The Ties That Bind

  movement. And I think.."

  They turned a corner. Ahead they could see a team of intruders

  hauling something over the wall. It was about the size of a person, black

  and shiny. There was a slit in the top.

  Qui-Gon recognized the sensory deprivation container from the Museum

  of the Absolute. But why were the intruders dragging it over the wall?

  Then he saw, through the slit at the top, a strand of golden hair

  waving.

  "They have the twins," he said.

  They activated their lightsabers and charged.

  The intruders were masked and dressed in dark clothing. They saw the

  Jedi approaching. One of them reached for a transmitter.

  "Overhead, Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon shouted.

  Probe droids suddenly buzzed above them. Blaster fire rained down.

  Lightsabers swinging, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan deflected fire while they raced

  to the wall.

  Other probe droids approached, high enough to avoid retaliation and

  peppering the Jedi with fire. The intruders had the advantage. They dropped

  over the wall and disappeared.

  It would be difficult to leap over the wall and deflect fire at the

  same time. Qui-Gon knew that. He had no choice.

  He accessed the Force and leaped. Beside him, he saw Obi-Wan do the

  same. They sailed over the wall, high above. In those quick seconds, Qui-

  Gon had a chance to swipe two probe droids. Obi-Wan neatly cleaved one in

  half. The three droids fell sizzling to the ground.

  They landed on the other side of the wall. A long expanse of grass

  stretched before them. Parked on it were large swoops.

  The intruders had already loaded the two containers onto swoops. As

  the Jedi raced forward, they took off.

  A concealed door in the wall opened and security forces rushed

  through. Qui-Gon recognized Balog, the head of security.

  "What's going on?" he barked angrily. "What are you doing here?"

  "I think the twins have been taken on those swoops," Qui-Gon said,

  pointing at what was now a fleet of dots in the sky.

  Balog spoke quickly into his comlink, giving the coordinates of his

  position and asking for air support.

  "Did you see them?" he asked.

  "We saw two sensory deprivation containers, the same design that we

  saw at the museum. I saw one of the girls' hair. That's all."

  Balog turned to the guards. "Check the house again. And check the

  grounds." He then turned back to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. "I thought you were

  tourists. What were you doing here?"

  "We are Jedi," Qui-Gon answered. "We are not here on an official

  mission. I knew the girls six years ago. We came to see them."

  Balog gave them the hard stare of a security officer who was used to

  lies. Something must have convinced him, because he sighed. "This happened

  on my watch. I thought security was perfect. Somehow they got through the

  house security and immobilized the guards. They tripped the alarms, but it

  took too long for us to get here."

  "Do you have suspects?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Obviously, it could be the Absolutes," Balog said. "Those devices

  were supposed to be destroyed, but of course we know that some must have

  been smuggled out. Anyone could have bought them on the black market. In

  other words, no, I don't know who took the twins." He gazed at the sky. "I

  just hope that whoever took them is planning to ransom them. I hope this is

  a kidnapping, not..."

  He did not complete the sentence. "The use of the containers points

  to that," Qui-Gon said. "If the intruders were going to kill the twins,

  they would have done so here."

  Balog ran a hand over his forehead. "I must tell Roan personally. He

  will be devastated."

  He walked off, too distracted to say a farewell.

  Qui-Gon stared after him. "Unless Roan already knows," he said.

  CHAPTER 14

  They met Tahl in a prearranged location deep in the Worker Sector. It

  was a small park that commemorated an early protestor of Apsolon's system.

  A single white glass column stood in the middle of the small green. They

  kept their hoods drawn over their faces as they circled the park, around

  and around. Once she heard the news of the twins, it had taken three turns

  for Tahl to speak.

  "I do not think it was the Absolutes," she said finally. "I believe I

  would know it. There were extreme factions of the group, but they are under

  the control of the central committee now. At least I think so. It's a

  possibility, but I'm more inclined to think that Irini and the Workers

  kidnapped the twins. They feel strongly that Roan murdered Ewane. Perhaps

  they could even justify the kidnapping as keeping the twins away from

  danger."

  "You should join us in tracking the kidnappers," Qui-Gon said. "If

  you believe the Absolutes are not involved, it is a waste of time for you

  to remain there."

