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Vox Chun's dull gaze suddenly blazed into rage. It was obvious that his hatred of Obi-Wan had not diminished with the years.
"Father, the Jedi team is proceeding to the bridge for a tour," Kad said quickly. Obi-Wan saw that he wanted to forestall any outburst.
Obi-Wan nodded at Vox Chun, who did not return the greeting. He kept his burning gaze on Obi-Wan as he and Anakin crossed the room and walked out the doors.
The doors shut behind them. Anakin looked up at him.
"Why do they hate you?"
"Old history," Obi-Wan said. "Missions can leave grievances behind. I do not think it will affect the present."
Anakin nodded, but Obi-Wan could tell he was not satisfied; he believed that old grievances would affect this mission.
The trouble was, so did Obi-Wan. It was not the first time that Obi-Wan found it inconvenient to have such an astute Padawan.
Chapter 14
Anakin trudged alongside Obi-Wan, wondering about the title of Padawan Learner. That implied that he was supposed to learn, didn't it? How could he learn when he never had the full story?
Yoda was full of riddles. Mace Windu spoke in hints and allusions. Even his Master deflected most talk of the past, except for affectionate or respectful references to his old Master. Sometimes it seemed to Anakin that everyone at theTemplespoke a different language from the one he knew. It was at such times that he missed his mother's warm clarity. But remembering Shmi brought back an ache so deep it never went away.
"At least we'll get a tour of the ship," Obi-Wan remarked as they waited for the turbolift. "You'vebeen wanting to explore it."
"But we'll have a guide," Anakin said. "They probably won't show us the whole thing. Wouldn't you rather explore on your own?"
"Sometimes it is helpful to see what your opponent wishes you to see," Obi-Wan said, stepping into the turbolift. "It can indicate what he is trying to hide."
Anakin stood quietly as the levels ticked off. He was still out of sorts from first being ignored in the meeting between Obi-Wan and Uni, and then not being told the truth by Obi-Wan. He had felt the dark anger from both Vox and Uni, the man Obi-Wan called Kad. Those two held more than a simple grievance against his Master. Why didn't Obi-Wan trust him enough to tell him the truth? The turbolift doors opened and Anakin got another surprise. Obi-Wan broke into a broad smile at the sight of a slender woman standing waiting for them.
"Is it Andra?" he asked.
The woman looked just as surprised and pleased."Obi-Wan Kenobi!"
Obi-Wan and the woman stepped forward. Andra grasped Obi-Wan's hand. "I have never forgotten you."
"What a surprise to see you here," Obi-Wan said. "I imagined you would be ruler of Telos by now."
Andra's face darkened. "The Telos I fought for is gone. My life is here now."
"Yes, Kad told me how it deteriorated."
"We call him Uni now. Yes, we defeated Offworld, but other equally powerful concerns took over. I watched my beautiful planet deteriorate for the second time. I could do nothing. My rage and frustration turned to deep sorrow. It was as though I was in a dark place with no way out. Then I met Uni." Andra shook her head as if to dislodge dark memories. "Uni gave me a reason to live." She looked over at Anakin and smiled. "And who is this?"
"This is my Padawan, Anakin Skywalker."
Andra gave him a warm nod of greeting. Anakin liked her immediately. He felt a kind of warmth and acceptance from her that reminded him of Shmi.
"So you have your own Padawan now," she said, the smile still on her face as she glanced at Obi-Wan. "Qui-Gon must miss you."
Obi-Wan's bright gaze dimmed. "Andra, Qui-Gon is dead. Three years now."
Her smile vanished, and sorrow filled her eyes. "I did not know. I am so sorry. The galaxy is diminished without him."
"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "That is exactly how I feel. But what about Den? Still getting on your nerves?"
"I'm afraid so," Andra said ruefully. "I married him."
Obi-Wan laughed. Den and Andrawere an odd match, but Qui-Gon had seen how much deep love there was between them. "Is he aboard the BioCruiser as well?"
"Of course. He was resistant at first. But he came to see the truth of Uni's teachings." Andra paused. "You must be the Jedi come to inspect us. I am to give you the tour."
"I can ask for no better guide," Obi-Wan said.
Anakin hurried forward as Andra turned to walk down the corridor with them. "How do you two know each other?" he asked her. Better to ask Andra than Obi-Wan. He'd get a more complete story.
"Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon helped our world when it was dying," Andra explained. "A mining corporation called Offworld had secretly bought up our national park spaces and had begun to mine them. I was part of the underground then-"
"A one-woman underground," Obi-Wan said admiringly.
"True, I didn't have many followers at the time," Andra said ruefully. "Just a thief and gambler short on ethics and long on charm. He became my husband, Den. Despite the fact that we were outlaws, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon trusted us. They exposed Offworld, and the people got control of our sacred spaces again. Or so we thought. In the end, we lost the battle."
Andra stopped in the middle of the circular bridge. "But I'll never forget what they did for us."
"And what you did for us," Obi-Wan pointed out. "You saved us from execution."
"Execution?" Anakin asked, staring at Obi-Wan, wide-eyed.
"Xanatos was a terrible enemy," Andra said softly.
"Xanatos?" Anakin asked.
"A story for another time," Obi-Wan said firmly.
Andra nodded, understanding that Obi-Wan wished to change the subject. She gestured at the busy workers surrounding them and the banks of controls. "As you can see, our bridge is more complicated than most starships'. The BioCruiser is made of different components, some of them originally designed to run differently from others'. Here is where everything is coordinated. Already our scientists have discovered a number of technological breakthroughs. The size and complexity of the ship is unprecedented."
"Do you have a defense system?" Obi-Wan asked.
Andra nodded."State of the art. We have a valuable treasury aboard. Each of us brought all our assets aboard when we joined. We use that money for research and development. Eventually, we want to be a fully self-sustaining ship, as though we were a floating planet."