The Fight for Truth

15

Qui-Gon and Adi stood in the center of the coliseum. Opposite them was a circular table full of Keganites in red tunics. They were Judgment Guides.

“You have been found guilty of mind control in the case of O-Melie and V-Nen,” an elder Keganite said. “The penalty is deportation. Your ship is fueled and ready. Escort starfighters will accompany you to the outer atmosphere.”

Qui-Gon and Adi said nothing. They knew that V-Tan and O-Vieve were behind this. It would be wasted effort to argue. But that did not mean they would submit.

They were led to the landing platform by a platoon of Security Guides.

One of them spoke. “We have taken the liberty of disabling all weapons and defense systems. We wish you good travel.”

A door hissed open, and V-Tan and O-Vieve appeared. They walked toward the Jedi, kind smiles on their faces.

“Before you leave, we wish to assure you that we mean you no harm,” O-Vieve said.

“Where are our Padawans?” Qui-Gon asked.

“We think they were taken in a Truant Sweep,” V-Tan answered. “We will locate them at the Learning Circle and send them back to Coruscant. We give you our personal assurance that this will be so.”

“I’m sorry, that isn’t good enough,” Qui-Gon answered politely.

“You do not trust us. Yet you should.” O-Vieve leaned closer to Qui-Gon and touched his shoulder reassuringly. Suddenly, her face drained of color. Even her bright blue eyes seemed to fade. She weaved unsteadily.

“Are you all right?” Qui-Gon asked, touching her hand. It was ice-cold.

O-Vieve dropped her hand from Qui-Gon’s shoulder. “It is nothing. Sometimes I see things. They come without warning. This is why we’ve done what we have done. We only serve to protect our people.”

“We agreed to your coming with friendship in our hearts,” V-Tan said. “What we cannot tolerate is interference in our affairs. It disrupts the General Good. You pushed the limits of what we were willing to give. Kegan is not interested in other worlds. We want to be left alone.”

“You told the people that if one person left Kegan, the planet would be destroyed,” Adi said. “Surely you don’t believe that.”

“But we do,” O-Vieve said gently. “I have seen it.”

“We understand your concern,” Qui-Gon said. “And we recognize your right to evict us. But you must know that if you force us to leave without our Padawans, we will return with an investigative team from the Galactic Senate. Kegan will no longer be able to isolate itself.”

V-Tan and O-Vieve exchanged a nervous glance.

O-Vieve tucked her hands into the wide sleeves of her white tunic. “If you would indulge us, kind Jedi, and listen. I have seen visions of the future since I was a little girl. V-Tan has dreams in which he sees things, too. When we met each other, we discovered that our visions matched. That convinced us of the truth of them. We have predicted things that have taken place. Now we see an invasion of evil on Kegan. We created a way of living that might avoid what we see.”

“Everything we have done is to protect our citizens from a fate they cannot imagine,” V-Tan said. “Perhaps some of our measures seem harsh, but they are only for the General Good.”

“We have both seen flashes of a future destructive event on Kegan,” O-Vieve told them. “We see evil cloaking our planet like a black cloud.”

“How?” Qui-Gon asked. “When?”

“We do not know the answers to those questions,” O-Vieve said. “That is the agony we live with. We are not sure how to prevent it. We only have clues. The Jedi … the Jedi are involved.”

“The Jedi?” Adi asked. “How?”

“We see the Jedi surrounded by darkness,” V-Tan said. “That is all we know. The darkness comes from within them and then spreads to engulf them.”

“Perhaps our destruction will come from an explosive device sent to destroy an entire planet without a shiver,” O-Vieve said.

“There is no explosive device powerful enough to destroy a whole planet,” Qui-Gon said.

“Not yet, perhaps,” O-Vieve corrected softly, and Qui-Gon felt a shiver go up his spine.

“We see masked soldiers,” V-Tan said. “We do not know who they are, or what they want. Only that they are evil. They will bring fear and suffering.”

“But your visions could be wrong,” Adi said. “Visions sometimes are. The Jedi themselves are not unused to them. Yet we recognize that we can only see things that may be.”

“That is why we act as we do.” O-Vieve looked at Qui-Gon with an intense gaze. “If you could choose your death, Qui-Gon, wouldn’t you rather die in peace and comfort than violently in battle, in shock and despair?”

Qui-Gon fixed her with an icy stare. “We are not allowed to choose our deaths.”

“And it is not up to you to choose what is best for your people,” Adi said. “You say that each citizen has a vote. Yet you control the process. You monitor their thoughts and conversations. All because of a vision that may not come to pass. Is that fair? Is it fair to take a child from her parents based on a dream of an unnamed evil?”

O-Vieve looked away. Obviously, the question had disturbed her.

Qui-Gon took the opportunity to press the point. “Adi Gallia and I have seen your Tech Circle and your Med Circle. We have seen what you do have compared to what you could have. There have been advances in medicine and technology that could save your people suffering and hardship. Is it right to deny them?”

“We do not deny them,” V-Tan said, shaking his head. “We save them.”

“There must be some sacrifice in order to preserve the General Good,” O-Vieve said, turning back to them. Her voice once again rang with firm authority. “This meeting is over. We will send your Padawans after you. We have a good ship, well-stocked, equipped with a hyperdrive for them. We send you good wishes on your journey.” Her blue eyes suddenly held the glint of steel. “But if you try to remain in Kegan atmosphere, know this: Your ship will be blasted out of the sky.”