The Final Showdown

  each strike against the bolts. He could hear Omega breathing heavily. Obi-

  Wan was sending bolts back to him at a steady pace, but Omega was managing

  to evade fire as he deployed the E-Web repeating blaster.

  The orange streaks were fading now. Obi-Wan could clearly see the

  outlines of the last tombs. Omega was silhouetted against the blaster bolts

  that sent faint, electric illumination through the air. He was gripping the

  blaster on the tripod, intent now in the full fury of his lust to take Obi-

  Wan down.

  Something Anakin had once said floated through his mind. Anakin knew

  more about machines than Obi-Wan ever wanted to know.

  Funny. No matter how advanced, a weapon always has a flaw. It can

  always turn against itself.

  The flaw. What was the flaw?

  The E-Web needed two operators because it was liable to overload if

  one operator didn't keep track of power flow. If overloaded, it wouldn't

  simply shut down - it would backblast.

  Obi-Wan put on another burst of speed. He went after each blaster bolt

  with skilled parries. But instead of advancing he moved laterally. He only

  appeared to advance.

  Out of rockets now, Omega tore off the wrist launchers. They were

  heavy, and he was getting tired. Sweat was pouring down his face. The E-Web

  was smoking now, and he didn't notice.

  Obi-Wan's arms began to shake from the effort of deflecting the

  blaster bolts. He was tired. His vision was still faulty. With sudden

  clarity, he realized that he could lose this battle. He was calculating on

  the failure of a machine he wasn't terribly familiar with. He was counting

  on a bit of luck.

  It took all of his concentration. One stumble could send him straight

  into a blaster bolt that would rip through him like pudding.

  Through the smoke, across the haze, Omega's blue gaze was hot and

  burning. Hate blazed at Obi-Wan. Omega was screaming incoherently now, his

  voice barely heard over the sound of gunfire. The E-Web pounded and smoked.

  Obi-Wan stumbled and hit his knees. Omega smiled. He leaned forward to

  aim.

  The weapon gave in. It shuddered and stopped for one small instant.

  Omega shook it.

  The blast was tremendous. A concentration of energy blew Omega back,

  his body dangling in the air, a shocked expression on his face. He slammed

  into the tomb wall. Broken. The shock on his face faded as his life drained

  from him.

  "You..." It was all he managed to get out. Obi-Wan heard pounding feet

  behind him. Anakin ran up and stopped. "Master - "

  "It's all right. He's gone." Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber. "It's

  over."

  "I was caught in an energy trap."

  "You got out by yourself. That's good. Come, Padawan." Obi-Wan turned.

  "Let's see to the others. We

  A gathering roar came from behind him. Omega threw himself forward, a

  blaster firing in his hand, his teeth bared. "You killed my father! You...

  will... not... win!"

  Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber as he turned. The moment he had not

  wanted to come had arrived. No matter how much he had wished to stop Omega,

  he had never wished to kill him. He remembered how Xanatos's death had

  haunted Qui-Gon. He did not want the same fate.

  But fate had taken away his choices.

  His lightsaber rose, as if in slow motion. Yet it moved faster than an

  eyeblink. It came down and cleaved into Omega.

  He fell to his knees.

  Instead of retreating, Obi-Wan walked forward. He did not want to see

  Omega die, but no one should have to die alone.

  Omega looked up into his face. His lips were drawn back over his teeth

  in a gruesome smile. A spasm of something crossed his features. What was

  it? Satisfaction, Obi-Wan realized. What did it mean?

  "Do you think you won? You didn't," Omega said. Every word was an

  effort. "I know... who he is." He toppled over, curling up like a child.

  "You will wish... you did."

  Still smiling, still holding his hatred and rage, Omega let go of his

  life at last and collapsed into the dust.

  Something rushed out, as if a great power had removed its protection

  from Omega.

  The visions of the Sith Lords faded. The dark side of the Force

  retreated. The Sith would not be found. Obi-Wan knew he had withdrawn both

  his presence and his protection.

  Obi-Wan tucked his lightsaber back into his belt. "Let's see to Darra,

  " he said.

  Soara cradled her in her arms. Tru had wrapped his cloak around her.

  Ferus sat on the ground, his head in his hands, and did not look up. Siri

  and Ry-Gaul stood on either side of the group, as if guarding them from

  harm. But harm had come and done its work.

  Darra was dead.

  Obi-Wan knelt in front of her. Her eyes were closed, her face composed

  and impossibly calm. Anakin watched as Soara very gently unraveled Darra's

  Padawan braid. She plucked the bright ribbon from the coils of soft hair

  and held it in her fist. Tears streaked down her face. Anakin could never

  have imagined seeing Soara Antana, fabled warrior, in tears.

