The Shattered Peace Page 4

  up to the Jedi's shoulders. Obi-Wan got his launcher anchored on the second

  try, at the next ebb. They tested the line, and it held.

  "Go," Qui-Gon said tersely. He motioned to Taroon to take hold of the

  cable. He would stay behind the prince in order to protect him from

  falling.

  He only hoped the launchers would raise them high enough to escape

  the tide. The form of vegetation clinging to the wall told him that most of

  the cliff went underwater at high tide. Qui-Gon did not look forward to

  hanging in midair and watching the sea rise ever closer to them.

  He watched as his Padawan zoomed ahead, pulled by the cable. He

  dangled above their heads.

  "Hold on," Qui-Gon instructed Taroon. The cable retracted, bringing

  them high above the beach. They hung suspended near the cliff face.

  "Do you think the water will reach us?" Taroon asked, beginning to

  turn around.

  "Don't look down," Qui-Gon said sharply, but it was too late. Taroon

  had seen how high they were. He flinched, and his knee banged against the

  cliff. He let out a hoarse cry and closed his eyes.

  "I am right behind you, Taroon," Qui-Gon told him. "We can get

  through this if you don't panic. The cable is holding our weight. Don't

  look down."

  Taroon took a deep breath. "I'll be all right," he said. "I was just

  surprised, that's all."

  Qui-Gon admired his composure. He knew Taroon was afraid.

  "See if you can find a foothold," Qui-Gon directed. "That will take

  the weight off your arms. You can't fall. You're fastened to the cable."

  Qui-Gon searched the cliff area overhead. He could not see another

  fissure. They would have to hang here and hope the sea wouldn't rise to

  drown them. He knew that he and Obi-Wan could hang here for hours if they

  had to. But he was not sure about Taroon.

  "The tide is still rising," Obi-Wan said to him quietly. "The waves

  could break over our heads. Maybe we should put on our breathers."

  Qui-Gon nodded. It was a good suggestion. "In a minute." He did not

  want to panic Taroon until he had to.

  "Can't we go higher?" Taroon asked nervously. "I can feel the spray

  of the waves." "We are all right for now," Qui-Gon said. But he could see

  that within moments the crashing waves could hit them.

  Suddenly, he saw another cable shoot down from the overhang a hundred

  meters up. It dangled between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

  "Take it!" someone shouted. "It will hold all of you! The sea is

  rising!"

  Qui-Gon reached out and tested it. He exchanged a glance with Obi-

  Wan.

  Should we do it? Obi-Wan asked silently.

  We have no choice, Qui-Gon answered him.

  Obi-Wan nodded. He grasped the cable first. Taroon came next. Then

  Qui-Gon. The three of them now hung on a cable and had to trust whoever was

  overhead.

  The cable retracted slowly, bringing them smoothly up the face of the

  cliff toward the top. Obi-Wan clambered over, then Taroon. Qui-Gon was last

  to tumble over the edge. He shot to his feet immediately.

  A tall, sturdy local stood before them. A necklace of pink coral was

  hung around his neck and circled his wrist. He grinned at them.

  "Glad you could make it."

  Taroon gasped. "Leed!"

  CHAPTER 8

  Leed joyfully rushed toward his brother. They threw their arms around

  each other.

  "My brother!" Leed cried.

  "My brother!" Taroon answered.

  "How it pleases me to have your company," Leed said. "You've grown

  almost as tall as I am."

  "Taller," Taroon said with a smile.

  They stepped back. Leed turned to the Jedi. "And you must be the

  Jedi, sent to bring me back to Rutan."

  "I am Qui-Gon Jinn and this is Obi-Wan Kenobi," Qui-Gon said. "We are

  here to ensure that you are not being forced to remain or manipulated."

  "You can see I am neither," Leed said.

  "I have not had time to see much of anything yet," Qui-Gon responded

  in a friendly way. Leed turned to his brother. "I must apologize for

  Drenna. She wasn't trying to kill you, just to protect me."

  "She may not have meant to, but she almost did kill me," Taroon said

  darkly. "I could have drowned!"

  "Yet you did not," Leed said. "Come out, Drenna. You see they will

  not harm me."

  Leaves rustled, and Drenna emerged from the blue-green shadows of the

  overgrown trees. She had blended into the shades and shadows perfectly.

  Taroon was surprised to see her, but Obi-Wan saw from Qui-Gon's expression

  that he had sensed her presence.

  Drenna stood apart from the group. She eyed them warily, clearly not

  convinced they had not come to abduct Leed.

  She turned to the Jedi and Taroon. "Well? You see that Leed is here

  of his own free will. Now you can return to Rutan."

