The Followers Read online

  throng.

  Obi-Wan made a sharp left turn. Using his peripheral vision he saw

  his pursuer stop for an instant, as if unsure of which way to go. A moment

  later, he continued to follow Obi-Wan.

  Relieved, Obi-Wan moved ahead. He zigzagged through a crowded

  marketplace, barely pausing to look at the delectable fruits and vegetables

  sold at various stands. Several vendors called out to him, aggressively

  trying to sell their foods. Obi-Wan's stomach growled. Unfortunately there

  was no time for a snack.

  On the far side of the open market, Obi-Wan ducked behind a stack of

  crates. His tracker passed by quickly, but by the time Obi-Wan emerged from

  his hiding place he had disappeared again. Quickly scanning the crowd, Obi-

  Wan pressed on. But he was not able to find a lone figure in a helmet

  wandering the streets.

  Obi-Wan was beginning to worry that he had failed his assignment when

  he suddenly spotted a flutter of gray fabric ahead. Hurrying forward, he

  saw the figure vanish around a corner.

  He definitely looks humanoid, Obi-Wan thought. But male or female?

  Obi-Wan rounded the corner quickly and nearly collided with a group

  of seedy-looking characters. Annoyed by the intrusion, two of the group

  glared openly at the Jedi. A third pulled out a blaster and leveled it at

  Obi-Wan's chest.

  "Wrong turn," he growled. His arm was heavily bandaged above the

  wrist, but the heavy blaster did not waver in his hand.

  Obi-Wan kept his eyes on the man's face as he pulled his lightsaber

  from his belt. Had he been at Dr. Lundi's lecture on Coruscant? Or on the

  ship? The young Jedi had been fairly sure that he and Qui-Gon were the only

  passengers to disembark besides the professor.

  "I'm afraid this is your unlucky day," another thug spat.

  Obi-Wan stepped forward slightly and ignited his lightsaber. That

  action alone was usually enough to intimidate an adversary. But the thugs

  didn't back down. In fact, now there were two blasters aimed at him.

  "Ah, a lightsaber," one of the armed lowlifes mocked. "But does he

  use it wisely for power and vengeance, or foolishly for peace?"

  The rest of the thugs smirked, and Obi-Wan's mind jolted. He'd heard

  those words before, and recently - at Dr. Lundi's lecture. These lowlifes

  were obviously familiar with Lundi and his work. Was this an ambush? Obi-

  Wan wanted to ask, but one of the hoodlums fired before he could get a word

  out.

  Obi-Wan swung. Too late. The bolt grazed his shoulder, and he felt a

  hot pain tear through his flesh. He ignored the fierce throbbing as he

  leaped forward and swung again. This time he hit his target and severed a

  thug's finger from its hand.

  The lowlife howled in pain. "You can't win, Jedi," he growled.

  Clutching his wounded hand, he fled deeper into the alley. His wide-eyed

  companions were quick to follow.

  After clipping his lightsaber to his belt, Obi-Wan checked his

  shoulder. The throbbing had subsided. The wound was minor and would heal

  quickly.

  By the time Obi-Wan stepped into the open street, he had lost track

  of his pursuer. He stood completely still for a few moments, refocusing his

  energy to determine which way he should go. The answer was not entirely

  clear.

  Obi-Wan started off in a new direction, heading away from the crowded

  marketplace. The city center soon gave way to large, storehouse‑type

  buildings. Obi-Wan was satisfied that his pursuer was long gone when he

  sensed Qui-Gon's presence. Obi-Wan stopped before one of the storehouses.

  Then, doubling back to the door, he ducked inside.

  Obi-Wan knew immediately that his Master was not alone in the

  storehouse. Murk Lundi was here as well. Moving carefully behind large

  crates and machinery, Obi-Wan made his way toward the center of the large

  room. Soon he could hear two men carrying on a conversation.

  "I need a Nolarian 6000 drill immediately," one of the voices said.

  Obi-Wan recognized it as Dr. Lundi's.

  Peering out from behind a vehicle, Obi-Wan saw that Lundi was talking

  to a machinery dealer. The dealer was holding a large wrench and his

  forearms were covered in grease.

  "Don't have one," the dealer said flatly. "There's a shortage. And

  the way the mining safety committee has been watching us, there will be for

  a good while."

  "I need a 6000. Today," Lundi repeated.

  The dealer sighed, as if he got requests for enormous subaquatic

  drill rigs all the time. "Are you listening?" he asked, annoyed. "I said I

  don't have one. And I don't know when I will."

  Lundi stared at the man, clenching and unclenching his many hands

  into fists. His face contorted into a twisted scowl.

