"Well, let us walk, then. I am scheduled to preside over the vote on Senator Divinian's proposal."
"But my Master told you not to go."
"True. But unlike you, I do not have to obey an order of caution."
Caution. Obi-Wan's caution drove Anakin crazy.
"The work of the Senate goes on," Palpatine continued as they began to walk. "To keep going on, no matter what the obstacles — that is what a leader must do. I have learned, Anakin, over the course of my political career, one important thing: I cannot let anyone get in the way of my service. In the beginning, I doubted myself. Who am I, I asked myself, to decide fates, to make rulings? Then the answer came to me. I must do it because there is no one else who can do it better." Palpatine chuckled.
"Oh, I'm not saying I'm keeping the Republic together single-handedly. But fate has thrust me into this position — and I would be untrue to myself as well as the galaxy if I did not utilize everything I have and everything I am in order to succeed at it."
Palpatine's serenity was almost eerie. It was as though, Anakin thought suddenly, Palpatine was above this, looking down. As though criminals like Granta Omega were merely toys to be observed. Where did he get that confidence? Anakin was reaching out blindly, trying to probe the Supreme Chancellor, but his powers were not that developed. He kept meeting a wall.
"What I wish," Palpatine said, "is that you will realize this one day, too. That it is right to use every means at your disposal. I'm sure your Master would agree."
Anakin had his doubts. He saw Siri and Ferus pounding down the hallway.
"Ah," Palpatine said. "Reinforcements."
Siri halted in front of them. "Where is Obi-Wan?" "There was a security breach and he went to check it out," Anakin explained.
"Coordinates," Siri rapped out.
Anakin gave them to her, and she turned to Ferus. "Stay here with the Supreme Chancellor. I'll contact you if you're needed."
Ferus nodded. He did not seem to have the same conflict about the order that Anakin did. Siri raced down the hall.
"You go, too, Anakin," Palpatine urged him. "One Jedi is enough protection."
Anakin hesitated. He would be disobeying a direct order from Obi-Wan.
But Obi-Wan had given the order before Ferus had shown up. And even though Palpatine had dismissed the idea that the water valve malfunction could be a security breach, Anakin felt in his bones that it was Omega, just as Obi- Wan had.
"If it is Omega, he is too dangerous an opponent to allow to escape,"
Palpatine said. "The future of the Senate is at stake."
Ferus said nothing. His dark eyes moved from Palpatine to Anakin. He knew that whatever he said, Anakin would not take it into consideration.
Anakin made his decision. He turned to Ferus. "I have to go. Don't leave his side."
He didn't have time to wonder if Ferus was annoyed that he had given a fellow Padawan an order. He felt the urgency of his mission. Everything in him pointed the way to a showdown with Omega. And it was just as Palpatine had said: Only he knew what he was capable of. Only he knew the right thing to do.
Chapter Eighteen
Obi-Wan splashed through the water tunnel. There were only a few centimeters of water on the bottom, but the tunnel was sweating water, and it dripped steadily on his head and down his neck. He had examined the valve that caused the malfunction alarm, and he was almost certain it had been caused by a blow, probably from a tool. There was a deep, fresh scratch on the valve, and part of the edge of it was bashed in, lying flush against the tunnel itself, making it impossible to open it. Had Omega and Zan Arbor attempted to open the valve and failed? Was the damage a result of frustration, or miscalculation?
It didn't matter. What mattered was that they were here.
The sound of dripping water magnified in his ears until the soft plinks sounded like loud clangs. There were so many branches of the tunnel that he wasn't even sure where the main tunnel ran. He wasn't lost, exactly — not yet — but he wasn't terribly comfortable with his sense of direction at this point. Obi-Wan splashed down another quarter-kilometer. He had to go slowly, for fear of making too much noise, but at this rate, he'd never find them. The Senate complex was as large as a mid-sized city on some planets. If Omega and Zan Arbor decided to hide, it could take some time before he could find them.
Obi-Wan's comlink signaled, and he grabbed it. It was Tyro. The reception was poor, and the corn line crackled.
"Obi-Wan, I must meet with you. Where are you?"
"In the water tunnels. Tyro, I don't have time — "
"Listen to me. I've dug back, looking for links. And I stumbled on something. Something… much more… terrible."
Even through the poor connection, Obi-Wan heard the fear in Tyro's voice. "I know about the assassination plot on Palpatine," Obi-Wan told his friend.
"What? No…" The comlink crackled again."… can't talk about it over a comlink. We must meet. This involves the highest level… great evil…"
"I know, Tyro!" Obi-Wan hissed into the comlink, exasperated. "Sano Sauro!"
". only you can truly understand…" Tyro said through the static.
"Tyro? I can't pick up what you're saying! I'll get back to you as soon as I can." Obi-Wan shut off the transmission. He saw a schematic blueprint on the side of the tunnel, and he hurried over to examine it.
The blueprint was fashioned by raised laser lines that responded to touch. When Obi-Wan touched one part of the blueprint, it lit up in far more detail.
Just like the blueprint at the factory on Falleen.
They had used the same system to map the tunnels. Did that mean that the tunnels in the factory on Falleen corresponded to the Senate tunnels?
Obi-Wan touched the area he was standing in. The tunnel design appeared, with all the different branches.
He didn't recognize the design. It was different from the one on Falleen. But that didn't mean that another quadrant wouldn't match. If he found the quadrant that they'd built on Falleen, he'd know which way Zan Arbor and Omega were going.
Which meant he would have to flash through each quadrant of the Senate water system until he found the one that matched. Obi-Wan scanned the menu.