Jedi Apprentice Special Edition 1: Deceptions (звёздные войны)

by Джуд Уотсон

  "I see," Sano Sauro said in a tone that indicated he thought Obi-Wanwas lying. "And how did you know that this was true? Did you know Bant was dying? Did you know that Bruck would let her die?"

  "The Force was very dark in Bruck," Obi-Wan began to explain.

  "Ah, the Force! I have been waiting for it to appear in testimony!" Sano Sauro declared, raising his arms."The famous Force, which tells the Jedi what to do!"

  "It does not tell us what to do," Obi-Wan said. "It binds us and connects us-"

  "This — command tells you that a young boy is willing to kill," Sano Sauro answered witheringly. "So therefore you kill him. Because of your mighty Force."

  "The Force guided me, yes," Obi-Wan said. "But the Force never guides to kill." He threw a glance at the Senators. Jedi believed in feelings. Here at the hearing they wanted logic and facts. How could he explain that his feelings told him that Bruck had fallen so deeply into Xanatos's web of evil that he would even allow a Jedi student to die in front of his eyes?

  Pi T'Egal and most of the Senators seemed to be listening intently to him without any hint that they were moved by Sano Sauro's sarcasm. But one of the Senators looked uncertain, and Bicon Ransa leaned over to whisper in her ear.

  Bant looked at him, alarm in her eyes. She knew he was losing. Obi-Wan felt a sudden sweat drench his tunic. He had lost control of his testimony. Sano Sauro had twisted his words and made him look like a hotheaded fool, or worse, a dangerous liar.

  "Sano Sauro, I must caution you," Pi T'Egal said. "The Jedi connection to the Force is well respected in the Senate."

  Sano Sauro nodded. "I know this, Senator. Yet this Force is something that no one else can see or feel. It is something we take the Jedi's word for."

  "The Jedi word is also something we respect," SenatorVi Callen said severely.

  "And is this Force something that we feel confident we can judge a killing on?" Sano Sauro asked, turning to the Senators. His voice rose in intensity as he spoke. "Something only the Jedi can feel, that is used in the defense of this dangerous boy? He says he felt it. We must trust that, and exonerate him? If so, then what have our laws come to, that we mete out justice according to something that we cannot see, hear, feel, or understand? This 'Force'-what is it? What have we seen it do?"

  Pi T'Egal looked to the back of the room. "Perhaps Qui-Gon Jinn can help us."

  Obi-Wan looked over. Relief coursed through him at the sight of Qui-Gon standing at the back of the room, near the door. Qui-Gon lifted a hand. Bruck's lightsaber hilt suddenly shot from the table and sailed directly into his waiting fingers.

  "That is one thing the Force can do," Qui-Gon said, striding forward.

  Sano Sauro paled but quickly recovered. "Tricks," he sneered.

  Qui-Gon ignored him. He turned Bruck's hollow lightsaber hilt over in his hands, a look of concentration on his face. Everyone paused, watching him.

  "This delay is also a stunt," Sano Sauro said, his voice turning shrill. "Let us continue…"

  "I believe I can help put some questions to rest," Qui-Gon said quietly.

  "Ah, now will we hear what the Force told you, Qui-Gon?" Sano Sauro asked.

  "No, you will hear Bruck Chun's own words,"

  Qui-Gon replied calmly. He turned to the Senators. "As I told you, I knew Xanatos well. He did not trust anyone, even those under his power. He would not have trusted Bruck. He would have made sure that the boy was under his complete control when he sent him back into theTempleto do his work." Qui-Gon lifted the lightsaber hilt. "He would have access to all of Bruck Chun's conversations because he would plant a listening device in the one thing that a Jedi is never without."

  Obi-Wan's mouth fell open. How did Qui-Gon figure this out? He stared at the lightsaber hilt, hoping his Master was right.

  Vox and Kad Chun looked at each other, startled. Sano Sauro sprang forward. "This is highly irregular! This lightsaber hilt is the property of Vox Chun!"

