Drenna stood apart from the group. She eyed them warily, clearly not convinced they had not come to abduct Leed.
She turned to the Jedi and Taroon. “Well? You see that Leed is here of his own free will. Now you can return to Rutan.”
Qui-Gon turned to Leed. “If you truly wish to remain on Senali, you should face your father with your decision.”
Leed shook his head firmly. “Nothing can make me return. He will force me to stay, imprison me.”
“If we give you our word that we will not allow your father to force you to stay, will you come?” Qui-Gon asked.
“It is not that I do not respect the great powers of the Jedi,” Leed said slowly. “I do not wish to offend you. But my father has wiles and treacheries you have not seen. There are things you can’t protect me from.”
“That is not true!” Taroon protested.
“If you feel as you do, we have a problem,” Qui-Gon said to Leed, his tone pleasant but firm. “You will not return to Rutan. And we will find it hard to leave Senali without you.”
Leed met Qui-Gon’s gaze stonily. Neither of them moved. Obi-Wan’s eyes went from one to the other. In both of them, he saw conviction that would not be swayed. Qui-Gon was such a strong presence that it was hard to imagine going up against his will.
Yet he had done the same once.
On Melida/Daan, he had met Qui-Gon’s resolute will with his own. They had clashed and been torn apart as a result. Obi-Wan had believed then with all his heart that he was right. He had come to see that he had been blinded by loyalty to a cause not his own.
But what about Leed? He had lived on Senali for most of his childhood. He had come to manhood here. Obi-Wan could not help feeling sympathetic to Leed’s wishes. It was obvious that he loved his brother. But it was clear that his bond with his adopted sister, Drenna, was just as strong.
In an abrupt change of mood that reminded Obi-Wan of Leed’s father, Leed broke the tension with a shrug and a warm smile. “Well, then. If you are to be my guests, I shall have to bring you to my home. Come.”
Leed led them through a maze of overgrown paths and then struck out through a marsh, moving easily from only slightly submerged rocks to firm ground undetectable to most eyes. The air here was thick and close. Brightly colored flying creatures buzzed and sang overhead.
At last they emerged high above the shoreline on a cliff similar to the one they had left. But here the sea was gentle as the land curved, making a natural harbor. A chain of islands were in the distance.
They hiked down to the beach where Leed and Drenna tossed aside huge fronds to uncover a boat.
They glided over the calm, aquamarine sea, hugging the shore until they came to a lagoon surrounded by a cluster of small islands. A hut fashioned of tree trunks and woven grasses sat on a floating dock offshore. Leed tied the craft to the side and they disembarked.
“The Nali-Erun clan lives on the far island, “Leed said, pointing to a lush green island a few kilometers away. “They watch out for me.”
“All Senali watch out for one another,” Drenna said.
“Why are you hiding in such a remote area, Leed?” Qui-Gon asked. “Are you afraid your father’s reach could extend this far?”
Leed nodded as he crouched to untangle some fishing line. “I spoke to my father so many times. We were in regular communication, the way I was with Taroon. But after I told him of my decision, he cut me off. He refused to hear me. He said Meenon had influenced me. If it pains him to hear the deepest wish of my heart, why should I go on trying to speak with him?”
Qui-Gon sat down on the dock next to Leed so that they could be at eye level. He began to help untangle the line. “Because he is your father,” he said. “And he is afraid he has lost his son.”
Leed’s hands went still. “I am still his son,” he said firmly. “And if he would not be so stubborn, we could be in constant contact. I could come to Rutan for visits, and he could come here. But ever since the war, there is no travel between the two worlds. I would like to change that.”
Qui-Gon nodded. “That would be a good change. That is one of the things you could do as ruler of Rutan. You would have it in your power to change many things. Why don’t you want to help your world, your people?”
Leed gazed out over the lagoon. “Because Rutan does not feel like my world. Its people don’t feel like my people. It is hard to explain. But I found myself here. Underneath this sun I feel at home. And if Rutan is no longer my home I do not have the right to rule it. Senali is in my blood and bones. It is something I cannot help. Even as a small boy, I did not feel part of Rutan. I was afraid to leave my family and come here. But as soon as I stepped off the transport, I felt at home.” He glanced at Drenna. “I have found myself here,” he said.
Obi-Wan saw hurt on Taroon’s face as Leed spoke. As his brother shared a private smile with Drenna, Taroon’s face tightened with anger.
Jedi were supposed to remain impartial. But Obi-Wan felt Leed’s words strike his heart. Now instead of connecting them to what he’d felt on Melida/Daan, he connected them to the Temple. It was not where he was born. The Jedi Masters were not his parents. Yet it was home. He knew that in his heart and bones. He believed that Leed felt the same.
“I understand all that you say,” Qui-Gon said. “And I ask you this: Is your decision to act according to your heart worth plunging two worlds into war? Are your individual desires so important?”
Leed angrily tossed aside the line. “I do not start a war. My father does.”
“He does it for you,” Qui-Gon told him.
“He does it for himself!” Leed protested.
Taroon had been restraining himself, but now he stepped forward. “I don’t understand you, brother,” he said. “What is it that is worth so much to you? A world of strangers? How can you risk the peace of your home planet just for your own desires?”
“You don’t understand,” Leed said, shaking his head.
“No, I do not!” Taroon shouted angrily. “I do not understand this deep wish of your heart. Is it more important for you to live with primitives than to take up your birthright?”
“Primitives?” Drenna exclaimed. “How dare you call us that!”
Taroon turned on her. “Where are your great cities?” he demanded. “A cluster of shacks bobbing on the sea. Where is your culture, your art, your trade, your wealth? On Rutan, we have centers of learning. We develop new medicines and technologies. We explore the galaxy—”
“Our wealth is in our land and our seas and our people,” Drenna said, facing him down. “Our culture and our art is part of our daily lives. You have been on Senali for half a day. How dare you judge us?”
“I know your world,” Taroon said. “Any culture you have the Rutanians brought to you.”
“I know you brought your taste for blood sports and your arrogance,” Drenna shot back. “We got rid of all that when we got rid of you. If we kill a creature, we kill it for food. We do not kill it for sport, or to sell its skin. And you call us primitives!”
“I do not think it helpful to debate the differences between Rutan and Senali when—” Qui-Gon began, but Drenna interrupted him furiously.
“Only a fool debates with ignorance,” she said fiercely. “I do not debate! I speak truth.”
“You speak with your own arrogance,” Taroon exclaimed. “You don’t know Rutan any better than I know Senali! All you know is prejudice and disdain.”
“You came here to look down on us,” Drenna said with contempt. “I saw that at once. Why do you think your brother should listen to your opinion when it is full of your own bias?”
“Because I am his family!” Taroon roared.
“As am I!” Drenna countered.
“You are not his family,” Taroon shouted. “You were just his caretakers. We are his blood!”
“No, Taroon.” Leed stepped between them. “Drenna is my sister as you are my brother. And she is right. This is what I leave behind on Rutan,” he continued, his voice rising to match Drenna’s and Taroon’s. “This attitude that you are superior to the Senalis. You do not know Senali, nor do you wish to. Do you really want to live the life of our father, living only to chase animals and feast until you cannot move? Do you want your life goal to be the gathering of more and more wealth, just for the purpose of possessing it?”