Jedi Apprentice 9: The Fight for Truth (звёздные войны)

by Джуд Уотсон

  "I don't feel anything," Siri said. "But I don't have that kind of connection to Adi yet. Maybe someday we'll work together as well and you and Qui-Gon."

  It was a backhanded compliment, but it was the first time she'd acknowledged that Obi-Wan had more experience than she did.

  They reached Davi's door. Quickly, they cut a hole and climbed through.

  Davi rose on his elbows, shocked to see Obi-Wan and Siri climb into his cell.

  "What are you doing here?" he whispered. "You'll get us all in trouble."

  "It could get worse than this?" Siri asked, waving her lightsaber at the bare cell.

  Davi didn't smile. He lowered back onto his sleep mat and curled into a ball. "I'm sure it could," he said. "Go away."

  "Davi, you have to come with us," Obi-Wan said urgently.

  "You have to trust us," Siri added.

  "I only trust the Guides," Davi said. "They show me the way to the General Good. They monitor it. They know it. I trust them."

  "That's the voice talking," Obi-Wan said.

  "I do not trust my friend or neighbor," Davi 112 whispered. "I trust the Guides." He looked at them pleadingly. "This is all I know. Please go away."

  Siri stepped forward and sat on the floor next to Davi. "There are many things in the galaxy that are good, Davi. If Kegan let in the good things from outside, it would be a better place. Perhaps some of the illnesses you have here are now curable. Like the Toli-X Virus."

  Davi rose on his elbows again. "B-but that is incurable. My parents died of it."

  "A cure was discovered shortly after the virus began to sweep the galaxy," Siri said gently. "If Kegan had been in touch with the rest of the galaxy, many would have been saved. I'm sorry to tell you this."

  "I don't believe you." Davi shook his head back and forth. "The Guides don't lie. The Guides don't lie."

  "Davi, why are there so many med facilities here at the Re-Learning Circle?" Obi-Wan asked him.

  "Because the children cannot be cured," Davi said. "If they are in sight of others, it is bad for the General Good."

  "If an animal was hurt, would you lock it away, or would you try to cure it?" Obi-Wan asked. "This place is wrong, Davi. You must know that."

  Davi looked up at them, stricken.

  "We are your friends," Siri said urgently. "We would not lie to you.

  You know that we come from another world. We have seen these things." She stood. "Will you come with us?"

  Davi hesitated. Outside in the hall, they heard the footsteps of a guard. Would Davi turn them in?

  They heard the footsteps walk by, then fade.

  Davi stood. "I'm coming with you."

  Obi-Wan and Siri reached out and each put a hand on Davi's forearm.

  They smiled at each other.

  "Wait." Davi looked at them hesitantly. "Can I take Wali?"

  Siri and Obi-Wan exchanged a glance. Rescuing someone else would take time and could endanger them. But they couldn't refuse Davi.

  They nodded.

  Davi squatted by the wall. Carefully, he eased out a stone from the wall. He plucked out a small furry creature and slipped it into his pocket.

  "All right. I'm ready."

  They moved quietly down the hall. Suddenly, a faint, mewing cry split the silence.

  "Davi, you have to make Wali be quiet," Obi-Wan advised him.

  "That wasn't Wali," Davi whispered.

  They heard the cry again. It was muffled, and Obi-Wan realized now that it came from one of the rooms off the hall. Then he felt it — "It's a baby," Siri breathed.

  "It's 0-Lana," Obi-Wan declared.

  They were almost to the wall when Qui-Gon felt the surge in the Force.

  But all he saw was a field of green grain.

  "They are here," he said to Adi.

  She nodded. "I feel it, too. But where?"

  Qui-Gon crouched down. He put his hands on the dirt. He closed his eyes. "Here."

  He felt vibrations. Running footsteps.

  "We've been spotted," Adi said.

  They activated their lightsabers as the Security Guides thundered toward them. The Guides were armed with blasters.

  The Guides were not used to skilled opponents. Qui-Gon and Adi used their lightsabers to deflect fire only. Working in perfect tandem, they flanked the guards and spun and evaded while they maneuvered them backward.

  A utility shed stood at the edge of the field. Qui-Gon and Adi moved the Guides back toward it, step by step. The Guides stumbled, tried to rally, and fell back.

  When they were almost to the shed, Qui-Gon circled around and opened the door. Then he leaped over the Guides to face them again. Together with Adi, he drove them into the shed. Then they closed and locked the door.

  "Now what?" Adi Gallia asked. "No doubt they are calling for help on their comlinks."

  "We find the way in," Qui-Gon said.

  Obi-Wan and Siri quickly cut a hole in the door.

  They found themselves in an infirmary. Children and young people lay on sleep couches. Some were hooked up to monitors. Others were attached to tubes. Some of them opened their eyes as the Jedi passed, only to stare at them dully. Obi-Wan wondered if they were given sleep potions.

