Jude Watson - Jedi Quest 10 - The Final Showdown

Anakin followed closely on Obi-Wan's heels. Obi-Wan bent over Auben.

Gently, he reached underneath her body and withdrew her hand. He uncurled her fist.

"We just got lucky," he said. "The Sith was in a hurry. He didn't check."

"What is it?" Anakin asked.

"A holo-recorder," Obi-Wan said, holding it up. "One of the micro versions. She'd get a good price for it on the black market. And there's a received message here in the archive."

He pressed a button, and a miniature image of Granta Omega appeared.

Omega bowed. "Greetings, Master. We are grateful that our failure to complete our mission at the Senate did not disappoint you. As you generously said, the intent to disrupt and demoralize was achieved. The Senate is more divided than ever. It gratifies us that you have decided to entrust us with your secret. We have received the coordinates for our meeting. At last you will reveal yourself to us. We will then truly be able to further your cause throughout the galaxy." Omega bowed again. "Until we meet, I, Granta Omega, and Jenna Zan Arbor, servants to no one in the galaxy, remain servants to the Sith."

The hologram fragmented into a shimmer.

"Whew," Anakin said. "What a toadying dungcreeper."

"So they came here to meet the Sith, just as you thought," Siri said.

"He's going to reveal his identity to them."

"Which means if we can find out where the meeting is, we'll find out as well," Obi-Wan said.

Siri pressed her lips together. "We have a whole planet to search."

A faraway look was in Obi-Wan's eyes. "No. There is only one possible place for them to meet," he said softly.

Soara and Darra appeared. "We found the landing platform," Soara said.

"It's still completely functional. We found new access controls hidden in the ruins. Works like a charm. There's evidence of a recent takeoff. By the looks of the scorch marks, I'd say it was a small airspeeder."

Obi-Wan looked back at Auben's body sprawled on the ramp. He tried to reconstruct what had happened. "He's been using this place as a hideout. He bumped into Auben — and he killed her. Then he left the cruiser and took the airspeeder. More maneuverable. Harder to track." And the airspeeder, Obi-Wan thought, would get him where he needed to go.

Obi-Wan felt a tug, as though a string had been tied to his breastbone. He walked down the ramp, across the remains of the hangar, and stood out on the landing platform Soara and Darra had found.

The chill wind knifed through his clothes as he stood outside. He was deep in the mountain. He could see the valley far below, and a vast expanse of gray sky.

He felt Omega. For the first time, he felt his energy. Though he wasn't a Sith, Omega had sought out the dark side of the Force. He had been unable to harness it for himself, but he had lived in it. Obi-Wan was tied to him, energy to energy. He could track him now without instruments. He didn't need clues, or tips.

"Master?" Anakin drifted to his side. "What is it?"

"I know where Omega is," Obi-Wan said. "He's in the Valley of the Dark Lords. And the Sith has gone to meet him there. We can uncover them both."

Obi-Wan contacted Jocasta Nu. They needed more information on the Valley of the Dark Lords. Superstition, legend, anything that could help give them an edge. The problem, of course, was that no one had dared to enter the valley for centuries. Or, at least, had lived to report on it.

Soara and Darra saw to Auben. They couldn't move her yet, so they wrapped her carefully in the thermal capes.

Anakin looked for Tru. He had disappeared, and so had Ferus. Feeling uneasy, Anakin headed off to see what they were up to. Would Ferus try to steal his best friend? He might fill Tru's mind with his version of why Anakin had left them to fight the droids alone. He would twist the facts to make Anakin look bad.

Tru and Ferus were sitting in one of the service bays, talking quietly. Ferus was busy working on Tru's lightsaber. Anakin paused in the shadows. Were they discussing him? He thought he heard his name. He concentrated fiercely.

"I noticed it," Ferus told Tru "That droid must have pulverized your power circuit."

"It slips back into half-power without warning," Tru said in a worried voice.

Tru's lightsaber must have been damaged in the battle. But why hadn't Tru told Ry-Gaul? An apprentice was obligated to tell his or her Master if a lightsaber was damaged.

As if Tru had overheard Anakin's question, he said, "I know I should have told Ry-Gaul. But he's so correct. He might leave me out of battle situations, or even send me back to the Temple."

"If your lightsaber is permanently damaged, Ry-Gaul would be right to do so," Ferus said.

Typical, Anakin thought. Ferus always had to inform you of rules you knew by heart already.

"After all," Ferus continued, "you don't want to meet a Sith without a lightsaber."

"No kidding," Tru said. "This mission is crucial. That's why I can't be sent back. I just thought if I could fix it without having to tell Ry- Gaul…" Tru wound one flexible arm around his back to hug his opposite elbow, a gesture Anakin knew well. It was something Tru did when he was especially nervous. "Look, I know I wouldn't be the first or second candidate to enter the acceleration program — you and Anakin will be the first. Maybe Darra would be third. But I don't want to be left behind."

Ferus frowned. "Tru, your advancement is not the reason we're here."

"That's not what I mean!" Tru said, upset. "I want to stand with my fellow Jedi because we all know that the darkness is growing. We need every Jedi. I want to be there."

"We all do," Ferus said. He bent over the lightsaber, fine-tuning it.

Anakin couldn't see what he was doing, but he was itching to get his own hands on the lightsaber. He was sure he was a better technician than Ferus.

"All right, I fixed it." Ferus put the handle back together and handed the lightsaber back to Tru. "You shouldn't have any more problems. Your power cell is boosted."

Anakin started to step forward. If Ferus had worked on the power cell, that meant that Tru needed to check the flux aperture again. Anakin had tweaked it before, but it might need an adjustment to compensate for the power boost. Anyway, it would be wise to double-check. Anakin had better tell him. But he stopped when he heard his name.

"Why didn't you ask Anakin to fix it?" Ferus asked. "He's better at this than I am."

"He was busy with Obi-Wan," Tru murmured.

Anakin realized that Tru had evaded the question. He could have asked him to help. He frowned as he watched the two Padawans, their heads close together.

Tru was drifting away from him. He could feel it.

Ferus stood. "I don't see any reason to tell Ry-Gaul, now that it's fixed. We'd better get back."

Angrily, Anakin retreated back into the shadows, then turned and headed for the others. He felt betrayed. Tru had chosen Ferus to confide in. He was Tru's best friend — he should have been the one to help him!

Obviously, Tru was holding a grudge against him for not coming to his aid.

Well, if Tru didn't want his help, he certainly wasn't going to offer it. Most likely Ferus had done a perfect job. After all, he was almost a Jedi Knight.

What was strange, Anakin reflected, was that Ferus had agreed to keep Tru's secret. He would have expected Ferus to tell Ry-Gaul about the damaged lightsaber, or at least encourage Tru to do so. Instead, he had fixed it himself. Technically, it was a breach of the rules, and Ferus never broke the rules.

Anakin smiled. So the perfect Padawan wasn't so perfect after all.

He paused by the wreckage of the vehicles that the mysterious Sith had moved so easily. There was a disturbance in the air, as though the dark energy of the Force still pulsed around the wall of debris. As if the Sith had vanished, but left a pool of his darkness behind.