The Moment of Truth

by Jude Watson

  didn't.

  "I feel something in you," she said. "There is a mastery of your body,

  of your mind. I've seen it before. Have you ever heard of the Force?"

  Anakin did not show by a flick of muscle that the question had

  startled him. His Jedi training ran deeper than anything else. He felt it

  stir, and he leaned into it for support. "No."

  She nodded again, slightly. "That may be true, and it may not. If you

  don't know it already, you might be Force-sensitive. That means you could

  have special abilities."

  Wary now, Anakin shrugged. He didn't want to discuss the Force with

  this woman. He wanted to go back to the garden. The quickest way to do

  this, he knew, was to seem bored by her questions.

  "Did you ever see something happen before it actually happened?" she

  asked.

  He made himself look blank. "I don't think so."

  "Are your reaction times unusually fast? Do you have an unusually

  strong focus?"

  He took a long pause that stretched for a moment. She leaned forward

  in anticipation.

  "Uh, what was the question?"

  She made an impatient gesture. "Were your reaction times unusually

  fast? Before you came here."

  "I was always the first to reach the table for a meal."

  She leaned back, disappointed. Her eyes went blank. It was as though

  now that she was bored with him, he didn't exist.

  "You can go back to the garden now."

  Anakin stood and left the room. He walked back to the courtyard. The

  doctor was working for the Vanqors. She wasn't a native Vanqor. Vanqors

  were humans, but they all dressed in gray tunics and didn't adorn their

  clothing. She was an outlander, no question.

  There was a time he would have been on fire to discover who she was

  and why she was here. But today the sun shone, and it was warm in the

  courtyard. And it was almost time for the midday meal.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Even with the help of the cable launcher, it took Obi-Wan hours to

  scale the peak. The sun was setting as he reached the top and sat down to

  rest under a rock outcropping that had created a small cave. He would need

  all his strength for his task.

  Over the wide chasm below, he saw the camp. He was close enough to see

  without electrobinoculars beings moving about. He watched as a small

  transport came toward him. He knew he could not be seen, so he was able to

  study the flight line of the ship. It buzzed overhead, seeming close enough

  to touch, then zoomed down to land at the camp landing platform.

  Obi-Wan fingered his cable launcher. If he timed it exactly right, he

  should be able to hook onto the underside of a low-flying transport. They

  wouldn't be able to feel the drag for that short a distance. He would let

  himself be towed by the transport and then drop to the ground during the

  landing. If everything went right.

  If something went wrong, he'd be squashed like a bug against the side

  of a crater.

  He rolled himself up into his thermal cape and told himself to go to

  sleep. Worrying about Anakin would only interfere with the rest he needed.

  Yet the sky turned black and many stars had appeared before he felt sleep

  overtake him.

  He smelled the dawn in his sleep before he woke. The freshness of the

  air infiltrated his dreams, and when he opened his eyes he felt hopeful.

  He stretched in the chill, trying to warm his muscles. He munched on a

  protein cube as he made his preparations. He tested the cable several

  times. His life depended on its strength.

  Trust your materials, but test them twice.

  Yes, Qui-Gon.

  The first transport came in too high. The second, too fast. Obi-Wan

  crouched in the shadow of the rocks. Patience was necessary. He couldn't

  make a mistake.

  The next transport came in low and kept reducing speed. It was a

  midsize cruiser, big enough that it would not feel the jolt of the launcher

  or the drag of his body - he hoped. He didn't think he'd get a better

  opportunity.

  As the shadow of the cruiser touched the peak, Obi-Wan aimed and sent

  the cable flying. It latched onto the underbelly of the ship. He was yanked

  upward with such force he nearly lost consciousness. He had expected a bad

  jolt, but not this bad. With the wind whistling past his ears and his body

  whirling and flopping, he tried to get his hands around the cable. He had

  to steady himself if this was going to work.

  His arms were nearly wrenched from their sockets as he held onto the

  cable. He tucked his knees up and his chin down. He kept his finger on the

  cable control. He brought himself up closer to the body of the ship,

  knowing he couldn't get too close or he'd be burned by the exhausts as the

  ship began to land.

  A boulder loomed ahead. He activated the launcher to get closer to the

  ship. He zoomed up as the rock approached, passing under him by a few

  meters. He activated the launcher to drop him again, out of reach of the

  rocket exhaust. He couldn't be this close when the ship began to land or

  he'd be burned to a cinder.

  A large rock formation appeared out of nowhere. Obi-Wan quickly tucked

  his legs up, but the ship bumped on an air current and his shoulder slammed

  against the rock. Pain shot through him. He held on. The ship banked,

  nearly slamming him into a cliff wall.

