The Followers Read online

he'd been troubled by the dark side. He'd felt frustrated, vulnerable, and

  afraid.

  Anakin did not appear to be feeling any of these things. No, it was

  something else.

  Obi-Wan saw the boy walk up to Lundi's cage and stare at the

  Quermian. He did not show any fear. Instead he seemed... fascinated.

  His Padawan was extremely curious about Lundi and what had turned him

  into an insane criminal. In fact, he seemed drawn toward the power that had

  corrupted Lundi and Omal.

  This curiosity worried Obi-Wan.

  Of course Anakin had not seen the power of the dark side the way that

  Obi-Wan had. He had not witnessed his Master being cut down by a Sith Lord.

  He had not been nearly killed himself.

  After such a close experience Obi-Wan was well aware of the threat

  the Sith posed if they regained all of their ancient power. And recapturing

  the knowledge contained in a Sith Holocron would be a large step in that

  direction. It could be devastating for the entire galaxy.

  Obi-Wan shuddered at the thought before letting it fade to the back

  of his mind. He needed to sharpen his focus and bring his attention back to

  the moment, and his Padawan.

  The boy needed guidance, Obi-Wan knew. A decade earlier, his own

  Master had skillfully led him in the right direction - away from anger and

  frustration. It had kept Obi-Wan firmly on the Jedi path. When Qui-Gon

  died, Obi-Wan had promised to give that guidance to Anakin.

  Obi-Wan remembered Anakin's angry outburst at Lundi when they were

  first on the ship. Anger was dangerous. Perhaps he should be warning his

  apprentice about the dark side - that it was an easy path to power, but

  also to self-destruction.

  The problem was, he did not know how to put the words together. He

  did not know exactly what to say. And whenever he offered Anakin this kind

  of guidance, the boy brushed it aside. It was almost as if Anakin thought

  that the things Obi-Wan was trying to warn him about did not apply to him.

  With a sigh, Obi-Wan wished that Qui-Gon were still alive. He would

  know just what to say, what to do. He would be able to get through to

  Anakin.

  "I think we're being followed," the pilot said after they came out of

  hyperspace, breaking into Obi-Wan's thoughts.

  Obi-Wan rose and approached the controls. It was not unlikely, he

  realized. Whoever sabotaged the ship could easily be on their tail.

  Obi-Wan carefully searched the ship's detection system. He found

  nothing.

  Soon they landed safely on Kodai. After instructing the pilot not to

  leave the planet, Obi-Wan led Anakin downtown.

  "We need to get to the water soon," Obi-Wan explained as they made

  their way up the main street. The tide was already going out, but they

  weren't going to wait for it to hit its lowest point. If they did, they

  might be too late; they had to beat Norval, or whoever was after the

  Holocron. This time they had to get there first.

  Anakin looked around. "There's not much here, is there?" he asked.

  "No," Obi-Wan replied. "There was a huge tidal wave several hundred

  years ago, and many Kodaians were killed. Most of the survivors fled the

  planet. Those who remain await another giant wave, and in their minds,

  certain death."

  Anakin grimaced. "That's pretty bad," he said.

  Obi-Wan laughed. "I agree, Padawan." Then his expression grew

  serious. "I would not choose to live my life in such a way. But the

  Kodaians did not choose, either. It would be difficult to have a history of

  loss."

  Anakin was thoughtful as they scoured the town. "You'd think there'd

  be diving shops everywhere," he finally said. "Practically the whole planet

  is sea."

  "True. But the people are afraid of it," Obi-Wan reminded him.

  "They seem afraid of us, too," Anakin said. "Whenever we pass

  someone, they move more quickly and look away."

  "You are observant, Anakin," Obi-Wan said proudly. "Kodaians do not

  feel comfortable around strangers."

  After checking the tide and finding it was not yet the right time to

  dive, the Jedi made their way back to the ship. Many Kodaians went out of

  their way to avoid them on the streets. Others stopped to stare at them.

  And a few shouted warnings about the deadly sea and its hidden evils.

  "Master," Anakin suddenly said. His voice was quiet, almost hesitant.

  This was unusual for the boy. "I have something to tell you."

  Obi-Wan stopped and turned toward his Padawan. "What is it?" he

  asked.

  "I found a holoprojector when we were at Omal's apartment. It... it

  had a message on it, one of the messages Master Ki-Adi Mundi told us about.

  "

  Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "A message showing a Jedi being killed?" he

  asked.

  Anakin nodded.

