," Anakin said under hisbreath.

A humanoid male sat on top of ice-encrusted snow ahead. Hewas dressed all in white, and had blended in with the snow.

"It must be Hunti Pereg," Dane murmured to them. "He's theonly bounty hunter left."

The stranger did not move as they approached.

"Greetings," Dane called. "We are Dane and Floria, bountyhunters.

We have caught the Jedi."

The man smiled pleasantly. "I can see that.Congratulations. I am Hunti Pereg. Bounty hunter as well."

Obi-Wan was poised for an assault. Surely the fearsomeHunti Pereg would not let two children take away his prize.His face looked fierce and frightening. It had the patched-together of a recent application of synth-flesh, as thoughhe had been badly injured.

The scars of life as a bounty hunter, Obi-Wan thought. Itbothered him to think of young Floria and Dane continuingwith such a life. Despite their grumbling and their tricks,they were not bad creatures.

And they are exactly the sort of beings Qui-Gon would havebefriended. And I would not have understood why. Now I do,Qui-Gon.

Now, I do.

"Don't worry, kids" Pereg told them. "I won't interferewith your prize."

"I'm glad to see you abide by the rules of honor." Danesaid.

"It's not that," Pereg said, "I can't move my legs. Thatscoundrel son of a gravel-maggot Teleq shot me with aparalyzing dart four hours ago. So it looks like you'vewon."

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Floria askedpolitely. "It's awfully cold up here."

"Very kind of you to ask," Pereg said. "after you collectthe reward, if you wouldn't mind sending a ship back for me,I'd appreciate it. Professional courtesy. I'll make itworth your while."

"Have you seen Granta Omega, by any chance?" Floria askedhim.

He shook his head. "Sorry. It's just been me and themountain."

They left Hunti Pereg behind and continued to the rendezvouspoint.

They were almost at the top of the mountain now.The sun had slid behind the peak, and the wind had pickedup. A few snowflakes drifted down from a white sky. Floriawrapped her cloak tighter around her.

They stopped at the coordinates Granta had given them. Theylooked up at the sky, waiting to see a ship. Dane got out atarp with thermal coils and spread it on the ground. He andFloria sat, trying to keep warm.

Obi-Wan and Anakin stood,holding their arms so the laser cuffs were visible. Obi-Wandid not feel the cold.

The minutes ticked by.

"He isn't coming," Obi-Wan said at last.

"Do you think he knows it was a trick?" Anakin asked.

"There's no way to know," Obi-wan said. "But a storm iscoming, and we need to find help for Wren. We'll have totrack Omega after we get Wren to safety."

"How?" Anakin asked. "we don't have a ship."

"We'll have to take another look at Teleq's," Obi-Wandecided.

Floria stood. "At least I can get off the mountain."

"Well, at least all the bounty hunters have been accountedfor,"

Anakin said. "We don't have to worry about beingattacked."

They started back down the trail, their footsteps crunchingthrough the thin skin of ice into the densely packed snow."

Obi-Wan heard a slight whistling noise behind him. A smallmetal ball whizzed by his ear and caught the light as itarced through the air.

"Hit the ground!" Obi-Wan shouted as he vaulted forward andpulled Floria and Dane down underneath him.

Chapter Fourteen

The explosion sent a shower of snow high into the air. Obi-Wan lifted his head. The thermal detonator had hit thirtymeters away. That was close. Detonators had a twenty-meterradius of destruction.

Three Attack Droids headed toward them, gliding just abovethe surface of the snow with repulsorlift engines.

There was no cover. They could not avoid this battle, evenif they'd wanted to. They would have to protect Floria andDane and foil their attacker. He or she was fightingwisely, attacking without advancing.

At this point, Obi-Wan was getting a little tired of bountyhunters.

Obi-Wan put his hand on Dane's back. "Stay down," heordered him swiftly. "We will take care of this."

Dane nodded and covered Floria protectively with his ownbody.

Anakin's lightsaber blazed in his hand. Obi-Wan nodded andthey raced toward the advancing droids, swinging theirlightsabers to deflect the blaster bolts. They had to becareful. A stray bolt hit Dane, who was out in the open.

Anakin leaped toward the first droid. He cut it down in onestroke.

Blaster bolts melted the snow around him, butAnakin was already twisting in midair to get out of the way.He landed in precisely the right spot to launch anotherattack.

