by Jude Watson
"I know these two well," O-Bin said. "What are you doing out in the hallways after curfew?"
A shaky voice came from behind them. "It was me."
They turned. Davi stood nervously, his eyes on the floor, afraid to look at O-Bin. "I was heading for the food prep area," Davi said. "I... forgot something."
"I'll say he did!" V-Tarz hurried forward. "He left all the stoves on! Tripped the sensors!"
O-Bin plastered her chiding smile on her face. "This is very careless of you, V-Davi. We will have to consult to figure out how many punishment marks you will receive."
"I know," Davi mumbled. "I realize that I endangered the General Good. I am repentant."
"Well. We shall discuss this tomorrow." O-Bin clapped her hands. "Everyone return to your quarters."
Amid the crush of students, Obi-Wan and Siri made their way to Davi.
"Why did you do that?" Siri whispered.
"I don't have as many punishment marks as you," Davi whispered back.
"Davi, why are you wearing your boots and outer tunic?" Obi-Wan asked shrewdly.
"I saw you leave," Davi said. "I knew you were going to escape. I wanted to come with you!"
"V-Davi!" O-Bin's voice was shrill. "If you want to repent for your disobedience, you should not be talking to two troublemakers!"
With a last glance at them, Davi backed up. But suddenly something shot out of his pocket. Obi-Wan knew immediately what it was: Davi's pet ferbil, Scurry. Davi would not leave the Learning Circle without his pet.
"What is that?" O-Bin snapped. "Catch it!"
Davi went down on his hands and knees. He made a chirping noise with his mouth and cupped his hands. The ferbil ran into his palm.
"That," O-Bin said, "is a pet."
Davi said nothing. His face flamed.
"It's just a little ferbil," Siri said.
"Two punishment marks, O-Siri. I was not talking to you. V-Tarz!"
V-Tarz rumbled forward. "Please search V-Davi's dorm area," O-Bin ordered.
Obi-Wan and Siri followed. While the students stood around, it did not take V-Tarz long to find two iridescent lizards, another baby ferbil, and a bag of seeds.
O-Bin pressed her lips together. "What do we say, students?"
All the students faced Davi.
"SHAME. SHAME. SHAME," they repeated over and over.
"Take ... those ... things," O-Bin told V-Tarz, her teeth clenched in a smile. "And get rid of them."
V-Tarz scooped up the lizards and put both ferbils in his pocket.
"No!” Davi cried. "Please..."
"SHAME. SHAME. SHAME."
Inside V-Tarz's pocket, the ferbils chirped anxiously.
Davi's eyes filled. Tears slowly dripped down his cheeks. "Please," he whispered.
As soon as the lights powered up the next morning, Obi-Wan hurried to Davi's sleep couch to give him words of encouragement. They would find a way out. They would take him with them.
But Davi was gone.
Qui-Gon and Adi hid behind a low wall, their eyes on the high security building that housed the CIP. Nen had brought them through several checkpoints, but he was not authorized to enter the building. It was up to them to get past the guards.
"We cannot attack any Keganite," Adi murmured. "We must use the Force to bypass security."
"There is only one guard," Qui-Gon said. "It should be easy. Kegan is not used to unlawful activity."
They rose from their hiding place and strolled toward the guard.
"Greetings," Qui-Gon said. "V-Tan and O-Vieve have sent us here to observe. You will be happy to let us pass through."
"I am happy to let you pass through," the guard said, succumbing to the mind trick and waving them through the doorway.
Once they were inside, Qui-Gon and Adi quickly found the Central Instruction Processor. Adi's fingers flew at the keyboard as she entered a series of contradictory instructions.
"This should send them all to landing sites," she said. "I don't want them to crash in a populated area. This program should confuse the tech personnel and give us time."
"How long?" Qui-Gon asked.
Adi's eyes never left the data screen. "Hard to say. It should give us at least two hours. Maybe three. They aren't technologically advanced, so it could take them a while."
"I don't want another night to fall without finding our Padawans,” Qui-Gon said grimly.
Adi agreed quietly. "We will find them. And Lana, too."
When Adi was finished, they turned toward the exit hallway, but Qui-Gon stopped by a door marked central instruction file records.
"Let's just look in here a minute," he said. "We could find a clue."
The room was lined with holographic file units. They were dated and lined up alphabetically. Qui-Gon accessed a drawer of files, Adi another.
