Hurrying after his Master, Anakin decided not to say anything. Obi- Wan seemed distracted, and it wasn't as if the existence of the message was new information. He would tell him later, when the time was right.
Chapter 17
"I'll check out the exterior of the ship to make sure there hasn't been any sabotage," Anakin said once they were inside the hangar.
Obi-Wan smiled. He knew his Padawan would rather investigate something mechanical than do just about anything else.
"Okay," he said. "I'll head inside and talk to the captain — and Lundi."
Obi-Wan hurried up the ship's ramp and into the cockpit.
"It's about time," the pilot said, though Obi-Wan thought he seemed relieved to see him. "He's been rambling for the last half hour." He pointed nervously to the hold, where Lundi sat in his cage. "Something about an ancient device that's calling to him. And the tides."
"Thanks," Obi-Wan said, turning toward the hold. He took a deep breath. He wanted this conversation — if that was what it would be — to go well. He needed it to go well.
"I've just been to see Dedra and Omal," Obi-Wan said calmly. He watched Lundi closely for some sort of reaction to the names, but didn't see one. Lundi simply glared at him through the dark slit that was his visible eye.
Disappointed, Obi-Wan pushed on. "They had some interesting things to say about Norval."
This time Obi-Wan got a reaction. Only it wasn't one he was expecting. The professor smiled evilly, his decaying, yellow teeth showing themselves. The expression appeared frozen on his face. No matter how he tried, Obi-Wan couldn't figure out what the smile meant.
Obi-Wan felt frustration again. Lundi was like a blank wall. Though he was weaker than when Obi-Wan had first seen him ten years ago on Coruscant, his mind was a puzzle. Obi-Wan could not access his thoughts, even with the Force. How could he determine who was seeking the Holocron if the Quermian wouldn't cooperate?
"Norval was on Kodai with you," Obi-Wan said in a loud voice. The echo it made in the hold surprised both him and Lundi, who looked up. Obi- Wan suddenly thought he might have found a way through the professor's wall.
"As was Omal. You were all after the Holocron together."
Lundi leaned forward, as if about to speak. His face was pressed against the bars of his cage. But a moment later he sat back again, smiling smugly.
"You had the knowledge, but you needed these children to do your dirty work. To actually get it for you. You didn't think you could dive that deep alone…"
Obi-Wan desperately waited for Lundi to jump in, to begin talking, to object to what he was saying. But the professor seemed to know that was exactly what Obi-Wan wanted. He sat there like a stone, all of his long arms folded across his chest. His face was contorted into a defiant sneer.
Obi-Wan suddenly felt the urge to break through the cage's bars and rip the sneer right off Lundi's face. Even insane and locked in a cage, the Quermian had power. And at that moment, Obi-Wan hated that power with every fiber of his being.
"We need to know if the Holocron is still in the crater!" he shouted.
"We need to get to it before — "
Obi-Wan stopped himself. In his anger, he'd almost blurted out dangerous information. Having been locked up for the last ten years, Lundi wouldn't know that the Sith had actually returned. He wouldn't know that others in the galaxy possessed the knowledge he'd sought….
Lundi's tiny head tilted to one side. "You are afraid, boy. But not of my students," he said, leaning forward again. "No… there's something more. Something much bigger, much more horrifying." He spoke slowly, as if he wanted to make sure Obi-Wan caught every word. "The Sith," he said, sitting back again. His eye widened and Obi-Wan could see his large, black pupil. "You are afraid of the Sith, of their return."
Lundi sat back and cackled loudly. "You should be," he said.
Obi-Wan gazed steadily at Lundi. He knew the professor wanted him to say something, to acknowledge his fear. He wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
The hold was completely silent for several long minutes as the two stared at each other. Finally, Lundi spoke.
"I can tell you where the Holocron is," he said, sounding remarkably lucid. "I can even tell you how to get it. The question is, what can you do for me in return?"
Chapter 18
Anakin circled the ship for the third time. He hadn't seen anything unusual and was beginning to think that the captain was just being paranoid. Given his personality, it certainly seemed possible. And, Anakin had to admit, hanging around with Dr. Lundi could be unsettling for anyone.
Satisfied that nothing was amiss, he headed into the vessel. Obi-Wan was on the bridge programming the Kodai coordinates into the navsystem.
"We're heading to Kodai immediately," he said. Anakin was relieved to be leaving the planet and moving ahead. His Master, too, seemed pleased.
"The professor finally confirmed that the Holocron is still in its undersea vault."
Anakin wrinkled his nose. "He could be lying," he pointed out.
Obi-Wan sighed. "I know," he admitted. "He might be trying to put us in danger. Or he could be toying with us. But it is the only information we have to go on, and my instinct is telling me that we should trust it.
Besides, we only have the short time during the low tide to check."
Anakin nodded. He was feeling better about the hologram message now that they were about to leave the planet. Perhaps it was a good time to tell Obi-Wan about it.
"Master," he began. "I found some — "
"I'm telling you, somebody was out there," the pilot said, interrupting him. "Someone was messing with my ship."
Anakin rolled his eyes before turning to the captain. The guy was beginning to get on his nerves.
"I checked everything out," Anakin said reassuringly. "Everything looked just fine."
The captain looked doubtful but didn't reply as the ship took off.
Soon they could only see the blackness of space through the cockpit view- screen. The captain prepared for hyperspace.