He had factored in the icy skin on top of the snow, but hisfoot still slipped slightly. Anakin took a moment to gethis balance. He had forgotten about the thermal detonators.Obi-Wan saw two balls whizzing toward Anakin. There was notime for him to reach the spot. He reached down and scoopedup two large rocks. He threw one with each hand. Each rockflew unerringly toward its target, hitting the thermaldetonators in midair, causing them to veer off course. Theysailed by on either side of Anakin's head and fell twenty-five meters away. Too close.

Obi-Wan charged forward. The remaining two droids weretrying to outflank the Jedi. He fanned out and Anakin didthe same. Then they ran toward each other, each targeting adroid as they jumped, their lightsabers held high. Thedroids fell with a sizzle in two smoking piles into thesnow.

Obi-Wan could see their attacker now. It was another bountyhunter.

He was tall and lean and dressed in plastoid armor.Two harnesses were slung crosswise around his body, filledwith a variety of weapons.

Attached to his belt were morethermal detonators.

He flipped one toward the Jedi. Obi-Wan and Anakin couldnot deflect it with their lightsabers. They would not beable to get close enough.

They had exactly six seconds tomove out of the way.

Obi-wan reached for the cable line on his belt. He lassoedthe detonator and jerked the line, sending it in theopposite direction, back toward the attacker. He saw theattacker bare his teeth in an admiring smile at the Jedi'sskill even as he reached up to catch it in his bare hand.Then he flung it backward, where it detonated harmlessly.

The attacker did not have to move. His weapons could belaunched from a distance. But Obi-Wan and Anakin had tomaneuver through thick snow to get to him. Anakin had hiscable line out and was ready to lasso the next detonator.Obi-Wan ran through the snow. The wind had formed deepdrifts, and he had to use the Force to guide him. He usedhis lightsaber to melt the snow when it piled up againsthim.

The detonators flew toward them furiously. Occasionallythey could hit one with a rock or lasso one. But mostly thetwo Jedi had to outrun them.

Obi-Wan's legs were beginning to tire from strugglingagainst the snow. He could hear the rasp of Anakin'sbreath. How long could they keep this up? Obi-Wanwondered.

Beside the attacker, Obi-Wan saw steam rising from the snow.He caught a glint of water and realized it was a thermalspring.

"Anakin, head right," he called to his Padawan.

They moved silently to the attacker's right. Every timethey moved, they brought him closer to the spring.

Ten detonators left on his belt. Obi-Wan took a chance andleaped, ducking to avoid a detonator headed his way. Itexploded and he felt shock ways against his skin. He landedon the snow awkwardly and slid down the slope toward hisattacker.

Anakin leaped in order to land in front of him, blocking hisdescent. Two detonators headed their way, and Obi-Wanlassoed one and sent it crashing into the other. The twosmoking orbs fell into the deep snow.

"The thermal pool," he said to Anakin. "Drive him towardit."

Anakin nodded. He looked tired. Obi-Wan was, too. Yet heknew that beyond their fatigue lay their stamina.

When they were close enough, Obi-Wan risked a leap straightat their attacker. He knew he would cause him to back up,and the attacker did. He slid on the ice and fell back,crashing into the spring.

The attacker slipped beneath the surface of the water, thenemerged, treading water. He shook the hair out of his eyesand gazes at Obi-Wan with a hostile look.

Obi-Wan stood at the edge. He held out a hand. "You haveabout ten seconds."

"Yes."

The attacker knew the extreme heat would cause a fusionreaction.

The thermal detonators would blow.

His eyes were a vivid color between silver and lilac. Therewas a scar on his upper lip. His hair was long and tiedback with a silver cord.

"Come on," Obi-Wan said, keeping his hand steady. We won'thurt you."

"Not you, but another," the bounty hunter said. "If Ireturn to him without you, he will kill me anyway. I willhave an easier death this way.

You don't know his power.It comes from the pyramid itself."

"You don't have to return to him," Obi-Wan said.

"Ah. But he will find me." The bounty hunter closed hiseyes.

Obi-Wan reached out over the water. "You must give up!"

"I cannot," the bounty hunter replied, his eyes stillclosed. "And I must tell you this - neither will he."

