and hulking machinery gave way to a more hospitable living space. Standing
with her back to the entrance among several mismatched but comfortable-
looking couches was the woman Obi-Wan had seen on Jocasta Nu's holoscreen.
Lena Cobral.
Mica cleared her throat to announce their arrival. Lena turned.
"You've made it," she said, bringing her hands together and offering
both of them to Qui-Gon and then Obi-Wan, and finally embracing Mica. "I'm
so pleased. Was your journey very difficult?"
"It passed quickly," Qui-Gon told her before introducing himself and
Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan was glad that Qui-Gon had emerged again from silence, for he
was not entirely sure he would have been able to manage the conversation so
easily.
Lena Cobral had been attractive on the holoscreen, but in person she
was stunning. Her long dark hair spilled over her shoulders, framing her
face and dark eyes like Mica's. She was only a few years older than Obi-
Wan, which surprised him. Like the Fregans in the street, her demeanor was
relaxed. She greeted the Jedi as if they were old friends or honored guests
at a party, not political escorts.
"Please sit," Lena said, guiding the Jedi to the chairs. "You need
refreshment. Perhaps some Kopi tea?"
Before the Jedi could protest Lena was pouring a warm dark liquid
into cups. It looked slightly orange and tasted delicious.
"My cousin Mica brings me everything now that I am in hiding." Lena
smiled at the silent Mica. "She brought me this tea yesterday. And today
she has brought you to me as well." Lena turned her infectious smile on the
Jedi; Obi-Wan found that it was nearly impossible not to smile back.
"She is too good to me." Lena's upbeat voice gave no clue that there
was any real threat. "She insists on staying with me without any thought of
the danger to herself. I know I should not allow it."
"You are the one who does not give any thought to putting yourself in
danger," Mica said softly.
As Lena watched her cousin stand and leave the room, Obi-Wan thought
he caught a first glimpse of tension and fear on her face. He looked at
Qui-Gon to see if he too had noticed it, but Qui-Gon had retreated inside
himself once more and was gazing into his tea cup.
"I'm sorry," Lena apologized, suddenly placing her hand to her brow.
"I'm wasting your time, and I have not been entirely honest."
Obi-Wan sat up and Qui-Gon placed his cup on the table. They did not
speak, but waited for Lena to continue.
"It is true that I need an escort to Coruscant. And it is true that I
wish to testify against the Cobral. I must complete the task that Rutin
started. The task he died for." Lena's voice caught and she stood, turning
toward the shrouded windows before continuing. "In so many ways it is my
fault. I did not mean to fall in love with him. I did not know he was a
Cobral. But love isn't a choice, is it?"
Obi-Wan thought he saw Qui-Gon nod slightly.
"Before we married, Rutin promised he could stop the crime, but he
could not stand to be cast out of his family. He was his parents' favorite
and he loved them. He hoped that he could convince them to change their
ways. He was not content to remove himself; he wanted to stop it all." Lena
spoke more quickly as she went on, as if she could not stop the flow of
words.
"But then his brother Solan found out that Rutin was trying to change
things. Furious, he went to their father. Rutin could not close the crime
ring from the inside. So he decided to try to close it from the outside. It
was the hardest decision he ever made. I wanted him to get out, but I
begged him not to risk his life. He insisted. For me, he said. He did it
for me." Lena paused again and turned back toward the Jedi. Her dark eyes
were moist with tears.
Obi-Wan felt she was looking only at him, and her eyes bore straight
into his heart. It was as if she were searching him, checking to see if he
had the strength and courage to help her. If he could be trusted.
Obi-Wan knew instinctively that he trusted her. There was something
about the way she carried herself, about the way she spoke. She was not
lying to them. He could sense her fear, yes, but also her honesty. And he
could feel her strength. Lena Cobral was not a coward.
"That is why I must carry out his plan," Lena said, straightening. "I
can't let Rutin's death be for nothing. I will testify, I will stop the
crime. But..."
Obi-Wan leaned in. So far the story was as he expected. But what?
"I don't have any solid evidence to bring before the Senate." Lena
sighed. "Rutin worked very hard to protect me. Although I have heard many
things, as all Fregans have, I have only my word against theirs."
Qui-Gon stood. Obi-Wan could tell by the look on his face that he was
not happy about being fooled. They were sent to escort a witness in danger
and now it seemed their witness had no testimony.
