The Captive Temple

6

Qui-Gon stood in the tech center next to Miro Daroon. Around them curved a blue screen that ran along the wall in the circular room. The screen flashed diagrams of every tunnel, service hallway, catwalk, and duct in the Temple.

At first, the schematic drawings had seemed like a maze to Qui-Gon. But with Miro’s help he had soon understood the logic of the diagrams.

But logic hadn’t helped to find the intruder. There were dozens of tunnels tall enough for someone Bruck’s height to walk upright inside. Ducts were placed conveniently on every floor, giving outlets to every area of the Temple except those under the most severe security restrictions, such as the treasury room.

The problem wasn’t discovering a way for the intruder to navigate. The problem was narrowing it down. Qui-Gon had already called the Jedi Knight Tahl, his partner in the investigation, to send out search teams to comb the infrastructure. But that would take time—time they didn’t have. He was still hoping for a clue.

Behind them, the door hissed open. Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan in the reflection on the screen. He saw the boy catch sight of him and pause.

“Have any additional problems cropped up?” Qui-Gon quickly asked Miro.

He wanted Obi-Wan to remain, but couldn’t ask him. That would violate the wishes of the Council. But he felt that if he and Miro discussed Temple problems and Qui-Gon didn’t ask him to leave, Obi-Wan would stay.

So this is what Yoda meant, Qui-Gon thought.

Miro sighed. He was a tall alien from the planet Piton, thin as a reed, with a high forehead and pale, almost white eyes. Pitons lived underground on their own planet. They had little pigment in their skin that was almost translucent. They were hairless, and Miro wore a cap and tinted eye shields to protect his eyes from glare.

“When I tried to restore power to the service lift tubes in the lake area, the air circulation failed in the north wing. We have to move all the students to temporary quarters in the main building.”

In the screen reflection, Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan studying the diagrams.

“So now two wings of the Temple have been shut down,” Qui-Gon murmured thoughtfully. “You must be very frustrated, Miro.”

Miro’s mournful face collapsed in a deeper frown than the one he already wore. “Frustrated doesn’t cover it, Qui-Gon. I know this system inside and out. But when I fix one problem, three more pop up. It’s difficult to keep up. I’ve never seen such intricate sabotage, not even in hypothetical models. My last resort would be to shut the whole system down to run my own program. That’s something I don’t want to do.”

Qui-Gon felt bothered by this news. Miro was a brilliant, intuitive tech expert. Anyone who could confound him must be a tech genius. Bruck certainly wasn’t capable of this. It seemed he was searching for a slippery being with a hatred of the Jedi, a knack for subterfuge, and now a technological wizard as well.

Qui-Gon drew in a quick, startled breath. The knowledge had been in the back of his mind for some time, cold and insidious, like water seeping into the cracks of a boulder. Now it froze into certainty, blasting the rock to smithereens.

“Xanatos,” he murmured.

Obi-Wan gave a start. Miro looked at Qui-Gon, shocked. “You think Xanatos is involved?”

“It’s possible…” Qui-Gon murmured.

The clues had ticked away for a while now. He had sensed a vengeful, personal motive in this operation. Xanatos held an implacable hatred for the Jedi—a hatred that was only surpassed by his hatred for Qui-Gon.

And then there was that feeling he’d had in the Room of a Thousand Fountains.. could Xanatos have been nearby?

Disruption + Demoralization + Distraction = Devastation. During that mission, Xanatos had been his Padawan. He had been a boy of sixteen. He could have easily remembered the formula.

“I remember him,” Miro said quietly. “He was a year behind me. But he was the only Jedi student who was better at constructing tech infrastructure models.”

Qui-Gon nodded. The young Jedi student’s mind had been what had first attracted Qui-Gon, first made him wonder if he would make a good Padawan.

In that instant, Qui-Gon made a decision. He was not allowed to involve Obi-Wan in the investigation. But things had changed.

He turned and acknowledged Obi-Wan for the first time.

“I need your help,” he said.