Obi-Wan leaped into the pool. But it was too late. Thethermal detonators exploded. Water rose and hit Obi-Wan inthe face. He choked and slipped beneath the water, thensurfaced, struggling against the waves created by theexplosion. Smoke rolled toward him.

The smoke cleared. Deep below the clear surface of thewater, he saw the bounty hunter's body spiral down, down, toa bottomless pool beneath.

Chapter Fifteen

Anakin hurried over to the thermal pool. His Master hadhauled himself out and stood at the edge. The steamingwater pooled at his feet, melting the snow.

Through the smoke and the steam, he could see the sadness onhis Master's face. The Force was strong here. His Masterwas reaching out to it and gathering it around, as thoughwarming himself. Obi-Wan's gaze was far away.

"Master? Are you all right?"

"I am saying good-bye to a being I did not know," Obi-Wansaid softly.

The reverence in his tone surprised Anakin. "He could havekilled you."

"Yet he did not. There is always a need for grief when abeing dies, Padawan. Qui-Gon taught me that." Obi-Wanlooked down into the steaming pool. "I saw someone take hisown life in a pool like this one. It was Xanatos, Qui-Gon'sgreatest enemy. A being who hated Qui-Gon and who wouldstop at nothing to destroy him. Still, when he took his ownlife, Qui-Gon stopped to mourn his life's passing. I willnever forget it."

Anakin nodded, though he did not understand. His greatestenemy so far in his life had been a slave trafficker namedKrayn. When he had died, Anakin had not paused to mourn.Far from it. He had rejoiced in his death.

It could onlybe good for the galaxy that such a terrible being had ceasedto exist.

Something to meditate on in my next session, he thought.I'll add it to the list. The difference between Anakin'sthoughts and Obi-Wan's lessons was sometimes more than hewanted to examine. It was a struggle to reconcile them.

"Why do you think the bounty hunter did that?" he asked.

"That is the crucial question," Obi-wan said. "He preferredto end his life rather than meet his fate with Granta Omega.That should tell us something."

"It tells us that Omega is very powerful," Anakin said."And very cruel."

"Yes, but there is more," Obi-Wan said, as though tohimself.

Anakin wanted to stamp his foot in frustration. What? Whatare you thinking? But Obi-Wan did not add to his statement.He just looked wise and thoughtful, as usual.

"There must have been six bounty hunters, then," Anakinsaid. He counted them off on his fingers. "the bountyhunter with the Stokhli stick. Floria and Dane together.Mol Arcasite. Teleq. Hunti Pereg. And now this one.That makes six. Floria and Dane were wrong."

"Perhaps," Obi-Wan said in the same thoughtful tone.

Annoyed, Anakin spun on his heel and trudged off to findFloria and Dane. They had gone off the trail and had hikedup a small rise, where a space cruiser was nestled in asmall hollow.

"We have to get off-planet," Floria said excitedly. "Thismust be his ship."

Anakin nodded. "Who was he? Do you know?"

Dane shook his head. "We were positive there were only fourother bounty hunters. It was important for all of us toknow exactly how many bounty hunters were involved. We allinsisted on that. If Granta Omega had lied to us, wewouldn't have been happy. Even Omega wouldn't want beingslike Hunti Pereg and Mol Arcasite as enemies."

Obi-Wan walked up. "It's time to leave Ragoon-6."

"The best word I ever heard," Floria said with a shiver.Night was falling. Blue shadows smudged the snow.

Anakin swung himself aboard the cruiser. He searched thecockpit, then motioned to Obi-Wan.

"Master, I found something strange. This cruise belongs to-"

"Hunti Pereg," Obi-Wan finished.

"Yes," Anakin said. "But why is it up here, at the peak?Why isn't it the last bounty hunter's ship?"

"It is the last bounty hunter's ship," Obi-Wan said. "Thatbounty hunter was Hunti Pereg. I am sure of it."

Anakin looked at him, puzzled. "Then who was the bountyhunter with the paralyzed legs?"

"It was not a bounty hunter. It was Granta Omega," Obi-Wansaid softly.

Anakin was stunned . "How do you know?"

"Floria and Dane never met him, so they would not recognizehim,"

Obi-Wan said. "Even so, he was in disguise. Thatsynth-flesh I took for repair of an injury was designed toconceal his face. I realize that now.

He does not want usto know what he looks like because he plans to meet usagain."

