The Final Showdown

  Star Wars

  Jedi Quest

  Book 10

  The Final Showdown

  by Jude Watson

  source: IRC

  uploaded: 09.I.2006

  CHAPTER ONE

  "Power cell?"

  "Check."

  "Reserve?"

  "Check."

  "Blade crystals?"

  A glowing shaft buzzed to life.

  "All check," Tru Veld said. He turned his lightsaber around, looking

  at the flame-colored ray. It gave his silvery skin a rosy tint.

  "I adjusted the flux aperture for you and rebalanced the handle,"

  Anakin Skywalker told him.

  "Feels great." Tru deactivated the lightsaber and tucked it into his

  belt. "Thanks. I may have built this light-saber, but you sure keep it

  humming." Tru looked down at his utility belt. "Liquid cable - check.

  Comlink - check. Aquata breather - check. And..." Tru reached into a small

  slit in his belt and withdrew a small bag. He swung it in the air. "Mmmm...

  some Terratta to eat on the ride."

  "Check." Anakin caught the snack Tru tossed to him and popped it in

  his mouth. "Obviously, you've thought of everything."

  The two teenage Padawans eased down on the floor and passed the food

  back and forth. They had checked each piece of equipment five times now.

  They knew everything was functional, but they kept on checking. Routine

  kept their nerves steady.

  Many Jedi now had to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.

  Throughout the Temple, Jedi Knights were finishing up last-minute

  assignments and gathering their gear for new ones. Apprentices said good-

  bye to friends and fellow learners. Information was uploaded onto

  datascreens. Starfighters and cruisers were standing by, ready and fueled.

  Just days before, there had been an attack on the Senate. Twenty-one

  Senators had been killed, along with twenty-four aides and guards. The

  numbers would have been higher if the Jedi had not been alerted. Even

  Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had been in danger. His life had been saved by

  Ferus Olin, Tru and Anakin's fellow apprentice.

  The attacks had been carried out by Granta Omega and Jenna Zan Arbor,

  notorious galactic criminals. Yet the Jedi Council believed that a Sith was

  the real power behind the terrible plan and the Senate feared that this

  first attack was only the beginning of a much wider plot. They did not want

  to simply wait for the next attack. The idea was to spread a wide net,

  check out old sources of information, and develop new ones to lure in and

  trap the criminals.

  Chancellor Palpatine urged restraint. Galactic politics were volatile,

  and he needed a period of calm to steady the mood of the Senate, which had

  grown ugly since the attack. He cautioned the Jedi to be discreet.

  Whatever the next step, Anakin felt confident that he would be

  involved. His Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, had been the first Jedi to warn the

  Council about Granta Omega's plans. His Master knew the evil villain better

  than anyone, and he would be on the team sent to bring Omega to justice.

  Tru was hoping that he and his Master, Ry-Gaul, would be sent as well.

  Suddenly a head peeked around the corner of Anakin's quarters.

  "Terratta strips? And nobody invited me?" Darra Thel-Tanis held out a hand

  and the bag sailed into it, with the help of the Force.

  "Show off," Tru said, grinning.

  Darra slid down onto the floor next to her friends.

  She chewed on the candy with vigorous appreciation. Darra did

  everything with gusto. She had always been a vivid presence among the

  apprentices, with the bright bits of fabric she weaved through her auburn

  Padawan braid and her wisecracking manner.

  But Anakin could feel a new maturity in her, a hardened sense of

  purpose. Ever since she'd been wounded on Haariden, she seemed to carry a

  sense of gravity along with her humor. She'd told Anakin that the incident

  had brought death so close that she'd made friends with it. The remark had

  been a joke, but a joke that vibrated with a seriousness Anakin had trouble

  accepting. He sometimes wanted the old Darra back, whose jokes were simply

  jokes, not keys to her own sorrows.

  "Something's up," Darra said. "Your Masters are both in the Council

  room."

  This was news to Anakin and Tru. They exchanged a glance.

  "Soara is in there, too," Darra continued, speaking of her own Master.

  "I have a feeling we'll be leaving the Temple before the day is out." She

  stretched out her legs. "I'm ready."

  "Was Siri Tachi there?" Tru asked.

  "I saw her go in with Ferus," Darra said, nodding. "With Ferus?"

  Anakin asked. A jolt of jealousy made him straighten. "Why is Ferus there

  when we're not?"

  Darra shrugged. "They asked for him. Rumors are going around -

  something about the apprentices. I don't know what."

  "But why is Ferus there?" Anakin asked again.

  Darra shot him a curious look. "Do I look like a Council member? Moons

  and stars, I hope I'm not that grim. You're just going to have to wait and

  find out."