  Behind the machinery, Obi-Wan suddenly felt a little hazy. His vision

  blurred and the voices around him echoed in his ears. From somewhere in his

  daze he realized that Dr. Lundi's anger was affecting him. Yoda had told

  Obi-Wan that anger and hatred clouded one's mind but he'd never felt this

  muddled by someone else's anger before. Jedi Master Yarael Poof had amazing

  powers of Force suggestion. Perhaps all Quermians were telepathic.

  By concentrating hard, Obi-Wan was able to clear his vision and his

  head. He focused on what was transpiring in front of him. Lundi was now

  shouting at the machinery dealer.

  "Pathetic weakling," he raged. "Only a fool would let such

  technicalities interrupt his business."

  The dealer stood staring at Lundi, frozen.

  Lundi turned and stormed toward the storehouse door. "I have the

  power to find it without your stupid machinery," he told himself. His

  several arms waved forcefully through the air. "It is simply a matter of

  timing. Yes. I just have to time it right."

  What does that mean? Obi-Wan wondered as he followed Lundi out of the

  storehouse. His Master was not far behind, and the two Jedi stepped out

  into the street as if they had been together the whole time.

  Lundi, however, had vanished.

  CHAPTER 6

  Qui-Gon noted Obi-Wan's injury as well as the scowl on his face as

  the young Jedi peered down the street. There was no sign of anyone. Like

  Obi-Wan, he was wondering where Lundi could have gone so quickly. But he

  had witnessed stranger disappearing acts.

  Obi-Wan turned back toward his Master. His mouth was slightly open,

  as if he were about to say something. But at that moment a third figure

  fled in the opposite direction. Without so much as a nod to each other, the

  Jedi gave chase.

  The figure retreated down an alley and disappeared into a narrow

  walkway between two buildings. The Jedi followed close behind, nearly

  colliding into a duracrete wall. A dead end.

  Qui-Gon ran his fingers along the wall's surface to see if it was

  some kind of temporary barrier. The wall seemed permanent and solid, but

  the elusive figure was nowhere to be found.

  "This mission is making me crazy!" Obi-Wan said, exasperated. "We're

  not getting anywhere!"

  Qui-Gon gazed steadily at his Padawan. Then he bent to take a closer

  look at the
boy's wounded shoulder.

  "I was surrounded by a street gang," Obi-Wan said more quietly, but

  he couldn't keep his frustration in check. "They were looking for trouble

  and when they found I was a Jedi they wanted to stop me even more." Obi-

  Wan's voice grew louder and he pulled away from his Master. "I don't

  understand how there can be so many people after us when we hardly know

  what we are after ourselves!"

  The young Jedi's response was not appropriate, of course. A Jedi

  Knight did not throw temper tantrums. But this mission was frustrating. In

  addition to the humiliation of being injured by a band of ruffians, Obi-

  Wan, he realized suddenly, was feeling anger fed by close contact with the

  dark side. It was essential that he be patient and guide him in the right

  direction. If he didn't, the boy could take a fateful turn and be lost to

  him forever.

  "You must not let the nature of this mission disturb you so, Padawan,

  " Qui-Gon said calmly.

  "I know it is difficult. We are dealing with a powerful evil. But

  becoming angry only takes you a treacherous step closer to the dark side."

  Obi-Wan looked down at his feet, as if ashamed of his anger.

  "Anger and fear of the dark side are easy paths," Qui-Gon went on, as

  if Obi-Wan had spoken of his shame. "It is not difficult to let negative

  emotions overtake you. It is difficult to let them move through you and

  leave without reacting to them. Yet that is exactly what you must do."

  Obi-Wan nodded, and Qui-Gon sensed that the boy understood in his

  head what, he was telling him. But he also knew that it was much harder to

  feel it in one's heart.

  Without speaking, Qui-Gon turned and left the dead-end alleyway,

  heading back toward the street. "Let us review what we do know," he said as

  he strode forward. In truth he did not feel as confident about how to

  proceed as he appeared. But he wanted to give his Padawan a sense of

  positive direction.

  "We know that Dr. Lundi has a large and zealous following of students

  - and many others as well. There are Sith Sects throughout the galaxy and

  they are very likely in touch with one another. That could explain why so

  many people are anxious to stop us. We know Lundi is after a Sith Holocron,

  and that he needs difficult-to-obtain mining equipment to get it. Or at

  least he would have liked to have had the equipment to go after it. We also

  know that there is some question of timing, and whether Lundi can manage

  the powerful Holocron on his own."

  "Those are just the rantings of a delusional student," Obi-Wan

  pointed out. "One who was desperate to be included on the trip."

