"You've looked better," a voice remarked, and Anakin spun in surprise seeing Kastor grinning at him, and to his surprise, there was a large hulk of a man in Mandalorian armor standing next to Kastor, and on Kastor's other side was a slimmer, average height man, also in Mandalorian armor. The giant was black, with short hair, a trim beard, and a rugged face. He was holding his helmet in his arm, opposite of Kastor. The shorter man had green skin, but generally human features, and piercing, dangerous looking eyes.
He'd heard that Mandalorians might start appearing in the Temple, but these were the first ones that he'd ever seen.
"Kastor!" Anakin said in surprise, eyes not really leaving the larger Mandalorian, who's lips twitched towards a smile. "I didn't know you had returned!"
"I did indeed return," Kastor said with a chuckle. "These are some companions of mine, Des Bralor, of House Ordo, and Koba Rimark, of House Gorr."
Anakin noted that Koba was the hulking man and yet Des almost seemed more dangerous looking.
"Des, Koba, this is Anakin Skywalker, Padawan Learner. He's Obi-Wan's padawan."
Des and Koba both nodded in recognition, Koba's with a friendly smile while Des's was simply a polite nod.
"You know my master?" Anakin asked, surprised.
"We ran into him not too long ago," Kastor said. "He was off to the library. I think Jocasta is helping him research Granta Omega. Des and Koba, however, are quite familiar with Siri, and I'm sure you can think of some stories she might have involving the two of you."
Anakin grinned at that, nodding in agreement.
"So, my young friend, why do you look like you were hit by a gravsled?" Kastor asked, amused, and Koba chuckled deeply, and even Des cracked a grin.
"I have private lightsaber lessons with Master Antana," Anakin admitted, and Kastor nodded in understanding.
"Ah, because of what happened on Haaridan."
Anakin blushed, and Kastor shook his head.
"No need to feel ashamed," he rebuked. "We all make mistakes. Some are more costly than others. Learning from your mistakes is what leads to self-confidence and wisdom."
"Obi-Wan said that I needed to learn things that he could not teach me," Anakin said lowly.
"Some people learn differently," Des said, with a pleasant tenor voice. "In Mandalorian culture, different skills are often taught by different teachers, and if a student is struggling to understand an instructor's lesson, a new teacher is found."
"For others, sometimes experience is the best teacher," Koba said in a deep voice. "Not all experiences are good, but they are still opportunities to learn."
"They are both right, and the same is true for Jedi," Kastor said with a smile. "I can't tell you how many times I had to be handed off to a different Master who was able to explain things in a way I could understand. There is nothing wrong with being given to another Master for private instruction. In fact, I would argue it helps broaden a young Jedi and should even be encouraged. Soara is also one of the most skilled Jedi in the Order with a blade. She rarely gives private instruction. You should consider it an honor."
Anakin nodded slowly. He guessed he could see what they were saying. It still didn't erase his worry that Obi-Wan was going to go off after Omega without him.
"So, in typical Soara fashion, I assume she took you to some out of the way place somewhere out in the city and had you do exercises for hours on end," Kastor said, and Anakin nodded with a chuckle.
"A half demolished building a hundred floors down," Anakin admitted. "She also had Tru ambush me so that I had an opponent to duel. She - she accused me of fighting with ego. I - I let Tru recover from a mistake he made rather than seize the victory in the duel. She said it wasn't because I was being a good friend, but because I was letting my ego get in the way."
"Ah," Kastor said. "A great warrior fights without emotion."
"That's exactly what she said!" Anakin said, a bit surprised.
"She and I used to teach lightsaber classes together, you know," Kastor said with a wry smile. "I know Soara quite well. As prickly as she can be, I do consider her a good friend."
"She's not wrong though," Koba said in his rumbling voice, and Anakin glanced at the large Mandalorian in surprise. "I don't know this Soara, but letting your friend's mistake slide doesn't teach him not to make the mistake. It lets him know that you'll cover for him or that you're so much better than him that you need to cover for him. In a training environment, doing so can be seen as a sign of your superiority, even if you don't see it. If you're protecting your friends in training, how can they learn to protect themselves?"
"Loss and failure are often better teachers than success," Des said, a bit solemnly.
Anakin didn't have an answer to that. He'd thought about saving Tru from losing the fight due to his mistake, but maybe Koba and Kastor were right. Maybe he just wanted Tru to do better so that he could do better.
"Where's Rhys?" Anakin asked, wanting to think more on it, but get off the topic.
"In the Halls of Healing," Kastor answered with a frown. "We finally caught up to Magus."
"That bounty hunter on Ruusan?" Anakin asked amazed.
"Yes," Kastor said. "He was killed while we tried to apprehend him, but Rhys took a hit in the skirmish."
"He'll be okay though?" Anakin asked, fond of the Antarian Ranger.
"He'll be just fine," Kastor assured with a smile. "So, where are you going now?" Kastor asked, after a moment.
