Obi-Wan stopped pacing. He was allowing his worry over Anakin and disgust at himself to agitate him. When the body was agitated, the mind was as well He went still. He breathed. He found the place inside himself that knew second-guessing was a waste of time. He had done his best, made the calculations that he could. Any more recriminations would only slow him down.
As he reached into himself, Qui-Gon's words floated to the surface.
His Master had often said them when they had reached what appeared to be a dead end in a mission.
Let's look at the who. That will lead us to the why.
He found his gaze resting on Captain Anf Dec. The captain's determined unfriendliness did not bother him. But other things did. As Obi-Wan tapped his instincts, he also uncovered a memory. He recalled his unease with Captain Dec's behavior from the first meeting with him aboard ship. The captain did not seem a bit worried about the possibility of Krayn attacking. That was strange, considering the Colicoids had accepted Jedi help.
Obi-Wan returned to the moment Krayn had first attacked the ship.
There had been something in Anf Dec's manner that had bothered him then, too.
Obi-Wan focused on the memory, calling up details. He and Anakin had rushed to the bridge. The captain had given a flurry of orders. He had given every indication of being close to panic. Colicoids were unemotional beings. They were trained and held to a standard of reserve. Captain Anf Dec's obvious fear was an unusual display.
It wasn't his fear that troubled Obi-Wan, however. It was his outrage.
That was what had flustered the captain — he had been caught by surprise.
He seemed to take the attack personally.
But why? The Colicoids had enlisted the Jedi because they knew Krayn's attack was a possibility.
Or had they? Obi-Wan recalled that Chancellor Palpatine had been at the meeting. That was unusual. What it could indicate was that the Colicoids had been pressured to accept the Jedi. The Colicoids hadn't wanted them along not because they were wary of strangers, but because…
Because… Why?
He didn't have the answer. But when he found it, Obi-Wan knew that it would lead him to his Padawan.
The Colicoid ship limped into one of the busy orbiting spaceports of Coruscant. Obi-Wan had already briefed Yoda and the Council by holographic transmission. He did not need to check in with the Temple. He took an air taxi to the Senate neighborhood below.
There, he hurried down the walkway opposite the grand Senate complex.
He turned a corner and smiled when he saw a cheerful cafc painted blue with yellow shutters. The sign read DIDI AND ASTRI'S CAFE..
Didi and his daughter Astri had been good friends of Qui-Gon. Years ago Qui-Gon had volunteered to help Didi out of a "small difficulty" that had turned into a major mission involving the health and safety of an entire planet. Didi had survived a severe blaster wound and had gone on to become a successful cafc owner with his daughter. He no longer trafficked in stolen information, but he was still friends with the Jedi, and he kept his ears open.
Obi-Wan pushed open the door, remembering his first sight of the cafc thirteen years before. It had been cluttered, crowded, and dirty. Didi had reigned over the chaotic cafc with good cheer and a paternal way with his customers, but he'd never managed to keep the tables very clean or the food very nourishing. It was Astri who had transformed the cafc into a thriving restaurant with good food. Their clientele had slowly changed. Smugglers and criminals still ate here, but now they were joined by Senators and diplomats.
Obi-Wan stood for a moment, gazing over the heads of the customers to see if he could spot Didi or Astri. It had been nearly a year since he'd had the chance to visit them. They had both taken the news of Qui-Gon's death hard.
A tall woman a little older than Obi-Wan stood by a table, chatting with two customers who wore the robes of Senatorial aides. The woman's springy dark hair spilled out from underneath a white cap, and her white apron was stained with various colors. As she motioned to the aides, she nearly knocked over the teapot. Despite his anxiety, Obi-Wan grinned. Astri hadn't changed.
She looked up and her gaze met his. Astri's pretty face bloomed into a wide smile.
"Obi-Wan!" She rushed toward him, knocking over a chair in her haste to greet him. She threw herself into his arms. Obi-Wan hugged her, feeling her curls brush his cheeks. He had once felt awkward at such displays of emotion. Not anymore. Qui-Gon had taught him by example. Obi-Wan remembered how surprised he'd been as a Padawan to see Qui-Gon enthusiastically hug Didi.
She drew back. "Are you hungry? I have delicious stew today."
He shook his head. "I need help."
Her dancing eyes turned grave. "Let's find Didi."
A small, rotund man was already heading for them, his soft brown eyes widened in pleasure. He, too, enveloped Obi-Wan in a huge hug, though he barely reached Obi-Wan's shoulders. "How my eyes delight me!" he burbled.
"The brave and wise Obi-Wan Kenobi, my good friend to whom I owe my life and my daughter!"
"Obi-Wan needs our help, Didi," Astri interrupted, for Didi would have gone on with flattery and sentiment.
Didi nodded. "Then come to the private office."
Obi-Wan followed Didi and Astri to a small, messy office behind the long counter. Although the cafc had improved significantly since Astri had taken over, the office was still a jumble of fading datasheets, mismatched plates, stacks of fresh tablecloths, and half-filled teacups.
"What can we do for you, my friend?" Didi asked. "Inadequate as I am, I am in your service."
"I'm searching for information only," Obi-Wan said. "Perhaps if you do not have answers, you could direct me to the party who does. I am investigating possible ties between a slave trader named Krayn and the Colicoids."
Didi frowned, and Astri wrinkled her nose.
"I don't like the Colicoid senators," she said. "Nothing is ever good enough for them."
"I have heard of Krayn," Didi said. "The galaxy would be well rid of such a fiend. I know of no connection, but.."
Obi-Wan waited. He knew that Didi was running over his vast list of contacts in his mind.
"Try Gogol at the Dor," Didi said at last. "I won't let him in this place since I found out what he traffics in. He did some work for Krayn, I heard."
"The Dor? I don't know it," Obi-Wan said.
"Of course you do," Astri said. "The Splendor. The readout letters kept getting shot off by stray blaster fire, so they finally gave up replacing them. Now everyone calls it the Dor." Astri shuddered. "Not that I'd set foot in the place."
Didi looked anxious. "You must be careful of your person, Obi-Wan.
Gogol has mean bones."
He gave Obi-Wan a quick description, and Obi-Wan was treated to two more fierce hugs from Didi and Astri. Promising to return for a meal, he hurried from the cafc.
He had been to the Splendor with Qui-Gon several times. He had come to know sections of the hidden city below the gleaming surface levels of Coruscant, where sunlight did not reach. Here, the walkways were narrow and littered, the twisting alleyways dangerous, and all of it barely lit by glow lamps that were constantly shot out and not replaced. Here was where one found the dregs of the galaxy, the worst criminals and lowlifes, where one could bargain cheaply for a death mark on an enemy's head.