Chapter 2
That evening, Garreeb pulled the Cathar aside. "Ferroh. We need your help."
"What is it?" he asked, curious.
"We're going to talk to Jorung's partner. The Gran. He might know something"
Ferroh saw another of the padawans behind Garreeb, a dark-haired human by the name of Hue. He disliked Hue because of his constant put-downs.
"What do you need me for?" asked Ferroh.
"Intimidation factor, big guy," said Hue smoothly. Ferroh scowled at the human. Ferroh was sensitive about his stature. Of the padawans there, he was the smallest except for a little Sallustan named Snian.
"We might just run into Jorung himself…" said Garreeb. "That's why."
"Fine. I'm in," said Ferroh. "Does Master Ryk know?" Ferroh thought he already knew the answer.
"She's tending to the wounded," explained Garreeb, dodging the question. "Come on."
The three padawans walked through the darkened streets together. Though it was evening, the streets were far from deserted. Many gestured or stared at them as they passed, noticing their Jedi robes. Those with something to hide ducked into alleys or buildings. Ferroh appreciated the respect he got while in public, and so he tried to show respect back to the people he would someday protect as a Jedi knight.
"Say, why did Jorung react to the light the way he did?" Garreeb asked. "It was bright out, but not that bright."
"He's an Arkanian," said Hue. "They can't take the bright sunshine of this planet."
"I thought he was human, like you," said Ferroh.
"Nah, he's no lowly human. Arkanians are better than human. And certainly better than Cathars," said Hue, throwing his hands up defensively as Ferroh shot him another scowl. "If you catch my meaning. Arkanians think pretty highly of themselves as a race. I didn't notice he was one until Master Ryk took off his blinders."
"Well how did Master Ryk know?" Garreeb wondered.
In response, Hue held up his hands, fingers outstretched. Then he folded his pinkies down slowly. "Four fingers. Arkanians only have four." He chuckled. "Old lady's smart, I'll give her that."
Ferroh thought about how events were developing. "This is much better than survival training," he said aloud. "This is what Jedi are supposed to do."
"The Force allowed us to discover Jorung hiding on this planet – of that I am sure," said Garreeb. "There is a reason we found him here. I believe the Force is guiding us even now."
Ferroh thought of what Master Talomar had told him about the Living Force and how it guided everyone's actions – even when they weren't aware of it. He also remembered his master's warnings on the subject. Sometimes, Jedi became too fatalistic and failed to plan for the future. Obviously Garreeb felt they were meant to find and confront Jorung.
Ferroh wasn't so sure – his feelings on the matter were confusing. He admitted he strangely felt his fate tied to that of the Sith. At the same time, he didn't know if this was the wisest course. He decided to trust Garreeb's conviction.
They arrived at their destination. A three story inn stretched out in front of them. The sign's letters were unfamiliar to Ferroh, but that wasn't an unusual occurrence. Garreeb went to the door. Ferroh noticed him hesitate, but then he squared his shoulders and pushed it open.
The innkeeper was a Trandoshan, and she hissed a gruff welcome to the three padawans, gesturing them inside. A protocol droid appeared behind the desk. The innkeeper waved toward the small group, and growled something to the droid.
"How many rooms will you gentlemen require?" inquired the droid, translating for the Trandoshan.
"We have a meeting with a Gran staying here. Which room is he in?" asked Hue.
"I am unable to provide that information," answered the droid.
Hue turned to the innkeeper and spoke slowly. "Tell him to take us to the Gran."
Somewhat mechanically, the innkeeper turned and hissed something to the droid. Garreeb turned and smiled at Ferroh. Hue's budding skill in using the Force to affect the weak-minded had come in handy.
"Please follow me," the droid told them.
They hung back while the droid knocked on the door, not wanting to let the Gran see them until the last possible moment.
"What?" said the Gran, opening the door.
"Hey there," said Hue, pushing his way into the room. Garreeb and Ferroh followed, shutting the door behind them.
"Now, now," stammered the Gran, eye stalks twitching. "I had no idea about Jorung. He helped pay for the shop to get going. He never told me where he got the credits…"
Ferroh growled. He had no patience for whimpering cowards who took advantage of everyone they possibly could. His first thought was to intimidate the Gran with a lightsaber and convince him to cooperate that way. Hue signaled to him to calm down – he had a different idea.
"Well, we can help you out," said Hue gently. "He escaped us earlier. Sheer luck. If we catch him, everything he owns will likely pass to you - as compensation."
The Gran was not stupid. "Sure. You would just let me have it free and clear, huh? Liars. Besides, he blew up the shop! There's nothing left."
"Oh, come on, friend. You think that was the extent of his wealth?"
