Jude Watson: Jedi Quest 8: The Changing of the Guard

The Slams were caught when they tried to break into a security vault of the Commerce Guild. You just don't go after the Commerce Guild without major consequences."

"I remember the Vuma affair," Siri said. "We heard about it at the Temple. It just about bankrupted the planet. The crystalline vertex they stole is still missing." She gave Obi-Wan a curious glance. "What is it?

You've got that look on your face."

"What look?"

"That look that says, You're going to hate this idea, Siri, but I'm going to do it anyway," Siri said dryly. Obi-Wan grinned. "Relax. You're going to love it."

Anakin looked over at his Master. They had grown even closer over the past months. Anakin had broken down after the mission on Vanqor and confessed his fears to Obi-Wan. He had been afraid to tell his Master how there were times he no longer wanted to be the Chosen One. He realized that he had been walking around with a nameless dread in his heart. He didn't know what he feared, but he knew that he lived with the fear every waking moment. Saying this out loud had shocked his Master, but it had freed Anakin in a way he still didn't understand.

Perhaps it had been his experiences in the prisoner of-war camp on Vanqor that had caused him to unburden his heart to Obi-Wan. Whatever the reason had been, it had changed something between them. They had grown closer. They were truly Master and Padawan now.

He knew what had happened was a classic step in the Master-Padawan relationship. The apprentice invites the Master, and it begins. As learners, they had all wondered what the expression meant. The Master was the one to invite a Jedi student to be his or her apprentice. That was how it started. So what was the meaning of The apprentice invites the Master?

Now he understood. He had been Obi-Wan's apprentice for years before he had truly trusted him with the inner workings of his heart and mind.

Once he had invited Obi-Wan to share his deepest fears, his worst nightmares, their relationship had shifted and deepened. It was as though they were starting again. It begins. Obi-Wan had told him that the same thing had happened with him and Qui-Gon. "In the middle of our journey together, we began again," he'd told Anakin.

It was mysterious and wonderful. They knew what each other would do before it was done. They knew what was in each other's thoughts. Whereas before Anakin would worry about what was on Obi-Wan's mind, now he accepted that some things he knew, and some things he didn't, and that many things on Obi-Wan's mind had nothing to do with him.

He could not read Obi-Wan's thoughts right now. He had no idea what his Master was planning. He felt just as puzzled as Siri. But where Siri felt worried, Anakin felt excited.

Siri raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"We have a way to land on Romin and get to Jenna Zan Arbor, then get her off-planet without violating any Senate regulations or the laws of Romin," Obi-Wan said. "Technically."

"Technically?" Tyro asked.

"We enter legally," Obi-Wan said. "As criminals."

Siri sat down and slung one ankle over her knee. "Well, that's a relief. For a minute there, I thought you actually had a plan that made sense."

"We take on the identities of the Slam gang," Obi-Wan said. "I'll be Slam, you'll be Valadon. Anakin and Ferus can be the other two."

"Waldo and Ukiah," Tyro supplied. "But technically — " "So, we land on Romin and find Zan Arbor," Siri said. "What next?"

"Well, I haven't planned it out completely," Obi-Wan said. "We find a way to lure her off-planet. That can't be too hard."

"Sure," Siri said. "One of the shrewdest scientific minds in the galaxy is going for a joyride with us. As Garen would say, piece of sweetcake."

"We'll think of something to tempt her to join us," Obi-Wan said. "The point is to land on Romin and contact her. We can only do that as criminals."

"Can I return to 'technically'?" Tyro asked. "Technically, you'd still be in violation of several laws I can easily think of. If you get caught."

"We're not going to be caught. That's where you come in," Obi-Wan said, turning to him.

Suddenly, Tyro looked uneasy. "Oh."

"We'll need ID docs and descriptions and background information," Obi- Wan said. "And you said they operated on different planets in the Core.

That means they probably have a spaceworthy ship. Do you think you can pull some strings for us and commandeer it?"

"I don't know," Tyro said doubtfully. "That would take some favor trading."

"Your specialty," Obi-Wan pointed out.

"It would all have to be top secret, so I'd have to go to the Senate security committee first," Tyro said slowly. "They'd have to give me a waiver to approach the Overseer of Prison Worlds, who would have to issue an edict to the prison world's Confiscation Authority…."

"I don't need the details, Tyro," Obi-Wan said. "I just need results.

We'll also need time. You'll have to get the authorities to agree to keep the capture of the Slam gang a secret until we've completed the mission.

They have to still be listed as escaped, in case anyone checks."

Tyro frowned. "That might be difficult. When they catch criminals, they like to boast about it. I'd need an indefinite Stop Comm order from the Central Posting Service — " Tyro caught Obi-Wan's eyes. He shut his datapad briskly and rose. "I'd better get started."

Tyro hurried out of the room.

"We'll have to clear this with Master Windu," Siri said. "And I'd bet it will take some persuasion."

"He'll agree," Obi-Wan said confidently. "He knows how important the capture of Zan Arbor is to the safety of the galaxy."

Anakin felt a surge of excitement as Obi-Wan and Siri began to discuss possible courses of action and how soon they could leave. The frustration of locating Zan Arbor but not being able to take her into custody was over.

Now they had a focus. They had a way to apprehend her.

He pushed away the thought of seeing her again. Anakin had focused his attention on catching her. He had not thought about what he would do when they found her. He had met Jenna Zan Arbor in the prisoner of-war camp on Vanqor. She had been pleasant, polite. Yet the memory of what happened there chilled him. She was the inventor of a drug that induced what she called the Zone of Self-Containment. Anakin had felt pleasure and contentment while under its influence. Nothing had bothered him. For the first time in his life, he had felt at peace. It was the feeling he had hoped to achieve as a Jedi. What had scared him was the thought that he would never feel that again. He had achieved true serenity in the Zone, but it had been a cheap victory, for after it was over, it had left him with guilt and fear. The very emotions he had tried to escape from.

Focus on the first step. The others will follow.

Much good had come out of his experience on Vanqor. The Zone had broken him down in a way that had been helpful. He had felt vulnerable and afraid, and he had leaned on his Master. He had come to see that Obi-Wan cared for him a great deal. His Master would be there for him always. That had been a great gift to carry away from an uncertain time.

Anakin tore his mind away from his own preoccupations and noticed that Ferus looked as though he were debating whether to speak. Anakin hoped he wouldn't. He rarely liked what Ferus Olin had to say.

Siri noted her Padawan's hesitation. "Is there something on your mind, Ferus?" she asked.

"I am just wondering if this plan is appropriate for the Jedi," Ferus said. "It is not for me to question Jedi Masters…"

"Questioning is part of the role of an apprentice," Obi-Wan said kindly. "Go ahead."

"This isn't the kind of thing that a Jedi should do," Ferus said stiffly, obviously uncomfortable at second-guessing his Master.