Obi-Wan began to turn away in dismissal.
"All right, all right! The truth! A favor!" Didi said quickly. He spread his hands, palms out. "But such a tiny one it hardly qualifies."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a second in irritation. Qui-Gon would ask for my patience. "What is it?"
"Shortly after arriving in Eusebus, I bought a swoop bike," Didi said.
"I thought it would make navigating these crowded streets much easier.
However, hardly had I gone two meters when the engine… whoosh, ka-blam!"
Didi's fingers traced an explosion in the air. "I want my money back, yet I fear that slimy son of a monkey-lizard will refuse me."
"But not if a Jedi is along," Obi-Wan said wearily.
"You would not have to do a thing! Just stand there and look invincible. Maybe casually take your lightsaber out and test it…"
"No. No lightsaber."
"Then your presence only." Didi put his hands together. "Such a big favor it would be, and I would repay it a thousand times over."
"Do you really think," Obi-Wan said, exasperated, "that I have time to help you make up a bad deal?"
"Of course not, you are so busy being strong and good," Didi said.
"But while we are together, I can give you a behind-the-scenes, sneak-peek look at the Games. Bog is my son-in-law and on the Council. I have a unique perspective." Didi could see that Obi-Wan was unmoved. "Now, don't do it for Qui-Gon's sake. I would never want you to remember how much he loved me and how many times he helped me. Don't even mention his beloved name!"
"I don't have to," Obi-Wan said. "You just did." But he knew from the first moment that Didi had drawn him aside that he would help him. The truth was that Obi-Wan had a soft spot for Didi just as vulnerable as Qui- Gon's had been. And he had come to see that it wasn't such a bad thing, to feel affection for a worthless scoundrel with a big heart.
Still, there were limits.
"I will give you ten minutes," Obi-Wan said. "You are the best and kindest friend I ever — " "Nine minutes, fifty-seven seconds — "
Didi's mouth snapped shut. "I will tell Astri. One moment."
Didi dashed off, and Siri came up next to Obi-Wan. "You are worse than Qui-Gon," she said in an amused tone Obi-Wan shrugged. "I am still his Padawan in many ways."
"Ry-Gaul and I are going with Liviani. She has some swoops available for us so we can get an overview of the area. We're sending the Padawans off on their own. The opening rituals will begin in a few minutes."
"I'll keep in touch and meet up with you," Obi-Wan said. "This won't take long."
Siri cocked her head. Her hands slid into the pockets of the unisuit she wore instead of a tunic. "The amazing thing is that you actually believe that," she said.
Chapter Four
When Anakin had first seen Tru, he had immediately wanted to spend time with him. Now he could hardly wait to leave him behind. This wasn't Tru's fault-Anakin just wanted time alone to explore. About Podracing.
He walked alongside Ferus and Tru. The streets were crowded and they had trouble staying together. Ferus didn't seem to notice. He strode ahead at the pace he always set, talking without making sure the others were able to hear.
"The opening rituals are at Stadium One," Ferus said. "We could take an air taxi, but there don't seem to be many around."
"We can get there on Transit Yellow," Tru said. "Four stops. I memorized the transit system maps on the way here."
"It's the perfect opportunity for us to see all sorts of beings from all over the galaxy," Ferus said. "We should observe customs and protocol."
Leave it to Ferus to have a lesson plan for the afternoon, Anakin thought.
As if he had read Anakin's thoughts and was afraid he would speak them aloud, Tru extended one flexible arm and slid his hand over Anakin's mouth.
Anakin batted it away with a grin. No doubt Tru was remembering their mission to the planet Radnor, when Anakin and Ferus had argued every step of the way. But Anakin had no desire to argue with Ferus again. He didn't care about him enough to argue.
He had more important things to do — like check out the Podracers.
Anakin told himself that someone on the Jedi teams needed to do so.
Logically, he was the best candidate. He was the only one who had raced, and he was sure to know some of the beings involved. He hadn't raced since he was eight years old, six and a half years ago. But the racers tended to keep racing, if they weren't killed.
Of course, Obi-Wan hadn't asked him to check out the Podracers. But he had left him free to choose what he wanted to see. Anakin assured himself that he wasn't disobeying Obi-Wan by going.
Still, he didn't want to advertise his plans to his fellow Padawans.
He could trust Tru, but Ferus was another matter. It would be just like Ferus to make a big deal of it.
"I'll catch up with you later," he told Ferus and Tru. "I have something I need to check out first."
Disappointment clouded Tru's silvery eyes. "Oh?"
Anakin knew that Tru had been looking forward to spending time with him, too. When you made friends among the Jedi, you treasured the times you were together because they could be rare.
Ferus gave him a glance that was more pointed. "Obi-Wan asked you to do something?"
Anakin could not lie. Not even to Ferus. He pretended he had not heard him over the noise of the crowd. He turned to go, and Tru leaned over and spoke softly in his ear. "Transit Red, end of the line."
So Tru did know where he was headed.
"You're a good friend," Anakin said as he dashed off before Ferus could say anything more.
Eusebus had converted its largest air taxis to a free transit system.
He found Transit Red and hopped aboard. He didn't mind missing the opening rituals, which no doubt would be filled with parading teams and boring speeches. The real fun was taking place elsewhere At the last stop on Transit Red, the buildings ended abruptly. There was no gradual thinning of structures. An apartment block ended, the road narrowed, and the horizon was before him. There appeared to be nothing in sight but bare hills.
Now what? Anakin wondered as he descended from the air taxi and looked from right to left.
He closed his eyes and summoned the Force. He felt it rise from the red dust and bound off the hills back at him. And then he felt the Living Force as a wave that gathered momentum and broke over him in a shower of light.