"So he wasn't really paralyzed," Anakin said.

"No," Obi-Wan said. "that was also a ruse. He somehow knewthat Floria and Dane had lied to him. He knew they weretrying to trap him. So he came down to see for himself. Heneeded to be sure. When he saw us, he was."

"But how would he know> We were wearing laser cuffs."

"Young Padawan, if I can teach you only one thing, it isthis: Never underestimate an enemy. Or a friend. Now tellme. What did you think of the man you saw?"

Anakin thought back to the amiable bounty hunter with theparalyzed legs. "Not much," he said. "I mean, I didn't getmuch of a feeling from him one way or the other. I got nosense of the dark side. Or the living Force, either, forthat matter."

"Exactly," Obi-Wan said. "I have been thinking the same.There are beings that Jedi call voids. At first sight theyseem to give off no real energy, rather like a hologram.But only beings with great power can project a simple blankto a Jedi. Sometime a void can be much more dangerous thana person who pulses with the dark side of the Force.

Theyare clever and Focused enough to hide their dark side, andhide it so well they can even hide it from a Jedi for atime."

"I didn't think Jedi could be tricked that way," Anakinsaid.

"Jedi can be tricked, my young Padawan," Obi-Wan said."they can be wrong. They can make mistakes. Do not forgetthat. We try to minimize those things by following ourfeelings and connecting to the Force. Yet we are notinfallible. Now we must return to pick up Wren. Night iscoming."

Obi-Wan beckoned to Floria and Dane, and the two started upthe landing ramp. "Do you remember any details of HuntiPereg?" Obi-Wan asked them. "What he looked like, or whathe was wearing?"

"He was wearing white," Floria said. "I remember that. Andhe was tall."

"He wasn't very tall," Dane said. "But his face was verystrange."

"Strange in what way?" Obi-Wan asked.

Dane frowned. "I can't remember."

"He had dark hair," Floria said.

"No, he had no hair at all," Dane said impatiently.

Brother and sister moved to sit down, still arguing. Anakinfired the engines, and the cruiser rose from the spot. Heused the repulsorlift engines for planetary travel andcruised down the mountain.

He knew his Master was troubled. He could sense it. He wastired of comparing his Master-Padawan relationship with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's. He would always come up short. But wasit fair for him to be angry at Obi-Wan because of that?

Ahead lay the snowy plain where they had first seen GrantaOmega. No one was there.

"How could he have gone?" Dane asked, peering out theviewscreen.

"The paralyzing dart couldn't have worn off soquickly."

Obi-Wan and Anakin did not answer. It was better that Daneand Floria still think the man had been Hunti Pereg. Anakinslowed his speed and cruised over the plain. Within momentshe had found what he was looking for. Below they could seeevidence that a small cruiser had landed. Melted snow andscorch marks showed where the craft had taken off.

"Please land here for a moment Padawan," Obi-wan said. "Iwould like to examine the area."

Anakin set the craft down on the snow. He activated thelanding ramp and Obi-Wan hurried down it.

Anakin stayed in the pilot's seat, watching Obi-Wan explorethe landing site. Once again, he had been left behind.

Chapter Sixteen

Obi-Wan was disturbed. He felt queasy, almost dizzy. Hesearched through the snow, but he didn't know what he waslooking for.

You don't know his power. It comes from the pyramid itself.

Obi-wan had felt cold ever since hearing those words. Thepyramid was a shape revered by the Sith.

The queasy feeling grew stronger. He remembered it well.He had felt it in the presence of the Sith Holocron.. Onthat mission, he had been described by the Holocron's power.He had worried about Anakin's reaction to it. He did notwant his Padwan to know what he suspected.

As if guided by his own unease, Obi-Wan reached down throughthe snow and put his hand on a small object. He pulled itout of the snow. It was a small black case.

He examined it, swallowing against the nausea that rose inhis throat. There was no opening he could see, no seams.It simply appeared to be a cube.

He unsheathed his lightsaber and carefully cut a small seamin the cube. The case broke open. A small black pyramidwas nestled in black shimmersilk. It blazed to life and hesaw it was holoprojector.

Unspeakable scenes flashed out at him, so quickly he couldnot absorb them. Murder. Suffering. Destruction.

