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  Qui-Gon's comlinksignaled, and he excused himself to answer it, walking a few paces away. It was Yoda.

  "Unhappy news I have," Yoda said without preliminaries."Ruled the Senate has to form a subcommittee to investigate Bruck's death. Vox Chun has a hidden powerful ally there. Discovered we have that Sano Sauro is a prosecutor. Rumor is he is hungry to make his mark. Return you must, Qui-Gon. Three witnesses there will be--yourself, Bant, and Obi-Wan. Fear I do that this process will take its toll on your Padawan."

  Qui-Gon's heart sank. "Yes," he said softly. "I fear it will as well."

  CHAPTER 5

  The hearing committee of the Senate did not waste time. They called the Jedi to their private inquiry room the very next day.

  Obi-Wan felt a sense of dread as he dressed that morning. He could barely choke down his morning meal. He was almost relieved when it was time to meet Qui-Gon and head for the Senate.

  "There will be fifteen Senators on the panel," Qui-Gon explained to Bant and Obi-Wan as they threaded their way through the Senate's lavender halls. The hallways were thronged with Senators striding by importantly, with scurrying aides, consorts, and droids at their heels.

  "I will be called first," Qui-Gon explained."Then Bant. Obi-Wan will be last. Sano Sauro will try to twist your words, so be sure you speak the truth with every sentence you utter. The Jedi have elected not to use a representative. We have truth on our side. Remember that."

  Obi-Wan nodded. Qui-Gon's calm gaze was reassuring. The walls of the Inquiry Room were fashioned from transparisteel, so Obi-Wan could see that the Senators had already gathered at the long table inside. It was set up on a platform. Vox Chun, Kad Chun, and Sano Sauro were already sitting opposite them. An empty table waited for the Jedi.

  "Senator Pi T'Egal is the head of the committee," Qui-Gon said softly, indicating the Senator who sat at the center of the table. "That is good. He is a friend of the Jedi."

  The transparisteel doors slid open. Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Bant gave short bows to the Senators. Then they took their places at the empty table.

  "If we are all here, we can begin," Pi T'Egal said. He pressed a button and the transparisteel walls turned opaque. Obi-Wan had expected the shift, but it made him feel suddenly trapped.

  Find your calm center. He struggled to breathe as Pi T'Egal consulted his data pad and pressed a few buttons. Bant's fingers gently squeezed Obi-Wan's forearm in support.

  At last Pi T'Egal looked up. "This is not a criminal trial," he said. "It is an inquiry only. Vox and Kad Chun have asked for a full accounting of the death of Bruck Chun in the Jedi Temple. We Senators have agreed to rule whether the death was by mischance or if Obi-Wan Kenobi bears some measure of responsibility for this. If our ruling is deliberate intent or responsibility, Vox and Kad Chun can then pursue the matter in the criminal courts of Coruscant. Does everyone understand this?"

  Everyone nodded.

  Pi T'Egal turned to Vox Chun. "Do you understand that if we find there is no responsibility by others for your son's death you cannot pursue this further?"

  "I do," Vox Chun said.

  "Then let us begin. The first witness will be the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn."

  Qui-Gon rose and went to a chair set up on the platform, angled so that all the Senators could see him clearly.

  "Please inform us of the events leading up to and surrounding the death of Bruck Chun."

  Qui-Gon began easily, quickly sketching the problems theTemplehad been experiencing and the fact that there was an intruder on the grounds.

  "We knew that Bruck Chun was involved in the petty thefts," he said. "He disappeared, and we also knew that a more powerful figure had intercepted security. We assumed that Bruck Chun had smuggled this being into the Temple."

  "You did not know this as a fact," Sano Sauro interrupted.

  "No," Qui-Gon said, his cool gaze resting on the attorney. "That is why I used the word ‘assumed. ’"

  "Please go on, Qui-Gon Jinn," Pi T'Egal said.

  Qui-Gon outlined the many instances of sabotage, including the attack on Yoda and the sabotage of a horizontal turbolift that had trapped a dozen small children and their caretaker. Then he explained how they discovered that their adversary was his former Padawan, Xanatos, who was then head of the giant mining corporation, Offworld. They trapped Xanatos and Bruck outside the Jedi Council room as the two burst through an overhead vent.

  "I knocked Bruck's lightsaber from his hand," Qui-Gon said quietly.

  "Xanatos grabbed the boy and held the lightsaber to his neck."

  Sano Sauro sat up straighter. "So Xanatos threatened the boy? Bruck Chun was his prisoner, not his accomplice?"

  "No," Qui-Gon said. "Xanatos felt loyalty to no one. He was willing to endanger Bruck's life in order to gain an advantage."

  "Such is your belief," Sano Sauro sneered.

