The School of Fear Read online

  uneasily. It was clear he was worried he'd said too much. "They're doing

  extra security checks - and I'm late for class. One more demerit and I'm

  suspended. Not that having to leave this place would break my heart. But it

  just might break my old man."

  "Go," Obi-Wan told him. "We'll handle it from here."

  Reymet suddenly looked lost. "I really hope you find him. I like him a

  lot." Reymet hurried out the door.

  Obi-Wan peered into the pipe. He could see where the dust had been

  disturbed, but it was impossible to tell by whom or by how many.

  "After you," Siri said.

  Obi-Wan climbed into the pipe. He had to stoop and move slowly because

  of his size. Siri had an easier time.

  "Hurry," she urged him.

  "Would you like to go first?"

  "If I could get around you, I would."

  Obi-Wan saw light at the end of the pipe and quickened his pace. He

  slid out of the pipe onto a springy floor. He realized that it was covered

  in moss. The large space had a damp, moldy smell. Mildew marked the walls

  in cloudy patterns. The smell was close and dank.

  "This must have been some sort of holding tank," Siri said. She took

  out a glow rod and held it up. "Makes sense if that was a water pipe."

  Obi-Wan felt the floor suck at his boots. "There's a couple of

  passageways. Any ideas?" He turned to Siri, but he already felt the Force

  move in the space. She was looking keenly about her, sending out the Force,

  trying to reach her Padawan. Obi-Wan joined her, calling on the Force to

  help them locate Ferus.

  They turned at the same moment and headed for the passageway to their

  left. They could feel it now. The Force had entered the dank, dark space,

  and they knew Ferus was near.

  Siri held her glow rod aloft. "I think we're in the old water

  treatment system. See the inflow pipes'?"

  "These are holding pens for the water," Obi-Wan said, peering into the

  rooms as they passed. Some of the chambers still had their durasteel panel

  doors. Others had doors that were half rusted away, or had been removed.

  The Force grew stronger. Ahead they saw a chamber with an intact door.

  It was bolted to the wall with a new lock.

  Siri withdrew her lightsaber. Within seconds, the metal peeled back,

  giving them an entry to the chamber.

  Ferus sat in the middle of the room. He quickly stood, facing them. "I

  am sorry for needing rescue, Master," he said to Siri. "I am sorry, Master

  Kenobi."

  "We all need rescue sometime," Obi-Wan said.

  "Some more than others," Siri said, grinning at Obi-Wan.

  Ferus was so different from Anakin, Obi-Wan thought. Anakin would have

  smiled at him as soon as he entered. It's about time, he would have said.

  Or maybe, I hope you brought my lunch. He felt an intense need to find his

  own Padawan. Added to the feeling was the fury that he was gone at all.

  "What happened?" Siri asked Ferus. "Are you all right? Where is your

  lightsaber?"

  "It's hidden in my room." Ferus made a face. "One of several of my

  mistakes. I came down here looking for Gillam without stopping there first.

  I thought if I found him I could prevent Anakin taking off with the secret

  squad. Instead, Gillam found me."

  "Gillam?" Obi-Wan asked, surprised.

  Ferus nodded. "He was never kidnapped. He staged it himself."

  Obi-Wan felt a surge of impatience. He should have examined this

  possibility. He hadn't been able to imagine a son doing such a thing to his

  father. No matter how much he'd seen in his life, no matter what evil he'd

  faced, he was still capable of surprise at a son's resentment of a powerful

  father. It always surprised him, how personal a betrayal could be.

  "I don't understand how he could have imprisoned you," Siri said with

  a frown.

  "I was exploring, and I found a hiding place," Ferus said. "It's just

  down this corridor. His datapad was hidden in a drain behind a lock, in a

  plastoid sleeve. I was just trying to access it when I heard someone

  coming. It was Gillam and a few members of the secret squad. I was able to

  conceal the datapad but they got my comlink."

  "What did they do?" Obi-Wan asked. He felt dread invade him. So the

  secret squad was involved.

  "They thought I was just a nosy student," Ferus said. "I decided not

  to resist because I didn't want to blow my cover, or especially Anakin's.

  They didn't know what to do with me. They were afraid I'd report them. They

  searched me, but I used the Force to redirect them, so I was able to hang

  onto Gillam's datapad. Then they put me in here. Gillam brought me food,

  but I haven't seen him in hours."

  Ferus held up the datapad. "They left me alone, so I was able to read

  this. First of all, look - it has a Senate seal."

  Obi-Wan took it. He recognized the symbol of Andara on the back. "This

  belongs to Berm Tarturi." He thought a moment. "Maybe Tarturi was right.

  Someone did break into his office and go through his things. But it was his

  own son."

