And located inside a gushing geyser that was incredibly treacherous, even at the lowest tide. The Holocron could easily be so far down that no one would be able to retrieve it. But what if it wasn't?

Obi-Wan was not feeling confident about anything on this mission. Yet he had no choice but to move forward — before someone else did.

Chapter 20

Anakin squinted into the darkness as the loaded gravsled zoomed over the exposed sea-floor. The tide was already partially out, and soon they would be traveling over the water.

"That way," Obi-Wan said, pointing off to the left. They were the first words he'd spoken to him since their argument. Anakin felt badly about not telling his Master about the hologram message sooner, but wasn't sure why it was such a big deal. He did tell him, didn't he?

Anakin turned the vehicle. Beside him, Dr. Lundi was staring through the bars of his portable cage. His eyes were wide, and he couldn't sit still. He seemed like an excited child.

He can't wait to see the Holocron, Anakin thought. The ancient artifact had quite a reputation to live up to. As he increased the gravsled's speed, the young Jedi secretly hoped that it would.

The gravsled zoomed over the water, heading straight toward the crater. Anakin thought he saw something sticking up above the shallow sea.

It looked like a diving platform.

"Just ahead," Obi-Wan said. Anakin could hear the disappointment in his Master's voice. He pulled the gravsled up beside a platform piled with equipment and cut the engine.

Obi-Wan stared down at the water suit and air tank. "Someone has already been here," he said. "I only hope they haven't found the Holocron."

Anakin scanned the surface of the sea. He could feel a powerful, dark energy surrounding them. But he wasn't sure if it was because the Holocron was still below, or because it had been there for years.

"The Holocron is gone," Lundi cackled. He waved his arms, smacking several against the top and sides of his travel cage. "He came back.

Norval's got it."

Obi-Wan pulled on his breather and gestured for Anakin to do the same. In spite of Lundi's words, the Jedi couldn't leave this time until they were certain that the Holocron was not still under the sea. After checking to make sure that Lundi's cage was anchored securely to the gravsled, they dove into the water.

Obi-Wan led the way down the side of the crater to the rocky shelf below. It was a long way down and Anakin felt a surge of excitement as they dropped lower and lower. This was a mission.

Once they were on the shelf, it was easy to locate the geyser — a huge mass of hot water gushed out of it every several minutes. That didn't leave them much time to investigate what was below.

Anakin dove down into the crater after his Master, kicking as hard as he could. There was nothing in front of him except the inky blackness of the deep sea. He could barely see his Master's legs moving back and forth just a few meters in front of his face. At last Obi-Wan lit a glow rod.

Down, down, down they swam. Anakin's ears popped several times from the pressure, and the water got warmer and warmer.

After what seemed like several minutes, Anakin caught a glimpse of a sinister red glow several meters in front of them, rising from the seafloor. His breath caught in his throat as he came to a halt. The water here seemed to pulsate with energy, and he had to concentrate to stay in one place. The same appeared to be true for his Master.

Obi-Wan gestured for Anakin to stay put and cautiously swam forward toward a glowing vault. Anakin saw his legs move back and forth, then stop.

Obi-Wan thrust his glow rod into the tomblike box. It was empty. A second later Obi-Wan had turned around and was pointing up. He wanted Anakin to head back to the surface.

Anakin wondered how long they'd been down there. Five minutes? Six?

There wasn't much time before the geyser would blow again.

Turning around as quickly as he could, he bolted for the surface. But swimming up was not easy. It almost felt as if something was holding him down, keeping him in the geyser. Kicking hard, he moved slowly upward.

Anakin's legs were aching when he felt a small gush of warm water rush past him. With a series of furious kicks, he surged ahead. He did not want to be anywhere nearby when the geyser erupted.

Finally the geyser walls disappeared and the Jedi were once again in open water. Sprinting forward, they moved away from the geyser mouth just as a giant burst of scalding water shot out.

The Jedi wasted no time getting back to the gravsled. Now that they knew the Holocron was not there, they had to get back to civilization as soon as possible.

Anakin pulled off his breather and started the gravsled. They were practically moving when Obi-Wan climbed out of the water.

"It was gone," Lundi declared, looking at the Jedi's empty hands.

"Clever. The boy is clever — more clever than I thought. I should have suspected. Yes, suspected. He almost had it the last time, he did. Until Omal got in his way. Lucky for me. Unlucky for him. Omal gave me a chance to attack — to get the Holocron for myself. But Norval was a formidable opponent. I have to hand it to him…"

Lundi's voice trailed off as he lost himself in the ten-year-old memory.

"Where would Norval take the Holocron?" Obi-Wan asked.

Professor Lundi crossed several arms across his chest. "A deal, a deal," he said defiantly. "We had our deal. I told you secrets for a chance to see the Holocron. But I didn't see it, did I? The game is up, up, up.

And you lost. The boy has the Holocron. The boy. Ha!"

Anger swelled inside Anakin. He waited for his Master to do something, to shake some sense into the old loon. But Obi-Wan was silent as he stared glumly at the professor.

Wearing a sinister smirk, Lundi looked from Anakin to Obi-Wan.

"Though I doubt the boy actually knows what to do with it," he added under his breath. "But at least he's not cowardly like you and the rest of your robed friends."

That's it. Anakin switched off the gravsled and lunged at the professor. He could smell the old Quermian's rancid breath as he leaned in close to his face.

"This isn't funny, wormhead," he said furiously. "Your boy may not know what to do with the Holocron, but the Sith will."

The smile disappeared from Professor Lundi's face as he stared back at Anakin. He dropped all of his gangly arms to his sides.