were low on fuel, but the computer told him they would make it.
Tahl slept on as the suns broke free of the horizon. The orange rays
lit her body, instantly transforming her skin into its usual radiant
health. Qui-Gon knew it was an illusion, but he took comfort in the sight.
Qui-Gon quickly maneuvered the Landspeeder through the crowded
morning streets. He turned down State Boulevard toward the Supreme
Governor's residence. As he pulled up, a figure hurried down the steps
toward them. It was Roan's brother, Manex.
"Eritha contacted me to say you were arriving," he said. "I have
arranged the finest med care in the city for Tahl. It is a short distance
away. If you'll follow me." Manex pointed to his own landspeeder.
Qui-Gon hesitated. It was odd that Manex had met them outside. Eritha
had promised them access to her own med care, which was in the residence
itself.
Manex took note of his hesitation. "You must trust me," he said
urgently. "Did I not tell you that I have the best of everything? My med
care is exceptional. The med squad once worked on victims of the Absolutes.
They had the greatest success. The doctor knows Tahl's condition. He can
help." Manex glanced at Tahl, whose head was back and her eyes were closed.
It was the compassionate, worried look in Manex's eyes more than his
words that made Qui-Gon nod. His instincts told him that Manex was sincere.
Tahl needed the best care.
"Good," Manex said at Qui-Gon's nod. He sprinted toward his
landspeeder, moving quickly for a man of his bulk. He jumped in and took
off.
Qui-Gon followed closely. Manex pulled up in front of a gray stone
building a few blocks away.
Immediately the doors opened and a med team rushed out.
A doctor bent over Tahl. Her eyes fluttered open. He applied a
diagnostic readout to the side of her neck and frowned at the results.
"Will she be all right?"
"We will do the best we can."
The med team transferred Tahl to a wheeled stretcher. She was gone
before he had a chance to touch her hand or tell her he'd be waiting. Qui-
Gon sat numbly in the pilot seat, the speeder controls solid in his
clenched fists, willing his own control not to slip away.
CHAPTER 19
Qui-Gon sat by the shore of the lake and stared at the cliff. The
rocky surface seemed completely sheer. The cliff looked impossibly big. But
most things looked pretty big to him. He was eight years old.
They had already climbed the cliff face with cable launchers in
class. They had learned to use their body's weight and hone their balance,
correct their timing. They had done it over and over again. Next week, they
would do it without cable launchers under the supervision of a Jedi Master.
It would be one of their Force exercises.
He knew he should not be thinking of climbing it freehand. But he
was. Qui-Gon wanted to gobble up the challenges the Jedi teachers threw at
the students. A week was too long to wait. It wasn't so very high, really.
It was just a big rock. There were handholds and footholds, even if he
couldn't see them. If he fell, he would fall into the lake.
If he were caught, he would be in trouble. Then again, he wouldn't
get caught. It was dawn and the lake area was deserted.
He heard the rustle behind him and turned. It was a fellow student,
Tahl. She was in his class, but he didn't know her very well. She was
slight, smaller than the rest of them. She looked like a little boy, he
thought. He did not think of himself as a little boy.
She nodded at the cliff. "You thinking of climbing it?"
Startled, he was about to say no. But Jedi did not lie, even for
small things. "Accustomed to the lie, you become," Yoda had warned them.
"Easy it becomes to be false in big things, if false you are in small ones.
" So he said nothing.
To his surprise, she grinned. "Come on." When he hesitated, she
added, "Bet I can beat you to the top."
She ran and launched herself at the rock face, grabbing her first
handhold. He hesitated for just a moment, surprised at how eagerly she
attacked the rock. Then she seemed to mold herself against it. She waited
until Qui-Gon ran forward and joined her.
It was harder than he'd thought. The handholds that seemed so firm to
him with a cable on his belt now seemed impossibly tiny. The rock had
become his enemy. It was tricky to keep his balance. Sweat began to pour
down his face. His muscles shook with effort. He forgot about Tahl's
challenge and concentrated on not falling off
He was three-quarters of the way to the top when he looked over at
her. They were neck and neck. Her face was grimy and sweaty. She grinned.
The grin spurred him on. He found the next handhold, then the next.
She was behind him now, and he was almost there. He searched for the next
handhold, his face pressed against the rough rock.
