Star Wars - Lost Tribe of the Sith 06 - Sentinel

ungrateful, too.”
    “Han—”
    “Go get cleaned up, and sanisteam Anji if you can, while your grandma and I discuss the impossibility of keeping children—or teenage princesses—clean.”
    “Yes, Grandpa.” Allana scurried while the scurrying was good. She didn’t have to look back to detect the glare Leia was visiting on Han.
    Cilghal and Tekli walked toward an office at the far end of the hall from the Horns’ chamber, just short of the waiting room.
    Cilghal had Josat’s script timed and running in her head. He would now be moving around the Horns’ chamber, humming to himself, cautioning Valin and Jysella not to move or talk—the monitors needed stillness to do this evaluation—but
he
could talk, fortunately, for it was impossible for him to keep quiet, or so his family said …
    Tekli interrupted the holodrama in Cilghal’s head. “So, what
did
cause the pod monitor to fail?”
    “Maybe what I said. And maybe it was a spike of the ability Valin manifested when he went mad.”
    “The one that blanked out the encephaloscan?”
    “Yes. He was probably using the technique when he was frozen. The monitor failure would have been the last bit of that usage.”
    “Hmm.” Tekli didn’t comment. She didn’t need to: Cilghal knew what she was thinking. Retention of that scanner-blanking ability was not an indication that Valin retained the madness, as well, but neither physician liked mysteries.
    When the two of them entered their office, the main monitor on the wall was already tuned to a hidden holocam view of the Horns’ chamber. They could see Josat indeed bustling among the cabinets, assembling a tray full of beverages, receptacles for medicines, blood samples, swabs.
    Tekli heaved a sigh. “So far, so good.”
    Cilghal offered a noncommittal rumble. “Time will tell.”
    Josat moved to Valin and then Jysella, offering drinks. His voice was crisp over the monitor speakers. “We gave you the farthest room from the turbolifts and offices and waiting room. Much quieter here. If there’s an emergency, though, it’s safer to head to the stairs instead of the turbolifts. Right next door, take a left when you leave this chamber, it’s the door straight ahead, you canfind it in pitch darkness. That can be important. I never used to pay attention to things like that, but since I started studying nursing, I have to know these things. Jedi Tekli will make me run laps if I ever don’t know where the emergency exits are from any of my stations. Were your Masters always assigning you exercise when you messed up? Don’t answer, the monitors need quiet.”
    Cilghal blinked, pleased. “He worked that in very well.”
    “About the punishment?”
    “About the stairs.”
    “I know.”
    Cilghal sighed. “Mammalian humor. Deliberate misinterpretation.”
    “Tends to drive a Master crazy, doesn’t it?”
    Josat now stood beside Valin’s gurney, his lightsaber swaying on his belt within Valin’s easy reach. The apprentice eyed one of the wall monitors. “Slow progress on your evaluation. No matter. Nobody will come back to bother you until it’s run its course. Half an hour at least, I’m guessing.”
    Cilghal nodded. “The last of the bait. He is not a bad actor.” Under ideal circumstances, Valin or Jysella might feel a trace of deceit from him through the Force, but now, still suffering a little from the aftereffects of carbonite freezing, they were unlikely to.
    They were, however, likely to add up four important details. First, they were in a room at the end of the corridor, away from most visitors and medical personnel. Second, they were next to stairs that would allow them to reach any level of the Temple while bypassing well-traveled turbolifts. Third, they had half an hour before their absence would be noticed. And fourth, they had ready access to a lightsaber.
    If they were still mad, and merely concealing the fact, could they resist the bait?
    But neither Horn made a grab for the lightsaber.
    If they had done so—well, it wouldn’t have been too damaging. The lightsaber would not have ignited. Switching it on, or having Cilghal or Tekli press a button on the comlinks they carried, would cause the false lightsaber to emit a powerful stunning gas. The Horns would have been felled without violence, never having even reached the corridor. Josat would have been felled as well, but it would have been easier on him than being thrashed by two experienced Knights.
    But, clearly, escape was