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Qui-Gon stepped into the hall seconds after Manex left.
"I heard voices," he said heavily.
"Manex has gone to the United Legislature," Obi-Wan said. "Is there anything I can get you, Master?"
"No. Have the probe droids returned?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'll notify you as soon as they do, of course. But I think there are other things we can do to capture Balog, Master. We don't have to wait for the probe droids." He spoke hurriedly, before Qui-Gon could turn away and go back inside the room. During the long wait, Obi-Wan had been thinking about their next step. It was the only thing that pushed away the pain.
"Eritha is still staying with Alani in the Supreme Governor's Residence," he went on. "She is concealing the fact that she knows her sister is in league with the Absolutes, hoping to gain more information.
She promised to be a spy for us. Alani might know where Balog is."
"So we must wait for that, too," Qui-Gon said.
"But we could investigate the tie between them," Obi-Wan pointed out.
"How was the alliance formed? What does Alani expect from Balog? What does he want in return? Where did the Absolutes retreat to after their base was destroyed in the quarries? And what about the list of the Absolutes' secret informers? Balog doesn't have it, because he's looking for it. We know that the Worker Oleg might have had it before he disappeared." O bi-Wan swallowed. Qui-Gon's gaze went dim. The reason they knew that was because Tahl had told them. He pushed on.
"If we can find the list first, we can set a trap for Balog. And what about Manex? What reason does he have for being so kind to us? There are many leads to investigate. I'm sure there must be rumors swirling at the United Legislature. Some of them should be followed up on — "
"We are here to find Tahl's killer, not get involved in politics,"
Qui-Gon said sternly. "Our main object is the pursuit of Balog. As soon as we get information on him, I can leave."
"You mean we can leave," Obi-Wan amended, watching his Master carefully.
Neither one of them had heard the footsteps approaching.
"We came as soon as we could," a deep familiar voice said.
Obi-Wan turned. The Jedi team had arrived. To his relief, he saw his good friend Bant. But his relief turned to disquiet when he saw the Jedi Master was next to her. It was Mace Windu.
Chapter 2
Mace Windu took only the most crucial missions now. His duties on the Jedi Council were many. Obi-Wan realized more fully how important the loss of Tahl was to the Jedi. He had been thinking of himself and Qui-Gon only, of the friend they had lost. But Tahl's influence ran much deeper and wider.
Mace gave both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan a long, measured look. He seemed to capture their weariness and grief as well as the tension between them.
Obi-Wan wondered how much of their discussion Mace had heard. He grew uncomfortable under that all-seeing glance.
He turned with relief to his friend Bant. They had gone through Temple training together, and she was the being he most relied on for her support and understanding. But there was something cool in the way Bant returned his regard. Obviously, she was upset. She had been Tahl's apprentice.
"We are sorry to be here under such tragic circumstances," Bant said to Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan even picked up a hint of coolness in her greeting to Qui-Gon.
That was a bigger surprise. Bant revered Qui-Gon, and Qui-Gon had a special place in his heart for Obi-Wan's friend.
Qui-Gon did not seem to notice the change. He was too consumed by his own grief, Obi-Wan knew. He nodded at Bant.
"Tahl is inside," he said.
"We will see her for a moment," Mace said. "Then I would like a briefing on where we stand."
Qui-Gon gave a heavy nod. Mace and Bant disappeared inside. They returned after a few minutes. Bant looked shaken. Mace closed the double doors behind them quietly and moved farther down the hall.
"This Chief Security Controller, Balog, was responsible," Mace said.
"We know this for sure, yet we don't know where he is. Correct?"
Qui-Gon did not speak, so Obi-Wan said, "Yes."
"Tell me what happened," Mace said, his eyes on Obi-Wan. He seemed to understand that Qui-Gon did not want to talk. Qui-Gon's eyes were on the door to the room where Tahl was, as though only the slimmest whisper of respect was keeping him in the hall.
"Once we knew that Balog had captured Tahl, we obtained two probe droids to track him," Obi-Wan explained.
Mace frowned. "Aren't probe droids now illegal on this planet?"
"Yes," Obi-Wan said, swallowing. He was well aware that Jedi were not supposed to break laws on other worlds. "But you can buy them on the black market. It was our only chance to find Tahl. We had good reason to believe she would be in a sensory deprivation device, so we knew that the longer it took to find her, the more danger she would be in. The probe droids told us that Balog had struck out across open country and entered the quarry region of the planet. Eritha, one of the daughters of the late ruler, Ewane, followed us. She had discovered that her twin sister, Alani, was in league with the Absolutes. This was a shock, because both Eritha and Alani are Workers. When the Civilized were in power, they used the Absolutes for surveillance and torture of Workers — including Alani and Eritha's father."
"I know the Absolutes were the secret police of New Apsolon," Bant said hesitantly. "I didn't get a chance to be thoroughly briefed. Weren't they outlawed after Ewane was elected?"
"Yes. But the Workers suspect that the secret police never disbanded, " Obi-Wan said. "We discovered that they are right. But we never suspected Balog was in league with them. He's a Worker and was a protcgc of Ewane.
Now we know from Eritha that Alani arranged the kidnapping of herself and her sister to throw us off the track and gain public sympathy. At the same time, we believe it was a trick to lure Roan into the hands of the Absolutes. Roan was elected after Ewane was killed."
"Roan was a Civilized, not a Worker," Bant said.
"Right. But he had great sympathy for the Worker cause and worked closely with Ewane to bring about justice for all the people of New Apsolon. He even took in the twins when Ewane was murdered."
"And Alani betrayed him," Bant said slowly. "She must be very corrupt."
"We stumbled onto a village of Rock Workers while we were pursuing Balog," Obi-Wan went on. "Their entire village was destroyed in a raid, except for one Rock Worker, Yanci. She's the one who helped us find the secret headquarters of the Absolutes. That's how we rescued Tahl. But it was too late. Qui-Gon brought her back here, but the damage to her internal organs was too severe…."