'That wouldn't be fair, Obi-Wan.'
Obi-Wan sank down on a stool next to her. 'When was the last time you went to the Hall?'
Cerasi sighed. 'I can't remember. Before I came down into the tunnels…. Long enough so that I can't really remember my mother's face.
Her memory is fading.' She turned to Obi-Wan. 'I believe that Nield is right. I hate the Halls of Evidence as much as he does. Or at least I did.
But I don't hate my family, Obi-Wan. My mother, my aunts, my uncles, the cousins I've Jost… they're all there. Their faces, their voices… I don't have any other way to remember them. And I'm not alone. So many on Melida/Daan have nothing to remember their loved ones by except the Halls of Evidence. We've bombed our homes and libraries and civic buildings… we have no records of births and marriages and deaths. If we destroy all the holograms, our history will be lost forever. Will we end up missing part of what we destroy?'
Cerasi's keen eyes searched his, but he had no answers for her.
'I'm not sure,' he said slowly. 'Maybe Nield is being too rash. Maybe the holograms should be preserved somehow. Say in a vault that can only be accessed with permission. That way we wouldn't be encouraging the worship of war or violence, but scholars could have access, and we'd retain the history of Melida/Daan.'
'That's a good idea, Obi-Wan,' Cerasi said excitedly. 'It's a compromise. And it's something to offer the people of Zehava.'
'Why don't we persuade Nield to stop temporarily until we can figure this out?'
The excitement in Cerasi's eyes dimmed. 'He won't,' she said flatly.
'The council of advisors could issue a stop action on Nield's squad until further debate and study can be done. We have that power. Nield would have to go along.'
Cerasi bit her lip. 'I don't think I can do that. I can't oppose Nield officially. It would split the Young in two. We need to act together. If the Young is divided, that's the end of peace on Melida/Daan. I can't risk that.'
'Cerasi, the city is falling apart,' Obi-Wan said urgently. 'The people want their lives back. That's the way peace will remain. If Nield concentrates on destruction instead of rebuilding, the people will revolt.'
Cerasi dropped her head in her hands. 'I don't know what to do!'
Mawat suddenly rushed into the chamber. 'Hey, Obi-Wan!' he called. 'We need you!'
Obi-Wan sprang to his feet. 'What is it?'
'Wehutti has organized the Elders to protest the destruction of the Hall on Glory Street,' Mawat said. 'Yes, there's a huge crowd forming. I need you, now, to authorize the release of weapons to the Young. We must defend our right to demolish the Halls!'
Obi-Wan shook his head. 'I'm not releasing any weapons, Mawat. That could turn a protest into a massacre.'
Mawat pushed his hands through his long, sandy hair in frustration.
'But we're unarmed, thanks to you!'
'Thanks to the unanimous decision of the council,' Cerasi rapped out.
'Obi-Wan is right.'
Disgusted, Mawat turned away. 'Hey, thanks for nothing.'
'Wait, Mawat!' Obi-Wan called. 'I said I wouldn't give you weapons. I didn't say I wouldn't give you help.'
The rumor spread through the Temple like wildfire. An intruder had been spotted on the grounds. Some said he or she had been seen in the Temple itself. The youngest students were afraid, and even the Jedi Knights were apprehensive. The Temple was on high-security alert. How could someone violate it? Was the Temple vulnerable?
'The Temple's security is tight,' Qui-Gon told Tahl as they walked through the halls on a survey, TooJay ahead of them. 'But perhaps it relies too much on closing down if a threat is out there.'
'Meaning?' Tahl asked.
'Meaning, there are not as many systems operating to protect us if there is someone on the inside who wants the intruder to enter. The system assumes that no Jedi would welcome an outside threat.'
'Ramp, incline fifteen degrees, two meters ahead,' TooJay trilled.
Tahl's face tightened with annoyance for a moment, but she returned to Qui-Gon's statement. 'We don't even know if there's an intruder at all,' she said, frustrated. 'We've tried to track the story to its source, and it's impossible. This one told that one, who heard it from this one, who doesn't remember who told him…'
'It's the nature of a rumor to be difficult to track,' Qui-Gon offered.
'Perhaps the intruder is counting on that. Perhaps he or she wants us to think an invasion has occurred.'
A voice came over the address system. 'Code fourteen, code fourteen,'
the calm, steady voice intoned.
'Yoda's signal,' Tahl said. 'Something's happened.'
The two Jedi Knights reversed direction. This time, Tahl took Qui-Gon's arm so that they could move quickly.
'Master Tahl! Please slow down!' TooJay called in her musical voice. 'I must assist!'
