He did not answer, but kept his glance on the sandy expanse.
'She uses the alias Reesa On,' Obi-Wan said. 'She is a bounty hunter.
She is about my companion's height and size, but with a shaved head. You must know her. She comes from your tribe.'
The leader did not answer this time.
'Please help us,' Astri said quietly. 'Lives of those we treasure depend on it.'
The leader simply walked away.
Astri looked after him, distress on her face. 'Make him tell us, Obi- Wan. We can't just give up. '
No, they couldn't give up. But what could they do?
A Sorrusian boy a little younger than Obi-Wan came forward. 'I know who you are looking for,' he told them. 'I know her real name and things about her. I can tell you things.'
Obi-Wan gave him a shrewd glance. 'What do you want in return?'
The boy pointed to Obi-Wan's lightsaber. 'This.'
No Jedi was ever willingly separated from his lightsaber. Obi-Wan reached out with the Force. He turned his attention to the boy's mind.
'You admire the lightsaber, but do not want to possess it,' Obi-Wan said. 'You will tell us the information freely.'
The boy looked puzzled. 'No, I won't. I just told you that. It's a trade, or nothing.'
It never failed to amaze him. Just when he began to feel confident of his Jedi abilities, he was reminded that he was only an apprentice. He could not access the Force as surely as Qui-Gon. He could not affect the boy.
'Come on. What do you say?' The boy's avid eyes rested on Obi-Wan's lightsaber, tucked securely in his belt.
Stricken with doubt, Obi-Wan hesitated. He could not give up his lightsaber. It was unthinkable. But was it the only way to save his Master?
He felt trapped between centuries of Jedi tradition and his own anguish. The dilemma squeezed the air from his lungs. He could not speak.
He could not choose.
And meanwhile, his Master could be dying.
Chapter 9
The next time she let him out of the tank, Qui-Gon was alarmed at the extent of his relief. He had feared that she would change her mind.
Again, he fell to the floor of the lab. Again, he did not rise until he was sure he would be able to stand.
Dressed once more in white, her pale hair drawn back, she surveyed him with glittering eyes. 'I am disappointed in you.'
His small smile was an effort. 'How tragic for me.'
'You are not weakening as fast as the others. I don't know why.'
'I am sorry to disappoint you. Should I try to die quicker?'
Nil sidled forward a few more steps, his hostile gaze on Qui-Gon. He poked him with the barrel of a blaster. 'Do not joke with Madame!'
'Are you going to help me this time so you can have your freedom a little longer?' Zan Arbor asked sharply.
'If I'm to help you, I need strength. I must use my muscles,' Qui-Gon said. 'If I could walk outside the lab…'
She shook her head. 'Impossible.'
'If you want me to use the Force, why do you weaken me?' Qui-Gon asked. 'When the body weakens, its ability to connect to the Force does as well.'
'I know that,' Zan Arbor snapped. She prowled around the lab restlessly. 'I discovered that right away. But I need to analyze your blood. I believe there is a way to harness the Force in it. But I can't find it! If I can discover more properties of the Force and how it's used, I can begin to break down exactly what it is.'
Qui-Gon did not want to anger her, only distract her. He wanted her to forget how long he was outside the chamber.
'What about your other research?' he asked. 'Is investigating the Force worth giving all that up? You saved beings throughout the galaxy. You are renowned.'
'I am tired of renown,' Jenna Zan Arbor said, as sulky as a child.
'What did I get for it?'
'Respect,' Qui-Gon answered. 'And the knowledge that you have done good for your fellow beings.'
'I thought that mattered once,' Zan Arbor said bitterly. 'It does not. I still had to fight in the Senate for research money. I still had to convince half-brained leaders to run trials of my vaccines. I still had to spend endless hours trying to fund my projects. I should have been working!
