Jedi Quest 4: The Master of Disguise

Chapter Eight

Obi-Wan hurried into the library. It had been restored to its usual pristine state. Jocasta Nu was at a datascreen, working.

"What is it?" she asked, looking up for a moment and then back down at her screen.

"You sent for me," Obi-Wan said.

"Right." Jocasta clicked off the screen. "I have good news and bad news. Good news — I found out Granta Omega's listed birthplace. It's Coruscant."

"Coruscant?" Obi-Wan grew excited. That meant he could investigate a good deal of Omega's background without leaving the planet. A being's records were always stored on his or her home planet, and Coruscant was especially careful about storing every scrap of information. Thousands were employed in record-keeping.

Then he remembered Jocasta had said there was bad news as well. "And?"

"I can find no record of his birth. Nothing. And you know Coruscant is very organized about these things. So either he lied and was born somewhere else, or he lives under an assumed name."

"In other words, we know nothing more," Obi-Wan said, sinking down in a chair. "Every time I think I have a lead, it disappears. I'm left with nothing."

Suddenly holofiles began to zoom from Jocasta's fingers toward him.

"What is this?" Obi-Wan said.

"You say you have nothing on Omega," she said. "I'm showing you differently."

"But I've already seen these. They don't say anything!" "They say many things," Jocasta said, exasperated. "You just can't put the pieces together."

Obi-Wan almost smiled. Jocasta reminded him of Qui-Gon. What would his Master say if he were here? Qui-Gon had always been better at research, at putting pieces together. He was always able to connect the dry facts with the living person. That would lead him to motives and reasons, and soon he would have a picture of what he was looking for.

What is the emotion here? he would say. What does this being want more than anything? What does he need?

How am 1 supposed to know that, Qui-Gon?

"Start with what you know for sure," Obi-Wan suddenly blurted. "That's what Qui-Gon always said." Jocasta sniffed. "Exactly."

"I know he has a vendetta against the Jedi," Obi-Wan said. "He hates us. I know he was on Haariden." Obi-Wan straightened. "I know he was on Haariden!" he repeated. "And it couldn't have been because the Jedi were there. It would have been impossible for him to plan the attack beforehand.

" "Not impossible," Jocasta corrected. "There is little that is impossible."

Now she sounded like Yoda. "But we received the summons and left within one hour," Obi-Wan said. "Improbable, then. No, I think he was on Haariden for another reason. When he discovered the Jedi were there, he saw a way to make trouble for us." He began to search randomly through the holofiles. "He made his fortune by buying up minerals on different worlds and creating shortages," he said. "We know that, too."

"Let me get the file on Haariden," Jocasta said. Her eyes were alight with interest now. She quickly accessed a file and began to flip through it. "Interesting. Do you know why the two factions on Haariden have been fighting this time?"

"Land disputes," Obi-Wan said." Yes, but this isn't about territory.

It's about what is underneath the land. Traces of titanite have been found.

" "Titanite? I don't think I know it."

"That's because it's extremely rare," Jocasta said. "Not only that, it's very hard to mine. It's usually buried so deep near the core that it costs more to extract it than it is worth."

"What is it used for?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Until recently, not much," Jocasta said. "But in the last couple of years, it's been discovered that when titanite is synthesized, a substance is extracted that is one of the essential ingredients of bacta."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "Bacta." He began to flip through the files in front of him. "Here it is. One of Omega's vast land holdings is on the planet Thyferra. That's the only place where the alazhi plant grows. Alazhi lotion is the main ingredient in bacta."

"So if he had alazhi lotion and the titanite substance….. Jocasta said, her voice trailing off. Obi-Wan and Jocasta stared at each other as the conclusion struck them.

"He could corner the galactic market on bacta," Obi-Wan said.

"This is getting very interesting," Jocasta murmured. "When was the titanite found on Haariden?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Only a few months ago," Jocasta said. "That's why the fighting began again. It's also one of the reasons the scientists were sent there.

Haariden was included on the mapping expedition for precisely that reason.

The Senate felt that if it had a complete picture of where the titanite deposits were, it could persuade the two sides to come to an agreement."

"Did the scientists make a final report?"

"Yes, but it was inconclusive. They couldn't conduct the tests they needed to because the fighting moved too close."

"Maybe Omega wanted that to happen," Obi-Wan said. "Maybe he didn't want the report to get back to the Senate."

"He would need to make his own tests, then," Jocasta said. "He'd need to have his own scientific team. That would be a hard thing to keep secret on Haariden."

"Maybe he didn't need a team," Obi-Wan said. "Maybe he could do it himself." He waved at the holofiles surrounding them. "Think about it. Look at what he's done over the years. Look at the fact that he doesn't employ many people at all. It would have been impossible for Omega to have done what he did in his career without some serious scientific knowledge. Which means," he said, turning to Jocasta excitedly, "he would have to have had some serious study. Can you search the records of the finest scientific institutes in the galaxy?"

Jocasta raised an eyebrow. "All of them?"

Obi-Wan nodded.

"I'll start with the Core Worlds," she said with a sigh. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

Obi-Wan was sipping a cup of tea in the Room of a Thousand Fountains and trying to calm his mind when his comlink signaled. It was Jocasta.

"He attended the All Science Research Academy on Yerphonia," she said.

"Can we contact them?" Obi-Wan asked eagerly.

"I already have. He was granted his degree only seven years ago. He was a star student. His home world is a small moon called Nierport Seven."

Obi-Wan knew the place. It was less than a day's travel from Coruscant.

Within an hour, he was on his way.