This is not the time for a reprimand, Obi-Wan thought as they sped back toward shore. They had to get to the hangar before Norval rounded up transport and left the planet altogether.
Within a few minutes the gravsled was at the hangar. But their hired ship and its pilot were nowhere to be seen.
"He's fled," Obi-Wan said, grimly looking around the hangar.
"That coward," Anakin said with disgust. "I never should have fixed his ship. The next time I see him — "
"We don't have time to deal with that now," Obi-Wan interrupted.
"Let's find out who has left the planet in the last few hours and see if we can track them."
After securing the still-silent Lundi's cage to a hangar wall, Obi- Wan and Anakin split up to search the hangar. Obi-Wan had seen Norval ten years earlier, and had described him to his Padawan. But aside from an average-sized young man with dark hair, they didn't have much to go on.
The hangar was not particularly busy, and none of the pilots Obi-Wan approached had seen Norval — or at least they said they hadn't seen him. If they said anything at all. Disappointed, Obi-Wan decided to check the hangar records.
Only one ship had left in the last few hours. It was headed toward the Ploo Sector. But no planet was specified.
"Did you find anything?" Anakin asked as he approached his Master.
"Nobody would talk to me."
"Just this," Obi-Wan said, tossing Anakin the records. It seemed that the Holocron had eluded him a second time. Trying to find a mystery ship in a vast sector was a long shot, and it was all they had to go on.
"Why would he go to the Ploo Sector?" Anakin asked.
Several meters away, Lundi stuck his narrow head through the bars of his cage. "Norval was a good student. A great one. In fact the only thing that surpassed his desire for knowledge and power was his greed." Dr. Lundi stood up as straight as he could inside his cage. "I was offered vast riches by several anonymous parties to turn over the Sith Holocron should I ever capture it. One of the parties wanted to rendezvous beside my home planet of Ploo II."
The Jedi exchanged glances. Should they believe him? Lundi had several reasons to thwart their progress. He probably enjoyed the idea of Norval having the Holocron, of his using it for his own evil uses. He would take pride in that. Norval was, after all, Lundi's prize student.
But for the first time Obi-Wan felt he had some insight into Lundi's thoughts. It was as if a wall had been torn down, and Obi-Wan sensed that the professor was telling the truth. The Quermian wanted to go after the Holocron himself. He wanted a chance to see it again, to be close to its power.
"We need a ship to get us to Ploo II," Obi-Wan said. "Quickly."
Chapter 22
According to the flight records, the ship that left for the Ploo Sector was very large and not particularly fast. Anakin knew that if they were going to catch it, they'd need a fast vehicle with a powerful hyperdrive.
There was only one such ship in the hangar. The pilot looked at the Jedi warily as they approached.
"Ploo II?" he repeated with disdain. "No thanks. I just got here, and won't be doing anything but taking a nice long rest."
"I can pilot," Anakin said. "You can even stay here and rest. We'll bring the ship back when we're finished."
The pilot looked at Anakin as if he were crazy. Anakin couldn't blame him. If it were his ship, he wouldn't let some stranger take it off planet, either. Not even a Jedi.
But they needed the ship. Badly.
Obi-Wan waved his hand in front of the pilot's face. "You can trust us to borrow the ship," he said slowly.
"I guess I can trust you to borrow the ship," the pilot said.
"We will bring it back when we are finished," Obi-Wan added.
"Just bring it back when you are finished," the pilot echoed.
Anakin grinned. They weren't lightsabers, but Jedi mind tricks really came in handy sometimes.
"I'll get Lundi," Obi-Wan said.
Anakin nodded and boarded the ship. From the pilot's seat he plugged in the coordinates for Ploo II. Minutes later Obi-Wan and Lundi were on board, and the ship was heading into the atmosphere.
Anakin thought he might have a chance to talk to Obi-Wan on the way, but Obi-Wan silently left the cockpit shortly after they had taken off.
Anakin guessed that he was still upset.
Trying not to think about it, Anakin studied the computer's programmed hyperdrive route. If there was a faster way to get there, he wanted to know about it. They had to catch the Holocron thief.
There appeared to be only one direct route, and the computer had chosen it. Anakin engaged the hyperdrive, and the nearby stars streaked by in flashes of blinding light.
Once the ship was safely in hyperspace, Anakin could step away from the controls and relax a bit. Moving into the hold, he saw that the professor was sound asleep. He'd been sleeping a lot lately, and as Anakin studied him he appeared older and more frail. His body shuddered with every breath. It seemed as if his life forces were ebbing.
Asleep and helpless in his cage, the professor seemed more pitiful than threatening. Anakin almost felt sorry for him. But then, the Quermian had not made this mission an easy one. He had been difficult from the start, and the way he'd treated his Master had infuriated Anakin.
Now, under his direction, they were chasing a ship on its way to Ploo II. Was it the right planet, or were they simply on a fruitless chase? It would be so easy for Lundi to lead them astray. After being locked up by Jedi for ten years, it was entirely possible that he was out for revenge.
Anakin couldn't really blame him for wanting to take his imprisonment out on someone.
Anakin watched Lundi sleep for a long time and tried to meditate. He was left with many questions about Dr. Lundi and the Holocron.
But he didn't think that the professor was lying to them about following Norval. Anakin sensed that they were closing in on something powerful and evil… and believed it to be the Holocron.
Anakin got to his feet and moved toward the pilot's seat. It was almost time to bring the ship out of hyperspace. Sitting down at the controls, he suddenly felt a ripple in the Force. He quickly brought the ship out of lightspeed. The familiar starriness of space came into view around him.