by Jude Watson
It was moments like this that he lived for. The night air, so crisp in his lungs. Danger so near. The Force around him.
If he could hang in the air forever like this, he would.
He landed lightly, precisely, on the edge of a heap, then jumped the rest of the way to the ground. Beside him, Tru landed safely as well.
Ffffffeewwwww!
Anakin jumped, pulling Tru aside. The venom hit only millimeters away.
They looked behind them. Three furious Manikons were trying to slide down the heap toward them. Junked parts were shifting and sliding.
"Time to go," Tru panted.
They ran. Behind them, the enormous junk heap collapsed in a cloud of dust. The cry of the Manikons was terrible.
Choking, Anakin and Tru kept running. They didn't stop until they reached the relative safety of the walkway.
They paused to catch their breath. It had been a close call.
They struck off in the direction of the lift ramp to the upper levels of Coruscant.
"Well, if you say so," Tru said.
Anakin looked at him, confused. "If I say what?"
"Your droid has a bad motivator," Tru explained. "What makes you think so?"
"The reactivate switch keeps cutting out. This is my second motivator. The first one just blew when I hooked it up. I spent two weeks rebuilding it, too."
"Then your problem isn't the motivator," Tru said. "Have you run a check on the sensory plug-in system?"
Anakin shook his head. "Nothing wrong with it."
"Maybe. But sometimes it can interface with the reactivate switch and cause the motivator to fuse. Did something funny happen with the vocabulator when the first motivator blew?"
"That's funny," Anakin said. "It went crazy. My droid started talking in Kyhhhsik."
"That's your problem, then," Tru said. "The sensor suite has a short. Sometimes in Protocol Droids it can trigger the vocabulator. It's a pretty simple problem to fix. Much more simple than a bad motivator."
Anakin glanced at Tru's tall, gangly body. Tru had never impressed him. Sometimes Anakin had wondered if his connection to the Force was strong enough to be a Jedi. Yet Tru had recently been picked as a Padawan by Ry-Gaul, a quiet and respected Jedi Knight. Anakin had wondered about that, too.
"I didn't know you knew so much about droids, Anakin said.
"I don't. I just picked up a few things along the way,"
Tru said. "I like to read manuals in my spare time. Droids.
Transports. Circuit boards. You name it."
Anakin tossed him the motivator part. "Here. I guess I won't need this after all."
Tru tucked it into the pocket of his tunic. "Thanks."
"That is, if you're right," Anakin added.
"If I'm not, you can have the part back."
Suddenly, Anakin began to understand why Tru had been picked by Ry-Gaul. There was the sense of assurance Tru had.
He gave off a sense of calm. That was unusual in a young student, even a Jedi. Anakin himself was aware that he felt confused and uncertain some of the time. He covered it well.
But Tru didn't seem to have an undercurrent. He was just Tru.
"Give me a summary when you're done with the analysis,"
Tru said.
"Of the droid?" Anakin asked.
"Of me," Tru answered. "Aren't you analyzing me right now?"
Anakin grinned and didn't bother to deny it. "I haven't come to any conclusions yet."
Tru took a bag of sweet figda candy from his pocket and tossed one to Anakin. "Too bad living beings don't come with manuals. Listen, I'm not very mechanical, but I'll help you with your droid problem, if you want."
Anakin was surprised at the offer, but he wasn't sure why.
Then he realized what it was.
It wasn't often that he was offered help.
Most assumed he didn't need it.
"Sure," Anakin said. Saying that one word opened a door.
He saw that suddenly. He had forgotten it. He had once known how to make a friend, and he had made friends easily. It was a skill he had lost.
His comlink signaled, and he groaned. He knew who it was.
"Where are you?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin looked around. He was still quite a few levels away from the Temple. At least a few hundred. If he told his Master that, Obi-Wan would know where he'd been, and why.
Tru suddenly stepped up closer. "Master Kenobi, it is Tru Veld. Anakin is with me. I asked his help on… a personal matter. We are returning to the Temple now."
"All right." Obi-Wan sounded surprised. "Come and see me, Anakin, as soon as you arrive."
Anakin turned off his comlink. "Thanks," he said to Tru.
"Obi-Wan wouldn't be happy if he knew where I'd been."
"Neither would Ry-Gaul," Tru said.
"If you're not so good at fixing droids, why were you there?" Anakin asked.
"I'm helping out Ali Alann," Tru said. "He has a droid helper in the nursery now. It needs a new motivator and the tech service department is running low. I thought j I'd surprise him."
Anakin felt ashamed. Here he had fought for the part for himself, and Tru was doing a good deed. He sighed. It was times such as this he wondered if he'd ever become a Jedi.
Students like Tru had a dedication he feared he lacked.
They hurried back to the Temple. It was dark and quiet as they checked in. They headed for the lift tube.
Obi-Wan came around the corner. He frowned when he saw Anakin's stained tunic and dirty face.
"Where have you been?" he asked sternly.
Tru and Anakin looked at each other, then began to speak at once.
