Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and motioned for Anakin to do the same.
The security officers formed a wary guard around them. The first officer marched toward the turbolift.
'What do you think this is about?' Anakin murmured.
'I have no idea,' Obi-Wan answered. 'Either we've violated some rule, or Uni has decided he's had enough investigation.'
They proceeded to the upper level and were marched to Uni's quarters. The doors slid open. The security officers lined up against the back wall. Vox and Uni stood in the middle of the room, waiting for them. Obi-Wan could see that Vox was trembling with rage.
'As always, we see that we cannot trust the Jedi,' Vox spat out. 'We invited you to share our home, and you have betrayed us. Our confidential files have been broken into!'
Den, Obi-Wan thought in despair. He should have remembered that Den hadn't been the most accomplished thief, even when it had been his profession.
'You are accusing us?' Obi-Wan asked.
'Of course I am accusing you!' Vox almost screamed.
'We did not break into your files,' Obi-Wan said honestly.
'Can you tell me you were not involved?' Vox sneered. He waved a hand.'Never mind. My son and I know firsthand how the Jedi order twists the truth-'
'We don't!' Anakin burst out. 'Jedi don't lie.'
Vox gave Anakin a contemptuous glance. 'What do you know, boy? Has your Master told you how he killed another Jedi student and then lied about it? Ah, I thought not.'
'That's not true,' Anakin shot back.
'The past is not at issue here,' Uni said, placing a hand on his father's arm. 'We are speaking of right now. You have violated our trust, Obi-Wan Kenobi. We demand that you summon your transport to collect you. Until then, you are confined to your quarters.' Uni spoke more calmly than his father, but Obi-Wan could see the hard fury in his eyes. He picked up a sense of triumph as well, as though Uni had been waiting for Obi-Wan to misstep. He was exhilarated to have an excuse to toss the Jedi off his ship. Things were still personal between them.
'I am here on the Senate's behalf,' Obi-Wan tried. 'If you order us to leave before our investigation is complete, a fuller investigation will follow. The Senate will not take kindly to this, especially since you have no evidence that we were involved.'
A flicker of worry passed over Uni's face, but Vox waved his hand as if flapping away a pesky insect. 'We are not worried about that,' Vox said. 'The Senate does not frighten us.'
'Contact your return transport right now,' Uni said. 'We do not allow outsiders to dock on our ship, but we will make an exception. Then we must confiscate your comlink.'
Obi-Wan considered his options. They could resist. Escape from this room would be easy. He was not threatened in the least by the security officers in the room, although no doubt Uni and Vox gained comfort from their presence.
But where would they go? They could hide on the ship. Den would help them. But what would that accomplish? He had not seen any evidence that beings aboard the BioCruiser were mistreated. There was no compelling reason for him to defy Uni and Vox at this point.
The veiled triumph in Uni's gaze now blazed into life. He had Obi-Wan cornered, and he knew it.
Obi-Wan reached for his comlink and activated it. He punched in Garen's frequency.
'We are done here,' he said. 'We need a pickup.' He gave Garen the coordinates that Uni handed him.
'That was fast. You're lucky. I'm nearby, in the Tentrix system. I can be there in an hour,' Garen replied.
They cut the communication. Uni nodded in satisfaction and held out his hand. Obi-Wan put his comlink into it. He then turned to Anakin. After a nod from Obi-Wan, Anakin placed his comlink in Uni's hand.
'These will be returned to you before your departure,' Uni said.
'Unlike you, we are not thieves,' Vox sneered.
'The security officers will escort you back to your quarters,' Uni said. 'I will not be seeing you again, Obi- Wan Kenobi.' For the first time, he smiled. 'I must admit I am glad of it.'
Chapter 18
Obi-Wan requested that Anakin be allowed to remain with him in his quarters. After a second of hesitation, the first security officer agreed. The door hissed shut, and they were alone.
'Do we really have to leave?' Anakin asked.
'We have an hour,' Obi-Wan said. 'We should be able to find something out in that time. I wish Uni hadn't asked for our comlinks. We need to hear from Tnani about the background check on Kern.'
'But what can we do locked in here?' Anakin asked.
'They didn't take our lightsabers,' Obi-Wan pointed out. 'I think they knew we would not give them up voluntarily. We can get out if we have to. But I don't think we'll need to cut our way out.'
Anakin grinned.'Den?'
Obi-Wan nodded. 'I'm sure he'll be along. Now, what were your conclusions about the meeting?'