"I was going to go visit Darra," Anakin admitted, and Kastor shot him an approving nod.
"Well then, we'll let you go on your way," Kastor said. "It's good seeing you, Anakin. I'll have to have you and Obi-Wan come by for dinner soon."
"That sounds great, Master," Anakin said, before he bowed to Des Bralor and Koba Rimark. "It was a pleasure to meet you both."
Des inclined his head and Koba smiled, and Anakin moved on, thinking on their words. Eventually, he slipped into the med clinic.
The light tubes were powered down to a soft glow. He walked as quietly as he could to the side of Darra's med couch. She looked small and helpless, still hooked up to monitoring machines. Her eyes were closed.
Her mouth curved into a smile. "Hello, Anakin," she said without opening her eyes.
"I came to say good night. Are you feeling better?"
"Yes. Much." She opened her eyes and glanced at him. "Better than you look, anyway. What have you been doing?"
"A private tutorial with your Master."
She gave a sympathetic groan. "Ooh. Sorry."
He crouched down so that they were at eye level. "She's very tough."
"The toughest."
"But I can learn."
"If you listen. She'll push you hard, and then she'll tell you something strange, something you don't want to understand. That's what she wants. The more tired you are, the emptier you are. That's when she really starts to work."
"Lucky me," Anakin said with a grimace. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened on Haariden. She told me it was my ego. She was right."
"It's okay," Darra said. "Now I have something to impress the younger kids with. I was wounded in battle."
"I'm here to make you a promise," Anakin said.
"Don't," Darra said, rising on her elbows. "I know what you're going to say, and you can't promise such a thing. Besides, I can get my lightsaber back myself or I'll get a new one, if the Force wills it."
"But I'm the reason you lost it."
"I'm the reason I lost it," Darra said firmly. "I'm the one who dropped it. Did you ever think it was your ego that wants to get it back?" Suddenly she slumped against the pillow. "Do me a favor. Don't argue with me. I'm too tired."
Anakin saw the exhaustion in her face she had tried to hide. "Is there anything I can do for you? Would you like some juice, or some food, or some music?"
Darra's eyelids fluttered closed. "Just one thing," she said. "Stay with me until I fall asleep. It's lonely here."
"I will." Anakin shifted his weight so that he was sitting on the floor. He leaned against the sleep couch next to her head. He knew she could feel the pressure of his body, and that would make her feel safe. He sat there until her breathing slowed and he knew she was asleep.
"I promise you, Darra," he whispered. "I will return your lightsaber to you. It is not my ego. It is my promise."
**The Will of the Force**
"It looks like you finally got some good news," Siri remarked, seeing Obi-Wan looking energized, not counting what she could feel through their bond.
"I might finally have a lead on Omega," Obi-Wan admitted, and Siri smiled, glad he'd made some progress.
It had been frustrating him. They had a lot of information on Omega, courtesy of Jocasta, but like the man's physical body, it was almost forgettable. He was enormously wealthy, yet no particular home. They didn't even know his home planet, just that he had homes on fifteen different planets throughout the galaxy. He had a great many companies within companies within companies. Acquaintances, but no friends. His business interests were galaxy-wide.
The man hid behind a blank wall very well. He had just suddenly appeared, a wealthy man.
Omega specialized in ferreting out rare minerals and buying the whole source, then raising the price, which had made him enormously wealthy, but his wealth was very diversified and hidden in any number of secret accounts. Siri knew that Kastor and Rhys were looking into that for Obi-Wan, but had so far yielded nothing.
"Seems we're all catching breaks on old enemies. What's the lead?" Siri asked.
"Perhaps Omega's home planet," Obi-Wan answered. "Jocasta commed me to say she had news. The news itself ended up being useless, but it led us through a thought process that produced a lead."
"Go on," Siri said.
"We thought about why he might have been on Haaridan, since it's improbable he went there simply to attack us. I remembered that he made his fortune buying up minerals, and Jocasta figured out that traces of titanite were recently found on Haaridan."
"Titanite?" Siri said in confusion. "That's not a mineral I'm familiar with."
"It's a rare mineral that in recent years was found to be useful in making bacta," Obi-Wan said. "It just so happens that Omega has land on Thyferra, the only place the alazhi plant grows."
"You think he's trying to corner the galactic market on bacta," Siri said, and Obi-Wan nodded.
"The titanite was found only a few months ago, which is what caused the fighting to begin, and it's why those scientists we rescued were there. The Senate was hoping that if the scientists could get a complete picture, they could persuade the two sides to come to an agreement."
"Let me guess," Siri said. "The final report was inconclusive. He doesn't want the Senate to know."
"Correct," Obi-Wan said with a smile. "That led me to thinking that he'd need his own team to get the results before the Senate . . . and maybe he didn't need a team. Maybe he could do it himself."
"You looked up schools that he might have attended," Siri said, and Obi-Wan nodded.