"You see, Ali Alann — " Tru began.
"The tech service department has shortages — Anakin started.
Obi-Wan held up a hand. "I don't want to know.
Good night, Tru."
Tru nodded respectfully and hurried off to his quarters.
Obi-Wan turned back to Anakin.
"Anakin, these late hours will do you no good if you have to leave early on a mission the next day."
"But I don't have a mission tomorrow," Anakin said.
"Ah. Are you so certain of that, young Padawan? Do you see into the minds of the Jedi Council?"
"The Jedi Council wants to see us," Anakin guessed, excitement rising in him. "You mean we have a mission?"
"We shall see," Obi-Wan said neutrally. "They've asked for our presence before dawn tomorrow. So get some sleep. If I see one yawn tomorrow, I'll forbid you to go outside the Temple grounds at all."
Chapter Three
The next morning, Obi-Wan headed for Anakin's quarters. He knew that Anakin would be ready at the precise time he had been told. Anakin might push the rules, but he knew when to toe the line.
Anakin was waiting outside his door in a fresh tunic, his face bright with eagerness in the dim light. The glow rods were kept low at this hour to keep a meditative hush in the Temple halls. Most Jedi were asleep or meditating.
Anakin swung into step beside him. Obi-Wan knew that his Padawan was waiting for an admonishment about the night before, but Obi-Wan had already moved on. The sight of Anakin with Tru had stirred him. The two young Padawans had exchanged a conspiratorial glance, and rather than being nettled by it, Obi-Wan had enjoyed it — though he would never let Anakin know it. Perhaps Anakin had made a friend.
Obi-Wan was also glad that Anakin had an independent spirit. It would serve him well as a Jedi Knight the years to come. What his Padawan needed was training in cooperation and dedication to the greater good, upheld by the Jedi Order. He did not know how to suppress his own needs and desires in order to serve. How does one teach loyalty and self-sacrifice? Obi-Wan wondered. Was it something that could be taught?
The mission teaches when I cannot.
Qui-Gon's words again. Obi-Wan had come to realize that in addition to preparing him to be a Jedi Knight, Qui-Gon had prepared him to be a Master as well. He had often let him in o
n his thought processes, even on his own struggles to be a good Master. Qui-Gon's advice often rose in his mind, centering and calming him, much as Qui-Gon himself had done.
Over the years since Qui-Gon's tragic death, Obi-Wan had come to know how even searing grief could leave behind not only sorrow, but peace. It had been one of the great lessons of his life.
"You are thinking of Qui-Gon." Anakin's voice was soft.
Startled, Obi-Wan turned to his Padawan. "How did you know?"
"Your face. It changes." Anakin shrugged. "Sorry knot inside you loosens. Something smooths out. I it happening."
"Stop being so perceptive," Obi-Wan chided gently.
"Now you are not thinking of him at all," Anakin replied, mischief in his eyes. "The knot is back."
"And you have tied it," Obi-Wan answered, accessing the Council room door.
The full Council had not yet assembled. Only Yoda and Mace Windu were present, speaking quietly by the window. The lights of Coruscant still sparkled outside. The sun had not yet risen. A few air taxis made their way down the space lanes. In only an hour or so those lanes would be crammed with traffic.
Obi-Wan was surprised to see two other Jedi Knights in the room with their Padawans. Obviously this mission was going to be a big one. He gave short bows to Ry-Gaul and Soara Antana. Ry-Gaul's Padawan was: Tru Veld, Anakin's companion of the night before. The tall, elegant Master towered over his Padawan. Obi-Wan did not know Ry-Gaul very well, though he knew his reputation. He was a grave, silent Jedi who did not speak much but was widely respected for the depth of his knowledge of the galaxy. Soara Antana was a legend. Her lightsaber skills had set her apart even as a young girl.
Like Obi-Wan, she had recently become a Jedi Knight. Her Padawan, Darra Thel-Tanis, was the same age as Anakin.
Darra, a slender girl with lively eyes, took her place next to the sturdy, muscular Soara.
The Jedi Council members filed in and took their laces.
Yoda and Mace Windu came away from the window and sat. They exchanged a glance but did not start the proceedings. What were they waiting for?
The doors hissed open again, and Siri strode in. Obi-Wan hid his smile. He should have known. When he had known Siri as a young Padawan, she had been strict about rules and regulations. But ever since she had gone undercover to trap the slave pirate Krayn, he had noticed a difference in her.
She seemed a little restless, less inclined to listen wholeheartedly to the Council. Obi-Wan didn't mind the change. Siri had always seemed just a bit too inflexible.
Now she even looked like a rebel. Her blond hair was cropped short, unlike the other Jedi Masters. Instead of a tunic and cloak, she wore a close-fitting unisuit made of leather. She nodded at him and took her place next to her Padawan, Ferus Olin.