  "Yes. Based on many encounters with Xanatos, I have come to see how he reacts under pressure," Qui-Gon answered. "We were able to force Xanatos to push Bruck aside. Bruck was able to recover his lightsaber.

  Xanatos told him to go to Bant and make sure she was dead."

  Pi T'Egal leaned forward. "He said those words?"

  "’Makesure she is dead, ’" Qui-Gon quoted. "Those words exactly."

  "Did you instruct Obi-Wan to kill Bruck?" Sano Sauro demanded.

  Qui-Gon's hands gripped the chair arm for a moment, the only sign that the insolence in Sauro's voice had reached him. "No. Jedi do not instruct to kill. My instruction was to follow Bruck in order to prevent him from killing Bant. This is exactly what he did. I mourn the loss of life, but I am proud of my Padawan's actions." Qui-Gon gave Obi-Wan a warm glance.

  "Proud?" Sano Sauro stood."Proud that a young Jedi student is dead?"

  "Proud that Obi-Wan tried his best to save him, even after Bruck Chun tried very hard to kill him," Qui-Gonsaid, his voice strong."Proud that he was able to show mercy and compassion even while facing great anger from another. That is the Jedi way."

  Sano Sauro sat with a sneer. "Did you see this ... . compassion for yourself, Qui-Gon Jinn?"

  "No. I was engaged in a battle with Xanatos."

  "Then we will have to take your word for it."

  "No," Qui-Gon said. "You will have to take Obi-Wan's word for it. I do."

  Sano Sauro waved his hand. "I have no more questions for this witness."

  Pi T'Egal looked at the other Senators. None of them had questions.

  "Thank you, Qui-Gon Jinn. Now let us hear from Bant."

  Qui-Gon strode back to the table, giving Bant an encouraging look on the way. Bant came forward. Her salmon skin glowed, but her eyes were dim with nervousness. When she sat, Obi-Wan saw how she reached down inside to calm herself. Her chin lifted, and she turned a resolute face to Pi T'Egal.

  Pi T'Egal spoke gently, for Bant inspired gentleness in everyone.

  "Tell us what happened that afternoon, Bant."

  "I was captured by Xanatos and Bruck Chun," Bant said in a clear, steady voice. "They took me to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. We used the water tunnels so that we would not be seen. There, Xanatos chained me to the bottom of the waterfall pool. He told me to prepare for death, that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon would not be able to save me. I did not believe him. But as the time went on, I realized that I had reached the limit of how long I could stay underwater. Then I went beyond it. I knew I was close to death. I prepared for it. And then I felt Obi-Wan's presence. I could not see him, but I knew he was there. I felt the Force surge and give me strength to hold on. A short time later, I felt Obi-Wan release me and carry me to the surface. He dragged me up onto the bank. I saw Bruck Chun lying nearby. He was dead," Bant concluded in a soft voice and bowed her head. "That is all I know."

  The note of insolence in Sano Sauro's voice changed to the soft purring of a deadly animal. "You say you were near your limit underwater.

  Is there a prescribed amount of time a Calamarian can be without oxygen?"

  "No," Bant said. "It varie
s from individual to individual."

  "Have you ever passed out underwater, Bant?"

  "No."

  "Never reached your limit?"

  "No," Bant said. "Not until that day."

  "Yet you did not pass out, did you? How old are you, Bant?" Sano Sauro asked, suddenly switching gears.

  "I am twelve. I was eleven at the time this happened."

  "If you had never reached it before, and you did not reach it that day, how do you know you were close to death?" Sano Sauro fired the question abruptly.

  She blinked slowly. "I felt death was near-"

  "So it was a feeling."

  Obi-Wan's muscles tensed. Confusion flittered over Bant's face. She had not expected this attack.

  "Jedi are taught to trust our feelings."

  "Ah. And what was your state of mind?"

  "I was in a meditativestate, waiting for death should it choose to come."

  "Can you say for sure how much longer you could have held out, if Kenobi had not rescued you?"

  Bant hesitated.

  "The truth," he warned.

  "No ... I cannot ..."

  Sano Sauro spun around and faced the Senators. "So we are to trust the feeling of an eleven-year-old that she was in mortal danger, so that any efforts to free her were justified. A young man is dead because of this?"

  "But I know my abilities and my capacities," Bant cried. "I am sure I was close to death!"

  "I have no more questions," Sano Sauro said.

  "I think it's time to end for today," Pi T'Egal announced. "We will meet again tomorrow at the same time."

  The Senators rose. Bant rose shakily from the chair and approached Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.

  "I failed you. ..."

  "No," Qui-Gon said firmly. "You told the truth."

  "It's all right, Bant," Obi-Wan said. "It was that Sano Sauro, twisting everything. He has no respect for Jedi."