  "This lightsaber hilt is evidence," Pi T'Egal said sternly. "You did not hesitate to employ it in your own service to gain sympathy for your client."

  Qui-Gon pressed the nick in the handle and extracted a small disc. "I'll need a recorder."

  The court technician took the disc and inserted it into one of the recorders on his desk.

  "Let us proceed to the date and time of Bruck's death," Pi T'Egal said.

  The court recorder entered the information. A moment later, Obi-Wan heard Bruck's taunting voice.

  I was always better than you. Now I am even stronger.

  It all came back in a rush. How he had to struggle to release his anger, how Bruck's words had seared him, how he knew Bruck was trying to anger him… Had he truly pushed his anger aside and fought with justice and calm? Sano Sauro had been right about one thing: Bruck had been his rival. There had been a deep animosity between them. He had not been able to conquer it. Even on that rocky slope.

  It had been a time when he had been anxious to return to the Jedi. That longing had been a kind of fever in him. Had he told himself that he had fought without anger that day only to convince himself and Qui-Gon that he truly was a Jedi?

  There was only the sound of the battle now, the ragged breath of the two of them, the slipping, sliding footwork, the buzz of the lightsabers meeting. Then Bruck's voice again, snaking out, full of venom.

  She doesn't look too good, does she?

  Kad Chun's shoulders jerked.

  Obi-Wan heard his voice on the recorder scream Bant's name. It sounded like him but unlike him, too, the sound of someone on the edge of control, full of desperation.

  Bant put her face in her hands.

  And then Bruck's voice sang out, triumphant and cruel.

  That's right, Obi-Wan. Bant is dying.

  I won't have to do a thing. I'll just make you watch it. We would have freed her if we got the treasure. But another person will die because of you.

  Right in front of your eyes.

  Pi T'Egal made a slashing gesture at the court recorder. He switched off the machine. "I do not think we need to subject the family to more of this," Pi T'Egal said. "The Senators will listen to the rest in private, confer, and deliver a ruling."

  A screen descended from the ceiling, obscuring the Senators. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon could hear nothing. Vox and Kad Chun kept their backs to them as they conferred with Sano Sauro.

  "It will be over soon," Qui-Gon said quietly.

  "But how will it end?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Patience," Qui-Gon replied.

  The minutes dragged by, but at last the Senators reappeared. Pi T'Egal looked at Obi-Wan, then at Vox and Kad Chun.

  "The death of a young being is always tragic," he said. "The need to blame is understandable. Sometimes it is justified. But we do not think so here. We rule that Obi-Wan Kenobi is free of any responsibility in the death of Bruck Chun."

  Chapter 10

  Obi-Wan closed his eyes for an instant. Gratitude washed over him, bringing warmth to his cold skin. It felt as though his blood had been frozen and was at last able to move through his veins again.

  Vox Chun spoke to Sano Sauro, but his voice was raised enough to carry throughout the room. "I should have known better than to look for justice here. Once again the Senate bows to the Jedi!"

  "There is no cause for celebration or congratulation," Qui-Gon said gently to Bant and Obi-Wan. "We are glad that justice is done. But we have lost a Jedi."

  Obi-Wan pressed his lips together and nodded. Now that the relief was wearing off, he realized that the guilt had not left. He had thought the verdict would remove the sense of shame he felt. But he felt no different. The burden he carried was still within him.

  "Let us return to theTemple," Qui-Gon said as the Senators filed out. "Come, Obi-Wan."

  "In a moment."Obi-Wan suddenly felt a need to be alone. All he had wanted the past few days was his Master and friends around him. Yet now he could not bear to be with them.

  Bant started to say something, but Qui-Gon si
gnaled her to be quiet.

  "We will wait for you at the Senate entrance," he said.

  Obi-Wan could only nod numbly. He had a sense of Qui-Gon and the others leaving. The table where Sano Sauro and the Chuns had sat was empty. He wondered what he felt. He did not feel much of anything.

  "You must be relieved."

  Kad Chun spoke behind him. Obi-Wan turned. The boy stood in the aisle, fists clenched, eyes burning.