  Maybe this wasn't such a smart idea.

  The muscles in his arms and legs began to shake, and his fingers

  clenched in the effort to hold on to the cable.

  Obi-Wan called on the Force to help him. He was part of the ship, part

  of the air, part of the cable itself. He would move when he needed to move,

  he would allow the grace of the ship to pull him to a safe landing....

  The pilot of the transport apparently liked to show off. He dipped the

  transport sideways and wagged its wings. Obi-Wan was whipped from side to

  side.

  Safe landing? I'll be lucky if I make it without being squashed.

  The landing platform was ahead. He would have to drop off quickly,

  very close to the perimeter wall. If not, he could be spotted.

  The ship slowed and dipped. Obi-Wan counted out the seconds. At the

  last possible moment, he disengaged the cable. Bracing himself, he fell

  through the air, landing hard. He felt the jolt up to his eyebrows. He

  rolled and ducked behind a parked ship.

  He caught his breath as the ship he had hitched a ride on came to a

  stop. Droids began to unload cargo. He saw a small utility shed nearby and

  quickly headed for it.

  The shed held tools and equipment. Obi-Wan searched and was glad to

  find what he was looking for, a bin full of greasy coveralls. He pulled a

  pair on. Then he quickly darted out of the shed. His surveillance through

  his electrobinoculars had given him a rough outline of the camp. He knew

  the prisoners filed out into the yard at this time. There was always some

  confusion as they poured out of the buildings. He couldn't have arrived at

  a better time.

  He walked briskly across the landing pad as if he belonged there. Then

  he struck out toward the fenced yard. He had tucked a
servodriver in his

  pocket, and he pretended to be checking the energy fence as he moved down,

  searching the crowd for Anakin.

  He saw Shalini. She sat, removed from the others, close to the fence.

  Her head was bowed and her hands were clasped in front of her. He made his

  way down the length of the fence toward her.

  She lifted her head as he came near. At first she didn't see him. Her

  gaze passed over him, just another one of her captors, as she sought the

  sky. Then she jerked her gaze back to him. Obi-Wan admired her discipline.

  She gave no sign that she had recognized him.

  Instead she casually scooted back until she was closer to the fence.

  She absently drew in the dirt with a finger, looking casual.

  "Is everyone all right?" Obi-Wan asked, bending over with the

  servodriver.

  "Yes. But Anakin has been taken away. No one knows why."

  "Where?"

  "There is a gray building across the compound. Unmarked. He was taken

  there. Listen, they don't know who we are yet. They don't know he's a Jedi.

  Which makes me think."

  He was anxious to find Anakin, but Obi-Wan bent closer to hear what

  Shalini would say. "If Mezdec had gone straight to Vanqor, he would be

  there by now. He would have told them we were traveling in Vanqor airspace

  and they would have figured out who we are. Which tells me that Mezdec

  didn't go to Vanqor."

  "Where do you think he went?"

  "I think he went to Typha-Dor. He would assume that either we had been

  captured or we were still making our way there."

  "But why would he go to Typha-Dor?"

  "To deliver the invasion plans. But not the real ones."

  Obi-Wan let out a breath. "Of course. They would accept whatever he

  would bring as real."

  "He will destroy us single-handedly," Shalini said, her voice raw.

  "All is lost."

  "No," Obi-Wan said. "If we can make it in time - " "Anakin has the

  disk. You must get it - "

  "You there!" An angry voice cut through Shalini's words. "Attendance

  check!"

  "Find him and go. Don't worry about us. Save Typha Dor."

  Shalini rose and walked off, unwilling to risk exposing Obi-Wan.

  Obi-Wan tucked the servodriver in his pocket and went off in search of

  the building Shalini had indicated. He knew from experience that wearing

  dirty coveralls and affecting a purposeful stride would render him close to

  invisible.

  He found the building and decided his best course was to walk right

  in. He was making up his plans now as he went along, counting on his

  connection to the Force to guide him. He found himself in a small

  vestibule. A security checkpoint was just inside the plain durasteel door.

  "Checking on those valves in the air handlers," Obi-Wan said.

  The officer looked down at his datascreen. "I didn't get an alert."

  Obi-Wan shrugged. "I'll come back. They probably won't blow."

  The officer nodded, then did a double take. "Hold on. Probably?"

  Obi-Wan shrugged again.

  The officer sighed. "I'm not going to get blamed for this one. Come on

  in." He pressed a button, deactivating the security shield. Obi-Wan

  strolled in, as though he had all the time in the world.

