"Good idea. We'll be in touch."
Obi-Wan signaled to Anakin, and they left the house. Dexter's Diner wasn't far, lying in nearby Coco Town. They hurried through the crowded pedestrian ramps. The monorails were packed, and it was faster to walk.
They crossed through the plaza on the way to the diner. The buildings ringing the plaza were a mix of low-rent business and dilapidated industrial warehouses. Dexter's Diner crouched between the bigger buildings, its bright sign casting a red glow through the gray day.
Anakin started toward the door, but Obi-Wan stopped him. "Wait. Look who's inside."
Anakin peered into the window. Sitting alone in a booth, both hands cupping a mug, was Astri.
Chapter Eleven
Astri looked up, surprised, when Obi-Wan and Anakin slid into her booth. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't seen them enter the diner.
"It's funny to see you here," she said to Obi-Wan. "Like a dream. I was just thinking of the old days. Everything is so different now. Even here." She looked around. "Dexter actually made it into a profitable enterprise."
"Well, he doesn't give away meals and drinks the way Didi did," Obi- Wan said.
She smiled. "That's true." She held up her empty cup. "He doesn't even give refills. But I like it here."
"Yes, those were good days," Obi-Wan said. "Things are more complicated now. Like the fact that your husband is trying to destroy the Jedi Order."
Astri's hands tightened on her cup. "I long ago made it a policy not to discuss Bog's politics."
"So what do you think about, then?" Anakin asked. His question wasn't confrontational. It was easy, interested. Obi-Wan was relieved that his Padawan had interfered so gracefully. He realized that he was deeply angry with Astri. He had expected better of her.
No expectations. Acceptance.
It was the Jedi way. And sometimes, so very hard to follow.
"My relief work," Astri responded promptly. "The economy of my adopted world, Nuralee, is failing."
"I didn't know that," Obi-Wan said. "The last time I was on Nuralee it was prospering."
She looked down into her empty cup. "That was probably some time ago."
Before Bog took office, Obi-Wan guessed.
"There are many too poor to buy food. I'm here on Coruscant briefly, just to attend a meeting to ask for help from the new All Planets Relief Fund and attend the inaugural ceremony. A Jedi team is acting as couriers and protectors for a shipment of food and medical supplies to Nuralee, and I must return to ensure it gets in the right hands."
"Do you know who they are?" Anakin asked.
"Soara Antana and Darra Thel-Tanis," Astri said. "I am grateful for their help."
You are grateful for the help we give you, but you will not help us.
Obi-Wan had the thought but would not say it aloud.
No expectations. Just acceptance.
And as he thought the words, his mind cleared. Now that he was sitting quietly with her, he allowed himself to truly look at her, not just her changed hair and clothes, but what her face revealed. Yes, she was distant and remote. But if he removed his own feelings from the situation, he could see more clearly.
Something was wrong. He was picking up something.
Fear. She was afraid. But of what?
"So you are returning soon," Anakin said.
"The day after tomorrow. I am anxious to see my son and Didi."
Obi-Wan leaned back, still studying Astri without seeming to. She looked away, twining her fingers through the handle of her cup.
"So has Bog seen what Dex has done to the old place?" Anakin asked in a jovial tone, gesturing toward the red stools and the curved counter.
Excellent, Anakin. A casual question, but it would give them the information they needed to know. Was there a connection between Bog and the safe house?
"Yes, he's been here." Astri pushed away her empty cup. The subject of her husband didn't interest her. But they had the answer they wanted.
Bog had been the one to bring food from Dex's Diner to Omega and the others. There was a link between them now. Not a link he could prove. But a link.
Astri began to slide out of the booth. "I should go. I'm late. It's always good to see you, Obi-Wan. Anakin."
She hurried out the door, not waiting for their goodbyes. As she left, she almost collided with a cloaked figure who was also leaving.
Obi-Wan stared after her. Even the way she moved was different. He remembered Astri striding down the streets, her curls flying, her face uptilted, her eyes alight, taking everything in. Now she walked with her head down, her hands thrust into the deep pockets of her tunic.
"She's afraid," he said out loud.
"Yes," Anakin said. "But not for herself. For her son."
Obi-Wan wrenched his gaze from the departing Astri and looked at his Padawan. More and more, he was recognizing that Anakin's sensitivity to others was growing and surpassing his in some cases. Anakin often seemed to know what secrets were inside others, what drove them to do the puzzling things they did. It had something to do with his command of the Force, but it was more than that.
He remembered the words of Ferus, when he had confessed his doubts about Anakin to Obi-Wan on RomIn. He had said that Anakin wanted to control everything. Anakin's gift of seeing inside beings could turn dangerous if he tried to control the feelings he found instead of just observing them.
But that was a Jedi lesson ingrained in every Padawan. Anakin knew that.
"Master, I have to ask you something," he said now. "Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has offered me a chance to observe the proceedings he attends over the next few days. He thinks I would gain insight into the political arena of the Senate."
"I agree," Obi-Wan said. "I have no objections, as long as it doesn't interfere with our pursuit of Omega. You could learn something valuable that could help us. It is a great honor that Palpatine has bestowed on you, my young Padawan."