"Let us begin," Vox Chun said abruptly. "How exactly did my son die?"
"TheTemplehad been under siege from an unknown assailant," Qui-Gon began. "We knew that your son was involved-"
"I am not interested in your Jedi history," Vox Chun interrupted rudely. "I want to know facts." He turned to Obi-Wan. "Where did you engage with him? Who drew his lightsaber first?"
"I followed him here from outside the Council Room," Obi-Wan said.
"We both already had our lightsabers drawn."
"You mean your lightsaber magically appeared in your hand? You did not draw it in attack or defense?" Vox Chun asked sarcastically.
"I drew it when Xanatos and Bruck came through the vent outside the Council Room," Obi-Wan said.
"Did Bruck have his lightsaber drawn?"
"No," Obi-Wan answered. "He was hiding in a vent, waiting to steal-
-"
"Jedi history," Vox interrupted, waving his hand. "Not relevant to my question. So he drew his lightsaber when he saw yours?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "We battled, and Xanatos ordered him to go make sure Bant was dead. He ran, and I followed."
"Did you attack him from behind?"
"No, he turned and came at me. We fought. We ended up near the fountain."
"Show me this fountain."
Obi-Wan led the way down the winding paths to the thundering waterfall and deep green pool.
"The waterfall was not operating at the time, since theTemplesystems had been shut down," he explained. "But there was water in the pool. I saw Bant chained to the bottom. Her eyes were closed. She was alive, but barely. We fought all the way up that hill," Obi-Wan said, pointing to the rocky slope. "When we got to the top, I realized that in a few seconds all the water systems would be reactivated in theTemple.
They had been shut down because of a bug Xanatos had planted in the system. I drove Bruck into the dry waterfall bed. My plan was that when the water came back on, Bruck's lightsaber would short out. That would disarm him, and I could then free Bant."
"And leave your enemy standing?" Vox Chun asked. "That does not sound like a Jedi warrior."
"On the contrary," Qui-Gon broke in. "We avoid death at all cost.
To disarm our opponent is our first objective."
Vox Chun shrugged, as if Qui-Gon had just spouted empty words.
"Obviously, this plan did not work out," he said evenly to Obi-Wan.
"His lightsaber did short out," Obi-Wan said. "He was knee-deep in water. He scrambled to get his footing nearer the bank, where the rocks are. He picked them up and began to throw them at me. In his struggle to get the rocks, he went too close to the edge of the waterfall. The rocks are very slippery there." Obi-Wan paused. His throat felt dry. "The current was pushing him. He lost his balance. I reached out a hand ... it was too late. He fell below and hit his head. I ran down. I checked his vital signs, but he was already dead. He died as soon as he hit, I am sure. He did not ... suffer."
"So that is your story," Vox Chun said.
"It is the truth," Obi-Wan said quietly.
"We are leaving now." Vox turned to go. Kad and Sano Sauro followed. Then Sano Sauro turned back and fixed his dark, opaque gaze on Obi-Wan.
"In your opinion, did Bruck Chun really intend to kill Bant?" he asked softly.
"Xanatos ordered him to," Obi-Wan replied.
"That does not answer my question. Did Bruck intend to kill Bant?"
"I believe he did."
"You believe or you know?"
"I ... believe."
"What do you know? Did he take any action to kill Bant?"
"He didn't have to! She was chained underwater!"
"A Mon Calamari underwater is not so unusual."
"She was almost out of her store of oxygen."
"You know this? Or is this something you believe?"
"I know it. She told me so after I rescued her."
Sauro nodded thoughtfully. "How do you know that Bruck would not have dived down and saved herhimself , if more time had gone by?"
Obi-Wan stared at him. How could he know the answer to that question? He didn't think Bruck would have saved Bant. But that was what he believed. He didn't know.
Sauro waited, but when Obi-Wan said nothing, he gave his first smile. It made Obi-Wan shiver.
He turned back to Vox Chun. "I'm ready."
"There is one last thing," Qui-Gon said. "The Jedi would like to present you with this, with our sorrow. Bruck was one of us, and we mourn him."
He reached into his tunic and withdrew the hilt of Bruck's lightsaber. The crystals had been removed, but the hilt still bore the markings Bruck had carved. Qui-Gon bowed and presented it to Vox Chun.
Vox Chun shoved it in his tunic pocket without looking at it. Then he turned and walked off without saying good-bye. Kad Chun and Sano Sauro followed.
With a glance, Qui-Gon told Obi-Wan that he would show the visitors out. Obi-Wan could remain.
