Obi-Wan was relieved to see that for the most part Dedra looked like herself. She was older and had a tired look in her eyes, but had retained her sanity. Resting the bag of food on her hip, she gestured to Obi-Wan for the Jedi to come into the kitchen.

"We'll be right back," Obi-Wan said, excusing himself and Anakin. The two Jedi followed Dedra into the kitchen.

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan said, "and this is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker." Though he had seen Dedra at a lecture of Professor Lundi's, they had never actually been introduced.

"Your name is not important," Dedra replied.

"I know that you are a Jedi, and suspect that you are looking for the Sith Holocron."

Obi-Wan nodded. "We wish to put it safely away — for good," he explained.

A look of sadness spread across Dedra's face. "That would be nice,"

she said. "It has already done so much damage to so many." She glanced toward the living room. Obi-Wan knew she was not talking about the ancient tyranny of the Sith.

"Omal's mental state is fragile," she explained. "It is best not to mention Lundi or the Holocron in his presence."

"I gathered that," Obi-Wan said, feeling a twinge of guilt. "Do you know what happened?"

Dedra turned away and began to unpack some of the groceries. It looked as though she was going to feed Omal a meal. "I only know that he hasn't been the same since Professor Lundi's sabbatical ten years ago," she said.

Dedra pulled some vegetables out of a bag and began to wash them.

Obi-Wan noticed that her hands were shaking slightly, and she kept her eyes on what she was doing.

"And that is all you know?" Obi-Wan asked, looking at her pointedly.

Dedra sighed and her hands dropped into the water basin. "No, not all," she admitted.

Obi-Wan waited patiently for Dedra to continue.

"Ten years ago Omal followed Norval, another of Professor Lundi's star pupils, to Kodai. Norval was fixated on the Holocron, and had secretly joined one of the sects obsessed with obtaining it. He figured out that Lundi was going after it, and decided the professor needed his help. Omal wanted to stop Norval from interfering with Dr. Lundi's attempt. He thought that the kind of power Lundi was talking about would be too much for Norval to handle."

Dedra switched off the water and turned toward Obi-Wan. "I don't know what happened, but it was obviously too much for Omal, too," she said in a whisper. "And since Professor Lundi has been institutionalized ever since, I guess it was too much for him, too."

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment, thinking. "What happened to Norval?"

he finally asked.

A tortured look came into Dedra's eyes. "I don't know," she said mournfully. "But the best I can hope for is that he is dead."

Anakin's eyes widened. That was a terrible thing to say. Even when he was a slave as a young boy on Tatooine, he never wished that his life would end. Death seemed so permanent, so final.

"We didn't know then that Norval had been obsessively studying Dr.

Lundi's texts," Dedra explained quickly, seeing the reactions of the Jedi.

"He'd developed a taste for power, and he desperately wanted it. The teachings had changed him."

Anakin wasn't sure he understood what Dedra meant. He knew what it was like to want something badly. He'd wanted to win a Podrace on Tatooine.

He wanted to free his mother. He wanted to become a Jedi. But he didn't think these desires actually changed him. They were simply part of who he was.

Nobody said anything for several moments. Anakin sensed that his Master was taking everything in, trying to put all the information in place in his mind.

Suddenly the silence in the kitchen was broken by the sound of Omal's voice. He was mumbling something in the other room. His words were not clear, but the tone was desperate. A look of concern crossed Dedra's face and she moved toward the living room.

"I'll go check on him," Anakin offered. He left Obi-Wan and Dedra in the small kitchen and headed back into the living room. Omal was still sitting on the floor, but his head was now sharply tilted to the side.

Tears were running down the side of his face, and his nose was watery.

Anakin stared at Omal for a long moment. He felt sorry for him, and wished there was something he could do to help him. If what his Master said was true, Omal had been horribly and permanently changed.

"You're okay," Anakin said gently, snapping out of his thoughts. "We just need to get your face cleaned up." He found a small scrap of relatively clean cloth and used it to wipe Omal's face. Omal looked up at him gratefully for a brief moment. Then his eyes darted away again and he resumed rocking back and forth.

Anakin watched Omal for what seemed like an eternity. When he finally looked away, he felt a strong desire to move ahead with the mission. He had to know what had caused Omal's downfall — what had the Jedi Council so up in arms.

He wanted to do it now — to get out of the apartment, get going.

Dedra had told them everything she knew, and Omal was clearly not going to tell them anything at all. What was Obi-Wan still doing in the kitchen? Was there a reason it was taking him so long?

Feeling antsy, Anakin began to look around the living room. Piles of dirty clothes, scraps of food, and all kinds of other items were littered across the floor. None of them looked particularly interesting or important.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Anakin spotted something shiny sticking out from under a tunic. Picking it up, he saw that it was a small holoprojector. Anakin tried to switch it on, but knew almost immediately that it was broken.

From his spot on the floor, Omal began to moan softly. "No, Norval.

No," he repeated.

Anakin barely heard him. He loved mechanical things, and couldn't resist tinkering a tiny bit with the projector. He pulled a tool from his utility belt and started to fiddle. But the projector was jammed.

"Blast!" Anakin exclaimed. He was surprised by his own frustration.

He usually loved this kind of challenge.

Anakin was about to toss the faulty projector aside when he pressed the right sequence and it suddenly came to life. At first the image was fuzzy, and Anakin had a hard time making it out. Then, as he began to realize what he was looking at, his mouth gaped open.