"He attended the All Science Research Academy on Yerphonia. He got his degree seven years ago, and was a star student. According to the school, his home world is Nierport Seven."
"Less than a day's travel," Siri remarked. "Up for some companionship?"
"Of course," Obi-Wan said, smiling wide. "Let's go steal Kastor's ship."
Siri grinned.
**The Will of the Force**
"What happened?" a voice said, and once again, Anakin found himself running into Kastor Shan after a lesson with Soara.
"Soara's done teaching me," Anakin said, his tone a mixture of sadness and anger.
"I see," Kastor said slowly. "Did she say why?"
Anakin sighed.
"For today, she had Ferus as my sparring partner. I got angry, and let it fuel the fight. I did what she had been teaching me, about how even the hardest wall is just a connection of particles and how you could use the spaces between particles to fuel movements. I thought I was doing well, and I beat Ferus."
"But you didn't realize that anger had fueled the fight," Kastor said simply, and Anakin looked at him in surprise. "You didn't realize what you had done wrong."
Anakin nodded.
"She said she thought I had the potential to be one of the greatest Jedi fighters of all time. Now she has grave doubts about me. I made a mistake, but she didn't understand."
"She understands more than you know, Anakin," Kastor said softly, and Anakin glanced at him in disbelief. "If she truly didn't understand, she would have had you punished for your display of anger. Instead, she's giving you more time to reflect on what occurred and what you learned. Anger is an issue you have, Anakin."
Anakin grimaced.
"You're not the first nor the last," Kastor said, "but it is something you need to work on. As your powers grow, emotional balance becomes even more important. You want to prove yourself, and your ego gets in the way far too often. That's something you should think about."
Anakin sighed and nodded.
"Yes, Master."
Kastor chuckled.
"If it makes you feel better, I was much the same as a boy," he said, and Anakin glanced at him in surprise, and he grinned. "Like I said, not the first nor the last. I wanted to prove myself just as much as you do. I came from a line of powerful, but dangerous Jedi. It's something I had to work on. I overcame it, and I'm sure you will too. Now, where are you off to?"
"Tic Verdun, one of the scientists from Haardian, invited me to lunch with some of his colleagues. They apparently all knew Granta Omega. I was hoping to get some information."
Kastor nodded slowly.
"Good luck, and let me know if you need anything. I expect Obi-Wan and Siri to return sometime today, and I'm sure Obi-Wan would be quite interested in hearing anything you find out."
"Thanks, Master," Anakin said. "I will."
**The Will of the Force**
Their trip to Neirport Seven hadn't been quite as illuminating as he hoped, but it had still given him and Siri a new lead. He and Siri had learned that Granta Omega had indeed grown up on the desolate moon which was only notable as a refueling station. Nobody knew who his father was. His mother had not made much money, but Omega had been brilliant, and his mother had managed to find Omega a sponsor offworld to fund his schooling.
Nobody had seen him since, not even for Omega's mother's funeral, but some of the few locals were able to provide the name of Omega's sponsor . . . a name from Obi-Wan's past: Sano Sauro.
Sano Sauro, now the Senator for Europha, had been a prosecutor once, and had been the man to try Obi-Wan for the death of a fellow Padawan: Bruck Chun. Sauro had grilled him mercilessly about Bruck Chun's fall.
Obi-Wan couldn't say that he was looking forward to seeing the man again, but he hoped that in the ten years since, the man had changed. He had been an ambitious lawyer who had attacked the Jedi and mocked the Force. He had been icy, and had seemed unable to speak without a sneer. At the time, Obi-Wan had felt that whatever he said was wrong or foolish.
Still, perhaps the man had changed and found peace in a life of service. Regardless, Obi-Wan had Siri as support, and was a Jedi Knight and not so easily intimidated. It would be interesting to say the least. He could only hope for the best.
Upon his and Siri's return to Coruscant, they decided to head straight to the Senate, rather than stopping at the Temple. Using the directional system in the Grand Hall, they found the location of his office, and they set off on their way.
Obi-Wan felt Siri's dislike of being in the Senate building, which he couldn't disagree with. Ever since he'd come here as a Jedi student, he had seen a Senate bustling with beings from all over the galaxy, but lately the halls had seemed even more crowded. The Senators' staffs were bloated with consorts, advisors, clerks, secretaries, assistants, and droids.
Committees and subcommittees were tied up in hearings that stretched on for months, and sometimes years. Obi-Wan had always found Senators to admire for their dedication, but it was getting harder. The Senate continued to legislate, but it took more and more effort and time to get the smallest things done. Coalitions were formed, favors traded, credits amassed. Betrayals caused grudges that resulted in deep rifts that lasted for years. It was a different place than he had known.
There was little they could do about it however. He wasn't sure it was possible to have peace in the galaxy without it, but even if it was, it was far beyond his power or even the Jedi Order's power to bring about that peace, nor would the Order ever care to do so.
