Chapter 9
Qui-Gon
allowed himself to be hustled down the stairs. Their
captors said nothing, and he saw no
need to volunteer any
questions or comments. He was not sure
if they knew that he and Obi-Wan were
Jedi. He assumed that they were thought
to be Workers.
In the cramped vestibule, thick strips
of fabric were wound around their eyes to
blindfold them. They were bound in
energy manacles. Then they were pushed out the
door. Qui-Gon felt himself being guided
into a landspeeder. Obi-Wan was shoved
next to him.
He concentrated, trying to gauge distance
by calculating speed and time. He knew
Obi-Wan was doing the same. The journey
was short, and at the end they were
roughly hauled out of the speeder and
marched down a corridor. The speeder had
been parked in an interior landing
area. Listening for echoes, Qui-Gon estimated its
size. For a landing area of this proportion,
the building would have to be fairly large.
He heard a door accessed, and he was
pushed inside a smaller area. He heard
Obi-Wan stumble as he followed.
"This is where you belong, Jedi," a voice hissed.
So they knew their prisoners were Jedi.
"Where are we and why are we being held? Who are you?" Qui asked.
"None of your business" is the answer
to your first question, and 'because you are
enemies of the state' should answer
your second. As for who we are, we are the
saviors of Apsolon."
"You don't say," Qui-Gon remarked dryly.
"Tell me, why are we your enemy?"
"We remember what the Jedi did six years
before. Because of your interference, our
true government was lost. It is up
to us to recapture the glory we surrendered."
"New Apsolon did hold elections open to all—"
"We do not recognize New Apsolon, only
Apsolon. And not every citizen deserves to
vote."
"You are entitled to your opinion,"
Qui-Gon said. "Yet a government was legally
elected by the laws of your world,
so therefore—"
"Do you think I have time to argue with you?
The voice rose angrily. The door shut.
"Well, that was an interesting conversation,"
Qui-Gon said. "We can see that he
Absolutes are just as they appear.
They are fanatics."
"Not good news for us, " Obi-Wan said.
"I'm sure we'll have an interesting dialogue."
"Do you think they'll torture us?" Obi-Wan
asked the question in a firm voice. He did
not want Qui-Gon to think he was afraid.
But when he remembered back to the
different methods they had seen earlier
that day, he couldn't say he felt comfortable
with the notion.
"I have no idea what they are planning," Qui-Gon said.
They did not say any more. There was
a good chance they were under surveillance.
Qui-Gon moved closer to Obi-Wan and
gently indicated his lightsaber with his
fingers. It was to let his Padawan
know that if torture lay ahead, they would not
submit. Obi-Wan nodded.
They did not have long to wait. Less
than an hour passed before they heard the door
hiss open. They were pulled outside
and then pushed along for a short distance.
Another door was activated. Qui-Gon
himself shoved inside. He did not know what
lay ahead, but he had his lightsaber.
His hands were still bound, but he would find a
way to resist. He was forced into a
chair. A bright light was in his face. He knew his
Padawan was beside him.
"Here are the Jedi."
"We can see that, brother." The voice
was low and powerful, with a wry twist to the
cadence that he knew well. "You may
leave us."
Yes, his hands were bound. Yes, he was
blind-folded. He was a prisoner with no way
out that he could tell. But Qui-Gon's
heart sang. He had found Tahl.
