[Jedi Quest] - 05(10)

Obi-Wan took a quick look at the holofile in his hands. “Everything seems in order, but I’ll have the analysts at the Temple go over this. How often do you communicate with your son normally?”

“Almost every night. The school has a contact hour in the evenings. Otherwise he is on comm silence.”

Obi-Wan knew this. Students were restricted in use of communication devices except for a one-hour period. It was the time he had set up to speak with Anakin and Ferus.

“We’re very close,” Berm went on. “His mother died three years ago.”

Obi-Wan looked down at the security report. “It says here that you last checked in with Gillam over a month ago.

Berm flushed. “There are many details at the Senate that require my attention. That doesn’t mean I’m not close to my son.”

“Did Gillam have special friends at the school?” “Of course. He’s very popular.”

“What are their names?”

Berm looked at him blankly. “Ah… let me see. Hmm. I don’t recall. The stress of this whole affair has been so great, it’s hard to remember every detail….”

“How about vacations? Where did Gillam spend his?”

“With me, of course. Unless my duties here prevented him from joining me. Then he would spend vacations at our mountain home on Andara.”

“By himself?”

“Of course not. There were servants in attendance.” Obi-Wan nodded. He was beginning to get the picture of a lonely boy.

Berm seemed to sense this, for he said quickly, “But he loved coming here to visit me. He was just here a month ago. He wants to be a Senator, like me. We are very close.”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan said. “Let me take this message with me, and I’ll keep you updated.”

“Anything I can do for my son, I will do,” Berm said.

“I appreciate that, Senator Tarturi,” Obi-Wan replied. He believed that the Senator was sincere. But he did not believe that Tarturi had told him everything. Senators were used to concealing some of the truth in order to place themselves in the best light. It was their nature. He needed a clear view of Senator Tarturi’s role in the Senate, and he knew just who to ask.

Obi-Wan tried to access the door to Tyro Caladian’s tiny office, but the door stuck after it had slid open only a few centimeters.

“Tyro?” he shouted inside the crack.

“Go away,” a muffled voice answered.

“It’s Obi-Wan!”

“Obi-Wan! For star’s sake, don’t move.” Obi-Wan heard the sound of crashing and banging. “I’m coming - oof! Don’t… I’m almost there… ah!”

The door slowly opened, pushed by Tyro. “Can’t you…” he puffed “… use your Force… to help?”

Obi-Wan leaned against the door frame, watching. “I’m enjoying this too much.”

Tyro got the door all the way open. He wiped his forehead, where his fur had matted with sweat. “So happy to amuse. Thanks.”

Obi-Wan strolled inside. Tyro’s office was filled with plastoid boxes crammed with durasheet documents. More plastoid file boxes were stacked against a wall. Some of the boxes had been shoved against the door, causing it to jam. “What’s going on?”

“I told you I’d get something on Sano Sauro,” Tyro said, climbing over a box to get to a holodocument strewn desk. “I requisitioned all the documents in the Senate registry that involve his homeworld. He couldn’t seal everything, just his personal docs.”

“All of them?” Obi-Wan asked incredulously. “But he’s been a Senator for nine years!”

Tyro ruefully surveyed the crowded office. “Well, it might take a while. But what can I do for you, Obi-Wan? I’m at your service, as always.”

“What do you know about Berm Tarturi?” Obi-Wan asked. He raised a hand and used the Force to push aside a tower of documents in order to sit down.

Tyro looked from the ease of Obi-Wan’s gesture back to the door he had struggled with. His ears twitched as he sat down. “I sure could use that Force of yours. Think how I could save on maid service. Anyway - Tarturi. The one whose son has been kidnapped.”

Obi-Wan was startled. “How do you know that? There’s been no official word.”

Tyro smiled, his small, pointed teeth glistening. “Why are you in this office?”

Obi-Wan inclined his head. “Because you hear everything.”

“What exactly do you need to know?” Tyro said. “I know many things about Senator Tarturi. For example, at the moment he is engaged in the fight of his political career.”