  Qui-Gon turned to Leed. "If you truly wish to remain on Senali, you

  should face your father with your decision."

  Leed shook his head firmly. "Nothing can make me return. He will

  force me to stay, imprison me."

  "If we give you our word that we will not allow your father to force

  you to stay, will you come?" Qui-Gon asked.

  "It is not that I do not respect the great powers of the Jedi," Leed

  said slowly. "I do not wish to offend you. But my father has wiles and

  treacheries you have not seen. There are things you can't protect me from."

  "That is not true!" Taroon protested.

  "If you feel as you do, we have a problem," Qui-Gon said to Leed, his

  tone pleasant but firm. "You will not return to Rutan. And we will find it

  hard to leave Senali without you."

  Leed met Qui-Gon's gaze stonily. Neither of them moved. Obi-Wan's

  eyes went from one to the other. In both of them, he saw conviction that

  would not be swayed. Qui-Gon was such a strong presence that it was hard to

  imagine going up against his will.

  Yet he had done the same once.

  On Melida/Daan, he had met Qui-Gon's resolute will with his own. They

  had clashed and been torn apart as a result. Obi-Wan had believed then with

  all his heart that he was right. He had come to see that he had been

  blinded by loyalty to a cause not his own.

  But what about Leed? He had lived on Senali for most of his

  childhood. He had come to manhood here. Obi-Wan could not help feeling

  sympathetic to Leed's wishes. It was obvious that he loved his brother. But

  it was clear that his bond with his adopted sister, Drenna, was just as

  strong.

  In an abrupt change of mood that reminded Obi-Wan of Leed's father,

  Leed broke the tension with a shrug and a warm smile. "Well, then. If you

  are to be my guests, I shall have to bring you to my home. Come."

  Leed led them through a maze of overgrown paths and then struck out

  through a marsh, moving easily from only slightly submerged rocks to firm

  ground undetectable to most eyes. The air here was thick and close.

  Brightly colored flying creatures buzzed and sang overhead.

  At last they emerged high above the shoreline on a cliff similar to

  the one they had left. But here the sea was gentle as the land curved,

  making a nat
ural harbor. A chain of islands were in the distance.

  They hiked down to the beach where Leed and Drenna tossed aside huge

  fronds to uncover a boat.

  They glided over the calm, aquamarine sea, hugging the shore until

  they came to a lagoon surrounded by a cluster of small islands. A hut

  fashioned of tree trunks and woven grasses sat on a floating dock offshore.

  Leed tied the craft to the side and they disembarked.

  "The Nali-Erun clan lives on the far island, "Leed said, pointing to

  a lush green island a few kilometers away. "They watch out for me."

  "All Senali watch out for one another," Drenna said.

  "Why are you hiding in such a remote area, Leed?" Qui-Gon asked. "Are

  you afraid your father's reach could extend this far?"

  Leed nodded as he crouched to untangle some fishing line. "I spoke to

  my father so many times. We were in regular communication, the way I was

  with Taroon. But after I told him of my decision, he cut me off. He refused

  to hear me. He said Meenon had influenced me. If it pains him to hear the

  deepest wish of my heart, why should I go on trying to speak with him?"

  Qui-Gon sat down on the dock next to Leed so that they could be at

  eye level. He began to help untangle the line. "Because he is your father,"

  he said. "And he is afraid he has lost his son."

  Leed's hands went still. "I am still his son," he said firmly. "And

  if he would not be so stubborn, we could be in constant contact. I could

  come to Rutan for visits, and he could come here. But ever since the war,

  there is no travel between the two worlds. I would like to change that."

  Qui-Gon nodded. "That would be a good change. That is one of the

  things you could do as ruler of Rutan. You would have it in your power to

  change many things. Why don't you want to help your world, your people?"

  Leed gazed out over the lagoon. "Because Rutan does not feel like my

  world. Its people don't feel like my people. It is hard to explain. But I

  found myself here. Underneath this sun I feel at home. And if Rutan is no

  longer my home I do not have the right to rule it. Senali is in my blood

  and bones. It is something I cannot help. Even as a small boy, I did not

  feel part of Rutan. I was afraid to leave my family and come here. But as

  soon as I stepped off the transport, I felt at home." He glanced at Drenna.

  "I have found myself here," he said.

  Obi-Wan saw hurt on Taroon's face as Leed spoke. As his brother

  shared a private smile with Drenna, Taroon's face tightened with anger.

  Jedi were supposed to remain impartial. But Obi-Wan felt Leed's words

  strike his heart. Now instead of connecting them to what he'd felt on

  Melida/Daan, he connected them to the Temple. It was not where he was born.