As a general rule, the Jedi did their best to keep violence from breaking out and bring it to an end when it was happening, provide humanitarian relief when needed, and provide agricultural, medical, and educational services to the galaxy as a whole. Politics played little part in what they wanted to accomplish. The Senate merely gave them jurisdiction and was a source of financial support, but there were a great many planets in the galaxy that called upon the Jedi, not because they served the Republic, but because they were an Order that had existed for thousands of years, dedicated to helping people and following the will of the Force, even if most people tended to forget or didn't care about that second part.
Obi-Wan and Siri reached the offices of Sano Sauro and strode inside. A team of assistants worked busily at their desks. An ornate carved door led to an inner office. Obi-Wan told the receptionist his and Siri's names and requested a few minutes of the Senator's time. He wondered if Sano Sauro would remember him.
He did not have to wonder for long. The door hissed open and Sauro stood in the doorway. He looked oddly the same. He still had the same unlined face, the skin smooth and stretched tightly over the bones. His hair was still jet black. He could even have been dressed in the same clothes, a long black tunic and trousers. Obi-Wan could see small evidence of vanity in his brightly shined expensive boots.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said through tight lips. "Don't tell me you've killed another Padawan."
Apparently he had not changed at all.
He felt Siri's irritation flash through their bond, but he found that Sauro's words didn't bother Obi-Wan at all. The opinion of a cruel man was worth less than nothing.
"This is Knight Siri Tachi," he said, introducing Siri, "and we come on another matter and would welcome your help," Obi-Wan said.
Sauro didn't greet Siri with anything other than a sneer, and then he stepped aside. Obi-Wan took this as an invitation to enter the office. The door hissed shut behind them.
Sauro sat behind a long, low desk built of stone. Two massive red thorns marked the corners. Obi-Wan recognized them from the claing bush that they'd seen on Nierport Seven.
Sauro said nothing but waited for him to begin. Obi-Wan remembered that, too. The prosecutor had never wasted time on pleasantries.
"We are trying to locate a protégé of yours called Granta Omega," Obi-Wan said. He waited to see if Sano Sauro would react to the name, but he did not. "Do you still know him?"
"He is a personal friend," Sano Sauro said.
"Can you tell us how we could contact him?"
"Why?"
"In connection with a Jedi matter," Obi-Wan said.
"Why would I give you any information?" Sano Sauro asked.
"Because all we are asking for is a manner to contact him," Siri said, apparently not as understanding of Sauro's rudeness as Obi-Wan.
"Oh, so I should just give you what you want because you've asked?" Sauro said, folding his hands in front of him. "Or because you are Jedi?"
"Why wouldn't you be willing to help us with such a simple request?" Obi-Wan said.
"I am refusing to answer because I do not help the Jedi. It is as simple as that," Sauro said with a sneer. "The Senate in its collective delusion thinks we need you. I do not."
The door hissed open behind Obi-Wan. Sauro rose.
"I think I have come to the end of my patience," he said. "Good-bye."
The hatred in his gaze was no longer surprising to Obi-Wan. Sano Sauro had hated the Jedi ten years before and still hated them now it seemed.
He could go over Sano Sauro's head. He could get the Jedi Council involved. They could go to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. It was something to consider. If Granta Omega was planning to corner the market on bacta, the Chancellor would want to know.
They walked out of the inner office. The door hissed shut behind him. The assistants did not even glance at them. They sat hunched over their datascreens or talking on comlinks.
The assistant closest to Sauro's inner office was distractedly speaking on a comlink while entering data into a datapad. "No, we're not releasing copies," he said. "The expedition was cut short and the report was inconclusive. Senator Sauro has been thoroughly briefed. No, I won't put you through. Check with the Senate archivist, the Senator doesn't have time." The assistant cut the connection. "Journalists," he muttered.
"Was Senator Sauro on the committee that oversaw the mapping expedition that ended on Haariden?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Senator Sauro headed the committee," the assistant said haughtily.
Siri and Obi-Wan exchanged glances, and then hurried straight to the Senate archives, filled out a request, and waited impatiently for the information. Finally though, they waded through the minutes of Senatorial committee meetings finally scanning the report they were looking for and then they reached the team that was decided on, reading the names and their qualifications. Dr. Fort Turan. Joveh D'a Alin. Reug Yucon. Talie Heathe. And finally, Tic Verdun. He had been added at the last minute on the suggestion of the committee head, Senator Sauro…
Obi-Wan remembered something Talie Heathe had said on Haariden. Tic had been the scout. That meant he had been able to get away from the group for hours at a time.
Obi-Wan scanned Verdun's qualifications. He had graduated from the same scientific institute in the same year as Granta Omega.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Obi-Wan asked and Siri nodded grimly, and a quick chat with Jocasta Nu at the Temple confirmed their theory.
Tic Verdun was an alias. His credentials were fake. He beat the Senate committee because of Sauro. Tic Verdun was Granta Omega.
