"Anything else?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Whenever we dock for fuel and supplies, it's always at some industrial planet," Den said. "Why is that? And why is Vox always among the landing party?"
"He wasn't back atHilo," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"Yeah. I noticed that. I figure he didn't want to ride back with the Jedi team. Maybe he thought it would be suspicious if he went down. Who knows?" Den tapped his nose again and wrinkled his face as if he'd smelled something foul.
They stopped in front of their quarters. Anakin's eyes were on Den. Obi-Wan could see the boy was listening intently.
"I don't know, Den," Obi-Wan said. "You don't have much for us to go on."
"Did you know that one of the reasons we stopped atHilowas to do a repair that didn't need to be done?" Den asked. "It turned out to be a readout malfunction. The actual part was fine."
"That happens-"
"— sometimes, I know. But guess who's in charge of readout systems? Kern."
Obi-Wan nodded, but he still wasn't convinced. He sensed that Den was searching for anything that would prove that the BioCruiser operation was corrupt. His desire to have his wife back could be coloring his perceptions.
"Now that you're here, my odds of getting to the bottom of this just improved a thousand percent," Den said, slapping Obi-Wan on the back. "Get a good night's sleep. You'll need it."
Den gave them a cheerful wave and hurried off. Obi-Wan sighed.
"You don't trust him?" Anakin asked.
"It's not that," Obi-Wan said. "I'm just not sure I trust his perceptions."
"But he's thinking like a Jedi," Anakin pointed out. "He's trustinghis feelings. Shouldn't we honor that? Besides, we don't have any other paths to follow at the moment."
Sometimes, Anakin reminded Obi-Wan of Qui-Gon. He had the same mix of logic and emotion that Obi-Wan struggled so hard to balance.
"I trust my own feelings," Obi-Wan finally muttered. "Not Den's."
Chapter 16
Obi-Wan and Anakin had barely finished their morning meal when Den came to Obi-Wan's quarters.
"I have a way to break into the text-doc files on the BioCruiser," Den announced.
"I thought you had given up being a criminal," Obi-Wan said.
Den shrugged. "I was bored. It's been a long time since I got a chance to flex my muscles." His eyes twinkled. "Don't you want to see Kern's background?"
"If the Senate finds out that the Jedi illegally broke into the BioCruiser's confidential records, it could compromise the investigation," Obi-Wan said with a frown. "I don't think-was Den flourished a sheaf of durasheets. "Too late! I printed out the information for you."
"Great!" Anakin enthused. "Now we can start."
Den grinned. "I like your style, kid."
With a sigh, Obi-Wan took the durasheets. He quickly glanced through the information, absorbing it. Then he handed it to Anakin.
"You see the problem?" Den asked Obi-Wan.
He nodded.
"I don't get it," Anakin said. "Everything seems in order to me. He's got top-level security clearance. From the Senate, even. Isn't that hard to get?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan said."Very hard. That's why there's a problem."
"Why would a low-level tech worker like Kern need high-security clearance from the Senate?" Den asked.
"It's odd, but it doesn't necessarily have significance," Obi-Wan said. "It probably just means that he worked on sensitive material at one point. Everyone has a past."
Den collapsed in a nearby chair. "If you're going to think that everything I bring you is useless, we're not going to get anywhere."
"Relax, Den. I didn't say we wouldn't follow up." Motioning to Anakin, Obi-Wan stood. "As a matter of fact, I'd like a more complete tour this morning. Do you think you can lead us to the tech center?"
Den indicated Kern with a nod as they entered the tech center. He was a good ten years older than Obi-Wan, with close-cropped light hair and eyes set close together.
"This is our info-tech center," Den began. "As you might imagine, the readout panels are extensive. Every single aspect of the ship is monitored, from damage control to how our plants are growing in the greenhouses."
"A complex operation," Obi-Wan observed. He gave Anakin a look. He had already briefed his Padawan on what he should do.
While Den continued to talk and Obi-Wan murmured admiring comments or questions, Anakin slipped away. He stood examining a readout console. When he knew Kern was looking at him, he glanced up and caught his eye.
"I've never seen a board like this one," he said.
"It's a big ship." Kern turned away, bored by the prospects of conversation with a young boy.
"Do the readout monitors really capture every single thing that could go wrong?" Anakin asked.
"Yes."
"Are there separate readouts for every engine part?"
"Yes."
"The thrust trace dampers, even?" Anakin pitched his voice high. He had an ability to seem younger than he was.
"Yes," Kern said, exasperation coloring his voice. "Go away, Jedi kid, I'm busy."
"Let's say your power core overheats, but there's no emergency readout on the converters, and the hyperdrive conduits show a steady lightspeed. Would your readout take into account a faulty hydrostatic field connector?"
Kern swiveled in his chair. "You know a lot for a kid."
"Do you know the answer?" Anakin asked.
"I'd check the readout for the hydrostatic field connector, but first I'd investigate the drive turbine air intake," Kern said. "We've got a couple of sublight engines of the Dyne class, and sometimes those flaps can get gunky if the fuel lines get clogged. Okay, kid?"
"Okay," Anakin said cheerfully.
He joined up with Obi-Wan and Den, who was concluding the tour. As soon as they were outside, he repeated the conversation to Obi-Wan.
"I'm telling you, something's up with this guy," Den said. "Readout tech workers are totally separate from motor experts. They don't know about sublight engines. They just send the information to the mechanics."