“We must contact my father at once,” Taroon insisted. “He must know that Leed has been taken.”
“Yes, he must know,” Qui-Gon agreed. “But it would be better if we waited. If we investigate, we might turn up some clues. When we give him the news, we can give him hope as well.”
Taroon was already shaking his head. “He must be told now.”
“But he could declare war!” Drenna cried.
“That was the risk the Senalis took when they abducted him,” Taroon countered. “I was a fool to trust any of you!” He threw a bitter glance at Drenna.
“And I was a fool to think you could have a heart,” she replied, just as bitterly.
Taroon stalked off. Qui-Gon turned to Obi-Wan with a sigh.
“We have no choice,” he said in a low tone. “We must contact King Frane immediately. If we don’t, Taroon will, and our trust with the king will be violated.”
He activated his holocom and was put through to the king at once. The king shimmered in the dark night, a ghostly blue presence. Briefly, Qui-Gon told him the news.
“Who took him?” King Frane roared.
“We do not know yet,” Qui-Gon answered. “But we will. I can give you my assurance that we will not sleep until we find your son.”
“I think you’ve got enough sleep!” King Frane thundered. “While you fools were dreaming, they stole him from right under your noses! How could you let this happen? You are Jedi!”
Obi-Wan admired again how Qui-Gon could meet insults with composure.
“Jedi are not infallible, King Frane,” his Master said evenly. “We are living beings, not machines. I will find your son.”
“You’d better,” King Frane responded. “Where is Taroon?”
Taroon reappeared out of the darkness. “Here, Father.”
“Start for Rutan at once,” King Frane ordered. “I do not want you taken as a prisoner of war.”
“War?” Qui-Gon asked.
King Frane was grim. “If you don’t find my son within the next twelve hours, my army will invade Senali, and we will find him ourselves!”
11
Taroon gathered his pack hastily, grabbing his items and stuffing them inside.
“You’ll need a guide,” Qui-Gon said. “Perhaps Drenna will lead you back.”
“I do not need a guide,” Taroon said angrily. “She will lead me astray and leave me to die, no doubt.”
Drenna fixed him with her cool silver gaze. “Don’t be a fool. If you go alone, you’ll get lost. If you wait until daybreak, the Nali-Erun will lead you to the road.”
“That is more time than I want to spend on this vile planet,” Taroon said. “Every minute I am here is torture.”
Drenna shrugged. “Then swim to shore and find your way through the swamp. Drown or get lost. I don’t care.”
He glared at her, but she ignored him. Finally Taroon stomped off. He sat down on the dock at a distance from them, facing the horizon where the sun would soon appear.
Qui-Gon motioned to Obi-Wan. “We must contact Meenon and tell him that King Frane is threatening to invade.”
Obi-Wan nodded. “I hope he does not insult you the way King Frane did.”
Qui-Gon’s blue gaze was clear. “King Frane wraps his fear in insults. But what he said was true, Padawan. I should have been more alert. I had not thought it necessary to stay awake, or to trade shifts with you. I had not felt even a trickle of apprehension or danger.”
“I did not, either,” Obi-Wan admitted. “We were both wrong.”
“Then we must accept the consequences,” Qui-Gon said. “Now, let us face Meenon.”
Qui-Gon activated the holocom. He imagined that Meenon would have to be awakened, but the Senali leader appeared immediately.
“You do not need to tell me your news,” he said heavily. “King Frane has threatened invasion. You should be aware that if this occurs, he will bring catastrophe to the entire planet of Rutan. Senalis will no longer allow themselves to be ground under the boot of Rutanian forces. All Senalis will fight, just as we did in the great war. And we will triumph once again.”
Meenon’s harsh words were choked with anger. The wavering image was faint but conveyed every nuance of his expression.
“Many lives were lost in that war,” Qui-Gon said. “It left a devastated planet behind. It took generations before Senali recovered.”
“Yet we would fight again!” Meenon cried. “We will not stand for invasion!”
“I think calm is called for, as hard as it is to find it,” Qui-Gon said. “Neither Senali nor Rutan wants a war—”
Meenon held up a hand. “Stop. You don’t understand. King Frane has imprisoned my daughter, Yaana. The beloved daughter I entrusted to his care. He has thrown her in a filthy prison with criminals. He shall pay.”
This was bad news indeed. Qui-Gon had feared it. Each step King Frane took was leading his planet into war. He did not seem to care.
“I do not want a war, it’s true,” Meenon continued. “But only a foolish ruler would not be prepared to fight. My troops are being mobilized. We will meet their boot with our own force. We will not wait to be invaded. We will invade them!”
“I respect your anger and grief,” Qui-Gon said carefully. “But if there was a way to free your daughter and avert a war, would you take it? And, if you invade, how do you know that King Frane will not give the order to execute your daughter?”
Meenon hesitated. “I am not a bloodthirsty savage like King Frane,” he said at last. “Of course I would try to avert a war. I do not want to see the daughters and sons of Senali killed.”
“Then let us find Leed and free Yaana,” Qui-Gon urged. “Give us twelve hours. And help us. Tell us if there is some faction, some clan on Senali who could have done this. We saw them in the moonlight. Their skin was smeared with clay, and they wore headpieces of white coral—”
“The Ghost Ones,” Meenon interrupted. “I can’t say for sure, but it could be. They call themselves a clan but they have no ties of blood. We are not sure who they are. They have appeared only recently. They make trouble between clans. They are against the trade of royal children, of any contact whatsoever with Rutan. I do not know what they want to gain, but it could be the Ghost Ones who took Leed.”
“Do you know where they are?” Qui-Gon asked.
He shook his head. “They are nomadic. They have no single camp. You need a good tracker, one who can track over water.”
“You must find us one immediately and send the tracker here,” Qui-Gon urged.
“But you are with the best right now,” Meenon said. “Drenna.”
Meenon cut the transmission. Qui-Gon turned to search for Drenna. Taroon sat as far away as he could get from them.
The rest of the deck was empty. Drenna was gone.
“Where did she go?” Obi-Wan breathed. He had not heard her make a sound.
Taroon saw the Jedi searching the deck. He stood and rushed over to them.
“Now do you believe me?” he demanded. “She slipped away when you were busy and my back was turned. She is behind the taking of Leed. She’s gone to meet him!”
Qui-Gon scanned the dark lagoon. The dark purple sky was graying. On the horizon a faint line of light told him the sun was rising. He could smell the morning.
Far across the lagoon he saw a tiny ripple of movement. It could have been a fish, but he knew it wasn’t. Drenna was swimming. She was almost out of the lagoon, into the open sea.
Taroon followed his gaze. “After her!”
Drenna’s firm stroke slowed. She dove underneath the surface. When she reappeared, she changed direction slightly.
“She has gone after them, it’s true,” Qui-Gon said. “But not because she’s one of them. She’s gone to track them.” He turned to Obi-Wan. “Put on your breather. We must catch her.”