Jedi Quest 8: The Changing of the Guard

Chapter One

Senate aide Tyro Caladian winced at the look of frustration on the face of his friend Obi-Wan Kenobi. "I'm sorry," he said for the third time.

"There is nothing I can do."

Obi-Wan wanted to groan. He wanted to kick a hole through the rare laroon wood paneling of Meeting Room A3000291 in the Senate. He wanted to react like a privileged, arrogant Senator used to getting his way. He wanted to lash out.

But he was a Jedi. Jedi did not do such things. They accepted even the most nerve-torturing frustrations with calm focus and unswerving direction.

He must look for the flaw in the logic, discover the opening in the locked gate. Find the way. Petty emotions would only divert him. Obi-Wan took a deep breath and searched for his calm center.

He looked over at his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. If Obi-Wan merely felt like kicking a wall, it appeared that Anakin would do so at any moment. His gaze was turbulent, boiling. Then, as Obi-Wan watched, a mask slid over Anakin's frustration. He looked composed now, perfectly in control.

An impressive achievement. Obi-Wan had noted Anakin's growth over the past six months while they had been tracking the evil scientist Jenna Zan Arbor from her last known stop in the Vanqor system. Anakin was seventeen now. He was becoming a man as well as a Jedi.

Together they had followed Zan Arbor's trail, tracing rumors and finding clues. They knew the scientist did not have access to her large fortune, which the Senate had confiscated and then dispersed among the many planets she had wronged. They knew what the Vanqors had paid her would soon be depleted. But they also knew that she had a taste for extravagance. She liked to live well. Perhaps she would leave a trail that way.

Obi-Wan and Anakin had found other missions along the way, places where they were needed that couldn't be ignored. Still they continued to search the galaxy for clues to Zan Arbor's whereabouts, occasionally diverted but never deflected from their goal.

The big break came when Anakin discovered she had bought a limited- production cruiser called a Luxe Flightwing. The ship was so rare and beautiful that everyone remembered it — fuelers on obscure spaceports, repair personnel in busy capital cities, customs officials, and especially other pilots. It had been an unwise move, typical of her greed and arrogance. She wanted what she wanted, then she acquired it. But it was a bad mistake. Bit by bit, information trickled in, and at last they had tracked her to Romin, a small planet in the Mid-Rim.

Before traveling there to arrest her, Obi-Wan asked his friend and fellow Jedi, Siri Tachi, to help. Siri and her Padawan, Ferus Olin, had been involved in the search from time to time but had been called on by the Jedi Council for other missions. Still, Siri had pledged her support to Obi-Wan. Whenever he needed her for the final capture of Zan Arbor, she would be there.

Now in Meeting Room A3000291, Siri didn't show her frustration, but he sensed it in the taut lines of her muscled body. Obi-Wan knew all too well how Siri despised having to deal with the bureaucracy of the Senate. She was always geared for action. In many ways, she was like Anakin.

"Look," she said to Tyro, "we're not stupid. We know it will be tricky. Romin is ruled by Roy Teda, who by all accounts is an evil dictator. It's not like he's going to invite the Jedi in. But the Senate is committed to arresting Zan Arbor. Why won't they give us permission to go in?"

"It's more complicated than that," Tyro said. Clearly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of Siri's blazing blue eyes, the Svivreni fiddled with the thick metal clasp that held his long black hair in a plume that ran down his back. Then he smoothed the glossy fur on his small, pointed face.

"Senate procedure always is. Teda himself is in violation of several galactic laws. He imprisons without trial. We are certain he uses torture to extract information. He has shut down the information bureaus and controls the only communications system on the planet. He has even raided his planet's treasury for his own personal use."

"Exactly," Siri said impatiently. "He is a criminal. So why do we have to listen to him?"

"Because he is a duly elected ruler," Tyro said. "But he rigged the elections!" Anakin burst out. "That makes no difference," Tyro answered.

"We must still obey the laws of Romin. And there is a law forbidding any bounty hunters to enter."

"We are not bounty hunters," Ferus said. His dignity rang through his words. "We are Jedi."

Tyro swallowed. "Yes," he said, "but the law says that no one can arrest or transport a galactic criminal off Romin. And that's what you mean to do. Teda has made himself wealthy by offering his planet as a refuge to the most-wanted criminals. They're happy to pay him a hefty bribe in order to relocate to his planet. In return, he makes sure that any bounty hunters are forcibly expelled. If his security police find them, they are made to `disappear.'"

"Then we'll just go to Romin without Senate approval," Anakin said.

Ferus frowned. Obi-Wan noted how Anakin bristled when he saw it. The two had never gotten along, and Obi-Wan wasn't surprised. Ferus followed the rules. Anakin had no hesitation about bending them to get a job done.

"Ah," Tyro said carefully, "I'm afraid that you do need approval.

Without legitimate cause, you will be asked to leave the planet. And if you do not leave, it is likely you will be imprisoned — if you are lucky. Teda has been known to execute without trial."

"But the Senate cannot shield a criminal like Zan Arbor!" Obi-Wan leaped to his feet and began to pace out his frustration. Now he knew why Zan Arbor had risked buying such a showpiece transport. She didn't care, because she knew she would be protected. That infuriated him. No one was above galactic law. "There has to be a way."

Tyro shook his head. "If there is, I can't think of it. The Senate looks the other way when it comes to Romin. The Romin Senator wields great influence. He is a favorite of Sano Sauro — who as you well know is the leader of a large voting bloc."

Obi-Wan groaned. "Not him again." He had tangled with Sano Sauro before.

"If you land on Romin secretly, you will be in violation of Senate laws," Tyro said. "And I assure you, the Senator from Romin will not hesitate to prosecute even a Jedi," Tyro spoke softly. "I'm afraid this is typical of the Senate these days. I am so sorry, my good friend Obi-Wan, that I cannot help you."

"I am grateful for what you've done," Obi-Wan said woodenly. He refused to accept that Zan Arbor was untouchable. As his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had said, There is always another way.

Tyro sighed. "I come from a peaceful world. The growing lawlessness in the galaxy troubles me greatly.

The prison worlds are not well maintained. Just recently there was yet another escape from a high-security prison, the Greylands Security Complex on Tentator. It was a notorious gang who broke free. Luckily the gang members were tracked and apprehended just hours ago. But such successes are rare, I must admit."

Obi-Wan stopped pacing and fixed Tyro with a keen gaze. "Who are they?

" "They are called the Slams," Tyro said.

"Species?"

"Humanoid. From Mamendin, in the Core. They started there with con jobs, ID thefts, things like that. Then they roamed the galaxy, mostly in the Core, pulling scams. They were the gang who heisted the entire treasury of Vuma. The leaders are fairly young — a man named Slam and a woman named Valadon. Slam is a con man and Valadon is an ID theft expert. They have only two other members — they keep their numbers small to maintain loyalty.

The Slams were caught when they tried to break into a security vault of the Commerce Guild. You just don't go after the Commerce Guild without major consequences."

"I remember the Vuma affair," Siri said. "We heard about it at the Temple. It just about bankrupted the planet. The crystalline vertex they stole is still missing." She gave Obi-Wan a curious glance. "What is it?

You've got that look on your face."

"What look?"

"That look that says, You're going to hate this idea, Siri, but I'm going to do it anyway," Siri said dryly. Obi-Wan grinned. "Relax. You're going to love it."