Obi-Wan gazed steadily at Lundi. He knew the professor wanted him to say something, to acknowledge his fear. He wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

The hold was completely silent for several long minutes as the two stared at each other. Finally, Lundi spoke.

"I can tell you where the Holocron is," he said, sounding remarkably lucid. "I can even tell you how to get it. The question is, what can you do for me in return?"

Chapter 18

Anakin circled the ship for the third time. He hadn't seen anything unusual and was beginning to think that the captain was just being paranoid. Given his personality, it certainly seemed possible. And, Anakin had to admit, hanging around with Dr. Lundi could be unsettling for anyone.

Satisfied that nothing was amiss, he headed into the vessel. Obi-Wan was on the bridge programming the Kodai coordinates into the navsystem.

"We're heading to Kodai immediately," he said. Anakin was relieved to be leaving the planet and moving ahead. His Master, too, seemed pleased.

"The professor finally confirmed that the Holocron is still in its undersea vault."

Anakin wrinkled his nose. "He could be lying," he pointed out.

Obi-Wan sighed. "I know," he admitted. "He might be trying to put us in danger. Or he could be toying with us. But it is the only information we have to go on, and my instinct is telling me that we should trust it.

Besides, we only have the short time during the low tide to check."

Anakin nodded. He was feeling better about the hologram message now that they were about to leave the planet. Perhaps it was a good time to tell Obi-Wan about it.

"Master," he began. "I found some — "

"I'm telling you, somebody was out there," the pilot said, interrupting him. "Someone was messing with my ship."

Anakin rolled his eyes before turning to the captain. The guy was beginning to get on his nerves.

"I checked everything out," Anakin said reassuringly. "Everything looked just fine."

The captain looked doubtful but didn't reply as the ship took off.

Soon they could only see the blackness of space through the cockpit view- screen. The captain prepared for hyperspace.

Anakin suddenly felt tired and was grateful for a bit of downtime.

The trip to Kodai would take more than a day, so he'd have a little while to rest and collect his thoughts.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion on the engine side, and the ship rocked hard to the left.

"I told you!" the captain screamed. "Someone has sabotaged my ship.

We have to land immediately!"

"We can't," Obi-Wan said rationally. "That is exactly what the saboteurs would want us to do."

The captain's eyes went wide. "But we can't fly like this," he said, his voice rising while smoke poured into the cockpit from the rear of the ship. "My controls are useless. We'll all die."

Anakin felt annoyance rise in him again. But this time it was mixed with a sense of guilt. Someone had obviously tampered with the ship, in spite of the fact that he initially didn't believe the captain's concerns.

"Nobody is going to die," Anakin said calmly. "Just show me where you keep your tools."

The captain pointed to a small cupboard right outside the cockpit.

Anakin retrieved the kit and moved to the back of the ship, waving his hands to clear the smoke. The flames had been extinguished by automatic fire controls and the damaged engine was accessible through a large hatch in a rear corridor. Though Anakin could fix it, it would not be easy while the ship was in motion.

Anakin opened the hatch and saw immediately that the circuitry bay had been fused. That meant that several circuits needed to be re-placed — and fast. The question was, which ones? Some were trivial, and others would repair the ship enough for it to fly to Kodai.

Anakin was not particularly familiar with the kind of ship they were on. He'd never flown one before, and certainly never repaired one. He'd have to follow his instincts.

Pulling out a light energy tool, he got to work on the circuitry wires. It was difficult to hold the tool steady, since the ship was banking in all directions. Working carefully, he reconnected the damaged wires one by one. Soon the ship stabilized, and the pilot once again had control.

Anakin repaired a few more wires and closed the hatch. On his way back to the cockpit he passed Lundi's cage.

"Nice work, young one," the professor said. "I could have used you on Kodai."

Anakin tried to ignore the comment as he replaced the tools in the cupboard. The Quermian was loony, and said crazy things all the time.

"Good job, Padawan," Obi-Wan said proudly as Anakin entered the cockpit.

"We can make it to Kodai now," the captain said. "Though it may take a bit longer than originally scheduled."

The relief in the cockpit was palpable. They were all safe — for the moment.

Chapter 19

Obi-Wan studied his Padawan as he put away the tool kit. He was relieved that he'd fixed the engine, of course. But as he watched his apprentice, Obi-Wan also experienced another feeling — worry.

When Obi-Wan had started this mission with Qui-Gon ten years earlier, he'd been troubled by the dark side. He'd felt frustrated, vulnerable, and afraid.

Anakin did not appear to be feeling any of these things. No, it was something else.

Obi-Wan saw the boy walk up to Lundi's cage and stare at the Quermian. He did not show any fear. Instead he seemed… fascinated.

His Padawan was extremely curious about Lundi and what had turned him into an insane criminal. In fact, he seemed drawn toward the power that had corrupted Lundi and Omal.

This curiosity worried Obi-Wan.

Of course Anakin had not seen the power of the dark side the way that Obi-Wan had. He had not witnessed his Master being cut down by a Sith Lord.

He had not been nearly killed himself.

After such a close experience Obi-Wan was well aware of the threat the Sith posed if they regained all of their ancient power. And recapturing the knowledge contained in a Sith Holocron would be a large step in that direction. It could be devastating for the entire galaxy.

Obi-Wan shuddered at the thought before letting it fade to the back of his mind. He needed to sharpen his focus and bring his attention back to the moment, and his Padawan.