"Please," Lena said, taking Qui-Gon's large hand. "I beg you, stay
until I have the proper evidence. I know it exists - lists and dates,
accounts and records of the Cobrals' crimes. With your help - "
"We were sent only to protect you. If you cannot testify we must
return to Coruscant alone," Qui-Gon said flatly.
Obi-Wan flushed, unable to believe what he was hearing. How could
Qui-Gon deny this woman help?
CHAPTER 3
"Master!" Obi-Wan said, more sharply than he'd intended. "I - " He
stopped, realizing that it would not be good to discuss their differing
opinions in front of Lena. "I would like to speak with you," he finished.
Obi-Wan nodded to Lena and walked quickly toward the stairs and down
one flight. Qui-Gon's footsteps followed. When he reached the landing, Obi-
Wan whirled.
"Master, you can't mean to leave this woman here. She is obviously
scared and in danger!" he burst out.
"She lied to us about having evidence, Obi-Wan. Who's to say she is
not lying about the danger as well?" Qui-Gon said calmly.
"Her fear is real," Obi-Wan said. "Surely you can feel that. We
cannot abandon her." His face felt warm. He had not spoken so strongly to
his Master since before Tahl's death, but since then Qui-Gon seemed to feel
nothing outside of himself.
Qui-Gon gazed at his Padawan for some time. Obi-Wan did not look
away. He would not allow Qui-Gon to walk away from this.
"We can stay for two days, that is all. If she does not have the
evidence by that time we will return to Coruscant without her," Qui-Gon
decided. "But I do not think this is a good idea. You are letting your
emotions guide you."
"I will not regret it," Obi-Wan said tightly.
"That is my hope," his Master replied.
Anger and frustration welled up inside Obi-Wan. He started back up
the stairs without another word. Hadn't Qui-Gon let his emotions guide him
in the past? If only his Master would allow himself to feel some of those
emotions now he would understand. They were making the right decision. Lena
- and Frego - needed them.
Struggling to
let go of his frustration, Obi-Wan paused before
reentering the living quarters. Lena heard the Jedi on the stairs and
turned. Her face was full of hope.
"We will stay two days," Obi-Wan told her with a smile.
"We will protect you while we are here, but that is all. We will not
gather evidence against the Cobral," Qui-Gon added.
It was enough. Lena threw her arms around Obi-Wan's neck. "Thank you,
" she said in his ear. "Thank you. It is more than I can ask."
Obi-Wan felt his face and neck grow warm as he hugged Lena back
awkwardly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Qui-Gon and, behind him,
Mica. Neither of them were smiling.
"Two days will be plenty, but there is no time to waste," Lena said.
She dashed from the room and returned a moment later with a robe similar to
Mica's. She quickly coiled her hair and pinned it on her head before
covering it with a hood.
"I'm coming with you," Mica stated.
Lena shook her head. "There's no reason to put you in danger, too."
Obi-Wan thought he saw a flicker of annoyance in Mica's expression,
but she was silent as the Jedi and Lena left the apartment.
Lena's manner was very brusque and her expression one of pure
determination as she led the Jedi outside into the alley. Obi-Wan noticed
her brows were drawn before she covered them with a pair of dark goggles
that hid most of her face.
Lena moved through the streets even faster than her cousin. She led
the Jedi from the dark, towering warehouses to a neighborhood filled with
tall, sparkling buildings. Bubble like turbolifts silently glided up and
down their outside walls.
Lena came to an abrupt halt a dozen meters away from a particularly
large and grand-looking building. Three imposing men stood on guard outside
the bubble turbolift.
"We'll have to go in the back way," Lena said, finally turning toward
the Jedi. She sighed sadly. "I haven't been back to my apartment since - "
"Your apartment?" Qui-Gon interrupted.
Obi-Wan guessed that his Master was not entirely surprised about
their destination, but that he didn't think going inside was a good idea.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure it was, either. But he wanted to help Lena.
"Are you certain that's wise?" Qui-Gon finished.
"We have no choice," Lena explained. "There's vital information
inside. I need it to testify.
Qui-Gon did not reply as Lena turned and made her way down a narrow
alley to a back entrance. Luckily this one was not guarded. Lena punched a
code into a small panel and the door slid open. But there was no turbolift
on this side of the building. They had to walk up thirty-seven flights of
stairs.