As soon as they were out of sight, Obi-Wan sank onto the soft grass of the bank. He felt emptied out and light-headed, as though he'd been sick with a fever. He had told the truth, and they had not believed him.
He tried to take comfort in the fact that at least it was over.
Yet deep insidehe feared that it was only beginning.
CHAPTER 4
Qui-Gon watched Vox Chun's sleek transport rise in the sky. The meeting had not gone well. In fact, it could not have gone worse. He had seen in Obi-Wan's face that meeting Vox and Kad Chun had only increased his feelings of guilt. Yet guilt must ease for Obi-Wan so that sorrow could take its place.
He had spoken to the boy, but the words had not reached him. Life needed to teach him. Time. Experience. These he could not hand over like a piece of advice.
But he could do something for his Padawan. He could distract him.
Obi-Wan had returned to his quarters. He lay on his sleep-couch, staring at the ceiling.
Qui-Gon leaned against the door frame. "How would you like to take an excursion to Centax 2?"
Obi-Wan sat up. His troubled look vanished."Really? I can see Garen! And those starfighters!"
"Yes, I thought you would like that. Tahl is investigating some problems there. I thought she might be able to use our help."
Obi-Wan gave a vigorous nod. He would do anything for Tahl. "When do we start?"
"Now, if you like," Qui-Gon said. "Get your gear together. We can take an air taxi there."
Obi-Wan grabbed his survival pack, and they headed for the landing platform. There, they boarded an air taxi. It was a short flight to the upper atmosphere, where Centax 2 was located. The satellite was a small, bluish moon with no vegetation or water. Its deep valleys and mountain ranges had been leveled in order to accommodate huge landing platforms and various tech support buildings and hangars.
The landing platforms were busy with traffic, and the air taxi joined a line waiting to dock. At last they were given clearance to land.
They exited the air taxi, and Qui-Gon led the way to a covered moving walkway that had exits for different landing platforms. They got off at the very end, where the walkway looped around to return. Then they trudged along a windswept lane to a small, private landing area in the distance. Obi-Wan could see five starfighters lined up outside a tech dome.
As he got closer, he saw two starfighters zooming overhead, just silver streaks in the sky. He kept his eyes on them as they dove, screaming, toward the surface, then pulled up. They flew side by side in mirror formation, then broke apart.
"I wish I could learn to fly like that," Obi-Wan said admiringly.
After the two starfighters landed, Obi-Wan recognized a familiar figure jumping out of one of the cockpits. Garen Muln removed his helmet and shook out a head of thick, shoulder-length hair. To Obi-Wan's surprise, Garen no longer wore the short hair and long braid of a seniorTemplestudent. He saw that the other pilot had grown his hair as well.
Garen's keen gaze picked out the two figures approaching. Afte
r only a few seconds, he recognized Obi-Wan. With a delighted shout, he leaped off the starfighter and ran toward him.
"Obi-Wan! Why didn't you tell me you were coming? It's so good to see you!" Garen collected himself as he realized he had neglected to greet a Jedi Master. "Excuse me, Qui-Gon Jinn," he said, bowing.
"Welcome."
Qui-Gon smiled. "Obi-Wan and I decided to see how you were doing here at the base."
"We're doing great. Except for a few mishaps lately, but Clee Rhara has straightened that all out."
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"Just wait until you meet her," Garen told Obi-Wan, his eyes shining. "She's incredible. The best pilot I've ever seen. She's got us doing things in the air we only dreamed about. I've come such a long way from theTemple!"
"You don't look like a Jedi any longer," Obi-Wan said, noting Garen's flight coveralls and long hair.
"I'm still a Jedi, don't worry," Garen said, flashing a grin.
Just then Clee Rhara strode out from the tech dome. She was dressed in flight coveralls, just like Garen. Her bright orange hair was untamed and flew around her face in the wind. Clee Rhara was petite and slender, barely coming up to Qui-Gon's shoulder, but her compact body was built of wiry muscle. She saw Qui-Gon, and a broad smile broke out on her face.
"What a surprise!" she called, hurrying forward.
"I'd like you to meet my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Obi-Wanwas examined by a pair of intense eyes the same color as Clee's vibrant orange hair. "I've heard good things about you from Garen," Clee said. "Welcome." She linked her arms with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. "Let me show you the outfit. And Tahl is here. She'll be thrilled that you've come."
Clee gave them a tour, showing them the re-tooled starfighters, the student quarters, the study rooms, hangars, and even the kitchens. Qui-Gon noted how the gaze of the Jedi students followed Clee as shestrolled the grounds. Obviously she inspired great loyalty.