  Ferus nodded. "That's not all. There are ransom notes on this pad. Two

  of them have been sent. I think Gillam plans to pin his own kidnapping on

  his father."

  "Why would he do such a thing?" Siri asked. "Does he hate him so much?

  "

  "He must," Ferus said. "But that's not the only thing. Are you in

  contact with Anakin?"

  Obi-Wan shook his head. "He hasn't reported in. He must be traveling

  or even on leria by now, but his comlink has been turned off."

  Ferus looked grave. "The last letter in the file takes responsibility

  for Gillam's death. It hasn't been sent yet, but it's timed to go out in

  five hours.".

  "He's going to frame his father for his own murder?" Obi-Wan said.

  "But how?" Siri asked. "He'll need a body. There will be some kind of

  investigation."

  "That's what I've been thinking about," Ferus said quietly. He ran his

  hands through his hair in a rare gesture of agitation. "What if Gillam

  planned to produce a body? Someone similar in age and build, someone who

  looks a little like him. They could plant text docs on the body, or near

  it."

  "They'd have to count on a great deal of chaos and confusion," Siri

  said. "There are many tests that can be done to determine identity."

  "The secret squad is going to help start a war between Andara and the

  rest of the planets in the system," Obi-Wan said. "They may not realize it,

  but they will. That will certainly create chaos." He suddenly realized what

  Ferus, brooding in this damp cell, had already put together. "They just

  need a body." He thought back to the information he had on Gillam, to the

  boy's height and weight and coloring. "And they've chosen - "

  "Anakin," Ferus said.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  "If this doesn't work, I don't know you," Rana Halion said. Her spiky

  white hair seemed to bristle like fur as she surveyed the secret squad.

  Marit nodded. "Understood."

  "But it had better work," Rana Halion added. "It will," Rolai said.

  Rana Halion's transparent blue eyes swept the group. She sighed. "If

  you didn'
t come so highly recommended, I wouldn't believe it," she

  murmured. "You look like a bunch of kids."

  Anakin had to agree. Rolai was skinny and pale beneath his Bothan

  mane. Ze was plump. Tulah always looked as though he had just woken from a

  nap, and Hurana appeared slight and shy.

  But he had seen that Rolai was tough, almost ruthless, Ze could

  dissect and solve any technical problem in five minutes or less, Tulah had

  a brilliant mind for strategy, and Hurana had convictions and no fear.

  Marit was smart and resourceful. He would put his own trust in this squad.

  Rana pushed a contact button on her gold cuff and watched as a digital

  coded message flashed at her. "I don't have much time. Who is your lead

  pilot?" Anakin stepped forward. "I am."

  Rana looked at him intently. Anakin thought it could have been the

  most intimidating glance he'd ever experienced - if he hadn't grown up at

  the Temple. Once you've faced Jedi like Mace Windu, no one else could

  intimidate you. He did not drop his own gaze and met hers without

  flinching.

  She gave a short nod. "You seem competent. Can you pilot a

  starfighter?"

  "I can fly anything."

  "I almost believe it," she murmured, giving him another glance. "Do

  you know how to fire laser cannons at a target?"

  Anakin glanced at Marit. "I thought there was to be no active firing."

  Rana looked exasperated. "Who's in charge here?" "We all are," Rolai

  broke in crisply. "And we all know how to fire laser cannons. We've been

  over this."

  "Have you thoroughly briefed the squad?" Rana asked, raising an

  eyebrow skeptically.

  "Not with the final details," Rolai said smoothly. "We were waiting

  for the exact time of departure and target details."

  Rana glanced at her cuff again. "Do it then. You can inspect the

  starfighters. You leave in thirty minutes."

  Marit exploded as soon as Rana was out of the room. "What was that all

  about? What do you mean, you haven't briefed the squad? What do you know

  that we don't know? We're supposed to vote on everything!"

  "Calm down," Rolai said with a glance at the door to make sure Rana

  was out of earshot.

  "Don't tell me to calm down," Marit answered hotly. "Tell me the

  truth!"

  "The mission just changed a bit," Rolai said. "We're supposed to fire

  on the fleet."

  "Fire on the fleet?" Anakin asked. "But that's a declaration of war!"

  "That's not our problem," Rolai said. "We're hired to do the job.

  That's all."

  "Wait," Marit said. "Why didn't you tell us this?" She looked at Ze,

  Hurana, and Tulah. Their gazes slid away. "You all knew, and I didn't?"

  "I didn't know, either," Anakin pointed out.

  But no one was paying attention to Anakin. "We all voted to wait to

  tell you until we got here," Hurana said. She didn't meet Marit's hot gaze.

  "We thought you might object," Rolai said. "After the last mission,

  you had some misgivings about organic damage."

