[Jedi Apprentice] - 16(16)

“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 himself 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?

The door hissed open. But instead of Eritha, a confused-looking aide stood in the doorway. “I’m sorry - isn’t this where the Rock Mining Development Act subcommittee is meeting?”

“I’m afraid not,” Qui-Gon said.

“Oh. Sorry again.” The young man nodded and withdrew, and the door hissed shut behind him.

An innocent interruption, Qui-Gon thought. But perhaps not. He thought carefully about the young man’s appearance. He wore the navy tunic of an aide, but…

His boots. They were the boots that the security officers wore. He was doing a check of the rooms. And he could have recognized Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon withdrew his lightsaber in one quick motion. He would have to contact Eritha later. He cut a neat hole in the glass and stepped through onto the ledge. Using his cable launcher, he lowered himself down to the pavement behind the wall.

“There he is!” Chips from the wall flew as blaster fire hit on either side of him. Qui-Gon looked up. Two security officers aimed their blasters at him.

“Don’t move!” one of them shouted.

Qui-Gon ran. He deflected the blaster fire as he zigzagged down the short passageway between the wall and the Legislative building. Then he leaped to the top of the wall and jumped over.

Pedestrians scattered as he landed. They looked at him curiously, but he matched his stride to theirs and continued walking. He increased his pace as they lost interest and turned down a side street. He weaved through the blocks surrounding the Legislature, finding a deserted alley to shed his overcloak and cap. No doubt a complete description of him was now updated on every security officer’s datapad. He would blend in better in his traveler’s cloak.

Qui-Gon caught a repulsorlift airbus and stayed on it until the end of the line. He resolved to go back and find Eritha under cover of darkness.

Balog had always been one step ahead of him. This time, he resolved that he would be first.





CHAPTER 11


The holotape of Tahl as an Absolute had hurt the Jedi. Qui-Gon’s arrest warrant made it worse. Mace ran into roadblocks whenever he tried to gather information. The support of Manex was no longer enough.

Obi-Wan saw the frustration tighten Mace’s features. He knew that Mace was deeply concerned that Qui-Gon had not surfaced to clear his name. He, too, wondered what his Master was thinking. In rare moments of rest, he reached out with the Force, trying desperately to connect. At times he thought he could feel Qui-Gon, but it was not a strong, clear sensation. It was murky and gray. He knew his effort to reach his Master through the Force would not work. They would not connect. There was too much unresolved emotion swirling around Qui-Gon, too much he was trying to hide.

“You need rest,” Mace said at the end of a long, fruitless day. “Both of you.”

But neither Bant nor Obi-Wan wanted to retire to their quarters. They sat in Manex’s private sitting room. Since Manex’s favorite color was green and he believed in indulging himself, every cushion, every seating area, was a different shade of the color.     The floors were of highly polished black stone. Obi-Wan felt almost dizzy sitting in the center of all that bright color, but Manex had insisted on giving the Jedi his favorite room, and they felt they could not refuse.