Jedi Voyage #5 - The Academy Of Fright

Chapter Five

  Obi-Wan was ushered immediately into Berm Tarturi's private office. The Senator from Andara had a grand suite hung with delicate curtains of silver and gold shimmersilk. The different flowers of Andara were stitched with bright crimson thread into the fabric. Instead of a desk or table, Berm Tarturi sat on a platform with plush cushions. The platform had a work surface that swiveled up from underneath so that one could recline and work at the same time.
  Tarturi was a large man with a bald head and the misery on his face was a contrast to the luxurious surroundings.
  "I have heard from them at last." He pushed a datascreen toward Obi-Wan.
  Obi-Wan walked forward to read it.
  WE HAVE YOUR SON. WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.
  On the screen was an image of a tall, muscular boy clutching a blanket around his shoulders. His mouth was twisted in a way that told Obi-Wan he was trying to be brave.
  Obi-Wan felt his fury rise at the sight, but he kept his voice neutral. "Not much to go on," he said.
  Berm dropped his head in his hands. "They are trying to torture me. There is a personal vendetta here. I can feel it."
  "Do you suspect who it is?" Obi-Wan asked.
  "It is Rana Halion," Berm said. "I'm sure of it. She's the driving force behind those who wish to overthrow the Andaran trade system. She's the ruler of Ieria, the next largest planet to Andara. I've known her for years. She's a ruthless politician. She has assembled a secret army and has persuaded several other worlds to join the effort. She is now at the Senate, lobbying for help for her cause. She claims the Andaran system needs two representatives in the Senate. She's trying to grab power, nothing more. She says she speaks for the majority of those in the Andaran system. It is a lie! I am the Senator of Andara. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants."
  "She would kidnap a young boy?" Obi-Wan asked. "That is a serious charge, Senator."
  He looked up at Obi-Wan bleakly. "She is a serious person. What are rules and laws to her? I'm positive that she or her supporters have broken into my office and looked through my files."
  "Was security breached?" Obi-Wan asked.
  "No, but I know she was here! Someone was!" Berm insisted. "I'm telling you, she has my son. What are you going to do about it?" Berm's voice had risen shrilly.
  "I am here to find your son," Obi-Wan said calmly. "I will investigate what you have told me. Accusing her without proof would get us nowhere. And you don't want to endanger Gillam."
  Berm slumped back against the cushions. "No, of course not. I haven't brought in Coruscant security because they are so heavy-handed. I knew the Jedi could handle this discreetly. It's just that I fear for Gillam. He thinks he is an adult. He is only sixteen." He glanced at the datascreen and his gaze softened.
  "I know what that is like," Obi-Wan said, thinking of Anakin.
  "We must find him soon," Berm said.
  "Do you have enemies in the Senate?" Obi-Wan inquired.
  Berm shook his head.
  "I find that hard to believe, Senator," Obi-Wan said. "All politicians have enemies."
  "Not me," Berm shot back. "Oh, I suppose I have political disagreements with my colleagues. But enemies? I do not cultivate them."
  "We do not need to cultivate enemies," Obi-Wan said. "They flourish without us." He sensed that Berm Tarturi did not want to answer the question, so he tried a different tack. "Tell me about security at the Leadership School."
  "I demanded a report from them that includes the data records from that night," Berm said. He reached over for a holofile. "Here is the report." He thrust it Obi-Wan eagerly. "Perhaps you can find something in it. I couldn't. I had the best security experts go over it. I chose the Leadership School not only because of its reputation, but because of its security. It rivals the best in the galaxy. How could Gillam just disappear? That's what makes me think that Rana is responsible. She has a planetary treasury to draw on. She could hire the most sophisticated tech team in the galaxy to override the system. Didn't she break in here without tripping the alarm?"
  Obi-Wan took a quick look at the holofile in his hands. "Everything seems in order, but I'll have the analysts at the Temple go over this. How often do you communicate with your son normally?"
  "Almost every night. The school has a contact hour in the evenings. Otherwise he is on comm silence."
  Obi-Wan knew this. Students were restricted in use of communication devices except for a one-hour period. It was the time he had set up to speak with Anakin and Ferus.
  "We're very close," Berm went on. "His mother died three years ago."
  Obi-Wan looked down at the security report. "It says here that you last checked in with Gillam over a month ago."
  Berm flushed. "There are many details at the Senate that require my attention. That doesn't mean I'm not close to my son."
  "Did Gillam have special friends at the school?"
  "Of course. He's very popular."
  "What are their names?"
  Berm looked at him blankly. "Ah... let me see. Hmm. I don't recall. The stress of this whole affair has been so great, it's hard to remember every detail...."
  "How about vacations? Where did Gillam spend his?"
  "With me, of course. Unless my duties here prevented him from joining me. Then we would spend vacations at our mountain home on Andara."
  "By himself?"
  "Of course not. There were servants in attendance."
  Obi-Wan nodded. He was beginning to get the picture of a lonely boy.
  Berm seemed to sense this, for he said quickly, "But he loved coming here to visit me. He was just here a month ago. He wants to be a Senator, like me. We are very close."
  "Of course," Obi-Wan said. "Let me take this message with me, and I'll keep you updated."
  "Anything I can do for my son, I will do," Berm said.
  "I appreciate that, Senator Tarturi," Obi-Wan replied. He believed that the Senator was sincere. But he did not believe that Tarturi had told him everything. Senators were used to concealing some of the truth in order to place themselves in the best light. It was their nature. He needed a clear view of Senator Tarturi's role in the Senate, and he knew just who to ask.