  "I don't think it will be long," Tru said, trying to reassure Anakin.

  Tru was Anakin's best friend, and he knew that Anakin and Ferus had clashed

  in the past. Although they got along better now, there was still a rivalry

  between them.

  Just then, all three of their comlinks buzzed at the same time.

  Darra consulted her message. "Well, whatever it is, we're about to

  find out."

  Anakin was used to standing in the Council room by now. He wasn't

  nervous, the way he'd been as a ten-year-old refugee from Tatooine. He was

  almost nineteen now, close to being a Jedi Knight. Yet still, this time

  something was different. He felt a heavy presence in the room. The Council

  members sat in their various chairs, waiting for the three Padawans to step

  forward next to their Masters. Usually Anakin could count on a nod or a

  smile from a Council member or two, but today everyone looked, as Darra had

  said, grim. He felt the Force in the room, humming underneath and through

  them. He imagined that this concentration of energy was similar to what a

  war council might feel like.

  Ferus stood to one side, next to Siri. He did not look at Anakin, or

  at the other Padawans. Something trickled down Anakin's neck, a foreboding

  he didn't want to name. Suddenly he had a feeling that he wasn't going to

  like what he was about to hear.

  "And now, to begin," Mace Windu said, once the Padawans had taken

  their places. "First, the Council wishes to apologize to Master Kenobi, who

  has warned us many times of the danger of Granta Omega. We did not take the

  warnings as seriously as they were given. You were right, Obi-Wan. Omega

  should have been our first priority. He is now."

  Obi-Wan nodded.

  "You will be the first Jedi coalition to go after him," Mace said,

  looking at each of the Masters and Padawans in turn. "You may contact the r />
  Temple at any time to ask for any degree of help or any number of Jedi to

  join you. We leave these decisions to you. The Council feels that there is

  Sith involvement, but to what degree we do not know. Therefore we urge each

  of you to weigh every move you make with care."

  Mace steepled his fingers together. "We have located Granta Omega and

  Jenna Zan Arbor."

  Anakin saw his Master give a start.

  "They are on Korriban."

  Anakin felt the dread in the room. He knew of Korriban only through

  legends. Thousands of years before, it had been the seat of Sith power. The

  tombs of the ancient Sith Lords were there, and it was still a source of

  the dark side of the Force. It was a place no Jedi wanted to go.

  "Of course," Obi-Wan said. "He has strived to be noticed by the Sith,

  and at last he has succeeded. Now he goes for his reward."

  "Whatever that may be," Mace agreed. "Certainly protection is part of

  it." Mace's intense gaze moved from Tru to Darra until it came to rest on

  Anakin. "And now we come to a piece of news for the Padawans. Because of

  our concern for the state of the galaxy and evidence that the dark side of

  the Force is gathering, the Council has made a decision to speed up the

  process of apprentices becoming Jedi Knights."

  Anakin found it difficult to keep his face neutral as excitement

  surged through him. He knew what was coming. He was going to be allowed to

  undertake the trials!

  He was ready. He was more than ready.

  "This is a major decision, and so we have decided to proceed

  cautiously, with one test case," Mace went on.

  Anakin's heart swelled. Of course it would be him. He was the Chosen

  One, the one with the greatest skills, the greatest Force connection.

  "After much discussion, and consultation with all Jedi Masters, the

  Council has chosen Ferus Olin as the first Padawan to undergo the trials.

  After this mission, he will begin the trials."

  For a moment, Anakin heard nothing, just a blank where his name should

  have been. The words Ferus Olin seemed to have no meaning, like they were

  part of a language he hadn't learned. That was how unreal it felt.

  He wanted to move, wanted to cry out. This couldn't be true! It

  couldn't be happening!

  He glanced at his Master. Obi-Wan was looking at Yoda.

  "We want to make it clear that our decision, while unanimous, doesn't

  reflect on any Padawan's fitness to be a Jedi Knight. We believe in each of

  you. Yet we had to choose someone, and this is a way to begin. You will

  each be ready in your own time."

  My time is now! Anakin wanted to shout. Disbelief and anger coursed

  through him.

  Mace rose. "The ships are ready for your journey to Korriban. May the

  Force be with you."

  Anakin did not know how he was going to get out of the room without

  exploding. His emotions were too wild to control. It was only by hanging on

  to the habit of a life of discipline that he was able to turn and follow

  his Master out of the room. Ahead of him strode Ferus, the thick gold

  stripe in his hair catching the light of the glow rods overhead. First out

  of the Council room. First on the list.

  Ferus.

