The Call to Vengeance Page 5

  urgency, as though every moment counted.

  Bant stood, her arms folded, her eyes on the brilliantly lit caf©.

  Obi-Wan wondered how to start a conversation. Suddenly, after years of

  talking to Bant about everything that was on his mind, he had to struggle

  to find something to say.

  Bant held her slight body rigid. Her stare was as fierce as Mace's.

  Her stiffness and concentration made it even harder for him to break the

  silence.

  Then he noticed that she was not as contained as she appeared. Her

  hands were gripped together tightly. He realized that far from being lost

  in concentration, Bant was struggling to maintain her composure.

  When he looked closer, he saw that her eyes were full of tears. She

  was struggling to keep them from falling.

  "Bant." He said her name gently. He didn't know what else to say.

  "She should be here," Bant said in a choked voice. "It seems

  impossible that she's not here. I can't believe she won't come around the

  corner any second. I keep hearing her scold us for making such a big fuss

  and coming here to save her." The tears tumbled down her face. "It hurts so

  much, Obi-Wan. I can't find peace in her death. I know I'm supposed to

  accept it. I can't."

  It was the longest flood of words she had spoken since she'd arrived.

  Obi-Wan realized that Bant had said all the things he had been feeling. It

  did seem impossible that Tahl was dead. He knew that part of him hadn't

  absorbed it.

  He knew that he was focusing on his worries about Qui-Gon so that he

  wouldn't have to.

  "I know what you mean," he said. "When we found her, and she was so

  weak, I never for one moment thought she could die. Tahl was so strong. She

  was as strong as Qui-Gon."

  "Did she say anything?" Bant asked timidly. "Anything before..."

  "She was too weak to talk when I saw her," Obi-Wan said. "Qui-Gon was

  with her when she died."

  "I'm glad such a good friend was there," Bant said.

  Obi-Wan hesitated. He did not know whether he should speak. But

  didn't he owe Bant his confidence? Maybe it would help to close the gap

  between them.

  "I think Qui-Gon and Tahl had become more than friends," he told her.

  "Here on New Apsolon, something changed. That's why Qui-Gon is grieving the

  way he is."

  Bant turned, surprised. "You mean they loved each other?"

  Obi-Wan nodded.

  Bant looked down at her clasped hands. "Then it is even more sad,

  isn't it?"

  "Yes," Obi-Wan said. "It's the saddest thing I've ever seen. That's

  why I'm worried about Qui-Gon."

  Bant reached out and squeezed his arm. Obi-Wan was happy to feel the

  spontaneous gesture. "We will help him, Obi-Wan," she promised. And for the

  first time, Obi-Wan felt that maybe they could.

  Just then Mace emerged from the caf©, his robe swirling around his

  ankles. He crossed the road and came up to them.

  "I haven't learned much," he admitted. "But I did pick up an item of

  interesting gossip as I was leaving. Just today Legislator Pleni has

  announced that she will run for Supreme Governor. She has kept a low

  profile in the Legislature, so this was surprising. In just an afternoon,

  she managed to sway some powerful Legislators to support her."

  Mace saw the look of puzzlement on the faces of Bant and Obi-Wan.

  "Her sudden bid for power and the quick support she received could mean

  that she bought the list from Oleg," he told them. "At any rate, it is

  worth investigating." Mace gathered his cloak around him. "If she has the

  list, she could be in danger. Whoever has possession of it could end up

  like Oleg. Come. Her residence is not far."

  Mace's long stride covered more distance than Obi-Wan could make at a

  slow run. He and Bant had to jog to keep up with him.

  Legislator Pleni lived alone in a small, elegant dwelling made of the

  gray stone that so much of New Apsolon was built with. All the lights

  inside the house were on. Mace pressed the illuminated bar that would alert

  her that she had visitors. They waited by the panel to announce themselves,

  but there was no answer.

  "She could have left the lights on when she went out," Mace said.

  "But let's explore just the same."

  The look on his face was uneasy. Mace had a deep connection to the

  Force. Obi-Wan had felt nothing, but now he focused his attention on the

  Force, reaching out around him. He did not pick up anything.

  They walked around the perimeter of the dwelling. Mace seemed to grow

  more worried as they walked. When they reached the back, Obi-Wan felt it,

  too - a disturbance in the Force. He glanced at Mace, who saw traces of a

  probe droid's entry into a high window.

  The door was secured, but Mace didn't hesitate. He cut a hole in it

  with his lightsaber and strode in. Obi-Wan and Bant followed.

