Джуд Уотсон - Legacy of the Jedi

The thick trees cleared as they walked down the mountain and the roofs of the village appeared. The buildings were made of stone and wood and were only a few stories tall.

Narrow streets wound through the cluster of buildings. The villagers seemed to rely on a sturdy native animal, the bellock, for transportation. Obi-Wan saw only a few speeders parked in yards.

Then they turned a corner and saw a cluster of gleaming speeders in front of a tall stone building, and they knew they had found the inn.

Obi-Wan and Anakin entered, keeping their hoods on. The interior lobby was scattered with seating areas made of plush materials. A fireplace twenty meters tall held a huge blazing fire that chased away the damp chill. Various beings sat around the fire, some consulting datapads, others drinking tea. By the look of their clothes, Obi-Wan guessed they were outsiders, most likely aides to the rulers of the four planets. In a dark corner a hunter sat, covered in skins, an awesome array of weapons at his feet. His bored gaze seemed to regard the sleek, sophisticated beings with contempt.

"He's got enough weapons to bring down a capital ship, let alone a laroon," Anakin remarked in a low voice.

Obi-Wan's gaze traveled up the fireplace. The wall was fashioned of jagged stones from the mountain, fitted together in intricate patterns. He could see no evidence of mortar or joinery, but each stone nestled against each other in what must have been perfect balance.

The innkeeper smiled as he greeted Obi-Wan and Anakin. He was obviously a native Null. They were tall humanoids, easily a meter taller than Obi-Wan and Anakin. The men wore heavy beards, which they braided, and both men and women dressed in animal skins and thigh-length boots. "I see you are admiring the stonework of the inn,"

he said. "It is a native art. One pull of the keystone and the whole wall comes tumbling down."

"And which is the keystone?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Ah, that is the maker's secret," the innkeeper said. He noted their traveling clothes and sacks. "Always glad to welcome our hunters to the inn," he said. "As you can see, we have important guests, very important guests. But we do not neglect our regular trade." He pushed the data register toward Obi-Wan.

"What's going on here?" Obi-Wan asked, bending forward to sign the register. "I didn't realize Null was now on the tourist track."

The innkeeper leaned closer. "A very high-level meeting, I believe.

Don't know what it's about. But I expect more of these meetings in the future. So book early or you'll be out of luck!"

"We'll be sure to." Obi-Wan pushed the register back along with the credits to pay for a room.

A young woman sat in a small chair tucked against the wall. He had not noticed her before, and would not have noticed her if a flicker of recognition didn't jolt him. He could not place her, but he felt he knew her. She was slender, dressed in a dark green tunic the color of the leaves outside. A matching headwrap covered her hair. He had met thousands of beings all over the galaxy, and though his memory was excellent, it was hard to remember everyone. Or maybe she just reminded him of someone…

He turned. "Anakin, do you recognize that woman in green, sitting against the wall?"

"What woman?" Anakin asked.

There was a flicker of green, and the door of the inn closed. Obi-Wan filed the woman away in his mind to investigate later. He didn't like it when something nagged at him.

The hunter warmed his hands at the fire, picked up his weapons, and rumbled to the door. The native Null workers rolled their eyes after he had passed, clearly considering him an overly armed amateur.

"Come on," Obi-Wan said. "Let's find our room. It's almost time to meet Lorian."

First they stowed their gear in their room, a small one tucked under the eaves of the roof. Obviously they were not among those "important guests" the innkeeper had mentioned.

They walked out into the village street and toward the path that led into the forest. Obi-Wan called up the prearranged coordinates on his datapad. They would meet not far from the village in a forest clearing that Lorian had already determined was secluded but not difficult to reach.

As they reached the edge of the village, they saw a villager running down the mountain path. The thud of his panicked footsteps came to them clearly.

"Sound the alarm!" he shouted. "There's been a murder! Samish Kash has been assassinated!"

Three blasts of a horn sounded as Obi-Wan and Anakin raced up the trail. They found Samish Kash lying a few meters off the main path.

Villagers crowded around him, and a speeder arrived. Samish Kash was loaded onto it. Obi-Wan saw the blaster wound near his heart. He was a young man with curly dark hair, dressed in a plain tunic. As far as Obi-Wan could tell, he was unarmed.

Lorian Nod stood by, his face full of sorrow. He acknowledged the Jedi with a glance, then leaped aboard the speeder that held the body of Kash.

Obi-Wan saw the young woman in green turn away. Her shoulders were shaking. The hunter with the impressive arsenal put a hand underneath her elbow.

"An aide to Samish Kash," one of the villagers whispered. "She found his body."

Then we will most definitely need to talk to her, Obi-Wan thought. He watched the young woman and the hunter. Now his mind was clicking.

They were arguing in a way that told him they were not strangers.

Obi-Wan began to drift closer, hoping to overhear. But they kept moving away from the circle of villagers, the woman trying to get away from the hunter while still talking to him.

As she made an abrupt move to turn away, her hood fell back, and he saw that she had blond hair, braided tightly and coiled around her head. Then he caught a flash of wide blue eyes. The hunter spoke urgently in her ear.

"It's Floria and Dane," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin looked where Obi-Wan had indicated. "The brother and sister bounty hunters we met on Ragoon-6? How can you be sure? It was so long ago."

"Look carefully."

Anakin studied them. "You're right. What are bounty hunters doing here?"

"Exactly what I'd like to find out."

The two Jedi moved quickly through the crowd. Floria and Dane had now moved well away from the commotion.

"If you had done what you were supposed to — " Dane was saying.

"So you're saying it's my fault?" Floria's voice was choked with anger and tears. "You always — "

"You never — " Dane stopped talking as Obi-Wan and Anakin walked up.

"I must confess I never expected to see you again," Obi-Wan said.

Floria and Dane stared at them for a long moment.

"Black holes and novas, it's the Jedi," Dane said. Now Obi-Wan could see his blue eyes, so much like Floria's. "What are you two doing here?"

"Which is exactly what I want to know about you two," Obi-Wan said, steering them farther away from the others, and underneath the trees.

"Who are you hunting? Are you involved in the death of Samish Kash?"

"No!" Dane exclaimed. "We're his bodyguards!" "Obviously, you are doing an excellent job," Anakin said. Floria burst into tears.

"Bounty hunting was getting too dangerous," Dane said, handing his sister a cloth to wipe her tears. "There were so many of us out there that all honor was lost. Some were using truly cutthroat techniques."

"I've seen a few," Obi-Wan concurred.

"So we decided to become bodyguards. It's simpler. Samish Kash hired us a couple of months ago for protection. He didn't want the usual big goons or guard droids. He didn't want anyone to know. So Floria posed as an aide, and I just used disguises. Then this meeting was called.

Samish told us to be especially careful. He's the glue that keeps the Station 88 Spaceport alliance together. Without him, it would fall apart. He's the one everyone trusts. So he thought if some group wanted to take over the spaceport, they'd go for him first." Dane looked distraught. "Then instead of staying in my sight, or Floria's, the way he promised, he disappeared. I followed, and. "