Another pause. Then Yoda leaned on his gimer stick and frowned. "Like Ry-Gaul, I have become. Nothing to say, I have." Now he gazed with great affection at Obi-Wan. "What I would say, know you do already."
And Obi-Wan did. A great dread lay inside Yoda. He needed to look at them in case they did not all come back. He needed to stand here and watch them go so they would know how deeply he felt for them. He wanted to see them off, see the last glint of sun on a wing as they flew.
Obi-Wan nodded.
"Checks completed," Anakin called, and Ry-Gaul gave a thumbs-up.
The Jedi turned to board.
"May the Force be with you," Yoda said. He lifted one three-fingered hand in good-bye.
Chapter Four
Obi-Wan sat in front of the nav computer. There was nothing to do; they had been in hyperspace for days now, and they were approaching Korriban within the Horuset system. He knew their position exactly, and how far they needed to go. Still he continued to check coordinates and try to foresee potential problems. It was what he'd always done, even as an apprentice. He found comfort in the routine of it.
The journey had passed without incident. Ferus had kept a delicate distance between himself and Anakin, delicate because he gave distance without seeming to. Obi-Wan appreciated this effort. Ferus had given Anakin space, and that was not easy on such a small cruiser.
Siri came up behind him. "If you check that space chart once more, you're going to burn out the screen."
Obi-Wan spun around in his chair. "It never hurts to triple check."
"It hurts me," Siri said. Her keen blue eyes glinted at him. "All that precision gives me the shivers."
Obi-Wan grinned, then pressed the button for holo-mode. The star chart hovered in the air. "There it is," he said, indicating Korriban. "So isolated that it makes up its own system. Marooned in space, as though the other planets have chosen to hide from it."