Джуд Уотсон: Jedi Apprentice 9: The Fight for Truth

"But you said they just saw you," Adi pointed out.

"This is true," O-Rina said, her ruddy cheeks deepening in color. "We are high-level Guides, you see."

"I think you will find that they will see us," Qui-Gon said firmly.

"Shall we go together, or will you point the way?"

His tone told them he would not take no for an answer. O-Rina and V-Haad nodded reluctantly. "Of course, we are at the Jedi's service…"

Qui-Gon echoed the blank smile of the Guides. "Then lead on."

"I still can't feel my legs," Siri whispered. Obi-Wan could hear the fear in her voice.

"It will wear off," he assured her. "But it will take a few hours."

They had been traveling for some time. The city had been left behind.

From his position on the floor of the speeder, Obi-Wan could see a glimpse of sky. He had seen no other speeders around them for kilometers now, just the top branches of the trees, dancing in a brisk breeze. The temperature was dropping; perhaps they were heading to a higher altitude.

At last the engines thrummed to a lower speed and they stopped. The door next to Obi-Wan opened and he was dragged out roughly. His legs were too unsteady to hold him and he was dumped on the ground. Siri was dumped next to him.

"I thought children were revered on Kegan," Obi-Wan said, his cheek in the dirt.

A boot was suddenly placed on his head. His face was pushed farther into the dirt. "No back talk. You know very well that truancy is a criminal act on Kegan. You're old enough to be punished for it."

"But we're not Keganites!" Siri protested.

"I've heard all the excuses. Shut your mouth."

"We're from another world. We're visitors," Siri insisted furiously.

"Take your boot off my friend's head."

The boot was removed from Obi-Wan's head and landed on Siri's shoulder.

"Sure," the man said.

Enough, Obi-Wan thought. He struggled to rise, but the electro-jabber had done its work. He knew he wouldn't regain full use of his arms and legs for several more hours. It would be impossible to use his lightsaber effectively until then. Besides, he'd been instructed not to show Keganites that he was a Jedi. Obi-Wan tried to roll closer to Siri but couldn't move.

He watched helplessly as the boot increased pressure on Siri's shoulder, driving her face into the dirt.

"What did I say about back talk?" the man asked again.

Siri gritted her teeth. Her vivid blue eyes blazed. She spat out the dirt in her mouth. Still, she didn't answer.

"V-Tarz!" A voice boomed from behind them. Instantly, V-Tarz took his boot off Siri's shoulder.

Obi-Wan saw another man approach, wearing the same navy chromasheath tunic as V-Tarz.

"Why are these students on the ground?" the second man demanded.

"Resisting capture," V-Tarz responded.

"No need to use physical force," the other man said. "We've discussed this before. The Learning works with love, not fear. Take them to class."

Obi-Wan was hauled to his feet. He locked his knees so that he would not fall. Siri did the same.

"But we're not Keganites," Obi-Wan protested to the second guard, who seemed more friendly. "We're visitors."

The second guard's dark gaze flicked over Obi-Wan and Siri. "No one visits Kegan. Three marks for lying." He turned away. "Take them to class."

V-Tarz nudged them with the handle end of his electro-jabber. "You heard V-Brose. Get moving."

"Let's make a break for it," Siri murmured to Obi-Wan as they stumbled across the yard, their muscles like pudding.

"Are you kidding? We wouldn't last five meters," Obi-Wan whispered through his teeth. "We have to wait until the effect of the electro-jabber wears off. We'll figure out where we are and contact Qui-Gon and Adi Gallia."

"Just let me at V-Tarz before we get out of here," Siri muttered.

"That does not sound like a Jedi," Obi-Wan said disapprovingly. "V-Tarz is not our enemy, merely an obstacle to our mission."

"That obstacle just ground the faces of two helpless young people into the dirt," Siri responded. "Just what do you require in an enemy, Obi-Wan?"

Their conversation stopped abruptly as V-Tarz pushed them against a wall. Rough hands reached under Obi-Wan's travel cloak. V-Tarz brought out Obi-Wan's lightsaber and examined it.

"What is this?"

Obi-Wan tensed. He could not lose his lightsaber without a fight, no matter how weak he was.

"It's just a hand-warming device," Siri said.

V-Tarz shoved it back in Obi-Wan's belt. "Then I don't need it. What's this.. ?"

He'd found Obi-Wan's comlink. He pulled it out of its pouch, then grabbed Siri's.

"You won't be needing these," V-Tarz said, holding them up. "They look new," he said, examining them. "Your parents must work in the Comm Circle in order to have comlinks like these."

He stuck them in his pocket, a delighted smile on his face. Obi-Wan was afraid he'd take their electrobinoculars next.

"For the last time, slab-brain, we're not Keganites," Siri snapped.

V-Tarz raised the electro-jabber. Obi-Wan tensed. Another blow could put Siri out of commission for a very long time.

A carved bust of a serene-looking woman sat on a high shelf over them.

Obi-Wan called on the Force. The bust rocketed to the edge of the shelf and flew off. It missed V-Tarz by millimeters and crashed to the floor, sending chips of marble everywhere. V-Tarz stared down at it in disbelief.

A door near them opened. A Keganite woman stuck her head in. Her hair was pulled back behind her ears in a severe style, and she wore a plain brown tunic over black trousers.

"V-Tarz! What's going on? I'm trying to conduct a class." Her gaze traveled over the broken bust. "You smashed 0-Vieve!"

"It fell, O-Bin," V-Tarz said. "An unfortunate accident. But here are two students for you. Keep your excellent eye on them — they're troublemakers."

O-Bin cast a cool gaze over Siri and Obi-Wan. Then she smiled. Obi-Wan felt a chill move through him. The smile was eerily similar to O-Rina's and V-Haad's.

"There are no troublemakers in The Learning," O-Bin said. "Come."

Glad to get away from V-Tarz, Obi-Wan and Siri followed the teacher through the durasteel door into the classroom. The door clanged shut behind them and an automatic lock snapped shut.

Students dressed in gray tunics sat on long benches that ran the width of the room, row after row. Small data screens rose from the floor in front of each of them at eye-level. The students sat erect, hands at their sides.

Only their eyes moved as they examined Obi-Wan and Siri.

"I'm afraid there's been a mistake," Siri said to O-Bin. "We aren't Keganites. We're…"

Obi-Wan heard a few titters from the class. A slight, sandy-haired boy with hair that brushed his shoulders gave him a sympathetic look, then quickly looked down at his data screen. O-Bin swiveled and fixed her smiling gaze on row after row. The room went still.

"Sit," she told Siri and Obi-Wan.

"But we are not — " Obi-Wan began.

"Sit." The smile didn't waver. "Put on the robes for The Learning." She handed them two gray tunics.

Obi-Wan and Siri exchanged glances. Should they continue to resist, or give in for now? Mindful of Qui-Gon's orders, Obi-Wan slipped into the tunic. Siri did the same.

The same slender boy moved over to make room for them. Obi-Wan and Siri sat. Immediately two data screens rose in front of them.

The teacher looked at them, her fingers poised over her datapad.

"Names, please."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan said. "Of Coruscant."

"Three marks for lying," O-Bin said, smiling. "One mark for not giving your full name."

"That is my full name!" Obi-Wan protested.

"Three more marks for lying," O-Bin said. "I see you already have three. That makes… ten marks. Class?"

"Marks reveal the Inner Guide's confusion," the class chanted in unison.