Джуд Уотсон - Jedi Apprentice 12 - The Evil Experiment

The service code will also tell you who is staying in what room. It was easy."

Easy! "So did you break into her room?" Obi-Wan asked irritably.

"I knocked and said I had a food delivery," Astri said. "No one answered, so I opened the door."

"But it was locked."

Astri smiled. "I learned how to bypass a basic security lock when I was seven, Obi-Wan. My guess is she's not coming back. There was a travel bag there, but it's filled with things that are supposed to make you think someone is there."

"If that makes sense, I'd sure like to hear why," Obi-Wan grumbled.

"It's got a new personal care kit with soap and bath items, but they haven't been used. A couple of fresh tunics and sleepwear that haven't been worn. My guess is that the bounty hunter never even stayed there at all — she just paid up for her two week minimum so that she'd have an official address."

Astri was probably right, Obi-Wan thought.

They were no closer to finding Reesa On's true identity. In frustration, he turned away and started to walk.

"Where are we going?" Astri asked.

"You are going back to the Temple," Obi-Wan said. "I'm trying to find Qui-Gon. This is Jedi business."

"This is my business." Astri stopped short, forcing Obi-Wan to stop, too. "Didi isn't waking up, Obi-Wan," she said, her dark eyes serious. "Not without that antitoxin. You and I both know that. And Reesa On is our first clue to where Jenna Zan Arbor is. You think she is holding Qui-Gon, right?"

Obi-Wan nodded reluctantly.

"So I have just as much reason to find Reesa On as you do. The bounty hunter could lead us to Zan Arbor. And I have another reason. Nanno told me that because of Fligh's murder and Qui-Gon's disappearance, a warrant has been issued for the bounty hunter's arrest by the Coruscant security forces. There's a reward, too. Don't you see?" Astri tossed the curls out of her eyes impatiently. "This is the only thing I can do for Didi. I can find the antitoxin and get us a new stake. All I have to do is find Reesa On."

He shook his head. "It's too dangerous." "I can help you, Obi-Wan."

"What are you going to do, cook us out of danger?" Obi-Wan asked skeptically.

"There are other things I can do!" Astri protested. "Do I have to point out that I found Reesa On quicker than you did? You have to admit I have some skills."

"Not with a blaster," Obi-Wan muttered. He thought for a moment. He knew Astri well enough to guess that if he didn't include her, she would try to find the bounty hunter on her own. She would be safer with him.

"We can team up, but I need a couple of conditions," he said. "First of all, you don't use a blaster."

"But I need protection," Astri protested. "And I'm getting better at aiming."

Obi-Wan winced. "Sure. You came within five centimeters of killing me instead of six. I'll make a deal with you. We have to wait until Tahl comes up with information about Reesa On. I'll go back to the Temple with you and choose a new weapon. We'll see how you do with a vibroblade. You should have some kind of protection, I suppose."

"What's the other condition?" Astri asked.

"If things get dangerous, I'm going to ask you to return to the Temple," Obi-Wan said. "A pile of credits isn't going to help Didi if you're dead."

Astri hesitated.

"I know you think I have no right to tell you what to do," Obi-Wan said. "That's true. But I represent the Jedi. You must trust us, not just me."

Reluctantly, Astri nodded. "So we're a team?"

Obi-Wan nodded grimly. "For now."

Astri was hopeless with a blaster, but she was adept with a vibroblade. Obi-Wan gave her a quick lesson in strategy and defense. Her body was agile and strong, and she was surprisingly quick.

"Try to stay behind me or at my side," Obi-Wan told her. "But don't get in the way of my lightsaber."

"Don't worry," Astri told him.

The door to the training room opened and Tahl hurried inside. She immediately turned her face toward Didi's daughter.

"Astri, you're here, too?"

"Yes."

"I have a clue," she said. "It's not much, but it's something. I couldn't find anything on Reesa On, but just on a hunch I ran the name through the language of Sorrus."

"The bounty hunter's home planet," Obi-Wan told Astri.

"It turns out that 'reesa on' means something in an obscure Sorrusian dialect," Tahl said. "It's spoken by a tribe living in a remote area of Sorrus."

"What does it mean?" Astri asked.

Tahl's mouth twisted. "'Catch me.' There is actually a childhood game among this tribe called 'reesa on."

"So the name is a taunt," Obi-Wan said. "Catch me if you can."

"Exactly," Tahl agreed. "I have the coordinates of the tribe's area.

I doubt that the bounty hunter is there. Jedi teams have been sent on other leads. Most are working on finding Zan Arbor's lab by tracking medical shipments. This is such a tiny lead. Still…"

"We could find out more about her," Obi-Wan said.

"And we have nothing else to go on," Astri agreed.

Tahl cocked her head as if testing the meaning behind Astri's words.

"We?"

"I'm going with Obi-Wan," Astri declared. Tahl shook her head. "You can't go on a Jedi mission, Astri."

"But this isn't a mission," Astri argued. "There's no danger involved."

"Where the bounty hunter is or could be, danger is there," Tahl said sharply. "Don't forget that."

Astri's chin set defiantly. Even though Tahl couldn't see her, Tahl was able to pick up her stubbornness. She frowned.

"I promised Astri she could come with me for a time," Obi-Wan told Tahl. "The bounty hunter shot her father, Tahl. She has a right to track her, too. And she'll be in less danger if she's with me. I'll send her back to the Temple if I think the bounty hunter is on Sorrus."

"I don't like this," Tahl declared. "I should confer with Yoda. You need to be temporarily assigned to a Jedi Master, Obi-Wan. Or else stay at the Temple."

"But I'm not going on a mission, just scouting out a lead. Qui-Gon needs my help," Obi-Wan argued.

He saw the hesitancy on Tahl's face.

"I have to find my Master, Tahl," Obi-Wan said steadily. "I feel him.

I know he needs me. Let me go."

"I'm sure we are breaking several rules here," Tahl murmured.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Qui-Gon would like that."

Tahl smiled, too. "Yes," she said softly. "There is a tech transport ship that could drop you off at the capital city closest to the desert tribe…"

Obi-Wan looked at Astri. "Let's go."

Qui-Gon waited for his hour of freedom. He did not know when Zan Arbor would grant it. He wanted it so badly it was difficult for him to think of anything else.

Being suspended in this vapor without sight and sound was a particular kind of torture. Deprived of his senses, he experienced dislocation. He had to be conscious of his mind at all times, wrench it back to its surroundings. He could move his muscles very little, and he flexed them, one by one, every half hour. That was an effort. The constant withdrawal of blood was beginning to sap his strength.

He knew that at the Temple he was appreciated for several things: his physical strength, his connection to the living Force, and his patience.

Now he hung in a chamber, and none of these things were available to him.

He would just have to find other things he was good at.

The loss of his patience was the worst. He could not calm his raging desire to be free. He dreamed of freedom as another might dream of food.

So much for his great forbearance. Now he realized that he had many more lessons to learn. How many times had he heard Yoda advise an advanced student that for a Jedi, true mastery of a skill was only the beginning step to understanding it? How many times had he said the same to Obi-Wan?