The first rays of the sun were flashing on the Temple spires as Obi- Wan and Anakin returned from their rounds. Waiting for them in the Great Hall were Jedi Master Soara Antana and her apprentice, Darra Haariden.
Anakin hurried forward to greet his friend Darra. He had barely seen her since their mission to Norah, where she'd been wounded.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"Running on a full tank," she replied, her eyes smiling.
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan drew Soara aside.
"Thank you for coming so quickly," he said. "Is everything.."
Soara nodded. "They're having breakfast at the moment. Master Alann is with them."
Anakin overheard and shot his Master a curious look, but Obi-Wan merely said, "Meet us at Dexter's Diner at the prearranged time."
Anakin joined Obi-Wan. He raised his eyebrows in a question.
"The fear you saw on Astri's face," Obi-Wan said grimly. "I want to make it go away."
It took some persuading, but Astri agreed to meet him. Obi-Wan waited outside Dexter's Diner. When he saw her approach, he walked forward to greet her.
"Obi-Wan, I can't interfere with Bog, even for you," she said before he could speak. "I'm a Senator's wife now."
"Why can't you meet my eyes, Astri?" he asked. "Don't be ridiculous,"
she said, but her gaze kept moving.
"Are you afraid you were followed?"
"No. I took precautions." Astri saw her mistake. She bit her lip.
"You are afraid," Obi-Wan said. "Don't worry, you weren't followed.
There are Jedi watching your every move now. And yet you still can't meet my eyes."
All he could see was the top of her head. The dark curls that once tumbled down her back were now cropped close against her skull. He remembered when she had shaved off her hair in order to impersonate a bounty hunter. Astri had never had much vanity. She was a pure spirit, and he had misjudged her.
"I am ashamed," she said quietly. "That is why I can't meet your eyes.
" He took her arm and led her into the shelter of the diner overhang.
"There is no need for shame, old friend," he said softly. "We have been through worse together."
She shook her head. "No. We have not." She looked up, and he saw that her deep green eyes glistened with tears. "Now I have a child."
"And Bog has threatened him."
"He will take him away. He is so young, Obi-Wan. I cannot let that happen. No matter what. Even your friendship, even the entire Jedi Order is nothing to me in the face of that. I know that making a choice for one life against so many lives is wrong, but I cannot help myself." This time, she did not drop her eyes.
"Astri, that is not a cause for shame. I understand it. Of course that is what you must do."
"You understand that I couldn't help you?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "And you must understand that I must help you."
"There is no help for me. Even from the Jedi."
"Look." He took her by the shoulders and spun her around. Now she could see inside the diner. Her father, Didi, was comparing recipes with Dexter. Lune, her son, was sitting on a stool, swinging his legs as Darra teased him, making him laugh. A large plate of Dex's special cakes sat in front of the child. He picked up a piece with his fingers and ate it, then licked his fingers.
Astri put a hand on her heart.
"I had Soara and Darra bring them. We can arrange to have them back before anyone knows they are missing, if that is your choice. But there is another."
Astri waited, her eyes drinking in the sight of her son.
"You can leave Bog. The Jedi will offer you protection."
She was already shaking her head. "He will find me. He will win." She turned. "You don't understand, Obi-Wan. He's not as stupid as he appears.
He is cunning. I didn't realize… I didn't know… the lengths he would go. He got one taste of power, and it corrupted him. He has aligned himself with the worst in the galaxy. It started so softly. A favor for the Commerce Guild. Then another. And soon he was approached by another Senator — "
"Sano Sauro."
"Yes. He sold his honor. Well, the honor I thought he had. And now there is someone else, someone so powerful he does not say his name."
"Granta Omega. And with Omega, Jenna Zan Arbor. Did you know that?"
Astri looked away. "Yes. I knew that. And still I did nothing."
He slipped his hand into her cold one and squeezed it briefly. "You were alone. Now you are not. You still have me."
"Bog was never a strong man," she said. "How strange it is to fear him now."
She reached into the pocket of her tunic and handed several disks to Obi-Wan.
"What is this?"
"Bog's data recorder. For his memoirs." She made a face. "I copied them secretly. He says it only keeps a record of meetings, but that's not true. He is too vain to hide what he thinks of as his accomplishments.
There might be something on these."
Obi-Wan slipped them into his tunic. "You didn't know I had brought Lune and Didi here. Why did you bring the disks?"
"I've been carrying them with me. Seeing you, I felt so guilty, going along with Bog. I thought, there must be a way to help somehow. Bog is involved in something terrible. It is more than scheming against the Jedi in the Senate. There is some kind of plot, a takeover that will net him more power. He can't resist boasting to me. Soon we'll be able to afford whatever we want. A luxury cruiser for our trips to Nuralee. A villa by the Sea of Translucency on Dremulae."
"Dremulae?"
"Yes, he saw an image of the perfect spot, he said."
Yes, Obi-Wan thought, in Omega's safe house.
"He has these grand plans. And he's questioned me closely about the details of what will take place during the Relief Fund ceremony. I was on the planning committee. I can't imagine what that means."