seven-hour journey to Coruscant. Each minute seemed to tick by in crisp
eternities.
Obi-Wan was silent during the journey. They had come to understand
each other over the years. Obi-Wan knew when Qui-Gon needed silence.
Qui-Gon didn't know why the disturbing vision of Tahl had appeared.
He only knew that he had to get back to the Temple and make sure she was
safe.
At last they entered the atmosphere of Coruscant. The tall spires of
the multilevel city came into view. Qui-Gon swung the craft into the
fastest lane, cutting off a larger transport. Obi-Wan looked at him,
startled, but Qui-Gon merely pushed the engines to go faster.
He landed the craft and activated the ramp.
He stood, but for the first time in four days he hesitated before
moving.
"I'm sorry for my haste, Obi-Wan. I'll explain one day." When I
understand this myself.
He didn't give his Padawan a chance to reply, but turned and hurried
down the ramp. He would leave Obi-Wan the chore of arrival procedures.
He strode through the door and stopped at the security checkpoint,
where Jedi Knight Cal-i-Vaun was stationed.
"I need to find Jedi Knight Tahl," Qui-Gon said.
Cal-i-Vaun quickly touched the screen in front of him. "She is not in
her quarters. One moment." He touched another point on the screen. "She is
not answering her comlink."
"Thank you." Even the simple courtesy cost him an effort to remember.
"Is she here at the Temple?" he barked.
"Yes, I show no record of departure."
Qui-Gon's fingers drummed on the desk. He did not have the patience
to search the Temple. There were only a few places Tahl could be where she
would turn off her comlink. She was either meditating or swimming in the
lake or...
Or in the Jedi Council Room.
Qui-Gon hurried to the turbolift and took it straight to the Council
Room. The doors were closed. The Council was in session. Qui-Gon broke a
revered Temple rule and accessed the doors without requesting entrance. He
strode in.
Tahl stood in the middle of the circle. She turned at the sound of
the opening door. Even without her sight she knew his presence immediately.
Qui-Gon was so glad to see her he did not mind her frown.
Yoda blinked at him impassively, but Mace Windu's eyebrows lowered.
"To what do we owe this... intrusion, Qui-Gon?" Mace Windu asked.
"I apologize to all the Jedi Masters," Qui-Gon said, bowing. "I knew
Tahl was here, and I felt I had to be present."
To his surprise, Mace Windu nodded, as though Qui-Gon's reason was
logical.
"We will allow you to remain, seeing that you have a connection to
this mission," he said. "We would have requested your presence had we known
you had returned."
Qui-Gon hid his surprise. Tahl clasped her hands in front of her for
a moment. Beneath the folds of her long robe, he saw her long fingers
clench and unclench. She was not happy he had interfered, that was clear.
Her voice was calm when she spoke, however. "I will resume the
briefing," she said, angling her body slightly so that Qui-Gon was now
slightly behind her. It effectively demonstrated to the Masters her desire
to remain the focus of the meeting. "I received a distress call this
morning from the twin sisters Alani and Eritha from the planet New Apsolon.
"
Now Qui-Gon understood Mace Windu's reaction to his presence. Years
ago, Tahl and Qui-Gon had been sent on a mission to Apsolon. They had been
sent as Jedi observers to ensure a peaceful transition of government.
"Let me review my last mission there," Tahl said. "Apsolon used to
prosperous minority called the Civilized and a majority called the Workers.
The Workers lived in a separate sector of the city in poor housing and had
to pass through checkpoints at an energy wall to travel to work. The
Civilized kept control through a feared and hated secret police, called the
Absolutes. As no doubt members of the Council are aware, Apsolon is a
center of the high-tech industry. The Workers tried to achieve what they
called a 'bloodless revolution' through a campaign of industrial sabotage.
The civil war was conducted with some violence, but nowhere near as bad as
we have seen on other worlds. Mostly the violence came from the Absolutes
as they tried to stop the sabotage and demonstrations. But the Workers were
not stopped. The economic pressures forced the government to call for free
elections and give each Worker a vote. As a result, a Worker leader who
had been a hero to the people, Ewane, was elected. Apsolon was renamed New
Apsolon to symbolize this new direction."
Qui-Gon remembered Ewane well, as well as his two daughters. Ewane
had been imprisoned for many years. The girls' mother had died when they
were young, so they had been raised by his supporters. They had been
pretty, quiet girls who had looked at Tahl with awe and brought out a
tenderness in Tahl he had rarely seen.
"Ewane ruled for five years as Supreme Governor and was reelected,"
Tahl went on. "Shortly after this, he was murdered."
Qui-Gon closed his eyes in a moment of remembrance. Tall, elegant
Ewane had been frail from his years of captivity, but his inner strength
had given him an aura of nobility. His sense of loyalty and purpose had
made him an ideal leader. He had been committed to bringing justice, not
punishment, to his former enemies. How sad that he hadn't been given a
chance to fulfill his great promise.
"His successor is his close associate, Roan, who was one of the few
Civilized who called early on for social change. Roan was admired by most
of the population at one time, but now many among the Workers believe he
backed Ewane's killers and took the office in a coup. The planet has
plunged into instability once again. Ewane's daughters, Alani and Eritha,
are now sixteen. They are in hiding and fear for their lives. They have
appealed to me for help. They want safe passage to Coruscant. I must go to
New Apsolon and escort them."
"A worthy mission," Mace Windu said. "Of course the girls must be
rescued."
"Sad it is that the planet is plunged into chaos once more," Yoda
said. "Ask for our help the government itself does not, however. Therefore
unofficial, your mission is."
"I owe the girls my loyalty," Tahl said. "I must go."
Qui-Gon was not surprised at Tahl's determination. She had formed a
close bond with the young twins. They had been the cause of a serious
disagreement between the two Jedi. Once the elections were held and Ewane
had been elected, Qui-Gon had been ready to leave the planet. Tahl had been
concerned about Ewane and his family's safety, and felt the new government
was too fragile and new to trust. There were still powerful factions among
the rich minority that wanted it to fail, and she suspected that the
Absolutes had not disbanded, as had been promised, but were still working
in an underground capacity. Qui-Gon had agreed that some of
this might be
true, but it was not the Jedi's job to remain as an occupation force.
They had argued over whether to remain or go. Privately Qui-Gon had
felt that Tahl's connection to Eritha and Alani was influencing her
feeling. The motherless girls had come to depend on her. But in the end,
Qui-Gon prevailed, and they left the planet.
Was this the source of Tahl's coolness to him now? He could feel it
like a presence in the room. Did she remember their quarrel? Did she feel
justified now? The girls were in danger. Perhaps if the Jedi had remained
to clear out the last nest of Absolutes, Ewane would not have been
murdered.
Perhaps. There was no way to know. And lately there had been tension
between Tahl and Qui-Gon that did not have to do with missions. It was a
tension he did not completely understand. Tahl had taken the Jedi student
named Bant as her Padawan, but had not entirely accepted her as a partner,
often leaving to go on missions alone. She knew that Qui-Gon disapproved of
this. He knew how capable she was and was astonished at how she compensated
for her blindness. Still he feared that a situation could arise in which
she would overestimate her abilities. Her need to go on missions alone
distressed him.
No matter how he chided himself, he could not stop feeling protective
toward Tahl. It was not because of her blindness. It was because of her
need to prove her blindness did not matter.
"We will arrange for a transport and pilot to be ready," Mace Windu
told Tahl. "We request that you keep in touch with us frequently, since you
are going alone."
"I am willing to go with Tahl on this mission," Qui-Gon said quickly.
"Since I, too, know the situation well, I can be of help."
"There is no need for Qui-Gon to accompany me," Tahl said. "I have a
contact on New Apsolon. I should be able to collect the girls and return in
a matter of days."
Qui-Gon nodded in Tahl's direction. "Respectfully, I must point out
that the Jedi made enemies on Apsolon. There were some on both sides who
did not welcome us. The Civilized blamed us for the election of a Worker.
The Workers blamed us for supporting neutral trials for war criminals. Tahl
could be in danger."
"I do not think that this warrants another Jedi presence - " Tahl
began, but Yoda interrupted her.
"Made his point, Qui-Gon has," he said. "A good one, it is. Yet wish
you do not a companion on this journey, and true it is that it will be a
short one. Suggest I do that you conceal your identity upon your arrival."
Tahl looked relieved. "I can do that."
Qui-Gon opened his mouth to speak, but Yoda gave him a piercing
glance.
"Settled it is, then," Yoda said.