  The stone floors gleamed. Not an item seemed out of place. They

  walked through the empty rooms in the eerie silence. Then they mounted the

  stairs.

  Upstairs, they finally saw evidence of a struggle. Furniture was

  overturned. Large crystal vases were smashed.

  Mace looked up to the ceiling. He pointed to several smudge marks.

  "Probe droids."

  The disturbance in the Force was now more than a ripple for Obi-Wan.

  It was a cresting wave. He moved forward, his hand on his lightsaber hilt.

  He turned a corner into Legislator Pleni's bedroom. It was untouched except

  for a halfway ajar door riddled with blaster fire.

  Obi-Wan walked forward slowly, dreading what he would find behind

  that door. He nudged it open with the toe of his boot.

  Legislator Pleni lay curled up in the corner, her hands clutching a

  blaster. A probe droid lay at her feet. She was dead.

  Mace came up behind him noiselessly. Obi-Wan heard his deep sigh.

  "We are always one step too late on New Apsolon," Mace said. Obi-Wan

  could locate in his voice the determination that this would no longer be

  the case.

  They heard noises below, and the sound of feet on the stairs. Minutes

  later, a security squad burst in.

  "She is in here," Mace said.

  He brought Obi-Wan and Bant downstairs, where the evidence of

  Legislator Pleni's horrible death was not in front of their eyes. They were

  questioned by the security squad, then told they were free to go. Still,

  Mace lingered.

  When the security squad came downstairs at last, having completed its

  investigation, Mace stopped the head officer.

  "Any conclusions?"

  "Yes," the officer said, brushing past them.

  Mace stood in front of him, effectively blocking his path. "You know

  that Manex has ordered the security squads to cooperate with the Jedi."

  The officer hesitated. A gleam of malice lit up his eyes. "Fine. Let

  me tell you what we discovered then. Legislator Pleni was killed by a probe

  droid. We have been able to trace its owner."

  "You have a name?" Mace Windu asked.

  "Certainly." The security officer bared his teeth in a smile. "Your

  Jedi friend, Qui-Gon Jinn."

  CHAPTER 10

  Qui-Gon got starte
d early the next morning. He had spent most of the

  night going from caf© to caf©, trying to gather information. As the hours

  got later, tongues grew looser, but he did not discover anything that put

  him on Balog's track. Gossip swirled about Alani's bid for the Supreme

  Governor position and a growing swell of support for Manex. Neither helped

  him at all.

  He spent the rest of the night on a bench in a grassy park,

  impatiently waiting for dawn. He could feel Balog out there, maneuvering,

  scheming, plotting his next move. He could feel the absence of Tahl as an

  ache so deep he could not face it directly. When he thought of her last

  days, what Balog had put her through, he would have to move, have to get up

  and walk through the park, driving himself to exhaustion so that he would

  not think of the dark vengeance that burned inside him. He would have to

  conquer it... somehow. He pushed his mind to numbness. It was the only way

  he could go on. Before long he had explored every path in the large urban

  park. He could draw a map of it blindfolded.

  The suns rose, and people began to trickle out into the streets. Qui-

  Gon saw the morning begin with relief. He went to a caf© across from the

  Legislature for a light breakfast and watched and waited until the official

  buildings were full of people beginning their day.

  Qui-Gon was still dressed in a traveler's cape over his tunic. He

  hoped he would not be recognizable as a Jedi. He decided to pose as a

  businessman looking for new opportunities on New Apsolon.

  Just as he was about to leave, he overheard a conversation behind

  him. Two aides had just greeted each other. He heard the name "Legislator

  Pleni." And then he heard the name "Qui-Gon Jinn."

  Qui-Gon bent over, pretending to sip his tea, while he filtered out

  the noise of the caf© and concentrated on the conversation behind him. He

  then received the unwelcome shock of discovering that he was wanted for the

  murder of a Legislator.

  Which might make his intelligence-gathering plans in official

  buildings of the Legislature this morning more difficult than he had

  anticipated. Qui-Gon had great respect for the security officers on New

  Apsolon. He was certain that every one of them had a detailed physical

  description of him. And the Legislature's offices were guarded by security

  officers.

  Qui-Gon's hands curled around his teacup. He had to place them in his

  lap. The urge to smash the cup into tiny pieces was too great. It seemed

  that every time he wanted to take a step forward, he was kicked a step

  back.

  He let out air through his nose, breathing quietly and steadily. He

  was not thinking like a Jedi. Frustration must be controlled. There was

  always a way.