Siri and Obi-Wan returned to the Temple, to gather their Padawans to go apprehend 'Tic Verdun'. They started with Anakin, but didn't find him in their quarters, so while Siri tracked down Ferus, Obi-Wan tracked down Soara, who was visiting Darra in the med center.
"Do you know where Anakin is?" he asked her.
"We had our practice session this morning," she said. "Then he headed off for an appointment. Do you remember Tic Verdun? Anakin went to meet him."
**The Will of the Force**
Anakin was starting to feel better after being dismissed from lessons with Soara earlier. Kastor's words had helped a bit, and while he did still have some worries, they had mostly faded to the back of his mind as he met Tic's friends and listened to all they had to say about Granta Omega.
Already he had collected a number of facts about the elusive businessman. If he could manage to put the pieces together, he and Obi-Wan would have a place to start.
Tic's friends were all funny and smart. They had welcomed Anakin and seemed impressed at meeting "our first Jedi!" They poured him tea and sat around trying to prod their memories for facts about Granta Omega. They interrupted one another and corrected one another. But nobody interrupted Tic, Anakin noted. They all deferred to him, but in a way that Anakin could see was out of great respect.
Anakin was especially impressed with a young scientist named Mellora Falon. She had just graduated from an elite scientific institution even though she was only a few years older than Anakin. She had met Granta Omega on an expedition to the planet Uriek, and gave the most detailed account of him.
"He had a weakness for pastries," she said, smiling. "The really sweet, sticky kind. He ate an entire plate of sweesonberry rolls."
Tic Verdun shook his head. "Glad to see you noted the important things."
But every thing was important. Anakin knew that. He could take that information back to Jocasta Nu and in about thirty seconds she could tell him every planet where the sweesonberries grew, and could give him a list of the best pastry makers in the Core Worlds.
"I just remembered something," Mellora said. "That morning, he said his favorite house was surrounded by sweesonberry bushes. He goes there for vacations. It's near the sea, too."
More information for Jocasta Nu. Anakin took another sip of the excellent tea Mellora had brewed. He felt warm and comfortable. Night had fallen, and the stars twinkled like hard points outside in the cold night. He thought about reaching for another piece of fruit, but he felt too lazy.
Just at the very moment he settled into his contentment, he felt a warning. There was a disturbance in the Force here. He realized that it had been there for some time. Anakin felt slow surprise trickle through him.
Here? But he was among friends. Perhaps he was confused. Perhaps he was wrong. Soara had showed him that his connection to the Force was not as clear as he'd once supposed.
He tried to focus on his feelings, but they seemed to run off his body like water. He blinked several times and realized he was sleepy. He had to struggle to stay awake. Mellora was speaking again, and he had to focus in order to hear her. Had his fight with Ferus tired him out so?
"…more tea? No, I don't think you should." She laughed, her red lips parting. Her dark hair was as sleek as the pelt of a water animal.
"Anakin?" Tic's face seemed to loom in front of him. He patted Anakin's arm gently. "Are you all right? I have to tell you something. Are you listening?"
Anakin focused on Tic. "Yes?"
"Everything we told you about Granta Omega is a lie," Tic said, still smiling.
Anakin struggled to understand his meaning. "I…don't…understand."
"Oh, don't worry. You will."
"But we do have something to show you," Mellora said. "Something he owns." From beneath the folds of her white tunic she brought out a small pyramid. "Omega gave me this."
It was a Sith artifact. Now Anakin knew the origin of the disturbance he had detected. It grew stronger, and he felt nausea rise in his throat. He tried to sit up, but the chair now seemed to hold him down.
Mellora turned the cube in her hands. "At first I found the images disturbing. But Granta talked to me about them. Power can be disturbing. That's where its beauty lies. Do you understand?"
Anakin's tongue felt thick. "No." He had been so foolish. So incredibly foolish and naïve. He saw the mug on the table in front of him. He had drained every drop. He wasn't tired. He was drugged.
"Don't worry, we didn't poison you," Tic said. "It's because we have respect for the Jedi that we did this. We know it's the only way to slow you down."
Tic's voice had not changed. He still sounded friendly and warm. "We've immobilized you in order to talk to you. We don't wish to harm you."
"We only wish to discuss the Force," Mellora said.
The other faces turned to him. Now their bright interest, he saw, was not interest at all. It was not so simple. It was greed. They were ravenous for information about him. He had thought he was learning from them, but all the time, they were studying him.
"Mellora and I are the only scientists here," Tic said. "I'm afraid I lied to you about my friends. We are simply a group of ordinary beings who are interested in the extraordinary. We have a common interest in the Force."
"We wanted to find a Force-sensitive being to talk to about it," Mellora said.
In other words, they were a Sith cult. No matter how friendly they seemed. No matter how much they wanted him to think they were harmless. He had tangled with a Sith cult before. Although they weren't Force-sensitive, they were drawn to the dark side and they could be dangerous.
But why Tic Verdun? He was a respected scientist.
'And how do you know that? You don't know anything about him except that you liked him,' a voice in the back of his head said, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Kastor Shan's.