Clee ended her tour at the tech center, where her students had hands-on experience with engines and hyperdrives. Tahl sat at a utility desk, using a voice-activated computer. She stopped speaking as they walked in.
"You'll never guess who-" Cleebegan.
"Qui-Gon."Tahl said his name flatly. Qui-Gon felt a flicker of apprehension. Tahl had never greeted him so coolly.
If Clee noticed Tahl's manner, she made no sign of it. "Here we are, the three of us, all together again!" she said cheerfully.
"Yes," Tahl said.
Qui-Gon shot Clee a look. They hadn't seen each other in years, but their old friendship gave them a connection that would never weaken. She knew immediately that he wanted to talk to Tahl alone.
"Obi-Wan, do you want to see the starships?" Clee asked.
"Yes!" Obi-Wan answered immediately.
"Come on, Garen and I will show you the fleet," Clee said, striding toward the door. "Then we'll head back for the evening meal. See you there, Qui-Gon."
Qui-Gon waited until the others had left. He did not approach Tahl.
"You're angry that I came."
She turned away from him so that he could not read the expression on her lovely face. Sometimes she did this so that he would not have an advantage.
"You think I am in need of help. You think I cannot handle a mission alone."
Qui-Gon was about to insist that such a statement was ridiculous, but he stopped himself. He did not need to see Tahl's face to realize that she was feeling vulnerable. The act of choosing a Padawan had pushed her up against something deep inside that hurther, that made her doubt herself. He knew that feeling well, for different reasons.
"No," he said. "I came because Obi-Wan had a hard time with Vox Chun. I am worried about him. I knew he would enjoy seeing the base. If we could help out as well, it might distract him further."
"Ah," Tahl said mockingly, "and that is the only reason you came?"
"I heard that you had decided not to take a Padawan--"
"And you thought I might need a heart-to-heart talk." Tahl whipped her face around again. He read lines of bitterness there. "You want to tell me how reluctant you were to take a Padawan, how much it cost you, how valuable it has turned out to be, how I must realize that even though I am blind I have much to give to an apprentice. Do you think I don't know every word you would say? So please refrain. Any discussion of Padawans or Bant is off-limits. I mean it, Qui-Gon."
"All right," he said quietly. "But will you, as a favor to me and Obi-Wan, let us help you in your investigation?"
"Just know that I do it for Obi-Wan."
"Fair enough."He walked closer and drew up a chair next to her.
"What do you have so far?"
"My contacts in the Senate tell me that there are rumors that Clee Rhara sabotaged the ships herself," Tahl said, passing a weary hand over her eyes.
"Why would she do that?" Qui-Gon asked, startled.
"In order to prove to the Senate that the project needs funding and more up-to-date ships," Tahl said.
Clee's booming indignation suddenly echoed off the metal walls of the tech dome. "What a load of sludge oil!" She strode toward them, her hands on her hips. "I would never endanger my pilots!"
"I thought you were giving Obi-Wan a tour of the starfighters,"
Qui-Gon said.
"I came back to make sure you two weren't killing each other," Clee said. "I remember how you used to scrap at the Temple."
"We are Jedi Knights now," Qui-Gon said. "We don't scrap."
Tahl smiled. "We argue, and then I win."
Clee flopped in a chair. "Well, I'm glad to see both of you. I'm really in a mess. If I don't figure out who is sabotaging my fleet, I'm sure the Council will cancel the whole program. I can't let that happen!"
"Tell me about security," Qui-Gon said.
"Ships are refitted at a nearby yard, and all the workers have undergone Senate security checks. After the first incident, I restricted the workers who take care of Jedi ships to two. It slows things down, but it's safer. Each of them has passed the highest level of security clearance from the Senate. I thought everything would be fine. Yet another incident happened after this."
"So it has to be one of the two workers," Qui-Gon said.
"Or someone is finding a way to sneak into a highly restricted area," Tahl said.
Clee leaned forward and gripped her hands in frustration. "I can't tighten security more than I already have. Those Senate security checks are incredibly thorough."
"There's another possibility," Qui-Gon said. "Someone in the Senate is behind this, and one or both of the security clearances is false."
"I didn't think of that," Tahl said. "That would explain the rumors in the Senate. The same someone could be responsible. Someone who wants this project to fail."
"But why?"Clee asked. "Who would object to a handful of Jedi Temple students learning how to fly starfighters?"
"Someone who is afraid of the Jedi increasing their power," Qui-Gon mused. "The program is still young. Its potential may scare them."
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