The Followers Read online

  sure why. Then he'd realized that almost exactly ten years had passed since

  he and Qui-Gon had first followed Dr. Murk Lundi to the Sith Holocron. The

  moons of Kodai would soon be in synchronous orbit, once again causing an

  amazingly low tide. And that was when attempts were made to recover the

  Holocron.

  "That is not all," Master Ki-Adi Mundi added. There was a moment of

  silence in the Chambers before he went on.

  "Jedi all over the galaxy have been receiving threatening messages

  about the Sith gaining power. Some of these messages contain images of Jedi

  being brutally killed."

  Mace Windu cleared his throat. "At first we believed these threats to

  be the work of trivial criminals out for attention," he said. "But given

  the dangerous nature of the information in the Holocron and the fact that

  the Sith have returned, we must treat these threats very seriously."

  "Take action immediately, we must," Master Yoda said, nodding

  slightly. "Fall into the wrong hands, the Holocron must not. Give the Sith

  such a victory, we must not."

  Standing before the semicircle of Jedi Masters, Obi-Wan had briefly

  closed his eyes. He could feel his body filling with dread and wanted to

  let it wash through him. Doing so had not been easy.

  Obi-Wan knew that he and Anakin were the obvious Jedi team for this

  mission. After all, he was more familiar with Lundi, the Holocron, and

  Kodai than any other living Jedi. But it was not an assignment he looked

  forward to - or even felt comfortable with. Not only was he without the

  help and guidance of Qui-Gon, but his Master had died at the hand of an

  emergent Sith Lord.

  "What's the matter, Jedi?" Lundi spat. "Lost in a memory?"

  Obi-Wan was jolted back to the moment. Something wet splattered

  across his face. Lundi's saliva.

  "You'd better wat - " Anakin started to shout protectively. But Obi-

  Wan quickly raised an arm to quiet his Padawan.

  Calmly wiping his face with the sleeve of his robe, Obi-Wan gazed

  back at the professor. He would not show anger or frustration. Though he

  desperately wished he could go on this mission without this crazed, evil

  being, he knew he could not. Their best chance of stopping anyone seeking

  the Holocron was to have Lundi's wealth of knowledge - however garbled and

  menacing - with them.

  Obi-Wan stared into the old Quermian's visible eye, searching for a

  glimmer of repentance or sanity. Either one would grant him a small sense

  of hope.

  But as Murk Lundi glared back at him, Obi-Wan saw neither.

  CHAPTER 14

  Anakin took a small step forward, trying to see into the Quermian's

  eye. It was a difficult task, since his head bobbed and weaved like a

  bird's. Anakin knew this to be a symptom of insanity. As a boy on Tatooine,

  he'd seen some of the street dwellers do the same thing.

  But this was different. Standing in front of Lundi's cell in the

  mental hospital, Anakin felt intrigued. There was something strong here -

  something powerful.

  Anakin noted how Lundi's uncovered eye narrowed to a dark slit as he

  glared at Obi-Wan. It burned with a fiery hatred. He'd never seen anyone

  look at Obi-Wan like that. It was a little unsettling. Of course, Anakin

  would have chosen unsettling and interesting over boring any day. Today

  someone had chosen it for him.

  Suddenly Lundi lunged forward, thrusting his head and long Quermian

  neck between the bars. Anakin leaned back as Lundi began to rant about the

  Holocron yet again.

  "Moons are moving. Tides are turning," he rambled. A few of his

  gangly arms waved in the air. "I knew you would not stay away. None have.

  They all come to me. Crying. Begging. Screaming. 'Teach me, professor. Show

  me the way.' They think I have failed. But we know different, don't we?" He

  stared Obi-Wan down, then went on, almost as if he were talking to himself.

  "Yes, of course we know different. We know I did not fail. I could not

  fail. I held the power. In my hands I held the power. That is different

  from failure. But then I was robbed! Robbed by robed thieves on a mission

  of peace. Here, Jedi. Have a piece of this!"

  Lundi's many shackled arms awkwardly thrust his food out of his cell,

  striking Obi-Wan in the face.

  Anakin looked at his Master, expecting to see some sort of reaction.

  But Obi-Wan didn't flinch. He simply stood before Lundi's cell with a stoic

  calm.

  "We need your help, professor," he said quietly, "to recover the

  Holocron."

  Professor Lundi looked up, clearly surprised. His eye widened and a

  smile stretched across his face, revealing two rows of decaying teeth. He

  put his face up to the bars again, and Anakin could smell his rancid

  breath.

  "At last you Jedi have found the right path," he cackled.