  The Jedi Masters were not his parents. Yet it was home. He knew that in his

  heart and bones. He believed that Leed felt the same.

  "I understand all that you say," Qui-Gon said. "And I ask you this:

  Is your decision to act according to your heart worth plunging two worlds

  into war? Are your individual desires so important?"

  Leed angrily tossed aside the line. "I do not start a war. My father

  does."

  "He does it for you," Qui-Gon told him.

  "He does it for himself!" Leed protested.

  Taroon had been restraining himself, but now he stepped forward. "I

  don't understand you, brother," he said. "What is it that is worth so much

  to you? A world of strangers? How can you risk the peace of your home

  planet just for your own desires?"

  "You don't understand," Leed said, shaking his head.

  "No, I do not!" Taroon shouted angrily. "I do not understand this

  deep wish of your heart. Is it more important for you to live with

  primitives than to take up your birthright?"

  "Primitives?" Drenna exclaimed. "How dare you call us that!"

  Taroon turned on her. "Where are your great cities?" he demanded. "A

  cluster of shacks bobbing on the sea. Where is your culture, your art, your

  trade, your wealth? On Rutan, we have centers of learning. We develop new

  medicines and technologies. We explore the galaxy - "

  "Our wealth is in our land and our seas and our people," Drenna said,

  facing him down. "Our culture and our art is part of our daily lives. You

  have been on Senali for half a day. How dare you judge us?"

  "I know your world," Taroon said. "Any culture you have the Rutanians

  brought to you."

  "I know you brought your taste for blood sports and your arrogance,"

  Drenna shot back. "We got rid of all that when we got rid of you. If we

  kill a creature, we kill it for food. We do not kill it for sport, or to

  sell its skin. And you call us primitives!"

  "I do not think it helpful to debate the differences between Rutan

  and Senali when - " Qui-Gon began, but Drenna interrupted him furiously.

  "Only a fool debates with ignorance," she said fiercely. "I do not

  debate! I speak truth."

  "You speak with your own arrogance," Taroon exclaimed. "You don't

  know Rutan any better than I know Senali! All you know is prejudice and

  disdain."

  "You came here to look down on us," Drenna said with contempt. "I saw

  that at once. Why do you think your brother should listen to your opinion

  when it is full of your own bias?"

  "Because I am his family!" Taroon roared.

  "As am I!" Drenna countered.

  "You are not his family," Taroon shouted. "You were just his

  caretakers. We are his blood!"

  "No, Taroon." Leed stepped between them. "Drenna is my sister as you

  are my brother. And she is right. This is what I leave behind on Rutan," he

  continued, his voice rising to match Drenna's and Taroon's. "This attitude

  that you are superior to the Senalis. You do not know Senali, nor do you

  wish to. Do you really want to live the life of our father, living only to

  chase animals and feast until you cannot move? Do you want your life goal

  to be the gathering of more and more wealth, just for the purpose of

  possessing it?"

  "Is that what you think of us?" Taroon demanded. "Now I know you've

  been brainwashed! There is more to Rutan than that, and more to our father

  as well."

  "I spoke hastily," Leed said, gathering control of his voice. "I

  apologize. Yes, there are good things on Rutan. But they are not things

  that interest me."

  Taroon grasped his brother's arms. "Leed, how could you want to live

  like this?"

  Leed shook him off with an angry gesture. Drenna turned to Leed. "You

  see? I told you of the contempt the Rutanians hold us in. Even your

  brother. You did not believe me. Now you must see that you can't go back."

  "No," Leed said. "I can't go back."

  "You cannot face our father because you know you are wrong," Taroon

  said. "You are afraid of him."

  "I am not afraid of him," Leed countered angrily. "I do not trust

  him. There is a difference. I don't want to be under his influence. I am

  glad was brought up by others, without being exposed to all his faults. You

  know after our mother died that there was no one to check him. He is not a

  bad man, Taroon. Just a bad father."

  Taroon's face was tight.
"And I was brought up by his side,

  inheriting all his bad traits, while you have all the good. Is that right?"

  Leed took a breath. "That is not what I'm saying." He rubbed his

  hands over his hair in frustration. "I am not going back, Taroon."

  "That is fine," Taroon said, his icy rage now burning hot. "I realize

  now that I was wrong to try to persuade you. Because even if you were to

  change your mind, I would not stay here in your place."

  Qui-Gon exchanged a helpless glance with Obi-Wan. They had come to

  Senali hoping that gentle persuasion would help the situation. Qui-Gon had