Suddenly she was beside him, climbing easily. Then she was ahead of
him, her hand reaching for the top. She swung herself up and over, then
sat, breathing hard.
Qui-Gon followed, feeling furious and ashamed. She had beaten him.
When he turned to Tahl, he expected to see triumph in her eyes. Instead, he
saw excitement.
"I felt it, Qui-Gon! I felt the Force!" She slapped the ground, her
green-gold eyes blazing. "The rock - it was part of me. I was part of...
everything. Even the air! It was just the way Yoda said it would be."
Now he was envious as well as embarrassed.
"I can tell you what you did wrong," she said, nudging him with a
shoulder. "You hated the rock. You fought it. I did, too, in the beginning.
You need to love the rock."
Love the rock? That sounded silly. Qui-Gon wanted to tell her that.
But he knew what she meant. And suddenly, he didn't want to hurt her
feelings.
Tahl stood. "Now for the reward. Come on!" She ran forward and leaped
off the end of the rock, straight into the shimmering green water.
Qui-Gon followed. It was a long drop, but the shock of the water felt
refreshing. Tahl waited underwater for him. She grinned, and Qui-Gon smiled
back. The cool water felt so good, and he had climbed the rock. Next time
he would do better. Next time, he would love the rock.
They burst up to the surface. Tahl's dark hair was slicked back off
her forehead. Now she looked like a water creature, sleek and supple.
Suddenly, she frowned. "Someone's coming," she murmured. "Do you see?
Down by the path."
Qui-Gon said nothing. But a fraction of a second later, he noticed a
disturbance in the overhanging leaves, far down the path.
"We're supposed to be in meditation right now," she whispered.
"This way," he said. He stroked to the edge of the lake, where a
rocky outcropping would shield them.
They waited in the shadows, shivering a little from the coolness of
the water. They heard the unmistakable sound of Yoda's shuffling step. Of
all the Jedi Masters, for Yoda to catch them!
Qui-Gon's eyes narrowed in concern, but Tahl looked as though she
would burst out laughing.
Qui-Gon placed a hand over her mouth, and,
grinning, she did the same to him.
Yoda stopped on the path over their heads. They did not breathe.
After a moment, he moved on.
After Yoda had moved away, Tahl dropped her hand, and Qui-Gon dropped
his.
"You know, you almost beat me to the top," she said. "We could be
rivals. But l think it would be better if we were friends."
"Let's be friends," Qui-Gon agreed. He spoke soberly. He took
friendship seriously. Already he knew he wanted to be friends with this
girl.
As if she couldn't contain herself any longer, Tahl dived underwater
and moved away from him. She came up, shaking off water. The sun was
shining, and the rays made the droplets shimmer.
"Friends forever!" she called to him, treading water. "Deal?"
"Deal," he said.
Forever.
Qui-Gon was still waiting when Obi-Wan burst into the small waiting
area in the med complex a few hours later.
"Any news?"
Qui-Gon shook his head. "They are still with her."
"Have you seen her?"
"Not since I got here. Soon, they say." Eritha hurried in. "How is
Tahl?"
"She is holding her own," Qui-Gon said. "Other than that, I don't
know."
Eritha paced in front of him. "I don't understand why Manex had you
bring her here. Well, I do. He always thinks what he has is the best. Where
is he?"
"He waited with me for some time," Qui-Gon said. "He left to attend
to some things at his home. He said he would be back."
She sat down and pressed her palms together. "I hate waiting. I know
the Jedi don't feel that way."
"We hate it, too," Obi-Wan said. "We are just better at it."
Not so, Qui-Gon thought. The past two hours had been the hardest of
his life.
Eritha waited for some minutes, then restlessly got up. "I need some
air. Will you contact me as soon as we know something?"
Obi-Wan assured her that they would. He remained next to Qui-Gon, not
speaking. Qui-Gon felt his Padawan's sympathy and concern. He was grateful
for his presence. It was easier not to wait alone. He knew that Obi-Wan
loved Tahl, too.
"Did Tahl say anything about the kidnapping?" Obi-Wan asked him
quietly.
