She gave a sympathetic groan. "Ooh. Sorry."
He crouched down so that they were at eye level. "She's very tough."
"The toughest."
"But I can learn."
"If you listen. She'll push you hard, and then she'll tell you something strange, something you don't want to understand. That's what she wants. The more tired you are, the emptier you are. That's when she really starts to work."
"Lucky me," Anakin said with a grimace. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened on Haariden. She told me it was my ego. She was right."
"It's okay," Darra said. "Now I have something to impress the younger kids with. I was wounded in battle."
"I'm here to make you a promise," Anakin said.
"Don't," Darra said, rising on her elbows. "I know what you're going to say, and you can't promise such a thing. Besides, I can get my lightsaber back myself."
"But I'm the reason you lost it."
"I'm the reason I lost it," Darra said firmly. "I'm the one who dropped it. Did you ever think it was your ego that wants to get it back?"
Suddenly she slumped against the pillow. "Do me a favor. Don't argue with me. I'm too tired."
Anakin saw the exhaustion in her face she had tried to hide. "Is there anything I can do for you? Would you like some juice, or some food, or some music?" Darra's eyelids fluttered closed. "Just one thing," she said. "Stay with me until I fall asleep. It's lonely here."
"I will." Anakin shifted his weight so that he was sitting on the floor. He leaned against the sleep couch next to her head. He knew she could feel the pressure of his body, and that would make her feel safe. He sat there until her breathing slowed and he knew she was asleep.
"I promise you, Darra," he whispered. "I will return your lightsaber to you. It is not my ego. It is my promise."
Chapter Eight
Obi-Wan hurried into the library. It had been restored to its usual pristine state. Jocasta Nu was at a datascreen, working.
"What is it?" she asked, looking up for a moment and then back down at her screen.
"You sent for me," Obi-Wan said.
"Right." Jocasta clicked off the screen. "I have good news and bad news. Good news — I found out Granta Omega's listed birthplace. It's Coruscant."
"Coruscant?" Obi-Wan grew excited. That meant he could investigate a good deal of Omega's background without leaving the planet. A being's records were always stored on his or her home planet, and Coruscant was especially careful about storing every scrap of information. Thousands were employed in record-keeping.
Then he remembered Jocasta had said there was bad news as well. "And?"
"I can find no record of his birth. Nothing. And you know Coruscant is very organized about these things. So either he lied and was born somewhere else, or he lives under an assumed name."
"In other words, we know nothing more," Obi-Wan said, sinking down in a chair. "Every time I think I have a lead, it disappears. I'm left with nothing."
Suddenly holofiles began to zoom from Jocasta's fingers toward him.
"What is this?" Obi-Wan said.
"You say you have nothing on Omega," she said. "I'm showing you differently."
"But I've already seen these. They don't say anything!" "They say many things," Jocasta said, exasperated. "You just can't put the pieces together."
Obi-Wan almost smiled. Jocasta reminded him of Qui-Gon. What would his Master say if he were here? Qui-Gon had always been better at research, at putting pieces together. He was always able to connect the dry facts with the living person. That would lead him to motives and reasons, and soon he would have a picture of what he was looking for.
What is the emotion here? he would say. What does this being want more than anything? What does he need?
How am 1 supposed to know that, Qui-Gon?
"Start with what you know for sure," Obi-Wan suddenly blurted. "That's what Qui-Gon always said." Jocasta sniffed. "Exactly."
"I know he has a vendetta against the Jedi," Obi-Wan said. "He hates us. I know he was on Haariden." Obi-Wan straightened. "I know he was on Haariden!" he repeated. "And it couldn't have been because the Jedi were there. It would have been impossible for him to plan the attack beforehand.
" "Not impossible," Jocasta corrected. "There is little that is impossible."
Now she sounded like Yoda. "But we received the summons and left within one hour," Obi-Wan said. "Improbable, then. No, I think he was on Haariden for another reason. When he discovered the Jedi were there, he saw a way to make trouble for us." He began to search randomly through the holofiles. "He made his fortune by buying up minerals on different worlds and creating shortages," he said. "We know that, too."
"Let me get the file on Haariden," Jocasta said. Her eyes were alight with interest now. She quickly accessed a file and began to flip through it. "Interesting. Do you know why the two factions on Haariden have been fighting this time?"
"Land disputes," Obi-Wan said." Yes, but this isn't about territory.
It's about what is underneath the land. Traces of titanite have been found.
" "Titanite? I don't think I know it."
"That's because it's extremely rare," Jocasta said. "Not only that, it's very hard to mine. It's usually buried so deep near the core that it costs more to extract it than it is worth."
"What is it used for?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Until recently, not much," Jocasta said. "But in the last couple of years, it's been discovered that when titanite is synthesized, a substance is extracted that is one of the essential ingredients of bacta."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Bacta." He began to flip through the files in front of him. "Here it is. One of Omega's vast land holdings is on the planet Thyferra. That's the only place where the alazhi plant grows. Alazhi lotion is the main ingredient in bacta."
"So if he had alazhi lotion and the titanite substance….. Jocasta said, her voice trailing off. Obi-Wan and Jocasta stared at each other as the conclusion struck them.
"He could corner the galactic market on bacta," Obi-Wan said.
"This is getting very interesting," Jocasta murmured. "When was the titanite found on Haariden?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Only a few months ago," Jocasta said. "That's why the fighting began again. It's also one of the reasons the scientists were sent there.
Haariden was included on the mapping expedition for precisely that reason.
The Senate felt that if it had a complete picture of where the titanite deposits were, it could persuade the two sides to come to an agreement."
"Did the scientists make a final report?"
"Yes, but it was inconclusive. They couldn't conduct the tests they needed to because the fighting moved too close."
"Maybe Omega wanted that to happen," Obi-Wan said. "Maybe he didn't want the report to get back to the Senate."
"He would need to make his own tests, then," Jocasta said. "He'd need to have his own scientific team. That would be a hard thing to keep secret on Haariden."