'We will mourn her, but not now. Now it is time to be a Jedi.'
Anakin took the lightsaber. He rose and tucked it into his belt. His Master's words should have made Anakin feel better, but they hadn't. They had almost seemed automatic, as though Obi-Wan didn't really mean them.
Even Obi-Wan thought Anakin was responsible for Yaddle's death.
Sorrow and guilt filled him up so far he felt he was drowning.
And then there was an explosion of light and sorrow… He had lost, in fact, everyone he loved, including Obi-Wan.
The vision had been right.
Chapter Thirteen
Obi-Wan contacted Yoda on the emergency channel. He hated having to be the one to break the news. He would bring Yoda great pain. He felt the pain himself, in the way his body moved like lead. He had barely been able to summon up the right words to say to Anakin, and he knew his words had not reached him.
All he could think of was Yaddle. She had been part of his life from his earliest memory. She had taken special delight in the young Jedi students. She had turned a blind eye to their pranks. She had hidden sweets in their pockets. Her touch on the top of his head had felt like the most comforting thing in the world.
And then he had grown, and things at the Temple had become more serious. There were hard lessons to learn. Yaddle had been there, in a different way. There had been so many times when he had knocked respectfully on her door with a problem he did not want to trouble Yoda with. Obi-Wan realized how exceptional it was that a member of the Jedi Council had allowed herself to be so available to every student. Obi-Wan had not been the only one to seek her counsel, to look for comfort there.
He had lost something so precious. It had been a part of his life for so long he hadn't seen it clearly. Yaddle had just been there, with her quiet wisdom. It was almost as bad as losing Yoda would be.
He gave Yoda the details quickly, knowing he would want to hear everything.
Yoda's voice was liquid with sorrow. 'Felt the Force move, I did. Know I did that she was gone. Prepared my transport for Mawan, I already have.
Her work, we must carry on. May the Force be with us.'
They hadn't slept since Coruscant, but there was no time for sleep.
With Yaddle's death, the fragile coalition she had formed threatened to fall apart. News of the bioweapon had spread, and the Mawans were close to panic. If Granta Omega had a weapon that devastating, who could say that he did not have another?
Within hours, the Senate went back on their pledge to send a security force and sent word that they would await further developments. They would not commit an army to an unstable situation.
Anakin dropped his head in his hands at this news. 'Isn't the instability the point? That's why we need them!'
Obi-Wan sighed. 'Yes, but if the security force is beaten by crimelords, the Senators are afraid it will look bad for them. Their image is more important than Mawan's security.'
'What can we do?' Anakin asked.
'That's the simple part. Present them with an easy win,' Obi-Wan answered. 'The hard part is setting that up. Granta Omega has become our biggest problem.'
'He would be happy to hear that,' Anakin said.
They sat in a small office in the makeshift command center the Senate Provisional Committee had set up. Now that the power grid was functioning, they could monitor the streets through a system of security cams set up around the city. Many had been smashed, but some were still functioning, enough to give them a sense of what was going on. The streets were eerily quiet. Criminal activity had either retreated into buildings or gone underground. The sun was just rising, penetrating the gray with a blush of pink. Obi-Wan wished he felt as hopeful as the scene painted.
Euraana Fall entered, her face pale with fatigue and worry. 'Feeana Tala is close to deserting the city and pulling her patrols. She doesn't think we can hold the city against an attack by Omega.'
'That means the city will be left without security,' Anakin said.
'Which means everyone will retreat belowground again, and we'll be back where we started,' Euraana said, lowering herself into a chair. She bent forward to lean her forehead against her clasped hands. She closed her eyes. 'I'm hoarse from talking and reasoning. I don't know what else to do.
I've been in communication with the Senate representative. He refuses to reconsider the decision to pull back the Senate security force.'
'I will speak with him,' Obi-Wan said. 'And I'll handle Feeana as well. Let's go, Anakin.' It seemed a great effort to haul himself out of his chair. Obi-Wan felt the fatigue deep in his bones. 'We'll grab some food on the way,' he said to Anakin, and saw the boy's face brighten slightly.
They headed to the cafc on the second level. Once it had served the many Mawans who had flocked to the hall for music and lectures, and its extensive stoves and cooling units spoke of the array of foods that had once been offered. Now the shelves were bare. At least there was hot tea and a tray of muja muffins.
Anakin picked one up. 'Stale,' he said, disappointed. 'Why do the bad guys get all the good food?'
Obi-Wan held up his tea. 'That's what dunking is for. Another Jedi lesson for you.'
Anakin tried to smile. It was the first light moment they had exchanged since Yaddle's death. But a moment later, Anakin's face darkened again.
Something is very wrong, Obi-Wan thought. It wasn't just the aftermath of Yaddle's death. Why was it that
