by Jude Watson
THE DEATH OF HOPE
CHAPTER 1
Obi-Wan Kenobi kept his eyes on his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. He did not
like to break Qui-Gon's concentration, but he was impatient to know what
his Master was thinking.
They sat in the small, elegant waiting room at the Supreme Governor's
residence on the planet of New Apsolon. A lightsaber lay on a small table
next to Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon didn't move his eyes from it. Every few minutes he
would pick up the hilt and hold it in his hand. He had even activated it a
few times, losing himself in the sapphire glow. Then he would deactivate it
and, still holding it tightly, get up to pace the room. In just moments he
would abruptly whirl, slam the lightsaber down on the table again, and sit.
The process had been going on for some time now.
Obi-Wan was sure that his Master was formulating a plan. Jedi Knight
Tahl had been kidnapped. They knew who the culprit was - Balog, the Chief
Security Controller of New Apsolon. They just did not know why, or where
Balog had taken her. Tahl had not been able to leave any clues behind.
Obi-Wan was trying to come up with the best course of action himself.
He hadn't gotten far. They both doubted that Balog was acting alone, but
they didn't know who he was in league with. Confidently, Obi-Wan waited for
Qui-Gon to conclude his internal strategy session. He had seen it in the
past. His Master would turn and look at him directly. His gaze would be
sharp and focused. He would crisply outline the best way to proceed.
Qui-Gon turned to him at last. "I should have gone with her to that
meeting," he said sadly.
Startled, Obi-Wan could only shake his head. Qui-Gon never wasted
time on what they should have done. "But Balog told us that only one Jedi
was allowed."
"I should have made her leave the planet when it was clear her
identity was compromised." Tahl had gone undercover and pretended to be one
of the Absolutes. They had once been the secret police of New Apsolon, and
had since been outlawed. They had never disbanded, though, and had
continued to meet in secret, gathering power over the years.
"But she would not have left." Obi-Wan spoke patiently. He wasn't
telling Qui-Gon anything his Master did not know already. "We need to
contact the Temple. They will send help."
"Not yet." Qui-Gon's tone was firm. "We know now that there are many
here who hate and resent the Jedi. If more Jedi arrive, it will make it
harder for us to find contacts to help us. Especially among the Workers."
"But a Jedi Knight is missing," Obi-Wan said. "It is our duty to
contact the Council."
"And we will," Qui-Gon told him. "But we need twenty-four hours
first. We will find her, Obi-Wan. I can feel her. I know she is alive. I
know she will find a way to help us once we get on her trail." Qui-Gon
returned to his pacing. "We should talk to Balog's assistant again."
"We've already spoken to him twice," Obi-Wan said quietly. "Both of
us felt sure he had nothing more to tell us." It would feel strange and
awkward to tell his own Master to focus, as Qui-Gon had told him so many
times. Yet Obi-Wan felt that Qui-Gon needed to slow down. His Master's
thoughts were circling in a pattern that would lead nowhere. Obi-Wan could
see it clearly, for he had been taught by Qui-Gon how to think calmly in
the midst of panic, how to find a way out.
Qui-Gon knew this. Why couldn't he practice it?
Obi-Wan could see anguish and desperation on Qui-Gon's face, and
something it took a beat for him to recognize - indecision. With a sense of
shock, he realized that Qui-Gon did not know what to do next. Qui-Gon
always knew what to do next.
Obi-Wan decided to use a method Qui-Gon had for helping to focus. If
you don't know which way to turn, review what you know.
"This is what we know," Obi-Wan began, even though he could tell that
Qui-Gon was only half-listening. Obi-Wan was starting to worry about his
Master, and that was taking his own attention from the task at hand. "There
are two factions battling for power on New Apsolon - the Workers and the
Civilized. The government is in disarray. Before we arrived on New Apsolon,
the Supreme Governor, Ewane, was assassinated. He was a Worker who had been
imprisoned for many years by the Absolutes. After his death, his close
ally, Roan, was elected. Though Roan was a Civilized, he had fought for the
Workers to become full citizens of New Apsolon. He took in Ewane's twin
daughters, Alani and Eritha. But Alani and Eritha still feared for their
lives. They contacted the Jedi to escort them off-planet."
Qui-Gon stirred impatiently. "We know all this, Obi-Wan."
Obi-Wan had once been impatient when Qui-Gon repeated facts to him.
