He had made no plans for his first release. His only intention was to talk to Zan Arbor again. Somehow he felt he would gain a clue of how to proceed.
The vapor cleared. His heartbeat quickened. He saw movement outside the transparent wall of the chamber.
'I see you're excited, Qui-Gon.' Zan Arbor's cool voice penetrated the chamber. 'Try to contain yourself. I didn't throw you a party.'
The chamber walls slid down, disappearing into the floor. Qui-Gon's knees buckled and he fell forward. The floor against his cheek felt like a gift. Sense had been deprived for so long that the texture of the stone, the coolness of the temperature, felt like fresh rain on his face.
He saw Zan Arbor's boots approach, centimeters from his nose.
'Men have fallen at my feet, but it was in my younger days,' she remarked. 'How nice to see I still have that power.'
He would not speak until he knew his voice would be steady. He reached deep inside for the reserve of strength he knew was still there. He had protected that reserve during the long hours of his captivity.
He did not raise himself to his knees until he knew he would be able to get to his feet. He stood in one smooth motion. He locked his knees.
He had always seen her in rich robes, her hair elaborately styled.
Now Jenna Zan Arbor was dressed simply in a white tunic and trousers. She was smaller than he remembered. Her hair was drawn back and held with an intricate silver clip.
'I would have thought you were the type of woman who prefers beings to meet you eye to eye,' he said.
She smiled. 'But so few can. I am told I am intimidating.'
'That's what makes the few who match you more valuable.'
'I have no interest in other beings anymore, or any conventions of what the majority of those in the galaxy want,' Jenna Zan Arbor said coolly. 'I don't need friendship. Only my work drives me. Nil!'
A tall, thin being shuffled forward. Qui-Gon recognized a being from the planet Quint. Quints were covered in delicate fur and had small heads with triangular eyes. They were extraordinarily quick and fast. Nil had two blasters strapped to his waist. He put his sharp-nailed hands on his blasters and gave Qui-Gon a contemptuous glance.
'Watch him,' Zan Arbor instructed Nil. 'Even an unarmed, weakened Jedi is a formidable opponent.' She turned back to Qui-Gon. 'I should tell you that my security is state of the art. And if you attempt escape, Nil will not hesitate to shoot you.'
Qui-Gon had no intention of attempting to escape. He knew he was too weak. He didn't acknowledge what she'd said, but ignored Nil and returned to their conversation.
'How does your work drive you?' Qui-Gon asked. While they talked, he examined the space around him without seeming to glance. It was a Jedi skill. To Zan Arbor, he appeared to be totally fixated on her face.
'How does my work drive me?' she repeated, puzzled. 'That seems obvious.'
Stone floor. Long metal lab tables. Records piled neatly on a desk.
Sensors, computer bank, lab equipment along one wall.
'Not at all. Scientists are driven for different reasons,' Qui-Gon said, beginning to stroll about to stretch his legs. Nil followed a few paces behind. 'Some for pure research — they have a hunger for how things work. Some want to be remembered, to have their name on a discovery. Some think of living beings and want to help them. Which kind of scientist are you?'
Only one exit, a durasteel door. A security pad mounted to one side.
He would need a code to exit. Or his lightsaber. Of course, he would have to get by Nil, too.
'Why don't you tell me?' Her gaze was amused as she crossed her arms, tracking his movement. 'Which describes me?'
'None of them,' he said. 'Your ambitions are even grander, I fear.'.
'You fear? What is wrong with grand ambitions?'
Qui-Gon stopped and faced her again. 'You search for the unknowable and attempt to tame what cannot be tamed. Such an effort is doomed to failure.'
Only a flare of her nostrils told him that he'd upset her. 'So you say,' she said, waving a hand. 'It doesn't matter. I'm used to being underestimated. You have no idea what I'm capable of.'
'On the contrary,' Qui-Gon said dryly. 'I have a very good idea of how far you will go to get what you want.'
'Excellent point,' she said, amused again. 'You are a worthy adversary, Qui-Gon Jinn.'
'I'm hardly an adversary,' he responded. 'Am I not your subject?'
'I have a feeling you are subject to no one,' she answered, the same faint smile on her face.
Nil glanced at her and then gave Qui-Gon a look of pure loathing.
He is jealous, Qui-Gon realized. Perhaps that is something I can use.
Zan Arbor might have regretted her softer tone, for she turned away and said briskly, 'Now for your part of the deal.'