Mace Windu's stern gaze swept over them all. "Thank you all for your punctuality," he said, giving Siri a pointed look that only caused her chin to lift and her lips to quirk in a small, apologetic smile. "We have an emergency mission that requires the service of four Jedi teams. You are to travel to Radnor, a planet overcome by a toxic disaster. Radnor is a small plan known for its research and development of high- tech weapons systems. A toxic cloud has been accidentally released by one of their weapons laboratories and is quickly spreading. Many have died; many more have become ill. So far the damage has been confined to one area."
"Two main city-states there are on Radnor," Yoda said.
"Twin cities, they are called. Tacto and Aubendo. Small cities they are, each with their own governing ministers.
Prevailing winds they have on Radnor. The winds sent the toxic cloud directly to Aubendo. Confined there the toxin has been. Yet no one knows exactly how it has spread."
"Since it is a new agent, there are many unknowns. It could be ingested into the lungs or through the skin," Mace Windu continued. "The agent is not a gas, but an organic substance carried by the air. It could possibly be spread from one being to another — we don't know this, either. The second city of Tacto has been spared as of yet."
"Change the prevailing wind will," Yoda said. "Then bring it will the toxin to the second city."
"At first Radnor dealt admirably with the disaster," Mace went on. "The officials mobilized quickly to meet the catastrophe. The afflicted city of Aubendo and the surrounding area was cordoned off and is now called the Isolation Sector. Tacto is known as the Clear Sector and there have been no cases so far. But as Tacto saw how severely afflicted Aubendo became, as they saw the numbers of deaths increase so that not one being was spared, they began to panic. The governing ministers of Tacto fled the planet. Anyone who could afford to joined them. There are now no more transports left on the planet to take those who could go. Anarchy and panic have taken over. So the Senate is stepping in. Evacuation vessels capable of transporting the remaining Tacto population are headed to Radnor and will arrive in three days."
"Surprised you look, Obi-Wan," Yoda observed.
"Merely that the Senate has acted so quickly," Obi-Wan said. Mired in bureaucracy, the Senate sometimes took months to debate a simple issue.
"Dire, the situation is," Yoda said, nodding. "Bail Organa was responsible for this quick action."
"There will be room for the sick as well as for those who haven't been exposed," Mace Windu went on. "But on the planet's surface there is panic among the healthy population, for they are afraid that there will not be enough room. Corrupt lower officials are taking bribes, so it is also feared that the sick will never make it off the planet at all."
"Chaos begun cannot be ordered so easily," Yoda said.
"You must go in and ensure that the evacuations take place in a peaceful and orderly manner," Mace said. "There are still those who survive in Aubendo, and their places on the evacuation ships must be assured. There is looting and unrest in Tacto, so the Jedi must keep the peace as well.
It is a volatile situation that means life or death for many, so we have decided that four teams are needed."
"Transport you must medications to the sick on the planet," Yoda added. "And leave you must this morning."
"A Senate transport is waiting," Mace Windu concluded.
"May the Force be with you."
Chapter Four
The Senate transport slid into orbit around Radnor. No transports were allowed to land on the planet. They would take a small cruiser to the surface.
Anakin stared down at the planet. From space, it looked blue-green, and he knew that vast seas covered much of the surface. The main landmass was small, and appeared as thought the seas around it would swallow it up.
He had visited other worlds since he'd become a Padawan.
It no longer surprised him when he saw planets whose surfaces were dominated by oceans and seas. As a boy, he could not imagine seas that could stretch as far as the eye could see. On Tattooine, he had lived in an ocean of sand.
"Hard to imagine, isn't it," Tru said, breaking into thoughts. "When you look down at a planet, I mean."
"What?" Anakin asked.
"Suffering," Tru said. "Everything seems peaceful from orbit. Then you get down there, in the middle of things, and everything changes."
"How many missions have you been on?" Anakin asked.
"Enough," Tru said softly. "Enough to have seen what I've seen. Enough to know I will see more."
It sounded like a riddle. Yet, strangely, Anakin knew what he meant. Each mission made him feel so much older. Each mission had exposed him to sadness and anger and grief.
Nevertheless he looked forward to the next, and the next.
That was what Tru meant.
"This is my first mission." Darra Thel-Tanis spoke behind them. She had not said much on the journey, instead studying the research materials the Council had provided. She had lively, rust-colored eyes and a piece of bright fabric woven through her long Padawan braid. Her energy crackled. Anakin could almost feel it in the air when she was near. "So I'm depending on you two to make me look good." Darra gave Tru and Ana
kin a cheerful grin.
Obi-Wan came by and put a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "It's time to board the cruiser."
The four Jedi teams — Anakin and Obi-Wan, Tru and Ry-Gaul Darra and Soara, and Ferus and Siri — made their way to the cargo bay. They settled into the cruiser and Siri took the controls.
Ferus Olin sat up front next to her, the light glinting off the streaks of gold in his thick dark hair. Anakin watched his profile. It was strictly emphasized in the Jedi Temple that no student was better than another. Different students had different gifts. Yet Ferus had them all. He was steady and brilliant, a physically gifted athlete, and popular with all the students. He was a few years older than Anakin, and the Masters were still talking about him long after he had gone on to become a Padawan.