But Qui-Gon had always ignored his impatience and continued. Now it was
Obi-Wan's turn to push forward.
"Tahl came to the planet alone and infiltrated the disbanded
Absolutes, who had gone underground. After we arrived, Eritha and Alani
were kidnapped. Roan disappeared to pay the ransom and was killed. Shortly
afterward, the twins were released, which led us to believe that Roan was
the true target all along. Tahl's identity as a Jedi was discovered but she
escaped. She went to a peace negotiation meeting of Workers and Civilized
organized by Balog. Only we have discovered that there was no meeting.
Balog lied in order to kidnap Tahl. The question is, why? Balog was a
Worker. It doesn't seem likely he'd kidnap a Jedi."
"Anything is likely on this planet," Qui-Gon said grimly, shoving
Tahl's lightsaber into his belt.
"Another question is whether Tahl's kidnapping is linked to the
twins," Obi-Wan went on. "Was Balog responsible for that, too? If so, he is
most likely responsible for the murder of Roan.
Irini gave us information from the Workers that suggested that the
person who masterminded the twins' kidnapping was in the inner circle here.
But why Balog?"
Qui-Gon's gaze was clear now. "We don't know the answers to any of
these questions," he said. "But it seems clear that it is all linked -
Ewane's assassination, Roan's murder, the kidnapping of the twins - and
that someone or some organization is behind these things. They want power."
"So kidnapping Tahl is a way for them to get that power? How?"
"Uncovering the answers will take longer than a day. Time we don't
have. We need to find Tahl first." Qui-Gon turned back to Obi-Wan. "What
was the principal method the Absolutes used to keep the Workers in line?"
"Probe droids," Obi-Wan answered after a moment. "The droids on New
Apsolon are technologically advanced. They can track subjects and attack to
stun or kill. The vital information of all Workers was kept in files, and
with that information a probe droid could be programmed to target a
specific person - " Obi-Wan slowly rose. "Of course. Balog is a Worker. If
we
can get his vitals - "
"And a probe droid," Qui-Gon finished.
A soft voice came from behind them. "But they are illegal now."
It was Alani. The slight sixteen-year-old stood in the doorway for a
moment, dressed in a simple tunic, her golden hair braided and coiled
around her head. She had dark smudges under her eyes. The twins had stayed
awake mourning Roan, and the news of Tahl's disappearance had devastated
them. Tahl and the twins had a special bond.
She took a few steps into the room. "I didn't mean to overhear. I
came to see if I can bring you refreshment."
"We'd rather have a probe droid," Qui-Gon said.
"I might be able to help you with that as well," Alani said. "At
least, I know someone who can find one. Lenz."
"Lenz," Obi-Wan said, repeating the name. Lenz had been among the
Workers in a secret meeting he and Qui-Gon had overheard.
"He is the leader of the Workers," Alani said. "He will say he
doesn't know how to get one, but that's a lie. Tell him I sent you."
"You know him well?" Qui-Gon asked.
"Lenz took us in when our father was imprisoned," Alani said. "So
yes, I know him well. We are not in touch anymore, but he will help you if
I ask him to. The trouble will be finding him. He moves from place to
place."
"We have no time to waste," Obi-Wan said in frustration. Would they
need a probe droid to track Lenz, too?
Alani frowned, thinking. "Irini will know how to find him. She will
be at her job at the Absolute Museum by now."
The Jedi knew Irini. But knowing her didn't mean she would help them.
She was a prominent leader in the Worker movement, and she had made it
clear that she did not consider the Jedi her allies. They suspected her of
trying to kill them when they had first arrived on New Apsolon. But there
was no one else to turn to.
CHAPTER 2
It had been a time of great confusion for Qui-Gon. It had been as
though his body temperature had risen, as if there was a fever in his
blood. He had been restless and irritable. Deep meditation was hard to
sustain. Tired of waiting for a mission to distract him, he had taken Obi-
Wan on a survival trip to Ragoon-6, hoping the discipline would calm his
mind and body. It had not.
The first vision appeared on Ragoon-6. He saw Tahl in distress. In
his vision, he caught and held her. Her body felt so weak. He was filled
with helplessness and fear.
When he returned to the Temple, anxious to find her, he discovered
that Tahl was on the verge of leaving on a mission to New Apsolon. Qui-Gon
could not interfere. Yet after she had gone he was once again visited by
that same disturbing vision. He knew she was headed for danger. He knew
that she would need him. He knew she would resist his help.