The Gran fell silent, as if something had suddenly occurred to him. His demeanor became much more gracious. "I would love to help you. But I don't know where he is. It's not like we were that close. He might have left the planet by now."
"We don't think so," said Garreeb stoically.
"I'm very tired. Why don't you come by tomorrow. Maybe I'll have thought of something by then."
Ferroh never considered himself brilliant. But even he could see the Gran was hiding something and eager to see them gone. Jorung might even be here, in the same building. He shook his head and once again reached for his lightsaber.
Hue laughed suddenly. "We don't mean to be rude. Of course, you are tired and not in the best state of mind. We will leave you be. Why don't we meet first thing in the morning?"
"Yes, yes. That would be very kind of you. Thank you," the Gran spluttered.
Hue took Ferroh by the arm and led him out the door. Garreeb soon followed. The Gran hurriedly shut the door behind them.
"What are you doing? He knows something!" hissed Ferroh, once they were out of the inn.
"Of course he knows something," replied Hue in a condescending tone. "He's planning on being gone by morning. He agreed much too easily to us coming back so soon…"
"So we're going to wait and follow him," said Garreeb, understanding Hue's plan. "You are too sly to be a Jedi."
"I aim to get the job done," smiled Hue.
Ferroh frowned. He felt especially dim-witted – Garreeb and Hue were coming up with these plans on the go, and he was always two steps behind.
"Why follow him when we can force the information out of him?" asked Ferroh. "Or you could use your mind tricks to make him tell us what he knows."
Hue raised an eyebrow at the Cathar, then looked at Garreeb with a smile. "You know, Ferroh, you sound so much smarter when you keep your mouth shut."
"C'mon, Hue," warned the Nautilan.
"At least I'm capable of keeping my mouth shut," Ferroh growled.
"Calm down, guys," Garreeb implored.
"No, no; that was half-way clever," sneered Hue. "Fine, I'll explain it to you. I can lead people on along; give them simple commands. And the 'mind-trick', as you call it, only works on the simple-minded and oblivious. So this should work wonderfully." He slowly waved his hand at Ferroh. "You will stop being such an idiot."
Ferroh's lightsaber flashed to life and he marched toward the human. At first Hue only laughed, but then he saw Ferroh was serious and quickly ignited his own weapon.
"No! Stop!" shouted the Nautilan. "You two are going to ruin everything. Grow up - both of you! You want to be Jedi – so act like it."
"We will settle this later," said Ferroh, replacing his lightsaber onto his belt. Hue only nodded, his arrogant smile returning to his lips. Shaking his head, Garreeb led them into an alley and they waited.
A short time later, the Gran appeared and quickly ducked down the street. The three silent padawans promptly followed him. It quickly became clear that he was returning to the shop – the site of the battle.
"Lana will be waiting there," whispered Garreeb. Lana was a human girl with short, blond hair. Ferroh had struck a fast friendship with her – it seems everyone did, for that matter. She had an appealing charm and went out of her way to be genial with others. Master Ryk had appointed her to guard the destroyed store, in case Jorung (however unlikely it seemed) should return.
"She's going to mess things up," said Hue. "The Gran's obviously going to look for something there – but she's going to stop him."
"Ferroh, run ahead and warn her," said Garreeb. "We will keep following, in case he changes direction. Stay hidden and wait for us to arrive."
The Cathar took off down an alleyway and proceeded up a parallel street. He had no doubt he could out-distance the others – he had easily won the footraces the padawans had organized in their spare time. Besides, he was more than eager to get away from Hue.
To take his mind off the sardonic human, Ferroh turned his thoughts to Garreeb. The Nautilan showed promise as a leader – in the training missions, but also, apparently, in the field. Normally Ferroh chafed under authority, but he realized that he had quickly obeyed all of Garreeb's requests this evening without question. He wondered if Garreeb also possessed the mind-trick ability, but quickly dismissed the idea. Garreeb was just able to see the big picture and figure out the best way to deal with situations. His decisions just made sense. Ferroh decided that when they did become Jedi Knights, he would try to work with Garreeb as much as possible.
Arriving at the ruined shop, he easily spotted Lana in an alleyway across the street. She wasn't doing a good job of being inconspicuous, he thought. She saw him too, knitting her brow, but smiling. He smiled back at her and began to cross the road, when a dread feeling came over him. It seemed that Lana sensed it too, as her smile quickly turned to a look of fear. The fear quickly became terror, and Ferroh saw she could no longer swallow and had begun to visibly tremble.
"Help, Ferroh," she whispered.
"NO!" screamed Ferroh. He watched as a scarlet shaft of light pierced Lana from behind through her torso. As she slumped to the ground, her killer was revealed. It was the Sith.