Obi-Wan shut the case. He wiped the sweat on his brow. No,his Padawan must not see this.

"Master?"

Anakin had left the ship. He stood uncertainly a few metersaway.

"Did you find something?"

"It's nothing." Obi-Wan tucked the case inside his cloak."We can take it back to the Temple for examination. Come,Padawan."

But Anakin did not move. "I need to know what you found.Don't you think I can feel it, too?"

He saw the sweat on Anakin's forehead, saw the slight tremorin his knees.

He could dismiss him. He could say, You do not need toknow.

Would Qui-Gon have told him? Perhaps not. His Masterreveled things in his own time.

Anakin met his gaze boldly. He would not back down. Obi-Wan saw that clearly. He would not allow the moment topass. He would grab on to it, extend it, bend it to hiswill. He would do anything to obtain what he wanted.

He is so different from me, Obi-Wan thought again, bemused.

If he is so different from you, why do you treat him asthough he is a younger version of you? Why do you act asyou think Qui-Gon would have acted with you as his Padawan?

The question startled him. What was especially surprisingwas that he did not hear Qui-Gon's voice asking thequestion. He heard his own.

Maybe it was time he stopped trying to be the Master Qui-Gonwas. It was time to claim the role for himself.

"It is a Sith artifact.," he told Anakin.

His Padawan swallowed. "I thought so."

"The bounty hunter mentioned a pyramid before he died. Hesaid the Granta Omega drew his power from it. If the Sithare involved, or a Sith cult, that would explain much. Theruthlessness and cunning of the attack.

The use of bountyhunters. The specific target of Jedi."

"Do you think Granta Omega is a Sith?'

"No," Obi-Wan said, "If he were, we would have known it. Ithink he is an ordinary being with a gift for concealment ona very deep level. He could have dealings with a Sith, or aSith cult. But he himself is not a Dark Lord. I think hewanted us to find this case. He wants us to know exactlyhow dangerous he is, and how far he is willing to go."

Obi-Wan gazed down the mountain and took in the loweringsky. Clouds rumbled, and snow suddenly began to fall, thickand fast.

"We have a new enemy, Padawan."

Chapter Seventeen

Anakin put his hand on his lightsaber hilt. "I am ready,Master."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at him. "ready for what?"

"To go after Granta Omega." Anakin swallowed against theacid in his throat. The power of the Sith case was fading.He could face whatever Granta Omega would throw at them.

"We're not going after Omega," Obi-wan said. "He's longgone. We'd never be able to track him through the galaxy."

"Never? One should not use absolute statements," Anakinsaid. One corner of his mouth twitched, a sure sign he wastrying not to grin.

"It would be extremely difficult, then," Obi-Wan amendedwith a small smile. "And we have a wounded Jedi to see to.Have you forgotten that, Padawan?"

"We could drop Wren off at the Temple and retrace oursteps," Anakin said. "We can't just let Omega go!"

"That's exactly what we can do," Obi-Wan said firmly. "Donot chase trouble, Padawan. There are not many guaranteesin the galaxy, but I guarantee you this: Trouble will findyou."

Anakin pressed his lips together. He did not agree with hisMaster's decision. They had stumbled on a powerful evil.Was it right to let it slip through their fingers? Itwasn't like Obi-Wan to turn away from danger.

Unless he fears I cannot handle it.

Another doubt. They were crowding his mind on this planet.Was this the true purpose of the training exercise?

Obi-Wan knew how unnerved Anakin had been during theirencounter with the Holocron. Perhaps he was afraid thatAnakin would not be able to handle another mission dealingwith the Sith or Sith followers so soon. He had almost nottold Anakin what he had found. Anakin has seen that.

Eventhough they had not encountered a Sith since the mission toNaboo, Anakin had been rocked by the dark evil of the Sithjust being near the order's artifacts.

He is always trying to protect me. He does not trust me.What is the good of this exercise if Obi-Wan still doesn'thave faith in me?

The thoughts crashed against his skull. Anakin tried toquiet them, to find the clarity and peace that Obi-Wanseemed to carry with him so easily, like a tool on hisutility belt.

Obi-Wan slid the case into his cloak. "We will bring thisback to the Temple and deposit it with the Sith Holocron.That will keep it safe.

Now, let us return to Coruscant."