  "Organic damage?" Marit said in disbelief. "Is that what you're

  calling it now? They were living beings!"

  "Marit, what do you think we're doing?" Rolai asked. "This isn't

  school. It isn't a game. We all agreed we would start this as a business

  and run it as a business. We all agreed that we would make our own

  destinies."

  "That's the point," Marit said angrily. "We all agreed. We didn't

  leave someone out."

  "I get your point, Marit," Rolai said. "Now let's move on. Here we

  are. Are you going to join us, or not?"

  Anakin watched Marit's face. He could see that she was torn. No one

  cared what he thought, but he would throw his support behind Marit if she

  voted to back out.

  "I'm in," she said in a low tone.

  The group looked relieved. Even Rolai did, although he tried to hide

  it.

  "Hold on," Anakin said. "What about me? I'm part of the squad. Don't I

  get a vote, too?"

  Rolai gave him a glance that was so neutral Anakin felt a chill. It

  was as though Anakin wasn't even there.

  "We don't have time for this," Rolai said. "Let's inspect the

  starfighters."

  Rana Halion suddenly appeared again. "We have a slight change in the

  timing of the attack. We need to go over the coordinates and warning

  systems now. You'll have to come to the briefing room."

  Rolai gestured to the group. "Let's go."

  "While you're doing that, I'll check out the starfighters," Anakin

  said. "I need to look at the controls and see if I can handle them."

  Rolai gave him a glance. "I thought you said you could fly anything,"

  he hissed so that Rana could not hear.

  Anakin shrugged. "I sure hope I can," he murmured. "I don't tell you

  everything. But then again, you don't tell me everything, either. Do you?"

  Rolai shot him a murderous look. "We're coming," he called to Halion.

  "You," he whispered angrily to Anakin, "check out those starfighters.

  You're going to have to give the rest of us some quick lessons."

  Anakin waited until the group had left with Rana. Then he hurried to

  the hangar. There wasn't much time. He didn't have a choice now. He

  couldn't let the mission go through. He had to disable those starfighters.

  He knew that now. He was nowhere near discovering what happened to Ferus or

  Gillam, and he was about to start a war. He was probably breaking every

  Jedi rule in the archives.

  The lerian starfighters were modifications of the Delta-6 Aethersprite

  that he was used to. Anakin knew every bolt on the engine. He thought for a

  minute. He needed to disable something that would show up as a warning

  light midflight but wouldn't put the ship in danger. He wanted to give the

  pilots plenty of time to turn around and land. It would have to be

  something that would immediately lead them to abort the mission.

  The laser cannon capacitors. Anakin swung open the maintenance panel.

  Small tools were snapped onto the panel within easy reach. He selected a

  small servo-driver and within minutes had disabled the capacitators.

  He started toward the next ship, wondering if he should alter the

  engine cooling system just enough to cause the engines to overheat

  slightly. That might add a little urgency to the decision to abort the

  mission...

  "What are you doing?"

  Marit's voice echoed across the hangar. Anakin paused and peered

  around the control panel.

  "Just a little tweaking."

  She walked forward and peered into the system controls. "Do you think

  I'm stupid, Anakin? You've neutralized the laser cannon capacitators. I've

  studied the blueprints of this engine. I came back to see if you needed

  help. I guess you don't, do you?" She turned and looked at him. Their faces

  were very close. He could see the speculation and the disappointment in her

  eyes. "Why?"

  "You don't think we should go on this mission, either," Anakin said.

  "I voted to go." Marit's voice was firm. "The group rules."

  "But I'm part of the group! The rule is that all decisions must be

  unanimous. Why isn't Rolai letting me vote?"

  Marit shifted fro
m one foot to the other. "He says new members

  shouldn't have full voting privileges until they've completed a mission - "

  "And did you vote on that, or did Rolai just tell you?" Marit's

  silence told him what he needed to know. "So I'm supposed to risk my life

  without having a say in what we do? Do you think that's fair?"

  "Do you think it's fair to sabotage our engines to get what you want?"

  Marit's voice rose challengingly. "How could you do this? I trusted you! I

  brought you into the group!"

  Marit's brown eyes held anger and reproach. Anakin felt it was time

  for the truth. He owed her that.

  "I'm a Jedi," he said. "I'm not really a student at the Leadership

  School. I was sent there to investigate Gillam Tarturi's disappearance."

  "Gillam?" Marit was surprised.

  "Don't you want to know what happened to him?" Anakin asked. "And

  before we left, Ferus Olin disappeared. What if Rolai had something to do

  with it? What if he's funding the squad with ransom money? He's the one in

  charge of your treasury, and he's the security expert. He's the one with