Den shrugged. 'I was bored. It's been a long time since I got a chance to flex my muscles.' His eyes twinkled. 'Don't you want to see Kern's background?'
'If the Senate finds out that the Jedi illegally broke into the BioCruiser's confidential records, it could compromise the investigation,' Obi-Wan said with a frown. 'I don't think-was Den flourished a sheaf of durasheets. 'Too late! I printed out the information for you.'
'Great!' Anakin enthused. 'Now we can start.'
Den grinned. 'I like your style, kid.'
With a sigh, Obi-Wan took the durasheets. He quickly glanced through the information, absorbing it. Then he handed it to Anakin.
'You see the problem?' Den asked Obi-Wan.
He nodded.
'I don't get it,' Anakin said. 'Everything seems in order to me. He's got top-level security clearance. From the Senate, even. Isn't that hard to get?'
'Yes,' Obi-Wan said.'Very hard. That's why there's a problem.'
'Why would a low-level tech worker like Kern need high-security clearance from the Senate?' Den asked.
'It's odd, but it doesn't necessarily have significance,' Obi-Wan said. 'It probably just means that he worked on sensitive material at one point. Everyone has a past.'
Den collapsed in a nearby chair. 'If you're going to think that everything I bring you is useless, we're not going to get anywhere.'
'Relax, Den. I didn't say we wouldn't follow up.' Motioning to Anakin, Obi-Wan stood. 'As a matter of fact, I'd like a more complete tour this morning. Do you think you can lead us to the tech center?'
Den indicated Kern with a nod as they entered the tech center. He was a good ten years older than Obi- Wan, with close-cropped light hair and eyes set close together.
'This is our info-tech center,' Den began. 'As you might imagine, the readout panels are extensive. Every single aspect of the ship is monitored, from damage control to how our plants are growing in the greenhouses.'
'A complex operation,' Obi-Wan observed. He gave Anakin a look. He had already briefed his Padawan on what he should do.
While Den continued to talk and Obi-Wan murmured admiring comments or questions, Anakin slipped away. He stood examining a readout console. When he knew Kern was looking at him, he glanced up and caught his eye.
'I've never seen a board like this one,' he said.
'It's a big ship.' Kern turned away, bored by the prospects of conversation with a young boy.
'Do the readout monitors really capture every single thing that could go wrong?' Anakin asked.
'Yes.'
'Are there separate readouts for every engine part?'
'Yes.'
'The thrust trace dampers, even?' Anakin pitched his voice high. He had an ability to seem younger than he was.
'Yes,' Kern said, exasperation coloring his voice. 'Go away, Jedi kid, I'm busy.'
'Let's say your power core overheats, but there's no emergency readout on the converters, and the hyperdrive conduits show a steady lightspeed. Would your readout take into account a faulty hydrostatic field connector?'
Kern swiveled in his chair. 'You know a lot for a kid.'
'Do you know the answer?' Anakin asked.
'I'd check the readout for the hydrostatic field connector, but first I'd investigate the drive turbine air intake,' Kern said. 'We've got a couple of sublight engines of the Dyne class, and sometimes those flaps can get gunky if the fuel lines get clogged. Okay, kid?'
'Okay,' Anakin said cheerfully.
He joined up with Obi-Wan and Den, who was concluding the tour. As soon as they were outside, he repeated the conversation to Obi-Wan.
'I'm telling you, something's up with this guy,' Den said. 'Readout tech workers are totally separate from motor experts. They don't know about sublight engines. They just send the information to the mechanics.'
'He could have worked on engines before,' Obi-Wan pointed out.
'But it doesn't say that in his text doc,' Den shot back.
Obi-Wan frowned. 'I know. Let's go back to my cabin.'
It was at times like this that Obi-Wan missed Tahl. When he'd been with Qui-Gon, they could always rely on Tahl to do an exhaustive search, using all her contacts. She inevitably turned up clues that brought them to the next step. And she'd done it fast.
He didn't know Tnani Ikon, the Jedi Knight now in charge of computer searches at theTemple. But Obi-Wan called him and quickly told him that they needed deep research on Kern, sending Tnani all the text-doc information
