Still, Anakin hesitated. It was hard to be certain that Ferus had truly disappeared. What if he was chasing a lead and hadn't told Anakin?
Anakin knew it would be out of character for Ferus not to fill him in, but Ferus might be teaching him a lesson after Anakin hadn't asked his opinion about going off with the squad.
Yet if Anakin violated comm silence, he risked the whole school being put into lockdown. How would the secret squad be able to get out then?
Marit found him in the library during his free mod period, still debating the issue in his mind.
"We've moved up the mission," she whispered. "We're leaving now. We all signed out for leave. If you're coming, you'd better do it, too. I'll come with you. We made up a research trip to the library in Utare and got Professor Totem to sign a pass for us."
Anakin hesitated.
"Aren't you coming?" Marit asked. She frowned. "Did you change your mind? I know the mission sounds dangerous."
Anakin felt the conflict inside him as though he was being physically torn apart. He knew his duty as a Jedi. He had to inform Obi-Wan about Ferus. But if his suspicions were correct and the answers were on leria, that meant he could find out answers about Ferus's disappearance as well.
If he broke comm silence he could jeopardize everything. His only chance to find Ferus and possibly Gillam was to maintain his cover.
"I didn't change my mind," Anakin said. "Let's go."
Chapter Thirteen
Obi-Wan landed his starship on the main public landing platform in Utare. He completed his postflight check and activated the landing ramp. As he strode down it, he saw Siri waiting at the bottom. Her hands were on her hips and her blue eyes sparked fire.
He guessed that she did not have good news.
She spoke when he was still only halfway down the ramp. "How could you withhold this from me, Obi-Wan? Did you think you could solve it by yourself and I'd never have to know? Were you afraid of how I'd react?" She put one booted foot on the ramp as though she were ready to charge at him.
"Well, you were right to be afraid!"
"Nice to see you, too, Siri," Obi-Wan said, coming up to her. He had been friends with Siri for over ten years now, and she could still nettle him like no one else. He wondered what minor infraction he was guilty of.
"Now, do you mind filling me in on what you're talking about?"
"Ferus is missing!" she exclaimed. "Don't tell me you didn't know."
Obi-Wan's mild amusement faded immediately. "No, I didn't."
"Didn't Anakin contact you?"
"Our next scheduled communication isn't until tonight, and I received no emergency signal. Are you sure about this?"
"Ferus contacted me via the emergency channel. I was on a mission and couldn't answer for an hour. When I tried to reach him, he didn't answer."
"He never sent me a signal," Obi-Wan said.
"I think something happened before he could," Siri said. "His message was cut off. But he did say that Anakin was taking off on a mission with the secret squad. They're going to conduct an air strike on the Andaran security transport landing platform."
Obi-Wan stopped short. "What?"
"You didn't know?"
"Of course not." Obi-Wan was staggered by this news. He couldn't absorb it. A Jedi was missing, and Anakin had not informed him? Anakin had agreed to take part in an air strike against a nonhostile planet? It seemed inconceivable.
"I don't understand," he said. "Was Anakin captured, or forced to leave with the squad?"
"No," Siri said. "It was his own free will. Ferus was clear about that. He sounded worried about Anakin."
Ferus was often worried about Anakin, Obi-Wan thought. He had noted that already. Ferus was concerned that Anakin would let down the Order in some way.
And so he had. Obi-Wan felt the betrayal like a hard blow to his stomach. He had trouble getting air. He struggled with his own emotions, surprised at the depth of them. He felt betrayed, he realized. Why hadn't Anakin trusted him?
He swallowed. "Did Ferus know where Anakin was headed?"
"To leria. That's all. And it's a big planet."
He wished Siri would look away. Her eyes had not left his face. Her gaze scorched him.
He had promised to watch over Ferus like his own Padawan. He had failed.
He had lost both Padawans. It was unthinkable. Yet here he was.
He did not know what to do. Whatever step he took could be the wrong one. And if he took the wrong one, he could lose one of them. Or both.
Obi-Wan's thoughts whirled crazily. He could not focus.
"Let's decide how to proceed," Siri said crisply.
That was the way of the Jedi. Accept the mistake and move on. But Obi- Wan's mind was a blank.
"We need to get into the school," Siri said. "Ferus is still there. I feel it."
The confusion cleared, and Obi-Wan remembered why he had come to Andara.
"I think Gillam is there, too," he said. "But without Anakin and Ferus to help us, we can't infiltrate the campus without being detected. We can't come as Jedi. We can't take the chance that someone will be watching. We must appear as though we belong there."
"But how?" Siri asked. "Security there is incredibly tight. And we don't look like students."
"I have an idea," Obi-Wan said.
Siri gave him a searching look. "I can tell I'm not going to like it."
"You're going to hate it," Obi-Wan said.
"Your excellencies," the president of the school said graciously. "How kind of you to consider the Leadership School for your son."
Obi-Wan and Siri walked into the inner office. It had taken only minutes to contact Tyro for some fast false text docs.
"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," Obi-Wan said.
"The king and queen of Cortella are always welcome," the president said. "Now, how old is your son?" "Thirteen," Obi-Wan said.
"Eleven," Siri said at the same time.
They looked at each other.
"Two sons," Obi-Wan said quickly. "We have two. One for each of us,"