Anakin thought back to the mission on Haariden. He had liked Tic because Tic had seemed to understand him. He had been the bravest of the scientists, too. He had been the one to go off and scout for patrols. He had risked his life, they said…
He had been gone for hours, they said…
"Do you understand?" Tic asked him softly. "Do you, Anakin Skywalker?"
"You are Granta Omega," he said.
"Very good." Tic turned to the others, pleased. "You see how his mind continues to work? On an ordinary being, that drug would immobilize his thoughts as well as his legs."
Anakin thought about trying to rise. He thought he would have enough strength to reach the door. He had not begun to tap into the Force yet, but he knew what Obi-Wan would say. He had enough strength for one attempt, which meant that he needed to plan it out and utilize his one attempt well.
"Back on Haariden, you said the Force frustrates you," Tic said.
Anakin said nothing. He did not want to have a conversation with Tic. Omega. He found it unnerving to see the same friendly look in his bright eyes, the good humor on his face.
"That interested me," Omega said. "I thought, this Jedi is different. He recognizes not only what power is, but what it isn't. What it can be. Power is…protection. It is what stands between you and losing what you have. I'm not talking about material things, either. I'm talking about…every thing."
Anakin didn't understand, but then, he didn't want to.
Tic leaned forward. His warm eyes met Anakin's.
Not Tic. Granta Omega. He is not your friend.
The words Tic and Omega blurred in his mind. He remembered a man sitting on a snowy mountainside, his skin knitted together with synth-flesh. The first time they had unknowingly seen Granta Omega. He could not reconcile the two images, the two men. It all seemed unreal.
"I've asked about you," Omega said. "I know you. I know you because I grew up like you. I wasn't a slave, but I might well have been. My mother worked at things she should not have, harder than she should have, longer than she should have—just for me."
My mother did the same.
"My mother worked herself to death for me," Omega said.
Anakin was sure his mother was alive, but he could only hope she was safe.
"What is the Force for, if not to protect what you have? Why should you give that up because you are a Jedi? The Force can bring you all the power you need. Yet the Jedi tell you that you must have nothing. Why is that?"
"Ours is a path of service," Anakin said.
"And who do you serve? The Senate?" Omega laughed softly. "A group of fools who can be bought?"
"We serve justice."
"Whose?"
"Justice does not have a master."
"Shouldn't it?" Omega leaned back again, resting against the pillows. "I am just a seeker, as you are. You have been told that the Sith belong to the dark side. Yet the Jedi know little of the Sith. What you don't know could fill galaxies. Well, you do know one thing—that there is one Sith still alive. I know this, too. I wanted to be rich enough to find that Sith. Then one day I realized that was wrong. The only way I would find a Sith is if I was rich enough, powerful enough, so that he wanted to find me. I am not rich enough yet. But I will be."
Omega paused.
"I'm not Force-sensitive. I can never be a Sith. I have found something at last that I cannot buy. But I can be close to that power. I can sit at his side, as I am sitting by your side."
"That's why you attack the Jedi," Anakin said. "You want to impress him."
"Yes, you see? It's nothing personal." Omega leaned closer to him. "Don't you think I could have killed you if I wanted?"
"No," Anakin said. "I know you think you could have."
"I like you," Omega said. "I liked what I saw on Haariden. Your Master you can keep. Typical Jedi." He waved a hand. "But you…you I like."
"I'm honored," Anakin said.
"Sarcasm from a Jedi? I knew I liked you." Omega leaned back against the cushions and crossed an ankle over his leg comfortably. "You're different because you didn't grow up in that Temple. You know how power works because you were ground down beneath it. You know how the powerless have only their dignity to comfort them, and how, some days, that is not enough. Not nearly enough."
Mellora stood restlessly. "Let me show him."
"No."
"Yes." Mellora reached into her pocket and withdrew Darra's lightsaber. "I've been learning how to use it. One day I will fight a Jedi."
The Force he had kept at bay shot through him, revitalizing his muscles. The sight of Darra's lightsaber in Mellora's hand had done it. He felt strength move through him. He knew he could rise now.
Even Omega looked amazed when he shot to his feet. He activated his lightsaber in a motion so fast they could not follow it with their eyes.
"How about today?" he taunted, taking a step toward her. "Are you ready to fight a Jedi today?" His voice was thick and it was an effort to get the words out. He could feel his leg muscles trembling but he knew they couldn't see it.
"Well, well," Omega breathed. "Impressive."
But the others were not so calm. They drew blasters.
"Shoot him!" Mellora shrilled. She activated the lightsaber clumsily.
"Mellora, don't be foolish," Omega warned.
She tried to execute an offensive thrust, but the lightsaber swung crazily. She was not able to balance it. Anakin was more worried she'd hurt herself than he was about the blasters.
