Jedi Quest 7: The Moment of Truth

Chapter Ten

Anakin was thinking about detachment. It was the goal of Jedi training. It was a discipline that took years to learn. It was not about controlling emotion, but allowing it to flow through you.

Well, he certainly felt detached. He knew somehow he had been drugged, his brain chemistry altered, even though he wasn't sure how it had been done. Was this how it felt, he wondered, to be truly one with the Force? It was a peaceful place to be, so unlike the battles he usually fought in his mind and heart. Was it so terrible to reach this place through a simple procedure, rather than through years of study and trial? He had admired Obi-Wan's serenity, had envied it. Now he had it. Why did he feel that Obi- Wan would not value it?

The flash of irritation — he felt at his Master was gone in a moment, almost before he had felt it. Anakin smiled. That was certainly something he was unable to do on his own. Being able to think about his Master without emotion was an interesting experience.

Sunlight flashed on the double doors. Someone was entering the garden.

At first the sun was in his eyes. Then he saw that it was his Master, dressed in coveralls. No doubt he had come to rescue him. Anakin noted that he should feel glad. Yet he did not. Did he feel disappointed? He couldn't locate an actual feeling.

"Anakin? Are you all right?" Obi-Wan's voice was low.

"I'm fine," he said.

"We have to get out of here. I have a way out."

"That's good." It was good that Obi-Wan had a way out. Anakin stood.

He moved with the same alertness he always had, but something was different. It was as though he was watching himself from above.

Yet how good it was to fall into step beside Obi-Wan. Good because he felt so peaceful. How pleasant it was to be Obi-Wan's companion and yet not worry about the emotion connected with that.

Obi-Wan peered into his face. "What did they do to you?"

Anakin decided at that moment that he must not tell his Master what had been done to him. There was no reason to. No doubt the effect would wear off soon, and until then he wanted to spin out the peace he'd found without Obi-Wan judging how he'd found it.

"Nothing." Technically, this was true. He'd received no drugs that he knew about. "I suppose they had plans for us."

Obi-Wan gave him a quick look, as though he didn't believe him. But they didn't have time to stop.

Obi-Wan led him to a utility closet. There, he gave Anakin a medic's pale blue coat. "Do you still have the disk?"

The disk. How odd that he hadn't thought of it. But Obi-Wan had, of course. Was that why his Master had come? For the disk. Not for him. There had been a time when he would have pondered on this, and the thought would have given him pain.

Anakin wrenched his mind back to Obi-Wan's question. It seemed to take more effort than it should to remember what had happened to the disk.

"I know where it is. It's with my lightsaber."

Obi-Wan gave him an odd look. "And where is that?" "Where we bathe.

There are storage bins."

"Show me."

Obi-Wan followed behind Anakin so that it would not seem that they were together. Anakin led him into the room with the large tubs. It was empty. He walked to the storage bin, which was jumbled with the same tunics and belts.

"In here."

With a sound of exasperation, Obi-Wan plunged his hands into the bin.

He sorted through the tunics and belts. Anakin bent over to help. He found his belt and removed the disk. Obi-Wan handed Anakin his light-saber. Then he took the disk from Anakin and slipped it inside his tunic.

"Once we get out of here, we'll head straight for the landing pad,"

Obi-Wan said crisply. "We're going to have to steal a transport. Can you do that?"

Why was Obi-Wan talking to him as though he were a fourth-year student? "Of course."

"Follow me then."

Obi-Wan led the way. As they approached the security desk, Obi-Wan began talking loudly.

"If I say that the valve shutoff is broken, then it's broken. There's no need to talk to my superior." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the security officer. "He's going to tell you the same thing I said. I said, it's broken, you have to shut down the system. If you want to know about a bacta bath, go to a medic. If you want to know about valves, come to me.

Understand?" Obi-Wan kept talking as the security guard released the security shield. Obi-Wan activated the door and waited for Anakin to walk through. "He's going to say the same thing. You have to shut down the system…."

The door hissed closed behind them. Obi-Wan headed down the path.

Anakin strode next to him. He was content to follow his Master's plan.

No one stopped them as they walked across the compound and moved onto the landing pad.

"This looks fast." Obi-Wan climbed up on a small starship. "We need something that can get us to TyphaDor." He accessed the cockpit and jumped in. "Let's go, Anakin."

Anakin leaped up on the starship and slid into the cockpit next to his Master. He looked at the controls. "I'm going to have to hot-wire it," he said.

"That's the idea," Obi-Wan answered.

Anakin opened the sensor panel. Even though he still existed in the bubble of his calm, he remembered exactly what to do. He switched wires and juiced the ignition. Then he closed the panel and slid back into the pilot's seat. The engine started on the first try.

"Great," Obi-Wan said with relief. "Let's get out of here. Now," he added urgently, as a security officer began to wave frantically at them. No doubt he assumed they'd forgotten the departure check proceedings.

Anakin eased the throttle. The graceful ship rose, and he shot away from the camp.

Obi-Wan let out an audible sigh. "Things aren't usually that easy."

Anakin glanced at the cockpit indicators. "They aren't this time, either. Apparently by hot-wiring the ship, we skipped an essential step in the procedure."

A red light was blinking on the console. Obi-Wan leaned forward.

"What's that?"

"We should have entered a code on the ground. It's a system to prevent escapes, I guess."

"And what is it?" Obi-Wan asked impatiently.

"The ship is programmed to self-destruct," Anakin answered.