Jedi Quest 10: The Final Showdown

Chapter Fifteen

Anakin rushed forward. He checked her vitals, even though he knew she was gone. "What happened?" he asked. "There's not a mark on her."

"Her heart just stopped beating," Siri said. "It's said that the Sith were capable of stopping a heart without even touching their victim."

"The question is, what was she doing here?" Obi-Wan asked.

Ferus had climbed up the ramp into the cruiser. He poked his head out.

"That's easy to answer. Stealing." He held out two thermal capes. "She told Anakin and me that she could get her hands on some luxury goods."

"While you check out the ship, Darra and I will see if we can find the landing platform," Soara said.

Obi-Wan ran up the ramp. Quickly, he moved through the ship, searching for clues. It was evident that the ship had been left bare of everything except essentials or items that couldn't be traced. He quickly checked the nav computer. Even the archives were wiped.

"This is the Sith ship," he said.

"Expensive tastes," Ferus said, dropping the thermal capes with distaste.

"Auben must have found the ship sometime earlier," Obi-Wan guessed.

"She wanted to nab some items on her way out."

"Never got the chance," Ferus said.

"Maybe," Obi-Wan murmured.

He started out of the cruiser. "Something I learned from Qui-Gon. When you catch a thief, he'll always pretend he was on his way in, not out."

Anakin followed closely on Obi-Wan's heels. Obi-Wan bent over Auben.

Gently, he reached underneath her body and withdrew her hand. He uncurled her fist.

"We just got lucky," he said. "The Sith was in a hurry. He didn't check."

"What is it?" Anakin asked.

"A holo-recorder," Obi-Wan said, holding it up. "One of the micro versions. She'd get a good price for it on the black market. And there's a received message here in the archive."

He pressed a button, and a miniature image of Granta Omega appeared.

Omega bowed. "Greetings, Master. We are grateful that our failure to complete our mission at the Senate did not disappoint you. As you generously said, the intent to disrupt and demoralize was achieved. The Senate is more divided than ever. It gratifies us that you have decided to entrust us with your secret. We have received the coordinates for our meeting. At last you will reveal yourself to us. We will then truly be able to further your cause throughout the galaxy." Omega bowed again. "Until we meet, I, Granta Omega, and Jenna Zan Arbor, servants to no one in the galaxy, remain servants to the Sith."

The hologram fragmented into a shimmer.

"Whew," Anakin said. "What a toadying dungcreeper."

"So they came here to meet the Sith, just as you thought," Siri said.

"He's going to reveal his identity to them."

"Which means if we can find out where the meeting is, we'll find out as well," Obi-Wan said.

Siri pressed her lips together. "We have a whole planet to search."

A faraway look was in Obi-Wan's eyes. "No. There is only one possible place for them to meet," he said softly.

Soara and Darra appeared. "We found the landing platform," Soara said.

"It's still completely functional. We found new access controls hidden in the ruins. Works like a charm. There's evidence of a recent takeoff. By the looks of the scorch marks, I'd say it was a small airspeeder."

Obi-Wan looked back at Auben's body sprawled on the ramp. He tried to reconstruct what had happened. "He's been using this place as a hideout. He bumped into Auben — and he killed her. Then he left the cruiser and took the airspeeder. More maneuverable. Harder to track." And the airspeeder, Obi-Wan thought, would get him where he needed to go.

Obi-Wan felt a tug, as though a string had been tied to his breastbone. He walked down the ramp, across the remains of the hangar, and stood out on the landing platform Soara and Darra had found.

The chill wind knifed through his clothes as he stood outside. He was deep in the mountain. He could see the valley far below, and a vast expanse of gray sky.

He felt Omega. For the first time, he felt his energy. Though he wasn't a Sith, Omega had sought out the dark side of the Force. He had been unable to harness it for himself, but he had lived in it. Obi-Wan was tied to him, energy to energy. He could track him now without instruments. He didn't need clues, or tips.

"Master?" Anakin drifted to his side. "What is it?"

"I know where Omega is," Obi-Wan said. "He's in the Valley of the Dark Lords. And the Sith has gone to meet him there. We can uncover them both."