The Fight for Truth(25)
“We have both seen flashes of a future destructive event on Kegan,” O-Vieve told them. “We see evil cloaking our planet like a black cloud.”
“How?” Qui-Gon asked. “When?”
“We do not know the answers to those questions,” 0-Vieve said. “That is the agony we live with. We are not sure how to prevent it. We only have clues. The Jedi … the Jedi are involved.”
“The Jedi?” Adi asked. “How?”
“We see the Jedi surrounded by darkness,” V-Tan said. “That is all we know. The darkness comes from within them and then spreads to engulf them.”
“Perhaps our destruction will come from an explosive device sent to destroy an entire planet without a shiver,” O-Vieve said.
“There is no explosive device powerful enough to destroy a whole planet,” Qui-Gon said.
“Not yet, perhaps,” 0-Vieve corrected softly, and Qui-Gon felt a shiver go up his spine.
“We see masked soldiers,” V-Tan said. “We do not know who they are, or what they want. Only that they are evil. They will bring fear and suffering.”
“But your visions could be wrong,” Adi said.
“Visions sometimes are. The Jedi themselves are not unused to them. Yet we recognize that we can only see things that may be.”
“That is why we act as we do.” 0-Vieve looked at Qui-Gon with an intense gaze. “If you could choose your death, Qui-Gon, wouldn’t you rather die in peace and comfort than violently in battle, in shock and despair?”
Qui-Gon fixed her with an icy stare. “We are not allowed to choose our deaths.”
“And it is not up to you to choose what is best for your people,” Adi said. “You say that each citizen has a vote. Yet you control the process. You monitor their thoughts and conversations. All because of a vision that may not come to pass. Is that fair? Is it fair to take a child from her parents based on a dream of an unnamed evil?”
0-Vieve looked away. Obviously, the question had disturbed her.
Qui-Gon took the opportunity to press the point. “Adi Gallia and I have seen your Tech Circle and your Med Circle. We have seen what you do have compared to what you could have. There have been advances in medicine and technology that could save your people suffering and hardship. Is it right to deny them?”
“We do not deny them,” V-Tan said, shaking his head. “We save them.”
“There must be some sacrifice in order to
preserve the General Good,” 0-Vieve said, turning back to them. Her voice once again rang with firm authority. “This meeting is over. We will send your Padawans after you. We have a good ship, well-stocked, equipped with a hyper-drive for them. We send you good wishes on your journey.” Her blue eyes suddenly held the glint of steel. “But if you try to remain in Kegan atmosphere, know this: Your ship will be blasted out of the sky.”
Obi-Wan and Siri were able to slip back into the throng of students crowding around the large data screen while the stragglers completed the course.
0-Bin read the scores, her usual fixed smile on her face. It faltered.
“O-Siri and V-Obi, step forward.”
Obi-Wan and Siri stepped forward.
“You have tampered with the data screen,” she rapped out. “Ten punishment marks apiece -“
“Excuse me, Guide O-Bin.” The soft-spoken girl named O-lris spoke up. “V-Obi and O-Siri completed the course that fast. I saw them leap up on the durasteel wall.”
“And I saw them navigate the twisting beam in only three seconds,” another boy said. “No one has ever done that.”
“They were already through the first lap
while I was only a third through the first,” someone else said.
0-Bin’s smile disappeared. She cleared her throat. “I see. Well. Let us see if O-Siri and V-Obi can match their skill on the rec course with obedience in class.”
She walked off quickly. The students lined up to follow. Many glanced at Obi-Wan and Siri, speculation in their eyes. Obi-Wan had not foreseen that their prowess on the rec course would gain them more attention. Obviously, no one had ever run the course so fast.
Back in class, 0-Bin began the lesson.
“Today we will cover the Kegan system of government as compared to other worlds. After studying other societies throughout the galaxy, V-Tan and O-Vieve have devised the best form of government. No one citizen on Kegan is more important than any other -“
“Really?” Siri said bluntly. “Then why do V-Tan and O-Vieve tell you what to think and what to do?”
“Three marks, O-Siri. You’re amassing quite a collection,” 0-Bin said, her smile tight. “I suppose you enjoy kitchen duty.”