Unspeakable scenes flashed out at him, so quickly he could not absorb them. Murder. Suffering. Destruction.
Obi-Wan shut the case. He wiped the sweat on his brow. No, his Padawan must not see this.
"Master?"
Anakin had left the ship. He stood uncertainly a few meters away. "Did you find something?"
"It's nothing." Obi-Wan tucked the case inside his cloak. "We can take it back to the Temple for examination. Come, Padawan."
But Anakin did not move. "I need to know what you found. Don't you think I can feel it, too?"
He saw the sweat on Anakin's forehead, saw the slight tremor in his knees.
He could dismiss him. He could say, You do not need to know.
Would Qui-Gon have told him? Perhaps not. His Master reveled things in his own time.
Anakin met his gaze boldly. He would not back down. Obi- Wan saw that clearly. He would not allow the moment to pass. He would grab on to it, extend it, bend it to his will. He would do anything to obtain what he wanted.
He is so different from me, Obi-Wan thought again, bemused.
If he is so different from you, why do you treat him as though he is a younger version of you? Why do you act as you think Qui-Gon would have acted with you as his Padawan?
The question startled him. What was especially surprising was that he did not hear Qui-Gon's voice asking the question. He heard his own.
Maybe it was time he stopped trying to be the Master Qui-Gon was. It was time to claim the role for himself.
"It is a Sith artifact.," he told Anakin.
His Padawan swallowed. "I thought so."
"The bounty hunter mentioned a pyramid before he died. He said the Granta Omega drew his power from it. If the Sith are involved, or a Sith cult, that would explain much. The ruthlessness and cunning of the attack. The use of bounty hunters. The specific target of Jedi."
"Do you think Granta Omega is a Sith?'
"No," Obi-Wan said, "If he were, we would have known it. I think he is an ordinary being with a gift for concealment on a very deep level. He could have dealings with a Sith, or a Sith cult. But he himself is not a Dark Lord. I think he wanted us to find this case. He wants us to know exactly how dangerous he is, and how far he is willing to go."
Obi-Wan gazed down the mountain and took in the lowering sky. Clouds rumbled, and snow suddenly began to fall, thick and fast.
"We have a new enemy, Padawan."
Chapter Seventeen
Anakin put his hand on his lightsaber hilt. "I am ready, Master."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at him. "ready for what?"
"To go after Granta Omega." Anakin swallowed against the acid in his throat. The power of the Sith case was fading. He could face whatever Granta Omega would throw at them.
"We're not going after Omega," Obi-wan said. "He's long gone. We'd never be able to track him through the galaxy."
"Never? One should not use absolute statements," Anakin said. One corner of his mouth twitched, a sure sign he was trying not to grin.
"It would be extremely difficult, then," Obi-Wan amended with a small smile. "And we have a wounded Jedi to see to. Have you forgotten that, Padawan?"
"We could drop Wren off at the Temple and retrace our steps," Anakin said. "We can't just let Omega go!"
"That's exactly what we can do," Obi-Wan said firmly. "Do not chase trouble, Padawan. There are not many guarantees in the galaxy, but I guarantee you this: Trouble will find you."
Anakin pressed his lips together. He did not agree with his Master's decision. They had stumbled on a powerful evil. Was it right to let it slip through their fingers? It wasn't like Obi-Wan to turn away from danger.
Unless he fears I cannot handle it.
Another doubt. They were crowding his mind on this planet. Was this the true purpose of the training exercise?
Obi-Wan knew how unnerved Anakin had been during their encounter with the Holocron. Perhaps he was afraid that Anakin would not be able to handle another mission dealing with the Sith or Sith followers so soon. He had almost not told Anakin what he had found. Anakin has seen that. Even though they had not encountered a Sith since the mission to Naboo, Anakin had been rocked by the dark evil of the Sith just being near the order's artifacts.
He is always trying to protect me. He does not trust me. What is the good of this exercise if Obi-Wan still doesn't have faith in me?
The thoughts crashed against his skull. Anakin tried to quiet them, to find the clarity and peace that Obi-Wan seemed to carry with him so easily, like a tool on his utility belt.
Obi-Wan slid the case into his cloak. "We will bring this back to the Temple and deposit it with the Sith Holocron. That will keep it safe. Now, let us return to Coruscant."
Wren was weakened but already beginning to recover when they returned to him. He was able to walk to the cruiser. They settled him inside and Obi-Wan administered more bacta.
"We'll be in Coruscant by morning," he told him.
Wren gave him a wan smile. "I will be glad to see the Temple. This exercise did not go as I expected."
"Yes, you must be surprised," Anakin agreed with a straight face. "After all, I found you on the first day, just as I promised."
"I hardly think it counts," Wren said, drawing the blanket around his shoulder huffily.
"I don't see why not," Anakin said, flashing Obi-Wan a quick grin.
Obi-Wan grinned back. "I think we should let Wren rest. Maybe you should concentrate on piloting the ship."
They picked up the body of the Tursha and shot out of the sparkling green-blue atmosphere of Ragoon. The trip to Coruscant went quickly. Anakin admired the bounty hunter's sleek, fast ship.
"These sublight engines are tweaked," he said as he eased into a shipping lane on Coruscant t dawn. "Any chance we can confiscate this ship for the Temple?" He gave a quick glance at Obi-Wan. "okay, okay. I know. We have to turn it over to the Senate."
"We have to turn in Floria and Dane, too," Obi-Wan said softly.
"What?" Floria had come up behind them. Her mouth was open and her cheeks were pink.
"You broke any number of galactic laws," Obi-Wan said. "You tried to kidnap two Jedi. You sabotaged a cruiser. You-"
"But we helped you!" Floria protested.
"You didn't have much choice," Obi-Wan pointed out. "Don't worry, I'm sure the security authorities won't detain you for long. They will try to place you with a family for rehabilitation."
Dane jackknifed to his feet. "Rehabilitation? Into what?"
"You will have normal life," Obi-Wan said. "A roof over your head, schooling, a chance for a profession — "
"We are past wanting any of that," Dane said. "We have been on our on too long."
"What about your sister?" Obi-Wan asked. "Are you so sure it would not be better for her?"
Dane hesitated.