Wren was weakened but already beginning to recover when theyreturned to him. He was able to walk to the cruiser. Theysettled him inside and Obi-Wan administered more bacta.

"We'll be in Coruscant by morning," he told him.

Wren gave him a wan smile. "I will be glad to see theTemple. This exercise did not go as I expected."

"Yes, you must be surprised," Anakin agreed with a straightface.

"After all, I found you on the first day, just as Ipromised."

"I hardly think it counts," Wren said, drawing the blanketaround his shoulder huffily.

"I don't see why not," Anakin said, flashing Obi-Wan a quickgrin.

Obi-Wan grinned back. "I think we should let Wren rest.Maybe you should concentrate on piloting the ship."

They picked up the body of the Tursha and shot out of thesparkling green-blue atmosphere of Ragoon. The trip toCoruscant went quickly.

Anakin admired the bounty hunter'ssleek, fast ship.

"These sublight engines are tweaked," he said as he easedinto a shipping lane on Coruscant t dawn. "Any chance wecan confiscate this ship for the Temple?" He gave a quickglance at Obi-Wan. "okay, okay. I know.

We have to turnit over to the Senate ."

"We have to turn in Floria and Dane, too," Obi-Wan saidsoftly.

"What?" Floria had come up behind them. Her mouth was openand her cheeks were pink.

"You broke any number of galactic laws," Obi-Wan said. "Youtried to kidnap two Jedi. You sabotaged a cruiser. You-"

"But we helped you!" Floria protested.

"You didn't have much choice," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Don'tworry, I'm sure the security authorities won't detain youfor long. They will try to place you with a family forrehabilitation."

Dane jackknifed to his feet. "Rehabilitation? Into what?"

"You will have normal life," Obi-Wan said. "A roof overyour head, schooling, a chance for a profession -"

"We are past wanting any of that," Dane said. "We have beenon our on too long."

"What about your sister?" Obi-Wan asked. "Are you so sureit would not be better for her?"

Dane hesitated.

"Hey, I'm standing right here," Floria said. "And I wantwhat Dane wants. He knows what's best. Not you."

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter," Obi-Wan saidfirmly.

They paused long enough to leave Wren at the Temple. Theyhad called ahead so that a med team was waiting to removehim from the craft. Another Jedi came and carefully tookthe Sith case from Obi-Wan.

"Please inform Yoda that I will report to him shortly," Obi-Wan told him.

Obi-Wan directed Anakin to pilot the ship directly tosecurity headquarters. There, they left Floria and Dane inthe hands of a young security officer and left the body ofthe Tursha along with the scant information they had abouthim.

Floria leaned closer to the officer. "I'm glad to leavethis life behind" she confided, her blue eyes very wide."My brother and I regret the life we've led. We want tostart over. Our dead parents would want it that way." Hereyes filled with tears.

Anakin rolled his eyes as the security officer led them off.

"This time I can tell when Floria is lying," he said. "Ithink I've learned my lesson about pretty young girls withwounded eyes."

Obi-Wan smiled. "Floria and Dan will talk themselves out ofdetention, I am sure."

"So they will be on the loose again." Anakin shook hishead. "They are too young for that life. Isn't thereanything we can do?"

"No, Padawan. It is not our mission to save them. Beingstake their own paths, and sadly there is little one can doto change that." Obi-Wan stood. "Come, let's leave thecruiser here for a moment. I want to see a friend nearby."

As they walked, Anakin marveled at Obi-Wan's detachment. Hefelt vaguely unsatisfied from the mission-that-wasn't-a-mission. They hadn't found the mastermind behind the attackon them. A Jedi had bee wounded and had almost been killed.

And as for the training exercise, in Anakin's mind it hadbeen a complete failure. It had not strengthened the bondsof trust between them.

It had done just the opposite. Ithad brought up questions Anakin did not want to ponder. Ithad made him question the bond itself.

Obi-Wan indicated a caf© ahead. "This used to be Didi'sCaf©."

"I remember Didi and Astri," Anakin said. "Did somethinghappen to them?"

"Astri married a homesteader on the Outer Rim," Obi-Wansaid. "She and Didi sold the caf© to Dexter Jettster andmoved out there. I'll miss them. Didi introduced me toDexter before he left. The first time I met him I didn'ttrust him, and now that I've met him a few more times Istill don't trust him." Obi-Wan flashed a rare grin. "AllI can say is that Dex is a character. Come and meet him."

