Jude Watson: Jedi Quest 1: The Way of the Apprentice

"What are you thinking, Ferus?" Darra asked curiously.

"We need to examine this hideout," Ferus said. "I have a feeling it has something to teach us."

"What can it teach us?" Anakin asked. "That the raiders like riches?"

Darra ignored Anakin. "Remember what we heard? Evermore and Acadi and Montwin are probably street names. They're not just striking randomly. They have a plan."

Ferus nodded. "If we cab figure out their plan, we can be ahead of them instead of behind them."

"There's got to be a datapad here somewhere," Tru said, rising. "They left too fast to destroy their records."

Anakin trailed after the others. His whole body itched to follow the raiders. He always felt more comfortable in physical activity. He always ached to move. But he hoped he was wise enough to realize when it was better to wait.

He just wasn't crazy about the fact that Ferus was the one to suggest it.

He knew what Obi-Wan would say. It didn't matter who suggested it. The outcome was the goal. Resentment was ego. He knew all this, but it did not chase the resentment away.

You can feel the emotion, Obi-Wan would say. Just let it go.

Anakin gritted his teeth. I'm trying, Master.

"Over here!" Darra called. "I found their holofiles."

The files had been concealed in a durasteel bin just like countless others that lined the walls.

"How did you find them," Anakin asked.

Darra was already accessing the files. "I figured that they had been consulting the files while they were talking.

The slight delay before they came to attack us meant they were concealing them. They had to be nearby."

"Good thinking," Tru said admiringly.

The Padawans bent over the files. Darra expertly accessed one after the other.

"These are lists of assets held by individual families,"

Anakin said. "How could they have gotten them?"

"Look at these notations," Tru said. "They're coded EcC."

"Emergency Command Center," Darra murmured.

"These files were drawn us so that if the entire planet had to be evacuated, there would be records of what Radnorans left behind," Tru said. "That way they could recover everything later."

"So the raiders must have stolen these files," Ferus added.

"Or bribed someone on the evacuation team to hand them over," Darra said. "Look at this. This is what they were talking about. They have a list of how the evacuation is going to take place. The first group to be evacuated will be the bloc between Evermore and Acadi. As soon as those families evacuate, the raiders will move in and clean them out."

Tru gave a low whistle. "That's some organized system.

But why are they looting now?"

"Easy answer?" Darra shrugged. "Because they can."

Anakin nodded. "The city is falling apart and they see an opportunity. But are they counting on coming back to the planet for this stuff, or do they have plans to take it with them? It would be hard to smuggle it aboard the evacuation ship. The families are only allowed what they can carry.

Tru reached around his head with one flexible arm to scratch his ear thoughtfully. "The raiders said something about 'they' had better come through on their promise to move the stuff. Who's 'they'?"

"Maybe they have a contact who will help them smuggle it,"

Ferus said, frowning.

Darra looked up at the, her face tined blue by the light cast by the holofile. "The important thing is that they have access to all the evacuation orders. That means someone on the inside is helping them."

"Well, at least we know exactly what to do next," Anakin said. "We have to find out who."

He looked over at Ferus. He expected his fellow Padawan to argue, but Ferus nodded.

"And why," Ferus added. "That might be the most important question of all."

It wasn't hard work, Obi-Wan told himself. It was just heartbreaking.

He and Siri moved through a landscape that reminded him of a desert moon. Yes, there were buildings. Homes. Businesses.

Shops. But the eerie absence of lives being lived made the city a vast echo of sorrow.

They found the dead and they found the still-living. They brought the sick to the overcrowded med center, where medication only slowed the process of dying. Curi had had hopes that the medication could effect some cures, but so far it had not. The toxin did not respond.

Every so often Obi-Wan and Siri would see Ry-Gaul and Soara on their rounds. The four Jedi would simply nod at one another. There was nothing to say. No notes to compare.

There was only death and the dying.

On their last trip to the med center, Siri watched as Obi- Wan deactivated his comlink after another unsuccessful effort to contact Anakin. "You seem worried," she said.

Obi-Wan thought carefully how to reply. He didn't want Siri to think he didn't trust Anakin. How could she understand? Her Padawan was Ferus, who Obi-Wan knew as an assured, steady Jedi student. No one understood his brilliant, openhearted, complex Padawan like he did.

So yes, I'm worried, Obi-Wan thought. But I will only admit that to myself. I don't worry that Anakin will fail.

Or that he will let down the Order. But that he will try too hard. That he will go too far. That he will assume he can do what he cannot.

"I'd rather he was by my side," he said. "That's all."

Siri nodded, her clear blue eyes holding a hint of skepticism. She knew he was not telling her the complete truth. Obi-Wan turned away. Sometimes old friends were hard to have around.

Suddenly, Curi hailed them from the steps of the med center. Her eyes were red-rimmed behind her bio-iso mask.

"The ambassador from Avon wishes to speak with you," she said. "His name is Dol Heep. He was trapped here when he entered shortly before the toxin release He wore a bio-iso suit so hasn't been affected, but he can't leave. He has a proposal."

"Avon is a planet in your system," Obi-Wan said. He remembered that the planet was only a day's journey away.

Curi nodded. "He is waiting for you. You can use my office."

They followed Curi's directions to a small, cluttered office. Sleep mats were rolled up and stacked in the corners. Containers of food were scattered on a long table.

Obviously the medics used the office to snatch quick meals and some rest when they could.

Dol Heep rose when they entered. He was a tall being with a large, domed head. He was dressed in a bio-iso suit, though for some reason he had attached his ornate septsilk cloak to it, which gave him a slightly ridiculous air.

He bowed. "A great honor to meet Jedi." His voice boomed out, sounding too loud in the hushed setting.

Siri and Obi-Wan returned the bow.

"Unfortunate that it is under such circumstances," Dol Heep continued. "No one in the government is available for us to speak with. Jedi are the only officials we can approach with this offer."

"Yes?" Siri asked, inclining her head politely.

"Avon grieves at the tragic accident that has befallen our neighbor," Dol Heep said in a slightly lowered tone, his prominent eyes staring at them from behind his mask. "We heard that there might not be enough room on the evacuation ships for everyone here."

"That is a rumor," Obi-Wan said. "It is false."

"So you say. In case of some failure, Avon wishes to send an entire fleet to Radnor to airlift more sick off-planet.

We took the liberty of sending the fleet already. Once in orbit, we'll await orders. Of course, we'll need Jedi help here on the ground to coordinate the rescue effort."

"That is a kind and generous offer," Obi-Wan said. "But there is no need for Avon to commit a fleet of vessels.

There is enough space on the ships being sent by the Senate."

"This information does not seem to have been accepted by the citizens of Radnor," Dol Heep said. "Appearance is often reality. If more ships are said to be arriving, the people will be more calm."