Haako said accusingly.
'Of the missing Jedi?' Nute Gunray made a dismissive gesture. 'No need to tell him that. No need to tell him anything until we know for certain what has happened.'
Rune Haako studied him a long time before turning away.
'No, no need,' he said softly, and walked from the room.
Chapter 5
Obi-wan Kenobi sat hunched over the controls of the bongo, familiarizing himself with their functions as Jar Jar Binks, positioned next to him, rambled on and on about nothing. Qui-Gon sat in the shadows behind them, silent and watchful.
'Dis is nutsen!' Jar Jar moaned as the bongo motored steadily away from the shimmering lighted bubbles of Otoh Gunga and deeper into the waters ofNaboo.
The bongo was an ungainly little underwater craft that consisted mostly of an electrical power plant, guidance system, and passenger seating. It looked somewhat like a species of squid, having flat, swept-back fins and aft tentacles that rotated to propel the craft. Three bubble-canopied passenger compartments were arranged symmetrically, one on each wing and the third forward on the nose.
The Jedi and the Gungan occupied the nose compartment, where Obi-Wan had assumed command of the controls and Jar Jar had been instructed to start directing them through the core. It seemed that there were underwater passageways all through the planet, and if you were able to locate the right one, you could cut travel time considerably.
Or in the alternative, Obi-Wan thought darkly, you could cut your own throat.
'We doomed,' Jar Jar muttered plaintively. His flat-billed face lifted away from the directional guidance system toward the Jedi, his long ears swaying like ridiculous flaps. 'Heydey ho? Where we goen, Cap'n Quiggon?'
'You're the navigator,' Qui-Gon observed.
Jar Jar shook his head. 'Me? Yous dreaming. Don't know nutten 'bout dis, me.'
Qui-Gon placed a hand on the Gungan's shoulder. 'Just relax, my friend. The Force will guide us.'
'Da Force? What tis da Force?' Jar Jar did not look impressed. 'Maxibig thing, dis Force, yous betcha. Gonna save me, yous, all us, huh?'
Obi-Wan closed his eyes in dismay. This was a disaster waiting to happen. But it was Qui-Gon's disaster to manage. It was not his place to interfere. Qui- Gon had made the decision to bring Jar Jar Binks along, after all. Not because he was a skilled navigator or had displayed even the slightest evidence of talent in any other regard, but because he was another project that Qui-Gon, with his persistent disregard for the dictates of the Council, had determined had value and could be reclaimed.
It was a preoccupation that both mystified and frustrated Obi-Wan. His mentor was perhaps the greatest Jedi alive, a commanding presence at Council, a strong and brave warrior who refused to be intimidated by even the most daunting challenge, and a good and kind man. Maybe it was the latter that had gotten him into so much trouble. He repeatedly defied the Council in matters that Obi-Wan thought barely worthy of championing. He was possessed of his own peculiar vision of a Jedi's purpose, of the nature of his service, and of the causes he should undertake, and he followed that vision with unwavering singie - mindedness.
Obi-Wan was young and impatient, headstrong and not yet at one with the Force in the way that Qui-Gon was, but he understood better, he thought, the dangers of overreaching, of taking on too many tasks. Qui-Gon would dare anything when he found a challenge that interested him, even if he risked himself in the undertaking.
So it was here. Jar Jar Binks was a risk of the greatest magnitude, and there was no reason to think that embracing such a risk would reap even the smallest reward.
The Gungan muttered some more, all the while casting about through the viewport as if seeking a road sign that would allow him to at least pretend he knew what he was doing. Obi-Wan gritted his teeth. Stay out of it, he told himself sternly. Stay out of it.
'Here, take over,' he snapped at Jar Jar.
He moved out of his seat to kneel close to Qui-Gon. 'Master,' he said, unable to help himself, 'why do you keep dragging these pathetic life-forms along with us when they are of so little use?'
Qui-Gon Jinn smiled faintly. 'He seems that way now perhaps, but you must look deeper, Obi-Wan.'
'I've looked deep enough, and there is nothing to see!' Obi-Wan flushed with irritation. 'He is an unneeded distraction!'
'Maybe for the moment. But that may change with time.' Obi-Wan started to say someg more, but the Jedi Master cut him short. 'Listen to me, my young Padawan. There are secrets hidden in the Force that are not easily discovered. The Force is vast and pervasive, and all living things are a part of it. It is not always apparent what their purpose is, however. Sometimes that purpose must be sensed first in order that it may be revealed later.'
Obi-Wan's young face clouded. 'Some secrets are best left concealed, Master.' He shook his head. 'Besides, why must you always be the one to do the uncovering? You know how the Council feels about these... detours. Perhaps, just once, the uncovering should be left to someone else.'
Qui-Gon looked suddenly sad. 'No, Obi-Wan. Secrets must be exposed when found. Detours must be taken when encountered. And if you are the one who stands at the crossroads or the place of concealment, you must never leave it to another to act in I your place.'
The last of the lights from Otoh Gunga disappeared in a wash of murkiness, and the waters closed around them in a dark cloud. Jar Jar Binks was taking the craft ahead at a slow, steady speed, no longer muttering or squirming, his hands fixed on the controls. He flipped on the lights as darkness closed about, and the broad yellow beams revealed vast stretches of multicolored coral weaving and twisting away through the black.