  Anakin heard Darra's voice rise like a cry inside him. Stay with me

  until I fall asleep. It's lonely here.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The Great Hall seemed more vast, the journey to the Council room

  longer than Obi-Wan ever remembered. His legs had never felt so heavy. He

  walked without seeing. He felt strangely numb. He had never felt so tired.

  He knew about the rumors at the Temple. He knew that Tru's lightsaber

  had been faulty, that Ferus had fixed it secretly, that neither of them had

  told their Masters. He knew that Tru had been censured. Ferus was in

  seclusion but would be facing the Council directly after Obi-Wan.

  He knew these things, and he knew that in the eyes of the Council, the

  mission had succeeded, in part. They had caught Granta Omega. Zan Arbor had

  escaped, but the Council felt she was easier to track.

  Without Omega's wealth, she would not find it easy to hide.

  They had missed uncovering the identity of the Sith, but the Council

  did not fault them. They had been close to him. They had uncovered one of

  the planets that sheltered him. They had taken a small step forward.

  He should feel some sense of satisfaction, but he did not. Obi-Wan

  found himself wondering about things he had not thought about since Qui-

  Gon's death.

  Was the loss of Darra's life worth what they had obtained?

  Was there something he should have done that he did not do?

  Had the first vision of Qui-Gon in the tomb come from the Sith, or

  deep within him?

  Had he failed?

  Darra's death would once have been an aberration. Why did he feel it

  was a portent? With every second that passed, he felt more death approach.

  Time and again he had to shake off the memory of Granta Omega curling up

  like a child as he let go of life. What could he have been, if he had not

  been in the grip of his obsession? The Sith found weakness and exploited

  it. They took a flaw and twisted it into a weapon. Whoever the Sith was, he

  had goaded Omega, used him, and abandoned him
. How could the

  Jedi fight someone who had no mercy for anyone or anything?

  Over the last few days, Anakin had retreated to the Map Room where he

  liked to meditate. Obi-Wan couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt that

  somehow Anakin was involved in what had happened to Darra. Not directly,

  but somehow...

  He hated himself for having this feeling. Of course, if that were true

  his Padawan would have told him.

  Obi-Wan found himself outside the Council Room doors. He tried to

  clear his mind before he entered. Some days it was difficult meeting so

  many Jedi gifted in Force-sensitivity at once.

  The doors slid open. The full Council had assembled. The members all

  acknowledged Obi-Wan as he took his place in the middle of the room, where

  he had stood so many times.

  "A sad conclusion to the mission, it was," Yoda said. "Grieving are

  all of us."

  "Darra Thel-Tanis has joined the Force," Mace said. "We will celebrate

  her life."

  "Uneasy we are with the conduct of the two Padawans, Ferus Olin and

  Tru Veld," Yoda said.

  Adi Gallia nodded. "We have reconsidered our decision to speed up the

  trials for chosen Padawans. We fear we put too much pressure on them."

  "We need additional Jedi, it's true," Oppo Rancisis said. "But we see

  now that we cannot rush readiness." "Our mistake, it was," Yoda said.

  "Mistakes we cannot afford during these times," Mace added, and then

  said, "We will commend your Padawan for his bravery. To face a Sith is the

  hardest task for a Jedi. Anakin showed ingenuity and bravery throughout the

  mission."

  Yoda peered at Obi-Wan. "Something to share with us, you have?"

  Obi-Wan hesitated. He had doubts. He had fears. He had sorrows. But

  this was not the place.

  "No, Master Yoda," he said.

  "Disappointed your Padawan will be, to hear that we have cancelled our

  plans to accelerate Knighthood," Yoda said.

  "Yes, Anakin will be disappointed," Obi-Wan said. "He is not good at

  waiting."

  "Then wait, he should," Yoda said, nodding.

  "Thank you, Master Kenobi," Mace said. "You may send in Ferus Olin."

  Obi-Wan bowed and retreated. When he walked into the outer chamber,

  Ferus stood.

  "They are ready for you," Obi-Wan told him.

  Ferus turned a face to him full of such misery and heartbreak that

  Obi-Wan was moved.

  "You are not here to be punished, least of all by yourself," Obi-Wan

  told him.

  "I must go on living," Ferus responded. "That is my punishment."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Anakin waited until he saw Obi-Wan leave the outer chamber. He wasn't

  ready to talk to his Master yet. He waited until Obi-Wan was gone, then

  slipped inside.

  He didn't want to see Ferus face-to-face, but he had to find out what

  was going on. What would the Council do? Now, of all times, Anakin felt a

  strange attachment to his fellow Padawan.