Qui-Gon could do nothing more than follow Tahl from the room. He
could not share his disturbing vision with the Council. He would not share
it with Tahl. Jedi did not feel that visions should necessarily govern
behavior. They were easily misinterpreted and were sometimes grounded in
inner fears that one did not fully understand. It would be of no use for
Qui-Gon to explain his anxiety.
As soon as they exited the chamber, Tahl turned to him. "I don't know
why you insisted on interfering like that, Qui-Gon" she said. "But I do not
like it."
"I was on the original mission," Qui-Gon replied. "I thought I could
be of help."
She turned to him. Her unusual striped green-gold eyes were just as
piercing as they'd ever been. One arched eyebrow lifted.
"Tell me. Did you know that New Apsolon was the subject of that
meeting when you arrived?"
Qui-Gon could not lie to Tahl. "No. I did not."
Her face tightened. "Then it is as I thought. You will not allow me
to act as a full Jedi Knight. Because I am blind, you think I need a
caretaker."
"No - "
In a rare show of anger, she stamped her foot. Her caramel skin
flushed with pink. "Then what? Why do you keep insisting on interfering?"
"Friendship."
One corner of her full mouth lifted. "Then in the name of friendship,
dear Qui-Gon, leave me be."
She turned abruptly toward the turbolift. He felt the drift of her
soft robe against his hand as she moved, and then she was gone.
CHAPTER 3
Matters that took place in the Jedi Council were private, but it was
not difficult for Obi-Wan to discover what had happened in the Council
Room. Tahl had briefed Bant, her Padawan, and a disturbed Bant had confided
in Obi-Wan. He heard that Qui-Gon had barged in without an invitation and
had asked to accompany Tahl on her mission. He knew that the Council and
Tahl had refused.
Bant was upset that once again Tahl had left her behind. True, the
mission was a short one, but Bant struggled not to feel that Tahl did not
trust her fully.
"I must learn to accept the way she is and believe that she knows
best," Bant told Obi-Wan as they walked around the lake early one morning.
The illumination banks overhead simulated a soft dawn. "But it's so hard. I
thought that at last we were beginning to become full partners. She seemed
to rely on me more. She went on fewer missions alone. I think Yoda might
have spoken to her about leaving me behind. Yet now I find that she has
gone off with only a few words to me."
If Qui-Gon had done the same, Obi-Wan knew he would be as upset as
Bant. Perhaps more so. He had been with Qui-Gon longer than Bant had been
with Tahl. They had had opportunities to work out the various bumps in
their relationship. Bant had a rockier time. Tahl was kind and humorous,
but she kept a part of herself aloof.
"It took years for Qui-Gon and me to develop our closeness," Obi-Wan
tried to reassure her. "The only thing I can advise is patience. Just as
you once advised me."
"I don't get the chance to be close to Tahl," Bant said. "I'm too
busy sitting here at the Temple without her."
Obi-Wan understood a bit of her distress. For the first time in a
long while, he did not know what his Master was thinking.
In the days since Tahl had left, Qui-Gon's restlessness had deepened.
Obi-Wan could see it. His Master had already decided to follow their
tracking and survival exercise with physical training at the Temple. Qui-
Gon threw himself into this without a break. He studied with the Jedi
Masters, perfecting his battle skills, his endurance, his strength. Obi-Wan
would often have to remind him to eat his evening meal. Qui-Gon looked
tired and depleted.
"There is distance between me and Qui-Gon right now," Obi-Wan
confided. "I don't understand it, but I know I will in time. Qui-Gon has
told me that each of us is still an individual. We will have worries and
concerns that are unique to us. We cannot expect to always understand each
other. The commitment is what is important."
"But is that commitment important to Tahl?" Bant asked. Her silver
eyes searched his.
"I think it is," Obi-Wan answered. "She is a Jedi."
"The mission was supposed to take two or three days at
the most,"
Bant said worriedly. "It has been almost two weeks now."
Obi-Wan put his hand on Bant's shoulder. His words could not help
her. He only hoped his presence could.
Qui-Gon tried to lose himself in training. If he worked his body hard
enough, he could push worry aside for short periods. But the weeks passed,
and the nagging feeling that Tahl needed him still preyed on his mind. She
had not checked in with the Council. This was not unusual. Events happened
that could prevent contact on any mission. Yoda had told him with unusual
sternness that the Council was not worried.
He was the only one who worried. But did that mean he was wrong?
All he could see were her eyes. Usually they blazed like green
crystals with traces of gold. Now they were black and dull, filmed with
suffering.