He would never know that, either.

He would have liked more time to talk to Anakin, but they drew up in front of the reception chamber where Yoda had asked them to convene.

Obi-Wan stepped forward to access the door but it slid open before he could. Yoda was always a step ahead of him.

Yet Yoda had a more significant surprise. He stood in the middle of the room with Lorian Nod. Lorian was older, his hair completely silver now. He wasn't as lean, but his body still looked strong. Dressed in a cloak of veda cloth, he looked more like a successful businessman than a soldier, but it was unmistakably Lorian Nod.

"What is he doing here?" Obi-Wan barked. He was seldom, if ever, rude.

But lately he hadn't had the time to hide his feelings. Anakin was not the only one who had developed impatience.

"To help the Jedi, Lorian Nod has come," Yoda said. "Really," Obi-Wan said, strolling in. "Are you offering to set up your own security force, Nod?"

Lorian bowed his head slightly, as if he had expected Obi-Wan's jibe and accepted it as his due. "I knew I would meet skepticism if I came here," he said. "All I can say is that I admit I have not operated within galactic laws during some periods of my life. Yet now, when things are so serious, I find that I must return to my beginnings. I wish to help the Jedi."

"And how do you think you can do that?" Obi-Wan asked.

Yoda blinked at Obi-Wan. It was just a blink. But it told him that his tone was not appreciated.

"Ruler of Junction 5, Lorian Nod is," he said.

Again, Obi-Wan was surprised. "How did you manage that? The last time I saw you, you were about to go to prison for a very long time."

"I did go to prison for a very long time," Lorian answered. "Then I got out."

"And you seized power," Obi-Wan said, disgusted.

"Obi-Wan." Yoda's voice had a quality Obi-Wan recognized, something he thought of as durasteel sheathed in ice.

Chastised like a youngling, Obi-Wan indicated that Lorian should go on.

"I was elected," Lorian said. "When I got out of prison, things had not changed much on Junction 5. Because Delaluna had allowed them to believe that they possessed the Annihilator, the great distrust between them had not diminished. The population still lived in a climate of fear. I suggested that I be an envoy to Delaluna and open talks between us. As the one who caused the worst of the trouble, I could be the one to stop it."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms, waiting.

"I would have failed," Lorian said, "if it wasn't for Samish Kash. He had recently been elected as ruler of Delaluna. He, too, believed that the mistrust between two such close planets was harmful to them both.

He believed that open trade and travel between Junction 5 and Delaluna would benefit everyone. So we sat down at a table and began to talk.

We reached an agreement, and trade began. Borders were opened. We formed a partnership with the Bezim and Vicondor systems to build the Station 88 Spaceport. Both our worlds thrived and prospered. Because of the success of our plan, I was elected leader of Junction 5 three years later. I have ruled during a peaceful time. Our two little worlds were overlooked by the powers in the galaxy. In the Senate, we were one tiny voice among many. And now everything has changed."

"The systems of Junction 5 and Delaluna, found they are. Crucial to the success of the Separatists, they have become," Yoda said.

"The Station 88 Spaceport," Lorian Nod explained. "We are a gateway to the Mid-Rim systems."

Yoda lifted a hand, and a holographic map appeared. Junction 5 and Delaluna were illuminated. "If Junction 5 and Delaluna fall under Separatist control, fall Bezim and Vicondor will," he said. "Control they will a vast portion of the Mid-Rim systems."

"Count Dooku knows this very well," Lorian said. "He has contacted me.

So far he has tried flattery and bribes to sway me to the Separatists, and I have lied and said I was leaning that way. Officially Samish Kash and I have not allied ourselves with either the Separatists or the Republic. I am not sure which way Kash is leaning, but I know that I have kept my own allegiances hidden. If Dooku knew I was loyal to the Republic, he could use force against my world — something I desperately wish to avoid. And I want to keep the Station 88 Spaceport as a strategic base for the Republic."

Obi-Wan nodded. He was interested now. He could see how important the tiny worlds of Junction 5 and Delaluna had become.

"Why not just declare your allegiance in the Senate?" Anakin asked.

"They would send troops to protect you."

"Spread thin, the clone troops have become," Yoda said. "Our last option, that would be. A better way, Lorian has suggested."

"You may not be aware of this, Obi-Wan, but Dooku and I were friends during Temple training," Lorian said. "We had a falling out, but that was many years ago. I'm not sure if Dooku trusts me, but he needs me.

It also makes sense to him that I would want to join the Separatists.

"It makes sense to me, too," Obi-Wan said. "Why don't you?"

"Because I have seen how making beings afraid or angry is the best way to make a power grab," Lorian said. "The Separatists have a point — the Senate has become a corrupt place where the needs of smaller systems go unheard. They have taken this resentment and used it as a screen for their own ends. Who are Dooku's main backers? That is where I look. The Commerce Guilds. The Trade Federation. The Corporate Alliance. The InterGalactic Bank Clan. What do they all have in common but wealth, and the desire for more power? This movement is a cover for greed." Lorian shook his head. "I am no longer able to access the Force as I did before. But I don't need the Force to show me that this road is a road to darkness."

Yoda bowed his head in agreement. Obi-Wan agreed as well. He just didn't like hearing this from Lorian Nod.

"Master Yoda, you had my first loyalty, and you have it still," Lorian said. "I have done things in my life that I know were wrong, but I am here to do right. I am here to serve the Jedi."

"What do you propose?" Obi-Wan asked. He wasn't interested in Lorian's avowals. He was only interested in what he would do.

"Dooku has called a meeting," Lorian said. "I have indicated to him that Samish Kash is leaning toward the Republic. He thinks he needs me to persuade or strong-arm Samish into the Separatist camp. Also at the meeting will be the rulers of Bezim and Vicondor. Dooku has proposed this as a friendly meeting at his villa on the world of Null."