Obi-Wan focused the Force like a laser. Then again, we all need to eat.
"Then again, we all need to eat," the guard said. "Don't move, there! I'll push it inside."
Obi-Wan heard the lock fall away. He stepped away from the door. It opened, and a cart began to roll toward him, completely filling the doorway. Obi-Wan sprang forward. He pushed against the cart with all his strength, again using the Force to help him. The heavy cart shot back, straight into the guard.
The delivery boy gave the cart an extra shove as it flew by. It slammed against the wall, pinning the guard. He let out a cry of anger and pushed against the heavy cart. It didn't move.
The delivery boy took off his long-billed cap. It was Jono.
"Nothing like teamwork," he told Obi-Wan, grinning.
"Thanks for the rescue," Obi-Wan said gratefully.
They ran down the hall and burst into a deserted office. The faint streaks of a rising sun filtered through the window. Obi-Wan hesitated.
"My lightsaber," he said. "And my comlink — "
"We can't search now," Jono interrupted. "They'll all be here soon." He tugged at Obi-Wan's elbow. "Prince Beju has jailed the Queen. She's refused all food.
I'm worried, Obi-Wan. I think she's dying. Come on!"
An early-morning hush lay over the city. The gray light was tinged with pink.
Galacians were beginning to stir. Cafes were beginning to open along the main boulevard as they hurried by.
"I spoke to the other Council members," Jono told Obi-Wan. "It was a risk I had to take. They want you to meet with them to discuss what to do about Giba.
They've formed an alliance against him. Imprisoning the Queen was a mistake.
Giba and Prince Beju have gone too far."
"First I have to see someone," Obi-Wan told Jono.
Jono shot him an incredulous look. "But there's no time to lose. Today is election day, Obi-Wan!"
"This is important, Jono," Obi-Wan said firmly. "I have to stop at the substance analyzer's. If he's identified the agent, we'll have proof that the Queen is being poisoned. We need that proof."
Jono shook his head. "We can't, Obi-Wan. The Council Ministers are waiting. I promised to bring you there immediately."
"If we know what is poisoning the Queen, there might be an antidote," Obi-Wan argued.
Jono bit his lip. "But-"
"It's this way," Obi-Wan said, pointing down a side street. He turned the corner, knowing Jono would follow.
It was only a few quick minutes to Mali Errat's lab. It was shuttered and dark, but Obi-Wan pounded on the door. Mali stuck his head out of a window on the second story. His fringe of white hair made a wispy halo around his head.
"Who is it?" he roared. "Who comes so early in the morning!"
"It's me, Mali!" Obi-Wan called. He stepped out into the street so that the technician could get a good look at him.
"Impatient young man! Where have you been?" Mali cried, pounding excitedly on the windowsill. "I have your results. I'll be right down." Seconds later, the door opened. Mali stood in the doorway in his unisuit. A datasheet fluttered in his hand. "I am a genius!" he proclaimed.
"What did you find?" Obi-Wan demanded.
"I searched every record of chemical agents in the galaxy," Mali said. "Every engineered compound, every secret poison, every chemical… and do you know why I could not find your agent?"
Obi-Wan shook his head impatiently.
"Because it was a natural agent!" Mali roared.
"What a surprise! Who uses them anymore? No one! It is dimilatis. An herb! It grows in the sea plains of Gala. A pinch or two is harmless. But the local people know that if it's dried, and used in certain concentrations, it mimics the effect of a wasting illness. Ultimately fatal, of course."
"If it grows on the sea plains of Gala, it's probably in the palace gardens,"
Obi-Wan said, thinking.
"Come on, Obi-Wan, let's go," Jono urged. "We have to tell the Council."
"Is there an antidote?" Obi-Wan asked.
Mali held up a vial. "I have made one up. It will cost you-"
Obi-Wan stuffed all his credits in the elder's hands. He grabbed the vial.
Urging Jono to hurry, he raced toward the palace.
Jono led Obi-Wan to a part of the palace he'd never visited, high in the tower overlooking the gardens.
"I need to get to the Queen," Obi-Wan said impatiently.
"They told me I should bring you here," Jono said nervously. "The guards are on the lookout for you. You'd never make it. They will bring you to the Queen."
Obi-Wan moved to the small window. He looked down at the leafy top of a great lindemor tree. Below it spread the orderly rows of the kitchen gardens.
"Do you know the gardeners well, Jono?" he asked. "Are there any among them who would plot against the Queen?"
"I don't know," Jono said.
"They would have to know a great amount about herbs," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. "Or what about that council member with the blue-white eyes? He's always in the gardens."
"Viso is the Queen's staunchest supporter," Jono said.
"A council member would have access to the Queen's chambers," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully. "But still, it would be strange if he brought food." Access was the key, he knew. The poison would have to be brought to the Queen by someone above suspicion…
The thought shot through him like a laser. The green below him became a blur to his eyes. Jono. His friend was the only one who had access to the gardens and to the Queen. Qui-Gon had been right. Sometimes the obvious was the answer.
Jono had said he missed the sea. The poison had come from the sea plains. He had the daily duty of picking flowers for the Queen's bouquet. Easy to pick a bit of dimilatis, too. And Jono was the one to deliver the Queen's nightly tea, as Qui-Gon had pointed out.
Obi-Wan turned. Jono backed up a step.
"What is it, Obi-Wan?" he asked. A look of concern was on his face, but Obi-Wan sensed his nervousness.
"It was you, wasn't it, Jono," Obi-Wan said gently. "You poisoned the Queen."
"Poison the Queen? I could not do such a thing!" Jono cried. "You know it could have been anybody!"
"But it wasn't," Obi-Wan said. "It was you."