meeting. We do not know who was behind this, but we cannot wait to find out while unrest fills the streets.
The Workers and the Civilized have agreed to meet. Also a representative from the Absolutes has agreed, as long as we give him safe conduct back to where he came from and do not arrest him. We have agreed to that condition because we must. I will also be at the meeting. As a Worker who is part of the current government, I am needed for balance. Irini will represent the Workers.'
'This is good news,' Qui-Gon said. 'Only when you begin to talk can you begin to resolve this situation. The government must be stabilized.'
'There is only one condition,' Balog said. 'A Jedi representative must be present. Each of the parties has asked for this — except for the Absolutes. However the representative has agreed reluctantly. The meeting is at dawn.' Balog checked his chrono. 'An hour away.'
'I will go with you,' Qui-Gon said.
'No,' Tahl said. 'I will go.' She turned to Qui-Gon. 'It has to be me, Qui-Gon. I infiltrated the Absolute organization. I know things the others do not. If the representative of the Absolutes tries to lie about the organization, I am the only one who will know.'
'That is true,' Balog said. 'The Workers and the Civilized trust the Absolutes even less than each other.'
'Take the twins to Coruscant in the morning,' Tahl said. 'I will join you there after this meeting.'
Obi-Wan kept his eyes on his Master. Qui-Gon had gone pale. It was clear he was not happy with this turn of events. He wanted to be the one to go to the meeting. But there was something more there, some powerful emotion Obi-Wan did not understand. There appeared to be some sort of titanic struggle going on inside Qui- Gon.
Tahl picked up on it as well. She frowned and seemed about to speak.
Then, to Obi-Wan's surprise, he saw something flicker in Qui-Gon's eyes. It was almost as though Qui-Gon was amused by something, something private. It was gone so quickly that Obi-Wan was sure he was mistaken.
His Master shook his head as if to clear it. He appeared both shaken and determined at the same time.
Qui-Gon turned to Balog. 'Will you excuse us? I need to speak with Tahl alone.'
'Of course.' Balog bowed and retreated.
Obi-Wan started off with Qui-Gon and Tahl toward the private room.
But Qui-Gon turned.
'Please wait here, Padawan,' he said kindly.
Surprised, Obi-Wan could only nod. He watched as his Master followed Tahl into the room and closed the door firmly behind them.
Chapter 17
'Dear friend,' Tahl said, 'there have been too many arguments between us. Do not let another one arise.'
'I did not ask for privacy to argue with you,' Qui-Gon said.
He knew that outside that door, life went on. People were grieving.
Others plotted the overthrow of a government. The planet of New Apsolon continued to revolve in its orbit. Its moons were slowly dropping in the sky.
Yet it all meant nothing to him, not at this moment. At last he had come to see the truth. He had touched it and marveled at it and laughed at himself for not seeing it earlier. He had done all this in the space of a moment.
Oddly enough, the key to his revelation had been simple — the image of the pastry he had handed to Obi- Wan just yesterday. He had remembered the taste of it, the sweetness filling his mouth. That had been the lesson he had been searching for, the one he had given to his Padawan without much thought. In the midst of a complicated life of danger and service, he must sometimes remember to reach for the fruit.
'I wish to tell you something,' he said. 'Well, two things. The first is that I agree that you should be the one to go to the meeting. But we will not take the twins and go, not until you return. I cannot leave New Apsolon without you. I have a deep conviction that if I do, I will not see you again.'
She started to pass off his remark, but stopped herself. 'You feel this strongly?'
'I do. I felt foreboding back at the Temple. I was in a fever to see you again. Once we were together here, despite the fact that so much was unsettled, I did not care because I knew you were safe as long as we were together.'
She nodded slowly. 'But Qui-Gon, I am not your Padawan. We cannot be together always.'
'Ah,' Qui-Gon said. 'This brings me to the second thing I must say.'
Yet now that the moment had come, he stopped. Tahl waited. She would not prompt him. She would give him time. She did not always do that — she was the one to prod him, ask him the very questions he did not want to ask himself. Yet she knew him so well that she always knew when to give him time.
His heart filled, and she seemed to know it. Her face softened.
Still, she did not speak.
'I have come to know something,' he said. 'I cannot let you go, I cannot let another minute pass, without telling you this. I did not come to New Apsolon only because you are my friend. I did not remain because you are a fellow Jedi. I have come to see that you are not just a friend and a fellow Jedi, Tahl. You are necessary to my life. You are necessary to me.