  "The Senators do," Qui-Gon told her. "They will not swallow his interpretation. Do not fret about it." He led her gently toward the door, speeding up his pace a fraction in order to avoid Vox Chun and Sano Sauro, who were also heading in that direction.

  Obi-Wanwas left with Kad Chun. Their eyes met. A wave of anger washed over Obi-Wan, a wave he knew he must resist. But he could not.

  They had attacked Bant, and he could not forgive them for that.

  Kad caught his anger. Obi-Wan saw the flash of satisfaction in the pale gaze that was so like Bruck's.

  "So you are not so perfect, are you, Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Kad asked in a tone of soft menace. "I see the hate in your eyes."

  "I don't hate you, Kad," Obi-Wan answered, struggling to keep his voice even. "But that attack on Bant--is that your idea of justice?"

  Kad's hands balled into fists. "And killing my brother--is that your idea of mercy?" he spat out.

  Their gazes locked. Obi-Wan had never faced such blazing, personal hatred and pain. He felt the shock of it hit him. He wanted to run, but he stood his ground.

  Kad finally tore his gaze away. Then he turned and hurried after his father.

  CHAPTER 6

  There was nothing more he could do for Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon reflected as he boarded an air taxi for Centax 2. He had said everything that needed to be said. One of the hardest tasks of a Master was the decision to step back. His Padawan needed to deal with his feelings on his own.

  And Tahl needed his help, whether she wanted it or not.

  He landed on Centax 2 and took the moving walkway to the Jedi base.

  He found Tahl in the tech dome, going over starship specifications. By now she could recognize his step moments after he entered a room.

  "I thought I needed to know some details of a starship engine," she said without preliminaries. She pushed away the voice recorder that read specifications aloud to her and turned to him. "How was the hearing?"

  "Hard to say."Qui-Gon sat next to her. "It was very hard on Bant."

  "Bant? Why?" Tahl's tone was sharp. Qui-Gon noted how she instinctively jumped to Bant's defense.

  "Sano Sauro grilled her about how long a Mon Calamari can stay underwater. Bant was forced to say that she could not be sure how close to death she was."

  Tahl groaned. "And Bant would see that as a betrayal of Obi-Wan."

  "I'm afraid so. I'm hoping Obi-Wan will talk to her at the Temple.

  Even in the midst of his own pain, he will reach out to Bant. Obi-Wanhimself cannot find composure."

  She sighed. "They do so much and have come so far. We can't forget they are still young."

  "I know he'll be fine in the end," Qui-Gon said. "But it's hard to stand by and watch him go through this." He looked at Tahl searchingly.

  "Yet it is satisfying just the same to be able to stand by him."

  Tahl turned and ran her fingers over a blueprint. The lines were raised so that her fingers could read the shapes, and the voice recorder told her what she was examining. "I didn't realize that the thrust dampers were located so far to the rear," she said coolly.

  Obviously, even a gentle hint that Tahl could benefit from a Master/Padawan relationship would be ignored. Qui-Gon decided to follow her lead. Primarily because he knew he had no choice. "Have you interviewed the two workers yet?" he asked.

  "No, I was just about to. They know an investigator is here. I wanted them to be nervous. Do you want to come?"

  "If you don't mind-"

  "Of course I mind," Tahl said, rising smoothly. "But since when does that stop you?"

  At least there was amusement in her tone. Qui-Gon walked beside her to the adjoining hangar, where the starfighters were refitted.

  Once they got into the hangar itself, Qui-Gon had to restrain himself from taking Tahl's arm. The ground was cluttered with tools and stacks of parts, large and small. But using her extraordinary reflexes and special training, Tahl now used a gliding walk that guided her safely around obstacles.

  "You do not need TooJay any longer for navigation, I see," Qui-Gon remarked, referring to Tahl's endlessly chattering personal navigation droid.

  Her lips curved in a smile. "I worked very hard so that I don't.

  But I brought her here anyway. Unfortunately, I still need her for some things."

  "The mechanics are to the left," Qui-Gon instructed. He studied them as he and Tahl approached.

  One was a Twi'lek, with large head tails wrapped up in cloth to keep out of his way. His skin was light blue. The other mechanic washuman, his body short and compact, the sides of his head shaved so that his close-cropped hair ran down the center of his head.

  "We wonder if we could have a few words with you," Tahl said.

  The two mechanics put down their tools and turned to them. "Of course," the Twi'lek said a bit nervously. "I am Haly Dura and this is Tarrence Chenati. What can we do for you?"

  "We are investigating the mechanical failures on the starfighters,"

  Qui-Gon explained.

  "We already have gone through an investigation," Haly Dura said.

  "We were cleared."

  "We just want to ask a few questions," Tahl said. "Clee Rhara has asked for our help."