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.