He did not need Yoda to tell him that visions should not serve as a
guide for behavior. He did not listen to the Council when they cautioned
him to wait. He left for New Apsolon, drawn by a compulsion he did not
understand. He had to follow her.
But the most important thing had not become clear. Why had the
visions of Tahl in trouble come to him, haunted him, driven him? Why did
just the sight of her suddenly irritate him and warm him at the same time?
Then, in one blinding moment, he had received his answer. He had felt
a shock so deep it seemed his body could not contain it. He had found that
he was not just a Jedi, but a man. And the fever in his blood was Tahl.
Courage was something a Jedi did not think about. It was simply the
will to do right. It was the discipline to move forward. Qui-Gon had never
had to reach for it; it had always been there, ready for him. It deserted
him when he asked to speak to Tahl alone.
He had poured out his heart as only a quiet man could. He had used
few words. The time it took for her to respond had seemed endless. Then she
had taken a step forward, taken his hand, and pledged her life to his. They
would have one life, together, she had said.
What an astonishing lesson, Qui-Gon thought, to find that joy was
such a simple thing. It sprang from a single, shining source. She said yes.
She said yes.
As they walked the short distance to the museum, Qui-Gon had to
discipline himself severely to recall his Jedi training. He knew that his
Padawan was troubled by his behavior. It was true that for the first time
since he was a young Temple student, he was having trouble with his focus.
In the midst of every battle, every trouble, Qui-Gon had always been
able to find his calm center. When he reached for it now, it was gone.
Replacing it was a core of turbulent, angry chaos, fueled by his guilt and
his fear.
This was the time he must operate at the peak of his efficiency. This
was the time that called for his most intense focus.
The cold fear that lay deep within him was not just for Tahl. He was
also afraid of his own doubt.
He had never been so at a loss because he had never felt like this
before. Only hours ago, he and Tahl had pledged their lives to each other.
The emotion and the need had surprised them both. Once they had accepted
it, it had felt like the most natural thing in the world. Qui-Gon was
astonished to discover that he had found one person who mattered to him
more than anything else in the galaxy.
And now he had lost her.
"Qui-Gon?"
Obi-Wan jolted him out of his jumbled thoughts. He saw that he had
paused in front of the museum's wide double doors.
"The museum is closed," Obi-Wan said. "It's too early."
"It opens in fifteen minutes. No doubt the guides are here."
The museum had been built shortly after the government of Apsolon
reorganized and became New Apsolon. As a show of good faith, the government
opened the doors of the hated headquarters of the Absolutes. People were
free to come and acknowledge the horrors that had been done there. It was,
the leaders felt, a way to prevent the horrors from happening again. Former
victims of Absolute repression had come forward and obtained jobs as guides
to the complex. This was how the Jedi had met lrini.
Qui-Gon pressed the off-hours signal button. He heard it ring inside.
No one came.
Qui-Gon pounded on the door. He could not wait fifteen minutes. He
could not wait one second more than he had to.
The door slid open. Irini stood in her guide uniform. She glowered at
the Jedi.
"The museum is not open yet."
"We saw that," Qui-Gon said, striding past her.
"This is outrageous," lrini said. "I came to you with information
about Roan's murder. I trusted you. The next thing I knew, you ran off and
security threw me out of the Governor's house."
"Balog has kidnapped Tahl," Qui-Gon told her, his voice struggling to
remain even.
Irini gasped. Then, after a visible struggle, her face resumed its
smooth mask. Her voice hardened. "I see," she said after a moment. "So
Balog is the traitor to our cause. He is the one behind the kidnapping of
the twins and Roan's murder."
Despite Ir
ini's control, Qui-Gon sensed that this news had deeply
upset her.
"He will be a formidable enemy," she murmured.
"The only thing we know for sure is that Balog kidnapped Tahl," Obi-
Wan said. "We don't know why."
"We need a probe droid," Qui-Gon said. "It's the fastest way to track
Balog. Alani told us Lenz could get one."
"Lenz does not keep me informed as to his movements," Irini said
brusquely. "I am not his keeper."
Qui-Gon felt his impatience tighten another notch. Every minute that
ticked by took Tahl farther from him, made her trail colder. Irini stood in
the way.
He studied her for a moment. Irini's navy tunic was buttoned up to
her neck, and her black hair was slicked back severely. There was not a