  CHAPTER 15

  It did not take long for Obi-Wan to arrange to have Lundi released

  into his custody. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and the professor were on a ship bound

  for Kodai by late afternoon.

  Once they had settled in, Obi-Wan tried again to talk to Lundi.

  Though the Jedi knew the Holocron had last been seen on Kodai, they were

  not sure if it was still there. And Obi-Wan felt certain that Lundi had

  additional information that would prove vital to finding the ancient

  artifact. Even if Lundi did not intend to help the Jedi, it was possible

  that there would exist unintentional clues in his torrent of words and

  abuse.

  Though he was hardly joyful, Lundi seemed glad to be out of solitary

  confinement. Rocking back and forth in his restraining cage, he gazed

  around the hold of the ship like a curious child.

  Obi-Wan hoped the change of scenery would help make Lundi more

  cooperative. He also hoped that the Quermian was lucid enough to provide

  accurate information.

  "The Jedi are not interested in using the Holocron to promote evil,"

  he said, facing Lundi directly. "Rather, we wish to have it recovered so

  that it can be permanently housed in a safe place."

  Lundi's eye glinted, and then he laughed. "You are nothing but a

  scared weakling - a cowardly boy," he cackled. "You haven't changed at all,

  and neither have the Jedi. I should have known that the Jedi would not want

  to tame the Holocron. They do not even have the strength to try."

  Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw Anakin leap to his feet.

  "Do not insult my Master!" he shouted. "He knows courage far better than

  you."

  "It is all right, Anakin," Obi-Wan said calmly, placing a reassuring

  hand on his Padawan's shoulder. "I am not vulnerable to insults."

  Obi-Wan watched Anakin turn away and sit down in the copilot's seat.

  Next to him, the pilot was nervously fiddling with the ship's controls. He

  was obviously agitated by the professor's ravings. But Lundi was now

  uncharacteristically silent. Glaring at the Jedi from behind durasteel

  bars, he did not say a word.

  Obi-Wan fitfully rolled over on his sleep couch. It had been more

  than a day since they'd boarded the ship, and nearly as long since Lundi

  had spoken. Obi-Wan
was now almost certain that Lundi knew who was after

  the Holocron - and how to get to it before they did. But the Jedi's

  attempts to pry information out of the professor had proved fruitless. He

  was locked in a battle of wills with a deranged lunatic, and the deranged

  lunatic had the upper hand.

  Obi-Wan closed his eyes and willed himself to relax. Across the room

  Anakin was sound asleep, the rhythm of his breathing echoing softly in the

  small space. Obi-Wan cleared his mind. If he didn't get some rest he would

  be at a disadvantage when they arrived on Kodai.

  Just as he was drifting off, a familiar voice came into Obi-Wan's

  head.

  There were others, Padawan, it said. Obi-Wan let out a long breath.

  The voice was Qui-Gon's. His deceased Master had always been there to help

  him, and still was - even in death.

  Others were involved in Lundi's search for the Holocron. Contact

  them. Perhaps Lundi told them something that would be of help to you now.

  Obi-Wan opened his eyes. Thank you, Master, he thought as he sat up.

  Getting to his feet, he quietly left the room. He wanted to contact Jocasta

  Nu as soon as possible. They had a couple of days before the low tide on

  Kodai. There was no time to lose.

  It did not take Jocasta long to locate two of the three students who

  had been closest to Lundi. Both Omal and Dedra were living on the same

  planet. Obi-Wan directed the pilot to change course. They reached Omal's

  apartment the next day.

  "Omal was one of Dr. Lundi's brightest students," Obi-Wan explained

  to Anakin after they made sure Lundi was secure and headed down various

  streets and alleys. "One of the most devoted followers. I'm hopeful he can

  give us information we can use to move forward."

  The two Jedi walked up a flight of rickety steps to a dingy-looking

  door. Before knocking Obi-Wan looked around and made mental note of the

  quickest retreat. Lundi's fame had diminished but there was no guarantee

  that his former followers would be friendly toward Jedi.

  When Omal opened the door, Obi-Wan knew immediately that he was no

  threat nor would he be able to help them. His clothing was dirty and

  disheveled. His shoulders drooped, and his eyes were constantly darting

  about, as if looking at any one thing for too long was incredibly painful.

  But most of all, it appeared as if Omal's mind was nearly as scrambled as

  Lundi's. Obi-Wan could almost feel his thoughts bouncing around in his

  head, bumping into one another and tangling themselves up in knots.

  "What do you want?" Omal asked. He glanced at the Jedi's robes, and

  his hands began to shake.

  Sadness and dread washed over Obi-Wan. What had happened to the

  bright-eyed boy he'd seen at Dr. Lundi's lecture ten years before? What had

  Lundi - and possibly the Sith Holocron - done to him? And what did that

  mean to the mission?