  O-Lana lay in a crib with high sides. Crying softly, she pulled herself to her feet when she saw Obi-Wan and Siri.

  "You must not cry, O-Lana," Obi-Wan told her soothingly.

  She stopped crying. Then she held out her arms and looked directly at Davi.

  After a glance at Obi-Wan and Siri to make sure it was all right, Davi picked up the child and cradled her against his chest.

  "I'll protect her as we go," he promised.

  They hurried out of the infirmary and headed for the exit ramp. The next guard patrol was moments away.

  But luck wasn't with them. They turned the corner and ran straight into a group of Security Guides about to change shifts.

  Surprised, the Guides fumbled for their weapons. Obi-Wan and Siri activated their lightsabers. They glowed in the dim hallway, and the Guides stopped momentarily, even more surprised. They had never seen lightsabers before.

  "Stay behind us, Davi," Obi-Wan ordered.

  He and Siri moved forward. This time he knew she would not fight for herself. She would fight with him, for all of them.

  Blaster fire pinged around them, and their lightsabers met it, a blur of speed and motion. They covered each other and leaped high, dropped to one knee, reversed direction, changed hands, all without pausing. Protecting O-Lana and Davi was their only objective.

  An alert sounded. One of the Guides must have activated it. The halls rang with a clanging alarm. Obi-Wan heard footsteps pound behind them. Soon they would be surrounded.

  "This way," he called. He pushed Davi and 0-Lana gently down an adjacent corridor.

  The Guides followed, a mass of bodies in chromasheath armor, blasters firing. The small missiles fired by the beam tubes thudded into the walls around them. The air began to fill with smoke.

  Obi-Wan and Siri pressed on. They could see the exit ahead. But Obi-Wan didn't know whether they could protect Davi and 0-Lana, continue to fight the Guides, and activate the ramp. It would take time to figure out how the ramp was operated. There was most likely some sort of key or code. Their backs would be against a wall. Siri glanced over at him, and he knew she had thought of the same problems ahead.

  More Guides suddenly appeared, running down an adjacent corridor.

  Obi-Wan felt sweat trickle down his back as he deflected a sudden burst of blaster fire. Would the battle end here? Would they have to surrender in order to save 0-Lana and Davi?

  Just then he heard a whirr and a clicking sound. The door slid open. A ramp shot up to the surface and fresh air flooded the hall. A split second later, Qui-Gon and Adi raced down the ramp, their lightsabers activated.

  With one quick glance they took in the situation, then leaped into the fray.

  The Security Guides had gained confidence as their numbers increased. />
  But four Jedi were too much for them. Their blaster fire was deflected back relentlessly. They had to keep diving to the floor or ducking behind carts to avoid it.

  Finally, they simply dropped their weapons and ran.

  The Jedi turned to one another. The battle was over. Obi-Wan took O-Lana from Davi's arms. He handed her to Qui-Gon.

  "I bet you've been searching for this," he said.

  Qui-Gon looked over 0-Lana's head at him. "I have been searching for you, too, Padawan. I am glad to have found you."

  [Image001] When the citizens of Kegan found out what was happening in the Re-Learning Circle, they revolted. They were horrified that children were hidden away and put in solitary confinement for questioning authority or having a chronic ailment. It violated everything O-Vieve and V-Tan had claimed Kegan valued.

  Every citizen packed the Gathering Circle to debate the problem.

  Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Adi, and Siri observed as V-Tan and O-Vieve were voted out as Benevolent Guides. A new council was swiftly appointed. Soon debate raged regarding travel outside Kegan. At last a vote was taken. A majority favored sending an envoy to the Galactic Senate. In the meantime, they would petition the Galactic Senate to send medical and scientific advisors to the planet to bring Kegan up to date.

  Soon after, the Learning Circle was closed.

  Students returned home to their families. They were given a short vacation until a new schooling system could be set up. People opened their homes to the orphans from the Re-Learning Circle, and the rest returned to their parents.

  It was time for the Jedi to leave. They stood with Nen, Melie, and Davi at the landing platform. Melie handed Lana to Siri.

  "Nen and I have decided that it is best for Lana to go," she said, tears in her eyes. "I have seen what the Jedi are and what they can do. We must honor her gift."

  "O-Vieve and V-Tan were right about many things," Nen said, touching his daughter's cheek. "One of them is that we must sacrifice for the General Good. It is better for Lana, better for the galaxy, if she is able to be taught completely."

  "We shall care for her and honor her," Adi Gallia said. "She will grow wise in the ways of the Force, and her life will be one of service."

  "I can ask for no better life for my daughter," Melie said.

  Nen put his arm around Davi. "And a new child has come into our lives.

  Davi has agreed to stay with us."

  "If he can stay away from the Animal Circle," Melie teased. "Our friend Via works there. She is teaching him how to care for the animals."

  "I will never forget you," Davi told Obi-Wan and Siri shyly.

  Obi-Wan put his hand on Davi's forearm. "We will always be your friends, Davi."