"Balog was looking for the list of informers, just as Irini and Lenz
thought," Qui-Gon said. He briefly told Obi-Wan what Tahl had told him. He
had trouble concentrating on the whys of Tahl's kidnapping. There would be
time for that, as soon as he looked into her face and saw that she was her
old self again.
"The message runner could be the key," Obi-Wan mused. "We know the
list was stolen and could have been in Absolute hands. What if Oleg took
it? If Tahl was spotted escaping with him, they would of course suspect
that she had it. Tahl said that the Absolute leaders wanted to interrogate
Oleg. If they couldn't find him, they would turn to Tahl."
Qui-Gon was barely listening. "It is a theory, Padawan. We shall see.
"
The doors slid open, and the med team emerged. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan
stood. The doctor went straight to Qui-Gon.
"Her vital signs are dropping. We did everything we could do. The
damage to her internal organs was severe. She will see you now."
Qui-Gon searched the doctor's face. "So she will recover."
"Her damage is severe," the doctor repeated. His weary eyes were full
of sadness as he looked at Qui-Gon.
"She will recover," Qui-Gon repeated. This time there was certainty
in his voice.
He strode past the doctor and hurried to the room where Tahl was
kept. She lay in a diagnostic bed. He ignored the readouts and sensors. He
took her hand, and she turned her head slowly toward him. He was relieved
to see that the med team had removed the disguising lenses from her eyes.
loved was before him, just as he had always known it. He knew every line
and curve, every strong feature, every soft hollow.
He took her hand, but received no answering pressure. Qui-Gon ran his
fingers down her bare arm to feel her skin. It was cold. So cold...
Her lips parted. He had to bend his head to hear her. "Wherever I am
headed, I will wait for you, Qui-Gon. I've always been a solitary traveler.
"
"Not anymore," he said. "Remember? We will go on together. You
promised," he teased. "You can't back out now. I'll never let you forget
it."
Her smile and the slight pressure of her fingers seemed to cost her a
great effort. Panic shot through him.
He brought his face close. He placed his forehead against hers. Her
skin was so cool against his. He willed his own warmth and energy into her
body. Of what benefit was his great strength, what was it good for, if it
could not heal her? Qui-Gon called on everything he knew, everything he
believed in - his connection to the Force, his great love for Tahl - to
enter her and give her strength.
He felt a small sigh flutter against his cheek. Her fingers pressed
his again. He knew that she had felt what he had tried to give her, and had
received comfort from it. He had never felt so attuned to her, so close. If
he could breathe for her, he would.
"Let my last moment be this one," she said. He felt her breath go in,
then out, soft against his cheek. Then it did not resume.
CHAPTER 20
Obi-Wan sat, his head in his hands. Suddenly, he straightened. He
felt a disturbance in the Force. Something had been sucked out of the air,
a powerful energy collapsing, leaving a vacuum.
When he heard the cry from the other room, at first he did not know
who could have made it.
Then he realized it had been his Master.
He heard running feet in the corridor outside the waiting room. The
med team.
He dashed to the door and activated it, then followed the med team
into Tahl's room.
Two of the team checked the monitoring equipment. The doctor stood
by. He did nothing.
That was when Obi-Wan fully understood that Tahl was gone.
The med team stood back from the equipment. No one tried to move the
large man bent over the body in the bed. His grief was too huge, too
private.
Tahl's eyes were closed. Her hand rested in Qui-Gon's. A slight smile
was still on her face. His forehead was pressed against hers. He did not
move a muscle. He did not let go of her hand.
Obi-Wan was staggered by the pain he felt in that room. The very
lines of Qui-Gon's body told him of an agony so immense he could not grasp
it. The intimacy of Qui-Gon's posture, the way his forehead rested against
Tahl's, suddenly told Obi-Wan that he had not begun to realize the depths
of Qui-Gon's feelings.
With that knowledge, his heart broke for his Master.
He took a step closer. How could he help Qui-Gon? What could he do?
Qui-Gon turned. Obi-Wan saw a face that had changed. Something was
gone or something was added, he did not know. But it was no longer the face
he knew so well. Gr
ief had marked it forever. Obi-Wan knew that in his
bones.
He would have his own grief for Tahl. It would never match Qui-Gon's.
He approached the bed slowly. He had no words for this. Nothing he
had learned at the Temple, nothing Qui-Gon had taught him, had prepared him