  "We just want to talk with you, Omal," Obi-Wan said softly. "May we

  come in?"

  Omal didn't reply, but turned away from the door. He meandered into a

  small living room, and the Jedi followed. Garbage was strewn across the

  floor and the furniture looked as if it would collapse at any moment. The

  air was stale and rank. Anakin briefly waved a hand in front of his nose,

  but Obi-Wan shot him a look that made the boy drop both hands to his sides.

  Obi-Wan quickly took in his surroundings, then turned toward Omal,

  who was standing awkwardly in the middle of the filthy room. He would have

  to be gentle with him.

  "We are Jedi on an important mission," he began. "We are trying to

  recover the Sith Holocron so that it can be kept safely. Did Professor

  Lundi ever mention the artifact to you?"

  At the mention of the Holocron Omal began to moan softly, rocking

  back and forth on his heels. Obi-Wan was about to ask something else when

  the front door opened and Dedra - the second student of Lundi's - came in

  with a bag of groceries.

  Obi-Wan was relieved to see that for the most part Dedra looked like

  herself. She was older and had a tired look in her eyes, but had retained

  her sanity. Resting the bag of food on her hip, she gestured to Obi-Wan for

  the Jedi to come into the kitchen.

  "We'll be right back," Obi-Wan said, excusing himself and Anakin. The

  two Jedi followed Dedra into the kitchen.

  "I am Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan said, "and this is my Padawan, Anakin

  Skywalker." Though he had seen Dedra at a lecture of Professor Lundi's,

  they had never actually been introduced.

  "Your name is not important," Dedra replied.

  "I know that you are a Jedi, and suspect that you are looking for the

  Sith Holocron."

  Obi-Wan nodded. "We wish to put it safely away - for good," he

  explained.

  A look of sadness spread across Dedra's face. "That would be nice,"

  she said. "It has already done so much damage to so many." She glanced

  toward the living room. Obi-Wan knew she was not talking about the ancient

  tyranny of the Sith.

  "Omal's mental state is fragile," she explained. "It is best not to

  mention Lundi or the Holocron in his presence."

  "I gathered that," Obi-Wan said, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Do you

  know what happened?"

  Dedra turned away and began to unpack some of the groceries. It

  looked as though she was going to feed Omal a meal. "I only know that he

  hasn't been the same since Professor Lundi's sabbatical ten years ago," she

  said.

  Dedra pulled some vegetables out of a bag and began to wash them.

  Obi-Wan noticed that her hands were shaking slightly, and she kept her eyes

  on what she was doing.

  "And that is all you know?" Obi-Wan asked, looking at her pointedly.

  Dedra sighed and her hands dropped into the water basin. "No, not

  all," she admitted.

  Obi-Wan waited patiently for Dedra to continue.

  "Ten years ago Omal followed Norval, another of Professor Lundi's

  star pupils, to Kodai. Norval was fixated on the Holocron, and had secretly

  joined one of the sects obsessed with obtaining it. He figured out that

  Lundi was going after it, and decided the professor needed his help. Omal

  wanted to stop Norval from interfering with Dr. Lundi's attempt. He thought

  that the kind of power Lundi was talking about would be too much for Norval

  to handle."

  Dedra switched off the water and turned toward Obi-Wan. "I don't know

  what happened, but it was obviously too much for Omal, too," she said in a

  whisper. "And since Professor Lundi has been institutionalized ever since,

  I guess it was too much for him, too."

  Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment, thinking. "What happened to Norval?"

  he finally asked.

  A tortured look came into Dedra's eyes. "I don't know," she said

  mournfully. "But the best I can hope for is that he is dead."

  CHAPTER 16

  Anakin's eyes widened. That was a terrible thing to say. Even when he

  was a slave as a young boy on Tatooine, he never wished that his life would

  end. Death seemed so permanent, so final.

  "We didn't know then that Norval had been obsessively studying Dr.

  Lundi's texts,"
Dedra explained quickly, seeing the reactions of the Jedi.

  "He'd developed a taste for power, and he desperately wanted it. The

  teachings had changed him."

  Anakin wasn't sure he understood what Dedra meant. He knew what it

  was like to want something badly. He'd wanted to win a Podrace on Tatooine.

  He wanted to free his mother. He wanted to become a Jedi. But he didn't

  think these desires actually changed him. They were simply part of who he

  was.

  Nobody said anything for several moments. Anakin sensed that his

  Master was taking everything in, trying to put all the information in place

  in his mind.

  Suddenly the silence in the kitchen was broken by the sound of Omal's