  Obi-Wan tried to access the door to Tyro Caladian's tiny office, but the door stuck after it had slid open only a few centimeters.
  "Tyro?" he shouted inside the crack.
  "Go away," a muffled voice answered.
  "It's Obi-Wan!"
  "Obi-Wan! For star's sake, don't move." Obi-Wan heard the sound of crashing and banging. "I'm coming – oof! Don't... I'm almost there... ah!"
  The door slowly opened, pushed by Tyro. "Can't you..." he puffed "... use your Force... to help?"
  Obi-Wan leaned against the door frame, watching. "I'm enjoying this too much."
  Tyro got the door all the way open. He wiped his forehead, where his fur had matted with sweat. "So happy to amuse. Thanks."
  Obi-Wan strolled inside. Tyro's office was filled with plastoid boxes crammed with durasheet documents. More plastoid file boxes were stacked against a wall. Some of the boxes had been shoved against the door, causing it to jam. "What's going on?"
  "I told you I'd get something on Sano Sauro," Tyro said, climbing over a box to get to a holodocument-strewn desk. "I requisitioned all the documents in the Senate registry that involve his homeworld. He couldn't seal everything, just his personal docs."
  "All of them?" Obi-Wan asked incredulously. "But he's been a Senator for nine years!"
  Tyro ruefully surveyed the crowded office. "Well, it might take a while. But what can I do for you, Obi-Wan? I'm at your service, as always."
  "What do you know about Berm Tarturi?" Obi-Wan asked. He raised a hand and used the Force to push aside a tower of documents in order to sit down.
  Tyro looked from the ease of Obi-Wan's gesture back to the door he had struggled with. His ears twitched as he sat down. "I sure could use that Force of yours. Think how I could save on maid service. Anyway – Tarturi. The one who's son has been kidnapped."
  Obi-Wan was startled. "How do you know that? There's been no official word."
  Tyro smiled, his small, pointed teeth glistening. "Why are you in this office?"
  Obi-Wan inclined his head. "Because you hear everything."
  "What exactly do you need to know?" Tyro said. "I know many things about Senator Tarturi. For example, at the moment he is engaged in the fight of his political career."
  "Who is his biggest enemy in the Senate?" Obi-Wan asked.
  "Are you serious?" Tyro said. "You don't know?"
  "Why else would I be here?" Obi-Wan asked irritably. "Because I enjoy filing?"
  "Sano Sauro is his biggest enemy," Tyro said.
  "Sauro?" Obi-Wan felt his pulse quicken. "Tarturi didn't mention him."
  Tyro snorted. "He wouldn't. They are locked in a bitter battle over the redistribution of trade routes. Typical Senate bureaucratic tangle, but for them – it might as well be life or death. It means money, payoffs... and reelection. The battle has left them mortal enemies."
  "But why wouldn't Tarturi tell me this?" Obi-Wan wondered.
  "Because Senators never admit they have enemies, Obi-Wan," Tyro said patiently. "Don't you know that by now? It gives their opponents more power if they acknowledge them."
  "Even when his son is missing?"
  Tyro laughed, but the laugh had no humor in it. "His mother could be missing, his wife, and his pet nek battle dog. He still wouldn't tell you everything."
  "So," Obi-Wan said thoughtfully, "if Berm Tarturi was distracted by his son's kidnapping..."
  "Sauro could profit handsomely," Tyro finished. "The committee is in session right now. If Tarturi misses even one meeting, Sauro could gain the upper hand." Tyro sat up straighter. "Do you think Sauro could be involved?"
  "Does Sauro know Rana Halion?" Obi-Wan asked.
  "The leader of the Andaran opposition? I don't think so," Tyro answered. "But if he did meet with her, it would have to be in secret. Naturally he would support her efforts in the Andaran system. It would destroy Tarturi's power base." Tyro tapped a triple-jointed finger on a pile of datasheets. "Not to mention that Halion could get her new trade routes if she throws her support to Sauro. They both have much to gain from an alliance."
  "So if Halion cooked up a plot to kidnap Gillam Tarturi, Sauro might help," Obi-Wan said.
  Tyro nodded. "My enemy's enemy is my friend, you mean."
  "Or he could have cooked up the plot and enlisted her. It is certainly something he is capable of."
  Tyro's ears twitched excitedly. "If we could find proof, it would mean the end of his career. I'd have him in prison. And you'd have your files. The block of the order to reveal would be dissolved."
  "And we'd find Gillam Tarturi," Obi-Wan said.