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"Because we were always able to cultivate crops," Bhu volunteered.
"It's only recently that we've run completely out of water."
Astri nodded. "In the Tira desert on the other side of Sorrus, they never had a water source, so they live off the desert. I figured that the same kinds of plants must grow here, too. And they do." She held up a gnarled root. "This is called turu root. Tastes pretty awful raw. But if you cook it right, it can be delicious."
Obi-Wan looked doubtfully at the plant. "I can't believe Didi's and Qui-Gon's lives hang on a root. Can you really make all this taste good?"
"Just watch me."
Astri pounded roots into paste. She spread mushrooms out in the sun to dry. She ground little bits of leaves and roots and combined them into spices. Then she began to roast this and stir that and assemble the various items into a meal.
When the meal was ready, Astri served it to the boy and his family.
Bhu turned out to be the son of the tribe leader, Goq Cra
"It's good." Pleased, the father turned to Astri. "Where did you find these things?"
"I can show you," Bhu said.
"And I can tell you about more," Astri added. "But now you must tell us about Reesa On."
The leader stood. "Her name is Ona Nobis. Bhu will show us where to go."
Obi-Wan and Astri followed Bhu and Goq Cra
"I stand corrected."
"We do not speak of Ona Nobis," Goq explained as they caught up to him. He spoke in short bursts, like the rest of the tribe. "Her name is forbidden. For money, she betrayed us. A shameful thing. The government agent spoke to us of the wonders of the dam. We were skeptical. Yet she urged us to listen. She persuaded us. Later we discovered that she and this agent had conspired together. They knew the dam would turn our land into this arid place. The agent owned land across the mountain. He wanted fertile lands. So he received the water.
We received the sand."
"What happened to Ona Nobis?" Obi-Wan asked.
"She left before we realized our mistake. We know how she makes her living. Another shame."
"Where are you taking us?" Astri asked.
"My boy found this place," Goq said. "She kept a hideout. Cleverly hidden."
They came to another, smaller canyon. Bhu hesitated when he came to an outcropping of a rock wall.
"When we turn this corner, the wind will be very strong," he warned.
He raised his hood and directed them to do the same.
"It is the way the land is formed," Goq said. "It creates a downdraft. This is a place where no one goes."
They turned the corner. Obi-Wan was nearly blown off his feet. Astri staggered, and he reached out a hand to steady her. He pulled her forward.
The wind here was terrible. It drove the sand against their skin and in their eyes. They covered most of their faces with their cloaks.
"This way!" Goq shouted. "Stay close!"
Obi-Wan followed on Goq's heels. The closer they got to the far canyon wall, the worse the sandstorm became. He could no longer see Bhu, who was only a few meters ahead.
When he saw Goq drop to his knees he did the same. He motioned to Astri to go ahead of him so he could be sure she would not get lost.
Obi-Wan crawled, following the others. Ahead he saw Astri disappear into a small opening in the rock face. He squeezed himself through.
Immediately, the wind stopped. Obi-Wan wiped his face and tried to shake the sand out of his hair and tunic folds. Bhu lit a glow rod.
"Follow me," he whispered. "In a few meters, we will be able to stand."
Obi-Wan crawled after Astri. She passed through another opening, and he followed.
Immediately the walls widened. He got a sense of air and space around him. He stood cautiously.
Bhu shined the glow rod. Obi-Wan saw a smooth floor and walls, bedding rolled up in a corner, and something covered with a tarp. He quickly reached for his own glow rod.
He lifted the tarp and held his glow rod high to illuminate the boxes.
"Med supplies. Survival rations."
"We took a vote and decided to leave the survival rations intact,"
Goq told them. "We did not want her to know that we found this place." He gave a short smile. "We were getting close to raiding the food until you came along. Now we do not need to."
"So she doesn't know you've found this place?" Obi-Wan asked.
Bhu shook his head. "We have been very careful. I think she was here recently. One of the survival ration packs is gone."
"Now we will leave you here," Goq said. "We will wait for you in the next canyon. If you follow the canyon wall, you will find us."
Obi-Wan thanked them, and Goq and Bhu left.
"Here's a datapad, Obi-Wan," Astri called excitedly.
Obi-Wan hurried over. He quickly accessed the file system. To his relief, the files were not coded.
"These are case files," he said, scrolling through. "Clients. Jobs she took on."
"Any hint of where she could be now?" Astri asked.
"Hold on. Let me access the latest file." Obi-Wan clicked a few keys.
He read carefully through the information. "This is it," he said excitedly.
Astri crouched down next to him. "What is it?"
"It's the case she's working on now," Obi-Wan said. "I guess her work for Je
"The governor must be her next target," Astri agreed.
"I'll contact the Temple for a Jedi team." Obi-Wan reached for his comlink, but its indicator light was already activated. Tahl was looking for him.
A moment later, Tahl's clear voice came through the comlink. "We've broken Zan Arbor's code at last. The Jedi are extremely concerned. We know that Zan Arbor is conducting experiments on the Force. We fear that she is holding Qui-Gon in order… in order to experiment on him." Tahl cleared her throat. "Her first experiment was on a subject with the initials RS."