  "I said I thought they weren't involved," Tahl corrected. "There is

  always the possibility that rogue members have done this. I need to stay in

  place and investigate. It would be natural for the Absolutes to try to find

  out who did it. I can use their surveillance resources."

  Obi-Wan noted that his Master seemed to be restraining his objection.

  He did not understand why. Tahl was right. She should remain undercover, at

  least until they knew who had taken the twins.

  "Do you think Roan could be involved?" he asked Tahl.

  "I don't know," Tahl said. "Of course we need to entertain the

  possibility."

  "We were on our way to speak to him when we interrupted the

  kidnapping," Qui-Gon said.

  "Maybe we should try to speak to him now," Obi-Wan suggested.

  "It might be hard," Tahl pointed out. "He will be on a full-scale

  alert. He won't have time for us.

  Just then Qui-Gon's comlink signaled. When he answered it, it was

  Balog. Qui-Gon listened intently for a few moments, then clicked off the

  communication.

  "It will be easier than we thought," Qui-Gon said. "Roan has asked to

  see us."

  Roan met the Jedi in his office at the massive Institute of

  Government Service building. Despite the grandeur of the building, his

  office was sparsely furnished, with chairs lined up against a wall, a long

  table that served as a desk, and a bare floor of gray stone. The window

  looked down on the streets. On their own, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had seen the

  signs of protest beginning. As the word spread of the twins' fate, people

  were spilling out into the streets.

  The Workers had organized quickly. Across the street in the square

  they had formed a solid cube of beings in the same shape as the many

  monuments in the city. More continued to arrive. The front line carried a

  banner: ARREST ROAN NOW

  Roan turned from the window as they entered. He was, in midlife, an

  imposing figure, with one silver streak on one side of his dark hair. He

  bowed in greeting.

  "Welcome. If I had known you were here before this, I would have

  called for this meeting earlier."

  "We are not here officially, so did not want to trouble you," Qui-Gon

  said.

  "Consider yourselves offic
ial," Roan said grimly. His dark eyes

  looked haunted. "We need help to find the girls. I know that you want to

  find them, too. I am also aware that there are those who believe that I was

  behind the murder of their father and now their abduction. I have summoned

  you here to tell you this is not so."

  "Why do you think the rumor began?" Qui-Gon asked.

  "Because since Ewane's murder the structure of the government has

  been in a precarious state. There are those who are calling for new

  elections. My enemies have encouraged the rumor that I killed Ewane." Roan

  paced in front of the window. It was coated so that he could see out, Qui-

  Gon noted, but the people massing below could not see him.

  He turned and faced the Jedi. He spread his hands. "I do not know

  what to do. My planet has struggled for fairness and achieved freedom for

  all its people. Now it is in danger of losing that stability. I see visions

  of ruin whenever I close my eyes. Yet I know I can prevent this ruin. I

  just don't know how. Events seem to unfold before me and I am powerless

  over them."

  Qui-Gon felt a rush of sympathy for Roan. The man truly looked

  haunted. And Qui-Gon himself knew what it was like to be plagued by

  visions. He knew what it felt like to have events rush by as if he'd once

  seen them unfold in a dream and had only now remembered it.

  "What would you like us to do?" Qui-Gon asked.

  But just then Roan's internal communication unit signaled. With an

  impatient gesture, he went to answer it.

  "I left instructions that I was not to be disturbed - "

  "Yes, Governor. But we have received an external communication. They

  ask for you only. They say they are the kidnappers."

  Roan looked at the Jedi. "I would like you to hear this." He spoke

  into the comm unit. "Please put them through."

  The voice that came through the comm unit was obviously

  electronically manipulated. It had an eerie, echoing quality, half machine,

  half living being.

  "Good afternoon. Today the descendants of Ewane were taken in a raid.

  We are holding them. We are willing to release them upon your meeting

  certain conditions."

  "Are they all right?" Roan asked. "Let me speak to them."

  "They are safe and were not harmed. Do not speak. Listen."

  "I will pay for their release - "

  "Do not speak! We do not want money. We want you to resign your

  position as Supreme Governor. You will say you are bowing to the will of

  the people. You will call for new elections. You will never reveal that you

  have resigned in order to free the twins."

  Roan met Qui-Gon's eyes. Qui-Gon saw that he would agree. He had no

  choice.

