The Only Witness

6

The Jedi and Lena were still on the ground when Zanita and Juno came rushing out the cooking quarters door. Qui-Gon felt Lena tense at the sight of the servant, and for a brief moment Juno glared at her. But his face shifted quickly into a look of concern.

“Are you all right?” he asked, holding out a hand to help her up.

Lena got to her feet on her own and brushed herself off. “Fine,” she replied briskly. She casually scanned the area to see if anyone else was coming. It was a good thing they had parked their vehicle on the opposite side of the mansion from the entertaining quarters.

Qui-Gon was impressed with Lena’s composure. And he didn’t need to glance at his Padawan to know that Obi-Wan was as well.

Zanita’s turban was askew, and the older woman seemed slightly out of breath. But she did not show any surprise at the fact that Lena had come to her home with two companions she had never met.

“We really must strengthen the base of that statue,” Juno said, eyeing the giant metal sculpture on the ground. “It’s quite unsafe.”

“Quite,” Qui-Gon agreed dryly.

“Zanita, do you remember Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn?” Lena asked, raising her eyebrows slightly at her mother-in-law. “They are friends of mine.”

Qui-Gon knew instinctively that Lena was trying to lead her late husband’s mother away from saying out loud, or even somehow suggesting, that she had never met them before. He guessed that this was because of Juno’s presence.

“Of course,” Zanita replied easily. “How nice to see you again.”

Qui-Gon smiled with a graciousness he didn’t feel. “And you as well,” he said, taking her hand for a moment in the Fregan custom.

Juno appeared annoyed that he hadn’t been introduced to the Jedi.

Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped toward the group. “You must come inside and rest,” he declared. “We have a medical droid who can examine you for injuries.”

Qui-Gon tried not to grimace as he realized that a family like the Cobrals probably needed its own medical droid. But there was something odd about Juno’s offer. Qui-Gon was quite sure that in spite of the look of concern he wore, the servant was not truly worried about their welfare.

Perhaps he had other motives for wanting to get the group back inside the house.

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary, Juno,” Zanita said pointedly.

“Lena and her friends were just leaving.” She looked around furtively.

After the exchange with her son in the library, Qui-Gon guessed that the mention of going inside—or the possibility of someone coming out—made her nervous.

“You can borrow a landspeeder, Lena,” she added. “It’s the least I can do.”

Lena smiled at her mother-in-law. “That would be most appreciated,” she said. “Thank you, Zanita.”

Juno scowled at Lena, then started off toward the vehicle storage building.

“Lena knows where the landspeeders are housed, Juno,” Zanita said. “And she can take either of mine. You don’t need to direct her.”

Juno’s frown deepened, but he didn’t say anything.

“We’d best be getting back inside,” Zanita said brightly when Juno didn’t move. “We have guests to attend to.”

With a last look at the three visitors, Juno turned and followed his employer back into the cooking quarters.

“Another close one,” Lena whispered, shivering slightly. “Rutin never liked Juno, and he gives me the creeps.” She eyed the door Juno and Zanita had just disappeared through, then turned and started toward the vehicle hangar. “Let’s get out of here before something else happens.”

Minutes later Lena and the Jedi were on their way back into the city.

“It was nice of Zanita to offer up her land-speeder,” Obi-Wan noted from the front seat.

“Very nice,” Lena agreed. But she did not say anything else. She suddenly seemed to focus very hard on piloting the speeder.

Once again in the backseat, Qui-Gon considered the events of the last few hours. Though he didn’t particularly want to admit it, he felt at a loss. He was not able to decipher whether Zanita or Lena were being honest—either with each other or himself and Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon sighed. For the millionth time he wished that Tahl were still alive. Aside from the aching absence that still burned inside him, he knew that her sharp perception and intuition would uncover the truth. She would not be distracted by the composed, polished surfaces of these women. She would cut through all of that and get to their real intentions, their motives.

Qui-Gon bowed his head and tried to let the grief of missing Tahl move through him. Isn’t that what Yoda had taught him—what he had repeatedly told his Padawan?

Allow yourself to feel the emotions, then let them go. Qui-Gon focused on the words. He felt the grief well up inside him until he was sure it would break him, shatter him to pieces. Then, with every nerve of his body, he tried to let the pain go.

It wouldn’t.

His head aching, Qui-Gon opened his eyes. It was always the same. He felt the incredible fullness of the pain, and then endless hollowness. The grief never actually left. It emptied him, but it would not leave him alone.