"There's a file on every citizen of Kegan here," Adi Gallia said in disbelief. "Recorded conversations ..."
"Whom they meet, whom they dine with ..." Qui-Gon said, accessing another file.
"What they use, what they eat..."
"What they write to their children at school..."
Qui-Gon studied a file for a thirteen-year-old named O-Nena. "Didn't Nen tell us about The Learning Circle?"
Adi Gallia murmured assent as she accessed another file. "Did you find out where it is?"
"No," Qui-Gon said. "But here's a reference to a Re-Learning Circle. What could that be?"
"Sounds like something to check out."
"Let's look up Lana," Qui-Gon suggested, flicking past files to get to her name. "There's nothing here."
"I'll try Melie and Nen." Adi searched through the files, flashing one name after another. "Here. I'll take Nen, you take Melie." She read through the files quickly.
Qui-Gon scanned the file. "Plenty of recorded conversations. Records of meetings with other dissidents. And record of all our conversations in their house. But nothing about Lana. Not even the recording of her birth."
"They've erased all the information." Adi met Qui-Gon's gaze. "I don't like this. It's as though they wiped out any evidence of her existence."
"Except in her parents' memories."
Simultaneously, the two Jedi closed the files.
"There's no time to lose," Adi said.
They left the building and hurried to Nen and Melie's dwelling. Adi quickly explained that the autohoppers would be grounded for about three hours.
"We'll gather as many dissidents as we can," Nen said. "We'll try to find out if anyone has seen your Padawans."
"We must find out where the Learning Circle is located," Qui-Gon told them. "I have a feeling the key is there. Have you ever heard of the Re-Learning Circle?"
"I've heard it mentioned," Nen said. "Nobody really knows what it is. Some sort of training facility."
"The mothers talk," Melie said. "They say if your child is reassigned they are not allowed to contact you again. Do you think that's where Lana is?"
O-Yani, the elder caregiver, stood in the doorway. "No," she whispered.
Melie turned, her gaze suddenly sharp. "O-Yani, your grandson V-Onin was sent to the Re-Learning Circle six years ago."
"It was not my fault he was ill," O-Yani said quickly.
"I know," Melie said gently. "I saw how you cared for him. Why was he taken away?"
"For the General Good," O-Yani said promptly.
"O-Yani, we have disabled the autohoppers," Qui-Gon said to her. "You don't hear them flying, do you? You can speak freely."
O-Yani paused. She looked out the window, waiting for the sight or sound of the autohoppers. "They gave me this job. I like working with children," she said wistfully.
"You won't lose your job," Nen told her. "We know that what happened to Lana wasn't your fault."
"But if you know where she is, please tell us," Melie said.
"The medics didn't know how to treat V-Onin. They said they had a place for him to go ... a place where research was done. What could we do?" O-Yani's face wa
s bleak. "I never saw him again."
"Do you know where they took him?" Melie pressed.
"A trader came one day and knocked on my door," O-Yani said. "He had seen a boy in the country who was traveling with Guides. The Guides had trouble with their airspeeder and were repairing it. The boy stopped the trader. He gave him something to bring to me. A goodbye gift."
"What was it?" Nen asked.
"Wildflowers," O-Yani said. "I pressed them in a book. Wait."
She disappeared and came out a moment later with a leather-bound book. She cracked it open and carefully extracted a delicate, pressed bloom.
"May I see it?" Melie asked respectfully. At O-Yani's hesitant nod, she plucked it from her hand and examined it. "I know this bloom. It comes off the calla tree. They only grow on the highest plateau of Kegan. It's about two hours away by landspeeder."
Thanks to the Jedi's faster craft, they could cut that amount of time in less than half, Qui-Gon calculated. "How big is the plateau itself?" he asked.
"You could cover it in a matter of minutes with the right craft and surveillance devices," Melie answered. "It's not very large."
"Let's go," Qui-Gon said to Adi.
Suddenly the door flew open. Six Enforcement Guides stormed into the room.
"Qui-Gon Jinn and Adi Gallia, we are here to escort you to the High Court. You have been found guilty of mind control. Come quietly or you will be shot."
Siri used the bustle of departure from the food hall to drift close to Obi-Wan.
"Davi was taken to The Re-Learning Circle," she told him in a low voice. "I overheard O-Bin talking to another Teaching Guide. We've got to do something."
"I thought you wanted to escape," Obi-Wan said.
Siri bit her lip. "Not until we find Davi."
"I feel the same way," Obi-Wan agreed.