  "If you ever need us, you have only to summon us," Siri told him.

  "Safe journey," Nen said. "We are grateful to the Jedi for working to restore our world to justice."

  Nen, Melie, and Davi walked away. Siri brought Lana into the ship to settle her in for the journey. Adi went inside to do her last-minute checks.

  Obi-Wan took a last look at Kegan from the landing platform. "This world was a puzzle to me," he said. "I still don't understand how an entire planet could place its trust so blindly in visions and dreams."

  "I'm not surprised," Qui-Gon said. "All living beings find comfort in a truth that makes their lives easier to bear. Here on Kegan the people did not have the strife or hunger that we've seen on other planets. Why should the people question a system that brought them ease and comfort?"

  "But their freedom was an illusion," Obi-Wan argued.

  "We do not know if 0-Vieve and V-Tan's visions were wrong, Padawan,"

  Qui-Gon said thoughtfully. "O-Vieve's vision of the future was clouded, but that doesn't make it invalid. Perhaps she just misinterpreted what she saw."

  "That I don't believe," Obi-Wan said. "I can't imagine one central evil controlling the whole galaxy. That would be impossible."

  "I hope we do not see it, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said. "But we cannot say it is impossible. Haven't you experienced enough of chance and evil in the galaxy to realize that?"

  Obi-Wan shook his head stubbornly. "She saw darkness coming from the Jedi itself. That could never happen."

  Sun suddenly burst through the clouds overhead, dazzling Qui-Gon's sight. The glare caused Obi-Wan's features to blur and dissolve. For a moment, Qui-Gon didn't see the boy. He saw an elder man, alone, living on a desolate planet, his only companions his dark memories.

  Qui-Gon felt the same shiver he'd experienced in O-Vieve's presence.

  Did he just have a vision of himself as an elder? Was that the dark vision 0-Vieve had seen for him?

  Then a sudden truth pierced him. That isn't me. It is Obi-Wan.

  Or was it?

  The sun retreated behind the clouds. The world became clear again.

  Qui-Gon studied Obi-Wan. He saw the familiar boyish features, the shining eyes. He found reassurance in the sight of his youth. The future is not fixed, but fluid, he told himself. Visions did not have to come true.

  "Qui-Gon, are you all right?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Perhaps we should not speak of evil and darkness just as we've completed a successful mission," Qui-Gon suggested lightly. "Let us enjoy this moment. Justice has returned to Kegan."

  "And if darkness lies ahead of me, I will fight it," Obi-Wan resolved.

  Qui-Gon put a hand on his shoulder. "We will fight it together, Padawan."

  "I thought children were revered on Kegan," Obi-Wan said, his cheek in the dirt.

  A boot was suddenly placed on his head. His face was pushed farther into the dirt. "No back talk. You know very well that truancy is a criminal act on Kegan. You're old enough to be punished for it."

  "But we're not Keganites!" Siri protested.

  "I've heard all the excuses. Shut your mouth."

  "We're from another world. We're visitors," Siri insisted furiously.

  "Take your boot off my friend's head."

  The boot was removed from Obi-Wan's head and landed on Siri's shoulder.

  "Sure," the man said.

  Enough, Obi-Wan thought. He struggled to rise, but the electro-jabber had done its work. He knew he wouldn't regain full use of his arms and legs for several more hours. It would be impossible to use his lightsaber effectively until then. Besides, he'd been instructed not to show Keganites that he was a Jedi. Obi-Wan tried to roll closer to Siri but couldn't move.

  He watched helplessly as the boot increased pressure on Siri's shoulder, driving her face into the dirt.

  "What did I say about back talk?" the man asked again.

  Siri gritted her teeth. Her vivid blue eyes blazed. She spat out the dirt in her mouth. Still, she didn't answer.

  "V-Tarz!" A voice boomed from behind them. Instantly, V-Tarz took his boot off Siri's shoulder.

  Obi-Wan saw another man approach, wearing the same navy chromasheath tunic as V-Tarz.

  "Why are these students on the ground?" the second man demanded.

  "Resisting capture," V-Tarz responded.

  "No need to use physical force," the other man said. "We've discussed this before. The Learning works with love, not fear. Take them to class."

  Obi-Wan was hauled to his feet. He locked his knees so that he would not fall. Siri did the same.

  "But we're not Keganites," Obi-Wan protested to the second guard, who seemed more friendly. "We're visitors."

  The second guard's dark gaze flicked over Obi-Wan and Siri. "No one visits Kegan. Three marks for lying." He turned away. "Take them to class."

  V-Tarz nudged them with the handle end of his electro-jabber. "You heard V-Brose. Get moving."

  "Let's make a break for it," Siri murmured to Obi-Wan as they stumbled across the yard, their muscles like pudding.

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  Document ID: 916705d5-36eb-4906-a99d-463402b0c447

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  Document creation date: 22 August 2010

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