  CHAPTER TWO

  "Don't say anything," Obi-Wan said in a low tone. "Follow me."

  Anakin's face was hot. He followed his Master through the hallway and

  onto the turbolift. He watched the levels count off as he slowed his

  breaths, fighting for control.

  Obi-Wan led the way out of the turbolift and into the Room of the

  Thousand Fountains. Anakin knew his Master had chosen this site

  deliberately. The soft splash of the fountains were a calming aid to all

  Jedi. The room smelled of green growth, and the refracted light of the

  water gave the air a soft radiance.

  None of this worked to calm him. He wanted to fight against it.

  "How did it happen?" Anakin asked, as soon as he was sure they were

  alone. "How could it happen? I don't understand!"

  "Anakin, of course you're disappointed," Obi-Wan said. "It is natural

  to want to be first."

  "I am first!" Anakin exploded. "I was always first in my class. First

  in lightsaber training. First in the Force."

  Obi-Wan frowned. "There is no such thing. We don't rank students at

  the Temple."

  "That is what is said," Anakin answered. "But it's not the reality,

  and you know it."

  Obi-Wan took a breath. "How good you are is not the point."

  "What makes Ferus better?"

  "That is not the point either. The fact is he is ready!" Obi-Wan's

  voice was raised, and that didn't happen very often. Anakin could see that

  he was pushing his Master to the limit.

  But he couldn't stop. Not on something that was this important to him.

  "I'm ready!" he insisted. "I'm just as ready as he is."

  "That is something you cannot know," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head.

  "It is not for the Padawan to know. It is for the Master and the Council."

  Obi-Wan's words stopped Anakin in his tracks. A sudden knowledge

  seared his brain.

  "You agreed with them," he said. "You voted for Ferus!"

  "It was not a vote..." Obi-Wan began.

  "You agreed - "

  "It was a discussion," Obi-Wan interrupted. "To which all Masters were

  invited."

  "You're not answering me."

  Obi-Wan paused. "Yes. I agreed with the Council's choice."

  Anakin felt as though he had received a sharp prod from an

  electrojabber.

  "Anakin." Obi-Wan made a move to put his hands on Anakin's shoulders,

  but did not actually touch him, knowing somehow that Anakin would push him

  off. "This is not about your skills, your commitment, or your abilities.

  This is about whether you are ready. There is a difference."

  "You don't think I'm ready." Anakin could hear how wooden his voice

  sounded.

  "I think Ferus is. That does not mean I think he will make a better

  Jedi. It only means that I think he is ready now."

  Ferus had manipulated them. Ferus had somehow made this happen. He had

  voiced his doubts about Anakin aloud, sometimes in front of his Master, and

  somehow he had corrupted their opinions of him.

  Anakin's fury grew until it was something wild, something he did not

  know if he could contain. He looked at his Master, and suddenly Obi-Wan was

  a stranger to him

  "I can feel your anger," Obi-Wan said. "Take care." He did not want to

  take care. He wanted to punch something.

  "Your focus on who gets to be Master first is only reinforcing the

  rightness of the Council's decision," Obi-Wan went on. "You're treating

  this like a contest. You are not emotionally ready to be a Jedi. Decisions

  like this must be accepted."

  "You do not need to quote Jedi teachings," Anakin said through his

  teeth. "I know them well. Better even than Ferus, though that doesn't seem

  to make a difference."

  Obi-Wan's face was tight. "You need a little time to compose yourself.

  We can discuss this further if you like. I'll leave you now."

  Obi-Wan turned away. His shoulders were tense. He took a few steps,

  then relented. He
turned back. "I believe in you, Anakin," he said.

  Anakin had turned, too, and now kept his back to his Master. He could

  not answer him. He could only think of Ferus. After a moment, he heard Obi-

  Wan leave the room.

  Ferus had plotted. Ferus had beaten him. Ferus had won.

  And now he had to work with him on this mission. He had to help Ferus

  achieve what he, Anakin, deserved. He imagined Ferus's smug face as he

  accepted the praise of the Council. As he took his place as a Jedi Knight.

  He imagined Ferus as a Knight and himself still a Padawan.

  It can't happen that way.

  Anakin took his anger and focused it. For a moment, the water from the

  many fountains around him hung suspended in the air. He used the Force to

  keep the water frozen in midair, just to prove he could do it. The silence

  filled his ears. Then he let it fall, all the fountains gushing, trickling,

  racing once again. The noise seemed enormous now, a torrent. As though he

  could hear every drop of water hit every pebble.

  Anakin felt a surge of power. This was only a part of what he was

  capable of. Soon they would all know it. He would show them that they had