Part 9 (2/2)
”Teda, be quiet,” Zan Arbor snapped, her voice hard. ”Who is your text doc expert?” she asked Obi-Wan. ”Waldo,” Obi-Wan said, indicating Anakin.
Zan Arbor turned. The sun came out from behind a cloud, and Anakin felt suddenly exposed in the bright light, even with his headgear disguise.
A long moment ticked by. Anakin felt uncomfortably warm. The Force suddenly surged. A warning.
”I know you,” she said.
”I don't believe so.”
”We have crossed paths.”
”Perhaps,” Obi-Wan said. ”We've traveled widely.”
”Joylin has closed down the s.p.a.ceport, but we have received permission to leave,” Siri interrupted. ”However, we must do it within the hour. Can you be ready?”
”I am ready now,” Zan Arbor said. Her attention slid away from Anakin. There were more pressing matters to deal with.
”Then let us go,” Obi-Wan said.
There was a commotion outside. Teda leaped to his feet, a blaster in his hand. The Jedi turned.
The real Slam and the rest of his gang burst into the courtyard.
Slam pointed a finger at Obi-Wan. ”Impostors!” he cried.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
Teda looked alarmed, but Zan Arbor suddenly smiled, as if she had just figured something out. She turned back to Anakin.
”Jedi,” she said. ”Now I remember.”
Now Teda looked panicky. ”Jedi?”
She rose and drew closer to Anakin, ignoring the Slams and the other Jedi. ”Good disguise. But it isn't your face that beings remember.
It's your manner. Your power. The way you move. I remembered you after our visit together on Vanqor. I asked about you. Teda, don't you admire me for recognizing that this scruffy prisoner, one among so many, was different? You're Anakin Skywalker.”
She gazed at him with a hungry expression. Anakin felt unnerved.
”I have studied the Force for so long,” she murmured. ”Never did I expect such a prize.”
”I'm not your prize,” he spat out.
”Well, you're my prisoner, and that's the same thing. Do you know how many guards are surrounding you right now?”
Obi-Wan shot Anakin a look. The Jedi could fight. They could escape. But Obi-Wan was telling him to wait. They had more to discover.
The stakes were too high.
”We can take them to the prison and have them executed on the spot,” Teda said.
”Don't be so hasty,” Zan Arbor said.
”Look, you don't have to kill them,” Slam said, looking uneasy now.
”Just tell them to stop impersonating us.”
Valadon, as tall as Siri and as blond, shot her an icy look. ”And give us our clothes back.”
Zan Arbor had not taken her eyes off Anakin. ”Do you know what we have here, Teda?”
”Yes,” he moaned. ”A big headache.”
”Leverage. Remember our discussion before? If we bring a great prize to our partner, he will look at us differently. We can negotiate a different split.”
”What are you talking about, Jenna?” Teda asked impatiently.
”Prizes? Leverage? Please remember I am a ruling ruler who was just kicked out of his palace. I'm not in the best of moods!”
”The Chosen One,” Zan Arbor said softly to Anakin, so that no one else could hear. ”I was told about you. My interest in the Force is deep.
Enough to know how your destiny is your burden. Do you remember the Zone of Self- Containment? I can bring that back to you.”
He remembered feeling content, a contentment without a tether to sadness or guilt. There was just the sun and serenity, a serenity he had never achieved as a Jedi. The Jedi had promised him that, and it had not happened. Perhaps it never would.
”Ah,” she said softly, ”speaking of temptation...”
He pulled off the mask. There was no need for it now. ”I'm not tempted by you,” he responded.
”I saw how you enjoyed it,” she said. ”I can make all your burdens disappear.”
”My only burden at the moment is having to talk to you,” Anakin shot back.
She smiled. Anakin could see that once, before evil had twisted her, she had been seductive. Her smile was lush, appreciative, inviting.
”You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago,” she said.
Obi-Wan overheard that. ”Qui-Gon Jinn,” he said. Zan Arbor whirled around. She walked closer to Obi-Wan. ”Do I know you?” ”Obi-Wan Ken.o.bi.”
She laughed in delight. ”Obi-Wan! But you were just a boy! You've grown up well,” she said, appraising him. ”I heard Qui-Gon died on Naboo.
And Yaddle has recently 'joined the Force,' hasn't she - a Jedi Council member? It makes you think, doesn't it?” She shook her head. ”What is happening to the Jedi? Their strength diminis.h.i.+ng, their best leaders struck down. And yet they don't see that they are declining. Such a pity to watch. So intriguing to study.”
Anakin saw Siri's eyes flash. She did not speak. He knew from experience that she did not spar with villains. She just waited her turn.
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