  Qui-Gon paused in his step, but only slightly. "True," he agreed.

  "But we have received accurate information from far stranger sources."

  Obi-Wan did not respond, and Qui-Gon did not pressure him any

  further. The boy needed time to process his emotions.

  The Jedi decided to head back to the hangar. If they moved quickly

  they might be able to steal aboard Dr. Lundi's newly hired ship before it

  departed.

  Making their way back toward the marketplace, Qui-Gon pulled his

  comlink from his utility belt. It was time to contact the Jedi Council.

  This mission was anything but ordinary, and he wanted to keep Yoda informed

  about how it was developing.

  He was surprised by the information that Yoda had for him.

  "Information about another, larger collection of Sith items we have,"

  Yoda said gravely. His voice was steady, but Qui-Gon sensed that the wise

  Jedi Master was alarmed nonetheless. "An anonymous informant it was."

  Qui-Gon listened intently to everything Yoda said, pausing in the

  street several times. Obi-Wan slowed alongside him, his eyes registering

  curiosity and concern. When the transmission was finished, Qui-Gon sighed

  heavily. He was beginning to get a bad feeling about all of this.

  "They've discovered other Sith artifacts," Qui-Gon began.

  "I thought it was something like that," Obi-Wan said with a serious

  nod. "What did they find?"

  "A whole storehouse full of partially constructed weapons and

  devices, and copies of Dr. Lundi's texts and teachings," Qui-Gon replied.

  "The trademark drawing of a Sith Holocron was on the wall."

  Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment as they continued to head back to the

  hangar. "Where was the storehouse?" he finally asked.

  "Umgul, in the Mid Rim," Qui-Gon replied. He quickened his stride

  slightly. The sooner they got back to the hangar, the better.

  Obi-Wan kept up with his Master. "Nowhere near the first stash," he

  said thoughtfully.

  "Exactly," Qui-Gon agreed with a nod. Though he and his apprentice

  had only recently become aware of them, Sith Sect followers were becoming a

  hard, cold fact of life.

  Qui-Gon moved past an alien selling electronic gadgets and a humanoid

  female pushing a loaded fruit cart.

  Do they study the Sith? he wondered.

  A small crowd of people suddenly appeared in front of Qui-Gon, and he

  momentarily lost track of his apprentice. Normally this would not have

  bothered him. It was impossible to keep his eyes on his Padawan at all

  times. But for some reason this time it was disturbing.

  Before he could weave through the cluster, blaster fire rang out.

  CHAPTER 7

  Obi-Wan had his lightsaber activated in less than a second. But with

  the screaming hoards of people on all sides of him, it was difficult to

  tell where the bolts were coming from. Focusing his energy, he stood

  completely still for a nanosecond, then slashed out, ignoring the pain in

  his shoulder. He successfully deflected three bolts before the firing

  stopped.

  Screams of panic echoed around him long after the firing was over. In

  the aftermath it was nearly impossible to be certain of the origin of the

  shots. Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber amid more screams and stares.

  Luckily, nobody appeared to be hurt.

  Suddenly Qui-Gon was by his side again. His Master did not need to

  speak for Obi-Wan to know that there was no use trying to pursue their

  assailant. The issue at hand was finding the most direct escape route.

  Qui-Gon led the way through the crowd to a secluded area outside the

  market. They were just getting their bearings when more blaster fire rang

  out - and whizzed past Obi-Wan's head, nearly grazing an ear. Obi-Wan

  dropped, then quickly got back on his feet. It was definitely time to

  return to the hangar.

  As they raced through the streets, Obi-Wan wondered if life on Nolar

  was always this hazardous or if the Jedi had been targeted specifically. If

  so, by whom? The thugs in the alley? How large a network of Sith Sects

  could there be? And who was informing them?

  Another blaster bolt whizzed past them, but it missed the Jedi by

  nearly a meter. They were getting away.

  Obi-Wan ran after his Master. He appeared to be taking a roundabout

  path, probably in an attempt to lose their pursuer altogether. As they

  turned corners and wove through the streets, they gradually left their

  assailant behind.

  Finally the Jedi arrived
back at the hangar. Obi-Wan rushed inside

  and skidded to a stop, but the ship Lundi had hired was gone. Its pilot was

  lying in a heap on the floor.

  The Jedi rushed to the pilot. His large rust-colored head lay on the

  ground at an odd angle. There was an ugly lump at the base of his neck, and

  one of his long arms was draped over his closed eyes.

  Squatting down beside him, Qui-Gon took his pulse. "It's weak and

  slow, but it's there," he reported, sitting back on his heels.

  "Do you think he's been drugged?" Obi-Wan asked, looking over the