Bryn nodded again but did not take Qui-Gon's hand. Instead she turned toward the galley. After pressing a few buttons, she placed two more settings at the table that was already set for two.
'Grath will not be eating,' she said. Chairman Port nodded.
'Will he be home later?' Obi-Wan asked. He was anxious to meet the Ports' fifteen-year-old son. Vorzyd 4 seemed so… boring. He couldn't imagine what life must be like for the teenagers on the planet, and was hoping that they would be easier to talk to than the Vorzydiaks he'd already met.
'After mealtime. He is working,' Bryn replied flatly.
While they waited for the meal to be served, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon looked around the small residence. It was furnished and reasonably comfortable, but revealed nothing about the inhabitants. It reminded Obi- Wan of the sterile spaces travelers could rent on Coruscant. With so many different species coming through, the quarters were designed to be nothing more than clean and inoffensive.
'Is Grath away from home often in the evenings?' Qui-Gon asked when they sat down to dine. 'It must be disappointing when you cannot share your last meal of the day together.'
Obi-Wan knew that Qui-Gon was also looking for a sign of emotional connection in the family.
'It is an honor to work,' the chairman said tersely.
His wife nodded. 'May he be as productive tomorrow as he is today,'
she said.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan exchanged a look as the table fell silent.
Obi-Wan chewed a particularly tough and flavorless bite of whatever food was in his bowl. 'What do you do in the evenings, to entertain yourselves?' he asked, still hoping to spark some conversation. Though he was getting the feeling that the endeavor was useless, he felt he had to try.
Bryn looked up from her food, a confused expression on her face. 'We read instructuals to better our work,' she replied, as if it were obvious.
Suddenly, Obi-Wan wondered if Grath chose to work late to avoid the evening meal. He found it hard to imagine that the young people on Vorzyd 4 were as work-driven as their parents. In some ways, he thought, it was similar to life at the Temple. There, children and adults were completely dedicated to learning the ways of the Force. The path of the Jedi was fascinating, of course. Far more fascinating than anything Obi-Wan had seen here. But Obi-Wan had to admit that sometimes, at the Temple, he just wanted some time off — to take a break.
Looking up from his bowl, Obi-Wan noticed Qui-Gon staring at him. He felt his face redden. More than once Qui-Gon had seemed able to read his mind, and he hoped this was not one of those times.
Obi-Wan had felt frustrated lately, yes. But he did not wish to leave the Jedi path. He had done that once — and it had turned out to be the biggest mistake of his life. Still, there were times — especially when he felt he was not progressing — that he wondered where all of this hard work was leading him.
Chapter 4
Chairman Port led the Jedi into a building a short distance from his house. 'This is our retirement complex. My mother lived here after she retired. Now she is dead. The room is empty,' he said. His voice registered no feeling.
'I'm sorry to hear of your mother's passing,' Qui-Gon said gently.
'Was it recent?'
'One month ago,' Port replied.
Qui-Gon noticed that Chairman Port's antennae quivered slightly. 'It is difficult to lose a parent.'
'Laborers do not last without work,' Port replied steadily. But he stopped outside the retirement complex, as if he were reluctant to go in.
'Second floor. Third door on the right,' he said.
Pressing a key pass with access codes into Qui-Gon's hand, he turned to go. 'Tomorrow we will contact Vorzyd 5. Work must go on.'
As the door slid shut behind them, Qui-Gon heard a tapping in the corridor. Door lined halls stretched in all directions, and to the left a figure struggled toward them using a support. He waved to attract their attention. It was an elderly Vorzydiak.
'To work,' he called in a raspy voice. 'Is the shuttle here? To work.
' Obi-Wan started toward the nearly crippled being, but Qui-Gon put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. The Vorzydiak turned and walked in the other direction, still rambling. He had not been talking to them. He was raving to no one in particular, and Qui-Gon knew there was nothing they could do to help.
Port's mother's room was as gloomy as the rest of the complex. But it held two sleep couches, and was certainly adequate for the Jedi. Obi-Wan paced the small space between the couches. Qui-Gon knew he had been waiting for a chance to speak. A year ago he would have shared his thoughts by now.
But his Padawan was growing older, wiser. He was becoming a Jedi.
'Master, I do not think that Vorzyd 5 is responsible for today's…
mishap,' Obi-Wan said. 'I do not know who is responsible, but we must not contact Vorzyd 5 until we have a clearer sense of what is going on.'
'Of course.' Qui-Gon nodded.
'I feel… I feel that all is not right on Vorzyd 4,' Obi-Wan continued. 'There's something more here, there's some sort of… well, secret.'