  The shock of Darra's death hadn't worn off. He still couldn't grasp

  it. He still couldn't believe it wasn't possible to see her again, to hear

  her voice. If the Force was so powerful, why couldn't it stop death? Why

  couldn't he break through that wall and see his friend again?

  He felt a rustle behind him, and saw Tru backing out of the chamber.

  "Tru!" Anakin called. Reluctantly, Tru edged in a few steps. "Do you

  know anything?"

  Tru shook his head. He didn't quite meet Anakin's eyes.

  "I haven't seen much of you since we've been back," Anakin said.

  "I know."

  "I'm sorry about the censure."

  "I deserved it."

  The question burned on Anakin's tongue. "Why did you go to Ferus

  instead of me to fix your lightsaber? I would have done a better job."

  "I didn't go to Ferus," Tru said. "He came to me. He had noticed that

  it was on half-power at the end of the battle in the monastery. But I

  wouldn't have gone to you because I wouldn't have wanted to get you in

  trouble. You would have kept my secret. Just like Ferus did. I was wrong

  not to tell my Master. I was wrong to let Ferus stay silent. I was just

  about as wrong as I could be."

  "You were thinking of the mission," Anakin said. "We were all wrong,"

  Tru continued, as if he hadn't even registered what Anakin had said

  "We did our best," Anakin said. "And Omega is dead."

  "So is Darra."

  Tru turned and walked out.

  Anakin started after him. Something was wrong. Something had changed

  between him and his friend, and he didn't know why.

  He stopped when the Council doors opened. Ferus walked out. He almost

  walked by Anakin without seeing him, as though he was blinded by his

  feelings.

  "Ferus?"

  Ferus turned. "Anakin. Well. I think you should be the first to know.

  I have resigned from the Jedi Order."

  "What?!" Anakin felt shock ripple through him. "But why?"

  "Because I was responsible for Darra's death."

  "That's not true! You couldn't have known - "

  "But I did. I knew that Tru's lightsaber had malfunctioned. I offered

  to fix it secretly. I did not tell his Master or urge him to do so. His

  lightsaber failed in battle, and Darra was killed trying to protect me."

  "But you thought you'd fixed it!"

  Ferus stopped. He gazed at Anakin for a long moment.

  "You knew?" he asked. "You knew Tru's lightsaber had broken? You must

  have seen me fixing it." "I didn't say that."

  "No. You didn't. But there are only the two of us here, Anakin. You

  don't have to lie."

  Anakin said nothing. As usual, Ferus was trying to trap him, trying to

  show Anakin how much nobler he was.

  "When we got back, I took it to the Jedi Master Tolan Hing," Ferus

  said, naming the Jedi who was known for his expertise in the workings of a

  lightsaber. "He told me that that the fusing between the flux aperture and

  the power cell needed a slight adjustment. Nothing major - Tru might never

  have noticed it. Except that in battle, the power drained faster than

  normal."

  "I don't know why you're telling me this...."

  Tru's voice came from behind him. "Because you fixed the flux

  aperture. And you would have known that it needed to be rechecked after the

  power cell boost."

  Anakin turned. "You didn't come to me!"

  Tru shook his head. "That's funny. Shouldn't you have said, But I

  didn't know it was broken?"

  "You're trying to trap me," Anakin said. "Both of you," he added, with

  an angry look at Ferus. "Tru, I would never do anything deliberately to put

  you in a position.."

  Tru's face hardened. His silver eyes held a sheen Anakin had never

  seen before. They were icy, as though Anakin could slip off his gaze.

  "I wondered," Tru said. "When we got back here, I wondered if you

  knew. I saw how you froze in the tomb.

  'But not my friend,' I said to myself. 'My friend would not do that.'

  But then I thought about how you feel about Ferus, how angry you had been.

  You would want him to get in trouble, even if it meant exposing me."

  "That's not fair!"

  "And suddenly I realized - yes,
Anakin could have done that."

  "You're looking at this all wrong," Anakin said. But how could he

  explain? He couldn't admit that he knew that Tru's lightsaber was broken

  because he couldn't explain why he'd forgotten to tell him to readjust it.

  He still didn't know how he'd forgotten something so crucial. Tru would

  think he'd deliberately forgotten it.

  There was nothing he could say to convince him otherwise, because he

  himself didn't know.

  "I don't think so," Tru said. "I think I'm truly seeing you for the

  first time."

  Anakin swallowed. He didn't know what to say. This was an unfamiliar

  Tru, not the friend of his childhood.

  "I'll see you outside," Tru said to Ferus, and walked out.

  "Do you see what you've done?" Anakin said, turning savagely to Ferus.

  "Yes, I see what I've done," Ferus said. "Do you?" He shook his head.

  "I'm afraid for you. You think admitting you were wrong opens you up to