“Then we’ll just go to Romin without Senate approval,” Anakin said.
Ferus frowned. Obi-Wan noted how Anakin bristled when he saw it. The two had never gotten along, and Obi-Wan wasn’t surprised. Ferus followed the rules. Anakin had no hesitation about bending them to get a job done.
“Ah,” Tyro said carefully, “I’m afraid that you do need approval. Without legitimate cause, you will be asked to leave the planet. And if you do not leave, it is likely you will be imprisoned - if you are lucky. Teda has been known to execute without trial.”
“But the Senate cannot shield a criminal like Zan Arbor!” Obi-Wan leaped to his feet and began to pace out his frustration. Now he knew why Zan Arbor had risked buying such a showpiece transport. She didn’t care, because she knew she would be protected. That infuriated him. No one was above galactic law. “There has to be a way.”
Tyro shook his head. “If there is, I can’t think of it. The Senate looks the other way when it comes to Romin. The Romin Senator wields great influence. He is a favorite of Sano Sauro - who as you well know is the leader of a large voting bloc.”
Obi-Wan groaned. “Not him again.” He had tangled with Sano Sauro before.
“If you land on Romin secretly, you will be in violation of Senate laws,” Tyro said. “And I assure you, the Senator from Romin will not hesitate to prosecute even a Jedi,” Tyro spoke softly. “I’m afraid this is typical of the Senate these days. I am so sorry, my good friend Obi-Wan, that I cannot help you.”
“I am grateful for what you’ve done,” Obi-Wan said woodenly. He refused to accept that Zan Arbor was untouchable. As his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had said, There is always another way.
Tyro sighed. “I come from a peaceful world. The growing lawlessness in the galaxy troubles me greatly.
The prison worlds are not well maintained. Just recently there was yet another escape from a high-security prison, the Greylands Security Complex on Tentator. It was a notorious gang who broke free. Luckily the gang members were tracked and apprehended just hours ago. But such successes are rare, I must admit.”
Obi-Wan stopped pacing and fixed Tyro with a keen gaze. “Who are they? “
“They are called the Slams,” Tyro said.
“Species?”
“Humanoid. From Mamendin, in the Core. They started there with con jobs, ID thefts, things like that. Then they roamed the galaxy, mostly in the Core, pulling scams. They were the gang who heisted the entire treasury of Vuma. The leaders are fairly young - a man named Slam and a woman named Valadon. Slam is a con man and Valadon is an ID theft expert. They have only two other members - they keep their numbers small to maintain loyalty. The Slams were caught when they tried to break into a security vault of the Commerce Guild. You just don’t go after the Commerce Guild without major consequences.”
“I remember the Vuma affair,” Siri said. “We heard about it at the Temple. It just about bankrupted the planet. The crystalline vertex they stole is still missing.” She gave Obi-Wan a curious glance. “What is it? You’ve got that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“That look that says, You’re going to hate this idea, Siri, but I’m going to do it anyway,” Siri said dryly. Obi-Wan grinned. “Relax. You’re going to love it.”
CHAPTER TWO
Anakin looked over at his Master. They had grown even closer over the past months. Anakin had broken down after the mission on Vanqor and confessed his fears to Obi-Wan. He had been afraid to tell his Master how there were times he no longer wanted to be the Chosen One. He realized that he had been walking around with a nameless dread in his heart. He didn’t know what he feared, but he knew that he lived with the fear every waking moment. Saying this out loud had shocked his Master, but it had freed Anakin in a way he still didn’t understand.
Perhaps it had been his experiences in the prisoner of-war camp on Vanqor that had caused him to unburden his heart to Obi-Wan. Whatever the reason had been, it had changed something between them. They had grown closer. They were truly Master and Padawan now.
He knew what had happened was a classic step in the Master-Padawan relationship. The apprentice invites the Master, and it begins. As learners, they had all wondered what the expression meant. The Master was the one to invite a Jedi student to be his or her apprentice. That was how it started. So what was the meaning of The apprentice invites the Master?
Now he understood. He had been Obi-Wan’s apprentice for years before he had truly trusted him with the inner workings of his heart and mind. Once he had invited Obi-Wan to share his deepest fears, his worst nightmares, their relationship had shifted and deepened. It was as though they were starting again. It begins. Obi-Wan had told him that the same thing had happened with him and Qui-Gon. “In the middle of our journey together, we began again,” he’d told Anakin.