[Jedi Apprentice] - 14(10)

“Qui-Gon!” they cried together, and hurried toward him.

Qui-Gon bowed. “I was not sure you would remember me.”

“Of course we do.” Qui-Gon was not sure which one had spoken. Six years ago, Alani had been slightly taller than Eritha, but now they were the same size.

As if recognizing his difficulty, the other girl smiled. “I am Eritha. This is my sister Alani.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you apart,” Qui-Gon said.

“It’s hard, but in time people can,” Eritha replied.

“Some people,” Alani amended. “Why are you here on New Apsolon? Is it a Jedi mission?”

“Not exactly. Let me present to you my Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

“Any friend of yours is one of ours,” Alani said. “We will never forget your kindness to us six years ago.”

“How is Tahl?” Eritha asked eagerly. “We were hoping she was with you.”

“Tahl is on New Apsolon, but I’m afraid I’m not in contact with her yet,” Qui-Gon said. “Did you send for her?”

The twins exchanged surprised glances. “No,” Alani said. “Why would we do that?”

“You do not feel in danger?” Qui-Gon asked. “Since your father’s murder, you might feel that New Apsolon is not safe for you.”

“We are safe here with Roan,” Eritha said. “He was our father’s best friend. He will protect us. We have everything we need here and don’t need to go out if we don’t wish to. We have private gardens in the back of the residence.”

“I see that you are troubled, Qui-Gon,” Alani said. “Of course Eritha and I are aware that there are those on New Apsolon who believe Roan had our father assassinated. We do not believe such a thing.”

“Roan has been like a father to us,” Eritha said. “After our father’s death, we saw his grief.

It was real. He would not allow us to leave this residence. He said he would be our father now.” “We are a family,” Alani said firmly.

Qui-Gon nodded. He would not challenge the girls’ beliefs. But he would not take them as truth, either. He had known the girls at the age of ten, bewildered by their world’s conflicts and longing for their father as he spent long years imprisoned. They had been protected by Ewane’s followers, who had proven their devotion to their leader by sheltering his daughters. Perhaps they still were unable to cope with the complexities of a world where sabotage and treachery were practiced. The cozy room and private compound told him that they were still sheltered.

“So you haven’t heard that Tahl is on New Apsolon?” Qui-Gon asked.

The girls shook their heads.

“If she is, I wish she would come and see us,” Alani added.

Qui-Gon nodded. A feeling of dread loomed inside him. If the girls had not called Tahl, who had? And where was she?





CHAPTER 6


With no leads, Qui-Gon decided that until they thought of a plan of action, observation was their best strategy. They walked past the government buildings, noting the high security. Everyone seemed to be on alert.

Obi-Wan read the inscription on a windowless building nearby. Unlike its graceful neighbors, this one was squat and long. “It’s the former headquarters of the Absolutes,” he said to Qui-Gon. “It’s now a museum.”

“Let’s go in,” Qui-Gon suggested. “It could be that the Absolutes still have power here. Groups such as that find it hard to disband. The more we learn about them the better off we are.”

They paid a small fee to enter. They found themselves in a surprisingly tiny hall with a low ceiling. Carved into the stone archway above an entranceway to the rest of the building they read ABSOLUTE JUSTICE CALLS FOR ABSOLUTE LOYALTY

A petite, wiry woman approached them, dressed in a navy tunic and trousers. Her jet-black hair was cropped short, and Obi-Wan noted that her right hand was twisted, the knuckles of the fingers large and knotted.

“Welcome. I am Irini, your tour guide. All the guides to the museum are former prisoners of the Absolutes. Let’s begin the tour.”

They followed her underneath the archway and down a long corridor, where she accessed a thick durasteel door. Immediately they found themselves in a cell block. They walked past the deserted security desk through the row of cells.

“Here is where prisoners were detained before undergoing ‘reclassification,’ which was the Absolute term for torture,” Irini explained. Her voice was calm and dispassionate. “Often prisoners were kept waiting without food or water for long periods, to break down their resistance. They were not allowed counsel or contact with their families. If you are visitors to our world, you may have noticed the many memorials, especially in the Worker Sector. The white columns stand for those who gave their lives on the spot. The blue columns memorialize those who were taken by the Absolutes and arrested. There is a column on Teligi Road for me.”