  The streets were still crowded, but he needed to keep moving. He also

  needed a better disguise than a cloak. He could not hide his size, but he

  could transform himself in different ways. Qui-Gon left the caf© and went

  shopping.

  Within a half hour, he had transformed himself into a dark-eyed

  businessman in a veda cloth robe. His long hair was concealed by a wrapped

  cloth headpiece favored by the elite of the planet of Rorgam. He had found

  it in a small shop selling used items. It would be good cover to pose as a

  citizen of Rorgam, a world made up of immigrants from many different

  worlds.

  Qui-Gon headed for the halls of the Legislature. Because New Apsolon

  was a tech center for this corner of the galaxy, many deals were made here.

  With the growing instability of the planet, there was a certain frenzy in

  the air.

  A security officer stood at the first checkpoint. Qui-Gon had no

  choice but to walk through. If he couldn't walk through the hallways

  without a challenge, he wouldn't be able to do anything.

  He was relieved when he made it past the security officer, who merely

  gave him a bland look and moved his gaze to sweep the visitor behind him.

  He was lucky that Manex had not instituted higher security procedures that

  required text docs for admittance.

  There were several things he needed to know. Why was he a suspect in

  Pleni's death? He had never heard of her until that morning. Was her death

  connected to Oleg's? Had she, too, tried to buy the list? Qui-Gon decided

  that the only course open to him was to present himself as a possible buyer

  as well. If the word got out that a prosperous businessman from Rorgam had

  money to spend, sooner or later someone would come forward with something

  to sell.

  Drawing his robe around him, Qui-Gon plunged into the throng.

  He was deep in conversation with an important Legislative aide when

  he saw Eritha and Alani heading down the hall. Alani was talking with a

  group of admirers who clustered closely around her. To his relief, they

  turned off down the hall. Eritha brought up the rear, and she spotted Qui-

  Gon. A look of surprise, then greeting, came over her face. Qui-Gon ignored

  her.

  Eritha hesitated. Then her face smoothed out and became emotionless

  when she realized he did not want her to recognize him. All of this took

  only a beat of a moment. Once again Qui-Gon had cause to admire Eritha's

  cleverness. The girl had good reflexes.

  Eritha signaled him discreetly and moved into a side hall. Qui-Gon

  wrapped up his conversation with the aide and casually strolled after her.

  The hallway was empty, and she made sure he had followed before

  accessing a door. He followed her inside into a small conference room.

  To his surprise, Eritha threw herself in his arms. "I'm so glad to

  see you," she said. "I was so worried." He patted her shoulder, and she

  stepped back. "You shouldn't be here. Do you know that you're wanted for

  murder?"

  Qui-Gon nodded. "Do you know why? I've never met Legislator Pleni.

  Did Balog set this up?"

  "I don't know," Eritha said. "Possibly. I know that Alani is still in

  touch with him. I'm here trying to get information. I think I have a lead.

  But I have to be careful. I don't want Alani to suspect, so I'm pretending

  to completely support her candidacy. And there's a rumor going around the

  Legislature that you should know about. Manex has the list of secret

  Absolute informers."

  "Manex?"

  Eritha nodded. "I have a feeling that Roan's brother is more

  ambitious than he pretends. He wants to hold on to his power."

  "I'll need to be able to get in touch with you," Qui-Gon told her.

  "I'll be moving around frequently."

  Eritha bit her lip. "Can you wait here for just a few minutes? I'm

  close to finding out where Balog is hiding. This conference room isn't used

  much anymore. I can be back within ten minutes."

  "If you're delayed - "

  "I won't be," Eritha said confidently, and hurried out the door.

  Qui-Gon sighed. Eritha had all the impatience and optimism of youth.

  If she didn't return, he would have no way to get in touch with her. He

  would have to sneak into the Supreme Governor's residence.

  There was nothing to do but wait. He could spare ten or fifteen

  minutes. Qui-Gon settled hi
mself into a chair, going over what had happened

  that morning. He had dropped hints about how he was looking to buy power

  and would pay handsomely for it. He had even hinted at the existence of a

  list. Now and then he had caught a spark of interest in a Legislator or an

  aide, but he wasn't sure if it was based on knowledge or simply on pure

  greed.

  Five minutes passed. Qui-Gon got up restlessly and went to the

  window. He looked down below at the crowded street beyond the Legislature

  wall. Was Balog moving about freely, or was he hiding during the daylight

  hours, letting his allies like Alani prepare the way for his return?