Jude Watson: Jedi Quest 2: The Trail of the Jedi

"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 planter 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 in it. 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."

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 judgements.

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 judgement. 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 would not 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 spraynet 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.