  "Sano Sauro almost got you to reveal the truth," Kad Chun went on. "You hated my brother. All your noble Jedi training failed you. You were glad to see him die."

  Obi-Wan shook his head. "No…"

  Kad shot forward unexpectedly. He swung out with his closed fist. The blow hit Obi-Wan on the side of the head near his cheekbone. He staggered back.

  Kad swung again, but this time Obi-Wan was able to duck. The blow grazed his ear.

  "You killed him," Kad grunted. "The one honor our family had. You killed it."

  "I didn't…" Obi-Wan ducked again and twisted away. He tried to capture Kad Chun's arms.

  With a shove that sent Obi-Wan flying back into the table, Kad Chun leaped away. He dodged behind the long table where the Senators had sat so that it was now between him and Obi-Wan.

  "Kad, I didn't want your brother to die," Obi-Wan said, his breath ragged. "You heard his ownwords, you heard what he was willing to do!"

  "He was angry! He was taunting you. So what?" Kad screamed. "It doesn't mean he would have done it!"

  Obi-Wan shook his head helplessly. Kad worshiped his brother. That was clear. He could not bear to hear the truth about Bruck. He had never known him.

  "He would have done it, Kad," Obi-Wan said. "I am certain of it."

  "Who cares what you think!" Kad suddenly leaped onto the Senator's table. In his hand he held the heavy wood and metal staff that Vivendi Allum had used. It was a formidable weapon. With Kad's strength, he could knock Obi-Wan out cold.

  Obi-Wan knew he could neatly slice it into pieces with his lightsaber. It would only take moments. Kad was strong, but he was not trained. Obi-Wan could disarm him in a moment. But he would not take up his lightsaber against Bruck's brother.

  Kad ran toward him, his face taut with fury.

  Obi-Wan watched him run at him with a strange detachment. It was as though he were in a dream. He made no move to dodge. He saw Kad's arm muscles bunch as he lifted the staff, gathering himself for the blow. Obi-Wan still did not move. He saw the staff whistle down toward his skull…

  At the last second, Kad twisted his wrist. The staff hit the table, splitting it in two. Kad dropped the staff. He stared down at the floor, panting. Then he raised his gaze to Obi-Wan.

  "I will never forgive you, Obi-Wan Kenobi," he rasped. "In my eyes, you will always be a killer." He kicked aside the staff and walked up the aisle toward the door.

  Obi-Wan stood frozen, Kad's words echoing in his brain. You will always be a killer.

  No matter how many meditations he had done, no matter how many talks with Qui-Gon he had had, nothing had done him any good. He could not wipe the guilt and shame from deep within himself. He knew that Kad had seen into his heart.

  In his own eyes, he was a killer, too.

  Twelve Years Later

  Chapter 11

  Obi-Wan moved quickly along the path that ran beside the lake. A fresh breeze moved across his skin and whispered through the branches overhead. Even after all these years, he had to remind himself that the breeze was caused by hidden cooling fans, the dappled shadow on the forest floor created by a series of illumination banks that mimicked the rise and decline of the sun.

  His footsteps slowed as he heard the calls and laughter of the Jedi students at the beach along the lake. Although he had received a message that he and Anakin were to report to Yoda, he wanted a few seconds of delay. Anakin had so few opportunities for play. He hated to interrupt him.

  They had been heading back from an intense physical workout when Obi-Wan had spied the students from Anakin's year heading to the lake. He had seen the longing in Anakin's eyes as the students dived into the cool water.

  "Go ahead," Obi-Wan had told him. "Take some time off."

  Anakin had looked at him uncertainly, but Obi-Wan shooed him off. It puzzled and worried Obi-Wan how much time his Padawan spent alone. Anakin had told him that he'd had good friends on Tatooine, especially a human boy named Kitster. He'd been at theTemplefor three years now, but he hadn't made one close friend, although he was well liked and certainly got along with the other kids.