Keeping the lightsaber in one hand, he struck out with a strong kick in order to dislodge Darra's light saber from her hand. But Mellora surprised him by twirling away. She was still hampered by the lightsaber, but the combination of Anakin's slowed reaction time and her own skill caused him to miss. Anakin stumbled, and to his surprise he could not recover easily.
He went down on one hand. Mellora smiled. She raised the lightsaber. Even she could probably manage a downward stroke.
He called on the Force. It surged through him. He balanced on one hand and swept his feet in an arc that hit Mellora on the ankles and took her down. Darra's lightsaber went flying.
The others scattered, afraid of the lightsaber, and wildly fired their blasters. Granta Omega looked up, his mouth open, his hands outstretched for the lightsaber.
Desperately, Anakin threw himself at Granta Omega. He hit him broadside, and they both fell. The lightsaber clattered to the floor, deactivated.
The group saw Anakin on the floor with their leader and pointed their blasters at him. He raised his own lightsaber to deflect the fire, but he could see that he would not be able to hold out for long.
Then suddenly, a blue blur and purple blur appeared through the sides of the door. Metal peeled back and Obi-Wan leapt in, closely followed by Siri, Ferus, Kastor, and to Anakin's complete surprise, Rhys and four armor-clad warriors: Mandalorians. He recognized the armor of the ones called Des and Koba, but he wasn't sure who the other two were.
For a moment, no one moved. Anakin felt as though he had used up his last reserve of strength. He was sprawled on the floor, looking up at his Master. Mellora lay frozen, her eyes moving from the lightsaber on the floor to the activated ones in Obi-Wan's, Siri's, Ferus's, and Kastor's hands.
Granta Omega laughed at the same moment that the blasters fired.
Obi-Wan and Siri stepped forward, their lightsabers constantly moving, deflecting the fire, moving to protect Anakin. Kastor and Ferus provided cover for Rhys and the Mandalorians who started unleashing a volley of blaster fire that ripped through half of the Sith cultists with Omega.
Omega reached down and activated a switch on a device hanging on his belt. A door in a console opened and released five seekers into the air. They honed in on Obi-Wan and peppered him with blaster fire, but Siri and he were more than capable of deflecting the fire back at the droids, and worked to start slashing them out of the sky.
Omega and Mellora escaped through a door in the rear while the rest of the cultists tried to escape while continuing to fight and were cut down by the impressive fire team that had come with Obi-Wan.
"Rhys, Asuna, Des, with me," Kastor said sharply, and the four of them rushed after Omega and Mellora, leaving Obi-Wan, Siri, Ferus, Koba, and the other Mandalorian.
Anakin couldn't help but notice that Darra's lightsaber had been abandoned when Omega and Mellora fled. Also, the Sith artifact had been dropped. He could at least feel some relief knowing he could return the blade to Darra and lock the Sith artifact away in the Temple, but he also couldn't help but feel responsible again for Omega's escape. If they hadn't needed to protect him, they could have easily subdued the whole group.
Obi-Wan reached down and helped Anakin to his feet.
Siri grabbed Darra's lightsaber and clipped it to her belt.
"We can analyze it at the Temple," Obi-Wan said, glancing at the Sith artifact, before he scooped it up and tucked it into his tunic.
"Tic is Granta Omega -"
"I know," Obi-Wan said, while Ferus looked through a travel kit that had been left in front of the console and pulled out a portable scanner, who looked at it in surprise before handing it to Siri who looked at it for a moment before she nodded at Obi-Wan.
"This is a good find, and Kastor may still catch them yet," she said.
"Let's get you to the Temple," Obi-Wan said after a movement, looking at how worn out Anakin was.
"Njonne, Koba, can you two wait for the others and hold to see if they come back for any of their things?" Siri asked.
"Of course," the Mandalorian Anakin didn't know, answered with a female voice.
**The Will of the Force**
Obi-Wan stood with Kastor in front of the assembled Jedi Council. Kastor held control of the Sith Holocron and Obi-Wan held the portable scanner.
"Certain you are of this?" Yoda asked.
"Completely."
"Ambitious, this Granta Omega is."
"That is the danger. He infiltrated the Senate expedition because he knew it was going to examine the mineral rights of Haariden. It was the Senate's secret plan to defuse the civil war. I read the expedition's report. It was incomplete, but it shows one thing clearly—there is an active volcano on Haariden. The mountain Kaachtari will soon have a massive eruption, an eruption so powerful it will change the coastline nearby. The titanite that has been hidden in the planet's core will spew out with the lava. A giant tidal wave will form and cover the landmass. Sano Sauro has buried the report, but it is in the Senate archives." Obi-Wan held up the portable scanner. "This is an underwater scanner. He is planning to mine the titanite from the sea. He will be able to do so if we don't stop him. I believe he wants to control the bacta market for the entire galaxy."
"What do you wish to do, Master Kenobi?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked. "He has not committed a crime."
