[Jedi Quest] - 04(7)

Obi-Wan shifted from shadow to shadow. He explored the village thoroughly. When he’d finished, he knew that the village had once had three bakeries. He knew who the mayor had been and that she’d had three children. He knew that the schoolteacher had driven a yellow speeder.

He just didn’t know what to do next.

He saw a faint light through the forest. He climbed to a higher vantage point and trained his electrobinoculars toward it.

The patrol was camping outside the village. No doubt they did not relish a night battle. They would attack at daybreak, he was sure. They knew that the small band was trapped.

Obi-Wan shook his head. He could hardly believe his eyes. It seemed such a short time ago that a world such as Haariden would respect the Jedi, or at least fear the Senate enough not to attack a rescue mission. Had the Senate’s power eroded this far? Had the galaxy ceased to respect the Jedi as well?

You don’t need speculations. Just answers.

He walked slowly back to the hiding place, hoping an answer would come to him on the way. He had hoped to find a small, forgotten cache of weapons. Some usable transport. But anything that had not been destroyed had been looted.

Obi-Wan stopped. Not looted, he suddenly realized. The village had not been looted. It did not bear the scars. It had undergone a siege. That he could tell. But the valuables hadn’t been stolen. They had been removed.

He retraced his steps. He combed through the buildings, now knowing exactly what he was looking for. It didn’t take him long. He found the first tunnel opening in the closet of a prosperous house that was almost empty of furnishings. The opening was set into the floor of patterned wood panels. If he hadn’t been looking for the seam, he would have stepped right over it. It was cleverly concealed in the design on the wood.

He lowered himself down into the tunnel. It had been clumsily dug, but it was reinforced well with plastoid tubing. He kept his bearings as he wandered through the underground walkways. There were several exits. One was in the back of the school. One in the clinic. And one opened out deep in the forest, on the other side of the Haariden camp. They were so close that Obi-Wan could clearly see the weariness in one soldier’s face as he leaned over to unroll his bedding on the forest floor.

Obi-Wan returned to the others and beckoned to Soara. He explained what he had found.

“Should we evacuate now?” Soara asked, glancing at Darra. “We’ll be taking a great risk if we try to sneak by the Haariden camp.”

“Too great a risk, I fear,” Obi-Wan said. “If it were just the four of us, it would be one thing. But we can’t count on the scientists. They’ve been on the run for weeks. They’re worn out. I think we need to strike an offense first. Now. They are settling down to sleep. It’s the best time. If we can knock out their tracking devices and some weaponry, we’ll be ahead.”

Soara nodded. “You and I must go. We should leave Anakin here in case. “

Obi-Wan nodded. He was glad Soara didn’t hold Anakin’s rash action during the battle against him.

But when he told his Padawan their plan, Anakin seemed crestfallen at not being included in the attack.

Obi-Wan felt exasperated. Anakin’s reaction seemed that of a boy, anxious to be in on the action. It wasn’t worthy of his Padawan. “This is important,” he told him. “You need to protect the scientists and Darra. Soara and I won’t be long.”

“But you might need me,” Anakin said. “It’s a large patrol.”

“We have surprise on our side. No, Padawan. You must remain here.”

“I would not fail you this time,” Anakin promised.

Obi-Wan saw it then, the hunger on Anakin’s face. It was not a hunger for action. It was the need to redeem himself.

Obi-Wan spoke gently. “The best thing you can do for Darra is remain here to protect her.”

Anakin looked down, struggling to accept the order. “As you wish, Master.”

“You must keep your focus, young Padawan,” Obi-Wan murmured, so that the others wouldn’t overhear. “This is not a judgment on you. This is the best way to proceed.”

Anakin nodded, keeping his eyes down. “All right,” he muttered.

Obi-Wan hesitated. Now he could feel the shame behind Anakin’s questions. His Padawan’s feelings ran deep. His shame was filling him now, and he thought that only action could relieve it. He was wrong, but Obi-Wan would need time to explain why this was so.

He knew that his Padawan needed him. Yet he had to go. He struggled for words to leave behind, but he had none. The only thing left to do was walk away.

CHAPTER FOUR,

Anakin watched his Master walk away from him. There was no doubt or hesitation in how Obi-Wan moved. Ever. Anakin wanted to move through his own life with the same assurance. Yet time and again he found himself confronting miscalculation and error. Time and again he moved when he shouldn’t have moved, said what he shouldn’t have said, or turned when he should have stayed still.