"The council of advisors could issue a stop action on Nield's squad until further debate and study can be done. We have that power. Nield would have to go along."
Cerasi bit her lip. "I don't think I can do that. I can't oppose Nield officially. It would split the Young in two. We need to act together. If the Young is divided, that's the end of peace on Melida/Daan. I can't risk that."
"Cerasi, the city is falling apart," Obi-Wan said urgently. "The people want their lives back. That's the way peace will remain. If Nield concentrates on destruction instead of rebuilding, the people will revolt."
Cerasi dropped her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do!"
Mawat suddenly rushed into the chamber. "Hey, Obi-Wan!" he called. "We need you!"
Obi-Wan sprang to his feet. "What is it?"
"Wehutti has organized the Elders to protest the destruction of the Hall on Glory Street," Mawat said. "Yes, there's a huge crowd forming. I need you, now, to authorize the release of weapons to the Young. We must defend our right to demolish the Halls!"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "I'm not releasing any weapons, Mawat. That could turn a protest into a massacre."
Mawat pushed his hands through his long, sandy hair in frustration.
"But we're unarmed, thanks to you!"
"Thanks to the unanimous decision of the council," Cerasi rapped out.
"Obi-Wan is right."
Disgusted, Mawat turned away. "Hey, thanks for nothing."
"Wait, Mawat!" Obi-Wan called. "I said I wouldn't give you weapons. I didn't say I wouldn't give you help."
The rumor spread through the Temple like wildfire. An intruder had been spotted on the grounds. Some said he or she had been seen in the Temple itself. The youngest students were afraid, and even the Jedi Knights were apprehensive. The Temple was on high-security alert. How could someone violate it? Was the Temple vulnerable?
"The Temple's security is tight," Qui-Gon told Tahl as they walked through the halls on a survey, TooJay ahead of them. "But perhaps it relies too much on closing down if a threat is out there."
"Meaning?" Tahl asked.
"Meaning, there are not as many systems operating to protect us if there is someone on the inside who wants the intruder to enter. The system assumes that no Jedi would welcome an outside threat."
"Ramp, incline fifteen degrees, two meters ahead," TooJay trilled.
Tahl's face tightened with annoyance for a moment, but she returned to Qui-Gon's statement. "We don't even know if there's an intruder at all," she said, frustrated. "We've tried to track the story to its source, and it's impossible. This one told that one, who heard it from this one, who doesn't remember who told him…"
"It's the nature of a rumor to be difficult to track," Qui-Gon offered.
"Perhaps the intruder is counting on that. Perhaps he or she wants us to think an invasion has occurred."
A voice came over the address system. "Code fourteen, code fourteen,"
the calm, steady voice intoned.
"Yoda's signal," Tahl said. "Something's happened."
The two Jedi Knights reversed direction. This time, Tahl took Qui-Gon's arm so that they could move quickly.
"Master Tahl! Please slow down!" TooJay called in her musical voice. "I must assist!"
"Get lost!" Tahl yelled over her shoulder. "I'm in a hurry!"
"I cannot get lost, sir," TooJay replied, hurrying after them. "I'm a navigation droid."
Qui-Gon and Tahl hurried to the small conference room where they had agreed to meet Yoda for updates. The room was the most secure at the Temple, with a scanner that constantly monitored for surveillance devices.
Yoda was waiting as they entered the white chamber.
"Door to close in approximately two seconds," TooJay told Tahl.
"TooJay — " Tahl said impatiently.
"I shall wait outside, sir," TooJay answered.
The door hissed shut behind them. Yoda looked grave.
"Bad news, I have," he said. "Another theft to report. Stolen this time are the healing crystals of fire."
"The crystals?" Qui-Gon asked, stunned. "But they're under the highest security."
Tahl let out a breath. "Who knows?"
"The Council only," Yoda said. "But fear we do that word will get out."
Every time Qui-Gon thought the situation could not get worse, it did.
The seriousness of the thefts was escalating. Which could be the point.
There is the pattern, Qui-Gon thought. This isn't random. It's planned.
This time, the thief had struck at the very heart of the Temple. The healing crystals of fire had been a Jedi treasure for thousands of years. They were held in a meditation chamber that was accessible to all students. The room's only heat and light source was from the crystals themselves. Embedded in the heart of each rock was an eternal flame.
When the students discovered them stolen, it would surely rock their belief in the Temple's invincibility. Maybe it would test their belief in the Force itself.
"Find who did this you must," Yoda told them. "But something more important you must find."
"What is that, Yoda?" Tahl asked.
"You must find why," Yoda said urgently. "Fear I do that in why the seed for our destruction lies."
Yoda walked out. The door hissed behind him.
"First step?" Tahl asked Qui-Gon.
"My quarters," Qui-Gon answered. "I have notes on my datapad. And from now on, we should carry our notes on us at all times. If the healing crystals are vulnerable, so are we."
Qui-Gon and Tahl entered the chamber. Qui-Gon had worried that his datapad would be missing, but it was right where he had left it, in a drawer by his sleep-couch. There were no locks or safes at the Temple.
"All right," he said. "Let's get back to — "
He stopped to watch Tahl. It was obvious his friend wasn't listening to him. She stood in the middle of the room, a look of intense concentration on her face. He waited, not wanting to interrupt.