Obi-Wan threaded through tables crowded with being from allover the galaxy. He waves at Dexter, a large four-armed andformidable presence behind the bar.

"Well, id it isn't Obi-Wan Kenobi. Glad to see you make anappearance," Dexter boomed. "I was hoping you'd still comeeven though Didi is gone. Naturally I will give you thesame treatment." Dexter grinned hugely. "Except for thediscount, of course!"

Obi-Wan laughed and pushed over a few credits. "This is myPadawan Learner, Anakin Skywalker. Some juma juice for thetwo of us. And some information."

Dexter deftly poured the bight yellow juice into twoglasses. "Sure.

If I have it."

"Have you heard of someone called Granta Omega?" Obi-Wanasked, pushing the juice toward Anakin.

Dexter frowned. "No. The name isn't familiar. I'll askaround, if you like."

"Thanks." Obi-Wan took a sip of the juice as he turned toAnakin.

"It was worth a shot. Dexter might haveinformation for us one day. Then we will track Omega."

"And until then?" Anakin asked. He felt a little better.At least Obi-Wan was thinking of going after Omega at somepoint.

Obi-Wan pointed at Anakin's glass. "Until then, drink yourjuice."

Obi-Wan waited until Anakin had taken a sip. "Iowe you an apology, Padawan."

Anakin tore his gaze away from two odd species playingsabaac in a corner. "From what, Master?"

"You said I never share my thoughts. Instead of answering,I corrected you." Obi-Wan stared down into his juice. "Itis not easy for me to share my thoughts, or my feelings.And sometimes it is necessary that I do not. When I wasyour age, I felt the same as you do. I thought Master andPadawan had to share everything."

"Don't they?'

"No," Obi-Wan said. "There are times when you do not needto know what I am thinking. You must trust that I knowbest."

Anakin shook his head. "That's hard for me. I want to knoweverything."

"That is a quality I treasure in you," Obi-Wan said. "Butit is also a quality that you must learn to control." Hegave Anakin a significant look. "There are things you keepfrom me, too"

"Not so!" Anakin protested.

Midnight raids on the junk heaps below the surface ofCoruscant . .

. a plan to build your own power converter . .. "

Anakin grinned. "caught." He was starting to feel better.

He had worried that Obi-Wan did not have room for him in hisheart.

But Shmi's smile rose in Anakin's mind. Hearts haveinfinite room, my son.

It was one of her favorite sayings. Anakin sighed. Hewished he could combine Obi-Wan's cool judgement with hismother's goodness.

Someday. Maybe his Master would trusthim enough to let him tangle again with the Sith.

Perhaps he would never have a Master-Padawan relationship asdeep and trusting as Obi-Wan had with Qui-Gon. Perhaps Obi-Wan kept his as a Padawan in order to fulfill a dying wish.But maybe it didn't matter how it happened.

He should not focus on what he didn't have. He had this.This was his. And that was something. He would work hard.He would be a great Padawan. And Obi-Wan would come to lovehim. He would make him do so.

"I think I know what you're thinking," Obi-Wan said, notingAnakin's sigh. "It was not the training mission I thoughtit would be, either. I thought I had things to teach you.Instead, you taught me."

"I taught you?" Anakin was surprised. "What?"

"That I am not Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan said. "And you are not me.Simple as that."

"Simple is sometimes best," Anakin said, repeating Obi-Wan'swords.

"We are on a journey together, Padawan." Obi-Wan clickedhis glass lightly against Anakin's. "We will forge our ownpath. Let us drink to that."

Across Dexter's caf©, someone watched the two Jedi. Someonewith cool eyes behind dark-lensed goggles. Someone who hadrecently removed synth-flesh that had knitted into his skin,leaving his skin raw. But no one looked twice at anyoneelse in Dexter's caf©. It was too dangerous and couldprovoke violence.

Go ahead, enjoy your drinks and your smiles, Jedi. Youescaped for now. Yet I am not angry. I am only amused. Itonly gives me more time to play with you. You met me once,but you won't recognize me next time.

You'll look, but youwon't see. You think I left that case behind by accident?I don't make mistakes. I enjoy opportunities. And I makemy own.

In other words, Jedi - we'll meet again soon.

Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter 12

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen