comrade. Not your enemy. If you have weakness, I should be aware of it.'
Adi didn't let anything slide. Qui-Gon knew he had overstepped. He should have consulted his fellow Jedi Master before issuing the order.
'I'm sorry,' he said. He did not find it hard to apologize when he knew he was wrong. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. 'You are right on all counts. My connection to the Force has weakened along with my body.'
'All right. Now I know.' Adi turned to look out the cockpit windshield. 'The landing platform is crowded. I don't see our Padawans.'
'They had better be there,' Qui-Gon said. He was still irritated that Obi-Wan had made the stop in the desert of Arra without consulting him.
'Unless they decided to go off on their own mission again.'
Adi gave one of her rare smiles. 'They did well, and you know it.'
Qui-Gon frowned. 'They disobeyed.'
'They had reason.'
'They did not contact us.'
'They are learning independence.'
'At a cost of disobedience?'
Adi leaned back. 'You know the Jedi look at things differently, Qui- Gon. We are not an army. Our discipline comes from within. Each Jedi has his or her own connection to the Force. We all are taught to trust our feelings and hone our instincts. Obi-Wan had a strong feeling and followed it. Siri backed him up. You did the same on Kegan, and I backed up your instinct — even though you did not ask my opinion. I am pleased that Siri is learning cooperation. Perhaps Obi-Wan has taught her more about it than I can.'
'Obi-Wan is usually cautious,' Qui-Gon said as the ship began landing procedures. 'Yet sometimes he is swept away by feeling. I worry about those times.'
'As the Council worries about you,' Adi said in an amused tone. 'You and Obi-Wan seem so different. But at the core you are very alike.'
'Perhaps that is not good,' Qui-Gon mused. As the craft descended, he could just make out Obi-Wan standing, waiting for him.
Adi looked down at Siri, who was standing next to Obi-Wan. 'It is the same for me. I see Siri's defiance and independence and see myself. In guiding her I guide myself. It is good that this is so.'
Qui-Gon felt her words strike his heart. Obi-Wan's face was upturned now, his expression anxious. Being a Master was difficult for Qui-Gon.
Pride in his Padawan battled with the need to be stern. He saw so much potential in Obi-Wan. He wanted to mold this being into a better Jedi than he was himself. He was impatient with himself as often as he was impatient with Obi-Wan. He saw that Adi was right: When he was stern with Obi-Wan, it was sometimes because he saw his own mistakes in the boy.
The consular ship slid into a narrow space among larger vessels. Adi turned to the pilot. 'We do not know how long we will be on Belasco, but we might need to leave quickly.'
'I will be on alert, waiting for your signal.'
The landing ramp was activated, and Qui-Gon and Adi walked down to their Padawans.
Siri and Obi-Wan faced them, their gazes expectant. They awaited whatever their Masters might say.
Qui-Gon strode forward 'Next time, contact me first,' he told Obi- Wan.
Adi spoke to Siri quietly so that the other Jedi could not hear. She preferred to give her Padawan instructions privately when she could. Then she turned back to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
'I would say that our first step is to warn Uta S'orn that she could be in danger,' she said. 'I think we all agree that if Ona Nobis is here, Jenna Zan Arbor must have been the one who summoned her. And the fact that Zan Arbor picked her old friend's home planet can't be a coincidence. She must be planning to contact Uta S'orn.'
'We have no proof to bring to Senator S'orn, only suspicion,' Qui-Gon said. 'But we owe her that, at least.'
'We've learned that because of her years of service, she has been granted a home in the palace on the old royal grounds,' Obi-Wan told them.
Qui-Gon nodded. 'Then let us head there. But first, where is Astri?'
'She was nervous about seeing you,' Obi-Wan said. 'She feels badly that she put Siri and me in danger.'
Qui-Gon glanced around. Amid the throngs of people standing on the landing platform, he glimpsed Astri standing next to the departure checkpoint area. A long line of Belascans snaked around her.
He walked closer. Astri looked thinner and more muscular, and her shaved head gave her a fierce appearance. She did not look like the soft, pretty girl he had known. But her eyes were the same, clear and honest.
Right now they were filled with uneasiness.
'I'm so sorry,' she said. 'I did not think Obi-Wan would follow me. I would not ask for more help from the Jedi. You have done so much for me already — '
'All of which we were happy to do,' Qui-Gon said. 'And Obi-Wan's decision was his decision. But I am concerned, Astri. Didi is recovering quickly. He will find new investors for a new business. You must know this.