  For a moment Obi-Wan did not know how to respond. This was important

  information - not something an apprentice should keep from his Master.

  "Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked in a raised voice.

  "I... I didn't think it was important," Anakin mumbled. "We already

  knew the messages existed, and you wanted to get back to the ship."

  Obi-Wan stared at his Padawan. He never would have considered keeping

  this kind of information from Qui-Gon. As a Jedi team, it was essential

  that they share every piece of knowledge they gathered. They had to trust

  each other. Completely.

  With a jolt, Obi-Wan realized that Anakin might not totally trust

  him. Why else would he keep something like this from him?

  As Obi-Wan stared down at his Padawan learner, an awful thought crept

  into his mind: He wasn't sure he completely trusted Anakin, either.

  "You should have told me immediately," Obi-Wan said sternly. "Be sure

  that you do so next time."

  Anakin looked down at his feet. "Yes, Master," he said.

  Without another word, Obi-Wan turned away and continued down the

  street.

  The Jedi were silent as they walked back to the ship. Inside, Dr.

  Lundi was asleep in his cage, his loud snores filling the hold. He woke

  abruptly when the Jedi entered.

  "Can't a prisoner get some sleep around here?" he grumbled, wiping a

  line of drool off his chin with one hand and rubbing his eye with another.

  "Not when he has agreed to provide important information," Obi-Wan

  replied flatly. "I need you to answer some questions about your last

  journey to the bottom of the Kodaian sea. It's time for you to tell us what

  you know."

  The professor glared at Obi-Wan for several long seconds. It was true

  that he had agreed to answer questions in exchange for the chance to look

  upon the Holocron once more. "Go on," he finally said.

  "Ten years ago you came to Kodai to go after the Holocron," Obi-Wan

  said. "And one of your star pupils came after you."

  "Norval," Lundi said, nodding. "He was my star pupil. Had such a

  hunger for knowledge."

  "Dark knowledge," Obi-Wan noted, looking pointedly at Dr. Lundi.

  Lundi shrugged. "It is not my responsibility how the boy used what he

  learned. I was only the teacher. I simply passed the information along."

  Lu
ndi's casual response made Obi-Wan angry. He obviously took his

  powerful position as a teacher very lightly. Didn't he understand the

  effect he had on people? Didn't he know he was responsible for the

  destruction of at least one young life?

  "But Norval was strong - stronger than even I knew," Lundi went on.

  "He got to the Holocron first. He brought it up still inside its vault. We

  fought over it, and it fell into the geyser crater."

  Obi-Wan closed his eyes as disappointment surged inside him. Though

  he'd known that the Holocron could have fallen deeper into the pocketed

  seafloor, he'd hoped it wasn't true. It meant that the Holocron was very

  far down.

  And located inside a gushing geyser that was incredibly treacherous,

  even at the lowest tide. The Holocron could easily be so far down that no

  one would be able to retrieve it. But what if it wasn't?

  Obi-Wan was not feeling confident about anything on this mission. Yet

  he had no choice but to move forward - before someone else did.

  CHAPTER 20

  Anakin squinted into the darkness as the loaded gravsled zoomed over

  the exposed sea-floor. The tide was already partially out, and soon they

  would be traveling over the water.

  "That way," Obi-Wan said, pointing off to the left. They were the

  first words he'd spoken to him since their argument. Anakin felt badly

  about not telling his Master about the hologram message sooner, but wasn't

  sure why it was such a big deal. He did tell him, didn't he?

  Anakin turned the vehicle. Beside him, Dr. Lundi was staring through

  the bars of his portable cage. His eyes were wide, and he couldn't sit

  still. He seemed like an excited child.

  He can't wait to see the Holocron, Anakin thought. The ancient

  artifact had quite a reputation to live up to. As he increased the

  gravsled's speed, the young Jedi secretly hoped that it would.

  The gravsled zoomed over the water, heading straight toward the

  crater. Anakin thought he saw something sticking up above the shallow sea.

  It looked like a diving platform.

  "Just ahead," Obi-Wan said. Anakin could hear the disappointment in

  his Master's voice. He pulled the gravsled up beside a platform piled with

  equipment and cut the engine.

  Obi-Wan stared down at the water suit and air tank. "Someone has

  already been here," he said. "I only hope they haven't found the Holocron."

  Anakin scanned the surface of the sea. He could feel a powerful, dark

  energy surrounding them. But he wasn't sure if it was because the Holocron

  was still below, or because it had been there for years.