  As soon as he was out of sight, he walked rapidly down the corridors,

  looking in open doors and observation windows. Many of the rooms were

  empty. He rounded a corner and saw a pair of double doors. Through a window

  he saw a courtyard dappled with sunlight.

  He drew closer to the window. Anakin sat on a bench, his hands in his

  lap. He didn't appear to have been abused. He wasn't in pain. Nothing about

  him had altered, and yet... he looked different somehow.

  Something was wrong. Something was off. And Obi-Wan didn't have time

  to analyze it. He had to get Anakin out of here.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Anakin was thinking about detachment. It was the goal of Jedi

  training. It was a discipline that took years to learn. It was not about

  controlling emotion, but allowing it to flow through you.

  Well, he certainly felt detached. He knew somehow he had been drugged,

  his brain chemistry altered, even though he wasn't sure how it had been

  done. Was this how it felt, he wondered, to be truly one with the Force? It

  was a peaceful place to be, so unlike the battles he usually fought in his

  mind and heart. Was it so terrible to reach this place through a simple

  procedure, rather than through years of study and trial? He had admired

  Obi-Wan's serenity, had envied it. Now he had it. Why did he feel that Obi-

  Wan would not value it?

  The flash of irritation - he felt at his Master was gone in a moment,

  almost before he had felt it. Anakin smiled. That was certainly something

  he was unable to do on his own. Being able to think about his Master

  without emotion was an interesting experience.

  Sunlight flashed on the double doors. Someone was entering the garden.

  At first the sun was in his eyes. Then he saw that it was his Master,

  dressed in coveralls. No doubt he had come to rescue him. Anakin noted that

  he should feel glad. Yet he did not. Did he feel disappointed? He couldn't

  locate an actual feeling.

  "Anakin? Are you all right?" Obi-Wan's voice was low.

  "I'm fine," he said.

  "We have to get out of here. I have a way out."

  "That's good." It was good that Obi-Wan had a way out. Anakin stood.

  He moved with the same alertness he always had, but something was

  different. It was as though he was watching himself from above.

  Yet how good it was to fall into step beside Obi-Wan. Good because he

  felt so peaceful. How pleasant it was to be Obi-Wan's companion and yet not

  worry about the emotion connected with that.

  Obi-Wan peered into his face. "What did they do to you?"

  Anakin decided at that moment that he must not tell his Master what

  had been done to him. There was no reason to. No doubt the effect would

  wear off soon, and until then he wanted to spin out the peace he'd found

  without Obi-Wan judging how he'd found it.

  "Nothing." Technically, this was true. He'd received no drugs that he

  knew about. "I suppose they had plans for us."

  Obi-Wan gave him a quick look, as though he didn't believe him. But

  they didn't have time to stop.

  Obi-Wan led him to a utility closet. There, he gave Anakin a medic's

  pale blue coat. "Do you still have the disk?"

  The disk. How odd that he hadn't thought of it. But Obi-Wan had, of

  course. Was that why his Master had come? For the disk. Not for him. There

  had been a time when he would have pondered on this, and the thought would

  have given him pain.

  Anakin wrenched his mind back to Obi-Wan's question. It seemed to take

  more effort than it should to remember what had happened to the disk.

  "I know where it is. It's with my lightsaber."

  Obi-Wan gave him an odd look. "And where is that?" "Where we bathe.

  There are storage bins."

  "Show me."

  Obi-Wan followed behind Anakin so that it would not seem that they

  were together. Anakin led him into the room with the large tubs. It was

  empty. He walked to the storage
bin, which was jumbled with the same tunics

  and belts.

  "In here."

  With a sound of exasperation, Obi-Wan plunged his hands into the bin.

  He sorted through the tunics and belts. Anakin bent over to help. He found

  his belt and removed the disk. Obi-Wan handed Anakin his light-saber. Then

  he took the disk from Anakin and slipped it inside his tunic.

  "Once we get out of here, we'll head straight for the landing pad,"

  Obi-Wan said crisply. "We're going to have to steal a transport. Can you do

  that?"

  Why was Obi-Wan talking to him as though he were a fourth-year

  student? "Of course."

  "Follow me then."

  Obi-Wan led the way. As they approached the security desk, Obi-Wan

  began talking loudly.

  "If I say that the valve shutoff is broken, then it's broken. There's

  no need to talk to my superior." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the security

  officer. "He's going to tell you the same thing I said. I said, it's

  broken, you have to shut down the system. If you want to know about a bacta

  bath, go to a medic. If you want to know about valves, come to me.