The Death of Hope

  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