"I think the Re-Learning Circle is right here, in the Learning Circle itself," Siri told him.
"We have rec time today. Let's try to sneak away and explore then,” Obi-Wan suggested. "Just don't cause trouble in class, or we'll have cleanup duty instead."
Siri nodded. They walked in orderly rows to class. The morning stretched on. Often O-Bin would glance at Siri during the lesson, waiting for her objection. But Siri remained silent, her face serene. Obi-Wan could feel members of the class wondering if O-Bin had won the battle and subdued her.
At last, classes ended and the students filed outdoors. Rec time consisted of running along a track that spanned a good part of the Learning Circle. Along the track various stations were set up for exercises that tested balance, coordination, and strength. They did not race against one other but against their own former times. Each student wore a sensor that recorded his or her progress after every lap. The sensors were connected to a large readout screen. The goal was to complete five circuits. Then they would be free to stroll around the part of the Circle set apart for outdoor activities.
Several classes ran the course at the same time. Teaching Guides supervised them, but they were more interested in drinking in the sun or talking among themselves than patrolling the students.
"Let's run the course as fast as we can," Obi-Wan suggested. "The sooner our five scores are recorded, the more free time we'll have."
Obi-Wan and Siri ran easily side by side. Within seconds, they were ahead of the pack. They reached the first station, a narrow beam suspended several meters above the ground.
The beam curved in a twisting shape in order to test balance. Without breaking stride, Siri, then Obi-Wan, leaped up on it, landed without wavering even a fraction, and lightly ran through its twists and turns without a pause. Siri leaped off the end, somersaulted, and landed. Obi-Wan followed her lead.
The next station was a durasteel wall that had small handholds and footholds to aid climbing. It glistened in the sun.
"I think it's coated to make it more slippery," Obi-Wan said to Siri as he raced alongside her. "Might be tricky to climb."
She grinned. "Why bother?"
Using the Force, Siri leaped and landed on top of the wall, then sprang off and flew through the air. Again, Obi-Wan followed. He landed on top of the wall and jumped down easily.
They were far ahead now. The track course was an easy exercise for them. They had been studying balance and coordination at the Temple from an early age. They rounded the first lap and their score was recorded. Soon they outran others still on their first lap.
Around and around Siri and Obi-Wan ran. Students flooded the course, the faster ones in their second lap, the slower still on the first. It was easy to lose themselves in the crowd.
When they completed the fifth lap, they jogged easily along until they got to a part of the course that curved away from where the Teaching Guides sat on benches, enjoying the sun. Then they simply strolled away.
They noted utility sheds, more classrooms, Security Guide outposts, sleeping quarters for workers, supply sheds, and a landing platform. Nowhere did they see a building that could be the Re-Learning Circle.
"Maybe I was wrong," Siri said, discouraged. "But O-Bin clearly said that Davi packed his belongings and V-Tarz walked him there. They didn't take a speeder."
"We've covered most of the compound," Obi-Wan said. "The rest is just cultivated gardens and fields for food production."
Siri gazed over the fields. "Is quinto grain valuable on Kegan?" she asked.
"Not especially," Obi-Wan said. "It's Kegan's basic crop. It's the base for those veg patties that you love so much."
"If it's not valuable, why are ten Security Guides guarding it?" Siri asked.
Obi-Wan looked in the distance. Siri's sharp eyes had noted the Guides lined up in a field.
"Let's get closer," he suggested.
Using the field of grain as cover, they moved toward the Guides. When they got closer, they took out electrobinoculars from their utility belts. The Guides stood ten paces apart. They looked bored. One of them yawned. Another stamped his feet.
"I don't see anything unusual," Siri said.
"Look at the dirt near the third guard, the one who stamped his feet,” Obi-Wan said.
Siri trained her electrobinoculars on the loose dirt that had been disturbed. "Something is buried there," she said excitedly. "I see metal."
"Hold on," Obi-Wan said. The ground was moving. The guard stepped quickly away as a panel slid open and a ramp leading downward was revealed. A Kegan woman emerged, wearing the white tunic of a medic. The door closed behind her and she hurried down the path in the direction of the Med Dome.
"That's got to be it," Siri said. "But how can we break in? We have to find a way to activate that ramp."
"I know how to get in," Obi-Wan said. "It's all up to you. And it will be easy."
"Me? How?" Siri asked warily.
He grinned. "Just do what comes naturally."
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 wil
l 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."