Joylin appeared on the screen. Even on vidscreen, his magnetism was clear. His clothes were stained and rumpled. His face was drawn. Yet strength radiated out from his body, and his eyes were resolute.
'Romin is now in the hands of its people,' he said.
A sound rose from the crowd, half gasp, half cry. No one had liked living under Teda. Yet the liberators had come close to destroying the city. How safe were they?
'The Citizens' Resistance is now occupying the palace of the tyrant Teda as well as the government buildings. We have control of communications and transportation. Order has been returned to the streets. Some regrettable looting and burning has occurred, but it has been stopped. No one will be granted exit from Romin without the permission of the Citizens'
Resistance. The army of the Great Leader has deserted or joined us. Let us rejoice, citizens, in our victory. Our tyrant is finished.'
A woman standing next to Obi-Wan began to weep. A man turned away, his hand at his mouth.
'Although we begin today as the first day of a government of justice and peace, the tyrant who abused our trust, our people, our wealth, our cities, our lands, is still at large. He has fled, like the coward he is.'
Obi-Wan and Siri exchanged a glance. So it was not over, then. As long as Teda remained at large, the resistance's hold on the government was shaky at best.
'Teda has fled along with the few who continue to support him. Among them are his chief of staff, General Yubicon, and the galactic criminal Jenna Zan Arbor.'
Anakin punched the wall with his fist. It was a rare display of anger.
Zan Arbor had slipped through their fingers again.
'Teda is now a wanted criminal. We hereby charge him with crimes against Romin. And so we announce this. We hold the rest of his senior staff and government officials in custody. If Teda does not surrender to us, we will execute them. One by one.'
Joylin stared into the camera. His eyes were burning. 'Watching, caring, protecting. Roy Teda loves his people. Prove to us you are not a monster. Save those who were loyal to you. And meet the justice of the people you claim to love. We await your surrender. The first execution will take place in one hour. Your first aide, Hansel, will be the first to die.'
The screen went to static.
Ferus looked at Obi-Wan. His face was white. He shook his head and turned away.
All night Obi-Wan had consoled himself with the thought that things had to get better with the dawn. Instead, things had gotten worse, more horribly than he could have imagined.
Chapter Thirteen
Obi-Wan was happy to shed the fine robes of Slam. Siri bundled up her shimmersilk dress, now stained and torn, and threw it away.
'I'm glad to be a Jedi again,' she said.
Leaving Anakin and Ferus in charge, they hurried down the deserted streets toward Teda's palace.
'It's not that I'm surprised at what has happened,' Obi-Wan told Siri.
'It's just that I had hoped for better.'
'It is always better to prepare for the worst,' Siri said. 'I'm glad we contacted Master Windu before the revolt.'
'It will still take some time for the Jedi re-enforcements to reach us,' Obi-Wan said. 'Mace said he would come personally. I don't imagine he'll be in the best of moods. He wasn't happy about this plan from the beginning.'
'Neither was Ferus,' Siri said. 'He was right about the revolt. It got out of control too easily. He thinks if we hadn't helped, maybe they would have postponed the revolt. Maybe Teda would have fallen without being pushed. I tell myself that he doesn't have the experience to realize that sometimes you have to make a hard decision and accept the consequences. And then I think… what if he was right?'
'If he was right, then we were wrong,' Obi-Wan said. 'That's all. Do you think the Jedi are always right?'
Siri sighed. 'Sometimes you sound so much like Qui-Gon.'
'After all these years, finally a compliment,' Obi-Wan said.
He was glad to see that the remark lightened Siri's expression. 'Don't let it go to your head,' she growled.
'Ferus is wise beyond his years,' Obi-Wan went on. 'He thinks deeply.
But even though an outcome may seem likely, sometimes one has to risk for the right result.'
'Yes, Ferus is reluctant to risk too much. Not like Anakin,' Siri said. 'He's willing to risk everything.'
She meant it as a compliment, Obi-Wan knew. Siri admired Anakin's daring, his sureness, how fluidly he used the Force. It was unusual for Siri to second-guess a decision, just like Anakin. In some ways, Obi-Wan was more like Ferus. How odd that he and Anakin had become a team. Their temperaments were so different.
Choose the Master, the Padawan does.
Yoda had said that to him many times, from when he himself was an apprentice. The old Jedi Master believed in most cases that the Force drew the Master and his apprentice together for reasons they couldn't see themselves. Obi-Wan felt strongly that this was true.