  "Oh, yes. If you say you will do this, and you go back on your word,

  both you and the twins will be killed. Make no mistake that we are capable

  of getting to you anywhere. Even with Jedi protection."

  "All right," Roan said, leaning toward the comm unit. "I agree to

  your terms. But I must see the twins and escort them to safety. I don't

  want them frightened again."

  "That would be acceptable. We will contact you with details."

  "When?" Roan asked urgently, but the communication was cut off.

  Roan sat down heavily. "They are alive, at least. If we can believe

  them."

  "You must not go to this meeting alone," Qui-Gon said. "When they

  contact you again, you must ask for a Jedi escort. You must ensure that

  both you and the twins come back from this meeting alive."

  Roan nodded. "I will. I know you will protect them. I am all they

  have. I must do as the abductors ask. But I will be grateful for your

  assistance. Our first concern is the lives of those girls."

  CHAPTER 15

  Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan left Roan, who promised he would call the Jedi as

  soon as the kidnappers contacted him again. They had only gone a few steps

  from the government building when Qui-Gon's comlink signaled.

  "Qui-Gon, I need you."

  It was Tahl. Qui-Gon felt his worry collect into one burning mass in

  his chest. She sounded breathless, in trouble. Not to mention that she was

  asking for his help.

  "Tell me."

  "I don't know how, but they discovered that I am a Jedi. They are

  afraid of how much I know. I escaped from the headquarters, but they've

  sent probe droids after me. Qui-Gon, I... I can't see the droids - "

  "Do you know your location?"

  "I crossed to the Worker Sector. I went four blocks south, three

  blocks east. I am concealed in a memorial, you know the ones with the

  standing columns?"

  "Yes." Qui-Gon was already walking rapidly toward the Worker Sector.

  "I'm hiding between the glass columns, but it won't take long before

  the probe droids locate me. There are many beings on the streets, so that

  will confuse them for a time, but - "

  "We are on our way."

  Qui-Gon quickly explained the situation to Obi-Wan, and they began to

  run. Tahl could not sense the droids through the Force, and this made her

  predicament all the more dire. He remembered precisely the location of the

  Absolute headquarters.

  Was this it, was this the meaning of his vision? Would he find Tahl

  curled up between the columns? Would the probe droids have found her?

  Her eyes were black and dull, but they sparked to life when she saw

  him..

  He had seen Tahl's eyes in the vision, and they were dark, the color

  of the lenses she had donned to conceal their distinctive color. Qui-Gon

  remembered this detail like a blow. Did that mean the rest of the vision

  would come true?

  "Qui-Gon, we're here." Obi-Wan spoke quietly by his side, his breath

  roughened by the hard run. "We should be cautious now. The probe droids

  might be searching for us, too."

  It was a good point. He should have thought of it. He slowed his pace

  to a walk so that they were not obvious among the passersby. Then they

  gradually increased their speed, mingling with the crowd. Because of the

  unrest concerning the twins' disappearance, the streets were crowded.

  Qui-Gon counted off the blocks, struggling not to run. Attuned to the

  air above, he did not see any probe droids. He did not know whether to be

  reassured or worried by this.

  At last they reached the corner where the monument to the dead

  Workers stood. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan hurried toward the glowing columns. They

  searched through the rows, at last finding Tahl near the back, at a place

  where she was hidden but still had room to escape the cube and run.

  She turned her face up at the sound of their footsteps. Her eyes were

  dark, but not dulled with pain. She was fine. Her wry smile tore at his

  heart. "Thanks for coming."

  Qui-Gon crouched down and signaled to Obi-Wan to do the same. "There

  are many on the streets. It will be hard for the probe droids to track you.

  I think the safest place for us now would be with Roan. Even if he is

  behind the kidnapping, he must maintain the illusion that he is not. Since

  your cover is blown, it doesn't matter who knows that you are Jedi."

  "True," Tahl said. "Let's go."

  Obi-Wan scanned the sky.
"Surveillance will be heaviest around here.

  Once we get into the Civilized Sector, the probe droids might give up."

  "Stay between us, and stay close," Qui-Gon told her.

  They made their way cautiously out from the glowing glass columns,

  then into the flow of pedestrians. Gradually it became clear that the

  passersby had a destination.

  "They are heading somewhere," Qui-Gon murmured.

  "Probably a demonstration," Tahl guessed.