  "The Holocron is gone," Lundi cackled. He waved his arms, smacking

  several against the top and sides of his travel cage. "He came back.

  Norval's got it."

  Obi-Wan pulled on his breather and gestured for Anakin to do the

  same. In spite of Lundi's words, the Jedi couldn't leave this time until

  they were certain that the Holocron was not still under the sea. After

  checking to make sure that

  Lundi's cage was anchored securely to the gravsled, they dove into

  the water.

  Obi-Wan led the way down the side of the crater to the rocky shelf

  below. It was a long way down and Anakin felt a surge of excitement as they

  dropped lower and lower. This was a mission.

  Once they were on the shelf, it was easy to locate the geyser - a

  huge mass of hot water gushed out of it every several minutes. That didn't

  leave them much time to investigate what was below.

  Anakin dove down into the crater after his Master, kicking as hard as

  he could. There was nothing in front of him except the inky blackness of

  the deep sea. He could barely see his Master's legs moving back and forth

  just a few meters in front of his face. At last Obi-Wan lit a glow rod.

  Down, down, down they swam. Anakin's ears popped several times from

  the pressure, and the water got warmer and warmer.

  After what seemed like several minutes, Anakin caught a glimpse of a

  sinister red glow several meters in front of them, rising from the

  seafloor. His breath caught in his throat as he came to a halt. The water

  here seemed to pulsate with energy, and he had to concentrate to stay in

  one place. The same appeared to be true for his Master.

  Obi-Wan gestured for Anakin to stay put and cautiously swam forward

  toward a glowing vault. Anakin saw his legs move back and forth, then stop.

  Obi-Wan thrust his glow rod into the tomblike box. It was empty. A second

  later Obi-Wan had turned around and was pointing up. He wanted Anakin to

  head back to the surface.

  Anakin wondered how long they'd been down there. Five minutes? Six?

  There wasn't much time before the geyser would blow again.

  Turning around as quickly as he could, he bolted for the surface. But

  swimming up was not easy. It almost felt as if something was holding him

  down, keeping him in the geyser. Kicking hard, he moved slowly upward.

  Anakin's legs were aching when he felt a small gush of warm water

  rush past him. With a series of furious kicks, he surged ahead. He did not

  want to be anywhere nearby when the geyser erupted.

  Finally the geyser walls disappeared and the Jedi were once again in

  open water. Sprinting forward, they moved away from the geyser mouth just

  as a giant burst of scalding water shot out.

  The Jedi wasted no time getting back to the gravsled. Now that they

  knew the Holocron was not there, they had to get back to civilization as

  soon as possible.

  Anakin pulled off his breather and started the gravsled. They were

  practically moving when Obi-Wan climbed out of the water.

  "It was gone," Lundi declared, looking at the Jedi's empty hands.

  "Clever. The boy is clever - more clever than I thought. I should have

  suspected. Yes, suspected. He almost had it the last time, he did. Until

  Omal got in his way. Lucky for me. Unlucky for him. Omal gave me a chance

  to attack - to get the Holocron for myself. But Norval was a formidable

  opponent. I have to hand it to him..."

  Lundi's voice trailed off as he lost himself in the ten-year-old

  memory.

  "Where would Norval take the Holocron?" Obi-Wan asked.

  Professor Lundi crossed several arms across his chest. "A deal, a

  deal," he said defiantly. "We had our deal. I told you secrets for a chance

  to see the Holocron. But I didn't see it, did I? The game is up, up, up.

  And you lost. The boy has the Holocron. The boy. Ha!"

  Anger swelled inside Anakin. He waited for his Master to do

  something, to shake some sense into the old loon. But Obi-Wan was silent as

  he stared glumly at the professor.

  Wearing a sinister smirk, Lundi looked from Anakin to Obi-Wan.

  "Though I doubt the boy actually knows what to do with it," he added under

  his breath. "But at least he's not cowardly like you and the rest of your

  robed friends."

  That's it. Anakin switched off the gravsled and lunged at the

  professor. He could smell the old Quermian's rancid breath as he leaned in

  close to his face.

  "This isn't funny, wormhead," he said furiously. "Your boy may not

  know what to do with t
he Holocron, but the Sith will."

  The smile disappeared from Professor Lundi's face as he stared back

  at Anakin. He dropped all of his gangly arms to his sides.

  "I suspect you know your history, professor," Anakin shouted, forcing

  the Quermian's long neck farther and farther back. "And that you're well

  aware if the Sith gain power it's not just the Jedi who will die."

  CHAPTER 21