By the time they reached the top floor, all of them were out of
breath. But Lena did not pause to rest. Instead she led them around a
corner to what looked like a duracrete wall. It wasn't until he got up
close that Obi-Wan realized it was actually a concealed door. Lena pressed
a small button concealed inside a panel, and the door slid open.
Before Obi-Wan could even get a look inside, Lena gasped and put a
hand to her mouth. They were standing in what had once been a beautiful
parlor. But the apartment had been ransacked, and piles of debris littered
the floor. Everything was ruined.
The rich fabrics that had covered the furniture were torn to shreds
and strewn across the rooms. Tables and bureaus were smashed. Drawers were
overturned and shelves cleared, their ripped and broken contents randomly
spread across every surface.
The apartment had been lavishly decorated, but now it looked like the
inside of a garbage scow. Whoever was responsible for the ransacking had
done a thorough job. Even the carpets had been pulled up and hacked to
pieces.
Beside him, Lena leaned heavily on Obi-Wan's arm. "I should have
guessed that they would search," she said, forlorn. She leaned down and
picked up the pieces of a small stone carving. She turned them over in her
hand, and her eyes welled with tears.
Obi-Wan wanted to comfort her, but wasn't sure what to say. He
squeezed her arm gently.
"I suppose you should be glad you weren't at home," Qui-Gon replied
dryly. He obviously hadn't noticed Lena's expression, and Obi-Wan felt a
flash of annoyance. How could his Master be so insensitive?
Lena drew a deep breath and let go of Obi-Wan before picking her way
carefully through the mess toward the back of the apartment. Qui-Gon stayed
near the lift doors. Obi-Wan followed close behind Lena, in case she needed
his support again. The apartment did not look like it had been searched so
much as destroyed.
Her face full of sadness, Lena surveyed the damage. She paused once
to pick up a trinket that was not entirely shattered, then placed it on a
shelf still barely attached to the wall. Obi-Wan wondered how long it would
stay there before sliding off.
"How strange!" Lena exclaimed as she walked into her bedroom, at the
end of a long hall. Nothing in this room had been touched. The furnishings
stood upright. The bed was made. Even the portrait on the wall was
straight.
Obi-Wan stepped closer to the portrait. It was a picture of Lena and
Rutin. They stood together in front of a waterfall, their eyes locked on
each other. Something about the portrait disturbed Obi-Wan, but before he
could place the feeling, the portrait and the wall it was on swung aside to
reveal a small office.
"It's where Rutin worked in the evenings," Lena explained, walking
through the secret door. "All of his family files are stored here. I just
can't believe that whoever searched the house didn't - " Lena trailed off
as she activated the computer screen.
Blue light and horror shone on Lena's face as a message flashed on
the screen:
YOU CANNOT STOP US. YOU CAN ONLY DIE TRYING.
CHAPTER 4
Qui-Gon entered the back room just in time to see the message flash a
final time. Then the computer went dead.
Lena sank into a chair. "They've erased the evidence," she said.
"They've erased everything."
For a moment Lena's determination was replaced by desperation. Qui-
Gon was surprised to feel a similar desperation coming from Obi-Wan. He
gazed at him thoughtfully. This was unusual behavior for his Padawan.
Qui-Gon turned his attention to the matter at hand. "Was the computer
connected to a network of some kind?" he asked.
"I don't think so," Lena said. Then she shook her head firmly. "No.
Rutin would not have kept the information here if it was."
"And no one else had access to the information?" Qui-Gon questioned.
"Well, the information was no secret within the family. They all know
what's going on, but they are careful not to leave a trail. Solan makes
sure of that." Lena stood up and walked back into her bedroom, talking more
to herself than the Jedi. "Still, Rutin managed to construct a trail. Any
of them could, but Solan..."
Qui-Gon could see that Lena was already recovering from the setback.
She was formulating a new plan. Qui-Gon could no
t help but admire her
resolve. And yet, if she loved her husband as she claimed, she was
remarkably strong in the aftermath of his death. He thought perhaps she was
deceiving them.
"They all know," Lena said again, louder. "And one of them might just
help." Lena turned and began picking her way back toward the lift.
"Come on," she beckoned the Jedi. "I may need your protection even
more now. We're going to the Cobral Estate."
"Really?" Qui-Gon asked. "Are you sure that's the best plan of