"Not for the bacta, no, not yet," Obi-Wan said. "Although he did use an alias to get on a Senate expedition, and that would lead to censure, at least. He has committed serious crimes against the Jedi, however. He has paid bounty hunters and soldiers to attack us on two occasions. He drugged my Padawan and tried to kill myself, Master Shan, Knight Tachi, Padawan Olin, and several of our allies when we went to save my Padawan."
"Something that there is little proof of," Ki-Adi said. "All of the Sith Cultists were killed, and Omega escaped. Indeed, your report states he did not fire anything himself, merely sent droids at you, which he could claim was in self-defense."
"I can bring him back to Coruscant for questioning by the Senate," Obi-Wan said. "At least we can prevent what he plans. He wants to gain even greater power and wealth in order to attract the hidden Sith Lord. He admitted this to Anakin."
"Perhaps he would attract him," Mace Windu said. "If we let him, if we stood back and watched, we would be able to track the Sith Lord ourselves. He would be flushed out of hiding before he is ready."
"Are you saying we should not stop Omega?" Obi-Wan asked in disbelief.
Mace Windu looked at him sharply. "We are not drawing conclusions. We are speculating."
"There is great risk in that," Kastor said with a frown. "If he manages to flush out the Sith Lord, it will be because he has gotten so powerful and dangerous himself that the risk is worth the reward. We might regret letting it get that far."
"All sides of the issue we must examine," Yoda said.
Mace Windu swiveled in his chair to look out over the twinkling lights of Coruscant. "Darkness lies ahead. We can all feel it. Many of us have seen it. This could be a way for us to turn the tide. We need to flush out our enemy and expose him."
"But if we don't go after Omega, he will control the market on bacta," Obi-Wan said. "He could do anything. Raise the price too high. Create shortages. I have no doubt he would do these things. Millions would suffer."
"More millions suffer in our visions of the future," Mace said. He was still looking out at the lights. He seemed to be speaking to himself. "We see much pain."
"Visions can only show us what may be," Obi-Wan said. "Granta Omega can do great harm now."
"I happen to agree with Obi-Wan," Kastor said with a sigh. "The Sith is an unknown threat. Omega is a known one that we should neutralize. If he joins up with the Sith, he'll disappear from our view, and all of Omega's resources and contacts will belong to the Sith."
A buzz of conversation began among the Council Members. Mace Windu consulted with Yoda. Adi leaned over to speak with Even Piell. It was highly unusual for the Council to break into private consultations. The gravity of the issue caused it. There were too many important questions connected with it.
"Go, Obi-Wan must." Yaddle's soft voice stopped the Council Members. Everyone turned to her with great courtesy. Yaddle rarely spoke, but when she did, she always seemed to sum up the conclusions they would have reached eventually.
She blinked her light gray-blue eyes, which were so like Yoda's. "Suffering we cannot allow in order to prevent what we fear. Stop it we must when we can. Bear fruits on the Sith, Kastor's continued investigations may."
Yoda leaned forward on his gimer stick. "Correct, Master Yaddle is. Has your Padawan recovered, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "I have arranged transport. I can be on Haariden by sunrise."
"Dangerous it is," Yoda said. "Soon, the eruption will occur. Take chances you must not."
"May the Force be with you," Mace Windu said, concluding the meeting. He still looked troubled.
Obi-Wan bowed. He left the Council chamber and hurried directly to the med clinic. Every moment counted.
**The Will of the Force**
"I'm surprised you aren't pushing more to try and use Omega to reveal the Sith," Coleman Trebor said, after Obi-Wan left the chambers.
"I don't know if the Sith will come out for Omega at all," Kastor admitted. "The Force is giving me no hints in either direction. The Sith Lord is a great threat as he is, and we already know he has allies. Omega is immensely wealthy and is particularly talented at hiding in plain view. He would be a great asset to the Sith. I think we need to remove him as a threat before that happens."
"Capture Omega, Obi-Wan may yet do," Yoda said finally. "Direct all our focus into Omega, we should not."
"Agreed, Master," Kastor said with a nod. "Perhaps it's time I visit some of the old Sith worlds. There are a lot of forgotten temples that might have provided hidden solace to the Sith Lord and his or her predecessors and been bastions of forbidden knowledge."
"Those worlds have been off limits to Jedi for a millennia for a reason," Saesee said. "I'm not sure traveling to those cursed worlds is a wise plan."
"I think you forget that I've been to most of them before," Kastor said, crossing his arms.
"That doesn't change the fact that it's been several thousand years since then," Depa responded. "Things have changed, and many of those worlds have only become more dangerous and steeped in darkness."
Kastor felt his frustration rise and then released it. He wasn't wrong . . . but neither were they.
"Think on it, we will," Yoda said. "Perhaps, right you are, but careful we must be, if to reveal the secret of the Sith we wish."
"Understood, Master," Kastor said with a bow.
He would give the Council some time, but he thought investigating some of the Sith worlds might bear fruit. He'd have to add it to his list of things to do, even if it was against the Council's guidance.
Rhys wasn't going to be happy about that.