  Obi-Wan had tried to talk to him about it, but the boy would just shut down. His eyes would turn opaque and the corners of his mouth would straighten into a thin line. He would seem very far away. Obi-Wan did not know how to reach him at such times, but they were infrequent and passed as quickly as a rain shower. When they'd met, Anakin had been a warm-hearted nine-year-old boy with an open nature. He was twelve and a half now, and the years had changed him. He had grown to be a boy who hid his heart.

  Obi-Wan had tried to show Anakin that friends he would make at theTemplewould be his for life. Obi-Wan's friends from his classes-Garen, Reeft, and Bant-were now roaming the galaxy. He didn't see them very often. But that deep tie was still there. He wanted the same for Anakin.

  Qui-Gon had been dead for three and a half years. Sometimes it seemed like an age, but most of the time it seemed like it had happened yesterday. Especially when he needed his Master's advice. He would always think of Qui-Gon as his Master. Qui-Gon had been torn from him too soon, and Obi-Wan still felt his presence at his shoulder. He even knew what Qui-Gon would say right now.

  You cannot make friends for your Padawan, Obi-Wan. You can only show him through your own actions how important connections are to you.

  Qui-Gon had done that. Obi-Wanwas still running into beings throughout the galaxy who came up to him and spoke reverently or glowingly or humorously of their deep friendship with his Master. Obi-Wan hadn't realized how many connections Qui-Gon had forged with the most unlikely sorts.

  Smiling, Obi-Wan paused behind a screen of trees. He couldn't resist a moment to see if Anakin was enjoying himself with the others. He scanned the happy, splashing group with the smile still on his face. It slowly faded as he realized that Anakin wasn't there. With a sigh, Obi-Wan turned away. He hurried to the nearest turbolift. He knew where Anakin was. The boy sometimes retreated to his own quarters.

  Obi-Wan exited at Anakin's floor and quickly made his way to the boy's quarters. As he reached them, the lower half of a protocol droid rotated out the door on its own. It was followed a moment later by a battered astromech droid, which tottered and then smashed into the wall.

  Obi-Wan paused. As expected, a split second later Anakin raced out the door and crashed right into Obi-Wan.

  "By the suns, I thought I had it this time," he cried, rebounding off Obi-Wan and crouching by the droid.

  "I thought you wanted to swim," Obi-Wan said.

  That shuttered look came over Anakin's face. "I hadwork to do," he muttered.

  Obi-Wan crouched by him. "This isn't work, Anakin. It's a hobby. And if you are using it to keep distance between you and your fellow students, it's not a helpful one."

  Anakin looked up, his bright eyes keen again. "But I'm making things, Master! Look, I've almost got this astromech ready for service."

  "Mechanical ability is a valuable skill," Obi-Wan said. "That is not what I meant, and you know it."

  "They don't want me," Anakin said flatly. He walked over and slung the legs of the protocol droid under one arm. "I'm not like them."

  Obi-Wan couldn't argue. Anakin was unique. There was no question about that. He was an exceptional student, much more in tune with the Force than others his age. He had come late to theTemple. It wasn't that the other students dislikedhim, they just didn't know what to make of him.

  When did it happen? Obi-Wan wondered again. Why did it happen? Was it the loss of his mother, followed so closely by the death of Qui-Gon? Obi-
Wan could not replace those people in Anakin's heart, nor did he wish to. He had hoped that with Jedi training andtheir own relationship, Anakin would come to find peace. He had not.

  "Yoda has requested our presence," he told Anakin, rolling the astromech droid back into Anakin's quarters.

  Anakin looked up, excited."A mission?"

  "I don't think so," Obi-Wan said carefully.

  Barely two weeks ago, Yoda and Mace Windu had expressed doubts that Anakin was ready for a mission. Anakin lacked discipline, they said. Obi-Wan disagreed. It wasn't so much a lack of discipline that caused Anakin to break rules and send his droids scurrying over theTemplecorridors. It was partially boredom, he thought. No matter what he threw at Anakin, the boy mastered it. He needed more challenges. Where Yoda and Mace Windu saw a lack of discipline, Obi-Wan saw an emotional restlessness that could not be cured by hard study or physical trials.